SEMA Not Thinking Green: Where are the innovators?

Las Vegas, Nev. - To avoid a hasty response, I've delayed addressing the question, "Does SEMA really understand Green?" - taking time to analyze my impressions and conversations in the context of the economy, consumer mindset and the politically charged environment.

Again: does SEMA really understand Green?

Let's look at the evidence.

Titled "Making Green Cool", the wretched little display space at the Las Vegas Convention Center looked like an afterthought of the aftermarket world, tucked away deep in the bowels of the mighty Specialty Equipment Market Association’s annual show in Las Vegas. Its shabby veneer appeared to host mostly freebie additives and suppliments rather than a preview of future possibilities.

Beyond the display, hidden behind curtains, lay an expanse of open-space - unused and crying for innovators to fill the empty cavern of the back hall.

At a time when venture capitalists are dumping truckloads of money into fuel efficient technologies (materials, batteries, fuels and the like) where are SEMA's legendary innovators? The A123 Systems L5 Nanophosphate Lithium Ion battery display looked promising in the 100 MPG plug-in car. Outside the green zone, interesting technology displays included Ford's Hi-PA Drive(with electric motors on each wheel) and the Hypertech's Max Energy Power programmer (fuel mileage gains, increased horsepower and clean emissions, all validated by an EPA C.A.R.B.-certified lab).

But the other displays... a Toyota Prius with a body-job by George Barris doesn't cut the mustard. Neither does the Corvette claiming 40 MPG with a twin turbo system that fails to discuss a pesky little issue called emissions.

I applaud SEMA for taking a few baby steps. But maybe this is not a time for dipping toes in the water but rather a time to jump in and swim around. Customers are looking for new ways to keep their hobby viable; and companies are looking for new revenue streams. I suspect the lack of emerging Green technologies on display may have more to do with the fact that many SEMA members are looking for help.

Case in point; some insiders grumbled about plans to host a seminar at SEMA with the California Air Resources Board and the EPA (yes, that “EPA”, the Environmental Protection Agency. A much-reviled acronym for some car lovers.)

Naysayers expected a couple of dozen people to show up.

SEMA members jammed the session - more than 150 with standing room only.

They stayed for the presentations, stayed for the question and answer session, and stayed afterward to gather around the panelists for individual questions.

The thirst for knowledge is real.

And maybe, just maybe the session was an eye-opener for State and Federal regulators as well. As they listened, how could they not hear and see the huge areas of ambiguity in the regulations that make it tough for small businesses to interpret?

Yes, this is a quagmire. Expect this to be the most active regulatory market in the next 8 years. California Democrat Henry Waxman, a staunch environmentalist, has seized the chairmanship of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee in Congress, a leadership position that had been held by someone who had been sympathetic to the automotive world - Michigan Rep. John Dingell.

SEMA is in a position not unlike the one that faced Confederate Lt. General William Hardee as Union Troops prepared to storm Savannah. After seeing General Sherman burn Atlanta, Hardee realized he could not hold off the pent-up forces of the Union Army. He ordered a retreat to South Carolina.

The mayor of Savannah surrendered the city.

The city of Savannah survived and thrived. Savannah stayed open for business.

Members need navigational assistance from SEMA, no doubt; not only on Capital Hill, but in the trenches of innovation. Washington-types need to see SEMA not as an organization of gas-guzzling polluters; but as an industry that provides jobs and has the collective ability to innovate.

Where to begin? Here are some thought starters:

• Light-weighting; aero-aids that don't add drag and needless weight

• Fuel economy + horsepower + emissions compliance = sweet spot

• Electrification retrofitting

• Parasitic energy loss prevention from gizmos and gadgets

So, does SEMA really understand "Green"? Not yet. But they are about to get a wake up call.