ACtion Magazine - November/December 2011 - (Page 16)

MACS member wins “Top Shop” award. Rad Air Complete Car Care, a chain of repair shops in the Cleveland, Ohio area, training, including Fiffick’s willingness to bring top-notch trainers to the shop; budgeting for new equipment and OEM and aftermarket software subscriptions; and involvement by both Fiffick and his employees in various charitable organizations around the greater Cleveland area.” “Winning the Motor/Age Top Shop contest has been a dream of our staff for some time and means everything to them,” Andy said. “All 10 service managers and staff have strived to make our clients feel like family and to repair or service vehicles right the first time at a fair price. It is refreshing to know that someone notices all our efforts.” 100 years of Chevrolet Love ‘em or hate ‘em, there can be no denying that Chevrolet products have built a large presence in the automotive world. The brand, begun in Detroit by Louis Chevrolet in 1911, celebrates its 100th anniversary on November 3rd. The company has sold more that 200 million vehicles around the world and the iconic “bow tie” emblem – first seen in 1914 – is now recognized almost everywhere. The company became part of General Motors in 1918 and built its onemillionth car in 1923. A variety of public and corporate events are planned as part of the centennial celebration, including sponsored car shows at which many modern, classic and historic street and competition models will be displayed. The company will also build Anniversary Editions of many current models as well. Japan production recovering Motor Age’s Tschannen Brandyberry and Andy Fiffick has won the Top Shop award presented by Motor/Age magazine. The award was announced in October at the annual Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) gathering, and the honor was bestowed on Rad Air owner Andy Fiffick. That name should be familiar – Andy is a long-time MACS member and currently chairman of the MACS Board of Directors. His column graces the front of this magazine each month with his business and organizational insights. Rad Air started as a family owned, three-bay garage specializing in radiator and air conditioning service in 1975 and today has expanded to 10 locations. Motor/Age runs the contest each year, open to any independent repair shop in the United States but not dealerships and chains. Judges evaluate contestants in 10 categories including experience, training and education, shop operations, supplier relations, marketing, website presence, aftermarket involvement, community activities, technical offerings and a photo tour of the shop. In selecting Rad Air Complete Car Care as this year’s winner, the judges cited the company’s “...focus on 16 ACTION • November / December 2011 In September, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing executive vice president Steve St. Angelo confirmed that the company’s North American production has returned to 100 percent, well ahead of initial expectations. Immediately after the March disaster in northern Japan, Toyota predicted a return to normal production by November or December. However, the company is still running to catch up with market demand and in Japan, Toyota is implementing overtime and Saturday shifts at certain plants. Honda is not yet completely back to normal and continues to experience product delays for certain models, although North American production is running almost full tilt. Nissan seems to have recovered fastest; it had fewer facilities in the damaged area and was able to work around the chip shortage as well. The company recently said that by the end of 2011 it will exceed previous year production by more than 100,000 vehicles. In spite of the individual recoveries, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) predicts the nation’s auto sales will be at least 3 percent lower than the previous year, putting the total at the lowest level since March, 1978. New HD efficiency regulations In August, President Obama announced new national fuel use and emission reductions for heavy-duty vehicles. Because that field is so broad (including Class 3 through 8), the first-ever national targets were expressed as percentage reductions for each class rather than an absolute mpg number. As examples, new big-rig tractors will have to provide a 20-percent reduction in fuel consumption by 2018 but the target is 15 percent for HD pickups and vans. Special-build “vocational” vehicles (perhaps a utility line truck) need to find a 10-percent reduction. The improved fuel economy will also reduce CO2 and other emissions as well, and industry watchers predicted about an eight percent reduction in overall fuel use by the target date. Notable too is that the new rules received the enthusiastic support of the HD industry, including the engine builders. After working together with the EPA and NHTSA regulators to post realistic goals, many industry groups said their members welcomed the new regs.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ACtion Magazine - November/December 2011

ACtion Magazine - November/December 2011
Table of Contents
Outlook
Expansion Valve
Technically RELAY-ted
Under the Southern Cross
Leonard’s Law
News & Updates
Virtual View
Cooling Corner
Painting an Unclear Picture
2011 Phoenix Symposium: Some Answers, More Questions
MACS Trade Show Exhibitor List
Association News
Classified
Quick Check
New Products & Services
Last Watch

ACtion Magazine - November/December 2011