SEMA News - July 2009
BUSINESS

By Steve Campbell

Restylers Use Nontraditional Avenues During Bumpy Times

Dealers understand that new cars currently hold less appeal than good-quality used cars, and they are increasing their used-car inventories. Both franchisees and used-car dealers are buying vehicles at auctions and keeping better trade-ins to sell on their lots. Courtesy Lund Cadillac

First, the obvious: The new-car market—traditionally fertile ground for restylers to cultivate—has become mired in the global recession. Extremely cautious consumers are holding off on big-ticket expenditures, and while reputable economists see glimmers of a rebound, business has yet to fully flex the recovery springboard. Still, some restylers have searched along the boundaries of their expertise to explore avenues they may have overlooked in more fruitful times.

Bob Nardine, owner and president of Bob’s Top Shop in Orlando, Florida, went back to his roots. Nardine started his business in “soft trim”—convertible tops, carpet and anything that had to do with fabric either in or on the vehicle. He eventually expanded into a full restyling shop, but never gave up the trim side of the business. As the recession deepened and work fell off from his established new-car dealership contacts, he began to promote retail convertible top repairs—a natural fit for his Florida demographic.

“At one time, we did about 85% of our business in new-car dealer work,” Nardine said. “Now, it’s about 45%. I learned from a predecessor whose uncle taught him. He told me that during the Depression, his uncle always had gas in the car and food on the table. He didn’t get rich, but people repaired before they bought new, and it’s the same thing today.”

Repair work can be a boon for a shop that employs experienced technicians. Restylers should talk with their crews to see how they might turn some of that knowledge into opportunities, discovering skills employees possess that don’t require a tremendous investment to promote, but may lead to new revenue streams. Technicians often come to restyling shops with experience in audio, paint, exhaust and bodywork—the whole range of repair services—and that can lead to niche business for the shop through refurbishing good used cars.

Experienced dealers understand that new cars currently hold less appeal than good-quality used cars, and they are increasing their used-car inventories. Both franchisees and used-car dealers are buying inventory at auctions and keeping better trade-ins to sell on their lots.

One way to help a dealer shore up its bottom line is to add accessories so that some profit cushion is built in to each vehicle. The cost of additional accessories creates only a marginally higher payment on a no-interest or low-interest loan. Courtesy Lund Cadillac

“We’re buying a lot of low-mileage used cars from all across the country and accessorizing them,” said Larry Appleby, accessory manager at Lund Cadillac in Phoenix, Arizona. “We’re selling four used for every new car, where it used to be about equal.”

That shift in the car market should be an obvious signpost for restylers. There is pent-up demand for vehicles, and people must replace older cars and trucks at some point. For those buying now, a good used car is an appealing deal. The same concepts—although, not necessarily the same accessories—apply to used vehicles as they do to new, and some installers have seen their used-car business increase considerably.

“The one thing that installers who may not be familiar with used-car restyling need to keep in mind is that every late-model used car depreciates every day that it sits on a dealer’s lot, unlike a new car that holds its value until someone drives it away,” said Ellen McKoy, SEMA’s senior director of dealer relations. “So dealers have a great incentive—a financial need from an investment standpoint—to turn that inventory as quickly as possible and as profitably as possible. But they need to keep in mind that people who buy used cars do so because they’re less expensive than their new-car twin. Because the vehicles themselves depreciate in value, you don’t want to over accessorize a used vehicle so that you price it out of the range of the potential buyer.”

In some markets, that means toning down some of the things one might do to a new-model vehicle—a power sunroof, full leather interior with custom inserts, high-dollar wheel-and-tire package—that will put a hefty add-on ticket on the vehicle. Instead, consider a factory look-alike leather package to replace a worn velour or cloth interior. That type of addition costs hundreds of dollars less that the full-boat package, but still makes the vehicle distinctive and more attractive.

Appleby’s philosophy at Lund Cadillac is to make every car that rolls off the lot distinctive from what can be found elsewhere. Lund does far more restyling than most retail outsets, and Appleby says that the consumer’s desire for a unique product is the reason.

“Accessorization still differentiates your car from the one down the street,” he said. “That’s what we do differently. We treat used cars like new cars, but on a used car, we’re putting all of the products on the car at cost. So we’re generating work for the technicians and moving product, but all the profit is made on the gross of the vehicle.”

For instance, Appleby explained, rather than showing a $2,895 sticker add-on for a top on a new car and applying about $2,095 in profit to accessory sales, Lund puts the top on a used car at its $800 cost with the intention of selling the vehicle for an additional $2,000 and applying the $1,200 gross profit to the dealership. Another dealer might have a similar car at about the same price, but the customer gets more value by buying the accessorized car at Lund.

Just like his own site for Sunroofs Etc., the websites built by Steve Thompson for his dealership partners act as a sales tool, allowing customers to view products at their convenience. Because Thompson’s company is the installer for anything ordered using the sites he built, the company locks in the business from the dealerships it services. The dealership increases its margins; the salespeople are more efficient; the customers order exactly what they want; and Sunroofs Etc. sees additional production.

Steve Thompson has taken yet another road to keep his business going while others have fallen by the wayside. Thompson, president of Sunroofs Etc. in Golden Valley, Minnesota, is a long-time traditional restyler who has been in business for more than 20 years, but he had also acquired some expertise at developing websites. Through his work on the Internet, Thompson decided to offer a service to area dealerships. He created sites that incorporated both specialty equipment and the original equipment that the dealers carried.

“We built specific accessory websites for certain larger customers because the people at the dealership weren’t really sure what they were selling when it came to aftermarket products, and they didn’t know what to charge,” Thompson said. “Once you template a site and put on whatever the dealership wants to retail, their sales or service people can pull up a picture and information on how much the product is, what the warranty is and how much they are supposed to charge. There’s a part number included, so the employee can handle the order and charge the customer the proper amount.”

The site also acts as a sales tool for the dealership, allowing customers to view products and packages at their convenience. And, because Sunroofs Etc. is the installer for anything ordered using the sites Thompson has built, the company locks in the business from the dealerships it services. The dealership increases its margins; the salespeople are more efficient; the customers order exactly what they want; and Sunroofs Etc. sees additional production.

New-car interest rates present another opportunity that restylers should be aware of. Because of the drastic slowdown in new-vehicle sales, many automakers and their dealerships are offering unheard-of incentives to get buyers to come into the showrooms, including interest rates as low as 0%, depending on certain qualifiers. If the rate is 0%, dealers are not making anything on financing—one of their traditional revenue streams. One way to help a dealer shore up its bottom line is to add accessories so that some profit cushion is built in to each vehicle. The price of a sunroof, leather or wheels creates only a marginally higher payment on the no-interest loan, so accessories become truly low-cost options.

In addition, while the factories and the dealers currently have excessive inventory because of the stagnant market, things could change as the automakers shut down not only for their usual summer break, but also as some extend their production hiatus to negotiate severe economic hurdles. In that case, it is entirely possible that dealer inventory on some models could eventually be depleted—particularly as the factories curtail certain option packages. That opens the door for restylers to supply needed accessories on a just-in-time basis.

“Savvy restylers know what those option packages are, and they will use that as a marketing tool when they talk to their dealers,” said McKoy. “If customers just want a sunroof on a particular model, they may have to also order an upgraded stereo and wheels and tires as a factory package. They can’t order them singly because they come as a unit. The restyler can offer the dealer a better sunroof than from the factory with superior benefits and improved features at a more competitive price. Restylers should sit down with the dealership’s sales manager, general manager or dealer principal and ask about the most popular option packages. See where there are shortages and then try to build unique accessory packages of their own around those.”

Finding a need and filling it is an old precept in business, but timing is also of the essence, McKoy said. When business is good, it’s hard for restylers to get a dealer’s attention because they’re focused on moving inventory. When business is slow, they’re focused on just keeping the dealership going, but they’re also more receptive to hearing about ways to keep the dealership alive.

