SEMA 2025 - Escort Radar Detectors and Meguiar’s Car Care
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Car
Shelby Cobra
The Shelby Cobra is a fast and sporty car that was made a long time ago, famous for its speed and cool looks. It's often talked about because it's a classic car that many people admire and want to own.
Part
dash cameras
Dash cameras are little cameras that sit on your car's dashboard and record what happens while you drive. They can help prove what happened if there's an accident.
Company
Escort
Escort is a brand that makes devices for cars that help you know when there are speed traps or police nearby, so you can drive safely.
Term
radar detectors
Radar detectors are gadgets that help drivers know when police are using radar to check for speeding. They beep or alert you so you can slow down if needed.
Term
radar gun
A radar gun is what police use to check how fast cars are going. It sends out signals and measures how fast they come back to figure out the speed of the car.
Term
blind spot monitoring systems
These systems help drivers see cars that are in areas they can't easily see. If there's a car in your blind spot, the system will warn you so you don't accidentally change lanes into it.
Brand
Honda
Honda is a car company from Japan that makes many popular cars, like the Civic and Accord. They are known for making reliable and efficient vehicles that last a long time.
Brand
Nissan
Nissan is a car company from Japan that makes many different types of cars, including popular models like the Altima and the Rogue. They are known for their reliable vehicles.
Term
MK2
MK2 is a version of a product that has been updated from an earlier model. It usually has better features or performance.
Term
Max4
Max4 is a type of radar detector that looks for speed traps and other radar signals mainly from the front of your car.
Term
front-facing radar detector
A front-facing radar detector is a device that helps you know if there are speed traps ahead, but it only looks in front of your car and doesn't show where signals are coming from on the sides or back.
Car
BMW M2
The BMW M2 is a small, sporty car that is really fun to drive. It's known for being fast and having great handling, which makes it popular among people who love cars.
Term
radar system
A radar system helps cars detect other vehicles and obstacles by sending out radio waves and measuring how they bounce back. This helps with safety features like automatic braking.
Term
laser system
A laser system in cars helps them see and understand their surroundings better. It uses light beams to measure distances to other objects, which helps with safety features.
Term
custom install
A custom install means that parts of the car are specially added or changed to fit what the owner wants. It's not just a regular setup; it's made just for them.
Term
laser jammers
Laser jammers are gadgets that help you avoid getting caught by speed cameras. They work by sending out signals that confuse the cameras, making it harder for them to measure your speed.
Term
waterborne paints
Waterborne paints are a type of car paint that uses water instead of harsh chemicals. They are better for the environment and can still look great on cars.
Term
aftermarket
Aftermarket refers to parts and accessories for cars that are not made by the original car manufacturer. They can be used to upgrade or replace parts.
Term
OEM
OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturer. It refers to the companies that make parts for cars, usually the same companies that made the car itself.
Term
polishes
Polishes are special products used to make car paint look shiny and new. They help remove small scratches and imperfections from the surface.
Term
2K paint
2K paint is a type of car paint that needs two parts to work: the color and a hardener. When mixed, they make a strong and long-lasting finish for cars.
Term
1K paint
1K paint is a type of car paint that only needs one part to work, making it easier to use. It's often used for small repairs but isn't as tough as other types.
Term
PPF films
PPF films are special protective coverings that you can put on your car's paint to keep it safe from scratches and damage. They help your car look good for a longer time.
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Okay, here we are again back at SEMA, as you guys can imagine.
We've got a lot of interviews lined up.
We're in another booth we're here with at the Escort Radar Detectors,
but there's more to that than just Escort Radar Detectors.
Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself and explain where we are and what you do.
Well, Matt, thank you for having me on the show. Appreciate it.
So this is the Cedar Electronics booth.
It has a couple of brands. We're Cobra and we're Escort.
So on the Cobra side, we have two-way radios, dash cameras,
and on the Escort side, radar detectors and dash cameras.
Okay.
So my name is Joe Sherbondy, and I'm the director for the radar category.
So I do the product development for all of our radar detectors
for both brands for the Cobra and the Escort product lines.
And we're here standing next to the Escort radar detectors.
And it's, I guess, just kind of thinking in general.
It's like radar detectors seem like been around for a long time.
Oh, we just sort of like looked at the little ads at the back of the magazine,
going, here's the radar detector.
