Compiled by SEMA Editors

Chip Foose (center), president and founder of Foose Design Inc., is celebrating his 30th anniversary in design this year.

Chip Foose Celebrates 30 Years in Design

Internationally acclaimed automotive designer and master fabricator Chip Foose, president and founder of Foose Design Inc., is celebrating his 30th anniversary in design this year. The Hot Rod Hall of Famer is best known for his starring role on TLC’s and Velocity Channel’s reality television show “Overhaulin.’” He is a lead customizer in Hollywood, building studio cars for films, including “Blade Runner” and “Gone in 60 Seconds.” He joined the Disney Animation and Pixar design family to contribute to the paint schemes and graphic treatments for the “Cars,” and “Cars 2” films, and those same designs are embodied, and were personally applied by Foose and his crew at Disney’s California Adventure’s “Cars Land” theme park. He has designed shoes and eyewear for Oakley Sunglasses and Oakley Three Palms Footwear and was a member of the Detroit’s MotorCity Casino and hotel design team where he was responsible for the property’s unique look.

His achievements so far are vast; he was the youngest inductee into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame, won the coveted “Ridler” Award four times at the Detroit Autorama, has been instrumental in designing and/or building eight America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Awards, the first recipient of the Good Guys Trendsetter Award, honored on numerous occasions by the Grand National Roadster Hall of Fame, the San Francisco Rod Custom Motorcycle Hall of Fame and the Diecast Hall of Fame. His TV successes have inspired dozens of other shows and his vehicles have brought record values and attention at hundreds of shows, auctions and events around the world.

Rev’d Media Group Announces New Publisher and Magazine Launch

Rev’d Media Group has hired Casey Brammer as the new publisher overseeing all titles in the Rev’d Media portfolio. Looking to add to its growing magazine lineup, Rev’d will unveil its all-new car audio and 12V title, TunedIN Magazine, for Q3 2016, to round out current magazine and market offerings. This will make for a portfolio of five digital publications covering performance, lowered, lifted, late-model and now the audio segments.

Scott McLaughlin

Scott McLaughlin promoted to Holley/MSD Director of Sales

Holley/MSD has announced the promotion of Scott McLaughlin to the position of director of sales. In this position, he will be responsible for the continued cultivation of the Holley/MSD resellers with the ultimate goals of growing value and growing relationships. McLaughlin and the Holley/MSD sales team are responsible for representing the Holley, MSD, Mr.Gasket, ACCEL, Hooker, Flowtech, Earl’s, NOS, Demon, Weiand, Mallory, Diablosport, Edge, Superchips, Lakewood, Hays and Quicktime performance brands.

American Force Wheels Launches New Website Featuring Truck Configurator Tool

American Force Wheels recently launched its new interactive website. The new site boasts a number of new features, including the truck configurator tool, which is designed to give customers quick access to part numbers and costs, as well as product details, including photographs. The new site also features a new interactive map that allows American Force customers from around the world to connect, showcase and share their rides.

John Casanova Named President of Newly Formed NovaPacific Inc.

Qingdao Haizhilong Machinery Co. Ltd. (HZL)—a manufacturer of OE-grade automotive water pumps, fly wheels and vacuum pumps, has named John Casanova president – North America of NovaPacific Inc. of its newly formed manufacturing operation in Toledo, Ohio. NovaPacific was incorporated February 11, 2016. Casanova is an accomplished 30-year veteran of the automotive aftermarket industry. Prior to being appointed president of NovaPacific, Casanova served in senior executive sales, marketing and operational roles for industry brands including Visteon, Fram Filtration, Carter and Trico.

“Sam’s Garage” can be found on Rev’n every Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. (EDT).

