The EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) sets federal emissions rules and oversees compliance testing requirements. In this segment, it’s mentioned alongside California’s rules as part of the testing procedures members must handle.
CARB (California Air Resources Board) is California’s regulator for air quality and vehicle emissions. The segment emphasizes that compliance testing may need to satisfy both EPA and CARB requirements.
ADAS systems are driver-assistance technologies that use sensors and software to automate or support driving tasks (like lane-related functions and braking interventions). The segment connects ADAS to how vehicle changes can affect calibration and behavior.
Lane splitting is a motorcycle practice where a rider moves between lanes of slower or stopped traffic. The segment raises it because ADAS systems may be calibrated to detect motorcyclists and can behave unpredictably when they see them.
Lane filtering is closely related to lane splitting and generally refers to motorcycles moving through traffic gaps at low speed. The speaker notes the terminology and then ties it to how ADAS systems interpret motorcyclists.
Calibrations are the tuned settings for sensors and control logic in an ADAS-equipped vehicle. The segment says systems may be programmed to account for motorcyclists, but that can still lead to unpredictable responses.
Tesla is referenced as an example of a vehicle with long-running autonomous/driver-assist features. The speaker uses it to illustrate how perception issues (like shadows) can trigger unexpected braking.
A false reaction is when an automated driving system responds as if it detected a hazard when it actually didn’t. The segment uses an example where a shadow triggers braking behavior, illustrating how perception errors can lead to sudden interventions.
SEMA Garage is a SEMA program that helps aftermarket companies work with car manufacturers (OEMs) and deal with rules. The goal is to make it easier for aftermarket builders to get the info they need.
OEMs are the companies that make the car in the first place. In this discussion, it means the “factory” side that aftermarket companies try to coordinate with.
Tech Transfer is a shared SEMA system that stores digital design files. It lets aftermarket companies access those files so they can design parts that fit correctly.
An aftermarket manufacturer makes parts that aren’t from the car’s original maker. In this segment, they’re using shared CAD files to design new parts for specific vehicles.
An intake is the part that brings air into the engine. This segment is about designing an intake that fits the engine correctly using factory digital files.
The Ford Mustang is a popular American sports car with lots of aftermarket parts. Here it’s just the example of a car you could design a new intake for using factory digital files.
Reverse engineering means figuring out how something is made by studying it closely, often by measuring or scanning it. In this segment, it’s what you’d do if you didn’t have the factory digital files.
A “0.0 file” is the perfect digital version of the part—like the blueprint with no errors. Using that reference helps make sure the real parts line up correctly.
Manufacturing tolerance is how much a part is allowed to be slightly off from the perfect size. If several parts are each a little off, they can add up and cause things not to fit right.
Stacking tolerances is when small manufacturing variations in multiple parts accumulate together. The result can be a part that technically meets specs individually but still binds or doesn’t assemble correctly in the real world.
Topic
SEMA sphere
They’re talking about the SEMA community—where lots of aftermarket and specialty car companies connect. The “sphere” just means the broader industry around SEMA.
Term
solid shifter joint
It’s a stiffer part in the shifter linkage that makes the gear changes feel more precise. The tradeoff is that it can make the car feel noisier or more “vibraty” inside.
An SUV is a taller, more spacious type of vehicle, often used for both daily driving and light off-road. The speaker is saying SUVs are doing especially well in sales and interest.
A sequential transmission is a gearbox where you shift one gear at a time in order. It’s common in racing because it can make shifting quicker and more repeatable.
6XD is a company/brand that makes racing-style gearboxes. In this segment, they’re being praised as a top choice for serious builds that need a transmission that can handle hard use.
Emissions compliance is about following the rules for how much pollution a vehicle or emissions system is allowed to produce. It usually means keeping the equipment working correctly so it still meets the legal limits.
CARB is California’s agency that sets rules to control air pollution. For cars, it can mean stricter emissions requirements than the federal rules, so businesses may have to follow both.
The Clean Air Act is a big U.S. law that created the rules for controlling air pollution. The speaker is using it as background to explain how current emissions regulations came to be.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the U.S. government agency that helps set and enforce rules to protect the environment. Here, it’s the federal body overseeing emissions rules.
The Air Resource Board is California’s agency for air-quality rules. The episode compares it to the EPA to explain who controls emissions standards at the state vs federal level.
“Grandfather California” means the federal government lets California keep its own emissions rules. It’s a way to allow state standards while still keeping federal control in place.
Term
California Executive Order
A California Executive Order is an official rule or directive from California. In this episode, it’s mentioned as part of the process for getting emissions-related products approved.
Emissions testing is how regulators check whether a vehicle (or emissions-related product) meets pollution rules. The speaker is saying you need proof from testing to sell legally.
CEMA is the group the speaker says created a program to help companies prove their products meet emissions rules. The goal is to avoid having to go through California’s process only.
Emissions devices are parts on a car that help reduce pollution from the exhaust. The speaker is saying the product must not interfere with those parts.
In this context, “EO” is a California approval that says an aftermarket emissions-related product meets California’s rules. The discussion is about how people can get approval without relying only on California’s process.
Term
California still has authority
Even if a product is approved for most of the U.S., California can still require its own emissions approval. So you may still need California-specific paperwork to sell there.
Term
pass and a fail
In testing, “pass” means the product meets the emissions limits, and “fail” means it doesn’t. The host is saying CEMA’s rules are set up to match California’s limits.
A “cover letter” is being used as part of the documentation package to apply for a California Executive Order. The host claims that the CEMA certification report already contains the necessary test data, so the cover letter is the administrative step to submit it to CARB.
Term
make model year trim packages
This means the approval isn’t just for a car model name—it’s for specific versions of that car. The report lists which make, which model year, and which trim levels the product is approved for.
The Volkswagen Eos is a car with a special roof that can open and close. The podcast mentions it in connection with emissions rules and approvals. That’s about whether certain emissions-related parts are allowed for that vehicle.
A “fast track program” is a quicker way to get approval. Instead of starting over, regulators can use what was already submitted, so the process takes less time.
Term
C-Migrage certification process
“C-Migrage” sounds like a specific approval workflow for aftermarket parts. The host says it’s designed to be faster, and it includes helping with the testing paperwork and getting the right vehicle for the process.
A supercharger is a device that forces more air into the engine. More air can mean more power, but it usually requires tuning so everything runs correctly.
Engine management is the car’s computer system that controls how the engine runs. If you change parts that affect airflow, the computer may need to adjust fuel and spark to match.
Fuel management is how the car decides how much fuel to inject and when. If you change airflow-related parts, the car has to adjust fuel so the engine burns correctly.
The airbox is part of the intake system that channels air into the engine. It’s part of the path the speaker says emissions rules cover when you modify intake-related components.
Emissions regulation is the law about how much pollution a car is allowed to produce. The speaker is saying certain modification areas are covered by those rules.
“Dino time” means time on a dyno (a machine that measures engine output). It’s usually billed by the hour, along with extra costs like fuel used during testing.
Certified test fuel is a specific, standardized gasoline used for official testing. It’s expensive because it has to meet strict requirements so test results are fair and consistent.
The Tesla Semi is an electric truck used to move goods. Instead of using diesel fuel, it runs on electricity. It’s meant for long-distance hauling like other freight trucks.
FutureTech is a special section of the SEMA show that looks ahead at what car technology might look like years from now. Instead of just showing what’s new this year, it tries to predict what will change the industry later.
A software defined vehicle is a car where software controls a lot of how it behaves. That can make it easier to update or “tune” the car’s settings without swapping as many physical parts.
In this context, an algorithm is the software logic that determines how a vehicle system responds. The speaker is contrasting older hardware-based tuning with newer software-based tuning where you can change the logic controlling behavior.
Chassis tuning is adjusting the vehicle’s handling characteristics by changing how the chassis systems work together. With software-defined vehicles, that can include control logic and calibration across multiple subsystems, not just springs and shocks.
The host is talking about California’s plan to push people toward electric cars and away from gas cars. The concern is that it could make it harder to buy non-electric vehicles in the future.
An internal combustion engine is the classic gas or diesel engine that powers most cars today. The conversation is saying the mandate would eventually ban new gas-engine vehicles.
These are California’s rules for how much pollution cars are allowed to produce. The segment says other states may copy those rules, which can spread the impact beyond California.
This is a federal process where Congress can step in and overturn certain government rules. Here, it’s mentioned as the mechanism that helped stop California from enforcing its EV mandate.
This is a device that helps a new engine computer “talk to” the car’s transmission. It lets you use aftermarket tuning without the car fighting the factory transmission controls.
A standalone ECU is an aftermarket computer that controls the engine. It gives you more tuning options than the factory computer, especially for modified builds.
Plug-and-play means the parts are made to connect easily to your car. It’s usually quicker to install and less likely to require cutting or custom wiring.
They’re talking about how joining SEMA (the trade group for the specialty-equipment market) helps the organization speak louder. More members means more influence when dealing with rules and regulations.
Term
8S calibration numbers
These “calibration numbers” are settings inside the car’s computers. If you change the truck with mods, you may need the right settings so the car still behaves correctly.
A lift kit raises the truck higher off the ground. That can change how the car’s sensors and systems work, so sometimes you need adjustments after installing one.
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car built for fast driving. The TCU is a computer that helps control the automatic transmission. When people talk about getting access to it, they mean they can better understand or adjust how the car shifts.
The FIA is a major international organization for auto racing and safety standards. It’s brought up here because safety rules and standards can affect both racing and road vehicles.
Adaptive cruise control is cruise control that can slow down and speed up to keep a safe distance from the car in front. If you modify the car, the sensors may need recalibration so it keeps working correctly.
