SEMA News—April 2014

BUSINESS
By Mike Imlay

A Look At The Racing and Performance Powertrain Market

In fact, use of ready-made drop-in crate engines with known horsepower and torque specifications has become a driving force in the marketplace in recent years. In particular, the GM LS series has become a favored choice of racers and other enthusiasts. This has engendered some controversy among engine customizers, creating opportunities for some and complicating business for others. To be sure, not every engine supplier is opposed to the crate-engine trend. Some would even argue that the development of parts for such engines—especially the LS series—has picked up and provided fresh opportunities for individual manufacturers in the racing and performance arena. To gain a greater handle on this trend, SEMA News asked a variety of sources for their perspectives on the current state of the marketplace and the nature of customer needs as well as ways engine suppliers and installers are responding to a growing demand for crate units.

Race-Driven Demand

It’s not that the average car builder is necessarily opting to drop a ready-made LS engine into his project vehicle at a higher rate than those put together by traditional engine builders. It’s that those who race have become increasingly mandated to do so. And this is proving unsettling to engine builders for both motorsporting as well as financial reasons.

As Speedway Illustrated Publisher Karl Fredrickson explained, sanctioning bodies began the push toward crate engines a little over a decade ago. The basic idea was to limit horsepower, give every racer the same engine advantage and ultimately lower costs for entry-level and low-budget competitors.

Many engine builders share that opinion.

“Perhaps what troubles me most is the perception that the OE can achieve something in racing that the aftermarket cannot,” he said. “That’s not only wrong, but I also find it insulting. I believe in the aftermarket. I think our group is far more capable than some sanctioning bodies are giving it credit for.”

Dakota Engines owner Jim Beyer echoed Fredrickson’s sentiments.

“I’m not a fan of crate motors,” he said. “I understand [that racers] can buy such motors for around $5,400, put the motor in and go racing, but what they don’t tell you on a crate motor is that they want you to buy a certain header to get some power, a certain carburetor and certain fuel to make these crate engines run better and get more power and performance. The fuel is quite expensive; it’s $12 per gallon or more, depending on where you buy it.”

A large portion of Beyer’s customers are racers and performance-car builders in the tri-state area of Montana, South Dakota and Minnesota. The company dates to the early ’80s, and Beyer has seen many changes in the marketplace over the years.

“When we first started way back when, you could build a pretty fair modified engine for around $2,500 to $3,000,” he explained. “By today’s standards, you’re looking at anywhere from $12,000 to $20,000 for a very good modified engine, so the cost has gone up considerably. The knowledge needed has also changed considerably—there’s so much new stuff out on the market now such as camshafts and items like that. There’s just a lot of better stuff than there used to be years ago.

“Right where we’re located is a lot of Wissota racing, so we do a lot of those types of builds—a lot of A mods, some late-model stuff, a lot of street cars with stock components that you have to use. We do all kinds of builds. We also have people in this area who are into mud runners and truck pullers, so we do quite a few of those. The LS crate engine has affected our business a little bit. We have some customers who have bought crate engines where otherwise they might have bought an IMC motor from us.”

Impacting the Small Guy?

Beyer sees the LS crate engine taking more of a bite out of the smaller engine builder trying to eke out a living. He also sees an impact on broader manufacturers of aftermarket parts who face sales drops to traditional engine builders. However, he mostly objects to the LS for its impact on the local racer.

Looking toward the future, Beyer foresees bigger trouble ahead for traditional engine builders as more and more sanctioning bodies mandate crate engines.

“There’s no doubt the crate engine is going to hurt us, and it’s going to hurt other engine builders more than us,” he said. “It depends upon where they’re located. I understand that the sanctioning bodies want to get the racing cheaper for the racer, but there are other ways they could have done this.”

For one, he said, sanctioning bodies could’ve mandated restrictor plates and given weight breaks.

“It wouldn’t hurt the engine builder, and it would’ve been cheaper,” he said. “You can buy a restrictor plate or have one made for around $125 to $130. It works in NASCAR—they have a restrictor plate when you go to the big track.”

In the long run, said Beyer, crate engines can also cost a racer more than advertised, since sanctioning bodies often will not allow their rebuilding.

“Right now, they’ve got them at a very appealing price, but I can’t see that it’s going to stay that way forever,” he observed. “If something wears out, you have to buy a new [engine]. These other ones, we can freshen them up. Granted, it’s probably going to cost you around $3,000 to $4,000 to freshen them, depending upon how you took care of them. Some people take care of their stuff and don’t need that much. Other people are a little lax in repairs, oil and maintenance, and it costs a little more.”

Back at Speedway Illustrated, Fredrickson agreed with Beyer’s analysis, adding that there was always a trickle-down market for parts in racing before mandated crate engines. At that time, more experienced and successful racers often sold their older or salvaged parts to lower-level racers, helping the broader aftermarket.

“If a crate engine is inserted anywhere in that chain, the wheels come off,” Fredrickson said. “If I can’t sell my old stuff, I can’t buy your new stuff.”

In any event, faced with the growing demand for LS engines, Beyer is working harder than ever to forge close relationships with his customers to maintain a competitive edge.

“We sponsor the local track, a lot of local racing and a lot of local drivers,” he said. “There are so many customers that we can’t give them a huge discount, but we do give them 5% or 10% off or sometimes a little more to help them out through the course of the year because they’re having bad luck or something. An OEM is not going to do that for you. We try to build a relationship and treat everyone not as a customer but as a good friend. We try to keep things kind of like a family.”

At Ed Pink Engines in Van Nuys, California, General Manager Frank Honsowetz also expressed strong feelings about LS crate engines.

“For sure, they’re affecting [the custom engine market],” he said. “There are some attractive packages. But if you want to have a very streetable, very drivable, big-output 572 Chevy that you want to be a 10:1 ratio compression running on pump gas but still want more than 700 hp, you’re not going to buy a crate engine.”

While conceding that a custom-built engine is “considerably more expensive,” Honsowetz noted that “if you want something different, it’s going to cost more.”

“We don’t really have a specialty,” Honsowetz said. “We do a variety of projects—everything from design and engineering to production of prototype race engines to rebuilding a whole variety of race engines to vintage engines, some exotic collector car engines and some high-end hot-rod engines. We have everything here right now from a variable-compression Department of Energy research engine project that we’re doing machining on to a ’21 Duesenberg engine that’s going to Pebble Beach.”

Honsowetz readily admits that Ed Pink Engines may be more insulated from the growing crate-engine trend because of the company’s size, longevity, reputation and broad customer base. Still, he also believes that crate-engine economics will fail to add up for racers over time.

“If you have a spec engine formula, somebody will spend the money to make theirs better, and that raises the costs for everyone involved,” he said. “At the same time, they’ll run their engines harder, and the parts may not be as good as professional building shops will put into engines. I understand what track owners are trying to achieve, but I don’t think it really works as well as they think it does for them. Everything is cyclical. Eventually, you’ll see that the popularity of spec crate engines will probably go away, at least in the higher tiers of motorsports.”

In the end, Ed Pink Engines intends to continue doing what it has always done in the way of specialty engine building, regardless of LS crate engine trends.

“I believe we produce a modest number of engines for high-end hot-rod owners who have some discretionary money and want something better than a crate engine and want an Ed Pink engine,” Honsowetz said. “I think there’s a segment that absolutely wants an Ed Pink engine. I think there’s a segment that wants something truly unique that can’t be done by the average hot rod shop when it comes to engines. For that you have to go to a specialty engine shop.”

Another Perspective

Of course, not every aftermarket engine outfit shares a negative perspective on LS crate engines. Established in 2000, Mahle Motorsports has positioned itself as a leading supplier of forged racing pistons and rings while also offering a number of crate-engine programs.

In fact, McFarland said, the LS market has become one of the company’s fastest-growing segments.

“The motor has been around over a decade now and has gone through a number
of iterations,” he observed. “We’ve had interests ranging from street performance to marine to off-road use. Motors are being transplanted into [many] different vehicles, and the scope of the engine is far-reaching.”

Despite this, McFarland noted that many still ironically view the LS as a relatively new engine, with many parts distributors seeing the segment as a niche market. Nevertheless, he emphasized that the buyer demographic “runs the gamut” from guys doing just a piston change to street rodders, drifters, performance racers and off-roaders running full-blown modified versions for their respective needs.

“That’s why, again, if a parts distributor were to let everyone know he has the parts, he could have people coming from multiple directions looking for the components,” McFarland said. “Trying to nail down a single niche that’s looking for LS parts is getting harder to do because the engine is finding its way into everything.”

“Anything you can do to make racing more affordable is a positive, but it seems to erode once you get into it,” he asserted. “An LS-based motor is a great motor. You can drag race them. You can make some good strong horsepower out of them. But you put them into a road-racing or a circle-track application and start pushing them for long periods of time at maximum power and torque, and there are some things that need to be addressed. Once you start putting some of those components in place, the costs start coming up. The engines tend to start using themselves up. What you’ve got left is not a lot to start over—you pretty much have to start with a new motor.”

Meanwhile, in Kearney, Nebraska, Blueprint Engines has been building and supplying performance engines for more than 30 years while selling them exclusively under the Blueprint label for the last
two decades.

“We provide GM, Ford and Chrysler crate engines, from our smallest 262 all the way up to 632ci engines,” said Blueprint Engines President Shawn Sterling. “We also offer blocks, block casting and completed cylinder heads.”

“We have not seen LS engines hurt our business in any sense,” he said. “For example, in terms of the small-block Chevy, we have not seen a decrease there at all. We have seen growth. We launched our LS platform two to two and a half years ago, and we’ve just seen steady growth. It hasn’t been a detriment at all. I think it’s reaching a different segment of the market, probably the younger part. In the future, I think it will continue to grow, but I don’t know that it will be a detriment to the small-block Chevy.”

Blueprint owner Norris Marshall sees a generational aspect to LS sales as well.

“We could study a lot of human behavior, but I think people gravitate toward what the hot car was in their youth, so we sell a lot of small-block Chevrolet-variant engines to people who are well-heeled and can afford to scan their credit card and buy an engine and get their ’69–’70 Camaro or the like rebuilt,” Marshall said. “Certainly, if you look at social media and forums around the LS, it is a younger generation that has latched onto it.

“When I look at the people involved with the LS engines and the shops that have the notoriety, they’re guys that just specialize in LS engines. The run-of-the-mill guy who has been making his bread and butter off small- and big-block Chevys didn’t realize that there was some kid with a tuning program around the corner who became the LS expert and has graduated now into doing engines, having a dyno. It’s really been interesting for me to watch that, but it’s not only a different generation of customer; it’s a different generation of service provider.”

Meanwhile, Sterling has reservations about the theory that LS crate engines adversely affect the entire aftermarket parts chain.

“The parts are being sold with the engine, so I think they’re still being sold,” he said. “Instead of the engine builder buying the parts from various manufacturers and assembling the engine there, we’re buying the parts from the manufacturers and assembling the engines.”

As in any segment that is experiencing change, the powertrain marketplace is likely to see some ups and downs, some winners and some losers. Especially if sanctioning bodies continue to mandate crate engines, smaller, traditional engine builders may need to adjust to growing competition by cultivating a wider, more upscale base and providing superior customer service while broadening their engine-building repertoire.

SEMA News—April 2014

INDUSTRY NEWS

Fast Facts

Mike Boyte has been appointed manufacturing manager for MultiCam Inc.

He has more than 20 years of manufacturing and quality-control experience in industries related to factory automation. In addition, he is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and will continue to lead MultiCam’s efforts in lean manufacturing, which were implemented in 2012.

In his new position, Boyte will report to Tony McGrew, director of operations. MultiCam, Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX; 972-929-4070.

Through a newly announced partnership between Meyer Distributing Inc. and Vehicle Specialties Inc. (VSI), Meyer will use its logistical capabilities to bring enhanced service to VSI customers. The Hammond, Indiana, facility will remain in operation, continuing to work with its suppliers and customers and focusing on growth in the high-performance and racing parts industry. Meyer Distributing, Jasper, IN; 800-MEYERUSA. Vehicle Specialties, Hammond, IN; 219-845-4473.

Christopher Titus has rejoined Goodguys Gazette after a 12-year hiatus.

Titus will entertain readers with a brand-new, hilarious monthly column entitled, “From the Combustion Lounge,” beginning with the May 2014 issue. Since his last column in 2002, Titus has toured extensively, bringing his signature brand of satirical, dysfunctional comedy to fans worldwide.

His new stand-up show, “The Angry Pursuit of Happiness,” is currently touring America.

Piston Driven Manufacturing—the officially licensed manufacturer of Performance Racing Industry (PRI) apparel and related merchandise—announced the launch of PRI Gear online. PRI Gear offers a full line of racing- and vintage-inspired products. “It is our objective to develop quality, industry-inspired designs that not only relate to our industry, but are also comfortable and fun to wear,” said Tim Sousamian of Piston Driven. The full line of offerings is available at www.prigear.com. Piston Driven, Newport Beach, CA; 714-774-9444.

