By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

U.S. Representative Patrick McHenry introduced an amendment to the fiscal 2017 spending plan for the Interior Department and U.S. EPA. The bipartisan amendment “prevents funds from being made available to the EPA for the purpose of being used to enforce certain provisions of the Clean Air Act on vehicles modified for sole use in competitions or regulate parts used to make modifications to vehicles used solely for competition.”

“SEMA thanks Representative McHenry for his continued leadership on this issue,” said SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting. “We will continue to work with the Congress on a long-term solution to the EPA’s position, which we believe is passage of the RPM Act.”

The House is scheduled to consider the amendment next week with the intent of finalizing the full bill before the long summer recess.

Compiled by SEMA Editors

Larry Barnard

Classic Tube Appoints Larry Barnard Production Manager

Classic Tube has announced the addition of Larry Barnard as production manager. Barnard’s new responsibilities include the oversight, monitoring and scheduling of the plant’s many production and maintenance processes, as well as supervising and leading the team. Barnard arrives at Classic Tube with extensive supervising experience. After seven years of overseeing the motorcycle division of Goodyear Dunlop Tires of North America, Barnard most recently acted as production supervisor at Compass Minerals in Lackawanna, New York.

Black Rhino Selects Kahn Media as PR Agency of Record

Kahn Media has been named the PR Agency of Record for Black Rhino Tools. Based in Salt Lake City, Black Rhino Tools was acquired in 2015 by Signature Products Group, which creates and markets licensed products for brands such as Browning, Ducks Unlimited, Realtree, Mossy Oak and Under Armour. Kahn Media will handle public and media relations for Black Rhino Tools while coordinating with its internal marketing team to develop unique and dynamic media engagement strategies to increase market penetration. Kahn will also engage with Black Rhino’s social media, event marketing, product placement and relationship management programs.

“The Appraisers” will feature Tom Cox, Chris Ritter and Ben Nef.

Rev’n and Heartland Add “The Appraisers” to Programming Lineups

Luken Communications LLC has added “The Appraisers” to both the Rev’n and Heartland programming lineups. The series, produced by Chip Taylor Communications, can now be found on Rev’n every Friday at 9:00 p.m. (EDT) and Saturdays at 12:00 a.m., 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. (EDT). “The Appraisers” will also air on Fridays at 8:00 p.m. (EDT) on Heartland. “The Appraisers” cruise across America in search of rare, cool and classic automotive dreams. Featuring Tom Cox (the Classic Car Guy), Chris Ritter (the Car Geek) and Ben Nef (the Vegas High Roller), each episode showcases new finds for the auto enthusiast world. The excitement builds throughout the episodes as the appraisers reveal how much each owner’s pride and joy is worth.

Motovicity Adds McGard to Line Card

Motovicity Distribution has announced the addition of McGard to its line card. Founded in Buffalo, New York, in 1959, McGard Inc. began designing and patenting security nuts that helped prevent the theft of automobile wheels and tires. Continuing their growth throughout the decades, McGard eventually became an OEM supplier of wheel locks. McGard’s security products are now available for wholesale purchase through Motovicity Distribution.

Chip Foose to Be Honored for His 30th Anniversary in Design With Special Event July 23 at the Petersen Automotive Museum

Celebrating its 30th anniversary in automotive design, Foose Design and its founder, legendary designer and TV personality Chip Foose, will be featured in an event at The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles on July 23. The special one-day display will focus on the Southern California native’s automotive design work and his impact on popular culture, and will feature Foose-designed vehicles from both The Petersen and private collections, as well as a panel discussion with design legends from the industry. The July 23 display format will consist of a cruise-in for fans to showcase their own hot rods, a display of Foose’s top project models and a panel discussion with leading industry professionals.

Jeff Stacy Joins R&R Marketing Consultants Inc. as Sales Representative

R&R Marketing Consultants Inc. has announced that Jeff Stacy is joining the team as a sales representative. Stacy served in a variety of industry positions prior to joining R&R, including as a buyer for Keystone Automotive Operations; vice president of operations for Aeromotive Inc.; and most recently as a president of sales and marketing for Fragola Performance Systems.

Jeffrey Barron

Jeffrey Barron to Lead Development Team at RealTruck.com

Jeffrey Barron has been named RealTruck.com’s development manager. Barron specializes in web applications having worked in small- to medium-sized organizations. His passion is in understanding how applications and teams work in order to create a faster, stronger and more efficient system. Barron's core responsibilities include developing process improvements, reviewing code and overseeing architecture.

Truck Hero Announces Several Promotions

Truck Hero has announced several intercompany promotions. Ryan Herman (formerly vice president of sales for BAK Industries) will assume the newly created position as executive vice president of sales for Truck Hero. He will be responsible for all sales activity for Extang, TruXedo, Advantage, Retrax, BAK, international sales and corporate customer service.
 Joel Mohlenhoff, (formerly vice president of sales for TruXedo) has been promoted to vice president of sales for BAK Industries.

