State Farm’s forced implementation of its PartsTrader e-bidding process within its Select Service Program shops has ignited a firestorm of criti- cism from the industry, not just from its own DRPs. Usage of the PartsTrader soft- ware, developed in New Zealand, has been required by the insurer in several test markets nationwide, including Tucson, AZ, and Birmingham, AL, however several sources have reported shops dropping the Select Service Pro- gram as a result, up to 40% in some markets. The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP), the Soci- ety for Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), and the Automotive Service Association (ASA) as and numerous independent industry observers have come out with strong statements cau- tioning their members against State Farm’s bidding process for parts pro- curement. AASP called it “an unprece- dented and uninvited intrusion into the business of collision repair.” The AASP released the following state- ment, which reads in part: “Despite posturing from the largest national insurance carrier on what it believes to be positive attrib- utes of the program, collision repair facilities, parts suppliers, parts manu- facturers and interested parties around the country have been consistent in their perception that this type of ac- tivity will ultimately harm their busi- nesses and the customers they serve. “Collision repairers are in the busi- ness of selling parts, labor and materi- als at a retail level. Each of these revenue sources contributes to the over- all success of the roughly 35,000 small businesses across the nation, allowing the business to provide employment opportunities to individuals within their community and invest in the necessary Summit Software’s President and Head Sherpa Frank Terlep talks with Autobody News about the state of Digital Media for the Collision Industry by Melanie Anderson see p. 40 Man Ray may never have done any automotive art or be as well known in the collision repair community as our best liked airbrush artists or custom painters, but he has been called one of the most influential artists of the 20th century and his photographs, paintings, and drawings are highly sought-after in the international art markets. Man Ray was a ground-breaking American artist and experimental photographer, perhaps best known for his X-ray-style “rayographs” made with his own innovative photo-dark- room techniques, but without cam- eras. He spent much of his life in Paris and was a colleague of Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. Man Ray died more than thirty years ago, but much of his work can be found care- fully archived in a custom interiors shop called AutoMat in Hicksville on New York’s Long Island. The shop is owned by Eric Browner and operated by his family. The shop’s auto interior -ori- ented showroom would not be mis- taken for a museum and gives little clue to the art treasures housed nearby, which is lined with uphol- stered seat covers, it is the headquar- ters of the Man Ray Trust, which contains about 4,500 works from the artist’s estate. Now, the collec- tion is being pri- vately shopped to museums. Man Ray’s art wound up in Long Island because the artist’s late wife, Juliet, set up the original trust before she passed away in 1991. Since her death everything has been passed down to her brother, Eric and his extended fam- ily, which owns the custom uphol- stery shop. The family knew very little about Man Ray but is now preparing to transfer ownership to a museum, with an expected valua- tion of about $20 million. Eric Browner, now 86 years old, manages 15,000 copyrights for the artist and oversees licensing contracts worth roughly $300,000 a year. Mr. Browner, who lives in Florida, told media sources that he’s been feeling family pressure lately to sell the archive before he dies. The trust’s proceeds are to be split among about a dozen heirs. Twenty Million Dollar Art Collection Has Been Held in Long Island Body Shop for Years See PartsTrader, Page 49 State Farm’s PartsTrader Program Encounters Significant Opposition, Not Just From its DRPs of 3 issues SPECIAL PAINT ISSUE PAINT & REFINISH TECHNOLOGIES Eric Browner, brother of Man Ray’s widow, Juliet, has housed the Man Ray Trust in his Hicksville shop. Northeast Edition New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Delaware YEARS www.autobodynews.com 30 30 30 VOL. 2 ISSUE 3 JUNE 2012 Presorted Standard US Postage PAID Ontario, Ca. Permit No. 1 P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018 Change Service Requested
Transcript
State Farm’s forced implementationof its PartsTrader e-bidding processwithin its Select Service Programshops has ignited a firestorm of criti-cism from the industry, not just fromits own DRPs.
Usage of the PartsTrader soft-ware, developed in New Zealand, hasbeen required by the insurer in severaltest markets nationwide, includingTucson, AZ, and Birmingham, AL,however several sources have reportedshops dropping the Select Service Pro-gram as a result, up to 40% in somemarkets.
The Alliance of AutomotiveService Providers (AASP), the Soci-ety for Collision Repair Specialists(SCRS), and the Automotive ServiceAssociation (ASA) as and numerousindependent industry observers havecome out with strong statements cau-tioning their members against StateFarm’s bidding process for parts pro-curement.
AASP called it “an unprece-dented and uninvited intrusion intothe business of collision repair.” TheAASP released the following state-ment, which reads in part:
“Despite posturing from thelargest national insurance carrier onwhat it believes to be positive attrib-utes of the program, collision repairfacilities, parts suppliers, parts manu-facturers and interested parties aroundthe country have been consistent intheir perception that this type of ac-tivity will ultimately harm their busi-nesses and the customers they serve.
“Collision repairers are in the busi-ness of selling parts, labor and materi-als at a retail level. Each of theserevenue sources contributes to the over-all success of the roughly 35,000 smallbusinesses across the nation, allowingthe business to provide employmentopportunities to individuals within theircommunity and invest in the necessary
Summit Software’s Presidentand Head Sherpa Frank Terleptalks with Autobody News aboutthe state of Digital Media forthe Collision Industry
by Melanie Andersonsee p. 40
Man Ray may never have done anyautomotive art or be as well known inthe collision repair community as ourbest liked airbrush artists or custompainters, but he has been called oneof the most influential artists of the20th century and his photographs,paintings, and drawings are highlysought-after in the international artmarkets.
Man Ray was a ground-breakingAmerican artist and experimentalphotographer, perhaps best known forhis X-ray-style “rayographs” madewith his own innovative photo-dark-room techniques, but without cam-eras. He spent much of his life inParis and was a colleague of PabloPicasso and Salvador Dalí. Man Raydied more than thirty years ago, butmuch of his work can be found care-fully archived in a custom interiorsshop called AutoMat in Hicksville on
New York’s Long Island. The shop isowned by Eric Browner and operatedby his family.
The shop’s auto interior -ori-ented showroom would not be mis-
taken for a museum and gives littleclue to the art treasures housed
nearby, which islined with uphol-stered seat covers,it is the headquar-ters of the ManRay Trust, whichcontains about4,500 works fromthe artist’s estate.Now, the collec-tion is being pri-vately shopped tomuseums.
Man Ray’s art wound up inLong Island because the artist’slate wife, Juliet, set up the originaltrust before she passed away in1991. Since her death everythinghas been passed down to herbrother, Eric and his extended fam-ily, which owns the custom uphol-stery shop. The family knew verylittle about Man Ray but is nowpreparing to transfer ownership to amuseum, with an expected valua-tion of about $20 million.
Eric Browner, now 86 years old,manages 15,000 copyrights for theartist and oversees licensing contractsworth roughly $300,000 a year.
Mr. Browner, who lives inFlorida, told media sources that he’sbeen feeling family pressure lately tosell the archive before he dies. Thetrust’s proceeds are to be split amongabout a dozen heirs.
Twenty Million Dollar Art Collection Has BeenHeld in Long Island Body Shop for Years
See PartsTrader, Page 49
State Farm’s PartsTrader Program EncountersSignificant Opposition, Not Just From its DRPs
of 3issues
SPECIALPAINT ISSUE
PAINT & REFINISH TECHNOLOGIES
Eric Browner, brotherof Man Ray’s widow,Juliet, has housedthe Man Ray Trust inhis Hicksville shop.
Publisher & Editor: Jeremy HayhurstGeneral Manager: Barbara DaviesAssistant Editor: Melanie AndersonContributing Writers: Tom Franklin, David Brown, JohnYoswick, Lee Amaradio, Rich Evans, Janet Chaney, TobyChess, Mike Causey, Tom McGee, Ed Attanasio,Chasidy SiskAdvertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman, JayLukes (800) 699-8251Sales Assistant: Kristy NavarroArt Director: Rodolfo Garcia
In tornado season in Okla-homa you don’t have to besuperstitious to think badthings could happen on anygiven day, never mind Fridaythe thirteenth. But for Nor-man shop owner Philip De-Fatta, this Friday, April 13,could have been a day out ofthe movies. At about 4:00p.m., a tornado hit the heartof Norman, Oklahoma andcut roughly an eight-mileswath through the town, es-pecially the southwest portion.
According to local reports, thetornado hop-scotched through thecenter of town, tossing telephonepoles, shredding trees and ripping offroofs. At least 10 people were taken tothe hospital with minor injuries.
“I didn’t wake up that morningthinking anything bad was going to hap-pen. I call that ‘stuperstitious,’” jokedDeFatta, 43, owner of Leon Pierce BodyRepair at 521 N. Porter Avenue.
However, that afternoon he wasdashing inside his shop to take cover as
the tornado hit. DeFatta heard the build-ing next door literally explode, and de-bris from that building flew into hisshop through the large garage door thatwas left open in his haste to reach safety.“I was holding onto the frame rackthinking I was going for a ride with it.”
While his shop suffered no dam-age, the building next door was de-stroyed and is now being demolished.Two cars, both owned by DeFatta, weredamaged in the parking lot. One vehiclewas totaled and the other nearly totaled.
Norman, Oklahoma, Body Shop NarrowlyEscapes Next Door Tornado Devastation
Leon Pierce Body Repair at 521 N. Porter Ave. in Norman, OKnarrowly escaped a tornado that ripped through the town onApril 13. The building next door is being demolished aftersustaining considerable damage. Photos courtesy of PhilipDeFatta, owner of Leon Pierce Body Repair.
See Narrow Escape, Page 8
After listening to Larry Montanez IIIof P & L Consultants discuss OEMprocedures and repair standards atAASP NORTHEAST™ in March thisyear, I wanted to know more abouthim and his company.
First, a little personal history. As ateenager, Montanez was all but obses-sive about cars, both in real life and onTV. Enamored with the Batmobile, heremembers that fast American musclecars were—then and now—“whereit’s at.” It’s became a lifelong fascina-tion.
As an adult, he became involvedin the auto body industry as a fabrica-tor and welder focused on customiza-tions and restorations. Around 2000,Montanez became an I-CAR instruc-tor, and about six months later, he andhis mentor, Peter Pratti, decided tobegin a consulting business aimed atteaching both sides of the business toboth sides of the business, auto bodyshops and insurance agencies, in aneffort to prove that everyone should beable to get along and to work togetherto figure out how things should bedone. Montanez and Pratti strive toteach the same material in the sameexact way, regardless of their audi-ence.
Montanez and Pratti began byteaching classes on estimating as wellas the triaging/blueprinting process,providing two aspects of the samesubject. Additionally, they offerclasses on damage analysis, welding,structural repair, airbag knowledgeand safety information. P & L Con-sultants currently offers a dozenclasses, six of which have been ap-proved for the Rhode Island TrainingCertification program.
OEM ProceduresIn discussing OEM procedures, Mon-tanez reasons that they exist to provideOEMs with liability protection andbecause of component failure as sup-ported by testing, in addition to thepressure from government regula-tions, consumer advocates, IIHS crashtesting and NHTSA investigations,lawsuits and court decisions and de-fects attributed to design flaws. OEMposition statements were created forthe purposes of or because of OEM li-
ability protection, components failuressupported by case studies, lawsuitsand court decisions, re-engineeringdesign flaws, ensuring safe repairs andproduct, copyright and trademark pro-tection.
Repair StandardsThe desire for repair standards resultsfrom the influence of outside entities,or according to Montanez, “repairstandards are made up by people whoare trying to appease a different groupof people who have no business beinginvolved in collision repair, who arelooking to save money on it.”
Montanez notes that collision re-pairers want repair standards becausethey are untrained and are reluctant tosearch for them on OEM websites.MLO shop owners want them to makeinsurance “partners” happy since in-surers desire repair standards becausethey want to save money. Aftermarketsuppliers are also driven by greed andthe desire to make sales, while manyindustry associations are influencedby insurers. Still, Montanez does notbelieve that the idea of creating repairstandards is not completely wrong; heis just not comfortable with the partiesinvolved as their reasons for wantingrepair standards create a biased view.
If repair standards are created,Montanez insists that it should beginwith the formation of an independentgroup comprised of OEM represen-tatives, collision repairers, engineers,physicists, metallurgists, industryexperts and I-Car Tech Center’sJason Bartanen and Steve Marks.Additionally, repair standards shouldonly be created where none currentlyexist and only after a request letter tothe OEM has failed. They shouldalso be supported by crash testingand computer animated drawings,and they should be reviewable everysix months. Montanez points out thatthis process should not include in-surance companies because “no onecares what the insurance companiesthink.”
Specifically, both OEM and after-market parts should be tested to provethat the aftermarket parts work just aswell as OEM parts before their use isencouraged.
Montanez lists the pros of creat-ing repair standards as follows: moreavailable procedures, lower insurercosts, lower severity, fewer totaled ve-hicles, more repaired vehicles, betterinsurer relations, more use of usedparts, more sectioning procedures andmore parts options.
He also notes the following cons:more improper repairs, more liabilityexposure, more fatalities, more in-juries, more diminished value law-suits, more shop lawsuits, dangerousto motorists and more bad businessdecisions. The use of damaged com-ponents or inferior parts can lead tomore injuries in collision because thevehicle will not react the way itshould, and this can lead to cata-strophic separation which becomes ahazard to the general driving public.
In the case of improper repairs,even if due to the parts requested bythe insurance company, liability falls
on the repair facility, the shop ownerpersonally, the technician (in somestates) and sublet jobbers. The sup-plier can also be sued, but the insurerwill never be called to the courtroomfor an improper repair. Because theshop is potentially liable, shops shouldinform the customer or the insurancecompany if they cannot repair carsthat way to avoid liability issues. Inthe instance of liability, safety factorsare important, so only the OEMguidelines matter.
Because so much time, moneyand effort goes in to creating OEMprocedures, these should always beadhered to. The goal behind their mul-tiple engineering principles is to keepthe occupants safe, therefore it is veryimportant not to change the parame-ters of OEM guidelines. In order forrepair standards to be made, a compa-rable amount of time, money and ef-
4 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Larry Montanez Talks OEM Procedures and Repair Standards
See Larry Montanez, Page 39
with Rick WhiteShop Management
with Stefan GesterkampPaint Management
with Gonzo WeaverGonzo’s Toolbox
with Richard ArnoldJobber Journal
Mainstream Media
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 Walter DanalevichShop Strategies for Savings
with The Insurance InsiderInside Insurance
with Ed AttanasioCustom Corner
with Chasidy Rae SiskCompany Connections
with Chasidy Rae SiskNortheast News
with Chasidy Rae SiskShop Showcase
with Erica SchroederShop Showcase
with Erica SchroederShop Snapshot
Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware, whowrites on a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family of NASCAR fans.She can be contacted at [email protected].
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 5
6 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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Acura Employee Faces Prison for $10 Million TheftA former Acura dealership em-ployee who stole $10.2 millionfrom the Pittsburgh-area storewhere she worked could face sixyears in prison, the PittsburghPost-Gazette reported.
In March, Patricia K. Smith,the former controller of BaierlAcura in Pine, Pa., pleaded guiltyto wire fraud charges that in-cluded stealing $10.2 millionover more than six years. Shetransferred money from Baierl toher own accounts more than 800times from 2004 through 2011,according to the Post-Gazette.
Smith, 58, used the moneyfor travel, gambling, gifts tofriends, house purchases forherself and family membersand purchases of large amountsof jewelry and other items onTV shopping networks. Smithturned herself in after anotherBaierl employee sent her an e-mail asking questions abouttransactions, the Post-Gazettereported.
Assistant U.S. AttorneySteve Kaufman has argued Smithshould serve a prison sentence offive to six years, while Smith’s
attorney, Tina Miller, has arguedthat the correct sentence is threeand a half to four years, the Post-Gazette wrote.
The government expects tobe able to recover about $1 mil-lion for Baierl, Kaufman wrote.
Miller wrote that her clienthas spent much of the past year“repenting, accepting responsi-bility and doing everything shepossibly can to pay back whatshe stole from her former em-ployer,” and that the fraudstemmed from untreated “de-pression and from an abusivechildhood, which resulted incompulsive behavior, includingexcessive spending, shoppingand gambling,” according to thePost-Gazette.
Items that Smith and herrelatives have turned over to thegovernment since she turned her-self in include four homes, 10 ve-hicles, Smith’s stock in a privateairline company, more than$20,800 in cash that was in abank account, over $30,000 inprepaid travel, 133 pieces of jew-elry and 25 gold coins, the Post-Gazette reported.
Mahwah, NJ, Suspends Tow Driver for Insulting CopsAfter a long debate, the Mahwah Town-ship Council voted to suspend a RamseyAuto Body tow truck operator fromworking in the township for a period of30 tower rotation days beginning May10. While off duty, the Ramsey AutoBody employee had responded to thescene of a three-car motor vehicle acci-dent. He reportedly knew one of thepeople involved in that accident.
According to a subsequent complaintlodged in mid-April by police officers onduty at the time and occupants from two ofthe three vehicles involved, the employeeallegedly insulted police officers by callingthem names and confronted the other driv-ers.
Mayor Bill Laforet and businessadministrator Brian Campion recom-mended that the driver be barred fromoperating in the township for that 30-dayperiod as a result, but some councilmembers said they felt the punishmentwas not harsh enough. CouncilmanSamuel Alderisio said that three othercomplaints had been lodged against thedriver over the past two to three years.
“I think he should be suspendedfrom [ever] towing in Mahwah,” headded.
“I think 30 days is a slap on thewrist and too light,” council vice presi-
dent Harry Williams said.An attorney for the business em-
phasized that the towing company was“acutely embarrassed” by the em-ployee’s conduct. Laforet said the indi-vidual had written him a “very serious”letter of apology.
The employee cannot respond toany calls in Mahwah with any of thethree corporate entities the business op-erates.
Ramsey Auto Body, however, is ex-cluded from the towing ban.
Museum for Ford’s Model AConstruction is underway in southernMichigan on a museum celebratingFord Motor Co.’s Model A. Officialswith the Gilmore Car Museum hope tofinish construction on the Model AFord Museum by Labor Day. The mu-seum will be housed in a building de-signed to resemble one of theDearborn-based automaker’s old deal-erships. The museum is being built atHickory Corners, about 115 miles westOrganizers say it will be the largestpublic museum dedicated to the ModelA, which was built in the late 1920sand early 1930s following the wildsuccess of Ford’s Model T.
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 7
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DNA Solves Shop BurglaryYorktown, NY, police have made anarrest in connection to a 2008 at-tempted burglary case. Elicer Olmo,32 from Peekskill, NY, is accused ofattempting to break into Adrian’s AutoBody in Yorktown, police said. He wascharged with third-degree attemptedburglary, a felony. Investigation beganwhen the auto body shop owner re-ported to police on Aug. 8, 2008, thatsomeone had attempted to break intothe business. Police recovered DNAevidence at the scene and submitted itto the Westchester County Lab foranalysis. The DNA analysis identifiedOlmo. He was released on $250 bail.
Cars Collide in Front of NY ShopA pair of cars collided into each otheron Herricks Road and Broadway onthe border of Garden City Park andMineola on the afternoon of May 6,right in front of A1 Grand Auto Body.
One car was attempting to make aturn from Broadway onto HerricksRoad when the second car, a minivantravelling south on Herricks came andcollided with the first.
Two adults and two children withneck and back injuries were trans-ported to Winthrop-University Hospi-tal. No word on where the vehicleswere taken.
Theft Suspect Applies for JobPhiladelphia police say the suspect in atheft at a local body shop later cameback to ask for a job. Harold Williams,59, was arrested on the morning ofApril 27th. Police allege Williams en-tered Joe’s Auto Repair at 3250 IndianQueen Lane on April 23 and put a 1/2inch impact wrench in a black bag andleft. Four days later, Williams al-legedly returned to Joe’s Auto to askfor work. A person at the shop recog-nized him and told him to start sweep-ing the front of the shop, then calledpolice. Williams was taken into cus-tody and charged with theft.
10 Injured in Suspected DUIAt least 10 people were injured after apickup truck hit several cars at a bodyshop on Route 51 in Pleasant Hills,PA. Police said the incident ended nearthe Lewis Run Road intersection whenthe suspect’s pickup truck hit a guardrai. Police said the driver first hit aparked car at an auto body shop, thenstruck several more vehicles. Officerstried to stop the truck, but the driverkept going, even hitting another vehi-cle head-on. Police believe the driverof the truck had been drinking beforethe crash. He will face charges after heis released from a hospital. Severalvictims were taken to the hospital.
LIABRA Meeting Held May 15The Long Island Auto Body Repair-men’s Association (LIABRA) held ameeting on May 15 at the SecurityDodge Service Department in Ami-tyville, NY. The group discussed theState Farm PartsTrader issue and lis-tened to a standards seminar and apresentation by Larry Montanez andJeff Lange, PE of Technical Inves-tigative Training Resources (Tech-ITR), on OEM repair procedures.Topics covered:● OEM Repair Procedures & PositionStatements● Interpret & Utilize OEM RepairProcedures to ensure an accurate,profitable damage report (estimate)● How OEM Repair Procedures &Statements Protect your Liability● Pro’s & Con’s of developing Gen-eral Repair Standards● Legal Issues of General RepairStandards● Who Should Develop Them?● OEM Position Statements & P-Pagelogic that directly affect repair quality& your profitability
In other news, save the date forLIABRA’s golf outing set for Sept. 24at Port Jefferson Country Club.
For more information contactLIABRA at http://www.liabra.org, orby phone: 631-941-9647.
RI Police Charge Body ShopOwner with Three FeloniesThe owner of a Pawtucket, RI, autobody shop at the center of a fraud in-vestigation was arraigned May 21 onthree felony counts.
Dino Coccia, owner ofAmeriCar Sales and Collision Centerat 626 Main St., is charged with ob-taining money under false pretenses.A judge set bail at $5,000.
He’s accused of selling or rent-ing the cars of customers whobrought them in to be fixed.
Some customers say their carsare missing and that they may havebeen sold.
Police said complaints againstAmeriCar include allegations that itrented customers’ cars to other driv-ers. Police are asking anyone with acar rental or a loaner car from thecompany or anyone who has pur-chased a car from the business withinthe past year and has any suspicion orquestion about the authenticity of thepurchase to come forward.
Less than 30 minutes before thetornado hit, DeFatta heard the news onthe radio about an approaching stormand he sent his five employees home.DeFatta stayed at the shop and wasworking under a frame machine whenhe heard the tornado sirens go off. Hewent outside to watch the storm.
“I’m from Texas,” DeFatta said.“In Texas, you can watch the tornadosbecause you can see them coming. So,I went outside looking for it. That wasmy takeaway lesson from this,” helaughed. “Don’t stand outside lookingfor a tornado.” The tornado camewrapped in swirling, heavy rain, mak-ing it impossible to see. “I never sawit, never heard it. It just came.” De-Fatta, who has been in town for only afew years, is told by the older folks intown that it’s a rare occurrence for atornado to hit the heart of Norman.
Today, DeFatta says the town is stillcleaning up. “Overall, we had mild dam-age but there are still messes, tree limbs,to clean up.” Damage to cars in town ismaking the shop busier these days too.
State Farm video aims to address‘misinformation’ on parts program forDRP shops
State Farm distributed a video to itsSelect Service shops to “clear upsome misinformation” about its elec-tronic parts ordering system that it in-troduced in four U.S. markets.
Claims Consultant GeorgeAvery acknowledges that initial reac-
tion to the programhas not been posi-tive. But he alsodefends the com-pany saying “Werecognize that noeffort will succeedif there aren’t winsfor all involved. A
healthy, profitable repair industry itimportant to State Farm and our mu-tual customers who entrust their vehi-cle(s) to you for quality, safe andefficient repairs every day.”
State Farm’s new program hasbeen criticized by repairers, The Soci-ety of Collision Repair Specialists, theAlliance of Automotive Service
Providers, and other suppliers.In the video, Avery says, “Our
company’s reputation was built on fair-ness and square dealing, and we takeissue wit the way some in the industryhave portrayed our organization.”Here is the transcript of the in the 3minute 41 second video, which StateFarm released to the media:
As we discussed in previousvideos, State Farm is working withPartsTrader on the development of anelectronic parts ordering application.Recently, usability testing with repair-ers and their suppliers was completedas well as field testing in a couple oflocations, which have led to enhance-ments to the application.
Within the past few weeks, wehave initiated pilots in a few marketsand are receiving feedback from sup-pliers and members of Select ServiceNetwork who are participating.
We acknowledge the significantchange this represents to the repair in-dustry, and frankly, reaction from afew in the industry has not been posi-tive. We want you to know that we arecommitted to working through these
changes with our network in a collab-orative and constructive way.
From the beginning of this effort,we have remained focused on creatinga more efficient and transparent partprocurement process. And we have aresponsibility to our policyholders toensure effective oversight of their pre-mium dollars.
We recognize that no effort will suc-ceed if there aren’t wins for all involved.
A healthy, profitable repair in-dustry is important to State Farm andour mutual customers who entrusttheir vehicle(s) to you for quality, safeand efficient repairs every day.
Our company’s reputation wasbuilt on fairness and square dealing,and we take issue with the way somein the industry have portrayed our or-ganization.
8 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
ASA Says it is ‘Fact Finding’ on State Farm’s PartsTraderThe Automotive Service Association(ASA) is conducting a multi-seg-mented fact-finding mission on StateFarm’s new electronic parts procure-ment program “to ensure the infor-mation collected and provided to theASA membership and the broader in-dustry is as accurate and thorough aspossible.”
An ASA Collision Division teamconsisting of operations committeemembers and staff recently inter-viewed George Avery, State Farm’sclaims consultant, regarding the pilotprogram. ASA has since posed somefollow-up questions and will issuefurther statements as conversationscontinue.
Several additional interviews arebeing set up with other industry par-ties involved in the program. ASAsays that as each exchange is fact-checked for clarity, updates will beshared with ASA members and the in-dustry at large.
