SEMA News—December 2021

BUSINESS

The Rise of the Overlanders

Who Are They and What Are They Searching For?

By Mike Imlay

They say it started in South Africa and Australia, spread rapidly through South America, and now has gripped North America. We’re talking, of course, about the overlanding phenomenon, an outdoor addiction that many aftermarket companies have become keenly aware of—so much so that the SEMA Show added an Overland Experience feature dedicated to the trend in 2019. But who exactly are these overlanders? What do they seek, and how is the industry discovering opportunities in helping them find it?

Pop-up tents on 4x4 rigs like this one built by Dixie 4 Wheel Drive have become a ubiquitous hallmark of overlanding. However, the growing overland phenomenon goes far beyond camping and trail riding.

The fact is, while closely associated with the truck and off-road segment, overlanding is evolving into its own market space embracing a dynamic consumer mix. However, defining the phenomenon isn’t so easy—perhaps because it’s largely a state of mind for true enthusiasts.

“They identify as campers, they identify as adventure travelers, they identify as off-roaders, they identify as explorers, so really there’s a lot of different ways they see themselves,” said Lindsay Hubley, managing partner for Lodestone Events LLC, which presents the popular Overland Expo event series. “Overlanding is really a self-sufficient vehicle or adventure mode of travel where it’s all about the journey. At its real core, overlanding is about exploration.”

That exploration has historically been accomplished through dedicated off-
roading vehicles ranging from Land Rovers to 4WD trucks and Jeeps, but even that is changing, said Andrew Funk, president of Cap-it International, which operates an expanding franchise of truck-and-adventure accessory outlets throughout Western Canada.

“What this market has brought to us is new manufacturers and better-quality products,” Funk said. “There are new ‘glamping’ and creature comforts that are nice while you’re out in the bush off-roading, but it has really become more mainstream to where you’re sometimes putting tents on really small SUVs—and cars, for that matter. It’s becoming so mainstream now that your average consumer is seriously looking into it as an option.”

As a result, manufacturers and retailers have had to think beyond traditional camping and off-roading paradigms to fully engage overlanding consumers. Overlanders tend to see the serendipity of expeditioning as their goal and enjoy immersing themselves in the environments and cultures they encounter. Some enthusiasts even ship their vehicles to other continents for more exotic treks.

“It’s camping, but it’s a lifestyle, so you need bigger tires and a lift kit to get into some of the places you want to go,” Funk explained. “The solar technology that’s now available means you can carry more electronics, so you’re bringing fridges along with you. Rooftop tents are obviously great, but then you’ll need lighting as we come into fall, so it’s more than just camping equipment. It’s more about the journey to get there than it is about just sitting at the destination.”

However one defines the phenomenon, its popularity shot up during the 2020 pandemic.

“COVID put a massive focus on the ‘staycation,’ at least up here in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia,” Funk said. “Everybody’s going camping—and as the campsites closed down, people started going deeper into the backwoods.”

“I think it’s blowing up quite a lot, especially recently,” agreed Patrick Heiner, a sales spokesperson for Dixie 4 Wheel Drive, which operates off-roading shops in both St. George and Moab, Utah. “Obviously, everyone’s had a lot more free time on their hands this last year, so they’re getting out a little farther than they generally used to on just a weekend trip. Now it’s full weeklong trips and hundreds of miles.”

According to Dixie 4 Wheel Drive General Manager Tara Thompson, the company’s overlanding customer demographic reflects a variety of backgrounds and needs.

The “van life,” made possible by conversions like this one done by the Van Speed Shop, is an important offshoot of the overlanding market. It screams “California” and echoes the “bohemian travel” culture of the ‘60s and ‘70s.

“I would say it’s a very broad customer base, because you do have that ‘just overnight’ guy who wants an easy pop-up tent, and then you have the guy who’s building a whole van to live in and actually travel across the country for a year or two,” Thompson said. “But it tends to be a younger crowd, because most of our overlanders like to explore. They still want to get out and hike, and most of it’s getting them to those areas to do that, so they tend to be younger to mid-40s, [with] probably 50s being the oldest that we usually help in our stores.”

Thompson added that newcomers to overlanding may start with some typical off-roading mods such as wheel, tire and suspension upgrades and maybe a rooftop tent, but whatever they buy, their purchasing decisions are deliberate and well-researched.

“One of the best parts about our two locations is that we get people who actually use their vehicles,” she said. “It’s a lot more fun to do the builds for people who understand what they’re putting on and actually use it. We have true enthusiast-lifestyle customers who are primarily down-to-earth people. They’re into a lot of outdoor hobbies, so most of them are off-roaders, hunters, fishers—anything outdoors-related they usually have on their hobby lists.”

Of course, large consumer events always offer direct insights into markets, and Overland Expo has positioned itself as a primary event series for do-it-yourself adventure-travel enthusiasts. All the regional Expos offer a high degree of interaction through hundreds of session-hours of classes for four-wheelers and adventure motorcyclists, along with demonstrations, a film festival and a huge exhibitor-vendor contingent representing travel equipment, camping gear, bikes, vehicles and services.

Headquartered in South Africa, SmartCap has found success in the North American market by offering truck caps and bed storage solutions—not to mention cooking and other gear—to consumers embracing a compact, adventuring lifestyle.

According to the Expo’s own market research, its demographics skew toward a solid base of high-earning professionals who travel frequently and spend the time and resources to learn the skills and acquire the equipment they need. Among age groups, 26% of the event’s audience falls between ages 25 to 44, and 28% between 45 to 54. By contrast, people aged 25 to 34 and 55 to 64 make up 15% and 20% of the Overland Expo audience, respectively.

Key activities enjoyed by these demographics include exploring (4%), photography and videography (5%), hunting and shooting (7%), fishing and fly fishing (15%), biking (22%) and hiking (26%).

“The interesting part about overlanding is that we’re seeing growth from all levels of the demographic spectrum, but what they’re buying is definitely trending differently,” Hubley said. “An older-demographic couple—probably higher up into their 50s and 60s—have more disposable income, so traditionally they’re looking at Sprinter Van conversions and some of the higher-end Unimog-type vehicles, Earth Roamers and so forth. Then the younger generation we’re seeing coming into the market is your Jeep Gladiator or Toyota 4Runner-type audience.”

Consequently, the overlanding phenomenon presents the automotive aftermarket with a vast array of crossover market opportunities, Hubley said. The emphasis with off-roading is often how one builds a vehicle to take on a trail, but overlanding is different, she explained.

“With a lot of [overlanders], the way they got into the sport was from the outdoor-recreation side,” Hubley observed. “They were maybe birdwatchers, mountain bikers or climbers interested in life off the grid during travel, so they sourced the off-road products needed to do that journey. What I would say to aftermarket manufacturers is that it’s not only a trend that’s here to stay but also developing an entirely new audience of buyers who maybe have never even thought about outfitting their vehicles for off-road travel.”

That means they’ll be turning to the aftermarket for solutions to tackling rough terrain, surviving and staying connected while off the grid for prolonged periods, and carrying and stowing gear for kayaking, backpacking, biking, cooking, sleeping and more. In fact, refrigerators, solar panels and generators, communications technologies and even showers are especially sought-after, both as freestanding purchases and as integrated parts of vehicle builds.

“It mostly depends on where they want to start,” Heiner said of consumers. “We have some who just want to start with the tents and basic weekend campout stuff. They don’t worry about suspensions and things like that. Some work the other way. They worry about off-road capability first and then start adding the overland accessories after they know that their vehicles are good and capable of getting them out farther.”

Retailers might also want to rethink how they brand their outlets and present products. This is a demographic that likes to visualize how products can enhance their odysseys. The opportunity to see, touch and experience products factors into purchase decisions, and spouses, family or friends can also influence choices.

“It’s a male-dominated industry, there’s no doubt about that,” Funk said. “But the style and the demographic that we’ve always been going after is based on the idea that a woman should be comfortable shopping at our store. It’s not a mechanic’s shop; it looks nice.”

He added that Cap-it underwent a rebranding in the early to mid-’00s that helped it better engage with the then-emerging overland sector, among other customers.

Given the sales opportunities, even OEMs are now tapping the aftermarket to develop accessory packages for overland-capable vehicles. A case in point is GMC’s Canyon AT4 Concept truck, which debuted at the recent Overland Expo Mountain West event held in late August 2021.

“We wanted to showcase the GMC Canyon with this concept and punctuate GMC’s commitment to premium, off-road capable vehicles. Consumer reaction to this concept’s design will help us further serve the growing market of buyers leading authentic outdoor lifestyles,” said Buick and GMC Global Vice President Duncan Aldred.

