The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) National Championship Runoffs are returning to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, for 2024 and 2025.
Additionally, the preliminary 2024 qualifying and race schedule has also been released. Scheduled for September 27 to October 6, several practice days will precede qualifying sessions, which will begin on October 1. All 26 Runoffs classes will feature single-class races from October 4-6.
For more information or to see the full schedule, visit scca.com.
INDYCAR Adds to Medical Team
INDYCAR and Indiana University (IU) Health have appointed Angela Fiege, MD to director of medical services for INDY NXT by Firestone and added sports neurologist Bert Vargas, MD to the INDYCAR Medical Team.
Angela Fiege (left), Bert Vargas (middle) and Julia Vaizer (right).
IU Health is the official healthcare provider for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the INDYCAR Medical Team is comprised of IU Health physicians and nurses who are experts in motorsports medicine.
Fiege is a veteran critical care and emergency medicine physician at IU Health and is also a longtime motorsports physician. She has served in various roles in motorsports, including the INDYCAR Medical team since 2010 and the AMR motorsports physicians' team for NASCAR. She has also worked at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a track physician since 2007. She will continue her role as deputy director of medical services for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, alongside Medical Director Julia Vaizer, MD.
Vargas is the first neurologist dedicated to the INDYCAR Medical team, and his position is funded by Rev proceeds. Rev is the IU Health Foundation's annual fundraising event which takes place each May at IMS. Working in medical affairs for Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, Vargas is a sports neurologist and who has led the AMR neurotrauma team for NASCAR since 2017, serves as a member of the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee and is also a sideline unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant for the NFL.
The ABB FIA Formula E has appointed Beth Paretta, a distinguished leader in motorsports, as the new vice president of sporting, effective May 1, 2024.
Paretta will oversee all sporting and championship activities at Formula E, driving key stakeholder relationships and cultivating new business opportunities--working closely with the FIA, existing teams and manufacturers while attracting new participants to the series' ecosystem.
"Beth's extensive background in motorsport management and her commitment to innovation and inclusivity are invaluable assets for Formula E. As we advance into a new era with our GEN3 Evo cars and look towards the GEN4, Beth's leadership will be pivotal in steering our sporting operations to new heights and enhancing our global fan engagement," said Jeff Dodds, CEO of Formula E.
As owner of Paretta Autosport and a trailblazer for gender equality in racing, Paretta brings more than two decades of experience in the automotive and motorsport industries to the role.
Paretta has left a significant mark on the industry, leading the women-forward Paretta Autosport team to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and serving in executive roles at major automotive firms, including Volkswagen Group, Aston Martin Lagonda and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (now Stellantis). Her pioneering work also includes being the first woman to lead a performance brand and motorsport for a global automaker as director of marketing and operations for street and racing technology (SRT). In addition, Paretta co-founded the Women in Motorsports North America, the community of professionals devoted to supporting opportunities for women across all motorsports disciplines.
"I am thrilled to join Formula E, a pioneer at the forefront of motorsport innovation and sustainability. This role presents an exciting opportunity to influence the future of electric racing and extend the series' impact on global [electric vehicle] development and sustainable practices. I am particularly excited to continue my advocacy for gender diversity within the industry under Formula E's progressive platform."
BWT Alpine F1 Team has appointed David Sanchez as executive technical director.
In the newly created role, Sanchez will oversee the technical department based at the team's Enstone, England, headquarters and will have overall responsibility of the performance, engineering, and aerodynamic areas of the team.
He will manage the three key areas that fall under the recently announced three-pillared technical structure, with technical directors Ciaron Pilbeam (performance), Joe Burnell (engineering) and David Wheater (aerodynamics) all reporting to Sanchez.
Sanchez will report directly to Bruno Famin, team principal and VP, Alpine Motorsports.
Dayco Announces New Headquarters, Appointments to Leadership Positions
Dayco, an engine products and drive systems supplier, is relocating its corporate and North American headquarters to Birmingham, Michigan, and has made several appointments to strategic leadership positions.
Joining Dayco are Michael Widgren as chief financial and administrative officer, RJ Corning as chief human resources officer, Clifton Levack as chief supply officer, Audrey Harling as vice president and managing director of North American aftermarket and global strategy and planning and Thomas Jauch, vice president and managing director of global belts OE.
The new executive leadership team will work collaboratively with Craig Frohock, CEO, to spearhead Dayco's vision and ongoing transformation, the company said.
Bryan LaFlam Secures Ownership Stake in BIGSTUFF Total Power Management
Bryan LaFlam, a business development specialist and Top Sportsman racer, has acquired an ownership stake in BIGSTUFF Total Power Management, a Newark, California-based provider of electronic engine and powertrain controllers.
LaFlam will work alongside Ben Davidow, who acquired the company in 2021, as co-owner and director of operations. He will be responsible for enhancing the overall business, optimizing operations, streamlining manufacturing and strengthening the company's supply chain, the company said, while Davidow will continue to focus on product development and enhancing technical support.
Chevrolet has already unveiled three versions of the eight-generation Corvette, but one anticipated model yet to debut is the next Corvette ZR1. While the manufacturer has not confirmed any details, SEMA News sources recently caught new images of a convertible option for the upcoming ZR1.
The upcoming ZR1 is rumored to be the most powerful iteration in its history, according to insiders, and is expected to feature a twin-turbocharged V8 engine with higher output compared to the standard C8, as well as more aggressive bodywork and styling than the base model Corvette.
Insiders also suggest that the ZR1 will be equipped with a new, upgraded LT7 V8 engine, surpassing the current LT6 found in the C8 Z06. This new engine is rumored to be a 5.5L twin-turbocharged DOHC V8, making it the most powerful production V8 ever produced by General Motors. Power output is estimated to be between 800-850 hp, a significant increase over the 755 hp of the C8 ZR1.
The new ZR1 is also unlikely to feature a hybrid powertrain, according to sources, potentially making the C8 ZR1 the last powered solely by an internal combustion engine. Additionally, the performance model is likely to feature aerodynamic upgrades, including a front lip spoiler and rear wing.
Making Sense of the Latest Economic, Automotive and Consumer Trends That Will Impact Your Business This Year and Beyond
By Michael Imlay
Staying ahead of future trends is an essential element of any strategic business plan. Unfortunately, discerning those trends is not an exact science. Inevitably, a constant flow of unanticipated events and issues get thrown into the mix. However, solid data can help add clarity and insight to the business decisions we make.
Enter the 2024 edition of the “SEMA Future Trends Report.” As questions about economic conditions, automotive-industry trends and consumer sentiment continue to swirl, the report is designed to pinpoint the patterns most relevant to the specialty automotive sector and offer fact-based assessments for the future. This essential planning tool is now available and free to SEMA members at SEMA.org/research.
“The U.S. economy saw some volatility and uncertainty in 2023, and some of those questions remain into 2024,” said SEMA Director of Market Research Gavin Knapp. “Specialty-equipment sales grew at a slower pace for the year compared to the gains that we saw coming out of the pandemic. And although enthusiasts were still pushing to modify and accessorize their vehicles, rising inflation combined with sustained supply-chain issues kept expectations down.”
To get a sense of where things are headed, the report dives into relevant data in three principal areas: the health and outlook of the overall economy, automotive industrial and vehicle trends, and consumer dynamics and spending within the sector.
The Economic Outlook
The report discerns that, overall, there are many positives at play in the current U.S. economy, albeit tempered by a few negatives. The nation saw strength in employment and spending numbers along with slowing inflation coming into 2024. Expectations are that for the first half of the year the economy will continue a slow climb before ramping up in the later half of 2024 and into 2025.
Particularly on the employment front, the 2023 job market remained relatively strong and in line with 2022. Most companies maintained their staff levels, with certain sectors—such as tech—seeing scattered layoffs, and others—like healthcare and hospitality—seeing slight hiring boosts.
Specialty-equipment market sales continued to grow over the last year, though at a slightly slower pace than the pandemic-fueled increases of 2020 to 2021. The market size hit a new high of $51.8 billion in sales during 2022.
