Scary Stuff

In honor of Halloween I thought that it might be a good time to list a few things that put a good scare into today's auto repair professionals and some things that should frighten the driving public.

1. Auto manufacturers who want to keep information to themselves about vehicle diagnostics, electronic systems, drivability functions, etc. Having a monopoly on this information would make the auto manufacturers the exclusive outlets for vehicle repair and put the independent auto repair tech out of business.

2. Loss of aftermarket right to produce parts for cars for 5 years or more after their design and implementation by the OEM's. This would put a lot of aftermarket part makers out of business and give the manufacturers a vrtual monopoly on all auto parts sales.

3. More public transportation. Okay, so this is good for the public, but it hurts repair facilities. If people don't drive as much their cars will not need as many repairs.

4. The Cadillac HT4100 engine. Mechanics everywhere have nightmares about having to work on this engine. Luckily, it's an old power plant and there aren't that many left.

5. Alternative fuel vehicles. I'm all for preserving the environment, but gas powered cars are still the most cost effective form of individual transportation and with today's technological advances the emissions from these vehicles is practically nil.

6. Engineers who design cars, but have never turned a wrench on a car in their life. They may have designed the parts for a car, but would be totally lost if they had to change them. Especially when they had to remove some part designed by another engineer to get to the parts they want to change. We'd all be better off if they built cars less complicated to work on.

7. Domestic auto makers moving assembly plants south of the border. They are trading quality and safety for a few dollars savings on cheap labor at the expense of American jobs.

8. EPA and other governmental bodies regulations dealing with the use, handling and disposal of various fluids and parts. Again, I'm all for environmental safety, but make a rule and stick to it. They seem to change the regulations every month. It's like changing the rules of the game during play.

9. The proliferation of discount chains and wholesale clubs that offer auto service. The prices may be good, but the quality of service in most of these places is far below par and gives the industry as whole a bad rap. They move into a town and soon run the locally owned compettion out of business, then like a plague of locusts they move on to more fertile pastures.

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