Viewpoint: The Good Times Are Back!
Looking at the recent economic news, we can officially say we have made it through the toughest economic downturn since the Great Depression. Consumer confidence is up, unemployment rate is going down and markets are returning to pre-2008 levels.
VIEWPOINT: GM Creates New Recipe for Brake Rotors
Over the past three months, there has been a buzz about a new type of rotor from GM. GM’s team of brake experts and suppliers put a batch of rotors on a lot of Buick and Cadillac models in 2008 to test out if they had truly changed how rotors perform. They succeeded.
Viewpoint: Sex, Politics & Religion
I worked for a shop owner who once told me there are three things I could not discuss at work with co-workers or customers. The three topics were sex, religion and politics. It was a simple rule some people find hard to follow this time of year. All around us the airwaves are filled with political ads that will not end until this time next year. On the roads, political candidate signs seem to be breeding at an alarming rate. Your shop must be a politic-free zone for customers and employees.
Viewpoint: Are Vehicle Service Contracts Worth the Trouble?
I would cringe when a customer would pull out a vehicle service contract or extended warranty contract when I was at the service counter. I could just feel a pain in my right ear flare up as I knew I would be on the phone for a long time getting approvals and dealing with representatives that did not know a dipstick from a donut.
Viewpoint: Dealership Stickers Steering Drivers to Dealers
I have been seeing a lot more of these stickers on new cars. It just drives home the point that the new car dealer is becoming your competition. This “propaganda” affixed under the hoods of every new car sold reinforces the false belief among some consumers that independent shops can’t service late-model vehicles because they are too complicated.
Viewpoint: What is the Price of Your Shop When You Retire?
I started my automotive career in the suburbs of Detroit. Woodward Avenue to me was more than a place to cruise, it was a source of income.
VIEWPOINT: Not Me! When reality and responsility confront eachother…
In the newspaper comics section, there is a strip called Family Circus. Either you hate the strip for its sappiness and blunt humor that cuts like a dull butter knife, or you love it for its simple wit. Either way, you probably will wind up reading the strip out of spite or curiosity, it is like a gwaking at a car crash.
VIEWPOINT: The Carpocalypse: What does it mean to shops?
Last month, I had a chance to attend a panel discussion at Northwood University in Midland, MI, titled “Reinventing the Wheel.” The panel featured the usual analysts and industry experts, but it also had a new car dealer and an executive vice president of a major aftermarket parts program group. The event was held in conjunction with the Northwood University International Auto Show.
ViewPoint: Pass the Salt: Can Anti-Icing Brines Damage Vehicles?
Last month, I received a phone call from a reader wondering if the sales of brake tubing (Bundy tubing) were increasing due to corrosion caused by new road de-icing chemicals. Also, Hyundai this month announced that they are recalling more than 1.7 million 1999-2004 Sonatas and XGs because corrosion is causing the lower control arm
Viewpoint: Good Enough?
I was talking to Jim Currier of Jim & Sons Transmission in Cuyahoga Falls, OH, and he said something that stuck in my head. I was commenting on how clean his shop was and how it looked better than some dealerships in the area. Jim said, “It has to be this way. After all, I