By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee passed legislation to allow manufacturers to meet warranty and labeling requirements for consumer products by providing warranty information online.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules are currently unclear on the manner in which companies must provide warranty information to consumers. The E-Warranty Act of 2015 (HR 3154) would provide businesses with the option of posting warranty information on their website rather than including it in the instructions that accompany their products. Companies providing online warranty information would still need to alert consumers about how to access their website either on the product, its packaging or in an accompanying manual. They would also be required to provide a non-Internet-based platform for individuals to access information about the warranty, such as a mailing address or phone number.    

While the FTC doesn’t require companies to provide consumers with a written warranty, those that do must comply with the agency’s rules. The U.S. Senate has already passed the E-Warranty bill which will help companies save money through electronic communications and allow consumers to access information online rather than having to save the paperwork or product packaging.

For additional information, contact Eric Snyder at erics@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee passed legislation to allow manufacturers to meet warranty and labeling requirements for consumer products by providing warranty information online.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules are currently unclear on the manner in which companies must provide warranty information to consumers. The E-Warranty Act of 2015 (HR 3154) would provide businesses with the option of posting warranty information on their website rather than including it in the instructions that accompany their products. Companies providing online warranty information would still need to alert consumers about how to access their website either on the product, its packaging or in an accompanying manual. They would also be required to provide a non-Internet-based platform for individuals to access information about the warranty, such as a mailing address or phone number.    

While the FTC doesn’t require companies to provide consumers with a written warranty, those that do must comply with the agency’s rules. The U.S. Senate has already passed the E-Warranty bill which will help companies save money through electronic communications and allow consumers to access information online rather than having to save the paperwork or product packaging.

For additional information, contact Eric Snyder at erics@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

In comments submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), SEMA urged the agency to support legislation in the U.S. Congress to eliminate the corn ethanol mandate within the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Congress enacted the RFS in 2005 as a way to reduce the nation’s dependency on foreign oil. However, it has translated into ever-increasing mandates to grow corn so that the ethanol byproduct can be blended into gasoline. The EPA has proposed lower levels for 2014-2016 than mandated by Congress since the current marketplace cannot meet the limits through sales of gasoline with 10% ethanol (E10) and sales of 15% ethanol (E15) are sparse.  

Ethanol can cause metal corrosion and dissolve certain plastics and rubbers, especially in older vehicles that were not constructed with ethanol-compatible materials. SEMA opposes E15, contending that the fuel poses a risk to nearly 70 million older vehicles in addition to certain specialty high-performance equipment installed on newer vehicles. The EPA recognized this fact when it limited E15 sales to model-year '01 and newer vehicles. However, the EPA only required a gas pump warning label making it “illegal” for the consumer to fuel older vehicles with E15.  

SEMA also joined with more than 50 other organizations from the auto, boat, food and energy industries to support passage of legislation (HR 704) capping the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline at 10 percent and eliminating a mandate that 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be blended into the U.S. fuel supply every year. The bill is currently awaiting consideration by the House Energy and Power Subcommittee.

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

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

In comments submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), SEMA urged the agency to support legislation in the U.S. Congress to eliminate the corn ethanol mandate within the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Congress enacted the RFS in 2005 as a way to reduce the nation’s dependency on foreign oil. However, it has translated into ever-increasing mandates to grow corn so that the ethanol byproduct can be blended into gasoline. The EPA has proposed lower levels for 2014-2016 than mandated by Congress since the current marketplace cannot meet the limits through sales of gasoline with 10% ethanol (E10) and sales of 15% ethanol (E15) are sparse.  

Ethanol can cause metal corrosion and dissolve certain plastics and rubbers, especially in older vehicles that were not constructed with ethanol-compatible materials. SEMA opposes E15, contending that the fuel poses a risk to nearly 70 million older vehicles in addition to certain specialty high-performance equipment installed on newer vehicles. The EPA recognized this fact when it limited E15 sales to model-year '01 and newer vehicles. However, the EPA only required a gas pump warning label making it “illegal” for the consumer to fuel older vehicles with E15.  

SEMA also joined with more than 50 other organizations from the auto, boat, food and energy industries to support passage of legislation (HR 704) capping the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline at 10 percent and eliminating a mandate that 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be blended into the U.S. fuel supply every year. The bill is currently awaiting consideration by the House Energy and Power Subcommittee.

