Toyota Looks to Overhaul its Engines
After ignoring the internal combustion engine in favor of its hybrid car models, Toyota Motor Corp. is preparing a powertrain makeover. The automaker is designing common parts to spread costs across large numbers of engines. This will allow it to economically customize engines for specific vehicles with fuel injection, turbocharging and more.
EPWI Names 2014 Vendor and Representative of the Year Award Winners
Engine & Performance Warehouse (EPWI) named its 2014 “Vendor Of The Year” and “Representative Of The Year” at the Awards Dinner during EPWI’s annual summer conference in Vail, Colorado on Thursday, August 6th, 2015.
Joey Logano Crew Chief Todd Gordon Earns MOOG ‘Problem Solver’ Honors at Sonoma Raceway
Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion scored their third straight top-five finish and crew chief Todd Gordon earned his second MOOG “Problem Solver of the Race” Award in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Sonoma Raceway.
King Engine Bearings Receives Jasper Supplier Quality Award
King Engine Bearings has received its third-consecutive award from Jasper Engines and Transmissions, North America’s largest remanufacturer of gasoline and diesel powertrain and drivetrain components. For 2014, only five suppliers were awarded with this honor, based on Jasper’s stringent requirements.
Rebuilding the Ford 6.4L Power Stroke
For the 2008 MY Ford Super Duty pickup, a new engine, the 6.4L Powerstroke would emerge. But, how much is really known about the engine? The 6.4L engine was very short lived and only offered until 2010. Engine Builder takes a deeper dive into the 6.4L Power Stroke engine.
Jasper Engines & Transmissions Names Supplier Award Winners for 2014
Jasper Engines & Transmissions has named its Supplier Award winners for 2014 performance. There were 14 total recipients named in the following three categories: Growth, Service and Quality.
‘Garage Gurus’ Roll Out Black Carpet in Chicago
Technicians and shop owners from across the Chicago area enjoyed the “black carpet” treatment and a chance to swap stories with reality TV star Danny “The Count” Koker during the April 14th grand opening of the “Garage Gurus” regional training center in Skokie.
Timing Is Everything When Considering Selling Your Business
The automotive aftermarket is viewed by many, both within and outside the industry, as a healthy, vibrant, vital growth industry. Qualified serious buyers consider auto-related businesses as more recession-proof and less stressful than restaurants and other popular categories of businesses for sale. I have conversations with potential sellers of automotive businesses every day and, over the
Danny ‘The Count’ Koker to Join Technicians At First 3 ‘Garage Gurus’ Grand Openings
Danny “The Count” Koker, a self-taught technician and star of the hit reality TV series “Counting Cars,” will join hundreds of vehicle repair professionals and other VIPs during the grand openings of Federal-Mogul Motorparts’ first three “Garage Gurus” regional training centers, in the Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City markets.
Bosch Aftermarket NA to Contribute $1,000 to Charity for Team Penske Victory at Daytona 500
Bosch Automotive Aftermarket North America has announced it will donate $1,000 to charity each time one of its sponsored teams scores a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win during the 2015 season. Winning teams from Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing will designate the charities they wish to support.
7 Business Building Tips For The Holiday Season
Now that the holiday season is upon us, there are a number of things you can do to drive up productivity, sales, customer satisfaction and profits. Each one of the below tips worked wonders for me when I was still in the automotive business, and they are still effective today for many of our coaching clients, so I know they can work for you as well.
Burton Center for Arts and Technology Wins Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge
The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow (HROT) Engine Challenge this year was a dual championship format that pitted the two top teams determined at the SEMA Show against the top two finishers at the PRI Trade Show. The Engine Challenge drew a large crowd as the Burton Center for Arts and Technology from Virginia (Team Nitrous Express) came out as national champions, and a new single-round national record of 16 minutes, 22 seconds.
The Rebirth of the Green Monster
Recently, Tim Arfons brought the sights and sounds of turbine dragsters to an entirely new generation of racers and fans thanks to the life-lessons and hands-on expertise he learned from his father, the legendary Art Arfons. Arfons has painstakingly remade the famous Green Monster front-engine dragster to better-than-new condition and is using it as a high-speed history lesson for today’s drag racing fans.
Brand Building Efforts Solidify and Boost Customer Loyalty
If you think you’re too busy running your shop to focus on branding, you might want to think again. Thanks to longer service intervals and better-built cars, your customers don’t have to visit you as often as they did in the past. Having an established brand could certainly help you fend off the increased competition and build loyalty.
Napa Earthquake Knocks Engine Shop Out of Balance
“Now we are in search of a light industrial commercial spot here in Napa. It’s a major challenge – but we won’t give up.” –Rich Oliver While much of the damage attention from the South Napa Earthquake centered around Napa’s wineries and related business, the racing and performance industry did not escape unscathed. According to
EPWI Names “Vendor” and “Representative” of the Year
Engine & Performance Warehouse (EPWI) has named its 2013 “Vendor Of The Year” and “Representative Of The Year” at the Awards Dinner during EPWI’s annual summer conference in Vail, CO on Thursday, August 7, 2014. EPWI named Topline Automotive as its 2013 Vendor of the Year. Chet Staron, CEO/President of Topline Automotive was present to accept the
AVI To Provide Technicians with $1 Million in Free Training
AVI (Automotive Video Innovations) is giving back to the automotive community that has given so much opportunity to the Florida-based video company. To carry out that mission, AVI reports that it is pledging to give away 1 million dollars worth of training to students, technicians, shop owners or teachers with the desire to expand their
Cracking Down on Block Fillers
In earlier articles, I mentioned filling dedicated, drag racing iron blocks to keep cylinders round and keep them from cracking. Many drag racers still practice that modification. Today, racers have the luxury of a low-cost block filler called Hard Blok, provided by Joel Bayless. Back in my early Pro Stock days, when I was racing
Volvo’s New XC90 SUV Powerplant
The upcoming, wholly redesigned Volvo XC90 has a lot of potential, and we’ve just gotten the details on the power-train technology to be employed on this new model. Previous iterations of the Volvo SUV line have availed buyers with the option of a Yamaha V8 for extra, added power, but not this time. In fact,
Cummins Receives Two Awards From Chrysler Group
Cummins Inc. was recognized by Chrysler Group LLC as one of the 2013 Suppliers of the Year during the company’s 2014 Annual Strategy Meeting and Supplier Awards Ceremony on June 24 at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, MI. Of the 18 awards given to top suppliers for their extraordinary performance in 2013, Cummins was recognized
