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Several students who attended a 2008 SEMA Show welcome reception received association scholarships, including Clemson University's Reza Saeidpourazar (far left), a $2,000 graduate award winner. SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting, second from left, is flanked by University of Northwestern Ohio students (L-R), Douglas Meyung, Eric Doke, Marcus McClean and Autumn Hawkins, all recipients of two-year scholarships. Joining them are SEMA Chairman Jim Cozzie (back row, left) and SEMA Scholarship Committee Chairman Paul "Scooter" Brothers.

Students! Don't miss the April 1, 2009 application deadline to apply for SEMA's four-year, two-year, graduate, loan forgiveness and member/dependent scholarships.

Over the past two decades, SEMA scholarships have supported over 400 students with more than $1,000,000 in scholarship awards. The SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund, founded in 1984 to foster leadership opportunities in the specialty-equipment marketplace, rewards the best and brightest students engaged in studies leading to careers in the automotive aftermarket or related fields.

In order to apply for the 2009 program, applicants must visit www.SEMA.org/scholarships to access the new online application. As in past years, the applicant must provide complete contact information, education history and work history. Scholarships will be awarded based on the selections of SEMA judges and the Scholarship Committee.

To qualify, applicants must have a 2.5 minimum GPA, 25 minimum credits for two-year scholarships, 50 minimum credits for four-year awards, proof that the student is in an automotive field of study and a completed application.

The applicant will also need to supply SEMA with two letters of recommendation, an essay and current official transcripts, which must be faxed separately. Working for a member company or being a dependent of an employee of a member company significantly enhances the applicant's chances.

Students Activities at the SEMA Show

During the 2008 SEMA Show, the association worked with exhibitors, sponsors and partners to create the new Student Program, which included a number of volunteer opportunities. The goal of the program was to provide each student with the chance to participate in an essential industry event.

The students were asked to select and identify their top three volunteer opportunities, and then SEMA staff placed each student in a volunteer program on a first-come, first-served basis, with consideration of the student's field of study or area of interest and his or her school's geographic region.
   
The list of volunteer opportunities included events such as the SEMA Show Luncheon and Keynote Address, the New Products Awards Breakfast, the Young Executives Network (YEN) Reception & Mentoring, the NHRA Breakfast, council receptions and the SEMA Awards Banquet.

Students who attended the SEMA Show under the volunteer program also participated in a full slate of activities. On Monday evening, November 3, before the Show began, they were invited to a welcome reception where they received Show materials.

On Wednesday morning, they attended a Student/Member Networking Breakfast, which provided an excellent networking opportunity to help the student attendees build new contacts and meet key leaders in the automotive industry. On Thursday, students attended a Student/Manufacturer Representative Networking Breakfast designed to help them learn about manufacturer representatives and meet additional industry leaders.

The student programs at the SEMA Show provide insider views on how the industry operates and give students key contacts and insight to help bridge the gap between school and a profession.

For information about similar programs during the 2009 SEMA Show, contact Nathan Ridnouer via e-mail at nathanr@sema.org or call 909/396-0289, ext. 137.

SEMA is working vigorously to challenge scrappage laws that would dismantle America's automotive heritage.

SEMA is opposing efforts to revive consideration of federal funding for vehicle scrappage programs. In response to testimony delivered to Congress, SEMA sent letters to members of the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee to counter requests that tax dollars be used to entice motorists to trade in older cars and trucks for newer models. 

The current discussion of scrappage is tied to the larger debate over how the government should help the domestic automakers and their dealers weather the current financial crisis. SEMA’s letter stated, "Cash for Clunkers as a national policy, even on a voluntary basis, would come at the expense of many small businesses and ignores the better policy option of encouraging consumers to repair and upgrade their vehicles.” 

SEMA emphasized that auto restoration, customization and repair shops nationwide, as well as hobbyists, would suffer with the indiscriminate destruction of older cars, trucks and parts they need if scrappage programs were expanded with federal funds. 

“America safeguards its artistic and architectural heritage against indiscriminate destruction," SEMA's letter stated. "Our automotive and industrial heritage deserves the same protection."

SEMA also argued that federal funds for scrappage programs would also cut business to the broader independent aftermarket, composed mostly of small businesses. It would be counterproductive for Congress to enact a measure that would hurt the specialty industry and independent auto restoration and repair shops at a time when Congress is seeking to stimulate and support small business. 

Finally, SEMA noted that scrappage programs ignore better options, such as vehicle maintenance programs that maximize the emissions systems of existing vehicles. The voluntary repair and upgrade of emissions systems is a win-win for consumers, dealers and manufacturers.

SEMA has also learned that legislators may be also considering scrappage as a clean air measure and are now in contact with these offices to explain scrappage’s shortcomings as an environmental measure. Traditionally, scrappage efforts focus purely on vehicle age rather than actual emissions produced.  

SEMA played a central role in defeating federal scrappage legislation in 2002. The association is working with like-minded industry groups now to stop this renewed threat to the auto hobby.    

For more information, contact Brian Duggan: briand@sema.org.

The SEMA Business Technology Committee (BTC) invites those attending the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show in Orlando to attend a special seminar. Titled “Standardized Data—The Path to Profits,” the seminar will cover the benefits of standardizing product data, including increased sales, fewer returns, improved product exposure and faster turnaround.

