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"         The thought of attending another automotive show right after covering the ghost town that was the Tokyo Motor Show was as appealing as sitting through a Detroit Lions football game. Heading to Las Vegas for the SEMA show would be just another reminder of how the sagging economy and struggling car market are ruining all our lives. But then again, there are far worse places to go for a business trip than Sin City.   The Specialty Equipment Market Association puts on the SEMA show every year. Automotive aftermarket companies come from all parts of the globe to display their stuff\u2014everything from turbochargers to winches to car-wash kits\u2014while buyers and distributors look for their next big business opportunity. Last year, with the recession in full bloom, the attendance for the SEMA show was near its all-time low, and this year was expected to be no different.   But when I arrived at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the halls were alive with bustling crowds, the booths filled with plenty of interesting souped-up cars and pretty girls were strutting their stuff all around. I then attended an event at the Las Vegas Speedway, hosted by Discount Tire, where all the major tire companies showed up, bringing with them their huge rigs and newest products. Plenty of guests were on hand to enjoy the day getting rides in NASCAR race cars, drift machines and even an IRL open wheeler. If there was a recession going on, you&amp;#039;d be hard pressed to realize it here.   This made me wonder: Is all the rhetoric about the rebounding economy coming out of Washington, D.C., true? Granted, the automotive aftermarket market may not be the ideal indicator to judge a recovering economy. People who don&amp;#039;t have money to spend usually hang onto their vehicles longer, which means aftermarket products such as tires, restoration kits and replacement parts sell better. But what I saw at SEMA was the return of car enthusiasm, with wild performance-enhanced creations and revitalized interest in making cars more exciting, not just making them last longer. This glow was absent at last year&amp;#039;s show\u2014heck, it was absent at the Tokyo Motor Show only a week before.   It&amp;#039;s obvious from this year&amp;#039;s SEMA show that many aftermarket tuners, and some manufacturers, are far from throwing in the towel in this fight with our struggling economy. Otherwise, would they really build things like the Specter Werks Corvette, Callaway Camaro or MRT T4 without a glimmer of light at the end of the recession tunnel? Not likely. While being green and ecologically responsible is all well and good, it&amp;#039;s nice to see that the aftermarket folks haven&amp;#039;t forgotten that passion and enthusiasm, along with good financial sense, have always served as the foundation for driving the automotive business upward. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a15176/the-aftermarket-and-the-economy/>