Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News. I'm Hannah Elliott and
Speaker 1: I'm Matt Miller.
Speaker 2: This is Hot Pursuit.
Speaker 1: I'm Hannah Elliott and.
Speaker 3: I'm Matt Miller.
Speaker 2: This is Hot Pursuit.
Speaker 1: Coming up on today's podcast, we have got the head
Speaker 1: of SEEMA with us and the head of the American
Speaker 1: f i A delegation. Am I saying that right?
Speaker 4: Matt?
Speaker 5: Yes, I believe it's the mobility uh section of the
Speaker 5: f i A. But yeah, Mike Stagnolo joins us, and
Speaker 5: I am a huge fan of aftermarket modding.
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, nothing serious, but.
Speaker 5: Like as soon as I get a bike, I'll change
Speaker 5: the cams.
Speaker 1: Or you got an exhaust for the.
Speaker 5: My BMW want to change. Yeah, it's the trim and
Speaker 5: we have to make an exhaust for it. Yes, exactly so.
Speaker 5: And also I really want to go to the SEMA
Speaker 5: Car Show.
Speaker 2: I've never been to it.
Speaker 1: It is your spiritual home. I think you if you go,
Speaker 1: you will never leave. I think more than anything, this
Speaker 1: is truly you. Your mind will explode. It is it's
Speaker 1: really intense. It's it's ninety nine percent men. I know
Speaker 1: we talked with Mike about women, but it's a it's
Speaker 1: bro heavy.
Speaker 4: Let me.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, this is your wheelhouse, That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: Not the problem at all. Yeah, No, it's great. It's great,
Speaker 1: and it's very inspiring. You know, you got people who
Speaker 1: have worked for years on the things that they're displaying there.
Speaker 1: It's very cool.
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's that's what I really am going to get
Speaker 5: into because I for many years I was trying to
Speaker 5: modify my Ducati Monsters with rear sets that made it
Speaker 5: possible for a guy with super long legs to ride,
Speaker 5: you know, and there just aren't very many choices out
Speaker 5: there for people who.
Speaker 2: Want it taller.
Speaker 5: Everybody wants rear sets that are higher because they want
Speaker 5: to be race guys, right, And I always think about
Speaker 5: making them myself, but in order to make it work financially,
Speaker 5: you got to make like thirty or eighty, you know,
Speaker 5: to sell some of them. I never really have gotten
Speaker 5: that far down the rabbit hole, but maybe I would.
Speaker 2: Maybe I would. Well, you know what else do we have?
Speaker 2: What else? Well, you've got a story on this terminal.
Speaker 1: Yes, it's kind of about how Eve's killed the Halo car.
Speaker 1: The headline is that Portia and other luxury car icons
Speaker 1: are losing appeal in China. But really the story is
Speaker 1: about how EV's and ev dreams in China really have
Speaker 1: had quite a cooling effect on the halo cars. And
Speaker 1: you know, as you know, halo cars aren't just any supercar.
Speaker 1: They're not just a sports car. It's a very specific
Speaker 1: but also vague kind of car that used to be
Speaker 1: really prevalent. I mean, every major automaker would have a
Speaker 1: halo car. Obviously, the halo is what brings people into
Speaker 1: the brand, brings people into the showroom. But this piece
Speaker 1: kind of looks at why we don't really see I mean,
Speaker 1: Audi just had their new Halo, the new Voalai. That
Speaker 1: is maybe an outlier these days, right.
Speaker 5: I guess in part because people don't always go to
Speaker 5: the showroom anymore.
Speaker 1: You have everything you need to see you can see
Speaker 1: on social media now you don't even need it. You
Speaker 1: don't even need to go to buy it.
Speaker 2: I don't think I've.
Speaker 5: Bought a car from a showroom since like twenty ten.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I totally believe it. And the other thing too,
Speaker 1: is I kind of think Tesla had a really big
Speaker 1: part to play in this cooling effect of halo cars
Speaker 1: because when Tesla came out with ludicrous mode. That basically
Speaker 1: meant any grocery getter, Sedan, Tesla or EV for that matter,
Speaker 1: because it's it's set a precedent could embarrass a Lamborghini
Speaker 1: in a drag race. Speed became a commodity, and speed
Speaker 1: no longer, you know, was reserved only for supercars and
Speaker 1: Halo cars and the top sports cars. Speed now is everywhere,
Speaker 1: and that kind of meant in a way, it became
Speaker 1: less special.
Speaker 6: So it is true, yeah, yeah, yeah, but doesn't it
Speaker 6: make some other aspects of car ownership or usage more special?
Speaker 6: I mean, do you such as think that authenticity, you know, heritage?
Speaker 1: Apparently this is this is the interest. This is the
Speaker 1: interesting thing. You know, Chinese buyers really care about the
Speaker 1: latest technology, about AI and about you know, whether they
Speaker 1: feel they're getting an affordable car. And the thing is,
Speaker 1: China's crack that code. So now you have all these
Speaker 1: domestic to China automakers that are making these things that
Speaker 1: Chinese buyers are buying, and all of a sudden, you know,
Speaker 1: all of the German and Western brands are really struggling
Speaker 1: to compete. It's been interesting to watch it happen.
Speaker 2: So the main message of this story really is China.
Speaker 5: Like, wherever China goes, there goes the global car market.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 1: You could say that. I think you could say that
Speaker 1: at this point. My big question is, and I don't
Speaker 1: that's a great point, Matt, I don't say it in
Speaker 1: this piece, but when are we going to see Chinese
Speaker 1: cars in the US. That would have been a question
Speaker 1: for Mike, because do you think it's only a matter
Speaker 1: of time or do you think never?
Speaker 5: Never, never, No, definitely, I mean we already have in
Speaker 5: the Pollstars.
Speaker 1: And in the US. But that's great.
Speaker 2: I saw that, but.
