Experian Automotive today announced that new vehicle registration volumes for light-duty vehicles reached the highest point in the past nine years. During the rolling year from Nov. 1, 2014, through Oct. 31, 2015, there were more than 17 million new vehicles registered within the United States — a metric that hasn’t been achieved since 2006. […]
Houston Digital Releases Production Scheduling Tool
Houston Digital Corporation announced the release of its Q-Scheduler production scheduling tool for collision repair facilities. “For years the collision repair industry has been in need of ‘Tetris’ style scheduling to enable collision repair facilities to effectively schedule their work by class or job size. Since every job is different we wanted to take the […]
Premiere Services Adds Refurbished Electronics
Premiere Services, the provider of audio electronics to the insurance industry and collision repair facilities, has announced that it now has in-house capabilities to refurbish and rebuild damaged mobile electronics components. The damaged equipment is pulled from the vehicle, Premiere Services issues a FedEx pick-up and the components are refurbished, tested and certified. They are […]
ASE, AYES, NATEF Announce 2016 Boards and Officers
The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) announced the officers for its Board of Directors for 2016, and elected new additions to its Board of Governors. The new Chair is Mike Durkin, General Director, Retail Dealer Channel, GM Customer Care & Aftersales for General Motors, Grand Blanc, MI. Jeff Walker, Owner, Walker’s Automotive Service […]
ASE Honors 46 Technicians at Annual Meeting
Forty-six automotive professionals were recognized on November 18, at the Fall Board of Governors meeting of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) held at Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona. The annual awards banquet spotlights top scorers on the ASE Certification Tests. Thirty-six different companies from both OEM and Aftermarket segments sponsored the […]
Career Technical Education Associations Applaud Every Student Succeeds Act
The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) and the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) applauded Congress and President Obama on the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), a law reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which includes Career Technical Education (CTE) as a core […]
Canada – Fix Auto Adds Location in British Columbia
Peter Polito, General Manager, Fix Auto Western Canada, announced the addition of Fix Auto Pemberton, British Columbia, to the network, effective December 8. Tim Watt, owner-operator of Fix Auto Pemberton is a seasoned collision repair professional with 29 years of experience in the industry and 4 years as a shop owner. He explains that Fix […]
Australia – AMA Group Completes Gemini Acquisition
The AMA Group Limited announced that it has finalized the acquisition of Gemini Accident Repair Centres Pty. Ltd. that was announced in September. Gemini has 40 collision repair centers across Australia and one in New Zealand. With the addition of Gemini’s collision repair centers located across Australasia AMA will have a national footprint of in […]
State Farm’s Market Realignment Impact on Collision Repair Labor Rates
When State Farm announced earlier this year it would realign the local markets it uses to establish labor rates it said the effort might impact prevailing competitive prices paid to collision repair centers. We surveyed repairers to gauge the impact on labor rates and allowances. In July, State Farm announced it was realigning its traditional […]
IIHS Awards 48 Vehicles with Crash Prevention Systems as Top Safety Pick+
The 48 winners of the “plus” award have a superior- or advanced-rated front crash prevention system with automatic braking capabilities. One vehicle has a base price of just $16,000. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) announced that nearly 50 vehicles meet the tougher criteria for 2016 to take home the IIHS’ TOP SAFETY PICK+ […]