News Briefs, speedy facts, and other quick bits of info

Welcome, ASA-Connecticut!

The Automotive Service Association (ASA) has announced a new affiliate: ASA-Connecticut.

Dan Risley, ASA’s president and executive director, in making the announcement, said: “We are extremely excited to welcome ASA-Connecticut – formerly known as the Connecticut Collision Repair Specialists – as our 16th affiliated association. This group of repairers represents the leadership in Connecticut and has a proven track record of working together with all the stakeholders in the industry. Their philosophy of collaboration mirrors ASA’s.”

Lisa Siembab, formerly executive director of Connecticut Collision Repair Specialists and now executive director of ASA-Connecticut, said: “ … With this affiliation, we will be able to offer our members even more value. I am also excited about uniting with our mechanical colleagues in ASA-Connecticut – this will bring more collaboration between our two segments.”
The addition of ASA-Connecticut comes soon after the addition of ASA-Indiana/Evansville as an ASA affiliate at the end of 2014.

Reserve Hotel Now for NACE, CARS

Hotel reservations can now be made for the International Autobody Congress & Exposition (NACE) and the Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) 2015 by going to the travel section of www.NACEexpo.com or www.CARSevent.com. Those sites will also provide additional event information.

Now is not too early to make reservations. NACE | CARS will be held July 22-25 at the COBO Center in Detroit.

The Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center will be the headquarters hotel for NACE | CARS 2015.There are nine additional hotels in the downtown area, with reserved blocks for the event, that offer a range of prices.

Many of the hotels are within walking distance of the COBO Center. Hotels a few blocks away will have shuttle service or visitors can take the Detroit People Mover, a monorail system that drops passengers off right at the COBO Center.

The very best rates have been negotiated at the 10 hotels in the downtown area and Travel Planners/OnPeak will manage those hotel blocks.

Foundation Seeks Industry Sponsors

The Collision Repair Education Foundation is seeking industry members to sponsor high school and/or college collision instructors to attend the NACE 2015 show in Detroit July 22-25.
Brandon Eckenrode, director of development, said the Foundation is seeking $1,500 per instructor to cover travel expenses, hotel stay, meals and event registration.
He said an instructor’s attendance will keep him or her current on collision industry topics, which can then be shared with students.

For more information, contact Eckenrode at Brandon.Eckenrode@ed-foundation.org or by calling (847) 463-5244.

MACS Clinic Slated May 29

The Mobile Air Conditioning Society (MACS) Worldwide and two of its members, Caterpillar and T/CCI, will host a CAT vehicle service and T/CCI climatic wind tunnel technology mobile A/C clinic. This diagnostics-centered training event for the heavy-duty and off-road vehicle A/C technician will take place on Friday, May 29, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. CDT at T/CCI’s climatic wind tunnel facility in Decatur, Ill.

For more information, go to www.macsw.org or call (215) 631-7020, Extension 306.

ASA Hosts Auto Industry Discussion On Technology, Telematics Issues

Attendees stress importance of collaboration.

ASA hosted a roundtable discussion in February concerning the impact of emerging technologies – including telematics – on all sectors of the automotive industry. Attending the meeting, which was held in Irving, Texas, were more than 60 individuals representing every segment of the automotive industry. Among attendees are representatives of independent service and repair shops, parts manufacturers, parts distributors, information providers and original equipment manufacturers.

ASA Chairman Elect Donny Seyfer, who called the meeting, said the dialogue started at the ASA-sponsored NACE and CARS Expo held last July in Detroit. “It’s important that we continue that conversation,” said Seyfer, “thus this meeting. And hopefully, the dialogue will continue, because these issues are obviously still evolving, and we believe communication is key.”

Seyfer said ASA is particularly interested in continuing the dialogue and working with aftermarket organizations and automakers to ensure independent automotive service and collision repair professionals continue to have access to the diagnostic and service information needed to repair today’s vehicles.

“Automakers recognize ASA’s leadership in facilitating this ongoing exchange between manufacturers and repair professionals,” said Wayne Weikel, director of state affairs for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. “Technology has made possible dramatic advancements in auto safety, dependability, clean-car innovation and fuel economy to benefit consumers, save lives and reduce environmental impact. At the same time, its adoption poses unique challenges across our industry.”

Ellen Glebermen, vice president and general counsel for Global Automakers, said: “Today’s meeting is the beginning of many discussions. Addressing the complex issues surrounding vehicle telematics is very important to ensure that the aftermarket continues to have access to the diagnostic and service information needed to repair today’s vehicles.”

AutoInc. Kicks Off Photo Contest

To help celebrate the redesign of AutoInc. that you’re seeing all throughout this issue, we thought it would be fun to have a photo contest promoting the best ASA member-shops in a variety of categories. We’ll feature the top three entries in each category in future issues of AutoInc. We’ll also feature some standouts on our Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/asashop. If you haven’t already liked our Facebook page, we invite you to do so and follow along with our contest. The first featured category is Best Waiting Area.

So, grab your digital cameras, smart phones (or even your old ‘point and shoot’) and click away! The deadline to submit entries for Best Waiting Area is April 27. Send your high-resolution photo (one entry per member-shop) to AIcontest@asashop.org with your shop name, contact name, member number, brief description of the picture, email and daytime phone. Entries must have complete contact information to qualify.

First-place winners in each category get some free copies of the magazine in which their picture is published plus other fun prizes. Look in the May/June issue of AutoInc. for the winning entries in the Best Waiting Area category!