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This story happened to be lost in the Dubspeed Driven story vault for a while, but dug it up over the weekend. This is another fun read by the great storyteller, Donald Bond, who shares his first ever SEMA experience with us. – Zerin

Story by Donald W. Bond
Photos by Donald W. Bond & Mike Staley

When I was originally asked to be a part of the Dubspeed Media Team, I had no idea where it might one day take me. A short time later, I found myself in the middle of Las Vegas, attending the largest automotive extravaganza on the planet – SEMA . I’d always read about the SEMA Show in popular rags like Truckin’ or Hot Rod, but reading about it and experiencing it in all of its glory is another thing entirely.

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I could sit here and tell you about all the hot cars and trucks that were on display, but it goes further than that. It even goes further than the hottest new products in the automotive arena and the prettiest models that had the opportunity to grace our camera lenses.

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You see, I am the oldest member of the Dubspeed Team, so you could say I’ve been around awhile. No, I can’t tell you stories about World War II or walking 10 miles both ways to school in a blizzard. But I can tell you the highlight of my entire trip to SEMA was walking into the Hot Wheels booth and meeting my life-long car idol, shaking his hand, visiting and having my photo taken with none other than George Barris. This is the man who is credited for starting this whole customizing craze. Yes he may be the man who built the Batmobile, The Munsters Coach and Dragula, but that was after he had already made a name for himself in the customizing world. Mr. Barris I salute you! And thanks for the autograph!

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I also had the opportunity to meet Bobby Rahal, Indy car driver and now race team owner. More icing on the cake was meeting my kids’ favorite wrestlers, Goldberg and Maverick. Their handshakes and the visits go a long way as my kids were stoked when I told them. It’s fun to live through your kids any way you possibly can. Oh and guys, thanks for not giving me a bodyslam! Through Mr. Goldberg, I was able to meet Bob Johnson, the owner of the hottest car at SEMA, a 1971 ‘Cuda. Bob’s ‘Cuda will be one of five new cars in the upcoming Need for Speed video game that is in the works for next year. In the fray, I was also able to meet his head designer, Chris Ito of Dallas, Texas who designed the hot orange scream machine. Look for an upcoming interview with both Mr. Johnson and Mr. Ito.

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I also want to thank Nick Jones of Lamborghini of Las Vegas for giving us a personal tour of their facility and giving us an opportunity to bring you an up-close and personal look into some of the hottest exotics on the road today. So look for new ride-and-drives as well as a story about their new dealership. I also want to give a big hug and thank you to Diana Spicer of Saleen, whom we met back at Pebble Beach this year. I will be bringing you an up-close review and test drive of the new Saleen Mustang S281 in the near future as well.

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Not to forget my good friend, Juan Prieto, the owner of Performance Offroad, as he added Dubspeed Media as an official sponsor of Project Sky-High Hummer H2 which is getting ready to leave on a 12-month tour with DuPont Hot Hues. Our name is positioned proudly on the back of this awesome four-wheeling ride!

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SEMA is more than just seeing the best, the baddest, and the wildest custom rides known to man – you get to meet some of the key individuals in the industry too. Through SEMA, I’ve had the priveledge of making a friend or two along the way. Forging these relationships is what made it for me at SEMA this year. Will I be going back? No doubt.