SEMA manufacturing members are invited to get up close with the Juke, Nissan's all-new crossover. This compact ride features a 1.6L 4-cyl. Direct Injection Gasoline (DIG) turbo engine that packs 188 hp at 5,600 rpm. SEMA manufacturing members can take the tape to the new Juke on December 8, from 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. (PST), in Diamond Bar, California.

SEMA manufacturing members are invited to get up close with the Juke, Nissan's all-new crossover. This compact ride features a 1.6L 4-cyl. Direct Injection Gasoline (DIG) turbo engine that packs 188 hp at 5,600 rpm. SEMA manufacturing members can take the tape to the new Juke on December 8, from 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. (PST), in Diamond Bar, California.

The 2010 SEMA Show marked the first time that Audi had an exhibit at the annual specialty-equipment market showcase. All around the Show floor customized Audis caught the eye of Showgoers, in addition to the official Audi display.

Check out this collection of Audis seen at the 2010 SEMA Show. The photos are part of gallery of more than 2,000 display vehicles from the 2010 SEMA Show and are available on enjoythedrive.com. The gallery is searchable by vehicle make, model, year and more.

The 2010 SEMA Show marked the first time that Audi had an exhibit at the annual specialty-equipment market showcase. All around the Show floor customized Audis caught the eye of Showgoers, in addition to the official Audi display.

Check out this collection of Audis seen at the 2010 SEMA Show. The photos are part of gallery of more than 2,000 display vehicles from the 2010 SEMA Show and are available on enjoythedrive.com. The gallery is searchable by vehicle make, model, year and more.

After months of inaction and missed opportunities, the United States Senate is prepared to take up legislation to remove the 1099 reporting requirement which was included as a revenue-raising provision with the health care law. The “Small Business Paperwork Relief Act” would remove the requirement entirely. Unless this takes place, businesses will be required to issue 1099 reporting forms to all vendors from whom they buy more than $600 of goods or services in any year, beginning in 2012. The law’s intent is to identify and collect taxes on sources of income that businesses have not declared. SEMA contends that it will fail to collect much under-reported income, but it will succeed in punishing small-business taxpayers that already comply with U.S. tax law. The “Small Business Paperwork Relief Act” is scheduled to be considered on November 29, 2010.

In a letter dated July 28, 2010, SEMA President Chris Kersting joined the business community in calling for the removal of this burdensome and time-consuming requirement from current law. SEMA has worked with several small-business coalitions, including the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), to remove the provision. Please contact your United States Senators (click here to find your senators) in support of this repeal to ensure that small businesses can continue to remain focused on recovery and growth.

For more information, please contact Dan Sadowski, SEMA congressional affairs manager, at dans@sema.org.

After months of inaction and missed opportunities, the United States Senate is prepared to take up legislation to remove the 1099 reporting requirement which was included as a revenue-raising provision with the health care law. The “Small Business Paperwork Relief Act” would remove the requirement entirely. Unless this takes place, businesses will be required to issue 1099 reporting forms to all vendors from whom they buy more than $600 of goods or services in any year, beginning in 2012. The law’s intent is to identify and collect taxes on sources of income that businesses have not declared. SEMA contends that it will fail to collect much under-reported income, but it will succeed in punishing small-business taxpayers that already comply with U.S. tax law. The “Small Business Paperwork Relief Act” is scheduled to be considered on November 29, 2010.

In a letter dated July 28, 2010, SEMA President Chris Kersting joined the business community in calling for the removal of this burdensome and time-consuming requirement from current law. SEMA has worked with several small-business coalitions, including the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), to remove the provision. Please contact your United States Senators (click here to find your senators) in support of this repeal to ensure that small businesses can continue to remain focused on recovery and growth.

For more information, please contact Dan Sadowski, SEMA congressional affairs manager, at dans@sema.org.

The U.S. government estimates that less than 1% of U.S. small businesses currently export, even though there’s huge demand for high-quality, American-made products. SEMA members as a group appear to fare better as a percentage of those that engage in exporting, yet many SEMA-member products are finding their way into overseas markets, often through their U.S.-based warehouse distributors or in response to ad hoc requests from overseas customers and in the absence of a deliberate policy on how to maximize their bottom line through a deliberate effort.

“My guess would be that about 75% of SEMA-member manufacturers’ products wind up overseas somehow,” said Wade Kawasaki, president of Exports International. “I think a very small portion — perhaps 20% — have an integrated strategic plan on how that is done and how to expand or structure upon what they have.”

