NORTHRIDGE, CA (09.11.26) – All are excited to welcome Rich Vreeland to the Harman Consumer North America Aftermarket Audio Sales team, effective August 24, 2026. Rich is located in Texas and will report directly to Shawn Spedding.

Rich will be responsible for driving sales growth across the Western region, strengthening relationships with current dealers and distributors, and identifying opportunities to expand our dealer network. He will also play an important role in product education and training, sales presentations and demonstrations, dealer and industry events, and supporting new product launches across HARMAN’s mobile aftermarket portfolio.

Rich brings more than 30 years of experience in the automotive electronics, consumer electronics, and aftermarket audio industries, with an extensive background in regional sales leadership, dealer development, training, and business growth. Most recently, he served as Regional Sales Manager at Garmin, managing a territory of approximately 190 retailers and helping integrate JL Audio dealers and programs into Garmin. Prior to Garmin, Rich spent six years as Area Sales Director for JL Audio, where he managed the Western region across 18 states and worked closely with mobile and home audio representative firms and key dealers.

Rich is located in Flower Mound TX. Email Rich.vreeland@harman.com

“Please join us in welcoming Rich and providing your full support” Shawn Spedding Director of Sales, Mobile Audio Aftermarket Consumer Audio, Americas Lifestyle Audio stated.

CONCORD, NC (09.10.26) – 3 Phases Marketing, with partner Greg Wallace in attendance with Hertz/Audison, supported the IASCA Worldwide 2X competition hosted by Freemans Car Stereo on September 6th at their Concord NC location.

Travis Grimm, Concord Store Manager, orchestrated the event. “We decided earlier this year to look at hosting IASCA events and this was our second successful event which was maybe 20% better than the first. We are looking at maybe 3 events next year” Grimm stated.

​Over 15 competitors flocked to Freeman’s from neighboring states as far as West Virginia to compete in the event. Registration opened at 9 a.m. and judging started at 10 a.m. with the honorable Richard Clark presiding over the evaluation of the competitor’s vehicles. Awards included 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each category as well as Best Overall Demo. Richard kicked it up a notch and threw $200 of his own money that went to the contestant that he felt gave the best demo of the day. Mr. Clark has been judging IASCA sound quality competitions for decades so his approval was a very prestigious award!

In addition to the competitors over 70 local music lovers were in the crowd. During the event members of the crowd were invited to take a seat and experience demos in competitor’s cars. Virtually all crowd members who took a seat said they had never heard music sound that amazing in a car. During the event the store was open for all to check out the showroom. dough, made 20 fresh pizzas and at the end of the show 2 pieces were left. We put 240 bottles of water into coolers and had 4.

​”Not only did the contestants and spectators in attendance get to experience incredible sound systems but the handmade pizza supplied by Freeman’s and cooked by Ronnie Cochrane was best in show and kept everyone’s bellies full. Ronnie, who is into handmade pizza bottles left. A big hats off to our team members Ronnie Cochrane, Robert Palmer, Jason Ballard, Chad West, Mike Oechsner, Tim Delarosa, and Willi Matava who enjoyed the IASCA event” Grimm related.

​”There was even a special guest appearance from the Buc-ee’s Beavers that showed up to surprise their biggest fan. Chris McNulty of Hertz/Audison! A great time was had by all and 3 Phases Marketing was honored to be invited to support Hertz/Audison and Freeman’s Car Stereo at their event” Greg Wallace, who supplied this article, relayed.

For more see 12voltnews.com.

SPRINGFIELD, IL (09.08.26) – The American Flat Track Labor Day Weekend Doubleheader took place Saturday and Sunday, September 5th & 6th, at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield IL. The weather both days was super hot and humid as enthusiasts filled the grounds both days.

“When the gates opened Saturday morning all was set for the Labor Day Doubleheader. The KICKER booth setup was right outside the main grandstand entry and it was like a vendor midway as crowds checked out products under vendor tents. KICKER’s wide selection of lifestyle, automotive, marine and powersports products definitely gave attendees a lot to checkout. Mr Bill’s ‘Root Beer’ brown Harley was loaded with the latest from KICKER and drew attendees to the booth like a magnet” Morrell related.

“The Labor Day Weekend Doubleheader definitely provided a lot of branding for KICKER and attendees were excited to be onsite. Bikers are strong community and the super hot temperature and high humidity slowed Saturday attendance some but all on site were excited to be at the event. Being in the booth I didn’t see any racing but could hear the racers on the straightaway. A lot of lanyards were handed out and some T’s too. During each breaks in the action the MC gave shout-outs to KICKER as an event sponsor also” Morrell, KICKER Events, concluded.

