Gray Baskerville, Art Chrisman, Chris Economaki and John Towle Join the SEMA Hall of Fame Elite 

For the true automotive pioneer, trailblazing is its own reward. You don’t race, tinker, invent and innovate with an eye toward peer accolades. You push the envelope for the sheer thrill of it—it’s who you are, what drives you, it’s the challenge that fires your soul.

 

An Interview With the New Chairman of the SEMA Board of Directors

“Scooter” Brothers has been working with cars since he could walk. He is the son of a mechanic, and even though his dad wasn’t interested in racing, Brothers got hooked on it while he was still in high school in the late ’60s. He got involved with some of the men who started a company called Racing Head Service and, with a four-year break while he served in the navy, he’s been in the automotive performance business ever since.

 

Nineteen industry professionals are vying for a position on the 2011–2013 SEMA Board of Directors. The SEMA Board provides strategic direction to the association and plays a critical role in shaping the future of the automotive specialty-equipment industry. Election materials were mailed to the primary contacts at eligible SEMA-member companies within the corresponding categories May 17. The voting process, which is entirely electronic this year, will be ongoing until voting closes June 14. Election results will be published in an upcoming issue of SEMA News.

Along with the usual SEMA News columns and SEMA Member News features, this month's readers will find included the complete, updated listings of SEMA members, along with company description and contact information.

The electronic/downloadable version of the directory (PDF) is immediately available for download here. 

 

 

As part of our annual look at where automotive technology stands, we recently engaged in a wide-ranging conversation with John Waraniak, SEMA vice president of vehicle technology, delving further into the four advanced vehicle technology megatrends: driving green, driving connected, driving safe and driving cool.

SEMA News: What are the latest advances in electronics, including entertainment, navigation and interactive car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure systems?

John Waraniak: Vehicle electrification, electronics integration and connected-vehicle technologies are leading the way toward the development of cars that don’t crash, devices that don’t distract and powertrains that don’t pollute. Automotive technology has extended far beyond the vehicle itself. Onboard vehicle technologies combined with vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-roadside technologies are creating many new and exciting product and service opportunities for specialty-equipment and performance aftermarket manufacturers, installers, retailers and distributors.

The racing and performance segment of the specialty-equipment industry—rich in history and tradition—is also predictive, often foreshadowing trends that ripple through other markets. Those SEMA News readers who have been around the block once or twice may recall the early days of the hot-rod scene and how it progressed from the street to the strip, spawning countless businesses and institutions.

A new study commissioned by SEMA indicates that aftermarket products influence about a million new-vehicle sales each year. The automotive marketing research and consultancy firm AutoPacific collected and analyzed consumer data to quantify the effect that accessorization has on the sale of new vehicles. The resulting report, “Influence of Accessories on New-Vehicle Sales,” details the findings.

“I’ve long considered myself lucky to work in an industry I love and serve as an advocate for issues that have such a tremendous impact on the future of the automotive aftermarket,” Spagnola said.

The economy and the environment have been the major drivers for many markets over the last three years, and they have also been consistent topics of conversation among tire and wheel experts. The tire industry underwent a sort of accordion buckling in inventory as the economic slowdown led consumers to balk at anything other than critical expenditures and then pent-up demand caused a sudden resurgence.

At the 2010 SEMA Show there were more than 2,000 new products submitted for consideration in the New Products Showcase—shattering all previous records. Presented in 15 categories, the New Product Awards highlight the industry’s innovation and represent the first of many accolades for the winners.