Autobody News January 2011 Southwest Edition

2010 Year in Review—Words Spoken SignalIssues Collision Repairers will Revisit in 2011by John Yoswick

Looking for a preview of what liesahead for the collision repair indus-try? Look no further than some keystatements made in 2010 that likelywill continue to reverberate in 2011.

With these changes, it will becomequickly and increasingly more apparentwhich business are prepared throughtraining to address the increasing com-plexity of repair…and (which) busi-nesses have failed and continue to failto prepare themselves for the future. Bynot selecting aGold Class business, the

consumer is unknowingly accepting therisk of having repairs completed byunder-trained workers.

—John Edelen

Now-retired I-CARCEO John Edelenlast summer un-veiled I-CAR’snew “ProfessionalDevelopment Pro-gram” and revisedrequirements for its“Platinum Individ-

ual” and “Gold Class” recognition pro-

As people begin thinking ahead to2011, one important change will beimplemented for drivers with auto in-surance. With the passage of increasedliability limits in 2007, Texans willnotice an increased insurance rate oftwo or three percent to cover the ad-ditional insurance protection in 2011.

While the two to three percentrate increase that is expected to comefrom the increased coverage limits isminimal, many consumers questionthe reason for the rising costs. Ac-cording to CBS, the increase in autoinsurance minimum requirements ismeant to address rising medical costsassociated with car accident claims.

Rising medical costs, meaning thecost for post-accident medical careand treatment, have increased in re-cent years and, in 2007, the TexasLegislature took action in an effort toensure that car accident victims havethe proper insurance coverage.

CBS reported that approximately7 million Texans will be affected bythe coverage and rate increases. Ap-proximately half of insured driversopt for the least expensive insuranceoption, which is just liability cover-age, not collision coverage.

Under the current minimum lim-its, a driver must have at least $25,000

Texas Insurance Rates to Rise in New Yearto Pay for Increased 30/60 Liability Limits

See Liability Limits, Page 29

John Edelen

See 2010 Year in Review, Page 26

GREG COCCARO ‘NOT GUILTY’ AGAINof Fraud Charges Filed by ProgressiveA six-person New York jury found Greg Coccaro, owner of NorthState Custom in Westchester, N.Y., not guilty of civil insurancefraud—for the second time—on Dec. 15. The case was originallybrought by Progressive Insurance in 2005 in a dispute over the re-pair of a badly damaged Mercedes which was fixed at Coccaro’sMercedes-certified shop. Progressive alleged that the shop inflatedthe charges to make the car a total loss, and that both the shop andthe insured received payment for the vehicle’s repairs.

In 2005, the customer, a handicapped professor from Columbia Uni-versity, asked Coccaro to repair her 6-month-old 2004 MercedesE320 that she had rolled down an embankment and crashed into apile of rocks. Progressive Insurance wrote an on-site initial estimateof $7,142. Once the car was taken to Coccaro’s shop—which wasnot a Progressive DRP (Coccaro has no DRPs)—he found far moredamage in addition to mistakes on the original estimate. Accordingto Coccaro, Progressive eventually wrote another estimate for$26,804, then a third one for $18,000, and then another. All told therewere some 10 estimates done. Coccaro’s final, carefully docu-mented, invoice for the full repair came in at $34,091.That’s when it really got interesting...

continued on page 17

Also in this issue... Toyota Recommends OEM . . .p. 31NABC Establishes Inter-Industry Initiative . . . . . . . . . .p. 39Chief Partners with Collision Hub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 19Huge Cost of Mismatched Bumpers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 10Airbag Fraud Becoming More Prevalent . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 13SCRS Affiliate Groups Help Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 21

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www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

SouthwestPublisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst

General Manager: Barbara DaviesEditorial Assistant: Erica SchroederContributing Writers: Tom Franklin, John Yoswick, Lee Amaradio, Dan EspersenJanet Chaney, Toby Chess, Mike Causey, Tom McGee, David Brown, Rich Evans,Ed AttanasioAdvertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman (800) 699-8251Sales Assistant: Kristy MangumArt Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Serving Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico and adjacent metro areas, Autobody Newsis a monthly publication for the autobody 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]

Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 6

Autoland Scientech. . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 23

Chacon Suzuki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Chassis Liner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Chevyland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Dallas Dodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

David McDavid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Equalizer Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers

TX, OK, LA, NM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Fredy Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Garmat USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Gene Messer Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . 16

GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 30

Honda/Acura Wholesale Parts

Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Huffines Hyundai Plano . . . . . . . . . 25

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . 27

Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers 20

LKQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Mark’s Casa Mitsubishi. . . . . . . . . . 16

Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 26

Mercedes-Benz of Oklahoma. . . . . 32

Mike Calvert Toyota. . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers. 37

MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 7

Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale Parts

Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Parkway Family Mazda . . . . . . . . . . 22

Ray Huffines Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Replica Plastics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Scoggin-Dickey Buick . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Scorpion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Sherwin-Williams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Suzuki Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . 33

Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 36

VIM Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers 33

Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 38

Young Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Inde

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REGIONAL

Central Texas Body Shops and Dealers

Collaborate on Refurbishing Vehicles for

Good Parents in Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Sterling Autobody Names Lou DiLisio VP

of Operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Texas Insurance Rates to Rise in New Year to

Pay for Increased 30/60 Liability Limits. 1

Unemployment Insurance Tax Rates to Rise

in Texas in 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

COLUMNISTS

Attanasio - Airbag Fraud Becoming More

Prevalent, Experts Say . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Attanasio - Greg Coccaro ‘NOT GUILTY’

AGAIN of Fraud Charges Filed by

Progressive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Attanasio - Rich Evans’ Academy Becomes

Reality at Ohio Technical College . . . . . 34

Attanasio, Garmat - Van Tuyl Dealership

Group Acquires Garmat Paint Booths

Nationwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Causey - An Insurance Adjuster’s Tips for

Consumer Insurance Claims . . . . . . . . 14

Franklin - A Clear Marketing Focus Needs

to be Tested and Justified. . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Schroeder - Jeff's Auto Body Repair in

Austin, TX, Steers Clear of Direct Repair

Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Sisk, DuPont - Gunpowder, Auto Refinishing,

and Jeff Gordon—Two Centuries of

DuPont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Weaver - Who’s on First When What Can’t

Get to Second? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Yoswick - 2010 Year in Review—Words

Spoken Signal Issues Collision Repairers

will Revisit in 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Yoswick - SCRS Affiliate Groups Help

Members with Industry Issues . . . . . . . 21

NATIONAL

Allstate Announces Satisfaction Guaranteed

or Premium Refund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

ASRW Announces Improved Technology

for NACE & CARS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

BASF Names Nick Maloof to Central Zone

Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chief Automotive Technologies Partners

with Collision Hub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

CIF Announces New 2011 Board of

Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Collision Repair Executive Webcast Hosts

CAPA’s Jack Gillis and a Discussion on

Aftermarket Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Consumer Website Launches Inherent

Diminished Value Assessment

Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Dan Tessadri to become FIX USA Director

of Claims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Engineering Talent Shortage Worries GM

and other OEMs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Facts Regarding Recent Technical Service

Bulletin for Toyota Camry and Avalon . . 19

FinishMaster, Inc. to be Acquired by

Uni-Select USA, a Division of Canadian

Parts Distributor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Huge Cost of Mismatched Bumpers: When

Bumpers Don’t Line Up . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

I-CAR Names New CEO for 2011 . . . . . . . 38

International Auto Glass Safety (AGRSS)

Conference Meets Success in

Chicago, Ill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Law Firms Investigate Legal Claims

Against Finishmaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Mickey Harris Paints Custom Dodge

Challenger for NASCAR’s Richard Petty. 32

NABC Establishes Inter-Industry In-Language

Initiative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

NHTSA Proposes Mandatory Backup

Cameras in New Cars . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

NICB Releases Questionable Claims

Analysis Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Ray LaHood Fights Loophole Favoring

Drunk Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Recycler’s Association Reacts to Toyota

Position Statement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Rivalry Intensifies Between GM’s Onstar

and Ford’s Sync. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Second Insurance-Sponsored Study

Confirms Texting Bans Ineffective,

They Don’t Reduce Crashes. . . . . . . . . 30

Senate Passes Pedestrian Safety Act,

EVs to become Louder. . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

TG Missouri Will Invest $3M in Indiana

Plant Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Toyota Bulletin Recommends Against

Aftermarket, Rebuilt, and Salvage

Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Toyota Sues Old GM for California Plant

Damages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

U.S. Wants Tougher Repair Rules on

Rental Cars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Contents


BASF Automotive Refinish has an-nounced that Nick Maloof will be itsnew Central Zone Manager, effectiveJan. 4, 2011. He will report directlyto Chuck Soeder, Vice President ofBASF Automotive Refinish–NorthAmerica.

Maloof comes from BASF’sConstruction Chemicals business,having spent nearly 20 years there invarious sales and sales managementroles. During the past 10 years, hewas Southern Area Manager for thegroup and was involved with severalkey initiatives that were instrumentalto the success of the business.

“Nick has a history of outstand-ing sales growth and building strongcustomer relationships,” says Soeder.“I feel very fortunate to add him to theBASF Automotive Refinish team.”

Maloof holds a Bachelor of Sci-ence degree in physics from the Uni-versity of West Georgia and an MBAfrom the University of Alabama atBirmingham.

For more information on BASFAutomotive Refinish, please visitwww.basfrefinish.com.

BASF Names Nick Maloof toCentral Zone Manager

Dan Tessadri to becomeFIX USA Director of ClaimsFIX USA announced the appointmentof Dan Tessadri, who will be assum-ing the role of Director of Claimsleading the Fix Full PerformanceClaims Solutions group.

Tessadri’s duties will includeleading the Fix Auto claims manage-ment department to further provideefficient processing of claims for in-surance customers, while deliveringservice and results through Fix’s in-dependently-owned repair facilities.

Tessadri will transition from hiscurrent role as California appraisalmanager for Esurance, where he wasresponsible for the management ofthe Esurance direct repair program,E-star. During this time he oversawthe performance and compliance of144 repair facilities.

Prior to Esurance, Tessadri waswith Progressive as a team leader andmanager. His duties included man-agement of field estimator perform-ance, accuracy and development atthe San Diego concierge facility.

“As director of FFPCS I ameager to start working with our fran-chisees to provide the best possiblesupport and training to ensure thesuccess of both the Fix Auto brandand our insurance customers,” saidTessadri.

Rivalry Intensifies BetweenGM’s Onstar and Ford’s SyncFord and GM both agree that sophis-ticated telematics systems are gainingimportance in purchase decisions forconsumers. The question for the tworivals is which system millions of carbuyers will choose.

The longtime rivals are squaredoff in a race to bring telematics tomainstream car buyers. They say Syncand OnStar are key purchase consid-erations—so much so that the tech-nology changes how dealers sellvehicles and interact with customers.

Ford and GM are reluctant toadmit that heated competition exists,saying the systems are different anddistinctive. OnStar has been knownfor safety features such as emergencyassistance and stolen-vehicle recov-ery. Sync typically has focused onBluetooth mobile phone connectivityand also provides information and en-tertainment services such as horo-scopes and stock quotes.

But each automaker is matchingthe other’s key offerings. For exam-ple, Ford has introduced 911 Assistand Vehicle Health Reports to com-pete with OnStar. And OnStar isadding features such as voice-basedtext messaging from the driver’s cellphone.

NICB Releases QuestionableClaims Analysis ReportThe National Insurance Crime Bureau(NICB) recently released its thirdquarter questionable claims (QC) re-ferral reason analysis for 2010.

The NICB received 70,295 QCreferrals in all categories through thethird quarter of 2010, up 12% fromthe same time period in 2009. Thecategory with the highest increasewas casualty referrals, a 21% increasein the last year, ranging from stagedaccident to exaggerated injury.

Questionable claim referrals inthe property category saw an increaseof 15% from the previous year, with anotable percent change in hail dam-age referrals. The analysis reported487 hail damage referrals in 2009,and 897 referrals in 2010, or an 84%change between years.

In the auto category, specificallyin the auto glass fraud subset, NICBreceived 333 auto glass fraud referralsin 2009, a relatively small figure com-pared to the 2,036 QC referrals sub-mitted this year for a huge 511%increase year over year. While othersubsets in this category decreased in2010, the auto category still saw atotal increase of 6% from 2009 fig-ures. The information collected isfrom NICB members only.

Consumer Website LaunchesInherent Diminished ValueAssessment CalculatorConsumer advocate website They-WroteOffMyCar.com has launched abranch of its website calledMyCarIs-WorthLess.com designed to help allparties involved more accurately as-sess a vehicle’s diminished valueafter it has been damaged and an in-surance repair claim has been filed.

The service uses a specializedcalculator to estimate the diminishedvalue based on the vehicle informa-tion, enabling both insurance compa-nies and policyholders to reach areasonable settlement unbiased by ei-ther side’s interest in the final value.That value is determined after usersenter criteria such as the make andmodel of the car, including detailslike the market size and repair costs.

The quotes and information usedto reach an estimate were collected bythe two chief architects of the soft-ware, who together have more than30 years of experience in vehicle buy-ing and insurance auto appraisals.The calculator is based on an algo-rithm developed specifically for esti-mating inherent diminished value,and does not include insurance-re-lated or repair-related diminishedvalue.

Unemployment Insurance TaxRates to Rise in Texas in 2011The Texas Workforce Commissionsays the standard minimum unem-ployment insurance (UI) tax rate paidby Texas employers in calendar year(CY) 2011 will be 0.78 percent, upfrom 0.72 percent in CY 2010.

The taxes replenish the TexasUnemployment Compensation TrustFund which provides unemploymentinsurance for Texas workers who losetheir jobs through no fault of theirown. TWC said the increase in theemployer tax rate increase was nec-essary to offset two years of higherUI benefit payments. Taxes wouldhave been significantly higher with-out the actions taken by the commis-sion, including use of a public bondsale and suspending the deficit taxcomponent of the tax rate.

The minimum UI tax rates arepaid by 213,000 or 63 percent of allexperience-rated employers. An em-ployer paying the standard minimumtax will pay $70.20 in tax per em-ployee in CY 2011 compared with$64.80 in tax per employee in CY2010. The maximum UI tax rate, paidby 2.2 percent of Texas experience-rated employers, is 8.25 percent,down from a maximum rate of 8.60percent in 2010.


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Automotive News has reported that asautomakers and suppliers gear up tobuild more hybrids and electric vehi-cles, they’re struggling with a talentshortage.

The key problem: Traditionalmechanical engineering skills gener-ally don’t apply to electric-drivepowertrains. Specific experience isneeded —and it’s hard to find.

“We’re being a lot more aggres-sive to recruit these people because it isvery competitive,” says Jerry Klarrcq,director of NorthAmerican hybrid pro-grams for AVL Powertrain Engineer-ing Inc. in suburban Detroit. “There isdefinitely a shortage out there of peo-ple with the right experience.”

To get an early line on incomingtalent, Tesla has formed partnershipswith universities to help get an earlyline on incoming talent. Being in Sil-icon Valley also helps lure in luringtalent from nearby technology high-tech companies and attracts engineerslooking to escape colder climes, hesays.

That mismatch poses a problemfor companies like General Motors,which wants to hire 1,000 engineersand researchers for electric-drive sys-tems, and many suppliers eager to getin on the work.

Engineering Talent ShortageWorries GM and other OEMs

Law Firms Investigate LegalClaims Against FinishmasterAt least four law firms—GoldfarbBranham LLP, Briscoe Law Firm,Kendall Law Group, and Powers Tay-lor LLP—say they are investigatingpotential legal claims against theBoard of Directors of FinishMaster,Inc. related to the proposed acquisitionof FinishMaster announced this monthby Canadian-owned Uni-Select (seerelated story this page).

The law firms question whetherFinishMaster stockholders are receiv-ing adequate value for their shares andsuggests that the board came to agree-ment without properly shopping for adeal that would provide better valuefor shareholders.

“Based on FinishMaster’s his-toric share prices, our concern overthis transaction is whether FinishMas-ter shareholders are receiving maxi-mum value for their shares,” saidshareholder rights attorney WillieBriscoe.

“The transaction is expected to becompleted on January 10, 2011,” saidsecurities lawyer Hamilton Lindley.“Our proposed class action lawsuitseeks to ensure that the shareholdersproperly shopped the company, maxi-mized value to the shareholders anddisclosed full and fair informationabout the transaction.”

FinishMaster, Inc. to be Acquired by Uni-Select USA, a Division of Canadian Parts DistributorFinishMaster, Inc., the largest inde-pendent paint, body and equipment(PBE) distributor in the U.S., an-nounced Dec. 10 that its Board of Di-rectors has approved an agreement forthe company to be acquired by a sub-sidiary of Canada’s Uni-Select, Inc. aleader in the distribution of automo-tive replacement parts, equipment,tools and accessories with NorthAmerican revenues in excess of a bil-lion dollars.

The distributor of automotivepaints and accessories will retain itsidentity within the larger firm, servingthe collision-repair market. Finish-Master also will keep its existing man-agement team and headquarters indowntown Indianapolis, Indiana.

Uni-Select, which reported NorthAmerican revenue of $1.3 million lastyear, distributes automotive replace-ment parts, equipment, tools and ac-cessories. Its Uni-Select USA Inc.subsidiary is the sixth-largest distribu-tor in the United States.

“By bringing together two com-panies with complementary productportfolios and common corporate val-ues, this transaction enables us to be-come the premier ‘one-stop shop’ forbody shops in North America,” Finish-

Master CEO J.A. Lacy said in a pre-pared statement.

The Indianapolis-based companyhad suffered during the recession andits aftermath from vehicles beingdriven fewer miles, resulting in feweraccidents and a diminished need forpaint for repairs.

This November the company re-ported third-quarter profit of $3.5 mil-lion, up nearly 16 percent from thesame period in 2009. For the ninemonths ended Sept. 30, profit re-mained flat, at $9.4 million.

The company said the purchaseprice was based on an enterprise valueof about $217 million, less $45 millionin debt and transaction costs. Finish-Master shareholders will receive $21cash per share—a 32 percent premiumto the 30-day average share price of thethinly traded stock.

FinishMaster operates three majordistribution centers and 162 branchesin 29 of the country’s largest metro-politan areas. It is controlled by LDILtd., a closely held Indianapolis firmchaired by Andre Lacy.

