HOLLY HILL, FL (12.04.2019) – Metra Electronics has improved its Raptor car audio accessory line with upgraded products launching at CES. Raptor’s Pro Series product line will feature 15 upgraded fuse holders and distribution blocks to create a unified ecosystem of accessories with fresh appearances and gold plating.
Designed with the installer in mind, the new fuse holders and distribution blocks have a one-tool design model to work exclusively with only 3mm Allen head screws, allowing for an easier installation. Metra has stepped away from the traditional look of the previous generation and is highlighting a unique style for these new Raptor products. With internal screw mounting locations and an improved latching system to secure the cover to the base, the new modern design improves upon both its function and aesthetics. It also provides a better visual of the fuses through the covers.
The ANL, MANL and AGU fuse holders range from 1/0 AWG to 8 AWG, are all 24K gold plated, water-resistant, and work with 3mm Allen screws. The new blocks offer multiple options for the installer from dual ANL and MANL blocks or even 4-position fuse distribution blocks. Raptor provides superior performance at entry-level price points, a mission based upon the belief that “affordable” and “cheap” installation accessories shouldn’t be one and the same.
These new and improved products will be shipping soon and can be seen on display at CES. Additional specifications and part numbers are available in the new 2020 Raptor catalog and Raptor-Online.com, which will be released on January 7, 2020. Metra Electronics will be at CES from January 7-10, 2020, at booth 5211 in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center showcasing their new products from their 12volt brands and at booth 11435 in the Central Hall with Metra Home Theater Group.
RINGWOOD, IL (12.03.2019) – Race Sport Lighting has announced in partnership with Car-Tunes, Inc., MESA Dealer and MEA recognized TOP 50 Retailer, that JT Harmon has won Car-Tunes’ give away contest for $1,000 in free Race Sport Lighting products. The contest took place back in October as a part of Car-Tunes’ “Kick off to Lighting Season” campaign. Participants gained entries by engaging with the companies on social media.
Race Sport Lighting President Steve Jergensen commented, “At Race Sport Lighting we enjoy any opportunity to partner with our dealers, like Car Tunes, Inc., but we get extra excited when we get to hook up a member of the Race Sport Nation with free product. JT is an EMT, a firefighter, a lighting fan and all around great guy! Congrats JT!
Kimberly Trainer, for Car Tunes, related to 12volt News “Working with RaceSport and Henry Jasper on this Lighting Contest was terrific. Any promotions that we can do to create consumer interest is important. Showcasing a very good customer like JT is even more special. We are making very frequent social media posts which is drawing business from several hours away from our store in Greenville MS. We even have followers from as far away as Chicago commenting on posts we make. Lighting has so many facets. Automotive, marine, Powersports and farming lighting plus the safety aspects of HID headlights. Overall lighting is certainly an important and growing category for us at Car Tunes.”
MARRERO, LA (12.03.2019) – It was a special Black Friday at Extreme Car Audio in Marrero LA on Friday, November 29th. An Alpine X-Perience event added to the Extreme Car Audio Black Friday promotion. Alpine‘s Jimmy Chauffe arrived with the Alpine X-Perience Tundra, tent and promo items for Ace Truong’s event. Truong, Extreme Car Audio owner, told 12volt News
“We had a terrific day… certainly more than 50 customers came into the store and sales were very strong. We had great Alpine specials and gave away a pair of Alpine 6×9 speakers every hour with a drawing. The 6 PM Grand Prize drawing was for an Alpine iLX-650. James Thibodaux was the very happy winner. We offered great food including gumbo for all. Jimmy was great and worked with customers and demo’ed the Tundra all day. One of our customer’s Ford F150, loaded with Alpine, got a lot of attention too. This was our third Alpine X-Perience event and we truly appreciate Alpine‘s commitment and support of independent 12volt retailers. The Alpine X-Perience event promo is terrific for driving consumer awareness and business for specialty 12volt retailers.”
The SEMA High School Vehicle Build Program is expanding to 10 builds for the 2019–2020 school year. As partners in this program, 10 high-school auto-shop classes will customize third-generation Toyota 4Runners and Jeep Wrangler TJs. The program aims to bridge the gap between industry and auto-shop students to foster the next generation of hobbyists and the automotive aftermarket workforce.
