LAS VEGAS -- The future of the automotive industry is on display in Las Vegas. Nearly 2,000 exhibitors are at the Las Vegas Convention Center to show off the latest in car parts.

Tens of thousands are at the Las Vegas Convention Center for the annual gathering of the specialty equipment market association, or SEMA.  These aren't your usual car parts.

"These are all discretionary purchases. SEMA represents everything that you want for your car. Really, nothing you need, but everything you want," said Peter MacGillivray, SEMA vice president.

This industry was hit particularly hard during the recession. Customers found it tough to justify buying car modifications if they barely had enough money to keep their cars running in the first place.

Walking amidst international visitors is Dale Deen who owns a small car modification and restoration shop in Las Vegas.

"We're looking for the latest innovations that we can find. If it's something that we can market and make a profit and bring the business back," said Deen.

The question remains, will customers spend what extra money they have on modifying their cars?

"I think the businesses are trying to move in that direction. As we see the economy hopefully stabilize, but I don't really see anything from the actual consumers themselves, but the businesses are definitely here," said Mike Chase, CARMAX Las Vegas.

Organizers say attendance at the convention is up 11 percent this year.

SEMA distributors picked the Chevy Camero as the 2010 Car of the Year.

LAS VEGAS – Ford has revealed plans to leverage the all-new Focus for motorsport by supporting the development of a next-generation touring car for global competition – the latest indication of the company’s comprehensive approach to exploiting its global product platforms.

The move, announced at the 2010 Speciality Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas, extends Ford's reputation for offering race-capable, affordable platforms that can be converted into a racecar, including Escort, Capri, Mustang and most recently, Fiesta. That tradition will continue as the new Focus takes over as Ford’s global touring car, to be developed with private race teams in cooperation with the company’s global motorsport group.

“There has been tremendous interest from the racing world about the new Focus, and it’s the perfect fit for a global touring car,” said Jost Capito, director of Global Performance Vehicles and Motorsports Business Development. “Even more, by working with private race teams, we’re ensuring Focus has the support it needs to compete and win.”

The first race appearance for the car is targeted to be in the 2011 British Touring Car Championship. Globally, the racecar has the potential to run in many national and regional Championships like the China Touring Car Championship, as well as 24-hour endurance races including the classic Nürburgring 24-hour race in Germany. Like the new Focus ST road car, the global Focus racecar will feature Ford EcoBoost™ engine technology, extending it to the racetrack.

Private race teams are helping Ford to develop a common technical specification for the racecar, which will conform to FIA Super 2000 regulations with potential to adopt to wider specifications. The teams are being brought together by Ford to determine their strengths and define roles for the development of the racecar. Ford will also support the race teams by providing data and production parts, resulting in teams racing more competitive cars that are developed with greater efficiency.

Global Customer Benefit
The benefit of the new Focus touring car will stretch beyond the track to customers of the all-new Focus ST road car.

“Ford’s commitment to using motorsports to influence high-performance vehicles will be highly evident, as the development of the Focus touring car will benefit the upcoming Focus ST road car,” said Capito. “It’s very similar to how the Ford Racing Boss 302R brought significant lessons learned to the 2012 Mustang Boss 302.”

One common Focus ST performance car is being developed for all global markets, with the vehicle targeted for launch during 2012. This will be the first time that Ford has produced one of its highly regarded high-performance models for a global audience. 

The SEMA show in Las Vegas is the latest major motoring event to play host to some exciting green concepts – with Kia leading the line.

The Korean car manufacturer is using the event to showcase the Kia Forte Hybrid Concept which combines a 1.6litre four-cylinder engine fuelled by liquid petroleum gas and a lithium polymer battery with accentuated design characteristics such as body panel enhancements and a lowered stance.

It’s not just the engine that makes this exciting concept environmentally friendly, however. It is accentuated by cast aluminium alloy wheels and low-rolling resistance tyres which improve fuel economy and reduce road noise. It also includes interior panel treatments with customer enhancements and a 1,200watt Infinity audio system.

When you think of vehicle efficiency, perhaps a Toyota Prius comes to mind. But then there’s supercar efficiency.

British high-performance vehicle maker McLaren has a reputation for building fast Formula One racecars and fast street versions of those racecars. Now, with its latest model—the MP4-12C—it declares the car "will have less CO2 per horsepower than a hybrid city car." The company revealed the MP4-12C to automotive journalists in San Jose on Oct. 28. 

If the CO2-per-horsepower declaration were not backed up by the technical know-how that has won championships in virtually every major race category—Formula One, Can-Am, ALMS, to name a few—it might be cast aside on the heap of automotive hype. But the claim becomes particularly intriguing when it is attached to a sub-3-second zero-to-60 car powered by a 593-horsepower twin-turbo V8 engine. McLaren's North American Sales Manager Peter Freiberger told Hybridcars.com that the statement was no fluke. The green philosophy of the car company—which intends to follow the MP4-12C with a string of new models or variants that will be brought out every 12 months for the next several years— is "good enough is not good." 

The aim for this world car—one-third of its estimated 1,000 annual production will come to North America—is to best its supercar competitors not only in traditional performance such as acceleration and handling, but also on the environmental front. Its superlight chassis features a combination of carbon fiber and aluminum. The engineers’ work on weight reduction led them to eliminate grams wherever they could, leading to a dry body weight of only 2,866 pounds. To save weight in every possible way, they also replaced the traditional battery with a lighter lithium-ion one. McLaren will build one lightweight aluminum 3.8-liter engine for all world markets—making sure to meet the strict emissions found in California, one of the car's likely top markets.

When the MP4-12C—its complicated name is lost in McLaren lore of history and secret formulas—goes on sale next summer, it will retail for between $225,000 and $250,000. There will be 10 dealers in the U.S., including one in Silicon Valley. To appeal to those technological geeks, the McLaren car also will have an information system that includes a fully integrated PC with Bluetooth, and a voice-controlled media player that also incorporates a navigation system and phone. It has WLAN connectivity to transfer files from other computers. The sound system comes from Meridian and features the latest digital signal processing technology. The company didn’t release a stat for horsepower-to-decibels.