“Sam’s Garage” Joins Rev’n Lineup

Luken Communications LLC and Rev’n LLC welcome “Sam’s Garage” to the Rev’n programming lineup. “Sam’s Garage,” produced by Powerscope Productions Inc., can be found on Rev’n every Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. (EDT). The first episode debuted April 6. Each weekly episode will take the Rev’n audience inside “Sam’s Garage” to focus on proper techniques and effective do-it-yourself diagnosis and repairs. The series is hosted by veteran TV personality and ASE master auto technician Sam Memmolo, who brings more than 24 years of television experience, and has garnered popularity among performance, hot-rod, street-rod and restoration enthusiasts. He currently co-hosts “Motorhead Garage” and previously co-hosted the popular series “Shadetree Mechanic” and “Crank and Chrome.”

CCW Debuts Enhanced Website to Showcase Its Custom Performance Wheels

CCW Forged Performance—a WELD brand and a leader in custom wheels for performance vehicles—has launched its new website. The redesigned website interface includes new and improved navigation functions and graphics to provide performance car enthusiasts with an enhanced user experience. Additional features include color options, a finish gallery and a complete size matrix with pricing to provide a clear representation of available fitments and options. A photo gallery is now part of the site so enthusiasts have a clear picture of how CCW wheels appear on a particular vehicle within each product category. Since CCW wheels are custom made to a customer’s specifications, the site includes contact information for a CCW personal fitment specialist.

“The Lifted Life” to Premiere on Velocity Network

Six one-hour episodes of “The Lifted Life,” produced by Denver-based MediaHub Productions, will air Saturdays from 8:00–9:00 a.m. (EDT) on the Velocity Network, beginning April 9, 2016. The reality show follows day-to-day operations at Five R Trucks—an internationally-known, family-run business. Each episode features Five R clients and their truck builds, including Freddy Dodge from Discovery Channel’s “Gold Rush” and Shane Carwin, former UFC heavyweight champion and retired military veteran. Steve Hill originally started Five R as a trailer sales and repair company in 1972 at age 16, entering the custom truck industry 10 years later. Hill’s sons Jake and TJ grew up in the business and have become partners. Hill’s father, 85, a retired union ironworker, supervises the shop and excels as the official shop storyteller, who will bend the ear of customers and staff alike about his days as a scrappy youngster during the Depression.

WELD has completed its consolidation of HiPer Technology’s operations into its Kansas City, Missouri-based headquarters.

WELD Consolidates HiPer Technology Into its Kansas City Facility

After acquiring the assets of HiPer Technology in October 2015, WELD has announced the completion of its consolidation of HiPer Technology’s operations into its Kansas City, Missouri-based headquarters. The physical move of HiPer Technology’s Lawrence, Kansas-based operations began March 1 of this year and was completed in less than one month to achieve the goal of minimizing any disruptions to customers and partners of the company. HiPer Technology by WELD is the largest manufacturer of high-performance “super structural” carbon-fiber wheels for all-terrain vehicles (ATV) and side-by-side (UTV) vehicles.

Sonny Croughn to Display at Champion 60th Anniversary Celebration

Legendary custom-car and hot-rod builder Sonny Croughn will have his famous D.A.R.E. high-horsepower custom trike on display at the Champion 60th anniversary celebration, May 6, in Clinton, Missouri, bringing awareness to national Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.). During this 60th year, Champion will sponsor national races, regional events, race teams and drivers, plus hold an open house with factory tours, gifts, picnics, car shows and a road rally.

Have some company news you would like to share? Let us know and the news may appear in an upcoming issue of SEMA eNews. Send your items for consideration to editors@sema.org.

By SEMA Editors

The SEMA Cares Pinewood Drag Races will take place Friday, July 29, 2016, at the Fairplex Conference Center in Pomona, California.

The 2016 Pinewood Drag Races season is now open! Nothing is more Americana than a good, old-fashioned pinewood race, and this year’s SEMA Cares-sponsored event promises to be the biggest ever. Each year, hundreds of SEMA-member companies step up to generously sponsor pinewood cars, with 100% of the proceeds going to qualified SEMA Cares charities. To learn more and register, visit www.sema.org/pinewood.

