I wonder if there has been a roadblock to that that needs solving. Because replacing auto glass while you're at work has been a thing for a very long time.

My guess?

Quick-service car maintenance is profitable because they can be efficient.

They have a guy at Jiffy Lube "below deck" so the car doesn't need to be jacked, lifted, or crawled under to start draining the oil.

The second you lose "home court" you lose any procedural efficiency your business has.

I have enough trouble crawling under my car in my own driveway, I can't imagine having to work on a car in a corporate parking lot, surrounded by others.

It's also messy, so I'd imagine it's pretty hard to do anything while making sure the cars parked half a foot away, are clean and untouched. Glass replacement at least is relatively self contained.

Right, most of the time you would meet the technician and unlock your car or hand them the keys until they are done. They don't just walk up to a locked car and replace the glass. I am sure on some care with out and alarm sensor on the windshield they would almost be able to replace the glass without the keys. I am sure that's a rarity though.

I have a friend that works in the industry. I'll bring this up to him and see what he says.

That is honestly my biggest question, they gloss over it in the article but surely accessing a gas tank without the keys to the vehicle just means they have found a way to break into the fuel cap reliably for different models?

The way it was written in the article suggests that, but perhaps they are just giving users some proprietary hardware to put on the car.

My girlfriend's new Escape doesn't have a lock on the gap at all. Kinda weird.