Speaker 5: You can see it seeping in here and there, and
Speaker 5: at some point an American consumer, especially in southern California,
Speaker 5: is going to have experienced fantastic Chinese products on vacation
Speaker 5: in Mexico and see the price tags so much lower
Speaker 5: than US automobiles and just demand it. I mean, why
Speaker 5: do you Why would we force our own consumers to
Speaker 5: pay thirty or forty or fifty thousand dollars to buy
Speaker 5: a Korean car when the consumers here could spend twenty
Speaker 5: thousand dollars for a better product just because we don't
Speaker 5: like China.
Speaker 1: Correct. And also, let's not Forget is also selling buses
Speaker 1: here already. There are fleets of fleets of BYD buses
Speaker 1: in the US operational I guess I don't know if
Speaker 1: they're actually selling them here, but they are operating here already, right.
Speaker 5: Yeah, So I mean I imagine it'll come, not during
Speaker 5: this administration, but at some point, like a pragmatic economist
Speaker 5: is going to run the country and uh, and we'll
Speaker 5: all be we'll all be given freedom of choice. But
Speaker 5: not now, obviously.
Speaker 1: Now, Matt, I have to change a subject because I
Speaker 1: just remembered you've had a baby. We should have start. Oh, yes,
Speaker 1: top the top. This is the most important thing I did.
Speaker 5: We made a new one, and thank you very much.
Speaker 5: Little Freddie is here so happy. Uh And yeah, you
Speaker 5: know I got I had purchased this VMW specifically for
Speaker 5: that purpose. But then my wife said the suspension is
Speaker 5: too stiff and we had to take Yeah, she said
Speaker 5: it's too low and the suspension was too stiff to
Speaker 5: take her to the hospital in it no way. We
Speaker 5: took the Mercedes GLS instead, which turned out to be
Speaker 5: a great choice for the trip.
Speaker 1: You know, I did not know that. That's really funny.
Speaker 1: That's yeah, I mean, Mary, you knows what she wants
Speaker 1: and what she needs exactly. Got to respect that. So
Speaker 1: that's great.
Speaker 5: But yeah, I've had card the kids around in my
Speaker 5: new car. I've been carding them around right now in
Speaker 5: an M five, And I won't talk too much about
Speaker 5: it because I want to wait until you have a
Speaker 5: chance next week to drive, because you just got your
Speaker 5: M two, right I just.
Speaker 1: Got the M two delivered to the house. I haven't
Speaker 1: even seen it because i'm at the newsroom right now,
Speaker 1: but I'm very excited to drive it over the holiday weekend,
Speaker 1: and then after that, I'm also getting the M five.
Speaker 1: So we're gonna have a lot to talk about in
Speaker 1: BMW lands.
Speaker 2: A lot of exactly, and we have the new X
Speaker 2: five to talk about.
Speaker 1: Let's discuss.
Speaker 2: I hated quite a stir.
Speaker 1: What's your What was your knee jerk reaction when you
Speaker 1: saw it?
Speaker 5: My knee jerk reaction. The first picture I saw was
Speaker 5: very positive. I was like, Oh, I really like the
Speaker 5: way that looks. But you know what, I'll say, I
Speaker 5: felt the same way about the M two When this
Speaker 5: new M two came out and everybody else hated it
Speaker 5: for some reason, I just like the blockie design on
Speaker 5: the new X five. I like the two thousand and
Speaker 5: two kidneys.
Speaker 2: I think the X headlights are cool.
Speaker 1: I think the X headlights are super cool. I love those.
Speaker 1: Those are awesome.
Speaker 2: But you don't love the look.
Speaker 1: I need to see this is my qualifiers. I need
Speaker 1: to see it in real life, of course. Okay, my
Speaker 1: knee jerk was what it seems really it seems incredibly
Speaker 1: out of proportion. Also, I feel like I have whiplash
Speaker 1: now because we've gone from these huge beaver teeth grills
Speaker 1: and now all of a sudden, we're getting whiplash and
Speaker 1: it's like a micro grill. Yeah, on something this big,
Speaker 1: it looks like a tiny it's it doesn't necessarily seem
Speaker 1: in proportion to the rest. And also the black space
Speaker 1: below we have those tiny, little, tiny little girls, and
Speaker 1: then we have these gaping air vents, but also that
Speaker 1: are emphasized by just black I think plastic all around
Speaker 1: them to make them look even bigger. Why would you
Speaker 1: emphasize that It's.
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 5: I think I think that part depends on the powertrain
Speaker 5: you get, And it's pretty interesting that you can now
Speaker 5: choose from six power trains on an X five.
Speaker 2: And by the way, I'm not I'll.
Speaker 5: Bet it's gonna be more because you can choose a
Speaker 5: gas powertrain, but there you'll have the choice of at
Speaker 5: least an inline six or a V eight's. You can
Speaker 5: choose a mild hybrid power train, so I'm guessing that'll
Speaker 5: be the in line six with electric help, and you
Speaker 5: can choose a plug in hybrid. You can choose a
Speaker 5: full electric vehicle, or you can choose fuel cell hydrogen
Speaker 5: fuel cell, and they'll have a diesel version, probably not
Speaker 5: for this market, but for other places in the world.
Speaker 5: So that's seven power choices.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's gonna be really cool.
Speaker 2: Yeah, very cool.
Speaker 1: It does seem like this is now reading. This is
Speaker 1: BMW reading the room, which is that people just want options, right, Yeah,
Speaker 1: for sure, don't tell us what we have, and they
Speaker 1: can offer give us an.
Speaker 2: Option, yep, And they can offer options for now.
Speaker 5: I will say that although I love the exterior and
Speaker 5: I can understand and why it's shocking to some because
Speaker 5: it doesn't really look like an X five, It looks
Speaker 5: like a tall station wagon, but the interior is less
Speaker 5: my style. There's no longer gauges in front of the
Speaker 5: steering wheel and for this to be the ultimate driving machine,
Speaker 5: I want to see gauges in front of me showing
Speaker 5: my speed and the engine speed. But it's got this
Speaker 5: like some kind of new peripheral technology where it's way
Speaker 5: up above the dash it goes all the way across
Speaker 5: the car. There's no more BMWi drive system, which I
Speaker 5: absolutely loved the eye drive.
