The SEMA Show is not only the year’s best opportunity for the specialty-equipment industry to do business, it also serves as the proving grounds for trends that will either meet quick and superficial ends or will take hold and dominate the thoughts of builders, fabricators, designers, engineers and the like for the next 12 months.

The top trend of the 2009 SEMA Show wasn’t a vehicle or product, however. It was a business philosophy, namely, survival. Businesses that attended and exhibited made a commitment to set-up for success in 2010. Twelve months ago, the economy was in free-fall and no one knew where it would land, writes Motor Trend editor Angus MacKenzie. “This year, the mood among most exhibitors was a mixture of relief and quiet optimism: We’ve survived the worst, and things are slowly getting better.”

And with the worst behind, exhibitors offered a mix of innovative, optimistic and playful vehicle builds and designs.

Old School Meets New

Ringbrothers Ford Fairlane was a highlight for many, including Motor Trend and Jalopnik’s writers. A Roush V8, some chop work and artfully integrated billet and carbon-fiber work make the Afterburner an innovative blend of old and new.

Compact Cubism

Kia, Scion and Nissan now all have mobile boxes, and with the success of the Scion xB, why not? These cube cars, with their unique stance and highly customizable layouts, have become top sellers with a young generation of car enthusiasts. The Kia Soul, which made its SEMA Show debut last year, and the Nissan Cube offered platforms for a variety of manufacturers, from mobile audio wire and component makers Scosche to veteran Nissan tuners Stillen.

But the xB, which launched the box trend more than five years ago and now is in its second-generation, still holds sway over the pack. The Scion annual design contest brought out some truly inspired takes on the xB, including the stretched, chopped and Moon-inspired pickup/Ruckus hauler pictured above built by the crew at BOWLS in Los Angeles.

Lexus Continues SEMA Hot Streak
The Lexus IS-F was a hot debut at the 2007 SEMA Show, and this year Lexus maintained its SEMA momentum with the first North American showing of its LF-A supercar. But it was the newest variation of the IS family, the convertible, that got many enthusiasts pumped, as InsideLine noted.

Diesel: Not Just for Trucks and Converted Benz 300s Anymore

More than a few journalists covered this sinister sled, but the guys at Speedhunters.com got some nice shots of Amanda Livingston’s '65 Cadillac, complete with Cummings turbodiesel drivetrain. Although the flat black exterior and sparkle top aren’t breakthrough aesthetics, the diesel swap makes an interesting twist. Here's more flat-black love from the Show floor.

Cake and Eat It Too

The gap between traditional hot-rod values and environmental responsibility further narrowed at the 2009 SEMA Show. GM debuted its E-Rod engine line—430hp LS3 crate engines that allow you to legally title a project vehicle in California—within a ’55 Chevy. And Ford displayed its application of new and old school with its twin-turbocharged Ecoboosted ’34 Ford, shown above.

Show Concepts to Reality

Although billed simply as a Jay Leno project car with GM, with a meager 425 hp from a V6 and a pair of Turbonetics T-3 turbos, recent auto show speculation suggests that this Camaro may very well be the next Z28—an idea welcomed by the writers at InsideLine.

Bigger, Wider, Larger…

Mopar’s Lower Forty Jeep caused a stir in off-road circles, as noted by the crew at AutoWeek. The tires on the Lower Forty measure 40 x 13.5, wrapped around 20-inch wheels. There’s also a nearly 400hp Hemi for good measure.


Only at SEMA…

...will you find a Subaru WRX STI snowcat. Unless you happen to ski or board at rally driver and DC Shoes cofounder Ken Block’s Utah compound, in which case you might be offered a ride up to the half-pipe in this purpose-built STI snowmobile. It offered a “why not?” moment for writers such as Motor Trend’s Ed Loh.

The SEMA Show is not only the year’s best opportunity for the specialty-equipment industry to do business, it also serves as the proving grounds for trends that will either meet quick and superficial ends or will take hold and dominate the thoughts of builders, fabricators, designers, engineers and the like for the next 12 months.

The top trend of the 2009 SEMA Show wasn’t a vehicle or product, however. It was a business philosophy, namely, survival. Businesses that attended and exhibited made a commitment to set-up for success in 2010. Twelve months ago, the economy was in free-fall and no one knew where it would land, writes Motor Trend editor Angus MacKenzie. “This year, the mood among most exhibitors was a mixture of relief and quiet optimism: We’ve survived the worst, and things are slowly getting better.”

And with the worst behind, exhibitors offered a mix of innovative, optimistic and playful vehicle builds and designs.

