by John Yoswick Dozens of proposed laws that will have an impact on collision repairers get introduced in state capitols around the country every year. Paying atten- tion to them—even if they aren’t up for consideration in your state now—can pay off because you may be interested in getting similar laws enacted in your state. Conversely, a bill you don’t like in another state could make its way to your Capitol, so it’s helpful to know what to watch for. Here’s a look at some of the bills that have recently been introduced, are under consideration or have been passed by lawmakers around the country. Parts-related legislation A New York bill (A 7234) (similar to one introduced in Maryland) takes aim at PartsTrader by prohibiting an insurer from requiring a shop to use a specific vendor or process for the pro- curement of parts or materials neces- sary for repair of a vehicle. Another New York bill (A 3872) introduced would require consumer notification and consent regarding the type of parts to be used in repairing their vehicle, and would prohibit the use of anything other than new OEM parts for vehicles less than three years old. A similar bill (HB 362) in Ver- mont would place a 2-year ban on the insurer-use of the parts on new cars. New regulations that will go into effect in California early next year place significant new limitations on the use of non-OEM parts in that state. The Automotive Service Association (ASA) announced at the Collision In- dustry Conference (CIC) in Boston that the NACE expo will be moving away from its traditional fall event schedule to stage a summer show be- ginning in Detroit in 2014. NACE (the International Auto- body Congress & Exposition), I–CAR (Inter–Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair) and CIC (Collision Industry Conference) have announced the formation of Industry Week 2014, uniting several of the industry’s key events. The announcement was made by ASA Executive Director Dan Ris- ley at the opening of this week’s CIC meetings at the Westin Boston Water- front. Speaking in front of the assem- bly, Risley said the move backs the ASA’s promise he relayed at CIC in April that NACE will see substantial changes in the coming years. Industry week will take place July 28–Aug. 2, 2014 at Detroit’s Cobo Center, and has the following preliminary schedule of events: Tuesday, July 29 – CIC Meeting & Reception Wednesday, July 30 – I–CAR Conference & Reception Rodney Pierini has been the President and CEO of the Cal- ifornia Automotive Wholesalers Asso- ciation (CAWA) for the past 17 years. The CAWA a non- profit trade associa- tion representing automotive after- market parts manu- facturers, jobbers, warehouse distribu- tors and retailers in California, Nevada, and Arizona. The organization was formed in 1955 and serves as the voice of the aftermarket parts industry in the West. We sat down with Pierini recently to discuss his or- ganization and how its role affects and impacts the aftermarket/warehouse parts business within the collision industry in the three states he represents and also on a national level. ABN: While representing your mem- bership, how do your goals feed into the collision industry and how do you sup- port your membership in these areas? RP: The collision industry is a seg- ment of the automotive aftermarket and as such we are in the business to Rodney Pierini is President & CEO of CAWA ASA to Hold ASRW 2014 in Detroit Alongside I-CAR and CIC July 28–Aug 2 See Legislation Affecting Shops, Page 14 See Rodney Pierini Interview, Page 48 State Lawmakers Around U.S. Consider Or Approve Legislation Affecting Body Shops See ASRW 2014, Page 13 A special tradeshow and training event was held June 26 in Cerritos, CA, for southern California shops. The unique tradeshow included an evening of training for advance vehi- cle technology repairs. Approximately 50 vendors and nearly 400 people at- tended. The event was also a fundraiser for California Autobody Association chapter president Linda Holcomb of the Glendale/Foothill chapter. Holcomb is currently in treat- ment for breast cancer and $8,500 in funds raised from this event will go towards her medical expenses. Attendees included independent shops, MSOs, consolidators fran- chises, insurance field appraisers and OEMs representing Toyota, Audi, Porsche, and BMW. The tradeshow was organized by industry leaders Toby Chess and Lil- lian Maimone. The tradeshow was held from 2-6 p.m., with dinner from 6-7 p.m., and OEM training sessions were held from 7-9 p.m. Vendors showcased their new products and services. Representatives from the follow- ing companies were in attendance: 1st Class Collision of Murrieta AES Technologies AkzoNobel Coatings ALLDATA Angel Warehouse Annex Paint Special Cerritos Tradeshow Draws About 400 and 50 Vendors for Training and Fundraiser Event organizers Toby Chess and Lillian Maimone See Cerritos Tradeshow, Page 20 Rodney Pierini has been at the helm of CAWA for the past 17 years, an organization that represents auto- motive aftermarket parts manufacturers, jobbers, warehouse distributors and retailers in California, Nevada, and Arizona California Nevada Arizona www.autobodynews.com YEARS 31 31 31 ww.autobodynews.com ww Western Edition VOL. 31 ISSUE 8 AUGUST 2013 Presorted Standard US Postage PAID San Bernardino, CA Permit #2244 P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018 Change Service Requested
Transcript
by John Yoswick
Dozens of proposed laws that willhave an impact on collision repairersget introduced in state capitols aroundthe country every year. Paying atten-tion to them—even if they aren’t upfor consideration in your statenow—can pay off because you maybe interested in getting similar lawsenacted in your state. Conversely, abill you don’t like in another statecould make its way to your Capitol, soit’s helpful to know what to watch for.
Here’s a look at some of the billsthat have recently been introduced, areunder consideration or have been passedby lawmakers around the country.
Parts-related legislationA New York bill (A 7234) (similar to
one introduced in Maryland) takesaim at PartsTrader by prohibiting aninsurer from requiring a shop to use aspecific vendor or process for the pro-curement of parts or materials neces-sary for repair of a vehicle.
Another New York bill (A 3872)introduced would require consumernotification and consent regarding thetype of parts to be used in repairingtheir vehicle, and would prohibit theuse of anything other than new OEMparts for vehicles less than three yearsold. A similar bill (HB 362) in Ver-mont would place a 2-year ban on theinsurer-use of the parts on new cars.
New regulations that will go intoeffect in California early next yearplace significant new limitations onthe use of non-OEM parts in that state.
The Automotive Service Association(ASA) announced at the Collision In-dustry Conference (CIC) in Bostonthat the NACE expo will be movingaway from its traditional fall eventschedule to stage a summer show be-ginning in Detroit in 2014.
NACE (the International Auto-body Congress & Exposition), I–CAR(Inter–Industry Conference on AutoCollision Repair) and CIC (CollisionIndustry Conference) have announcedthe formation of Industry Week 2014,uniting several of the industry’s keyevents. The announcement was madeby ASA Executive Director Dan Ris-
ley at the opening of this week’s CICmeetings at the Westin Boston Water-front. Speaking in front of the assem-bly, Risley said the move backs theASA’s promise he relayed at CIC inApril that NACE will see substantialchanges in the coming years.
Industry week will take placeJuly 28–Aug. 2, 2014 at Detroit’sCobo Center, and has the followingpreliminary schedule of events:
Tuesday, July 29 – CIC Meeting& Reception
Wednesday, July 30 – I–CARConference & Reception
Rodney Pierini has been the Presidentand CEO of the Cal-ifornia AutomotiveWholesalers Asso-ciation (CAWA) forthe past 17 years.The CAWA a non-profit trade associa-tion representingautomotive after-market parts manu-facturers, jobbers,warehouse distribu-tors and retailers inCalifornia, Nevada,and Arizona. Theorganization wasformed in 1955 and
serves as the voice of the aftermarketparts industry in the West. We sat downwith Pierini recently to discuss his or-ganization and how its role affects andimpacts the aftermarket/warehouse partsbusiness within the collision industry inthe three states he represents and also ona national level.
ABN: While representing your mem-bership, how do your goals feed into thecollision industry and how do you sup-port your membership in these areas?
RP: The collision industry is a seg-ment of the automotive aftermarketand as such we are in the business to
Rodney Pierini is President & CEO of CAWA
ASA to Hold ASRW 2014 in Detroit AlongsideI-CAR and CIC July 28–Aug 2
See Legislation Affecting Shops, Page 14
See Rodney Pierini Interview, Page 48
State Lawmakers Around U.S. Consider OrApprove Legislation Affecting Body Shops
See ASRW 2014, Page 13
A special tradeshow and trainingevent was held June 26 in Cerritos,CA, for southern California shops.The unique tradeshow included anevening of training for advance vehi-cle technology repairs. Approximately50 vendors and nearly 400 people at-tended. The event was also afundraiser for California AutobodyAssociation chapter president LindaHolcomb of the Glendale/Foothillchapter. Holcomb is currently in treat-ment for breast cancer and $8,500 infunds raised from this event will gotowards her medical expenses.
Attendees included independentshops, MSOs, consolidators fran-chises, insurance field appraisers andOEMs representing Toyota, Audi,Porsche, and BMW.
The tradeshow was organized byindustry leaders Toby Chess and Lil-lian Maimone. The tradeshow washeld from 2-6 p.m., with dinner from6-7 p.m., and OEM training sessions
were held from 7-9 p.m. Vendorsshowcased their new products andservices.
Representatives from the follow-ing companies were in attendance:1st Class Collision of MurrietaAES TechnologiesAkzoNobel CoatingsALLDATAAngel WarehouseAnnex Paint
Special Cerritos Tradeshow Draws About 400and 50 Vendors for Training and Fundraiser
Event organizers Toby Chess and LillianMaimone
See Cerritos Tradeshow, Page 20
Rodney Pierini hasbeen at the helm of
CAWA for the past 17years, an organizationthat represents auto-motive aftermarketparts manufacturers,jobbers, warehousedistributors and
2 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Contents
Publisher & Editor: Jeremy HayhurstGeneral Manager: Barbara DaviesContributing Writers: Tom Franklin, David Brown,John Yoswick, Rich Evans, Janet Chaney,Toby Chess, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy SiskAdvertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman,Bill Doyle (800) 699-8251Sales Assistant: Louise TedescoArt Director: Rodolfo Garcia
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 3
Recently, the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) modifiedthe hazardous waste managementregulations under the Resource Con-servation and Recovery Act (RCRA)to exclude solvent-contaminatedwipes from the EPA’s hazardouswaste regulations, under conditionthat businesses clean or dispose ofwipes properly. This comes as EPA’sfinal risk analysis, published in 2009,concluded wipes possessing certainhazardous solvents do not pose sig-nificant risk to human health and theenvironment if properly managed.The EPA noted that wipes are used inconjunction with solvents for clean-ing and other purposes by tens ofthousands of facilities in numerousindustry sectors including automobilerepair shops. According to MathyStanislaus, assistant administrator forthe EPA’s Office of Solid Waste andEmergency Response:
“Today’s rule uses the latest sci-ence to provide a regulatory frameworkfor managing solvent- contaminatedwipes that is appropriate to the level ofrisk posed by these materials … I’veheard directly from stakeholders aboutthe benefits of this rule and the need tofinalize it. The rule reduces costs forthousands of businesses, many of
which are small businesses, whilemaintaining protection of human healthand the environment.”
This ruling excludes only wipesthat are contaminated with solventslisted as hazardous wastes underRCRA that are properly cleaned ordisposed of. To be excluded, solvent-contaminated wipes must be managedin closed, labeled containers and can-not contain free liquids when sent forcleaning or disposal. Additionally, fa-cilities that generate solvent-contami-nated wipes must comply with certainrecordkeeping requirements and maynot accumulate wipes for longer than180 days.
The EPA first proposed modifiedregulations for solvent-contaminatedwipes Nov. 20, 2003, and published arevised risk assessment for publiccomment Oct. 27, 2009.
Once the final ruling has beenpublished, it will be accessiblethrough ASA’s legislative website,www.TakingTheHill.com.
EPA Reduces Regulatory Burden of Wipe Use
www.autobodynews.comCHECK IT OUT!
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4 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
The ASA AZ Committee for Con-sumer Fairness met recently withDirector Germaine L. Marks of theArizona Department of Insurance.The goal of the Committee is to en-sure that consumers, as outlined inTitle 20-461 of the Arizona Re-vised Statutes, are dealt with in afair and ethical manner when pro-cessing insurance claims. Three is-sues were addressed with theDirector:• Types of replacement vehicles al-lowed in 3rd party claims as well asreimbursement for loss of use whenthe renting of a vehicle is not practi-cal• Direct billing of rentals in 3 rdparty claims• Underpayment of claims to vehicleowners as a result of poorly writteninsurance estimates
Director Marks, along withAndrew Carlson, Executive Assis-tant for Policy Affairs, listened tothe concerns and various scenariosthat repairers experience on a dailybasis. The Department discussthese issues with the Consumer Af-fairs Department and will also re-view the wording on the 3 rd PartyConsent Form which allows a per-
son to assign, on their behalf, an-other individual the right to file acomplaint with the Department ofInsurance. “We hope that this willbe the first of many meetings withthe Department that will allowASA the opportunity to resolve issues on behalf of consumers.” In-dicated Luz Rubio, Executive Di-rector of ASA. “As an associationserving members of the collisionrepair community, where excellentcustomer service is the ultimategoal, these issues need clarificationin order to provide guidance toconsumers.” The Automotive Serv-ice Association of Arizona is a notfor-profit trade association of itskind dedicated to and governed byindependent automotive serviceand repair professionals. ASA ofArizona serves a membership basethat includes groups from both themechanical and collision repairsegments of the automotive serviceindustry. ASA of Arizona’s missionadvances professional ism and ex-cellence in the automotive repairindustry through education, repre-sentation and member services. Foradditional information about ASAof Arizona visit www.asaaz.org.
ASA of Arizona Meets with Arizona Dept of InsuranceDirector on Consumer Fairness
Michael Hubert, Sr., 72, of Ander-son, CA, and owner of an auto bodyshop and towing company, was se-lected as Rotarian of the Year for2013 by Anderson Rotary Club. Hu-bert owns Mike’s Autobody and An-derson Towing. He also serves as oneof five elected members to the An-derson Fire Protection District’sboard of directors. The service club’s50 members were notified of the se-lection during an award presentationWednesday by Lance Voorhees, whoconducted his final meeting as clubpresident after serving in that posi-tion for a year. Joining in the ap-plause was Judy Hubert, wife of thehonoree for 49 years.
Hubert was nominated by An-derson Rotary Club treasurer NormaComnick and drew the most votesfrom members among the three nom-inees, Comnick said.“He works at alot of our community events and hebrings the supply trailer even when itisn’t his turn to do so,” Comnick gaveas reasons for nominating Hubert.
As a vehicle mechanic, Huberthas volunteered time and again toimprove, modify and protect theclub’s investments in equipment andcooking trailers, Comnick said.
Anderson Shop Owner isRotarian of the Year
Windshield Repair Tech Pleads Guilty to Insurance FraudWindshield repair technician JacobDufur, 22, has pled guilty to afelony charge of insurance fraud forsubmitting fraudulent work orderson windshield repairs, according toa statement from the District Attor-ney (DA) for Sacramento County,CA.
An investigation by the Califor-nia Department of Insurance’s UrbanAuto Task Force uncovered the situ-ation, DA Jan Scully said in thestatement.
Dufur and an accomplice wereemployed as windshield repair tech-nicians for a Chipio franchise thatspecialized in repairing small wind-shield cracks.
Dufur’s alleged accomplice hasbeen named. He is Jeremy Horstmanand an arrest warrant for insurancefraud has been issued in his name.
“There are still outstanding as-pects of this case that we are pursu-ing,” says Dale Kitching, SupervisingDeputy DA. “He is believed to be inMississippi and we are trying to per-suade him to return to California toresolve his case.
“Between May 7, 2011 andMarch 19, 2012, Dufur and an ac-complice submitted 121 fraudulentwork orders to the parent company,
Chipio Inc., for payment on wind-shield repairs that neither of themhad repaired,” according to the DA.
“After paying Dufur and his ac-complice for the alleged cost of thewindshield repairs, the parent com-pany then submitted the work ordersto the customers’ automobile insur-ance companies for payment,” theDA continued. “The franchise, theparent company and the insurancecompanies ended up paying $7,373on the fraudulent work orders.”
Dufur faces a sentence of twoyears in state prison. Sentencing isset for July 24 in Sacramento CountySuperior Court.
“The California Department ofInsurance and our office are alsoworking on a similar case, which wehope to conclude in September,” headds. “I believe it will be helpful tothe industry to be aware of the MO(modus operandi) used in these casesso we can prevent additional fraud.”
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U.S. auto thefts probably rose in 2012after eight straight years of declines ascriminals took advantage of Califor-nia’s budget cuts and reduced policeforces, an insurance-industry groupsaid.
Thefts rose 1.3 percent last yearfrom 715,373 in 2011, according topreliminary data released today by theNational Insurance Crime Bureau.Thefts fell about 3 percent in 2011from a year earlier to the lowest levelssince at least 1967, the NICB said, cit-ing data from the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation.
“There were budget crunches ina lot of areas,” Frank Scafidi, aspokesman for the Des Plaines, Illi-nois-based NICB, said in a telephoneinterview. “There have been layoffs ofpolice. There’s been less focus onnon-violent crimes, because there’sbeen more focus, as there should be,on violent crimes and crimes againstpeople.”
Modesto, California, includingStanislaus County, placed No. 1 in theranking of auto thefts per capita in2012. Thefts in Modesto increased by29 percent from 2011 to about 817cars per 100,000 people, according tothe NICB.
Car Thefts Up For First Timein Years, California Highest
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 5
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Boston was established in 1630 by Pu-ritans seeking rights they had been de-nied in the old world. It is a cityrenowned as a leader in innovation,and the large population of teachersand students who congregate in itsplethora of educational facilities hascaused many to dub Boston as the“Athens of America.” The Boston TeaParty is just one example of Bostoni-ans overthrowing the tyranny of a rul-ing third party who wanted to dictatecosts that were none of their concern.With such a reputation, it is fitting thatcollision repair professionals choseBoston as the place to gather and dis-cuss current trends and concerns inthis ever-changing industry.
Held in conjunction with I-CAR’smeetings in the same location, the Col-lision Industry Conference (CIC) meton Tuesday, July 23 and Wednesday,July 24 at the Westin Boston Water-front, located at 425 Summer Street.Over 200 collision repair professionalsgathered in the hotel’s Grand Ballroomto hear what’s been going on at CICand throughout the industry as a whole.
After Chairman George Averycalled the meeting to order on Tuesdayafternoon, CIC opened with the na-tional anthem, accompanied by a videowhich depicted a collage of Americanscenery and symbolism. This was fol-lowed by a general welcome, antitrustguidelines and finally CIC’s missionstatement which establishes the meet-ing as “a forum where collision indus-try stakeholders come together todiscuss issues, build broad understand-ing, find common ground and commu-nicate to the industry at-large, findingsand possible solutions.”
John Van Alstyne, President andCEO of I-CAR, briefly advertisedThursday’s Collision Repair Educa-tion Foundation (CREF) golf tourna-ment with which I-CAR is affiliated,and then Dan Risley, Executive Di-rector of ASA, announced that I-CAR,CIC, NACE and CREF are collabo-rating to put on an Industry Week atthe Cobo Center in Detroit MI duringthe week of July 28 through August 2,2014. (See related article on cover.)
After CIC’s Technical Committeebriefly submitted their findings regard-ing an increase in technical issues andthe need for assistance with logistics,John Petrarca from the Auto Body As-sociation of Rhode Island (ABARI)
took the stage to discuss the recent ap-proval of House Bill 5263 which redi-rects the ability to deem a car a totalloss apart from the insurer. Petrarcaemphasized the importance of legisla-tion: “the only way to correct our in-dustry is through legislation… [wemust] never stop informing and simplynever give up.” He said it is imperativethat this industry persists with inform-ing and educating consumers for thebetterment of the industry at large.
This update preceded a presenta-tion by the Governmental Committee,led by Janet Cheney and SteveRegan, entitled “Our Government:More or Less, What Works Best?”which began by sharing the feedbackfrom CIC’s last panel discussion inPhoenix. The first question askedwhether the government should pro-hibit insurers from recommending arepairer to the consumer. Shockinglyto some, the majority of participantsresponded in the negative, as they didto the question asking if the govern-ment should regulate the use of after-market parts. When asked theiropinion about the level of governmentinvolvement regarding environmentaland safety laws, 56% believed it to betoo much while 32% felt the govern-ment is involved a sufficient amount.
As the committee moved on tothe second part of their presentation,Regan introduced the panel: ColetteBruce of Team Safety, Darrell An-derson of ASA, Randy Hanson fromAllstate Insurance, Rick Tuuri fromAudatex and Ron Reichen, Chairmanof SCRS. When asked if the laws andregulations governing the collision re-pair industry are working, Andersonstressed the importance of beingaware of what’s going on in Washing-ton, while Bruce believes the laws areworking when they protect workersand the environment. Regan thenasked the audience if more laws areneeded to which 69% of respondentsanswered “no.” The majority of re-spondents said they do not believe thatcurrent laws are adequately enforced.
