Blog Archives




 
First 1 2 Next » Last

  • Opportunity Knocks
    By Jacques Gordon - Friday January 6, 2012
    Just got our first real cold weather here in the mid-Atlantic area; lots of dead batteries and hard-start cold issues, so most shops around here are pretty busy this week. Of course, most of those cars haven’t been to a shop for a while, and experienced techs know now’s the time to check for other items that have been neglected too long. Low tire pressure is almost universal, but rusted caliper slides, muddy coolant, ancient air filters, useless wiper blades and nasty brake fluid are pretty common too. Unless the manufacturer recommends it (and many imports do), it’s kind of hard to sell a brake fluid flush without showing the customer some kind of empirical proof that it’s needed. I know techs who use test strips...

  • Favorite Tool
    By Jacques Gordon - Tuesday December 6, 2011
      One of the questions I usually ask when talking with readers is ‘What’s your favorite tool?’ One day a reader asked me the same question. I don’t really work on cars that much these days (motorcycles are a different story), but ever since I got it the tool I’ve reached for most often is a 3/8-drive Snap-on ratchet that I bought back in the ‘80s. Tool F732A has an 11-inch handle that’s bent at a slight angle near the end. It has a flex head but the flex joint is pretty stiff, so it tends to stay where ever I put it. With the head folded all the way back, the handle’s shape and smooth finish make it a great one-handed speed wrench. I was surprised to see it’s still in the catalog thirty years after I bought it, and not...

  • Still the Big Show
    By Jacques Gordon - Friday November 11, 2011
    Tradeshows in Las Vegas are always big, but in this industry there’s nothing bigger than AAPEX and SEMA. Like the New York International Auto Show, where automakers introduce new models, AAPEX is where new products for the automotive service industry are unveiled. Usually new tools and equipment are brought to market as soon as they’re ready, because you need them now, so most of the tools we see at the show are familiar. Some are updates or evolutions of familiar tools, but a few are genuinely new. There are usually a few game changers too, the kind that makes you wonder why nobody thought of it before. For instance, this year I saw a laser that paints a green line on the floor between the posts of a lift. When you pull a car in...

  • CARS/NACE in Orlando
    By Jacques Gordon - Monday October 31, 2011
    The Automotive Service Association (ASA) held their annual trade show in Orlando this year. It’s actually two shows, the International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE) and the congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS). I’ve been going to CARS since 1998 to take advantage of some of the best training the industry has to offer, and this year was no exception. However, all this time these were two separate events in two different hotels in Las Vegas, presented the same week as the AAPEX and SEMA shows, so I’ve never seen NACE before. I’m impressed by the science and technology involved in collision repair. A growing number of vehicles are being built with mild steel, high-strength steel and aluminum all on the same...

  • OEs in R2R
    By Jacques Gordon - Wednesday October 12, 2011
    In Massachusetts, House bill H102 and Senate bill S104 describe proposed Right to Repair legislation. A brief Internet search returns dozens of articles and news items about who is supporting proposed R2R legislation, but outside of a few Web forums, I've found no news about opposition to the proposal. There is language in both bills that I think would at least give the auto manufacturers reason comment. They might even make a public show of helping to craft this legislation, if for no other reason than to avoid looking like the bad guys in this so called “battle.” But where are they? Why have the auto manufacturers not even commented about R2R?

Events

More
Register
Click here to Register for VehicleServicePros.com
No Thanks