SEMA manufacturing members are invited to get an up-close preview of the new 2008 Ford Focus coupe and sedan at an exclusive members-only July 24 measuring session in Diamond Bar, California. This is a California measuring session only, and cameras ARE permitted. The deadline to register is Friday, July 20.

To participate, e-mail a response with name(s), company name, address, phone and e-mail address(es) to: measuringsession@sema.org.

Location   
AAA - Southern California
Auto Research & Inspection Center
1577 S. Valley Vista Dr.
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
(next door to SEMA headquarters)        

Date and Time
Tuesday, July 24
8 a.m.–4 p.m.

Questions? Contact Bill Wolf at 909/396-0289, ext. 177; or Sandy Conolly at 909/396-0289, ext. 155.

More info is available from SEMA’s OEM department by visiting: www.sema.org/oem.

John Waraniak, SEMA vice president of vehicle technology, will join Brett Smith, assistant director of manufacturing, engineering and technology for the Center for Automotive Research; Nancy Philippart, executive director of GM Accessories Business Channel of General Motors Corp.; Michael Chetcuti, CEO of Quality Metalcraft Inc. and principal for Streetcar USA; Mike O’Brien, corporate manager product planning for Toyota Motor Sales USA; Beau Boeckmann, president for Galpin Auto Sports and vice president for Galpin Motors; and George Dettloff, CEO and president for SKF North America; Dave Yegge, operations manager, American Expedition Vehicles; Larry Conville, industry & public relations manager, Skyjacker Suspensions; and Steve Irby, founder and president, Kicker Car Audio to present “Designing for Customization” during the 2007 Management Briefing Seminars, set for August 6–10, at the Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City, Michigan.

The session, “Designing for Customization,” organized by Waraniak and Smith and supported by SEMA, will provide insight about how leading companies are applying design for customization and accessorization (DFC/A) to meet the increasing demand for differentiation, while maintaining high-volume profitability.

As OEMs are looking for products, processes and partners to help them create and launch the most accessory-friendly vehicles for fragmenting markets—in order to drive increased profits—the future of aftermarket suppliers is all about the micro-niche delivering, fully integrated customization while significantly reducing capital investment for tooling and time to profit. However, it takes a new manufacturing, marketing and production mind-set to make it work.

“Designing for Customization,” will include presentations and a panel discussion from OEMs and SEMA suppliers that highlight how successful programs achieve this balance and will present a forum for the OEMs to showcase some of their more creative programs to the traditional suppliers and automotive press community. SEMA-member companies participating in the session include Kicker, Quality Metalcraft Inc., Skyjacker and SKF; OEMs include Toyota and General Motors.

Key points that will be included and reinforced with examples from presenters are:

• Speed to market and profit with the right formula is essential to successfully delivering high-demand vehicles, modules and systems.
• Leveraging the creativity of suppliers with strong brands and authentically sharing brand equity and identity as the vehicles come to market is critical.

This session and others will be featured in the annual 2007 Management Briefing Seminars, a week of educational sessions and networking with high-level executives from the automotive industry. For complete information and a list of additional confirmed participants, visit http://www.cargroup.org.

Topics and speakers have been secured for 50 business and professional development seminars taking place in conjunction with the 2007 SEMA Show. The educational program, which is available at no additional cost to SEMA Show attendees, is a key component of the annual trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"As a trade association, SEMA is committed to giving industry professionals knowledge, motivation and resources for succeeding in the business world," said Pat Benson, SEMA director of educational services. "With more than 100,000 industry professionals in Las Vegas for the SEMA Show, SEMA Education Week is a key component to this commitment."

SEMA Education Week takes place every year during the SEMA Show and includes educational seminars featuring some of the world's leading experts discussing hot industry topics. Seminars begin on Monday, October 29, 2007—the day before the official SEMA Show opening—and conclude on Thursday, November 1. All seminars are held in the Las Vegas Convention Center and anyone registered to attend the SEMA Show is able to participate in the seminars, free of charge.

Through this year's SEMA Show seminar schedule, attendees will discover:

• secrets to building a top-notch team
• hot trends in search-engine marketing
• low-cost ways to maximize marketing effectiveness
• what's new in the performance diesel market
• what RFID (radio-frequency identification) is all about
• what makes a successful counterman
• how to stop unproductive meetings
• and more

Seminar details, including topics, dates, times, locations and descriptions, are posted on www.SEMAshow.com. The website also includes updates and information about the SEMA Show, as well as an online registration form. Industry professionals who attended the 2005 or 2006 SEMA Show are encouraged to register using their personalized alumni number, which will save them time and allow them to register without having to resubmit proof of trade status.

Alumni numbers were sent to all past attendees or can be obtained by contacting customer service at registration@aaiwshow.com or calling toll-free at 866/229-3687 or 301/694-5243.

The SEMA Show attracts more than 100,000 industry leaders from 100 countries each year. In addition to business and professional development seminars, the event features more than 2,000 exhibiting manufacturers, product demonstrations, special activities and networking events.

Filler for eNews

The Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA) has released its 2006/2007 annual report. The SEMA council, which consists of more than 300 companies and represents the hot-rod niche, issues the report annually to update members about critically important information, including industry trends, educational opportunities and legislative activities.