Even dealerships that may not have been interested in restyling will recognize positive results from a sale here and there that was made because the vehicle was accessorized or that brought in a higher price. As business begins to improve, which it eventually will, the restylers responsible for those additional sales will have already laid a solid foundation.

SEMA News - July 2009
BUSINESS

By Steve Campbell

Restylers Use Nontraditional Avenues During Bumpy Times

Dealers understand that new cars currently hold less appeal than good-quality used cars, and they are increasing their used-car inventories. Both franchisees and used-car dealers are buying vehicles at auctions and keeping better trade-ins to sell on their lots. Courtesy Lund Cadillac

First, the obvious: The new-car market—traditionally fertile ground for restylers to cultivate—has become mired in the global recession. Extremely cautious consumers are holding off on big-ticket expenditures, and while reputable economists see glimmers of a rebound, business has yet to fully flex the recovery springboard. Still, some restylers have searched along the boundaries of their expertise to explore avenues they may have overlooked in more fruitful times.

Bob Nardine, owner and president of Bob’s Top Shop in Orlando, Florida, went back to his roots. Nardine started his business in “soft trim”—convertible tops, carpet and anything that had to do with fabric either in or on the vehicle. He eventually expanded into a full restyling shop, but never gave up the trim side of the business. As the recession deepened and work fell off from his established new-car dealership contacts, he began to promote retail convertible top repairs—a natural fit for his Florida demographic.

“At one time, we did about 85% of our business in new-car dealer work,” Nardine said. “Now, it’s about 45%. I learned from a predecessor whose uncle taught him. He told me that during the Depression, his uncle always had gas in the car and food on the table. He didn’t get rich, but people repaired before they bought new, and it’s the same thing today.”

Repair work can be a boon for a shop that employs experienced technicians. Restylers should talk with their crews to see how they might turn some of that knowledge into opportunities, discovering skills employees possess that don’t require a tremendous investment to promote, but may lead to new revenue streams. Technicians often come to restyling shops with experience in audio, paint, exhaust and bodywork—the whole range of repair services—and that can lead to niche business for the shop through refurbishing good used cars.

Experienced dealers understand that new cars currently hold less appeal than good-quality used cars, and they are increasing their used-car inventories. Both franchisees and used-car dealers are buying inventory at auctions and keeping better trade-ins to sell on their lots.

One way to help a dealer shore up its bottom line is to add accessories so that some profit cushion is built in to each vehicle. The cost of additional accessories creates only a marginally higher payment on a no-interest or low-interest loan. Courtesy Lund Cadillac

“We’re buying a lot of low-mileage used cars from all across the country and accessorizing them,” said Larry Appleby, accessory manager at Lund Cadillac in Phoenix, Arizona. “We’re selling four used for every new car, where it used to be about equal.”

That shift in the car market should be an obvious signpost for restylers. There is pent-up demand for vehicles, and people must replace older cars and trucks at some point. For those buying now, a good used car is an appealing deal. The same concepts—although, not necessarily the same accessories—apply to used vehicles as they do to new, and some installers have seen their used-car business increase considerably.

“The one thing that installers who may not be familiar with used-car restyling need to keep in mind is that every late-model used car depreciates every day that it sits on a dealer’s lot, unlike a new car that holds its value until someone drives it away,” said Ellen McKoy, SEMA’s senior director of dealer relations. “So dealers have a great incentive—a financial need from an investment standpoint—to turn that inventory as quickly as possible and as profitably as possible. But they need to keep in mind that people who buy used cars do so because they’re less expensive than their new-car twin. Because the vehicles themselves depreciate in value, you don’t want to over accessorize a used vehicle so that you price it out of the range of the potential buyer.”

In some markets, that means toning down some of the things one might do to a new-model vehicle—a power sunroof, full leather interior with custom inserts, high-dollar wheel-and-tire package—that will put a hefty add-on ticket on the vehicle. Instead, consider a factory look-alike leather package to replace a worn velour or cloth interior. That type of addition costs hundreds of dollars less that the full-boat package, but still makes the vehicle distinctive and more attractive.

Appleby’s philosophy at Lund Cadillac is to make every car that rolls off the lot distinctive from what can be found elsewhere. Lund does far more restyling than most retail outsets, and Appleby says that the consumer’s desire for a unique product is the reason.

“Accessorization still differentiates your car from the one down the street,” he said. “That’s what we do differently. We treat used cars like new cars, but on a used car, we’re putting all of the products on the car at cost. So we’re generating work for the technicians and moving product, but all the profit is made on the gross of the vehicle.”

For instance, Appleby explained, rather than showing a $2,895 sticker add-on for a top on a new car and applying about $2,095 in profit to accessory sales, Lund puts the top on a used car at its $800 cost with the intention of selling the vehicle for an additional $2,000 and applying the $1,200 gross profit to the dealership. Another dealer might have a similar car at about the same price, but the customer gets more value by buying the accessorized car at Lund.

Just like his own site for Sunroofs Etc., the websites built by Steve Thompson for his dealership partners act as a sales tool, allowing customers to view products at their convenience. Because Thompson’s company is the installer for anything ordered using the sites he built, the company locks in the business from the dealerships it services. The dealership increases its margins; the salespeople are more efficient; the customers order exactly what they want; and Sunroofs Etc. sees additional production.

Steve Thompson has taken yet another road to keep his business going while others have fallen by the wayside. Thompson, president of Sunroofs Etc. in Golden Valley, Minnesota, is a long-time traditional restyler who has been in business for more than 20 years, but he had also acquired some expertise at developing websites. Through his work on the Internet, Thompson decided to offer a service to area dealerships. He created sites that incorporated both specialty equipment and the original equipment that the dealers carried.

“We built specific accessory websites for certain larger customers because the people at the dealership weren’t really sure what they were selling when it came to aftermarket products, and they didn’t know what to charge,” Thompson said. “Once you template a site and put on whatever the dealership wants to retail, their sales or service people can pull up a picture and information on how much the product is, what the warranty is and how much they are supposed to charge. There’s a part number included, so the employee can handle the order and charge the customer the proper amount.”

The site also acts as a sales tool for the dealership, allowing customers to view products and packages at their convenience. And, because Sunroofs Etc. is the installer for anything ordered using the sites Thompson has built, the company locks in the business from the dealerships it services. The dealership increases its margins; the salespeople are more efficient; the customers order exactly what they want; and Sunroofs Etc. sees additional production.

New-car interest rates present another opportunity that restylers should be aware of. Because of the drastic slowdown in new-vehicle sales, many automakers and their dealerships are offering unheard-of incentives to get buyers to come into the showrooms, including interest rates as low as 0%, depending on certain qualifiers. If the rate is 0%, dealers are not making anything on financing—one of their traditional revenue streams. One way to help a dealer shore up its bottom line is to add accessories so that some profit cushion is built in to each vehicle. The price of a sunroof, leather or wheels creates only a marginally higher payment on the no-interest loan, so accessories become truly low-cost options.

In addition, while the factories and the dealers currently have excessive inventory because of the stagnant market, things could change as the automakers shut down not only for their usual summer break, but also as some extend their production hiatus to negotiate severe economic hurdles. In that case, it is entirely possible that dealer inventory on some models could eventually be depleted—particularly as the factories curtail certain option packages. That opens the door for restylers to supply needed accessories on a just-in-time basis.

“Savvy restylers know what those option packages are, and they will use that as a marketing tool when they talk to their dealers,” said McKoy. “If customers just want a sunroof on a particular model, they may have to also order an upgraded stereo and wheels and tires as a factory package. They can’t order them singly because they come as a unit. The restyler can offer the dealer a better sunroof than from the factory with superior benefits and improved features at a more competitive price. Restylers should sit down with the dealership’s sales manager, general manager or dealer principal and ask about the most popular option packages. See where there are shortages and then try to build unique accessory packages of their own around those.”

