By SEMA Staff

The deadline for members to submit their SEMA Hall of Fame nominations is Friday, March 22, 2013. The SEMA Hall of Fame Award honors outstanding persons in the automotive specialty-equipment industry whose creativity, dignity, integrity, industriousness and accomplishments on a national basis have enhanced the stature of and significantly contributed to the industry’s growth.

A rule of thumb to qualify could be the following question: “If this person had never existed, how would SEMA and the industry be different?”

Please take a moment to review the Hall of Fame website and SEMA Hall of Fame criteria and listings of past inductees. In order to assist the Hall of Fame Committee in making their selection, please provide a brief statement, including accomplishments and comments as to why, based on the award criteria, the individual is deserving of this honor. Your completed nomination form is confidential and vital to helping the Hall of Fame Committee make their selection for the 2013 SEMA Hall of Fame.

Please submit your 2013 SEMA Hall of Fame form by Friday, March 22, 2013.

	The classifieds section on SEMA.org is available to members to post jobs openings, items for sale, business opportunities and more, free of charge.

By SEMA Staff

To help members reach out to the industry at large and build awareness for job openings and business opportunities, the classifieds section on SEMA.org is available to members free of charge. SEMA members are encouraged to use the section to call attention to new job openings, equipment for sale, potential partnerships, internships offered and more. In addition to being one of the most-visited sections on SEMA.org, the majority of the submissions under "Positions Available" are included each week in SEMA eNews, and the entire classified section can be accessed from SEMA eNews with one click.

To post a classified, members must first create an account on SEMA.org, which requires a login and password. For assistance creating an account, or to have your password reset, e-mail member@sema.org or call SEMA's customer service line at 909-610-2030.

The process of posting a position available at a company is simple and requires the basics: title of the job, location of the business, name and e-mail address for potential candidates to contact. The description of the job can be included in the body of the classified, which allows for 3,000 characters.

Once a classified is submitted, each listing goes through an approval process that takes up to 48 hours. With the approval complete, classifieds are made live on the site and will stay up for 30 days. After that time, the member will be contacted (via e-mail) and reminded that there is a classified posted on SEMA.org. Companies can then decide to remove the classified or have it remain posted until a later date.

	The classifieds section on SEMA.org is available to members to post jobs openings, items for sale, business opportunities and more, free of charge.

By SEMA Staff

To help members reach out to the industry at large and build awareness for job openings and business opportunities, the classifieds section on SEMA.org is available to members free of charge. SEMA members are encouraged to use the section to call attention to new job openings, equipment for sale, potential partnerships, internships offered and more. In addition to being one of the most-visited sections on SEMA.org, the majority of the submissions under "Positions Available" are included each week in SEMA eNews, and the entire classified section can be accessed from SEMA eNews with one click.

To post a classified, members must first create an account on SEMA.org, which requires a login and password. For assistance creating an account, or to have your password reset, e-mail member@sema.org or call SEMA's customer service line at 909-610-2030.

The process of posting a position available at a company is simple and requires the basics: title of the job, location of the business, name and e-mail address for potential candidates to contact. The description of the job can be included in the body of the classified, which allows for 3,000 characters.

Once a classified is submitted, each listing goes through an approval process that takes up to 48 hours. With the approval complete, classifieds are made live on the site and will stay up for 30 days. After that time, the member will be contacted (via e-mail) and reminded that there is a classified posted on SEMA.org. Companies can then decide to remove the classified or have it remain posted until a later date.

