This is the ’18 Volkswagen CC, caught for very the first time while hot-weather testing.

Expected to take lots of cues from the Sport Coupe Concept GTE from 2015, the next CC will take the European-market Passat and put a more seductive spin on it, just as the current model did back in 2008. The new CC will have a similar profile to the existing car, but the wheelbase should increase and the front should appear slimmer and wider, with options such as LED headlights expected. The prototype shows a short rear deck, but it's rumored the CC will become a liftback like the Audi A7.

Inside, the CC will also take a more upscale approach with features from the Euro Passat, such as a TFT instrument panel and full-length air vents. A production version of the gesture control system VW has previewed should debut here.

Powertrains should mimic what’s offered on the latest VWs, including 2.0 turbos and maybe a V6. A plug-in hybrid using the powertrain on the Passat GTE is expected to be offered at least in Europe, though it’s unclear whether it would be offered in the United States.

Expect the CC to appear at an auto show next year with a 2018 on-sale date.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

This is the ’18 Volkswagen CC, caught for very the first time while hot-weather testing.

Expected to take lots of cues from the Sport Coupe Concept GTE from 2015, the next CC will take the European-market Passat and put a more seductive spin on it, just as the current model did back in 2008. The new CC will have a similar profile to the existing car, but the wheelbase should increase and the front should appear slimmer and wider, with options such as LED headlights expected. The prototype shows a short rear deck, but it's rumored the CC will become a liftback like the Audi A7.

Inside, the CC will also take a more upscale approach with features from the Euro Passat, such as a TFT instrument panel and full-length air vents. A production version of the gesture control system VW has previewed should debut here.

Powertrains should mimic what’s offered on the latest VWs, including 2.0 turbos and maybe a V6. A plug-in hybrid using the powertrain on the Passat GTE is expected to be offered at least in Europe, though it’s unclear whether it would be offered in the United States.

Expect the CC to appear at an auto show next year with a 2018 on-sale date.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

This is the ’18 Volkswagen CC, caught for very the first time while hot-weather testing.

Expected to take lots of cues from the Sport Coupe Concept GTE from 2015, the next CC will take the European-market Passat and put a more seductive spin on it, just as the current model did back in 2008. The new CC will have a similar profile to the existing car, but the wheelbase should increase and the front should appear slimmer and wider, with options such as LED headlights expected. The prototype shows a short rear deck, but it's rumored the CC will become a liftback like the Audi A7.

Inside, the CC will also take a more upscale approach with features from the Euro Passat, such as a TFT instrument panel and full-length air vents. A production version of the gesture control system VW has previewed should debut here.

Powertrains should mimic what’s offered on the latest VWs, including 2.0 turbos and maybe a V6. A plug-in hybrid using the powertrain on the Passat GTE is expected to be offered at least in Europe, though it’s unclear whether it would be offered in the United States.

Expect the CC to appear at an auto show next year with a 2018 on-sale date.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

This is the ’18 Volkswagen CC, caught for very the first time while hot-weather testing.

Expected to take lots of cues from the Sport Coupe Concept GTE from 2015, the next CC will take the European-market Passat and put a more seductive spin on it, just as the current model did back in 2008. The new CC will have a similar profile to the existing car, but the wheelbase should increase and the front should appear slimmer and wider, with options such as LED headlights expected. The prototype shows a short rear deck, but it's rumored the CC will become a liftback like the Audi A7.

Inside, the CC will also take a more upscale approach with features from the Euro Passat, such as a TFT instrument panel and full-length air vents. A production version of the gesture control system VW has previewed should debut here.

Powertrains should mimic what’s offered on the latest VWs, including 2.0 turbos and maybe a V6. A plug-in hybrid using the powertrain on the Passat GTE is expected to be offered at least in Europe, though it’s unclear whether it would be offered in the United States.

Expect the CC to appear at an auto show next year with a 2018 on-sale date.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

This is the ’18 Volkswagen CC, caught for very the first time while hot-weather testing.

Expected to take lots of cues from the Sport Coupe Concept GTE from 2015, the next CC will take the European-market Passat and put a more seductive spin on it, just as the current model did back in 2008. The new CC will have a similar profile to the existing car, but the wheelbase should increase and the front should appear slimmer and wider, with options such as LED headlights expected. The prototype shows a short rear deck, but it's rumored the CC will become a liftback like the Audi A7.

Inside, the CC will also take a more upscale approach with features from the Euro Passat, such as a TFT instrument panel and full-length air vents. A production version of the gesture control system VW has previewed should debut here.

