August 12, 2010

• CRL Collision Owner Files For Bankruptcy - EL PASO, Texas -- KFOX has learned a local business owner accused of ripping off customers has filed personal bankruptcy.
• The people behind I-CAR’s Professional Development Program by Christopher Sheehy - I-CAR has done a lousy job of giving recognition to the founders of I-CAR’s newly introduced roll-based training program (Professional Development Program) – here’s who should have received credit for getting this conceptualized and first-executed.
• FinishMaster says 2Q profits down slightly - Indianapolis-based FinishMaster is steadily overcoming the challenging market conditions that continued to prevail in the collision repair industry.
• Keystone Automotive Operations, Inc. Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2010 Results - "We are pleased to report our second consecutive quarter of higher year-over-year sales as well as a year-over-year increase in gross margin, both of which we believe are a reflection of continued market share gains and an enhanced focus on product mix and marketing activities," said Ed Orzetti, Chief Executive Officer of Keystone Automotive Operations, Inc.
• SADIF Analytics rates LKQ Corporation as an above average quality company with a neutral outlook - SADIF-Investment Analytics has applied its StockMarks™ stock-rating system to LKQ Corporation and produced a report, rating the company’s attractiveness to long-term investors.
• DuPont Performance Coatings Offers Three New Marketing Courses to Drive Work to the Repair Center’s Door - DuPont Performance Coatings’ (DPC) customers can now attend any of three new marketing courses specially designed to target four key audiences — consumers, insurers, fleets and dealers. These courses are offered as part of the DuPont Performance Services (DPS) educational series. 
• ASA Members Eligible for Discount on On-Hold Advertising Programs - On-Hold Concepts Offers Multiple Discounts to ASA Members
• Kelly McDonald to deliver diverse keynote at NACE opening - Marketing expert Kelly McDonald will present the keynote address at the Automotive Service & Repair Week (ASRW) Opening General Session, from 8:30–10am on Monday, Oct. 11, 2010, followed immediately by the opening of the NACE and CARS show floor.
• ROLAGS Committee to Meet During NACE Expo - glassBYTEs™: The Repair of Laminated Auto Glass Standard (ROLAGS) committee has announced it will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, October 13. The meeting will be held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in the Reef B meeting room during the NACE Expo.
• GE offers repair financing through Maaco, Meinke - GE Money, the consumer lending unit of General Electric Co. and Driven Brands announced a new multi-year agreement to offer consumer financing for auto repairs, maintenance and cosmetic makeovers through Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting, Meineke Car Care Center and Econo Lube N’ Tune locations nationwide.
• Web-Est Publishes a New Article on Search Engine Marketing - Web-Est released an article for auto body shops looking to develop more of a presence on the internet. Encouraging them to look at search engine marketing, Web-Est believes thats one of the best ways to develop an online marketing campaign for shops.
• RepairPal Launches Free Android App - New Version Provides Access to All Major Functionality on the Fastest Growing Mobile Platform
• Business of the Week: Shaver’s Body Shop - Mulenberg County, KY - Drivers have been trusting Shaver’s Body Shop for their auto-body repair needs since 1986. 
• Flooded car mechanic in Clive is spared a second day of mud - When Sam Acheson arrived at his auto repair business early Monday morning, a layer of mud covered all 35,000 square feet of the shop floor and offices. - Today, the auto body shop is in action again.
• Auto restoration company opens in Bellingham - A longtime local family has opened an auto restoration company in Bellingham.
• Car wash benefits Whitman DARE - Maryellen Rollins, marketing manager at Distinctive Auto Body said,  “[The fundraiser] went well.” 
• Snap-on CEO lauds company’s new vision - Nick Pinchuk, who took over in late 2007, has refined and expanded on Elliott’s vision by reorganizing the company to better meet that ideal, speaking of what the company sells in almost ethereal terms.
• Bob Weaver Chevrolet acquires Pritz Auto franchise rights - Pottsville auto dealer Bob Weaver has taken over the automaker brand franchise rights previously owned by Pritz Auto, Minersville.
