From lawsuits to changes in the automotive glass industry, 2016 proved to be an unpredictable one. News from Safelite played prominently in the year’s news stories, as did the issue of shattering sunroofs and recalibration. Here’s a look at the top 10 stories of 2016:
- Recalibration and Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) were hot topics all year, especially at Auto Glass Week 2016. So it’s not too surprising that the story with the most clicks turned out to be “Honda Requires OE Replacement Windshields for Some Models with Driver Assist, Safety Systems.”
- Not far behind the leader was a story that reflects changes in the industry, “Is This the Beginning of the End of the Giant Glass Brand?” The story covered Safelite AutoGlass’s purchase of North Andover, Mass.-based Giant Glass Co., and the move to co-brand the Giant name with Safelite.
- The issue of spontaneously shattering sunroofs, and the resultant lawsuits, made news all year. The story of Ford pickup trucks experiencing this, “NHTSA Receives More Complaints of Shattering F-150 Back Lites,” came in at No. 3.
- Safelite made news again with an announcement to close its Enfield, N.C., plant and cease manufacturing automotive glass parts. “Safelite to Close Enfield Plant and Exit Automotive Glass Manufacturing,” was the fourth most-clicked story of the year.
- Dina Dwyer-Owens announced in February 2016 that she would leave her role as CEO of The Dwyer Group, parent company to Glass Doctor, a position she held for 15 years. The story announcing her departure, “Dwyer-Owens Is Stepping Down as CEO of The Dwyer Group,” was the fifth most-clicked story.
- Repairing windshields outside in the bitter cold is not ideal, but it can be done, and the story, “Can Repairs Be Successful in Cold Weather?” generated enough interest to come in at No. 6.
- A story covering a fatal accident Carlex’s Nashville, Tenn., windshield plant in January 2016, “Carlex Factory Worker Dies After Plant Accident,” was the seventh most-clicked story of the year.
- The No. 8 story of the year, “Federal Jury Awards Former PGW Employee $922,000,” detailed the finding of a U.S. District Court jury that Pittsburgh Glass Works (PGW) “willfully and unlawfully retaliated against a former employee in violation of the Age Discrimination Employee Act (ADEA).”
- Ford made more news, at the No. 9 spot, with another story about a report of shattering backlites made to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: “Several Ford F-150 Owners Report Shattering Backlites to NHTSA.”
- Rounding out the top 10 was a story on defective sunroofs. “Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Chrysler Over Alleged Sunroof Defect,” reported six Chrysler owners filed a nationwide class action lawsuit against the automaker in U.S. District Court of New Jersey alleging a defect in the sunroofs causes them to leak.
Stay tuned to glassBYTEs.com™ for all the news in 2017. Happy New Year!