Here's the bra that hides the, you know, the signal from the radar detector.
Going from like back then to today, how are things evolved?
Technology's gotten better, but more complicated on both sides, right?
Like on the detecting side and on, I guess, the police side.
You know, it's as relevant today as it was 20, 30 years ago when fuzzbusters came out.
You know, we have definitely a long history with this.
You know, it is, radar detectors are still actively used.
Radar guns are still actively used with police enforcement all over the country still.
When it started off years and years and years ago, it was X-band.
It gradually evolved into K-band, and now K-A-band is currently being used out there
by a number of different municipalities and state troopers.
You know, currently, radar is also used in traffic light sensors.
I tend to think of it for people that have flown.
The K-band frequency in particular is just crazy with the amount of technologies that use it.
So door openers, blind spot monitoring systems on cars.
And so our technology is really out there trying to look in between
and see where the real threats are versus, you know, a lot of those other types of sensors that are being used.
But it is very actively used along with laser technology, laser guns, radar that police use.
So it's very active today as it was a lot of years ago.
So the technology that the police departments are using, like you said, that's gotten more advanced.
But what have you guys had to do to the radar detector to keep up with that?
Yeah, so, you know, basically the big thing for us is trying to filter out a lot of the other technologies that are...
A lot of false alarms, a lot of things. I remember that a lot.
You know, so let's say, you know, I tend to look at, I'll say two buckets here.
So one is the fixed locations like banks and grocery stores and whatnot with door openers.
So we have on any of our radar products that have GPS capability,
we have something that's called auto-learn technology.
So when you go by these locations, we use a combination of the GPS coordinates and that frequency
for our system to learn it and then filter that out.
So you're not, you know, your daily drives that you have are on town and, you know, in your local community.
We're basically, you have the ability to store those and weed out those false alerts that way.
The second thing is on cars. So these blind spot monitoring systems we're talking about.
Right.
It's really about trying to, with us, learn those technologies.
You know, the OEs are coming out constantly with new frequencies and whatnot.
So we try to make sure that we minimize those alerts when you're getting them
so that when you do get those K-band alerts, you know, you are looking to see that it's a legitimate police threat
versus, you know, just that Nissan or the Honda that's in front of you.
Yeah, right. I mean, that was kind of the frustrating thing, I don't know, 20, even 30 years ago,
going, I have a radar detector, but I don't leave it on all the time.
I don't use it around town. I just do it for road trips because it'll drive you nuts around town, right?
It's just constantly beeping and yelling at you.
But I guess learning those things and filtering that stuff out and making the radar detector
a real just true radar detection device, that's really where a lot of the evolution has changed.
And that hasn't changed, you know, that frustration still out there because the OEs,
when they come out with newer vehicles, they're constantly changing those frequencies.
The good news is, is all of our units are firmware updateable.
So we are constantly doing firmware updates to help keep ahead of that as much as we can.
Well, that kind of leads me to the next question was, has the hardware really changed much over the years?
Or is it really just you've been keeping up with software changes?
Because the radar detection stuff that the police department uses, it doesn't seem like that stuff gets updated.
Like, you know, it's not like an iPhone where there's a new update every year.
Like, that's expensive for police departments. They're often slow, you know, to adapt to new technology.
So for you guys, it seems like it's more of a software issue than it is just a hardware issue.
You know, it's a little, it's both. It is both. And when you're looking at hardware because to make the software faster,
I need the chips that are either going to be faster processing, more memory.
You know, as you're looking at, again, you know, how do you process stuff a little faster?
So it is a combination of both. The good news is, I'll say with recent updates we've done this year
and, you know, what we're working on, we've been able to stay ahead of that.
The hardware was built for the future and we've been able to leverage the software.
But it is always a combination of making hardware changes in addition to the software.
Tell us a little bit about, and again, we'll grab some footage for YouTube and stuff.
But walk us a little bit through the lineup. What are some of the offerings that you guys have, the products here?
So I'll do this a little bit top down, if you will.
So this is the Redline 360C. This is our top of the line detector that we've got.
This has the best range out of any of the products we have.
So you can see threats the furthest out. This has stealth capability on it.
And that one's always kind of an interesting question as we bring that up with folks.
But our product uses a combination of, I'll say, hardware elements to allow us not to be seen
by what's called a radar detector detector.