Mahle Aftermarket Inc. has announced that Mahle Service Solutions is now the official name for the company’s division specializing in the tool and equipment segment. Mahle RTI, formerly RTI Technologies, located in York, Pennsylvania, was purchased January 1, 2013, and is a key component of the new division. According to Max Dull, general manager for Mahle Service Solutions in North America, the Mahle RTI name will transition fully under the Mahle Service Solutions banner at AAPEX 2014. Dull also stated that the new division name will not affect the company’s brand names currently on the market, which include ArcticPRO A/C service equipment, NitroPRO nitrogen tire inflation systems and FluidPRO fluid exchange systems. Mahle, Farmington Hills, MI; 248-347-9700.

Innovative Creations Inc. announced that Kyle Dahlquist joined the company in August 2013 as a design engineer.

Dahlquist previously worked in sales at Desert Rat Off-Road Truck Centers. Prior to that, he worked for Pirelli Tires as a field engineer and has also worked in marketing for BFGoodrich and Michelin.

From a young age, Dahlquist was driven to work in the automotive industry. “I’ve been building cars since I could buy them,” said Dahlquist. “Fabrication and design are what I like to do.” Innovative Creations, Peoria, AZ; 623-486-2300.

MAVTV, owned and operated by Lucas Oil Products, has teamed with Brenton Productions to provide the latest trends in the automotive industry and the best in automotive “how-to” television programming. Brenton Productions’ “Two Guys Garage” TV programming begins airing June 6, 2014. All-new episodes of “Two Guys Garage” will air in the Friday night prime-time block of automotive programming on MAVTV and late mornings on Sundays. “We are very pleased and excited to partner with MAVTV to distribute our programming,” said Frank McGonagle, chairman of Brenton Productions. “Consistent air times are very important to our clients, and we will be able to provide that with our partners at MAV.” Brenton Productions, Swansea, MA; 800-572-7798.

ReadyLIFT Suspension Inc. announced that Vincent Pistonetti has joined the marketing team to further expand the marketing efforts of the ReadyLIFT street- and off-road product lines. Pistonetti has spent the past four years with K&N Engineering, where he was instrumental in coordinating marketing and advertising programs. Pistonetti is ready to design and implement new marketing and branding strategies across the full spectrum of advertising mediums for ReadyLIFT. ReadyLIFT Suspension, Henderson, NV; 800-549-4620.

Ben Wulf has been named president and CEO of Port-A-Cool LLC, a manufacturer of portable evaporative coolers and evaporative cooling media. He assumed the role from Bill Lloyd upon Lloyd’s retirement, effective January 2014. Wulf most recently served as vice president of marketing and international sales at Port-A-Cool. In that capacity, he was instrumental in identifying key markets to build the company’s global presence through its distributor partner networks in Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. Port-A-Cool, Center, TX; 936-598-5651.

The Coker Group opened its new 100,000-sq.-ft. West Coast distribution and wheel-manufacturing center in City of Industry, California. The company celebrated with a grand opening celebration in late January. The event was attended by local dignitaries, elected government officials, automotive celebrities and select media. The Coker Group’s new West Coast facility serves multiple purposes as a steel and wire-wheel manufacturing plant, tire warehouse and distribution center, allowing the company to easily assemble and ship products to customers in the western United States and around the world. Coker Tire, Chattanooga, TN; 800-251-6336.

Artonic, a web-design and online-marketing firm based in Tecumseh, Michigan, earned the 2013 Summit International Awards Marketing Effectiveness Award (MEA) for the company’s creation and construction of ididit Inc.’s website. According to ididit, Artonic used custom designs to mirror ididit’s detailed, award-winning hot-rod steering columns and accessories. The MEA-winning final product proved its effectiveness through the website’s analytics data. The data showed a 57% bounce-rate decrease, 110% increase in visit duration, 188% increase in pages viewed per visit and a 226% overall increase in page views. ididit, Tecumseh, MI; 517-424-0577.

Gantt-Thomas & Associates Inc.—a Midwest-based sales and marketing agency—has hired Denise Perkins as director of e-commerce development. In this newly formed position, Perkins will oversee processes and procedures that will maximize the company’s vendor partners’ impact with both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce customers. Perkins comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience within the industry. Most recently, she served on the Internet sales team for Lund Industries as e-commerce account manager. Perkins will be based in the Gantt-Thomas office in Lenexa, Kansas. Gantt-Thomas & Associates, Lenexa, KS; 913-438-7772.

A 30-second WeatherTech advertisement aired on Fox Network during the second quarter of Super Bowl XLVII. The purchase of the advertisement time was a sizable marketing investment for the automotive floor-mat manufacturer, according to WeatherTech, which is produced by MacNeil Automotive Products Ltd. The WeatherTech commercial, titled “You Can’t Do That,” is focused on the company’s commitment to American manufacturing and creating jobs in the United States. It was designed to evoke a strong reaction from viewers, according to the company. MacNeil Automotive Products Ltd., Bolingbrook, IL; 630-769-1500.

Trim Parts Holdings Corp. (TPH), parent company of Trim Parts Inc. and Parts Unlimited, has acquired the assets of First Place Auto Products of Canton, Ohio. “Mopar enthusiasts around the country are mourning the recent passing of Fritz Wurgler, founder of First Place Auto Products,” said Mitch Williams, CEO of Trim Parts Holdings. “We felt that the best way to honor his passion for Mopar products was to purchase the assets and continue with the First Place Auto brand.” More information is available through Jim Pennekamp at jpennekamp@trimparts.com. Parts Unlimited Inc., La Grange, KY; 800-342-0610. First Place Auto Products, Canton, OH; 330-493-1420.

Brembo Racing has announced that Race Technologies—Brembo’s partner for its high-performance, GT and sports-car businesses—will expand its role and will now handle all logistics and commercial account management for Brembo’s entire racing business. The Brembo Racing staff in North America will continue to be responsible for all engineering and technical support for the top racing market and will support new-product development directly with the Brembo Italy team. Together, Brembo and Race Technologies will add racing staff and improve inventory availability. The level of on-track and off-track support will be increased to meet both customer and market needs. All racing business will continue to be supported from the company’s Mooresville facility, where staffs from both Brembo North America and Race Technologies will be present. Brembo North America Inc., Plymouth, MI; 734-468-2100.

Avery Dennison has appointed Nick Tucci vice president and general manager of Reflective Solutions. In this role, Tucci will provide leadership and strategic vision for the global business, which develops and manufactures reflective material and technologies used worldwide. Tucci has more than 20 years of experience with Avery Dennison, including leadership positions in finance, product re-engineering and marketing. Most recently, Tucci served as vice president, procurement for the Americas. Avery Dennison, Painesville, OH; 440-358-3653.

David Crockett was promoted to vice president of aftermarket sales and operations for Rolling Big Power Inc. (RBP), part of the Lexani Companies family of brands. Crockett joined the Lexani Companies in 2009 and has served in many roles while continuing to expand his sales and account base. The move was made to recognize Crockett’s contributions to both Lexani and RBP during his tenure with the organization. Rolling Big Power, Corona, CA; 951-272-9090.

Champion Brands announced results from real-world field trials showing that the company’s formulated and blended SAE 5W-30 Performance Diesel Motor Oil reduces engine wear and corrosion, while maintaining viscometric properties. The company says test results indicate the new oil meets or exceeds the OEM diesel specifications for owners with Ford, International, Cummins, Dodge, Detroit Diesel, MACK, Caterpillar, Mercedes, Volvo, Chrysler, Daimler vehicles and others. In mileage testing, Champion says the SAE 5W-30 was found to deliver up to 4.5% fuel economy improvement over a conventional SAE 15W-40 API CJ-4 lubricant tested at an independent testing facility using the SAE J1321 fuel test protocol.

SEMA News—April 2014

INDUSTRY NEWS

Fast Facts

Mike Boyte has been appointed manufacturing manager for MultiCam Inc.

He has more than 20 years of manufacturing and quality-control experience in industries related to factory automation. In addition, he is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and will continue to lead MultiCam’s efforts in lean manufacturing, which were implemented in 2012.

In his new position, Boyte will report to Tony McGrew, director of operations. MultiCam, Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX; 972-929-4070.

Through a newly announced partnership between Meyer Distributing Inc. and Vehicle Specialties Inc. (VSI), Meyer will use its logistical capabilities to bring enhanced service to VSI customers. The Hammond, Indiana, facility will remain in operation, continuing to work with its suppliers and customers and focusing on growth in the high-performance and racing parts industry. Meyer Distributing, Jasper, IN; 800-MEYERUSA. Vehicle Specialties, Hammond, IN; 219-845-4473.

Christopher Titus has rejoined Goodguys Gazette after a 12-year hiatus.

Titus will entertain readers with a brand-new, hilarious monthly column entitled, “From the Combustion Lounge,” beginning with the May 2014 issue. Since his last column in 2002, Titus has toured extensively, bringing his signature brand of satirical, dysfunctional comedy to fans worldwide.

His new stand-up show, “The Angry Pursuit of Happiness,” is currently touring America.

Piston Driven Manufacturing—the officially licensed manufacturer of Performance Racing Industry (PRI) apparel and related merchandise—announced the launch of PRI Gear online. PRI Gear offers a full line of racing- and vintage-inspired products. “It is our objective to develop quality, industry-inspired designs that not only relate to our industry, but are also comfortable and fun to wear,” said Tim Sousamian of Piston Driven. The full line of offerings is available at www.prigear.com. Piston Driven, Newport Beach, CA; 714-774-9444.

Mahle Aftermarket Inc. has announced that Mahle Service Solutions is now the official name for the company’s division specializing in the tool and equipment segment. Mahle RTI, formerly RTI Technologies, located in York, Pennsylvania, was purchased January 1, 2013, and is a key component of the new division. According to Max Dull, general manager for Mahle Service Solutions in North America, the Mahle RTI name will transition fully under the Mahle Service Solutions banner at AAPEX 2014. Dull also stated that the new division name will not affect the company’s brand names currently on the market, which include ArcticPRO A/C service equipment, NitroPRO nitrogen tire inflation systems and FluidPRO fluid exchange systems. Mahle, Farmington Hills, MI; 248-347-9700.

Innovative Creations Inc. announced that Kyle Dahlquist joined the company in August 2013 as a design engineer.

Dahlquist previously worked in sales at Desert Rat Off-Road Truck Centers. Prior to that, he worked for Pirelli Tires as a field engineer and has also worked in marketing for BFGoodrich and Michelin.

From a young age, Dahlquist was driven to work in the automotive industry. “I’ve been building cars since I could buy them,” said Dahlquist. “Fabrication and design are what I like to do.” Innovative Creations, Peoria, AZ; 623-486-2300.

MAVTV, owned and operated by Lucas Oil Products, has teamed with Brenton Productions to provide the latest trends in the automotive industry and the best in automotive “how-to” television programming. Brenton Productions’ “Two Guys Garage” TV programming begins airing June 6, 2014. All-new episodes of “Two Guys Garage” will air in the Friday night prime-time block of automotive programming on MAVTV and late mornings on Sundays. “We are very pleased and excited to partner with MAVTV to distribute our programming,” said Frank McGonagle, chairman of Brenton Productions. “Consistent air times are very important to our clients, and we will be able to provide that with our partners at MAV.” Brenton Productions, Swansea, MA; 800-572-7798.

ReadyLIFT Suspension Inc. announced that Vincent Pistonetti has joined the marketing team to further expand the marketing efforts of the ReadyLIFT street- and off-road product lines. Pistonetti has spent the past four years with K&N Engineering, where he was instrumental in coordinating marketing and advertising programs. Pistonetti is ready to design and implement new marketing and branding strategies across the full spectrum of advertising mediums for ReadyLIFT. ReadyLIFT Suspension, Henderson, NV; 800-549-4620.

Ben Wulf has been named president and CEO of Port-A-Cool LLC, a manufacturer of portable evaporative coolers and evaporative cooling media. He assumed the role from Bill Lloyd upon Lloyd’s retirement, effective January 2014. Wulf most recently served as vice president of marketing and international sales at Port-A-Cool. In that capacity, he was instrumental in identifying key markets to build the company’s global presence through its distributor partner networks in Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. Port-A-Cool, Center, TX; 936-598-5651.

The Coker Group opened its new 100,000-sq.-ft. West Coast distribution and wheel-manufacturing center in City of Industry, California. The company celebrated with a grand opening celebration in late January. The event was attended by local dignitaries, elected government officials, automotive celebrities and select media. The Coker Group’s new West Coast facility serves multiple purposes as a steel and wire-wheel manufacturing plant, tire warehouse and distribution center, allowing the company to easily assemble and ship products to customers in the western United States and around the world. Coker Tire, Chattanooga, TN; 800-251-6336.

