November 2019 Northeast Edition by Autobody News

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Vol. 10 / Issue 8 / November 2019

ABAC’s New Season Begins With CollisionAdvice Presentation

Speakers Discuss Need to Know and Follow OEM Calibration Steps for ADAS

by Chasidy Rae Sisk

by John Yoswick

The Auto Body Association of Connecticut (ABAC) returned from summer break on Sept. 26 when nearly 100 attendees gathered at the USS Chowder Pot IV in Hartford, CT, where they received updates on the association, learned about future plans, and enjoyed a presentation on “Creating a Non-Negotiable Final Bill,” delivered by Scott Simmons of CollisionAdvice. ABAC President Bob Amendola kicked things off by thanking attendees and sponsors for their con-

George Lesniak, Autel’s director of sales and training, said one of the biggest challenges for shops working to follow OEM collision repair procedures – in particular, the steps necessary for calibration of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) – is the variation among automakers. “There’s a complete lack of consistency across the different OEMs when it comes to their service information: where that information is located, where you find the procedures and specifications,” Lesniak said during the recent Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) “Connex” conference. But some of the challenges shops encounter in following OEM proce-

Scott Simmons of CollisionAdvice delivered an informative presentation on “Creating a Non-Negotiable Final Bill” during the ABAC’s Sept. 26 meeting. Credit: ABAC News

tinued support and attendance before introducing ABAC Legal Counsel, See ABAC’s New Season, Page 10

New Effort Unveiled to Ease NH Vehicle Inspection Law, NH Only State Not a Part of Earlier Study by Rick Green, The Laconia Daily Sun

There’s no evidence New Hampshire motorists are safer because the state mandates that vehicles undergo a yearly safety inspection, says a state representative who is preparing legislation to ease that requirement. Rep. Casey Conley says under his proposal, a yearly computer check would still be required to make sure a vehicle’s emission system was operating properly, but safety items like brakes, tires and lights would not have to be examined. “New Hampshire is in the mi-

nority of states that have these safety inspections,” the Dover Democrat said in a telephone interview. A 2015 report of the U.S. General Accounting Office said 16 states required annual safety inspections. New Hampshire was the only state among the 16 that did not participate in the GAO study. Bipartisan Support Conley said he hopes to gain bipartisan support for his bill, but he expects opposition from businesses and people who sell and service ve-

dures, he said, has little to do with that inconsistency in how the information is organized. “The one thing that I’ve found to be very consistent is technicians’ ability to skip steps,” Lesniak said. “The key skill set required to do calibrations is the ability to read, interpret and follow complex instructions and make detailed measurements. Knowing how to use a metric tape measure is absolutely foreign to most technicians. We’ve found that 50 percent of calibration failures come down to missing or skipping steps in those preliminary instructions.” Those steps, he said, include having the required space with the right environmental conditions, such as proper lighting, and ensuring that nothing is interfering with the field See Speakers Discuss, Page 20

Collision Repair Shops Learn How to Attract, Retain Military Veterans by John Yoswick

Collision repair businesses of all sizes have a potential talent pool of new employees, including those conclud-

See Inspection Law, Page 26

Roxann Griffith of the Department of Labor said military veterans can be a good source of new employees for collision repair businesses of all sizes.

ing their service in the U.S. military, according to a speaker at this past summer’s Collision Industry Conference in Indianapolis.

Roxann Griffith, with the U.S. Department of Labor’s employment and training services, said Texasbased Service King, which operates more than 340 shops in 24 states, has hired hundreds of veterans over four years. Griffith encourages body shops to hire those who have served our country in any capacity by sharing tips and resources with collision repair businesses on how to hire and retain those who have exited the military. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s “Hiring Our Heroes” program, for example, offers free hiring fairs on military bases and at other locations around the country, she said. Those looking to hire veterans should check out the advice and resources included in the free 22-page See Military Veterans, Page 30

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CONTENTS REGIONAL A Body Shop in Middletown, NY, is Now a One-Stop Shop for Firetrucks . . . . . . . . . . . 14

in Collision Repair Shops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Sisk - ASA’s September Webinar Emphasizes

AUTOBODY

Importance of Cybersecurity . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

www.autobodynews.com

AASP/NJ Honor’s Memory of Member NATIONAL “Who Pays for What?” Survey Finds Shops

Growth in Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Billing, Being Paid a Processing Fee . . . . . . 36

