Tabla de contenidos para August 2024 en SEMA Magazine

The mid-July summer heat of 2020 was unbearable for IndyCar drivers at the Road America double-header. The new Aeroscreen protection reduced cockpit air circulation, so teams, race officials, and engineers from vehicle designer Dallara collaborated on ways to introduce a fresh-air cooling duct. Time certainly wasn’t a luxury as a pair of 250-mi. races was scheduled for the following weekend in the sweltering Midwest. “I knew several lead people at Dallara, and they reached out to us while I was at the Elkhart Lake race on Sunday,” recalled Allen Kreemer, senior applications engineer at Stratasys, a manufacturer of polymer 3D printers based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. “They said a driver cooling duct was needed. We were able to produce 24 of them in 48 hours and distribute them to all…

As an industry trade association, SEMA has long offered educational and business-building resources to help members grow their businesses and advance their professional development. Although the annual SEMA Show’s education tracks are perhaps the most visible examples of such programs (see p. 48), SEMA actually offers numerous other business- and career-focused networking and learning initiatives in a variety of venues beyond the Show. “The SEMA Show is a culminating experience that brings the vast specialty automotive industry together, but throughout the course of the year, we reinforce our relationships with the industry through more regionalized events that allow our member communities to come together under the SEMA umbrella,” said Zane Clark, SEMA vice president of membership, education, research and councils. “In hosting council and network events in places other than…

Many email marketers in the automotive aftermarket will find it tougher to reach the inboxes of existing and potential customers in coming months due to a crackdown on email marketing by Google and Yahoo! implemented this past February. “Nearly 25% of e-commerce retailers are poised to experience significant drops in deliverability,” due to strict new email marketing rules from Google and Yahoo!, according to Amy Chan, strategic support manager, Open Moves (openmoves.com), an email marketing service provider. Specifically, Google and Yahoo! have teamed up to auto-route marketing emails sent over their mail services directly to spam folders if those marketing emails skirt commonly accepted anti-spam practices, according to Chan. ANY COMPANY OR ORGANIZATION THAT SENDS MORE THAN 5,000 EMAILS/DAY MUST ADHERE TO THE NEW RULES… Plus, Google and Yahoo! will…

MAGICMOTORSPORT IXI magicmotorsport.com IXI is the new personal flasher from Magicmotorsport. It operates via the OBD port and allows for ECU and TCU programming. Files can be modified personally or by an expert on the platform. IXI allows you to customize the vehicle’s parameters according to your needs. FITECH FUEL INJECTION FITECH GO SPARK DISTRIBUTOR, CHEVY V8-RTR fitechefi.com FiTech EFI introduces Go Spark Distributors. This ready-torun Chevy SBC/BBC distributor has a built-in module for easy installation with a simple three-wire hookup; no need to run an external ignition control box. This is the perfect distributor for a crate engine or when replacing old points triggered distributors. CERWIN-VEGA/DIAMOND AUDIO ’98–’13 ROAD GLIDE RADIO diamondaudio.com Diamond Audio’s ’98–’13 “Perfect Fit” radio replacement for Harley-Davidson Street Glide Motorcycles. The radio allows for many…

With exhibiting brands on pace to top 2,400—and hundreds of them participating as first-timers—enthusiasm continues to build for the 2024 SEMA Show, slated for November 5-8, at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). In all, this year’s Show will encompass millions of square feet of exhibitor and vehicle displays, new-product introductions, live-action demonstrations, educational events and seminars, and special sections highlighting the latest trends and innovations reshaping the specialty automotive market. “The SEMA Show is the ultimate gathering for our industry,” states SEMA Vice President of Events Tom Gattuso. “For attendees, it is the best place to discover new products and trends, make new business connections, strengthen existing ones, and take their professional careers and businesses from good to great.” While the Show is fast approaching, there is still time…

Automotive industry legend Lee Iacocca once said, “The only way to make money as a car company is to come up with something so different that people can’t look at what you’re doing and say ‘me too’… You’ve got to be different. You’ve got to be adaptive.” Certainly not everyone attending the SEMA Show is designing the next industry-shifting car, but industry experts would agree that specialty-equipment professionals and businesses need to stay adaptive and knowledgeable about emerging trends, new technology-based skills, and the latest ways to make the work culture thrive. This November 5-8, SEMA Education at the 2024 SEMA Show aims to assist individuals from all sectors of the automotive industry in achieving these goals. Every year attendees ranging from C-suite executives to fleet mechanics sign up for…

In a nondescript warehouse complex of a tough Chicago suburb, the sparks are flying. While that’s not unexpected in an industrial setting, the workers wielding the grinders and plasma torches are definitely not your typical career mechanics. Rather, they’re young people seeking a future beyond the troubled confines of their zip code. “About 80% of the kids that are killed in gang violence in Chicago are usually killed within a four-square block area in which they live,” explains Automotive Mentoring Group (AMG) founder Alex Levesque. For more than a decade, Levesque, a former architectural professional, and his small core of local volunteers—mainly retired law enforcement officers—have sought to help underprivileged kids—mainly teenagers—escape that grim reality. Working 30 hours a week, they lead groups of up to 20 young trainees through…

STATE UPDATE GEORGIA—SUSPENSION LAWS: Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed SEMA-supported legislation to modernize and improve the state’s laws on vehicle suspension modifications, offering a more straightforward path for safe enjoyment, economic opportunity and responsible innovation. SEMA testified in support of the bill while the legislature was considering it. The new law replaces the subjective 2-in. limit with an objective standard: measuring the vehicle’s height from the ground to the frame. This simple change brings much-needed transparency and consistency to enforcement. ILLINOIS—INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES: Lawmakers in Illinois have introduced SEMAopposed legislation that would adopt California’s low—and zero-emissions motor-vehicle standards and ban the sale of new gas—and diesel-powered motor vehicles starting in 2035. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, opposes adopting California’s standards. SEMA believes Californians should not decide what vehicles are…