Filler for eNews

Filler for eNews

Dates and locations for several upcoming SEMA-sponsored shows and activities have been announced. Details are:

SEMA Webinar, "The Specialty-Equipment Automotive Company of the Future: Guideposts for Strategic Planning (Phase I)," January 15, 2009, 10:00 a.m. (PDT)

SEMA MPMC Media Trade Conference, January 20–22, 2009, El Segundo, California

SEMA Webinar, "Best Ways to Increase Your Web Traffic," January 22, 2009, 10:00 a.m. (PDT)

SEMA Technical Skills & Training Conference, March 27–28, 2009, Orlando, Florida

Aftermarket eForum, July 13–15, 2009, Chicago, Illinois

PAACE Automechanika Mexico, July 15–17, 2009, Mexico City

SEMA Show, November 3–6, 2009, Las Vegas, Nevada

For association-related travel, contact Manya Petropaki (manya.p@travelstoreusa.com) at Travel Store USA, 949/930-9268.

Looking for Some Extra Publicity for Your Industry Event?
Publicize your events through the SEMA Online Calendar of Events located at www.sema.org/calendar. The calendar is stocked with information on events taking place throughout the year, broken down by month. Examples of events featured in the calendar include consumer shows and club events, educational and training workshops, conventions and trade shows, races and more.

To submit your event details for the calendar, e-mail company name and the date(s), location and name of the event to Shirley Presecan at shirleyp@sema.org.

In December, the SEMA Performance Parts and Accessories Demand Index (PADI) fell 2 points (6%) from a November reading of 31, indicating that around 8% of adult American drivers (approximately 8 million households) have plans to purchase specialty-equipment products sometime in the next three months.

While the index is down overall, anticipated demand for accessory and appearance products, racing and performance parts and wheel/tire/suspension components was up among 18- to 24-year-olds—the only age group to show an increased purchasing appetite compared to the same period last year.

Nearly 5% of 18- to 24-year-old consumers said that they are likely to purchase wheels, tires or suspension components, while close to 4% have plans to buy racing and performance products. Slightly more than 4% said they are likely to purchase accessories and appearance products.

Over the last three months, midsize cars have been the most popular target vehicles for enhancement or modification at 27%, followed by pickups (18%), compact cars (14%) and fullsize cars (13%). Most indicated plans to buy their parts at car dealerships (24%), with web retailers (18%), chain auto parts stores (17%) and independent parts stores (13%) the next likely purchase points.

When specialty-equipment buyers were asked what form their vehicle would take after customization, the most frequent answers given this month included: “general personalization” (54%), followed by “street performance” (19%), “street truck” (10%), with “hot rod” and “restoration” tied at 3%.

The SEMA PADI is derived from a nationally representative sample of around 900 consumers each month through a random telephone survey, with a margin of error is plus or minus 3.3%.

For more original market research, visit www.sema.org/research.

Despite suffering a 32% drop in new sales from this time last year, the pickup segment is the second-largest group of registered vehicles in the United States. Data from Experian Automotive shows nearly 51 million pickups registered as of mid-2008 (20.5% of total registrations), trailing only midsize cars, which total 64 million.

Specialty-equipment companies can profit from this trend by focusing their product and service messages to an owner base holding on to its trucks longer and looking for both appearance- and performance-enhancing products for aging vehicles.

Pickup owners are also increasingly looking for fuel savings. In SEMA's recent Automotive Lifestyles Survey (comprised of responses from more than 3,000 enthusiasts who subscribe to automotive magazines and online forums), 63% indicated that they purchased custom parts and accessories in order to increase fuel economy. 

About 25% of survey respondents owned a pickup, with exhaust kits again topping the list of the year's most-purchased specialty equipment (exhaust kits were also the most purchased modification in 2007).

Exhaust kits, polishes/waxes, air intake and filter replacements are the most popular mods with pickup owners, according to SEMA research. All pickups have taken a sales whipping this year, but the Silverado, F-Series and Honda Ridgeline have fared better than most.

The good news is that the sales slowdown next year should be less pronounced than in 2008. Automotive industry consulting firm AutoPacific forecasts 2009 sales to dip only 5% compared to this year.

For more original market research, visit www.sema.org/research.

North American enthusiasts can finally get their hands on one of the world's most coveted performance icons: Nissan’s GT-R, successor to the generations of Skyline GT-R, known to enthusiasts and fanboys by its generation codes (R32, R33, R34) or simply by what Japanese enthusiasts called it—Godzilla.

