Autobody News November 2010 Southeast Edition

SEMA-AAPEXSEMA-AAPEXSEMA-AAPEX

NACE-CARSNACE-CARSNACE-CARS

This year’s separation between ASA’s ASRW show, NACE-CARS (Octo-ber), and AAIW’s SEMA-AAPEX (November), has divided the allegiancesof the collision industry in ways not seen since the two events were firstco-located in Las Vegas in 2004. The rift is likely to widen due to ASA“flexibility” about the location of the NACE-CARS event in future. Whilestrongly defending the existence and independence of the show as onefor service providers and repairers only, and guaranteeing that “therewill be a show,” ASA President Ron Pyle has allowed that “there is a lotof flexibility in the decision” to hold the next NACE-CARS on its alreadyannounced dates of Oct. 16–19th next year in Las Vegas.

ASA takes a targeted-marketing view, distinguishing automobileservice-repair as a separate and distinct business model from specialty-aftermarket and OE distribution and manufacturing, and therefore de-serving of its own event, saying “we’re not an extension of theaftermarket or the OE service market. We are unique and we have a spe-cific value proposition for independent repairers.”

Some repairers, however—notably members of the SCRS andCIC participants—actively seek the energy and creativity of the diversespecialty and aftermarket, and the significantly greater foot-traffic pro-vided by SEMA-AAPEX. They believe this divergence is good for re-pairers.

The sea-change that has resulted comes at an inopportune timefor the industry as strong cross-currents from the OEM andAftermarketparts interests, and pending right to repair and patent defense legisla-tion, are further dividing repairers’ opinions. Many of the most engagingdiscussions at the NACE-CARS event were panel discussions held onthe certification of Aftermarket parts at a time when the aftermarket isfeeling significant pressure from an energized automaker and repairer-driven counterattack, each side positioning itself on the one issue thattrumps all others, vehicle and consumer safety. continued on page 31

• SEMA to Award Hottest Vehicle

Honors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 5

• SEMA asks IRS to Help Kill 1099

Report Mandate . . . . . . . .p. 21

• Cover Story, continued . . . . .p. 31

Chicago Pneumatic/Rich Evans exhibit at SEMA2009

• NACE Continues as Collision Gathering Place . .p. 18

• Mitchell Interface with Sherwin-Williams . . . . .p. 24

• Women’s Industry Network Hosts Events . . . . .p. 8

• NABC’s Recycled Rides Gives to Needy . . . . . . .p. 9

• Cover Story, continued . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 31

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REGIONALAL’s Auto Production Nearly Two-Thirds Ahead of ‘09’s Pace• Shreveport Woman Claims Insurance Hike Due to Zip Code• The Boyd Group Gains Two More Locations in Georgia • TNIgnition Cutoff Law Targets First Time DUI Convicts . . . . . 4Central Florida Shops and Businesses Assist Community •Birmingham Business Group Woos VW Suppliers • CCARAdds Locations as ‘GreenLink Shops’ in MS, GA, FL •Hialeah, FL, Insurance Adjusters Accused of Fraud • AlabamaStudents Learn Driver Safety from Simulation Software . . . 6ABRA Opens Repair Center in Griffin, Ga • Killeen, TX, SeesCatalytic Converter Theft on the Rise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7U.S. Motorcycle bulider Viper Powersports Relocates toAuburn, AL • Vehicle Glass Distribution Center Opens inBraselton, GA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Atlanta-based Wheego Electric Cars Plans to Add 25 Dealers• Birmingham Has Third Worst Traffic in the Nation • FordSales in Atlanta Region Up 58% in September Year on Year1114th Annual GCIA Golf Invitational a Success . . . . . . . . . 14Celette, Inc. Announces Change in Southeast DealerNetwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

COLUMNSMcGee, Webster - To Sublet or Not to Sublet—That’sthe Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Weaver - Corvette’s Etched Glass Mystery, Was it the ‘Handof Turin’? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Yoswick - NACE Continues as Collision Gathering Place(Albeit Smaller). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Franklin - How One Impression Multiplies . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Chess - A Reader Unpacks his Baggage on the Industry . 22Espersen - Who needs OE repair information?. . . . . . . . . 28

NATIONALSEMA to Award Hottest Vehicle Honors to Car, Truck andSUV • Vacationing Couple Allow Bar Acquaintance to DriveRental. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Automakers Oppose New Fuel Efficiency Plan • Ford to SellMazda Stake • I-CAR CEO Search Ongoing • I-CAR Educa-tion Foundation Renamed ‘Collision Repair’. . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Women’s Industry Network Events at NACE . . . . . . . . . . . 8NABC’s Recycled Rides Gives Refurbished Cars . . . . . . . . 9Celette, Inc. Change in SE Dealer Network. . . . . . . . . . . . 10Carfax QuickVIN Connects Car’s License to VIN . . . . . . . 11California Opposition to Proposed ‘Crash Tax’ . . . . . . . . . 1485 Billion Mile Annual Shift & Specialists Top ServiceGrowth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

ALLDATA Introduces Next Gen. ALLDATA Collision . . . . . . . 17Big Retail Auto-Parts Chains See Strong Sales, Rise in StockPrices • GM to Recall ‘09–‘10 Impalas • GM’s Volt Can UseIC Engine Power at Hwy. Speeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Mercedes-Benz iPhone App • Silver Top Color. . . . . . . . . 20Delaware VOC Law Goes into Effect Oct. 11, 2010 • FordSays Tech Brings in 14% More Revenue • MI Ford Dealer’sShop Fire • Military Buys Into R2R • Mitchell’s New iPhoneApp • Mopar Offers 60+ Custom Grand Cherokee Parts •Ohio Rep: GM Should Stop Dealer Terminations • Pennsylva-nia Considers Doubling Auto Coverage • Progressive Insur-ance Sees Lower Profit in Qtr. • SEMA asks IRS to Help Kill1099 Report Mandate • Subaru Ads Poke Fun at ‘2011 Medi-ocrity’ Sedans • Zurich Alert: Safe Driving . . . . . . . . . . . 21LKQ Announces Winners of 2011 Calendar Contest • MitchellAnnounces Interface with Sherwin-Williams® at NACE . . 24Ford Issues Rare Recall for 7-plus-year-old Windstars • HertzCorp. Continues Rapid Off-Airport Expansion in ‘10 •Mitchell’s AutoAdvise Growing • Two NJ Police OfficersCharged with Insurance Fraud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Mercedes-Benz USA Sells Survival Stories • Nissan’s LeafWins Magazine’s Breakthrough Award • Two Indicted in NJfor Alleged Insurance Fraud Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Allstate will pay $10 million over Improper Use of CollosusSoftware • Tesla Motors Recalls One-third of its Cars citingFire Hazard • TG Missouri Will Invest $3M in Indiana PlantUpgrades • Toyota Says Progress in Safety Fixes Has CalmedCustomers • Toyota Sued by Allstate for $3M in Acceleration-related Claims. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Collision Industry Legal Fund Reports Large Contribution •Book Store Gets N. Texas’ First Electric Car Charging Station• Texas-Sized Trucks Take Spotlight at Dallas Auto Show. 30

Contents

Southeast

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy HayhurstGeneral Manager: Barbara DaviesEditorial Assistant: Erica SchroederContributing Writers: Tom Franklin, Stefan Gesterkamp, John Yoswick, Lee Amaradio,Toby Chess, Mike Causey, Dan Espersen, Tom McGee, Jeff Webster, Rich Evans, EdAttanasioAdvertising Sales: Joe Momber, Christina Shubert (800) 699-8251Sales Assistant: Kristy MangumArt Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Serving Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and adjacent metro areas, Autobody Newsis a monthly publication for the auto body industry. Permission to reproduce in any form thematerial published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher.©2010 Adamantine Media LLC.

Autobody NewsBox 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018; (800) 699-8251 (760) 721-0253 Faxwww.autobodynews.com Email: [email protected]

Aegis Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Arrigo Dodge-Jeep-Chrysler . . . . . . 11

Auto Body Guru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Autoland Scientech . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Bill Penney Toyota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . 22

City Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Crown Automobile Company. . . . . . 13

Delray Acura / Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Edwards Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers

FL, GA, AL, MS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Galloway Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Garmat USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . 27

Gus Machado Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Honda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 30

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 23

Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers . 2

Mattei . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Maroone Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . . . . 9

Mazda Wholesale Parts . . . . . . . . . . 26

Mercedes-Benz Wholesale Parts

Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers . 24

Nalley BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Nissan Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 25

Palmers Toyota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Performance Radiator . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Pre Fab Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

SATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Tameron Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Taylor BMW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . 25

VIM Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

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Shreveport Woman Claims Insurance Hike Due to Zip CodeA Shreveport woman says her car in-surance rate has nearly doubled, andthat her insurance company told herthat it’s because of where she lives ac-cording to reports made by Shreve-port’s KSLA News 12.

“My bill was $160 every sixmonths, and it jumped to $312,” saysCarrie Price.

Price gets GEICO’s five-yeargood driving discount, so she wasshocked when she saw the spike. Weasked her what the company saidwhen she called them.

“...That we had a lot of crime anda lot of wrecks in this particular area,so everyone’s insurance would be ris-ing to cover their cost.”

The GEICO Customer ServiceRepresentative handling her case tellsKSLA News 12 that it’s true that rateincreases hit all customers because ofaccidents involving other drivers. Hesays it’s to make sure they can covereach individual appropriately.

Farm Bureau of Louisiana Insur-ance Agent Reneé Carr says this ispretty standard.

“Every company has different rat-ing factors and different statistics in howthey develop their ratings,” Carr says.

GEICO is one of those compa-nies that uses location to develop

rates.Customer Service Representative

George Felder says: “When acci-dents do happen, and we do actuallyincrease the rate in the area due to theaccident rate, it’s just to make surethat we can cover our customers in theevent that they’re in an accident.”

Carrie Price says it’s going to betough on people who can’t afford theincreases, but Reneé Carr says there’snot much that one person can doalone.

“If there were enough people thatwere concerned enough about that,they might can get someone to changehow their rates are developed, but asfar as getting an individual exception,I wouldn’t think so.”

Price was able to get her ratedown, but it came with reduced cov-erage.

George Felder says anyone whohas questions about their rate jumpingor even going down should followPrice’s example and call their insurer.

TN Ignition Cutoff Law Targets First Time DUI ConvictsTennessee, already considered toughon first-time DUI offenders, is aboutto get tougher according to reportsmadeby Insurance Journal.

Lawmakers recently passed a billthat will require some drivers con-victed of a first DUI to install alcohol-detecting ignition devices to stop theircars from starting if they’ve beendrinking.

Some defense attorneys say thelaw, which takes effect Jan. 1, goestoo far. But police and victims say thestringent measures are necessary.

Last year, police made 27,775driving-under-the-influence arrests inTennessee, said Dayla J. Qualls,spokeswoman for the Tennessee De-partment of Safety.

Of those convicted of their firstDUI, about one-third will net a secondDUI charge within three years, saidTom Kimball, the traffic safety re-source prosecutor with the TennesseeDistrict Attorneys General Confer-ence in Nashville.

The device will be required incertain cases, including for those ar-rested with a blood-alcohol contentof .15 — nearly twice the legal limitof .08 — or above. Anyone who haspreviously been charged with a DUIthat was reduced to a charge of

reckless driving will also get the de-vice.

Memphis defense attorney Ed-ward S. Ryan says the device, whichwon’t allow the ignition to start if thedriver registers a .02, is too restrictive.

“If it’s someone with a history ofdrinking and violating the law, thenit’s a good tool,” he said. “But it’s notfor someone who made a poor deci-sion one night.’’

Knoxville defense attorneySteven Oberman said the device isalso expensive.

Defendants will have to pay in-stallation costs of up to $70 andmonthly monitoring of up to $100.Those who can’t pay can ask for as-sistance through the indigent re-serve fund, which is money fromcourt fees.

But Oberman said he doubtsthere will be enough money in thefund to keep up with demand.

Unlike some other states, Ten-nessee mandates a 48-hour jail stayfor every person convicted on his orher first DUI, he said.

And, unlike some other jurisdic-tions, the Volunteer State doesn’tallow the record of a DUI convictionto be expunged even if the driver isnever arrested again, he said.

AL’sAutoProductionNearlyTwo-ThirdsAheadof ‘09’sPaceAlabama’s auto production is up bytwo thirds this year, as demand forthe vehicles built by Mercedes-Benz,Honda and Hyundai surges over theindustry’s sickly state in 2009 ac-cording to reports made by the Birm-ingham News.

Through August, the automak-ers’ state factories had built 465,529vehicles, according to estimates bythe Automotive News Data Center.That’s compared to 280,718 vehiclesbuilt during the same time last year.To put it in sharper perspective, autoproduction for all of 2009 totaledabout 480,000, just 15,000 fewer thanthe current total, and there’s still an-other quarter left in this year.

Hyundai has been a successstory, sales of its redesigned Mont-gomery-made Sonata sedan aresoaring over last year. Meanwhile,Honda is getting ready to roll out aredesigned Odyssey minivan, theflagship vehicle of its Lincoln fac-tory.

Factories have had employeesworking overtime this year, a starkcontrast to the cost-cutting that wenton when the industry’s global salesslump started in mid-2008.

Alabama hit its auto productionpeak in 2007, as the three plants pro-duced about 740,000 vehicles.

The Boyd Group Inc. opened twonew repair centers in Georgia. Therepair centers, previously known asCollisionWorks, were recently ac-quired by the Boyd Group and nowoperate under the Gerber Collision& Glass trade name. With these ad-ditions, the Boyd Group now ownsand operates 10 repair centers inGeorgia and a total of 95 in the U.S.,including 37 repair centers that op-erate under the True2Form tradename.

The first center, in Atlanta(Buckhead), is approximately 31,000square feet in size, with nearly26,000 square feet of productionspace. It is well situated to help serveconsumers and insurance clients inthe densely populated north Atlantaarea. The second center, which willbe the second location in Roswell, isapproximately 11,250 square feetwith 10,000 square feet of produc-tion space. Adding a second Roswelllocation strengthens our competitiveposition in the area.

"The acquisition of Collision-Works is in line with our strategy ofexpanding into select markets andgrowing our network of repair centersacross North America," said TimO’Day, President and COO of theBoyd Group’s U.S. Operations.

The Boyd Group Gains TwoMore Locations in Georgia

www.autobodynews.comCHECK IT OUT!

A lunch meeting in mid-Octoberlaunched a new program for CentralFlorida collision repairers and localbusinesses to work together in secur-ing and reconditioning four or morevehicles to bestow upon local familiesin need of a hand-up.

The intent is to have the vehiclesready and the recipients selected intime for this coming Christmas.

The group was called together byRay Gunder of Gunder’s Auto Cen-ter who stated: ”I am proud to be as-sociated with those I considerrespected collision repair leaders inour market area for such a worthycause and look forward to seeing what

we can accomplish by working to-gether for a common goal of helpingothers. The community has been verygood to each of us and we invite otherPolk County industry professionals tojoin us in what we hope to continuethroughout the years ahead.”

Attendees at the planning lunchmeeting included:Doc Jenkins (Jenk-ins Lincoln Mercury), Barrett Smith(Auto Damage Experts), Sean Dou-glas & Matt McCall (Douglas Colli-sion Center),Dave Stewart (Stewart’sAuto Repair), Cherri Surrency(Regal Automotive Group) and RayGunder (Gunder’s Auto Center). Spe-cial thanks to Randy at AllPro Used

Auto Parts for his committment to as-sist the program as well.

The group is currently seeking thebest name for the project (i.e. AngelAutos) and welcomes suggestions onthis as well as other information to as-sist the project and avoid potential pit-falls from those who have experiencein similar programs such as NABC’sRecycled Rides program.

They welcome contact from thosein Polk County who would like to offertheir time, resources and/or donatetheir services or products to this pro-gram. Please contact: Ray Gunder [email protected] or call (863)688-7897 before October 25th. 2010.


Central Florida Shops and Businesses Come Together to Assist Community

Vacationing Couple Allow BarAcquaintance to Drive Rental

John Settles, who lives in Pacific Beach,San Diego, saw a $50,000 Corvetteparked in the breaking surf on Oct. 14and told CBS News, “Brand-newCorvette in the water. I saw a wave goover the hood, over the wind-shield andinto the convertible.” Turns out the car,rented from Hertz had been driven by abar acquaintance of the couple whorented it, who had talked them into let-ting him take the wheel and had boltedthe scene. “They originally denied anyknowledge or association with the car orhow it got in the water,” said San Diegopolice Lt. Andra Brown. “They eventu-ally admitted that, yeah, they were in thecar, passengers in the car.” Witnesses re-ported seeing the bright yellow sportscar doing doughnuts and spin-outs onthe sand before getting stranded in thesurf. The man and his wife were de-tained and questioned before being sentto a local detox facility to sober up.