And so we use both a combination of electronics and hardware elements
that basically we can take this right up to the source of RDDs and not be seen.
So we have this on two of our products, our custom install unit that we'll talk about here at the end
and then this particular model. This has the fastest response time.
So when law enforcement is employing what they call quick trigger, we're at .29 seconds of response time on this.
So basically we are very fast on any kind of a quick trigger.
There's another type of a radar gun that uses what's called POP technology.
Same concept, but it's actually built into the gun.
It's the only gun of its kind that uses true, what I'll call true quick trigger,
but that's at a 33.8 frequency in the KA band.
So this will detect any of those types of technologies out there.
So excellent filtering, so reduced false alerts, great range, and the fastest response time out there.
So when you say quick trigger in that POP technology, it's like a fully automatic weapon versus like a semi-automatic weapon, right?
They're just holding the trigger and it's like bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, or they got to do it like one at a time
and either as fast as your finger can go or the automatic version kind of does it for you.
That's a great analogy for it. That's exactly how that works, yeah.
Alright, so that's interesting because that's an example of how the technologies change on the police side, right?
It's like maybe they're not changing the technology in the sense of the type of radar they're using.
They're just making that gun faster or more accurate.
Yeah, I tend to think of quick trigger where it's used as sort of a reconnaissance.
They're looking at drivers and they're just trying to get a quick check on, hey, who looks like they're going fast compared to the speed limit.
And then basically once they ascertain, hey, this person looks like they're going fast and that quick trigger test says, validates that they are,
then they'll pull the trigger for a longer period of time to write that person for a ticket.
But there's other technologies out there. We were talking about where, I'll say police enforcement technology has gone,
but camera technologies out there, MRCD, MRCT, MESTA, GATSO, these are different technologies.
I see that are being developed in some cases over in Europe, but then they begin making their way across the pond.
A lot of cases, it seems like they come in through Canada first. Edmonton is kind of the hotbed for a lot of that.
And once it's proved out there, I start seeing it popping up in different cities in the US.
Alright, so now moving on to the lineup, we talked about this product and then some more, I don't know, different options or just affordable options?
Yeah, so our Max360 MK2 product, so we have the 360, the 360C, and we have our Maxcam.
All three are very similar technologies for the radar antenna that we have on there, but basically it's the next step down.
It doesn't have the stealth capability that the red line has. It comes in variants with connectivity.
So the C, as we were talking over here, is Wi-Fi capable. So our Max360 CMK2 is Wi-Fi capable.
The Max360 doesn't have Wi-Fi. The Maxcam does and also has a built-in dash camera with it.
So basically the same 360 technology capability that you have with it, just not quite the range on it.
And then basically we're in the process of doing beta testing right now to take this to the next improved level we were talking about on the response times that the red line is seeing.
That's now under development for the Max360.
And that'll be a software upgrade.
That'll be a software upgrade.
So I know the hardware has gotten a little better over the years, but you're buying the new one, you're getting the latest hardware and software,
but some of the older units, you know, they're not bad. You could still get the software for them, right?
Exactly, yes.
Okay.
Yeah, so the MK2s are basically next in the lineup for that. And, you know, phenomenal detector.
And, you know, again, a lot of the same hardware we've got in the red line, just not quite the same amount of range that you have with it for a couple hundred dollars less, basically.
And then the next one that you see over here is the Max4. So the Max4 is very similar range, but just front-facing that you see, you know, with the red line.
So it's a front-facing detector.
So it's not going to give you the directional arrows that tell you you're being hit from the sides or behind.
It will detect in many cases if you're behind, but the directional arrows are not on that product. So that's a front-facing radar detector.
Okay, yeah. I remember those. I remember those units for sure.
So that's, you know, really kind of the, on the escort side, that's kind of our entry-level product that we have with that.
And then as I talked a little bit on the Max cam, that's got a Quad HD camera built-in.
So it's the MK2 technology from a radar perspective, but with a built-in camera.
What you see here is with this Max360 MK2, we have an add-on dash camera that goes with it. So that's got the M2.
Okay.
So, you know, for people that are looking to minimize, I'll say, the clutter up on the windshield of different technologies,
we were just developing this so you can consolidate it in one location, basically.