Once again held in conjunction with the SEMA Installation Gala Fundraiser, the SEMA Cares Pinewood Drag Races will take place Friday, July 29, 2016, at the Fairplex Conference Center in Pomona, California. There’s no better location for drag racing than Pomona—home of NHRA’s famed 1/4-mile and the NHRA Museum. The finals will take place during the cocktail reception, shortly before the banquet begins.

SEMA members can race either a car or a truck in three classes: Build It For Me (BIFM), Stock and Unlimited. Members can either sponsor child-built cars and trucks in the Build It For Me (BIFM) or Stock Class, or they can build and enter their own SEMA-supplied stock car or truck. Stock-Class racing usually garners the most entries with a typical speed of 3.2 seconds on a 50-ft. track. For hardcore speed enthusiasts, the Unlimited Class has only one rule—that one item from the stock kit be used. Cars in this class run sub-3 seconds, and many of the past top builders include some of the most recognized names in the industry.

SEMA Cares Pinewood Drag Races special features include the annual HRIA Builders Challenge and the Council Cup. Watch as some of the biggest names in hot rodding build state-of-the-art custom pinewoods that will be raced and then auctioned-off, with all of the proceeds going to SEMA Cares. Council members are invited to come out and challenge their peers for the opportunity to win the coveted Council Cup. The more cars or trucks fielded by each council member, the greater their chances of winning.

If you're the hands-on type, SEMA invites you to attend one of several to-be-announced build days where you can help the children sand, paint and assemble cars for the races. Each child will build two cars: one to keep and one reserved for sponsorship by a caring SEMA-member company or individual. Members interested in participating in one of the build days are invited to contact gracielas@sema.org or visit the SEMA Cares Facebook page.

Proceeds from the races will benefit SEMA Cares charities, including Childhelp and Victory Junction. Childhelp assists abused and neglected children by providing counseling and programs in a safe and secure living environment. Victory Junction provides the camp experience for children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses who otherwise would not be able to go. Sponsoring a SEMA Cares Pinewood Drag Races car or truck is easy and rewarding. Help a child in need today! 

By SEMA Editors

The SEMA Cares Pinewood Drag Races will take place Friday, July 29, 2016, at the Fairplex Conference Center in Pomona, California.

The 2016 Pinewood Drag Races season is now open! Nothing is more Americana than a good, old-fashioned pinewood race, and this year’s SEMA Cares-sponsored event promises to be the biggest ever. Each year, hundreds of SEMA-member companies step up to generously sponsor pinewood cars, with 100% of the proceeds going to qualified SEMA Cares charities. To learn more and register, visit www.sema.org/pinewood.

Once again held in conjunction with the SEMA Installation Gala Fundraiser, the SEMA Cares Pinewood Drag Races will take place Friday, July 29, 2016, at the Fairplex Conference Center in Pomona, California. There’s no better location for drag racing than Pomona—home of NHRA’s famed 1/4-mile and the NHRA Museum. The finals will take place during the cocktail reception, shortly before the banquet begins.

SEMA members can race either a car or a truck in three classes: Build It For Me (BIFM), Stock and Unlimited. Members can either sponsor child-built cars and trucks in the Build It For Me (BIFM) or Stock Class, or they can build and enter their own SEMA-supplied stock car or truck. Stock-Class racing usually garners the most entries with a typical speed of 3.2 seconds on a 50-ft. track. For hardcore speed enthusiasts, the Unlimited Class has only one rule—that one item from the stock kit be used. Cars in this class run sub-3 seconds, and many of the past top builders include some of the most recognized names in the industry.

SEMA Cares Pinewood Drag Races special features include the annual HRIA Builders Challenge and the Council Cup. Watch as some of the biggest names in hot rodding build state-of-the-art custom pinewoods that will be raced and then auctioned-off, with all of the proceeds going to SEMA Cares. Council members are invited to come out and challenge their peers for the opportunity to win the coveted Council Cup. The more cars or trucks fielded by each council member, the greater their chances of winning.

