Google is promising to double down on its policy to penalize poorly designed websites with lower rankings in search-engine returns with its next update which is rolling out this month. Websites that exhibit poor performance on mobile devices, use annoying pop-up ads, are tough to interact with or are plagued by similar shortcomings are going to be policed by the Google search engine.
There are more than 281 million passenger vehicles on American roads today, and more than 166 million hail from the light-truck category. If that weren’t reason enough to take note of the truck segment, new SEMA research sees a decided shift in the marketplace, with light-truck offerings set to take an even bigger share of the market. So what does this changing vehicle landscape look like? What’s hot and trending in the truck segment? And most importantly, how can the aftermarket capitalize on those trends? The answers can be found in the latest “SEMA Light-Truck Snapshot” report from SEMA Market Research.
Whenever the words “Unser” and “Pikes Peak” are spoken, the word “dynasty” is never far behind. A member of the Unser family has been the overall winner in a quarter of the nearly 100 times that the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has run. Bobby Unser, who passed away in early May at age 87, earned 10 of those overall wins, eight of which set course records. His first was in 1956, in only his second start up the mountain. He won six times in a row between 1958 and 1963, then won again in 1966. (His brother, Al, won in 1964 and 1965.) Unser finished his two-decade streak with a win in 1968, setting a course record that wouldn’t be broken for 11 years. He returned to the Peak in 1986 to earn his final win and course record, a run that made him the winningest Unser on the Peak.
Building on the success of its SEMA Garage in Diamond Bar, California, the association is “doubling down” on its efforts to help the specialty-equipment industry innovate new products and comply with clean-air standards through the addition of a second Garage in Michigan.
SEMA News recently caught up to incoming Chairman of the Board James Lawrence to talk shop. Specifically, Lawrence shared his excitement about the next 12 months, along with the challenges facing our membership now and in the future. In love with cars since his first remote-control model, Lawrence now wants to help protect and support the industry that brought him and his wife to the podium and the altar. For more on that story and his goals for the next year, here’s our interview with James Lawrence.
As a rule, the automotive collision repair and refinish market could be said to be a recession-proof industry—accidents will happen in any economy, after all—but in 2020, the marketplace was not immune to the effects of a global pandemic.
The products featured below are from SEMA Data member companies that have attained Gold- or Platinum-level data, which means that their product data is robust and complete—likely to drive customer purchase decisions. SEMA Data members meeting data scorecard requirements are invited to submit product releases for consideration to enews@semadatacoop.org.
The Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act (RPM Act) has been reintroduced in the 117th U.S. Congress. The bipartisan legislation will clarify that it is legal to make emissions-related changes to convert a street vehicle into a dedicated race car. It will also confirm that it is legal to produce, market and install racing equipment. The bill (H.R. 3281) is sponsored by Representatives Raul Ruiz (D-CA) and Patrick McHenry (R-NC). Since it was first introduced in 2016, the legislation has been subject to committee hearings and inclusion in a 2020 energy bill passed by the House but never taken up by the Senate. Congress must pass the RPM Act to counter U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) overreach and provide certainty to racers and motorsports parts businesses. For more information, visit www.sema.org/rpmact.
’22 Nissan Frontier: the Frontier S configuration has never been seen, as Nissan has debuted the ’22 Frontier in only Pro-4X trim.
’23 Ford F-150 Lightning EV: The prototype features a SuperCrew cabin along with a short bed, and there are no visible elements of an exhaust system.
’22 Subaru WRX: Rumors have been circulating about a replacement turbocharged 2.4L four-cylinder (a boxer type) referred to as the FA24, which could power the next WRX STI with 400 hp and 361 lb.-ft. of torque.