SEMAtoAward Hottest VehicleHonors to Car, Truck and SUVThe SEMA Award will be presentedto the hottest car, hottest truck andhottest 4x4-SUV during a specialmedia luncheon on November 2. Theawards will reveal which trend-set-ting vehicle models SEMA Show ex-hibitors are choosing to trick-out,modify and display most often intheir booths. The award winners, cho-sen by exhibitors, will help guideconsumers to the most accessory-friendly vehicles. Industry expertshave identified 21 vehicles as thosemost likely to be named a SEMAAward winner, based on factors suchas early registration numbers, the col-laboration automakers have had withexhibitors, the buzz surrounding thevehicles. Contenders for the 2010SEMA Award are:

Car •Audi A4 •Chevrolet Ca-maro •Dodge Challenger •Ford Fiesta•Ford Mustang •Honda CR-Z•Hyundai Sonata •Kia Soul •Lexus IS•Mazda 2 •Scion tC •Subaru Impreza

Truck •Chevrolet Silverado•Ram Truck •Ford F-Series •ToyotaTundra

Hottest 4x4-SUV •Ford Ex-plorer •Jeep Grand Cherokee •JeepWrangler •Subaru Outback •ToyotaFJ Cruiser

See www.sema.org/challenge


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The Coordinating Committee ForAutomotive Repair (CCAR®) an-nounced new recipients of the orga-nization’s “GreenLink Shop”recognition on October 4.

The GreenLink Shop status, anextension of CCAR’s CCAR-Green-Link® Environmental ComplianceAssistance Center and S/P2® Safetyand Pollution Prevention E-learningProgram, is designed to promote con-sumer confidence in local automotiverepair facilities’ environmental/safetyawareness and stewardship.

The new GreenLink Shops are:AutoBody America, Jackson, MS,AutoBody America, Southaven, MS,Rick’s Paint & Body Shop, Augusta,GA Rick’s Paint & Body Shop, Mar-tinez, GA and Viverette’s Paint &Body Shop, Jacksonville, Fla.

Repair facilities seeking theGreenLink Shop recognition mustmaintain high standards of excellencein environmental, health and safety(EHS) practices. The CCAR initia-tive recognizes both auto mechanicalservice facilities and collision repairshops, with separate criteria estab-lished for each type of business.

For more information go towww.ccar-greenlink.org/gls or calltoll-free to1-888-476-5465.

CCARAdds Locations as ‘Green-LinkShops’ inMS,GA, FL

Birmingham,ALBusinessGroupTravels toGermany toWooVWSuppliers forMetroAreaThe Birmingham Business Alliancewill be among a group of economicdevelopers traveling to Germany inOctober to try to lure Volkswagensuppliers according to reports madeby the Birmingham News.Patrick Murphy, head of eco-

nomic development for the city’smain business group, is making thetrip with other state economic devel-opers to the International SuppliersFair in Wolfsburg, Germany. Wolfs-burg is home to VW, which is build-ing a $1 billion auto plant inChattanooga.

“This is our best opportunity toget in front of more than 200 ex-hibitors and convince them they needto be in the Birmingham region,”Murphy said.

Murphy said the BBA will targetnew suppliers who want to build aplant to support VW and other au-tomakers. But he said there will alsobe a strong push for VW to considergiving contracts to existing suppliersin the Birmingham area, allowingthem to expand and add workers.

Murphy said three Birminghamarea companies already have woncontracts with Volkswagen and oth-ers are in negotiations to do so.

Hialeah, FL, Insurance Adjusters Accused of FraudHialeah, FL, Police have arrested fiveinsurance adjusters accused of fraud.Investigators said the suspects werecaught on camera taking money froman informant from a Hialeah bodyshop.

According to Hialeah Police,three of the suspects are Allstate ad-justers and the other two work forState Farm.

Authorities said these menwould help tamper and further dam-age cars and write up more expensiveclaims. Then, the suspects would al-legedly split the money amongstthemselves.

“They, in many ways, betrayedtheir employers, betrayed the col-leagues they worked with, they be-trayed the people for whom they werefiling these claims for and then ofcourse ultimately all of us — you theconsumer,” said Miami-Dade StateAttorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle.

Thursday, the Miami-Dade StateAttorney’s Office talked about Opera-tion Crash & Bash for Cash and re-leased undercover video.

For more than a year, prosecu-tors, police, an insurance industryagent and an informant have beenworking to crack the $5 million case.

Investigators used undercover videoto show how people would allegedlyfake car accidents and injuries, taketheir cars to auto body shops thatwould make the wreckage seemworse.

“We are going to be coming afteryou,” said Hialeah Police ChiefMarkOverton. “We are not going to allowyou to continue to impact the citizensof our communities, financially theway that they’ve been doing it.”

The insurance industry has insideinvestigators to impede schemes sim-ilar to this one. “Ultimately, themoney that we save on fraudulentclaims, we can give back to our cus-tomers and help protect those law-abiding drivers,” said AmyMoore ofAllstate Insurance.

In all, 40 people have been ar-rested, as a result of 23 alleged stagedcar wrecks. All of them were either carowners or body shop workers untilthese recent arrests. Investigators saidthey are simply working up the food-chain.

The five men accused of racket-eering and several grand theft chargesare identified as Jeremazine Kirk-land, Roman A. Hernandez, JulioManuel Ravelo, Eduardo JavierQuinonez and Roy Joseph Stella.

Alabama Students Learn Driver Safety from Simulation SoftwareHigh school students in MuscleShoals, Alabama got some real-world experience in just how dan-gerous it can be to text while behindthe wheel of a car October 1 as partof Northwest-Shoals CommunityCollege’s Career Tech Camp accord-ing to reports made by InsuranceJournal.

Software developed by the Uni-versity of Iowa simulates what adriver can face when he takes his at-tention from the road for even a fewseconds to initiate or respond to a textmessage.HeatherMyers, 18, said she had

no idea it could be so dangerous. Hersimulation ended with a crash into avehicle parked at a curb.

“I don’t think I’ll be texting anddriving anymore,” she said.

It’s that lesson Northwest-Shoals instructors Cindy Tidwelland Abby Tedford hope all stu-dents who use the simulator takeaway with them.

“Statistics tell us that 28 percentof vehicle crashes are related to cellphone use,’’ Tedford said. “Hands-free devices are no safer because itsplits the attention. We know the braincannot perform two functions at thesame time with the same degree of at-

tention to both.’’High school and college students

aren’t the only ones to blame when itcomes to distracted driving, Tidwellsaid.

“For baby boomers and GenXers, talking while driving is theproblem, while in Gen Y, this groupnow, the problem is with texting,’’ shesaid.Drew Quillen, 17, and Colton

Landers, 18, both of Belgreen, saidthe simulator presented its own set ofchallenges.

“It wasn’t all that unlike drivingmy own car,’’ Landers said. “And itwas a little hard to watch for the peo-ple.’’

Both Landers and Quillen ex-ceeded the speed limit while using thesimulator, and Landers hit a few con-struction cones while driving and tex-ting.

“Yes, I’ve texted once or twicewhile driving,’’ Quillen said. “But,with my parents, it’s not somethingthey allow.’’

The camp, which is in its fifthyear at Northwest-Shoals, allows highschool students from across the regionto get a sneak peek at technical andhealth occupations offered at the com-munity college.


I-CAR CEO Search OngoingI-CAR CEO and former Allstate exec-utive, John Edelen has announced hisretirement at the end of 2010. Speak-ing at the 2010 NACE-CARS event,Tom Moreland, chair of I-CAR’sboard of directors,said the organizationis holding interviews over the next twoweeks with candidates for the positionof I-CAR CEO, saying that a searchfirm has told him that “there is a newCEO within the [existing] candidatepool.” Moreland said that I-CAR ex-pects to be announcing a new CEOalong December 1, 2010, timeline pre-viously announced.

Ford to Sell Mazda StakeFord Motor has decided to sell the bulkof its 11% stake in Japan’s Mazda Motorand invest the money instead in emerg-ing markets. Ford, which has been thetop shareholder in the Hiroshima-basedautomaker since 1979, plans to slash itscurrent equity stake of 11% to 3% orless. Ford has owned more than a thirdof Mazda, but started cutting its stake in2008. The two companies have reacheda basic agreement on the deal, Nikkeisaid. The Mazda shares held by Ford areworth a total of $515 million based oncurrent stock prices.

Automakers Oppose NewFuel Efficiency Grades PlanThe Alliance of Automobile Manufac-turers—a trade group representingtwelve major automakers—told EPA ata public hearing in Chicago Oct. 14 thatit opposes a plan to set letter grades of“A+” to “D” for new vehicle fuel effi-ciency. “This letter grade format indi-rectly focuses attention on a singleattribute (CO2) while ignoring otherconsumer needs like towing capacity,safety, comfort, cost and reliability,” thealliance said in prepared testimony.Autodealers have also expressed concerns.

I-CAR Education FoundationRenamed ‘Collision Repair’At NACE-CARS 2010, the I-CAR Ed-ucation began using its new name—the Collision Repair Education Foun-dation. The name and logo change isin keeping with the organization’s newmission and vision of supporting thefuture of the collision industry by en-riching opportunities for collision re-pair students and schools. The overallgoal is to support the pre-employmentstage for students and the fundingfocus remains secondary and post-sec-ondary career, technical school andcollege programs and their students.

ABRA Opens RepairCenter in Griffin, GaABRA Auto Body & Glass an-nounced the awarding of a franchiseto The Community AutomotiveGroup, LLC, which is spearheadedby James Muzik. The repair center,located at 1416 Experiment Street inGriffin, Ga., increases the number ofABRA repair centers in Georgia to17.

When asked why he pursued anABRA franchise, Muzik responded,“ABRA’s operational processes, on-going consultation, and marketingsupport combine to make their com-pany far superior to any other opera-tions that we’ve seen.

Because of their standard oper-ating procedures, they consistentlydeliver Key Performance Indicators(KPIs) that out-perform the industry.ABRA also has developed strong re-lationships with the insurance indus-try at the national and regional levels,which will help us build relationshipsat the local level.”

ABRA Auto Body & Glass-Griffin offers ABRA’s full line ofservices, including collision repair,paintless dent removal, auto glassreplacement and repair, and 24/7towing.

Killeen, TX, Sees CatalyticConverter Theft on the RiseCatalytic converter theft is on the risein Killeen, TX. Tracey Williams,owner of Affordable Towing & Re-covery in Killeen, told the KilleenDaily Herald that one of her impoundyards was hit multiple times.

“They’re just jumping fencesand cutting catalytic converters offcars,” she said. “They are getting ridof them and selling copper.”

Killeen Police Departmentspokeswoman Carroll Smith alsoconfirmed there was an increase incatalytic converter theft.

So far, Williams’ yard has beenhit three times in the past week, in-cluding a theft of eight at once.Williams has filed reports with thepolice department, however, she isnow running her own stakeout atnight in order to catch the culprit.Williams said she’s having to spendabout $600 extra a month for securitymeasures to protect vehicles she wasplanning to sell.Teddy Mullins, co-owner of

Bill’s Towing and B&T Salvage, saidhis business has been hit for about 25to 30 catalytic converters over thepast several years.

Mullins said his company hasbeen cutting converters off first thing.

The number of women entering thecollision repair industry has been quitesubstantial in recent years, and is fur-

ther encouraged by events and ses-sions put on by the Women’s IndustryNetwork (WIN) at the NACE expothis year.

WIN sponsored the Women’sProfessional Development Trackwhich included a total of five ses-sions during the event, as well ashaving their own booth on the

expo floor.SkillsUSA automotive refinish-

ing technology winner Kayla Ton-cik was on hand at the WINbooth to talk about her re-cent SkillsUSA win and herupcoming trip to World-Skills in London in 2011.WIN is also sponsoring

Kayla’s upcoming WorldSkilltrip and presented her with$10,000 for the event on theNACE floor; Kayla was thefirst female to win a goldmedal in automotive refinish-ing technology at SkillsUSAin 2009.“Kayla is a talented young

woman who deserves this honor,and we are pleased to be able to as-sist in sending her to this world

stage,” said Kim White, WIN’sChair.

Collision Hub, NABC, I-CARand WIN also brought in the GirlScouts of Southern Nevada to tour

the expo in the program called Toolsfor Success.

“We hope girls realize this is aviable career track for women,”said Kristen Felder, CEO andfounder of Collision Hub, “Weneed more women in this indus-try.”

The Girl Scouts toured the expo,visiting sponsoring booths fromWIN, CCC, Insurance Auto Auc-tions, Collision Hub (with Es-urance), Car-O-Liner, Ford, 3M,Enterprise, NABC, PPG, ASA andAzkoNobel.

The tour ended at the NABCbooth where the girls were each

given a 51-piece tool bag called the“tools for success.”

For more information on WINplease visit:www.womensindustrynetwork.com.


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Women’s Industry Network Hosts Events and Sessions at NACE, Brings Information to Girl Scouts

SkillsUSA winner Kayla Toncik will go on to compete inWorldSkills automotive refinishing technology in Londonin 2011 thanks to a donation from WIN

The Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada at the NABCRecycled Rides booth

WIN and SkillsUSA winner Kayla Toncik speak-ing to the girls about women’s opportunities inthe collision repair industry

[email protected] us!write us!write us!

Give us your opinion on matters affecting the industry.

The National Auto Body Council’sRecycled Rides Program gave five re-furbished vehicles to families in-volved with the Family Promise ofLas Vegas program which providessupport to families in crisis on Octo-ber 12 on the NACE show floor. Theprogram partners with body shopsand insurers to take donated vehiclesconsidered to be total losses and re-furbishes them into reliable trans-portation for families in need.

NABC’s President, GeorgeAvery, and the 2010 Recycled

Rides Chair, Nick Notte, spoke onbehalf of the organization andthanked the insurers, sponsors andrepair shops that make this programpossible.

“This program not only shows thecraftsmanship and expertise of this in-dustry, it also shows the incrediblegenerosity,” said Notte.

Each of the five vehicles weredonated by the three participatinginsurers: State Farm Insurance, All-state and California State Automo-bile Association (CSAA), and the

$2-3,000 in repairs requiredfor each vehicle to be in reli-able, working condition wasdonated by the three partici-pating repair facilities: Ster-ling Auto Body Centers, 911Collision and Gerber Colli-sion & Glass.

Families receiving carswere; the McCurdy family re-ceived an ‘05 Dodge Caravan,the Waller family received an‘04 Ford Explorer, the Miltonfamily received an ‘07 HondaPilot, the Drake famlily re-

ceived an ‘04Chevy Venture andthe Bryant familyreceived an ‘04Toyota RAV4.1-800-Radiator do-nated all of the ra-diator and coolingparts needed for re-pairs, along withAutoZone andL K Q / K e y s t o n epitching in forparts. Auto Data

provided VIN stickers andbadging for all vehicles andAzko-Nobel provided all of thepaint necessary to return thesevehicles to prime condition.

AutoZone also providedeach family with a $200 giftcertificate to their storesshould the Recycled Ridesneed any parts or supplies inthe future.

For more information aboutNABC’s Recycled Rides pro-gram please visit:recycledrides.org.


NABC’s Recycled Rides Program Gives Refurbished Cars to Needy Las Vegas Families at NACE

The Drake family stepped up to receive the keys to theirRecycled Ride from Allstate Insurance and Sterling AutoBody Centers

One of the Recycled Rides given away on the NACE floor

Representatives from the collision repair shops that worked on the Re-cycled Rides received ‘thank you’ plaques from 2010 Chair Nick Notte


Vehicle Glass Distribution Center Opens in Braselton, GASafelite AutoGlass® celebrated theofficial opening of its newest vehicleglass distribution center. The 357,000sq. ft. facility in Braselton, Ga., willprocess 3 million units of glass in2011. Safelite AutoGlass® will havea significant impact on the town ofjust over 2,000, bringing 77 immedi-ate jobs to the area, with an eventual120 person workforce anticipated.

"Being able to provide employ-ment opportunities for the residents ofthe Braselton area and aid in the over-all economic health of the JacksonCounty area is something we’re veryexcited about,” said Tom Feeney,president and CEO of Safelite®.

Safelite AutoGlass® is partneringwith Quick Start, Georgia’s economicdevelopment program, to provide cus-tomized workforce training to its em-ployees. Lanier Technical College alsowill assist Safelite AutoGlass® withongoing training programs.

“Safelite’s Braselton distributioncenter is a very real example of howGeorgia’s highly networked logistics in-frastructure plays a vital role in bring-ing jobs and investment to communitiesthroughout our state,” said HeidiGreen, commissioner of the GeorgiaDepartment of Economic Development.“As a Georgia Certified Work Ready

Community, Jackson County has apipeline of skilled talent that will bene-fit Safelite as it expands its Braseltonworkforce. We welcome the addition ofSafelite® to Georgia’s automotive in-dustry, and look forward to the com-pany’s growth and success in our state.”

