🚗 Sales pace holds, fraud crackdown

August new-vehicle sales came in stronger than expected, with the annualized sales pace hitting 16.8 million, according to Cox Automotive. That is the strongest reading so far in 2026 and marks six consecutive months above 16 million, the longest such run since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Raw volume was down about 5.8% from last year, partly because August had one fewer selling day and Labor Day weekend fell outside the reporting period this year.

The story underneath the numbers is about who is buying. Cox says retail demand is being carried largely by more affluent households with strong credit or cash on hand, buyers less squeezed by inflation than most. High gas prices, rising interest rates, and weak consumer confidence have not slowed them much. Asian brands posted strong results, and many brands again reported steady hybrid demand.

Why it matters: This may signal a widening split between who can buy new and who is holding onto what they have. If the buyers keeping the market afloat are the ones least affected by cost pressure, everyone else is staying in older vehicles longer. For some shops, that might mean the customer base skews further toward high-mileage cars and deferred work, which is the opposite of what a healthy sales number would normally suggest.

A judge suspended the license of Industry Smog in Los Angeles after the state Bureau of Automotive Repair found the business issued 15 certificates of compliance without actually performing the required safety inspections. It is the third LA-area repair facility suspended in three months following BAR investigations. In July, Ponce's Smog Check lost its license over 12 fraudulent certificates, and in June, Danny's Test and Repair was suspended over 10.

The certificates at issue apply to revived salvage vehicles, cars an insurer declared a total loss that were later repaired. Those vehicles must pass a safety systems inspection before the DMV will register them. When a shop signs off without inspecting, unsafe total-loss vehicles end up back on the road. The suspensions hold until the pending disciplinary cases are resolved, and BAR is seeking to revoke all three licenses.

Why it matters: This could reinforce a period of tighter scrutiny in California, given three suspensions in three months out of the same region. California often moves first on repair regulation, so what starts there tends to show up in other states' enforcement priorities later. Enforcement waves also raise the documentation bar for everyone, not just the shops being investigated. Wherever you operate, it is worth considering whether your inspection records would hold up cleanly if someone asked to see them, since the paperwork is what separates a legitimate operation from a suspended one.

VIVE Collision acquired Joe DiIorio Auto Body in Homestead, Pennsylvania, a family-run shop that has served the Mon Valley since 1968. The deal brings VIVE to 80 locations and marks its entry into the greater Pittsburgh market, connecting its existing Pennsylvania shops with its broader Northeast and Mid-Atlantic network.

VIVE has been one of the more active buyers in a slower year for collision dealmaking. Focus Advisors reported last month that mid-sized, private-equity-backed platforms like VIVE have been growing at several times the pace of the industry's four largest consolidators, even as overall deal volume fell to a three-year low.

Why it matters: This may signal where the buying pressure sits right now, with smaller platforms picking up long-established independents one shop at a time rather than doing large portfolio deals. Nearly six decades of local reputation is exactly the kind of asset these buyers are after. For some shops, it is worth weighing what your own community standing is worth, whether or not selling is anywhere on your mind.

🚙 California lawmakers passed "Jay Leno's Law," which would phase in smog-check exemptions for qualifying collector cars from the 1976 to 1985 model years, and it now awaits the governor's signature.

🔩 BMR Suspension acquired Hotchkis Sport Suspension, adding another established muscle-car handling brand to a portfolio that already includes Heidts and several other performance suspension companies.

🎨 AkzoNobel and Axalta named the final three directors for the board of their combined company, filling out leadership ahead of the coatings merger closing.

🏢 CollisionRight acquired Kozminski Auto Body in Mars, Pennsylvania, and Superior Collision in Marquette, Michigan, bringing its network to 134 locations.