If you're the hands-on type, SEMA invites you to attend one of several to-be-announced build days where you can help the children sand, paint and assemble cars for the races. Each child will build two cars: one to keep and one reserved for sponsorship by a caring SEMA-member company or individual. Members interested in participating in one of the build days are invited to contact gracielas@sema.org or visit the SEMA Cares Facebook page.

Proceeds from the races will benefit SEMA Cares charities, including Childhelp and Victory Junction. Childhelp assists abused and neglected children by providing counseling and programs in a safe and secure living environment. Victory Junction provides the camp experience for children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses who otherwise would not be able to go. Sponsoring a SEMA Cares Pinewood Drag Races car or truck is easy and rewarding. Help a child in need today! 

By SEMA Editors

The SEMA Cares Pinewood Drag Races will take place Friday, July 29, 2016, at the Fairplex Conference Center in Pomona, California.

The 2016 Pinewood Drag Races season is now open! Nothing is more Americana than a good, old-fashioned pinewood race, and this year’s SEMA Cares-sponsored event promises to be the biggest ever. Each year, hundreds of SEMA-member companies step up to generously sponsor pinewood cars, with 100% of the proceeds going to qualified SEMA Cares charities. To learn more and register, visit www.sema.org/pinewood.

Once again held in conjunction with the SEMA Installation Gala Fundraiser, the SEMA Cares Pinewood Drag Races will take place Friday, July 29, 2016, at the Fairplex Conference Center in Pomona, California. There’s no better location for drag racing than Pomona—home of NHRA’s famed 1/4-mile and the NHRA Museum. The finals will take place during the cocktail reception, shortly before the banquet begins.

SEMA members can race either a car or a truck in three classes: Build It For Me (BIFM), Stock and Unlimited. Members can either sponsor child-built cars and trucks in the Build It For Me (BIFM) or Stock Class, or they can build and enter their own SEMA-supplied stock car or truck. Stock-Class racing usually garners the most entries with a typical speed of 3.2 seconds on a 50-ft. track. For hardcore speed enthusiasts, the Unlimited Class has only one rule—that one item from the stock kit be used. Cars in this class run sub-3 seconds, and many of the past top builders include some of the most recognized names in the industry.

SEMA Cares Pinewood Drag Races special features include the annual HRIA Builders Challenge and the Council Cup. Watch as some of the biggest names in hot rodding build state-of-the-art custom pinewoods that will be raced and then auctioned-off, with all of the proceeds going to SEMA Cares. Council members are invited to come out and challenge their peers for the opportunity to win the coveted Council Cup. The more cars or trucks fielded by each council member, the greater their chances of winning.

If you're the hands-on type, SEMA invites you to attend one of several to-be-announced build days where you can help the children sand, paint and assemble cars for the races. Each child will build two cars: one to keep and one reserved for sponsorship by a caring SEMA-member company or individual. Members interested in participating in one of the build days are invited to contact gracielas@sema.org or visit the SEMA Cares Facebook page.

Proceeds from the races will benefit SEMA Cares charities, including Childhelp and Victory Junction. Childhelp assists abused and neglected children by providing counseling and programs in a safe and secure living environment. Victory Junction provides the camp experience for children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses who otherwise would not be able to go. Sponsoring a SEMA Cares Pinewood Drag Races car or truck is easy and rewarding. Help a child in need today! 

By SEMA Editors

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is bringing bringing Baja back to California—a central hub of off-roading—after a nearly 20-year absence. Baja SAE is a collegiate engineering design competition where students design, build and race a small off-road vehicle powered by an unmodified 10hp Briggs & Stratton engine. The competition provides SAE student members with a challenging project involving the design, planning, manufacturing and test tasks found when developing a new product. Teams compete against one another to have their design accepted for manufacture by a fictitious firm. Not only do the students have to function as a team to design, build, test, promote and race a vehicle within the limits of the rules, they also have to generate financial support for their project and manage their educational priorities.

