The shooters at KGP Photography caught the ’15 Chrysler 200 completely undisguised during a night-time photo shoot, providing their best look yet at the sleek new Fusion-fighter.

The jet-black car was tricky to photograph under whatever street light existed, as the photographer tried to dodge the security team that was on hand, but in the end, the new upscale flavor of the next Chrysler 200 shows through. Seeing the final shape, it's now clear why Chrysler had been caught more than one year ago benchmarking mules for the new 200 against the Volkswagen CC, as the new 200 has a similarly flowing, "four-door-coupe" body style.

The Chrysler 200's interior gets a fresh take on its center-stack arrangement, with a separate, angled collection of buttons and switches sitting below the LCD infotainment screen. The 200 does away with the usual gear-shift, in favor of a rotary dial transmission selector similar to the one used in the new Ram pickup. The visual design and the passenger interface appears to be a fresh take on the automotive center stack, and the result is clean and uncluttered. It will be interesting to see if the tactile experience is equally clean and unencumbered. The photographer also noticed a hint of LED lighting effects in use throughout the interior as seen on the Dart.

Photo credit: KGP Photography

The shooters at KGP Photography caught the ’15 Chrysler 200 completely undisguised during a night-time photo shoot, providing their best look yet at the sleek new Fusion-fighter.

The jet-black car was tricky to photograph under whatever street light existed, as the photographer tried to dodge the security team that was on hand, but in the end, the new upscale flavor of the next Chrysler 200 shows through. Seeing the final shape, it's now clear why Chrysler had been caught more than one year ago benchmarking mules for the new 200 against the Volkswagen CC, as the new 200 has a similarly flowing, "four-door-coupe" body style.

The Chrysler 200's interior gets a fresh take on its center-stack arrangement, with a separate, angled collection of buttons and switches sitting below the LCD infotainment screen. The 200 does away with the usual gear-shift, in favor of a rotary dial transmission selector similar to the one used in the new Ram pickup. The visual design and the passenger interface appears to be a fresh take on the automotive center stack, and the result is clean and uncluttered. It will be interesting to see if the tactile experience is equally clean and unencumbered. The photographer also noticed a hint of LED lighting effects in use throughout the interior as seen on the Dart.

Photo credit: KGP Photography

By SEMA Editors

	In 1948 at the dry lakes, Hilborn's Chevrolet V8-powered streamliner became the first hot rod to break 150 mph.

Legendary hot rodder, high-performance fuel-injection systems pioneer and SEMA Hall of Famer Stuart Hilborn passed away Monday morning, December 16, at the age of 96.

Born in October 1917 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Hilborn moved to Southern California as a child with his father. He was introduced to hot rodding in 1938, when he joined some friends on a trip to the Southern California dry lakes to watch the speed trials there.

Over the next three years, he and former Indianapolis 500 driver Eddie Miller built a hot rod capable of reaching 123 mph on the dry lakes, but Hilborn wanted to go faster. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II as an aircraft gunnery instructor. After the war, Hilborn developed his first mechanical fuel-injection system to adress issues with running methanol in hot-rod engines.

Seeking an alternative to the old carburetors the hot rodders were then using, in 1948, he built and tuned his first fuel-injection setup when his Chevrolet V8-powered streamliner ran 150 mph at the dry lakes, becoming the first hot rod to break that mark.

A crash ended his racing career, but his fuel-injection setups were embraced by hot rodders, lakes racers, midgets, drag racers and Indy cars. For his innovations, he was inducted into SEMA’s Hall of Fame in 1996.

Hilborn’s business, Hilborn Fuel Injection, remains today. Hilborn is survived by his wife Ginny of 60 years, along with his daughter Edris and his son Duane, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren. No funeral or memorial plans have been announced.

Compiled by SEMA Editors

As the Exclusive Performance Exhaust of NASCAR, Flowmaster will reward loyal fans by launching the "Show Us Your Flows" contest.