Artonic, a web-design and online-marketing firm based in Tecumseh, Michigan, earned the 2013 Summit International Awards Marketing Effectiveness Award (MEA) for the company’s creation and construction of ididit Inc.’s website. According to ididit, Artonic used custom designs to mirror ididit’s detailed, award-winning hot-rod steering columns and accessories. The MEA-winning final product proved its effectiveness through the website’s analytics data. The data showed a 57% bounce-rate decrease, 110% increase in visit duration, 188% increase in pages viewed per visit and a 226% overall increase in page views. ididit, Tecumseh, MI; 517-424-0577.

Gantt-Thomas & Associates Inc.—a Midwest-based sales and marketing agency—has hired Denise Perkins as director of e-commerce development. In this newly formed position, Perkins will oversee processes and procedures that will maximize the company’s vendor partners’ impact with both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce customers. Perkins comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience within the industry. Most recently, she served on the Internet sales team for Lund Industries as e-commerce account manager. Perkins will be based in the Gantt-Thomas office in Lenexa, Kansas. Gantt-Thomas & Associates, Lenexa, KS; 913-438-7772.

A 30-second WeatherTech advertisement aired on Fox Network during the second quarter of Super Bowl XLVII. The purchase of the advertisement time was a sizable marketing investment for the automotive floor-mat manufacturer, according to WeatherTech, which is produced by MacNeil Automotive Products Ltd. The WeatherTech commercial, titled “You Can’t Do That,” is focused on the company’s commitment to American manufacturing and creating jobs in the United States. It was designed to evoke a strong reaction from viewers, according to the company. MacNeil Automotive Products Ltd., Bolingbrook, IL; 630-769-1500.

Trim Parts Holdings Corp. (TPH), parent company of Trim Parts Inc. and Parts Unlimited, has acquired the assets of First Place Auto Products of Canton, Ohio. “Mopar enthusiasts around the country are mourning the recent passing of Fritz Wurgler, founder of First Place Auto Products,” said Mitch Williams, CEO of Trim Parts Holdings. “We felt that the best way to honor his passion for Mopar products was to purchase the assets and continue with the First Place Auto brand.” More information is available through Jim Pennekamp at jpennekamp@trimparts.com. Parts Unlimited Inc., La Grange, KY; 800-342-0610. First Place Auto Products, Canton, OH; 330-493-1420.

Brembo Racing has announced that Race Technologies—Brembo’s partner for its high-performance, GT and sports-car businesses—will expand its role and will now handle all logistics and commercial account management for Brembo’s entire racing business. The Brembo Racing staff in North America will continue to be responsible for all engineering and technical support for the top racing market and will support new-product development directly with the Brembo Italy team. Together, Brembo and Race Technologies will add racing staff and improve inventory availability. The level of on-track and off-track support will be increased to meet both customer and market needs. All racing business will continue to be supported from the company’s Mooresville facility, where staffs from both Brembo North America and Race Technologies will be present. Brembo North America Inc., Plymouth, MI; 734-468-2100.

Avery Dennison has appointed Nick Tucci vice president and general manager of Reflective Solutions. In this role, Tucci will provide leadership and strategic vision for the global business, which develops and manufactures reflective material and technologies used worldwide. Tucci has more than 20 years of experience with Avery Dennison, including leadership positions in finance, product re-engineering and marketing. Most recently, Tucci served as vice president, procurement for the Americas. Avery Dennison, Painesville, OH; 440-358-3653.

David Crockett was promoted to vice president of aftermarket sales and operations for Rolling Big Power Inc. (RBP), part of the Lexani Companies family of brands. Crockett joined the Lexani Companies in 2009 and has served in many roles while continuing to expand his sales and account base. The move was made to recognize Crockett’s contributions to both Lexani and RBP during his tenure with the organization. Rolling Big Power, Corona, CA; 951-272-9090.

Champion Brands announced results from real-world field trials showing that the company’s formulated and blended SAE 5W-30 Performance Diesel Motor Oil reduces engine wear and corrosion, while maintaining viscometric properties. The company says test results indicate the new oil meets or exceeds the OEM diesel specifications for owners with Ford, International, Cummins, Dodge, Detroit Diesel, MACK, Caterpillar, Mercedes, Volvo, Chrysler, Daimler vehicles and others. In mileage testing, Champion says the SAE 5W-30 was found to deliver up to 4.5% fuel economy improvement over a conventional SAE 15W-40 API CJ-4 lubricant tested at an independent testing facility using the SAE J1321 fuel test protocol.

SEMA News—April 2014

INDUSTRY NEWS

Fast Facts

Mike Boyte has been appointed manufacturing manager for MultiCam Inc.

He has more than 20 years of manufacturing and quality-control experience in industries related to factory automation. In addition, he is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and will continue to lead MultiCam’s efforts in lean manufacturing, which were implemented in 2012.

In his new position, Boyte will report to Tony McGrew, director of operations. MultiCam, Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX; 972-929-4070.

Through a newly announced partnership between Meyer Distributing Inc. and Vehicle Specialties Inc. (VSI), Meyer will use its logistical capabilities to bring enhanced service to VSI customers. The Hammond, Indiana, facility will remain in operation, continuing to work with its suppliers and customers and focusing on growth in the high-performance and racing parts industry. Meyer Distributing, Jasper, IN; 800-MEYERUSA. Vehicle Specialties, Hammond, IN; 219-845-4473.

Christopher Titus has rejoined Goodguys Gazette after a 12-year hiatus.

Titus will entertain readers with a brand-new, hilarious monthly column entitled, “From the Combustion Lounge,” beginning with the May 2014 issue. Since his last column in 2002, Titus has toured extensively, bringing his signature brand of satirical, dysfunctional comedy to fans worldwide.

His new stand-up show, “The Angry Pursuit of Happiness,” is currently touring America.

Piston Driven Manufacturing—the officially licensed manufacturer of Performance Racing Industry (PRI) apparel and related merchandise—announced the launch of PRI Gear online. PRI Gear offers a full line of racing- and vintage-inspired products. “It is our objective to develop quality, industry-inspired designs that not only relate to our industry, but are also comfortable and fun to wear,” said Tim Sousamian of Piston Driven. The full line of offerings is available at www.prigear.com. Piston Driven, Newport Beach, CA; 714-774-9444.

Mahle Aftermarket Inc. has announced that Mahle Service Solutions is now the official name for the company’s division specializing in the tool and equipment segment. Mahle RTI, formerly RTI Technologies, located in York, Pennsylvania, was purchased January 1, 2013, and is a key component of the new division. According to Max Dull, general manager for Mahle Service Solutions in North America, the Mahle RTI name will transition fully under the Mahle Service Solutions banner at AAPEX 2014. Dull also stated that the new division name will not affect the company’s brand names currently on the market, which include ArcticPRO A/C service equipment, NitroPRO nitrogen tire inflation systems and FluidPRO fluid exchange systems. Mahle, Farmington Hills, MI; 248-347-9700.

Innovative Creations Inc. announced that Kyle Dahlquist joined the company in August 2013 as a design engineer.

Dahlquist previously worked in sales at Desert Rat Off-Road Truck Centers. Prior to that, he worked for Pirelli Tires as a field engineer and has also worked in marketing for BFGoodrich and Michelin.

From a young age, Dahlquist was driven to work in the automotive industry. “I’ve been building cars since I could buy them,” said Dahlquist. “Fabrication and design are what I like to do.” Innovative Creations, Peoria, AZ; 623-486-2300.

MAVTV, owned and operated by Lucas Oil Products, has teamed with Brenton Productions to provide the latest trends in the automotive industry and the best in automotive “how-to” television programming. Brenton Productions’ “Two Guys Garage” TV programming begins airing June 6, 2014. All-new episodes of “Two Guys Garage” will air in the Friday night prime-time block of automotive programming on MAVTV and late mornings on Sundays. “We are very pleased and excited to partner with MAVTV to distribute our programming,” said Frank McGonagle, chairman of Brenton Productions. “Consistent air times are very important to our clients, and we will be able to provide that with our partners at MAV.” Brenton Productions, Swansea, MA; 800-572-7798.

ReadyLIFT Suspension Inc. announced that Vincent Pistonetti has joined the marketing team to further expand the marketing efforts of the ReadyLIFT street- and off-road product lines. Pistonetti has spent the past four years with K&N Engineering, where he was instrumental in coordinating marketing and advertising programs. Pistonetti is ready to design and implement new marketing and branding strategies across the full spectrum of advertising mediums for ReadyLIFT. ReadyLIFT Suspension, Henderson, NV; 800-549-4620.

Ben Wulf has been named president and CEO of Port-A-Cool LLC, a manufacturer of portable evaporative coolers and evaporative cooling media. He assumed the role from Bill Lloyd upon Lloyd’s retirement, effective January 2014. Wulf most recently served as vice president of marketing and international sales at Port-A-Cool. In that capacity, he was instrumental in identifying key markets to build the company’s global presence through its distributor partner networks in Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. Port-A-Cool, Center, TX; 936-598-5651.

The Coker Group opened its new 100,000-sq.-ft. West Coast distribution and wheel-manufacturing center in City of Industry, California. The company celebrated with a grand opening celebration in late January. The event was attended by local dignitaries, elected government officials, automotive celebrities and select media. The Coker Group’s new West Coast facility serves multiple purposes as a steel and wire-wheel manufacturing plant, tire warehouse and distribution center, allowing the company to easily assemble and ship products to customers in the western United States and around the world. Coker Tire, Chattanooga, TN; 800-251-6336.

Artonic, a web-design and online-marketing firm based in Tecumseh, Michigan, earned the 2013 Summit International Awards Marketing Effectiveness Award (MEA) for the company’s creation and construction of ididit Inc.’s website. According to ididit, Artonic used custom designs to mirror ididit’s detailed, award-winning hot-rod steering columns and accessories. The MEA-winning final product proved its effectiveness through the website’s analytics data. The data showed a 57% bounce-rate decrease, 110% increase in visit duration, 188% increase in pages viewed per visit and a 226% overall increase in page views. ididit, Tecumseh, MI; 517-424-0577.

Gantt-Thomas & Associates Inc.—a Midwest-based sales and marketing agency—has hired Denise Perkins as director of e-commerce development. In this newly formed position, Perkins will oversee processes and procedures that will maximize the company’s vendor partners’ impact with both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce customers. Perkins comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience within the industry. Most recently, she served on the Internet sales team for Lund Industries as e-commerce account manager. Perkins will be based in the Gantt-Thomas office in Lenexa, Kansas. Gantt-Thomas & Associates, Lenexa, KS; 913-438-7772.

A 30-second WeatherTech advertisement aired on Fox Network during the second quarter of Super Bowl XLVII. The purchase of the advertisement time was a sizable marketing investment for the automotive floor-mat manufacturer, according to WeatherTech, which is produced by MacNeil Automotive Products Ltd. The WeatherTech commercial, titled “You Can’t Do That,” is focused on the company’s commitment to American manufacturing and creating jobs in the United States. It was designed to evoke a strong reaction from viewers, according to the company. MacNeil Automotive Products Ltd., Bolingbrook, IL; 630-769-1500.

Trim Parts Holdings Corp. (TPH), parent company of Trim Parts Inc. and Parts Unlimited, has acquired the assets of First Place Auto Products of Canton, Ohio. “Mopar enthusiasts around the country are mourning the recent passing of Fritz Wurgler, founder of First Place Auto Products,” said Mitch Williams, CEO of Trim Parts Holdings. “We felt that the best way to honor his passion for Mopar products was to purchase the assets and continue with the First Place Auto brand.” More information is available through Jim Pennekamp at jpennekamp@trimparts.com. Parts Unlimited Inc., La Grange, KY; 800-342-0610. First Place Auto Products, Canton, OH; 330-493-1420.

Brembo Racing has announced that Race Technologies—Brembo’s partner for its high-performance, GT and sports-car businesses—will expand its role and will now handle all logistics and commercial account management for Brembo’s entire racing business. The Brembo Racing staff in North America will continue to be responsible for all engineering and technical support for the top racing market and will support new-product development directly with the Brembo Italy team. Together, Brembo and Race Technologies will add racing staff and improve inventory availability. The level of on-track and off-track support will be increased to meet both customer and market needs. All racing business will continue to be supported from the company’s Mooresville facility, where staffs from both Brembo North America and Race Technologies will be present. Brembo North America Inc., Plymouth, MI; 734-468-2100.

Avery Dennison has appointed Nick Tucci vice president and general manager of Reflective Solutions. In this role, Tucci will provide leadership and strategic vision for the global business, which develops and manufactures reflective material and technologies used worldwide. Tucci has more than 20 years of experience with Avery Dennison, including leadership positions in finance, product re-engineering and marketing. Most recently, Tucci served as vice president, procurement for the Americas. Avery Dennison, Painesville, OH; 440-358-3653.

David Crockett was promoted to vice president of aftermarket sales and operations for Rolling Big Power Inc. (RBP), part of the Lexani Companies family of brands. Crockett joined the Lexani Companies in 2009 and has served in many roles while continuing to expand his sales and account base. The move was made to recognize Crockett’s contributions to both Lexani and RBP during his tenure with the organization. Rolling Big Power, Corona, CA; 951-272-9090.