“State Farm’s pilot program hasa potential to have a tremendous im-pact on the collision repair industryand the motoring public,” said DeniseCaspersen, ASA Collision Divisionmanager. “It is vital for ASA to ap-proach this situation methodicallywith an emphasis on facts to ensurethat the results of the pilot are in thebest interest of the collision repairer.
ASA has an obligation to provide ourmembership, and the industry, asmuch factual information as possible– just as State Farm has an obligationto answer the community’s concerns.ASA also has a responsibility to ad-dress issues directly with the partiesinvolved to provide recommenda-tions and solutions benefitting repair-ers, consumers and the industry.”
Several of ASA’s volunteer lead-ers representing the collision repairmembership also spoke with RobCooper, CEO of PartsTrader LLC.ASA’s questions focused on imple-mentation plans, supplier qualifica-tions, data extraction and qualitychecks on recommended parts. ASAis also following up with Cooper withadditional questions and comments.
“This pilot program, whichreaches beyond the insurer/repairerrelationship, is at a pivotal point topotentially allow adjustments to theprogram as a result of industry inputand analysis,” said Caspersen.
“If this tool is to go forward andbenefit the entire industry, it requirestransparency, mutual understandingand collaboration. ASA is committedto a collaborative process that pro-duces the best possible outcome forthe collision repairer. ASA says thekey questions are the financial impactof the program on body shops.
State Farm Issues Damage Control Video Continued from Page 3
Narrow Escape
George Avery
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Collision repairers are rightly con-cerned about collision avoidance tech-nology reducing business in the futurebut may be suprised to learn that in-surance companies are just as worried.What would happen to the auto insur-ance industry if automobile safety im-proves to the point that vehiclecollisions become relics of the past?
That’s the question explored byglobal consulting and research firm,Celent, in a new report that envisionsa future of increasing emphasis onsafety in the automobile industry andamong government entities that leadsto a massive drop off in auto insurancepremium for U.S. property/casualtyinsurance companies.
In its own introductory words, “AScenario: The End of Auto Insur-ance—What Happens When ThereAre (Almost) No Accidents,” by Ce-lent Senior Analyst Robert Light,“describes a provocative, but plausi-ble, scenario for the not distant futureof the US property/casualty market,and explores that scenario’s implica-tions.
“In that scenario, technology iswidely deployed that radically reducesthe frequency and severity of motorvehicle accidents. Consequently, theneed for automobile insurance is sub-stantially reduced — and insurers see alarge reduction in their revenue as au-tomobile insurance premiums drop.”
Private passenger and commercialauto premiums accounted for 39 per-cent of the total premium for U.S.property/casualty insurers in 2011, ac-cording to the report.
In the scenario proposed by Ce-lent—and the authors make it clearthat it is only a scenario that could orcould not happen—the auto insuranceportion of total P/C premium over thenext decade would drop from 39 per-cent to just 13 percent.
Techno TrendsThe report examines four technologi-cal trends that are expected to have asignificant impact on both the auto in-dustry and the auto insurance industryduring the next 10 years: telematics;collision avoidance; automated trafficlaw enforcement; and, to a lesser ex-tent, robot cars.
Three of those technologies—telematics, collision avoidance andautomated traffic law enforcement—are available, though not necessarilywidely used, today.
The report describes telematics asthe “creation and use of data regard-ing driving behavior that is stored inan onboard device and made availableto insurance companies and other en-tities.”
Collision avoidance technologiesinclude “a broad set of capabilitiesbuilt into vehicles that warn the driverof dangerous situations and in somecases take active control of the vehi-cle to avoid a collision.”
Among the law enforcement tech-nologies currently in use to varyingdegrees are red-light cameras andspeeding violation cameras that takephotographs of driver infractions andare able to produce and send a viola-tion ticket to the vehicle’s registeredowner.
While robot cars are in the proto-type stage—Google’s driverless carmay be the most well-known example(see sidebar)—they are vehicles“equipped with [their] own sensingdevices, processors, data sets (e.g.,Google Street View), and control sys-tems.” The technologies allow therobot car to operate autonomously “inactual street and traffic conditions,”the report says.
In the Celent scenario, if all ofthese technologies are utilized to theirfullest extent:
The insurance industry would seea decline in auto liability premiumfrom 25 percent of the 2012 total to 20percent of total 2012 industry pre-mium over the first five years. Auto li-ability would then drop by another 10percent of 2012 industry premiumover the next following five years.Auto physical damage would dropfrom 14 percent of total 2012 industrypremium to 10 percent by the end ofthe first five years and then to 3 per-cent in the second half of the decade.
Between 2013 and 2017, total P/Cindustry premium would drop by 9percent and by 26 percent from 2018to 2022.
The four functional units of autoinsurers that would see the greatestimpact are: marketing, sales and dis-tribution, policy service and claims.
A scenario of reduced auto colli-sions resulting in a decrease in autopremiums over the next decade, whilenot assured, is plausible because theimpacting technologies already exist.
Whether or not such a scenarioplays out depends on political and eco-nomic decisions, according to the report.
Technologies such as telematics,collision avoidance and, to some ex-tent, robot cars are market-driven. Ifauto manufacturers believe consumersare willing to pay for such upgradesthen the technologies will likely beimproved upon and deployed.
In the political realm, federal andlocal governments will have to decidewhether to mandate and deploy lawenforcement “technologies given theirvery significant impact on how citi-zens and voters use motor vehicles,”the report concludes.
10 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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The smart shops are coming around. They are quickly learning THERE ARE BIG BUCKS IN THIS CUP. There are three systems for billing body and paint materials: one is averaging $33–35 per paint hour and a second is averaging $38–44 per paint hour, while PaintEx accounts are seeing $50–70 per paint hour.
PaintEx stands the acid test with full documentation. PaintEx is not a calculator—it’s a cost accounting program, the ONLY cost accounting program. PaintEx tracks what each item in your shop costs, and how much of it is used on each and every job.
It’s the truth guys—we can prove what your costs are, but you’ve got to change your word pattern. Don’t ask what they will pay; tell them what to pay. The smart shops are not asking for approval, they’re just presenting the final bill. And they are collecting!
Mike Orso, President of the NY Auto Body Association, has been doing this for the past 9 years. It’s his most powerful and profitable tool. Try it out yourself for 14 days at no cost.
Will Driving Become Too Safe for Body Shops and Insurers?
Google’s Driverless CarGoogle’s self-driving car got its li-cense as the state of Nevada becamethe first in the nation to license thecompany’s vehicles. More than30,000 people are killed each year incrashes despite huge advances in autosafety. The overwhelming majority ofthose crashes are caused by human-driver error. Computer driven carscould reduce traffic deaths by a verysignificant degree, said DavidChampion, head of auto testing atConsumer Reports, but only if all carsare computer-driven.
“I think if all the cars were self-driving, it would be a benefit,” hesaid. “I think a mixture would be a bitchaotic.”
That’s because humans are betterat predicting the behavior of other hu-mans than computers could ever be,he said.
“When I’m approaching an inter-section, I look to see if the otherdriver is looking at me,” said Cham-pion. “If he’s looking somewhere elseand inching forward, I’m going to liftoff the gas.”
For the foreseeable future, human“drivers” will continue to bear the ulti-mate responsibility, even in Google’sself-driving cars. This means youwon’t be able to lounge in the back seatand check email on your way to work.You’ll still have to sit in the driver’sseat and pay attention.
Self-driving cars, like Google’s,use sensors to watch cars, pedestriansand other obstacles. They combine anumber of technologies that are al-ready available on cars today, includ-ing GPS tracking, wheel motionsensors and radar, with additional
See Driverless Car, Page 14
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 11
12 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
URI Students Recycle Automotive ScrapTwo University of Rhode Island un-dergraduates invested their ownmoney to buy 12 Dumpsters, andScrap Specialists Recycling wasborn. Their enterprise operates out of386 South Pier Road, and saves sev-eral automotive businesses hundredsof dollars every month by properlydisposing of their recyclables — forfree.
“We chose to start with automotivebusinesses because such a large per-centage of their waste is recyclable,”Gregory said. “There isn’t anythingin a car we can’t recycle.”
Beginning last fall, Gregory andHarrigan tested the waters by part-nering with Crown Collision, a suc-cessful auto body business withshops in Rhode Island. The studentsdropped off a Dumpster at each loca-tion and instructed employees to tossall recyclables — paper, boxes, plas-tics, auto parts and scrap metal.When a Dumpster is full, the URIstudents remove and sort the materi-als, bail them and vendors haul thebails away.
The money vendors pay for the re-cyclables is put back into the busi-ness so Scrap Specialists Recyclingcan buy more equipment and take on
more clients.“We encourage people to take a
ride to the landfill in Johnston. It istruly humbling to see that toweringheap of trash which is going to bethere for thousands years,” Gregorysaid. “It’s even more sickening toknow that 70 percent of that garbagecould have been recycled.”
Crown Collision had to spend be-tween $200 and $400 a month tokeep a Dumpster at each shop to dis-pose of all its waste. Now, CrownCollision doesn’t pay anything for itsscrap disposal and all of its scrap ma-terials are recycled.
“We give our clients an incentiveto recycle by cutting their disposalcosts,” Gregory said.
Harrigan and Gregory already aredeveloping plans to expand theirbusiness to include more recyclables-producing industries, the develop-ment of their own scrap yard and acomposting project.
“We currently have seven accountsand are constantly looking for newones to adopt our recycling pro-gram,” Gregory said. “Our currentgoal is to reach 30 to 40 accounts sowe can expand our business and in-crease recycling awareness.”
Deadly Crash in Bronx Raises Concerns About NY RoadsA freak parkway accident that wipedout three generations of a Bronx fam-ily is being touted by some trans-portation advocates as more evidencethat New York City’s aging highwaysystem needs major upgrades.
Seven people died, includingthree children, when the family’s SUVhit a concrete divider on the BronxRiver Parkway, veered off a bridge andfell onto the grounds of the Bronx Zoo.
Speed was a factor in the crash.Police said the vehicle was moving at68 mph in a 50 mph zone. Still, thewreck seemed to validate the worstfears of motorists who navigate thecity’s pinball-machine expresswayswith white knuckles.
“The Bronx River Parkway is aglaring example of the deficiencieswe see on area roadways,” saidRobert Sinclair, a spokesman for theAmerican Automobile Association.“These roads were never envisionedas being the commuter arterial road-ways that they are now. The roads aretwisty. They are hilly. The lanes arenarrow. There are no breakdownlanes. The on-ramps are too short.”
Yet, federal, state and municipaltransportation safety statistics showthat the city’s intimidating roadways
are also far less deadly than their ruraland suburban counterparts, and haveprobably never been safer.
New York City saw 243 peoplekilled in traffic accidents in 2011, thelowest total in at least a century, ac-cording to the city’s Department ofTransportation. A majority of thosedeaths involved pedestrians struck byvehicles on sidewalks and streets. Ex-cluding pedestrians and bicyclists, thedeath count was 82, meaning you aremany times more likely to die of ac-cidental poisoning in New York thanin a car wreck.
Most of the deaths were on sur-face roads, not highways, although lastyear’s deadliest crash, a bus wreck thattook 15 lives, happened on a wide-openstretch of I-95, right at the city limits.
The national average for motorvehicle fatalities in 2010 was 1.11deaths for every 100 million milestraveled by vehicles. That’s nearlytwice the fatality rate of 0.64 in urbanareas in New York state.
Replacing highways, however,isn’t at the top of many urban planners’wish lists. One factor is the enormouscost. Also, in one of the world’s largestand densest cities, there is simply nospace for larger, straighter roads.
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 13
On May 16, the South WhitehallTownship, PA, Board of Commis-sioners granted approval to RothrockMotors to build a 24,000 square footcollision center. Ground will be bro-ken on the project no later than theend of July, according to MarkRothrock who was in attendance atthe meeting. The collision center is arequirement of the Nissan MotorCompany, said Rothrock.
However the auto dealer is seek-ing special exception relief from arecreational fee they consider an “un-fair financial burden for smaller busi-nesses.”
Even the exact amount of the feewas in debate, ranging somewherefrom $15,809 to $16,000.
The commissioners asked thePark and Recreation Department toconsider the matter at their nextmeeting in June and offer their rec-ommendations to commissioners be-fore they rendered a final decision.While offering no formal opinion atthe evenings’s meeting, PresidentChristina Morgan did note the Parksand Recreation Department “had puta lot of energy” into the establish-ment of the fees.
A former Pittsburgh firefightercharged last fall with harassing a firelieutenant is now facing multiplecharges after police said he threat-ened two men with a gun in separateincidents in Ingram.
Police said David Gregorich, 48,surrendered to Ingram police after hepulled a gun on a business owner andordered the man to hide him from au-thorities. Police said they were look-ing for Mr. Gregorich because of asimilar incident a few hours earlier onNoll Avenue in Ingram.
Ingram police Chief Jack Do-herty said officers arrested Mr.Gregorich after he pulled a gun onan employee of Wells Auto Body inIngram and hid inside the autobody shop. When police questionedthe worker about Mr. Gregorich’swhereabouts, the employee told po-lice he was inside the building, po-lice said.
Mr. Gregorich was charged withtwo counts each of aggravated assaultand making terroristic threats.
Chief Doherty said he believesMr. Gregorich’s actions were sparkedby an incident that occurred involv-ing the Pittsburgh fire department.
Former Pittsburgh FirefighterFaces Multiple Charges
New Nissan Collision CenterComing to South Whitehall Twp.
Service King Acquires Arizona’s Auto Body WorldTexas-based, Service King CollisionRepair is partnering with Auto BodyWorld, Inc., with nine large scale, highvolume locations throughout metroPhoenix and Casa Grande. Terms of theagreement were not disclosed.
The transaction is expected to closein July 2012. By joining Service King,Auto Body World will become a part ofthe third largest collision repair companyin North America with 48 Texas loca-tions throughout the Dallas, Ft. Worth,Houston, San Antonio, and Austin areas.
Service King’s expansion acrossTexas over the last three years hastaken Service King from the 6th to the3rd largest collision repair company inNorth America, doubling revenue andlocation count.
“We welcome our new teammatesin Arizona to the Service King family,”said Service King’s President, ChrisAbraham. “We’re excited about theopportunity here. Arizona is special be-cause it’s our first venture outside ofTexas, but it’s not our last.”
“Service King is committed tocontinuing Auto Body World’s longtradition of excellent customer serviceand quality repairs with good relation-ships in the insurance industry. We lookforward to adding Auto Body World’s
talented teammates and skilled techni-cians to our base of nearly 1,400 Serv-ice King teammates throughout Texas,”added Abraham.
“We are very excited about AutoBody World joining the Service KingTeam,” stated Mark Turner, AutoBody World’s President. “Both compa-nies believe that we’re a great matchfor each other, in that we share verycommon cultures, and while ServiceKing brings national insurance rela-tionships and financial strength, AutoBody World brings dominance in a newmarket, with a strong operations teamand platform for rapid growth.”
Cathy Bonner, CEO of ServiceKing stated, “In DFW and Houston,Service King has been recognized asone of the “best places to work” by theDallas and Houston Business Journals,and we plan to bring our same level ofhealth, retirement, and career benefitsto all new teammates in Arizona.”
Said Eddie Lennox, “Service Kingis one of the fastest growing US basedcollision repair companies is because ofthe team we have in place. The peoplein this company focus on what’s mostimportant and take pride in providingthe best service and quality collision re-pairs, while caring for our customers.”
14 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
technology and sophisticated soft-ware that allow the car to read streetsigns and signals and actually driveitself through traffic.
Google’s cars, modified ToyotaPriuses, are still in the testing stagesand aren’t available to the public. Butsome so-called “driver assistance”technologies are already helping tolower traffic deaths in cars you canbuy now.
Electronic Stability Control,which uses computers to help driversmaintain control during abrupt ma-neuvers, has been shown to reducefatal crashes by as much as a third.ESC is now required on all new carsbut was first used, on a wide scale, onSUVs. Statistics show top-heavySUVs to be less prone to roll over inreal-world crashes than regular cars.
Beyond that, there are variousother “driver assistance” technolo-gies.
Blind spot alerts warn drivers ofcars in adjacent lanes and forwardcollision alerts sound an alarm whena driver is closing in too quickly on acar ahead.
“We’ll start seeing more featuresthat will migrate from just these alertsand warnings to taking a little morecontrol,” said John Capp, director ofactive safety technology at GeneralMotors.
GM’s new Cadillac XTS, for in-stance, will brake automatically if adriver fails to respond to an imminentcollision. Nissan’s Infiniti division hasa several models that provide slightbraking to nudge a vehicle back intoits lane if it begins to drift out.
Many luxury cars are now alsoavailable with “active cruise control”that allows a car driving at highwaycruising speeds to automaticallymaintain a safe following distance be-hind the car ahead. In some models,these systems can work even in stop-and-go city traffic.
Systems like these could be help-ful, said Champion, but also presentthe possibility of over-reliance orabuse.
“It all comes down to the personbehind the wheel using the system,”he said.
Sometimes these systems cancause confusion. For instance, somereports of unintended acceleration inToyota cars were triggered by driversfailing to understand how an “activecruise control” system worked.
Some of the new technology currentlybeing developed by the OEMs makesthe “vehicle as gadget” notion morethan just futuristic speculation.
For example, the key componentsof the concept Infiniti LE’s elaborateelectronics system are improved ver-sions of what you’d expect—naviga-tion, movies, etc.—but what aboutgesture recognition, pupil tracking,fingerprint ignition “keys”? Theseadd-ons come from Intel, betterknown for developing chips for per-sonal computers.
But there’s much more on thehorizon. What about cloud-computingaccess? Video vehicle surveillance? A“Personal Assistant” 24/7 electronicconcierge?
Intel and Nissan, Infiniti’s parentcompany, said that many of thesetechnologies will be in place and onthe road next year.
Global revenue from automotiveinfotainment components is projectedto hit $33.5 billion in 2012, up 3%from 2011, according to a market-tracking report from IHS iSuppli. Oneauto exec likened the competition inthis space to “an arms race ... cus-tomers are expecting and anticipatingthis stuff.” Brake assist, lane-depar-ture warning and parking-assist cam-eras are already offered by severalmanufacturers, and a cockpit camerain the Mercedes Benz S Class canalert the driver if he appears drowsy.
Intel is also working with BMWand Toyota. “This is really the startingpoint of us becoming a significantplayer in the automotive market,” saidTom Steenman, VP for Intel’s intelli-gent-systems group. “The car is be-coming the next big connected mobiledevice.” To that end, the company re-cently established a $100 million ven-ture-capital fund to explore advanceduses for its chips.
Cadillac is taking a same-but-dif-ferent tack from Infiniti with its newCUE. The Cadillac User Experienceappropriately premiered not at an autoshow, but at the CTIA Wireless Asso-ciation’s telecommunications show inSan Diego.
CUE uses a stunning 8-inchscreen that, as with a smartphone,users can swipe, pinch or flick to con-trol navigation, radio, heating andcooling functions. It also has now-
obligatory natural-language voicerecognition. CUE will sync with up to10 devices, including your phone.
“CUE will be a big part of theway we market the XTS,” a Cadillacsedan arriving next month, said DavidCaldwell, brand communicationsmanager for the company. It will bestandard in the XTS and, eventuallywill migrate to other models as an op-tion that will probably cost about$2,000. Working with Fallon, Min-neapolis, on creative, “visually, we’lltry to get across, if you love the tabletand the smartphone, you’ll like theCUE,” Mr. Caldwell said. TV spotsare expected to begin next month, headded.
As far as adding on utilities thatwould allow drivers to hook up toFacebook, Twitter or other assortedapplications, most are sensitive to thespecter of distracted-driving issues.CUE, for instance, is preloaded withjust a single smartphone-based app tokeep the focus on basic navigation,hands-free phone use and some infor-mation displays, Mr. Caldwell said.
Fast-forward from these advance-ments, and you’d presume that the au-tonomous car can’t be far behind. Infact, Google has tested a fleet of driver-less Toyota Priuses in Nevada that canaccelerate, steer and brake automati-cally using a combination of radar,sonar and laser-detecting devices.
The company said last month thatit is in talks with some major au-tomakers. “The most important thingcomputers can do in the next 10 yearsis drive a car,” Google Project Man-ager Anthony Levandowski told apanel at an engineering conference inDetroit.
General Motors is taking the con-cept for a test drive as well with its“Super Cruise” system. Using cam-eras that talk to the car’s GPS, SuperCruise will “steer” the car, centeredbetween the lines on a highway or in-terstate (it’s not designed, yet, for usein city traffic). But it’s limited byweather conditions and indistinctwhite lines on the road. GM says theSuper Cruise models could launch inproduction cars by “mid-decade.”
Smarter Cars and Collision Avoidance TechMay Appeal to Consumers Unless InfotainmentDistraction Trumps Safety Technology
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16 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
by Melanie Anderson
Custom Painter Jim Hetzler, 53, ofMuscatine, Iowa is a world class pin-stripe and airbrush artist whose careerstarted at the tender age of 13 whenhis hobby was building model cars.
“It’s a funny thing,” Hetzlersaid. “I enjoyed building model carsas a pre-teen and I wanted to paintpinstripes on my cars but didn’tknow how to begin. I wanted to learnand know the secretsof pinstriping, butback in those days itwas hard to findsomeone to teachme.” One day he sawan advertisement in amagazine and boughta $5 book on how topinstripe. That bookwas written by fa-mous car builder anda i rbrush /p ins t r ipeartist, Ed “BigDaddy” Roth. Rothwas the creator of the “Rat Fink andgang” monster hot rod characterswhich became rock-art icons, ap-pearing on airbrushed T-shirts,posters and hot rods. Roth’s cartooncharacters were known for symbol-
izing the rebellious nature of the1960s hot rod movement. Roth took
the young man under his wing, andeven though Roth was in Californiaand Hetzler lived in Iowa, Rothtalked to young Jim over the phoneand became his mentor. “He is theone who gave me direction,” Hetzlersaid.
Hetzler became a self-taught artist when his interestin art grew over time in highschool. His love of art, hisfriends’ referrals and word ofmouth soon grew to be a full-time business. In the early 80shis career took off, launchedby the Honda MotorcycleGold Wing touring bikes.“They came from the manu-facturer in only three colors,”Hetzler said. “People wantedcustom paint jobs and the
more I did, the more referrals I got andmy business grew to cars, trucks andsemis.”
Today, Hetzler is a world classpinstripe and airbrush artist and spe-
cializes in lettering, graphics, pin-striping, gold leaf and airbrush and ishighly recommended for his symmet-rical, multi-colored fine line stripes aswell as his realistic airbrush tech-niques and ability to apply the most
current techniques toany project. Jim andhis wife, Chris, ownand operate Hetz Pin-striping and JC HetzStudio Signs andGraphics in Musca-tine, Iowa.
With 40 years ex-perience as a pin-striper, 35 years as anairbrush artist and 25years in the custompainting business, Het-
zler has too many projects to count.But some of his favorite projects in-
clude pinstriping the Good Guys 2009Street Rod of the Year, custom paint-ing his own 1950 Ford Club Coupe,and creating the paint job on a full-
size tractor trailer semi for the Uni-versity of Iowa’s Hawkeye FootballTeam.
Jim was given the title of “Pin-striping Legend” by Northern andSouthern Rodder magazines and hasreceived many awards for his graph-ics and designs throughout the years.In 2007 and 2011, Hetzler receivedthe House of Kolor Prestigious PainterAward. He’s been using House ofKolor products for 25 years and forthe past two years, has been testing thenew Shrimrin2 Formula.
“I like the new line even more,”Hetzler said. “It’s incredible paint andgives you the ability to create thou-sands of colors from16 base colors. It’s eas-ier to use and you canintermix it for anycolor combination.”The newest line ofpaint from House ofKolor, released in June2011, is a solvent-based paint with lowVOC. What makes theShrimrim2 Formulaspecial, Hetzler says, isthe ability to customcreate a multitude ofcolors and intermixing Kandy withbases and creating special effects withits line of pearls and flakes.
“House of Kolor has been mypaint of choice for the last 25 years,”Hetzler said. “House of Kolor paintsis the foundation of all my artworkand graphics. It’s vibrant, easy towork with and is convenient to mixcolors. Using their paints has en-hanced my artwork and really madethe colors pop.”
One of the highlights of his ca-reer, Hetzler said, has been the honorof working with Jon Kosmoski, whofounded House of Kolor in 1956.
Today, they work to-gether to create newproducts for House ofKolor. “When I firststarted using theirpaints 25 years ago, Iwas impressed andthought they had agreat product. In myworld, Jon is a rockstar. To be involvedwith custom paintingat this level is amazingfor me.”
Hetzler often trav-els with the House of Kolor, taking histalent on the road and showcasingHouse of Kolor paints. He is a regularshowcase artist every year at theSEMA show in Las Vegas. He also willbe at the Back to the 50s car show inMinnesota in June. In August, he’ll bein Louisville, Kentucky for the StreetRod Nationals. In his spare time, heholds his own workshops in pinstripingand airbrushing, as well as working asa pinstripe instructor for “getawayworkshops” in Orlando and Las Vegas.
Hetzler’s trademark signature is“Hetz” and can be found on all hisprojects. His online, Facebook andpersonal connections in the custom
painting world have made him fa-mous. “I can go anywhere in the U.S.and people know who I am. It’s kindof scary,” Hetzler said.
For more information, visithttp://www.hetzstudio.com/ or contactJim at (563) 263-2803 or at [email protected].
Custom Painter Jim Hetzler Started Out at Age 13 with a Model Car
Jim Hetzler won the House of Kolor Prestigious Car Painter Awardin 2007 when he painted this 1940 Buick
Jim Hetzler painted his own 1950 Ford Club Coupe
Jim Hetzler is a world-class pinstripe and airbrush artistwho started painting when he was 13.
