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The partners instill excitement about Mango Automotive’s mission, sharing how each employee’s role will shape the future of auto care.

“As we see automotive repair shops transition from traditional repair into electric vehicles, some shops are going to be left behind, but not the shops that have become Mango shops. Those shops are going to continue to live on and transform and grow how they need to so they can be part of that current climate of automotive repair,” Jackson says.

How Shop Owners Can Model Mango

For shop owners looking to try their hand at acquisition, Jackson says setting some baseline standards goes a long way into ensuring the sustainability of the business model.

“They need to consider location, and then the thing they need to understand is what’s their minimum acquisition criteria. So, for me, I said I’m looking for a shop that’s doing a million in revenue and has seven or more bays,” Jackson says.

She says the right amount of revenue helps to ensure that you’re buying a profitable shop from the get-go, which should be top of mind. She says she chooses shops that are already profitable.

“I know any shop is limited in the amount of revenue that they can produce by the number of bays that they can that they have. So even if I have a shop that’s slower in revenue, I know that I can increase the revenue to a certain level based on the number of bays in that shop,” Jackson says.

She believes shop owners who want to enter acquisition can do it if they plan well. Shop owners just need systems and processes in place for governing multiple locations, especially if they can’t be in each shop daily or even weekly.

“My general thought is if you have one shop, you can easily manage two shops, you can probably pretty sustainably manage three shops if they’re all in the same general metro area. But once you grow beyond that number of shops, you really have to have solid operating procedures in place because you as the owner of four, five, six, seven shops are not going to be able to scale yourself,” Jackson says.

“So, you should really think about what kind of lifestyle you want. If you love touching base with customers and knowing all of your employees by name, you want to think about you know what number of shops feel sustainable at that level because your role as a shop owner changes as you acquire more and more shops.”

With its exotic and delicious-sounding name, Mango is a name to watch. Jackson, who comes from the tech world where she built software for the electric vehicle repair and maintenance space, says this is just the beginning of her dream of going full circle—from development to dynasty.

“I thought the most fun way to do that would be to acquire automotive repair shops, convert them into having EV capabilities, and then on the backbone of that network of automotive repair shops to build that EV software,” Jackson says.

And if all goes according to plan, Mango Automotive will become a household name.

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Cold Spell Means More AAA Battery Installs

The recent arctic temperatures that have affected much of the U.S. has AAA technicians installing more batteries for motorists.

“The cold can get into the batteries, that’s really low on cell capacity; it will affect that battery,” said Evron Brown with AAA. “We’ve been hammered. We’ve been hammered. That’s all it’s been mostly, was batteries.”

Brown told NSB-TV 2 Atlanta that frigid temperatures can hurt vehicles that are not used to brutally cold temperatures. His customers recently learned this the hard way.

“The cold weather gets in and hurts the cells inside the battery. So when the battery is not being recharged enough, the cells inside with the cold weather, they won’t reactivate,” Brown said.

He added that battery change requests have been especially high since the pandemic.

Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle Ban Not In Updated Colo. EV Plan

Colorado will not follow California’s protocol in banning the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered vehicles.

According to a SEMA press release, despite being a CARB state, the Colorado Energy Office (CEO), Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Colorado Department of Transportation will not set a mandate against gas-powered vehicle sales in its new Electric Vehicle plan.

GM Dealership Owners Opt to Sell Rather Than Invest in EVs

Buick dealership operators who would prefer to not invest the money, time and effort it takes to sell and service electric vehicles are instead opting to sell their locations.

As reported by the Detroit Free Press, General Motors is getting outside offers to purchase the dealerships from owners not on board with the brand’s transitions to all-electric by 2030.

General Motors declined to say how many owners of its nearly 2,000 Buick dealerships nationwide intended to sell, but, according to the report, “Buick is asking dealers to commit a minimum investment of $300,000 to $400,000 to prepare their stores to sell and service EVs.”

Kia Dealerships Get an ‘F’ from Customers

A new J.D Power consumer survey ranks Kia dead last for customer satisfaction across all mass-market brands.

The survey, which polled 37,000 dealership customers, scored Kia 754 on a 1,000-point scale. An industry average score, which the Korean automaker missed by 18 points, is listed as 782.

According to Jalopnik, Kia’s chief operating officer for the U.S., Steve Center, called the findings “absolutely the most unacceptable business outcome. We don’t want to be Sears.”

Auto Executives Losing Confidence in 2030 EV Adoption

A recent survey that polled 900 auto industry executives found that confidence in EV adoption was lower than one year ago.

As reported by Jalopnik, confidence continues to wane significantly as executives think that just 10 to 40% of new vehicles sold by 2030 will be EVs. That’s down from 2021 where they believed 20 to 70% would be sold during the same timeframe.

They all agreed, however, that Tesla would be the market leader by 2030, and some even stated that Apple could be a leader as well.

Auto executives polled said supply chain and economic issues were the biggest determining factor to their lowered confidence as well as inflation and high-interest rates.

EV Restorations Booming

The Associated Press covered some of the driveway mechanics and enthusiasts who are converting classic cars into electric restomods.

