SEMA News—April 2015

BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
By Mike Imlay

Designing Like the Big Guys

Three High-Tech Tools to Advance Small Product Innovators

For medium to large specialty-equipment manufacturers, the concepts of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) are not likely to come as anything new. Over the past few decades, most companies with the capital have been investing in these evolving technologies to create and speed new products to market. What’s new on today’s scene is the trickle-down of increasingly cost-effective CAD/CAM solutions into the hands of smaller companies and even individual product designers and manufacturers—a phenomenon that may well make them ever more competitive with the big guys.

“Before, people would have to have these big, expensive scanners and try to collect the information digitally in order to build on top of it. Then you had to have essentially very high-end hardware to model something accurate enough to fabricate from. What we’re seeing now is that a single person can have a machine you can buy essentially anywhere and produce highly accurate surfaces to fabricate from.”

Desktop Modeling

“Having CAD at this point is really the only way to deliver the precision that’s required in the aftermarket at a higher level,” asserted Phil Frank, principal of Phil Frank Design LLC in Seattle, Washington.

Thanks to increasingly affordable CAD solutions such as Rhinoceros, Frank’s small design studio has been able to churn out big products for large aftermarket players for more than two decades. His many projects include body kits, interior parts, engine components and similar designs for five Saleen Mustangs and companies such as Keystone, Salvatore Motorsports and Edelbrock.

“All CAD packages are getting better in what they can do,” he said. “The challenge for a smaller business is always how much you want to spend. It’s kind of tough to spend $10,000 on a CAD package and then another $10,000 on training.”

Fortunately, he said, today’s market offers product innovators robust software solutions with easy learning curves for as little as $1,000. These lower-cost solutions allow creations to go from digital design to CNC machining with virtually the push of a button, truly empowering the small aftermarket businessman—making jigs and hand-fashioned product prototypes things of the past.

“It takes less capital to actually put yourself in a position to use digital fabrication technologies, which of course allows you to do a much greater range of shapes with a lot less learned craftsmanship,” Davidson said. “That is what we used to base everything on before the computer. There’s a lot of legacy to the market. A lot of products have been around for a long time. Some of the things that are changing in the market now, though, are that hardware has gotten very inexpensive, and so has software. It has allowed a lot broader user base to access tools that are accurate enough and effective enough to be able to do class-A surfacing.”

So which CAD tools can today’s innovator or manufacturer turn to? According to Frank—a Rhinoceros user—the options are many.

“Software is kind of a complex thing,” he said. “It comes down to the design that you’re doing. If you’re doing mechanical parts or performance bits, which are the majority of aftermarket business, then I would probably go more toward a parametric modeler like SolidWorks, PTC Creo Parametric or Solid Edge, which are more engineering tools. But as you get into stuff that has surfacing, such as exterior body components, you would want to use more of a surface modeler because of the ease of use, freedom and lesser constraints. In essence it comes down to the CAD jockey and how he’s using the tool.”

Scanning With Lasers

“Applications for laser scanning continue to grow,” said Robb Rudluff, product and sales manager for API Services, a maker of laser metrology devices. “It seems that laser scanning and other metrology applications make major leaps and improvements every five years.”

“Laser measurement systems assist smaller companies by reducing the design-cycle time of a component,” he said. “A company typically will go through three to five prototypes before the design and fit-up are achieved. Laser scanners, coupled with innovative new engineering practices, allow the company to capture actual data from a production vehicle and utilize it during the design cycle, minimizing fit-up and design issues.”

Rudluff said that laser metrology fits hand in hand with emerging rapid-prototyping technologies, allowing companies to inexpensively design, print and test components in a manner that would’ve been impossible just a few years ago. Perhaps most important for the early stages of product design, data gathered through laser scanning can be transferred easily to CAD software to build highly accurate three-dimensional renderings of vehicles and parts.

“When you don’t have the CAD files, you’re able to reproduce the car to a certain extent,” added Gary Pis, SEMA vehicle product data manager. “There are different tools. There’s the traditional Faro-type arm that’s a little bit more for more detailed products, per se. If you’re going to do a small batch of parts or a fender, door or whatnot, that comes in very handy.

“A handy cam is based on the same type of software. It shoots a laser out onto a surface, and the laser reflects back into the camera. With the handy cam, you don’t have an arm but rather a device that you’re able to hold in your hand and actually scan surfaces. It’s a little easier to maneuver and scan restrictive surfaces that the arm might interfere with.”

Laser scanning is often accomplished with the aid of numerous small “tracking” devices that relay positioning and distance data to the device computer. The preferred setup is greatly dependent on what’s being scanned and the degree of accuracy desired. Hard-to-reach vehicle areas and reflective surfaces add challenges for scanners, but companies like Ruddluff’s are busy developing effective solutions to counter these problems, including devices that can rapidly capture data anywhere on a vehicle without the use of targeting.

“When selecting a piece of hardware, choose one based on your recommended overall applications,” he advised. “Accuracy and volume drive the costs on the initial purchase. Another key item is what role the laser scanner will serve. Reverse engineering is one application, but non-contact inspection is where the same instrument will assist with parts manufacturing and accuracy.”

Rudluff conceded that laser scanning equipment may still be cost-prohibitive for small companies, even with falling prices—especially for companies that may need a variety of scanners for a variety of applications. Thankfully, many laser-metrology providers offer contracted scanning services, allowing aftermarket businesses with limited resources to take full advantage of the technology.

Help for SEMA Members

Perhaps one of the best places to turn for high-tech assistance is the new SEMA Garage—Industry Innovations Center at SEMA’s headquarters in Diamond Bar, California. Among its many services, the Garage offers association members low-cost access to a FaroArm laser scanner, OEM CAD files and a 3D printer for rapid prototyping.

“There are still inventors who have ideas but don’t have the knowledge to design them, so they go to engineering consultants to help them out,’ said Pis. “They still do things the old-school way, hand fabricating a prototype and then coming into the industry to mass-produce their part.”

One of SEMA’s most successful product-development solutions has been its Technology Transfer program, which allows members to access production-vehicle CAD files from Ford, GM, Chrysler (including Fiat, Ram and Jeep) and Scion. There are also a limited number of files available from vehicles that have been laser scanned at the SEMA Garage, including vehicles from Toyota and Nissan, principally pickups. SEMA members can also use the Garage’s FaroArm services to scan vehicles and even their own parts for CAD/CAM applications.

“There are a lot of guys who created parts back in the days without CAD files,” Pis said. “They can go back, scan and create CAD files for their legacy parts for more effective manufacturing.”

Once they’ve modeled their products in CAD, innovators can create 3D prototypes in ABS plastic using the Garage’s 3D printer through a process known as computer-aided additive manufacturing. By extruding thin layers of material on top of one another, the machine can build full prototypes for fitment and testing at a cost of $12 per cu. in., which is often far less expensive than traditional methods.

“We’re here to acquaint and help members with technology,” said Pis. “When we first got the rapid-prototyping machine, everyone was curious about what it did. As people started using it, they started getting creative. We’ve seen people design things from scratch and create prototypes just for fitment all the way to creating a full intake manifold from pieces, gluing them together and actually testing it on a dyno. A lot of companies have also gone on to buy their own laser scanners after seeing ours at work and are now scanning vehicles and building their own CAD libraries of data that they didn’t have before.”

The bottom line is that the digital age is bringing new advantages to smaller product innovators. While there are certainly complex, high-buck technologies on the market for larger businesses, there are also wide-ranging, affordable options that are well suited to helping the little guy with big ideas. All it takes is tapping into them.

SEMA News—April 2015

BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
By Mike Imlay

Designing Like the Big Guys

Three High-Tech Tools to Advance Small Product Innovators

For medium to large specialty-equipment manufacturers, the concepts of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) are not likely to come as anything new. Over the past few decades, most companies with the capital have been investing in these evolving technologies to create and speed new products to market. What’s new on today’s scene is the trickle-down of increasingly cost-effective CAD/CAM solutions into the hands of smaller companies and even individual product designers and manufacturers—a phenomenon that may well make them ever more competitive with the big guys.

“Before, people would have to have these big, expensive scanners and try to collect the information digitally in order to build on top of it. Then you had to have essentially very high-end hardware to model something accurate enough to fabricate from. What we’re seeing now is that a single person can have a machine you can buy essentially anywhere and produce highly accurate surfaces to fabricate from.”

Desktop Modeling

“Having CAD at this point is really the only way to deliver the precision that’s required in the aftermarket at a higher level,” asserted Phil Frank, principal of Phil Frank Design LLC in Seattle, Washington.

Thanks to increasingly affordable CAD solutions such as Rhinoceros, Frank’s small design studio has been able to churn out big products for large aftermarket players for more than two decades. His many projects include body kits, interior parts, engine components and similar designs for five Saleen Mustangs and companies such as Keystone, Salvatore Motorsports and Edelbrock.

“All CAD packages are getting better in what they can do,” he said. “The challenge for a smaller business is always how much you want to spend. It’s kind of tough to spend $10,000 on a CAD package and then another $10,000 on training.”

Fortunately, he said, today’s market offers product innovators robust software solutions with easy learning curves for as little as $1,000. These lower-cost solutions allow creations to go from digital design to CNC machining with virtually the push of a button, truly empowering the small aftermarket businessman—making jigs and hand-fashioned product prototypes things of the past.

“It takes less capital to actually put yourself in a position to use digital fabrication technologies, which of course allows you to do a much greater range of shapes with a lot less learned craftsmanship,” Davidson said. “That is what we used to base everything on before the computer. There’s a lot of legacy to the market. A lot of products have been around for a long time. Some of the things that are changing in the market now, though, are that hardware has gotten very inexpensive, and so has software. It has allowed a lot broader user base to access tools that are accurate enough and effective enough to be able to do class-A surfacing.”

So which CAD tools can today’s innovator or manufacturer turn to? According to Frank—a Rhinoceros user—the options are many.

“Software is kind of a complex thing,” he said. “It comes down to the design that you’re doing. If you’re doing mechanical parts or performance bits, which are the majority of aftermarket business, then I would probably go more toward a parametric modeler like SolidWorks, PTC Creo Parametric or Solid Edge, which are more engineering tools. But as you get into stuff that has surfacing, such as exterior body components, you would want to use more of a surface modeler because of the ease of use, freedom and lesser constraints. In essence it comes down to the CAD jockey and how he’s using the tool.”

Scanning With Lasers

“Applications for laser scanning continue to grow,” said Robb Rudluff, product and sales manager for API Services, a maker of laser metrology devices. “It seems that laser scanning and other metrology applications make major leaps and improvements every five years.”

“Laser measurement systems assist smaller companies by reducing the design-cycle time of a component,” he said. “A company typically will go through three to five prototypes before the design and fit-up are achieved. Laser scanners, coupled with innovative new engineering practices, allow the company to capture actual data from a production vehicle and utilize it during the design cycle, minimizing fit-up and design issues.”

Rudluff said that laser metrology fits hand in hand with emerging rapid-prototyping technologies, allowing companies to inexpensively design, print and test components in a manner that would’ve been impossible just a few years ago. Perhaps most important for the early stages of product design, data gathered through laser scanning can be transferred easily to CAD software to build highly accurate three-dimensional renderings of vehicles and parts.

“When you don’t have the CAD files, you’re able to reproduce the car to a certain extent,” added Gary Pis, SEMA vehicle product data manager. “There are different tools. There’s the traditional Faro-type arm that’s a little bit more for more detailed products, per se. If you’re going to do a small batch of parts or a fender, door or whatnot, that comes in very handy.

“A handy cam is based on the same type of software. It shoots a laser out onto a surface, and the laser reflects back into the camera. With the handy cam, you don’t have an arm but rather a device that you’re able to hold in your hand and actually scan surfaces. It’s a little easier to maneuver and scan restrictive surfaces that the arm might interfere with.”

Laser scanning is often accomplished with the aid of numerous small “tracking” devices that relay positioning and distance data to the device computer. The preferred setup is greatly dependent on what’s being scanned and the degree of accuracy desired. Hard-to-reach vehicle areas and reflective surfaces add challenges for scanners, but companies like Ruddluff’s are busy developing effective solutions to counter these problems, including devices that can rapidly capture data anywhere on a vehicle without the use of targeting.

“When selecting a piece of hardware, choose one based on your recommended overall applications,” he advised. “Accuracy and volume drive the costs on the initial purchase. Another key item is what role the laser scanner will serve. Reverse engineering is one application, but non-contact inspection is where the same instrument will assist with parts manufacturing and accuracy.”

Rudluff conceded that laser scanning equipment may still be cost-prohibitive for small companies, even with falling prices—especially for companies that may need a variety of scanners for a variety of applications. Thankfully, many laser-metrology providers offer contracted scanning services, allowing aftermarket businesses with limited resources to take full advantage of the technology.