 Chris Greer (formerly eastern regional sales manager, Extang Canada) has been promoted to vice president of sales for TruXedo.



Have some company news you would like to share? Let us know and the news may appear in an upcoming issue of SEMA eNews. Send your items for consideration to editors@sema.org.

Spy photographers bring further proof of a ’17 Ford F-150 with a turbodiesel engine destined for sale.

Caught earlier testing on Michigan roads, this emissions certificate on the prototype truck indicates it will be a 3.0L unit, rather than the 3.2 that’s offered in the Transit. The JFC1-3.0-966 on the sticker is the emissions calibration code. The JFC1 is the control unit catchword, ironically the same catchword used in the ’04 Taurus with a 3.0L. The 3.0 is the engine displacement, and the 966 is the last three digits of the vehicle tag number.

This further confirms that Ford will use the Lion V6 found in Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) products, such as the Range Rover. The engine was developed while Ford still owned JLR.

The F-150 Diesel is also identified by the diesel venturi exhaust tip. An earlier video confirmed that it sounded notably more diesel-like when running than the EcoBoost V6s that are already offered on the truck.

Ford will be gunning after the RAM 1500 EcoDiesel, which uses an Italian 3.0L V6 and eight-speed automatic, for fuel economy victory. Whether or not the F-150 Diesel (which may also have a different name when it launches) will debut with the facelifted F-150 series is uncertain, but it should come equipped with the new 10-speed automatic jointly developed with GM and going into the ’17 Raptor.

Expect to see the diesel-powered F-150 by next year.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

Spy photographers bring further proof of a ’17 Ford F-150 with a turbodiesel engine destined for sale.

Caught earlier testing on Michigan roads, this emissions certificate on the prototype truck indicates it will be a 3.0L unit, rather than the 3.2 that’s offered in the Transit. The JFC1-3.0-966 on the sticker is the emissions calibration code. The JFC1 is the control unit catchword, ironically the same catchword used in the ’04 Taurus with a 3.0L. The 3.0 is the engine displacement, and the 966 is the last three digits of the vehicle tag number.

This further confirms that Ford will use the Lion V6 found in Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) products, such as the Range Rover. The engine was developed while Ford still owned JLR.

The F-150 Diesel is also identified by the diesel venturi exhaust tip. An earlier video confirmed that it sounded notably more diesel-like when running than the EcoBoost V6s that are already offered on the truck.

Ford will be gunning after the RAM 1500 EcoDiesel, which uses an Italian 3.0L V6 and eight-speed automatic, for fuel economy victory. Whether or not the F-150 Diesel (which may also have a different name when it launches) will debut with the facelifted F-150 series is uncertain, but it should come equipped with the new 10-speed automatic jointly developed with GM and going into the ’17 Raptor.

Expect to see the diesel-powered F-150 by next year.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

Spy photographers bring further proof of a ’17 Ford F-150 with a turbodiesel engine destined for sale.

Caught earlier testing on Michigan roads, this emissions certificate on the prototype truck indicates it will be a 3.0L unit, rather than the 3.2 that’s offered in the Transit. The JFC1-3.0-966 on the sticker is the emissions calibration code. The JFC1 is the control unit catchword, ironically the same catchword used in the ’04 Taurus with a 3.0L. The 3.0 is the engine displacement, and the 966 is the last three digits of the vehicle tag number.

This further confirms that Ford will use the Lion V6 found in Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) products, such as the Range Rover. The engine was developed while Ford still owned JLR.

The F-150 Diesel is also identified by the diesel venturi exhaust tip. An earlier video confirmed that it sounded notably more diesel-like when running than the EcoBoost V6s that are already offered on the truck.

Ford will be gunning after the RAM 1500 EcoDiesel, which uses an Italian 3.0L V6 and eight-speed automatic, for fuel economy victory. Whether or not the F-150 Diesel (which may also have a different name when it launches) will debut with the facelifted F-150 series is uncertain, but it should come equipped with the new 10-speed automatic jointly developed with GM and going into the ’17 Raptor.

Expect to see the diesel-powered F-150 by next year.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

Spy photographers bring further proof of a ’17 Ford F-150 with a turbodiesel engine destined for sale.

Caught earlier testing on Michigan roads, this emissions certificate on the prototype truck indicates it will be a 3.0L unit, rather than the 3.2 that’s offered in the Transit. The JFC1-3.0-966 on the sticker is the emissions calibration code. The JFC1 is the control unit catchword, ironically the same catchword used in the ’04 Taurus with a 3.0L. The 3.0 is the engine displacement, and the 966 is the last three digits of the vehicle tag number.

This further confirms that Ford will use the Lion V6 found in Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) products, such as the Range Rover. The engine was developed while Ford still owned JLR.

