The ProPledge Program—Why You Need to Be Involved

SEMA News recently had an opportunity to catch up with ProPledge Director of Operations Joe Sebergandio. Having just returned from the annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) conference, where he and the rest of the ProPledge staff met with potential participants, Sebergandio took time out to discuss the fundamentals of ProPledge as well as provide insight into the program’s future.

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

Performance enthusiasts are never satisfied. Engineers, retailers and shade-tree mechanics all want more.

The automotive specialty-equipment industry was born in the racing and performance segment. In fact, the original name of SEMA, now the Specialty Equipment Market Association, was the Speed Equipment Manufacturer’s Association.

No single element can change the look of a car or truck like a set of tires and wheels.

Thousands of buyers from the tire and wheel market spent a portion of their 2009 SEMA Show week scanning bar codes from the New Products Showcase and visiting exhibitor booths to identify the next must-have tire and wheel gear for their local markets.

With more than 290 exhibitors showcasing and 110 new product registrations within the Tires, Wheels & Equipment section of the 2009 SEMA Show, it is apparent that this segment of the specialty-equipment industry remains one of the most popular with vehicle enthusiasts.

From A–Z, the companies that had the South Hall rolling.

When his software company asked him to become vice president of operations for a newly acquired tire industry company, tires had “no appeal for me whatsoever,” said Wayne Croswell.

Roy Littlefield, executive vice president of the Tire Industry Association (TIA), gives lectures to students as part of his “hobby”—a job as an adjunct professor of politics and American history at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.