Collision industry veteran talks about his new book on the history of the collision repair industry in the U.S.
Gary Ledoux, who retired last year after a long career with American Honda, announced the launch of his new book, YesterWreck: The History of the Collision Repair Industry in America earlier this year. The book’s 13 chapters and over 850 pages, together with approximately 60 photos and illustrations cover over 100 years of automotive history with the emphasis on the collision repair side of the business.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each book go to support the Chuck Sulkala NABC Appreciation Scholarship Fund at the Collision Repair Education Foundation.
In our video interview below, Ledoux explains his reasons for wanting to write about the history of the industry, the process he used to research the book and some of the interesting items he learned about the industry through his work.
The book is available in two versions – a limited-edition, hard-cover version that is numbered and signed by Ledoux or a paper-back version.
YesterWreck can be ordered only through Ledoux’s website.
Each chapter covers a decade of the people, events and technology that helped move the industry forward – from the earliest brush-on automotive finishes in the 1920’s, to the advent of the first auto body associations and industry periodicals in the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. The book covers the creation of such industry mainstays as NACE, CIC and SCRS in the 1980’s, the explosion of the computer age in the 1990’s and how it affected shops, to the now-infamous John Eagle decision of October 2017.