Among the build’s many features was a SmartCap EVOa truck cap. Headquartered in South Africa, SmartCap specializes in a broad range of truck bed products, that primarily center around their EVO range of truck caps and their system of accessories that seamlessly plug-and-play with the cap. As a part of that system, the company also offers a Kitchen-Bin that includes a camp-stove and other related outdoor-kitchen items.

According to SmartCap Vice President of Global Marketing Jason Ehrlich, “The EVOa can support more than 700 lbs. while delivering versatile storage and organization capabilities that overlanders look for when wanting to not just survive, but thrive in their outdoor adventures. Hunters, fishermen, tradesmen, photographers, people into overlanding—there are all sorts of ways people tend to use their trucks, and they’re taking our product and configuring a setup exactly as they need it,” said Ehrlich.

The Overland Expo has become a popular series of consumer-based events for adventure-travelers. Focusing on education, demonstrations, vendors and more, the Expo speaks to a wide-ranging market that has only grown since the recent pandemic.

Versatility is, in fact, a defining word for overlanders, since the way they chase their dreams can take on many distinct forms depending on geography and culture. A prime example can be found in Costa Mesa, California, where Van Speed Shop CEO Duran Morley is addressing another distinctive offshoot of the overland craze dubbed “the van life.” In the past several years, his shop has exploded doing high-end Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van conversions. (The enterprise also operates The Van Mart, which specializes in affordable parts and accessories for van owners doing their own builds.)

“Maybe this is their exchange for a truck,” Morley said of his customers. “In Southern California, it’s become dad’s trade for a minivan. It’s a vehicle that can store things, bring the kids up from school, and go to the beach as a family getaway vehicle. We also have a lot of customers who use it during the week as a work truck that can fit ladders, construction gear and whatever. Then, on the weekend, they shift everything out, throw in a cabinet and a bed, and have a full-on conversion rig.”

For adventure travelers, the vans have become a popular alternative to the traditional 40-ft. RV. They boast kitchen setups, electronics and entertainment conveniences, along with space to spare for mountain bikes and snowboards.

“I want to give everybody the opportunity to explore and enjoy van life as much as I do,” Morley said.

He added that for him there are no “typical” customers. They could be young people in their 20s working nine-to-five jobs or making their way as YouTube influencers, or they could be thirtysomethings with families, or retirees looking to explore. He’s even built vans as less-expensive housing alternatives to college dorm rooms. The one distinction he sees is that truck-based overlanding customers tend to be individuals or couples, while his customer base tends toward bigger families with disposable income.

“We offer luxury conversions that are nice and definitely scream ‘California original lifestyle,’” he said.

If anything, Morley’s work underscores how wide-ranging overlanding can be, as well as the numerous ways every segment of the aftermarket—from manufacturers to retailers to builders—has rushed in to meet the expanding needs of a rapidly growing enthusiast base. But where will the phenomenon take the aftermarket as we turn the corner into 2022?

Cap-it International has long catered to overlanding customers, who tend toward experiential purchasing. They like to see, touch and imagine how products will work on their journeys, and listening to them is crucial to expanding retail sales.

“I think the industry has exploded,” Funk said. “I see a lot of small manufacturing shops—especially in the United States or North American-based—that have just grown out of nowhere in the last 12 months and are just doing phenomenal now. My complaint would be no different from the rest of the world—waiting for products to come out of China. The prices are going sky-high only because of freight and shortage of supply.

“The consumer will only put up with those price increases for so long. Everything will shift backward, and I think it’ll resettle them appropriately. But the encouraging thing is that I’m seeing more and more manufacturing coming back to North America. There are quality issues overseas, but not with the products we’ve been bringing in. We focus on the good-quality product, [and so] why not build local?”

In the end, Funk said, continued growth will depend as it always does on listening to the customer and accompanying them on their journey, wherever they may want to go.

SEMA News—December 2021

EDUCATION

How to Beware of Ransomware

Expert Tips to Hackproof Your Business

By Douglas McColloch

Companies in the 21st century enjoy a wide range of competitive advantages that were unavailable to previous generations of businesses. The use of the internet to automate ordering and billing, to manage inventory or to process payrolls can increase productivity, reduce waste and maximize efficiencies across departments.

According to the FBI, the cost of ransomware attacks was $250 billion in 2020, with an average downtime of 19 days for the affected entities. As hackers’ tools grow more varied and sophisticated, expect that number to escalate in the coming years. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

But all of that connectivity comes with its downsides, too—one of which is “ransomware,” which can be loosely defined as the practice of hacking into a company’s digital assets to “trap” the victim’s data by means of encryption. That can cause an irretrievable loss of assets—and even whole enterprise systems, depending on the size and scope of the hack—unless a ransom is paid, generally in an untraceable form of cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.

The costs to businesses from ransomware are mounting. According to a recent study from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), ransomware costs were an estimated $250 billion in 2020, with an average downtime of 19 days for impacted companies.

In fact, the FBI study noted, a company’s downtime costs averaged 20 times more than the amount of ransom being extracted. An example of that occurred in 2019, when the municipal government of Baltimore, Maryland, was targeted by ransomware hackers. The amount of ransom the city paid—around $75,000—paled in comparison with the costs of the city’s downtime, which lasted more than a month at an expense of more than $18 million. And the threat is growing.

According to a paper published earlier this year by insurance giant Beazley Group, ransomware attacks increased 120% in 2019 over the previous year, with more than 60% of targets comprising small and medium-size businesses. According to the FBI, an attack occurs every 11 sec., so it’s clear that companies need to factor in the threats posed by ransomware when assessing the strength of their online data and security systems and make plans to fortify those potential targets against future attacks.

A recent SEMA Education webinar, “Ransomware—What SEMA Manufacturers, Retailers and WDs Can Do to Mitigate Threats,” aimed to demystify the subject, with a panel of industry experts providing guidance into best practices that can minimize if not eliminate the threat of a ransomware attack.

Identifying Modes of Attack

Nearly 90% of IT professionals and 75% of the owners of small- and medium-size businesses agree that cyber threats such as ransomware attacks represent a significant and growing risk, according to a 2021 Malware Report published by Cybersecurity Insiders. So while there’s near-unanimity on the nature of the threat, many business owners remain unaware of the source of the greatest—and most preventable—causes of cyber attacks.

• Email hacks: “You’ve all heard of ‘phishing’ or ‘spear phishing’ or ‘business email compromise,’ but it’s really all the same thing,” said Bruce Grant, president and CEO of Estes Group, a managed IT company that works with mid-market businesses on building and strengthening their Enterprise Resource Planning systems. While other, more sophisticated forms of hacking have become more widely used in recent years, common email-compromising attempts still constitute more than 80% of malware attack vectors. While an email hack represents the most prevalent form of attack, it’s also one of the most preventable. Ways for businesses to minimize the chance of an email hack include implementing greater use of email filters and added authentication layers; regular changes of employee passwords and blocking reuse of previous passwords; and educating employees to identify and report suspicious emails to their company IT departments.
• Fake domains: Another frequent means of entry used by hackers involves so-called “domain spoofing,” some form of which is used in up to 45% of all cyber attacks. It occurs when hackers use a counterfeit or “spoofed” web domain or email address to give the false impression of a legitimate company or individual. Generally, emails are the preferred mode of entry, but sometimes whole websites with slightly altered domain names are used. Even cybersecurity consulting companies aren’t immune from it. “Someone literally bought a similar domain to our company and tried to get access to some of our key employees through domain spoofing,” Grant said. Grant provided a little old-school advice here: “A few years ago, attacks were simple. There was a Nigerian prince trying to give you money, and you just didn’t click on that. But while the attacks have gotten much more sophisticated, the thinking is the same: ‘If you don’t trust it, don’t click on it.’”

Other Vulnerabilities

If email were the only attack vector hackers could exploit, the problem of ransomware could be greatly minimized with the simple fixes mentioned previously, but there are numerous ports of entry that hackers can exploit now, as Brad Feakes, Estes Group senior vice president, reminded the panel. The internet, for one, is a potential source of “infiltration dressed as information.”

