Agenda pairs a pending airbag-parts regulation and a windshield calibration-disclosure bill with an enforcement case study built on a bandit-towing scheme. The California Bureau of Automotive Repair will convene its Advisory Group on July 30 for a session that puts several regulatory, legislative and enforcement matters affecting collision repair facilities before the panel, including a […]
ASA Relaunches NACE/CARS as One-Day Interactive Event in San Antonio
The Automotive Service Association is relaunching its NACE and CARS events as a single, one-day gathering Sept. 29 at the Hilton Palacio del Rio in San Antonio, Texas, reviving a national event brand and rebuilding it around small-group problem-solving rather than a trade-show floor. The rebooted International Autobody Congress and Exposition and Congress of Automotive […]
ServiceUp Launches Agentic AI Platform to Automate Fleet Vehicle Repair
ServiceUp has launched an agentic repair platform that deploys artificial intelligence agents to automate the fleet vehicle repair process from intake and shop routing through estimate approval, invoice validation and real-time monitoring. The system covers collision, mechanical and preventive maintenance work for Class 1 through Class 8 vehicles. The platform inserts an automated coordination layer […]
Kemper Names Eric Kappler President of Property and Casualty
Kemper Corporation named Eric Kappler executive vice president and president of property and casualty, effective July 30, placing a two-decade veteran of the non-standard auto market atop its unified P&C organization. Kappler will lead the company’s specialty personal and commercial vehicle lines along with P&C claims operations. He reports to Stephen J. McAnena, who became […]
Distribution Solutions Group to Go Private in $35 Per Share Deal with LKCM Headwater
Distribution Solutions Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSGR) announced July 16 that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement under which newly formed entities controlled by LKCM Headwater Investments, LLC will acquire all outstanding shares of DSG common stock not already owned by LKCM Headwater and its affiliates for $35 per share in cash, taking the […]
Deadline July 31 for I-CAR’s Russ Verona and Jeff Silver Awards Nominations
I-CAR is accepting nominations through July 31 for its two highest annual honors, the Russ Verona Award for Gold Class shop excellence and the Jeff Silver Award for Platinum individual achievement, with winners to be recognized at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The awards recognize a collision repair business and an individual who have […]
University of the Aftermarket Foundation Recognizes 133 Volunteer Scholarship Reviewers
The University of the Aftermarket Foundation (UAF) recognized the 133 aftermarket professionals who volunteered to review and evaluate scholarship applications for the 2026-27 academic year. The reviewer corps grew from the 118 volunteers the foundation thanked last June, an increase of 15. The foundation is now in the process of awarding hundreds of scholarships to […]
Consumer Sentiment Climbs to Five-Month High in Preliminary July Reading
Index remains below year-ago levels. Consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in five months in the preliminary July 2026 reading from the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, as a recent easing in gasoline prices lifted households for a second straight month. The Index of Consumer Sentiment climbed to 54.4 from 49.5 in June, […]
Brandon Eckenrode Steps Down as Collision Repair Education Foundation Executive Director
Board working with staff on leadership transition. The Collision Repair Education Foundation announced July 17 that Brandon Eckenrode has stepped down as executive director. Eckenrode led the foundation since August 2021 when he was named managing director. He was promoted to executive director in June 2023. He joined the foundation in 2009 as associate director […]
Florida Auto Body Association Schedules Three-City Series on Pay Plans and Technician Retention
The Florida Auto Body Association will take a single session on labor costs, compensation and technician retention to three Florida markets in late August, with Bob Kennedy of Wesco Group as the featured speaker. The events run Aug. 25 in Jacksonville, Aug. 26 in Winter Haven and Aug. 27 in Clearwater, each built around the […]