Old School Meets New

Ringbrothers Ford Fairlane was a highlight for many, including Motor Trend and Jalopnik’s writers. A Roush V8, some chop work and artfully integrated billet and carbon-fiber work make the Afterburner an innovative blend of old and new.

Compact Cubism

Kia, Scion and Nissan now all have mobile boxes, and with the success of the Scion xB, why not? These cube cars, with their unique stance and highly customizable layouts, have become top sellers with a young generation of car enthusiasts. The Kia Soul, which made its SEMA Show debut last year, and the Nissan Cube offered platforms for a variety of manufacturers, from mobile audio wire and component makers Scosche to veteran Nissan tuners Stillen.

But the xB, which launched the box trend more than five years ago and now is in its second-generation, still holds sway over the pack. The Scion annual design contest brought out some truly inspired takes on the xB, including the stretched, chopped and Moon-inspired pickup/Ruckus hauler pictured above built by the crew at BOWLS in Los Angeles.

Lexus Continues SEMA Hot Streak
The Lexus IS-F was a hot debut at the 2007 SEMA Show, and this year Lexus maintained its SEMA momentum with the first North American showing of its LF-A supercar. But it was the newest variation of the IS family, the convertible, that got many enthusiasts pumped, as InsideLine noted.

Diesel: Not Just for Trucks and Converted Benz 300s Anymore

More than a few journalists covered this sinister sled, but the guys at Speedhunters.com got some nice shots of Amanda Livingston’s '65 Cadillac, complete with Cummings turbodiesel drivetrain. Although the flat black exterior and sparkle top aren’t breakthrough aesthetics, the diesel swap makes an interesting twist. Here's more flat-black love from the Show floor.

Cake and Eat It Too

The gap between traditional hot-rod values and environmental responsibility further narrowed at the 2009 SEMA Show. GM debuted its E-Rod engine line—430hp LS3 crate engines that allow you to legally title a project vehicle in California—within a ’55 Chevy. And Ford displayed its application of new and old school with its twin-turbocharged Ecoboosted ’34 Ford, shown above.

Show Concepts to Reality

Although billed simply as a Jay Leno project car with GM, with a meager 425 hp from a V6 and a pair of Turbonetics T-3 turbos, recent auto show speculation suggests that this Camaro may very well be the next Z28—an idea welcomed by the writers at InsideLine.

Bigger, Wider, Larger…

Mopar’s Lower Forty Jeep caused a stir in off-road circles, as noted by the crew at AutoWeek. The tires on the Lower Forty measure 40 x 13.5, wrapped around 20-inch wheels. There’s also a nearly 400hp Hemi for good measure.


Only at SEMA…

...will you find a Subaru WRX STI snowcat. Unless you happen to ski or board at rally driver and DC Shoes cofounder Ken Block’s Utah compound, in which case you might be offered a ride up to the half-pipe in this purpose-built STI snowmobile. It offered a “why not?” moment for writers such as Motor Trend’s Ed Loh.

The SEMA Show is not only the year’s best opportunity for the specialty-equipment industry to do business, it also serves as the proving grounds for trends that will either meet quick and superficial ends or will take hold and dominate the thoughts of builders, fabricators, designers, engineers and the like for the next 12 months.

The top trend of the 2009 SEMA Show wasn’t a vehicle or product, however. It was a business philosophy, namely, survival. Businesses that attended and exhibited made a commitment to set-up for success in 2010. Twelve months ago, the economy was in free-fall and no one knew where it would land, writes Motor Trend editor Angus MacKenzie. “This year, the mood among most exhibitors was a mixture of relief and quiet optimism: We’ve survived the worst, and things are slowly getting better.”

And with the worst behind, exhibitors offered a mix of innovative, optimistic and playful vehicle builds and designs.

Old School Meets New

Ringbrothers Ford Fairlane was a highlight for many, including Motor Trend and Jalopnik’s writers. A Roush V8, some chop work and artfully integrated billet and carbon-fiber work make the Afterburner an innovative blend of old and new.

Compact Cubism

Kia, Scion and Nissan now all have mobile boxes, and with the success of the Scion xB, why not? These cube cars, with their unique stance and highly customizable layouts, have become top sellers with a young generation of car enthusiasts. The Kia Soul, which made its SEMA Show debut last year, and the Nissan Cube offered platforms for a variety of manufacturers, from mobile audio wire and component makers Scosche to veteran Nissan tuners Stillen.

But the xB, which launched the box trend more than five years ago and now is in its second-generation, still holds sway over the pack. The Scion annual design contest brought out some truly inspired takes on the xB, including the stretched, chopped and Moon-inspired pickup/Ruckus hauler pictured above built by the crew at BOWLS in Los Angeles.