SEMA News—February 2013

BEST PRACTICES
By Steve Campbell

Finding the Right Advertising Agency

For Manufacturers, It’s the Ultimate Match

		Meigan Powell Alexander has used her marketing skills to enhance the success of such brands as NAPA Filters, Carquest Filters, GM and Wachovia. Her wide-ranging agency experience spans widely diverse projects that range from managing media for Six Flags theme parks and implementing Hispanic media and merchandising for Heineken, Heineken Light and Amstel Light to developing and managing a NAPA Filters digital campaign. Powell & Partners has been a SEMA member for five years. E-mail: Meigan Powell Alexander

Building a brand, informing business partners and educating consumers are key factors in marketing a product successfully. And while manufacturers may be experts at innovation and development, few also possess the expertise to publicize and promote their products for optimal sales in media ranging from print to web and from brochure to billboard. That is the business of advertising agencies. Finding the right one should be every manufacturer’s ultimate promotional goal.

“There is a vast difference between a professional, experienced ad agency and an ‘art service,’” said Bill Holland, president of Holland Communications Inc.

“Carefully positioned messages, a feel for the market and compelling ad copy are required to get the best results. An Apple Mac does not make a marketer.”

Experience and expertise are fundamental. So is finding an agency that understands the manufacturer’s product line. But equally important is ensuring that the agency’s personnel mesh well with the company’s staff.

“The people assigned to handle the day-to-day communications with the client must be extremely knowledgeable about the market, the idiosyncrasies of distribution, the manufacturer’s product, their competitors, their sales strategies, the category, the history and what the specific goals of the manufacturer are,” said Don Fall, president of Fall Advertising.

“This person is the direct link to both major and minor decisions that affect the success of the agency and the manufacturer.”

That makes research the first priority when a manufacturer begins to hunt for an advertising firm. The agencies that we consulted referred to a number of easily accessed sources for preliminary information, including consultation with non-competitive manufacturers in the same market segment, the advertising and marketing listings in the SEMA Membership Directory (available either online or as a PDF download at www.sema.org) and through the recommendations of media professionals in both print and electronic outlets.

“SEMA’s website and SEMA News are good places to start,” advised Kipp Kington, president of KingTec Communications and the KTC Media Group. “Invest some time to find out if an agency provides consistently high-quality work, meets deadlines and can handle a variety of projects. An agency should be able to demonstrate overall reliability and the ability to grow and adapt to the market.”

Holland recommended also checking the agencies’ involvement in industry organizations, including SEMA councils, and he pointed out that an agency’s client base is an indicator of its involvement in various niches.

		Don Fall is the owner and president of Fall Advertising. His years of marketing expertise and extensive automotive mechanical background drive the agency and guide companies to success in the automotive aftermarket. The firm is a third-generation advertising agency and is dedicated to the automotive aftermarket. Fall Advertising was one of the founding members of SEMA. E-mail: Don Fall

Tom Marx, CEO and president of The Marx Group, recommended a series of steps to qualify an agency, including the completion of a questionnaire to establish the agency’s credentials, a face-to-face meeting as a second phase and then, when there is some confidence that the agency is a good fit, a paid project as a test of the relationship, communications and the agency’s talent.

“It is so important that the relationship, communications skills and work processes are closely aligned between the client and the agency,” he said. “This is a long-term commitment for both parties and should be looked at as if it were a marriage. Divorce is expensive, time-consuming and disruptive.”

It’s also important to qualify an agency for the types of media it deals with. Consumer and trade publications are targeted differently, so an ad touting a component’s benefits may appeal to an end user, but its salability is probably the salient point for a distributor or jobber.

“Most products manufactured by SEMA-member companies must eventually be purchased by consumers, and wholesale buyers are much more receptive to a manufacturer’s sales overtures when they have recently been experiencing demand for that company’s products,” said Jim Wirth, president of Wirth & Wirth Advertising. “Push-pull marketing is one of the most effective sales programs in our industry because consumer demand pulls the products through the sales channels while the manufacturer’s business-to-business (B2B) sales efforts push them in the same direction. Manufacturers need to find agencies that can build that demand with consumers by brand name within the automotive marketplace.”

Meigan Powell Alexander, executive vice president of Powell & Partners, said that a strong background in research is critical to an agency’s work on either side of the consumer/trade equation.