Champion Brands announced results from real-world field trials showing that the company’s formulated and blended SAE 5W-30 Performance Diesel Motor Oil reduces engine wear and corrosion, while maintaining viscometric properties. The company says test results indicate the new oil meets or exceeds the OEM diesel specifications for owners with Ford, International, Cummins, Dodge, Detroit Diesel, MACK, Caterpillar, Mercedes, Volvo, Chrysler, Daimler vehicles and others. In mileage testing, Champion says the SAE 5W-30 was found to deliver up to 4.5% fuel economy improvement over a conventional SAE 15W-40 API CJ-4 lubricant tested at an independent testing facility using the SAE J1321 fuel test protocol.

SEMA News—April 2014

INDUSTRY NEWS

Fast Facts

Mike Boyte has been appointed manufacturing manager for MultiCam Inc.

He has more than 20 years of manufacturing and quality-control experience in industries related to factory automation. In addition, he is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and will continue to lead MultiCam’s efforts in lean manufacturing, which were implemented in 2012.

In his new position, Boyte will report to Tony McGrew, director of operations. MultiCam, Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX; 972-929-4070.

Through a newly announced partnership between Meyer Distributing Inc. and Vehicle Specialties Inc. (VSI), Meyer will use its logistical capabilities to bring enhanced service to VSI customers. The Hammond, Indiana, facility will remain in operation, continuing to work with its suppliers and customers and focusing on growth in the high-performance and racing parts industry. Meyer Distributing, Jasper, IN; 800-MEYERUSA. Vehicle Specialties, Hammond, IN; 219-845-4473.

Christopher Titus has rejoined Goodguys Gazette after a 12-year hiatus.

Titus will entertain readers with a brand-new, hilarious monthly column entitled, “From the Combustion Lounge,” beginning with the May 2014 issue. Since his last column in 2002, Titus has toured extensively, bringing his signature brand of satirical, dysfunctional comedy to fans worldwide.

His new stand-up show, “The Angry Pursuit of Happiness,” is currently touring America.

Piston Driven Manufacturing—the officially licensed manufacturer of Performance Racing Industry (PRI) apparel and related merchandise—announced the launch of PRI Gear online. PRI Gear offers a full line of racing- and vintage-inspired products. “It is our objective to develop quality, industry-inspired designs that not only relate to our industry, but are also comfortable and fun to wear,” said Tim Sousamian of Piston Driven. The full line of offerings is available at www.prigear.com. Piston Driven, Newport Beach, CA; 714-774-9444.

Mahle Aftermarket Inc. has announced that Mahle Service Solutions is now the official name for the company’s division specializing in the tool and equipment segment. Mahle RTI, formerly RTI Technologies, located in York, Pennsylvania, was purchased January 1, 2013, and is a key component of the new division. According to Max Dull, general manager for Mahle Service Solutions in North America, the Mahle RTI name will transition fully under the Mahle Service Solutions banner at AAPEX 2014. Dull also stated that the new division name will not affect the company’s brand names currently on the market, which include ArcticPRO A/C service equipment, NitroPRO nitrogen tire inflation systems and FluidPRO fluid exchange systems. Mahle, Farmington Hills, MI; 248-347-9700.

Innovative Creations Inc. announced that Kyle Dahlquist joined the company in August 2013 as a design engineer.

Dahlquist previously worked in sales at Desert Rat Off-Road Truck Centers. Prior to that, he worked for Pirelli Tires as a field engineer and has also worked in marketing for BFGoodrich and Michelin.

From a young age, Dahlquist was driven to work in the automotive industry. “I’ve been building cars since I could buy them,” said Dahlquist. “Fabrication and design are what I like to do.” Innovative Creations, Peoria, AZ; 623-486-2300.

MAVTV, owned and operated by Lucas Oil Products, has teamed with Brenton Productions to provide the latest trends in the automotive industry and the best in automotive “how-to” television programming. Brenton Productions’ “Two Guys Garage” TV programming begins airing June 6, 2014. All-new episodes of “Two Guys Garage” will air in the Friday night prime-time block of automotive programming on MAVTV and late mornings on Sundays. “We are very pleased and excited to partner with MAVTV to distribute our programming,” said Frank McGonagle, chairman of Brenton Productions. “Consistent air times are very important to our clients, and we will be able to provide that with our partners at MAV.” Brenton Productions, Swansea, MA; 800-572-7798.

ReadyLIFT Suspension Inc. announced that Vincent Pistonetti has joined the marketing team to further expand the marketing efforts of the ReadyLIFT street- and off-road product lines. Pistonetti has spent the past four years with K&N Engineering, where he was instrumental in coordinating marketing and advertising programs. Pistonetti is ready to design and implement new marketing and branding strategies across the full spectrum of advertising mediums for ReadyLIFT. ReadyLIFT Suspension, Henderson, NV; 800-549-4620.

Ben Wulf has been named president and CEO of Port-A-Cool LLC, a manufacturer of portable evaporative coolers and evaporative cooling media. He assumed the role from Bill Lloyd upon Lloyd’s retirement, effective January 2014. Wulf most recently served as vice president of marketing and international sales at Port-A-Cool. In that capacity, he was instrumental in identifying key markets to build the company’s global presence through its distributor partner networks in Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. Port-A-Cool, Center, TX; 936-598-5651.

The Coker Group opened its new 100,000-sq.-ft. West Coast distribution and wheel-manufacturing center in City of Industry, California. The company celebrated with a grand opening celebration in late January. The event was attended by local dignitaries, elected government officials, automotive celebrities and select media. The Coker Group’s new West Coast facility serves multiple purposes as a steel and wire-wheel manufacturing plant, tire warehouse and distribution center, allowing the company to easily assemble and ship products to customers in the western United States and around the world. Coker Tire, Chattanooga, TN; 800-251-6336.

Artonic, a web-design and online-marketing firm based in Tecumseh, Michigan, earned the 2013 Summit International Awards Marketing Effectiveness Award (MEA) for the company’s creation and construction of ididit Inc.’s website. According to ididit, Artonic used custom designs to mirror ididit’s detailed, award-winning hot-rod steering columns and accessories. The MEA-winning final product proved its effectiveness through the website’s analytics data. The data showed a 57% bounce-rate decrease, 110% increase in visit duration, 188% increase in pages viewed per visit and a 226% overall increase in page views. ididit, Tecumseh, MI; 517-424-0577.

Gantt-Thomas & Associates Inc.—a Midwest-based sales and marketing agency—has hired Denise Perkins as director of e-commerce development. In this newly formed position, Perkins will oversee processes and procedures that will maximize the company’s vendor partners’ impact with both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce customers. Perkins comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience within the industry. Most recently, she served on the Internet sales team for Lund Industries as e-commerce account manager. Perkins will be based in the Gantt-Thomas office in Lenexa, Kansas. Gantt-Thomas & Associates, Lenexa, KS; 913-438-7772.

A 30-second WeatherTech advertisement aired on Fox Network during the second quarter of Super Bowl XLVII. The purchase of the advertisement time was a sizable marketing investment for the automotive floor-mat manufacturer, according to WeatherTech, which is produced by MacNeil Automotive Products Ltd. The WeatherTech commercial, titled “You Can’t Do That,” is focused on the company’s commitment to American manufacturing and creating jobs in the United States. It was designed to evoke a strong reaction from viewers, according to the company. MacNeil Automotive Products Ltd., Bolingbrook, IL; 630-769-1500.

Trim Parts Holdings Corp. (TPH), parent company of Trim Parts Inc. and Parts Unlimited, has acquired the assets of First Place Auto Products of Canton, Ohio. “Mopar enthusiasts around the country are mourning the recent passing of Fritz Wurgler, founder of First Place Auto Products,” said Mitch Williams, CEO of Trim Parts Holdings. “We felt that the best way to honor his passion for Mopar products was to purchase the assets and continue with the First Place Auto brand.” More information is available through Jim Pennekamp at jpennekamp@trimparts.com. Parts Unlimited Inc., La Grange, KY; 800-342-0610. First Place Auto Products, Canton, OH; 330-493-1420.

Brembo Racing has announced that Race Technologies—Brembo’s partner for its high-performance, GT and sports-car businesses—will expand its role and will now handle all logistics and commercial account management for Brembo’s entire racing business. The Brembo Racing staff in North America will continue to be responsible for all engineering and technical support for the top racing market and will support new-product development directly with the Brembo Italy team. Together, Brembo and Race Technologies will add racing staff and improve inventory availability. The level of on-track and off-track support will be increased to meet both customer and market needs. All racing business will continue to be supported from the company’s Mooresville facility, where staffs from both Brembo North America and Race Technologies will be present. Brembo North America Inc., Plymouth, MI; 734-468-2100.

Avery Dennison has appointed Nick Tucci vice president and general manager of Reflective Solutions. In this role, Tucci will provide leadership and strategic vision for the global business, which develops and manufactures reflective material and technologies used worldwide. Tucci has more than 20 years of experience with Avery Dennison, including leadership positions in finance, product re-engineering and marketing. Most recently, Tucci served as vice president, procurement for the Americas. Avery Dennison, Painesville, OH; 440-358-3653.

David Crockett was promoted to vice president of aftermarket sales and operations for Rolling Big Power Inc. (RBP), part of the Lexani Companies family of brands. Crockett joined the Lexani Companies in 2009 and has served in many roles while continuing to expand his sales and account base. The move was made to recognize Crockett’s contributions to both Lexani and RBP during his tenure with the organization. Rolling Big Power, Corona, CA; 951-272-9090.

Champion Brands announced results from real-world field trials showing that the company’s formulated and blended SAE 5W-30 Performance Diesel Motor Oil reduces engine wear and corrosion, while maintaining viscometric properties. The company says test results indicate the new oil meets or exceeds the OEM diesel specifications for owners with Ford, International, Cummins, Dodge, Detroit Diesel, MACK, Caterpillar, Mercedes, Volvo, Chrysler, Daimler vehicles and others. In mileage testing, Champion says the SAE 5W-30 was found to deliver up to 4.5% fuel economy improvement over a conventional SAE 15W-40 API CJ-4 lubricant tested at an independent testing facility using the SAE J1321 fuel test protocol.

SEMA News—April 2014

INDUSTRY NEWS

Fast Facts

Mike Boyte has been appointed manufacturing manager for MultiCam Inc.

He has more than 20 years of manufacturing and quality-control experience in industries related to factory automation. In addition, he is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and will continue to lead MultiCam’s efforts in lean manufacturing, which were implemented in 2012.

In his new position, Boyte will report to Tony McGrew, director of operations. MultiCam, Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX; 972-929-4070.

Through a newly announced partnership between Meyer Distributing Inc. and Vehicle Specialties Inc. (VSI), Meyer will use its logistical capabilities to bring enhanced service to VSI customers. The Hammond, Indiana, facility will remain in operation, continuing to work with its suppliers and customers and focusing on growth in the high-performance and racing parts industry. Meyer Distributing, Jasper, IN; 800-MEYERUSA. Vehicle Specialties, Hammond, IN; 219-845-4473.

Christopher Titus has rejoined Goodguys Gazette after a 12-year hiatus.

Titus will entertain readers with a brand-new, hilarious monthly column entitled, “From the Combustion Lounge,” beginning with the May 2014 issue. Since his last column in 2002, Titus has toured extensively, bringing his signature brand of satirical, dysfunctional comedy to fans worldwide.

His new stand-up show, “The Angry Pursuit of Happiness,” is currently touring America.

Piston Driven Manufacturing—the officially licensed manufacturer of Performance Racing Industry (PRI) apparel and related merchandise—announced the launch of PRI Gear online. PRI Gear offers a full line of racing- and vintage-inspired products. “It is our objective to develop quality, industry-inspired designs that not only relate to our industry, but are also comfortable and fun to wear,” said Tim Sousamian of Piston Driven. The full line of offerings is available at www.prigear.com. Piston Driven, Newport Beach, CA; 714-774-9444.

Mahle Aftermarket Inc. has announced that Mahle Service Solutions is now the official name for the company’s division specializing in the tool and equipment segment. Mahle RTI, formerly RTI Technologies, located in York, Pennsylvania, was purchased January 1, 2013, and is a key component of the new division. According to Max Dull, general manager for Mahle Service Solutions in North America, the Mahle RTI name will transition fully under the Mahle Service Solutions banner at AAPEX 2014. Dull also stated that the new division name will not affect the company’s brand names currently on the market, which include ArcticPRO A/C service equipment, NitroPRO nitrogen tire inflation systems and FluidPRO fluid exchange systems. Mahle, Farmington Hills, MI; 248-347-9700.

Innovative Creations Inc. announced that Kyle Dahlquist joined the company in August 2013 as a design engineer.

