Of the 14 new product categories open to exhibitors at the 2007 SEMA Show, parts for vintage vehicles recorded the largest growth, increasing 17.6% from last year’s entries. “Vintage” loosely refers to vehicles 25 years old and older, and the bulk of parts entered into new-products judging were for mid-'50s to mid-'70s vehicles, according to SEMA research.
The growth in this category mirrors findings from SEMA surveys during the last two years, which reveals that the number of enthusiasts expressing interest in these vehicles, as well as subscribing to relevant restoration magazines, has grown 80%.
Rounding out the top five growing new-product categories were tools and equipment (14%), mobile electronics and technology (9.3%), styling and appearance accessories (6.2%), diesel products (6.1%) and luxury-vehicle accessories (2.2%).
Although styling and appearance accessories narrowly edged diesel products in terms of growth, the number of enthusiasts that own diesel-powered vehicles surveyed by SEMA has risen by 20%.
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