Read the complete article featured in the March issue of SEMA News.

SEMA News—February 2013

BEST PRACTICES
By Steve Campbell

Finding the Right Advertising Agency

For Manufacturers, It’s the Ultimate Match

		Meigan Powell Alexander has used her marketing skills to enhance the success of such brands as NAPA Filters, Carquest Filters, GM and Wachovia. Her wide-ranging agency experience spans widely diverse projects that range from managing media for Six Flags theme parks and implementing Hispanic media and merchandising for Heineken, Heineken Light and Amstel Light to developing and managing a NAPA Filters digital campaign. Powell & Partners has been a SEMA member for five years. E-mail: Meigan Powell Alexander

Building a brand, informing business partners and educating consumers are key factors in marketing a product successfully. And while manufacturers may be experts at innovation and development, few also possess the expertise to publicize and promote their products for optimal sales in media ranging from print to web and from brochure to billboard. That is the business of advertising agencies. Finding the right one should be every manufacturer’s ultimate promotional goal.

“There is a vast difference between a professional, experienced ad agency and an ‘art service,’” said Bill Holland, president of Holland Communications Inc.

“Carefully positioned messages, a feel for the market and compelling ad copy are required to get the best results. An Apple Mac does not make a marketer.”

Experience and expertise are fundamental. So is finding an agency that understands the manufacturer’s product line. But equally important is ensuring that the agency’s personnel mesh well with the company’s staff.

“The people assigned to handle the day-to-day communications with the client must be extremely knowledgeable about the market, the idiosyncrasies of distribution, the manufacturer’s product, their competitors, their sales strategies, the category, the history and what the specific goals of the manufacturer are,” said Don Fall, president of Fall Advertising.

“This person is the direct link to both major and minor decisions that affect the success of the agency and the manufacturer.”

That makes research the first priority when a manufacturer begins to hunt for an advertising firm. The agencies that we consulted referred to a number of easily accessed sources for preliminary information, including consultation with non-competitive manufacturers in the same market segment, the advertising and marketing listings in the SEMA Membership Directory (available either online or as a PDF download at www.sema.org) and through the recommendations of media professionals in both print and electronic outlets.

“SEMA’s website and SEMA News are good places to start,” advised Kipp Kington, president of KingTec Communications and the KTC Media Group. “Invest some time to find out if an agency provides consistently high-quality work, meets deadlines and can handle a variety of projects. An agency should be able to demonstrate overall reliability and the ability to grow and adapt to the market.”

Holland recommended also checking the agencies’ involvement in industry organizations, including SEMA councils, and he pointed out that an agency’s client base is an indicator of its involvement in various niches.

		Don Fall is the owner and president of Fall Advertising. His years of marketing expertise and extensive automotive mechanical background drive the agency and guide companies to success in the automotive aftermarket. The firm is a third-generation advertising agency and is dedicated to the automotive aftermarket. Fall Advertising was one of the founding members of SEMA. E-mail: Don Fall

Tom Marx, CEO and president of The Marx Group, recommended a series of steps to qualify an agency, including the completion of a questionnaire to establish the agency’s credentials, a face-to-face meeting as a second phase and then, when there is some confidence that the agency is a good fit, a paid project as a test of the relationship, communications and the agency’s talent.

“It is so important that the relationship, communications skills and work processes are closely aligned between the client and the agency,” he said. “This is a long-term commitment for both parties and should be looked at as if it were a marriage. Divorce is expensive, time-consuming and disruptive.”

It’s also important to qualify an agency for the types of media it deals with. Consumer and trade publications are targeted differently, so an ad touting a component’s benefits may appeal to an end user, but its salability is probably the salient point for a distributor or jobber.