One of Jim's favorite projects was painting this full-sized semi forthe University of Iowa’s Hawkeye Football team.
Jim Hetzler won the House of Kolor Prestigious Car Painter Awardin 2011 for this 1934 Ford
Harrisburg police arrested a man afterthey said he broadcasted “shots fired”on a police radio. Police said theythought one of their officers had beenshot, but when they arrived at an autobody shop at 17th and Brookwoodstreets they quickly realized a workerinside had been playing with a policeradio.
The radio call came from a po-lice car that was being worked on atMaaco, police said. Police said thebroadcast call was, “19th and Derry, Igot a shooting, 19th and Derry, I gota shooting! Back-up, back-up!”
Harrisburg police as well as of-ficers from the surrounding area werecalled to the scene. Police arrestedMaaco employee Carlos Albino, 22,and determined there were no shotsfired in the body shop.
“Carlos Albino came forwardand admitted that he made the radiocall from the police car. He claimedthat he didn’t realize that the radiowas activated,” a police news releasestated.
Albino will be charged with re-porting false information to law en-forcement. Police said Albino wasalso wanted on numerous warrants.
Maaco Employee ArrestedAfter Police Radio Stunt
KTM Motorsports has announce itssponsorship of Waters Autobody/Project K Racing for the 2012 AMAPro Flat Track race season in the Ex-pert Twins division. The current teamriders are Jeremy Higgins and SteveMurray.
Team owners, Dave andRhonda Waters, have been workingdiligently to establish a KTM pres-ence in the realm of flat track racingsince the team’s inception in 2008.Being a fledging privateer teamamong so many well established hasproven to be a challenge, but withKTM’s assistance, Waters is confi-dent that the durability and per-formance of the LC8 motors will bea key factor in the quest for theGrand National Championship. Thewater-cooled, 4-stroke, 75° V-Twinarrangement is used in the 2012 990Adventure, 990 Adventure R and990 Supermoto T.
New York native and teamrider, Jeremy Higgins, has been in-strumental in developing the flattrack machines for the past severalyears. He is joined by seasoned vet-eran Steve Murray from KansasCity, MI.
A group of Willets Point propertyowners want the city to pay theirhefty legal fees after pulling planslast week to take over their landthrough eminent domain proceed-ings.
The city halted its controversialapproach because it was instead near-ing a deal with a developer to over-haul the industrial cluster of autobody shops and scrap yards next toCiti Field. Sources said the dealwould be with Sterling Equities, leadby Mets owners Fred and Jeff Wilponand Saul Katz.
Michael Rikon, an attorney rep-resenting about two dozen WilletsPoint business owners, said he willfile a petition for the city to repay hisclients’ legal fees. Willets PointUnited members have shelled outmore than $300,000 in legal feessince 2008. Rikon said his clients areentitled to the money under section702 of New York State eminent do-main law. The law reads: “In theevent that the procedure to acquiresuch property is abandoned by thecondemnor ... the condemnor shall beobligated to reimburse the condem-nee.”
A West Virginia man whose blood-al-cohol level was more than twice thelegal limit told police he had fallenasleep when his van smashed into twoparked police cruisers and a personalvehicle belonging to a police officer.The parked vehicles were in front ofthe police station on Market Street inSunbury. Surveillance cameras outsidethe Sunbury Police Department caughtit all.
Police said the driver, DerekLavoie, 31, of Sisterville, W. Va., wasdriving on Market Street when he hitthe cars. Lavoie admitted he had toomuch to drink. Sunbury’s police chiefsaid the loss of two patrol cars will af-fect the department as two of the Sun-bury police department’s five patrolcars are no longer patrolling thestreets. Instead they’re at an auto bodyshop.
Sunbury Police Chief StephenMazzeo said a sergeant’s personal ve-hicle was was hit so hard it went uponto the sidewalk and hit a building onMarket Street.
According to court papers, afterthe crash Lavoie told police, “I guess Ihad too much to drink and tonight be-came what it became. It’s all my fault.”
Drunk Driver Crashes intoTwo Police Cars
Willets Point Owners WantCity to Pay Legal Fees
KTM Supports WatersAutobody/Project K Racing
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 21
A college student from Paoli, ChesterCounty, is in a coma more than 1,000miles from home after a hit-and-rundriver plowed into Eliza Gresh inMiami, authorities say. The teen wascrossing the street on April 27 whenpolice say a hit and run driver plowedinto Gresh. Police were looking forthe car, a Mercedes Benz, and thedriver, Luis Moya, 24.
The car showed up at an autobody shop a week later, but not withLuis. Behind the wheel was Moya’smom, Zoila. She told the shop ownershe had gotten into an accident, butthe shop owner recognized the carfrom police descriptions and calledinvestigators.
Police took Zoila into custodyand got in touch with Luis Moyathrough his mother and told him ifhe did not turn himself in, theywould arrest his mother andcharge her with filing false andfraudulent insurance claims. Moyatold them to go ahead and arresther.
Luis Moya has received 42traffic tickets in the last five years,including tickets for reckless andcareless driving.
Hit and Run Driver with 42 ticketslets his Mother Take the Rap
A San Antonio company has beenfined $46,000 by OSHA in connec-tion with a fatal loading dock acci-dent.
A worker at Certifit Incorpo-rated in San Antonio was preparing aloading dock for a delivery when thedelivery truck backed over him.
Investigators with the Occupa-tional Safety and Health Administra-tion said the auto body parts supplieris being cited for serious violationsthat compromised worker safety, in-cluding failure to make sure someonewas available to give first aid.
The Occupational Safety andHealth Administration cited SaltLake City, Utah-based CertiFit Inc.for nine serious safety violations atthe company’s facility in San Anto-nio. OSHA initiated the inspectionafter an employee, 40-year-oldSolomon Roberts, was killed whena delivery truck backed into a load-ing dock.
OSHA found the companyfailed to ensure that a trained personin first aid is present, provide train-ing on evacuation procedures, repairand maintain electrical equipmentand rolling ladders.
OSHA Fines San Antonio PartsSupplier Due to Fatal Accident
Pam Oakes and the employees ofPam’s Motor City in Fort Myers, Fla.,are starring in a new reality series,“Car E.R.” Sponsored by AC Delco,“Car E.R.” follows Oakes, Peter (herlong time fiancé) and the rest of thegang at Pam’s Motor City as theydeal with tricky automotive repairs,esoteric customers and serious atti-tudes within the shop. Of course, noteverything’s a problem, and there’s alot of fun and good times, too. Pam'sMotor City was named a Motor AgeTop Shop in 2008.
Unique to this series is thatOakes owns and operates the repairshop, day in and day out. Not manywomen dare to venture into thishighly male-oriented field of work,but she follows in her father’s foot-steps, and gives the boys a run fortheir money. The series is slated forfirst-run distribution via the Internet,with future television broadcasts onthe horizon. To see the first fewshows click www.car-ershowcomand connect with the show on Twit-ter @CarERShow and Facebook.Pam is also the author of Car Care forthe Clueless: Successful Used CarBuying 101.
Female Technician LeadsNew Reality Series for TV
Brian A. Hapeman, 47, formerly ofCrosby Creek Road in Hornell,NY—passed away unexpectedly May18, 2012. Brian had owned and oper-ated Crosby Creek Collision for 15years and recently established Hape-man Enterprises in Hornell. He hadpreviously worked for Ken Backer inCanisteo in auto body repair, the for-mer Elsenheimer’s Garage in Hornell.Brian enjoyed boating, camping withhis family, snowmobiling, four-wheelers, was an avid NASCAR andDale Earnhart fan as well as a BuffaloSabres Hockey fan. He is survived byhis wife, Lisa Clark Hapeman whomhe married only recently, on March24, 2012, his daughters, Hannah andBethany Hapeman; his sister, BrendaYoungs of Prattsburgh; his brothers,Barry Hapeman of Ohio, and Kyle(Charlene) Hapeman of Prattsburgh.Memorial contributions can be madeto: American Heart Assoc., P.O. Box3049, Syracuse, N.Y. 13220-3049, orto the American Diabetes Assoc., 595Blossom Rd., Rochester, N.Y. 14610or to Suzan Askins to set up a trustfund for Brian’s daughters, at 1577Slate Creek Rd., Canisteo, N.Y.14823.
Shop Owner Brian HapemanPasses Away in Arkport, NY
Cole’s Collision, with three locationsin upstate New York, focuses on com-munity involvement and quality cus-tomer service.
Owner John Cole, Jr. told me,“Our community efforts are quite sub-stantial compared to other shops inour area. With the ability of our threelocations to capture so much marketshare, we make it a point to be ex-tremely customer oriented. Throughour community involvement and largecustomer base, our customer serviceand quality of work maintains the cus-tomer’s loyalty. We pride ourselves onrunning a legitimate business and‘doing the right thing’ at all times.”
Cole’s Collision sponsors threelocal little league baseball teams, butCole’s charity of choice is the Make-A-Wish Foundation. On their 5th an-niversary, Cole’s granted a wish to alocal boy with leukemia. Cole’s senthim and his family to Disney World.Additionally, Cole is a member of theBallston Spa Business ProfessionalsAssociation, and a member of theChamber of Commerce in bothColonie and Saratoga. Cole and hisshops work with BOCES technicalschool to help train and develop up-coming repair technicians. Cole hasalso hired several top students fromthe local community college wherethey received a two-year degree in oc-cupational studies for technical serv-ices, auto body repair.
While showing obvious concernfor the community, Cole’s Collision is
no less concerned about the environ-ment. The three shops have all con-verted to waterborne paints, and they
have received Greenlinks’ CCAR Cer-tifications. Additionally, all of thetechnicians employed by Cole’s arecertified on hazardous waste, and theshops are currently working at be-coming a paperless office with the useof their management system.
Cole’s Collision was founded inJanuary, 2007, by John Cole, Sr. JohnJr.’s father did truck repair, and whenJohn graduated high school early withhonors at the age of sixteen andwanted a car, his father insisted he beable to pay for it himself. John Sr.helped his son get a part-time job in anearby auto body truck shop. John Jr.enjoyed the work and started pickingup more hours. Eventually, John leftcollege for the auto body field wherehe has worked ever since. After open-ing his first location at 1904 CentralAve in Albany, NY in 2007, Cole ac-quired two additional locations inMay, 2010, formerly Spa Body WorksLtd., and opened his second and thirdCole’s Collision Centers in BallstonSpa and Saratoga, NY.
Cole’s Collision Centers use PPGAqua base paint systems, and Johnnotes his shops made the switch withease and comfort. “We are using thesame technology as the manufacturersdo to paint the vehicles being pro-duced today. This allows us to pro-duce a flawless match every time.”Cole’s Collision also has their own In-ternational tow truck which allowsthem to tow virtually any vehicle theycan repair.
Cole notes that customers seem tobe relying more on independent colli-sion shops instead of consistentlygoing to their dealer for repairs. “Ithink strong customer service-orientedshops like ourselves are helping with
that mentality, as well as insurancecompanies strong reliance on the bestshops they want representing them.”He has also noticed that insurancecompanies are minimizing the numberof shops chosen for their DRP pro-gram, giving more referrals to theshops with the highest key perform-ance indicators.
John also believes that the futureof the industry lies with independentshops taking collision business awayfrom dealerships. “Since the insurancecompanies are strict with their crite-ria, I see the larger MSO’s becomingmore powerful in the collision centerarena because they have the marketresources to provide the insurancecompanies with what they are lookingfor.” Additionally, he notes that the in-dustry is following the digital trend,claiming his shop’s website allowshim to chat with customers and insur-ance agents in addition to sending
electronic surveys which allow theshop to receive customer servicescores online.
All three of Cole’s shops are I-CAR Gold Class Certified, which hebelieves is an important tool in show-ing his customers and the insurancecompanies that his shops are devotedto the latest information and trainingavailable. This also keeps all of thestaff extremely knowledgeable and fo-cused on quality repairs. As the fastestgrowing MSO in the area, John cred-its his employees and customer serv-
Cole’s Collision Says It’s Quality & Caring That Customers Love
22 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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with Rick WhiteShop Management
with Stefan GesterkampPaint Management
with Gonzo WeaverGonzo’s Toolbox
with Richard ArnoldJobber Journal
Mainstream Media
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 Walter DanalevichShop Strategies for Savings
with The Insurance InsiderInside Insurance
with Ed AttanasioCustom Corner
with Chasidy Rae SiskCompany Connections
with Chasidy Rae SiskNortheast News
with Chasidy Rae SiskShop Showcase
with Erica SchroederShop Showcase
with Erica SchroederShop Snapshot
Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware, whowrites on a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family of NASCAR fans.She can be contacted at [email protected].
John Cole
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 23
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ice staff, insisting “we hire the best.”Cole’s Collision employs 51 individ-uals in their three shops.
Cole’s Collision in Albany, NYboasts a 16,000-square-foot facilitythat services 150 to 180 vehicles each
month. The shop utilizes a Car-O-Liner frame machine with Laser Tech-nology, a Chief EZ Liner frame rackwith Genesis Laser measuring. Johnuses the Pro Spot I4 Welders at allthree of his locations. The advancedwelding technology not only reducesthe touch time, but also ensures theyare returning the vehicle to pre-acci-dent condition. John notes that theCar-O-Liner equipment was a positivepurchase as the laser measuring re-
turns the vehicle to its factory correctspecifications.
Cole’s Collision Center inSaratoga, NY, consists of a 12,000-square-foot building where they repair110 to 150 vehicles per month. They
use a USI Italia Chronotechdowndraft paint booth withdrive through doors, a Mo-hawk 7000 lb capacity lift,with the same welders andindividual lifts like the otherlocations. Additionally, theyhave two Chief Frame ma-chines and use the GenesisLaser measuring systems.The 16,000 square-footBallston Spa location repairs130–170 vehicles each
month. The shop uses a Saima FullDowndraft paint booth, Chief Frameequipment with Genesis Laser meas-uring, Hunter Alignment machine andthe same individual floor lifts with6000 lb capacity.
Cole’s Collision Centers1904 Central AveColonie, NY 12205518-213-2070www.colescollision.com
24 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
New York No Fault Insurance v. Medical MillsNew York’s Cuomo administration isopening another front in its battleagainst no-fault insurance scams.
State Financial Services Superin-tendent Ben Lawsky has announceda new regulations that give insurancecompanies more leeway to declineclaims if they suspect fraud.
“These reforms will ensure thatNew Yorkers get the proper andtimely treatment for legitimate in-juries that they deserve, while closingloopholes that allow criminal medicalmills to scam the system and drive upinsurance premiums,” Lawsky said.
“The new regulations will giveinsurers more time to prove fraud andprevent payment, unlike the currentsystem that requires insurers to payno-fault claims within 30 days evenwhen they suspect that health careservices have not actually been pro-vided.”
Under the new regulations, in-surers can delay and ultimately denyclaims if they suspect fraud and candemonstrate that the medical serviceswere never provided—even if it takeslonger than 30 days to investigate theclaim and prove fraud.
If the insurer cannot prove fraud,however, the company must pay theclaim plus an interest payment of 2%
a month for every month the paymentwas delayed.
Insurers welcomed the change.“If implemented, these regula-
tory changes will help close the glar-ing loopholes that allow criminals torip off the system and control the en-suing costs which are passed on todrivers by way of higher premiums,”said Kristina Baldwin, co-spokesper-son for Fraud Costs-NY and assistantvice president for Property CasualtyInsurers Association of America.
The crackdown on insurancefraud was launched after federal pros-ecutors in February busted up a majorno-fault car insurance scam that hadbeen operating medical mills acrossthe city for years.
Lawsky has also vowed to crackdown on doctors involved in thescams. In March, he sent letters tomore than 100 doctors suspected offraud, asking for information on theirbilling practices.
The Pottstown Classics Car Club andlocal businesses and community vol-unteers raised money to refurbish adisabled veteran’s 1967 Ford Galaxie500 on April 28.
A fund to pay for the restorationof a car owned by a disabled U.S. sol-dier was down to its last $10 whenBill Struble donated money from hisveteran’s benefits to help the cause.
Struble, who served in the U.S.Army in Saigon during the early1970s, recently gave $500 of his dis-ability income (due to his exposure toAgent Orange) to the project. The
venture, led by the Pottstown ClassicsCar Club, aims to restore a 1967 FordGalaxie 500 owned by Brad Herron, alocal disabled U.S. Army veteran whoserved for six years in Iraq,Afghanistan and areas hit by Hurri-cane Katrina.
“I wanted to help on behalf of allthe veterans,” said Struble of Col-legeville. “Plus, I’m a Ford fan.
Struble owned a 1968 Galaxie.He also had to give up his yellow1960 Chevy Impala when he wasdrafted into the Army, he said.
On Saturday, Struble was atSanatoga’s Hilltop Drive-In for a
PCCC Herron Project fundraiserwhere he displayed his silver 1999Ford Mustang. The event, which in-cluded Boyertown-based Wicked Ef-fects Car Club and Boobie Nation,plus donations made last week raisednearly $1,500, said PCCC’s Don Vil-lanova.
The Herron car, painted shinyvermilion, needs roughly $3,000 to becompleted, said Jim Brennan, ownerof Pottstown’s Brennan’s Auto Repair.When done, the car will include about$50,000 in parts and labor, said GaryPace, who handles public relations forPCCC.
“It took our club and the com-munity and the businesses,” Pace saidof work on the project, which in-cluded help from local high schoolstudents. “This was a whole town ef-fort.”
Pace said the car will be pre-sented to Herron during one ofPCCC’s upcoming monthly shows inPottstown.
Pace said he hopes other commu-nities and car clubs will unite to helptheir local U.S. military veterans.
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 25
Pottsdown, PA, Car Club Raises Money for Veteran’s Ford Galaxie 500
Hilltop Drive-In in Sanatoga is the venue for thePottstown Classics Car Club fund-raiser to ben-efit the Herron Project. Credit Teresa McMinn
Pottstown Classic Car Club’s Gary Pace holdsthe microphone at the organization’s April 28,2012 fund-raiser for the Herron Project. Paceintroduced the event organizer Don Villanova.Credit: Teresa McMinn
Enterprise Rent-A-Car has launcheda new customer repair status notifica-tion system for collision repair shopsthat uses text and email messages tokeep customers updated on the statusof vehicle repairs.
Enterprise said the new cus-tomer repair status notification sys-tem was developed in response tostudies conducted by J.D. Power &Associates that revealed customersof all ages prefer to receive repairstatus updates through email and textmessages. The system is now part ofEnterprise’s Automated Rental Man-agement System (ARMS) suite ofproducts.
The feature allows shops to up-date all of its customers, not just itsEnterprise rental customers, througheither customized or automated mes-sages. The system also providesshops with a written record of infor-mation communicated to customersto help avoid misunderstandings, En-terprise said.
The system is available to allbody shops that use the ARMS Auto-motive Data Manager application,Enterprise said. For more informa-tion, visit ARMSAutoSuite.com.
The following is an interview withChuck Gosney, President of CollisionBilling, a company that could helpbring the changes the collision indus-try desperately needs. In this inter-view, Domenico Nigro asks somedirect questions on exactly how thiscompany could bring needed change.
Domenico: Chuck, what exactly isCollision Billing?
Chuck: Collision Billing was createdto keep the insurance companies incheck and to help the auto body shopsget paid for the work they are doing.Nobody was representing the shops,so we created Collision Billing tolevel the playing field. We have twomain services that we provide for thecollision industry, the first being ourFull Billing Services, and, of course,our Claims Database.
Domenico: For years, there have beenconsultants that have been tellingshops how to get paid by using the ref-erence manuals, P-Pages, and othertips on writing a complete sheet. Howare you different?
Chuck: The other consultants do a
great job of explaining what is in-cluded and not included and what toask for. We have all been to theirworkshops and get excited and go outon Monday and start writing repair or-ders the way we should. When youask for those things, the insurancecompany’s response is that they don’tpay for that and the shop has no re-course to get paid for it and they stopasking for it. What the shop is lackingis data to substantiate the operation, orsomeone who will challenge the in-surance company on the shop’s be-half. That’s where we come in, andthat’s how we’re different.
Domenico: How does your full billingservices work?
Chuck: Our full billing services aresimilar to the professional billing serv-ices used in the medical field, andmuch like a medical biller, we workwith the shop in submitting their finalblueprint for repair to the insurancecompany. We work with the shop tomake sure they are billing for all op-erations performed to repair their cus-tomer’s vehicle to pre-accidentcondition. We then use data gatheredfrom our experience and our claims
database to justify the charges to theinsurance company.
Domenico: So you simply submit thefinished paperwork to the insurancecompany once the job is done?
Chuck: Actually, we work the jobfrom the moment the car arrives at theshop to the time the shop receivesfinal payment for the job. The estima-tor writes the original blueprint for re-pair and we take over from there,adding any additional R&I or otheroperations that may have been missed.From that point forward, we handle allcommunication with the insurancecompany. We then make them justifywhy they refuse to pay by using ourarsenal of tools and experience toshow them the validity of the opera-tion.
Domenico: So what has been the re-sponse so far?
Chuck: Given our knowledge of thethree major estimating platforms, theP-Pages, database reference manualsand our Claims Database, we havebeen very successful in getting ourclients paid on the work they haveperformed. We have helped shops getpaid for operations where previouslythey were told “We don’t pay for that”and we were able to show that the in-surance prevailing rates were not ac-curate to get some shops their truelabor rates.
Domenico: I’m familiar with the P-Pages and reference manuals, butwhat exactly is the Claims Database?
Chuck: The Claims Database is ournumber one tool in assisting ourclients in getting paid. It’s where wetrack different components of the esti-mates and log them for future use. Forexample, we can find if a certain in-surance company has paid for a spe-cific operation (such as a finish sandand buff or test drive car), paid foritemized materials, or are even sup-pressing the labor rates for the areawith deceptive estimating practices.It’s real simple. We submit this data toprove our point.
Domenico: That sounds like it wouldbe extremely useful. Do shops have touse your billing service to get accessto that information?
Chuck:Actually, we realized early onhow powerful the data was, and wewanted to make it available to themasses. So we created a subscriptionmodel that allows shops to submittheir estimates along with the corre-sponding insurance estimates to con-tribute to the database. They can thenrequest from Collision Billing infor-mation to be sent to an adjustor onspecific operations or rates. To followour earlier example, let’s say an insur-ance company claims they won’t payfor finish sand and buff, so we thenshow them examples of where theyhave. Now, it’s up to them to justifywhy the operation is paid on one sideof town, but not on the other.
Domenico: You have mentioned afew times that you will pursue pay-ment. What is meant by that and howfar are you willing to take it?
Chuck: We are collecting and track-ing a lot of information. We will usethat information to get our memberspaid, period. We see trends whereinsurance companies have “poli-cies” that they don’t pay for specificoperations. We don’t see any justifi-cation for their “policies,” especiallywhen the information providers statethat those are not included opera-tions. We will challenge them to dowhat’s right and start paying for theoperations, and if we have to, wewill take them to court. One of ourpartners and legal council, EricaEversman, has successfully wonmany cases. With the data we arecollecting, we will be able toachieve on a global scale what shehas accomplished at the local andstate level. This data can also beused to share with both the Depart-ment of Insurance and the States At-torney Generals to show patterns ofunfair trade practices.
For more information on Colli-sion Billing, call 517-489-4280 or goto www.collisionbilling.com.
Domenico Nigro’s Q&A with Chuck Gosney of Collision Billing
with David BrownShop Showcase
with Attorney Martin ZuradaBody Shop Law
with Domenico Nigro
The Community-Focused Body Shop
with Janet CheneyShop Showcase
with Frank SheroskyIndustry Business Beat
Domenico Nigro is the president of Nigro’s Auto Body, a very progressive shop fortheir community in Philadelphia. In addition to many productivity innovations, Nigro’sinstalls equipment for disabled drivers, has developed several phone Applications,and represents products which directly support charities such as United Way and theNational Breast Cancer Foundation. Contact him at: [email protected].
Major Physical Damage Indicators Up For 6 QuartersAccording to the latest available datafrom the Independent Statistical Serv-ice Inc. (ISS), Insurance Services Of-fice, Inc. (ISO), and the NationalIndependent Statistical Service(NISS), the frequency of private pas-senger collision claims has now beenon a gradual rising trend for six con-secutive quarters. Having been in anear-constant down trend since thefirst quarter of 2008, data through thefourth quarter 2011 shows that colli-sion claims frequency has risen to5.66 claims per 100 earned car years.That represents an increase of 1.92percent from the recent low of 5.56claims per 100 earned car yearsreached in the second quarter of 2010.
Paid losses for private passengercollision claims have been on the riseas well. The data shows over $16.4billion in physical damage losses paidfor the year ending with the fourthquarter of 2011. That is the sixth con-secutive quarterly rise in paid losses.The average paid loss once again
broke above the $3,000 mark to endthe fourth quarter at $3,029 comparedto $2,946 a year earlier.
The average paid loss, while ris-ing recently, has held pretty steadythrough the recent recession years.The average paid loss reached a recenthigh of $3,027 in the first quarter of2008 and declined fairly steadilythrough the first quarter of 2010,reaching a low of $2,922. It has beengradually rising ever since.
However, even while claims fre-quency and paid losses have been onthe increase in recent quarters, it hasnot necessarily meant a return of busi-ness for the collision repairer. That'sbecause, according to ISO, the num-ber of claims paid is still below the re-cent highs set in early 2008. In the 12months prior to second quarter of2008, the insurance industry paid 5.63million private passenger physicaldamage claims. But as of Q4 2011,the industry paid 5.44 million claimsover the prior 12 months.
Linda and Michael Downey’s 2002car, at 250,000-plus miles, was on itslast legs. They were about to plunkdown at least another $600 for abrake repair when they heard somegood news: they were eligible to re-ceive a newer car for free.
