Automotive Repair News Today

Braxton Critcher [00:00:05]:
All right, this is Automotive Repair news Today. Thanks for hanging out. I'm Braxton, and we got a lot to cover today, and this is a great opportunity for you to get a pulse, a glimpse, an update about what's happening in the industry because, well, ladies and gentlemen, welcome a bigwig to the show. His name is Mike Spagnola, and he is the president and CEO of sema. What's up, Mike? Thanks for hanging out.

Mike Spagnola [00:00:33]:
Hey, pleasure to be here, Braxton.

Braxton Critcher [00:00:35]:
Yeah. So when we. You and I were just kind of discussing a little bit. Here's our list, but it's four or five things, but they're all critical to the automotive industry, the automotive repair industry, and they're all happening right now. And so there's a lot for you to balance in your role. So I do not envy the position you have, the schedule you keep, but I am very, very glad that you are with me. So I want to first talk about the EV mandate that I think in the last two weeks was. Was just kicked down the road.

Braxton Critcher [00:01:16]:
So you told me it was 2026 in California. Now, I may be remembering wrong, but was it 2035 for the rest of the country? You update me on what it was and now what it is and what's the update and what's happened there.

Mike Spagnola [00:01:31]:
Yeah. So for the last probably three years now, we have been advocates of eliminating the EV mandates. Not because we're against EVs, we just think consumers should have a choice of what they drive. I mean, EVs have got some great technology, and, you know, we know it's part of the future. We just believe that there are consumers should have a choice of what they drive based on their needs. So if you need to have a 2500 diesel truck, then you should be able to drive that. If you need. If you want an EV for getting around town, great.

Mike Spagnola [00:02:00]:
If you want a hybrid, great. There's so many technologies out there, and by the government picking one technology or another, you stifle innovation. I mean, America has been built on innovation. Right. And so we were big advocates of saying, currently in California, or up till a couple weeks ago in California, 35% of new car sales had to be EV, and 100% by 2035. And there were 16 at one point, 16 other states that followed.

Braxton Critcher [00:02:30]:
That's why I was remembering 2035.

Mike Spagnola [00:02:33]:
Yep.

Braxton Critcher [00:02:34]:
It was a hundred percent by that year. That's right. See, I'm not totally crazy.

Mike Spagnola [00:02:38]:
Yeah. So. So we led that fight. We organized 56,000 letters to the Hill. We had almost 2 million voters for digital ads and really talked about even the small business that would be affected and decimated by internal combustion bans. And we built a coalition of over 335 businesses who spoke up against EV mandates. So, you know, we really, we went to court on it. We were able to work with Zeldin, the head of EPA and the President really, on this what's called a Congressional act resolution.

Mike Spagnola [00:03:21]:
And what that really meant was Biden in his last few months of office signed a, basically an edict that said California could make their own rules up and could continue on with what they were doing. And we were able to bring a Congressional Review act where it literally went to Congress and the Senate and reviewed this rule and we were able to get it overturned. And so big victory on that end to again, not against DVs, but that California shouldn't get to make its own standards and have basically another 16 states follow after that.

Braxton Critcher [00:03:59]:
Yeah.

Mike Spagnola [00:04:00]:
And again, that innovation should continue. So I was excited to be in the White House last week when the President said sign that bill. And so it's probably one of the largest things SEMA has done in the government relations side to overturn a massive rule that would have greatly affected the automotive industry.

Braxton Critcher [00:04:22]:
Well, so here's my thing. I'm just, I kind of, and you know, you're more plugged into this kind of stuff than I am. So you tell me if I'm just totally off base here. But I just, with things like this and even the tariffs that are currently, you know, being figured out in the US this stuff, while a good idea, while one day will happen, it just seems to me like it all happens too fast. Like the expectation is too short a window to make this feasible. And I don't know if that's, you know, knowing that there's going to be red tape. They try to make it happen as soon as possible because they know it's going to get kicked down the road. So that it's not.

Braxton Critcher [00:05:14]:
If you start in, if you make it happen in 10 years, it's going to be 20. That way. If you're going to start in, you know, if you make it start in five, really it's 10. I don't know if it like helps accelerate the process to like force something that's not possible to try and happen. I don't know. Does that make sense?