• Apps and e-commerce: A related source of infiltration via malware is in applications—especially the apps needed to run an e-commerce site. “One subject that doesn’t get as much press as it probably should is the idea of applications,” Feakes said. “You should think of every application or program that you use for business purposes as a potential threat. Installing each application has its own limitations and risks in ways in which it can be hacked, whether it’s web-based or whether it’s installed onto a device within your network. The integrating of core systems to those devices can be especially challenging. Everybody likes e-commerce, right? E-commerce is a really big thing in the automotive industry. Customers want an easier experience, but those e-commerce sites create new entry points to your network.”
• IoT security challenges: Another factor that facilitates hacking is the interconnectivity of devices, which creates many portals of entry for would-be hostage takers. “We talk about the IoT or the ‘Internet of Things,’” Feakes explained. “This is the basic notion that we increasingly want to connect our devices. If you’re in an automotive industry, you have a bunch of different devices that might be serving a purpose functionally, and you want to connect to those that you can monitor and control them.” But he warned that those devices themselves become risk points. “I heard the other day about someone who got his network hacked from a refrigerator,” he said. “Whoever thought that you could get hacked from a refrigerator? But now, as refrigerators get smarter and people start connecting them to their networks, suddenly your fridge is a potential point of entry.”
• Employee browsing habits: If that’s not enough, companies also need to consider what’s referred to as “BYOD,” or Bring Your Own Device, when implementing cyber-security policies. “You have employees coming to work and using their PCs or smartphones to contact customers, suppliers and other employees,” Feakes said. Employees surfing social-media sites such as Facebook and YouTube on company computers create another potential opening for hackers. Employees’ own smartphones can also be used as hacking devices if they are logged into their company email accounts via a VPN. “You can see how this overlap can create potential risks,” Feakes concluded.

Basic Hackproofing Tips

All of the panelists agreed that one essential ransom-proofing protocol is the frequent use of backups—particularly off-site, cloud-based backups.

“I was having dinner with this fellow the other day,” Feakes recalled. “He said, ‘We’ve been ransomed twice this year.’ I asked him, ‘How did it go?’ He said, ‘We have well-tested, off-site backups, so both times we got ransomed, and they told us the ransom amount, we brushed it off. We rolled back to the previous day before the attack took place and went back to business as usual.’ So the company felt some pain, since missing a day of business is never fun, but it was spared the challenges that other companies have—basically by having off-site backups in place.”

Another way to help prevent malware attacks is to set clearly defined company policies governing the use of the internet on company devices.

“Most people think of the internet now as a right and not a privilege,” said Daryl Sirota, Estes Group vice president of managed services. “I would argue that we might need to reverse that thinking. The internet is a privilege. Only folks who have been properly trained and have appropriate equipment are allowed to surf the internet. You arguably might say that unless your job is researching parts and policies—or watching YouTube videos on how to install a carburetor, for instance—you probably shouldn’t have users on the internet, because they’ll eventually find the stupidest things out there and treat them as fact.

To keep data safe and secure in the case of a ransomware hack, regular backups to a remote (i.e., cloud-based) server as well as periodic firewall and penetration tests are recommended for businesses. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock.com

“When COVID hit, there were 14 million domains registered that looked like COVID information sites. Then the bad guys started spamming people with emails that said, ‘Hey, you need more information on COVID? Click here and we’ll take you to a site that looks like Johns Hopkins.’ If you didn’t properly patch your workstation, you got hacked, and it was a bad day. While social media isn’t necessarily bad, it can be a vehicle for malware, so defining your company’s internet-use policy is step number one.”

On a related note, Sirota advised against employees who work remotely using their own devices to access their employers’ networks, instead opting for company-issued devices that have the necessary firewalls and security extensions installed.

“If you are letting employees work from home, buying a Chromebook and letting them use a company device at home is more secure,” he said.

Another technique to minimize hacking could be referred to as “securing your perimeter.”

“Most of you have Wi-Fi,” Sirota said. “How far does that Wi-Fi signal travel? Maybe there’s a guy with a laptop sitting in a car in your parking lot. He might be hacking your Wi-Fi, which is a perimeter of your network. Don’t assume that just because it’s got WPA encryption, it’s safe. That encryption is only as good as the password. What if your password is your company name?”

Companies that use guest networks also need to take care to set up the necessary security systems to keep their proprietary data secure.

“We’ve seen cases where the guest network is just an extension of a corporate network,” Sirota said. “Sure enough, if you’re on the guest network, you can get in on corporate resources. You want to make sure that there’s a very strong firewall between your guest network and your real network.”

Finally, for companies that have the wherewithal, using more than one source for their cybersecurity needs is advisable.

“By definition, heterogeneous systems are more resilient,” Sirota noted. “You can’t rely on just a single technology to protect your business. You can’t just say ‘I’ve got a firewall, so I’m good,’ because many firewalls are set up improperly or are less secure. So maybe you use one vendor for the firewall and you have a different vendor for the antivirus tool. Maybe use a different vendor for doing penetration tests. Try to see everything from an outside perspective, because having an ‘outside’ set of eyes is going to be really valuable in this way.

“If you have only one set of eyes looking at the whole thing, you’re likely to catch what I call the fox watching the hen house.”

About SEMA Education

Accessing SEMA’s industry-leading education is easier than ever. With dozens of live and on-demand offerings—and more debuting during the year—SEMA Virtual Education includes comprehensive presentations, insightful discussions, and short videos that teach, inform, inspire and entertain automotive specialty-equipment professionals. From builders and engineers to marketers and sales staff, participants will become more educated and prepared for success. To learn more, visit www.sema.org/virtual-education.

SEMA News—December 2021

INTERNET

Need Help With Online Reviews?

It’s a Buyer’s Market

By Joe Dysart

Businesses looking to quickly beef up the number of reviews that appear about them on the major review websites—as well as on their own digital properties—are in luck. There are currently dozens of service providers vying for a chance to significantly increase the number of positive reviews your business enjoys online.

It’s a buyer’s market for businesses looking for help managing online reviews.

“Consumers have more power than ever before, and they aren’t afraid to use it,” said Joe Fuca, CEO of Reputation (https://reputation.com), a service provider that helps businesses manage and generate reviews in the digital marketplace. “Customer feedback management is no longer a nice-to-have technology. It is now a critical business necessity.”

As most businesses already know, online reviews can easily make or break your business, and they’re often seen as being as influential as word-of-mouth recommendations from friends, relatives and colleagues. Indeed, 94% of consumers say positive reviews make them more likely to use a business, according to a 2021 BrightLocal Study (www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey).

Only 48% of consumers said that they would skip doing business with an organization that has less than a four-out-of-five-star average rating on a reviews website, according to the same study. Moreover, 79% of consumers said that they trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation from a friend or family member, and 60% of consumers said that they made their decision about dealing with a business after reading mobile-friendly reviews on their smartphones or similar portable computing devices, according to BrightLocal.

Fortunately, the cost for getting help ensuring that your business ends up with a great “like” rating in the world of online reviews is reasonable. Starting at less than $50 a month, online-review service providers generally enable a business to monitor, manage and generate reviews online from a single dashboard. That can be a major timesaver for a business that is dealing with a few bad reviews and is looking for an efficient way to deal with the problem—or is simply looking to raise its profile when it comes to online reviews.

“Reviews play a key role in helping consumers to feel able to trust a business,” said Rosie Murphy, research and content manager for BrightLocal. “Companies with a poor review profile could be denying themselves a vast number of new leads without ever knowing that a consumer considered them.”

Again, with so many online-reviews service providers looking to do business with you, the good news is that you can look forward to a number of helpful and often extremely sophisticated solutions for maintaining and soliciting online reviews on even the most basic of online reviews platforms.

Key features to look for in any service provider offering to help manage and trigger online reviews for your business include the following:

Reviews That Publish on Your Own Website, too: Getting a slew of positive reviews on major review websites such as Google, Facebook and Yelp! is of course critically important, but so is the option to enable satisfied customers to post a glowing review of their experience with your company on your own website. After all, that’s where your business does a lot of its selling.

Auto-Posts to Major Review Sites Such as Google, Facebook and Yelp!: The best online review software packages enable you to solicit customer reviews for your own website and then go on to auto-post those same reviews on the major review websites—an extremely powerful, must-have feature.

Reviews That Post Easily: Actually posting a review using online review software sometimes requires too many clicks, points and sub-decisions. The best packages enable a customer to post a review with just a click or two after receiving an invitation to post.

Mobile Friendly: Given that most people live a significant part of their lives on their smartphones these days, any online-review service must work extremely easily on a smartphone.

Innovative Review Solicitation: While most review service providers can solicit your customers via email, others can also reach out to customers via text messaging to their smartphones, online chat and over social media. The more options for solicitation, the better.

Over-Solicitation Safeguards: Yes, every company loves getting great reviews, but review solicitation can go overboard if your business keeps hammering its customers for a review with relentless emails and the like. Even worse is when a customer leaves a glowing review and then is still hammered with requests to leave a review after the fact. Safeguards against over-solicitation are something you really want to nail down with your provider.

Tight Integration With Your Other Business Software: Gone are the days when online review services were a standalone option. These days, many services are bending over backward to ensure that their software seamlessly integrates with your customer relationship management software, content management software, office suites and even software that is specifically designed for your industry.

