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  • Nebraska shop owner named Technician of the Year champion

    Nebraska shop owner named Technician of the Year champion

    Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper have named Matt Wagg of Bennington, Nebraska, as the 2026 Technician of the Year Champion.

    Wagg is the owner and lead technician at Accelerated Diagnostic & Automotive, an Auto Value Certified Service Center and customer of The Merrill Company (Arnold Motor Supply). The winner was announced during the Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper Technician of the Year competition held in Detroit earlier this month.

    “I am incredibly honored to receive this recognition,” said Wagg. “Competing alongside some of the best technicians in North America was an amazing experience. I am especially grateful to The Merrill Company for selecting me to represent our market in this year’s competition. I would also like to thank my team, my customers, and everyone who encouraged me to participate.”

    Thirteen of the top technicians from across the United States and Canada traveled to Detroit to compete in the 2026 Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper Technician of the Year finalist program. Sponsored by DRiV and Garage Gurus, the annual competition featured a customized Automotive Service Excellence examination along with a series of hands-on technical challenges designed to test diagnostic ability, technical knowledge, and real-world repair skills.

    “With more than 4,000 Certified Service Centers across the Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper network, earning a place among our Technician of the Year finalists is a remarkable accomplishment,” said John C. Washbish, president and CEO of the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, Inc. “This program is designed to recognize the highly skilled professionals who represent the very best of our industry. The talent, dedication, and professionalism displayed by this year’s finalists was truly exceptional, and we congratulate all of them on their achievements. We would also like to thank DRiV and Garage Gurus for their continued support of this outstanding program.”

    The other 2026 Technician of the Year Ffinalists include:

    • Jake McKie | Shane’s Northern Tire and Auto | Piston Ring Service Supply
    • Matthew Wilson | Angelina Tire & Auto | ABC Auto Parts, Ltd.
    • Spencer Derzaph | Auto Electric Service-Service Department | Auto Electric Service, Ltd.
    • Timothy Dunaway| Daugherty’s Body Shop and Service Center | Moog Louisville Warehouse
    • Bryan McKnight | Kerners Auto Service | Auto-Wares Group of Companies
    • Joe Sawyer | Tom’s Auto Center | Auto-Wares Group of Companies
    • Judson Stagnaro | Aurora Automotive | Automotive Parts Headquarters Inc.
    • Seumas Leghorn | Adair Auto Repair | Central Auto Parts Distributors
    • David Ward | Avenue Motors | Eastern Auto Parts Warehouse
    • Christopher Potucek | CC Auto Parts & Service | Hahn Automotive Warehouse
    • Jamie Fowler | Marty’s Complete Automotive | National Parts Warehouse
    • Truen Taylor | The KAR Shop | Parts Warehouse Inc.
  • Midas’ new store designs feature improved service bay visibility

    Midas’ new store designs feature improved service bay visibility

    Midas recently announced it is modernizing its retail presence with two new national store design concepts — Contemporary Industrial and Urban Modern — that will reshape how customers experience the brand at more than 1,200 locations across the U.S. and Canada.

    The rollout, which was effective Wednesday, applies to all new builds and renovations, and marks a significant milestone in the company’s five-year strategic growth plan launched in 2023, according to a statement from the company. The announcement comes as Midas also recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of its acquisition by Mavis Tire Express Services Corp.

    “Driven by customer and franchisee insights, the new store designs are the next step in the company’s national brand evolution and honors our 70-year legacy as one of the leaders in the auto care industry,” said Lenny Valentino, Jr., President and COO of Midas International. “These designs offer better bay visibility, larger waiting areas, cleaner flow — all intentional features built around how people experience a Midas store.”

    The two concepts are designed for different real estate contexts. Contemporary Industrial suits high-traffic suburban or highway-adjacent locations with its bold signage, high-contrast branding, and functional layout. Urban Modern suits denser, more walkable markets with its large storefront windows, warm accents, and retail-inspired interior. Both of the new designs include a six-bay, in-line layout with a dedicated Advanced Driver-Assistance System (ADAS) bay.

