SEMA-members companies have posted several new listings for job opportunities at www.sema.org/classifieds. Working for a SEMA-member company has many advantages. In addition to working for a company that supports and contributes to the success of the overall industry, being employed by a SEMA-member company enable the employee to participate in webinars, access free market research, join SEMA committees and more. The newest classified listings posted under Positions Available include:

• Shipping Lead, Azusa, California
• Sales, City of Industry, California
• Sales, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Buyer, Azusa, California

SEMA members: Have a job opening that you need filled? Members are invited to post classified ads on www.sema.org/classifieds free of charge. Categories include Positions Available, Positions Wanted, Rep Opportunities, WD Opportunities, For Sale, Items Wanted, Business Opportunities and Internships. Visit the site for details.

The companies and links below represent the members of the Professional Restylers Organization (PRO) that sponsored the council's Industry Awards Reception during the SEMA Spring Expo and SEMA OFFROAD events. For more information on PRO, visit the council's website by clicking here.

PRO Industry Awards Reception Sponsors

• Advantage Truck Accessories: www.advantagetruckaccessories.com
• Auto Trim of North America: www.atna.net
• Big Country: www.bigcountryauto.com
• Bobit Publishing: www.bobit.com
• Keystone Restyling Products : www.keystonerestyling.com
• Restyler's Choice: www.restylerschoice.com
• Luverne Truck Equipment: www.luvernetruck.com
• Razzi Ground Effects (Razzi Corp): www.razzi.com
• 3M Automotive Division: www.3m.com/automotive
• Truck Accessories Group/Leer: www.leer.com
• Trucking Times Magazine: www.truckingtimes.com
• Westin Automotive Products: www.westinautomotive.com

After falling for two months in a row, consumer demand for new automobiles rebounded 3% in May, with 17% of all U.S. households saying that they are very (8%) or somewhat (9%) likely to purchase or lease a new automobile within the next six months (versus 14% who were likely to purchase or lease a new automobile in April), according to TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence.

This month, demand for new automobiles improved among 21 of the 26 consumer groups that TechnoMetrica tracks, fell among three groups, and remained virtually unchanged among two. The sharpest increases occurred among African-American and Hispanic consumers (+11.4 percentage points), 18–24 year olds (+11.1), Midwesterners (+7.3) and parents (+6.9).

On the other hand, demand fell most among those with household incomes above $75K (-6.5), followed by consumers aged 45–64 (-2.9) and Southerners (-1.2).

The highest demand levels were observed among people aged 25–44 (24% say they are likely to purchase or lease a new automobile within the next six months), African-American and Hispanic consumers (23%), parents and suburbanites (21%, respectively).

Groups least likely to purchase or lease a new vehicle included those over the age of 65 (10%), consumers between the ages of 45–64 (11%), those with only a high school education, as well as those with annual incomes between $30K–$50K (13%, respectively).

Of the 17% of households that are likely to purchase or lease a new vehicle within the next six months, 15% say they are likely to make their purchase/lease within one month, while 27% are looking two to three months in the future and 50% expect their purchase/lease to occur four to six months down the line.

With 23% of the vote, midsize cars rank first among likely buyers, while compact cars, with a 21% share, hold second place. Other vehicle types that made rank in May’s survey included: 

• Small SUVs (15% of likely buyers say they are most likely to purchase or lease this type of vehicle)
• Minivans (10%)
• Fullsize cars (8%)
• Trucks (7%)
• Large SUVs (7%)

Consumers preferences tended to lean more strongly towards domestic automakers (44%), although Asian automakers did well too (35%). In terms of brand, Ford (14%) held the top spot, followed closely by Toyota (13%), Honda (12%) and Chevrolet (10%).

Planned new-vehicle expenditures were roughly inline with expectations, with the average likely buyer planning to spend around $24,000 for a new vehicle. However, a sizable number (33%) do plan on spending more than $30K, and 11% plan on spending more than $40K.

Source: TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence. (May 31, 2007). “Demand for Autos Rebounds in May.” AutoView Newsletter. www.technometrica.com.

SEMA research has shown that 83% of new-vehicle buyers agree that their vehicles should represent good investments. Consumers want their vehicles to retain value and may make their future purchase decisions partly based on this factor. With this in mind, CarGurus (www.cargurus.com), an automotive community offering consumers pricing information on new vehicles, assembled its list of the 10 best and 10 worst vehicles in terms of retention value.

