Jay Burkhart gives GAAS attendees an update on the Be Car Care Aware Campaign.

DETROIT -- With more than 400 industry professionals in attendance, Jay Burkhart, VP of global marketing for Federal-Mogul and chair of the Car Care Council along with Ray Datt, president of Automotive Industries Association of Canada, provided GAAS attendees with an update on the industry’s “Be Car Care Aware” (BCCA) consumer education campaign.

“In North America today there is a lot of opportunity to take advantage of undone maintenance,” said Burkhart. “It is our job in the BCCA is to get the message out to the motorists.”

After being taken under the umbrella of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) a few years ago, a Mar Comm Committee workgroup for BCCA was developed to study consumer behaviors in the realm of automotive maintenance and repair. The group found that consumers cited safety, dependability and protecting their investments as their key interests when it comes to vehicle maintenance.

Focusing on these three key areas, going forward the council wants to build on website use and media to continue to communicate with consumers. The council’s research has shown significant interest from consumer media outlets for news about cars, however, readers tend to feel skeptical about the source of information, until they hear it from an unbiased third party.

“People are intimidated by their cars,” said Burkhart. “What we want to do is open that up.”

The effort moving forward is going to focus on a Car Care Guide the council has developed, which is essentially an owner’s manual for pre-owned cars. Inspired by the “For Dummies” series of how to books, the Car Care Guide offers motorists clear, concise and user-friendly information about maintaining 12 major systems on their vehicles and includes lists of important questions to ask and typical service expectations.

A GAAS attendee looks through the new Car Care Guide from the Car Care Council.

“This is not meant to take the place of the OE manual, this is a more broad brush view for the typical maintenance of any car,” said Burkhart. “What this guide does is offer a third-party credibility to the messaging when a consumer talks to their technician.”

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