“We are delighted to be partneredwith one of the leading North Ameri-can automotive replacement parts dis-tributors. By bringing together two

companies with complementary prod-uct portfolios and common corporatevalues, this transaction enables us tobecome the premier “one-stop shop”for body shops in North America.Combining the industry expertise ofour two management teams will allowus to further penetrate the market andexpand our customer base creating op-portunities for FinishMaster associatesas well as our suppliers,” said J.A.Lacy, President and CEO of Finish-Master.

“The acquisition of FinishMasterrepresents a unique opportunity forUni-Select to expand its scale in theU.S., enter a complementary market asa leader, and enhance its product offer-ing,” said Richard Roy, President andCEO of Uni-Select. “This transactionfits in perfectly with our business planby significantly expanding our pres-ence in the U.S. Although Uni-Selectalready distributes paint products, thisacquisition will immediately improvethe quality and breadth of our offer-ing.”

About FinishMasterFounded in 1968, FinishMaster is thelargest U.S. independent distributor ofautomotive paints, coatings and related

accessories to the automotive collisionrepair industry. The Company is head-quartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, andoperates three major distribution cen-ters and 162 branches in 29 of the 50largest metropolitan areas in the coun-try.

For more information on Finish-Master, visit the company’s website atwww.finishmaster.com/.

About Uni-SelectFounded in 1968, Uni-SelectTM is aCanadian leader in the distribution ofautomotive replacement parts, equip-ment, tools and accessories. Uni-Se-lect USA, Inc., a subsidiary of theCompany, provides services to cus-tomers in the United States, where itis the sixth largest distributor. TheUni-Select NetworkTM includes over2,500 independent jobbers and serv-ices 3,500 points of sale in NorthAmerica. Uni-Select is headquarteredin Montreal. Uni-Select shares (UNS)are traded on the Toronto Stock Ex-change (TSX). Uni-Select and Uni-Se-lect Network are trademarks owned byUni-Select, Inc.

For more information on Uni-Se-lect, visit the company’s website atwww.uniselect.com/eng/.

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Well-known collision industry figureLou DiLisio has been named VP of op-erations for its Northern Territory. comesto Sterling with over 30 years experiencein the automotive repair industry.

“We’re delighted to have Lou onstaff,” said Nick Notte, president ofSterling. “Lou brings decades of col-lision industry experience, technicalexpertise and strong industry relation-ships to our company. He had atremendous impact on our resultswhile in his consultative role and wewill benefit from his experience as wecontinue our implementation of Leantenets throughout 2011 and beyond.”

DiLisio responded, “I am excitedabout the opportunity to work moreclosely with the Sterling organization.Sterling has proven itself as a majorforce in the collision repair businessand I look forward to helping our op-erations team improve its overall effi-ciency and effectiveness, which willpropel us to even greater heights.

Growing up in his family ownedcollision business, DiLisio launched hiscareer in Mt. Kisco, NY when he be-came owner and general manager of hisown full service collision repair facilityin 1974. DiLisio began consulting inthe mid 1980’s and during that timeopened a fraud investigations company

working with insurance companies.In 1992 he began consulting with

CCC Information Services in the de-velopment of the Collision CenterConnection program. In 1997 hejoined Carter & Carter Internationalas vice president of the US operations.

In 1999, DiLisio opened his ownconsulting firm: Automotive IndustryConsulting, Inc., working with insur-ance companies, vehicle manufactur-ers, refinish paint companies, bodyshops, salvage vendors, aftermarketparts manufacturers, and equipmentmanufacturers and distributors in awide variety of services includingstrategic and tactical planning and im-plementation. He continues his in-volvement in the collision repairindustry as past Chairman of the So-ciety of Collision Repair Specialists(SCRS) and past Chairman of theCollision Industry Conference (CIC).DiLisio was named one of the Top 25Movers and Shakers of the CollisionRepair Industry for the 20th Century.

In 2005 DiLisio was awarded theAuto Body Repair News IndustryLeadership Award. In 2010, DiLisiowas presented with the prestigiousLifetime Achievement Award fromSCRS. DiLisio joins Sterling Auto-body as of December, 2010.

Central Texas Body Shops and Dealers Collaborate onRefurbishing Vehicles for Good Parents in NeedAustin’s KXAN News has reportedthat eleven families received Christ-mas gifts and keys to a newly refur-bished car, all for taking great care oftheir children.

Child Inc. enlisted the help oflocal car dealers and other donors toreward the parents for their commit-ment to raising happy, responsible andeducated children.

Laurie Ann Pineda was one ofthem. She had been struggling to getto work after losing a child andemerging from an abusive relation-ship. The new car will serve as hersafety net.

“I’m shaken up, I’m happy. I’mexcited. I’m very blessed,” saidPineda. “It gives us security. It helpsus know that I can get my children toschool safely every day.”

Kenneth Leggs lost his job, hishome to foreclosure, and his car to re-possession. He’s been renting a carfrom a friend, and this gift will releasehim from those payments.

“Got my own keys, my own title.It belongs to me, so I appreciate it. I’mvery thankful,” said Leggs.

The vehicles were refurbished bythree Ellis and Salazar body shops in

Central Texas, as well as Leif JohnsonFord, Lexus of Austin, Henna Chevro-let and Custom Car Crafters. Thetechnicians and mechanics donatedtheir time and labor, and also servedon the committee that selected thefamilies.

To be nominated, the familieshad to attend parenting classes, ensuretheir children’s high attendance atschool, volunteer in their children’sclassrooms, and prove they wereworking to become less dependent onpublic assistance.

Along with toys for the childrenand cars for the parents, the familiesreceived six months worth of auto in-surance.

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Sterling Autobody Names Lou DiLisio VP of Operations

It’s likely you have tried to tune into aradio station in your area, only to finda lot of interference from other sta-tions not staying within the parame-ters of their frequency. Electronicreception is often subject to “noise”from other broadcasting devices. Evena cell phone being used in your areamay make noise on your radio or cre-ate interference on your TV set. Theseare just some of the nuisances we haveto endure in our ever-growing elec-tronic world.

But what does this have to dowith your marketing?

The essence of interference isthat it hampers having a clear signal,and so interference in one’s businessactivities can hamper a clear focus.This is especially true in marketing.

A shop owner is bombarded dailywith unsolicited sales calls, advertis-ing proposals and requests for contri-butions of all sorts. Like a repetitivecommercial on radio or TV, the con-stant drumbeat of an ad or jingle may

finally wear down your resistance(and common sense) and convinceyou to buy the service or product. Theproblem with this is it detracts fromthe funding and energy you may haveplanned for a strategic marketing pro-gram, if you already have one. And itcan interfere with having a clear focusif you are just trying to develop an ef-fective marketing strategy.

Most of the time, these unso-licited sales calls and advertising pro-posals are attempts to nail down a

long-term contract of some sort. Thisinterferes with one of the most basicof all marketing tenets: “When pursu-ing an untried marketing initiative, be-fore committing to it long-term,TEST, TEST, TEST.”

Professional marketers are nearlyreligious about doing test markets be-fore committing real money to a pro-gram. Statistically, probably nine outof ten test markets don’t produce asexpected. Ad people are constantlytweaking words, images, and media tosee what gets the best response.While a shop owner is rarely in a po-sition to do numerous test markets, heor she can try a program for 30, 60, or90 days to see if there is any responseat all—and also to see if the responsejustifies the investment.

Random proposals coming fromunsolicited sources may at first seemto offer a test period, but the very na-ture of most of them is to try to side-step serious testing. They almostalways go for a long-term commit-ment.

It’s interesting that most shopowners and managers will set a testperiod for a newly hired technician,leaving themselves the option to rejectthe tech if he doesn’t work out, butthey may sign up for an expensivemarketing program with no similar re-jection clause. This would be my firstcrap-detection suggestion: Demand acarefully defined, time-limited termi-nation clause.

In our industry perhaps the worstof these are programs that offer refer-ral business. Without naming programnames, perhaps you have subscribedto a program I’ve encountered that re-quires a substantial upfront invest-ment and perhaps the purchase of analternative estimating system. I’ve no-ticed in numerous shops that sub-scribed to it, there were severalreferrals in the beginning but after thefees were paid and the contract naileddown, the referrals became few andfar between. Shop owners seem tofind it hard to resist the offer of re-ferred business and often lack the timeto do a thorough check to see if theprogram is really legitimate and worksas promised.


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

A Clear Marketing Focus Needs to be Tested and Justified

See Clear Focus, Page 22


by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

When bumpers on cars and SUVsdon’t line up (and many of themdon’t), low-speed collisions producemore damage and higher repair costs

Bumpers are the first line of de-fense against costly damage in every-day low-speed crashes. Bumpers oncars are designed to match up witheach other in collisions, but a long-standing gap in federal regulations ex-empts SUVs from the same rules.New Insurance Institute for HighwaySafety crash tests demonstrate the re-sults: SUV bumpers that don’t line upwith those on cars can lead to huge re-pair bills in what should be minor col-lisions in stop-and-go traffic.

“SUVs and cars share the road,”says Joe Nolan, the Institute’s chiefadministrative officer. “The problemis they don’t share the same bumperrules, and consumers end up payingthe price.”

A federal standard requires thatall cars have bumpers that protectwithin a zone of 16 to 20 inches fromthe ground. This means car bumpersline up reasonably well and are morelikely to engage during low-speed col-lisions to absorb energy and preventdamage. No bumper requirementsapply to SUVs, pickups, or minivans,so when these vehicles have bumpersthey often are flimsier and higher offthe ground than bumpers on cars.Plus, SUVs and pickups may not havebumpers at all.

In fender-benders with SUVs,cars often end up with excessive dam-age to hoods, engine cooling systems,fenders, bumper covers, and safetyequipment like lights. SUVs don’t al-ways come out unscathed either, oftenneeding extensive work.

The Institute conducted 10 mphfront-into-rear crash tests involving 7pairs of 2010-11 models, each com-posed of a small car and small SUVfrom the same automaker.

“We picked vehicles from thesame manufacturer because we thinkautomakers should at the least pay at-tention to bumper compatibility acrosstheir own fleets,” Nolan explains.“The results show that many don’t.”

In the tests, an SUV going 10 mphstruck the back of its paired car, whichwas stopped. Then the configurationwas reversed, with the car striking theback of its paired SUV. Results ofthese low-speed impacts varied

widely, from a total of $850 damage toone vehicle to $6,015 damage to an-other (see table below). In some cases,the crash damage included major leaksfrom broken radiators and coolingfans. If these collisions had happenedin the real world, the motorists would-n’t have been able to drive away. Ifthey did, their vehicles could overheat,and the engines could be ruined.

Mismatched pairs: If bumpersdon’t match up, they’ll bypass eachother when vehicles collide, and the re-sulting crash energy will crumple thevehicle body. That’s what happenedwhen the Nissan Rogue struck the backof the Nissan Sentra in the SUV-into-car test. The Rogue’s front bumper did-n’t line up at all with the Sentra’s rearbumper, and the resulting $4,560 reardamage tally for the Sentra was thehighest among all the cars in this test.The impact crumpled the car’s bumpercover, trunk lid, and rear body. TheRogue ended up with a crushed and

leaking radiator that kept the SUV frombeing driven after the test.

Bumper height mismatch con-tributed to pricey damage when theFord Escape struck the rear of the

Ford Focus. Their bumpers over-lapped less than 2 inches, not enoughto protect the Focus’s rear body andtrunk lid from $3,386 in repairs.

“The mismatch problem with theFord pair was even worse when theFocus struck the back of the Escape.The front bumper on the car under-rode the high-riding Escape’s rearbumper, which at 25 inches off theground is the tallest among all thesmall SUVs evaluated this timearound. Damage to the Focus came to$5,203 and included replacing most ofthe sheet metal plus many parts infront of the engine.

When the Toyota Corolla hit therear of the Toyota RAV4 in the car-into-SUV test, damage amounted tonearly $10,000 for the pair — thehighest combined test damage amongall of the vehicle pairs the Instituteevaluated. The RAV4 accounted forabout $6,000 of the bill.

“The RAV4’s so-called bumper isreally just a stamped piece of sheetmetal supporting the bumper cover,”Nolan explains. “So instead of engag-ing a strong bumper, the striking

Corolla hit the spare tire mounted onthe RAV4’s tailgate. The spare isn’tdesigned to absorb crash energy, so itdamaged the Corolla’s hood, grille,

Huge Cost of Mismatched Bumpers: When Bumpers Don’t Line Up

When the Nissan Rogue struckthe back of the Nissan Sentra(top) in the 10 mph front-into-rearcrash test, the Rogue’s bumperoverrode the Sentra’s, resulting in$7,444 in combined damage forthe pair. In the car-into-SUV test,the Ford Focus bumper slid underthe high-riding Ford Escape,adding up to $5,203 damage forthe car and $2,208 for the SUV

Ford Focus: $5,203 damage

Nissan Sentra and Nissan Rogue

Ford Escape and Ford Focus

The bumper bars on this pair ofHondas (top) lined up. The Civic’s$1,274 in rear damage when hitby the CR-V was thelowest among cars in this test.The Kia Forte’s front bumper linedup with the rear bumper of theHyundai Tucson (bottom),keeping the front of the car fromunderriding the SUV and limitingdamage to a combined $3,601 forboth vehicles

Honda Civic and Honda CR-V

Hyundai Tucson and Kia Forte


headlights, air conditioner, and radia-tor support and crushed the RAV4’stailgate and rear body panels.”

Compatible bumpers: Bumperson Honda’s CR-V and Civic were themost compatible in the test in which anSUV strikes the rear of a car, and at$2,995 the pair had the lowest com-bined estimated damage in this crashtest. The Civic’s $1,274 damage wasthe lowest among the cars. The CR-Vis one of only 3 SUVs whose frontbumpers overlapped half of the rearbumpers on the cars they hit.

“The CR-V’s front bumper over-lapped the Civic’s rear bumper bymore than 2 inches. That may notsound like much, but it’s enough toallow the bumpers to do what they’resupposed to do,” Nolan says.

When the Kia Forte struck theback of the Hyundai Tucson, theirbumpers matched up well enough tokeep the Forte from underriding theSUV, limiting damage to a combined$3,601 for both vehicles. The Forte’s$1,510 repair estimate was the lowestamong cars in the car-into-SUV test.

The Tucson-Forte pair’s bumpersalso did a good job of lining up in theSUV-into-car test. The Tucson’s $850damage estimate was better than theother SUVs, and it was the only SUVthat didn’t have a damaged air-condi-tioning condenser.

Despite bumpers that aligned, re-sults for the Forte weren’t as good. TheForte had more than $3,000 rear dam-age because its bumper broke during

impact. The car’s rear body panel alsowas damaged.

“Of the 7 car-SUV pairs wetested, we can’t point to a single oneas a model of compatibility becausecombined damage estimates run intothousands of dollars for even the bestperformers,” Nolan says. “In the realworld that money comes straight outof consumers’ wallets through de-ductibles and insurance premiums.Regulating SUV bumpers would easethe burden.”

Regulate SUV bumpers: The In-stitute in July 2008 petitioned the Na-tional Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration to regulate bumpers onSUVs and pickups the same as cars,and require them to match up in a waythat shields both vehicles from costlydamage. The agency in June 2009agreed to seek comments on the peti-tion but hasn’t moved forward with arulemaking or a low-speed compliancetest for bumpers.

Regulators have long said that re-quiring light trucks to have bumperswould compromise off-road maneu-verability and make it hard to use thesekinds of vehicles at loading ramps.The Institute counters that very fewSUVs and pickups are used off road.In addition, bumpers aren’t the limit-ing factor in most vehicles’ approachand departure angles. Instead air dams,bumper covers, exhaust pipes, andother trim mounted lower than thebumpers get in the way.

SUV INTO CARSUV

DamageCar

DamageTotal

Damage1Honda CR-V into Honda Civic $1,721 $1,274 $2,995Toyota RAV4 into Toyota Corolla $1,434 $2,327 $3,761Hyundai Tucson into Kia Forte $850 $3,223 $4,073

Volkswagen Tiguan into Volkswagen Golf $2,329 $2,058 $4,387Jeep Patriot into Dodge Caliber $1,415 $3,095 $4,510Ford Escape into Ford Focus $1,470 $3,386 $4,856

Nissan Rogue into Nissan Sentra $2,884 $4,560 $7,444

CAR INTO SUVCar

DamageSUV

DamageTotal

DamageKia Forte into Hyundai Tucson $1,510 $2,091 $3,601Dodge Caliber into Jeep Patriot $2,559 $1,338 $3,897Honda Civic into Honda CR-V $4,921 $1,053 $5,974

Volkswagen Golf into Volkswagen Tiguan $4,555 $1,872 $6,427Nissan Sentra into Nissan Rogue $5,114 $1,428 $6,542Ford Focus into Ford Escape $5,203 $2,208 $7,411

Toyota Corolla into Toyota RAV4 $3,852 $6,015 $9,867

Note: The Ford Escape and Focus, Hyundai Tucson, and Volkswagen Golf and Tiguan are 2011 models.All other cars and SUVs are 2010s. Repair costs reflect November 2010 parts and labor prices.

DAMAGE REPAIR COSTS IN 10 MPH FRONT-INTO-REAR CRASH TESTS

I got a phone call a couple of monthsago from a caller who I didn’t know. Hesounded concerned and very cautious.

“I got your home number fromyour office. I want to talk to someoneat Autobody News, but I don’t want totell you my name.”

I’m not much on whistleblowingbut I’ve been asked this kind of thing be-fore, just not so carefully and cautiously.

“Okay, it will be off the record” Isaid. He got to the point quickly,which was good, because I was at

deadline on an assignment.“I’m an airbag technician. I’ve

learned how to service, install andtroubleshoot any type of airbag thatexists and I’ve been doing it for morethan 10 years. At some point, I startedto notice that people were doingsketchy things with the airbags. First itwas a rarity but over time I’ve seenmore and more of it. It’s like a virus—word gets around. Now I see a lot ofpeople who are trying to avoid in-stalling the airbags properly, because

they don’t want to pay the price ofdoing it the right way.”

Still without naming names ortelling me where he worked, myanonymous contact continued.

“Most of the airbag companiesout there are honest, but the dishonestones are getting away with doing dis-honest things,” he said. “They discon-nect the airbag system and then installa resistor so that the deployment lightwon’t come on. Then, when used carresellers, brokers or individuals buy

these vehicles in which the airbags arenot operating and yet appear to be fine.That’s when it becomes dangerous andlife-threatening. Someone could easilyget seriously hurt, or killed.”

My anonymous caller said thatthis type of fraudulent activity has be-come more rampant in this downeconomy. He’s experiencing it mostlywithin the used car industry, whereshady dealers are willing to jerry rigthese airbags, instead of replacingthem. And he even sees a handful ofbody shops cutting corners when itcomes to airbags as well, he said.