    The new concepts also include refreshed exterior architecture, updated showrooms, and larger customer waiting room areas, improved service bay visibility, and modern signage that still honors the unmistakable Midas name. Midas will work closely with all franchisees to ensure future building projects meet new brand guidelines and maintain cohesion standards nationwide. You can view more photos of both renderings here.

    This year alone, Midas said it has opened a record number of stores nationwide—its most significant growth and market expansion in decades. The first store featuring the new Contemporary Industrial design is expected to open early next year in Irmo, South Carolina. Gus Herlong, CEO and Co-owner of Palmetto Garage Works, which operates Midas franchise locations across South Carolina, the Greater Washington, D.C. region, and North Florida, will construct the first ground-up location featuring the new design, marking his 36th Midas location.

    The store designs are the latest chapter in a broader brand refresh that began this spring with Midas’ “Midas is The Best” national campaign—a 70th anniversary celebration starring William Zabka as a master technician, bringing discipline into the service bay. Since launch, the campaign has driven double-digit direct traffic and topped 18 million YouTube views. You can watch the commercial video here.

    Midas has more than 1,200 locations in the U.S. and Canada. The company is focused on continued franchise growth, with plans to expand into key priority markets which you can find here.

  • Great Water 360 continues acquiring shops; adds 2 in Ohio

    Great Water 360 continues acquiring shops; adds 2 in Ohio

    Fozio’s Auto Service in Hudson, Ohio and Twinsburg Auto Service Center in Twinsburg, Ohio. Today, were recently acquired by GreatWater 360 Auto Care of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

    Although each location operates under its own name and serves its own community, both businesses were founded by Matthew Fozio, and “built around a shared commitment to honest service, quality repairs, and strong customer relationships,” according to a statement from Great Waters 369.

    Both shops will continue operating under their established names, with their teams remaining in place.

    “This was a big decision; one we didn’t take lightly. Above all else we wanted a partner who understood the importance of honoring the team that’s had such a big impact on our success and honoring the name on the building. Changing everything would impact both.” Said Matthew Fozio, Former Owner. “From the early stages through the transition, everyone at GreatWater has done exactly what they promised.”

    “Every owner’s story is different, and this is a good example of that,” said Scott Anderson, president and chief operating officer of GreatWater 360 Auto Care. “Sometimes we are entrusted with one shop. Sometimes it is multiple locations built by the same owners, each with its own identity and customer base. Our job is to understand what made each business successful and then support the teams responsible for carrying it forward.”

    The acquisition of Fozio’s Auto Service and Twinsburg Auto Service Center reflects GreatWater’s ability to support businesses in different forms, from single-location shops to owners who have built multiple successful operations.

  • Isuzu creates apprenticeships for veterans to become truck technicians

    Isuzu creates apprenticeships for veterans to become truck technicians

     Isuzu Commercial Truck of America (ICTA) officially launched the Isuzu Veterans Apprenticeship Program (IVAP), a nationwide initiative designed to connect transitioning service members and military veterans with careers in the commercial transportation industry and to help Isuzu dealerships build the next generation of skilled technicians.

    Developed with ERS Elite, a leader in veteran workforce transition and talent development, IVAP creates a structured pathway from military service to civilian success through paid employment, hands-on experience, mentorship, and OEM-aligned technical training.

    IVAP is built around a simple mission: Build a disciplined pipeline of highly skilled veteran technicians for Isuzu commercial truck dealerships across the United States.

    Isuzu said veterans bring a unique combination of technical aptitude, leadership, discipline, and commitment to excellence. IVAP harnesses those strengths through a framework designed to deliver measurable results for Isuzu dealerships and meaningful career advancement for apprentices.

    For Isuzu dealers, the benefits extend far beyond recruitment. By developing technicians through a structured and repeatable process, dealerships gain access to a reliable pipeline of talent that can improve shop productivity, support service growth, reduce hiring risk, and strengthen long-term operational performance.

