Just a couple of weeks ago, Mercedes-AMG presented the GT C Roadster but decided to keep the Coupé as a secret for yet another while. Sorry, Affalterbach, the lid has been lifted. Caught during a photo shoot just outside the company’s headquarters, these are the best shots yet of the Mercedes-AMG GT C Coupe.

Positioned between the GT S and the GT R, this GT C shows the wider rear skirt of the R-variant, although equipped with quad tailpipes as known from the GT C Roadster. The wider fenders house massive 20-in. wheels, which will allow higher speeds in narrow curves and improved traction. Under the hood will be a 4.0L bi-turbo V8 pumping 557 hp and 690 Nm of torque. It is coupled to a seven-speed manual gearbox with a relatively long first gear and a shortened seventh. Sprint time and top speed should mimic that of the Roadster.

The matte black paint and the additional logo on the right side of the boot lid hint to a special “Edition 50”—signifying AMG’s 50th birthday in 2017.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

Just a couple of weeks ago, Mercedes-AMG presented the GT C Roadster but decided to keep the Coupé as a secret for yet another while. Sorry, Affalterbach, the lid has been lifted. Caught during a photo shoot just outside the company’s headquarters, these are the best shots yet of the Mercedes-AMG GT C Coupe.

Positioned between the GT S and the GT R, this GT C shows the wider rear skirt of the R-variant, although equipped with quad tailpipes as known from the GT C Roadster. The wider fenders house massive 20-in. wheels, which will allow higher speeds in narrow curves and improved traction. Under the hood will be a 4.0L bi-turbo V8 pumping 557 hp and 690 Nm of torque. It is coupled to a seven-speed manual gearbox with a relatively long first gear and a shortened seventh. Sprint time and top speed should mimic that of the Roadster.

The matte black paint and the additional logo on the right side of the boot lid hint to a special “Edition 50”—signifying AMG’s 50th birthday in 2017.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

By SEMA Editors

Are you hunting for a new job? The SEMA Career Center has a comprehensive listing of automotive-related job openings around the country. Here are some of the latest classifieds posted to the website.

Graphic Designer: Coker Tire is seeking a full-time graphic designer to join its marketing team. The ideal candidate will be a highly creative individual who has an exceptional level of organizational skills, attention to detail and the ability to work well in a fast-paced, collaborative and deadline-driven environment. The focus of this position will be on marketing graphics for both print and web and social and event marketing. A bachelor’s or associates degree and a minimum of two years’ graphic design experience are required.

Sales Manager: Livernois Motorsports and Engineering is hiring a sales manager with top-notch customer service skills and at least three years of previous automotive industry supervisory experience. The successful candidate must be well versed in late-model Ford, GM and Chrysler products or be willing to learn.

Brand Manager: RANDYS Worldwide is hiring a brand manager responsible for the planning and implementation of key product, branding, promotional and event support. This person will be a key component in working with the company’s sales group to ensure that the brand is well represented through multichannel promotion and advertising effectiveness. The successful candidate will have proven work experience as brand manager, strong research and analytical skills, excellent understanding of the full marketing mix and analytical skills to forecast and identify trends and challenges.

Engineering Manager: Energy Suspension is hiring an engineering manager to oversee R&D and design, development and improvement of polyurethane. The qualified candidate must be proficient in 3D CAD, have strong mechanical aptitude, experience with automotive suspension and with a vector graphics program, a bachelor’s degree in engineering and more than five years of related work experience.

By SEMA Editors

Following are dates and locations for several upcoming SEMA-sponsored shows, measuring sessions and activities.

• ETTN Motorsports Tech Roundtable, January 23, 2017, Embassy Suites Orange County Airport North, Santa Ana, California

• 2017 MPMC Media Trade Conference, January 24–26, 2017, Embassy Suites Orange County Airport North, Santa Ana, California

• 2017 SEMA Middle East Business Development Conference, March 28, 2017–April 1, 2017, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

• 2017 SEMA Australia Regional Business Development Conference, May 23–27, 2017, Melbourne, Australia

• Collector Car Appreciation Day, July 14, 2017

For association-related travel, contact Manya Petropaki (manya.p@travelstore.com) at Travel Store USA, 949-930-9268.

