February 10 – 11, 2023:
Keystone BIG Show – Aurora, CO
Jay Lambert, Skip Scafidi, Matt Ross & Mike Sharp
Keystone’s annual Big Show found a new home in 2023. After many years in Grapevine, Texas, it was moved to the new Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Aurora, Colorado. There was a good assortment of vendors filling the new space. The bulk of the customers in attendance appeared to be truck accessory shops, but at the booths the team spoke to a fair amount of people regarding their speed parts as well. Ordering has moved completely over to electronic entry, which makes things simple for vendors but a bit harder to track. One other bi-product was that it was very easy for jobbers to price check their deals with a phone in their hand, and we noticed a few doing so during the event. Friday’s “happy hour” open bar time always draws a big crowd, and it was good to see such strong attendance in the new venue.
February 24-26, 2023:
Detroit Autorama – Detroit, MI
Jason, Bob, Jon, Adam, Tim, Cary, Michelle, Quin & Phyllis
With over 800 hots rods and custom cars as well as the prestigious Riddler Award, gearheads from all over the country (and Canada) headed to the Motor City for the 70th annual Detroit Autorama. This year we also had the honor of showcasing Michael’s class winning Nova in the Milan Dragway booth. Despite the snow, cold, and higher ticket prices, the turn out this year was still strong, and our team was on hand to discuss product, answer questions, and hand out literature.
February 24-26, 2023:
Lone Star Throwdown – Conroe, TX
Steve Bornowski
Featuring 2,000 registered vehicles and over 100 vendors, this show is a must for all truck enthusiasts! What started as a mini truck event, the Lone Star Throwdown has grown over the years to feature full-sized pickups, diesel haulers, classics, custom builds and much more. Each day of the show was welcomed with perfect Texas weather, which made for an exceptionally busy weekend. There was a ton of foot traffic in the booths with very specific build questions. As Steve noted, “the thing about this show over others we do is that these people know their products, you have to give them the correct information or they will call you out on it. It definitely keeps you on your toes!”