SEMA Show: Day 3 (11/05/09)

Theme music of the day at the Honda display is primarily rap. Yep, you heard me right, Honda, the fairly conservative company where I have personally worked for almost five years, is playing rap music. I guess the “no music in the workplace” policy doesn’t apply to a trade show … and speaking of policies, just so you know, the ladies in the Honda display are definitely sticking to Honda’s dress-code policy and are NOT going with traditional trade-show-girl attire, if you get my drift!
We have had a steady flow of people visit our corner of the South Hall today. This morning was a little slower than the first two, but maybe people are spending a little more time at the blackjack tables or bars as the week goes on. If that is true, we may have the weekend party crowd come through sometime tomorrow, and that should be an interesting way to end the week.
By Day 3, those of us who have been here since the beginning of the week have pretty much gotten the groove down, and there are definitely frequently asked questions (FAQ) we get used to answering. The FAQ for the day was related to the chassis concept IndyCar for 2012. Attendees loved the futuristic and recognizable look of the car. At one point, I saw a man running through the display and he was headed towards the concept car. I didn’t really understand why he was running because the car doesn’t have an engine and it is on a pedestal surrounded by Plexiglas, but hey, he was excited, and in the long run, that is what we are hoping for.
We have yet to mention the presence of the Boileau brothers, Bob and Al. They have a long-standing family history with Honda Racing and two Boileau-driven cars are on display here. The first, frequently discussed around these parts, is the 1974 Honda Civic 1200 driven by the late Bob Boileau, Jr. (their father). Then, there is the most recent, the 2009 SCCA Runoffs Championship-winning S2000 driven by Bob Boileau, III. The brothers are very proud of their family’s history and accomplishments, and they very much welcome any conversation having to do with their father’s car, which, by the way, is now exhibited at the Honda Collection museum in Torrance.
A funny thing happened toward the end of the day having to do with the Boileaus. There was discussion of a potential photo-op involving the two Boileau-driven Honda race cars and the Boileau brothers. It was decided that the cars needed a little touch-up to add some shine before the impromptu shoot. (To be honest, it was actually just Marc Sours, Large Project Leader for HPD’s grassroots motorsports efforts, with a camera!) So, a visit was paid to the Mother’s (Polishes-Waxes-Cleaners) display to get some free polish. When the ‘touch-up’ party returned, they had not only gotten some free polish, they brought a Mother’s rep to help shine up the cars, too. That’s not the last of it, though. As soon as they approached the Honda display, HPD associates began to gather around one of the cars. Come to find out, the Mother’s rep wasn’t just a rep of the company, he was actually the OWNER! So now, we had the owners of Mother’s polishing our 1974 Honda Civic 1200. It was a classic moment, for sure.
At this point, there are only seven hours of show time left. I can’t believe we have made it through 24 hours in the first three days of SEMA. What will today bring? The Honda Racing/HPD key chains are almost gone and hopefully, we can give away the last of the stickers (the fewer we have to bring home, the better). It has definitely been an interesting experience thus far, and I am sure there is more to come…