With all the news about Chinese workers striking against Honda suppliers, you probably know that Honda-brand cars are on the road in China. What you might not know is that non-Chinese Asian brands accounted for 25% of the light-vehicle market in China in 2009. And tuner shops in China are looking for high-quality performance parts for those vehicles. For SEMA-member Injen Technology Co. Ltd., that’s good news. Injen, a manufacturer of high-performance air intakes and filters, is signed up for the SEMA-CIAPE Business Development Conference in Beijing in late September.

“We are clearly the leaders in the Japanese and Asian import market in this category,” said Injen president Ron Delgado. “Honda, Toyota, Kia, Hyundai, Mazda. If those applications are in China, we’re a shoe-in.”

Japanese brands accounted for 18.4% of light-vehicle sales in China in 2009, according to J.D. Power and Associates. Korea brands accounted for 6.6%. Sales of Japanese brands rose 50% in 2009; Korean brand sales nearly doubled. SEMA members can learn more about this growing market at the SEMA-CIAPE Business Development Conference in Beijing in late September. Participating SEMA members will be paired with relevant Chinese buyers in up to a dozen private, pre-scheduled meetings. One-on-one meetings with potential Chinese partners at this ground-breaking event will allow you to get to know them and the market.

Beijing Tuning Shop works mainly on Toyota, Honda and Subaru models, said owner Zhang Yu. The most popular modifications are shock absorbers, wheel rims and body kits, he said. “We need better-quality suspensions," said Yu. "We need harder shock absorbers to make sure that when we drive on uneven roads, it is not bumpy."

The China modification market is young to be sure. But young Chinese are avid Internet surfers and they are learning fast. Though most Subaru models in China are imports, it's a very popular brand for modification, said Liu Qingfeng, manager of Carnet, an online business-to-business company selling high-performance motor oil, oil filters, brake pads and suspension products, among other products.

“We found that about 40% of Subaru consumers seek high performance," said Qingfeng. "In China, there are about 40,000 Subaru car owners. They bought it because it is suitable for modifications,” .

SEMA member Amsoil Inc. makes a full range of high-performance synthetic lubricants. Greg Sandbulte, Amsoil’s vice president of international, will be in Beijing. “My impression is that it is a tremendous opportunity,” he said. It’s an opportunity Injen’s Delgado doesn’t want to miss. “We want to be part of the growing auto enthusiast segment,” he said. “We don’t want to be one of those who say, ‘we should have been there 10 years ago.’”

Being in Beijing in September with SEMA can help you be part of the China market, too. For more information, contact Linda Spencer at lindas@sema.org or visit www.sema.org/china.

With all the news about Chinese workers striking against Honda suppliers, you probably know that Honda-brand cars are on the road in China. What you might not know is that non-Chinese Asian brands accounted for 25% of the light-vehicle market in China in 2009. And tuner shops in China are looking for high-quality performance parts for those vehicles. For SEMA-member Injen Technology Co. Ltd., that’s good news. Injen, a manufacturer of high-performance air intakes and filters, is signed up for the SEMA-CIAPE Business Development Conference in Beijing in late September.

“We are clearly the leaders in the Japanese and Asian import market in this category,” said Injen president Ron Delgado. “Honda, Toyota, Kia, Hyundai, Mazda. If those applications are in China, we’re a shoe-in.”

Japanese brands accounted for 18.4% of light-vehicle sales in China in 2009, according to J.D. Power and Associates. Korea brands accounted for 6.6%. Sales of Japanese brands rose 50% in 2009; Korean brand sales nearly doubled. SEMA members can learn more about this growing market at the SEMA-CIAPE Business Development Conference in Beijing in late September. Participating SEMA members will be paired with relevant Chinese buyers in up to a dozen private, pre-scheduled meetings. One-on-one meetings with potential Chinese partners at this ground-breaking event will allow you to get to know them and the market.

