SEMA News—December 2020

INDUSTRY NEWS

Photos courtesy SpiedBilde, Brian Williams. Reuse or reproduction without the copyright holder’s consent is prohibited.

’21 Ford Ranger Tremor Here’s a prototype of the Ford Ranger testing what is believed to be the Tremor package for the midsize pickup. The vehicle is wearing some body-hugging camo on the front and rear ends, though there doesn’t appear to be much different about the body except for a body-colored lower front fascia. The more noteworthy changes reside at the wheels, tires, running boards and lift. The prototype seems to be riding on a set of wheels from the international-market Ranger Raptor, wrapped in a set of knobby all-terrain rubber. A set of high-clearance running boards is also clearly visible and doesn’t appear to be a type currently offered on the Ranger. It’s possible that this model is equipped with a lift, as rides a tad higher than normal Rangers.
’21 F-150 Raptor Here’s a prototype of the upcoming Ford F-150 Raptor, which has all the markings of being driven on a dirty course and looks tough and imposing. The rear underpinnings still have drape-like camouflage to disguise the new coil-spring suspension system. More notable is the fact that the new Raptor will be powered by a supercharged 5.2L V8 straight from the heart of the Shelby GT500 and will make between 725–750 hp, according to sources. One said: “Honestly, we had to counter Ram once we knew they installed the HellCat in the TRX.” The team is allegedly looking to beat the Ram TRX at all costs. Rumbles of a V8 can clearly be heard under the hood. Expect an official debut in early 2021.
Porsche 911 GT3 The upcoming Porsche 911 GT3 builds on the grown-up image of the 992, packing more aerodynamic elements. New air intakes adorn the nose of the supercar, along with a heavily revised front end. Visible at the rear are über-wide hips, whose eye-catching nature is only surpassed by the complex rear wing and, for the first time, the diffuser below the rear bumper. More importantly (judging by the sound of the prototype), the naturally aspirated engine is here to stay. After all, Zuffenhausen engineers have introduced a new 4.0L for the 991.2 GT3. The sole transmission should be an eight-speed, dual-clutch unit, though Porsche may appease manual fans by making a stick shift available at some point.

SEMA News—December 2020

INDUSTRY NEWS

Photos courtesy SpiedBilde, Brian Williams. Reuse or reproduction without the copyright holder’s consent is prohibited.

’21 Ford Ranger Tremor Here’s a prototype of the Ford Ranger testing what is believed to be the Tremor package for the midsize pickup. The vehicle is wearing some body-hugging camo on the front and rear ends, though there doesn’t appear to be much different about the body except for a body-colored lower front fascia. The more noteworthy changes reside at the wheels, tires, running boards and lift. The prototype seems to be riding on a set of wheels from the international-market Ranger Raptor, wrapped in a set of knobby all-terrain rubber. A set of high-clearance running boards is also clearly visible and doesn’t appear to be a type currently offered on the Ranger. It’s possible that this model is equipped with a lift, as rides a tad higher than normal Rangers.
’21 F-150 Raptor Here’s a prototype of the upcoming Ford F-150 Raptor, which has all the markings of being driven on a dirty course and looks tough and imposing. The rear underpinnings still have drape-like camouflage to disguise the new coil-spring suspension system. More notable is the fact that the new Raptor will be powered by a supercharged 5.2L V8 straight from the heart of the Shelby GT500 and will make between 725–750 hp, according to sources. One said: “Honestly, we had to counter Ram once we knew they installed the HellCat in the TRX.” The team is allegedly looking to beat the Ram TRX at all costs. Rumbles of a V8 can clearly be heard under the hood. Expect an official debut in early 2021.
Porsche 911 GT3 The upcoming Porsche 911 GT3 builds on the grown-up image of the 992, packing more aerodynamic elements. New air intakes adorn the nose of the supercar, along with a heavily revised front end. Visible at the rear are über-wide hips, whose eye-catching nature is only surpassed by the complex rear wing and, for the first time, the diffuser below the rear bumper. More importantly (judging by the sound of the prototype), the naturally aspirated engine is here to stay. After all, Zuffenhausen engineers have introduced a new 4.0L for the 991.2 GT3. The sole transmission should be an eight-speed, dual-clutch unit, though Porsche may appease manual fans by making a stick shift available at some point.

SEMA News—December 2020

INTERNET

By Joe Dysart

Managing COVID-19 Fears in the Workplace

New Software Apps Can Help

A majority of employees are looking for employers to protect them from COVID-19 at the workplace.

Businesses are keenly aware that employees are looking for assurance that workplaces are safe from COVID-19 and are turning to new software apps designed to mitigate those fears. The apps offer businesses the ability to keep track of the health status of every employee and make quick moves, should a specific employee suddenly be stricken with the virus.

While some apps focus solely on offering contact tracking in workplaces hit by a new case of the COVID-19, others go much further, offering a complete management solution for dealing with COVID-19 and all its impacts on the workplace.

“The number-one focus of employers right now should be employee engagement,” said Melissa Jezior, president and CEO of Eagle Hill Consulting. “That means understanding at the most granular level employee sentiment about COVID-19, their challenges returning to the workplace, how to keep the workforce safe and then taking action to address employee feedback.”