Amid this relative stability, however, U.S. job and pay growth progressively declined some from the previous year. Moving forward, the job market is expected to continue slowing toward the latter half of 2024, with economists predicting a minor uptick in unemployment claims.
The news on inflation is also generally positive. Fears of continued runaway price hikes have leveled off, and although they are still high, prices are expected to improve throughout 2024. Moreover, the economy’s already-healthy consumer spending figures will likely grow well into 2025.
Nevertheless, says Knapp, “Even though consumers are spending, there are still a lot of question marks out there. Consumer confidence is still pretty low and hasn’t rebounded. It’s weird to see because in a normal cycle after economic uncertainty it would normally spring back. Obviously, some of this [low consumer confidence] is not purely the economy—it factors in other things, like our political climate and the world picture. But, luckily, people are still spending money at the moment, with the only downside being that some of that spending is now going on credit.”
Inflation and price shifts in general are meaningfully down for many everyday products, but things like high rent weigh on consumers’ minds along with hefty new-car, vehicle insurance and auto maintenance and repair costs.
Consumer price increases are important, but inflation is also a significant factor in manufacturer and producer costs. Producer prices in Q3 2023 were only up 1.8% from 2022—an enormous drop down from the previous year’s peak at 11.1%.
Industry Trends and Opportunities
Despite their slower growth rate after their late- and post-pandemic surges, sales of specialty-equipment parts continued to climb over the last year, reaching $51.8 billion. This is a new peak for the industry, and despite some market uncertainties, the “SEMA Future Trends Report” forecasts a similar trendline for 2024 with an eventual return to the industry’s normal annual growth rate in 2025.
This is not to say there won’t be challenges in the near term. By definition, the aftermarket’s fortunes are closely tied to those of the OEMs, which have struggled on multiple fronts since the pandemic.
“The number-one vehicle trend to talk about is the COVID-related supply-chain disruptions and the drop in vehicle production and sales over the last few years,” observed Knapp. “Thankfully, that’s working its way out. Over the next few years, we’ll probably get back up to a maximum production of about 16.5 million new vehicles for the United States. That’s not quite the 17-million-plus production of a few years back, but we’re definitely getting back to having a lot more vehicles on the lot now, with virtually full recovery by 2026.”
Indeed, 2023 saw a significant normalization of supply chains with shipping and trucking rates also falling. Although consumer and producer prices remain elevated, the rate of price increases has also slowed. Plus, if inflation continues to slow, the Federal Reserve Board will likely begin easing interest rates later this year, further incentivizing consumers and boosting OEM sales.
Last year saw 15.4 million light-vehicle units sold, the highest number of new-vehicle sales since 2019. Current forecasts still see 2025 as the point where sales will eventually regain their ground to near-pre-pandemic levels.
As sales recover, Knapp predicts a changing mix of vehicles with fewer variations on dealer lots. “One of the things we’re seeing is a kind of consolidation of vehicle lines. Rather than offering you 100 different options on a vehicle, they’ll offer five option packages to pick from.”
Over the longer term, OEMs will also be shuffling up the overall vehicle landscape. Especially noteworthy: After appearing all-in for virtually full electrification of their fleets by 2035, auto manufacturers are once again re-thinking their strategies surrounding internal-combustion, hybrid and fully electric vehicles (EVs).
“There has been a lot of hype around EVs, and a lot of push for them,” said Knapp. “But we’re coming to a more realistic view of them, both in terms of consumer interest and in the actual ability and requirements to produce them.”
Most OEMs have previously stated a commitment to electrifying vehicle fleets over the next two decades, and the California Air Resource Board has also said it would require all new vehicles sold by 2035 to be fully electric or plug-in hybrids. However, there are serious challenges to full-scale electrification.
American media has been aflood lately with stories of automotive leaders questioning if government goals for electrification by 2035 are too ambitious. Consumers, apparently, share the sentiment. EVs have not exactly been flying off dealer lots. Recent studies have also shown that, for a number of reasons, many EV owners abandon the technology when it comes time to purchase another car. Nor is it expected that the infrastructure needed to support a nation of EVs will be in place by 2035.
“Supply chains for all of the heavy metals needed for batteries and other necessary components is just not there,” Knapp observed. “There’s also some question that while, yes, you may be eliminating tailpipe emissions, all that pollution is just going somewhere else—like into production.”
“Certainly, EVs are not going away. We’re going to see a lot more of them, just more slowly than predicted. For now, there’s likely to be a lot more push at the entry level to bring the prices down. But it’s also becoming clear that there’s going to be more of a push on hybrids, because OEMs still have to meet tightening CAFE [corporate average fuel economy] standards,” Knapp concluded.
And that’s not the only change affecting the vehicle space, added Knapp. “We’ve shared in other reports before that the OEMs are shifting away from sedans and coupes and moving toward crossovers [CUVs]—vehicles classified as light trucks. Right now, as we look at the Detroit Big Three, less than 10% of the vehicles they produce now are traditional cars. That ‘pseudo truck’ space will continue to be a huge thing for our industry that needs to be weighed and looked at going forward.”
SEMA’s Market Research department will also be closely following powertrain developments. “We’ve seen some interesting flip-flopping occurring,” explains Knapp. “Going back to the ’80s gas crisis, we saw engines get real small. Then as we came out of that in the ’90s and early ’00s, we went back to our big V8s and our big trucks. Now we’re seeing some shift back bringing the gas mileage up with tougher emission standards—fewer cylinders, but also smaller displacements and a rise of power adders like turbos and superchargers for extra power.”
Meanwhile, still other rapidly advancing vehicle technologies are presenting new challenges and opportunities for the aftermarket, most notably autonomous and “self-driving” features. While still a long way from becoming fully mainstream, such emerging tech is bringing a sense of disruption to the vehicle-modification and collision-repair sectors. Once common and relatively simple aftermarket mods, like lifts or new wheel/tire combos, now require more specialized knowledge of the effects on automatic emergency braking, lane keeping and other advanced vehicle safety systems. Even replacing a windshield can demand recalibration of vehicle sensors, cameras and other systems.
The Consumer Front
As stated before, consumers overall are still spending, but inflation and worries about the economy have definitely modified their vehicle buying habits. Part of this may be due to the impact of many automotive-related costs on their budgets. Auto financing, insurance rates and maintenance and repair costs have remained high, even as car prices have seemed to plateau. These costs combined with the improved quality of late-model vehicles have encouraged owners to hang onto their vehicles longer. What isn’t diminishing, however, is their love for their cars and trucks.
“One of the continuing trends we’re always looking at is the generational interaction with the automobile,” Knapp explained. “We hear a lot about young people being less enthusiastic about cars, but our research says that’s not true. More than half of the people who buy from our industry and are accessorizing are under age 40. From their 20s into their 30s—that’s a big sweet spot for us. Those consumers still tend to do more aggressive modifications. Yes, when you’re older, you may have more money, but you may not have the energy or inclination to crawl under your vehicle.”
In fact, even with today’s licensing restrictions delaying some teens from driving, on the whole Knapp has found there are more young drivers under age 25 than there were 30 years ago. (For that matter, at the opposite end of the scale, there are also more drivers in the 60–80 age group.)
According to Knapp, the young aftermarket consumer is changing demographically as well, with more females becoming enthusiasts. “The biggest emerging aftermarket opportunity relates to young people, but if you can attract the growing female audience, that’s 50% of the population right there. And we’re definitely seeing more companies doing that. Across all parts of our society now, personalization is huge, from phones to toys and other items. Once you get into a car, why wouldn’t you continue it there?”
The bottom line, said Knapp, is the industry is well positioned for near-term and future growth, despite the question marks raised by the present economy, industry challenges and changing nature of its consumers:
“There are nearly 300 million passenger cars on the road and currently 20%–25% of those are accessorized every year. And every year that number just keeps getting larger. That’s a big opportunity for us.”