“I had to tell somebody, becauseone of these days I’m going to readabout a death caused by an illegallyinstalled airbag and my consciencewill bother me for a long time whenthat happens. And at this rate, it’s def-initely going to happen.”

He hung up, sounding somewhatrelieved, and I decided to look into thesituation.

I called around. Although severalorganizations wouldn’t return phonecalls (The California DMV and theNational Highway Traffic Institute,for example), I found some people inthe know who were more than willingto share their perspectives.

According to my contact at theCoalition Against Insurance Fraud(CAIF) this is the way it works: Anunscrupulous technician will removean airbag after it has deployed in anaccident and make it appear as thoughit’s been replaced. Or, a shady shop orindividual will replace the airbag witha dummy or a sub-par cheaper airbagthat isn’t designed for the vehicle inquestion. This part is disclosed in apress release distributed by the CAIF.

In my search for someone to goon the record, I contacted DougHansen, the president of AirbagSer-vice.com, a company he founded in1992 with 18 locations nationwide.“I’ve experienced a lot of fraudulentand questionable activity in this indus-try for the last 30 years,” Hansen said.That checked out with me becauseairbags have been in use since the ‘70s.

“It’s caused by people who aren’tpaying attention to the right thingsand/or motivated by money. We’ve seen

See Airbag Fraud, page 25


Airbag Fraud Becoming More Prevalent, Experts Saywith Ed Attanasio

Consumer Callout Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based inSan Francisco, California. He can be reached [email protected].

With the average motorist filing an in-surance claim every seven years, any-one, including shop owners, mightbenefit from some tips on how to ap-proach insurance claims, especially ifdistracted in the heat of the moment.

According to the US Departmentof Transportation, about 255 millionpassenger vehicles are registered inthe United States. Traffic congestionis a fact of life on most of our streetsand highways. With all this conges-tion, combined with impatient, dis-tracted, or reckless drivers, accidentsare bound to occur. That keeps us inbusiness, but it may be much moreproblematic for us as individuals inour own collisions.

With more passenger vehiclesthan any other country in the world,the volume of traffic congestion onour streets and highways make itlikely that you or someone in yourfamily will be involved in an accident.

In my family, my wife, mymother and my niece were involved inseparate traffic accidents recently.

A vehicle sped through an inter-section, ran a red light and hit mywife’s car. Both air bags deployed andthe car was declared a total loss. Luck-ily, my wife wasn’t hurt physically,other than a bruise from the seat beltand airbag restraints that protected herfrom serious bodily injury.

A few days later my mother’s carwas sideswiped by another driverwhile driving on a busy street. Then, afew days after that, my niece was in-volved in an eight-car pileup that senther to the hospital and totaled her car.Again, no serious injuries in eithercase.

That’s the “good news” withmost auto accident claims; Personalinjury isn’t the problem.

“Sixty-three cents of every claimdollar [pays for] physical damage onyour car,” says John Eager, senior di-rector of claims services for the Na-tional Association of IndependentInsurers (NAII).

Filing auto insurance claims re-quires basic steps whether personal in-jury is involved or not. However, apersonal injury claim may require adifferent level of proof and persistencethan a vehicle damage claim.

Also, insurance regulations varyfrom state to state, but the basic stepsto take information needed to file aclaim are fairly similar.

The claims process for vehicledamage is simple in principle: (1) Youmake a claim; (2) The adjuster esti-mates the cost to repair the damage;and (3) The insurance company sendsa check for that amount to you or thebody shop to pay for the repairs.

Negotiating the maze of require-ments from insurers makes the claimsprocess anything but simple to thosenot familiar with the simple steps nec-essary to complete a successful claim.

“Proof of damage or injury” is re-quired by every insurance claim be-fore an insurer will pay.

For auto claims, Eager says thereare five elements of proof that willcome into play: (1) What you tell theinsurance companies; (2) What theother party tells them; (3) A police re-port; (4) Witnesses; and (5) Physicaldamage at the scene.

Here are eight tips to keep withyou and pass along to your family,customers and friends:

# 1) At the accident scene, Call911. Get police and medical help ifnecessary. Most important: Remem-ber that you’ll need a police report.Some police officers may try to avoidtaking an accident report in parkinglots or where the damage appearssmall. INSIST on an accident report.

# 2) Exchange information withthe other parties involved: licenseplate numbers, contact informationand auto insurance information. Moststates require drivers to have an insur-ance identification card in the vehiclethat will provide most of the necessaryinformation. Make sure to get phonenumbers, names, addresses, wherethey work, etc. Make notes on anypertinent information regarding acci-dent.

# 3) Find witnesses willing to tellwhat they saw and get their statementand contact information. If you are un-able to gather information at thescene, the police report can be a back-up source of information on the otherparties involved and witnesses.

# 4) Notify your insurance com-pany as soon as possible. Call your in-

surer from a cell phone right from thescene. Many insurers have 24-hourclaim-filing service by phone. Re-gardless of who’s at fault you shouldfile the claim with your own insurancecarrier.

# 5) If the other party is at fault,advise the other party’s insurancecompany that you’re pursuing a claimthrough your carrier and will seek re-imbursement for costs your carrierwill not pay, including your collisioninsurance deductible, time off work,auto rental differential and the amountof your diminished resale value.

# 6)You’ll get a phone call fromthe other company asking for yourversion of events that led to the acci-dent. Be prepared for this.

# 7) The adjuster comes up withan estimate of what it will take to re-store your damaged vehicle (or re-place it, if it’s totaled). Then, theinsurance company will cut a check in

the amount of the repair, minus anycollision deductible amount.

# 8) (For disputed cases) If youfeel your insurer’s damage settlementoffer is too low, ask for “arbitration”to settle the dispute. This process maytake two to six weeks, but in mostcases you won’t have to wait for pay-ment. The insurance company shouldpay you the amount it offered imme-diately, and you’ll get the rest whenand if the dispute is resolved in yourfavor.

On the other hand, if you disagreewith an offer from the other party’s in-surer, you may or may not be offeredsuch dispute resolution. If not and theamount in dispute is significant, itmay be worthwhile to take legal ac-tion.

My friend, J. D. Howard, a re-tired insurance adjuster who co-founded the Insurance ConsumerAdvocate Network (I-CAN), based in


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The Right Causewith Mike Causey

Mike Causey is a consumer advocate and lobbyist for the Independent Auto Body Association (IABA), in additionto Non-profits such as alternative healthcare groups (Citizens for Healthcare Freedom, NC Reflexology Associa-tion), Organic farming and Healthy Eating. Mike is a writer and speaker on numerous consumer issues and legis-lation. Mailing address: Causey & Associates, P.O. Box 16725, Greensboro, NC 27416 Email: [email protected]: (336) 210-1947


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Branson West, Missouri, says, “Insiston a report. If [officers] won’t file atraffic accident report, insist on an in-cident report. You want an independ-ent, disinterested record of whathappened. You’d be amazed at howoften the other driver’s story willchange.”

The police officer may plead “nojurisdiction” if the accident happens ina parking lot. Insist on an incident re-port, Howard says. If the accident isin a mall or other facility that has a se-curity force, ask security to file a re-port. In a lot without any security, aska shop owner to make a statement.

“You want to get something inwriting,” Howard says, because “in-surance companies are obliged to be-lieve the story given to them by theirown policyholder” unless there’sproof to the contrary.

Finding of fault is very importantwhen it comes to auto insuranceclaims. There are rental car and di-minished value issues, time off fromwork, and whether or not your insur-ance rates go up.

According to Eager and the Na-tional Association of Independent In-surers (NAII), the majority of states

have adopted “comparative negli-gence,” a concept based on the ideathat no one party is necessarily com-pletely at fault, but that fault is just amatter of degree. The “degree offault” may determine how much yoursettlement is “reduced.”

“You have rights with your own[insurer] that you don’t have with theother party’s insurance,” Howardsays. This includes the right to a

process for resolving disputes overwhat expenses should be covered bythe insurance.

Have the patience to take an un-conventional route that will be chal-lenged by the insurer, Howardbelieves that if the other party is atfault, you should file claims with bothcarriers.

“You cannot collect twice for thesame thing,” he says. However, under“multiple source recovery,” he adds,

“you can collect from two sources andput the checks in a kitty and decidehow much was paid for what.”

This means itemizing every ex-pense involved, and which insurancecheck paid for which expense. At theend of the process, you submit theitemized list to your insurer. Then, ifthere’s anything left in the “kitty”, youwrite a check for the overage to yourown insurer.

“Especially with an injury claim,you’d want to check with your insur-ance carrier to see what statementsyou need to make to the other insur-ance carrier.”

Make written notes about youraccident. Don’t trust your memory.Write down exactly what you will tellthe other insurer so that in case of alawsuit your statement will remainconsistent. The other insurer will betaping your statement and will have

your exact words at their disposal.Consumers don’t know that if an

insurance company has a direct repairprogram (DRP), the adjuster mightnot even have to come out, Eagersays. Under the DRP, their insurancecompany will refer them to a shopwith which they have an agreement.So, depending on the DRP agreement,the damage claim estimate may bedone by the shop itself, the shop won’thave to wait to start repairs and thecheck can be transmitted right to theshop, Eager says. The body shop mayalso make their own arrangements fora rental vehicle if the customer needsone.

If the adjuster “Totals the car,”the adjuster will estimate compensa-tion on the actual cash value (ACV ordepreciated value) of the vehicle be-fore the accident, essentially enablingpurchase of a similar used car. How-ever, if the auto insurance policy has“replacement cost value,” the estimatewill cover the cost of buying a similarnew vehicle.

Getting the claim settled more ef-ficiently and with less frustration willbe the likely result of following theabove claims tips.


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the majority of states have adopted “comparativenegligence”... based on the idea that no one partyis necessarily completely at fault, but... it may be amatter of degree... affecting settlement amounts.

Progressive tried to recall the carfrom Coccaro after repairs had com-menced and steer it to one of their se-lect shops but was unsuccessful inconvincing the customer. When the

second estimate came in at $26,804,the customer confirmed she wantedNorth State to do the job, She agreedto pay any expenses beyond the$26,804. Progressive finally agreed topay Coccaro’s invoice after the cus-tomer’s son became involved, who hada relationship of sorts with the insurer.

At that point a curious requestcame from Progressive to take pos-session of the car so they could deliverit to the customer. Coccaro declined,preferring to deliver to his own cus-tomer, but finally agreed, with the cus-tomer’s approval. He was surprised atthe cavalier manner in which the ve-hicle was towed by the insurer’sprovider, risking throwing off the twowheel alignments that had recentlybeen done. This would be telling whenthe case finally came to trial.

Progressive did not deliver the ve-hicle to the professor. They took it forforensic evaluation to another shop. Infact, as the court documents would re-veal, Progressive had already decidedto prosecute for fraud before examin-ing the vehicle. Progressive alleged thatNorth State had defrauded the company;had provided phony invoices; that Coc-caro himself had directed a conspiracyto defraud Progressive; and had chargedthe insurer for non-existent damage.

The first fraud trial pressed by Pro-gressive Insurance against Coccaro inBedford Hills, NY, was dismissed byState Supreme Court Judge Mary Smithon August 5, 2008. Significantly, thecase was dismissed “with predju-dice”—meaning the court barred Pro-gressive from filing another case on theclaim, effectively ending Progressive’soptions—and the judge acted before thedefense could call a single witness, how-ever this ruling was successfully ap-

pealed by Progressive who argued thatthe judge lacked this lattitude in the case.

The second defense of the case,and his acquittal in the first case, havenow cost Coccaro and his shop in excess

of $600,000 in legal fees, and all for acase which Progressive offered to settlefor a dollar and an admission of guilt in2005. Coccaro refused the offer, despitethe fact that under New York law, evenif he won, he could not be awarded anymoney from Progressive, nor could herecover his legal expenses. It was al-ways a matter of principle to him.

Progressive continued to allegethat Coccaro committed fraud in therepair of the now one-year old Mer-cedes, causing Progressive to incurdamages in the amount of $2,808.65.Coccaro’s legal team of Michael G.Santangelo, Erica L. Eversman, andAnthony J. Mamo, Jr. estimates thatProgressive ultimately spent over onemillion dollars to prosecute the claimof $2,800 and change.

Coccaro has said in the past, “Ibelieve they’re out to punish me forspeaking out. They want to make anexample out of me for anyone elsewho would do the same thing.”

Coccaro still has no hard evi-dence to support his conclusion, buthe points to the time, expense and zealProgressive has invested in a battlethat began over repairs to a single ve-hicle. He also points to what he saysare other ongoing practices by insur-ers to intimidate shops.

“Certain shops get steeredagainst, and the shops who speak outget business steered away from them,”he says. “I also know of certain shopswho don’t get paid for certain opera-tions because they’ve spoken up. In-surers make trouble between a shopand its customers. No customer wantsto get in the middle of that.

“It’s like whack-a-mole in this in-dustry,” he says. “You stick your headup, and they’re going to knock it

down. That’s definitely what they do.They intimidate people.”

“They put me in a huge financialhole, so I’m leaving a [tortious interfer-ence lawsuit option] on the table,” saidCoccaro. “I am 61 years old and had toremortgage everything I owned. I’m indebt again. They don’t like people tostand up to them. They couldn’t get thiscar out of my shop and they were madand wanted to teach me a lesson.” Coc-caro confirmed to Autobody News thathe would be pursuing the lawsuit, andthat he has already been deposed byProgressive’s attorneys.

“I am so grateful that the jury wasable to see through Progressive’s tac-tics and didn’t fall for the fairytale Pro-gressive tried to tell them,” Coccarosaid. “I feel exonerated,” he said. “Mybusiness and reputation mean every-thing to me. That’s why I insisted onfighting these false accusations.”

Coccaro has credited supportfrom collision repairers, and espe-cially Mike Anderson, a former shopowner now running a consulting com-pany (CollisionAdvice.com), whotestified that the repairs to the vehiclewere properly executed and that NorthState Custom was entitled to charge

for the workthat was per-formed. An-derson hadreinspected thecar after theoriginal repairs.“Mike Ander-son took time

out of his schedule to fly here and tes-tify and fly back and he did it forfree,” Coccaro said. “He did notcharge a dime. It was poignant whenhe pointed that out in court. I am verygrateful that he did that for my family,my business and me. Not many peo-ple would do that. He put his reputa-tion on the line testifying on mybehalf, and I owe him many thanks.”

They don’t like people to stand upto them. They couldn’t get this car outof my shop and they were mad andwanted to teach me a lesson. Hugecompanies can put you out of business.I won the case, but all I did was exon-erate myself. I think they spent over $1million for an alleged fraud of $2,800,according to their expert witness. Theywere suing me for $34,000, the entireamount of the bill, because they said Iintentionally totaled the car.”

“This is a triumph for the entirecollision repair industry,” he said.“Now insurers will know that theycan’t accuse shops of fraud for mak-ing repairs according to the blueprintfor repair set out in the shops’ esti-mates. After all, we are the repair pro-fessionals, and it is time that insurersstop interfering with how we operateour businesses.”

The ruling leaves Coccaro free topursue his $15 M suit against Progres-sive, although he has not commentedon that specifically. His complaint wasreduced from $40M to $15M after Pro-gressive attorneys successfully arguedthat NY law does not allow an insur-ance company to be sued for steering.Nontheless, Coccaro alleges that Pro-gressive has engaged in a scheme to in-jure North State and deceive the publicby engaging in deceptive businesspractices, including telling customersthat North State inflates estimates, doesshoddy work, and is a problem shop.

When Coccaro’s tortious interfer-ence suit against Progressive was orig-inally filed, the New York State AutoCollision Technicians Association(NYSACTA) was quick to supporthim. At the time, Mike Orso, Presidentof NYSACTA said, “We all know thetricks and games that are being playedby a majority of the insurance compa-nies, their appraisers and adjusters. Theinside information obtained in this law-suit only confirms our suspicions...”

“It’s not about the money,” Coc-caro said at the time. “It was neverabout the money. I just couldn’t standby and watch them destroy my repu-tation and the business I worked hardto create. If they could do this to me,they could do this to anyone.”

North State was established morethan 30 years ago and promotes itself“a state-of-the-art European luxury carcollision repair facility.” Its motto is“New World Technology, Old WorldCraftsmanship.” The shop is certifiedby Mercedes Benz, Volvo and Jaguarfor structural aluminum repairs alongwith being BMW-trained for body,paint and aluminum structural repairs.

To contribute to defraying Greg Coc-caro’s staggering legal fees, pleasemail a check to:

North State Legal114 Green LaneBedford Hills, NY 10507

Greg Coccaro ‘Not Guilty’ Again Cover Story

Mike Anderson

North State Custom’s shop in Bedford Hills, New York



My shop’s office manager is my eld-est daughter Katie, a bright, pretty galwith a quick wit and long beautifulred hair. Katie gets all the phone callsand handles the front office issues.She does a great job, and makeseverything feel like a day at the ballpark.

She cracks me up with some ofher responses to those baffling phonecalls we all tend to receive at the re-pair shop. Sometimes I wonder if sheshouldn’t be a comedian, or evenhave her own vaudeville act.

On one occasion I happened tobe working in the office, and over-heard a conversation she was havingwith a prospective customer. The wayshe handled it was “pure Katie.”

With the phone on speaker, Icouldn’t help hearing the entire con-versation. By the end of the phonecall I was laughing so hard that Inearly forgot I was only supposed tobe listening and to keep quiet. I didmanage to keep quiet, but had a bigsmile on my face for the rest of theday. The phone call went somethinglike this:

“Good morning, this is Katie,may I help you?”

“Yes, I had my car over at thetransmission shop, and they recom-mended you guys,” the caller said.

“OK, is it a shifting problem?”she asked.

“No, it’s an electrical problem.”“We certainly do that kind of

work. When would you like to bring itin and have it diagnosed?”

“No, I already had it diagnosedat the other shop.”

“They did, did they? Did they tellyou what the problem was?”

“No, they didn’t know what waswrong with it. That’s why I’m callingyou.”

About now Katie is getting herraised-eyebrow look going, and herpen is scribbling something on thenote pad. Something is up. I can tell.I’ve answered phone calls like thismyself. Let’s see how Katie handlesthis … I’ll listen in a little more.

“So, did they give you any clueas to what the problem was?” sheasked patiently.

