In just the first week of exhibitor registration, booth commitments are up 20 percent and many exhibitors are increasing their footprint—positive signs that the industry is getting back on economic track.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill to reinstate the doctrine that treats minimum resale price agreements as automatically illegal under the Sherman Antitrust Act. Minimum price agreements allow manufacturers to establish a set pricing system with distributors and retailers in exchange for the rights to market their products.

The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on legislation that would create an exemption to allow companies to market collision repair parts without infringing a design patent. A design patent covers the ornamental design for an object having practical utility for a 14-year term.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Senate’s version of health care legislation by a partisan vote of 219-212. President Obama signed the bill mandating health care coverage for most Americans into law.

Seventeen industry professionals are candidates for a seat on the 2010–2011 SEMA Board of Directors, a group that provides strategic direction to the association and helps shape the industry.

Here are just some of the racing and performance products that debuted at the 2009 SEMA Show.

Automakers spent a good deal of effort at this year’s auto shows focusing on electrics, plug-in hybrids and a range of alt-technology hopefuls. Interesting future-view sort of stuff. Here in the present tense, there is a quiet reality that warrants the focus of the performance aftermarket: The great majority of vehicles that are on the road today, and those that we will be buying in the next five, 10 or even 15 years, will involve an internal combustion engine and a consumer looking for efficiency without sacrificing performance. [Read More]

News from SEMA's councils and committess

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