News | Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA)

Sun, 01/01/2023 - 19:25

SEMA News—January 2023

LEGISLATIVE AND TECHNICAL AFFAIRS

Law and Order

By Daniel Ingber

FEDERAL UPDATE

RPM Act: At the time of publication, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee are negotiating on the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act (RPM Act) for potential consideration at the end of the 2021–2022 session of Congress. RPM Act updates will be forthcoming in the next issue. The RPM Act is bipartisan, pro-motorsports, pro-business legislation that clarifies it is legal under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to make emissions-related changes to convert a street vehicle into a dedicated race car. The bill, if enacted into law, would also confirm that it is legal to produce, market and install racing equipment. In 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a draft rule stating that such conversions were illegal, as were products used to make the conversions. The EPA withdrew the draft rule following a huge, SEMA-led public outcry but still stands by this controversial interpretation of the CAA. The legislation (H.R. 3281/S. 2736) is sponsored by Representatives Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Raul Ruiz (D-CA) and Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Jon Tester (D-MT). The RPM Act has more than 165 bipartisan co-sponsors, making it one of the most broadly supported bills in Congress.

Section 301 Tariffs: The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) requested comments from interested parties on the Section 301 tariffs as part of the statutorily required four-year review process. The review covers tariffs on all four Lists, as Lists 1 and 2 were implemented more than four years ago and Lists 3 and 4a are considered modifications of these actions. USTR said it is seeking “public comments on the effectiveness of the actions in achieving the objectives of the investigation, other actions that could be taken, and the effects of such actions on the United States economy, including consumers.” The docket for comments will close on January 17. In 2018, the USTR instituted a Section 301 investigation of Chinese trade practices and imposed $50 billion in tariffs on a variety of goods on Lists 1 and 2, including miscellaneous metal and rubber parts. After China responded with retaliatory tariffs, the United States imposed the additional List 3 and 4a tariffs. The List 3 tariffs apply to most auto parts.

Off-Road Trails Near Moab: SEMA submitted comments to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on its draft update to the travel-management plan for the Labyrinth Rims/Gemini Bridges Special Recreation Management Area near Moab, Utah. SEMA and the off-road community support Alternative A, which is the status quo. SEMA and other off-road groups oppose the other three alternatives (B, C and D) since they would close up to 40% of current off-road trails. The travel management area covers more than 300,000 acres of BLM-managed land in portions of Grand County, Utah, and includes highly valued OHV trails that draw outdoor enthusiasts from around the world. SEMA criticized the BLM’s plan for failing to consider opening more OHV routes since motorized recreation in the area has almost doubled since the last travel-management plan was adopted in 2008. SEMA underscored the value of motorized recreation both in terms of its economic impact to the region and importance in providing OHV access to individuals and families. SEMA also noted that camping is a critical component of the area’s recreational experience, and camping issues were not adequately addressed in the BLM’s plans.

Independent Contractor Reclassification: The Biden administration proposed a more stringent test for determining when companies must count independent contractors as employees. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) previously withdrew a 2021 Trump administration rule that made it easier for companies to classify more workers as independent contractors. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees are eligible for certain protections such as minimum wage, medical leave and overtime pay that are not required for contractors. The proposed rule would apply the test that was used before the 2021 rule to determine how a worker should be classified. The proposed test will consider six factors: the nature and degree of the worker’s control over the work, the worker’s opportunity for profit or loss based on personal initiative or investment, investments by the worker and the employer, the degree of permanence of the working relationship, the extent to which the work performed is an integral part of the employer’s business, and the degree of skill and initiative exhibited by the worker. The rule would also apply a totality-of-the-circumstances analysis of the economic reality test when considering the whole activity, an approach that could make it easier to define a gig worker as an employee.

The Birth of Hot Rod Magazine

Sun, 01/01/2023 - 19:17

SEMA News—January 2023

HERITAGE

The Birth of Hot Rod Magazine

By Drew Hardin

Photo Courtesy: Petersen Foundation Collection

The young man on the floor, Speed Graphic camera in hand, is Robert E. Petersen, circa 1946–1947. Barely in his 20s, Petersen had returned to Los Angeles after serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He wanted to get his job back at MGM Studios, where he had worked in the publicity department. But with so many veterans looking to do the same, MGM couldn’t employ them all, and Petersen was caught up in a round of layoffs. He and another vet in the same situation, Robert Lindsay, decided to form their own PR agency, the Hollywood Publicity Associates. Among their first clients was the Southern California Timing Association.

Formed in 1937 to organize speed trials on Southern California’s dry lakes, the SCTA was facing a crisis: While their members were earnest young men and women in the quest for speed in organized competition, the media at the time were painting a lurid picture of the “Hot Rod Menace:” wheeled delinquents in souped-up jalopies wreaking havoc on public roads. In these newspaper accounts, hot rodders and hoodlums were synonymous terms. The SCTA needed a way to shift public opinion to something far more positive.

Association members came up with an idea to display their race cars in a show as a way to demonstrate that their motivations were far from the outlaw crowd the papers wrote about. They asked the HPA to promote the show, which would take place at the National Guard Armory in Los Angeles in January 1948.