The recent story includes some business owners like Sean Moudry, co-owner of InspireEV near Denver. He recently restored a 1965 Ford Mustang with an electric powertrain. The project cost upwards of $100,000.

In addition to cost, the story notes some of the hazards related to this new field of independent customization, including the lack of institutional knowledge and the dangers of working with high-voltage components. But it’s clear that the custom EV market is a growing one.

“The early adopters of this would take a crashed Tesla and pull the motor and harnesses and batteries and all that out of the vehicle and find a way to shoehorn it into whatever vehicle they wanted to build,” one source told the AP. “But today there are many manufacturers now starting to make components.”

2023 Prius Comes with Catalytic Converter Shield Option

The 2023 Toyota Prius hopes to deter theft by including a catalytic converter shield add-on.

According to Jalopnik, catalytic converter thefts have been a problem for years as thieves disproportionality target the Japanese hybrid vehicle due to its high black-market value (as much as $1,000).

The new shield, a $140 accessory that owners will have to pay to have installed, is designed to make theft hard and peace of mind easy.

Despite the shield, there is no guarantee that it’s theft-proof, only more difficult to steal thus making it a deterrent. Made by MillerCAT, the Cat Shield is made from 5052-grade aluminum, which is used on boats, and promises “excellent strength and corrosion resistance.”

Subaru Recalls 270K Ascent Models for Fire Risk

Subaru has announced a recall for 271,000 Ascent vehicles, according to Reuters.

The recall impacts some Ascent vehicles from the model years of 2019 to 2022. Reportedly, Subaru said a “wiring connection may have a production-related defect that can cause a fire while the heater is in operation because excessive heat could result in melting the ground terminal and surrounding components,” according to Reuters.

Owners are being urged to park their Ascent vehicle away from buildings and structures, and Subaru said drivers should avoid letting the engine run when their vehicle is unattended. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said drivers should park their vehicles outside. NHTSA also said that drivers should stop their vehicle and turn the ignition off if they smell smoke or see it emerging from the dash or driver’s footwell.

Two fires have been reported, but the automaker is not aware of any injury or crash reports. In order to fix the issue, Subaru dealers will need to replace heater ground bolts. It may also be necessary to replace the ground wire and connector holder.

Chrysler, Dodge Owners Get ‘Do Not Drive’ Order After 5th Air Bag Death

Chrysler-parent Stellantis is under fire from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration following a fifth Takata air bag inflator crash death.

U.S. auto safety regulators have issued an urgent call for owners to get their devices repaired, echoing Stellantis’ November call to its owners of 276,000 older U.S. vehicles.

According to Reuters, more than 67 million Takata air bag inflators have been recalled in the United States in the last 10 years with more than 100 million worldwide making it the largest auto safety recall in history.

The latest death was in a 2010 Chrysler 300, one of three Stellantis deaths in seven months. Chrysler’s “Do Not Drive” affects Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum, Challenger and Charger from the model years 2005 through 2010.

Tesla, Nissan Most Reliable EVs, Says Report

A Consumer Reports ranking for most reliable EVs placed Tesla and Nisan as head of the class. According to the survey, as reported by Green Car Reports, EVs are still widely regarded as having more problems than other vehicles in the minds of consumers.

The report placed the Kia EV6 at the top of the list with Tesla Model 3 as the second most reliable EV and the Nissan Leaf third as ranked by consumers. The Kia EV6 topped the list primarily for its newness more than its reliability, which has yet to be determined.

Buttigieg Urged to Speed Up ‘Connected Car Technology’

Two top-ranking politicians—Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio and incoming Republican chair Sam Graves, the top Republican on the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee—pushed the Biden Administration to help automakers get “connected technology” to the public to help curb automobile crashes, sited a report from Reuters.

According to Reuters, both politicians asked Pete Buttigieg to move swiftly to slow U.S. traffic deaths.

Kia Recalls Nearly 900 EVs for Coolant Leak

A recall has been issued for a coolant leak in some Kia Niro EV models, according to CarScoops.

The recall includes 872 vehicles from the 2020 model year. Reportedly, the Electric Power Control Unit in these models “may have been produced by a supplier with improper sealing, meaning coolant could internally leak in the EPCU and contact its circuit board,” Kia said, according to CarScoops.

The existence of this issue could lead to the EV stalling. There have been no crashes or injuries reported to Kia. There have also been no fires or fatalities reported. Owners included in the recall were informed in January.

RepairSmith acquired by AutoNation in $190M Deal

RepairSmith, a mobile auto repair company, has been acquired by AutoNation, Inc.

According to the financial website, Seeking Alpha, the deal is expected to close a the end of Q1 2023 and is worth a reported $190 million.

“Earlier this year, we added captive financing capabilities and initiated the development of mobility solutions to expand our customer offerings. RepairSmith is the next step in our plan,” CEO Mike Manley said. “It expands AutoNation’s ability to penetrate the extensive After-Sales service market and conveniently respond to our customers’ needs by broadening the reach of our existing After-Sales network.