The cash-strapped Somervillecouple is delighted to get their newwheels—a remodeled 2007 Chevro-let Malibu donated by State Farm In-surance, Britland Auto Body inGreen Brook, NJ, and a number ofvendors that do business with the
Route 22 shop.But perhaps the biggest winner
of this generosity is the Downey’sdaughter, Charlotte. The 7-year-oldgirl has spent most of her life in thehospital struggling against a seem-ingly never-ending series of ail-ments: a heart defect, a kidneytransplant, a brain tumor and nowgrueling chemotherapy for cancer.
Without a reliable car, the fam-ily worried about how they couldmake the 100-mile round-trip on aregular basis.
The parents, who also have a10-year-old son, take turns spendingthe night with Charlotte at the hospi-tal, which is where she and her fatherwere that afternoon when LindaDowney and her sister Cori Pelosovisited Britland to pick up the Mal-ibu and visit with the people whomade the gift possible.
“They just don’t have a lot ofmoney to buy another car. The med-ical bills are astronomical,” Pelososaid. Linda Downey works as a per-sonal trainer while Michael, a Ma-rine veteran, is a professional
photographer.Britland employees repaired the
car during their spare time usingsupplies donated by vendors, includ-ing Joy Automotive Products andAmerican Tire, both in Green Brook,LKQ Parts and Cosmo’s Auto Sal-vage in Bayville. Britland co-ownerEdgar Chaves said the work on thecar cost at least $6,500.
Jack’s Kids, a non-profit basedat Somerville Elks Lodge 1068 thathelps families of children with med-ical issues, selected the family forthe car. The group also received a$500 check from Britland on Friday.
Chaves said the car will be thefirst of many donations by his shop.
“We want to keep doing thingsto give something to the communityfor people who need it,” he said.
28 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Phone:
516-282-3810Fax Your Order:516-281-7535
Parts Dept. Hours:Monday - Friday: 8am - 5pm
220 North Franklin St., Hempstead, NY 11550
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Family of NJ Girl Battling Cancer Receives Donated Car from Britland Auto Body
Linda Downey with her 2007 Chevrolet Malibuand Britland Auto Body co-owner Edgar Chaves,his wife and bookkeeper Margot Chaves, andsons Edgar Chaves Jr., the office manager, andDiego Chaves, a customer service agent
Ray Gunder will present a legal sem-inar, “Learn How to Stay Legal inYour Shop,” to the Georgia CollisionIndustry Association in late June.Gunder will address basic legal issuesrelating to operating a successful col-lision repair shop.
The intent of this seminar is toprovide information on legal basics in-cluding “Power of Attorney” and “As-signment of Proceeds” (akaAssignment of Benefits). Answers toattendee’s individual questions as tohow it may benefit them, their busi-ness and their customers, will be avail-able along with other topics such as:Understanding the Repairer’s LegalResponsibilities, Understanding theCustomer’s Legal Responsibilities.
Understanding the Insurer’sLegal Responsibilities, RecognizingLegal Liabilities and How to AvoidThem, How to Turn Potential Liabil-ities into Significant Profits, Makingyour Repair Authorizations LegallyIron-Clad and Profitable, The Impor-tance of Knowing and Understandingyour State’s Laws and Regulations asthey relate to your business.
For more information and dateof seminar, see the GCIA website.
• Free Next Day Delivery• Experienced & Knowledgeable Parts Team
LEXUS OFMASSAPEQUA
www.lexusofmassapequa.com
Florida Shop Owner Arrested for Impersonating AdjusterA Florida body shop owner wascharged with impersonating an insur-ance adjuster for three carriers at acci-dent scenes to generate more businessfor his auto body shop, police say.
Vincenzo Gurrera, 43, of Boyn-ton Beach, FL, became the subject ofan investigation after numerous com-plaints were filed against his shop,Collision World, at 610 IndustrialAve, according to the Palm BeachCounty sheriff’s office and the SunSentinel newspaper.
Between August 2011 and April,Gurrera allegedly impersonated anadjuster from GEICO, Liberty Mutualor State Farm, giving specific direc-tions to people to take their cars to hisshop for repairs. It would often takeweeks for the companies to find outabout Gurrera’s transaction, the sher-iff’s office said. The routine allegedlybegan in August 2011 and continuedto April of this year.
Those involved in the crashestold investigators they signed Gur-rera’s release forms because theythought Gurrera was a “legitimate in-surance representative.”
Each victim identified Gurrera ina photo line-up, authorities said.Detectives received four sworn affi-
davits from the three insurance com-panies, which stated Gurrera does notcurrently work, and has never
worked, as an in-surance adjusterfor their compa-nies. The FloridaDepartment ofFinancial Serv-ices confirmed toinvestigators thatGurrera was notlicensed.
Anyone who suspects they arebeing lured into an insurance scamshould call the Department of Finan-cial Services at 877-693-5236.
According to investigators, Gur-rera was possibly receiving accident in-formation from crash scenes and thenfiling claims based on that information.In Florida, however, accident reports arenot released for 60 days after the crash.
Police recommended that con-sumers who believe they were af-fected contact the Department ofFinancial Services, Division of Con-sumer Services by calling 1-877-MY-FL-CFO (1-877-693-5236) orwww.myfloridacfo.com/division/con-sumers for assistance, or to report apossible scam.
General Motors will stop advertisingon Facebook, citing the ineffective-ness of the paid ads, The Wall StreetJournal reported May 15. The movecame days before Facebook’s initialpublic offering that valued the socialmedia giant at near $100 billion. Theautomaker will still utilize free Face-book pages for marketing. JoelEwanick, GM’s top marketer, saidthe company was “reassessing our ad-vertising on Facebook, although thecontent is effective and important,”the Journal reported, adding that “thecontent” referred to the free pages.GM spends about $40 million tomaintain all aspects of its Facebookmarketing, including about $10 mil-lion on paid ads, the Journal reported.The automaker began to reconsideradvertising on Facebook earlier thisyear, according to the Journal, andEwanick and other members of GM’smarketing team recently met with rep-resentatives from Facebook but themeeting didn’t sway GM from its de-cision to pull the ads. GM spent $2.8billion in advertising in the UnitedStates and $3.9 billion globally in2010, the most recent year for whichdata is available.
GM to Stop $40M in FacebookAdvertising—“it’s ineffective”
Responding to GM’s announcementthat it is pulling Facebook paid adver-tising, a Ford representative tweeted:“It’s all about the execution. Our Face-book ads are effective when strategi-cally combined with engaging content& innovation.”
“We’ve found Facebook ads to bevery effective when strategically com-bined with engagement, great content andinnovative ways of storytelling, ratherthan treating them as a straight mediabuy,” a Ford spokesperson said in a state-ment. “We continue to have a strong, col-laborative relationship with Facebook,which includes first-of-a-kind vehicle re-veals, advertising and innovative ways ofsharing content. Our engineers have alsobeen working with Facebook engineersto develop unique and safer ways of inte-grating the car experience with Face-book.” Ford has been a vocal supporterof Facebook marketing for quite sometime. Most recently, the company wasone of the first to pay for Facebook’s newlogout ads. The automaker has also beenworking closely with the social network-ing giant to figure out how to integrateFacebook into Ford Sync. Ford has 1.5million Likes and 378,000 Likes on theirFacebook Pages, respectively.
Ford Tweaks GM and DoublesDown on Facebook Advertising
Vincenzo Gurrera
This is an interesting story and I don’tknow quite where to start. How about:Elvis has just entered the building andnobody noticed. Is it possible for Elvisto walk into a room and take a seat yethave nobody notice that the King is inthe house? It’s impossible, right?
Well, it seems just as impossiblethat collision repairers didn’t mentionState Farm and parts at the most re-cent Collision Industry Conference(CIC) meeting. They are the mostcommon words affectionately utteredby body shops owners throughout thecountry these days. So how is it pos-sible that during one of the industry’sbiggest stages, CIC, there wasn’t evena mention?
Yes, there were some sidebar con-versations during breaks. Yes, therewas a lot of discussion at an associa-tion meeting held in conjunction withCIC. And yes, there have been somepress releases.
But when everyone had a chanceto address State Farm publicly, no-body noticed that the elephant was inthe room. I know the elephant wasthere.
Maybe a gag order was issued?Maybe the industry felt that StateFarm deserved a break? Or could it bethat the industry realized that it’s notas bad as some have made it out to be?
I am among those who think StateFarm’s parts move isn’t as bad assome make it out to be. While thereare pros and cons, the reality is thatoverall it’s a good thing. If State Farmdidn’t take the lead on this, the indus-try would have continued to flounderaround for years to come. The ineffi-cient parts ordering model employedby the collision repairers is archaicand wasteful.
Why wouldn’t State Farm want ashop to order the most cost-effectivepart on a given repair? Why shouldState Farm have to reimburse a shopfor a more expensive part if the exactsame part is available at a cheaperprice? Paying more for the same partis a waste of insured’s premium dol-lars.
If shops were more cost-con-scious over the past 10 years, insurersmay have been in a position to lowerthe cost of insurance instead of con-
tinually raising it. I realize it’s not en-tirely the shops’ fault, but I can assureyou that when shops are repairing oneof their own vehicles, they’re lookingharder for the best price on parts.
We all have a responsibility to becost-conscious when spending some-one else’s money. When you repair acustomer’s vehicle, you are spendingTHEIR money. Yes, you are spendingTHEIR MONEY. I don’t care if it’s aninsurance claim. The money the in-surance company pays you is from theinsured’s premiums.
If you understand and respect thatconcept, you would treat an insuranceclaim like it was a customer-pay jobfrom a family member. Instead, wehave an industry that couldn’t careless about the cost of parts becausethey aren’t paying for them and willmake more money by choosing thehighest-priced parts.
Don’t all of us have a responsibil-ity to make sure the customer’s car isrepaired in the most cost-effectivemanner possible? If the answer is‘yes,’ why are body shops all over thecountry crying foul? If State Farm wastrying to eliminate your parts profit,like an ill-fated pilot program manyyears ago, then you’d have a right tocomplain. But finding the most cost-effective part shouldn’t be somethinginsurers have to ask or require you todo. You should have been doing itsince the first car entered your build-ing.
Although insurance companiesinserting themselves into the bodyshop’s business isn’t a popular sub-ject, you might as well get used to it.I’ve been around this industry long
enough to know that unless an insur-ance company requires it, it’s notgoing to happen. Allstate requiringCCC’s first estimating system facili-tated the widespread adoption of elec-
tronic estimating. Ifthat didn’t happen,we might still bewriting estimates byhand.
Why is Allstaterequiring their di-rect repair shops tobe I-CAR GoldClass? It’s becausethe vast majority ofthe industry doesn’twant to investmoney into training.Shops shouldn’t be
forced to keep up with the latest tech-nology and repair methodologies.They should be seeking training with-out any interference or mandate by an
insurance company. But they don’t.There are many other examples of
insurance companies changing the in-dustry but I think my point has beenmade. When there are inefficiencies inthe system, money to be saved or abetter way to serve the customer, un-less an insurance company decides toplay the role of the evil villain, shopsaren’t going to do it willingly.
If the majority of shops were op-erating at a high level (as a few are),there would be no reason for any car-rier to manage the shops’ business. In-surance companies are similar to thegovernment. You are better served re-solving the problem yourself, other-wise your fate will be decided for you.
Elvis sang a song titled, “Don’tAsk Me Why.” The next time you areat an industry meeting and want tocomplain about insurance companiestaking over the industry, remember theKing’s song…and this article.
30 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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Is the State Farm Elephant in the Room a Bad Elephant?
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Mainstream Media
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Automakers’ Actions and Analysisby Autobody News Staff
Shop Showcaseby Autobody News Staff
with Ed AttanasioShop and Product Showcase
with Ed AttanasioConsumer Callout
with Walter DanalevichShop Strategies for Savings
with The Insurance InsiderInside Insurance
with Ed AttanasioCustom Corner
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with Chasidy Rae SiskNortheast News
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with Erica SchroederShop Showcase
with Erica SchroederShop Snapshot
The Insider is a corporate-level executive with a Top 10 auto insurerin the U.S.. Got a comment or question you’d like to see him addressin a future column? Email him at [email protected]
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 31
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Chrysler Group will voluntarily recall127,346 2011 and 2012 DodgeCharger and Chrysler 300 sedans inthe United States and Canada to fix afuse problem that could disrupt thevehicles’ antilock brakes and elec-tronic stability control systems. Aplastic insert surrounding a fuse inthe vehicles may become distortedbecause of thermal expansion andcontraction, Chrysler said in a state-ment today. The problem could affectvehicle control and increase the riskof a crash. Drivers are alerted to theproblem by the vehicle ABS/ESCwarning lamp, the statement said,noting that despite the failure, driverswill retain basic brake function. Therecall affects all 2011 and 2012 unitsbuilt before Dec. 20, 2011. The recallincludes 119,072 vehicles in theUnited States and 8,274 in Canada.According to documents submitted tothe NHTSA, the affected system issupplied by Global Automotive Sys-tems of suburban Detroit, a unit ofDura Automotive Systems. The de-fective part is in the vehicle’s powerdistribution center. Chrysler said itwas unaware of any accidents or in-juries related to the recalled vehicles.
Chrysler to Recall 127K DodgeChargers and 300’s for Fuses
Nissan Motor Co. is recalling certainTitan pickup trucks from the 2012model year because they have im-proper seating-capacity labels thatcould lead owners to overload the ve-hicles and increase the risk of a crash.
The recall reflects tight safetyregulations in the auto industry andthe fact that manufacturers cannot de-pend on the common sense of driversto insure vehicles are operated in asafe manner. Customers may contactNissan at 615-725-1000.
Nissan Recalling Certain 2012Titan Pickups for Mislabeling
A new study from Carfax shows thatchoosing to ignore auto recalls threat-ens the safety of consumers every-where. In 2011, over 2.7 million usedcars were for sale online with safetyrecalls that were never fixed. Carowners and sellers can help improvepublic safety by actively checking foropen recalls and having them fixedby franchise dealers. There’s no ex-cuse—recall repairs are free and find-ing cars with open recalls is easy.
“We’re making a lot of progress,but there are still too many open re-calls out there,” said Larry Gamache,communications director at Carfax.“Many of these cars change handswithout the buyer ever knowing a re-call exists, increasing the safety risksboth to passengers in the car and oth-ers on the road. We all need to do ourpart to make sure these cars are iden-tified and fixed—buyers, sellers andowners alike. A simple online checkfor open recalls is all it takes to helpmake our roads safer.”
California, Florida and Texaslead the nation with the most usedcars for sale with open recalls, eachhaving well over 100,000 last year.More about recall campaigns is avail-able at www.safercar.gov.
Carfax Study Shows ConsumerThreatened by Ignoring Recalls
BMW is recalling 24,340 vehiclesequipped with diesel engines fromthe 2009-11 model years that may failto meet U.S. and California emissioncontrol requirements.
About 2,740 2011 and 2012model year X5 xDrive 50i and X6xDrive 50i vehicles, and 21,600 3-se-ries diesel models, will be recalled,the automaker said. The recalls werescheduled for May 9, with a customerletter to follow, BMW North Amer-ica spokesman Dirk Arnold said.
The vehicles were manufacturedat factories in Spartanburg, S.C., andGermany.
BMW said certain emissionscomponents, including the SCR cata-lyst, the DEF mixer and the EGRvalve, may improperly overstate ve-hicle mileage, causing emissionsstandards to be exceeded and the il-lumination of the “Service EngineSoon” light.
BMW said the repair will re-quire the inspection and replacementof one or more of the emissions com-ponents and the reprogramming ofthe vehicle’s engine control unit.
BMW Recalling Diesel Vehiclesor Fuses
Chrysler is recalling about 68,000Jeep Wranglers manufactured in2010 due to the chance of a vehiclefire resulting from debris collectingin the transmission. The automakersaid in a filing with the NationalHighway Traffic Association that thepullback of 67,872 Jeeps with an au-tomatic transmission reflects con-cerns that the transmission skid plate,which is close to the catalytic con-verter, can collect debris and ignitewithout warning. The company saidit will notify owners, and dealers willreplace the skid plate free of charge. The move comes after the NHTSAbegan investigation complaints aboutfires in 2010 Wranglers earlier thisyear.
Chrysler Recalls 68,000 JeepWranglers for Fire Concerns
The Chinese-made JAC 4R3 is a fac-simile of Ford’s F-150, right down tothe blue oval on the hood, and Fordhas blocked the Chinese companyfrom selling it. “Not going to hap-pen,” said Bill Coughlin, presidentand CEO of Ford Global Technolo-gies in an interview. In the past, othercar companies have found it difficultto protect their designs from Chinesecopiers, but Ford is not among them.“We can protect ourselves in China,it’s not easy, but you can do it. Is itexpensive? Not really.”
The Chinese government re-quires foreign OEMs to partner withtheir own domestics but Ford andJAC are not partners. It remains to beseen whether JAC will respect the de-cision, or build its knock off F-150anyway.
Ford Blocks JAC from SellingBlatant F-150 Knock Off
BMW has overtaken Toyota as theworld’s most valuable automotivebrand, an annual ranking of theworld’s top brands shows. Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Audi im-proved their brand value, accordingto the BrandZ Top 100 Most ValuableGlobal Brands study released by mar-ket research company MillwardBrown. The world’s most valuablecar brands in $ billion1. BMW $24.62. Toyota $21.83. Mercedes $16.14. Honda $12.75. Nissan $9.96. VW $8.57. Ford $7.08. Audi $4.79. Hyundai $3.610. Lexus $3.4
BMW Replaces Toyota as MostValuable Automotive Brand
Ford is recalling 10,500 vehicles, in-cluding the 2012-’13 Ford Mustang,2012 Ford Expedition, 2011-’12 FordF-150 and 2012 Lincoln Navigator,due to transmission and light calibra-tion problems. “These vehicles mayhave a transmission range sensor(TRS) that was calibrated out of spec-ification for reverse gear,” saidNHTSA. “If this condition exists, thetransmission may not go into reverseor when the driver pushes the shiftlever in the reverse “R” position andthe vehicle’s transmission does go inreverse, the “R” may not illuminate onthe dashboard of the F-150, Expeditionor Navigator models and/or the back-up lamp on the rear of the F-150, Ex-pedition, Navigator or Mustangvehicles may not illuminate. The recallis expected to begin on June 25. Own-ers can contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332.
Ford Recalls 10.500 Vehicles forTransmission Sensor Issues
The National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration reports that distracteddriving is the number-one killer ofAmerican teens. Five seconds is theaverage time a driver’s eyes are offthe road when texting. When travel-ing at 55 mph, that’s enough time tocover the length of a football field.According to a national survey re-leased by the Ad Council, 60 percentof young adult drivers (16–24) saidthey have texted while driving. In2010, more than 3,000 people werekilled and an additional 416,000 wereinjured due to distracted driving,which includes texting while driving.
Distracted Driving No. 1 Killer,Especially of Texting Teens
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 35
Alternators, starters, voltage regula-tors, window motor assemblies, lightbulbs, serpentine belts… the list goeson and on of the various cheaplymade replacement parts available.Being able to distinguish what partsare good or bad is part of being a pro-fessional in this crazy world of auto-motive repair.
When a customer calls wantingprices on a certain job, more thanlikely this isn’t the first phone callthey’ve made today. The way I cantell this is how they answer certainquestions I ask to narrow down theoptions on that particular part or job.“What’s the motor size? Two- or four-door? Automatic or manual?” If thesequestions aren’t a hit and miss an-swer, chances are they’ve beenthrough this before, and have a prettygood idea what the cost is, or at leastwhat they’ve found out from the autoparts cheapo depot.
“Yes, I need a price on an alter-nator for my car,” the caller asks. Igive them a price for the brands I sell,and before I’m even finished they’lltell me how much the last guy wouldsell the part for. That’s fine, I knoweveryone is looking for a bargain, andshopping around for prices is all partof it. However, let’s compare applesto apples — not just prices to prices.
A perfect example is the com-mon external regulator for a Fordproduct. The prices will range from afew bucks to as much as $30. The dif-ference is quality, of course. You cantell the difference for yourself by justpicking one up. The cheap regulatorfeels like a feather compared to themore expensive one. The question is… do they both work? Yes they do,but there’s no doubt the cheaper onewill not take any abuse, or a fluctuat-ing signal, or load variations as wellas the better made part. No doubt the
cheaper one will need to be replacedsooner than you think.
From the professional side, ittakes just as long to diagnose a prob-lem and make the repair with a well-manufactured part as it does to put onone of those bottom-of-the-barrelparts. The big difference is you onlyhave to do the job once, rather thanrepeatedly. That eats up diagnostictime, shop time, and doesn’t make fora very happy customer.
Over the years, the number oftimes I’ve had someone bring in a carand tell me they have put five or sixalternators on the car, and it still does-n’t work, is beyond comprehension.The unsuspecting customer will al-most certainly have the same reactionon the phone or at the service counter.
“There has to be something elec-trically wrong with the car,” they’llsay.
Even though I haven’t checkedthe car out yet, I’ll still ask them,“Where are you buying your parts?”
Nine chances out of ten they arebuying the cheap knock-off brandsbecause of the cost, and under certainapplications, these knock-off brandsfail constantly.
By the time I get the car in theshop and run the needed tests, I’m al-ready stretching their pocket bookjust to give them the answer I alreadyassumed it would be.
“It’s a cheap part that’s causingthe problem,” I’ll tell them, and whenI give them the price of the “quality”part I know I’m in for an argument.
“It shouldn’t cost that much. I’lljust go get another one myself,” thenow irate customer will tell me. Itcould be they really wanted me tofind something else wrong with it, be-cause they know it can’t be the part.Then again, it could be because theydon’t want to change it again.Whichever the case may be, I’m thelucky guy taking the brunt of the cus-tomer’s meltdown at the frontcounter.
Why is it that the second largestpurchase most people make in theirlifetime is left to using cheap discountparts as a way to keep their familytruckster on the road? You know, if
the original manufacturer used someof these discount parts, most of thosecars wouldn’t make it from the man-ufacturer to the show room floorwithout breaking down.
One morning when I arrived atthe shop, a customer was waiting forme with a rear main seal for me tosee. I had just replaced the seal in hiscar a few weeks earlier. There wasn’ta problem with the car, his problemwas that he believed that I overcharged him for the seal. While hewas at one of those discount partsstores, he purchased a rear seal him-self, and after having some time tothink about it, he figured I shouldknow just how ticked off he was.Needless to say, now he’s thinkingevery bit of the labor cost must havebeen exaggerated as well.
There was only one way to solvethis problem. I called my supplier andhad them send down another seal justlike the original one I had purchased.With the customer standing in front ofme, we took both of the seals out oftheir boxes and laid them on thecounter.
“You see, they are actually thesame,” the aggravated customer tellsme, “They’re the same color, samedesign and obviously are identical.You overcharged me!”
I’ll admit they looked the same,and I was getting a little worried thatI wouldn’t find a difference betweenthe two of them. I wanted to prove mypoint that not all parts are createdequal, but how? As this anger man-agement class dropout got even moresteamed, he started to make his pointknown how he felt about mechanicsin general, parts stores, and the worldat large. I picked up the two sealswhile he was standing on his soap boxproudly putting down anyone whohad anything to do with the car busi-ness. When I gently snapped the ac-tual seal area that touches the crankshaft back and forth, I had the answerand the difference was obvious.
“Sir, if you’ll calm down aminute, I’ll show you the difference.The one you brought from the dis-count part store has fewer coils on the
Comparing Automotive Parts: Is it Apples to Apples?
See Apples to Apples, Page 43
with Rick WhiteShop Management
with Stefan GesterkampPaint Management
with Gonzo WeaverGonzo’s Toolbox
with Richard ArnoldJobber Journal
Mainstream Media
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 Walter DanalevichShop Strategies for Savings
with The Insurance InsiderInside Insurance
with Ed AttanasioCustom Corner
with Chasidy Rae SiskCompany Connections
with Chasidy Rae SiskNortheast News
with Chasidy Rae SiskShop Showcase
with Erica SchroederShop Showcase
with Erica SchroederShop Snapshot
This is a new story by Scott “Gonzo” Weaver as posted on his website, www.gonzostoolbox.com.Gonzo has been serving the Tulsa area at Superior Auto Electric for over 27 years. See his book“Hey Look! I Found The Loose Nut”, which provides a Good Laugh for Mechanics of Any Age.The book is available at amazon.com. Contact Gonzo at [email protected].
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A MEASURE OF EXCELLENCEA MEASURE OF EXCELLENCEA MEASURE OF EXCELLENCE
Should repairers be held solely re-sponsible if a repair process or partthey choose fails—even if that processor part was chosen at the behest of aninsurer?
That was one of the questions atthe heart of a panel discussion on “in-demnification” at the Collision Indus-try Conference (CIC) held inOklahoma City in late April.
Rick Tuuri, who chairs CIC’s“Insurer-Repairer Relations Commit-tee,” said the topic was triggered bythe indemnification clause found inmany direct repair agreements. Thatclause requires the participating shopto “indemnify” (or “hold harmless”)the insurer, which could prevent theshop from pursing a legal claimagainst the insurer, or make the shopresponsible to compensate or defendthe insurer in a legal claim arisingfrom repairs made under the agree-ment.
“I think for repairers it ultimatelycomes down to this: If the contract isgoing to hold me to indemnify the in-surer against anything caused by therepair, then insurers should ultimatelysay, ‘You’re responsible for indemni-fying us, so you make all the (repair)decisions and we’ll pay you for whatthe repair is,’ ” panelist Aaron Schu-lenburg, executive director of the So-ciety of Collision Repair Specialists(SCRS), said. “I think most repairerwould be fine with that. I think wherethe issue comes is when insurers startto be involved in the process by spec-ifying part types or repair proce-dures—to identity how the repair shop
does their job –while also askingto be indemnifiedagainst anythingthat results fromthat. If there’s in-volvement in thedecision-makingprocess, I think the
repairer believes there should also beinvolvement in the liability.”
