A recent study has found that American auto repair shops turn away 1.8 million customers and lose $5.8 billion in sales each year because they do not have access to the same technical data and service information that automakers provide to dealerships.
By joining the Right to Repair Coalition – which aims to pass the Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act – you can help change that.
If you were to poll the hot rod community to determine which auto trimmers they admire most, Shannon Walters of Interiors by Shannon would surely make the shortlist.
The Hog Ring‘s exclusive interview with master auto trimmer Ron Mangus is featured on Hotrod & Restoration Magazine‘s website this week. The interview is our first in a series called “10 Questions” – where we pose 10 questions to a master, innovator or business leader in the field of auto upholstery who we believe our community of auto trimmers can learn from or be inspired by.
Long gone are the days when limousines were a classy affair. Today, it seems, their interiors are made to resemble the champaign rooms found in the back of swanky Las Vegas strip clubs. Neon lights, elaborate bars and even stripper poles have become the norm.
If auto upholstery was offered as a college degree, freshmen would be assigned to read Dennis W. Parks’ How to Restore and Customize Auto Upholstery & Interiors. It provides a great introduction to the craft, but – like most freshmen textbooks – falls short on serious instruction.
Haartz Corporation, a global manufacturer of automotive interiors, recently pulled a Michael Phelps in the 2012 J.D. Power & Associates Initial Quality Survey – proving, once again, why it’s the go-to company for quality convertible topping material.
Faurecia, the world’s sixth-largest automotive supplier, is hosting an automotive interior design contest via Pinterest. Sketch out your fantasy interior, post it to the online community and you might just win a brand-new 64 GB iPad – plus the attention of an industry leader and supreme bragging rights.
Interested in showcasing your work to thousands of other auto trimmers? Miami Corporation is hosting a contest for its 2013 calendar. All you have to do is submit pictures of your best work – using their fabric – and it might get featured.
Sid Chavers is one of the most respected names in auto upholstery. His hot rod interiors have donned the pages of car magazines for over three decades and won too many awards to count.
In 2007, Sid built the interior of a ‘32 Ford Coupe for Street Rodder Magazine that was turned into a pictorial. If you haven’t already, follow Sid as he crafts this traditional-style interior from scratch. Remember to pay close attention to the tricks of the trade he shares along the way.
Recently, in our Auto Upholstery Forum, trimmers were discussing the benefits of building a “shop car” to put on display for customers to see and feel the quality of interiors we’re capable of producing.
One trimmer, Laura “Ferbs” Womersley of The Upholstery Shop in Cambridge, Ontario brought up the whimsical idea of drawing an imaginary line down the center of a car and only upholstering one side. That way, customers can really see the difference.
Well, it appears that State Farm has beaten her to the punch.