Not only is Safelite AutoGlass®the largest vehicle glass repair and re-placement company, the company iscommitted to bettering the world bybuilding eco-friendly locations. Infact, Safelite® has reduced its carbonfootprint by 15 tons this year. Thecompany has applied to the U.S.Green Building Council for a Leader-ship in Energy & Environmental De-sign (LEED) certification. Examplesof the environmental friendly designinclude: reduced storm water pollu-tion by vehicle fluid leaks and me-chanical equipment wastes, increasedwater efficiency reducing consump-tion by 44 percent, Energy Star qual-ified equipment for more than 90percent of all appliances, office equip-ment and electronics, banned use ofany CFC-based refrigerants in heat-ing, ventilating and air conditioningsystems to reduce stratospheric ozonedepletion and energy conservationwith occupancy sensors on more than75 percent of lighting.

Celette, Inc.AnnouncesChangeinSoutheastDealerNetworkCelette, Inc. has announced there willbe a change in their distribution net-work in the Southeast U.S. GeneHamilton, owner of Sports & Im-ports—a multi-location collision re-pair and service network in theAtlanta, GA, area—will be retiring asa dealer for Celette products andequipment, effective October 11.

“Gene has been a long-time sup-porter of Celette and the entire indus-try. We regret this change, but wewill still have a strong relationshipwith Gene and his facilities,” saidTimothyMorgan, General Managerof Celette. “He will always be a valu-able resource for us. His commit-ment to the best repairs and strongestvalue for his customers and their in-surance companies are a model forour industry. Gene will be at NACEassisting Celette, not only this year,but in the future.”

Celette will announce an up-dated distribution network at NACE,Booth #N841.

The company will also be ex-hibiting at SEMA, North Hall #10861in November.

Celette is a leading producer ofautomobile frame repair benches andmeasuring devices.

U.S. Motorcycle bulider ViperPowersportsAppoints Directorsand Relocates toAuburn,ALViper Powersports designs, manufac-tures and markets a line of premiumAmerican V-Twin Super Cruiser mo-torcycles and is America’s newest do-mestic OEM of motorcycles.

Alabama businessman TimWellborn —owner of the WellbornMuscle Car Museum which housesthe world’s largest Mopar classic carcollection—and Grant Lynch,Chairman of Talladega Superspeed-way, have agreed to join the board asdirectors of Viper Powersports Inc.

CEO John R. Silseth II stated,“In conjunction with the relocation toour new world class manufacturingfacility in Auburn, Alabama, wemade a strategic decision to add rep-resentation from leading members ofthe Alabama business community toour board of directors. Thanks to thehelp we received from Mike Hub-bard, the Alabama House MinorityLeader and Governor Bob Riley, wewere able to find our first two nomi-nees.Terry Nesbitt, President, stated,

“It’s an honor that as we relocate tothe state of Alabama that two of itsmost successful and visible business-men join our board.”


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Atlanta-basedWheego ElectricCars Plans toAdd 25 DealersWheego Electric Cars Inc. is enter-ing its second year by planning tolaunch an all-electric 2-seater andsigning up 25 more dealers in selectmarkets.

Wheego CEO Mike McQuarycalls the Atlanta-based firm’s newWhip LiFe model the “most afford-able” of the new crop of EVs and hy-brid vehicles hitting the market.

Wheego harnesses a lithium-ionbattery for its Whip LiFe, which goesinto production in January. Its firstproduct this past year was theWheego Whip, which uses a lead-acid battery.

The Whip LiFe base model’sprice is $32,995, plus a $1,995 air-conditioning option, but minus a taxcredit of $7,500. The Whip is pricedat $18,995 for the base model and$21,990 fully equipped with a $1,000freight fee.

About 300 Wheego Whip carshave been sold in 2009 and 2010,with U.S. sourcing accounting for75% of contents.

The vehicles are made in On-tario, CA. Wheego plans to build newmanufacturing facilities in one offour states: Alabama, Louisiana,Oklahoma or Virginia.

FordSales inAtlantaRegionUp58% inSeptemberYear onYearFord sales for the Atlanta region,which includes Alabama, were up58.3 percent for the month of Sep-tember.

The jump outpaced the com-pany’s overall 46 percent jump insales for the month.

For the area, car sales increased68 percent. The line-up, which in-cludes the Fiesta, Fusion and Focus,posted gains of up to 63 percent indi-vidually.

Meanwhile, truck sales for theAtlanta region jumped 64 percentfor the month. The company’s truckline-up includes the Escape, Edgeand its widely popular F-series ofpick-ups.

The Ford Lincoln Mercury Carand Truck line-up also saw a jump insales in the Atlanta region with a 61percent uptick for the month of Sep-tember.

Birmingham Has Third WorstTraffic in the NationBirmingham has the third worst trafficin the nation, according to a report thatmeasures mobility based on total drivetime, as opposed to delays. Birming-ham’s total hours of peak period travelhit 245. Nashville was the worst trafficcity with 284 hours of peak periodtravel.

However, when based solely ontotal hours of delay, Birminghamranked 24th in the nation, with a totalof 32 hours. By this measure, Los An-geles had the worst traffic at 70 hoursof delay and Atlanta had the thirdworst at 57 hours of delay.

The report, “Driven Apart: Howsprawl is lengthening our commutesand why misleading mobility meas-ures are making things worse,” was re-leased Wednesday by CEOs for Citieswith support from the RockefellerFoundation.

The report found that Birming-ham was also one of the worse citiesfor excess travel. Birmingham mo-torists drive an extra 1,828 miles andspend an extra 85 hours in the car dueto longer travel distances. OnlyNashville and Oklahoma City hadworse excess travel statistics.

The report argues that compactdevelopment eases traffic congestion.

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CarfaxQuickVINConnectsCar’sLicenseNumber toVINCarfax QuickVIN is a new, free toolavailable to SMS providers thatmatches a car’s registered licenseplate to instantly return the vehicleidentification number (VIN) as wellas the year/make/model of your cus-tomers’ cars. It can avoid costly mis-takes that can plague other shops.

According to industry insiders,one out of every four automotiveparts that service shops order is re-turned. Think about how many partsyour store orders in a year. Now con-sider the extra costs you’re incurringto return overstocked or incorrectparts and the additional time it takesto receive new ones. Chances arethose numbers are pretty significantacross the board.

Good service means business.Timely repairs, competitive rates andincreased attention on customer serv-ice results in more repeat businessand word-of-mouth advertising fromsatisfied customers.

Carfax QuickVIN gives you thecorrect VIN to help ensure you orderthe right parts, operate more effi-ciently and ultimately increase yourprofit margin. For more informationabout Carfax QuickVIN, [email protected].

Here’s a scenario that may sound fa-miliar. A few days after you repairedthe collision damage to your cus-tomer’s 2010 pickup, a cold-frontmoved in, and an early winter seemedright around the corner. A week or solater, the pickup re-appeared at yourshop, with the owner complaining ofstrange noises coming from the frontend.Did you miss something? Is it relatedto the work you did? You quickly de-termine that the noise is suspensionrelated. But can you really say it wasnot linked to your repair? So, do youjust say, “Not our fault,” and send thecustomer on his way? There are twothings wrong with this solution:1. You probably just lost a repeat cus-tomer, along with any referrals shemight send your way.2. You just sent some possible revenueout the door.

Information is PowerThe answer to this dilemma is infor-mation… accurate information… OEinformation! Here’s how OE informa-tion can help in a situation like thisone:1. If you can give your customer a le-gitimate reason for the condition – areason unrelated to your repair – youimmediately defuse the situation.2. If you have the procedures to actu-ally fix the problem, you will cementyour relations with the customer.3. If the problem is unrelated to yourprior repair, you could profit from thisunexpected opportunity.At collision shops, mechanicalwork is traditionally sublet to otherfacilities – often due to limited in-formation. Outsourcing work notonly cuts off a source of revenue, itcan also mean a loss of control overscheduling and, ultimately, deliveryof the vehicle. With accurate manu-facturers’ repair information, a col-lision shop can reduce unnecessaryoutsourcing. In addition to detailedrepair procedures, manufacturers’information includes technicalservice bulletins (TSBs), which de-scribe known problems and solu-tions for specific vehicles. Manyauto dealers and mechanical repairshops always check TSBs first.Here is a Tech Tip which was ex-

cerpted from a typical manufac-turer’s TSB found in ALLDATACollision. It concerns a suspensionissue that was identified on the2010 Chevrolet Silverado and sev-eral other General Motors trucksand SUVs.

Strut Noise on GM VehiclesSubject: Squeak/Creak/Rumble/RattleType Noise Coming from Front of Ve-hicle During Low Speed Maneuversin Colder Ambient Temperatures (En-large Upper Inside Diameter (ID) ofStrut Jounce Bumper)

Models:2007-2010 Cadillac Escalade, Es-calade ESV, Escalade EXT2007-2010 Chevrolet Avalanche, Sil-verado LD, Suburban LD, Tahoe2007-2010 GMC Sierra LD, SierraDenali, Yukon, Yukon XL LD, YukonDenali XL

ConditionSome customers may comment on asqueak, creak, rumble or rattle-typenoise coming from the front of the ve-hicle (may sound like it’s comingthrough front of dash) during lowspeed maneuvers. The noise may bemost noticeable in colder tempera-tures (typically 0°C (32°F) or lower).This noise will most likely be heardduring small to medium suspensiontravel such as in parking lot maneu-vers, over small bumps, when stop-ping.

CauseThe front strut jounce bumper insidediameter to the piston rod of the strutmay be experiencing a slip/stick con-dition during certain colder weatherambient conditions.Always refer to ALLDATA® Colli-sionSM for safety procedures, identifi-cation of material types, recommendedrefinish materials, and removal and in-stallation procedures.Always refer to thevehicle manufacturer for questions relat-ing to applicable or non-applicable war-ranty repair information.

Correction1. Test drive the vehicle underthe same type of weather condi-tions (typically 0°C (32°F) orlower) and low speed maneu-vers mentioned by the customerin order to verify the concern.2. Using Chassis Ears, verifythat the noise is most noticeable at the

upper strut mount area. The concernmay be on one or both sides of the ve-hicle.3. By jouncing the vehicle, thenoise or vibration can be isolatedusing a stethoscope, and may possiblybe felt in the vicinity.4. Raise and support the vehicle.5. Remove the LH and RH strut as-semblies from the vehicle.6. Disassemble the coil springand top mount assembly from eachstrut.

7. Remove the jounce bumper (5)


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To Sublet or Not to Sublet—That’s the Question. The Answer is OE Repair Information.with Tom McGee

ALL OEM InformationTom McGee is National Account Manager for ALLDATA Collision. He has had a long career with I-CAR, in-cluding as President & CEO. Tom is an ASE certified Master Collision Repair/Refinish Technician. He hasalso run his own collision facility and been a career and technical school instructor. He can be reached [email protected]. For other Tom McGee articles in Autobody News, go to:http://www.autobodynews.com/tom-mcgee/index.php — JEFF WEBSTER is an ALLDATA Technical Writer.and Jeffrey Webster

from the top mount assembly (3) (Fig-ure 1).8. Secure the jounce bumperupright in a bench vise. Only clampthe lower portion of the bumper to

allow the upper portion of the ID to re-main at rest.

NoteA standard drill bit will not cut the IDof the jounce bumper. The jouncebumper will comply and stretcharound the bit, then return after thedrill is removed.

9. Prepare a single flute countersinkbit or a bladed cutting bit, or equiva-lent, in a die grinder, Dremmel® Tool,or equivalent (Figure 2).

NoteDo Not attempt to drill outthe jounce bumper while at-tached to the strut top mountassembly. The bumper mustbe removed from the topmount assembly.

NoteDo Not attempt to drill outthe jounce bumper from thelower end toward the upperend, as this could affect char-acteristics of the jouncebumper.10. Enlarge the Upper ID (1)

from the top side of the jouncebumper to the following dimensions(Figure 3):• Diameter of enlarged ID: 16 mm• Depth of enlarged ID: 15 mm11. Ensure that the ID of the jouncebumper is as smooth as possible andfree of loose material. If necessary, anExacto® knife, or equivalent, can be

used to carefully trim the edge and re-move any loose material. Figure 4shows a jounce bumper with the en-larged upper ID (1) as compared to theoriginal ID (2).

NoteEnsure that the jounce bumper isfully seated to the top mount assem-bly.12. Install the jounce bumper to thetop mount assembly. Ensure that thejounce bumper is secure to the topmount.13. Assemble the coil spring and top

mount to each strut.14. Install the LH and RH strut as-semblies to the vehicle.15. Move the vehicle outdoors toallow it to return to ambient tempera-ture.16. Test drive the vehicle underthe same conditions to verify therepair.For more information on OE repair in-formation, please visit:www.alldata.com/promo/abn7tt/

NOTE: This Repair/Service Proce-dure is excerpted from a TechnicalService Bulletin published by the ve-hicle manufacturer, and is intended foruse by trained, professional techni-cians with the knowledge, tools andequipment to do the job properly andsafely. It is recommended that this pro-cedure not be performed by “do-it-yourselfers.”


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The Georgia Collision Industry Asso-ciation held its 14th annual GCIA In-vitational Golf Tournament at the GolfClub at Bradshaw Farms in Wood-stock, Georgia on October 13th.

The event was quite a success,filling to capacity as it has for manyyears in the past according toHoward Batchelor, TournamentCoordinator. Registration started at11:30 am with lunch at noon andTee Off at 1:00 pm.

Competitve events included theFour Man “Best Ball” Tournament; atournament where 4 players make upteams and the better score for each

team on each hole is recorded towardsthe team’s final score.

A playing fee of $75 per personincluded lunch & dinner, unlimitedsupply of drinks and snacks, trophies

and chances at over $1000 worth ofdoor prizes.

Visit gacollisionindustry.word-press.com to view more photos fromthe event. All photos courtesy of BobWinn with Enterprise Rent-A-Car.


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www.autobodynews.com

California Opposition to Proposed ‘Crash Tax’Californians overwhelmingly opposeefforts by some cities to charge forfire and police response to traffic ac-cidents, a new poll has found. Cali-fornia communities should not levyfees on out-of-town, at-fault motoristswho cause accidents, half of the sur-vey’s respondents say.

The accident tax can range from$500 to $2,000 and is levied on mo-torists from outside the area whocause accidents. The fees would beused to cover the locals’ costs ofcleaning up car crashes.

Legislative discussion hasemerged on the subject as dozens oflocal towns have already imple-mented the fee. Municipalities acrossthe U.S. have been looking at fees foremergency responses, which are paidby insurers in most cases, as new rev-enue sources to battle their budget dif-ficulties, according to Online AutoInsurance. About 18 states have juris-dictions in which accident fees arecharged.

About 63% of survey respondentsopposed levying a fee after learningthat it would increase insurance premi-ums; however, providers of police andfire services say the levy will covertheir costs and replenish recession-plagued budgets depleted by cuts.

“It is not a revenue generator. Weare trying to recover costs for the firedepartments…If a person gets into anat-fault accident, the insurance com-panies raise their rates. That’s a fairsystem. It’s a lot fairer than a fire de-partment having to consider reducingthe level of services or, more impor-tantly, the timeliness of services,”Rick Benner, chief operating officerof Fire Recovery in Roseville, toldCapitol Weekly.

Only 21 percent supported theconcept of emergency response fees,while 50 percent opposed the idea ofcities charging fees to respond to traf-fic accidents, according to the pollcommissioned by the Insurance Infor-mation Network of California.Twenty-six percent were undecided.

Opposition to the fees increasedwhen respondents were told that citiestypically billed drivers’ insurancecompanies to collect the charges.

When asked whether they sup-port or oppose the idea of insurersbeing charged accident fees, 62 per-cent said they opposed the idea while29 percent supported it.

Respondents also rejected theidea of making accident response feesa covered insurance peril, whichcould cause insurance costs to rise.

www.autobodynews.comwww.autobodynews.com

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85 Billion Mile Annual Shift & Specialists Top Service Growthby Jim Lang, Lang Marketing

Between 2010 and 2013, more than340 billion car and light truck mileswill shift from vehicles five years andyounger to a much older mix of vehi-cles. Vehicles in the U.S. five yearsand younger are typically driven ap-proximately 40% more miles annuallythan the average older light vehicle.With the significant downturn in newcar and light truck sales beginning in2008, the number of vehicles fiveyears and younger on U.S. roads bythe end of 2010 will be nearly 17 mil-lion units less than it would have beenhad new sales continued at the annuallevel recorded from 1999 through2007. By 2013, the total number of“lost” younger vehicles (five yearsand under) could top 26 million units.

As a result of this historic reduc-tion in vehicles five years and under,older cars and light trucks are beingpressed into “harder” service as totalmiles by all types of light vehiclesinched up over the past few years.

340 Billion Miles Shifting: 2010 - 2013Lang Marketing estimates over 340billion miles (one-third trillion) willbe transferred from newer vehicles(five years and under) to older carsand light trucks on U.S. roads from2010 to 2013.

Not All Miles Driven are EqualThis means these 340 billion mileswill generate more aftermarket prod-uct volume, since this wear-and-tearis accumulating on older vehicles be-tween 2010 and 2013, rather thannewer cars and light trucks (five yearsand younger). Miles on older vehiclesresult in greater repair and mainte-nance product use per mile traveledthan the same miles driven by newercars and light trucks.