Finding a need and filling it is an old precept in business, but timing is also of the essence, McKoy said. When business is good, it’s hard for restylers to get a dealer’s attention because they’re focused on moving inventory. When business is slow, they’re focused on just keeping the dealership going, but they’re also more receptive to hearing about ways to keep the dealership alive.

Even dealerships that may not have been interested in restyling will recognize positive results from a sale here and there that was made because the vehicle was accessorized or that brought in a higher price. As business begins to improve, which it eventually will, the restylers responsible for those additional sales will have already laid a solid foundation.

SEMA News - July 2009
BUSINESS

By Steve Campbell

Restylers Use Nontraditional Avenues During Bumpy Times

Dealers understand that new cars currently hold less appeal than good-quality used cars, and they are increasing their used-car inventories. Both franchisees and used-car dealers are buying vehicles at auctions and keeping better trade-ins to sell on their lots. Courtesy Lund Cadillac

First, the obvious: The new-car market—traditionally fertile ground for restylers to cultivate—has become mired in the global recession. Extremely cautious consumers are holding off on big-ticket expenditures, and while reputable economists see glimmers of a rebound, business has yet to fully flex the recovery springboard. Still, some restylers have searched along the boundaries of their expertise to explore avenues they may have overlooked in more fruitful times.

Bob Nardine, owner and president of Bob’s Top Shop in Orlando, Florida, went back to his roots. Nardine started his business in “soft trim”—convertible tops, carpet and anything that had to do with fabric either in or on the vehicle. He eventually expanded into a full restyling shop, but never gave up the trim side of the business. As the recession deepened and work fell off from his established new-car dealership contacts, he began to promote retail convertible top repairs—a natural fit for his Florida demographic.

“At one time, we did about 85% of our business in new-car dealer work,” Nardine said. “Now, it’s about 45%. I learned from a predecessor whose uncle taught him. He told me that during the Depression, his uncle always had gas in the car and food on the table. He didn’t get rich, but people repaired before they bought new, and it’s the same thing today.”

Repair work can be a boon for a shop that employs experienced technicians. Restylers should talk with their crews to see how they might turn some of that knowledge into opportunities, discovering skills employees possess that don’t require a tremendous investment to promote, but may lead to new revenue streams. Technicians often come to restyling shops with experience in audio, paint, exhaust and bodywork—the whole range of repair services—and that can lead to niche business for the shop through refurbishing good used cars.

Experienced dealers understand that new cars currently hold less appeal than good-quality used cars, and they are increasing their used-car inventories. Both franchisees and used-car dealers are buying inventory at auctions and keeping better trade-ins to sell on their lots.

One way to help a dealer shore up its bottom line is to add accessories so that some profit cushion is built in to each vehicle. The cost of additional accessories creates only a marginally higher payment on a no-interest or low-interest loan. Courtesy Lund Cadillac

“We’re buying a lot of low-mileage used cars from all across the country and accessorizing them,” said Larry Appleby, accessory manager at Lund Cadillac in Phoenix, Arizona. “We’re selling four used for every new car, where it used to be about equal.”

That shift in the car market should be an obvious signpost for restylers. There is pent-up demand for vehicles, and people must replace older cars and trucks at some point. For those buying now, a good used car is an appealing deal. The same concepts—although, not necessarily the same accessories—apply to used vehicles as they do to new, and some installers have seen their used-car business increase considerably.

“The one thing that installers who may not be familiar with used-car restyling need to keep in mind is that every late-model used car depreciates every day that it sits on a dealer’s lot, unlike a new car that holds its value until someone drives it away,” said Ellen McKoy, SEMA’s senior director of dealer relations. “So dealers have a great incentive—a financial need from an investment standpoint—to turn that inventory as quickly as possible and as profitably as possible. But they need to keep in mind that people who buy used cars do so because they’re less expensive than their new-car twin. Because the vehicles themselves depreciate in value, you don’t want to over accessorize a used vehicle so that you price it out of the range of the potential buyer.”

In some markets, that means toning down some of the things one might do to a new-model vehicle—a power sunroof, full leather interior with custom inserts, high-dollar wheel-and-tire package—that will put a hefty add-on ticket on the vehicle. Instead, consider a factory look-alike leather package to replace a worn velour or cloth interior. That type of addition costs hundreds of dollars less that the full-boat package, but still makes the vehicle distinctive and more attractive.

Appleby’s philosophy at Lund Cadillac is to make every car that rolls off the lot distinctive from what can be found elsewhere. Lund does far more restyling than most retail outsets, and Appleby says that the consumer’s desire for a unique product is the reason.

“Accessorization still differentiates your car from the one down the street,” he said. “That’s what we do differently. We treat used cars like new cars, but on a used car, we’re putting all of the products on the car at cost. So we’re generating work for the technicians and moving product, but all the profit is made on the gross of the vehicle.”

For instance, Appleby explained, rather than showing a $2,895 sticker add-on for a top on a new car and applying about $2,095 in profit to accessory sales, Lund puts the top on a used car at its $800 cost with the intention of selling the vehicle for an additional $2,000 and applying the $1,200 gross profit to the dealership. Another dealer might have a similar car at about the same price, but the customer gets more value by buying the accessorized car at Lund.

Just like his own site for Sunroofs Etc., the websites built by Steve Thompson for his dealership partners act as a sales tool, allowing customers to view products at their convenience. Because Thompson’s company is the installer for anything ordered using the sites he built, the company locks in the business from the dealerships it services. The dealership increases its margins; the salespeople are more efficient; the customers order exactly what they want; and Sunroofs Etc. sees additional production.

Steve Thompson has taken yet another road to keep his business going while others have fallen by the wayside. Thompson, president of Sunroofs Etc. in Golden Valley, Minnesota, is a long-time traditional restyler who has been in business for more than 20 years, but he had also acquired some expertise at developing websites. Through his work on the Internet, Thompson decided to offer a service to area dealerships. He created sites that incorporated both specialty equipment and the original equipment that the dealers carried.

“We built specific accessory websites for certain larger customers because the people at the dealership weren’t really sure what they were selling when it came to aftermarket products, and they didn’t know what to charge,” Thompson said. “Once you template a site and put on whatever the dealership wants to retail, their sales or service people can pull up a picture and information on how much the product is, what the warranty is and how much they are supposed to charge. There’s a part number included, so the employee can handle the order and charge the customer the proper amount.”

The site also acts as a sales tool for the dealership, allowing customers to view products and packages at their convenience. And, because Sunroofs Etc. is the installer for anything ordered using the sites Thompson has built, the company locks in the business from the dealerships it services. The dealership increases its margins; the salespeople are more efficient; the customers order exactly what they want; and Sunroofs Etc. sees additional production.

New-car interest rates present another opportunity that restylers should be aware of. Because of the drastic slowdown in new-vehicle sales, many automakers and their dealerships are offering unheard-of incentives to get buyers to come into the showrooms, including interest rates as low as 0%, depending on certain qualifiers. If the rate is 0%, dealers are not making anything on financing—one of their traditional revenue streams. One way to help a dealer shore up its bottom line is to add accessories so that some profit cushion is built in to each vehicle. The price of a sunroof, leather or wheels creates only a marginally higher payment on the no-interest loan, so accessories become truly low-cost options.

In addition, while the factories and the dealers currently have excessive inventory because of the stagnant market, things could change as the automakers shut down not only for their usual summer break, but also as some extend their production hiatus to negotiate severe economic hurdles. In that case, it is entirely possible that dealer inventory on some models could eventually be depleted—particularly as the factories curtail certain option packages. That opens the door for restylers to supply needed accessories on a just-in-time basis.