Speaker 1: Here's something that worries me a little bit. And this
Speaker 1: is in keeping with your assessment of what's going on
Speaker 1: above the dashboard. This car already looks like the front
Speaker 1: third is extremely high, like.
Speaker 3: Up not up.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's just the photo I'm looking at, but it
Speaker 1: looks like there's a lot. It's high.
Speaker 2: It looks high.
Speaker 1: It's an suv, it's high. So you have that height
Speaker 1: on top of Now we're adding things on top of
Speaker 1: the dashboard. What does that do to visibility directly in
Speaker 1: front of the vehicle? And is this another example of
Speaker 1: the arms race happening on American highways where everyone's just
Speaker 1: getting matt these huge, massive vehicles and you can't see.
Speaker 5: I honestly don't think it's going to be as I
Speaker 5: don't think you're right about the trend.
Speaker 2: I don't think this x five is going to be
Speaker 2: as tall as you think it is.
Speaker 1: That's fair maybe, but I need to stand but.
Speaker 2: It well, we'll have to see it in person. I
Speaker 2: have Neither one of us really knows, right, But.
Speaker 5: You see increasingly a trend where there's a camera button
Speaker 5: or you can dig into your digital screen and turn
Speaker 5: on a camera that looks in front of you, right,
Speaker 5: I mean I have that car. No, you may not
Speaker 5: want to, but I had one back when I got
Speaker 5: my F one fifty and twenty fourteen. So as these
Speaker 5: vehicles get taller and bigger and you have less of
Speaker 5: a view of the curb in front of you, you know,
Speaker 5: if you're parking, for example, this is what you can
Speaker 5: hit that button.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and then you can see how close it is.
Speaker 1: Hmmm.
Speaker 2: I'll be excited to drive it. I think.
Speaker 5: In terms of the exterior, like that they sort of
Speaker 5: hit hit have hit a reset.
Speaker 4: The grills were.
Speaker 5: Getting bigger and bigger than they're back too.
Speaker 1: They definitely didn't you say this remind you of the
Speaker 1: two thousand and two Yes, exactly, Yeah it does, and
Speaker 1: that was a tiny.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 5: The interior has gotten more and more digital and more
Speaker 5: and more screeny and less and less buttony, and I
Speaker 5: think that it will be reset as well. I'll bet
Speaker 5: you that the next generation of this has far more
Speaker 5: physical buttons and controls and fewer screeniness.
Speaker 1: We've seen We've seen that at Porscha, We've seen that
Speaker 1: at Ferrari. They're already dialing back on the buttons, no
Speaker 1: pun intended. So yeah, I thank god someone's listening to everyone. Gripe.
Speaker 1: It's good. The color of the launch this launch color,
Speaker 1: it's like, I don't know if you're seeing it, but
Speaker 1: on the official BMW website it's like a gray green.
Speaker 1: It's kind of cool. Would look great on.
Speaker 2: I like new and different colors, So I'm happy about that.
Speaker 2: I take it. Yeah, that's nice. That's nice, all right?
Speaker 5: Should we should we get into Mike our interview with
Speaker 5: Mike's Sagnola, the head of SEMA.
Speaker 2: Let's do it.
Speaker 1: We're gonna take a quick break and coming up more
Speaker 1: with Mike's Bagnola, the head of SEEMA, and we're gonna
Speaker 1: hear a little bit more about the kind of cars
Speaker 1: he drives in his personal time.
Speaker 3: Let's start with the use. Why don't we about your ability.
Speaker 5: I guess to help small businesses get after market parts
Speaker 5: onto our cars more quickly and more efficiently.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so we're really excited the Trump administration and Lee
Speaker 4: Zelden announced yesterday that our SEAMA garages are now approved
Speaker 4: by the e p A to do emission compliance work.
Speaker 4: And what that means really is we have two emission centers,
Speaker 4: one here in Diamond Bar, California and one in Detroit
Speaker 4: where we help manufacturers kind of get through the emissions
Speaker 4: testing process, which can be daunting. So everything we help
Speaker 4: them with, everything from filling out the application to doing
Speaker 4: the test work to actually submitting that paperwork. And over
Speaker 4: the years it's been really carved. California Resources Board regulated
Speaker 4: and so we do all this work on behalf of
Speaker 4: our members. We test the product, we make sure that
Speaker 4: it passes emissions testing, and then we turn those applications
Speaker 4: into the California Resources Board, where there's always been this
Speaker 4: piece through the EPA that says reasonable basis, so testing
Speaker 4: can be done on a reasonable basis and EPA would
Speaker 4: accept that sort of work. We've been working alongside the
Speaker 4: EPA to actually get recognized by the EPA, and that
Speaker 4: came through yesterday through a bill that President Trump signed
Speaker 4: and that Lee Zilden worked alongside of us to do so,
Speaker 4: now our SEAMA garages, our emissions test centers can actually
Speaker 4: do that testing, help our manufacturers get through that process
Speaker 4: and then it becomes forty nine state legal and so
Speaker 4: what we'll be doing now going forward, and what that means,
Speaker 4: by the way, is that you know, manufacturers spend a
Speaker 4: ton of time and effort and money to develop a
Speaker 4: new product, and once that product's done and once we
Speaker 4: test it, we can wait weeks even months for the
Speaker 4: California Air Resources Board to approve that product. Meanwhile, those
Speaker 4: manufacturers are losing saidills. So now with this EPA recognition,
Speaker 4: we can do that testing, certify that it passes, and
Speaker 4: then give those manufacturers the ability to sell those products
Speaker 4: in forty nine states while we wait for CARB to
Speaker 4: then approve it for California. So it means millions and
Speaker 4: millions of dollars in sales to those manufacturers that we represent.
Speaker 5: So for example, I just got this twenty twenty bmw
Speaker 5: M seven sixty. Nobody makes a cat back exhaust for it.
Speaker 5: But if someone were to try to want to offer
Speaker 5: that product to every you know, seven sixty owner, she
Speaker 5: or he could come to you and say, look, help
Speaker 5: me get this emissions compliant for forty nine states and
Speaker 5: then may I may or may not do.
Speaker 3: The California work as well.
