Manufacturers have spent billions to create vehicles with appeal for teens and 20-somethings. Many teens want vehicles that make them look good and impress their friends, according to an online survey from TNS marketing research group. Cassandra Harris, spokeswoman for TNS, says automakers need to consider what teens think about cars and appeal to them to create brand loyalty. Harris also warns that some manufacturers get it wrong, claiming, for example, that Scion is failing to capture teens' attention. One big problem is that teens' attention can be fleeting. The TNS survey compiled responses from 1,307 teens aged 16 to 19 last summer. Awareness of Scion among teens in survey was 30%—far below brands like Honda, which had 90% awareness. The TNS survey also showed that what was considered hip varied between the sexes. For example, women had better impressions of BMW, Daewoo, Hyundai, Kia, Saturn and VW. Men, on the other hand, had better impressions of Cadillac, Chevy, Ford, Ferrari and Hummer.
Source: www.automotivedigest.com

Don Francisco, known as an expert on all things hot rod and performance, passed away on January 29. Francisco, who was in poor health, was 87 years old. He was a pioneering hot rod engine builder, race promoter and technical writer from many early publications. His writing style was targeted and straightforward. In 1946, Wally Parks, founder of the NHRA, offered Francisco a job as writer and technical editor of Hot Rod magazine. To his readers and fans, Francisco was very popular, trusted and known as a true car lover.

When the new '06 Civic debuts this fall, expect it to recapture some of the love lost among the tuner crowd with the appearance of the '01 model. "We do care a lot (about pleasing the enthusiast crowd)," says Tom Elliot, executive vice president, American Honda Motor Co. Inc. "Honda's always had a very good presence among young buyers. We lost a little of that with the '01 Civic, mainly (on) the coupe side, which came across perhaps as a little bland." Elliot believes the new Civic, which he calls "very different," will remedy any styling misfire of the current-generation model that turned off younger buyers who like to customize the popular small car. "The new coupe, we think, is going to address that issue in many ways, the styling in particular," he says. "I think we'll have a product that will appeal to the young buyer and to the aftermarket as well."

Elliot also says Honda needs to create more variants of the Civic and the Accord, it's two highestvolume products in the United States, to keep demand for the models high. Each currently offers a sedan and coupe. Honda saw a dip last year in U.S. Accord sales, which Elliot blames on a typical ebb and flow of the coupe segment. The automaker does not break out Accord coupe sales from sedan numbers. "We're looking at (whether) we need another variation of each of those products to give us the same kind of volume we enjoy now," says Elliot, noting the drop off in passenger-car sales.

"(Civic and Accord) are very important products to us, not just from a sales viewpoint, but a manufacturing viewpoint (to keep) our factories working on a 100% basis." Elliot says variants such as hatchbacks and station wagons would be "easy things to do," but adds, "there may be new ideas as well, so we're exploring what our options are and which ones might be best for us going forward." Elliot says a sedan and coupe remain the only two variants on tap for the '06 Civic.
Source: www.WardsAuto.com

Pontiac's long-time flagship Bonneville sedan will be phased out this summer. After a 47-year run, the GM division notified employees of Bonneville demise, and no jobs will be lost since the plant currently building the Bonneville will build Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucerne sedans. According to Ward's Automotive Reports, sales peaked at 135,401 units in 1966, but sales on the Bonneville have tanked to 29,852 in 2004 from 97,944 in 1992.

The fullsize sedan market is losing steam as owners switch to SUVs, crossovers, etc. Pontiac dealers are going to lose the only fullsize sedan in their lineup, which will seem like a bittersweet demise for the sedan. Although Pontiac tried to revive Bonneville with a high-performance V8 GXP version, it did little to revive the brand.
Source: www.automotivedigest.com

An award-winning, four-cylinder, 283-horsepower engine that turned an 11.3-second quarter mile will be sold with proceeds benefiting RASR and Race Legal. Both RASR (Racers Against Street Racing), a nonprofit organization that operates under SEMA’s educational program, and Race Legal promote safe and legal racing.

WD-40 Company and Primedia's Import Tuner magazine are auctioning off the B-Series engine Friday, Feb. 25 - Sunday, March 6. Information regarding the auction is available by visiting www.importtuner.com.

