By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

A federal Appeals Court struck down a 2015 rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that required manufacturers to replace hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), including HFC-134a, with a substitute. The HFC-134a ban as a motor-vehicle air-conditioning system refrigerant was scheduled to start with model-year 2021 new vehicles.

The EPA had approved the refrigerants for use years ago as substitutes to chlorofluorocarbons that deplete the ozone layer. However, the agency has subsequently identified other chemicals it deems to be more environmentally friendly. In issuing the rule, the EPA had relied on provisions under the Clean Air Act that require manufacturers to replace ozone-depleting substances with safe substitutes. The Court ruled that the EPA did not have authority under the law to require manufacturers to replace previously approved non-ozone depleting chemicals. 

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

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Three separate organizations representing racers and the industry are in discussions with Intrepid Potash-Wendover Inc., a potash mine operator, on ways to increase the amount of salt brine being pumped onto the Bonneville Salt Flats.

As Speed Week celebrates its 68th anniversary, the racing community is exploring ways to help restore the historic Bonneville Salt Flats to their former glory. Three separate organizations representing racers and the industry are in discussions with Intrepid Potash-Wendover Inc., a potash mine operator, on ways to increase the amount of salt brine being pumped onto the flats.

According to the groups, the goal is to create a 10-year pilot program to pump at least 1.2 million tons of salt per year, more than double the current amount being pumped. The program should help better understand Bonneville’s complex geology while simultaneously improving the racing surface. The expanded laydown will build upon a 1997–2002 program, which averaged 1.2 million tons yearly, and increased the salt surface and underground aquifer that supports it. The focus will be on sustaining that volume over a longer timeframe and carefully measuring the results.

“Bonneville’s premier racing venue is actually the densely packed salt remnants of an ancient lake bed formed over thousands of years,” said Doug Evans, chairman of the Save the Salt Coalition. “The salt crust has been shrinking and thinning for decades due to both human and environmental factors. We welcome this team-effort approach to helping return Bonneville to its former glory.”

The racers are represented by three organizations. The Save the Salt Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to restore the Bonneville Salt Flats. The Save the Salt Coalition is an umbrella group comprised of automotive and motorsports companies and organizations, including SEMA, with a vested interest in this national treasure. The Utah Alliance is a volunteer Utah-based advocacy group using its expertise and contacts at the local level. All three organizations are collaborating to keep Bonneville available for future generations.

Details about the 10-year pilot program are being refined and will be released in the coming months. The parties are working with the U.S. Congress to develop appropriations legislation necessary to implement the plan. The racing venue is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern, and identified as the Bonneville Salt Flats Special Recreation Management Area. 

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

As Speed Week celebrates its 68th anniversary, the racing community is exploring ways to help restore the historic Bonneville Salt Flats to its former glory.

The goal is to create a 10-year pilot program to pump at least 1.2 million tons of salt per year, more than double the current amount being pumped.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Three separate organizations representing racers and the industry are in discussions with Intrepid Potash-Wendover Inc., a potash mine operator, on ways to increase the amount of salt brine being pumped onto the Bonneville Salt Flats.

As Speed Week celebrates its 68th anniversary, the racing community is exploring ways to help restore the historic Bonneville Salt Flats to their former glory. Three separate organizations representing racers and the industry are in discussions with Intrepid Potash-Wendover Inc., a potash mine operator, on ways to increase the amount of salt brine being pumped onto the flats.

According to the groups, the goal is to create a 10-year pilot program to pump at least 1.2 million tons of salt per year, more than double the current amount being pumped. The program should help better understand Bonneville’s complex geology while simultaneously improving the racing surface. The expanded laydown will build upon a 1997–2002 program, which averaged 1.2 million tons yearly, and increased the salt surface and underground aquifer that supports it. The focus will be on sustaining that volume over a longer timeframe and carefully measuring the results.

“Bonneville’s premier racing venue is actually the densely packed salt remnants of an ancient lake bed formed over thousands of years,” said Doug Evans, chairman of the Save the Salt Coalition. “The salt crust has been shrinking and thinning for decades due to both human and environmental factors. We welcome this team-effort approach to helping return Bonneville to its former glory.”

The racers are represented by three organizations. The Save the Salt Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to restore the Bonneville Salt Flats. The Save the Salt Coalition is an umbrella group comprised of automotive and motorsports companies and organizations, including SEMA, with a vested interest in this national treasure. The Utah Alliance is a volunteer Utah-based advocacy group using its expertise and contacts at the local level. All three organizations are collaborating to keep Bonneville available for future generations.

