“I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” – Groucho Marx
Welcome to the Worldwide Transmission Fellowship Club, or as I affectionately...
Popular Articles
Among the many amazing achievements we got to watch in the recently concluded Winter Olympics, two stand out in my mind for the deep lessons they can teach us...
While attending an automotive technical seminar recently, the topic of overheating and the various causes and current solutions came up during the lunch...
For a lot of people who attend Expo, it appears that much of what happens in Vegas stays in Las Vegas. That may be reassuring for some folks, but for most of...
Sensor technology is changing rapidly. Technicians usually set up expectations about what the sensor waveform will look like when they connect their scope and...
GEARS Staff
Hi, I’m Lance Wiggins, I’m Generation X! I listen to alternative music, love coffee and if there’s a system to buck, I’m your man! I like wearing...
Power steering and the pumps that allow the hydraulically assisted power steering we have become accustomed to first appeared in 1938 on large trucks. Patented...
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature in which I share stories, insights, and reflections about business and life challenges.
Torque...
One of the greatest sales trainers of all time said, “You can get everything you want in life if you just help enough other people get what they want.” –...
SINCE WE ARE ALL, IN THIS TOGETHER…
Come visit the Superior Technical Seminar at Bally’s Las Vegas ATRA Powertrain EXPO 2021 LIVE in person.
We welcome you...
In our current business climate, clear and timely communication could be a matter of life and death. Meetings, whether in a group setting or by web...
GEARS Staff
Every industry has a trade association. If you had a directory of associations you might find it interesting to find things like: The At-sea Processors...
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” – Henry Ford
In the small town of New Salisbury...
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature in which I share stories, insights, and reflections about business and life challenges.
At this...
Today, as my motorcycle crested the hill above Camarillo, CA, a woman in the car next to me told me that I’d lost a saddlebag. Glancing down I could see it...
Flat rate credit card processing is a relatively new term. More importantly, it is a very expensive illusion that is based more upon Tom Foolery than realistic...
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature in which I share stories, insights, and reflections about real business and life challenges.
In keeping...
GEARS Shopper advertising costs $325.00 for a one time insertion ad, (2 1/4 X 3) 2.25 X 3. Larger ads can be placed elsewhere in the magazine and are charged...
The Torque Converter Rebuilders Association (TCRA) will take place in sunny Pensacola, Florida. Often called “The Cradle of Naval Aviation”, Pensacola is...
This article is the last of a three-part series. We began by rethinking telephone procedures to match your shop’s unique needs. I explained how to convert...
So much of sales has to do with attitude and mindset.
Want to grow?
What do you believe about your products and services? How do you perceive your work? Are...
Transmissions have become quite complex in the past decade with advanced electronics, sophisticated solenoid and clutch application strategies, mechanical...
In any industry, trust is incredibly important. In the transmission industry, that trust is vital in gaining new business. Historically, so much of this...
“Dr. Phil” McGraw is famous for asking his TV show guests what they’re doing about a particular problem in their life. Then when he hears their reply, he...
Meet Ben and Michelle Roybal, the heart and soul of A-Affordable Transmissions Center situated in the lively towns of Sheridan and Thornton, Colorado. It’s...
Brad pulled into the service bay and said, “The noise is back!” Our faces dropped as we all knew that this third service was going to be mostly a waste of...
As most shops in ATRA know, I have been producing Rebuild books for many years now. Each book has its own set of challenges. The challenges vary from project...
The TCRA seminar program will be held at the Detroit Troy Marriott. Located 35 miles from the Detroit Airport; transportation options to the hotel include Car...
GEARS Staff
One of the most famous quiz shows in history was You Bet Your Life, created especially for Groucho Marx. At the beginning of each show, Groucho told his...
“People acting together as a group can accomplish things which no individual acting alone could ever hope to bring about.” – Franklin D...
If you’re a transmission rebuilder and think TCRA is some distant cousin, think again! The Torque Converter Rebuilders Association, TCRA, makes a broader...
Guest Author
What scares you?
For most people it’s uncertainty that scares them the most.
In a doctor’s office when they say, “Brace yourself, this procedure might...
In 2006, I was in Biloxi, Mississippi, just a few short months after hurricane Katrina. The devastation was unbelievable and the recovery took years. Now, with...
When trying to sell their businesses, one of the first questions all business owners ask is, “What’s my business worth?”
Knowing your business’s street...
January is a time for reflecting on the past year, committing to new goals, and planning the next 12 months of our lives. Sometimes you have a year you wish...
It seems like the news of industry veterans’ passing has become all too common in recent years. But Stevie Lavallee was much more than just another industry...
Never assume your child will not go to college. It is essential to start preparing for your child’s education now, even if you don’t believe going to a...
Welcome, once again to Clash of the Classics. This month will be a bit different as we’ll look forward to two cars that are destined to become classics...
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature in which I share stories, insights, and reflections about real business and life challenges.
In over 20...
Project planning and execution, the topic of my program at ATRA’s Powertrain Expo, is one of my favorite subjects. And while the process is relatively simple...
GEARS Staff
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature where I share stories, insights, and reflections about business and life.
My college major was...
We all know that it’s the shop owner’s job to keep customers and staff happy, the tools working, and the shop organized. A well-managed, clean shop is fun...