Dahlquist previously worked in sales at Desert Rat Off-Road Truck Centers. Prior to that, he worked for Pirelli Tires as a field engineer and has also worked in marketing for BFGoodrich and Michelin.

From a young age, Dahlquist was driven to work in the automotive industry. “I’ve been building cars since I could buy them,” said Dahlquist. “Fabrication and design are what I like to do.” Innovative Creations, Peoria, AZ; 623-486-2300.

MAVTV, owned and operated by Lucas Oil Products, has teamed with Brenton Productions to provide the latest trends in the automotive industry and the best in automotive “how-to” television programming. Brenton Productions’ “Two Guys Garage” TV programming begins airing June 6, 2014. All-new episodes of “Two Guys Garage” will air in the Friday night prime-time block of automotive programming on MAVTV and late mornings on Sundays. “We are very pleased and excited to partner with MAVTV to distribute our programming,” said Frank McGonagle, chairman of Brenton Productions. “Consistent air times are very important to our clients, and we will be able to provide that with our partners at MAV.” Brenton Productions, Swansea, MA; 800-572-7798.

ReadyLIFT Suspension Inc. announced that Vincent Pistonetti has joined the marketing team to further expand the marketing efforts of the ReadyLIFT street- and off-road product lines. Pistonetti has spent the past four years with K&N Engineering, where he was instrumental in coordinating marketing and advertising programs. Pistonetti is ready to design and implement new marketing and branding strategies across the full spectrum of advertising mediums for ReadyLIFT. ReadyLIFT Suspension, Henderson, NV; 800-549-4620.

Ben Wulf has been named president and CEO of Port-A-Cool LLC, a manufacturer of portable evaporative coolers and evaporative cooling media. He assumed the role from Bill Lloyd upon Lloyd’s retirement, effective January 2014. Wulf most recently served as vice president of marketing and international sales at Port-A-Cool. In that capacity, he was instrumental in identifying key markets to build the company’s global presence through its distributor partner networks in Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. Port-A-Cool, Center, TX; 936-598-5651.

The Coker Group opened its new 100,000-sq.-ft. West Coast distribution and wheel-manufacturing center in City of Industry, California. The company celebrated with a grand opening celebration in late January. The event was attended by local dignitaries, elected government officials, automotive celebrities and select media. The Coker Group’s new West Coast facility serves multiple purposes as a steel and wire-wheel manufacturing plant, tire warehouse and distribution center, allowing the company to easily assemble and ship products to customers in the western United States and around the world. Coker Tire, Chattanooga, TN; 800-251-6336.

Artonic, a web-design and online-marketing firm based in Tecumseh, Michigan, earned the 2013 Summit International Awards Marketing Effectiveness Award (MEA) for the company’s creation and construction of ididit Inc.’s website. According to ididit, Artonic used custom designs to mirror ididit’s detailed, award-winning hot-rod steering columns and accessories. The MEA-winning final product proved its effectiveness through the website’s analytics data. The data showed a 57% bounce-rate decrease, 110% increase in visit duration, 188% increase in pages viewed per visit and a 226% overall increase in page views. ididit, Tecumseh, MI; 517-424-0577.

Gantt-Thomas & Associates Inc.—a Midwest-based sales and marketing agency—has hired Denise Perkins as director of e-commerce development. In this newly formed position, Perkins will oversee processes and procedures that will maximize the company’s vendor partners’ impact with both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce customers. Perkins comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience within the industry. Most recently, she served on the Internet sales team for Lund Industries as e-commerce account manager. Perkins will be based in the Gantt-Thomas office in Lenexa, Kansas. Gantt-Thomas & Associates, Lenexa, KS; 913-438-7772.

A 30-second WeatherTech advertisement aired on Fox Network during the second quarter of Super Bowl XLVII. The purchase of the advertisement time was a sizable marketing investment for the automotive floor-mat manufacturer, according to WeatherTech, which is produced by MacNeil Automotive Products Ltd. The WeatherTech commercial, titled “You Can’t Do That,” is focused on the company’s commitment to American manufacturing and creating jobs in the United States. It was designed to evoke a strong reaction from viewers, according to the company. MacNeil Automotive Products Ltd., Bolingbrook, IL; 630-769-1500.

Trim Parts Holdings Corp. (TPH), parent company of Trim Parts Inc. and Parts Unlimited, has acquired the assets of First Place Auto Products of Canton, Ohio. “Mopar enthusiasts around the country are mourning the recent passing of Fritz Wurgler, founder of First Place Auto Products,” said Mitch Williams, CEO of Trim Parts Holdings. “We felt that the best way to honor his passion for Mopar products was to purchase the assets and continue with the First Place Auto brand.” More information is available through Jim Pennekamp at jpennekamp@trimparts.com. Parts Unlimited Inc., La Grange, KY; 800-342-0610. First Place Auto Products, Canton, OH; 330-493-1420.

Brembo Racing has announced that Race Technologies—Brembo’s partner for its high-performance, GT and sports-car businesses—will expand its role and will now handle all logistics and commercial account management for Brembo’s entire racing business. The Brembo Racing staff in North America will continue to be responsible for all engineering and technical support for the top racing market and will support new-product development directly with the Brembo Italy team. Together, Brembo and Race Technologies will add racing staff and improve inventory availability. The level of on-track and off-track support will be increased to meet both customer and market needs. All racing business will continue to be supported from the company’s Mooresville facility, where staffs from both Brembo North America and Race Technologies will be present. Brembo North America Inc., Plymouth, MI; 734-468-2100.

Avery Dennison has appointed Nick Tucci vice president and general manager of Reflective Solutions. In this role, Tucci will provide leadership and strategic vision for the global business, which develops and manufactures reflective material and technologies used worldwide. Tucci has more than 20 years of experience with Avery Dennison, including leadership positions in finance, product re-engineering and marketing. Most recently, Tucci served as vice president, procurement for the Americas. Avery Dennison, Painesville, OH; 440-358-3653.

David Crockett was promoted to vice president of aftermarket sales and operations for Rolling Big Power Inc. (RBP), part of the Lexani Companies family of brands. Crockett joined the Lexani Companies in 2009 and has served in many roles while continuing to expand his sales and account base. The move was made to recognize Crockett’s contributions to both Lexani and RBP during his tenure with the organization. Rolling Big Power, Corona, CA; 951-272-9090.

Champion Brands announced results from real-world field trials showing that the company’s formulated and blended SAE 5W-30 Performance Diesel Motor Oil reduces engine wear and corrosion, while maintaining viscometric properties. The company says test results indicate the new oil meets or exceeds the OEM diesel specifications for owners with Ford, International, Cummins, Dodge, Detroit Diesel, MACK, Caterpillar, Mercedes, Volvo, Chrysler, Daimler vehicles and others. In mileage testing, Champion says the SAE 5W-30 was found to deliver up to 4.5% fuel economy improvement over a conventional SAE 15W-40 API CJ-4 lubricant tested at an independent testing facility using the SAE J1321 fuel test protocol.

SEMA News—April 2014

INDUSTRY NEWS

Fast Facts

Mike Boyte has been appointed manufacturing manager for MultiCam Inc.

He has more than 20 years of manufacturing and quality-control experience in industries related to factory automation. In addition, he is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and will continue to lead MultiCam’s efforts in lean manufacturing, which were implemented in 2012.

In his new position, Boyte will report to Tony McGrew, director of operations. MultiCam, Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX; 972-929-4070.

Through a newly announced partnership between Meyer Distributing Inc. and Vehicle Specialties Inc. (VSI), Meyer will use its logistical capabilities to bring enhanced service to VSI customers. The Hammond, Indiana, facility will remain in operation, continuing to work with its suppliers and customers and focusing on growth in the high-performance and racing parts industry. Meyer Distributing, Jasper, IN; 800-MEYERUSA. Vehicle Specialties, Hammond, IN; 219-845-4473.

Christopher Titus has rejoined Goodguys Gazette after a 12-year hiatus.

Titus will entertain readers with a brand-new, hilarious monthly column entitled, “From the Combustion Lounge,” beginning with the May 2014 issue. Since his last column in 2002, Titus has toured extensively, bringing his signature brand of satirical, dysfunctional comedy to fans worldwide.

His new stand-up show, “The Angry Pursuit of Happiness,” is currently touring America.

Piston Driven Manufacturing—the officially licensed manufacturer of Performance Racing Industry (PRI) apparel and related merchandise—announced the launch of PRI Gear online. PRI Gear offers a full line of racing- and vintage-inspired products. “It is our objective to develop quality, industry-inspired designs that not only relate to our industry, but are also comfortable and fun to wear,” said Tim Sousamian of Piston Driven. The full line of offerings is available at www.prigear.com. Piston Driven, Newport Beach, CA; 714-774-9444.

Mahle Aftermarket Inc. has announced that Mahle Service Solutions is now the official name for the company’s division specializing in the tool and equipment segment. Mahle RTI, formerly RTI Technologies, located in York, Pennsylvania, was purchased January 1, 2013, and is a key component of the new division. According to Max Dull, general manager for Mahle Service Solutions in North America, the Mahle RTI name will transition fully under the Mahle Service Solutions banner at AAPEX 2014. Dull also stated that the new division name will not affect the company’s brand names currently on the market, which include ArcticPRO A/C service equipment, NitroPRO nitrogen tire inflation systems and FluidPRO fluid exchange systems. Mahle, Farmington Hills, MI; 248-347-9700.

Innovative Creations Inc. announced that Kyle Dahlquist joined the company in August 2013 as a design engineer.

Dahlquist previously worked in sales at Desert Rat Off-Road Truck Centers. Prior to that, he worked for Pirelli Tires as a field engineer and has also worked in marketing for BFGoodrich and Michelin.

From a young age, Dahlquist was driven to work in the automotive industry. “I’ve been building cars since I could buy them,” said Dahlquist. “Fabrication and design are what I like to do.” Innovative Creations, Peoria, AZ; 623-486-2300.

MAVTV, owned and operated by Lucas Oil Products, has teamed with Brenton Productions to provide the latest trends in the automotive industry and the best in automotive “how-to” television programming. Brenton Productions’ “Two Guys Garage” TV programming begins airing June 6, 2014. All-new episodes of “Two Guys Garage” will air in the Friday night prime-time block of automotive programming on MAVTV and late mornings on Sundays. “We are very pleased and excited to partner with MAVTV to distribute our programming,” said Frank McGonagle, chairman of Brenton Productions. “Consistent air times are very important to our clients, and we will be able to provide that with our partners at MAV.” Brenton Productions, Swansea, MA; 800-572-7798.

ReadyLIFT Suspension Inc. announced that Vincent Pistonetti has joined the marketing team to further expand the marketing efforts of the ReadyLIFT street- and off-road product lines. Pistonetti has spent the past four years with K&N Engineering, where he was instrumental in coordinating marketing and advertising programs. Pistonetti is ready to design and implement new marketing and branding strategies across the full spectrum of advertising mediums for ReadyLIFT. ReadyLIFT Suspension, Henderson, NV; 800-549-4620.

Ben Wulf has been named president and CEO of Port-A-Cool LLC, a manufacturer of portable evaporative coolers and evaporative cooling media. He assumed the role from Bill Lloyd upon Lloyd’s retirement, effective January 2014. Wulf most recently served as vice president of marketing and international sales at Port-A-Cool. In that capacity, he was instrumental in identifying key markets to build the company’s global presence through its distributor partner networks in Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. Port-A-Cool, Center, TX; 936-598-5651.

The Coker Group opened its new 100,000-sq.-ft. West Coast distribution and wheel-manufacturing center in City of Industry, California. The company celebrated with a grand opening celebration in late January. The event was attended by local dignitaries, elected government officials, automotive celebrities and select media. The Coker Group’s new West Coast facility serves multiple purposes as a steel and wire-wheel manufacturing plant, tire warehouse and distribution center, allowing the company to easily assemble and ship products to customers in the western United States and around the world. Coker Tire, Chattanooga, TN; 800-251-6336.

Artonic, a web-design and online-marketing firm based in Tecumseh, Michigan, earned the 2013 Summit International Awards Marketing Effectiveness Award (MEA) for the company’s creation and construction of ididit Inc.’s website. According to ididit, Artonic used custom designs to mirror ididit’s detailed, award-winning hot-rod steering columns and accessories. The MEA-winning final product proved its effectiveness through the website’s analytics data. The data showed a 57% bounce-rate decrease, 110% increase in visit duration, 188% increase in pages viewed per visit and a 226% overall increase in page views. ididit, Tecumseh, MI; 517-424-0577.

Gantt-Thomas & Associates Inc.—a Midwest-based sales and marketing agency—has hired Denise Perkins as director of e-commerce development. In this newly formed position, Perkins will oversee processes and procedures that will maximize the company’s vendor partners’ impact with both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce customers. Perkins comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience within the industry. Most recently, she served on the Internet sales team for Lund Industries as e-commerce account manager. Perkins will be based in the Gantt-Thomas office in Lenexa, Kansas. Gantt-Thomas & Associates, Lenexa, KS; 913-438-7772.