Some of the new apps—including Kokomo COVID19Tracker and SafetyTek COVID-19 Workforce Health Analysis—are completely free, standalone software packages that offer businesses a quick way to immediately address employee concerns. Other apps are free as add-ons to much more comprehensive workplace-management software packages. That means you’ll be able to use the COVID-19 app for free if you happen to be a user of that software or you’re looking to try out that software for the first time. Still other apps are standalone but come with a price tag.

No matter which solution employers choose for their workplaces, it’s very clear that employees are going to be looking to their employers to protect their health at work. Specifically, 55% of employees said that they are counting on employers to mandate employees with COVID-19 symptoms to stay home, according to an April 2020 survey of 1,000 U.S.-based employees by Jezior’s Eagle Hill Consulting.

Moreover, 53% of employees surveyed said that they are looking for employers to make COVID-19 tests readily available at the workplace. In addition, 44% of workers said that complete transparency and open communication are going to be crucial in the age of the COVID-19, while 42% are looking for the ability to work remotely if need be, and 41% are looking for employee-wellness efforts.

“Today, more than ever, it’s critical that employers prioritize employee wellness by engaging and caring for their people,” said David Ossip, chairman and CEO of Ceridian—a provider of workforce-management software that’s offering a free COVID-19 add-on for its system.

A word of caution here: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop regulations protecting the privacy and security of certain health information. That means that employers must be very cautious about who sees medical data. As a general rule, medical information needs to be closely held, meaning that managers and team leaders probably should not have access if your company is to comply with HIPPA. And there are local employment requirements to be considered as well—as an example, San Diego County in California currently mandates temperature checks.

That said, these apps can offer employers a framework to help monitor and track employee status. Here’s a representative sampling of the COVID-19 workplace-management systems currently available.

Kokomo COVID19Tracker (www.covid247.org) standalone software, free: Kokomo’s cloud-based software is basically a contact-tracing solution that enables employers to track employee health and notify employees who have been in recent contact with another employee who is suddenly stricken by the COVID-19. It offers tools for collecting, tracking, notifying and managing COVID-19 cases that pop up at work and at home.

Employees who sign up for the program need to know that the information they offer the system will be accessible to both the employer and public health authorities. The primary purpose of the system is to offer free COVID-19 contract tracing for employers and public health authorities.

Workers voluntarily use the system by adding data regarding their COVID-19 state (negative or positive) and then updating that info as necessar—including when a positive case of COVID-19 becomes a “cured” case. Data can be input via PC or smartphone.

The system uses artificial intelligence to gauge the probability of reported cases needing “proactive intervention” from either workplace managers or public health authorities. One of the features of the Kokomo tracker is its ability to automatically notify appropriate people—including workplace managers and health authorities—about important COVID-19 case updates using email, text and/or voice calls.

SafetyTek COVID-19 Workforce Health Analysis (www.safetytek.io/covid-19) standalone software, free: This free solution is provided by a firm that offers cloud-based software for monitoring and managing on-the-job safety.

“We’re making this solution free because we strongly believe that every company should have access to all the tools available to ensure their team’s health and safety,” said Ryan Quiring, the company’s CEO.

Workers use the app by updating their COVID-19 status daily via smartphone, offering human resources (HR), managers, safety officers and related leaders regular updated insights into workers who are available to work on-site or from home. The software also offers employees the ability to compare their current health against common symptoms of COVID-19 and help them determine if they’re at risk for COVID-19 infection.

The system further provides managers an easy way to quickly distribute workplace and government-generated news reports regarding COVID-19 via email, text and/or voice. Managers also have access to the system’s data via smartphone, which makes it very easy for them to discern who can work on-site, who needs to continue to telecommute, and who needs to be monitored as they wrestle with COVID-19.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers Check-In (www.pwc.com/us/en/products/check-in.html) standalone software, call for price: PWC’s Check-In offers employers the ability to closely track the movements of employees and ensures easy tracing of employees who have come in contact with a colleague who has suddenly contracted COVID-19.

Tracking of employees’ smartphones—which occurs only when they’re at the workplace—is handled via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The app is designed to enable managers to quickly intervene when a new case pops up, and it ensures that workplace disruption will be limited to other employees who have had recent contact with a staffer who suddenly tests positive for COVID-19.

Ceridian Dayforce Employee Safety Monitoring (www.ceridian.com/products/dayforce/hr/employee-safety-monitoring) add-on for Dayforce users, free: This COVID-19 app integrates into the much larger Dayforce workforce-management system, which offers tools for HR, payroll, benefits distribution and the like. The app enables employers to monitor COVID-19 status of all employees—whether they are at work, at home or traveling. It enables managers to quickly notify employees who have been exposed to a colleague who suddenly tests positive for COVID-19.

Appian Workforce Safety and Readiness (www.appian.com/covid-application-signup) standalone software, starts at $5,000 per month: This cloud-based system enables a company’s IT department to build a COVID-19 response management hub with minimal coding, according to Appian. Some hubs can be running in about two hours, according to the company.

