Make the most of your 2008 SEMA Show venture by using My Show Planner, an online tool that allows registered attendees to create and save a personalized itinerary for the Show. Through My Show Planner, you can personalize your Show experience by creating a day-by-day calendar with the seminars and special events that you plan to attend, map out the exhibitors that you need to meet and add any meetings or activities that you have planned throughout the week.

For a current list of 2008 SEMA Show exhibitors, as well as the floorplan of the Show, CLICK HERE. 

How do I create my Show plan? 
All approved registrants were e-mailed log-in instructions, along with their username and password. Registered attendees who need the information re-sent to them are invited to e-mail SEMAShow@sema.org and request your My Show Planner log-in.

To log-in to My Show Planner, CLICK HERE.

Brenda Priddy and her spy photographer network recently caught testing what Priddy believes is the next version of "Cadillac One," the United States presidential limousine. Photographed on public roads and highways, Priddy says this behemoth may be more truck than car, likely using the GM Topkick medium-duty truck chassis (to accommodate the additional weight of armor plating) and running on Goodyear Regional RHS tires covering 19-inch wheels.

Priddy also says that the drivetrain under this particular test car was a diesel, with an exhaust note not unlike those of other Topkick platform trucks (a couple of which accompanied this Cadillac during testing).

This limo appears to use Escalade headlights, while the rear uses some STS styling cues. Look closely above the front fenders and you'll see two holders, presumably in which to place head-of-state American flags.

It's debut? Priddy says January 20, 2009, is a pretty good guess.

President Bush intends to sign into law legislation to increase the authority of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to protect the public from unsafe or substandard products. The CPSC has jurisdiction over more than 15,000 consumer products, from toys to refrigerators. The agency has been a focus of attention following a number of consumer product defects in 2007, from toys to pet food and pharmaceuticals. The landmark legislation was passed with near-unanimous Congressional consent and will increase the CPSC’s resources, authority and testing requirements.  

With respect to automobiles and most types of vehicle equipment, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) retains sole regulatory oversight. Items of equipment range from wheels and tires to oil filters, alternators, lights, grille guards and floor jacks. Nevertheless, several auto-related products remain under CPSC jurisdiction, such as jumper cables, seat covers and all-terrain vehicles. Both agencies require a manufacturer/importer/distributor/retailer to notify the appropriate agency if it concludes that there is a safety concern or defect. The CPSC and the NHTSA can also conduct a safety investigation on their own authority.

The new law will attempt to shift the government’s focus toward preventing hazardous products from reaching the marketplace, rather than retroactively responding to consumer complaints, injuries or deaths. Manufacturers will be required to have certain products tested by independent labs, some existing voluntary safety standards will become mandatory and fines and penalties will increase. The CPSC will also have authority to request identification of every manufacturer, importer, retailer or distributor within the supply chain, to the extent that such information is known or can be readily determined.

For additional information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

Greg Weld, the creative pioneer behind racing and custom wheels, has died from undisclosed complications. He was 64.

"Greg Weld was a visionary in the motorsports industry," said Bob Baker, president of the Sprint Car Hall of Fame. "He raced his way into the record books and into the hearts of many, but more than anything else, Greg Weld was a great friend and will be missed by everyone."

Weld won more than 100 sprint car races, including the 1963 Knoxville Nationals, the premier event in sprint car racing, and won the USAC National Sprint Car Championship at age 23. Weld raced in the USAC Championship Car series in the 1965–1972 seasons, with 36 career starts, including the 1970 Indianapolis 500 and qualified as the fastest rookie qualifier. He finished in the top ten 11 times, with his best finish in 4th position in 1970 at Sacramento. He was also the 1967 USAC Sprint Car Series champion.

In 1970, Weld retired as a professional racer and founded Weld Wheel Industries with $2,300 that he'd saved from racing on the simple idea of making Sprint Car wheels that performed better. Weld manufactured forged alloy wheels for various vehicles, including racecars, and was an active sponsor of the United States Auto Club series, NHRA and IHRA. In January 2007, Weld started Greg Weld Competition Wheels.

He was inducted into numerous Halls of Fame, including the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1998.

Services will be held August 8 at 10:00 a.m. at the Kansas City Baptist Temple, Raytown, Missouri.

For additional information, contact Greg Weld Competition Wheels at 816/472-4734 or visit the company's website: www.gregweld.com.