The panel then discussed whetherfederal or state governments shouldhave primary jurisdiction over the in-surance collision repair industry. Tuurifeels it is not a great idea to involve thegovernment, yet he also recognizes thatsometimes it is necessary to ask forhelp. Anderson believes that both enti-ties should be involved, though stateregulations tend to be convoluted and
should require some consistency. At-tendees were about equally divided be-tween these two options when polled.
Asking if the collision repair in-dustry could do a better job of govern-ing itself, Regan shared his opinionthat it’s “incumbent on the industry todo as much as it can to govern itself.”Tuuri prefers this option to involvingthe government, while Reichen agreesthat the industry could do a better job.Bruce would prefer to see the industrygovern itself also, but he cannot envi-sion the federal or state governmentsrelinquishing such control. Whenpolled, 87% of respondents replied af-firmatively that the industry could do abetter job of governing itself.
This conversation raised severaladditional questions: Who would haveprimary responsibility? How wouldthey determine the appropriate con-duct and/or standards that individualstakeholders would abide by? Howwould they enforce actions against vi-olators? These questions were tabledfor future committee discussion.
The conference continued withRon Guilliams, Chris Evans andRick Tuuri from the Definitions
Committee whose mission is to “clar-ify and bring universal understandingto the terminology used in the auto-motive damage repair and refinishprocess.” Their project consisted ofreviewing and updating their Class Ashop document which they renamed“Recommended Equipment and Ca-pabilities for a Collision Repair Facil-ity” and which is meant to provide adefinition of minimum shop require-ments. In order to enable the subcom-mittees to focus in their areas ofexpertise, the document was dividedinto the following three categories:Equipment & Capabilities, Training &Certification, and Compliance & Sus-tainability. They pointed out that agreat deal of effort has gone into cre-ating this document with lots of activeparticipation from the CIC body, leav-ing Evans convinced that this is acomprehensive document which rep-resents the next generation of theClass A Repair Standards documentwhich has existed for many years. Theinformation gathered will now betransitioned over to the StandardsCommittee to use in their work.
CIC in Boston: 200 in Attendance Voice Disparate Priorities
6 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
See CIC in Boston, Page 54
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 7
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The California Autobody Association(CAA) is asking shops in the state toasking them to report any insurer vio-lations of the new insurance regula-tions which took effect this year.
Insurance Regulation AmendedSection 2695.8, took effect in Marchthis year. The new regulation addressesissues including aftermarket parts andprocedures for adjusting shop esti-mates. The CAA has been workingwith the department to assist in clarify-ing the areas of aftermarket parts usageand claims settlement and the new reg-ulations are, in part, a result of CAAdiscussions with the CDI.
In order to assist the CDI, the CAAis now asking shops that are aware ofnon-compliance by an insurance com-pany related to the new regulations, tosubmit an Autobody Complaint Formto the CDI.
The new regulation addresses anumber of issues in the collision re-pair industry. The regulations:
1) Require the current insurer’swarranty of aftermarket parts be ex-pressly stated in the estimate of repairgenerated by the insurer;
2) Require an insurer to cease use
of a part known to be non-compliant,and notify the part distributor withinthirty (30) days.
3) Require an insurer to pay for anamount to repair the damaged vehicleto its pre-loss condition in a good andworkmanlike manner, based upon therepair standards required by auto bodyrepair shops licensed to the BAR;
4) Require an insurer to pay for thecosts associated with returning a defec-tive part and the cost to remove and re-place the defective part with a compliantnon-OEM part or an OEM part;
5) Insurers’ estimates cannot de-viate from the standards, costs, and/orguidelines provided by the estimatingsoftware used by the insurer.
The CAA notes that the sectionof the new regulations dealing withthe shop estimate and how insurersmay make adjustments, is extremelyimportant and shops need to knowhow this section specifically applies.
The section states that, if aclaimant contends that necessary re-pairs will exceed the written estimateprepared the insurer, the insurer shallreasonably adjust the shop’s estimateby either 1) providing the claimant
with an edited copy of the shop esti-mate or, 2) providing a supplementalestimate based on the itemized copyof the shop estimate.
The section states, “The adjustedestimate shall identify the specific ad-justment made to each item and the costassociated with each adjustment madeto the claimant’s shop’s estimate.”
In January the Association of Cal-ifornia Insurance Companies (ACIC)had complained that the new regula-tions “essentially require insurers topay whatever auto repair shops de-mand” and that insurers “no longerhave the ability to negotiate the mosteffective, less costly repair.”
Armand Feliciano, ACIC vicepresident, said in a published inter-view at the time that, “Auto repairershave resorted to legislation via theregulatory process. We feel that someof these regulations that have been putinto place are outside of what the CDIhas the authority to do.”
To read the full text of the regu-lation:www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2013/upload/nr001AftermarketPropAmend.pdf
8 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
CAA Urges Shops To Monitor Insurer Compliance with New Regulations
CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Ex-perts recently added Browning Col-lision CARSTAR in Cerritos, Calif.,to its national network of collision re-pair shops.
Browning Collision, which hasbeen in business for more than 25years as a member of the BrowningAutomotive Group, is independentlyowned by Kent Browning and man-aged by Jim Hanson.
“CARSTAR provides the ex-pertise to build a solid organizationand the tools to improve cycle timeand CSI,” Hanson said. “CARSTARalso allows us to have the nationalexposure required in today’s ever-changing auto collision market-place.”
As a member of the CARSTARnetwork, Browning Collision nowhas access to the company’s manage-ment system, business resources, 19corporately managed direct repairprograms and 45 corporately man-aged purchasing programs.
“We are excited to have KentBrowning join the CARSTAR net-work,” said David Byers, CEO ofCARSTAR. “We are thrilled to ex-pand our presence in the southernCalifornia region.”
CARSTAR Adds SouthernCalifornia Location
Carlisle and Company is a consultingfirm, not to be confused with CarlyleGroup (an American-based globalasset management firm active in ac-quiring collision MSOs, such as Serv-ice King recently), which developsmarket strategies that help OEMsmanage risk and optimize perform-ance.
Carlisle and Company is knownfor its data benchmarking, both in serv-ice and parts, designed to help membercompanies improve dealer service sup-port, and service quality to vehicleowners. One of their groups, the NorthAmerica Parts Benchmark (NAPB,formerly NASPC) has been analyzingthe parts supply chain since 1993, so
it’s interesting to read the companyblog, which recently addressed the on-going PartsTrader controversy. The text
following comes directly from theCarlisle blog (www.carlisle-co.com):
If you’re involved with the colli-sion repair industry, you’ve no doubtheard the hullaballoo regarding StateFarm and PartsTrader. For those whohaven’t, here’s a brief summary:
State Farm recently launchedPartsTrader, a mandatory onlineparts ordering platform for their Se-lect Service (Direct Repair Program(DRP)) shops. These Select Serviceshops receive State Farm’s collisioncustomers in return for ceding somecontrol to the insurer. The parts or-
dering platform is meant to capital-ize on all the efficiencies of e-com-merce, reducing the cost of parts by
requiring suppliers to submit com-petitive bids. PartsTrader is under-going a gradual rollout throughoutthe United States.
It’s clear that State Farm isn’t justinterested in an efficient online order-ing platform. Otherwise, they couldjust mandate that their Select Serviceshops use any online platform forparts ordering, and do this at no costto themselves. Instead, they’ve spentmillions of dollars on a brand-new on-line ordering platform. Why?
The collision parts market in theUnited States is about $16 billion. At
present, insurance carriers pay about$10 billion dollars of that total, buthave little influence over the parts pro-
curement process or pricing. StateFarm’s competitive online parts mar-ketplace provides leverage by pittingsuppliers against each other to offerthe best price on parts. Even a one per-cent reduction in parts cost representsa $100 million savings for insurancecompanies.
There are two significant nega-tive impacts for OEMs.
Loss of market share: A widerreach throughout salvage yards andaftermarket suppliers in the UnitedStates for parts sourcing will eventu-ally mean that more alternative parts
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 9
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Carlisle and Company Blogs About PartsTrader
PartsTrader rollout plan
It’s clear that State Farm isn’t just interested in an efficient online or-dering platform. Otherwise, they could just mandate that their SelectService shops use any online platform for parts ordering, and do thisat no cost to themselves. Instead, they’ve spent millions of dollars on
a brand-new online ordering platform. Why?
are used. This impacts OEM prof-itability and customer repair quality.
Financial harm to dealers: Acompetitive marketplace means thatdealers will have to offer even greaterdiscounts. Parts suppliers, includingdealers, will also be required to pay afee to participate in PartsTrader.
Unfortunately, even if OEMs andIRFs band together and manage to kill
State Farm’s PartsTrader, Nationwideor GEICO will almost certainly comeout with a similar program. The busi-ness case is far too compelling and thestakes far too high for insurance carri-ers to leave parts cost in the hands ofthe parts supplier, the shop and theclaims adjuster.
Eventually, this concept is goingto be implemented in such a way thatit takes off. It may not be this go-around with PartsTrader, but thecompetitive online parts marketplacewill happen. The industry is consoli-dating, and there’s even more incen-tive for large multi-store operators tofollow the insurance companies’ poli-cies in return for repairs. After all,keeping the doors open at a big shoprequires a healthy volume, and theeasiest way to a healthy volume isthrough DRP.
If the concept is here to stay, whatstrategies should OEMs explore?
Adopt, use and manage smarterpricing. Right now, OEMs have accessto tremendous quantities of datathrough estimating platforms and Col-lisionLink. OEMs also have relativelysophisticated pricing systems and ac-cess to robust analytical platforms. To-gether, pricing systems and data enablesurgical precision on parts pricing farin advance of what aftermarket partsproviders can manage. Separate out
collision parts pricing from the rest ofyour pricing rules and strategies, andget down into the details. This meanscreating strategies for pricing specificpart numbers and car models. AlthoughOEMs do pursue pricing strategies andaging curves, this is usually done at abroad, part-type level. In other words,your strategy for pricing a bumper fora full-size pickup truck should not nec-
essarily be the same as your pricingstrategy for a bumper for a midsizesedan. And the key to the success ofpricing strategies is dynamic manage-ment of strategies, rather than “set, for-get and revisit in 5-10 years.”
Promote price competitive pro-grams and alternative online orderingtools. Insurers may have leverageover behavior for their DRP shops,but OEMs have first-mover advan-tage here. CollisionLink has been inthe market for nearly a decade, andcombines online ordering with OEMprice-competitive capabilities. Incontrast, PartsTrader is only in a fewmarkets, but more are sure to follow,and other insurance carriers willjump in the game shortly. An aggres-sive push by the OEMs to get theirtools embedded in the market at thedealer and shop level before the in-surance carriers enter will make theroad harder for insurance companiesand promote OEM market share.Your price competitive programshave to be integrated into your smartpricing strategy, or you’ll be workingat cross-purposes.
Expansion of advanced techni-cal training. Factors such as CAFE,safety regulations, and the naturalorder of progress—that is, advancedmaterials and design—have madeparts more complex, and more expen-sive. That complexity works toOEMs’ advantage. 95% of body shops
in the United States can’t competentlycomplete repairs on structural alu-minum. 99.9% of body shops in theUnited States can’t competently com-plete repairs on structural carbon fiberor CFRP. If OEMs can control thetraining associated with advanced ma-terials, they can make sure that vehi-cles get repaired at shops which usemore OEM parts.
Core returns and salvage leakage.How does a part wind up in an LKQyard? If OEMs can control the spreadof cores and salvageable parts usingcore return charges and total-loss buy-back programs, they can starve thenetwork of salvage parts. Of course,this comes at a cost, but salvage partsare the fastest-growing segment andthe most risky for OEMs. After all, itis easy to argue that an aftermarket-
produced part does not meet or exceedOEM standards. It is more challeng-ing when that part came from theOEM at some point. Many OEMs arealready active in this area – but theyneed to dial up the breadth of partscovered and the aggressiveness of theprograms.
Certified Body Shops. A certi-fied shop network provides the OEMwith additional input into the repairprocess and helps take some of theleverage away from insurance carri-ers. When combined with advancedtraining and access to OEM tools,equipment and techniques, certifiedbody shops are in a position to cap-ture more of the high end of the in-creasingly complex repair market.OEMs may lose the battle on coversand similar nonstructural parts, butthere are opportunities to make upground in structural, safety, and spe-cialized parts.
The bottom line: Expect insur-ance companies to increase their in-volvement in the parts procurementprocess, and expect it to have a signif-icant negative impact on OEM marketshare. Just maintaining current marketshare will require a tremendous amountof additional effort.
10 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Unfortunately, even if OEMs and IRFs band together and manage to killState Farm’s PartsTrader, Nationwide or GEICO will almost certainly
come out with a similar program. The business case is far too compellingand the stakes far too high for insurance carriers to leave parts cost in the
hands of the parts supplier, the shop and the claims adjuster.
For more information about Sherwin-WilliamsAutomotive Finishes training or other products,visit the training section at:http://www.sherwin-automotive.com/Training/TrainingCourseSchedule.aspxor call 1-800-SWULTRA (1-800-798-5872).
Announces:2013 Third QuarterTraining Schedule
A2T
MD Shop Owner Wins A Short-Pay Lawsuit vs GEICOA Maryland body shop owner haswon a short-pay lawsuit he filedagainst GEICO on behalf of a cus-tomer.
Mark Schaech, co-owner ofMark’s Body Shop of Baltimore, filedthe suit against GEICO due to the in-surer’s refusal to pay $392.95 in repaircosts on behalf of its policyholder. Theunderpayments included: degreasingvehicle prior to repair; feather, primeand block repaired panels; clean vehi-cle for delivery; clear OBD faultcodes; reset electronics (recorded set-tings); mask for primer; and overhauldoor handle for refinishing.
“We offer exceptional qualityand service to our customers, and tocontinue to do so without being prop-erly compensated is simply unreason-able and unsustainable,” said Schaech.
“While my father (partner)and I would rather avoid having totake such legal actions, something hadto be done as the insurer’s efforts tounderpay our customers continued toincrease. I felt like that guy in themovie Network where he stuck hishead out the window and yelled, ‘I’mmad as hell and I’m not taking thisanymore!’
“While Maryland does not allowthe recovery of legal fees to the pre-vailing parties in such issues, we
couldn’t allow that to be a deterrent inour being able to properly serve ourcustomers and our employees. Insur-ers have continued cutting their costswhile our costs for labor, materialsand overhead have steadily increased.The only way we could survive was toeither concede to the underpaymentsand cut our quality of materials andlabor…or push back. We found short-pay litigation necessary to stop the in-surer’s practice of underpaying ourcustomers and to enable us to providethe quality repairs that earn our cus-tomers (and their referrals) for life.”
Schaech credited a free legalseminar in Florida hosted by BarrettSmith of Auto Damage Experts, RayGunder of Gunder’s Auto Center andGunder’s attorney, Brent Geohagan,with motivating him and giving himthe information he needed to take ac-tion.
“That was a turning point for us.To hear Ray talk about how he knewthat if he hadn’t done something hewould be out of business struck achord in me, and I knew then that I,too, needed to do something or wewould lose our business,” Schaechsaid. “Ray gave much credit to hissuccess in having a great support teamin Barrett as his consultant and Brentas his legal counsel.”
Shop Robber Caught Red-Handed, Another Bleeds, RunsA 49-yr old man is under arrest aftersurveillance cameras caught himstuck in a fence while trying to escapefrom Reynolds Auto Body Shop onCervantes Street in Pensacola, FL onJuly 8. Weatherspoon was trying tosteal items stored out back of theshop, including “two space heatersthat were in the scrap pile going to thescrap yard, and a ten-year old radardetector,” said Daniel Williams atReynolds Auto Repair. But as Weath-erspoon tried to make a quick get-away and jump the fence, he gotstuck just as police arrived. “Luckilyhe wasn’t smarter than a fence. Hewas caught on the fence, and whenPPD got him, he had his leg up,caught in the act, [literally] red-handed,” said Williams. Police sayWeatherspoon also had marijuana onhim when he was arrested.
The hapless Weatherspoon was-n’t the only would-be thief trying tosteal from local auto repair shops thatnight.
John Denman Owner of Dis-count Mufflers reported a break in athis location. “It didn’t sound like theywere really on top of their gamethere,” said Denman. He has ownedDiscount Mufflers for 20 years andsaid that, while his auto repair shophas been broken into before, this lat-
est criminal is in a class of his own.“They hurt themselves real
good in the process because we hadblood all over the floor and all overthe cars and stuff” Mechanics spentthe morning replacing windows thesuspect broke while trying to accessthe shop. Denman believes the sus-pect actually broke in twice becausehe moved a tool box in front of thebroken window the first time... Onlyfor it to be knocked down againhours later. And apparently it wasn’tmoney the suspect was after. Rather,it was gas.
“There were some wrenches onthe floor where they had came backinto the building, and at that time theygot the extension cord and the drill,”he said. Denman believes the suspecttried to drill into the gas lines of carsat the shop. But unfortunately for thesuspect, the drill was broken leavinghim empty-handed.
Police are still looking for thesuspect in the Discount Mufflersbreak-in.
www.autobodynews.comCHECK IT OUT!
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Thursday, July 31 – Collision Re-pair Education Foundation Golf Out-ing
Thursday & Friday, July 31–Aug.1 – NACE Education & Expo
Saturday, Aug. 2 – Education &Hosted Industry Tours
“Co-locating NACE with the I-CAR and CIC conferences in July andcreating Industry Week represents thebeginning of a new era for our indus-try, and this is extremely exciting. Pro-fessionals in the industry can nowtruly take ONE week and participatein all the meetings they need involv-ing the industry’s most influential in-
dividuals and organizations, attend allthe conferences, walk the show, net-work, and receive the education criti-cal to their business success,” saidRisley. “Beyond the events alreadymentioned, there will be innumerableopportunities for attendees and ex-hibitors because it’s located in Detroit,the heart of the automotive industry.Additional announcements will beforthcoming in the ensuing monthsbut suffice it to say, if you are a ‘carperson’ you will not leave the city dis-appointed.”
John Van Alstyne, I-CAR CEO& President, shared his enthusiasm,“Industry Week is an opportunity tobring more of the industry togetherand simplify coordination of schedul-ing for all events, which we believe
will be valued by the industry.” Headded, “Industry Week will present at-tendees with excellent educational,knowledge–building, and networkingopportunities; and I-CAR’s long-standing July Conference, which hasbeen aligned with CIC for manyyears, will remain an independentevent that will now take place underthe new umbrella of Industry Week.Additionally, the annual fund–raiserfor the Collision Repair EducationFoundation will continue to be heldthe same week, offering a fantastic so-cial networking opportunity whileraising money for a great cause thathelps us to sustain the future of our in-dustry.”
“The Collision Industry Confer-ence looks forward to meeting during
this time when all groups come to-gether,“ stated Jeff Hendler, Founder,Collision Industry Conference. “Themore often that all entities attempt toshare the calendar with the varyingfunctions of meetings, educations,trade displays, and networking oppor-tunities, the better it is for those whoattend. Everyone and every entitystands to benefit.”
“The Collision Industry Confer-ence looks forward to building uponour longtime alignment with I–CARto welcome ASA into the fold andoffer our collision industry stakehold-ers the opportunity to attain even moreindustry knowledge, make even morevaluable industry connections, andconduct even more business,” saidGeorge Avery, CIC Chairman. “Betteryet, Industry Week lets them do it allin one week, under one roof, and inthe heart of the Motor City to enableeveryone to maximize their time andtravel.”
Additional details on each eventtaking place during Industry Week2014 will be released by each organi-zation in the coming months. Hotel de-tails will be available in the near future.
More information will soon beavailable at http://www.naceexpo.com, http://www.i-car.com, andhttp://www.cic.com.