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

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Legislation to remove the requirement that gasoline offered for sale in the state contain a percentage of ethanol was approved on a 23–3 vote by the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. 

Currently, the state requires that “All gasoline sold or offered for sale to ultimate consumers in this Commonwealth must contain at least 10% cellulosic ethanol by volume . . .”  After a stop in the Appropriations Committee, the bill will then be considered in a vote by all House members. 

Read more about the legislation.

For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.
 

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Legislation to remove the requirement that gasoline offered for sale in the state contain a percentage of ethanol was approved on a 23–3 vote by the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. 

Currently, the state requires that “All gasoline sold or offered for sale to ultimate consumers in this Commonwealth must contain at least 10% cellulosic ethanol by volume . . .”  After a stop in the Appropriations Committee, the bill will then be considered in a vote by all House members. 

Read more about the legislation.

For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.
 

	Event organizers were unable to identify more than 2¼ miles of salt suitable for a safe course to hold Speed Week at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Deteriorating conditions and wet weather at the Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF) forced the Southern California Timing Association/Bonneville Nationals Inc. (SCTA/BNI) to cancel Speed Week, which was scheduled to start on August 8. The event organizers were unable to identify more than 2¼ miles of salt suitable for a safe course. Speed Week began in 1949 and is the largest annual racing event held at the BSF, with hundreds of teams racing every type of vehicle, from hot rods, roadsters and belly tankers to motorcycles, lakesters and streamliners. The event was also cancelled in 2014 due to rain, the first cancellation since the '90s.

Despite a rich history of racing for over a century, the salt flats have significantly decreased in size, strength and thickness over a number of decades as salt brine has been channeled away from the area.

The BSF’s international track once measured 13 miles long but has been reduced to 8 miles or less. This means the world’s fastest cars, jet-powered machines, can no longer compete at the BSF. 

The land has been managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) since 1946. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) and the Bonneville Salt Flats Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA). 

SEMA, along with other organizations and companies comprising the Save the Salt Coalition, has been working for years to help save the BSF. The racing community began raising concerns about salt deterioration as early as the '60s. The Coalition contends the BLM has done little to address the problem aside from conducting numerous geological studies. SEMA and the Coalition worked with the adjoining potash mine owner to begin pumping salt brine onto the BSF in 1997. While the program was made permanent in 2012, the amount of brine pumped in recent years has not replaced the millions of tons of salt removed in previous decades.

In response to the current deteriorated conditions at the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Bureau of Land Management intends to launch a detailed study of the salt crust later this year.

Last summer, the Coalition deposited about 2,000 tons of dry salt at the end of the access road to the BSF. Although modest in scope, it demonstrated that it was possible to return both dry salt along with the wet brine. 

In response to the current deteriorated conditions at the BSF, the BLM intends to launch a detailed study of the salt crust later this year.

“Bonneville has been studied to death,” responded Stuart Gosswein, SEMA’s senior director of federal government affairs. “It’s time for the BLM to do something.”

The Coalition is now approaching federal and state lawmakers and regulators to pressure the BLM to implement an advanced reclamation program. Elements could include more dry and wet salt returns, replenishment of the shallow brine aquifer that supports the BSF and construction of surface and subsurface barriers around the racing area to prevent the pumped salt brine from migrating away and to block mud and other contaminants from entering the vicinity.

“It took decades for the BSF to deteriorate, and it will take decades to undue the damage,” said Gosswein. “The Coalition is setting goals for measuring progress. The ultimate objective is to restore the international track to its 13-mile length. The Coalition is now engaged with lawmakers, regulators and the public to establish the framework for achieving this goal.” 

Events still scheduled to take place this year if weather and salt conditions improve include:

• August 30–September 3: Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials
• September 12–15: World of Speed
• September 17–21:  Cook Landspeed Events FIA-FIM Speed Trials 
• September 29–October 2 (Sept. 28 inspections): World Finals

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

	Event organizers were unable to identify more than 2¼ miles of salt suitable for a safe course to hold Speed Week at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Deteriorating conditions and wet weather at the Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF) forced the Southern California Timing Association/Bonneville Nationals Inc. (SCTA/BNI) to cancel Speed Week, which was scheduled to start on August 8. The event organizers were unable to identify more than 2¼ miles of salt suitable for a safe course. Speed Week began in 1949 and is the largest annual racing event held at the BSF, with hundreds of teams racing every type of vehicle, from hot rods, roadsters and belly tankers to motorcycles, lakesters and streamliners. The event was also cancelled in 2014 due to rain, the first cancellation since the '90s.