Mike Spagnola [00:05:29]:
No, for sure. There's some of that. That definitely happens. I was in Sacramento probably about a year ago and in after hours and just having a beer with a couple legislators, you Know, both sides of the Hill, I mean, Democrat and Republican and talking about this particular thing because we were really pushing on it. And, you know, one legislator said to me, mike, look around this building. None of us will be here in 2035. And so, yeah, we are pushing hard on this. But you're right.

Mike Spagnola [00:05:59]:
I mean, I think there were some internally that said, you know, we can demand 35% by 2026, knowing that we might get to hopefully get to 20%. Well, we got to 10. Right. And then. And then even looking at the infrastructure needed, I mean, California already has brownouts and blackouts, and, you know, we've gone through all of that sort of stuff where the infrastructure wasn't there. The technology is still moving. I mean, there's some great technology coming out on evs again, and it is part of our future. I don't think it ever takes over 100.

Mike Spagnola [00:06:31]:
I may be wrong, but it'll be a long time by now from now. Yeah, you know, there is alternative fuels out there now. There's, you know, there's still some work on hydrogen that's happening on large trucks, on semis and that sort of thing, which seems to make a lot of sense. Hybrids make a lot of sense. You know, there's low, low pollution fuels now out there. There's synthetic fuels. There's all those things going on. And there may be fuels we don't even know about yet.

Mike Spagnola [00:06:58]:
So why stifle that sort of innovation? And why not let, you know, America has built on innovation and on finding solutions to things, and we should let that continue. And you're seeing it in, you know, you know, voters vote with their pocketbooks, and people were still buying hybrids. They're still buying ICE vehicles. They're, you know, still making those choices. So. And again, even that technology wasn't there, and so it had to come to a head, and we're just glad it worked our way again. It's probably one of the largest things SEMA's ever been able to do to affect the industry and affect, you know, through government and overturn this CRA resolution. So excited about it.

Mike Spagnola [00:07:41]:
Excited to kind of black bask in that glory of a win in. Because they don't happen too often in big government, but. And, you know, to have the president on board was pretty cool.

Braxton Critcher [00:07:54]:
Yeah, I, I know you have to be proud. I mean, I can tell.

Mike Spagnola [00:07:57]:
Yeah, we, our team worked really hard on this. This was a joint effort from our government affairs team and our marketing team, and really everybody and, and the industry. I think we had the industry behind us on this one.

Braxton Critcher [00:08:08]:
Yeah, so what, where is the goal? What year is it? What are the percentages now? How has that been rewritten?

Mike Spagnola [00:08:21]:
Yeah, so it is free market now and you're even seeing the OEs come back and saying we're going to delay, you know, the expansion of battery powered vehicles. And so it, look, it just continues now. It's just a normal basis. There's no law, there's no rule. We're going to continue on in the automotive industry building every kind of vehicle that consumers want. It's, it's, it's back to now, the emission standards continue to get tighter, all those sorts of things. But you know, from a federal standpoint, but California doesn't get to set the rules for the rest of the country. And, and again it's just if you want to go buy an ev, go buy an ev.

Mike Spagnola [00:09:04]:
If you want to buy a, a diesel truck, go buy a diesel truck. Whatever your needs are should be how it, how it, how it moves and.

Braxton Critcher [00:09:13]:
How does, how does California feel about that?

Mike Spagnola [00:09:16]:
Well, they're not happy. You know, Governor Newsom is suing the federal government for, you know, a cover, cover up that he and elected officials developed a policy that wasn't for the American people and he got called out on it. So I don't think he's got any stand, he's got no legal standing. From what we can tell. We're moving forward. It, it's the, the law is the law now and it can't be reversed. So you know, he can continue to raise gas prices to a point where, you know, people feel the pain and go to EVs. I guess he can, you know, continue to push his ways.

Mike Spagnola [00:09:55]:
But there is no EV mandate and.

Braxton Critcher [00:09:57]:
There'S what, what is the, the price of gas right now in Southern California?

Mike Spagnola [00:10:01]:
It's painful if I guess it goes up another 60 cents a gallon in July 1 for taxes. And I think we're, we're going to be over A$10 or A$20. Don't quote me on that. But I think it's around those numbers for just the tax on every gallon of gas and we're in the fives early fives right now. $5.

