SEMA and UPS have joined forces to offer a reliable solution designed to save SEMA members a minimum of 72% on UPS Freight less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping for shipments above 150 lbs.

SEMA and UPS have joined forces to offer a reliable solution designed to save SEMA members a minimum of 72% on UPS Freight less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping for shipments above 150 lbs.

LTL is backed by a day-definite, on-time guarantee. The service guarantees all shipments moving within the continental United States and Canada are rated on the current 560 or 525 UPS tariffs at no additional charge.

UPS technology solutions, such as Worldship, make it easy to process LTL shipments, schedule pickups, rate shipments and print out bills of lading. Quantum View, a web-based service, provides shipment information, status updates and event alerts for inbound and outbound freight shipments.

To take advantage of all that UPS offers SEMA members, visit www.SEMA.org/UPS, log-in with your SEMA-member credentials and then click the “Sign Up and Save Today” button to access the UPS program enrollment web site. To speak with a UPS customer representative regarding LTL Freight shipping, call 866-443-9303.

Compiled by SEMA Editors

Driving the Discount Tire/Falken Tire Nissan 240SX, Dai Yoshihara qualified first among 61 competitors last weekend at the 2013 Formula Drift championship in Long Beach, California.

Team Falken's Dai Yoshihara Wins Round 1 of the 2013 Formula Drift Championship in Long Beach
Falken Tire has defended its Long Beach Formula Drift title for the fourth consecutive year when team veteran Daijiro “Dai” Yoshihara took the win over former teammate Vaughn Gittin Jr.

Driving the Discount Tire/Falken Tire Nissan 240SX, Yoshihara qualified first among 61 competitors. His teammate Darren McNamara, who debuted his own Falken Tire Nissan 240SX, qualified second. Yoshihara’s second teammate Justin Pawlak, driving his ’13 Ford Mustang, was 23rd. All three drivers won in the Top 32 Round, but only Yoshihara, the 2011 Formula D champion, went further, scoring the first win of what fans and competitors are calling the most competitive season in Formula D.

Next up for Team Falken is a return to the streets of Long Beach this coming weekend for the American Le Mans Series, where Falken will field its Porsche 911 RSR GT3 in the GT class with drivers Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers. The team finished third in the first ALMS race of the season last month at Sebring. Round 2 of the 2013 Formula Drift Championship will take place May 10–11 on the Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton, Georgia.

View this year's racing schedule.

Fun Ford Weekend was rained out at Royal Purple Raceway. It will return with the May 4–5 event at the Auto Club Famoso Raceway outside of Bakersfield, California.

Fun Ford Weekend From Royal Purple Raceway Rained Out
The Roush Yates Performance Products season kick-off of the Fun Ford Weekend Series at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas, was suspended due to rain before eliminations could begin. After waiting to see what the afternoon weather had in store, racers were given rain checks and invited back to future events at Royal Purple Raceway. However, the All FoMoCo Car Show did not get rained out. View the results.

The Fun Ford Weekend makes its return to the Golden State with a May 4–5 event at the Auto Club Famoso Raceway outside of Bakersfield, California. The event will also feature the WCOPMA Outlaw Pro Mods on Saturday and a special "Ford vs. The World" showdown on Sunday. Visit the Fun Ford Weekend website for complete details, including all race class and car show classes.

Compiled by SEMA Editors

Driving the Discount Tire/Falken Tire Nissan 240SX, Dai Yoshihara qualified first among 61 competitors last weekend at the 2013 Formula Drift championship in Long Beach, California.

Team Falken's Dai Yoshihara Wins Round 1 of the 2013 Formula Drift Championship in Long Beach
Falken Tire has defended its Long Beach Formula Drift title for the fourth consecutive year when team veteran Daijiro “Dai” Yoshihara took the win over former teammate Vaughn Gittin Jr.

Driving the Discount Tire/Falken Tire Nissan 240SX, Yoshihara qualified first among 61 competitors. His teammate Darren McNamara, who debuted his own Falken Tire Nissan 240SX, qualified second. Yoshihara’s second teammate Justin Pawlak, driving his ’13 Ford Mustang, was 23rd. All three drivers won in the Top 32 Round, but only Yoshihara, the 2011 Formula D champion, went further, scoring the first win of what fans and competitors are calling the most competitive season in Formula D.

Next up for Team Falken is a return to the streets of Long Beach this coming weekend for the American Le Mans Series, where Falken will field its Porsche 911 RSR GT3 in the GT class with drivers Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers. The team finished third in the first ALMS race of the season last month at Sebring. Round 2 of the 2013 Formula Drift Championship will take place May 10–11 on the Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton, Georgia.

