Missed the Pinewood Drag Races at the 2008 Installation Banquet & Gala Fundraiser? Then make plans to attend the cocktail reception preceding the Industry Awards Banquet at the 2008 SEMA Show, Thursday, November 6 (no-host bar opens at 5:00 p.m.). SEMA staff will run a pinewood drag exhibition showcasing the winning cars from the inaugural races in July, including class winners from SEMA Chairman Jim Cozzie (Unlimited) and Immediate Past Chairman Mitch Williams (Modified).

After you're finished watching this fun display of minimalist race engineering, you'll want to enter or sponsor your own car in the second annual Pinewood Drag Races to be held next summer at the 2009 Installation Banquet & Gala Fundraiser. We'll have sign-ups on-site.

CLICK HERE to read more about the inaugural Pinewood Drag Races.

SEMA has launched a new classifieds section on its www.SEMAShow.com website to assist SEMA Show exhibitors in hauling booth materials, vehicles, parts and other equipment to the 2008 SEMA Show. If your company needs items hauled to the Show, let us know about it so it can be posted on www.SEMAShow.com. A link to the classifieds section will be included in each issue of SEMA eNews up to the week of the 2008 SEMA Show.

Need Gear Hauled to the Show?
If you have items that need to be hauled to the Show, click here to e-mail us. Be sure to provide all of the necessary information included in the content of the e-mail.

Have Room in Your Trailer?
Those SEMA Show exhibitors who have space in their trailer headed to the 2008 SEMA Show are also encouraged to help fellow exhibitors get their gear or vehicles to the Show by announcing it here. Click here to e-mail us and provide all the necessary information included in the content of the e-mail.

Complete information on the 2008 SEMA Show is available online at www.SEMAShow.com.

The West Coast Customs crew wants Toyota parts from 2008 SEMA Show exhibitors for projects featured at the Show.  

West Coast Customs (WCC), the guys who create custom rides on the TLC hit show "Street Customs," are upfitting several Toyotas for the 2008 SEMA Show and are seeking product donations from SEMA Show exhibitors. The vehicles will be featured in the West Coast Customs Experience, a dedicated Show section featuring live, in-booth master classes on welding, fabrication, painting, mobile electronics and more.

WCC will customize the 2009 Toyota Camry, FJ Cruiser, Prius, Tundra and Scion xB.

SEMA Show exhibitors with grilles, exhausts, body kits, suspension and/or other bolt-on products can contact Joe Sebergandio immediately at joe@motormediainc.com or 818/248-4900.

Complete information on the 2008 SEMA Show, Tuesday–Thursday, November 4–7, is available at www.SEMAShow.com.

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As a SEMA-member company, your personnel are offered an excellent opportunity to meet and network with the top future professionals in our industry. During the 2008 SEMA Show, the association will host the first-ever Student Program. The new program is designed to help facilitate networking between SEMA members and nearly 200 students who will attend the Show. 

Representatives of SEMA-member companies will enjoy the opportunity to network with these future leaders in both group and one-on-one settings, and bring home a stack of résumés of qualified future employees.

To register for the "Student Networking Breakfast," Wednesday, November 5, 7:30 a.m.–8:45 a.m., LVCC Room S233, send an e-mail to member@sema.org. The deadline to register is Monday, October 20. RSVP today!

Don't make the mistake of arriving at the 2008 SEMA Show without your badge. Check on your badge status by clicking here. You have the choice of searching by your Confirmation ID# (included on your confirmation), name or company.

For questions regarding your registration, call 866/229-3687. International registrants can call +1 301-694-5243, or e-mail aiw081.exhibitor@experient-inc.com. 

For more information on the 2008 SEMA Show, visit www.SEMAShow.com.

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The next SEMA webinar, "Fast Track Product Development with 3-D Technology," presented by SEMA Vehicle Product Data Analyst Oscar Muñoz, highlights new, affordable, 3-D-based technologies available to replace the tedious process of reverse engineering.

Before you create the next hot vehicle product, think twice about your approach. Reverse engineering can take months of acquiring and measuring your target vehicle, rendering the components on computer-aided design (CAD) and validating those models against production vehicles, not to mention the toll it exacts on your operations budget. Learn about laser scanners, Coordinate Measuring Machines, Rapid Prototype Printers and today’s desktop-computer CAD applications, and improve the look of your bottom line.

Title: "Fast Track Product Development with 3-D Design Technology"
Date: Thursday, November 20, 2008, 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. (PDT)
Presenter: Oscar Muñoz, SEMA Vehicle Product Data Analyst

CLICK HERE to register for this webinar.

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.

Nissan's all-new 370Z coupe has been spotted rolling around the wet roads of Germany and Brenda Priddy's spy photogs got a great look at it. Priddy notes that the 370 will take some styling cues from the recently debuted Maxima, with the headlights and taillights bearing a strong family resemblance.

More importantly, performance will receive a 30hp boost as the 3.7L 330hp V6 in Infiniti's G37 finds its way under the hood of the next-generation Z. It's also rumored that the curb weight will be lower than the outgoing 350Z. If the 370 is anything like its predecessor, it will be an enthusiast favorite. A SEMA survey shows that more than half of 350Z owners bought wheels and tires (55% and 53%, respectively) for their Nissans. Intake and aero kits are also popular (55%, 45%), as are performance brake kits and exhaust packages (39% each).

Watch for this two-seater to debut during the upcoming auto show season.

Why lose market share to counterfeit or knockoff products?

SEMA has assembled an all-star cast of experts to help you learn how to protect your intellectual property through patents, trademarks, and copyrights. This invaluable seminar, scheduled Monday, November 3, a day before the 2008 SEMA Show begins, will allow you to focus on this important topic without worrying about lost Show sales.

Expert panelists with first-hand knowledge of the specialty-equipment market will cover the basics, from deciding what kind of IP needs protection, registering your IP with the proper government authorities, and developing a plan to enforce your IP rights.

The panelists will also share valuable tips on working with United States Customs and other agencies to help stop the importation of counterfeit or infringing products.

SEMA Show Attendees: Click here to register now (log-in required)!

What: "From Registration to Litigation: How to Safeguard Your Company Against Illegal Knockoffs and Counterfeits."
When: Monday, November 3, 2008, 8:30 a.m.—10:00 a.m.
Where: Las Vegas Convention Center N255-257
Who:

• Stuart Gosswein, SEMA (moderator)
• Merritt R. Blakeslee, deKieffer & Horgan
• Steven D. Lustig, Dickinson Wright
• Christopher Robertson, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (invited)
• Robert J. Roby, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear
  

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein: stuartg@sema.org.