By Della Domingo

The SEMA Battle of the Builders competition honors SEMA Show vehicle builders, their vehicles and the products on those vehicles.

Featuring top vehicle builders who have proven their talents and craftsmanship by having a car or truck displayed at the 2016 SEMA Show, the third annual SEMA Battle of the Builders® competition includes 250 applications, including builds from 98 up-and-coming “Young Guns.” As the basis for a nationwide television special, the SEMA Battle of the Builders competition honors SEMA Show vehicle builders, their vehicles and the products on those vehicles. 

Industry experts will select the top 10 finalists during the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The finalists will then take over and evaluate one another’s vehicles, before the ultimate winner is announced Friday, November 4, at SEMA Ignited—the official SEMA Show after-party open to the general public.

Hosted by Chris Jacobs and Adrienne “AJ” Janic from “Overhaulin’,” the competition includes special recognition for builders under the age of 35 who are entered in SEMA Battle of the Builders. 

To learn more about the competition or about SEMA Ignited, visit www.SEMAshow.com/botb or www.semaignited.com.

The competitors for the 2016 SEMA Battle of the Builders are:
 


By Della Domingo

The SEMA Battle of the Builders competition honors SEMA Show vehicle builders, their vehicles and the products on those vehicles.

Featuring top vehicle builders who have proven their talents and craftsmanship by having a car or truck displayed at the 2016 SEMA Show, the third annual SEMA Battle of the Builders® competition includes 250 applications, including builds from 98 up-and-coming “Young Guns.” As the basis for a nationwide television special, the SEMA Battle of the Builders competition honors SEMA Show vehicle builders, their vehicles and the products on those vehicles. 

Industry experts will select the top 10 finalists during the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The finalists will then take over and evaluate one another’s vehicles, before the ultimate winner is announced Friday, November 4, at SEMA Ignited—the official SEMA Show after-party open to the general public.

Hosted by Chris Jacobs and Adrienne “AJ” Janic from “Overhaulin’,” the competition includes special recognition for builders under the age of 35 who are entered in SEMA Battle of the Builders. 

To learn more about the competition or about SEMA Ignited, visit www.SEMAshow.com/botb or www.semaignited.com.

The competitors for the 2016 SEMA Battle of the Builders are:
 


By Della Domingo

The SEMA Battle of the Builders competition honors SEMA Show vehicle builders, their vehicles and the products on those vehicles.

Featuring top vehicle builders who have proven their talents and craftsmanship by having a car or truck displayed at the 2016 SEMA Show, the third annual SEMA Battle of the Builders® competition includes 250 applications, including builds from 98 up-and-coming “Young Guns.” As the basis for a nationwide television special, the SEMA Battle of the Builders competition honors SEMA Show vehicle builders, their vehicles and the products on those vehicles. 

Industry experts will select the top 10 finalists during the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The finalists will then take over and evaluate one another’s vehicles, before the ultimate winner is announced Friday, November 4, at SEMA Ignited—the official SEMA Show after-party open to the general public.

Hosted by Chris Jacobs and Adrienne “AJ” Janic from “Overhaulin’,” the competition includes special recognition for builders under the age of 35 who are entered in SEMA Battle of the Builders. 

To learn more about the competition or about SEMA Ignited, visit www.SEMAshow.com/botb or www.semaignited.com.

The competitors for the 2016 SEMA Battle of the Builders are:
 


By Della Domingo

The SEMA Battle of the Builders competition honors SEMA Show vehicle builders, their vehicles and the products on those vehicles.

Featuring top vehicle builders who have proven their talents and craftsmanship by having a car or truck displayed at the 2016 SEMA Show, the third annual SEMA Battle of the Builders® competition includes 250 applications, including builds from 98 up-and-coming “Young Guns.” As the basis for a nationwide television special, the SEMA Battle of the Builders competition honors SEMA Show vehicle builders, their vehicles and the products on those vehicles. 

Industry experts will select the top 10 finalists during the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The finalists will then take over and evaluate one another’s vehicles, before the ultimate winner is announced Friday, November 4, at SEMA Ignited—the official SEMA Show after-party open to the general public.

Hosted by Chris Jacobs and Adrienne “AJ” Janic from “Overhaulin’,” the competition includes special recognition for builders under the age of 35 who are entered in SEMA Battle of the Builders. 

To learn more about the competition or about SEMA Ignited, visit www.SEMAshow.com/botb or www.semaignited.com.

The competitors for the 2016 SEMA Battle of the Builders are:
 


By Michael Hart

Kim Lear

Consumer expectations are changing fast. Disruptive technologies have made customization and convenience important factors business owners didn’t even have to think about as little as five years ago.

What do business owners really know about what their customers want? Who are their customers, and where else are they shopping for their products?

These are some of the vital questions “trend spotter” Kim Lear will answer at the Friday, November 4, SEMA Show Keynote and Coffee session, entitled “Buyer Behavior and Your Business.”

“This is for anyone who needs to be more effective in selling to the consumers of today and the consumers of tomorrow,” Lear said. “It’s going to be a future-focused look at what people are buying, why they’re buying it and what their expectations are.”

In this session, attendees will learn:

• How to identify those trends that change how we buy things, especially those that call for discretionary spending.
• Ways to grow their businesses by creating remarkable customer experiences.
• The best and worst examples of customer loyalty.
• What they need to build an action plan that will not only retain their current customers, but also generate new ones.

“Many of the companies in the aftermarket industry are family-owned businesses,” Lear said, “and they run on relationships. Those companies are in a very good spot. They understand already what it takes to build standout experiences for their customers and the relationships they have with them.”

Lear, an expert on how emerging trends impact the marketplace and the workforce, has keynoted for some of the most prestigious companies in the world, including Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Disney and American Express. She has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, USA Today and on NPR.

