Collisionology.

One of the biggest topics making waves in our industry right now is Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS.) These systems include all the sensors and cameras that detect obstacles near a vehicle and warn the driver to prevent them from getting in an accident.

While ADAS is helping keep drivers safer than ever before, it also adds a lot of complexity to the vehicle repair process. 

The Rotary and Chief booth at the NADA Expo and ATD Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center may resemble a trip to Paris more than a trip to a trade conference, thanks to the brands’ new augmented reality (AR) art gallery installation.

The Vehicle Service Group (VSG) brands will leverage experiential AR technology to provide customers a deeper engagement opportunity with a wide range of products, from vehicle lifts to wheel service products and collision repair equipment, expanding beyond what can be physically showcased in expo booth #2586C on March 23-25. 

2018 will definitely bring about change. But what exactly can we look forward to? Still no flying cars like we were promised or hover boards for that matter. Thanks a lot Marty Mcfly!  However, we had a few questions burning at our souls, so we tried our best to answer them. 

We work hard to keep you up on latest trends, tactics and equipement so your shop can run tip top. We undersatnd some blogs work better for you than others, so based on your enagement, here are the Top 5 from 2017.

We can’t predict the future. If we could, you’d find us studying racehorses and Wall Street stocks instead of talking about how the ever-evolving insurance industry could affect repair shops in the future. But that’s what we’re here to discuss. And it’s worthy of a moment of your time.

Though OEM certification can be expensive, it can cost you more in lost revenue to ignore those certifications. We’ve talked about the many pros and few cons of certifications in the past. But it’s time to look at the certification situation with fresh eyes, because OEMs and insurers are both taking another look at how important certifications are to repairs.

For OEMs, it makes sense to push repair shops that are certified on their makes and models. After all, those certifications are a large source of revenue for them. Every shop that goes through certification is money in their pockets.

In September 2017, Global Market Insights (GMI) released a study on the automotive collision repair market. As the company’s name might suggest, the study incorporated data and predictions for repair markets around the globe. When you look at those numbers, they were fairly positive. Between today and 2022, GMI predicted close to 20% growth for the global industry.

SEMA’s just around the corner. In fact, it’s almost time to start packing. We want you to have the best time possible, so we’ve made a list of things to do before you jump onto a plane to Vegas. Follow these guidelines to get your trip started on the right foot. Or left. It doesn’t matter, because you’re going to be using both of your feet quite a bit while you’re there.

For more than a century, Pittsburgh provided the majority of our nation’s steel. Many people still think of the city as a steel powerhouse, but those folks probably haven’t been to Pittsburgh in the last few decades. Today, the smelters and mills that once lined the city’s riverfronts have been replaced with vast entertainment complexes and sports facilities. Education, Healthcare and Finance are all now bigger than steel.

Think about your hometown, how many businesses are related to automotive? Most areas, even rural communities, have multiple mechanical repair shops. Now think about how many body shops there are; that number probably dropped significantly. Take it one step further, how many of those repair facilities are equipped to handle heavy duty vehicles. That number is pretty small, almost microscopic in the industry. However, think about how many heavy duty vehicles you see each day. School/transit buses, semi’s and dump trucks, more than likely you are passing several on your daily commute. Those type of vehicles are on the road, and there is a high demand for repair.