    For veterans, IVAP provides more than a job. It provides a career pathway within a vital industry, one that offers technical advancement, professional development, financial stability, and the opportunity to continue serving communities in a new capacity.

    Veterans interested in apprenticeship opportunities, as well as Isuzu dealerships seeking technician talent, should visit IsuzuVets.com for more information and to register in the program.

    At a time when the commercial vehicle industry faces an unprecedented shortage of qualified technicians coupled with evolving technology, IVAP represents more than a hiring initiative. It is a long-term workforce development strategy designed to strengthen dealership operations, increase service capacity, and create sustainable career opportunities for the men and women who have served our nation, according to ICTA.

    “America’s veterans have spent their careers serving a mission larger than themselves while developing technical expertise, discipline, leadership, and accountability,” said Shaun Skinner, president of Isuzu Commercial Truck of America. “Through IVAP, we are creating a pathway for those skills to continue making an impact in civilian life while helping our dealer network build the next generation of highly skilled Isuzu technicians.”

    Through the program, veterans with technical military experience will enter a structured apprenticeship pathway that combines real-world dealership experience with Isuzu-specific training and professional development. The result is a workforce solution that benefits both the veterans and Isuzu dealers, accelerating technician readiness while building long-term retention and career growth.

  • ASE receives $25 million for auto & truck technician apprenticeships

    ASE receives $25 million for auto & truck technician apprenticeships

    The ASE Education Foundation has been awarded a $25 million,four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to expand registered apprenticeships for auto, collision, and truck service technicians nationwide — the largest workforce investment the department has ever directed to the transportation service industry.

    The award comes through the Department’s Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program, and the idea behind it is refreshingly simple: reward employers with registered apprenticeships for hiring apprentices and coaching them through the make-or-break first year on the job.

    Program sponsors — dealer groups, shop associations, franchise operators and similar organizations — will receive $3,500 for every apprentice they bring on and keep, paid in two parts as the new technician reaches 90 and 270 days on the job.

    The need is not in dispute. The industry has openings for far more technicians than it can find vroughly 128,000 are needed each year, while training programs produce about 37,000. The harder problem is keeping them. Only about one in eight entry-level technicians is still on the job three years in.

    That is the gap this grant is built to close — not by chasing more résumés, but by making sure the people who start actually stay. To do that, the Foundation is putting mentorship at the center. Every dollar is tied to a technician reaching real milestones, which gives sponsors a direct stake in the coaching, support and structure that keep a new hire in the bay and on a path forward.

    Registered apprenticeships are a proven way to grow the workforce – studies show that employers realize an average return of $1.47 for every dollar invested, and over 90% of apprentices stay with the same employer when they complete the program.

    Employers who have an existing registered apprenticeship can participate, and those who don’t won’t have to build their programs from scratch. The Foundation and National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) provide a ready-made playbook — the free Apprenticeship-in-a-Box — covering everything from mentor training to interview guides, so a shop can stand up a credible program quickly.

    The Foundation is leading the effort with a coalition that reaches nearly every corner of the industry. Other initial partners include the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), the American Truck Dealers (ATD), and Jobs for the Future (JFF), which will manage the incentive payments and federal reporting. Together they will engage employers, schools and prospective technicians in all 50 states, the five territories and the District of Columbia.

    The Foundation is actively recruiting more partners, and apprenticeships will be created all across the industry; in franchised dealerships, retail chains, fleets, body shops, truck and diesel repair shops, and independent auto repair shops.

    “Every driver on the road depends on a skilled technician they may never meet. For more than forty years, our job has been to make sure those technicians are trained to a standard the industry demands and the public can trust,” said Mike Coley, president of the ASE Education Foundation. “This grant lets us do something the industry has needed for a long time: open a clear, paid path into the trade, and give employers a proven way. to invest in and grow the people who keep this country moving.