Braxton Critcher [00:10:19]:
The national average would be so much lower if not for, if, like for California. Yeah, like right now. So Asheville is a little higher than a lot of the areas around. But I think I got gas yesterday for 270 and, and gas about an hour outside of town was I think 252.

Mike Spagnola [00:10:45]:
So yeah, I was in Florida, you, about a month ago, and I was sending back photos to Friends of Gas at 295 and 315 sort of numbers. And it's just amazing how much different it is.

Braxton Critcher [00:10:57]:
Yeah, yeah. Okay. Another matter of business I, I, I, I want to hear from you on is Leno's Law. So I've covered this a little bit on, on the podcast and I want you to give all the details. But, but this just got passed too. So, I mean, like I said, you know, all this stuff is sort of happening all at once here. It's got a lot of positive momentum, and this is good for Jay Leno, but also for a lot of the other classic car collectors there in California too. So tell us about what happened and what that means in California.

Mike Spagnola [00:11:38]:
Yeah, it's, it's actually not passed all the way yet. So it, it, well, that's right.

Braxton Critcher [00:11:41]:
It got moved to the Senate.

Mike Spagnola [00:11:42]:
Yes, yes, it got moved to the Senate.

Braxton Critcher [00:11:43]:
That's right.

Mike Spagnola [00:11:44]:
So we, we presented, you know, the, the potential law in the state assembly and actually went to committee first and made it through committee and, and then it went through the Senate and the Senate made some changes. But basically what it is, is in just about all states, there's a, if there is a inspection, it tends to be at 25 rolling years. In California, it's from 1976 on. So if you've got a 1976 vehicle, every two years, it's got to go and get a smog check. And, and so, you know, that's pretty burdensome. I mean, there's less than one and a quarter percent of the cars on the road are 1976, you know, forward. So it, it's a heavy impact on people that collect cars. And part of the problem is on these older vehicles.

Mike Spagnola [00:12:42]:
Let's say you have a 1976, 77, 78 car. There's no OBD plug in. So it, you know, the smog station has to really literally put it on a dyno, put a sniffer of the tailpipe, and understand whether it's got, you know, an emissions problem. The problem with that is most of the emissions stations around California don't have that equipment anymore. They've moved strictly to plug it into the OBD port. So it's made it very hard to even get your car smogged. And, and if you can find a station that does that, they tend to charge a few hundred bucks just to get a smog check. Yeah, and at times you're driving 40, 50, 60 miles to that smog Station to get a smog check, which is more than you're putting on your collector car, you know, on any given weekend.

Mike Spagnola [00:13:28]:
Right, right. So these cars tend to be driven a lot of less miles. So it's just, it's a common sense rule. And so we are trying to make it. We've been generous at a rolling 35 years versus 25. And so we have presented that, that potential new law.

Braxton Critcher [00:13:50]:
So every year it increase.

Mike Spagnola [00:13:52]:
It was.

Braxton Critcher [00:13:52]:
It's always 35 years in the past 35 years.

Mike Spagnola [00:13:55]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, so, you know, you know, going forward, a, a 20, a 1990 vehicle wouldn't need to be smoged in 1991, et cetera, et cetera. So it would, you know, I think it's a smart, intelligent rule. I think it's less paperwork, it's less cumbersome. It's, it's easier on car collectors that again, aren't driving these cars every day. So as it went, as it made its way through the Assembly. It did. Sorry.

Mike Spagnola [00:14:26]:
Through the Senate. It did. They did add rules that it has to have a collector car plate and you have to have collector car insurance, which we're not crazy about, but at least we can make it through those sorts of programs. So now, now it goes onto the State assembly and they have to make a ruling by July 18th. So we're excited to see that come through. And then if it gets through the assembly, it goes to Governor Newsom's desk to be signed. Now, they have also added that they don't want to start this till 2027 because it's going to take the California Department of Motor Vehicles some time to get this set up. Yep.

Mike Spagnola [00:15:05]:
But hopefully this law goes into place January 1, 2027. So another hopefully for collector car people and for those who enjoy our hobby in our lifestyle, this will be another win.

Braxton Critcher [00:15:19]:
What, what's your confidence level? 0 to 100.

Mike Spagnola [00:15:23]:
I think with the things that have been added, the collector car insurance and the historical plate licenses, I feel pretty good about it. We never know what happens when it gets to the governor's desk. But yeah, it's a common sense bill and it, it, you know, again, it actually save some burden on the DMV and going forward. And I know that there's enough noise from car collectors around California that I think it gets through.