“Savvy restylers know what those option packages are, and they will use that as a marketing tool when they talk to their dealers,” said McKoy. “If customers just want a sunroof on a particular model, they may have to also order an upgraded stereo and wheels and tires as a factory package. They can’t order them singly because they come as a unit. The restyler can offer the dealer a better sunroof than from the factory with superior benefits and improved features at a more competitive price. Restylers should sit down with the dealership’s sales manager, general manager or dealer principal and ask about the most popular option packages. See where there are shortages and then try to build unique accessory packages of their own around those.”

Finding a need and filling it is an old precept in business, but timing is also of the essence, McKoy said. When business is good, it’s hard for restylers to get a dealer’s attention because they’re focused on moving inventory. When business is slow, they’re focused on just keeping the dealership going, but they’re also more receptive to hearing about ways to keep the dealership alive.

Even dealerships that may not have been interested in restyling will recognize positive results from a sale here and there that was made because the vehicle was accessorized or that brought in a higher price. As business begins to improve, which it eventually will, the restylers responsible for those additional sales will have already laid a solid foundation.

SEMA News - July 2009
BUSINESS

By Steve Campbell

Restylers Use Nontraditional Avenues During Bumpy Times

Dealers understand that new cars currently hold less appeal than good-quality used cars, and they are increasing their used-car inventories. Both franchisees and used-car dealers are buying vehicles at auctions and keeping better trade-ins to sell on their lots. Courtesy Lund Cadillac

First, the obvious: The new-car market—traditionally fertile ground for restylers to cultivate—has become mired in the global recession. Extremely cautious consumers are holding off on big-ticket expenditures, and while reputable economists see glimmers of a rebound, business has yet to fully flex the recovery springboard. Still, some restylers have searched along the boundaries of their expertise to explore avenues they may have overlooked in more fruitful times.

Bob Nardine, owner and president of Bob’s Top Shop in Orlando, Florida, went back to his roots. Nardine started his business in “soft trim”—convertible tops, carpet and anything that had to do with fabric either in or on the vehicle. He eventually expanded into a full restyling shop, but never gave up the trim side of the business. As the recession deepened and work fell off from his established new-car dealership contacts, he began to promote retail convertible top repairs—a natural fit for his Florida demographic.

“At one time, we did about 85% of our business in new-car dealer work,” Nardine said. “Now, it’s about 45%. I learned from a predecessor whose uncle taught him. He told me that during the Depression, his uncle always had gas in the car and food on the table. He didn’t get rich, but people repaired before they bought new, and it’s the same thing today.”

Repair work can be a boon for a shop that employs experienced technicians. Restylers should talk with their crews to see how they might turn some of that knowledge into opportunities, discovering skills employees possess that don’t require a tremendous investment to promote, but may lead to new revenue streams. Technicians often come to restyling shops with experience in audio, paint, exhaust and bodywork—the whole range of repair services—and that can lead to niche business for the shop through refurbishing good used cars.

Experienced dealers understand that new cars currently hold less appeal than good-quality used cars, and they are increasing their used-car inventories. Both franchisees and used-car dealers are buying inventory at auctions and keeping better trade-ins to sell on their lots.

One way to help a dealer shore up its bottom line is to add accessories so that some profit cushion is built in to each vehicle. The cost of additional accessories creates only a marginally higher payment on a no-interest or low-interest loan. Courtesy Lund Cadillac

“We’re buying a lot of low-mileage used cars from all across the country and accessorizing them,” said Larry Appleby, accessory manager at Lund Cadillac in Phoenix, Arizona. “We’re selling four used for every new car, where it used to be about equal.”

That shift in the car market should be an obvious signpost for restylers. There is pent-up demand for vehicles, and people must replace older cars and trucks at some point. For those buying now, a good used car is an appealing deal. The same concepts—although, not necessarily the same accessories—apply to used vehicles as they do to new, and some installers have seen their used-car business increase considerably.

“The one thing that installers who may not be familiar with used-car restyling need to keep in mind is that every late-model used car depreciates every day that it sits on a dealer’s lot, unlike a new car that holds its value until someone drives it away,” said Ellen McKoy, SEMA’s senior director of dealer relations. “So dealers have a great incentive—a financial need from an investment standpoint—to turn that inventory as quickly as possible and as profitably as possible. But they need to keep in mind that people who buy used cars do so because they’re less expensive than their new-car twin. Because the vehicles themselves depreciate in value, you don’t want to over accessorize a used vehicle so that you price it out of the range of the potential buyer.”

In some markets, that means toning down some of the things one might do to a new-model vehicle—a power sunroof, full leather interior with custom inserts, high-dollar wheel-and-tire package—that will put a hefty add-on ticket on the vehicle. Instead, consider a factory look-alike leather package to replace a worn velour or cloth interior. That type of addition costs hundreds of dollars less that the full-boat package, but still makes the vehicle distinctive and more attractive.

Appleby’s philosophy at Lund Cadillac is to make every car that rolls off the lot distinctive from what can be found elsewhere. Lund does far more restyling than most retail outsets, and Appleby says that the consumer’s desire for a unique product is the reason.

“Accessorization still differentiates your car from the one down the street,” he said. “That’s what we do differently. We treat used cars like new cars, but on a used car, we’re putting all of the products on the car at cost. So we’re generating work for the technicians and moving product, but all the profit is made on the gross of the vehicle.”

For instance, Appleby explained, rather than showing a $2,895 sticker add-on for a top on a new car and applying about $2,095 in profit to accessory sales, Lund puts the top on a used car at its $800 cost with the intention of selling the vehicle for an additional $2,000 and applying the $1,200 gross profit to the dealership. Another dealer might have a similar car at about the same price, but the customer gets more value by buying the accessorized car at Lund.

Just like his own site for Sunroofs Etc., the websites built by Steve Thompson for his dealership partners act as a sales tool, allowing customers to view products at their convenience. Because Thompson’s company is the installer for anything ordered using the sites he built, the company locks in the business from the dealerships it services. The dealership increases its margins; the salespeople are more efficient; the customers order exactly what they want; and Sunroofs Etc. sees additional production.

Steve Thompson has taken yet another road to keep his business going while others have fallen by the wayside. Thompson, president of Sunroofs Etc. in Golden Valley, Minnesota, is a long-time traditional restyler who has been in business for more than 20 years, but he had also acquired some expertise at developing websites. Through his work on the Internet, Thompson decided to offer a service to area dealerships. He created sites that incorporated both specialty equipment and the original equipment that the dealers carried.

“We built specific accessory websites for certain larger customers because the people at the dealership weren’t really sure what they were selling when it came to aftermarket products, and they didn’t know what to charge,” Thompson said. “Once you template a site and put on whatever the dealership wants to retail, their sales or service people can pull up a picture and information on how much the product is, what the warranty is and how much they are supposed to charge. There’s a part number included, so the employee can handle the order and charge the customer the proper amount.”

The site also acts as a sales tool for the dealership, allowing customers to view products and packages at their convenience. And, because Sunroofs Etc. is the installer for anything ordered using the sites Thompson has built, the company locks in the business from the dealerships it services. The dealership increases its margins; the salespeople are more efficient; the customers order exactly what they want; and Sunroofs Etc. sees additional production.

New-car interest rates present another opportunity that restylers should be aware of. Because of the drastic slowdown in new-vehicle sales, many automakers and their dealerships are offering unheard-of incentives to get buyers to come into the showrooms, including interest rates as low as 0%, depending on certain qualifiers. If the rate is 0%, dealers are not making anything on financing—one of their traditional revenue streams. One way to help a dealer shore up its bottom line is to add accessories so that some profit cushion is built in to each vehicle. The price of a sunroof, leather or wheels creates only a marginally higher payment on the no-interest loan, so accessories become truly low-cost options.

