Autobody News January 2011 Northeast Edition by Autobody News

Northeast Edition New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Delaware

YEARS

Industry News You Might Have Missed in 2011 by John Yoswick

So much happens in the collision repair industry that it can be hard to keep up on everything. A few big stories get plenty of attention, but sometimes it’s the lesser-known stories that can have as big an impact on your business. As a new year kicks off, here’s a wrap up of some of the news stories from this past year that might have flown under your radar amid the dayto-day challenges of running your shop, but that could prove helpful for you to know about. ► 1 The Federal Trade Commission

last year issued a consumer bulletin related to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. It states that use of nonOEM parts in itself cannot void a vehicle warranty. “Still, if it turns out that the aftermarket part was itself defective or wasn’t installed correctly, and it causes damage to another part that is covered under the warranty, the manufacturer or dealer has the right to deny coverage for that part and charge you for any repairs,” the bulletin states. For a copy of the bulletin, visit: http://tinyurl.com/3zvas3w

► 2 The Society of Collision Repair See Might Have Missed, Page 55

Northeastern Collision Industry’s 2011 Redux

See Industry Wrap-Up, Page 42

P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018

From standards to stand-offs, economic hardship to successful expansion, the collision industry has certainly seen its fair share of issues this year. As everyone involved in this industry stares down the promises and hope a new year can bring, we asked some to look back and take a hard look at some of the issues they saw in 2011, and some they’d like to see less of in 2012. Audra Fordin, owner of Great Bear Auto in Flushing, NY, is wellknown for her informational activites throughout the industry and beyond. She is also the first female owner of

Great Bear, which has been in her family for over 80 years. She spoke with Autobody News about some of the issues she felt were plaguing the industry. “The industry as a whole needs better relationships with their customers, especially women,” said Fordin. Seeking to empower women and put control back in the drivers’ hands, Audra teaches a free monthly workshop: “What Women Auto Know.” Using an analogy to compare parts of the car to parts of the human body, her comprehensive course teaches women about maintenance, safety, tires, brakes, emergencies,

Change Service Requested

by Erica Schroeder, Assistant Editor

VOL. 1 ISSUE 10 JANUARY 2012

www.autobodynews.com

NACE / SEMA / CARS / AAPEX

2011 RECAP

Where We Stand—The U.S. Automotive Sector by Scott Corwin, Evan Hirth, Jan Miecznikowski, Brian Collie, Patrick Mulcahy, and Mike Beck, at Booz & Company

For U.S. automakers and suppliers, the past year can best be described as 12 months of mixed results, leaving unanswered questions about the future direction of the industry and what is required for manufacturers and suppliers to thrive. In 2011, U.S. light car and truck sales will exceed 12.5 million, a nice bump from 11.6 million in 2010 and 10.4 million in 2009. And though the most optimistic analysts forecast that U.S. vehicle sales will rise to more than 14 million in 2012, that’s a far cry from 17.3 million at the turn of the

millennium. Last year’s U.S. sales figures might have been higher if not for the tsunami and earthquake in Japan and flooding in Thailand, which forced Toyota, Honda, and, to a lesser extent, Nissan to curtail production in virtually all of their assembly plants around the world. Auto sales growth is far more rapid in emerging nations such as China and India, with average annual sales gains since 2001 of 23 percent and 15 percent respectively. All of this should be good news for U.S. automakers, which have restructured their operations to be profitable at lower volumes in the U.S. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler gained market share at the expense of the Japanese manufacturers, and the See Where We Stand, Page 38

Cindy Tursi, Former AASP/NJ Executive Director, Passed Away December 13th

Former Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) Executive Director Cindy Tursi passed away December 13. Tursi, who served the association from the 1988 through 2003, was 61. Born in Wheeling, West Virginia and a former resident of Hillsborough, NJ, Cynthia resided in Branchburg, NJ, for Cindy Tursi and her husband, Noel 24 years. She retired in 2008 and had been self-employed for detail and her commitment to wanting twenty years as AASP/NJ Association us all to be successful, she continually Manager. went over and above what was re“There aren’t enough words to dequired of her.” scribe what she did for the industry and AASP/NJ members and leaders for the association—it would take also paid their respects to Cindy Tursi. more of a book than a paragraph,” said “When I took over as Executive DirecAASP/NJ President Jeff McDowell. tor, Cindy was my mentor. I remember See Tursi, Page 34 “Through determination, attention to

Presorted Standard US Postage PAID Ontario, Ca. Permit No. 1

2 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

REGIONAL

12th Baltimore Cop Guilty in Towing Extortion

Insurance Insider - Sure, OEMs Set the Standard, But Who Fills the Gaps Left by OEMs? . . . 24

Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Weaver - A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

Cove Recovery and Towing in Astoria . . . . . 4

Williams - Stockton Honda in Sandy, Utah,

A Tree Grows in Queens, Directly Through Cindy Tursi, Former AASP/NJ Executive

Director, Passed Away December 13th . . . . 1

Fire at Peabody, MA, Body Shop Caused

by Gas Can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Five Holtz House of Vehicles Dealerships in the Rochester, NY, Area Have Been Sold

to a Michigan Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Flushing, NY, Neighborhood to be

Redeveloped, Kicking Out Long-Time

Auto Body Shops for New Apartments

and Convention Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Keenan Auto Body Acquires Two New

Facilities in Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Most of Which We Can’t Print . . . . . . . . . . 31 Cultivates Long Term Relationships. . . . . . 39

NATIONAL

AAPEX Buyers Select New Product

Showcase Winners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

ARA Cautions Giving Automotive

Manufacturers Carte Blanche Power

Over Repair Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

ASRW Responds to Insider’s Comments in his Columns: ‘Can NACE Survive as a Traveling Regional Trade Show?’ and

‘Industry Undecided Which Organization

Will Prevail’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Lynnes Auto Group in NJ Gives Vehicle to

Auto Groups Fight Recall Fees Hike in front

Male Pedestrians At Higher Risk on

AutoNation CEO Says No Double-dip

Mass. Board Denies Auto Body Shop’s

BMW Working on Lazer Beam Headlights,

Massachusetts Enacts Law on Credit Ban

China to Levy New Tariffs on U.S. Vehicles . . 49

NJ Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Request to Move to Residential Area. . . . . . 8 for Auto Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

McBride Auto Body in Woodland Park, NJ,

Celebrates 75 Years in the Industry. . . . . . 22

More NY Shops at Redevelopment Risk,

This Time in Brooklyn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

of Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Recession Coming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Energy Efficient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Daimler Drops Maybach Brand to Focus

on Mercedes S-Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Delray Beach, FL, Shop Owner Opposes GEICO’s 10% Charge on Domestic

OEM Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Newark Police Officer Steals Car From

Fiat 500 Gets Only 3-star Safety Rating

Nissan Expands Leaf Availability Into

Ford Dividend Reinstated After More Than

Northeastern Collision Industry’s

Ford Recalls More Than 125,000 Vehicles . . 25

Drunk Driver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Delaware, Pennsylvania Markets. . . . . . . . . 6 2011 Redux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Old Auto Body Shop on Yates Street in

from NHTSA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

5 Years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

GM May Redesign Volt Battery Amid Mayhem

Caused By Post-Crash Fires . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Albany, NY Undergoes Rehabilitation. . . . . 14

GM Partners with Japanese Carbon Fiber

Charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Honda Recalling 300,000 Vehicles for

PA Auction Owner Faces Federal Fraud

PA College Announces New Auto Tech Major . 6 PA Shop Donates to Red Cross. . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Progressive Decides Not to Appeal in Fraud

Case Against Bedford Hills, NY, Shop . . . . 21

Supplier to Improve Composites . . . . . . . . 30

Airbag Flaws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Houston City Council Set to Vote on Auto Repair Ordinance, Draft Not Favorable

to Shops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Queens Auto Loan Scam Leaves Borrowers

Industry News You Might Have Missed

Syracuse, NY, Shelves Red-Light Camera

NHTSA Announces Lowest Traffic Fatalities

Virginia Body Man Passes Away . . . . . . . . . . . 4

NHTSA Proposes Panic-Stop Ignition

COLUMNISTS

Nissan’s LEAF to be Sold in More

Holding the Bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Plan, For Now. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Attanasio - Yelping Back, an Interview with

in 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

in 60 Years This Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Standard for Cars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

U.S. Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Yelp’s Business Outreach Manager . . . . . . 19

NTSB Calls For Full Ban of Cell Use Behind

Don’t Happen Without Major Effort . . . . . 26

Texas DOI Investigating ANPAC Insurance

Chess - Life Changes or Industry Changes

Evans - Solution Finish’s Brings Black Back™

is a Breakthrough Product . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Franklin - An Effective Marketing Focus. . . . . 44

I-CAR - Nitrogen Hot Air Welding: Repairing

Plastic Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

the Wheel Nationwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

for Possible Fraudulent Document in

Shop Claim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Where We Stand—The U.S. Automotive

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst General Manager: Barbara Davies Assistant Editor: Erica Schroeder Contributing Writers: Tom Franklin, David Brown, John Yoswick, Lee Amaradio, Rich Evans, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess, Mike Causey, Tom McGee, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman (800) 699-8251 Sales Assistant: Kristy Navarro Art Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Indexof Advertisers

Deserving Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Amato Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Auto Exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Autoland Scientech. . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 47 BMW Audi of Turnersville . . . . . . . . 35 BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 49 Cadillac of Mahwah . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Central Avenue Chrysler-JeepDodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 CSS USA, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 DuPont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Equalizer Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 FiltersForBooths.com . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 45 Fred Beans Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Fuccillo Auto Group. . . . . . . . . . 10-11 Garmat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 41 Healey Chevrolet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-29 Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . 39 Jaguar Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . 53 Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Koeppel VW-Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Lazare Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Lexus Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 54

Serving New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and adjacent metro areas, Autobody News is a monthly publication for the autobody industry. Permission to reproduce in any form the material published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher. ©2011 Adamantine Media LLC. Autobody News P.O. Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018 (800) 699-8251 (760) 721-0253 Fax www.autobodynews.com Email: news@autobodynews.com

Northeast

Contents

Maxon Mazda-Hyundai. . . . . . . . . . 19 Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 43 Mercedes-Benz Wholesale Parts Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Mercedes-Benz Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Metric Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 33 Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Nissan Genuine Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Nucar Mazda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Plaza Auto Mall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Porsche Wholesale Parts Dealers . 49 PPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 RealParts.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Safety Regulations Strategies. . . . . 37 Scion Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . 53 Security Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep . . . . 20 Solution Finish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers DE, NJ, PA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-17 Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 48 Thompson Organization . . . . . . . . . 23 Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 47 VeriFacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 46

www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

Syracuse, NY, Shelves RedLight Camera Plan, For Now

Syracuse is following the lead of several other New York area cities and shelving its plans for stoplight cameras. The Post-Standard of Syracuse reports that the city had asked companies to bid on installing cameras at intersections last fall in hopes of catching people who run red lights. A spokesman for Mayor Stephanie Miner told the newspaper that the project was abandoned last week. Spokesman Bill Ryan said the red-light cameras have brought criticism and legal hassles in other cities. Seven states; Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, West Virginia and Wisconsin, have banned red light cameras. Los Angeles, CA, was also reportedly losing $1.5 million a year on its cameras. Syracuse Common Councilor Lance Denno said he didn’t think cameras would make the city’s streets safer.

www.autobodynews.com CHECK IT OUT!

A Tree Grows in Queens, Directly Through Cove Recovery and Towing in Astoria As people make their way down 27th Ave in Astoria, a neighborhood in Queens, NY, that borders the East River just east of the isle of Manhattan, they may stumble upon a rather

A tree has been growing through Cove Recovery & Towing in Astoria, NY for 25 years

large tree. At first there seems to be nothing special about this random tree, but upon closer inspection visitors may notice that the tree grows directly through an auto body repair shop. Visitors can step into the office of Cove Recovery and Towing to find out for themselves. The very old tree grows right through the counter and up through roof. Owner Tommy Cali, 59, built

Keenan Auto Body Acquires Two New Facilities in Pennsylvania

Keenan Auto Body announced the acquisition of two Pennsylvania collision repair centers, previously known as Bavarian Collision, in Avondale and Kennett Square, PA, on December 12. With these additions, Keenan Auto Body now owns and operates 11 collision repair centers throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware. The two new collision centers, now named Keenan Auto Body of Avondale and Keenan Auto Body of Kennett Square, are already fully operational. Keenan’s two new collision centers have been outfitted with the latest state of the art equipment available to correctly repair the technologies found in today’s vehicles. “The acquisition of both Bavarian locations is in line with our strategy of expanding into select target markets and growing our network of repair centers,” said Craig Camacho, marketing director for Keenan Auto Body. “We are very pleased to have once again expanded our footprint and to be able to serve more of the customers in the southern Chester County area, and we are already operational to do just that.” Mike LeVasseur, president and chief operations officer of Keenan Auto Body, said the two locations have

the office around the tree when he opened the business 25 years ago, and that it’s continued to grow without problems ever since. “My wife’s family, they used to own the house here,” Cali told CBS 2, “It was sentimental. She didn’t want it cut down, that’s why it’s still standing.” It took Cali about eight months to build the office. He did the construction himself with materials he found.

a combined 20,000-square-feet of production area, and position the company to earn an additional $5 million in annual revenue. The Pennsylvania-based body shop group is a family owned business founded in 1952 by Joseph T. Keenan and acquired by his son Donald in 1979. For more information visit: www.KeenanAutoBody.com.

Virginia Body Man Passes Away

Allan Douglas Connell Sr., 87, a native of Hendersonville, N.C., and a Peninsula resident since 1946, died, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011. He spent many years as an auto body repairman. He retired in 1981 as a checker for the International Longshoremen’s Association. Allan was an Army veteran having served during WWII . Survivors include his wife, Arlene Dawson Connell; three daughters, Linda Nunnally, Sandra Dulaney; all of Newport News and Kathy Coppa of Yorktown; one son, Henry G. Connell of Yorktown; one sister,Agnes Higgins of Weaverville, N.C.; eight grandchildren; three great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews and friends. Please leave condolences at: www.wjsmithandsonfh.com. Arrangements were provided by W. J. Smith & Son Funeral Home.

4 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Several adjustments have been made to the building in order to allow the tree’s growth

“It wasn’t too hard,” Cali said. “I just got all the scraps together that I found, put them in one spot and one day I just started to build it.” A live tree growing through a inanimate object requires quite a bit of

maintenance to be sure the building does not obstruct the tree’s growth, and the tree does not ruin the building. “I cut the sheet rock out as it grows wider and on the top we have rubber mounted around it so as it grows the rubber stretches,” Cali said. Despite the up keep, Cali said he has no intentions of cutting the tree. He’ll just let nature take its course.

PA Shop Donates to Red Cross

Nigro’s Auto Body in Philadelphia, PA, raised money over the past few weeks for the Red Cross to benefit the victims of the tsunami in Japan. The business encouraged customers to donate 50 percent of their deductibles to the Red Cross when they have their vehicle repaired at Nigro’s. In response to the generous donation, the American Red Cross said, “Donors such as you make it possible for the American Red Cross to reach out with the capability and compassion that embraces those affected by disaster in their hour of need. We are deeply grateful,” in a statement. To learn more please visit: www.redcross.org or call 1-800RED-CROSS.

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PA College Announces New Auto Tech Major

Colin Williamson, dean of the school of transportation at Pennsylvania College of Technology, announced the school will offer automotive restoration technology as a new major beginning next fall, according to the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. “Employment potential for this is very good,” he said. Williamson said the major was formed from the student project of restoring a 1965 Ford Mustang for competition. The mustang, on display for Penn College’s fall open house, drew interest from the potential students. “It was a big attraction to say the least,” said Dr. Davie Jane Gilmour, college president. Gilmour said most new majors would take at least two years to implement. It took less than a year for the program to be offered, something Gilmour called, “remarkable.” “This new restoration program is something Penn College can do quickly,” she said. Williamson said the program will start slow and will allow only about 20 students to participate in it. See PA Tech College, Page 9

Five Holtz House of Vehicles Dealerships in the Rochester, NY, Area Have Been Sold to a Michigan Company John Holtz has ended a career of 46 senting 15 manufacturers, including years in the Rochester-area automothe former Holtz businesses. tive business with the sale of five Patrick Hegensbach, secretaryHoltz House of Vehicles dealerships treasurer of the Garber Management to a Michigan company. Holtz House Group, said that there are no plans to of Vehicles, Inc. operates as an auto- reduce the workforce and that most of motive dealership in Rochester. It sells and services new and used cars. Holtz House of Vehicles, Inc. was founded in 1977 and is based in Rochester, New York. The Garber Automotive Group, based in Saginaw, MI, completed the purchase of the Holtz Honda, Porsche, Mazda, Audi and Acura dealerships in Porsche of Rochester Henrietta and East Rochester last the former Holtz employees will be retained. The manufacturers repremonth. Terms were not disclosed. sented by Holtz will remain as well. Holtz last year sold its MercedesThis is Garber’s first entry into New Benz and BMW dealerships to BufYork state. “We were approached by brofalo’s West Herr Automotive Group. Garber has Buick, Chevrolet, kers, came to the area and loved it,” Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Nissan Hegensbach said. “It’s a big small city businesses in Michigan and three and we believe it is a vibrant market.” Holtz said Tuesday that his pridealerships in Florida. Overall, the company has 14 dealerships repre- mary wish during the sale negotia-

tions with Garber was to ensure his employees had “a soft landing.” “The negotiations from the beginning were more a love fest than anything else,” Holtz said. “Garber loves this area. It’s really a win-win for everyone.” Garber, a family-owned business founded in 1907, had the nation’s first Buick dealership. Overall, the company does about $400 million in annual sales and employs about 800 people. Kevin Parker has been named general manager of the former Holtz dealerships. Holtz began his career working for his father’s Buick dealership. John Holtz opened a Honda franchise in 1977, and later added Mazda, Acura, Audi and Porsche dealerships. “More important than the financial rewards has been the fact that my career has allowed me to enjoy wonderful lifelong relationships with my fellow Rochester citizens, employees and manufacturers,” Holtz said.

Nissan Expands Leaf Availability Into Delaware, Pennsylvania Markets

Days before the one-year anniversary of the world’s first Nissan LEAF delivery on Dec. 11, Nissan North America Inc. expanded availability of the all-electric LEAF into new U.S. markets. After one year and 20,000 global deliveries, the Nissan LEAF remains the world’s first and only allelectric car for the mass market. December 6, Nissan re-opened reservations and has begun taking orders from the general public for the 2012 Nissan LEAF in Delaware, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. Deliveries of the LEAF, enriched for the 2012 model year with additional standard equipment including quick charging and cold-weather features, will take place in these key markets beginning in spring 2012. “Nissan LEAFs have been on the U.S. roads for one year now, and thousands of drivers have become living proof that a 100-percent electric, zero-emissions vehicle fulfills the daily needs of drivers from all walks of life,” said Brian Carolin, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing, NNA. “We are seeing already-strong interest in the LEAF continue to grow across the country. This market expansion brings us one step closer to

true, nationwide availability.” With this new wave of availability, Nissan LEAF is now available for order in 30 states, including Washington, D.C. Nationwide, 50-state ordering will be available by March 2012. In the Americas, Nissan’s operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and was recognized as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2010 and 2011. More information on Nissan in North America, the Nissan LEAF and zero emissions can be found at www.nissanusa.com. A pioneer in zero emission mobility, Nissan made history with the introduction of the Nissan LEAF, the first affordable, mass-market, pureelectric vehicle and winner of numerous international accolades including the prestigious 2011 European Car of the Year award. For more information about Nissan products and their commitment to Sustainable Mobility, visit their website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/.

6 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

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Mass. Board Denies Auto Body Shop’s Request to Move to Residential Area

Neighbors showed up in masses to the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting on December 5 to protest Coach & Carriage Auto Body’s move into their mostly residential neighborhood in Natick, MA. The crowd at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting wrapped around the room and poured out the door, all to protest Coach & Carriage Auto Body’s proposed move to the old Duralectra building in their mostly residential neighborhood. Coach & Carriage owner Joseph Gagliardi went before the board with attorney Richard Glaser to seek a special permit and to convince members that expanding his business to 56 to 60 North Ave. would not impact property values, safety, noise or traffic—major concerns that neighbors shared. For abutters, Gagliardi’s proposal for the shop stirred up memories of a long history of noise and pollution from the Duralectra building, which began in 1967 and continued until just under two years ago.

