The global problem is the auto repair and service market has been shrinking in the last ten or fifteen years. Technology has made cars much more reliable with fewer breakdowns, repairs and scheduled maintenances.

Many manufacturers offer some sort of 100,000 mile warranty meaning that the independent will get little chance to work on that car for the first 5-10 years it is owned.

As new car sales margins have gone down, VW, Chevrolet, Toyota and other manufacturers are looking to their service departments to make up the difference.

Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab have been adding other value added benefits such as a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are now being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in an effort to keep up with the dealers since customers now expect this service.

Furthermore dealers such as Mercedes and Ford are now directly offering specials on services making their dealer prices comparable to independent repair shop prices.

But it’s not just competitive pricing that is worrying the independents.

The battle for skilled labor is also being won by the dealers: the dealers have always competed for skilled labor and now have become even more aggressive. With fewer young people entering the auto repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, the total talent pool of the top skilled auto technicians is shrinking.

Increasingly it is becoming harder for independents to hire and retain these highly skilled employees. As an automotive technician, would you rather work for Audi or Joe’s Garage?

The dealers are picking up the best ‘mechanics’ or as they are known today, ‘technicians.’ A top end dealer technician can make $100,000 a year with benefits while an independent shop owner would have to gross over a $1,000,000 a year to make that and still have to pay for their own benefits and social security.

Because of these economic realities many independent owners are now closing their shops and going to work for GM, Nissan and other dealers.

This puts the independent auto repair shop at a distinct disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related problems.

Additionally, if a diagnosis is made and a part needs replacing the dealer will have it in stock, not only verifying the diagnosis but greatly speeding up the repair time and increasing customer satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.

But it’s not just a skilled employee war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and there has been a long and ongoing dispute between the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic tools.

The manufacturers claim that their technical information is proprietary while the independents claim the information should be available to anyone that owns or fixes that make of car.

If the dealers wanted to they could stop all outside repairs on their vehicles but the problem is there are not enough dealerships to service all geographic areas, especially smaller towns and less populated areas. So the manufacturer/dealer gives out some information but not all, often charging the independent repair shops for this information.

Not only does the independent have to buy some parts from the dealer, but also some of the technical information as well. Big advantage Honda and Dodge.

Some independent owners simply watch their business steadily decline over the years as they go out of business. Younger independent owners are willing to work harder and for less financial reward hoping industry conditions will eventually improve.

In essence the independent auto repair industry has matured and is now in a decline. Some consolidation is going on but much of the repair work has either disappeared or is now being done by the dealers, auto repair chains or one person ‘backyard’ shops.

The opportunities are there for those that want to work hard but those opportunities are increasingly limited. In a declining market, only those independents that can develop new competitive strategies will survive and thrive.

As with all mature and declining markets there will be new opportunities for those owners that can adapt and make the changes. Those independent auto repair shop owners that don’t modernize, strategize and compete will go the way of the Edsel and Model T.

Jack Deal has worked in the auto industry for many years and is the owner of JD Deal Business Consulting, Monterey and Santa Cruz, CA. Related articles may be found at http://www.jddeal.com/blog/strategy
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First make sure that you make smart menu choices. Most items on menus give a description. Pay attention. Does it say that it is fried, basted, batter dipped, creamy, breaded, or crispy? If so it’s loaded with calories and fat. Is it Alfredo, scalloped, au gratin, or in cream sauce? If so it will destroy your diet because these dishes are just brimming to the top with unhealthy fats. Avoid these foods when possible.

Never be afraid to special order your food at a restaurant. Many foods at restaurants are served in unhealthy creams and sauces. Ask that your vegetables be steamed rather then in butter. Request your chicken be broiled instead of fried. Have salad dressing put on the side. Anything that can cut back on the fat content is a good idea.

If you’re trying to find a way to healthy dining out at a fast food restaurant look up their nutritional information online. Many fast food places are starting to list the nutritional value of their foods. You may be surprised by the amount of fat and calories that are in your favorite fast foods.

Soda is full of sugar and calories. Most of us drink soda like water. Or, rather like we should drink water. The problem with this is that we forget about the calories that we are consuming when it is done through beverages. Instead of drinking a good portion of your allotted calories try to order water or unsweetened ice tea.

Lastly in order to have healthy dining out you need to eat mindfully. This means that you need to always pay attention and be conscious of what you’re eating. Often when eating with friends you will continue eating even though you are full without noticing. If you are being mindful of your eating you will be able to make the conscious decision to put down your fork when you’re almost full.

More than 50% of American women age 20-74 are overweight or obese! If you are overweight go to WomenLivingHealthy for great information on how to shed those unwanted and unhealthy pounds.