• Jerry and Kate: A Forbes Love Story - The following remembrance of Jerry Flint, the longtime Forbes auto writer who died Aug. 7, is from his wife Kate McLeod:
• Southern Automotive Women’s Forum sets conference - Nissan’s vice president for manufacturing, Susan Brennan, is leading the new women’s automotive group with a conference set Thursday in Nashville. More than 120 people from across the South — and as far away as Arizona — are registered.
• Tesla Motors: The Next Auto Giant in the Making? - A Tesla Roadster is electrically charged at Tesla Motors in San Carlos, California July 22, 2009. Electric cars are one of several alternative fuel vehicles that could help the U.S. reduce its dependency on oil.
• U.S. Review of Toyota Recorders Finds No New Defects - A key element of the U.S. government’s investigation of Toyota Motor Corp electronic throttles and other systems found no defects beyond what is known to explain crashes blamed on unintended acceleration, the Transportation Department said Tuesday.
• Honda Recalls 383,000 Vehicles - Honda Motor Co. has announced that it would recall 383,000 vehicles sold in the U.S. in order to fix a faulty ignition system that is turning the engine off without being placed in park. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the fault increases the possibility for the vehicles to roll away.
• Car fire errupts hours after repair job, family issues warning - Asking a mechanic to cut corners may be dangerous
• Auto body training in Va. prison - It’s greasy, hot and cramped — no surprise given it’s an auto body shop.
• Car drives through Rowland Heights auto shop, kills mechanic - A mechanic was killed Tuesday after he was hit by a car that drove through an auto repair shop. -- The car’s passenger sustained minor injuries in the 2:34 p.m. incident at Honest Auto Repairs, 1100 S. Nogales St.
• Auto part dispute leads to beating - MD: A man, apparently upset that repairs to a part for his car were not finished, knocked out an employee of a Glen Burnie body shop Friday, county police said.
• Insurance Fraud Up Again: Inflated Bills, Staged Accidents Rampant - Smashed windshields, staged accidents, and suspicious fender-benders and vehicle fires might remain relatively common tactics for deceiving insurance companies—and might be more rampant in a down economy—but insurers are definitely catching on.
• Insurer Results Were Mixed Bag - Earnings were generally in line for the insurers in the second quarter, but there were a few causes for concern about the second half.
• Extreme Heat May Increase Vehicle Fire Threat - State Farm® advises motorists to inspect their vehicles during high heat.

August 10, 2010  

• U.S. Study Indicates Driver Error in Most Toyota Crashes - A government safety examination of Toyota vehicles involved in crashes attributed to sudden acceleration so far has not yielded evidence of flaws in Toyotas while pointing instead to driver error.
• Gunder’s Auto Center vs. State Farm - Legal Journey Continues
• I-CAR announces premiere of Collision Repair Process Overview course - This online training opportunity covers basic information about the collision repair process.
• Marketing expert to be NACE keynote speaker - Marketing expert Kelly McDonald will present the keynote address at the Automotive Service & Repair Week (ASRW) Opening General Session from 8:30-10a.m. Oct. 11 followed by the opening of the NACE and CARS show floor
• Halbrook Auto Body and Paint Puts Up Wind Turbine - What is that in the sky, is it a bird, is it a plane, no it is a wind turbine.
• Dover landmark closes its garage doors - For well over 100 years, the property that housed Dover Auto Body was always active with some sort of repair work.
• Skeletal VW body rebuilt into a car show beauty - Augusta, Kan. — About 40 years before Tyler Scott was born, Americans were in the midst of a German Beetle invasion.
• Mathews family enjoys destruction - It’s become an annual tradition for the Mathews family. -- Every summer, they reunite at the Stanislaus County Fair. They spend countless hours at the Central Valley Christian Academy automotive shop in Ceres leading up to the competition.
