Blog Archives




 

  • Business change initiatives
    By David A. Kolman - Monday April 29, 2013
      As part of my job, I do a lot of flying. While waiting at airports and on aircraft, I read books - the hard or soft cover kind. On a recent flight, I read the book, Selfish Altruism: Managing & Executing Successful Change Initiatives . Written by change management consultant Moe Glenner, it examines the often-ignored human element in business change initiatives and offers advice on using personal motivation to produce lasting results. “If we define altruism as ‘for the greater good’ and selfish as ‘me first,’ then even a selfish act can be altruistic,” Glenner says. “Even though an employee could be facilitating a change for a higher salary (selfish), it will benefit the organization (altruistic). “Intent is...

  • Wrench bragging rights
    By David A. Kolman - Monday April 22, 2013
    Technicians enjoy talking about their toolboxes and the amount and diversity of tools they have. Inevitably, such discussions turn into contests to see who has the largest toolbox or the largest collection of tools. Now, there could be a new contest, thanks to Channellock, which has introduced its largest, most powerful wrench: the Channellock 30" 830 Adjustable Wrench. Established 127 years ago, Channellock is a worldwide leader in manufacturing high-quality pliers and hand tools. The new "big boy" Channellock 830 wrench, which complements the company's existing adjustable wrench line, is a full 6" longer than the previous offering and has as a jaw capacity up to 3". The 830 is 1.5" thick, 6.3" wide and has a 12-lb steel...

  • J.C. Penney’s failed gamble with Apple CEO; a lesson for the automotive aftermarket?
    By Elliot Maras - Tuesday April 16, 2013
    All of us are living in challenging times, and if you feel frustrated by your inability to master the diverse skills needed in what was once a fairly cut and dried business like automotive repair, take solace in knowing you are not alone. Last week, J.C. Penney dismissed its CEO, Ron Johnson, whom it lured away from Apple in 2011 with the hope that he could do for the general merchandise giant what he did for the specialty retailer. If you haven’t been following this story, the long and short of it is that a management superstar was clearly unable his replicate success in another marketplace. In fairness to J.C. Penney, board members at the time noted that Apple’s model wouldn't translate completely to J.C. Penney's stores, but they...

  • Is your shop ready for the future?
    By David A. Kolman - Monday April 15, 2013
      One of the many worthwhile presentations that took place during the recent SOLD (Service Opportunities and Learning Day) was Next Generation Vehicle Opportunities . Covered in this session was what the vehicle service shop of the future might look like, and what shop owners and managers should be planning and implementing now to be ready for future business. SOLD was held the day prior to the opening of this year's Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW) - North America's largest gathering of the independent heavy duty aftermarket. Darry W. Stuart, president and CEO of DWS Fleet Management Services Group, an independent service company providing leadership, organization, negotiation, purchasing and vehicle specifications and...

  • Why bother to keep a clean shop?
    By Craig Truglia - Wednesday April 10, 2013
    Would you go to a doctor's office with blood splatters on the wall? Would you feel comfortable with the dentist working with his Bahamas t-shirt on when it is hot out? Then, why do so many of us work in dark, dirty and disorganized shops? When I see pictures of brand new shops, I am amazed at the photos that show how clean some of them are. Granted, they are doing a photo shoot, so they are on their best behavior. Even yet, I can never make my shop that clean. I have a normal three-bay garage in a suburb of New York City. I don't have those shiny floors that resist dirt. Yet, people still compliment me on my shop's cleanliness. I think my region has low expectations for these things. Nevertheless, people can tell when you do the...

  • Technical jargon keeps on growing
    By David A. Kolman - Monday April 8, 2013
      One of the many things I enjoy about attending trade shows is learning about new and evolving technology. To be sure, trucks and equipment are getting smarter. Servicing and driving vehicles is getting easier thanks to technology. Another certainty is that along with the evolution of new technology comes new jargon. Our vocabulary now includes such things as ROM (read only memory), CDMA (code division multiple access), LED (Light Emitting Diode), SMT (surface mounted technology), ITS (Intelligent Transportation systems), ECM (electronic control module), DCE (data circuit terminating equipment) and RTS (request to send). While at the recent Mid-America Trucking Show, I heard a piece of technical jargon for the very first time...

  • Car connectivity, the next big thing, challenges the aftermarket
    By Elliot Maras - Friday April 5, 2013
    Global Information Inc., a research firm, recently released a report claiming that the connected car will be the "next big thing" for the automotive industry. Future generations of cars and devices will rely more on cloud-based, back-end systems for content, information, and services, turning the car as we know it into a huge data repository, opening new avenues of business opportunities for service industries and content providers. (To access this report, click here .) The research notes that network carriers like AT&T have identified the automotive market as the next growth area, given the penetration of smart phones. AT&T recently signed an agreement to provide connectivity across most of the 2015 fleets for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC...

  • How did this wheel get this way?
    By Craig Truglia - Thursday April 4, 2013
    How did this wheel get this way? Yes, a saw was involved, but we didn't cut this rim into pieces for the heck of it. The real cause is that someone did not torque the lug nuts on this wheel that was on a Mercedes E320. Two of the nuts broke in the hub. Because Mercedes lug nuts also double as wheel studs, the rim was locked in place. We tried drilling the studs, but the bits were not able to reach far enough into the rim to drill a thick enough hole. The repair? We had to get a whole new steering knuckle, pads and a caliper installed after removing the old ones backwards and sawing the old rim off. What would you do if you ran into a similar situation?  

  • Light duty "bead to bead" retread tires offer fleets an alternative
    By Craig Truglia - Monday April 1, 2013
    My experience with retread tires is fairly extensive, as I used to put them on post office trucks. To be honest, those vehicles never had a single issue on the road. Retread tires "will perform as well as the best major brand new tires, with an adjustment rate as low, and often lower, than that of virgin tires," according to  Harvey Brodsky, managing director, Retread Tire Association (RTA). ( www.retreadtire.org ) "During a visit to a retread plant, I said to the plant manager that I'd bet him that their adjustment rate for their retreads was under 1 percent," Brodsky said. "He said I'd lose the bet because their adjustment rate was under 1/2 percent. New tire manufacturers can only dream of having an adjustment rate that low." I...

  • Toyota dealer held liable for damages: Aftermarket must recognize changing car use habits
    By Elliot Maras - Friday March 29, 2013
    This week’s news that a Toyota dealer was ordered to pay $15.7 million in damages to an accident victim for poor maintenance drew record interest among VehicleServicePros readers. The ruling, which was announced five years after the accident occurred, demonstrates the critical public safety role that the automotive aftermarket plays in society. In this situation, an automotive dealer was held responsible for the safety of the vehicle. The automotive aftermarket has a good track record for maintaining vehicle safety. Given the sheer number of aftermarket repair shops in the country, the fact that these incidents are so rare speaks to the aftermarket industry’s high level of competence. But one issue that the aftermarket must pay...

Events

More