In addition, while the factories and the dealers currently have excessive inventory because of the stagnant market, things could change as the automakers shut down not only for their usual summer break, but also as some extend their production hiatus to negotiate severe economic hurdles. In that case, it is entirely possible that dealer inventory on some models could eventually be depleted—particularly as the factories curtail certain option packages. That opens the door for restylers to supply needed accessories on a just-in-time basis.

“Savvy restylers know what those option packages are, and they will use that as a marketing tool when they talk to their dealers,” said McKoy. “If customers just want a sunroof on a particular model, they may have to also order an upgraded stereo and wheels and tires as a factory package. They can’t order them singly because they come as a unit. The restyler can offer the dealer a better sunroof than from the factory with superior benefits and improved features at a more competitive price. Restylers should sit down with the dealership’s sales manager, general manager or dealer principal and ask about the most popular option packages. See where there are shortages and then try to build unique accessory packages of their own around those.”

Finding a need and filling it is an old precept in business, but timing is also of the essence, McKoy said. When business is good, it’s hard for restylers to get a dealer’s attention because they’re focused on moving inventory. When business is slow, they’re focused on just keeping the dealership going, but they’re also more receptive to hearing about ways to keep the dealership alive.

Even dealerships that may not have been interested in restyling will recognize positive results from a sale here and there that was made because the vehicle was accessorized or that brought in a higher price. As business begins to improve, which it eventually will, the restylers responsible for those additional sales will have already laid a solid foundation.

SEMA News - July 2009
BUSINESS

By Steve Campbell

Restylers Use Nontraditional Avenues During Bumpy Times

Dealers understand that new cars currently hold less appeal than good-quality used cars, and they are increasing their used-car inventories. Both franchisees and used-car dealers are buying vehicles at auctions and keeping better trade-ins to sell on their lots. Courtesy Lund Cadillac

First, the obvious: The new-car market—traditionally fertile ground for restylers to cultivate—has become mired in the global recession. Extremely cautious consumers are holding off on big-ticket expenditures, and while reputable economists see glimmers of a rebound, business has yet to fully flex the recovery springboard. Still, some restylers have searched along the boundaries of their expertise to explore avenues they may have overlooked in more fruitful times.

Bob Nardine, owner and president of Bob’s Top Shop in Orlando, Florida, went back to his roots. Nardine started his business in “soft trim”—convertible tops, carpet and anything that had to do with fabric either in or on the vehicle. He eventually expanded into a full restyling shop, but never gave up the trim side of the business. As the recession deepened and work fell off from his established new-car dealership contacts, he began to promote retail convertible top repairs—a natural fit for his Florida demographic.

“At one time, we did about 85% of our business in new-car dealer work,” Nardine said. “Now, it’s about 45%. I learned from a predecessor whose uncle taught him. He told me that during the Depression, his uncle always had gas in the car and food on the table. He didn’t get rich, but people repaired before they bought new, and it’s the same thing today.”

Repair work can be a boon for a shop that employs experienced technicians. Restylers should talk with their crews to see how they might turn some of that knowledge into opportunities, discovering skills employees possess that don’t require a tremendous investment to promote, but may lead to new revenue streams. Technicians often come to restyling shops with experience in audio, paint, exhaust and bodywork—the whole range of repair services—and that can lead to niche business for the shop through refurbishing good used cars.

Experienced dealers understand that new cars currently hold less appeal than good-quality used cars, and they are increasing their used-car inventories. Both franchisees and used-car dealers are buying inventory at auctions and keeping better trade-ins to sell on their lots.

One way to help a dealer shore up its bottom line is to add accessories so that some profit cushion is built in to each vehicle. The cost of additional accessories creates only a marginally higher payment on a no-interest or low-interest loan. Courtesy Lund Cadillac

“We’re buying a lot of low-mileage used cars from all across the country and accessorizing them,” said Larry Appleby, accessory manager at Lund Cadillac in Phoenix, Arizona. “We’re selling four used for every new car, where it used to be about equal.”

That shift in the car market should be an obvious signpost for restylers. There is pent-up demand for vehicles, and people must replace older cars and trucks at some point. For those buying now, a good used car is an appealing deal. The same concepts—although, not necessarily the same accessories—apply to used vehicles as they do to new, and some installers have seen their used-car business increase considerably.

“The one thing that installers who may not be familiar with used-car restyling need to keep in mind is that every late-model used car depreciates every day that it sits on a dealer’s lot, unlike a new car that holds its value until someone drives it away,” said Ellen McKoy, SEMA’s senior director of dealer relations. “So dealers have a great incentive—a financial need from an investment standpoint—to turn that inventory as quickly as possible and as profitably as possible. But they need to keep in mind that people who buy used cars do so because they’re less expensive than their new-car twin. Because the vehicles themselves depreciate in value, you don’t want to over accessorize a used vehicle so that you price it out of the range of the potential buyer.”

In some markets, that means toning down some of the things one might do to a new-model vehicle—a power sunroof, full leather interior with custom inserts, high-dollar wheel-and-tire package—that will put a hefty add-on ticket on the vehicle. Instead, consider a factory look-alike leather package to replace a worn velour or cloth interior. That type of addition costs hundreds of dollars less that the full-boat package, but still makes the vehicle distinctive and more attractive.

Appleby’s philosophy at Lund Cadillac is to make every car that rolls off the lot distinctive from what can be found elsewhere. Lund does far more restyling than most retail outsets, and Appleby says that the consumer’s desire for a unique product is the reason.

“Accessorization still differentiates your car from the one down the street,” he said. “That’s what we do differently. We treat used cars like new cars, but on a used car, we’re putting all of the products on the car at cost. So we’re generating work for the technicians and moving product, but all the profit is made on the gross of the vehicle.”

For instance, Appleby explained, rather than showing a $2,895 sticker add-on for a top on a new car and applying about $2,095 in profit to accessory sales, Lund puts the top on a used car at its $800 cost with the intention of selling the vehicle for an additional $2,000 and applying the $1,200 gross profit to the dealership. Another dealer might have a similar car at about the same price, but the customer gets more value by buying the accessorized car at Lund.

Just like his own site for Sunroofs Etc., the websites built by Steve Thompson for his dealership partners act as a sales tool, allowing customers to view products at their convenience. Because Thompson’s company is the installer for anything ordered using the sites he built, the company locks in the business from the dealerships it services. The dealership increases its margins; the salespeople are more efficient; the customers order exactly what they want; and Sunroofs Etc. sees additional production.

Steve Thompson has taken yet another road to keep his business going while others have fallen by the wayside. Thompson, president of Sunroofs Etc. in Golden Valley, Minnesota, is a long-time traditional restyler who has been in business for more than 20 years, but he had also acquired some expertise at developing websites. Through his work on the Internet, Thompson decided to offer a service to area dealerships. He created sites that incorporated both specialty equipment and the original equipment that the dealers carried.

“We built specific accessory websites for certain larger customers because the people at the dealership weren’t really sure what they were selling when it came to aftermarket products, and they didn’t know what to charge,” Thompson said. “Once you template a site and put on whatever the dealership wants to retail, their sales or service people can pull up a picture and information on how much the product is, what the warranty is and how much they are supposed to charge. There’s a part number included, so the employee can handle the order and charge the customer the proper amount.”

The site also acts as a sales tool for the dealership, allowing customers to view products and packages at their convenience. And, because Sunroofs Etc. is the installer for anything ordered using the sites Thompson has built, the company locks in the business from the dealerships it services. The dealership increases its margins; the salespeople are more efficient; the customers order exactly what they want; and Sunroofs Etc. sees additional production.

