APA Search announced that Brian Holliday joined the company as vice president. Most recently, Holliday was vice president/global brand leader for filtration products at Honeywell International. Holliday worked at Honeywell for 18 years serving in a variety of positions, including vice president of marketing for Prestone Chemicals from 1998 to 2002. Holliday has spent his entire career in the automotive aftermarket and has been a member of the Filter Manufacturer’s Council and Automotive Chemical Marketing Council.
Brian Holliday
Ramesh Lhila, Ph.D., joined the staff of Venture Tape Corp. as technical director. He will lead the company’s research and development effort and play a key role in new product development and business strategy. Dr. Lhila has published many scientific papers and holds several product patents.
OnSight Solutions (OSS) sold its 17th franchise to Rochester native, Mark V. Rossi. This latest franchise sale will allow coverage to new- and used-car dealers in the western New York state territory. Rossi, a 12-year veteran in the automotive business, purchased the franchise after finding information about OSS on the Internet. OSS and its franchisees provide visual merchandising service to automotive dealers.
Coker Tire acquired Phoenix Racing Tires, spearheading Coker’s 2008 launch of its new Performance Brand division. “We’ve kicked off our 50th Anniversary year by announcing Phoenix’s arrival and will soon be rolling out our national distribution plan for Phoenix. Our new performance brand division’s marketing plan is exciting!” said Corky Coker, president of Coker Tire Company. Originally marketed as Firestone, Phoenix Drag Racing was launched in the mid-90s when several executives at Firestone chose to break away and re-launch the specialty drag racing tire brand.
The Petersen Automotive Museum’s annual Cars & Stars Gala on May 8th will be dedicated to “Racing Legends of Los Angeles,” celebrating Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones and Carroll Shelby. While each honoree has a unique history, they all have certain things in common. Each has raced diverse kinds of cars, won epic races and continued to be involved in the sport as team managers, owners, and/ or manufacturers throughout the years. Dave McClelland is the Master of Ceremonies for the evening, proceeds of which will benefit the Museum’s continuing educational programs and exhibits.
McCullough Public Relations Inc. was named the public relations firm of record for DAMAR Corporation LLC, manufacturer of the DAMAR Truck Deck cargo management solution. McCullough PR will direct all public relations activities for DAMAR, including media relations, press release and feature story coordination, special events, trade show representation and product placement. The agency also will advise DAMAR concerning media buying and marketing initiatives.
In conjunction with the 2008 National Cherry Festival, Hagerty Insurance will host a recently restored General Motors Futurliner at the annual Hagerty Family Car Show. The GM Futurliner is an extremely rare vehicle designed by Harley Earl in the ’40s. The 12 buses were manufactured by General Motors and used for their “Parade of Progress,” which toured the United States through 1956 to demonstrate advances in modern technology. The 33-foot long Futurliners contained futuristic technology such as jet engines, microwave ovens, television sets, and many other rare advances in technology for the time. The Futurliner that will be displayed at the Hagerty Family Car Show is the tenth of 12 produced. In 2006, the eleventh Futurliner was auctioned off at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction for over $4 million dollars in Scottsdale, Arizona. For more information, visit www.cherryfestival.org/carshow.
Mitchell 1 announced that it’s accepting applications through May 15th for its annual $2,500 Automotive Technology Outstanding Student Scholarship, which is awarded through the North American Council of Automotive Teachers (NACAT) Education Foundation at its annual conference. The scholarship will recognize one U.S. high school senior for outstanding achievement in automotive technology/auto shop repair scholastics. The recipient will receive the scholarship, a check for $500 and round trip airfare and accommodations to attend the NACAT conference with a guest. More information is available at www.nacat.com.