Glaser argued that an auto body shop would be less detrimental to the neighborhood than Duralectra had been, but the board and neighbors disagreed. According to Glaser, a sound engineer determined that air compressors, paint grinders, hammers and other tools that would be used in an auto body shop could not be heard over the normal background noise of the area and through the concrete walls. The loudest noise, an impact wrench, reportedly could barely be heard 25 feet out the open door and could not be heard at all at the sidewalk. Abutter Dan DiMento, who was selected to speak on behalf of many of the neighbors, said the noise study did not account for the “chorus of noise” that would emit from all bays of the shop at one time. “With that noise, it’s going to test off the charts compared to what’s shown in this report,” he said. DiMento also expressed concerns for the safety of the children who walk and play in the neighborhood, 12 of which are under age 15.

8 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

DiMento and other neighbors came armed with color-coded maps of the neighborhood, indicating which people objected to the shop. All neighbors on the nearby streets signed a petition, except for two—one, the owner of another auto body shop and the other, an auto body shop employee, DiMento said. “This has nothing to do with Coach & Carriage...every indication we have shows it’s a very well-run business,” he told the board. “We just feel that it is not a good fit.” But one of the most pressing issues the neighbors expressed was the possibility that property values would drastically decrease should the shop move in to an area that residents have fought to turn around in recent years. Several speakers said they had purchased abandoned or condemned houses and put a great deal of money into fixing them. Sandra Smith’s porch where she likes to sit overlooks the east side of the Duralectra building, a spot that was proposed as storage for damage cars waiting to be fixed. Smith be-

came tearful when asking the board to deny Gagliardi’s proposal. Glaser assured the crowd that Gagliardi would be willing to move the storage area if necessary and work with residents in any way to make it work, but his offer was met with head shaking from the audience. “All of us have spent a lot of money,” said Robert Dempsey, who has been a Franklin Street resident for 42 years. “If we keep going with this commercial stuff we’re never going to get our investment back.” But according to broker for the property Dean Balacky of R.W. Holmes Realty in Wayland, using the Duralectra building for commercial space is the only thing that makes sense. “It’s not going to be a dog park,” said Balacky, who stood from the audience to address the frustrated crowd. He said out of the 30 times he has shown the property to potential buyers, only one has been a residential developer and the offer was too low. Balacky said the entire building would have to be torn down in order

to become residential and anyone who wanted to purchase the spot would have to meet the $1,500,000 asking price, which would not make financial sense. “It’s going to be vacant for the next 10 years,” the frustrated broker said was the alternative to denying any commercial spaces, to which the crowd clapped. In the end, the Zoning Board of Appeals sided with the neighbors and denied the proposal on the grounds that the auto body shop would be more detrimental to the neighborhood than the previously abandoned use. “This is a bizarre situation that’s rooted in history...I want you to find another place that we can all get behind. This isn’t about the applicant and what they do, it’s really just about this site” said chairman Michael Hickey. “It’s a long history of neighbors putting up with a lot. I don’t think in good conscience I can ask them to do more.”

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Massachusetts Enacts Law on Credit Ban for Auto Insurance Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed into law and ordinance that bans the use of credit in underwriting and rating private passenger motor vehicle insurance in his state, according to Insurance Journal. The law, Chapter 195 of the Acts of 2011, was signed by the governor just before Thanksgiving. The ban has already been in practice in the state but as an administrative regulation. This latest measure codifies into law the state’s current administrative ban on the use of credit scoring. “We want to commend the legislature and the Patrick Administration for their leadership and support on this important issue,” commented Frank Mancini, President and CEO of Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents. His group has been the driving force in the state to put into law the current ban on using credit information. (The use of other socioeconomic factors such as education and income levels will continue to be banned in the state but as administrative regulations, as they have been in the past.) In October, Mancini and his association dropped their effort to put the issue on the statewide ballot ini-

tiative and had decided to focus solely on their legislative effort. Massachusetts is already a state with some of the most strict bans in the nation regarding the use of credit information and socioeconomic factors in underwriting. Mancini added that “especially during these difficult financial times, this legislation will provide Massachusetts consumers with muchneeded protection against an unfair, unreliable, and discriminatory ratesetting practice.” “People just don’t believe their financial woes or a mistake on their credit report should affect their ability to buy affordable auto insurance,” he said. “We were gratified to see so many officials on Beacon Hill share this sentiment and take action to prevent this from occurring.” Mancini pointed to a poll commissioned in August by his association showing that Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly supported this measure. By a margin of 68.3 percent to 31.6 percent, respondents across diverse demographic groups believed that auto insurance premiums should be based as much as possible on an individual’s driving record and years of driving experience.

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He said he will need the right students in the program, as they will be working with cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. “I have to have serious students,” he said. The board also unanimously approved updates to the strategic plan and value statements. William Martin, senior vice president, recommended changes to the goals. The board must approve if goals are added or retired. One of the additions was to explore NCAA affiliation. “It’s something we’re exploring,” said Elliot Strickland, chief student affairs officer. Gilmour said it would be helpful in recruitment. Strickland added that will increase competition. Martin also recommended the retirement of the goal of implementing the First Year Experience (FYE) program. FYE is required for firstyear students so they can get used to the college experience. “It’s designed to be an orientation course,” said Carolyn Strickland, assistant vice president for academic services.

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More NY Shops at Redevelopment Risk, This Time in Brooklyn

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz formally pitched the City Council his massive, seven-mile plan for reviving Brooklyn’s long-neglected Fourth Avenue corridor on December 1. He is scheduled to testify before the Council about his plan to revive the major roadway, from Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill to the edge of the Atlantic Ocean in Bay Ridge. It is a much loftier goal that one proposed by the city Planning Department in June, which the Council is now considering through the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Process. That commercial rezoning plan covers the thoroughfare from Atlantic Avenue through Gowanus to 24th Street in South Slope—a stretch that drivers love to zip by while heading to other locations and has long been filled with blank walls and auto body and usedtire shops. In August, Markowitz formally backed the Planning Department’s Special 4th Avenue Enhanced Commercial District through ULURP—

but with the modifications to make it much larger. “I will urge the City Council to give my modifications serious consideration so that we can move ahead with transforming Fourth Avenue into a grand thoroughfare worthy of the great neighborhoods it traverses,” Markowitz said. Under the city’s proposal, new developments would devote at least half of its space to retail, with the rest occupied by community facilities, lobbies, offices—or more shops and eateries. Parking lots and apartments would no longer be permitted on the ground floor of new projects. The council will have final say on the plan, which is still being tinkered with by a task force set up to handle project specifics, including tree planting and use of a newly expanded Times Plaza—the intersection of Fourth, Atlantic and Flatbush avenues. The Fourth Avenue Task Force, chaired by Markowitz’s Senior Advisor Carlo Scissura, held a town hall meeting at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Park Slope last night. Much

Flushing, NY, Neighborhood to be Redeveloped, Kicking Out Long-Time Auto Body Shops for New Apartments and Convention Center

Whether with a shovel or a real pile driver, the redevelopment of Willets Point is moving forward. The plan is to turn its potholecovered streets and excess of auto body shops into a neighborhood of apartments, businesses and a convention center. New sewer lines come first, however. “We must reclaim these 62 acres and take the first steps towards installing the infrastructure that will keep Willets Point clean and sustainable for generations to come,” said New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Phase one calls for more than a million feet of new space by 2016 next to Citi Field, where the Mets play in Flushing, NY. “This was an area that we just didn’t walk by. It wasn’t safe and I would come by with my dad only,” said City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras. Business owners point out that it’s not their fault the streets look rough. They paid taxes for years, and now they’re the ones bearing the brunt of the city’s neglect. Jerry Antonacci’s family has run a carting business for 35 years. “It’s gotta be over a million dol-

lars over 30 years in taxes, and what do we get for it? We’re getting kicked out. I mean, we didn’t get no streets, we didn’t get no sewers, we didn’t get no sidewalks, no street signs, no stop signs, no snow plowing, nothing,” said Antonacci. A retail union also alleges there’s double-talk on higher wages for those that will eventually work there. In a 2008 letter, city officials said they will favorably view development plans that maximize the number of jobs that meet the city’s living wage and health benefit. With construction union backing, City Hall officials now say that would jeopardize the project. As for threatened businesses, officials insist they’re offering fair market value and relocation help. “The plan for all 62 acres will generate tens of thousands of jobs and create millions of square feet of new development,” said Seth Pinsky of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The city can look with optimism at court approval of the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, which allowed the seizure of private property for a largely private development.

12 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

of the conversation dealt with trying to make the roadway safer for pedestrians and drivers—and potentially bikers, if bicycle lanes are added. Subsequent town halls will be held in other neighborhoods surrounding the corridor. “The creation of the Special Enhanced Commercial District will go a long way in helping our task force turn what is now only a plan on paper into an exciting reality for the future of Fourth Avenue and all of Brooklyn,” said Scissura. “By requiring more retail and having developers incorporate enhanced streetscapes and landscaping with each new project, we are bringing together all of the elements needed to make Fourth Avenue what it was always meant to be: a majestic, user-friendly, economically viable and safe thoroughfare for everyone to enjoy.” Markowitz first proposed reviving the corridor during his 2009 State of the Borough address. In May, 2010, Markowitz released “Vision for the Fourth Avenue Corridor,” a collaborative effort with

urban planning students from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service to begin the process of initiating a community-driven transformation of Brooklyn’s Fourth Avenue. To view the report, visit www.brooklyn-usa.org. Markowitz has also committed $2 million in capital funding to improve the streetscape around the 4th Avenue/ 9th Street subway station.

Fire at Peabody, MA, Body Shop Caused by Gas Can

A gasoline can at an auto body shop off Pulaski Street in Peabody, MA, caught fire and spread to a vehicle up on a lift, before Peabody firefighters doused the blaze the afternoon of Dec 5. The fire started at about 2:30 p.m. at Diaz Racing, a small auto shop located in the Murray Industrial Park. Fire officials said the building didn’t sustain any damage, but the vehicle on the lift was damaged in the fire. Firefighters aren’t yet sure how the container of gasoline caught on fire. The incident is under investigation.

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Old Auto Body Shop on Yates Street in Albany, NY Undergoes Rehabilitation

by Anthony Acosta

Once in smithereens, now ready for business, the old auto body shop at 703 Yates St. is rehabilitated and owner, Robert Savoca, is excited to see an

auto body shop return to the Pine Hills neighborhood of Albany, NY. The process to change the auto body shop back to a safe and functional establishment wasn’t quick, or easy. Since Savoca is also the owner of Central Crossings; a construction company on 5 Lombard St. in Schenectady, his arsenal is well-equipped to take on all kinds of structural challenges. When he bought the garage from Mella Weaver for $55,000, he said it was a disaster. “The building was a

complete mess. No heat, no running water, leaky roof, broken windows, uninhabitable that’s for sure,” Savoca said. The property also had electrical issues, no exterior or interior lighting, perforated floors and walls, bad plumbing and the basement floor had to be resurfaced. According to Savoca, all of these structural abnormalities cost him an additional $50,000 to repair, and took about 90 days for his crew of carpenters, roofers, plumbers and electricians to finish all of the projects. Savoca, who owns Fort Orange Motor Car at 551 Central Ave. in Albany, has experience in the auto repair business and was familiar with the old Yates Street garage. He said that the Pine Hills is a great location for a new auto body shop because there is only one other body shop in the neighborhood limits —D & S Body Shop on 465 Jay St. Also, because an auto repair business has thrived there for so many years, whoever plans to reopen one is almost guaranteed business, he said. Savoca also mentioned that a shop in that location would directly benefit residents and students who might need to have their cars serviced. “I drive an old 1996 Saturn that breaks down all of the time,” said Kayleigh Buboltz, a neighborhood college student. “If there was a shop

Queens Auto Loan Scam Leaves Borrowers Holding the Bag

CBS News has reported that 18 people have been indicted in a “complex and sophisticated” auto loan scheme in Queens following a three-year investigation, officials announced on Dec. 1. The defendants in this large fraud ring are accused of buying 50 expensive vehicles, including Maseratis and Porsches, from dealerships in Queens by using straw purchasers. Prosecutors said 12 of the accused scammers used “straw borrowers” with good credit scores to take out $1.9 million in loans in exchange for $2,000 in kickbacks. Once the vehicles were turned over to other criminals, the cars were then either sold or rented out on the black market. In other cases, officials said the cars’ titles were “washed” out of state and sold to dealers or at auction. The defendants apparently promised to repay the loans but instead quit making payments after three installments and left the straw buyers holding the bags and their good credit ruined. “These individuals wound up with ruined credit, multiple banks

suing them for money, and suspended driver’s licenses for unpaid parking tickets on vehicles they allegedly ‘own,’” District Attorney Richard Brown. In a similar scheme, nine others are accused of getting more than $180,000 in fraudulent loans by using straw borrowers to take out bank loans for buying used cars or making home repairs. Prosecutors said in actuality, no vehicles were purchased and no home repairs were made. Sixteen people have been arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on enterprise corruption, grand larceny, conspiracy and other charges. Two suspects are still being sought. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said 23 of the vehicles have been recovered. “One of them, a 2008 Porsche high-end, was used in the 2008 homicide of two suspected Nigerian fraudsters who had crossed one of the principals in this case,” Kelly said. The body of one of those victims was found in the trunk of that Porsche.

14 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

closer to me, I could have saved a lot of money on towing costs.” After the rehabilitation was complete, Savoca hired Brandon Bellamy, a licensed salesperson at IKON Realty Group, LLC to help lease the

property. According to Bellamy the property has been available to lease since October 18. Ikon plans to lease the property for $1,550 a month. The garage includes a basement and first floor equaling out to about 1,368 square feet. Other features include an overhead garage door, 1 1/2 bathroom,

and one office on each floor. The property also comes with a private parking lot that holds up to 10 vehicles. Bellamy has encountered multiple customers interested in renting the property. Unfortunately these potential tenants all possessed ulterior motives to turn the building into something outside of the auto repair business. According to Savoca, customers wanted to convert the garage into a hamburger hotdog stand, a fish fry and a hair salon. He declined their offers. Since the day Savoca bought the debilitated property, he envisioned a new and improved auto body shop and has no desire to lease to customers who suggest otherwise. “I don’t think I found the right person to sell it to, so I’ll just wait until they come along,” said Savoca. Potential buyers, or those interested in leasing the property, can contact Bellamy via telephone, 518456-5440 ext. 14. Or you can reach him online at: bbellamy@ikonrealtygroup.com.

PA Auction Owner Faces Federal Fraud Charges

An auction owner in Pennsylvania and his general manager are in some hot water after federal prosecutors charged the pair with committing fraud against charities, according to Auto Remarketing News. William Stake, owner of Gettysburg Auto Exchange, and auction GM David Burk face charges of “operating and conspiring to operate a scheme to defraud charities who used the Gettysburg Auto Exchange to sell vehicles donated by private individuals for charitable causes,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said in a statement. These charges follow an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Harrisburg office. Stake—with Burk’s help—is accused of having misled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the charities, allegedly by crafting fake bills of sales that supposedly allowed Stake to pocket “a significant portion” of proceeds that would have otherwise gone to charity. Prosecutors said that the auction had partnerships with non-profits whereby the Gettysburg Auto Exchange would collect vehicle donations from the public, and then the charities would set up the sales with used-car dealers and auctions. After the cars were sold, the proceeds would be sent back to the charities to be doled out to various causes, feds explained. Under the deal, Gettysburg Auto Exchange would collect, transport

and sell the donated vehicles, then send the charities the funds raised. As part of the agreement, the auction was to deduct the transportation and selling fees from those proceeds. The bill of sale is where the alleged fraud came in, prosecutors contend. “Stake, assisted by Burk, allegedly engaged in a scheme to defraud both the charities and the donors of the used vehicles by selling the vehicles and keeping a significant portion of the proceeds of the sale for himself,” the U.S. Attorney’s office contends. “Stake allegedly created fictitious bills of sale indicating that the vehicles had been sold at less than the actual price. These fictitious bills of sale were then sent to the victim charities as proof that they had received the full sale price of the donated vehicle,” officials continued. “As a result, the charities were allegedly defrauded of hundreds of thousands of dollars.” Serving as prosecutor for this case is Pennsylvania State Police Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Zubrod. Should prosecutors convict Stake, maximum prison time could be 20 years with a $250,000 fine. The sentence could also include a maximum term of supervised release of up to three years. As for Burk, he could see a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, along with a possible maximum term of supervised release of up to three years.

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www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 17

Newark Police Officer Steals Car From Drunk Driver

When a Newark cop allegedly told a drunken driver to get out of his pickup truck and sober up, it probably seemed like he was giving the guy a break, according to Newark’s The Star-Ledger. But shortly after instructing the driver to hoof it and retrieve the pickup later, officer Enrique Gonzalez took the truck to Garfield, where police say he used it to ram his estranged wife’s car. Gonzalez was off-duty, but in uniform on Nov. 15 when he pulled the driver over near Walnut Street in Newark’s East Ward, Police Director Samuel DeMaio said. “He says, ‘Okay, I’m not going to arrest you. Park your car here. I’m going to leave the keys in the tailpipe. Come back and get the car when you’re sober,’” DeMaio said. The driver “comes back several hours later and finds the car gone.” Meanwhile, Gonzalez took the Ford F-450, DeMaio said, and went to pay his estranged wife’s car a visit when he was pulled over by Elmwood Park police for erratic driving. “He said he was late for work, he apologizes, and they let him go,” DeMaio said. Gonzalez, 28, continued to Garfield, where he allegedly rammed his wife’s 2011 Hyundai. The Hyundai

was parked behind the woman’s Buick which also sustained damage. DeMaio said the six-year Newark veteran then informed local police that some unidentified person had inflicted the damage. “The officer subsequently tried to make an accident report at the Garfield Police Department on behalf of his wife’s vehicle,” DeMaio said. But Gonzalez allegedly copped an attitude when he made his report, leading Garfield police to call their Newark counterparts and lodge a complaint, DeMaio said. Around the same time, the owner of the pickup reported his truck stolen in Newark. As the pieces fell into place, DeMaio suspended Gonzalez immediately and Newark’s internal affairs bureau launched an investigation. Gonzalez was charged with criminal mischief and receiving stolen property, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, which is aiding in the investigation. Gonzalez is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 15. “The NPD is a professional law enforcement agency and integrity is one of our main, core values,” DeMaio said. “We will investigate any officer who violates the law just as vigorously as we do any common criminal.”

Lynnes Auto Group in NJ Gives Vehicle to Deserving Family

To celebrate the holiday season, Lynnes Auto Group’s three dealerships servicing the Bloomfield, Stanhope and greater New Jersey communities, helped the local community by giving away a vehicle to one deserving family. With its annual Deserving Family Car Giveaway, the New Jersey business hopes to find this year’s “perfect” recipient. “The Deserving Family Car Giveaway is an incredible experience for all of us at Lynnes. Each year we hold the Deserving Family Car Giveaway, we just hope that we can continue to make a real difference in people’s lives,” said Lynnes vice president Julie Tozzo. Each year, the company received hundred of letters, nominating friends, family memers and co-workers for the giveaway, the company shared. Last year, Lynnes donated a car to Rosemarie Veliz. Rosemarie’s daughter, Tierney Veliz, had nominated her mother, who’s story impacted the company and its staff. “Rosemarie (Veliz) has selflessly dedicated herself to her son Chase’s battle with Hunter Syndrome,” the

company explained. In an effort to recognize the sacrifices that Rosemarie Veliz has made throughout the years, as well as aleviate the family’s financial and emotional burdens, Lynnes Auto Family chose her as the lucky recipient of the 2010 vehicle donation. During this holiday season, Lynnes Auto Family invites anyone to drop off written nominations at the Lynnes Nissan Dealership on US-206 in Stanhope, N.J., or email nominations to info@lynnescares.com between now and Dec. 31st. “We started this effort as a way to give back to the community that is responsible for so much of our success,” said Tozzo, of the charity tradition which the business began six years ago. “We are so happy that we could be a part of helping out others, just as they have helped us throughout the years,” she added. To find out more about the Deserving Family Car Giveaway or to full out a nomination form, see Lynnes Auto Group’s Facebook page.