The four-day event will be held May 19–22 at the Quail Canyon Special Events Area at the Hungry Valley SVRA in Gorman and The College of the Canyons in Valencia. The event will consist of schools from across the United States and more than five countries. With an expected 1,300 attendees, a variety of volunteer roles are available, including design judges, business presentation judges, general volunteers and recovery crew riders.

For more information or to volunteer, visit the Baja SAE website and email bajasaeca@gmail.com.

By SEMA Editors

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is bringing bringing Baja back to California—a central hub of off-roading—after a nearly 20-year absence. Baja SAE is a collegiate engineering design competition where students design, build and race a small off-road vehicle powered by an unmodified 10hp Briggs & Stratton engine. The competition provides SAE student members with a challenging project involving the design, planning, manufacturing and test tasks found when developing a new product. Teams compete against one another to have their design accepted for manufacture by a fictitious firm. Not only do the students have to function as a team to design, build, test, promote and race a vehicle within the limits of the rules, they also have to generate financial support for their project and manage their educational priorities.

The four-day event will be held May 19–22 at the Quail Canyon Special Events Area at the Hungry Valley SVRA in Gorman and The College of the Canyons in Valencia. The event will consist of schools from across the United States and more than five countries. With an expected 1,300 attendees, a variety of volunteer roles are available, including design judges, business presentation judges, general volunteers and recovery crew riders.

For more information or to volunteer, visit the Baja SAE website and email bajasaeca@gmail.com.

By SEMA Editors

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is bringing bringing Baja back to California—a central hub of off-roading—after a nearly 20-year absence. Baja SAE is a collegiate engineering design competition where students design, build and race a small off-road vehicle powered by an unmodified 10hp Briggs & Stratton engine. The competition provides SAE student members with a challenging project involving the design, planning, manufacturing and test tasks found when developing a new product. Teams compete against one another to have their design accepted for manufacture by a fictitious firm. Not only do the students have to function as a team to design, build, test, promote and race a vehicle within the limits of the rules, they also have to generate financial support for their project and manage their educational priorities.

The four-day event will be held May 19–22 at the Quail Canyon Special Events Area at the Hungry Valley SVRA in Gorman and The College of the Canyons in Valencia. The event will consist of schools from across the United States and more than five countries. With an expected 1,300 attendees, a variety of volunteer roles are available, including design judges, business presentation judges, general volunteers and recovery crew riders.

For more information or to volunteer, visit the Baja SAE website and email bajasaeca@gmail.com.

By Jon Wyly

Google has announced that it requires full compliance on its Global Trade Identification Numbers (GTIN) requirement for most products to qualify for inclusion on Google Shopping feeds. The GTIN-12 is used in the United States and Canada and is encoded into 12-digit UPC Barcodes. After May 16, Google will begin to show “item level disapprovals” for products that don’t meet the requirement. That is, you will need to meet the GTIN requirements to continue serving ads for your products through Google. And this doesn’t just mean the items with out GTINs will be excluded, but rather if a certain modest percentage of items don’t comply, the entire data feed will be rejected.

An initial look at the industry data repository operated by the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) shows that roughly 25% of the parts managed and stored in the SDC system are missing GTINs. In some cases they are hit-and-miss; in other cases, the manufacturer has made a conscious decision not to invest in GTINs.

Well, the game has now officially changed, and it’s time to fill in those blanks and get compliant on GTINs, not just for Google, but also for the countless retailers that have the same requirement. Rest assured, Google’s stand will be the tip of the iceberg, creating an ideal opportunity for others who have been “flexible” on GTINs to firm up their position as well.

