The elasticity in our skin is slowly returning after spending a week in the desert checking out the latest and greatest the aftermarket industry has to offer vehicles of all types. True, partying to end each day of the 2009 SEMA Show was probably not the best way to stay hydrated, but without the alcohol-addled debauchery, the annual trade event wouldn't be nearly as memorable.

In between stretches of binge drinking, SEMA went about its traditional routine; the first day of the show, Tuesday the 3rd, was replete with news and unveilings from the automakers.

Honda talked about its expanding support of grassroots racing and the MUGEN parts it plans to hawk for the 2010 Accord. Hyundai again passed out a handful of its Genesis Coupes to tuners, which were revealed at the show and included versions built by GReddy and Rhys Millen. Kia, GM, Toyota, and Manufacturer of Show Ford all made announcements as well.

Scion snagged the spotlight Wednesday morning, awarding the grand prize in its xB Tuner Challenge to Pete Colello and Mummbles Marketing for their Teal Blue Pearl masterpiece. The world also got to see for the first time the xB DJ 2.0 by Five Axis, a remix of the original xB DJ using Scion's newer box on wheels, and Jeremy Lookofsky's chopped Epic Cartel tC, the bookend to the builder's Open Air Collection.

In the afternoon, Formula DRIFT held its annual press conference, announcing it had secured at least seven rounds for next season (the same tracks as this season) and was sticking with the Top 32 format. Formula D is also working on an Asian championship that will consist of contests in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, and it's hoping to have another drifting world championship - like the Red Bull event in 2008 - at the end of 2010.

The drifting theme carried over into Thursday morning, as Hankook Tire officially unveiled its two-car attack for 2010, an R35 GT-R to be driven by Robbie Nishida and a brand new Camaro which will be helmed by Conrad Grunewald.

Another Camaro made news on Wednesday night when Neil Tjin was honored with the best GM vehicle award for the super-sexy Tjin Edition RoadShow Chevy Camaro SS. The blown muscle car boasts a custom two-tone matte and gloss green paint job, Air Lift suspension, 22- and 24-inch iForged Seneka wheel, and a host of additional mods. Kudos to Tjin!

In fact, we found it somewhat humorous that even though Ford was the Manufacturer of the Show, GM seemed to take center stage with its Camaro, ubiquitous throughout the Las Vegas Convention Center. In addition to the badass interpretations from Tjin and Hankook, we were taken by the Bomex iteration in GM's booth.

Other cars to put a smile on our face include Lexus' LFA supercar, making its North American debut at the SEMA Show, and Ken Block's TRAX STi, a rally car outfitted with treads to conquer snowdrifts and pretty much most terrain old man winter can foul up with the white stuff.

Alongside Block's snow tank in the Subaru booth was an insane VIP Legacy that surprised a lot of people. In the same vein as the JDM and endearingly ostentatious was the Vellfire in DUB Magazines outdoor booth, a Japanese market minivan with an exterior entirely clad in leather.

Our parts recon specialists rounded up the latest gear for Evos, the R35 GT-R, WRX, 370Z, Genesis Coupe and Honda's K-series plant. We were most into the advanced electronics, though, like PLX Device's iPhone data-logging app and AEM's X-WiFi tuning data system.

There was so much more to see and drool over - which is why it's always a good idea to back through UrbanRacer's coverage a second or third time to see what you missed.

We have still more from the 2009 SEMA Show on tap for the next few days. Keep checking back to see what's new from Las Vegas.

Visit UrbanRacer.Com's SEMA Site for more coverage and photos.