Mickey Thompson Names Heather Tausch Senior Director, Marketing
Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels has promoted Heather Tausch to senior director of marketing. She was formerly director of product management. In this new role, Tausch will lead Mickey Thompson’s product and marketing teams and oversee the strategy and execution of all product development and marketing activities to form holistic consumer-targeted go-to-market plans, a company release stated.
Since Tausch joined the company in 2020, Mickey Thompson has won four SEMA Best New Product awards over two consecutive years. She has extensive experience in various aftermarket segments, including MOMO Motorsports and Peak’s BlueDEF. Additionally, Tausch serves as both a select committee member of the SEMA Wheel & Tire Council (WTC) and as Mickey Thompson’s liaison as a PRI Founding Member.
Hemmings Names Evan Perkins Director, Digital Content
Hemmings has appointed Evan Perkins as director, digital content. Perkins has more than 10 years of experience in the automotive publishing industry, including roles as editor-in-chief of HOT ROD magazine, editor of Super Chevy magazine and editor of Fastest Street Car magazine. In addition, Perkins produced tech-driven SEO content for top-of-page search results for Race Winning Brands, and Holley as a content marketing manager.
Holley Names Brian Appelgate Interim COO
Holley has announced Brian Appelgate as the interim COO. He has advised Holley since 2018 as the head of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). As interim COO, Appelgate will be focused on driving near-term improvement in the end-to-end supply chain, manufacturing and engineering functional areas. As a performance automotive industry veteran, Appelgate has experience in branded enthusiast consumer products, manufacturing and distribution in private, private equity and public market environments. He has served on multiple boards in the industry and is a former SEMA chairman. Prior to advising Holley, he was president and CEO of Driven Performance Brands.
NGK Spark Plugs Adds Two to Its Leadership Team
NGK Spark Plugs has announced the appointment of two individuals to its leadership team. Megan McDonald, an NGK associate for more than 23 years, has been promoted to general manager of corporate planning. In this newly created role, she will be responsible for the execution of NGK’s critical business initiatives from planning through implementation, expediting NGK’s decision-making process, creating transparency and optimizing its risk management.
Alex Sanchez Salazar has joined the company as general manager of internal audit. In his new role, Salazar will be responsible for providing consult, audit and advisory services to effectively identify and address significant risks to the company across all business units. Sanchez Salazar joins NGK Spark Plugs with more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing finance and compliance.
eBay Bans Non-Emissions-Compliant Tuning Parts, Accessories
eBay has banned the sale of automotive tuning devices that defeat the factory emissions systems. The announcement was likely primarily due to policy and regulations implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA can charge eBay up to $4,819 for each non-compliant part sold through its site, according to published reports. Any product that may “bypass, defeat or render inoperative emissions-control systems” is not allowed either on its own or when combined with other hardware or software.
Prohibited components include, but are not limited to:
- Tuners, services, software or devices that modify the performance of vehicles, such as cars, trucks and off-road vehicles.
- Aftermarket standalone (non-OEM) electronic control unit (ECU), including full electronic fuel injection (EFI) conversion kits.
- Powertrain or exhaust parts intended for “race only” or “off-road only.”
- Active fuel management/dynamic fuel management or auto start-stop disablers.
- Blocking plates for emissions-control systems.
- Products that remove factory catalytic converters (CAT) or diesel particulate filters (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and diesel exhaust fluid (DEF).
- Throttle-response controllers.
- Exhaust servo eliminators.
- Devices intended to bypass or reduce flow to oxygen sensors.
For more information, visit the eBay Emissions Control Defeat Devices Policy here.
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