It's almost time for Halloween trick or treating! This week's carnival treat is an assortment of news from SEMA.

What the heck is the SEMA Show? Produced by the Specialty Equipment Market Association, the SEMA Show is the world's premier automotive aftermarket accessories event. This trade-only event serves the $36.7 billion automotive aftermarket industry, which allows drivers to personalize and enhance their vehicle's appearance, performance, comfort, convenience, safety, and fun factor.

The SEMA Show is held annually at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the first week of November. More than a million square feet of exhibits await those industry insiders with the fortitude to walk the miles of aisles.

Our very own president Jody DeVere is in Vegas now, mingling with more than 125,000 industry professionals from over 100 countries, all of them there to see new products and automotive trends, to learn valuable business skills, or to simply network with colleagues. Every online automotive Web site has sent their own posse of editors, and they are already beginning to post news from the show at their sites. We've gathered up an assortment of the more exciting and interesting items, and invite you to continue to browse these sites as the show unfolds during the remainder of the week.

Meanwhile, themustangnews  offers a short history and primer on why SEMA is such a big deal, and shares an assortment of photo galleries and press announcements so broad, that when you're done reading, you'll feel as if you've actually been to SEMA yourself!

Edmunds predicts: "If Al Gore were to make an appearance at the 2007 SEMA Show, there's no doubt that he would find an excellent photo op in front of Jay Leno's E85-fueled Z06-inspired C6RS Corvette. The car's 600 horses aren't an issue, since Leno's rocket runs on ethanol."

Talk about burly: Hummer's H3R Off-Road Concept combines the power of the H3 SUV with the 7.0-liter/505-hp V8 from a Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Edmunds says we shouldn't get too excited, as Hummer hustles to say, "No, a production H3 equipped with an LS7 engine isn't in the cards."

The folks over at AutoBlog were super excited about the Pontiac G8 entering production; unfortunately they say "there's little about this SEMA Edition of the Aussie-sourced rear-wheel-drive V8 sedan that adds to that excitement. It's basically a stock Pontiac G8 with a flashy orange paint job, orange accents inside, and the same 20-inch wheels from the G8 concept...The main motivation is the same 6.0L V-8 making 361 hp and 385 ft-lb. of torque that will be found in the production car." Those AutoBlog guys are never satisfied...

Direct from AutoBlog:  the 260-hp 2008 Chevy Cobalt SS Turbo is being introduced to the world at SEMA this week. With a boost of more than 50 horses, Chevy went to great lengths to ensure that the SS badge means more than what it had become in recent years.

According to AutoWeek, Ford made several motorsports announcements, topped by news of a new Mustang race car and dedicated "spec" racing series. Apparently, a new Mustang FR500S will be priced at $75,000, and is intended to compete in the all-new Ford Racing Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup--that's "Miller," as in Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City.

According to Motor Trend, Pontiac's vintage-inspired Solstice SD-290 Race Concept features a stripped-down, old-school look highlighted by a passenger cockpit tonneau cover; cut-down, driver-side-only windscreen; and the removal of the base Solstice's door glass and convertible top. Underhood, the direct-injected, turbocharged 2.0-liter Ecotec four-cylinder has been tweaked to create 290 horsepower.

The folks at Carscoop say "it doesn't take a petrolhead aficionado to make the association between the long dead Plymouth hot-rod and the SR 392 Roadster." The concept is a collaborative project between Chrysler's Mopar Underground SEMA design team and Quality Metalcraft, and combines Mopar's new 392 Hemi (6.4-liter V8) crate engine with the world's first-ever steel reproduction of a 1927 street rod body.

SEMA Insider has partnered with Toyota and Car Crazy Central to bring the show experience into your home and office via www.semainsider.com. The site promises to offer all the excitement of the show, including top car celebrities, hottest new vehicles, technologies, latest styling trends, and photo gallery downloads, wallpapers, and screensavers. SEMAInsider.com will stay active following the SEMA show for those who aren't able to attend the show itself.

Statistics say there are between 220,000 and 285,000 people with Spinal Cord Injury in the  US . The #1 cause for Spinal Cord Injury is car accident. Car accidents happen each and every day and holidays like Halloween have higher car accident rates.

This is very personal for me as my son Joseph is a paraplegic as a result of a car accident 1n 2005. Education and training on safe driving habits is an important part of accident prevention.

To prevent that from happening,  what can we do ?

Elaine Masters first learned about yoga a little over thirty years ago when she started meditating. She got "serious" about yoga about six or seven years ago. She tried many different styles and studios, and studied with some incredible people. When she moved to the San Diego area, she found herself commuting a lot. With a 45 minute drive just to get her son to school, she left the house before she could do her stretches. Eventually, she started stretching in her car. And then she ran across others who stretched in their cars, too. After talking to a yoga instructor, and her ergonomic consultant/ physical therapist sister, Julie, she embarked on making Drivetime Yoga a reality.

Drivetime Yoga is a collection of movements and breathing techniques to help drivers relax and become fully present in their senses while in the car. It starts with breathing exercises, the core of yoga. Instead of distracting yourself with reading, eating, grooming or talking on the phone, you do less in the car. You pay attention to what your body is telling you.