Customizable Reports: Most online review packages also come with predesigned reports and alert systems that you’ll come to rely on regularly. As you become more familiar with a package, you may want to be able to design your own custom reports. Fortunately, many packages offer that solution built in.

Monitoring of Competitor Reviews: Nearly as important as what’s being said about your business is what people are saying about your competitors. Some packages include that feature. It offers you powerful insights into online reviews that detail your competitors’ triumphs and stumbles.

Analytics to Track Customer Sentiment Over Time: A sophisticated offering, the ability to monitor and study overall customer sentiment over time—as gleaned from the reviews they post—can be a powerful customer service, marketing and planning tool for you.

A Deep Library of Video Tutorials: While not a must-have, a deep library of easy-to-understand video tutorials on how to get the most from an online review service can be a boon to a company looking to quickly train key personnel on how to work with the software platform.

Once you’ve put together a list of the key features you consider vital in any online review service you’d consider for your business, you’ll find that there are a number of websites that offer you hundreds of ratings and evaluations of these services, including:

• Finances Online
• Capterra
• G2 Crowd
• Software Suggest
• Software Advice
• GetApp

Meanwhile, here’s a representative sampling of the top five online review service providers that have been reviewed by more than 100 users on software rater Capterra:

Swell (www.swellcx.com): Starts at $199 per month. Key feature: Enables your customer to leave a review with just one click.

Vendasta: (www.vendasta.com): Starts at $42 per month. Key feature: Offers online review generation and management as one of more than 250 business apps, so if you like the way they handle online reviews, you may like their solutions for other business processes.

NiceJob (https://get.nicejob.com): Starts at $75 per month. Key feature: NiceJob will create a website for your business with online reviews management and reviews solicitation built in.

Podium (www.podium.com): Call for pricing. Key feature: Enables you to easily solicit reviews for your business via mobile phone text messaging.

Reputation (www.reputation.com): Call for pricing. Key feature: Enables you to monitor and respond to customer feedback across hundreds of review websites using a single dashboard and using preconfigured response templates. Reputation also enables you to track consumer sentiments about your company over time using review analytics.

Joe Dysart is an internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.

646-233-4089

joe@dysartnewsfeatures.com

www.dysartnewsfeatures.com

  SEMA News—December 2021

INDUSTRY NEWS

 Photos courtesy SpiedBilde, Brian Williams. Reuse or reproduction without the copyright holder’s consent is prohibited.

’23 GMC Canyon AT4

’23 Range Rover Sport SVR

At a first glance, you may not be able to tell the differences between the ’23 Range Rover Sport SVR and regular variants of the SUV due to the thick camouflage. However, vinyl stickers can’t hide the beefier brakes and quad exhaust pipes.

Like the normal ’23 Range Rover Sport, the SVR is said to be built on the Modular Longitudinal Architecture. The platform, shared with the bigger and more luxurious next-generation Range Rover, can accommodate internal-combustion, mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid and even electric powertrains.

’22 Ford Expedition Timberline

The Expedition will also receive a refresh alongside the new Timberline model; both are expected for the ’22 model year.

SEMA News—December 2021

INDUSTRY NEWS

The AAM Group named Sharon Cameron its new business analyst. Cameron most recently served as AAM’s product data specialist and will now focus on purchasing reports and predictions, product compliance reporting, and PRO Rebates tracking. Cameron is the third member of AAM’s vendor-relations team, including Vice President of Vendor Relations and Purchasing John DeBalso and Vendor Relations Manager Mark Franchetti. The group conducts regular reviews with distribution members, facilitates member-supplier conversations, holds monthly purchasing calls, and evaluates brands to identify growth areas.

P&E Distributors Inc. announced the hiring of Don Dolan as its new vice president of sales, responsible for managing overall sales functions, including wholesale B2B, retail B2C marketplace platforms, and its Tennessee Speed Sport retail store. Before joining P&E, Dolan spent his career in sales and marketing, most recently with Driver Industrial and the Covert Track Group.

Formula DRIFT announced that Vice President Ryan Sage will assume the role of president of Formula DRIFT Holdings LLC as Jim Liaw moves to his new position at Performance Racing Industry (PRI). Liaw will remain a Formula DRIFT board member, focusing on the company’s international and federation relationships, including the FIA Drifting Commission. Sage, who cofounded Formula DRIFT with Liaw, served as vice president since 2004.

Wrisco Industries, a manufacturer of prefinished aluminum sheets, anodized aluminum, steel coil and related components, was acquired by Wieland Metal Services, a copper and copper alloy specialist. Wrisco Industries was founded in 1916, is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and operates four distribution centers out of Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago and Edison, New Jersey. The business will continue to operate under the Wrisco name after its integration into the Wieland Group.

NASCAR announced that John Ferguson was hired to lead human resources strategy for the sanctioning body as senior vice president and chief human resources officer. In that role, Ferguson will oversee NASCAR human resources and provide strategic leadership around talent acquisition, employee engagement and culture development. For nearly a decade, Ferguson served in HR roles at Monumental Sports & Entertainment in Washington, D.C., and, most recently, as vice president of People & Culture. Based in the Daytona Beach office in Florida, Ferguson will help develop HR strategies designed to support and engage employees across more than 20 offices and racetrack locations in the United States.

John Force Racing hired Ted Van Zelst as chief commercial officer. In his new role, Van Zelst will be responsible for creating new partnerships, enhancing business-to-business relationships with existing partners, and developing successful activation. Van Zelst joins John Force Racing with 25 years of experience, most recently serving as the president/CEO of Zeker Solutions, a consulting agency. He has also held senior leadership positions with NASCAR, the Detroit Pistons, WWE and the New York Islanders.

Kinderhook Industries LLC announced the sale of ProCare Collision to Classic Collision. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. ProCare is a nationally recognized, state-of-the-art collision repair company that operates 45 auto body repair shops serving Austin, San Antonio and Houston, Texas. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to ProCare, and Henson & Efron, P.A., provided legal counsel to Classic in the transaction.

Fuelab announced a new partnership with ASAP Trading USA—a sales and marketing agency with offices in San Diego, California, and Lima, Peru. Fuelab President and Founder Brian Paitz announced the news. ASAP Trading USA may now represent, promote and sell Fuelab products as its exclusive authorized sales representative for Mexico as well as Central and South America.

Driven Brands Holdings announced that Matt Meier is joining the company as EVP, chief digital and data officer. This newly created position will oversee the company’s digital and data strategies, working closely with IT and marketing to transform data into actionable business insights and leading the digital customer experience. Meier brings more than 25 years of experience across a variety of industries and disciplines within the IT, digital and data domains. He will report directly to CEO Jonathan Fitzpatrick.

Robert (Bob) Lee was appointed the new CEO of Automotive Technologies Continental North America on January 1, 2022. He succeeds Samir Salman, who will retire after serving more than 27 years in the industry. Lee also will remain president of Continental North America, with responsibility for leading customer, governmental and other external relationships across the region. Lee first joined Continental in 2014 as the president and CEO of Continental Automotive Korea, where he led overall operations in the country.

Asbury Automotive Group Inc. said that it will pay $3.2 billion to buy the Larry H. Miller Dealerships group, one of the largest privately owned dealership groups. The deal includes 54 new-vehicle dealerships, seven used-vehicle dealerships, 11 collision centers, and Total Care Auto. The Georgia-based retailer said that it will help to diversify the company’s western presence by entering six new states. Asbury said that the acquisition would add $5.7 billion to its annual revenues.

SEMA News—December 2021

INDUSTRY NEWS

Industry Indicators: COVID-19 Resurgence, Supply-Chain Issues Pose Challenges to Economic Recovery

The economic recovery continues along a bumpy path. The number of new hires slowed in the month of September, and the outlook for the labor market remains unclear in the coming months as pandemic-related benefits are phased out. Consumer spending remains strong, even as some of these government transfers wane.

According to the latest “SEMA Industry Indicators” report, supply-chain disruptions and a summer resurgence of COVID-19 continued to affect many sectors of the economy.

Consumer sentiment fell precipitously in early August due in part to the resurgence of COVID-19 in certain parts of the country, and airlines recently reported reduced bookings for the month. Supply-chain disruptions and shortages continue to hamper many sectors of the economy. That is especially true for the auto sector. Through the first six months of the year, motor-vehicle assemblies were down 15% from 2019, while new-vehicle sales over the same period were flat. Meanwhile, prices reached an all-time high.

With the strong growth in income over the last year, consumers appear willing to accept higher prices for the time being, but how long that will last remains to be seen. All of that could change should the trajectory of COVID vary abruptly, but it looks like we are on a bumpy path forward for now.

Want to learn more about the economic factors shaping our industry? Download the new “SEMA Industry Indicators” report today at www.sema.org/research.

