SEMA's councils and committees are set to tee off on the greens of the Strawberry Farms Golf Club as part of the Council Cup - Cash for Kids, a friendly game of golf to benefit the Childhelp and Victory Junction Gang Camp children's charities. The Light-Truck Accessory Alliance (TORA) has even formed an affiliate team, the "SAC" Team, made up of members from Shur-Co., American Technology Components and Cap World.

Council teams include:

Automotive Restoration Market Organization (ARMO)
Ernie Silvers - Egge Machine Co. Inc.
Jim Barber - Classic Automotive Restoration
Dave Mihalko Jr. - Restoration Specialties
Alex Tainsh - Trim Parts, Inc.

Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA)
Chico Kodama - Mooneyes USA
Fred Tegarden - Gotta Show Products
Steve Duck - RCD Suspension
Jeff Farina - Original Parts Group

Light-Truck Accessory Alliance (TORA)
Anne Johnson - California Truck Works
Gary Long - California Truck Works
Dave Madison - TAG Leer
Tim Watts - Superlift Suspension

Manufacturers' Rep Council (MRC)
Joel Rosenthal - Gannt - Thomas
Bill Perry - Bill Perry & Associates
Andrew Schroeder - Ben Murphey & Associates
Danny Moniz - Volant Performance

Professional Restylers Organization (PRO)
Larry Riggle - Webasto Product North America
Kerry Howton - Arizona Sun Tops
Bob West - Westin Automotive Products
John LaBare - Westin Automotive Products

SEMA Businesswomen's Network (SBN)
Luanne Brown - eTool Developers LLC
S. Kellie Colf - Eaton Detroit Springs
Tammy Holland - Comp Performance Group
Don Colf - Eaton Detroit Springs

Young Executives Network (YEN)
Jason Bruce - Street Scene Equipment
Laurel Dasher - Uni-Marketing LLC
Lance Packard - Painless Performance
Dave Williams - Rampage Products

The TORA "SAC" Team
Ron DiVincenzo - Cap World
Kelly Kneifl - Truxedo by Shur-Co Automotive
Charlie Holden - Cap World
Todd Yeoman - American Technology Components

Even if you don't play golf, it's easy to support your favorite council by making a charitable pledge online. Click here to pledge anywhere from $10-$100 or the amount of your choice.

If you want to tee up to help Childhelp and Victory Junction Gang Camp's charitable activities, you can form your own team. If you've already formed a team, please send us the details. For information on the SEMA Charity Golf Tournament, contact Arlene Wood at arlenew@sema.org or 909/396-0289 ext. 110.

The Council Cup - Cash for Kids is just one event representing SEMA's charitable efforts to benefit two worthwhile organizations that have become favorites of SEMA-member companies. This year the association includes charitable fundraising in conjunction with its traditional SEMA Installation Banquet to form the SEMA Installation Banquet & Gala Fundraiser. For information on the event and activities, visit www.sema.org/gala.

Attention SEMA manufacturing members! 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. The deadline to register is Friday, July 20. Cameras ARE permitted at the session. This is a California measuring session only!

E-mail 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

Questions?
Bill Wolf, (909) 396-0289 x177
Sandy Conolly, (909) 396-0289 x155

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

Filler for eNews

Volkswagen AG announced Tuesday that sales of its VW brand cars in the U.S. rose 15 percent in June, its best sales month since August 2006. The increase can be attributed to “strong market acceptance of the entry level Rabbit and a 44.9% surge in deliveries of the sporty GTI,” the company said in its statement.

So too are online auction sales of VW parts and accessories up, growing 0.8% in June from May totals. Between May 31-June 29, VW enthusiasts spent $1,557,542 on parts and accessories via online auction, according to data from Terapeak, a developer of market-focused research software that monitors online sales and auctions.

That number is up over May’s total sales of $1,545,508, although down from April’s high of $1,681,035. Since Jan. 1, VW parts and accessories online auction sales have averaged $1,551,893 a month.

VW credits its sales performance with a “’return to its roots’ affordability,” including “significant increases in Jetta and Rabbit volume car lines.” The Jetta indeed led all VW models in online auction parts and accessories sales, with 4,371 items sold in June. The Golf fell in just behind with 4,206 items sold, followed much farther down the list by the Passat (1,684 items sold).

The Rabbit and GTI, interestingly, factored little in the overall sales picture, the Rabbit – perhaps due to its recent arrival – accounting for only 711 items sold, the GTI, 287.

The most popular parts and accessories categories were exterior, lighting and lamps, and interior. Exterior parts sales totaled $209,608, led by grilles, antennas and mirrors. Top lighting parts included headlights, taillights, and fog/driving lights. Inside, the leading interior parts and accessories included switches and console parts, and shift knobs.

How prevalent is Internet purchasing among specialty-equipment enthusiasts?

"The past two years, SEMA research has shown that the highest percentage of automotive enthusiasts indicate they purchased their performance parts and accessories over the Internet," says SEMA research analyst Ty Michael.

"Interestingly, roughly the same percentage of enthusiasts indicated that they purchased their parts at traditional brick and mortar shops. Thirty-nine percent of enthusiasts said they purchased on the Internet, compared to 31% who indicated they went to a physical location to make their purchases."