Flowmaster Named the Exclusive Performance Exhaust of NASCAR
Flowmaster has been named the Exclusive Performance Exhaust of NASCAR. To reward loyal fans, Flowmaster is launching the "Show Us Your Flows" contest, a video based social media competition that will send one grand prize winner with a friend on a trip to the Daytona 500.

As part of the new relationship, Flowmaster will offer exclusive NASCAR content to its fans and dealers, as well as on-track promotions, interactive fan experiences and more. The first big promotion will be the "Show Us Your Flows" video contest, which will give away a variety of prizes, including a trip to the 2014 Daytona 500. To participate in "Show Us Your Flows," participants must submit a video showing their Flowmaster-equipped vehicle and telling their “Flowmaster story”—why they love the brand and deserve to go to Daytona, along with filling out a short entry form. Submissions will be accepted through the Flowmaster Facebook page through December 28, 2013. The applications will be narrowed down to 10 video finalists and fans will vote for their favorites on the Flowmaster Facebook page December 30–January 3. The video that receives the most combined likes, shares and comments by January 17, 2014, will be named the grand-prize winner. Winners will be announced January 20.

All 10 finalists will win a prize. The grand prize winner (and a guest) will win a trip to the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, including tickets to the Daytona 500 race, a garage tour, apparel and fully paid hotel and airfare from the continental United States. The first prize winner will receive any complete Flowmaster exhaust system from the current catalog. Second- through eighth-place winners will win a pair of Flowmaster mufflers and a Flowmaster apparel pack. Ninth- and 10-place winners will win a prize pack that includes a T-shirt, jacket, hat and stickers.

Cameron and Heidi Steele's 800-hp Geiser Brothers Trophy Truck.

Yokohama Tire Corp.’s Off-Road Racers Reflect on 2013 Season
From Nevada to Mexico, Yokohama Tire Corp. (YTC) and the Desert Assassins off-road racing team covered a lot of rugged ground during the 2013 season, producing several highlights. The Desert Assassins were led by husband-and-wife duo Cameron and Heidi Steele and their 800hp Geiser Brothers Trophy Trucks. The duo kicked off the year in January, winning the HDRA South Point Vegas 250 in Jean, Nevada. The race was the season opener for High Desert Racing Association (HDRA).

Heidi, a four-time Southern California Off Road Enthusiasts (SCORE) Class champion, who spent the season exclusively in the Trophy Truck division, made history by partnering with co-driver Jessica McMillin—also a SCORE champion—to form the first all-woman Trophy Truck driver tandem in SCORE racing. They also became the first female Trophy Truck team to tackle the Baja 1000 in November in Ensenada, Mexico.

Heidi and Cameron each earned SCORE Toyota Milestone awards for completing all 1,638.1 miles in the SCORE Desert Series. They became the first married couple to win the award.

Street Machine & Muscle Car Nationals to Make Donation to Alex Xydias Center for Automotive Arts
The Inaugural O’Reilly Auto Parts Street Machine & Muscle Car Nationals presented by Lucas Oil will donate half of the net proceeds generated by the event, to the Alex Xydias Center for Automotive Arts (AXC)—an automotive learning center for high school students. AXC is part of the Career and Technical Education Center at Fairplex in Pomona, California—a non-profit organization dedicated to providing high school students and community members with vocational training, including a two-year automotive industry certification program. For the first time ever, the Street Machine and Muscle Car Nationals will take place March 22–23, at Fairplex in Pomona.

For an entire weekend, the O'Reilly Auto Parts Street Machine & Muscle Car Nationals will showcase a collection of high-performance musclecars, pro-touring cars and street machines. Car fans from across the country will descend on the Fairplex to take a spin in their own musclecars on the Autocross-timed obstacle course, cruise their classics on the cruise lanes, smoke some tires in the Mickey Thompson Tires Burnout Contests and more. Showgoers will also enjoy a Miss Street Machine Nationals Contest, pro car builders and their custom creations on display, live music as well as games, products, demos and displays in the Performance Midway.