As a prime example of how consumer expectations have changed, she points to her own recent experience in buying a new car.

“I did the entire thing online,” Lear said. “They’ve created an online experience where you can learn about and customize your car in almost a gamified way. I literally went to the dealership just to pick it up.”

How can business owners compete with that? Learn how in Lear’s “Buyer Behavior and Your Business” session.

Sign up today.

For complete information on all the 2016 SEMA Show education tracks, visit SEMA Show Education.

By Michael Hart

Kim Lear

Consumer expectations are changing fast. Disruptive technologies have made customization and convenience important factors business owners didn’t even have to think about as little as five years ago.

What do business owners really know about what their customers want? Who are their customers, and where else are they shopping for their products?

These are some of the vital questions “trend spotter” Kim Lear will answer at the Friday, November 4, SEMA Show Keynote and Coffee session, entitled “Buyer Behavior and Your Business.”

“This is for anyone who needs to be more effective in selling to the consumers of today and the consumers of tomorrow,” Lear said. “It’s going to be a future-focused look at what people are buying, why they’re buying it and what their expectations are.”

In this session, attendees will learn:

• How to identify those trends that change how we buy things, especially those that call for discretionary spending.
• Ways to grow their businesses by creating remarkable customer experiences.
• The best and worst examples of customer loyalty.
• What they need to build an action plan that will not only retain their current customers, but also generate new ones.

“Many of the companies in the aftermarket industry are family-owned businesses,” Lear said, “and they run on relationships. Those companies are in a very good spot. They understand already what it takes to build standout experiences for their customers and the relationships they have with them.”

Lear, an expert on how emerging trends impact the marketplace and the workforce, has keynoted for some of the most prestigious companies in the world, including Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Disney and American Express. She has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, USA Today and on NPR.

As a prime example of how consumer expectations have changed, she points to her own recent experience in buying a new car.

“I did the entire thing online,” Lear said. “They’ve created an online experience where you can learn about and customize your car in almost a gamified way. I literally went to the dealership just to pick it up.”

How can business owners compete with that? Learn how in Lear’s “Buyer Behavior and Your Business” session.

Sign up today.

For complete information on all the 2016 SEMA Show education tracks, visit SEMA Show Education.

By Michael Hart

Kim Lear

Consumer expectations are changing fast. Disruptive technologies have made customization and convenience important factors business owners didn’t even have to think about as little as five years ago.

What do business owners really know about what their customers want? Who are their customers, and where else are they shopping for their products?

These are some of the vital questions “trend spotter” Kim Lear will answer at the Friday, November 4, SEMA Show Keynote and Coffee session, entitled “Buyer Behavior and Your Business.”

“This is for anyone who needs to be more effective in selling to the consumers of today and the consumers of tomorrow,” Lear said. “It’s going to be a future-focused look at what people are buying, why they’re buying it and what their expectations are.”

In this session, attendees will learn:

• How to identify those trends that change how we buy things, especially those that call for discretionary spending.
• Ways to grow their businesses by creating remarkable customer experiences.
• The best and worst examples of customer loyalty.
• What they need to build an action plan that will not only retain their current customers, but also generate new ones.

“Many of the companies in the aftermarket industry are family-owned businesses,” Lear said, “and they run on relationships. Those companies are in a very good spot. They understand already what it takes to build standout experiences for their customers and the relationships they have with them.”

Lear, an expert on how emerging trends impact the marketplace and the workforce, has keynoted for some of the most prestigious companies in the world, including Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Disney and American Express. She has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, USA Today and on NPR.

As a prime example of how consumer expectations have changed, she points to her own recent experience in buying a new car.

“I did the entire thing online,” Lear said. “They’ve created an online experience where you can learn about and customize your car in almost a gamified way. I literally went to the dealership just to pick it up.”

How can business owners compete with that? Learn how in Lear’s “Buyer Behavior and Your Business” session.

Sign up today.

For complete information on all the 2016 SEMA Show education tracks, visit SEMA Show Education.

By SEMA Editors

John Dianna (left) accepted recognition from PWA on behalf of Hot Rod magazine for its 50th anniversary in 1997.

John J. Dianna passed away September 28 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, from complications associated with cancer. He was 74 years old.

Those who knew him may be surprised that any illness could beat him, as he was ornery, contentious and outspoken to a fault, but he was also a mentor to many in the automotive industry.

Dianna began drag racing back east in the late ’50s and eventually moved to Southern California. One day, Jim McFarland, publisher of Hot Rod magazine, told Dianna he wanted to talk to him. Dianna thought he would be offered a job racing a Summers Brothers car, but McFarland offered him a job at Hot Rod instead.

Over the next several decades, Dianna worked as an editor at Hot Rod, Car Craft and Motor Trend magazines, among others, eventually becoming the president of the Automotive Performance Group, overseeing as many as 72 automotive titles. Dianna oversaw Hot Rod’s 50th-anniversary content and celebration, and helped transition the initial sale of Petersen Publishing to the Chicago investment group, which went on to take the company public, and again when British publisher Emap purchased the company at the end of the ’90s.

In the mid-’90s, Dianna started his own publishing company, Buckaroo Communications, with magazines such as Super Rod and Street Rod Builder. He eventually moved the business to Chattanooga, Tennessee, but the company quietly dissolved in 2009.

There will be no services.

Sung Kang, known as Han from the “Fast and the Furious” franchise talks with Dennis Pittsenbarger about his ’73 Datsun 240Z that was on display at the 2015 SEMA Show.

Sung Kang, known as Han from the “Fast and the Furious” franchise talks with Dennis Pittsenbarger about his ’73 Datsun 240Z that was on display at the 2015 SEMA Show.