Powertrains should mimic what’s offered on the latest VWs, including 2.0 turbos and maybe a V6. A plug-in hybrid using the powertrain on the Passat GTE is expected to be offered at least in Europe, though it’s unclear whether it would be offered in the United States.

Expect the CC to appear at an auto show next year with a 2018 on-sale date.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

More than a dozen of racing’s most recognizable faces released a new video calling on all motorsports fans and industry members to take action and support the RPM Act—a bipartisan bill now pending in the U.S. Congress that would make it clear that modification of street vehicles into dedicated racecars is legal now and in the future. While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formally withdrawn its proposed racing regulation, the agency continues to assert authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate the modification of vehicles used for competition. The RPM Act addresses any doubts regarding regulation of racecars and gives the public and racecar industry much-needed certainty regarding how the Clean Air Act is applied.

You can answer the call to support the RPM Act by contacting Congress at www.sema.org/rpmact.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

More than a dozen of racing’s most recognizable faces released a new video calling on all motorsports fans and industry members to take action and support the RPM Act—a bipartisan bill now pending in the U.S. Congress that would make it clear that modification of street vehicles into dedicated racecars is legal now and in the future. While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formally withdrawn its proposed racing regulation, the agency continues to assert authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate the modification of vehicles used for competition. The RPM Act addresses any doubts regarding regulation of racecars and gives the public and racecar industry much-needed certainty regarding how the Clean Air Act is applied.

You can answer the call to support the RPM Act by contacting Congress at www.sema.org/rpmact.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

More than a dozen of racing’s most recognizable faces released a new video calling on all motorsports fans and industry members to take action and support the RPM Act—a bipartisan bill now pending in the U.S. Congress that would make it clear that modification of street vehicles into dedicated racecars is legal now and in the future. While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formally withdrawn its proposed racing regulation, the agency continues to assert authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate the modification of vehicles used for competition. The RPM Act addresses any doubts regarding regulation of racecars and gives the public and racecar industry much-needed certainty regarding how the Clean Air Act is applied.

You can answer the call to support the RPM Act by contacting Congress at www.sema.org/rpmact.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

More than a dozen of racing’s most recognizable faces released a new video calling on all motorsports fans and industry members to take action and support the RPM Act—a bipartisan bill now pending in the U.S. Congress that would make it clear that modification of street vehicles into dedicated racecars is legal now and in the future. While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formally withdrawn its proposed racing regulation, the agency continues to assert authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate the modification of vehicles used for competition. The RPM Act addresses any doubts regarding regulation of racecars and gives the public and racecar industry much-needed certainty regarding how the Clean Air Act is applied.

You can answer the call to support the RPM Act by contacting Congress at www.sema.org/rpmact.

By SEMA Editors

New, improved tools are now available to suppliers in the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC)—the automotive aftermarket’s premier data management repository. The new tools, which simplify the data-loading process while supporting the SDC’s top-rated score carding process, allow suppliers to submit data in all the popular formats, convert and validate the data to industry standards, and store it in an ACES- and PIES-compliant repository with little or no manual intervention.

“The new tools are designed to quickly pass product data from supplier to SDC systems through traditional data delivery processes or direct system-to-system connections,” said Stephanie Jones, director of eBusiness for the SDC. “This dramatically reduces the import time and virtually eliminates manual mapping work.”

The SDC’s score-carding program grades supplier data to four levels of completeness: bronze, silver, gold and platinum. These grades, defined by actual user (data receiver) requirements, help guide suppliers to complete the fields that are most important to their customers, while easing the task of navigating through hundreds of data fields defined by the PIES standard.

Jon Wyly, CEO of the SDC, noted, “The SDC team is highly focused on data quality, and we work diligently with suppliers to increase their score-card level to the platinum grade, and maintain that high level of quality. These new tools will support our data-quality efforts, while providing further automation to the data-management process. The end result is clean, consistent data with a minimum amount of manual intervention.”

The SEMA Data Co-op is an industry-owned and operated project designed to bring full product data-management capabilities to participating suppliers at the lowest possible cost. Features include a secure, industry standards-based centralized data repository, extensive on-boarding tools, expert live training and technical assistance, and unlimited standard or fully customized data exports.

For more information about these new options, contact the SDC Data Lab at 888-958-6698, ext. 40. To learn more about how to join the SDC, visit www.SemaDataCoop.org or contact Allen Horwitz at AllenH@SemaDataCoop.org or 888-958-6698 ext. 9.