Lane keeping assist is the system that helps keep the car from drifting out of its lane. It uses sensors to watch the lane lines, and modifications can throw off that sensing.
Automatic emergency braking is a safety feature that can brake for you if it thinks you’re about to hit something. If the car’s sensors aren’t calibrated correctly after changes, it may not work as intended.
Rear cross traffic assist helps warn you about cars coming from the sides while you’re backing up. If you modify the car, the sensors may need to be checked so it can detect correctly.
Recalibration means re-tuning the car’s safety systems so they “read” the sensors correctly. If you change something on the car, the system may need to be recalibrated to work right.
Term
federal motor
This is referring to U.S. federal rules for vehicle safety. The speaker is saying that modifications have to fit within those legal requirements.
A catalytic converter is a part in your exhaust that helps clean up the gases coming out of the engine. If it wears out, your car can fail smog/emissions tests.
Regulators set a mileage range where an emissions part (like a catalytic converter) is expected to work well enough to meet the rules. After that mileage, the car may fail emissions testing and you may need to replace the part.
The Chrysler 200 is a midsize sedan, meaning it’s a regular passenger car with room for everyday driving. The podcast mentions it in a context that sounds like they’re talking about older Chrysler models. If you’re shopping used, it’s mostly about whether the specific year you want has been well maintained.
The host mentions a 2005 Chrysler 300 to ask whether older cars get treated more leniently over time. The point is whether emissions rules change just because the car is older.
Emissions systems are the parts on a car that help keep exhaust pollution under control. The host is saying that for many older cars, you’re expected to keep those parts working the way they were originally certified.
The host brings up a 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo to explain emissions rules for older cars. The idea is that you can’t just remove or heavily change emissions equipment—you’re expected to keep it working like it was when the car was certified.
A crate engine is a new engine you can buy ready to install, like it’s shipped in a crate. The host is saying regulations may not fully match how easy it is to buy and swap modern engines.
EFI means the car uses electronics to deliver fuel instead of a carburetor. “Over-the-counter” just means you can buy the kit without needing a custom shop build.
Direct injection is when fuel is sprayed straight into the engine’s combustion area. It helps modern engines run cleaner and more efficiently, but it can be harder to modify because the electronics and tuning matter a lot.
Term
helicat
“Helicat” is a fan nickname for Dodge’s Hellcat cars—big-power muscle cars that came from the factory. People used to be surprised by how much power they made with a warranty.
Term
California compliant EOD crate motors
These are crate engines that are approved to pass California emissions rules. The approval usually depends on the whole setup, not just the engine.
A wiring harness is the set of wires that connects the engine to the car’s electronics. For an emissions-approved swap, the correct harness matters because it helps the engine and emissions systems work the way they were certified to.
An EO number is a California emissions approval ID. If your engine swap has the right EO number, the smog shop can verify it’s legal for emissions testing purposes.
LIVE
This episode is brought to you by 6XD Gearbox. More on them later.
Welcome to the GarageHarris. Thanks for coming to join us today. I'm passionate about the
Seema Garage, so it's always great to have hosts come in and experience us with us. My name is Jim
Moore. I'm the vice president of OEM and Product Development for Seema, which is a really long
way of saying, I oversee our Seema Garage program. As you've probably explored with Ben in one of
your past episodes, Seema Garage exists primarily to help our members navigate the complexities of
emissions compliance. But since we have these dedicated full service engineering facilities,
we really break down our service to our members in three core areas, which is one, what we do on
the emissions front, both guiding them through that emissions process as well as helping them
through all the testing procedures that are both EPA required and CARB, California Air Resource Board.
We also work pretty heavily on the product development side, so helping our members gain
access to a lot of the advanced manufacturing machinery, CAD tools, CAD data from OEMs and
things like that. And then finally, vehicle technology, which is one of our fastest growing
areas of service in the garage. And that is helping our members understand how their products
integrate into a lot of the new digital ADAS systems and other technology features in modern vehicles
today. I want to ask this question right now. It's a little bit of a detour from the entire
plan of this episode. But when it comes to ADAS, I was thinking about this because California has
lane splitting. Sure. I'm curious. Lane filtering. Filtering. Filtering to be technically accurate.
Whatever. The guy that went 60 in a 10 is, yeah, my answer is, do those ADAS systems already affected
anything? Like by? So most of the systems actually take into account the motorcyclists on the road,
and it's programmed into many of their calibrations, but it can cause a lot of unpredictable responses.
And I mean, if anybody's been in a Tesla with on full self-driving mode, which is probably one of
the longest running and most common of the autonomous systems out there, you know what it means to get
like a false reaction when you're on the freeway and all of a sudden a shadow line falls across the
road and you'll slam on the brakes. So but most of those systems absolutely take into account
pedestrians, other motorcyclists and other types of vehicles that are on the road that might
be visible within their overall radars or cameras or sensors. When it comes to SEMA garage then,
can you define what this split looks like? Because you're obviously working with OEs to some degree,
right? What's that split between working in OEs and aftermarket? You guys are kind of like the
connector, it almost seems. Well, it's actually one of the core benefits of a lot of our
members when they work with us at the SEMA garage because of our relationship with the OEMs, both at
the show, as well as at the regulatory side, we're able to interact with the OEMs at a different level
and gain access to a lot of the various departments or different teams. And it's, you know, this is
one of those where it's like a lot of people think like an OEM, oh, there's Ford, there's actually
many Fords. It just depends on what department or what initiative you're trying to work on because
an engineering team that might be doing accessories is very different than an engineering team that
might be doing engine calibration. And oftentimes, there's just so much distance in the staff
and structure, it's almost two entirely different units. But because of the access we have into the
OEM community, it really allows us to help our members when they need to gain access to gain
access to information, CAD data, and this is again a perfect example of that. We work with a number
of manufacturers to actually house their CAD data on a shared database here at SEMA called Tech Transfer,
and it allows aftermarket manufacturer, product manufacturers to enroll in that system. And
let's say you're an intake manufacturer and you want to build an intake for the new Ford Mustang,
you can actually download the factory CAD file for that engine, factory hood, and all the different
information and actually start building that digitally right off the factory blueprint. Okay.
And rather than having to worry about scanning or gaining access to a physical vehicle and taking
all those measurements, you have that all right there to the fraction of a millimeter.
How intense is that CAD data? Like, let's use Ford as an example again. Are you getting entire
scans of every part in the vehicle or whatever? Or how crazy is it yet? When we scan a vehicle,
which is kind of what we would refer to as reverse engineering. So at that point, we gain a vehicle
and we actually have access to various, whether it's Ferro or Creeaform or some of the other
manufacturers of scan equipment. We have engineers on staff that will actually go and digitally scan
and then render those files, adding all of the various measurement data in those and such.
And then we share those. But in an ideal world, we actually don't want to have to scan a vehicle.
We want to go right to the manufacturing gain access to their CAD data. And that completely
skips all of that stuff. So in the world of manufacturing, you start with a perfect file.
What I like to refer to as kind of the 0.0 file. And then you move to a manufacturing. There's a
tolerance where as long as it's within a tolerance, it fits. When we get a vehicle and we might scan
it, I don't know where I am in that tolerance range. I might be on the bitter edge. And if you then
scan something that's right on the bitter edge of tolerance, and then that manufacturer manufactures
something, you start stacking those tolerances, you get issues which anybody's worked on a car and
you're like, the whole matches the thread. But when I put the bolt in, the bolt doesn't turn because
something is a fraction of a millimeter off and it binds. So when we work on CAD data, it allows
the manufacturer to develop their product right on a 0.0 file. And any manufacturing tolerance
or drift that they might experience is likely also matched in the original manufacturing
tolerance. So it just really helps create a higher quality end product.
At what point does somebody go, all right, I need to get into the SEMA biosphere or whatever sphere
you want to call it, the SEMA sphere maybe. But is this when somebody's making
$5 million a year, $10 million a year? At what point is a company big enough to get in there
towards like, all right, I need to get some more legit tooling here? That's a great question, Harris.
And the truth is, the vast majority of our members, we have over 7,000 members,
4,500 of which are actual physical manufacturers, are actually very, very small companies,
just a couple of employees. So the SEMA membership is designed to really be able to
kind of accommodate or meet our members at virtually any level and bring them into this system.
And it's one of the unique parts about SEMA is that we actually tend to democratize access to
both information, equipment, tools and expertise that generally actually most benefits some of
the smallest players in the industry. Because when you're a billion dollar manufacturing
organization or large company, you have access to the research and development resources to be
able to get those done in houses, in house. But we're able to actually help bring those,
that same access to our smallest members, which is critical, because it's one of the things that
we as an association can do to continue to foster innovation of new products. Innovation of a new
product shouldn't be limited to the deepest pocket or the largest financial resource.
Our industry thrives on new products and it thrives on the imagination. And it's really kind
of the heart and soul of I think what makes SEMA great. There's a term of it all started in the
garage. And like great products start with somebody that's really passionate about something.
And especially in the aftermarket, like the aftermarkets filled with people that are driven by
kind of at times an absurd level of passion to do something that financially or theoretically
a lot of times, maybe other people would say it just shouldn't be done. And that's what's great
about this industry is like, we create things that oftentimes shouldn't be done. And those create
some of the most exciting opportunities to modify and customize and personalize your vehicle.
It's interesting whenever I look in the comment sections of like my posts, because you get,
for example, like the company I work for, CarPoy, we just released this new solid shifter joint,
right? And it's like it causes more NVH. Like anybody that's just trying to get a point A to
point B card that's not an enthusiast and be like, why would I want that? Whereas we as enthusiasts,
we want something like that. Do you run into that a lot with SEMA, right? Because who is your
target audience? Is it mostly, is it still mostly trucks, 80% of the market or?
