Legislation has been introduced in Connecticut to extend the emissions inspection exemption to vehicles five-model-years old or newer. Current law exempts vehicles that are four-model-years old or newer. The measure acknowledges that it is senseless to test newer vehicles, the results of which demonstrate no significant air-quality benefits. The idea behind exempting any class of vehicles is to reduce costs while not losing appreciable emissions reductions. This strategy builds support for emissions inspection programs, but also directs finite resources to where they will be most valuable in cleaning the air.

For more information, click here. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

SEMA is opposing Arkansas legislation that would allow cities to remove inoperable vehicles from private property if the vehicle is deemed a “nuisance” under a local ordinance. The bill provides no reasonable safeguards for legitimate automotive hobbyists that choose to work on inoperable collector vehicles on private property and establishes no provisions that would enable vehicles located out of public view to avoid being classified as abandoned.  

For more information, click here. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

SEMA is opposing Arkansas legislation that would allow cities to remove inoperable vehicles from private property if the vehicle is deemed a “nuisance” under a local ordinance. The bill provides no reasonable safeguards for legitimate automotive hobbyists that choose to work on inoperable collector vehicles on private property and establishes no provisions that would enable vehicles located out of public view to avoid being classified as abandoned.  

For more information, click here. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

A SEMA-supported bill has been introduced in Arizona to exempt all vehicles more than 25 years old, without condition, from the state’s mandatory biennial emissions inspection and maintenance program. Existing law in Arizona only exempts pre-’67 model-year vehicles and those vehicles designated as “collectible,” which are used primarily for hobby activities, insured under a collector car insurance policy and whose owners have registered an additional vehicle for general transportation.

For more information, click here. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

A SEMA-supported bill has been introduced in Arizona to exempt all vehicles more than 25 years old, without condition, from the state’s mandatory biennial emissions inspection and maintenance program. Existing law in Arizona only exempts pre-’67 model-year vehicles and those vehicles designated as “collectible,” which are used primarily for hobby activities, insured under a collector car insurance policy and whose owners have registered an additional vehicle for general transportation.

For more information, click here. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

Last year’s Best of Show—a ’69 Ford Mustang. Mach 1 owner: George Savin.	Hurst ’67 Barracuda project car flanked by Hurst Performance Vehicles Series 4 Challenger and Camaro.
Custom Ford ’32 Hi-Boy.	’69 Corvette Stingray.

B&M and Hurst are set to host the fourth annual B&M/Hurst Charity Car Show on Sunday, April 10, 2011. All proceeds from the car show will benefit the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund, which is dedicated to fostering the next generation of industry leaders and innovators.

College is expensive, but SEMA can help. If you know someone preparing for a career in the automotive industry, SEMA is ready to lend a hand. And, if you know someone with outstanding student loans, SEMA can help there, too. SEMA maintains a program to pay part of the college tuition costs of today’s top students.

Due to the quick-growing nature of the B&M/Hurst Charity Car Show, the company was forced to find a larger venue at the Corporate Pointe in West Hills, California (only a mile from its factory), as the new home for the annual car show. Photos and details of the new site can be found here.

Last year’s show drew more than 600 cars from all regions of the West Coast and beyond. Based on this success and the pattern of growth in the first two years, up to 1,000 entries are anticipated for the 2011 event.

As in the past, this year’s event once again promises to be a first-class production. More than 50 trophies will be up for grabs. There will be a silent auction, product raffle and 50/50 raffle. Previous raffle prizes have ranged from complete exhaust systems to a full set of rims. The car show is a family event, and you can be assured that there will be something for everyone.

Be sure to check out surprise celebrity guests, along with world-famous Dave McClelland on the mike. Food and beverages will be available at an onsite restaurant.

The entry fee is $35 per vehicle for those that pre-register, and it includes an event T-shirt. Be sure to get your reservation in before April 1, 2011, to qualify. Entry at the gate the day of the show will be $35 per vehicle but will not include a T-shirt. The event is open to domestic cars built through ’73 and all modern musclecars.

Gates open at 7:00 a.m. and the show ends at 2:00 p.m.

For more information or to obtain a registration sheet, call 818/882-6422 or stop by the factory at 9142 Independence Ave., Chatsworth, CA 91311.

Last year’s Best of Show—a ’69 Ford Mustang. Mach 1 owner: George Savin.	Hurst ’67 Barracuda project car flanked by Hurst Performance Vehicles Series 4 Challenger and Camaro.
Custom Ford ’32 Hi-Boy.	’69 Corvette Stingray.

B&M and Hurst are set to host the fourth annual B&M/Hurst Charity Car Show on Sunday, April 10, 2011. All proceeds from the car show will benefit the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund, which is dedicated to fostering the next generation of industry leaders and innovators.