Using its Web Price Index, CarGurus, assembled lists of the popular 2007 cars that have historically had the best and worst value retention in the past (as measured by the percent of MSRP retained over five years and 65,000 miles). Study findings included that:

• The 2007 Jeep Wrangler took the top spot, having retained 73% of its value over a five-year/65,000-mile period
• Five of the Top 15 value-retaining cars were Toyotas
• Surprisingly, sports cars such as the Ford Mustang and Porsche 911 were both on the list of Top 15 value-retaining cars, as shown in the table below:

CarGurus took the 250 most popular cars as measured by sales volume and selected cars shipping in 2007 that had similar trims shipping in 2001. CarGurus then measured the value of a used 2001 version of the car with 65k miles (in today’s dollars) versus the original MSRP (from 2001) to measure “value retention.”

Source: CarGurus. (June 5, 2007). “CarGurus Releases Auto Industry’s First and Only ‘Web Price Index’—Pricing From the Democracy of the Web.” CarGurus press release courtesy of PR Newswire.
 

New-vehicle buyers are increasingly demanding customized vehicle interiors that make their vehicles feel uniquely theirs, according to a recent WardsAuto.com article. The trend spans newly licensed “Echo Boomers” to well-experienced baby boomers. However, the latter is more concerned with comfort while the former want different interior colors for their personalization needs, commented Erich Merkle, IRN Inc. director of forecasting, in the WardsAuto.com article.

A panel of experts at the 2007 Ward’s Auto Interiors Show commented that one of the best opportunities for automakers and suppliers to customize vehicle interiors at a low cost is through the use of lights. Ford is already using lights to customize its Mustang for customers. Automakers are showing more concept cars at auto shows with lighting schemes that add the feel of personalization to the vehicles.

Mazda, for example, has received positive feedback from showgoers about its use of lighting in its Ryuga concept, which the company says would complement a driver’s character. Scion’s Fuse concept is another example of how lighting is used to add personalization. Lighting is used to create different gauge configurations, as well as accent the seats.

Finally, the WardsAuto.com article cites the Chevrolet Volt concept as another indicator of vehicle interior lighting becoming key to personalization. The Volt incorporates adaptable lighting and ultraviolet light-projected displays that are projected over the vehicle’s instrumentation. The reconfigurable displays relay information on the status of the intricate E-Flex system and can provide a driver with his e-mail status, traffic patterns and personal reminders.

Although vehicle concepts provide an idea of where automakers are going in the future, the article cites that the vehicle lighting concepts are not making their way into production vehicles today due to a disconnect among designers and executives. However, specialty-equipment companies could take advantage of this growing design trend and give consumers interior-lighting products to fulfill demand today.

Source: Byron Pope. (June 7, 2007). “Auto Makers Strive to Personalize Interiors.” WardsAuto.com. Retrieved June 7, 2007 from www.wardsauto.com.

Gasoline prices continuing to hover well over $3 per gallon helped to entice more U.S. drivers to buy more cars than light trucks last month. In fact, May 2002 marked the last time cars outsold light trucks. Of the 1,555,374 new light vehicles sold in May, 778,651 were cars and 776,723 were light trucks.

Small cars continue to dominate the car segment in terms of sales growth—11.7% growth compared to May 2005—while growth of CUVs continues to outpace all other light-truck segments with its 28.2% growth. Automakers are heavily promoting CUVs, and consumers are becoming more aware of the gas-saving benefits of driving smaller crossovers.

Despite gasoline prices being 8% higher this past May compared to the same month last year, consumers purchased more trucks last month compared to the previous year. The redesign of the Chevrolet Silverado helped it take the top spot away from the Ford F-Series by growing 15.3% from last year’s sales. Rebates and a total redesign helped boost Toyota Tundra sales 122.3% this May compared to last year.

On the car side, the Honda Civic, Chevrolet Impala and Toyota Prius experienced the highest sales growth. Toyota increased Prius output this year to meet the growing demand of this gas-saving hybrid, which grew 196.3% in sales compared to last May.

A host of factors have contributed to the shift to more cars being sold. Gasoline prices, along with overall inflation, have led more consumers to buy lesser expensive vehicles that have better fuel economy compared to larger cars and SUVs. However, shifts in vehicle-buying behavior may not be permanent, as shown by the growth in sales of trucks last month. The tables below show sales for each of the vehicle segments, along with the top 10 selling cars and light trucks in May.

Source: SEMA Research & Information Center

Gas prices are averaging $3.20 across the United States, and the cost for a gallon of gasoline is likely to remain high. Lynn Westfall, chief economist for Tesoro, recently told BusinessWeek that consumers have already spent $20 billion more on gasoline this year than last—a considerable dent in their disposable incomes.

Tesoro is a major gasoline distributor, owning a half-dozen refineries and 278 Shell gas stations. Oil prices and refinery capacities continue to push gasoline prices up. Westfall says the jump of crude oil from $30 to $70 a barrel has caused spikes in fuel costs since 60%–70% of gasoline costs is the cost of crude oil.

Tesoro said that some of its refineries were down this spring while gasoline demand continues to grow at a rate of 2.5 refineries every couple of years. Westfall told BusinessWeek that they simply cannot build additional refineries because it costs $32 billion to build one in the United States. In the meantime, he says that growing demand for gasoline will continue to drive the price of gasoline higher, and he does not expect the problem to be resolved any time soon.

Source: BusinessWeek (June 4, 2007). “Why Gas Prices Will Stay High.” Retrieved June 8, 2007 from www.businessweek.com.

A recent study by the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) found that if a select 10% of the U.S. commercial fleet vehicle population switched to propane, the country could displace nearly 1 billion gallons of gasoline annually by 2017.

The study was commissioned by PERC to help policymakers and commercial fleet managers understand the role that existing alternative fuel sources, such as propane, can play in helping the nation achieve energy independence while reducing emissions. The study examined the 86-million trucks on the roads in the United States and determined that if fleet owners switched 4.5 million of the vehicles to propane, more than 830-million gallons of gasoline could be displaced by 2017.

Conducted by Energy and Environmental Analysis, Inc. (an ICF International Company) of Arlington, Virginia, the study focused on commercial fleets consisting of six or more vehicles that operate within a 100-mile radius.

“To succeed, any plan to reduce gasoline consumption at the levels Congress and the administration are proposing must include both renewable and alternative fuels, as well as efficiency measures,” said Roy Willis, president and CEO of PERC. “One proven alternative fuel option that is both domestic and available today is propane.”

Readily available propane gas and propane-powered vehicles are a cost-effective and environmentally friendly fuel with a proven record of success with more than 10-million vehicles operating worldwide.

Compared to gasoline, propane produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions and cuts emissions of toxins and carcinogens by up to 96%. Operating costs are up to 30% lower than conventional or reformulated gasoline. Propane infrastructure costs are minimal compared to other alternative fuels, with fuel dispensers placed directly onsite at a fleet location.

Most importantly, there are new commercially available vehicles that run on propane. They do not require any additional conversion costs, and they are fully warranted by their respective manufacturer. In the past year, the propane industry has worked with its partners to introduce three new vehicles for fleet applications: the Roush F-150 truck, the propane-powered Vision school bus from Blue Bird Corporation and a GM 8.1L engine.

Introduced in April 2007, the Roush F-150 is the first dedicated propane-powered truck using an advanced liquid propane injection (LPI) system. The Roush F-150 LPI is designed and manufactured to operate solely on propane while providing the same horsepower, torque and drivability of an F-150 equipped with a gasoline-powered 5.4L, three-valve Triton V8 engine.

The propane-powered Vision school bus is the latest offering from Blue Bird Corporation to help school districts meet the challenges of the 2007 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) school-bus engine-emissions requirements. The bus can be used to displace the diesel consumed by more than 617,000 school buses in the United States.

A dedicated propane GM 8.1L platform is also available for medium-duty private commercial fleets, which according to the study, equals more than 2-million trucks. The GM platform can be used for a variety of fleet applications including airport shuttles, municipal transit and package delivery.

“Success in alternative fuel markets requires a keen focus on niche applications where the fuel makes sense,” added Roy Willis. “These new propane-powered vehicles give fleet operators an option that reduces emissions, operating costs and our dependency on foreign oil.”

In his January State of the Union address, President Bush challenged Americans to reduce gasoline consumption by 20% over 10 years. That 20% equates to nearly 35-billion gallons of gasoline. Since then, congressional leaders have introduced similar plans in the House and Senate.

To find out more about clean, abundant, domestic propane and propane-powered fleet vehicles, or to compare the cost of propane-powered vehicles to traditional gasoline or diesel vehicles, visit http://www.propanefreedom.com/.

Source: Propane Education & Research Council. (June 7, 2007). “Increased Fleet Use of Propane Can Reduce U.S. Gasoline Consumption by Nearly 1 Billion Gallons, New Study Says.” Propane Education & Research Council press release courtesy of PR Newswire.

Automakers are increasing their use of “environmental-friendly” materials in vehicle interiors, according to a recent WardsAuto.com article. The article notes that one of the hottest “eco-friendly” interior materials is soybeans, which in the form of soybean oil can be used in place of petroleum polyols to create foam for headrests, armrests and seat cushions.

On average, 30–40 pounds of petroleum-based foam is used in every vehicle interior, says Ash Galbreath, director of foam and comfort engineering for Lear Corp. The company says that they have developed what they call “SoyFoam” which will be used in a 2008 vehicle model.

Basalt, essentially volcanic rock, is another green material gaining stream. Azdel Inc., a joint venture of GE Plastics and PPG, makes a product it calls VolcaLite, which is used in the headliner of the current-generation Acura MDX cross/utility vehicle.

Basalt mineral fibers are combined with polypropylene resins to create this substrate, which Frederick S. Deans, market leader for Azdel’s glass mat thermoplastics business says is attractive to Japanese OEMs because of end-of-life regulations in Japan, which require vehicles to be recycled. Although the supply of basalt is limited—about 5,000 tons of it is currently available globally—its use is desirable among automakers that wish to substitute fiberglass used in headliners.

Recycled yarn is used by Ford in the seats of its 2008 Escape Hybrid, while Mercedes-Benz has been using animal wool and hair as sound-absorbing materials for years. As automakers begin pushing the use of environmentally friendly materials in their vehicles, there may be opportunities for specialty-equipment companies to promote “environment-friendliness” in their products as well.

Source: Christie Schweinsberg. (June 6, 2007). “Regulations, Awareness Causing Interest in Green Interiors.” WardsAuto.com. Retrieved 6/7/2007 from www.wardsauto.com.

MAXAIR, ATMI Inc. has developed a new tire-pressure monitoring system for light vehicles, called MAXAIR, which automatically inflates under-inflated tires on equipped vehicles while in transit. The company says that its new technology could help reduce the 30,000 accidents and 660 deaths that are blamed on under-inflated tires every year in the United States, as well as help save drivers a potential $5 billion in gas and reduce CO2 emissions by 250 pounds per car annually by improving gas mileage 3.3%. The images below, along with additional information about MAXAIR, can be found on the company’s website: www.maxairatmi.com.

 
“This feature is ready and available and could be on all new automobiles,” says Clyde Stech, president of MAXAIR, ATMI Inc. “It’s a matter of consumers demanding it and auto manufacturers making it available.”

The company says that ATMI product concept and patents are available for the automobile manufacturers to have on all-new vehicles, and they could also be made available for the aftermarket. While the company holds the patent on the technology, they are currently looking for an automotive supplier to build and make the product available on new vehicles.

MAXAIR not only detects when tires on cars, light trucks and SUVs are under-inflated, but it also automatically fills tires to the right pressure using air from an onboard compressor. But so far, auto manufacturers seem to be in the slow lane when it comes to offering this system on cars, SUVs and light trucks, MAXAIR notes.

Additionally, similar systems have been in existence in the heavy-duty trucking industry for over a decade. That industry has been experiencing the benefits of ATMI systems for years, and now it’s the automobile industry’s time. Monitoring systems currently on the market could be off by 20%–30%, MAXAIR says, and they only activate dashboard-warning lights to alert drivers that a tire needs air. Drivers then need to find air to fill the tires. With MAXAIR, it’s all done automatically and is accurate within 1%–2%.

MAXAIR says an automobile parts manufacturer could supply the device to automakers for about $200 a vehicle.

Source: MAXAIR, ATMI Inc. (June 7, 2007). “Auto Safety System Saves Lives, Fuel, & Greenhouse Gases.” MAXAIR, ATMI Inc. press release courtesy of PR Newswire.