The system offers an “enterprise command center” for monitoring employee health, location and possible exposure. Key features include:

• A unified command center, which key company officers can use to manage the health and work status of all employees in real time through a single interface.
• Fast, easy workforce screening, which enables employees to update their personal health and risk data via PC or smartphone.
• Intelligent return-to-work certification, which enables a business to define internal policy rules regarding return-to-work certifications.
• Support for phased return to work, which offers a blueprint for enabling the automation of a phased or rotating approach for an employee’s return to the workplace.
• Fast issue resolution, which enables HR to use built-in case management tools to make workplace policy exceptions and handle unusual employee appeals or concerns regarding COVID-19.
• Privacy and security, which is offered by the Appian HIPAA-compliant cloud.
• Availability in multiple languages, including English, Italian, Spanish, German and French, with the ability to expand to other languages.

Pega COVID-19 Employee Safety and Business Continuity Tracker (www.pega.com/about/news/press-releases/pega-launches-free-app-help-clients-track-covid-19-employee-exposure-and) add-on module, call for price: Like most other COVID-19 tracking systems, the Pegasystems cloud software for internal business management and customer engagement allows employees to enter their data into the tracker by responding to a short set of risk-assessment questions. Those responses trigger a series of automated actions on the software’s dashboard, which helps businesses auto-manage COVID-19.

“With the state of the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly evolving, Pega quickly developed this app to help our clients ensure the well-being of their employees and customers while also helping to mitigate their business risks,” said Alan Trefler, CEO of Pegasystems.

Automated actions can be customized within the system to reflect a specific business’ unique COVID-19 policy. Customizable actions built into the system include:

• Analyzing employees’ risk levels (high, medium or low) based on screening questions.
• Sending tailored instructions to affected employees based on their risk levels.
• Alerting applicable managers and HR on newly assessed employees.
• Generating checklists for HR managers with actions for affected employees.
• Estimating the likely return-to-work date for employees.
• Sending employees reminders to update their COVID-19 health status.

Users can also configure the Pega app and integrate it with other existing systems, including HR and scheduling.

Joe Dysart is an internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.

646-233-4089

joe@dysartnewsfeatures.com

www.dysartnewsfeatures.com

SEMA News—December 2020

INTERNET

By Joe Dysart

Managing COVID-19 Fears in the Workplace

New Software Apps Can Help

A majority of employees are looking for employers to protect them from COVID-19 at the workplace.

Businesses are keenly aware that employees are looking for assurance that workplaces are safe from COVID-19 and are turning to new software apps designed to mitigate those fears. The apps offer businesses the ability to keep track of the health status of every employee and make quick moves, should a specific employee suddenly be stricken with the virus.

While some apps focus solely on offering contact tracking in workplaces hit by a new case of the COVID-19, others go much further, offering a complete management solution for dealing with COVID-19 and all its impacts on the workplace.

“The number-one focus of employers right now should be employee engagement,” said Melissa Jezior, president and CEO of Eagle Hill Consulting. “That means understanding at the most granular level employee sentiment about COVID-19, their challenges returning to the workplace, how to keep the workforce safe and then taking action to address employee feedback.”

Some of the new apps—including Kokomo COVID19Tracker and SafetyTek COVID-19 Workforce Health Analysis—are completely free, standalone software packages that offer businesses a quick way to immediately address employee concerns. Other apps are free as add-ons to much more comprehensive workplace-management software packages. That means you’ll be able to use the COVID-19 app for free if you happen to be a user of that software or you’re looking to try out that software for the first time. Still other apps are standalone but come with a price tag.

No matter which solution employers choose for their workplaces, it’s very clear that employees are going to be looking to their employers to protect their health at work. Specifically, 55% of employees said that they are counting on employers to mandate employees with COVID-19 symptoms to stay home, according to an April 2020 survey of 1,000 U.S.-based employees by Jezior’s Eagle Hill Consulting.

Moreover, 53% of employees surveyed said that they are looking for employers to make COVID-19 tests readily available at the workplace. In addition, 44% of workers said that complete transparency and open communication are going to be crucial in the age of the COVID-19, while 42% are looking for the ability to work remotely if need be, and 41% are looking for employee-wellness efforts.

“Today, more than ever, it’s critical that employers prioritize employee wellness by engaging and caring for their people,” said David Ossip, chairman and CEO of Ceridian—a provider of workforce-management software that’s offering a free COVID-19 add-on for its system.

A word of caution here: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop regulations protecting the privacy and security of certain health information. That means that employers must be very cautious about who sees medical data. As a general rule, medical information needs to be closely held, meaning that managers and team leaders probably should not have access if your company is to comply with HIPPA. And there are local employment requirements to be considered as well—as an example, San Diego County in California currently mandates temperature checks.

That said, these apps can offer employers a framework to help monitor and track employee status. Here’s a representative sampling of the COVID-19 workplace-management systems currently available.

Kokomo COVID19Tracker (www.covid247.org) standalone software, free: Kokomo’s cloud-based software is basically a contact-tracing solution that enables employers to track employee health and notify employees who have been in recent contact with another employee who is suddenly stricken by the COVID-19. It offers tools for collecting, tracking, notifying and managing COVID-19 cases that pop up at work and at home.