Details about the 10-year pilot program are being refined and will be released in the coming months. The parties are working with the U.S. Congress to develop appropriations legislation necessary to implement the plan. The racing venue is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern, and identified as the Bonneville Salt Flats Special Recreation Management Area. 

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

As Speed Week celebrates its 68th anniversary, the racing community is exploring ways to help restore the historic Bonneville Salt Flats to its former glory.

The goal is to create a 10-year pilot program to pump at least 1.2 million tons of salt per year, more than double the current amount being pumped.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Three separate organizations representing racers and the industry are in discussions with Intrepid Potash-Wendover Inc., a potash mine operator, on ways to increase the amount of salt brine being pumped onto the Bonneville Salt Flats.

As Speed Week celebrates its 68th anniversary, the racing community is exploring ways to help restore the historic Bonneville Salt Flats to their former glory. Three separate organizations representing racers and the industry are in discussions with Intrepid Potash-Wendover Inc., a potash mine operator, on ways to increase the amount of salt brine being pumped onto the flats.

According to the groups, the goal is to create a 10-year pilot program to pump at least 1.2 million tons of salt per year, more than double the current amount being pumped. The program should help better understand Bonneville’s complex geology while simultaneously improving the racing surface. The expanded laydown will build upon a 1997–2002 program, which averaged 1.2 million tons yearly, and increased the salt surface and underground aquifer that supports it. The focus will be on sustaining that volume over a longer timeframe and carefully measuring the results.

“Bonneville’s premier racing venue is actually the densely packed salt remnants of an ancient lake bed formed over thousands of years,” said Doug Evans, chairman of the Save the Salt Coalition. “The salt crust has been shrinking and thinning for decades due to both human and environmental factors. We welcome this team-effort approach to helping return Bonneville to its former glory.”

The racers are represented by three organizations. The Save the Salt Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to restore the Bonneville Salt Flats. The Save the Salt Coalition is an umbrella group comprised of automotive and motorsports companies and organizations, including SEMA, with a vested interest in this national treasure. The Utah Alliance is a volunteer Utah-based advocacy group using its expertise and contacts at the local level. All three organizations are collaborating to keep Bonneville available for future generations.

Details about the 10-year pilot program are being refined and will be released in the coming months. The parties are working with the U.S. Congress to develop appropriations legislation necessary to implement the plan. The racing venue is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern, and identified as the Bonneville Salt Flats Special Recreation Management Area. 

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

As Speed Week celebrates its 68th anniversary, the racing community is exploring ways to help restore the historic Bonneville Salt Flats to its former glory.

The goal is to create a 10-year pilot program to pump at least 1.2 million tons of salt per year, more than double the current amount being pumped.

By Juan Torres

In last year’s SEMA Battle of the Builders competition, Gordon Ting’s purpose-built ’16 Toyota Prius was the first hybrid entry to be named a finalist.

Now in its fourth year, the SEMA Battle of the Builders brings together the world’s best builders, and is one of the few car-build competitions where different makes, styles and bodies go head-to-head for the top prize. In fact, it’s rare to see a Toyota Prius named a finalist and then face off against a ’69 Chevy Camaro for top honors, as was the case during last year’s competition.

“It means a lot; it’s humbling,” said Gordon Ting, whose ’16 Prius was the first hybrid to be named a finalist in the history of the competition. “Being next to some of these awesome builders, it doesn’t feel right.”

The other finalists in last year’s competition were a ’92 Honda Prelude, a ’17 Ford Raptor, a ’41 Wyllis, a ’58 Jeep FC170, a ’48 Cadillac, a ’67 Chevy Chevelle, a ’61 Chevy two-door sedan and two ’69 Chevy Camaros.

As in previous years, industry judges will review the hundreds of builds entered. This year, they will narrow them down to a Top 12, with those finalists then voting among themselves to name a winner, who will be announced during SEMA Ignited—the official SEMA Show after-party.

Register now to be a part of one of the industry’s most prestigious vehicle-build competitions, the 2017 SEMA Battle of the Builders, held during the trade-only 2017 SEMA Show, October 31–November 3, in Las Vegas. The deadline to enter is September 1.

By Juan Torres

In last year’s SEMA Battle of the Builders competition, Gordon Ting’s purpose-built ’16 Toyota Prius was the first hybrid entry to be named a finalist.