NEW SCHEDULE: The IRL IndyCar Series set an 18-race schedule for 2009, adding road courses at Exhibition Place in Toronto, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and Edmonton (Alberta) to the slate. The oval race at Nashville (Tennessee) Superspeedway was dropped and races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway were not added this year.

NEW MAN: Christian Byrd, son of Bristol Motor Speedway General Manager Jeff Byrd, has been named executive director and GM of zMax Dragway @ Concord, the state-of-the-art drag strip at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, which will debut September 11–14.

ANOTHER ONE GONE: USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Florida, held its last race Saturday night, August 3. The three-quarter-mile asphalt oval has been sold to a developer who plans to tear it down and build a warehouse on the site.

TESTING: As part of an effort to keep events like the tire-wear debacle that plagued the recent Allstate 400 at the Brickyard from happening, Goodyear has scheduled a test session at the speedway for the fall of this year and a second one for next spring.

POWER RANKINGS: Despite having the week off, NHRA Top Fuel point leader Tony Schumacher remained at the top of the National Speed Sport News Power Rankings. Schumacher, a five-time world champion, has won eight times in 15 races this season. The National Speed Sport News Power Rankings are published weekly in the 74-year-old motorsports publication.

SUBSCRIBE: National Speed Sport News has been published weekly since 1934. To subscribe to National Speed Sport News, click on the following link for a special industry rate: www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/subscribe.html?pid=NQ%2BVfhkepT4%3D.

TEAMS HOPE TO CLOSE POINTS GAP AT LUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS: With only three races left before the end of the NHRA POWERade regular season and cutoff point for the Top 10 in the point standings in each category, it’s do-or-die time for many drivers lingering in the bubble spots in the standings.
    One of those drivers is Morgan Lucas. Lucas is only nine points back of 10th place driver Doug Kalitta. Nine points could make or break Lucas’ chances of making the Countdown to 1 and fighting it out with the likes of Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown and Larry Dixon for a world championship, or simply spending those final six races wondering what might have been.
    Six-time Pro Stock World Champion Warren Johnson is in a similar situation. After getting timed out in the first round of finals last at the FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals in Sonoma, California, Johnson could do nothing more than sit and watch as competitor Dave Connolly collected his second win of the season and moved in to that 10th spot in the point standings, knocking Johnson back to 11th, 52 points back.
    A trip to the semis in Brainerd, Minnesota,  would make up the difference, picking up 60 points for Johnson, but only if Connolly doesn’t qualify for the event. Both Bob Tasca in Funny Car and Karen Stoffer in Pro Stock Motorcycle also know that now is the time to make a push out of that 11th spot and into the Top 10 if they want to continue their quest for the 2008 POWERade world championship in their respective categories. 

AREND TO DRIVE DHL FUNNY CAR FOR REMAINDER OF 2008 SEASON STARTING IN INDY: Kalitta Motorsports team owner Connie Kalitta announced plans to continue racing the DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car starting at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis with Jeff Arend named as the driver. Connie will continue his role as head tuner on the DHL Toyota Solara, with assistance from crew chief Glenn Mikres. The team plans to compete the remainder of the 2008 season.
    “We will never be able to replace Scott (Kalitta), and we’re not trying to,” said Kalitta. “Our Funny Car will always be Scott’s car, no matter who drives it. We want to get the car back out on the track to keep pursuing Scott’s dream of having a successful Funny Car program for our team. Our friends at DHL and all of our sponsors have been very supportive, and we owe it to them and to Scott and our fans to keep that dream alive.”

BONINFANTE NAMED CO-CREW CHIEF ON MAC TOOLS DRAGSTER: Veteran nitro tuner Nick Boninfante Jr. will join Kalitta Motorsports tuner Jon Oberhofer as co-crew chief on the Mac Tools dragster driven by Doug Kalitta. Boninfante begins his second stint at Kalitta Motorsports, first working for the team as a clutch specialist on team owner Connie Kalitta’s Top Fuel team in 1991 and 1992.
    Boninfante also served as the clutch specialist for the back-to-back championship Top Fuel dragster driven by Scott Kalitta ('94–'95). Before returning to Kalitta Motorsports, Boninfante worked as the crew chief for Bruce Litton’s Top Fuel dragster.

