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

SEMA WTC Open Meeting, November 3, 2008, Las Vegas
SEMA Show 2008, November 4–7, 2008, Las Vegas 
SEMA Dealer Day, November 5, 2008, Las Vegas
SEMA PRO Open Meeting, November 6, 2008, Las Vegas
SEMA ARMO Shopkeeper's Roundtable, November 6, 2008, Las Vegas
SEMA Speed Networking Breakfast—Powered by SBN, November 6, 2008 7:15 a.m.–9:00 a.m. (PDT), Las Vegas
SEMA Installer Certification Program, Exam date: November 13, 2008
 SEMA Webinar, "Fast Track Product Development with 3-D Design Technology," November 20, 2008 10:00 a.m. (PDT)
SEMA MPMC Media Trade Conference, January 20–22, 2009, El Segundo, California
SEMA Technical Skills & Training Conference, March 27–28, 2009, Orlando, Florida
PAACE Automechanika Mexico, July 15–17, 2009, Mexico

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.

Vehicle sales in every major segment declined during September, dropping to their lowest levels since 1993.

Market composition is shifting with the influx of compact vehicles and the decline in light-truck and SUV sales. Light-vehicle market share for compact cars has increased from 33.2% of the market to 37.3% over the course of the year. Conversely, large vehicles have contracted from 27.7% to 23.4% of the total market in response to tightening budgets and high operating costs.

SEMA-member companies rely heavily on new-vehicle sales to complement their consumer base. From the current Automotive Lifestyles Survey, 27% of enthusiasts claimed their vehicles were purchased new, and 21% had made the purchase within the past 12 months. If fuel prices continue to hold steady at relatively high values and declining new-vehicle sales do not rebound, this shift in composition could prove permanent, ultimately changing the landscape of the specialty-equipment industry.

Consumers are stressed. They continue to express anxiety from persistently high gasoline prices along with tightening credit, rising unemployment and evaporating investment securities. Home mortgages and the absence of loans are crippling their budgets. Consumers are avoiding large purchases, with new vehicles being a top priority of dropped items. Of those still in the market, there are fewer reasons to buy the gas guzzlers they came to want years earlier.

Falsely painting a rosy picture when one does not exist would be misleading. Spending slowed to a crawl within the final weeks of September, with consumer confidence freezing on the announcement of Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson’s $700-billion recovery package.

Unit sales were down in every segment from a comparison to the previous month. The yearly rate continues to be equally disappointing with a large number of double-figure declines. The lone bright spot continues to be the basic compact class with a large increase in units sold compared to the previous year. For the month, however, this segment was down as well. These vehicles are primarily economy cars with entry-level pricing and minimal features—characteristics consumers have come to demand.

For more original SEMA Market Research, visit www.sema.org/research.

The light-truck segment as a whole has had a strong presence at the last two SEMA Shows. Accelerated by new pickup and SUV sales growth through 2005, many specialty-equipment manufacturers geared up their product offering for light trucks during the following couple of years. As a result, the 2006 and 2007 SEMA Shows were heavily influenced by the light-truck and off-road markets.

Last year, the most popular vehicle displayed at the SEMA Show was the Ford F-Series pickup, but as the new-vehicle environment has changed throughout 2008, and as light-truck sales have declined over the past couple of years, it is possible that more cars will grace the floors of the SEMA Show.

SEMA members that exhibited at the 2007 SEMA Show displayed a diverse range of vehicles, and the vehicle mix within exhibitor booths often serve as an indicator of current, and possibly future, specialty-equipment market trends.

The top 21 vehicles displayed at the 2007 SEMA Show represent nearly half of the vehicles displayed throughout the entire Show floor, as shown in the table to the left.

What vehicles and vehicle segments will be popular at this year’s SEMA Show? Information provided by you will actually help determine this.

SEMA is in the process of gathering detailed vehicle information on all booth and feature vehicles at the 2008 SEMA Show to obtain a complete inventory of all the vehicles showcased. This includes: year, make, model, accessorization, etc.

We need your help to ensure that we have the most complete and accurate description(s) of your booth vehicle(s) so that we can accurately measure vehicle performance, styling and segmentation trends within the specialty-equipment industry.

If you are exhibiting a vehicle within your booth at the 2008 SEMA Show and have not had a chance to provide information to SEMA about your booth vehicle(s), please take a moment to fill out our booth-vehicle form by clicking this link: www.SEMAShow.com/boothvehicles.

