Berkeley, Calif.—-Art Ratner said that an understanding the need for advanced diagnostics at the onset of entrepreneurship was important to the development and success of his independent repair shop, Art’s Automotive.

San Bruno, Calif.—Whether you’re a working technician looking to gain new skills or an individual simply looking to break into the automotive industry as a technician, Skyline College’s Automotive Technology program can help.

Sacramento, Calif.—Dennis Shanahan freely admits that employee turnover once plagued his collision repair shop and towing business.  Instead of blaming employees, he said he looked inward to figure out what was going wrong.  In the process, he decided to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for each position in the shop, which ultimately revealed the root cause of his problems.

West Sacramento, Calif.—When it comes to the fundamentals required to properly repair a collision damaged vehicle, WyoTech’s Collision Refinishing Technology program has its students’ needs covered.  The instructors at the West Sacramento campus provide their students with knowledge necessary to obtain entry-level work in the collision repair industry, using I-CAR training as a basis.

The Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance will return to the Marin Center Fairgrounds in San Rafael on May 16.  This year’s event will feature the Porsche once owned by Janice Joplin, among other Porsches.  The event will showcase 200 exotic and rare vehicles, and the lagoon will host a special exhibit of classic wooden boats.  The Marin Sonoma Concours d'Elegance will evaluate individual classes on interior, exterior, engine and chassis, and name “best of show” winners.

Overland Park, Kan.--When the economy slows down, business owners and managers start looking for areas they can improve on, ways they can increase business, and personally push themselves forward, said Brian Hosenfeld, project manager for the SEMA Education Institute. 

In a 10-minute demonstration at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) last November, Toby Chess proved that one person can make change happen in the collision industry.