The eight-page report points to positive growth for the hot-rod market. "For those of us in the (hot rod) industry, growth has been solid and stable," reads the report. "When looking back at the yearly retail sales numbers of the street rod and custom vehicle segment from 1997–2006, we have had an exceptional average annual growth rate of just over 7%. Compare this to an average 3% to 3.5% for the United States GDP growth rate for the same period, and this niche market is doing very, very well."

Readers will also learn about the SEMA Action Network (SAN), its activities and accomplishments and what can be done to help preserve the integrity and longevity of the industry.

Visit www.sema.org/hria to download a copy of the report and to learn about the many programs and opportunities available through SEMA and HRIA.

Filler for eNews

With spy shots of the forthcoming Dodge Challenger coming from our own photographers and leaking onto the Web, it was time to check on the state of the Dodge parts and accessories online market. Since the Dodge badge encompasses everything from trucks to muscle cars to turbocharged compact cars, our findings run the entire spectrum of Dodge enthusiasts.

For the month of June 15-July 14, Dodge fans spent $4,093,000 (all numbers rounded to the nearest hundred) on parts and accessories, with almost $1,500,000 of that spent on Ram parts/accessories, according to data from Terapeak, a developer of market-focused research software that monitors online sales and auctions.

Although Dodge parts and accessory sales peaked between February and March, when they hit a high of $5,159,300, and have slowed since, the market has still commanded total sales of $23,140,400 since February, averaging about $4.6 million per month - certainly good news for anyone in the Mopar trade.

The most popular categories were exterior items, including in order of demand, grilles and bumpers (exterior goods themselves accounting for nearly $1M in sales), followed by lighting products (headlamps, taillights and Xenon), then interior parts/accessories (dash parts, carpets and floormats, and windows/window controls and parts).

So how’s the market for the original Challenger? Not so robust (and perhaps not surprising, given the car’s limited production run), weighing in at just a little over $24,000 last month.

Do online sales tell us anything about how parts move across countertops from brick and mortar retailers? Maybe.

Patti Freeman Evans, a senior analyst who monitors the retail industry for JupiterResearch, explains that while online sales are only a fraction of actual retail transactions, the Internet is a key influencer in buying decisions.

"We see online retail plateauing at 10-15 percent of total retail down the road - about double the penetration that catalogs ever got," Evans says.

She notes that as online commerce sites continue to develop more sophisticated tools to make purchasing easier and safer, some consumers will shift more of their wallet online.

"But that growth will really be organic, not dramatic. We look to the Internet to remain a highly influential channel for retailers to affect customer purchasing regardless of what channel the actual transaction occurs in."

Terapeak's Motors P&A Research provides sellers with access to comprehensive research on the past year of online auction data and allows users to get in-depth research reports on the competition and themselves. More at www.terapeak.com/motors.

Filler for eNews

The urban lifestyle market is a form of vehicle customization that embodies the flamboyance, culture and lifestyle of young, urban (city-dwellers) drivers. Tune into this webinar, Thursday, July 26, 10 a.m. (PST), presented by SEMA’s market research department, and learn how to cash in on this profitable opportunity.

How to Participate
During the webinar, you’ll be able to interact and ask questions via computer or over the phone. Simply follow these steps:

• -View the presentation during the webinar by clicking here on the day of the webinar.
• -Connect to the audio portion of the webinar by calling toll-free 866/637-2754, pin 1542.
• -The PowerPoint presentation will be available as a PDF file several days before the webinar.

Also, make sure to mark your calendars for two additional upcoming webinars that will help you develop a SEMA Show gameplan and streamline your product data for better sales and distribution efficiencies:

Tuesday, August 7, 10 a.m. (PST)
“Don't Say, Next Year I'll Do the Show Better! JUST DO IT NOW—We'll Show You How!! SEMA Show Case Study Review: How Exhibitors Create Success.”

Wednesday, August 16, 10 a.m. (PST)
“Boost Your Company Image, Sales and Profitability with Good Product Data”

Learn the most important aspects of product data needed by today's performance and accessory distributors. The automotive industry is quickly moving into the world of technology, and the benefits include increased sales, fewer returns and improved product exposure. Learn how to produce good and complete product data when Scott O'Toole of Motor State Distributing explains the 17 vital pieces of product data that will help you increase your bottom line.

From the shooters at Brenda Priddy & Co.:

A Hemi V8 was no challenge for our photographer, as he was still able to snag a great shot of the upcoming Dodge Challenger on a fast-moving highway. And even though the pre-production Challenger was wearing a bit of vinyl, one can easily tell that the production model is nearly identical to the concept shown on the auto show circuit.

Dodge's all-new musclecar will be built on the new RWD platform in Ontario, Canada. Production will start in the spring of 2008, and the Challenger will go on sale shortly afterwards as a 2008 model. Pricing is expected to start around $31,000, although it's rumored that the R/T models have all been pre-sold in the 50K range. A convertible is also expected.

The official debut of the (production) Challenger will be on February 6, 2008, at the Chicago Auto Show, just 222 days away. For those counting the minutes, Dodge offers a helping hand at: http://www.dodgechallengercountdown.com. 

Photo Credit: Patrick Carraher for Brenda Priddy & Co.