Let the Festivities Begin!
SEMA '09 has come and gone. The highly anticipated annual trade event brought with it both excitement and anxiety among participants who often scramble to make last-minute preparations on their vehicles. With fewer than five days before the big dance in Vegas, Scion invited over 250 media participants and guests to partake in a sneak peak of their project cars attending this year. Top tuners in their respective categories were given a vehicle to design and fabricate as they prepared to wage war in a friendly competition known as the Scion Tuner Challenge.
The Scion media preview reception, held at Scion's personal gallery in Culver City, CA, offered an eclectic gathering of fine art, food and vehicles, including the infamous Five Axis DJ xB. The Korean/Mexican-infused fast-food pioneers Kogi BBQ offered Korean short rib tacos and Kalbi sliders from their concept Kogi xD mobile kitchen car, complete with a full-sized grill in the rear, taking the concept of food-to-go to a whole new level. Other highlights included Cartel Racing's supercharged Scion tC rolling on 22s with a custom motorized trunk, and 0-60 magazine's rally inspired xD.
All-you-can-eat Kogi tacos, Singha Thai beers, and never-before-seen project cars all under one roof made it one hell of an experience. I can only hope Scion makes next year's reception an open event for fans and enthusiasts who crave a little SEMA excitement but who are unable to make the trek to Vegas to join in on the festivities. Make it happen, guys!
Senior Editor
Scott Tsuneishi
scott@importtuner.com