A row of Scion xBs display the love affair with Japanese tuning by identifying with popular performance brands and tuning magazines.
	Big turbochargers and accompanying hardware illustrate the high-power appetite of some Toyota owners.
	Flush wheels are popular with vintage Japanese vehicle owners. Tire-to-fender clearance is a way to prove your tuning pedigree and, for them, the smaller the better.
	This Scion tC, like many in the compact- performance segment, is a blend between performance and drivability.

Toyota owners gathered at the Queen Mary in Long Beach for the 14th annual Toyotafest; a make-specific event hosted by the Toyota Owner’s and Restorer's Club (T.O.R.C.) that features vintage and modern vehicles from fans of the brand. Most of the vehicles were either pre-'90 Toyotas or '00 and newer Toyota/Lexus/Scion vehicles.

SEMA regularly visits consumer car shows in order to keep abreast of the latest trends in vehicle customization and attended this recent event to pique the brains of consumers.

More than 250 attendees were surveyed throughout the day and common trends were found within the group. Roughly 83% drove or displayed a compact vehicle and 78% said that their Toyota was passed down to them from a family member or acquaintance. Practically every survey participant had modified their vehicle with upgrades across the spectrum from mild to wild.

From simple stereo systems or shift knobs to engine conversions or a custom suspension, the fleet of show cars represented the graduation from plain economy cars to nostalgic classics. Of those who owned a pre-'90 vehicle, the responses coincided with modifications similar to other vintage-car segments.

In other words, consumables and maintenance-related modifications, such as gaskets, seals and hoses, are not glamorous and show-stopping, but do keep the vehicles running and contribute to the enjoyment of the hobby.

The majority of the attendees surveyed had performance or in-car entertainment (I.C.E.) modifications made to their vehicle. Early Japanese vehicles are beginning to amass value in the same vein as classic American musclecars. While the value is not nearly comparable, the same fanfare is being applied to the restoration and, in many cases, resto-mod styles of vehicle building.

For example, a clean 2000GT, Toyota’s first serious sports car, sat beside a hot-rodded classic Toyota truck and modern Scions.

Of the group surveyed, 13% of respondents had performed little to no modifications and still considered their vehicles stock. The remaining group who had purchased custom parts and accessories indicated the amount they spent on modifications: 73.2% had spent $100–$5,000; 8% had spent more from $5,000–$10,000; and 7.6% of people had spent more than $10,000.

Predictably, almost all of the owners surveyed said that their spending either stopped or slowed down since the economy turned sour.

Typical of most enthusiast automotive shows, almost every display vehicle at Toyotafest had aftermarket wheels installed with wheel styles ranging from smaller-diameter performance throw-backs of the late-'70s racing scene to luxurious VIP wheels with stretched tires. Furthermore, roughly 60% of those in attendance said that their current Toyota had aftermarket wheels.

Some of the other popular options consisted of bolt-on performance parts. Many of those surveyed stated that they had installed or bought items, such as cold air intakes, catback exhaust systems, lowering springs, or short shifters—all easy-to-do installs as well as being inexpensive.

The most notable conclusion from all of this, though, is that most Toyota owners are not looking for extreme performance but simply want to improve the styling and performance of their vehicle, all while retaining comfort and the ability to use the vehicles for daily driving.

— SEMA Research & Information Center 

	The ROUSH team prepares a brand-labeled Ford Mustang for future sale. As both an engineering icon and production entity, the group assembles the final touches to an enthusiast’s vehicle with out-of-the-box performance.

The city of Detroit continues to make headlines. The headlines are usually negative, with the discussions involving reduced vehicle sales, job losses and plant closures. What people may not realize is that the Detroit area is home to a number of SEMA-member companies as well. As the car-production capital of the world, there is no doubt that Detroit has suffered greatly as a result of the downturn in the economy.

But at the same time, the people of Detroit are hard working and are not ready to give up the fight. In fact, those who work for SEMA-member companies might just have the best attitudes of all. And rightly so, because in many cases these companies have weathered the storm fairly well, just as they have done in previous market crunches.

One of these companies is ROUSH Performance Products Inc. While attending the SAE World Congress in April, members of the SEMA Market Research staff had the privilege of visiting ROUSH Performance Products.

Erin Dmytrow of ROUSH was generous enough to take time out of his busy day to talk about the company. Despite the fact that Dmytrow’s parents really had no interest in cars, he became a gearhead at a young age. By the age of 10, he could distinguish between the various makes and models of vehicles on the road and could recite the names of powertrain-related features even if he did not know how they worked.

He was fortunate enough to be a part of a co-op program in college that enabled him to work for Ford Motor Company’s aluminum casting and Modular engine plants and gain experience toward earning his degree. He was hired by ROUSH upon graduation and has now been with the company for a total of 10 years. Dmytrow started out on the OEM side of the company and later moved to the specialty-equipment side, where he has been for four years. Yes, there is more than one component within the company that most people usually refer to simply as ROUSH.