To make a donation to AXC, visit www.TLCfairplex.com, click “Donate Now” and choose “CTEC Auto/AXC.” For additional information, call 317-236-6515 or visit www.StreetMachineAndMuscleCarNationals.com.

Rob Vargo (right) learns the finer points of timing and scoring from SCCA Pro Racing Chief of Timing and Scoring Rich Langford during the Mazda MX-5 Cup race at Sebring International Raceway. Credit: Doug Morrisey/SCCA

Vargo Receives SCCA Pro Racing Field Staff Member of the Year Award
Rob Vargo was named the inaugural SCCA Pro Racing Field Staff Member of the Year presented by BFGoodrich Tires. The award will be given to Vargo during the SCCA National Convention, March 7–9, 2014, in Charlotte, North Carolina. As part of the prize, he will receive a new set of four BFGoodrich Tires of his choosing for a passenger car or light truck. Vargo started working with SCCA Pro Racing in 2006, attending a handful of Pirelli World Challenge and Mazda MX-5 Cup races. In his first few seasons as an SCCA Pro Racing official, Vargo was part of the tech/ops team responsible for helping with the setup and teardown of the series hospitality and tech area, in addition to pit lane officiating responsibilities during a race. Before the beginning of the 2013 race season, Vargo had volunteered to become the chief of timing and scoring for the Mazda MX-5 Cup series. BFGoodrich Tires has signed on to sponsor this new award to accompany its long-standing partnership with SCCA, which includes the BFGoodrich Tires SCCA Club Racing Worker of the Year for the past three years.

Compiled by SEMA Editors

As the Exclusive Performance Exhaust of NASCAR, Flowmaster will reward loyal fans by launching the "Show Us Your Flows" contest.

Flowmaster Named the Exclusive Performance Exhaust of NASCAR
Flowmaster has been named the Exclusive Performance Exhaust of NASCAR. To reward loyal fans, Flowmaster is launching the "Show Us Your Flows" contest, a video based social media competition that will send one grand prize winner with a friend on a trip to the Daytona 500.

As part of the new relationship, Flowmaster will offer exclusive NASCAR content to its fans and dealers, as well as on-track promotions, interactive fan experiences and more. The first big promotion will be the "Show Us Your Flows" video contest, which will give away a variety of prizes, including a trip to the 2014 Daytona 500. To participate in "Show Us Your Flows," participants must submit a video showing their Flowmaster-equipped vehicle and telling their “Flowmaster story”—why they love the brand and deserve to go to Daytona, along with filling out a short entry form. Submissions will be accepted through the Flowmaster Facebook page through December 28, 2013. The applications will be narrowed down to 10 video finalists and fans will vote for their favorites on the Flowmaster Facebook page December 30–January 3. The video that receives the most combined likes, shares and comments by January 17, 2014, will be named the grand-prize winner. Winners will be announced January 20.

All 10 finalists will win a prize. The grand prize winner (and a guest) will win a trip to the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, including tickets to the Daytona 500 race, a garage tour, apparel and fully paid hotel and airfare from the continental United States. The first prize winner will receive any complete Flowmaster exhaust system from the current catalog. Second- through eighth-place winners will win a pair of Flowmaster mufflers and a Flowmaster apparel pack. Ninth- and 10-place winners will win a prize pack that includes a T-shirt, jacket, hat and stickers.

Cameron and Heidi Steele's 800-hp Geiser Brothers Trophy Truck.

Yokohama Tire Corp.’s Off-Road Racers Reflect on 2013 Season
From Nevada to Mexico, Yokohama Tire Corp. (YTC) and the Desert Assassins off-road racing team covered a lot of rugged ground during the 2013 season, producing several highlights. The Desert Assassins were led by husband-and-wife duo Cameron and Heidi Steele and their 800hp Geiser Brothers Trophy Trucks. The duo kicked off the year in January, winning the HDRA South Point Vegas 250 in Jean, Nevada. The race was the season opener for High Desert Racing Association (HDRA).

