Legacy Stylings Meet New Technologies
The automotive aftermarket owes quite a bit to hot rodders. While, technically, the industry existed prior to the street scene of the ’50s, it was hot rodders who sparked the explosion of innovative performance and appearance products that now characterize the heart and soul of the automotive specialty-equipment market. They made tinkering with, modifying and personalizing cars cool, catapulting the industry into the $33-billion powerhouse it is today. And although the industry has since grown and broadened to encompass a dizzying array of products and trends in countless categories, hot rodding has hardly faded from the scene.
The 2011 SEMA Market Report is now available on the association’s website here. This annual report—free to SEMA members and $149.95 to non-members—provides an overview of the specialty-equipment industry through the end of 2010. It also includes five years’ worth of historical information that allows year-over-year comparisons of where the various segments and niches stood as the industry entered 2011.