“They said they didn’t know.”“Well, that doesn’t help either

one of us. Let’s start this all overagain. It sounds to me like the othershop checked it out, and determined

that it was some-thing they could-n’t handle andrecommended us.Their best guesswas that it wassomething electri-cal. Then theygave you our

phone number and told you we couldtake care of it. Am I pretty close towhat’s going on, sir?” Katie asked.

“Quite right.”“OK, let’s see if we can go round

the bases on this. First off, the trans-mission shop sent you to … who?”

“To you…”“Great, who is first base. Now,

on to second base. That’s where wefigure out the what’s wrong with itpart.”

He quickly interrupted her… “al-ready did that.”

“Well, what’s wrong with itthen?” Katie asked.

“I don’t know, and they couldn’ttell me either,” the caller said, clearlytrying to avoid a trip to second.

“Sir, somehow we have got tothird base, and haven’t touched sec-ond at all,” she reasoned.

“I don’t understand what you’regetting at,” the stymied caller said.

“Let’s try this again,” Katiecontinued. “We have establishedthat the who part of this is us at firstbase. You’re at home plate andyou’re going to bring the car here.That will give us a good foothold onfirst base. The second base is thewhat part, and that’s where we arehaving a problem. The I don’t knowpart can be answered once we haveit diagnosed.

“I told you. I already had it diag-nosed.”

“OK then, what’s wrong withit?”

“I don’t know.” (Right past sec-ond at full speed and sliding intothird.)

“Naturally,” Katie answers him

with that I’m-not-going-through-this-again look on her face. “They didn’tknow. That’s why you’re talking tome.”

“I don’t think you understand,”he answered her.

“Oh, I understand perfectly well,sir. I don’t think you understand thatwe can’t repair it unless we knowwhat is wrong with it,” she answeredin a measured tone. “This is why Iwanted to start off with who’s on first,which is me. I’m who.”

“But, I just told you. They diag-nosed it already.”

“Who did?”“Not you, they did.”“What did they tell you was

wrong with it?”“I don’t know,” our caller an-

swered yet again, making anotherbeeline for third base.

“Sir, we will need to diagnose itall over again in order to find out whatis wrong with it, and hopefully get tothat third base.”

“What third base?”“What is second base, I don’t

know is third,” Katie answered himmatter of factly.

“So, we need to stay on what?”asks the caller.

“Yes, second base.”“Who’s on first?”“I’m on first base. I thought we

already agreed on that. We need tomove on to second base.”

“When we get to second base,will that fix my car?”

“I don’t know,” said Katie.“So are we on second or third

now?” the caller asked, genuinely baf-fled.

“Sir, I’m still on first base wherewe started. Now let’s try to get to sec-ond again. We still need to get it di-agnosed. That’s second base,” Katiecontinued.

“I already had it diagnosed,” re-peated the caller yet again, withamazing persistance.

“And what did they find out?”“I don’t know. Third base!” They

both answered in unison withoutmissing a beat.

This back and forth call went onfor quite some time. I’m about to fall

off my stool, I’m laughing so hard.

We all know what’s going onhere. It’s not the who, what, or I don’tknow. The customer is saying he hasalready paid someone to check his carout, and they failed to find the prob-lem. So “naturally,” the customer as-sumes that there is no need to pay forthe same thing a second time, sincenothing came out of it the first timearound. (Try that logic when you goto a second doctor for another opin-ion.)

I understand the customer’splight. He wants to know we can fixit before he brings it in. I just wishwhen he got up to bat at the firstshop they would have done a betterjob of explaining the necessary di-agnostic procedures—to make anyrepairs at all —to the customer.Then again, the fees the customerwas charged might have been forother work, and not just for diagnos-tics, but that part never makes it intothe conversation.

The call ended with us none thewiser about the customer’s actualproblem. He simply said, “I can’tbring it today, but I can bring it in to-morrow,” and hung up.

What a relief. Because (he’s inthe outfield) today is the day to fieldwacky phone calls, and I’ve caught allthe foul balls I can stand for one day.I just hope Tomorrow doesn’t end upthrowing me any wild pitches.

Katie was great at umpire. Butno matter how you handle things inthe office or in the shop, sometimesall you really want to do is make itaround the bases without gettingtagged or thrown out.

And there’s one more thing I’msure of: I don’t want to end up withthe customer only making a “shortstop” in my shop, because we haven’tseen eye to eye on how the game hasto be played. That is, how the prob-lem needs to be approached and re-solved.

We all know that short stop’sname. It’s the kind of thing you don'twant to hear from a customer or fromthe repair shop. Now, let’s PLAYBALL.

Who’s on First WhenWhat Can’t Get to Second?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]

Katie


Facts Regarding Recent Technical ServiceBulletin for Toyota Camry and AvalonToyota has released the followingstatement:

Some recent media reports have inac-curately characterized a Toyota Tech-nical Service Bulletin (TSB)involving certain Camry, Camry Hy-brid and Avalon as a recall, or haveimplied that customer vehicles maynot have been repaired correctly. Toy-ota is providing the following facts toclarify and prevent potential misin-formation.

On November 30, 2010, Toyotaissued a Technical Service Bulletinthat instructs technicians how to re-pair two weld nuts that may be dam-aged when removing the bolts used toattach the accelerator pedal to thebulkhead.

The TSB was issued followinginquiries to the Toyota TechnicalAssistance System by a few tech-nicians who were instructed how torepair the weld nuts prior to re-turning the vehicle to its owner.Since repair of the weld nuts is anextremely rare repair, the informa-tion is not included in the repairmanual and the purpose of a TSB

is to provide such information asneeded.

As with any threaded fas-tener, the weld nuts may acciden-tally be stripped when removed. Inthe unlikely case when a threadedweld nut is stripped, techniciansrepair the weld nuts before return-ing the vehicle to operation. Nocustomer vehicles on the road areaffected.

Suggestions that this TSB wasissued to resolve customer complaintsabout accelerator pedal feel after therecall or that this TSB is a recall arewrong. No TSB is planned for othermodels since this component isunique to the Camry and Avalon plat-form.

Toyota has completed over 5million accelerator pedal entrap-ment and sticking pedal remedieswhich require removal of the ac-celerator pedal, including over 1.3million Camrys and 265K Aval-ons. In the course of servicing somany vehicles, occasional ques-tions about the procedure andguidance to technicians is not un-common.

Chief Automotive Technologies Partnerswith Collision HubChief™ Automotive Technologieshas partnered with Collision Hub, thepremier professional networking sitefor the collision repair industry.

Chief is a leading provider of col-lision repair equipment, data and train-ing. Collision Hub provides an onlinecommunity that enables technicians,shop owners, insurance companies andothers active in the collision repair in-dustry to interact with each other.

Members can post photos andvideos, answer questions, refer busi-ness, recommend products, partici-pate in discussion forums and buildrelationships.

The website, www.collision-hub.com, includes industry news, acomprehensive industry calendar,event coverage, videos, photographs,and more than 20 specialty groups.Collision Hub currently has around3,000 members.

“Collision Hub is an excellent in-dustry resource,” says Mike Cranfill,Chief vice president of collision. “Part-nering with Collision Hub will help usstrengthen our existing customer rela-tionships, build new connections, andparticipate in industry discussions.”

Through its sponsorship, Chiefis helping to ensure that the CollisionHub forum and Collision Hub TV re-main available to the industry for free.

Collision Hub is working withChief to build a strong social mediapresence.

“I really believe in the quality ofeverything Chief does, from theequipment they manufacture to thetraining they offer,” says KristenFelder, Collision Hub founder.

“I grew up using this equipment,and more shops I’ve been in use Chiefthan any other brand. We’re delightedto have such a strong partner and tobe able to utilize Chief’s resourcesand experience to help educate andinform the industry.”

For more information about thearray of collision repair products andservices available from Chief Automo-tive Technologies, contact your localChief distributor, call 877-644-1044 orvisit www.chiefautomotive.com.

For more information aboutCollision Hub, visit www.collision-hub.com or call (501) 352-5114. Col-lision Hub is also on Facebook,Twitter and Linkedin.


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More than a dozen associations wererepresented at a gathering in Dallas,Texas, as SCRS held its fifth annual“Affiliate Leadership Conference.”SCRS Chairman Barry Dorn said theevent is designed to help the nationalassociation gather input from its stateaffiliates on its direction and efforts,as well as to help those groups workwith one another and with the nationalorganization.

A num-ber of the associa-tions reporting onefforts they aremaking to workwith state regula-tors to address is-sues and concerns.James Brown of

the Houston Auto Body Association,for example, said the association suc-cessfully pushed the Texas Depart-ment of Insurance to conduct a 4-page

survey of five top insurers in thatstate, asking questions about labor ratedetermination, shop referrals to con-sumers, DRP agreements, reimburse-ment caps or thresholds and otherclaims practices by the insurers (seecover this issue.)

B r o w nsaid the surveywas prompted bya petition circu-lated by a handfulof Texas shopsasking the Insur-ance Departmentto request claims

processing procedures and informa-tion from the insurers.

Larry Cernosek, owner of DeerPark Paint & Body in Pasadena,Texas, a member of the Houston asso-ciation, presented the petition to theInsurance Department, and helped re-view drafts of the survey questions.

He also filed an Open Records Act re-quest with the Department to receivecopies of the responses.

Also at the Dallas meeting, Mon-tana shop owner Bruce Halcro, pres-ident of the Montana Collision RepairSpecialists, said among that group’s

activities is an ef-fort to educate reg-ulators about theissue of paint cap-ping, and tochange how shopestimators are cat-egorized in termsof workers’ com-

pensation insurance premiums. Halcrosaid premiums for insurance companyestimators are 26 percent of thosecharged for shop estimators, and theassociation believes the risk of on-the-job injuries —and thus the rates—forboth types of estimators should becomparable.

“How can my estimator be ahigher risk doing the exact same thingas someone who is driving aroundtown all day when my estimatorspends all day in an office,” Halcrosaid.

Associations address legislationLegislation also continues to be a keyfocus for many of the associationsmeeting in Dallas. Janet Chaney ofthe Iowa Collision Repair Associationsaid that group plans to take anotherrun in 2011 at legislation addressingthe issue of shops not being reim-bursed for state sales tax paid on paintand materials purchases.

Judell Anderson of the Allianceof Automotive Service Providers(AASP) of Minnesota said her groupwould likely push similar sales taxlegislation again in her state this com-ing year. She said the association wassuccessful this year in getting lan-guage on the issue included in boththe state House and Senate tax bills,but it was opposed by the Governorwho viewed it as a new tax, somethinghe’d pledged not to allow. The associ-ation argued it was not a new tax;shops currently pay tax on the whole-sale cost of materials but cannot col-lect it at the retail level because theycharge for materials on a per-labor-

hour rather than itemized basis. ButAnderson said she feels confident lastyear’s effort has set the groundworkfor success on the issue in 2011.

Jordan Hendler, executive di-rector of the Washington MetropolitanAuto Body Association (WMABA),said the association is pleased withchanges it helped craft to total lossregulations in Maryland. Repair costsrelated to paint, plastic parts and other“cosmetic” aspects of repair no longermust be included in the salvage calcu-lation under a new law that went intoeffect this past October. Two yearsago, the state mandated branding of avehicle’s title when repair costs ex-ceeded 75 percent of the vehicle’svalue. The new law passed earlier thisyear excludes the cost of towing, stor-age or vehicle rental from the calcula-tion, as well as a list of “cosmetic”items worked out by Maryland’s de-partment of motor vehicles, state po-lice, insurers and the WMABA.

“It’s going to save a lot of carsfrom being totaled,” Hendler said.

Hendler said she expects the as-sociation will also have to fight (as itdid successfully this year) an effort inVirginia next year to raise the thresh-old of damage requiring a flood-dam-aged vehicle to receive a branded titlefrom $1,000 to $5,000.

Hawaii shop owner MadisonSpotts, representing the AutomotiveBody Painting Association of Hawaii,

said the group in2010 successfullydefeated legisla-tion introduced inthat state related tothe use of sal-vaged airbags.The bill, whichwas crafted based

on model legislation approved by theNational Conference of InsuranceLegislators (NCOIL) in 2009, wouldhave established criminal penalties forfraudulent installation of an airbag,and would have required shops tomaintain detailed records of airbagsthey purchase, sell or install.

Spotts said the association wasconcerned that the legislation also setforth guidelines regulating – and somewould say endorsing – the use of sal-

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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].

Madison Spotts

James Brown

Larry Cernosek Bruce Halcro

Like static on a radio that we tuneout when we’re absorbed in handlingthe multitude of tasks required to runa shop, we may not really notice theinterference of the perpetual ads andpromotions bombarding us throughmail, publications, e-mail, websitesand live sales calls.

But this interference does prevent— not only a clear marketing focus,but also possibly a clear productionfocus. We accomplish the most whenour attention is laser-like concentratedon a task.

Just normal interruptions break ourconcentration and slow down our pro-ductive efforts. But when you add in theconstant din of promotional chatter, youmay have significant interference inyour marketing and management focus.

Telemarketers will rarely stay onthe line if a phone isn’t answered afterthree rings. Perhaps one policy thatcould reduce the promotional interfer-ence would be to postpone or resched-ule random marketing solicitations,even if you’re remotely interested.

That would test the seriousness ofthe solicitor, and it would also giveyou time to rethink your interest andconsider the possibility that this mayjust be some more interference static.

Every bit of random interferenceyou can eliminate from your work daywill pay off in vastly more effectivemarketing and management strategies.

vage airbags. Auto recyclers were alsoopposing an important clause in thebill that would have required anyoneinstalling a salvage airbag to place apermanent label on the vehicle’s dash-board indicating that a salvage airbaghad been installed.

Spotts said she thinks proponentsof the use of salvage airbags sawHawaii as a potential “easy state” to getsuch legislation enacted in, so its defeatwas particularly important, she said.

Discussion of data privacyIn addition to association reports likethese, Aaron Schulenburg, executivedirector of SCRS, discussed in Dallas

some of the association’s recent and fu-ture efforts on a national level. Privacyof a shop’s estimating and managementdata is becoming more of a concern, hesaid, as the information providers movetoward “cloud computing,” in whichthat data is stored remotely on theprovider’s computers rather than theshop’s. Schulenburg said the associa-tion is hearing from more and moreshops concerned that the privacy agree-ments with vendors do not seem ade-quate to address this issue.

“In addition to protecting theshop’s customer data, we also have tobe concerned about our own shop databeing compiled and potentially used

against us,” Schulenburg said.Fred Iantorno, executive director

of the Collision Industry ElectronicCommerce Association (CIECA) and aguest speaker at the SCRS event, saidimplementation of CIECA’s “BMS”standard would give shops more con-trol over which of its data it shares withother parties. Currently, he said, themajor estimating system providers usea different standardized format(“EMS”) to transfer data from the es-timating system to the shop manage-ment system, insurer or other vendors.

Under EMS, Iantorno said, virtu-ally all of the information from an es-timate is transferred. But the BMS

standard would enable a shop, for ex-ample, to transfer only the parts datafrom an estimate to the parts vendor. Itcould also potentially save shopsmoney by making possible true free-dom-of-choice of estimating system,and potentially eliminating the needfor rekeying data into other systemsfor CSI, paint and parts ordering, etc.

Iantorno said the informationproviders say they have not moved tothe BMS standard because they havenot seen repairers asking for such achange. That’s an issue that SCRS andits state affiliate groups meeting inDallas discussed trying to address inthe coming months.


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Jack Gillis, executive director of theCertified Automotive Parts Associa-tion (CAPA), led a Collision RepairExecutive Webcast on December 14centered on CAPA’s certification pro-gram and standards and the differencebetween certified and non-certified af-termarket parts.

Gillis started off the webcast bydetailing CAPA’s purpose and mo-tives. He said that CAPA’s sole pur-pose is to ensure that consumers andpeople in the industry can identifyquality parts. CAPA is also there toprotect consumers from over pricedand poor quality parts.

CAPA certification process fitsaftermarket parts from CAPA’s 39 ap-proved manufacturers against the carcompany brand parts or the “stan-dard” parts. Only approved aftermar-ket manufacturers can submit parts toCAPA for certification and these man-ufacturers go through rigorous moni-toring and requirements before beingallowed to submit parts.

CAPA not only tests the aftermar-

ket parts’ material, composition, me-chanics, strength and dimensionagainst the standard parts, they also doa Vehicle Test Fit as a final test beforecertifying the part. The Vehicle TestFit is the final step in certification andis unique to CAPA. It aims to do twothings; to make sure the standard partfits the way it should, and to makesure the aftermarket part fits the way itshould.

About 38% of parts submitted toCAPA for certification fail the VehicleTest Fit process. Gillis also stressedthat CAPA only reviews about 20% ofaftermarket parts available.

“What about the [sic] parts thatare never presented to us for certifica-tion?” said Gillis.

CAPA also has a vast number oftools available that help them to con-tinue to monitor parts after they havebeen certified. They have a complaintsprogram, a marketplace monitoringprogram and a decertification program.

When a part is retested and seenfit to be decertified from CAPA it is

immediately changed from CAPA cer-tified in the electronics estimating sys-tems so body shops are aware of thechange in certification status.

CAPA does their tests through aworldwide company called Intertek,but also has some of their parts testedby the Insurance Institute for High-way Safety (IIHS). Gillis showedsome IIHS test results that put CAPAcertified aftermarket parts not only oflike fit, finish and material as brandname parts but also as having nearlythe same crash test results.

“Yes, CAPA standards are rigor-ous - they have to be,” said Gillis,“We think the standards are justright.”

Although 4 out of 5 aftermarketparts used in the marketplace are notCAPA certified, Gillis stoody byCAPA’s success.

“You have to determine how youmeasure success,” said Gillis, “thebottom line is that parts bearing theCAPA seal must be matching to thecar company brand parts.”

Collision Repair Executive Webcast Hosts CAPA’s JackGillis and a Discussion on Aftermarket Parts

Allstate Announces SatisfactionGuaranteed or Premium RefundAllstate has announced a program inseveral states which guarantees a re-funded premium if a consumer has apoor claims experience. The ad reads:

“When you buy car insurance,you want to know you’re not just get-ting a good deal—you’re getting thepromise of a good product. And noth-ing tests the quality of car insurancelike a claim.

At Allstate, our Claim Satisfac-tion Guarantee is one more way wedeliver on our Good Hands® promise.If you’re not satisfied with your claimexperience, from the first phone callto the final fix, you can get up to a 6-month credit on your premium.*

Save money and be better pro-tected with Allstate. Here’s how theClaim Satisfaction Guarantee works:You are an Allstate customer in a cer-tain state, have a car accident and filea claim with Allstate.

