McLoughlin behind the wheel of his restored '55 T-Bird dream car.

Classic Restoration Enterprises and Concours Parts, along with 40 other participating specialty-equipment companies, joined together at the 2007 SEMA Show to present former Port Authority Police Department sergeant John McLoughlin his dream car, a fully restored '55 Thunderbird.

One of the first officers on scene at the World Trade Center attacks, McLoughlin barely survived being buried under 30 ft. of the rubble of Tower Two for 22 hours. Once rescued, he was put in a medically-induced coma for six weeks and underwent 27 surgeries. To date, he has also endured 25 additional surgeries. Rather than allow doctors to amputate his legs, McLoughlin fought to walk.

Classic Restoration Enterprises owner Melvin Benzaquen volunteered to cover the costs of the project, with Concours Parts and SEMA council ARMO (Automotive Restoration Market Organization) working to secure parts and materials.

“When McLoughlin came in and I heard his stories, it truly touched my heart,” Benzaquen said. “Then I took one look at the car of his dreams and the condition it was in and realized not only had he been swindled, but it was a driving time bomb. I knew right then and there that we should get involved.”

Additional sponsors included: Ariani Wheels, ARP, Auto Custom Carpets, AVS Airbagparts.com, Classic Consoles, Coker Tire, Crane Cams, Delta Tech Industries, Edelbrock Corporation, Flaming River, Flanagan Design & Display, Freeman, Global Accessories, Holley, Hot Rod Air, Keystone Automotive, Larry’s T-Bird, Lizard Skin, March Performance Pulleys, Master Power Brakes, Metro Molded Parts, Milodon, Moser Engineering, Optima, Painless Performance, Phoenix Transmissions, PPG, Rostra Precision Controls, Royal Purple, RPM Performance Engines, SPAL USA, Sunpro and Weatherly Classique Cars.

For more about the Automotive Restoration Market Organization, please visit www.sema.org/armo.

 
McLoughlin stands with Melvin Benzaquen (center), owner of Classic Restoration Enterprises, and SEMA President Chris Kersting (right), after presenting Benzaquen with a gift—a cross made from support beams of the Twin Towers.

Make your plans now to attend SEMA Spring Expo and SEMA Offroad, February 8-9, in Indianapolis. Better yet, reserve booth space now to highlight your products to the buyers and enthusiasts who want them! Contact ConvExx show management at 702/450-7662 to secure your exhibitor presence.

For more info on booth shows, visit www.semasse.com and www.semaoffroad.com.

SEMA members can now access SEMA's new report on the Chinese specialty-equipment market online at www.sema.org/Main/SemaOrgHome.aspx?ID=55964. The report contains detailed information regarding China's top trade shows, distributors, media, cars and accessories.

For more information on SEMA's international programs, contact Linda Spencer at lindas@sema.org or visit www.sema.org/international.

Note: The report is located on the member's only section of SEMA.org. To access the report, you must enter either your e-mail address and password (if you have created an individual account) or your company's user name and password. For additional assistance, call 909/396-0289 or e-mail member@sema.org.

The Formula Drift Championship capped a successful 2007 season by announcing plans to air (seven) one-hour episodes (filmed in HD) of the popular racing series on ESPN2 beginning November 15. The series will also see (seven) 30-minute “behind-the-scenes” shows broadcast on Rush HD beginning in December.

The television coverage coincides with the series expanding its 2008 schedule to include one championship event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in July. They also revealed plans to hold a one-of-a-kind World Championship event in November 2008, featuring drivers from Europe, Asia, Australia and North America.

Sport-compact drag racing took another step in its evolution with the announcement that the NHRA and NOPI Motorsports will join forces, with the former to sanction drag racing at NOPI events. The new series will be called NOPI Drag Racing Series sanctioned by NHRA.

"This is a logical step for sport-compact drag racing," said Gary Darcy, NHRA senior vice president of sales & marketing. "Bringing together NHRA and its 50-plus years of experience in conducting competitive drag racing events and NOPI's lifestyle activities and events results in one series that can meet the needs of all the fans, sponsors and the entire racing community."

As part of the sanctioning agreement, NOPI drag racing events held at NHRA member tracks will be conducted under NHRA rules. Competition and technical matters onsite at these events will be overseen by NHRA representatives. NHRA will declare a winner at those events and keep points toward NOPI championships in each category. At NOPI Drag Racing Series events held at non-NHRA member tracks, NHRA will not sanction nor will points be accumulated toward championships.

NOPI Motorsports and NHRA will develop classes to ensure that all cars that competed in the NHRA Xplod Drag Racing Series in 2007 will have a place to race in the NOPI Drag Racing Series sanctioned by NHRA in 2008.

"NHRA's mission is to preserve and promote the sport of drag racing," said Darcy. "Working with NOPI Motorsports on sport-compact racing is intended to further that mission."

"This is an exciting time for NOPI Motorsports and the whole NOPI family," said Mike Meyers, president, NOPI Motorsports. "We have worked extremely hard over the years to develop a strong racing series for our racers, fans and sponsors. This partnership with NHRA is going to allow us to have the best racing series ever imagined. I'm personally excited to be part of racing history, which is exactly what's happening with the NOPI Motorsports and NHRA partnership."

The 2008 schedule for the NOPI Drag Racing Series sanctioned by NHRA will be announced at a later date.

For more information, visit www.nhrasportcompact.com.

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Members who may of missed today's webinar, "Turbocharge Your Telephone Effectiveness," are encouraged to stay tuned for the download soon to be added to www.sema.org/main/semaorghome.aspx?id=51488.

Want to increase the efficiency of all those cold calls and hard-won leads? "Turbocharge Your Telephone Effectiveness," led by The Call Coach Peter Belanger, offered insight to the best practices in Telephone Business Development (inside sales, telesales, telemarketing and more) for in-house salespeople, field salespeople, marketing professionals, management or simply anyone who wants to convert more business over the phone.

All of SEMA's webinar sessions are recorded and made available to download, offering an extra level of convenience for those who could not attend session live. Be sure to explore all past webinars and plan for upcoming sessions by clicking here.

Work is under way to develop a hotter version of Ingolstadt's sports coupe, one packing 280 hp. Likely to be badged the TTS, it promises to be a real alternative to the Porsche Cayman when it goes onsale in 2008 for around 50,000 Euros ($73,000 USD).

The TTS will use the same 2.0L TFSI engine from the Audi S3, but will get bumped up to 280 hp, channeled through Audi's full-time AWD Quattro system and a six-speed manual. The DSG dual-clutch system will also be available as an option.

Expect sporty styling with bespoke wheels, alloy-effect door mirrors, aggressive bumpers, S-batches on the brakes and sill extensions.

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