New-car interest rates present another opportunity that restylers should be aware of. Because of the drastic slowdown in new-vehicle sales, many automakers and their dealerships are offering unheard-of incentives to get buyers to come into the showrooms, including interest rates as low as 0%, depending on certain qualifiers. If the rate is 0%, dealers are not making anything on financing—one of their traditional revenue streams. One way to help a dealer shore up its bottom line is to add accessories so that some profit cushion is built in to each vehicle. The price of a sunroof, leather or wheels creates only a marginally higher payment on the no-interest loan, so accessories become truly low-cost options.

In addition, while the factories and the dealers currently have excessive inventory because of the stagnant market, things could change as the automakers shut down not only for their usual summer break, but also as some extend their production hiatus to negotiate severe economic hurdles. In that case, it is entirely possible that dealer inventory on some models could eventually be depleted—particularly as the factories curtail certain option packages. That opens the door for restylers to supply needed accessories on a just-in-time basis.

“Savvy restylers know what those option packages are, and they will use that as a marketing tool when they talk to their dealers,” said McKoy. “If customers just want a sunroof on a particular model, they may have to also order an upgraded stereo and wheels and tires as a factory package. They can’t order them singly because they come as a unit. The restyler can offer the dealer a better sunroof than from the factory with superior benefits and improved features at a more competitive price. Restylers should sit down with the dealership’s sales manager, general manager or dealer principal and ask about the most popular option packages. See where there are shortages and then try to build unique accessory packages of their own around those.”

Finding a need and filling it is an old precept in business, but timing is also of the essence, McKoy said. When business is good, it’s hard for restylers to get a dealer’s attention because they’re focused on moving inventory. When business is slow, they’re focused on just keeping the dealership going, but they’re also more receptive to hearing about ways to keep the dealership alive.

Even dealerships that may not have been interested in restyling will recognize positive results from a sale here and there that was made because the vehicle was accessorized or that brought in a higher price. As business begins to improve, which it eventually will, the restylers responsible for those additional sales will have already laid a solid foundation.

SEMA News - July 2009

SEMA has long recognized the potential business opportunities that the accessories market brings to dealers. The industry has caught on to this notion over the past few years, and the media have been instrumental in communicating this opportunity to the dealer community.

Particularly noteworthy are reports on the programs that highlight tangible resources available to help dealers tap into the automotive accessories market. Two programs—Dealer Day and ProPledge—were launched by SEMA to help dealers profit from the relatively untapped accessory market.

Dealer Day was launched at the SEMA Show in 2008, with the help of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), to offer dealers tools, ideas and resources on how to incorporate successful accessory programs at their dealerships. NADA members were invited to this innovative half-day event at the SEMA Show, where they were treated to a number of exclusive presentations, seminars and activities.

In 2007, an auto accessory warranty program known as ProPledge debuted. ProPledge is administered by the SEMA subsidiary, Specialty Equipment Warranty Alliance (SEWA). The idea is to help dealers and consumers purchase specialty-equipment market accessory products with confidence. With the cooperation of SEMA manufacturers and professional installers, this value-added program offers a uniform industry-backed warranty that gives peace of mind to consumers.

Here are just a few of the articles that reported on Dealer Day and the ProPledge program. If you haven’t read these articles or if you missed them, check them out. They are must reads.

Ward’s Dealer Business, December 2008 “SEMA Show Attracts Dealers” According to this article, SEMA paid attention to dealer needs, and the dealers truly benefited. They learned tangible strategies and heard success stories of those already in the accessory market. One keynote speaker, Tom Rudnai, president of Longo Toyota in El Monte, California, outlined the do’s and don’ts for dealers looking to get into the accessory market. Derek Adolf of the seven-franchise Continental Auto Group, sent his parts managers to the SEMA Show to showcase a variety of available products for cars and trucks that dealerships could potentially sell. Adolf spoke of his success at the previous year’s Show, when he contracted a deal with a major tire manufacturing company. Like Adolf, dealers who attended Dealer Day were able to make connections of their own. Check out the Ward’s Dealer Business website to read this article.

Fixed Ops Magazine, October 2008 “SEMA Show 2008: Discovering a World of New Profit Opportunities” “Now more than ever, dealers have to keep their eyes open for new and creative strategies to make more money,” according to the October edition of Fixed Ops Magazine. The accessory sales industry remains vibrant. According to this article, “style-conscious consumers willing to pay a premium for personalized vehicles, typically spend as much as $1,000–3,500 to customize their new vehicle after the sale.” This is money that could have been spent at the dealership. Dealers must be ready to find new and creative ways to increase sales revenue. To continue with the success of last year’s event, SEMA will hold Dealer Day again at SEMA Show 2009. To find this article and many more, visit the Fixed Ops Magazine website.

Specialty Automotive Magazine, March/April 2009 “Auto Accessory Warranty Program Available” This article discussed the importance of the ProPledge program administered by SEWA. ProPledge started as a pilot program in 2007. The pilot ended after 18 months with approximately 12,000 warranted product installations and zero claims. ProPledge is designed to increase the sale of specialty automotive products through new-car dealers. The program offers dealers valuable marketing tools to sell specialty-equipment market products and will help dealers boost profits. Once the pilot proved to be successful, ProPledge was officially rolled out nationwide in January 2009. To see a list of participating manufacturers and installers or for more information visit ProPledge.

Mobile Electronics, November 2008 “What’s Going On: Making a Case for SEMA” While SEMA offers many educational programs, Dealer Day was important with helping dealers enter the restyling industry. Participating dealers had the opportunity to meet directly with experts who shared real-world case studies. This article explained that, along with the challenges of starting an accessory program, there are many opportunities to advance and SEMA is there to help build a bridge between dealers and manufacturers. According to Mobile Electronics, one piece of the puzzle is to understand what challenges may come; it’s an entirely different thing to know where the opportunities are. Dealers have the opportunity to increase revenue by tapping into the accessory market. Dealer Day is just one example of how SEMA builds relationships with dealers and the members of the accessory specialty-equipment market.

SEMA News - July 2009

SEMA has long recognized the potential business opportunities that the accessories market brings to dealers. The industry has caught on to this notion over the past few years, and the media have been instrumental in communicating this opportunity to the dealer community.

Particularly noteworthy are reports on the programs that highlight tangible resources available to help dealers tap into the automotive accessories market. Two programs—Dealer Day and ProPledge—were launched by SEMA to help dealers profit from the relatively untapped accessory market.

Dealer Day was launched at the SEMA Show in 2008, with the help of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), to offer dealers tools, ideas and resources on how to incorporate successful accessory programs at their dealerships. NADA members were invited to this innovative half-day event at the SEMA Show, where they were treated to a number of exclusive presentations, seminars and activities.

In 2007, an auto accessory warranty program known as ProPledge debuted. ProPledge is administered by the SEMA subsidiary, Specialty Equipment Warranty Alliance (SEWA). The idea is to help dealers and consumers purchase specialty-equipment market accessory products with confidence. With the cooperation of SEMA manufacturers and professional installers, this value-added program offers a uniform industry-backed warranty that gives peace of mind to consumers.

Here are just a few of the articles that reported on Dealer Day and the ProPledge program. If you haven’t read these articles or if you missed them, check them out. They are must reads.

Ward’s Dealer Business, December 2008 “SEMA Show Attracts Dealers” According to this article, SEMA paid attention to dealer needs, and the dealers truly benefited. They learned tangible strategies and heard success stories of those already in the accessory market. One keynote speaker, Tom Rudnai, president of Longo Toyota in El Monte, California, outlined the do’s and don’ts for dealers looking to get into the accessory market. Derek Adolf of the seven-franchise Continental Auto Group, sent his parts managers to the SEMA Show to showcase a variety of available products for cars and trucks that dealerships could potentially sell. Adolf spoke of his success at the previous year’s Show, when he contracted a deal with a major tire manufacturing company. Like Adolf, dealers who attended Dealer Day were able to make connections of their own. Check out the Ward’s Dealer Business website to read this article.

