Opinion Archives - Page 67 of 69 - Brake & Front End
Management: Reducing Risks and Premiums

All insurance premiums are based on the risks involved. Insurance companies evaluate the situation to determine the risk of potential loss that they will have to assume and base their rates on the results. Therefore, any steps that a shop owner or manager can take to lower their risks not only helps safeguard the business,

How’s Business?…Gas Prices Aren’t Helping

After a robust 2004, optimism among repair shop owners was extremely high when we surveyed readers in January 2005. Three months later, with gas prices consistently above $2 per gallon, the mood is changing. During the first week of April, we faxed a survey to 3,000 automotive service and repair shop owners across the country

Directions: Caution — Dangerous Precedent Ahead

A case had been shaping up in New York last month that could have set a dangerous precedent for the vehicle repair industry. In a scary move, prosecutors in Wampsville, NY, last year filed homicide charges against a muffler shop manager who inspected a car just days before it hit and killed an 8-year-old girl.

Servicing Solutions: Working on Customers’ Work Vehicles

One of the finer lines to walk in the service and repair industry is how deep in the mud you’re willing to get when a customer brings in a vehicle with an intermittent driveability problem. An intermittent surge with a vehicle that is driven once a week is one thing. An intermittent stall on a

Odds & Ends: Book Report

The classic Sebring race of 1970 – when Mario Andretti’s Ferrari 512 passed the Peter Revson/Steve McQueen Porsche 908 in the closing minutes to win by a scant 23 seconds – is relived in a new hardbound book, 12 Hours of Sebring 1970. The book has more than 100 photos and includes comments from Andretti,

This is a Great Time for the Brake Industry

As the editor of BRAKE & FRONT END, I make it a point to try out as many friction materials as possible. I have tried $20 pads, and expensive performance pads that can cost as much as $180 a set. I fint it amazing what a great set of brake pads or shoes can do

Perspectives: How Global Issues Can Dictate Your Bottom Line

One of the vital tasks that shops must undertake is managing the expectations of their customers. This is really a job for anyone who sells a product. When I complain about the price of a pair of jeans that my wife buys for herself, she always says, “They don’t cost the same amount as they

Customer Service is Key at Stephens Automotive

In business for almost 10 years, Joe Stephens puts his customers first. Quality repairs keep them coming back – and telling their friends and family. For Illinois shop owner Joe Stephens, it’s not just about fixing cars. His goal is to not only provide his customers with quality repairs, but to educate them as well.

Perspectives: How Global Issues Can Dictate Your Bottom Line

How Global Issues Can Dictate Your Bottom Line

Renewable Fuel to Get You On the Road Again

Lying in bed last month about 1:30 a.m. while listening to one of my favorite radio talk show programs, “Coast To Coast A.M. with Art Bell,” I heard the distinct voice of country legend and environmentalist Willie Nelson who was touting his biodiesel fuel brand and his biodiesel-fueled tour bus. According to Nelson, just by

Light Diesel Service Opportunities are Growing

Diesels are back! During the past six years, more than 2.5 million new diesel-powered cars and light trucks have been sold in the United States. Though the numbers are not huge, they are growing. Diesel usage in U.S light vehicles has almost doubled over the last five years (from 2.2% in 1999 to 3.9% in

Odds & Ends

Building The Mustang Ministock includes everything a racer needs to know to competitively build, set up and race a Mustang 3 car. Using eight informative chapters based on a project car built as an example for this book, Building The Mustang Ministock thoroughly covers all areas of race car fabrication, suspension systems, chassis setup and