“Most products manufactured by SEMA-member companies must eventually be purchased by consumers, and wholesale buyers are much more receptive to a manufacturer’s sales overtures when they have recently been experiencing demand for that company’s products,” said Jim Wirth, president of Wirth & Wirth Advertising. “Push-pull marketing is one of the most effective sales programs in our industry because consumer demand pulls the products through the sales channels while the manufacturer’s business-to-business (B2B) sales efforts push them in the same direction. Manufacturers need to find agencies that can build that demand with consumers by brand name within the automotive marketplace.”

Meigan Powell Alexander, executive vice president of Powell & Partners, said that a strong background in research is critical to an agency’s work on either side of the consumer/trade equation.

Read the complete article featured in the March issue of SEMA News.

By Chad Simon

	Christine Corelli

Where can you find more customers? If you've been chasing some of your competitors' customers for a while, you already know that bringing new customers into your fold is not an easy task. The SEMA Education Institute (SEI) tackled this issue and more when it featured Christine Corelli of Christine Corelli & Associates Inc. in a recent webinar entitled, “Capture Your Competitors’ Customers and Keep Them.”

Based on Corelli's newest book release of the same title, the presentation identified real-world strategies and tactics of smart businesses and sales professionals who have successfully swayed customers over to their place of business, gained market share and obtained the highest levels of customer loyalty.

Corelli offered proven selling techniques for today's new and often ruthless business arena where new customers are up for grabs and tips for guarding your own customers from predators and making them less vulnerable to your competitors' wiles. She also provided advice for gaining the highest levels of customer loyalty and increasing sales through a sales-service excellence culture that ensures that you keep your new customers.

In today's business climate, there are three keys to gaining market share and increasing profits: sales, service and culture.

Sales Strategies

Offer a smart, competitive sales strategy that includes a vision and mission. This includes advertising, social networking and e-mail campaigns. Solid business-to-consumer strategies include building relationships with your customers and providing memorable customer service. Set slightly lower prices, offer deals and promotions to get them in the door; for example, buy three get one free.

In business-to-business relationships, position yourself as an indispensable business partner. You have to sell yourself first.

Highlight the fact that you have more knowledge than the competition and you have a well-trained staff. Face time with your clients increases your sales results because it shows that you are paying attention to their needs and interested in how you can help them to achieve their goals.

"For instance, a dealer in Oklahoma has five different locations throughout the country, and his customers are loyal to him because he pays attention to his them, takes great care of them, is hands on and has a very dedicated and well-trained team," said Corelli. "So, if you're an executive, make sure that you are also interacting with customers and not just leaving it up to your employees."

Customer Service

Ideas for improving customer service excellence include identifying in weekly retail meetings the strategies that are working and the ones that are not, calling every customer after service and documenting all complaints. 

Seven steps to providing customer service excellence include:

• Examine “touch points” for opportunities to impress your customers.
• Brainstorm – improve upon your ideas.
• Identify causes of dissatisfaction.
• Practice proactive complaint prevention.
• Establish guiding principles for service excellence.
• Offer customer and employee satisfaction surveys.
• Identify three areas of improvement.

"For example, an automotive service organization was looking for ways to impress its customers, so they decided that if they weren't busy, they would run out and open their customers' car doors and escort them into the shop," said Corelli. "That's just one example of how to separate yourself from your competitors. No detail is too small."

Culture

Transform your culture for sales service excellence by actively involving your employees to better support sales; improve customer and internal service; and foster accountability, teamwork and professionalism.

"Create guiding principles; call every customer by name, strive to answer every call by the third ring, say thank you to your customers and tell them you appreciate them, tell them that you are always there for them. There are so many different things you can do to create guiding principles," said Corelli. 

Listen to the complete presentation of “Capture Your Competitors’ Customers and Keep Them.” The session is available through the SEMA Education Institute (SEI) eLearning Center. The eLearning Center is available anytime and contains a vast library of courses that can be downloaded and played at the user's convenience. The webinar sessions included in the eLearning Center can be browsed by topic or by title. Users are also encouraged to enroll as SEI eLearners to keep track of their completed courses and transcripts.