Case Study: How SEMA Market Research Contributes to Sound Decisions
Innovation and entrepreneurial spirit drive the development of new specialty-automotive products. But given the investments in design, engineering, tooling and merchandising to bring a concept to market, there’s a certain element of risk.
With this in mind, Melanie Hellwig White, CEO of Visalia, California-based Hellwig Products, recently found herself in a quandary. As a manufacturer, White sees the introduction of new products as key to a company’s growth, but believes it takes more than a “gut feeling” to ensure a successful product unveiling.
“We were working on a new product,” explained White. “I had a specific customer pool in mind and the vehicle years I wanted to target. But was it worth a tooling investment? Manufacturers, especially smaller manufacturers like my company, don’t have a ton of resources. I don’t have a research team that can give me the information I need to launch a product. So I reached out to [SEMA Director of Market Research] Gavin Knapp.”
White knew that SEMA’s Market Research department offers a bevy of tools to members, from comprehensive annual market reports to niche-market studies and other relevant data—all free to SEMA members.
“Gavin has a wealth of knowledge,” said White. “He understood what I was trying to accomplish and pulled vehicles in operation (VIO) data so that I could see if I wanted to make a product in this space. I didn’t know that was the information I needed, but I knew Gavin would point me in the right direction. It allowed me to make an educated decision.”
White’s yearslong experience as a volunteer—including an 11-year leadership stint on the Light Truck & Accessory Alliance (LTAA) select committee (now the Truck & Off-Road Alliance/TORA), along with service on the SEMA Board of Directors—has expanded her perspective on SEMA’s many member benefits.
“SEMA is much more than the Show. The real benefit for me is knowing about all the resources that exist for SEMA members. Being able to tap into those resources is a huge benefit that not everyone knows about,” she said. —Ellen McKoy
Making Sense of the Latest Economic, Automotive and Consumer Trends That Will Impact Your Business This Year and Beyond
By Michael Imlay
Staying ahead of future trends is an essential element of any strategic business plan. Unfortunately, discerning those trends is not an exact science. Inevitably, a constant flow of unanticipated events and issues get thrown into the mix. However, solid data can help add clarity and insight to the business decisions we make.
Enter the 2024 edition of the “SEMA Future Trends Report.” As questions about economic conditions, automotive-industry trends and consumer sentiment continue to swirl, the report is designed to pinpoint the patterns most relevant to the specialty automotive sector and offer fact-based assessments for the future. This essential planning tool is now available and free to SEMA members at SEMA.org/research.
“The U.S. economy saw some volatility and uncertainty in 2023, and some of those questions remain into 2024,” said SEMA Director of Market Research Gavin Knapp. “Specialty-equipment sales grew at a slower pace for the year compared to the gains that we saw coming out of the pandemic. And although enthusiasts were still pushing to modify and accessorize their vehicles, rising inflation combined with sustained supply-chain issues kept expectations down.”
To get a sense of where things are headed, the report dives into relevant data in three principal areas: the health and outlook of the overall economy, automotive industrial and vehicle trends, and consumer dynamics and spending within the sector.
The Economic Outlook
The report discerns that, overall, there are many positives at play in the current U.S. economy, albeit tempered by a few negatives. The nation saw strength in employment and spending numbers along with slowing inflation coming into 2024. Expectations are that for the first half of the year the economy will continue a slow climb before ramping up in the later half of 2024 and into 2025.
Particularly on the employment front, the 2023 job market remained relatively strong and in line with 2022. Most companies maintained their staff levels, with certain sectors—such as tech—seeing scattered layoffs, and others—like healthcare and hospitality—seeing slight hiring boosts.
Specialty-equipment market sales continued to grow over the last year, though at a slightly slower pace than the pandemic-fueled increases of 2020 to 2021. The market size hit a new high of $51.8 billion in sales during 2022.
Amid this relative stability, however, U.S. job and pay growth progressively declined some from the previous year. Moving forward, the job market is expected to continue slowing toward the latter half of 2024, with economists predicting a minor uptick in unemployment claims.
The news on inflation is also generally positive. Fears of continued runaway price hikes have leveled off, and although they are still high, prices are expected to improve throughout 2024. Moreover, the economy’s already-healthy consumer spending figures will likely grow well into 2025.
Nevertheless, says Knapp, “Even though consumers are spending, there are still a lot of question marks out there. Consumer confidence is still pretty low and hasn’t rebounded. It’s weird to see because in a normal cycle after economic uncertainty it would normally spring back. Obviously, some of this [low consumer confidence] is not purely the economy—it factors in other things, like our political climate and the world picture. But, luckily, people are still spending money at the moment, with the only downside being that some of that spending is now going on credit.”
Inflation and price shifts in general are meaningfully down for many everyday products, but things like high rent weigh on consumers’ minds along with hefty new-car, vehicle insurance and auto maintenance and repair costs.
Consumer price increases are important, but inflation is also a significant factor in manufacturer and producer costs. Producer prices in Q3 2023 were only up 1.8% from 2022—an enormous drop down from the previous year’s peak at 11.1%.
Industry Trends and Opportunities
Despite their slower growth rate after their late- and post-pandemic surges, sales of specialty-equipment parts continued to climb over the last year, reaching $51.8 billion. This is a new peak for the industry, and despite some market uncertainties, the “SEMA Future Trends Report” forecasts a similar trendline for 2024 with an eventual return to the industry’s normal annual growth rate in 2025.
This is not to say there won’t be challenges in the near term. By definition, the aftermarket’s fortunes are closely tied to those of the OEMs, which have struggled on multiple fronts since the pandemic.
“The number-one vehicle trend to talk about is the COVID-related supply-chain disruptions and the drop in vehicle production and sales over the last few years,” observed Knapp. “Thankfully, that’s working its way out. Over the next few years, we’ll probably get back up to a maximum production of about 16.5 million new vehicles for the United States. That’s not quite the 17-million-plus production of a few years back, but we’re definitely getting back to having a lot more vehicles on the lot now, with virtually full recovery by 2026.”
Indeed, 2023 saw a significant normalization of supply chains with shipping and trucking rates also falling. Although consumer and producer prices remain elevated, the rate of price increases has also slowed. Plus, if inflation continues to slow, the Federal Reserve Board will likely begin easing interest rates later this year, further incentivizing consumers and boosting OEM sales.
Last year saw 15.4 million light-vehicle units sold, the highest number of new-vehicle sales since 2019. Current forecasts still see 2025 as the point where sales will eventually regain their ground to near-pre-pandemic levels.
As sales recover, Knapp predicts a changing mix of vehicles with fewer variations on dealer lots. “One of the things we’re seeing is a kind of consolidation of vehicle lines. Rather than offering you 100 different options on a vehicle, they’ll offer five option packages to pick from.”
Over the longer term, OEMs will also be shuffling up the overall vehicle landscape. Especially noteworthy: After appearing all-in for virtually full electrification of their fleets by 2035, auto manufacturers are once again re-thinking their strategies surrounding internal-combustion, hybrid and fully electric vehicles (EVs).
“There has been a lot of hype around EVs, and a lot of push for them,” said Knapp. “But we’re coming to a more realistic view of them, both in terms of consumer interest and in the actual ability and requirements to produce them.”
Most OEMs have previously stated a commitment to electrifying vehicle fleets over the next two decades, and the California Air Resource Board has also said it would require all new vehicles sold by 2035 to be fully electric or plug-in hybrids. However, there are serious challenges to full-scale electrification.
American media has been aflood lately with stories of automotive leaders questioning if government goals for electrification by 2035 are too ambitious. Consumers, apparently, share the sentiment. EVs have not exactly been flying off dealer lots. Recent studies have also shown that, for a number of reasons, many EV owners abandon the technology when it comes time to purchase another car. Nor is it expected that the infrastructure needed to support a nation of EVs will be in place by 2035.
“Supply chains for all of the heavy metals needed for batteries and other necessary components is just not there,” Knapp observed. “There’s also some question that while, yes, you may be eliminating tailpipe emissions, all that pollution is just going somewhere else—like into production.”
