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FEATURE INTERVIEW

Mike Spagnola – SEMA:

This week I spoke to Mike Spagnola, President and CEO of SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association). It is always fun to meet for the first time, especially people who are helming something important to you. This was my first interaction of any kind with Mike, and my immediate takeaway from the discussion was that SEMA is in good hands (and a bright future) with his leadership!

Mike has been involved with automotive his whole life and at all ends of the spectrum. From racing off road trucks, to owning an automotive specialty parts business, and even working a wall street type job buying and selling car related businesses, Mike has done it all. He told me it started at a very young age when he knew he wanted to be involved with cars. He played with all the car and tool toys, and watched the racing and stunt type TV shows as a kid and just knew that is what he wanted to do. In high school he excelled in auto shop and a famous visitor showed up one day offering a scholarship to the person that did the best in class. Mike worked hard and won that money for college but when it came time to accept his prize he was tongue tied and could not speak. Later on he became friends with this person and had even talked to him often, that person was legendary racer and businessman, Mickey Thompson.

With Mike’s vast and diverse background he is a natural at running the biggest protection and advocation agency in the automotive aftermarket world. It is a given that the job is very hard though and takes dedication and perseverance. He said that the organization finds out about new threats to our hobby every single week and many are never heard of by the general public and would go undetected and undisputed without SEMA around to do the hard work. He also knows the struggles of running an automotive business, especially one that is fighting to survive amidst numerous attacks from the government so he helped set up and run the first SEMA Garage in Diamond Bar and the new SEMA Garage in Detroit.

Mike was key in building the SEMA emissions lab and emissions program in partnership with Cal Air Resources Board (CARB), which helps companies make emissions compliant parts and accessories. The SEMA Garages, located in Southern California and Detroit, are the only known facilities of their kind in the United States, offering services like 3D scanning, 3D printing, ADAS testing, vehicle measuring sessions, fully equipped work bays, emissions testing and certification. SEMA Garage Detroit recently received confirmation from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that the new location is properly equipped for automotive exhaust emissions testing.

There are only fourteen Independent Vehicle Emissions Testing Labs in the United States, who are recognized by CARB to perform light-duty tailpipe emissions testing including the two SEMA Garages. SEMA works closely with automakers to offer measuring sessions on new vehicles so members can bring new products to market.

Automotive enthusiasts come in all shapes an sizes and for some the call of the wild is their passion and they enjoy exploring the world off road. SEMA recognizes the huge off road market and supported Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act,which increases opportunities for motorized and non-motorized access to public lands, streamlines the process and expenses associated with obtaining special recreation permits, and directs federal land management agencies to make maps available to the public depicting where vehicles are allowed to recreate. The Senate passed a similar version of the bill in 2023.

SEMA is currently working to protect motorized access to over 300 miles of trails near Moab that the federal government has proposed to close. The U.S.Department of Interior’s Board of Land Appeals recently agreed to hear our coalition’s appeal to the closures. SEMA was also part of a lawsuit that successfully sued to stop the state of California’s efforts to close motorized access to Oceano Dunes. The are watching on all fronts to protect our rights to access taxpayer paid for lands as well as the right to purchase and own vehicles that can access these lands.

SEMA is about recognizing the automotive enthusiast and representing that passion in government and the world and to protect the right to express themselves  and enjoys the hobby. This passion is on display at SEMA’s numerous trade shows like the SEMA Show in Vegas or PRI (Performance Racing Industry) Show in Indianapolis each year.

In the end, my happiest part of the interview was learning that despite hobnobbing with rock-stars, race car drivers, and celebrities, Mike is just a family man at heart. His kids (and now grandkids) still play together and are involved with Legends car racing, a sport my son and I just delved into this year. The next time we’re in Irwindale we may learn some tricks on asphalt setup and give it a go!

You can find out more about SEMA via https://www.sema.org and the SEMA Show via https://www.semashow.com.

Thanks for the discussion, Mike!

-Rob Kibbe

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