SEMA/AAPEX is it worth our diesel shops to make the trip? DIESEL Motorsports . . .

 Yes, I get asked every year! Depends on can you afford an expensive trip and not working at the shop for 3-4 days? If you have never been and you have the funds and time - YES it is worth the trip. You can see some of the most outrageous vehicle builds in the country, plus view manufacturers products firsthand!

The town of Vegas ups their services at least 3 times during this week, expect to pay at least $2-300 per night for hotel! Everything is $20, Uber $20, Hamburger $20, Beer $20 and it goes on and on! Prepare to walk 4-7 miles a day viewing the show and parking($20-60 per day) is at least 3-4 blocks away from the show. Wear comfortable shoes for walking, and casual business clothing. 

You will see a trade show of performance products and accessories for your vehicles. The booth counts have downsized because more companies are buying up the old companies and combining them in a larger booth space. SEMA has done their best to fill back in with some interesting products and services, but it is still a great show if you want to see products.

If you are there to meet and talk to people it is very difficult to talk very long since the crowd keeps the people manning the booths very busy. Good time to collect business cards for later contact. Wear business casual clothing if you want to be noticed by the manufacturers, if you show up in blue jeans and tshirts most will consider you as the tire-kicker crowd.  

Will the show be a industry business convention like it was back 10-20 years ago? No, our automotive business has changed a lot in the past years and SEMA has adjusted the best they could in order to put on a show for the masses. 

You will see a large display of vehicles out front of the show which can take a half day to just see all of it. There are 3 large halls to view so make sure to plot out online where to go on each day.

AAPEX show is more industry business environment with no displays of vehicles. The show is setup to sell to the chain service centers and stores with world wide exposure. It is worth spending a day there in order to see what parts are available for your shop through WDs and distribution centers. It used to be called thte hard parts show but no longer, a widde range of products can be seen there. Main floor are the main US companies with most of the foreign companies being placed in their own sections.

There are buses going to and from the SEMA show available and your pass works at both shows! Yes, you will still walk a lot at the show, it is very large and many products/companies to view. 

If you go to also party and gamble via VEGAS then everything is there to take your $$$. The town doess have a lot to see and experience, however be careful because crime is high because of the $$$. Just be smart and travel in groups! 

I have attended over 30 years and yes, it is still worth going to in order to do business with industry leaders. 

Automotive Transformation into the future - How to transform the future? DIESEL Motorsports . . .

 I first had to take a road trip to think about these changes and what to do about them. The rest is up to you too!

• Original performance companies fueled by original enthusiasts are being bought by investment companies and being led by non-enthusiasts.

Work with these company's principals and show them how the business was built in order to survive for the future - regardless if they have experience in our industry. Take them out or invite to attend events and learn from the very people who buy their products.

• Government overreach curtails many performance advancements for power and efficiency

Reach out to local representatives and send them your thoughts about the performance industry. Send them photos of your vehicles and projects, let them know how much you enjoy your hobby/work.

• Magazines with old editors who with technical backed editorial were replaced or retired by sensational non-techinical internet follower counts

Seeing trucks blow up or promods catch on fire are fun to watch, it's the child still in us. However, to learn a lot of companies are now doing online training sessions and videos. Youtube now has countless ways to repair or watch how to repair problems for our vehicles. Some are good and some are not but it is better than nothing. If you feel inclined to learn about our vehicles and performance take some time to wath the company sessions. Many manufacturers now have these on their web sites.

• US made parts for performance are at ALL time lows

Demand US products when you go to the auto stores and they will start carrying them or go online to find the US products. Some companies are now bringing their manufacturing back to the US because of the tariffs. It's so much easier to get a refund or exchange if it is made in the US.

• Local dragstrips start disappearing because of urban sprawl and land values

Locate your local tracks and go visit them plus attend events. It is getting harder every year with increased expenses such as taxes, insurance and hired help. Many tracks are looking for good help with experience in the industry. I know many cities are experiencing problems with street racing and burnouts with young people - give them an local outlet to do these activities!

• Corporations/investment companies now own F1 and NASCAR race teams

Highend racing with high returns cost way too much for the common man, but you can still participate in the local track activities whether it's a car show or a race. Many do not know but most tracks have a street bracket class you can race in where it's ab out how to time your run down the track not how fast. It's quite easy I have shown countless young people how to race this class.

• Urban youth not learning to drive early or buy vehicles

If you have a relative who needs to learn how to drive offer to help teach them. Invite them and their friends to go to car/truck shows with you. It is unbelievable how fast they will pick up the interest and encourage them to ask questions about the vehicles. As you know most of those guys/gals will talk about their vehicles! I even ask local HS students to help us work the shows along with paying them and buying them pizza afterwards.

• Shop or automotive not being taught in schools 

Contact your local schools and see if they offer shop or automotive classes. Offer to bring one of your vehicles to the school for the students to view. Show them the basics of how it works then ask for questions. Show them how easy it is to work on the vehicle. Many will be interested!

I will go out of the way at our shows to help young people work on their vehicles or where to find parts for them to work on them. If there is a local trade school I will invite the students to the show and many times hire them to work the show with us. Most are thrilled to be there and be part of a show.

