In the early ’60s, Motor Trend magazine sponsored a 500-mile Stock Car race on the twisting Southern California road course at Riverside, drawing top racing talent from a number of sanctioning bodies, including NASCAR, USAC and the SCCA. That’s why Robert E. Petersen (left), the publishing company’s founder, is handing Dan Gurney a check for winning the second annual MT 500, held in January 1964. The young lady sharing the photo op is 21-year-old TV actress Linda Evans.

Motor Trend’s coverage of the race kicked off by proclaiming, “Stock Car road racing shows every promise of becoming the Number One favorite of American racing fans. Considering the importance of passenger cars in everyday American life, this is the way it should be.” Unlike racing on oval tracks, where “brute horsepower is the deciding factor,” a road course “is much more demanding, because it puts equal emphasis on all the various systems of the automobile. Also, driver skill and nerve are important factors.”

ModBargains.com Delivers Data, Product and More

A generation ago, mail-order entrepreneurs transformed the specialty-equipment industry by leveraging enthusiast print media to inform and market to the masses. Today, a new generation of pioneers is doing it again—this time through the Internet and social media. ModBargains.com is a case in point.

Located in La Habra, California, the company was co-founded in 2004 by CEO Mike Brown, then 19, and President Ron Hay, then 24. Their original business plan called for a sort of online clearinghouse of special automotive parts promotions and deals similar to those offered by tech-industry bargain sites. But the venture quickly morphed into something much bigger—and better.

SEMA has a long history of monitoring federal and state legislative topics that are of interest to the automotive industry as well as the association’s member companies and their customers. One key topic of current concern is the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)—a law that requires annual increases in the amount of ethanol to be added to gasoline. The SEMA Action Network (SAN) recently helped organize antique-car owners and motorcyclists from all over the country to participate in a “Fuel for Thought” rally on Capitol Hill in opposition to the RFS.

This issue is important to automotive enthusiasts because ethanol’s chemical properties pose a risk to older cars and motorcycles. Ethanol absorbs water, which can lead to metal corrosion. It can also dissolve certain rubbers and plastics. Most older vehicles and many motorcycles are not constructed with ethanol-compatible materials.

SEMA Programs for Global Exports

Growing demand for U.S. products among the more than 95% of the world’s consumers who reside outside the country has resulted in a five-fold growth in American exports from 1985–2012, according to a Federal Reserve Bank report, and a record number of American companies are seeking to meet the demand. Yet for all that growth, the Small Business Administration reports that only 1% of small businesses are involved in exporting. And for those that are, 58% export to only one country and 83% to less than five markets.

There are huge benefits for companies that export. Diversifying the customer base can lead to an improved bottom line; companies that export are better positioned to ride out future U.S. economic downturns and can increase the firms’ overall competitiveness through access to new customers; exporting leads to new ways of doing business; and exports provide contact with new cultures.

E-mail marketers operating without significant, robust accommodations for mobile device users are leaving trunks of money at the table, according to two new reports on e-mail usage.

A full 41% of all e-mail is now read on mobile devices—smartphones and tablets—and that’s a spike in preference that will continue to rise for the foreseeable future, according to the “Mobile E-Mail Opens Report, 2nd Half 2012,” released by Knotice, a marketing firm.

Ford Mustang, Porsche Cayenne, Nissan Titan, Dodge Dart

The Vehicle Technology Center (VTC) held a prominent position in the Grand Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center at the 2012 SEMA Show, drawing greater attention and attendance than ever before. The VTC and Technology Briefing Seminar (TBS) program will be returning to the 2013 SEMA Show, providing attendees with new levels of education through the program’s vehicle technology keynotes, briefing sessions and workshops.

The association’s vehicle technology programs, initiatives and relationships are investments in SEMA’s collective future. The purpose of the VTC and the accompanying TBS program is to inform SEMA members about the latest vehicle technologies and introduce them to the programs, resources, partners, solutions and benefits available to them at affordable costs as well as show them how to protect their businesses in the face of disruptive and advanced technological change. Advanced vehicle technologies are integral to both the relevance and the future of SEMA. To ignore their impact is a fundamental mistake. Disruptive technologies don’t totally eliminate existing vehicle technologies, but they do often eliminate unprepared businesses and companies.

Breaking news from SEMA members, including Wes-Coast Marketing, Yokohama Tire, Betts, MGP LLC and more.