Employees who sign up for the program need to know that the information they offer the system will be accessible to both the employer and public health authorities. The primary purpose of the system is to offer free COVID-19 contract tracing for employers and public health authorities.

Workers voluntarily use the system by adding data regarding their COVID-19 state (negative or positive) and then updating that info as necessar—including when a positive case of COVID-19 becomes a “cured” case. Data can be input via PC or smartphone.

The system uses artificial intelligence to gauge the probability of reported cases needing “proactive intervention” from either workplace managers or public health authorities. One of the features of the Kokomo tracker is its ability to automatically notify appropriate people—including workplace managers and health authorities—about important COVID-19 case updates using email, text and/or voice calls.

SafetyTek COVID-19 Workforce Health Analysis (www.safetytek.io/covid-19) standalone software, free: This free solution is provided by a firm that offers cloud-based software for monitoring and managing on-the-job safety.

“We’re making this solution free because we strongly believe that every company should have access to all the tools available to ensure their team’s health and safety,” said Ryan Quiring, the company’s CEO.

Workers use the app by updating their COVID-19 status daily via smartphone, offering human resources (HR), managers, safety officers and related leaders regular updated insights into workers who are available to work on-site or from home. The software also offers employees the ability to compare their current health against common symptoms of COVID-19 and help them determine if they’re at risk for COVID-19 infection.

The system further provides managers an easy way to quickly distribute workplace and government-generated news reports regarding COVID-19 via email, text and/or voice. Managers also have access to the system’s data via smartphone, which makes it very easy for them to discern who can work on-site, who needs to continue to telecommute, and who needs to be monitored as they wrestle with COVID-19.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers Check-In (www.pwc.com/us/en/products/check-in.html) standalone software, call for price: PWC’s Check-In offers employers the ability to closely track the movements of employees and ensures easy tracing of employees who have come in contact with a colleague who has suddenly contracted COVID-19.

Tracking of employees’ smartphones—which occurs only when they’re at the workplace—is handled via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The app is designed to enable managers to quickly intervene when a new case pops up, and it ensures that workplace disruption will be limited to other employees who have had recent contact with a staffer who suddenly tests positive for COVID-19.

Ceridian Dayforce Employee Safety Monitoring (www.ceridian.com/products/dayforce/hr/employee-safety-monitoring) add-on for Dayforce users, free: This COVID-19 app integrates into the much larger Dayforce workforce-management system, which offers tools for HR, payroll, benefits distribution and the like. The app enables employers to monitor COVID-19 status of all employees—whether they are at work, at home or traveling. It enables managers to quickly notify employees who have been exposed to a colleague who suddenly tests positive for COVID-19.

Appian Workforce Safety and Readiness (www.appian.com/covid-application-signup) standalone software, starts at $5,000 per month: This cloud-based system enables a company’s IT department to build a COVID-19 response management hub with minimal coding, according to Appian. Some hubs can be running in about two hours, according to the company.

The system offers an “enterprise command center” for monitoring employee health, location and possible exposure. Key features include:

• A unified command center, which key company officers can use to manage the health and work status of all employees in real time through a single interface.
• Fast, easy workforce screening, which enables employees to update their personal health and risk data via PC or smartphone.
• Intelligent return-to-work certification, which enables a business to define internal policy rules regarding return-to-work certifications.
• Support for phased return to work, which offers a blueprint for enabling the automation of a phased or rotating approach for an employee’s return to the workplace.
• Fast issue resolution, which enables HR to use built-in case management tools to make workplace policy exceptions and handle unusual employee appeals or concerns regarding COVID-19.
• Privacy and security, which is offered by the Appian HIPAA-compliant cloud.
• Availability in multiple languages, including English, Italian, Spanish, German and French, with the ability to expand to other languages.

Pega COVID-19 Employee Safety and Business Continuity Tracker (www.pega.com/about/news/press-releases/pega-launches-free-app-help-clients-track-covid-19-employee-exposure-and) add-on module, call for price: Like most other COVID-19 tracking systems, the Pegasystems cloud software for internal business management and customer engagement allows employees to enter their data into the tracker by responding to a short set of risk-assessment questions. Those responses trigger a series of automated actions on the software’s dashboard, which helps businesses auto-manage COVID-19.

“With the state of the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly evolving, Pega quickly developed this app to help our clients ensure the well-being of their employees and customers while also helping to mitigate their business risks,” said Alan Trefler, CEO of Pegasystems.

Automated actions can be customized within the system to reflect a specific business’ unique COVID-19 policy. Customizable actions built into the system include:

• Analyzing employees’ risk levels (high, medium or low) based on screening questions.
• Sending tailored instructions to affected employees based on their risk levels.
• Alerting applicable managers and HR on newly assessed employees.
• Generating checklists for HR managers with actions for affected employees.
• Estimating the likely return-to-work date for employees.
• Sending employees reminders to update their COVID-19 health status.

Users can also configure the Pega app and integrate it with other existing systems, including HR and scheduling.

Joe Dysart is an internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.