Ask most people, “What do you do for a living?” and they’ll describe their job title. “I’m a salesperson,” “I’m a builder,” or, “I’m the...
Let me be blunt. This isn’t a topic to be taken lightly. Most of you will benefit from this article, but only a few of you will get its full impact. If after...
“Treat your customer like you’d want to be treated.” That one sentence has guided Steve Burnett through more than four decades in the transmission...
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature in which I share stories, insights, and reflections about real business and life challenges.
This month...
If you’ve ever studied business management or have gone to any type of business or motivational training, you’ve most likely heard some of these tired, old...
Every business runs by its numbers. The most common number shop owners track is, of course, profit. I once heard at a management program, “The most important...
AI has disrupted virtually every aspect of our world. It is not only creating new investment opportunities and disrupting traditional strategies, but it is...
What causes people to stay with an employer? This has been studied for decades and it’s been proven again and again that their paycheck is important, but...
One time, back in the 1990s, a speakers’ agent sent me a speaking contract with some of the most oppressive terms I’d ever seen. It effectively implied...
ESG investing is a new concept for many investors. However, it has been around for a while. I recall taking an impact investing class in business school and...
Looking back at my previous articles will give you contextual data relative to where we are today as l reference their relevance in this article. While some...
GEARS Staff
These are challenging times. I started in the transmission business in 1980 as an installer after being in auto repair since 1968, working in gas stations, and...
Picture yourself in one of those rare interludes When things are going perfectly. You’re cruising down the road of success, wind in your hair, when...
Women are awfully amazing beings. Women can grow an entirely new human inside of themselves. They muster through excruciating pain to bear that child, and then...
So far, it’s been a great year for ATRA, and I see a bright future ahead. But before I get into why the future of ATRA and the industry looks so bright, let...
Perhaps the most famous quote about any single step in history occurred at 10:56 p.m. ET on July 20th, 1969, when American astronaut Neil Armstrong placed his...
“You’ve heard it before: the importance of after-sale marketing… that extra time you spend with the customer after the sale. It’s when you get to...
“Without reflection there is no true learning.”
— Kevin Buck, philosopher, author
Intelligence doesn’t serve us until we stop to consider what we’ve...
Caesar’s Palace was home to the 2019 edition of the Powertrain Expo held October 20th through November 2nd. Words and photos really can’t capture the...
GEARS Staff
While you might not be planning a wedding, if you’re considering a major purchase of any kind, it might be prudent to run a financial ratio analysis first...
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature in which I share stories, insights, and reflections about real business and life challenges. The names...
Looking back at 2020 and guessing what trends will follow in 2021 is on everyone’s minds. But if I had to sum up the start of 2021, the word would be...
So much of what we do is by habit. Each morning we jump into our car and head to work. We don’t think about turning onto Main Street then going three blocks...
Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH) concerns can be very hard to diagnose without some specific knowledge and the right equipment. Customers may struggle to...
There we were, Wednesday, October 13th, 2021. By all accounts, it felt about the same as any other Powertrain Expo setup morning, although we knew it wasn’t...
GEARS Staff
Over the next few months, you’ll notice an increasing emphasis on ATRA+ articles. It’s not so much that we’ve changed article focus, per se, but rather...
There’s something to be said for persistence and patience. Whether it’s building that transmission that’s always given you problems and finally getting...
GEARS Staff
As the ATRA board president, I’d like to welcome you to Expo 2017, at the Paris Hotel and Casino here in Las Vegas. This week will be your best opportunity...
In the January issue of GEARS Magazine, we discussed a change in our industry that is likely to have a dramatic effect on your business. We characterized it as...
If the lingering wet and chilly winter weather has the Mamas and the Papas’ tune, California Dreaming, running through your head, maybe you should take heed...
Traveling has picked up in the last couple of years, so have travel costs. However, it is always good to travel when you can. As business owners, traveling...
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature where I share stories, insights, and reflections about business and life.
The theme of this issue of...
One day, when my grandfather, Clarence Earl Cathcart, Sr. was courting my grandmother, he rode by her house, standing on two horses, riding them in tandem down...
When you have a passion to serve, it tends to overcome your life in a positive way. Opening the door for someone… letting people go before you… asking if...
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature in which I share stories, insights, and reflections about business and life.
In 1969, my mom had the...
As a Financial Planner and M&A Advisor, the best advice I can offer you is to build the value of your company. In this article I’m making some...
It started out as a simple exercise. Dennis Madden, then CEO of ATRA, walked around the office with a ruler. He asked every employee to tell him what the...
“I think I’ll have myself a beer!” For many of us, this is a great way to end a day or start a barbecue or celebrate a workout, but, hang on a second...
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
Luckily for you, Powertrain Expo is being held in Las Vegas, where the biggest problem you’ll encounter is not having enough time to experience all that this...
GEARS Staff
Guest Author
Last year, I moved from Thousand Oaks, California to Austin, Texas. Of course, Austin is the home of the University of Texas. The school’s Brand Identity is...
Welcome, once again to Clash of the Classics. This month we’ll take a trip down memory lane to 1955 to visit two cars that helped define the decade. Todays...
There are many business owners who would like to sell their company but do not have a financial plan in place. Therefore, they continue to do what they do...
GEARS Staff
Guest Author
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