By Chad Simon

	Christine Corelli

Where can you find more customers? If you've been chasing some of your competitors' customers for a while, you already know that bringing new customers into your fold is not an easy task. The SEMA Education Institute (SEI) tackled this issue and more when it featured Christine Corelli of Christine Corelli & Associates Inc. in a recent webinar entitled, “Capture Your Competitors’ Customers and Keep Them.”

Based on Corelli's newest book release of the same title, the presentation identified real-world strategies and tactics of smart businesses and sales professionals who have successfully swayed customers over to their place of business, gained market share and obtained the highest levels of customer loyalty.

Corelli offered proven selling techniques for today's new and often ruthless business arena where new customers are up for grabs and tips for guarding your own customers from predators and making them less vulnerable to your competitors' wiles. She also provided advice for gaining the highest levels of customer loyalty and increasing sales through a sales-service excellence culture that ensures that you keep your new customers.

In today's business climate, there are three keys to gaining market share and increasing profits: sales, service and culture.

Sales Strategies

Offer a smart, competitive sales strategy that includes a vision and mission. This includes advertising, social networking and e-mail campaigns. Solid business-to-consumer strategies include building relationships with your customers and providing memorable customer service. Set slightly lower prices, offer deals and promotions to get them in the door; for example, buy three get one free.

In business-to-business relationships, position yourself as an indispensable business partner. You have to sell yourself first.

Highlight the fact that you have more knowledge than the competition and you have a well-trained staff. Face time with your clients increases your sales results because it shows that you are paying attention to their needs and interested in how you can help them to achieve their goals.

"For instance, a dealer in Oklahoma has five different locations throughout the country, and his customers are loyal to him because he pays attention to his them, takes great care of them, is hands on and has a very dedicated and well-trained team," said Corelli. "So, if you're an executive, make sure that you are also interacting with customers and not just leaving it up to your employees."

Customer Service

Ideas for improving customer service excellence include identifying in weekly retail meetings the strategies that are working and the ones that are not, calling every customer after service and documenting all complaints. 

Seven steps to providing customer service excellence include:

• Examine “touch points” for opportunities to impress your customers.
• Brainstorm – improve upon your ideas.
• Identify causes of dissatisfaction.
• Practice proactive complaint prevention.
• Establish guiding principles for service excellence.
• Offer customer and employee satisfaction surveys.
• Identify three areas of improvement.

"For example, an automotive service organization was looking for ways to impress its customers, so they decided that if they weren't busy, they would run out and open their customers' car doors and escort them into the shop," said Corelli. "That's just one example of how to separate yourself from your competitors. No detail is too small."

Culture

Transform your culture for sales service excellence by actively involving your employees to better support sales; improve customer and internal service; and foster accountability, teamwork and professionalism.

"Create guiding principles; call every customer by name, strive to answer every call by the third ring, say thank you to your customers and tell them you appreciate them, tell them that you are always there for them. There are so many different things you can do to create guiding principles," said Corelli. 

Listen to the complete presentation of “Capture Your Competitors’ Customers and Keep Them.” The session is available through the SEMA Education Institute (SEI) eLearning Center. The eLearning Center is available anytime and contains a vast library of courses that can be downloaded and played at the user's convenience. The webinar sessions included in the eLearning Center can be browsed by topic or by title. Users are also encouraged to enroll as SEI eLearners to keep track of their completed courses and transcripts.

By Chad Simon

	Christine Corelli

Where can you find more customers? If you've been chasing some of your competitors' customers for a while, you already know that bringing new customers into your fold is not an easy task. The SEMA Education Institute (SEI) tackled this issue and more when it featured Christine Corelli of Christine Corelli & Associates Inc. in a recent webinar entitled, “Capture Your Competitors’ Customers and Keep Them.”

Based on Corelli's newest book release of the same title, the presentation identified real-world strategies and tactics of smart businesses and sales professionals who have successfully swayed customers over to their place of business, gained market share and obtained the highest levels of customer loyalty.