Despite a rich history of racing for over a century, the salt flats have significantly decreased in size, strength and thickness over a number of decades as salt brine has been channeled away from the area.

The BSF’s international track once measured 13 miles long but has been reduced to 8 miles or less. This means the world’s fastest cars, jet-powered machines, can no longer compete at the BSF. 

The land has been managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) since 1946. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) and the Bonneville Salt Flats Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA). 

SEMA, along with other organizations and companies comprising the Save the Salt Coalition, has been working for years to help save the BSF. The racing community began raising concerns about salt deterioration as early as the '60s. The Coalition contends the BLM has done little to address the problem aside from conducting numerous geological studies. SEMA and the Coalition worked with the adjoining potash mine owner to begin pumping salt brine onto the BSF in 1997. While the program was made permanent in 2012, the amount of brine pumped in recent years has not replaced the millions of tons of salt removed in previous decades.

In response to the current deteriorated conditions at the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Bureau of Land Management intends to launch a detailed study of the salt crust later this year.

Last summer, the Coalition deposited about 2,000 tons of dry salt at the end of the access road to the BSF. Although modest in scope, it demonstrated that it was possible to return both dry salt along with the wet brine. 

In response to the current deteriorated conditions at the BSF, the BLM intends to launch a detailed study of the salt crust later this year.

“Bonneville has been studied to death,” responded Stuart Gosswein, SEMA’s senior director of federal government affairs. “It’s time for the BLM to do something.”

The Coalition is now approaching federal and state lawmakers and regulators to pressure the BLM to implement an advanced reclamation program. Elements could include more dry and wet salt returns, replenishment of the shallow brine aquifer that supports the BSF and construction of surface and subsurface barriers around the racing area to prevent the pumped salt brine from migrating away and to block mud and other contaminants from entering the vicinity.

“It took decades for the BSF to deteriorate, and it will take decades to undue the damage,” said Gosswein. “The Coalition is setting goals for measuring progress. The ultimate objective is to restore the international track to its 13-mile length. The Coalition is now engaged with lawmakers, regulators and the public to establish the framework for achieving this goal.” 

Events still scheduled to take place this year if weather and salt conditions improve include:

• August 30–September 3: Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials
• September 12–15: World of Speed
• September 17–21:  Cook Landspeed Events FIA-FIM Speed Trials 
• September 29–October 2 (Sept. 28 inspections): World Finals

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

	SAN Director Colby Martin accepted two International Automotive Media Awards from Chief Judge Louise Ann Noeth.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The SEMA Action Network’s (SAN) Driving Force newsletter received the highest recognition at the 24th International Automotive Media Awards in Plymouth, Michigan. In addition to the gold medallion in the “Best Single Issue: Newsletter” category for its Summer 2014 edition, the publication also took “Best of Newsletters”—a first for Driving Force.

SAN Director Colby Martin accepted the awards from Chief Judge Louise Ann Noeth. The International Automotive Media Competition (IAMC), a function of the International Society for Vehicle Preservation, is a peer-judged awards program that recognizes excellence in all forms of automotive media. 

Since the SAN’s inception in 1997, the Driving Force has been a trusted digest to convey information about the current legislative and regulatory landscape nationwide. It informs readers in an easy-to-read style about legislation and regulations affecting the car-hobby community. 

View archived issues of Driving Force.

	SAN Director Colby Martin accepted two International Automotive Media Awards from Chief Judge Louise Ann Noeth.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The SEMA Action Network’s (SAN) Driving Force newsletter received the highest recognition at the 24th International Automotive Media Awards in Plymouth, Michigan. In addition to the gold medallion in the “Best Single Issue: Newsletter” category for its Summer 2014 edition, the publication also took “Best of Newsletters”—a first for Driving Force.

SAN Director Colby Martin accepted the awards from Chief Judge Louise Ann Noeth. The International Automotive Media Competition (IAMC), a function of the International Society for Vehicle Preservation, is a peer-judged awards program that recognizes excellence in all forms of automotive media. 

Since the SAN’s inception in 1997, the Driving Force has been a trusted digest to convey information about the current legislative and regulatory landscape nationwide. It informs readers in an easy-to-read style about legislation and regulations affecting the car-hobby community. 

View archived issues of Driving Force.