AASP-PA TOOLS Feature Industry Favorites. . . 34

Accudraft Participates in Ford Dealer Program . 32

ABAC’s New Season Begins With CollisionAdvice

Amazon Buys 100,000 Rivian Electric Trucks

Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Amaral Motors in Newtown, CT, Becomes Latest Modzelewski’s Service . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Annual Car Show Drives Support for TCHS in Phoenixville, PA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 As City Advances Willets Point, NY, Cleanup, Efforts Hurt Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 ASA Urges Veto Override for NH OEM Repair Procedure Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Body Shop in CT Becomes AGSC Registered Member . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Body Shop in NY Gives Away Five Cars . . . . . . 35 Body Shop in Richmond Hill, NY, Celebrates 73 Years in Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 CCRE and PCTG Mourn Loss of Ferdinand Gonzales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Corvette Club Awards Scholarships to Two

in Pursuit of Carbon Neutrality. . . . . . . . . . . 74 ASA, AAM Host Forum Focused on New Tech, Data Access and Cybersecurity . . . . . . . . . . 43 Boyd Autobody & Glass President to Retire . . . 70 CARSTAR Opens Location in Minnesota. . . . . . 70 CCC Enables Repairers to Reach Customer Engagement Milestone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 CIECA Unveils New Logo & Announces

Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . 66

AkzoNobel Coatings, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

McGovern Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram . . . . . 10

Alloy Wheel Repair Specialists, LLC. . . . . . . . 38

Mercedes-Benz of Atlantic City. . . . . . . . . . . 49

Collision Works Acquires DeShields. . . . . . . . . 78

American Innovative Manufacturing-AIM . . . . 6

Mercedes-Benz of Fort Washington . . . . . . . 49

Custom Impala Built for Charity. . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Mercedes-Benz of Paramus . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Does Automatic Emergency Braking With

Axalta Coating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 11

Mercedes-Benz of West Chester . . . . . . . . . 49

Bical Auto Mall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Mercedes-Benz of Wilmington . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Blowtherm USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Mercedes-Benz Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 71

BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . 58-59

MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Cadillac of Mahwah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Mirka USA, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Central Avenue Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram . 15

MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . . . 44-45

Certified Automotive Parts Association . . . . . 20

Motor Guard Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

PennDOT Receives Grant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Cherry Hill Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram . . . . . 18

New Holland Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram . . . 32

Post Repair Calibration – A Growing Crisis. . . . 60

Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

New Holland Ford. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Ram Truck Celebrates Ten-Year Anniversary

Colonial Automotive Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

New Holland Toyota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

of Becoming Stand-Alone Brand . . . . . . . . . 63

Courtesy Mitsubishi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Nielsen Ford. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Ranken Instructor to Receive I-CAR Award . . . 70

Criswell Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram . . . . . . . 26

Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale Parts Dealer . . . . . 72

Repairify Welcomes New CFO . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Dent Fix Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Northstar Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Rivian Patent Reveals Automated Control

Diamond Standard Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Nucar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Dominion Sure Seal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

O’Reilly Auto Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Eckler’s Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Porsche Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . 68

ECS Automotive Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

PPG Refinish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Empire Auto Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

SATA Dan-Am Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 33

Equalizer Industries, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Schultz Ford. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

FAST Shelter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Security Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram . . . . . . . . 7

Flemington Auto Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Sorbothane Soft-Blow Mallet . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Spanesi Americas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Fred Beans Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . . . . . . 69

GM Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Symach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 40-41

Tasca Automotive Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . 70

Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . 76

Infiniti of Norwood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

USI of North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . 75

VIP Honda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Kia of Attleboro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . 77

Kundert Volvo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Westbury Jeep-Chrysler-Dodge-Ram-SRT . . 23

Launch Tech USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

White Plains Volkswagen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Long Automotive Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Yonkers Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

CIF 10th Annual Gala to be Held in CA . . . . . . . 32 Collision Repair Shops Learn How to Attract, Retain Military Veterans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Pedestrian Detection Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Driven Brands Acquires ABRA Franchised Millennials Will Keep the Car Alive, Says Report . 4

Fourth Generation Body Shop in Red Bank, NJ,

MNCARS Expands Efforts to Promote Careers . 69

New Effort Unveiled to Ease NH Vehicle Inspection Law, NH Not a Part of Earlier Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 NH Voices: Lawmakers Should Support Consumers and Car-Repair Bill Override . . . 22 Polmanteer Service Center in NY Adds Repair Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Revamped ARNE 2019 Exceeds High Expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 RI, OK, and WV Top the Nation for Worst Road Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Rolls-Royce Ghost Haunts Mount Vernon, NY, Repair Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Rosedale Technical College in Pennsylvania Celebrates 70 Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Simeone Automotive Museum in Philadelphia Earns Two Prestigious Recognitions . . . . . . 12

National Association Event Announcements: November 2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

System for Semi-Autonomous Driving. . . . . 36 Speakers Discuss Need to Know, Follow OEM Calibration Steps for ADAS . . . . . . . . . . 1 Study Finds Costs to Own a New Car are up 24% in 2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Technology to Improve Customer Service, Reduce Cycle Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Tesla Autopilot Protects Nature: It Saved Momma Bear and Cubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Tesla Pickup Truck Still on Track for November Unveiling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Tesla’s ‘Holographic Glass’ Patent Makes

COLUMNISTS Anderson - ‘Skate to Where the Puck Is Going, Not Where It Has Been’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Attanasio - Do You Know Anyone Who Needs to “Digitally Diet?” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Ledoux - The 1980s – “A Time of Awakening”. . 52 Phillips - Effective Repair Planning Utilizing PCE (Process-Centered Environment) . . . . . 57 Phillips - The Growth of “Emerging Technologies”

Autobody News P.O. Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018 (800) 699-8251 / (760) 603-3229 Fax www.autobodynews.com editor@autobodynews.comx

Matrix Automotive Finishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Faulkner Collision, State Farm Donate Vehicle . . 8

Repair Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Serving New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Northern Virginia, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont 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. ©2019 Adamantine Media LLC.