12th Baltimore Cop Guilty in Towing Extortion Scheme

A 12th Baltimore police officer has pleaded guilty to being involved with a towing kickback scheme, prosecutors said December 8. Rafael Concepcion Feliciano Jr., a 31-year-old officer from Baltimore, pleaded guilty to extortion and conspiracy in a U.S. District Court hearing, according to a statement from the Maryland U.S. attorney’s office. Feliciano was among a group of officers who took money from brothers Hernan Alexis Moreno, 30, of Rosedale, and Edwin Javier Mejia, 27, of Middle River, in exchange for referring cars at accident scenes to Majestic Auto Repair, the siblings’ Rosedale auto shop. According to court records, Feliciano met the brothers in 2008 through another officer and Feliciano began directing crashed cars to their garage, which is not among the city’s certified tow companies. Feliciano was paid kickbacks of $200 to $300 for the cars he sent to their shop and was also paid to falsify police reports that embellished the extent of damage to some cars. These falsified reports would be used by Moreno and Mejia to increase vehicle insurance claims. The total financial loss suffered by Feliciano’s actions is between $120,000 and $200,000, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Feliciano could be sentenced to

as many as 25 years in prison. His sentencing has not yet been scheduled. Two more officers have trials scheduled for mid-February. The two owners of Majestic Auto Repair pleaded guilty November 5 in federal court to paying up to $1 million in bribes to more than 50 Baltimore police officers who allegedly steered business to the Rosedale shop and falsified crash reports. Each face a maximum of 25 years in prison for one conviction each of extortion and conspiracy and fines of up to $500,000 at their U.S. District Court sentencings, which are scheduled for Nov. 18. They are likely to receive terms of between six to nine years, however, according to their plea agreements, which allow the defendants to appeal sentences longer than 108 months and prosecutors to appeal terms shorter than 71 months. Both men have agreed to cooperate with the Maryland U.S. attorney’s office in the case, which could lead to lighter sentences for them and more charges for others. The Majestic brothers admitted in court that more than 50 Baltimore officers were involved in the threeyear-long scheme, which is now the focus of one of the widest police corruption probes in recent years.

18 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

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Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.

Yelping Back, an Interview with Yelp’s Business Outreach Manager with Ed Attanasio

Back in July I wrote an article about Yelp—the well-known review website where customers can comment about businesses and rate their performance. My article was about body shops having a love-hate relationship with it. See www.autobodynews.com and search ‘yelp’ if you missed it. Like any business, shops appreciate postive reviews from customers and bristle at negative ones, but the issue we were addressing is what shops can do to mitigate negative reviews. Since then there have been some developments. Darnell Holloway is Manager for Local Business Outreach for Yelp, the on-line review site. Holloway recently spoke at a Santa Clara California Autobody Association meeting and Autobody News subsequently interviewed him about what he said in more depth.

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ABN: If a shop receives a bad review, what options does it have to respond? DH: Generally speaking, the business owners who have the most success with reputation management on Yelp are the ones who are dedicated to providing a great customer experience in the offline world. Beyond that, we provide a free suite of tools via www.biz.yelp.com that allows business owners to respond privately as well as publicly to reviews, upload information about themselves and add photos, among other things. Once a business starts receiving reviews, it’s important for business owners to join the conversation. We provide a whole host of information on Yelp for business owners, including how to respond to online critics. We also recently released a video featuring business owners as they share their thoughts on this subject. The

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ABN: Why do bad Yelp reviews stay at the top of the list while more positive reviews disappear over time? DH: To clarify, the order in which reviews appear on a business profile page is determined by Yelp Sort, and does not automatically assign a negative review as the first review. We encourage body shops to look at a variety of business profile pages to verify this for themselves. Yelp Sort is the default view, which factors in the recency of the reviews, and user voting (useful, funny or cool), among other factors. More importantly, we give users the ability to sort reviews by date, star rating, friends, Yelp Elite reviews, etc. Do some reviews disappear over time? You bet they do. And here are the three reasons why that might happen: 1) A Yelper may choose to remove his/her own review. 2) If a review is reported and found to be in violation of our Review Guidelines or our Terms of Service, our user support team will remove it. Business owners can contact our user support team and/or flag reviews for our user support team for evaluation. 3) The review may have been caught in our automated Review Filter which runs 24/7 on the site and aims to filter away biased or suspicious reviews from the business profile page. It’s important to note that because of our methods of quality control, review number fluctuation is common on Yelp. All businesses, whether they advertise with us or not, are subject to the same rules and standards. It’s also important to note that our stance on quality control is why consumers continue to come to Yelp in large numbers.

ABN: How can a body shop use Yelp to help promote its business? DH: Consumers turn to Yelp for information about businesses before they step through the door. In the 3rd Quarter of this year, Yelp had a monthly average of 61 million unique

visitors. On top of that, we had an average of over 5 million monthly unique users on Yelp’s mobile application for smart phones. If a potential customer is looking at a body shop’s Yelp listing, it means that they are actively searching for that type of business. The information on a Yelp listing can help users make a buying decision, which is why it’s important for business owners to claim their free business owner’s account at: www.biz.yelp.com. From there, we help business owners by providing them with a free suite of tools which allows them to maximize their presence on Yelp. Businesses can respond to reviewers, add photos, post checkin offers and run their own Yelp Deals. We also offer paid upgrades for businesses looking to expand their visibility even further. ABN: If a body shop suspects that some of their bad reviews are from either former disgruntled employees or competitors, how can it respond? DH: The situation you describe is against Yelp’s terms of service. Business owners can report these situations by alerting our User Support team at www.yelp.com/contact or by flagging reviews using the “flag” button that appears right under the review itself. Our user support team evaluates these situations and may remove reviews that violate our guidelines.

ABN: Many of the positive Yelp reviews that some body shops see on their competitors’ pages suspect that they were written by themselves or friends, as opposed to genuine customers. Can anything be done about this and how can Yelp detect fake reviews? DH: Yelp has had an automated review filter which is designed to identify patterns of abuse, such as the scenario you are describing. It’s an automated system that has evolved over the years, but its purpose has remained the same—to protect consumers and business owners from fake, shill or malicious reviews. Some companies attempt to manipulate the system by See Yelping Back, Next Page

www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 19

AAPEX Buyers Select New Product Showcase Winners

The winners of the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) 2011 New Product Showcase were selected by more than 3,600 votes by pre-registered AAPEX buyers. Prior to AAPEX, buyers reviewed entries displayed in the online 2011 AAPEX Product Extra and voted digitally for their favorite new products in nine categories: • Cool Cars: Philips Automotive Lighting, GoPure Automotive Clean Air System • Fixing It Right: Striker Hand Tools, FLEXiT Work Light • Good Sense: Berryman Products, Inc., B-104 Towelettes • Innovation: Heat N Clean Products, Inc., Heated Wiper Blades • Individuality: Matrix System, Ultra Leather Renu • Making It Better, Scrubblade LLC, Washer Fluid Tablets • Safe & Sound: Old World Industries, PEAK® Rear-view Mirror Back-Up Camera • Smooth Sailing: Federal-Mogul Corp., ANCO Profile Wiper Blades • Work Smart: ShowMeTheParts.com Mobile App

Male Pedestrians At Higher Risk on NJ Roads

Male pedestrians are more likely to be struck and killed than females on New Jersey roads, according to Insurance Journal. That’s one of the findings in the 2011 Pedestrian Safety Tracking Report conducted by the Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University. The study analyzed police data in accidents in which a pedestrian died or was injured from 2003 through 2010. Researchers found more male than female pedestrians die because they are walking late at night. The report also found that accidents resulting in injury declined between 2008 and 2010 when vehicle miles traveled also dropped. Senior research specialist Charles Brown tells The Record newspaper the decline reflects the state’s law that requires motorists to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk, as well as infrastructure improvements, and a more educated public.

www.autobodynews.com CHECK IT OUT!

20 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Continued from Previous Page

Yelping Back

soliciting reviews and reaching out to friends and family to write glowing reviews for them, but after a while the system can detect it. In addition, consumers are very savvy and they can read between the lines. If someone joins Yelp to write one positive review and then doesn’t use Yelp again, it’s red-flagged. So, we tell businesses they should focus on providing good service and let the Yelp reviews build organically. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen eventually. While our filter system isn’t perfect, it is effective at catching fake and shill reviews. We also understand that our review filter system sometimes raises questions and frustrations amongst body shop owners, but this is the high cost that we’ve chosen to accept, because we know the infinitely higher cost would be to not have an algorithm in place at all. We obviously need a review filter system to stop people who will spam and cheat the system. We know that there

are companies out there who will sell reviews and create fake content for people and we need to work against it in order for us to retain our objectivity. Sure, it’s not a perfect system, but there isn’t anything out there in place that has proven to be better. We hear back from companies all the time that say Yelp has helped us. One important final note: Our system is 100% automated and we never favor advertisers over non-advertisers. And a lot of people don’t know it, but reviews are never deleted from Yelp. If one does get filtered, it goes into a section at the bottom of the company’s Yelp page, where it can still always be read.

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Progressive Decides Not to Appeal in Fraud Case Against Bedford Hills, NY, Shop A six-year long fraud case filed against Bedford Hills, NY’s North State Custom by Progressive Insurance seems to be coming to an end at last. Attorneys for Progressive in September notified the court and counsel for the shop that the company did not intend to proceed with an appeal. “We don’t know exactly why they decided not to appeal, but I’m certainly happy they did,” said North State owner Greg Coccaro. In 2005, the customer, a handicapped professor from Columbia University, asked Coccaro to repair her 6-month-old 2004 Mercedes E320 that she had rolled down an embankment and crashed into a pile of rocks. Progressive Insurance wrote an onsite initial estimate of $7,142. Once the car was taken to Coccaro’s shop— which was not a Progressive DRP (Coccaro has no DRPs)—he found far more damage in addition to mistakes on the original estimate. According to Coccaro, Progressive eventually wrote another estimate for $26,804, then a third one for $18,000 after a

desk review reduced that second estimate, and then another. All told there were some 10 estimates done. Coccaro’s final carefully-documented invoice for the full repair came in at $34,091. Progressive then tried to recall the car from Coccaro after repairs had commenced and steer it to one of their select shops but was unsuccessful in convincing the customer. When the second estimate came in at $26,804, the customer confirmed she wanted North State to do the job, she agreed to pay any expenses beyond the $26,804. Progressive finally agreed Greg Coccaro to pay Coccaro’s invoice after the customer’s son, who had a relationship of sorts with the insurer, became involved. The first fraud trial was pressed by Progressive Insurance against Coccaro in New York, and was dismissed by State Supreme Court Judge Mary Smith on August 5, 2008. Signifi-

cantly, the case was dismissed “with predjudice”—meaning the court barred Progressive from filing another case on the claim, effectively ending Progressive’s options—and the judge acted before the defense could call a single witness, however this ruling was successfully appealed by Progressive who argued that the judge lacked this latitude in the case. Progressive continued to allege that Coccaro committed fraud in the repair of the Mercedes. In the prior trial, Progressive attempted to recoup over $70,000—the cost of repairs and the amount paid to total loss the car. In 2010, Progressive argued that it should be entitled to recover the entire $34,091 paid for repairs. In both cases, however, Progressive’s expert witness testified that he was only able to detect $2,808.65 of “improper” charges. Coccaro’s legal team of Michael G. Santangelo, Erica L. Eversman, and Anthony J. Mamo, Jr. estimates that Progressive ultimately spent over one million dollars to prosecute the claim of $2,800 and change.

Coccaro has said in the past, “I believe they’re out to punish me for speaking out. They want to make an example out of me for anyone else who would do the same thing.” Progressive appealed the judge’s decision, and the case went before a jury again in 2010. Coccaro prevailed for a second time, and in March 2011 Progressive notified the court that it intended to appeal the most recent decision to the New York Supreme Court. While Coccaro says he is glad to finally be vindicated, his victory came at a steep price—including nearly half a million dollars in legal fees. “What they’ve tried to do from the beginning is run me out of money,” Coccaro said. “They have dragged this out and tried to wear me down.” Coccaro credits the support he received from his family, his wife Marlene, and his attorneys for his ability to see the case through. He also noted that directors of a number of state and national associations helped signifiSee Coccaro, Page 37

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McBride Auto Body in Woodland Park, NJ, Celebrates 75 Years in the Industry by Joe Carioti III and Autobody News Staff

Back in October Autobody News interviewed Joseph Carioti III about his NJ shop, McBride Auto Body, which had suffered flood damage from Hurricane Irene. (See Autobody News No-

The building housing McBride Auto Body spans the width of a city block and half in length and has 6200 sq. ft. of work area for body repair as well as 3 large apartments on top

vember 2011 Edition) The business was able to recover from the flooding and is back on track, but there’s more to the story. In 2012 McBride Auto Body will be celebrating its 75th year in the automotive collision repair and refinishing industry. McBride has been owned by one family, the Cariotis, throughout its long history of industry ups and downs, the family’s ups and downs, and just plain life’s ups and downs. They have survived and persevered

Joseph Carioti Sr. and his father, Antonio Carioti in the 1920s

through it all, watching many bodyshops come and go with great sadness. The owners have always fought for the rights of the auto repair shops and for the rights of the insured when it was apparent that the laws were unjust. Joseph W. Carioti Sr. moved from Calabria, Italy in 1910 as a young boy with his family to come to America to start a new and better life.After arriving in America his family settled in Paterson, NJ, where he attended school but never got past the 8th grade due to the hard times and his family needing his wages to survive. He took

on odd jobs in masonry work while the country was in its growth period of building dams and tunnels up north in Wanaque Township, NJ. Then, one day in 1937, for no reason that he could ever articulate, Carioti Sr. purchased his first gas station with a two car garage attached and began the legacy of McBride Auto Body. McBride began with humble beginings but not shortly afterwards in the early 40’s it was clear to Carioti Sr. that a larger facility was needed so he purchased a larger building two doors down from McBride’s present location. To the new structure he added another 4,000 square-feet and opened up the second location with apartments above in which his family lived, and two additional rental units attached. Carioti Sr. always believed that common sense was a person’s best investment in life, according to Joe Carioti III. Around 1955 Carioti Sr. was very prominent and well respected in the industry, known for fighting for the rules, rights and standards for this industry in Washington D.C with Congress, forming a new auto body association (North Jersey Automobile Association). Along the way he began one of the first salvage yards in the country. Every year he would auction off vehicles on his property to local repair facilities. He also successfully ran an appraisal service (North Jersey Appraisal Service), and a tow service (McBride Auto Body Towing Service Inc.). He had a dream to make this industry the best it could be and to set the standard at which it should operate. In 1955 he purchased an empty lot and another gas station and built the facility in which McBride Auto Body Inc. operates today. He conceived this 10,000 square-foot facility, designed and built specially for production, cleaniness and quality of repairing and refinishing damaged vehicles. In 1955 the facility had concrete painted floors, a separate area just for frame repair, a detached spray room area with complete air recovery and circulation system, a mixing room and a hazardous material storage area. Along with this he had a separate storage area for workers tools and equipment, a storage area for old and new parts, an office separate from the work area for customers, a locker area and restroom with showers for workers convience. So, by 1955 while most body shops were operating on dirt floors out of

22 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

small garages, Carioti Sr. was well ahead of the curve in setting standards that only became widespread in the late 1980s. If that wasn’t enough he

Top photo: Joseph Carioti Jr. messing around in the shop in the 1950s, Bottom photo: Joseph Carioti Sr. at an association meeting in the 1950s

also added new apartments in which the family still resides, consisting of 2,000 square-feet of living area and ten

rooms. He built another two separate one bedroom apartments and a detached bungalow with a 50,000 gallon swimming pool. Carioti Sr. had once been told that he was a dinosaur in the auto repair profession. According to Joe Carioti III, his response was, “If it was not for us dinosaurs, the rest of you would not be here.” Sadly in the late 1980s Carioti Sr. became ill and passed away, this is when his son, Joseph W. Carioti Jr., took over to follow in his father’s footsteps. Carioti Jr. was literally raised in the auto body repair business. He was self-taught, but benefitted from the guidance of his father. He later took classes so that he could become a certified witness for the court in auto accidents and he was a valued appraiser in the state of New Jersey. He served a term in the Navy and upon his discharge came to work at the shop with his father. He spent his working life following his father’s example. Sadly, due to poor family communication, the building in which See McBride, Page 32

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Inside Insurance

The Insider is a corporate-level executive with a Top 10 auto insurer in the U.S.. Got a comment or question you’d like to see him address in a future column? Email him at Auto.Insurance.Insider@gmail.com

Sure, OEMs Set the Standard, But Who Fills the Gaps Left by OEMs? with The Insurance Insider

The debate continues to rage: What is the standard for collision repairs? Who develops the standard? Is it possible to deviate from the standard? If you can deviate, what entity can provide an alternate to the standard? As such, people, committees, associations, not-for-profit organizations and corporations are lining up quicker than adults outside of Toys R Us on Black Friday to offer their two cents on the subject. Sadly, most of their opinions aren’t worth a single copper Lincoln penny. Why not? Because most of those offering an opinion are basing their decision upon something other than being experts on the topic. I’m not professing to be an expert or proficient enough in repair methodology to offer an opinion worthy of your consideration. While that may be the most humble thing you will ever read in one of my articles, I am going to give you my opinion anyway. The way I see it, if you are reading and listening to alleged industry experts weigh in, why not an insurance executive who has never actually repaired a vehicle? Maybe I’m the best person to offer an opinion because I don’t stand to gain anything. Although I’ve never repaired a vehicle, don’t discredit the wisdom I’m about to impart upon you. Sometimes the best ideas come from the most unlikely of places. Do you think Moses knew what was going to happen at the

John Borek, General Manager of Autocraft Bodywerks in Austin, Texas, has filed a complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance against American National Property and Casualty Company (ANPAC) and a claims services company, American Claims Services, alleging that they “knowingly used a fraudulent John Borek document to justify their short-pay” of a claim. Borek said his shop submitted supplements on the claim to ANPAC

top of the mountain? If you happen to be a good church-going boy or girl, you know that is where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Who could have guessed sectioning procedures were even an issue back then?

So let me answer a few of the questions I posed at the outset of the article. In order the answers are: OEM, OEM, yes, to be determined. Even though I may be just an insurer who doesn’t know much, I know that the car manufacturer sets the standard. They spend millions of dollars engineering these vehicles. I think they should have some say as to how they are or are not repaired. But note I said: They should have “some say…” That’s right. They

aren’t the end-all, be-all. The car manufacturers don’t have all the answers. It’s not God’s word. If it were, the Gospel according to the car manufacturers would be shrouded in monopolistic tendencies. If the car manufacturers were God for the day, aftermarket and salvage parts would be banished to hell. That’s not just or realistic. The fact is that the industry needs to be very careful what it is asking for. I would challenge any of my diehard readers to search for sectioning or replacement procedures on an assortment of foreign and domestic vehicles. You will find that there aren’t procedures to repair every part on the vehicle. There are more gaps than there are in our current health care plan. Neither provides the desired end result. So if we use the car manufacturer as the standard, does it automatically mean that alternative repair procedures can’t be developed? If you say ‘yes,’ there’s no need for you to read any further. You should also stop repairing vehicles at your shop because you are repairing them incorrectly. If you don’t believe me, try printing out the car manufacturers’ repair procedures on every vehicle in your shop. I think you will quickly realize that you can’t repair the car because there isn’t a standard for everything. Thus there is a need for al-

ternatives from respected entities in the industry. I’m ill-equipped to suggest the best organization or company to develop an alternative, but I can assure you that safe and cost effective repair procedures can be developed. NHTSA (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), Thatcham (in the UK) and I-CAR are names that are often cited as the best candidates. Regardless as to who or how they are developed, alternative repair procedures should be as important to the industry as defining the car manufacturer as the standard. I would argue that it’s probably more important. If finding potential safe alternate repairs isn’t an option, the industry is beholden only to the car manufacturers and their desire to be a profitable entity responsible to their shareholders. The debate shouldn’t be whether or not the car manufacturer is the standard. It should be about which organizations are best equipped to develop viable safe alternative repair options. Alternatives that ultimately provide you more opportunities to repair a vehicle as opposed to having it towed from your lot, auctioned and shipped overseas. The Insider is a corporate-level executive with a Top 10 auto insurer in the U.S. Got a comment or question you’d like him to address in a future column? Email him at Auto.Insurance.Insider@gmail.com.

through American Claims Service, which denied payment for color sand and buff, sending the shop a document it said was from Audatex showing that procedure as included in 2-stage refinish formula. Borek said he filed an inquiry with the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG), and Audatex, after searching the shop’s “Database Reference Manuals” back to 1993. Borek said he had never seen the supposed Audatex document before being presented with it from ANPAC. The DEG stated that the document is “most certainly not from ADP/Audatex.” (The actual Audatex manual

shows color sand and buff as a not-included item.) “Color sand and buff has been a pet-peeve of mine since 1998, and I know it’s not included in any paint time,” Borek said. “But how many shops are being sent incorrect information about things like this and not knowing any better?” The Texas Department of Insurance is now investigating ANPAC for using a supposedly fraudulent document. According to Borek, ANPAC has said they will pay the supplement now, but he has not seen any payment since reporting the findings to the DEG.