    “We’re not just filling jobs. We’re building careers that can support a family for a lifetime, strengthening the shops and dealers that serve their communities, and protecting the motoring public who trusts all of us every time they start their car.”

    Recruitment begins immediately. Employers looking to develop their own technicians, schools looking to place their students, and anyone considering the trade as a career can learn more and sign up for updates at ASEeducationFoundation.org/apprenticeship.

  • Ford recalls vehicles for possible rollaway problem

    Ford recalls vehicles for possible rollaway problem

    Ford has issued yet another recall, this one related to an issue that could cause vehicles to roll away.

    Ford is recalling numerous 2018-2021 Navigator, Expedition, 2020-2021 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, and 2021 F-150 vehicles. The company said the transmission park pawl may engage while the vehicle is in motion, causing damage to the park system. Park system damage may result in a vehicle rollaway.

    This recall applies to some 741,195 vehicles.

    Dealers will update the powertrain control module software and inspect and replace any damaged transmission components as necessary. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, are expected to be mailed Aug. 3.

    Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, anticipated in April 2027.

    Owners may contact Ford customer service at 866-436-7332. Ford’s number for this recall is 26S48.

  • NACFE report focuses on emerging tech issues of truck powertrains

    NACFE report focuses on emerging tech issues of truck powertrains

    The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) has released a report on maintenance and the Messy Middle, Messy Middle Powertrain Service & Maintenance.

    This report is a guidebook for OEMs, fleets, drivers, dealerships, shops and technicians on the breadth of complexity facing truck and trailer maintenance and service in the Messy Middle. The report highlights the growing resources available to help the industry improve technician training and help prepare service center operations to better serve fleet needs.

    “The trucking industry perennially faces a shortage of technicians which is being compounded now by rapid advances in new powertrain,” said Rick Mihelic, director of Emerging Technologies, NACFE. “The greatest challenge facing all new powertrain technologies is the need for well-trained technicians and well-equipped maintenance shops. The best powertrains are useless if the vehicles cannot be maintained in the field.”

    The report covers internal combustion engines, renewable natural gas, battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. It explores components such as wheels, tires and brakes as well as delving into the infrastructure needed to service various powertrains. It also looks at the skills technicians are going to need to be able to work on the multiple powertrain solutions that are currently available to fleets in the Messy Middle.

    “There is no legacy knowledge that will pour over. That’s the biggest problem,” said Dr. Mark Quarto, CEO Quarto Tech Services. “There’s no way to take a diesel tech and say ‘OK you’ve got the engine, you’ve got the fuel system, you’ve got fuel delivery, you got all these systems’— you can’t. That’s the problem. I’ve worked with many fleets, many college instructors, even engineers, and I can tell you that it takes a long time for them to learn the new stuff. The largest technology competency gaps are in the areas of electrical, electronics, software, power electronics, and electric machines.”

    Important findings in the report are:

    • Maintenance costs are a significant factor in investing in new trucks. Those costs also often include facility infrastructure maintenance, special equipment and training for technicians, and ongoing auditing and record keeping.
    • The key to keeping trucks on the road, high uptime, will continue to depend on the skills of the technicians and the tools available to them. Intelligent OEM service tools and fault-diagnosis systems will be critical to reducing downtime.
    • Service of natural gas, hydrogen, battery electric, and bio-fuel systems demand greater attention to safety and equipment protocols than traditional diesels.
    • Technician training and keeping that training current will need to be a priority for service managers, including tracking and auditing of skills and certifications. The pace of technology change will require continuous training and recertifications.
    • Computers will likely be the first tools needed to diagnose and service vehicles. They will also need to be kept current with appropriate software licensing and regular hardware updating that will need to be factored into costs.
    • OEM warranties will become even more critical as the complexity of vehicles increases with new technologies.
    • for the foreseeable future, standards and procedures will be rapidly evolving as fleets gain experience and provide feedback to OEMs. Staying aware of changing standards and staying compliant may lead to additional labor costs to factor into investment planning.
    • Behind the fence fueling infrastructure maintenance will be as challenging and may be necessary to keeping trucks running. Public infrastructure maintenance or lack thereof may also factor into vehicle uptime.
    • Predictive maintenance enhanced by artificial intelligence systems will greatly aid technicians.
    • Specialization in new technologies is inevitable for service technicians as the complexity of vehicles continues to grow. This may require additional staffing to cover all the critical new technologies to keep fleets moving.