Elaine introduces Drivetime Yoga by asking drivers if they are frustrated with the amount of time they spend in the car. She asks if they've encountered aggressive drivers, or felt like being one. And she questions if drivers feel stressed or stiff after driving, especially if they get in the car before they've exercised that day. I could answer yes to every one of those questions, even though I don't drive quite as much as I used to. My commute used to be 10 minutes in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. Now it's a more reasonable 15 minutes each way. But I probably could have used some breathing and stretching exercises when I was gridlocked 5 days a week.

When Audrey Zavodsky graduated with a Ph.D. in Human and Organization Systems, her husband Rich gave her a present that would change both of their lives. Rich gave her four days of racecar training at the Bondurant Driving School in Arizona, and a gear head was born.

In ten seasons of racing, Zavodsky has managed to squeeze in about 20 races a year. No easy feat, considering she is also a corporate nurse with Ford’s Clinical Operations Department. As a corporate nurse, Dr. Audrey oversees 30 locations, including parts depots, assembly plants and test tracks. Her duties include being an educator, advisor, facilitator & auditor for OSHA & SHARP audits.

Despite not being able to race full time, Zavdosky’s racing resume is impressive. During her career she has won the Inaugural Women’s Global GT series race at Road Atlanta; Panoz GTS Pro at Mid-Ohio; Panoz GT Pro at Mosport Canada and Sebring Florida; Panoz GT at Sebring Florida and Mosport Canada.   

A lot of people believe that the typical seat belts and airbags are enough to save their lives, but is that really true? With all the technology available today, car makers are coming up with better ways to develop safety.

Ever heard of back-up cameras? Or how about surrounding sensors? Many of the manufacturers are creating all kinds of devices or added features that have safety in mind.

According to the National Highway Safety Administration, "motor vehicle accidents in the U.S. resulted in 2.9 million injury cases and 42,636 deaths in 2005. In addition to the human toll, such accidents cost an estimated $7,300 per second. That's $230.6 billion dollars a year, or about $820 per person in the U.S."

BestStuff.com reports, "Luxury automaker Lexus has even launched an entire ad campaign on the subject for its 2008 RX 350 SUV, which highlights the benefits of the vehicle's active safety systems."

Whenever someone decides to take the initiative to restore a car, it requires a serious commitment.  I have seen too many people begin work and never finish.  The successful car restorer chooses a car that fits his/her personality and budget, and follows the job through to the end.  One must have a love for the process as well as the product, or the project will be rushed and end up to be worthless.  I learned this tedious process when I was just 14 years old, barely able to perform the difficult and sometimes dangerous tasks that are required to complete a show car.  I would not recommend taking the steps I did my first time, so I will outline the best method I have learned through experience.

Most restoration projects are simple vehicles to begin with, so it is not very difficult to know what is what.  For those of us who do not know all the tricks or do not like to write things down I think a book is very helpful.  I recommend one from the Chilton’s Automotive Guide series.  These guides are available for almost any car, so finding one for your project should not be a problem.  They feature blown up diagrams of the complicated systems of the car like the distributor, under-dash wiring, and engine internals.  This can be very helpful in those frustrating times when there are parts strewn from wall to wall in no particular order.  Mine was an integral part of the process on my 1969 Chevy project.

Paving the Path to the Paranormal, Thrill Park Experts Name Top U.S. Haunt Attractions: 'America's Best Haunts' Give Thrill-Seekers a Guidebook to the Best Fright Factories for 2007

America's Best Haunts, LLC, the authority on premier haunted attractions throughout the country, has released its official list of the top frights for 2007. Established as the only expert resource of its kind, America's Best Haunts (www.americasbesthaunts.com) scoured the U.S. to select only 11 among hundreds of thrill attractions to honor with its prominent seal. There should be something on this list within driving distance for most folks, and even if it's more than a few hours, why not make a weekend of it? Halloween is nigh upon us, but many of these venues extend the festivities into the first weeks of November, so it's not too late to enjoy the scary fun.

Catering to the more than 20 million Americans who visited haunted houses in 2006 (according to the National Retail Federation), the one-of-a-kind guide for thrill-seekers highlights the best of the worst fright factories from New York to California.

An esteemed panel of judges, with more than 100 cumulative years of experience in the thrill park industry, stringently evaluated haunted houses across the country based on a broad list of criteria, including:
  * Special Effects 
  * Overall Intricacy of Attraction and Characters 
  * Consumer Value and Appeal 
  * Fear Factor 
  * Marketing 
  * Longevity in the Marketplace 
  * Safety

Norfolk-Virginia-based Cox Auto Trader companies, AutoTrader Publishing and AutoMart.com, along with Cox Communications will present a $500,000 grant secured from the James M. Cox Foundation to Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters (CHKD).  The grant will be used to fund the hospital's new child abuse prevention program, which will provide education and support for children and families throughout the region. The program will be operated from the hospital's Virginia Beach facility, currently under construction.

The Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters' child abuse prevention program offers children a safe and nurturing environment where they can begin the healing process in the aftermath of abuse and neglect. The program provides compassionate, diagnostic assessment and treatment services and seeks to coordinate the efforts of various community agencies working together on behalf of the abused child. CHKD offers an innovative program that honors the abused child's need for safety, dignity and privacy.

"I can't think of any other cause that is more important to support than one which helps our children. When they are hurt, the future suffers. All children have a right to be safe and grow up healthily. Every child deserves the opportunity to explore and maximize his or her unique talents, and potential, and we are proud to be a part of that process," said Richard Jamin, president of AutoTrader Publishing.