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 13
Continued from Cover
ASRW 2014
ASRW 2013 will have a brand newarea on the show floor called theASRW Main Stage. Located promi-nently on the expo floor, the ASRWMain Stage will showcase a differ-ent industry speaker every hour dur-ing show hours. ASRW will takeplace Thursday and Friday, Oct. 17-18, with education beginningWednesday, Oct. 16, at the Man-dalay Bay Convention Center in LasVegas. A total of 12 speakers willcomprise the ASRW Main Stage,with six speakers on Thursday andsix speakers on Friday. The ASRWMain Stage presentations will takeplace each hour between 10 a.m. and3 p.m. “The powerful slate of speak-ers and topics planned for the ASRWMain Stage make it the first of itskind,” stated Dan Risley, ASA ex-ecutive director. “Attendees won’tfind these speakers in one place atany other event.” Seating will be ona first-come, first-served basis astickets/registration will not be re-quired. Additional details, includingthe full schedule of ASRW MainStage speakers and topics, will beannounced in coming weeks.
ASRW Will Have Main Stagewith Rotating Speakers
The California Department of Insur-ance finalized regulations this year re-quiring insurers to pay for the costs toremove, replace and return a defectiveor non-compliant part; to cease the useof any part known to be non-compli-ant and to notify the distributor within30 days; and to pay for repairs basedon “accepted trade standards” set byshops licensed by the California Bu-reau of Automotive Repair.
Insurer groups have indicatedthey may challenge the new regula-tions, which they say are unnecessaryand thwart their ability to negotiate“the most effective, less costly repair,”nor do anything but “pay whateverauto repair shops demand.”
Eileen Sottile, vice president ofgovernmental affairs at LKQ Corpo-ration, told non-OEM parts distribu-tors at their convention earlier thisyear that it’s unclear whether the reg-ulation will have a significant impacton insurers’ use of non-OEM parts inCalifornia. She said LKQ is reviewinglegal analysis related to a possible suitagainst the regulator. Such a suit, shesaid, could challenge the Commis-sioner’s authority to promulgate therule, or could be based on the rule’simpact if “we see it has damaged ourability to compete.”
Other options, she said, could beto address the issue through legisla-tion, or to do nothing “if we see theretruly is no market impact.”
Rates are focus of some billsNevada lawmakers have approved abill (SB 170) capping daily storagefees charged by shops at 1.5 times theprevailing storage rate determined bystate survey; the new law also setslimits on when storage fees can becharged.
After three attempts over the lastsix years to get legislation related tolabor rates passed by Massachusettslawmakers, a fourth such bill (H 969)has been introduced for the 2013-14legislative session. The bill has evolvedover the years, and now if passedwould establish a labor rate in Massa-chusetts based on data from an inde-pendent study of the average labor rateof five other Northeastern states.
Airbags under scrutinyThe National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration’s warning last fall to
consumers to avoid counterfeit airbagreplacements seems to have resur-faced the topic of airbags among somestate lawmakers.
The New Mexico House unani-mously passed a bill (H 118) thatwould prohibit the manufacturing,sale or installation of a counterfeit orsubstandard airbags. It would alsoprohibit selling or installing a devicethat causes the vehicle diagnostic sys-tem to inaccurately indicate that theairbag is functional when a counterfeitairbag is installed. Similar bills havebeen approved by lawmakers in NewYork and Connecticut, and by theHouse in Ohio.
Also in New York, a bill (S 3779)would place significant new restric-tions on anyone selling or installing arecycled airbag. The seller or installer,for example would be required tomaintain records including the airbagidentification number, the VIN of thevehicle from which it was removed,the name and address of the purchaser,and the VIN of the vehicle in which itwas installed.
Other proposals, new lawsBills in other states tackle a variety oftopics impacting the industry.
Some states have established adamage value threshold at which a ve-hicle must be declared a total loss. Butpreviously nothing prohibited an in-surer from totaling a vehicle belowthat threshold. The Rhode Island leg-islature, however, has approving a bill(HB 5263) prohibiting an insurer inthat state from declaring a vehicle atotal loss if the cost to repair is lessthan 75 percent of the vehicle’s pre-accident value, unless the vehicleowner provides written authorizationto do so.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry in Junesigned a new law (HB 500) that al-lows independent repair shops to betaxed at the same rate as dealerships,parts stores and tire stores; previouslyshops operated by dealerships weretaxed at a significantly lower rate be-cause these businesses were classifiedas “retail” businesses.
A new North Carolina law (HB247) signed by Gov. Pat McCrory,deals only with health insurance butdoes ban insurer’s use of “most-fa-vored nation” clauses (such as the onein State Farm uses to require the bestrates and discounts that its SelectService shops offer any other insurer)when contracting with health careproviders.
The Automotive Service Associ-ation (ASA) in June wrote to a NewJersey Assembly committee, opposingproposed “Right to Repair” legislation(AB 352), saying that it puts at riskASA’s agreement with automakersthat “already provides independent re-pairers access to service, tool andtraining information.” Aaron Lowe,vice president of government affairsfor the Automotive Aftermarket In-dustry Association (AAIA), told thecommittee his group supports the leg-islation, but also urged lawmakers tohold off further action on the billwhile his group is in “negotiationswith the vehicle manufacturers re-garding a national agreement on Rightto Repair.” Similar Right to Repairbills have been introduced in Maineand New York this year.
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloyhas signed a new law (effective Janu-ary 1) designed to reduce insurer steer-ing of glass claims; under the new law,insurers (or third-party claims admin-istrators) must disclose to insured’sduring their initial contact that, “Youhave the right to choose a licensedglass shop where the damage to yourmotor vehicle will be repaired. If youhave a preference, please let us know.”
And under a new law (SB 86)that went into effect this past Decem-ber and designed to combat chopshops, Pennsylvania shops must pho-tocopy the ID of anyone towing orselling a vehicle or major component;the law, requires that photocopy(along with the name and licensenumber of the towing company) mustbe maintained for three years, and lawenforcement agencies have the right toinspect body shops or other automo-tive businesses (to look for stolen ve-hicles or parts) any time work is beingperformed.
John Yoswick, a freelance writerbased in Portland, Oregon, who hasbeen writing about the automotive in-dustry since 1988, is also the editorof the weekly CRASH Network (for afree 4-week trial subscription, visitwww.CrashNetwork.com). He can becontacted by email at:[email protected].
14 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 15
by Chasidy Rae Sisk
For the sixth time since the Repairer’sRoundtable began over a year ago,collision repairers from across the na-tion gathered for three and a half hourson Tuesday, July 23 at the WestinBoston Waterfront. The exclusiveevent intended only for representa-tives of collision repair businesseswas hosted by AASP-MA, but whileAaron Schulenburg, Executive Di-rector of the Society of Collision Re-pair Specialists (SCRS), was presentto kick off the meeting, he repeatedlytold the attendees that the “goal hereis to have discussion from everyone inthe room,” stressing the concept of“your agenda, your meeting.”
Over forty individuals gatheredto discuss current concerns with thecollision repair industry and possiblesolutions. The dialogue began with alocal shop owner objecting to the factthat Massachusetts has the lowestlabor rates in the country, a travesty hepartially attributed to steering. Re-garding a possible solution, it wassuggested that there could be a na-tional campaign to promote consumerawareness and education; distributinga common message to associationmembers who would, in turn, relay theinformation to their customers seemedto be the most viable option for dis-seminating this important message.
As options for educating con-sumers were introduced and debated,one suggestion was to distribute a na-tionally consistent message throughsocial media, on either a weekly ormonthly basis. Another suggestionwas made to provide and disseminatepre-packaged material for socialmedia consumption. Tony Ferraiolo,President of the Auto Body Associa-tion of Connecticut (ABAC), empha-sized the need for a joint effortbetween national and local associa-tions as well as shops to promote themessage, noting “insurer steering iseasy because consumers just don’tknow.”
In addition to utilizing socialmedia, the group endorsed the effec-tiveness of Public Service Announce-ments as consistent with the wayconsumers obtain their information,directing them to association websitesfor further information. Ferraiolo ac-knowledged that there are no simplesolutions, “but we can do a better jobof educating consumers” through the
vast array of technology not being uti-lized currently.
Seeing a parallel between con-sumers and repairers when it comes tothe distribution of information, Schu-lenburg noted that lots of informationintended for collision repair shops isnever utilized, asking what the key toinspiring the use of these resources
could be. One attendee noted thatOEMs will be funding Public ServiceAnnouncements this fall to explainthat new vehicles which are being re-leased cannot be safely repaired thesame way as older vehicles, but themessage has nothing to do with sell-ing more OEM parts. It’s about main-taining the safety and value of thevehicles. It also stresses that modernrepairs require specific educationaland equipment components and thatthe fact that the industry is changing.
The conversation turned to the is-sues surrounding manufacturer certi-fications with some repairers seeingthe value of becoming certified whileothers, such as Tony Lombardozzi,President of the Coalition for Colli-sion Repair Excellence (CCRE), tooka more skeptical view. Lombardozziasked “what good is a certification?It’s just a piece of paper that says youhave knowledge, but you can haveknowledge without that paper.” Hesuggested that this issue may createcrises in the industry as a shop canhave all the proper training and equip-ment and still not complete the repaircorrectly.
This debate led to a general ques-tion: do repairers trust OEMs? Severalclarified that their issues with manu-facturer certifications are less relatedto trust than ‘pecuniary inequalities,’especially in the MA market wherelabor rates are so low, making it diffi-cult to pay the costs associated withthe certification. Several attendeesthen engaged in a conversation aboutOEMs offering training to independ-
ent repair facilities because they’re in-terested in vehicles being repairedproperly. The ideas that shops are ex-pected to invest in additional trainingwithout expecting any return on theirinvestment led Schulenburg to ask, “isthis really an issue of whether or notwe should invest in training andequipment, or is the model of how we
do business broken?”As participants discussed
which issues to tackle later in themeeting, one participant com-pared the collision repair indus-try to a sinking ship; thoughthere may be many leaks, thefirst step is to find the biggesthole and plug it up. Many partic-ipants pointed to the low levelsof local collision repairer busi-ness representation in the room.Lombardozzi immediately con-
curred, citing an overarching apathyin the industry as the biggest obstaclefaced. Most repairers see the prob-lems, but they assume that someoneelse will fix them. This apathy allowsothers (insurers, OEMs and so forth)to assume control of the industry, butLombardozzi insists, “we don’t need
anyone [else] to tell us where we’reheaded; the experts in our industryneed to determine where we’regoing.”
Peter Abdelmaseh, former Ex-ecutive Director of AASP-MA, addedthat there is a huge distrust of associ-ations within the industry, and it isnecessary to look outside the associa-tions to understand their limitations.They can’t do everything repairerswant them to do unless they arestrengthened. Another repairer pointedout that it is impossible to overcomethis distrust if those repairers are notin the room.
In addition to the difficulties ingetting away from their businessesand spending money to attend eventsand meetings, low self-esteem is amajor contributing reason that manyrepairers opt against participating inassociations and industry events, ac-cording to Lombardozzi who believes“the only way we can change that is tobring the message to them.”
Nearly all of the attendees agreedthat too many third parties are insert-ing themselves into the collision busi-ness, so repairers must be very
16 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Repairer-Only Rountable Airs the Issues Important to Repairers
(l to r): Tony Ferraiolo, Peter Abdelmaseh & TonyLombardozzi at Repairer’s Roundtable
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 17
cautious when deciding who to part-ner with.
As the roundtable continued,many topics were broached with-out being pursued in great depth.There was some discussion aboutrepair standards, and several atten-dees expressed concern with thedomineering growth that multi-shop organization (MSOs) are tak-ing in the industry and how thiswill affect smaller shops’ competi-tive abilities. However, one oppos-ing view suggested that the recentinterest of private equity firms andtheir decision to invest in MSOscould see these firms taking a standto demand the right to establishtheir own pay rates which could, inturn, benefit the entire industry.
Schulenburg’s inquiry regardinghow to take the voices of those in at-tendance and present it at larger fo-rums, led to an impassioned discussionabout CIC’s agenda and significanceto actual collision repairers. Severalexpressed belief that CIC has abdi-cated their role as a leading organiza-tion in the collision industry. Someexpressed sentiments that they feelCIC has been “overtaken” by specialinterests and no longer works.
The discussion of third-party in-terference led back to repair standardsand who should be involved in theprocess of establishing and imple-menting them. Most attendees agreedthat the creation and establishment ofrepair standards has nothing to dowith insurers and should be left toOEMs and repairers, yet there weresome dissenting views about whetherinsurers should play a role in the im-plementation of the standards sincethey do possess their own areas of ex-pertise that may be important in thispart of the process.
Many of the attendees agreed itwas necessary to walk away from themeeting with at least one unified po-sition that could be shared as a con-sensus of the repairers represented atthe meeting, and this particular topicwas chosen by the audience partici-pants. The repairers in attendance rep-resented as wide a diversity as existsin the collision industry—single loca-tion and both regional and nationalmulti-shop operators, DRP and inde-pendent shops, family-run businessand dealerships—but even in the di-versity, there was commonality intheir beliefs. The discussion con-cluded that nearly all in attendance
felt it was important to convey thatany formulation of standards for thecollision repair industry should be de-veloped and managed by the collisionrepairer, inviting in expertise in cer-tain areas when needed, but never re-linquishing control of the standard.
As the Repairer’s Roundtable’stime drew to a close, Schulenburgannounced that the next gatheringwill be held at SEMA in November,and he asked what can be done con-structively to result in meaningfulaction and to be certain that some-thing relevant comes out of the meet-ing. Everyone agreed that the mostimportant way to improve thesemeetings is to encourage everyone inthe industry to attend.
The take home message to re-pairers is ‘So what are you waitingfor?’ As Martin Luther King Jr. oncesaid, “change does not roll in on thewheels of inevitability, but comesthrough continuous struggle. And sowe must straighten our backs andwork for our freedom. A man can’tride you unless your back is bent.”Don’t let anyone bend your back! Joinassociations. Attend meetings. Sup-port and institute change today for abetter industry tomorrow.
18 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
In one of the largest food drives inthe collision repair industry, CaliberCollision employees collected arecord amount of food and cash do-nations in June that resulted in morethan 275,000 meals for at-risk chil-dren in five states.
Caliber Collision locations inCalifornia, Arizona, Nevada, Texasand Oklahoma participated in thecompany’s 2nd annual RhythmRestoration Food Drive from June3rd through June 21st. The com-pany-wide program is aimed at pro-viding meals for at-risk children whomay go hungry during summermonths without regular schoollunches.
This year’s food drive resultedin 40% more meals than last year’seffort, significantly exceeding com-pany-wide goals. In addition to thefood items collected, Caliber Colli-sion also provided a corporate dona-tion of $10,000.
“We are very proud of the wayour associates routinely set and ex-ceed goals that help restore our cus-tomers and the communities weserve to the rhythm of their lives,”said Steve Grimshaw, President &CEO of Caliber Collision.
Caliber Completes AnotherSuccessful Food Drive
The Los Angeles chapter of the Cali-fornia Autobody Association met June19 with 110 members in attendance toview a special showcase of the newBMW i3 technology.
Guest speaker Tom Brizuela,body and paint technical team leaderfor BMW North America, introducdand reviewed the new BMW i3 plat-form that features carbon and alu-minum composite technology. Themeeting included an actual cutawayview of the BMW i3 platform to re-view the repair methodology crashworthiness of its new generation plat-form.
Brizuela began working on carsat age 15, with the dream of some-day working for a car manufacturer.He served in U.S. Marines as adiesel/automotive technician and
graduated from Na-tional Technical Col-lege in Los Angeleswith an AS degree inAutomotive Diagnosisand Repair.
Over the years, heworked at independenthigh-line and exoticauto body repair shops,restoration shops, and aMercedes Benz dealer-ship, and in 1988 ashead paint technician
for BMW of North America, Inc. attheir Vehicle Processing Center in Ox-nard, CA.
In 1990, Brizuela was promotedto the BMW Service Training Depart-ment and began developing BMW’sBody & Paint Service Technician Ed-ucation Program (STEP). From 1991to 1995, he was responsible for STEPtraining at the BMW Montvale NewJersey facility.
In 1995, Tom ac-cepted a Body and Painttraining/curriculum de-velopment position withToyota Motor Sales,USA, at their Los Ange-les corporate headquar-ters. During this time,he was promoted toBody Service GroupSupervisor where he be-came responsible forToyota and Lexus bodyand paint training development, tech-nician certification, and training facil-ity management.
In 2000, BMW of North America
committed to build a new body andpaint-training center in Oxnard, CA.,to train entry-level technicians, andBMW dealer technicians. He saw thisopportunity and returned to BMW asBody and Paint Technical TeamLeader.
The meeting was held at NickAlexander Los Angeles Imports inHuntington Park, CA.
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 19
LA CAA Featured BMW i3 Technology at June 19 Meeting
Anthony Guinn (l) and Nick Alexander
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20 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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Continued from Cover
Cerritos Tradeshow
Jim Hubka and Cindy Shillito
Cindy Shillito with CAA
Mike Moore and Jon Dady with CCC
Jeff Black, Ray Becerra and Thad Forney
Jennifer Maimone, Toby Chess, Lillian Maimone
Steve Howard, Mark D’Angelo and CraigFlagtwet
Bruce Newell and Larry Merrill
Al Ortiz and Karen Mendez with RelyOntechnologies
Warwick Bryan, Toby Chess and JeffGoldenberg
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 21
• 1-800 Every Rim• AES Technologies• Akzo Nobel Coatings• ALLDATA• Annex Group• Auda Explore• Autobody Review. Com• Automoitve Equipment Solutions -Prospot• Axalta Coating System (Dupont)• BASF• California Autobody Association• Car-O-Liner• CARSTAR• CCC Information Services• Complete Plus• D'Angelos Business Group• Dent Fix Corp.• DJS Fabrication• E-Quip• ERAC• Finish Masters• Fix Auto-USA• Goliath Carts• Harouts BMW & Honda Foreign Auto Parts
• I-CAR• Infratech Corp.• Kent Automotive• LKQ Corp.• Lord Fuzor Corp.• Mitchell International• Morgan Stanley Financials• Norton Abrasives• Nuventory• PPG• Reliable Automotive Equipment• Rely-On Technologies• Robaina Industries• Saprex• Sata Spray Equipment• Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes• Sims Welding Supply• Single Source• Spanesi USA• Steamericas Inc.• TG Products• The Matrix Wand• Uparts• Verifax
Thank You!Thank You!Thank You!
Collision Trade Show, June 26, 2013 ♦ Cerritos, CAExhibitors:
We want to recognize these exceptional companies and organizations who made our Collision Trade Show, Dinner and OEM Training a trememdous success.
Thank You to all our friends in the collision industry who support the people who support us.
— Toby and Lillian
The Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration (OSHA) is requiringthat all employees be trained, by De-cember 1st of 2013, on the revision toits Hazard Communication Standard.The revision to the 1994 standardmore closely aligns with the GloballyHarmonized System (GHS), an inter-national approach to labeling and clas-sifying hazardous products.
Why the change? Credit theglobal marketplace. The U.S. is botha major importer and exporter ofchemicals. American workers oftensee labels and material safety datasheets (MSDS) from the U.S. andfrom other countries. The diverse andsometimes conflicting national and in-ternational requirements can createconfusion among those who seek touse hazardous material informationeffectively.
Major ChangesThe Hazard Communication Standardregulates identification and communi-cation of hazardous products in theworkplace. The major changes include:
■ Hazard classification: There arenow specific criteria for classificationof health and physical hazards, to helpensure that evaluations of hazardouseffects are consistent across productmakers.■ Labels: Chemical manufacturersand importers will be required to pro-vide a label that includes the productname, supplier identification includ-ing an emergency phone number, theword “Warning” or “Danger,” pic-tograms, and hazard statements foreach hazard class and category. Pre-cautionary statements must also beprovided.■ Safety Data Sheets: The word “Ma-terial” has been dropped, and there isa specified 16-section format. Theprevious standard had a nine-sectionmaterial safety data sheet, but productmakers could generally deviate fromthat as long as the information wasthere. Now all safety data sheets willbe 16 sections.
If manufacturers, importers, dis-tributors, or employers become newlyaware of any significant information
regarding the hazards of a chemical,the label should be revised to the newstandard within six months of becom-ing aware of the new information.With products that have not changed,product makers have between Juneand December of 2015 to convert theirlabels and safety data sheets to thenew standard.
Why the December 1st 2013training requirement for employees ifthe product makers have until 2015 toimplement the new standard require-ments? OSHA believes that Americanworkplaces will soon begin to receivelabels and SDSs that are consistentwith the GHS, since many Americanand foreign chemical manufacturershave already begun to produce GHS-compliant labels and SDSs. It’s im-portant to ensure that when employeesbegin to see the new labels and SDSsin their workplaces, they will be fa-miliar with them, understand how touse them, and be able to access the in-formation effectively.
