The Fast and The Furious: At SEMA Show 2003 It's More Than a Movie Title, It's Business; Big Business

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 6, 2003 -- America loves car movies. The world loves American car movies; and like scores of Hollywood titles before it, the hit movie The Fast and the Furious(TM) and its sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious(TM) recognized an automotive sub-culture and its pursuit of life in the fast lane. It also took notice of the sport compact aftermarket business that enables low profile econo-boxes to take on fire-breathing, tach-busting performance. This film's driving and lifestyle experiences are enabled in the real world by many companies now exhibiting at SEMA Show 2003, two-million square feet of automotive design and technological heaven.

Universal Pictures, the producer of The Fast and the Furious(TM), just like Pepsi and other consumer brands, has recognized the upswing in popular acceptance of this automotive lifestyle, and the cash registers are ringing. These consumer brands have connected on a business level with the car culture embracing small displacement, sport-compact cars -- vehicles initially designed by manufacturers to be practical and somewhat "invisible." As the hand-me-down rides for first-time drivers, many of these cars, just like the family sedans turned hot rods of earlier generations, have undergone serious engineering and cosmetic transformation. They are the vanguard of a definable automotive culture; a decade-old trend that inspired the recent movies' success and is creating an industry now in full display at SEMA Show 2003, happening in Las Vegas this week.

"What's unique about The Fast and the Furious(TM) is its timeliness and the coincidence of licensing, fast-paced communications and a consumer base familiar with both. The films and their production and distribution teams clearly understood the value of engineering and design authenticity when filming. And -- for the first time in our memory -- took the longer view on branding and crossing over from the movie theatre, to the streets, most importantly to a retail environment. This connects the lifestyle to the real world of automotive aftermarket sales," said Peter MacGillivray, SEMA vice president, marketing and communications. He also noted the pivotal role played by the manufacturers and sellers of the equipment used to make the movie cars perform up to their "fast and furious" billing.

Prominent throughout SEMA Show 2003 are exotic sport-compact displays, exhibits of high-performance technologies suited to this automotive niche and the latest in manufacturer-developed production cars that seek to capitalize on the lifestyle theme. "Unlike past industry efforts, we see a genuine response to the marketplace by the car manufacturers -- now intent on bringing high-performance, high-style sport compact vehicles to market. There are new models connected to the lifestyle that inspired the movie and the industry segment that has been quietly building over the past decade. The original equipment manufacturers are conscious of the need to move quickly to keep track of the street trends affecting buyers. Sensibly, they are reaching out to many SEMA member companies to provide sub-contract services and general counsel," MacGillivray said.

While Universal Studios Consumer Products Group has a prominent SEMA Show merchandising display of hard and soft goods suited to automotive retailing, the presence of several mainstream crossover brands further legitimizes the sector from a business point of view. The scores of high-performance component and tuner companies, body design companies, seat and safety gear marketers targeting this sector and selling to the more than 40,000 SEMA Show buyer attendees, also validate the sport compact segment.

For established entrepreneurs like Wade Kawasaki and his high performance Avanche engine parts business; youthful entrepreneur Myles Kovacs with his DUB line of wheels, parts and accessories; or venerable corporations like Bridgestone/Firestone tires -- SEMA and SEMA Show 2003 offer a unique opportunity to show the latest automotive aftermarket products and help broaden the business-to-business envelope for its members. "This year we presented more than 1,000 new automotive products -- many suitable for this segment. For example, Bridgestone/Firestone introduced a completely new tire line -- FUZION -- here at SEMA Show 2003. This high-performance street tire is aimed directly at the sport compact consumer and is the latest major tire brand to seek a piece of this segment. We now see definable cross-marketing developments that range from established top-line automotive companies to start-up organizations. They are melding with traditional brands like Procter & Gamble, Universal and Pepsico, to name just a few ... and it's happening in real time. The good news is that here at SEMA Show 2003 ... The Fast and the Furious is more than a movie title. It describes how vibrant the business is for this important automotive category ... a category largely dominated by SEMA members," MacGillivray concluded.

SEMA represents the $27 billion specialty automotive industry. Founded in 1963, the trade association has 5,222 member companies. It is the authoritative source of research data, trends and market growth information for automakers and the specialty auto products industry. The industry provides appearance, performance, comfort, convenience and technology products for passenger cars, minivans, trucks, SUVs and recreational vehicles. For more information, contact SEMA at 1575 S. Valley Vista Dr., Diamond Bar, CA, 91765-3914; call 909/396-0289; or visit www.sema.org or www.enjoythedrive.com .

Image available at: www.sema.org/images/32108.jpg

Cutline: The Fast and the Furious(TM), crossing over from the movie theatre to consumer products, now offers this 12-CD visor organizer introduced at SEMA Show 2003, held this week in Las Vegas.