News Briefs
CARS '98 coming to Las Vegas
Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford will be the keynote speaker at the 1998 Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS).
"Race to the Winner's Circle" is the theme for CARS and the keynote address. With 27 career Indy car victories - seventh on the all-time victory list - Rutherford knows firsthand what it takes to reach racing's ultimate goal.
CARS will be held at the Las Vegas Alexis Park Hotel Oct. 30 - Nov. 1, immediately preceding the annual Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week. The Alexis Park is a non-gambling hotel.
Among the event's activities will be two Automotive Management Institute (AMI) credit courses: Effective Market-ing for Your Automotive Service Business and Increasing Profits by Increasing Proficiency. Additionally, two technical courses will be offered: Current Ramping - Fuel Pump Testing, Ignition System Testing and Fuel Injector Testing; and Real-world OBD II Service.
An information packet will be mailed to all ASA mechanical division members this month. CARS is sponsored by ASA.
CARSTAR to acquire three Kansas City shops
CARSTAR announced in April it signed a letter of intent with A&B Body Shop Inc., owner and operator of three collision repair shops in Kansas City, Kan., to acquire the three shops. The annual revenue for these collision repair centers is expected to exceed $6.5 million. The acquisition brings CARSTAR's total number of company-owned stores to nine.
Founded in 1989, CARSTAR currently has 250 collision repair franchises and company-owned stores across the United States and Canada.
Record number of booths at NACE '98
A record 2,444 exhibit booths have already been allocated for the 1998 International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE) as a result of the annual NACE Space Draw. Held March 13 in Euless, Texas, the Space Draw attracted more than 400 companies from the collision repair industry. By the start of NACE '98, more than 650 companies are expected to occupy approximately 2,700 exhibit booths.
"The '98 Space Draw results demonstrate the importance of NACE to the participating companies and to their success in the collision repair industry. It also indicates that the 1998 event is likely to attract a record number of exhibitors to the world's largest collision repair exposition," said G.W. "Bud" Merwin III, president and chief staff executive of the Automotive Service Association (ASA).
NACE '98 will be at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. Conference sessions will be held Dec. 3-6, and the exposition will be open Dec. 4-6. Attendance is expected to exceed 35,000, with international representation from more than 80 countries.
NACE is sponsored by ASA. For additional NACE information, contact NACE Show Management, P.O. Box 279, Euless, Texas, 76039, (817) 255-8030, or visit the NACE Web site (http://www.NACE-98.com).
First new Amoco service center in 20 years
Amoco opened a new automotive service center in Riverview, Mich., in April - the first new automotive service center built by Amoco since the late 1970s.
"The Riverview Certicare service center confirms Amoco's commitment to the nearly $100 billion market for auto parts and service in the U.S.," said John Melo, Amoco vice president, Certicare Business Unit. "We're doing something here that hasn't been done for years, namely investing in brand-new, full-facility auto service centers. No other gasoline marketer can say that."
Although the company plans to build several new facilities over the next two years, Certicare franchises are currently offered only to existing Amoco dealers who can meet the company's qualifications.
Currently, there are 32 Certicare locations in the Detroit area, and there are also facilities in Minneapolis- St. Paul, Minn., and in the Milwaukee and Madison, Wis., areas.
Blowtherm USA acquires DeVilbiss divisions
Blowtherm USA Inc., of Irving, Texas, has acquired DeVilbiss' spray booth and compressor divisions. The newly combined resources and operations is now called Team Blowtherm.
Pennzoil, Quaker State to merge
Pennzoil Co. and Quaker State Corp. have entered into a definitive agreement to create a new publicly traded company by combining the motor oil, refined products and franchise operations of Pennzoil with all of Quaker State. The new company has yet to be named.
The transaction is part of a comprehensive restructuring by Pennzoil that will separate Pennzoil's motor oil, refined products and franchise operations from its exploration and production operations. According to Pennzoil, the merger will create a premier worldwide automotive aftermarket products and consumer car care company, with annual sales expected to exceed $3 billion. The merger is conditioned upon several factors, including the approval of Quaker State shareholders.
Safety Inspection: A National Strategy || Stop Chasing Fault Codes When Servicing EFI Systems || Body Shops: Independently Owned, Dependently Operated || Customer Database Marketing || Guest Editorial || Tech to Tech || Tech Tips || News Briefs || Taking the Hill || Around ASA || Net Worth || Stat Corner || Shop Profile || Chairman's Message
AutoInc. Magazine ®, Vol. XLVI, June 1998 (http://www.asashop.org)