• New Rockville Auto Business Brings Unique Twist to Car Ownership in Montgomery County - “We Are Not Your Father’s Auto Body”
• Mechanics seek fair access to automakers’ repair codes - Marc Guttentag estimates about 10 percent of the vehicles that come through his Bradenton auto shop have to be turned over to a dealership for repair.
• Wider, Stronger Automotive Frame Machine - CJJ, Inc. Releases its Newest Auto Body Repair Equipment, the American Freedom GT - Allowing auto body shops to increase their productivity, by accepting heavier and wider vehicles, is the number one benefit of this new machine.
• Visteon 2Q loss grows on charges - Auto parts supplier Visteon Corp., which is working its way through bankruptcy, said Monday that its second-quarter loss widened due to charges for interest expenses and retirement benefits.
• Chrysler Still in Loss Territory - The struggle continues for Chrysler Group LLC having reported a net loss of $172 million for its second quarter ended June 30, 2010. However, an improvement in operating profit was instrumental in narrowing down the loss from the $197 million reported in the first quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Inventor still hopeful about foam car’s future - The 100-mile-per-gallon Spira may have lost its chance at a multimillion-dollar prize, but the Carrollton native behind the unique vehicle thinks it could be cruising the streets in the future.
• Floor Mat Leads Cops to Cell Phone Burglary Suspect - When you bring your car to the auto body shop, the white floor mat mechanics leave behind keeps your car clean. -- When that same mat is left behind at the scene of a crime, it means a mess of the legal sort for the person suspected of leaving it there.
• Auto Body Robbery Suspect Sought In Delaware - Delaware State Police are asking for the public’s help in catching a burglary suspect wanted for multiple incidents that have occurred at an auto body shop.
• Fighting fraud: Link between bogus insurance claims, recession is murky - Ed Langford sits low in the seat of his white pickup truck. His visor is pulled down. A video camera is cradled carefully in his hand.
• Would seatbelts on school buses increase children’s safety? - Two young people died in Missouri on Thursday after a pile up on a highway involving two school buses packed with teens, a tractor-trailer and a pickup truck. It all started with what was supposed to be a fun field trip to an amusement park for band members from a Missouri high school.
• Texas Officials Concerned About Auto Insurance Practices - The Texas insurance commissioner recently released a bulletin indicating his department’s concern that some insurers in the state may be directly or indirectly limiting policyholder’s coverage through violations of state insurance law.
• Hartford Exceeds, Profits Soar - The improved showing in Hartford was attributable to higher profits despite market volatility and higher-than-expected catastrophes.
• State Farm New Jersey seminars preach value of recycled parts - Today’s salvage parts facility is not your father’s junkyard, or even your older brother’s boneyard. In just a few short years the used-component industry has become increasingly sophisticated and is a significant sourcing alternative for collision repairers.

August 6, 2010

• Whiney Automotive sold to U.S. Auto Parts for $27.5 million - The 95-year-old Whitney Automotive Group, the Chicago-based auto-parts retailer best known for its J.C. Whitney brand, is being sold for $27.5 million to U.S. Auto Parts, a California online seller of aftermarket auto body and engine parts.
• Focus on the Priorities - AutobodyOnline: Five seconds after you sit down at your desk, the telephone rings. Then you notice "urgent" correspondence that someone has recently placed on your desk. Two minutes later, a colleague wants to see you for a few moments. And then you remember: you promised one of your best customers a price quotation by noon.
• NSF Response To CAPA Open Letter - NSF attempts to clarify their history, mission and position in automotive part certification.
• An Open Letter to Jack Gillis of the Certified Automotive Parts Association in response to his July 28th letter of attack on ABPA and its Board of Directors
• CAPA’s Jack Gillis Outlines Position On NSF Certification - An Open Letter to ABPA Members on Their Decision to Endorse and Fund a Part Certification Program Which Promises to Increase Market Share and Profits for Distributors and Manufacturers but Makes No Mention of Standards or Requirements
• Outsourcing May Lead to Failure in Tough Times and in Good, Shows University of Utah Research - In tough times, many companies slash staff and turn to outsourcing, yet that strategy may doom their products. And, in good times, as with Toyota, losing control over critical components can contribute to failure, according to a study
• AASP/NJ Taking Aim at Unlicensed Mobile Repairers in New Jersey - The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) is taking aim at mobile collision repair providers, who currently aren’t regulated under state law.