Monday morning the Awards Ceremony, with Tom Drane winning the ‘KICKER Livin’Loud Award, wrapped the Springfield Mile 2026 and all are looking forward to 2027.

For more see kicker.com

SHREVEPORT LA (09.06.26) From the 12Volt Central Studios, we say “Happy Labor Day 2026 to all across the 12Volt Industry”

This first Monday of September- Labor Day Federal Holiday honors all who work day-in and day-out to get the job done for the continuing success of their company in today’s marketplace.

Thinking back over my personal 60 plus years in the 12 Volt workforce, I know it’s not always easy or fun.

Those 60 years include retail sales through the 60’s and 70’s, award winning Sony distributor principal and rep through the 80’s and the following 3 decades of delivering fresh, positive 12Volt Industry News publications.

The uncertainties in the world today don’t make it any easier to succeed in today’s workplace. 12volt retailers must redouble efforts to create the in-store experience to connect with consumers to let them know all of the options to upgrade their vehicles.

Please recharge a bit over Labor Day weekend and let’s all work together to contribute to the overall success of the 12Volt Industry going forward into the future.

The 12Volt Central Studios Staff will continue to deliver Fresh, Positive industry news each and every day.

Celebrate Labor Day 2026 with the 12Volt Central Studios! Honoring those in the 12Volt Industry and encouraging growth and success. Happy Labor Day 2026 to all!

STILLWATER, OK (09.04.26) – KICKER/Stillwater Designs saw the completion of another long career in the mobile-electronics industry with the recent retirement announcement of Greg Lew.  Lew served as the KICKER Global Supply Chain Director since 2006 during his 22 years with the audio manufacturer.  Lew’s last day with KICKER was September 1.

“Greg’s detailed input and knack for logistics will be missed,” said Jay Ralston, KICKER General Manager. “We never worried when it came to his expertise with numbers and inventory.”

Lew came on with KICKER as Accessories Product Line Manager in June 2004 at the recommendation of former colleague Rob Limbaugh, who had been hired in Stillwater six months prior.  For the next 22 years he worked in some form of KICKER Sales, most recently Supply Chain.

Taking into account his unique talents, management placed Lew in several positions during his KICKER career, including National Accounts Manager and director of other business units.  Lew also had previous industry sales experience with Mitek, Polk Audio, and several years in the independent specialty retail market.

“Greg’s expertise in carefully managing our overall inventory has been key to KICKER’s success during all these years,” Ralston said.

Visit kicker.com for more.

HOUSTON, TX (09.03.26) – The SSR meeting/training was held on Wednesday night, August 26 from 7PM to 8:30 PM, with food and raffle prizes plus each dealer got a gift bag with catalog, new product brochure, lanyards, PRV micro fiber towel and a PRV PS15 Bluetooth speaker. Jeff Fletcher, National Sales Manager, conducted the meeting.

“A portion on the SSR warehouse was set up for the training of over 20 in the house.There was a Bronco with an active demo with 4 of the PRV MT8CX680CF-NDY-4 speakers playing powered by a MDX2000.4 2 ohm amplifier rocking as attendees walked in. The SSR staff did a great job setting everything up” Jeff Fletcher related.

At the beginning of the meeting, Fletcher conducted an introduction to the PRV brand for dealers that may not have been familiar with a visual presentation of the company’s history and unique attributes. When the meeting got underway, Fletcher focused on the PRV series of Speakers and Amplifiers going over things like power handling, product number decoding and applications with tonalities. During each portion of the training, a sample of the product being discussed was passed around so all could get the feel and touch.

As the trending closed, Fletcher took the customer sign-in sheet and did random drawings for prizes that included a MDX800.
4 2 ohm amp, PRV car detail kit and a 6 bundle bullet package.

“SSR, with locations in Houston and Dallas, is doing a great job with the PRV line in their territory and I feel like the training was very successful” Fletcher concluded.

For more see PRVaudio.com.

SACRAMENTO CA (09.02.26) – Audio Xperts is a long-standing proactive 12volt retailer in Vacaville CA.

On Saturday, August 29th Vince Miranda headed out to the Unity For The Lowrider Community Show and Concert presented by Tradicionals Car Club at William Land Park. The event was mere 35 miles from the Audio Experts store. Audio Xperts was set up with a company tent and spotlighting brands sold in the store including Alpine and Sound Skins.

“This was such a great event to have our store set up as we actually have several customers who have their vehicles on display at the show…which had over 600 cars on display. We had a raffle for 2 Alpine products and a Sound Skins tool kit. At the show our raffle was centered on attendees scanning our QR Code and following us on social media platforms to get a ticket for the raffle drawing” Miranda related.