Corelli offered proven selling techniques for today's new and often ruthless business arena where new customers are up for grabs and tips for guarding your own customers from predators and making them less vulnerable to your competitors' wiles. She also provided advice for gaining the highest levels of customer loyalty and increasing sales through a sales-service excellence culture that ensures that you keep your new customers.

In today's business climate, there are three keys to gaining market share and increasing profits: sales, service and culture.

Sales Strategies

Offer a smart, competitive sales strategy that includes a vision and mission. This includes advertising, social networking and e-mail campaigns. Solid business-to-consumer strategies include building relationships with your customers and providing memorable customer service. Set slightly lower prices, offer deals and promotions to get them in the door; for example, buy three get one free.

In business-to-business relationships, position yourself as an indispensable business partner. You have to sell yourself first.

Highlight the fact that you have more knowledge than the competition and you have a well-trained staff. Face time with your clients increases your sales results because it shows that you are paying attention to their needs and interested in how you can help them to achieve their goals.

"For instance, a dealer in Oklahoma has five different locations throughout the country, and his customers are loyal to him because he pays attention to his them, takes great care of them, is hands on and has a very dedicated and well-trained team," said Corelli. "So, if you're an executive, make sure that you are also interacting with customers and not just leaving it up to your employees."

Customer Service

Ideas for improving customer service excellence include identifying in weekly retail meetings the strategies that are working and the ones that are not, calling every customer after service and documenting all complaints. 

Seven steps to providing customer service excellence include:

• Examine “touch points” for opportunities to impress your customers.
• Brainstorm – improve upon your ideas.
• Identify causes of dissatisfaction.
• Practice proactive complaint prevention.
• Establish guiding principles for service excellence.
• Offer customer and employee satisfaction surveys.
• Identify three areas of improvement.

"For example, an automotive service organization was looking for ways to impress its customers, so they decided that if they weren't busy, they would run out and open their customers' car doors and escort them into the shop," said Corelli. "That's just one example of how to separate yourself from your competitors. No detail is too small."

Culture

Transform your culture for sales service excellence by actively involving your employees to better support sales; improve customer and internal service; and foster accountability, teamwork and professionalism.

"Create guiding principles; call every customer by name, strive to answer every call by the third ring, say thank you to your customers and tell them you appreciate them, tell them that you are always there for them. There are so many different things you can do to create guiding principles," said Corelli. 

Listen to the complete presentation of “Capture Your Competitors’ Customers and Keep Them.” The session is available through the SEMA Education Institute (SEI) eLearning Center. The eLearning Center is available anytime and contains a vast library of courses that can be downloaded and played at the user's convenience. The webinar sessions included in the eLearning Center can be browsed by topic or by title. Users are also encouraged to enroll as SEI eLearners to keep track of their completed courses and transcripts.

	Design Engineering (DEI) recently announced its sponsorship of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge—an engine-build competition and scholarship program for high school shop teams.

Compiled and Edited by SEMA Staff 

Design Engineering Sponsors Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge
Design Engineering (DEI) recently announced its sponsorship of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge. A scholarship program for high school shop teams, the challenge consists of a series of competitions that exhibit each team's skill at breaking down and reassembling a small-block Chevrolet engine. The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge, created in 2008, was the brainchild of Jim Bingham, owner of Winner’s Circle Speed and Custom Inc. The engine challenge was developed initially as a special event for Winner’s Circle’s Race & Performance Expo. With only five teams competing in the inaugural year but with added encouragement from Vic Edlebrock, Winner’s Circle has grown the event to become a nationwide competition that today encompasses over 600 students; seven events, including the national championship at the annual PRI show, and 150 sponsors. 