And then basically, towards the back wall that you see over there is the red line CI unit.
That's where you were talking a little bit about.
For the driver, it's about aesthetics.
Right.
So this is a case where the radar system and the laser system that we have with that gets built into the car.
So, instead of having a unit up on your windshield, this is for the user that, you know,
wants it hidden, that wants the OE look and feel in the car.
You can't even tell you've got this technology built in.
So basically, the radar receivers, for example, get built in behind the bumpers of the car.
Okay.
I mean, it is a full custom install.
The buttons that you see here, the display, get fabricated into the dash or up on the steering column.
And then that also comes with a laser jamming system that will jam any technology out on the market.
So as you were talking about police technologies, laser guns are kind of that frontier that's out there right now.
And that's, as I tell people, you know, that's, you know, click and gotcha at that point.
They press the trigger, they got your speed instantaneously.
With our jamming technology, we actually jam their signals for a period of time.
You, as a user, can set how long you want to jam that for.
But on their, on the laser guns, they get a no reading or an error code that comes up on that.
Yeah.
So the first several units, the first three units we talked about, if you guys are picturing in your head if you're not watching it on YouTube,
conventional looks like the old design, mounts to the inside of the glass, to the windshield,
and then the other system like fully integrated behind the grill or behind the bumpers.
And you don't even know, but it's hardwired in.
You're not swapping it from car to car.
These other units, you can still just plug into a 12 volt.
That is correct.
Or maybe you're going to hardwired a little bit into the rear view camera or something.
I'm not sure what the options are there.
Yeah.
And that's a great lead in here.
I'll say for some of the accessories.
So for these, these three, for the windshield mounted detectors, we do have different power options.
You can do a direct wires you talked about into the 12 volt auxiliary, you know, basically with the fuse panel.
We have OBD two quarts.
Okay.
You can power directly.
Or now we also have USB-C that'll connect in with this.
So if you have a newer vehicle that doesn't have, you know, your cigarette lighter adapters,
we know those are going away.
Right.
We have different power options available.
And even on the laser jammers, that's an add-on accessory that, you know, hey, look, if you like the, I call it a poor man's custom install.
Not quite poor man's custom install.
But, you know, you can do add-on laser jammers that will work with any of these windshield mounted detectors as well.
Oh, okay.
And then cameras.
You're starting to add cameras.
People are running dash cameras.
And those are getting, just seems like the past few years alone, they're getting more sophisticated.
They're front.
They're rear.
They're just kind of looking all over.
They're recording.
They're on a memory card or in the cloud.
But that's definitely something you guys are working on as well.
Yeah.
So on the escort side, we have, you know, the M2 dash camera that will work with any of our windshield mounted detectors.
That'll plug in.
Our Max Cam has it built in.
So those are both front facing cameras.
And then on our Cobra product line, we also have front and rear dash camera options available to users.
Yeah.
And all of that works through our app that we have, which is, I'll say kind of the third piece here.
So we do have an app called Drive Smarter that connects with all of our products that we have.
So that's, I'll say really the, all the elements you have for crowdsourcing elements that you have for visually seeing police,
while also working with any of our radar detectors that will, that when connected with the app,
we'll send those alerts up into the cloud and push it out to all the other users out there.
So if you're coming up on a threat, you're getting alerted even further in advance of, you know,
upcoming threats that you may see for radar and laser alerts.
Yeah.
Well, awesome.
And listen, I, I'm already learning so much about it for, you know, for something that I've been,
I don't know, I feel like we've all used in our lifetime many times for sure.
But just keeping up with the technology and seeing how it's evolved.
And it's still just as relevant and important today as it has been for a long time.
So yeah, thank you.
Thank you so much for your time.
Absolutely.
I appreciate it.
Thank you for having me.
Where should we just check out online to see some of the products?
So you can go to Cobra.com for our Cobra product lines.
And for our Escort products, it's EscortRadar.com.
Excellent.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate it.
Thank you, Matt.
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And second day of SEMA and we got a couple more to go.
I'm super excited.
Tell us about what your role here.
What it is that you do.
My role, gosh, I've been here a long time.
I lead kind of our global training, you know, to kind of train the trainers.
I'm lucky enough to be part of our events marketing team where we support local shows in the U.S.,
activated all the shows around the country.
And then also our solutions hub team.
