SEMA Sneak Peek 2016 – An Exclusive Chevrolet Event
One of my uncles who lives in Western Nebraska just bought a brand new Silverado to replace his old one that he bought brand new when I was a child. However, he didn’t get rid of the old Silverado- he still has it. When he first bought the old Silverado, he was so proud of it. It was the first vehicle that he and my aunt were able to buy brand new. As humble, hard-working Americans with three kids in an area and a time where you could buy two or three houses for today’s cost of a new, decently optioned full size truck, this was a big deal. He let my cousins, my sister, and I stop for ice cream while driving us home when he first got it- being the cool uncle that he is and as long as we promised to not spill any of it in his truck. Well, I was the one that accidentally spilled a drop of ice cream on his brand new bench seat in his brand new truck. Little eight-year old Karla felt so terrible, and honestly, I still feel bad about it today- the little ice cream stain is probably still there. It's possible that perhaps karma will have revenge on me if I end up taking his grandson out for ice cream when he is old enough.
This is only one of the countless Chevrolet related memories that I have, considering that I was born and raised in a “Bowtie” family in Gering, Nebraska. Keep in mind that this was in a time and an area where you were either a Chevrolet family, a Ford family, or a Dodge family, and imported vehicles weren’t really accepted, per se. I definitely don’t deny my roots and those that know me well enough know that I am still a die-hard Chevy fan, despite how many Hondas I now own and race.
Naturally, I was really excited when MotoIQ asked fellow writer, Clint Boisdeau, and myself to attend a General Motors private press event at one of my favorite tracks, Spring Mountain, before going to the 2016 SEMA show in Las Vegas. Clint and I were arguably the best pair to send to the event, since I am a huge Chevrolet person and Clint comes from a Ford family. Despite the irony of our conflicting backgrounds, we both take pride in maintaining an unbiased opinion to produce the most progressive, positive, and constructive review of the vehicles we drove. We are far from being set in our own ways, and we strive to maintain open mindsets to continue learning new things and improving skill sets every day.
