AAMCO Unveils Eco-Green Initiative to Promote Cleaner Running Cars and Centers
Transmission service center chain, AAMCO, recently introduced Eco-Green Auto Service Certification, a new program designed to protect the environment, reduce vehicle emissions and promote alternative fuels among the thousands of motorists AAMCO serves annually. Eco-Green Auto Service Certification will be awarded to qualifying AAMCO centers across America based on a stringent set of criteria that reduces the centers’ environmental footprint, while giving AAMCO customers a new range of services that cut emissions, improve mileage and reduce the hazardous waste associated with owning and maintaining their vehicles. The certification is the first of its type in the automotive aftermarket industry.
Penray’s Brian Strach Awarded Technology & Maintenance Council’s Highest Honor
Brian Strach, OEM sales and account manager for the Power Fleet Division at Penray, recently received the Silver Spark Plug Award from the Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) of the American Trucking Associations. Strach was presented the award during TMC’s recent fall meeting in Nashville, TN. The award is the highest honor given by TMC, North America’s premier technical society for truck equipment, information technology and logistics professionals.
From Counterman.com: Fuel Surcharges – How Much Will Customers Pay?
Since the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s, sharp increases in fuel prices have become a fact of life for most Americans. Like it or not, rising fuel prices affect every sector of American business, including automotive parts distribution. Most of us who fix cars for a living understand that even a minor increase in the cost of oil diffuses throughout our economic structure and increases the cost of every function of modern society, from fueling our automobiles to manufacturing plastics used in shopping bags and other articles of everyday life. Of course, that doesn’t mean we’re happy about it.
OBITUARY: Eight-Time Indy 500 Starter Freeland Dies at 82
Don Freeland, an eight-time starter in the Indianapolis 500 from 1953-60 and the third-place finisher in 1956, died Nov. 2 in San Diego after a period of declining health. He was 82. Freeland had perhaps his best Indianapolis 500 run in 1955, when transmission failure robbed him of finishing second only 22 laps from the end. He also finished seventh in 1954 and 1958.
CAWA Board of Directors Elect Officers for 2008
LAS VEGAS — At its annual meeting to kick off the 2007 Industry Week in Las Vegas, the CAWA Board of Directors elected the following individuals to serve as officers for 2008: • Chair of the Board – Pat Winters, CARQUEST of California; • Vice Chair of the Board – David Finley, NAPA Auto and
From Counterman.com: Why Buy Direct?
The phrase “buying direct” conjures up all sort of feelings in the aftermarket, both for repair shops and distributors. For me, those words bring to mind a primal desire to “cut out the middleman” and participate in the world of “deep discounts.” Wow, wouldn’t it be great to bump profit margins from resale parts from an average of 30 percent to more than 50 percent? Or wouldn’t it be even better to increase car count by undercutting our competitors by 10 percent on parts-intensive repairs like undercar or air conditioning services? The short answer is that if every small, independent automotive repair shop in the United States could “buy direct,” the playing field would be leveled and the service market would remain very much as it is now. But the question remains: Is there any advantage to buying direct?
Car Care Council Women’s Board Announces 2007 Automotive Communications Award Recipients
LAS VEGAS – The Car Care Council Women’s Board (WB) announced the recipients of the 2007 Automotive Communications Awards (ACA). The winners were honored during the Women’s Board reception, which took place Tues., Oct. 30, at the Sands Expo Center during AAPEX. The Automotive Communications Awards are sponsored by the Women’s Board and supported by
The Evolution of Aftermarket Product Lines: Where We Are Today and How We Got Here
The complexities of today’s aftermarket product lines challenge every distributor and manufacturer. How did we get to this point and how will the future of domestic and off-shore sourcing shape tomorrow’s aftermarket? This week, in a five-part series, Dave Caracci writes about new dynamics in the ever-changing supplier/distributor relationship.
First Woman Elected as Secretary to the CAWA Board of Directors
From CAWA Industry Bits The California/Nevada Automotive Wholesalers’ Association (CAWA) has announced that Mary Davis of NGK Spark Plugs has been elected as secretary to the CAWA board of directors for 2008. She has served on the association’s Manufacturers Advisory Council and board of directors for the past three years. Davis represents the first woman
Panel to Discuss ‘IT/IS and Business Unit: Friends or Foes?’ at MIS Council Fall Conference
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC — A panel of motor vehicle parts manufacturer IT experts will discuss “IT/IS and Business Units: Friends or Foes?” at the MIS Council Fall Conference on Monday, Oct. 15, at the Marco Island Marriott Resort, Marco Island, FL. The conference is slated for Sunday, Oct. 14-Tuesday, Oct. 16. Panelists include Judy