The12VoltDashboard at KnowledgeFest Vegas 2023

LAS VEGAS, NV (02.14.23) – The 12vdashboard team was busy busy busy at Knowledgefest Vegas! Free Demos, Flashlights, Pens, Mousepads and T-Shirts were given to new member signups at the show along with show specials made for a great turn out in the booth.

The12vdashboard has over 16,000 vehicles in its database with over 5 million datapoints. The team adds vehicle specific products to the vehicles as well as speaker sizes with locations, ANC mic information, OEM amp locations, and other tips, tricks and handy information all needed at sales counters across the country to quote a vehicle correctly and quickly in todays fast paced 12volt stores.

The12vdashboard is a subscription based lookup tool for industry sales professionals. With all the new fitments, direct vehicle integrations, and vehicle specific products for todays vehicles: it is near impossible for sales teams to remember every single solution for every vehicle on the road. New products and solutions are being introduced every month making it even more difficult for a sales team to keep up with. The12vdashboard team does the research and displays it in an easy to navigate online tool for your team.

TJ Kolar answering questions for this group of attendees in a Vegas about the 12voltdashboard information available to dealers.

The12vdashboard team has more integration ideas and tools they are introducing in Q1 2023 as well. Look for Laser File download sharing between professionals and more in our latest release!

Special Thanks to Midstate Distribution as they were on hand as the sole distribution partner for the12vdashboard.com with Tom Kolar, and TJ Kolar giving free demos and enrolling new members.

The 12voltdashboard had stations set up to show their services to attendees. Tom Mid-State’s Tom Kolar, a big supporter, is on the left speaking with a dealer.

Get a Quick Free Trial at www.the12vdashboard.com to Supercharge your Sales Team today.

JVC Conducted Training Sessions and Exhibited at KnowledgeFest in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, NV (02.10.23) – JVC Mobile Entertainment, manufacturer of class-leading aftermarket car, marine, and motorsports products, conducted trainings and exhibited at the Paris Hotel and Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, February 3rd-5th.

The open JVC Mobile meeting was very well attended.

JVC Mobile showed a wide variety of new products in their booth on the show floor and provided networking opportunities for attendees.

The training agenda included NEW Product Unveilings and attendees were the first to see new products that will enable them to gain an edge in the upcoming season.

The NEWEST Multimedia Receivers showcased what strategic advantages dealers will gain and why JVC should be the Go-To brand for multimedia receivers.

The Day-1 JVC training attendees hold up their KS-GC10Q Qi Wireless Charger prizes.

Seth Halstead (3rd from L) is pictured with members of the JVCKENWOOD team from Canada. (LtoR) Rory Butler, Glen Swackhammer, Seth Halstead and Charles Lillies.

Complete RGB Speaker Solutions were spotlighted in a LIVE demo. This demonstration pointed the way for dealers to maximize profits from the growing demand for LED-lit speakers.

The JVC trainings also offered attendees more chances to Win. EVERYONE walked away a WINNER from the trainings with more than just Knowledge. That meant more chances to win and JVC handed out nearly 30 giveaways at each training.

Day-2 JVC training attendees hold their Qi mobile wireless charging prize.

The JVC trainings were held on Friday and Saturday. Additional on-demand trainings with JVC personnel were available to attendees during show floor hours during KnowledgeFest.

For more information on JVC Mobile Entertainment, visit www.us.jvc.com/car.

Alpine Names the 2022 Rep and Rep Firm of the Year

AUBURN HILLS, MI (02.09.23) – Alps Alpine North America, Inc. (“Alpine”) named their 2022 Rep of the Year and Rep Firm of the Year for the Alpine Brand Business Unit (aftermarket division) during an all-staff meeting on Thursday, February 2 at the Paris Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. These annual awards recognize independent rep firms and direct reps who strongly commit to the Alpine brand, providing exceptional sales and marketing growth.

Pictured from left to right: Anthony Rawlings, Eric Baltzer, Mike Anderson, Matthew Macias, and Jeffery Henshaw. 

“We’re excited to honor the rep and rep firms who have gone above and beyond for the Alpine Brand,” said Mike Anderson, Executive Director at Alps Alpine North America, Inc. “Despite the challenges in the market, these individuals have shown great sales and marketing efforts and provided excellent service to their Alpine Authorized Dealers.”

Greg Douglas (Right) was named the 2022 Direct Rep of the Year

During the ceremony, Santa Fe Sales Rocky Mountain States was named 2022 Rep Firm of the Year. The team from Santa Fe (Anthony Rawlings, Eric Baltzer, Matthew Macias, and Jeffery Henshaw) was recognized for their strong sales results in 2022, exceptional support and service to their Alpine Authorized Dealers and Alpine Style Centers, and their pride and passion for the Alpine Brand.

