After years away, NACE and CARS are coming back to the collision repair calendar, but not as the trade show many in the industry remember.
On Sept. 29, the Automotive Service Association (ASA) will host the NACE/CARS Leadership Conference at the Hilton Palacio del Rio along the San Antonio Riverwalk, co-located with the CIECA CONNEX conference. The day is built around four topic-focused breakout sessions. Each is repeated across two rotating time blocks in two rooms, so shop owners can catch every session over the course of the day, in place of the trade-show floor and lecture halls NACE used to be known for.
The relaunch comes as independent shops navigate a difficult stretch: rising parts costs relative to labor, growing pressure from insurance negotiations, and expanding competition from OEM-certified and consolidator networks. ASA leaders say the new format is meant to help independent operators work through those problems together, rather than sit through another round of lectures.
Why the Old NACE Format Stopped Working
Scott Benavidez, ASA's immediate past chairman, remembers NACE from decades ago as "the glitz and glamor show" — the place to see the newest equipment and tools "that was going to help your business." His father went specifically to find the next new welder or spot welder. "When you came back, you are going to be better off for going to NACE."
That changed once the internet made new equipment just a search away, Benavidez said. Now it's a matter of putting different stuff in “our mental toolbox," he said, and learning to run the front office more efficiently and adapt the business itself, especially as independent shops compete with OEM networks.
Giving Vendors More Than Five Minutes
The idea for the new format grew out of Benavidez and ASA Chairman Dan Stander's own frustration with how vendors are sometimes stationed at a booth and given only a few minutes of attention between sessions at conferences.
"We wanted to bring the vendors into the room so they have more time with us, and we have more time with them," Benavidez said. "It's 2026. It's time to move it on to a different deal."
Stander, who came to NACE later in its run, said he was drawn to the show for the hands-on experience of testing new equipment in person, which is something no website replicates. But he agreed the old convention model had grown strained industrywide, pointing to tightening vendor budgets and sponsorship dollars stretched across too many competing events.
A New Event Built Specifically for Independent Shops
ASA has run its MSO Symposium for 15 years, and leaders acknowledged that event's focus has skewed toward larger, consolidated operations, which is a gap NACE/CARS is meant to help close. Independent shops, they said, are often wrestling with different problems entirely: calibration costs, insurance disputes and day-to-day cash flow, rather than the private-equity conversations that dominate MSO-focused events.
The published schedule reflects that focus: two concurrent breakout rooms run all day, with each topic repeated in a second time block so no one has to pick just one session and miss the rest.
The day's underlying philosophy carries ASA's "SPARK" framework (shorthand for Safe Profitable Automotive Repair Knowledge). Coined by Benavidez, the concept holds that repairing a vehicle the right way, following full OEM procedure rather than cutting corners, is what actually protects a shop's bottom line. ASA has already begun releasing a series of SPARK-branded educational videos built around that idea.
"The vehicles have changed. The repair process has changed," Stander said. "We're fixing fewer cars in some ways, but there's a lot more going on with those cars."
He pointed to advanced driver-assistance systems, more complex OEM repair procedures, growing documentation requirements, and mounting profitability pressure as the forces reshaping the industry. "We're probably seeing more shops struggle or go out of business because the industry has changed so rapidly," he said.
The Agenda: Four Topics, Twice Each
The day opens at 8 a.m. with "Automotive Service Industry Outlook: The Future of Independent Shops," a panel featuring Kristen Felder of Collision Hub, ASA Washington, D.C. lobbyist Bob Redding, and invited shop owners.
Two rounds of breakout sessions follow, each repeated twice so attendees can catch both topics. Bob Kennedy of WESCO Group leads "Talent, Payroll, Profit: The New Formula for Collision Repair Growth," while Nicholas Walker, collision market manager for American Honda Motor Co., leads "Honda and the Collision Industry: Correct, Complete and Safe Repairs."
After a networking lunch, the same format repeats: Hunter Engineering's David Agnew and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute's Loren Stowe co-present "Active Safety Development & Regulation," an overview of the forces shaping ADAS policy, while 3M's Jason Scharton leads "Material Planning," on materials selection and profitability.
The day closes with a keynote from John Wilson of CBL Consulting — "AI Under the Hood: Understanding and Using AI as a Business Force Multiplier" — followed by a wrap-up and evening reception at 5 p.m.
Registration Details and Pricing
NACE/CARS runs Tuesday, Sept. 29, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., opening with registration and a continental breakfast. Registration is $395 for ASA members and $495 for non-members, and includes the full day's sessions, breakfast, lunch and the closing reception.
Benavidez said he's confident the new format will pay off. "We really are excited to see how it's going to play out.”
