After more than 40 years owning and operating Valentine Auto Body, Ken Valentine has retired, entrusting the business to close friend and fellow auto expert Rodney Cissell. 

U.S. House of Representatives leaders on Jan. 25 unveiled a bill aimed at increasing U.S. competitiveness with China and supporting the U.S. chip industry, including $52 billion to subsidize semiconductor manufacturing and research.

Tesla’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 earnings saw the company post its most impressive quarter yet.

Firefighters from Antioch, IL, and about two dozen neighboring departments had to battle both subzero temperatures and a raging inferno at a used car dealership early Jan. 26 in Lake Villa, IL.

Lorain County JVS collision repair students in Oberlin, OH, are getting ahead of the game in their career tech field thanks to the NAPA Auto Parts Elyria, OH, store. 

With Wreck Check Appraisal licensed and serving the state of North Carolina, consumers now have a dedicated team of hard-working collision and diminished value experts in their corner.

Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley said the Detroit automaker is committed to delivering 600,000 all-electric vehicles within the next 22 months.

Hertz told Teslarati in a statement it cannot currently share delivery figures but it did confirm it is “actively receiving deliveries for both our retail and Uber rental fleet and have availability in several markets throughout the country as part of our phased national rollout.”

An article from Axios points out a phenomenon we’ve been noticing for a while: car dealerships in America are becoming like dealerships in Europe.

A fast-growing large chain of collision repair centers is planning to open a store on the east edge of Mankato, MN.

New-vehicle sales in January are expected to reach 1.01 million units, a drop of 8.9% compared to January 2021, according to a forecast released Jan. 26 by Cox Automotive.

The percentage of vehicle owners using the app of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) continues to increase year over year with 38% of respondents indicating they use the app at least half of the time they drive, according to the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. OEM ICE Benchmark Study, released Jan. 25.

Crash Champions, LLC, one of the nation’s fastest growing independent collision repair companies, announced Jan. 26 it has acquired a collision repair center in Colorado Springs, CO.

Kia has now disabled its proprietary telematics system on vehicles sold in Massachusetts to comply with the state’s stringent right-to-repair laws.

The Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association (WMABA) has rescheduled its Annual Member Meeting and Dinner for March 24.

Service King announced Jan. 25 it has hired Peter Hunt as its new chief financial officer (CFO).

A Baldwin Hills, CA, man pleaded guilty Jan. 20 to a federal criminal charge for conning victims nationwide into giving him their high-end and exotic vehicles with bogus promises he would find other people to take over their car leases.

While subscription services are becoming ubiquitous, until now, there has never been a subscription model that enables consumers to maintain one of their most expensive investments: their automobile.

The National EV Charging Initiative, launched in August to guide the deployment of a national charging ecosystem, held the National EV Charging Summit in January.

Car owners can now look for the CARFAX Lifetime Dealer badge to know which dealerships provide full access to CARFAX products whether they're buying, servicing or trading-in their used car. 

Axalta, a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, on Jan. 25 announced its commitment to an absolute reduction of 50% of certain greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, on its way to becoming carbon neutral in its operations by 2040---one decade ahead of the deadline set by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Above, we have a breaking video walkaround from Cybertruck Owners Club of what appears to be the updated Tesla Cybertruck alpha prototype at Giga Austin.

Tesla’s original factory in Fremont, CA, was the most productive auto plant in North America in 2021, according to a Bloomberg analysis of production data from more than 70 production facilities.

General Motors Co. announced Jan. 25 an investment of more than $7 billion in four Michigan manufacturing sites, creating 4,000 new jobs and retaining 1,000, and significantly increasing battery cell and electric truck manufacturing capacity.

The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) is hosting a free webinar for service technicians at 4 p.m. ET Feb. 1 entitled “Plastic Repair---It's Not Just for Bumpers.”

If your Ford brake lights won't turn off, a recall may help if you own specific vehicles in certain states.

The Collision Industry Foundation (CIF) is delighted to announce AirPro Diagnostics committed to participate again in the CIF Annual Donor Program.

Nominations for the 2022 SEMA Hall of Fame class are open at www.sema.org/hof.

Crash Champions, LLC, one of the nation’s fastest growing independent collision repair companies, announced Jan. 25 it has grown its presence in Florida with the acquisition of Salemi’s Body Shop, a single shop located at 1602 N Armenia Ave., Tampa, FL 33607.

A budding auto body technician will walk away from this year’s NORTHEAST^® Automotive Services Show with $5,000 worth of tools or equipment as the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) plans to present the Second Annual Young Technician Award at NORTHEAST 2022.

Panasonic will invest as much as $705 million on new production facilities in Japan as it plans to build Tesla’s new 4680 battery cell as early as 2023, new reports said.

General Motors Co aims to launch an algorithm-based auto insurance plan by the end of the first quarter in some U.S. states that charges policyholders based on their driving performance, a company executive said in an interview.

CAWA announced the application is open for its 2022 scholarships, now through March 31.

Axalta Coating Systems on Jan. 24 announced Dr. Keith Silverman is joining Axalta as senior vice president and chief operations and supply chain officer, effective immediately.

It is no secret the U.S. auto industry is struggling with low inventory due to chip shortages and supply chain issues.

Brightway Insurance, a national insurance agency franchisor, is the only insurance franchisor and one of only 40 brands Franchise Times recognized on its eighth annual Fast and Serious list of the smartest-growing franchises in the U.S.

Crash Champions, LLC, one of the nation’s fastest growing independent collision repair companies, announced Jan. 24 it has entered the New Hampshire market through the acquisition of Gate City Collision Centers.

California's 2022 legislative session has begun and bills are starting to be introduced. 

Want to know how to have the most productive release or production meeting possible?

The price to buy a new or used car is increasing at a faster rate than the average wage growth in the nation, a study said.

Tesla Insurance has officially gone live in Arizona and Ohio, becoming the fourth and fifth states to have access to the company’s in-house coverage program.

An employee at Tesla’s Fremont Factory in Northern California collapsed and died Jan. 19 while working on a powertrain line.

General Motors announced Jan. 21 plans to invest nearly $154 million in its Western New York Lockport Components plant.

The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) announced West Palm Beach, FL, and Colorado auto dealer Michael E. Maroone is the recipient of the 2022 David F. Mungenast Lifetime Achievement Award.

Twelve aspiring collision repair students from across the region met at Professionals Auto Body in Altoona, PA, for the SkillsUSA District 7 Skill and Leadership Championships.

With 2021 now in the rearview mirror, the collision repair industry is catching its breath after a year of sprinting that saw extraordinary acquisition activity.

New Jersey has enacted an insurance bad faith statute that will penalize insurers for certain types of conduct in handling claims for uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage as the result of auto accidents.

“See something, say something.”

Did you know you can read all five regional editions of Autobody News before they appear in print?

U.S. District Judge William Orrick said he was inclined to deny Tesla’s request for a new trial on the racism case brought against it by ex-employee Owen Diaz if the former Tesla worker agrees to a reduction in damages, reported Bloomberg.