    Download the report here.

  • Trump pardons nine more diesel technicians charged with emissions controls tampering

    Trump pardons nine more diesel technicians charged with emissions controls tampering

    President Donald Trump late last week pardoned nine diesel technicians who had been charged with illegally tampering with federally-mandated emissions control devices on diesel engines.

    Those pardoned by Trump include:

    • Mackenzie Spurlock: Co-owner of Matanuska Diesel in Wasilla, Alaska
    • Ryan and Wade LaLone: Operators of Diesel Freak, a heavy-duty diesel repair business in Gaylord, Michigan
    • Matthew Geouge: Ran companies selling aftermarket diesel tuning device
    • Jonathan Achtemeier: A New Jersey-based diesel tuner who removed pollution control software from vehicles
    • Tim Clancy: Associated with aftermarket diesel tuning
    • Joshua Davis, Barry Pierce, and Aaron Rudolf: Also implicated in aftermarket diesel emissions tampering and defeating software systems

    These pardons came in the wake of one last November of Wyoming technician Troy Lake, who served seven months in jail. Lake formed the Diesel Freedom Coalition, which advocated for the pardons.

  • PACCAR updates MX-11 and MX-13 engine software

    PACCAR updates MX-11 and MX-13 engine software

     PACCAR Inc.recently, announced Kenworth Truck Company and Peterbilt Motors Company will implement updated software for vehicles equipped with PACCAR MX-11 and PACCAR MX-13 engines, reflecting revised U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) guidance on Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) inducements. 

    Trucks manufactured after July 20 will have the software installed at the factory. Trucks built after 2018 will be available for these software updates at Kenworth and Peterbilt dealerships.

    In alignment with the EPAs guidance, these updates are designed to help Kenworth and Peterbilt customer improve reliability and reduce unnecessary disruptions to their operations by:

    • Having the final inducement speed limit increased from 5 mph to 25 mph
    • Extending the timeline from 4 to 160 hours for component-related or fluid-quality issues before reaching final inducement speed limit

    DEF inducements are safeguards that reduce vehicle speed and power when emissions system issues are detected. Common issues include low DEF levels or reduced Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system performance. DEF inducements prompt drivers to correct the issue by refilling the DEF tank, repairing faulty sensors, or performing a system regeneration. All MX-powered vehicles remain subject to EPA emissions requirements. Vehicles requiring repairs to emissions components must be serviced to maintain compliance.

  • Rush Truck Centers tech wins Arkansas competition

    Rush Truck Centers tech wins Arkansas competition

    Several technicians won awards during the Arkansas Trucking Association’s annual Trucking Championships held recently at the Rogers. Convention Center in Rogers, Arkansas.

    Canaan Silcox of Rush Truck Centers was crowned the Truck Technician Grand Champion. Slicox won first place in the Aftertreatment, Air Conditioning/Refrigeration, Drive Train and Steering & Suspension categories, and took second place in the PMI category.

    Jordan Burris of Tyson Foods was named the Trailer Technician Grand Champion. Burns also took home first place in the Alignment and Tire Inflation categories and took second place in the Tire & Wheel Analysis category.

    The two grand champions will represent Arkansas at the National Technician Skills Competition, SuperTech 2026, to be held Sept. 20-24 in Pittsburgh.

    Paul Kinder of J.B. Hunt Transport was named Rookie of the Year in the competition

    This year’s technician sportsmanship winner was Josh Simmons of Tyson Foods,