Fixed Ops Magazine, October 2008 “SEMA Show 2008: Discovering a World of New Profit Opportunities” “Now more than ever, dealers have to keep their eyes open for new and creative strategies to make more money,” according to the October edition of Fixed Ops Magazine. The accessory sales industry remains vibrant. According to this article, “style-conscious consumers willing to pay a premium for personalized vehicles, typically spend as much as $1,000–3,500 to customize their new vehicle after the sale.” This is money that could have been spent at the dealership. Dealers must be ready to find new and creative ways to increase sales revenue. To continue with the success of last year’s event, SEMA will hold Dealer Day again at SEMA Show 2009. To find this article and many more, visit the Fixed Ops Magazine website.

Specialty Automotive Magazine, March/April 2009 “Auto Accessory Warranty Program Available” This article discussed the importance of the ProPledge program administered by SEWA. ProPledge started as a pilot program in 2007. The pilot ended after 18 months with approximately 12,000 warranted product installations and zero claims. ProPledge is designed to increase the sale of specialty automotive products through new-car dealers. The program offers dealers valuable marketing tools to sell specialty-equipment market products and will help dealers boost profits. Once the pilot proved to be successful, ProPledge was officially rolled out nationwide in January 2009. To see a list of participating manufacturers and installers or for more information visit ProPledge.

Mobile Electronics, November 2008 “What’s Going On: Making a Case for SEMA” While SEMA offers many educational programs, Dealer Day was important with helping dealers enter the restyling industry. Participating dealers had the opportunity to meet directly with experts who shared real-world case studies. This article explained that, along with the challenges of starting an accessory program, there are many opportunities to advance and SEMA is there to help build a bridge between dealers and manufacturers. According to Mobile Electronics, one piece of the puzzle is to understand what challenges may come; it’s an entirely different thing to know where the opportunities are. Dealers have the opportunity to increase revenue by tapping into the accessory market. Dealer Day is just one example of how SEMA builds relationships with dealers and the members of the accessory specialty-equipment market.

SEMA News - July 2009
BUSINESS

By Alysha Webb

Horsepower and Green Power Can Coexist Without Sacrificing Performance

From left: Chris Aylett, CEO, Motorsports Industry Association (MIA); Chris Kersting, president and CEO, SEMA; Blake Fuller, founder, Braille Battery; and Azhar Hussain, founder, TTxGP Ltd., discuss green business opportunities in the performance aftermarket during the recent The Race Goes Green conference in Long Beach, California.

Troy Lee of Troy Lee Designs uses water-based paints to create hip motorcycle helmets. He uses recycled paper and rubber products. But Troy Lee wants to push the envelope more on greenness, just as he does with his designs. Both are good for business, he says.

“SEMA is all about being cool,” says Lee. “Being green will be a competitive edge.”

Lee attended “The Race Goes Green,” an April 16 conference presented by SEMA and the Motorsports Industry Association (MIA). The venue was the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach; the message was that green power and horsepower can coexist without sacrificing performance or the cool factor and that there are emerging opportunities for SEMA companies that can make green cool.

SEMA members need to start looking for products that pair performance and green if they want to be ready for the future, says John Waraniak, SEMA vice president of vehicle technology. “If you wait for everything to be figured out, you will almost be too late.”

To be sure, environmental awareness doesn’t yet play a huge role in the enhanced performance equation. But technology is advancing in “big chunks,” said SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting to the attendees at the conference. “People need to be looking down the road.”

SEMA member Blake Fuller is already making green pay. His profitable company, Braille Battery, sells the world’s first carbon-fiber battery and uses recycled lead, plastic and stainless steel in its products. Most of Braille Battery’s growth has occurred in the last two years, says Fuller. He projects sales will double in 2009 compared to 2008 with $2 million.

Fuller knows green technology doesn’t sell in the performance world, however. Winning does. “The fact that technology wins will pull in young audiences,” he says. “The fact that it is green will be a byproduct.”

		Mike Jackson, CEO, AutoNation.
		Sam Konduros, Clemson University.
		Don Taylor, Eclipse Management.
		From left: Aylett; Nick Hayes, nHanse; Pete Spence, Technical Director, Toyota Racing Development USA Inc.; Adrian Moore, Technical Director, Xtrac; Doug Cross, Technical Director, Flybrid Systems LLP.

Braille teamed up with Nissan on the Nissan Altima Hot Rod Hybrid, which won its class at the Florida Electric Auto Association’s Beach Battery Burnout on February 21–22. “You have to go to where the competition is hardest for cutting-edge technology,” says Fuller.

The market for performance-enhancing green technology is potentially huge, says Waraniak. Some 40 million new drivers will hit the roads over the next 10 years. Many will buy alternative-fuel vehicles and want to trick them out, he says. An even bigger opportunity lies in the 225 million existing vehicles, says Waraniak. Those can be retrofitted with cool green technology.

Tricking out new and existing cars to be both green and cool is a small but growing part of his business, says Beau Boeckman, president of Galpin Auto Sports (GAS) LLC. SEMA member A123 System’s aftermarket division Hymotion provides lithium-ion batteries to GAS for Toyota Prius sedans, hot rods and musclecars, for example.

But faster growth will depend on more companies coming out with products that aren’t just green and cool, but are also affordable and beneficial, says Boeckman. “If it’s green and it actually performs well, that is what is going to sell,” he says.

The motorsports industry can help.

		Chris Norris, Swift Engineering.
		Jeremy Burne, North American Director, MIA.
		Terry Angstadt, President, IRL-Commercial Division.

Racing accelerates technology development and processes that migrate to production vehicles, says Waraniak, and green racing “absolutely helps advance the green cause.”

Says Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation Inc., the largest dealership group in the United States: “Racing is a platform that can play an incredible role in educating people that you can be green and still have performance.”

Motorcycle racing is doing its part to prove green and speed can coexist. Azhar Hussain is the founder of TTxGP Ltd., a zero carbon-emissions motorcycle race. Twenty-four teams signed up for the race, which was held on June 12 on the challenging Isle of Man Mountain Course in the United Kingdom. The bikes were powered by electric drivetrains. Hussain wants to take the technology into cars. “We think we can take on the combustion engine in five years,” he says.

Much of the technology on the bikes doesn’t come from U.S. companies who “aren’t focused on this area,” says Hussain. Batteries are from Korea and Taiwan, the control system is from China and the motors India. It could be an opportunity for U.S. firms.

But don’t forget the cool factor. Advises Jay Stemka, head of custom paint at Troy Lee: “Make it look really good, make it fast, and there will be buyers.”

SEMA News - July 2009
BUSINESS

By Alysha Webb

Horsepower and Green Power Can Coexist Without Sacrificing Performance

From left: Chris Aylett, CEO, Motorsports Industry Association (MIA); Chris Kersting, president and CEO, SEMA; Blake Fuller, founder, Braille Battery; and Azhar Hussain, founder, TTxGP Ltd., discuss green business opportunities in the performance aftermarket during the recent The Race Goes Green conference in Long Beach, California.

Troy Lee of Troy Lee Designs uses water-based paints to create hip motorcycle helmets. He uses recycled paper and rubber products. But Troy Lee wants to push the envelope more on greenness, just as he does with his designs. Both are good for business, he says.

“SEMA is all about being cool,” says Lee. “Being green will be a competitive edge.”

Lee attended “The Race Goes Green,” an April 16 conference presented by SEMA and the Motorsports Industry Association (MIA). The venue was the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach; the message was that green power and horsepower can coexist without sacrificing performance or the cool factor and that there are emerging opportunities for SEMA companies that can make green cool.

SEMA members need to start looking for products that pair performance and green if they want to be ready for the future, says John Waraniak, SEMA vice president of vehicle technology. “If you wait for everything to be figured out, you will almost be too late.”

