News | Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA)

New From SEMA: Help With Emissions Certifications and Much More

Thu, 08/01/2013 - 10:35

SEMA News—August 2013

CHRIS KERSTING

New From SEMA: Help With Emissions Certifications and Much More

SEMA has fielded many questions about the emissions certification process over the years, and we’ve learned a lot along the way. We’ve recently taken some important steps to help member companies create performance parts that both make power and comply with state and federal regulations. You’ll be glad to know that these services are now wrapped into a new facility. The SEMA Garage–Industry Innovations Center offers a range of tools and opportunities to help you develop high-quality products more quickly and effectively.

If you are looking for information to understand the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Executive Order (EO) exemption program, both new and experienced members will benefit from our new “CARB EO Assistance.” For starters, we’ve collected all the information you need to know about the regulations and the EO exemption process in a user-friendly way. For a digestible overview, we suggest that you download a copy of the updated SEMA Black Book. It’s available free to SEMA members on www.sema.org.

While we expect that you’ll find the Black Book helpful, SEMA also now makes expert personnel available to SEMA members to answer your EO-related questions and help guide you through the EO certification testing process. The SEMA Garage facility also houses a fully certified emissions test lab, the Automotive Research Center (ARC), operated by the Automobile Club of Southern California.

The ARC has been in operation for more than 30 years. One of its core capabilities is testing related to obtaining EOs for emissions-related products. The Automobile Club is working with SEMA to give members the opportunity to work through the iterative process of getting an EO. Automobile Club technicians are responsible for all testing at the ARC and act as a third-party, unbiased entity, which is essential for the legitimacy of the testing.

The Automobile Club emissions lab enjoys a strong reputation with both the industry and with CARB, and SEMA members will enjoy priority access and special member rates for both development work on the dyno and for EO emissions testing. Your company need not be located in Southern California to benefit; SEMA members already make use of the facility from other locations around the country and the globe. (See p. 54 of this issue for an in-depth article on our new EO-related services and the SEMA Garage.)

We recognize that not all SEMA-member companies require the dyno and emissions testing capabilities offered through our partnership with the Automobile Club. I’m pleased to report that the SEMA Garage houses other breakthrough tools and services to assist members in developing a wide range of parts and accessories.

For example, SEMA is expanding the mix of makes and models for our well-regarded Vehicle Measuring Sessions. In most cases, we’ll have the vehicles for weeks rather than single-day sessions. When members show up, they will find that the SEMA Garage is equipped with a new heavy-duty lift, a complete set of tools, vehicle measuring and scanning tools, rapid prototyping equipment and, coming soon, a fully equipped media cove. As an important complement to these tools, SEMA is also taking steps to increase the makes/models for which we have CAD data in our Technology Transfer library.

The fact that all of these assets are in one place and available to SEMA-member companies—whether in Los Angeles or elsewhere—will help many members shorten the product-development path, reduce costs and deliver the highest-quality products. Over time, we anticipate that the SEMA Garage will become a center for information on how we can help our members address integrations with ever-more-complex vehicle technology.

We hope that you find the SEMA Garage–Industry Innovations Center a valuable new set of services for your SEMA membership. To learn more or to begin using these tools, simply contact the SEMA offices or reach out to Mike Spagnola.

—Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO

Ignited We Stand

Thu, 08/01/2013 - 10:27

SEMA News—August 2013

LEGISLATIVE AND TECHNICAL AFFAIRS
By Colby Martin

Ignited We Stand

SEMA Action Network Seeks Unified Voice to Strengthen Impact

As the fight to defend our automotive pursuits continues, the necessity of showcasing the SEMA Action Network’s (SAN) efforts to the specialty-equipment industry remains critical. SEMA-member businesses represent an integral component in successfully reaching lawmakers in the United States and Canada with a unified message on important legislation. You, your colleagues and customers can help guide the course of the future.

Each legislative session, the SAN tracks and responds to hundreds of legislative initiatives affecting the specialty-equipment industry and the consumers it serves. Some bills will not advance past introduction; others will go on to become the laws of tomorrow. As bills progress through the legislature, SAN members instantly influence decisions through e-mails and phone calls to state or federal representatives. Often, as few as five messages to individual lawmakers can sway votes on high-impact issues.

The SAN recently launched a new and exciting promotional campaign—“Ignited We Stand!”—to encourage the growth of its grassroots network in size and influence. Many essential elements of the SAN have been re-imagined, including the award-winning publication Driving Force. Since the program’s inception, this publication has been a trusted digest to communicate information about the current legislative landscape around the nation.

Once a monthly publication, this newsletter is now being produced quarterly to give maximum impact to its legislative tools and trend analyses. However, the title is being supplemented by a new and more timely Driving Force Online, which is being transmitted to SAN members electronically every two weeks. Time-tested Action Alert e-mail messages are also being reformatted to enhance their impact as well. Urgent in nature, these alerts call constituents to speak out about automotive bills moving through the legislatures.

Thousands are already doing their part to heed the call and defend the future of this great industry and a pastime we all enjoy. Unfortunately, many more frontline combatants are needed in the battle to keep our businesses free from unnecessarily burdensome laws and regulations. You are encouraged to enlist in the SAN without fee or obligation at www.SEMAsan.com/join. We look forward to counting you among this growing force!

For more information, contact Colby Martin at 909-978-6721 or SAN@sema.org.

A passion for unique vehicles binds our industry and hobby together. SAN members Jimmy “Shine” Falschlehner (left) and event promoter Skeeter Rader pose with Shine’s SAN-adorned ’34 Ford hot rod. Shine’s trendsetting pickup has served as a symbol of the type of vehicle many states seek to regulate.

Among its ranks, the SAN proudly counts automotive media personalities such as Courtney Hansen. Here she poses with fellow SAN member Dago Martinez in support of the Collector Car Appreciation Day celebration.

Car clubs play an integral role in quickly mobilizing SAN members. Groups such as the Manitoba Association of Auto Clubs (MAAC; top right) and Minnesota Street Rod Association (MSRA; top left) actively build relationships with their lawmakers to underscore the importance of the collector vehicle hobby, as demonstrated by events held on capitol grounds.