Braxton Critcher [00:15:51]:
Yeah. I was about to say this would be a very detrimental veto if it got to his desk and he said no, that, you know. Yeah, not looking good for. If he wants to consider running for president.

Mike Spagnola [00:16:07]:
Running for president yeah. So, you know, we've tried this bill before. As it stands today, it's the most progress it's made in over 20 years. So hopefully it gets through and we're on our way.

Braxton Critcher [00:16:21]:
So another bill that definitely has more impact and it's far more critical for the repair industry, of course, but also just for consumers in general and car owners is the Right to Repair Act. And so I've talked about this more than any other topic in the automotive industry, and I've had Lisa Fauche from the Auto Care association on several times, and we're starting to say we just need to be on every month to do another update. But her and I have talked at length about, about where she feels about this, and last I spoke to her, she felt it was a 20, 26 thing. But, I mean, as some of these things have happened faster than maybe we would have anticipated, maybe it's possible that it happens later this year. So what, where, where are you at on the Right to Repair Act?

Mike Spagnola [00:17:27]:
Lisa's a great advocate and great partner in this fight. Yes, as is all the, you know, automotive repair industry. So, you know, again, we're, we're committed to preserving the rights of vehicle owners and millions of automotive enthusiasts to choose where and what parts and what software they want to put on their vehicle to be not just repaired, but customized or modified. So we even take it a bit further to say right to modify. And we believe that that's a, you know, the consumer who buys the vehicle should be able to work on it when they want to, how they want to, what repair shop they want to take it to. And, you know, it's, it's imperative that all legislative and regulatory and industry standards or agreements adhere to these sort of principles. And so, and then, and then that information and data that comes out of those vehicles. Right.

Mike Spagnola [00:18:22]:
Is, should be allowed to be seen by an independent repair shop, by the consumer, and that, you know, we protect individuals and businesses to be able to modify and customize vehicles as they see fit.

Braxton Critcher [00:18:39]:
Yeah. Yeah. Well, I, I kind of compare this to the conversation we had about the EV mandate. The conversation we had briefly, I brought up about the tariffs. I know manufacturers dealerships know without a fact that they have to use auto repair shops, they can't fix all the cars. And they know that. I know it comes back to money and this, obviously, if it didn't get passed, they get to keep more money and they make. But they, they know they can't.

Braxton Critcher [00:19:19]:
They, they physically cannot. Auto repair shops struggle to keep fit. All the cars on the road fixed. So can you imagine if in 10 years all the vehicles on the road had to go to dealerships? Wouldn't happen. Could not be.

Mike Spagnola [00:19:32]:
Yeah, you can't. I mean, you know, I can tell you my dealership is, is. It's a two week notice to get in, to get, to get serviced. Right.

Braxton Critcher [00:19:39]:
I mean some repair shops are that way. Yeah, it's crazy. Like I, I had my, my car was in a, an accident a couple months ago and I've been dealing with the insurance problem, you know that. But I'm to the point where I want to take my car to a repair shop before the body shop gets it just to you know, hey, is this car worth saving or should I just get something else? And it, I booked the appointment last week and it's, it was supposed to be today but I pushed it back. It's Friday so it was about a week. And so I mean that's a repair shop and that's a well run repair shop. So yeah, I mean it's this, this, this is gonna get passed. It has to get passed and everybody on both sides, good, bad, ugly, evil knows that.

Mike Spagnola [00:20:30]:
Right.

Braxton Critcher [00:20:30]:
So where, where do you, where, when do you think it's going to happen?

Mike Spagnola [00:20:33]:
Yeah, I think it's a. Next year. I think it's an extra issue. We're hearing the same thing. Yeah, but you know, the ability to have access, to be able to calibrate and recalibrate any elimination of barriers, having a level playing field. And then of course owner's data rights, you know that they have the rights to that data and what's going on. So yeah, you know, they're just, it's, it's just all those basics.

Braxton Critcher [00:20:56]:
How is it being received? So last time I talked to Lisa it had just been reintroduced so and of course a lot of the folks who you know, were being reintroduced to were new in their positions. So how has it been received so far?

