I’m writing this from my office at ATRA, a complex that was once bustling with activity. I say, once bustling because to comply with the order imposed by...
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After a long, hard, day it’s nice to relax and enjoy a beautiful sunset. The sunsets here in Oxnard, California, are stunning, and watching them is a great...
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature where I share stories, insights, and reflections about business and life.
I just finished polishing my...
This article is the second of a three-part series. We began by rethinking telephone procedures to match your shop’s unique needs. I explained how you can...
GEARS Staff
“My friend Peter once told me that his motorcycle dealership had attained its leadership position because of his “Rocks.” He went on to explain that...
Over the years I’ve looked at a lot of ways to establish meaningful goals, quit bad habits and just live better. My book shelves are bursting with volumes...
It’s around this time that I begin to create and assemble my presentation for POWERTRAIN EXPO. Considering that I’ve done over 30 of these, I know what to...
My work with clients creates dramatic revenue growth by making some basic organizational changes. But change can also be implementing new marketing, using a...
This issue is GEARS Magazine’s silver jubilee. It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years since we first started publishing GEARS.
It’s common when...
With 2022 just one calendar page turn away, we should consider the possibilities for the new year. Think of this article as a collage of random thoughts and...
GEARS Staff
The economic outlook for 2025 under President Donald Trump’s second term is a topic of significant interest, particularly regarding the relationships between...
While teaching his grandson to drive, Jim discovered that many of the points that were important for a good driver also applied to running a successful...
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature in which I share stories, insights, and reflections about real business and life challenges.
At this...
You get things done. You make things happen. You figure it out and solve problems every day and you’ve been amazing people for years. You diagnose problems...
The following is an excerpt from my 2018 Wall Street Journal bestseller, Selling Boldly. It’s about making phone calls to customers and prospects who know...
If you’ve been around long enough, you’ve notice trends and styles that fade away only to change back years later. Fashion is a good example. If you keep a...
The problem is clear and the solutions are getting there. ATRA chapters are regaining their relevance as we enter this new stage of industry development. For...
“It’s not the Quantity of Time you spend with someone. What counts most is the Quality of Time with them.”
This popular myth has been communicated for...
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Last month, we featured the compelling story of RK Transmissions, highlighting Robert and Lorraine Klein’s thoughtful decision to sell their well-established...
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature in which I share stories, insights, and reflections about business and life. Imagine my reaction to...
In a community where local businesses form the foundation of everyday life, Croce’s Transmission Specialists in Norwalk, Connecticut, has become much more...
A new friend asked me recently, “Where do you find your inspiration”? As per my usual method of communication, the truth spewed out. My answer was simple...
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature in which I share stories, insights, and reflections about real business and life challenges.
Have you...
As the ATRA Board President, I would like to welcome you to Powertrain Expo 2019. This our first Expo at the Caesars Palace Hotel, and I believe you’ll find...
With the holidays just around the corner, it’d be nice to have all the tools you want. But it’s more cost effective and efficient to make sure you have the...
In my last article in the July GEARS magazine, I explained what a Mobile Friendly website is and what it means to gaining new customers. It also explained the...
A bevel gear contact pattern is one of the quickest ways to see how a gearset is actually carrying load. It shows where the tooth flanks meet under a defined...
If there is one word I hear every day as it relates to automotive lubricants, it’s “synthetic.” Twenty-five years ago, the same word elicited a totally...
The next step in preparing for a smart exit from your business, by determining and helping enhance your shop’s value.
My newest seminar is Only One Thing Matters in the Marketing War – Winning. It’s a war for TOMA – Top Of Mind Awareness. Think of TOMA as instant...
While attending Business School at UCLA, I participated in a “Capstone Business Creation Research Project” with a group of classmates. Out of the...
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
Get Your Kicks on Route 66!
When I was 9 years old, my family made the classic American pilgrimage to California via Route 66, the Mother Road. This amazing...
A few years ago, during the ATRA seminar, we discussed the additional coolant temperature sensors added to numerous vehicles and why that change was...
Pat Ayers, one of our ATRA Board members, recently approached me, telling me he had seen the women’s articles in GEARS Magazine. He told me about a very...
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...
GEARS Staff
“Some people say, ‘Give customers what they want.’ But that’s not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they’re going to want… I think...
I’ve visited hundreds of shops during my career, and not much has changed over the decades. Years ago, you could find shops filled with work while another...
It’s time once again to mark your calendar and save the date for Expo 2018. This year marks the return to Bally’s: Expo will be October 31st through...
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
Have you ever wondered what makes us do the things we do, or on the other hand, fail to do the things we don’t do? In other words, “Why do people do what...
President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports from China, Canada, and Mexico have sparked significant debate about their impact on various industries...
This year marks a significant milestone for ATRA in several ways. Most notably, our annual EXPO will be unlike any other in our history. Since our inaugural...