PRI Hires Jim Liaw as General Manager

Jim Liaw has joined Performance Racing Industry (PRI) as general manager, leading the staff and operations out of the organization’s office in Aliso Viejo, California. Having cofounded Formula Drift in 2003, Liaw introduced the sport of drifting to America and built what is now the top drifting series in the world.

Reporting to PRI President Dr. Jamie Meyer and working with the PRI management team, Liaw will direct and oversee activities related to the PRI Trade Show, PRI Membership, PRI Magazine, online content and promotions for all segments in the motorsports industry.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jim to the PRI team,” Meyer said. “He has a proven track record of success, and he knows and understands the motorsports industry. He has vision, leadership and passion, and he shares PRI’s goal to protect and grow the racing industry.”

Like many in the automotive industry, Liaw was an auto enthusiast before he was able to drive. After graduating from UCLA, he joined McMullen Argus Publishing (now Motor Trend) as a sales associate for Sport Compact Car magazine and later served as sales manager for one of the first-ever sport-compact drag-racing series, Import Drag Racing Circuit. As a pioneer and entrepreneur, Liaw finds trends, builds brands and cultivates new enthusiasts.

Liaw can be reached at jiml@performanceracing.com.

Registration Now Open for 2022 SEMA Middle East Development Program

Registration is now open for the 2022 SEMA Middle East Business Development Program, which takes place March 22–29, 2022. Participate in the first SEMA Middle East event to take place both in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Attendees will meet with pre-vetted trade buyers from throughout the region and can self-certify for $1,200 in U.S. government grants to defray trip costs.

Participants in the 2022 SEMA Middle East Business Development Program will have the opportunity to meet with pre-vetted buyers from throughout the region.

For those accepting the federal grant, trip fees begin at $4,600 and include all meals, hotel accommodations in Dubai and Riyadh, a turnkey booth at Custom Show Emirates, and airfare from the UAE to Saudi Arabia. Flights to and from the United States are not included. Additional funds may be available from your state, and SEMA can assist you in exploring grant opportunities.

Participants will:

• Exhibit at the leading customizing show in the region—Custom Show Emirates—in a turnkey booth in the Dubai World Trade Center.
• Attend seminars featuring top distributors.
• Participate in official U.S. government briefings.
• Tour specialty-equipment shops in Saudi Arabia and the UAE featuring performance, off-road and styling upgrades.
• Attend networking receptions in both Dubai and Riyadh.

More information is available at www.sema.org/middleeast, or contact lindas@sema.org.

Kawasaki Steps Down as President, CEO of Legendary Companies

Legendary Companies, which includes Coker Tire, Wheel Vintiques, Universal Vintage Tire, Phoenix Race Tires, Specialty Wheel, MOR, Vintage Wheel Works, PS Engineering, Roadster Wire Wheel and Paragon Corvette Reproductions, announced that Wade Kawasaki will step down from his role of President and CEO while remaining a partner in the business.

“After guiding Coker Tire through the acquisition process, I agreed to stay on as CEO for a three-year term to build the management team and add more companies to the portfolio,” Kawasaki said. “As that term draws to a close, I am excited to take some personal time and pursue new interests. It’s been a tremendous honor serving as CEO, and I know the company has a bright future. I’m also pleased to announce that we have asked my close friend and colleague Doug Evans to join the team as an Interim CEO while we begin a search process for the new CEO.”

Coker Tire and Wheel Vintiques were acquired by Irving Place Capital (IPC) in 2018, and Kawasaki helped to guide the newly formed Legendary Companies through a 2019 rebranding while overseeing the acquisitions of additional business entities. Kawasaki, a former Chairman of the SEMA Board of Directors and a 40-year industry veteran, will retain an ownership stake in the company and work with IPC to execute a transition plan.

SEMA News—December 2021

PEOPLE

Meet the 2021–2022 SEMA Board Of Directors

By Douglas McColloch

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) is governed by a Board of Directors who volunteer their time to provide leadership and guidance to the organization. Board members are nominated and elected by the association’s membership at large. Directors serve a three-year term, while the chairman serves for two years immediately after completing a two-year term as chairman-elect. The current Board was inaugurated at the SEMA Board meeting held on July 31, 2021.

The Board underwent several personnel changes for 2021–2022. In May, James Lawrence, CEO of Power Automedia, assumed the chairmanship of the SEMA Board after having served a two-year term as chair-elect. He replaces Tim Martin, CEO of Aftermarket Advisors LLC, who, having concluded his term of office, now becomes the Board’s immediate past chairman and secretary. Kyle Fickler, the Board’s former treasurer, was voted chair-elect and will assume the role of chairman when James Lawrence’s term expires in 2023. Steve Matusek, founder and president of Aeromotive Inc., assumes the role of Treasurer effective November 1, 2021.

Additionally, Lindsay Hubley, managing partner for Lodestone Events LLC, Larry Montante, vice president of category management for Keystone Automotive Operations, and Brain Reese, CEO of T Sportline, were newly elected to the SEMA Board to serve three-year terms. Stepping down after completing their terms were Donnie Eatherly, president of P&E Distributors, Dan Kahn, president and CEO of Kahn Media, and Brian Lounsberry, senior adviser for FuelArmy.

“The SEMA Board of Directors represents the broad spectrum of our specialty-equipment industry,” said SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting. “They reflect our SEMA-member businesses at large as they establish association priorities; oversee our many initiatives and programs; address important regulatory, technological and marketplace issues affecting our industry; and promote the overall health and success of our member companies. The COVID-19 era has posed unique challenges, but our Board members have spent countless hours shepherding the organization through tough times by making smart and sometimes difficult decisions. On behalf of SEMA, I wish to thank them for their volunteerism and dedication to our association.”

2021 Board of Directors

Chairman of the Board
James Lawrence
CEO, Power Automedia

Chairman-Elect
Kyle Fickler
Director of Sales and New Business Development, Driven Racing Oil

Immediate Past Chairman/Secretary
Tim Martin
CEO, Aftermarket Advisors LLC

Treasurer
Steve Matusek (not pictured)
Founder and President Aeromotive Inc.

Chris Douglas
CCO, Edelbrock Group

Lindsay Hubley
Managing Partner, Lodestone Events LLC

Larry Montante
Vice President of Category Management, Keystone Automotive Operations

Kim Pendergast
CEO, Magnuson Superchargers

Brian Reese
CEO, T Sportline

Kathryn Reinhardt
Director of Retail Marketing, 4WP Factory/Pro Comp/Rubicon Express/Smittybilt

Bunyan L. (Les) Rudd, CPMR
President, Bob Cook Sales

Ted Wentz III
CEO, Quadratec Inc.

Steve Whipple
Director of Private Label Sourcing, Jegs High Performance

Melanie White
President, Hellwig Products

SEMA News—December 2021

INTERNET

Google Analytics 4

With the Kinks Out, It’s Ripe for a Test Drive

By Joe Dysart

While many businesses took a wait-and-see approach when Google released a major upgrade to its analytics software last fall—Google Analytics 4—now is a good time to begin experimenting with the latest version. The free software offers businesses a powerful way to analyze and improve on how visitors are interacting with their websites. It has been put through its paces since its release, and any kinks with the code appear to have been worked out.

The time is right to test drive the new—and powerful—Google Analytics 4.

The new Google Analytics 4 also represents a significant leap forward for businesses looking to understand and capitalize on how visitors are interacting with their web properties.

Google Analytics 4 “is the future of Google Analytics,” said Stephen Roda, analytics manager for Ivestis Digital (www.investisdigital.com), a digital marketing services provider. “It is a major update to Google Analytics and one that indicates a substantial change in how users are interacting and engaging with your brand across devices, platforms, content types and the various stages of the customer journey.”

Ryan Chase agreed. He is a senior analytics consultant for Blast Analytics & Marketing (www.blastanalytics.com), a digital marketing services provider.

“Flexibility, greatly improved scalability and modern business intelligence features make Google Analytics 4 a robust platform for deriving insights into user behavior and your business,” he said.

Understandably, brows often furrow when news breaks that a “must-have” upgrade to a popular software is released. Too often, such news is accompanied by a painful learning curve, numerous missteps, and lost time and money. With this update, however, Google has made it very easy to try Google Analytics 4 by enabling users to run the newest version of the software even as they continue to run the version they’re currently using.

Essentially, running the two versions in parallel takes little more than installing a snippet of code on your website to enable Google Analytics 4 to track behavior there, and the new snippet of code will not wreak havoc with the current code you already have there being used by your previous version of Google Analytics.

Ivestis Digital’s Roda said that running the two versions of the program in parallel will ensure that you’ll be able to run your day-to-day business with the earlier version of Analytics while you try the new features in Google Analytics 4.