Off-road. Off-road. And the overall kind of sport utility vehicle is probably the healthiest
financial and fastest growing segment in the industry. So it's natural that when you come to
the show, you see that because the show is reflective of our entire industry. The show is
really, is a real time living, breathing market research report of what's going on. It is the
absolute in the moment what trend is happening, what's growing, what's diminishing. You see that
when you come into the SEMA show and you actually visit because you see what manufacturers are
producing. Okay. How long have you been a part of SEMA, by the way? I've been with SEMA twice,
actually. This is my second time. So in total, about seven years. I actually started when the
SEMA garage was originally launched back in 2013, I believe. We opened up in 2012 to 2013. I was one
of the very first employees here and I actually worked on a lot of the OEM relationships. I left
for a number of years and then came back just over two years ago to actually run the SEMA
garage program. Okay. What brought you back? Love of cars. Love of cars? I miss SEMA. What did you
end up doing? I actually went to automotive training. Okay. So I trained on a lot of product
training for OEM vehicles, new launches, go out in the marketplace and help whether it was retailers
or customers understand the technology and the features and products of these new vehicles.
So then, help me get an understanding of what does your day-to-day look like here then?
Because I think in your title, something product development? It is product development.
When you get to a certain level in a build, whether it be drag racing or drifting,
road course or just the badass streetcar, you'll have to upgrade your transmission.
And when we're talking sequential transmissions, there's no one on the planet
with a stronger gearbox than 6XD. And the proof is in the pudding here, folks.
Half the FD field is rocking a 6XD and even 3,000 horsepower vipers have not been able to tame the
best that 6XD has to offer. So if you're ready to take it up a notch, go to 6XDgearbox.com.
And when contacting them to place an order, use code Minoxide 5 or reach out via socials to
figure out how one of the baddest transmissions on the planet could fit in your build. Let's get
back to the show. My day-to-day doesn't have nearly enough time in the garage, which is ironic
because I oversee the garage. This is one of the most fun places to be. Obviously, in my position,
I oversee from financial responsibility, making sure that we have the right resources in place to
continue to represent what's happening in the marketplace to help our members understand
whether it's technology or emissions or, like I said, manufacturing. It is operationally making
sure that our garages are continued to run. We do have our emissions compliance. Because we do
emissions compliance, it is heavily tied to regulatory requirements, making sure that all of
our equipment continues to meet and maintain those regulatory requirements. And then the
regulatory or government relations front is also a big part about the time that I spend. And well,
I have responsibility of the garage. The garage is also that subject matter expert that helps work
with our Washington DC-based government relations team to make sure that we have the right information
to work with lawmakers and other type of regulators. All right. Are you able to get into
something? What does that DC relationship look like then? What is the sum of details that go into that?
Well, we have an entire team in DC. We actually also have a team up in Sacramento. Anybody that's
been in the United States knows that when it comes to emissions, you've got the EPA and you've got
the California Air Resource Board. So we work hand in hand with both of those agencies. And we also
have a government relations staff that really kind of exists within those markets to help manage
those relationships as well. I like to say that our DC team and our Sacramento team, they're the
boots on the ground. They're the ones that are working day in and day out with a lot of the
regulators. We are responsible for making sure that we are giving them accurate data, research,
and information so that when they go talk to those regulators, they're telling the right story
that's accurate, true, and they've got the information that they need to be effective.
Do you have an example of what data you'd be providing?
Well, we can talk about a number of things. You're probably familiar with that little EPA
ruling that came down on the 29th of June. So I kind of purposely did not read more into it
because I'd rather just hear it from you. Can you kind of explain what that ruling is,
what it does and who it affects? Sure. So give me a little bit of leeway to give you the background
story because I think it's easier if you understand what happened in the past to understand what's
happening now. And that is, if you go back to when the Clean Air Act of 1975 was created,
the Clean Air Act created the Environmental Protection Agency. That agency was developed as a
part of that new regulatory structure. In California specifically back in the mid to late 60s,
they already started to suffer a smog problem. So California created the Air Resource Board
to help manage their own air quality because the Air Resource Board in California predated the EPA,
but the EPA has federal oversight. The EPA agreed to grandfather California in to allow them to
maintain their own emissions standards. And that's how it kind of balances the state versus federal
superiority issues. As we fast forward through time, California developed its own rules and
regulations. And one of those was the California Executive Order and anybody that is coming in
for emissions testing and wants that kind of true, I have the license to sell my product in all 50
states and I've proven it's legal. Historically, they've only ever been able to go through California
to get that proof of compliance. There was no other recognized pathway at a federal level to
showcase that you met the burden of emissions compliance. So CEMA several years ago created a
program called CEMA certified emissions. And it was really designed to help our members who maybe
they weren't interested in selling their product in California. Therefore, they didn't feel like
they needed to go through a California exclusive emissions compliance program. But yet there was no
other mechanism that they could show their distributors or retailers or their customers to
prove that their product was legal to sell, that it didn't tamper with any emissions devices on
vehicles and it complied with all the federal laws. So they could use this CEMA cert thing,
but since CEMA didn't have an official recognition, there's still a lot of ambiguity in the market.
So we've actually been talking to the EPA for a number of years, educating them as to what our
program is all about, hosting them both at the program level. These are the people that run
their National Vehicle Emissions Lab in Ann Arbor. They came over and audited all of our programs in
Detroit. We've hosted all the way from the administrator of the EPA to the various, you
know, chairs of the different divisions of the EPA that have come out and inspected our program,
looked at our program, and we've been able to earn the respect and credibility that we are testing
at a high level and that we have this program that's fully structured. And so the EPA agreed,
this is proof of compliance. It's proof of reasonable basis. Therefore, instead of California
having the exclusive tool to show this, we're also going to recognize CEMA and their CEMA cert program.
That doesn't make CEMA exclusive. We're only the first one, but I anticipate that the EPA will
continue to recognize other pathways for people to go through. But right now, we're thrilled that
we've been able to achieve this. We think it's a huge benefit for our members and frankly, anybody
that just wants the potential alternative to a California EO.
So right now, what you're saying is, if I'm making a product, I have to either go through,
get a carb EO, right? Or go through, is it CEMA certified?
CEMA certified emissions. That's the official, okay. And now either or is basically, whereas before it
was just one. Which is just California. Now, the difference is, California still has authority
in California. So CEMA certified only gives you authority in 49 states. And that's part of the
balance between carb and EPA. Now, what's really interesting is that our CEMA certified testing
methodology and results and thresholds for what constitutes a pass and a fail actually mirrors
the California EO. So members who have that CEMA certification can quite literally just put a
cover letter on that CEMA certification report, submit it to carb as their application for an EO.
And all of the necessary data that's there is included in that report up to and including
the what vehicle we did the test on, all the vehicle coverage that that product now will apply
to in their make model year trim packages. So these are traditionally all the things that
California and carb will actually help you develop and put together in this report. Okay.
We have five dedicated full-time engineers that just work with our members to help actually
do all those same things. And because of the CEMA garage program and our CEMA emissions program that
we've been running for well over a decade now, we have helped guide our members through over 800
California EOs. We have deep research or deep understanding of what California wants to see
in these reports. So we built our program based on all of what we've learned over that decade
to ensure that when we have these reports, these reports not only meet the burden of proof at the
federal level, but theoretically at the California level as well. And in many cases, we've seen
California actually take those reports, read through and approve that product based purely
upon the submission of that initial. And we actually call that a fast track program. So to help our
members navigate that California EO process even faster. And really the only difference is it relieves
the burden of review from California. Not that they're not going to review it, but they don't have
to go back and forth and keep asking for more information. We've anticipated every question
that they'll ask and answered every single one of those questions. So they can look at this report.
Yep. We're good. Yeah. Okay. So then again, I've had a lot of aftermarket
companies on the show. I'm going to use Brian Tuey as an example, VMP who you're familiar with as well.
Does it help those guys? How does it help guys like that? And then furthermore, how does it help
the even smaller guy? I think it helps everybody. Okay. And there's a couple of questions in there.
So what I would say is from the largest to the smallest, C-Migrage offers a non discriminatory
pathway, meaning whether you're a big guy or a small guy, it's where your place is in line.
And you get in line. This is where your product is. Our engineers are working through the program.
It helps everybody because I think we ultimately are more scalable than CARB is. CARB has to receive
their funding from government. And there's a long and tedious process when you need to hire more
staff. And one of the single largest complaints that we get from our members at every level
is the time it takes to navigate the CARB program. Well, there's only so many engineers to review
things. So as we can balance how many engineers we can hire relatively quickly based upon the
volume of work that we have to continue to scale up and scale down to maintain a very efficient
timely pathway. On average, it takes less than 90 days to go through the C-Migrage certification
process. So and that's inclusive of getting the product in. We write the test letter. We help
guide the member through what vehicle you're going to need to get. We can even help the members
actually source these vehicles. We've got a full-time mechanic that can install the parts and test
the vehicle in its modified state. We've got engineers that can then go review all that data
and compile it into the test summary report that is the basis of that actual C-Migrage certification.
Really just pull this a little bit towards you. Yep, perfection.
All right, do you have an example of something that members would come to you to get certified?
What are we talking about? We're talking about exhaust, superchargers.
Anything that touches airflow, engine management, fuel management, spark, all the way to, as they
basically say, everything that happens from the front of the airbox to the tail of the
rearmost catalytic converter, if there's multiple catalytic converters, is protected by the emissions
regulation. So then from my understanding then, we're not necessarily, this recent
ruling or whatever you want to call it, it doesn't necessarily pull back on anything. It just kind of
gives people in the aftermarket basically a fast track to putting products out there.