With financial support from DEI and other performance manufacturers, educational institutions, SEMA, PWA, AERA and more than $6 million has been raised for student scholarships from OTC, SAMS and UNOH. Every student that places first through fifth in the nationals will win college scholarship funds. First place team members win $10,000 each, second place team members win $9,000 each, third place win $8,000 each, fourth place wins $7,000 each and fifth place wins $6,000 each to be used to pursue a career in the automotive aftermarket.  

The first Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge event begins February 22 at the Race & Performance Expo in Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois, and culminates at the 26th annual Performance Racing Industry (PRI) show that will be held in Indianapolis in December. The display of the top teams competing at the annual SEMA Show is a highlight for spectators and determines the teams that will compete at the Nationals event at PRI. For a full schedule events or to sign up a high school team to compete, go to www.hotroddersoftomorrow.com.

Motovicity Distribution Launches “Ticket to Ride” Promotion
Motovicity Distribution will give away a ’13 Scion FR-S and ’13 Ford Mustang with an assortment of performance products along with each of the cars through its “Ticket to Ride Promotion.” Winners of the project cars will then document the installation of the supplied performance parts, as well as document before-and-after performance tests. The promotion runs through September 30, 2013, and is open to all Motovicity customers. Because Motovicity is a wholesale-only distributor, only registered performance-parts retailers and participating speed shops are eligible to participate. Winners will be selected from a random ticket drawing in early October.

Once the winners have received their prize vehicles, the builds will begin. Motovicity will provide regular updates on the progress of the installations, and the final project cars will be performance tested by a professional race car driver on a closed track to analyze the performance gains.

“The winning teams not only get a brand-new project car and some of the best performance parts in the world for free, but they get to show-off their talents and mechanical capabilities to a national audience,” said Brett Kinsfather, Motovicity marketing manager.

Among the participating companies: Vibrant Performance, Exedy, StopTech, Royal Purple, Sparco and Gates Racing are supporting both project builds. AEM Electronics, Eibach and Energy Suspension are supporting the Scion FR-S build, and KW, Whiteline, BBK and STACK are supporting the Mustang build. More information on the sweepstakes, contest rules and registration are available at www.motovicity.com/tickettoride.

	Alpine Electronics of America Inc. honored the rep firms Focused Marketing Solutions (above)  and Driven Sales and Marketing (below) as its Rep Firms of the Year.

Alpine Electronics Honors 2012 Rep Firms of the Year

Alpine Electronics of America Inc. recently presented its annual sales achievement award to two firms from its aftermarket sales rep force. Rep firms Driven Sales and Marketing and Focused Marketing Solutions were both recognized as Rep Firms of the Year. The awards were announced earlier this month at Alpine’s annual sales meeting. Both firms were presented with the “Bill Whitehouse Rep Firm of the Year Award.” The award was recently renamed in honor of Bill Whitehouse, a 12-year direct sales rep of Alpine who passed away in 2012. Whitehouse himself was named Rep of the Year in 2010 and 2011, becoming first person to achieve the recognition two years in a row. “Driven Sales and Marketing and Focused Marketing Solutions dedicated themselves as true partners with their retailers,” said Mike Anderson, Alpine’s assistant vice president of sales. “The  tenacity and leadership they showed in 2012 helped their retailers and Alpine achieve sales goals, while setting a path for ongoing success.”

Brenton Productions Named Lifetime Trustee of University of the Aftermarket Foundation
Brenton Productions—producers of Two Guys Garage and Truck U on the SPEED cable TV network—has become a lifetime trustee of the University of the Aftermarket Foundation. "As content providers of automotive educational television, Brenton enthusiastically supports efforts to train the next generation of automotive aftermarket leaders," said John Passante, president, Brenton Productions. "There is a great need to find more skilled workers for our industry and we believe the University of the Aftermarket Foundation is helping fill the gap so more young people can get their aftermarket careers started. We encourage other companies in our industry to join with us and help grow the foundation's scholarship program."