“If you set up Google Analytics 4 now, you’ll have historical data at least back to now when the time comes to fully transition to Google Analytics 4,” said Joseph Stucker, SEM/SEO specialist for Altos Agency (https://altosagency.com), a digital marketing services provider.

Indeed, one of the drawbacks of switching to Google Analytics 4 without activating it months in advance is that you will not be able to migrate the data you’ve acquired using the previous version of the software. Instead, you’ll need to build a new history on your customers’ behaviors beginning the day you activate Google Analytics 4 for use on your web properties.

Probably one of the best reasons to migrate to the newest version is that Google Analytics 4 enables you to track what your customers are doing whether they’re interacting on your website or they’re shopping in your mobile app. That new focus—tracking what customers are doing on your digital property rather than tracking what customer devices are doing on your digital property—represents a major change for the software.

For example, with Google Analytics 4, you’ll know when a customer makes a purchase he or she has been considering and whether the purchase is made with a smartphone, a desktop computer or on a tablet. Armed with that knowledge, you’ll be able to update the way your advertising targets that customer moving forward, so instead of advertising the same product they’ve already purchased, for example, you can target them with accessories for that product or items that complement that product.

Another benefit to moving to Google Analytics 4 is the new software’s ability to track every single interaction your customer makes on your digital property more precisely. Those interactions (or “events,” as Google Analytics 4 characterizes them) are strung together to offer you an analysis of the entire “customer journey” a visitor engages in at your digital properties. That kind of insight will enable you to better determine what facets of your website or mobile app are working best for selling and what needs improvement.

Granted, such “journey tracking” is possible with the previous version of the software, but Google Analytics 4 enables you to track all of the events without requiring you to tweak the software or set additional tags to tracking specific events as often.

For example, with the previous version of the software, users were forced to tweak the program to monitor how a customer scrolls through your website using a mobile app. With Google Analytics 4, that customization is no longer required; it comes standard.

Moreover, businesses using the previous version of the software also needed to embed certain tweaks to monitor which videos customers are viewing on their websites or mobile apps. With Google Analytics 4, that tracking ability on a customer-by-
customer basis is already baked in.

Yet another new benefit Google Analytics 4 brings to your business is the ability to import data generated by other business programs into the software. That is an extremely powerful new capability, enabling your business to get a richer appreciation of how customers and visitors are interacting with your business using data that is simply beyond the sensors of the older version of the software.

With Google Analytics 4, you’ll know when a customer makes a purchase he or she has been considering and whether the purchase is made with a smartphone, a desktop computer or on a tablet. Photo courtesy: IB Photography/Shutterstock.com

Still another major reason to give Google Analytics 4 a serious look is the software’s new artificial intelligence, which Google said will enable you to keep monitoring customers after third-party cookie tracking is phased out of the Google Chrome browser in 2022.

Other specific new features that Google Analytics 4 offers to your business include:

Surging Sales Reports: Google Analytics 4 can be easily programmed to detect a sudden surge in sales for specific products or services that your business offers, enabling you to be much more nimble to take advantage of such spikes.

Anticipated-Churn-Rate Reports: The new software can also be used detect which customers you’ll most likely be losing in the near future, enabling you to be more nimble in making changes that may help you retain those customers.

Customer Segment Reports: Google Analytics 4 is also designed to sniff out specific customer segments that show the most promise for revenue gains in coming months. Such reports offer your sales and marketing staff the ability to proactively custom tailor offers to those warm leads.

Analysis Hub Reports: This section of Google Analytics 4 enables you to create custom reports on customer journeys, interactions and the like. It also stores all the customized reports you’ve created in Google Analytics 4.

Home Reports: This report enables you to monitor the total number of users to your digital properties, any conversions you’ve made with those visitors, and any revenue generated by those interactions. It’s similar to reports that previous versions of the software have offered.

Joe Dysart is an internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.

646-233-4089

joe@dysartnewsfeatures.com

www.dysartnewsfeatures.com

SEMA News—December 2021

INTERNET

Death by Cookie

Businesses Scramble for a New Way to Advertise on the Web in 2022

By Joe Dysart

Companies that rely on ad tech companies to post ads for their goods and services across the web will need a new plan in 2022, when support for that technology mostly disappears. Essentially, Google is warning businesses that its widely popular Chrome browser will no longer support the technology needed to make those ad placements—known as third-party cookies—beginning next year.

As support for third-party cookies disappears, many businesses need a new plan for web advertising.

Triggering Google’s move is widespread consumer backlash that has been building against third-party cookies for years. The technology enables ad tech companies to track consumers’ every movement as they surf the web.

“Seventy-two percent of people feel that almost all of what they do online is being tracked by advertisers, technology firms or other companies,” said David Temkin, director of product management for ads privacy and trust at Google. “Eighty-one percent say that the potential risks they face because of data collection outweigh the benefits, according to a study by Pew Research Center. If digital advertising doesn’t evolve to address the growing concerns people have about their privacy and how their personal identity is being used, we risk the future of the free and open web.”

Not surprisingly, Google’s decision to forsake third-party cookies in 2022 is sending shockwaves across the web. Sixty-four percent of all web users now use Google Chrome to cruise the web, according to StatCounter (https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share), and two other major browsers—Firefox and Apple’s Safari—have already dropped support for third-party cookies.

Since the mid-’90s, ad tech companies have been using third-party cookies to continually track your movements on the web, taking note of the websites you visit, what ads you click on and similar interactions to develop an extremely informed perspective on what you’re most likely to buy. Based on that knowledge, those same ad tech companies serve you customized ads on the websites you visit that feature their ad tech, so if you visit a number of websites about bikinis and click on a few ads advertising bikinis, for example, you’ll most likely start noticing more bikini ads popping-up on many of the websites you subsequently visit.

Ad tech companies are able to place third-party cookies in your Google Chrome browser by cutting deals with websites that already feature their ads. A website featuring bikini ads, for example, has most likely also given the ad tech company running those ads permission to place a third-party cookie in your Chrome browser. That third-party cookie—owned by the ad company—begins tracking your movements on the web the moment it is embedded in your browser.

That same ad tech company has the same agreement with many of the dozens (or perhaps even hundreds) of websites you also visit in any given day, and with each website you visit featuring advertising from that same ad tech company, another third-party tracking cookie is placed in your Google Chrome browser, tracking you all the way.

Each new cookie beams back data to the ad tech company about your web movements and preferences, and each enables the ad tech company to develop an ever-deepening interest profile on you, which enables it to target ads to you on other websites featuring its technology based on your preferences.

For more than a quarter of a century, tracking consumers using third-party cookies has been an extremely precise way to target ads to consumers—and also to anger more than a few consumers who felt that such tracking violated their privacy and generally made them feel creeped-out. That consumer resentment has reached a crescendo.

“Invisible and gratuitous data collection leaves users unable to exercise their rights and protect their privacy,” said Gus Hosein, executive director at Privacy International (https://privacyinternational.org). “We need substantive, enforceable regulation to stop this exploitation of our data.”

Google, which also runs one of the web’s most powerful and widely used ad tech platforms, has apparently decided that it’s not worth further inflaming consumer anger over third-party cookies, even if that means phasing out one of ad technology’s most effective ad personalization technologies.

The upshot? Beginning in 2022, businesses that have relied on ad tech companies powered by third-party cookies will need to use alternate systems to get their brand in front of preferred audiences using Google Chrome.

“It’s time to kick third-party data for good and focus on developing relationships with your customers,” said Owen Ray, senior content marketing manager for Invoca (www.invoca.com), a digital marketing services provider.

Here are a few solutions recommended by web advertising experts:

Email Marketing Lists: While web advertising fads come and go, email marketing keeps on chugging along, offering marketers some of the best return on investment for marketers’ efforts year after year. Marketers build email lists by soliciting email addresses in exchange for providing riveting email newsletters, informative white papers, early notice on new goods and services, discounts and coupons and the like. Expect increasing numbers of businesses to double down on this tried-and-true marketing tool in the coming months.

Old-School Advertising: Back in the olden days, marketers would seek content that matched the goods and services they were selling and place ads there. A bikini retailer might embed its ads in an article about summer vacations, a local beach, or an upcoming Olympic diving competition. These days, they’re calling this old-school technique “contextual targeting,” but it’s the same idea: matching ads to content.

Buying Someone Else’s Audience: While you may not have a great deal of data on people who are interested in bikinis, another website—such as a swimsuit publication—may have plenty. Once third-party cookies are phased out, expect more businesses to buy and use information about such potential customers from such websites.

