At the Collision Industry Conference held Jan. 13-15 in Palm Springs, Calif., there was a robust panel discussion on industry issues and things that keep people up at night. Represented on the panel were insurers, repairers, suppliers and trainers. One...

I just got back from the I-CAR 30th Annual Industry Conference in Washington, D.C., and better words I have never heard aimed at those repairers who are choosing to not convert to low-VOC basecoats until they're forced to: "When you initiate...

Have you heard of this Megabus.com ? It's the new low-cost daily express bus service in the U.S. I heard on the radio the other day that it has grown by 150 to 200 percent over the last year! I guess this is more evidence that people are changing...

Remember when I wrote about seeing a GEICO banner being dragged by a plane while driving down I-77 north to Cleveland? It had the GEICO caveman on it, but at first glance I thought it was Bob Marley. Well, yesterday I had a second sighting, only this...

Seen in a very bad part of downtown Cleveland, Ohio yesterday: a shabby yellow van with handwritten letters all over it (and I mean, in every square inch available on both sides of the van) advertising "spot repairs" for vehicles.

I saw some interesting statistics from Allstate in a recent article (click HERE to read) about the insurer's efforts to keep A.B. 297 in Nevada from passing. The bill would prevent insurance companies from acquiring or opening collision repair facilities...

It's a question I occasionally get from a reader: "How do I get on a DRP? Every insurer I ask has the same reply: 'Sorry, we're not looking for any more shops at this time, but shall we have a need in the future we will contact you.'"...

Several members of the Coalition for Collision Repair Excellence (CCRE) have written me recently to express their displeasure in my January 2009 Editor's Notes, "Let's Be Real, Folks" (click HERE to read). It appears as though they interpreted...

I was at a Lake Erie Monsters American Hockey League game the other night when I noticed the name of a local body shop on the zamboni: Miracle Auto Body. Nice marketing move! For whatever reason, people are fascinated by the zamboni as it moves around...

BodyShop Business recently conducted a poll to determine what repairers' outlook is for 2009. Here are the results: Was your business in 2008 better, equal to or worse than it was in 2007? Better: 36.6% Worse: 36.6% Equal to: 26.7% Do you expect that...

Once again, the holidays have come this year gift wrapped by many examples of collision repair shops giving back to their community and to those in need. Even though the industry has come a long way in improving its image, thanks in part to the National...

I saw an article the other day about how to "parent" a teenager through his or her first collision, and I thought that this could be a great way for a shop to market itself. Why not hold a class at the shop for parents and their teenagers to...

Talk about a bad example. I attended the Collision Industry Conference at NACE last week and took great interest in a panel discussion on steering. One of the insurance company representatives said that not explaining to a policyholder the benefits of...

Collision repair facility owners have to be increasingly creative to compete in a gutted market. Take what Barbara Morgan is doing at her shop in Palm Bay, Fla. Morgan, who bought the 30-year-old Nissen's CARSTAR Autobody Shop in January, has installed...

Quote of the day from a story in the Kansas City Star on how the economic crisis may drive up car and home insurance rates because the Wall Street goings-on have negatively impacted insurance companies. The quote was from Robert Hartwig, chief economist...