That's that great team that on the back of every one of our bottles, there's a phone number you can call.
Talk to actually somebody that knows what they're talking about.
And they're literally right in our office at Irvine.
They'll DM you, they'll live chat you.
It's true car enthusiasts that know our products.
So that rolls up under me too.
So just lead a great team.
So backing up a little bit.
Barry McGuire, know him well.
We've done a bunch of things over the years.
He's been on the show.
We've done, what's the big event that he does?
Is it something in Castle?
Oh, the Benedict Castle.
Yeah, the Benedict Castle.
Yeah, so I've been out there.
That's a great show.
That's a big charity fundraiser event as well.
That's a wonderful event.
It's a wonderful, yeah, you're right.
It's definitely, it's a wonderful event.
But some history.
I mean, the company's celebrating, celebrating over 100, 100 years in this space.
A milestone.
Isn't that crazy?
What is it?
January, 2026, we will begin the celebration of 125 years in business.
And Barry tells a great story.
You know, what Frank McGuire Jr. started in his garage in 1901, moved to Pasadena in 1913.
And then here we are with 2025 day to Isima.
What a ride.
I mean, literally what a ride.
Amazing to think that too, because you're like that long ago.
It's like, what was happening with McGuire's back in the day?
I mean, it was like car detailing couldn't have been a thing.
Probably not a lot of chemical development and stuff back then, right?
So what was kind of the nature of the company back then?
What you said it perfectly is if you kind of turn the clock back, you're like,
there weren't even really cars in 1901.
Yeah, right.
So they started with furniture polish, furniture cleaners, furniture polishes.
Frank McGuire Jr. had 12 kids.
And it literally was a situation where they all gathered in the garage, made products.
They weren't classically trained, so they kind of learned how to make some products
that were a little unconventional, you could say.
And next thing you know, coach builders, some of those early coaches would this transition,
horseless carriages.
If it's good enough for furniture, it's going to be that same material that's going to be on that.
Let's call it horseless carriage or those early coaches.
And then slowly paying started, we were just kind of off and running.
And really we're adopted early by the, let's call it that professional side of the business,
the body shops, the car builders, the custom painters.
I mean, when hot rods, we luckily moved to Pasadena in 1913.
So been in that SoCal car culture, let's call it we're still there actually.
But had a lot of great relationships that Barry built and his father built in Pasadena.
And just really partnered with all those custom builders.
In fact, our professional line that we still make today, very important part of our business,
we can almost call that like the roots of the tree, you know, the big trees.
That's like our foundation is solid roots of what started and what we still support.
In fact, we had a couple new items in the pro.
We're launching at SEMA this year.
You know, I'm thinking back, you were saying you guys started in Pasadena.
So when we started one of our podcast shipped in steer with Pete Sheporos.
Oh, yeah.
Of course.
Love Pete.
And then Pete would come on and tell stories about cruising the sunset strip before it was paved.
It was just like, it was just a dirt road and a couple of guys had hot rides.
And I was like, if you guys start Pasadena, it's like just not a lot there and how it's just developed
so much and built around, you know, probably the hub of that's thinking back to the roots
of hot rotting where it started before like so much of even what we've seen like growth in L.A.
And I'd give anything to kind of be back in that time to experience it.
You hear all the great stories from all the legends of the hobby.
You know, and here we are now.
And but like I most want to transport back personally and kind of see and hear some of those younger
versions of all those heroes we have today that we talked about a lot.
You know, that's what I mean.
We started the ship sincere podcast 10 years ago because of Pete's stories.
Right.
And then bringing some people on.
And it's funny because I just talked to someone who's on the team working on at its Cadarians 105th
birthday party.
Yeah.
Just so cool.
So I'm so happy that he's still around and still doing this.
Yes.
So let's talk about some of the products as well because this is an interesting subject
where you kind of think about car care been around for so long now.
You know, Barry, you know, car crazy.
You seen him on TV for so long now.
How is it that we could still innovate and make like how do we still make new products in this space?
I mean, in the paint world, especially in California, I mean, I don't maybe it was 10 years ago where
they're like, yeah, we're doing more waterborne paints.
It's like it's, you know, so that's when maybe a new influx of car care products would come out.
But what's happened like since then the last 10 years?
Well, a couple of things.
It's funny you're hitting on the perfect spots.
