YOUTH IS SERVED; SEMA's International Auto Salon.(News)(Specialty Equipment Market Association )

Byline: Natalie Neff, Mark Vaughn

This is the automotive equivalent of the Big Bang, an industry that has literally exploded on the scene in the last decade and enjoyed unheard of growth ever since, thriving even during this stagnating economy. We're talking about the aftermarket, but not the one with lumpy cams for 5.0-liter Fords or spray-on bedliners for Ram trucks. The "big thing'' is the sport compact market, where beauty reigns supreme and brawn-well, brawn gets attention if the tips earned running pies for Pizza Bob's are particularly good this month.

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) reports that the sport compact aftermarket has roughly doubled every two years for the last six, reaching $2.4 billion in retail sales in 2002. Compare that to just $295 million in 1997 and it's quickly apparent that there's big business to be had in the under-25 set and its love of silvered windows, flashy paint, slammed bodies and neon backlit spinner wheels.

Hence the need for a separate show dedicated to this booming segment. The International Auto Salon (nee Import Auto Salon), born in 1997, has seen similar growth, with nine OEMs participating this year in a once aftermarket- and import-only show. And this year the show moved uptown, from Long Beach to the Los Angeles Convention Center, which also hosts the more mainstream L.A. Auto Show. Because the IAS is the only SEMA show open to the public, extra display space has become a hotly sought-after commodity.

The ...