By SEMA Editors

Ford project-vehicle requests require two components: an e-mail project summary (due February 19, 2016) and a detailed written proposal (due March 1, 2016).

Ford Motor Co. has announced its project-vehicle program for 2016. 

2016 Ford Project Vehicle Program

Proposal Submission Deadline: March 1, 2016
Award Recipient Notification Date: by May 2, 2016

All project vehicle requests must be submitted in two parts and meet the following Ford Aftermarket Project Vehicle Program criteria:

Part 1

E-mail a one-page project summary—must be received by February 19, 2016. Include bullet points for:

• Vehicle/theme
• Vehicle modifications
• New-product development
• Promotional plan
• Vehicle display location at the 2016 SEMA Show

Part 2

Mail a detailed project proposal—must be received by March 1, 2016. Include details supporting the one-page project summary on company letterhead, a color rendering and past project vehicle examples.

Information on Ford vehicles is available at: www.ford.com.

Ford Aftermarket Project Vehicle Program Criteria

Aftermarket companies requesting project vehicles should be:

• A manufacturer or designer/restyler dedicated to supporting new-product development.
• Financially capable and willing to spend promotional dollars.
• Actively promoting the vehicle with their product(s) through an established marketing plan.
• A current SEMA member.

Aftermarket companies receiving project vehicles must:

• Feature the vehicle in a booth at the 2016 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
• Register and keep the vehicle in your company name during the entire contract period.
• Purchase and maintain $3 million in general liability, $3 million in automotive liability, $1 million in employer liability and demonstrate worker's compensation coverage. An umbrella policy may be used to achieve coverage limits.
• Commit to feature the vehicle with the Ford logo intact and visible.
• Order a California-certified vehicle if you intend to register or use the vehicle primarily in California or any other state that has adopted California emissions standards. Failure to do so may subject you to a state fine.
• Make vehicles available to Ford or its dealers for display, at the owner's discretion.
• Submit written quarterly status reports for a period of 18 months, as specified in the contract, stating:

1. Product development
2. Modifications to the vehicle
3. Events (including dates, location and type of event)
4. Media exposure (originals or color copies)
5. Company advertising featuring the vehicle
6. Social media exposure
7. A copy of your current vehicle registration

Information on the specific vehicles Ford plans to emphasize at the 2016 SEMA Show will follow in January. Details will be provided to allow you to research those products and find high-resolution images for renderings.

Submit Ford Project Vehicle proposals to:

Ford Motor Co.
21175 Oakwood Blvd., PDCDC MD579
Dearborn, MI 48124
Attn: Mike Nicopolis & Bob Galan
semainfo@ford.com

By SEMA Editors

Ford project-vehicle requests require two components: an e-mail project summary (due February 19, 2016) and a detailed written proposal (due March 1, 2016).

Ford Motor Co. has announced its project-vehicle program for 2016. 

2016 Ford Project Vehicle Program

Proposal Submission Deadline: March 1, 2016
Award Recipient Notification Date: by May 2, 2016

All project vehicle requests must be submitted in two parts and meet the following Ford Aftermarket Project Vehicle Program criteria:

Part 1

E-mail a one-page project summary—must be received by February 19, 2016. Include bullet points for:

• Vehicle/theme
• Vehicle modifications
• New-product development
• Promotional plan
• Vehicle display location at the 2016 SEMA Show

Part 2

Mail a detailed project proposal—must be received by March 1, 2016. Include details supporting the one-page project summary on company letterhead, a color rendering and past project vehicle examples.

Information on Ford vehicles is available at: www.ford.com.

Ford Aftermarket Project Vehicle Program Criteria

Aftermarket companies requesting project vehicles should be:

• A manufacturer or designer/restyler dedicated to supporting new-product development.
• Financially capable and willing to spend promotional dollars.
• Actively promoting the vehicle with their product(s) through an established marketing plan.
• A current SEMA member.

Aftermarket companies receiving project vehicles must:

• Feature the vehicle in a booth at the 2016 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
• Register and keep the vehicle in your company name during the entire contract period.
• Purchase and maintain $3 million in general liability, $3 million in automotive liability, $1 million in employer liability and demonstrate worker's compensation coverage. An umbrella policy may be used to achieve coverage limits.
• Commit to feature the vehicle with the Ford logo intact and visible.
• Order a California-certified vehicle if you intend to register or use the vehicle primarily in California or any other state that has adopted California emissions standards. Failure to do so may subject you to a state fine.
• Make vehicles available to Ford or its dealers for display, at the owner's discretion.
• Submit written quarterly status reports for a period of 18 months, as specified in the contract, stating:

1. Product development
2. Modifications to the vehicle
3. Events (including dates, location and type of event)
4. Media exposure (originals or color copies)
5. Company advertising featuring the vehicle
6. Social media exposure
7. A copy of your current vehicle registration

Information on the specific vehicles Ford plans to emphasize at the 2016 SEMA Show will follow in January. Details will be provided to allow you to research those products and find high-resolution images for renderings.