Help for SEMA Members

Perhaps one of the best places to turn for high-tech assistance is the new SEMA Garage—Industry Innovations Center at SEMA’s headquarters in Diamond Bar, California. Among its many services, the Garage offers association members low-cost access to a FaroArm laser scanner, OEM CAD files and a 3D printer for rapid prototyping.

“There are still inventors who have ideas but don’t have the knowledge to design them, so they go to engineering consultants to help them out,’ said Pis. “They still do things the old-school way, hand fabricating a prototype and then coming into the industry to mass-produce their part.”

One of SEMA’s most successful product-development solutions has been its Technology Transfer program, which allows members to access production-vehicle CAD files from Ford, GM, Chrysler (including Fiat, Ram and Jeep) and Scion. There are also a limited number of files available from vehicles that have been laser scanned at the SEMA Garage, including vehicles from Toyota and Nissan, principally pickups. SEMA members can also use the Garage’s FaroArm services to scan vehicles and even their own parts for CAD/CAM applications.

“There are a lot of guys who created parts back in the days without CAD files,” Pis said. “They can go back, scan and create CAD files for their legacy parts for more effective manufacturing.”

Once they’ve modeled their products in CAD, innovators can create 3D prototypes in ABS plastic using the Garage’s 3D printer through a process known as computer-aided additive manufacturing. By extruding thin layers of material on top of one another, the machine can build full prototypes for fitment and testing at a cost of $12 per cu. in., which is often far less expensive than traditional methods.

“We’re here to acquaint and help members with technology,” said Pis. “When we first got the rapid-prototyping machine, everyone was curious about what it did. As people started using it, they started getting creative. We’ve seen people design things from scratch and create prototypes just for fitment all the way to creating a full intake manifold from pieces, gluing them together and actually testing it on a dyno. A lot of companies have also gone on to buy their own laser scanners after seeing ours at work and are now scanning vehicles and building their own CAD libraries of data that they didn’t have before.”

The bottom line is that the digital age is bringing new advantages to smaller product innovators. While there are certainly complex, high-buck technologies on the market for larger businesses, there are also wide-ranging, affordable options that are well suited to helping the little guy with big ideas. All it takes is tapping into them.

SEMA News—April 2015

LEGISLATIVE AND TECHNICAL AFFAIRS
By Steve McDonald

Law and Order

Law and Order is an update of some of the most recent federal and state legislative and regulatory issues that could potentially impact the automotive specialty-equipment industry. These include issues affecting small-business owners and their employees.

STATE UPDATE

California Chemical Warnings: The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is proposing new requirements on product manufacturers and various other business entities under Proposition 65, the California law requiring warnings in the presence of certain chemicals. Under Prop 65, a manufacturer, producer, packager, importer or distributor of a product that causes consumers to be exposed to a listed chemical is required to provide a warning. Currently, a Prop 65 warning must be given prior to the time of anticipated exposure, but under the new rule, the warning must be given prior to sale, imposing new burdens on website and catalog retailers. The new rule also lists 12 chemicals that a manufacturer would have to identify by name in its Prop 65 warning.

Connecticut Property Tax: Legislation to lower the property tax on many older vehicles has been introduced. Under the bill, the personal property tax on vehicles eight years old and older would be changed to a flat tax of $100 per year for vehicles between eight and 10 years old with an assessed value of less than $10,000 and $50 per year for vehicles 10 years old and older with an assessed value of less than $8,000. Antique, rare and special-interest vehicles may be negatively affected by the bill. These vehicles are currently valued at a $500 assessment, which results in a reduced tax.

Hawaii Exhaust Systems: SEMA-opposed legislation to prohibit the use, sale or installation of an exhaust system “that has been changed or modified from the factory design so as to increase the volume or audibility of the explosions within the vehicle’s motor” was reintroduced in Hawaii. The bill would also require safety-inspection stations to perform a test to ensure that a vehicle conforms to the law. Fines for noncompliance would range from $100 to $500 for each offense. However, the measure provides no procedure by which vehicles would be tested and does not provide inspection stations with decibel readings on factory-installed exhaust systems.

Hawaii Registration Fees: Legislation has been introduced in Hawaii to reduce annual registration fees from $45 to $25. Separate legislation seeks to reduce the state vehicle weight tax by 1 cent per pound and reduces the flat rate for vehicles more than 10,000 lbs. from $300 to $150.

Iowa Single License Plate: A bill has been introduced to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles originally manufactured with a front bumper that sits 24 in. or less from the ground. Separate legislation would allow a single plate for motor vehicles originally manufactured without a bracket, device or other means to display and secure a plate on the front of the vehicle.

Iowa Nitrous Oxide: A version of SEMA-model legislation to permit motor vehicles equipped with nitrous-oxide systems has been introduced. Under the bill, the system must be disconnected when the vehicle is operated on public highways. Written as a compromise to outright bans, the measure seeks to better protect public road safety while ensuring legitimate off-road uses of nitrous-oxide systems.

Kentucky Property Tax: The legislature is proposing a new valuation procedure for older vehicles. Vehicles 20 years old or older would no longer be presumed to be in “original factory” or “classic” condition. Original factory and classic vehicles are currently assessed as high-value collectibles. This measure instead provides three options for assessing the value of these vehicles, including allowing an administrator to conduct an assessment of the vehicle to determine the correct value, which would be reduced by 10% for each year thereafter.

Maryland Single Plate: Legislation has been reintroduced to require the issuance of only a single license plate for all motor vehicles. A second bill provides that historic vehicles and street rods may display only the rear plate if the front plate is stored inside the vehicle. The House Environment and Transportation Committee will consider both bills.

Minnesota Miles Traveled Tax: Legislation to mandate payment of a “recoupment” surcharge of up to $95 has been introduced in Minnesota. The surcharge would be calculated to levy the highest tax on owners of the most fuel-efficient vehicles. Separate legislation requires the state to take steps to implement a vehicle mileage user fee to tax drivers on actual miles driven. Both bills seek to penalize national efforts to create a more fuel-efficient vehicle fleet by taxing drivers based on fuel economy. As gas tax revenues decrease due to hybrid and electric-vehicle ownership, states are looking for new sources of funding for pet projects.

Nebraska Single Plate: Legislation has been introduced in the Nebraska Legislature to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for passenger cars that were not originally equipped with a bracket on the front of the vehicle to display a license plate. Under the bill, a license decal would be issued with the single plate and displayed on the driver’s side of the windshield. Owners who request a single license plate and license decal would be charged an additional nonrefundable fee of $100 in addition to the cost of the decal.

New Hampshire Antique Trucks: Pro-hobby legislation to include trucks more than 25 years old (regardless of weight) in the definition of eligible “antique motor vehicles” has been introduced. The bill provides the option for the owners of older trucks to take advantage of the many accommodations available to antique motor vehicles. Under state law, the annual registration fee for antique motor vehicles is only $6. In addition, antiques are inspected only every two years, can use year-of-manufacture license plates and are exempted from certain equipment requirements.

New York Single Plate: Legislation to authorize the owner of a motor vehicle to display a single license plate on the rear of the vehicle for a $50 annual fee was reintroduced. The bill will be considered by the Assembly Transportation Committee. The funds collected under the bill would be used to help provide emergency services.

Oregon Miles-Traveled Tax: The state legislature has introduced a bill to convert its current voluntary vehicle miles-traveled (VMT) tax program to a mandatory program. The mandatory program would apply to all high-mileage vehicles that have a rating of 55 miles per gallon or better. These high-mileage vehicles would not pay the gas tax that would apply to all other vehicles. Under the bill, owners could choose to pay a flat annual fee in lieu of a fee based on actual miles driven if a vehicle is subject to the mandatory VMT.

Oregon Ethanol: SEMA is supporting legislation to remove the requirement that all gasoline offered for sale in the state contain a percentage of ethanol. Currently, the state requires that “a retail dealer, nonretail dealer or wholesale dealer may not sell or offer for sale gasoline unless the gasoline contains 10% ethanol by volume.” The bill recognizes that, while the current ethanol mandate does not apply to fuel used in antique, all-terrain and racing vehicles, there has been an inability to obtain unblended gasoline for engines that may be damaged by ethanol.

Pennsylvania Emissions Inspection: Legislation has been introduced in Pennsylvania to extend the emissions-inspection exemption for five years after the model year. Current law exempts only new vehicles that have less than 5,000 miles on their odometer for one year after their first registration.

Virginia Exhaust Systems: Senate legislation to exempt antique motor vehicles from the requirement that they have exhaust systems of a type installed as standard factory equipment or comparable to that designed as standard factory equipment was approved by the full Senate with an amendment. The measure now moves to the House Transportation Committee for consideration. Under the amendment, the bill would apply only to antique vehicles manufactured prior to 1950 containing engines comparable to those designed as standard factory equipment for use on that vehicle.

Virginia Registration: The House Transportation Committee tabled a bill to provide that vehicle registrations would be permanent unless the vehicle ownership or the address where the vehicle is principally garaged changes. Under the measure, the fee for issuance of a permanent vehicle registration would be the same as that previously charged for a two-year registration. It is unclear whether the bill will receive a committee vote prior to legislative adjournment.

Virginia Single Plate: Legislation to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles whose original design does not provide for display of a front plate was tabled by a Transportation subcommittee. Under the bill, the issuance of a second plate would be optional for the vehicle owner. It is unclear whether the bill will receive a committee vote prior to legislative adjournment.

Vermont Titles: SEMA is supporting legislation to ease the burden on hobbyists by requiring the state, upon the owner’s request, to issue titles for vehicles not currently required to be titled in Vermont. These vehicles would include those 15 years old and older. The bill seeks to expand the out-of-state market for older motor vehicles and enhance their value to collectors.

Washington Single Plate: Legislation has been introduced in Washington to allow the issuance of only a single rear-mounted license plate at the option of the vehicle owner. The bill, if enacted into law, would take effect on January 1, 2016.

West Virginia Exhaust Systems: West Virginia has issued a proposal to make it a criminal offense to disturb the peace. Included in the definition of disturbing the peace is the “noise from an exhaust system of any vehicle that is not equipped or constructed so as to prevent any disturbing or unreasonably loud noise.” Vehicle owners convicted of a violation would be fined up to $1,000 per occurrence, confined up to six months in jail or both. SEMA supports competing legislation that would allow vehicle hobbyists to install and use aftermarket exhaust systems that meet a 95-decibel limit under a fair and predictable test.

West Virginia Taxes: A bill to increase property taxes paid by owners of antique motor vehicles was reintroduced. Under the bill, each of these cars would have an assessed value of $5,000 for purposes of the tax, regardless of their actual value, thereby affecting antique vehicle owners whose cars are worth less than $5,000. The House Roads and Transportation Committee will consider the bill. West Virginia law defines an “antique motor vehicle” to mean any motor vehicle that is more than 25 years old and is owned solely as a collector’s item.

Wyoming Single Plate: The full House of Representatives approved legislation by an overwhelming 52–8 vote to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles that were not originally equipped with a display bracket on the front of the vehicle. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. If enacted into law, the single-plate allowance would take effect on July 1, 2015.

FEDERAL UPDATE

E15 Ethanol: SEMA is working to enact legislation that would cap the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline at 10% and eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS) corn-based ethanol requirement. The Renewable Fuel Standard Reform Act would protect consumers by repealing the EPA regulation that permitted fuel to be blended with ethanol at up to 15%. The bill would also eliminate an RFS mandate that 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be blended into the U.S. fuel supply each year from 2015 through 2022. The RFS did not take into consideration the fact that ethanol can cause metal corrosion and dissolve certain plastics and rubbers, especially in older cars that were not constructed with ethanol-resistant materials. SEMA has joined with more than 50 other organizations from the auto/boat industries as well as the food, energy and environmental communities to support passage of the legislation.

Small-Business Regulatory Burdens: The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to expand the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and provide small businesses with a larger say in how federal government agencies draft regulations. Under the bill, federal agencies would be required to consider reasonably foreseeable indirect economic impacts on small businesses. Agencies would also be required to offer regulatory alternatives to minimize any significant economic impact. The U.S. Small Business Administration would be required to issue rules on how federal agencies are to comply with the RFA. Rules issued by federal agencies would be subject to judicial review to ensure compliance with RFA requirements. The bill has been sent to the Senate for consideration.

TPMS Survey: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be conducting a public survey on the tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) rule. The equipment is intended to warn drivers of significant underinflation of tires installed on light-duty vehicles. The safety standard was phased in between 2005 and 2007. A 2011 study found that the equipment was 55.6% effective in preventing severe underinflation. However, the study also demonstrated that the equipment was less effective in older vehicles. The NHTSA intends to focus attention on the operational status of TPMS in the vehicle fleet as well as consumer knowledge, attitudes and awareness of these systems and the causes and costs of TPMS malfunctions.