In filing his complaint with the Texas DOI Property and Casualty Complaint Department, Borek wrote: “We believe that based on this document, ANPAC/American Claim Service is knowingly using a fraudulent document to justify their short pay to limit the price paid for repairs to [the] automobile. By not performing these necessary operations, it will result in an incomplete repair. I have spoken today with the field appraiser assigned to this file and he confirmed that he put the needed repair operations on the original estimate (see Exhibit G3) although a document generated

Texas DOI Investigating ANPAC Insurance for Possible Fraudulent Document in Shop Claim

24 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

See Color Sand and Rebuff, Page 34

ASRW Responds to Insider’s Comments in his Columns: ‘Can NACE Survive as a Traveling Regional Trade Show?’ and ‘Industry Undecided Which Organization Will Prevail’

In light of the excellent working relationship between ASRW and Autobody News, we wanted to comment on the ongoing ‘Insurance Insider’ column. We understand these are op-ed pieces and are written from the author’s point of view. However, the two articles we’ve seen—Can NACE Survive as a ‘Traveling Regional Trade Show? and Industry Undecided Which Organization Will Prevail in NACE vs. SEMA” each contain several inaccuracies. Our attempts to contact the ‘insider’ regarding these statements received standard automated replies. We wanted to bring the following inaccurate statements to your readers’ attention:

‘Can NACE Survive as a ‘Traveling Regional Trade Show’? October 20, 2011 (online); November 2011 (print) ● Article states: “Aside from the fact there weren’t a lot of people there, which made it easier to navigate the show floor, the smaller event meant my feet were intact after a few days of walking.” – Although the size of NACE has contracted in proportion to the size of the collision industry since the late-1990s, ASRW 2011 had an in-

crease in attendance of 18%. ● Article states: “They assembled a committee of industry experts that were supposed to help guide them to “NACE: The Next Generation.”—Although the ‘NACE: The Next Generation’ committee does not exist, we do solicit feedback from industry experts, attendees, exhibitors and prospective participants when making decisions that affect the future of ASRW. ● The article references a vote at the CIC meeting in early 2010 as the catalyst as to where the fall CIC meeting would take place.—Although votes occurred at this meeting, the relevant vote took place at the CIC Planning Meeting in January of 2011 and the results (holding the meeting in conjunction with NACE or SEMA) were separated by 1 vote.

‘Industry Undecided Which Organization Will Prevail in NACE vs. SEMA’ – November 23, 2011 (online); December 2011 (print) • Article states: “[NACE] staked their claim as the undisputed ‘Collision Industry Trade Show Champion’ after 2011.—While we have never made this particular claim, NACE re-

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Ford confirmed details of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall announcement for the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan from the 2010 and 2011 model years. The recall is connected with units that have 17-inch wheels and were built from April 1–30, 2009 and Dec. 1, 2009 through Nov. 13, 2010. A total of 128,616 units have wheel studs that may fracture, and Ford and NHTSA officials fear that situation would cause a wheel to separate from the vehicle. While driving, officials acknowledge multiple stud fractures could occur at the wheel location, and the operator may experience vehicle vibration and/or wheel separation, increasing the risk of a crash. Ford spokesperson Susan Krusel told Auto Remarketing News that the Blue Oval will begin to notify owners on Jan. 24, instructing them that franchised dealers will inspect the rear brake disc surface for flatness and replace discs as necessary. Affected owners can contact Ford’s Customer Relationship Center at (866) 436-7332 and reference Recall No. 11S23.

Koeppel Mazda

Koeppel Volkswagen

Hours:

mains the only event dedicated to the professionals within the collision repair industry. ● Article states “SEMA is an upstart show.”—SEMA is not an upstart show. According to www.semashow.com, it is “the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world,” and has been in existence since 1966. ● Article states: “NACE lost the sale, and Round 1 of the ‘Battle of the Century’ last year went to SEMA.” According to www.semashow.com, SEMA’s audience consists of approximately 60,000 automotive enthusiasts in the automotive, truck and SUV, powersports and RV markets. Unlike SEMA, NACE’s audience has been and remains the professional collision repairer. We consider Autobody News to be a great partner/supporter, and we appreciate the on-going coverage and support we consistently receive. We welcome the opportunity and are always available to provide the anyone – including the ‘insider’ with factual information regarding ASRW. Thank you, ASRW Show Management Hanley Wood Exhibitions

Ford Recalls More Than 125,000 Vehicles

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www.koeppelmazda.com www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 25

Hey Toby!

Toby Chess is an I-CAR program instructor, Training specialist, and former salvage yard operator. Toby is universally known in the collision industry for his work with first responders and advocacy for body shops and consumers. He can be reached at tcspeedster@yahoo.com

Life Changes or Industry Changes Don’t Happen Without Major Effort with Toby Chess

I want to start this month’s column with a personal reflection on some life changing events that happened to me last year. The last Saturday of September I woke up about 1:00 a.m. with a pain in my chest. It felt like a 500 lb gorilla was standing on my chest and the pain was excruciating. Not being the brightest person in the world, I got into my truck and drove myself to the hospital. When I told the nurse in emergency that I was experiencing chest pain, she rushed into a room and hooked up an EKG monitor and blood pressure gauge. My blood pressure was 170 over 90. Not real good (I am on blood pressure medication). The ER doctor came in and told me that I did not have a heart attack or a stroke, but there was something not working right with my heart and set up an appointment with a cardiologist the following week. Five hours later, I came home, hooked up my welding trailer and conducted an I-CAR structural steel test (Again, not the best move, sometimes my brain works in reverse). Monday, I made an appointment with a cardiologist for the following Friday. On that Wednesday, my daughter gave birth to an 8 lb baby girl named Hayley, and for my wife and me, our first grandchild. I will tell you that being a grandparent is a tremendous experience. The best experience of all is that I haven’t had diaper duty yet. On Friday, I had my appointment with the cardiologist. I had another EKG and he determined that I had a mild case of Atrial Fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation (AF or A-fib) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm). It is a common cause of irregular heart beat, identified clinically by taking a pulse. Chaotic electrical activity in the two upper chambers (atria) of the heart result in the muscle fibrillating (i.e., quivering), instead of achieving coordinated contraction. The presence of AF can be confirmed with an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) by the absence of P waves and an irregular ventricular rate. Presence of AF in a population

increases with age, with 8% of people over 80 having AF. In AF, the normal electrical impulses that are generated by the ‘sinoatrial node are suddenly or grad-

Hayley, the first grandchild for Toby and Sheila Chess, was the catalyst for some serious changes

ually overwhelmed by disorganized electrical impulses that often originate in the roots of the pulmonary veins, leading to irregular conduction of impulses to the ventricles which generate the heartbeat. AF may occur in episodes lasting from minutes to weeks, or be permanent in nature. The natural tendency of AF over time is to become a chronic condition. Chronic AF leads to a small increase in the risk of death. He said that I had a choice. I could go on meds that would change my life style or I could lose weight (he suggested 75 lbs). It was my choice. At that moment, I realized that I wanted to be part of Hayley’s life and I decided to lose the weight. The doctor recommended that I use ‘Weight Watchers Online’ due to my crazy schedule. So I went home, Googled Weight Watchers and signed up. It works on a point system. You are allowed so many points per day and you enter the food that you ate and the points are automatically calculated. All the things I ate in the past like steaks, bread, sweet rolls, Italian sausages and nearly everything else I

26 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

put into my mouth were high in points. I started off the program with 54 points. One hot dog is 12 points. It doesn’t take much to add up to the allotted daily points. The web site offered a lot of advice on what I should be eating. On October the ninth, I weighed 307 lbs. and by December 15, 2011, I weighed 281 lbs. I used to get tired after walking one block. My knees and hips would hurt. I started riding my bike and I am up to two miles a day and, guess what? My knees and hips have stopped hurting. It is very difficult to change one’s eating habits after 66 years of abuse, but the consequences of not changing them, were much too high. The reason for opening up my personal life is that it runs parallel to recent events in the collision repair industry. Last month, I requested from repairers that they send me pictures of parts that do not fit. To make the re-

placement parts better, we need data to back up our claims that there are parts being sold that don’t fit, have poor workmanship and they are not the same as the original. On a daily basis, I am told by people in the body shops about these substandard parts, yet when I requested pictures and data, only five shops have so far responded. It would have been a lot easier for me to take a pill for the A-Fib, but what was better for me was to make a sacrifice to eliminate of some of the foods that I normally ate. You can go the easy way and do nothing or you can get off the pot and send me that data. It’s your choice. If you choose not to do anything, then stop the complaining. I cannot help you if you can’t help yourself. I hope that you will make the same decision that I made—Make a change to improve our industry. With that I want to wish all of you a happy and prosperous 2012.

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BMW Working on Lazer Beam Headlights, Energy Efficient

NEW YORK • NEW JERSEY • PENNSYLVANIA • DELAWARE

Honda Recalling 300,000 Vehicles for Airbag Flaws

BMW engineers say their laser headlights have big advantages over LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, and they are working to commercialize the lights. Laser headlights use less than half the energy of LEDs, and their light intensity is a thousand times greater, BMW says. Moreover, a laser diode is one-hundredth the size of an LED diode, which allows designers to shrink the headlight. “We see a lot of advantages,” says Hanafi Abdul, BMW's optical systems designer. “We can reduce power consumption and weight, and it provides our stylists more freedom to produce beautiful shapes.” In each headlamp, three small diodes generate blue laser beams only 10 microns wide. Those beams are aimed at small mirrors, which reflect them onto a lens. Inside the lens is yellow phosphorus, which emits an intense white light when activated by the lasers. That light is bounced off a reflector onto the road ahead.

Honda Motor Co. is recalling 304,000 vehicles globally for airbags that may inflate with too much pressure in a crash, send metal and plastic pieces flying and cause injuries or deaths. There have been 20 accidents so far related to this problem, including two deaths in the U.S. in 2009. The Japanese automaker said the recall affects the Accord, Civic, Odyssey, Pilot, CR-V and other models, manufactured in 2001 and 2002. The recall spans 273,000 vehicles in the U.S. The latest recall is an expansion of recalls for the same problem in 2008, and again carried out in 2009, as well as last year. The recall now covers about 2 million vehicles worldwide. Honda spokesman Hajime Kaneko said the cause for the latest recall was the use of incorrect material in the chemical used to deploy air bags.The initial cause of the recall was excessive moisture in the inflator propellant, which inflates the air bag.

General Motors is teaming up with a major carbon-fiber supplier to develop new types of the strong, lightweight composite for future GM vehicles, including potentially high-volume models sold globally. GM is partnering with Teijin Ltd. of Japan, which has developed a technology that it says dramatically reduces the time it takes to process carbon-fiber material. The faster cycle time could open the door to the use of carbon fiber in high-volume vehicles, GM says. Carbon fiber is considerably stronger and lighter than steel and aluminum, but it’s more expensive, mostly because of a long, labor-intensive production process. As a result, the composite is only used for select parts in low-volume vehicles, such as the fenders on the Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

“Our relationship with Teijin provides the opportunity to revolutionize the way carbon fiber is used in the automotive industry,” GM Vice Chairman Steve Girsky said in a statement. “This technology holds the potential to be an industry game changer and demonstrates GM’s longstanding commitment to innovation.” GM says Teijin’s technology has the potential to mass produce carbonfiber composites using thermoplastic material that can be molded in less than one minute, vs. mold times of 10 minutes or more for traditional carbon fiber, which is made using a material called thermoset. “It’s easier to handle and quicker to mold,” Jim Hentschel, GM’s executive director for body and exterior, said in an interview. “That’s what allows us to be able to introduce this technology into more mainstream, high-volume vehicles.”

Auto Groups Fight Recall Fees Hike in front of Congress

Automakers, car dealers, rental car companies and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are opposing an increase in fines for delaying vehicle recalls to as high as $250 million. The Senate Commerce Committee will consider a long-delayed bill to toughen auto safety laws. The bill, aimed at reforming the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, would hike maximum fines for manufacturers that delay recalls to $250 million from the current $17.35 million. Proponents have pushed for more than a year to strengthen auto safety measures in the wake of sudden acceleration concerns in Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles. The bill by Sens. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. would not take effect until at least one year after passage. A coalition of groups told Congress late it opposes hiking the fines. The alliance includes General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC, Toyota and eight others.

January 2012

Nissan’s LEAF to be Sold in More U.S. Markets

On Nissan LEAF’s one-year anniversary, the Japanese automaker announced that it will be expanding the availability of the all-electric car into new U.S. markets. Nissan has re-opened reservations and has begun taking orders from the general public for the 2012 Nissan LEAF in Delaware, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. For the 2012 model year the LEAF gets additional standard equipment including quick charging and cold-weather features. “Nissan LEAFs have been on the U.S. roads for one year now, and thousands of drivers have become living proof that a 100-percent electric, zero-emissions vehicle fulfills the daily needs of drivers from all walks of life,” said Brian Carolin, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing, NNA. “We are seeing already-strong interest in the LEAF continue to grow.”

GM Partners with Japanese Carbon Fiber Supplier to Improve Composites

30 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Hentschel said the pact will allow Teijin to advance development of the technology while working with GM on integrating the material into vehicles. He wouldn’t predict when it might be used in GM vehicles. The companies didn’t disclose financial details of the deal but said it does not involve an exchange of equity. Teijin will open a technical center in the northern United States to do its work with GM, the companies said, but they didn’t specify a location. Automakers are seeking to cut vehicle weight as a way to improve fuel economy as they face increasingly stringent emissions and fueleconomy standards. GM is expected to expand the use of carbon fiber in the next-generation Chevrolet Corvette, which is expected to debut for the 2014 model year.

BMW AG has said it plans to begin high-volume production of carbon-fiber parts by 2013, which likely would make it the first automaker to expand use of the material beyond low-volume models. Its i3 electric car, which debuts in 2013, will have a carbon-fiber shell. Partly as a consequence of emissions reduction targets, mass-market automakers need to produce lighter cars. For the next few years, automakers such as Peugeot, Fiat, Volkswagen and Daimler expect weight reductions to come largely from using aluminium. But composites are 30 percent lighter than aluminium and 50 percent lighter than steel. If car makers can get the price down—composites currently cost at least 10 times as much as aluminium and 30 times as much as steel, according to Volkswagen—they hope to be able to use them in the mass-market.

Gonzo’s Toolbox

This is a new story by Scott “Gonzo” Weaver as posted on his website, www.gonzostoolbox.com. Gonzo has been serving the Tulsa area at Superior Auto Electric for over 27 years. See his book “Hey Look! I Found The Loose Nut”, which provides a Good Laugh for Mechanics of Any Age. The book is available at amazon.com. Contact Gonzo at Gonzosae@aol.com.

A Picture Worth a Thousand Words Most of Which We Can’t Print with Gonzo Weaver

Years ago my younger brother came to work for me. He didn’t know a thing about cars, but was willing to learn all that he could. Teaching new technicians is an art that most shop owners have to learn to do, but teaching your little brother can be a chore and can test your patience. I muddled through it all and taught him what I could. I was sure at some point in time the two of us would butt heads like brothers will do, and he would take his new found skills and move up in the rank and files of the automotive technical world, but in the meantime it was his turn to learn from his older brother. When he first started I would walk him through each step of how to diagnose a certain system in a car. A lot of times he would have questions, and I’d do my best to answer them. He learned quickly and was really sharp at picking up some of those lit-

tle details that are harder to teach, because you tend to forget to mention them while you’re teaching—mainly because you are trying to get to the solution as efficiently as possible, and you neglect to bring it up. Such as: “always test your test light connection before testing what you’re testing, or don’t forget to check for all your tools before you pull the car out of the shop.” Things like that. One day we had a truck come in with dual fuel tanks on it. The gas gauge wasn’t working and needed some attention. This was a perfect opportunity for Junior to learn a few of my short cuts on these old models. It was an older Ford, in which the tank gauge ran through the tank switchover button. It was rather easy to pull it out of the dash and connect to the gauge from the back of the switch. Luckily it was the typical problem I’ve seen a hundred times in the

past. The switch connections would melt and the tank wouldn’t switch from the front tank to the rear, and of course the gauge wouldn’t move either. After locating the correct leads to the gauge and to the tanks I decided to show him how the gauge worked. I hooked up the one of the tanks to the crossover lead that would supply the signal from the tank to the gauge. “Ya see this, that’s the lead to the fuel gauge in the dash, and this is one of the tank wires. I’ll connect these together and we should get a reading on the dash,” I told him. He was watching intently, taking in all the wiring diagram information, the location of the wires, and how I was bypassing the switch. He was fascinated with the flow of the current and the way the gauge would respond. I even went as far as moving the gauge from full to empty by open-

ing and closing it to a ground signal. While I had his attention I filled him in on the two types of gauges that were used back then (bimetallic and magnetic) and how low resistance on a bimetal type gauge would read near a full tank, while a magnetic gauge would read close to empty. Change the resistance and the gauge would/should read accordingly. “So, if we put gas in the tank the gauge should move right? That way we could check the sending units in the tanks too,” he asked me. “Great idea, grab a gas can and let’s add a few gallons,” I said, excited that he was so interested in the project. He grabbed a can of gas and poured a few gallons in the tank. I was watching the gas guage carefully, but there was no movement. I knew I was on the right wires, but nothing See Picture It, Page 32

www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 31

Continued from Page 31

Picture It

was happening. Now what? Are there more problems? “Crawl under there, and check to be sure the wire color is correct,” I yelled from the cab to him. “Yep, it’s the right wire on the tank.” “Well, we might have to pull the tank; it’s not changing the gauge readings up here.” “Before we do that let’s add some more gas, maybe we didn’t add enough,” Junior tells me. I thought I better go back and help hold the funnel, while he poured the gas in the tank. Unknowing to me, all Continued from Page 22

McBride

McBride Auto Body existed at the time was lost by the family. For 20 years Carioti Jr. owned and operated McBride Auto Body in a several other locations to keep his father’s business going. Thanks to McBride Auto Body’s loyal customers it survived the hardship. In 1989 Joseph Carioti III graduated high school and, after dreaming for 20 years of returning to his grand-

Joseph Carioti Jr. in the 1990s

father’s building, the oppurtunity presented itself. Carioti Jr. and Carioti III brought the company and the family home back where it belonged. Located within the borough of West Paterson (also known as Woodland Park), NJ. According to Carioti III, his father was overcome with joy to be back in the place where he grew up

this time my wife (who was the office manager) was listening in on the whole thing. She likes to keep tabs on me, and make sure I’m not going into one of my usual rants or having a fit because I had to explain something over and over again to little brother. This time she was standing at the corner of the shop just behind the truck with a camera. “CLICK”, I heard the camera shutter go off and she was back there laughing like there was no tomorrow. “What’s so funny?” I asked her. “You two idiots have been putting gas in the wrong tank. You’re on the front tank, and you’re putting gas in the rear tank,” my wife answers, laughing hysterically. About then the camera “clicked” again, this time it was an action shot

taken at precisely the exact moment when these two idiots had that dumb struck look on their faces and realized what they just did. The shot had both of us on our knees, one holding a funnel and the other with the half empty gas can, and both of us staring right into the camera lens. Couldn’t have set it up any better if you tried. The picture clearly showed the side of the truck with both fuel tank doors visible and there was no doubt which tank we were putting in the extra gas. I guess it was one of those things I should have mentioned when we were checking the tank senders, make sure we are both on the same tank. For years that picture hung over her desk, and anytime I thought I was

so smart she would point at the photo. Usually with that typical smirk, usually shaking her finger at me and of course the laugh, she had to laugh, but it wasn’t all that funny until she had me laughing about it too. Ok, Ok, I’m not perfect... and now my little brother knows it too. These days he’s a top notch tech at a dealership, and I have to call him on occasions for some help on how to solve things once in a while. Oh the photo…uhmmm… what photo?? Somehow it’s missing… haven’t seen the darn thing in years. But I guess I really don’t need to see the photo, the wife has a pretty good memory, she reminds me just how smart I think I am every chance she gets.

and learned from his father how to perform automotive collision repairs. Sadly, not soon afterwards, Carioti Jr. died in an accident. Carioti III took over the position of President of the company, owner and operator. Carioti III is I-CAR, PPG, SEM and ASE certified. He also is a valued insurance appraiser, following the same standards of excellence that accompanied his family name through this industry for the last six decades. “I was brought up in the industry learning from my grandfather and father and with the knowledge of the industry they gave me I plan to continue the company which has lasted for so many years,” said Carioti III. “I spent every free moment while not in school within this building, watching and learning from either men—making my mistakes along the way—but learning from them and not making the mistakes again. I may not be the oldest person in this industry or even the oldest person on my payroll but I am respected by those that I know. I am not an absentee owner. I am the first to walk in the door every morning at 6:30 a.m. and the last to leave every night at 5:30 pm. I work alongside my men and help out wherever I can. I make it a point to run my office appraising vehicles and working with insurance companies and jobbers

to the standards that my grandfather set forth a long time ago, to make this one of the cleanliest and best repair facilities in the area.” “In closing, I would like to say that there will never be another shop like McBride Auto Body, at least not in my time. I am proud to continue the legacy. This business in my family is

not just a job, it’s my life. It has taken care of my family for 75 years and we will keep on trying to take care of the industry while we strive to be one of the best family-owned and family-run businesses around.” For more information please visit the shop’s website at www.mcbrideautobody.com.