Device Fingerprinting: Similar to third-party cookies, device fingerprinting is an extremely effective tracking technology—but also extremely controversial. Device fingerprinting enables a website to reach down into your device and retrieve all the information about that device that makes it unique to you, such as the language it runs on, the web browser it uses, the times of day it’s usually used, its location, its IP address, and similar personalized data. Once an ad tech company has your device’s fingerprint, it can track you as you move across the web.

Google FLoC: While Google is phasing out support for third-party cookies, it still has every intention of continuing to track your every movement using its Chrome browser instead. To some, this distinction may sound like privacy hair-splitting. But either way, look for that tracking using the Chrome browser to be leveraged by Google sometime in 2022.

Specifically, Google said that it will use the Chrome browser to track what you do on the web and then “anonymize” the data by placing you in an anonymous group of people who share the same interest—what it calls “cohorts.” So again, if you visit a lot of bikini websites, for example, you’ll be placed in a “cohort” or group of people who visit the same and will be sent bikini ads. Again, this “anonymization” may sound like privacy hairsplitting to many, but it’s the brave new world of digital advertising come 2022, for better or worse.

Google began testing this new system—which it calls the Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC)—in April, with plans to offer use of the tech to select companies sometime in 2022. The only problem (at least from the perspective of outsiders) is that selling ads in Chrome based on FLoC enables Google to become the sole source of information about the billions of people who use its Chrome browser to surf the web.

Essentially, if you want to advertise to the people who use the Google Chrome browser, you’re most likely going to need to rely on data gleaned by FLoC, which—surprise, surprise—is also owned by Google. That cozy connection has led to cries of “No fair” from competing ad tech service providers, and it has also triggered an antitrust lawsuit brought against Google by 14 states and Puerto Rico as well as preliminary scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice and commerce regulators in the United Kingdom.

“Today’s filing underscores the broad consensus that Google’s practices require review and swift action under antitrust and consumer protection laws,” said Ken Paxton, Texas State Attorney General.

Joe Dysart is an internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.

646-233-4089

joe@dysartnewsfeatures.com

www.dysartnewsfeatures.com

SEMA News—December 2021

NEW PRODUCTS

Compiled by SEMA News Editors

SEMA-Member New Products

A Review of Recent Parts and Products

Consumer tastes may change with the seasons, but one thing that remains constant within the automotive aftermarket is the ongoing popularity of the annual New Products Showcase at the SEMA Show. A must-see for all attendees and a first stop for most, the Showcase hosts thousands of new products each year, and it provides insights into the new directions the aftermarket is proceeding and which markets present the best opportunities for future growth.

But new-product development doesn’t stop with the New Products Showcase. SEMA-member companies are constantly researching and developing innovative product solutions all year-round. What follows in these pages is a sampling of some of the latest product offerings that have our caught our attention in recent days.

Steele Rubber Products Weatherstrip for Lincoln

Steele Rubber Products has unveiled new front and rear weatherstrips for ’61–’63 Lincoln Continental sedans. The parts are made of ozone-resistant EPDM dense rubber to the original design. They have molded ends, which provide for a factory-like fit, and corrosion-resistant brass cores ensure durability and a proper seal. These high-quality weatherstrips fit on the roof of the vehicle and work to seal the side windows when they are fully raised. All parts are made in the U.S.A. (Installation hardware not included.)

704-483-9343
www.steelerubber.com
PN: 70-4146-68 (F), 70-4147-68 (R)

PWR Steer Replacement P/S Pumps

PWR Steer motion-control systems now offer 13 new power steering pumps for popular domestic and import cars and light trucks. The new pumps deliver exceptional new coverage for more than 29 models from Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Ram, Toyota and Subaru. New application coverage includes ’05–’10 Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger, Charger, Magnum (also with 5.7L engine)—supplied with inlet fitting; ’97–’02 Dodge Ram 2500–3500 pickup (5.9L diesel); 2005–2007 Ford Five Hundred, Freestyle, Mercury Montego; ’99–’03 Ford Excursion, F-250 through F-550 Super Duty (supplied with unattached pulley); ’11–’14 Ford F-150 (with 6.2L engine); ’11–’16 Ford F-250 through F-550 Super Duty (6.2L); and others.

866-990-5120
www.pwrsteer.com

Lingenfelter Performance Intake Manifold for C8 Corvette

Lingenfelter Performance Engine Building Center has announced the release of its performance design pTR carbon-fiber intake manifold system for C8 LT2 Corvettes. Producing an additional 25 hp at the rear wheels on average when used with the Lingenfelter 95mm throttle body, the pTR carbon-fiber intake manifold takes a stock C8 LT2 Corvette to the next level with style and performance. This advanced system includes the appropriate couplers, hoses, harness, gaskets, fasteners and connectors specifically designed to go with the factory-installed connections and fittings on all C8 LT2 Corvettes.

260-724-2552
www.lingenfelter.com
PN: L2601

Mastertop Soft Top for Jeep Gladiator

Mastertop’s new Bimini Plus and Wind Stopper combo for the Jeep Gladiator JT is designed to block out sun and offer extra weather protection from sudden showers. This easy-to-install top and rear windscreen is available in two fabric options—a 25-oz. pinpoint black diamond sailcloth fabric or Mastertop’s exclusive 30-oz. three-layer luxury MasterTwill fabric. Both feature reinforced straps and heavy-duty rubber seals. The Wind Stopper has an exclusive zip-down window for increased airflow on hot days. The combo will fit any Jeep Gladiator JT with no drilling or modifications to the vehicle.

720-575-5440
www.mastertop.com

Powerteq Performance Module for JT/JL 3.6L

Powerteq overhauled its original Pulsar to make it even better, while extending coverage for the latest ’21 models. With an all-new case for increased rigidity and durability in the most extreme conditions, Pulsar pushes the envelope for inline performance modules. The PC board has been updated for improved reliability and performance for the 3.6L engine. Features include four on-the-fly adjustable power levels via cruise control buttons; tire size adjustments from 20 to 40 in.; gear ratio adjustments from 2.00:1 to 5.99:1; and up to 30 extra hp and 27 lb.-ft. of torque.

866-404-6141
www.powerteq.com
PN: 42451, 42452 (new case/board updates), 42751, 42752 (all-new coverage)

Nitrous Supply Bottle Packages

Nitrous Supply has developed a pair of carbon-fiber N2O bottle packages for serious racers—one with the upgraded Super Flow bottle valve and the other with the unique PowerValve. Super Flow enhancements include a 45-degree valve/outlet flow path for improved sealing and an AN-8 male safety port that facilitates running a hose to route pressure discharge outside the vehicle for safety. The PowerValve allows even more flow with an .500-in. orifice feeding off a large 5/8-in. siphon tube. The valve is a ball type with a 1/4-turn lever action for quick operation. This facilitates incorporating an external shut-off mechanism. Both valves feature a 1/8 NPT gauge port to keep tabs on nitrous pressure.

714-373-1986
facebook.com/nitroussupplyusa

Meguiar’s Ultimate Snow Foam Car Wash

Meguiar’s has announced the release of its Ultimate Snow Foam Car Wash. It can be used as either a pre-wash soak or a main washing solution that ensures a more effective clean. The intense foam clings to surfaces, gently loosening road grime for a touchless pressure rinse on lightly dirty cars, while also lubricating the surface when a wash mitt is required for dirtier vehicles. The super-thick foam provides an extremely long foam dwell time that gives users more time to remove dirt, road grime and other contaminants from the vehicle’s surface more easily. Simply mix one part Snow Foam with five parts water in a Snow Foam cannon bottle, then gently mix and begin application.

800-347-5700
www.meguiars.com
PN: G191501

Frantz Bypass Oil Filters for Power Stroke, Duramax

Frantz Filters now offers an expanded line of Duramax, Cummins and Power Stroke bypass oil filter kits. In addition to the company’s universal kit developed for gas and diesel-powered vehicles, Frantz now offers custom-designed kits for the most common diesel-powered trucks and vans on the market. The new kit applications include the Ford Power Stroke 6.7L, 7.3L and dual model kit for the 6.0L/6.4L Power Stroke, and three separate 6.6L Duramax/GMC kits for years ’01–’16, ’17–’19 and the current ’20–’21. Frantz has also introduced a kit for the 5.9L and 6.7L Cummins that can be configured based on model year. The Frantz Filter is engineered to provide an endless supply of clean oil to the engine. With a 41/2-in. depth of filtration, the filter kit filters engine oil 10 times finer than an OEM filter, down to 2 microns. The result is that all solid contamination including wear metals and dirt is removed, engine oil is kept cooler, and excess moisture and water (the catalyst for rust and corrosion) is removed to extend the engine’s life and performance.

