A new study conducted by PPG Industries shows that silver is the new favorite exterior color with North American car buyers, with 22% preferring it to the next closest favorite, white (19%). The popularity of silver is dipping slightly, down 2% from last year, while black—the third favorite at 15%—gained two points. Rounding out the top colors are red (13%), blue (12%), naturals (10%), other/niche market colors (6%) and green (5%).

"Silver is popular with consumers and automakers because it accentuates the styling of a vehicle and looks modern while also having a high resale value," said Jane E. Harrington, PPG manager, color styling, automotive coatings. The rising popularity of black, white and other colors stems from the fashion and interior design industries, Harrington said. "Today's consumers are aware of trends and design, and they expect to see that reflected in the vehicles they buy."

Consumers in general are becoming more aware of the personalization options afforded to them by installing specialty-equipment products on their vehicles, as evidenced by the market dominance of the accessory and appearance product segment (products typically popular with mainstream consumers and that tend to follow popular design and color trends). This segment rose to $21.1 billion retail in 2006, comprising nearly 58% of the specialty-equipment product market share.

One of the most visible and recognizable products representing the specialty-equipment market is custom wheels, having experienced enormous growth since 1991. Retail sales have increased from $1.3 billion in 1991 to more than $4.5 billion in 2006, a 257% increase, according to SEMA research. That accounts for about 12% of the industry’s overall retail sales.

Automakers have taken notice of the trend, offering new vehicles with styled wheels. Manufacturers have in fact helped fuel the growth and acceptance of custom wheels. The percentage of cars produced with custom wheels has grown 26% over the past decade. Light trucks offered with custom wheels contributed their own growth, although at a more modest 1.3%.

And even with custom wheels being offered on new vehicles, a recent AutoPacific study found that around a third of all new-vehicle buyers intend to modify their vehicle by adding custom wheels, with compact and luxury car buyers the most likely (37.6% and 36.5%, respectively) to do so.

For more insight into the custom wheel market, pick up the November 2007 issue of SEMA News, and visit www.sema.org/research for more original market research produced by SEMA's Research & Information Center.

For urban-lifestyle enthusiasts—those who favor today’s flashy Cadillacs and Chryslers, among other machines—audio and video systems are just as important to their automotive personality as the 22-inch wheels, window tint and exhaust kits they purchase.

According to SEMA research, amplifiers are the most popular piece of A/V gear that urban-lifestyle enthusiasts buy; 59.4% of survey respondents saying that they owned one. Subwoofers (58.6%) and midrange speaker/component sets (54%) followed.

But music alone is not enough for these enthusiasts. Forty-three percent own an in-car DVD player, 32.5% own a flip-out or fixed-monitor head unit, 30.6% have a flip-down-monitor unit, and 27.8% screen their movies on headrest-monitor units.

You can read more of the Urban-Lifestyle Market Update, produced by SEMA’s Research & Information Center, in the July 2007 issue of SEMA News. Additionally, SEMA members can receive complimentary copies of various market reports as another benefit to being a SEMA member by visiting www.sema.org/research.

As is the case with any niche market, products that accessorize the vehicle may be subject to federal safety or emissions laws. States also have jurisdiction to enact safety regulations covering equipment not regulated at the federal level. Examples of products potentially covered by state rules include "optional" or "accessory" lighting equipment, sound limits for exhausts and speakers, window tinting, tire size and vehicle height.

Additionally, disclaimers such as "show vehicle" or "off-road use only" have no legal meaning or very narrow application. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to be aware of varying state laws and regulations in order to meet compliance requirements. SEMA, through its Government Affairs office in Washington, D.C., monitors these proposals and actively seeks to shape laws and regulations so that they do not unnecessarily preclude options based on style and performance.

SEMA encourages manufacturers to take part in the process as well to protect against proposals that are not supported by a demonstrated safety need. SEMA maintains information about these issues under the "Legislation and Regulations" section at www.sema.org.

For many enthusiasts, body kits are the most effective way to give their stock vehicle a performance stance. Coupled with suspension and wheel/tire modifications, an otherwise nondescript car with factory-intended design is instantly personalized.

In the last six months, enthusiasts have snapped up body kits at a voracious rate. Online auction sales of body kits for cars ranging from the Civic to M3, Camaro to Lincoln LS, are up 76% since mid-April, according to data from Terapeak, a developer of market-focused research software that monitors online sales and auctions.