Oklahoma shop owner GaryWano agreed. He said he thinks that,indemnification or not, if a problemoccurs based on a repair, the shop andinsurer will both find themselves incourt.
“The argument from the repairerstandpoint is that if the insurer…hadleft me to do what I do—put the parton I want to put on, or do the opera-tion the way I wanted to do it—noneof us would be in that court to beginwith,” Wano said.
Perhaps not surprisingly, insurerson the panel viewed the issue differ-ently. Allstate’s Randy Hanson saidthat, first, he’s not sure it’s much atopic of concern. He said that in thedecades he’s been involved with hiscompany’s DRP, he doesn’t recall aquestion from shops coming up aboutit.
“I can also say in 30-plus years, Ihave not once evoked an indemnifica-tion clause in a contract for a DRPpartner,” Hanson said. “Not once.”
He said five of the six indemnifi-cation elements in the Allstate DRPagreement have nothing to do with re-pair issues. They prohibit such thingsas a shop making a claim against theinsurer if a shop employee makes aworkers’ compensation claim, orsomeone having repaired vehiclesunder the agreement seeking Allstateemployee benefits.
But Hanson said Allstate needsrepairers to fix cars for its policyhold-ers, so if concerns about indemnifica-tion prevented enough shops fromsigning the agreement, his companywould have to find ways to addressthat.
“I don’t want to be so crass as tosay take it or leave it, but they’re notgoing away.” Hanson said of the in-demnification clauses. “Everybody isprotecting themselves to a certain ex-tent. To an extent that we can’t dobusiness together? Let’s have a con-versation. I’m open for that. I thinkwe’ll listen. And I think we’ll makechanges where it’s appropriate.”
Panelist George Avery, a claimsconsultant with State Farm, said atfirst that like Hanson, he hasn’t seenthe indemnification clause beingmuch of an issue for shops on hiscompany’s direct repair program. Buthe also said State Farm did make asignificant change to its indemnifica-tion clause.
“Our initial Select Service agree-ment did have a 1-way hold-harmless
against us,” Avery said. “It was in ourbenefit. As a result of input from our(repairer) advisory council, wechanged that and now it’s both ways.We added a two-way hold-harmlessfor both the repairer and for us.”
But he also pointed out that someof what shops consider insurer in-volvement in the repair process isdriven by the insurer’s policy contractwith its customers. He said StateFarm’s insurance policy, for example,says it can designate the type of re-placement parts for which it owes.
“George has a good point: Thepolicy is the policy,” Schulenburgconceded. “You’ve set an expectationwith your policyholder on what youowe for. I don’t think there’s an issuethere at all. You owe for what youcontracted for. However, there arethird-party claimants, and they don’thave a policy with you.”
Schulenburg also pointed out that
insurers attempt to involve themselvesin repair decisions beyond just parts.The policy doesn’t inform the con-sumer that the insurer may say,“We’re going to section this rail hereversus putting it in at a factory seam,”Schulenburg said.
He said that intrusion by insurersinto the repair process, pressing shopsto do something that deviates fromOEM recommendations or their ownrepairers expertise, is why shops areconcerned about the indemnificationclause.
Speaking from the floor of CIC,California shop owner Randy Stablerraised several other concerns he hasrelated to indemnification. He said thefact that Avery and Hanson haven’tseen indemnification result in an issuedoesn’t mean it couldn’t.
“I’ve never had a fire in my shop,but I have fire insurance,” Stablercited as an analogy.
36 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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Shops and Insurers Discuss Indemnification in DRP Contracts
with Ed Attanasio
Shop and Product Showcase
with Ed Attanasio
Shop Showcase
with Ed Attanasio
Social Media for Shops
with Erica SchroederShop Showcase
The Right Causewith Mike Causey
Industry Insightwith John Yoswick
John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has a body shop in thefamily and has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988. He is the editor of theweekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com).Contact him by email at [email protected].
Gary Wano
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 37
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He also said it would seem fairthat insurers cross-indemnify shops,in case an adjustor, for example, slipsand falls while at the shop, or makesinappropriate comments to a shop em-ployee that results in a claim againstthe shop. He also pointed out thatshops have business insurance to pro-tect themselves in the case of an erroror omission, but that insurer offeringthat coverage is basing that policy onprotecting the shop, not the insurerwith which the shop has a contract.
“When you actually go to your(business) insur-ance company andsay here’s my DRPagreement andthey actually lookat that, they go,‘Ooooh. Ooooh.We don’t like thatso much.’ So that’s
another practical issue we have to beaware of.”
Schulenburg pointed out that theindemnification discussion cameabout as part of the committee’s effortto craft a set of guidelines for the“most beneficial and productive re-pairer-insurer relationships.”
“So insurers could say, ‘Look, it’sin there; you should read your docu-ments and if you don’t like it, don’tsign it,’ and repairers could say, ‘Letme fix the car and get out of my busi-ness.’ But neither of those things reallyget us to the goal of this committee,which is to build better relationshipsbetween the two parties.”
To that end, committee chairmanTuuri said he drafted a position state-ment on the topic that reads in part,“Indemnification clauses in DRPagreements…should be fair to bothinsurer and repairers.”
Wano, Avery and Schulenburgsaid that initially that seemed like agood addition to the committee’sguidelines for mutually-beneficial in-surer-shop relationships.
“We’re not solving the world’sproblems here,” Wano conceded. “Butas long as the carriers and repairersare willing to sit down and take a lookat these things…”
Koeppel MazdaThe Source for Mazda Parts!57-15 Northern Blvd., Woodside, NY 11377Parts: 3250 57th St., Woodside, NY 11377
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Randy Stabler
Shop Owner Arrested in ‘False Auto Theft’ AllegationMassachusetts police arrested a manon charges of stealing a car from abody shop, then arrested the owner ofthe body shop on charges of filing afalse stolen vehicle report and mis-leading or lying to police during theinvestigation.
The 2007 Acura TL sedan wasreported stolen by Jose Munoz, 41,owner of Munoz Auto Body, 11 AldenCourt, in Lawrence, MA, on April26. Police said Munoz knew who hadstolen the car and agreed to come tothe station to speak to police. Munozsaid he had sold a Honda Accord toGorki Rafael “Bebo” Gonzalez, 26,of 25 Hale St. Gonzalez came backto the shop April 25 saying he didn’tlike the color of the Honda andwanted his money back, whichMunoz said he wouldn’t do.
Munoz told police he went tothe paint room to paint another car,and when he returned to the office,noticed the Acura that had beenparked in front of the business wasmissing. A security video showedGonzalez entering the office, takingthe keys to the Acura, then drivingoff in it.
Munoz told police he calledGonzalez, who told him he would re-
turn the Acura when he got hismoney back for the Honda.
Munoz told police he agreed topay Gonzalez back in return for thecar, but then decided to go to the po-lice to report the car stolen. Munozadmitted he knew who had taken theAcura but didn’t provide that infor-mation to the officer who took the re-port. He told police Gonzalez hadthreatened to kill him if he went tothe police.
During the interview at the po-lice station, Munoz received severalcalls from Gonzalez threateningMunoz and his family because heknew Munoz was at the station.Munoz was still at the police stationwhen he received a call from hisbrother that Gonzalez was at thebody shop with his friends, causing ascene. Police went to the body shopand arrested Gonzalez, charging himwith larceny of a motor vehicle, ex-tortion by threat of injury and threat-ening to commit a crime.
Capt. Michael Driscoll said theinvestigation continued and Munozwas arrested and charged with filinga false report of a motor vehicle theft,and misleading or lying to policeduring an investigation.
fort should be utilized. When OEMprocedures are not available, a panelneeds to collaborate to create repairstandards to form a consensus that en-hances the safety of collision repairsfor all drivers and protects collisionrepair facilities from issues of liabil-ity.
Montanez reminds repairers thatit generally takes three to four years todevelop a vehicle, and manufacturershave spent many millions of dollarson designing and testing, using crashtests, CAAD drawings, algorithmsand so forth, and their instructionsneed to be taken seriously.
Though some aftermarket partsare not very different from OEMparts, a problem arises if the OEMchanges the substrate of their mate-rial which can change corrosion ratesand multiple other variables. For ex-ample, using an aftermarket radiatorthat does not meet OEM standardscan cause overheating which will notbe covered under the OEM’s war-ranty.
These standards can be referencedat i-car.com or nastf.org which bothprovide links to OEM websites. All-data.com and autoepi.org also offer in-formation on some OEM procedures.Some OEM guidelines follow to giveyou a minimal reminder on specificOEM cautions, processes and proce-dures.
ACURA/HONDAAftermarket/Alternative Components:not recommended, use voids warrantyfor that part of vehicle.Replacement of Structural Compo-nents: recommends OEM parts to re-store vehicle to pre-crash condition.Salvaged/Used Airbags: not recom-mended, recommends use of newOEM airbags.Salvaged/Recycled Components: notrecommended, use voids warranty forthat part of vehicleSteel & Aluminum Wheels Repair:major repairs not recommended/nometal work, repairs should be limitedto minor cosmetic sanding/polishingthat removes only the finish.Sectioning Frame Components: notrecommended, collision specialistsshould follow repair manuals for sec-
tioning frame components.
AUDISpot Welders: recommends use ofspecific spot welders.Bench Systems: recommends use ofspecific bench systems.Specific Repair Equipment: recom-mends use of specific repair equip-ment.Specific Training for ASF: specifiestraining to repair ASF.Specific Training for Steel: specifiestraining for repairing steel.Specific Welding: specifies how tocomplete welding repairs.Specific Repair Procedures/Parts:specifies parts and procedures to usewhen repairing vehicle.OEM Components/Wheels: recom-mends replacement parts to be OEMparts and wheels.Definition of Structural Repair:specifically defines structural repair.
BMWSpot Welders: recommends use ofspecific spot welders.Bench Systems: recommends use ofspecific bench systems.Specific Repair Equipment: recom-
mends use of specific repair equip-ment.Specific Training for Graf/Combo:specifies training to repairGraf/Combo.Specific Training for Steel: specifiestraining for repairing steel.Specific Rivet-Bonding: recommendsuse of specific rivet-bonding.Specific Repair Procedures/Parts:specifies parts and procedures to usewhen repairing vehicle.OEM Components/Wheels: recom-mends replacement parts to be OEMparts and wheels.Body Filler Thickness: specifies thick-ness of body filler recommended/re-quired.Specific Steering Gear Damage: spec-ifies how to repair steering gear dam-age.Specific PDR: recommends specificPDR procedures.
CHRYSLER/JEEPWeld Bonding Procedures: recom-mends specific weld bonding proce-dures to be used in repairs.Reconditioned Wheels: major repairsnot recommended/no metal work, re-
Continued from Page 4
Larry Montanez
See Larry Montanez, Page 56
40 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
“Social Media is Word of Mouth onSteroids” —Frank Terlep
by Melanie Anderson
There’s no escape. Nearly everyoneand their grandmother is using socialor digital media. Is your shop up tospeed with the age we live in?
According to Frank Terlep, CEOof Summit Software and MarketingSolutions, more than 112 million gen-eration X and Y consumers, 60 millionbaby boomers and 20 million seniorsare on the Internet, emailing, texting orusing social media. And these numbersdon’t even reflect the younger genera-tion, those between 18–34 who com-prise an outsized proportion ofconsumers who watch online videos,visit social networking sites and blogs,own a tablet and use a smart phone.
“In today’s world, every shopneeds a website and social media pres-ence to attract consumers to theirbrand and business,” said Terlep.“Getting involved with digital and so-cial media is not a matter of ‘if’ - it’sa matter of ‘when’ - because shopswill end up doing it anyway and theymay as well do it now and be a winnerinstead of a loser. Waiting to join thesocial media world is losing an op-portunity to increase your business.”
To connect with, market to, serv-ice or retain today’s ‘digital con-sumer,’ a shop must consider severaldigital marketing tools, techniquesand strategies, such as digital data-bases, email, text messaging, socialmedia, mobile and location-basedmarketing, smart phones, phone apps,micro sites, search engine optimiza-tion, pay per click advertising, digitalads, promotions, e-coupons, videosand more, said Terlep.
A digital consumer is an individ-ual who uses smart phones, text mes-saging, email, Facebook, LinkedIn,Twitter, Google, YouTube and otherdigital or social media technologies toperform their jobs, communicate withbusiness associates, friends and familyor to educate and entertain themselves.
According to Terlep, the threemost critical steps repair and collisionshops should take regarding social ordigital media are:#1. Know how their website is per-forming#2. Continue communication with ex-isting or previous customers#3. Participate in social media
Your Website“The shop’s website is the hub of theshop’s whole digital marketing strat-egy,” Terlep said. “A shop’s website istheir online lobby.” Knowing howwell their website is performingshould be a priority for every shop.“Shops need to make sure their con-sumers can find their website from
anywhere, whether it is a local searchor from a variety of search engines,”Terlep said. “A website is performingwell if your shop ends up on the firstpage of engine search. Less than twopercent of customers will go to thesecond page of a search.”
Your CustomersStaying in touch with previous or exist-ing customers is an important market-ing strategy that many shops overlook.Terlep believes that most shops don’tmarket to previous or existing cus-tomers. “It’s easier to get business fromold customers than it is to find new cus-tomers,” Terlep said. “Shops think,‘Why should we keep in touch withprevious customers if, on average, con-sumers only use a body repair shop onlyseven to 10 years?’ Car accidents are abad experience and most customerswant to forget about it as soon as possi-ble, and that means they forget aboutthe shop too. After a couple years, peo-ple tend to forget where they even hadtheir car repaired.”
Getting customers back in the dooris important to the success of a bodyshop, and the way to do that is to offeradditional appearance-related services,such as detailing, glass repair, headlightrestoration, mechanical repair services,or any other type of non-collision re-pairs. “There is a huge opportunity tomarket to existing or previous cus-tomers and many shops aren’t doing
this,” Terlep said. Social and digitalmedia are successful ways to stay intouch with your customers to get themback in the door for other services.
Your ‘Friends’One of the biggest reasons why a bodyshop should be on social media is be-cause their customers are already there.
Terlep suggests a shop focus on one ofthe ‘Big 5’ —Facebook YouTube, Twit-ter, LinkedIn or Google Plus. Postingitems that are educational and enter-taining and offering exclusive deals willget more attention than random facts.
Shops should participate in socialmedia for two important reasons: ithelps shops stay in touch with theircustomers, and it gives them the abil-ity to position themselves to be onlineexperts in their field with an online au-dience within their community. “Ashop should want their customers toknow them as an expert so their cus-tomers can tell their friends, and beingon social media is the best way to dothat. Social media is word of mouth onsteroids,” Terlep said.
Email MarketingWith all that said and despite the frenzyover social media, Terlep said the bestdigital marketing is still email because“80% of consumers still prefer emailover Facebook or Twitter to get theirinformation.” Customers are comfort-able getting surveys, e-newsletters, e-coupons and other promotions byemail. Terlep said shops are movingaway from phone-based customer sur-veys because electronic surveys garnerbetter and more honest feedback, aswell as improved tracking.
Another good reason to switchover to digital marketing is it is muchless expensive than traditional market-
Why Your Body Shop Can’t Ignore Social or Digital Media
Sherwin-Williams’ Digital Marketing SeminarSherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes A-Plus University (a value-added program
for Sherwin-Williams body shop customers) is partnering with Summit Software
and Marketing Solutions to offer a digital marketing advanced business class
specifically for collision repair facilities. The program is launching in multiple lo-
cations this year throughout the country.
A recent workshop was held April 26 in a skybox media suite at Petco Park,
the home of the San Diego Padres, and concluded with a catered dinner and pre-
mium seat viewing of the night's game.
The four-hour workshop was designed for shop owners and managers to
help them meet the challenges body shops face in today’s rapidly changing digital
and information age.
Troy Neuerburg, Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes' Marketing Manager,
Business Services, led the meeting, with input from Chris Lynch, Falls Communi-
cations. Frank Terlep, CEO of Summit Software and Marketing Solutions, pre-
sented the program. Terlep's rapid-fire style covered a huge menu of topics
touching on shop-consumer communications via social media, smartphone
apps, and digital marketing for the busy shop. The digital and social media strate-
gies covered included: What digital marketing means; Why digital marketing is re-
quired for success in today’s world; What a shop’s potential digital marketing
audience is; The benefits shops can expect to receive from digital marketing; The
importance of a digital marketing database; and Digital marketing tools that are
available. For more information, visit www.sherwin-automotive.com.
Frank Terlep uses ‘personal media’ to engage a group of shop owners invited by Sherwin-Williamsto San Diego’s Petco Park for a talk and a baseball game on April 26
See Frank Terlep, Page 61
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 41
Auto Painting USA Collision(APUSA) is a production auto paint-ing and collision shop specializing incosmetic body repair and auto repaint-ing. APUSA offers four varieties ofpaint finishes starting with The Amer-ican, which is a low-cost syntheticenamel factory basecoat/clearcoatpaint job. The American paint serviceis guaranteed for two years againstcracking, peeling and flaking. Themost popular paint job is The Florid-ian, which is a DuPont Nason 2KPolyurethane paint job. The Floridianis guaranteed for three years againstcracking, peeling, flaking, and fading.The Simulator includes a simulatedbasecoat/clearcoat, three full coats ofintegrated clear, free pinstripes, and afive-year guarantee against fading. TheUltimate includes a factory-likebasecoat/clearcoat, ultra wet look, freepinstripes, and a lifetime guaranteeagainst fading or paint failure.
Along with full paint jobs,APUSA also performs spot work forthose cars that only need small areasrepaired and some minor body work,up to $5,000-$6,000 per job. The ticket
average is approximately $650- $700per car, with an average of seven to 10cars per day, 25 to 40 cars per week.The cost to paint a car is $55 to $75 forpaint and materials, with a profit mar-gin between 20% to 30% after all ex-
penses. Sales are approximately$750,000 per shop per year. APUSA iscommitted to customer satisfactionand is proud to say there are zero com-plaints with the Consumer AffairsDept. of Florida. It is their policy tobend over backwards for customers.
As a car enters the productionline, it first goes to the body person for
any repair work that is necessary. Typ-ically, that includes rust damage andminor dents or body work. Next, thecar moves into the area where it issanded and prepped for painting. Fromthe prep area, it proceeds to the masker
for taping and then into thepaint booth where a gallon ofpaint, or the equivalent ofthree coats, is sprayed on thecar. Before the car is finallyready for delivery, a detailercleans all paint oversprayfrom the windows, tires, andbumpers, then cleans all thewindows, Armor-alls thetires and dashboards, andblows all the dust and dirtout of the interior.Presently the company has
three locations between Ft. Lauderdaleand Miami. These locations are super-vised by Vice President, ClaudioCasasnovas. Claudio has been a val-ued employee with APUSA for over20 years. A new location opening inPhoenix, AZ, with two or three morelocations in the works. These new lo-cations are part of a Licensing Agree-
ment Program, which allows new oralready established auto paint andbody shops to license the name andpurchase materials at a huge discount.By becoming a licensed owner of anAPUSA shop, shops benefit from aname that is recognized and associatedwith quality and value. They also be-come part of a team that is well knownand respected in South Florida for over35 years. Training is offered to all li-censees to run a smooth and profitablebusiness. In addition, advertisingthrough direct mail, TV, radio and In-ternet is provided. For more informa-tion on joining the team and LicensingAgreement Program, go to www.au-topaintingusa.com and click on busi-ness opportunities.
Auto Painting USA Collision(APUSA) originally started in DelrayBeach, FL and has its roots in a com-pany called Electro Bake Auto Paint-ing. Tom Kobus, the owner andPresident of APUSA, began workingfor Electro Bake Auto Painting in1975. Tom started as a manager, thenwas a supervisor and became Execu-
Audi Turnersville3400 Route 42, Turnersville, NJ, 08012Parts Direct: (877) 826-2558 Fax: (856) 649-7185 Faxwww.auditurnersville.com Email: [email protected] Parts Manager: Matt GoldsteinHours: Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
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Technical assistance available
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Auto Painting USA Collision Specializes in Cosmetic Repair
Tom Kobus, President and Daughter Heather
See Auto Painting USA, Page 46
For some time now, Edwards Paint andBody, in St. Augustine, FL, has beenmaking shop space available a to about20 young martial artists who call them-selves the Body Shop Boys. The group’sbenefactor is co-owner Jimmy Ed-wards, who with his son-in-law, ToddRaven, felt the boys needed a place tocompete other than the streets, saidshop co-owner Chris Cheshire.
The Body Shop Boys’ newest mem-ber already has something to brag aboutaround the garage. Former Menendezathlete Matt Ng won his first localmatch at Rumble in the Ancient Citymixed martial arts event at KetterlinusGym.
Ng recently moved back to St. Au-gustine. It wasn’t long before Ng be-came one of the Body Shop Boys,training for fighting events weeknightsat Edwards Paint and Body.
“Everybody has something toteach,” Ng said. Fighting at 158 pounds,Ng said he’s trained all over and mostrecently fought in Georgia. He said theSt. Augustine event was a great thing toget people interested in the sport.
“It’s a good-sized event,” he said.“I do it because I love it. I’d really liketo do more. Ng wasn’t the only mem-ber of the Body Shop Boys to competein the early matches. Joseph Green,who was not on the original schedule,
picked up a victory over Michael Dukesin a submission grapple match. WithRussell unable to fight Saturday, themain event was probably the 155-poundtitle bout.
St. Augustine fighter Teddy Hud-son came in with a 5-0 record and wasthe two-time defending Ancient Citychampion. Yet he was stopped by chal-lenger Richard Evers.
“It was awesome,” Evers said. “Ilove to fight like that. I was nervousand excited,” he said. Evers came outaggressively and put Hudson into theropes multiple times. However, Hud-son never really panicked and kepthimself in the fight.
retaining spring. This spring is whatkeeps the rubber seal up against thecrankshaft to prevent any leaks. Lookat the one I just purchased, and you’llsee it has twice as many coils on thespring,” I calmly explained to him.(OK, I “tried” to say it calmly).
After a bit of scrutiny on his part,he did see the difference between thetwo so-called “exact” parts. He apolo-gized for his belligerent ranting and saidhe would make good on his promise notto buy any more parts based on the dol-lar amount. I hope so — that sure wouldmake my day go a lot smoother.
These days, with even more partscoming in from different countries,and at different quality levels, the techhas to be on his toes to make surewhat they are installing on a cus-tomer’s car is actually a decent com-ponent. Even today, I’ll do my best tosway the customer into buying qual-ity parts rather than going the cheaproute. If they insist on using a cheaperpart, I’ll be the first to tell them whatthe results will be.
Comparing apples to apples is stilla good method of explaining things tosomeone who might have a differenceof opinion. One bad apple doesn’t spoilthe whole bunch; even good parts failsometimes. But I’d put my money on aquality part any day. Service is thename of the game in the automotive re-pair business — knowing which“apple” is the right one for a customer’scar is just another part of the servicegood shops provide. There are plenty ofapples out there in the orchard, andsorting out the bad ones aren’t aboutwho has the best TV commercial ornewspaper ad. Ask a mechanic, he’llknow the difference between goodparts and bad ones. As the old sayinggoes; “Ya get what ya paid for.”
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 43
A Smart Solution THE CARCOONWORKSTATION
• Simple drive in access provid-ing a completely unique and fully enclosed working environment.• Patented technology usesa massive 179 square ft. filter area including Triple Layer Paint Arrest filters.• High Volume Low Pressure airflow technology including airlock access.• Meets the emissionrequirements of 98% capture efficiency. (EPA- RULE 6H)
Matt Ng throws a kick in his bout with BertSmallwood during Saturday’s Rumble in theAncient City mixed martial arts event atKetterlinus Gym. Photo by Gary McCullough
In the world of big corporation mar-keting, how a company or product is“positioned” is a big deal. For exam-ple, a shop that is known to be thebiggest, or the fastest, or (not likelybut possibly) the cheapest, or (asmany would like to claim), the highestquality, would be likely to hold thatposition in people’s minds indefi-nitely, unless something radicallychanged their mind. In copiers, Xeroxis still thought of as the standard, incomputers IBM is still first in mostpeople’s minds, and Hertz is still thetop rental car name people think of.
In marketing, it’s well establishedthat it’s always better to be first than tobe better. Charles Lindbergh flew theAtlantic solo first, but Bert Hinklerdid it faster, consuming less fuel. Hewas second and never heard of again.George Washington was the first pres-ident. Who was second? Neil Arm-strong was first to walk on the moon.Who was second? Second place isgenerally no place. So, is it too late tobe first in your area? It all depends onfirst… at what? And are there other al-ternatives?
One problem with being recog-nized in the collision repair industry isthe infrequency that people even thinkabout or look for a shop. Coca-Cola
can stay first in people’s minds be-cause they drink beverages every day,but few people need collision repairmore often than once every threeyears. Nevertheless, now and then ashop succeeds in capturing mass pub-lic attention. 3-C Collision Center inOhio captured a lot of publicity by at-tacking shops that catered to insurancecompanies. He also created a new cat-egory in which he could be first—a“no-insurance-connection-shop.”
This is one way a shop can be-come first: Create a new category tobe first in. Sometimes new technologycreates that opportunity for you. Inmost areas, one shop became the firstto use waterborne paint. As high-endcar manufacturers began the switch toaluminum structures, one shop had theopportunity to be first with the costlyframe machine needed to work on alu-minum structures. Of course these op-portunities were short lived as othershops made the same move to the newtechnology, but if the first shop capi-talized on being first and promotedthat fact effectively, that position of“first” could remain in the minds ofkey referral source coordinators.
The question now is, what newcategory might a shop use to vaultinto a number one position, and if sowhat could be done to make that factbroadly known? I recently wroteabout a shop that closed off its drive-through area and made it availablefor a meeting of 40 professionalwomen belonging to a networkinggroup called “Power Babes.” Anothershop sponsored an even larger groupcalled “The Women’s Resource Net-work.”