Lexus Continues SEMA Hot Streak
The Lexus IS-F was a hot debut at the 2007 SEMA Show, and this year Lexus maintained its SEMA momentum with the first North American showing of its LF-A supercar. But it was the newest variation of the IS family, the convertible, that got many enthusiasts pumped, as InsideLine noted.

Diesel: Not Just for Trucks and Converted Benz 300s Anymore

More than a few journalists covered this sinister sled, but the guys at Speedhunters.com got some nice shots of Amanda Livingston’s '65 Cadillac, complete with Cummings turbodiesel drivetrain. Although the flat black exterior and sparkle top aren’t breakthrough aesthetics, the diesel swap makes an interesting twist. Here's more flat-black love from the Show floor.

Cake and Eat It Too

The gap between traditional hot-rod values and environmental responsibility further narrowed at the 2009 SEMA Show. GM debuted its E-Rod engine line—430hp LS3 crate engines that allow you to legally title a project vehicle in California—within a ’55 Chevy. And Ford displayed its application of new and old school with its twin-turbocharged Ecoboosted ’34 Ford, shown above.

Show Concepts to Reality

Although billed simply as a Jay Leno project car with GM, with a meager 425 hp from a V6 and a pair of Turbonetics T-3 turbos, recent auto show speculation suggests that this Camaro may very well be the next Z28—an idea welcomed by the writers at InsideLine.

Bigger, Wider, Larger…

Mopar’s Lower Forty Jeep caused a stir in off-road circles, as noted by the crew at AutoWeek. The tires on the Lower Forty measure 40 x 13.5, wrapped around 20-inch wheels. There’s also a nearly 400hp Hemi for good measure.


Only at SEMA…

...will you find a Subaru WRX STI snowcat. Unless you happen to ski or board at rally driver and DC Shoes cofounder Ken Block’s Utah compound, in which case you might be offered a ride up to the half-pipe in this purpose-built STI snowmobile. It offered a “why not?” moment for writers such as Motor Trend’s Ed Loh.

The SEMA Show is not only the year’s best opportunity for the specialty-equipment industry to do business, it also serves as the proving grounds for trends that will either meet quick and superficial ends or will take hold and dominate the thoughts of builders, fabricators, designers, engineers and the like for the next 12 months.

The top trend of the 2009 SEMA Show wasn’t a vehicle or product, however. It was a business philosophy, namely, survival. Businesses that attended and exhibited made a commitment to set-up for success in 2010. Twelve months ago, the economy was in free-fall and no one knew where it would land, writes Motor Trend editor Angus MacKenzie. “This year, the mood among most exhibitors was a mixture of relief and quiet optimism: We’ve survived the worst, and things are slowly getting better.”

And with the worst behind, exhibitors offered a mix of innovative, optimistic and playful vehicle builds and designs.

Old School Meets New

Ringbrothers Ford Fairlane was a highlight for many, including Motor Trend and Jalopnik’s writers. A Roush V8, some chop work and artfully integrated billet and carbon-fiber work make the Afterburner an innovative blend of old and new.

Compact Cubism

Kia, Scion and Nissan now all have mobile boxes, and with the success of the Scion xB, why not? These cube cars, with their unique stance and highly customizable layouts, have become top sellers with a young generation of car enthusiasts. The Kia Soul, which made its SEMA Show debut last year, and the Nissan Cube offered platforms for a variety of manufacturers, from mobile audio wire and component makers Scosche to veteran Nissan tuners Stillen.

But the xB, which launched the box trend more than five years ago and now is in its second-generation, still holds sway over the pack. The Scion annual design contest brought out some truly inspired takes on the xB, including the stretched, chopped and Moon-inspired pickup/Ruckus hauler pictured above built by the crew at BOWLS in Los Angeles.

Lexus Continues SEMA Hot Streak
The Lexus IS-F was a hot debut at the 2007 SEMA Show, and this year Lexus maintained its SEMA momentum with the first North American showing of its LF-A supercar. But it was the newest variation of the IS family, the convertible, that got many enthusiasts pumped, as InsideLine noted.

Diesel: Not Just for Trucks and Converted Benz 300s Anymore

More than a few journalists covered this sinister sled, but the guys at Speedhunters.com got some nice shots of Amanda Livingston’s '65 Cadillac, complete with Cummings turbodiesel drivetrain. Although the flat black exterior and sparkle top aren’t breakthrough aesthetics, the diesel swap makes an interesting twist. Here's more flat-black love from the Show floor.