“Certainly, EVs are not going away. We’re going to see a lot more of them, just more slowly than predicted. For now, there’s likely to be a lot more push at the entry level to bring the prices down. But it’s also becoming clear that there’s going to be more of a push on hybrids, because OEMs still have to meet tightening CAFE [corporate average fuel economy] standards,” Knapp concluded.
And that’s not the only change affecting the vehicle space, added Knapp. “We’ve shared in other reports before that the OEMs are shifting away from sedans and coupes and moving toward crossovers [CUVs]—vehicles classified as light trucks. Right now, as we look at the Detroit Big Three, less than 10% of the vehicles they produce now are traditional cars. That ‘pseudo truck’ space will continue to be a huge thing for our industry that needs to be weighed and looked at going forward.”
SEMA’s Market Research department will also be closely following powertrain developments. “We’ve seen some interesting flip-flopping occurring,” explains Knapp. “Going back to the ’80s gas crisis, we saw engines get real small. Then as we came out of that in the ’90s and early ’00s, we went back to our big V8s and our big trucks. Now we’re seeing some shift back bringing the gas mileage up with tougher emission standards—fewer cylinders, but also smaller displacements and a rise of power adders like turbos and superchargers for extra power.”
Meanwhile, still other rapidly advancing vehicle technologies are presenting new challenges and opportunities for the aftermarket, most notably autonomous and “self-driving” features. While still a long way from becoming fully mainstream, such emerging tech is bringing a sense of disruption to the vehicle-modification and collision-repair sectors. Once common and relatively simple aftermarket mods, like lifts or new wheel/tire combos, now require more specialized knowledge of the effects on automatic emergency braking, lane keeping and other advanced vehicle safety systems. Even replacing a windshield can demand recalibration of vehicle sensors, cameras and other systems.
The Consumer Front
As stated before, consumers overall are still spending, but inflation and worries about the economy have definitely modified their vehicle buying habits. Part of this may be due to the impact of many automotive-related costs on their budgets. Auto financing, insurance rates and maintenance and repair costs have remained high, even as car prices have seemed to plateau. These costs combined with the improved quality of late-model vehicles have encouraged owners to hang onto their vehicles longer. What isn’t diminishing, however, is their love for their cars and trucks.
“One of the continuing trends we’re always looking at is the generational interaction with the automobile,” Knapp explained. “We hear a lot about young people being less enthusiastic about cars, but our research says that’s not true. More than half of the people who buy from our industry and are accessorizing are under age 40. From their 20s into their 30s—that’s a big sweet spot for us. Those consumers still tend to do more aggressive modifications. Yes, when you’re older, you may have more money, but you may not have the energy or inclination to crawl under your vehicle.”
In fact, even with today’s licensing restrictions delaying some teens from driving, on the whole Knapp has found there are more young drivers under age 25 than there were 30 years ago. (For that matter, at the opposite end of the scale, there are also more drivers in the 60–80 age group.)
According to Knapp, the young aftermarket consumer is changing demographically as well, with more females becoming enthusiasts. “The biggest emerging aftermarket opportunity relates to young people, but if you can attract the growing female audience, that’s 50% of the population right there. And we’re definitely seeing more companies doing that. Across all parts of our society now, personalization is huge, from phones to toys and other items. Once you get into a car, why wouldn’t you continue it there?”
The bottom line, said Knapp, is the industry is well positioned for near-term and future growth, despite the question marks raised by the present economy, industry challenges and changing nature of its consumers:
“There are nearly 300 million passenger cars on the road and currently 20%–25% of those are accessorized every year. And every year that number just keeps getting larger. That’s a big opportunity for us.”
Case Study: How SEMA Market Research Contributes to Sound Decisions
Innovation and entrepreneurial spirit drive the development of new specialty-automotive products. But given the investments in design, engineering, tooling and merchandising to bring a concept to market, there’s a certain element of risk.
With this in mind, Melanie Hellwig White, CEO of Visalia, California-based Hellwig Products, recently found herself in a quandary. As a manufacturer, White sees the introduction of new products as key to a company’s growth, but believes it takes more than a “gut feeling” to ensure a successful product unveiling.
“We were working on a new product,” explained White. “I had a specific customer pool in mind and the vehicle years I wanted to target. But was it worth a tooling investment? Manufacturers, especially smaller manufacturers like my company, don’t have a ton of resources. I don’t have a research team that can give me the information I need to launch a product. So I reached out to [SEMA Director of Market Research] Gavin Knapp.”
White knew that SEMA’s Market Research department offers a bevy of tools to members, from comprehensive annual market reports to niche-market studies and other relevant data—all free to SEMA members.
“Gavin has a wealth of knowledge,” said White. “He understood what I was trying to accomplish and pulled vehicles in operation (VIO) data so that I could see if I wanted to make a product in this space. I didn’t know that was the information I needed, but I knew Gavin would point me in the right direction. It allowed me to make an educated decision.”
White’s yearslong experience as a volunteer—including an 11-year leadership stint on the Light Truck & Accessory Alliance (LTAA) select committee (now the Truck & Off-Road Alliance/TORA), along with service on the SEMA Board of Directors—has expanded her perspective on SEMA’s many member benefits.
“SEMA is much more than the Show. The real benefit for me is knowing about all the resources that exist for SEMA members. Being able to tap into those resources is a huge benefit that not everyone knows about,” she said. —Ellen McKoy
Making Sense of the Latest Economic, Automotive and Consumer Trends That Will Impact Your Business This Year and Beyond
By Michael Imlay
Staying ahead of future trends is an essential element of any strategic business plan. Unfortunately, discerning those trends is not an exact science. Inevitably, a constant flow of unanticipated events and issues get thrown into the mix. However, solid data can help add clarity and insight to the business decisions we make.
Enter the 2024 edition of the “SEMA Future Trends Report.” As questions about economic conditions, automotive-industry trends and consumer sentiment continue to swirl, the report is designed to pinpoint the patterns most relevant to the specialty automotive sector and offer fact-based assessments for the future. This essential planning tool is now available and free to SEMA members at SEMA.org/research.
“The U.S. economy saw some volatility and uncertainty in 2023, and some of those questions remain into 2024,” said SEMA Director of Market Research Gavin Knapp. “Specialty-equipment sales grew at a slower pace for the year compared to the gains that we saw coming out of the pandemic. And although enthusiasts were still pushing to modify and accessorize their vehicles, rising inflation combined with sustained supply-chain issues kept expectations down.”
To get a sense of where things are headed, the report dives into relevant data in three principal areas: the health and outlook of the overall economy, automotive industrial and vehicle trends, and consumer dynamics and spending within the sector.
The Economic Outlook
The report discerns that, overall, there are many positives at play in the current U.S. economy, albeit tempered by a few negatives. The nation saw strength in employment and spending numbers along with slowing inflation coming into 2024. Expectations are that for the first half of the year the economy will continue a slow climb before ramping up in the later half of 2024 and into 2025.
Particularly on the employment front, the 2023 job market remained relatively strong and in line with 2022. Most companies maintained their staff levels, with certain sectors—such as tech—seeing scattered layoffs, and others—like healthcare and hospitality—seeing slight hiring boosts.
Specialty-equipment market sales continued to grow over the last year, though at a slightly slower pace than the pandemic-fueled increases of 2020 to 2021. The market size hit a new high of $51.8 billion in sales during 2022.
Amid this relative stability, however, U.S. job and pay growth progressively declined some from the previous year. Moving forward, the job market is expected to continue slowing toward the latter half of 2024, with economists predicting a minor uptick in unemployment claims.
The news on inflation is also generally positive. Fears of continued runaway price hikes have leveled off, and although they are still high, prices are expected to improve throughout 2024. Moreover, the economy’s already-healthy consumer spending figures will likely grow well into 2025.