These shops successfully posi-tioned themselves as “firsts” to recog-nize the repair purchasing power inprofessional women’s groups in theirarea. Although these were not movesto grab a large mass audience, theywere sufficient to capture an emerg-ing, significant market.
This may be the most effectiveway a collision repair shop that’s notpart of a large chain or franchise cancreate a marketing category. As babyboomers get older, another categorythat might work well is reaching outto AARP members or even handi-
capped people. On the other end ofage-related categories, becoming aspecialty shop for driving schools andnew drivers could reach significantnumbers of people. Another approachis becoming known for championinga highly respected charity. Some pos-sibilities might be transportation forthe blind or special events for autisticor handicapped children. It’s wellknown that children and pets capturepeople’s attention in ads and media.Helping almost any charity that fo-cuses on these will draw attention toyour shop and enable you to get freepublicity.
One other marketing strategythat has worked well in getting a busi-ness positioned profitably is seekingthe number two position with con-trast. Perhaps best known is the slo-gan used by Avis in competing withHertz Car Rental: “We try harder.”Another was the success of Pepsi-
Cola competing with Coca-Cola’snumber one position by creating “ThePepsi Generation.”
If a competing shop in your com-munity has somehow captured thenumber one position in people’sminds, you may be able to capture partof that glory with a clever contrastingcampaign.
“We produce top quality faster.”“No one produces a safer re-
paired vehicle than our shop.” “Top quality doesn’t have to go
for top dollar.” The trick is to identify what you
do that can be better than what is per-ceived as “the best.”
And then find a way to commu-nicate to the right public to receivethat message.
You have the power to create aprofitable position in your market.You just have to recognize it and workat it.
Positioning Your Shop
Custom Cornerwith Rich Evans
On Creative Marketingwith Thomas Franklin
Action Countswith Lee Amaradio Jr.
with Sheila LoftusYour Turn
Opinions Countwith Dick Strom
Shop Showcasewith Janet Chaney
Industry Overviewwith Janet Chaney
Industry Interviewwith Janet Chaney
Industry Insightwith John Yoswick
Tom Franklin has been a shop sales and marketing consultant for fifty 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]. See Tom’s columns at www.autobodynews.com under Columnists > Franklin
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AkzoNobel Announces 2012’s Most Influential WomenAkzoNobel Automotive & AerospaceCoatings Americas (A&AC) an-nounced the three recipients of its 2012Most Influential Women in the Colli-sion Repair Industry (MIW) Award.
AkzoNobel’s annual MIW awardprogram, which launched in 1998, rec-ognizes and promotes the contributionsof key leaders within the collision re-pair industry. The company said 69women have received the award overthe program’s 14-year history.
The 2012 MIW awards willhonor three women who hold leader-ship positions within the U.S. andCanadian collision repair industry.AkzoNobel said the recipients wereselected for their contributions to theorganizations they represent, the col-lision industry at large and their re-spective communities.
This year’s three recipients are:Kim Parsons, president of Auto-
motive Collision Technologies Inc. inRandallstown, MD.
Catherine Mills, executive di-rector of the Florida Autobody Colli-sion Alliance in Orange Park, Fla.
Kim Roberts, manager of FixAuto in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.
“The collision repair industry’scollective strength, image and long-term sustainability is dependent on in-
dividuals who have a passion, a visionand a vested interest in its future,”said Margret Kleinsman, generalmanager for AkzoNobel A&ACAmericas. “The leaders we are honor-ing with this prestigious award allshare these qualities and are amongthe top tier of those who continue tomake this a vital industry.”
AkzoNobel said it will presentthe 2012 MIW awards during a cere-mony July 19 at the San Antonio Con-vention Center in San Antonio, inconjunction with the 2012 I-CAR In-dustry Event and Collision IndustryConference (CIC) meeting.
Web-Est Adds No-Cost PaintCodes to Estimating PlatformWeb-Est announced the addition ofpaint codes to their collision estimat-ing application. “We’re excited tolaunch this new feature in our pro-gram,” said CEO Eric Seidel. “Thisfeature will provide the paint code ofthe vehicle to the estimator using thevin decoder. This will make it easierto match the paint color of the vehiclethat the shop is working on.” Mr. Sei-del also says that this new feature willcome at no extra for the user. Web-Estcan be had for $99 per month.
AkzoNobel Announces 2012 FIT Sustainability AwardsAkzoNobel Automotive & Aero-space Coatings Americas (A&AC)announced that three US companieshave been selected as winners of thethird annual FIT SustainabilityAward, an industry recognition pro-gram devoted to honoring businessesand organizations actively engagedin practices that advance the conceptsof sustainability through Focus, In-novation and Talent, the three keyprinciples of FIT.
The 2012 FIT SustainabilityAward winners will be recognized ata special industry recognition pro-gram hosted by AkzoNobel on July19, 2012 in San Antonio, TX. Thewinners include:
• Oka’s Auto Body, Waipahu, HI• Keenan Auto Body, CliftonHeights, PA• Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, St. Louis,MO
“Corporate sustainability is atits core, a long-term commitmentto implementing business practicesthat meet today’s needs for prof-itability, personnel developmentand environmental stewardship;yet at the same time keeps a fo-cused eye on the impact these de-cisions will have on the future,”
said Mike Shesterkin, Director ofSustainability and New BusinessInnovations for A&AC Americas.“The 2012 winners of the FIT Sus-tainability Award have all takendifferent approaches to achievingthis goal, but collectively share inthe passion and pursuit of globalsustainability, with leadership thathas paved the way for others to fol-low.”
The FIT Sustainability Awardprogram was created in 2009 andserves as the umbrella under whichthe Most Influential Women (MIW)program operates. MIW was estab-lished in 1998 to recognize and ad-vance the contributions of womenin the collision repair industry. Theremarkable industry popularity ofMIW, which recognizes individu-als, helped serve as a catalyst forthe development of the FIT Sus-tainability Award and its focus onthe contributions of key corporateleaders within the collision repairindustry.
The by-invitation-only programwill be held at the San Antonio Con-vention Center. It coincides with theI-CAR Inter-Industry Conferenceand Collision Industry Conference(CIC) events.
tive Vice President before buying twoshops in 1982 in Delray and LakeWorth. In 1984, Tom bought CongressAuto Paint and Supply Inc. (the hold-ing company) and the remaining twoshops, Pompano and Stuart.
Over the next four years, Tomopened the remaining five shops:Davie, Hollywood, West Palm Beach,North Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale.In 1987, Tom changed the name of thecompany to Auto Painting USA and in1988 the holding company waschanged to Auto Painting USA Enter-prises Inc.
BASF Automotive Refinish presentedits Distributor of the Year Award toLeading Edge Auto Refinishers, Inc.,
Phoenix, Arizona, at its annual Color-Source™ Conference on April 19 inLa Jolla, California.
“Leading Edge received the awardbecause of its innovation, forward
thinking and ability to differentiate it-self in Arizona. With a strong record ofcontinued growth and outstanding cus-
tomer service and support, as well ascommitment to waterborne conver-sions, Leading Edge is a true partnerwith BASF,” said Denise Kingstrom,BASF’s Strategic Accounts Manager.
Leading Edge has been familyowned and operated since 1993.
“We are very proud to receive thisaward on behalf of the entire team atLeading Edge. It would be hard toimagine operating Leading Edge with-out all the talented people in the organ-ization,” said Matt Johnson, co-ownerof Leading Edge. “We would also liketo thank BASF for supporting our busi-ness initiatives. Without BASF’s single-line ColorSource PREMIER program,much of what we have accomplished inArizona would have not been possible.BASF is vital to our success. It’s aunique partnership because we all suc-ceed together.”
ColorSource PREMIER is a pro-gram designed by BASF exclusivelyfor single line distributors of BASFrefinish paints and coatings. Color-Source PREMIER distributors are keystrategic partners with BASF.
To learn more about becoming aColorSource PREMIER distributor,please contact Denise Kingstrom [email protected], or 248-632-2420, or visit www.basfrefin-ish.com.
46 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
See these Hyundai dealers below for all your collision parts needs!
Leading Edge Receives BASF Automotive Refinish Distributor of the Year Award
Chuck Soeder, far left, Vice President, Automotive Refinish and Industrial Coatings Solutions forBASF; and Denise Kingstrom, far right, Strategic Accounts Manager, Automotive Refinish forBASF present the business’s Distributor of the Year Award to the Leading Edge team. From leftare: Soeder; Travis Leybeck, Paul Derdich, Mike Priest, John Rang, Matt Johnson, DavidBrannon, Troy Schooley, Steve Balsley, and Vaughn Lindberg of Leading Edge; and Kingstrom
The sixth annual Women’s IndustryNetwork Conference kicked off in At-lanta with over 200 women from allsegments of the collision repair indus-try. The first day included a keynote ad-dress on “Extreme Change: Adapt,Overcome & WIN as One” by RobynBenincasa, World Champion Adven-ture Racer, San Diego City Firefighterand Founder of World Class Teams andProject Athena Foundation. Dr. LindaGravett of Gravett and Associates in-spired conference attendees with herstrategies for managing stress andmaintaining inner peace utilizing exer-cises borrowed from Tai Chi, Yoga andTae Kwon Do. The afternoon sessionincluded an update on vehicle designand collision avoidance technology andits impact on the industry presented byKim Hazelbaker, Senior Vice Presi-dent, Highway Loss Data Institute.
Included in the day was recogni-tion of the nine conference scholar-ship winners including six students:Nicolette Cole, Le’Trina Ervin,Tiffany Owen, Leslie Mendoza, Jen-nifer Watkins, Kinsey Simmons;one instructor, Greg Brink; and two
collision repair facility employees:Deborah O’Kean and Jessica Gau-thier.
Margaret Knell was awardedthis year’s Cornerstone Award, giveneach year to a board member that ex-emplifies the values and ideals ofWIN. Also recognized were WIN’s2012 Corporate Sponsors: AkzoNobel;DuPont; Allstate; ASE; BASF; Enter-prise Rent-a-Car; State Farm Insur-ance; Hertz; 3M; LKQ; SterlingAutobody Centers; Geico; Fix Auto;Carstar; PPG; ABRA Auto Body &Glass; CAPA; Finishmaster; Sym-phony Advisors; Sherwin Williams;Mitchell; CCC Information Services;Insurance Auto Auctions; Audatex andCar-Part.com.
“We want to thank every one ofour sponsors for their support of WIN.Their commitments are essential toachieving our mission of engagingwomen in the collision repair industry,”said Victoria Jankowski, WIN’s chair.
Day two at the WIN conferencestarted off with the Annual ScholarshipWalk Presented by Fix Auto wheremore than 100 women laced up their
sneakers and trekked through Atlanta’sBuckhead district. Over $1700 wasraised through individual donations.The funds will be directed towardWIN’s various scholarship programs.
Following the walk, WIN’s sec-ond keynote speaker, Cathy Bonner,CEO, Service King Collision RepairCenters, shared the top performingskills that she has learned throughforty years of professional and per-sonal success. Cathy had a uniquemessage that has been built on yearsof teaching leadership through theprograms she developed called Lead-ership America and Power Pipelineand her own management experiencesin both the public and the private sec-tors of America.
Susanna Gotsch, Director In-dustry Analyst, CCC InformationServices, gave an industry update ti-tled “The Latest Trends, Market Dy-namics & Business Drivers ImpactingOur Industry.” Ms. Gotsch exploredthe ways economic and demographicchanges have impacted the automo-tive claims and repair industries.
The afternoon continued with
three breakout sessions: “Why WomenShould Do Business with You” pre-sented by Lori Johnson, Owner ofLadies, Start Your Engines!®; “QualityControl: Are you Looking CloselyEnough and at the Right Time?” pre-sented by Shawn Collins, a SeniorTechnical Service Engineer at 3M; and“Customer Service…Back to Basics”presented by Dianne Young, Founderand Master Instructor for PropelTraining and Development.
After two exciting, fast-paceddays spent networking and learningfrom dynamic speakers, the confer-ence wrapped up with the closing ses-sion “Take Control…Be the Change.”Michelle DeMaris, WIN member andconference attendee, said, “I’velearned we have to take charge ofchanging the perception of females inthe industry and own that concept.”Linda Sommerhauser, a long timeWIN member, added her thoughts, “Ifeel energized and invigorated to goback and work more with our schoolsand advisory boards and to advocatefor shops to sponsor internships withintheir facilities.”
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 47
All The Genuine Lexus PartsYou Need For That TroubleFree Repair, And Lexus Finish!
These Dealers Below Are GenuineLexus Parts Distributors:
Women’s Industry Network 6th Annual May Conference Hosts 200 Women
48 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
The transition to waterborne paint iswell underway countrywide. Today,volatile organic compounds (VOC) inpaints are seen as harmful to the envi-ronment and because of that manystates in the U.S. have enacted regula-tions that are making auto body shopsswitch to waterborne basecoat to re-duce VOC emissions while ensuringthey meet all standards.
Europe and Canada already usewaterborne and many OEM’s havealso converted to using water-basedpaints. Most paint companies are de-veloping new low-VOC primers andclearcoats along with color coats tomeet the expected regulations that theentire country will need to complywith in the coming years.
Auto body shop owners will tellyou, the change to water is happeningand the majority agree that it is not asdifficult or as costly as many first sus-pected. The decision on choosingwhich waterborne paint to use can becritical to shop productivity.DuPont™ Cromax® Pro waterbornebasecoat is helping shops meet all ofthe new requirements while also meet-ing production goals. Cromax® Pro isformulated with 88% less solvent but25% more pigment. The results havebeen astonishing. Painters are callingit the easiest waterborne to use andmost productive waterborne basecoatavailable. Cromax® Pro also complieswith the toughest emissions regula-tions and helps to reduce cycle timesand improve shop efficiency.
“DuPont did more than formulatea basecoat to help our customers meetall of the environmental regulations,”said Harry Hall, DuPont Perform-ance Coatings North America SalesDirector. “With Cromax® Pro, youcan paint cars faster than ever before.And that speed of production im-proves your bottom line.”
Cromax® Pro delivers single-visitapplication, 1.5 coat coverage for themajority of colors and application iseasier, faster and more dependable.No flash time between coats helps tosignificantly reduce cycle times. Cro-max® Pro’s wet-on-wet process meansthat basecoat can be applied non-stopuntil full coverage is achieved. Fewercoats reduces the opportunity for dirtand contamination and fewer bake ordrying cycles reduce energy costs.You can paint more cars in less timebecause painters get the job done witha single trip into the booth.
“We made the switch in Novem-ber 2007 and since then, Cromax® Prois all I use,” said Rande Lance, LeadPaint Technician & Paint Shop Man-ager at Prestigious Auto Body &Painting, Goleta, CA. “It’s very user-friendly and holds up extremely wellwhen you push it to the limit. Plus, it’sa great finish. It looks better than sol-vent, and it’s much better in regard tospeed and efficiency.”
Cromax® Pro also has excellentcolor match because DuPont has in-dustry-leading digital color tools thatwork in all types of shops and provideease-of-use and confidence as well asfan decks that are sprayed with actualCromax® Pro colors.
DuPont™ Cromax® Pro waterborne basecoat is a 5-step process:Step 1: Surface Preparation – Repairarea is cleaned, degreased, primed andsanded to prepare for basecoat.Step 2: Blender Application – Applyone or two closed coats on the fade-out area.Step 3: Wet-on-Wet Basecoat Appli-cation – Spray one full coat of Cro-max® Pro to 75% hiding. Followimmediately with a half-coat to com-plete hiding and to set the flake.Step 4: Flash Basecoat – Allowbasecoat to flash until matte.Step 5: Final Step – Clearcoat is ap-plied.
Compare to competitors’ water-borne basecoat 9-step process:Step 1: Surface Preparation – Repairarea is cleaned, degreased, primed andsanded to prepare for basecoat.Step 2: Blender Application – Applyone or two closed coats on the fade-out area.Step 3: Basecoat Application – Firstcoat: apply one medium coat to repairarea.
Step 4: Flash Basecoat – Allowbasecoat to flash until matte.Step 5: Basecoat Application – Sec-ond coat: apply one medium coat torepair area.Step 6: Flash Basecoat – Allowbasecoat to flash until matte.Step 7: Effect Coat Application –Apply a final half-coat to completehiding and to set the flake.Step 8: Flash Basecoat – Allowbasecoat to flash until matte.Step 9: Final Step – Clearcoat is ap-plied.Cromax® Pro eliminates up to foursteps in the repair process so you canmove more cars through your shopevery day.
The changeoverfrom solvent-borne toCromax® Pro bringshops a number of im-portant advantages.Body shops that makea living on being ableto paint fast, matchcolors perfectly andare economical in theprocess are winningwith this product.
A lot of collisionshops have put off thetransition, in part be-cause of cost concernswith equipment and
training. But according to Harry Hall,that isn’t the case. “When switchingto waterborne, you don’t need to buyall kinds of new equipment and newspray booths to make the conversion,”said Hall. “Shops will, however, needa new stainless steel spray. Because ofthe water, you need a gun that won’trust.”
In addition to a new paint gun,waterborne paint does have a little dif-ferent technique. DuPont trainspainters at one of their 11 DuPont Re-finish Systems North American Train-ing Centers and will also spend aweek at the shop once they are fullysetup to make sure painters are com-fortable.
Your employees are your mostvaluable asset. Providing them withopportunities to increase their knowl-edge and improve their skills makesgood business sense. It’s a smart wayto increase productivity, profitabilityand customer satisfaction.
DuPont offers outcome-based,continuing education that is designedto enable even the most experienced
painters to raise the bar for quality,productivity and cost efficiency.
The Refinish Systems TrainingCenters are located throughout theUnited States and Canada and educateover 4,000 collision repair techniciansannually. In Canada, they are locatedin Pointe-Claire, QC (Montreal), Ajax,ON (Toronto) and Coquitlam, BC(Vancouver).
In the United States, the Centersare located in Lionville, PA (Philadel-phia), Marietta, GA (Atlanta), Jack-sonville, FL (Florida State College ofJacksonville), Plymouth, MI (Detroit),Itasca, IL (Chicago), St. Louis, MO,Pomona, CA (Los Angeles) and Ana-heim, CA.
The centers are fully equippedand staffed by capable instructors whohave a solid background in collisionrefinishing.
“My body shop switched toDuPont Cromax® Pro and I couldn’tbe more pleased,” said Rob Daku,Owner and Production Manager atDaku’s Auto Body Shop, North Cata-sauqua, Pennsylvania. “DuPont’s wa-terborne paint is easy to use, looksgreat when applied, and is so muchfaster. DuPont made sure that wewere comfortable with waterborneand their training was great.”
“Not all waterborne basecoats arethe same. Give us the chance to showyou our product and I am sure youwill want to upgrade to Cromax®
Pro,” continued Hall.Environmental requirements and
regulations are coming, so make thedecision to go with DuPont water-borne and join the thousands of bodyshops around the country that are up-grading to the next level of productiv-ity.
For more information aboutDuPont Cromax® Pro, go to up-grade2cromaxpro.dupontrefinish.comor call 1-800-GET-DUPONT. To reg-ister for a DuPont training course, call1-800-338-7668, prompt 7, fax/emailStudent Enrollment Form, or login towww.pc.dupont.com, click on DuPontRefinish, click on Training then loginto eCareerTrack.
DuPont™ Cromax® Pro is the Ultimate Upgrade for Your Refinish Painting Process
Attendees learn the benefits of DuPont Cromax® Pro at a DuPontRefinish Systems North American Training Center
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equipment and training needed to pro-vide customers with safe, quality re-pairs. As is the case with all types ofbusiness—including the business of in-surance—the pursuit of a return on in-vestment (profit) is a core principle, andone that collision repairers should nei-ther apologize for nor relinquish to theinfluence of other parties.
“Insurers are in the business of in-suring risk and then settling losses atmarket value when those losses occur.As the payer of claims, insurers shouldnot be “market makers” for pricing ofindividual products and services thatare components of final invoices. Todate, insurance pressure and influenceover collision repair market pricinghas driven average profit margins tolow single-digit figures, despite thefact that the business of collision repairhas a high cost of entry and requiresongoing capital investments to keeppace with automotive technologies.
“Feedback from other marketsoutside the U.S. familiar with insurer-mandated bidding platforms indicates
that the State Farm parts bidding pro-gram is a win-lose scenario, with re-pairers losing both profit and control oftheir business. Furthermore, the nega-tive impact of this parts program hasthe very real potential to quickly spreadbeyond parts to other areas, such aspaint, and beyond the boundaries ofvoluntary direct-repair program (DRP)agreements to the industry at large. IfState Farm contends that this parts pro-gram is indeed good for the collisionindustry, surely the industry would em-brace the program on a voluntary basis– assuming the benefits of the programdid indeed extend to more participantsthan just the carrier.
“The collision repair industry hasgradually transitioned from a proudtrade of hard-working owners and em-ployees to a service provider that sub-contracts to the insurance industry,working on net margins that it nolonger controls and that jeopardize itsability to invest in its business and at-tract and train qualified employees toensure safe and quality repairs. AASPhas grave concerns for its members’ fu-ture welfare if giant insurance corpora-tions are permitted to trample on thefree market philosophies that support a
culture of small business success.”John Shoemaker, of JSE Consult-
ing, released the following statement;“The collision industry has weath-
ered situations like this as in the Safe-lite Glass Program and Greenleafsalvaged parts program. Both these in-surance company directed programswhittled away the shop owner’s abilityto make a business decision that bene-fited the shop. All shop owners de-velop an expectation on how theirbusiness should operate as well as es-tablishing the profit margins necessaryto ensure survivability. They have de-veloped business partnerships withlocal businesses to ensure that theirprofit margins are maintained. In-turnthe local business have relocated storesto become more convenient, stockedmore parts and negotiated with shopowners to maintain an edge on theirmarket. The State Farm Parts Programnegates these partnerships forcing shopowner’s to purchase parts from an un-known outside their market. As insur-ance companies move farther awayfrom insuring vehicles and go deeperinto the repair process shop owners willsee further erosion of their ability to runtheir business. First it was glass, now
it is parts, tomorrow it could be paint.“Another issue I have with the
State Farm Parts Program is the dis-traction it has caused in the collisionindustry. Every blog I read, everymagazine I open up and every shopowner I talk to has the State FarmParts Program on top of their mind.Everybody is up-in-arms about it andnot paying attention to the immediatetasks on hand. If you look around youwill see that this program has causeddistractions far beyond parts!
“My last thought on this is thatshops are dropping State Farm as a DRP,up to 40% in some markets and StateFarm does not care. They are contactingshops that were previously dropped fromthe DRP program for multiple reasonsand signing them back up if they agree tothe parts program. Does that mean thatyou can be a poor performer and as longas you accept their parts program you aregood again?”
See additional reaction atwww.autobodynews.com, includingSCRS’ statement and Scott Biggs’blog: “State Farm – Parts Trader: It’sabout losing profit, control, and yourvery survival” which can be read atScottBiggs.com.
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 49
Precise fit and finish, easy installation and a limited warranty direct
from KIA — all genuine advantages of genuine KIA parts. Your local
This year’s winner of hot rodding’stop prize—the Don Ridler® MemorialAward—was a 1955 Ford Thunder-bird owned by Dwayne Peace ofTyler, Texas. This masterpiece of cre-
ativity, engineering and workmanshipwas chosen from among 63 verystrong contenders that had been pareddown to the “Great 8” before the ulti-mate winner was announced at theDetroit Autorama® back in February.
The ‘55 T-Bird had been in thefamily for more than 20 years and thecustom build was a family af-fair, handled by Peace’s sonsin an outbuilding behind hishouse. The uncompromisingdesign and build of the customhot rod brought in a number ofoutside shops and some of thecountry’s top automotivecraftsmen. Greening AutoCompany in Nashville, Tenn.,was one of these partner shops,called upon to handle the paintwork and some machining du-ties.
In a meticulous process that tooksix months, Greening machined all ofthe side trim, as well as the grill, taillights and wheels; and painted theshow-stopper with BASF’s Glasurit®
90-Line™ Brilliant Red waterbornepaint. In the process, they demon-
strated once again why the premiumGlasurit line is a favorite of top cus-tom builders.
“Dwayne Peace found us througha customer referral,” recalled Jesse
Greening. “We knew up front that hewould be going to Detroit with the car,so we had the goal of going for the Ri-dler from the beginning.”
The shop has been a loyal BASFcustomer for years, after SalesRepresentative Ray Mc-Cutcheon called on them andhelped them solve some par-ticularly challenging paint is-sues. “Ray got us started withGlasurit years ago, and we’vebeen working with him andBASF ever since,” said Green-ing, who runs the full-servicestreet rod shop with his fatherJeff.
“The ‘55 T-Bird representsour typical approach and quality fin-ish,” observed Greening. “What madeit different were some of the areas wedon’t normally get into. Just look atthe underbody and engine compart-ment detail.”
Greening Auto Company looks toBASF to help them deliver show-win-
ning results with every project, andthat sometimes involves the kind ofproblem solving that started their re-lationship. “One example where welean on Ray for technical help is whenwe’re facing problems with a repairthat involves blending back into an al-ready-painted panel,” said Greening.“Fortunately, we don’t do this veryoften, but when we do it needs to beflawless.”
Greening Auto Company’s workon the Ridler-Award-winning ‘55 T-Bird is a great example of howBASF’s industry-leading products andcommitment to adding value after thesale gives its customers a competitiveedge.
“Our focus is on adding value toour products and supporting our cus-tomers to help them be more efficient,cost-effective and successful,” saidMarket Segment Manager TonyDyach. “That translates into the top
quality finishes that make our cus-tomers stand out.”
