Despite rising fuel prices...
Despite rising fuel prices and rumors of an economic downturn, racers continue to race-and buy parts at an ever-increasing rate.
"There's still a good solid core for that [100-point show car]," agrees Classic Industries' Brennan. But he feels a large part of the hobby is moving in a different direction. "People are going back to, 'Hey, let's enjoy this car. That's what it was designed for,'" he says. "More and more people are putting overdrive transmissions into [their restored Camaros]. Especially with today's gas prices, people are doing more and more to preserve their fun."
Matt Agosta of Steele Rubber Products, who is also the chairman of SEMA's Automotive Restoration Market Organization (ARMO), agrees. "There's a generation of us that grew up in the '60s or started driving in the '60s and '70s that aren't as concerned with preserving history as we are with individualizing our cars. I think our dads were more concerned with preserving history.
"For the last decade or two, we've been encouraging people to go out and enjoy their cars. So you'll see a lot of cars out there that have been enhanced, either for safety or creature comforts or performance. There are less and less pure restored cars. Even for the musclecars, not everybody can have the biggest muscle [from the factory], so they add some muscle here and there. I see a lot of that at shows and cruise nights." He believes people want the nostalgia look, but they also want 21st-century performance, ride, handling, and comfort these days.
Those of you who remember what you were doing when President Kennedy was shot will be pleased to know that not all young enthusiasts drive slammed Hondas as we ease into the new millennium. Plenty of teens and 20-somethings are behind the wheel of hot Chevys. And Agosta adds, "The younger they are, the more they want to modify [their cars]."
That said, it should come as no surprise that the hottest part of the specialty auto accessories market remains street performance. SEMA records show retail sales in this area of $1.964 billion in 2000, a 26.87 percent increase from '98 sales of $1.548 billion.
Crower has been receiving...
Crower has been receiving more and more requests for late-model Chevy hard-core performance parts, and the company plans to introduce LS1 roller rocker arms soon.
The Race Scene As racing becomes more popular and more mainstream, retail sales continue to grow at a rapid rate. According to SEMA's Spoonhower, retail racing product sales climbed 13.55 percent in two years-from $657 million in 1998 to $709 million in 2000.
Ken Sink of Milodon, which offers high-performance oil pans, gear drives and other hard-core parts, says his company's sales reflect this trend. "Our performance race side is up tremendously due to the fact that there are more tracks," he says. "And the economy that supposedly 'is iffy' has not affected the race guys. They still are going to be out there every Friday, Saturday night."
Brian Crower of Crower Cams & Equipment agrees, "We've never really been bad off in any economy slowdowns, because racers keep racing."
Sink notes that the racing buyer has changed over the years: "There's a more sophisticated buyer out there. Guys are pulling every horsepower out of a motor that they can these days. Instead of just thinking of [an oil] pan as a giant bucket, these guys...have gone to the more sophisticated pans that we have."
Meanwhile, sanctioning bodies have been bending over backward to create affordable race classes, including classes that use crate motors, so more and more enthusiasts can afford to feed their need for speed.
Crower adds that the ready availability of off-the-shelf hard-core performance parts puts '01 sportsman racers light-years ahead of where the pros were just a decade or two ago. You want a top-notch racing block? No need to scrounge the boneyards and hope you can find one that isn't cracked or maxed out. Now you can order exactly what you need, in iron or aluminum, bare or as a short- or long-block.