So, how do you fix this situation? It’s pretty simple actually. If you are a large manufacturer in need of several thousand or more GTINs, you need to contact GS1—a neutral, non-profit standards organization that has managed GTINs globally since that first scan back in 1974. There you can sign up for your own unique identifier and purchase your GTINs. If you are already an existing subscriber through GS1, then get those blanks filled in as soon as possible!

But what about the smaller manufacturer that needs 50, 100, 500 or a couple thousand GTINs and can’t afford a unique subscription through GS1? Well, that’s where your SEMA-member benefits kick in! Since its inception, the SDC has been an official source of GS1 GTINs, which have been offered at a price of $1 each, with no minimum purchase requirement.

Now, in response to Google’s requirement, the SDC is committed to providing up to 2,500 official GS1 GTINs to any SDC-member company (that has never worked directly with GS1) at no charge. 

If you are an SDC supplier member and need GTINs, contact our data lab at 888-958-6698, ext. 40 and get started today. If you are not yet an SDC member, then contact Jim Graven, director of membership at JimG@SemaDataCoop.org or 888-958-6698, ext. 4 for information on this and many other benefits of joining the SDC.

Don’t delay—your sales depend on it.

More information can be found on Google.

By Jon Wyly

Google has announced that it requires full compliance on its Global Trade Identification Numbers (GTIN) requirement for most products to qualify for inclusion on Google Shopping feeds. The GTIN-12 is used in the United States and Canada and is encoded into 12-digit UPC Barcodes. After May 16, Google will begin to show “item level disapprovals” for products that don’t meet the requirement. That is, you will need to meet the GTIN requirements to continue serving ads for your products through Google. And this doesn’t just mean the items with out GTINs will be excluded, but rather if a certain modest percentage of items don’t comply, the entire data feed will be rejected.

An initial look at the industry data repository operated by the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) shows that roughly 25% of the parts managed and stored in the SDC system are missing GTINs. In some cases they are hit-and-miss; in other cases, the manufacturer has made a conscious decision not to invest in GTINs.

Well, the game has now officially changed, and it’s time to fill in those blanks and get compliant on GTINs, not just for Google, but also for the countless retailers that have the same requirement. Rest assured, Google’s stand will be the tip of the iceberg, creating an ideal opportunity for others who have been “flexible” on GTINs to firm up their position as well.

So, how do you fix this situation? It’s pretty simple actually. If you are a large manufacturer in need of several thousand or more GTINs, you need to contact GS1—a neutral, non-profit standards organization that has managed GTINs globally since that first scan back in 1974. There you can sign up for your own unique identifier and purchase your GTINs. If you are already an existing subscriber through GS1, then get those blanks filled in as soon as possible!

But what about the smaller manufacturer that needs 50, 100, 500 or a couple thousand GTINs and can’t afford a unique subscription through GS1? Well, that’s where your SEMA-member benefits kick in! Since its inception, the SDC has been an official source of GS1 GTINs, which have been offered at a price of $1 each, with no minimum purchase requirement.

Now, in response to Google’s requirement, the SDC is committed to providing up to 2,500 official GS1 GTINs to any SDC-member company (that has never worked directly with GS1) at no charge. 

If you are an SDC supplier member and need GTINs, contact our data lab at 888-958-6698, ext. 40 and get started today. If you are not yet an SDC member, then contact Jim Graven, director of membership at JimG@SemaDataCoop.org or 888-958-6698, ext. 4 for information on this and many other benefits of joining the SDC.

Don’t delay—your sales depend on it.

More information can be found on Google.

The SEMA Show is the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world. It draws the industry’s brightest minds and hottest products to one place, the Las Vegas Convention Center.

As part of Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week (AAIW), the SEMA Show attracts more than 100,000 industry leaders from more than 100 countries for unlimited profit opportunities in the automotive, truck and SUV, powersports and RV markets.

The 2015 SEMA Show drew more than 60,000 domestic and international buyers.