Speaker 5: But that would take an extra year and you know,
Speaker 5: one hundred thousand dollar dollars or something.
Speaker 3: They can do it much faster and cheaper with you.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's you know, the fees aren't that great through
Speaker 4: California Resources Board. But it can take time. I mean
Speaker 4: we you know, we we have experienced word, it could
Speaker 4: be six months to a year.
Speaker 5: Well, by the way, employing somebody to work with CARB
Speaker 5: and make sure the process goes smoothly is what it
Speaker 5: costs one hundred grand, Right, I'm not saying they have
Speaker 5: to pay right, sources bore one hundred thousand, but you've
Speaker 5: got to continue operating your business and you've got to
Speaker 5: actually try and get it through.
Speaker 4: Yep. Yeah, so we have. We actually have twenty two
Speaker 4: people on staff that do nothing but fill out those applications,
Speaker 4: work with the manufacturers, do the testing, submit the applications
Speaker 4: to CARB. We do that at a loss. But the
Speaker 4: idea is that we are helping manufacturers. We're a trade
Speaker 4: organization and we're here to service the industry and to
Speaker 4: be helpful to the industry. We make our money off
Speaker 4: of our segment trade show and pri I trade shows,
Speaker 4: and then of course we also have a membership dues
Speaker 4: and so we make our money that way, and we
Speaker 4: reinvest that money into the marketplace to help manufacturers and
Speaker 4: to help the industry grow. So even though we do
Speaker 4: charge a fee for that testing and all that, it's
Speaker 4: at a loss and all the form application and all that.
Speaker 4: But the goal is to make sure that our manufacturers
Speaker 4: can safely sell products, not get fined by EPA or
Speaker 4: CARB and get through this process which can be definitely
Speaker 4: very urgency.
Speaker 3: And I mean, how many members do you have to
Speaker 3: pay dues?
Speaker 4: About seven thousand members of pay dues, but you know
Speaker 4: many many more than that that benefit from our all
Speaker 4: of our legislative work, you know, all those sorts of
Speaker 4: things that we do. So you know, it's there to
Speaker 4: protect the industry.
Speaker 1: And what are hardcore race guys?
Speaker 4: What is who are race cars are? More so, it's
Speaker 4: everything from the weekend warrior guy that gets out to.
Speaker 1: His amateur racers.
Speaker 4: It can be amateur racing, but we also get the
Speaker 4: indie car guys there, the NASCAR guys there, the we're
Speaker 4: tied into Formula one. We're actually the FAI representatives for
Speaker 4: the US. So it's everything from you know, you know,
Speaker 4: I've got a nine year old grandson, now that's racing,
Speaker 4: and so it's everything from those sorts of guys to
Speaker 4: to pro semi pro to pro.
Speaker 5: What is your the open wheel guys from the NASCAR
Speaker 5: guys now right ever since the KMAG incident a couple.
Speaker 4: Of weeks ago, yeah, yeah, yeah, so yeah, definitely, uh yeah,
Speaker 4: so all of that, all that and talk about testosterone,
Speaker 4: it's all of that there at the pr I show
Speaker 4: as well. So it's it's awesome, it's there are the
Speaker 4: two premiere shows in the US.
Speaker 5: By the way, do you see more, Mike, do you
Speaker 5: see more women getting involved not just in racing but
Speaker 5: in the aftermarket, working in garage? Is because, at least
Speaker 5: in the media, it's portrayed that way.
Speaker 3: You see these shows and.
Speaker 5: There are women working in the garage that are, you know,
Speaker 5: obviously doing the same things the guys are doing.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, it's gotten much much bigger and we continue to
Speaker 4: fuel that. We we have these councils and networks, we
Speaker 4: have these different groups that of just groups that we
Speaker 4: work with as well, and one of them is the
Speaker 4: SEEMA Business Women's Network SBN. So we've been feeding that
Speaker 4: now for thirty years. We started that group thirty years
Speaker 4: ago where women get together and talk about business and
Speaker 4: talk about things that they're doing in the industry, and
Speaker 4: we do a lot of work with them. We do
Speaker 4: seminars with them, we do a lot of things to
Speaker 4: promote them. But definitely more than ever, and you know,
Speaker 4: we're seeing a lot more women, not just in the
Speaker 4: business side, not just in the marketing side and the
Speaker 4: sales side and the you know, we've got women running companies.
Speaker 4: Our chairperson right now, Money White, runs Hellwig and pretty
Speaker 4: big company that makes swave oars and suspension components. She
Speaker 4: is the chairwoman of SEMA. So definitely a lot of
Speaker 4: women in the industry that are now even doing welding
Speaker 4: and mechanics and all those sorts of things. So we
Speaker 4: continue to fuel that as well. And excited to see it.
Speaker 1: Mike, did you guys get involved in the right to
Speaker 1: repair conversation at all too? I know, Matt is Matt's
Speaker 1: dying to hear more.
Speaker 5: Well, it's a debate, I think, yeah, for sure, we
Speaker 5: are in the bulls eye of it of it for sure.
Speaker 4: Boy. So in a few areas we're definitely right to repair.
Speaker 4: We're really pushing right to modify some more than just
Speaker 4: right to repair. We need the ability to modify vehicles
Speaker 4: and do it safely. And then of course we're also
Speaker 4: involved in the military right to repair, so there's that
Speaker 4: legislative effort going on as well that you know on
Speaker 4: the give you an idea on the right to modify.
Speaker 4: We're doing a lot of work now where and these
Speaker 4: are through our SEEMA garages. Again, with all the technology
Speaker 4: that's coming out, with the ability of self breaking, lane change,
Speaker 4: departure warning, all those technologies that are on vehicles today,
Speaker 4: we're doing a lot of work to understand what happens
Speaker 4: when you modify the vehicle, and especially since some of
Speaker 4: those are going into law twenty twenty nine, self breaking
Speaker 4: becomes law, so vehicles have to have that on their
Speaker 4: cars when they sell them brand new. So, for example,
Speaker 4: we're doing a lot of work to understand what happens
Speaker 4: when you lift a truck or you lower a car,
Speaker 4: what are those cameras and all those sensors seeing, and
Speaker 4: what happens when you modify the suspension on that vehicle.