Given that exporting is an important but underutilized tool to help U.S. companies better weather the current prolonged economic downturn, the U.S. government recently announced a new initiative to assist firms. On March 11, 2010, President Obama signed Executive Order 12870, the National Export Initiative. It includes an increase in the budget of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration in order to expand the number of trade experts available to serve as advocates for U.S. companies. The initiative includes a number of goals, including increasing the number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) exporting to more than one market by over 50% and increasing the presence of U.S. SMEs in emerging markets such as Brazil, China and India

For more information about how to jumpstart your export success, contact Linda Spencer via e-mail at lindas@sema.org. She can help you capitalize on the SEMA Show programs aimed at bringing together exhibitors and international buyers as well as obtain distributor lists, information on overseas trade shows and relevant laws, regulations and tariffs.

The U.S. government estimates that less than 1% of U.S. small businesses currently export, even though there’s huge demand for high-quality, American-made products. SEMA members as a group appear to fare better as a percentage of those that engage in exporting, yet many SEMA-member products are finding their way into overseas markets, often through their U.S.-based warehouse distributors or in response to ad hoc requests from overseas customers and in the absence of a deliberate policy on how to maximize their bottom line through a deliberate effort.

“My guess would be that about 75% of SEMA-member manufacturers’ products wind up overseas somehow,” said Wade Kawasaki, president of Exports International. “I think a very small portion — perhaps 20% — have an integrated strategic plan on how that is done and how to expand or structure upon what they have.”

Given that exporting is an important but underutilized tool to help U.S. companies better weather the current prolonged economic downturn, the U.S. government recently announced a new initiative to assist firms. On March 11, 2010, President Obama signed Executive Order 12870, the National Export Initiative. It includes an increase in the budget of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration in order to expand the number of trade experts available to serve as advocates for U.S. companies. The initiative includes a number of goals, including increasing the number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) exporting to more than one market by over 50% and increasing the presence of U.S. SMEs in emerging markets such as Brazil, China and India

For more information about how to jumpstart your export success, contact Linda Spencer via e-mail at lindas@sema.org. She can help you capitalize on the SEMA Show programs aimed at bringing together exhibitors and international buyers as well as obtain distributor lists, information on overseas trade shows and relevant laws, regulations and tariffs.

The U.S. government estimates that less than 1% of U.S. small businesses currently export, even though there’s huge demand for high-quality, American-made products. SEMA members as a group appear to fare better as a percentage of those that engage in exporting, yet many SEMA-member products are finding their way into overseas markets, often through their U.S.-based warehouse distributors or in response to ad hoc requests from overseas customers and in the absence of a deliberate policy on how to maximize their bottom line through a deliberate effort.

“My guess would be that about 75% of SEMA-member manufacturers’ products wind up overseas somehow,” said Wade Kawasaki, president of Exports International. “I think a very small portion — perhaps 20% — have an integrated strategic plan on how that is done and how to expand or structure upon what they have.”

Given that exporting is an important but underutilized tool to help U.S. companies better weather the current prolonged economic downturn, the U.S. government recently announced a new initiative to assist firms. On March 11, 2010, President Obama signed Executive Order 12870, the National Export Initiative. It includes an increase in the budget of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration in order to expand the number of trade experts available to serve as advocates for U.S. companies. The initiative includes a number of goals, including increasing the number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) exporting to more than one market by over 50% and increasing the presence of U.S. SMEs in emerging markets such as Brazil, China and India

For more information about how to jumpstart your export success, contact Linda Spencer via e-mail at lindas@sema.org. She can help you capitalize on the SEMA Show programs aimed at bringing together exhibitors and international buyers as well as obtain distributor lists, information on overseas trade shows and relevant laws, regulations and tariffs.

Vic Edelbrock Sr.’s earliest designs were intended to squeeze more power out of that roadster’s flathead V8. By 1958, the company’s inventory stretched far beyond the venerable flathead, but because of its longstanding experience with Ford performance, “it was only natural for them to take an immediate interest in the new Ford engine,” wrote Technical Editor Ray Brock in Hot Rod magazine’s August 1958 issue.

That “new Ford engine” was the FE series V8 — so named for its Ford/Edsel applications. When the article was written, Edelbrock had already bought an Edsel Pacer and was developing a triple-carburetor manifold for it. Over the course of eight weeks and two lengthy articles, Edelbrock tested some 30 different engine combinations, taking a stock 361-inch Edsel motor from 211 peak horsepower to 342. Edelbrock and his team reworked the ignition, swapped in several different camshafts, added bigger valves and multiple carburetors, mounted headers, and even bored and stroked the block up to 412 inches.

“The Ford automobile is no longer a lightweight piece of machinery,” Brock wrote in his conclusion, “but we guarantee that the car will jump if some of the information discovered in this story is properly applied.”