646-233-4089

joe@dysartnewsfeatures.com

www.dysartnewsfeatures.com

SEMA News—December 2020

INDUSTRY NEWS

Fast Facts

Stefano Domenicali

Stefano Domenicali was announced as the new president and CEO of Formula 1, effective January 2021. Chase Carey, the current chairman and CEO, will move to the role of non-executive chairman. Domenicali is known for his time at Ferrari, having joined the team from 1991 to 2014. Most recently, he served as the CEO of Lamborghini and joined parent company Audi in 2014. During that time, he also acted as the president of FIA’s single-seater commission.

Don Orrell

PFC Brakes announced that Don Orrell joined the company as vice president of sales and marketing, reporting to the president and CEO. In his position, Orrell will lead the PFC sales and marketing departments to pursue the growth goals set out in the PFC strategic plan. He has more than 35 years of sales expertise in the light- and heavy-duty aftermarkets and has a proven track record of launching new programs, marketing, communications, team development and maintaining strong customer relationships.

Nick Caloroso

The Retrofit Source (TRS) announced that Nick Caloroso joined the company as national sales manager. He previously served as the sales manager for Diode Dynamics for the last seven years. Caloroso is an experienced manager in developing successful B2B sales channels. He also serves the automotive industry through his role as chair-elect for SEMA’s Young Executives Network. He will lead an expanding team of specialized account managers charged with building the TRS B2B distribution network.

General Motors announced the leadership for its new performance and racing technical center based in Concord, North Carolina. Dr. Eric Warren of Richard Childress Racing (RCR) was named the director of NASCAR operations. In that position, he will be responsible for competition duties and expanding the involvement of GM’s product development for the Chevrolet race teams. Warren has been part of the RCR team since 2012.

Keystone Automotive Operations Inc. added Scosche Industries Inc. to its mobile-electronics category. Scosche Industries is a multi-generation, family-owned and -operated company based in Southern California. It specializes in innovative mobile electronics and automotive accessories. It began as a small car-audio consulting business but has grown into a global company that serves more than 50 countries with more than 4,000 unique products. Boasting 400-plus patents/trademarks and multiple industry awards, Scosche is an established player in the lifestyle tech industry.

Marcy Parker	Jonah Rauch	John Rarick

CRC Industries Inc. announced three new personnel appointments to its marketing department. Marcy Parker, MBA, was appointed director of marketing for the Americas region. Parker will lead the department’s key branding, product and digital marketing initiatives. Jonah Rauch joined CRC as product manager for the automotive and consumer product lines and will drive the go-to-market strategies for CRC Brakleen. John Rarick was appointed product manager for CRC’s industrial product lines and will lead the company’s cleaning and degreasing strategies.

Race Winning Brands Inc. (RWB) announced that it has completed the relocation of its MGP Connecting Rods business to Lakewood, New Jersey—home of Manley Performance, another RWB company. RWB relocated MGP’s complete production line to Manley Performance’s production facility. Integrating the MGP line into the Manley facility is a key strategic move for RWB, allowing the distinct businesses to share resources and technology.

Kyle Fischer

Lubrication Specialties Inc. (LSI) President Brett Tennar announced the promotion of Kyle Fischer to director of branding and promotions. Fischer joined LSI in 2017 as director of marketing, followed by a promotion in 2019 to director of sales. In his new role, Fischer will be responsible for working closely with the director of marketing and the director of sales to develop positioning for Hot Shot’s Secret-branded products for each market. Fischer has more than 20 years of experience working in the automotive aftermarket.

Garrett Motion entered an agreement for KPS Capital Partners to purchase its business, subject to court approval and customary closing conditions. Garrett also launched a debt restructuring process through a Chapter 11 filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York. Garrett intends to operate without interruption during the process, according to the company.

SEMA News—December 2020

INTERNET

By Joe Dysart

Podcasting: On Fire as a Promotional Medium

With a shoestring investment, businesses can ride the promotional wave offered by a rabidly popular new medium: podcasting.

Amid the wide array of highly sophisticated digital tools marketers are using to increase profits, a surprise (and decidedly low-tech) alternative is scoring big gains for businesses: the simple podcast. Essentially a spin-off of an old-timey radio show that features a host and maybe a guest or two talking into a microphone, podcasts are currently the “next big thing” on the web, drawing millions of listeners to tens of thousands of shows.

“It’s a great way to grow your business, connect with other leaders in your space, deepen your relationship with your audience and much more,” said Jamie Spencer, owner of makeawebsitehub.com, a web marketing specialist.

Marketers have all sorts of theories about why podcasts are so popular. They’re eminently portable: You can take them with you on a car ride, to the gym, on a walk or in an elevator. And podcasts are eminently personal: While you’re listening to a podcast, you can completely tune out the rest of the world. It’s just you and your favorite podcast playing inside your headphones.

No matter the reason, the fact remains that the medium is on fire. There are currently 86 million podcast listeners in the United States alone—a number that is expected to grow to 132 million by 2022, according to Statista (www.statista.com/topics/3170/podcasting). And most of those podcasts listeners are the kinds of audience advertisers pursue aggressively. According to the “2018 Podcast Trends Report”
(www.discoverpods.com/podcast-trends-report-2018), 41% of podcast listeners who tune in at least once a month make more than $75,000 annually.