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.

Photos and information courtesy of Brenda Priddy & Co.

Although BMW’s 1 Series coupe isn’t expected to arrive on our shores until sometime during the 2008 calendar year, we finally managed to get extremely clear and detailed shots of the area around the c-pillar and the rear quarter window, as well as much, much more of the cute Bimmer.

Engine options for the stylish 1 Series Coupe have yet to be confirmed, but BMW officials have said they do not plan to offer a four-cylinder engine in America, although we believe they will be available in European markets. But we are expecting a version of the magnesium/aluminum 3.0L six-cylinder that is currently found in the 130i, as well as the 3 and 5 Series, Z4 Coupe and Roadster, and X3 and X5.

There is also a strong possibility the 3.0L turbocharged six from the 335i coupe and sedan could find its way into an M version of the 1 series Coupe.

Among driving enthusiasts, there is strong sentiment that the 3 series Coupe has grown too large and luxurious to be a true sports coupe. Many of them long for a smaller, simpler car with the driving dynamics BMW has become known for. The 1 series coupe could possibly deliver on that desire, all the while holding its head high as a true BMW.

SEMA-supported legislation that would, among other things, allow the Director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to adopt rules exempting new vehicles from the emissions-inspection program was approved by the state legislature and signed into law by Governor Janet Napolitano. If adopted by the DEQ, the emissions exemption would apply to new vehicles for the period before the sixth registration year after the initial purchase or lease.

For further details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

With the close of the 2007 legislative session in New York, following is a status update of important legislation:

Street Rods/Customs: SEMA-model legislation to create a vehicle titling and registration classification for street rods and custom vehicles was introduced in both the New York Assembly and Senate. Neither bill received a committee hearing before the legislature adjourned for the year.

The bills defined a street rod as an altered vehicle manufactured before 1949 and a custom as an altered vehicle at least 25 years old and manufactured after 1948. Under the bill, kit cars and replica vehicles were to be assigned a certificate of title bearing the same model-year designation as the production vehicle they most closely resemble. These bills will be reintroduced next year.
    
Grille Guards: SEMA again defeated legislation to prohibit the use of grille guards attached to a motor vehicle's chassis in New York. The measure relied on unsubstantiated claims that grille guards create the potential of greater harm to other vehicles in the event of a collision and obstruct airbag sensors, rendering the airbags useless in an accident. The bill sought to require owners of vehicles currently equipped with grille guards (including those purchased with this equipment from a dealership) to remove these guards. 
 
Historic Fees: SEMA-supported legislation to provide that historical-vehicle owners only pay a one-time registration fee of $23 upon initial registration was not approved in New York before the legislature adjourned for the year. The reduced registration fee would have been available to owners of historical vehicles operated as an exhibition piece or collector's item and used for club activities, exhibits, tours, parades, occasional transportation and similar uses.

Under current New York law, a historical motor vehicle is either a vehicle manufactured more than 25 years ago or one which has unique characteristics and which is determined to be of historical, classic or exhibition value. The $23 one-time fee would have replaced the current annual fee of $23.

Spinners: SEMA again defeated legislation to prohibit the operation of motor vehicles equipped with spinner hubcaps in New York. The bill would have subjected vehicle owners to fines of up to $750 for a third or subsequent violation. The measure also ignored the fact that custom wheels are not prohibited by federal law; manufacturers are required to notify the federal government of a safety problem or defect related to motor-vehicle equipment within five days of becoming aware of such issue; and spinner hubcaps have no proven detrimental effect on motor- vehicle safety.

Tires: SEMA defeated two pieces of New York legislation dealing with tires. The first would have required all motor-vehicle tires, except those intended for vehicles over 10,000 pounds, to carry a date of manufacture molded on both sides remains pending.

SEMA opposed the bill because the date of a tire's manufacture is already on the sidewall as part of the Tire Identification Number, and because no scientific data exists on when tires are "too old" for use. In addition, manufacturers recently retooled their molds due to the new-tire labeling regulations issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2002. SEMA also believes this legislation may deflect consumer attention from critical concerns, such as proper inflation levels, tread depth and overloading.

SEMA also defeated legislation that sought to require the development of a statewide program to mandate that replacement tires for passenger cars and light trucks be as energy efficient as tires sold as original equipment. While the bill contained a SEMA-drafted exemption for some hobbyist tires, including limited-production and off-road tires, SEMA recommended that the bill be rejected since the replacement-tire efficiency program conflicts with federal law by regulating fuel economy, imposes substantial redesign costs on tire manufacturers, competes with federal consumer information requirements and essentially sets a 50-state standard.

SEMA is also concerned that the bill would dissuade consumers from buying tires that may have improved performance, handling or appearance features, based solely on a rolling-resistance rating.

For further details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

SEMA is supporting a bill to exempt vehicles driven less than 5,000 miles in the previous 12 months from emissions inspections. Under the measure, the vehicle must have been owned by one individual for at least one year.

For further details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

SEMA-opposed legislation that would have repealed the state's 25-year rolling emissions exemption was defeated in conference committee. The defeated Senate amendment would have repealed the exemption and replaced it with a provision requiring all vehicles '80 and newer to be tested for the remainder of the vehicle's life.

For further details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.