800-341-6516
www.frantzfiliters.com

Ridetech StrongArm Control Arms for GM

Ridetech has announced new options within its StrongArm control arms portfolio that are designed to fit factory coil springs and shocks on a number of classic General Motors vehicles. The new Ridetech StrongArms are now currently available for the ’67–’81 Chevrolet Camaro/Pontiac Firebird, ’68–’74 Chevrolet Nova, ’64–’72 GM A-body vehicles (pictured) and ’63–’70 Chevrolet C10 trucks. The new tubular front lower control arms allow users to adjust their ride height and fine-tune vehicle ride height with the addition or removal of included spacers located under the coil spring. Ride height adjustability can travel by just over an inch to account for weight variances, as well as a wide range of tire and wheel combinations.

812-481-4787
www.ridetech.com

MagnaFlow xMod Muffler

MagnaFlow brings the configurable exhaust experience of the vehicle-specific xMod-series of cat-back systems to all cars, trucks and SUVs with the introduction of the xMod-series universal performance muffler. Featuring three interchangeable muffler modules and No Drone Technology, builders can customize the sound of their vehicles while eliminating the unwanted acoustic frequencies sometimes associated with an upgraded exhaust. Constructed from 304 stainless steel and available in popular 2.5- and 3-in. inlet/outlet sizes, the xMod-series universal muffler offers both quality and versatility for any project.

800-990-0905
www.magnaflow.com
PN: 14006 (2.5-in.), 14009 (3 in.)

Tuffy Console Safe for ’21 F-150

Tuffy Security Products has introduced the new Security Console Safe for ’21 Ford F-150 trucks equipped with a full center console. Designed to be inserted into the OEM console with no drilling required, the safe maintains a stock look while providing superior security utilizing the company’s exclusive Pry-Guard locking system. The product is manufactured of welded steel and features a 100-tumbler double-bitted lock that adds premium security for valuables. When it is installed, truck owners have full use of OEM USB and power outlets located inside the console. Finished with a durable black texture powdercoat, the console safe provides years of dependable use with full access to the factory accessory tray, armrest and lid.

800-348-8339
www.tuffyproducts.com
PN: 376-01

Vaness LLC ICE Emissions Reduction System

Vaness LLC announces the introduction of its ICE Emissions Reduction System to be produced and sold though the company’s Velvet Comfort Heating division. The product is designed to warm the cold exhaust coming from the manifold exhaust and heat it before it reaches the catalytic converter, greatly reducing pollutants from being released into the atmosphere. It’s estimated that more than 90% of a vehicle’s pollutive emissions emanate during the first 60 sec. after a vehicle is started. Vaness’ patent-pending heating system uses patented heating devices which warm to more than 600ºF in less than 7 sec.

440-725-2441
www.velvetcomfortheating.com

CVF Racing Beast Serpentine System for Chevy LS

CVF Racing introduces The Beast six-track serpentine conversion system for Chevrolet LS engines with A/C, power steering and alternator. Save money by reusing the OEM water pump and balancer. The system mounts the alternator and power-steering pump in mid-mount configuration, while A/C is mounted on the lower passenger side (on U.S. models). It’s available in stealth black or hand-polished aluminum, and options include CS130 GM alternator compatibility and use of either Saginaw, GM Type II or Hydroboost power steering.

651-356-8593
www.cvfracing.com
PN: B-LSX-SERPENTINE-AC

Bolt Buster Heat Induction Tool

Bolt Buster has introduced a new and improved Bolt Buster BB2X high-power heat induction tool. The tool provides a torchless solution to free rusted and seized fasteners precisely and quickly. Bolt Buster uses high-frequency magnetic fields to instantly heat ferrous metal. More power (a true 1,800 watts at 95% efficiency) allows users to heat a ¾-inch nut cherry-red hot in seconds. It may be used on a wide variety of seized hardware such as bearings, exhaust, suspension and 02 sensors. It eliminates the hazards of working with an open flame. It’s made in the U.S.A. and comes with a one-year limited warranty.

630-628-8083
www.boltbusterinc.com
PN: BB2X

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Fuelab New Pro Series Regulator

Fuelab has given the tried-and-true 565-series regulator new digs and a new purpose. The 565 series of regulators are capable of taming huge electric pumps (like the 40501 Pro Series spur gear pump) and the meanest belt-driven mechanical pumps, all with a flat regulation slope. These regulators feature -10AN ports and a massive ½-inch return orifice for applications well over 2,500 hp. They’re available in 4–12-psi, 10–25-psi, 25–65-psi and 40-80-psi configurations, and they utilize fluorosilicone diaphragms and O-rings so that they’re cross-fuel compatible just like the rest of the Fuelab line.

618-344-3300
www.fuelab.com
PN: 565

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Livernois Motorsports Tuner for Bronco Sport

Livernois Motorsports has released a new MyCalibrator performance tuner for the ’21 Ford Bronco Sport. The tuner will help provide improvement both on the street and the trails with boosts of up to 40+ hp and 75+ lb.-ft. of torque on 93-octane fuel. Dyno-proven air/fuel and boost adjustments, enhanced throttle response and improved transmission performance are said to be additional benefits. The tune is available for multiple fuel octane levels (87, 89, 91 and 93). The tuner comes with a revised top-speed limiter as well as an option to utilize all gears, removing Skip Gear function.

313-723-2466
www.livernoismotorsports.com
PN: LPP631164

Milwaukee Packout Deep Organizer

Milwaukee has expanded its Packout modular storage system with the new Packout Deep Organizer. This new organizer provides users with another versatile and durable solution for storing large fittings and accessories. With a 50-lb. weight capacity, the Packout Deep Organizer features quick-adjust dividers and a depth of 5.5 in. to customize internal compartments to fit users’ needs. To keep contents secure, the transparent lid seals the compartments to prevent contents from traveling during transport. The IP65-rated weather seal protects tools, accessories and jobsite materials from rain and debris. With the addition of the new Packout Deep Organizer, the Milwaukee Packout modular storage system now has more than 35 solutions for users to choose from to fully customize their storage—making it one of the most comprehensive modular storage systems in the industry.

800-838-0516
www.northerntool.com
PN 48-22-8436

Yamaha EF2200iS Generator With CO Sensor

Yamaha Motor Corp. has announced the new EF2200iS inverter generator, highlighted by the addition of a new carbon monoxide (CO sensor) integrated into a detection and shutdown system. Designed for emergency home backup portable power use or RV and camping power needs and as a power source on many DIY home projects, the EF2200iS is the first in Yamaha’s upcoming lineup of generators exclusively equipped with CO sensor technology to meet the Portable Generator Manufacturers Association’s ANSI/PGMA G300-2018 standard to monitor carbon monoxide emissions. When the CO sensor detects elevated levels of carbon monoxide, the EF2200iS automatically shuts off and will remain off for approximately five minutes, with an indication that the generator needs to be moved to a well-ventilated space. The EF2200iS delivers 2,200 watts of power to meet the demands of today’s most popular RVs and trailers, built with Yamaha premium inverter technology to deliver clean power for sensitive electronics. Yamaha’s high-output MZ80 OHV air-cooled, single-cylinder, four-stroke engine delivers a maximum of 2,200 watts of AC output with a maximum AC current of 18.3 amps at 120 volts.

800-962-7926
www.yamahamotorsports.com

Wilwood ProSpindle for Second-Generation GM A/F/X-Body

Wilwood has released its new 2-in. drop ProSpindle for General Motors second-generation ’70–’81 F-body, ’73–’76 A-body, ’75–’79 X-body and related B-body cars using Wilwood brakes. The high-strength, cast-steel ProSpindle is more rigid than OEM and eliminates the factory sliding caliper mount, allowing multiple Wilwood brake upgrades. The steering arm has also been strengthened for more accurate steering and better handling with modern tires. Wilwood engineered the direct caliper mount to provide a fortified attachment for five new brake kits. Options include rotors ranging from 11 to 14 in. in diameter and high-performance four- or six-piston calipers. The ProSpindles mount to OE ball joints in stock or aftermarket control arms with no change to steering geometry.

805-388-1188
www.wilwood.com
PN: 831-15958

Superlift Front Leveling Kit for JT Gladiator

Superlift Suspension has released a complete 2.5-in. front leveling kit for the ’20–’21 Jeep Gladiator JT four-door, including JTs equipped with the Rubicon trim level. This kit levels the front 2.5 in. for a more level stance. It also provides the proper clearance for 35-in. tires (37 in. for JT Rubicon). Covered by Superlift’s Lift Force factory protection and limited lifetime warranty, the kit includes coil spacers, compression stop spacers, shock extension brackets, sway bar links, and all hardware specific for the ’20–’21 Jeep Gladiator JT. A detailed instruction manual is included to help purchasers with installation.

800-551-4955
www.superlift.com
PN: 40051