To be sure, environmental awareness doesn’t yet play a huge role in the enhanced performance equation. But technology is advancing in “big chunks,” said SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting to the attendees at the conference. “People need to be looking down the road.”

SEMA member Blake Fuller is already making green pay. His profitable company, Braille Battery, sells the world’s first carbon-fiber battery and uses recycled lead, plastic and stainless steel in its products. Most of Braille Battery’s growth has occurred in the last two years, says Fuller. He projects sales will double in 2009 compared to 2008 with $2 million.

Fuller knows green technology doesn’t sell in the performance world, however. Winning does. “The fact that technology wins will pull in young audiences,” he says. “The fact that it is green will be a byproduct.”

		Mike Jackson, CEO, AutoNation.
		Sam Konduros, Clemson University.
		Don Taylor, Eclipse Management.
		From left: Aylett; Nick Hayes, nHanse; Pete Spence, Technical Director, Toyota Racing Development USA Inc.; Adrian Moore, Technical Director, Xtrac; Doug Cross, Technical Director, Flybrid Systems LLP.

Braille teamed up with Nissan on the Nissan Altima Hot Rod Hybrid, which won its class at the Florida Electric Auto Association’s Beach Battery Burnout on February 21–22. “You have to go to where the competition is hardest for cutting-edge technology,” says Fuller.

The market for performance-enhancing green technology is potentially huge, says Waraniak. Some 40 million new drivers will hit the roads over the next 10 years. Many will buy alternative-fuel vehicles and want to trick them out, he says. An even bigger opportunity lies in the 225 million existing vehicles, says Waraniak. Those can be retrofitted with cool green technology.

Tricking out new and existing cars to be both green and cool is a small but growing part of his business, says Beau Boeckman, president of Galpin Auto Sports (GAS) LLC. SEMA member A123 System’s aftermarket division Hymotion provides lithium-ion batteries to GAS for Toyota Prius sedans, hot rods and musclecars, for example.

But faster growth will depend on more companies coming out with products that aren’t just green and cool, but are also affordable and beneficial, says Boeckman. “If it’s green and it actually performs well, that is what is going to sell,” he says.

The motorsports industry can help.

		Chris Norris, Swift Engineering.
		Jeremy Burne, North American Director, MIA.
		Terry Angstadt, President, IRL-Commercial Division.

Racing accelerates technology development and processes that migrate to production vehicles, says Waraniak, and green racing “absolutely helps advance the green cause.”

Says Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation Inc., the largest dealership group in the United States: “Racing is a platform that can play an incredible role in educating people that you can be green and still have performance.”

Motorcycle racing is doing its part to prove green and speed can coexist. Azhar Hussain is the founder of TTxGP Ltd., a zero carbon-emissions motorcycle race. Twenty-four teams signed up for the race, which was held on June 12 on the challenging Isle of Man Mountain Course in the United Kingdom. The bikes were powered by electric drivetrains. Hussain wants to take the technology into cars. “We think we can take on the combustion engine in five years,” he says.

Much of the technology on the bikes doesn’t come from U.S. companies who “aren’t focused on this area,” says Hussain. Batteries are from Korea and Taiwan, the control system is from China and the motors India. It could be an opportunity for U.S. firms.

But don’t forget the cool factor. Advises Jay Stemka, head of custom paint at Troy Lee: “Make it look really good, make it fast, and there will be buyers.”

SEMA News - July 2009
BUSINESS

By Alysha Webb

Horsepower and Green Power Can Coexist Without Sacrificing Performance

From left: Chris Aylett, CEO, Motorsports Industry Association (MIA); Chris Kersting, president and CEO, SEMA; Blake Fuller, founder, Braille Battery; and Azhar Hussain, founder, TTxGP Ltd., discuss green business opportunities in the performance aftermarket during the recent The Race Goes Green conference in Long Beach, California.

Troy Lee of Troy Lee Designs uses water-based paints to create hip motorcycle helmets. He uses recycled paper and rubber products. But Troy Lee wants to push the envelope more on greenness, just as he does with his designs. Both are good for business, he says.

“SEMA is all about being cool,” says Lee. “Being green will be a competitive edge.”

Lee attended “The Race Goes Green,” an April 16 conference presented by SEMA and the Motorsports Industry Association (MIA). The venue was the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach; the message was that green power and horsepower can coexist without sacrificing performance or the cool factor and that there are emerging opportunities for SEMA companies that can make green cool.

SEMA members need to start looking for products that pair performance and green if they want to be ready for the future, says John Waraniak, SEMA vice president of vehicle technology. “If you wait for everything to be figured out, you will almost be too late.”

To be sure, environmental awareness doesn’t yet play a huge role in the enhanced performance equation. But technology is advancing in “big chunks,” said SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting to the attendees at the conference. “People need to be looking down the road.”

SEMA member Blake Fuller is already making green pay. His profitable company, Braille Battery, sells the world’s first carbon-fiber battery and uses recycled lead, plastic and stainless steel in its products. Most of Braille Battery’s growth has occurred in the last two years, says Fuller. He projects sales will double in 2009 compared to 2008 with $2 million.

Fuller knows green technology doesn’t sell in the performance world, however. Winning does. “The fact that technology wins will pull in young audiences,” he says. “The fact that it is green will be a byproduct.”

		Mike Jackson, CEO, AutoNation.
		Sam Konduros, Clemson University.
		Don Taylor, Eclipse Management.
		From left: Aylett; Nick Hayes, nHanse; Pete Spence, Technical Director, Toyota Racing Development USA Inc.; Adrian Moore, Technical Director, Xtrac; Doug Cross, Technical Director, Flybrid Systems LLP.

Braille teamed up with Nissan on the Nissan Altima Hot Rod Hybrid, which won its class at the Florida Electric Auto Association’s Beach Battery Burnout on February 21–22. “You have to go to where the competition is hardest for cutting-edge technology,” says Fuller.

The market for performance-enhancing green technology is potentially huge, says Waraniak. Some 40 million new drivers will hit the roads over the next 10 years. Many will buy alternative-fuel vehicles and want to trick them out, he says. An even bigger opportunity lies in the 225 million existing vehicles, says Waraniak. Those can be retrofitted with cool green technology.

Tricking out new and existing cars to be both green and cool is a small but growing part of his business, says Beau Boeckman, president of Galpin Auto Sports (GAS) LLC. SEMA member A123 System’s aftermarket division Hymotion provides lithium-ion batteries to GAS for Toyota Prius sedans, hot rods and musclecars, for example.

But faster growth will depend on more companies coming out with products that aren’t just green and cool, but are also affordable and beneficial, says Boeckman. “If it’s green and it actually performs well, that is what is going to sell,” he says.

The motorsports industry can help.

		Chris Norris, Swift Engineering.
		Jeremy Burne, North American Director, MIA.
		Terry Angstadt, President, IRL-Commercial Division.

Racing accelerates technology development and processes that migrate to production vehicles, says Waraniak, and green racing “absolutely helps advance the green cause.”

Says Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation Inc., the largest dealership group in the United States: “Racing is a platform that can play an incredible role in educating people that you can be green and still have performance.”

Motorcycle racing is doing its part to prove green and speed can coexist. Azhar Hussain is the founder of TTxGP Ltd., a zero carbon-emissions motorcycle race. Twenty-four teams signed up for the race, which was held on June 12 on the challenging Isle of Man Mountain Course in the United Kingdom. The bikes were powered by electric drivetrains. Hussain wants to take the technology into cars. “We think we can take on the combustion engine in five years,” he says.

Much of the technology on the bikes doesn’t come from U.S. companies who “aren’t focused on this area,” says Hussain. Batteries are from Korea and Taiwan, the control system is from China and the motors India. It could be an opportunity for U.S. firms.

But don’t forget the cool factor. Advises Jay Stemka, head of custom paint at Troy Lee: “Make it look really good, make it fast, and there will be buyers.”