Label RequirementsThe supplier must provide at least thefollowing on every hazardous materiallabel:
■ The product identifier (name)■ A signal word, indicating the rela-tive level of severity of the hazard, ei-ther “Danger” (more severe) or“Warning” (less severe)■ Hazard statements assigned to eachapplicable hazard class or category,such as “Flammable” or “Carcinogen”■ Pictograms, eight to choose fromand one environmental hazard option■ Precautionary statements statingwhat should be done to protect theworker from the hazard, such as “Res-piratory protection required” or “Keepaway from open flame”■ Name, address, and telephone num-ber of the product maker or importeror other responsible party
The eight pictograms are shown onpage 24.
Note that the pictograms are allwithin a red diamond. There are twonew pictograms, one indicating“Health Hazard” and one indicating“Explosive.” Health Hazards include
carcinogens, reproductive toxins, andother toxins that target a specificorgan. Explosives have been separatedfrom flammables. The Environmentpictogram is non-mandatory, asOSHA does not oversee environmen-tal hazards.
Workplace LabelsWorkplace labels are mentioned in therevised standard, but nothing has re-ally changed. The minimum require-ments for a workplace label are stillthe product name and indications onthe specific hazards of the product,using pictograms, phrases, or words,whatever is available and applicable.If pictograms and phrases are used,they should be consistent with the re-vised standard. Sources for the labelcan be as complicated as using label-ing kits from a safety catalog, or writ-ing the information directly andlegibly on the container in permanentmarker.
National Fire Protection Associ-ation (NFPA) labels, with the diamondshape and the color and numberingsystem, can be used as workplace la-bels, but there’s an important differ-ence in the numbering system used bythe NFPA compared to the GHS. Withthe NFPA system, the higher the num-ber the greater the hazard, so a “1” isthe least severe hazard. With the GHS,it’s just the opposite, the lower thenumber the more severe the hazard, soa “1” is the most severe hazard. Whenusing the NFPA label as a workplacelabel, use the GHS numbering system.The numbers are often included in theSDS.
Safety Data Sheet (SDS)The information required on the SDSremains essentially the same as that inthe 1994 standard, except that the in-formation must be presented using 16specific headings in a specified se-quence.
22 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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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.
OSHA Hazard Communication Standard Revision
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 23
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The format of the 16-section SDSshould include the following sections:
■ Section 1. Identification■ Section 2. Hazard(s) identification■ Section 3. Composition/informationon ingredients■ Section 4. First-Aid measures■ Section 5. Fire-fighting measures■ Section 6. Accidental release meas-ures■ Section 7. Handling and storage■ Section 8. Exposure controls/per-sonal protection■ Section 9. Physical and chemicalproperties■ Section 10. Stability and reactivity■ Section 11. Toxicological informa-tion■ Section 12. Ecological information■ Section 13. Disposal considerations■ Section 14. Transport information■ Section 15. Regulatory information■ Section 16. Other information, in-cluding date of preparation or last re-vision.
Note that although the headingsfor Sections 12–15 are mandatory,OSHA will not enforce the content ofthese four sections because these sec-tions are within other agencies’ juris-dictions.
24 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
One or more of these pictograms must be on supplier labels.
Jennifer Vasseur could have gottensix months in jail, but when she could-n’t make restitution, she was given aseven-year prison sentence. As part ofa plea deal, the 38-year-old WinterHaven woman had to repay more than$20,000 that she stole from A&E AutoBody in Eagle Lake, where sheworked as a bookkeeper and secretary.The deadline was July 9. She was shortabout $15,000. Her punishment wasup to Circuit Judge Catherine Combeeto decide. She ordered Vasseur to serveseven years in prison followed by 10years of probation.
Vasseur was arrested in May2011 after an investigation by theState Attorney’s Office in Bartow. She
wrote unauthorized checks in hername, her husband’s name and tocash, according to a complaint affi-davit. Vasseur told investigators thatshe took the money to help pay bills,the affidavit states. In May, shepleaded guilty to grand theft and mak-ing false entries on the books of a cor-poration.
During the hearing, Vasseur vowedto “pay back every single penny.” Sheasked for house arrest or probation. “Iwill pay the money back,” she said. “I’mnot the person that I was.”
Victoria Arrington, owner ofA&E Auto Body, said she and her em-ployees were supportive of Vasseurwhile she worked there for four years.
She described many examples of as-sistance provided to Vasseur over theyears: getting her a car, paying to turnher power on, giving her a computer,providing her extra money to eat atrestaurants on the weekend, paying forher cellphone, purchasing massagesfor her, helping with preparations forher wedding, offering to pay for her tocontinue her education and sendingVasseur’s daughter to a theater camp.Vasseur’s theft was painful, but thebusiness was able to carry on, shesaid.
“We didn’t lose faith in peoplethough,” Arrington said. “We still hirepeople, and we still trust them. Wecould have been cynical, but we be-
lieve that people are good.”Prosecutors asked for a five-year
prison sentence. The judge went higher,noting Vasseur’s past criminal history.
Vasseur said she didn’t know thather plea deal exposed her to a seven-year prison sentence, or she wouldn’thave signed it. She thought the mostthat she faced was 15 months inprison. Vasseur was also ordered topay $20,729 in restitution.
Employer’s ResponsibilityRepair facility owners and managersneed to become familiar with the stan-dard revisions and train their employ-ees on recognizing the new labels andreading the new SDS versions by De-cember 1st.
OSHA has some downloadable“quick cards” available for help withthis training. Go to www.osha.gov.
Besides the general information,it’s even more important that repair fa-cility owners and managers explainhow the hazardous communicationprocedures will change in the specificfacility. If OSHA makes a visit, that iswhat they will be looking for; if em-ployees know how to find and read theinformation on hazardous materialsthat they work with.
ConclusionOSHA recently updated its HazardCommunication Standard, whichcovers requirements for labels,safety data sheets, and hazard mate-rial classifications. Several productmakers have already begun usingthe new labeling and SDS system, soOSHA is requiring employees betrained to recognize the new label
and SDS format by December 1st,2013.
Even more important than gen-eral information is for shop ownersand managers to inform employeesabout how hazard communicationswill change in the repair facility.
For comments or suggestions onthe Advantage Online, please contactI-CAR at [email protected].
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 25
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In the midst of the CIC and I-CAR con-ferences being held in Boston duringthe week of July 22–26, the Society ofCollision Repair Specialists (SCRS)also held their board meeting. The 2-hour meeting was held in the Hancockroom of the Westin Boston Waterfront,located at 425 Summer Street inBoston, MA.
Led by thirteen board members,including Ron Reichen making hisdebut as Chairman, the meeting was toconvey updates from SCRS staff andcommittees to outline current and fu-ture work initiatives. Approximatelytwenty attendees gathered to listen tothese updates. The SCRS EducationCommittee, led by Toby Chess, of-fered a presentation focused on repair-ing aluminum, stud welding anddent-pulling equipment technologies.
Moving on to a pressing industryissue, Executive Director Aaron Schu-lenburg addressed partial panel finish-ing and dissatisfactory compensationfrom insurers, noting that this problemwhich was seemingly corrected back in2007-8 is returning. SCRS has seen adrastic increase in the number ofqueries about this issue since the be-ginning of 2013. Even more disheart-ening, this issue is not geographicallyisolated, occurring throughout thecountry.
SCRS issued letter to six differentcarriers in May 2013 to enquire abouttheir guidelines. Surprisingly, the over-whelming response was that carriershave not made any changes to theirpolicies, with many of the carriers say-ing that their expectations for reducedrefinish time on repaired panels arebased on receiving a mutual agree-ments with individual repairers basedon the repair needs. Additionally, nocompany has provided or admitted toany corporate position or policy whichspecifies any precise reduction in time,although some examples of such docu-mentation have been received bySCRS. The association is continuing towork with these carriers to address theissue and hopefully resolve what hasbecome a pattern of practice for somein 2013.
Schulenburg’s said his concernarises because SCRS has receivedcomplaints from repairers who don’tagree to a reduction in time yet arebeing told that it is a matter of companypolicy. The question he now poses to
insurers is how to respond to claimsthat this is company policy when, infact, it is not. Schulenburg emphasizedthat such conflicts benefit neither colli-sion repair shops nor the relationshipsbetween repairers and insurers. SCRSwill continue to seek answers to thisdilemma and will provide an update onthe situation at SEMA in November.
SCRS Past Chairman Barry
Dorn reported that over 6000 inquirieshave been received through the Data-base Enhancement Gateway (DEG)—but while the number is a milestone ac-complishment for the free industry re-source, that number should besignificantly higher. Collaborativelysupported by national associations, theDEG is funded by SCRS, AASP andASA who monitor the received in-quiries through a full time administra-tor. Though the DEG has seen anincrease in the number of inquiries re-ceived, there are over 30,000 collisionrepair shops nationally, suggesting thatthe number of submissions from repairfacilities who have experienced issueswith estimating data could significantlyincrease if more in the industry becameaware of the tool, and how easy it wasto use. The industry as a whole bene-fits from each inquiry, as they are pub-licly posted into a database.
Next, Schulenburg introducedrepresentatives from their local SCRSAffiliate Association to talk about localindustry efforts. SCRS represents 40state and regional Affiliate Associa-tions across the U.S. Molly Brodeur,Vice President of AASP-MA, providedupdates on current industry activities inMassachusetts as well as an overviewof her association’s efforts. The associ-ation has hired a management firm,Lynch Associates, as of May 2013, andwith that addition came new ExecutiveDirector Jillian Zywien (see my inter-view with her this issue p. 36) who wasexcited to attend the week’s events andlooks forward to her increased in-volvement within the industry.Through their partnership with LynchAssociates, AASP-MA hopes to create
a stronger presence, especially legisla-tively.
Currently, AASP-MA is trying toget the Auto Body Labor Rate Bill ap-proved into law. Since 2008, the statehas seen a free market resurgence withnew insurers writing new policies,however, there have been no changesto labor rates in fifteen years, leavingMassachusetts with some of the lowest
rates in the nation. The Auto BodyLabor Rate Bill proposes an increase inlabor rates to reach a more competitivelevel, combined with a review and pos-sible increase of rates every three years.
AASP-MA has also redesignedtheir website recently to enhance theirmember benefit packages as they striveto increase membership. Since there isnot much I-CAR influence in Massa-
chusetts, the association is also work-ing to change that by focusing on ac-quiring Gold Class certifications forlocal shops. Through their work withthe Collision Repair Education Foun-dation (CREF), AASP-MA awardedthe first recipient of their tool grant attheir 2012 golf outing.
As Brodeur concluded, Schulen-burg turned the meeting’s focus towardthe future as he assured attendees thatSCRS’s plans for SEMA are comingalong well. He encouraged collision re-pairers to attend the November event,claiming it is a great environmentwhere a shop can learn how to marketitself, add revenue or just learn moreabout the industry.
SCRS is most closely involvedwith the Repairer Driven Education se-ries at the SEMA Show, and this year’sdevelopment of different learningtracks will allow individuals to choosethe focus of their education. SCRS hasengaged compelling industry speakersfor the vents, and Schulenburg be-lieves, “the program hits home for re-pairers and will provide tangiblebenefits.”
26 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
See SCRS Board Meeting, Page 29
(l to r): Ron Reichen, Aaron Schulenburg & Andy Dingman at SCRS Board Meeting
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 27
This month we begin a new type ofcolumn that takes a look back at thismonth in collision history 20, 15, 10and 5 years ago. You may be surprisedhow many issues we think of as recentconcerns were in the news back then.Keep in mind that these stories mayhave turned out differently than theway they were reported at the time.Where they did, we attempt to clarifythe later outcome.
20 years ago (August 1993)Collision repairers may soon be hear-ing about EXACT, a Colorado-basedfoundation that wants to see bodyshops take part in an early trial of itsautobody repair standards.
So far, the foundation’s executivedirector, Phil Freeman, has sent out ap-plications for membership to repairersin Rochester, NY, and Chicago. If theytake part, shops pay $3,160 after un-dergoing extensive training, testingand certification. While shops may
balk at paying yet another fee for an-other organization that’s supposed tobring them success, EXACT wants toestablish comprehensive industry stan-dards that will be for autobody workwhat building codes are for buildingcontractors.
“One of the things we’re trying todo is keep it out of the hands of law-makers,” Freeman said. “A legislatorcould come in and try to establishsomething for an industry he’s not toofamiliar with.”
Already EXACT has spent threeyears writing up 140 pages of repairstandards that Freeman expects to be-come even more refined over the years.Called the Uniform Autobody RepairCode, the standards will have to be ap-proved by the collision repair industry.
“They’ve been through a technicalcommittee of 27 shop owners,” Free-man said. “We anticipate approvalaround the first of the year.”
►The EXACT Foundation sub-
sequently reached an agreement withI-CAR under which that organizationwould continue to develop, manageand market the code under the nameUniform Procedures for Collision Re-pair (UPCR)
15 years ago (August 1998)I-CAR also made two significant an-nouncements about its Uniform Pro-cedures for Collision Repair (UPCR)at its annual meeting. First, ToyotaMotor Sales USA, Inc., has agreed toprovide its Toyota and Lexus collisionrepair manuals for inclusion with theUPCR. Beginning with the Januaryupdate to the UPCR, subscribers willhave access to the same collision re-pair technical information made avail-able to Toyota and Lexus dealers.
I-CAR’s Tom Mack said he hopesToyota is just the first of many vehiclemanufacturers to make their collisionrepair manuals available to UPCRsubscribers.
The second announcement aboutthe UPCR made at the meeting wasthat 20th Century Insurance Companyhas become the first insurer to pur-chase the UPCR for widespread useby its employees.
John Bierer of 20th Century saidhe was charged earlier this year withimproving the consistency of the esti-mating, adjusting and reinspection ef-forts of the insurer’s staff. He saidafter reviewing the UPCR with hisclaims office management, he pre-sented it to his superiors as the solu-tion they were looking for.
“Each one of our adjusters, ourquality control reinspectors, our su-pervisors and mangers will have acopy of UPCR on their laptops to usein their adjusting, inspecting and qual-ity control,” Bierer said, adding thathe hopes other insurers will follow20th Century’s lead. ”I think it’s whatwe’ve been looking for for quite sometime.”
28 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
A Look Back at this Month in Collision News History
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
with Chasidy Rae SiskAssociations Assembling
with John YoswickHistorical Snapshot —John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has a body
shop in the family and has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988.He is the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription,visit www.CrashNetwork.com). Contact him by email at [email protected].
The show floor at SEMA pro-motes enthusiasm for the collision re-pair industry, due in large part to thevast array of exhibiting corporations,with attendees groups coming from asfar away as Australia and NewZealand.
Several SCRS board membersproceeded to talk about their involve-ment with Skills USA, emphasizing theimportance of reaching out to youngpeople who “truly are our future,” ac-cording to Reichen. Schools with stu-dents participating in the competitionreceived a free SCRS membership, andstudent competitors received individ-ual recognition from SCRS, lettingthem know the industry supports theirefforts to become the best in their field,and is watching their accomplishments.The overall consensus was that anamazing energy surrounded the eventwhich deserves to be supported andpromoted; SCRS is excited to be a partof it and plans to continue their in-volvement. As always, SCRS empha-sizes the importance of continuingeducation.
► I-CAR one year later shelvedits UPCR product, which includedcollision repair procedures as well asvehicle and product manufacturer-specific information, saying saleswere “reasonably underwhelming,”but a revival of UPCR has been raisedby some during more recent discus-sions of collision repair standards.
10 years ago (August 2003)(From Autobody News): Aftermarketparts manufacturers and CAPA arelikely vexed by the newly-released“Crash Parts Certification Study”published by the California Bureau ofAutomotive Repair (BAR). The reportblasts the parts certification process,concluding that “certification has novalue to the customer…If there areproblems with the certified product,the certifying entity does not stand be-hind their own certification process.”
Legislation enacted in 2001 au-thorized $125,000 to be spent by theBAR, a sub-agency of the CaliforniaDepartment of Consumer Affairs, tostudy the best process for certifyingcrash parts, and to designate the agencyto bear responsibility for overseeingcrash parts certification. For two-and-a-half years, the BAR held meetings
with repairers, insurers, OEMs and af-termarket parts certifiers. It sent outsurveys to auto body repair shops andconducted field test on crash parts. Inthe end, the BAR reached several con-clusions, most notably:
● Elimination of non-certified af-termarket crash parts is not a viableoption. Outlawing non-certified after-market parts (as suggested by CAPA)would make the market less competi-tive and leave a shortage of such parts.
● Certification does not protectconsumers from poor quality parts…If the certifying entity warranted theircertified parts it would provide ‘addedvalue’ to the certified part, and protectconsumers against poor quality parts.
The study compared the CAPAQuality Seal to the well-known GoodHousekeeping Seal of Approval. TheGood Housekeeping seal carried alimited warranty stating that if anyproduct bearing the seal proves to bedefective within two years of the dateof purchase, the product will be re-placed or the purchase price refunded.“If CAPA or Global Validators feeltheir certification parts fit the criteriaof their certification program, whydon’t they stand behind their certifiedparts?” the BAR report asks.
5 years ago (August 2008)The Progressive Insurance fraud law-suit against Greg Coccaro and hisNew York shop, North State Custom,was dismissed. When Progressiveconcluded presenting its evidence andtestimony, Coccaro’s attorneys movedfor a directed verdict (a standard prac-tice in many cases) and Judge MarySmith granted the motion, dismissingthe case, saying Progressive had notpresented sufficient credible evidencefor the trial to continue.
Coccaro issued a press releasesaying he was “elated with the Judge’sdecision” and “extremely grateful andtouched by all of the support and en-couragement shown by fellow mem-bers of the collision repair industry.”
“We are disappointed by thecourt’s decision, and we plan to ap-peal,” spokeswoman Cristy Cote ofProgressive Insurance.
► Progressive indeed appealed andthe case was retried, only to have a juryfind Coccaro not guilty in 2010; Coccaroearlier this year reached an out-of-courtsettlement with the insurer just days be-fore trial was set to begin in his tortiousbusiness interference lawsuit againstProgressive (terms of the settlement aresubject to a non-disclosure clause).
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 29
Continued from Page 26
SCRS Board Meeting
Every insurance company knows thattheir profitability and loss cost ex-pense relative to auto claims has manyindependent variables. We often haveno control over them. For an obviousexample, we can’t ask Mother Natureto reduce the number of hurricanesthat ravage areas bordering the ocean.And we have no control over the num-ber of accidents that our policyholdersare involved in.
On the flipside, there are somevariables within our control—to vary-ing degrees, to be sure, but within ourcontrol nonetheless. I’m referring toour staff adjusters. If our staff is welltrained, if we maintain strict operatingprocedures, and if we provide properoversight of our employees, we canreduce our overall loss cost expense.
Therefore, most insurance carri-ers spend a lot of time and money totrain and supervise their staff. In addi-tion, they regularly make large capitalinvestments to purchase or developtools to automate an additional levelof oversight. The challenge is thateven the best electronic tools can’t re-place the effectiveness of a humanbeing.
Several insurance carriers havemade a especially significant commit-ment to education. Allstate is one ex-ample. They are the largest insurerthat requires their staff to be I-CARPlatinum. That’s quite an investmentfor a company that was recently re-ported as being on the verge of drop-ping into the third spot among thelargest carriers in the United States.
(Oh, how the mighty have fallen.Not so long ago, Allstate was a locksolid No. 2 and looking for ways toknock State Farm off its pedestal. In-
stead, Allstate finds itself being pulleddown by an otherwise benign English-accented lizard. Er, I mean gecko. Atany rate, I’m sure it’s creating may-hem within Allstate.)
One thing is for certain: When acompany begins losing market share,it causes them to ratchet down on ex-penses. Let this serve as your ad-vanced warning: Allstate likely will bestingier than ever.
What makes Allstate’s investmentin educating their staff even more in-teresting is the fact that other large car-riers (including several I’ve workedfor) don’t require any training. Somemay wonder if they are taking an op-posite strategy, sort of a “survival ofthe dumbest.” As Forrest Gump fa-mously said, “Stupid is as stupiddoes.” If you don’t know how to prop-erly write an estimate, nobody canblame you for trying to cheat them.
There are dozens of other inde-pendent variables that impact losscosts, but let’s focus on “dependentvariables.” A dependent variable isloosely defined as those things that in-surance companies depend upon a col-lision repair shop for. I never thoughtI’d say that we depend upon shops butwe do.