Pass it on and don't think it ends when you get to the top! 

Automotive Transformation into the future - Where is it going? DIESEL Motorsports . . .

 Over the past 10 years our performance automotive industry has gone through BIG changes! 

• Original performance companies fueled by original enthusiasts are being bought by investment companies and being led by non-enthusiasts.

• Government overreach curtails many performance advancements for power and efficiency

• Magazines with old editors who with technical backed editorial were replaced or retired by sensational non-techinical internet follower counts

• US made parts for performance are at ALL time lows

• Local dragstrips start disappearing because of urban sprawl and land values

• Corporations/investment companies now own F1 and NASCAR race teams

• Urban youth not learning to drive early or buy vehicles

• Shop or automotive not being taught in schools 

 . . .  and the list goes on and on for many in our industry. 

For those of us who still need to drive everyday and still enjoy a fine tuned performance vehicle that will get you there FAST (if needed)! Even if it is one of the newer four cylinder turbo powered crossover urban cars. I travel a lot so I get to rent many different kind of vehicles and test them on the road(even high power performance vehicles). 

And yes, I still own one of the old kind to play with on the weekends (96 Dodge 12V), and yes I still use it to haul things. It is not a garage queen and has been modified for more performance. Americans have been modifying their own vehicles for decades since Ford rolled the model Ts off of the lines.

I have shown my grandson (15 yrs old) how to work on vehicles using the right tools and he is already driving under a student permit. It's about being independent and going where you want to go on your spare time. It's a get-away to relax and see new things/places. 

I still drive to many of my events so I can stop and visit people at shops, restaurants and stores in order to see Americana! Smaller trips is like the old Route 66 trips across the country. It makes you appreciate what you have at home.

Young people need to start making more road trips! They will talk about them for years - we do! 

Who is protecting our automotive intellectual property? DIESEL Motorsports USA!

 After NAFTA the China influence came into our business where they copied our US patent performance parts and accessories and then resold them in the US for less. NONE of our patent laws protected our US manufacturers. Blatant copied parts were not only sold to US markets but the big 3 OEMs bought mostly from China. Nothing was done to protect our innovative performance inventors and manufacturers even to this day.

Now the current tariffs are forcing some manufacturing back to the US but is the damage already done? Too little, too late? What about the patent parts that were stolen by overseas manufacturing? Will there be compensation for those original patent holders?

Many of our great performance innovator's products have been ripped off by overseas companies. When the US manufacturers tried to stop them they were faced with huge legal fees and no laws protecting their intellectual property/products.

For many years we were told if you come up with a great product make sure you patent and register the name. Millions of dollars have been collected by our patent office and attorneys following the law. It is all gone now since China not only does not honor our patents but our own courts and laws will not protect US manufacturers.

So when is this great tragedy going to be addressed and corrected??? That is the big question when it comes to automotive! What groups are helping our manufacturers and why would anyone try to come up with something new when it will only get ripped off by somebody sending it overseas?

I know a company of not only did they patent the products but went to the expense of obtaining EPA/CARB EO numbers for their products only to be ripped off by oversea companies. Then their same products were being sold on Ebay without EPA/CARB approval numbers with no inspections. He was told that was another government department and it is not being enforced.

WHY would anyone put extra monies into development right now? Why would manufacturing be brought back to the USA when it will be ripped off again in four years? NO laws protect our automotive manufacturing whether it's OEM or performance! 

"What is good for me is not for thee!" DIESEL Motorsports EPA review!

 Recently the EPA has moved back vehicle regulations to 2009 which helps in production and vehicle costs to the consumers. However, they are written as reconsiderations in order to advance production and costs. NO LAWS have been changed on the books! 

All this talk of going back to the way it was in 2005 is just that - a lot of talk. Granted the number of employees, direction and funding has changed at the EPA - DO NOT be fooled! The raids have let up but there was one in Missouri just last month which went after a diesel shop. So there may be less raids and people coming after our diesel trade, but make no mistake it will return.

Whether the reconsiderations change when congress turns over, new leadership or even a push by the big 3 OEMs they will be searching out the shops who thought all restrictions were lifted. 

Even our military and government vehicles have been approved for DPF/DEF delete so they can perform better and get better mileage. So it's ok for the elite but not the consumer? Where did our industry get turned around and controlled by government watch dogs and bean-counters. Motorsports enthusiasts are no longer running our performance companies, but by corporate attorneys and bean-counters.

Let's look back when the attitude changed toward our motorsports industry? Ever since Henry Ford rolled out the first production car home mechanics were tinkering with it to make it better or their own. That spread to other makes and soon the enthusiasts were racing them against each other all across the country.

The motorsports business has now grown into a multi billion dollar business along with parts and repairs for domestic and import vehicles. After the big 3 OEMs got loans from the government to stay in business it seems the regulations started to increase for the vehicles to make them safer and cleaner. The big 3 OEMs started to offer the performance accessories and parts direct to the consumer edging out the US manufacturers. 

So writing a warning to our diesel enthusiasts, don't be fooled and proceed under the caution flag! 

What we also need to cover is the stolen patent technology!  Many of our US companies paid money to patent our performance parts, but that is another blog. . . coming soon!