www.aftermarketonline.net APRIL 2024 AFTERMARKET 3 CONTENTS BUSINESS 8 Big issue: Spring Budget 2024 12 Adam Bernstein: A credit to you 14 Rebecca Pullan: Simply the best? 16 Pole position for holograms 18 PLI: Charging ahead 20 A sign of quality TOP TECHNICIAN/TOP GARAGE 22 Enter now! TECHNICAL 24 Technical update 26 Aftermarket of the future 28 Frank Massey: A month in the life 30 Neil Currie: Face the Pro Ace 33 Repairify: Evolution of ADAS IN FOCUS 34 Snap-on 36 ADAS 38 Wheel and body alignment 42 Steering and suspension 46 Rotating electrics 48 Protective equipment PLUS... 50 Competition/General products 54 On the road: LKQ Branch Manager Conference 56 Garage visit: Wish you were here 58 Juice Technology 60 Editor’s Log: Looking for the exit ramp 62 Training update 64 Recruitment 66 Teabreak ENTROPY Editor | Alex Wells alex@aftermarket.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 345 Head of Sales | Angela Lyus angela@aftermarket.co.uk | +44 (0) 7823 736 629 Managing Director | Ryan Fuller ryan.fuller@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Contributors Adam Bernstein | Neil Currie | Dr. Paul Dunn | Neil Kennett | Frank Massey | Giuseppe Pedretti | Martin Pinnell-Brown | Rebecca Pullan Operations Manager | Emma Godden-Wood emma.godden-wood@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Marketing Manager | Hope Jepson hope.jepson@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 371081 Finance Department accounts@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Chief Executive | Ian Atkinson ian.atkinson@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Published by | DFA Aftermarket Media Ltd 192 High Street, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1BE Alex Wells, Editor Average net circulation July 2022 to June 2023 17,274 @aftermarketmagazine @aftermarket01 @aftermarketmagazine @aftermarketmagazine ISSN 2516-9149 Aftermarket is published 10 times a year and is sent free of charge to applicants meeting the publisher’s criteria. All others may subscribe at £60 per anum, £120 Europe and £150 rest of the world. While every care is taken to provide accurate information, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors or ommisions, no matter how caused. All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior consent of the publisher. The views of contributors do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. Copyright: DFA Media Group 2024. Is seven your lucky number? I’ve always been fond of it, for whatever reason. I’m not sure if the Chancellor of the Exchequer prefers any particular numbers. They certainly don’t seem to like him very much, what with the way they keep running away from him. Despite this, the Budget provided an opportunity for the Government to set its stall prior to the General Election. Of course, this could take place as late as January 2025, and anything can happen between now and then. As the Editor of a monthly magazine, I am really sticking my neck out making a reference like that, as by the time this issue hits your desk, the Prime Minister may have called the General Election…or not… Anyway, if you turn to Big Issue on pages 8-11 you can see what the sector had to say about the measures announced in the Budget. The phrase “missed opportunity” comes up a lot. Back to the number seven, it has a new significance for me now, as after just over seven years, I am stepping away from Aftermarket, and leaving the role of Editor behind. If you turn to pages 60-61, I’ve put together a longer look back at my time on the mag, considering the major events that have punctuated my tenure, ranging from the pandemic, to the skills crisis and the ongoing saga of the MOT. No, don’t yawn – it also covers my hilarious attempts at motor racing, and that one time there was a very real possibility I might have to consider attending a major international trade show naked. Luckily, that didn’t happen, but plenty of other fun stuff did, so take a look. I’ve always had an interest in dates. When something happened is as important as why it happened, and that fact will often provide some additional insight as well. I’ve been on the mag for a long time, although I think I’m only the secondlongest-serving Editor. It tickled me when I realised that I’ve been Editor of Aftermarket for the same amount of time that Tom Baker played the title character in TV’s Doctor Who; Seven years to be precise. He was the secondlongest serving Doctor as well, contrary to popular belief, so that’s a nice coincidence. It does make me wonder if today is going to end with my archnemesis shoving me off the top of a radio telescope, although that seems unlikely. That being said, if you are a workshop based near Jodrell Bank hoping for an impromptu garage visit from me, it’s definitely not your lucky day. The second law of thermodynamics states that entropy, which is a scientific concept associated with disorder, chaos or uncertainty cannot decrease in an isolated system. Anyone who has ever met me will know I can be pretty random, and after seven years of my terrible puns and thrown-in pop-culture references, the entropy building within Aftermarket must be enormous! That means it must be time to open up to new influences. To coin a phrase: “It’s the end, but the moment has been prepared for.” By this, of course, I mean that next month, a new Editor will be taking up the mantle on Aftermarket, so please give him a warm welcome. Thank you for reading for all these years. It’s been my great honour to work with you all, and I look forward to seeing you all from the other side, by which I mean from the wilderness of mirrors that is media relations. Enjoy! Subscribe for your FREE copy now
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