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Continued from Front Page

Tursi

writing an article that it was a big job to fill those little shoes. Well, Cindy showed me the way,” said Charles Bryant, current Executive Director for the AASP/NJ. “She looked after us like we were her children. She called us, she worried about us… she was a good lady.” Guy Citro, who served two terms and hired Cindy to become AASP/NJ President added, “She was a professional and put her heart and soul into her work. Cindy kept the association going. She was not only my executive director, but also a good friend. Cindy helped many ASA/NJ presidents along the way before she retired. I will sadly miss her and her friendship.” In the over 50 year history of AASP/NJ, there have only been three Executive Directors. Cindy followed association founder George Threlfall and was succeeded by current AASP/NJ Executive Director Charles Bryant. “For a tiny gal, she was a powerhouse,” said Bryant, “Cindy was an or-

ganizer and seemed to have a form for everything. During her time as Executive Director for the AASP Garden State and before that with what we all referred to as the North Chapter, Cindy saw herself as the mother hen. She seemed to feel that part of her job was to look over they guys and make sure they played nice. When one got out of line, you would see the lion in her. When they did something nice or compassionate, you would see the cuddly kitten and if you actually pissed her off, my best advice would be to get out of Dodge.” Cindy Tursi is survived by her husband of 32 years, Noel A. Tursi; her son, Dustin Tursi; her granddaughter, Summer Ann Tursi; her father, Henry Novacek; her brother, Terry (Florence) Lunger; her niece, Tera Lunger; and her nephew, Hutch Novacek. At the request of the family, funeral arrangements are being privately held and under the direction of Branchburg Funeral Home, 910 US Highway 202 South, Branchburg, NJ 08876, (908) 526-7638. For more information please visit www.BranchburgFuneral Home.com.

Continued from Page 24

Color Sand & Rebuff

from ANPAC/American Claim Service shows a zero by all these operations. “As resolution to this complaint, please take the necessary enforcement action against ANPAC/American Claim Service for what are appears to be deceptive trade practices. “I have attached the following exhibits and contact numbers for your review: “Exhibit A: Request to the database enhancement gateway to verify validity of document ANPAC/American Claim Service provided. “Exhibit B: Document from ANPAC/American Claim Service stating they are denying payment for needed operations due to document they claim came from Audatex. “Exhibit C: Document ANPAC /American Claim Service provided that misrepresents material facts. “Exhibit D: Email from Audatex Manager, Robert Sandkaut, stating Exhibit C is not from Audatex.

“Exhibit E: Correct database reference manual from Audatex. “Exhibit F: Email from the database enhancement gateway stating that Audatex will be contacting American Claims Service and sending them a current copy of the database reference manual. “Exhibit G-1 through G-6: Last supplement from ANPAC/American Claims Service. “Exhibit G-3: Supplements, 4 from ANPAC/American Claims Service listing the needed operations as zero on their estimate and that they are included in two stage refinish which is a material misrepresentation.” You can view the full text of these documents at www.autobodynews.com. Borek says he has spoken to the claim representative, the field appraiser, and the Texas Field Supervisor for ANPAC about this incident. “I have attempted to contact American Claim Service who will not take or return my phone calls.” “It’s just amazing that these insurance companies will do this,” said Borek.

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NTSB Calls For Full Ban of Cell Use Behind the Wheel Nationwide The government’s transportation safety experts recommended December 13 to ban all American drivers from using portable electronic devices—including cellphones, even if drivers use a hands-free device, according to MSNBC. The recommendation, which isn’t binding but which is likely to influence the decisions of Congress and state legislatures in writing new safety laws, makes only two exceptions: drivers could still use GPS navigation devices, and drivers could use cellphones behind the wheel in an emergency. “No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life,” Deborah Hersman, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a news conference in Washington. Besides calling for government action, the NTSB also urged consumer electronics manufacturers to figure out a way to “disable the functions of portable electronic devices within reach of the driver when a vehicle is in motion” while at the same time being able to turn themselves back on

in an emergency. Jason Oxman, a senior vice president of the Consumer Electronics Association, said that as far as he knew, “nothing that would meet all of those parameters would exist today.” In general, Oxman told msnbc.com, the focus should be on drivers’ choices, not on “specific devices.” He endorsed the NTSB’s recommendations to the extent that they would regulate activities that take the driver’s eyes off the road—”manual texting while driving, for example, you shouldn’t be allowed to do it,” he said. But he criticized the safety board’s suggestion to disallow handsfree devices like Bluetooth earpieces. “It may be that NTSB, in searching for a solution, is not aware of all of the technologies that exist today, and that is one reason we look forward to the opportunity to work with them,” he said. Safety advocates have long called for such a ban like the one the NTSB proposed December 13 to reduce the phenomenon of distracted driving, which the National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration says killed 3,092 people in 2010. The NHTSA has reported that about 20 percent of all drivers and 50 percent of drivers 21 to 24 years old admit to having texted while driving. Overall, more than three-quarters of drivers say they are willing to answer calls on all, most or some trips. “People continue to make bad decisions about driving distracted—but what’s clear from all of the information we have is that driver distraction continues to be a major problem,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland.

Scientists strongly endorse NTSB proposal But similar studies linking cellphone use to poor driving have been challenged, most recently by researchers at Wayne State University in Detroit, who concluded last month that some earlier studies were seriously flawed. The report, published in the journal Epidemiology, examined to earlier studies that examined crashes in which cellphone records showed that the driver

had used a cellphone. Those studies “likely overestimated the relative risk for cellphone conversations,” the researchers said, because they improperly assumed that the drivers were actually in motion when they were on the phone—in other words, they didn’t factor in such so-called part-time driving.

Cell Phone Use and Crash Risk: Evidence for Positive Bias Only 10 states ban handheld devices right now, and 35 ban texting while driving. The recommendation comes following the NTSB’s investigation of an August 2010 accident in Gray Summit, Mo., involving a pickup truck, two school buses and several other vehicles. The accident was blamed on the 19-year-old driver of the pickup, who sent or received 11 texts in the 11 minutes before the pileup, which killed two people and injured 38 others. The NTSB recommendation wouldn’t cover GPS devices, but—if it eventually becomes law—it would ban using your phone for any reason, even with a Bluetooth headset or speakers.

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I-CAR Tech

This article first appeared in the I-CAR Advantage Online, which is published and distributed free of charge. I-CAR, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, is a not-for-profit international training organization that researches and develops quality technical education programs related to collision repair. To learn more about I-CAR, and to subscribe to the free publication, visit http://www.i-car.com.

Nitrogen Hot Air Welding: Repairing Plastic Parts Hot air welders have been around for a number of years and used mostly in bumper remanufacturing facilities. A hot air welder works by passing compressed air over a heating element and heating the air to

Figure 1 - A nitrogen controller and tank are required to make nitrogen hot air welds

around 345ºC (650ºF) to melt the base plastic and filler rod/ribbon together. This type of welder does not use a flat shoe or feeder tube-type tip. A V-groove is cut into the part, the rod is laid into the V-groove, and the two are melted together. Whenever using this type of welder, it is important to have airflow over the element at all times no matter if it is preheating, welding, or cooling. A nitrogen hot air welder uses compressed nitrogen gas to eliminate oxygen from the weld area. The nitrogen acts as a shielding gas and allows for a contaminant-free weld with less smoke, which creates a stronger weld (see Figure 1). This type of welder can also switch to compressed air so that when preheating, or cooling down the heating element, it does not waste the nitrogen. A fusion weld is made when the welding rod and plastic melt and mix together. This type of weld can only be done on thermoplastics. Thermoplastics, such as polypropylene/thermo plastic polyolefin (PP/TPO), which is used to make most bumper covers today, work very well with this type of welder.

Making a Repair Before any sanding or grinding starts, the part must first be cleaned with soap and water, followed by cleaning with the recommended cleaner. It is also recommended to wipe in one direction to help reduce static. If this step is skipped, the repair may fail due

to contamination in the repair area. Once the plastic has been abraded, no solvent cleaners should be used because if any of the solvents become trapped under the repairs it could bubble the repair area in the bake cycle or when it is exposed to the sun.

Identification When making a nitrogen hot air plastic weld, the need for plastic identification is essential to a successful repair. The plastic identification is primarily used to determine which rod will match the plastic part. It is also helpful to know how the plastic will melt because different plastics will melt at different temperatures. One way to identify the type of plastic is to look at the ISO code that should be lo-

Figure 2 - Whenever possible, match the ISO code on the part to the filler material

cated on the backside of the part (see Figure 2). If the ISO code cannot be found, the vehicle maker may have a listing of the types of plastic their parts are made of and may even have a recommended repair procedure. Once the base material is identified, the technician can select the filler rod to use. Plastic welding rods are usually made of a pure plastic like polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or thermoplastic olefin (TPO). Therefore, they may not match a specific blend of plastic base material. They are available in different diameters and shapes. Some are round rods and others are a flat ribbon. There are also different widths of flat ribbon with the wide ribbons used on the backside as a reinforcement and the more narrow ribbon used as a filler on the front side.

Repair After the part has been cleaned and the

36 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

base material and filler rod have been identified, the part being repaired can be realigned and held in place using aluminum tape. Once the front side is realigned, the backside of the part can be sanded with about P80 grit. Following sanding, the area should be

Figure 3 - Protective gloves are recommended in order to prevent burns from the high heat of the nitrogen hot air welder

blown clean with clean, oilfree compressed air. After the nitrogen hot air plastic welder is preheated, the nitrogen gas

is turned on and the base material and the welding ribbon are preheated. As the base material and ribbon start to melt, the ribbon is pushed into the base material (see Figure 3). The ribbon will start to fuse to the base material and begin to squeeze out the sides of the ribbon. If a tear goes to an edge of a part, a second smaller ribbon can be laid down across the tear to form a “T” pattern at the edge of the part to add extra strength. Watch the video for a short demonstration of this process (see video at www.i-car.com). Once the backside repairs are complete, the aluminum tape can be removed and the tear on the front side can be v-grooved. A v-groove is made on the front side to allow the repair ribbon to be laid down level or slightly lower than the surrounding plastic. Again, make sure that no paint is in the weld area. A smaller ribbon is placed into the v-groove using the

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same technique as on the backside. Once the weld area has cooled, it should be sanded down and, if necessary, a plastic repair filler should be applied to fill any imperfections. The acronym TAPS will help the technician remember all the different things to watch while making a nitrogen hot air plastic weld (see Figure 4). The “T” stands for temperature, which must be at the correct setting to melt the part and the rod. The “A” stands for angle, which should be about 45º to the part. The “P” stands for pressure, which should be firm and constant. The “S” stands for speed, which Continued from Page 21

Coccaro

cantly, specifically Charles Bryant of the New Jersey Alliance of Automotive Service Professionals (AASP); Bob Skrip and Tom Bivona of the Connecticut Autobody Association; Jordan Hendler of the Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association; Ed Kizenberger and Mike Orso of the New York State Auto Collision

of material to be welded per minute.

should allow for 100–150 mm (4”–6”)

Precautions Some welding repair precautions are to never leave any shiny or melted plastic on the part. This will cause poor adhesion of any filler or refinish material. It is also important to featheredge the repair area to make it an invisible repair. With all plastics, never use a solvent on bare plastic. If the vehicle is equipped with an adaptive cruise control or parallel park assist systems, no repair should be done in front of a sensor if it impedes the ability of the sensor to function.

Conclusion Nitrogen hot air plastic welders are another option to repair plastic parts that otherwise might be discarded. As with any repair technology, it is a business decision to choose to use a repair technology that works best for you. For more information on nitrogen hot air welding and training on the various other plastic repair techniques and precautions, attend I-CAR’s Plastic And Composite Repair (PLA03) course. For comments or suggestions on the Advantage Online, please contact I-CAR at advantage@i-car.com.

Technicians Association (NYSACTA); and Aaron Schulenburg of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists. He also received support and encouragement through donations to his legal defense fund from a number of shop owners across the country. Coccaro’s suit was reduced from $40M to $15M after Progressive attorneys successfully argued that NY law does not allow an insurance company to be sued for steering.

When Coccaro’s suit against Progressive was filed, the NYSACTA was quick to support him. At the time, Orso, President of NYSACTA said, “We all know the tricks and games that are being played by a majority of the insurance companies, their appraisers and adjusters. The inside information obtained in this lawsuit only confirms our suspicions...” “It’s not about the money,” Coccaro said at the time. “It was never about the money. I just couldn’t stand

by and watch them destroy my reputation and the business I worked hard to create. If they could do this to me, they could do this to anyone.”

Figure 4 - The technique used to make a nitrogen hot air weld is similar to that of a TIG weld

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www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 37

Continued from Cover

Where We Stand

Detroit Three have now posted several quarters of consistently strong operating performance. Whether these improved earnings are short-lived will depend on a number of unknowns: ● As their output returns to normal, will Japanese companies reclaim their market share? ● Will the Detroit Three maintain their focus on new vehicle development and launches and continue to practice pricing discipline, which favors maximizing profits over volume or marketshare growth? ● How will rapid introductions to the U.S. market of highly competitive new models from automakers around the globe, combined with slow growth, play out? How will automakers differentiate their vehicles and earn the pricing and volume they need? What will they do to ensure that each program delivers an attractive return on invested capital? ● How will automakers serving the U.S. market protect themselves against the risk of disruption (such as the supply chain disruptions we have seen in Japan and Thailand) and will they do it at an affordable cost? Automakers [and repairers] will also face technological challenges. For example, advances in braking, parking assistance, propulsion, sensors, and other critical areas are bringing us closer and closer to the era of self-driving automobiles; indeed, Google has already logged well over 100,000 miles on its unmanned robotic vehicle. In urban areas, in particular, these innovations could improve traffic flow, provide revenues (through “smart tags” and traffic congestion pricing), and reduce accidents through vehicle-to-vehicle communication and coordination. Meanwhile, vehicle-based mobile communications technology continues to produce breakthroughs in voice-activated telephony, GPS, information, and entertainment. For example, GM customers can now use the automaker’s OnStar (driver communication) and RelayRides (vehicle location tracking) systems to rent their personal vehicles to others and charge fees based on usage. Both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers will have to anticipate which new technologies and add-on services will justify the cost of inno-

vation. Clearly, anything that consumers are willing to pay for, that increases safety or functionality, or that reduces cost has the potential to be successful. At the same time, OEMs must be careful to integrate new technology into vehicles effectively and only when it is well perfected, or risk adding features that are annoying or, worse yet, prone to breaking down, which could negatively affect consumer perceptions about the quality of the automaker’s products. A return to competition based on innovation is a refreshing change from the dismal situation the industry faced just two years ago. And while the Detroit Three focus on producing more exciting and attractive vehicles, they can take comfort in having addressed a perennially problematic issue through a new and mutually beneficial four-year labor agreement with the United Auto Workers. By being able to pay newly hired workers at rates comparable to those paid by Asian transplants in the U.S., GM, Ford, and Chrysler have taken another important step in narrowing the gap with their rivals on manufacturing costs. Suppliers are also relatively well positioned after several difficult years. Many suppliers were very profitable in 2011; they have emerged from the recession (and, in many cases, Chapter 11) with restructured balance sheets and lowered breakeven points. Moreover, supplier relationships with GM, Ford, and Chrysler have improved, according to the annual Planning Perspectives OEM-Supplier Working Relations Index. But there is more work to do: Chrysler and GM still score in the “very poor-poor” range. There are some dark clouds for suppliers, though. Raw material prices, already elevated, may continue to rise, and many suppliers are struggling to find the capital to ramp up production to meet increasing demand. Moreover, most suppliers must continue to deal with what has become an endemic issue: a talent shortage, as top-flight engineers willing to work in the auto industry are increasingly hard to find.

A Capabilities Strategy for OEMs Against this backdrop of an industry still in flux, this is the perfect moment for OEMs and suppliers alike to invest in developing the capabilities that allow them to achieve and sustain a leading position around the world. We

38 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

define capabilities as the distinctive strengths a company has, or should develop, to set it apart from competitors. Each capability is built on a combination of processes, tools, knowledge, skills, human capital, and organization. Prepare for Black Swans There is a natural tendency following horrific events such as the Japanese tsunami to evaluate a full range of risks and prepare contingency plans. But most black swans are the result of a cascading series of events; it is the cumulative impact that makes them so catastrophic. It is not justifiable to build costly, fully redundant supply chains, when the chances of another complete meltdown disruption are fairly small. Companies would be better off by developing a risk preparation capability: Analyze the impact of potential disruptions and prioritize responses by magnitude and chance of exposure, expense, and ease of implementation. For example, manufacturing key electronic components in one location may yield attractive economies of scale but also significant risk. Options to mitigate the risk include splitting global volume across at

least two facilities in different regions, or maintaining centralized production with backup capacity, possibly with a different supplier that can be brought up quickly. Recent experience has proven that having transparency and visibility several layers deep in the supply chain-that is, controlling and managing activities and risk among a supplier’s suppliers and their suppliers-is very difficult and yet essential. Therefore, automakers must do their best to protect themselves with nimble, agile response mechanisms, systems, and processes. (For an in-depth examination of this topic, see “Are You Ready for a Black Swan?”)

Build an Adaptive Innovation Engine In mature markets such as the U.S. and Europe, success depends on bringing to market ever-evolving new vehicles that consumers enthusiastically want and would be proud to drive. But the best ways to do this are rarely clear. For example, powertrain technologies are evolving rapidly; most manufacturers are thus trying to manage balanced portfolios of internal combustion, hybrid, electric, and See Where We Stand, Page 43

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Parts Profiles

Larry Williams is an innovative parts manager with national awards and over 30 years of experience in creating and managing profitable departments. He can be reached for consultation at ljoew2@gmail.com. To read all his columns go to http://www.autobodynews.com/columnists/williams-larry.html

Stockton Honda in Sandy, Utah, Cultivates Long Term Relationships with Larry Williams

This month I want to single out Stockton 12 Honda, in Sandy, Utah. Owned by former basketball star John Stockton, this dealership is located just a short drive south of Salt Lake City. Their web site is stockton12honda.com. Since 1998 this dealer has serviced it’s customers with pride, and a dedication to quality. Quality in all ways; and best demonstrated by its parts department which is led by “Peg” Ellenberger. Peg started her automotive career in 1985, moving to Stockton 12 Honda in 2001. She brought a following of loyal customers with her, customers who knew she cared about them. This dedication to quality service has led to continuous growth, and her customers now supply over half of the parts department’s business. Peg and I share the same opinion, dealers who cultivate long term relationships will always succeed. Those

short sighted opportunists, who always rely on the next customer, will almost always fail. The past five years have shown the truth of this opinion. Dealers who were out for the “quick buck” have vanished from the scene, leaving only the best to continue in business. Her secrets of success are simple: Don’t let your customer wait for a needed part; freight is not an issue; correct your mistakes immediately; value your customer’s business; and always put yourself into your customer’s shoes; always maintain a positive attitude, and don’t let the “problems” get you down; create long-term relationships; work smoothly together to repair cars as quickly as possible; work as friends, not strangers; and make someone else smile! Her teammates at Stockton 12 Honda share these philosophies, and treat their customers as partners, pro-

viding the best service possible to the real customer, the car owner. When you call this dealer, professionals Marc, Randy, Tamara, or JR will always give you the best service possible. Five incoming phone lines assure your call will be promptly answered. Four drivers, Melissa, Ryan, Travis and Victor will deliver parts quickly to your door. Honda of America helps this dealer, as they help all their dealers, with the Collision Link program. Peg credits this program as instrumental in her success. Her ability to come within $5 to $10 of the cost of an aftermarket part allows customers to select quality parts for their repairs. Honda’s support of their dealers over the last five years has ensured quality repairs; with original parts, to all Honda owners. Now for a little sad news, Peg is leaving. Her only regret is that she

will miss the daily contact with her team and her friends. She leaves Marc to continue her work, confident that he will continue to give her friends the same excellent service they have come to rely on. We can be assured that her life will continue to be filled with friends, wherever she goes. Good fortune always follows those who live as she does.

Larry Williams is a former parts manager and consultant with national awards and over 30 years of experience in creating profitable parts departments. He can be reached at ljoew2@gmail.com.