Most of you are probably guess-ing that we depend on you for properpart selection or cycle time. Althoughboth of those are critically importantto controlling loss costs and improv-ing profitability, there is one evenmore key variable. An insurance com-pany’s loss costs have less to do withyour standard operating procedures orpart type selection than they do withyour estimator.
Your profitability and our loss
cost expense ultimately are based onyour estimator’s ability to write an ac-curate estimate, manage a claim andfollow our guidelines. If you have anexperienced estimator that under-stands a particular carrier’s programguidelines, you are better off than 90percent of the people reading this arti-cle. You should make sure that he orshe is well compensated. The skillsthey have are about as rare as you re-ceiving labor time for prime, blockand fill on a repaired panel.
That individual can turn a com-pany around and make a historicallyunsuccessful shop successful. I’veseen shops that have performed at ahigh level for years fail miserablywhen their lead estimator left. Colli-sion repair shops that have the mostastute owner, ironclad operational pro-cedures and long-tenured technicianshave come to a screeching halt whenthey lose the glue of the operation pro-vided by a good estimator.
I’m sure it is going to cost someshop owners money when their esti-mator realizes he’s worth far morethan you are paying him. Great tech-nicians are probably more difficult toreplace, but you can overcome the losswith an average technician and strongestimator.
I’ve been in meetings whereshops beg to remain on a programafter a few months of poor perform-ance. They are quick to indicate thatthey have lost their best estimator.Without trying to sounding heartless, Idon’t care about that. My job isn’t tohelp you manage your operation. Ourgoal is to make sure that the bestshops are repairing our customer’scars. If you can’t do it, we’ll gladlytake our work to the shop owner thatrealizes that having only one All-Staron your team is poor planning.
So do you have a contingencyplan? If you don’t, today would be agood day to start making one.
30 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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Insurers Hate to Admit It, But Our Success Depends On You and Your Estimators
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 Rich EvansCustom Corner
with Chasidy Rae SiskCompany Connections
with Chasidy Rae SiskNortheast News
with Chasidy Rae SiskShop Showcase
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]
Car-O-Liner has announced partici-pation in American Honda’s Tool andEquipment Programs as an officialapproved supplier of collision repairproducts. The programs offer the ad-vantage of one-stop shopping for allservice tool and equipment needs.
Equipment has been selected forthese specific manufacturers in order toenhance collision centers’ productivityand efficiency while properly returningthe vehicles to factory specifications.
“Car-O-Liner is pleased to be apart of Honda’s and Acura’s Tool andEquipment Programs,” said PeterRichardson, key accounts managerfor Car-O-Liner.
“Adding Car-O-Liner to theirapproved equipment offering meansgreater flexibility, accuracy and effi-ciency. Our complete solutions willprovide Honda and Acura collisioncenters with the products they need tomaximize their repair potential.”
Car-O-Liner Gets Honda Approval As Official Supplier
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 31
32 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 33
Autobody News August 2013CALIFORNIA • NEVADA • ARIZONA
34 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Chrysler is recalling certain modelyear 2013 Town & Country andDodge Grand Caravan vehicles man-ufactured June 11, 2013, through June12, 2013. The occupant restraint con-trol module (ORC) has incorrect soft-ware installed which may adverselyaffect air bag deployments in colli-sions. Thus, these vehicles fail to con-form to the requirements of FederalMotor Vehicle Safety Standard No.208, “Occupant Crash Protection” andNo. 214, “Side Impact Protection.”
Chrysler Issues Recall onAir Bag Modules
The Ford Motor Co. said June 27 itwill recall about 13,100 vehicles fordoor latches that may fail and causechild safety locks to deactivate.
The Dearborn automaker willrecall three 2013 model-year vehicles— the Explorer SUV, Taurus sedanand Lincoln MKS sedan — built atFord’s Chicago Assembly Plant.Upon opening or closing a door, thechild safety lock may change from“activated” to “deactivated.”
Ford said that no accidents orinjuries have been reported. As partof the recall, dealers will test reardoor latches and child safety locks,and replace the latch if necessary.
The affected vehicles, sold inthe U.S., Canada and Mexico, werebuilt between Nov. 29 and Dec. 12,2012. The problem was first discov-ered on Dec. 6 during a routine audit,the latch supplier identified a latchwith lower-than-expected childsafety lock retention torque. On Dec.7, Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plantwas notified of the condition and astop-ship was issued. Ford spentmonths testing the issue, using accel-erated testing on each vehicle line.
This is not the first time thatFord has recalled model year 2013Explorer, Taurus and Lincoln MKSvehicles.
Ford to Recall 13K Vehiclesover Door Latches
Ford Motor Co. said it will hire 3,000salaried workers this year—800 morethan previously announced. Ford said80 percent of the new employees willbe technical professionals with “newskills.” The company expects 85 to 90percent of those hires will be placedwithin the state of Michigan. Ford saidit also plans to increase hourly em-ployment by 12,000 by 2015.
“Engineers and technical profes-sionals are in as much demand as ourcars, trucks and SUVs,” Felicia Fields,Ford’s group vice president for humanresources, said in a statement. “Globaldemand and increasing capacity inNorth America and Asia requires thatwe aggressively seek out technical pro-fessionals in order to continue ourgrowth.” The vast majority of the tech-nical hires will be engineers in pur-chasing, manufacturing and productdevelopment. About 200-300 will behired in IT-related fields. Fields saidsome of the hires are attrition replace-ment, but more than two-thirds of thehires will be new jobs. As a result ofthe recession, Ford reduced its work-force by 13,000 salaried employees be-tween 2006 and 2009, she said. “Thereare some people that we did lose dur-ing that downturn that have skills andcapabilities that we absolutely wel-come back into Ford, and some ofthose employees have returned toFord,” Fields said, adding that there arestill many “new,” advanced skills thatrequire fresh talent.
Ford to Hire 3000 SalariedWorkers in 2013
Universal Technical Institute has for-malized an agreement with GeneralMotors Co. (GM) to develop a 12-week elective training program forUTI students. The program will firstbe available at UTI’s Avondale cam-pus. “The availability of qualified,trained automotive technicians is andwill continue to be a critical area ofimportance for GM,” said MikeDurkin, Director Dealer Service andWarranty Operations, at GM. “Whenlooking at UTI’s industry leadingcurriculum, facilities and student andemployer support services, we knewwe had a solid partner to build some-thing great with, supporting a grow-ing need for technicians at ourdealerships across the country.”
The curriculum for the GMelective program will be developedin partnership between UTI, GM andRaytheon Professional Services. Formore follow UTI on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/UTI, or onTwitter at @UTITweet.
GM and UTI Partner to HelpGrow Supply of Auto Techs
The Obama administration is againdelaying regulations on whether newcars and trucks must come equippedwith rearview cameras to protectagainst drivers backing over peoplein blind spots behind their vehicles, avictory for automakers who say re-quiring the cameras is too costly.Transportation Secretary Ray La-Hood said Thursday in letters to threemembers of Congress that more re-search is needed. He set a new dead-line of January 2015 for theregulations. An average of 228 peo-ple are killed and 17,000 injured eachyear because of back-over accidents.Nearly half the deaths involve chil-dren under age 10. The elderly alsofrequently are victims. Congresspassed a law in 2008 requiring thegovernment to issue final regulationsaiming at protecting against back-over accidents by Feb. 28, 2011, andthat the changes be in place for modelyear 2014 vehicles. But the regula-tions have been delayed repeatedly.
Rearview Cameras Delayed
Japan’s Toray Industries Inc. hastaken a minority stake in U.S. autocarbon fiber supplier Plasan CarbonComposites Inc. in a move under-lining the potential growth for car-bon fiber parts. The 20 percent stakecomes as Plasan begins to launch itsbiggest and highest profile project—making two body panels for the2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.The companies did not disclose fi-nancial terms of the deal.
Tokyo-based Toray has beenestablishing development centersglobally to help speed the use ofcarbon fiber in the auto market. Theinvestment in Plasan takes Toray’sinvolvement further, and helps toensure a distribution channel to U.S.automakers and to establish Torayas part of a vertical integration sys-tem for the material.
Nissan Plans Major Reformsin Buying, Shipping, Building
General Motors Co. said it will recallfour 2012 Chevrolet Volts because ofan electronic glitch that could in-crease the risk of a crash — the firstrecall of the Detroit automaker’splug-in hybrid electric vehicles. GMsays the electronic stability controlmay not work as intended and in-crease the possibility of a crash in anemergency braking incident. GM isunaware of any crashes or injuries as-sociated with this condition. This isthe first recall for the Volt since late2010.
GM to Recall Four 2012 Volts
Nissan Motor Co. is attempting topare U.S. operating costs by rethink-ing the way it buys parts, builds carsand moves cars and componentsaround the continent. U.S. executivesare looking for the cost reductions tohelp Nissan meet CEO CarlosGhosn's "Power 88" business plan,which calls for a global consolidatedoperating profit of 8 percent byMarch 2017.
A Japanese manufacturer of ignitioncoils that were sold to Ford, Toyotaand Subaru parent Fuji Heavy In-dustries Ltd. has agreed to pleadguilty and pay a $19 million fine forits role in a conspiracy to fix pricesof automotive components, the U.S.Department of Justice said.
The plea agreement with Dia-mond Electric Manufacturing ofOsaka, Japan, marks the first timethat the Justice Department's broad-ening automotive parts price-fixingprobe has involved parts sold to anautomaker headquartered in theUnited States, the government saidin a statement.
Japan’s Diamond Electric toPay $19M Price Fixing Fine
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 35
Honda Reponds to AmendedClass Action ComplaintHonda has filed a response to anamended class action complaint,which alleges some of the automaker’svehicles have defective window regu-lators. In the case, Grodzitsky versusAmerican Honda Motor Co., the plain-tiffs argue the window regulator defectresults in the sidelite falling into thedoor frame or becoming stuck in thefully-open position. Phyllis Grodzit-sky, owner of a Honda Odyssey, andJeremy Bordelon of Tennessee, ownerof a Honda Element, alleged in theoriginal complaint that they reportedrepeated failures of window regulatorsin their vehicles. Grodzitsky furtherclaims that she contacted her localHonda service manager and was told,“all [Honda Odysseys] have that prob-lem.”
In its response to the amendedcomplaint, the automaker’s attorneyswrite, “Honda expressly denies that‘all Honda Odysseys have that prob-lem.” Honda’s attorneys deny most ofthe allegations. Honda admits thatwithin some, but not all, vehicles thatare part of plaintiffs’ putative class def-inition, side windows are moved upand down by a window regulator thatoperates with a central track, a shuttleand a cable, attached to a motor.
The auto industry is about to go on a hir-ing spree as car makers and parts suppli-ers race to find engineers, techniciansand factory workers to build the nextgeneration of vehicles. The new em-ployees will be part of a larger, busierworkforce. From coast to coast, the in-dustry is in top gear. Factories are oper-ating at about 95 percent of capacity, andmany are already running three shifts. Asa result, some auto and parts companiesare doing something they’ve been reluc-tant to consider since the recession:Adding floor space and spending mil-lions of dollars on new equipment.
“We’re really bumping up againstthe edge,” says Michael Robinet, man-aging director of IHS Automotive,which forecasts auto production. “So itreally is brick-and-mortar time.”
The auto industry’s stepped-up hir-ing will help sustain the nation’s jobgrowth and help fuel consumer spend-ing. The government said U.S. employ-ers added 175,000 jobs in May, roughlythe monthly average for the past year anda sign of the economy’s resilience. U.S.consumer confidence has reached a five-year high. The auto industry’s outlook isbright. Vehicle sales for 2013 couldreach 15.5 million, the highest in sixyears.
Future Looks Bright for U.S.Auto Industry, Hiring, Sales
Citing a recent U.S. Supreme Courtdecision, Volvo has filed a motion re-questing that the U.S. New Jersey Dis-trict Court reconsider certification ofa six-state class action over an allegedsunroof defect. In March, Judge Den-nis Cavanaugh granted plaintiffs’ mo-tion for certification of statewideclasses in Massachusetts, Florida,Hawaii, New Jersey, California andMaryland.
“In doing so, the court rejectedVolvo’s argument that certification ofplaintiffs’ statewide classes was im-proper because, among other reason,plaintiffs had offered no proof thatclass-wide damaged could be provedwith common evidence,” Volvo’s at-torneys argue in the motion. “Rather,the court relied on the allegations ofthe second-amended complaint toconclude that the relief sought by theplaintiffs applies to all members of thecertified classes. The United StatesSupreme Court issued its opinion inComcast Corp. versus Behrend...[which] makes clear that the court’sdecision to certify a class without anyshowing that damages can be provedon a class-wide basis was in error. Thecourt should reconsider and reverse itsdecision,” the attorneys write.
Volvo: Six State Class Ac-tion Should Not Be Certified
At a hearing on New Jersey Right toRepair bill, representatives of AAIAand CARE along with auto OEMssaid they want to develop a nationalsolution on the right to repair issue.Hope to conclude an agreement bythe end of July. ASA believes its2002 deal with manufacturers isworking. After more than a decadeof effort to pass legislation, first atthe Federal-level, then at the state-level, some of the organizations sup-porting Right to Repair legislationappear to be seeking a negotiated so-lution with automakers. In testimonybefore the Consumer Affairs Com-mittee of the New Jersey State Leg-islature on Assembly Bill 352, theMotor Vehicle Owners Right to Re-pair Act, Aaron Lowe, with the Au-tomotive Aftermarket IndustryAssociation (AAIA) stated thatwhile they remain strong supportersof right to repair legislation in thestates, nationally, they are in discus-sions with auto manufacturers on anational solution. Lowe said thatafter the passage of Right to Repairlegislation and the success of a laterballot measure in Massachusetts,AAIA and CARE began to seek anational solution with OEMs.
OEMs, CARE, and AAIA SeekSolution to Right to Repair
by Ed Attanasio
Gene Crozat, the owner of G&CAuto Body known as a fierce businesscompetitor to surrounding shops, hasalways done everything in a big way.If you ever visit any of his 10 Bay
Area locations, you’ll see they lookmore like The Bellagio in Las Vegasthan a body shop. Crozat is alreadylegendary for generously donatingmoney, clothing and other items tofamilies throughout northern Califor-nia, for no reason other than to knowhe has helped someone. He is alsowell-known for his Meter Beaters Pro-
gram that takes place every holidayseason as he covers peoples’ parkingfees in downtown Santa Rosa, CA—aprogram G&C has sponsored for thepast 20 years. But, now the man andhis family are fast-tracking and in-creasing their charitable efforts, by
giving away more cars andmore cash for people and or-ganizations that need it.For example, last year the
Crozat family made record-setting pledges to the Christ-mas Wish program and TheChildren’s Village, as well asmany smaller donations tolocal community non-profitorganizations including Men-R-Pigs, Becoming Independ-ent, the Jon Michael MartinMedical Fund and the Boys
& Girls Club of Marin, local BoyScout troops, softball leagues and ele-mentary schools.
Recently, Teri and Gene Crozatsponsored a trip to Disneyland for 14of the staff and all 24 kids of The Chil-dren’s Village in Santa Rosa, as wellas donating an entertainment center intheir existing rec room. They also do-
nated the use of the company’s luxurysuite at a Giant’s game, including 12tickets, as an item for the annual auc-tion at The Children’s Village Gala,raising $6,000.
The Children’s Village ofSonoma County provides nurturing,family-style homes for children andsiblings in foster care. Opened in Au-gust 2006, The Village currently con-sists of four large houses serving 24children, and four apartments for sen-iors who act as surrogategrandparents.
As another way to helpthe communities surroundingG&C’s locations and take ad-vantage of the availability oftechnicians and connectionsto parts dealers, Gene starteda Car-A-Month Giveawaywith the help of local radiostations, receiving hundredsof letters from listeners in theSanta Rosa, Ukiah, and Fair-field areas. G&C gave away six carslast year to those in need and is ontrack to donate 18 cars in 2013, all ofwhich are purchased at the Car Martat the Sonoma County Fairgrounds
and then refurbished by the techs anddetailing team at G&C. In somecases, Crozat repairs cars that nomi-nated people already own to makethem drivable and dependable.
As he meets these recipients andgets to know them, Crozat has alsohelped many of these families in theirdaily lives, helping out with bills,handing out $5,000 worth of $100Safeway grocery gift cards with$5,000 more ready to go, gas cards,
taking families shopping for clothes,paying for weekly stays at hotelrooms, “door ditching” with en-velopes of cash to needy families andother acts of kindness, according to
36 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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Gene Crozat of G&C Auto Body Can’t Seem to Give Enough, Fast Enough
From left, Kent Bjustad from Sonoma Media Group, carrecipients Destiny Snell, Brad Snell and Gene Crozat infront of a vehicle G&C Auto Body donated to the familyas part of their Car-A-Month Giveaway program
Morgan Weatherly (left) receives her van’s pink slip fromG&C’s Alayne Saturday. She also received a job at a G&Cshop, where she works currently
Govinda Crozat, the company’s Out-reach Director and the wife of ShawnCrozat, G&C’s Chief Operations Of-ficer.
One of the first recipients ofG&C’s giveaway program was Mor-gan Weatherly, who submitted this let-ter last December. “My name isMorgan. I am a single mother of fourbeautiful smart, good kids—ages 17,7, 3 and 18 months. We live nearly 20miles out of town; out in the countryand nowhere near public transporta-tion. Having a reliable car is critical inour situation. Lack of reliable trans-portation has been a huge source ofstress and hardship over the years. My7-year-old daughter was born twomonths premature and at one point Ihad to hitchhike to deliver “pumped”bottled breast milk to her while shewas in the hospital. I have health is-sues and must travel to U.C.S.F. Med-ical Center in San Francisco once aweek. All my kids go to differentschools because of their age differ-ences. I also take care of my motherwho is ill and without transportation. Itake her to all her doctor’s appoint-ments. I would be so grateful if some-one can help me to get a good car orvan. I will give back in any way I can.
I would be willing to work for free atyour shop, cleaning up, etc. I hope youcan help us.”
In January, out of a huge stack ofletters read by several people, Weath-erly was chosen to receive a usedTown and Country, as well as a paidjob at a G&C location.
Brad Snell, another vehicle re-cipient, is a student at Santa Rosa Jun-ior College studying to work in thehuman services/advocacy industry.
Last year, he finally gained custody ofhis 15 year-old daughter Destiny andin January after complaining that shecouldn’t see they discovered that sheneeded emergency brain surgery. Thesurgery was a success, but there is stilla mass on her brain that requires reg-ular tests performed in San Francisco,a 1.5 hour trek from Santa Rosa.
When a friend wrote to a localradio station promoting the G&C AutoBody Car-A-Month Giveaway, Selfwas completely unaware of all thewonderful things that were about tohappen to him and his daughter. Whenhe got the word, Snell was shockedand actually on his way to San Fran-cisco with his daughter for more tests,in a borrowed car.
“I can’t believe that a man at abody shop could do something soamazing for us,” Snell said. “We werereally struggling to get to San Fran-cisco and Gene Crozat gave us morethan just a car—he gave us the confi-dence to make all the appointments.Destiny is doing better now, but thereis still work ahead. But, having reli-able transportation has made it somuch easier. Every time I get in thiscar with my daughter I say a littleprayer to the people at G&C.”
Gene Crozat has built a large,successful business and now he wantsto enjoy his grandchildren and per-form charity work, as he slows downbut never stops when it comes to giv-ing back, he explained.
“I tell my kids if they want toopen new locations, go for it, but mygoal is to help as many people as I canwhile I’m around. I worked hard formany years and now this is how I findhappiness. In the end, you can’t takeit with you.”
Shawn Crozat learned the busi-ness from his father and he shares hispassion for every aspect of the colli-sion repair game and all of the oppor-tunities for philanthropy that cancome with it, he said.
“My father has always taught usto pull for the underdog and for yearshe has been hiring ex-convicts and ad-dicts to give them a real chance atearning a living for themselves andtheir families. Now that he has grand-children and is slowing down a littlebit, he notices the downtrodden natureof those in need more than ever, espe-cially children and families with ill-nesses, single mothers, etc. He hasbecome more and more generousevery day and it’s amazing to watch.”