Acura of Westchester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Multi-Vehicle Fire Doused Outside NJ

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst General Manager: Barbara Davies Contributing Writers: John Yoswick, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk, David Luehr, Stacey Phillips, Victoria Antonelli, Gary Ledoux Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Bill Doyle, Norman Morano, Kelly Hall (800) 699-8251 Office Manager: Louise Tedesco Digital Marketing Manager: Bill Pierce Art Director: Rodolfo Garcia Graphic Designer: Vicki Sitarz Online and Web Content Editor: Alexis Wilson Accounting Manager: Heather Priddy Editorial/Sales Assistant: Randi Scholtes Office Assistant: Dianne Pray

Accuvision-3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Winner of Logo Refresh Contest . . . . . . . . . 76

Penn College Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

Lee Vetland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 AASP/NJ Panel Discussion Addresses ADAS

Way for Better Vehicle Displays . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Tesla’s Charging Connector Patent Paves Way for the Semi’s Megachargers . . . . . . . . 68 Volkswagen CEO Claims That the Shift to Electric Cars Won’t Hurt Margins. . . . . . . . . . 4 Volkswagen to Begin Development and Production of Lithium-Ion Batteries . . . . . . . 42 YANG Meetup Held in Conjunction With ACA Leadership Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Malco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

Tesla’s ‘Holographic Glass’ Patent Makes Way for Better Vehicle Displays Screen Color Matching,” outlines a way for the electric car maker to imThe user experience of Tesla’s electric prove the viewing angles of its vehicars is centered mostly on the vehicles’ displays. In the patent, Tesla cles’ large, high-resolution displays. notes that “because display screens Coupled with custom software that typically have a periodic micro-strucprovides a quick, smartphone-like ex- ture (e.g., a pixelated structure), the perience, Tesla’s screens in its vehi- color of the display screen may be cles are already among the best in the dependent on the angle at which a auto industry. But in the spirit of the viewer is looking at the display company’s habit of constant innova- screen.” This results in viewing antion, it appears that Tesla is looking gles that have significant room for to improve the quality of its dis- improvement, even among highquality screens. plays even more. “The non-displaying portions of the device may be unable to match this angular color dependence of the display screen, resulting in a readily visible boundary between the display screen and the non-displaying portions of the device. Accordingly, there is a need for better color integration between the displaying portions of a device and the Tesla model 3 vehicle display. Credit: Andres GE, non-displaying portions of Teslarati.com the device,” Tesla wrote. To address this, Tesla opted to A recently published patent from the electric car maker, titled utilize a pigmented frame and index “Holographic Decorated Glass for match glue to coat its vehicles’ by Simon Alvarez, Teslarati.com

ference in user experience. A car that boasts some of the most advanced automotive tech available in the auto segment today, after all, deserves a screen that is on par with some of the best mobile devices on the market. Tesla’s display design outlined in its recently published patent can come in handy as well, particularly as the electric car maker introduces more updates to its fleet of vehicles. Among these is a “Fade Mode,” which Elon Musk has hinted at in the past. While responding to a Twitter follower last year, Musk responded positively to the suggestion of adding an option that allows drivers to dim their vehicles’ display while a car is in motion. This, together with An illustration depicting a system where a display is features like V10’s Joe surrounded by a holographic glass panel. Credit: US Mode, could help make Patent Office long trips in Tesla’s electric A color-matched display with vehicles much more convenient for optimal viewing angles might be a passengers. rather minor aspect of a vehicle, but for connected cars such as Tesla’s, it We thank Teslarati.com for reprint is these little things that make a dif- permission. screens, as well as a holographic glass panel. By adopting these techniques, Tesla expects to provide its vehicles with a screen that can offer optimal viewing angles for all passengers. This is especially useful when paired with the company’s entertainment features such as Tesla Theater or Tesla Arcade.

Millennials Will Keep the Car Alive, Says Report by Gavin Braithwaite-Smith, Motoring Research

Millennials hold the key to reversing the slump in the automotive industry, according to the Millennials and Auto Trends Report. Market uncertainty, anti-diesel legislation, low emission zones and the popularity of ride-hailing apps such as Uber paint a gloomy picture for the industry. But the survey of 2,150 millennials (aged 23 to 28) from across the world presents a brighter outlook. In Europe, 79% of millennials already own a vehicle, while half of the respondents who do not own a car expect to buy one within the next five years.