Cake and Eat It Too

The gap between traditional hot-rod values and environmental responsibility further narrowed at the 2009 SEMA Show. GM debuted its E-Rod engine line—430hp LS3 crate engines that allow you to legally title a project vehicle in California—within a ’55 Chevy. And Ford displayed its application of new and old school with its twin-turbocharged Ecoboosted ’34 Ford, shown above.

Show Concepts to Reality

Although billed simply as a Jay Leno project car with GM, with a meager 425 hp from a V6 and a pair of Turbonetics T-3 turbos, recent auto show speculation suggests that this Camaro may very well be the next Z28—an idea welcomed by the writers at InsideLine.

Bigger, Wider, Larger…

Mopar’s Lower Forty Jeep caused a stir in off-road circles, as noted by the crew at AutoWeek. The tires on the Lower Forty measure 40 x 13.5, wrapped around 20-inch wheels. There’s also a nearly 400hp Hemi for good measure.


Only at SEMA…

...will you find a Subaru WRX STI snowcat. Unless you happen to ski or board at rally driver and DC Shoes cofounder Ken Block’s Utah compound, in which case you might be offered a ride up to the half-pipe in this purpose-built STI snowmobile. It offered a “why not?” moment for writers such as Motor Trend’s Ed Loh.

The SEMA Show is not only the year’s best opportunity for the specialty-equipment industry to do business, it also serves as the proving grounds for trends that will either meet quick and superficial ends or will take hold and dominate the thoughts of builders, fabricators, designers, engineers and the like for the next 12 months.

The top trend of the 2009 SEMA Show wasn’t a vehicle or product, however. It was a business philosophy, namely, survival. Businesses that attended and exhibited made a commitment to set-up for success in 2010. Twelve months ago, the economy was in free-fall and no one knew where it would land, writes Motor Trend editor Angus MacKenzie. “This year, the mood among most exhibitors was a mixture of relief and quiet optimism: We’ve survived the worst, and things are slowly getting better.”

And with the worst behind, exhibitors offered a mix of innovative, optimistic and playful vehicle builds and designs.

Old School Meets New

Ringbrothers Ford Fairlane was a highlight for many, including Motor Trend and Jalopnik’s writers. A Roush V8, some chop work and artfully integrated billet and carbon-fiber work make the Afterburner an innovative blend of old and new.

Compact Cubism

Kia, Scion and Nissan now all have mobile boxes, and with the success of the Scion xB, why not? These cube cars, with their unique stance and highly customizable layouts, have become top sellers with a young generation of car enthusiasts. The Kia Soul, which made its SEMA Show debut last year, and the Nissan Cube offered platforms for a variety of manufacturers, from mobile audio wire and component makers Scosche to veteran Nissan tuners Stillen.

But the xB, which launched the box trend more than five years ago and now is in its second-generation, still holds sway over the pack. The Scion annual design contest brought out some truly inspired takes on the xB, including the stretched, chopped and Moon-inspired pickup/Ruckus hauler pictured above built by the crew at BOWLS in Los Angeles.

Lexus Continues SEMA Hot Streak
The Lexus IS-F was a hot debut at the 2007 SEMA Show, and this year Lexus maintained its SEMA momentum with the first North American showing of its LF-A supercar. But it was the newest variation of the IS family, the convertible, that got many enthusiasts pumped, as InsideLine noted.

Diesel: Not Just for Trucks and Converted Benz 300s Anymore

More than a few journalists covered this sinister sled, but the guys at Speedhunters.com got some nice shots of Amanda Livingston’s '65 Cadillac, complete with Cummings turbodiesel drivetrain. Although the flat black exterior and sparkle top aren’t breakthrough aesthetics, the diesel swap makes an interesting twist. Here's more flat-black love from the Show floor.

Cake and Eat It Too

The gap between traditional hot-rod values and environmental responsibility further narrowed at the 2009 SEMA Show. GM debuted its E-Rod engine line—430hp LS3 crate engines that allow you to legally title a project vehicle in California—within a ’55 Chevy. And Ford displayed its application of new and old school with its twin-turbocharged Ecoboosted ’34 Ford, shown above.

Show Concepts to Reality

Although billed simply as a Jay Leno project car with GM, with a meager 425 hp from a V6 and a pair of Turbonetics T-3 turbos, recent auto show speculation suggests that this Camaro may very well be the next Z28—an idea welcomed by the writers at InsideLine.

Bigger, Wider, Larger…

Mopar’s Lower Forty Jeep caused a stir in off-road circles, as noted by the crew at AutoWeek. The tires on the Lower Forty measure 40 x 13.5, wrapped around 20-inch wheels. There’s also a nearly 400hp Hemi for good measure.