• IP Relay Scam Still Going Strong in Collision Repair Industry - The phone call, e-mail or fax may be a familiar one to body shops. It typically indicates that a person is out of town and needs a tow to the shop, and asks if the shop would agree to wire $1,500 or a similar amount to him or her to cover the tow because the towing company won’t take credit cards.
• Kadel’s acquires Nu-Way Body and Fender Works in Portland, Ore. - Kadel’s Auto Body now has a total of 13 locations throughout Oregon, Washington and Idaho. The new acquisition will help cover more of the Portland area, according to a company press release.
• I-CAR returns to ASRW with technology showcase and professional development event -  I-CAR, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, will return to Automotive Service Repair Week (ASRW) this year and offer an extended training schedule, including the premiere of an all-new I-CAR course, along with exciting events on the show floor throughout the week and interactive sessions with I-CAR experts.
• I-CAR joins the SEMA show 2010 with training opportunities and the TechPro World Tour - I-CAR, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, will exhibit at the SEMA Show November 2 – 5 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, as well as introduce the TechPro World Tour and several collision repair training opportunities.
• Open for Business - The Garvey Auto Group recently celebrated the re-opening of Garvey Auto Body, formally known as PSM Auto Body, in Queensbury. The newly renovated and renamed shop features environmentally friendly, state-of-the-art machines that can recycle paints, solvents, metals and special filters.
• Parts is Parts? Car Repair Tips - Overall, Consumer Reports’ auto editor Jim Travers says repair shop satisfaction surveys reveal that independents score highest.  This varies widely by car brand. 
• A Dream Come True for Sisters Teen - ’Make A Wish’ made a dream come true for a Sisters teen battling cancer. Car refurbished for free by Premier Auto Body, Tom Jones Motor Cars, Ace Hardware and Make A Wish.
• Getting reacquainted - When that "good friend" happens to be a green, 1967 Pontiac Beaumont, that you’ve had for the past 31 years, getting back together can mean a good deal of time in the shop and more than a few dollars.
• Heat is good business for auto repair shops - MARKED TREE, AR  – Another day of sweltering temperatures pass and another day passes where local auto repair shops report a boom in business.
• 3 Arizona auto repair shops recognized for going green - Three Arizona auto repair shops have recently been recognized by AAA Arizona and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality for going green.
• Web-Est Posts New Article Regarding Marketing an Auto Body Shop Online With Geo Locating  - Web-Est posts new article encouraging shops to consider marketing their business on the internet with various methods to achieve the desired results
• Pilkington Parent NSG Reports Improvements in North American AGR Market for First Quarter - glassBYTEs™: Pilkington Automotive parent company NSG Group has reported that the North American auto glass replacement market "continued to slowly improved from the previous challenging conditions" over the first quarter of 2010, according to NSG’s quarterly financial report released early today. The North American market comprised 22 percent of the company’s automotive sales.
• Chrysler, suppliers on solid ground - Chrysler Group LLC said it has a much healthier supply base than a year ago as it continues to ramp up production of a refreshed lineup of new vehicles.
• Jobs returning to auto sector - Industry to add 182K positions through 2012, analyst predicts
• Ford Motor Company Fund Awards $50,000 to American Indian College Fund -  The grant will be used to continue the Ford Motor Company Corporate Scholars Program for the 2010-11 academic year, which will provide scholarship support to Native American students attending tribal colleges and mainstream universities.
• Ford and Governors Highway Safety Association to Bring Driving Skills for Life Program to Washington State for First Time - Program to teach more than 400 teens hands-on safety training to address key teen crash problems
• Prison in Chesapeake offers a vehicle for rehabilitation - It’s greasy, hot and cramped - no surprise given it’s an auto body shop.