Interestingly, despite the common perception of millennials as an environmentally conscious generation, petrol and diesel are the engines of choice for 53%. On the flip side, that would suggest 47% of the respondents drive an alternative fuel vehicle (AFV). Perhaps surprisingly, 82% of the respondents have never used a ride-hailing app or use them less than once a week. Those who thought the rise of Uber, carsharing schemes and short term rentals would kill the car could be mistaken. What Do Millennials Look for in a Car? What’s important to young car buyers? The infotainment system? Smartphone

connectivity? The color? Not necessarily. More than half of the respondents said price is an important consideration, which suggests competitive PCP deals could be around for a little while longer. Other factors include fuel economy (59%), style (34%) and safety (30%). Paul Teuten, managing director at Duff & Phelps, the company behind the survey, said: “Our Millennials and Auto Trends Report challenges conventional wisdom that millennials prefer alternatives to car ownership and provides encouraging evidence that millennials will drive the automotive industry forward. “The European findings, in partic-

ular with over 80% of millennials never or rarely using ride-hailing and car-sharing services, underscores this and casts doubt on the presumed notion that ride-hailing services are increasingly used by this population. The automotive industry should take note and adapt to this by continuing to make the right technological investments to satisfy millennial preferences.” With 77% of the respondents saying car ownership is a necessity for independence, it’s going to take a major shift in culture and legislation to release the automobile’s grip on our lives. We thank Motoring Research for reprint permission.

Volkswagen CEO Claims That the Shift to Electric Cars Won’t Hurt Margins by Chris Young, Interesting Engineering

Volkswagen doesn’t expect its new focus on electric cars—in order to avoid heavy EU regulatory sanctions —to hurt its profit margins, Chief Executive Herbert Diess reported in a newspaper. Diess claimed the car manufacturer expects to sell nearly 20,000 Audi e-Tron in 2019, and also highlighted the fact that the electric Porsche Taycan was already sold out, in its first year of production. 4

Strong Sales in Electric As Reuters reports, Diess said, “we do not expect a deterioration in margins,” in an interview with daily la Repubblica’s supplement A&F. “Our advantage is that all our brands have the same platform for electric products and the same batteries that we buy in China,” Diess claimed. In his reports, Diess also said that orders for the VW ID.3, the group’s recently revealed compact electric model, are already covering the production planned until mid-2020.

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

A Drop in Chinese Sales Rather than the shift to electric, Diess claimed he is concerned about the trade war between the U.S. and China, which has caused a drop in Volkswagen’s Chinese sales — though the company’s market share in the country has grown over the past six months, to 19%. Despite this, Diess emphasizes that Volkswagen is not planning to reduce its efforts and cut exposure in the Chinese market. In a 2017 press conference, the

company said it would invest $40 billion into electric vehicles. Since then, it has stuck to its word by investing in the Audi e-Tron, Porsche Taycan, electric Beetle, and other electric vehicles. It has done so, in large part, to avoid billions of euros in European pollution fines. We thank Interesting Engineering for reprint permission. We thank Motoring Research for reprint permission.

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

Body Shop in CT Becomes AGSC Registered Member North Haven Auto Body of North Haven, CT, has joined the list of safety-conscious auto glass companies by becoming an accredited Registered Member Company of the prestigious Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC). By becoming a member, North Haven Auto Body demonstrates its commitment to the safety of its customers, says Debra Levy, president of the AGSC. This is an important step for North Haven Auto Body and shows that its staff values their work in completing proper and safe auto glass installations for customers. Registered Member Companies such as North Haven Auto Body must demonstrate their ability and willingness to complete installations in accordance with the AGRSS Standard by undergoing random, on-site third-party validation audits at least once every four years. Visit www.northhavenab.com for more information about North Haven Auto Body. Visit www.agsc.org for more information about the AGSC. Obtained via agsc.org.

ASA Urges Veto Override for NH OEM Repair Procedure Legislation ASA is asking New Hampshire repairers to contact state lawmakers and urge them to override Gov. Chris Sununu’s recent veto of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) repair procedures legislation. Gov. Sununu vetoed House Bill 664 this summer. HB 664 addresses OEM repair procedures for collision repairs. ASA supports this legislation. According to HB 664, insurers shall reimburse repairers if a repair procedure from an OEM includes the need for additional operations such as pre- and post-scans, calibration, or diagnostic test of the vehicle’s systems. However, HB 664 excludes glass repair and replacement when done by a glass company. Gov. Sununu says HB 664 would raise auto insurance premiums “by limiting the ability of insurers to negotiate what is reasonable in the repair process” and stagnate, what is, an already competitive market between small independent repair shops. ASA Washington, D.C., representative Bob Redding recently submitted comments to the New

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

Hampshire Senate to reiterate ASA’s position in support. “The original equipment manufacturers’ (OEM) repair procedures are the logical repair processes to be followed,” Redding said in his comments. “To be clear, ASA does not support the use of OEM parts only.