WALSH HIRED AS TUNER FOR LUCAS OIL DRAGSTER: Top Fuel tuner Jimmy Walsh will take over the primary tuning responsibilities on the Lucas Oil dragster driven by Morgan Lucas for the remainder of the season. Walsh, who began the season as crew chief for the Monster Energy Funny Car driven by Tommy Johnson Jr., will join Lucas’ team with John Stewart, who had been serving as the engine tuner for both Lucas and teammate J.R. Todd. Walsh will focus solely on Todd’s Lucas Fuel Treatment dragster. Walsh has tuned for drivers and team owners such as Kenny Bernstein, Dexter Tuttle, J.R. Todd and the late Darrell Russell.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

LUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS, BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, AUGUST 7–10: The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series returns to central Minnesota for the third-to-last race where drivers can earn points to get into the Countdown to 1. Defending event winners include Brandon Bernstein (Top Fuel); John Force (Funny Car); Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock); and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

TOYO TIRES NHRA NATIONALS, MAPLE GROVE RACEWAY, AUGUST 14–17: Returning to the East Coast, drivers in the NHRA POWERade Series have one final chance before Indy to make a run at the Top 10 in the point standings. Defending event winners include Doug Herbert (Top Fuel); Tony Pedregon (Funny Car); Dave Connolly (Pro Stock); and Matt Guidera (Pro Stocky Motorcycle).

MAC TOOLS U.S. NATIONALS, O’REILLY RACEWAY PARK, AUGUST 27–SEPTEMBER 1: The final stop for the regular season, drivers in the NHRA POWERade Series will have one last chance at the historic Raceway in Indianapolis to secure a spot in the Top 10 in the point standings and advance to the Countdown to 1. Funny Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle competitors will also have the chance to compete for cash and bragging rights in the U.S. Smokeless Showdown and the Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle.
    Defending winners of the race include Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel); Mike Ashley (Funny Car); Dave Connolly (Pro Stock); and Craig Treble (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

HE SAID, SHE SAID

HIGHT LIVES DODGER DREAM: Long before he ever climbed into the seat of a Funny Car, driver Robert Hight had one dream and one dream only as a kid: play professional baseball for the team he loved, the Los Angeles Dodgers. On Tuesday, July 30, Hight got as close as anyone could to being on his dream team, throwing out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium.
    “I threw it right down Broadway,” said Hight. “It was an awesome experience. As a lifelong Dodgers fan, it doesn’t get much better than being able to throw out the first pitch at a game that the Dodgers eventually go on to win in a shutout.”  
    Hight will run a special commemorative Dodgers 50th anniversary paint scheme on his Auto Club Ford Mustang for the final two races of the season, the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals and the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, California. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

10: The amount of points Funny Car driver Robert Hight and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt Smith need to clinch their spots in the Countdown to 1. Hight and Smith need to just show up for this week’s Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals to clinch their spots, while Top Fuel driver Rod Fuller, Funny Car driver Tony Pedregon and Pro Stock driver Jeg Coughlin need to qualify for the event to clinch their spots.

DID YOU KNOW…

…that five-time Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher was listed No. 1 in this week’s National Speed Sport News Driver Power Rankings, just ahead of NASCAR driver Kyle Busch. Schumacher has eight wins in 15 races this season and clinched a spot in the Countdown to 1 at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, seven races before the cutoff point.

Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire (BFNT) promoted Robert W. Handlos, currently the vice president of materials development, to vice president of product development, a newly created position for the company. Each of the product development groups located at BFNT’s Akron-based technical center will report to Handlos, as well as the Akron-based security function. He will also continue to have responsibility for the product development facilities located in Akron and the company’s race tire manufacturing plant, known as ATW.

Mark Mojica was hired by the Performance Automotive Group as vice president of sales and marketing. Mojica, formerly the director of performance sales for Rancho/Tenneco, has more than 21 years in the suspension business. Earlier this year, during the Off Road Impact trade show held in Anaheim, California, Mojica was part of a prestigious panel of suspension manufacturer representatives that discussed various issues on the off-road suspension industry. 

General Parts Inc. named Jerry Colley (left) executive vice president, Store Group, reporting directly to President O. Temple Sloan III. Colley was most recently the vice president of stores and senior vice president of customer satisfaction for AutoZone’s Memphis, Tennessee, headquarters. He was in charge of 3,000 stores and led the acquisitions of 108 Auto Palace stores, 90 Pep Boys Express stores and 500 Chief Auto Parts stores. 

