We recently highlighted new-vehicle releases and model updates that will become available to consumers within the next few months. The emphasis was on changes within the compact-performance segment. These are models that specialty-equipment manufacturers should become familiar with. While their potential to change trends is unknown, their influence is not entirely unpredictable. Basic design principles and iconic recognition remain the same. Affordable economy cars, sports cars and bang-for-the-buck offerings keep the formula strikingly intact. This article aims to outline the current marketplace of vehicles that are available now with a focus on specific engines.

We have compiled data outlining the production and availability of engines that will be offered on popular compact performance models. These typically include four- and six-cylinder types rated under 3.0L. Some exceptions exist, but these represent the most common engines on the market for this segment. Along with basic specs, the table below includes volumes produced in 2006 and 2007 to help SEMA members gauge the size of the market. We have also listed related vehicles that share similar versions of the base unit.
 


When determining the potential market for engine parts, keep in mind that unit volume can be misleading. High-volume models do not necessarily indicate demand for performance products. Conversely, limited-production models (including “halo” vehicles) should not discourage development as they tend to have higher demand per unit due to their performance.

The late-model Subaru Legacy, for example, was a considerable presence at the 2008 Tokyo Auto Salon with tuning companies displaying new products on this “fresh canvas” (previously rare for modifying). The Legacy, Forrester and popular Impreza share engine components and can be modified in similar forms. Research and development costs could be minimal if identical products can be used across multiple vehicles or on global platforms.

Likewise, high-volume engines, such as the Honda K24A (I4), BMW N52 (I6) and General Motors LE5 (I4) are being produced in large quantities. Some cars might not possess the desirability of a Toyota Supra or Nissan Skyline GT-R, but they do have market potential solely based on their availability.

From the same manufacturers, the Toyota Camry and Nissan Maxima are more common and customized in greater amounts. The ratio of stock versus modified Camrys and Maximas is lower than their desirable counterparts, but they are more frequent. Additionally, the parts bins used in these types of cars are regularly sourced for multiple models, and specialty-equipment manufacturers can benefit from OEM economies of scale.

For more from the Research & Information Center visit, www.sema.org/research.  

Source: SEMA Research & Information Center

A decade ago, the typical auto loan extended 48 months. Now according to J.D. Power and Associates Power Information Network division, the most popular car loans extend six years or more, between 72 and 80 months.

The Detroit News reports that dealers and auto executives attribute the shift to longer loans to increased reliability of modern cars, and people expecting them to last longer, as well as consumers needing to stretch their dollars in a tightening economy. As owners take longer to pay off their cars, not only do they remain out of the new-car buying pool, but their disposable income is also funneled into a car payment that often runs several hundred dollars. The potential impact to the specialty-equipment industry is not insignificant.

A recent survey conducted by the SEMA Research & Information Center found that 23% of respondents are still paying off their car loan, with an average of 31 months left until maturity. With an average payment of $428 a month, 49% of those surveyed said that their car payment has caused them to delay specialty-equipment purchases.

But even if they’re delaying purchase, they haven’t stopped buying altogether. The group still paying off their cars spent an average of $2,400 on specialty equipment last year and plan to spend $2,100 this year. Of the 77% who’ve paid off their loans, 25% did so five or more years ago, 15% within the last two years. These owners, not surprisingly, spend more than those indebted—$3,400 on specialty equipment last year.

For the specialty-equipment manufacturer, retailer or installer, longer vehicle loans represent both challenge and opportunity. The challenge is selling to consumers who want to personalize their ride, but are saddled with a $400 car payment. Opportunity, on the other hand, lies in a lower (if longer) payment, allowing enthusiasts to allocate at least some of their money to specialty-equipment spending.

SEMA’s survey found that cash was the most popular method of payment, 68% having purchased some or all of their parts with cash. Personal credit cards ranked second, 49% having used plastic for their purchases.

Ironically, the most creative place to get financing for parts and accessories these days is at the dealership. SEMA research shows that auto dealers capture about $3.8 billion of industry sales annually, roughly 10% of the market. Dealer sales typically involve restyling and appearance products and truck accessories, categories that as a whole accounted for a 58% share of the specialty-equipment market, or $21 billion at retail.

This figure does not include wheel sales, which account for around 26% of specialty-equipment sales at the dealership level.

Only 2% of SEMA survey respondents, however, noted that they’d financed parts and accessories this way.

For more from the Research & Information Center visit, www.sema.org/research.  

Source: "Buyers Stretch Car Loans," Christine Tierney, The Detroit News, 2/23/08

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About 13% of cars on Mexican roads are used cars imported from the United States. New-car manufacturers and distributors have protested the more than 3 million cars entering Mexico over the past two and a half years, leading Mexico's government to curtail the number of imported cars brought into that market.

These restrictions to allow only 10-year-old vehicles (currently 10- to 15-year-old cars are allowed) will be in place only until January 1, 2009, when the Mexican government is required, under the terms of NAFTA, to begin phasing in the removal of barriers on used cars sold in Mexico. At the beginning of January 2009, used cars 10- to 15-years-old will again be allowed.

By 2019, all used cars will be allowed. New-car imports have been allowed without restriction since 2004.

For more information on the Mexican market, including top-selling vehicles, vehicles most often accessorized, a list of top distributors and details on the Salon de SEMA being held this summer in Mexico City, visit www.sema.org/international or contact Linda Spencer at lindas@sema.org.