Speaker 4: What happens when you put a larger tirre wheel on
Speaker 4: a truck, mean, even if it's for use in off
Speaker 4: road or for commercial purposes and you're putting, you're modifying
Speaker 4: that suspension and modifying even the tire size and wheel size.
Speaker 4: Those cameras at that point are seeing different things. And
Speaker 4: so we've done a lot of both dynamic and static
Speaker 4: testing on a lot of vehicles to understand what's going on.
Speaker 4: So we're pushing hard on the right to modify, to
Speaker 4: be able to say, look to the oees, you know,
Speaker 4: or safety purposes, we're going to need to be able
Speaker 4: to modify the vehicle. We're going to need to understand
Speaker 4: and get into the canvas and get into the software
Speaker 4: or get into whatever is needed to adjust those sensors
Speaker 4: so that we can safely modify vehicles. And that's just
Speaker 4: good for everybody.
Speaker 3: Well, I mean I I say that.
Speaker 5: I Initially my thought is I want to be able
Speaker 5: to repair and modify any of my own vehicles, right,
Speaker 5: It's sort of in my libertarian nature to want to
Speaker 5: do that. On the other hand, I could understand if
Speaker 5: a company has software that they don't want anybody else
Speaker 5: to be able to get into remember that wired story
Speaker 5: when those guys hacked into somebody's jeep and to turn
Speaker 5: it off on the highway like that could become a
Speaker 5: serious concern if anybody able to, you know, to access
Speaker 5: these systems. So I get the I get, then I
Speaker 5: get the worries that you have from Jim Farley for
Speaker 5: example that board.
Speaker 4: Yes, yeah, we look, we do too, and that's where
Speaker 4: the OIS and seem I have to work together. We've
Speaker 4: been able to that on a mission's compliance, right, we
Speaker 4: have to modify fuel timing, all those sorts of things
Speaker 4: when you're putting a supercharger on a vehicle, and we've
Speaker 4: been able to do that, and we've been able to
Speaker 4: do that safely and with emission's compliance and to do
Speaker 4: all the things and save the warranties and do all
Speaker 4: those sorts of things, and you know, even things to
Speaker 4: air intakes, exhausts, all those sorts of things which can
Speaker 4: actually you know, improve performance even gas mileage. And we've
Speaker 4: been able to do that safely. So there are ways
Speaker 4: to safely modify vehicles. And you know, the consumer owns
Speaker 4: the vehicle right and his ability to continue to modify
Speaker 4: and to customize and individualize and even again for industrial
Speaker 4: purposes for you know, think about contractors, all those sorts
Speaker 4: of things. This has become a deal. But also, Matt,
Speaker 4: think about taking your twenty twenty nine corvette now out
Speaker 4: to the racetrack and you dive into a corner and
Speaker 4: you dive into the apex and the things self breaks
Speaker 4: not going to be fun or you.
Speaker 5: I imagine that the corvette engineers will have considered that as well,
Speaker 5: you know, But I get your yeah, point, what's the
Speaker 5: military right to repair? It can't be that you're out
Speaker 5: in the desert in a humbye and some foreign country
Speaker 5: and all of a sudden you're not able to.
Speaker 3: You know, change the exhaust.
Speaker 4: Yeah, what's more like even the ability to repair. So
Speaker 4: the military right to repair. The military should have the
Speaker 4: right to repair and maintain vehicles they own without being
Speaker 4: dependent on the original manufacturers. Currently, these defense manufacturers own
Speaker 4: the rights to repair those vehicles. And so there's strong
Speaker 4: consideration the National Defense Authorisation, the NDAA is looking at this,
Speaker 4: and this is one of those things where there's BiPOL
Speaker 4: partisan support. We actually have President Trump and Senator Elizabeth
Speaker 4: Warren on the same side of this, who are definitely
Speaker 4: different sides of the political spectrum who both agree on
Speaker 4: this piece of legislation. But what it also does is
Speaker 4: it opens up the ability for aftermarket companies that Seemer
Speaker 4: represent to develop accessories in different products for those vehicles.
Speaker 4: So we're big proponents of this thing. There's actually four
Speaker 4: hundred and twenty thousand ground vehicles and one hundred and
Speaker 4: seventy thousand non tactical vehicles that the military owns. I
Speaker 4: was just recently talking to somebody from GM Defense and
Speaker 4: they would be very open to having Seeman manufacturers develop
Speaker 4: different after market products, maybe different bumpers, maybe tire handlers,
Speaker 4: you know, all sorts of things accessories, But we currently
Speaker 4: can't bid on that sort of work because it belongs
Speaker 4: to the original manufacturers who are the only ones that
Speaker 4: can do anything to those vehicles. It also drives a
Speaker 4: cost because of that, So I think it's time for
Speaker 4: this bill. Obviously we seemed to be getting by a
Speaker 4: Parson support on it, so it should be in the
Speaker 4: next now National Defense Authorization Act in the NDAA that
Speaker 4: we can have a look at.
Speaker 1: Mike, can we talk about your own cars for a minute.
Speaker 1: I know, I know you also are a collector in
Speaker 1: a restore. What are you driving these days? And what
Speaker 1: do you have any projects? Let's get to the real stuff.
Speaker 4: Oh man, So yeah, I'm definitely a car guy. Look,
Speaker 4: I grew up in this industry. I've been blessed. I've
Speaker 4: been in this industry now over fifty years.
Speaker 1: Where are you from Detroit? Are you from Southern No, I'm.
Speaker 4: From Southern California. Okay, I'm born and raised Southern California.