So you got kind of that pro side we talked about earlier and those transitions of trends and technology that the after market or OEM
bring to the world really steer some of our pads and liquids compounds and polishes from a technical side of
what works best to sand polish from a timing perfection to help the pro shops deliver a better result faster.
But then you got the shops that are building cars like nightmare here.
But they've also got insurance jobs.
You got to think time, speed, quality.
How do you blend all that together?
Then the DIY side of the market that we entered in 1973.
Okay.
A lot of people that know that we were we're still pro.
We kind of that was our roots we talked about, but it was 73 that we kind of said there's a lot of consumers that aren't pros.
They don't have machines.
They don't have tools.
They need something easier, simpler, user friendly.
So flash forward to technology today.
How do we launch all these items?
Technology flat platforms.
I mean, thank you.
When did carnival come out in the fifties?
Then you had polymers and ceramics.
Yeah.
You've got that same.
Let's call it platform technology that our team.
We have a brand new building in Irvine that we just built a brand new lab and the team there is always on top of technology.
But you've also got user needs that we have to listen and look at because not everybody wants to spend like me 10 hours a day in the garage polishing working.
So they're like, maybe they're new to appearance care.
Maybe they don't have that passion.
They have a daily driver.
They're not yet they can't afford a hobby car.
So they're like, just help me out with some wash, maybe some interior and they start to dab their toe in appearance care.
Yeah.
So we'll help them with ease of use, the experience and then just kind of welcome them in to what it takes to keep your car looking its best.
Yeah.
So and then I'm thinking about, I don't know if this is on the professional side, the question or on the enthusiast side.
But first of all, when we switch to like more waterborne paints, how did that change?
Is it a softer paint?
Is it a harder paint?
Is it easier to massage?
Right.
To detail, to take care of or is it more complicated?
So that first step of the last like decade or so, what happened there?
Well, paints have been getting thinner over time for one.
So it's interesting when you talk about a hard or soft paint, that's kind of on the edge or spectrum of, let's call it the majority.
So we have to begin to work on those and change abrasives, cycle times, work time, buffing times, how long the product will stay wet and consider all that.
So there, yes, that has changed in some cases, new technology for compounds and polishes.
But a hard paint is just as difficult to massage, use that term very loosely, as a soft paint.
And those have really become the outliers.
That 80% bell curve almost is where the majority of the market still lives.
And it's not so much A, E, cause B to be this or that.
There's some technology.
There's some technique changes we've talked to.
There's always been a less as best person.
And we talk about abrasive.
The last thing you want to do is get these hot, used to aggressive, remove too much material, because they have gotten thinner those top coats.
And the more you remove, the less protection you have.
And that's going to turn in problems down the road.
So it's almost retraining the minds of some of these technicians to go, we're not on lacquer.
We're not on, you know, we're now 2K, 1K, 2K, now we're waterborne.
It just, there's all these little minute scenarios that use your brain.
And I know the product lineup, because when we talk about sort of the enthusiast line to the professional line,
a lot of consideration that you guys have to take that we don't necessarily see or really think about is,
you know, if I'm going to just do this at home, you guys and me, I don't want to ruin my paint.
You don't want me to ruin my paint.
So you, these products are probably meant specifically to be a more gentler product,
just so if I'm not as precise as a professional detailer,
or if I'm just doing it by hand or something, then it's less risk on my part,
because you guys are making a less, I don't know, risky product, if you will.
It's probably harder to make products for the enthusiast than it is for the professional.
It almost is in a weird kind of way.
You nailed it, hence that enthusiast DIY side is,
really equated to, you know, the pro side, you walk into mechanics,
technician shop, and you would look at that monster toolbox,
they have like 15 flat head screwdrivers, you know,
but at your home, you might have one for somebody that's maybe two or three,
but concentrates, they're not quite as aggressive.
They actually have some different formulations, because in a body shop world,
you can't use certain raw materials that will cause certain contamination and challenges in the paint booth itself.
So that causes those to sometimes not be more difficult to use,
but not quite maybe as simple and easy, and as well as a DIY enthusiast product.
So you nailed it perfectly, you know?
You know, I would imagine one of the things that McGuire's has really had to pay attention to is,
on the exterior of the car, it's always been about the paint, the care of the paint, right?