Submit Ford Project Vehicle proposals to:

Ford Motor Co.
21175 Oakwood Blvd., PDCDC MD579
Dearborn, MI 48124
Attn: Mike Nicopolis & Bob Galan
semainfo@ford.com

By SEMA Editors

Doug Stokes was presented the Motor Press Guild’s 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award for his exceptional behind-the-scenes public-relations contributions to motorsports and the racing industry.

The 2015 Motor Press Guild (MPG) Awards were held December 15 at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, and winners were recognized in each category for excellence in automotive journalism:

2015 Lifetime Achievement Award – Doug Stokes

Doug Stokes was recognized for his exceptional behind-the-scenes public-relations contributions to motorsports and the racing industry. A member of the MPG since it was re-named from IMPA-West in the mid-’80s, Stokes has supported motorsports for more than 25 years, representing such notable and iconic clients as Mickey and Trudy Thompson, Gale Banks, Stuart Rowlands and Steve Ford, and supporting racing efforts for Honda, Suzuki, the Kazarian Brothers and Lucas Oil. Stokes has served as vice president of communications at Irwindale Event Center since 2013, and has previously been honored with the Chapman Award for PR by the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association.

2015 Dean Batchelor Award – Micah Muzio & COTU Productions
“2015 Polaris Slingshot Review” – KBB.com

2015 MPG Award winners:

Articles

2015 Best Feature Article of the Year: Larry P. Vellequette and Luca Ciferri
“The Coming Squeeze” – Automotive News

2015 Best News Article of the Year: Hans Greimel
“Confessions of a Price Fixer” – Automotive News

2015 Best Vehicle Review of the Year: Basem Wasef
“Review: The Ferocious New Corvette Z06 is an $80K Ferrari-Killer” – Wired

Audio

2015 Best Audio Program of the Year: Charlie Vogelheim and Shawn Meyers
“#35: The Best and Worst ‘Cars and Coffee’ Ever” – Motor Trend Audio

Books

2015 Best Book of the Year: Sam Posey
Where the Writer Meets the Road – David Bull Publishing

Videos

2015 Best Feature Video of the Year: Adam Carolla (director/producer), Nate Adams (producer/additional direction), Mike August (producer), Matt D’Andria (executive producer), Norm Pattiz (executive producer)
“Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” – Sontalia, Mollette

2015 Best Video Vehicle Review of the Year: Micah Muzio and COTU Productions
“2015 Polaris Slingshot Review” – KBB.com

Bob D’Olivo Award for Photography

2015 Best Photo of the Year: Dale Kistemaker
“24+30” – Porsche Panorama

This is the ’17 Ford F-350, caught in SuperCab Dually form.

It’s the first time we've seen the new Ford Super Duty configured with a SuperCab and Dually setup, with the full four-door cabs the only ones to be officially unveiled ahead of their 2016 on-sale date.

Lariat also serves as the middle of the range, below the lavish King Ranch and Platinum models and higher than work-truck versions. This truck is interesting, however, given the demand for high-specification, and Dually models have gravitated toward the most expensive Super Duty versions in recent years.

As with all ’17 Super Duty trucks, this one gets the cab from the F-150, with an aluminum intensive body but a high-strength steel frame and reinforced box that should boost payload numbers despite the reduction of weight in pursuit of fuel efficiency.

Expect the ’17 Super Duty trucks to go on sale starting in spring 2016.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

This is the ’17 Ford F-350, caught in SuperCab Dually form.

It’s the first time we've seen the new Ford Super Duty configured with a SuperCab and Dually setup, with the full four-door cabs the only ones to be officially unveiled ahead of their 2016 on-sale date.

Lariat also serves as the middle of the range, below the lavish King Ranch and Platinum models and higher than work-truck versions. This truck is interesting, however, given the demand for high-specification, and Dually models have gravitated toward the most expensive Super Duty versions in recent years.

As with all ’17 Super Duty trucks, this one gets the cab from the F-150, with an aluminum intensive body but a high-strength steel frame and reinforced box that should boost payload numbers despite the reduction of weight in pursuit of fuel efficiency.