• Auto shop owner ordered to pay restitution - HONOLULU (AP) — The owner of an auto repair shop convicted of tax violations has been ordered to pay just under $100,000 in restitution.
• Police agencies raid Cedar Lake chop shop - Anonymous tipsters helped Cedar Lake Police bust an alleged vehicle chop shop operating out of All-1 Auto Body Repair Shop
• FBI’s Organized Crime Squad 8am visit - Organized crime investigators want to know what is going on at a South Philadelphia auto body shop.
• Insurance beefs down 16% in Ohio - Statistics from the Ohio Insurance Institute show that complaints about auto insurance have fallen 54 percent since 2002
• UPDATE: Allstate Profit Falls On Derivative Losses, Write-Downs - Allstate Corp, the largest publicly traded home and auto insurer in the U.S., said profit fell 63% as the company recorded investment losses on derivatives and wrote down the value of securities in its portfolio.
• USAA auto insurance ranks high - USAA scored 899 on a 1,000-point scale, beating out its next closest competitor, Amica Mutual, which racked up 849 points.

August 4, 2010

• The Plymouth Rock Group of Companies Selects Mitchell as Exclusive Provider of Physical Damage Claims Solutions - Leading insurers sign on to WorkCenter™ to reduce cycle time and increase customer satisfaction
• Ford Researchers Advancing Crash Avoidance Capability With Wireless Technology - Ford researchers are advancing vehicle safety with the development of new crash avoidance systems that use wireless vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications to detect and respond to imminent collisions
• Independent Glass Association Questions NICB Claims Report - glassBYTEs™: The Independent Glass Association (IGA) has issued a press release questioning a report released earlier this week by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB).
• Auto-repair act sputters, but backers to try again - An effort to boost competition in the auto-repair industry stalled in the House of Representatives, but supporters have vowed to bring back the bill when the Legislature reconvenes next year.
• California BAR Proposes Vehicle Retirement Changes - ASA: Bureau proposes retiring greater number of older, high-polluting vehicles
• Technology and Consolidation Is Transforming the Auto Insurance Supply Chain -  The North American collision repair industry spends an estimated $16B annually on parts to repair vehicles - and a rapidly increasing share of that (33% and rising) is for alternative parts (recycled, aftermarket and remanufactured) all of which are being consolidated in the hands of fewer and larger suppliers.
• Boyd Group Income Fund acquires True2Form Collision Repair Centers - Boyd Group Income Fund has acquired True2Form Collision Repair Centers, LLC, a US-based collision repair company.
• Krankin Vintage Restoration taking on it all - BC: Loving ‘wheels’ since boyhood prompted Randy Folk, owner of Krankin Vintage Restoration to live his life doing what he loves.
• The auto body man restored his life and does the same for cars - Russell Bailey works on the 1978 Ford Thunderbird a little at a time between fixing crashed cars. He is restoring the light teal car to its original condition for its owner, who had the car custom built by Ford Motor Co.
• Obituary: Jack R. Creveling - CASCADE — Army veteran and retired rural mail carrier Jack Ronald Creveling, 78, of Cascade, owner/operator of Creveling Auto Body and co-owner of Cascade Storage, died of natural causes Sunday at his home.
• Peoria auto-repair shops adopting greener practices - Vehicle-repair shops across the state that minimize pollution and conserve resources are increasing.
• Pittsburgh Glass Works (PGW) and Xinyi Automobile Parts (Wuhu) Co. Ltd. to Explore Joint Venture - glassBYTEs™: Pittsburgh Glass Works LLC (PGW) and Xinyi Automobile Parts (Wuhu) Co. Ltd. have entered into discussions about the possible formation of a joint venture company "or other cooperative effort," according to a press release issued by PGW today.
• Insurance Auto Auctions Launches Mobile Buyer Technology - Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc., the leading hybrid model salvage auto auction company and a wholly owned subsidiary of KAR Auction Services, Inc., today confirmed the compatibility of its I-bid Live® online bidding platform and its buyer facing technology, the IAA Auction Center, with Apple-based mobile technology.