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TG Missouri Will Invest $3Min Indiana Plant UpgradesTG Missouri Corp. is a Perryville, MO-based automotive parts supplier knownfor high-quality plastic and urethane prod-ucts, including consoles, steering wheels,airbags, side molding, interior and exte-rior plastic trim components for automo-biles. The company has announced plansto invest more than $3 million to upgradeequipment at its plant in NewAlbany, IN,creating 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 employs90 in New Albany. The Indiana Eco-nomic Development Corp. offered TGMissouri up to $200,000 in perform-ance-based tax credits based on thecompany’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.

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Senate Passes Pedestrian Safety Act, EVs to become LouderThe U.S. Senate unanimously passedan act to direct the Secretary of Trans-portation, Ray LaHood, to study andestablish a motor vehicle safety stan-dard that provides for a means of alert-ing the blind and other pedestrians ofmotor vehicle operation, known as the“Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Actof 2010.” The act involves allowingpedestrians to detect a nearby electricor hybrid vehicle in “critical operatingscenarios including, but not limited to,constant speed, accelerating or decel-erating.”

The legislation’s author, Sen.John Kerry, D-Mass., stated thefollowing in regard to the legisla-tion: “I’m a major advocate of hy-brids—I own one, I drive one, andI’ve seen firsthand their environ-mental and economic benefits …This legislation will allow us tocontinue to promote our energy in-dependence and technological inno-vation while safeguarding thosewho use senses other than sight tonavigate the roads.”

The act includes the following:● Establishes performance require-ments for an alert sound that allowsblind and other pedestrians to reason-ably detect a nearby electric or hybrid

vehicle operating below the crossoverspeed,● Allows manufacturers to provideeach vehicle with one or more soundsthat comply with the motor vehiclesafety standard at the time of manu-facture.● Requires manufacturers to provide,within reasonable manufacturing tol-erances, the same sound or set ofsounds for all vehicles of the samemake and model, and shall prohibitmanufacturers from providing anymechanism for anyone other than themanufacturer or the dealer to disable,alter, replace or modify the sound orset of sounds, except that the manu-facturer or dealer may alter, replace ormodify the sound or set of sounds toremedy a defect or non-compliancewith the motor vehicle safety standard,● Promulgation of the required motorvehicle safety standard pursuant to thissubsection not later than 36 monthsafter the date of enactment of the act.● When conducting the required rule-making, the U.S. Department ofTransportation will carry out the fol-lowing:● Determine the minimum level ofsound emitted from a motor vehiclethat is necessary to provide blind andother pedestrians with the information

needed to reasonably detect a nearbyelectric or hybrid vehicle operating ator below the cross-over speed, if any,● Determine the performance require-ments for an alert sound that is recog-nizable to a pedestrian as a motorvehicle in operation; and consider theoverall community noise impact.

The act also includes that whenconducting the required study andrulemaking the secretary should also:● Consult with the U.S. Environmen-tal Protection Agency to ensure thatthe motor vehicle safety standard isconsistent with existing noise require-ments overseen by the agency,● Consult consumer groups represent-ing individuals who are blind,● Consult with automobile manufac-turers and professional organizationsrepresenting them,● Consult technical standardizationorganizations responsible for meas-urement methods such as the Societyof Automotive Engineers, the Interna-tional Organization for Standardiza-tion, and the United NationsEconomic Commission for Europe,World Forum for Harmonization ofVehicle Regulations.

The act will now move to theHouse for consideration.

more fake bags, fake covers, and garbagework than anyone else out there.

“Most of the top collision shopsare doing a responsible job followingthe OEM standards,” Hansen contin-ued. “But some people are also gravi-tating more toward doing impropercosmetic work on airbags to savemoney or rushing through repairs tosave time. I see a trend where inferiorairbag repairs are more and more evi-dent within the last two years, and I dobelieve that the recession must havesomething to do with it. Re-paintingthem, for example, is not acceptablefor several reasons, because it also af-fects the braking mechanics of thevinyl. The vinyl is very specificallytuned to the airbag, so it can cause theairbag to deploy improperly. Morepeople are doing unscrupulous things,trying to get their codes cleared for $49instead of replacing a mandatory con-troller or, replacing a controller on anairbag system that isn’t required by themanufacturer because they don’t havethe proper scan tools or just not re-

placing all the parts needed for aproper repair—these types of thingsare happening. In addition, the pres-sures on the body shops for cycle-time,cost saving and no supplements canforce poor decisions even when some-one is trying to do the right thing.”

Hansen said he’s seen a widerange of questionable things done toairbags within the salvage industry, but

his stance aboutsalvaged airbagsover the years haschanged.

“Our firstposition is to usenew OEM partsper the manufac-turer’s recommen-dations, and we’vealways been advo-cates against theuse of salvagedairbags. Most ofour work comesfrom responsiblebody shops and in-surance companies

who require new airbag system com-ponents. But we also service the usedcar industry, rebuilders and retail cus-

tomers where we’re seeing more sal-vaged airbags across the board.

“I’ve softened on the salvagedairbag question more recently, how-ever, because we now know that sal-vaged airbag are going to be used bysome customers and it’s not illegal,”Hansen said. “Although it’s not rec-ommended by the OEM’s, what we’resaying is this—a professional airbagtechnician who at least knows how touse a torque wrench and can programthe proper computer codes can proba-bly work within that realm on certaincars. We’ve taken the position that if aprofessional is installing a set of usedairbags at the customer’s request; it’sthe right match (make, model, year andcolor of the car) and they are follow-ing the rest of the manufacturers rec-ommendations and aren’t doinganything sketchy with the system, it’sokay. The customer also needs to un-derstand the risks and accepts the lia-bility of the salvaged parts they’rehaving installed. “

The Automotive Recycling Asso-ciation (ARA) is trying to teach itsmembers about how to properly han-dle airbags while setting standards thatcan assure safety and responsibility,and Hansen thinks it’s a smart movefor the entire industry, he said.

“The ARA has a program calledARA Pro, where they’ve developedtheir own standards for handlingairbags, which is a positive step in theright direction,” Hansen said. “At leastthere is a group out there that is tryingto do this responsibly. What we’re say-ing and what the industry is realizing ishey—if a car is totaled and the personcan’t afford brand new airbags, recy-cled airbags that are properly matchedwith the particular vehicle, can be an

acceptable option. They have to sign arelease and use new electronics, partsand controllers, but if they can do itproperly, using recycled airbags canprovide a reasonable solution.”

Hansen isn’t enamored with theidea of using recycled airbags, but healso realizes that it can be a viable al-ternative if done the right way.

“This is the reality in this industryright now and it’s going to happen re-gardless. So, then you have to ask your-self—what is the responsible way ofdoing things? We can’t bury our headsin the sand because a sector of this busi-ness is going in this direction. Let’smake sure that if they’re making thisdecision and installing recycled airbags,at least it can happen professionally andproperly within guidelines.”

Matt Patterson has owned and op-erated AirBagService.com’s San Fran-cisco Bay Area businesses in NorthernCalifornia since 1995 and has morethan 20 years experience in the indus-try, he said. What are the most basic in-dicators that an airbag has beentampered with, we asked Patterson.

“Peeling paint and vinyl repairson the airbag cover; if the logo or let-tering on the outside of the airbag inunclear or illegible; if the outside colorof the airbag doesn’t match the rest ofthe car’s interior colors; if the airbagwarning light doesn’t come on at all,remains on or if it doesn’t illuminatewhen the vehicle’s ignition is turnedon, those are the standard things you’lldiscover when an airbag has been tam-pered with. People need to look forthese tell-tale signs and call us if theyhave any concerns about their systemso it can be inspected.”

How can this industry-wide prob-lem get solved before a slew of in-juries—possible fatal ones—take place?

“It’s widespread and it seems tobe growing,” Hansen said. “Wheneverwe catch one of these jerry-riggedairbags, we’re always thinking aboutall of the other ones that are still outthere on the road right now. We can’tstop everything that’s happening, butif responsible people can teach othersthe right way of doing things whilemonitoring and certifying their ownwork, things will improve. We can’t af-ford to let the standards of our industryslip and we need to educate our cus-tomers about the importance of properairbag repairs and the risks of inferiorwork. When our customers understandwhich shops take their safety seriously,it can only help the collision industryas a whole.”


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Airbag Fraud

Doug Hansen isthe president of

AirbagService.comand a 30-year vet-eran of the automo-tive airbag industry.He is also encoun-tering more andmore jerry-riggedairbags during this

recession

Matt Patterson, the owner of severalAirbagService.com branches in NorthernCalifornia has more than 20 years experiencein the industry. He is holding a false airbagshowing where the vinyl on the steeringwheel has been doctored

grams, promising to make the trainingmore relevant and the recognition pro-grams more meaningful. Edelen over-saw a turbulent three-year period withinI-CAR, winning mostly praise for his ef-forts to turn the organization around afterseveral money-losing years and declin-ing student numbers.

Now this month it becomes up tonew CEO JohnVanAlstyne to pick upwhere Edelen has left off. His 2011 to-do list will include helping the indus-try understand the transition to the newrecognition requirements, continuingthe overhaul of the curriculum, lookingat new ways to make I-CAR trainingaffordable and accessible, and perhapsgetting more insurers, who have largelydropped anything but vague trainingrequirements in their DRP contracts, toonce again mandate attainment of GoldClass or similar training levels.

When I think of things I know asingle store can’t do that an associationcan do, one thing that comes to mind isto help us stop insurance companiesfrommandating use of certain estimat-ing systems, CSI providers, or rentalcar companies. It’s unbelievable thatwe have to use, for example, Enterprisefor some repairs and Hertz for other re-pairs. I think the repairer should be theperson that makes that decision.

—Dan Bailey

Dan Bailey, president and chief oper-ating officer for theCARSTAR colli-sion repair fran-chise chain, putinto words this yearwhat many shopshave been sayingfor years: thatmicro-managing by

insurers can add as much inefficiencyand cost as it saves.

In an effort to highlight this issue,the Society of Collision Repair Spe-cialists (SCRS) is expected in 2011 tocomplete a matrix it is building thatshow which insurer direct repair pro-grams (DRPs) require use of a specificvendor for such services. The goal,SCRS Executive Director AaronSchulenburg said, is to show thatsome programs are more restrictivethan others in terms of vendor choice,and to show the burden and added ex-pense such requirements can have on

shops participating in multiple DRPs.

The bottom line is if these bumpersdo not protect occupants or (allow)more damage to vehicles, it’s insurersthat are going to pick up the cost of ei-ther the personal injury associated withthe problems, or the additional damageassociated with poor-performingbumpers in low-speed collisions.

—Jack Gillis

This quote fromJack Gillis, execu-tive director of theCertified Automo-tive Parts Associa-tion (CAPA) wasjust one of manyrelated to non-OEM structural

parts this past year. Though clearly noone expects full resolution of the long-simmering battle over non-OEM partsin 2011, a number of interesting devel-opments could take place.

First, 2011 will see CAPA facingcompetition for its non-OEM partscertification with NSF International,which says its program similarly iden-tifies parts that are comparable toOEM. NSF launched its programearly last year in part because CAPAwasn’t certifying non-OEM bumperparts (it now is), though there are cleardifferences between the two pro-grams. NSF also last year launched acertification program for distributorsof such parts. Whether either or bothCAPA and NSF programs survive willclearly depend on how well they areaccepted by insurers, shops and partsmanufacturers and distributors.

I think the people in this roomwill make that decision over time,”NSF’s Bob Frayer told representa-tives of all those segments of the in-dustry at a meeting last fall. “I think ayear from now we’ll be talking againand see how we’re doing.

It will also be interesting in 2011to see if both sides continue the crash-testing of non-OEM parts conductedthis past year. Ford last fall sharedcrash-test results it says clearly showthat use of non-OEM parts lead to in-creased damage—and possibly un-necessary firing of the airbag—whileCAPA said its testing showed non-OEM bumper parts that meet its stan-dard perform comparably to OEM.Both sides may seek to bolster theirargument through more such testing.

OEM parts proponents hope in2011 to gain more public push for the

use of OEM parts through the press,following up last year’sConsumer Re-ports’ piece that recommended to carowners to check the paperwork on pre-vious collision repairs and “if knock-offs were used, demand that they bereplaced with original equipment.”

And the aftermarket parts indus-try, determined as one LKQ Corpora-tion executive said last year to “reallyget in front of these guys who arecoming after the industry,” will con-tinue its push for federal legislation toprevent automakers from getting de-sign patents on sheet metal parts.

You can’t have the have a defini-tion of sub-standard before you havea definition of standard. We could(with standards) eliminate half the ar-gument and half the confusion and alot of the inefficiency. The question tothe industry is: Do we have the ap-petite? Is it now time for standards? Ifthe answer is yes, what is the next stepto actually creating something?

—Scott Biggs

Scott Biggs of Assured PerformanceNetwork has been among those callingfor the development of formalized

standards in the in-dustry for sometime. While associ-ations and commit-tees of volunteersat the Collision In-dustry Conference(CIC) have beenmaking some

progress on such standards in recentyears, 2011 is seen by some as the yearto really jump-start the process.

A meeting in Palm Springs inJanuary will serve as a follow-up toone held in Las Vegas in November.At that earlier meeting, a small groupresolved to hire a temporary projectmanager to take the work to date by aCIC committee and develop a plan,timeline and budget for completion offormalized standards, and for the cre-ation or designation of an entity tooversee and implement adoption ofthe standards within the industry.

While there are still many unan-swered questions and plenty of work tobe done, the effort may languish if se-rious momentum isn’t gained this year.

“Take time to get consensus, butdon’t take too long,” recommendedLeslie Upham of Thatcham last fall.


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2010 Year in Review

What does a body shop owner expectfrom a paint booth? If you ask one,they’ll probably tell you things like: “Idon’t want to have to worry about it; Iwant to buy one and maintain it, sothat it can last for 20 years; I want it towork for me and not the other wayaround.”

Buying a paint booth is like buy-ing a new car, except to a body shopit’s more important than that. It’s amajor investment and, like a vehicle,owners want their booths to performat a high level while requiring nothingmore than standard maintenance.That’s the mindset body shop ownersand managers are in when they’relooking a paint booth or, in this case,several.

To say that Darren Hugginsbought “several” paint booths is agross understatement. Huggins is theNational Collision Director for theVan Tuyl Auto Group, an enormous

dealership group that manages moreprivately held automotive dealershipsthat any other company in the UnitedStates. With offices in Arizona,Kansas and Texas, the managementgroup works with approximately 80independently operated dealershipsnationwide. Huggins oversees the op-erations of 34 collision repair facilitiesdoing approximately $160 million intotal annual sales, so when he buyspaint booths, for instance, it’s usuallya very large acquisition.

The Van Tuyl Auto Groupbought more than 30 paint boothsfrom Garmat in 2010, Huggins said.“We had a hodge-podge of differentequipment in a lot of our facilities andwe decided to do a company-wide up-grade. It was a large investment withGarmat, close to $1.8 million, but wefeel confident in the decision, becausethe booths are proven and well-built.We looked at a lot of different paint

booths, but in the end we selectedGarmat.”

The Van Tuyl family has had along history with the automotive in-dustry, starting with Cecil Van Tuylwho began managing a Kansas CityChevrolet dealership in 1955. Joinedby his son Larry in 1971, they havebuilt a highly successful managementcompany based on the principles theydescribe as “hiring the right peopleand giving our dealership clients theright tools, training and support thatthey need for success.”

What attracted Huggins and theVan Tuyl Auto Group to Garmat paintbooths? “It’s fairly simple—they havea great product. I have a track recordusing their booths in other positionsI’ve held within this industry, and so Iam very familiar with their capabili-ties and features. Follow-through isalso very important. Whenever Gar-mat’s people tell me something, it


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Van Tuyl Dealership Group Acquires Garmat Paint Booths Nationwide

CompanyConnections with Ed Attanasio

Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based inSan Francisco, California. He can be reached [email protected].

From left, Collision Director Steve Rivette, Na-tional Collision Director Darren Huggins andBody Shop Manager of the Van Tuyl AutoGroup were recently on hand to oversee theinstallation of several Garmat paint booths atDavid Maus Toyota in Sanford, Florida

happens. I have developed a solid re-lationship with the General Manager,Johan Huwaert and they have given ussome amazing support, so it’s been asound business decision in everyway.”Longevity is the key with a paintbooth, and if you don’t take care ofit, it can end up being a money-draining expense rather than a sageinvestment, Huggins explained.“Treat it like a new car and it willperform for you. The biggest thingis how it will do 10-15 years fromnow. When I look at a paint booth,

the first thing I want to know is howit’s built. Will it hold up for morethan a decade? Next, I want to ana-lyze the moving parts of the booth—how the heating elements andheaters engage and how quicklythey get up to temperature. It’s allabout cycle times in this industryright now, as we all know. When Itake the car from the customer upuntil when I return it, the clock isrunning. The reality is this— thetime we spend on a car has to beminimized in any way we can. In thepast, 10–14 days was considered

okay, but guess what—that doesn’twork now.

Consistency is another majorconcern with a paint booth’s perform-ance, Huggins said.

“I need those paint booths to dowhat they’re supposed to every time.I need my ambient temperature to re-ally climb quickly, and Garmat’sheating process and the way thewhole flow of the booth works verywell. The other part of the system fea-tures their Accele-Cure® air accelera-tor system, a drying component to aidin the waterborne procedures. We’ve

converted 26 of ourlocations to water-borne and in theshops with olderbooths, I’ve in-stalled Accele-Cure in all of them,and they do an out-standing job.”The successthey’ve achievedwith their water-borne paint processrelies heavily onGarmat’s Accele-Cure, Huggins ex-plained. “With the

waterborne, you can actually see thewater dissipate on the panel and that’show you know it’s time for the nextcoat. After you apply that initial coat,the fans up above and/or the handhelddryers will do the job effectively byproviding the proper amount of airmovement. The painter uses the hand-held dryers just like a blow dryer and,between the two types of fans, itworks great. Garmat’s accelerateddrying system flashes waterbornepaint better than anything we’ve used.The bottom line is that it directshigher volume of airflow directly at

the vehicle, and that’s what we ex-pect.”

Huggins has changed his facili-ties to waterborne for all the rightreasons, he said. “That’s where thetechnology is going. It’s so muchbetter for the environment, so it wasa no-brainer for us. We use PPG En-virobase waterborne paint, and inconjunction with our partners at Gar-mat, it’s really elevated us to ahigher level. Going waterborne wasa huge move for us, and it’s alreadypaid off. To do whatever we can doto help the planet is a big deal and asa large company, it’s even more im-portant.”