Through this hands-on build program, students will expand their real-world auto-tech skills by working with aftermarket products while being introduced to a new career path to pursue their passion for customization. The builds will begin in January, and students will complete their builds by the end of the school year.
Comstock High School was one of five high schools that participated in the 2019 SEMA High School Vehicle Build Program. The students built an ’04 Jeep Wrangler Sahara.
Aftermarket companies can support this effort through parts donations and/or mentorship opportunities. Sponsors will have their product(s) installed on the vehicle(s) and receive recognition through the build website and in SEMA build promotions.
Sponsoring the SEMA High School Vehicle Build Program is not only giving high-school students a build experience of a lifetime, it’s also allowing them to open their minds to the possibilities of what can be accomplished using aftermarket products.
If you’re interested in supporting one or more of the student vehicle builds, please fill out the product donation form. If you’re interested in mentoring a school, contact SEMA youth engagement programs manager Katie Hurst at: katieh@sema.org
DALLAS TX (12.02.19) A&W Distributors hosted the company’s 1st Annual Clearance Tuesday on November 26th. There were One Day Only Cash and Carry deals that grabbed area dealer’s attention…along with lunch that included gourmet pizza from the Italian Café.
During the day on Tuesday well over 100 dealers took advantage of savings up to 70% on top 12volt brands stacked up at A&W’s Harry Hines facility in Dallas.
Devon stacked products for A&W‘s 1st Annual Clearance Tuesday.
Manny rolled products into the show room for the event.
A&W’s Maher Awad stated “We had merchandise that had been in our inventory too long. We made a decision to hold our the 1st Annual Clearance Tuesday thinking dealers could pick up some great deals for their Black Friday promotions. Everything really came together. The dealer turnout was very strong. We went through 20 delicious extra large pizzas from the Italian Café”.
By 11 AM Tuesday morning dealers were already enjoying delicious pizza from the Italian Café.
Devon rolling out a big order with a dealer who picked up great deals.
Products from12volt brands priced to move included Arc Audio, Omega, Kenwood, Rydeen, BOSS Audio, Rockford Fosgate, Concept and Atrend.
Concluding Award commented “We were able to move over 50% of the items we needed to move. At the end of the day we sold 5 times more than an average for this time of the year. We thank all of our staff members for working to make our 1st Annual Clearance Tuesday such a success”.
As a result of AAMPs strong commitment to the MECP certification program, AAMP GLOBAL announces the opening of its Industry-first, MECP Certified Technician hotline!
By opening a dedicated technical support line for AAMP products to MECP technicians, AAMP will now provide a quick way for certified installers with difficult problems to quickly get technical assistance, without having to go over basic troubleshooting items that should be checked before reaching out to tech support. AAMP recognizes that techs who are MECP certified have developed a certain level of professional troubleshooting skills, and employ these skills when installations get tricky.
When calling the MECP hotline, callers will be asked to provide their CEA Certificate number, which is readily available right on the MECP certificate. Once cleared, they will receive technical assistance from one of two MECP Master Certified technical support representatives, one of which is an Honorary Master, the highest level of certification one can achieve in the MECP program.
AAMP’s Technical Services Manager, Ernie Hartman says: “We recognize the value of time in today’s busy world. AAMP is very excited to provide a technical support path for MECP certified technicians that allows them to “bypass the line” so to speak, avoid all the simple questions, and get right to the matter at hand.”
“AAMP Global and it’s employees have long supported the MECP program, and they recognize the dedication and focus required to achieve certification,” says Kris Bulla, MECP Consultant. “It’s nice to see a tangible benefit tied with our certification program.”
Not only does this number support calls, but also text messages! Starting today, MECP certified techs can call or text their issues to 727-263-1617.
Chatsworth CA – December 2, 2019 – The BTCR-35X facilitates the integration of Bluetooth Handsfree, 4 Channel Audio Streaming, and Auxiliary Input. It allows for ease of use when navigating through calls, tracks, and music. It’s programmed to pause and resume when incoming calls are present.
Key Features:
Adds Bluetooth Handsfree Calling to the OEM radio.
Adds 4 channel Bluetooth Music Streaming.
Adds an auxiliary audio input.
