With gas prices easing up slightly, it's a small surprise to see online auction sales of air intake and fuel delivery products up nearly 70% compared to last month, surging to a single-day sales high of $126,800 on July 27 - a record amount for any single-day sales in 2007.
The data, gathered by Terapeak, a developer of market-focused research software that monitors online sales and auctions, shows that sales from the last week of July (7/21-7/27) outpaced those from the last week of June by 70 percent, and those from the last week of May by 73 percent.
Despite the late July surge though, sales from the 90-day period between April 29-July 27 actually trailed sales between Jan.29-April 28, but only by about 7 percent.
The most popular items included in the category were fuel pumps, followed by products labeled as fuel "savers" (largely, products that create swirl in intake air and purportedly increase fuel efficiency), fuel injection and carb kits, and fuel injectors, especially for diesel applications.
How prevalent is Internet purchasing among specialty-equipment enthusiasts?
"The past two years, SEMA research has shown that the highest percentage of automotive enthusiasts indicate they purchased their performance parts and accessories over the Internet," says SEMA research analyst Ty Michael.
"Interestingly, roughly the same percentage of enthusiasts indicated that they purchased their parts at traditional brick and mortar shops. Thirty-nine percent of enthusiasts said they purchased on the Internet, compared to 31% who indicated they went to a physical location to make their purchases."