Record-Setting Accumulated MileageOdometer readings of light vehicles in

the U.S. (accumulated mileage) aresetting new records. As older vehiclesare being driven more annual milesthan ever before, accumulated mileageon U.S. vehicles is reaching newheights. This means many aftermarketproducts are likely to gain an addi-tional replacement cycle because oldervehicles are accumulating record-hightotal mileage.

Vehicle-Age “Sweet Spot” GettingBroaderAs a result of more mileage on oldervehicles in the U.S., the upper-end ofthe vehicle-age “sweet spot” for af-termarket product use will migrate tohigher vehicle age levels.

Strong Recipe for More AftermarketGrowthOver one-third trillion miles shiftingfrom newer to older vehicles on U.S.roads and older vehicles beingdriven record-setting miles per yearmean that aftermarket product useper miles traveled on U.S. roads forcars and light trucks continues to in-crease. This is a strong recipe for af-termarket product growth through2013.

Specialists Top Service Market GrowthTwo types of car and light truck spe-cialty outlets are generating over60% of 2010 light vehicle Service(DIFM) market product growth. Re-pair Specialists (outlets offering alimited menu of vehicle repair andmaintenance) and Foreign Special-ists (outlets focusing on the repairand maintenance of foreign cars andlight trucks) combined for a 3.6%average sales gain between 2004 and2009, 80% faster than the growthpace of all other non-Dealer serviceoutlets.

Repair SpecialistsOutlets offering a limited menu oflight vehicle repair and maintenance

(Repair Specialists) rank third in 2010Service market product volume, in-stalling nearly one-quarter of light ve-hicle aftermarket products. Over thepast five years, Repair Specialists av-eraged 3.3% annual product growth,second among all service outlets,while posting the largest dollar gainin products installed on cars and lighttrucks at user-price.

Foreign SpecialistsFocusing on the repair of foreign carsand light trucks (imports and trans-plants), Foreign Specialists achievedthe strongest annual product growthover the past five years, 4.1%. Con-centrated on both coasts, as well aslarger metropolitan areas, ForeignSpecialists will generate nearly one-fifth of total light vehicle aftermarketproduct expansion over the next fiveyears.

Service Bay ShiftAlthough Lang Marketing projectsthe number of car and light truckservice bays in the U.S. will de-cline approximately 22,000 overthe next five years (steadily in-creasing the average number ofcars and light trucks per bay na-tionwide), Repair Specialists andForeign Specialists will each ex-pand their outlet count as well astheir number of light vehicle serv-ice bays. Between 2009 and 2014,Lang Marketing projects RepairSpecialists will climb from 18% to20% of total light vehicle servicebays in the U.S.; while ForeignSpecialist bay share will increasefrom 6% to 7% during this fiveyear span.

Brand ImplicationsService market growth of Repair Spe-cialists and Foreign Specialists hasimportant implications for aftermar-ket product brands installed by non-Dealer outlets.

Repair Specialists purchase a dif-ferent mix of product brands thanother types of independent serviceoutlets (particularly Service Stationsand Garages).

Foreign Specialists also havespecific brand preferences, with OEbrands, OE-supplier brands, and For-eign brands accounting for most oftheir purchases.

Distribution Channel ImpactIntegrated distribution will benefitfrom the growth of Repair Specialistsin Service market product repair overthe next five years; while the Importchannel will gain volume from theService market share growth of For-eign Specialists.

Historic Aftermarket Product ChannelShiftOver $11 billion in light vehicle prod-ucts will change aftermarket distribu-tion channels between 2008 and 2014,at user-price. Underway for more than24 months, this will be the largest af-termarket sales percentage shift inover 40 years, and the greatest-everdollar-volume transfer among chan-nels.

Forces Driving ChangeThree forces are driving this his-toric shift in distribution channelvolume: a reduction in Dealerstrength, expanding integrated dis-tributors, and the explosion of for-eign vehicle (import and transplant)product sales.

Winners and LosersThree of the five major aftermarketdistribution channels will expandtheir sales share, exceeding the av-erage pace of aftermarket productgrowth between 2008 and 2014;while two channels will diminish inproduct share and are likely to re-cede in product volume during thissix year span.


Integrated DistributionThe Integrated channel will achievethe largest increase in aftermarketproduct share between 2008 and 2014,stretching its sales lead over all otherdistribution channels. Integrated dis-tribution (characterized by productsnot changing ownership or franchiseaffiliation from the time they are pur-chased from Manufacturers to thepoint of sale to ultimate users or in-stallers) will grow at a pace nearly50% faster than the average rate of af-termarket expansion between 2008and 2014. Integrated distribution isgaining strength in the commercial(wholesale) parts market as well as inthe distribution of foreign vehicleproducts and across the DIY automo-tive sector.

Traditional DistributionThe Traditional channel (aftermarketdistribution involving traditional Ware-houses and/or Jobbers) will increase itslight vehicle product share nearly one-tenth between 2008 and 2014. Long-term success of the Traditional channelwill depend on its ability to substan-tially penetrate the fast-growing for-eign vehicle DIFM market.

Specialized DistributionThe Specialized channel (distributioninvolving a limited range of productsor involvement in a specialized seg-ment of the aftermarket) will declineapproximately one-tenth in productshare between 2008 and 2014. Muchof this reduction will reflect the strug-gle of accessory sales, as well asgrowing competition from Integrateddistribution.

OE DistributionThe OE channel will diminish in Serv-ice market product share between2008 and 2014. The declining numberof vehicles under six years of age (theprimary vehicle mix repaired by Deal-ers) will reduce Dealer bay volume;while changing buying habits of in-stallers and strong competition fromindependent distributors will signifi-cantly erode Dealer redistributionsales. OE channel aftermarket sharewill drop nearly one-fifth between2008 and 2014.

Import ChannelThe Import channel (distribution in-volving import Warehouses and/orJobbers) will increase its aftermarket

product share more than one-fifth be-tween 2008 and 2014, fueled by rapidgrowth of the foreign vehicle after-market as well as the emergence ofstrong and innovative foreign partsdistributors with regional and nationalreach.

Rebounding Service Stations andGaragesRevitalization of Service Station andGarage car and light truck Servicemarket product share was triggeredby the sharp drop in Dealer servicework, resulting from widespreadDealer closings during the past 24months and the conversion of manycancelled Dealers to used-vehicleoutlets with bays. While Dealer attri-tion will continue over the next twoyears, Service Station and Garage re-pair market expansion will increas-ingly depend on their ability topenetrate the fast-growing foreign ve-hicle repair market.

Slowing Service Station and GarageAttritionWhile the number of Service Stationsand Garages dropped at a 1.5% aver-age annual rate between 1998 and

2008, Service Station and Garageclosings slowed during the past 18months to less than a 0.6% yearlypace.

Service Bay ShareAlthough declining in population overthe past ten years, Service Stations andGarages still operate the largest num-ber of car and light truck service baysin the U.S. At mid-year 2010, ServiceStations and Garages accounted for anestimated 340,000 bays nationwide,nearly 30% of all car and light truckservice bays. As Dealers close, Serv-ice Stations and Garages, because oftheir large number, offer a convenientalternative to consumers seeking vehi-cle repair.

Lang Annual in Digital FormatFor complete analysis of all major dis-tribution channels over ten years, seethe all-new 2011 Lang Annual, digi-tally published in conjunction with theAAIA Factbook.

From Aftermarket Insight™ byJim Lang, President of Lang Market-ing Resources, Inc., www.langmarket-ing.com.


A mid 90’s Corvette with a couple ofproblems to take care of came intomy shop some time ago. The firstproblem was an intermittent start andthe other problem was that the sus-pension warning light stayed on allthe time. The first problem had beenlooked at many times by a dealer inFlorida where the owner had a sec-ond home and where he stored the carfor those times he would be there.The car sat around a lot and theowner was getting very upset that itwouldn’t start when he would showup at his vacation place to drive hiscar around.

Apparently not much was solvedbut like most other electrical prob-lems if it’s intermittent and you can’tduplicate, read a history code or atleast see the problem… most any-thing you do is just a guess. The luckyguy to actually see the problem lookslike the genius and in the customersmind all others that have tried havereached some level of stupidity… orworse. Someone tried a new starter,another battery, a little of this andsome of that. None of which fixed theproblem. Luckily for me, the Vettewent through its death rolls right therein the shop for me. It turned out thatthe thin wires that make up the secu-rity system which are attached to theignition switch tumbler had broken.As you turn the ignition switch thewires must twist with the switch andlike anything else that moves, it willwear out—it did. I replaced the unitand all is well. The second problem

required a little more effort and awhole lot of waiting. The driver’s sideshock had gone bad. On top of theshock is an electronic sensor that hadbroken its little gear and the shockhad “locked-up” which is probablywhy the sensor failed. But, the onlyplace that still had parts for it was inFlorida. Imagine that. Drive the carhalfway across the country to Okla-homa, to my shop, and find out theonly replacement parts are rightwhere you were to start with. Go fig-ure.

It was about a week or more be-fore the replacement parts showed up.The car was finished and sent homewith the owner. All parties are paidup, car is starting with no problem,and the suspension is working as itshould. What could be wrong?

A few days later my daughterMandy got a phone call: “Yes, I re-member the car…. really? I wonderhow that happened. Are you sureabout that? Hmmm, I’ll check withthe shop. I can’t think of any way thatcould happen… OK, I’ll call you backwhen I know something. Thanks forletting me know, Good-bye.”

I was standing nearby a littlepuzzled as to who and what the callwas about. Mandy turned to me.“Dad, you’re not going to believethis. That Vette you just finished theother day. The guy’s wife insists thatthere is human hand print in the wind-shield. I don’t mean ‘on’ the wind-shield. She says it’s permanently“etched” into the glass.”

“You’re kidding,” I answered,wondering how this miraculous eventcould occur.

“Nope, she’s dead serious. Shetold me that she took the car to a glassshop and they couldn’t get it out.They tried all kinds of chemicalcleaners and it’s there as plain as day.”Mandy recounted.

“Oh come on, this is ridiculous.Let me guess, it’s my hand printright? How in the world would I havedone that? Anything that would carvea hand in a windshield would havecarved whosever hand did it,” I saidin a fit of confusing reactions.

“Have her bring the car back andlet me take a look at it,” I told Mandy.

“Ok, but I don’t think that’sgoing to happen, they’re pretty upsetwith you.”

Upset or not, to me there is onlyone way to resolve things like this.“Bring the car back to the shop thathas done the work so they can seewhat’s going on, or I’m coming up tosee it.” But, do you think that hap-pened… nooooo. Not a chance.

A few weeks later I ran into thehusband at a meeting I was attending.It was a meeting of some of the topbusinesses in town, some of thelargest but also some of the best. Iwouldn’t think there was anybody inthis room that would have any misun-derstandings about any service workdone for them since we all are basi-cally in private business and deal withpeople, parts and things like thisevery day. I asked him why he didn’t

bring the car back to me to have itlooked at. There again, I was sur-prised at the answer.

“You obviously have no idea ofthe concern that my wife is havingover this issue. The trauma caused herto go to a rehab in Denver for a nerv-ous condition. I had to take the car intoa glass shop and have the windshieldreplaced with a new one. That finallymade things right with my wife. So Idon’t think I’ll be bringing anymorework to you. She’s still very upset but,she is on medication for it now.”

In all my years of working withthe general public, nothing surprisesme anymore. You think you’ve seenit all then some crackpot, off the walllady like this comes along. I’m not thetype of person who wants to think thatI’ve done something wrong andcaused someone to have to go torehab, but then I’m thinking…You’ve got the time and money to goto rehab over a magical defect in afriggin’ windshield? The problemhere ain’t the windshield. People andtheir emotional states can be the hard-est automotive diagnostics you’ll everrun across and if they could be left outof the equation things would go a lotsmoother. There’s one thing I can sayabout cars that I can’t say about theirowners. Cars are never crazy, wacky,or just plain nuts in the need of coun-seling. They’re just a car. I’d like tohave a ‘professional’ opinion on thesepeople but, I’m no shrink. I’m onlythe mechanic. I’ll leave the emotionalevaluations to a doctor.

Corvette’s Etched Glass Mystery, Was it the ‘Hand of Turin’?with Gonzo Weaver

Gonzo’s Toolbox This is a new story by Scott “Gonzo” Weaver as posted on his website,www.gonzostoolbox.com. See his book “Hey Look! I Found The LooseNut”, which provides a Good Laugh for Mechanics of Any Age. The bookis available at amazon.com. Contact Gonzo at [email protected]

ALLDATA Introduces the Next Generation of ALLDATA CollisionALLDATA LLC, a leading provider ofvehicle manufacturers’ service and re-pair information for professional re-pair shops, announces the release ofALLDATA Collision S3500, the high-performing next generation of the pop-ular ALLDATA Collision repairproduct.

At the core of ALLDATA Colli-sion S3500 is an innovative search fea-ture, which makes acquiringinformation much faster than previousgenerations. The intelligence behindthe robust database allows information

to be located instantly.“Smart” filtering further speeds

up finding relevant information bytype or category.

‘The OE repair information at theheart of ALLDATA Collision is all stillthere,” said ALLDATA Senior Colli-sion Program Manager, Dan Espersen.

‘But now, it’s easier than ever tolocate the procedures and diagramsthat a shop needs to efficiently repair avehicle, whether it’s sectioning proce-dures, weld types, reset procedures orair bag information. It’s all still there

in a new easier-to-use package.’Electronic estimate integration is

enabled with NuGen IT, Inc.’s Colli-sion Data Exchange (CDX) software,to automatically link and retrieve theexact OE repair information relevantto the repairs listed on an estimate. It iscompatible with all the major collisionestimating programs.

Pinning is a feature unique toALLDATA Collision S3500, which al-lows technicians to keep articles openfor reference while they continue togather the information necessary for a

proper repair.“Several articles can be opened

and pinned so that technicians and es-timators have all the information on aparticular procedure at their finger-tips,” says Espersen.

“This can help a shop create ac-curate repair plans, reduce the need forsupplements and streamline opera-tions.”

For more information on ALL-DATA andALLDATACollision S3500,please visit www.alldata.com/vegas10or call 800-697-2533.

As it has for 28 years, the Interna-tional Autobody Congress and Expo-sition (NACE) served as an annualmeeting place for the collision repairindustry when it was held in LasVegas in mid-October.

A bit smaller of a meeting place,given the continued sluggish economyin the United States, but still likely thelargest gathering of the industry thisyear.Ron Pyle, president of the Au-

tomotive Service Association,which sponsors NACE, remindedabout 1,000 attendees at the open-

ing session thatthe event’s suc-cess enables ASAto provide keyfunding for a longlist of industry or-ganizations. Justsince 2004, Pylesaid, NACE has

provided 83,534 hours of training to47,764 students. And NACE alsohas donated $2.5 million in boothand meeting space at the event to in-dustry non-profits.

The opening session has tradi-tionally also included a type of “stateof the industry” presentation by theshop owner who serves as chairman ofthe event, and a keynote speech by awell-known celebrity, sports or politi-cal figure, or motivational speaker.This year, however, Pyle said NACEorganizers chose to kick off the eventwith a presentation that would give at-tendees something they could “go andput into practice in their business.”Marketing consultant Kelly McDon-ald offered advice on how shop own-ers can use the growing diversity ofthe population to improve their busi-ness.

McDonald, for example, notedthat for the firsttime in history, fourgenerations ofAmericans are inthe workforce, andeach brings its ownstyles and expecta-tions to the work-place. The youngestgeneration of workers, she pointedout, have grown up with new gaming

systems every year, so are very adapt-able to new technology. They are ac-customed to multitasking, she said,and indeed may excel when givenmany smaller tasks rather than one bigproject.

This youngest generation (cur-rently 19- to 32-years-old) is 70 mil-lion strong, second only to the BabyBoomer generation in size, and is alsoprojected to be the wealthiest genera-tion in American history. McDonaldsaid marketing to this group shouldn’tinclude efforts to be “hip.” They in-stead want straight information, andwant to work with businesses theyview as being diverse, “green” andsupportive of the community or char-itable causes.

She cited several exampleswithin the collision repair industry ofshops using diversity in the populationto their advantage. Keenan Auto Body,which operates nine shops in Pennsyl-vania, reaches the growing Koreanand Russian populations in its marketby advertising in specialty newspapersaimed at those audiences. The com-pany recruits new employees fromwithin these communities, workingwith an immigration attorney asneeded to help get these potential em-ployees’ residency and work docu-ments in order. By then havingspeakers of those languages on staff atits shops, McDonald said, Keenan at-tracts customers who like interactingwith “someone like them” or who mayhave limited English skills.

A Look At StandardsAnother session at NACE focusedon the value of certification or stan-dards within theindustry. Amongthose on the panelwas Leslie Uphamof Thatcham, whodiscussed that or-ganization’s role inthe implementa-tion of shop and re-pair standards in the UnitedKingdom. Upham said creating suchstandards should include input fromall segments of the industry, but alsoshould be done on a prescribed time-line.

“Take time to get consensus, butdon’t take too long,” said Upham,adding that the process in the U.K.took about a year.