Nevertheless, says Knapp, “Even though consumers are spending, there are still a lot of question marks out there. Consumer confidence is still pretty low and hasn’t rebounded. It’s weird to see because in a normal cycle after economic uncertainty it would normally spring back. Obviously, some of this [low consumer confidence] is not purely the economy—it factors in other things, like our political climate and the world picture. But, luckily, people are still spending money at the moment, with the only downside being that some of that spending is now going on credit.”
Inflation and price shifts in general are meaningfully down for many everyday products, but things like high rent weigh on consumers’ minds along with hefty new-car, vehicle insurance and auto maintenance and repair costs.
Consumer price increases are important, but inflation is also a significant factor in manufacturer and producer costs. Producer prices in Q3 2023 were only up 1.8% from 2022—an enormous drop down from the previous year’s peak at 11.1%.
Industry Trends and Opportunities
Despite their slower growth rate after their late- and post-pandemic surges, sales of specialty-equipment parts continued to climb over the last year, reaching $51.8 billion. This is a new peak for the industry, and despite some market uncertainties, the “SEMA Future Trends Report” forecasts a similar trendline for 2024 with an eventual return to the industry’s normal annual growth rate in 2025.
This is not to say there won’t be challenges in the near term. By definition, the aftermarket’s fortunes are closely tied to those of the OEMs, which have struggled on multiple fronts since the pandemic.
“The number-one vehicle trend to talk about is the COVID-related supply-chain disruptions and the drop in vehicle production and sales over the last few years,” observed Knapp. “Thankfully, that’s working its way out. Over the next few years, we’ll probably get back up to a maximum production of about 16.5 million new vehicles for the United States. That’s not quite the 17-million-plus production of a few years back, but we’re definitely getting back to having a lot more vehicles on the lot now, with virtually full recovery by 2026.”
Indeed, 2023 saw a significant normalization of supply chains with shipping and trucking rates also falling. Although consumer and producer prices remain elevated, the rate of price increases has also slowed. Plus, if inflation continues to slow, the Federal Reserve Board will likely begin easing interest rates later this year, further incentivizing consumers and boosting OEM sales.
Last year saw 15.4 million light-vehicle units sold, the highest number of new-vehicle sales since 2019. Current forecasts still see 2025 as the point where sales will eventually regain their ground to near-pre-pandemic levels.
As sales recover, Knapp predicts a changing mix of vehicles with fewer variations on dealer lots. “One of the things we’re seeing is a kind of consolidation of vehicle lines. Rather than offering you 100 different options on a vehicle, they’ll offer five option packages to pick from.”
Over the longer term, OEMs will also be shuffling up the overall vehicle landscape. Especially noteworthy: After appearing all-in for virtually full electrification of their fleets by 2035, auto manufacturers are once again re-thinking their strategies surrounding internal-combustion, hybrid and fully electric vehicles (EVs).
“There has been a lot of hype around EVs, and a lot of push for them,” said Knapp. “But we’re coming to a more realistic view of them, both in terms of consumer interest and in the actual ability and requirements to produce them.”
Most OEMs have previously stated a commitment to electrifying vehicle fleets over the next two decades, and the California Air Resource Board has also said it would require all new vehicles sold by 2035 to be fully electric or plug-in hybrids. However, there are serious challenges to full-scale electrification.
American media has been aflood lately with stories of automotive leaders questioning if government goals for electrification by 2035 are too ambitious. Consumers, apparently, share the sentiment. EVs have not exactly been flying off dealer lots. Recent studies have also shown that, for a number of reasons, many EV owners abandon the technology when it comes time to purchase another car. Nor is it expected that the infrastructure needed to support a nation of EVs will be in place by 2035.
“Supply chains for all of the heavy metals needed for batteries and other necessary components is just not there,” Knapp observed. “There’s also some question that while, yes, you may be eliminating tailpipe emissions, all that pollution is just going somewhere else—like into production.”
“Certainly, EVs are not going away. We’re going to see a lot more of them, just more slowly than predicted. For now, there’s likely to be a lot more push at the entry level to bring the prices down. But it’s also becoming clear that there’s going to be more of a push on hybrids, because OEMs still have to meet tightening CAFE [corporate average fuel economy] standards,” Knapp concluded.
And that’s not the only change affecting the vehicle space, added Knapp. “We’ve shared in other reports before that the OEMs are shifting away from sedans and coupes and moving toward crossovers [CUVs]—vehicles classified as light trucks. Right now, as we look at the Detroit Big Three, less than 10% of the vehicles they produce now are traditional cars. That ‘pseudo truck’ space will continue to be a huge thing for our industry that needs to be weighed and looked at going forward.”
SEMA’s Market Research department will also be closely following powertrain developments. “We’ve seen some interesting flip-flopping occurring,” explains Knapp. “Going back to the ’80s gas crisis, we saw engines get real small. Then as we came out of that in the ’90s and early ’00s, we went back to our big V8s and our big trucks. Now we’re seeing some shift back bringing the gas mileage up with tougher emission standards—fewer cylinders, but also smaller displacements and a rise of power adders like turbos and superchargers for extra power.”
Meanwhile, still other rapidly advancing vehicle technologies are presenting new challenges and opportunities for the aftermarket, most notably autonomous and “self-driving” features. While still a long way from becoming fully mainstream, such emerging tech is bringing a sense of disruption to the vehicle-modification and collision-repair sectors. Once common and relatively simple aftermarket mods, like lifts or new wheel/tire combos, now require more specialized knowledge of the effects on automatic emergency braking, lane keeping and other advanced vehicle safety systems. Even replacing a windshield can demand recalibration of vehicle sensors, cameras and other systems.
The Consumer Front
As stated before, consumers overall are still spending, but inflation and worries about the economy have definitely modified their vehicle buying habits. Part of this may be due to the impact of many automotive-related costs on their budgets. Auto financing, insurance rates and maintenance and repair costs have remained high, even as car prices have seemed to plateau. These costs combined with the improved quality of late-model vehicles have encouraged owners to hang onto their vehicles longer. What isn’t diminishing, however, is their love for their cars and trucks.
“One of the continuing trends we’re always looking at is the generational interaction with the automobile,” Knapp explained. “We hear a lot about young people being less enthusiastic about cars, but our research says that’s not true. More than half of the people who buy from our industry and are accessorizing are under age 40. From their 20s into their 30s—that’s a big sweet spot for us. Those consumers still tend to do more aggressive modifications. Yes, when you’re older, you may have more money, but you may not have the energy or inclination to crawl under your vehicle.”
In fact, even with today’s licensing restrictions delaying some teens from driving, on the whole Knapp has found there are more young drivers under age 25 than there were 30 years ago. (For that matter, at the opposite end of the scale, there are also more drivers in the 60–80 age group.)
According to Knapp, the young aftermarket consumer is changing demographically as well, with more females becoming enthusiasts. “The biggest emerging aftermarket opportunity relates to young people, but if you can attract the growing female audience, that’s 50% of the population right there. And we’re definitely seeing more companies doing that. Across all parts of our society now, personalization is huge, from phones to toys and other items. Once you get into a car, why wouldn’t you continue it there?”
The bottom line, said Knapp, is the industry is well positioned for near-term and future growth, despite the question marks raised by the present economy, industry challenges and changing nature of its consumers:
“There are nearly 300 million passenger cars on the road and currently 20%–25% of those are accessorized every year. And every year that number just keeps getting larger. That’s a big opportunity for us.”
Case Study: How SEMA Market Research Contributes to Sound Decisions
Innovation and entrepreneurial spirit drive the development of new specialty-automotive products. But given the investments in design, engineering, tooling and merchandising to bring a concept to market, there’s a certain element of risk.
With this in mind, Melanie Hellwig White, CEO of Visalia, California-based Hellwig Products, recently found herself in a quandary. As a manufacturer, White sees the introduction of new products as key to a company’s growth, but believes it takes more than a “gut feeling” to ensure a successful product unveiling.
“We were working on a new product,” explained White. “I had a specific customer pool in mind and the vehicle years I wanted to target. But was it worth a tooling investment? Manufacturers, especially smaller manufacturers like my company, don’t have a ton of resources. I don’t have a research team that can give me the information I need to launch a product. So I reached out to [SEMA Director of Market Research] Gavin Knapp.”
