Bob Ulrich

Editor

Bob Ulrich was named Modern Tire Dealer editor in August 2000. He joined the magazine in 1985 as assistant editor, and has been responsible for gathering statistical information for MTD's "Facts Issue" since 1993. He has won numerous awards for editorial and feature writing, including five gold medals from the International Automotive Media Association. Bob earned a B.A. in English literature from Ohio Northern University and has a law degree from the University of Akron.

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We will be your eyes and ears at the SEMA Show

By: Bob Ulrich

By now, you may have heard how the upcoming Specialty Equipment Market Association Show -- SEMA Show for short -- is unintentionally downsizing this year. That's the "glass half empty" theory.

The show will run from Nov. 3-6 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev. The floors will be open a total of 31 hours, which seems like a lot of time unless you plan to visit every booth in every section of the show.

In the TIA-sponsored Tires, Wheels & Equipment section in the South Hall alone there are hundreds of exhibitors. Hankook Tire America Corp. and Pirelli Tire North America appear to have the largest booths among tire manufacturers.

When you take the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) at the Sands into account, you realize how impossible it is to see everything.

We will try anyway. Senior Editor Mike Manges and I will do our best to cover the shows for those of you who can't make it. And by "shows" I don't mean Donny & Marie at the Flamingo (I already saw them in Cleveland, Ohio, back in 1977 anyway). We will report daily news on www.moderntiredealer.com. And when we return, we will give you plenty of information in the magazine that will help you run your businesses more profitably.

For those of you who can make it, please stop by our booth at the South Hall, number 41015, to let us know what's going on in your business. Or just to say "hi." Or to bring us food.

In Modern Tire Dealer's October issue, we profiled a few of the many tires that will be introduced at the SEMA Show. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. will promote its Cooper GFE low-rolling resistance tire and Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/T tire for muscle cars in adjacent booths.

In the very next booth, Falken Tire Corp. is showcasing its new Sincera Touring SN211 performance touring tire. One booth over, Hercules Tire & Rubber Co. will debut its all-season Raptis VR1 and all-weather Roadtour 655.

Maxxis International-U.S.A. (all-terrain AT-771), Vredestein Tyres North America Inc. (Y-rated Ultrac Cento) and Foreign Tire Sales Inc. (raised outline white letter SUV tires for its ProMeter line) will be on hand as well. We'll follow up on our October story to see if we missed anything.

That's just tires. Tire and automotive service equipment, tire pressure monitoring systems, wheel weights, computer software -- we'll be collecting materials like beavers building a dam. Issues affecting our industry? We'll be on top of those, too.

Half-empty? Sounds to me like the glass is full.

Related Topics: Fuel economy, SEMA Show, Tire Industry Association