Well it was SEMA time again and we made our annual trek to Las Vegas Nevada to take in the biggest aftermarket parts show of the year — or the car parts circus, as I like to call it.

It seems the more I go to Vegas the less I like the feel of the city — or at least the “strip” aspect of the place. I think if it wasn’t for the show I would probably never go back — and no I am not a gambler so there is no draw there. I think that will be the same way for Jim at CAGE off-road who had his F-350 stolen from the Circus Circus parking lot — lucky for him there was an electrical bug in his truck that stopped the thieves from getting away with his truck and it was recovered in a Vegas neighborhood.

Next year we are going to drive down, pull a rig (chain it to the truck and the trailer deck) and take in the Hump & Bump event put on by the Vegas Valley 4-wheelers East of Las Vegas. Now in its 27th year! That sounds like a good reason to head to Vegas. www.vv4w.org

The two big vehicles this year were the Toyota FJ Cruiser and the new barely on the car lots Jeep JK or the TJ replacement now known as the Wrangler in Canada. It seems the feud between GM and Jeep over the use of the name Wrangler in Canada has come to an end. There were a lot of cool FJ products on display and as I predicted a lift to stuff 35’s under the new Toyota appeared.

I also said someone would make replace front fenders for the new Jeep and it happened but only in a prototype flare from Bushwacker — still they were way wide covering virtually any tire that manufacturers managed to fit under the all new Jeep.

When you consider most of the companies didn’t take possession of their new Wranglers until three weeks before the show there were a ton of cool products on the ones that I saw.

I was wondering why Jeep would go to the effort to offer six four door SUV’s in their line up — but when talking to Vinny at Tera Flex he said it was a perfect vehicle for those who loved the Cherokee — and I instantly though far more of the new 4 door Unlimited. When you consider the Liberty was a flop to the off-roader and definitely not a Cherokee replacement. The new JK Unlimited will be a great wheeler for those who need 4 doors and a good off-road 4x4 for the family or just more room or wheelbase for your project. As for JK’s one just dropped into Creative Motorsports here in Kelowna to get the four wheel independent big block treatment for snow wheeling — don’t worry I will keep on top of that project and if anyone wants the full running gear out of a JK with only 35km’s on it — give Todd at Aqualu a call — I am sure it is up for grabs.

It seems that it is every other year when there seems to be a boon of new products and this year was a bit of an off year. There were some cool introductions but a few we already knew were coming like the Warn Power Plant winch. The rest were mostly improvements and variations on current products already out.

Last issue on this page I addressed the idea of a private off-road park. I haven’t dropped the idea and since the last article I have had a lot of ideas brought up to me and a few wheelers step up to the plate. I have talked to my accountant (a wheeler) and my lawyer and have a better understanding of the groundwork needed to start a venture like what I suggested. By the time this magazine hits the newsstands I should have a web page up at www.can4x4.com/offroadpark ready with more detailed information. We may also be able to set up share prices below what I first mentioned — let’s keep at it and make this a reality!

Albert Vandervelde
Editor, 4WD Magazine