Editor’s Notes By Caryn Smith ARAEditor@comcast.net

Who IS in theDriver’s Seat?

ith the risk that this memory will tell myage, I remember cominghome from grade school and flipping on the large box of a television that had two antennas attached. I religiously watched The Flintstones every day, a cartoon about a “modern stone-age family” living in the town of Bedrock, a stone age town. Their house was a carved-out rock, as were most other things in their world. Their petDino was a dinosaur, and the father, Fred, was the main character. He worked manual labor at, yes, the stone quarry for the boss, Mr. Slate. Fred drove a car made of two long stone wheels, with tree trunks and animal hide creating the car body.When he got a flat “tire,” he had to have a new stone wheel carved! (This remindsmeof the cars I drove in college.)

W Then on Saturday mornings, there was

a contrasting show, The Jetson’s, who lived in Orbit City and had a robot house- keeper. They lived in a fancy floating apartment with everything they needed at their fingertips, by pushing a button. I loved that show too, mainly because of thedogAstro, butmoresobecause it rep- resented a world I thought I’d never see. It wasmyfirst exposure toSci-Fi. Oh, and that cartoon father, George, had a space- ship for an aerocar that drove him to and from work at Spacely’s Sprockets. Now ... fast forward to 2020. As you will see in the article on page 30 outlining the auto innovationscomingoff assembly lines near you, we are well out of the stone age of vehicles and into the aerocar era. And, I am beginning to

believe there just might be life on Mars! If everything that is already under devel- opment is possible with the auto – why not? Find out how automotive recycling will be impacted in the future, and what the next generation automotive recycler will actually be recycling! In considering thedifferences between Fred and George, the era in which they lived really defined their approach to life. The article on generational traits on page 38 mighthelp you figureouthowtocom- municate better with your peers. Just when you thought your co-worker was from outer space, you’ll realize they are just a child of the millenium! On page 44, your parts sales will get an

SEO boost with our piece on eCom- merce, and how to improve your sales.

6 Automotive Recycling | November-December 2016