Demonstrating the specialty-equipment industry's growing global reach, international buyer and attendee attendance continues to climb. Hailing from 140 countries and U.S. territories, 2009 SEMA Show international attendees increased to 25%, a 5% rise from 2008, according Hedges & Company data.

Nearly 150 exhibitors are signed up to exhibit in PAACE Automechanika being held in Mexico City July 14–16 in Mexico City Mexico. This represents an increase of 15% from 2008 and reflects growing opportunities for aftermarket companies interested in selling into the Mexican and Latin American markets.

New cars with automatic transmissions must now be equipped with an interlock device that requires the brake pedal be pressed before the driver can shift the transmission out of “park." The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration took the action in response to a law passed in 2008 designed to protect children from vehicle rollaways in which a car is inadvertently shifted into neutral or another gear.

The new requirement applies to all passenger cars and light trucks weighing 10,000 pounds or less and takes effect on September 1, 2010.

The federal government finalized new fuel-economy standards for model year 2012–2016 cars and trucks and a national carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions tailpipe standard.

A bill targeted for defeat by SEMA to ban the “use and sale of any exhaust pipe that increases the sound emission of any vehicle including motorcycles” was set aside for study by the legislature.

Working with Mississippi lawmakers and the Mississippi State Troopers Association, SEMA successfully negotiated a compromise on legislation that originally threatened to prohibit public road use of all motor vehicles equipped to supply the engine with nitrous oxide.

SEMA is opposing legislation to raise the registration fee on antiques, street rods and special-interest vehicles in Kansas.

More automotive, paint and body manufacturers plan to exhibit at the SEMA Show for the first time, while many return exhibitors are committing to larger space for 2010.

Customer service is not a strategy; it is a way of life, whether business is up or down. The customer and how you take care of that customer will ultimately determine whether or not your business will succeed, according to Robert Spector, best-selling author and international speaker best known for his book The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service Excellence. His latest book is called The Mom & Pop Store: How the Unsung Heroes of the American Economy are Surviving and Thriving.