Agri-Cover Inc (ACI) launched a new company blog to provide customers and dealers with valuable and timely information and to create a new way to communicate with their customers. The blog features product information and announcements, contests, videos, tech tips and much more. ACI’s blog is available at http://blog.agricover.com.

Hyundai Motor America has teamed up with Rhys Millen Racing (RMR) to create the “Art of Speed” Genesis Coupe 2.0t show car that will be displayed at the Hyundai booth during the 2008 SEMA Show. The RMR Genesis Coupe will be the first of many Genesis Coupes to be modified by a multitude of tuner shops. This RMR-developed Genesis Coupe will be a fully functional racecar capable of putting the driver in the winner’s circle. 
     “The unique part of this project is that it will be moving art, which is why we named it the ‘Art of Speed,’” says Rhys Millen, professional race driver and founder of RMR. “The focus will be on the engine and a radical body design to complement the factory body lines. We are going to transform the Genesis Coupe into an apex-carving machine with jaw-dropping looks. We think it has the possibility of being one of the coolest cars at the Show.”
     The RMR Genesis Coupe will be powered by a 2.0L DOHC inline four-cylinder engine with an RMR turbo kit. It will be equipped with a heavy-duty HKS sequential transmission and a K&W coil over suspension to put that additional power to the ground. These are just some of the planned mechanical modifications to turn the Genesis Coupe into a race car capable of running in the Pikes Pike Hill Climb, Formula D or Redline Time Attack series.

“Art of Speed” Genesis Coupe

     The RMR Genesis Coupe will be outfitted in a silver and black paint scheme and dominated by a RMR wide body kit, functional hood scoop and carbon fiber wing. Enkei racing wheels and Bridgestone Potenza RE-01 tires surrounding Brembo brake calipers complete the package. Inside will be a racing cockpit with a Sparco steering wheel and seats, an eight-point roll cage and a RMR carbon-fiber dash.  

Click on the logo to visit MRC's website.

MRC Award Nominations

The Manufacturers Rep Council Select Committee is looking to celebrate, honor and recognize outstanding industry individuals and businesses during the council reception at the SEMA Show. Who should receive these prestigious awards? We want to hear from you.

The nomination process is underway for the Hall of Fame and STAR Awards (Sales Team Annual Recognition). Candidates should meet all criteria.

Download the Hall of Fame nomination form here.

Download the STAR Award nomination form here.
 
All nomination forms are due on August 29, 2008, so don’t delay!

MRC Rep Conference - TOWN HALL
 
SEMA and the Manufacturers Rep Council cordially invite you to participate in the SEMA/MRC Town Hall. The topic is Unilateral vs. Minimum Advertised Pricing Programs.

Registration is now open for the MRC Rep Conference Town Hall, designed specifically for manufacturers, WDs and representatives.

Join us to hear how development, implementation and management of these programs work. Our panelists include antitrust experts representing both the manufacturers and customers views. Scheduled panelists are:

• Barbara Sicalides - Partner in the Philadelphia office of Pepper Hamilton Law Firm
• Lee H. Simowitz - Partner in the Washington DC office of Baker Hostetler
• Jon Wyly - Executive Vice President of Arrow Speed Warehouse
• Tim Martin - Vice President of communication at K & N Engineering Inc.
  

Please join us for open bar and appetizers compliments of the MRC Select Committee and PWA.  Reserve your seat by clicking here to download a copy of the registration form. To download a copy of the registration form, click here or contact Staci Bostock at mrc@sema.org, or call 909/396-0289, ext. 104.

The New MRC       
 
Effective July 1, 2008, Joel Rosenthal of Gantt-Thomas & Associates Inc. moved into the position of chairman of the MRC, with Wade Cobb of Hapco LLC as his wing-man and chairman-elect.

We look forward to working closely with MRC’s newly elected members:

• Tommy Jourdan – True High Performance Sales
• Les Rudd – Bob Cook Sales

We welcome back returning Select Committee members:

• Bill Chamberlain – JSC&A
• Evan Mecham – Evan Mecham & Associates

And we thank the following retiring members for their years of volunteer service and dedication to the MRC:

• Bob Bader – Hapco
• Mark Adin – PSKB
• Zane Shaffer – Wes-Coast Marketing
• Alex Walker – Bob Cook Sales

MRC re-evaluated and decreased the amount of seats on the Select Committee thus allowing more focus on membership participation. The council has 14 leaders on the Select Committee serving its membership.
 