White knew that SEMA’s Market Research department offers a bevy of tools to members, from comprehensive annual market reports to niche-market studies and other relevant data—all free to SEMA members.
“Gavin has a wealth of knowledge,” said White. “He understood what I was trying to accomplish and pulled vehicles in operation (VIO) data so that I could see if I wanted to make a product in this space. I didn’t know that was the information I needed, but I knew Gavin would point me in the right direction. It allowed me to make an educated decision.”
White’s yearslong experience as a volunteer—including an 11-year leadership stint on the Light Truck & Accessory Alliance (LTAA) select committee (now the Truck & Off-Road Alliance/TORA), along with service on the SEMA Board of Directors—has expanded her perspective on SEMA’s many member benefits.
“SEMA is much more than the Show. The real benefit for me is knowing about all the resources that exist for SEMA members. Being able to tap into those resources is a huge benefit that not everyone knows about,” she said. —Ellen McKoy
Recently I had the opportunity to address a large professional gathering of specialty-automotive business leaders.
I began by reading a sobering editorial from an industry publication. It was titled, “Does Our Industry Have Just 5 Yrs. Left?”
Its author opened by asserting that we may well wake up some morning a few years hence to find that, except for racers, there are no customers left to buy our industry’s performance products.
“We also may wake up and discover that a future generation of young people aren’t all that interested in the automobile because the glamour and excitement of it is gone—legislated away by safety and clean-air bills…,” he continued. “You, yourself might be driving a ‘sensibly styled’ and compact-sized sedan, capable of [a] speed no greater than 85 miles per hour.” The possibility isn’t that remote, the writer warned. Regulation presents a clear and present threat to our shared passion and livelihood.
You could’ve heard a pin drop. The article clearly resonated with the industry professionals I was addressing. They felt the danger.
But that silence broke into applause when I revealed that the editorial was from High Performance News & Products, a forerunner to this magazine, back in 1971.
My point is, we’ve been here before. In the ’70s, that editorial’s author, Robert S. Cusick, proposed several strategies to confront the crisis. First, a concerted effort through a full-time Washington, D.C., office to protect consumers and the industry from onerous legislation. Second, a voluntary industry testing program through an independent lab to demonstrate emissions compliance. And third, he urged developing a forum for industry leaders to gather regularly to solve shared problems and issues, including advancing technologies.
Does this sound familiar? Today we can proudly say the industry has done all this and more. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of SEMA founders and industry advocates like former SEMA General Council Russ Deane, Hot Rod Editor Jim McFarland and others, we successfully challenged regulatory overreach in the ’70s, and have continued the battle ever since. We ultimately established the SEMA Garage program in 2012 to help members achieve emissions compliance (see p. 18) and harness emerging tech to speed their products to market. And through SEMA’s various councils, networks and forums, we continue to solve shared problems, set industry standards and educate our members on critical topics.
We haven’t slowed our efforts, either. Today we are pushing to forge new relationships in Washington, D.C., state legislatures and local governments—winning new allies to our cause. We are rallying our consumers to join the fight. We have greatly expanded our SEMA Garage programs to stay abreast of emerging technologies and are taking our seat at the table to ensure we aren’t locked out of OEM platforms. And this is only a quick rundown of our efforts to protect our industry and advance car culture.
Our industry overcame the challenges of the ’70s and is stronger today than ever. Now it’s up to our generation to again come together, roll up our sleeves and create an even greater future.
By Drew Hardin
Photography Courtesy Petersen Publishing Company Archive
A.J. Foyt in the winner’s circle. His Watson/Offy roadster “outlasted or outran newer, lighter cars with more modern engines and suspension systems,” wrote Brock. “But the message was clear. A front engine roadster is definitely not going to be popular next year at Indy.”
On February 9, 1964, the Beatles made their first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” a performance that kicked off not just Beatlemania in the United States but what was then called the British Invasion. Suddenly, shaggy British music groups became the in, groovy thing. Pop music would never be the same.
Nearly a year earlier, another British invasion of sorts took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus Cars, brought two Ford-powered Lotus 29 race cars to the Brickyard for the 1963 500. One of them, driven by Jimmy Clark, finished second. Indy car racing would never be the same.
This was the era when competition at Indianapolis was dominated by Indy Roadsters. Built by Kurtis-Kraft, A.J. Watson, Eddie Kuzma and others, they were constructed from tube space frames clad with lightweight bodywork, fitted with beam axles front and rear, and were often powered by four-cylinder, dual-overhead-cam Offenhauser engines. By comparison, Chapman’s Lotus was low to the ground and tubular shaped, its engine located behind the driver.
The Lotus wasn’t the first to compete at Indy with this drivetrain layout. It wasn’t even the first British Indy competitor with that configuration. Jack Brabham drove a Formula 1-derived Cooper-Climax T54 to a ninth-place finish at the 1961 500. But the Lotus was the first to utilize Chapman’s innovative monocoque construction, in which “body and chassis become one with a stressed skin riveted overall,” wrote Hot Rod magazine’s Eric Rickman in the June 1963 issue.
It also marked the first time “that an English car builder and an American factory collaborated to run at an event of this nature,” Rickman said. Ford supplied engines to Chapman—“an all-aluminum job based on the current Fairlane V8 engine”—with four Weber down-draft carburetors ingesting gasoline, not the methanol race fuel favored by other competitors. “Ford will admit to horsepower in excess of 350 at 6,000 to 8,000 rpm,” Rickman said. “The grapevine says it is as high as 370 horses on gas.”
The dramatic differences between Colin Chapman’s Lotus/Ford and the then-dominant Indy Roadsters are evident in this photo showing Jim Clark’s Lotus ahead of Lloyd Ruby’s Watson/Offy at the 1963 Indianapolis 500.
An Offenhauser, Rickman noted, “puts out about 400 horses on alky, so it would appear that the ‘new breed’ is giving away a lot in the horsepower department.” Not so, he said. “They get it all back as free horsepower in greatly reduced frontal area and a much lower weight.”
Proof of concept came during testing in March 1963, when Dan Gurney turned laps in the Lotus/Ford at more than 150 mph—about the same speed Parnelli Jones hit to earn the pole position for the 1962 race. Gurney was a little slower in qualifying: 149.019, putting him 12th on the grid. Slightly faster was his teammate, Clark, at 149.75 mph, good for fifth on the grid. Pole position was again won by Jones, qualifying his Watson-built, Offy-powered “Old Calhoun” roadster at 151.153 mph.
For 1964, Ford developed a dual-overhead-cam racing engine. It produced 475 hp on alcohol—used in qualifying—and 425 on gas for the race. The switch was made to improve fuel economy and durability.
Not surprisingly, this “new breed” of Indy racer generated controversy prior to the race. Some of it had to do with its tire and wheel sizes. Traditional Indy Roadsters used 16-in. wheels in front and 18s in back, while the Lotuses had 15-in. wheels at all four corners. Firestone “widened the smaller tires to regain track contact area,” wrote Ray Brock in his Indy 500 report for the August 1963 Hot Rod, which seemed to some in the “Offy camp” to be an unfair advantage. Despite demands by some teams, Firestone refused to withdraw the tires, stating they offered no advantage. Several drivers tested them and did not improve their speeds, but Jones went faster.
“The truth of the matter is that Parnelli is such a superior driver on the Indy track that he probably could have done the same speed on tractor tires,” Brock said. Yet Jones’ 153-mph lap speeds “opened the floodgates,” forcing Firestone and Halibrand to quickly ramp up production of the in-demand gear.
Stripped of some of its bodywork, the Lotus reveals its monocoque construction, fully independent suspension, aluminum Ford V8 and narrow driver’s compartment. “Quarters will be a bit cramped for 500 miles,” wrote Eric Rickman.
