Auto retailers of a certain age will recall the days when no business plan would be approved unless it assumed an overhead absorption of at least 100%. In essence, the workshop was paying the fixed...

An unexplained sense of nostalgia as I read this week that Voyager Group, the holding company for Richard Branson’s Virgin empire, has finally dissolved Virgin Cars. You remember it, I’m...

Another week; another chance to take a pop at franchised workshop labour rates. The Warranty Direct annual labour rate survey is easy meat for those magazines and newspapers (and even some trade...

Think of a high street retailer with a good reputation for customer service and Carphone Warehouse would likely come near the top of the list. It ticks all the boxes: wide product range, well trained...

Warm applause at the RMI annual dinner last Thursday night for the unveiling of the ‘Trust My Garage’ scheme. Equally warm laughter when guest speaker, Mike Penning MP, suggested the RMI...

 Some things matter; whereas some other things one merely has a soft spot for. Some of you may have a soft spot for Liverpool Football Club but whether it is owned by Americans or Martians, or...