Hottest vehicles at the SEMA Show

What's the coolest car, truck or SUV from among the 1,500 feature vehicles this year at SEMA? How would you even begin to agree on an answer?

SEMA figured it out this way: they wandered through the halls and counted all 1,500 cars. Any from the 2013 or 2014 model years were tallied up and divided into four categories: car, truck, SUV and sport compact. Greatest number of models on the show floor wins.

“The SEMA Award recognizes vehicle models that specialty-equipment manufacturers believe are the best platforms for accessorization and that showcase the year's coolest products,” SEMA said in a statement. “It also underscores the cooperative relationship between the automakers and SEMA-member companies.”

Or, as the big cheese has said all four years that the awards have been handed out, “The SEMA Award helps guide consumers toward the hottest-trending and most accessory-friendly vehicles on the market,” said SEMA president Chris Kersting. “Our SEMA Show exhibitors are industry visionaries who determine the winners of the SEMA Award. The booth space is a ballot and the vehicles they choose to showcase in their booths are a vote. The most prominent models in each category are the winners.”

And the winners are…

Autoweek
The F-150 was the most popular truck at the SEMA Show.

The Ford F-150! There were 45 examples of 2013 and 2014 F-150s scattered all over the show floor with various roof racks, bedliners and winches adorning them. That's way more than any other brand -- unless of course you combine GMC and Chevy full-sized pickups on the SEMA show floor, then Ford falls to second place. That's the same thing that happens with truck sales figures. Ain't that hilarious?

Autoweek
The Jeep Wrangler topped 4x4 models at the 2013 SEMA show.

No surprise here: the Jeep Wrangler, for about the 4,000th year in a row. Think about it, though, how many other mass-produced 4x4s are out there in the market? How many sell more than100,000 a year? There's no more Bronco, no more Blazer, no more International Scout… And while there is certainly no shortage of passenger car-based crossover SUVs from which to choose, those things don't incite the same passions nor maintain the same great historical tradition as the mighty Jeep.

Autoweek
Even before the new 2015 Mustang breaks cover, the Ford Mustang tops the cars category at the SEMA Show.

The Ford Mustang! While there were Camaros aplenty on the show floor, not to mention Corvettes seemingly everywhere, there were more Mustangs than anything else: 19 to be exact. Ford took the distinction of being the first two-time winner since SEMA started keeping track of these things, which hasn't really been that long.

Autoweek
Scion still has relevance at the SEMA Show.

The Scion FR-S! We don't have a figure for how many Scions FR-S were present, but we'll go with that choice. This category seemed like it would be the next big thing just a short time ago, say in the mid-'90s up until about the second "Fast & Furious" movie or so, but now it's sort of settled down to pre-Vin Diesel numbers. That doesn't mean the FR-S wasn't deserving. It has done more to revitalize the affordable sports car/sports coupe class than anything since the Miata, which has seemingly disappeared from the halls of SEMA.

There you have it, scientifically arrived-at winners from the beating heart of the SEMA Show, the world's experts in stuff you bolt onto your vehicle. Now go forth and argue about why your car should have won.

SEMA -- short for Specialty Equipment Marketing Association -- is the biggest aftermarket auto event in the world, held in Las Vegas each fall. The show fills multiple convention halls and shows off everything from high-performance OEM specials to custom wheels and graphics from local shops. Get the full rundown on what automakers and suppliers are up to at the industry's biggest trade show at our SEMA Show home page.

By Mark Vaughn