Copper in Brake Pads: The EPA reached an accord with states and industry associations representing the automakers and major suppliers to reduce the amount of copper used in motor-vehicle brake pads. Copper amounts will be reduced to less than 5% by 2021 and 0.5% by 2025. The voluntary agreement also seeks to reduce the amount of mercury, lead, cadmium, asbestiform fibers and chromium-6 salts in motor vehicle brake pads. California and Washington have already passed requirements to reduce these materials in brake pads.

New-Car Braking Systems: As part of its five-star New Car Assessment Program, the NHTSA intends to add two automatic emergency braking systems to its list of recommended safety features. The so-called “Stars on Cars” label is posted on new-car windows and seeks to provide consumers with safety information when comparison shopping. The five-star rating system reflects performance tests for frontal, side and rollover crashworthiness. It also includes information on whether autos have advanced safety features such as lane-departure and forward-collision warning systems. The emergency “automatic braking” and “dynamic braking” systems are found on many new vehicles. They sense an impending crash and apply the brakes if they are not in use or apply them more fully if already in use in advance of an impending crash. The NHTSA does not intend to mandate the installation of the technology on all new vehicles at this time. 

SEMA News—April 2015

LEGISLATIVE AND TECHNICAL AFFAIRS
By Steve McDonald

Law and Order

Law and Order is an update of some of the most recent federal and state legislative and regulatory issues that could potentially impact the automotive specialty-equipment industry. These include issues affecting small-business owners and their employees.

STATE UPDATE

California Chemical Warnings: The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is proposing new requirements on product manufacturers and various other business entities under Proposition 65, the California law requiring warnings in the presence of certain chemicals. Under Prop 65, a manufacturer, producer, packager, importer or distributor of a product that causes consumers to be exposed to a listed chemical is required to provide a warning. Currently, a Prop 65 warning must be given prior to the time of anticipated exposure, but under the new rule, the warning must be given prior to sale, imposing new burdens on website and catalog retailers. The new rule also lists 12 chemicals that a manufacturer would have to identify by name in its Prop 65 warning.

Connecticut Property Tax: Legislation to lower the property tax on many older vehicles has been introduced. Under the bill, the personal property tax on vehicles eight years old and older would be changed to a flat tax of $100 per year for vehicles between eight and 10 years old with an assessed value of less than $10,000 and $50 per year for vehicles 10 years old and older with an assessed value of less than $8,000. Antique, rare and special-interest vehicles may be negatively affected by the bill. These vehicles are currently valued at a $500 assessment, which results in a reduced tax.

Hawaii Exhaust Systems: SEMA-opposed legislation to prohibit the use, sale or installation of an exhaust system “that has been changed or modified from the factory design so as to increase the volume or audibility of the explosions within the vehicle’s motor” was reintroduced in Hawaii. The bill would also require safety-inspection stations to perform a test to ensure that a vehicle conforms to the law. Fines for noncompliance would range from $100 to $500 for each offense. However, the measure provides no procedure by which vehicles would be tested and does not provide inspection stations with decibel readings on factory-installed exhaust systems.

Hawaii Registration Fees: Legislation has been introduced in Hawaii to reduce annual registration fees from $45 to $25. Separate legislation seeks to reduce the state vehicle weight tax by 1 cent per pound and reduces the flat rate for vehicles more than 10,000 lbs. from $300 to $150.

Iowa Single License Plate: A bill has been introduced to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles originally manufactured with a front bumper that sits 24 in. or less from the ground. Separate legislation would allow a single plate for motor vehicles originally manufactured without a bracket, device or other means to display and secure a plate on the front of the vehicle.

Iowa Nitrous Oxide: A version of SEMA-model legislation to permit motor vehicles equipped with nitrous-oxide systems has been introduced. Under the bill, the system must be disconnected when the vehicle is operated on public highways. Written as a compromise to outright bans, the measure seeks to better protect public road safety while ensuring legitimate off-road uses of nitrous-oxide systems.

Kentucky Property Tax: The legislature is proposing a new valuation procedure for older vehicles. Vehicles 20 years old or older would no longer be presumed to be in “original factory” or “classic” condition. Original factory and classic vehicles are currently assessed as high-value collectibles. This measure instead provides three options for assessing the value of these vehicles, including allowing an administrator to conduct an assessment of the vehicle to determine the correct value, which would be reduced by 10% for each year thereafter.

Maryland Single Plate: Legislation has been reintroduced to require the issuance of only a single license plate for all motor vehicles. A second bill provides that historic vehicles and street rods may display only the rear plate if the front plate is stored inside the vehicle. The House Environment and Transportation Committee will consider both bills.

Minnesota Miles Traveled Tax: Legislation to mandate payment of a “recoupment” surcharge of up to $95 has been introduced in Minnesota. The surcharge would be calculated to levy the highest tax on owners of the most fuel-efficient vehicles. Separate legislation requires the state to take steps to implement a vehicle mileage user fee to tax drivers on actual miles driven. Both bills seek to penalize national efforts to create a more fuel-efficient vehicle fleet by taxing drivers based on fuel economy. As gas tax revenues decrease due to hybrid and electric-vehicle ownership, states are looking for new sources of funding for pet projects.

Nebraska Single Plate: Legislation has been introduced in the Nebraska Legislature to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for passenger cars that were not originally equipped with a bracket on the front of the vehicle to display a license plate. Under the bill, a license decal would be issued with the single plate and displayed on the driver’s side of the windshield. Owners who request a single license plate and license decal would be charged an additional nonrefundable fee of $100 in addition to the cost of the decal.

New Hampshire Antique Trucks: Pro-hobby legislation to include trucks more than 25 years old (regardless of weight) in the definition of eligible “antique motor vehicles” has been introduced. The bill provides the option for the owners of older trucks to take advantage of the many accommodations available to antique motor vehicles. Under state law, the annual registration fee for antique motor vehicles is only $6. In addition, antiques are inspected only every two years, can use year-of-manufacture license plates and are exempted from certain equipment requirements.

New York Single Plate: Legislation to authorize the owner of a motor vehicle to display a single license plate on the rear of the vehicle for a $50 annual fee was reintroduced. The bill will be considered by the Assembly Transportation Committee. The funds collected under the bill would be used to help provide emergency services.

Oregon Miles-Traveled Tax: The state legislature has introduced a bill to convert its current voluntary vehicle miles-traveled (VMT) tax program to a mandatory program. The mandatory program would apply to all high-mileage vehicles that have a rating of 55 miles per gallon or better. These high-mileage vehicles would not pay the gas tax that would apply to all other vehicles. Under the bill, owners could choose to pay a flat annual fee in lieu of a fee based on actual miles driven if a vehicle is subject to the mandatory VMT.

Oregon Ethanol: SEMA is supporting legislation to remove the requirement that all gasoline offered for sale in the state contain a percentage of ethanol. Currently, the state requires that “a retail dealer, nonretail dealer or wholesale dealer may not sell or offer for sale gasoline unless the gasoline contains 10% ethanol by volume.” The bill recognizes that, while the current ethanol mandate does not apply to fuel used in antique, all-terrain and racing vehicles, there has been an inability to obtain unblended gasoline for engines that may be damaged by ethanol.

Pennsylvania Emissions Inspection: Legislation has been introduced in Pennsylvania to extend the emissions-inspection exemption for five years after the model year. Current law exempts only new vehicles that have less than 5,000 miles on their odometer for one year after their first registration.

Virginia Exhaust Systems: Senate legislation to exempt antique motor vehicles from the requirement that they have exhaust systems of a type installed as standard factory equipment or comparable to that designed as standard factory equipment was approved by the full Senate with an amendment. The measure now moves to the House Transportation Committee for consideration. Under the amendment, the bill would apply only to antique vehicles manufactured prior to 1950 containing engines comparable to those designed as standard factory equipment for use on that vehicle.

Virginia Registration: The House Transportation Committee tabled a bill to provide that vehicle registrations would be permanent unless the vehicle ownership or the address where the vehicle is principally garaged changes. Under the measure, the fee for issuance of a permanent vehicle registration would be the same as that previously charged for a two-year registration. It is unclear whether the bill will receive a committee vote prior to legislative adjournment.

Virginia Single Plate: Legislation to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles whose original design does not provide for display of a front plate was tabled by a Transportation subcommittee. Under the bill, the issuance of a second plate would be optional for the vehicle owner. It is unclear whether the bill will receive a committee vote prior to legislative adjournment.

Vermont Titles: SEMA is supporting legislation to ease the burden on hobbyists by requiring the state, upon the owner’s request, to issue titles for vehicles not currently required to be titled in Vermont. These vehicles would include those 15 years old and older. The bill seeks to expand the out-of-state market for older motor vehicles and enhance their value to collectors.

Washington Single Plate: Legislation has been introduced in Washington to allow the issuance of only a single rear-mounted license plate at the option of the vehicle owner. The bill, if enacted into law, would take effect on January 1, 2016.

West Virginia Exhaust Systems: West Virginia has issued a proposal to make it a criminal offense to disturb the peace. Included in the definition of disturbing the peace is the “noise from an exhaust system of any vehicle that is not equipped or constructed so as to prevent any disturbing or unreasonably loud noise.” Vehicle owners convicted of a violation would be fined up to $1,000 per occurrence, confined up to six months in jail or both. SEMA supports competing legislation that would allow vehicle hobbyists to install and use aftermarket exhaust systems that meet a 95-decibel limit under a fair and predictable test.

West Virginia Taxes: A bill to increase property taxes paid by owners of antique motor vehicles was reintroduced. Under the bill, each of these cars would have an assessed value of $5,000 for purposes of the tax, regardless of their actual value, thereby affecting antique vehicle owners whose cars are worth less than $5,000. The House Roads and Transportation Committee will consider the bill. West Virginia law defines an “antique motor vehicle” to mean any motor vehicle that is more than 25 years old and is owned solely as a collector’s item.

Wyoming Single Plate: The full House of Representatives approved legislation by an overwhelming 52–8 vote to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles that were not originally equipped with a display bracket on the front of the vehicle. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. If enacted into law, the single-plate allowance would take effect on July 1, 2015.

FEDERAL UPDATE

E15 Ethanol: SEMA is working to enact legislation that would cap the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline at 10% and eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS) corn-based ethanol requirement. The Renewable Fuel Standard Reform Act would protect consumers by repealing the EPA regulation that permitted fuel to be blended with ethanol at up to 15%. The bill would also eliminate an RFS mandate that 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be blended into the U.S. fuel supply each year from 2015 through 2022. The RFS did not take into consideration the fact that ethanol can cause metal corrosion and dissolve certain plastics and rubbers, especially in older cars that were not constructed with ethanol-resistant materials. SEMA has joined with more than 50 other organizations from the auto/boat industries as well as the food, energy and environmental communities to support passage of the legislation.

Small-Business Regulatory Burdens: The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to expand the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and provide small businesses with a larger say in how federal government agencies draft regulations. Under the bill, federal agencies would be required to consider reasonably foreseeable indirect economic impacts on small businesses. Agencies would also be required to offer regulatory alternatives to minimize any significant economic impact. The U.S. Small Business Administration would be required to issue rules on how federal agencies are to comply with the RFA. Rules issued by federal agencies would be subject to judicial review to ensure compliance with RFA requirements. The bill has been sent to the Senate for consideration.

TPMS Survey: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be conducting a public survey on the tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) rule. The equipment is intended to warn drivers of significant underinflation of tires installed on light-duty vehicles. The safety standard was phased in between 2005 and 2007. A 2011 study found that the equipment was 55.6% effective in preventing severe underinflation. However, the study also demonstrated that the equipment was less effective in older vehicles. The NHTSA intends to focus attention on the operational status of TPMS in the vehicle fleet as well as consumer knowledge, attitudes and awareness of these systems and the causes and costs of TPMS malfunctions.

Copper in Brake Pads: The EPA reached an accord with states and industry associations representing the automakers and major suppliers to reduce the amount of copper used in motor-vehicle brake pads. Copper amounts will be reduced to less than 5% by 2021 and 0.5% by 2025. The voluntary agreement also seeks to reduce the amount of mercury, lead, cadmium, asbestiform fibers and chromium-6 salts in motor vehicle brake pads. California and Washington have already passed requirements to reduce these materials in brake pads.

New-Car Braking Systems: As part of its five-star New Car Assessment Program, the NHTSA intends to add two automatic emergency braking systems to its list of recommended safety features. The so-called “Stars on Cars” label is posted on new-car windows and seeks to provide consumers with safety information when comparison shopping. The five-star rating system reflects performance tests for frontal, side and rollover crashworthiness. It also includes information on whether autos have advanced safety features such as lane-departure and forward-collision warning systems. The emergency “automatic braking” and “dynamic braking” systems are found on many new vehicles. They sense an impending crash and apply the brakes if they are not in use or apply them more fully if already in use in advance of an impending crash. The NHTSA does not intend to mandate the installation of the technology on all new vehicles at this time. 