• New Mitsubishi Compact Cross Crossover Sports Plastic Fenders - By replacing steel with this high-performance resin, Mitsubishi slashed weight by almost 50 percent and achieved a unique and highly complex geometry to differentiate the new vehicle's styling and improve pedestrian safety compliance.
• Auto X Prize's photo finish and $2.5 million software glitch - The Alternative Class came down to a photo finish for $2.5 million, with front-runner Edison2 and its Very Light Car disqualified at the very last minute because of a software glitch.
• How auto dealers cut back to keep from closing during the recession - If the dealership has on-site repair ability for the cars that they have previously sold, limiting the hours that the auto body shop is open is also a money-saving technique.
• Utah DOT Goes High-Tech with Pilot Program for Deer-Vehicle Collision Avoidance System - JAFA Technologies, Inc. and Austrian partner IPTE announced today that DeerDeter, a U.S. Joint Venture, participated in supporting deployment of a Pilot Program for Utah Department of Transportation.
• Auto insurers say ruling will raise rates - A Michigan Supreme Court opinion issued in the quiet of a Sunday night will have a voluminous impact on auto negligence law and possibly auto insurance rates for years to come.
• Big Brother" device leads to lower insurance premium - For years insurance companies have given safe drivers a discount on their auto insurance. -- That's not news. -- But what is news is that a handful of insurers will now give safe drivers an even bigger discount --- but with a catch.

August 2, 2010  

• 'Right to Repair' bill fails in Massachusetts - The latest effort in a decade-long effort to require automakers to turn over diagnostic and software information to auto repair shops and others failed this weekend.
• Mitchell Releases Latest Edition of Industry Trends Report - This edition's Quarterly Feature, "Are Hybrids as Green When it Comes to Their Claims Costs?" by Mitchell's Vice President of Industry Relations, Greg Horn, reveals startling new information about the claim costs of hybrid vehicles, which in recent years have become a much more common sight on the nation's highways and are appearing in collision repair shops more frequently.
• Gerber Collision acquires collision repair center in Nevada - The Boyd Group Inc. (the "Boyd Group") announced the opening of a new repair center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The repair center, previously known as Northwest Autobody & Paint, was recently acquired by the Boyd Group and now operates under the Gerber Collision & Glass trade name.
• Washington Auto Glass Shop Owner Charged with Overbilling Three Insurers Approximately $1.5 Million Over Four-Year Period - glassBYTEs™: A Washington auto glass shop owner has been charged with three counts of first-degree theft for allegedly billing State Farm Insurance, MetLife and Allstate a total of approximately $1.5 million between September 2005 and December 2009, according to Rich Roesler, a spokesperson for the Washington state insurance commissioner’s office.
• Two Massachusetts Auto Glass Bills Referred for Study Order -glassBYTEs™: Both H.B. 3680, which would prohibit third-party administrators from also providing auto glass services to an insurance company for which it bills, and H.B. 952, which would prohibit insurers from directing customers to specific auto glass companies for work, were introduced more than a year ago in early 2009.
• Nissan Donates $150,000 to Universal Technical Institute Foundation - Second Year to Fund 30 Scholarships and Offer Dealership Internship
• Letter to the Editor from Dave Gallerani: Cape Auto Body & Service - Call your State Rep for passage of the "Right to Repair" Bill
• Maine independent touts his business background - Shawn Moody opened an auto body shop as a high school student and grew it into what he says is the largest independent collision repair company in New England. -- Moody hopes to parlay his business success into a seat behind the governor's desk.
• Hailed-out Vehicles - A local body shop is busy fixing hail damage to vehicles, nearly two weeks after a bad hailstorm hit southwest North Dakota.
• Local business owners worry about changes in auto-inspection policy - NJ: Local auto repair shop owners and one car dealership manager are concerned with a decision by the state Motor Vehicle Commission to do away with mechanical checks and just do emissions inspections starting Sunday for privately owned cars.