When the engine was dropped into a stock Honda Civic and raced at the famed Bonneville Salt Flats, the car reached 161 miles per hour—a record in its class. It was built by one of the most well-known motor builders in the compact performance industry as part of last year's WD-40 BSeries Shootout, a competition that gave five contestants four months to assemble an engine with the parts of their choice.

For more information about RASR, visit www.rasr.info. For more information on WD-40 Company, visit www.wd40.com.

SEMA persuaded lawmakers in Montana to reject legislation that would have required the use of fenders, splash aprons or mud flaps on motor vehicles. The bill included vehicles for which these items were not even required when the vehicle was manufactured. While current law in Montana exempts street rods, the measure would have prohibited some specialty vehicles, including replicas and kit cars, from maintaining the same look as the original production vehicle without having to add unnecessary fenders or other devices to comply with the law. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org

Working with members of the Maryland Legislature, SEMA is supporting a bill (S.B. 13) to provide for a registration class for antique motor vehicles and reduce registration fees for these cars. The measure is being considered by the Maryland Judicial Proceedings Committee. The bill would create a new class for antique motor vehicles to include passenger vehicles, motorcycles or trucks manufactured before 1946 that have not been substantially altered from the manufacturer’s original design. S.B. 13 would also exempt antique vehicles from annual registration fees and require a one-time-only registration fee of $25.50, and provide for a special antique motor vehicle registration plate. Under the bill, the historic vehicle registration class would be amended to include cars of the post-1946 era and up to 20 years old. More information is available at www.enjoythedrive.com/content/?ID=33753. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org

Legislation (H.B. 121) introduced before the Iowa General Assembly would expand the purposes for which a motor vehicle registered as an antique may be used to include “other occasional use.” Under current Iowa law, use of antique vehicles, defined as 25 years old or older, are strictly limited to participation in exhibitions, entertainment or educational purposes. Many Iowa vehicle owners whose cars qualify for the antique registration class have chosen to register as “daily drivers” to avoid the limited-use restrictions and are, by consequence, paying the higher fees required of cars that are registered under this class. More information is available at www.enjoythedrive.com/content/?ID=33752. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org

Aftermarket tire sales are lucrative, but some issues need attention. In addition to prices going up as raw material costs increase, a small fee may be charged to fund the TIRES—Tire Initiative for Research, Education and Safety—program that educates consumers on safety. The growing tuner market seems to fuel the biggest growth, and old musclecars also need tires. The most significant issue soon to affect the tire market is the likelihood of a born-on dating or expiration date requirement for tires.

A safety group, Safety Research & Strategies Inc., has asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to require easy-to-read born-on dates on tires, and they want a government-issue consumer alert to make motorists aware of dates. According to a study conducted by the firm, worn tires caused more than 50 crashes and the list is growing. The group doesn't want tires sold that have been stored for more than 6 years, but large tire wholesalers and retailers do not see a big problem because they turn over stock frequently. Nevertheless, players in the tire industry worry about misuse of law, especially if there is life left on the tire. The NHTSA is conducting its own research and may make an announcement in June.
Source: www.Automotivedigest.com

Spectrum Composites, headquartered in Detroit, has announced the rollout of a new Tire Inflation Positioning Switch (TIPS) for vehicles, a state-of-the-art sensor-triggering Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) tool for tires. TIPS will provide immediate cost savings for service establishments in maintaining TPMS.

Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems are being mandated by the government, with 50% of all new cars and trucks, under 10,000 lbs., required to have the system by October 2005 and 100% of vehicles by Sept. 1, 2007. TIPS was designed as a sensor-triggering tool and is used to reprogram the vehicle computer each time the wheel position changes as in the case of tire rotation. TIPS can also be used as a diagnostic tool to assure that the TPM sensors are functioning properly prior to servicing a customer's vehicle thereby eliminating the cost of replacing a defective sensor without compensation.

The newly patented TIPS tool has been designed to trigger all known magnetic and frequency sensors (e.g. continuous wave, modulated wave, magnetic wave) that have been installed at the factory by OEMs. Most automobile manufacturers have selected a direct approach that incorporates wheel-based sensor transmitters.