Only at SEMA…

...will you find a Subaru WRX STI snowcat. Unless you happen to ski or board at rally driver and DC Shoes cofounder Ken Block’s Utah compound, in which case you might be offered a ride up to the half-pipe in this purpose-built STI snowmobile. It offered a “why not?” moment for writers such as Motor Trend’s Ed Loh.

The SEMA Show is not only the year’s best opportunity for the specialty-equipment industry to do business, it also serves as the proving grounds for trends that will either meet quick and superficial ends or will take hold and dominate the thoughts of builders, fabricators, designers, engineers and the like for the next 12 months.

The top trend of the 2009 SEMA Show wasn’t a vehicle or product, however. It was a business philosophy, namely, survival. Businesses that attended and exhibited made a commitment to set-up for success in 2010. Twelve months ago, the economy was in free-fall and no one knew where it would land, writes Motor Trend editor Angus MacKenzie. “This year, the mood among most exhibitors was a mixture of relief and quiet optimism: We’ve survived the worst, and things are slowly getting better.”

And with the worst behind, exhibitors offered a mix of innovative, optimistic and playful vehicle builds and designs.

Old School Meets New

Ringbrothers Ford Fairlane was a highlight for many, including Motor Trend and Jalopnik’s writers. A Roush V8, some chop work and artfully integrated billet and carbon-fiber work make the Afterburner an innovative blend of old and new.

Compact Cubism

Kia, Scion and Nissan now all have mobile boxes, and with the success of the Scion xB, why not? These cube cars, with their unique stance and highly customizable layouts, have become top sellers with a young generation of car enthusiasts. The Kia Soul, which made its SEMA Show debut last year, and the Nissan Cube offered platforms for a variety of manufacturers, from mobile audio wire and component makers Scosche to veteran Nissan tuners Stillen.

But the xB, which launched the box trend more than five years ago and now is in its second-generation, still holds sway over the pack. The Scion annual design contest brought out some truly inspired takes on the xB, including the stretched, chopped and Moon-inspired pickup/Ruckus hauler pictured above built by the crew at BOWLS in Los Angeles.

Lexus Continues SEMA Hot Streak
The Lexus IS-F was a hot debut at the 2007 SEMA Show, and this year Lexus maintained its SEMA momentum with the first North American showing of its LF-A supercar. But it was the newest variation of the IS family, the convertible, that got many enthusiasts pumped, as InsideLine noted.

Diesel: Not Just for Trucks and Converted Benz 300s Anymore

More than a few journalists covered this sinister sled, but the guys at Speedhunters.com got some nice shots of Amanda Livingston’s '65 Cadillac, complete with Cummings turbodiesel drivetrain. Although the flat black exterior and sparkle top aren’t breakthrough aesthetics, the diesel swap makes an interesting twist. Here's more flat-black love from the Show floor.

Cake and Eat It Too

The gap between traditional hot-rod values and environmental responsibility further narrowed at the 2009 SEMA Show. GM debuted its E-Rod engine line—430hp LS3 crate engines that allow you to legally title a project vehicle in California—within a ’55 Chevy. And Ford displayed its application of new and old school with its twin-turbocharged Ecoboosted ’34 Ford, shown above.

Show Concepts to Reality

Although billed simply as a Jay Leno project car with GM, with a meager 425 hp from a V6 and a pair of Turbonetics T-3 turbos, recent auto show speculation suggests that this Camaro may very well be the next Z28—an idea welcomed by the writers at InsideLine.

Bigger, Wider, Larger…

Mopar’s Lower Forty Jeep caused a stir in off-road circles, as noted by the crew at AutoWeek. The tires on the Lower Forty measure 40 x 13.5, wrapped around 20-inch wheels. There’s also a nearly 400hp Hemi for good measure.


Only at SEMA…

...will you find a Subaru WRX STI snowcat. Unless you happen to ski or board at rally driver and DC Shoes cofounder Ken Block’s Utah compound, in which case you might be offered a ride up to the half-pipe in this purpose-built STI snowmobile. It offered a “why not?” moment for writers such as Motor Trend’s Ed Loh.

	Rick Ballard

Rick G. Ballard from Hurricane, Utah, received the Technician of the Future award, sponsored by Mitchell 1 and the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), Ballard earned the honor from a candidate pool of more than 185,000 qualifiers. Ballard has been an automotive technician for three years and an ASE Master Technician for one year. He is employed as an automotive technician at Cache Valley Advantage Automotive, located in Logan, Utah. Ballard took courses at Dixie State College in St. George, Utah in the automotive repair program as a high school student, which included electric car conversion. He graduated from the Toyota T-Ten program through Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, in May 2009.