Speaker 4: Got into the automotive industry actually in high school I
Speaker 4: worked at pet Boys, and then right out of high school,
Speaker 4: while I was going to college, worked in a a
Speaker 4: in a oe dealership in Dots and dealership back then
Speaker 4: before it became Nissan, and spend a lot of time
Speaker 4: the import car parts business, bought and sold a few
Speaker 4: companies over the years. And so, you know, it's one
Speaker 4: of those deals where they say, if you if you
Speaker 4: love what you do, you don't work a day in
Speaker 4: your life. I'm not sure if that's quite true, but
Speaker 4: I've been in this industry over fifty years and it's
Speaker 4: all I've ever done and love it. And so anyway
Speaker 4: to your question, I've owned I know I've owned north
Speaker 4: of one hundred cars over the years and modified and
Speaker 4: built different cars, and everybody always asked me what my
Speaker 4: favorite car is, and I always say the next one
Speaker 4: I'm going to buy, because that becomes my favorite until
Speaker 4: i'm the next one.
Speaker 3: But one, which one? Do you regret selling the most?
Speaker 4: Oh? Gosh, every one of them? But I did early on.
Speaker 4: I had a nineteen sixty two for two fifty gte
Speaker 4: that and now I'm going back a lot of years.
Speaker 4: But I bought it for six thousand dollars and I
Speaker 4: sold it for ten thousand dollars is to buy my
Speaker 4: first house, and I know that cars are a million
Speaker 4: dollars today.
Speaker 1: Did you think that was a good sale at the time?
Speaker 4: Was that?
Speaker 1: Did you think that was a good sale at the time.
Speaker 4: Yeah, we made the money, and yeah I did the money,
Speaker 4: and I needed the money for you know, in investment
Speaker 4: in California and at home, so I didn't do too bad.
Speaker 4: But boydcher love to have that. I've had some old Porsches.
Speaker 4: I've had a lot of race cars in early Japanese
Speaker 4: cars got some five tens and two forty disease and
Speaker 4: all that. I have a few of those now, and
Speaker 4: you know the problem is, I don't have time to
Speaker 4: play with them. So this job keeps me pretty busy.
Speaker 4: You know, I love it, But I do travel a lot.
Speaker 4: I do. I'm involved in a lot of industry. I'm
Speaker 4: involving a lot of legislation. I just got back from Macau, China. Well,
Speaker 4: we are the US representative for the FIA is the
Speaker 4: group that oversees Formula one, and I'm the President of
Speaker 4: the of the FIA for the US for Mobility. And
Speaker 4: so we had the World Convention there, one hundred and
Speaker 4: twenty nine countries represented about four hundred and fifty people,
Speaker 4: and I presented a couple of papers. So, you know,
Speaker 4: I get to do that kind of stuff. I get
Speaker 4: to work alongside of everybody. I let me.
Speaker 1: Ask you really quick. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I
Speaker 1: have to ask, does this mean we're going to have
Speaker 1: an F one race in in you know, somewhere in
Speaker 1: addition to Singapore, you know, Macau, or Thailand or India,
Speaker 1: somewhere in that neck of the woods.
Speaker 4: All that discussion is ongoing right now. Sly Oh actually
Speaker 4: does some of the smaller races right now. There was
Speaker 4: I just read this morning and I haven't confirmed this yet,
Speaker 4: but I just read this morning that there might be
Speaker 4: a second race in Las Vegas because they had to
Speaker 4: counsel a couple of races this year, so I don't
Speaker 4: know that for sure. But and BYD, which is the
Speaker 4: big Chinese manufacturer, might be the next manufacturer to join
Speaker 4: Formula one, So that's the talk. There's also talk about
Speaker 4: going back to a V eight engine, So lots of
Speaker 4: cool stuff going on.
Speaker 3: Yep, that would be that would be amazing.
Speaker 5: When you said by D, I mean, I think it's
Speaker 5: cool to have the more the merrier, right in terms
Speaker 5: of manufacturers, but they are primarily an electric car manufacturer,
Speaker 5: and that's I mean, I think most everyone agrees that
Speaker 5: the fifty to fifty power train is.
Speaker 3: Just not as exciting.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's looking really strong that they're going to go
Speaker 4: back to the V eight engine. Mohammed Minsliam, who's head
Speaker 4: of FIA. I spent quite a bit of time with
Speaker 4: him last week. He comes to the SEMA show every years.
Speaker 4: He's a big fan of SEMA, but he is committed
Speaker 4: to going back to a V eight and.
Speaker 5: More and more manufacturers are choosing going back to a
Speaker 5: V eight and GM is boosting the displacement.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but I have, like I think the new corvettes
Speaker 3: are going to have what a six point eight liter BA.
Speaker 4: Yeah, the whole discussion on the you know, we were
Speaker 4: part of that, the whole legislation that Trump signed about
Speaker 4: the EV mandates. So here in California, starting twenty twenty six,
Speaker 4: thirty five percent of vehicles sold had to be EV.
Speaker 4: We were against that. Look, we think EV technology is cool,
Speaker 4: we think it's part of the future, but we think
Speaker 4: that consumers should have choice depending on what they want
Speaker 4: to drive and how they want to drive it. We
Speaker 4: also believe that you shouldn't stifle innovation. So if you
Speaker 4: just pit one technology over another, you're really stifling. I mean,
Speaker 4: you know, look, America was built on innovation, and so
Speaker 4: there's synthetic fuels, there's hydrogen, there's all sorts of different
Speaker 4: fuel technologies that are coming under Hybrid now is taken over, right,
Speaker 4: I mean, so there's all these technologies that should continue
Speaker 4: to be moved being forward along with EV and so
Speaker 4: we've been big proponents of that. That was actually our
Speaker 4: wording was in that bill that Trump signed. I got
Speaker 4: to go to the White House for that signing, which
Speaker 4: was pretty cool. But yeah, so you know, b YD
Speaker 4: will definitely have to adapt to hybrid some sort of
Speaker 4: technology or B eight technology, depending on how the rules
Speaker 4: come out. But it's looking like twenty thirty will be
Speaker 4: the time frame for that to happen.
Speaker 5: All right, But let's get back to your cars, Mike. Well,
Speaker 5: I heard you were out there on any given Sunday
Speaker 5: as well.
Speaker 4: Yeah, So, you know, we a lot, so my kids.
Speaker 4: I've got two, I've got three kids, my two boys
Speaker 4: and a daughter. My two sons are in the automotive industry.
