80% In 2019, the percentage of e-commerce purchases (by dollar volume) that was picked up at a retail location as opposed to delivered to a home. NPD Group 98.5% In 2019, the share of global light vehicles…
By Zara Wishloff The reputation of aftermarket parts has taken quite a tumble. There was a time, in the early decades of the automotive industry, when aftermarket parts were seen as the quality alternative to cheap and poorly manufactured…
By Jeff Mowatt If you’ve ever experienced the awkwardness of having to call a customer to remind them to pay their bill, you know that you have to walk a very fine line of diplomacy. Being a pushover won’t…
14,890 Number of automotive repair and maintenance shops in Canada in 2018. The majority (9,441 shops) had fewer than five employees; 5,442 shops had five to 99 employees. There were seven commercial shops with more than 100 employees. A…
By Allan Haberman It is somewhat ironic that as technology advances, we’re seeing more electric vehicles on our roads. Ironic because some of the first cars built were electric… and it was precisely the new technology of the day that…
By Allan Janssen California-based technical trainer Mike Cleary was all set to come to Vancouver for a Powerstroke Diesel class in the last week of March. The technical class had been scheduled for months, and a good turnout was expected.…
By Allan Janssen Should a vehicle’s coolant reservoir be under lock and key? Bobby Bassett says there’s an argument to be made for such an extreme measure. Bassett, the North American national training manager for Gates Automotive Aftermarket, told participants…
Midas technician Moe LeBlanc in Moncton, N.B., found this picture-perfect bird’s nest under the hood of a 2006 Dodge Ram that came in with a coolant leak. The customer, who drives the truck every day, couldn’t believe it hadn’t…
By Peter Bulmer We conducted a straw poll recently to find out what lessons people are taking away from the extraordinary circumstances we’re all facing this year. I’ve learned… …to maintain a wide array of services…
By Bob Greenwood Everyone is aware that vehicle technology and business trends are moving forward at a constant pace. Things are changing so fast, in fact, that many automotive repair shops have had to devise strategies to help them keep…
11.8 years Average age of U.S. cars and light trucks on the road in 2019. IHS Markit 9.71 years Average age of Canadian cars and light trucks on the road in 2017 (most recent data). AIA Outlook Study…
Automotive retailers that are not tied to dealerships have a built-in advantage when it comes to attracting younger customers. Repeated surveys have shown that millennials – those born between 1981 and 2000 – are less suspicious of smaller shops than…