Massive fire destroys popular auto repair shop in Meaford

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Article content A large fire destroyed a decades-old family-run auto repair shop and disrupted the flow of water in Meaford Thursday night.Article content Black smoke from the blaze at Johnny B’s Automotive and Car Care was seen as far away as Owen Sound and The Blue Mountains as neighbors reported hearing explosions and being overwhelmed by fumes and heat. No injuries were reported as of Friday morning. The municipality issued a news release early Friday morning asking residents connected to the municipal water system to avoid drinking the water and to limit consumption as much as possible. The municipality…
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Lithium iron phosphate curbs the battery gap with nickel, cobalt

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Battery expert Lukasz Bednarski, author of the 2021 book “Lithium: The Global Race for Battery Dominance and the New Energy Revolution,” believes automakers’ interest in building lower-priced EVs could be one of the drivers behind LFP’s rising popularity. “LFP provides good enough performance at a lower cost, which makes it an attractive proposition for EVs for the middle class,” he said. Bednarski added that the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides incentives “for the development of the whole battery chain (with no) preference for LFP chemistry.” Rising investment in LFP manufacturing facilities in the United States is coming not just…
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Expert Insights: Dealership Succession Planning

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ABOUT THE PANELISTS FARID AHMAD Founder and Chief Executive Officer, DSMA With over 35 years of global auto industry experience, Farid is considered a genuine industry expert by dealers and OEMs alike, with his finger on the pulse of the automotive marketplace across North America. Farid is founder and CEO of DSMA, an automotive intelligence and M&A advisory service with more than 1,000 years of combined industry experience and over 1,500 valuations and over 400 completed transactions. For the second consecutive year, DSMA has placed on the 2022 Report on Business ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies. www.dsma.comCHRIS SCHAUFELE…
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Used-car prices rebound, making buying a challenge

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Our main advice for buyers in this still tricky market is to act quickly and negotiate from an informed perspective. That can make the difference between getting a fair deal or paying too much. Also, it’s never been more important to make sure your credit is in good shape. Interest rates are up, but the most competitive rates are reserved for those with strong credit ratings. Here are some other ways to make the best of a challenging market. Consider buying a new car. If you’re looking at newer used cars—models in the 1- to 3-year-old range—you may find that…
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Used-car sales may recover for rest of 2023, expert says

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With used-vehicle prices back in depreciation territory, May and June could go down in the books as the “worst May and June in history” for used vehicles losing value, Smoke said. However, those vehicles losing value is “a good thing for the people who’ve been sitting on the sidelines not able to find a vehicle at the price point they want,” Smoke said. Floor under prices There is a scarcity of used vehicles less than 4 years old because of a COVID-19 pandemic-induced lack of new-vehicle production in 2020 and 2021. Smoke said that downturn spelled trouble for the used-vehicle…
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Reasons DIY Auto Glass Solutions are a Bad Idea

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You may be tempted to try DIY auto glass solutions to resolve cracks in your windshield or other damage to your auto glass. However, these at-home kits can fail to produce the desired results and can even cause additional damage to your vehicle’s windshield in many cases. A Low Chance of Success According to the National Windshield Repair Division of the Auto Glass Safety Council, less than 10 percent of all auto glass damage can be repaired safely with DIY auto glass solutions. Even if your windshield falls to this 10 percent, the chance that you could repair it to…
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EV makers are dividing into leaders and stragglers in US

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Some of the recent darlings of the EV market, including Kia and Rivian Automotive, are off to a slow start this year due to supply chain issues and the loss of the federal EV tax incentive because of tougher eligibility rules. Overall, new EV registrations grew 72 percent in the January to April period, according to Experian, driven primarily by Tesla, with 52 percent growth and a 60.8 percent share of the electric-car market. Non-Tesla brands split the rest of the EV market among 24 marques. But not all makers are enjoying the EV sales surge evenly. And some promising…
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