A Look Back: Ratchet+Wrench's Most Popular Articles in 2025
As the automotive-repair industry continues evolving at a rapid pace, so do the interests and challenges facing shop owners, technicians, and business leaders. Thanks to comprehensive web analytics, we now know exactly which stories resonated most with our readers in 2025. From hard-hitting takes on shop operations and labor strategies to in-depth shop profiles and exit-planning guidance, this list surfaces the 10 most popular articles that captured the attention—and clicks—of shop professionals nationwide.
Below, we present the ten articles that ranked highest in user engagement. As you scan the titles, you’ll see emerging themes: a focus on efficiency and profitability, a rising interest in workforce and labor issues, and a strong appetite for real-world shop success stories. Whether you’re a shop owner looking to refine your business strategy or curious about industry trends—these are the stories that resonated most.
1. Four-Day Work Week
We know it's a sensitive subject. The thought of a three-day weekend every week sounds too good to be true. Or is it? Erick and Meghan Bock of Bock Auto in Amagansett, New York share how they made the transition successfully to a Four-Day Work Week.
2. Breakdown: Tariffs Are Coming: How Will Shops Be Impacted?
In April 2025, Ratchet+Wrench Associate Editor, Kacey Frederick, broke down the landscape of the much-anticipated tariffs, examining where the industry was and where it was headed in Tariffs Are Coming: How Will Shops Be Impacted?
3. Every Minute Counts
George Witt Service's Founder, Becky Witt, share the shop's approach to explaining what an effective labor rate means by calculating the costs for each minute the shop is open in Every Minute Counts.
4. Shop View: Ironwood Automotive
A look at Kayla and Aaron Williams' sleek, modern, and inviting Ironwood Automotive in Richmond, Virginia.
5. The SOP: Handing Your Shop to an Employee
Deciding who will be responsible for customers after you retire is a big task. For Owners Blaine and Donna Jenkins of Auto-Tech Service Center in Winchester, Virginia, passing it off to long-time technician Tim Holzer was a no-brainer. Read all about it in Handing Your Shop to an Employee.
6. Starting with the Exit Strategy
Boca Auto Fix services non-European vehicles and was founded on the premise of offering excellent customer service from day one, implementing systems and procedures that would ensure success from the beginning. They did it by Starting with the Exit Strategy.
7. In Pursuit of Perfect Pay Plans
From flat-rate pay to salaries to bonuses, there are multiple ways to ensure your employees feel cared for and comfortable. Two businesses share the model that works for them when it comes to paying staff members to help others In Pursuit of Perfect Pay Plans.
8. Three Common Customer Objections (and How to Overcome Them)
The reasons customers delay vehicle maintenance are endless. Here are the top three reasons customers provide for stalling and why your answers matter. Learn about 3 Common Customer Objections (and How to Overcome Them).
9. Casting a Bigger Net
Understanding key metrics that will help to fine tune your operation and improve your bottom line by Casting a Bigger Net.
10. Case Study: Customer APPreciation
John Blanton, owner of Barebones Automotive, a two-location repair shop in Texas, launched a customer loyalty app in August that attracts roughly 100 new subscribers per month. He did it by Customer APPreciation.