GEARS Staff
Popular Articles
All business owners want to know, “What’s my business worth?” But different buyers will put different values on your shop:
Family
Employee
Ambitious...
With this year’s POWERTRAIN EXPO right around the corner, I can’t help thinking about teamwork. Every year, I marvel at how ATRA’s IBO and GEARS Magazine...
Marcus Lemonis is a successful entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Camping World, Good Sam Enterprises, and Bed Bath & Beyond. He also stars in a TV reality...
GEARS Staff
Every day we see headlines touting how much AI is taking over our lives. Yet, when we leave the house, get in the truck, drive, and arrive at work… There’s...
Last month, we looked at stress in the transmission shop – the good, the bad, and the ugly. I made the case that not all stress is bad. In fact, a...
GEARS Staff
There’s an old joke about the Chicken and the Pig wanting to do something nice for the farmer. The Chicken suggests an Eggs and Bacon breakfast. The Pig...
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
Technicians spend a lot of time learning how sensors, solenoids, actuators, and circuits work. Technicians also spend a lot of time learning how new tools work...
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
As the CEO of ATRA, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges our members face every day. We all know that running a successful transmission shop requires two...
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
This September, our industry came together in vibrant San Antonio, TX, for the 2025 Powertrain EXPO—and what a week it was! From the moment the first seminar...
GEARS Staff
I’ve seen many associations and companies put on retreats. I’ve never attended one, but I was curious. Do you become brainwashed and transform? Leave...
There are shops you find because of billboards, a radio ad, or an internet search. Then there are shops you find because someone you trust leans across a...
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
This story is true, but the details have been adapted, and the names changed to protect the “innocent” and the “guilty.”
As you know, much of what I...
Running a successful transmission shop requires far more than tools, technical skill, and a steady stream of customers. At its core, a thriving shop depends on...
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
Hopefully, you’re reading this as you’re making plans for EXPO. This article is a blatant tease and appeal to get you to come to my EXPO Presentation on...
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
Sales Expert Don Hutson, a former keynote speaker at ATRA’s Expo, says, “There are very few business problems that cannot be solved by more sales.”
True...
Welcome, once again to Clash of the Classics. This month will be a lot of fun as we’ll look at two modern day classics that have become legendary. Today, the...
I was once 25 years old. When I think about it I am sometimes shocked at how fast the time has passed. Looking back I wonder what it would have been like if my...
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
In the competitive world of automotive repair, transmission shop owners must constantly find ways to expand their services, improve efficiency, and meet...
GEARS Staff
I sit here taking a hard-earned break from packing the camper for our annual pilgrimage to the Indy 500, looking out at the road ahead and thinking about how...
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
Selling is built into our human experience. From birth, to merely survive, we are faced with the need to gain the cooperation of others. Babies cry to get Mom...
The shop owner offered me a cup of coffee and asked, “How do you take it?”
“Black, no sugar” I replied.
The woman next to me, who was picking up her...
I just returned from San Antonio, and the ATRA Powertrain Expo felt different this year.
Coming back from one of those giant, overwhelming shows where you’re...
GEARS Staff
In April of 1946, Esquire Magazine ran the clipped advertisement. (right)
The Phillip Morris company was sure they were offering a good product. Buyers were...
Diagnosing today’s modern automatic transmissions can be challenging, to say the least. We have gone from a simple two-speed transmission controlled by a...
Welcome, once again to Clash of the Classics. This month we’ll head back to 1940 to revisit two very cool pre-war machines that blended style, reliability...
“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
There’s a certain kind of loyalty found in places like...
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
In March as I read the line-up for this year’s SXSW (South by Southwest) music event in Austin, Texas it made me think of the Powertrain Expo. No, they...
Welcome once again to Clash of the Classics. This month we head back to 1956 for a look at two wagons that captured the spirit of mid-century American optimism...
At this year’s ATRA Powertrain Expo, one session promises to show shop owners exactly where business is slipping away — and how to stop it.
A...
For professionals in the torque converter and transmission rebuilding industry, the start of May signals an exciting opportunity to network, learn, and deepen...
In every auto repair buying situation the buyer is concerned about Trust. They want a bargain price, quick, reliable service, and a technician they can...
GEARS Staff
As the smoke from Fourth of July fireworks settled just two weeks ago, many Americans returned to their routines – some still wondering whether this...
Marcus was eight years old the first time he sensed that something was wrong with money. His parents were arguing in the kitchen – voices raised, bills...
Hey everyone! I am thrilled to invite you to the 2026 ATRA Powertrain EXPO! We are heading to the beautiful Marriott Rivercenter on the River Walk in San...
Seems our new work vocabulary repurposes or changes the meanings of terms we have used for years. The one I hear most often these days (its meaning depending...
AIis transforming business models across every sector, and transmission services in the U.S. are no exception. Legacy systems are being disrupted, forcing...
Guest Author
Welcome, once again to Clash of the Classics. This month we’ll head back to 1969 to revisit two compact muscle cars that packed serious punch in the late...
The automotive industry is facing a workforce challenge that directly impacts transmission repair shops, dealerships, and independent service centers across...
In this issue of Keep Those Trannys Rolling, we are going to take a look at a 2004 Mini Cooper that was experiencing erratic or pulsing ratio changes while...
Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time talking with shop owners about two things that sit at the center of a successful business culture: being...
What is inductive current analysis? It is the ability to look inside a circuit and view work being done. In the electrical world, work is often performed by...
As the 2025 tax season approaches, business owners have a powerful opportunity to reduce their tax liability and unlock valuable credits – if they...
GEARS Staff
I had a conversation with one of my best clients that stopped me in my tracks – not because it was unusual, but because it revealed something he’d...
GEARS Staff
GEARS Staff
Welcome to the 2026 Powertrain EXPO in San Antonio, TX! Each year, EXPO gives us a chance to come together as an industry—to learn, connect, and prepare for...
In the fast-paced landscape of modern industry, we often find ourselves obsessed with “The Big Idea.” We lionize the lightning-bolt moments of...
GEARS Staff
Why transparently teaching and sharing financial statements may be the most powerful culture-building tool you’re not using.
If you’ve been in this...
Running a transmission shop today isn’t for the faint of heart. Customers arrive having already diagnosed their own vehicles. Vendors shift pricing or...
As many of you know I sold my shop in April of 2021 and now do only antique transmission repair in my hangar at the Sedalia MO airport. Sourcing parts can be a...
When my husband, Tony, and I opened Croce’s Transmission Specialists in 1999, joining ATRA was one of the best decisions we made. As new shop owners, we knew...
GEARS Staff
What separates a transmission shop that merely survives from one that shifts through all gears perfectly and thrives? It’s a steadfast commitment to...
A Nissan rolls into the shop with a familiar complaint. The customer says the transmission feels wrong. Maybe it surges on the highway. Maybe the RPM rises and...
GEARS Staff
During a 10K in Agoura Hills, California, a realization hit me around mile four: for most working adults, running is a luxury. Not because it’s expensive...
GEARS Staff
When I look at world events that are daily changing the way we get the supplies of parts, raw materials, and base oils, I’m immediately reminded of what we...
The flexplate is a critical but often misunderstood component in the drivetrain, acting as the mechanical link between the engine’s crankshaft and the torque...
GEARS Staff
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