The commitment to customer sat-isfaction demonstrated by Mc-Cutcheon’s work with Greening AutoCompany is an integral part ofBASF’s business model and companyculture. “Our work with high-end cus-
tomizers, restoration specialists andstreet-rod builders like Greening re-flects the ‘passion around the paint’that makes our business fun and per-sonally satisfying,” said Dyach. “Inturn, our passion at BASF is to offerthe world’s finest automotive coatings
and to add value through expert, re-sponsive service with all of our cus-tomers, including the collision repairshops that are the core of our busi-ness.”
It’s no wonder that many of thecountry’s top custom builderschoose to go with BASF. And it’s no
coincidence that Glasuritpaint has been on six of thelast 11 Ridler Award win-ners. That same commitmentto excellence extends toevery BASF Automotive Re-finish customer, and also totheir demanding customers.So, it should come as no sur-prise that among users ofGlasurit paints, more than 50percent of their volume is inhigh-end and luxury vehicleapplications — twice that of
the premium brand’s nearest com-petitor.
For more information aboutBASF Automotive Refinish productsand services, contact your BASF rep-resentative by calling 800-825-3000,or visit www.basfrefinish.com.
50 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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ASAA to ‘Educate’ Legislators on Aftermarket PartsThe Alliance of State Automotive Af-termarket Associations (ASAAA) re-cently launched a national LegislatorEducation and Awareness programmeant to increase recognition amongstate policymakers about the positiveeconomic and consumer benefits gen-erated by the automotive aftermarketparts and service industry.
The ASAAA said it is becomingcritical for new and returning law-makers to be educated about the ben-efits of alternative aftermarketreplacement parts and services as pol-icymakers in U.S. states are address-ing aftermarket parts issues on manylegislative fronts.
The ASAAA said its LegislatorEducation and Awareness program isdesigned to promote the importance,quality, value and availability of af-termarket replacement parts and serv-ices. The ASAAA developed ablueprint to help state associationsand industry companies send unifiedindustry messages and implement ed-ucational processes to inform statepolicymakers about the significanceof the aftermarket parts industry tohelp ensure consistency and fairnessin the government affairs process,and to eliminate misconceptions
about the value that aftermarket re-placement parts play in the Americaneconomy.
“In state Capitols nationwide,industry advocates are faced with thechallenge of educating legislativebodies about the value and impor-tance that aftermarket replacementparts and service contribute to the na-tion’s economy and the motoringpublic,” said Barbara Crest, presidentof ASAAA. “However, when de-scribing aftermarket replacementparts and service, words like ‘imita-tion,’ ‘inferior’ and ‘not of like kindand quality’ are used by our opposi-tion to confuse policymakers and dis-credit our industry.”
The ASAAA said its campaignwas developed and financed by ateam of industry experts, includingrepresentatives from the AutomotiveAftermarket Industry Association(AAIA), Automotive Warehouse Dis-tributors Association (AWDA), Auto-motive Aftermarket SuppliersAssociation (AASA), AutoZone,LKQ Corp., General Parts Inc.—CARQUEST, Genuine Parts Co.—NAPA, Advance Auto Parts, RobertBosch Corp. and Remy Power Prod-ucts.
Cooks Collision Centers Acquires 6 Shops in So CalCooks Collision Centers, a Roseville,CA, operator of collision repair facil-ities in northern California, has ac-quired six locations previously ownedby Holmes Body Shop, a multiple lo-cation collision repair operator insouthern California. This transactionrepresents Cooks Collision’s initialplatform acquisition in the southernCalifornia market. The addition of theHolmes Body Shop locations furtherexpands Cooks’ position as the largestindependently-owned and operatedcollision repair organization in Cali-fornia, with 25 locations throughoutthe state. The acquired collision repaircenters are located in Alhambra,Canoga Park, Duarte, El Segundo,Riverside and Westlake Village.
“The acquisition of the sixHolmes locations is a key step in exe-cuting our strategic plan by expandingto the Los Angeles basin and servingSouthern California consumers,” saidRick Wood, co-CEO of Cooks Colli-sion Centers. “Cooks Collision iscommitted to providing our newsouthern California customers thesame high quality collision repair, cus-tomer service and value that our north-ern California customers have come toexpect for the past 33 years.” Added
Chris Rose, vice president of south-ern California operations, “The scaleof this initial acquisition will enableCooks Collision to serve our insurancepartners and dealership clients andprovide consumers with six conven-ient locations. We plan to add manyadditional locations throughout thesouthern California market.”
“We’re very excited about CooksCollision assuming ownership of oursix locations,” said Tom Holmes,owner and CEO of Holmes BodyShop. “Since 1972, our team has fo-cused on delivering outstanding cus-tomer service and quality collisionrepairs to our customers. We made ourfinal decision to join the Cooks teambased on the honesty and integrity ofthe entire Wood family and Cooks em-ployees that we met and dealt with.”
Holmes will continue to own andoperate the Holmes Body Shop loca-tion in Pasadena.
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by Ed Attanasio
If there’s a list somewhere containingthe names of the automotive indus-try’s top artisans/painters, MitchKelly is right up there at the top. The
owner of Kelly & Son in Bellflower,California and the creator of CrazyPaint, Mitch and his father Tom areproud to say that they’re not averagepainters and they run a shop that is notaverage either.
Tom Kelly’s grandfather startedpinstriping vehicles back in the 1940sand Tom is well-known for workingwith Von Dutch as well as Ed “BigDaddy” Roth and still works along-side his son on a wide range of proj-ects.
Mitch Kelly, 52, is at a stage inhis professional career where he isready to start giving back to the in-dustry in which he made his name.
“I have a ton of knowledge and atthis point in my life, I want to shareit,” says Kelly. “Back in the day, mycars were on at least three magazinecovers every year, whether it was atruck, motorcycle or hot rod maga-zine. More recently, a motorcycle thatI painted will be appearing on thecover of Ground Pounder magazine.It’s a cinnamon-colored Harleypainted with PPG paint and I reallylike working on bikes lately. We didone Harley that has more than$13,000 worth of paint, with multiple
colors, stripes everywhere, includinggold leaf—-it’s just really cool stuff.”
It all began 39 years ago when ateenager started to learn the familybusiness to make some walkingaround money. “When I was 13, my
dad told me to tape off somewheels on some vans,” Kellyexplained. “He was doinglots of vans back then. In the1960’s everybody had a vanand they wanted graphics on
them. He was fast. He’d lay them out,paper them and Scotch Bright themand I learned how to do it all.
The first thing I did was paintwheels. They used to have those oldwestern-style wheels with ribs onthem and you’d have to paint betweenthe ribs and color match them to thevehicle. I would do a couple sets ofwheels every day and Dad would giveme $10-$15 per wheel. So, as a 13-year-old, I was making good money,sometimes $150 per day.”
Tom Kelly didn’t want his son’sfuture in the paint business. “At onepoint, my father told me, ‘This is fineand all, but I want you to get a regularjob.’ I worked six hours a day in a cab-inet shop, but I also stayed on at mydad’s shop. Between the cabinet shop,my dad’s shop, and school, I was put-ting in 13-hour days. Eventually Iwent to work with my father full-timein 1978.
“My father is probably the bestpinstriper in the world, in my opinion,and many will agree. His talent andhis ability to stripe stuff is phenome-nal,” Mitch says with evident pride.
“He’s a super artist and he’s verycreative. He’s got all my ability in his
little pinky. I realized early on that Ididn’t want to do pinstripes, murals orhand lettering, so I figured out that Ineeded to get into the painting side. Ilearned about as much as I couldabout two-color toning, fading andgraphics to where I could do them at ahigh level. My father and I are still ateam. He’s 72 now and we still worktogether.”
ABN sat down with Mitch Kellyrecently to chronicle his topfive projects over the yearsand the first one he cited wasthe very first car he paintedcompletely from start to fin-ish while a high school stu-dent. “My friend had a 1978Z-28, and asked ‘would I putsome stripes on his car’? Isaid yeah, but not for free. For$200, I put three-coloredstripes around his car for a hotrod look. That was my firstsuccess, because it made the cover ofHot Rod magazine. I was still in highschool and I got my first cover! Ithought to myself, “I must have atleast some talent to make the cover of
a magazine! It was my first really se-rious graphic effort and I was soproud.”
Mitch Kelly’s number two proj-ect came at age 19. “After a while, Istarted getting better and better atpainting cars. One day, a couplebrought in a 1969 Corvette that theywanted candy red. I used a red andgold pearl base with the red candy ontop. It came out with a very different
effect by just messing around with thecolors.
They wanted a silhouette ofthem together painted on the hood,so we ghosted it in. It looked awe-
52 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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Legendary “Crazy” Painter Mitch Kelly Cites his Top 5 Projects
One of Kelly’s current projects is this 1957 Chevy Bel Air. The crew at Kelly & Son is (from left) JohnWeening, Mitch Kelly, Brandon Hedden, Thomas Kelly (Mitch’s son) and Tom Kelly (Mitch’s father)
Kelly includes this truck he painted for Thor Wear as oneof his top five projects ever
some and the customers loved it.They gave me a $300 tip, which wasunheard of way back then! Thatrocked my world and I realized howimportant good customer service canbe. Meeting deadlines and givingthem exactly what they want is cru-cial, and I learned a lot about it withthat Corvette.”
Number three on the MitchKelly countdown happened roughly20 years ago, he said. “One day in1992, I got a phone call from the peo-ple at the Association of Volleyball
Professionals (AVP). At that time,they had a countrywide tour featur-ing some of the country’s best vol-leyball players and Miller Lite was
their sponsor. They asked me, canyou airbrush a mural of a 30-40 footvolleyball player diving for volley-ball on the side of a semi-truck? AndI told them, yes—we can do that.After I hung up the phone, I turned tomy dad and said, ‘Uh, we can do this,right?’ and he said we’ll give it ourbest shot! We got the job and did animage of Sinjin Smith, who was oneof the world’s top volleyball playersat that time and they were reallyhappy with it.”
That semi led to a lot of newbusiness on a corporatelevel, Mitch explained.“After that initial meetingwith the people from MillerLite, things really startedhappening. It’s totally differ-ent from working with cus-tomers off the street. Forone, my business clientsnever even come to look atthe trucks after they’re fin-ished. They just send thecheck after seeing it on TV
or in publications. We started doing alot of these semi trailers for the AVPand they let us do the things we dobest—our graphics, fading and
blending. We worked closely withtheir designers to make them pop andit’s been a great relationship.”
The fourth notable accomplish-ment for Kelly is another truck proj-
ect that came from some of hismotorcycle work, he said. “I’ve al-ways loved motorcycles of all kindsand I was racing for a while. So, wewere painting a bike one day for acompany called Thor Wear and theyasked us to bid on a truck job forthem. We got the bid and then workedwith their designer and it came outgreat. They loved it! We took it to abig show and it got amazing reviews.The big boss saw it and said, ‘We need
to do more of those!’ I’ve done at least15 trucks for them over the years andat least a total of 50 jobs overall, so ithas turned out to be an excellent ac-count.”
This now takes us to thefifth fabulous project per-formed by Mitch and hiscrew—another semi for amajor brand name. “Fifteenyears ago, we got a callfrom the people fromMazda’s racing team anddid a semi for them featur-ing a Mazda race car on theside and with the logos.When the people fromMazda saw it, they werethrilled. The next call was
another car and trailer. They neededit in just three weeks time and it hadto be in Texas for a TV commercial.They said we don’t care about theprice. It was the biggest projectmoney-wise that I had ever done. Wegot it done three days early and it ledto a bunch of work with Mazda afterthat.”
For more information aboutMitch and his work, go to:www.kellyandsoncrazypainters.com
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 53
North County BMW
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BMW of BloomfieldBloomfield(888) 261-6471(973) 748-4675 Fax
BMW of FreeholdFreehold(732) 462-6286(732) 577-0518 Fax
BMW of Mt.LaurelMt. Laurel(856) 840-1486(856) 222-0506 Fax
BMW of TurnersvilleTurnersville(800) 883-0005(856) 649-7185 FaxM-Sat 7:30 am - 6pmwww.bmwofturnersville.com
Mitch Kelly is well-known for his amazing work onmotorcycles. This green beauty is his own personalride and proud of it
Mitch Kelly is well-known for painting semis, includingthis beauty he designed and painted for one of hissponsors, PPG
by Melanie Anderson
Back in 1956, House of Kolor®,based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, wasfounded by world-renowned custompainter, Jon Kosmoski, and 56 years
later, is still a strong player in theworld of automotive color.
House of Kolor producesbasecoats, surfacers, primers, sealers,thinners, reducers, dry pearls andflakes and other specialty products.The company is known in particularfor its premium custom finishes.
The company’s roots were in-spired by a ‘40 Chevy Coupe. Jon hadrebuilt the car and took it to the bestpaint shop in town. But the paint jobwas less than satisfactory and Jonknew it could be done better and so hedecided to learn how. And, as they say,the rest is history. Jonquickly became well-knownfor his skills as a custompainter, however, he was dis-pleased with the problematicnitrocellulose laquers andalkyd enamels of the day,which would sometimes sun-fade or cold-crack.
Jon wanted something better andif it wasn’t already available, then hedecided he would have to invent it.Together with a doctor in polymerchemistry, Jon set out to produce cus-
tom paints that wouldn’t tarnish, crackor sun-fade, even in severe climates orradical temperature changes. In addi-tion, he wanted paints that could with-stand the many coats required for acustom job. When Jon’s products and
skills came together, his paint jobsbegan to win awards, and peoplebegan to talk. Word spread and by1965, House of Kolor was nationallyrenowned as high-caliber paint forcustomizing vehicles.
In 1997, House of Kolor becamepart of the Valspar Automotive Coat-ings Division. Jon continues to playan important role in House of Kolor.He travels around the world con-ducting training classes and contin-ues to share his innovative ideas,helping to keep House of Kolor onthe leading edge of custom automo-tive coatings.
“After all these years, I’m stillpassionate about House of Kolor asever,” said Jon. “In fact, I can walkthrough a car show and pick out thecars that have the House of Kolorpaint on them. They are that muchricher and brighter. The people atHouse of Kolor know that it is allabout quality and longevity. That’swhy we use the best pigments and sol-vents that money can buy.”
House of Kolor maintains its in-tegrity and reputation as a leader in thecustom coatings industry by usingonly the finest ingredients in the pro-duction of its award-winning paint
products. The unique product linegives custom painters the freedom touse their imaginations to design, in-vent, and create “one of a kind” cus-tom paint jobs.
The newest paint from House ofKolor is called Shrimrin2 and comeswith a supporting line of new clears,primers and more, said Nick Dahl,General Manager with House ofKolor. Shrimrim2 is the second gen-eration of the proven ShrimrinBasecoat technology introduced in1982.
“Through new polymers and in-novative chemistry, we are able tomeet and exceed waterborne with asolvent-based system which allowsthe painter to create an unlimited pal-let of easy-to-mix colors and to usecolors that are the most exciting,” saidDahl, who has been with the companyfor 17 years. “Shrimrim2 basecoatsare ultra productive, easy to apply andrange from metallic, pearl and kandybasecoats. Shrimin2 Basecoats are athree-component system that consistsof our S2-FX Karrier Bases, S2-FXEffect Pacs and RU Series Kosmic re-
ducers. This new system is the futureof custom painting and is availablenow and compliant throughout theUnited States, including the strictest
districts in California. House of Koloris hitting a home run with solvent-based custom paints that are coast-to-coast compliant.”
For more information, visitHouseofKolor.com or contact:901 3rd Avenue South Minneapolis,Minnesota.Phone: (800) 845-2500Phone: (601) 798-4731Email: [email protected]
54 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
2012 GT-R
Genuine Nissan and Infiniti OEM Wholesale Parts are superbly crafted to strict quality standards. The following dealers proudly stock genuine parts. Call your local distributor today!
House of Kolor® Colors Automotive World for 56 Years
1930 Ford Pickup, Mike Smyth
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www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 55
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RX-8 2012
Taiwanese Auto Parts Makers Eye Recovering US MarketSales of new cars in the U.S. grew10% from the same period of lastyear, showing a positive sign for thatmarket, as well as good news formajor auto-parts suppliers in Taiwan.
Industry sources said that majorAmerican automakers are optimisticthat the U.S. new car market willreach about 15 million units thisyear, and Taiwan’s suppliers of orig-inal equipment (OE) parts to Ameri-can automakers can expect biggerorders.
Hota Industrial ManufacturingCo., Ltd., a major supplier of trans-mission parts, for example, currentlyindirectly supplies differentials andtorque converters to the Big-ThreeAmerican carmakers through majorcustomer BorgWarner, is preparingfor increasing orders this year.
In the third quarter of 2011, Hotawon an order for torque-converterparts for Chrysler`s pick-ups, sayingthat the order volume has been in-creasing month by month, leading toits record-high monthly revenues inthe first three months this year.
Increasing orders from the U.S.and smooth exports to China motivateinstitutional investors to forecast thatHota`s revenue could challenge a new
high of NT$3 billion (US$100 mil-lion) this year.
The aftermarket (AM) replace-ment parts market in the U.S. is alsoexpected to benefit from increasingnew car sales, said industry sources.Taiwan, as the largest supplier of AMcollision replacement parts to the U.S.market, is also expected to win moreorders.
Tong Yang Industrial Co., Ltd.,the world`s largest maker of AM plas-tic body parts, began capacity expan-sion for AM products at itsheadquarter factory in Tainan, south-ern Taiwan in 2011, and has raised ca-pacity of plastic parts, sheet-metalparts and cooling-system parts by23%, 75% and 73%, respectively,hence is fully prepared for increasingAM-parts orders from the recoveringU.S. market.
Crispin Wu, Tong Yang`s presi-dent, pointed out that employment inthe U.S. has shown recovery, andconsumer spending in February set aseven-month high, in addition to newcar sales growth in March, all ofwhich show an almost confirmed eco-nomic recovery, which will alsopump up demand for AM parts in thesecond half.
Forgetting to Use Blinkers Caused 2 Million AccidentsBlink, blink. A new study suggestsfailure to properly use turn signalscauses 2 million accidents annually, amore serious problem than distracteddriving.
When’s the last time you usedyour own turn signals? According toresearch by the Society of AutomotiveEngineers, drivers either neglect touse their signals when changing lanes,or fail to turn the signals off 48% ofthe time. And when making a turn,the failure rate is around 25%. Thatworks out to 2 billion times a daydrivers fail to use signals, or 750 bil-lion times annually.
A lack of courtesy? Laziness? Poortraining? Whatever the reason, the SAEstudy says the problem results in about2 million roadway collisions annu-ally. That’s more than twice the 950,000accidents linked to distracted driving,which has become one of the centraltopics of the U.S. Department of Trans-portation under Sec. Ray LaHood.
“This is a first of its kind reporton a subject that amazingly, has neverbeen studied,” said Richard Ponziani,P.E., President of RLP Engineeringand author of the report. Yet, despitethe fact that turn signals are simple,ubiquitous and “extremely effective,”
there is an epidemic lack of compli-ance even though “all drivers have anongoing duty to use it, just as theyhave a duty to stop at a stop sign or ata red light.”
Anecdotal evidence suggests thatpolice put little effort into enforce-ment, less than they devote to speed-ing, or running stop signs and redlights. Other than shifting priorities,the new study suggests an alternativethat it dubs the “Smart Turn Signal.”
They “are the perfect complementto the Stability Control System sinceStability Control predominately pre-vents single-vehicle crashes, whereasthe Smart Turn Signal prevents multi-vehicle crashes,” suggested Ponziani.
Such a system would automati-cally shut off a turn signal, likely bytiming out after a set delay or by de-tecting when a vehicle has finishedchanging lanes, much as today’s carsautomatically cancel the signals aftermaking a turn at an intersection.
For scofflaws who simply don’tuse their signals, the system wouldwork much like a seatbelt reminder. Itwould be able to sense if drivers rou-tinely ignore their turn signals andstart to flash what the study calls a“friendly” reminder.
pairs should be limited to minor cos-metic sanding/polishing that removesonly the finish.Aftermarket/Alternative Components:not recommended, use voids warrantyfor that part of vehicle.Salvaged/Used Airbags: not recom-mended, recommends use of newOEM airbags.Seatbelts: all need to be replaced afteraccident; new seatbelts should be in-tended specifically for vehicle inwhich they are installed.Replacement of Structural Compo-nents: recommends OEM parts to re-store vehicle to pre-crash condition.Use of Heat During Repairs: specifieshow heat should be used during re-pairs to keep parts working in bestcondition possible.Specific PDR: recommends specificPDR procedures.Clipping/Sectioning: disapproves,voids warranty for that part.
FORD/LINCOLNAftermarket/Alternative Components:not recommended, use voids warrantyfor that part of vehicle.Reconditioned Wheels: major repairsnot recommended/no metal work, re-pairs should be limited to minor cos-metic sanding/polishing that removesonly the finish.Salvaged/Used Airbags: not recom-mended, recommends use of newOEM airbags.Open Blending: specifies procedure touse.Clipping/Sectioning: disapproves,voids warranty for that part.Seatbelts: all need to be replaced afteraccident; new seatbelts should be in-tended specifically for vehicle inwhich they are installed.Specific PDR: recommends specificPDR procedures.
GMSalvaged/Used Airbags: not recom-mended, recommends use of newOEM airbags.Aftermarket/Salvaged/Recycled OEMComponents: not recommended, usevoids warranty for that part of vehicle.Wheels Repair: major repairs not rec-ommended/no metal work, repairsshould be limited to minor cosmeticsanding/polishing that removes onlythe finish.Panel Bonding Procedures: specific
procedures are specified.Clipping/Sectioning: disapproves,voids warranty for that part.Specific PDR: recommends specificPDR procedures.
HYUNDAI/MAZDAAftermarket/Salvaged Components:not recommended, use voids warrantyfor that part of vehicle.
JAGUARSpot Welders: recommends use ofspecific spot welders.Bench Systems: recommends use ofspecific bench systems.Specific Repair Equipment: recom-mends use of specific repair equip-ment.Specific Training for Aluminum:specifies training for repairing alu-minum.Specific Training for Steel: specifiestraining for repairing steel.Specific Welding: specifies how tocomplete welding repairs.Specific Repair Procedures/Parts:specifies parts and procedures to usewhen repairing vehicle.OEM Components/Wheels: recom-mends replacement parts to be OEMparts and wheels.
LAMBORGHINISpot Welders: recommends use ofspecific spot welders.Bench Systems: recommends use ofspecific bench systems.Specific Repair Equipment: recom-mends use of specific repair equip-ment.Specific Training for Aluminum:specifies training for repairing alu-minum.Specific Training for Steel: specifiestraining for repairing steel.Specific Training for Carbon Fiber:specifies training for repairing carbonfiber.Specific Welding: specifies how tocomplete welding repairs.Specific Repair Procedures/Parts:specifies parts and procedures to usewhen repairing vehicle.OEM Components/Wheels: recom-mends replacement parts to be OEMparts and wheels.Definition of Structural Repair:specifically defines structural repair.
MERCEDES BENZSpot Welders: recommends use ofspecific spot welders.Bench Systems: recommends use ofspecific bench systems.
Specific Repair Equipment: recom-mends use of specific repair equip-ment.Specific Training for Aluminum:specifies training for repairing alu-minum.Specific Training for Steel: specifiestraining for repairing steel.Specific Welding: specifies how tocomplete welding repairs.Specific Repair Procedures/Parts:specifies parts and procedures to usewhen repairing vehicle.OEM Components/Wheels: recom-mends replacement parts to be OEMparts and wheels.Specific Steering Gear Procedure:specifies procedure to repair steeringgear.
NISSAN/INFINITISpecific Repair Equipment: recom-mends use of specific repair equip-ment.Specific Training for Aluminum:specifies training for repairing alu-minum.Specific Training for Steel: specifiestraining for repairing steel.Spot Welders: recommends use ofspecific spot welders.
Bench Systems: recommends use ofspecific bench systems.Specific Welding: specifies how tocomplete welding repairs.Specific Repair Procedures/Parts:specifies parts and procedures to usewhen repairing vehicle.OEM Components/Wheels: recom-mends replacement parts to be OEMparts and wheels.Salvaged Components: not recom-mended, use voids warranty for thatpart of vehicle.
PORSCHESpot Welders: recommends use ofspecific spot welders.Bench Systems: recommends use ofspecific bench systems.Specific Repair Equipment: recom-mends use of specific repair equip-ment.Specific Training for Aluminum:specifies training for repairing alu-minum.Specific Training for Steel: specifiestraining for repairing steel.Specific Welding: specifies how tocomplete welding repairs.Specific Repair Procedures/Parts:specifies parts and procedures to use
56 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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when repairing vehicle.OEM Components/Wheels: recom-mends replacement parts to be OEMparts and wheels.Definition of Structural Repair:specifically defines structural repair.
TOYOTA/LEXUS/SCIONSpecific Repair Procedures: specifiesprocedures to use when repairing ve-hicle.OEM Components/Wheels: recom-mends replacement parts to be OEMparts and wheels.Salvaged Components: not recom-mended, use voids warranty for thatpart of vehicle.Specific Repair Equipment: recom-mends use of specific repair equip-ment.Specific Training for Aluminum:specifies training for repairing alu-minum.Specific Training for Steel: specifiestraining for repairing steel.Spot Welders: recommends use ofspecific spot welders.Bench Systems: recommends use ofspecific bench systems.Specific Welding: specifies how tocomplete welding repairs.
VW AUTO GROUPSpot Welders: recommends use ofspecific spot welders.Bench Systems: recommends use ofspecific bench systems.Specific Repair Equipment: recom-mends use of specific repair equip-ment.Specific Training for Steel: specifiestraining for repairing steel.Specific Welding: specifies how tocomplete welding repairs.Specific Repair Procedures/Parts:specifies parts and procedures to usewhen repairing vehicle.OEM Components/Wheels: recom-mends replacement parts to be OEMparts and wheels.Definition of Structural Repair:specifically defines structural repair.
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 57
The following dealerships are eager to serve your needs.Call your local Subaru collision parts specialist today!
