GM Faces Lawsuit for Driver Data Sharing, TPG Acquires Classic Collision, Women Make Up Only Two Percent of Technicians
Braxton Critcher [00:00:06]:
This is automotive repair news today. I'm Braxton Kricher. General Motors is facing yet another lawsuit, according to the Detroit Free Press. The lawsuit is over unauthorized collection and sharing of drivers data. The lawsuit seeks class action status and over 5 million in damages and claims over 100 punitive class members. According to the article, GM and its subsidiary onstar collected driving data, including accelerations, braking and speeding, and shared it with insurers, prompting rate increases. This follows GMs recent announcement to cease data collection, prompted by a Florida lawsuit filed on March 13, citing similar data sharing. Automotive industry experts believe more lawsuits aimed at GM could be coming.
Braxton Critcher [00:01:00]:
Although women comprise 52% of the US population, they only represent 2% of employed technicians across the entire automotive industry. Why, here's Tara Topol.
Tara Topel [00:01:13]:
I think people just aren't ready for it and they aren't embracing the diversity. Whether they're challenged and think that they're threatened by it, maybe, maybe people's egos kind of get in the way. I think there's some big problems there with mentorship, leadership, and just with how females are perceived.
Braxton Critcher [00:01:31]:
She went on to say, I wouldn't.
Tara Topel [00:01:32]:
Want somebody saying, well, well, that's a girl. And if I don't hire a girl, then I'm going to get in trouble, so I'm just going to hire her. None of us want to be hired because we're girls. Nobody does. We want to be hired because we smart. We want to be hired because we can do that, because we work hard, because we have good work ethic. You know, those are all the different things. So I'm not saying hire just because she's a female.
Tara Topel [00:01:49]:
I'm saying hire because whoever it is, take away the name. Just look at the qualifications.
Braxton Critcher [00:01:55]:
TPG, a notable asset management firm, has revealed their plans to purchase Classic collision, a prominent national operator of collision repair facilities. TPG Capital, the private equity arm of TPG operating in the United States and Europe, will execute the acquisition by the end of quarter two this year. The existing management team of classic collision will continue to be invested in the company. However, the specific terms of the transaction remain undisclosed. Classic collision is one of the largest and fastest growing collision repair platforms in the US, servicing customers across 262 locations in 16 states nationwide. The first general meeting of the National Automotive Service Task Force for 2024 is scheduled for April 24 this year at Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention center in Nashville, Tennessee, and from two to four that day. The program will feature a number of presentations, including, what can Nastif do for you? An overview of our services guarding against unintentional use of counterfeit parts and strategies for module replacement in older vehicles and more. Attendance at the general meeting is open to all, with no registration required.
Braxton Critcher [00:03:15]:
For those unable to attend in person. Recordings of all sessions will be made available on the Nastiff website. The laying aftermarket I report reveals significant changes in auto parts store demographics over the last six years. The number of automotive jobbers declined while retail auto parts stores increased. Despite more retail parts stores, auto parts stores numbers decreased. Factors driving this shift include jobbers struggles to maintain their diy market share and increased competition from retail stores in the commercial sector. Lang marketing predicts a continued decline in jobbers and further expansion of retail stores, prompting shifts in the distribution strategies and branding approaches. The automotive service Excellence announced the latest addition to the 2023 ASE Presidents Club, an elite group of the industrys best service professionals.
Braxton Critcher [00:04:17]:
To qualify, technicians must pass at least 51 ASE certification tests. Among the newest members mark Cosset from Universal Technical Institute in Highlands Ranch, Colorado Jonathan Couch from Couch's automotive racing services in Porter, Texas Brian Gold from first transit in Downers Grove, Illinois Shane Lally from first student in Brookfield, Connecticut Ryan Oblock from First Transit in Salzburg, Pennsylvania and Thomas Palomaro from preferred automotive specialists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I'm Braxton Kricher, and thanks for listening to automotive repair news today. If you know of a news story that should be considered for next week's episode, please email me@braxtontomotiverepairnews.com. That's braxtonautomotiverepairnews.com. Also, to get more news that's not included on the podcast, give us a follow on your favorite social platform like Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. And to further the reach of this podcast, share it with your friends or give us a good review on your favorite podcast platform, subscribe there so you get notifications for new episodes and more. Because the goal of this podcast is to keep you informed of what's happening in the automotive industry.
Braxton Critcher [00:05:42]:
And thanks again for listening to automotive repair news today.