Greg Douglas was named the 2022 Direct Rep of the Year for his impressive sales growth and dedicated support to his Alpine Authorized Dealers. Douglas was also recognized for coordinating an Alpine event that resulted in gaining new customer insights and business opportunities for the Brand.

Award recipients were chosen by Alpine senior leadership based on an evaluation of their sales, marketing, customer service, and communication for 2022.

Visit alpine-usa.com for more.

JVC to Train & Exhibit at KnowledgeFest Las Vegas

LONG BEACH, CA (02.02.23) – JVC Mobile Entertainment, manufacturer of class-leading aftermarket car, marine, and motorsports products, announced it will be conducting trainings and exhibiting at the Paris Hotel and Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, February 3rd-5th.

Training Agenda

• NEW Product Unveiling! | Be the first to see NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN new products that will enable you to gain an edge in the upcoming season.
• NEWEST Multimedia Receivers | See what strategic advantages you gain and why JVC should be your Go-To multimedia receivers.
• Complete RGB Speaker Solution | In this LIVE demo, we’ll show you how to MAXIMIZE profits from a GROWING demand for LED-lit speakers.

More Chances to Win! | We want EVERYONE to walk away a WINNER from this training with more than just Knowledge. That means MORE chances to win our MYSTERY prize(s)! Don’t miss out! UP TO 30 GIVEAWAYS PER TRAINING!

The trainings are scheduled for Friday, February 3rd @ 12:30 PM and Saturday, February 4th @ 5:30 PM. Additional on-demand trainings with JVC personnel are available in its booth (#507), February 3rd-5th.

For more information on JVC Mobile Entertainment, visit www.us.jvc.com/car.

KICKER Brings Innovation and Education to Las Vegas KnowledgeFest

STILLWATER, OK (02.01.23) – Audio integration will be the focus of KICKER trainings at MEA KnowledgeFest Las Vegas, February 3-5 at the Paris Hotel and Convention Center.

The first class is scheduled for Friday at 1:45 pm in Champagne 3, followed by a Saturday class at 5:30 pm in Champagne 4. Attendees will also have a chance to win a KICKER PowerBar™ soundbar or KICKER KEYLOC™ Smart Line-Out Converter.  KICKER’s Tech Force product-training staff will be joined by Joe Hobart, the brand’s Director of Electrical Engineering, to host two one-hour courses during the weekend. Both classes will focus on modern integration techniques, aimed at the quick identification of acoustic and electrical challenges installers face when adding an amplifier. The classes will also discuss what equipment is needed to diagnose the issue.

Featured in the KICKER booth on the show floor will be the brand’s Fiat 500 Sport, equipped with the expanded KEY line of all-in-one smart amplifier/processors. The Fiat also features the monstrous KICKER Quad Box, a loaded enclosure made from heavy, birch-veneer plywood and filled with four L7 square subwoofers.

The full KICKER product line will be on display, including the highly anticipated Solo X Subwoofer, and WX-Series “Warhorse” Amplifier. The currently shipping PXA Waterproof Powersports Amplifiers, ST-Series PA-style Speakers, Competition Gold Subwoofers and KMXL Horn-Loaded Speakers will also be on display.

KICKER will be in booth 706, facing the Main Entrance of the show floor. More than 50 of the world’s largest 12-volt manufacturers will attend the event.

For more details, interested parties can visit www.knowledgefest.org.

Race Sport Lighting Exhibiting & Training at KnowledgeFest Las Vegas

RINGWOOD, IL (01.31.23) – Race Sport Lighting will be exhibiting in booth 101 for dealers to visit and learn about their new lighting technologies. Staff will be available in the booth all weekend to answer any questions. The booth will feature a large custom 5-Axis display of hundreds of lights to test out with the push of a button. Race Sport Lighting will also have on display their nationwide best-selling Terminator™ LED Kits, the fast-growing DRIVE Series V2 LED kits and their USPTO patented GEN4® LED system.

“We can’t wait to meet with our dealers from all over the country and reconnect face to face with many. 2022 was a strange year full of global economic issues for many of our dealers, but I know dealers are ready to kick off 2023 in the right direction. We have added more patented and unique LED lighting solutions to our line up and added amazing value-added tools for our dealers to us. It’s going to be exciting to show them off in Vegas. I am particularly excited about the training on Friday that is brand new and will accelerate any dealers lighting category revenues.” Steve Jergensen, President of Race Sport Lighting

Friday, February 3rd from 3 pm – 4 pm in Bordeaux training room
Race Sport Lighting 2023 Product Line Introduction and Training

Race Sport Lighting will host a training session during KnowledgeFest that will focus on “The Lighting Category Opportunity for the Owner, The Sales Counterman, and the Technician”. This 1-hour session will be divided up into specific training for everyone in the stores organization, and equip them with the knowledge needed to be successful in the lighting category and increase their revenues and confidence. This is a completely new redesigned training, and never presented before until this show.

