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AUTOBODYNEWS.COM Vol. 39 / Issue 1 / January 2021
After Historic Turnaround in Q3, U.S. Auto Dealer Current Market Sentiment Fades in Q4
Gerber Collision & Glass Acquires 11 Locations in California
U.S. automobile dealer sentiment dropped in Q4 returning to its pre pandemic levels, according to the latest ox utomotive ealer Sentiment ndex S. The overall current market index dropped below into negative territory with a score of 4 , a statistically significant 7 point decrease from last quarter s . ear over year, the current market index was up by points. The Q4 S research was undertaken from ov. 4 to ov. , immediately after lection ay and at a time when cases were surging in the U.S. onversely, Q3
The oyd roup nc. announced the acquisition of locations in alifornia. ncluded in the acquisition are repair centers and one intake center in the counties of iverside and San ernardino in southern alifornia, east of os ngeles. riginating with two repair centers in 4, these new locations were commonly branded as st ertified ollision enters in . iverside ounty is the th most populous county in the U.S., home to approximately . million people, and includes locations in
research was conducted in late uly and early ugust, when vehicle sales were improving and dealerships were open for business, with some restrictions. ealer sentiment declined in the fourth quarter as cases increased and market conditions became less than perfect compared to the third quarter, said Cox A ut omot iv e hief conomist J onathan S mok e. t is not all bad news, though. s Smoke notes, elative to a year ago, sentiment remains marginalSee Sentiment Fades, Page 14
Collision Repair Industry Associations Make 2021 New Year’s Resolutions by Chasidy Rae Sisk
n ew ear s ve, people typically en oy reflecting on the ending year, but has been a little chaotic, to say the least.
While no one seems particularly sad to say goodbye to , there s still excitement and hope for the incoming year, expressed by making
ew ear s resolutions. ollision repair industry associations are optimistic about the upcoming year and graciously agreed to share their ew ear s resolutions with utobody ews.
ecause has contained so many unprecedented events and situations, many associations resolutions See New Year’s Resolutions, Page 18
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anning, emet, enifee and two in iverside. The other six repair centers, located in rand Terrace, esperia, ighland, edlands, San ernardino and ictorville, are in San ernardino ounty, the 4th most populated county in merica with a population of . million people. San ernardino ounty is the largest in the U.S. and about the si e of the state of West irginia. We welcome these high performing teams to erber and are excited to provide best in quality See Gerber Collision, Page 11
Distracted Driving Skyrocketing During the Pandemic by Kea Wilson, StreetsBlog USA
A new study of COVID-era car crashes finds that a shocking 7% of all drivers were using their cell phones within seconds of impact—and transaportation safety leaders are doing almost nothing to stop it, despite a preponderance of proven strategies that can compel us to put down our devices when we re behind the wheel. n an analysis of 8 , collisions that took place on U.S. roads in , mobility analysis firm endrive found our country s record setting crash rates in the lockdown months usually involved dangerous distracted driving behaviors like texting behind the wheel, which is illegal in 4 states. larmingly, .8% of drivers the company studied were using their cell phones in the five seconds immediately prior to impact—and the problem got increasingly worse as the year wore on, and more and more cars returned to the road and rates of other dangerous behaviors,
like speeding, dropped. endrive s technology works in the background of a wide range of cell phone apps, from e taxi software to navigation services countless mericans use every day, so the dangerous phenomenon cuts across both commercial and civilian driving. Those early days of , of course, were an exceptional time for U.S. transportation. ut experts reiterated that distracted driving long predates the pandemic, and the recent upheaval in travel patterns only underscores a long standing problem. istracted driving is a needless crisis, and now as we navigate increased health risks in our day to day, we need to prioriti e safety on the road, said J onathan Matus, endrive and co founder. We hope that sharing this data demonstrates the urgency here, and sheds light on a key to keeping our communities safer. f course, we know exactly how to stop drivers from scrollSee Distracted Driving, Page 16
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