John Melendez

The collision repair industry continues to evolve. Advancements in vehicle design, materials, corrosion protection systems, repair technologies, ADAS systems, and electric vehicles have fundamentally changed how repairs are researched, planned, and performed. As vehicles become increasingly sophisticated, repairers are being challenged to think differently about how damage is corrected and, more importantly, how much of the original vehicle can be preserved during the repair process.

[New York Review of Books; 2026] Recently reissued, Robert Coover’s novel, The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop., breaks down the myths of the “Great American Pastime.” The book follows J. Henry Waugh, a sadsack accountant whose life’s greatest joy is his minutely curated fictional baseball association.

A resume has never fixed a car. Many shops are still hiring off paper credentials, a decent interview, and gut instinct, then finding out the hard way that what was promised doesn't match what shows up on the floor. If you hire a technician in a structural position who doesn’t have the required certifications or current welding capability, it creates an immediate gap. That gap affects cycle time, quality, and puts added pressure on the rest of the team.