SEMA News—April 2015

LEGISLATIVE AND TECHNICAL AFFAIRS
By Steve McDonald

Law and Order

Law and Order is an update of some of the most recent federal and state legislative and regulatory issues that could potentially impact the automotive specialty-equipment industry. These include issues affecting small-business owners and their employees.

STATE UPDATE

California Chemical Warnings: The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is proposing new requirements on product manufacturers and various other business entities under Proposition 65, the California law requiring warnings in the presence of certain chemicals. Under Prop 65, a manufacturer, producer, packager, importer or distributor of a product that causes consumers to be exposed to a listed chemical is required to provide a warning. Currently, a Prop 65 warning must be given prior to the time of anticipated exposure, but under the new rule, the warning must be given prior to sale, imposing new burdens on website and catalog retailers. The new rule also lists 12 chemicals that a manufacturer would have to identify by name in its Prop 65 warning.

Connecticut Property Tax: Legislation to lower the property tax on many older vehicles has been introduced. Under the bill, the personal property tax on vehicles eight years old and older would be changed to a flat tax of $100 per year for vehicles between eight and 10 years old with an assessed value of less than $10,000 and $50 per year for vehicles 10 years old and older with an assessed value of less than $8,000. Antique, rare and special-interest vehicles may be negatively affected by the bill. These vehicles are currently valued at a $500 assessment, which results in a reduced tax.

Hawaii Exhaust Systems: SEMA-opposed legislation to prohibit the use, sale or installation of an exhaust system “that has been changed or modified from the factory design so as to increase the volume or audibility of the explosions within the vehicle’s motor” was reintroduced in Hawaii. The bill would also require safety-inspection stations to perform a test to ensure that a vehicle conforms to the law. Fines for noncompliance would range from $100 to $500 for each offense. However, the measure provides no procedure by which vehicles would be tested and does not provide inspection stations with decibel readings on factory-installed exhaust systems.

Hawaii Registration Fees: Legislation has been introduced in Hawaii to reduce annual registration fees from $45 to $25. Separate legislation seeks to reduce the state vehicle weight tax by 1 cent per pound and reduces the flat rate for vehicles more than 10,000 lbs. from $300 to $150.

Iowa Single License Plate: A bill has been introduced to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles originally manufactured with a front bumper that sits 24 in. or less from the ground. Separate legislation would allow a single plate for motor vehicles originally manufactured without a bracket, device or other means to display and secure a plate on the front of the vehicle.

Iowa Nitrous Oxide: A version of SEMA-model legislation to permit motor vehicles equipped with nitrous-oxide systems has been introduced. Under the bill, the system must be disconnected when the vehicle is operated on public highways. Written as a compromise to outright bans, the measure seeks to better protect public road safety while ensuring legitimate off-road uses of nitrous-oxide systems.

Kentucky Property Tax: The legislature is proposing a new valuation procedure for older vehicles. Vehicles 20 years old or older would no longer be presumed to be in “original factory” or “classic” condition. Original factory and classic vehicles are currently assessed as high-value collectibles. This measure instead provides three options for assessing the value of these vehicles, including allowing an administrator to conduct an assessment of the vehicle to determine the correct value, which would be reduced by 10% for each year thereafter.

Maryland Single Plate: Legislation has been reintroduced to require the issuance of only a single license plate for all motor vehicles. A second bill provides that historic vehicles and street rods may display only the rear plate if the front plate is stored inside the vehicle. The House Environment and Transportation Committee will consider both bills.

Minnesota Miles Traveled Tax: Legislation to mandate payment of a “recoupment” surcharge of up to $95 has been introduced in Minnesota. The surcharge would be calculated to levy the highest tax on owners of the most fuel-efficient vehicles. Separate legislation requires the state to take steps to implement a vehicle mileage user fee to tax drivers on actual miles driven. Both bills seek to penalize national efforts to create a more fuel-efficient vehicle fleet by taxing drivers based on fuel economy. As gas tax revenues decrease due to hybrid and electric-vehicle ownership, states are looking for new sources of funding for pet projects.

Nebraska Single Plate: Legislation has been introduced in the Nebraska Legislature to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for passenger cars that were not originally equipped with a bracket on the front of the vehicle to display a license plate. Under the bill, a license decal would be issued with the single plate and displayed on the driver’s side of the windshield. Owners who request a single license plate and license decal would be charged an additional nonrefundable fee of $100 in addition to the cost of the decal.

New Hampshire Antique Trucks: Pro-hobby legislation to include trucks more than 25 years old (regardless of weight) in the definition of eligible “antique motor vehicles” has been introduced. The bill provides the option for the owners of older trucks to take advantage of the many accommodations available to antique motor vehicles. Under state law, the annual registration fee for antique motor vehicles is only $6. In addition, antiques are inspected only every two years, can use year-of-manufacture license plates and are exempted from certain equipment requirements.

New York Single Plate: Legislation to authorize the owner of a motor vehicle to display a single license plate on the rear of the vehicle for a $50 annual fee was reintroduced. The bill will be considered by the Assembly Transportation Committee. The funds collected under the bill would be used to help provide emergency services.

Oregon Miles-Traveled Tax: The state legislature has introduced a bill to convert its current voluntary vehicle miles-traveled (VMT) tax program to a mandatory program. The mandatory program would apply to all high-mileage vehicles that have a rating of 55 miles per gallon or better. These high-mileage vehicles would not pay the gas tax that would apply to all other vehicles. Under the bill, owners could choose to pay a flat annual fee in lieu of a fee based on actual miles driven if a vehicle is subject to the mandatory VMT.

Oregon Ethanol: SEMA is supporting legislation to remove the requirement that all gasoline offered for sale in the state contain a percentage of ethanol. Currently, the state requires that “a retail dealer, nonretail dealer or wholesale dealer may not sell or offer for sale gasoline unless the gasoline contains 10% ethanol by volume.” The bill recognizes that, while the current ethanol mandate does not apply to fuel used in antique, all-terrain and racing vehicles, there has been an inability to obtain unblended gasoline for engines that may be damaged by ethanol.

Pennsylvania Emissions Inspection: Legislation has been introduced in Pennsylvania to extend the emissions-inspection exemption for five years after the model year. Current law exempts only new vehicles that have less than 5,000 miles on their odometer for one year after their first registration.

Virginia Exhaust Systems: Senate legislation to exempt antique motor vehicles from the requirement that they have exhaust systems of a type installed as standard factory equipment or comparable to that designed as standard factory equipment was approved by the full Senate with an amendment. The measure now moves to the House Transportation Committee for consideration. Under the amendment, the bill would apply only to antique vehicles manufactured prior to 1950 containing engines comparable to those designed as standard factory equipment for use on that vehicle.

Virginia Registration: The House Transportation Committee tabled a bill to provide that vehicle registrations would be permanent unless the vehicle ownership or the address where the vehicle is principally garaged changes. Under the measure, the fee for issuance of a permanent vehicle registration would be the same as that previously charged for a two-year registration. It is unclear whether the bill will receive a committee vote prior to legislative adjournment.

Virginia Single Plate: Legislation to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles whose original design does not provide for display of a front plate was tabled by a Transportation subcommittee. Under the bill, the issuance of a second plate would be optional for the vehicle owner. It is unclear whether the bill will receive a committee vote prior to legislative adjournment.

Vermont Titles: SEMA is supporting legislation to ease the burden on hobbyists by requiring the state, upon the owner’s request, to issue titles for vehicles not currently required to be titled in Vermont. These vehicles would include those 15 years old and older. The bill seeks to expand the out-of-state market for older motor vehicles and enhance their value to collectors.

Washington Single Plate: Legislation has been introduced in Washington to allow the issuance of only a single rear-mounted license plate at the option of the vehicle owner. The bill, if enacted into law, would take effect on January 1, 2016.

West Virginia Exhaust Systems: West Virginia has issued a proposal to make it a criminal offense to disturb the peace. Included in the definition of disturbing the peace is the “noise from an exhaust system of any vehicle that is not equipped or constructed so as to prevent any disturbing or unreasonably loud noise.” Vehicle owners convicted of a violation would be fined up to $1,000 per occurrence, confined up to six months in jail or both. SEMA supports competing legislation that would allow vehicle hobbyists to install and use aftermarket exhaust systems that meet a 95-decibel limit under a fair and predictable test.

West Virginia Taxes: A bill to increase property taxes paid by owners of antique motor vehicles was reintroduced. Under the bill, each of these cars would have an assessed value of $5,000 for purposes of the tax, regardless of their actual value, thereby affecting antique vehicle owners whose cars are worth less than $5,000. The House Roads and Transportation Committee will consider the bill. West Virginia law defines an “antique motor vehicle” to mean any motor vehicle that is more than 25 years old and is owned solely as a collector’s item.

Wyoming Single Plate: The full House of Representatives approved legislation by an overwhelming 52–8 vote to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles that were not originally equipped with a display bracket on the front of the vehicle. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. If enacted into law, the single-plate allowance would take effect on July 1, 2015.

FEDERAL UPDATE

E15 Ethanol: SEMA is working to enact legislation that would cap the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline at 10% and eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS) corn-based ethanol requirement. The Renewable Fuel Standard Reform Act would protect consumers by repealing the EPA regulation that permitted fuel to be blended with ethanol at up to 15%. The bill would also eliminate an RFS mandate that 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be blended into the U.S. fuel supply each year from 2015 through 2022. The RFS did not take into consideration the fact that ethanol can cause metal corrosion and dissolve certain plastics and rubbers, especially in older cars that were not constructed with ethanol-resistant materials. SEMA has joined with more than 50 other organizations from the auto/boat industries as well as the food, energy and environmental communities to support passage of the legislation.

Small-Business Regulatory Burdens: The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to expand the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and provide small businesses with a larger say in how federal government agencies draft regulations. Under the bill, federal agencies would be required to consider reasonably foreseeable indirect economic impacts on small businesses. Agencies would also be required to offer regulatory alternatives to minimize any significant economic impact. The U.S. Small Business Administration would be required to issue rules on how federal agencies are to comply with the RFA. Rules issued by federal agencies would be subject to judicial review to ensure compliance with RFA requirements. The bill has been sent to the Senate for consideration.

TPMS Survey: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be conducting a public survey on the tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) rule. The equipment is intended to warn drivers of significant underinflation of tires installed on light-duty vehicles. The safety standard was phased in between 2005 and 2007. A 2011 study found that the equipment was 55.6% effective in preventing severe underinflation. However, the study also demonstrated that the equipment was less effective in older vehicles. The NHTSA intends to focus attention on the operational status of TPMS in the vehicle fleet as well as consumer knowledge, attitudes and awareness of these systems and the causes and costs of TPMS malfunctions.

Copper in Brake Pads: The EPA reached an accord with states and industry associations representing the automakers and major suppliers to reduce the amount of copper used in motor-vehicle brake pads. Copper amounts will be reduced to less than 5% by 2021 and 0.5% by 2025. The voluntary agreement also seeks to reduce the amount of mercury, lead, cadmium, asbestiform fibers and chromium-6 salts in motor vehicle brake pads. California and Washington have already passed requirements to reduce these materials in brake pads.

New-Car Braking Systems: As part of its five-star New Car Assessment Program, the NHTSA intends to add two automatic emergency braking systems to its list of recommended safety features. The so-called “Stars on Cars” label is posted on new-car windows and seeks to provide consumers with safety information when comparison shopping. The five-star rating system reflects performance tests for frontal, side and rollover crashworthiness. It also includes information on whether autos have advanced safety features such as lane-departure and forward-collision warning systems. The emergency “automatic braking” and “dynamic braking” systems are found on many new vehicles. They sense an impending crash and apply the brakes if they are not in use or apply them more fully if already in use in advance of an impending crash. The NHTSA does not intend to mandate the installation of the technology on all new vehicles at this time. 

SEMA News—April 2015

LEGISLATIVE AND TECHNICAL AFFAIRS
By Steve McDonald

Law and Order

Law and Order is an update of some of the most recent federal and state legislative and regulatory issues that could potentially impact the automotive specialty-equipment industry. These include issues affecting small-business owners and their employees.

STATE UPDATE

California Chemical Warnings: The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is proposing new requirements on product manufacturers and various other business entities under Proposition 65, the California law requiring warnings in the presence of certain chemicals. Under Prop 65, a manufacturer, producer, packager, importer or distributor of a product that causes consumers to be exposed to a listed chemical is required to provide a warning. Currently, a Prop 65 warning must be given prior to the time of anticipated exposure, but under the new rule, the warning must be given prior to sale, imposing new burdens on website and catalog retailers. The new rule also lists 12 chemicals that a manufacturer would have to identify by name in its Prop 65 warning.