Automatically pauses BT Streaming when a call is received and resumes when the call is ended.
Allows utilization of Steering Wheel Controls to navigate through calls and tracks
DSP and Echo-Cancellation allows for clear conversations on both sides of the phone call
Automatically mutes any source as soon as call is received, resumes when ended.
Allows previously paired mobile phone to automatically re-connect to Bluetooth
AUSTIN, TX (11.27.2019) – The 2019 Australian dB Drag Racing Association Championship took place during the weekend of November 23-24, 2019. Participants traveled from around the country to compete in the annual event hosted by Frankies Auto Electrics and Car Audio. The event was judged by a team of North American and Australian judges including: Wayne Harris, USA / Ray Choy, Canada / Grant Stapleton, Victoria / Gavin Campbell, New South Wales / Samuel McWaters, South Australia and Michael Crouch / Queensland.
The 1st place winners in each format of competition will be awarded a National Championship Ring sponsored by Pioneer Electronics Australia. Trophies were awarded to the 1st-3rd place winners and sponsored by Frankies Auto Electrics and Car Audio. The lane sponsor for the event was Kenwood Australia. Additional event supporters include: DD Audio, Vibe, Sony, Aerpro, Audison, Hertz and Rockford Fosgate
2019 Australian Championship Winners
dB Drag Racing
Street Stock 1K – Matt Jones
Pro Stock 2K – Mitchell Bulmer
Pro Stock 5K – Brenton Hammond
Pro Stock NL – Chris Ziino
Pro Stock Trunk 5K – Fedee Fattal
Pro Stock Wall 5K – Zac Trigg
Super Street NW – Tony Pellicci
Super Street 1-2 – Josh Livingston
Super Street 3-4 – Dean Veitch
Super Street X – Shalfraaz Ali
Extreme NL – Team Frankies
Bass Race
Bass Race 120.0 – 129.9 dB – Billy Arnold
Bass Race 130.0 – 139.9 dB – Chris Ziino
Bass Race 140.0 – 149.9 dB – Shalfraaz Ali
Psychlone
Psychlone – No Wall – Adrian Dougherty
Psychlone –Wall – Lucky Lianos
Top Dog
Mitchell Bulmer
Best of Show
Richard Snell
A few comments from competitors that attended event.
Fedee Fattal “I had a great experience at finals. I am always happy to help fellow competitors and strive to be the best in my class while having fun.”
Shalfraaz Ali “Competing in the Australian Finals Is FUN and challenging because I am always aiming to achieve my Personal Best. Winning a Championship Ring is an overwhelming sense of this achievement. It is always great when International judges attend the event. Having Wayne Harris and Ray Choy at the event is the BEST!”
Mitchell Bulmer “Absolutely amazing weekend at Frankie’s Car Audio for the Australian dB Drag Finals. I am very happy with my achievements as I walked away with 2 championships rings (Pro Stock 2K and Top Dog) which is beyond my expectations. Huge thanks to Frank for holding the event and thanks to Ray Choy and Wayne Harris for attending the Australian Finals. Thanks to my team Dem Lowz, Josh Livingston, Shane Wegener, Chris Ziino, Fedee Fattal for all the motivation and helping push through the wins with all their support. Thanks to Brenton Hammond for putting up with all my shit all year. And lastly and most importantly thank you to my love Sammi Shetye for dealing with me all year and allowing me to put time into the car to get where I am now.”
Brenton Hammond “Another successful Australian Championship for the mighty Yaris. I retained my Pro Stock 5K title for the 3rd consecutive year as well as set a new Australian Record and Personal Best. A big shout out to Matty from B2 Audio and Blake from Powerus Amplifiers for supplying me the world class equipment. Also want to give a shout out to our celebrity judges for their travel and their efforts this weekend. Cheers Wayne Harris, Ray Choy, Michael Crouch, Grant Stapleton and Samuel McWaters.”
Lance Herner “Another great year with dB Drags and an awesome weekend. Caught up with old friends and made a few more.”
Tony Pellicci “After this weekend’s Finals at Frankies, I’d like to say a huge THANK YOU to Hayne Harris (U.S.A.) and Ray Choy (Canada) for officiating the comp, and also a Huge THANK YOU to Frank at Frankies for holding Australian Finals at his shop and trophies and BBQ. Also thank you to all competitors that turned up. Didn’t matter if you come 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or whatever, you are all winners, thank you all!”
