The Ford Mustang Boss 302

A blogger posted "Rare Mustang Boss 302 Emerges from Garage" on Yahoo's Automotive 'Motoramic' site yesterday, showing great pictures (see above) of the 1969-1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302. I knew a guy in highschool who had vamped up a vintage 1973 Blue Ford Mustang that looked verrrrryyyyy similar to this, especially interior wise, so I became interested-I didn't know at first the difference between the two.

After some research, I found out the at the Boss 302 is very different from my friend's 1973 ride. (See below for my friend's Mustang)

The Mustang Boss 302 is a high performance variant of the latter, used more for racing, meant for the popular late '60's trans am racing. It was designed by Larry Shenoda, a former GM employee, in 1969-1970. The special features on the exterior include the 1969 'c stripe' and the 1970 'hockey stick stripe'. The reason for the name? Larry called it "the bosses car" while designing a top secret vehicle. The car pays homage to his boss, the GM President Bunkie Knudson. 

This car is featured as a collectors item for Hot Wheels-Mattel. It is also featured as an Australian Touring Car with Allan Moffat.

Wanna see the full blog for this found treasure? Check it out here:

http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/rare-mustang-boss-302-emerges-barn-40-slumber-202830266.html

9 Notable Cars in 2013

As the 2013 year closes, General Motors has created a list of the ultimate, the beautiful, and the most futuristic cars on the market. Half of these, sadly, are worth over 1.3 million dollars, so I won't be purchasing any of these on the list. As you will see below, vehicle engineers are now mixing retro with futuristic, bringing back swing up doors, large front grills, and classic Hollywood hoods, but increasing horizontal lines, flat top and backs, and large, sleek wheels. For the complete 26 car list, you can find it here:
http://editorial.autos.msn.com/most-significant-cars-of-the-2013-auto-shows?icid=autos_4993

1. 2014 Chevrolette Corvette Stingray Convertible (My Favorite-I am a convertible girl, what can I say)

2. McLaren P1-Genvea

3. Porsche 918 Spyder

4. Acura VSX Concept

5. 2014 Chevrolet Camaro

6. Ford Atlas Concept

7. 2014 Jeep Cherokee

8. Giugiaro Parcour

9. Ferrari LaFerrari

Now, for the average joe, thankfully MSN Auto also came out with a 2013 best used car list!

This can be found here:

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/best-used-cars-2013-1

Happy car hunting to all, and to all a good night! 

More SEMA Photos

Courtesy of our friends at: Best Wheels of Ft Myers  

http://www.bestwheelsoffortmyers.com/

Best Wheels of Ft. Myers is your one stop shop for luxury wheels, high performance tires for passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks, exhausts, and accessories. 
Located in the Sunny State of Florida, Best Wheels services all of Southwest Florida with 6 locations.

The Most Expensive & The Cheapest States for Car Repairs

(extracted from article: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/most-expensive-cheapest-states-car-repairs-6C10287974 by Paul A. Elsenstein)

Fun facts for the Automotive Repair Businesses and information for your customers-the most expensive states and the cheapest states for taking your vehicle to the mechanic.

In 2011, studies show that automotive repair costs rose by 10% from the previous year, with a huge variation in averages across the country.

Take a look at where your state lies- (mine is Ohio, thankfully, getting my car fixed is quite cheap compared to the rest of the nation)-on this list. I find it interesting, the states with the lowest average repair cost are Iowa, South Dakota, Delaware, and West Virginia. The highest, some surprising and some not-so surprising,  are New Jersey, California, D.C. and North Carolina.

According to this article, the "local mechanic's" pay varies greatly with each state. Colorado has the highest paid mechanics, and Vermont pays their auto repair technicians the least amount of money.

Why the change in repair costs? The answer depends on several factors that vary from state to state. Vehicles are subject to natural disasters, different types of roads, varied average distance commuters drive, climate, average vehicle cost within state households, etc. Depending on the type of repair, the types of vehicles coming into the auto shops, and the weather most are facing, prices will fluctuate.

Mondays are Painful, Watch a Video

Robinson's Auto Repair Video Blog:

 How-To Guide to Auto Repair on Youtube

I have a few friends that go by simple Youtube videos to work on their cars or to vamp up their motorcycles, and they often find it super helpful especially when dealing with custom work. There are many Automotive Repair Video Blogs around, such as Robinson's Auto Repair, to help those who have DIY home projects or for those faced with an ugly, unusual situation. Also interesting to see how others fix similar problems. My friend built a simple 1980 Yamaha 450 cc into a low rider simply by following Youtube! Thought it was incredible. Having medal welding supplies was a plus for him as well, but probably couldn't have done it without handy helpful videos.