bill’s language recognizes policymakers’ interest in providing for scanning as part of the repair process. ASA has emphasized the importance of pre- and post-scans in the collision repair process. When repairing a vehicle after a collision, it is crucial that the vehi-

“To be clear, ASA does not support the use of OEM parts only. ASA’s interest is in requiring the industry to adhere to a set of repair procedures that assure the best opportunity for vehicle safety on our highways.” — Bob Redding ASA’s interest is in requiring the industry to adhere to a set of repair procedures that assure the best opportunity for vehicle safety on our highways.” “House Bill 664 calls for vehicle repair standards that should be an accepted, standard practice in the collision industry,” he added. Additionally, Redding said, the

cle is returned to the owner with the same operational functionality as prior to the collision. By following OEM repair procedures, repair facilities are ensuring that a vehicle is prepared in the safest, most efficient process possible. HB 664 addresses these issues. Obtained via ASAshop.org.

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

As City Advances Willets Point, NY, Cleanup, Efforts Hurt Workers by Max Parrott, QNS

At a meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 18, about the progress of the Willets Point, Queens, Development in New York between the city and the Flushing community board, a group of auto workers showed up to make sure they weren’t left behind in the aftermath. The meeting was designed to be a progress report centered on environmental concerns. The Economic Development Corporation (EDC), the group overseeing the mega-project, presented its preliminary studies on the level of pollution in the area of the industrial zone that the city bought, which is known to have a long history of toxic dumping. But workers who remain in Willets Point have begun to suffer as a side effect of this cleanup work. In coordination with these studies, the EDC de-mapped portions of the southern part of the neighborhood and erected gates that block off all major roads to the area including Willets Point Boulevard, 36th, 37th and 38th avenues. After the EDC presented at the meeting, three different Willets Point auto workers raised concerns that the

Faulkner Collision, State Farm Donate Vehicle On Thursday, Oct. 10, a deserving Lancaster, PA, veteran was presented with a vehicle – thanks to Faulkner Collision Center of Lancaster and car donor State Farm, along with the National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides program. The presentation was held at the Faulkner Collision Center at 1350 Loop Road, Lancaster, PA, 17601. “It’s an honor to give back to a veteran who has given so much for his country,” said April Lausch, Collision Center Manager for Faulkner Collision Center of Lancaster. Faulkner Collision Center of Lancaster and State Farm presented a 2017 blue Chevrolet Cruze to deserving U.S. Army veteran Matt, who served 15 years and did two tours to Iraq. “Oh my, I can’t believe this is happening to me,” Matt said of the donation. “I believe if you work hard, good things happen.” Obtained via nationalautobodycouncil.org. 8

gates are choking off their business and putting them in peril by blocking off ambulances in the case of an emergency. “The key problem is that all the displaced shops are now clogging the streets. All the poor shops that are now at the bottom of Willets Point [Boulevard], are starving,” said Sam Sambucci, a community board member and auto shop owner on Willets Point Boulevard. During the EDC presentation on their progress under the Brownfield Cleanup program, the state’s regulatory environmental purification framework, engineering consultant Gerald Nicholls, said that the initial results were promising. They found what they expected to find, namely petroleum contamination in soil and groundwater, which he said is relatively easy to clean up. But decontamination will be timeconsuming. Nicholls estimated it would be another two years before the agency could break ground on the construction of the first batch of affordable housing– and that just covers about a third of the land that the city owns. After EDC finished the presentation, which made clear that it planned to keep the gates up for years, three

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workers testified about their effects. Arturo Oyala, an auto worker who lost his shop over the last few years and was forced to work from a mobile shop, said that he’s struggling to get by.

Sam Sambucci. Credit: Max Parrott, QNS

A lawyer representing of the Sunrise Cooperative, a group of mechanics and auto-body shops in Willets Point who negotiated for subsidies in 2014 after the city took over their properties, also spoke on the hardships that the group had recently endured as a result of the gates. “We understand that the area is going to get developed. We’ve been talking about it for 15 years–before I was there. Either or develop it or figure it out. But while we’re here you need to take care of the people,” said Sambucci. Eleni Bourinaris, a representative for the EDC, responded to

the complaints that the roads were de-mapped and blocked off in order to complete the remediation process. The agency would have to coordinate with the Department of Transportation in order to turn them back into functioning streets. Community Board Seven Vice Chairman Chuck Apelian weighed in to say that something needs to be done to help the workers. “It’s not a technicality whether it’s a road or it’s not a road, I think we need to have some kind of relief access [sic] on the 30 foot-wide strip right at that key ‘V’ intersection. I think that’s a smart idea. So we’ll talk about that,” said Apelian. He then insisted on adjourning the meeting so that he and the EDC representatives could have this conversation outside of the context of the public meeting. Asked about its plan to respond to the complaints of the auto workers in the wake of the meeting, an EDC spokesperson said that “we take the concerns raised very seriously,” but neglected to propose or commit to any plan of action. We thank QNS.com for reprint permission.