Speaker 4: My daughter's to stay at home mom. But I've got
Speaker 4: fine grandkids. And now we've started We've done road racing
Speaker 4: and different aspects of go karting and road racing and
Speaker 4: all that over the A is a family. We're now
Speaker 4: doing off road racing. We got into the off road
Speaker 4: side of it, and so even my nine year old
Speaker 4: grandson is getting his off road vehicles six feet up
Speaker 4: in the air and running on racetracks across. So we
Speaker 4: have quite a few side by sides and dirt pikes,
Speaker 4: and but off road race cars is kind of where
Speaker 4: we've been playing along with just off road and the dirt,
Speaker 4: you know, going out camping and those sorts of things.
Speaker 4: And then gosh. I've sold a few cars recently, but
Speaker 4: I still have some Japanese cars and Dots and two
Speaker 4: forty z's and five tens, and in the middle of
Speaker 4: restoring a sixty seven Dots and Roadster Solex model which
Speaker 4: they only made a few hundred of and so when
Speaker 4: I get time, I've been playing with that as well.
Speaker 4: My daily is a Porsche Macon GTS, which is which
Speaker 4: is a fun car but responsible. I guess that's the
Speaker 4: CEO I've seen.
Speaker 1: I drove burn one of those for in a day.
Speaker 1: It was great, Okay, yeah car for that.
Speaker 4: So and I'm always buying and selling cars.
Speaker 3: I just s on the con GTS.
Speaker 5: Did you chip it, put on a new down pipe
Speaker 5: and do the exhaust legally?
Speaker 4: Yes? Emissions compliant yes, so no downpipe, but but it
Speaker 4: may have some modifications in different tires and wheels.
Speaker 1: Now, are you on bring a trailer? Like are you looking?
Speaker 1: Is this where you're finding your cars? Because yes, yes, yeah.
Speaker 4: That is. That's an addiction that I try to stay
Speaker 4: away from. But yeah, bring a trailer is definitely one
Speaker 4: of those. I bought my ass and Martin and bring
Speaker 4: a trailer. I do bid from time to time. And
Speaker 4: hold my breath and yeah, that's that's that's a car
Speaker 4: junkies definitely site to be on.
Speaker 1: Yeah, models, Sorry, I'm.
Speaker 4: Just always looking. I'm always uh, you know, window shopping
Speaker 4: or just kind of understanding. You know, I wouldn't mind
Speaker 4: getting a Alpha Romeo kind of had my eyes on,
Speaker 4: you know, maybe a GTV. I don't, I don't, I
Speaker 4: don't know, I don't know. I go through these times
Speaker 4: when I already don't have time to drive everything. You know,
Speaker 4: what's the bad side of this is this like I'll
Speaker 4: pull a car out of storage and that I haven't
Speaker 4: driven in six months, and of course it needs to
Speaker 4: get work done because it's been sitting. And then I
Speaker 4: get it running, and then I drive it for a
Speaker 4: couple of days, and then I put it back in
Speaker 4: storage and I go through this repeat cycle where you know,
Speaker 4: I've got to I got to pull them out. But
Speaker 4: that is my addiction. I admit. Hi, I'm Mike Spagnola,
Speaker 4: and I am addicted to cars.
Speaker 1: So yes, you're among friends. Don't worry your kids.
Speaker 5: Kids would help you as when you're nine year old
Speaker 5: and seven more years you can have him driving uh
Speaker 5: everything you got in that in that garage. What about Pebble,
Speaker 5: Do you go to Monterey Because we were just talking
Speaker 5: about out with John to Marion about he thinks they
Speaker 5: need to have a supercar class there like everything that
Speaker 5: you and I love obviously in the sixties, and the
Speaker 5: pre work stuff also is still going to be there,
Speaker 5: but there needs to be a place for a Lamborghini Diablo.
Speaker 4: You know, I agree. You know, the market's constantly changed.
Speaker 4: I tell the story all the time, my dad aspired
Speaker 4: to have an old Packerd or a Model Ay or
Speaker 4: those sorts of things, and those cars got to be
Speaker 4: very expensive, and now they've fallen off. And you know,
Speaker 4: there was the sixties muscle car original you know, vin number,
Speaker 4: original engine, and then it went to restaurmat and of
Speaker 4: course the Japanese car scene's pretty hot right now. The
Speaker 4: supercar scene has become huge and it's gone to Pebble
Speaker 4: and Matt if you've been there, you know that, you
Speaker 4: know it's really been overtaken out by supercars. And I agree,
Speaker 4: I think there needs to be a supercar class. I
Speaker 4: think it's going to continue to change, and you know
Speaker 4: you have to flex with it. Will the pack and
Speaker 4: the Royals races and all these rare cars still be
Speaker 4: up on the lawn at Pebble. Yeah, for sure, I
Speaker 4: see that for many years to come. But people's taste
Speaker 4: change and prices change, and you know, I mean, go
Speaker 4: look and try to collect an old Ferrari right now
Speaker 4: and see what the value you know, of those sorts
Speaker 4: of things are. Yeah. So, yes, I do go to
Speaker 4: Pebble Beach, I will admit. And it's funny because I've
Speaker 4: gotten three requests to go up and present there. I'm
Speaker 4: not going this year. I have so much travel and
Speaker 4: so much work that I do, and I'm very passionate
Speaker 4: about my job in the industry and moving that ball
Speaker 4: along and legislative work and all those things to go
Speaker 4: with it. That I promised my wife we would go
Speaker 4: to Hawaii for nine days, you know, August, and it's
Speaker 4: during Pebble Beach Week, and I'm going to stick to it.
Speaker 4: So that's how I stayed married for forty three years.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yes, for you, dude.
Speaker 4: Yeah, the right choice I am. I am.
Speaker 1: You know what, Pebble will be there for you next
Speaker 1: year too.
Speaker 4: It will. And I got kind of funny side story.
Speaker 4: No matter where we go, I always find the car
Speaker 4: people and I'm sure, I'm going to find them in Hawaii.
