With more than 140 people there this would have been some trick to pull off, but apologies if you didn’t get a chance to shake my hand or give me a kick in the shins.

Congratulations to all of the winner and commiserations to the losers, too. I know a lot of you were very upset to be pipped to the post, but that shows the passion you have for your business. It’s the kind of passion that I’m sure will keep it in excellent health.

I must admit I was a bit nervous standing up in front of you all, but since I’m the Editor I guess I had to.

I have to say I rather enjoyed it, once I’d calmed down, especially the forum section where Peter Cox, Richard Shortis, Bill Stimpson and Andy Savve came to the stage to discuss some issues of the day. We’ll expand that next year.

That’s about it for now. Oh, I liked the soup and the beef but, with apologies to menu selector David Harris, the rice pudding didn’t float my boat.

We are doing this to raise money for BEN, and quite frankly, I find myself wondering if there aren’t easier ways of doing this. Running in the current cold temperatures is a long way short of fun, and moderating ones alcohol intake on a Saturday night isn’t simple either, though it does make the long run on a Sunday morning a bit more manageable.

I completed the London Marathon in 2002 in a shade under four-and-a-half hours. Back then I was younger, fitter, lighter and hadn’t had the cartilage in my knee damaged by a hockey ball. While I would love to set a new personal best, I realise that the 26.2 miles on April 22 will represent an exercise in survival and that simply getting round while the sun is still above the horizon will represent a successful day.

Ultimately, this blog post is here to direct you to our fundraising page. We’d like to try and raise £10,000 from our endeavours and for that we must rely on the generosity of others, so please take a moment to remember that last Sunday when you were sat in a pub watching the football and enjoying a nice meal you saw some hapless idiot jog past the window. That was us. When you were on your way home from work and drove past someone jogging slowly through the remains of the snow. That was us. When you ask ‘what sort of idiot runs 26 miles through the streets of London?’ That will be us.

So here is your opportunity to help us raise money for BEN, and for those of you with a wicked side, humiliate me. For the right sized donation I am prepared to do pretty much anything on the day. I might draw the line at running the marathon in custard-filled wellies but I am happy to pimp myself to provide corporate exposure. Have you got a branded costume or outfit? Large sandwich board? Comedy foam hands? If your donation is large enough then your brand name could adorn the pages of this magazine, not to mention increase the chances of me being stopped for an interview on Tower Bridge. ‘So, why are you dressed as a dual-mass flywheel?’

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/CATmag

Thank you in advance for your kind donations. If you want to have a laugh, humiliate me, and give your company some amusing exposure, then please get in touch.

I’m off for a run.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/CATmag

I’m not sure whether I want to laugh or cry about the fact proposed changes were suggested in the first place, but I had been starting to think that the Government was looking for a quiet way to back out of the woods it had wandered into.

I was becoming a little worried that the industry was forcing the Government into a corner with its constant, but totally justified, complaints, and that it would bite back as a result.

As it happens, transport secretary Justine Greening has said many, many sensible things and detailed some other moves the Government wants to make to beef up standards at MOT stations and improve the confidence that consumers have in the aftermarket.

This is, of course, fantastic news since all of you reading CAT have tip-top standards already – don’t you? Only the businesses that undercut and undervalue the work the rest of the industry does have anything to fear.

Consumers are the ultimate bedrock of the aftermarket, so the more confidence they have in the industry, the more cash it stands to make.

I know codes of conduct aren’t the flavour of the month with many in the industry, but if anything can bolster the image of the aftermarket – particularly with the suggestion of more mystery shopping, perhaps – it has to be welcomed.

If you’ve read the latest issues of CAT then you’ll know we’re in full support of any efforts to stop impending changes to the MOT test schedule.

One business I’ve spoken to recently  said that while a 4-2-2 system might save customers money in the short term, the government will face rising costs as the numbers of accidents and even deaths on UK roads spirals out of control.

The IAAF is calling for evidence of MOT ‘horror stories’ to use in its lobbying efforts with MPs, and CAT wants to help.

We need your pictures of MOT horrors, and your stories of the state of some of the vehicles presented for MOT tests.

CAT has been getting a steady flow of your pictures, but we always need more so keep them coming!

Here’s one sent in by ABP Motorsport Manager Chris Meredith.

We need your MOT horror pictures

Bosch has produced its five millionth stop/start starter

If you’ve read this month’s CAT cover to cover you’ll know all about stop/start technology.

January’s strategy feature on batteries mentioned that just 40 percent of independent workshops said they were happy to deal with stop/start and the associated AGM battery technology.

That’s a shocking statistic, and one that’s thrown into a harsh light by news from Bosch which says production of stop/start units is now struggling to cope with demand.

Bosch has celebrated producing its five millionth stop/start starter motor at its Hildesheim production facility, as demand for the technology continues to grow.

Bosch also makes a bold prediction – the company expects every second new car in Europe to have stop/start technology fitted by 2013.

Fortunately, vehicles fitted with stop/start are only now starting to filter into the aftermarket. But time is still running out to be completely prepared for a mass influx of these cars. Perhaps it’s time more workshops took note of this technology?

We’ve seen over the past few months that the independent aftermarket is taking an ever-larger slice of the repair and servicing pie. The latest Trend Tracker report shows that in 2011 independents have taken 45.7 percent of all servicing and repair work in the UK.

Fair enough, that’s still less than half, but consider this – In 2010 that figure was just 42 percent. This sort of growth has got the franchises worried, as well it should.