Heidi, a four-time Southern California Off Road Enthusiasts (SCORE) Class champion, who spent the season exclusively in the Trophy Truck division, made history by partnering with co-driver Jessica McMillin—also a SCORE champion—to form the first all-woman Trophy Truck driver tandem in SCORE racing. They also became the first female Trophy Truck team to tackle the Baja 1000 in November in Ensenada, Mexico.

Heidi and Cameron each earned SCORE Toyota Milestone awards for completing all 1,638.1 miles in the SCORE Desert Series. They became the first married couple to win the award.

Street Machine & Muscle Car Nationals to Make Donation to Alex Xydias Center for Automotive Arts
The Inaugural O’Reilly Auto Parts Street Machine & Muscle Car Nationals presented by Lucas Oil will donate half of the net proceeds generated by the event, to the Alex Xydias Center for Automotive Arts (AXC)—an automotive learning center for high school students. AXC is part of the Career and Technical Education Center at Fairplex in Pomona, California—a non-profit organization dedicated to providing high school students and community members with vocational training, including a two-year automotive industry certification program. For the first time ever, the Street Machine and Muscle Car Nationals will take place March 22–23, at Fairplex in Pomona.

For an entire weekend, the O'Reilly Auto Parts Street Machine & Muscle Car Nationals will showcase a collection of high-performance musclecars, pro-touring cars and street machines. Car fans from across the country will descend on the Fairplex to take a spin in their own musclecars on the Autocross-timed obstacle course, cruise their classics on the cruise lanes, smoke some tires in the Mickey Thompson Tires Burnout Contests and more. Showgoers will also enjoy a Miss Street Machine Nationals Contest, pro car builders and their custom creations on display, live music as well as games, products, demos and displays in the Performance Midway.

To make a donation to AXC, visit www.TLCfairplex.com, click “Donate Now” and choose “CTEC Auto/AXC.” For additional information, call 317-236-6515 or visit www.StreetMachineAndMuscleCarNationals.com.

Rob Vargo (right) learns the finer points of timing and scoring from SCCA Pro Racing Chief of Timing and Scoring Rich Langford during the Mazda MX-5 Cup race at Sebring International Raceway. Credit: Doug Morrisey/SCCA

Vargo Receives SCCA Pro Racing Field Staff Member of the Year Award
Rob Vargo was named the inaugural SCCA Pro Racing Field Staff Member of the Year presented by BFGoodrich Tires. The award will be given to Vargo during the SCCA National Convention, March 7–9, 2014, in Charlotte, North Carolina. As part of the prize, he will receive a new set of four BFGoodrich Tires of his choosing for a passenger car or light truck. Vargo started working with SCCA Pro Racing in 2006, attending a handful of Pirelli World Challenge and Mazda MX-5 Cup races. In his first few seasons as an SCCA Pro Racing official, Vargo was part of the tech/ops team responsible for helping with the setup and teardown of the series hospitality and tech area, in addition to pit lane officiating responsibilities during a race. Before the beginning of the 2013 race season, Vargo had volunteered to become the chief of timing and scoring for the Mazda MX-5 Cup series. BFGoodrich Tires has signed on to sponsor this new award to accompany its long-standing partnership with SCCA, which includes the BFGoodrich Tires SCCA Club Racing Worker of the Year for the past three years.

By Della Domingo

	The annual Media Trade Conference brings together members of the working press with motorsports parts producers for face-to-face private meetings.

Nearly 200 journalists, reporters and media representatives have signed up to participate in the 2014 MPMC Media Trade Conference taking place January 21–23, 2014, in Santa Ana, California. While the early registration deadline has passed, media may still register.

Journalists who are already registered will receive their personalized schedules by January 6, 2014, indicating which companies they will visit with in private, one-on-one meetings. Those who register after today will receive their schedules at the event. With 100 manufacturers available for meetings over three days, there are still plenty of openings for reporters to meet with manufacturers during the event.

For questions about media participation, contact Della Domingo at dellad@sema.org, 909-978-6723. For exhibitor information, contact Jim Skelly at jimsk@sema.org, 909-978-6690.