Beijing Tuning Shop works mainly on Toyota, Honda and Subaru models, said owner Zhang Yu. The most popular modifications are shock absorbers, wheel rims and body kits, he said. “We need better-quality suspensions," said Yu. "We need harder shock absorbers to make sure that when we drive on uneven roads, it is not bumpy."

The China modification market is young to be sure. But young Chinese are avid Internet surfers and they are learning fast. Though most Subaru models in China are imports, it's a very popular brand for modification, said Liu Qingfeng, manager of Carnet, an online business-to-business company selling high-performance motor oil, oil filters, brake pads and suspension products, among other products.

“We found that about 40% of Subaru consumers seek high performance," said Qingfeng. "In China, there are about 40,000 Subaru car owners. They bought it because it is suitable for modifications,” .

SEMA member Amsoil Inc. makes a full range of high-performance synthetic lubricants. Greg Sandbulte, Amsoil’s vice president of international, will be in Beijing. “My impression is that it is a tremendous opportunity,” he said. It’s an opportunity Injen’s Delgado doesn’t want to miss. “We want to be part of the growing auto enthusiast segment,” he said. “We don’t want to be one of those who say, ‘we should have been there 10 years ago.’”

Being in Beijing in September with SEMA can help you be part of the China market, too. For more information, contact Linda Spencer at lindas@sema.org or visit www.sema.org/china.

With all the news about Chinese workers striking against Honda suppliers, you probably know that Honda-brand cars are on the road in China. What you might not know is that non-Chinese Asian brands accounted for 25% of the light-vehicle market in China in 2009. And tuner shops in China are looking for high-quality performance parts for those vehicles. For SEMA-member Injen Technology Co. Ltd., that’s good news. Injen, a manufacturer of high-performance air intakes and filters, is signed up for the SEMA-CIAPE Business Development Conference in Beijing in late September.

“We are clearly the leaders in the Japanese and Asian import market in this category,” said Injen president Ron Delgado. “Honda, Toyota, Kia, Hyundai, Mazda. If those applications are in China, we’re a shoe-in.”

Japanese brands accounted for 18.4% of light-vehicle sales in China in 2009, according to J.D. Power and Associates. Korea brands accounted for 6.6%. Sales of Japanese brands rose 50% in 2009; Korean brand sales nearly doubled. SEMA members can learn more about this growing market at the SEMA-CIAPE Business Development Conference in Beijing in late September. Participating SEMA members will be paired with relevant Chinese buyers in up to a dozen private, pre-scheduled meetings. One-on-one meetings with potential Chinese partners at this ground-breaking event will allow you to get to know them and the market.

Beijing Tuning Shop works mainly on Toyota, Honda and Subaru models, said owner Zhang Yu. The most popular modifications are shock absorbers, wheel rims and body kits, he said. “We need better-quality suspensions," said Yu. "We need harder shock absorbers to make sure that when we drive on uneven roads, it is not bumpy."

The China modification market is young to be sure. But young Chinese are avid Internet surfers and they are learning fast. Though most Subaru models in China are imports, it's a very popular brand for modification, said Liu Qingfeng, manager of Carnet, an online business-to-business company selling high-performance motor oil, oil filters, brake pads and suspension products, among other products.

“We found that about 40% of Subaru consumers seek high performance," said Qingfeng. "In China, there are about 40,000 Subaru car owners. They bought it because it is suitable for modifications,” .

SEMA member Amsoil Inc. makes a full range of high-performance synthetic lubricants. Greg Sandbulte, Amsoil’s vice president of international, will be in Beijing. “My impression is that it is a tremendous opportunity,” he said. It’s an opportunity Injen’s Delgado doesn’t want to miss. “We want to be part of the growing auto enthusiast segment,” he said. “We don’t want to be one of those who say, ‘we should have been there 10 years ago.’”

Being in Beijing in September with SEMA can help you be part of the China market, too. For more information, contact Linda Spencer at lindas@sema.org or visit www.sema.org/china.

Following are dates and locations for several upcoming SEMA-sponsored shows, webinars and activities. Click on an item for more details.

