| News for Automotive Aftermarket Professionals
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| Aftermarket Financial Analysis |  |  |
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- BB&T Weekly Aftermarket Intelligence Update
AAIA and BB&T Capital Markets have teamed up to provide a unique report available through AAIA. This report, AAIA/BB&T Weekly Automotive Aftermarket Intelligence Update, is published every Tuesday in AAIA SmartBrief. The report provides comprehensive and timely information and trends about the aftermarket and the relative performance of companies serving the industry, including manufacturers/suppliers; distributors; retailers; service and repair; and collision. Don't miss this week's issue.     
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| Automotive Trends | | |
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- Local Motors crowdsources car design
Local Motors, a Web startup, builds cars to order, based on sketches submitted and refined online by thousands of would-be designers. The company will produce the cars at smaller, localized facilities that will allow customers to get involved in the production process, as well as save on shipping costs. The company's first crowdsourced vehicle -- an offroader called the Rally Fighter -- is expected to go into production next year. Bloomberg Businessweek
(10/28)
- Bad driving could be hardwired
Researchers believe that a single gene found in a third of Americans could cause sloppy driving. Undergraduates who possessed the gene, which affects the brain's ability to rewire itself and thus its ability to learn new skills, made 20% more mistakes during a driving simulation than their more genetically fortunate peers. "The people who had this genetic variation performed more poorly from the get-go," says neurologist Steven Cramer. "It's up to society to say, how do we deal with that fact?" Wired.com/Wired Science
(10/29)
| Business Leadership | | |
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- Taking the mystery out of leadership
Clear communication is important in any leadership role, says Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust, otherwise followers start trying to guess what the boss is thinking. Whether she's hosting ice cream socials in Harvard Yard or holding online Q-and-A sessions with alumni around the world, Faust says she's always trying to make sure that Harvard's different constituencies feel valued and included in the management process. NYTimes.com
(10/31)
- 100 ways small outfits can get greener
Small Business Trends reports 100 tips from readers on environmentally friendly business practices, which it categorizes in four sections: conserve, recycle, go paperless and adopt green practices. Among the tips: Turn off a computer's power strip every night, take advantage of natural lighting and reduce the number of documents that are printed. Small Business Trends
(10/29)
| Sales & Marketing | | |
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- Great service begins with trust, says Ritz-Carlton chief
Ritz-Carlton President Simon F. Cooper says the key to his company's success is training the staff well, then trusting them to do their jobs. Every employee at Cooper's hotel chain can spend up to $2,000 to improve any guest's stay without seeking managerial approval -- whether it's used on champagne for a guest's birthday or on carpentry costs to make a beach wheelchair accessible. "It doesn't get used much, but it displays a deep trust in our staff's judgment," Cooper says. Forbes
(10/30)
| AAIA News | | |
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- AAIA co-hosts popular Chairmen's Reception at AAPEX
More than 750 aftermarket industry executives attended last night's Chairmen's Reception at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. Hosted by AAIA chairman Jerry O'Pry and AASA Board of Governors Chairman Peter Morse, this popular pre-AAPEX kickoff was a standing-room-only networking event.
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The Access to Repair Parts Act is vital to the nation's small businesses and American consumers, writes Pat Felder, Louisiana state chairwoman for the National Federation of Independent Business. "Let's protect the entrepreneurialism and competition that drives the American way. Let's protect your freedom of choice. Let's pass the Access to Repair Parts Act." 