She said the standards set guide-lines for “man, machine, methods andmaterials,” and three levels of certifi-cation are available to allow for dif-ferent types of shops (those doingonly cosmetic repair, for example).Certified shops are allowed to use the“Kitemark” logo, which is a inde-pendent quality mark recognized by80 percent of U.K. consumers.

She said there are about 1,700collision repair shops in the U.K. in-volved in insurer programs, andThatcham’s initial goal is to get about1,400 shops certified. It is about half-way to that goal, with about 700 certi-fied shops, two-and-a-half years intothe program.

The number of shops in the U.K.has fallen from about 18,000 20 years

ago to about 4,500 today. The panelwas asked if certification programslead to shop closures. Jeff Patti, an in-surance company executive who isleading one of the efforts to create stan-

dards in the UnitedStates, said he seessuch standardsmore as a differen-tiator, to help con-sumers locate ashop with the ap-propriate equip-ment and training.

“It’s kind of a crap shoot rightnow for a consumer. When they taketheir car to a shop they have no ideaof the qualifications of that repair fa-cility,” Patti said. “And yes, unfortu-nately, some smaller shops may go outof business, but it is what it is. Wehave to be mindful of that, but we asan industry have to provide the con-sumer with a proper repair.”


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Industry Insightwith John Yoswick

John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has been writingabout the automotive industry since 1988. He is the editor of the weekly CRASHNetwork (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com).He can be contacted by email at [email protected].

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GM to Recall 2009–2010 ImpalasGM is recalling 322,409 Chevrolet Im-palas from the 2009 and 2010 modelyears because of a possible defect as-sociated with the seat belt. The au-tomaker is searching for what it thinksis a small number of vehicles. The rea-son is the front seat belt webbing maynot have been properly secured to thelap belt anchor pretensioner mountedto the side of the seat nearest the door.

Officials believe vehicles withthis condition may have an anchorthat can separate in a crash. As a re-sult, the belt may not meet the anchorstrength requirements of the U.S. andCanadian Motor Vehicle Safety Stan-dard that covers seat belt assemblyanchorages. Dealers are being in-structed to inspect both front seatbelts for proper installation of an-chors to pretensioners. If necessary,franchise service departments arebeing told to reinstall the anchors.

“GM knows of no injuries ordeaths related to this condition,” theautomaker emphasized.

The company also noted Impalaowners are be notified on or aroundOct. 25 by mail to bring their vehiclesin free inspection.

OEM officials added any repairsrelated to this condition are to bedone free of charge.

Big Retail Auto-Parts Chains See Strong Sales, Rise in Stock PricesThe theory that weaker new car salescreates a boon for auto-parts sellers isgaining credibility. Big auto-parts chainshave seen dramatic increase in theirshare prices due to strong sales recently.Shares of Advance Auto Parts (AAP),AutoZone (AZO) and O’Reilly Auto-motive (ORLY) are near 52-week highs.

“People who are not buying newcars are hanging on to their old carsand repairing them,” says MichaelOdell, CEO of the Pep Boys (PBY)chain, which has 600 stores, with plansto add 35 more. The average fleet agefor all cars and trucks in the U.S. was10.2 years in the latest R.L. Polk sur-vey, up 21% in the past 14 years.

In the year 2000, the auto industrywas selling more than 16 million cars ayear, vs. the 10 million-plus that soldlast year, which is now a “the sweetspot” for auto parts retailers becausethey often need substantial repairs, saysanalyst Colin McGranahan of BernsteinResearch. Auto-parts dealers haveadapted by stocking more basic repairitems, such as alternators, starters andbrakes instead of the bling-bling acces-sories popular in better economic times.

“People have realized their carswill last longer than five years,” saysJudd Nystrom, senior vice president ofAdvance Auto Parts. Also driving the

parts industry:● Driving more miles. Americans

cut back on driving when gas pricesrose a couple of years ago. Now, carmileage is starting to rise again, Fed-eral Highway Administration figuresshow. The more miles driven, the moreservicing that cars need.

● Fewer auto dealers. GeneralMotors, Ford Motor (F) and Chryslercollectively closed hundreds of cardealers, creating fewer places for carowners to get their cars serviced. Morehave turned to independent mechanics,who often get their supplies from partssellers.

More auto-repair school graduatesare getting jobs at independent garagesinstead of at auto dealerships, saysJohn Frala, professor at Rio HondoCollege in Whittier, CA.

● Higher used car values. Sincefewer new cars are being sold, thereare fewer trade-ins, which has causedused prices to rise in the past two years.Since used cars are worth more, own-ers are willing to spend more to keeptheir more valuable assets in goodworking order.

● Do-it-yourselfers. With morepeople out of work and short on cash,more are trying to fix cars themselves,McGranahan says.

GM’s Volt Can Use IC EnginePower at Highway Speeds,Contrary to Earlier ClaimsGM has revealed that the Volt can, insome situations, use its small 84-hp1.4 4-cylinder internal combustionengine to power the wheels at high-way speeds in order to improve its ef-ficiency, however, the Volt enginenever drives the wheels all by itselflike a conventional hybrid. Volt hadpreviously been promoted as an ex-tended range electric vehicle: an allelectric car with a gas-powered gener-ator on board which never powers thewheels directly. GM said it is just nowrevealing the full details due to a keypatent that has been allowed by the USpatent office. The 2011 Chevrolet Voltis powered by 16-kWh, “T”-shapedlithium-ion battery that powers theelectric drive unit, which allows it todrive 40 miles on battery power alone.

The Volt has been approved forthe full $7,500 federal tax credit. Thetax credit is for any vehicle that can“draw propulsion using a battery withat least four kilowatt hours that canbe recharged from an external sourceof electricity.”

Prices for the 2011 ChevroletVolt start at $41,000, and with the fulltax credit, will cost $33,500.

A while back I made a sales call at ahigh-quality body shop in my area.There was no one at the front desk soI took a seat to wait. I didn’t mindwaiting since I had something togain from being there. A few minutesafter I arrived, a potential customerpulled up out front and came up tothe front desk. Ten minutes passedand no one came out. The customerbegan to pace around. Ten more min-utes passed and still no one appearedto take his information. He turnedaround, walked out and drove away.

Is the loss of just one potentialcustomer any big deal? Another shopI visited this past week had just com-pleted painting ground effects on abrand new Camaro. The new carowner was a local doctor who wrotea glowing letter of appreciation forthe fine color match and the fastservice. He also mentioned that hehad first approached a competitor’sshop a short distance away but hadbeen treated rudely by the estimatorhe spoke to there. So he checked theInternet for an alternative shop. Hewas so pleased with this shop’s workthat he planned to share his experi-ence at the Camaro Club he be-longed to. The loss of this onecustomer had a ripple effect. Theloss was multiplied many times.

A body shop isn’t much like ayoung ball player being sought by ascout for a major or minor leagueteam. But there is always the possi-bility that an insurance company orother potential referral source has ascout, pretending to be a potentialcustomer, checking out possibleshops for a direct repair or referralrelationship. And then there are alsofraud investigation agents who mightcome around. A shop owner neverknows if a potential customer mighthave some hidden motive for beingthere. It might be a wise decision totreat each customer as though he orshe represents much more thanmeets the eye.

So assuming you agree with methat every potential customer is im-portant enough to warrant special at-tention, what can you do to ensurethat the customer knows he or she isgetting it? Like the guy I describedwho walked out of the shop afterwaiting twenty minutes, these dayseveryone hates to wait. Much of oursociety revolves around instant food,instant printing, instant photos andmore. If you eat out a restaurant forthe first time and have slow service orfaulty food, do you go back? Notlikely. Nevertheless, we all knowthere will be days when it seems

everyone comes into the shop at once.It seems unavoidable to keep at leasta couple of them waiting. How canyou convey this “special attention”intent when you’re swamped with toomany prospective customers?

During the many years I spent insales and marketing, I attended manytraining programs. One of the bestpieces of advice I received had to dowith calling prospective customersto set appointments. The instructorsaid to avoid being brushed off whenyou make a call, always start by ask-ing something like, “Am I interrupt-ing you right now? Is this a bad timeto speak to you?” Immediately theperson you’re calling knows you re-spect his or her time and you may geta couple of minutes to set an ap-pointment. I took this advice to heartand whenever I call anyone, I alwaysask if I’m calling at an inconvenienttime. I’ve found that it’s always best

to call someone when his or her at-tention isn’t focused on some moreimportant issue.

Perhaps a variation of this mightwork with collision repair customerswaiting for an estimate. A minute ortwo asking each person if they’reunder some time pressure shouldyield enough answers to get the mostimpatient people to the front of theline. And you will definitely havecreated the “special attention” per-ception you wanted. Out of every sixpeople, it’s not likely more than oneor two will really be in a hurry, and ifyou take care of them quickly, they’llremember the special service. Eventhose who are willing to wait a fewminutes will be impressed by yourconcern for every customer. And oneof those people may be the one thatbelongs to the Corvette Club or theCamaro Club and will spread theword that yours is the shop to go to.

How One Impression Multiplies

On Creative Marketingwith Thomas Franklin

Tom Franklin has been a sales and marketing consultant for forty-five years. He haswritten numerous books and provides marketing solutions and services for many busi-nesses. He can be reached at (323) 871-6862 or at [email protected] Tom’s columns at www.autobodynews.com under Columnists > Franklin


Finish it like a MasterpieceNever Compromise. Use Genuine Mercedes-Benz Parts.

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Silver Top Color ChoiceFor the 10th straight year, Silver is thetop vehicle color, according to an an-nual report released by PPG Industries.Silver, along with gray and charcoal,was the color of choice for 31% of allnew cars and trucks sold in NorthAmerica. That’s up from 25% in 2009and 20% in 2008. Black and white tiedfor second place with 18% in PPG’sannual color report. Red came in thirdwith 11% and blue fourth, with 10%.Natural tones: brown, tan, golds, or-ange and yellow, rounded out the topfive with 8%. Green was least popular,garnering only 4% of the color market,according to the company.

Mercedes-Benz iPhone AppMercedes-Benz USA has created aniPhone App to provide news, photosand event content. Users can accessthe app with their mbusa.com log-inand password to get Latest News - allthe latest releases from Mercedes-Benz USA; Vehicle Info - browse pho-tos, videos, technical data, pricing andother model-specific data; Events - ac-cess all the news related to industry ac-tivities such as auto shows andlifestyle events including Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week; Contacts - reachout to MBUSA PR staff through thecontacts page with phone number andemail address listings.

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Subaru Ads Poke Fun at‘2011 Mediocrity’ SedansSubaru has launched a satirical TV adcampaign hawking the “2011 Medioc-rity.” The obviously tounge-in-cheekfictional car comes in “mediumcrumb” or “stale biscuit” colors, and isdesigned to “get you from A to B with-out anybody noticing, and that’s a goodthing.” On the web site, fake buyerscan build their own boring sedan.However, the Facebook fan page forthe 2011 Mediocrity includes com-ments from people who apparentlydon’t get the joke, such as “Sorry, butit’s horrid...” and “but it’s just UGLY.”No word on sales, yet.

Zurich Alert: Safe DrivingZurich has issued “Drive focused,drive safe,” a brief video presentationfor businesses and individuals. Thepresentation can be viewed here:https://www.brainshark.com/zurich/DriveSafe. “It is senseless and tragic thatlives are being lost for the sake of aphone call or a text, personal or busi-ness-related,” said Armand Fernandez,Chief Risk Engineering Officer,Zurich Services Corporation. “In thebusiness world alone, there have beennumerous vicarious liability cases thatresulted in multi-million dollar settle-ments and caused reputational damagefor the liable company.”

Over 60 Mopar performance parts andaccessories are available on the all-new2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee: Wheels:Mopar offers five accessory wheels ina variety of sizes ranging from 17 to 20inches. Chromed Parts: A variety ofchromed parts give the 2011 Jeep GrandCherokee a unique, customized appear-ance. Molded Splash Guards: Deluxeand flexible front and rear splash guardsare molded to the Jeep Grand Chero-kee’s contours for a custom fit. SkidPlates: Available for fuel tank, transfercase & engine. Complete list is view-able at www.mopar.com.

Mopar Offers 60+ CustomGrand Cherokee Parts

The Pennsylvania General Assemblyis considering a bill to double the min-imum coverage requirements for autoinsurance in the state. The bill, intro-duced in September, would require atleast $30,000 for the injury of one per-son in an accident, $60,000 for the in-jury of two or more people in oneaccident and $10,000 for propertydamage from one accident. The state’srequirements now are $15,000,$30,000, $5,000. Bills to increase min-imum requirements have passed inMaryland and Wisconsin, which set itsrates at $50,000/$100,000/$15,000.

Pennsylvania ConsidersDoubling Auto Coverage

Delaware VOC Law Goesinto Effect Oct. 11, 2010In May, Delaware’s Department ofNatural Resources and EnvironmentalControl proposed language known asDE 2601. The language revises rulesto mandate lower volatile organiccompound (VOC) content of bothcleaning and coating solvents used torefinish automobiles. Developed bythe Ozone Transport Commission(OTC), the proposed new section in-cludes language from the U.S. Envi-ronmental Protection Agency’s autorefinishing regulation. DE 2601 be-came effective Oct. 11, 2010.

SEMA asks IRS to HelpKill 1099 Report MandateSEMA his submitted comments to the IRSopposing a requirement that businessesissue 1099 reporting forms to all vendorsfrom whom they buy more than $600 ofgoods or services in any year, beginningin 2012. The mandate was included in thehealth-care law as a revenue-raising pro-vision. SEMA said that it will fail in itsmission to collect much under-reported in-come, but it will succeed in punishingsmall-business taxpayers who alreadycomply with U.S. tax law. The 1099 pro-vision was imposed upon the IRS whichrequired to implement the law.

Military Buys Into R2RThe American Military Society (AMS)requests that Congress support passage ofthe Motor Vehicle Owners Right to Re-pair Act (S 3181/HR 2057) on behalf ofits membership which includes active, re-serve, National Guard, retired and veter-ans of the uniformed services, theirfamilies and survivors. “Military person-nel and their families are often stationed inremote locations far from any dealerships,relying on independent repair shops toservice their vehicles,” said Charles C.Partridge, Col, USA (Ret) of AMS,adding “As cars become more compli-cated, the problem becomes more acute.”

MI Ford Dealer’s Shop FireA fire in the body shop at Borgman Fordin Grandview, MI, on Oct. 7 damaged atleast four cars after an engine fire beganin one of the vehicles. The vehicle caughtfire around 6:30 p.m. and was “totally de-stroyed,” and three or four others weredamaged by smoke inside the facility at3150 28th St. SW, Grandville Fire ChiefHarvey Veldhouse said. No one was in-jured and the fire was contained to thebody shop area, he said. Four employeeswere working when cleaning crewsalerted them to the fire, said worker Je-remy Christian. “Smoke was coming inby the body shop,” he said.

Progressive Corp. reported a decline inprofit for the month of September as wellas the third quarter, despite higher netpremiums. The Ohio-based holding com-pany reported that net income for themonth of September dropped 18% to$81.9 million from $100.0 million lastyear, and earnings per share were down17% to $0.12 from $0.15 a year ago. Thelatest monthly results included pretax netrealized gains on securities of $19.9 mil-lion, higher than $7.4 million last year.Monthly revenues were $1.18 billion andnet premiums written were $1.15 billion.

The Obama administration should askGM to suspend the 500 dealership ter-minations it plans Oct. 31 until a federalinvestigation of dealer cuts is completed,Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio, said.tThe investigative findings of the SpecialInspector General for the U.S. TroubledAsset Relief Program could come toolate for the GM dealerships scheduled tobe closed. The inspector general’s office,headed by former federal prosecutorNeil Barofsky, has not said when itwould complete its investigation ofdealer cuts by GM and Chrysler.

Mitchell International, Inc., announcedthe launch of RepairCenter™ for theApple® iPad™ to enable wireless shopmanagement. The RepairCenter shopWorkspace is now fully compatible withboth the iPad and iPhone™ and is de-signed to enhance workflow by allowingcollision repairers to stay connected tothe shop and keep jobs moving—evenwhen they are not on-site. Applicationprovides access tocustomer and jobtracking, task management, and vehiclerepair status. Estimates can be writtenquickly and accurately in the field-fromeither the iPad or the iPhone.

Ford’s growing reputation as a technol-ogy-driven brand is helping the companymake more money on every car it sells,the automaker’s vice president of prod-uct development, Derrick Kuzak, saidOct 19. During a speech to an auto elec-tronics show, Kuzak said Ford’s averagerevenue per vehicle jumped 14% from2008 to 2009, to $26,100. He attributedroughly one-third of the increase to newtechnologies such as the Sync in-carcommunication system, which operatesthe hands-free media system.

Progressive InsuranceSees Lower Profit in Qtr.

Ohio Rep: GM ShouldStop Dealer Terminations

Ford Says Tech Brings in14% More Revenue

Mitchell’s New iPhone App

Hey Toby—I have never written a let-ter to a magazine or newspaper untilnow. I’ve read many of your columnsand I want to thank you for the workthat you do for the collision industry.I am a second generation shop ownerand I am so frustrated that I don’tknow what to do.