Mike Spagnola [00:21:10]:
Yeah, I think, you know again elections have consequences and I think that we are in a friendly environment right now to these sorts of things and, but that's why it's got to get through in 26. Right. I don't think we can wait till the mid year term voting just to be safe. But yeah, yeah, I, I think we're in good shape. You know there's, there's money in politics on both sides of this of course and, and so you never know. But we've got to continue to push hard. We're, you know, we're going to have to organize repair Shops and car owners and all that to write and call legislators with their opinion on this. So, you know, this isn't a pushover.

Mike Spagnola [00:21:52]:
I mean, this thing has come up before and we've been able to get past before. I do think that with technology and with the argument of safety and, you know, ADOs and those sorts of things, I think the fight does get harder.

Braxton Critcher [00:22:05]:
Yeah, for sure.

Mike Spagnola [00:22:08]:
I do think that there, this is not going to be, this isn't one of those things where it's, hey, this is common sense, it's going to happen.

Braxton Critcher [00:22:16]:
When do you anticipate that go time is when folks need to be writing their representatives?

Mike Spagnola [00:22:23]:
Yeah, I think it probably starts real soon and, and you know, but, and we're not going to have to let the heat off, but there'll be a crescendo to this for sure. You know, once this bill gets introduced and gets kind of weaves its way through, we're going to have to be pretty vocal about it. No different than the EV mandates or some of these other rules that we have been working through. You know, SEMA is working really hard to work with not just other trade associations, but to really get out in the industry and have a, have a louder voice and as does MIMA and some of the other groups to say, you know, you gotta, you gotta be, you know, politically involved today. You know, look, I'm, you know, I'm a parts guy from the very beginning. I started my life at a, you know, a dealership working in the parts department actually as a delivery parts driver and.

Braxton Critcher [00:23:10]:
Okay.

Mike Spagnola [00:23:10]:
And so I'm a, you know, and I come from the, from the industry. You know, I'm not a trade show guy or a association guy from the beginning. I, you know, I've been a SEMA member for 40 years. And so I wasn't in this political fight up to a few years ago when I became CEO, but I've really realized how important it is for us to be politically active on things like this because too many times we've been quiet or, you know, come up to say what we think towards the end and it's too late. And so as, as I became CEO, we, we put a lot more time and effort and money into our government affairs team. We went from four people now to 11 plus, plus lots of outside assistance and really kind of rallying the automotive industry. And you can see the success we've had because of that. So.

Mike Spagnola [00:24:10]:
And we're going to continue to fund it even more and to be much more active. It used to be that we tried to work behind the scenes on these sorts of things, and quite honestly, it didn't work as well as it's working now. When we can be much more active politically to make sure that we can continue to protect our industry and our environment and you know, not only just, just the repair side, but for us, you know, the right to modify, the right to customize, you know, all those sorts of things. And it's going to continue to play even a bigger role, not just in repair, but you just mentioned your car being in the body shop with all the ADOS features coming on now. You know, with all those technologies coming on, we've got to have a seat at the table as those rules become mandatory. You know, so, for example, right now self braking is being put on a lot of vehicles, but there's no NHTSA standard. There's no. And there's no rule that says you have to have automatic braking on your car.

Mike Spagnola [00:25:13]:
Manufacturers are doing that for safety reasons and for selling purposes and to get that five star rating and those sorts of things. But come 2029, it becomes mandatory.

Braxton Critcher [00:25:22]:
Right, I was going to bring that up. Yep.

Mike Spagnola [00:25:24]:
Yeah. So we've got to have a seat at the table of what, up to.

Braxton Critcher [00:25:27]:
60 miles an hour.

Mike Spagnola [00:25:29]:
Yeah. So, you know, what does that mean? How does it mean? What happens when you modify a vehicle? What happens when you lift your truck? What happens when you put larger tires and wheels on it? You know, all those sorts of things.

Braxton Critcher [00:25:38]:
Yeah.

Mike Spagnola [00:25:38]:
You know, one of the, one of the concerns is, is can you turn it off? So let's just say there's no ability to turn that off in starting 2029. So now I take my 2029 Corvette and I want to go out to the racetrack for the weekend and I dive into the apex and it decides to self break. Right. Or I go to pass another vehicle on the track and lane change departure warning kicks on and won't let me or I want to take my Bronco or Jeep off roading and it sees a rock.

