Feeling Vulnerable?
- by Allan Janssen
(November 01, 2006) --
It was just a routine alignment job.
Robert Basile, a technician in Richmond Hill, Ont., was working on an old four-post alignment lift when the unexpected happened.
...more
Pulling Back
- by Claire Newman
(November 01, 2006) --
Despite best efforts, brake jobs don't always go as smoothly as planned.
When a problem persists, it's usually minor... but the vehicle still cannot be released to the customer until it is cor ...more
Working by their own rules
- by Allan Janssen
(May 01, 2006) --
Think flat rate creates a dog-eat-dog working environment?
It doesn't have to.
Technicians at Northern Honda, in North Bay, Ont., found that their productivity and paycheques act ...more
Regional associations thriving
- by Allan Janssen
(March 01, 2006) --
Industry unity was the theme of a special event attended by more than 230 garagists and their families in Barrie, Ont. last month.
The event, organized by the Barrie and Area Automotive Repair ...more
Scotch Blend
- by Rick Cogbill
(March 01, 2006) --
Not far from the banks of the mighty Fraser River, just south of Vancouver, sits the small community of Ladner. And right in the middle of that community, on the banks of a small stream, sits Johnýs Thistle Auto - ...more
Service Bay Blues
(August 01, 2005) --
HOST: Dropping your car off at the corner garage is fast becoming a novelty. Independent mechanics openly complain that they are on the way out. They blame technology and the big car manufacturers who refuse to share val ...more
Like A Rock
- by Rick Cogbill
(August 01, 2005) --
They call it "The Rock" and for good reason.
Newfoundland is not only home to every type of geological formation you can imagine, but it boasts some of the oldest settlements in Cana ...more
Muddle of the road
- by Allan Janssen
(August 01, 2005) --
Getting vehicles in various stages of neglect is just part of the job when you're a repair technician. Sometimes, however, the neglect reaches ridiculous proportions.
Hans Zundel of Premier Au ...more
Down but not out
- by Rick Cogbill
(April 01, 2005) --
The Alignment Shop in Kamloops, B.C. is a busy AutoPro shop on the busy Trans-Canada Highway. Owner/technician Mark Purdey and his staff handle a steady flow of work, and the business is thriving. But Mark remembers a ti ...more
Independents Day
(February 01, 2005) --
Independent garage owners are being invited to become CIA operatives.
The Canadian Independent Automotive Association is a new group dedicated to restoring the reputation of independent garage ...more
Oil...and a lot more
- by Rick Cogbill
(February 01, 2005) --
Millions of vehicles will need their oil changed during the next six months, and car owners across Canada will be looking for shops just like yours to do it for them.
The oil change is a great ...more
No life like it!
(August 01, 2004) --
Master Cpl. Eric Beaumier has learned that being a vehicle technician in the Canadian Armed Forces is a lot different than being one in civilian life… even if some of the work bears a striking resemblance.
...more
Growth mode
- by Allan Janssen
(August 01, 2004) --
John Edelman picked an unlikely place to build his used-car empire.
The sleepy farm community of Cayuga, Ontario lies on the banks of the Grand River, equidistant from the steel mills of Hamilton to the nor ...more
Getting along
- by Nestor Gula
(June 01, 2004) --
Where there are people, there is conflict.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be drawn out or violent but people tend to assert themselves – sometimes in annoying ways – in socia ...more
Quarter-Mile King
- by Jamie Maudsley
(June 01, 2004) --
With a cold wind blowing off Lake Huron in late May 2003, alcohol funny car driver Rob Atchison teed up his Pontiac Firebird for a duel against five-time International Hot Rod Association world champion Mark Thomas.
...more
School's a drag
- by Rick Cogbill
(June 01, 2004) --
He picked up his NHRA license six years ago, and to the kids in the Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School Automotive Club in Cloverdale, BC, that’s pretty cool. Not only do they get to hang out with a real-life drag rac ...more
Shop reaps rewards from cheeky radio ads
(June 01, 2004) --
Jason and Justin Naworynski have turned sibling rivalry into a marketing strategy for their repair shop, Kipling Tire, in Toronto’s west end.
The brothers have penned a series of humorous – and ...more
Web site strikes cord with women techs
(May 01, 2004) --
Women around the world know Barb Moore, a technician at Gillespie Pontiac Buick, in Welland, ON.
Or, more accurately, they know "LadyTech" - the webmaster at www.ladyautomechanics.co ...more
Pay possibilities
- by Nestor Gula
(May 01, 2004) --
How do you make your money?
Sure, you turn wrenches for a living, but how is your work measured? How does your boss know how much to give you at the end of the day?
In Canada the ...more
Heroes without knowing it
(May 01, 2004) --
When NAPA trainer Dexter Draper jumped into Ottawa's Rideau Canal to rescue a drowning woman last fall, it probably wasn't the first life he'd saved.
Draper was on a cycling trip when he came ...more
Shop of Dreams
- by Rick Cogbill
(May 01, 2004) --
"If I had a million dollars"
The Bare Naked Ladies turned those words into a song and sang it all the way to the bank.
Unfortunately, most mechanics can't ...more
Pushing repairs to the next level
- by Nestor Gula
(May 01, 2004) --
In Canada, auto repair is rarely affected by political changes.
But imagine if a new political system was put in place which brought with it a completely new vehicle mix, new highly-technical repair informa ...more
Winning respect
- by Nestor Gula
(April 01, 2004) --
So you think you're a hot technician?
Perhaps the only way to know for sure would be to match your skills and techniques against your coworkers in a competition.
Th ...more
Labor of glove
- by Allan Janssen
(April 01, 2004) --
What do automotive technicians and brain surgeons have in common? Both wear gloves when they work.
Well, all right, may be gloves aren't quite as accepted in the automotive repair bay as they ...more
Out of Africa
- by Rick Cogbill
(April 01, 2004) --
There's a certain pleasure that comes from solving a difficult problem. When a car has been to five different shops without a cure and you're the one who finally figures it out, well, it's an ego booster. It's something ...more