• LKQ Corporation Posts Record 2010 Second Quarter Results - Revenue Grows 20%; Earnings Expand 33%  --  Aftermarket and Refurbished Parts Organic Revenue Increases 8.7%  --  Increases 2010 Outlook for EPS from Continuing Operations to $1.08 to  $1.14
• LKQ Corp President and CEO sells 171,458 Shares - President and CEO of LKQ Corp. Joseph M Holsten sells 171,458 shares of lkqx on 07/28/2010 at an average price of $21.01 a share.
• Audatex Examines the Impact of Lightweight Carbon Fiber on Next-Generation Vehicle Construction - Audatex Directions Summer 2010 Issue Highlights Audatex Synergy with Hollander Recycled Parts Inventory, Lean Six Sigma Practices at Leading Collision Repair Chain 
• Toyota Auto Body to restart construction - BALDWYN, Miss. - Auto Parts Manufacturing Mississippi, Inc., the U.S. operations of Toyota Auto Body Co., Ltd., will move forward with its plans to provide stamped parts, body weld parts and plastic parts to the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi plant at Blue Springs.
• Sonic Automotive, Inc. Reports 21% Vehicle Revenue Growth; Adjusted Continuing Ops Profit Up 41% Over Prior Year Quarter - Sonic Automotive, Inc., the nation's third-largest automotive retailer, today reported that 2010 second quarter adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $15.6 million, up 41% from adjusted earnings from continuing operations in the same prior year period.
• Ford Motor Company Completes Sale of Volvo to Geely - The total purchase price for Volvo and related assets set forth in the agreement signed in March 2010 was $1.8 billion, including a $200 million note and the balance in cash, with the cash portion subject to customary purchase price adjustments at closing.
• National Safety Council, Goodyear Partner to Make Ohio Roadways Safer - Goodyear will offer free enrollment in the NSC Alive at 25 Parent Program to its first 1,000 customers with teens in the family who purchase a complete set of tires at an Akron-area Goodyear Auto Service Center, beginning Aug. 1, 2010.
• Job Corps orientation, interviews August 13 - ONEIDA — Job Corps, administered by the U.S. Dept. of Labor, offers free career training for 16-24 year olds in auto mechanics, auto body repair, medical and business office, C.N.A., L.P.N., construction trades, culinary arts, security guard and more.
• Somerset body shop scraps second attempt at sales license - A local business withdrew for a second time its request for a license to sell used cars.
• Auto body worker admits fleeing scene of collision - A now-former employee of an auto body shop pleaded guilty yesterday to crashing into two customers' cars there and then leaving the scene.
• Raid on Tampa Medical Clinic Is Latest in War on Staged Crashes and Medical Fraud - Direct General provides key support to law enforcement in racketeering probe
• Extensive Auto Insurance Fraud Ring Broken Up - A Philadelphia man who admitted to orchestrating dozens of fake auto accident claims that cost insurance companies nearly $1.3-million in personal injury losses has been sentenced.
• Mitchell SmartAdvisor^TM Customer Advisory Council Discusses Medical Claims Leakage Technology Breakthroughs -  Mitchell International, Inc., a leading provider of information, workflow and performance management solutions to the Property & Casualty and claims and Collision Repair industries, today announced the successful conclusion of the second meeting of the Mitchell SmartAdvisor™ Customer Advisory Council (CAC).
• Pennsylvania Gov's idea to use highway cameras to identify uninsured drivers draws criticism - Driving without auto insurance? Gov. Ed Rendell wants to use highway cameras to find you.
• Auto Insurance Laws Get Tougher - The State of Texas put in place a plan that enables police officers and specified state users to instantaneously check whether or not an automobile is actually insured.
• Safe Auto cuts 47 jobs - Safe Auto Insurance Co. is cutting dozens of employees, largely from its calls centers, as it trims costs to adjust to weaker sales and changing customer habits.