Passante will become a member of the University of the Aftermarket Foundation board of trustees. The foundation encourages industry support, including donations for the purpose of honoring or memorializing individuals or otherwise recognizing special events. Contributions help ensure the availability of training and education to continue to strengthen the automotive aftermarket industry.

Lincoln Technical Institute Sponsors Grime Boss Nitro Funny Car
Jim Dunn Racing announced that Lincoln Technical Institute is a sponsor of its Grime Boss Nitro Funny Car. This is the third year Lincoln Tech has collaborated with Jim Dunn Racing. Lincoln Technical Institute is the “official technical school” of the NHRA. The school offers specialized automotive training across the United States that helps prepare students for jobs in the fast-growing field of high-performance motorsports. During the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello season, Lincoln Technical Institute plans to have a major presence at several national races and take part in four Youth and Education Services events put on by NHRA. The first race of the 2013 season for the Jim Dunn Racing team is the 53rd NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California, February 14. For more information about Lincoln Technical Institute, visit www.lincolnedu.com.

PlastiKote Joins PBEPRO
PlastiKote announced that the company has joined PBEPRO, an online source for paint, body and equipment information. The PBEPRO website now features PlastiKote product information, data sheets and MSDS sheets. In addition, the PlastiKote color guide and information about the PlastiKote automotive touch-up program, including its revolutionary scratch repair kit, are available on the site. In the future, PlastiKote instructional videos will also be available for viewing at www.pbepro.com.  

Classic Recreations Adds New Shop, Expands Restoration Services
Classic Recreations will now offer restoration services for vintage vehicles of all makes and models at the company's new shop that has been aded to its Oklahoma headquarters. According to a company release, the 7,500-sq.-ft. shop opens June 5, 2013, and will welcome an additional crew of at least seven restoration experts, making the shop capable of all manner of projects and builds.

“Mustangs definitely have a special place in my heart, but I have a passion for all classics—musclecars, sports cars, street rods and more,” says Jason Engel, founder of Classic Recreations. “I have very fond memories of building my first Camaro, and know that diversifying is something Classic Recreations is capable of. I’m excited for the opportunity to reach other enthusiasts whose choice of vehicle might not be a Mustang.” Engel explained that as musclecar values continue to rise and enthusiasts see these vehicles as investments they can actually enjoy, the need for an all-encompassing restoration facility with in-house paint and body, assembly, upholstery facilities and engine tuning all on-site so nothing is farmed out and details are strictly controlled became imperative.

Have some company news you would like to share? Let us know and the news may appear in an upcoming issue of SEMA eNews. Send your items for consideration to editors@sema.org. 

SEMA News—February 2013

Wheels Up

HERITAGE
By Drew Hardin
Photo Courtesy of the Petersen Archive

The third annual Hot Rod Magazine Championship Drags, held in June 1966, was a scorcher. On the track, that is. All the big names in drag racing came to Riverside loaded for bear: McEwen, Chrisman, Landy, Leal, Ongias, Swingle—and records tumbled.

Ron Rivero made a 7.33-second pass at 221.66 mph in AA/Fuel Dragster, notching both top speed of the meet and the fastest time ever logged at a major drag race to that date. Rivero may have been fastest, but it was Tom “Mongoose” McEwen who came away as the Top Fuel Eliminator of the meet, earning the right to appear on Hot Rod’s cover.

The odd-looking, altered-wheelbase, full-bodied dragsters that would soon evolve into Funny Cars were there, too, running in blown and unblown Experimental Stock classes. In his topless GT-1 Comet, Jack Chrisman would see speeds in excess of 184 mph on his way to winning the Exhibition Stock Eliminator battle on Sunday.

Yet even with all the serious racing going on, there was some goofing off, too. Petersen Publishing Company’s Fred Enke grabbed this shot of some of the fastest men on wheels—(from left) the weekend’s Top Gas winner Billy Scott, “Dandy” Dick Landy and Gary Gabelich—grabbing air (some more successfully than others) during a pause between races.