Connecticut Property Tax: Legislation to lower the property tax on many older vehicles has been introduced. Under the bill, the personal property tax on vehicles eight years old and older would be changed to a flat tax of $100 per year for vehicles between eight and 10 years old with an assessed value of less than $10,000 and $50 per year for vehicles 10 years old and older with an assessed value of less than $8,000. Antique, rare and special-interest vehicles may be negatively affected by the bill. These vehicles are currently valued at a $500 assessment, which results in a reduced tax.

Hawaii Exhaust Systems: SEMA-opposed legislation to prohibit the use, sale or installation of an exhaust system “that has been changed or modified from the factory design so as to increase the volume or audibility of the explosions within the vehicle’s motor” was reintroduced in Hawaii. The bill would also require safety-inspection stations to perform a test to ensure that a vehicle conforms to the law. Fines for noncompliance would range from $100 to $500 for each offense. However, the measure provides no procedure by which vehicles would be tested and does not provide inspection stations with decibel readings on factory-installed exhaust systems.

Hawaii Registration Fees: Legislation has been introduced in Hawaii to reduce annual registration fees from $45 to $25. Separate legislation seeks to reduce the state vehicle weight tax by 1 cent per pound and reduces the flat rate for vehicles more than 10,000 lbs. from $300 to $150.

Iowa Single License Plate: A bill has been introduced to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles originally manufactured with a front bumper that sits 24 in. or less from the ground. Separate legislation would allow a single plate for motor vehicles originally manufactured without a bracket, device or other means to display and secure a plate on the front of the vehicle.

Iowa Nitrous Oxide: A version of SEMA-model legislation to permit motor vehicles equipped with nitrous-oxide systems has been introduced. Under the bill, the system must be disconnected when the vehicle is operated on public highways. Written as a compromise to outright bans, the measure seeks to better protect public road safety while ensuring legitimate off-road uses of nitrous-oxide systems.

Kentucky Property Tax: The legislature is proposing a new valuation procedure for older vehicles. Vehicles 20 years old or older would no longer be presumed to be in “original factory” or “classic” condition. Original factory and classic vehicles are currently assessed as high-value collectibles. This measure instead provides three options for assessing the value of these vehicles, including allowing an administrator to conduct an assessment of the vehicle to determine the correct value, which would be reduced by 10% for each year thereafter.

Maryland Single Plate: Legislation has been reintroduced to require the issuance of only a single license plate for all motor vehicles. A second bill provides that historic vehicles and street rods may display only the rear plate if the front plate is stored inside the vehicle. The House Environment and Transportation Committee will consider both bills.

Minnesota Miles Traveled Tax: Legislation to mandate payment of a “recoupment” surcharge of up to $95 has been introduced in Minnesota. The surcharge would be calculated to levy the highest tax on owners of the most fuel-efficient vehicles. Separate legislation requires the state to take steps to implement a vehicle mileage user fee to tax drivers on actual miles driven. Both bills seek to penalize national efforts to create a more fuel-efficient vehicle fleet by taxing drivers based on fuel economy. As gas tax revenues decrease due to hybrid and electric-vehicle ownership, states are looking for new sources of funding for pet projects.

Nebraska Single Plate: Legislation has been introduced in the Nebraska Legislature to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for passenger cars that were not originally equipped with a bracket on the front of the vehicle to display a license plate. Under the bill, a license decal would be issued with the single plate and displayed on the driver’s side of the windshield. Owners who request a single license plate and license decal would be charged an additional nonrefundable fee of $100 in addition to the cost of the decal.

New Hampshire Antique Trucks: Pro-hobby legislation to include trucks more than 25 years old (regardless of weight) in the definition of eligible “antique motor vehicles” has been introduced. The bill provides the option for the owners of older trucks to take advantage of the many accommodations available to antique motor vehicles. Under state law, the annual registration fee for antique motor vehicles is only $6. In addition, antiques are inspected only every two years, can use year-of-manufacture license plates and are exempted from certain equipment requirements.

New York Single Plate: Legislation to authorize the owner of a motor vehicle to display a single license plate on the rear of the vehicle for a $50 annual fee was reintroduced. The bill will be considered by the Assembly Transportation Committee. The funds collected under the bill would be used to help provide emergency services.

Oregon Miles-Traveled Tax: The state legislature has introduced a bill to convert its current voluntary vehicle miles-traveled (VMT) tax program to a mandatory program. The mandatory program would apply to all high-mileage vehicles that have a rating of 55 miles per gallon or better. These high-mileage vehicles would not pay the gas tax that would apply to all other vehicles. Under the bill, owners could choose to pay a flat annual fee in lieu of a fee based on actual miles driven if a vehicle is subject to the mandatory VMT.

Oregon Ethanol: SEMA is supporting legislation to remove the requirement that all gasoline offered for sale in the state contain a percentage of ethanol. Currently, the state requires that “a retail dealer, nonretail dealer or wholesale dealer may not sell or offer for sale gasoline unless the gasoline contains 10% ethanol by volume.” The bill recognizes that, while the current ethanol mandate does not apply to fuel used in antique, all-terrain and racing vehicles, there has been an inability to obtain unblended gasoline for engines that may be damaged by ethanol.

Pennsylvania Emissions Inspection: Legislation has been introduced in Pennsylvania to extend the emissions-inspection exemption for five years after the model year. Current law exempts only new vehicles that have less than 5,000 miles on their odometer for one year after their first registration.

Virginia Exhaust Systems: Senate legislation to exempt antique motor vehicles from the requirement that they have exhaust systems of a type installed as standard factory equipment or comparable to that designed as standard factory equipment was approved by the full Senate with an amendment. The measure now moves to the House Transportation Committee for consideration. Under the amendment, the bill would apply only to antique vehicles manufactured prior to 1950 containing engines comparable to those designed as standard factory equipment for use on that vehicle.

Virginia Registration: The House Transportation Committee tabled a bill to provide that vehicle registrations would be permanent unless the vehicle ownership or the address where the vehicle is principally garaged changes. Under the measure, the fee for issuance of a permanent vehicle registration would be the same as that previously charged for a two-year registration. It is unclear whether the bill will receive a committee vote prior to legislative adjournment.

Virginia Single Plate: Legislation to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles whose original design does not provide for display of a front plate was tabled by a Transportation subcommittee. Under the bill, the issuance of a second plate would be optional for the vehicle owner. It is unclear whether the bill will receive a committee vote prior to legislative adjournment.

Vermont Titles: SEMA is supporting legislation to ease the burden on hobbyists by requiring the state, upon the owner’s request, to issue titles for vehicles not currently required to be titled in Vermont. These vehicles would include those 15 years old and older. The bill seeks to expand the out-of-state market for older motor vehicles and enhance their value to collectors.

Washington Single Plate: Legislation has been introduced in Washington to allow the issuance of only a single rear-mounted license plate at the option of the vehicle owner. The bill, if enacted into law, would take effect on January 1, 2016.

West Virginia Exhaust Systems: West Virginia has issued a proposal to make it a criminal offense to disturb the peace. Included in the definition of disturbing the peace is the “noise from an exhaust system of any vehicle that is not equipped or constructed so as to prevent any disturbing or unreasonably loud noise.” Vehicle owners convicted of a violation would be fined up to $1,000 per occurrence, confined up to six months in jail or both. SEMA supports competing legislation that would allow vehicle hobbyists to install and use aftermarket exhaust systems that meet a 95-decibel limit under a fair and predictable test.

West Virginia Taxes: A bill to increase property taxes paid by owners of antique motor vehicles was reintroduced. Under the bill, each of these cars would have an assessed value of $5,000 for purposes of the tax, regardless of their actual value, thereby affecting antique vehicle owners whose cars are worth less than $5,000. The House Roads and Transportation Committee will consider the bill. West Virginia law defines an “antique motor vehicle” to mean any motor vehicle that is more than 25 years old and is owned solely as a collector’s item.

Wyoming Single Plate: The full House of Representatives approved legislation by an overwhelming 52–8 vote to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles that were not originally equipped with a display bracket on the front of the vehicle. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. If enacted into law, the single-plate allowance would take effect on July 1, 2015.

FEDERAL UPDATE

E15 Ethanol: SEMA is working to enact legislation that would cap the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline at 10% and eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS) corn-based ethanol requirement. The Renewable Fuel Standard Reform Act would protect consumers by repealing the EPA regulation that permitted fuel to be blended with ethanol at up to 15%. The bill would also eliminate an RFS mandate that 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be blended into the U.S. fuel supply each year from 2015 through 2022. The RFS did not take into consideration the fact that ethanol can cause metal corrosion and dissolve certain plastics and rubbers, especially in older cars that were not constructed with ethanol-resistant materials. SEMA has joined with more than 50 other organizations from the auto/boat industries as well as the food, energy and environmental communities to support passage of the legislation.

Small-Business Regulatory Burdens: The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to expand the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and provide small businesses with a larger say in how federal government agencies draft regulations. Under the bill, federal agencies would be required to consider reasonably foreseeable indirect economic impacts on small businesses. Agencies would also be required to offer regulatory alternatives to minimize any significant economic impact. The U.S. Small Business Administration would be required to issue rules on how federal agencies are to comply with the RFA. Rules issued by federal agencies would be subject to judicial review to ensure compliance with RFA requirements. The bill has been sent to the Senate for consideration.

TPMS Survey: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be conducting a public survey on the tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) rule. The equipment is intended to warn drivers of significant underinflation of tires installed on light-duty vehicles. The safety standard was phased in between 2005 and 2007. A 2011 study found that the equipment was 55.6% effective in preventing severe underinflation. However, the study also demonstrated that the equipment was less effective in older vehicles. The NHTSA intends to focus attention on the operational status of TPMS in the vehicle fleet as well as consumer knowledge, attitudes and awareness of these systems and the causes and costs of TPMS malfunctions.

Copper in Brake Pads: The EPA reached an accord with states and industry associations representing the automakers and major suppliers to reduce the amount of copper used in motor-vehicle brake pads. Copper amounts will be reduced to less than 5% by 2021 and 0.5% by 2025. The voluntary agreement also seeks to reduce the amount of mercury, lead, cadmium, asbestiform fibers and chromium-6 salts in motor vehicle brake pads. California and Washington have already passed requirements to reduce these materials in brake pads.

New-Car Braking Systems: As part of its five-star New Car Assessment Program, the NHTSA intends to add two automatic emergency braking systems to its list of recommended safety features. The so-called “Stars on Cars” label is posted on new-car windows and seeks to provide consumers with safety information when comparison shopping. The five-star rating system reflects performance tests for frontal, side and rollover crashworthiness. It also includes information on whether autos have advanced safety features such as lane-departure and forward-collision warning systems. The emergency “automatic braking” and “dynamic braking” systems are found on many new vehicles. They sense an impending crash and apply the brakes if they are not in use or apply them more fully if already in use in advance of an impending crash. The NHTSA does not intend to mandate the installation of the technology on all new vehicles at this time. 

SEMA News—April 2015

LEGISLATIVE AND TECHNICAL AFFAIRS
By Steve McDonald

Law and Order

Law and Order is an update of some of the most recent federal and state legislative and regulatory issues that could potentially impact the automotive specialty-equipment industry. These include issues affecting small-business owners and their employees.

STATE UPDATE

California Chemical Warnings: The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is proposing new requirements on product manufacturers and various other business entities under Proposition 65, the California law requiring warnings in the presence of certain chemicals. Under Prop 65, a manufacturer, producer, packager, importer or distributor of a product that causes consumers to be exposed to a listed chemical is required to provide a warning. Currently, a Prop 65 warning must be given prior to the time of anticipated exposure, but under the new rule, the warning must be given prior to sale, imposing new burdens on website and catalog retailers. The new rule also lists 12 chemicals that a manufacturer would have to identify by name in its Prop 65 warning.

Connecticut Property Tax: Legislation to lower the property tax on many older vehicles has been introduced. Under the bill, the personal property tax on vehicles eight years old and older would be changed to a flat tax of $100 per year for vehicles between eight and 10 years old with an assessed value of less than $10,000 and $50 per year for vehicles 10 years old and older with an assessed value of less than $8,000. Antique, rare and special-interest vehicles may be negatively affected by the bill. These vehicles are currently valued at a $500 assessment, which results in a reduced tax.

Hawaii Exhaust Systems: SEMA-opposed legislation to prohibit the use, sale or installation of an exhaust system “that has been changed or modified from the factory design so as to increase the volume or audibility of the explosions within the vehicle’s motor” was reintroduced in Hawaii. The bill would also require safety-inspection stations to perform a test to ensure that a vehicle conforms to the law. Fines for noncompliance would range from $100 to $500 for each offense. However, the measure provides no procedure by which vehicles would be tested and does not provide inspection stations with decibel readings on factory-installed exhaust systems.

