studio460
11-09-2003, 03:57 AM
After a brief, but fruitful, tour of the 2003 SEMA show in Las Vegas, I have a few things to report . . .
1. The Trilogy Motorsports concept Marauder was, in a word, beautiful. Take a look at the pictures in the members' gallery here (http://www.mercurygallery.net/mmnet/showgallery.php?cat=500&si=&page=1&sort=1&perpage=24&password=&ppuser=708&stype=0). I had the very distinct pleasure of speaking with Jerry Barnes at some length. Probably the single biggest reason I went to the show was to determine Trilogy's timeline for their CARB certification, and I'm extremely happy to report that they now appear to be on-track on that process, and have a definite plan. When asked if the front and rear custom facias will be productized for sale, I was happily surprised when Jerry indicated, "Yes." Expect the facias to be pricey (but worth it). No indication on product delivery dates.
2. I went to the H&R Special Springs' booth and spoke with Steven D. Perret, U.S. General Manager, and asked if they were in fact developing front springs for the Marauder. His response, "As far as I know, H&R is not developing springs for the Marauder. The market is small and I doubt that H&R will ever produce a product for the Marauder."
3. I spoke with sales rep., Giovanni Felizzari at the Eibach booth and asked what the status of their Marauder springs were, and he said that, "The shipment that they had been expecting in October was delayed even longer than expected, and will probably come in toward the end of November." He took my name and assured me that my order would make it into the queue.
4. I spoke with Tokico sales and marketing manager, Kirk Rooney, at the Tokico booth and asked about stiffer shocks for Marauder owners who are lowering their cars with the Eibachs. He responded, "I've been hearing these requests from a number of Marauder owners, and I think we'll have a product into production sometime next year." He added that since their plant is stateside, the lead time on new products is relatively short. I mentioned that many MM.net members would be very interested in such a product. Don't know if this was merely trade show sales talk or a possible real committment to our market or not.
5. And lastly, I met with Chris of Superchips Custom Tuning at the Superchips booth. He recognized me immediately from my recent dynotune in San Diego, and was aware that I still had some minor detonation issues . . . he immediately asked, "Is your car here?" I said, "Yes!" I pulled my car into the back of the South Hall in the limo drop-off area, Chris wheeled his laptop over, and in a few minutes, he had reflashed my EEC using SCT's new software. Detonation GONE. Shifts now hold longer, better. THANKS CHRIS!
1. The Trilogy Motorsports concept Marauder was, in a word, beautiful. Take a look at the pictures in the members' gallery here (http://www.mercurygallery.net/mmnet/showgallery.php?cat=500&si=&page=1&sort=1&perpage=24&password=&ppuser=708&stype=0). I had the very distinct pleasure of speaking with Jerry Barnes at some length. Probably the single biggest reason I went to the show was to determine Trilogy's timeline for their CARB certification, and I'm extremely happy to report that they now appear to be on-track on that process, and have a definite plan. When asked if the front and rear custom facias will be productized for sale, I was happily surprised when Jerry indicated, "Yes." Expect the facias to be pricey (but worth it). No indication on product delivery dates.
2. I went to the H&R Special Springs' booth and spoke with Steven D. Perret, U.S. General Manager, and asked if they were in fact developing front springs for the Marauder. His response, "As far as I know, H&R is not developing springs for the Marauder. The market is small and I doubt that H&R will ever produce a product for the Marauder."
3. I spoke with sales rep., Giovanni Felizzari at the Eibach booth and asked what the status of their Marauder springs were, and he said that, "The shipment that they had been expecting in October was delayed even longer than expected, and will probably come in toward the end of November." He took my name and assured me that my order would make it into the queue.
4. I spoke with Tokico sales and marketing manager, Kirk Rooney, at the Tokico booth and asked about stiffer shocks for Marauder owners who are lowering their cars with the Eibachs. He responded, "I've been hearing these requests from a number of Marauder owners, and I think we'll have a product into production sometime next year." He added that since their plant is stateside, the lead time on new products is relatively short. I mentioned that many MM.net members would be very interested in such a product. Don't know if this was merely trade show sales talk or a possible real committment to our market or not.
5. And lastly, I met with Chris of Superchips Custom Tuning at the Superchips booth. He recognized me immediately from my recent dynotune in San Diego, and was aware that I still had some minor detonation issues . . . he immediately asked, "Is your car here?" I said, "Yes!" I pulled my car into the back of the South Hall in the limo drop-off area, Chris wheeled his laptop over, and in a few minutes, he had reflashed my EEC using SCT's new software. Detonation GONE. Shifts now hold longer, better. THANKS CHRIS!