Sales during mid-April to mid-July vaulted the previous three-month period by a healthy 68 percent, a significant number considering that sales actually dipped from January to March compared to the last quarter of 2006. Sales during the last three months (mid-July to mid-October) are also up over the previous quarter, outperforming the summer months by 4.5%.

Terapeak's Motors P&A Research provides sellers with access to comprehensive research on the past year of online auction data and allows users to get in-depth research reports on the competition and themselves. More at www.terapeak.com/motors.

Filler for eNews

SEMA members are encouraged to tune in to "Lean Thinking—The Toyota Way of Doing Business" on Friday, October 19, at 10 a.m. (PST), to learn how Toyota's Lean Thinking Process can enhance company operations on many levels.

The Toyota Production System has been translated for non-production “knowledge work,” known as Lean Thinking. The SEMA webinar will provide the core principles of Lean Thinking and an overview of the Lean Thinking Team Process. You will learn tool phases to organize and implement your project work and how to direct your team’s efforts away from wasteful activities.

What: Lean Thinking—The Toyota Way of Doing Business
When: Friday, October 19, 10 a.m. (PST)
Presenter: Russ Mundi

How to Participate

During the webinar on Friday, October 19, at 10 a.m. (PST), you will be able to interact and ask questions through the computer or over the phone. To view the presentation during the webinar, click here on the day of the webinar. To connect to the audio portion of the webinar, call toll-free 866/637-2754, pin 1542. (The audio portion can be heard from your telephone used during the webinar.)

For additional convenience, all of SEMA's webinar sessions are recorded and are available to download. Check out past sessions and view upcoming webinar topics by visiting www.sema.org/webinar.

The Small Business Television Network will be taping its show at the 2007 SEMA Show, which means that exhibitors have an opportunity to promote their businesses on the network for free. Interviews take approximately 15 minutes and will air on SBTV.com to more than 1.2 million viewers. SBTV will also help subjects stream the interview on their own business websites. Sign up for this opportunity by visiting http://www.sbtv.com/links/sema.

Mark Toebben, president of 38-year SEMA member company DCi (Direct Communications Inc.), has worked with hundreds of other distributors/retailers to understand their business needs and provide them with the tools and information they need to compete and grow. He will be filling a seat vacated by Bob Price, who left the SEMA Board to serve as executive director of the newly formed SEMA Education Institute.

Mark Toebben

For a list of the entire SEMA Board of Directors, visit www.sema.org/main/semaorghome.aspx?id=54785.

EcoTrek is set to debut what it calls some of the most incredible “mean and green” automotive designs to the public during the 2007 SEMA Show. The company’s vehicle displays will include a 700-hp biodiesel Hummer H2, a Baja-ready biofuel Ford F-250 and other amazing “petrol-free” street and off-road rides. 

All of the EcoTrek vehicles feature accessories made by SEMA members that convey a positive environmental message. For example, the vehicles incorporate tires made by Nitto and Toyo that were produced with recycled rubber at low-emissions American factories, as well as products from ProComp and RealWheels that use a new “eco-considerate” chroming process.

EcoTrek will also construct a mini TV studio to interview SEMA members for TV productions that EcoTrek is compiling for the Discovery Network, National Geographic and several Internet broadcast outlets. EcoTrek will also host media representatives from other print and broadcast sources.

For more information on the 2007 SEMA Show, visit www.SEMAShow.com.

SEMA manufacturing members are invited to participate in the upcoming 2008 Toyota Sequoia Measuring Session in November. Measuring sessions provide members with the opportunity to gather measurements and specs before the vehicles are available for sale to the public. 

Who: Toyota Motor Sales USA

What: 2008 Toyota Sequoia

• All-new body styling and interior
• New 5.7L V8 engine 
• Launch date is late November 2007

Where: Toyota Service Development Center, 2015 W. 190th St., Torrance, CA 90501  
  
When: 

• Thursday, November 8
• 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
• Sessions will be limited to 60 minutes. No more than three companies at one time; two persons per company.

Register: The deadline to register is Friday, November 2. E-mail a response with time preference, name(s), company name, address, phone number and e-mail addresses(s) to measuringsession@sema.org.   

Note: Cameras will not be permitted
 
Questions? Contact Bill Wolf at billw@sema.org (909/396-0289, ext. 177) or Sandy Conolly at sandyc@sema.org, (909/396-0289, ext. 155).