View this year's racing schedule.

Fun Ford Weekend was rained out at Royal Purple Raceway. It will return with the May 4–5 event at the Auto Club Famoso Raceway outside of Bakersfield, California.

Fun Ford Weekend From Royal Purple Raceway Rained Out
The Roush Yates Performance Products season kick-off of the Fun Ford Weekend Series at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas, was suspended due to rain before eliminations could begin. After waiting to see what the afternoon weather had in store, racers were given rain checks and invited back to future events at Royal Purple Raceway. However, the All FoMoCo Car Show did not get rained out. View the results.

The Fun Ford Weekend makes its return to the Golden State with a May 4–5 event at the Auto Club Famoso Raceway outside of Bakersfield, California. The event will also feature the WCOPMA Outlaw Pro Mods on Saturday and a special "Ford vs. The World" showdown on Sunday. Visit the Fun Ford Weekend website for complete details, including all race class and car show classes.

The shooters at KGP Photography received a covered-up look at the next Ford Mustang from a very unlikely source (their old spy photo nemesis Jim Dunne).

Yes, they're a little grainy and a bit murky, but the grizzled old veteran of the Detroit spy game has snapped what appears to be the first visual evidence that the Ford Mustang is now tip-toeing past the mule stage. It looks like the Mustang's production-spec body panels are beginning to flow in, and more complete prototypes are now being assembled. The day when full-fledged Mustang prototypes are running the streets of Detroit now seems near, instead of feeling like nothing more than a hopeful pipe dream. The new Mustang is nearly a reality.

So what can be learned from these photos? The car cover hides nearly all of the details, and this prototype appears to be missing its bumpers, but you can still get a look at the Mustang's classic musclecar profile. The prototype looks undisguised under all that canvas, yielding a look at a prominent lower side sill that helps ground the design (but the lack of bumpers hampers the ability to comment on its overall stance or its overhangs. The car cover—which is specially designed for driving the prototype while covered—has what appears to be mesh panels to allow the headlights and taillights to show through, at least a little bit. The spaces for the taillights look to be mounted very high toward the lip of the rear deck, for what that's worth. There also appears to be some sort of fender vent just aft of the front wheel.

When the fully-assembled, fully production-spec prototypes finally leave the confines of wherever these photos were taken, more information will become available about how the Mustang is shaping up. For now, after the long tease of cobbled-up mules running the roads, the next 'Stang is truly taking shape.

Photo credit: KGP Photography

The shooters at KGP Photography received a covered-up look at the next Ford Mustang from a very unlikely source (their old spy photo nemesis Jim Dunne).

Yes, they're a little grainy and a bit murky, but the grizzled old veteran of the Detroit spy game has snapped what appears to be the first visual evidence that the Ford Mustang is now tip-toeing past the mule stage. It looks like the Mustang's production-spec body panels are beginning to flow in, and more complete prototypes are now being assembled. The day when full-fledged Mustang prototypes are running the streets of Detroit now seems near, instead of feeling like nothing more than a hopeful pipe dream. The new Mustang is nearly a reality.

So what can be learned from these photos? The car cover hides nearly all of the details, and this prototype appears to be missing its bumpers, but you can still get a look at the Mustang's classic musclecar profile. The prototype looks undisguised under all that canvas, yielding a look at a prominent lower side sill that helps ground the design (but the lack of bumpers hampers the ability to comment on its overall stance or its overhangs. The car cover—which is specially designed for driving the prototype while covered—has what appears to be mesh panels to allow the headlights and taillights to show through, at least a little bit. The spaces for the taillights look to be mounted very high toward the lip of the rear deck, for what that's worth. There also appears to be some sort of fender vent just aft of the front wheel.

When the fully-assembled, fully production-spec prototypes finally leave the confines of wherever these photos were taken, more information will become available about how the Mustang is shaping up. For now, after the long tease of cobbled-up mules running the roads, the next 'Stang is truly taking shape.

Photo credit: KGP Photography

The shooters at KGP Photography received a covered-up look at the next Ford Mustang from a very unlikely source (their old spy photo nemesis Jim Dunne).

Yes, they're a little grainy and a bit murky, but the grizzled old veteran of the Detroit spy game has snapped what appears to be the first visual evidence that the Ford Mustang is now tip-toeing past the mule stage. It looks like the Mustang's production-spec body panels are beginning to flow in, and more complete prototypes are now being assembled. The day when full-fledged Mustang prototypes are running the streets of Detroit now seems near, instead of feeling like nothing more than a hopeful pipe dream. The new Mustang is nearly a reality.