Hawaii Registration Fees: Legislation has been introduced in Hawaii to reduce annual registration fees from $45 to $25. Separate legislation seeks to reduce the state vehicle weight tax by 1 cent per pound and reduces the flat rate for vehicles more than 10,000 lbs. from $300 to $150.

Iowa Single License Plate: A bill has been introduced to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles originally manufactured with a front bumper that sits 24 in. or less from the ground. Separate legislation would allow a single plate for motor vehicles originally manufactured without a bracket, device or other means to display and secure a plate on the front of the vehicle.

Iowa Nitrous Oxide: A version of SEMA-model legislation to permit motor vehicles equipped with nitrous-oxide systems has been introduced. Under the bill, the system must be disconnected when the vehicle is operated on public highways. Written as a compromise to outright bans, the measure seeks to better protect public road safety while ensuring legitimate off-road uses of nitrous-oxide systems.

Kentucky Property Tax: The legislature is proposing a new valuation procedure for older vehicles. Vehicles 20 years old or older would no longer be presumed to be in “original factory” or “classic” condition. Original factory and classic vehicles are currently assessed as high-value collectibles. This measure instead provides three options for assessing the value of these vehicles, including allowing an administrator to conduct an assessment of the vehicle to determine the correct value, which would be reduced by 10% for each year thereafter.

Maryland Single Plate: Legislation has been reintroduced to require the issuance of only a single license plate for all motor vehicles. A second bill provides that historic vehicles and street rods may display only the rear plate if the front plate is stored inside the vehicle. The House Environment and Transportation Committee will consider both bills.

Minnesota Miles Traveled Tax: Legislation to mandate payment of a “recoupment” surcharge of up to $95 has been introduced in Minnesota. The surcharge would be calculated to levy the highest tax on owners of the most fuel-efficient vehicles. Separate legislation requires the state to take steps to implement a vehicle mileage user fee to tax drivers on actual miles driven. Both bills seek to penalize national efforts to create a more fuel-efficient vehicle fleet by taxing drivers based on fuel economy. As gas tax revenues decrease due to hybrid and electric-vehicle ownership, states are looking for new sources of funding for pet projects.

Nebraska Single Plate: Legislation has been introduced in the Nebraska Legislature to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for passenger cars that were not originally equipped with a bracket on the front of the vehicle to display a license plate. Under the bill, a license decal would be issued with the single plate and displayed on the driver’s side of the windshield. Owners who request a single license plate and license decal would be charged an additional nonrefundable fee of $100 in addition to the cost of the decal.

New Hampshire Antique Trucks: Pro-hobby legislation to include trucks more than 25 years old (regardless of weight) in the definition of eligible “antique motor vehicles” has been introduced. The bill provides the option for the owners of older trucks to take advantage of the many accommodations available to antique motor vehicles. Under state law, the annual registration fee for antique motor vehicles is only $6. In addition, antiques are inspected only every two years, can use year-of-manufacture license plates and are exempted from certain equipment requirements.

New York Single Plate: Legislation to authorize the owner of a motor vehicle to display a single license plate on the rear of the vehicle for a $50 annual fee was reintroduced. The bill will be considered by the Assembly Transportation Committee. The funds collected under the bill would be used to help provide emergency services.

Oregon Miles-Traveled Tax: The state legislature has introduced a bill to convert its current voluntary vehicle miles-traveled (VMT) tax program to a mandatory program. The mandatory program would apply to all high-mileage vehicles that have a rating of 55 miles per gallon or better. These high-mileage vehicles would not pay the gas tax that would apply to all other vehicles. Under the bill, owners could choose to pay a flat annual fee in lieu of a fee based on actual miles driven if a vehicle is subject to the mandatory VMT.

Oregon Ethanol: SEMA is supporting legislation to remove the requirement that all gasoline offered for sale in the state contain a percentage of ethanol. Currently, the state requires that “a retail dealer, nonretail dealer or wholesale dealer may not sell or offer for sale gasoline unless the gasoline contains 10% ethanol by volume.” The bill recognizes that, while the current ethanol mandate does not apply to fuel used in antique, all-terrain and racing vehicles, there has been an inability to obtain unblended gasoline for engines that may be damaged by ethanol.

Pennsylvania Emissions Inspection: Legislation has been introduced in Pennsylvania to extend the emissions-inspection exemption for five years after the model year. Current law exempts only new vehicles that have less than 5,000 miles on their odometer for one year after their first registration.

Virginia Exhaust Systems: Senate legislation to exempt antique motor vehicles from the requirement that they have exhaust systems of a type installed as standard factory equipment or comparable to that designed as standard factory equipment was approved by the full Senate with an amendment. The measure now moves to the House Transportation Committee for consideration. Under the amendment, the bill would apply only to antique vehicles manufactured prior to 1950 containing engines comparable to those designed as standard factory equipment for use on that vehicle.

Virginia Registration: The House Transportation Committee tabled a bill to provide that vehicle registrations would be permanent unless the vehicle ownership or the address where the vehicle is principally garaged changes. Under the measure, the fee for issuance of a permanent vehicle registration would be the same as that previously charged for a two-year registration. It is unclear whether the bill will receive a committee vote prior to legislative adjournment.

Virginia Single Plate: Legislation to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles whose original design does not provide for display of a front plate was tabled by a Transportation subcommittee. Under the bill, the issuance of a second plate would be optional for the vehicle owner. It is unclear whether the bill will receive a committee vote prior to legislative adjournment.

Vermont Titles: SEMA is supporting legislation to ease the burden on hobbyists by requiring the state, upon the owner’s request, to issue titles for vehicles not currently required to be titled in Vermont. These vehicles would include those 15 years old and older. The bill seeks to expand the out-of-state market for older motor vehicles and enhance their value to collectors.

Washington Single Plate: Legislation has been introduced in Washington to allow the issuance of only a single rear-mounted license plate at the option of the vehicle owner. The bill, if enacted into law, would take effect on January 1, 2016.

West Virginia Exhaust Systems: West Virginia has issued a proposal to make it a criminal offense to disturb the peace. Included in the definition of disturbing the peace is the “noise from an exhaust system of any vehicle that is not equipped or constructed so as to prevent any disturbing or unreasonably loud noise.” Vehicle owners convicted of a violation would be fined up to $1,000 per occurrence, confined up to six months in jail or both. SEMA supports competing legislation that would allow vehicle hobbyists to install and use aftermarket exhaust systems that meet a 95-decibel limit under a fair and predictable test.

West Virginia Taxes: A bill to increase property taxes paid by owners of antique motor vehicles was reintroduced. Under the bill, each of these cars would have an assessed value of $5,000 for purposes of the tax, regardless of their actual value, thereby affecting antique vehicle owners whose cars are worth less than $5,000. The House Roads and Transportation Committee will consider the bill. West Virginia law defines an “antique motor vehicle” to mean any motor vehicle that is more than 25 years old and is owned solely as a collector’s item.

Wyoming Single Plate: The full House of Representatives approved legislation by an overwhelming 52–8 vote to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles that were not originally equipped with a display bracket on the front of the vehicle. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. If enacted into law, the single-plate allowance would take effect on July 1, 2015.

FEDERAL UPDATE

E15 Ethanol: SEMA is working to enact legislation that would cap the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline at 10% and eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS) corn-based ethanol requirement. The Renewable Fuel Standard Reform Act would protect consumers by repealing the EPA regulation that permitted fuel to be blended with ethanol at up to 15%. The bill would also eliminate an RFS mandate that 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be blended into the U.S. fuel supply each year from 2015 through 2022. The RFS did not take into consideration the fact that ethanol can cause metal corrosion and dissolve certain plastics and rubbers, especially in older cars that were not constructed with ethanol-resistant materials. SEMA has joined with more than 50 other organizations from the auto/boat industries as well as the food, energy and environmental communities to support passage of the legislation.

Small-Business Regulatory Burdens: The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to expand the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and provide small businesses with a larger say in how federal government agencies draft regulations. Under the bill, federal agencies would be required to consider reasonably foreseeable indirect economic impacts on small businesses. Agencies would also be required to offer regulatory alternatives to minimize any significant economic impact. The U.S. Small Business Administration would be required to issue rules on how federal agencies are to comply with the RFA. Rules issued by federal agencies would be subject to judicial review to ensure compliance with RFA requirements. The bill has been sent to the Senate for consideration.

TPMS Survey: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be conducting a public survey on the tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) rule. The equipment is intended to warn drivers of significant underinflation of tires installed on light-duty vehicles. The safety standard was phased in between 2005 and 2007. A 2011 study found that the equipment was 55.6% effective in preventing severe underinflation. However, the study also demonstrated that the equipment was less effective in older vehicles. The NHTSA intends to focus attention on the operational status of TPMS in the vehicle fleet as well as consumer knowledge, attitudes and awareness of these systems and the causes and costs of TPMS malfunctions.

Copper in Brake Pads: The EPA reached an accord with states and industry associations representing the automakers and major suppliers to reduce the amount of copper used in motor-vehicle brake pads. Copper amounts will be reduced to less than 5% by 2021 and 0.5% by 2025. The voluntary agreement also seeks to reduce the amount of mercury, lead, cadmium, asbestiform fibers and chromium-6 salts in motor vehicle brake pads. California and Washington have already passed requirements to reduce these materials in brake pads.

New-Car Braking Systems: As part of its five-star New Car Assessment Program, the NHTSA intends to add two automatic emergency braking systems to its list of recommended safety features. The so-called “Stars on Cars” label is posted on new-car windows and seeks to provide consumers with safety information when comparison shopping. The five-star rating system reflects performance tests for frontal, side and rollover crashworthiness. It also includes information on whether autos have advanced safety features such as lane-departure and forward-collision warning systems. The emergency “automatic braking” and “dynamic braking” systems are found on many new vehicles. They sense an impending crash and apply the brakes if they are not in use or apply them more fully if already in use in advance of an impending crash. The NHTSA does not intend to mandate the installation of the technology on all new vehicles at this time. 

SEMA News—April 2015

LEGISLATIVE AND TECHNICAL AFFAIRS
By Steve McDonald

Law and Order

Law and Order is an update of some of the most recent federal and state legislative and regulatory issues that could potentially impact the automotive specialty-equipment industry. These include issues affecting small-business owners and their employees.

STATE UPDATE

California Chemical Warnings: The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is proposing new requirements on product manufacturers and various other business entities under Proposition 65, the California law requiring warnings in the presence of certain chemicals. Under Prop 65, a manufacturer, producer, packager, importer or distributor of a product that causes consumers to be exposed to a listed chemical is required to provide a warning. Currently, a Prop 65 warning must be given prior to the time of anticipated exposure, but under the new rule, the warning must be given prior to sale, imposing new burdens on website and catalog retailers. The new rule also lists 12 chemicals that a manufacturer would have to identify by name in its Prop 65 warning.

Connecticut Property Tax: Legislation to lower the property tax on many older vehicles has been introduced. Under the bill, the personal property tax on vehicles eight years old and older would be changed to a flat tax of $100 per year for vehicles between eight and 10 years old with an assessed value of less than $10,000 and $50 per year for vehicles 10 years old and older with an assessed value of less than $8,000. Antique, rare and special-interest vehicles may be negatively affected by the bill. These vehicles are currently valued at a $500 assessment, which results in a reduced tax.

Hawaii Exhaust Systems: SEMA-opposed legislation to prohibit the use, sale or installation of an exhaust system “that has been changed or modified from the factory design so as to increase the volume or audibility of the explosions within the vehicle’s motor” was reintroduced in Hawaii. The bill would also require safety-inspection stations to perform a test to ensure that a vehicle conforms to the law. Fines for noncompliance would range from $100 to $500 for each offense. However, the measure provides no procedure by which vehicles would be tested and does not provide inspection stations with decibel readings on factory-installed exhaust systems.

Hawaii Registration Fees: Legislation has been introduced in Hawaii to reduce annual registration fees from $45 to $25. Separate legislation seeks to reduce the state vehicle weight tax by 1 cent per pound and reduces the flat rate for vehicles more than 10,000 lbs. from $300 to $150.

Iowa Single License Plate: A bill has been introduced to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles originally manufactured with a front bumper that sits 24 in. or less from the ground. Separate legislation would allow a single plate for motor vehicles originally manufactured without a bracket, device or other means to display and secure a plate on the front of the vehicle.

Iowa Nitrous Oxide: A version of SEMA-model legislation to permit motor vehicles equipped with nitrous-oxide systems has been introduced. Under the bill, the system must be disconnected when the vehicle is operated on public highways. Written as a compromise to outright bans, the measure seeks to better protect public road safety while ensuring legitimate off-road uses of nitrous-oxide systems.