For years this idol was exported to a small list of countries, but the new GT-R is finally ready to convert North Americans. Motor Trend, Automobile and Top Gear all named the GT-R their car of the year, sweet accolades for a model that sold only 1,581 units in its first year. If the 2008 SEMA Show was any indication, the GT-R is an instant classic.

Of those 1,581 units sold, 24 of them were found on the Show floor. Veteran Skyline importer and expert Sean Morris of 2009GTR noted that "the aftermarket is still pretty young for the R35 GT-R. It is being well-received by most of the aftermarket, but it’s an expensive car and it has some expensive systems.”

Offering Porsche Turbo performance at Corvette Z06 pricing, the GT-R isn't a young man's tuner car. Performance parts and accessory manufacturers need to have a realistic vision of the car's target audience. It is also, as Morris mentions, not an easy car to crack.

“Once people work out the transmission and its control, it will open up the aftermarket to more wild modifications," Morris says.

 
Ben Schaffer of Bulletproof Automotive and Bespoke Ventures, distributors and retailers of premium Japanese components, contributed to the completion of multiple GT-R’s at the Show. Schaffer elaborates on the importance of the vehicle.

“The 2009 GT-R dominated the SEMA Show," says Schaffer. "It represented the first new Japanese super car in more than a decade.”

Schaffer repudiates notions that the GT-R is nearly impossible to tune, at least electronically, claiming that his company's tuned GT-Rs make more than the 600 hp expected of Nissan's next update, the 2010 Spec-V GT-R.

As the GT-R is a new entrant to the North American market, enthusiast data is minimal and possibly unrepresentative. SEMA research has compiled data on similar vehicles to roughly forecast how owners might modify their Godzilla. The following data illustrates how owners of similar performance icons—Toyota Supra, Mitsubishi Evolution, Acura NSX—have tuned their cars.

Sales in the custom wheel market have increased from just over $1.4 billion in 1992 to more than $4.6 billion in 2007.

To the specialty-equipment fan, custom wheels are the perfect opportunity to showcase luxury and opulence. But with these lean times, it is appropriate that current wheel trends are moving towards the basic and simple. 

The trend for wheel design or style appears to be becoming more simple and elegant, according to recent SEMA research. It seems that the excessive look is past its peak. Many designers are offering wheels that are simple and straightforward—almost a retro look.

Basic five- and six-spoke wheels or mesh-center rims appears to be where the market is headed. There are exceptions, but most of those are in the 24-inch-and-up sizes that are low volume.

The majority of custom wheels offered today are one-piece cast wheels. They are the simplest to make and can be made in almost any design. Depending on the mold and casting quality, the wheels can be painted, polished or chrome plated. Painting covers up most imperfections because the primer and finish coats fill in the casting holes.

For a polished finish, a better quality wheel is required since imperfections are more visible. Chrome plating can cover some flaws because the copper undercoat can fill in the casting blemishes.

There are a number of forged one-piece wheels, but they generally command premium prices. The forging process results in the lightest and strongest wheel on the market. Generally, a forged wheel can be polished or chrome plated without much trouble, as the forging process results in a very smooth surface finish with few, if any, imperfections.

The remaining wheels are two- and three-piece wheels that are either forged or spun rims with forged centers. Most of the multi-piece wheels are at the upper end of the price scale and tend to be in larger sizes. The advantage of multi-piece wheels from a marketing standpoint is that they carry lower inventory levels.

When a wheel is ordered, the spider and rim sections are bolted together with the right off-set and bolt pattern for a specific application, which results in virtually no leftovers.

For the full SEMA News article on wheel and tire trends, click here.

For more original SEMA research, click here.

SEMA has revised, updated and formatted for online usage its guide to emissions certification of specialty automotive aftermarket parts. Known as the “Black Book” and available only to SEMA members, the guide is now simplified in many areas to facilitate achieving emissions compliance status with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

This collection of valuable information provides background and current guidelines, and is designed to expedite the process by which SEMA members can gain parts certification.

“SEMA has received many requests from its members seeking information about federal and state emissions compliance requirements,” says SEMA Vice President of Government Affairs Steve McDonald. “In many cases, there has been confusion about the process by which requirements can be met and Executive Orders from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) issued for applicable parts and systems.

"For years, SEMA has provided information and outlined compliance steps. However, we've learned that there are ways to further simplify the process. So to assist SEMA members in understanding the requirements and identify ways to minimize both cost and time in reaching compliance status, this revised material addresses these issues in a very user-friendly way.”