Automotive consultancy companies are noticing the trend as well. Specialist analysts at Coachworks Consulting say that franchises are going to have to seriously rethink their approach to after-sales services if they’re going to compete.

Coachworks says that in the past, dealers have been happy to solve their problems by forking out thousands of pounds on IT enquiry systems, rather than focusing on improving customer services. In 2012, that all needs to change.

Coachworks MD Karl Davis said: “In this sort of climate, it’s no longer enough for leaders to invest in enquiry management technology and then wash their hands of the matter thinking they’ve done their bit.”

In the short time I’ve been a part of the independent aftermarket, I’ve seen this industry has an incredible ability to change and adapt to the needs of the consumer. As the stats are starting to show, motorists are getting more faith in going to independents, and that trend looks set to roll on into the New Year.

That doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels though, the independent aftermarket needs to be more dynamic and more innovative than ever before in 2012. We need to be getting customers through the doors not (necessarily) with basement prices, but with the promise of the best customer service they’ll find anywhere.

Franchises will be spending the Christmas period thinking about how they’re going to claw back a bigger market share in the New Year, you need to be doing the same. If you’ve been on the brink of investing in new technology for the past few months, now is the time to take the plunge.

Likewise, if you’ve been storing up the advice from our monthly Know How pieces in the magazine, now is the time to put it all into action.

2012 will be all about taking care of the customer, and in turn they’ll help you take care of your business. Whatever the franchises do in the New Year, the aftermarket needs to be doing it better. Remember that and you should be able to look forward to a profitable 2012.

It’s already looking to be the closest competition yet, with no clear winners emerging in any of our main categories. So if you haven’t taken the time to vote yet, now’s your chance!

Just log on to our secure voting system and register your support for your aftermarket heroes.

Who gives you great service every time? Who forwards the cause of the aftermarket? Who makes your business shine? The CAT awards are YOUR chance to get your industry heroes recognised.

If your business is lucky enough to have made the final shortlist, now’s the time to be badgering your customers to vote!

Voting closes at the end of December, so if you haven’t voted yet time is fast running out. It’s time for one last push folks and remember, every vote counts!

Good luck.

It’s an unfortunate fact that in recent years more and more suppliers have gone East in search of lower prices. But does a lower price mean lower quality?

AMK showed the gathered trade press some first-hand examples of what can go wrong when quality is allowed to suffer. The simple fact is that there are some parts out there which are downright dangerous because quality has been forsaken and the sale has only been driven by one factor – price.

AMK says it would be happy to see legislation coming into force in the UK to govern the quality of parts coming into the country. The question though remains – who would govern such a procedure? It’s a mammoth task.

The parts manufacturer was clear to point out that it’s not criticising product coming from the East, rather it says there needs to be a greater degree of quality control.

Having seen the damage caused by sub-standard parts myself today, I’m inclined to agree.

The site already looks impressive

This week I’ve been playing at being Kevin McCloud from Grand Designs. I went to see First Line’s new home (just off the M40, junction 11) in Banbury. The site is still very much under construction, but it’s already very impressive.

Having moved a number of times over the past few years, md Dan Joyner hopes this new location will become a permanent home for the company.

He’s certainly given himself a lot of growing space too. I was blown away by the size and complexity of the operation.

It’s easy to quote impressive numbers when it comes to warehousing space, but I think seeing one being built speaks volumes. First Line’s monolith is truly massive. Massive enough to race a couple of JCB’s in, admits project manager Matt Vicarage who’s overseeing the final stages of the construction.

Matt’s crew of 80 aren’t playing about though. In fact they’re planning to complete the build two months ahead of schedule. With my Grand Designs hat on again, that’s pretty much unheard of.

That’s not to say the build hasn’t gone without a hiccup though. Sound-insulating boards which line most of the walls of the upper floors are having to be lifted and put in place by hand because the sub-contracted workforce missed a vital deadline to get them in before windows were fitted. Considering that each board weighs around 35 kilos, that’s quite a mistake to make.

Security around the site is tight, especially as some of the materials being used are incredibly expensive. Matt showed us some copper cable they’re using, just enough for 50 metres of wiring. He says each metre of the cable is worth £500. It’s easy to see why there’s a security presence on the site around the clock.

Still, the build is progressing well, says Joyner, who’s anticipating moving into his new office around Easter next year, with some stock being moved in as soon as Christmas. With a truly massive warehouse space, supported by a trade counter, telesales team, IT support, and even more space to grow First Line’s new home is shaping up to be something special.

CAT will follow its progress into the new year, and we expect great things from First Line.

They’re a new generation of servicing and repair providers, giving customers ever more choice on where they take their cars to be serviced.

The premise is simple: customers enter their car data online, along with their address and what needs doing. For most of the sites, local garages that are free to do the work are then listed for the customer to choose from, along with reviews and star ratings from satisfied patrons.

For some though, jobs are simply put into a lottery pool of repair work, and garages contact customers directly providing estimates. The customer then chooses where to take their car based on the estimates.

Regardless of which site customers choose though, the point is a simple one. Servicing is increasingly moving online, and garages who fail to take advantage are missing out on a lot of business. One garage CAT went to visit recently said they get a good portion of their staple servicing and MoT work through one such website.

These sites are a goldmine of opportunities for garages, and all you need to do in most cases is sign up!

Here’s some to get you started:

E-beepbeep

Whocanfixmycar

Mycarservicing

Servicingstop