A 30-second WeatherTech advertisement aired on Fox Network during the second quarter of Super Bowl XLVII. The purchase of the advertisement time was a sizable marketing investment for the automotive floor-mat manufacturer, according to WeatherTech, which is produced by MacNeil Automotive Products Ltd. The WeatherTech commercial, titled “You Can’t Do That,” is focused on the company’s commitment to American manufacturing and creating jobs in the United States. It was designed to evoke a strong reaction from viewers, according to the company. MacNeil Automotive Products Ltd., Bolingbrook, IL; 630-769-1500.

Trim Parts Holdings Corp. (TPH), parent company of Trim Parts Inc. and Parts Unlimited, has acquired the assets of First Place Auto Products of Canton, Ohio. “Mopar enthusiasts around the country are mourning the recent passing of Fritz Wurgler, founder of First Place Auto Products,” said Mitch Williams, CEO of Trim Parts Holdings. “We felt that the best way to honor his passion for Mopar products was to purchase the assets and continue with the First Place Auto brand.” More information is available through Jim Pennekamp at jpennekamp@trimparts.com. Parts Unlimited Inc., La Grange, KY; 800-342-0610. First Place Auto Products, Canton, OH; 330-493-1420.

Brembo Racing has announced that Race Technologies—Brembo’s partner for its high-performance, GT and sports-car businesses—will expand its role and will now handle all logistics and commercial account management for Brembo’s entire racing business. The Brembo Racing staff in North America will continue to be responsible for all engineering and technical support for the top racing market and will support new-product development directly with the Brembo Italy team. Together, Brembo and Race Technologies will add racing staff and improve inventory availability. The level of on-track and off-track support will be increased to meet both customer and market needs. All racing business will continue to be supported from the company’s Mooresville facility, where staffs from both Brembo North America and Race Technologies will be present. Brembo North America Inc., Plymouth, MI; 734-468-2100.

Avery Dennison has appointed Nick Tucci vice president and general manager of Reflective Solutions. In this role, Tucci will provide leadership and strategic vision for the global business, which develops and manufactures reflective material and technologies used worldwide. Tucci has more than 20 years of experience with Avery Dennison, including leadership positions in finance, product re-engineering and marketing. Most recently, Tucci served as vice president, procurement for the Americas. Avery Dennison, Painesville, OH; 440-358-3653.

David Crockett was promoted to vice president of aftermarket sales and operations for Rolling Big Power Inc. (RBP), part of the Lexani Companies family of brands. Crockett joined the Lexani Companies in 2009 and has served in many roles while continuing to expand his sales and account base. The move was made to recognize Crockett’s contributions to both Lexani and RBP during his tenure with the organization. Rolling Big Power, Corona, CA; 951-272-9090.

Champion Brands announced results from real-world field trials showing that the company’s formulated and blended SAE 5W-30 Performance Diesel Motor Oil reduces engine wear and corrosion, while maintaining viscometric properties. The company says test results indicate the new oil meets or exceeds the OEM diesel specifications for owners with Ford, International, Cummins, Dodge, Detroit Diesel, MACK, Caterpillar, Mercedes, Volvo, Chrysler, Daimler vehicles and others. In mileage testing, Champion says the SAE 5W-30 was found to deliver up to 4.5% fuel economy improvement over a conventional SAE 15W-40 API CJ-4 lubricant tested at an independent testing facility using the SAE J1321 fuel test protocol.

SEMA News—April 2014

VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY
By John Waraniak

Silicon Valley Versus Motor City: Race for the Future of the Car

SEMA’s Vice President of Vehicle Technology on the State of Advanced Vehicle Technology and What’s to Come

The race to define future vehicles is on. Competition for the future of the auto industry is rapidly evolving between Silicon Valley and Detroit. While product is king, vehicle electronics and software rule. The recession accelerated the auto industry’s transformational changes, which are required for growth as well as the reinvention of vehicles—from mechanical to electrical systems, from stand-alone to connected, and from mass markets to personalization and customization. The changes we are going through today will impact the performance aftermarket industry for decades to come.

It’s appropriate to recognize here how important engineering is to the automobile industry today. Engineering touches every aspect of the vehicle, from design to development to manufacturing. Contemporary leaders with engineering backgrounds such as Mary Barra and Mark Reuss at GM and Raj Nair at Ford are determined to make the most of the latest automotive engineering renaissance. This is a very exciting time to be in the automotive and performance aftermarket business. It’s what Japanese engineers call Waku-Doki—heart pumping, racing adrenaline feeling of anticipation.

Driving Connected

Connected vehicles are the ultimate mobile devices in the Internet of Things, a term that refers to the idea of equipping all objects in the world with identifying devices. Connected cars are the hottest models on dealer lots, and connected vehicle technologies are the top selling point for 39% of car buyers today—which is more than twice the 14% who say that their first considerations are performance and speed. The connected-car market will reach $53 billion in less than five years; that creates many new and exciting opportunities for current and future SEMA companies. Twenty percent of cars in the United States will have app capabilities by 2017, and the global connected-car market is expected to reach 60 million vehicles by 2018.

The race between Motor City and Silicon Valley engineers to define the future of automotive is not a zero-sum game. Writing code for a social media website or building a smartphone is not as complex as building a car. But as the two industries grow intertwined, their disparate innovation, research-and-development processes and cultures are creating functional tension and conflict. The race is more of a collaborative or collective effort to jointly challenge Motor City’s insular, conventional automotive wisdom with non-traditional thinking and business models that Silicon Valley is noted for.

Going It Alone Is a No Go

Automakers, technology and aftermarket companies need to partner so that consumers can seamlessly and safely bring their digital lifestyles into vehicles. Detroit automakers Ford and GM are taking different paths to Silicon Valley for innovation and technology; however, they are both opening their doors to app developers and have figured out that going it alone is a no go. Rather than trying to write their own in-car software, they’re turning to the experts—software engineers who already write hundreds of thousands of mobile apps and software for smartphones and tablets. Software is fast becoming a major competitive differentiator and is as important to automakers as design and styling.

Ford’s recent buyout of Livio—a small software start-up in Ferndale, Michigan, that connects the apps on your smartphone to your car’s dashboard—is an example of Ford’s commitment to connectivity. The deal with Livio marks Ford’s first acquisition of a technology company in 13 years and extends its leadership in the race to provide drivers with safe, seamless access to the electronic content and digital lifestyles they want while in their vehicles. The acquisition will focus on developing an industry standard for smartphone-to-vehicle communications—a market that is expected to reach 21 million vehicles by 2018.

The revenue potential is enormous, but the problem is that every automaker wants its own branded solution to help differentiate its connected-vehicle experience. That makes it tough for small app developers and SEMA companies to play in the automotive apps market. A single, common vehicle interface standard would let developers write software faster and more efficiently, providing customers with the apps they want to use more quickly. Livio software is already compatible with several commonly used apps and works with all major smartphone devices.

There, we will introduce members to Ford’s OpenXC platform to create apps and new business opportunities. OpenXC is a combination of open-source hardware and software that allows for custom applications and pluggable modules. Revenue opportunities from connected-vehicle devices that transmit data from the car will grow to $25 billion by 2025, up from about $2.5 billion today.

Although automakers are taking different paths to speed innovation and technology in their vehicles, it’s clear that aftermarket and non-endemic players outside the traditional auto industry will help drive success as advanced vehicle technologies are deployed. Most GM vehicles will offer 4G LTE mobile Internet service through OnStar and AT&T by next year. Jim Farley, Ford’s head of global marketing, recognizes that partnerships are becoming increasingly important and says that we are at a “tipping point.” He realizes that auto and tech companies must collaborate more closely to enable the next-generation consumer experience in vehicles.

Driving Safe

Self-driving cars (SDCs) will fill our roads by 2030. Much of the driverless-vehicle technologies are already here, so it’s no longer a question of whether SDCs will be built but how soon and how many can we expect. Nearly every major OEM is working on self-driving technologies, and many of today’s vehicles already have automated and semi-autonomous driving systems such as lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control and automatic braking.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has defined five levels of vehicle automation: Level-0 is no automation; the driver is in complete control at all times. Level-1 is function-specific automation like today’s electronic stability control systems. Level-2 is combined function-specific automation such as adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance, which are also available on many vehicles today. Level-4 is semi-autonomous—limited self-driving automation that takes control of the vehicle only in safety-critical situations. And Level-5 is full self-driving automation or piloted driving, where the driver can do other things while the vehicle is driving.

Crash Avoidance Trumps Crashworthiness

The NHTSA also recently announced that it will begin taking steps to enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology for light vehicles. This technology would improve safety by allowing vehicles to talk to each other and avoid crashes by exchanging basic safety data such as speed and position 10 times per second. Car-to-X technologies could reshape how Americans drive. The bottom line is that “crash avoidance trumps crashworthiness.”

We demonstrated these aftermarket devices in the Vehicle Technology Center over the past few years and outlined the aftermarket opportunities for SEMA members to retrofit the 250 million vehicles already on the road. Nine of the top 10 auto manufacturers exhibited their latest automated and driverless concept vehicles at CES this year. Most importantly for SEMA companies, current driverless-car legislation has a provision that allows retrofitting of cars less than four years old with autonomous vehicle technology. If Google gets its costs down and sells aftermarket devices to consumers, self-driving cars could be on the road within five years—without input from automakers.

SEMA’s Product Development Expo on April 10 is an opportunity for members to learn about connected vehicles and how to compete and win as advanced vehicle technologies, product-development tools and automotive applications are deployed. This June, SEMA members are also invited to participate in Ford’s Developer Conference in Dearborn, Michigan. It will focus on bringing innovative mobile apps into the car through Ford SYNC and AppLink.

Driving Green

While many alternative-energy vehicles and powertrains are available to buyers today, 85% of cars and light vehicles will still be powered by traditional internal-combustion engines over the next 10 years, compared to 97% of vehicles today. Natural gas and flex-fuel vehicles will account for 6.5% of the market by 2025, hybrids will make up 6%, battery-electric vehicles will account for 3% and hydrogen fuel cells 0.5%. Internal-combustion engines will continue to dominate; however, today’s big improvements in fuel efficiency and green performance are coming from downsizing engine displacement coupled with hybridization, start-stop technology and advanced powertrain technologies.

Gas direct injection along with turbo- and supercharging have made significant improvements in fuel efficiency and green performance. Turbocharged vehicles allow automakers to keep power output high while they downsize engines for better fuel economy. But much of the fuel-efficiency gains are lost when drivers stomp the gas pedal and enjoy the turbo’s high performance. Turbos will reach about 25% of the new-vehicle market in North America over the next three years, which leaves plenty of opportunities for diesel, hybrid and electric powertrains in the coming years.

Ford has been the most aggressive with turbocharging. About 80% of its North American nameplates are available with an optional EcoBoost engine, which combines a turbocharger with direct fuel injection and other technologies. Ford’s turbocharged 3.5L V6 EcoBoost engine shattered the top speed at Daytona with a record 222 miles per hour—the fastest car ever to lap the legendary raceway.

Racing Technology Transfer

Supercapacitors will soon make their way into the SEMA performance aftermarket. Supercapacitors and ultracapacitors bridge the gap between conventional capacitors and rechargeable batteries. While their energy densities are 10% of conventional batteries, which limits their energy storage capability, their power density is generally 10 to 100 times greater. Toyota is racing ahead with supercapacitors and other racetrack technologies with exciting street and aftermarket performance applications. The supercapacitor system used in the Toyota LMP1 race car recharges quickly during short periods of intense braking, and the energy that’s saved is used for bursts of power.

Toyota uses a supercapacitor-based hybrid system that automatically delivers 300 hp of boost on top of the 530 hp generated by a 3.4L, normally aspirated V8, giving a peak power of 830 hp—comparable to the output of a current F1 car.

Supercapacitors are start-stop technology on steroids. Kinetic energy produced by braking is converted into electrical energy in the same way a dynamo light works on a bicycle rubbing against a tire and is stored in a supercapacitor. When the driver accelerates, the electric energy is automatically released back to the driveshaft for added power. Supercapacitors have an advantage over other hybrid-battery systems because they charge quickly and can deliver a high level of energy from a single application of the brakes.

Driving Cool

Developing connected vehicles and advanced technologies is a critical way for automakers and aftermarket companies to attract younger buyers by being relevant and cool. Many 18- to 34-year-olds are not disinterested in cars. Research shows them to be as emotionally attached to their vehicles as their smartphones. Successful automakers and aftermarket companies will find innovative ways to safely mesh the two.

Every few years a product or technology comes along that creates new markets and business opportunities. A few years ago, it was the tablet. Before that, it was the smartphone. And before that, it was the MP3 player. This time, it’s a car—the Tesla Model S.