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 37
Govinda Crozat (left) and her husband CEOShawn Crozat have taken Gene’s charitableefforts to a whole new level
I was surprised recently to learn of ashop that still uses sales quotas. As aprofessional in marketing and sales, Iam very familiar with quotas, and thepros and cons of the practice. It’slikely that the various sales reps thatcall on collision repair shops, sellingeverything from computer systems,estimating software and spray boothsto frame machines, are expected tomeet sales quotas. It’s also likely thatat the end of the month when a rep isstill way under his or her quota thatsome drastic measures will be taken toforce yet one or two more sales. That’sjust the nature of using a sales quotasystem.
But I had to ask what a collisionshop sales person could do to closemore business for the shop at the endof the month? Earlier in the month heor she could have gotten on the phoneand called prior customers, or placedmore follow-up calls to prospects whobrought in their vehicle and didn’tleave it to be repaired. Or when theshop has dealership connections, thesales rep could push hard on the deal-ership service drive for collision work.But at the end of the month, the storywould only be told with closed tick-ets. What could he or she do to pushthat up to meet a quota?
I talked to one rep who said thegame begins when a customer bringsin a car to be repaired. The aggressiverep on quota barely waits until the cus-
tomer is out the door before he or sheis on the phone to the customer’s in-surance company to get an adjusterout to look at the car. If the companysays five days, he or she immediatelycontacts the customer to call and pushhis or her insurance company to getout to see the car in three days or less.The rep also pushes for a quick tear-down to expedite the parts orders andavoid supplements.
If the end of the month is comingquickly and some of that rep’s vehi-cles have still not been completed andclosed out, the rush is on to find outwhy not. Delayed delivery of parts isa hard problem to overcome, but sup-plements are a different story. I wassurprised to learn that a shop ownerwilling to work with this kind of quotapressure would permit a rep to go thecustomer to approve a supplement ifthe insurance company is holdingback on it. When the job is completedif the insurance company hasn’t paidfor the supplement, the customer willget the bill. Now the aggressive rephas to convince the customer that heor she will be able to collect back fromthe insurance company eventually.
So here we arrive at why fewshops allow this kind of last minutequota pushing. A customer who ispushed to authorize supplements andcollect back from his or her insurancecompany may not choose to use thisshop again. It was obvious this shop
owner put the highest value on quotasand profits, while another might doeverything possible to not irritate acustomer. I could see that this shop ishighly profitable and capable of bring-ing in plenty of jobs without worryingabout retaining every customer in thelong run. I could also see why manyshop owners would shy away fromusing quotas, but might there be a wayto do it without irritating and possiblylosing customers?
A long history of successful com-panies using sales quotas says theyserve an important purpose. Sales repsare strongly motivated by sales con-tests, sales bonuses, commissions andmore. Even the mention of quotaswhen hiring a rep will tell an ownerwhether or not this person can workwith that kind of pressure. Many can-not and it’s best to determine this assoon as possible. The pressure of hav-ing to meet a quota will probablydrive a laid-back employee crazy but
an aggressive sales type will thrive onit and draw on a depth of ingenuity tobring in or close business that other-wise could have slipped away.
After this conversation aboutquotas, I asked a few other shop peo-ple whether or not they used quotas intheir shops. No one else I spoke toused them, but there was often agreater emphasis on targets and teamclosing. It seemed to me that individ-ual quotas could be difficult to man-age in most collision shops, but giventhe new emphasis on lean processesand team production, I think there isdefinitely a place for some sort of tar-get or quota system.
At first glance this might notseem applicable to a small, independ-ent shop but perhaps that’s where itmay be needed most to “light a fire”under sometimes complacent estima-tors and owners who now have tocompete in a much more ruthless col-lision repair marketplace.
38 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Still Using a Quota System For Consumer Sales?
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 sales and marketing consultant for fifty years. He has writtennumerous books and provides marketing solutions and services for many businesses.He can be reached at (323) 871-6862 or at [email protected]. See Tom’s columns at www.autobodynews.com under Columnists > Franklin
ASA Meets with Administration Re MFN ClausesAutomotive Service Association(ASA) leaders recently gathered inWashington, D.C., to meet with ad-ministration and Capitol Hill officialsto discuss Most Favored Nationclauses contained in some direct re-pair program (DRP) agreements withinsurance companies. ASA wrote ad-ministration officials in 2012 askingthat they also consider the impact ofMFN clauses on parties involved inproperty and casualty insurance. Tes-timony by administration officials onCapitol Hill to date have reflectedmore interest in health insuranceagreements. ASA maintains that theanti-competitive nature of the clausesputs both consumers and collisionshops at a disadvantage. In 2010, theU.S. Department of Justice filed a suitagainst Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Michigan regarding the use of MFNclauses. In 2012, the commissioner ofthe Office of Financial and InsuranceRegulation of Michigan issued anorder, which prohibited the use andenforcement of any MFN clause in ahealth insurer provider contract thathas not been previously reviewed andapproved by the commissioner. TheMichigan legislature followed with aban on MFN clauses in health insurercontracts.
The North Carolina legislatureapproved House Bill 247, a bill thatrestricts MFN use by allowing healthproviders and health insurers to freelynegotiate reimbursement rates by pro-hibiting contract provisions that re-strict rate negotiations. The bill hasbeen signed into law and will becomeeffective Oct. 1, 2013.
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 39
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Social networks such as Pinterest, In-stagram and Tumblr are rapidly gain-ing momentum as content distributiontools and becoming more and more at-tractive for B2B purposes, includingwithin the collision industry. Whennew forms of social media get hot,others fall off and disappear—so howdo we know which ones are gainingwhile others are failing? While manybody shops use one or more of theaforementioned sites, smart operatorscan gain an advantage over other bodyshops that don’t know about them orcare.
PinterestLet’s examine Pinterest first, becauseit seems to be the best known one onthis list. Pinterest is a virtual scrap-book that enables businesses, organi-zations and individuals to organizeand share images. Users can pullvideos, photos, drawings, paintings,etc., anywhere from the Web on Pin-
terest and other members can re-pinthe images elsewhere within Pinterest.Users can organize their Pinterestpages by categorizing content on theirown boards.
The obvious goal is to generatenew leads and referrals to your shopby using Pinterest. More than 20% ofthe people who use Facebook usePinterest daily. Women use it more(72%) and are joining it more thanmen (2-to-1) which is ideal for thecollision industry, because morewomen take their cars in for repairsthan men do. Pinterest has a dedi-cated iPhone app that gets approxi-
mately 250,000 downloads everyday. And most Pinterest users are be-tween the ages of 25–54 and earning$60,000 annually, right smack in themiddle of that highly-desired demo-graphic sweet spot where they havemoney and can afford to pay their de-ductibles.
Sure, Pinterest is used by a lot byartists, musicians, photographers andcreative types, but more and morecompanies of all types are using it forSEO, marketing, public relations andadvertising purposes. Roger Hensonfrom Advertising Business Consult-ants in Willow Glen, CA is a Pinterestexpert and uses it for a wide range ofhis clients, he explained.
“When it comes to any of theseemerging forms of social media, theyoffer a great opportunity, because inmany ways, it’s virgin territory,” Hen-son said. “We’re always looking forthe next thing, and that’s why we’verecommended sites like Reddit, Stum-
bleUpon, Tumblr and Pinterest wellbefore everyone started jumping onthe bandwagon. It’s all about gettingas many sets of eyes on your brandand message as you possibly can, andPinterest works for us and our clients,including several body shops who aregetting track able results from Pinter-est.”
Henson likes Pinterest becausebusinesses can use it to attract trafficto their websites while sharing con-tent, products, services and news, hesaid. “We’re constantly seeing greatnumbers and the site is growing inleaps and bounds (145% in the last 16months). People spend more time onit then Facebook, for example, andwe’re hitting a younger audience. Inthe collision repair business, it’s wiseto engage these younger customers,because they are the future of your in-dustry. Once you build that familiar-ity and establish some trust, the rest iseasy.”
40 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr—Three ‘New’ Forms of Shop Media
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
Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based inSan Francisco, California. He can be reached [email protected].
TumblrTumblr is a micro blogging platformand social networking website that al-lows users to post multimedia andother content to a short-form blog.Users can follow other users’ blogs, aswell as make their blogs private. Most
of Tumblr’s features are accessiblefrom the “dashboard” interface, wherethe option to post content and posts ofother blogs that are of interest to theadministrator can appear. Tumblr wasrecently purchased by Yahoo so ex-pect to see some investment in theproduct.
Larry Sawyer, a social mediamaven and the owner of Da BombMedia in Surprise, AZ. His job is tobe up on all of the latest social mediasites and he believes that Tumblr willbe gaining popularity with busi-nesses for a wide range of reasons,he said.
“Blogging is not going awayand in fact, blogging is explodingand that’s why Google and Word-Press are seeing huge spikes in mem-
bership,” Sawyer explained. “A bodyshop can share postings from otherbody shops, their vendors’ blogs andeven local community blogs, to keepthat level of interaction high. Ifyou’re looking for another form ofsocial media to use, I would suggesttaking a close look at Tumblr. Byadding it to your dashboard, you canbe a part of Tumblr quickly and eas-ily, especially if you already have ablog. By being involved in more so-cial media sites, you’re building yourSEO and get in front of more peopleon the Internet.”
InstagramInstagram is an online photo-sharing,video-sharing and social networkingservice that enables its users to takepictures and videos and apply digitalfilters to them. At the same time usersare sharing them on a variety of social
networking sites, such as Facebook(which owns Instagram), Twitter,Tumblr and Flickr. A distinctive fea-ture of Instagram is that it confines
photos to a square shape, similar toKodak Instamatic and Polaroid im-ages, in contrast to the 16:9 aspectratio now typically used by mobile de-vice cameras. Instagram is distributedthrough the Apple App Store andGoogle Play, and it was consideredvaluable enough to Facebook to beworth its billion dollar purchase price.
Jeremy Eaton is the marketingmanager at Collision Repair Special-ists in St. Joseph’s, MO. He’s alwayslooking out for the newest socialmedia to support his family’s bur-geoning body shop and he uses all ofPinterest, Tumblr and Instagram be-cause he knows they attract a youngercustomer that will drive for manyyears and probably get into at least afew accidents.
“We’ve been using Instagram fortwo years now to share our communityevents and many of the awards we’vewon,” Eaton explained. “It’s all basedon photographs and other images andthat’s why it’s ideal for the younger de-mographic (18-15 yrs.). They’re lessinto text and more into photos, becausethey get a more immediate responseand have more impact.
Keeping your customer informedand engaged is always the key with any
type of social media and we’ve hadsome very favorable feedback aboutour Instagram involvement. Some ofour younger clients request that we useInstagram to show them the progress oftheir car as it is being worked on in theshop.”
By easily integrating Instagraminto his other forms of social media,Eaton is able to connect everything to-gether with just one click of the mouse.“We have Instagram on a dashboardwith Facebook and Twitter, for exam-ple. It’s simple and doesn’t require aton of time to manage it. People thinkit takes hours and hours to do thesethings, but if you do it right—you canget it done in minutes.”
The mobile aspect of Instagramappeals to Eaton and his customers,he said. “Everything is going to bedone on smart phones eventually.Lap tops and desk top computers andeven tablets are going to eventuallybecome less prevalent, because peo-ple want the convenience of doingtheir computing anywhere and at anytime. So, the fact that Instagram isgeared toward mobility makes it anideal form of social media for anybusiness, including body shops ofcourse.”
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 41
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The owner of the New Orleans bodyshop at which police found the car al-legedly involved in a fatal hit and runof an officer bonded out of jail themorning of July 11. Best of the BestAuto Shop owner Bill Cager, 33, wasbooked with obstruction of justiceand accessory after the fact tomanslaughter. His bond was set at$100,000.
Officer Rodney Thomas wasfatally struck by a Porsche Panamera,which was allegedly being driven byJustin McKey, 25. McKey wasbooked on manslaughter and felonyhit and run charges, as police saidthat he was behind the wheel of the2013 Porsche Panamera that hit Offi-cer Thomas on the High Rise ataround 1 o’clock the morning of July7. Orleans Parish Sheriff’s recordsshow McKey posted $50,000 bond at7:39 p.m. July 9.
A third suspect in the case, Ken-neth Halley, 28, remained jailed as ofJuly 11. Halley is accused of takingthe damaged Porsche to Cager’s Bestof the Best Automotive and CollisionCenter, at 2635 Gravier St. Bond wasset at $100,000 for charges of acces-sory after the fact to manslaughterand obstruction of justice. But he wasbeing held without bond for parole vi-olation.
New Orleans police are search-ing for a fourth suspect in the fatalhit-and-run of NOPD officer RodneyThomas, according to NOPDspokesman Frank Robertson.
Police released a grainy photo-graph of the suspect on July 10 (seephoto at www.noladefender.com/con-tent/n34ew-pers78on-interest-cops-hit-and-run-death.) According to police,
the photo was taken from surveil-lance video inside the Best of theBest of the Best Automotive and Col-lision Center, at 2635 Gravier St., andwas recorded the morning Thomaswas killed.
Anyone with information on thewhereabouts of this man is asked tocall Crimestoppers at 504.822.1111or toll-free at 1.800.903.7867
McKey turned himself in at 3:30p.m. July 8, told police where to find
the Porsche, and admitted he was be-hind the wheel when he hit OfficerThomas on the Interstate 10 high risearound 12:45 a.m. July 7, said courtrecords.
Before the hit and run, Thomaswas involved in a minor traffic accidentin a personal vehicle on the way homefrom his night shift in the second dis-trict, and began directing traffic whilein his uniform and reflective vest.
While Thomas was directingtraffic, witnesses said the Porscheside-swiped Thomas’ truck beforestriking Thomas, carrying him on thehood of the vehicle before he fell tothe ground. The Porsche then spedoff.
McKey told investigators he wasdriving the “car in and out and it wasdark and he didn’t see him.”
McKey’s neighbors said heand his mother have lived inthe neighborhood for years,and they have never beforeseen a white Porsche on theirstreet, raising questionsabout who owns the car.
Court documents confirm,Halley was previously citedfor driving the Porsche errat-ically near the Mercedes-Benz Superdome around 9pm on July 6, hours before
the fatal hit and run.Police have not yet said who
owns the Porsche.When the car was discovered at
Cager’s shop, he and another man al-legedly involved in the cover up,
Kenneth Halley, were arrested. Hal-ley has a previous felony convictionaccording to court records.
According to court documents,Cager used towels to wipe blood offthe car. NOPD technicians found
blood stained rags ingarbage cans in and aroundthe business the next day, aswell as hair on the car’swindshield.
The vehicle had exten-sive damage to the front endand passenger’s side, andthe windshield had a mas-sive indentation where glasshad shattered.
According to court docu-ments, Halley picked up afriend and drove the Porscheto the body shop within anhour of the crash.Surveillance cameras inside
and outside the business showed thevehicle arriving at the business, andthe subsequent attempts to clean thecar, said prosecutors.
McKey has a January arrest inwhich he pled no contest to criminaltrespassing (domestic violence) and
was sentenced to 30 days, a $350 fineincluding court costs, and one yearinactive probation.
Halley has a lengthy criminalrecord, which includes multiple ar-rests, including charges for seconddegree murder and heroin distribu-tion. He was arrested multiple timesin 2008 alone, resulting in convic-tions for distribution of heroin andcocaine and attempted possession ofa firearm by a felon.
Halley was released on good be-havior in 2011, serving only twoyears of a five-year sentence thatwould have been up in 2014.
Shop owner Cager was arrestedin 2002 for unauthorized use of amotor vehicle, illegal possession of astolen auto worth over $500, and al-tering or removing an auto VIN num-ber, all of which were refused. Cageralso had a 2002 municipal courtcharge for disturbing the peace.
Thomas’ funeral services wereheld morning of July 12 at FranklinAvenue Baptist Church. The cere-mony was conducted with full policedepartment honors, described by thelocal media as a “sea of blue.”
42 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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NOLA Shop Owner Implicated in Cover-Up of Hit and Run, Fourth Suspect Sought
New Orleans Police have arrested Justin McKey, left,Kenneth Halley, center, and Bill Cager, right, in connectionwith the fatal hit-and-run accident that took the life ofNOPD Officer Rodney Thomas early the morning of July 7.(Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office)
Rosalyn Thomas, far right, the wife of New Orleans PoliceDepartment Officer Rodney Thomas, looks at a photo ofher husband, far left, on the hood of a NOPD car during avigil at 2nd District Police Station on Magazine Street inNew Orleans on Thursday, July 11, 2013. (Photo by ChrisGranger, Nola.com)
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 43
State Farm and two smaller Northwest-based auto insurers continue to beamong the best at taking care of theircustomers after an accident. And someof the other larger, best-known insur-ers—including GEICO, Safeco andFarmers Insurance—are among theworst.
That was the finding of the latestsurvey of businesses that interact withauto insurers on behalf of vehicle-own-ers every day: Oregon collision repairshops.
“Just as medical providers see howhealth insurers take care of patients, col-lision repair shops interact with auto in-surers on a daily basis, so we feel it’sworthwhile to ask how those insurerstreat Oregon drivers after an accident,”said Barbara Crest, executive directorfor the Northwest Automotive TradesAssociation (NATA), which conductedthe survey of Oregon shops. “We be-lieve their views will be helpful to in-surance companies and consumers.”
More than 500 collision repairshops throughout the state received thesurvey, which asked them to grade theTop 20 auto insurers in the state interms of how well each company’s
“policies, attitude and payment prac-tices ensure quality repairs and cus-tomer service for Oregon motorists.”
This is the seventh time the asso-ciation has conducted such a surveysince 2004. Crest pointed to a numberof items of interest in the findings of thelatest survey:
● Repairers have consistentlygiven the same three companies a gradeof B or better all seven times the surveyhas been conducted. State Farm hascontinued to hold on to the top spot, re-ceiving an overall grade of B+ againthis year. But a Northwest insurancecompany, Oregon Mutual, nudged upfrom a B last year to also receive a B+in the latest survey. Mutual of Enum-claw once again ranked third with a B.State Farm is the largest auto insurer inOregon: Mutual of Enumclaw and Ore-gon Mutual are ranked 12th and 13th,respectively.
● In addition to Oregon Mutual,six other insurers saw their grades im-prove from the 2012 survey. Travelersbecame the fourth-highest graded in-surer by earning a B- (up from a C+ lastyear). Progressive, Ameriprise andCountry Companies each moved up
half a grade to C+.● Although the same four insurers
were on the bottom of the rankings forthe third straight year, the orderamongst them changed because Allstateimproved to a C (from a C-) and Geicobrought its D+ in 2012 up to a C- thisyear.
● Progressive’s improvement isnotable given that it had a D+ or worse(and the lowest or second-lowest rank-ing) in every survey between 2004 and2009. Even last year it was ranked 16thon the list with a C, but this year movedto 8th with a C+.
● Although Allstate still only re-ceives an average grade, that’s an im-provement over the D or D+ it receivedin each survey between 2008 and 2011.
● Three insurers saw their gradesdrop. USAA, which ranked fourth lastyear, dropped behind Travelers andKemper/Unitrin when it received a C+rather than the B- it did last year. Amer-ican Family and Liberty Mutual alsodropped half a grade.
● Farmers and Safeco received a“F” from about one-in-four shops, themost failing grades received by any in-surer. (By comparison, GEICO, the
third-lowest graded insurer, receivedabout half as many Fs as Farmers.)State Farm received an “A” from wellover half of shops.
● In most cases, the grades given aparticular insurer from shops involvedin that insurer’s direct repair program(DRP) were higher than those given byshops that are not part of that insurer’sprogram. This was particularly truewith USAA and The Hartford; theirDRP shops gave them grades of A- orbetter while non-DRP shops gave thesesame insurers grades of C or C+. Buteven American Family and Farmers In-surance direct repair shops gave thoseinsurers only average grades of C.
“Collision repairers say the insur-ers receiving the highest grades—whichincludes both larger and smaller insur-ance companies—do the best job of tak-ing care of Oregon drivers after anaccident,” Crest said. “We hope con-sumers will take these ratings into ac-count when choosing an auto insurer,and that insurers that received lowergrades will work to improve their per-formance.”
More than 70 shops throughoutOregon responded to the survey.
44 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
CHEVROLET1450 South Shamrock Ave.Monrovia, California 91016
Since 1968, the Auto Body Associa-tion of Connecticut (ABAC) has beenfighting for the collision repair indus-
try. While theirfocus has changedmany times overthe past 45 years,ABAC is still ded-icated to preserv-ing the integrityand independenceof repair specialists
throughout their state. Because thereare currently so many important issuesfacing the industry, Tony Ferraiolo,President of ABAC, took time to sharethe association’s goals and stanceswith Autobody News readers.
