It can be argued that the modern automobile is one of the most technologically sophisticated machines available to the public today. Beyond its myriad advanced mechanical components, a new car can have as many as 100 electronic control units and roughly 100 million lines of code pertaining to safety, control and convenience features. And those numbers
It only makes sense that the shops servicing these vehicles evolve at a similar clip in terms of the technology utilized not only for the repair work itself, but the production processes controlling that work.
Just how technologically advanced are today’s shops? Is their evolution comparable to that of the automobile? What technologies are driving progress in the auto care industry? We wanted to find out, so we put together the Shop Technology Survey and sent it to shop of various sizes, specialties and incomes across the country. The highlights are included in this issue, on page 38.
Without giving too much away, the correlations drawn between the utilization of technologies—such as computer-based software systems— and shop performance are fairly clear. Shops embracing new technologies tend to be larger and generate more revenue, have higher car counts and higher ARO. The report also digs into technologies in the back of the shop, including diagnostic equipment and repair information services, and their business impact.
Check out the data and see how it compares with your operation, with your market. Is your business on par with the rest of the industry in terms of technology use? In what areas might you be able to invest and improve? It’s an area in which no shop can afford to fall behind
Jake Weyer, editor