My father taught me the business.The first thing he instilled on me is togive the customer the best job possi-ble. He taught me honesty and in-tegrity and when a person dropped offhis or her car, they would get the bestrepairs possible. We repaired cars andwe were very successful.

In the mid 90’s we got caught upin the DRP movement. We were toldthat the insurance company wouldsend us work in exchange for someminor concessions. We gave them adiscount on labor and parts. We stillgave our customers the repairs thatthey deserved.

My dad retired from the businessin the early 2000’s and by the time heleft, I was giving more and more con-cessions. Everything that I used tocharge for was now included. Freestorage was next. More threats if I didnot follow the rules. I had to hire extrapeople in the front office to cover all ofthe new administrative tasks.

I asked for a raise in the doorrate, but that never happened. Ibegged for more cars, but they addedmore shops. More concessions. Theysaid maybe their DRP program wasnot for me.

I have lost my ability to sell myshop’s service and its quality (all myfault) repairs. More concessions.

I was told that my repair-to-replace ratio was out of whack. Istarted to repair everything, eventhough I knew that it was not the bestfor my customers.

Then they started to cut my timeson the repairs. No prime and feath-eredge was allowed. I showed them inthe procedure pages that it was a non-included item. I was told that no one elsewas asking for it. More concessions.

To add insult to injury, my rentalcar company wanted data on my cus-tomers. Next thing I know they aretelling me how to manage my com-pany. More concessions.

I now have to use a different CSIcompany, which is more money withless service. More concessions.

I was told my alternative partsusage was too low.

Listen to this one. I needed aright quarter panel for a Dodge Car-avan. I got 2½ hours (another con-cession) for cut and trim. Where inGod’s creation did they get that num-ber from?

To add insult, the wrecking yardsent me the entire van (it had majorfront end damage). How was I goingto get rid of the donor van when I wasfinished with it (I don’t have a forklift)? I refused the part, bought a newone and ate the difference. I also pur-chased a front clip (I need the coresupport, hood, fenders, lights andbumper). The part arrived at the shopa couple of days later. Every part wasaftermarket except the core support. Isent it back. I could have ordered myown aftermarket parts.

The wrecking company told menot to call anymore because I was toopicky. Give me a break.

Talking about aftermarket parts, Iwas told to use CAPA only A/M parts,but there are only a limited amount ofCAPA-certified parts. My coordinatortold me to use any aftermarket parts,certified or not. I asked him to put itin writing to protect my shop, but helooked at me and I realized I was inbig trouble. I made a joke of it, but Icame real close to getting kicked offthe program.

Next my new “consultant” (myDRP adjuster’s new title) tells me thatI need to look at going lean. How canhe call himself a consultant and tellme how to run my business? He hasnever worked in a body shop. Wheredoes he get off at telling me how Ishould run my business?

Oh, I forgot, he works for an in-surance company that controls mybusiness. I will admit that once we asa company embraced lean, things atthe shop are better, but again, it shouldbe my decision and mine alone. Justthe other day, my insurance consultantinsinuated that I need to send everyoneat the shop to the new I-CAR quality-control class. Another worthless I-CAR class that I have to take. Even if

I go to the class, will the insurancecompany pay for the additional timethat is needed for the better quality re-pairs? Hell no. More concessions, or Iam off the program.

I am really tired of the crap. I amreally considering closing the shopand getting a job at WalMart as agreeter or TSA inspector. You knowwhat? If I get at job with TSA, I canorder people around and be rude andall anyone can say is ‘thank you.’WOW. The TSA and adjusters soundlike the same type of people.

Maybe a requirement to becomea TSA inspector is to work as adjusterfor an insurance company?

Thanks for listening to me ram-ble on.

—Frustrated

Hey Frustrated—I really feel yourpain. I see and hear repairers’ frustra-

tions on a daily basis. Times are toughfor everyone. I would hate to see yougive up.

When you decided to look at thelean process, did you not see an im-provement in your shop’s perform-ance? Just maybe the insurancecompany did you a favor and you did-n’t even know it.

Lean can make you and yourcompany more profitable. I realizethat you place all of the blame on theinsurance company, but you—likemany other owners—took the easyway out. You mentioned that you builtyour business on quality and customerloyalty, but you got away from yourcore business and the skills to drivethat core business.

I hear your frustrations and I to-tally understand how you fell underthe DRP myth. I had the same beliefas you, and countless other shop own-ers, and I would probably have made


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You only get onechance at the first repair.

Original Thought #78

Tech Notes

National News in BriefWEB WINDOW: - www.autobodynews.com

Regional News in BriefWEB WINDOW: - www.autobodynews.com

with Jeremy HayhurstPublisher’s Page

with Karyn HendricksShop Showcase

with David M. BrownShop Showcase

Shop Showcasewith Jeremy Hayhurst

Hey Toby!with Toby Chess

California Autobody Associationwith David McClune

Collision Repair Association of CA.with Richard Steffen

Insurers Excel at Steeringwith Richard Steffen

Year in Quoteswith John Yoswick

Transition Planningwith John Yoswick

Mainstream Media

My Turnwith Joe Momber

Toby Chess is an I-CAR program instructor, Welding specialist, and former salvage yardoperator. Toby is universally known in the collision industry for his charitable works,worthy causes, and magic tricks. He can be reached at [email protected]

A Reader Unpacks his Baggage on the Industry

the same decisions, but the fact of thematter is that there is hope.

You need to work with your stateand national organizations. Gentlemenlike Lee Amaradio of Faith QualityCollision and Allen Wood of the Col-lision Repair Association of Califor-nia did not give up on California SB427. They worked to get the governorof California to veto the bill and hedid. The badly-worded bill wouldhave put aftermarket parts, used parts,OEM parts and rebuilt parts under onecategory called ‘crash parts,’ and thegovernor decided most of it was du-plicative of existing law.

Embrace the lean concepts andbecome more efficient in the repairprocess. If you can get out more vehi-cles through efficiency in the sametime period and with less personnel,wouldn’t it be a whole lot better?

Have you ever made an inquiryto the DEG (www.degweb.org)? Weall assume that the times provided bythe information providers are accu-rate, but guess what, they are not. TheDEG researches all our inquires andgets results (increase times). If some-thing is not right let them know. If youand everyone else in the repair indus-

try do nothing, nothing will everchange.

Lastly, your comments on I-CAR.I am an I-CAR instructor for liveclasses as well as all of the weldingqualification tests. For the last 5½years I have taught over 13,000 stu-dents and I think I can speak with a lit-tle bit of authority about I-CAR. It isnot a perfect organization by a longshot. There are excellent, above-aver-age and average classes. I don’t carewhat class that you or your people at-tend, you will always come away withmore knowledge than you started with.

Vehicles have changed drasticallythe last 5 years and the repairs havefollowed suit. There is no way you cankeep up with the changes withouttraining and I-CAR is one of a fewsources that can give you the knowl-edge to repair today’s vehicles.

When I-CAR went to the repairindustry to find out what was needed,only a few people stepped forward tovoice their opinions. Everyone likes tobitch about it, but again, only a fewstood up to be counted. I am alwayscomplaining about things I see wrongwith I-CAR and I have sometimesbeen branded as a malcontent. I wear

that as badge of honor because that isonly way I can effect change. I-CARis a vital part of the repair industry andyou and the rest of the industry need toget involved (through your local com-mittees). Let them hear what you thinkis wrong and what is right. Lastly, Iwould like to comment on your state-ment about the Quality Control Class.

The QUA 01 class was just re-leased and I have taught it five timesto date. You need to realize that it isan overview of the entire collisionprocess and demonstrates wherethings can go wrong.

The lean process is about elimi-nating waste. If you need to redo a re-pair, think about the cost and thewaste. Redos happen through the en-tire process and after a vehicle hasbeen delivered. Having the advanceknowledge of where a glitch canoccur, you can take steps to reduce oreven eliminate that potential problem.That saves time and money and re-duces waste.

We as an industry can deliverthree things: time, price and quality.The insurance industry wants a cheapprice in the shortest amount of time,without loss of quality.

I hear from shops all the timeabout how great their cycle time is,but what they consider a quality repairand what I consider a quality repaircan be completely different.

What we need is quality repairsand that only comes from a higherprice than what is being paid for bythe insurance industry. If the insuranceindustry is so concerned about qualityand not just a repair that gets by, theyneed to work with repairers and setstandards and reimburse the repairersaccordingly.

Our world is changing and bothsides need to come together to givethe consumer the best possible repairthat pay for and deserve.

Hang in there. It will get better.


DO THE RIGHT THING ENOUGH TIMES, AND PEOPLE BEGIN TO NOTICE.

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Hyundai Sales Up More than 14% (year on year). In 2008 Hyundai became the world's ��h-largest automaker, with 7% market share in the United States.

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Mitchell International, Inc., developerof workflow and performance man-agement solutions to the collision re-pair industry, announced at the NACEexpo on October 11, a seamless bi-di-rectional integration between MitchellRepairCenter™ and the Sherwin-Williams® FormulaExpress® onlinecolor formula retrieval system.

The integration helps collision facil-ity customers save time and reduce errors

by eliminating the need for shop person-nel to rekey vehicle and repair order in-formation within FormulaExpress.

The FormulaExpress product ispart of Sherwin-Williams AutomotiveFinishes’complete line of paint andcoating systems for the automotive re-finishing industry.

Mitchell’s RepairCenter is the in-dustry’s first Shop Workspace that en-ables collision repair facilities of anysize to select the tools they want tomanage the repair, the customer andthe business the way that best meets

their needs, and to add modulesas their business grows.

“The combining of the twois a very powerful tool for bodyshops,” said Jason Bertellotti,Vice President of Repair Solu-tions for Mitchell International.

Bertellotti added, “Repair-Center offers shops the best inbusiness management sys-tems, repair information con-tent and customer satisfactionservices functionality. We aredelighted to partner with Sher-win-Williams to deliver a

valuable new service to Mitchell’s in-dustry-leading solutions for collisionrepairers.”

The seamless bi-directional inte-gration of Sherwin-Williams® For-mulaExpress® within Mitchell’s

RepairCenter improves the accuracyof overall job costing. Shops simplyenter their information once and thesystem will automatically transfer ac-curate paint material costs from For-mulaExpress back into RepairCenter.This helps shops manage their mate-rials more efficiently, improves tech-nician efficiency, and ensures thatinvoices sent to customers and insur-ance companies reflect the true listprice of the paint used.

Adam Chafe, Vice President ofMarketing for Sherwin-Williams Auto-motive Finishes, said, “Our partnership

with Mitchell represents the first timethat shops have access to more accu-rate overall job costing information. In-stead of a ‘rule-of-thumb-based’ costestimate, RepairCenter customers nowhave the ability to create accurate esti-mates using the true paint costs basedon Sherwin-Williams’ list price.”

For more information, please con-tact Mitchell at 800-238-9111 or Sher-win-Williams at 800-798-5872 or goto www.mitchell.com.


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Genuine Mitsubishi replacement Crash Parts are close at hand through the following quality dealerships. They o!er exceptional customer service, wide selection of in-stock parts and the experience necessary to ensure your repairs proceed smoothly.

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2010 Outlander

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Mitchell Announces Interface with Sherwin-Williams® at NACE

Sherwin-Williams’ Brian Shenk, IndyCar Driver PaulTracy and Mitchell’s Jason Bertellotti announce Mitchelland Sherwin-Williams’ partnership for FormulaExpresson the NACE floor

LKQ Announces Winners of 2011 Calendar ContestLKQ’s Annual Calendar Contestdrew over 300 entries from customersand automotive enthusiasts all overthe U.S. and Canada.

Entries ranged from hot rods andsports cars to trucks and classic vehi-cles, making it difficult to choose justtwelve winning photos for the 2011LKQ calendar.

“Every year we get a great re-sponse to the Calendar Contest, andchoosing the winners is always toughsince we receive so many great sub-missions,” says Laurie Garcia, LKQVice President.

“We think everyone will reallyenjoy the vehicles we picked for the2011 calendar. Each one shows hardwork and attention to detail that wecan all admire. Congratulations toeach of our winners!”

LKQ Calendars are popular fortheir coupons, great photos, and in-formation about the featured vehicles.

Coupons are for special offersotherwise not available. Get a freecopy of the calendar by sending a re-quest to [email protected]

Find more information aboutCalendar Winners and their pictureson our Facebook and Flickr pages.

2011 Calendar Contest Winners:January: Mark Reeves (Woodstock,

GA) - 1970 Buick Motion GSXFebruary: Richard Valdez (Lodi,CA) - 1954 Chevy Belair CustomMarch: Keith Van Eyck (Marinette,WI) - 1931 Willys Knight CoupeApril: Bill L. Schwindt (Black For-est, CO) - 1949 Dodge B-1-F 1-1/2tonMay: Fred Heckroth (Woodruff, SC)- 1967 Pontiac GTOJune: Chuck Irwan (Knox, PA) BornAgain Auto Body - 1969 DodgeChargerJuly: Paige Givens (Frederick, MD) -1970 Pontiac FirebirdAugust: Ronnie Rose (Grayson, KY)- 1969 Plymouth RoadrunnerSeptember: Chris Berns (Garnavillo,IA) Top Gun Customs - 1949 Chevy½ Ton TruckOctober: Barry & Erin Dohrmann(Foley, MN) - 1929 Ford Model ANovember: Jason Eixenberger(Rapid City, SD) - 1965 Chevy Mal-ibu SSDecember: Mick Kreszock (Boone,NC) - 1956 Chrysler 300B

For more information pleasevisit www.lkqcorp.com.

The route body shops used to have to take to integrate the information from RepairCenter with theinformation from FormulaExpress


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800-699-8251




800-699-8251









[email protected]


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Genuine Nissan and Infiniti OEM Wholesale Parts are superbly crafted to strict quality standards. The following dealers proudly stock genuine

parts. Call your local distributor today!

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2010 Altima Coup

ALABAMA

Coral SpringsNissan

CORAL SPRINGS

954-752-9595954-753-3226 Fax

M-Sat. 7-7:30; Sun. 9:[email protected]

FLORIDA

Crown AutomobileInfinitiHOOVER

800-476-0659205-402-2252 Fax

M-F 7:30-5:[email protected]@crownautomobile.com

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M-F 8-6; Sat. [email protected]

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Palmers ToyotaMOBILE

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Bill Penney ToyotaHUNTSVILLE

256-837-1111256-890-8229 FaxMon. - Fri. 7am - 6pm

Sat. 8am - 4pmwww.billpenneytoyota.com/parts

Two NJ Police Officers Chargedwith Insurance FraudInsurance fraud charges were filedafter two probationary police officeserving Hackensack, NJ, who al-legedly were involved in an effort tofalsify police records and inaccu-rately portray an auto accident in-volving one of the officers. TheAssociated Press reported that Offi-cer Jakub Szostak, while off-duty,crashed a non-police vehicle June 2after leaving a Hackensack bar. Offi-cer Eric Mark reached the scene afew minutes later and did not admin-ister a field sobriety test, despite “in-dications” the other officer had beendrinking. He also reported the acci-dent as a hit-and-run, according to theAP report.

Szostak then gave the false in-formation to his insurance carrier,leading to his receipt of undisclosedamount for a damage claim, the re-port said. Szostak was charged withfalsifying records and insurancefraud, while Mark was charged withfalsifying records. Both Szostak, 24,and Mark, 30, have been on unpaidleave since July and now face admin-istrative charges in Hackensack.Mark’s lawyer, Michael Mitzner, saidhis client “is absolutely not guilty,”according to his statement to the AP.

Mitchell International, Inc. announcedthat AutoAdvise™—the online colli-sion repair community recently re-branded from SceneExchange afterMitchell’s acquisition of SceneGene-sis last year—is gaining momentumwith its shop and insurance carrier par-ticipation levels. To date, over 2,000collision repair facilities, includingwell-known body shop franchises suchas MAACO and several major re-gional and national insurers havejoined AutoAdvise.

AutoAdvise is an online commu-nity that brings vehicle owners with aneed for collision repair together withcollision repair shops that have the ca-pacity to perform repairs in an insurer-backed, web-based service solution. Itallows insurers to submit claims, bodyshops to submit proposals for the workbased on delivery date, and consumersto make their own selections.

“Being a member of AutoAdvisehas increased the amount of appraisal re-quests coming through our organizationby 5%. AutoAdvise’s core value of giv-ing shops the opportunity to bid for jobsbased on cycle times, perfectly comple-ments our commitment to quickly turnaround high quality repairs for our cus-tomers,” said Ted James at Cook-White-head Ford, in Panama City, FL.