Regarding their mission, Ferraiolostates, “ABAC continuously strives toeducate the motorists of Connecticutand to enhance the abilities and knowl-edge of its members, through educa-tion, to provide safe and dependablerepairs to the public. Through propos-
ing and monitoring legislation, theABAC endeavors to protect the bestinterests of consumers, its membersand the collision repair industry.”
ABAC has many ongoing goalsand projects in 2013. One of their pri-mary focuses is on education. Theystrive to educate their members on in-dustry-related issues and training, aswell as promoting education on andprotection of consumer rights. ABACeducates and trains their members on
proper repair procedures, includingthe latest information from OEMs.Additionally, they protect the drivingpublic with consumer advocacygroups which provide the necessary
tools to allow the average driver tomake informed decisions about theirrepair needs.
Another important goal forABAC is related to legislation. In ad-dition to supporting class action law-suits when necessary, the associationmonitors current legislation, servingas a watchdog to expose insurers forviolating fair trade practices and tocombat legislation attempts seeking tolimit the independence of collision re-
pair facilities. Beyond education,ABAC’s current projects focus on on-going legislative reforms by maintain-ing and improving communicationswith local, state and federal officials.
They are currently in the process ofpushing two class-action lawsuits.
When asked about the biggestchallenges facing the industry todayand possible ways to overcome theseissues, Ferraiolo lists “the influencethat insurance companies have in theauto body industry. Actions to over-come these influences include law-suits (class action and individual),legislative reforms, and consumer ed-ucation.”
ABAC does not approve of thePARTS Act because “the OEMsshould have the same protection that’sgiven to any other parts manufacturer.We defer to the OEMs because it’s thesafest, best way to repair the vehicle.The research and development that isput into the OEM parts should not beundermined. The PARTS Act willhamper innovative new designs andcause costs to be amortized over ashort period of time, driving costs up.Therefore, we reject the PARTS Act.”
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 45
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Auto Body Association of Connecticut Supports Members’ Concerns and Fights Unfair Legislation
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 Rich EvansCustom 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,who writes on a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family ofNASCAR fans. She can be contacted at [email protected].
Tony Ferraiolo
They also reject the Right to Re-pair. Ferraiolo notes, “We believe allinformation should be given out toeveryone so as not to discriminateagainst any repairers. Informationshould be shared so that vehicles canbe safely and properly repaired.”
Ferraiolo also believes “Part-sTrader is bad for our industry.” Intheir press release on PartsTrader fromSeptember 2012, ABAC notes, “theendeavor is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.It is bad for repairers, part manufac-turers, and most importantly, con-sumers. The only two enterprises inplace to profit- and profit hand-somely- are State Farm Insurance andPartsTrader.” It is clear that Part-sTrader does not benefit repairers orconsumers as PartsTrader’s modelshows insurers collecting more premi-ums only to find ways to pay less on
claims, which “is fundamentally cor-rupting both industries,” the press re-lease continues.
Even worse, ABAC predicts thatit is only a matter of time before otherinsurers institute similar programs tothe detriment of the collision repair in-dustry. This is the reason that ABACrefers to PartsTrader as “an embodi-ment of what’s wrong with the autobody industry and a harbinger ofwhat’s to come,” which is why theyencourage their members (and colli-sion repairers nationwide!) to becomeeducated on the program and stand upfor themselves. “In light of the long-term damage this program will likelycause our industry, we are respectfullyencouraging those of you who havenot yet weighed in on this debate, tocarefully examine the pilot programand voice your opinions.”
ABAC was formed in 1968 whenaround seven independent organiza-tions joined together to form one as-sociation: the Auto Body Associationof Connecticut. At that point, ABACwas comprised of two officers fromeach individual organization whogathered for monthly meetings, buteach organization continued to oper-ate separately as well until around 15years ago when all of those individualorganizations joined together tostrengthen ABAC. According to Fer-raiolo, “because individual groupsconsolidated and became one, the or-ganization runs more efficiently. Thelocals were able to concentrate oncommittees and, therefore, accom-plish more for the association. Thereis strength in numbers.”
While keeping their busy repairmembers engaged in the forefront of
the industry, by participating in the lat-est developments, is always a chal-lenge, ABAC rises to the occasionrepeatedly. Other benefits of member-ship include group discounts, educa-tional meetings and quarter meetingswhich allow members to stay up-to-date on the latest trends to maintainnational awareness. Though ABAChas over 400 members, including hon-orary members, shops and vendors,they still strive “to grow andstrengthen our membership to create astronger association.”
Auto Body Association ofConnecticut (ABAC)104 Cheshire RdProspect, CT [email protected]
46 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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FIX Auto Relocates Headquarters to San DiegoFix Auto recently announced the con-solidation of their Orange County andSan Diego administrative offices intoa new San Diego-based headquarters.The move is a response to Fix Auto’srecent growth, as the new state-of-the-art facility will allow Fix Auto to best
serve their growing membershipthrough improved organizational effi-ciencies.
“This development is significantin a number of ways,” said Fix AutoPresident and COO, Paul Gange.“While a major driving force behind
the decision is securing a modern fa-cility to accommodate our rapidly ex-panding staff of professionals,relocating the majority of our corpo-rate staff under one roof will improvecommunications, create cross-depart-mental synergies and foster innova-
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www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 47
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promote and protect the industry, par-ticularly, in the government affairsarena. Through legislative and regula-tory alerts we keep our membershipapprised of what is happening in gov-ernment that will impact their busi-ness. Many of our members supplythe collision industry with parts andproducts required to service customersin a qualitative and timely fashion, aswell.
ABN:Why do you think business pro-fessional groups like the CAWA helpthe industries they serve and maybecite some specific examples?
RP: As an automotive aftermarkettrade association, CAWA was foundedby members of the aftermarket indus-try to collectively speak as one voice,to promote training for themselves andtheir employees and to come togetherto improve their purchasing power inbusiness service programs and prod-ucts, e.g., business insurances.ABN:You’ve been the President/CEOof the CAWA for many years and have
seen the automotive parts industrychange. What are the most significantchanges your members have encoun-tered?
RP: Consolidation and a more intenseand sophisticated competitive busi-ness environment.
ABN: There’s an on-going push andshove when it comes to the aftermar-ket/recycled/re-manufactured parts in-dustry vs. the manufacturer’s OE partsindustry. Talk about how the after-market parts sector has become moreefficient and responsive to changeswithin the market and how the qualityis equal with OE parts, in many in-stances.
RP: In many cases, the major OE sup-plier is also manufacturing replace-ment parts in the aftermarket. Theseparts are as good as, if not better thanthe part that rolls off the assembly line(because of the improvement in man-ufacturing post assembly). Also, theremanufacturing segment is at theforefront of reduced emissions and agreener industry footprint in the auto-motive sector of today’s economy. Inthe government affairs process we
continuously stress the quality of af-termarket replacement parts and theircontribution to the overall economyand public good, i.e., the aftermarketgives the consumer the choice ofwhere to purchase their parts andwhere to have their vehicles serviced.
ABN: If you wanted to give any feed-back or advice to body shops or themanufacturers of aftermarket collisionparts, what would you tell them?
RP: Look to the CAWA membershipwho offers quality collision parts andproducts. Also, see the hard partsmanufacturers, manufacturer repre-sentatives, distributors and retailers asan ally in promoting and protectingthe collision segment of the industry.This notion strengthens all segmentsof the industry.
ABN:What changes do you think willoccur in the auto repair industry over-all within the next 10-20 years thatwill impact the aftermarket parts in-dustry?
RP: Parts generally are manufacturedand re-manufactured to high qualitystandards today and will continue to
improve as the industry adapts andchanges to new technologies and thevehicles of the future. As technologybecomes more sophisticated, we’ll seemore repair specialization that will re-quire the parts industry to remain nim-ble and responsive to this emergingtrend. New vehicle technology willalso add to the ever-changing futureand the parts industry will adapt and ,as always, find ways to respond to theyet unforeseen future of the automo-bile.
ABN: New legislative bills emerge allthe time, and if passed, they cangreatly affect your membership. Tellus how you play a role in staying ontop of these proposed bills/laws andhow you stay vigilant on these devel-opments as they arise?
RP: Perhaps the greatest service weprovide to the aftermarket industry isour legislative work. If CAWA werenot in California, Nevada and Ari-zona, the industry would feel the voidin uncontested intrusion through leg-islation and the regulatory powers ofall levels of government. If the after-market voice is not heard in these statecapitols, business owners would find
48 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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themselves helpless to the govern-ments’ presence in the conduct ofdaily business. CAWA monitors legis-lation, regulation and other govern-ment programs to assure our membersand the industry are not ill served bythese processes and the insatiable fi-nancial appetite of political opera-tives. And we promote legislation thatsupports our members and makesdoing business more palatable in theface of government politicians and bu-reaucrats throughout the westernstates.
ABN: How have aftermarket/ware-house parts businesses figured outhow to survive the collapse of 2008and has it become a more competitivemarket as a result?
RP: There is no doubt that the marketis more highly competitive today andhas been so for several years. That’sone reason we still see parts ware-houses and jobber stores going out ofbusiness. Those that are purchasingright, managing right, constantly mon-itoring revenues and expenditures andgoing to market in an efficient mannerwill continue to be successful. Thosenot up to the challenges of todays and
tomorrow’s competitive environmentwill not be around in 5-10 years.Those that have survived have alsocreated alliances with other aftermar-ket business to strengthen their buy-ing power and position in the marketplace. There are many very competentand entrepreneurial owners and man-agers in this industry that adapt welland quickly to survive and stay com-petitive.
ABN: You’ve been working closelywith other organizations and spon-sored a joint series of meetings be-tween the CAWA and ASCCA earlierthis year. What is the purpose for thispartnership and how has this allianceworked?
RP:As you know, ASCCA representsthe mechanical repair garage ownersin California. We have enjoyed a veryrich and long termed relationship withthem. We meet regularly with our lob-byists to assure we are speaking withone voice at the Capitol and, if not, weunderstand why and respect eachother’s positions on issues. Parenthet-ically, being on opposite sides of anissue is very rare and virtually non-ex-istent.
About four years ago, the boardsof directors of both associationswanted to strengthen the relationshipamong the volunteer leaders of bothgroups. So, an Industry Summit wasdeveloped whereby the leaders andmembers of both associations wouldcome together for a dialogue of con-temporary issues affecting the indus-try and to better understand eachsegment of the industry. Since then ithas developed into one of the pre-miere industry events in California. Somuch so, that more groups and asso-ciations want to co-sponsor the 2014Industry Summit. The national Auto-motive Aftermarket Industry Associa-tion (AAIA), the CaliforniaAutomotive Business Coalition (Cal-ABC), the California AutomotiveTeachers (CAT) will join with CAWAand ASCCA to sponsor next year’s In-dustry Summit.
ABN: In the collision industry, therehas been a trend where MSOs (Multi-ple Shop Operators) are flourishing,while many small independent bodyshops are struggling to survive. It’s allabout centralization and the conven-ience of dealing with one large entityrather than 10-15 smaller ones. Is this
also happening in your industry?
RP: Yes, unfortunately the smallerdistributors are, for the most part,struggling to survive. Unless they arespecialized, in a niche market or geo-graphically situated with less compe-tition, they are challenged to continue.It’s not unlike other industry evolu-tions, however. When I think of all thepast and future family business thatdid not or will not survive it makes mesad. My father had his own familybusiness and I remember the nightswhen mom and dad struggled to“make ends meet”. Somehow, though,his business survived and he retired at70 with no regrets. Like my father’sbusiness was to the aircraft industry,aftermarket family businesses are im-portant to this industry and there willbe those that do survive and continuethe tradition embodied within thisgreat industry!
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 49
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by Ed Attanasio
Mark Twain called golf a “good walkwasted” and advised golfers that “It’sgood sportsmanship to not pick up lostgolf balls while they are still rolling.”Yes, the golf balls were definitely
rolling on June 19 when the SantaClara Chapter of the California Auto-body Association (SC-CAA) hostedits 30th Annual Golf Tournament atCinnabar Hills Golf Club in San Jose,but most of them ended up in thebushes, water hazards and sand traps.
64 golfers enjoyed playing 18PGA-level holes on a beautiful day inthe South Bay, forgetting for a moment
about their car counts, DRPs and otherbusiness-related drama to spend timewith their friends and associates. Thisyear’s tournament was especially no-table for two reasons—to celebrate its30th year and to donate $10,000 to Op-eration Comfort, an organization thatprovides opportunities for woundedservice members to participate in re-habilitative, adaptive sports and a pro-gram called Automotivation, in whichthey are trained how to work on cars.Operation Comfort also provides fi-nancial assistance and therapeutic tripsto wounded members of the militaryand their families.
SC-CAA’s President RandyGreenblat doesn’t play golf, but he al-ways plays an integral part in the plan-
ning and promotion of his chapter’stournament. “It’s always a lot of workdoing this event, but with Tabias
Padilla from Hertz and Don Dutrafrom Martin Auto Color involved, itmakes it easier,” Greenblat said.“Tabias did a great job again this yearmaking it happen. There are so manydetails with the planning of a tourna-ment, but he steps up every year andhe definitely deserves the credit.”
Platinum sponsors for this year’stournament were BASF, EnterpriseRent a Car, Hertz and PPG. Gold spon-sors were Annex Automotive, MartinColor Supply and LKQ. Silver spon-sors were 3M, Bascom Trim, Califor-
nia Payroll, Carborundum, Lord Fusorand Last Call Marketing. Color Sup-ply sponsored the closest to the pinprize; Toyota of Palo Alto sponsoredthe hole-in-one prize and Unique Tow-ing sponsored the longest drive, whichwas won by Gene Lopez from I-CAR.
SC-CAA Treasurer David Mellofound out about Operation Comfortlast year at SEMA in Las Vegas andwas immediately attracted to the or-ganization’s purpose and mission, heexplained.
“When I learned that the NationalAuto Body Council (NABC) hadadopted Operation Comfort as their or-ganization of choice for philanthropy,we thought why not?” Mello said. “Wewere looking for a charity to raisemoney for and we really like whatthey’re doing. Aligning ourselves witha great cause like this makes it allworthwhile. The golf tournament pro-vides a fun way to unwind and getaway from the shop, but in the end, it’sall about service and helping others.”
For more information about Op-eration Comfort and its Automotiva-tion Program, go to:www2.operationcomfort.org.
50 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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Santa Clara CAA Golf Tournament is 30th Annual Celebration
Chris Leverkuhn representing OperationComfort (left) receives a check for $10,000from SC-CAA President Randy Greenblat atthe chapter’s 30th annual golf tournamentin San Jose, CA
From left, Dave Pillado, Martin Auto Color,Don Dutra, Martin Auto Color, Brent Fryer fromMartin Auto Color and Parnell Castilla were init to win it at the SC-CAA’s annual golftournament
From left, Gene Lopez from I-CAR, TabiasPadilla from Hertz, Mike Bonafante and LarryRede finished well out of the running, butLopez was the best golfer of the tournament,hitting greens consistently (he said :-)
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 51
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Do you have a red Radio Flyer Wagonback when you were a kid? As anAmerican toy classic, right alongsideLegos, slinkies and silly putty, the
Radio Flyer name makes people inthis country wax nostalgic. And thatis why Dale and Rissa Matsumoto,the owner’s of Auto Body Hawaii inKona, HI, designed and built a one-of-a-kind version of this iconic toy thatgets oohs and ahhs wherever it goes.
They call it “Da Wagon,” and it al-ways makes a huge impression, prima-rily at community events, fundraisersand other shop-sponsored activities.Why so much attention for a children’swagon? Well, because the Matsumotofamily does everything in a big way.
Auto Body Hawaii is the largest colli-sion facility on the Big Island and theirRadio Flyer Wagon also makes a bigstatement, because it’s 10 ft. long, sixfeet high and has 60-inch wheels!
If you’re not familiar with theFlyer Radio Wagon, they were in-vented back in 1917 in Chicago Illi-nois by a company called the LibertyCoaster Company. Their signature redwagons have never wavered in popu-larity and even during the Great De-pression, 1,500 were being produceddaily. In 1999, the Radio Flyer was in-ducted into the Toy Hall of Fame inRochester, NY. Today, the company isknown as Radio Flyer and they still
make wagons, as well as scooters, bi-cycles and tricycles.
Back in November of 2011, thecrew at Auto Body Hawaiisat down at a meeting tobrainstorm about innovativemarketing ideas that couldbring business and attentionto the shop while allowingfor further philanthropy.Auto Body Hawaii has al-ways worked very hard atreaching out to the people ofKona and its surroundingareas, because they see thevalue of helping others andplaying a positive role in the island’sbusiness community, according toRissa Matsumoto.
It all began when Dale Mat-sumoto started making junior drag-sters for local youth programs andeventually it evolved into the realiza-tion of “Da Wagon.” “Our junior drag-sters were a hit and we were winningawards for them,” Matsumoto said.“And then we started seeing these lit-tle red wagons in local parades, with adog or a child in the back and gettingpulled around by an adult. That’s
when I flashed on the idea of a hugered wagon, figuring it would be a bigattention-getter.”
After deciding to build “DaWagon,” Dale Matsumoto and his crewjumped quickly into production mode,because they had a definite deadline forcompleting the project, he explained.“We wanted to have it ready for the an-nual Christmas parade they do here intown and so we didn’t have much time.The entire shop got involved and it wasan exciting period.”
After three weeks of intense work,“Da Wagon” came together nicely andthe local buzz started to build. “Wewere working on the wagon between
‘Da Wagon’ Pulls Them In for Auto Body Hawaii on the Big Island
The entire crew at Auto Body Hawaii in Konaposes with “Da Wagon.”
Da Wagon” had some very interesting passen-gers during this year’s Kailua-Kona Fourth ofJuly Parade
Built completely from scratch, the building of “Da Wagon”got the entire crew at Auto Body Hawaii in on the con-struction and design
fixing cars and running a busy shop,”Rissa Matsumoto said. “There were alot of nights and weekends, but wepulled it off. It was a great team-build-ing experience and when it was com-plete, you could feel the sense ofaccomplishment and the pride. It wasa wonderful thing to see.”
When Auto Body Hawaii un-veiled “Da Wagon” for the first time atthe 27th annual Kailua-Kona Christ-mas Parade two years ago, the Big Is-land greeted the big wagon in a bigway. “People here couldn’t stop talk-
ing about it,” Dale Matsumoto said.“And they haven’t stopped yet. Wenever imagined the incredible re-sponse. It conveys a message we reallylike and it’s basically hey—we work in
this community and we want to dowhat we can through our shop, our em-ployees and this wagon, to help peopleand show we’re not going anywhere.”
Since then, da shop has pulledout “Da Wagon” on several occasions,but most notably, it has appeared intwo Christmas parades and a pair ofFourth of July parades. In addition,the Matsumotos will show it offwhenever it can, especially forfundraising or charitable efforts.
“Sure, it’s a marketing tool andthere’s no doubt about it,” Rissa Mat-
sumoto said. “But that’s notwhy we’re doing it. If peoplecan see the wagon and thinkof us in a positive way,we’ve done our job. And if itentertains people, that’s evenbetter.”
–People have suggestedthat the “Da Bomb” needs tobe modernized, with amotor, a fancy sound systemand expensive rims on itshuge wheels, but Dale Mat-
sumoto likes it just the way it is.“Sure, we could do a lot of stuff to it,but I like the fact that’s it simple. It’slarge, sure-but it’s basically stock andthat’s how we like it!”
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 53
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A fight between co-workers at an autobody shop in Las Vegas resulted in bothwith gunshot wounds and one of themcharged with attempted murder after analtercation on June 24. Las Vegas Metropolice released an arrest report describ-ing an incident that resulted in chargesagainst 47-year-old Kevin Montalvo.Both the shop foreman and the em-ployee sustained gunshot wounds as aresult from their altercation.
When police arrived at the S&MBody Shop in the 5100 block of DeanMartin Drive in Las Vegas, NV, theyfound shop foreman Kevin Montalvoholding an ammunition magazine for asemi-automatic pistol, but not the gun,according to his arrest report.