Advanstar Communications announced that Auto Body World of Tolleson, Arizona, is the Automotive Body Repair News (ABRN) Top Shop for 2009. This year marked the first time the competition was held by ABRN magazine to honor the top 10 collision repair facilities in the United States. Auto Body World of Tolleson, is one of six shops in the Phoenix area operated by the company under the leadership of David Fait, CEO, and Mark Turner, president. Fait’s father, Warren, launched the company in 1962, and they now have 130 employees.

The 2009 SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series will air on Speed-TV beginning December 6.

Beginning December 6, the 2009 SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series—the country’s only professional clean diesel racing series—will begin airing on Speed TV. The broadcast schedule for the first seven races of the season has been announced, and the final dates will be released at a later date. Each of the races will air in an edited 30-minute broadcast. Check local cable listings for channel information and www.speedtv.com for broadcast schedule updates.

DuPont announced that silver, black and white are the top colors in the first-ever ranking of worldwide vehicle color popularity. The Top 10 Global Vehicle Colors according to DuPont are: silver (25%), black (23%), white (16%), gray (13%), blue (9%), red (8%), brown/beige (4%), green (1%), yellow/gold (1%), others (less than 1%). The information is part of the annual DuPont Global Automotive Color Popularity Report, now in its 57th year. Read the complete release from DuPont.

After being away from the Motorsports show for several years, Miller Beer will return as an associate sponsor for Motorsports 2010 presented by StreetBlaze 100. The 25th anniversary edition of the show is set for Friday–Sunday, January 22–24, at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.

	Yokohama's headquarters in Fullerton, California.

The Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC) is celebrating its 40th anniversary in the United States. Some highlights of the company’s 40 years in the United States include: YTC introduces the A008 asymmetric tread pattern to the United States in 1982; YTC acquires the Mohawk Rubber Company, providing an essential manufacturing facility in the United States; YTC opens a distribution center in Auburn, Georgia, in 2000; and, in 2008, the company’s Orange oil-infused dB Super E-spec wins Popular Mechanics Editor’s Choice Award. For more information, visit www.yokohamatire.com.

McCullough Public Relations Inc. was selected as the public relations firm of record for Prolong Super Lubricants, a brand of GoldenWest Lubricants Inc. McCullough PR will coordinate all of Prolong's media relations, including press release writing, feature-story coordination and onsite trade show representation.

Suzuki is preparing the launch of its all-new 2010 Kizashi five-passenger sedan and is inviting all SEMA manufacturing members to its December 11 measuring session to get hands-on with the new specs. The front-drive 2010 Kizashi (also available in AWD) will feature a 2.4L four-cylinder engine, putting down 185 hp through a six-speed manual or CVT.

SEMA News - December 2009

Joe Dysart

Top 10 Free Business Uses

Already a juggernaut for business marketing, YouTube is becoming the Swiss Army knife of business communications.

“If you’ve never visited the YouTube website, you’ve missed out on the hottest thing on the Internet today,” said Michael Miller, author of YouTube for Business: Online Video Marketing for Any Business, an excellent guide.

One of the major reasons businesses are flocking to YouTube is its unbridled popularity. Just a blip on the web’s radar a few years ago, the video-sharing service has rocketed to one of the most visited sites on the Internet. During August 2009 alone, more than 120 million viewers watched nearly 10 billion videos on YouTube, according to market watcher Comscore.

Organizations also find YouTube’s ease of entry and low cost hard to resist. Virtually anyone with basic PC skills can upload a video to YouTube—for free—in a matter of minutes. And since YouTube’s videos are generally viewed in a relatively small viewing screen, there’s no reason for businesses to endure painful budgets for video production costs. In fact, the subtleties of high-end video production are generally lost on YouTube, according to Miller.

Plus, business users are saving significant coin by shifting hosting responsibilities for their videos onto YouTube. The reason? Ordinarily, a firm needs to pay bandwidth transmission charges anytime a visitor views a video hosted on its company website. But when that same video is uploaded to YouTube’s servers, businesses never pay a bandwidth transmission cost—no matter how many times that video is viewed.