The parent company is called ROUSH Enterprises, and ROUSH Performance Products is a separate entity within the company, along with ROUSH Industries, ROUSH Fenway Racing and ROUSH Life Sciences. ROUSH Enterprises offers many services, from motorsports management to engineering to product design and testing.

ROUSH Industries is a Tier One Supplier that provides engineering and development support services. ROUSH Performance combines the experience of ROUSH Racing with the engineering expertise of ROUSH Industries for the development of performance vehicles, performance parts and Modular engines. ROUSH Performance is the facet responsible for the company’s signature ROUSH Mustang.

The man responsible for the success of ROUSH Enterprises, and for whom the company is named, is Jack Roush. He began his career in the automotive industry working as an engineer for Ford Motor Company in 1964. After leaving Ford, Roush formed Jack Roush Performance Industries in 1976. This grew to include Roush Racing in 1988, and together these entities evolved into ROUSH Enterprises. Roush was a successful racer in the NHRA, NASCAR, IMSA and SCCA Trans-Am.

He is also a successful businessman and NASCAR-team owner and currently serves as chairman of the board of ROUSH Enterprises. At the track, he is one of the most recognizable figures, always wearing his signature straw hat and carrying around a notepad filled with ad hoc notes and ideas.

Erin Dmytrow (left) of ROUSH and Oscar Munoz of SEMA’s Tech Transfer program discuss the company’s heritage and the association’s resources available to SEMA members.

To this day, Roush plays an active role in the company both on and off the track, which includes hands-on involvement with his race teams. He is always thinking about ways to improve his cars. And after a weekend of racing, he can still be seen in the office of ROUSH Enterprises on Monday mornings. He truly loves his work and this industry and has become a significant figure for both the specialty-equipment market and for racing.

ROUSH Performance Products has been a SEMA member since 1995. The company has been a regular participant in the Tech Transfer program and has been represented at SEMA Measuring Sessions. Tech Transfer is designed to provide SEMA manufacturing members with access to OEM-part specification data for designing and building specialty-equipment parts without reverse engineering.

A ROUSH Mustang is not delivered from the factory equipped with ROUSH products. It is sent to the facility in Livonia, Michigan, to be tricked out with various parts, including a supercharger, an exhaust system, a brake kit and appearance accessories, such as fender badges and embroidered floor mats. CAD files supplied by Tech Transfer were used in the development process for products for the 2010 ROUSH Mustang.

The visit to ROUSH Performance Products was exciting and memorable. Member visits such as this one not only give SEMA staff a chance to visit with members, but they also help them learn more about SEMA member companies and the specialty-equipment industry.

— SEMA Research & Information Center

	The ROUSH team prepares a brand-labeled Ford Mustang for future sale. As both an engineering icon and production entity, the group assembles the final touches to an enthusiast’s vehicle with out-of-the-box performance.

The city of Detroit continues to make headlines. The headlines are usually negative, with the discussions involving reduced vehicle sales, job losses and plant closures. What people may not realize is that the Detroit area is home to a number of SEMA-member companies as well. As the car-production capital of the world, there is no doubt that Detroit has suffered greatly as a result of the downturn in the economy.

But at the same time, the people of Detroit are hard working and are not ready to give up the fight. In fact, those who work for SEMA-member companies might just have the best attitudes of all. And rightly so, because in many cases these companies have weathered the storm fairly well, just as they have done in previous market crunches.

One of these companies is ROUSH Performance Products Inc. While attending the SAE World Congress in April, members of the SEMA Market Research staff had the privilege of visiting ROUSH Performance Products.

Erin Dmytrow of ROUSH was generous enough to take time out of his busy day to talk about the company. Despite the fact that Dmytrow’s parents really had no interest in cars, he became a gearhead at a young age. By the age of 10, he could distinguish between the various makes and models of vehicles on the road and could recite the names of powertrain-related features even if he did not know how they worked.

He was fortunate enough to be a part of a co-op program in college that enabled him to work for Ford Motor Company’s aluminum casting and Modular engine plants and gain experience toward earning his degree. He was hired by ROUSH upon graduation and has now been with the company for a total of 10 years. Dmytrow started out on the OEM side of the company and later moved to the specialty-equipment side, where he has been for four years. Yes, there is more than one component within the company that most people usually refer to simply as ROUSH.

The parent company is called ROUSH Enterprises, and ROUSH Performance Products is a separate entity within the company, along with ROUSH Industries, ROUSH Fenway Racing and ROUSH Life Sciences. ROUSH Enterprises offers many services, from motorsports management to engineering to product design and testing.