“We also use the QR code in the store with a photo to be scanned instead of handing out business cards. When scanned I have loaded my contact info then directly into their phone when they scan. We also have the QR code on the back window of our Tesla that people can scan events also. The code was provided by Linq. When scanned it populates all Audio Xpert info and social media links as well as a link to photos. All in all the Lowrider Super Show was terrific for is to engage with enthusiasts. A big thank you to Greg Douglas and Driven Marketing for their support” Vince added.

In today’s AI and web driven world engaging with consumers is of paramount importance. Vince definitely understands the importance of the in-store experience along with offering professional installation.

For more see facebook.com/AudioXperts

AUSTIN, TX (08.31.26) – Indianapolis just got a massive surge of energy! We are thrilled to announce that XS Power is on board as the Official Power Sponsor for the 2026 championship weekend.

Known worldwide for providing the power competitors depend on when pushing their systems to the limit, XS Power is stepping up in a major way for this year’s Finals. With dB Drag Racing, IASCA, and ISPLL coming together in Indianapolis, XS Power is sponsoring the electrical service that will be available to all competitors across all three organizations competing at the Indiana State Fairgrounds!

What this means for the championship weekend:

• Electric Access Included: Electrical service will be available for competitors to plug in and charge.
• Support Across All Organizations: Whether you are competing in dB Drag Racing, IASCA, or ISPLL, electric service is included.
• Event-Wide Presence: Look for XS Power branding throughout the lanes, on the event shirts, and on sponsor banners across the venue.

When competitors are pushing their builds to the limit, power matters. We couldn’t ask for a better partner to sponsor this important part of FINALS weekend.
 
We appreciate XS Power’s dedication to the competitors, promoters, and the entire car audio community. Their support is helping bring together competitors from dB Drag Racing, IASCA, and ISPLL for an incredible championship weekend in Indianapolis.
 

When you see XS Power online, be sure to drop a comment and thank them for helping power the 2026 Finals!
 
October 3–4, 2026 | Indiana State Fairgrounds | Indianapolis, Indiana
 
For more information on XS Power: https://4xspower.com
 
For more information about the 2026 dB Drag Racing Finals, registration, and event details, visit dbdrag.com

SHREVEPORT LA (08.29.26) In today’s AI driven and social media world it is more important than ever for companies and members of the 12volt industry to connect with industry members and consumers.

In-person trade and distributor shows are perfect to connect and show new products in a one-on-one setting. However, trade show and distributor show’s attendance over the last several years has diminished. The 12volt Central Studios can put a company in their own customized booth using the 12voltSTP Tool and deliver their message to the 12volt industry with the 12volt Central Studios Marketing Ball. Industry members must realize marketing is a 24/7 journey.

A smartphone is all it takes to put the 12volt Central Studios Marketing Ball in play. The number is 318-469-2526. Simply standup holding the product to be spotlighted and hand your phone to someone to snap the image. Txt that image, with a few words and Presto! The 12volt Central Studios can put your company’s marketing ball in play.

Let’s put your company’s Marketing Ball in Play.

FORT MEYERS, FL (08.28.26) – GENEVO America, a leading manufacturer of radar and laser defense systems, today announces the appointment of Advanced Marketing as its manufacturer’s representative firm for the Pacific Northwest. In this new partnership, Advanced Marketing will support retailers across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska.

With more than 25 years of experience in the radar detector industry, Advanced Marketing brings a wealth of specialized knowledge to the territory. This partnership is specifically designed to make selling GENEVO systems seamless for 12-volt retailers. By delivering hands-on sales training, responsive local service, and in-depth product information, Advanced Marketing ensures dealers have the exact tools they need to confidently educate their customers and close more sales.

“The reason GENEVO works so well is because of the engineering behind it,” says Bruce Gildsdorf, Founder of Advanced Marketing. “Engineers know more than we do in their own little area. If you point them in the right direction, they do fantastic work. And if the manufacturing side of it can interpret what they wanted and execute on their side of it, now we’ve got a product we can go to market with.”

GENEVO America selected Advanced Marketing specifically for this deep, practical understanding of the category, and their commitment to retail success. “Advanced Marketing has a long history of dealing in luxury and quality,” says GENEVO America Sales Director David McKee. “They represent some of the finest brands out there and we are excited to partner with them to bring GENEVO America to the Pacific Northwest. Their knowledge of the radar category and their commitment to dealers makes them a perfect fit to work with.”

The appointment underscores GENEVO America’s ongoing commitment to building a robust, highly knowledgeable dealer network and providing top-tier sales support to its retail partners throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Gildsdorf can be reached at 425-890-0850 or bgils@comcast.net.

Visit www.genevo.com/us for more.