Jones dominated the 1963 Indy 500, leading 167 of the race’s 200 laps. Not long after his first pit stop, “track loudspeakers announced that Clark and Gurney were running one-two in the Lotus/Fords,” Brock reported. “A mighty roar went up from the spectators, and it was obvious that the sentimental favorites of the crowd were the small, low-slung cars with the high-pitched exhaust.”
Clark did lead the race for 28 laps—the most after Jones—and at one point late in the race came close to catching him but got caught in traffic during a yellow flag period. He finished 33 sec. behind Jones. Gurney finished seventh and likely would have done better, but after smacking the wall on the first day of qualifying, he had to leave Indianapolis for the Formula 1 race in Monaco and never had adequate time to sort out the Lotus backup car when he returned.
Colin Chapman (left) and Jim Clark strategize for the 1963 race.By 1964 the tide was turning, and rear-engine cars—two of them Ford/Lotus entries—earned the Indy 500 grid’s front row.
The impact Chapman and his Lotus/Fords had on Indianapolis racing became obvious when teams gathered at the Brickyard for the 1964 race. As Brock reported in Hot Rod’s August 1964 issue, “Ford-powered cars grabbed all three front-row starting positions.” Two of them were Lotuses, one was a Watson-built rear-engine car. Those performances pushed “America’s two best drivers, Parnelli Jones and A.J. Foyt,” down to fourth and fifth positions in their front-engine Offy roadsters. Clark’s pole-winning 158.828-mph qualifying speed was more than 7.5 mph faster than Jones’ pole winner the year before. At the end of qualifying, a full dozen of the 33-car field were rear-engine entries, seven with Ford engines, five with Offenhausers.
Parnelli Jones won the 1963 Indy 500 driving the “Old Calhoun” roadster, though the win was controversial: He was leaking oil near the end of the race but wasn’t black-flagged. Some wondered if that was done to keep Clark’s Lotus from winning.
Several factors contributed to the jump in speeds between 1963 and 1964, Brock noted. The switch to lightweight chassis with independent suspensions played a role, as did Ford’s new engine, which produced 475 hp on alcohol fuel. But the single most important contributor was tire technology, he said. Firestone, which for years “had the Indy race to themselves,” suddenly had competition from Goodyear, Sears-Roebuck’s Allstate and Dunlop. Firestone’s Racing Division initiated an extensive off-season program to improve its Indianapolis tires; and by race day, almost all the entries were running Firestones, save for the Allstates on Mickey Thompson’s cars and the Dunlops on the Lotuses.
Indy 500 veteran Rodger Ward, driving a Watson-built, Ford-powered car, qualified third on the grid and finished in second place. “Each time he seemed close to catching [front-runner A.J.] Foyt, he would have to pit again for fuel,” Brock wrote. Choosing to race using alcohol gave him more power but only about a third of the fuel mileage of race gas.
“Experts on the Indy scene” questioned Chapman’s choice, as the Dunlops showed a tendency to “chunk out” pieces of tread during practice, Brock reported. It would prove a fateful decision, as Clark’s rear suspension collapsed on the 47th lap, breakage caused by an imbalance of the left rear tire due to its losing almost a third of its tread. Gurney’s day wasn’t much better. An unscheduled pit stop early in the race slowed his pace; and when tire damage was noticed during his scheduled pit stop, Chapman decided to bring him in.
A pit lane fire sidelined Jones, clearing the way for Foyt to win the race. It would be the final time an Indy Roadster won Indy.
“The picture is now clear,” Brock wrote. “Rear-engined cars will dominate future Indy 500s. The roadster is through, but it’s still the champion.” A year later, Clark and Chapman celebrated in Indy’s winner’s circle after a lopsided performance that saw Clark’s Lotus/Ford lead all but 10 laps of the 1965 race.
One of the great advantages in marketing on social networks is the collection of social-media management services currently available to help you.
For the careful buyer, these services offer businesses a suite of effective tools to handle and assess their social-media marketing campaigns across a wide array of networks.
Says Jamie Gilpin, chief marketing officer of Sprout Social: “By giving every department access to the latest social intelligence, marketers can lead their business strategies while
ensuring their organization stays ahead of the competition.”
Generally, best-of-breed social-media management services enable you to auto-post to all the social-network services you promote on, check on what your competition is up to and give you in-depth analysis on your promotional goals.
These services also include top-notch analytics that allow you to trace all the data associated with your posts, get a precise look at the size and demographics of every social-media hangout you’re on, and see metrics on how your audience is engaging with your posts.
Plus, these analytics allow you to aggregate and compare your relative performance on every social network where you have a presence—further enabling you to get a much better idea of where you’re hitting and where you’re missing.
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While marketers have been keen on promoting heavily on social media for some time now, new polls indicate that the competition for attention on digital will be getting even more ferocious in coming years.
For example Sprout Social, a social-media management service, recently reported that a May 2023 Harris poll found that 80% of business leaders will
be increasing their marketing
budgets for social media during the next three years. (See “The 2023 State of Social Media:
AI & Data Take Center Stage,” at Sproutsocial.com.)
And 96% agreed that their social-media presence is integral in their efforts to capture customer sentiment and feedback.
Meanwhile, a 2023 Sprout Social study found that 53% of consumers say they’re using social media even more than they did during the COVID epidemic, when a great percentage of the population was shuttered-in-place.
A good way to get a bead on state-of-the-art social-media management services is to take a close look at the top five providers in the genre identified by G2.com, a highly respected software rating service.
Essentially, G2.com has a reputation for soliciting and posting authentic reviews for actual customers and then carefully analyzing those reviews to deliver its take on the top software services in any specific genre.
For 2023, G2.com found that in addition to providing a wide array of posting and analytical services, some of the most popular providers are also attempting to distinguish themselves in the market by offering unique services.
Sprout Social, for example, offers a complete module for managing contacts and social-media campaigns with professional social-media influencers, as well as everyday consumers who post reviews, comments, evaluations and demos online regarding products and services.
And Reputation weighs in with a heavy emphasis on requesting, triggering, collecting and responding to reviews, in addition to its standard social-media management and analysis tools.
Meanwhile, SEMRush, which started out as a tool devoted to optimizing digital content for high returns on the search engine optimization (SEO), unsurprisingly has retained that primary focus as it has expanded its service to include more standard social-media management and analysis.
That said, here’s a look at the top five social-media management services as judged by actual business users on G2.com—services you can use as a benchmark to compare and contrast other services currently vying for your business:
• Zoho Social, 4.6/5 Stars (Zoho.com/social): Like very best-of-breed solutions, Zoho Social enables you to schedule posts, monitor social-media mentions of your company and track social-media conversations that are relevant to you.
Zoho Social also enables you to create and regularly generate custom reports analyzing what you’re looking to learn about your presence on social media. And you’re also able to create custom dashboards that give you a quick glimpse at any given time on the key performance and analytical metrics you’re tracking. • Reputation, 4.5/5 Stars (Reputation.com): Reputation offers a heavy emphasis on reviews and is designed to help automate the process of triggering, collecting, analyzing and responding to customer reviews on the web and social media.
Other analytics enable you to track customer sentiment directed at your brand on the web and social media, check up on what your competitors are doing, and optimize your product and service web landing pages for SEO.
Reputation is also sold on the idea of companies creating a library of authentic customer reviews—even if that means posting reviews on your website that are less than flattering.
Sara Rossio, chief product officer of G2, agrees with that approach. “To be most valuable though, reviews must be authentic,” she says. “We’ve seen that brands are actually viewed as more trustworthy when they have some negative reviews, as long as they engage with reviewers and respond to them.” • SOCi, 4.5/5 Stars (Meetsoci.com): SOCi is designed with a heavy emphasis on monitoring and protecting a company’s reputation online. Its tools enable you to monitor and respond to conversations and comments, monitor the performance of your promotional content across all networks and coordinate your responses to customer reviews.
SOCi also offers customer survey tools, customized reports, and is designed to be easy to use on a smartphone or similar mobile device.