So what can be learned from these photos? The car cover hides nearly all of the details, and this prototype appears to be missing its bumpers, but you can still get a look at the Mustang's classic musclecar profile. The prototype looks undisguised under all that canvas, yielding a look at a prominent lower side sill that helps ground the design (but the lack of bumpers hampers the ability to comment on its overall stance or its overhangs. The car cover—which is specially designed for driving the prototype while covered—has what appears to be mesh panels to allow the headlights and taillights to show through, at least a little bit. The spaces for the taillights look to be mounted very high toward the lip of the rear deck, for what that's worth. There also appears to be some sort of fender vent just aft of the front wheel.

When the fully-assembled, fully production-spec prototypes finally leave the confines of wherever these photos were taken, more information will become available about how the Mustang is shaping up. For now, after the long tease of cobbled-up mules running the roads, the next 'Stang is truly taking shape.

Photo credit: KGP Photography

	The Lotus Evora 414E Range Extender Hybrid was chosen for an AEI SAE 2013 Tech Award by the editors of the SAE’s Automotive Engineering International magazine.

The Lotus Evora 414E Range Extender Hybrid was chosen by the editors of the SAE’s Automotive Engineering International magazine for its design and engineering innovation, uniqueness, potential for “real-world” production application and potential benefit for industry customers and end user.

Every year, the editors of Automotive Engineering International select from among SAE World Congress exhibitors the technologies they judge worthy of an AEI SAE 2013 Tech Award. The SAE 2013 World Congress is currently being held in Detroit. Highlights of the event are viewable online.

The Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid concept showcases new developments in plug-in, range-extended electric propulsion—new electronic technologies to enhance driver involvement and the adaptability of the Lotus Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA).

The range-extended electric drive of the Evora 414E Hybrid consists of two electric motors driving each of the rear wheels independently via a single-speed geartrain integrated into one common transmission housing, thus enabling torque vectoring for stability control of the vehicle. Electrical power is stored in a lithium polymer battery pack, which is optimized for energy density, efficiency and high-power demand and mounted in the center of the vehicle for stability and safety. Additional range is provided by the Lotus Range Extender engine, an optimized 1.2L, three-cylinder engine, designed specifically for series hybrid vehicles. The drivetrain is designed to combine performance with low-emissions driving.

HALOsonic Internal and External Electronic Sound Synthesis technologies from Lotus and HARMAN are designed to provide sound contouring within the cabin and improve pedestrian safety outside the vehicle. Integrated with the HALOsonic technology, the Evora 414E Hybrid also showcases a brand-new technology from Lotus Engineering—a sports mode that simulates a seven-speed, paddle-shift transmission that combines driver involvement for a hybrid sports car and energy recuperation.

Features:

• 0–60 mph 4.4 seconds.
• Total hybrid range of more than 300 miles.
• Eco mode or Sports mode featuring realistic seven-speed paddle shift with energy recuperation.
• Next generation of Lotus and HARMAN intelligent pedestrian warning system, integrating the HALOsonic sound synthesis system with video technology.
• Torque vectoring for improved dynamic stability.
• 408 hp of power and 590 lb.-ft. of torque.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Maryland legislation to require the issuance of a single motor vehicle license plate died when the legislature adjourned for the year. The bill, favored by state hobbyists, required that the single registration plate be attached on the front of tractors and on the rear of all other vehicles. A second bill to allow the front plate to be stored inside the vehicle if the vehicle was manufactured without a means to secure and display a front plate also died. 

For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Maryland legislation to require the issuance of a single motor vehicle license plate died when the legislature adjourned for the year. The bill, favored by state hobbyists, required that the single registration plate be attached on the front of tractors and on the rear of all other vehicles. A second bill to allow the front plate to be stored inside the vehicle if the vehicle was manufactured without a means to secure and display a front plate also died. 

For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff 

After being approved by the Joint Committee on Planning and Development by a narrow 10–9 vote, legislation to increase the age requirement for vehicles eligible for registration as “antique, rare or special-interest motor vehicles” or “modified antique motor vehicles” will be considered by the Connecticut House of Representatives in a vote by all members. Under the bill, vehicles seeking registration as antique, rare or special-interest motor vehicles or as modified antique motor vehicles would be required to be at least 30 years old. Currently, vehicles 20 years old or older are eligible for this status and special license plates. For the purpose of property taxes, the bill also increases the maximum assessment of these vehicles from $500 to $2,500. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.