Nearly 42 million Americans will take a holiday road trip this Thanksgiving, an increase of 0.7 percent over last year. AAA Travel is forecasts 46.9 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday, a 0.6 percent increase over the 46.6 million people who traveled last year and the most […]
ABRA Expands in Missouri and Illinois
ABRA Auto Body & Glass expanded in both Missouri and Illinois with the opening of a new repair center in Maryland Heights, Mo. and the acquisition of West Loop Auto Body’s two collision repair facilities in Chicago, Illinois. The company now has 10 locations in Missouri and 42 in Illinois. With the announcements ABRA’s nationwide […]
Honda Asks for Independent Repairer’s Help Identifying Vehicles with Airbag Recalls
American Honda Motor Co, Inc. is reaching out to independent mechanical repair and collision repair shops to help identify vehicles with faulty airbags subject to recall and communicate with customers. If an independent repair facility identifies a vehicle that may need to have a recalled airbag igniter replaced, American Honda is asking repairers to let […]
GEICO Names Nancy Pierce Senior Vice President
Nancy Pierce has been named senior vice president of GEICO. She will continue to have general management responsibilities for GEICO’s mid-Atlantic regional operations in Fredericksburg and Virginia Beach, Va. Pierce will also oversee the company’s commercial and motorcycle operations. “We’re fortunate to have someone with the tremendous depth and variety of experience that Nancy brings […]
CARSTAR Announces CEO Departure as Part of Senior Leadership Reorganization
CARSTAR has reorganized its leadership and reporting structures following its sale to Driven Brand by Roark Capital. Last week, Jose Costa, Group President, of Driven Brands Paint & Collision Division, announced in an email the departure of CARSTAR CEO David Byers as part of the reorganization of the collision repair facility franchisor. CARSTAR was acquired […]
Wholesale Used Truck Prices Up Over 8% in October versus 2014
While cars and crossover prices declined compared to last year, used truck price increases more than offset the declines overall. According to ADESA Analytical Services’ monthly analysis of Wholesale Used Vehicle Prices, October average wholesale prices were driven up largely by increases in truck prices. Still, wholesale values were solid in most model year and […]
OEM Interior Parts Supplier Fined $2.35 Million for Price Fixing
INOAC Corp. has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $2.35 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids on certain plastic interior trim automotive parts installed in Toyota cars sold to U.S. consumers. According to the felony charge filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court of […]
MEMA, AASA Fight Back Against Online Counterfeit Parts
The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) is urging the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to stem the tide of counterfeit motor vehicle parts flooding the Internet by listing certain sites known to traffic in counterfeit goods on its annual Notorious Market Report. “Online sales of counterfeit parts are a growing problem for […]
Car-Part Pro Adds Part Images
Collision repairers and auto insurers can now see images of actual parts available from vehicle recyclers while shopping in the Car-Part Pro marketplace and in the newly redesigned Car-Part Pro app. Jeff Schroder, CEO of Car-Part.com, made the announcements recently at the Car-Part Industry Conference, “The addition of Part Images is a big step in […]
Lift Institute Certification Event Expands Inspector Ranks
More Than 70 Inspectors Perform 833 Lift Inspections on Path Toward ALI Certification Nearly 100 people worked toward Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) Lift Inspector Certification during the “Five Days to Victory” event held on the Cheyenne Campus of the College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas Nov. 1-5. The event, sponsored by ALI member manufacturers […]