Adrian Dougherty “I would like to thank all those involved with Finals over the weekend. I would also like to thank those that brought their partners… you all deserve a pat on the back, and welcome to the dBDRA family. We are a true audio family in that we help each other the best that we can: before, during, and after the events! Again, thank you to everyone. I look forward to seeing and hearing from you throughout the year and next year at an even bigger event.”
DETROIT, MI (11.27.2019) – Introducing the 9-Inch X409-WRA-JL Weather-Resistant Navigation System with Off-Road Mode. This mech-less (no CD/DVD) in-dash audio/video/navigation (AVN) system is a direct-fit solution for the new 2018 – Up Jeep Wrangler and 2019 – Up Jeep Gladiator.
Enhancements to the user interface for faster screen transitions, as well as added features based on industry research, has made the X409-WRA-JL an ideal upgrade for the active weekender looking to enhance their adventures.
The X409-WRA-JL is designed for Plug-and-Play installation and includes a vehicle-specific dash bezel and factory-compatible wiring harness to create a direct-fit solution for the dash and integrated operation in the vehicle, so factory features like the volume knob, steering wheel controls, and HVAC system are retained.
Built to handle the toughest of outdoor conditions, the weather-resistant X409-WRA-JL is rated IP53 for protection against dust and ingress. The dash bezel is precisely fitted to house the screen so no water or dust can enter the electronics assembly. The high-visibility screen delivers cleaner, brighter images even when off-roading on rugged terrain.
As many Jeep owners enjoy off-road activities like trail rides, the X409-WRA-JL comes equipped with Off-Road Mode with off-road centric vehicle information like vehicle tilt, tire pressure, optimized camera view, and FunTreks trailhead POI database displayed on the large, 9-inch screen. Drivers can revisit their favorite off-road adventures through Off-Road Trip Recording.
The large, 9-inch screen has a WVGA display, Capacitive Touch, and Swipe Graphical User Interface that’s optimized for in-vehicle smartphone use so drivers can access Apple CarPlay or Android Auto for music, messages, or maps while keeping their eyes on the road. Built-in Bluetooth is also available for hands-free calling and audio streaming.
Third-party driving maps like Google Maps and Waze are available through Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, or in areas that don’t have strong cellphone service, the X409-WRA-JL comes equipped with built-in navigation with Turn-By-Turn and Pinch-to-Zoom maps of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico with The Latest Map Guarantee.
The X409-WRA-JL retains the factory rear-view camera with three additional camera inputs that can be assigned as a front or side camera. For multiple camera systems, the KCX-C250MC Multi-Camera Selector (sold separately) allows the camera systems to be easily controlled right from the touchscreen.
Display up to eight accessories directly from the touchscreen by adding the optional KAC-001 External Accessory Controller. Assign graphical icons to the accessories for quick identification and control through a pulsed, latched or momentary output.
Audio entertainment sources include a built-in HD Radio Tuner, Pandora via a smartphone, iPod/iPhone music, various music file formats including FLAC / MP3 / WMA / AAC / HE-AAC playback via USB and SiriusXM compatibility (tuner and subscription required).
For even more entertainment options, a “Media” center that matches the factory look is added to the lower, right-hand side of the dash with one HDMI input, dual USB for smartphone access (one device at a time) or charging, and an Aux input.
The X409-WRA-JL is available now at Alpine Authorized retails or online at www.alpine-usa.com through Crutchfield for $2999.95. Installation options can be found on the Alpine-USA website through the store locator.
CHATSWORTH, CA (11.27.2019) – CRUX has released a new radio replacement interface with dash kit for select Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles.
The DKFD-27 facilitates the integration of an after-market radio to enable retention of certain factory features when replacing a factory-installed radio. It also includes a dash kit (double DIN or single DIN with pocket).
Listed below are compatible models:
Key Features: Retains factory features in select Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles while functioning with an aftermarket radio. Retains factory Aux-Input and Subwoofer (if equipped). Retains RAP (Retained Accessory Power) feature. Includes dask kit (double DIN or single DIN with pocket).
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