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ABAC’s New Season Attorney John Parese, who provided an update on the industry’s efforts to preserve the 1963 Consent Decree. Parese explained, “The 1963 Consent Decree is the culmination of litigation the United States Department of Justice initiated against insurers to prevent insurance companies from conspiring with one another and to essentially do all of the nonsense we are seeing today. The Decree

“The Consent Decree was the result of the DOJ’s settlement with insurers. It was an agreement to stop doing these things and has been the law of the land for some time. Now,

Attorney John Parese, Legal Counsel for the ABAC, provided an update on the industry’s efforts to preserve the 1963 Consent Decree. Credit: ABAC News

sought to prohibit, for example, much of what we see in today’s DRP network schemes, price-fixing, steering, labor rate suppression, etc. - all the stuff independent collision shop owners are still battling today.”

in the Trump administration’s push to deregulate businesses, the DOJ is looking to terminate the Consent Decree,” Parese continued. “We obviously want to save this law because it protects repairers. So now, we are back at it on a national level, trying to save this law, and we will do everything we can.” Next, ABAC Lobbyist Andy Markowski of Statehouse Associ-

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

ates, LLC encouraged attendees to support the association’s work to save the 1963 Consent Decree. “What we’ve heard tonight is right on the money. You can’t do it alone. Your Board of Directors can’t do it alone. You all know about the industry we’re up against - the money, the power, the number of lobbyists and the employees of the insurance industry has, and the amount of influence they have; however, we have the ears and the minds of some key politicians that have taken the time to understand your collision repair industry and are willing to go to bat for you,” Markowski stated. “When these people step up for us, we need to step up as a group,” Markowski urged. “Between now and January is when you can get the attention of the legislators before they go back to the Capitol, before they are busy ... We need to educate them about our industry. How do we do that? Many state legislators will host open-houses, coffee hours and meetings in their districts. Attend these gettogethers. Meet [the legislators]. Tell them about your business, your industry. Invite them to come to your shop.”

Following dinner, Simmons presented “Creating a Non-Negotiable Final Bill.” He began by asking, “Are you continuing to do the same processes every day, expecting a different outcome? Are you ready to decipher the ‘Code’ of today’s vehicles and gain the confidence to not negotiate the repairs required?”

ABAC Lobbyist Andy Markowski of Statehouse Associates, LLC encouraged attendees to support the association’s work to save the 1963 Consent Decree by educating legislators about how it impacts the collision repair industry. Credit: ABAC News

Simmons proceeded to discuss when a final bill is created, why negotiations happen, and what the insurance company’s role is in the vehicle repair process. He explained how to achieve outcome-based negotiations

and explored a technician’s needs in order to properly repair a vehicle. Emphasizing the value of words, Simmons said, “What is the area your technicians work in called at your facility? Stall? A work bay? If you want to be considered the leaders, you need to use terminologies and discussions that the consumer can consider us to be the experts or professionals. So, in

technology, including OEM technologies, telematics and connected vehicles. Additionally, he discussed scans, electrical systems, automatic collision notification, disconnecting batteries/ precautions, required operations for disconnect initialization, how long to wait before disconnecting, removal of undamaged parts, and more. “Thank you to Scott Simmons

The primary sponsor for the ABAC’s Sept. 26 meeting was Stephen AutoMall Centre. Co-sponsors included Enterprise, Auto Body Supplies and Paint, and Designer Systems. Amendola thanked event spon-

“When these people step up for us, we need to step up as a group,” — Andy Markowski my world, I call it a ‘production bay.’” When it comes to negotiating to get to the final bill, Simmons encouraged attendees, “Tell your story. Let’s remove the opinions. Have your documents prepared in advance. Stick to the facts. Is it required? Is it included? Is there a pre-determined time? What is it worth? There should never be a choice of how to fix the vehicle correctly. There should only be a business decision to bill or not bill for the operation.” Simmons’ presentation also included a review of the industry’s latest

for giving us a full slate of critical information that we can all bring back to our businesses,” Amendola stated, adding, “The ABAC strives to bring in presenters that can assist and educate collision repair shop owners and managers to help repair cars properly and efficiently while also presenting tips for the future of technology. Please consider joining the Auto Body Association of Connecticut, attend these important educational meetings and get critical information to help keep your shop aimed toward the future.”

ABAC President Bob Amendola welcomed attendees and expressed gratitude for their recognition of the value offered by the association. Credit: ABAC News

sors, ABAC Corporate Sponsors, and ABAC News Supporting Advertisers. “Please consider them when making your decisions to purchase anything that they offer. Remember to support those who support you,” he said. For more information about ABAC and its future events, visit abaconn .com.

