Honda, celebrating 50 years in North America, was the next to provide us with more great news as it announced that they would be extending race support to SCCA drivers with specially tuned 1.5 liter Honda Fit engines, parts support, and quick response with replacement parts. Also on the list of announcements from Honda was the extension of the Mugen accessory line to the Accord and Fit.

The next exciting unveiling found Hyundai showing off five fully modded Genesis coupes, one from Rys Millen sporting a rear engine V8 that looked ready to rip the Vegas strip! The others came from performance engineers such as Hennessey Performance Engineering, GReddy, and Street Concepts (which came complete with artwork by Courtney Mason).

Not to be outdone, Kia announced its entry into American motorsports. Kia will partner with Kinetic Group to enter two Kia Forte Koup race cars into the Grand-AM KONI Sports Car Challenge. We can’t wait to see how the Forte performs in racing.

Ford Motor Company continued to impress. Not only were they able to announce some killer new products that included a race-ready Super Snake Mustang, but they also impressed me with a demo drive of the Ford Fiesta! The Fiesta that I got to drive had an automatic transmission and was imported from Germany. From what I was told by a Ford agent, the US release will hopefully sport a 120 hp engine.

We closed out a busy Day 1 with a nice announcement–Grote said that they will be selling the thinnest LED strips available to date. Less than 0.5 mm thick, they have been able to make a very bright LED that allows for multiple applications. Grote has had a huge following in the big rig trucking industry and with the release of this new LED product, they hope to do the same in the aftermarket industry.

So ends the first day of SEMA… A very busy day… more to come!!!

“The CP7749 is perfectly balanced, light at only 4.37 pounds, and packs a punch with 725 foot pounds of true, honest torque,” said Brian Dove, senior global product marketing manager for Chicago Pneumatic, which is offering a two-year warranty on the CP7749. “Combine those features with our patent-pending S2S Technology, and we’ve created a tool that virtually eliminates the wrist and forearm strain common with the use of typical impact wrenches.”

Chicago Pneumatic’s exclusive S2S Technology allows technicians to effortlessly change between forward and reverse with one hand in any position. The three position regulator in forward provides control and helps to prevent over-tightening, while full power remains constant in reverse to ensure technicians have max power to remove fasteners without changing the setting in the forward position.

The CP7749’s lightweight and compact magnesium composite design is only 4.37 pounds and 7.3 inches in length. The tool features a twin hammer clutch to ensure long term durability and power and a full tease trigger for ultimate control of its 725 ft.-lbs. of torque.

The CP7749 is also available with a two-inch anvil (CP7749-2) for tire removal applications.

Chicago Pneumatic (CP) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of high-performance tools, hydraulic attachments, industrial and portable compressors and associated accessories and workshop equipment. Since 1901, The CP brand has served the Vehicle Service, Construction and Industrial marketplace. To learn more about CP’s dedication to pioneering design and high-performance technology, please visit www.cp.com.

Contact:           John Mader   704-926-1316
jmader@wrayward.com / Heather Tamol 704-926-1326 htamol@wrayward.com

For the full press release go here

Also we hope to get our hands on a Fiesta…

Stay tuned to this site for updates from SEMA!!!