Fall 2016

I love rally racing. For me, it’s one of the most intense forms of motorsports out there. Drivers with nerves of steel are bombing down narrow dirt roads at break-neck speeds, sliding sideways around corners, and executing hand-brake turns on a dime. They pilot a variety of vehicles in several classes across the countryside in hopes of turning the best times on various rally stages. Frankly, rally car drivers—and the rally cars—are pretty incredible.

It nearly 50 years ago in January 1967 when the first official SEMA show debuted under the grandstands of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.  At the time, the show featured 98 booths and approximately 3,000 attendees.  It was not until 1977 when SEMA moved to Las Vegas where it’s been growing rapidly ever since.  Today, the four-day event attracts more than 140,000 attendees and over 2,400 exhibitors from all over the world.  

It’s back! After a year-long hiatus, while the team at Toyota tinkered away in their lab, the 2017 model year is bringing back the TRD Pro Tacoma. I am sure, if you are anything like me, that when Toyota announced the package earlier this year you poured over the release with a fine-tooth comb to see what goodies would be included. Although the updated Tacoma flagship brings with it several factory-installed upgrades, keen observers will have noticed the Bilstein shocks and struts found on TRD Pro Tundra and 4Runner were replaced with new TRD-tuned equivalents from Fox.