At the SEMA Show, Some Parts Are Better Than Others

LAS VEGAS — The wildly customized cars may get most of the coverage at the SEMA Show, but the annual convention is about introducing, buying and selling auto parts.

There are thousands of parts to make a car go faster and corner quicker — or look like it can go faster and corner quicker. There are parts to make a truck tow more weight and drive over rockier terrain. There are parts for about everything you can imagine, from air fresheners to windshield wipers. And every year, SEMA hands out awards for the best new products. Fifteen out of a total of more than 2,000 new products submitted for awards consideration at this year’s SEMA show were so honored.

What kind of parts win these awards?

The Fastway Flip by Progress Maufacturing, winner of the best new truck, van or S.U.V. product, is an automatic jack foot — a device that raises, lowers, flips up out of the way and stows itself when the jacking is done. But unless you do much trailer towing, you might not have much of a need for the device.

The best-engineered new product, one of the top honors, went to LOKAR Performance Products for an aftermarket drive-by-wire throttle kit that should be a hit with hot-rodders.

The best new product specifically for the hot-rod crowd, however, was Dakota Digital’s stock-appearing digital replacements for old analog gauges. The company offers items for owners of late 1950s to early 1960s Chevrolet owners; Ford owners will be catered to by future products.

Other award winners included ProComp/Smittybilt’s new M1 bumpers (initially for Ford F-250s). Made of thick, cold-rolled steel, the bumpers appear relatively indestructible. Timbren Industries was cited for inventing a clever axleless suspension system for trailers. Directus was honored for its new plug-and-play solution that ties together navigation, safety and entertainment systems into one device.

Continental Tire was honored for its ProContact with EcoPlus Technology tire that was said to improve a vehicle’s fuel efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. It has an 80,000-mile limited tread-wear warranty.

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