TIPS was developed by G-5 Electronics, a Detroit-based think tank of automotive engineers. Spectrum, its sister company, developed diagnostic work stations to General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota and others. With TIPS, service establishments will be able to test the tire sensor prior to removing the wheel from the vehicle thereby eliminating responsibility for the cost of a faulty sensor. TIPS eliminates the need for service establishments to purchase four to five different TPMS initiation tools. TPMS legislation is aimed at reducing the some 535 fatalities and 23,000 vehicle crashes attributed to under inflated tires.
Source: Spectrum Composites/PRNewswire

SEMA-opposed legislation that would have included height-altered pickup or panel trucks under the scope of vehicles required to maintain a bumper height within the range of 14 to 22 inches has been killed by the Virginia State Legislature. In a letter to bill sponsor Senator Harry Blevins (RDist. 14), SEMA argued that the measure would have banned reasonably altered vehicles due to overstated concerns with bumper mismatch, forced owners of many modified vehicles to spend large sums of money to reinstall original components and banned useful alterations that provide adequate clearance for on-/off-road capability and accommodate heavy loads, larger tires, improved suspension and water-fording capability. In addition, the bill did not account for new vehicles coming off the assembly line with bumper heights significantly higher than 22 inches.

SEMA regularly participates in the development of vehicle equipment legislation and regulations in the states and has extensive experience concerning the regulation of vehicle suspension modifications. SEMA supports reasonable and relevant regulations at both the state and federal levels, consistent with the current model policy of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA). However, by this bill, Virginia appeared poised to impose restrictive vehicle bumper height requirements on these trucks without substantiating that the legislation would improve highway safety or provide other tangible benefits. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

SEMA model legislation has been introduced in the Tennessee House of Representatives (H.B. 320) and Senate (S.B. 812) that would create vehicle registration and titling classifications for custom vehicles and provide for special license plates for these vehicles. H.B. 320 and S.B. 812 define a custom as an altered vehicle at least 25 years old and of a model year after 1948. Under the bills, kit cars and replica vehicles will be assigned a certificate of title bearing the same modelyear designation as the production vehicle it most closely resembles. These bills mirror model legislation created by SEMA and recently enacted in Illinois, Missouri and Rhode Island. More information is available on www.enjoythedrive.com/content/?ID=33759. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

SEMA-supported legislation (H.B. 2357) to exempt qualified collectible vehicles 15 years old and older from the state’s mandatory emissions inspection and maintenance program was passed by the Arizona House of Representatives. Qualifying vehicles would have to maintain appropriate collectible or classic automobile insurance to retain these benefits. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. H.B. 2357 defines collectible vehicles as 15 years old or older, or of unique or rare design, of limited production and an object of curiosity, and maintained primarily for car club activities, exhibitions, parades, etc., and used infrequently for other purposes.

The bill acknowledges the relatively minimal environmental impact of older vehicles and recognizes that such vehicles constitute a small portion of the vehicle fleet and are wellmaintained and infrequently operated. For more information visit www.enjoythedrive.com/content/?ID=33760. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

A SEMA supported bill (S.B. 2314) in the North Dakota Legislature to reduce excise fees imposed on the purchase price of a collector or antique vehicle was amended in committee. The amended bill now provides a total exemption from excise-tax fees for collector and antique vehicles, not just reduced fees. The bill now moves on to be considered by the full North Dakota Senate. For more information, visit www.enjoythedrive.com/content/?ID=33761. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

In what could be the state’s first step in limiting custom wheel and hubcap options for motor vehicle enthusiasts, SEMA-opposed legislation (HB 108) that would prohibit motor vehicles equipped with spinner hubcaps has been introduced in the Iowa Legislature. The bill ignores the fact that spinner hubcaps have no proven detrimental effect on motor vehicle safety and are not prohibited by Federal law. Earlier this year, SEMA defeated legislation in Virginia that would have prohibited motor vehicles equipped with spinner wheels, wheel covers and hubcaps. The Iowa bill is currently pending in a subcommittee of the Iowa House Transportation Committee. More information is available at www.enjoythedrive.com/content/?ID=33744. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.