1 Thing We're Talking About: AAA names its Best in Repair winners

Twelve auto repair shops were recognized as the best in the country for this year's AAA Approved Auto Repair Program. The AAA Best in Repair award honors automotive repair shops and service departments that have met a strict set of standards developed by AAA.

The shops, mostly independent repair facilities, underwent regular and thorough inspections conducted by AAA service specialists who are either certified or hold the same designation for an auto manufacturer and have extensive knowledge about automotive repair.

The award program was created in 1975 and recognizes shops that have maintained all of AAA's approved auto repair program standards and requirements, have a customer satisfaction score of 95 percent or higher and show a commitment to their communities and the industry.

There are more than 7,000 AAA approved auto repair facilities across North America.

This year's AAA Best in Repair recipients are:

Gold winners

• Gene Messer Ford of Amarillo, Amarillo, Texas
• Full Throttle Automotive, Evansville, Ind.
• DeBoer's Auto, Hamburg, N.J.
• Northwoods Auto Techs, Rhinelander, Wis.

Silver winners

• Fletcher Jones Motorcars, Newport Beach, Calif.
• Auto Repair Specialists, Freeport, Ill.
• Chandler Automotive, Cicero, N.Y.
• Clay's Service Center Inc., Mechanicsburg, Pa.

Bronze winners

• Nick Chevrolet Inc., Tarentum, Pa.
• Defalco's Automotive & Towing, Surfside Beach, S.C.
• Escondido Auto Tech, Escondido, Calif.
• Ridgeway Sunoco, Greece, N.Y.