Meaning the paint, the clear, or whatever.
But now that's not the only thing anymore.
We have PPF films, we have wraps, we have things that we're doing to the cars,
a ceramic, or ceramic on the paint, or ceramic on the PPF that you put on first.
And honestly, just like the term paint correction has like blown up in the last handful of years.
It's not like it's not been there.
It's just, you know, like for us, it was like you're wet sanding or color sanding.
That's what it was.
It's like now it's called paint correction, because every car off the assembly line,
you know, other than a handful of, I don't know, a Bentley or something was like,
that is basically paint corrected.
So we've got new things.
How are we handling, how are you guys doing paint correction?
How has that changed?
How is wraps or PPF or ceramic?
How has that changed the products that you guys come up with?
Well, on the paint correction side, the machine, all the new machines on the dual action polisher
that have stormed the market in the last five to ten years.
The dual actions that are three millimeter, eight millimeter, 15, 21,
that technology has exploded by many brands.
And so that causes us to make sure that the liquids for paint correcting, polishing,
and protecting are up to par and pads.
And that's one reason why this year we launched a new series of pads addressing
literally that plethora of new DA machines that are out there.
And yeah, roadways have been around forever, but they're still the same.
But this DA market of that movement and that oscillation has just permeated
enthusiasts, detailers, true technicians of body shops.
So we've had to adjust and adapt 100% on our pro side.
When it comes to protection, here comes all the questions and you nailed it perfectly.
And we love the fact that this happens.
I got my front end, my whole car, my front clip PPF, then I did ceramic.
How do I care for it?
So we get those questions, which has triggered us to go, we need to address this.
2019, we launched our first hybrid ceramic spray wax to address care,
whether it's protection or care, it does make a difference visually.
When you're working with the characteristics of, let's call it a ceramic,
you want to enhance, boost and leverage that, not cover up and hide it with some older technology.
Trans is the wrong word because ceramics are great, PPFs are great.
We just need to make sure, one, people know they can contact us.
We have the right answers and we have some products.
And if not, we'll tell them, hey, you don't need to do anything or try this brand.
Do I need to PPF my car?
We get that asked all the time.
And we don't as McGuire, but 3M obviously, who owns us, sells a great PPF and wraps at the same time.
So there's a great synergy there as well.
Alright, so I've got to ask.
I see this all the time.
Somebody spends, they spend a lot of money on a car and they're going,
okay, now I'm taking it, we're going to paint correction PPF ceramic coat.
I'm like, first of all, that's $8,000.
Is that an overkill?
Second of all, it's like, the truth.
Do you need to do that?
First of all, do you need the paint correction if you're putting the PPF on it?
Because the PPFs have gotten a lot better over the years, but they're, they're not perfect.
Right?
So is it, maybe it's too much to go, I'm going to do the paint correction and then the PPF.
Because once you take the PPF off one day, you're going to want to address the paint.
Yes.
And that's an engine and we will point to mine to how powerful the mind is.
Yeah.
So to your point, it's probably ideal to do some correction because there's no, every car is not the same.
Yeah.
So when you PPF even a brand new vehicle, whatever level that be, hypercar down to daily driver,
they do come in certain situations, as you well know, it's ideal to do, but do you need to do it?
So the answer is no.
But if you have a new to you car that has some marks, you have the PPF will hide a lot of it,
but that's a great time to, at least if you're going to clay it, decontaminate it,
you might as well go through that process of, and that's what drives some of that price up.
Then you PPF it.
Do we need to?
That's up to you.
Are you going to drive it?
Are you going to track it?
Yeah.
Are you going to hang onto it?
Is it a collector car?
And then do you need to ceramic coat it?
To each their own.
To each their own.
I mean, I, again, power the mind.
Yeah.
That's what's kind of great about, and this is going to sound very odd, is it's out there.
You don't have to.
But if you want to, have at it.
Have at it.
A hundred percent.
I mean, if you want to spend eight or nine thousand dollars doing all this extra stuff,
and you've got the means to do it, then do it.
But yes, and a question that I see pop up is, I don't want to spend that much, but I do
want to protect the car, or it's new, or I just had it done.
Maybe I'm going to do a paint correction.
Should I PPF it, or just ceramic coat it?
What sort of protection does the ceramic coat provide?
Maybe not as much as the PPF.