Speaker 4: And we had last year, we had we decided for
Speaker 4: our anniversary to go to Italy and I promised I
Speaker 4: would not do any car things and we end up
Speaker 4: just tripping on by mistake, several car events and people
Speaker 4: that we knew there. So those things happened to me.
Speaker 4: Everywhere we go. The car guys and women always find
Speaker 4: each other, just car people find each other no matter
Speaker 4: where you go. And they got one hundred stories like that.
Speaker 4: But that's just what happens.
Speaker 3: It's true, it's not untrue.
Speaker 5: Well, dude, I'm happy that you do what you do,
Speaker 5: and I I really hope to get to go to
Speaker 5: SIMA because you know, there are people like you say,
Speaker 5: who want the original event in the original engine. But
Speaker 5: for me, it's it's all about kind of making it
Speaker 5: everything that I get my own, you know, and it
Speaker 5: doesn't matter if that's a Harley Sportster or you know,
Speaker 5: this seven sixty.
Speaker 3: I'm looking for an exhaust for this thing.
Speaker 5: Like I I want to car be able to change
Speaker 5: the you know, interior would out, or I want to
Speaker 5: put new wheels on obviously everything, and so I love
Speaker 5: the aftermarket and it also gives me. I spend so
Speaker 5: much time on forums. Whatever car I'm currently, motorcycle, I'm
Speaker 5: currently I mean, I'll almost always do Cotties and Harley's,
Speaker 5: but nice live on those forums, you know, and I learn,
Speaker 5: and that's for me.
Speaker 3: A lot of it is about that, you know.
Speaker 4: So listen, we're a fifty four billion dollar year the
Speaker 4: aftermarket performance parts seem as a fifty four billion dollar
Speaker 4: year industry, three hundred and thirty seven billion to the
Speaker 4: economic impact of the US one hundred one point two
Speaker 4: million American jobs. So it is a big industry. It
Speaker 4: is a passion industry. Math. There's millions like you out there,
Speaker 4: you know, that have the same addiction you and I have,
Speaker 4: and I'm excited to be part of it in the
Speaker 4: fleet SEEMA.
Speaker 7: Cool, Well, I hope I see you at the show, dude,
Speaker 7: same man, we'll hang out, all right.
Speaker 5: That was our conversation with Mike Stagnola, the CEO of
Speaker 5: SEEMA and also an active board member at the f
Speaker 5: i A, which is pretty interesting.
Speaker 2: I mean, the stuff he told us about F one
Speaker 2: is pretty cool.
Speaker 1: Fascinated. I want to know all that gossip because you
Speaker 1: know it's gonna there's something. There's something happening.
Speaker 5: Well, they do have to repeat races or or hold
Speaker 5: more this season.
Speaker 7: Do they?
Speaker 4: Though?
Speaker 1: I kind of thought they were just going to skip completely.
Speaker 1: I hadn't heard this thing about multiple I just kind
Speaker 1: of heard, Okay, we're going to pass and keep moving forward.
Speaker 2: I know that when.
Speaker 5: Moto GP has had a problem, they had floods in
Speaker 5: Valencia and so they couldn't hold what is traditionally the
Speaker 5: last race at Chess. They they just held one somewhere else.
Speaker 5: Like they they are fairly flexible. I guess F one
Speaker 5: is an even bigger circus. But I'm sure that they
Speaker 5: can add a race if they need to.
Speaker 1: Yeah, thro you know, revive an old track. That that's easy,
Speaker 1: you know, bring it back.
Speaker 2: I didn't even wash last weekend. I still haven't seen it.
Speaker 2: I guess because I was having a baby.
Speaker 1: Well, you had other priorities.
Speaker 2: It's fine.
Speaker 5: Yeah, But anyway, it'll be cool if they do bring
Speaker 5: back the V eights, And it'll be cool if I
Speaker 5: can actually get to Sema this year.
Speaker 1: Yeah, come to come to Monterey, make make that. Is
Speaker 1: there a reason are you doing family stuff in August?
Speaker 1: Is there a reason?
Speaker 4: No?
Speaker 5: But Mike is taking his wife to Hawaii, but I
Speaker 5: don't have anything planned.
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm gonna be dealing with this infant child.
Speaker 1: Right, you know, right right right, Well, at some point
Speaker 1: I think you will.
Speaker 2: At some point I have to go. I'm not sure
Speaker 2: if I come past this summer.
Speaker 1: I know, I know, I know, and I'm not even
Speaker 1: going to suggest it because I respect the woman.
Speaker 2: But at some point, in any case, there's a lot,
Speaker 2: there's a lot of stuff to do. We still have
Speaker 2: to go on the raptor rally. You have to go.
Speaker 1: I know I ain't got to pitch. You know, I'm
Speaker 1: pitching that you do it. I know my editor doesn't
Speaker 1: know it yet, but I've already got to I've already
Speaker 1: got to pitch because I think it'd be a great
Speaker 1: piece on on exactly this idea that like people are
Speaker 1: spending so much money. It's like people are doing it.
Speaker 5: Mike Spagnola, his whole family is off road. You know
Speaker 5: that Farley's obsessed with it. We've got Danny Ricardo going
Speaker 5: out there with this. I mean, it's going to be sick.
Speaker 4: All right.
Speaker 1: Call my editor, I'll give you her number. Make a
Speaker 1: pitch for me.
Speaker 4: We'll do.
Speaker 5: I got a run that does it for this week's
Speaker 5: That does it for this week's show. Remember to follow
Speaker 5: and subscribe to Hot Pursuit on Apple, Spotify, and anywhere
Speaker 5: else you listen. You can also send us your comments
Speaker 5: email us at hot Pursuit at bloomberg dot net.
Speaker 1: And you can check out my columns and Matt's TV
Speaker 1: show on Bloomberg dot com and the Bloomberg Business app
Speaker 1: and Bloomberg TV. Go there for car reviews, events and
Speaker 1: stories that you won't find anywhere else. Find it all
Speaker 1: at Bloomberg dot com, slash Pursuits, slash Autos. I'm Hannah Elliott,
Speaker 1: I'm Matt Miller.
Speaker 2: We'll be back in your podcast feed again next week