SEMA Cares has teamed up with Childhelp to purchase bicycles for the children of Merv Griffin Village. Childhelp is a leading national non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect. Childhelp exists to meet the physical, emotional, educational and spiritual needs of abused, neglected and at-risk children.

Funds raised through the SEMA Cares Bike Drive will go toward the purchase of bicycles for each of the children at the Childhelp Merv Griffin Village.

Media registration for the 2014 Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council (MPMC) Media Trade Conference (MTC) is available online. Through the annual event, journalists—including freelancers, bloggers, TV reporters and magazine writers—participate in private, uninterrupted meetings with executives from manufacturing companies.

Reporters are able to select representatives from the companies they wish to meet so that they visit only with companies that are relevant to their outlets. Early registration ensures that reporters receive the best possible schedule in advance of the event, which will be held January 21–23, 2014, at the Embassy Suites Orange County Airport North in Santa Ana, California.

At first glance, it would seem that hot-rodding magazines in the ‘60s were all about high-horsepower, big-cubic-inch stuff—drag racing, Bonneville, Indy and the explosion of a new-car segment that we now know as musclecars. But every once in a while, the magazines would branch out into foreign territory (pun intended) and check in with what was happening on the VW tuning front.

After a rocky start in the United States—probably too soon after World War II—Volkswagen sales had really taken off by the mid-’60s, with millions of the little Bugs on the road. There was a growing aftermarket for the cars by then as owners looked for ways to get more performance out of their wheezing, flat-four motors.

New product announcements from SEMA member companies, including Astro Pneumatic Tool, Cloud-Rider Designs, BedRug, DefenderWorx and Escort.

The SEMA Show is now a wrap. The 2013 Show featured nearly 2,400 exhibitors and covered more than 1,000,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space.

The benefits to Show exhibitors included access to more than 60,000 buyers and the chance to work with manufacturers, such as Ford, Scion and Hyundai, on project vehicles that showcased their products as they were intended to be used.

As a trade-only event, the SEMA Show requires attendees to demonstrate involvement in the automotive aftermarket in order to gain a badge. Although there are instances where guests and VIPs are allowed to visit the Show, the vast majority of the more than 126,000 attendees are members of the industry. And yet data indicates that the SEMA Show is more than ever before boosting consumer perceptions of automotive culture, the idea of customization and interest in the latest model year’s offerings of cars and trucks.

The SEMA Show has long attracted coverage from the enthusiast media, centered on racing heroes, the newest performance technologies and tuner-culture builders, such as Chip Foose. As a result, there is high awareness among the core group of enthusiasts who fix, repair and modify practically every car they own.

Ford F-750 and Corvette Z07 Prototype?

How Robust Data Has Improved Business

The SEMA Data Co-op (SDC), the industry-owned data repository, moved from Beta phase into full operation just last summer. Since then there’s been a lot of talk about “clean data” and the need for manufacturers within the specialty-equipment industry to “take control” of it. ACES, PIES, long descriptions and even product photos and videos are now critical to sales in today’s digital age.

Breaking news from SEMA members, including BedSlide/Tākit, Aeromotive Inc., Holley Performance Products, Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas and more.