The Van Tuyl Auto Group mustbe doing something right, because thecompany’s numbers are slightly up,during a rocky period for the collisionrepair industry overall, Huggins said.

“We’re very pleased, because ourindustry as a whole is off drastically,but our sales are up considerably com-pared to the market. That’s not a hugeincrease, but in a very down time,we’re very proud of that. And work-ing with top vendors such as Garmatis definitely major part of that equa-tion.”

Garmat USA was established in1988 to provide quality refinish equip-ment to the North American Market.The company’s corporate offices,manufacturing facility, R&D andtraining facilities are located in En-glewood, Colorado.

The company’s mission state-ment on their Web site tells it all.“Garmat USA’s mission is to provideinnovative and cutting edge techno-logically advanced products that en-hance your facility’s productivity andprofitability, while providing an envi-ronmentally safe atmosphere for therefinish technician.”

“All Garmat USA cabins and me-chanical units are designed and manu-factured at our Englewood, Coloradofacility. Each unit is built for your spe-cific application. By manufacturingour own complete air handling sys-tems, we can ensure consistent per-formance with leading edgetechnology, for a constantly changingindustry. We strive to provide the bestdistributor network with the finest in-stallation and service personnelthroughout the industry and we pledgeto stand behind our representativesand products.”


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New Garmat paint booths were recently installed at David MausToyota in Sanford, Florida, a dealer member of the Van Tuyl AutoGroup

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Jeff’s Auto Body Repair, in Austin,TX, was founded in 1971 and hasbeen family-run ever since. Theshop’s owner, Jeff Sessler, opened theshop 39 years ago and has his son, JoeSessler, working in the shop with him.

The shop has 25,000 square feetof work space and employs 20 people.Jeff’s grosses about $2.5 million per

year, but has seen years as high as $3million, especially during a year witha hail storm, according to Joe Sessler.

The shop has about 50 cars goingin and out of bays per month.

Jeff’s not only does not have anydirect repair program (DRP) re-lationships with any insurancecompanies, they take an aggres-sive stance against these rela-tionships in their businesscompletely.

“We work for the customer,not the insurance company pay-ing for the claim,” said Joe.

Jeff’s believes that by nothaving preset relationships withany insurers they can dictate howtheir repairs are performed basedon the customer’s wants andneeds.“By doing this, there is not a con-

flict of interest in how the repairs areperformed,” said Joe.

At Jeff’s they feel this pol-icy allows them to openly dis-cuss claims with customerswithout fear of losing a contractwith an insurance company.Customer satisfaction is of theutmost importance at Jeff’s be-cause they have always de-pended on customer referrals andrepeat customers as their mainsource of business.

“Our main goal is to providethe customer with high qualityrepairs and factory replacementparts,” said Joe.

Jeff’s not only upholds a no DRPstandpoint in their operations, theyalso make a point to educate cus-

tomers on how the programs work.“We do take an aggressive ap-

proach on educating the consumerabout the DRP programs, and what

kind of parts and repairs that canbe expected within the guide-lines established by the insur-ance companies,” said Joe.

Jeff’s also makes their stanceon this issue and an abundance ofinformation about DRPs avail-able on their website atwww.jeffsautobodyrepair.com.

Jeff’s centers their businesson doing high-quality repairs andwarrants all work done for life.

“The heavy use of salvage and af-termarket parts limits the ability ofDRP’s to do high quality repairs,” saidJoe. “We would rather spend moretime concentrating on the integrity ofour workmanship, than making surethat we use inferior parts and repairstactics to save the insurance compa-nies money.”

Although Jeff’s does not haveany direct repair relationships with in-surers, they do process insuranceclaims as normal for customers.

For more information please visitwww.jeffsautobodyrepair.com.

6614 N. LamarAustin, TX 78752512-452-3373

Jeff's Auto Body Repair in Austin, TX, Steers Clear of Direct Repair Programs

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with Erica SchroederShop Showcase Erica Schroeder is a writer and editorial assistant

for Autobody News in Oceanside, CA. She can bereached at [email protected].

(l-r) Owner Jeff Sessler, Joe Sessler and Donny Barkerat the front desk

Street view and sign

Inside the shop area

An outdoor storage area for finished vehicles waitingto be picked up

in injury coverage, $50,000 in accidentcoverage and $25,000 in propertydamage coverage per accident. Now,the new minimum liability limits willincrease to $30,000 for each injuredperson, $60,000 for each accident,while the property damage minimum

limits will remain the same.The new rate and coverage in-

crease will not occur automatically onJanuary 1; instead, the increase will beactivated when the auto insurance pol-icy is renewed in 2011

In Texas, insurers raise rates uponnotifying regulators, but the InsuranceDepartment can order a reduction andrepayment of overcharges if it findsthe rates are unjustified or excessive.


Liability Limits

It’s illegal to text while driving inmost U.S. states, yet a new study findssuch bans do not reduce car accidentsand may actually increase insuranceclaims.

Researchers at the Highway LossData Institute (HLDI) found no reduc-tions in crashes after laws that ban tex-ting by all drivers take effect. In fact,such bans are associated with a slightincrease in the frequency of insuranceclaims filed under collision coveragefor damage to vehicles in crashes.

The findings are based on com-parisons of claims in four states beforeand after texting bans, compared withpatterns of claims in nearby states.

The new texting ban findings areconsistent with those of a previousHLDI study, which found that ban-ning hand-held phone use while driv-ing does not cut crashes. HLDI is anaffiliate of the Insurance Institute forHighway Safety (IIHS).

HLDI researchers calculated ratesof collision claims for vehicles up tonine years old during the months im-mediately before and after driver tex-ting was banned in California (January2009), Louisiana (July 2008), Min-nesota (August 2008), and Washington(January 2008). Comparable data werecollected in nearby states where textinglaws weren’t substantially changedduring the time span of the study. Thiscontrolled for possible changes in col-lision claim rates unrelated to thebans—changes in the number of milesdriven due to the economy, seasonalchanges in driving patterns, etc.

Young motorists are more likelythan older people to text while driving.In all four of HDLI’s study states,crashes increased among driversyounger than 25 after the all-driver banstook effect. In California, Louisiana,and Washington, the increases foryoung drivers were greater than fordrivers 25 and older. The largest crashincrease of all (12 percent) followingenactment of a texting ban was amongyoung drivers in California.

An IIIHS study that relied ondriver phone records found a four-foldincrease in the risk of injury crashesassociated with phoning. A study inCanada found a four-fold increase inthe risk of crashes involving propertydamage. The crash risk associatedwith texting hasn’t been quantified asprecisely, but it may be comparable, ifnot greater, than the risk associatedwith phoning.

“Texting bans haven’t reducedcrashes at all. In a perverse twist,crashes increased in three of the fourstates we studied after bans were en-acted. It’s an indication that textingbans might even increase the risk oftexting for drivers who continue to doso despite the laws,” said Adrian Lund,president of both HLDI and the IIHS.

However, the National SafetyCouncil said the report does not pro-vide definitive evidence that all cellphone or texting bans do not and willnot ever work. “Texting laws that arenot effectively enforced could not beexpected to have much safety bene-fit,” the NSC said.

IIHS and the NSC have both re-ported that the combination of riskand exposure of cell phone use con-tributes to about 25 percent of crashes.No other form of distraction con-tributes to that many crashes. The Na-tional Highway Transportation SafetyAdministration reports driver distrac-tions lead to nearly 4,500 deaths in2009, while acknowledging the in-complete nature of police reportingcould make the actual number of fa-talities even greater than reported.

HLDI’s new findings about tex-ting, together with the organization’sprevious finding that hand-held phonebans didn’t reduce crashes, “call intoquestion the way policymakers aretrying to address the problem of dis-tracted driving crashes,” Lund said.“They’re focusing on a single mani-festation of distracted driving and ban-ning it. This ignores the endlesssources of distraction and relies onbanning one source or another to solvethe whole problem.”

Month-to-month fluctuations inthe rates of collision claims in HLDI’sfour study states with texting bans forall drivers didn’t change much frombefore to after the bans were enacted.Nor did the patterns differ much fromthose in nearby states that didn’t bantexting for all drivers during the studyperiod. To the extent that the crashpatterns did change in the study states,they went up, not down, after the banstook effect. Increases varied from 1percent more crashes in Washington toabout 9 percent more in Minnesota(the result in Washington isn’t statisti-cally significant).

“The point of texting bans is to re-duce crashes, and by this essentialmeasure the laws are ineffective,”HLDI’s Lund said. He cautioned that

“finding no reduction in crashes, oreven a small increase, doesn’t meanit’s safe to text and drive, though.There’s a crash risk associated withdoing this. It’s just that bans aren’t re-ducing this crash risk.”

NSC emphasized the HLDI studyhas limitations, and was performed instates at a time when consistent, uni-form and effective enforcement wasnot in place.

“The validity of comparisonsmade between states relies on the as-sumption that texting bans are theonly difference between the states,”NSC said. “Although texting bans in-cluded in the study did not decreasecrash frequency, we do not know thereasons for this. IIHS and HLDI seemto suggest that texting laws mighteven be responsible for an increase incrashes in some states. That sugges-tion is speculative because there is noevidence that texting laws caused theincreases.”

Furthermore, NSC said recent en-forcement projects in Syracuse, N.Y.,and Hartford, Conn., had measurableimpact in reducing texting behind the

wheel. “We are hopeful the increasedattention to the issue will move morestate and local law enforcement agen-cies to develop best practices to en-force these laws,” the Council said.

Lund admitted that noncompli-ance is a likely reason texting bansaren’t reducing crashes. Survey resultsindicate that many drivers, especiallyyounger ones, shrug off these bans.Among 18- to 24-year-olds, the groupmost likely to text, 45 percent reporteddoing so anyway in states that bar alldrivers from texting. This is just shyof the 48 percent of drivers who re-ported texting in states without bans.Many respondents who knew it was il-legal to text said they didn’t think po-lice were strongly enforcing the bans.

“But this doesn’t explain whycrashes increased after texting bans,”Lund pointed out. “If drivers were dis-regarding the bans, then the crash pat-terns should have remained steady. Soclearly drivers did respond to the banssomehow, and what they might havebeen doing was moving their phonesdown and out of sight when they


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See Texting Bans Ineffective, Page 31

Toyota USA has announced in a Col-lision Repair Information Bulletin(CRIB), that it not only has concernsabout non-OEM structural compo-nents, but also doubts about exteriorsheet metal parts that are usually con-sidered “cosmetic” parts.

Toyota is taking an aggressiveposition against the use of alternativereplacement parts for Toyota, Lexusand Scion vehicles. Calling automo-tive safety and performance systems“sensitive,” and citing a lack of test-ing to determine alternative parts’ ef-fect on vehicle safety, Toyota isrecommending against the use of al-ternative parts, including aftermarket,rebuilt and salvage.

“In light of several parts tests thathave recently been conducted onuntested structural aftermarket partsby collision repair professionals, Toy-ota has become increasingly con-cerned with how the use of untestedimitation parts could potentially effectvehicle structure, airbag deploymentand ultimately occupant safety,” saidRoger Foss, National Field SupportManager, Toyota Customer Services.

“To help ensure shops and con-sumers are aware of the potential risksthat may be associated with repairinga vehicle using parts that may beuntested, Toyota is releasing [thisstatement] highlighting our concerns,”Foss said.

Toyota Statement:Toyota Lexus and Scion vehicles areengineered and manufactured as an in-tegrated assembly of carefully de-signed and manufactured partsworking as a system to provide pre-dictable performance, safety and dura-bility.

To help preserve the performanceof Toyota/Lexus/Scion vehicles, Toy-ota Scion and Lexus publishes de-tailed repair procedures and producesand sells Genuine Toyota/Lexus Parts,which are manufactured to the samespecifications and tolerances as theparts installed on new Toyota, Lexusand Scion vehicles. Repairing a vehi-cle using Genuine Toyota/Lexus/Scion parts and procedures can helpreturn Toyota vehicles to pre-loss con-dition following a collision.

The use of Alternative PartsDue to the sensitive nature of thesafety and performance systems andlack of testing to determine their ef-fect on vehicle crashworthiness, Toy-ota, Lexus and Scion do notrecommend the use of alternativeparts for the repair of Toyota vehicles.

This includes:● Aftermarket Parts: Parts manufac-tured and branded by a company otherthan Toyota, Scion or Lexus● Rebuilt Parts: Exterior sheet metalparts (including bumpers and wheels)removed from a damaged Toyota,Lexus or Scion vehicle and refur-bished for re sale● Salvage/Recycled Parts: Parts re-moved from a previously damaged ve-hicle, cleaned up and then installed ona different vehicle.

Overall Body StructureGenuine Toyota, Lexus and ScionParts are constructed using metalswith specific properties, thicknessesand stamping structures built to per-form in a consistent and predictableway during a collision event. The useof non-OEM structural componentsmay compromise the overall crash-worthiness and occupant safety ofToyota, Lexus or Scion vehicles in asubsequent collision.

Supplementary Restraint System (SRS)ComponentsToyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles areequipped with several SRS compo-nents including airbags and seatbeltpretensioners, which are designed tohelp protect vehicle occupants frominjury. These parts rely upon preciselymanufactured sensors to detect a col-lision event and trigger the SRS com-ponents to deploy within milliseconds

of an impact. The installation of partsbranded by companies other than Toy-ota, Scion or Lexus that may not betested to match Toyota, Lexus orScion performance specifications mayalter the structure of a vehicle andcould result in improper operation ofthe SRS sensors and components.

Exterior Sheet Metal PartsThe exterior sheet metal componentsare often described as “CosmeticParts.” However, these parts are de-signed and tested as part of the overallvehicle and may help send impact en-ergy to the SRS sensors.

In addition, some of these partsmay help Toyota, Lexus or Scion vehi-cles comply with several Federal MotorVehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) in-cluding hood intrusion in the passengercabin, preservation of proper door op-eration following a collision and properairbag function. Alternative parts maynot be crash tested to verify compliancewith these standards.

Recycled PartsToyota, Lexus and Scion do not rec-ommend the re-use of structural com-ponents that have been removed froma previously damaged vehicle.

Although parts may appearequivalent, it may be difficult to iden-tify previous damage, if a part has re-ceived collateral damage as a result ofa prior collision or if the part has beensubject to extreme weathering, corro-sion or other detrimental environmen-tal exposure.

Furthermore, removing weldedparts from a donor vehicle, may com-promise the structural integrity of theparts being used.


texted, in recognition that what theywere doing was illegal. This could ex-acerbate the risk of texting by takingdrivers’ eyes further from the road andfor a longer time.”

Using a driving simulator, re-searchers at the University of Glas-gow found a sharp decrease in crashlikelihood when participants switchedfrom head-down to head-up displays.This suggests that it might be morehazardous for a driver to text from adevice that’s hidden from view on the

lap or vehicle seat.Texting in general is on the in-

crease. Wireless phone subscriptionsnumbered 286 million as of Decem-ber 2009, up 47 percent from 194 mil-lion in June 2005. Text messaging isincreasing, too. It went up by about 60percent in 1 year alone, from 1 trillionmessages in 2008 to 1.6 trillion in2009.

The District of Columbia was thefirst U.S. jurisdiction to ban all mo-torists from texting. This was in 2004,and since then 30 states have followedsuit. Nearly half of these bans havebeen enacted in 2010.

Toyota Bulletin Recommends Against Aftermarket, Rebuilt, and Salvage Parts


Texting Bans Ineffective

See ARA Response next page

Airbrush artist Mickey Harris painteda custom Dodge Challenger for racinglegend Richard Petty this month.

The car, a 2010 Dodge Chal-lenger, was converted into a convert-ible-top vehicle by Petty’s Garage andDrop-Top Customs.

The car is 11 months into devel-opment and should be done by early2011.

Harris’ art showcases key pointsin Petty’s career and the car as a whole

tells the story of Petty’s professionalcareer.

Harris airbrushed Petty’s crash onlap 106 of the 1988 Daytona 500 and,as depicted by eagles, Petty’s Medalof Freedom, America’s highest civil-ian award.

Harris painted the car at Petty’sGarage in Level Cross, North Car-olina.

Once the car is complete Petty’sGarage will host an open house

where fans can meet thepeople who worked on thecar as well as Harris andPetty.

For more informationplease visit www.mickey-harrisart.com.


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Mickey Harris works on airbrushing the side of the Dodge Challenger Mickey Harris’ art illustrates racecar driver Richard Petty’s life along the side of the vehicle

Richard Petty, Bob O’Gorman,and Mickey Harris

Recycler’s Association Reacts to Toyota Position StatementUse of automotive recycled parts hasbeen widely accepted for decades andthere is a very long track record oftheir successful and safe use. Instead,Toyota launched into what seems tobe a rather transparent attempt toboost sales of expensive new partsand malign perfectly good parts. Inlight of the 14 million Toyota recallsthis past year alone (25.67 millionunits since 2005), it would seem thatToyota would be better served focus-ing more internally on Toyota’s own“genuine” safety concerns and qualitycontrol.

Recycled parts are originalequipment manufacturer (OEM)parts. They are fully functional andare in many cases identical to originalparts. Recycled parts were new OEMparts at some point, yet Toyota is call-ing for the use of their own new partsin repairs.

“Following the logic held byToyota, the warranties of every one oftheir vehicles that has been involvedin an accident could be in questiongiven their assertion that parts that re-main on a vehicle post collision ‘may’only ‘appear equivalent,’” says ARA’sChief Executive Officer Michael E.Wilson. Wilson goes on to state,“Toyota’s press releases have failed tocite any statistics indicating that recy-

cled parts are more dangerous thannew parts. What probabilities ofsafety issues with recycled parts isToyota working with?” Is Toyota re-ally asserting that their vehicles aremanufactured in such a way that ifsomeone gets into an accident with aToyota or Lexus that every single partof the vehicle is compromised, even ifthe accident only affected one part ofthe vehicle? ARA hopes that is notwhat Toyota is asserting, but it seemsto be the logical conclusion from itsstated position on recycled parts, re-garding its own vehicles.

Continued efforts to limit colli-sion repair choices will only lead tohigher repair costs and insurance pre-miums for consumers. Recycled partsare quality alternative that provideconsumers significant additional ben-efits compared to new OEM parts: -Recycled parts allow consumers tosave on costs while using parts identi-cal to new OEM parts. -Recycled parts are much better for theenvironment, since no additional re-sources or energy were used to createan unnecessary new replacement part.-Auto recyclers provide warranties onrecycled parts used in a repair, indi-cating that recycled parts are not usedin an attempt to cut corners with cus-tomers.