SEMA-member companies have posted several new listings for job opportunities (view all here) in the Classifieds page of SEMA.org. Working for a SEMA-member company has many advantages. In addition to working for a company that supports and contributes to the success of the overall industry, being employed by a SEMA-member company enables employees to participate in webinars, access free market research, join SEMA committees and more.

With most leading businesses devoting more time to content marketing these days—the publishing of articles, videos, images and more to reinforce brand image—it’s more important than ever to ensure that content is optimized for search engines.

Scores of articles have surfaced lately emphasizing the fact that unearthing substantial, quality content on the web has become the number-one goal of the Google search engine—perhaps to the detriment of traditional search-engine optimization (SEO). But the fact remains that if you spend just a bit of time making sure you’re using the right keywords, the best web design and the proper image tags, your excellent content will appear even higher in search-engine returns. And you’ll be giving your company a decided advantage.


https://www.sema.org/sema-news/2016/12/content-marketing

With most leading businesses devoting more time to content marketing these days—the publishing of articles, videos, images and more to reinforce brand image—it’s more important than ever to ensure that content is optimized for search engines.

Scores of articles have surfaced lately emphasizing the fact that unearthing substantial, quality content on the web has become the number-one goal of the Google search engine—perhaps to the detriment of traditional search-engine optimization (SEO). But the fact remains that if you spend just a bit of time making sure you’re using the right keywords, the best web design and the proper image tags, your excellent content will appear even higher in search-engine returns. And you’ll be giving your company a decided advantage.


https://www.sema.org/sema-news/2016/12/content-marketing

By Amelia Zwecher

The month of November was a groundbreaking success for the SEMA Career Center job board. The number of overall candidates from February 2016 through November 2016 reached 3,519. In November alone, 1,279 new job seekers registered and uploaded their résumés, which was approximately a 600% increase from prior months. Total job seekers to date exceeds 4,000. The top five job seekers to date search the following categories:

• Sales and Customer Service
• Marketing and Promotion
• Executive Management
• Engineering
• Operations

The number of overall SEMA Career Center candidates from February 2016 through November 2016 reached 3,519.

Traditionally, recruiting during the holiday season is among the most challenging for businesses seeking non-seasonal employees. The statistics show otherwise for the motor-vehicle aftermarket. To take advantage of this great pipeline of candidates, continue to post jobs and internships during the holiday season.

Please contact ameliaz@sema.org if you have questions regarding the job board or recruiting.

By Amelia Zwecher

The month of November was a groundbreaking success for the SEMA Career Center job board. The number of overall candidates from February 2016 through November 2016 reached 3,519. In November alone, 1,279 new job seekers registered and uploaded their résumés, which was approximately a 600% increase from prior months. Total job seekers to date exceeds 4,000. The top five job seekers to date search the following categories:

• Sales and Customer Service
• Marketing and Promotion
• Executive Management
• Engineering
• Operations

The number of overall SEMA Career Center candidates from February 2016 through November 2016 reached 3,519.

Traditionally, recruiting during the holiday season is among the most challenging for businesses seeking non-seasonal employees. The statistics show otherwise for the motor-vehicle aftermarket. To take advantage of this great pipeline of candidates, continue to post jobs and internships during the holiday season.

Please contact ameliaz@sema.org if you have questions regarding the job board or recruiting.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to ban the use of trichloroethylene (TCE) in aerosol degreasers and as a spot-removal agent in dry cleaning. TCE is a volatile organic compound that is primarily used to process refrigerants. It is also used in some consumer commercial products as a metal degreasing solvent since it is relatively inexpensive, has a low fire risk, quickly evaporates and requires no rinsing. For the latter use, the EPA has identified some potential health risks that can be addressed by switching to alternative chemicals. Consequently, the EPA is proposing to prohibit the manufacture, importing, processing and distribution in commerce of TCE for aerosol degreasing and for spot cleaning. 

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