The Supplemental Restraint System (SRS); or in GM jargon SIR (supplemental inflatable restraint system) uses more components than just airbags: modules, crash sensors, seat weight and position sensors, seat belt switches, warning lights and pre-tensioning devices are all used to protect and enhance the safety of the driver and passengers.

With Solo: A Star Wars Story releasing on May 25, the fans are getting treated to a plethora of geekdom in the form of memorabilia, interviews and grand scale activations. 

Nissan has upped the ante as well, revealing a Millennium Falcon-dressed Nissan Rogue for Star Wars aficionados to either pick apart or adore.

Temperatures are climbing, HVAC units are getting fired up and customers’ air conditioning complaints fill the warm air. Yes, A/C repair season is here. That time of year when suddenly car owners suddenly realize their cars are not cool enough.

Before you break out your A/C gauges and refrigerant recovery machines, there is some new technology that you may want to be aware of. An ALLDATA customer gave us this great example recently.

Maaco of Regina, Canada has undergone an extreme makeover, taking a shine to improving its customer service and business operations. Since the ’80s, the Maaco Collision chain of franchised service centers has been focused on lower-cost refinishing of cars as a business model. This changed for General Manager Joe Cardiff when he attended a car convention in Moose Jaw and sat in on a presentation by Leanne Jefferies, Vice President, Canadian Operations Assured Performance Network. Since then, Joe hasn’t been content with being a minor player in the major collision repair market.

Spring has sprung, and drivers across the nation are planning their summer roadtrips and vacations. They look forward to driving to far away mountains, lakes, and beaches just to enjoy the summer heat far from home. You’ll want your customers’ vehicles to be ready for these journeys before they head out, which could mean extra service work coming in for you. Of course, you also want them to have a great time once they’re out on the road.

The Mobile Air Conditioning Society (MACS) has been tracking refrigerant use by vehicle manufacturers for quite some time and, as expected for the 2018 model year, we have seen a few more manufacturers choose to change over a few or even all of their US offerings to use the new refrigerant HFO-1234yf.

Richard Kniesel opened his first collision shop in Citrus Heights, Calif., in 1968. It was an expansion of his mechanical repair business and the beginning of an enterprise that would touch customers and the surrounding community for the next 50 years and counting. In that time, Richard Sr. would pass on his commitment to excellence to his son Gary and grandson Brent, and expand the business, opening five more collision locations.

ELK GROVE, Calif. – Feb. 26, 2018 – ALLDATA, an AutoZone company, announced the promotion of Satwinder Mangat to President, ALLDATA. He was formerly General Manager, ALLDATA North America.

In his new role, Mangat is responsible for ALLDATA’s North American (U.S., Canada, and Mexico) and European operations, and is also a member of the AutoZone CEO Team. He reports to Tom Newbern, AutoZone Executive Vice President, Store Operations, Commercial, Loss Prevention and ALLDATA.

Cologne, Germany, 6 February 2018  – ALLDATA Europe GmbH, an affiliate of ALLDATA LLC, an AutoZone company, has signed a reseller agreement with Autologic Diagnostics Ltd. headquartered in Oxford, England. Autologic is a world leader in advanced aftermarket automotive diagnostics.

ELK GROVE, Calif., Sept. 26, 2017 – ALLDATA, an AutoZone company, announces its ‎newest technology platform that features extensive, integrated updates to ALLDATA Repair^® and ALLDATA Collision^®. One of those is the addition of Interactive Color Wiring Diagrams that give technicians the option to work with non-OE AND factory-direct wiring diagrams, functionality exclusive to ALLDATA. This integrated technology platform now offers customers:

ELK GROVE, Calif. – Feb. 26, 2018 – ALLDATA, an AutoZone company, recently expanded its diagnostic and repair hotline service, ALLDATA Tech-Assist^®. The company hired additional technicians at its Elk Grove headquarters and at new hotline call centers in Georgia and Texas.

Memphis, Tenn., – Aug. 7, 2017 – AutoZone^®  has been awarded a multi-year contract as the exclusive provider for automotive parts and supplies by Region 4 Education Service Center, Houston, TX. The agreement is available through the cooperative purchasing organization, National Intergovernmental Purchasing Alliance (National IPA™).

A growing issue shops face is the increasing cost of the research and documentation to certify they have repaired the car to OE specifications. AutoBodyNews.com has written an informative article about the surprising results in 2018’s first “Who Pays for What?” survey. It also quotes Mike Anderson of Collision Advice about his observations regarding how shop estimators and sales are directly impacted by today’s environment.

In the spirit of April Fools’ Day, four of our Tech Tips are true … and two are pranks. But which two? Find out by clicking each one to unlock the true Tech Tips, or the pranks.

The Car Care Council highlights two months during the year to focus attention on the importance of car care and preventative maintenance – National Car Care Month in April and Fall Car Care Month in October.

April is the optimum time to remind your customers to get their cars ready for spring driving, summer road trips, and to deal with any lingering issues they might have put off over the winter months.

For many of you this is old news. You’ve been programming modules to do the right thing at the right time for years. But for some of you, just disconnecting a battery gets you thinking, “What will this break?” Welcome to the world of relearning and reprogramming.

ELK GROVE, Calif. – Sept. 24, 2018 – PTEN (Professional Tool & Equipment News) magazine recently announced that ALLDATA, an AutoZone company, had won two 2018 PTEN Innovation Awards; one for ALLDATA Diagnostics in the Scan Tools category, and one for ALLDATA Collision Advantage in the Computers and Software category.

Windham Body Shop, located in New Albany, Miss., has gone through a few location changes but is currently housed in a 6,000-square-foot building that employs eight. In the past year, the shop has implemented new processes, including blueprinting.

