Ford Motor Company has released a one-page job aid for Ford and Lincoln vehicles that identifies advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) components, their approximate locations and the repair events that require calibration, alignment or initialization. The chart is available for download from OEM1Stop.com. The job aid ties several calibration routines to the removal and reinstallation […]
Belron Acquires AGC’s Vehicle Glass Businesses in Poland and Czech Republic
Belron, the vehicle glass repair and replacement group that owns Safelite, said Sept. 30 it has completed the acquisition of its franchise businesses in Poland and the Czech Republic from AGC Inc., the global glass and materials company. Financial terms were not disclosed. The two businesses, which AGC operated as Belron franchisees, total 52 branches. […]
Speedy Glass USA Joins SkillBridge Program to Train Transitioning Service Members as Auto Glass Technicians
Speedy Glass USA, the U.S. auto glass brand owned by Fix Network, has joined the Department of War SkillBridge program, offering active-duty service members four- or six-month on-the-job training as auto glass technicians during their final 180 days of military service. The partnership opens a military recruiting channel for a trade in which windshield replacement […]
Quality Collision Group Promotes Mario Sano to Lead Eastern Operations
Quality Collision Group (QCG) has promoted Mario Sano to executive vice president of operations – East, placing the brands in the McKinney, Texas-based consolidator’s nine-state Eastern Division under a single executive. QCG operates more than 100 OEM-certified collision repair facilities in 13 states. The promotion follows QCG’s Sept. 21 appointment of Nino Sgro as executive […]
CrashBay Adds Sabrina Thring as Investor, Adviser
CrashBay said Sabrina Thring, former president of Driven Brands Collision Group, has invested her own capital in the company and joined it as a strategic adviser as it works to scale its programs for insurance carriers, fleets and collision repair facilities. The company did not disclose the size of the investment. Thring is the second […]
Washington State Fines USAA and Allstate a Combined $230,000 for Claim-Handling Violations
New auto claims-handling rules take effect Oct. 18 Washington state Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer has fined USAA Casualty Insurance Co. $140,000 and Allstate Vehicle and Property Insurance Co. $90,000 for claim-handling violations, including USAA total loss settlements that left out sales tax or fees on 254 claims. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) announced […]
Vehicle Thefts Fall 21% in First Half of 2026 as Every State Posts Decline
Vehicle thefts in the United States fell 21% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, with all 50 states recording year-over-year decreases, according to a mid-year analysis released Sept. 30 by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). A total of 268,415 vehicles were reported stolen to law enforcement during […]
ASE Connects Opens Quarterly Service Snapshot Survey to Benchmark Shop Performance
ASE Connects, the workforce platform owned by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), said Sept. 30 it will collect benchmarking data from automotive, diesel and collision shops and dealerships Oct. 1-15 through its latest Quarterly Service Snapshot, an anonymous survey covering customer labor rates, revenue growth, appointment lead time and technician demand. The […]
The Hartford Names Mo Tooker CEO as Christopher Swift Moves to Executive Chair
The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE: HIG) board of directors has named President A. Morris “Mo” Tooker the insurer’s next CEO, succeeding Christopher Swift, who will become executive chair of the board. Both appointments take effect March 1, 2027. Tooker will join the board Oct. 1, 2026. Swift, who has been CEO for nearly 13 years […]
Consumer Sentiment Falls 7% in Final September Reading as Tariff and Gas-Price Worries Climb
Final figure up from the preliminary results but remains nearly 13% below a year ago as higher borrowing costs weigh on vehicle buying conditions. Consumer sentiment fell 7.0% in September in the final reading from the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, with the Index of Consumer Sentiment at 48.1, down from 51.7 in August […]