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ASRW Announces Improved Technology for NACE & CARSAutomotive Service & Repair Week(ASRW) recently unveiled a new web-site and portal design for its two flag-ship events, the International AutobodyCongress and Exposition (NACE) andthe Congress of Automotive Repairand Service (CARS).

Features of the web design onNACE and CARS include a modern,streamlined look, access to all theevents’ social networks (including anew Flickr photo gallery and YouTubevideo library), videos from key ses-sions of the 2010 event, and a newcommunity section featuring real-timenews and updates from various indus-try organizations. In addition, the on-line applications for 2011 exhibitspace at NACE and CARS are alsonow available on their respective web-sites.

A completely new feature is thecustom landing page for ASRW. Lo-cated at www.ASRWevents.com, thissite was created to serve as a conven-ient starting point for all ASRW events,and will strengthen the branding ofASRW.

“Our overall goal was to createclean, sleek sites with improved ease-of-use for our attendees and ex-hibitors,” said Lindsay Roberts,ASRW/NACE/ CARS show director.

Additionally, significant modificationswere made to the “CONNECT” at-tendee and exhibitor portals. Furtheraligning them with the online socialnetworking system of the same name,the portals personalize the attendee andexhibitor experience. The sites enableinteraction between attendees and ex-hibitors throughout the year. The newportals feature a new layout, colorscheme and easy-to-use navigation.The portal is accessible by e-codethrough the NACE, CARS and ASRWsites to attendees and exhibitors whohave previously participated in theevent.

“We’ve taken some excellentsteps forward this week with the re-sources we’re able to provide our au-dience. The value of these toolscontinue to differentiate this event, andwe are confident they will have a pos-itive impact on our attendees and ex-hibitors,” said Roberts.

The new sites are located atwww.NACEexpo.com,www.CARSevent.com, andwww.ASRWevents.com.

For more information on exhibit-ing at ASRW 2011, contact Jeff Rogersat [email protected] or 972-536-6367.

Toyota Sues Old GM for California Plant DamagesToyota is suing the company handlingbankrupt General Motors’ assets, de-manding $73 million in damages fromthe shuttering of a joint-venture Cali-fornia plant according to reports madeby the Associated Press.

Toyota Motor Corp. spokesmanPaul Nolasco said the lawsuit was filedNov. 24 for research and developmentcosts that weren’t recouped because ofthe shuttering of New United MotorManufacturing Inc., or Nummi, plant inFremont, Calif.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. Bank-ruptcy Court Southern District of NewYork, targets so-called “old GM,” orMotors Liquidation Co., which is sepa-rate from General Motors Co., the De-troit-based automaker that is recoveringafter a U.S. government bailout.

Separately, Nummi is demanding$360 million from Motors LiquidationCo. for costs related to investments inthe plant that weren’t recovered.

Nolasco said talks had been goingon among Nummi, Toyota and the oldGM for about a year, but were never re-solved. Toyota feels the departure ofGM from the joint venture unfairly leftToyota to sort out what was left, he said.

Nummi was a 50-50 joint venturebetween Toyota and General Motors,

which began in 1984, and was heraldedin its heyday as a new partnership thatcrossed borders, allowing both sides tolearn from each other.

After General Motors pulled out,Toyota stopped production at Nummiin April.

Since then, Toyota has forged anew relationship with U.S. luxury elec-tric-car maker Tesla Motors Inc., whichhas joint-use opf the plant.

Tesla has set up a factory at theNummi site for the next-generationelectric sedan in partnership with Toy-ota. Model S sedan production is ex-pected to start 2012, and the plant hasalready begun hiring.

In November, General Motorspulled off an IPO worth $15.8 billion,signaling the revival of an Americanicon that collapsed into bankruptcy pro-tection and was rescued with a $50 bil-lion bailout from U.S. taxpayers.

Toyota, which makes the Prius hy-brid and Lexus luxury models, de-throned General Motors as the world’sbiggest automaker in 2008.

Since last year, it has suffered a se-rious image problem because of mas-sive recalls around the world, and faceshundreds of lawsuits of its own in theU.S. related to accidents.


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with Gonzo WeaverGonzo’s Toolbox

with Richard ArnoldJobber Journal

with Dale DelmegeAsk Dale

Mainstream Media

Automakers’ Actions and Analysisby Autobody News Staff

Shop Showcaseby Autobody News Staff

with Ed AttanasioShop and Product Showcase

with Ed AttanasioConsumer Callout

with Ed AttanasioCustom Corner

with Chasidy Rae SiskCompany Connections

with Erica SchroederShop Showcase

with Erica SchroederShop Snapshot

Rich Evans is the owner of Huntington Beach Bodyworks and an award winning painter andfabricator. He offers workshops in repair and customization at his facility to share his uniquetalents. For contacts and design samples visit www.huntingtonbeachbodyworks.com

by Ed Attanasio

Ed is filling in for Rich this month be-cause Rich is up to his axles with hisprojects. It gives Ed a chance to re-port on some exciting developments.Rich has a lot of things going on, asdo many custom builders, but whoelse has his own academy of customdesign and fabrication? Read on.

They don’t have a football team orcheerleaders, but now the Ohio Tech-nical College (OTC) has something noother institution of higher educationcan offer its students. It’s called theRich Evans Academy (REA), and it’sthe newest division within the auto-motive curriculum at OTC, the largesttechnical college of its kind in thecountry. Last year, the school was se-lected as the best top technical college

in the nation.The REA will open its doors and

kick off its first 12-week module infall 2011, after getting all the ap-provals from the accreditation board,according to OTC’s Vice President ofEnrollment Management/TechnicalTraining Tom King. The program’scapacity will be 25 students four timesper year for a total of 100. We expectit to really take off. We train 200 autobody students annually in our college

and we imagine that many of themwill be attracted to the Rich’s curricu-lum.”

OTC is thrilled to be associatedwith Rich Evans for obvious reasons,King said. “We’re pleased to be part-nering with Rich and we’re lookingforward to tapping into his hugereservoir of skills and knowledge. Hewill bring his excitement for this in-dustry to the school and we know thatour students will benefit on many lev-els.”

Evans was amazed by the pro-grams at OTC when he first visitedthe college a few years ago, he said.“My first impression of OTC was thatthis school is where I’d like to be if Iwere back in school. They care abouttheir students and their futures. Youcan tell when you attend functions atthe school and see the layout of theirfacilities. They’re always trying tomake their curriculum better by of-fering a wide range of great pro-grams. They want their students tolearn and grow, and they place somany of their students in great jobsthat it proves the value of what theyteach.”

A lot has changed in the world ofautomotive technology since OhioTechnical College opened its doors 40years ago. With V8 muscle cars mak-ing way for high-tech hybrids and thedays of do-it-yourself repairs being re-placed by professional technicianservice, the college is proud to be onthe cutting edge of every aspect of au-tomotive technology.

King knows that REA will hope-fully produce a great car new genera-tion of automotive restorationprofessionals that will be attractive tobody shops throughout the country, hesaid.

“The school is always looking tooffer its students the latest and great-est in the world of car restoration,paint techniques and customization,and by aligning itself with top in-structors and sponsoring companies,we’re stepping up in a big way,” Kingsaid. “By creating the Rich EvansAcademy, a special division of thecollege’s curriculum that hopes tooffer those students who want to de-velop new skills under the tutelage of

Rich Evans.”What was the genesis of the REA?

“It’s a program that Rich and I came upwith together to really teach customiz-ing cars in-depth and impart his ad-vanced autobody techniques with thisprogram,” King said. We’ll be video-taping everything Rich does for us, sothat students can refer to them at anytime. It’s a great tool for studying all ofhis techniques in detail.”

The classes offered by the REAwill be geared toward the advancedOTC students, King explained.“We’re going to incorporate many ofthe unique skills that Rich has devel-oped over the years, including his wayof doing things and creating an organ-ized and methodical way of workingand bring them to the college. TheREA will be an advanced automotiverepair program for those students whoreally want to excel.

“Another component Rich willoffer to the college includes his addi-tional frame straightening techniquesto complement what we’re alreadyteaching,” King said. “He’s going toshare his theories on pulling framesthat he uses to help students to bemore efficient in the field.”

The REA will also teach its stu-dents how to organize the productionprocess, Evans-style, King said. “Oneof the things Rich does is designs andbuilds his own workstations, andwe’re going to incorporate them into

our program. For hammer and dollywork, we’ve got a workstation thatthey can build for themselves, to storetheir tools for the program. Helpingour students to be organized in theirwork is very important, because we’reteaching them how to be effective in ashop environment.”

Other classes as part of the REA’scurriculum will include specialized in-struction in paint, fabrication and tool-

ing, just to mention a few, King said.“We’ll be teaching advanced re-

moval techniques; waterborne paint-ing techniques; different spray outmethods; and proper PSI to use fordifferent types of paint. All of our air-brushing is done using waterbornepaint. Rich is going to get into fiber-glass and plexi glass fabricating tocreate your own plugs and molds; ad-vanced TIG welding; and fabricationtooling; smoothing and curving metalusing the English wheel punishinghammer. Those are some of the thingswe’re looking to do at the REA.”

Skilled students will be able tospread their wings in a big way at theREA, King said. “These are more ad-vanced autobody techniques that canhelp students to hone their skills a lit-tle more and develop their techniqueseven further. If our students want toget more into customization work,these classes will lay the foundationfor those skills. They will be able tolearn things that you wouldn’t nor-

Rich Evans’ Academy Becomes Reality at Ohio Technical College

The Rich Evans Academy will launch this fallto provide advanced automotive bodyworkclasses at the Ohio Technical College

Tom King received the 2009 National College of the Year Award on behalf of the OTC in 2009

mally see in your average auto bodyshop.”

King has also added some dutiesto Evans’s role at OTC, he explained.“We’re bringing Rich in as a “MasterAdvisor” to help us evaluate and im-prove the existing Collision Repairand Classic Car Restoration programs.In this capacity, Rich will be workingclosely with staff and student andmaking recommendations to the col-lege on how to improve curriculum,training methods and utilize the mostcurrent advanced techniques used inthe industry.”

Ohio Technical College (OTC)began in 1969 as the Ohio DieselMechanics School, conducting six -week diesel training courses inCleveland’s Warehouse district.Founded by Julius Brenner, theschool began hitting its many growthspurts in 1971 as the demand fordiesel tech training grew at a rapidpace and students moved into alarger facility to accommodateproper equipment. From that day inthe early 1970s, the school hasn’tstopped expanding, changing itsname several times—first to theOhio Diesel Technical Institute, then

to Ohio Auto/Diesel Technical Insti-tute and the Ohio Auto Diesel Tech-nical College—before deciding onOhio Technical College in Septem-ber 1997 to reflect its mission to pro-vide premier technical training in theworld of modern mechanics.

In 1989, a building purchaseadded 500,000 square feet to the com-plex and the school created the Mo-torcycle and Small Engine Training

Program. In 1993, the college wasone of 133 technical schools nation-wide to participate in the Federal Gov-ernments New Direct Loan Program.

Today, Julius’ son Marc Brennerserves as president of OTC while hisgrandson Jordan Brenner is the admis-

s ions /marke t ingmanager of this fam-ily-owned school.More than 1,000 stu-dents are enrolledand 190 full-timeemployees work atthe college. Newlypurchased buildingsand houses are beingconverted into class-rooms and parkinglots to expand thecampus footprint.Most recently, theschool’s branchcampus Power-Sports Institute (PSI)has moved into a210,000-square-foot

facility in nearby North Randall, Ohio,to provide technical training on motor-cycles, snowmobiles, personal water-craft, ATVs and more.

Drawing students from all overthe country, OTC is an AccreditingCommission of Career Schools andColleges of Technology (ACCSCT)college. Students can choose from awide variety of techniciantraining programs in Automotive,Diesel, Auto-Diesel, Collision Repair,Classic Car Restoration and Power-Sport Technology as well as special-ization in High Performance andRacing, BMW, Alternative Fuel Vehi-cles, CDL Truck Driver Training, Cus-tom Paint and Graphics, PowerGenerator Systems and a 12-monthWelding Program partnered with Lin-coln Electric.

“It’s important for the college togive back to the industry and com-munity by partnering with qualitymanufacturers and local businesses tocreate real-world training situationsfor our future technicians,” addsKing. “The Ohio Technical Collegeteam is extremely proud of our stu-dents as well as our academic pro-grams in the automotive andpowersports industries. We look for-ward to another exciting, rewardingand successful year for the students,staff and school.”


Rich Evans (left) is ready to impart his skills and knowledge toOTC’s students alongside Director of Enrollment Tom King (right)

Ray LaHood Fights Loophole Favoring Drunk DriversToo many motorists stopped for sus-pected alcohol impairment havefound that just saying no to a requestfor a roadside breath test improvestheir odds of beating a conviction,federal authorities say.

“We know that refusing abreathalyzer is a persistent, ongoingproblem,” said U.S. TransportationSecretary Ray LaHood. “There’s aloophole here.”

Announcing a “no refusal” strat-egy December 13 as part of a holidaycrackdown on drunken driving, La-Hood said the federal government isadvising law officers to use a searchwarrant to quickly obtain a blood testfrom drivers who have refused to takea breath test.

“We know people are going totry and find ways to get out of verybad, dangerous behavior,” he said,“and we’re not going to let that hap-pen.”

The strategy—already beingused in nine states—involves havinglocal judges on call for requestsfrom police for a search warrant in asuspected case of alcohol impair-ment, just as is done to authorize asearch for illicit drugs during a traf-fic stop.

Only in this case, the blood testis the means of obtaining evidence.

Additional personnel trained in

blood collection also are part of the ef-fort. LaHood, at a news conferenceheld in the lobby of the ArlingtonCounty Detention Center, was flankedby a variety of state and local policeofficers from around the country, someof whom told reporters their testing ofthe program is already showing it tobe a success.

Sheriff Craig Webre ofLafourche Parish, Louisiana, told re-porters that if drivers “refuse to sub-mit to a blood-alcohol test, the deputywill apply to the court for a searchwarrant, ordering the subject to sub-mit to a blood test.”

“This process enhances the abil-ity of the prosecutor to close loop-holes and criminally prosecute drunkdrivers,” he said.

The law supports the strategy insome 30 states, but most of them arenot currently using the warrant initia-tive, officials said.

Meanwhile, based on 2005 fig-ures, nearly one in four suspecteddrunken drivers refuses a breath test,according to an average of reportsfrom 38 states.

LaHood blames defense attor-neys who counsel repeat offenders toavoid providing scientific evidence—the results of a breath test—that couldhelp convict them when a drunkendriving case comes to trial.

What’s the connection between blackgunpowder, auto refinishing, and JeffGordon? In a word: DuPont. On De-cember 10, 2010, DuPont held a grandopening to dedicate their new Coat-ings Technology Center at the Exper-imental Station in Wilmington,Delaware, only a short distance fromwhere DuPont’s legacy began with themanufacturing of gunpowder atEleutherian Mills—now known asHagley—in 1802. The opening cele-bration consisted of a tour of the newfacility, and Hagley Museum and amemorable lunch with NASCAR-champ Jeff Gordon.

DuPont’s Experimental Station inWilmington is the site of extensive re-search that has lead to many game-changing inventions, such as nylon,Kevlar and Teflon.

DuPont invited a small group ofmedia representatives to tour the newfacility and learn about the many stepsinvolved in their coatings technologyprocess. As a Wilmington residentwith a long-term interest in DuPont’spresence in our community, I wasmore than happy to be invited.

After beginning the day with acomplimentary breakfast at theDuPont Country Club, the tour groupboarded a chartered bus which carriedus the short distance to the Experi-mental Station where the dedicationceremony was to take place. Whileguests and DuPont employees hud-dled in a heated tent, DuPont execu-tives talked about the importance ofthe new center and their goals as acompany.

Robert Roop, the manager of theCoatings Technology Center, spoke ofhis excitement in having DuPont’sother industries in close proximity.The Chief Science and TechnologyOfficer, Douglas Muzyka, said a goalof the new center was to bring cus-tomers and science together to im-prove modern automobile coatings.

According to Lewis Manring,Vice President of DuPont Perform-ance Coatings (DPC), DuPont’s corevalue has been based on innovationfor over two hundred years, and theinvention of Duco paint in 1920brought color to the automobile in-dustry. (According to the company’swebsite, DuPont began producing ni-trocellulose-based pyroxylin lacquersafter acquiring the InternationalSmokeless Powder & Solvents Com-pany in 1905. The purchase of the Ar-lington Company ten years laterdeepened the company’s involvement.Although they were quick drying andwidely used on brass fixtures, con-ventional lacquers were too brittle formore demanding uses. By the 1920s,however, the automotive industry hadbecome a huge potential market. Al-though mass production had vastly in-creased output, because conventionalpaints took up to two weeks to dry,finishing remained a bottleneck. In1920 DuPont’s chemists produced athick pyroxylin lacquer which wasquick drying but durable and thatcould be colored. DuPont marketed itunder the name Viscolac® in 1921. As-sisted by General Motors engineers,DuPont refined the product furtherand renamed it Duco®. The success ofDuco led to further experimentationwith finishes and, late in the 1920s,DuPont developed Dulux®, an evenmore effective alkyd finish.)

John McCool, President of DPC,assured customers that the CoatingsTechnology Center shares DuPont’sgoals of innovation, differentiationand productivity, and by emphasizingefficiency and effectiveness, they willfocus on “developing things our cus-tomers can use so they can be better inthe future as well.”

After McCool cut the blue ribbonto dedicate the new Coatings Technol-ogy Center, we were lead into build-

ing 402, one of two buildings at theExperimental Station, for their tour ofthe facility. Upstairs our tour was di-vided into six groups, with DuPontemployees joining the tours while em-ployees at the Coatings TechnologyCenter acted as tour guides.

Dom Barsotti and VioletaPetkovski began by discussing the an-alytical aspect of DuPont’s CoatingTechnology Center in a short presen-tation titled Measurement Science andTechnology. Their goals are quality,regulatory support, stability and per-formance.

DuPont paints are comprised oftwenty to thirty ingredients, and theanalytical department ensures that thecomponents are combined in the cor-rect proportions. There are three lay-ers: the first protecting fromcorrosion; the second providing color;the third acts as a protecting gloss.When a defect is found, such as

roughness in the finished surface, an-alysts search for impurities. The meth-ods range from spectroscopy tochromatography and microscopy, withother, more exotic techniques, avail-able as well.