Four trade shows occurring over the next several months provide an excellent venue for American companies seeking to grow their overseas business:

-Salão de Acessorios 2008, May 14–18, in São Paulo  (www.salaodeacessorios.com.br/)

-Automechanika Middle East 2008, June 1–3, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (www.automechanikagulf.com)

-PAACE Automechanika (Salon de SEMA section featuring specialty-equipment products) is scheduled for July 9–11 in Mexico City (www.paaceautomechanika.com)

-The biennial Automechanika Germany, September 16–21, in Frankfurt, Germany  (www.automechanika.messefrankfurt.com).

SEMA will exhibit at each of these events and is available to provide members information on all these shows and the respective markets. For more information, contact the websites listed or Linda Spencer at lindas@sema.org. 

For more information on various international markets, visit www.sema.org/international.

SEMA members can realize instant savings by participating in the Specialty Equipment Insurance Alliance (SEIA), a collaboration between SEMA and Driver Alliant Insurance Services. The program provides insurance coverage and risk management solutions to the specialty-equipment industry at the lowest possible cost.

SEIA pairs member companies with proven automotive insurance risk specialists to aggregate the knowledge and buying power for the association's members. Some have recorded four- and five-digit savings.

"We have experienced a significant savings in the thousands," said Lisa Chissus, President of Flex-a-Lite Consolidated and Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council (MPMC) Chairman. "I was speaking to our distributor, and he was telling me that his savings are more than in the 50s.

"The first year of using the program wasn't just a honeymoon either,” Chissus added. “Bob Corwin (SEIA Program Coordinator) offered us additional savings for the second year. He was able to do all that with our current provider. Talk about bottom line savings."

SEIA's products include property and casualty insurance, as well as employee benefits coverage. For additional information and application forms, click here.

John Buttera, 67, died March 2 after a long bout with cancer. 

John Buttera, who left his stamp on the drag racing world in the '70s by building a series of winning Funny Cars and dragsters, created some of hot rodding's most beautiful street rods of the '80s and '90s, and built the first billet wheels, died March 2 after a long battle with cancer. He was 67.

Buttera began his career in his native Kenosha, Wisconsin, when he teamed with Dennis Rollain to form R&B Chassis. They fielded a very light unblown fuel dragster, but a chance meeting with Mickey Thompson in the staging lanes at the U.S. Nationals in the late '60s led him to move to Southern California, changing his life forever.

After initially working for Thompson on his Ford-powered Land Speed Record streamliner, he built Thompson's blue Mustang Funny Car in which Danny Ongais dominated the 1969 season. He then opened his own chassis shop in Cerritos, California, where he built a radical streamlined dragster for Barry Setzer.

His talents soon led such customers as Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen, Don Schumacher and Shirley Muldowney to his door for dragsters and Funny Cars. He built Schumacher's '70 Indy-winning Funny Car, the Hot Wheels entries of Prudhomme and McEwen, the national-record-setting Braskett & Burgin Vega and many more.

Dragsters, Funny Cars, street rods, motorcycles and even Indy cars have all felt the touch of Buttera's innovation. Known for his exceptional craftsmanship, Buttera was involved in all areas of hot rodding.

Buttera brought the high-tech, billet era to street rodding and was the first to manufacture his own wheels and independent suspensions from machined aluminum. He also did extensive development work for Harley-Davidson motorcycles and entered a stock block-powered car in the Indy 500 for which he received the 1987 Clint Brawner Mechanical Excellence Award.

Buttera died just four days after the death of his longtime good friend and hot rodding contemporary, Boyd Coddington, who died February 27 at age 63.

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U.S. Senator Jon Tester of Montana, an avid auto enthusiast, will be the featured guest at the opening reception of the 2008 SEMA Washington Rally. The event takes place on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at the Westin Grand Hotel in Washington, DC and kicks off two days of activities on Capitol Hill.
 
In addition to influential SEMA members, council and industry leaders, among those participating in the SEMA Washington Rally will be members of the Congressional Automotive Performance and Motorsports Caucus, consisting of about 100 members of Congress. The Caucus, formed in 1996 is a coalition of federal lawmakers who are car enthusiasts themselves or have racing and performance manufacturers in their districts. The Caucus was created to help raise the profile of the motor vehicle performance industry in Washington and throughout the country.   
 
Sen. Jon Tester was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006, after a long history of public service in the Big Sky State. He served as chair of the Big Sandy School Board and on his local Soil Conservation Service Committee before running for the Montana Senate in 1997. Tester served two four-year terms in the Montana Legislature and was then chosen to serve as President of the Montana Senate in 2005. He credits his leadership success to the values he learned growing up on the family farm – hard work, straight talk, honesty and integrity.

Under Tester's leadership, the Montana Legislature improved funding for public education and cut taxes for thousands of small businesses. Tester also led the fight to implement a statewide Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) program. In addition, Tester fought to make employee health insurance affordable for small businesses, an issue of critical importance to SEMA members.

Sen. Tester and his son are industry enthusiasts, car collectors and hobbyists, having restored a 1956 Buick, Model-T, '55 Chevy Shortbox Step Side and a Willies CJ2A among other projects. The Senator was a charter member of the SEMA-supported State Automotive Enthusiast Leadership Caucus before his election to the U.S. Senate. 
 
In addition to the opening reception, SEMA members who attend the Washington Rally will meet with their Members of Congress in a one-on-one setting, partake of a political insider session with well known Washington pundits Fred Barnes and Eleanor Clift, tour the U.S. Capitol and celebrate the Victory Junction Gang Camp and the motorsports industry with businessman, philanthropist and respected NASCAR driver Kyle Petty at a Congressional reception.   
 
For more information or to download a registration form for the Washington Rally, please go to:  http://www.sema.org/main/semaorghome.aspx?ID=51667