When Alberto Vela looks back on his journey to owning A-Plus Transmissions in Weslaco, Texas, it’s clear that his path wasn’t just about mastering...
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature in which I share stories, insights, and reflections about business and life.
One secret great business...
At this year’s Powertrain Expo, I’m presenting a workshop entitled Pea Soup: The Cure for Entrepreneurial Split Personality Disorder. I’ve compiled some...
Every decision made today can ripple through time, creating significant impacts in the future. This concept, famously known as the “Butterfly Effect,” is...
Whether you already have an ATRA supplied member website, or you have a website that you built or you paid someone else to build, how do you know if you are...
The empiriKal partners© advisory team is comprised of specialists in all aspects of financial planning and investment services. I’m Edward Vela, and I was...
It seems like yesterday, but it was 1999 when I walked through the doors of ATRA in the industrial park in Ventura, California. Today, ATRA resides in San...
Transmission industry leaders are answering President Trump’s call for all hands on deck to fight the war against COVID-19. Alto Products and ETE REMAN are...
On April 15 and 16, 2016, I’ll be out of the office: I’ll be in Seattle, Washington, attending the Torque Converter Rebuilders Association (TCRA) seminar...
GEARS Staff
How many people work for you? About half of them.
It’s an old joke, but too often it truly is the case in shops around the world. We’re all employed at the...
Are you the type to bring your car to the dealer for factory maintenance? How about the local Quick-Lube? Or maybe your dad taught you to maintain a vehicle at...
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature where I share stories, insights, and reflections about business and life. This article is a fitting way...
Welcome, once again to Clash of the Classics. This month we’ll head back to 1969 for a look at two cars that defined a decade. Very few models have had the...
The 2021 Powertrain Expo is a wrap. It was held in Las Vegas at Bally’s from October 13th through 16th. I think it’s an understatement to say that Expo was...
Over the past thirty years I’ve had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of business owners and seeing, firsthand, how they run their shops. These shops run the...
“I recently performed a portfolio review for one of our new clients. He and his wife both turn 72 this year, which means they’re required to start taking...
Conflict is an inevitable part of any business, but in the fast-paced world of automotive repair, tensions can run particularly high. Whether it’s an upset...
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
You’ve seen the ads… you’ve read the articles… and you’ve decided to come to Expo. That’s terrific; we’ll look forward to seeing you there!
But...
Last month, all manner of broadcast communication — TV, radio, and internet — was interrupted to present the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro...
GEARS Staff
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GEARS Staff
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature in which I share stories, insights, and reflections about business and life.
Last week I received a...
These days it seems everyone wants to send today’s young people to college as soon as they finish high school. You can’t watch TV or go online without...
As a student in 2004, I studied Brazilian economics in Brazil, Salvador da Bahia, while also experiencing one of the world’s most dynamic festivals...
My friend, Albert, moved from California to Idaho to seek a more manageable cost of living and employment opportunities. After a few years, he established...
Many small to midsized companies found it challenging to sell in 2023. This was mostly due to the rise in interest rates and the hesitation from private equity...
For the past two years, I’ve been on a mission to establish our home office in San Antonio. Handling contractors, construction crews, and city planners has...
The 25th annual TCRA seminar was held in Charlotte, NC on April 14-15th, and it was a huge success with record attendance. The event brought together torque...
Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature in which I share stories, insights, and reflections about real business and life challenges.
There’s...
“The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best, but legendary.” – Sam Walton
For Charlie Rakes, owner of AA Quality...
GEARS Staff
“Built on the Brick and Mortar of Honest Shops — Advancing the Future of Transmission Professionals Worldwide.”
THE ROAD AHEAD ISN’T SLOWING DOWN
As we...
The Continental Divide is an imaginary line that runs through the North American continent and separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from...
The UA/UB80E transmission has been in production for over nine years now, and literally, there are just over 5 million of them on the street. These...
GEARS Staff
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In Part I, we covered base oils and their changes over time. Here, we’ll look at the additive packages that make each oil unique.
Additive packages in ATFs...
This is a follow-up to my last article “Adaptive Precision: How ZF’s 8 Speed Refined the CVI Concept” Gears Magazine, May 2026.” It would be nice to...
This article is part three of a series that examines the limitations and considerations of common measurements performed with one of the most widely used...
When I touched down the Friday before the Phoenix, AZ seminar, Keith Clark and I had planned to stop by a few colleges and talk about how ATRA can help bridge...
Over the past couple of years, we’ve looked into ways to get new people into the industry. There are technical services, organizations, and automotive...
Professional association membership offers numerous benefits, depending on the type of association and its goals. ATRA’s goals are simple – to make you...
When I grew up, it seemed that very disposable product was labeled Made in Japan or Made in China. If it was easy to reproduce or inexpensive, that’s where...
W hen people don’t know what’s going on, they often assume the worst. For 16 years, I drove a delightful little 2003 Thunderbird, but at 142,000 miles, and...
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