Don "The Snake" Prudhomme announced his retirement in January, closing the book on a stellar drag-racing career that spanned nearly five decades. In his 32 seasons as a driver, Prudhomme earned four consecutive Funny Car championships, 49 Top Fuel victories and two nearly undefeated seasons with his U.S. Army-sponsored Monza Funny Cars in 1975 and 1976. After getting out from behind the wheel in 1994, Prudhomme went on to spend nearly 15 years as a race team owner, bringing his total championship tally to six and his national event win count to 112. [Read more]

Don "The Snake" Prudhomme announced his retirement in January, closing the book on a stellar drag-racing career that spanned nearly five decades. In his 32 seasons as a driver, Prudhomme earned four consecutive Funny Car championships, 49 Top Fuel victories and two nearly undefeated seasons with his U.S. Army-sponsored Monza Funny Cars in 1975 and 1976. After getting out from behind the wheel in 1994, Prudhomme went on to spend nearly 15 years as a race team owner, bringing his total championship tally to six and his national event win count to 112. [Read more]

Don "The Snake" Prudhomme announced his retirement in January, closing the book on a stellar drag-racing career that spanned nearly five decades. In his 32 seasons as a driver, Prudhomme earned four consecutive Funny Car championships, 49 Top Fuel victories and two nearly undefeated seasons with his U.S. Army-sponsored Monza Funny Cars in 1975 and 1976. After getting out from behind the wheel in 1994, Prudhomme went on to spend nearly 15 years as a race team owner, bringing his total championship tally to six and his national event win count to 112. [Read more]

Riding the momentum of social media's virtually unbridled growth, consumer reviews have become a powerful, proven tool for spiking company sales and are showing signs of becoming even more potent. Indeed, 72% of online shoppers say that web reviews and ratings on company websites and elsewhere influence their purchase decisions more than any other factor, according to the 2010 Social Shopping Survey authored by the e-tailing group (www.e-tailing.com). And 39% of those same shoppers say that they read eight or more online reviews before making a purchase. [Read more]

Riding the momentum of social media's virtually unbridled growth, consumer reviews have become a powerful, proven tool for spiking company sales and are showing signs of becoming even more potent. Indeed, 72% of online shoppers say that web reviews and ratings on company websites and elsewhere influence their purchase decisions more than any other factor, according to the 2010 Social Shopping Survey authored by the e-tailing group (www.e-tailing.com). And 39% of those same shoppers say that they read eight or more online reviews before making a purchase. [Read more]

	The 2010 SEMA Show Media Center will be sponsored by Continental Tire.

Continental Tire has signed on as sponsor of the 2010 SEMA Show Media Center. The sponsorship is one element of the tire company's collaboration and participation in the event taking place Tuesday–Friday, November 2–5, 2010, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

"Continental's Media Center sponsorship is an example of their support for the industry," said Peter MacGillvray, SEMA vice president of communications and events. "Thanks to the tire maker's assistance, the Media Center will serve as home base to nearly 3,000 credentialed editors and reporters at the Show."

With thousands of credentialed media at the SEMA Show each year, the Media Center is one of the SEMA Show's main attractions. Representing television crews, radio programs, print and online publications, the media at the SEMA Show are challenged each year with conducting interviews, shooting videos and/or photos and writing stories on tight deadlines and shrinking staffs.

The Media Center is equipped with computers, a dedicated wireless hub, meeting rooms, press conference area, snacks and beverages, resting areas and more. Editors and reporters use the Media Center to write and file stories.

The Media Center opens in advance of the Show for media registration and exhibitor press kit drop-off. On Show days, the Media Center opens before and stays open after the Show floor hours.

"Continental Tire has a lot of exciting news to share with the industry, and we believe the SEMA Show provides us with an ideal platform to unveil what's new," said Dana Zamalloa, Continental Tire PR and communications manager. "We're looking forward to sharing that news and appreciate the opportunity to connect with the industry through programs such as the SEMA Show sponsorship."

Reporters can learn more about the Media Center, the services available to them at the SEMA Show and how they can register by visiting www.SEMAShow.com/media.