The Massachusetts Senate took itsnext step to “right to repair” with a billthat advanced to the House of Repre-sentatives. The state’s Senate ap-proved the measure to “protect bothnew car dealerships and independentrepairers.”
“We thank Chairman TomKennedy and the legislation’s senatesponsor, Sen. Jack Hart. Without theirleadership, consumers would still bewaiting for this step,” said Art Kins-man, a spokesman for the Massachu-setts Right to Repair Coalition. “Weapplaud the Senate for acting and lookforward to passage in the House andthen on to the Governor for his signa-ture. Consumers are waiting.”
More than 100,000 Massachu-setts citizens signed the Right toRepair ballot initiative earlier this
year. The state’s consumers will gettheir own chance to vote for pas-sage on the November ballot. Re-cent polls have shown support levelfor Right to Repair as high as 87percent.
Supporters of the Senate-passedlegislation say it makes certain thatnew car dealers derive the same ben-efits and have the same ability to ob-tain identical repair information asneighborhood repair shops.
At the federal level, the MotorVehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act(HR 1449) was introduced into theU.S. House of Representatives byReps. Todd Platts (R-PA) and Edol-phus Towns (D-NY) and currently has50 co-sponsors.
As BMW Groups’ vehicle construc-tion technology advances, so does therepair process required to fix themproperly. Conventional welding,which has been used primarily inBMW Groups’ repair processes in thepast, is slowly becoming the second-ary method to bonding and rivet bond-ing technology. BMW currentlyrecommends primarily using bondingand rivet bonding to replace exteriorbody panels, structural parts, and sec-tioning specific locations in conjunc-tion with VIN-specific repairprocedures. Changes in recommendedrepair procedures affect all currentproduction models. This does notmean that all models, and all parts, areaffected though. Consulting VIN-spe-cific repair procedures should alwaysbe the first step in the repair process.The same is true for Mini and forRolls-Royce vehicles (see Figure 1).
BMW Group has been recom-mending bonding and rivet bondingtechniques to replace damaged alu-minum parts for over a decade. Therecommendation has now been broughtto repairs on steel vehicles. The theorybehind the repair of both aluminum andsteel parts is similar, although the ad-hesives and preparation material usedcan vary by the repair situation and thematerials being joined (see Figure 2).
Reasons for the ChangeThere are several reasons that BMWhas made the transition from conven-tional welding and STRSW to bond-ing and rivet bonding. One of the mainreasons is the use of heat-sensitivesteel. With bonding and rivet bonding,there is no heat generated that wouldweaken the steel, allowing the steel toretain its strength.
Another reason for bonding andrivet bonding is the increased corro-sion resistance of the repair joints.Corrosion protection is extremely im-portant during repairs because BMWoffers a 12-year corrosion warranty.
Repair OverviewThe recommended BMW sectioningjoint on outer body panels requires apre-fabricated E-coated reinforcementplate, available from BMW, alongwith VIN-specific repair information.The sectioning joint locations are in asimilar area as the previously recom-mended weld joint, but may havemoved to accommodate the reinforce-ment plate. The reinforcement platehas studs built into the part. This re-quires notches to be placed into theexisting part and the new part.
Special plastic lock nuts are usedto hold the parts in position until theadhesive cures. If the joint calls forthem, rivets, which may be specialblind rivets or punch rivets (alsocalled self-piercing rivets or SPRs),are then installed on mating flangeareas where applicable. When the ad-hesive is cured, the studs on the rein-forcement plate are removed and thesurface is prepared for the applicationof the BMW-recommended epoxymetal filler.
The sectioning procedure for arail is similar to an outer body panel.The difference is this repair joint usesa repair element that fits into the rail.A bolt is inserted into the repair ele-ment. When the bolt is tightened
down, the repair element expandsagainst the inside of the rail, causingthe adhesive to emerge. The bolt is re-moved once the rivets have been in-stalled and the adhesive is cured.
Still Some WeldingBonding and rivet bonding does notreplace all welding procedures forBMW. There are some areas that willstill require welding to be done. Theseareas can only be identified with thecorrect repair information.
Tools and Equipment AvailabilityAll of the tools and parts, includingthe reinforcement plates, repair ele-ments, rivets, and adhesives needed tocomplete bonding and rivet bondingprocedures for BMW are available toindependent collision repair facilities.It is highly recommended, however,that before any repairs are attempted,the technician acquire training fromBMW on the tools and techniques tocorrectly perform these repairs. It isalso critical to have access to the mostcurrent and up-to-date repair proce-dures and sectioning locations fromBMW.
ConclusionBMW recommends primarily usingadhesive bonding and rivet bonding toreplace exterior body panels, framerails, and when sectioning. The repairsare vehicle specific and require spe-cial tools, equipment, and procedures.BMW recommends specific trainingbefore doing these repairs, and havingaccess to their specific repair infor-mation.
The recommended change in re-pair procedures from BMW is just oneof the many examples of the chal-lenges that collision repairers face ontoday’s HSS and UHSS vehicles.While traditional repair methods arestill used on these vehicles, how andwhere those repair methods are usedis constantly changing. For more in-formation on working on HSS andUHSS vehicles, attend I-CAR’s BestPractices For High-Strength Steel Re-pairs (SPS09) course.
58 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
with Kathy Steck-FlynnAutobody CSI
with Dan EspersenALL OEM Information
with Tom McGeeALL OEM Information
with J.R. CarlsonConsumer Callout
Automaker Actions and Announcementswith Jeremy Hayhurst
Autobody Techwith Jeremy Hayhurst
Parts Profileswith Larry Williams
Automaker Actions and Announcementswith Janet Chaney
I-CAR Tech
Amaradio Explains CRAwith Lee Amaradio Jr.
Consumer Callout
The Right Causewith Mike Causey
with Ed AttanasioShop Showcase
Say What?!
This article first appeared in the I-CAR Advantage Online, which is published and distrib-uted free of charge. I-CAR, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, is anot-for-profit international training organization that researches and develops qualitytechnical education programs related to collision repair. To learn more about I-CAR, andto subscribe to the free publication, visit http://www.i-car.com.
Bonding and Rivet Bonding Technology on Steel BMW Vehicle Parts
Figure 1 - This BMW 5 Series has several partsthat need to be rivet bonded during repairs
Figure 2 - The repairs on this aluminum frontend are similar to the repairs on steel vehicles
by the Audi Quality AssuranceDepartment for the A3
Exterior Master JigAt Audi, the master jig is the main in-strument used by the Quality Assur-
ance department to attain a premiumimpression and perfect fits.
The task of the exterior masterjig is to optimize and fine-tune di-mensional fits on every vehicle proj-ect before a production launch. Thisinvolves coordinating the fits of allparts that are visible on the exteriorwith one another.
These parts range from sheetmetal panels such as doors, enginehoods and trunk lids to exterior trimparts such as bumpers, headlights, tail-lights, windows, mirrors, door handles,spoilers and decorative trim strips.
The measurement and analysisfixtures of the exterior master jig arehoused in a dedicated building to-gether with the interior master jig.
Other tools—which are also fun-damental to successful coordina-tion—are used in this area beforework is performed on the exteriormaster jig.
The joint master jig is used tocheck for dimensional conformity ofthe underbody and its individual com-ponents, such as the front and rearfloors and to coordinate them to oneanother.
It ensures that all components canbe joined without stresses. This is nec-essary to be able to produce a high-quality body in the later productionprocess, which is the foundation forthe premium image of Audi vehicles.
Using what are known as exte-rior function cubes, experts analyzethe vehicle’s exterior trim parts in alocal zero-reference environment.Correction data is derived from thisprocess, which is used to optimizecomponents at an early phase. Whenthey fit to the cubes, they are addedto the exterior master jig for furtherfine tuning.
Work in the zero-reference envi-ronment of the exterior master jig be-gins about nine months beforeproduction launch. Previously in-spected panel parts of the body’s ex-terior skin and the parts mounted tothem, such as doors and hoods andlids, are built up on a frame con-structed of solid aluminum profiles.Exterior trim parts are also added tothe assembly to analyze the interplayof all body parts.
This gives specialists a stepwisemethod for perfecting the dimensionaltolerances of parts, achieving flush fitsand perfecting the lines of joints.
An additional fine-tuning step in-volves working with reference bodiesthat are equipped in a way similar tothat of an exterior master jig.
This is done so that the paint ap-plication can also be considered in afinal fine-tuning step. Although thepaint is only as much as 15 hundredthsof a millimeter (0.04 inch) thick, byAudi’s way of thinking, even thisplays a major role in dimensional op-timization.
The seam pattern on the new AudiA3 does not always follow exactmathematics; in some zones, subjec-tive impressions are also considered inthe tuning process.
Take the front bumper, for exam-ple, which is slightly offset to the rearat its transition to the fender so that thecustomer always perceives a harmo-nious transition when looking at itfrom above. Another example: theseams at the fuel filler door. The upperseam was intentionally made smallerthan the lower one, to give the subjec-tive impression of a better fit for theobserver.
Along with dimensional con-formity, the exterior master jig alsoyields information on color fidelity,gloss level and the tactile feel of sheetmetal, aluminum and plastic parts. Inaddition, it provides information onthe firm seating of all components andtheir easy assembly and whether opti-mization potential exists in the com-ponent concepts.
Audi specialists are alwaysfaced with exciting new challengesin their work at the exterior masterjig—challenges they must overcometo fulfill stringent requirements forthe overall impression of the vehi-cle’s exterior.
Different materials such as steel,aluminum, plastics, rubber and glassmust be cleanly fitted to one another.The overall impression is only dis-tinctive and high- end if all edges andtheir radii fit precisely to tenths of amillimeter; only then is the run of thetornado line from the fender over thedoor to the side wall frame pleasing tothe eye.
Interior Master JigThe interior master jig is a body pro-duced to a specific design level thatdoes not exhibit any deviations at thepoints where interior components aremounted.
Ten months before productionlaunch, the components are coordi-nated and fitted to one another usingoptical and tactile measurement meth-ods.
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 59
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Audi A3 Development with Master Jigs and Color Matching
Master jigs are used to optimize dimensionalfits and the colors and materials matchingoperations.
Front cubing measurements with CNCcoordinate machine
Rear cubing measurements with CNCcoordinate machine
Optical measurements on joints master jig
Along with verifying functionalcriteria—free movement of parts, firmseating, ease of installation, harmo-nious actuation forces and sounds—the primary focus of measurementwork with the interior master jig is onvisual properties. All parts are in-spected for grooves, voids and blisters.
Special attention is given tochecking of seams, e.g. on the centreconsole that is made up of numerousindividual components—from kneepads to the MMI terminal.
The four air nozzles in jet designat the front of the cockpit are highlycomplex parts. Each consists of over30 individual components.
Allowable tolerances are on theorder of a few hundredths of a mil-
limeter in the design feature for ad-justing the air stream to spot mode ordiffuse mode. Therefore, the supplierassembles and checks every part in a100 percent automated process.
A parts that helps to ensure optimalsitting comfort is the center armrestwith its height and length adjustments.A high-quality aluminum die cast bodywith a two-component material jointensures full adjustment acoustics.
Another highlight in the Audi A3:the three-dimensional decorative trimstrips in the doors—they are embed-ded in a soft film without any gaps.
The complex mounting feature onthe rear side was not released in the in-ternal master jig process until it wasperfectly tuned to assure an elegantimpression and no noise.
The decorative ring on the gearshift grip is embedded with a preci-sion of just a few hundredths of a mil-limeter to assure perfect tactile feel forthe driver.
Audi has even implemented elab-orate solutions in the luggage com-partment of the new A3: when thecargo floor is folded upward, spring-loaded plastic latches hold it in placefor the customer.
Special cubes are used to checkthe fits of functionally relevant vehicle
subassemblies. In the doors of the newA3, quality experts worked untilpleasant-sounding window trackingand door closing acoustics were as-sured under all conditions.
This was technically implementedby features such as “post-tracking,” inwhich the window slides into the win-dow guide starting at the front.
Only then did the window sealperfectly on the roof profile of thewindow guide with a constant inser-tion depth.
Another focal point was the dou-ble seal between the door and thebody.
A continuous seal was attainedwith the help of color imprint methodsand optical measurement technology.Only with this high level of precisioncould the stringent quality require-ments for closing noise, closing com-fort and interior acoustics be met.
On the interior master jig, spe-cialists also ensure that the door trimhas precise, uniform gaps in its transi-tion to the body door to ensure noise-free operation over the entire life ofthe vehicle at the customer. A new fas-tening concept with a flocked stop railwas coordinated and implemented.
Audi A3—Color matchingThe interior of the new Audi A3 inte-grates about 150 colored components;customers can choose from five colorschemes.
All parts, from decorative trimstrips to the carpeting, must be pre-cisely matched and coordinated. AudiQuality Assurance coordinates them
all and resolves any issues with sup-pliers.
The colored parts in the A3 interiorare extremely diverse. They consist of34 different types of semi-finishedgoods—such as fabrics, leathers andfilms—and ten types of plastic; theycome from 45 suppliers across theglobe.
This broad variety of materials re-sults in many difficult neighboring in-teractions. For example, when smoothplastic meets textured surfaces, such asin the area of the center console, thedifferent reflectance values of the ma-terials can generate different, undesir-able colors as perceived by an observer.
Special pigments are necessary todye parts with different material
chemistries in the same color hue. Allcomponents are dyed through, and
many are also painted—some withhigh-gloss paint. In the new A3, forexample, high-gloss components in-clude the control panel for the climatecontrol system and the frame of theMMI monitor. UV-stabilizers in theplastics prevent colors from bleachingout over a period of years.
Quality Assurance coordinatescolors in its light studio whose light-ing system can be adjusted to producethree different light environments:clear daylight, warm evening light orartificial light as in a showroom.
This is necessary, because indi-vidual materials give a different color
Measurements on instrument panel withcoordinate machine
Visual surface inspection of a trim strip
Discussing analysis results of functionalcubing for door
Visual color evaluation of roofliner
Color hue check and gloss measurements incockpit
ing. E-newsletters cost only about $50a month compared to thousands of dol-lars it costs to print and mail print ver-sions of newsletters. And social mediais free!
Phone AppsAnother digital marketing tool forshops to consider is a phone app fortheir business. According to Terlep,more than 50% of the U.S. populationwho own a cell phone use a smartphone, and that percentage will in-crease as the older cell phones be-come obsolete. He recommends anApple or Android app as those twoplatforms have the majority of thesmart phone market. The benefit of abody shop having an app is that it willallow a consumer who has just beenin an accident to be able to push theapp on their phone without having toremember the location, phone, nameor email address of the body shop. Anapp allows the customer to take pho-tos, file a report and send informationto the body shop, insurance and po-
lice. “A body shop who has their ownapp owns a piece of real estate of theconsumer’s smart phone,” Terlep said.
Goodbye TV?The three most prevalent screenstoday are, in order: the TV, PC andthen the smart phone, tablet or mobiledevice. In the next five years, thatorder will reverse as the smart phonewill become the No. 1 screen peoplewill look at the most, becoming morepopular than the television or com-puter screen.
So, why aren’t shops up-to-date inthe electronic world we live in? It’stime and expertise, Terlep said. Mostshops don’t have time during their dailyoperation to properly market their busi-ness digitally. And many just don’t havethe expertise. “They don’t know whatthey don’t know,” Terlep lamented.
“Social media and digital mar-keting is not a passing fad. It’s here tostay. Body shops will end up usingdigital marketing at some point, andthose who don’t wait will benefit themost,” Terlep said.
For more information about Ter-lep’s business, visit their website atwww.emarketingsherpas.com.
impression under different lightingconditions. This effect—known asmetamerism—must of course beavoided.
Visual surface inspection of a trimstrip. All employees participating incolor matching efforts must first pass aspecial vision test, because the opticalmeasuring instruments at Quality As-surance—such as the spectral pho-tometer—can only provide objectivemeasured values of the surfaces.
Such instruments cannot measurethe impression the color makes on aperson, because only people can si-multaneously detect and evaluatecolor, gloss level and surface texture.Therefore, if there is any doubt, in theend it is the subjective impression oftrained employees that is the decisivefactor in achieving perfect color har-mony.
Color matching work is also per-formed in the finished, assembled in-terior, i.e. with components in theirmounted positions and from the view-ing perspective of the driver. This isdone, because the appearance of cer-tain components such as pillar trimchanges due to the texture of the trimmaterial.
www.autobodynews.com | JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 61
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Auto Body World Collision Centers,with locations throughout Phoenixand Casa Grande markets, announcedplans to open its ninth location inPhoenix in June. Auto Body Worldhas been acquired by Texas-basedService King in a deal to be finalizedthis summer. The 13,000-square-footfacility will serve the Deer Valleycommunity of north Phoenix and islocated on 19th Avenue.
“This addition complements ourfootprint very nicely as it allows us toserve customers and our insurancepartners along the 1-17 corridor in thenorth valley,” said Auto Body WorldPresident, Mark Turner. “This addi-tion is another important step in AutoBody World’s overall growth strat-egy. With the recently announcedpartnership with Service King, we areexcited about the opportunity to ac-celerate growing out across this mar-ket.”
Auto Body World CollisionCenters continues to seek out colli-sion repair centers throughout Ari-zona. Interested owners are asked tocontact Auto Body World President,Mark Turner at [email protected].
Auto Body World Opens 9thShop in Phoenix, AZ
Continued from Page 40
Frank Terlep
62 JUNE 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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SCRS Presents Repairer Driven Education at 2012 SEMA The Repairer Driven Education(RDE) series, presented by the So-ciety of Collision Repair Specialists(SCRS), is returning to the SEMAShow for the third consecutive year.Complete details, including coursedescriptions and a registration link,are available at http://www.se-mashow.com/event/2012/10/30/scrs-repairer-driven-education-rde-se-ries.
With courses individually se-lected or crafted by the SCRS, theprogram includes nearly two dozensessions taking place during theSEMA Show on Tuesday-Friday,October 30-November 2, 2012 inLas Vegas, Nevada. The HeadlineSession, “Game Changers - Inno-vation Forum,” takes place Novem-ber 2 and features industry leadersdiscussing what innovation canlook like in the collision repairbusiness and how it is becomingcore to business strategy. Other ses-sions explore how digital market-ing, social media and related toolscan increase customer retention and
loyalty, as well as those that exam-ine how new metals that are beingused in the construction of today’svehicles are impacting the repairprocess.
“As more and more collisionrepair businesses attend the SEMAShow, SCRS is pleased to partnerwith SEMA Show organizers to en-hance the overall experience for oursegment of the industry,” saidAaron Schulenburg, SCRS Execu-tive Director. “The RDE series is atremendous educational opportu-nity for the collision industry, pro-viding accessible and affordableeducation on topics that address is-sues that truly matter to those work-ing in repair facilities. We werefortunate to be able to present theseries at the last two SEMA Shows,and look forward to expanding theprogram this coming year.”
SCRS partnered with Show or-ganizers to present the RDE pro-gram at the 2011 SEMA Show. Theannual trade show, which sawnearly 30 percent more attendees
from those representing collisionrepair facilities compared to theprevious year, brings manufacturersof automotive parts and accessoriestogether with industry buyers fromall over the world. Manufacturersrepresent every segment of the au-tomotive specialty equipment mar-ket, including restyling, hot rod,trucks & SUVs, and racing & per-formance.
“The SEMA Show featuresproducts from every automotiveniche, which makes it the idealvenue for buyers to discover newmarkets,” said Peter MacGillivray,SEMA VP of events and communi-cations.
“Because the collision marketis so closely related to many of ourtraditional market segments, it’s be-come one of the fastest growingareas and is of huge interest to ourattendees.”In addition to the SCRS RDE se-ries, the SEMA Show will featurenearly 60 educational seminarsthroughout the week.
I-CAR has introduced a new series of on-line courses that provides foundationalknowledge on the basics of the collisionrepair process for professionals across thecollision repair inter-industry. The Intro toCollision Repair Series is designed forsuch roles as entry-level technician, entry-level appraiser, front office staff, customerservice rep, sales staff, call center agentand vo-tech student.
The series includes a set of 14 one-hour online courses that covers topics suchas vehicle parts terminology; mechanicalrepair terms and vehicle protection; tools,equipment and attachment methods; andcollision repair process overview. Theintro series is customizable to a business,and staff members can take all the coursesor only the ones they need.
“Efficiency is key to running a suc-cessful business, and ensuring that yourteam has a solid understanding of the ba-sics of the collision repair process canbenefit a business in several areas,” saidJohn S. Van Alstyne, I-CAR CEO andpresident.
Special introductory pricing of 30percent off the total purchase price of theentire set of 14 courses is availablethrough July 30, 2012.
See next story for more info.
I-CAR Introduces New Seriesof Online Courses
by Ed Attanasio
On April 17, the East Bay CaliforniaAutobody Association (EB-CAA)held its monthly meeting at Scott’sSeafood in Walnut Creek to networkwith other collision professionals andlisten to the evening’s featuredspeaker, Gene Lopez. Lopez washired in 2009 by I-CAR as a regionalmanager to head the organization’sSouthwest region, headquartered inGlendora, CA. Before receiving theassignment, Lopez was the Director ofDevelopment for Seidner’s CollisionCenters and was also a part-time in-structor for I-CAR.
Lopez’s experience includes ma-terial inventory management in aero-space, medical implant devices andautomotive refinish sales. He has re-ceived numerous awards and recogni-tion in management, sales andpersonal development. He is the re-cipient of the Automotive Manage-ment Institute (AMI) “Tom BabcoxAward” for his desire to improve theautomotive service industry throughmanagement education. He has been
certified by the California Departmentof Insurance to facilitate ContinuingEducation course work to insuranceagents. Lopez has earned the AMI ac-creditation AAM (Accredited Auto-motive Manager). He has also held
several volunteer positions in the col-lision repair industry, including serv-ing as a committee chairperson forCIC, participating on several highschool and college advisory boards,and serving as a member of the SouthCoast Air Quality Management Dis-trict’s task force on Monitoring,Recording, and Reporting Volatile Or-ganic Compounds. He has been a for-mer part-time I-CAR instructor and an
I-CAR volunteer since 1994.Lopez shared valuable informa-
tion about recent changes within I-CAR and hoped to dispel anymisconceptions amongst collisionprofessionals and body shop own-ers/managers about the renewed pur-pose and new direction for the trainingentity.
First, you need to say goodbye toI-CAR’s former requirements and sayhello to the new and improved butmore stringent rules, Lopez said. “Theold rule was that anyone who workedon cars in the shop had to completefive I-CAR courses and pass the asso-ciated post tests. But now in 2012, therequirements have changed and eachorganization’s four role representa-tives (one estimator, one non-struc-tural tech, one structural tech and onerefinisher tech) need to fulfill Pro-Level 1® Platinum individual require-ments to qualify their company as aGold Class Professional designation.
“The old rule was this—if every-one passed five tests and took twomore courses every year ongoing—that fulfilled the requirement,” Lopezsaid. “ But, we changed it in July of2010 when we started Phase I of theProfessional Development Program®
and until 12/31/11, we offered two op-tions: 1) They can stick to the original5/2 plan, as long as they maintain it;or 2) They now have to achieve 100%of the ProLevel 1® for the organiza-tion’s four role representatives, andthat’s very important. Everyone elsein the organization that repairs vehi-cles has to complete a six-hour annualrequirement (two classes) to maintaina ProLevel 1®.”
Up until 12/31/11, the four rolerepresentatives within each organiza-tion could reach ProLevel 1® by com-pleting 60% of the required classwork. But now, those individuals haveto be at 100% of ProLevel 1® rightnow. In 2013, they will have to meet100% of the requirement for ProLevel2®. And then in 2014, they will haveto complete the classes that are ac-quired to achieve ProLevel 3, which isthe highest recognition any individualcan achieve through I-CAR and in thecollision repair industry. Everyoneelse in the shop only requires sixhours training annually, but those fourrole representatives are key personneland they need to proactively hit thoselevels every year, Lopez outlined.
Another big change with I-CAR
revolves around what they call “rele-vant training,” Lopez explained. “Allof the training now has to be relevantto each collision professional’s partic-ular job capacity. Everyone in theshop has to take classes that apply totheir specific job. For example, a re-finish tech will not get credit for tak-ing estimating classes. If someonewants to take training outside of theirrole, it’s fine, but it just won’t progressthem along in their Platinum Individ-ual requirements. In the past, therewas a lot of what we call randomtraining, because we allowed peopleto take courses that they weren’t goingto use in their jobs. Before, a bodyshop would have everyone come in ona Saturday and take the same class,whether it applied to their role or not.You could take two damage analysiscourses and everyone would fulfilltheir ongoing training requirement.But the problem was—is that helpinga painter? Is he going to be able to usethat information when he comes intowork on Monday? Obviously not.
Now, if you’re a painter, you takere-finishing courses. If you’re a bodyman, you take collision courses, and ifyou’re an estimator, you take damageanalysis classes.”
Body shops who reach the cov-eted Gold Class Professional® statusare exceptional and among the leadersin the collision industry, according toLopez. “Of the approximately 35,000collision repairers in this country, only4,100 are Gold Class Professional®
businesses. To reach that designationand maintain it, the organization hasto make training and education a pri-ority from their four role representa-tives and everyone else on the staffthat fixes vehicles.”
Other misconceptions in the pastabout I-CAR revolved around themisnomer that businesses had untilthe end of 2012 to meet the profes-sional development requirements, butthe deadline for businesses is theirGold Class Professional renewaldate. If you’re not currently a GoldClass business, you have until De-cember 31, 2012 to achieve 100%ProLevel 1® status for your four rolerepresentatives and everyone else hasto adhere to the same six-hour ongo-ing training requirement. If you don’tget it done by the end of 2012, thenyou have to complete both ProLevel®
1 and 2 by the end of 2013, Lopezsaid.
East Bay CAA Chapter Gets I-CAR Updates at April Meeting