Braxton Critcher [00:26:08]:
Right.

Mike Spagnola [00:26:09]:
And it won't let me go over it because self braking comes into play. So, you know, again, we've got to have a seat at the table and a voice in all of that to say, hey, hang on, guys. Before we make these rules and regulations, let's make sure we understand what happens when you modify a vehicle. You know, what happens when you, you put a leveling kit or you want to lift your truck three inches or put a larger set of tires and wheels on that vehicle. What do those cameras now See, what's it looking at? How can we modify the software to make sure that it's still in safety compliance and then even just awareness in body shops today, you know, there are. We know that there are body shops across the country that a vehicle can come in and it's got all those sensors on the vehicle and it's been in an accident and they repair it. It doesn't necessarily go back to recalibration and making sure that all those safety systems have been recalibrated to see what it's supposed to see. So, you know, making sure that that awareness happens and what happens from the consumer side as well as the body shop side to make sure.

Mike Spagnola [00:27:21]:
And even the insurance side, some insurance companies won't pay for that recalibration. So again, we all need to have a seat at the table to have a conversation about these things so that people can continue to not only work on their own vehicles or repair shops can work on those vehicles and they don't have to go back to the dealer that that equipment's made available, that that software is made available, that we all play a part in repair and modification of these vehicles.

Braxton Critcher [00:27:48]:
I mean, it's really connected.

Mike Spagnola [00:27:50]:
Yeah, it's all connected. And, and look, you know, SEMA's a 53 billion dollar industry annually, 1.2 million jobs in America, 337 billion dollars a year in economic impact. And so we have a voice, as does Mema, and as does voice the. In the, you know, the whole repair industry. And we got to make sure our voice is heard.

Braxton Critcher [00:28:16]:
Yeah. So, you know, part of that voice you were telling me about, the, the fia. You're now part of the fia. So my listeners and folks who follow the show know this. You probably are catching on. But I come from outside the industry, worked for radio stations, um, and I've been doing this podcast for a little over a year. So, I mean, I, I can hold conversations. I know what's going on, but I.

Braxton Critcher [00:28:44]:
There are still a lot of things that I'm just not there yet learning. So when you said tia, I don't even know what that is. So.

Mike Spagnola [00:28:50]:
So the.

Braxton Critcher [00:28:51]:
You tell me.

Mike Spagnola [00:28:52]:
Yeah.

Braxton Critcher [00:28:52]:
You're part of TIA Now. I know that's a. That's a recent thing, but I. I got no clue. So you tell me.

Mike Spagnola [00:28:58]:
Yeah, so we also announced, besides announcing the EV mandate and, and being in the White House to sign that bill. What do you say?

Braxton Critcher [00:29:06]:
Finding time to sleep.

Mike Spagnola [00:29:10]:
It's. It is a. I love this industry, and I've been part of it since I got out of high school and it's an honor and a privilege to be in the chair that I'm in. I've still got a ton of energy and fight in me and I've got a great team around me. So it's long hours and long days and. But I love it. You know, I've got three kids and two boys and a girl, and my two boys are in the industry. So it's fun to see that in just, you know, all the, all that goes around us, right? And every part of celebrating, celebrating car repair to, to racing and in this case the FIA is most people know it for being part of Formula One.

Mike Spagnola [00:29:55]:
Formula One racing is part of Fiat, but they have another division that most people don't know about and it's around the mobility issues. So they have a separate division that's just on mobility and tourism, which really has a voice worldwide in exactly what we were just talking about in this ados technology, in safety, in all of that. So SEMA applied and was accepted by the FIA last week. They're international convention was a macabre, you know, which is outside of China and people from all over the world came. We got voted in and we're excited about that. But we're going to have a seat at the table now, not just in the US but worldwide on technology and what happens. And again, specifically in this ADOS and these emerging technologies where, because it doesn't just affect the U.S. but, you know, it affects, just take in Germany, you know, Mercedes, BMW, you know, any of the, any of the cars, cars made worldwide will have this same technology and these same standards.

Mike Spagnola [00:31:02]:
And so just raising our voice not just in the US now, but internationally on safety policy and mobility and those sorts of issues by joining in partners. So FIA has become a member of SEMA and SEMA's become a member of FIA.

Braxton Critcher [00:31:20]:
Oh, okay.