Moreover, podcasts have a way of making advertising easy to remember. Nearly half of podcast listeners surveyed said that they remembered the ads they heard during the course of a show, according to Nielsen (www.nielsen.com/us/en).

But perhaps most telling is that the Big Money has moved in. Last year, Spotify announced that it had allocated $500 million for podcasting, which it would use to scoop up ownership of podcasts it believes show the most promise.

The good news for businesses—both big and small—is that virtually anyone has the ability to ride the wave. Granted, your company’s podcast may not become one of the Top 100 podcasts in the U.S. overnight (www.podcastinsights.com/top-us-podcasts), but any business that takes the time to put together a quality production that’s promoted professionally stands to benefit from the current rabid interest in podcasting.

Here’s a gameplan for getting started:

Take Advantage of Inexpensive Podcasting Tech: Fortunately, getting started in podcasting involves minimal investment. You can pick up a completely acceptable mic, filter and headset for recording your show on Amazon or a similar retailer for about $100 (www.amazon.com/s?k=podcast+kit&ref=nb_sb_noss_2). And you can use freeware such as Audacity (www.audacityteam.org) to record and edit your podcast. It’s extremely powerful, versatile and reliable.

Consider Using a Special Service to Host Your Podcast on the Web: While you may be able to get away with hosting your podcast on an everyday website, you’ll probably have better luck hosting your production with web hosts that specialize in podcast hosting. The reason is that podcast files are generally much larger than text and image files, and podcast hosts generally offer higher bandwidths, which your listeners will need to quickly download and listen to your shows.

Popular podcast hosting companies include Soundcloud, Podbean, Podomatic, Libsyn and Fireside.

Clearly Communicate the Focus of Your Podcast: There are already tens of thousands of popular podcasts out there, so you’ll want to take pains to clearly communicate your podcast’s focus—and how it will differ from competitors.

Get a Jump With Long-Term Guest Scheduling: Given that many podcasts rely on guest interviews to keep things fresh, you’ll want to get commitments from at least a dozen or more guests you’ll be interviewing for your show—even before your first show airs.

Establish a Deep Supply of “Rainy Day” Shows: Before you go live with your podcast, you’ll also want at least six fully produced shows in the hopper—just in case something goes wrong. Guests canceling at the last minute, technology that acts up, unexpected developments in your personal life—all of those and more can wreak havoc on your podcast scheduling if you’re not prepared.

Get Your Work Copyrighted: These days, stealing someone’s podcast ideas is as easy as highlighting a podcast file and clicking “copy.” Fortunately, Creative Commons offers a free, in-depth guide on how to copyright your show (www.tinyurl.com/wikipodcasting). It also offers detailed advice on how to sidestep copyright problems if you plan to quote, refer to or incorporate content in your podcast that’s not your own.

Promote by Publishing Your Podcast Transcripts on Your Podcast Website: Your podcasting site will appear higher up in Google search returns—and get more exposure for your podcast—by publishing your podcast word for word on your podcast site. The reason is that Google will zoom in on the keywords in your transcripts that mirror those used by people searching for your type of content and send some of those people your way.

You may even want to go a step further and repurpose your transcript as a blog post as well as multiple posts on social media.

“One solid means of promoting your podcast is to create multiple forms of media from each episode you produce,” said Makeawebsitehub’s Spencer. “For example, you could turn an episode into a blog post, a guest blog to publish on another website, a series of social-media updates, or even cool shareable images.”

Promote by Submitting Your Podcast to iTunes and Other Directories: By creating a store account on iTunes, you’ll be able to post your podcast on the iTunes service and enable it to be searchable by everyone who uses the service. In practice, you’ll need to publish at least one of your episodes in an iTunes-supported format—mp3, m4a, mov, mp4 or pdf. You’ll also find tools on iTunes to key in your podcast title, description, category and logo.

For more info, check out Apple’s help center on publishing podcasts (https://help.apple.com/itc/podcasts_connect/#/itc1723472cb).

Consider Reading Ads for Your Sponsors: As your podcast grows more popular, you may be able to sell advertising time on your show. Some podcasters opt to read those ads themselves, given that they’ve established an audience that tunes in regularly and they have a natural bond with that audience, but others shy away from endorsing products, fearing that close association with sponsors might compromise their objectivity.

Joe Dysart is an internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.

646-233-4089

joe@dysartnewsfeatures.com

www.dysartnewsfeatures.com

SEMA News—December 2020

Calling All Racers: The PRI Road Tour is ON!

By Chris Kersting

For most folks in the racing industry, this past year has seen far more than a fair share of cancellations. When the team at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) made the announcement in September that the 2020 PRI Trade Show could not take place this year, the racing community was going to have to do without a key annual business gathering that helps set the stage for success in the year ahead.

With the PRI Trade Show cancelled, the PRI organization pivoted to an exciting new approach to inject energy into the racing world and further its mission of supporting the business of racing. The PRI Road Tour—a cross-country campaign to gather and share news from racing-related businesses—was born. The Tour began October 10 in Indianapolis, making stops throughout the Midwest and South, and will continue until December 15, by which time it will reach the West Coast.