Montalvo told police that he wasattacked by two of his employees andshot one of the men in self defense.Shop employee Bryan Jackson hadbeen shot four times. Both men fled thescene. While talking to officers, Mon-talvo complained of chest pain. Whenmedical personnel discovered he hadbeen shot in the chest, he was trans-ported to University Medical Centertrauma unit for emergency surgery. Thethird man involved, who had not beenshot, drove Jackson to UMC, accordingto the arrest report. Police found the gunin Jackson’s car. Video footage at the
body shop showed Montalvo ap-proached Jackson and Jackson reactedby beating him, according to police. Thefootage also showed Montalvo with apistol and he appeared to be firing atJackson before the two struggled for thegun. Both men were in stable conditionafter surgery. According to the witnessin the report, Montalvo went to the busi-ness and confronted victim Bryan Jack-son, who was on the job at the time. Thewitness said that Montalvo was at oddswith Jackson about his work perform-ance. Montalvo was arrested in absentiabecause of his injuries. He faces chargesof attempted murder with a deadlyweapon, battery with substantial bodilyharm, and discharging firearm into oc-cupied structure.
Police said that surveillance videoindicated the physical confrontationwas intiated by Jackson. That waswhen, according to the witness, gun-shots were fired. The witness told po-lice he saw Montalvo with a gun aimedat Jackson, who was charging at thesuspect. A struggle ensued, the witnessdescribed between Montalvo and Jack-son. The witness told police he wasable to seize the gun out of Montalvo’shands, allowing both he and Jackson toflee to the hospital in the victim’s car,the report said.
Body Shop Foreman in Las Vegas Charged with Shooting
As soon as attendees were giventhe opportunity to respond, the bodywas eager to learn what will happen toshops that do not meet these require-ments since many shops do not meetthese standards, to which Avery re-sponded that the topic should be post-poned until November, after theStandards Committee has the chanceto see where and how the documentfits into their work. Evans stressedthat this document is mostly just up-dated with current technology fromprevious documents with improve-ments and enhancements as appropri-ate for what exists in the industry now.
Schulenburg then repeated thetitle of the document, “RecommendedEquipment and Capabilities for a Col-lision Repair Facility”, asking “to dowhat?” He said he does not believethat these requirements necessarilytranslate into being able to fix a car orto be considered a viable collision re-pair facility. Though he sees the bene-fits of many of the items on the list,including some of the systems, hedoes not agree that anyone other than
the shop owner should be able to de-cide what is needed. Schulenburgquestioned if this document is indica-tive of requirements mandated by in-surers to participate on their programs.
The Definitions Committee againdefended their document, pointing outthat they are trying to define a base-line for a topic that contains manyvariables. Additionally, Jeff Hendlerreminded attendees that the documentis only a document; it does not haveauthority unless the government man-dates its authority or insurers requirethese recommendations in order toparticipate in their DRPs. Hendler be-lieves it is necessary to develop some-thing “to distinguish between thosethat do and those that don’t, those whoalmost get there and those who actu-ally do.”
Michael Quinn, former CICChair now of uParts, Inc., then led thepresentation by the Standards Com-mittee which began in 2006 and isscheduled to close after they submittheir research on the inspections andverifications aspects of repair stan-dards at SEMA in November. TheStandards Committee is in agreementwith the various repair trade associa-tion and their position that OEM repair
procedures are the default standard.The questions they seek to answer byNovember, as gathered from the CICbody at previous meetings include:Does this include OEM recommenda-tions? Does it apply to body repairsand paint procedures? Is this OEMPart Replacement Procedures? What isprocedures aren’t available? What re-sources are available?
Van Alstyne then lead discussionon the lack of clarity on positions re-garding OEM procedures. Though hebelieves OEM repair procedures shouldbe the standard, they are not availablefrom all manufacturers, leaving repair-ers to do their best to safely repair vehi-cles. I-CAR plans to work with OEMsto determine these standards and to in-stitute best practice procedures in orderto add to I-CAR’s curriculum.
Van Alstyne noted that I-CAR’sRepairability and Technical SupportProgram has been approved by theirBoard and is proceeding with the inten-tion of instituting an industry technicalknowledge portal, repairability summits,an industry/OEM repairability linkingpin and a technical industry segment ad-visory council. They also plan to expandtheir technical team through an in-creased load of courses, including new
classes. Van Alstyne said, “we are seri-ous about this and believe we can addvalue for the benefit of the industry.”
Tony Molla, Vice President ofCommunications for the National In-stitute of Automotive Service Excel-lence (ASE) presented their positionstatement. ASE recognizes OEM serv-ice procedures as the primary guide torepairs, but where no such proceduresexist, ASE recommends using the Na-tional Automotive Service Task Force(NASTF) to collect and identify gapsin repair information; ASE is preparedto cooperate with any segment of theindustry to provide individual techni-cian certification credentials whereappropriate.
After a brief history of CIECA,which was founded in 1994, ExecutiveDirector Fred Iantorno noted“change is happening all the time.”The pace of this technology began in2000, and the BMS standard, whichwas first published in 2004, has ex-panded into 19 versions to keep pacewith the growth of information andtechnological requirements. Now,technology is moving into a new revo-lution of mobile and cloud technology.Iantorno believes that collaboration
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and representation are the keys to suc-cess with each industry segment beingrepresented in the Board and on com-mittees. Still, he reminded attendees,standard development isn’t a “onceand done” environment; the industry isconstantly changing, so standardswork never ends unless the industry isdying.
Michael Condon, Principal ofCondon Consulting LLC, presentedthe Repair Standards Entity ResearchExecutive Summary, explaining thatresearch was conducted via 42 anony-mous interviews with industry profes-sionals, broken down into 43%repairers, 17% associations, 14% in-surers, 7% OEM, 12% suppliers and7% research training certification pro-grams. The questions explored the im-portance and expectations of success,scope of CIC’s rule, level of supportby the industry, value of certificationsand valuations, the standards “gap”and possible preferred business mod-els, comparing the GAAP model, thelicensing model and the institutemodel.
Results indicated that insurers andOEMs are less enamored by the initia-tive than other segments of the indus-try, and while CIC’s role is viewed assomewhat important, there were manydissenters. Most respondents agreedthat there is a gap in the repair stan-dards procedures which needs to befilled, but success is viewed as ques-tionable because of its complexity, alack of leadership and the absence of acompelling value proposition. The con-sensus reached by all segments of theindustry appeared to be that insurersshould not be involved in establishingrepair standards. All of the proposedbusiness models demonstratedstrengths and weaknesses, indicatingthat a hybrid of the three proposedmodels should be considered.
Based on the results, in order tomove forward, CIC and their commit-tees must develop industry consensus onthe mission and the scope of the effort,plus develop compelling value proposi-tions for select segments as required,and finally, they need to aggressivelyaddress the issue of independence forthe technical bodies responsible for re-pair standards. Before the StandardsCommittee closes in November, theiragenda is to explore possible solutions
and to determine what the AmericanNational Standards Institute (ANSI)does and how other industries have em-barked on creating standards, accordingto Paul Krauss, CEO of Craftsmen AutoBody.
Jeff Hendler announced that thenext CIC meeting will be held atSEMA in Las Vegas and will beginwith the Collision Industry Awards.The first day concluded with GeorgeAvery’s message that it’s time to visitsome of the issues addressed so thatthe industry can take the next steps.
On Wednesday the meeting re-sumed with Cheryl Boswell of theCollision Industry Foundation (CIF)explaining their mission to collect anddistribute funds to shops in need, shar-ing how they donated $2000 to twodifferent Staten Island shops afterHurricane Sandy. CIF has also raisedover $25 million for disaster assis-tance following the deadly tornadoesin Oklahoma. The Foundation willhold their annual fundraising event onThursday, January 16, 2014 at 6 pm atLulu California Bistro during thespring CIC meeting in Palm Springs.
The Parts and Materials Commit-tee then gathered a panel to present ontheir Electronic Parts Procurement Sur-
vey. The panel was composed of MikeKunkel of Team PRP, Michael Quinnof uParts Inc., Mary Lou Lubrano ofCar-Part.com, Aaron Lofrano ofLofrano & Sons Collision Centers, andKaren Fierst of KerenOr Consulting.Asking that only repairers respond,they questioned the relevance of theseven categories of questions includedin their survey of 30 questions. Theirgoal is to develop a document that re-pairers can use to compare the featuresof various parts procurement systems.
Audience comments indicatedthat questions should be as specific aspossible, but attempts to discuss freemarket competition were brushedaside for the moment as Avery sug-gested that the topic be resumed at theNovember meeting where it could befacilitated by a committee of pastChairs. Returning to the matter athand, attendees presented questionsabout integration, profit margins andbusiness models. The committee’snext steps will be to evaluate re-sponses, then finalize and conduct thesurvey so that they can analyze theirfindings to be reported at SEMA.
Next to take the stage was the In-surer-Repairer Relations Committee
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Recently, the Massachusetts chaptersof the Alliance of Automotive ServiceProviders (AASP/MA) named JillianZywien to the position of ExecutiveDirector. Zywien is honored to be cho-sen to represent the association’s bestinterests, and she looks forward to im-plementing new programs to benefittheir members. Despite the time de-mands of her new duties, she waseager to take time to share her plansfor the association.
As a senior account executive forLynch Associates, Zywien’s experi-ence is primarily based in the PublicRelations and Communications fields,and she believes that her work in asso-ciation management consulting acrossa broad spectrum of industry organiza-tions will benefit AASP/MA as shesteps into her new role.
“During my tenure, I have appliedmy skills to broaden communicationsto members; to enhance marketing ofevents and benefits to members, and to
implement electronic and social mediacontacts. The members will find thisprovides a growing stream of industryrelated information at their fingertips.”
In recent months, a large part ofAASP/MA’s attention has been fo-cused on education. Having instituteda variety of training options during hercareer, both industry-specific and gen-eral business topics, Zywien notes that“Education is a primary focus of theservices professional associations pro-vide… For example, we recently
began providingeducational oppor-tunities throughwebinars for easeof delivery tomembers. Theseprograms providemembers with theopportunity to ac-
cess educational content at any timethat is convenient to them. We wouldlove to hear what members think and
how we can better cater to their needs.”AASP/MA has also spent a con-
siderable amount of time in filing com-plaints about insurance companies withthe Auto Damage Appraiser LicensingBoard (ABALB). Zywien believesthese efforts are yielding fruit, and it’simportant to attend these hearings onmembers’ behalf because “In order tocontinue to influence the regulatoryprocess, we must build a robust and on-going relationship with the Board ofgovernance over this industry. Rela-tionship building and strategic interac-tion are two of the goals we have forAASP members with the ADALBBoard. Demonstrating that an issue isa frequent reoccurrence allows us toapproach remedies from the broaderviewpoint, as such, we will continueprior practices relative to the ADALBboard.”
One of AASP/MA’s largest proj-ects in 2013 has been the re-filing ofthe Labor Rate Bill. Zywien is taking
an active role in this process; “Havingjust come into the position in the lastfew days, our first goal will be to meetwith our legislative committee and for-mulate a long-term strategic plan thataddresses all of the public policy ob-jectives the association is confronting.Issues include the labor rate, insurancecompany practices with consumers,and matters brought before theADALB. For the mechanical side ofthe industry, we will remain vigilant onthe implementation of the recently en-acted Right to Repair initiative. It is ourgoal to take an expansive view of bothstatutory and regulatory initiatives af-fecting the automotive service industry,and develop remedies that may occurin a variety of governmental bodies.”
Additionally, Zywien feels it isimperative to educate consumers ontheir rights under the policy and withregard to repairs in particular. “One ofour many goals is to ensure that theAASP/MA is a resource, not only for
Executive Director Jillian Zywien Contributes Expertise in Public Relations to AASP/MA
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 Rich EvansCustom Corner
with Chasidy Rae SiskCompany Connections
with Chasidy Rae SiskNortheast News
with Chasidy Rae SiskShop Showcase
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with Erica SchroederShop Snapshot
Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware,who writes on a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family ofNASCAR fans. She can be contacted at [email protected].
Jillian Zywien
the industry, but also for our con-sumers. It would be our hope that pro-viding this education would begin toovercome the misimpressions oftenleft by insurance companies and em-power consumers when it comes totheir own vehicles.”
Though it’s no surprise that manyAASP/MA members are discouragedby the past failures in passing theLabor Rate Bill, Zywien remains opti-mistic. “A new broom sweeps clean.Each industry advocate comes to thetable with different perspectives onhow issues can be addressed. Our rela-tionship with the association providesfor an opportunity to rebrand and ex-pand the arguments used on policy de-bates. We would ask that the membersremain open to new strategies and in-formational delivery systems. Clearlythe reason people join associations isto enhance their own business envi-ronment. We are keenly aware of thatand will work to build the members’confidence for new strategies. We willprovide members with informationalcontent they can use to advocate ontheir own behalf with elected officialsand regulators. I would ask the mem-bers to give us a chance to change thedynamics and reinvigorate advocacy
efforts regarding their issues.”As Zywien strives to implement
improvements throughout the associ-ation and the industry as a whole, shebelieves that now is the perfect time tojoin AASP/MA. By contributing manynew, innovative ideas, she hopes tocontinue strengthening the foundationcreated by the current leadership of theassociation. Additionally, her involve-ment with Lynch Associates providebeneficial resources as the firm con-sists of many long-term professionalsin the association consulting market,and they’ve already outlined severalnew programs to the Board, making iteasier for members to access benefits,participate in programs, and receivetimely communications.
Zywien’s enthusiasm and energymakes her an idea choice for ExecutiveDirector of AASP/MA, and she’s div-ing right in to her new responsibilities.“This provides an exciting opportunityto grow AASP/MA and we are readyto roll up our sleeves and share the en-thusiasm we have for the organization.Look for new branding, look for newbenefits, look for new educational op-portunities, and please provide feed-back. We serve the members, and wewant to do it with excellence.”
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 59
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Collision Industry Makes Gains at SEMA ShowWith warm summer months still aheadof us, collision repairers have alreadybeen hot to book their fall travel plansto attend the 2013 SEMA Show in LasVegas, Nevada. Since 2010, the Soci-ety of Collision Repair Specialists(SCRS) has provided the acclaimedRepairer Driven Education (RDE) se-ries during the Show, attracting recordbreaking attendance numbers witheach year.
As of July 1st, SCRS reports anattendee registration increase of over250% (YTD), in comparison to thesame time period last year. With morethan four months remaining until theShow opens on Tuesday, November5th, the pace at which the program isgaining registrations is a tremendousindicator that the 2013 SEMA Showwill be the destination for profession-als in the collision repair industry.
“We are extremely proud of theseries we have developed this year,and still have some additional pro-gramming we are working on to evenfurther amplify the experience thisfall,” shared SCRS Chairman Ron Re-ichen. “Attendee reaction to our eventsis always the best indicator of whetheror not we are delivering what the in-dustry is looking for in our series.Based on the feedback we have re-
ceived so far, and the extremely com-pelling numbers, we are confident thatthe varied content is going to providevery tangible value to all involved.”The RDE series isn’t the only area ofthe Show where the collision industryis demonstrating early spikes in activ-ity. Show management numbersthrough the end of June indicated anincrease in collision industry exhibitorcounts, square footage occupied by ex-hibiting collision industry companiesand both overall and collision-focusedattendee registration.
While the primary activities forthe collision repair industry take placein the Collision Repair & Refinish sec-tion of the show in the North Hall of theLas Vegas Convention Center, industrymeetings, forums and newly expandedshow floor space also extend into theLas Vegas Hotel & Casino (LVH).
In addition, many collision indus-try companies take advantage of spacethat is available in virtually every areaof the show. Areas such as Tools &Equipment (North Hall), Restyling &Car Care Accessories (North Hall),Racing & Performance (Central Hall),Hot Rod Alley (Central Hall) and at theFirst Time & Featured Exhibitors(LVH) all feature companies that havea strong collision repair focus.
which consisted of Ti Adelmann ofABRA, Doug Irish of VeriFacts, RonVincenzi of Oakland Auto Body,Aaron Schulenburg of SCRS, JeffPeevy of I-CAR, Randy Hanson ofAllstate Insurance, and Mark Allenfrom Audi. Since their focus is ontraining as it relates to insurer-repairerrelations, they asked the audience“who has taken a training program inthe past 12 months of their own voli-tion?”—64% of attendees respondedin the affirmative with 45% of themsaying they did so because it improvestheir ability to ensure a safe repair.
Peevy discussed the current colli-sion training landscape, noting that 69%of facilities have no consistent techtraining. He believes “the work of thefuture is going to be different becausetechnology is changing at such a rapidrate.” This is why training is so impor-tant; consistent training has beenproven to improve cycle time, touchtime and CSI scores across the board.Furthermore, CynCast Ratings indi-cated that I-CAR Gold Class shops
outscored other shops by 32%, sug-gesting that the accomplishment of re-ceiving the Gold Class certification is apredictive indicator of success. Peevybelieves that the shops that will survivethe changes coming in the industry arethose with proper equipment, consistenttraining, access to OEM informationand continuous operational improve-ments which comply with regulations.
When Vincenzi was asked whyhe was one of the shops to become
Gold Class certified, he noted that hewanted to do the right thing to ensurehe was correctly repairing vehicles forhis customers’ safety. “It wasn’t abusiness decision; it was a moral de-cision. I’ve found that if you make amoral decision, it ends up being agood business decision.”
Hanson agreed that educationand training provide an effective wayto address many of the industry’s con-cerns. Schulenburg also agrees that
training is a good thing, but in refer-ence to relationships between insurersand repairers, he noted that much fric-tion arises from pricing models be-cause many shops that invest heavilyin training are paid the same as thosethat do not, yet it’s imperative the in-vestments yield returns in order to runa successful business.
Though Irish does not foresee apricing schedule based on training,mainly because insurers don’t want to
be responsible for addressing whetherrepairs are done properly and effi-ciently, training offers many other valuebenefits and affects recruiting, retentionand morale. Schulenburg’s rebuttal em-phasized the inequality of stating insur-ers cannot be expected to change whilesimultaneously insisting repairerschange, suggesting there’s a need to“discuss how to incentivize repairers fortraining.” Vincenzi suggested that in-surers should make sure to do business
with shops that are properly trained andequipped, recommending that adequatetraining should weigh more heavily inhow a shop is rated than other factors,such as cycle time.
CIECA’s Fred Iantorno then ledthe Education Committee’s presenta-tion on “The Value that You Can’t Seein BMS,” explaining that the BMS isa collection of 146 data exchange for-mats which support an equal numberof business functions, allowing com-
panies to transmit only necessary datawithout compromising confidentiality.CIECA developed the BMS for use byall facets of the collision repair indus-try to facilitate the increasing dataflow caused by progresses in technol-ogy. The BMS also serves another im-portant business function: providingresponses to the messages received.
The next step will involve takingthis data content and implementing itfor mobile and cloud computing as
60 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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CIC in Boston
“69% of [shops] have no consistent tech training... Consistent training has beenproven to improve cycle time, touch time and CSI scores across the board... CynCast
Ratings indicate that I-CAR Gold Class shops outscored other shops by 32%”—Jeff Peevy
www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 61
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these technologies are assuming a mo-nopolizing role within the industry.The project has already been initiatedwith three messages being selected todevelop and pilot so that CIECA canreview and refine their results in orderto select and prioritize existing BMSmessages in order to add the mobileand cloud versions of their packages.CIECA’s comprehensive suite of busi-ness messages is intended to improvethe industry’s efficiency as these mes-sages cover a wide range of businessfunctions that include something for
every segment of the industry.Toby Chess then lead a Techni-
cal Presentation entitled “EverythingYou Wanted to Know about Glass andMore.” reminding attendees that themain functions of windshields in mod-ern vehicles is the vehicle structure, tobe part of the frontal air-bag system,and to restrain passengers in the vehi-cle. He continued to discuss the typesof vehicle glass, indicating that the la-bels, or “bugs,” on the glass indicatethe type of glass used; only A1 glassshould be used for windshields as it is
laminated and provides at least 70%light transmission, making it the clear-est automotive glass used.
Chess reviewed the differencesbetween laminated and tempered glassand suggested that since modern vehi-cles are designed with the windshieldbug being a key structural component,it is imperative that it be constructedand repaired accordingly for con-sumer safety. He discussed the differ-ences between OE and aftermarketglass, noting that AFM glass cannotduplicate OE glass; it must possess a
different curvature, thickness or com-position. After discussing the differ-ences between adhesive and cohesivefailures, he raised attendees’ eye-browsl by stating that there are no fed-eral specifications about the type ofglass used as federal regulations arebased only on the process of installa-tion and performance in an accident.
After ascertaining interest in hav-ing a panel investigate these issueswith automotive glass, to be shared inNovember, Avery adjourned the meet-ing.
62 AUGUST 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