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• SEMRush, 4.5/5 Stars (Semrush.com): SEMRush has established a reputation as one of the ultimate go-to tools for optimizing your promotional content posted on social media on the web for SEO.
Master SEMRush and there’s a very good chance that your promotional content is going to show up much higher on Google, Bing and other search engines, as well as social-media platforms that offer their own powerful search box, such as YouTube.
Lately, SEMRush has expanded into offering more standard social-media management tools, such as social-media posting and analytics, as well as tools that help you manage and analyze the advertising you do on social media. • Sprout Social, 4.4/5 Stars (Sproutsocial.com): A long-time player in social-media management and analysis, Sprout Social is a sophisticated service that offers all the standard tools for planning, creating, managing and analyzing your social-media posts across all networks.
Sprout also distinguishes itself from many competitors by offering an Influencer Campaign Management Module. Marketers looking to connect and work with social-media influencers will want to take a look at this module, which enables them to reach out to social-media influencers, negotiate terms, create and manage contracts, review and approve content and pay creators in any currency.
The module also enables a marketers to glean a holistic view of the overall focus, direction and success of their work with social-media influencers.
Alaska—Internal Combustion Engine: Alaska has introduced SEMA-supported legislation to protect consumers’ choice of vehicle powerplants and fuel by preventing a state agency, county or city from limiting access to certain power sources. Under current law, new gas- and diesel-powered vehicle sales may be threatened if narrow energy policies are adopted.
Arizona—Cruising: Arizona has introduced a SEMA-supported bill to allow automobile cruising activities to return statewide. Currently, local authorities are authorized to pass ordinances that regulate or prohibit cruising. This effort follows similar legislation that was approved in California last year. Having passed the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, the bill now awaits consideration by the full House.
California has introduced SEMA-opposed legislation to require new vehicles to be equipped with speed governors starting in model-year ’27.
California—Speed Limiter: California has introduced SEMA-opposed legislation to require new vehicles to be equipped with speed governors starting in model-year ’27. Speed governors—also known as intelligent speed limiters—use GPS technology to limit vehicle speed. If enacted into law, new vehicles could not travel more than 10 mph above the speed limit. Currently, devices that prevent vehicles from exceeding a certain speed are not required.
Georgia—Suspension Laws: Georgia lawmakers introduced SEMA-supported legislation to revamp the state’s suspension modification laws. If enacted, this bill would remove the ambiguous 2-in. limit with a clear frame height standard. This aims to bring clarity, fairness and broader product options for Georgia’s off-road community and the automotive industry. The House Motor Vehicles Committee passed the bill, which now awaits a vote on the House floor.
Hawaii—Exhaust Noise: Hawaii has introduced SEMA-opposed legislation to reform its enforcement of exhaust noise laws by creating enhanced penalties for repeat offenders. However, the underlying laws are fundamentally flawed. Similar legislative proposals have failed to be approved in prior years, including last year. Currently, Hawaii prohibits mufflers that “noticeably increase the noise” and mandates that mufflers must be identical to their factory setting. The current law is unenforceable as it is vague, subjective and unfair.
Illinois—Internal Combustion Engine: Illinois has introduced SEMA-supported legislation that would prevent any state or local government unit from restricting the use or sale of motor vehicles based on the energy source used to power them, including internal combustion engines (ICEs). SEMA believes Illinois’ families, not the government, should be allowed to choose the vehicle technology that best serves them.
Kansas—Internal Combustion Engine: Kansas has introduced SEMA-supported legislation to ensure consumers’ choice of vehicle powerplants and fuel by preventing a state agency, county or city from limiting access to certain power sources. Under current law, new gas- and diesel-powered vehicle sales may be threatened if narrow energy policies are adopted.
Maine—Antique Vehicles: Maine has introduced SEMA-opposed legislation to limit the definition of “antique auto” to automobiles more than 35 years old. Currently, vehicles at least 25 years old are eligible for the distinction.
Maryland—Exhaust Noise: Maryland has introduced SEMA-opposed legislation to allow Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and Prince George’s Counties to enforce motor-vehicle noise requirements using sound-activated enforcement devices. Rather than investing in unproven technology, Maryland must implement a fair testing procedure and decibel limit for vehicle owners accused of exhaust noise violations.
Missouri—Single Plate: Missouri has introduced SEMA-supported legislation to allow the display of only a single, rear-mounted license plate for all passenger vehicles. These bills also apply to personalized plates. Under current law, vehicles must display two license plates.
New Jersey—Off-Highway Vehicles: The NJDEP Division of Parks and Forestry has published a SEMA-opposed plan to close 200 mi. of motorized vehicle trails at Wharton State Forest. While illegal ATV/UTV use and drivers leaving the established roads cause concern, targeting legal motorized vehicles is unlikely to deter trespassers. Closing legal roads will only hinder enforcement efforts and disenfranchise responsible users who often act as valuable eyes and ears, reporting illegal activity.
SEMA is working to expand the REPAIR Act to ensure that it protects the right to modify your motor vehicle.
FEDERAL UPDATE
ZEV 2035 Mandate: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reviewing the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) “Advanced Clean Cars II” (ACC II) regulation, which requires all new vehicles sold in California to be zero emissions vehicles (ZEV) by 2035, at the time of publication. The regulation would prohibit the sale of traditional ICE vehicles in 2035, although ACC II allows for 20% of vehicles sold to be hybrids. ACC II requires that 35% of new cars, SUVs and small trucks sold in California must be ZEVs starting in 2026. The regulation increases ZEV sales requirements by 6% to 8% annually through 2035, when all new vehicles sold in California must be ZEV. Before ACC II can be implemented, CARB must receive a Clean Air Act (CAA) waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the regulations to take effect.
SEMA is advocating against the EPA providing a waiver for ACC II. SEMA President and CEO Mike Spagnola submitted written and oral testimony in opposition to the agency providing a waiver for ACC II. The association has also rallied its member companies and automotive enthusiasts to send more than 5,000 letters to the EPA opposing a waiver for ACC II. SEMA also continues to advocate for Congress to pass a bill to prohibit the EPA from issuing a waiver for ACC II and any other regulations that would ban the sale of new ICE vehicles. The SEMA-supported “Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act” (HR 1435) passed the U.S. House of Representatives in September. The bill awaits action in the U.S. Senate. Right to Repair: The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) and iFixit submitted a petition for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue a rulemaking to formalize right to repair protections. SEMA submitted a comment in response to the petition that highlighted the need for the federal government to protect consumers’ rights to decide where and with what parts they can use to repair, maintain and modify their vehicles.
SEMA also continues to advocate for HR 906, the “Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair Act” (REPAIR Act), which currently awaits consideration in the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee. The SEMA-supported REPAIR Act would ensure automotive enthusiasts, aftermarket parts manufacturers, and repair shops have access to the information and tools needed to maintain and personalize vehicles as automotive technology evolves. The bill currently has 50 bipartisan co-sponsors evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats.
SEMA is working to expand the REPAIR Act to ensure that it protects the right to modify your motor vehicle, engaging with E&C Committee members to address the presented amendments that were ultimately withdrawn before the House E&C Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and
Commerce passed the bill. Digital Millennium Copyright Act: SEMA filed comments with the Library of Congress’ Copyright Office supporting the Motor & Equipment Manufacturer Association’s (MEMA) request for an exemption from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for “Computer Programs—Vehicle Operational Data” that would allow for circumvention of technological protection measures (TPMS) on computer programs that are contained in and control the functioning of
a motor vehicle to allow vehicle owners and businesses acting on their behalf, to access, store and share vehicle operational data, including diagnostic and telematics data. The petition would create a necessary extension of an existing DMCA exemption for “Computer Programs—Repair of Motorized Vehicles” that was created in 2015 and was expanded in 2018 to both cover third-party service providers and remove the limitation prohibiting circumvention of TPMS to access computer programs primarily designed to control vehicle telematics and entertainment systems. The copyright office renewed this exemption in 2021 and again recommends that it be renewed in the ninth triennial review of Section 1201 exemptions.
