1,000-Plus Attend ASE Instructors Training Conference More than 1,000 instructors, presenters and industry guests from across the country participated in the ASE Instructors Training Conference held virtually July 26-30. The sold-out event featured training classes for high school and post-secondary instructors from automotive, truck and collision repair programs. “The ASE Instructors Training Conference is the largest training conference of its kind in the nation and this year’s event was a huge success,” said Mike Coley, president, ASE Education Foundation. “Because ASE continues to set the standard for offering innovative and informative resources for automotive educators, we had instructors from across the country participate in their choice of virtual sessions. “We want to thank our conference sponsors ASE, Advance Auto Parts, asTech Training, Daimler Truck, Goodheart-Willcox, Isuzu Commercial Truck and Snap-on, along with all our other industry partners, all of whom
gave exceptional presentations and provided valuable training that instructors could not receive anywhere else.” Conference participants were able to view sessions in three different tracks: auto, collision and truck, each track offering more than 20 hours of technical update training. Those who registered for the conference by July 30 and were unable to attend any live sessions can view the recordings through Aug. 31. All live and recorded sessions viewed will count toward the ASE Education Foundation training requirement and will be shown on individuals’ training certificates. To view the conference schedule, visit https://aseeducationfoundation.org/events/ase-instructor-training-conference To log in to view recorded training sessions and download handouts, visit https://www.eventsquid. com/event.cfm?id=13050 Source: ASE
AUTOBODY
GM Has Two New All-Electric Commercial Vehicles In Development by Anthony Alaniz, Motor1.com
BrightDrop, GM’s new commercial vehicle endeavor, is still on schedule to deliver its first model, the EV600, this fall. It’ll launch alongside the GMC Hummer EV pickup and before the all-electric Cadillac Lyriq crossover arrives in early 2022. However, General Motors has even bigger commercial plans as company CEO Mary Barra announced Aug. 4 it’s planning to introduce two new EVs designed to target commercial and small-business customers. Aug. 4, GM reported its second-quarter sales results, and Barra revealed the two new EVs during a conference call with analysts afterward, according to Automotive News. One will be a full-size all-electric cargo van that will wear the Chevy bowtie. The other, which Barra didn’t link to a specific GM brand, will be a medium-duty truck, though it won’t be just all-electric. The truck will pack GM’s Ultium battery technology and offer its Hydrotec hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain.
Barra told analysts the two new commercial vehicles would “complement BrightDrop,” while growing its commercial fleet market share. According to Barra, GM will have an EV “for almost any hauling or towing job you can imagine.” GM has ambitious plans to offer a plethora of electric vehicles in North America and China—30 models by 2025. It’s not clear when the two commercial EVs will hit the market, but we don’t expect it’ll be too long of a wait. The two new commercial vehicles are just the latest in a string of soft reveals from GM. Earlier this year, Chevy confirmed there’ll be an all-electric version of its Silverado pickup that’ll be built alongside the Hummer EV. Both will use GM’s Ultium platform and battery tech, which will also underpin the new commercial models. Electric vehicles may not be mainstream yet, but one sector that could benefit from them is commercial businesses, which will be critical to GM’s overall electrification strategy.
Order Audi Genuine Parts from these select dealers.
ILLINOIS
WISCONSIN
Audi Exchange
Audi Milwaukee
847.432.5880 847.432.5708 Fax gorejel@audiexchange.com
414.543.3000 414.543.5150 Fax M-F 7:30am-5:30pm parts@iamilwaukee.com
Highland Park
MISSOURI Kansas City Audi
Audi North Shore
866.949.9500 Toll Free 816.941.4969 Direct 816.942.3156 Fax M-F 7am-6pm Sat 8am-5pm cfowles@molleaudi.com
414.371.2277 414.355.9815 Fax M-F 7:30am-5:30pm rfritsch@audinorthshore.com
Kansas City
Audi Part Professionals are experts on collision parts, replacement components and mechanical items.
West Allis
Brown Deer
Regardless of the age of your customer’s Audi, Audi dealers have access to over 200,000 part numbers and are supported by a nationwide network of distribution centers to help ensure non-stocked parts are delivered the next day. autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2021 AUTOBODY NEWS 47