Expect the ’17 Super Duty trucks to go on sale starting in spring 2016.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

This is the ’17 Ford F-350, caught in SuperCab Dually form.

It’s the first time we've seen the new Ford Super Duty configured with a SuperCab and Dually setup, with the full four-door cabs the only ones to be officially unveiled ahead of their 2016 on-sale date.

Lariat also serves as the middle of the range, below the lavish King Ranch and Platinum models and higher than work-truck versions. This truck is interesting, however, given the demand for high-specification, and Dually models have gravitated toward the most expensive Super Duty versions in recent years.

As with all ’17 Super Duty trucks, this one gets the cab from the F-150, with an aluminum intensive body but a high-strength steel frame and reinforced box that should boost payload numbers despite the reduction of weight in pursuit of fuel efficiency.

Expect the ’17 Super Duty trucks to go on sale starting in spring 2016.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

This is the ’17 Ford F-350, caught in SuperCab Dually form.

It’s the first time we've seen the new Ford Super Duty configured with a SuperCab and Dually setup, with the full four-door cabs the only ones to be officially unveiled ahead of their 2016 on-sale date.

Lariat also serves as the middle of the range, below the lavish King Ranch and Platinum models and higher than work-truck versions. This truck is interesting, however, given the demand for high-specification, and Dually models have gravitated toward the most expensive Super Duty versions in recent years.

As with all ’17 Super Duty trucks, this one gets the cab from the F-150, with an aluminum intensive body but a high-strength steel frame and reinforced box that should boost payload numbers despite the reduction of weight in pursuit of fuel efficiency.

Expect the ’17 Super Duty trucks to go on sale starting in spring 2016.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

This is the ’17 Ford F-350, caught in SuperCab Dually form.

It’s the first time we've seen the new Ford Super Duty configured with a SuperCab and Dually setup, with the full four-door cabs the only ones to be officially unveiled ahead of their 2016 on-sale date.

Lariat also serves as the middle of the range, below the lavish King Ranch and Platinum models and higher than work-truck versions. This truck is interesting, however, given the demand for high-specification, and Dually models have gravitated toward the most expensive Super Duty versions in recent years.

As with all ’17 Super Duty trucks, this one gets the cab from the F-150, with an aluminum intensive body but a high-strength steel frame and reinforced box that should boost payload numbers despite the reduction of weight in pursuit of fuel efficiency.

Expect the ’17 Super Duty trucks to go on sale starting in spring 2016.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

This year the SEMA Board of Directors election has two seats open in the manufacturer category and one seat open in the manufacturer's representative category.

The following is a message from SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting:

As a member of the association, we need your recommendation of industry leaders to serve on the SEMA Board of Directors. Our industry has many individuals who would be an asset to the SEMA Board, but oftentimes those individuals aren’t immediately apparent to the Nominating Committee when selecting the final candidates.

Please take a moment to tell us whom you would recommend as a potential nominee for a board position. We also ask that you include information to help the Nominating Committee know more about the nominee’s qualifications, such as background, experience and achievements from a leadership standpoint.

For this year’s election, the following seats are open:

• Two seats in the Manufacturer category
• One seat in the Manufacturer's Representative category

Nominations for the 2016 SEMA Board of Directors are due Tuesday, January 5, 2016. Please complete and submit the nomination form, and be sure to include the qualification information noted above.

A strong board means wise leadership and an association that serves its members well. We urge you to take part in the nominations process.

Thank you for your attention to this important request.

Chris Kersting, CAE
SEMA President and CEO

This year the SEMA Board of Directors election has two seats open in the manufacturer category and one seat open in the manufacturer's representative category.

The following is a message from SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting:

As a member of the association, we need your recommendation of industry leaders to serve on the SEMA Board of Directors. Our industry has many individuals who would be an asset to the SEMA Board, but oftentimes those individuals aren’t immediately apparent to the Nominating Committee when selecting the final candidates.

Please take a moment to tell us whom you would recommend as a potential nominee for a board position. We also ask that you include information to help the Nominating Committee know more about the nominee’s qualifications, such as background, experience and achievements from a leadership standpoint.

For this year’s election, the following seats are open:

• Two seats in the Manufacturer category
• One seat in the Manufacturer's Representative category

Nominations for the 2016 SEMA Board of Directors are due Tuesday, January 5, 2016. Please complete and submit the nomination form, and be sure to include the qualification information noted above.

A strong board means wise leadership and an association that serves its members well. We urge you to take part in the nominations process.

Thank you for your attention to this important request.

Chris Kersting, CAE
SEMA President and CEO