Tesla is no ordinary vehicle. The Model S has a high-resolution digital display that puts the car’s speed, range, audio controls and trip information in front of you with clear, crisp color. The 17-in. touchscreen morphs into whatever is needed at the moment, whether it’s directions or the controls to adjust the sunroof. You can even reach deep into the vehicle’s systems to fine-tune the way the car drives or uses energy. Tesla’s Model S is only one example of the cool stuff that’s already on the road thanks to new automotive players, such as NVIDIA.

Connectivity greatly influences customer satisfaction and sales. When it comes to new-car purchase decisions, two in three car owners between 18 and 35 years of age say that their vehicle’s technology has some or a great deal of influence on the next car they will purchase.

Mobile Youth

You can’t fake true cool. The focus of connected cars is not on the technology but the connection. The younger you are, the more you get it. Smartphones are emotionally empowering not because of the productivity but because they connect people. Cars are social by design. Put that connectivity in the car, and you bring back the love of the automotive lifestyle and experience. For millennials and mobile youth, it’s all about the social connection that the technology enables. It’s the same for aftermarket companies competing in connected vehicle markets.

Many Millennials—those born between the early ’80s and the early ’00s—are becoming new-vehicle buying age and are the fastest-growing demographic in the retail industry. So much so, in fact, that Gen-Y comprised more than 23% of retail sales in 2013.

This is the generation born online and raised on technology. Companies such as Apple and Oakley built their brands on the youth market. Youth markets and spending are good indictors of growth and are your best influencers and fans. They spend about 36% of their disposable income on mobile products and services and are the first to drive premium markets—48% of 18- to 23-year-olds own premium Samsung or Apple phones.

Millennials also have no “e-fear.” They are more willing to share information with marketers online, especially if they get something in return.

Leading original equipment manufacturers as well as performance specialty-equipment companies are negotiating a delicate balance between short-term profitability, medium-term growth and long-term sustainability.

Automobiles will remain the cornerstone of advanced mobility for decades to come; however, the vehicle, the industry and the ecosystem we operate in are all rapidly evolving. The future belongs to those SEMA companies that prepare for it today.

Partnerships and collaborations between Motor City and Silicon Valley engineers as well as OEM and performance specialty-equipment companies are critical to success. No one is rich enough or smart enough to go it alone. Some of the best Super Bowl XLVIII commercials offered important ideas and takeaways for SEMA members by featuring cars and trucks built by Detroit original equipment manufacturers and what they represent—American pride and resilience.

SEMA News—April 2014

VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY
By John Waraniak

Silicon Valley Versus Motor City: Race for the Future of the Car

SEMA’s Vice President of Vehicle Technology on the State of Advanced Vehicle Technology and What’s to Come

The race to define future vehicles is on. Competition for the future of the auto industry is rapidly evolving between Silicon Valley and Detroit. While product is king, vehicle electronics and software rule. The recession accelerated the auto industry’s transformational changes, which are required for growth as well as the reinvention of vehicles—from mechanical to electrical systems, from stand-alone to connected, and from mass markets to personalization and customization. The changes we are going through today will impact the performance aftermarket industry for decades to come.

It’s appropriate to recognize here how important engineering is to the automobile industry today. Engineering touches every aspect of the vehicle, from design to development to manufacturing. Contemporary leaders with engineering backgrounds such as Mary Barra and Mark Reuss at GM and Raj Nair at Ford are determined to make the most of the latest automotive engineering renaissance. This is a very exciting time to be in the automotive and performance aftermarket business. It’s what Japanese engineers call Waku-Doki—heart pumping, racing adrenaline feeling of anticipation.

Driving Connected

Connected vehicles are the ultimate mobile devices in the Internet of Things, a term that refers to the idea of equipping all objects in the world with identifying devices. Connected cars are the hottest models on dealer lots, and connected vehicle technologies are the top selling point for 39% of car buyers today—which is more than twice the 14% who say that their first considerations are performance and speed. The connected-car market will reach $53 billion in less than five years; that creates many new and exciting opportunities for current and future SEMA companies. Twenty percent of cars in the United States will have app capabilities by 2017, and the global connected-car market is expected to reach 60 million vehicles by 2018.

The race between Motor City and Silicon Valley engineers to define the future of automotive is not a zero-sum game. Writing code for a social media website or building a smartphone is not as complex as building a car. But as the two industries grow intertwined, their disparate innovation, research-and-development processes and cultures are creating functional tension and conflict. The race is more of a collaborative or collective effort to jointly challenge Motor City’s insular, conventional automotive wisdom with non-traditional thinking and business models that Silicon Valley is noted for.

Going It Alone Is a No Go

Automakers, technology and aftermarket companies need to partner so that consumers can seamlessly and safely bring their digital lifestyles into vehicles. Detroit automakers Ford and GM are taking different paths to Silicon Valley for innovation and technology; however, they are both opening their doors to app developers and have figured out that going it alone is a no go. Rather than trying to write their own in-car software, they’re turning to the experts—software engineers who already write hundreds of thousands of mobile apps and software for smartphones and tablets. Software is fast becoming a major competitive differentiator and is as important to automakers as design and styling.

Ford’s recent buyout of Livio—a small software start-up in Ferndale, Michigan, that connects the apps on your smartphone to your car’s dashboard—is an example of Ford’s commitment to connectivity. The deal with Livio marks Ford’s first acquisition of a technology company in 13 years and extends its leadership in the race to provide drivers with safe, seamless access to the electronic content and digital lifestyles they want while in their vehicles. The acquisition will focus on developing an industry standard for smartphone-to-vehicle communications—a market that is expected to reach 21 million vehicles by 2018.

The revenue potential is enormous, but the problem is that every automaker wants its own branded solution to help differentiate its connected-vehicle experience. That makes it tough for small app developers and SEMA companies to play in the automotive apps market. A single, common vehicle interface standard would let developers write software faster and more efficiently, providing customers with the apps they want to use more quickly. Livio software is already compatible with several commonly used apps and works with all major smartphone devices.

There, we will introduce members to Ford’s OpenXC platform to create apps and new business opportunities. OpenXC is a combination of open-source hardware and software that allows for custom applications and pluggable modules. Revenue opportunities from connected-vehicle devices that transmit data from the car will grow to $25 billion by 2025, up from about $2.5 billion today.

Although automakers are taking different paths to speed innovation and technology in their vehicles, it’s clear that aftermarket and non-endemic players outside the traditional auto industry will help drive success as advanced vehicle technologies are deployed. Most GM vehicles will offer 4G LTE mobile Internet service through OnStar and AT&T by next year. Jim Farley, Ford’s head of global marketing, recognizes that partnerships are becoming increasingly important and says that we are at a “tipping point.” He realizes that auto and tech companies must collaborate more closely to enable the next-generation consumer experience in vehicles.

Driving Safe

Self-driving cars (SDCs) will fill our roads by 2030. Much of the driverless-vehicle technologies are already here, so it’s no longer a question of whether SDCs will be built but how soon and how many can we expect. Nearly every major OEM is working on self-driving technologies, and many of today’s vehicles already have automated and semi-autonomous driving systems such as lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control and automatic braking.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has defined five levels of vehicle automation: Level-0 is no automation; the driver is in complete control at all times. Level-1 is function-specific automation like today’s electronic stability control systems. Level-2 is combined function-specific automation such as adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance, which are also available on many vehicles today. Level-4 is semi-autonomous—limited self-driving automation that takes control of the vehicle only in safety-critical situations. And Level-5 is full self-driving automation or piloted driving, where the driver can do other things while the vehicle is driving.

Crash Avoidance Trumps Crashworthiness

The NHTSA also recently announced that it will begin taking steps to enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology for light vehicles. This technology would improve safety by allowing vehicles to talk to each other and avoid crashes by exchanging basic safety data such as speed and position 10 times per second. Car-to-X technologies could reshape how Americans drive. The bottom line is that “crash avoidance trumps crashworthiness.”

We demonstrated these aftermarket devices in the Vehicle Technology Center over the past few years and outlined the aftermarket opportunities for SEMA members to retrofit the 250 million vehicles already on the road. Nine of the top 10 auto manufacturers exhibited their latest automated and driverless concept vehicles at CES this year. Most importantly for SEMA companies, current driverless-car legislation has a provision that allows retrofitting of cars less than four years old with autonomous vehicle technology. If Google gets its costs down and sells aftermarket devices to consumers, self-driving cars could be on the road within five years—without input from automakers.

SEMA’s Product Development Expo on April 10 is an opportunity for members to learn about connected vehicles and how to compete and win as advanced vehicle technologies, product-development tools and automotive applications are deployed. This June, SEMA members are also invited to participate in Ford’s Developer Conference in Dearborn, Michigan. It will focus on bringing innovative mobile apps into the car through Ford SYNC and AppLink.

Driving Green

While many alternative-energy vehicles and powertrains are available to buyers today, 85% of cars and light vehicles will still be powered by traditional internal-combustion engines over the next 10 years, compared to 97% of vehicles today. Natural gas and flex-fuel vehicles will account for 6.5% of the market by 2025, hybrids will make up 6%, battery-electric vehicles will account for 3% and hydrogen fuel cells 0.5%. Internal-combustion engines will continue to dominate; however, today’s big improvements in fuel efficiency and green performance are coming from downsizing engine displacement coupled with hybridization, start-stop technology and advanced powertrain technologies.

Gas direct injection along with turbo- and supercharging have made significant improvements in fuel efficiency and green performance. Turbocharged vehicles allow automakers to keep power output high while they downsize engines for better fuel economy. But much of the fuel-efficiency gains are lost when drivers stomp the gas pedal and enjoy the turbo’s high performance. Turbos will reach about 25% of the new-vehicle market in North America over the next three years, which leaves plenty of opportunities for diesel, hybrid and electric powertrains in the coming years.

Ford has been the most aggressive with turbocharging. About 80% of its North American nameplates are available with an optional EcoBoost engine, which combines a turbocharger with direct fuel injection and other technologies. Ford’s turbocharged 3.5L V6 EcoBoost engine shattered the top speed at Daytona with a record 222 miles per hour—the fastest car ever to lap the legendary raceway.

Racing Technology Transfer

Supercapacitors will soon make their way into the SEMA performance aftermarket. Supercapacitors and ultracapacitors bridge the gap between conventional capacitors and rechargeable batteries. While their energy densities are 10% of conventional batteries, which limits their energy storage capability, their power density is generally 10 to 100 times greater. Toyota is racing ahead with supercapacitors and other racetrack technologies with exciting street and aftermarket performance applications. The supercapacitor system used in the Toyota LMP1 race car recharges quickly during short periods of intense braking, and the energy that’s saved is used for bursts of power.

Toyota uses a supercapacitor-based hybrid system that automatically delivers 300 hp of boost on top of the 530 hp generated by a 3.4L, normally aspirated V8, giving a peak power of 830 hp—comparable to the output of a current F1 car.

Supercapacitors are start-stop technology on steroids. Kinetic energy produced by braking is converted into electrical energy in the same way a dynamo light works on a bicycle rubbing against a tire and is stored in a supercapacitor. When the driver accelerates, the electric energy is automatically released back to the driveshaft for added power. Supercapacitors have an advantage over other hybrid-battery systems because they charge quickly and can deliver a high level of energy from a single application of the brakes.

Driving Cool

Developing connected vehicles and advanced technologies is a critical way for automakers and aftermarket companies to attract younger buyers by being relevant and cool. Many 18- to 34-year-olds are not disinterested in cars. Research shows them to be as emotionally attached to their vehicles as their smartphones. Successful automakers and aftermarket companies will find innovative ways to safely mesh the two.

Every few years a product or technology comes along that creates new markets and business opportunities. A few years ago, it was the tablet. Before that, it was the smartphone. And before that, it was the MP3 player. This time, it’s a car—the Tesla Model S.

Tesla is no ordinary vehicle. The Model S has a high-resolution digital display that puts the car’s speed, range, audio controls and trip information in front of you with clear, crisp color. The 17-in. touchscreen morphs into whatever is needed at the moment, whether it’s directions or the controls to adjust the sunroof. You can even reach deep into the vehicle’s systems to fine-tune the way the car drives or uses energy. Tesla’s Model S is only one example of the cool stuff that’s already on the road thanks to new automotive players, such as NVIDIA.

Connectivity greatly influences customer satisfaction and sales. When it comes to new-car purchase decisions, two in three car owners between 18 and 35 years of age say that their vehicle’s technology has some or a great deal of influence on the next car they will purchase.

Mobile Youth

You can’t fake true cool. The focus of connected cars is not on the technology but the connection. The younger you are, the more you get it. Smartphones are emotionally empowering not because of the productivity but because they connect people. Cars are social by design. Put that connectivity in the car, and you bring back the love of the automotive lifestyle and experience. For millennials and mobile youth, it’s all about the social connection that the technology enables. It’s the same for aftermarket companies competing in connected vehicle markets.

Many Millennials—those born between the early ’80s and the early ’00s—are becoming new-vehicle buying age and are the fastest-growing demographic in the retail industry. So much so, in fact, that Gen-Y comprised more than 23% of retail sales in 2013.