All told, it’s a frothy mix of remarkable popularity, ease of entry and virtually non-existent costs that have the wheels spinning at countless organizations as they continually innovate on YouTube. So far, here are the top 10 uses they’ve forged:

Marketing: This is without doubt the most popular business use of YouTube, and it can be wildly successful. Firms with shoestring promotional budgets have become overnight stars on the service, often with zany and off-the-wall marketing pitches. One of the classics is “Will It Blend,” a campy series from blender manufacturer Blendtec, which proves the mettle of its product by “blending” some rather unorthodox items in its blender. Among the hapless victims of the series are:

• iPhone
• rake handle
• 50 marbles 

Other successful irreverent takes on YouTube marketing include offerings from:

• T-Mobile Dance
• Inspired Bicycles
• Rosenthal Plumbing

Recruiting: Given that many firms already have videos touting their businesses as inviting places to work, posting those same productions on YouTube is a no-brainer. Top firms already cashing in on the free exposure include Intel, Siemens and Google.

“Don’t limit yourself to a single, long puff video,” Miller said. “Produce separate videos for individual departments as well as to illustrate company values, employee benefits, facilities and the like.”

Product/Service How-To’s: These videos can, of course, serve a dual purpose for a business, offering detailed instructions for novice clients and customers while serving as a promotional spot for looky-lous.

Given that many firms already have videos touting their businesses as inviting places to work, posting those same productions on YouTube is a no-brainer.

Company Video FAQs: Any firm can leap over the image of faceless, monolithic corporate players with on-the-fly videos, which feature charming customer-service people answering frequently asked questions. Sure, many businesses already have written FAQs on their websites. But there is something to be said for going the extra mile and offering the personal touch inherent in the video medium. For a model video FAQ, check out AT&T’s offering on iPhones.

News Video Clips: The beauty of posting your company news to YouTube is that your information is not sliced, diced or in any other way whittled down to a mere shadow of its former glory. Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, for example, recently posted an eight-minute video on YouTube detailing his company’s acquisition of Zappos.

Focus Groups: Many sophisticated users of YouTube are also using the service as a free testing ground for commercials that they plan to run on cable and broadcast TV and elsewhere on the web. Specifically, they use YouTube’s free analytical tool, Insight, to test the viewing popularity of commercials. Insight’s metrics include the overall popularity of the video, who’s viewing the video, where those viewers are coming from on the web and what keywords they used to find the video.

Client Communications: When an e-mail or friendly phone call simply doesn’t cut it, many firms are posting videos to YouTube to connect with clients concerning project updates, personalized descriptions of new products or services and the like. The medium conveys the message that the company places a special value on its client or customer and is willing to go the extra distance to prove it. Plus, such communications can be easily made private on YouTube by selecting the “private” option under its “Broadcast Options” variable. This ensures that only the viewers you select get to see the video you’ve uploaded.

Employee-to-Employee Communications: As far as Google, the parent company of YouTube, is concerned, “videomail” could be poised to become the e-mail of the next decade. In fact, Google has added “Google Video” to its Google Apps suite for businesses. Makes sense. Why not zip off a response to a thorny problem or challenge via video mail if it’s easier to do so than in another medium? At the very least, videomail is a trend worth experimenting with and monitoring.

Employee Training: Any company with multiple locations across the United States or across the world can immediately see the benefit of posting training videos on YouTube and having the appropriate employees dial in. And by using YouTube’s “private broadcast” option, those companies can ensure that the training videos stay internal. “Many companies find that YouTube is a fast and effective way to disseminate all kinds of employee information,” Miller said. “Done right, it gets information out there in near real time with all the benefits of face-to-face communication.”

Savings on Business Travel: All the videos sent to employees and clients are also enabling businesses users to rack up substantial savings on business travel. Granted, there are plenty of instances where true face-to-face interaction is irreplaceable.

But in many other situations, a video overture is a bull’s-eye compromise between basic e-mail and an all-expenses-paid business trip for one or more employees to multiple cities.

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan, New York.
Voice: 646/233-4089
E-mail: joe@joedysart.com
Website: www.joedysart.com

SEMA News - December 2009

Joe Dysart

Top 10 Free Business Uses

Already a juggernaut for business marketing, YouTube is becoming the Swiss Army knife of business communications.

“If you’ve never visited the YouTube website, you’ve missed out on the hottest thing on the Internet today,” said Michael Miller, author of YouTube for Business: Online Video Marketing for Any Business, an excellent guide.

One of the major reasons businesses are flocking to YouTube is its unbridled popularity. Just a blip on the web’s radar a few years ago, the video-sharing service has rocketed to one of the most visited sites on the Internet. During August 2009 alone, more than 120 million viewers watched nearly 10 billion videos on YouTube, according to market watcher Comscore.

Organizations also find YouTube’s ease of entry and low cost hard to resist. Virtually anyone with basic PC skills can upload a video to YouTube—for free—in a matter of minutes. And since YouTube’s videos are generally viewed in a relatively small viewing screen, there’s no reason for businesses to endure painful budgets for video production costs. In fact, the subtleties of high-end video production are generally lost on YouTube, according to Miller.