Kentucky Property Tax: The legislature is proposing a new valuation procedure for older vehicles. Vehicles 20 years old or older would no longer be presumed to be in “original factory” or “classic” condition. Original factory and classic vehicles are currently assessed as high-value collectibles. This measure instead provides three options for assessing the value of these vehicles, including allowing an administrator to conduct an assessment of the vehicle to determine the correct value, which would be reduced by 10% for each year thereafter.

Maryland Single Plate: Legislation has been reintroduced to require the issuance of only a single license plate for all motor vehicles. A second bill provides that historic vehicles and street rods may display only the rear plate if the front plate is stored inside the vehicle. The House Environment and Transportation Committee will consider both bills.

Minnesota Miles Traveled Tax: Legislation to mandate payment of a “recoupment” surcharge of up to $95 has been introduced in Minnesota. The surcharge would be calculated to levy the highest tax on owners of the most fuel-efficient vehicles. Separate legislation requires the state to take steps to implement a vehicle mileage user fee to tax drivers on actual miles driven. Both bills seek to penalize national efforts to create a more fuel-efficient vehicle fleet by taxing drivers based on fuel economy. As gas tax revenues decrease due to hybrid and electric-vehicle ownership, states are looking for new sources of funding for pet projects.

Nebraska Single Plate: Legislation has been introduced in the Nebraska Legislature to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for passenger cars that were not originally equipped with a bracket on the front of the vehicle to display a license plate. Under the bill, a license decal would be issued with the single plate and displayed on the driver’s side of the windshield. Owners who request a single license plate and license decal would be charged an additional nonrefundable fee of $100 in addition to the cost of the decal.

New Hampshire Antique Trucks: Pro-hobby legislation to include trucks more than 25 years old (regardless of weight) in the definition of eligible “antique motor vehicles” has been introduced. The bill provides the option for the owners of older trucks to take advantage of the many accommodations available to antique motor vehicles. Under state law, the annual registration fee for antique motor vehicles is only $6. In addition, antiques are inspected only every two years, can use year-of-manufacture license plates and are exempted from certain equipment requirements.

New York Single Plate: Legislation to authorize the owner of a motor vehicle to display a single license plate on the rear of the vehicle for a $50 annual fee was reintroduced. The bill will be considered by the Assembly Transportation Committee. The funds collected under the bill would be used to help provide emergency services.

Oregon Miles-Traveled Tax: The state legislature has introduced a bill to convert its current voluntary vehicle miles-traveled (VMT) tax program to a mandatory program. The mandatory program would apply to all high-mileage vehicles that have a rating of 55 miles per gallon or better. These high-mileage vehicles would not pay the gas tax that would apply to all other vehicles. Under the bill, owners could choose to pay a flat annual fee in lieu of a fee based on actual miles driven if a vehicle is subject to the mandatory VMT.

Oregon Ethanol: SEMA is supporting legislation to remove the requirement that all gasoline offered for sale in the state contain a percentage of ethanol. Currently, the state requires that “a retail dealer, nonretail dealer or wholesale dealer may not sell or offer for sale gasoline unless the gasoline contains 10% ethanol by volume.” The bill recognizes that, while the current ethanol mandate does not apply to fuel used in antique, all-terrain and racing vehicles, there has been an inability to obtain unblended gasoline for engines that may be damaged by ethanol.

Pennsylvania Emissions Inspection: Legislation has been introduced in Pennsylvania to extend the emissions-inspection exemption for five years after the model year. Current law exempts only new vehicles that have less than 5,000 miles on their odometer for one year after their first registration.

Virginia Exhaust Systems: Senate legislation to exempt antique motor vehicles from the requirement that they have exhaust systems of a type installed as standard factory equipment or comparable to that designed as standard factory equipment was approved by the full Senate with an amendment. The measure now moves to the House Transportation Committee for consideration. Under the amendment, the bill would apply only to antique vehicles manufactured prior to 1950 containing engines comparable to those designed as standard factory equipment for use on that vehicle.

Virginia Registration: The House Transportation Committee tabled a bill to provide that vehicle registrations would be permanent unless the vehicle ownership or the address where the vehicle is principally garaged changes. Under the measure, the fee for issuance of a permanent vehicle registration would be the same as that previously charged for a two-year registration. It is unclear whether the bill will receive a committee vote prior to legislative adjournment.

Virginia Single Plate: Legislation to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles whose original design does not provide for display of a front plate was tabled by a Transportation subcommittee. Under the bill, the issuance of a second plate would be optional for the vehicle owner. It is unclear whether the bill will receive a committee vote prior to legislative adjournment.

Vermont Titles: SEMA is supporting legislation to ease the burden on hobbyists by requiring the state, upon the owner’s request, to issue titles for vehicles not currently required to be titled in Vermont. These vehicles would include those 15 years old and older. The bill seeks to expand the out-of-state market for older motor vehicles and enhance their value to collectors.

Washington Single Plate: Legislation has been introduced in Washington to allow the issuance of only a single rear-mounted license plate at the option of the vehicle owner. The bill, if enacted into law, would take effect on January 1, 2016.

West Virginia Exhaust Systems: West Virginia has issued a proposal to make it a criminal offense to disturb the peace. Included in the definition of disturbing the peace is the “noise from an exhaust system of any vehicle that is not equipped or constructed so as to prevent any disturbing or unreasonably loud noise.” Vehicle owners convicted of a violation would be fined up to $1,000 per occurrence, confined up to six months in jail or both. SEMA supports competing legislation that would allow vehicle hobbyists to install and use aftermarket exhaust systems that meet a 95-decibel limit under a fair and predictable test.

West Virginia Taxes: A bill to increase property taxes paid by owners of antique motor vehicles was reintroduced. Under the bill, each of these cars would have an assessed value of $5,000 for purposes of the tax, regardless of their actual value, thereby affecting antique vehicle owners whose cars are worth less than $5,000. The House Roads and Transportation Committee will consider the bill. West Virginia law defines an “antique motor vehicle” to mean any motor vehicle that is more than 25 years old and is owned solely as a collector’s item.

Wyoming Single Plate: The full House of Representatives approved legislation by an overwhelming 52–8 vote to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles that were not originally equipped with a display bracket on the front of the vehicle. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. If enacted into law, the single-plate allowance would take effect on July 1, 2015.

FEDERAL UPDATE

E15 Ethanol: SEMA is working to enact legislation that would cap the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline at 10% and eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS) corn-based ethanol requirement. The Renewable Fuel Standard Reform Act would protect consumers by repealing the EPA regulation that permitted fuel to be blended with ethanol at up to 15%. The bill would also eliminate an RFS mandate that 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be blended into the U.S. fuel supply each year from 2015 through 2022. The RFS did not take into consideration the fact that ethanol can cause metal corrosion and dissolve certain plastics and rubbers, especially in older cars that were not constructed with ethanol-resistant materials. SEMA has joined with more than 50 other organizations from the auto/boat industries as well as the food, energy and environmental communities to support passage of the legislation.

Small-Business Regulatory Burdens: The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to expand the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and provide small businesses with a larger say in how federal government agencies draft regulations. Under the bill, federal agencies would be required to consider reasonably foreseeable indirect economic impacts on small businesses. Agencies would also be required to offer regulatory alternatives to minimize any significant economic impact. The U.S. Small Business Administration would be required to issue rules on how federal agencies are to comply with the RFA. Rules issued by federal agencies would be subject to judicial review to ensure compliance with RFA requirements. The bill has been sent to the Senate for consideration.

TPMS Survey: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be conducting a public survey on the tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) rule. The equipment is intended to warn drivers of significant underinflation of tires installed on light-duty vehicles. The safety standard was phased in between 2005 and 2007. A 2011 study found that the equipment was 55.6% effective in preventing severe underinflation. However, the study also demonstrated that the equipment was less effective in older vehicles. The NHTSA intends to focus attention on the operational status of TPMS in the vehicle fleet as well as consumer knowledge, attitudes and awareness of these systems and the causes and costs of TPMS malfunctions.

Copper in Brake Pads: The EPA reached an accord with states and industry associations representing the automakers and major suppliers to reduce the amount of copper used in motor-vehicle brake pads. Copper amounts will be reduced to less than 5% by 2021 and 0.5% by 2025. The voluntary agreement also seeks to reduce the amount of mercury, lead, cadmium, asbestiform fibers and chromium-6 salts in motor vehicle brake pads. California and Washington have already passed requirements to reduce these materials in brake pads.

New-Car Braking Systems: As part of its five-star New Car Assessment Program, the NHTSA intends to add two automatic emergency braking systems to its list of recommended safety features. The so-called “Stars on Cars” label is posted on new-car windows and seeks to provide consumers with safety information when comparison shopping. The five-star rating system reflects performance tests for frontal, side and rollover crashworthiness. It also includes information on whether autos have advanced safety features such as lane-departure and forward-collision warning systems. The emergency “automatic braking” and “dynamic braking” systems are found on many new vehicles. They sense an impending crash and apply the brakes if they are not in use or apply them more fully if already in use in advance of an impending crash. The NHTSA does not intend to mandate the installation of the technology on all new vehicles at this time. 

SEMA News—April 2015

LEGISLATIVE AND TECHNICAL AFFAIRS
By Steve McDonald

Law and Order

Law and Order is an update of some of the most recent federal and state legislative and regulatory issues that could potentially impact the automotive specialty-equipment industry. These include issues affecting small-business owners and their employees.

STATE UPDATE

California Chemical Warnings: The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is proposing new requirements on product manufacturers and various other business entities under Proposition 65, the California law requiring warnings in the presence of certain chemicals. Under Prop 65, a manufacturer, producer, packager, importer or distributor of a product that causes consumers to be exposed to a listed chemical is required to provide a warning. Currently, a Prop 65 warning must be given prior to the time of anticipated exposure, but under the new rule, the warning must be given prior to sale, imposing new burdens on website and catalog retailers. The new rule also lists 12 chemicals that a manufacturer would have to identify by name in its Prop 65 warning.

Connecticut Property Tax: Legislation to lower the property tax on many older vehicles has been introduced. Under the bill, the personal property tax on vehicles eight years old and older would be changed to a flat tax of $100 per year for vehicles between eight and 10 years old with an assessed value of less than $10,000 and $50 per year for vehicles 10 years old and older with an assessed value of less than $8,000. Antique, rare and special-interest vehicles may be negatively affected by the bill. These vehicles are currently valued at a $500 assessment, which results in a reduced tax.

Hawaii Exhaust Systems: SEMA-opposed legislation to prohibit the use, sale or installation of an exhaust system “that has been changed or modified from the factory design so as to increase the volume or audibility of the explosions within the vehicle’s motor” was reintroduced in Hawaii. The bill would also require safety-inspection stations to perform a test to ensure that a vehicle conforms to the law. Fines for noncompliance would range from $100 to $500 for each offense. However, the measure provides no procedure by which vehicles would be tested and does not provide inspection stations with decibel readings on factory-installed exhaust systems.

Hawaii Registration Fees: Legislation has been introduced in Hawaii to reduce annual registration fees from $45 to $25. Separate legislation seeks to reduce the state vehicle weight tax by 1 cent per pound and reduces the flat rate for vehicles more than 10,000 lbs. from $300 to $150.

Iowa Single License Plate: A bill has been introduced to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles originally manufactured with a front bumper that sits 24 in. or less from the ground. Separate legislation would allow a single plate for motor vehicles originally manufactured without a bracket, device or other means to display and secure a plate on the front of the vehicle.

Iowa Nitrous Oxide: A version of SEMA-model legislation to permit motor vehicles equipped with nitrous-oxide systems has been introduced. Under the bill, the system must be disconnected when the vehicle is operated on public highways. Written as a compromise to outright bans, the measure seeks to better protect public road safety while ensuring legitimate off-road uses of nitrous-oxide systems.

Kentucky Property Tax: The legislature is proposing a new valuation procedure for older vehicles. Vehicles 20 years old or older would no longer be presumed to be in “original factory” or “classic” condition. Original factory and classic vehicles are currently assessed as high-value collectibles. This measure instead provides three options for assessing the value of these vehicles, including allowing an administrator to conduct an assessment of the vehicle to determine the correct value, which would be reduced by 10% for each year thereafter.

Maryland Single Plate: Legislation has been reintroduced to require the issuance of only a single license plate for all motor vehicles. A second bill provides that historic vehicles and street rods may display only the rear plate if the front plate is stored inside the vehicle. The House Environment and Transportation Committee will consider both bills.

Minnesota Miles Traveled Tax: Legislation to mandate payment of a “recoupment” surcharge of up to $95 has been introduced in Minnesota. The surcharge would be calculated to levy the highest tax on owners of the most fuel-efficient vehicles. Separate legislation requires the state to take steps to implement a vehicle mileage user fee to tax drivers on actual miles driven. Both bills seek to penalize national efforts to create a more fuel-efficient vehicle fleet by taxing drivers based on fuel economy. As gas tax revenues decrease due to hybrid and electric-vehicle ownership, states are looking for new sources of funding for pet projects.