This is the generation born online and raised on technology. Companies such as Apple and Oakley built their brands on the youth market. Youth markets and spending are good indictors of growth and are your best influencers and fans. They spend about 36% of their disposable income on mobile products and services and are the first to drive premium markets—48% of 18- to 23-year-olds own premium Samsung or Apple phones.

Millennials also have no “e-fear.” They are more willing to share information with marketers online, especially if they get something in return.

Leading original equipment manufacturers as well as performance specialty-equipment companies are negotiating a delicate balance between short-term profitability, medium-term growth and long-term sustainability.

Automobiles will remain the cornerstone of advanced mobility for decades to come; however, the vehicle, the industry and the ecosystem we operate in are all rapidly evolving. The future belongs to those SEMA companies that prepare for it today.

Partnerships and collaborations between Motor City and Silicon Valley engineers as well as OEM and performance specialty-equipment companies are critical to success. No one is rich enough or smart enough to go it alone. Some of the best Super Bowl XLVIII commercials offered important ideas and takeaways for SEMA members by featuring cars and trucks built by Detroit original equipment manufacturers and what they represent—American pride and resilience.

SEMA News—April 2014

VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY
By John Waraniak

Silicon Valley Versus Motor City: Race for the Future of the Car

SEMA’s Vice President of Vehicle Technology on the State of Advanced Vehicle Technology and What’s to Come

The race to define future vehicles is on. Competition for the future of the auto industry is rapidly evolving between Silicon Valley and Detroit. While product is king, vehicle electronics and software rule. The recession accelerated the auto industry’s transformational changes, which are required for growth as well as the reinvention of vehicles—from mechanical to electrical systems, from stand-alone to connected, and from mass markets to personalization and customization. The changes we are going through today will impact the performance aftermarket industry for decades to come.

It’s appropriate to recognize here how important engineering is to the automobile industry today. Engineering touches every aspect of the vehicle, from design to development to manufacturing. Contemporary leaders with engineering backgrounds such as Mary Barra and Mark Reuss at GM and Raj Nair at Ford are determined to make the most of the latest automotive engineering renaissance. This is a very exciting time to be in the automotive and performance aftermarket business. It’s what Japanese engineers call Waku-Doki—heart pumping, racing adrenaline feeling of anticipation.

Driving Connected

Connected vehicles are the ultimate mobile devices in the Internet of Things, a term that refers to the idea of equipping all objects in the world with identifying devices. Connected cars are the hottest models on dealer lots, and connected vehicle technologies are the top selling point for 39% of car buyers today—which is more than twice the 14% who say that their first considerations are performance and speed. The connected-car market will reach $53 billion in less than five years; that creates many new and exciting opportunities for current and future SEMA companies. Twenty percent of cars in the United States will have app capabilities by 2017, and the global connected-car market is expected to reach 60 million vehicles by 2018.

The race between Motor City and Silicon Valley engineers to define the future of automotive is not a zero-sum game. Writing code for a social media website or building a smartphone is not as complex as building a car. But as the two industries grow intertwined, their disparate innovation, research-and-development processes and cultures are creating functional tension and conflict. The race is more of a collaborative or collective effort to jointly challenge Motor City’s insular, conventional automotive wisdom with non-traditional thinking and business models that Silicon Valley is noted for.

Going It Alone Is a No Go

Automakers, technology and aftermarket companies need to partner so that consumers can seamlessly and safely bring their digital lifestyles into vehicles. Detroit automakers Ford and GM are taking different paths to Silicon Valley for innovation and technology; however, they are both opening their doors to app developers and have figured out that going it alone is a no go. Rather than trying to write their own in-car software, they’re turning to the experts—software engineers who already write hundreds of thousands of mobile apps and software for smartphones and tablets. Software is fast becoming a major competitive differentiator and is as important to automakers as design and styling.

Ford’s recent buyout of Livio—a small software start-up in Ferndale, Michigan, that connects the apps on your smartphone to your car’s dashboard—is an example of Ford’s commitment to connectivity. The deal with Livio marks Ford’s first acquisition of a technology company in 13 years and extends its leadership in the race to provide drivers with safe, seamless access to the electronic content and digital lifestyles they want while in their vehicles. The acquisition will focus on developing an industry standard for smartphone-to-vehicle communications—a market that is expected to reach 21 million vehicles by 2018.

The revenue potential is enormous, but the problem is that every automaker wants its own branded solution to help differentiate its connected-vehicle experience. That makes it tough for small app developers and SEMA companies to play in the automotive apps market. A single, common vehicle interface standard would let developers write software faster and more efficiently, providing customers with the apps they want to use more quickly. Livio software is already compatible with several commonly used apps and works with all major smartphone devices.

There, we will introduce members to Ford’s OpenXC platform to create apps and new business opportunities. OpenXC is a combination of open-source hardware and software that allows for custom applications and pluggable modules. Revenue opportunities from connected-vehicle devices that transmit data from the car will grow to $25 billion by 2025, up from about $2.5 billion today.

Although automakers are taking different paths to speed innovation and technology in their vehicles, it’s clear that aftermarket and non-endemic players outside the traditional auto industry will help drive success as advanced vehicle technologies are deployed. Most GM vehicles will offer 4G LTE mobile Internet service through OnStar and AT&T by next year. Jim Farley, Ford’s head of global marketing, recognizes that partnerships are becoming increasingly important and says that we are at a “tipping point.” He realizes that auto and tech companies must collaborate more closely to enable the next-generation consumer experience in vehicles.

Driving Safe

Self-driving cars (SDCs) will fill our roads by 2030. Much of the driverless-vehicle technologies are already here, so it’s no longer a question of whether SDCs will be built but how soon and how many can we expect. Nearly every major OEM is working on self-driving technologies, and many of today’s vehicles already have automated and semi-autonomous driving systems such as lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control and automatic braking.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has defined five levels of vehicle automation: Level-0 is no automation; the driver is in complete control at all times. Level-1 is function-specific automation like today’s electronic stability control systems. Level-2 is combined function-specific automation such as adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance, which are also available on many vehicles today. Level-4 is semi-autonomous—limited self-driving automation that takes control of the vehicle only in safety-critical situations. And Level-5 is full self-driving automation or piloted driving, where the driver can do other things while the vehicle is driving.

Crash Avoidance Trumps Crashworthiness

The NHTSA also recently announced that it will begin taking steps to enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology for light vehicles. This technology would improve safety by allowing vehicles to talk to each other and avoid crashes by exchanging basic safety data such as speed and position 10 times per second. Car-to-X technologies could reshape how Americans drive. The bottom line is that “crash avoidance trumps crashworthiness.”

We demonstrated these aftermarket devices in the Vehicle Technology Center over the past few years and outlined the aftermarket opportunities for SEMA members to retrofit the 250 million vehicles already on the road. Nine of the top 10 auto manufacturers exhibited their latest automated and driverless concept vehicles at CES this year. Most importantly for SEMA companies, current driverless-car legislation has a provision that allows retrofitting of cars less than four years old with autonomous vehicle technology. If Google gets its costs down and sells aftermarket devices to consumers, self-driving cars could be on the road within five years—without input from automakers.

SEMA’s Product Development Expo on April 10 is an opportunity for members to learn about connected vehicles and how to compete and win as advanced vehicle technologies, product-development tools and automotive applications are deployed. This June, SEMA members are also invited to participate in Ford’s Developer Conference in Dearborn, Michigan. It will focus on bringing innovative mobile apps into the car through Ford SYNC and AppLink.

Driving Green

While many alternative-energy vehicles and powertrains are available to buyers today, 85% of cars and light vehicles will still be powered by traditional internal-combustion engines over the next 10 years, compared to 97% of vehicles today. Natural gas and flex-fuel vehicles will account for 6.5% of the market by 2025, hybrids will make up 6%, battery-electric vehicles will account for 3% and hydrogen fuel cells 0.5%. Internal-combustion engines will continue to dominate; however, today’s big improvements in fuel efficiency and green performance are coming from downsizing engine displacement coupled with hybridization, start-stop technology and advanced powertrain technologies.

Gas direct injection along with turbo- and supercharging have made significant improvements in fuel efficiency and green performance. Turbocharged vehicles allow automakers to keep power output high while they downsize engines for better fuel economy. But much of the fuel-efficiency gains are lost when drivers stomp the gas pedal and enjoy the turbo’s high performance. Turbos will reach about 25% of the new-vehicle market in North America over the next three years, which leaves plenty of opportunities for diesel, hybrid and electric powertrains in the coming years.

Ford has been the most aggressive with turbocharging. About 80% of its North American nameplates are available with an optional EcoBoost engine, which combines a turbocharger with direct fuel injection and other technologies. Ford’s turbocharged 3.5L V6 EcoBoost engine shattered the top speed at Daytona with a record 222 miles per hour—the fastest car ever to lap the legendary raceway.

Racing Technology Transfer

Supercapacitors will soon make their way into the SEMA performance aftermarket. Supercapacitors and ultracapacitors bridge the gap between conventional capacitors and rechargeable batteries. While their energy densities are 10% of conventional batteries, which limits their energy storage capability, their power density is generally 10 to 100 times greater. Toyota is racing ahead with supercapacitors and other racetrack technologies with exciting street and aftermarket performance applications. The supercapacitor system used in the Toyota LMP1 race car recharges quickly during short periods of intense braking, and the energy that’s saved is used for bursts of power.

Toyota uses a supercapacitor-based hybrid system that automatically delivers 300 hp of boost on top of the 530 hp generated by a 3.4L, normally aspirated V8, giving a peak power of 830 hp—comparable to the output of a current F1 car.

Supercapacitors are start-stop technology on steroids. Kinetic energy produced by braking is converted into electrical energy in the same way a dynamo light works on a bicycle rubbing against a tire and is stored in a supercapacitor. When the driver accelerates, the electric energy is automatically released back to the driveshaft for added power. Supercapacitors have an advantage over other hybrid-battery systems because they charge quickly and can deliver a high level of energy from a single application of the brakes.

Driving Cool

Developing connected vehicles and advanced technologies is a critical way for automakers and aftermarket companies to attract younger buyers by being relevant and cool. Many 18- to 34-year-olds are not disinterested in cars. Research shows them to be as emotionally attached to their vehicles as their smartphones. Successful automakers and aftermarket companies will find innovative ways to safely mesh the two.

Every few years a product or technology comes along that creates new markets and business opportunities. A few years ago, it was the tablet. Before that, it was the smartphone. And before that, it was the MP3 player. This time, it’s a car—the Tesla Model S.

Tesla is no ordinary vehicle. The Model S has a high-resolution digital display that puts the car’s speed, range, audio controls and trip information in front of you with clear, crisp color. The 17-in. touchscreen morphs into whatever is needed at the moment, whether it’s directions or the controls to adjust the sunroof. You can even reach deep into the vehicle’s systems to fine-tune the way the car drives or uses energy. Tesla’s Model S is only one example of the cool stuff that’s already on the road thanks to new automotive players, such as NVIDIA.

Connectivity greatly influences customer satisfaction and sales. When it comes to new-car purchase decisions, two in three car owners between 18 and 35 years of age say that their vehicle’s technology has some or a great deal of influence on the next car they will purchase.

Mobile Youth

You can’t fake true cool. The focus of connected cars is not on the technology but the connection. The younger you are, the more you get it. Smartphones are emotionally empowering not because of the productivity but because they connect people. Cars are social by design. Put that connectivity in the car, and you bring back the love of the automotive lifestyle and experience. For millennials and mobile youth, it’s all about the social connection that the technology enables. It’s the same for aftermarket companies competing in connected vehicle markets.

Many Millennials—those born between the early ’80s and the early ’00s—are becoming new-vehicle buying age and are the fastest-growing demographic in the retail industry. So much so, in fact, that Gen-Y comprised more than 23% of retail sales in 2013.

This is the generation born online and raised on technology. Companies such as Apple and Oakley built their brands on the youth market. Youth markets and spending are good indictors of growth and are your best influencers and fans. They spend about 36% of their disposable income on mobile products and services and are the first to drive premium markets—48% of 18- to 23-year-olds own premium Samsung or Apple phones.

Millennials also have no “e-fear.” They are more willing to share information with marketers online, especially if they get something in return.

Leading original equipment manufacturers as well as performance specialty-equipment companies are negotiating a delicate balance between short-term profitability, medium-term growth and long-term sustainability.

Automobiles will remain the cornerstone of advanced mobility for decades to come; however, the vehicle, the industry and the ecosystem we operate in are all rapidly evolving. The future belongs to those SEMA companies that prepare for it today.

Partnerships and collaborations between Motor City and Silicon Valley engineers as well as OEM and performance specialty-equipment companies are critical to success. No one is rich enough or smart enough to go it alone. Some of the best Super Bowl XLVIII commercials offered important ideas and takeaways for SEMA members by featuring cars and trucks built by Detroit original equipment manufacturers and what they represent—American pride and resilience.