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Recent Columns
- Solving the Tech Shortage: How Conditions, Culture & Compensation Can Help Body Shops Attract & Retain Employees
- From the Desk of Mike Anderson: Reflecting on My Journey in the Collision Repair Industry
- In Reverse: The 1980s – The Advent of the Unibody
- Best Body Shops’ Tips: How to Position Your Collision Repair Shop for Sustainability
- In Reverse: Collision Repair Shops “ARM” Themselves
Truck Topics: Truck ADAS Systems – the Good, the Bad & the Ugly
Written by Gary Ledoux
Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), a computer-aided means of keeping a vehicle in its lane and preventing or mitigating collisions, is a relatively new concept in the automotive world and even newer for the trucking world.
As I-CAR celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, we thought it only fitting to provide some insight into the organization’s natal beginnings.
Solving the Tech Shortage: CREF Brings Together Collision Repair Students & Prospective Employers
Written by Stacey PhillipsJust over a decade ago, there were approximately 1,400 high school and college collision repair programs in the United States, according to Brandon Eckenrode, director of development for the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF).
Are We Going To Let Insurance Companies ‘Total’ Our Industry?
Written by Joe Henry, ACT Auto Staffing
Joe Henry, owner of ACT Auto Staffing and former body shop owner, sent us the below comments in response to Stacey Phillips’ “Solving the Tech Shortage” column, which invited additional input from the collision industry on the technician shortage. The column was published in the March 2019 edition of Autobody News.
The Best Body Shops’ Tips: Best Practices When Interpreting & Documenting Scan Data, Trouble Codes & Calibrations
Written by Stacey PhillipsToday’s vehicles and those manufactured over the last two decades contain a wealth of electronic information that can help shops effectively and efficiently perform a proper repair, according to Chuck Olsen, executive director of AirPro Diagnostics.
New Car Technology Benefits Drivers, But How Does It Affect Body Shops?
Written by Ed Attanasio
I was talking to a group of body shop owners the other day at a trade association meeting, and one said, "I'm not in the repair business anymore; I'm in the computer business!
People have been repairing collision-damaged trucks since August Fruehauf stuck a trailer behind a Ford Model T in 1914 to create the first semi-trailer rig.
In the song “Takin' Care of Business” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive, the band offers their prescribed formula for rock star success: "Get a second-hand guitar, chances are you'll go far if you get in with the right bunch of fellows."
From the Desk of Mike Anderson: Industry Misses 2 Important Aspects of John Eagle Collision Case
Written by Mike AndersonIn the 18 months since a Texas couple was awarded $42 million by a jury who found a dealership body shop had improperly repaired the vehicle in which the couple was injured in a subsequent accident, I’ve probably been asked about the case at least 20 times a week.
Truck Topics: Truck Vs. Auto Collision Repair – An Overview
Written by Gary Ledoux
Truck Topics is a new series of articles seen periodically in Autobody News that is dedicated to the collision side of the heavy duty truck market.
We see them all the time---semi trucks, trailers, buses, RVs, dump trucks and other pieces of heavy equipment wrecked in what had to be a horrendous crash.
More...
In Reverse: The 1970s - Part 1 - The Collision Industry Starts to Mature
Written by Gary Ledoux
If the 1940s and 1950s marked the industry’s earliest “modern” beginnings and the 1960s signified the industry’s “grammar school” years, the 1970s could be seen as its teenage years.
Make it a Game
In the popular 1980s book "The Game of Work," author Charles Coonradt wrote, “People will pay for the privilege of working harder than they will work when they are paid.”
It’s that time of the year again (sixth year in a row) for the article that all of you in the collision world have been waiting for—Kool Tools of SEMA 2018.
Day Job/Night Job: Mike's Auto Body Estimator Chases Fame as Stand-up Comic
Written by Ed Attanasio
Ron Bello, an up-and-coming stand-up comedian, has been working as an estimator at Mike’s Auto Body in Fairfield, CA, since November 2018.