Does anyone have one, and if so, from what company?

 

with the car audio market taking a tumble over the last few years they are few and far between now.

 

Only way to really do it anymore, is outline your entire car with one brands equipment, win some tropheys, whether it be show, SPL, or SQ. Go to shows and competitions regularly, and I mean atleast 14-16 a year, contact the company cross your fingers and look for pigs in the sky. Try to have enough things done to your car, try and get in a magazine, go to big car shows where theres mdeia coverage.

Easiest thing to do is get local shops to sponsor you, and by sponsor I mean buy a ton of their crap show it off, as I just explained and then you will get a small discount after you do enough promoting.

As ttocs said it's tough. Kinda stupid, to get free stuff you have to spend a ton of money, but if it wasn't that way then everyone would be sponsored.

In the end you'll invest about as much money that you put into your car between, buying equipment, travel, registering at shows, etc etc, as you will get out of free things from your sponsor.

 

yeah that sounds like a ton of work

 

I figured as much myself, but I thought there still might be some people that might have one.

 

Theres sponsors around but most likely not local to you...If you want big name sponsors youd have to check out shows like NOPI tuner and stuff like that

 

as I said the industry in general is suffering right now. Large manf are pulling out of the competition circles and small shops are just tryin to hard to make a buck to do it anymore.

 

And sadlyforums like this and people finally becoming educated on car electronics is a huge part of it.

So congratulations everyone, your ruining the carelectronics market.

And this is no joke, places literally are shutting down everywhere. The audio sections of these places which used to be the heart and bulk of their sales is now the product they never keep in stock. They keep a catalog and the person that comes in once a week actually looking for audio equipment, they hand it to them and say let me know what you want me to order. My old shop recently had to send back 75% of their audio stock to pay their lease. They literally have one maybe two of their bottom and middle line products in stock, all top end stuff is gone and they only order it when needed. Right now they are surviving solely off6 things...

Remote starts/Alarm systems
Aftermarket sunroofs
Tint
Sim Con tops
Wheels
Seats; Leather, heated, cooled, power seats etc.

The only thing people are paying to get put on their car anymore is things they don't trust themselves, or a friend of theirs son doing. Everyone knows somebody that can do the majority of audio installs. I don't trust myself cutting a hole in the roof of my car, I haven't attempted a tint job in like 5 years, and even then once I get a car I actually want tinted I will bust out the razor and baby shampoo mix and give it a shot. Alarms and starts I just don't get too happy hearing about installing ever, shops have access to programs that tell them where every single wire they need is, where to cut into it at, where to mount the brain, everything. An expensive tool you pay a subscription on as its constantly updated all the time that im not paying for so I can do my own, and a couple other peoples a year to do.

 

I dunno about that. Any shop that is getting by alarm installs has an alarm with a bad back complaining. Those tech manuals are generally correct but you still have to test every wire and with new models coming out with new onboard security systems to bypass it is always fun keeping up on new stuff. I worked at a shop that had the cheapest alarms in town and I did alot of them in the 3 yrs I was there. You can get really good at alarms but you will still get things that make you scratch your head more often then you like.

Areas like this killing the industry? Idunno about that now since most shops can't figure out what to do with a mach system even with my instructions. With factory radios now including some above average sound and features from the manf that make them(RF and nissan come to mind) people do not have a need to upgrade their radio nor the money for it since it is becomming more and more difficult/expensiveto replace a factory radio(seen the new mazda's/fords?).

 

Areas as in forums like this keeping people out of alot of shops, the online discount stores, and people learning alot from others through these forums.