So far, many SEMA Show exhibitors have already provided information on the vehicles that they plan to bring to the upcoming Show. Here are just a few:

2001 Ford F-250 Super Duty Lariat by Premier Performance Inc.

1969 Plymouth Roadrunner by Percy's High Performance

2008 Scion xB by Fujita Air

Scorpion by Ronn Motor Company

Information provided by you will give us insight as to how new-vehicle sales have affected the specialty-equipment industry. More importantly, data gathered ultimately comes back to you and could potentially help you make future business decisions.

Be sure to get your booth-vehicle information submitted. All SEMA Show vehicle information will be used by SEMA Market Research in order to identify and report on industry trends. If you have any questions, contact Ty Michael at tym@sema.org. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration has reported a decrease in the amount of miles driven. Motorists have put the brakes on recreational driving for the ninth consecutive month, reacting sharply when fuel prices peaked at a national average of $4 per gallon.

These declines could negatively influence the demand for specialty-equipment products, with consumers focusing less on automotive-related activities and seeking alternatives in their place. SEMA-member companies often rely on active lifestyles from the enthusiasts purchasing their products. From storage racks to off-road equipment, the sales of performance products and accessories that accompany automotive-centered lifestyles could decrease as a result of less traveling.

Consumers have become sensitive to the overall costs of driving in the wake of current economic conditions. Work-related commuting expenses have carried over into recreational driving, causing many motorists to park their vehicles.

June figures showed a drop of 5% and July continued with decreases of 3.6% from the previous year. Forecasts for August and September tell the same, if not worse, scenario. Petroleum demand dipped to the lowest level in 26 years. Seasonal driving patterns affected families and enthusiasts who typically travel during the summer. Some looked to other forms of entertainment for their conventional outings.

For more original SEMA Market Research, visit www.sema.org/research.

Source: www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/tvtw/08jultvt/page2.cfm, www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/tvtw/08jultvt/page3.cfm

Honda has announced plans to develop and build gasoline-electric hybrid motorcycles for market launch within the next two years. In September, Honda and Yamaha set launch dates for electric motorcycles (according to Reuters, Yamaha will launch in 2010, with Honda following a year later), fueling a competition to reign in new customers and set new standards for mobility. Each company hopes to provide the capability to reach 60 miles per charge by adopting advanced lithium-ion batteries to accomplish their claims.

In a similarly bold move, Honda has plans for a gasoline-electric hybrid range. While hybrid technology is not revolutionary, the use of their complex systems has been a restricting factor in their implementation in motorcycles. Companies such as Zero Motors and Vectrix have market-ready all-electric products available now, but the pairing of electrical components and an internal combustion engine has made packaging cumbersome, especially for niche brands.

The inclusion of major manufacturers is big news. Honda, like many OEMs, has aimed to globalize its product lines by sharing platforms, technologies and factories. Wired magazine reports that these proposed hybrid motorcycles could incorporate components from the upcoming Honda Insight car and its hybrid powertrain. The ability to mass-produce these items helps to overcome the investment hurdles faced by start-up brands and bring new engineering concepts into mainstream markets.

The Motorcycle Industry Council reports motorcycle use has increased in 2008. While unit sales for the industry peaked in 2006 after a consecutive 14-year run of growth, 2007 sales reached 1,105,000, slightly down from 1,190,000 the previous year. Figures for 2008 could be higher. The council does note that sales of used motorcycles and highway miles are on the rise. Weekend leisure driving has extended into weekday commuting as motorists shift their driving habits to fuel-efficient means.

SEMA is in the process of gathering detailed vehicle information on all booth and feature vehicles at the 2008 SEMA Show to obtain a complete inventory of all the vehicles showcased.

Motorcycle representation at the SEMA Show has increased over the past two years, jumping from 50 in 2006 to 67 in 2007. If you are exhibiting a vehicle within your booth at the 2008 SEMA Show and have not had a chance to provide information to SEMA about your booth vehicle(s), please take a moment to fill out our booth-vehicle form by clicking this link: www.SEMAShow.com/boothvehicles.

We are beginning to receive submissions of information and pictures of motorcycles for the 2008 SEMA Show. Here is an example.

2008 Yamaha YZF-R1 by Tanury Industries.

For more original SEMA Market Research, visit www.sema.org/research.

