SEMA’s Vice President of Vehicle Technology on the State of Advanced Vehicle Technology

Today’s cars, trucks and the auto industry and performance aftermarket as a whole are being reinvented, restructured and re-envisioned. Cars are quickly moving from standalone mechanical products to smart electronic products and connected smart products in what might be called Auto 3.0, the Third Automotive Revolution. Not since the beginning of the industry have we seen such disruption in how cars are designed, developed, customized, sold, serviced and owned. Vehicles drive themselves, avoid accidents and connect to their owners’ digital lifestyles. They produce lower emissions, go faster and are safer, smarter and cooler than ever.

The SEMA Vehicle Technology Briefing Seminar program is designed to connect SEMA members to the benefits of vehicle technology and performance product-development solutions, resources and partnerships. From racing and performance design to branding and driving green, connected, safe and cool, cutting-edge technologies will be the focus of discussions at this year’s SEMA Show by industry leaders and innovators who will explain current and future systems and technology applications.

The Vehicle Technology Center (VTC) is more than an exhibit at the SEMA Show; it is a lab. It’s a social networking marketplace and a step into the future.

“The VTC sessions bring together successful entrepreneurs and a wide spectrum of movers and shakers from both inside and outside the automotive specialty-equipment industry to offer valuable insights and ideas for members to create their own preferred futures,” said John Waraniak, SEMA vice president of vehicle technology. “Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, calls these people ‘wicked smart.’ I call these folks ‘SEMAx leaders.’ They are the multipliers and catalysts, the connectors and amplifiers. They challenge the status quo. They come together to collaborate, to share fresh ideas and to find inspiration. They are optimistic about our future. They believe SEMA’s best days lie ahead.”

SEMA’s Vice President of Vehicle Technology on the State of Advanced Vehicle Technology and What’s to Come

The race to define future vehicles is on. Competition for the future of the auto industry is rapidly evolving between Silicon Valley and Detroit. While product is king, vehicle electronics and software rule. The recession accelerated the auto industry’s transformational changes, which are required for growth as well as the reinvention of vehicles—from mechanical to electrical systems, from stand-alone to connected, and from mass markets to personalization and customization. The changes we are going through today will impact the performance aftermarket industry for decades to come.

The Vehicle Technology Center (VTC) held a prominent position in the Grand Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center at the 2012 SEMA Show, drawing greater attention and attendance than ever before. The VTC and Technology Briefing Seminar (TBS) program will be returning to the 2013 SEMA Show, providing attendees with new levels of education through the program’s vehicle technology keynotes, briefing sessions and workshops.

The association’s vehicle technology programs, initiatives and relationships are investments in SEMA’s collective future. The purpose of the VTC and the accompanying TBS program is to inform SEMA members about the latest vehicle technologies and introduce them to the programs, resources, partners, solutions and benefits available to them at affordable costs as well as show them how to protect their businesses in the face of disruptive and advanced technological change. Advanced vehicle technologies are integral to both the relevance and the future of SEMA. To ignore their impact is a fundamental mistake. Disruptive technologies don’t totally eliminate existing vehicle technologies, but they do often eliminate unprepared businesses and companies.

A Few Words With John Waraniak

John Waraniak, SEMA’s vice president of vehicle technology, has tinkered with machines and building fast toys since he was a kid growing up in Detroit. Waraniak is equally at home in an aerospace skunkworks in Pico Rivera, California, a boardroom in Mumbai, India, on a motocross track in Buchanan, Michigan, or on the Vehicle Technology Center stage at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. His love for racing, performance and systems engineering have led him to master’s degrees at the University of Illinois and Caltech as well as executive careers in the stealth aircraft, automotive racing and action sports industries. He was eventually recruited as SEMA’s “chief engineer” in May 2006.

Most economists are predicting a longer-than-usual recovery after a very sharp entry into the current recession. In conjunction, the auto industry is predicted to be in for drastic changes, not only in what it will look like and how it does business, but also in the technologies that will emerge in new vehicles. In a recent interview, SEMA Vice President of Vehicle Technology John Waraniak detailed not only where the automotive world appears to be headed, but what the association is doing to help its members ready themselves for the coming opportunities.