Kaizen Tuning Partners With Suppliers for Success
“It was brutal, but we really saw a need,” he recalled. “I took delivery of one of the first Nissan GTRs on the East Coast. I’ve been to Japan many times and have seen how that car is treated over there. You don’t even need an appointment at a Nissan dealership for service. Here in the United States, [the dealership] didn’t really know how to handle a $100,000 supercar. They were treating it like a Sentra or a Maxima. That wasn’t going to work for me, so I started servicing it out of my home garage. After we were probably a month in, I had about five of them in my driveway. My wife told me it was about time to find someplace to do the business full time.”
Morris 4x4 Center Has Maintained a 30% Average Annual Growth Rate Since 2005
Morris 4x4 Center is a pure-play Jeep parts and accessories Internet retailer—which accounts for 98% of all sales—and is housed in a 32,000-sq.-ft. facility in Pompano Beach, Florida, with 70 employees. It started as a 6,500-sq.-ft. warehouse complex with six units. Every few years, the company expanded into another unit. In November of this year, Morris will move again, this time into a 60,000-sq.-ft. facility.
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
—Henry Ford
It’s almost hard to believe that the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) was officially launched just two short years ago with one employee, an ambitious mission and a handful of industry hopefuls who were willing to test drive an idea that, by all accounts, was going to be difficult at best. It seems appropriate as we approach the end of our second year to stop and take a look at where the SDC has been in its short existence and what the future holds for us in the coming months.
The restyling market experienced a steady decline in sales at the retail level from 2007 through 2009, according to SEMA research, going from $4.23 billion in 2007 to $3.79 billion in 2009. The main factor contributing to the fall in the market was the recession, which led to a major decline in vehicle sales. With available vehicle inventory on the downturn, a factor that may not adversely affect the more traditional specialty automotive markets, the decline changed the landscape of the restyling market. For OEMs, assembly lines were streamlined, factories were closed, trim levels were reduced or reconfigured, and the once lengthy list of available accessory options was scaled back.
White Knight offers a line of TPMS valve stems in chrome and rubber finishes and in standard and adjustable swivel-style suitable for most applications. These TPMS valve stems are compatible with OE and aftermarket TPMS sensors.
BorgWarner Turbo Systems: According to the company, the new EFR Turbocharger series features a Gamma Ti turbine wheel that’s more than 50% lighter than its Inconel counterpart and could spin in the slightest breeze. A dual ceramic ball-bearing cartridge, stainless-steel turbine housing and other integrated highlights all come together in harmony to create the new, highly advanced aftermarket turbocharger.
The
2011 SEMA Show is shattering records—looking at year-to-date comparisons, total exhibitors are up 18%, buyer registration is up 54% and media registration is up 75%.
The inaugural Light Truck Accessory Alliance (LTAA) New Product Showcase event, held at the All Truck Nationals in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on August 6–8, 2010, proved to be a hit with both the LTAA participants and event attendees. The brand-new LTAA-member benefit gave participating companies the opportunity to display products in front of one of the largest gatherings of truck enthusiasts in the country. Each product was placed for display, and an information sign was prepared for each one, providing enthusiasts with a product description, suggested retail price, company contact information and All Truck Nationals booth number (if the company was displaying at the event). Carlisle Events located the LTAA New Products Showcase tent strategically at the entrance to the manufacturer's midway, ensuring that every midway visitor would pass through the area. Thirty-five products from 15 LTAA-member companies were on display inside the tent, and A.R.E. and Undercover each provided a fullsize truck to display their products on. The trucks made perfect bookends on either side of the tent.
Marketplace, Service Center & Manufactures' Representatives Roster