Filler for eNews

The United States Embassy in Kuwait has contacted SEMA regarding a Kuwaiti company attending the SEMA Show that is urgently looking for suppliers of bedliners for the 2008 Chevrolet Silverado. The company is seeking about 200 units.

Exhibitors are invited to contact Linda Spencer at lindas@sema.org for contact information.

SEMA is sponsoring two seminars at the 2008 SEMA Show to assist you in exploring new international markets:

Insider Secrets for Selling in Key Global Markets
Date/Time: Wednesday, November 5, 8:30 a.m.–10:00 a.m.
Description: Market insiders will share the latest trends in the global specialty-equipment market. They’ll provide key information for doing business in key overseas markets. Learn which vehicles are most often accessorized, which are most popular and what’s legal and what's not.

Top Tips for Getting Your Products Covered in the International Media
Date/Time: Thursday, November 6, 8:30 a.m.–10:00 a.m.
Decsription: Editors and reporters from some of the world’s leading magazines share what you need to do to get your products covered in their publications. They offer candid advice on what to send, as well as when and how to send it. This seminar arms you with the knowledge and skills needed to get your products featured in the pages of magazines all over the world! 

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

For more information, contact Linda Spencer at lindas@sema.org.

European government officials published a partial list of the nearly 40,000 chemicals that have been pre-registered under the European Union's (EU) registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals (REACH) regulation. According to the agency, the purpose of the list is to give downstream users or companies that purchase chemicals a chance to determine whether substances of interest to them are already pre-registered.

The pre-registration of existing substances began June 1, 2008, and must be completed by December 1, 2008. The complete list of chemicals pre-registered by the December 1 deadline will be published early next year. Substances not registered by December 1 will be illegal in the 27 nations comprising the EU.

The database of pre-registered chemicals is available here.

As previously reported, SEMA has been involved in an ongoing effort to accommodate the tightened budgets of our member companies and has continued to negotiate reduced rates and other incentives for attendees of the 2008 SEMA Show.

“We have worked with all our service providers throughout the year to create the best rates possible,” said Chris Kersting, SEMA president and CEO. “Given the current economic climate, it has become increasingly important to ensure that the Show delivers the best value possible."

The results of these efforts include reduced room rates and incentives at the following hotels:

• Palms Place: rate reduced from $245 to $199   
• Platinum: rate reduced from $199 to $189
• Signature at MGM: $245 rate reduced to $199
• Excalibur: $131 rate to a tiered rate of $89, $99, $119; $159 rate reduced to $139
• Mirage: tiered rate of $209 to $239 is now reduced to a tiered rate of $175 and $209
• Gold Coast: $138 rate to a tiered rate of $57, $66, $104; $88 rate reduced to $57
• Hilton: 2-for-1 buffet coupon, 2-for-1 drink in the Tempo Lounge and $10 in free casino play
• Circus Circus: one free buffet dinner and $25 in free casino play
• MGM Grand: $25 bar/restaurant credit, 2-for-1 spa pass and 15% off spa services
• New York, New York: two welcome cocktails, 2-for-1 Il Fornaio breakfasts, $15 off of a spa treatment and 2-for-1 roller coaster ride
• Treasure Island: 15% off Mystere tickets
• Harrah’s Properties (Caesar’s Palace, Harrah’s, Rio, Imperial Palace, Flamingo, Ballys and Paris): 2-for-1 “Who's to Blame” margaritas (7 a.m.-2 a.m.) and free souvenir in gift shop with $15 minimum purchase
• Imperial Palace: $132 rate reduced to a tiered rate of $70 and $132
• Flamingo: $155 rate reduced to a tiered rate of $90, $130 and $155
• Palace Station: Tiered rate of $94 and $115 reduced to $79 and $99; tiered rate of $115 and $135 reduced to $99 and $119
  

The reductions are retroactive and companies that have already booked accommodations for the Show will qualify for the new rates. Attendees with existing reservations will be contacted directly to facilitate necessary adjustments.

“We have gone to bat for SEMA members because we understand that dollars are tight right now,” said Kersting. “We expect to announce more incentives soon, but the best one of all continues to be the tremendous opportunity that the Show provides with the enormous gathering of buyers and manufacturers that will be in town.”

For more information and to register for the 2008 SEMA Show, visit www.SEMAShow.com.