Please feel free to contact Chairman Rosenthal and Chairman-Elect Cobb or any of the Select Committee members with any questions or to introduce yourself to them. Staci Bostock, SEMA council relations coordinator and staff liaison for MRC, can be reached at 909/396-0289, ext. 104 or e-mail stacib@sema.org.
 
MRC Column in SEMA Member News

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Click on the logo to visit ARMO's website.

ARMO Special Projects in Motion

The ARMO Select Committee wants to hear from you. We are looking to celebrate, honor and recognize outstanding industry individuals and businesses during the council reception at the 2008 SEMA Show. Who should receive these prestigious awards? 
 
The nomination process is underway for the council's Business of the Year and Person of the Year honors. Candidates should meet all criteria.
 
Click here to download and print a Business of the Year nomination form.
Click here to download and print a Person of the Year nomination form.
 
All nomination forms are due on August 15, 2008, so don’t delay!

Sponsorships are being accepted for the ARMO Industry Awards Reception. Now is the time to participate in this great opportunity to show your support of the restoration market, its community, its people and its businesses. Click here to download and print a sponsorship form.
 
For more information, contact any Select Committee member or Jan Desma, 909/396-0289, ext. 134, or e-mail jand@sema.org.

ARMO Council Announces Election Results       
 
Effective July 1, 2008, Jim Barber of Classic Automotive Restoration Specialists Inc. took the reigns as ARMO chairman, with Laura Bergan of American Collectors Insurance Inc. taking the chairman-elect seat.
 
ARMO welcomes its newly elected leaders and looks forward to working closely with them. Join us in welcoming:

ARMO welcomes back its returning members:

• Jeff Broadus – Car Collector magazine
• Kim Mitchell – Eaton Detroit Spring Inc.
• Sheila Perkins – Bradley David Productions
• Alex Tainsh – TrimParts Inc.

ARMO thanks its retiring member Walter Vaughan of Steele Rubber Products for his years of dedication and volunteer service to the ARMO membership.
 
Contact Chairman Barber and Chairman-Elect Bergan or any of the Select Committee members with any questions or to introduce yourself to them. Jan Desma, SEMA council relations director and staff liaison for ARMO, can be reached at 909/396-0289, ext. 134 or e-mail jand@sema.org.

ARMO Column in SEMA Member News

Click on the logo to visit TORA's website.

Webinar CD added to TORA’s List of Member Benefits

The TORA, in conjunction with the SEMA education and marketing departments, has created a CD compilation of SEMA webinars. Having access to webinars online is a great SEMA-member benefit, but listening to one still requires sitting down at the computer and downloading.

With this CD, TORA members can listen to 11 TORA-relevant seminars without the need for Internet access. You can listen in the car or on a plane. If you are savvy enough to convert and load the files onto your iPod, you can even listen to them while tearing up the treadmill!

The 11 seminars included on the CD are:

1. Making sure your web store is open for business
2. Secrets to marketing a highly effective website
3. How reps can help installers sell to car dealers
4. Your customer doesn’t live here any more
5. How manufacturers can communicate more effectively with distributors and customers
6. The mindset of leadership—timeless qualities of a successful leader
7. Lean Manufacturing—how to eliminate waste in manufacturing and distribution
8. Management strategies for the most challenging situations
9. Six Sigma—the secret weapon of success
10. Financial management for the non-financial manager
11. Get Paid: Avoiding slow/non-paying customers and collecting debt.

For a copy of the "TORA Education & Training Benefits Webinar CD," TORA members can contact Staci Bostock at stacib@sema.org. The 11 seminars featured on the CD are but a small sampling of what’s available from the SEMA website. On the SEMA homepage, click on “Shows and Events” then “webinars.” You can search the webinars by author or topic.

TORA Column in SEMA Member News

Read TORA's column featured in the July/August issue of SEMA Member News by clicking here.

Filler for eNews

 
The SEMA Store is running a series of promotions through the end of August on merchandise from the 2007 SEMA Show.

The current promotion: From August 6–12, the SEMA Store is offering 25% off on all Greg Norman polos, plus free shipping on orders of $50 or more. The short-sleeved golf shirts feature the SEMA Show logo embroidered on the chest in a subtle "tone on tone."

For more information, visit www.semastore.com.