Among the HPA’s tasks was the production of a show program, and Petersen took on the job of selling ads for the program. He called on the parts manufacturers and speed shops that made up the young speed-equipment industry, from Vic Edelbrock, Phil Weiand and Barney Navarro to Blair’s Auto Parts, Bell Auto Parts and SO-CAL Speed Shop. While getting to know those performance pioneers, Petersen saw an opportunity to promote this growing movement with a magazine. He knew cars—he had spent a lot of his youth helping his father, a mechanic for the Department of Water and Power—and he knew photography, thanks to Uncle Sam and his aerial reconnaissance photo training. His HPA partner Lindsay provided the publishing connections, as his father was the founder of the Tailwaggers dog club and produced the club’s magazine.

Petersen and Lindsay considered several titles for their publication, but decided to call it Hot Rod, despite the term’s negative meaning at the time. There was no use dancing around the topic, they felt. The magazine was about hot rods and hot rodding, so the title should be direct and to the point.

The first issue was published in January 1948. In their Editor’s Column, Petersen and Lindsay wrote that “Hot Rod is designed to inform and entertain those interested in automobiles whose engines and bodies have been rebuilt for better performance and appearance.” Those words have remained the guiding principle for Hot Rod editors, writers and photographers for 75 years.

A Show of Excellence

Sun, 01/01/2023 - 19:08

SEMA News—January 2023

EVENTS

A Show of Excellence

Award-Winning Innovators, Icons and a Big Announcement Were Center Stage at the 2022 SEMA Show

By Mike Imlay

One of the annual SEMA Show’s many distinctions is its weeklong display of greatness. From new products and innovations to the groundbreaking people driving the specialty aftermarket to new heights, the SEMA Show reflects the industry’s reach for excellence. Perhaps that’s the reason the Show’s award ceremonies resonate so deeply with thousands of Show participants.

“We are pleased to congratulate all the winners that we celebrated throughout numerous events and competitions during the 2022 SEMA Show Week,” said SEMA President and CEO Mike Spagnola. “This is an industry founded on deep-seated passion and the constant enthusiasm to excel at one’s craft—and all our SEMA Show winners and honorees embody that spirit.”

The 2022 SEMA Show introduced several major updates to its traditional awards presentations. First, with e-commerce expanding and data-driven transactions becoming more routine, the SEMA Warehouse Distributor of the Year award evolved into a new Channel Partner of the Year award. The award honors the contributions of sales, distributors, retailers and e-commerce channel(s) in the industry as well as the distribution companies that support retailers.

In addition, the Channel Partner of the Year and the Manufacturer of the Year award presentations were moved to the SEMA Show Kickoff Breakfast on Tuesday morning, November 1, at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. Held just before the Show’s official opening, the event was previously called the New Products Awards Breakfast. Under its new name, the 2022 event continued its tradition of honoring the Show’s best new products across numerous categories, including two new categories for electric vehicle and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) products.

Jarod DeAnda, known as the “voice of Formula Drift,” hosted the reformatted 2022 breakfast. He was joined on stage by Hoonigan driver Ken Block and Hoonigan Co-Founder Brian Scotto, who discussed “Electrikhana,” a new video featuring an all-electric Audi S1 Hoonitron that was shot on the streets of Las Vegas. “Electrikhana” is the latest video of the wildly popular
Gymkhana series.

“Combining the Channel Partner of the Year, Manufacturer of the Year and New Product Awards into one event early in the week enabled winners to promote their honors throughout Show Week,” said SEMA Vice President of Events Tom Gattuso. “We were also very honored and excited to have Ken Block and Brian Scotto at the event. They are inspirational, and the ‘Gymkhana’ series and cars represent what our industry is all about.”

Meanwhile, the SEMA Industry Awards Banquet, the traditional Thursday-night venue for major awards, also got a dynamic makeover, which included a novel center stage and a streamlined run time. Themed “Further. Faster. Together.,” the event featured the SEMA Person of the Year and GEN-III Innovator of the Year awards, along with the first-ever SEMA Influencer of the Year award designed to honor content creators who make a positive industry impact across social-media channels. The evening also included a tribute to industry icons Walker Evans, Jack Roush and Robert Eugene “Gene” Winfield, who were named to the SEMA Hall of Fame in the summer of 2022.

The banquet further made headlines with the announcement that the SEMA Show is going citywide in Las Vegas, starting this year (see article, p. 44). Another high point came with the audience of about 3,000 casting the deciding votes via text to name Kevin Robinson, inventor of the TRAC Tire Jack, as the ultimate winner of the 2022 SEMA Launch Pad competition. Winnowed from a field of five Show finalists, he and runner-up Susan Pieper, DMOS Collective CEO, got to pitch their product ideas before panelists Chip Foose, Jared Hare, Myles Kovacs and Alex Parker just before the audience vote.

“There were many changes to our Show’s recognition programs for 2022,” observed Gattuso. “All our awards and recognitions represent an extremely dynamic industry, so as our industry has evolved, we’ve been pleased to evolve with it.

The following photos capture the winning moments and highlights of the Show’s many award presentations at the Kickoff Breakfast and the Industry Awards Banquet.

SEMA Launch Pad WInner