Now in its fourth year, the SEMA Battle of the Builders brings together the world’s best builders, and is one of the few car-build competitions where different makes, styles and bodies go head-to-head for the top prize. In fact, it’s rare to see a Toyota Prius named a finalist and then face off against a ’69 Chevy Camaro for top honors, as was the case during last year’s competition.

“It means a lot; it’s humbling,” said Gordon Ting, whose ’16 Prius was the first hybrid to be named a finalist in the history of the competition. “Being next to some of these awesome builders, it doesn’t feel right.”

The other finalists in last year’s competition were a ’92 Honda Prelude, a ’17 Ford Raptor, a ’41 Wyllis, a ’58 Jeep FC170, a ’48 Cadillac, a ’67 Chevy Chevelle, a ’61 Chevy two-door sedan and two ’69 Chevy Camaros.

As in previous years, industry judges will review the hundreds of builds entered. This year, they will narrow them down to a Top 12, with those finalists then voting among themselves to name a winner, who will be announced during SEMA Ignited—the official SEMA Show after-party.

Register now to be a part of one of the industry’s most prestigious vehicle-build competitions, the 2017 SEMA Battle of the Builders, held during the trade-only 2017 SEMA Show, October 31–November 3, in Las Vegas. The deadline to enter is September 1.

By Juan Torres

In last year’s SEMA Battle of the Builders competition, Gordon Ting’s purpose-built ’16 Toyota Prius was the first hybrid entry to be named a finalist.

Now in its fourth year, the SEMA Battle of the Builders brings together the world’s best builders, and is one of the few car-build competitions where different makes, styles and bodies go head-to-head for the top prize. In fact, it’s rare to see a Toyota Prius named a finalist and then face off against a ’69 Chevy Camaro for top honors, as was the case during last year’s competition.

“It means a lot; it’s humbling,” said Gordon Ting, whose ’16 Prius was the first hybrid to be named a finalist in the history of the competition. “Being next to some of these awesome builders, it doesn’t feel right.”

The other finalists in last year’s competition were a ’92 Honda Prelude, a ’17 Ford Raptor, a ’41 Wyllis, a ’58 Jeep FC170, a ’48 Cadillac, a ’67 Chevy Chevelle, a ’61 Chevy two-door sedan and two ’69 Chevy Camaros.

As in previous years, industry judges will review the hundreds of builds entered. This year, they will narrow them down to a Top 12, with those finalists then voting among themselves to name a winner, who will be announced during SEMA Ignited—the official SEMA Show after-party.

Register now to be a part of one of the industry’s most prestigious vehicle-build competitions, the 2017 SEMA Battle of the Builders, held during the trade-only 2017 SEMA Show, October 31–November 3, in Las Vegas. The deadline to enter is September 1.

By Juan Torres

In last year’s SEMA Battle of the Builders competition, Gordon Ting’s purpose-built ’16 Toyota Prius was the first hybrid entry to be named a finalist.

Now in its fourth year, the SEMA Battle of the Builders brings together the world’s best builders, and is one of the few car-build competitions where different makes, styles and bodies go head-to-head for the top prize. In fact, it’s rare to see a Toyota Prius named a finalist and then face off against a ’69 Chevy Camaro for top honors, as was the case during last year’s competition.

“It means a lot; it’s humbling,” said Gordon Ting, whose ’16 Prius was the first hybrid to be named a finalist in the history of the competition. “Being next to some of these awesome builders, it doesn’t feel right.”

The other finalists in last year’s competition were a ’92 Honda Prelude, a ’17 Ford Raptor, a ’41 Wyllis, a ’58 Jeep FC170, a ’48 Cadillac, a ’67 Chevy Chevelle, a ’61 Chevy two-door sedan and two ’69 Chevy Camaros.

As in previous years, industry judges will review the hundreds of builds entered. This year, they will narrow them down to a Top 12, with those finalists then voting among themselves to name a winner, who will be announced during SEMA Ignited—the official SEMA Show after-party.

Register now to be a part of one of the industry’s most prestigious vehicle-build competitions, the 2017 SEMA Battle of the Builders, held during the trade-only 2017 SEMA Show, October 31–November 3, in Las Vegas. The deadline to enter is September 1.

By SEMA Editors

Registration for the Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ (SCRS) Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series at the 2017 SEMA Show is now open.

Registration for the Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ (SCRS) Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series at the 2017 SEMA Show is now open. For Show attendees looking to make travel plans, new Monday, October 30, timeslots were added for 2017.