ROUSH Industries is a Tier One Supplier that provides engineering and development support services. ROUSH Performance combines the experience of ROUSH Racing with the engineering expertise of ROUSH Industries for the development of performance vehicles, performance parts and Modular engines. ROUSH Performance is the facet responsible for the company’s signature ROUSH Mustang.

The man responsible for the success of ROUSH Enterprises, and for whom the company is named, is Jack Roush. He began his career in the automotive industry working as an engineer for Ford Motor Company in 1964. After leaving Ford, Roush formed Jack Roush Performance Industries in 1976. This grew to include Roush Racing in 1988, and together these entities evolved into ROUSH Enterprises. Roush was a successful racer in the NHRA, NASCAR, IMSA and SCCA Trans-Am.

He is also a successful businessman and NASCAR-team owner and currently serves as chairman of the board of ROUSH Enterprises. At the track, he is one of the most recognizable figures, always wearing his signature straw hat and carrying around a notepad filled with ad hoc notes and ideas.

Erin Dmytrow (left) of ROUSH and Oscar Munoz of SEMA’s Tech Transfer program discuss the company’s heritage and the association’s resources available to SEMA members.

To this day, Roush plays an active role in the company both on and off the track, which includes hands-on involvement with his race teams. He is always thinking about ways to improve his cars. And after a weekend of racing, he can still be seen in the office of ROUSH Enterprises on Monday mornings. He truly loves his work and this industry and has become a significant figure for both the specialty-equipment market and for racing.

ROUSH Performance Products has been a SEMA member since 1995. The company has been a regular participant in the Tech Transfer program and has been represented at SEMA Measuring Sessions. Tech Transfer is designed to provide SEMA manufacturing members with access to OEM-part specification data for designing and building specialty-equipment parts without reverse engineering.

A ROUSH Mustang is not delivered from the factory equipped with ROUSH products. It is sent to the facility in Livonia, Michigan, to be tricked out with various parts, including a supercharger, an exhaust system, a brake kit and appearance accessories, such as fender badges and embroidered floor mats. CAD files supplied by Tech Transfer were used in the development process for products for the 2010 ROUSH Mustang.

The visit to ROUSH Performance Products was exciting and memorable. Member visits such as this one not only give SEMA staff a chance to visit with members, but they also help them learn more about SEMA member companies and the specialty-equipment industry.

— SEMA Research & Information Center

Many SEMA members found new customers during 2008. For example, 58% of compact-performance companies were able to increase the number of new customers during the year.

New customers and orders from existing customers increased in 2008, according to a recent survey of SEMA members. When asked whether companies witnessed new customer growth and increased business last year, 58% of compact-performance companies, for example, experienced a surge of customers in 2008, while 36% of those in the restoration market noted an increase in business from existing customers

Although our current economic climate has definitely had an impact on SEMA members’ businesses, it turns out that, depending on market niche, the severity of impact varied. While 88% of companies within the restyling market agree that the current economy had a negative impact on 2008 sales, 74% of compact-performance companies say the same.

That may come with little surprise, but other factors, such as new-vehicle sales, varied more significantly. Only 28% of sport-compact companies noted that the 2008 new-vehicle-sales decline negatively impacted sales; 72% of companies serving the light-truck market and 61% of those serving the restyling market noted the same negative impact. The table above also shows how companies within the various niches were impacted by gas prices, competition and new customer growth in 2008—benchmarking different market niches against the industry as a whole.

The data in the table above came from a survey administered to SEMA members in April that returned a total of 528 responses. The biggest percent of respondents were manufacturers (37%), followed by retailers (11%), installer/restylers and truck accessory retailers (6% each).

– SEMA Research & Information Center

Many SEMA members found new customers during 2008. For example, 58% of compact-performance companies were able to increase the number of new customers during the year.

New customers and orders from existing customers increased in 2008, according to a recent survey of SEMA members. When asked whether companies witnessed new customer growth and increased business last year, 58% of compact-performance companies, for example, experienced a surge of customers in 2008, while 36% of those in the restoration market noted an increase in business from existing customers

Although our current economic climate has definitely had an impact on SEMA members’ businesses, it turns out that, depending on market niche, the severity of impact varied. While 88% of companies within the restyling market agree that the current economy had a negative impact on 2008 sales, 74% of compact-performance companies say the same.

That may come with little surprise, but other factors, such as new-vehicle sales, varied more significantly. Only 28% of sport-compact companies noted that the 2008 new-vehicle-sales decline negatively impacted sales; 72% of companies serving the light-truck market and 61% of those serving the restyling market noted the same negative impact. The table above also shows how companies within the various niches were impacted by gas prices, competition and new customer growth in 2008—benchmarking different market niches against the industry as a whole.

The data in the table above came from a survey administered to SEMA members in April that returned a total of 528 responses. The biggest percent of respondents were manufacturers (37%), followed by retailers (11%), installer/restylers and truck accessory retailers (6% each).

– SEMA Research & Information Center