Multi-Vehicle Fire Doused Outside NJ Repair Shop by Jerry DeMarco, Daily Voice

Flames incinerated two trucks and damaged other nearby vehicles Monday, Sept. 23, outside a Hackensack, NJ, auto repair shop, sending plumes of black smoke skyward that could be seen from Route 80. A firefighter was hospitalized with heat exhaustion, the Hackensack Fire Department said. Firefighters responding to the two-alarm blaze sparked by downed wires at Rocky Auto Repair at Daniel and Kenneth streets just before 1:30 p.m. had it doused in well under an hour. The building sustained some exterior damage, but firefighters kept interior damage to a minimum. Englewood, Teaneck and Ridgefield Park, NJ, firefighters were among the responders who assisted their city colleagues. An EMS unit from Hackensack University Medical Center also responded. We thank the Daily Voice for reprint permission.

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

Corvette Club Awards Scholarships to Two Penn College Students by Staff, NorthcentralPA.com

The Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club, which supports Pennsylvania College of Technology students through a pair of scholarship funds, recently honored two more beneficiaries of its generosity.

From left; Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club members Keith and Jan Hoffman; scholarship recipients Chase T. Fritz and Jacob A. Dock and Al Clapps, chairman of the SVCC Car Show Committee. Credit: Penn College

Students Jacob A. Dock, of Middleburg, PA, enrolled in automotive restoration technology, and Chase T. Fritz, an automotive technology major from Athens, PA, each will receive $2,500 during the 2019-20 school year as the latest

recipients of club scholarships. “Penn College and our students benefit from our partnership with the Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club,” said Kyle A. Smith, executive director of the Penn College Foundation. “The continued passion and commitment they display toward our students is greatly appreciated.” The club, formed in 2003 and online at www.susquehannavalley corvetteclub.org/, conducted a summer-long raffle to benefit those scholarship funds. The raffle – for which the grand prize is the winner’s choice of a 2019 Chevy Silverado, a 2019 Corvette or $35,000 in cash – culminated in a drawing at the club’s “Corvettes on Main Street” event in Muncy, PA. For more information on automotive majors in Penn College’s School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies, visit www.pct.edu/tnrt or call 570-3274516. We thank NorthcentralPA.com for reprint permission.

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Polmanteer Service Center in NY Adds Repair Shop by Staff, The Chronicle-Express

The business that began as a corner gas and service station in the 1960s has grown to an auto service center that has now expanded to include a state-of-the-art body and paint shop. Polmanteer Auto Service Center is now home to new collision shop that includes a Global Finishing Solutions paint booth with a full downdraft ventilation system, said owner Gavin Polmanteer. A large addition was built on the back of the existing shop, and the paint booth with a sophisticated computer system for mixing paint was built. Gavin hired Louie Hicks, who had been working at Village Auto, and the projects are beginning to come in. In addition to the body shop expansion, the business has grown to include work on heavy trucks, including DOT inspections. To top it off, Gavin is proud to say he has financed the entire expansion with no financial assistance from government programs. We thank The Chronicle-Express for reprint permission. 12

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Simeone Automotive Museum in Philadelphia Earns Two Prestigious Recognitions by Shara Dae Howard, KYW Newsradio

The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum focuses on awardwinning race cars, and now the museum is bringing two big wins of its own home to Philadelphia. “Winning this award for the museum is like winning the Nobel Prize in the historic motoring world, because they only give one a year,” said Dr. Fred Simeone, founder of the museum in Southwest Philadelphia. “This should give us more relevance — if not the museum, then Philadelphia.” Simeone won the Key Award for the No. 1 car collector in the world, and the Classic Car Trust voted the Simeone Museum the No. 1 car collection in the world, the most prestigious award in automotive museum and car collection circles. “It was based on the contribution of the cars to history, quality and originality, elegance, and in some cases the performance,” Simeone said.

The museum is not only making history for Philadelphia. It’s part of history, and some of those stories are coming to the big screen soon, in a movie starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale, called “Ford versus Farrari.” “We actually have four cars which were in that story when it happened in 1965-66. So those are getting a lot of attention, and we hope to exhibit them before the movie opens,” he said. The museum also focuses on education, with two STEAM — or science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics — programs for kids around the Philadelphia area. “Inner-city high school kids in particular,” he said, “to learn about motor sport and engineering, science tech, engineering and art. There’s nothing that exemplifies STEAM more than the car.” We thank KYW Newsradio for reprint permission.

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autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

A Body Shop in Middletown, NY, is Now a One-Stop Shop for Firetrucks by Donna Kessler, Times Herald-Record

Hundreds of firetrucks - all part of a collection belonging to Andy Leiter - were housed in a building on Route 302 in Middletown, NY. Leiter sold the building and has been moving his

Andy Leiter, far right, is the new owner of Hassler’s Big Boys Toys Sandblasting and Painting now called Liberty Truck Collision & Painting. Joining him are Billy Hassler, left, and Skyler Hartley (staff member), center. Credit: Donna Kessler, Times Herald-Record

trucks to other buildings he bought in the area and in Pennsylvania. One of those buildings is the old Honda dealership on Fulton Street in Middletown, which Leiter plans to turn into a museum. Now, a partnership has sprung up from this move Leiter has taken. Billy Hassler opened Hassler’s Big Boys Toys Sandblasting and Paint Shop at 17-39 Midland