The F-150 Diesel is also identified by the diesel venturi exhaust tip. An earlier video confirmed that it sounded notably more diesel-like when running than the EcoBoost V6s that are already offered on the truck.

Ford will be gunning after the RAM 1500 EcoDiesel, which uses an Italian 3.0L V6 and eight-speed automatic, for fuel economy victory. Whether or not the F-150 Diesel (which may also have a different name when it launches) will debut with the facelifted F-150 series is uncertain, but it should come equipped with the new 10-speed automatic jointly developed with GM and going into the ’17 Raptor.

Expect to see the diesel-powered F-150 by next year.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

Spy photographers bring further proof of a ’17 Ford F-150 with a turbodiesel engine destined for sale.

Caught earlier testing on Michigan roads, this emissions certificate on the prototype truck indicates it will be a 3.0L unit, rather than the 3.2 that’s offered in the Transit. The JFC1-3.0-966 on the sticker is the emissions calibration code. The JFC1 is the control unit catchword, ironically the same catchword used in the ’04 Taurus with a 3.0L. The 3.0 is the engine displacement, and the 966 is the last three digits of the vehicle tag number.

This further confirms that Ford will use the Lion V6 found in Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) products, such as the Range Rover. The engine was developed while Ford still owned JLR.

The F-150 Diesel is also identified by the diesel venturi exhaust tip. An earlier video confirmed that it sounded notably more diesel-like when running than the EcoBoost V6s that are already offered on the truck.

Ford will be gunning after the RAM 1500 EcoDiesel, which uses an Italian 3.0L V6 and eight-speed automatic, for fuel economy victory. Whether or not the F-150 Diesel (which may also have a different name when it launches) will debut with the facelifted F-150 series is uncertain, but it should come equipped with the new 10-speed automatic jointly developed with GM and going into the ’17 Raptor.

Expect to see the diesel-powered F-150 by next year.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

Spy photographers bring further proof of a ’17 Ford F-150 with a turbodiesel engine destined for sale.

Caught earlier testing on Michigan roads, this emissions certificate on the prototype truck indicates it will be a 3.0L unit, rather than the 3.2 that’s offered in the Transit. The JFC1-3.0-966 on the sticker is the emissions calibration code. The JFC1 is the control unit catchword, ironically the same catchword used in the ’04 Taurus with a 3.0L. The 3.0 is the engine displacement, and the 966 is the last three digits of the vehicle tag number.

This further confirms that Ford will use the Lion V6 found in Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) products, such as the Range Rover. The engine was developed while Ford still owned JLR.

The F-150 Diesel is also identified by the diesel venturi exhaust tip. An earlier video confirmed that it sounded notably more diesel-like when running than the EcoBoost V6s that are already offered on the truck.

Ford will be gunning after the RAM 1500 EcoDiesel, which uses an Italian 3.0L V6 and eight-speed automatic, for fuel economy victory. Whether or not the F-150 Diesel (which may also have a different name when it launches) will debut with the facelifted F-150 series is uncertain, but it should come equipped with the new 10-speed automatic jointly developed with GM and going into the ’17 Raptor.

Expect to see the diesel-powered F-150 by next year.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

Spy photographers bring further proof of a ’17 Ford F-150 with a turbodiesel engine destined for sale.

Caught earlier testing on Michigan roads, this emissions certificate on the prototype truck indicates it will be a 3.0L unit, rather than the 3.2 that’s offered in the Transit. The JFC1-3.0-966 on the sticker is the emissions calibration code. The JFC1 is the control unit catchword, ironically the same catchword used in the ’04 Taurus with a 3.0L. The 3.0 is the engine displacement, and the 966 is the last three digits of the vehicle tag number.

This further confirms that Ford will use the Lion V6 found in Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) products, such as the Range Rover. The engine was developed while Ford still owned JLR.

The F-150 Diesel is also identified by the diesel venturi exhaust tip. An earlier video confirmed that it sounded notably more diesel-like when running than the EcoBoost V6s that are already offered on the truck.

Ford will be gunning after the RAM 1500 EcoDiesel, which uses an Italian 3.0L V6 and eight-speed automatic, for fuel economy victory. Whether or not the F-150 Diesel (which may also have a different name when it launches) will debut with the facelifted F-150 series is uncertain, but it should come equipped with the new 10-speed automatic jointly developed with GM and going into the ’17 Raptor.

Expect to see the diesel-powered F-150 by next year.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

Dennis Pittsenbarger catches up with Jamie Meyer of Chevrolet Performance to talk updates on their vehicle-specific performance parts at the 2015 SEMA Show.

The SEMA Show is the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world. It draws the industry’s brightest minds and hottest products to one place, the Las Vegas Convention Center. As part of the AAIW, the SEMA Show attracts more than 100,000 industry leaders from more than 100 countries for unlimited profit opportunities in the automotive, truck and SUV, powersports, and RV markets. The 2016 SEMA Show will be held Tuesday–Friday, November 1–4.