By Della Domingo

	The annual Media Trade Conference brings together members of the working press with motorsports parts producers for face-to-face private meetings.

Nearly 200 journalists, reporters and media representatives have signed up to participate in the 2014 MPMC Media Trade Conference taking place January 21–23, 2014, in Santa Ana, California. While the early registration deadline has passed, media may still register.

Journalists who are already registered will receive their personalized schedules by January 6, 2014, indicating which companies they will visit with in private, one-on-one meetings. Those who register after today will receive their schedules at the event. With 100 manufacturers available for meetings over three days, there are still plenty of openings for reporters to meet with manufacturers during the event.

For questions about media participation, contact Della Domingo at dellad@sema.org, 909-978-6723. For exhibitor information, contact Jim Skelly at jimsk@sema.org, 909-978-6690.

	For this year’s SEMA Board of Directors election, there is one seat open in the manufacturer’s category and one seat open in the distributor/retailer category.

The following is a message from SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting:

As a member of the Association, we need your recommendation of industry leaders to serve on the SEMA Board of Directors. Our industry has many individuals who would be an asset to the SEMA Board, but oftentimes those individuals aren’t immediately apparent to the Nominating Committee when selecting the final candidates.

Please take a moment to tell us about whom you would recommend as a potential nominee for a board member position. We also ask that you include information to help the Nominating Committee know more about the nominee’s qualifications, such as background, experience, and achievements from a leadership standpoint.

For this year’s election there is one seat open in the manufacturer’s category and one seat open in the distributor/retailer category.

Nominations for the 2014 SEMA Board of Directors are due Thursday, January 2, 2014. Please complete and submit the nomination form, and be sure to include the qualification information noted above.

A strong board means wise leadership and an association that serves its members well. We urge you to take part in the nominations process.

Thank you for your attention to this important request.

Chris Kersting, CAE
SEMA President and CEO

	For this year’s SEMA Board of Directors election, there is one seat open in the manufacturer’s category and one seat open in the distributor/retailer category.

The following is a message from SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting:

As a member of the Association, we need your recommendation of industry leaders to serve on the SEMA Board of Directors. Our industry has many individuals who would be an asset to the SEMA Board, but oftentimes those individuals aren’t immediately apparent to the Nominating Committee when selecting the final candidates.

Please take a moment to tell us about whom you would recommend as a potential nominee for a board member position. We also ask that you include information to help the Nominating Committee know more about the nominee’s qualifications, such as background, experience, and achievements from a leadership standpoint.

For this year’s election there is one seat open in the manufacturer’s category and one seat open in the distributor/retailer category.

Nominations for the 2014 SEMA Board of Directors are due Thursday, January 2, 2014. Please complete and submit the nomination form, and be sure to include the qualification information noted above.

A strong board means wise leadership and an association that serves its members well. We urge you to take part in the nominations process.

Thank you for your attention to this important request.

Chris Kersting, CAE
SEMA President and CEO

Are you hunting for a new job? The “Positions Available” section in the SEMA Member Classifieds lists more than 50 job openings around the country. Here are some of the latest classifieds posted to the website.

• The Wheel Group, located in City of Industry, California, is hiring a salesperson to provide information regarding products, account inquiries and order status via phone or e-mail. The successful candidate will have prior sales experience and strong customer service skills. Aftermarket wheel experience and bilingual candidates (Spanish/English) are preferred.

• Power Stop LLC, located in Chicago, is hiring a product manager to manage the distribution and timeliness of the company's internal data systems and facilitate a smooth operation and act as a resource of technical information for customers and employees. The successful candidate will have prior data and catalog management experience.

• MGP Caliper Covers, located in San Diego, is hiring two inside salespeople. Applicants should have exceptional communication, computer, time management and organizational skills, and the ability to generate new customers, close new accounts and nurture and grow existing accounts.

• Coker Tire, located in City of Industry, California, is hiring a highly motivated sales and customer service representative with a coachable attitude and strong desire to succeed.

View more listings from SEMA's Automotive Classifieds listings.