As wild and crazy as the custom vehicles at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas can be, in a way, the event is not that much different from the world outside of Sin City.
In both places, the Jeep Wrangler is a popular platform for modifications. In fact, at this year’s SEMA event, the Jeep Wrangler was so favored by customizers that it won the award for the “Hottest 4×4-SUV” – for the seventh consecutive year. The SEMA Awards were started in 2010, so you can do the math…
Seeing a Wrangler with mods out on the road, especially here in Texas, is easy. I haven’t taken count of how many I’ve seen, but the folks at FCA have come up with some numbers related to customized Jeeps. According to an FCA press release about its SEMA win, “Jeep Wrangler is the most Mopar-modified vehicle, with nearly all Wrangler owners [98 percent] customizing their ride with at least one Mopar accessory or part. On average, U.S. customers spent more than $850 in personalizing their Jeep Wrangler vehicle, up from $700 the previous year.”
Those are some numbers, all right, but I have to ask: Has Jeep seen the amount of money put into Wranglers on this forum?
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