PHP development is relatively easy for beginners to learn the fundamentals. PHP is a short form of Hypertext Preprocessor is a server-side scripting language with the possibility of dynamic data coordination that allows the user a great experience in web applications. It is using for many purposes like web-based applications, custom applications and CMS, chat software, and developing dynamic tools. It can be embedded into HTML. Amazing features of it contain many points that give the staring edge in comparison with other languages like Java,.Net and many others. PHP programming is a part of it, and is very useful in the open source development like Magento development, Zen Cart development, OsCommerce development, Joomla development, WordPress development and many others.

Today is the era of online shopping. Online shopping is spreading very fast and creates a vast shopping market on the web all over the world, and every web store owner wants to increase their business and those who have not their store on the web want to start it. All this can happen through PHP e-commerce solutions and that will boost online store owners’ business. Through it, portals can be created. Today, from small business to a large organization uses it for web portal development such as B2B portal, B2C portal and many other. If an online store owner and website owners want to customize their website or applications then they need to hire PHP developer or hire PHP programmer for it, and they can do their work according to their needs and requirements using their vast experience and expertise.

PHP Development is a fully loaded and dynamic service that one wants to have it for their website development that forces the visitors to have a deep look in that website and thereby increase the business. Its development service includes the following services that support it for creating effective and influential web pages and web applications.

• PHP programming
• PHP application development
• PHP e-commerce solution
• PHP Zend development
• Custom PHP application development
• CakePHP development
• PHP web application development

PHP is a tremendous platform for the website development and application development. Today, it is rapid growing programming language source for web development that can take your business one step up towards the top in the market.

Daina Will is working with professional and well-known IT Company that is Perception System which has got expertise in PHP development. Daina Will is working as PHP developer in it. Perception System offers the best services for the website development and dynamic applications development such as PHP web application development and other PHP related services.

So how does she get all the information which she needs for what the latest trends and designs in ladies fashion are? How does she know what styles are in this season and what are the latest season must-have’s that every fashion diva should own in her wardrobe? By doing her homework of course. And no, homework here does not mean schoolwork, but rather homework in a sense that she uses every tool and means available to her to keep up with the trends in women’s fashion.

Being an avid fashion follower is no secret, all she needs to do is make use of the fashion resources around her. For example, an avid fashion follower would always have her essential item with her – fashion magazines. They are the very first basics she can turn to as there is no other medium that keeps up with the latest trends and styles quite like a fashion magazine does. New fashion magazines are out every month, which means their source of info is always going to be the very latest and the newest, and when it comes to fashion, those two are the key ingredients you would need to keep yourself fashion forward on all things related to fashion and clothing.

The avid fashion follower would also have to learn how to trend-spot. This simply means that she would learn to observe others around her and look at what other fashion followers are wearing or carrying if she wants to know what the latest trends are not just on the catwalk, but on the street as well. After all, being a fashion diva means that she knows even the tiniest developments and what is new when it comes to women’s fashion and dressing and what better way to do this than through observation.

The avid fashion follower will also make use of the greatest tool which everyone has available to them – the internet of course. The internet is going to be her endless source to all things fashion and all things related to ladies fashion, from the latest colors of the season, to what are the latest trends, the fashion gossips and what the hottest styles are, as well as shop online for practically any item she wants from any store, anywhere.

The world of fashion is something that is ever changing, and if you want to be a fashion forward glamour queen, start making use of all the resources around you and make sure that you stay ahead of the pack when it comes to all things fashion.

For more information about women’s fashion and fashion clothing, please visit TrendyMall.net now.

If you love personal technology then you would have definitely heard of the Kindle. If this name does not sound familiar to then you have clearly been away from the computer for too long. The Kindle is one of the best eBook readers in the current market. What do you mean by eBook? Basically, instead of printing books through paper, you can instead read the book in a digital format. This way, you are doing the environment a favor by reducing the amount of paper required for book printing. This article has a look at the latest version of the Kindle, The Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device. This article reviews the pros, cons, specifications, primary features and customer feedback for the Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device.

What is different about the DX version in comparison to the earlier models? Firstly, the graphite DX version of the Kindle utilizes a more sophisticated electronic ink display, which shows the text. This means you get a better contrast between the background and words. According to Amazon, the contrast will improve by as much as fifty percent so you will have an easier time reading as the text is clearer and the images are more sharp. The screen size of the Kindle has also improved. This Kindle has a 9.7″ diagonal eInk screen which is ideal for various types of readings. The Kindle is basically perfect for every type of publication like newspapers, graphic-rich texts, magazines, and even blogs.

One of the greatest aspects of the Kindle is its lightness. Did you know this eBook reader is just 1/3 of an inch? This means it is nearly as thin as most magazine publications. You will also have no problems reading outside because this eBook reader comes with no glare technology. For most types of technology, you would not be able to see the screen easily in broad daylight because of the sun rays. This is not the case with the Kindle. It would feel no different to reading an actual magazine. It is that clear. How do you get the actual books though? You just have to connect it to your wireless router and you can receive new publications within seconds because the file size of eBooks is very small.

If you get it through Amazon, the main manufacturer of the Kindle, then you can also receive free 3G Wireless service. This means you can download the books anywhere at any time.

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