The Monday lineup presents three options from 3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m., featuring:

Current and Future Technologies 2017 and Beyond  
Ken Boylan, Chief Automotive Technologies

This course explores topics such as current and future technologies that include joining technologies, hybrid welding techniques that can join dissimilar metals effectively, friction stir and remote laser welding techniques, and what nanotechnologies will mean to the collision repair industry. Learn how some materials will be 10 to one times stronger and lighter than what is being used today. What will the repair industry look like and what new skills and equipment will be required to meet these challenges?

Culture, Culture, Culture—Would You Work in Your Own Shop?!  
Judy Folk, Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Inc.

In reality, all organizations have a company culture—whether good or bad, which directly impacts employee engagement. The key question is this: Is it a culture by default, or by design? To transform your culture, you must win the hearts and minds of the people you work with, and that takes both adeptness and persuasion.

Severity—Why It Does Not Matter and What to Do About It!
Greg Griffith and Tim Ronak, AkzoNobel

As part of a KPI review as a shop owner or manager, have you ever been told that your ‘severity’ is too high? Have you been told that your ‘business partner’ may reconsider your relationship unless you reduce ‘severity’ to align with their purported value? Do you understand ‘severity’ and what part, if any of it, is really under your control? Why is it that insurers treat a calculated ‘severity’ as a ceiling value?

For those arriving earlier on Monday, SEMA is also offering education options, including an opening keynote from mentalist and magician Max Majors from 8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m., that focuses on better communication through understanding of body language and non-verbal cues, and a follow-up session from 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m., featuring Patti Wood of Communication Dynamics. Wood will similarly focus on making the most of first impressions and body language skills and insights. Both sessions are free to attend.

When registering for education through www.scrs.com/rde, attendees will have the option to either link the education to an existing registration, or to purchase a new Show pass at the same time as the education package.

While all education sessions are individually available, SCRS encourages attendees to consider a full series pass, which will provide the greatest value and access to one regular session in each available time slot, all three sessions of the OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit Sessions and one ticket to the SCRS after-party, Thursday night, November 2.

By SEMA Editors

Registration for the Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ (SCRS) Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series at the 2017 SEMA Show is now open.

Registration for the Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ (SCRS) Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series at the 2017 SEMA Show is now open. For Show attendees looking to make travel plans, new Monday, October 30, timeslots were added for 2017.

The Monday lineup presents three options from 3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m., featuring:

Current and Future Technologies 2017 and Beyond  
Ken Boylan, Chief Automotive Technologies

This course explores topics such as current and future technologies that include joining technologies, hybrid welding techniques that can join dissimilar metals effectively, friction stir and remote laser welding techniques, and what nanotechnologies will mean to the collision repair industry. Learn how some materials will be 10 to one times stronger and lighter than what is being used today. What will the repair industry look like and what new skills and equipment will be required to meet these challenges?

Culture, Culture, Culture—Would You Work in Your Own Shop?!  
Judy Folk, Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Inc.

In reality, all organizations have a company culture—whether good or bad, which directly impacts employee engagement. The key question is this: Is it a culture by default, or by design? To transform your culture, you must win the hearts and minds of the people you work with, and that takes both adeptness and persuasion.

Severity—Why It Does Not Matter and What to Do About It!
Greg Griffith and Tim Ronak, AkzoNobel

As part of a KPI review as a shop owner or manager, have you ever been told that your ‘severity’ is too high? Have you been told that your ‘business partner’ may reconsider your relationship unless you reduce ‘severity’ to align with their purported value? Do you understand ‘severity’ and what part, if any of it, is really under your control? Why is it that insurers treat a calculated ‘severity’ as a ceiling value?

For those arriving earlier on Monday, SEMA is also offering education options, including an opening keynote from mentalist and magician Max Majors from 8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m., that focuses on better communication through understanding of body language and non-verbal cues, and a follow-up session from 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m., featuring Patti Wood of Communication Dynamics. Wood will similarly focus on making the most of first impressions and body language skills and insights. Both sessions are free to attend.

When registering for education through www.scrs.com/rde, attendees will have the option to either link the education to an existing registration, or to purchase a new Show pass at the same time as the education package.

While all education sessions are individually available, SCRS encourages attendees to consider a full series pass, which will provide the greatest value and access to one regular session in each available time slot, all three sessions of the OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit Sessions and one ticket to the SCRS after-party, Thursday night, November 2.