The PRI Road Tour was conceived as a way to put PRI’s industry-leading print and electronic media outlets to work on behalf of the racing community itself, generating content and sharing news from racing hot spots. The Road Tour is taking the PRI team directly to manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, race teams, tracks, speed shops and racing attractions over the two-month span. In short, if your racing business can’t come to the PRI Show in 2020, PRI will come to you.

The Tour is designed to help continue the sharing of ideas and innovative technology that normally takes place in December in Indianapolis. By initiating this all-out blitz of reporting, PRI will help companies transmit information that would have come out at the PRI Show to racers and businesses who would have attended. PRI is taking the initiative to help the racing industry tell its story—and then telling the world.

The media plan is extensive and multilayered. Traveling in the PRI Road Tour van, wrapped with the PRI logo, the team will conduct on-site interviews and curate content to share on PRI’s website and social platforms as well as within its industry-leading monthly magazine. PRI is also partnering with a wide variety of media outlets, racers, influencers and social-media channels to further amplify the news and information it gathers.

Whether the Tour team visits your location or not, all motorsports companies are invited to take advantage of this enhanced media effort by submitting press releases, photos, videos and other assets to roadtour@performanceracing.com, where they will be reviewed by the PRI media team and shared with other media and the industry, generating a presence for industry businesses that will extend well beyond the length of the Tour itself.

Road Tour staffing includes a rotation of top-notch photographers, videographers and social-media experts. They are engaged in capturing and sharing video, photos and exclusive interviews highlighting the industry’s newest products, vehicles, races and developments while closely following local, state and national health and safety guidelines. Their work will further the business of racing, supporting the motorsports industry by helping spread the word through content that will resonate with the racing world.

If you haven’t already tapped into the content stream generated via the PRI Road Tour, you can visit www.pri2020.com/roadtour, email roadtour@performanceracing.com, and follow Performance Racing Industry on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

SEMA

CHRIS KERSTING

Calling All Racers: The PRI Road Tour is ON!

SEMA News—December 2020

INDUSTRY NEWS

By Douglas McColloch

The SEMA Data Co-op’s recent acquisition of online data-management firm PartHub combines the SDC’s extensive manufacturer and reseller network with PartsHub’s user-friendly interface and simpler file formats.

SEMA Data Co-op Expands Data Services Through PartsHub Acquisition

The SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) has acquired PartsHub—a comprehensive catalog management solution that will enhance a participating manufacturer’s ability to create and update industry standardized product information, regardless of their product data knowledge or expertise.

The SDC is the leading product data service in the automotive specialty-equipment aftermarket. Using PartsHub’s expanded product information management software, SDC manufacturers will be able to easily organize their data, reach more resellers and sell more products.

“SDC manufacturers typically are not data experts, and they have requested a simple, easy-to-use product information management system,” said Gigi Ho, SDC vice president of operations. “We’re excited to incorporate the PartsHub platform into SDC’s system. Users will now have a simplified way to access, visualize and manage their product data, giving them even more control over their information.”

Integrating PartsHub’s interface with the SDC product information management system makes it easy for manufacturers to organize and update their data for industry resellers. The updated interface also allows possible data sets that can easily be exported in formats that meet reseller needs. (Additional details about the new partnership can be found in this issue, starting on p. 32.)

Visit www.semadatacoop.org for additional information.

The PRI Road Tour will make more than 85 stops across the country.

PRI Announces First-Ever Road Tour

Performance Racing Industry (PRI) has launched a new cross-country campaign to gather and share news from dozens of racing-related businesses. The PRI Road Tour provides an all-out content creation opportunity that takes the PRI team directly to manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, race teams, race tracks and more.

The first-ever PRI Road Tour, which began October 10, helps manufacturers promote their products and services, and connects the worldwide racing industry by making more than 85 planned stops at motorsports businesses and facilities throughout the country, and concludes December 15. Along the way, the PRI team will capture and share video, photos and exclusive interviews highlighting the industry’s newest products, vehicles, races and developments.

“If the industry can’t come to the PRI Trade Show in Indianapolis, then PRI is coming to the industry,” said PRI President Dr. Jamie Meyer.

After kicking off the Tour in Indianapolis, the PRI team was scheduled to make its way through Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and cities in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Arizona and California.

To learn more about the PRI Road Tour, visit www.pri2020.com/roadtour.

After plummeting in the months of March and April, new-car sales have rebounded sharply, recovering 60% of losses since last April, according to the latest “SEMA Industry Indicators Report.”

SEMA Industry Indicators: Auto Sector Sees Strong Growth as U.S. Economy Continues Its Recovery

The U.S. economy continues to recover what was lost in the early months of the pandemic. Much of the pent-up demand from April and May has likely been satisfied, and now the economy settles into a period of smaller month-over-month growth as it works to regain what was lost in the early months of the pandemic.

The auto sector, one of the hardest hit in the early months of the pandemic, has experienced one of the better recoveries so far. It has recovered 74% of the jobs lost during April and May, compared to just 47% for overall American manufacturing. Likewise, new-vehicle sales are on track to reach just over 14 million units in 2020—18% below 2019 levels but 60% higher than in April.