In discussing Undercoat Technol-ogy, Junping Li, Pat Horan andScott Ryan listed their goals as envi-ronmental friendliness, productivity,and corrosion resistance. Undercoatsconsist of multiple layers of primersand sealers, and DuPont works to pro-vide a highly protective coating sys-tem, utilizing anti-corrosive pigments.Waterborne paints such as Cromax-Pro® utilize wet-on-wet technologywhich minimizes flash time betweencoats as there is no longer a need towait for the paint to dry before apply-ing a subsequent coat. Additionally,this is a paint that will deliver per-formance in a single coat.

Balancing VOC, productivity and


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Gunpowder, Auto Refinishing, and Jeff Gordon—Two Centuries of DuPont

with Rick WhiteShop Management

with Stefan GesterkampPaint Management

with Gonzo WeaverGonzo’s Toolbox

with Richard ArnoldJobber Journal

with Dale DelmegeAsk Dale

Mainstream Media

Automakers’ Actions and Analysisby Autobody News Staff

Shop Showcaseby Autobody News Staff

with Ed AttanasioShop and Product Showcase

with Ed AttanasioConsumer Callout

with Ed AttanasioCustom Corner

with Chasidy Rae SiskCompany Connections

with Erica SchroederShop Showcase

with Erica SchroederShop Snapshot

Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technicalwriter from Wilmington, Delaware, who worksin a variety of fields and subjects. She can becontacted at [email protected].

Jeff Gordon (file photo)

appearance are the goals of ClearcoatTechnology, according to JoanHansen and Irving Bell. Theclearcoats from DuPont PerformanceCoatings consist of solvents,monomers and initiators. They alsoprovide UV protection in their cleargloss to help maintain appearance ofthe paint. This department particularperforms small scale adaptation ofwhat would occur in a production fa-cility, slowly increasing to a plant-sizescale to reduce volatile content andenhance productivity. They focus onimproving the cure rate which is thekey to early buffing, as well as con-sistency which ensures that the cus-tomers will receive the same producttime after time.

Tony Moy, a dispersion engineer,and Rick Wilson lead the discussionon Pigmented Dispersion. Their focusis on colored pigments, the dispersionprocess, and quality analysis. Theybegin by breaking the pigment downin a milling process, along with dis-persant, grind resin and media. Themedia comes in various densities,sizes and appearances, all of which in-fluence the correct color. Their maingoal is stability which will ensure that

the paint will settle rather than sepa-rate into layers on the shelves. Gooddispersion must diffuse uniformly andwill appear homogenous, but poor dis-persion results in voids from pigmentseparation. Dispersion is required forsolid colors, and the pigments, thecolor portion of the paint, determinewhether the paint will be opaque ortransparent.

The Colorcoat presentation,guided by Burt Palmer and BrianPriore, emphasized the importance ofaesthetics, environmental stewardship

and customer driven attributes. Natu-rally, the colorcoat is the visible layer.It is made from a mixture of pigmentdispersion, polymers (large, film-forming resins) and liquid additives,which give viscosity to the paint.

Another focus of the Colorcoatdepartment is meeting regulatoryneeds and helping their customer to doso, by removing some of the organic

solvents from their mixture andlowered the intrinsic viscosity ofpolymers. They have also replaced90–95 percent of the formerly or-ganic solvents with water, often re-ferred to as the “universal solvent.”

DuPont tries to assist customersby providing them with qualityproduct that meets industry stan-dards. To improve productivity,they’re working on reducing dry-ing time, improving the cure rateand increasing hiding strength oftheir paints. Employing the princi-ples of rheology, the science offlow, helps them understand the in-teractions between pigment disper-

sions, polymers and additives.Mechanically, they work to improvechip resistance, hardness, color dura-bility and adhesion through the use ofrigorous and controlled processeswhich develop and control the archi-tecture of the polymers.

In their discussion on Color Sci-ence, Dan Benton and Judy Obetzlist their department’s goals as pro-viding state-of-the-art color technol-ogy, outstanding color matches, andcolor tools. The use of color proofinghas improved customer productivity,and DuPont Performance Coatingsnow employs its Xpert Mixing Systemwhich allows them to select the color,adjust the color, and blend it to judgeacceptability. They use lights and mi-croscopes to verify accuracy and con-sistency of color, which improvesproductivity for customers by fastercycle times and increased profitabil-ity.

DuPont will release a new colordeck during the second week of Janu-ary, 2011, and new color technologyis scheduled to debut in April 2011.

Crossing the parking lot, we weregreeted by John Moore in the pro-cessing lab. He explained the goals ofthe application process are customerprocess simulation, product robust-ness testing and spray characteriza-tion. These scientists thoroughly testunder what conditions the productworks or does not work in order toguarantee product performance. By

using vertical and horizontal spray ro-bots, they are able to perform statisti-cally designed experiments to predictperformance and ensure product ro-bustness while emitting near zeroemissions. The labs are designed toallow testing in different environ-ments since the products must workeverywhere. Additionally, DuPont hasa group who tests their products in thefield in various geographies before aproduct is released, and they are al-ways eager to receive feedback fromcustomers.

In the Product Testing Area, RossMorgan and Kurt Hankerson, alongwith their team, test products to ensurethat they deliver what they are de-signed to do. In order to test durability,they use accelerated simulations, pre-dictive performance and produce dif-ference experiments.

Though products are tested by apanel at DuPont’s facility in Florida,due to the high sunlight and humidity,this group improves timelines by ad-ministering accelerated tests throughthe use of machine-generated sunlight,humidity and UVB light which teststhe products’ reaction to exposure tothese elements. To test the products,they cycle high-to-low temperatureson a sample to test its reaction to vari-ous environmental factors, and theytest chip resistance by firing stones atpainted panels. For any product thatDuPont wants to introduce, the Prod-uct Testing Area experiments to ensurethat the product meets manufacturerrequirements; however, their tests canalso be based upon customer requests.

Once the tour of the CoatingsTechnology Center was completed,we guests continued to Terrace on theHill, DuPont’s restaurant at the Ex-perimental Station, where we weretreated to a buffet-style catered lunch.After sampling a special cake made tocelebrate the dedication of the new fa-cility, we were introduced to thepromised special guest, NASCAR’sfour-time Winston Cup Series cham-pion, Jeff Gordon.

Gordon entered the restaurant tothunderous applause and cheerfullyanswered questions that were relayedto him by a DuPont employee, HarryHall. He discussed his sponsorshipand happiness with the results fromthe 2010 season and his goals for nextseason. He also mentioned his appre-ciation at spending the holiday seasonwith his wife, Ingrid, and their twochildren, Ella and Leo. After all ques-


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Management cuts ribbon to officially open thenew DuPont Coatings Technology Center. Left toRight: Robert Roop, North America Technology Di-rector Lewis Manring, Vice President TechnologyJohn McCool, President, DuPont PerformanceCoatings Doug Muzyka, Sr. Vice President andChief Science & Technology Officer

See Two Centuries of DuPont, Page 38

The International Board of Directorsof I-CAR announced that it has ap-pointed John S. Van Alstyne to theposition of Chief Executive Officerand President of the organization. VanAlstyne will assume the responsibili-

ties of CEO and President on January1, 2011 replacing current CEO JohnEdelen who last year announced hisplans to retire from the organization.

Tom Moreland, Chairman of I-CAR’s International Board of Direc-

tors, made the announcement. “The I-CAR Board of Directors, through thework of the Board’s CEO SearchCommittee, has gone through an ex-tensive search and candidate selectionprocess. We had access to a solid poolof highly qualified candidates fromwhich to make our selection,” saidMoreland. “From among this rich can-didate pool, John Van Alstyneemerged as the leading candidate.John’s extensive experience and hishistory of success in the automotiveindustry will be considerable assets asI-CAR continues its work to addressthe training needs of the auto collisioninter-industry,” Moreland said.

Van Alstyne brings twenty-fiveyears of automotive industry experi-ence and breadth, having previouslyworked for: an electric vehicle OEM;global Tier One suppliers; a leadingprovider of engineering and strategicconsulting services to the industry;and, in the automotive aftermarket. Healso worked in the area of special met-als, dealing with issues of metal join-ing and welding. He earned a Masterof Business Administration from

Michigan State University, participat-ing in its Advanced Management Pro-gram, and he has a Bachelor ofBusiness Administration in Marketingfrom Western Michigan University.He is Lean Systems certified and hasbeen Six Sigma Black Belt Championtrained.“Joining I-CAR is very exciting,” saidVan Alstyne. “I firmly believe that ed-ucation is the critical foundation forindividual success and fulfillment, andthis is I-CAR’s core mission. Further,I see I-CAR as uniquely positionedand equipped to serve the interests ofour stakeholders, as well as the end-consumer, working to improve auto-motive repair processes, technologiesand business practices. I look forwardto working with the inter-industry andthe I-CAR team to continue to ad-vance our industry’s capabilities andthe value I-CAR provides to all ourstakeholders.”I-CAR’s current President and CEOJohn Edelen, offered his congratula-tions to his successor.

For more information please visitwww.i-car.com.


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tions were answered, DuPont’s guestsfollowed Gordon back to building 402where we were given the opportunityto take photographs with theNASCAR legend and receive a per-sonalized autograph. Jeff Gordon lefta lasting impression and was a mem-orable highlight of Friday’s event.

Guests boarded the chartered busonce again and we were taken downthe road to Hagley Museum wherethey received a tour of the gunpowdermill where DuPont’s legacy began.We saw exhibits on workers who op-erated the gunpowder mills during thelate nineteenth century, the stone millsand waterwheels, and simple machinetechnology such as wheels, axles,

levers, gears and pulleys.One display focused on Eleuther-

ian Mills as it was the first DuPonthome in America, and this exhibit in-cluded domestic, farm and powder-yard vehicles from up to two hundredyears ago. Another exhibit focused onthe Explosives Era when Hagley man-ufactured black gunpowder. DuPontScience and Discovery demonstratesthe company’s transition from a man-ufacturer of explosives in the nine-teenth century to an ultra-modernresearch firm which does much morethan coatings, one which has im-proved many aspects of everyday life.The museum efficiently concluded thegrand opening and dedication ofDuPont’s Performance Coatings’ newCoatings Technology Center by re-minding customers of DuPont’s two-century legacy and continued success.


Two Centuries of DuPont

CIF Announces New 2011 Board of DirectorsAt the annual Collision IndustryFoundation (CIF) meeting at the Man-dalay Bay Resort & Casino in LasVegas, the CIF elected its 2011 Boardof Trustees to carry on the Associa-tion’s initiatives throughout the com-ing year.

The Board of Trustees welcomestrustees William Shaw as Chair, JohnBosin as Vice Chair, Jim Muse asTreasurer, and new board trustee RodEnlow as Secretary. Remaining intheir positions as trustees are GeorgeAvery, O. Guy Bargnes, Jody De-Vere, Harry Hall, Chuck Mayne,Brian Newberry, Russell Thrall III,Marcy Tieger, Tracy Tramm andDoug Webb. CIF also welcomes newboard trustee Stacy Bartnik in addi-tion to past chair Jeanne Silver whowill continue to serve as a trustee.

William Shaw stated “As the in-coming CIF Chair, I am both honoredand proud to be involved in such aworthy foundation and the industry itrepresents. The Collision IndustryFoundation will celebrate its tenthyear anniversary next April, and Ihope I can carry on the legacy of somany past Chairs, most recentlyJeanne Silver and Doug Webb. Thecurrent officers and trustees of the CIFare committed to carry on the founda-tion’s mission of raising funds andvolunteering, supporting charitable

needs of the industry and communi-ties in which we serve.

From immediate past chairJeanne Silver, “I was among thefounding members in 2004 and havebeen involved as a trustee since we of-ficially formed a Board of Trustees.During my term as chair for the pasttwo years, we worked on the CleanDowntown Detroit Project andGleaner’s Food Bank.

Out of this we took the effort fur-ther this year to develop the ShopsAgainst Hunger program. Gerry Bris-son of Gleaners helped us realize thathunger in America has touched fami-lies it never has before and the needfor food, money and volunteers istremendous.

CIF fully supports a continuedeffort to help food banks across thecountry, and there is not a communityin the country where a shop or otherindustry related organization cannotget involved somehow.

Silver added, “We are also fund-ing title fees for Recycled Rides™ thisyear. Our recent fundraiser held atNACE was a huge success and wehope to repeat this event next year. Iwant to commend the board oftrustees for their work and commit-ment to the Foundation and I will al-ways be involved somehow with thiswonderful organization.”

I-CAR Names New CEO for 2011


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NABC Establishes Inter-Industry In-Language InitiativeAt its November 2, 2010 board meet-ing, the National Auto Body Council(NABC) voted to establish an inter-in-dustry initiative to explore and ad-dress the needs of the growingnumber of non-English-speaking em-ployees within the collision industry.

The goal of the initiative is to fa-cilitate equal access to industry training,services and products for non-Englishspeakers, supporting NABC’s core mis-sion of enhancing the image of the in-dustry. Under the auspices of NABC,the inter-industry will develop strategiesto enhance the working experience andquality of work product of non-Englishspeakers.

Practicality dictates that one non-English speaking population be the ini-tial focus of the inter-industry effort.Because the Spanish-speaking commu-nity was identified as the largest andfastest growing segment of the U.S.population, NABC will start there.

The concept of language outreachwithin NABC started at the organiza-tion’s July 2009 annual planning meet-ing.

George Avery, then NABC pres-ident, suggested that a “KnowledgeCommunity” be established to answerthree basic questions; is there a need forin-language outreach in the collision in-dustry?, if so, what are those needs?and is there anything NABC can do, in

accordance with its mission, to meetthese needs?

Avery recruited fellow boardmember Karen Fierst to spearhead theinitiative. Fierst then set out to find in-terested, informed people willing toserve on the Knowledge Community.

The Knowledge Community hasworked together for over a year now. Itconsists of Active Co-Chair JavierAvalos (Ina Road Auto Collision), Ad-visor/Co-chair Al Estorga (Estorga’sCollision Repair), German Mejia (I-CAR Southeast Regional Manager),Gene Lopez (I-CAR Southwest Re-gional Manager), Denise Pina (BreaAuto Body) and Ben Mendoza(Kelly’s Body Shop). Fierst serves asNABC’s board member and the initia-tive’s facilitator.

The group has already begun dis-cussions regarding several pertinent is-sues.

These include the fact that Span-ish speakers from different geographicareas use different terminology and thechallenges that surface when transla-tors/interpreters have no background inthe automotive or collision industry.

NABC’s in-language initiative willconduct its first formal meeting of saidstakeholders during CIC Week in PalmSprings, California this coming January.

Please visit www.autobodycoun-cil.org for more information.

U.S. Wants Tougher Repair Rules on Rental CarsThe top U.S. auto-safety regulatorsaid he is “working through the bullypulpit” to make sure rental-car com-panies such as Avis Budget GroupInc. and Hertz Global Holdings Inc.complete repairs on recalled vehicles.

National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministrator David Strickland saidhe’s working to publicize the investi-gation he opened November 25 intothe repair history of 29 U.S. models inrental-car fleets according to reportsmade by Bloomberg News.

Thirty percent of recalled vehiclesin the United States aren’t repaired, ac-cording to agency data.

The recall process treats rental-carcompanies the same way as retail cus-tomers, who must be notified about de-fects and aren’t required to fix them.

Clarence Ditlow, executive direc-tor of the Washington-based Center forAuto Safety, said rental-car companiesshould be held to the same standard asauto dealers, who can’t sell a car if therepairs aren’t complete.

“If there’s a safety recall, there’s asafety recall,” Ditlow said. “When rental

cars are subject to a recall, the car shouldbe repaired before the consumer uses it.”

Laura Bryant, a spokeswomanfor Enterprise Holdings Inc., thelargest U.S. rental-car company, did-n’t have an immediate comment.

Paula Rivera, a spokeswoman forHertz, and John Barrows, a spokesmanfor Avis, didn’t respond to inquiries.

The Center for Auto Safety peti-tioned the Federal Trade Commissionin August to look into whether Enter-prise rents to its customers before re-call repairs have been completed.

NHTSA works with domesticand foreign automakers to issue re-calls for safety-related defects.

Automakers, in turn, notify cus-tomers about repairs, which are doneat no charge to vehicle owners.

There can be months of delay be-tween the time a manufacturer notifiesNHTSA about a defect and when ve-hicle owners are informed of a recall,Ditlow said.

NHTSA could require carmakersto notify rental companies sooner, hesaid.

NHTSA Proposes MandatoryBackup Cameras in New CarsU.S. auto-safety regulators proposedrequiring backup cameras on all newvehicles by 2014, under a rule releasedDecember 6 intended to prevent driv-ers from backing over pedestrians.

The National Highway TrafficSafety Administration, which pub-lished the proposed rule, said an aver-age of 292 people die each year fromback-over accidents, which primarilykill children and the elderly.

“There is no more tragic accidentthan for a parent or caregiver to backout of a garage or driveway and kill orinjure an undetected child playing be-hind the vehicle,” Transportation Sec-retary Ray LaHood said in a statement.

The rule will benefit supplierssuch as Gentex Corp., said DavidLeiker, an analyst with Baird EquityResearch. He said in a research notethat Gentex’s rear-camera display sys-tem, with an LCD screen that is visiblewhen the vehicle is in reverse, wouldsatisfy NHTSA’s proposed require-ments.

A rule to enhance rear-view visi-bility for drivers was required by a2007 law named after Cameron Gul-bransen, a 2-year- old from New Yorkwho died after his father accidentallybacked over him.

International Auto Glass Safety(AGRSS) Conference MeetsSuccess in Chicago, Ill.The sixth annual International AutoGlass Safety (AGRSS) Conferencegarnered rave reviews from attendees.The event was held October 27-28 inChicago, Ill.

Attendees heard from severalsafety group representatives, includingJill Braselton with Safe Kids USA, agroup dedicated to child safety, andautomotive safety design expert BenKelley of the Center for Auto Safety.In addition, participants received tipsfor preparing for a third-party valida-tion, marketing AGRSS in their busi-nesses and an inside look at thethird-party validations that have beenconducted so far.

On the second day of the confer-ence, several insurance agents wereon-hand to participate in an AGRSSinsurance/consumer awareness pro-gram. Insurance agents earned CEcredits for the sessions, and auto glasscompany representatives were able tonetwork with agents from across theMidwest region.

This year’s conference was heldat the Drury Lane Conference Centerin Oakbrook Terrace, a suburb of theWindy City.

Autobody News January 2011 Southwest Edition

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Transcript of Autobody News January 2011 Southwest Edition