Mobile electronics and technology may be one of the fastest-growing segments within the automotive specialty-equipment industry. With products that interest a diverse consumer group, it is certainly an area that brings great business potential to many companies in the industry.

Dates and locations for several upcoming SEMA-sponsored shows and activities have been announced. Details are:

SEMA-member companies have posted several new listings for job opportunities at www.sema.org/classifieds. Working for a SEMA-member company has many advantages. In addition to working for a company that supports and contributes to the success of the overall industry, being employed by a SEMA-member...

Camaro, Ford F-Series Powerstroke diesel and Mustang owners are most likely to buy performance transmissions, according to recent SEMA research. In SEMA's recent Automotive Lifestyles survey, 17% of enthusiasts surveyed purchased a performance transmission. Nearly 9% of those own a Camaro, while 6.5...

More than half (55%) of automotive enthusiasts recently surveyed indicated that price was “very important” to them when considering the purchase of specialty-equipment parts and accessories. So how do consumers that purchase street rod accessories rank price? The following is a short excerpt from...

According to SEMA’s Automotive Lifestyles survey of enthusiasts, more than three out of four BMW owners actively accessorize their cherished Bimmer. Of the 1.4% of respondents that said they owned a BMW, 77% had purchased specialty equipment. The top products purchased by these enthusiasts were not...

“I can’t lose with 22s,” hip-hop MC Ludacris declared in verse two years ago, and it looks like he was on the forefront of a trend. SEMA research shows that 22 inches is now the most popular wheel diameter among urban-lifestyle enthusiasts. Of nearly 1,800 responses from a recent SEMA survey on the...

The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce estimates the U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the second quarter of 2007, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was $33.6 billion, an increase of 6.4% from the first quarter of 2007. Total...

As the average age of cars on U.S. highways increases, the restoration segment of the specialty-equipment industry is starting to include cars that don't necessarily fit the typical molds of "antique" or "classic." According to SEMA Research, sales at the manufacturer level in the restoration market...

Good news for those in the exhaust segment: Consumer demand for catalytic converters is at a year high. Judging by online auction sales of the vital exhaust component, demand jumped 14% in the second quarter, according to data from Terapeak, a developer of market-focused research software that...