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Houston City Council Set to Vote on Auto Repair Ordinance, Draft Not Favorable to Shops The city of Houston is moving to enact an ordinance to regulate the automotive repair and service industry that would regulate every type of business that touches a car, whether it’s a body shop, an independent auto repair shop, a dealership or a big store like Wal-Mart. The mayor has set the vote for Wednesday, Dec. 21, the last City Council meeting of the year, and after this issue goes to press. “While this ordinance has good intentions, it paints the entire industry with one stroke. The proposed ordinance stems from an effort to eliminate a problem that comes from a small percentage of unscrupulous collision-repair shops, which is one segment of the automotive repair trade. This attempt at a solution will wrap an already difficult business in more red tape,” says Kathryn van der Pol, Past President of ASA, Houston Chapter, and co-owner of Adolf Hoepfl & Son Garage, which has been in business since 1946. Writing in the Houston Chronicle, Van der Pol says there are some good features for the consumer in this ordinance: “The ordinance will require all autorepair facilities to post their license number on their advertising and invoices so that the consumer will know which companies are city-licensed repair facilities. “It will also require auto-repair facilities to carry a minimum amount of liability insurance. Currently, there is no local or state law that requires a repair shop to have insurance. In an uninsured shop, car owners are liable for anything the garage owner does with their car. Good shops already purchase insurance, but virtually all shops that lack integrity will also lack insurance. “Giving approval over the phone for any collision work will be illegal and limits will be placed on certain fees charged by collision shops. There is a good reason for this. Repairs resulting from accidents usually cost thousands of dollars. While we are hesitant to say that the city should set pricing for any private business transaction, we agree every approval for collision repair should be in writing. The ordinance includes pages and pages that regulate how records will be kept, how repair shops may gain approvals from customers and

establishes fines for sometimes honest mistakes that must be paid to the city. If this new law takes effect, phone approvals for mechanical work will be allowed only if the customer provides a third signature permitting an estimate either to be given orally, in person, or over the phone. Records of that approval have to be maintained for two years. Automotive professionals are concerned about this for a few reasons. “ O u r main concern,” Kathryn van der Pol continues van der Pol, “is that if your car is towed in to a mechanical shop, the facility can’t even look at the car until the owner comes in or faxes or emails a signature. If you are a business owner with a fleet account, you will have to email, fax or come to the shop to give approval of authorization or to sign a waiver. This will slow down the repair process and be an inconvenience for everyone involved. “Mechanical work is entirely different from collision. It differs in that it’s quick, less costly and customers depend on our efficiency so they can get their autos back. The city’s proposal will slow down this repair process. If it sounds complicated, it will be even worse when customers are confronted with the legalese. If they refuse to sign the waiver authorizing estimates by phone, the customer will have to return to the shop, find a fax machine or send an email. “While the Automotive Service Association (ASA) fully supports efforts to root out bad players in our industry, we believe this ordinance overregulates and will be a burden to our customers who don’t own fax machines, have access to email or have a second car to come back to the shop for a signature. This is going to affect senior citizens, the disabled, those with lower incomes, and those who depend on one vehicle the most. “Another provision is that no authorizations are required for repairs under $100. As long as your bill is $99.99, the repair shop does not need your permission to make repairs or perform maintenance on your vehicle. Our concern is that if you are drop-

40 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

ping off your car for an oil change and the technician calls because he determines your coolant needs to be flushed, the work will exceed $100. Then you will have a delay in repair if you did not sign the waiver - even though we still have the two signatures required by the state. This provision seems unnecessary and could lead to confusion and abuse. “If a shop neglects to put the license plate number, vehicle identification number, or mileage on a work order, or records it inaccurately, it could result in a criminal misdemeanor charge with a $200 to $500 fine. “Why do the mayor and some members of City Council feel this ordinance is needed? “The ASA was told it was necessary because there were some bad body shops taking advantage of insurance companies, resulting in a rise of insurance premiums. “ASA requested information through an open records request about the complaints so that as an industry, we could better understand what

problems the city is trying to address. The complaints did indeed support that there are some bad players in the collision repair industry who are charging excessive disassembly fees, administrative fees and are holding cars hostage. We were given 257 complaints filed over a three-year period with the Houston Auto Dealers, a division of the Houston Police Department that enforces automotive repair facility licenses. Of those, 61 complaints concerned excessive fees from collision shops—none from mechanical. It is a problem, but, “it’s like killing flies with a cannon instead of a flyswatter,” as Councilmember Jolanda Jones said. “Last, there is the concern about increased costs of implementation that will be passed on to consumers. All our paperwork will have to change to comply. Not to mention all our fees and permits were increased this year. For example, in 2011 a Houston automotive repair facility license increased 147 percent, from $200 to $495. See Houston Ordinance, Page 44

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Delray Beach, FL, Shop Owner Opposes GEICO’s 10% Charge on Domestic OEM Parts Eddie Quintela wants to know why GEICO is charging his customers a 10% deductible on their domestic OEM parts, regardless of fault, and in addition to regular deductible and/or applicable betterments. Quintela asks why GEICO is apparently assessing this fee in Palm Beach county but not in nearby Polk county; and why is it that an insured driving a foreign made vehicle is not deducted 10% for OEM parts, but one driving a vehicle made in the United States is made to pay 10% extra for their parts? Quintela sent his first email to GEICO’s Dan Maloney, his local claims supervisor, on Dec. 7: Dan, I called you twice and left two voice messages and haven’t heard back from you yet. I am writing in regards to the 10% parts discount that you have taken from the estimate on claim # 0088707650101145-01. As you are aware of, we do not offer any parts discount to Geico or any other insurance company which we do not have a direct repair agreement with. I spoke with our customer, your insured and asked them if there is

anything in their policy that states that they are responsible for anything other than their deductible or any applicable betterments. As per Mrs. Wrubel, she is unaware of anything in her policy that states that she will be responsible for anything other than her deductible or applicable betterments. She stated that there [was] nothing stated about being responsible for 10% of the OEM part costs. Can you forward either her or me the part of her policy that states that the insured will have to pay 10% of the OEM part costs? If you cannot provide that, we would appreciate that you complete a supplement removing the 10% deduction. I hope that you will respond promptly to this email so that we can get this matter settled as quick as possible so that we can better serve our mutual customer. The following day Quintela copied the previous email to Maloney’s supervisor prefacing with the following text: Good morning Mr. Nicely, My name is Eddie Quintela. I operate a collision repair facility in Delray Beach, FL. I am writing to you to see

if I can obtain some assistance with an issue that we continue to have here in Palm Beach county, FL. I am forwarding you an email that I sent to your local claims supervisor Mr. Dan Maloney. Your company continues to take a deduction of 10% off of any domestic OEM part on all your estimates. This leaves your insured’s to pay an additional out of pocket expense besides their deductible and/or any applicable betterments as described in your policies. I have yet to see where this additional deduction is spelled out or listed in your automobile policy. What is even more troubling is that it is also applied to claimants estimates where a Geico insured is at fault, thus placing an expense on a claimant that had no fault at all. Mr. Maloney did call me this morning to inform me that Geico ‘s position will not change and that they will have their insured pay the additional monies. As I asked Mr. Maloney in my email, can you please show your insured or me where it is written in your policy that they will be held responsible for this?

I believe that Geico wants to treat every customer the same in every aspect, but how can an insured in Palm beach county not be made whole after a loss but an insured in Polk county, FL, can? How can an insured that drives a foreign made vehicle not be deducted 10% for OEM parts, but one that drives a vehicle made in the United States be made to pay 10% of their parts? My customers that own and insure American vehicles are infuriated when I have to explain that they owe additional monies on top of their deductible because they drive a domestic vehicle. Mr. Nicely, I have already taken one of these claims to court and was awarded a judgment for the 10% and attorney fees. Your company has asked for a stay on the judgment and we are scheduled for another hearing on January 9, 2012. The 10% that we are suing for in that claim was a mere fraction of the attorney fees that we incurred and ordered to be paid by your company. I cannot see how that makes a sound business decision by your local manageSee GEICO Deductible, Page 48

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power steering, bulbs, coolant, fluids, and wipers, as well as anything her audience may have questions about. Students also learn some easy doit-yourself car repairs to enable them to save money. The course has recently expanded to include an iPhone app, available through iTunes, as well as clothing and a DVD which are available at www.womenautoknow.com. “Accidents happen and we often are sitting in a situation where the customer is feeling overly anxious and not able to handle the loss of the vehicle or the cost. This is not the time to put your tough guy face on, rather your sympathy and understanding,” said Fordin, “Many women tell me that the first thing that happens when they bring in their car after an accident is that they get an intimidating person who scares the life out of them.” She also touched on the often contentious relationship between insurers and repair shops. “The cost of help is difficult and insurance companies make it almost impossible to do the right job at the right price. We are caught between a rock and a hard place with the cost of insurance, business operations and personnel and the economy has not given us the ability to raise our prices to accommodate,” said Fordin. As far as an outlook for 2012, she urged shop owners to gird their loins and prepare for another tough year. “It will be another year to pull in your belts and hang tough. This is an important lesson for all Americans: we got too fat too fast and now we all need a good diet,” said Fordin. Charles Bryant, Executive Director of the AASP/NJ also looked back at the issues over 2011 with Autobody News. Bryant saw two major issues between insurers and body shops; “Insurers are dictating what

they will pay for the services of the Collision Industry, rather than attempting to work with the shop making the repair to negotiate a fair and reasonable amount for the service being provided. Also Insurers have been overstepping their authority by dictating to shop owners on where or from whom to buy parts and or services from and limiting their payment for those parts and or services to an amount that will only cover the cost quoted from the provider recommended by the insurer,” said Bryant. When Bryant was asked what he thinks 2012 will hold for the industry he said he’d like to see “the Collision Industry reaching the point of ‘Enough is Enough’ and finally standing up against all of the unfair practices that the Insurance Industry has and continues to impose on the Collision Industry.” Domenico Nigro, owner of Nigro’s Auto Body in Philadelphia, PA, also singled out the insurance industry and some of the issues he has dealt with at his business over the last year. “Steering is huge, it’s just ridiculous,” said Nigro. He sees insurance companies using careful tactics to steer their customers to their DRP shops. Nigro hopes that DRPs will get a little more aggresive in the future— ”They can’t give the world away to the insurance companies. Yet, we don’t get paid for so many things. We lose so much money with all the insurance company cuts, and they add up,” said Nigro. He cites the really low caps on paint and materials fees. Even with proper documentation of costs from suppliers insurance companies are still reluctant to pay up. “Why aren’t shop owners doing the necessary paperwork to get paid what they deserve for paint and materials?” he asked. He also expressed frustration with insurers cutting costs on a statewide level. According to Nigro when an in-

surance company doesn’t pay the proper fees and costs for a job they are also cutting down on the state sales tax they pay, which ultimately hurts the state. He also expressed wanting to see insurers and body shops working together towards the common goal of customer safety in the future. Nigro also pushes for more industry standards. “Repair vs. replace should be the only item up for discussion between a body shop and an insurer,” he says. Locally, Nigro also pointed out some issues within Philadelphia. “How come in Philly no one needs to be certified to fix a car? You need more certification to cut someone’s hair than to repair a car in this city.”

General Motors Company may redesign the battery for its Chevrolet Volt to address issues raised after federal officials opened a safety probe into the plug-in electric car, GM’s chief executive said on December 1, according to Reuters. “We want to assure the safety of our customers, of our buyers, and so we’re just going to take a time out, if

you will, in terms of redesigning the battery possibly,” said Dan Akerson, Chairman and CEO of General Motos. GM said on December 5 it would offer loaner vehicles to about 5,500 Volt owners as it works with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on ways to reduce the risk of battery fires breaking out days after crashes involving the car. The com-

pany also said it would not deliver the Opel-branded version of the Volt in Europe until its engineers and safety regulators had worked out how to deal with the 400-pound battery pack after any accidents. The steps came in response to a decision in late November by NHTSA to open an investigation into the safety of the Volt’s battery pack. A lithium-

Continued from Front Page

Industry Wrap-Up

MA Continues Right to Repair Battle In Massachusetts, the Right to Repair battle continued throughout 2011 without resolution, securing its place as a continued issue in 2012. “We are very pleased with the growing support for Right to Repair on both the federal and state levels. The momentum building in Congress, coupled with the groundswell of support from voters in Massachusetts, demonstrates how important Right to Repair is to consumers, especially in a tough economy,” said Kathleen Schmatz, president and CEO of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), “Right to Repair will help alleviate motorists’ financial burden by ensuring a competitive vehicle repair marketplace, allowing car owners to patronize the repair facility of their choice.” According to the Right to Repair Coalition, the voter initiative would, for the first time, allow consumers to access all of the non-proprietary repair information required to have their vehicles repaired where they choose, at a new car dealership or an independent shop. The proposed law would level the playing field between the big car manufacturers’ dealerships and inde-

pendent, neighborhood repair facilities, allowing the latter to finally be able to access the same non-proprietary automobile diagnostic and repair information that is currently only available to the manufacturers’ dealers and their new car dealerships.

Hurricane Season Brings Uninvited Storms and Damage to East Coast Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee also caused quite a bit of damage to shops on the east coast, something property owners are all-too familiar with. For example, following Hurricane Irene, Station Auto Body in Newark, DE, was left under 3-1/2 feet of water, according to owner Rob Amadio. Luckily, the shop was able to get out from under the flood waters and returned to normal service shortly after the hurricane passed through. Amadio said they did not experience any recurring flooding in the storms at the end of September. McBride Auto Body in Woodland Park, NJ, also sustained flood damage due to Hurricane Irene, and owner Joseph Carioti III took advantage of the mandatory cleanup as an opportunity to renovate some parts of his shop. Most of the flood damage occured in the office area of the building, since the shop floor is bare concrete, but parts of the business were under 4-feet of water after Hurricane Irene blew through. Thankfully not all of the cars were flooded during the storm, but the business did lose some tools that got damaged by all the floodwater. McBride’s office area is now better than before Hurricane Irene hit, he told Autobody News. “The damage done in New Jersey, particularly the northern part of our state, has been devastating for several of our members,” said AASP/NJ Jeff McDowell in September. “We are contacting our members to let them know that AASP/NJ is here for them and willing to help in any way we can.”

GM May Redesign Volt Battery Amid Mayhem Caused By Post-Crash Fires

42 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

ion battery pack in a Volt that had been through a crash test in May caught fire three weeks later at a test facility in Wisconsin, according to NHTSA. In lab tests completed last week by U.S. safety regulators, a second Volt pack began to smoke and throw off sparks while a third battery pack caught See Volt Battery, Page 45

Continued from Page 38

Where We Stand

fuel cells until there is greater clarity about the future. The challenge is exacerbated by fluctuating fuel prices and inconsistent government policies that make setting a long-term course and sticking to it extremely difficult and costly. Therefore, manufacturers need to develop distinctive practiceswhich might include open networks, frugal engineering, more intensive partnerships with suppliers, or other refinements-to out-innovate the competition at an affordable cost.

Operate in a Global Marketplace Emerging economies such as the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) offer the potential for high growth and an opportunities to build strong positions in the biggest consumer markets of the future. By contrast, North America and Europe have high volumes but much more limited growth potential. Given this divide, OEMs need to tailor and customize their product portfolios to meet the disparate requirements of both mature

and emerging markets, which have fundamentally different consumer needs and preferences, competitive dynamics, and economic returns. For example, manufacturing strategies for emerging markets should evolve over time, with long-term investment horizons and factories producing less expensive, less profitable automobiles now but geared for assembling higherpriced, higher-return vehicles in the future.

Manage Inventory Well In a highly competitive market, it is more critical than ever for automakers to provide a mix of models and trims on dealer lots closely matching customer demand, although given the permutation of vehicles necessary to meet distinct customer needs, 100 percent inventory coverage is neither possible nor practical. Providing the right inventory means at a minimum continually improving distribution and sales forecasting capabilities to make sure inventory in each region is adequate, but not excessive, based on potential sales. More ambitiously, smart inventory strategies may involve transitioning to a more sophisti-

Mazda 3 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;11

cated mix of build-to-stock for popular combinations and build-to-order, with more rapid and certain delivery than today, for unusual combinations. This could generate significant cost savings and better align vehicles with customer preferences.

Maintain Pricing Discipline Capacity issues have essentially been addressed in the U.S.; factory utilization rates are quite high for most OEMs in the NAFTA region. High-capacity utilization brings less pressure to offer discounts and incentives, and OEMs have taken excellent advantage of this situation to enjoy higher realized prices and profits. But as competition increases, automakers must maintain this rigorous and dispassionate approach to pricing and incentives, using advanced modeling to understand price-volume trade-offs and to estimate residual value effects of firsttransaction decisions. And they must be willing to prioritize medium- and long-term profitability over immediate market share. Focus on Customer Experience As vehicle and quality differences nar-

row, automakers are increasingly exploring ways to create differentiated experiences for customers throughout the vehicle life cycle. This is fertile territory for revenue and earnings growth but requires a well-defined OEM capability. You must define the experience you want to provide, make it consistent with your brand heritage, and make every aspect of your product and service ecosystem more customer-centric-including in-store experience, warranty and ongoing maintenance and repair, and financial services options and execution. Over the past decade, there have been numerous attempts at this, often with high expectations; most have fallen short. We believe that in an era when consumers seek value, OEMs that can master and execute this capability best will gain a major competitive advantage. Primary Capabilities for Suppliers Drive Innovation One excellent way for suppliers to capture value is to offer OEMs something that others donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t and canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. Indeed, when suppliers create end-user See Where We Stand, Page 54

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On Creative Marketing

An Effective Marketing Focus with Thomas Franklin

Tom Franklin has been a sales and marketing consultant for fifty years. He has written numerous books and provides marketing solutions and services for many businesses. He can be reached at (323) 871-6862 or at tbfranklin@aol.com. See Tom’s columns at www.autobodynews.com under Columnists > Franklin

I recently noticed a shop that had sevOn the opposite end of the light eral excellent repeat business sources concentration spectrum is the flashlose one of them—a major dealership light. It casts a broad beam that en—to a competitor. When I inquired compasses a wide area ahead of the about how this could happen, I learned light, but the intensity of the light is that the shop’s owner and manager fairly weak. It’s just strong enough for were busy focusing their full attention the human eye to get a general view on saving one of their insurance of the area ahead. Marketing concenDRPs. During this time, they some- tration can fall across a similar specDick Strom trum: intense concentration vs. a wide, what neglected with that major dealership source. This gave the competitor an less effective, general approach. opening to jump in and grab that busiThere may be no “right answer” to ness. I’m sure that in retrospect, this the question: “How much or how little shop owner realized he should have should I concentrate marketing attenassigned someone—or hired someone tion?” But I believe the shop that lost —to maintain giving that dealership the dealership needed to accurately asall of the attention they were accus- sess how many balls they could juggle tomed to receiving. at once. I’ve seen novice shops that Is it possible to have too many worked hard to get a DRP or a dealerirons in the fire? Is a shop better off ship relationship and then lose it bejust concentrating on a limited num- cause they didn’t realize that getting with Amaradio ber of sources so eachLee can be given thatJr. relationship was just the beginning. abundant attention? After that, keeping the relationLet me illustrate with a metaphor. ship depends on giving it adequate atOne of the exciting technologies of tention. Attention is one of the most “the space age” is the development of prized commodities in existence. lasers (L-ight A-mplified by S-timu- Many students fail classes in school lated E-mission of R-adiation). A because they can’t keep their attention beam of light is concentrated to such a on the teacher or the subject matter. fine point it can cut through metal. Marital relationships often fail beThink about for the intensity of concause one of the spouses is so incentrated attention needed to hold volved in business or other aspects of onto a major referral source. life, he or she fails to give adequate at-

tention to the spouse or the children. All business—and human—relationships call for an enormous amount of attention. Many aspects of life fall apart because of inadequate attention. Plants die without water or fertilizer. A stock in a retirement portfolio drops because the owner failed to keep track of the value and didn’t sell in time to gain a profit or prevent a loss. A physical condition that might have been treated and cured early on becomes life threatening because no attention was paid to the early warning signs. The list can go on and on. The opposite of receiving attention is being ignored. Everyone likes attention. We seek out the restaurant where the waiters or waitresses know us by name and give us that special attention. We prefer the dry cleaner and the barber and other service people who favor us with their attention. In marketing, attention is the most valuable thing there is. Ignoring a shop’s repeat business source is a guaranteed way to lose it. So how can a shop owner or manager be certain a referral relationship is getting enough attention? It can often come down to: “How many man-hours can be devoted to the source?” I found

out that in the early stages of losing that shop’s dealership relationship, an estimator was assigned to be on the dealership’s service drive every morning to write brief estimates on any damage observed on vehicles coming in for service. But when that estimator’s time at the dealership was reduced or eliminated altogether some days, the relationship began falling apart. Fortunately for the shop owner, the attention he took away from the dealership was turned to hosting manager meetings for a major insurance company, plus promoting a drive-in relationship with another. So he didn’t lose much business. But he also could have saved the dealership by somehow keeping a laser-like attention focus there as well. The biggest, most affluent shops never limit the number of referral sources they can obtain. They have the resources to assign one dedicated person (or more) to each source to be certain that source receives meticulous attention to repair requirements, estimate details, reports and more. But I believe a smaller shop without that kind of resources would be wiser to try for fewer sources and be certain each source they did have receives the ultimate in constant attention.

changes to the city’s ordinance on Nov. 30 covering towing companies and auto shops geared toward “trying to make sure that an unhealthy rela“What do we recommend? Ide- tionship between the tow truck drivers ally, the city should create two sepa- and collision repair shops is monitored rate automotive licenses, one issued more closely,” Mayor Annise Parker to regulate the collision industry and said. “There are lots of reports that another, simpler one, for the mechan- after accidents, tow trucks may be ical industry. Many at City Hall ac- being paid bounties to take cars to parknowledge that this would be a real ticular collision repair shops.” fix, but there iswith a rushJanet right now to The Houston city council voted Chaney pass the ordinance before the end of to delay voting on those provisions the year. What’s the rush? ASA has for two weeks (until Dec. 21). The known about this proposal for less majority of the council feels that more than a year, and we have been work- time should be granted to have input ing diligently with the city to help. from additional small business ownThe Automotive Service Associ- ers. The delay will allow more time ation wants City Hall to slow down, for further deliberation and commulisten to both industry and consumers nication with members of the Housand do it right the first time. ton city council over potential *** changes in the proposed ordinance Houston City council approved language.