Nebraska Single Plate: Legislation has been introduced in the Nebraska Legislature to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for passenger cars that were not originally equipped with a bracket on the front of the vehicle to display a license plate. Under the bill, a license decal would be issued with the single plate and displayed on the driver’s side of the windshield. Owners who request a single license plate and license decal would be charged an additional nonrefundable fee of $100 in addition to the cost of the decal.

New Hampshire Antique Trucks: Pro-hobby legislation to include trucks more than 25 years old (regardless of weight) in the definition of eligible “antique motor vehicles” has been introduced. The bill provides the option for the owners of older trucks to take advantage of the many accommodations available to antique motor vehicles. Under state law, the annual registration fee for antique motor vehicles is only $6. In addition, antiques are inspected only every two years, can use year-of-manufacture license plates and are exempted from certain equipment requirements.

New York Single Plate: Legislation to authorize the owner of a motor vehicle to display a single license plate on the rear of the vehicle for a $50 annual fee was reintroduced. The bill will be considered by the Assembly Transportation Committee. The funds collected under the bill would be used to help provide emergency services.

Oregon Miles-Traveled Tax: The state legislature has introduced a bill to convert its current voluntary vehicle miles-traveled (VMT) tax program to a mandatory program. The mandatory program would apply to all high-mileage vehicles that have a rating of 55 miles per gallon or better. These high-mileage vehicles would not pay the gas tax that would apply to all other vehicles. Under the bill, owners could choose to pay a flat annual fee in lieu of a fee based on actual miles driven if a vehicle is subject to the mandatory VMT.

Oregon Ethanol: SEMA is supporting legislation to remove the requirement that all gasoline offered for sale in the state contain a percentage of ethanol. Currently, the state requires that “a retail dealer, nonretail dealer or wholesale dealer may not sell or offer for sale gasoline unless the gasoline contains 10% ethanol by volume.” The bill recognizes that, while the current ethanol mandate does not apply to fuel used in antique, all-terrain and racing vehicles, there has been an inability to obtain unblended gasoline for engines that may be damaged by ethanol.

Pennsylvania Emissions Inspection: Legislation has been introduced in Pennsylvania to extend the emissions-inspection exemption for five years after the model year. Current law exempts only new vehicles that have less than 5,000 miles on their odometer for one year after their first registration.

Virginia Exhaust Systems: Senate legislation to exempt antique motor vehicles from the requirement that they have exhaust systems of a type installed as standard factory equipment or comparable to that designed as standard factory equipment was approved by the full Senate with an amendment. The measure now moves to the House Transportation Committee for consideration. Under the amendment, the bill would apply only to antique vehicles manufactured prior to 1950 containing engines comparable to those designed as standard factory equipment for use on that vehicle.

Virginia Registration: The House Transportation Committee tabled a bill to provide that vehicle registrations would be permanent unless the vehicle ownership or the address where the vehicle is principally garaged changes. Under the measure, the fee for issuance of a permanent vehicle registration would be the same as that previously charged for a two-year registration. It is unclear whether the bill will receive a committee vote prior to legislative adjournment.

Virginia Single Plate: Legislation to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles whose original design does not provide for display of a front plate was tabled by a Transportation subcommittee. Under the bill, the issuance of a second plate would be optional for the vehicle owner. It is unclear whether the bill will receive a committee vote prior to legislative adjournment.

Vermont Titles: SEMA is supporting legislation to ease the burden on hobbyists by requiring the state, upon the owner’s request, to issue titles for vehicles not currently required to be titled in Vermont. These vehicles would include those 15 years old and older. The bill seeks to expand the out-of-state market for older motor vehicles and enhance their value to collectors.

Washington Single Plate: Legislation has been introduced in Washington to allow the issuance of only a single rear-mounted license plate at the option of the vehicle owner. The bill, if enacted into law, would take effect on January 1, 2016.

West Virginia Exhaust Systems: West Virginia has issued a proposal to make it a criminal offense to disturb the peace. Included in the definition of disturbing the peace is the “noise from an exhaust system of any vehicle that is not equipped or constructed so as to prevent any disturbing or unreasonably loud noise.” Vehicle owners convicted of a violation would be fined up to $1,000 per occurrence, confined up to six months in jail or both. SEMA supports competing legislation that would allow vehicle hobbyists to install and use aftermarket exhaust systems that meet a 95-decibel limit under a fair and predictable test.

West Virginia Taxes: A bill to increase property taxes paid by owners of antique motor vehicles was reintroduced. Under the bill, each of these cars would have an assessed value of $5,000 for purposes of the tax, regardless of their actual value, thereby affecting antique vehicle owners whose cars are worth less than $5,000. The House Roads and Transportation Committee will consider the bill. West Virginia law defines an “antique motor vehicle” to mean any motor vehicle that is more than 25 years old and is owned solely as a collector’s item.

Wyoming Single Plate: The full House of Representatives approved legislation by an overwhelming 52–8 vote to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles that were not originally equipped with a display bracket on the front of the vehicle. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. If enacted into law, the single-plate allowance would take effect on July 1, 2015.

FEDERAL UPDATE

E15 Ethanol: SEMA is working to enact legislation that would cap the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline at 10% and eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS) corn-based ethanol requirement. The Renewable Fuel Standard Reform Act would protect consumers by repealing the EPA regulation that permitted fuel to be blended with ethanol at up to 15%. The bill would also eliminate an RFS mandate that 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be blended into the U.S. fuel supply each year from 2015 through 2022. The RFS did not take into consideration the fact that ethanol can cause metal corrosion and dissolve certain plastics and rubbers, especially in older cars that were not constructed with ethanol-resistant materials. SEMA has joined with more than 50 other organizations from the auto/boat industries as well as the food, energy and environmental communities to support passage of the legislation.

Small-Business Regulatory Burdens: The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to expand the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and provide small businesses with a larger say in how federal government agencies draft regulations. Under the bill, federal agencies would be required to consider reasonably foreseeable indirect economic impacts on small businesses. Agencies would also be required to offer regulatory alternatives to minimize any significant economic impact. The U.S. Small Business Administration would be required to issue rules on how federal agencies are to comply with the RFA. Rules issued by federal agencies would be subject to judicial review to ensure compliance with RFA requirements. The bill has been sent to the Senate for consideration.

TPMS Survey: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be conducting a public survey on the tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) rule. The equipment is intended to warn drivers of significant underinflation of tires installed on light-duty vehicles. The safety standard was phased in between 2005 and 2007. A 2011 study found that the equipment was 55.6% effective in preventing severe underinflation. However, the study also demonstrated that the equipment was less effective in older vehicles. The NHTSA intends to focus attention on the operational status of TPMS in the vehicle fleet as well as consumer knowledge, attitudes and awareness of these systems and the causes and costs of TPMS malfunctions.

Copper in Brake Pads: The EPA reached an accord with states and industry associations representing the automakers and major suppliers to reduce the amount of copper used in motor-vehicle brake pads. Copper amounts will be reduced to less than 5% by 2021 and 0.5% by 2025. The voluntary agreement also seeks to reduce the amount of mercury, lead, cadmium, asbestiform fibers and chromium-6 salts in motor vehicle brake pads. California and Washington have already passed requirements to reduce these materials in brake pads.

New-Car Braking Systems: As part of its five-star New Car Assessment Program, the NHTSA intends to add two automatic emergency braking systems to its list of recommended safety features. The so-called “Stars on Cars” label is posted on new-car windows and seeks to provide consumers with safety information when comparison shopping. The five-star rating system reflects performance tests for frontal, side and rollover crashworthiness. It also includes information on whether autos have advanced safety features such as lane-departure and forward-collision warning systems. The emergency “automatic braking” and “dynamic braking” systems are found on many new vehicles. They sense an impending crash and apply the brakes if they are not in use or apply them more fully if already in use in advance of an impending crash. The NHTSA does not intend to mandate the installation of the technology on all new vehicles at this time. 

SEMA News—April 2015

INTERNET
By Joe Dysart

Is SEO Dead?

For Bad Actors, Pretty Much

While search-engine optimization (SEO)—the art of optimizing a web property for the highest possible search-engine returns—is not dead, the antics of those looking to game the system pretty much are. The reason: During the past few years, Google has gone out of its way to aggressively thwart practitioners of “black hat” SEO techniques, to the point where their tricks and ruses have been mostly neutralized.

Specifically, Google’s updates to its search-engine algorithm, with code names such as Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird, have made it very tough for the wily to artificially boost rankings of websites with thousands of bogus links, hundreds of pages of duplicate content or other false positives. Indeed, with so few technical tweaks still available for SEO, even some longtime “white hat” SEO practitioners are throwing in the towel.

“Google put its money where its mouth was with its Panda and Penguin updates,” said Jill Whalen, a prominent search-engine optimization veteran who retired from the industry late last year. “At last, the only real way to do SEO was what I had been espousing all along. When you create amazing websites and content for your users, the search engines will follow. Imagine that.”

Ryne Landers agreed. He is a senior SEO specialist with advertising agency WrightIMC.

“I think SEO is pretty much dead as we know it,” he said. “Google’s been tightening the noose around the neck of SEO practitioners since early 2012.”

In practice, Google’s new web order now has savvy businesses being extremely careful in the way they flirt with the search engine. Old reliables such as a guest posting on another website’s blog simply as a crass grab for exposure are considered taboo. And keyword stuffing (artificially stuffing text with the same keyword over and over) is alone enough to get a website banished to the bottom of Google’s search results.

“More and more channels are being restricted and removed from our grasp,” Landers said, including boosts in rankings resulting from article marketing, commenting on other website’s blogs and mass distribution of the same press release, to name just a few examples. And Google is getting very picky about the kind of links it recognizes as authentic.

Essentially, “authentic” in Google’s eyes means an honest-to-goodness link that is placed to your website from another website without your knowledge. Put another way: It’s a link that you’ve earned because you’re providing truly useful information on your site.

Such links differ markedly from black-hat links, which are often created by for-hire link-building farms that specialize in creating hundreds or thousands of bogus links to a website.

“Basically, if a link was created by a human being with your knowledge, that is not a good link in Google’s eyes,” Landers said. “This makes it very, very dangerous to build manual links for clients. In fact, we’ve seen many new clients come on board from other agencies that have been ruined by low-quality links.”

Landers elaborated: “As Google has outright stated that any links intended to increase a site’s PageRank or ranking in the search-engine results page (SERP) is considered a spam link, search marketers have to be more cautious than ever about what links are pointing to their sites.”

“Generally, any type of link-building package from an SEO forum or freelancer site now has a great deal of risk,” he said. “There may be some diamonds in the rough and services that focus on ultra-high-quality link building from the most relevant sites, but these days, any link-building service should be evaluated with the utmost caution. Some may provide you with rankings for short periods, but there is so much risk with any type of volume-based link building that it doesn’t make sense anymore.”

In contrast, the new SEO best practices focus on stocking a website with truly useful information from a verifiable authority. Day to day, that translates into longer articles (at least 1,000 words) and at least one author on your website who has a page on Google+ and an “authorship page” with Google. Also highly recommended is attracting links from other websites, as long as you attract those links with extremely informative and engaging content on your website and not the dollars in your marketing budget.

“Links are still very significant in SEO,” said Colin Guidi, senior SEO account manager at online marketing agency 3Q Digital. “There’s a focus on link quality that has evolved over the years and penalties resulting from black-hat linking practices, but good links still help to produce good traffic.”

Admen such as WrightMC’s Landers also recommend that you throw some web advertising into the mix, including pay-per-click advertising, banner ads and affiliate marketing programs. He’s also recommending that clients create their own high-quality video productions, post them free on YouTube and then attempt to siphon off traffic from the YouTube videos onto their home websites or other web properties.

Landers said that businesses with still more time and money for marketing should also look into podcasts, Q&A forums on their websites and social media, white papers and e-mail marketing.

Added Kansas City’s Singleton: “What is working for SEO? High-quality content marketing, real social-media signals, Google+ authorship and, yes—despite claims that guest blogging is dead—guest blogging will always be one of the very best types of SEO, when it is done with quality, selectively and for highly strategic reasons. In summary, today’s SEO looks a lot less like link building and a lot more like traditional business development, such as relationship building, social-media participation, branding and content marketing.”

All told, it’s a new regime that Whalen had pushed for decades as an SEO practitioner.

“I knew from experience that the real secret to SEO was not tricks but making your site the best it could be for your users while keeping the search engines in mind,” she said. “Sadly, the tricks that other SEO people were doing and writing about also worked—albeit temporarily.”

Added Kansas City’s Singleton: “Content is King, and they [Google]mean it this time.”

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.
joe@joedysart.com
www.joedysart.com