And it's maybe more about shedding water than it is anything else, keeping it clean.
But there is some little bit of level of protection with the ceramic coat, right?
A hundred percent.
Okay.
That's the whole idea of a ceramic coat.
It's going to, one, give you better protection, be a better barrier coat.
Won't wash off as easy.
You will push away, reject mother nature in the salt road, laying salt down, all that.
It doesn't degrade.
It's very resistant to mother nature.
Part two of that is that the drying and the wash and the ease of drying and water running
off is amazing for maintenance.
So you kind of got front and back of the ceramics.
That being said, ceramics don't give you rock chip protection and things like that.
So you really, we would say, how are you maintaining the car?
Where do you live?
Is it a daily and extreme northeast where they are salting the roads?
Are you into dirt?
Are you in, you know, elevation, off-roading, things like that?
That's going to begin to steer a recommendation that we have and cost, of course.
Yeah.
Even ceramics, you can have it professionally implied by technician.
And there's some great DIY products that you can put on yourself as an owner and get very,
very good performance out of.
Again, where do you live?
The biggest thing you mentioned earlier is how you care for each one of those after that installation.
And that's kind of been the same story since day one.
Even with Carnuba, how do you care for it?
How do you wash it?
How your accessories, your sponges, your mitts, your towels, your liquids to maintain
are using a hybrid ceramic by McGuire's Detailer or using a Carnuba Detailer, whatever it is.
All those play of how even a ceramic or even a PPF, how long it lives on.
Yeah.
So maintenance is just as important and maybe some cases more important.
Well, I love it.
And I think one of the biggest parts about any sort of level of car care,
the detailing, the interior, the exterior, engine detailing, wheels, tires,
like the whole gamut of stuff.
One of the things that I love that I notice more, especially over the years,
is the availability of information on how to do that.
YouTube videos and just guides and information and even something like this.
A podcast.
So we'll walk through.
I'll grab some footage of some of the products and stuff that you've got going on here,
as well as the booth and some of the cars.
So people can see it.
That didn't get to make it out to SEMA.
But yes, thank you guys for doing that.
Thank you guys for doing it for 100 years.
You guys for 25 years.
Yeah, you guys look amazing for 100 years old.
100 plus years old.
You take care of yourselves well here.
So yeah, thanks for having us.
And where should we check you guys out online?
Magwires.com or any of our social, you know, at Magwires.
And on the back, if you're more of a talk person, back of our bottle,
phone numbers on the back of our open Monday through Friday,
just about anywhere you can find us on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook.
Reach out.
You said something earlier.
Just let us help you do what is right for you.
Because every person, every car, every situation is a little bit different.
And let's make sure you're happy with your situation.
I agree when it comes to the car care side of things.
Ask questions.
100%.
Ask questions.
Ask questions to people that are doing it.
Ask questions to the companies.
There's so many...
There's great resources.
So many industries, so many companies that do what they can
to avoid customer interaction.
Oh, that's...
Using AI or just using, like, press one for this, press two for that.
What a concept.
We offer real detailers that help you.
I just love that this is the only, like, industry that wants to talk to you
and give you advice and say, like you said, see it on social, see it on YouTube,
watch the video, see how it's done, and give it a try.
Like, still do it.
Like, if you want to do it yourself, do it.
If you're still not liking it, call us back and let us know.
That's okay if you're still not liking it.
We're okay with that, you know?
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
We're going to let you guys go, but we will hopefully come down and see the new facility.
The door's always open.
Love to have you.
Well, that wraps it up for the second day of SEMA coverage.
There's going to be a lot more to come.
I'm still working on the videos, but I will get the stuff posted up on YouTube.
Hopefully the first video will be up by the time you're listening to this.
But until next time, keep the air in the spare and the bag in the wheel.
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About this episode
SEMA 2025 highlights the latest in radar detection technology from Escort and car care innovations from Meguiar’s. Joe Sherbondy from Escort discusses the evolution of radar detectors, focusing on advancements in filtering technology to reduce false alerts and improve detection accuracy. Meanwhile, Meguiar’s representatives reflect on their century-long legacy and the ongoing innovation in car care products, including the shift to waterborne paints and the rise of ceramic coatings. The episode features insights into product lines, user needs, and the importance of maintenance in car care.
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