Ford Issues Rare Recall for7-plus-year-old Windstars Ford is recalling 975,000 1997–2003Windstar minivans due to a rear axlewhich can fracture as a result of rustpromoted by accumulated road salt.The vehicles affected are in 21 stateswhere road salt is used to facilitatewinter driving. The recall covers high-mileage vehicles that have been on theroad for a minimum of seven years.However, the problem has been evi-dent to the automotive repair commu-nity, not because of its frequency, butfor the severity of its consequences.Broken axles do not commonly hap-pen over the lifetime of a vehicle.When they do, it is a rarity to the serv-ice facility that encounters one. Theaxle fractures (in this case at eitherend), the top of the wheel nearest to thebreak tilts in toward the vehicle, and,as the Ford recall letter states, “vehiclehandling may be affected which couldincrease the risk of a crash.”

NHTSA had received 234 com-plaints, including two accidents withno injuries. The recall letter states thatif a vehicle fails an axle inspection,Ford will pay for a rental until “a rem-edy is available.” Ford plans to makerepurchase offers to owners of Wind-stars “with cracked or perforated axlesin lieu of replacing the axle.”

Hertz Corp. Continues RapidOff-Airport Expansion in 2010Hertz Corporation continues the ex-pansion of its U.S. off-airport carrental business, with 60 new loca-tions opening during the remainder ofthis year. By the end of December,Hertz will have opened more than250 new locations in 2010. The open-ings are part of a Company-widestrategy to accelerate expansion inthe off airport car rental market serv-icing the replacement, leisure andbusiness customers in this segment.“Our revenues continue to expand ata double-digit rate in the off airportmarket, and we are increasing our in-vestment to meet anticipated de-mand,” commented Mark P. Frissora,Chairman and Chief Executive Offi-cer for The Hertz Corporation.

“Since the beginning of the year,we’ve opened 192 new locations andwe’re committed to an additional 60before year end. We are opening inthe most cost-efficient manner possi-ble, partnering with key local busi-nesses which generate car rentaldemand. Hertz is primarily co-locat-ing with body shops, hotels and re-pair facilities.

Off-airport rentals have a longeraverage length of keep, which drivesrevenue per transaction.

Mitchell’s AutoAdvise Growing


Order your Genuine Mazda Parts from one of thesetrained crash parts specialists in your area:

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Dean McCrary MazdaMobile800-304-3326Fax 251-300-3433Mon - Fri 7:[email protected]

Give your customers what they deserve...The Best.

ALABAMA

Sam Galloway MazdaFort Myers877-872-1232239-454-5500Fax 239-274-2460Mon - Fri 7:30-6; Sat [email protected]

FLORIDA

Mazda 3 2010

Nissan’s Leaf Wins Magazine’s Breakthrough AwardNissan North America, Inc. an-nounced that the Nissan LEAF re-ceived a Popular MechanicsBreakthrough Award at an Oct. 5 cer-emony at the Hearst Tower in NewYork City.

The Nissan LEAF was chosen asone of the year’s 10 most transforma-tive products by a panel of experts inaddition to members of the PopularMechanics’ editorial board of advis-ers. Popular Mechanics says of theNissan LEAF: “It’s not the first pureEV, but the Nissan LEAF hits themainstream like none of its predeces-sors. Powered by a 24-kilowatt-hourbattery pack, the LEAF provides a100-mile range, enough for mostcommuters, for the price of an aver-age vehicle—and with a much loweroperating cost than gasoline-poweredvehicles.”

“Nissan is honored to receivethis highly prestigious award for theall-electric Nissan LEAF,” said LarryDominique, vice president, ProductPlanning, NNA. “Popular Mechanicsrecognizes the transformative powersof electric-vehicle technology, andNissan is proud to lead the way inbringing the Nissan LEAF, theworld’s first affordable, all-electricvehicle, to the mass market.”

The awards, in their sixth year,are designed to heighten awarenessof the advancements and innova-tions that are transforming, enhanc-ing and improving lives. Winnersare chosen with the help of an ex-pert advisory panel of prominentthought leaders. Twenty awards aregiven out each year—10 productsavailable to consumers, and 10 in-novations that have potential tochange lives. The Nissan LEAF ap-pears in the November issue of Pop-ular Mechanics, on newsstands Oct.12, and at www.popularmechan-ics.com/breakthrough10.

In North America, Nissan’soperations include automotivestyling, engineering, consumer andcorporate financing, sales and mar-keting, distribution and manufac-turing.

Nissan is dedicated to improvingthe environment under the NissanGreen Program 2010 and has beenrecognized as a 2010 ENERGYSTAR® Partner of the Year by theU.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency.

More information on Nissan inNorth America, the Nissan LEAF andzero emissions can be found atwww.nissanusa.com.

Mercedes-Benz USA Sells Survival StoriesThe web site for Mercedes-BenzUSA (MBUSA) features seven life-changing collision stories which ap-peared October 5 as short films onMBUSA.com. The unscripted ac-counts told by real customers are thebyproduct of a collaboration betweenMBUSA’s marketing agencies to cre-atively express one of the key fea-tures that sets Mercedes-Benz apartin the minds of many of its cus-tomers: the ability of a Mercedes-Benz to protect its occupants whenthey are most vulnerable.

The common threads runningthrough all the stories are phrases like:

“I can’t believe we walkedaway”

“The fireman told me ‘if you canlive through that then I want my wifedriving that car’”

“I truly believe I owe that car mylife and (my daughter’s) life.”

“I decided I would never driveanother car unless it was a Mercedes.The police told me I would have beendead in any other car.”

“The car absorbed all the force.It saved our lives.”

“I feel so strongly about it—it’snot just a pretty car—it will save yourlife.”

“Everyone told me that it was

our car that saved us - both insurancecompanies, the police, the people inthe ambulance. That specific car isthe reason we walked away.”

“We’ve always been very loyalMercedes customers, and after this ac-cident we will never ever buy anotherbrand of car.”

Steve Cannon, vice president ofmarketing for MBUSA says, “We lit-erally have hundreds and hundreds ofthese experiences sent to us by ourcustomers and we all agreed that wehad to find a way to bring these expe-riences to life and share the stories ofsurvival and perspective. We wantedthe stories to be powerful but also au-thentic and, most of all, we wantedthem to share the perspective thatthese people walked away with.”

The campaign, known as “Im-pact,” can be accessed from theMBUSA.com home page or directlyat (www.MBUSA.com/Impact) be-ginning Oct 5.

Two Indicted in NJ for Alleged Insurance Fraud SchemeTwo Hudson County, NJ, men were in-dicted for their alleged role in insurancefraud and identity theft, according to areport by IFAwebnews.com.

Remny Gomez, 23, of West NewYork, was charged Aug. 27 with sec-ond-degree theft of identity, as well astrafficking in personal identifying in-formation, insurance fraud, attemptedtheft by deception, receiving stolenproperty, and two counts of theft bydeception (all in the third degree).

The indictment alleges thatGomez fraudulently possessed a NewJersey driver’s license of another per-son. Gomez allegedly used this per-sonal identifying information to obtainautomobile insurance in Pennsylvaniafor a stolen 2003 BMW 745 with theInfinity Insurance Group of Dallas,Texas, and in New Jersey for a 1998Lexus GS300 with the IFA InsuranceAgency in Clark, NJ, according to theNew Jersey Attorney General’s Office.

William Collado, 27, also of WestNew York, was charged with third-de-gree insurance fraud for allegedly as-sisting Gomez in using the personalidentifying information of another inan electronic application for the pur-pose of obtaining automobile insurancein New Jersey for the 1998 LexusGS300 with the IFA Insurance Agencyin Clark. That information included theother person’s driver’s license number,

date of birth and address, without theknowledge or authorization of the vic-tim, authorities said. The insurancefraud was allegedly committed byGomez and Collado working togetherto insure vehicles in the name of an in-nocent victim. The alleged fraud wasdiscovered when the victim receivedinsurance documents in the mail con-cerning a vehicle she had never pur-chased or insured and reported theincident to the police.

The grand jury indictment allegesthat Gomez fraudulently used other peo-ple’s personal identifying information tocommit insurance fraud and to makecredit card purchases without their au-thorization. Gomez was arrested onMarch 13, 2008, while allegedly at-tempting to use a $100 gift card to pur-chase an $850 computer in a Walmart inSecaucus, NJ. Authorities credit a “vigi-lant check-out clerk” for noticing that theaccount numbers on the check-out slipdid not match the numbers on the giftcard. Further investigation revealed thatGomez allegedly possessed a number ofcredit cards that had been “re-encoded,”whereby another account number hasbeen stolen and then used to overwritethe information on the magnetic strip onthe back of the card using a computer.Gomez allegedly also possessed a stolenBMW 745, valued in excess of $30,000,which he fraudulently insured.


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Toyota Says Progress in SafetyFixes Has Calmed CustomersToyota says that the number of cus-tomers expressing concern over ac-celeration problems has dropped 80%since April.

“Toyota has made significantprogress in recent months to help en-sure that our customers can havecomplete confidence in the quality,safety and reliability of their vehicles,and our latest initiatives build onthose accomplishments,” said SteveSt. Angelo, Toyota’s chief quality of-ficer. He said that Toyota engineers,after examining 4,200 vehicles, wereunable to find a single case in whichan electronic throttle system glitchwould lead to sudden unintended ac-celeration.

Toyota said it has performedmore than 5 million fixes for the threerecalls announced in the past year, in-cluding 1.8 million to address stickypedals, 3.1 million to take care offloor mats, and about 128,000 to up-date the antilock-brake systems incertain 2010 Prius and Lexus models. Consumers have turned on the brandin the wake of the recalls.

Sales have underperformedcompetitors, with Toyota’s marketshare dropping to 15.2% so far thisyear from 16.6% through Sept. 2009.

Toyota is being sued by Allstate in LosAngeles Superior Court saying theyhave paid $3 million for accidentscaused by sudden acceleration.

Allstate said Oct. 1 in its com-plaint that “Toyota had full knowledgeof the numerous complaints regardingits vehicles, that such vehicles weresusceptible of sudden unintended ac-celeration, and thus that such vehiclesposed a significant risk of propertydamage, as well as physical injury tovehicle occupants and other motorists.”

Sudden acceleration has ac-counted for at least 725 accidents with304 injuries and 18 fatalities, Allstatesaid, citing Safety Research and Strate-gies Inc. Undisclosed flaws in the elec-tronic throttle have been linked tosudden acceleration, it said. It accusedToyota of negligence, product liability,breach of implied warranty and fraud.

“While Toyota has not seen thecomplaint, based on reports, we be-lieve the unfounded allegations in thissuit have no basis,” Celeste Migliore, aspokeswoman for Toyota Motor SalesUSA Inc. in Torrance, California, saidin an e-mailed statement. The case isAllstate Insurance Co. v. Toyota MotorNorth America Inc., BC446704, LosAngeles County Superior Court.

TG Missouri Will Invest $3Min Indiana Plant UpgradesTG Missouri Corp. is a Perryville,MO-based automotive parts supplierknown for high-quality plastic and ure-thane products, including consoles,steering wheels, airbags, side molding,interior and exterior plastic trim com-ponents for automobiles. The companyhas announced plans to invest morethan $3 million to upgrade equipmentat its plant in New Albany, IN, creat-ing up to 30 new jobs by 2013. Thecompany said the expansion follows anew contract to supply components forthe new Toyota Camry model.

Founded in 1986, TG Missouri isa unit of Nagoya, Japan-based ToyodaGosei Co. Ltd. Toyoda opened theNew Albany site in 2005. TG Missourialso has an injection molding site at itsheadquarters plant in Perryville, MO,where it employs about 1200 people.

TG Missouri currently employs 90 inNew Albany. The Indiana Economic De-velopment Corp. offered TG Missouri up to$200,000 in performance-based tax creditsbased on the company’s job creation plans.

The city of New Albany, justacross the Kentucky state line, willconsider an additional property taxabatement, according to a news releasefrom the IEDC, which did not specifythe amount of the abatement.

Tesla Motors Recalls One-thirdof its Cars citing Fire HazardTesla Motors has launched a volun-tary safety recall on Roadster models2.0 and 2.5. The recall involves the12V low voltage auxiliary cable froma redundant back up system that pro-vides power to various systems, in-cluding the headlamps, taillights, turnsignals and hazard lights, and airbagsin the unlikely event the primary 12Vpower fails or drops below a mini-mum threshold value. The recall af-fects 439 Roadsters out of the 1,300electric sports cars it has sold so far.

The Palo Alto, CA-based com-pany said it made the decision after a“single customer incident.” Teslablamed the smoke and “possible fire”on a low-voltage cable that chafedagainst a carbon fiber panel. This waspart of the 12-volt auxiliary system,not the main battery pack that drivesthe vehicle. The company said itcould fix the problem by installing asleeve over the cable so it wouldn’trub against the panel. Tesla was noti-fying customers via e-mail and regu-lar mail.

Tesla said its service employees,who it calls Tesla Service Rangers,would go to customers’ homes or of-fices to make the repair, which takesabout an hour.

Toyota Sued by Allstate for $3Min Acceleration-related Claims

Allstate will pay $10 million over Improper Use of Collosus SoftwareAllstate Corp., the parent of AllstateInsurance Co., agreed to pay $10 mil-lion and institute new procedures afterimproperly using software for han-dling claims. The payment settles amultistate investigation, regulatorssaid Oct. 19.

The settlement by the North-brook, Ill.-based company ends an 18-month National Association ofInsurance Commissioners “marketconduct examination” of the insurer’spractices for handling bodily injuryclaims after auto accidents.

The targeted investigation, whichwas led by New York, Florida, Illinoisand Iowa, focused on Allstate’s use ofthe Colossus claims handling soft-ware. Forty-one other states were alsoinvolved and signed on to the settle-ment.

The company used Colossus toguide settlement offers in auto acci-dent cases. But the probe found “in-consistencies” in how Allstatemanaged and oversaw the program,failing to modify or “tune” the pro-gram “in a uniform and consistentmanner across its claims handling re-gions,” according to a news releasefrom the New York State Departmentof Insurance.

However, “it is important to notethat we found no systemic underpay-ment of bodily injury claims,” New

York Insurance Superintendent JamesJ. Wrynn said in the release.

Under the agreement, Allstatewill notify claimants that it may usethe software in adjusting their claims.It agreed to better oversee the soft-ware to ensure that the company fol-lows established criteria and rules forwhich claims are used to “tune” thesoftware to reflect recently settledclaims.

It will also tighten internal audit-ing of both the software and its claimshandling to adhere to written guide-lines and procedures, and it will con-solidate its claims handling practicesinto a single manual. And it will notrequire or encourage claims adjustersto base settlements only on Colossus’recommendations.

“The new processes ensure thatclaims will be handled consistently indifferent regions of the country, andconsumers will have the right to getthe information they need in order tounderstand how Allstate evaluatestheir claims and make sure they arefairly treated,” Wrynn said.

The fine, which includes $1.2million to New York, will be used toset up a regulatory fund that will beused by the 45 states to develop andtrain examiners to monitor how the in-dustry uses software technology inhandling claims.

Shops, insurers and consumers allbenefit when vehicles are repaired tomanufacturers’ standards!Every day, collision shops are facedwith a multitude of challenges anddecisions about repairing vehiclesand satisfying the expectations ofvalued customers. One of a repairprofessional’s most important ques-tions should be, “How do I ensureproper repairs based on the qualityand quantity of repair informationavailable.” With today’s fast-movingtechnology, procedures that were up-to-date yesterday can be out-of-datetomorrow.The complexity of today’s vehicles,with sophisticated electronics andsafety systems, new high-strength ma-terials, and alternative powersystems, makes easy access tocorrect information an absolutemust.In the absence of a singlesource for accurate, currentand detailed repair procedures,how can anyone repair a dam-aged vehicle to a high, exact-ing and consistent standard?

Question: Who sets the stan-dard?Webster’s Dictionary defines“standard” as:“A means of determining whata thing should be. Standard ap-plies to any definite rule, prin-ciple, or measure establishedby authority.”

Based on this definition, I would haveto ask myself: How should things be?What are the rules, principles andmeasures? And, perhaps most impor-tantly, Who is the Authority?

Answer: The Manufacturer (OE)They design it, develop it, test it anddeliver it. Vehicle manufacturers setthe standard for correct repair infor-mation, procedures and practices. Tra-ditional information gatheringtechniques are chaotic, time consum-ing, costly and confusing. Ask your-self, when faced with a technicalproblem, “What would the manufac-turer say about this?” Ready access toOE information could positively im-pact your entire operation.

OE information and the insurerThe dilemma of proper repairsreaches beyond the staff of acollision repair facility. Withthe potential to grow the colli-sion repair business, manyshops have turned to insurancedirect repair programs (DRPs),to enhance or drive revenue totheir doors.As more people – and moreopinions – directly impact re-pair decisions, the issue of ac-curate repair informationbecomes even more critical.OE repair information helpsremove the guesswork and theopinions from the estimating

and repair processes, Who benefits?Everyone, the repair facility, the in-surer and, ultimately, the vehicleowner. Let’s break it down:

The benefits of OE Information to esti-mating1. With OE information at hand,proper repair methodology will be re-flected on the estimate.2. Correct OE recommended partswill be ordered.3. Correct replacement procedureswill be followed, including, amongothers: full or partial outer/inner panelreplacements, full or partial framecomponents, recommended adhe-sives, sealants and coatings, to namea few.4. Unnecessary, time-wasting ques-tions and discussions may be reducedor eliminated due to the availability ofOE repair procedures.5. Correct documentation will now

be recorded and made available to theinsurer to substantiate repair decisionsand the thought behind them.6. Supplements may decrease, ascorrect repair procedures can be de-termined upfront at the time of the es-timate rather than during repairs.7. Unrelated existing conditionsmay be discovered in OE technicalservice bulletins (TSBs) or recall no-tices prior to repairs and estimates8. Correct mechanical operationsand labor times will be reflected onthe estimate. (Current informationmay not be available in the shop’s/in-surer’s estimating systems.)