College is expensive, but SEMA can help. If you know someone preparing for a career in the automotive industry, SEMA is ready to lend a hand. And, if you know someone with outstanding student loans, SEMA can help there, too. SEMA maintains a program to pay part of the college tuition costs of today’s top students.

Due to the quick-growing nature of the B&M/Hurst Charity Car Show, the company was forced to find a larger venue at the Corporate Pointe in West Hills, California (only a mile from its factory), as the new home for the annual car show. Photos and details of the new site can be found here.

Last year’s show drew more than 600 cars from all regions of the West Coast and beyond. Based on this success and the pattern of growth in the first two years, up to 1,000 entries are anticipated for the 2011 event.

As in the past, this year’s event once again promises to be a first-class production. More than 50 trophies will be up for grabs. There will be a silent auction, product raffle and 50/50 raffle. Previous raffle prizes have ranged from complete exhaust systems to a full set of rims. The car show is a family event, and you can be assured that there will be something for everyone.

Be sure to check out surprise celebrity guests, along with world-famous Dave McClelland on the mike. Food and beverages will be available at an onsite restaurant.

The entry fee is $35 per vehicle for those that pre-register, and it includes an event T-shirt. Be sure to get your reservation in before April 1, 2011, to qualify. Entry at the gate the day of the show will be $35 per vehicle but will not include a T-shirt. The event is open to domestic cars built through ’73 and all modern musclecars.

Gates open at 7:00 a.m. and the show ends at 2:00 p.m.

For more information or to obtain a registration sheet, call 818/882-6422 or stop by the factory at 9142 Independence Ave., Chatsworth, CA 91311.

SEMA’s Financial Benchmarking program was developed to provide SEMA-member companies with a means to measure and compare business operations with those of other companies within the specialty-equipment industry. Each month, data is collected from manufacturers, retailers and warehouse distributors. It is then aggregated and used to create three different reports, which are provided free of charge to the study participants.

Otherwise, the report is available at a cost of $50 for SEMA members and $99.99 for non-members. Click here for the report.

Since its inception, the participants have received only the report that pertained to their company type, at no charge. For example, a retailer would only receive the retailer report. Going forward, participants will continue to receive the information at least one month prior to release on SEMA’s website; however, as an added incentive to participate, respondents will now receive all three reports, free of charge.

Aron Beach, vice president of finance for Prestolite Performance, said, “We use it to get a true sense of where the industry’s heading. It’s a difficult industry to get a handle on since it’s so fragmented.”

Participants will now have the chance to see the broader picture of the industry; for example, by comparing warehouse distributors’ outlooks to manufacturers to retailers at no extra charge.

The following links can be used to participate in the survey:

• Manufacturers
• Retailers
• Distributors

Please note, the data currently being collected pertains to December 2010.

For more information on SEMA’s Financial Benchmarking program, send an e-mail to research@sema.org.

SEMA’s Financial Benchmarking program was developed to provide SEMA-member companies with a means to measure and compare business operations with those of other companies within the specialty-equipment industry. Each month, data is collected from manufacturers, retailers and warehouse distributors. It is then aggregated and used to create three different reports, which are provided free of charge to the study participants.

Otherwise, the report is available at a cost of $50 for SEMA members and $99.99 for non-members. Click here for the report.

Since its inception, the participants have received only the report that pertained to their company type, at no charge. For example, a retailer would only receive the retailer report. Going forward, participants will continue to receive the information at least one month prior to release on SEMA’s website; however, as an added incentive to participate, respondents will now receive all three reports, free of charge.

Aron Beach, vice president of finance for Prestolite Performance, said, “We use it to get a true sense of where the industry’s heading. It’s a difficult industry to get a handle on since it’s so fragmented.”

Participants will now have the chance to see the broader picture of the industry; for example, by comparing warehouse distributors’ outlooks to manufacturers to retailers at no extra charge.

The following links can be used to participate in the survey:

• Manufacturers
• Retailers
• Distributors

Please note, the data currently being collected pertains to December 2010.

For more information on SEMA’s Financial Benchmarking program, send an e-mail to research@sema.org.

SEMA has added a new feature on the website called Facebook Connect that links your Facebook and MySEMA accounts, allowing you to automatically log into the SEMA website without having to remember your password. When you’re logged into the SEMA website, you can access exclusive content, such as SEMA’s user forums, discussions and topics of interest to SEMA’s niche markets, exclusive market research, access to recent SEMA webinars and much more.

The new feature simply makes it easier to log in to MySEMA from Facebook and to Facebook from MySEMA. No other content, comments or postings would be shared between the two accounts. With the new feature, users can focus on discussions and interactions with the online communities without wasting time tracking down too many passwords and account logins.

To use this new feature, go to http://my.sema.org/login.