Mike Spagnola [00:31:20]:
They have these technologies worldwide, they have these voices worldwide. We're going to be part of that voice. It actually started when FIA personnel, Mohammed bin Saleem, who some people will know, he's pretty famous on the Formula One world, came to the SEMA show and saw that we had a future tech and a mobility display that we have been growing and expanding on every year. And that display has everything from, you know, EV vehicles to hydrogen to all these technologies that are moving and going forward and kind of advanced technologies and a lot of work in this ADOS area. We're really. We have an ADOS lab in Detroit, in our Detroit facility where we're really studying what happens when you lift vehicles, what happens when you take a. You know, we have bought a 20, 25 Chevy truck and we've tested it stock then we've tested it with a leveling kit, we tested it with a 3 inch lift, we tested it with 33 inch tires, 35 inch tires, 6 inch lift, all those sorts of things to really understand what happens when you modify these vehicles.

Braxton Critcher [00:32:28]:
Right, I read about that. Yeah.

Mike Spagnola [00:32:29]:
Yeah. So the people from FIA came and saw those displays and saw what we were doing at the SEMA show and saw this work that we're doing. And we're very intrigued with that and how that could work internationally. And so they actually approached us to say we think we should partner together. They recognize the voice we have legislatively here in the us we recognize the voice they have worldwide and especially in Europe. And so we think it's going to be a great partnership. And I'm excited to get going on that. But a big announcement for us to be part of such a big prestigious group and to work together really worldwide now on these sort of technologies.

Braxton Critcher [00:33:14]:
Well, I feel like all this stuff we've been talking about, the EV mandate, Linda's Law, right to repair, fia, I mean, it's all super positive and it's building momentum for SEMA coming up later this year. You just sort of mentioned it a second ago, but I mean, it's, see.

Mike Spagnola [00:33:39]:
Five months.

Braxton Critcher [00:33:40]:
Yeah. Shoot. Four and a half months away.

Mike Spagnola [00:33:42]:
Yep.

Braxton Critcher [00:33:43]:
Four and a half, Mike.

Mike Spagnola [00:33:44]:
Not four and a half. Yeah.

Braxton Critcher [00:33:45]:
So, yeah, it's early November. I mean, it's coming up and, and registration's open, all this stuff. So I'm sure there's a lot of folks who have never been. Plenty have. But what's different this year? You were mentioning the, the, the EV display and all the updates that happen there every year. But what, what, I guess what excites SEMA 2025.

Mike Spagnola [00:34:09]:
Yeah. So it's always exciting and you know, it's really industry week. It, you know, Mima's involved. It's, it's the, both the replacement parts show and, and of course sema, which is the more in the performance side show. But on the SEMA side, we are. It's huge. Of course, we take over the complete convention center, hotels now, all of that. We're about 1.3 million square feet of space of just booths in 3 million square feet of property.

Mike Spagnola [00:34:37]:
And it's miles and miles and miles of. I think it's 23 miles of just carpet we lay down.

Braxton Critcher [00:34:43]:
Yeah, it's, it's, it sounds Ridiculous. And then when you see, when you get there, it's even more ridiculous. Yeah, it is crazy.

Mike Spagnola [00:34:52]:
It's, you know, it's a business to business show Tuesday through Thursday. We now do open it up to the public on Friday. And because we do believe that consumers, those consumers are really influencers. Right. And so you know why we want to keep a business to business Tuesday through Thursday. We recognize that anybody that comes to that show is enthusiast and really is the guy, the neighborhood guy that people go to when they say what car should I buy, what should I do with it, what brand tire should I buy? Those sorts of things. So they're. Well, they're not.

Mike Spagnola [00:35:25]:
While they don't have 10 million viewers, they are really influencers, you know, to, to the local neighborhoods. I mean, you know, I see that all the time as probably you do is, you know, if you're into cars, somebody will ask you your opinion on something. And so we think it is critical that consumers have a chance now to come to the show and see what's going on. And they're only there because they are enthusiasts and because they do want to see what's going on. So yeah, it's coming up November 5th through 8th. Las Vegas registration is open now. It last year was our largest show ever and we think it's going to match that again this year.

Braxton Critcher [00:36:03]:
It's, you know, the only problem with SEMA, Mike, you were mentioning F1, the fact that is it happening again this year that F1 is like a week or two after that and they're setting up everything and half the roads are closed in Vegas.