Visit www.racesportinc.com for more.

Alpine to Reveal New “Optim8” Product During KnowledgeFest in Las Vegas

AUBURN HILLS, MI (01.25.23) – Alps Alpine North America, Inc. (“Alpine”) will attend the upcoming Mobile Electronics Association (MEA) KnowledgeFest hosted in the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada from Friday, February 3 to Sunday, February 5.

As a premier opportunity for KnowledgeFest attendees, Alpine will reveal an exciting new product in their 2023 lineup: “Optim8™.” The reveal will take place in the Alpine booth (exhibit #806) on the first day of KnowledgeFest. More information on the product will be distributed to the media following the reveal.

The Alpine booth will also feature new event displays with High-Resolution sound and display audio family systems from the 2023 Alpine Product Line, including the High-Resolution Alpine Status line, High-Resolution head unit line, and Next-Generation R-Series and S-Series sound system Line.

“This will be the first opportunity to showcase a complete lineup of High-Resolution sound and display audio products in one setting,” said Mike Anderson, Executive Director at Alps Alpine North America, Inc. “The trend to Hi-Res music is undeniable and we believe our 2023 lineup sends a strong message to our partners and further solidifies Alpine in the premium car audio space.”

A new Tesla Model 3 demo vehicle will be on display in the Alpine booth featuring the new Optim8™. The vehicle will also feature the Next-Generation S-Series line to demonstrate the new High-Resolution playback capabilities of the sound system and the new Alpine PrismaLink™ S-Series Wedge Preloaded Subwoofer Enclosures, a new enclosure from Alpine that features a plug-and-play RGB lighting system and multi-link capable design for single, dual, and even quad-enclosure applications.

A Toyota Tundra demo vehicle will also be on-site with the High-Resolution Alpine Status line. Demos will be available to all Alpine booth visitors.

Alpine will host 3 training sessions during KnowledgeFest that will focus on the 2023 Product Line:

Friday, February 3 from 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. in Champagne 2
Alpine 2023 Product Presentation

Friday, February 3 from 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. in Champagne 2
Alpine 2023 Product Presentation

Saturday, February 4 from 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. in Champagne 4
Alpine Optim8™: The Future of Car Audio Tuning

All KnowledgeFest attendees are welcome to visit the Alpine booth, join the training sessions, and meet with Alpine staff from the sales, marketing, and product planning teams. Attendees are encouraged to visit www.knowledgefest.org and use the “Education Workshops & Vendor Training” link to register for the Alpine training sessions.

Visit alpine-usa.com for more.

Nakamichi Readies for KnowledgeFest Sin City

MIAMI, FL (01.23.23) – Nakamichi will once again be exhibiting at KnowledgeFest this time at the Las Vegas show to be held February 3-5, 2023 at MGM’s Paris Hotel and Casino.  New items on display will be two new  wireless CarPlay/Android Auto NA3625-Series receivers with the new Susumo Platform providing faster response and more intuitive menus for an improved user experience.  The two models are the companies first wireless units.  The NA3625-WUX is the company’s first floating face multimedia receiver release in North America.  It boasts a 4-way adjustable 10.1-inch glass HD touch screen. MSRP is $659.95.

Jason Proios holds an improved NDSK4085AU DSP.

Jason Proios, Product Development and Technical Services Manager, will be in the booth giving demos during the show.  “This new platform has been completely revised and is superior to any operating system we have released thus far”, stated Proios. “This took some time but as you will see it was definitely worth the wait”.

In addition to the wireless receivers Nakamichi will showcase several other new items during the show including an improved NDSK4085AU 8-channel DSP with built in amplifier.  “This DSP is so small and versatile it has limitless applications”, stated Proios.

Diplomat Trading is the exclusive agent for Nakamichi Mobile Audio in the U.S.A.   For more information visit www.nakamichicaraudio.com

Synergy Marketing at K’Fest in Big D

HOUSTON, TX (09.02.22) – Houston-based Synergy Marketing Agency, with David Toliver literally behind the wheel, was on the K’Fest event floor with his company’s Avalanche demo vehicle. The custom vehicle build was a collaboration with retailer Ultimate Innovations in Kemah, TX.

David Toliver pictured on the K’Fest show floor in Big D highlighting the Morel brand that is featured in the Synergy Marketing Avalanche demo truck.

“Dallas K’Fest was a huge success for Synergy Marketing and our vendor partners…Morel, Lucas, Dynamat, Rydeen, Musway, MTX and Audiomobile. Dealers who attended were very engaged and actively looking for unique high end performance lines and solutions that are exclusive and unique. Everyone was blown away with the Ultimate Innovations install and even more impressed after hearing it” Toliver related.

