SEMA Launch Pad Voting Ends Soon
In July, 10 young automotive entrepreneurs were selected from a large pool of competitors for the 2014 Launch Pad competition. The competition offers innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs under the age of 40 a platform to showcase their businesses for marketing a new automotive product or service.
In July, 10 young automotive entrepreneurs were selected from a large pool of competitors for the 2014 Launch Pad competition. The competition offers innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs under the age of 40 a platform to showcase their businesses for marketing a new automotive product or service.
How Fusion Brakes Handled Its Very First SEMA Show
This year, the Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA) joins the Posies Driven Dirty Tour with the goal of connecting a new generation to opportunities in the industry. The route will run October 25–November 2 from Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The tour is a natural fit with HRIA’s Futures in Hot Rodding initiative, which is an effort to encourage the industry’s next generation by identifying, communicating and promoting hot-rod-specific educational resources and career opportunities.
Were you to park a ’14 Chevy Malibu next to a ’56 Bel Air and open the hoods of each, the contrast would be remarkable. The Malibu’s short, wide engine bay is so full of plastic covers, tubes, hoses, wires, bottles and other equipment that the car’s four-cylinder engine is barely visible—if at all. The Bel Air’s Turbo-Fire V8, on the other hand, stands out in the ’56 Chevy’s spacious engine compartment, covered in bright orange paint and hooked to a canister air cleaner, a couple of radiator hoses and little else. Ask any shadetree mechanic why he prefers to work on old collector cars over today’s computer- and emissions-controlled vehicles and the answer usually comes down to: “They were so much simpler then.”
Each year, manufacturer members of the Automotive Restoration Market Organization (ARMO) submit products to the Hot Product Showcase in order to gain exposure for their businesses. This year marked the 17th annual event at Spring Carlisle, one of the world’s largest gatherings of automotive restoration enthusiasts. The 2014 event was held April 23–26 and boasted more than 60 products from 24 ARMO-member companies.
The recent running of the Triple Crown horse races reminded me of Secretariat, perhaps the most famous horse ever and winner of the Triple Crown back in 1973. If you haven’t seen the 2010 movie Secretariat, you need to. Both inspirational and motivational, the film provides us with some great sales and life lessons. Perhaps even more are found in the lives of the jockey, Ronnie Turcotte; the trainer, Lucien Laurin; and especially the owner, Penny Chenery.
For the first time, the Emerging Trends and Technology Network (ETTN) will partner with SEMA’s Young Executives Network (YEN) to host an after-hours reception for members at the SEMA Show. By holding the event in conjunction with YEN, ETTN hopes to provide its members with an opportunity to connect with others outside of the network. Since there is quite a bit of crossover in membership between the groups, a joint networking event is a natural fit. 
On July 1, two freshman members were elected to the Wheel & Tire Council (WTC) select committee. SEMA Member News interviewed Gavin Horlick of Voxx Wheel and Cheralyn Hale of Achilles Tire to learn more about their industry backgrounds and goals for their terms. 
You might be able to start a nail with a screwdriver, but it’s a whole lot easier with a hammer. The proper tool makes any task flow more smoothly—and automotive machining and modification are certainly the beneficiaries of tool and equipment innovations. A wealth of working gear was introduced in the New Products Showcase at the 2013 SEMA Show. We’ve gathered them together on the next few pages for your review and enjoyment. There may be a gem here that can make your next undertaking more of a joy and less of a job.