Everything we do, we do to try to alleviate the burden, the burden of time, money,
the burden of work to help our members navigate these regulatory paths more efficiently.
So, you talked about cost burden. This entire C-Migrage program, we've invested over $30 million
in our C-Migrage program in a little over a decade. We do this at a loss. This is a significant
investment cost on behalf of the Association to ensure that these dinos and equipment and resources,
whether it be expertise and guidance, are available to our members. Unlike a lot of manufacturers,
or I should say service providers in the marketplace, you're going to pay for dinotime.
You're going to pay for oftentimes all the fuel and all the other things that have to go into the
test and they're going to charge you per test. We charge based upon the real costs we have based
upon some of these things. An example is test fuel. We have to use certified test fuel. Certified
test fuel is like, if you think California fuel is expensive, try a 55-gallon drum of certified test
fuel that's anywhere from $50 to $80 a gallon. I do remember that with talking about that.
We'll go through, and those are real costs that we have to work through. We do our best to ensure
that our members can afford those. We subsidize a lot of that, but we also have to be responsible
with the money that we make from our members because we are stewards of our members' investment.
How are we using that investment? You go to the show and a lot of people say,
the show is a financial bonanza. The show really makes possible everything we do here at the
association, whether it's at the government relations level, whether it's the CMA garage level,
whether it's support and education through our councils and networks. All of the other initiatives
are investment back into the community that's made possible by the investment the community
makes in us at our show. One thing you mentioned there, the show is a connection to the government
level. Is that an instance where you're having people from DC fly into CMA deal?
Every year at the show, there is a robust attendance of government officials. Last year,
Lee Zeldin himself came to the show. We host senators, congressmen, lawmakers at both the
state and federal level. What do those conversations look like? Is there particular
conversations happening during the show there? Or is it just like, I'm going to keep a PG,
no, I'm fine. No, listen, you get the idea. Car culture is universal. People love cars.
I think it's one of those things that even if you're not a quote unquote car guy or car girl,
you still have an emotional connection to the vehicle that you tend to drive. Very few people
look at their vehicle as nothing more than a toaster. It's an expression of their fashion
themselves, whatever it is. And so I think that there's a universal connectivity that people just
love to be around cars. And being at the CMA show is peak love of being around cars. So I think
whether it's a lawmaker or whether it's a 19, 20 year old mechanic who's starting his own business,
it's like, there is a way that you can connect to these people and really kind of share in that
passion. So what are those conversations look like? It's education. It's experience. It's letting
people see our industry with their own eyes and understand that this isn't just a bunch of people
doing weird stuff with cars. This is a $337 billion economic impact to the US economy. The CMA show
annually is one of the largest gatherings of small businesses in America. So this is again,
cars is what brings us together. But there's so much economic vibrancy that if you're a lawmaker
and you're making laws, it matters when you make a decision that may impact billions of
dollars worth of economic impact or 1.3 million Americans that are employed within our industry.
Is that just the aftermarket? That's just our aftermarket community.
Really? Okay. Yeah, which that is a significant percentage of our population.
Like semi truck drivers are a similar figure, right? And it's like, it's a lot of people.
Yeah. So yeah, CMA as a whole, as an industry, I think this gets lost a lot of times, but
when we think about scale, $337 billion of economic impact annually, 1.3 million American jobs,
and one of the single largest gatherings of small business in America, this is what we celebrate
at an economic level. And all of that is wrapped in this fantastic passion of love for cars.
Okay. Where's your, I want to set, I mean, we're already a half hour into this, but let's set a
little bit of a precedent here. Where does your love for cars come from? I want to know who I'm
talking to. I grew up outside of Detroit. Okay. And I was the kid that stick in ball sports never
made any sense to me. No interest. Okay. I had more car magazines in my backpack than I had school
books. And every waking moment that I had, I was either in my dad's workshop or out in the garage
wrenching on something. So for me, I just love the mechanical complexity of cars.
I love how people express themselves through cars. I love how people express themselves through
modifying cars. And I love the fact that we are at a point in our industry where a person, an
individual has access to tools and the skill set that they can manufacture nearly OEM level
things. They can see a vision in their head. And I mean, you go to Seaman, you look at some of
these fabricated cars, it's a one off car. And you're like, I'm not sure an OEM could do better
than that. And it's, it's, it's just really is a, it's an amazing community. And it's, I feel lucky
to be a part of it. It does feel like we're in the last two years, I'd say we're kind of
in reverse because we were kind of on this downwards trajectory where kind of individualism
was kind of going away in car culture. And I think now we're kind of starting to see a resurgence,
especially with 3d printing, you have a CNC machine at home now. Yeah. I guess,
where do you see things heading in the next was it 2026 in the next four years, right? Because
right now I've been seeing a lot of articles with Europe having cameras in their car watching their
drivers. Are we under the same fire in the next few years to lose our ability to drive?
I, I don't think so. And I, and I think what you're going to find is that you're
going to find more choice in how you want to experience vehicles. There's still mechanical
watches because people appreciate the beauty of a mechanical watch. There's not a mechanical
watch on earth that's more accurate than a very cheap digital watch. There's also very expensive
digital watches. And I think what it really comes down to is just an explosion in consumer choice
in how they want to experience their vehicle and how they want their vehicle to support their needs.
There's a fantastic area of the SEMA show called FutureTech. And ironically, the SEMA garage helps
organize that particular area of the show each year. And the goal of FutureTech is to really
help our industry see what are the trends looking way ahead, not the trends of what you see on the
show floor broadly speaking, what's happening in real time or what's coming in the next year or two.
But what's coming 35 10 years down the road, what are the technologies that are going to
really redefine and shape our industry? And what we're seeing is technology is going to transform
the experience. Software defined vehicles is a word that we kind of keep hearing. And we think about
we're coming out of an area where if you want to tune a suspension, you're putting a different
spring rate in there. You're putting heavier shock oil or you're changing the way that fluid flows
through valves and such. You're not going to get a point to, you are now going to get to a point where
you can just change your algorithm. You can adjust the calibration. And that's an entirely
different level of vehicle modification personalization. And again, we talk about like our
vehicle technology, whether that's eight ass calibration, or whether that's suspension
calibration or brake modulation or chassis tuning. How are all of these different tools going to
enable the next generation of modifier to express themselves? And I think a lot of people, they'll
be like, Oh, the good old days, you know, it was so much better. Honestly, I use this analogy a lot,
but it's like the electric guitar. The electric guitar didn't make the acoustic guitar go away.
It just dramatically expanded the entire genre of what music could be. A guitar is still a guitar,
but now it's 10x more than it ever was with a single solution. So this is where I see,
you know, traditional combustion engines and the new addition of hybrid and the new additional
electrification and all the different software tools. I only see our industry as growing geometrically
over the next several decades because of access to new tools that allow people to express themselves
in new ways. Sure, more flavors to choose from totally like for me, I feel bad whenever I have
yes, who are talking about like 1930s and 1940s cars like I'm like, listen, man, 65 Mustang,
that's about as far as my like as far as I back I go after that, I'm I turn into a pumpkin, you
know, so I think it's just kind of natural progression, right? Sure. Things you're talking
about there is instead of wrenching on stuff you're playing around with algorithms. Totally.
And I saw an article about that. I think it was like two days ago, it's like,
back in the day, you had to like actually tune your suspension, now computers do it for you.
I mean, is that all that's going to be or I think there's going to be a combination of what it would
be. I think it will absolutely will be. And you know, it's like, not too long ago, you got the guy
that lived in the garage, me as a kid. I didn't have a lot of friends that sat up in their room
on their computers. But guess what? Now, the guy that's in his garage, and the friend that's working
on his computer, they have the same goal, they have a new way to connect and they have a way to
kind of add both of their skills together to make something that's greater than the sum of just
those two individual things. Oh, I was thinking on this on the plane today, I was like, I'm on a plane
that has Wi Fi and I have a laptop on my like, you know, I'm a lap. Yeah, I couldn't do that even
20 years ago, because my laptop would die after 30 minutes. And now when you think about the impact
of that on community growth, community expansion, it really starts to for me, it's exciting, because
I just think it's so many more people can participate in what this industry is all about. And again,
it comes back to the everybody loves cars, like, I don't know, it doesn't matter where you are,
everybody can relate to why somebody loves a car, or has a positive memory of something
that's about a car. Is there anything that scares you on the horizon? You seem like an
optimistic person. So I got to ask, what's the opposite? Is there anything that that makes you
nervous? What scares me is if SEMA didn't exist. Okay, here's why I say that paint that picture
of what it looks like without it. There's no, I don't know who else is in the industry to advocate
at that level, to protect access to to voice with scale, what our community needs. I think back to
what last year, last year, we challenged the California EV mandate program. So California had
a had codified program that was approved by the White House by the previous administration
the White House, that said by 2035, they were going to outlaw internal combustion engines and
gas vehicles. So you'd only be able to purchase an electric vehicle. Well, 12 other states have an
agreement with California to follow California's emission standards. Oh, really? Okay. So 12 other
states now, which constitutes in total 40% of the US population by 2035, we're going to lose the
ability to choose to buy a vehicle outside of an electric vehicle. I don't know, is that big of a
percentage? Yeah. So and just pull this a little bit closer here walking away on me. Yeah. So SEMA
challenged that legally. And we won. We won that case through a congressional review act.
And California was barred from being able to institute that law. And that that ensured at a
national level for the foreseeable future that consumers had a choice in what type of vehicle
they wanted to purchase. It wasn't anti EV. It was pro technology, because there's people that need
a diesel truck. I can't use an EV. I need a diesel truck. There's people that want a hybrid. There's
different solutions for different consumer needs. And that's a that's for me an example of SEMA's
willing to fight the fight on behalf of our community on the behalf of our members. And
without us doing that, because I've seen how effective and powerful it can be.