The custom installation completed by Ultimate Innovations in the Avalanche truly a work of art.

Eli Kunzat offered “Seeing our Ultimate Innovations work on the floor being appreciated by fellow retailers at K’Fest was terrific. Their positive comments were greatly appreciated.

Audiomobile speakers featured in the Avalanche displayed in the booth.

The Car Audio Shop in Austin TX was one of the first early August dealer stops for Toliver in his demo vehicle loaded with brands on his rep firm’s line card. Store owner David Gabriel related “It was super when David rolled up in the Avalanche. We are a Morel dealer and the system in the truck sounds great. Also, the workmanship on the system is terrific and will give other retailers ideas for their installations.”

Look for the Synergy Marketing Avalanche in the states of TX, OK, AR, MS and LA. The brands on the Synergy Marketing Agency line card include Audiomobile, Dynamat, Gemini Acoustics, Lucas Lighting, Morel, MTX Audio, Musway, Polk, Rhino BOX, Rydeen, Reikken, Energie SQL Audio and TRU Technologies,

Visit synergyagency.net for more.

Metra Electronics to Host Manufacturer Training Sessions at KnowledgeFest in Dallas, TX

HOLLY HILL, FL (08.02.22) – Metra Electronics is heading to Dallas, TX to host training sessions at KnowledgeFest and showcase their latest aftermarket installation products. At the booth will also be a Ford Bronco, outfitted with products by Metra’s Heise LED and Axxess brands. Metra’s training sessions will cover products launched at The 2021 SEMA Show. This includes the latest Axxessintegration products and DSPs, Saddle Tramplighting and audio upgrades that fit Harley-Davidson, aftermarket accessories that fit Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator, and new vehicle lighting solutions from Heise. As a Diamond Ultra sponsor, Metra is proud to support the industry by providing in-depth training sessions for installers at the event, hosted August 26-28. Training sessions include:

“Simplify your Install with Axxess DSPs,” August 26 at 1:45 PM CST and August 28 at 9:30 AM CST

This training will cover the entire Axxess DSP product line, highlight new vehicle coverage, and showcase the newest app features. Metra will show installers how these solutions can increase sales in the showroom and decrease time in the bay. Attendees will learn how to use and set up Axxess DSPs through the app for complete tuning control and when to use the DSP “Lite” versus “X” solutions. This training will also explain how to use the different types of applications offered within the AXDSP line, including CAN-based systems, new A2B systems, MOST25, and MOST50 vehicle technology.

“New Accessories for Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator” on Friday, August 26 at 3:00 PM CST

Installers will learn how to upgrade the look and sound system of the latest Jeep models using Metra’s newest accessories designed for JeepWrangler JL and Gladiator JT models. This session will go over installing the Metra RGB lighting kit with plug-n-play connections and expandable Heise lighting options. It will also showcase Metra’s Talon Attack replacement grille, amplifier installation kits, and new accessory harnesses that make adding aftermarket lighting even easier for installers.

“Saddle Tramp Audio Upgrades for Harley-Davidson Motorcycles,” Saturday, August 27 at 4:15 PM CST

Metra makes it easy to upgrade the audio system in Harley-Davidson motorcycles with Saddle Tramp’s newest products. Learn more about DSP kits with built-in interfaces that reflash the OE radio and give installers full tuning control from the palm of their hand. This session will also introduce the new motorcycle accessories from Metra that will upgrade the music experience and provide easy integration using Metra’s improved radio replacement kits and harnessing.

“New Vehicle Lighting Trends with Heise” on Saturday, August 27 at at 5:30 PM CST

Lighting upgrades are in demand and Metra’s newest products from Heise deliver just what installers need to meet the latest trends in automotive lighting. Learn about the new and improved Heise lightbars and cube lights, projector series LED bulbs, new wheel lights, RGB and RGBW underglow kits, and the popular third brake light designed for the new 2021 Ford Bronco. This training session includes valuable tips for selling and installing these new LED lighting solutions from Heise.

“Advanced Integration Made Easy with Axxess and Metra” on Sunday, August 28 at 10:45 AM CST

Attendees will learn about the newest solutions from Axxess and Metra that make vehicle integration easy, even with some of the notoriously complex vehicle systems. This training session gives in-depth installation information for Metra’s AXPIO integration kits for Pioneer receivers, Metra’s latest TurboTouch dash kits, and new Axxess interfaces hitting the market.

Metra’s customers can register for the KnowledgeFest event at no cost using Metra’s VIP code, available by request from their sales representative. Once registered for the event, attendees will also need to register online at KnowledgeFest.org for each training session they will attend. Metra will be at booth #711 from August 26-28 at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas, TX. See additional details about the show, produced by the Mobile Electronics Association (MEA), at KnowledgeFest.org.