Plus, business users are saving significant coin by shifting hosting responsibilities for their videos onto YouTube. The reason? Ordinarily, a firm needs to pay bandwidth transmission charges anytime a visitor views a video hosted on its company website. But when that same video is uploaded to YouTube’s servers, businesses never pay a bandwidth transmission cost—no matter how many times that video is viewed.

All told, it’s a frothy mix of remarkable popularity, ease of entry and virtually non-existent costs that have the wheels spinning at countless organizations as they continually innovate on YouTube. So far, here are the top 10 uses they’ve forged:

Marketing: This is without doubt the most popular business use of YouTube, and it can be wildly successful. Firms with shoestring promotional budgets have become overnight stars on the service, often with zany and off-the-wall marketing pitches. One of the classics is “Will It Blend,” a campy series from blender manufacturer Blendtec, which proves the mettle of its product by “blending” some rather unorthodox items in its blender. Among the hapless victims of the series are:

• iPhone
• rake handle
• 50 marbles 

Other successful irreverent takes on YouTube marketing include offerings from:

• T-Mobile Dance
• Inspired Bicycles
• Rosenthal Plumbing

Recruiting: Given that many firms already have videos touting their businesses as inviting places to work, posting those same productions on YouTube is a no-brainer. Top firms already cashing in on the free exposure include Intel, Siemens and Google.

“Don’t limit yourself to a single, long puff video,” Miller said. “Produce separate videos for individual departments as well as to illustrate company values, employee benefits, facilities and the like.”

Product/Service How-To’s: These videos can, of course, serve a dual purpose for a business, offering detailed instructions for novice clients and customers while serving as a promotional spot for looky-lous.

Given that many firms already have videos touting their businesses as inviting places to work, posting those same productions on YouTube is a no-brainer.

Company Video FAQs: Any firm can leap over the image of faceless, monolithic corporate players with on-the-fly videos, which feature charming customer-service people answering frequently asked questions. Sure, many businesses already have written FAQs on their websites. But there is something to be said for going the extra mile and offering the personal touch inherent in the video medium. For a model video FAQ, check out AT&T’s offering on iPhones.

News Video Clips: The beauty of posting your company news to YouTube is that your information is not sliced, diced or in any other way whittled down to a mere shadow of its former glory. Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, for example, recently posted an eight-minute video on YouTube detailing his company’s acquisition of Zappos.

Focus Groups: Many sophisticated users of YouTube are also using the service as a free testing ground for commercials that they plan to run on cable and broadcast TV and elsewhere on the web. Specifically, they use YouTube’s free analytical tool, Insight, to test the viewing popularity of commercials. Insight’s metrics include the overall popularity of the video, who’s viewing the video, where those viewers are coming from on the web and what keywords they used to find the video.

Client Communications: When an e-mail or friendly phone call simply doesn’t cut it, many firms are posting videos to YouTube to connect with clients concerning project updates, personalized descriptions of new products or services and the like. The medium conveys the message that the company places a special value on its client or customer and is willing to go the extra distance to prove it. Plus, such communications can be easily made private on YouTube by selecting the “private” option under its “Broadcast Options” variable. This ensures that only the viewers you select get to see the video you’ve uploaded.

Employee-to-Employee Communications: As far as Google, the parent company of YouTube, is concerned, “videomail” could be poised to become the e-mail of the next decade. In fact, Google has added “Google Video” to its Google Apps suite for businesses. Makes sense. Why not zip off a response to a thorny problem or challenge via video mail if it’s easier to do so than in another medium? At the very least, videomail is a trend worth experimenting with and monitoring.

Employee Training: Any company with multiple locations across the United States or across the world can immediately see the benefit of posting training videos on YouTube and having the appropriate employees dial in. And by using YouTube’s “private broadcast” option, those companies can ensure that the training videos stay internal. “Many companies find that YouTube is a fast and effective way to disseminate all kinds of employee information,” Miller said. “Done right, it gets information out there in near real time with all the benefits of face-to-face communication.”

Savings on Business Travel: All the videos sent to employees and clients are also enabling businesses users to rack up substantial savings on business travel. Granted, there are plenty of instances where true face-to-face interaction is irreplaceable.

But in many other situations, a video overture is a bull’s-eye compromise between basic e-mail and an all-expenses-paid business trip for one or more employees to multiple cities.

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan, New York.
Voice: 646/233-4089
E-mail: joe@joedysart.com
Website: www.joedysart.com