It scares me to think about the amount of access that would be lost for our community. And especially
as we come into a world that's going to be defined by software and encryption and access,
not having somebody that is proactively trying to build those frameworks to protect vehicle
modification could be catastrophic for this industry. Haltech has once again pushed the
envelope today we are talking GM. Sorry, everyone else at the end of 2025 day announced their new
transmission interfaces for our GM listeners, which is a solution for those with four L and six
L series transmissions. So whether you have a drift car, drag car, or a high powered street car,
you can finally rip out that rinky dink almost two decade old OE setup and get set up with everything
that a standalone ECU has to offer without the compromise. To learn more and go to tombuy
Sean shawen.com to learn about how a haltech can take your build to the next level and why you're
added. Check out the various plug and play solutions for your platform as well, including some install
videos. As always, you can use COAM and Oxide for 5% off. Let's get back to the show. Do you see
how do we make SEMA better? What does better look like? I guess that's a question. Better looks like
bigger, more members, a larger community. And I talked about this, we've got 7,000 members.
I'd love to have 10,000 members. We talk about tire shops and we have a few hundred tire shops,
retailers as part of our SEMA membership. There's something like 30,000 independent tire shops out
there in the United States. I would like more of those people to be a member of our community
because collectively it grows our voice. And the more the more voice we have, the more effective we
can be at really guiding the framework and regulatory structure and access necessary for our industry.
I imagine at any given point, there's dozens, if not hundreds of various things that people
within the organization are working on. But let's say you do get 10, 20, 30, 100,000 members.
How do you choose where to place that energy and who to shout at and whatever?
I can't even imagine what the SEMA show would look like with 100,000 members. It's already over a
million square feet. I think there's scale in numbers. There's power in numbers. So, yeah,
bigger is better. I don't think we have to be the biggest. I don't think it's ever been about
conquer the world be the biggest. It's just being complete. The more complete we are as a community,
the more aligned we are as a community, the more effective we can be as a community to
manage where we're going and fight back against the inevitable challenges of OEMs,
want to limit access to vehicles. And I understand why they want to protect their own intellectual
property, whether it be software or something like that. But when you start to hit a wall where
if a member wants to put a winch or a bumper or a wrap or a lift kit on their truck,
they're going to need access to some of the 8S calibration numbers so they can adjust those
calibrations to ensure that the vehicle that they purchased maintains a lot of the features and
technology features and the integrity of those features to react and respond properly. Without
SEMA working at the regulatory level, without SEMA helping voice that collective need,
I think we'd be a lot less effective and you'd have a lot more of the industry that would find
just a lot less access. Is there any concerns that
are we going, like for example, like we just got access to the TCU on the C8? That took over the
entire car world. Like that is going to be the car to mod for the next decade. I don't care who you
are, it just is. Do we, as generations progress, and again, this is looking way far down the pipeline,
but it's like, are we going to lose certain aspects of being able to modify cars, especially
like, again, 8S is the one that freaks me out right now. It should. What I will say first about
8S, we learned a hard lesson on the 8S front. We learned a hard lesson on the emissions front.
We were late to the game on emissions. The laws were the laws. By the time we sat down at the table
and decided to really take this seriously, we were beholden to a system that was already built.
The lesson that we learned and what we see moving forward is that emissions laws impact a relatively
small portion of our manufacturing members. Those that create products that impact your emissions only.
8S is much larger, much more far reaching. So again, I mentioned wraps, lift kits, bike racks.
Any of these things can potentially impact the functionality of these systems. So we started
investing several years ago in actually building out the understanding, the data, doing real research
on modified vehicles versus stock vehicles to understand how these systems reacted differently.
We created a series of white papers, peer reviewed through education and such,
and giving us the opportunity and it's taken us a few years to gain the seat at the table now
where we're able to have conversations with NHTSA, with IAHS, with the FIA, which is a global regulator
of safety and mobility initiatives. We're able to have these conversations because we've done the
research and become the expert in this area, anticipating what's coming is going to require
a strong expert and advocate and that's the role of SEMA. So as we look ahead and you said ADASH
should scare you, it should scare you. At the same time, you should know that SEMA has already
been working on this for nearly three years on this particular initiative. So when you come to
the realization that this is something that's going to impact your business.
Caught me by surprise. I don't always get caught.
Air compressor. When you come to the realization that this is an issue that's going to impact your
business, take comfort in knowing SEMA is ready to have that conversation and we've already started
marching that path. Who's the first to know? When you guys started marching down that ADASH path,
was there somebody being like, hey, you should probably watch out for this. This is the next
thing coming on. Or is it just kind of like rumbling sort of thing? I think we saw the
writing on the wall. I mean, when you've got manufacturers that have been putting these adaptive
all of these different systems have been present down in cars for probably the last eight to 10
years. So then you just ask what's next basically. Yeah. So as we saw these technologies start rolling
out on these vehicles, it became apparent pretty quickly. It's like, unless we can start to adjust
and recalibrate some of these systems post modification, we're going to hit a really
hard pain point. And so that gave us the opportunity to then educate at our board level,
hey, what's going on to gain access to the funding necessary to initiate the testing and research,
to create a body of information and data that we can then start using to shape the right strategy.
And the strategy of, listen, Seema's got to take the lead in creating some regulatory structure
around here that can help ultimately shape what NHTSA will ultimately have to decide the industry
is going to need to do. Because up to this point, most of the legal requirements, the federal motor
vehicle safety standards and such, really only applied in new cars. But when you're at a point
where the average age of a vehicle in the marketplace today is 13 years old, you know these
cars are going to be around for a while. So what's going to happen during the natural lifetime of
this vehicle the next 13 years, we know it's going to go through multiple owners and we know that
multiple owners love to modify their vehicles. So we need to make sure that there's pathways
available for the marketplace to continue to thrive and grow in the face of a lot of these new technologies.
What is when it comes to regulation, and I'm sure it is very state to state, right? Like for
example, I can't have 10 to Minnesota, but is there a certain age, a car where it's like, all right,
law is no longer applied to you? I mean, I perfectly speaking, but
At the regulatory level from an emissions test, most like catalytic converters have to have a
useful life of 150,000 miles. After that, you would be expected to replace the catalytic converter.
If you live in California, you're going to go to a smog test. If your car's got 200,000 miles and
you're no longer passing a smog test, you might have to go buy a catalytic converter. But when
the catalytic converters are certified, they're certified to have to meet a useful life of 150,000
miles. Yep. But let's say we're talking about like, is the goal post moving, right? If we're
talking about like 2005 Chrysler 300, right? Like, yeah, does that after a certain age of being out
of the market 20 years now, do does it start to get affected by less rules or whatever was set at
2005, for example, still carries? Really emissions laws start to take place in 1965. But it's very
ambiguous until 1975, which was the beginning of the Clean Air Act. So any vehicle post 1975,
you are legally required to maintain the emissions systems that was present on that vehicle at the
level it was originally certified at. So if you go out and buy a 1986 Monte Carlo,
whatever that vehicle was originally certified at is your threshold to what you can do to modify it.
You can't exceed that limit. Amazingly, and this is one of the, one of these wonky areas where
regulation I think hasn't quite caught up to reality. We're at a point now in our industry
where we're producing such great products, you can go out and buy a crate engine at 350 to
We'll give that one a second. Yeah. Should we let that one roll down? Give that a break.
Yeah, we'll give that a second here. That's a good breeze though. It is a really cool coming out here.
I have no idea how long that's going to run.
Hydration. Right. Are you guys watching the World Cup then? Or you know what? I turned it off after
America lost. I'm like, I don't care anymore. I wish I could have caught the game today. It looks like
it was a good one. Yeah. Yeah. I, uh, who do you think's going to take it all?
Yeah.
Yeah, right. I, uh, I'm curious to see what's going to happen against Spain. Nobody's got a goal on them yet.
Spain is a immovable object. Nobody's got a goal. Not a single team this tournament. I didn't know that.
It's the immovable object. I didn't get France unstoppable force. I, the last World Cup, like I
remember watching, wasn't it France won it in, in kicks at the end of the game? Like the last
game, I feel like it went to penalty kicks or whatever they end. Yeah. And that was the one.
But it was like Zonda or something. Zonda was like, was it? Yeah. Yeah. He was the guy. Like he was the guy.
That was like eight years ago. So we'll give it like 30 more seconds. Yeah.
We got to wrap this up. Right. There you go. Yeah. Uh, I think you were talking about crate engines.
Yeah. So one of the, one of the amazing things about where we are today in our industry is
you can take a vehicle that's certified in the 80s with maybe an old carbureted V8 or V6 engine.
You can put a 300 plus horsepower crate engine in there with a modern over the counter EFI system
and tune it to probably be twice the horsepower within 80 to 90% decrease in overall emissions.
And it's, it's, it's fantastic when you think about a point where
performance has now unlocked the ability to also improve emissions.
That's one thing that I constantly discuss on this show is every time for some reason,
there's some sort of regulation when it comes to direct injection. It's like we, like the Corvette,
it's a 1064 horsepower. It's like, this shouldn't be possible. But I guess when you look at emissions,
when you're actually burning everything up, there's more power. So there's,
there's a positive to it. I mean, I remember when the first helicat came out and everybody was
scratched in their head saying like, this is a 700 horsepower car with a factory warranty.