Who ya gonna call? ALLDATA Tech-Assist^®. Especially now that ALLDATA has expanded its diagnostic and repair hotline service, hiring additional technicians at its Elk Grove headquarters and at new hotline call centers in Georgia and Texas.

One of the biggest trade shows in the automotive industry is right around the corner: SEMA 2018 is taking place October 30– November 2 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. With over 3,000 products in the New Products Showcase, educational seminars, product demonstrations, special events, and networking opportunities, the list of stuff to do is overwhelming. We’ve done the research and compiled a list of tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your SEMA experience.

As Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc throughout the Texas and Florida regions, they left a tremendous amount of destruction and debris in their wake—including nearly 1 million damaged or submerged cars, with Hurricane Harvey destroying between 300,000 to 500,000 vehicles and Hurricane Irma destroying another 200,000 to 400,000 vehicles.

U.S. used-vehicle sales will rise in 2018 on swelling off-lease returns, while new-vehicle volume will decline modestly, forecasters say.

Because dealerships typically generate bigger margins selling used vehicles than new ones, U.S. franchised dealers will be better positioned for the change than the manufacturers and suppliers of new vehicles.

Today, the number of screens people will interact with is more than at any other time in history. From smartphones to computers, and tablets, there is no shortage of technology for us to have to keep an eye on. However, there is one more medium adding another screen consumers have to pay attention to.

ALLDATA has added more than 300,000 non-OE interactive color wiring diagrams to its flagship automotive digital repair solutions, ALLDATA Repair^® and ALLDATA Collision^®. The addition of these non-OE interactive color wiring diagrams augments ALLDATA’s factory-direct wiring diagrams, and technicians can easily toggle between the two for comparison.

ALLDATA is very proud to announce that its newest bundle, ALLDATA Collision Advantage, won 1^st place for SEMA’s Best New Product Award, Collision Repair and Refinish Product category.

The racing checkerboard flooring at the ALLDATA booth turned out to be symbolic of the fast pace on the SEMA show floor. It’s no wonder the action was non-stop – there was more to talk about than ever before, including our new branding, “Automotive Intelligence.” What else was new?

Professionalism isn’t just a catch phrase at Foreign Affair; it’s a well-defined standard. Owner Robert McKenney defines professionalism as not only an expertise in your craft, but a thirst for advancing your skills.

In addition to all the excitement at the ALLDATA booth, there was a lot going on at SEMA. A lot. Here are some of our favorite “Best of” recap articles to give you a sense of its total auto immersion. 

There’s been considerable buzz about a $42 million verdict handed down on a Texas dealership body shop that didn’t follow OEM procedures for a roof repair on a 2010 Honda Fit.

ELK GROVE, Calif., Oct. 26, 2017 – ALLDATA, an AutoZone company, is marking its 11th year at the annual SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) exhibition with the launch of ALLDATA Diagnostics. This next-generation technology turns a tablet (Android, Windows 10, or iOS) into a powerful, professional scan tool – an industry first. It’s the only scan tool solution with ALLDATA Repair^® or ALLDATA Collision^® built in, which means that codes link directly to relevant OEM articles, as well as ALLDATA’s new interactive color wiring diagrams.

We’re excited to bring you another exclusive automotive repair software solution that will ensure your estimates are as complete as possible and OEM-accurate – the first time. ALLDATA Collision Advantage combines our best collision repair solutions – ALLDATA Collision^® and ALLDATA Estimate Integration. And it works with all three major estimating systems.

ALLDATA is marking its 11th year at the annual SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) exhibition with the launch of ALLDATA Diagnostics. This next-generation technology turns a tablet (Android, Windows 10, or iOS) into a powerful, professional scan tool – an industry first. It’s also the only scan tool solution with ALLDATA Repair^® or ALLDATA Collision^® built in, which means that codes link directly to relevant OEM articles, as well as ALLDATA’s new interactive color wiring diagrams.

On Thursday, July 27, ALLDATA partnered with Google’s Automotive Marketing team to provide a free one-hour webinar on “Best Online Marketing Practices” for automotive shops, presented by Google Product Specialist Matt Krystofik.

I would like to become a neurosurgeon. It looks like fun, and I hear it pays well. A simple online search reveals that, assuming half of my undergraduate works applies, I’m in for 6 years of school and 6 years of residency. For a few hundred thousand and a loss of 12 years of my current income, I’ll be ready to go – when I’m 62. It’s hard to imagine a break-even on this investment. And besides, I love automotive diagnostics almost as much as I think I would love neurosurgery.

Automotive technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, not just under the hood, but throughout the entire vehicle. Given this ‘Technical Tsunami,’ it’s difficult for collision repair technicians and estimators to spot and accurately assess the full extent of repairs needed if they don’t have the most up-to-date training.

For years, people have been writing about Millennials and their impending impact on the way dealerships do business but here’s a little news for you: the Millennial generation is now.

You want to work on your classic car, but you don’t have a good place to do it. There’s not enough space to work, or it’s too much noise and mess, or other cars need to come into the garage at night. Sound familiar?

ALLDATA Collision Advantage combines our best collision repair solutions – ALLDATA Collision® and Estimate Integration. And it works with all three major estimating systems.  

Recently ALLDATA had a chance to speak with Barry Burkholder to find out what makes his business thrive in a competitive market. The owner of Barry’s Paint Shop is a man with vision. His forward thinking involves utilizing the latest technology and educating his employees.

It’s mid-summer already – can you believe it? For folks across the country, including your customers, that means a road trip could be in the works. You want your customers’ vehicles to be well prepared before they head out, which could mean extra service work coming in for you. You also want them to have a great time once they’re out on the road.