You will learn the basics of standardized eCataloging formats and intermediate sections of the data standards (ACES and PIES) in easy-to-understand layman's terms. We'll explore more than 25 of the most vital pieces of product information needed by today's performance and accessory distributors.

You’ll also see the importance of accurate information and the problems bad information can cause. Learn about the latest data standards changes for 2008/2009 and how they will affect your company. You can't afford to be left behind!

Date: Friday, December 12, 2008
Time: 7:30 a.m.—9:00 a.m.
Location: Meeting Room S-320-A (Orange County CC) Third Level

For more information, contact Alan Dicker: aland@sema.org. Visit www.sema.org/btc to learn more about Business Technology Committee initiatives.

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SEMA's webinar on December 11, "Telematics: Vehicle Technology that Will Change Your Business," will introduce attendees to the latest in telematics applications and is based on a series of interviews conducted with telematics products and service providers from around the world.

Presented by Derek Kaufman, president of C3 Network Inc., the webinar will cover the robust applications in vehicle Wi-Fi, insurance, green-driving planning and advanced GPS and explore how telematics could change the way people buy and own cars. This session will also cover the current state of OnStar and review how technology will replace the need to monitor OnStar calls with cell phone-directed activities.

What: Telematics: Vehicle Technology that Will Change Your Business
When: Thursday, December 11, 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. (PDT)
Presenter: Derek Kaufman, President, C3 Network Inc.
 
Click here to register for the December 11 webinar. 

SEMA's Next Webinar 
The automotive industry is undergoing one of the most rapid and significant structural changes in decades. The Specialty Equipment Supplier of the Future, the final report for Phase I of the SEMA Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Research Program, highlights several important insights and guideposts that are expected to shape the specialty-equipment industry in the next three to seven years, including body and chassis electronics integration, OEM-aftermarket collaboration and new customization opportunities as more models are produced from fewer platforms. During this webinar, you will learn about industry trends, future challenges and potential solutions.

What: The Specialty Equipment Automotive Company of the Future: Guideposts for Strategic Planning (Phase I)
When: Thursday, January 15, 2009, 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. (PDT)
Presenters: Brett Smith, Assistant Director, Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology, Center of Automotive Research (CAR); and Richard Wallace, Senior Project Manager, CAR
Moderator: John Waraniak, SEMA Vice-President, Vehicle Technology

For more information on how to register for this webinar, send your name, company, email and phone number to ingai@sema.org.

SEMA's Webinar Program: The SEMA webinar program brings the world-class business seminars featured during the SEMA Show right to your desktop. Different business-building sessions are constantly added to the program, offering members the latest insight and practices from today’s leading speakers.

All SEMA webinars are conducted live and are open to all employees of SEMA-member companies free of charge. To participate, all you need is a computer with Internet access and a telephone. All previous SEMA webinars are available for download by clicking here. To view upcoming presentations that you can attend via telephone and Internet, click here.

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Spy photos of Porsche’s four-door Panamera have flowed steady for the past couple of years, but these recent shots from Brenda Priddy’s shooters show the Panamera closer to its production look than we’ve yet seen.

Scheduled for debut at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, the Panamera looks to fulfill Porsche’s response to the Mercedes-Benz CLS and the forthcoming Aston Martin Rapide. While carrying design elements from the rear-engine 911 range, the Panamera will offer three front-engine options set well behind the vehicle’s front axle, Priddy says.

The entry-level powerplant will be a Volkswagen 3.5L six-cylinder putting out 300 hp, while a Porsche direct-injection eight-cylinder offering 350 hp and a twin-turbo outputting 560 hp are also available. There’s also the distant possibility of offering the 700hp 10-cylinder from the Carerra GT in case Mercedes-Benz decides to fortify the CLS.

Priddy says Porsche is aiming at a new target, that of a true sportscar with four full seats, easy access to the rear and a good-sized luggage compartment. When it hits the road in 2009, Porsche hopes to sell 20,000 units annually. An “entry-level” Panamera is expected to sell for nearly $130,000, while the twin-turbo will inch towards $200,000.

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SEMA submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging regulators to control carbon dioxide (CO2) tailpipe emissions through the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. SEMA opposed the establishment of a separate program under the Clean Air Act. In 2007, the EPA was directed by the U.S. Supreme Court to consider how best to regulate CO2 and other greenhouse gases. 

SEMA noted that the CAFE standards already encompass CO2 emissions since CO2 is emitted in direct proportion to the amount of fossil fuel (gasoline, diesel, etc.) burned. In fact, the EPA already recognizes the direct relationship between CO2 emissions and CAFE. In 2007, the EPA denied California’s waiver request to regulate CO2 emissions from automobiles based, in part, on the tie between CO2 emissions and the CAFE standards.

The EPA noted that under a 2007 federal energy law, a 40% increase in the CAFE standards by 2020, along with increased use of renewable fuels, would achieve greater greenhouse gas savings than the California program. SEMA actively supported the 2007 increase in the CAFE standards.

A number of SEMA-member companies manufacture products that increase fuel economy and reduce vehicle emissions, and the increase was viewed as tough, fair and attainable.

With respect to domestic policy on all sources of greenhouse gases, SEMA urged one comprehensive national approach to regulation rather than competing and potentially contradictory state and local standards.

For more information or a copy of SEMA’s comments, contact Stuart Gosswein: stuartg@sema.org.