Where appropriate, SEMA has included website links to provide first-hand information from various compliance-related sources, including the CARB website. SEMA also provides simple and easy steps for obtaining a CARB Executive Order, application forms, helpful hints, compliance criteria checklists, retail restrictions information and a list of independent laboratories equipped to carry out required emissions testing protocols.
 
“Experience has shown that obtainment of a CARB Executive Order typically allows the sale of applicable emissions-related parts and systems outside the State of California,” McDonald adds. “The Black Book also contains information to assist members in understanding and complying with EPA’s tampering enforcement policy.

"Under the EPA policy, manufacturers must have a 'reasonable basis' for concluding that their products do not adversely affect the emissions of the vehicles on which they are intended to be installed. Currently, the EPA recognizes a CARB Executive Order as meeting the required reasonable basis.”

SEMA members interested in viewing the Black Book can click here.

For assistance or for help addressing specific concerns, SEMA members can contact SEMA Technical Consultant Jim McFarland at jmcfar1@aol.com.

To join SEMA and enjoy the benefits of memberships—including access to the Black Book—please click here.

Ford drastically reduced the ordering combinations available on its best-selling F-150 pickup, according to a report in Automotive News, and other manufacturers have moved to reduce the scope and types of options that they would provide at the dealership in order to save on overhead costs. Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Co.

As reported earlier, SEMA has funded an in-depth study, which reveals that difficulties being faced by the automotive industry are prompting many automakers to explore the traditionally ignored specialty-equipment market, presenting what can be either a challenge or an opportunity to SEMA member-companies.

The study, "The Specialty-Equipment Automotive Company of the Future: Guideposts for Strategic Planning (Phase I)," prepared by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), identified five vehicle manufacturers strategies — as listed in the earlier report — that members must be aware of in order to prepare for this structural change.

Of these five strategies, two have been identified as extremely time-sensitive. First, many automakers are increasingly interested in the specialty-equipment market, and it is important for SEMA members to explore a relationship with the OEMs. Second, most automakers are focusing their performance, chassis and appearance strategy on small (and performance) cars and pickups.

Members who serve the small-car segments will have the opportunity to grow with this change. However, those who have been successful serving the pickup market must consider how their products can be adapted to other segments. The changing mix of light vehicles makes it clear that what has worked for many members in the past may not work in the future.

“The CAR study findings and forecasts cannot predict the future; however, they will provide critical and timely insights and input to scenario-planning processes to define potential challenges, opportunities and solutions that can then be used by member companies to develop their strategic and tactical action plans,” said John Waraniak, SEMA vice president of vehicle technology.

The study identified three pathways for members in the coming years: 1) partnerships with OEMs, 2) gaining information through the Technology Transfer Program and Measuring Sessions, and 3) reverse engineering. All three will be viable going forward, but members that choose the reverse-engineering pathway will find it increasingly difficult and may also put other specialty-equipment suppliers in jeopardy. These three business routes will be covered in-depth during the webinar detailed below.

As the automotive industry undergoes one of the most rapid and significant structural changes in decades, it is essential that SEMA members understand this business-model transformation and act upon it in order to ensure their success and longevity.

“This study is an excellent example of how SEMA is developing and delivering programs, activities and information in anticipation and response to the emerging and ongoing needs of our members,” said Waraniak.

To gain insights from the CAR report, participate in the "The Specialty-Equipment Automotive Company of the Future: Guideposts for Strategic Planning (Phase I)" webinar, presented by Brett Smith, assistant director of the manufacturing, engineering and technology group at CAR, and Richard Wallace, senior project manager at CAR.

Both Smith and Wallace authored the CAR study and will present findings from the report. The session will be moderated by John Waraniak.

The webinar is scheduled for Thursday, January 15, 2009 from 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. (PDT). For further details on the webinar, send your name, company, e-mail and phone number to ingai@sema.org.

The 2010 Mustang is one of several vehicles available in Ford's Project Vehicle Program.

Looking for a 2010 Mustang to build for next year’s SEMA Show? Take note: Ford is now accepting project proposals for its 2009 Ford/Lincoln/Mercury Project Vehicle Program.

Proposals need to be submitted in two parts: a one-page preliminary project summary due by February 23 (January 5 if you want a Mustang), and a more detailed proposal by March 1 (January 5 for Mustang). Companies requesting vehicles should be a manufacturer or restyler dedicated to new-product development, able to promote and market the vehicle, and a SEMA member.

This year, a limited number of vehicles will be awarded for modifications that result in significant fuel-economy gains and/or reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Projects that go beyond bio-fuel conversion will be given greater consideration.

For additional details, click here to download the PDF file (if you’re having trouble downloading the file, e-mail semainfo@ford.com).