Tattoo Tuesday

Looking for tattooed mechanics! Got an interesting design? Email lmartin@shopsaverexpress.com and we'll post it!

Mondays are Video Uploading Days!

Auto Repair & Diagnostics

How to Diagnose an Engine Problem

Mechanics and Nascar, Do You Mix?

Exclusive: Are NASCAR stars Kurt and Kyle Busch the baddest boys in Cup?

The brothers Busch have made a living out of rubbin' and racin' hard

By: Mike Hembree on September 26, 2013

Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130926/nascar01/130929868#ixzz2g0jbD7aQ
Follow us: @AutoweekUSA on Twitter | AutoweekUSA on Facebook

My complete opinion-I've heard both likes and dislikes for racing from the auto aftermarket world, and frankly, most of the mechanics I know couldn't care less. My grandma loves Nascar-no idea why, she's afraid to drive on the highway. However, if you are a Nascar fan and a local mechanic (or one or the other) here is an interesting article about the two Nascar winning brothers and their rise to success.

Auto Marketing: Does Direct Mail Work?

As I spend part of this week finalizing neat postcard promotions, I can't help but wonder who will actually view our Shop Saver Express postcards. Today, on Auto Shop Owner Network, there was a discussion on if Direct Mail works for the average automotive service shop. What's really going on with promotional mailers? Will it help the "local mechanic?"

Auto Shop Owner Network users answer these questions, along with several articles I processed today. Here are some facts and phrases I have thought would be good to post, in the event you were looking to mail a winter ad to your loyal customer base, or a fall oil change promotion to the new neighborhood around the block.

• One of the keys to direct mail is to figure out what you are trying to accomplish in each piece. What are you offering? Why are you special? Why are you mailing this customer? What do you want? Answer these questions in the design phase of your mailer.
• The easiest time to drive new business, according to an Automotive Shop Owner, is February-March. Mailing a flier out in November may be severely looked, unless you have a good gimmick.
• The more consistent, the better audience you receive!

Email VS. Direct Mail

• Email is good because it is incredibly cheap, fast, easy, and convenient. However, email is still not the standard way of communicating to auto shop owners and customer clientele. Email addresses are also only achieved through old customer base, so the prospect for new customers is very slim. Direct mail is costly, and largely pooled into the considerate void of "junk mail." Rick Suttle of smallbusiness.chron.com states that the best thing is to use both, and to listen to your customer base. 
• Ask yourself before deciding to send email or postal mail:
• Is it time sensitive?
• Have I asked the customer if they prefer mail/email promotions?
• Do I have a budget?
• Is my clientele online?

We are trying to go online, but what I see with Shop Saver Express is a larger percentage of catalog call-in orders, and not so much email communication or website orders. The internet would be easier for us, but our customer loyalty base is better via phone.

Either way, I am hoping that sending neat, friendly postcards is a great reminder to purchase our Auto Service Shop products online. I am also hoping to receive discount oil change coupons in the mail, so keep coming direct mail fliers!

Cool Mechanic Shirts

Aircraft Mechanic Shirts

Although the shirts have more to do with air vehicles than land vehicles, I thought this shirt site was pretty cool. I guess Mechanics are mechanics, no matter the machinery!

WANTED: Cool Car Pictures!!!

Send to lmartin@johndow.com, and we will feature them on a blog photo album. 

Calling All Shop Owners

ATTENTION: All Auto Body Shop Owners/Self Employed Mechanics!!!!

We are looking for businesses/mechanics to feature every week in an article highlighting the business, your customers, and your surrounding community. If you are interested, please email lmartin@johndow.com contact information, an image of you/your business, and a little information about your business. Featuring your business in our blog will promote, highlight and create community for your local shop! 

Welcome to The Local Mechanic's Blog!

A soon-to-be filled website with articles, products and interests for automotive service shop owners, mechanics, and privately owned automotive shops.

Powered by Shop Saver Express, Your One Stop Automotive Shop & Service Supplies

With the growth of the Shop Saver Express company, we are very happy to have just enlisted a new person to act as a Shop Saver Express Sales Coordinator, who will grow and develop the brand's reputation and customer base. With this new position, we hope to increase customer satisfaction. Feel free to contact our company with any comments, suggestions, or questions you may have with our product line. It is in our best interest to serve you, your company, and your own customers. 
We have many great updates that are just about to happen for the website and its inventory! We will be expanding the product line available to customers, offer promotions and deals to our returning customers, and designing a new and improved catalog look. 

Please stop by our website today to look at all of the incredible products we offer presently, and register to receive emails/updates.

Have a wonderful day!
-Shop Saver Express