Other key industry representatives, including the Houston Auto Body Association (HABA), applaud some of the proposed mandates but are quick to say others may end up bogging down reputable businesses, slowing their ability to serve customers. James Brown, President of the Houston Auto Body Association (HABA), testified before the Mayor and City Council on behalf of HABA on November 29, voicing the HABA’s concerns with the current language in the ordinance. Brown was pulled into a private meeting with the Mayor’s Assistant, the City Attorney, and members of HPD Auto Dealers Division (Capt Baimbridge & Sgt Provost) following his testimony. The meeting lasted around an hour and a half and the group informed Brown that none of the latest revisions HABA requested would be honored

for one reason or another. “We do think there’s a lot of good things in there, said Brown to KHOU 11 News Houston. “But there are a lot of things that still need some work. There are a lot of things in there that give the insurance companies the same authority as the consumer—the owner of the vehicle—which we would like to see taken out.” “HABA has been working with HPD Auto Dealers Division for over a year and that has resulted in a lot of positive changes,” said Brown, “HABA has also worked closely with ASA on the revisions and we have made a lot of progress but still have a ways to go.” Councilwoman Sue Lovell, who spent a year meeting with auto repair industry representatives to craft the changes, said that once a car arrives, some unscrupulous collision repair shops charge more than $1,000 just to

Opinions Count

Action Counts

Your Turn

with Sheila Loftus

Continued from Page 40

Houston Ordinance

Shop Showcase

Industry Overview with Janet Chaney

44 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

generate an estimate. She brandished a binder full of complaints to back her assertion that while most merchants are honest, there have been enough cases of abuse to warrant the city’s intervention. “It’s really about consumer protection,” she said. Jeanette Rash, owner of Fast Tow and leader of a consortium of wrecker companies that clears freeway breakdowns for the city, supported the revisions in part because it will allow storage yards to increase daily rates for the first time in a decade, from $15 to $20. Council members delayed action on other revisions that would have specifically regulated estimates and repairs to prevent the scenario Lovell outlined. Those changes would require mechanics and body shops to get written authorization for all work or a signed waiver allowing for a verbal approval from the customer. The changes would require shop owners to keep such records for two years. ‘Overregulation’ Councilman Oliver Pennington had two problems with the revisions. “I think it’s a classic case of

overregulation,” he said. The recordkeeping requirements are too onerous for the shops, he said. He also complained that the rule changes fail to make a distinction between collision repair shops, which have generated most of the complaints of alleged swindles, and mechanics, which have not been the subject of widespread complaints. Pennington said mechanics should be able to get a verbal OK from customers for prices that exceed the estimate instead of having to do more paperwork that creates an inconvenience and cost. Council members Jolanda Jones and C.O. Bradford said the Parker administration got the changes to them too late for proper consideration. The final version of the changes did not arrive at council offices until November 28, meaning many council members did not see them until moments before November 30th’s meeting. Targeting ‘bad guys’ The late changes also caused automotive repair industry representatives to hesitantly endorse a final version they acknowledged they were not yet familiar with based on how it had

been described to them. “We want to get rid of the bad guys in the body shop business,” adds van der Pol. “On the other hand,” she said, “We don’t want something that burdens small business with overregulation,” and she worries that the proposed revisions will criminalize an honest mistake, such as not collecting a signature authorization. The Houston City Council says the new auto repair industry regulations for the city came about because of complaints that some body shops are deceiving consumers. The changes are aimed at increasing transparency within the industry, said Lt. Wendy Bainbridge with the Houston Police Department, according to KHOU 11 News Houston. The ordinance comes after one Houston City Council member said she received complaints about body work done without customers’ consent. “They’d charge (customers) for the estimate. Sometimes up to $1,000. And if you wanted to get your car out, you had to pay the $1,000. We thought that wasn’t fair,” Council Member Sue Lovell said to KHOU 11 News Houston.

Continued from Page 42

Volt Battery

fire a week after a simulated crash. The probe has threatened the reputation of a vehicle that has been featured prominently in GM advertising as a symbol of the U.S. automaker’s drive toward improved fuel economy. “It is a safe car,” Akerson said. “We just want make sure that there are protocols post-crash.” He cited the Volt’s top crash-test ratings as well as an announcement by Consumer Reports that the Volt ranked the highest among all models in customer satisfaction. Consumer Reports said 93 percent of respondents who own the Volt would definitely buy it again, making it the highest-rated car in the nationally representative survey. However, Consumer Reports pointed out that the Volt, which sells for $40,000, has not been in dealer showrooms long and the survey was conducted before NHTSA announced its probe. GM executives have said that the Volt’s battery pack would be safe during and immediately after any crash.

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NHTSA Announces Lowest Traffic Fatalities in 60 Years This Year U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced updated 2010 fatality and injury data showing that highway deaths fell to 32,885 for the year, the lowest level since 1949 on December 8. The record-breaking decline in traffic fatalities occurred even as American drivers traveled nearly 46 billion more miles during the year, an increase of 1.6 percent over the 2009 level. “While we have more work to do to continue to protect American motorists, these numbers show we’re making historic progress when it comes to improving safety on our nation’s roadways,” said Secretary LaHood. “Thanks to the tireless work of our safety agencies and partner organizations over the past few decades, to save lives and reduce injuries, we’re saving lives, reducing injuries, and building the foundation for what we hope will be even greater success in the future.” The updated information released by the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today indicates 2010 also saw the lowest fatality rate ever recorded, with 1.10 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2010, down from 1.15 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2009. Other key statistics include: ● Fatalities declined in most categories in 2010, including for occupants of passenger cars and light trucks (including SUVs, minivans and pickups). ● Deaths in crashes involving drunk drivers dropped 4.9 percent in 2010, taking 10,228 lives compared to 10,759 in 2009. ● Fatalities rose among pedestrians, motorcycle riders, and large truck occupants.

New Measure of Fatalities Related to Distracted Driving NHTSA also unveiled a new measure of fatalities related to distracted driving today, called “distraction-affected crashes.” Introduced for 2010 as part of a broader effort by the agency to refine its data collection to get better information about the role of distraction in crashes, the new measure is designed to focus more narrowly on crashes in which a driver was most likely to have been distracted. While NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) previ-

ously recorded a broad range of potential distractions, such as careless driving and cell phone present in the vehicle, the new measure focuses on distractions that are most likely to affect crash involvement, such as distraction by dialing a cellular phone or texting and distraction by an outside person/event. New data released today by NHTSA using its refined methodology show an estimated 3,092 fatalities in distraction-affected crashes in 2010. The NHTSA effort to refine distraction data is similar to a step taken with alcohol information in FARS data for 2006. Prior to 2006, FARS reported “alcohol-related crashes,” which was defined as crashes in which a driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist had a blood alcohol level of .01 or higher. In an effort to focus on crashes in which alcohol was most likely to be a causative factor, NHTSA introduced the new measure, “alcohol-impaired driving crashes,” with a more narrow definition including only those crashes in which a driver or motorcycle rider had a blood alcohol level of .08 or above, the legal limit in every state. “Even as we celebrate the incredible gains we’re making in reducing traffic fatalities, we recognize our responsibility to improve our understanding of the dangers that continue to threaten drivers and passengers,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “That’s why, under the leadership of Secretary LaHood, NHTSA is working to refine the way we collect data on distracted driving and laying the groundwork for additional research to capture real-world information on this risky behavior.” While the explicit change in methodology means the new measure cannot be compared to the 5,474 “distraction-related” fatalities reported in 2009, other NHTSA data offer some indication that driver distraction continues to be a significant problem. The agency’s nationwide observational survey of drivers in traffic remains unchanged between 2009 and 2010, with 5 percent of drivers seen talking on handheld phones. In addition, given ongoing challenges in capturing the scope of the problem-including individuals’ reluctance to admit behavior, lack of witnesses, and in some cases the death of the driver-NHTSA believes the actual number of crashes

46 JANUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

that involve distracted driving could be higher.

National Attitude Survey on Distracted Driving A new national NHTSA survey offers additional insights into how drivers behave when it comes to texting and cell phone use while behind the wheel and their perceptions of the safety risks of distracted driving. Survey respondents indicated they answer calls on most trips; they acknowledge few driving situations when they would not use the phone or text; and yet they feel unsafe when riding in vehicles in which the driver is texting and they support bans on texting and cell phone use. These findings provide further evidence that distracted driving is a complex problem that is both hard to measure and difficult to address given conflicting public attitudes and behaviors. “The findings from our new attitude survey help us understand why some people continue to make bad decisions about driving distracted-but what’s clear from all of the informa-

tion we have is that driver distraction continues to be a major problem,” said Administrator Strickland. “We need to maintain our focus on this issue through education, laws, enforcement, and vehicle design to help keep drivers’ attention on the road.” Among the findings, more than three-quarters of drivers report that they are willing to answer calls on all, most, or some trips. Drivers also report that they rarely consider traffic situations when deciding when to use their phone. While most drivers said they are willing to answer a call and many will send a text while driving, almost all of these same drivers reported that they would feel very unsafe as a passenger if their driver was sending or receiving text messages. Over one-third report that they would feel very unsafe if their driver was using a handheld phone.

Continuing Data Refinement NHTSA’s adoption of the new “distraction-affected crash” measure for the 2010 FARS data is one step in a

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continuing effort to focus in on driver distraction and separate it from other issues. As part of its commitment to reduce the problem of distracted driving, NHTSA will continue to look for improved data sources. While police reports of serious crashes are an important source, they are limited by the evidence available to the officer. As a result, the agency is working to optimize information from crash reports by improving reporting forms and officer training. In addition, NHTSA will analyze new data on driver distraction from a new naturalistic study in which about 2,000 cars will be fitted with cameras and other equipment that will record driver behavior over a period of two years. Researchers will be able to use these data to associate driver behaviors with crash involvement. Data from this study will be available in 2014.

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Ford Dividend Reinstated After More Than 5 Years

AutoNation CEO Says No Double-dip Recession Coming

The U.S. economy will avoid a douIn another signal of its comeback, Ford ble-dip recession as auto sales conMotor reinstated its dividend Decemtinue to climb back toward 16 million ber 8, its first payout to common sharea year, says AutoNation Inc. CEO holders in five years, accoding to Mike Jackson. CNNMoney. Ford, the only major U.S. “There is so much stimulus in automaker to avoid a federal bailout this economy” that another downturn and bankruptcy reorganization in 2009, will be avoided, Jackson told dealers has been the most profitable of the U.S. at a Washington Area New AutomoBig Three for several years. But it held bile Dealers Association luncheon. off on the payments until now as it And while the recovery is weak, “if tried to address its balance sheet. there’s a bright side in this economy, it The company's debt is still conis the auto industry,” said the chief of sidered to be junk bonds by the rating the nation’s largest retailer. agencies, despite recent improvement. Jackson is not yet giving a foreFord will pay 5 cents a share to cast for 2012 but says U.S. auto sales shareholders of record of its Class B will increase from the 12.6 million or and common stock on Jan. 31, 2012. 12.7 million units likely in 2011. It last paid a dividend in 2006. Longer term, though, reaching Ford will become the only U.S. 16 million annual sales may take two automaker paying a dividend. GM has or three years, he said. “We’re on a yet to pay one since its initial public journey back to selling 16 million offering a year ago. Shares of units a year.” Chrysler Group are still privately He said the projected rebound held, split between Italian automaker has three drivers. Fiat and a union-controlled trust fund 1. Demographics support it. With for retirees' health care expenses. 14 million vehicles taken off the road Give us of your opinion on matters affecting the industry. The lack dividend, coupled annually, the scrappage rate exceeds with uncertainty about the strength of new vehicle sales. Vehicles are getting the U.S. economic recovery, has older with the average age up to 11 worked against Ford shares, which years, he said. And 1 million new are down 35% year to date. households are being formed annupublisher@autobodynews.com

ally. “You see it in the showroom every day: People need to replace their vehicles,” Jackson said. 2. Automakers are producing better vehicles than ever before with innovative new technology. 3. In a reversal of the credit crisis that triggered the industry downturn, great financing options are available. “If there’s one lesson from 2008, it’s that people will make their car payments,” Jackson said. “People will pay for their cars before they’ll pay for their house and before they’ll pay for their credit cards.”

Fiat 500 Gets Only 3-star Safety Rating from NHTSA

The 2012 Fiat 500, one of the first minicars to hit the U.S. market, received a disappointing safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Fiat 500 has a combined overall safety rating Want tostars. Contribute to t of three out of five In comparison, the 2012 Ford Fiesta four- and five-door models received a combined overall safety rating of four out of five stars. publisher@auto

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Continued from Page 41

GEICO Deductible

ment. It not only shows poor customer service on your company’s part towards their own insureds, but it deteriorates relationships between your company and the hundreds of collision repair facilities here in south Florida. If you can look into this matter and advise me if there is anything you can do, both your insured and I would greatly appreciate it. I would like to avoid any costly legal proceedings if at all possible. I would like to thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

Quintela then received a phone call from Dan Maloney, the local claims supervisor, who told Quintela that the domestic OEM parts discount was customary in the market, a surprise to Quintela, who called several local shops and dealers, then emailed back seeking written confirmation: Good morning [Dan Maloney], Thank you for your call yesterday. As per our conversation; you told me that your position on the 10% do-

mestic OEM parts discount will not change and that it is customary in our market. I must say that I was taken aback by that statement. Besides Geico, there are no other insurance companies (that I am not a DRP for) that take this so called customary 10% discount. Since you told me that most shops and dealers accept this, I decided to make some phone calls to other shops and dealers and ask them if they offer this 10% discount or if Geico just “takes” this discount. As I thought, everyone that I spoke with told me that Geico just takes the 10% discount. I spoke with 2 shops in particular that stated that they must always charge your insured the 10%. Since you made the statement that this is customary in the market, I have begun to wonder, when was the last time that Geico surveyed the “market”? I have yet to ever fill out or participate in a Geico survey. I also asked every shop owner and manager that I know if they ever filled out a Geico survey and I was astounded to find out that no one has ever been surveyed. If you never surveyed a shop in the “market,” how can you make such a statement? If I spoke to

over two dozen shop owners and managers and none offer this 10% discount, how is it “customary” in our market? Mr. Maloney, I am willing to team up with Geico and do a survey of the south Florida market. Let the market speak for itself and let’s finally put this issue to rest. If you are confident that your position is correct and customary, let’s conduct a true survey and find out. Let the facts speak for themselves and we will have the correct data to determine what is fair and reasonable in our market.

Quintela then followed up with a copy of this email to Supervisor Nicely asking for written confirmation of the policy and repeating his offer to help GEICO with its survey of the market: Good morning Mr. Nicely, I emailed you last week regarding an issue that I am having with your company. I have yet to receive a response in writing from either you or your local claim supervisor, Dan Maloney. I do not believe that this is typical of you or your employees, but a response in a timely matter would have been appreciated.

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Mr. Nicely, I also copied you on an email that I sent to Mr. Dan Maloney regarding Geico ‘s survey practice and idea of the local market area. If you or your company disagree with my findings or have information to illustrate that my findings are not accurate, than please respond in writing as to any inaccuracies or differences of which Geico may have within five, (5) business days. Should I receive no written response within this reasonable time frame than it will be agreed that the aforementioned facts are true and accurate as reflected herein. I look forward to hearing from you. I hope that we can work this matter out without any further complications. I thank you for your time. GEICO responded with a hand delivered letter dated Dec. 13 saying: Dear Mr. Quintela, The e-mails that you sent to Mr. Nicely have been forwarded to our attention. Our experience is that we reach an accepted price on the vast majority of claims in your area. We rely on our experienced staff to let us know when accepted prices cannot be reached and it occurs very infre-

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quently. When we are unable to reach an agreed price, we have been able to resolve those matters through the appraisal clause of the policy. Tony Lodato Auto Damage Manager [Geico]

Quintela gave his last response, as of this writing, via email: Mr. Nicely, Thank you for forwarding my emails to your local auto damage manager, Mr. Tony Lodato. Please see the attached written response that was handed to me by Mr. Ladato & Mr. Dan Maloney yesterday, 12-14-11. I would have preferred if you had contacted me directly, or had someone other than a local manager respond to me since they are the root cause of my concerns. I would like to know if you have read and approved of your company’s response to my concerns? Mr. Nicely, your Auto damage manager, Tony Lodato has incorrectly addressed the appraisal clause as a possible solution to my concerns. The appraisal clause would come into play if we did not agree upon the method of repairs, labor times, or if we had a disagree-

ment over repair or replacement of a tion against your policy holder, and part or parts. We have no such distherefore causing another breach of agreements. We are on the same contract on Geico‘s behalf. I believe page as far as these items go. What that your local management has the concern is over, is the fact that been breaching the policy contract Geico takes a 10% discount off of and acting in bad faith in regards to domestic OEM parts that we both this issue. I know that I have spoken agree need to be replaced. I still find to well over two dozen collision reit difficult to understand how Geico pair facilities and all seem to agree can take a discount on something that this is taking place in on a wide that we do not offer. An insurance scale throughout the south Florida company, I understand, is to fully area. and properly indemnify an insured I have offered to work with your for their entire loss (less their decompany to do a survey of the marductible if applicable); but deducting ket and determine what the true fair 10% off of parts is not indemnifying and reasonable labor rate and your insured fully or properly, but is a charges are. breach of the policy contract and an As I have stated in my past act of bad faith. emails, I have yet to find a collision I am still baffled by the logic shop that is not a direct repair shop which your local management conthat offers this discount to Geico, ducts itself by. How can an insurthey have all stated that Geico just anceOriginal company takes BMW Parts take a 10% domestic North County BMWit. I am respectfully asking for parts discount when it is never menyour intervention in this matter so tioned in the policy? What is worse that we can avoid any further comis when you fail to protect your own www.ncountybmw.com plications. I would like nothing more bmwusa.com (800) 564-8222 insured as stated in the policy when than to arrange a meeting with you, they are the tortfeasor [wrongdoer]. your local management, and a group Original BMW Parts North County BMW How can Geico justify having a of my peers to sit and discuss this claimant pay 10% of their parts issue. I would like to be able to serve when they were a victim of your pol- www.ncountybmw.com our mutual customers in the future bmwusa.com icy holders’ negligence? That would (800) 564-8222 without having to expose them to cause a claimant to pursue legal acSee GEICO Deductible, Page 54 Original BMW Parts

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China to Levy New Tariffs on U.S. Vehicles

In the latest sign of trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies, China has announced it will impose anti-subsidy and antidumping duties on imported cars made in the United States. The duties, to affect the Detroit Three and some U.S. units of foreign automakers, will begin Dec. 15 and last two years, the Chinese Commerce Ministry has announced. Cars that have engine capacity at or above 2.5 liters will be hit with duties ranging from 2 percent to 21.5 percent. GM will face anti-dumping and countervailing duties ranging from 8.9 percent to 12.9 percent. Chrysler’s will range from 6.2 percent to 8.8 percent, while the U.S. units of BMW AG and MercedesBenz will face duties of 2 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively. The United States has filed 12 trade cases against China since it joined the WTO, and a total of five since U.S. President Barack Obama took office.