The benefits of OE Information to pro-duction1. Correct OEM repair documenta-tion will be available to the technicianprior to beginning the repair.2. OEM repair data will be accessi-ble at the time of teardown, allowing


Who needs OE repair information?

with Kathy Steck-FlynnAutobody CSI

with Kathy Steck-FlynnAutobody CSI

with Dan EspersenALL OEM Information

with Dan EspersenALL OEM Information

with Tom McGeeALL OEM Information

with Tom McGeeALL OEM Information

Automaker Actions and Announcementswith Jeremy Hayhurst

Automaker Actions and Announcementswith Janet Chaney

Automaker Actions and Announcementswith Jeremy Hayhurst

I-CAR Tech

I-CAR Tech

Amaradio Explains CRAwith Lee Amaradio Jr.

Amaradio Explains CRAwith Lee Amaradio Jr.

Consumer Callout

Consumer Callout

The Right Causewith Mike Causey

The Right Causewith Mike Causey

with Ed AttanasioShop Showcase

with Ed AttanasioShop Showcase

Say What?!

Say What?!

Dan Espersen is ALLDATA® CollisionSM Program Manager. Dan is a Gold PinMember of the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) and holds an AA Degree inAutomotive Technology. He has 17 years of experience in the collision industryand 17 years of experience in the automotive industry.and Jeffrey Webster


correct procedures to be estimated,documented and filed.3. Technicians can access correct,up-to-date OE procedures, helpingthem to make repairs to current stan-dards with fewer mistakes.4. Fewer damaged or broken partswill result from the technician havingOE disassembly and assembly proce-dures for components that they havenever worked on before.5. OE information can help facili-tate constructive negotiations and dis-cussions between the insurer and thetechnician/production manager.6. Proper repair practices on the es-timate can now be verified by the pro-duction team.

7. Technical service bulletins(TSBs) can be accessed for existing(possibly unrelated) conditions on thevehicle.8. Training for certain repair opera-tions on specific vehicles can be re-duced.9. Correct identification and repairmethods can be performed and sub-stantiated on various types of steels.

The benefits of OE Information to yourbusiness KPI’s

Cycle time1. By having OE repair informationavailable, correct parts are ordered up-front, resulting in fewer parts returns,more efficient sourcing and less downtime.2. Vehicles will not stop in produc-tion due to broken parts, subletting,authorizations, additional/ unneces-sary supplements or improper repairs.3. Questions affecting productioncan now be answered:

• Does this vehicle need framereplacement or sectioning? Is thedamaged area within the OE toler-ance/dimension and can it be straight-ened?

• Do I have to sublet this re-pair, or can I save timeby repairing it in theshop with detailed OEinstructions? • Do I have the cor-rect tools and equip-ment to repair thevehicle properly?

Efficiencies / Produc-tivity1. Having OE repairprocedures prior toproduction canstreamline a techni-cian’s repair practicesand help prevent mis-takes.2. With accu-rate proce-

dures and diagrams,the technician canspend more timeworking on the vehi-cle instead wastingtime gathering repairinformation.3. OE infor-mation opens thedoor to performingrepairs in the shop in-stead of continuing to out-source work, such as:•Suspension and steering op-

erations• Electrical systems• Hybrid technology• Air bags• Collision avoidance systems

Overall Average Severity or cost ofrepairThis category is what I like to callthe balance scale. On one side is theinsurer who wants to keep claimseverity under control, letting thempass on the savings to the con-

sumer. On the other side is the col-lision repairer, whose main goal isto capitalize on gross margins andprofitability by cultivating as manysales as possible.The scale balances when boththe insurer and collision facil-ity negotiate an agreeable, costeffective, correct solution thatbenefits everyone, includingthe vehicle owner.Here’s how OE repair proce-dures help balance the scale:1. OE Information reducestimely and costly sublet opera-tions and keeps the vehicle inthe repair facility. (“Now, Ihave the instructions to repairthis system.”)2. It lowers rental costs by re-ducing cycle times. (“I don’thave to stop this vehicle in productionand extend rental days, because I havea proper repair plan. I can keep the ve-hicle moving.”)3. Accurate information ensures cor-rect billable repairs. (“I can produceproper OE repair steps, charges anddocumentation, which are not avail-able in other systems.”)4. Proper step-by-step procedures helpincrease efficiencies and overall pro-ductivity. (“I can now keep my handson the vehicle more, because I havethe proper instructions right from the

start of the repair.”)Customer satisfaction (CSI)OE collision repair information en-hances customer satisfaction:“I can explain to my valued customerthat we are repairing the vehicle to OEstandards.”“I can show my customer OE repairdocumentation, technical service bul-letins and recall information that mayhelp them with other areas of concernon their vehicles.”“I can deliver the vehicle to my cus-tomer in a more accurate, promisedtime frame because I have reduced themistakes made during the course of

repair by having OEM repair instruc-tions.”)“I have established or enhanced myprofessional credibility with an insurer

and my customer by providing OEguidelines and repair procedures.”“We conform to OE repair standards,allowing me to manage liabilitiesand provide accurate documenta-tion.”

The Benefits of referencing OE infor-mation firstThe greatest benefit of OE repair in-formation will be realized when a ve-hicle first enters the shop. Withprocedures and diagrams in hand atthe start, estimators can build properrepair plans, the correct parts can beordered, and technicians can repair thevehicle faster and more efficiently. Asa result, quality will increase and theoverall time that a vehicle is spent inthe shop will decrease. Give it a try!For more information on OE repair in-formation, please visit:www.alldata.com/promo/abn6tt/

©2010 ALLDATA LLC. All rights re-served. All technical information, im-ages and specifications are fromALLDATA Collision. ALLDATA is aregistered trademark and ALLDATACollision is a mark of ALLDATALLC. All other marks are the propertyof their respective holders.


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Book Store Gets N. Texas’ First Electric Car Charging StationHalf Price Books installed NorthTexas’ first electric vehicle chargingstation on September 19 according toreports made by the Dallas MorningNews.

As the cars roll in to Texas laterthis year, drivers will be able to juiceup their electric vehicles at the book-store’s flagship location on NorthwestHighway for free.

The charger is relatively slow,and some cars will take hours to get afull charge. So the idea is to changeconsumer thinking about refueling,from waiting next to the vehicle tojust leaving the car plugged in whileshopping.

“We’re thinking, lunch hour,when they come and shop anyway,”said Becky Gomez, promotions man-ager for Half Price Books. “We’ll givethem a basket, too.”

The charging station can sendtext messages to drivers about thecharging status.

Half Price will let customers usethe stations for free until next Sep-tember, when executives will decidewhether to charge. Half Price buys re-newable electricity from GreenMountain Energy.

Gomez said the store location, at5803 E. Northwest Highway, draws

customers who drive alternative-fuelvehicles, and she expects the chargersto get some use once the plug-in carshit Texas.

She added that Half Price Booksexecutives wanted to have the firstcharging station in North Texas tocompliment the company’s earthyimage.

The station isn’t a promotion byelectric vehicle companies. Gomezfound charging manufacturerCoulomb Technologies Inc. online,and Half Price Books paid for the sta-tion and installation itself.

The station, with charging spotsfor two vehicles, costs about $10,000,including installation.Guy Mannino, president of

charging station distributor VerdekLLC, said the station at Half Price isdesigned for customers to “top off thebattery.”

Public charging stations requirea change in customer mindset, sincerefueling can take a lot longer thangasing up.

“Park the car and go do some-thing else,” Mannino said. Like shop-ping, watching a movie or eating out.

Many car manufacturers plan ve-hicle displays at the State Fair ofTexas.

Texas-Sized Trucks Take Spotlight at Dallas Auto ShowThe great State Fair of Texas openedFriday, Sept. 24, in Dallas with all theexciting exhibits and activities fairgo-ers have come to expect from this gi-gantic annual extravaganza. Thisyear’s theme is Supersized Fun.

While there has been a state fairsince 1886, one of the biggest com-ponents of the fair—the auto show—obviously didn’t come along untilafter 1904. The auto show really sky-rocketed after WWII. It has grownfrom 84,000 square feet to over300,000 square feet of exhibits withtwo buildings and an outdoor truckarea. Since Texans like to boast thateverything is bigger and better at theirstate fair, it’s no surprise that the po-litically correct greener automobilesof the future such as Nissan’s 100percent electric Nissan LEAF andChevrolet’s 2011 Volt have to sharespace in the auto exhibits with giantgas-guzzling and proud-of-it SUVsand trucks.

Making its official debut at theState Fair of Texas Auto Show, thenew Ram Laramie Longhorn editionis loaded with over-the-top features.Also, Toyota is touting two made inTexas trucks, with the Tundra and theTacoma both manufactured in SanAntonio. Two new special editionTundras have been developed espe-cially for Texans: the Tundra T-Force

Limited Edition is for serious off-roadenthusiasts who want to “make astatement” about their outdoorlifestyle.

Only 500 were built for GulfStates area customers, and they in-clude 20-inch wheels with all-terraintires, body color pocketed fenderflares, matte-black Predator Steptubes, special T-Force badges andother extras. The Tundra Texas Edi-tion, offered only in the Lone StarState, has custom exterior badges, 20-inch BBS alloy wheels and upgradedtires, and sparkles with chrome acces-sories.

Chevrolet’s new Volt was an-other high-buzz vehicle, with its ex-panded range of 340 miles givingtravellers the option of going furtherthan most electric-only vehicles. Longlines of fairgoers were waiting fortheir opportunity to test drive the Volt.Initially available at dealerships inTexas, California, Connecticut,Michigan, New York, New Jersey andthe D.C. area, starting price will be alittle more than $41,000. However,purchasers get a $7,500 tax credit tobring the total cost down even beforethose inexpensive battery chargeskick in.

For updated information aboutthe 2010 State Fair of Texas and theAuto Show, visit bigtex.com.

In October a contributor sent acheck for $2,500.00 to the recentlyfounded Collision Industry LegalFund. The Collision Industry Fundwas recently established to providefinancial assistance to Gunder’sAuto Center in Lakeland, Floridawho has been involved in a long-lawsuit against State Farm Insur-ance over issues of Slander andTortious interference, as well asState Farm’s wrongful failure to payfor certain repair procedures.

Gunder’s lawsuit against theauto Insurer stems from derogatorycomments and wrongful activities onthe part of State Farm representa-tives. The statements and actions arebelieved to have been made with theintent to harm the collision shop’sbusiness and long- standing reputa-tion within their community.

“While this is the largest singledonation we have received to date, ofwhich we are extremely grateful andthankful for, we also appreciate themany others we have received in var-ious amounts from $10.00 to$500.00. The funds will be of enor-mous help in the ongoing legal costs,but this, along with the many othercomments of support, provide us themotivation and conviction to con-

tinue this often difficult but honor-able legal journey. This major con-tributor is courageous enough toauthorize us to use their name but wechose to use discretion and not to re-lease it”; says Ray Gunder, the com-pany’s founder.

Ray goes on to say: “This fightisn’t just about Gunder’s and ourcustomers, or just about State Farm;it’s about repairers and consumerswho face the same issues of abuseday in and day out across the coun-try. The insurer will try to outlast andoutspend us if they can, but [sic] wewill see this through to the veryend!”

If you would like to contribute tothe Collision Industry Legal Fundplease make your donations out toThe Collision Industry Legal Fundand send your donations by mail to:The Industry Legal Fund, Brent Geo-hagan Attny at Law 3001 BartowRoad, Lakeland, FL, 33803

Collision Industry Legal Fund Gets Large Contribution


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In what may yet turn into an East vs.West location strategy, ASA has sug-gested that NACE-CARS may not bein Las Vegas in the future, citing in-terest from the true decision makers—the exhibitors—in an East Coastvenue for future shows. Saying “LasVegas is not the draw it used to be,”implying that Vegas-fatigue may be animpetus for holding the ASRW eventelsewhere, Pyle expressed confidencein the exhibitors. “Our folks will comeregardless of where the show is lo-cated.” Pyle also noted that discus-sions with major exhibitors wereleading him to conclude that “tradi-tional marketing methods are less ef-fective than in the past.”

Suggestions for an every-secondyear show, based on what many see asa slowing in the rate of innovation ofnew products, are overruled by themajority of vendors, who want anevery-year show, said Pyle.

There seems to be no prospect ofre-uniting the events as a single In-dustry week.

NACE-CARS put on a braveshowing with 270 exhibiting compa-nies, 1115 full conference attendees,and about 75,000 sq. ft. of exhibitspace, adding 10,000 sq. ft. to each ofits OEM Pavillion and on-floor edu-cation and demonstration space, butthe continued decline in foot traffichas exhibitors wondering and wor-ried.

It cannot be good that estimatesof attendance at NACE were nohigher than 16,000, down from an al-ready depleted 21,000 last year and asmall fraction of the expected atten-dance at SEMA, which is likely to ex-ceed 100,000—most of which are nota proven audience for collision-relatedproduct.

Exhibitors on tight budgets mustnow gauge whether the targetedNACE audience is a better bet thanthe much larger, but more diffuse,group of specialty market shoppers.Bigger and better capitalized compa-nies are having less trouble saying‘yes’ to both shows, seeing opportu-nity in both, but start-ups and singleproduct exhibitors are finding theseparation of the events much moreproblematic. Larger and International

exhibitors have simply stored bulkyitems in Las Vegas between theshows and swapped out personnel,but most small exhibitors who usedto rely on the exhibit floor for salesare hurting.

Exceptions exist of course. Somevendors reported more orders on the

first day of thisyear’s NACE-CARS show thanthe whole of lastyear’s, which maybe a harbinger ofthe generally im-proving economyas well as the

specificity of their products.

As SEMA-AAPEX open thisweek, the Paint, Body & Equipmenthas become the fastest-growing sec-tion, with 128% more exhibitors con-firmed for 2010. In addition, there arehundreds of other companies through-out the SEMA Show this year that willbe able to showcase their products tothe paint and body market, includingsuch long-standing exhibitors asHouse of Kolor, PPG, Sherwin-Williams, 3M, and more.

Collision repairers are encour-aged to attend SEMA by SCRS’ Re-pairer Driven Education program andthe Collision Industry Conference,which narrowly voted in favor of co-location with SEMA 2010 instead ofNACE-CARS. These seminars andprograms provide more rationale forcollision repairers to attend SEMA,that is, if they are unable to attendboth shows.

SCRS Chair Barry Dorn ob-served, “We listen to what our mem-bership says and we wanted to give

them somethingdifferent. Thereare so many dif-ferent things thatSEMA offers,such as alternatesources of rev-enue, and differentperspectives to

think about. Add that to what we’redoing in grass-roots training, and whatbetter place to do that than at SEMA?”

Said CIC Chair and SCRSEvents Administrator Jeff Hendler,“We’re not trying to polarize the in-dustry, we’re offering choice... it’s re-ally important that we give repairersthese opportunities.”

Hendler pointed out that the organ-izers of SEMA, Peter MacGillivray

and Chuck and Susan Schwarz puttheir cell phone numbers on the back ofthe registration badges. Access to the or-ganizers is more than a symbolic ges-ture, said Hendler.

Hendler was also instrumental inengaging Charles A. Coonradt, to bethe “keynote instructor” at the RDEevent. Coonradt is author of the Gameof Work, which presents, among otherconcepts, an “if you can’t measure it,you can’t manage it,” message.Hendler says collision shows need toeschew the “rah, rah” of Hollywoodor Policital keynote speakers, in favorof a “keynote instructor” so that re-pairers can get back to basics and takethe message back to their shops—thetheme of repairer driven education.

SEMA vice president of commu-nications and events, PeterMacGillivray, said “The paint andbody market has increasingly become

an important mar-ket. That’s whythe PBE section ofthe show was ex-panded in just itssecond year of ex-istence. That’salso why we arepartnering with in-

dustry experts to provide this audiencewith quality education and network-ing opportunities.”

“We’re working closely withSCRS, I-CAR and CIC to make itsimple and easy for industry profes-sionals in the automotive paint marketto get the most value out of being atthe SEMA Show,” MacGillivray said.“With meetings, education and qual-ity exhibitors all available to this mar-ket, we’re confident that the return onthe participants’ investments is sure tobe huge.”


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Continued from Page 1

Cover Story

Barry Dorn

Peter MacGillivray

Jeff Hendler

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Autobody News November 2010 Southeast Edition