Yeah. That's, that's, I mean, but yet now 700 horsepower is every manufacturer has a 700
horsepower car. Right. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's, it's come to that. It's, we need Dodge to come back
with something. I grew a mopar. So my heart is breaking. I would not bet against Dodge coming
out with something. Yeah, no, we'll see what happens there. But crate engines actually,
I'm really curious here, how does that work? Right? Cause like, OE cars, they already have a
set certification or whatever, but let's say you're making a custom block for the street, you know,
you're born out some LS or whatever, right? And you're making 2000 horsepower that you're
intending to put on the street. What is, do you smog test something like that? Does it fall in its
own category? In California, there's a program called, well GM used to call it their E-Rod.
So there are California compliant EOD crate motors that you can literally put in a vehicle.
So the way it works on emissions compliance is you need a kit. So if, if, if, if what you are
trying to apply for includes more than one part, they have to create a kit for it. So on a, on a,
on an emissions compliant crate motor, you would have to have the engine, the wiring harness,
the ECU, the catalytic converters, all together as a singular kit. And then there's a very defined
set of instructions of when you put the cats on the cats can't move from their correct orientation,
there is existing orientation or within a particular distance of the manifold. There's
a very tight tolerance of how you can modify or manipulate that to actually fit into the vehicle.
But assuming you follow all those rules and you have an EO number for that, you can go to your
smog station, they're going to open up, they're going to see a crate motor, they're going to see
an EO number, they're going to go check on their computer and find out that that's a valid EO number.
Interesting. And that's the same thing for CIMA cert. So again, the same way that we've,
that we've created that program in the same structure as the EO program. If a, if, if you
live in a state that has a smog check other than California, and they check that product and it
has a CIMA cert, they can go online, they can check a public database and find that this is a fully
legal certified product. Okay. So yeah, because I've been thinking, I was like, there's some guys
out there that make crate motors that are making 1500, 2000 horsepower power and generally not
emissions compliant. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I was just kind of curious if there's like a certain,
like a different set of rules for something like that. So it's the EPA thing. Actually,
nevermind. Scratch that. I had a question earlier. So when it comes to CIMA, there's a local level,
there's kind of like a state level, and then there's the federal level. Do you guys work with
all three? And more importantly, next administration, whether it's blue or red,
does what CIMA, what CIMA does, does that change with the administration?
We generally will always change our tactics and strategy and approach based upon whatever
administration is in office. And this is actually one of the reasons why our EPA recognition was,
was such a significant step forward is that rather than one particular administration allowing it,
because the EPA came out and formally recognized CIMA certification as a legal pathway,
proof of reasonable basis, that it is effectively now protected. What we refer to as durable. So
now as another administration comes in, that's, that's in the paperwork. There is that letter
that it is written proof that this exists. And so it makes it more complicated to try to just
at the whims of whatever the next administration can be. And we all know that this happens. So
regardless of whether you're blue or you're red and what administration is in power,
things have been ping-ponging for a number of years. So to be able to gain that in writing
and get that recognized formally really helps create a more stable marketplace.
Okay. Yeah, okay. I want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly. I'm going to use
the 2021 GT500 as an example. When that car came out, it was making 760 horsepower, whatever.
And then you get into the aftermarket, somebody wants to whatever do a bigger blower, what have you.
If I'm understanding correctly, they start to pass the same emission standards with
the upgraded blower. Is that how that works or modifications?
Every vehicle has, it's, every, you can go look at their own vehicle, pop the hood, look up under
the underside of the hood, and you're going to see this thing called a VECHI label, the vehicle
emissions certification information. And that's going to have a, alphanumeric
code with a couple of dots in it. And that really refers to what is the engine family that's in
this vehicle. That engine family may be one single vehicle. It may be only the, the, the, the 500,
the GT500, or that engine might be used widely across several truck models and other sports cars and
whatever else it falls into. That creates the basis for what we call a vehicle coverage list.
So if a, if a manufacturer brings a product in, and maybe it's for your GT500, they're going to say,
I need this vehicle to fit in GT500. We're going to look at what that engine family is,
and we're going to say, what is the worst performing emissions in this engine family,
the certified engine family? And it might not be the GT500. Maybe it's a Ford Raptor R, or it's a,
you know, heavy duty Ford truck that's like same engine, same emissions family, but this one actually
has a heavier load, heavier weight, and it's a little bit harder to pass. That's the vehicle we
have to test on. And then so what happens is based upon what vehicle we used to test, it then expands
or contracts the coverage that that product would have. So if somebody's coming in and is like,
listen, I need to sell it on a, on a, this GT500, we're going to test on the GT500. Maybe that's
the only vehicle it's certified on. It just depends on what is within that, that engine family.
Okay. So that's what the vacuum is. It's for the,
yeah, it just identifies what is the engine and emissions family that was used during the
certification process. Was there another sort of rating for as like, like a fleet thing too,
or is that the same thing? I'm not sure. Okay. I was trying to think is like,
like basically everything that Chevy makes, for example, or no, but I mean, but listen,
if Chevy is going to calibrate an engine in a drivetrain, they're not going to want to calibrate
35 different versions of the same thing. They're going to calibrate
five versions of the same thing and then use those in as many vehicles as they can. So that's
the basis of this particular engine family based upon that vehicle, Vecchi code constitutes what's
in that engine family. So then that kind of becomes like your ceiling of like how far you can
modify basically. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And the way that emissions really works is you're not allowed
to exceed more than 10% of the certified standard. Oh, okay. Yeah. Gotcha. Okay. So what's next on
the horizon then immediately like what you and I finished this podcast, what are you doing working
on next week? Next week, ADAS. ADAS. ADAS. That garage that we were checking out? That garage,
we're, we're adding ADAS calibration capabilities here in our Diamond Bar facility. Our Detroit
facility was really built around having all that calibration. That facility is insane. I still
am envisioning that facility. Like it is massive. So this particular facility is 15,000 square feet
in total. All of the same fundamental services exists here that exists in Detroit, but Detroit
was built on a 45,000 square foot footprint. And really what changes the, the dynamic so much
is the access to large space to do a lot of the ADAS calibrations and understanding or anticipating
what other technological needs are going to be required within that space. Well, it's just the
amount of cars I saw in there too. What do you refer to this as like the cool down room or something
like that? We call this the soak room. The soak room? The soak room. So you don't ever want to test
an emissions product when it's hot. So as you probably know that a vehicle, until the catalytic
converters heat up, that's where they pollute the most. So one of the hardest areas to kind of meet
that emissions compliance is cold start. Whenever you do an emissions test, you bring a vehicle
into your soak space, let it get to ambient temperature, and then you have to start it on
the test and actually measure how much pollutants came out of the vehicle before the catalytic
converters got up to operating temperature. It's all part of the regulation. It's what we have to do.
We don't make up the tests. The tests are dictated by the federal government.
We institute the tests. For example, you are already taking stuff from the OEs and giving it
to the aftermarket. Is there anything going the opposite direction where the aftermarket is helping
the OEs? Absolutely. Really? I mean, the list is long of OEs that attend the SEMA show each year
looking to see what the aftermarket is doing, looking to see how they've developed these solutions.
I made the comment earlier. It's like, we are a community of mad scientists and things that would
never be feasible to even try at an OE level. Somebody's going to try it at the aftermarket
level. And you're like, I wish we would have thought about that. We would have never done that.
But now that I see it and I see that it works, we need to do that. A famous one is going to be the
air intake on the light of a Dodge Challenger, the Hellcat. That was a SEMA member that created
that. Oh, really? And that was kind of discovered at the SEMA show and moved right over into the
factory production. But what does the aftermarket give the OEM community? They give them a vision
of what customers are going to get excited about. They're going to give them access to the trends.
What is the OEM community give the aftermarket? They give us the canvas. Every single OEM vehicle
is a clean canvas for our community to personalize, customize, and modify.
Do you see, because we've been kind of SUV truck heavy for a long time, do you see us getting back
into Hellcat territory? All we have left is the Mustang, right? I think the Camaro just
announced the comeback maybe. There's been some rumors. Yeah, but do we see that dynamic shifting
at any point? You know, I've seen some of the market trend reports and it's pretty amazing what's
projected as far as growth within that small to mid-sized SUV segment and the truck segment and
the SUV segment. What I would say is most of the other segments are probably pretty flat,
stable, or slightly declining. But when you look at anything in kind of that off-road segment,
you just see this widening gap of growth. And it's, I mean, it just speaks to the lifestyle.
And that's a huge part about our community. It's like we are transitioning from a hobbyist community
to a lifestyle community. And you see that with like trucking off-road. It's creating its own
lifestyle. That raises a good point. Side by sides. I'm starting to see more and more of those
becoming like road legal. Yep. Is that the way we keep cars? Man, Max, just coin them side by sides?
Well, it's funny because coming up to the SEMA show this year in 2026, you'll see more side by
side. SEMA has actually embraced the Power Sports community and brought them in as part of our new
off-road lifestyle over in our West Hall area. So we see side by side off-road in Power Sports as
just a new extension of our overall lifestyle community. I mean, at the end of the day, these
are manufacturers of parts designed to fit on vehicles, whether that vehicle is two wheels
or four wheels. We're the same community. Just in the same way that a hot rod guy is different than
a truck guy or a rest-o-mod guy is different than one of our other communities. The Power Sports is
just yet another extension of I think our overall community. Is there instances where you use those
various, like for example, about a week and a half ago, I was following a G80 M3 in my neighborhood
and for about 60 seconds, it was just pops and bangs. Yep. If I was a regulator, I'd be like,
regulate him out of existence, right? Just because for a full 60 seconds, just pop, pop, pop, pop.
So I get it. But is there an instance where you're using, like for example, a side by side
community or motorcycles or trucks be like, these are not the same and here's how we're trying to?
So there are sound laws that relate to any of the motorized on-road vehicles and frankly,
some of the off-road vehicles as well. As with everything, people are going to manipulate their
products and some of those will be compliant and some of them won't. Our job isn't to
determine what you should or shouldn't do. Our job is to help you meet the regulatory standards
that exist within the marketplace so that you can sell your products legally. Is there a future where...