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Custom Corner with Rich Evans

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

Solution Finish’s Brings Black Back™ is a Breakthrough Product

I’ve missed you guys the last couple of months because I’ve been really slammed with great projects and getting ready for SEMA, but I’m back with a lot of great news and some great projects.

while you’ve noticed that the black plastic or the black finish on your windshield wipers fade over time. This problem is due to the carbon in the plastic and carbon is what makes the color whether it’s black, brown, grey. There’s never really been a product that could really fix these probwith Thomas Franklin lems. A lot of us just came to accept that there is nothing that can repair the problem. Eventually the sun and the wear and tear, the carbon is eventually going to fade. Now I know that there are silicones that you can wipe on to make the surface shiny and slimy, but it wipes off on your towel or rubs off on your clothes. It attracts dirt, and after one or two washes it comes off anyway. You can also slip if you get it on your running boards; it’s just a real Chris West with Rich Evans at SEMA with Dick Strom temporary fix. I’ve been fascinated with a prodI ran across a guy named Chris uct from a company that I came across West who invented Brings Black about six months ago called Solution Back. You wipe it on, you wipe it off, Finish. They have a product called and it restores the carbon and brings Brings Black BackTM that is in a class the black back. How cool is that? I’ve by itself. Just like I do with every- been testing it for the last 6 months on everything from stoves, to door handles, to wiper arms, to hitch covers, to inside bedliners. I’m trying to find a black finish that it doesn’t work on. It’s just amazing how far beyond the automotive world this product can exwith Lee Amaradio Jr. tend to. I’ve found that the best results come from washing the surface down with rubbing alcohol—it’s all about the prep. The product works with almost no prep, but to get the longest Half finished wiper restoration black back results, I’ve found dabbing thing, I put it to the 6 month test. I’m just a little bit of product on with a so excited about this product that I’m sponge goes a long ways. A dime sized drop of this product will do almost a half a cowl panel. Wipe it on, buff it a little, and rub off the extra with Sheila Loftus residue that didn’t bite into the plastic, and it really gives that deep black back. That’s the color that is out now but Solution Finish is just startDoing the rest of the job ing to get into other colors. putting my name to it (see ad). I’m not The product dries within two just endorsing this product, I’m part minutes. It doesn’t stick to paint or to owner of the company and I’m glad to windows so you don’t have to mask it. be a part of Solution Finish. This is It’s almost like spraying without a going to go viral and be used to fix paint gun. Nine out of ten cars you millions of cars from here on out. walk by need the product, whether it’s If you’ve worked on cars for a just wiper arms, belt moldings, front

bumpers, grille panels, whatever. It’s amazing to find a product that can ac-

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Partial job on the bumper assembly

jobs. I’ve been really working with body shops, to help them do upsells, and paintless dent removal guys. You can see a couple of Youtube videos at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYfiPfD02DU. Note how easy it is to apply the product and wipe off with a microfiber sponge. The developer of this product Chris West says “Solution Finish was developed over the last six years using techniques unlike anybody has been using in the autocare industry. We didn’t follow any of the typical steps in developing a product. We reversed the process, we looked at how the surface, how the material is made and we tried to formulate a product that would not only enhance the general appearance, but something that would actually chemically place the color back into the plastic and how we

did that was we developed a series of modified and penetrating oils with a very high grade of colored carbon and we milled that carbon 7 times which makes the actual colorant smaller than a virus. So if you can imagine the penetrating oils will pull the black carbon, the colorant, deep back into the plastic, then the modified oils lock it in and it chemically changes the chemistry of the surface itself. So over a 6 year period this has been developed and perfected, I brought in Rich Evans at the final stages of formulation because there’s little tricks that only a professional body and fender paint guy would know and that was the missing key to finalizing the product.” Anybody that cares about their car will want or will need this product whether they apply it themselves or whether a body shop offers it as a service, or paintless dent remover guys offer it as a service, or any of the other guys out there doing interior repairs. It’s simple, easy, affordable, comes in 3 different sizes, a 1oz bottle is $29.95, a 12oz bottle is $125 and a 32oz bottle is $250. The one ounce bottle can repair up to 3 vehicles based on doing a Chevy Avalanche, which is 70% plastic finish. If you’ve seen one you know how much plastic avalanches have. Twelve oz bottle Every avalanche goes for $125 I see is faded. Bring Black Back lasts as long as a new part. I took one Avalanche and priced out what it would cost to replace all the parts—over $10,000 with labor—never mind putting all those new parts back on. Those replacement parts are only going to last as long as the original new parts did so in a year and a half you’re going to be doing it

Solution Finish Avalanche’ or ‘4nJDkORNges.’ Now a customer can buy, say, a 12oz bottle (you can do up to 36 complete vehicles with the 12oz bottle for $125) so if you’re the do-ityourself guy or if you’re the shop out there that wants to offer this service, this is a new product you really need to check out. A 32oz bottle will do up to 96 complete vehicles—who’s ever heard of coverage like that? I’m a body shop owner and I’ve been buying paint and product for a long time, to be able to do up to 96 cars for $250 worth of product. There’s no telling how many panels and parts you can do and how much money you can make—I guarantee a body shop on its slowest based profit would be 10 percent of what their income is. So if you can make a minumum of 10 percent in your sales increase and up to 30 to 40 percent, you have a customer. You’re going to

look like a rockstar because you’re going to be able to fix something that this customer has not been able to fix and they’d just accepted that they can’t fix it. So what’s that going to do? That’s going to get the word of mouth going. People are going to talk about it, people are going to say ‘hey this body shop fixed this and I’ve never been able to fix this problem.’ I spent $30,000 for my car, I want my car to look as good as it can look for a long time. Solution Finish has brought that to you. We want to make people like you happy and proud to have your car back in the shape that it was when you purchased it, without spending thousands of dollars. Let’s review the 10 basic steps of this: 1) quick and easy application. 2) long lasting results, lasts as long as a new part, second application may be required. So there’s no mill build or any of that, this is wipe-on wipe-off almost like shoe polish. Dries instantly. 3) no greasy residue. How cool is that? 4) No black streaks on towels after application. 5) long product shelf life. That’s cool, we’re hitting all the points. 6) wipes off protected paint, wipes off glass, or most application no masking required 7) doesn’t leave streaks on applied surfaces. 8) only a small amount is needed for each application, which is great for profitability.

transmission’s being ‘locked in park,’ or with the engine still running, increasing the chances of vehicle rollaway or carbon monoxide poisoning in an enclosed area,” the regulator said in the proposal. Toyota, in 2009 and 2010, recalled more than 10 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles for defects that may cause unintended acceleration. Some of the cars had push-button starts, meaning panicking drivers would have to hold down the button to stop the car rather than turning a key. The rule would standardize the length

of time drivers must push a button to stop a moving car to a half-second. The Society of Automotive Engineers, which writes industry standards for automakers to follow voluntarily, in January recommended a range of a half-second to two seconds. In a 2009 Lexus ES-350 crash that killed four people and helped lead to Toyota’s recalls, the car had a keyless electronic starting system with a push-button control that required the driver to hold the button for as long as three seconds to stop the engine, NHTSA said in the proposed rule.

again. Take a look at my video demo at: youtube.com, search ‘Rich Evans

Solution Finish Price Guide

NHTSA Proposes Panic-Stop Ignition Standard for Cars

Auto-safety regulators have proposed standardizing keyless ignitions to allow drivers to turn off cars faster and more easily in incidents of unintended acceleration following Toyota Motor Corp.’s record recalls. The proposed rule will cost less than $500,000 a year, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a proposed rule published Dec. 12 in the Federal Register. “At issue [is] drivers’ inability to stop a moving vehicle in a panic situation, and drivers who unintentionally leave the vehicle without the vehicle

9) lasts through heavy rain and normal washes. 10) the one I like the best—no silicone. How long does it last? Longer than a new part. If you own a vehicle, you need Solution Finish. So here’s another great product. I’m sharing my processes, my steps and procedures in building cars, all the way to finding and discovering products out there that’re going to help us fix cars. I’ve fixed thousands of cars and with this product I’m going to be fixing many more cars, but even more important is to be creating thousands of jobs for people out there. There’s detailers, there’s paintless dent removal guys, and others who can get in business for themselves. If you’re in the business you want to offer this service. It’s $29 to get into business! You’ve got to check this out: solutionfinish.com. Go and check out my Youtube, there’s testimonies that are going up as well. We’re putting this product into the major WD’s PBE warehouses, so if you’re a jobber and you’re wanting to buy go to PBE warehouse and order up some Solution Finish. Give it a shot yourself and offer it to your customers. If you just comp it, it’s going to get people talking. It’s going to get word back and raise money one way or the other, whether they bring cars back or referrals or talk about you. It’s all about the marketing part about it. At the end of the day, you can be confident that the product works great. Buy yourself a bottle, go out and fix three vehicles. I have a suggested price guide to help you to learn how to charge for it. It’s an easy way to create more income and it’s an easy way to look like a rockstar to people by fixing problems that have been out there for so long that people have forgotten it’s a problem. I’m really stoked about it and I’m really happy that I ran into Chris. I’m glad to be back on track, lots of cool projects coming up. Thanks again! Ignition sales The rule probably won’t help sales of push-button ignitions or components because it will probably require a calibration change, rather than different parts, said Rich Hilgert, a Morningstar Inc. analyst who follows auto suppliers. Automakers have also worked on standardizing keyless ignitions and are reviewing the proposed rule, said Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers.

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Daimler Drops Maybach Brand to Focus on Mercedes S-Class

Daimler AG will shut down the super-luxury Maybach brand to end almost a decade of losses from an auto that sells for more than $350,000 when a revamped version of the flagship MercedesBenz S-Class comes to market in 2013, according to reports made by Bloomberg News. “It would not make sense to develop a successor model,” Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche said. “The coming S-Class is in such a way a superior vehicle that it can replace the Maybach.” Daimler hasn’t made a profit on the Maybach after deciding to reintroduce the 1930s-era marque in 2002, Zetsche said. Mercedes will double variations of the $95,000 S-Class to six as it seeks to boost annual vehicle sales by at least 10,000 a year and step up its challenge to Bayerische Motoren Werke AG as the world’s top luxurycar maker. BMW and Volkswagen AG’s Audi have grown at more than five times the pace of Mercedes over the past decade by adding new offerings faster. The 125-year-old manufacturer, which has also dropped to third in profitability, lost the luxury-car

sales lead to BMW in 2005 and slipped behind Audi this year. “Mercedes is now also mounting the attack in the high-end segment,” Zetsche said in comments to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. “We have always dominated this segment and that should continue to be the case. We don’t want to wait until the others pull ahead.” Daimler held extensive internal discussions on “which route promises the greatest possible success in the luxury segment,” before concluding that sales prospects were better at Mercedes than at Maybach, the CEO said. Maybach hasn’t seriously challenged BMW’s Rolls-Royce and Volkswagen AG’s Bentley since its reintroduction, with sales topped out at 600 cars in 2003 and sliding to 200 last year. Rolls-Royce sold 2,700 vehicles in 2010 and Bentley 5,100.

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ARA Cautions Giving Automotive Manufacturers Carte Blanche Power Over Repair Procedures

The Automotive Recyclers Association parts are inferior to new OEM parts. In (ARA) is calling on the collision repair making these types of statements, auto industry to proceed cautiously in recog- manufacturers seem to be attempting to nizing only automotive original equip- exclude recycled OEM parts from the ment manufacturers(OEM) published market which would result in only one repair procedures, as the official indus- source of parts and procedures for the try sanctioned “Repair Standards” for repair of consumers’ vehicles—the collision repair. Recently, several promi- auto manufacturers. “We believe that nent collision repair groups issued and the goal of the manufacturers is to dissigned a joint statement officially rec- courage the use of recycled OEM parts ognizing OEM published repair proce- and secure a market that establishes audures as the collision industry’s repair tomakers as the only source of parts standards. While the collision repairers' and procedures for the repair of constatement did afford a limited role for sumers’ vehicles,” said ARA CEO the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Michael E. Wilson. Collision Repair (I-CAR), a significant Use of recycled OEM parts has concern of ARA centers on recent auto been widely accepted for decades and manufacturers' activity which could be there is a long track record of their sucviewed as aggressively pushing the lim- cessful use. Recycled OEM parts are its of antitrust laws and the Magnuson- fully functional OEM parts and are in Moss Warranty Act. most cases identical to the OEM parts auOver the last three years an in- tomobile manufacturers recommend for crease in the use of recycled OEM au- repairs. In addition, recycled OEM parts tomotive parts has reduced the market have several additional benefits comfor new OEM replacement parts. As a pared to new parts. Recycled OEM autoresult, automotive manufacturers have motive parts are typically 30 to 70 Givemore us your opinion on matters the become aggressive by releasing percentaffecting less expensive thanindustry. comparable revised collision repair position state- new parts. Recycled OEM parts are ments that are even more biased and much better for the environment than based on weak or no apparent scientific new parts because no additional reresearch claiming publisher@autobodynews.com the recycled OEM sources or energy are used to create them.

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Continued from Page 43

Where We Stand

pull around their intellectual property, they can build market share and earn high profits. For example, one company has held a very large share of the global market for auto-dimming mirrors for years, with exceptionally high profits for a Tier 1 supplier as a result. In other cases, process and supply chain innovation can drive durable cost advantages, even for products that are commodities or close to it. Successful suppliers must understand the opportunities for innovation of both types to create and capture value, and invest accordingly. Refine the Factory Footprint The economics of manufacturing in low-cost countries are shifting. With Chinese wages on the rise and an artiContinued from Page 49

GEICO Deductible

these unnecessary difficulties. We both know how hard it is to keep and

ficially strong renminbi, the tide of production shifting to Asia has slowed. In fact, for some products that do not ship well or have relatively low labor content, regional production footprints-factories in Asia, North America, Europe, and South America, for example-are increasingly preferable. The question to ask is what factory network will allow you to meet forecasted demand for your products most cost-effectively-and more cheaply than the competition.

Ruthlessly Manage the Portfolio All too often, suppliers try to be everything to everyone-and, in doing so, design products that fail to meet the needs of anyone. To avoid this trap, suppliers must develop the market insight necessary to understand fully the varied requirements and purchase decisions of different OEMs and different market segments. With

this knowledge, suppliers can determine which segments are most attractive based on their core skills, strategic outlook, and business and operating models. This prioritization allows suppliers to target resources to business units with the potential to create sustainable and strong market positions and stop subsidizing weak businesses with little or no strategic value. Suppliers with this sophisticated knowledge of their businesses also know when to walk away from bids and programs when the economics are not right-pursuing programs with poor economics to fill factory capacity in hopes of someday increasing prices and margins is chasing after fool’s gold.

Leverage M&A Potential Large M&A deals have been rare among auto suppliers during the postrecession restructuring period, but the

pace of consolidation will pick up during 2012 as private equity and strategic buyers return to the market. In fact, a Booz & Company survey of automotive executives earlier this year (see “Is the U.S. Auto Industry Ready for Economic Recovery?”) found that 60 percent of automotive suppliers are actively pursuing acquisitions. Suppliers must assess their positions in this context-are you a buyer or a seller?-and in turn work to build the necessary supporting capabilities. For example, if you are a buyer, how do you assess which targets are the most attractive to your organization, and how do you overcome the operational, customer, financial, and change management challenges to ensure that you are able to capture the full value of an acquisition? And if you are a seller, how can you secure the most attractive valuation for your company?

retain customers, I can’t imagine a Geico customer would want to renew their policy after having to pay 10% of their parts costs on top of their deductibles; especially when it is not written in their policy contract. That

also brings up the fact that I have yet to be shown where in Geico ‘s policy it states that the insured would be responsible for 10% of their parts cost if they drive and insure an American vehicle. I have a copy of your policy

and have not been able to find this in it. Please feel free to contact me at anytime to discuss this further. I do hope that we will be speaking in the very near future.

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Continued from Front Page

Might Have Missed

Specialists (SCRS) last spring released its findings into whether the paint manufacturers consider tinting and blending as necessary procedures that are commonly performed in conjunction with each other. “Research of the color code and existing variations provided by the refinish manufacturer, and blending of the color coat are both recommended operations to perform an acceptable match,” SCRS said in a summary of its findings. “If the refinish technician determines that the color variance requires adjustment, it is a consistent recommendation to tint to a blendable match. When tinting is necessary for color adjustment, it is always done in conjunction with blending.” SCRS has posted individual responses from each of the five major paint companies in the “Technical Info” section of its website (www.scrs.com). ► 3 J.D. Power and Associates data released last year—based on surveys of more than 11,500 insured drivers

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who had a claim within the previous 12 months—shows how important to customer satisfaction it is to get repairs done quickly and on time. Satisfaction levels for the 75 percent of customers who felt their vehicle was done on time were nearly 200 points higher (883 vs. 709, on a 1,000point scale) than those who felt their vehicle wasn’t done on time. It doesn’t appear to matter what causes the delay: parts, unexpected additional damage, insurer delays or just plain too much work in the shop. In all these cases, customer satisfaction still never exceeded 728 points. Setting expectations is particularly important on larger, non-drivable jobs, Jeremy Bowler of J.D. Power and Associates said. Fair or not, customers expect a drivable vehicle to be repaired within a week, and non-drivable vehicles—even the worst “train wrecks”—within two weeks. An extra effort needs to be made to adjust these expectations if they can’t be met, Bowler suggests. Speed still offers a shop a chance to set itself apart, according to the data. One-in-four customers with drivable vehicles say they didn’t get them back within a week, and onethird of those with non-drivable vehicles didn’t get them back within two weeks. ► 4 Industry trainer Toby Chess last year was alerting shops to the need to recalibrate the steering angle sensor that is part of the electronic stability control system on an increasing number of new vehicles. Such systems are standard equipment on 85 percent Toby Chess of 2010 new vehiremains concerned cles, and will be reabout steering quired on all new recalibration vehicles as of model year 2012. The recalibration is an additional procedure that must be done after the vehicle alignment. “It’s an added step, and there’s also no more 2-wheel alignments with these systems. That won’t work,” Chess said. He said he is concerned because even though no “trouble light” will be lit on the dash and the vehicle may handle properly under normal driving conditions even if the system is not calibrated, the electronic stability control function may not work properly in

a subsequent “emergency maneuver.”

► 5 The Automotive Education & Policy Institute, which last year received a grant from the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers to build a web-based repository of legal decisions finding in favor of collision repairers, has been posting court documents to the “legal cases” section of its website (www.autoepi.org). The Institute was founded by Ohio attorney Erica Eversman, who said that the website will give shops and their attorneys easy “access to court precedent and the facts and admissions leading to... decisions Erica Eversman that can be used to describes the persuade other autoepi.org website courts, customers and insurers that the repairers’ charges are reasonable and necessary for a safe and proper repair.”

► 6 Both Audatex and CCC Information Services last year began offering an automated labor time system for the additional labor needed when replacement bumpers arrive “raw” or unprimed from the factory. In the Audatex system, the “prep raw, unprimed bumper cover” labor operation is not automatically added to an estimate but must be selected by the user. A line for the operation will show in the “part edit box” when a bumper Audatex knows to be supplied raw from the manufacturer is selected. Although the labor time is prepopulated at 20 percent of the base refinish time for the part (or .3 minimum), the user can override this value. Jack Rozint of CCC said that that based on labor studies completed by Motor Information Systems, the pre-populated labor time for the operation in his company’s estiJack Rozint mating system is addresses the 25 percent of the unprimed bumper full refinish time labor issue for the part (with a minimum of .1 and a maximum of 1.0). The feature is available through the “additional operations” menu both when the bumper is known to

arrive unprimed and when the condition of the new bumper is uncertain (when it may arrive unprimed); it will not be seen only when the bumper is known by Motor to always arrive primed. If the automaker has informed Motor the bumper may or will arrive unprimed, footnotes in the CCC system will alert the estimator to this, and a headnote (“Add if Required”) will appear to allow the user to add the “prep unprimed bumper” operation if indeed the part is unprimed. Both Audatex and CCC said the stumbling block in extending the labor operation option to other types of parts that also may arrive unprimed is that information about the parts isn’t provided to them from the automakers. ► 7 With all the apparent bad news about the nation’s economy, one story many have missed is the relatively good news coming out of the automotive industry. Some economists in recent months, for example, were saying it may be the auto industry that “bails out” the nation from slipping back into a recession. Ford, GM and Chrysler have added 90,000 manufacturing jobs, a 14 percent increase, from the low two years ago. Nissan, Volkswagen and other foreign-based automakers are expanding in the U.S., and dealers are making more per-sale than they have in years. The Commerce Department has reported significant gains in orders for autos and auto parts, a number of recent government reports have shown the auto industry was the strongest segment of the manufacturing economy in July. John Yoswick, a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988, is also the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com). He can be contacted by email at: jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.

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