Mike Spagnola [00:36:18]:
Yeah, it's. It got better. So the first year was terrible. I gotta admit, the first year was terrible. And last year got a lot better. This year it is two weeks again after. But yeah, that, that now that it didn't. That infrastructure is in and they've.

Mike Spagnola [00:36:30]:
This is the third year putting on the F1 race.

Braxton Critcher [00:36:34]:
They're committed to 10 structures permanent.

Mike Spagnola [00:36:36]:
Yeah, some of that construct, you know the, I know the pits and, and garages and all that are permanent. Several million dollar deal.

Braxton Critcher [00:36:44]:
Yeah.

Mike Spagnola [00:36:44]:
But last year ran a lot smoother. We really didn't see an impact from the show as much. You know, now there's these Tesla tunnels that you can take a Tesla electric car underground from the various hotels where they're continuing to expand that you know, in the next couple years you'll be able to take a Tesla tunnel. So you'll get out of the airport, you'll go over to the Tesla tunnel, you'll get an electric car, Tesla, you'll go underground right to your, to your hotel, come out and go right to your hotel.

Braxton Critcher [00:37:13]:
So they always tell you if you run out of room, just build up. But now it's just beneath the surface.

Mike Spagnola [00:37:20]:
It's incredible. They can drill up to a mile a month of tunnel and, and I mean that's not just drilling, that's putting in the infrastructure and the cement and everything around it. So yeah, it's just incredible that sort of technology. So you've, you know, you've got that, of course, you got the overhead trams, you've got lots of ways to get to the convention center and basically, you.

Braxton Critcher [00:37:43]:
Know, as people know and whatever, everything's walking distance and you know, all the hotels have everything you could possibly need. They're inside the hotel. So I mean it wasn't really an issue. It was just the few times we did Uber, the road was iffy. But the main problem was the like getting into the hotel drop off center because everybody was Ubering so we would just get close and then get out of the car and walk the rest of the way. So I mean it wasn't a terrible thing, but it was congested. You know, I get it because you couldn't take certain roads because of F1. But the most, the time I was there, I was just walking and it was no problem.

Mike Spagnola [00:38:24]:
Yeah, yeah, it definitely got better last year. Again, I completely agree, the first year was pretty frustrating. We're working, you know, we work, as you can imagine, we work very closely. We're the largest trade show in Vegas. Oh yeah. And one of the largest in the U.S. and so we have a bit of influence on construction, on where it happens, how it happens, those sorts of things. And we are weekly meetings with them where they're monthly, our trade show team and making sure that we find the best pathways.

Mike Spagnola [00:38:55]:
There is some construction going on at the convention center, but they work around us. In 2026, all that convention center will be brand new and done looking beautiful. So you know, we have to work around a little bit of that right now. But once you got to the show, you know, last year there was a lot of construction, but once you got inside the buildings, you could not tell there was any construction going on. So we have influence as to when they open and close roads, those sorts of things. And, and so I think you're going to see it's a lot better this year and, and by 2026 it's going to be amazing.

Braxton Critcher [00:39:31]:
Yeah. Well, I will put a link to registration in the show notes of the podcast in the description of the YouTube video. So if you're watching that, you can go check that out. If you haven't already signed up, book your flights, get your hotels. I mean, now's the time. So now's the time.

Mike Spagnola [00:39:48]:
Yep. And there's actually. Early registration is a better price.

Braxton Critcher [00:39:50]:
Mike, this has been fantastic. I signed up for a while. I have appreciated conversation. What you say? Go ahead.

Mike Spagnola [00:39:57]:
No, I was going to say that the early registration is. There's a. There's a price discount for registering early and so you want to get on.

Braxton Critcher [00:40:06]:
Isn't that coming up into the month?

Mike Spagnola [00:40:08]:
It's. Yeah, it's coming up. I think first week of July, the price changes.

Braxton Critcher [00:40:11]:
Okay. Okay. But, yeah, no, Mike, this has been fantastic. And, uh, you know, it. Each one of these conversations can be a whole podcast. So, you know, we'll do this again and we'll catch up and, you know, go a little more in depth on some of the topics coming up soon.

Mike Spagnola [00:40:32]:
So I appreciate it's been pressure. Pleasure to talk to you.