Consumer confidence is down but remains higher than the lows seen during the last recession from 2007 to 2009. Right now, the end of stimulus and pandemic unemployment payments are headwinds against this. As the virus situation improves, consumers will gain more confidence and increase their spending.

Want more information on the trends affecting the automotive specialty-equipment industry? Download the September “SEMA Industry Indicators Report”—available for free at www.sema.org/research.

The 1,050hp Stage 2 Yenko Camaro will be available at Chevy dealerships in the United States and Canada on a first-come, first-served basis.

’21 1,050hp Stage 2 Yenko Camaro Now Available From Chevrolet Dealers

Specialty Vehicle Engineering Inc. has announced the availability of the all-new ’21 Yenko/SC Stage II Camaro, powered by a custom-built 1,050hp, 416ci, 6.8L supercharged LT-1-based engine. Only 50 of the Limited Edition Yenko/SC Stage II cars will be built and will be based off the Camaro 1SS or 2SS with the 1LE option to include all of the performance features the 1LE offers in order to properly balance the power of the 6.8L supercharged engine.

Features of the new Yenko Camaro include magnetic ride control, an electronic limited-slip differential, a performance-tuned suspension with unique bushings, springs and stabilizer bars, and a heavy-duty cooling system with an engine oil cooler, dual outboard radiators, a transmission cooler and a rear differential cooler. The functional 1LE rear spoiler keeps the rearend firmly planted at speed. The 1LE content also features Recaro Performance seats.

Each Yenko Stage 2 Camaro vehicle will be numbered and include a Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin. They’ll be available from Chevrolet dealerships in the United States and Canada on a first-come, first-served basis. As a factory-authorized conversion, the donor car’s warranty remains in effect, and the engine is covered by a three-year/60,000-mi. warranty.

After almost two years of seeing Tundra mules running with front and back camo, we officially have our first look at the next generation truck.

Looking at our shots we can see the Tundra will gain a 6 lug setup. This prototype also maintains the street sweeper camo seen on earlier mules which strategically hides the rear axle and rear suspension. Could Toyota be taking a page from RAM’s playbook with an air suspension option? Or even wilder, an independent rear suspension? Two years later and we’re still left to speculate, but the engineers we’re extremely concerned when we tried to get a shot (down low) near the rear of the bed.

Looking at the exterior it’s hard to see what’s really going on with all the camo, but we can make out LED headlamps and taillights, a six-bar grille with triangle-ish slats, towing mirrors, exhaust switched to the drivers side, and what appears to be a large sunroof. Inside there wasn’t much to be seen because of the massive amounts of camo, but we were able to catch a glimpse of a tablet Nav screen.

The next Tundra will ride on an all-new platform, internally called F1, that is said to be flexible enough to accommodate all Toyota body-on-frame pickup and SUV models globally. That means the platform will underpin not only Tundra, but also the Tacoma and the smaller Hilux not sold in the U.S. or Canada, as well as SUV models like the 4Runner and Sequoia.

A new 10-speed automatic that first appeared in the Lexus LC and LS models is also slated for all of Toyota's rear-drive vehicles, including the Tundra. Recent rumors suggest that the Tundra will ditch its gas 5.7L V8 for a hybridized twin-turbocharged 3.5L V6 setup that could make upwards of 455 hp. While we couldn’t confirm the hybrid setup in use on this prototype, we can confirm that we didn’t hear a V8 growl.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

After almost two years of seeing Tundra mules running with front and back camo, we officially have our first look at the next generation truck.

Looking at our shots we can see the Tundra will gain a 6 lug setup. This prototype also maintains the street sweeper camo seen on earlier mules which strategically hides the rear axle and rear suspension. Could Toyota be taking a page from RAM’s playbook with an air suspension option? Or even wilder, an independent rear suspension? Two years later and we’re still left to speculate, but the engineers we’re extremely concerned when we tried to get a shot (down low) near the rear of the bed.

Looking at the exterior it’s hard to see what’s really going on with all the camo, but we can make out LED headlamps and taillights, a six-bar grille with triangle-ish slats, towing mirrors, exhaust switched to the drivers side, and what appears to be a large sunroof. Inside there wasn’t much to be seen because of the massive amounts of camo, but we were able to catch a glimpse of a tablet Nav screen.

The next Tundra will ride on an all-new platform, internally called F1, that is said to be flexible enough to accommodate all Toyota body-on-frame pickup and SUV models globally. That means the platform will underpin not only Tundra, but also the Tacoma and the smaller Hilux not sold in the U.S. or Canada, as well as SUV models like the 4Runner and Sequoia.

A new 10-speed automatic that first appeared in the Lexus LC and LS models is also slated for all of Toyota's rear-drive vehicles, including the Tundra. Recent rumors suggest that the Tundra will ditch its gas 5.7L V8 for a hybridized twin-turbocharged 3.5L V6 setup that could make upwards of 455 hp. While we couldn’t confirm the hybrid setup in use on this prototype, we can confirm that we didn’t hear a V8 growl.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde