Attendee and media registration for the 2011 SEMA Show is now open and available online by following this link.

Attendee and media registration for the 2011 SEMA Show is now open. Get started now here by using this link. The annual trade-only event takes place Tuesday–Friday, November 1–4, 2011, in Las Vegas.

“Preregistering online is the easiest and most economical way for buyers to obtain credentials to the SEMA Show,” said Peter MacGillivray, SEMA vice president of communications and events.

Buyers registering online before the early registration deadline pay just $25. They will also be sent badges in the mail in advance of the event, providing quick access to the Show floor immediately when the SEMA Show opens on November 1.

While media credentials will be available for pick up onsite in the Media Center, preregistration will help avoid delays and ensure that media are able to maximize their time at the Show. Media will also be able to utilize exclusive benefits available only to editors and reporters in the Media Center.

The SEMA Show is the world’s largest automotive trade gathering, where manufacturers and buyers of automotive specialty parts and equipment gather to do business each year. The event attracts more than 100,000 industry professionals from more than 100 countries each year. For more details, visit www.SEMAShow.com.

	Attendee and media registration for the 2011 SEMA Show is now open and available online by following this link.

Attendee and media registration for the 2011 SEMA Show is now open. Get started now here by using this link. The annual trade-only event takes place Tuesday–Friday, November 1–4, 2011, in Las Vegas.

“Preregistering online is the easiest and most economical way for buyers to obtain credentials to the SEMA Show,” said Peter MacGillivray, SEMA vice president of communications and events.

Buyers registering online before the early registration deadline pay just $25. They will also be sent badges in the mail in advance of the event, providing quick access to the Show floor immediately when the SEMA Show opens on November 1.

While media credentials will be available for pick up onsite in the Media Center, preregistration will help avoid delays and ensure that media are able to maximize their time at the Show. Media will also be able to utilize exclusive benefits available only to editors and reporters in the Media Center.

The SEMA Show is the world’s largest automotive trade gathering, where manufacturers and buyers of automotive specialty parts and equipment gather to do business each year. The event attracts more than 100,000 industry professionals from more than 100 countries each year. For more details, visit www.SEMAShow.com.

As of April 1, 2011, it is illegal to sell or install a wheel weight in New York that contains lead. The state joined several others that have enacted laws banning the manufacture, sale and use of lead weights. California’s law went into effect on January 1, 2010. Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Vermont and Washington also ban the product, and several other states have considered a ban. 

The automakers have already agreed to stop using lead weights as original equipment, and the three major manufacturers of wheel weights in the United States stopped distributing lead weights in 2009. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched a voluntary nationwide initiative in 2008 and began a rulemaking process in 2009, which may eventually translate into a mandatory federal ban. The weights have been banned in the European Union since 2005. Automakers, tire makers and the aftermarket are turning to three main substitute materials: steel, zinc or composites.

If lead weights fall off tires, there is concern that they then become environmental hazards or contaminants in the metal recycling process. In the environment, the weights may be ground into fine dust particles and turn into lead oxides, hydroxides or bicarbonates. Lead particles and chemical combinations also pose the risk of contaminating surface and ground-water supplies. 

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

As of April 1, 2011, it is illegal to sell or install a wheel weight in New York that contains lead. The state joined several others that have enacted laws banning the manufacture, sale and use of lead weights. California’s law went into effect on January 1, 2010. Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Vermont and Washington also ban the product, and several other states have considered a ban. 

The automakers have already agreed to stop using lead weights as original equipment, and the three major manufacturers of wheel weights in the United States stopped distributing lead weights in 2009. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched a voluntary nationwide initiative in 2008 and began a rulemaking process in 2009, which may eventually translate into a mandatory federal ban. The weights have been banned in the European Union since 2005. Automakers, tire makers and the aftermarket are turning to three main substitute materials: steel, zinc or composites.

If lead weights fall off tires, there is concern that they then become environmental hazards or contaminants in the metal recycling process. In the environment, the weights may be ground into fine dust particles and turn into lead oxides, hydroxides or bicarbonates. Lead particles and chemical combinations also pose the risk of contaminating surface and ground-water supplies. 

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has streamlined the process for approving fuel conversion systems. The conversion systems allow light- and heavy-duty vehicles to run on alternative fuels (natural gas, propane, alcohol, electricity, etc.) while complying with Clean Air Act emissions standards. The EPA has established a three-tiered compliance process based on the age of the vehicle.

Under the old one-size-fits-all approach, the vehicle and engine conversion system must be covered by a certificate of conformity demonstrating emissions compliance. Under the new system, a certificate is only required for newer vehicles (less than two years old). Conversion system manufacturers need to perform certification tests to demonstrate the vehicle complies with exhaust and evaporative emissions standards as well as with on-board diagnostic requirements, but manufacturers may then apply a single set of test data to more vehicle and engine conversions than is currently allowed. 

To certify alternative-fuel conversions for intermediate-aged engines (more than two years old but still within their useful life), manufacturers need to perform exhaust and evaporative emissions tests to demonstrate compliance with EPA standards and then forward that test data to the EPA with a statement that the OBD system will continue to operate properly after the conversion. For vehicles that have outlived their useful life, the EPA conversion manufacturers must submit a detailed description of the conversion technology to demonstrate that it is well engineered and should work. Manufacturers must also submit an OBD diagnostic scan tool report to show that the OBD system continues to operate properly. 

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has streamlined the process for approving fuel conversion systems. The conversion systems allow light- and heavy-duty vehicles to run on alternative fuels (natural gas, propane, alcohol, electricity, etc.) while complying with Clean Air Act emissions standards. The EPA has established a three-tiered compliance process based on the age of the vehicle.

Under the old one-size-fits-all approach, the vehicle and engine conversion system must be covered by a certificate of conformity demonstrating emissions compliance. Under the new system, a certificate is only required for newer vehicles (less than two years old). Conversion system manufacturers need to perform certification tests to demonstrate the vehicle complies with exhaust and evaporative emissions standards as well as with on-board diagnostic requirements, but manufacturers may then apply a single set of test data to more vehicle and engine conversions than is currently allowed. 

To certify alternative-fuel conversions for intermediate-aged engines (more than two years old but still within their useful life), manufacturers need to perform exhaust and evaporative emissions tests to demonstrate compliance with EPA standards and then forward that test data to the EPA with a statement that the OBD system will continue to operate properly after the conversion. For vehicles that have outlived their useful life, the EPA conversion manufacturers must submit a detailed description of the conversion technology to demonstrate that it is well engineered and should work. Manufacturers must also submit an OBD diagnostic scan tool report to show that the OBD system continues to operate properly. 

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org. 

Legislation to increase the age requirement for vehicles eligible for registration as “antique, rare or special-interest motor vehicles” was passed by the Connecticut Joint Committee on Planning and Development. The bill was amended in Committee to increase the age requirement for registration as an antique to 30 years old and increase the tax assessment amount on vehicles registered as antiques to $2,500. Currently, vehicles 20 years old or older are eligible for antique status. Antique, rare or special-interest motor vehicles are currently assessed at a rate of $500, and owners pay personal property taxes on that amount. The bill will next be considered by the full House of Representatives. Among other things, the bill makes it more expensive to register legitimate collector vehicles and will require antique, rare or special-interest motor vehicles that no longer qualify for special plates to have them replaced with standard plates and taxed using the same calculations used to assess taxes on regular, daily-driver vehicles. 

For more information, click here. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

Legislation to increase the age requirement for vehicles eligible for registration as “antique, rare or special-interest motor vehicles” was passed by the Connecticut Joint Committee on Planning and Development. The bill was amended in Committee to increase the age requirement for registration as an antique to 30 years old and increase the tax assessment amount on vehicles registered as antiques to $2,500. Currently, vehicles 20 years old or older are eligible for antique status. Antique, rare or special-interest motor vehicles are currently assessed at a rate of $500, and owners pay personal property taxes on that amount. The bill will next be considered by the full House of Representatives. Among other things, the bill makes it more expensive to register legitimate collector vehicles and will require antique, rare or special-interest motor vehicles that no longer qualify for special plates to have them replaced with standard plates and taxed using the same calculations used to assess taxes on regular, daily-driver vehicles. 

For more information, click here. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

SEMA-opposed legislation that would have allowed cities to remove an inoperable vehicle from private property if the vehicle was deemed a “nuisance” under a local ordinance was defeated on a 14–14 vote in the full Arkansas Senate. The bill needed 18 votes to pass. Opposition to the bill was led by State Senator Johnny Key, a member of the State Automotive Enthusiast Leadership Caucus. Among other things, the measure provided no reasonable safeguards for legitimate automotive hobbyists to work on inoperable collector vehicles on private property, even those located out of public view. 

For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

SEMA-opposed legislation that would have allowed cities to remove an inoperable vehicle from private property if the vehicle was deemed a “nuisance” under a local ordinance was defeated on a 14–14 vote in the full Arkansas Senate. The bill needed 18 votes to pass. Opposition to the bill was led by State Senator Johnny Key, a member of the State Automotive Enthusiast Leadership Caucus. Among other things, the measure provided no reasonable safeguards for legitimate automotive hobbyists to work on inoperable collector vehicles on private property, even those located out of public view. 

For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.