I don't know. I kind of know the answer to this. Is there a future where SEMA helps loosen
any sort of guidelines, like give us a little bit more freedom? Like, oh, you know why we can
modify this a little bit more or this and that? Or is that just kind of...
I think if it's responsible and it's supported by data that's a legitimate need,
I think, yeah, that's our job is to help continually evolve and shape the regulatory
structure around vehicle modification. It's a huge part of what we're doing with our HR
6688 bill, I believe it is. Sometimes I get bad with the numbers, but it's basically our
ADAS, it's our right to modify. It talks about ADAS systems, the integrity and the functionality of
these. It's really helping make sure that we are putting the right structure in place to allow
our members to bring products to market in a safe and responsible way.
For some reason, that reminds me of like, I'm sure you've seen the Jim Farley interviews where...
I don't know if it's just him getting misquoted. I haven't caught up on the articles in a couple
months, but the whole like, right to repair thing. Do you see OEs potentially reducing that ability
to be able to work on your own car? Or is that just a natural progression of technology?
I think it's a natural progression of technology and I think it will always be...
There's always going to be tension there between the aftermarket and the OEM community about
who should have access to what and what are the potential issues. At the end of the day,
I understand OEMs are very concerned about their warranty budget. We're all worried about our
budget and how much we're doing that. So there is certainly, I think, reasonable concern there,
but there also has to be reasonable access for members to continue to work on the vehicles that
they own. Yeah. I was just... I also just remembered the whole... I think it's Sun-N-Law like modified
some car and it blew up or whatever. I don't know. I can't remember. It was like, it didn't
have blew up on that one. It's, again, sometimes it's interpretation, but other times it's...
There's genuine worry there as well. I want to go back to the cost side of things. So now that
SEMA is able to do SEMA certified and it's recognized, is there a significant cost difference to going
through the process through SEMA compared to like going through a car BO before?
I think you're going to find that the costs are actually probably pretty similar. I mean, at the
end of the day, the same tests need to be done. The same vehicles need to be sourced and the same
products need to be bolted and ultimately all of the processes are the same by design. The real
benefit here is SEMA's ability to subsidize access to those versus a lot of the outside
service providers in the marketplace as well as SEMA's ability to expedite the process.
Again, I mentioned earlier one of the biggest complaints about
car BOs was the time it takes and when you've got somebody that's waiting anywhere from
six to 24 months to gain permission to sell a product...
Is it really that long?
A market can shift entirely. And so by us working to really kind of define a pretty
reliable 90-day window or less, it allows people to build a strategy, a launch strategy,
and a business case about how do I want to invest in this product based upon what I think the
market is going to support. We talk about that time, how long it can take on the car BO side.
We had evidence in one product alone that we did research on that in the time it took
that company to get their product to market legally through the EEO program.
There's over $12 million of counterfeit products sold in the market illegally
that effectively capitalized on their available market share.
Now you have a product that comes to market and you're like, I've lost a significant portion
of my customer base to either unscrupulous players who decided not to pursue emissions
compliance or potentially foreign imports that just believe skirted.law altogether.
Okay, I see what you're saying. So basically,
we're talking like one or two man shops versus some more established companies that would
pop up on the radar and potentially get in trouble sort of deal. Whereas if I wanted to go
sell a product like again, exhaust blowers, whatever, I could do that as an individual,
get to market quicker. But I might not want to play by the rules is what you're saying.
Yeah, I mean, listen, that's if you want to get rich fast, go rob a bank, right? You're going to
have to deal with the consequences of that. If you want to go to market and sell a product,
you can go to market and sell a product, but you're going to be doing it in violation of federal
law. Right. So you'll have to bear the consequence of that. And that's the purpose of our emissions
compliance program is to ensure our members have a inaccessible and affordable pathway
to get the testing necessary and the certification necessary to be able to show the market. I played
by the rules. I'm making good quality products that meet the federal standard. And you as a buyer
can take pride in owning that and you can know that you're not going to get stopped by the by
a law or you're not going to fail a smog test. So it just helps create more sustainability
and predictability throughout the entire market. Yeah. So to kind of put an end cap on that is
like one of the things you say in some instances, people are waiting six to 24 months. Yeah. That
is if you had to guess, like, do you have an example of what type of product it was by chance?
It can really run the gamut from anywhere from intakes to, you know,
a blower, whether it's a forced induction intake or even a cold air intake box.
Man, I could see something like that. Like being on the with CarPlay and Company 23, I get to see
behind the scenes of what it takes to develop a product and getting that product to market.
That would be a pain in the ass to wait that long. So and so and you're saying the goal is to, again,
and you probably said three times at this point, but it's to get it towards like that 90 day window
then. Yeah, we really that is kind of our objective is to try to create a process that a member can
navigate within a fixed period of time and 90 days is really what we think is a fair and predictable
window. I mean, remember 90 days is we're going to get a product and we're going to help you
evaluate that product. We're going to create a testing strategy report based upon what is required
by federal law to ensure that this product meets meets the standard. We can help you source the
appropriate test vehicle. We've got to get that vehicle in here. We can help you modify that test
vehicle. We've got to go through a series of tests once that's modified. Well, let's let's use more
of a concrete example. So CarPlay Subaru stuff. Let's give me a 2025-26 Subaru. Sure. Or do you
prefer a couple of years older? We could do literally anything that's again post 1975 to present is
going to fall under a legal requirement for compliance. Okay, let's say Subaru drops this new
STI this year. Everybody's going to be doing development on that thing, which I really hope
it's like the concept. It looks freaking sick. But anyways, I got this new Subaru. How do I join
SEMA? How much does it cost? And then what are my steps to I want to drop everything from an intake
to an exhaust to let's just start with those two. Sure. Well, if you want to join SEMA, your first
place to go is I'd go to SEMA.org. Okay. So that's our website. And you're going to see contact us
now, phone number, you can call you can you can join SEMA. And again, the membership is skilled to
what size company you are. So say a couple million a year, a couple million dollars a year, you're
probably talking if off the top of my head. And I don't know the number, the membership fees off
hand, but 200 bucks, 300 bucks. Okay, it's it's it's very affordable. So actually, let's let's
say something more realistic, like a five to $10 million company, like a little bit. So probably
does a scale respect to that. You still be well under 1000 bucks. Okay, so 1000 bucks, I get access
to what you're going to gain access to a whole suite of our member benefits. And first and foremost,
you don't need to be a member to come and test a product to SEMA garage. Okay.
I might give you a small discount. We give our members a discount to incentivize them to be
members, but we still offer our services to anybody within the marketplace.
You gain access to the protective measures of our government relations, you gain access to all of
our education initiatives, you gain access to our councils and networks that helps connect you
through to other leaders that are helping shape shape their particular industry segments.
You gain access to a whole host of benefits. So in this case, I'm not sure if you guys work
directly with Subaru, do you work with directly with Subaru at all? We have in the past, Subaru is
not one of the OEMs, we have a strong relationship. Let's pretend we do in this instance, though,
just for my concrete example. In this case, you would get all this CAD data from Subaru. So that's,
I'm assuming engine based scans, all that sort of stuff. I mean, I'll use four to general motors
as an example as it comes to CAD because those are two of our largest CAD partners. We have access
to the entire vehicle. Okay. You want interior, exterior seats, electronics, wiring, harnesses,
drive, train, suspension, tires, whatever it is, right down to almost a nut and bolt level. We've
got all that CAD data. And then let's say my thousand dollar fee, do I get access to that or is that
a separate thing? So that's a separate thing. And the reason it's separate is because we work with
the OEMs to contract to gain access to this CAD information. We have two full-time engineers that
do nothing but manage that CAD information. And we also have to manage an entire database
and the security around that database and the way that it shares. So we have a program called
Tech Transfer. You go to cmcgrodge.com, backslash, Tech Transfer and click on that,
and go in and actually browse. Even as a non-member, you can gain access to our list of files. You
can sort that out. But if you are a SEMA member, you can then enroll in our Tech Transfer membership,
which is only available to product part manufacturers. Okay. And then our engineers that go through and
vet each and every one of those requests, if you're an engine parts manufacturer, you're likely going
to be limited to engine parts CAD. And what we want to do is try to protect the chain of custody,
so to speak, of that intellectual data that's the OEM data, making sure that the right companies are
requesting information that is consistent with their product portfolio. And if you're looking for
a CAD file that is inconsistent, you can make that request and we will work with you to validate
whether that is a legitimate request or not. So I just want to make sure I understood this
correctly. So you would only vet if I'm making an intake, for example, I would have to already be in
that specific space, not entering into it. Like for example, we make short shifters and links
short on power stuff. And I, at least to my knowledge, we don't have an interest in getting
into the power stuff anytime soon. Does that mean we would not be able to get that stuff? Because
we aren't in that particular space? No, it just means that your quote unquote self serve once you've
been vetted and approved, you can just log on to our website, go through self serve, click files,
I need it downloaded, you're good to go. Because we know that you're a trusted entity. If you are
an engine product manufacturer, now you're looking for interior surfaces. If that's not currently
what you're approved at, then you would just make the request say, Hey, listen, I'm looking to move
into this segment. This is an area that I'm looking for. This is the type of product I'm looking to
build. Okay, we will approve you for that. So it just gives us an opportunity to kind of like
do a sniff test to make sure we're working with the right companies, they're requesting data
that's consistent with what their product intent is. The last thing we want is to
share this proprietary information with a bad player. Right. Okay. Yeah. And that's where I was
going to ask like, how do we again, you got a reputation to uphold and all that stuff.
Before I refer to any of my remaining questions, is there anything that you wanted to touch on
that we haven't so far? You know, I would say we've got the SEMA show coming up in November,
the third through the sixth of November. I don't think SEMA needs any advertising. We know all
about it. Yeah, but yet still, I would say, you know, it is the SEMA show is such a fantastic
celebration of our industry. And we're already seeing really robust, you know, sales on the SEMA
show. If you're still looking to get into the SEMA show, go to SEMA show.com website. There's
still space on the floor. And it is, I think really, we're excited about what's coming this year with
the show. Like I said, so it's already over a million square feet sold. And if you haven't been
there before, this is going to be another fantastic year to come and experience what this community
is all about. How involved are you with PRI? Because that's owned by SEMA. Yeah, we are. So
as you would imagine on the racing side, there's not a lot of emissions compliance that we need to
do. I cross over a little bit with PRI on the product development side and technology. Yeah.
But really, PRI exists as it's really kind of its own community. It is a part of our community.
It's a subset, but they really kind of focus in on their own unique needs to that racing
and performance world. Okay. And really, just pull that back towards it. He walked away on me a
little bit. There we go. That's better. All right. So, okay. Does PRI have its own
sort of copy-paste version of like, is it working through the same
parties through DC or is it a different group? DC absolutely represents the performance racing
industry. It's actually more at the grassroots level. So this and you talked about kind of that,
that local state and federal. One of the most active areas of engagement for our DC team
with PRI is actually small tracks, the protection of small tracks. And anybody that's gone to their
local dirt track probably has been faced with the challenges of neighbors that complain about
sound ordinances and things like that. And as small tracks have existed for generations,
and now you're getting urban creep or urban sprawl, as they say, and you might get communities
are going to say, Hey, listen, this is a loud track. We don't like this loud track. So we've
actually worked pretty aggressively to try to enshrine the opportunity for those tracks to
continue to exist and say, Listen, if this track was here, you voluntarily moved into an area
knowing that this track existed, and you knew exactly what the soundness is, you shouldn't
have the ability to legislate this track out of business or regulate this track out of business.
So creating a more durable structure to protect small businesses and small racetracks across
America is a is a very significant issue that our regular that our DC team works with. Yeah,
I think there was even Kimberb, what state it was that basically enacted that as a law
in Iowa? I don't know that enacted as laws like, Hey, like we were here first. Yeah. Like, for
example, the neighborhood that we moved into about a year and a half ago, it's like we found out
there's a gun range in the backyard didn't realize that until we moved in. Yep. And it's like all
day like it scares my dog was like, what am I gonna do? Put these people out of business? They
were here first. Like, there is that. Yeah. And it should be the responsibility of
residents when they move into areas to understand what's in the area. We started building the house.
We didn't know there was a train going through the been there done that. Yeah, no, it's so I get it.
But at the same time, it's like, it's tough when you lose a track. Yeah. You know, for it's in
Minnesota, I have to drive two hours to go through the nearest track. I mean, we have the local
community college track, which is decent. But like to go to the actual race tracks, like an hour
and a half drive for me, right? I mean, it's I think about in your area, like I used to go to
like, I think Fergus Falls and some of the tracks that was a little bit further outside probably
where you live. And it's like, I've been there on a Friday night. And I know what those tracks mean
to a lot of these communities. I mean, it's like, these are this is this is the social center of
a lot of these communities. And we need to protect that we need to continue to protect and make sure
that the next generation has access to that same resource. Yeah, I'm curious to see how that'll
change is to especially for the next generation. There was one more question here. I pull my
Facebook every once in a while because I have but he gets Oh, all right. This one actually
had no context on what what's the president's memorandum or whatever the president's memorandum.
So you're talking about this is the one that came on June 29. Is that the same thing? Yeah. So this
was kind of re I'm yeah, June 29. This was related to
President Trump's directive for right to repair that he he and his memorandum said that people
should have access to the tools necessary and the right to repair their own vehicle
that manufacturers should have the ability to produce products to fix vehicles outside of a purely
restricted OEM chain. So there is an there is a section of that that specifically talked about
emissions compliance. And the the fact that there should be more than one recognized pathway,
which is the carb pathway. And so what that memorandum did is it gave the EPA a 30 day
window to come up with solutions. Well, two days later on July 1, the EPA issued their
memorandum related to SEMA certified emissions, recognizing SEMA certified emissions as an
alternative recognized pathway to the California executive order at the federal 49 state level.
Did that discussion happen because of SEMA or how did we even get to that discussion to the
table? Because I feel like I mean, when when you think of the president, right, you got 10,000
people in every direction. That again, doesn't matter what administration it is. You have all
these people that are begging for your attention. Sure. How did we all of a sudden as a car community
get the attention of the president? I think it was a combination of hard work and timing. So
meaning that there's been a lot of debate about right to repair and access to proprietary OEM
data and parts for owners of vehicles to repair their own vehicles. Concurrently, to that debate,
we've been engaging at the regulatory level for a number of years, and specifically with the EPA,
to try to gain their recognition regarding our SEMA certified. So I think what happened is you got a
presidential memorandum on right to repair that really aligned with a specific request to say,
listen, we need other pathways for members to bring products to market legally. We had already
been engaging with the EPA. They had already vetted us. We'd already had conversations with their
program staff, hosting them into our facilities to audit our processes. And we were a very easy
jump for the EPA to say, well, listen, if the president has just asked me for a solution,
we've been speaking with SEMA for a while now, and they have proven that this solution is durable
and reliable. This is our direct response to that particular section of that memorandum.
Okay. Okay. Well, before I pop my last question, did I miss any topics? Was there anything else that
you wanted to further go into that? I think we've covered a lot of ground in the last 90 plus minutes.
I think we've, I think some people are at least somewhat more educated on these topics. Like,
again, I try to enter into these without like a little bit of research to be weaponized a little
bit in the questions, but more so, I also want to come at it from where's the general public or my
audience coming from because not all of us can read. Yeah. Imagine I just stopped right there.
Not all of us can read, but these lengthy, lengthy articles and what's going on at all times because
a lot of the guys that are in the space are in shops or working or whatever. So that said,
are you ready for my final question then? I am ready for it. At the end of every episode,
I like to ask my guests to pick three cars and it goes like this. You have an unlimited budget,
mod it any way you want, do whatever your heart desires and you have to pick a daily driver,
a track car and a show car. What three are you picking? A daily driver.
It's so split between a Land Cruiser and an Audi RS6 Avant. I love the Audi RS6.
I got spent some time driving one last time I was here. So I just, I love that one. But if I had to
pick one daily that was my only daily for the rest of my life, I'd probably find a 300 series
Land Cruiser from a foreign market and figure out how to import it. Okay. Okay. I like that answer.
Wait, what year? But that'd be 300 series. Well, 300 series would be anything 2020,
425. Oh, those big boys. Okay. Okay. I'm caught up now. I know what you're talking about. My daily is
an 80 series Land Cruiser or a vintage 97 Land Cruiser with 300,000 miles. So already grandfather.
I'd probably update that. Okay. And then, okay. So the next one was track car, track car or show car.
Track car. I would love to get an old Lotus Elan, a vintage Lotus Elan,
the old one back from what is in those the late 50s, early 60s.
I give up. I'm looking this one up. I have to. I might have heard that one.
I read an article recently that Gordon Murray had one and he tried to get the F1 McLaren
to have as good a steering feel and handling feel as that car. And after years, he finally admitted
I'm the second best steering feel car in the world. Okay. This is an old Colin Chapman car. So I'd
probably buy that as a track car. And I say that with true sincerity because it's a whole lot more
fun to drive a slow car fast. Yeah. Try to drive a fast car way over your head. So and then, okay,
a show car, 300 SL Gawel Wing Mercedes. Nice. Okay. That would be 1950s, right? Yeah, it'd be a 55,
56. That would be my take it to cars and coffee. Okay. Okay. I'd still drive cross country if I
ever needed it to. Well, you're right here down in SoCal. I've never made it up to Monterey.
I have not made it to Monterey. It's like in your backyard. I know. If I was out here,
man, I go to SEMA and then I'm so overwhelmed and filled with automotive that I'm like, I just can't
handle it anymore. I don't even go to local car shows as much as I used to because every year I
go to, I'm not sure if I'm familiar with Texas 2K. I have heard of it. I've not been. It's like
you've been there enough times and then what's another one that gets me going every single year?
I mean, it's just like when you go around the country, you see some really cool stuff. So SEMA
is kind of like that too. Absolutely. Well, sweet. I don't know. Where can people find you?
SEMA, SEMA Garage. SEMA Garage.com. If they have any questions, come to the website. You're going
to immediately learn all about our SEMA certified emissions program and then you're going to click
through that and you can see all the rest of our services. If you are interested in membership,
go to SEMA.org. And if you're interested in the show, SEMAshow.com.
About this episode
SEMA Garage’s Jim Moore breaks down how emissions compliance works across the EPA and CARB, then connects it to “right to modify” and the practical need for data access—especially as ADAS systems get recalibration-sensitive. The conversation also tours Tech Transfer CAD access (vs. scanning), why tolerance stacking matters, and how SEMA-certified emissions pathways can streamline approvals. Along the way, they discuss sequential transmissions, aftermarket tradeoffs like NVH, and how SEMA advocacy and membership influence regulation.
Jim Moore, VP of OEM & Product Development at SEMA, joins the show from SEMA Garage in Diamond Bar, CA to break down the EPA's new ruling recognizing SEMA Certified emissions as a legal pathway, how CAD data and Tech Transfer help aftermarket manufacturers build parts, and why the fight over ADAS and the Right to Modify is the next big battle for the industry.