Ave. Ext., building No. 11, in Middletown, in 2018. Business boomed since Hassler was able to accommodate huge construction and highway equipment in his 45-foot- long and 16-foot-high paint booth. But, in the back of his mind, he had the idea to get Leiter on board as a customer. Now that Leiter has sold his building, which housed a maintenance department, but had no paint or sandblasting booth, Hassler’s seemed like the perfect place to have that work done on his firetrucks. So Leiter ended up buying the business from Hassler, who remains on board, and renamed it Liberty Truck Collision & Painting. The two have teamed up to provide a place where firetrucks are accommodated for whatever body or paint work they need. They even sub out for the gold leaf lettering to be applied. There are not many firetruck dealerships that have body shops, so Leiter and Hassler are hoping they come to them. Everything is done in-house; it’s basically a one-stop-shop for firetrucks. They will continue to work on highway and construction vehicles, cars, trucks and motorcycles. An expansion of the shop is al-

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

ready in the works. This expansion will be dedicated to collision work. Leiter used to own a body shop business on Staten Island and he hung onto the spray booth and the shop lifts. These will be used in the new area. One of the lifts is a 35,000-pound truck lift.

There are not many firework dealerships that have body shops, so Leiter and Hassler are hoping they come to them. They will continue to work on highway and construction vehicles, cars, trucks and motorcycles. Credit: Donna Kessler, Times Herald-Record

Hassler and Leiter are happy with the connection they have made. They feel it’s going to get real busy soon. There’s still a lot of work to be done on the shop and a new crew to hire, but Leiter and Hassler are excited for what the future holds. We thank Times Herald-Record for reprint permission.

AASP/NJ Honor’s Memory of Member Lee Vetland by Chasidy Rae Sisk

On Monday, Sept. 16, members of AASP/NJ gathered at the Colonia Country Club in Colonia, NJ, to honor one of the association’s members with the 15th Annual Lou Scoras Memorial Golf Outing. AASP/NJ Treasurer Tom Elder commented, “Lou exemplified what the auto body industry is. We won’t forget his name, and we won’t forget what he did for this industry.” Nearly 100 automotive industry professionals gathered for the day of golf, which included lunch and a cocktail reception followed by dinner which included a champagne toast in memory of collision repair industry legend Lee Vetland who passed away last year. “Lou was dear to us, and we want to make sure he is remembered. As emotional as this day is for those of us who knew and worked with Lou, it’s always great to see the rousing support of the industry at events like this,” said AASP/NJ Executive Director Charles Bryant.

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

Rolls-Royce Ghost Haunts Mount Vernon, NY, Repair Shop by Bill Heltzel, Westfair Online

Rolls-Royce has sued J&B Body Works in Mount Vernon, New York, to get back a Ghost that has been idled in the repair shop for more than 430 days. Rolls-Royce must first pay $22,485 for repairs and storage fees. “It would be unjust,” J&B Body Works argues, for Rolls-Royce to get the benefit of the garage’s services “without commensurate compensation.” The Rolls’ round-about route to Mount Vernon dates back to February 2016, when Jean Nikenson Mathurin leased the 2012 black, turbocharged sedan, with 15,400 miles and valued at $159,900, from Miller Motorcars in Greenwich, CT. Miller Motorcars assigned the lease to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Financial Services. Mathurin listed an address in Valley Stream, Nassau County, but court records indicate that he was actually living in Sparta, NJ, when he bought the Rolls-Royce. Court records also indicate that Mathurin has a thing about luxury vehicles.

A month before he leased the Rolls, according to records in a federal bankruptcy case in Suffolk County, he leased a 2010 Aston Martin Rapide from Miller Motorcars. The sedan was valued at $112,351 and he financed $63,001. He surrendered the car in 2017, but still owed $63,000, according to a bankruptcy pleading by TD Auto Finance. Last year he filed another bankruptcy case, this time in Newark. He declared assets of $731,000 and liabilities of $754,000, but creditors claimed he owned more than $1 million. The claims include $260,000 for wheels: the Rolls, then valued at $131,000; a 2013 BMW 650xi, $60,000; a Ducati Panigale R motorcycle, $41,000; and a 2012 BMW 750, $28,000. He listed outright ownership of a 2007 Land Rover, valued at $5,783. He also owed more than $600,000 on a mortgage and $140,000 for student loans. The petition shows him as an IT technician for the New York City Health & Hospitals Corp., making $9,333 a month. Both bankruptcies were dis-

Body Shop in Richmond Hill, NY, Celebrates 73 Years in Business by Jenna Bagcal, QNS

For the past 73 years, D & H Auto Body has been a mainstay on Atlantic Avenue in Richmond Hill, located in Queens, NY. According to owner Guy Perino, the key to the shop’s longevity is ensuring customer satisfaction. “We’ve had hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers because of our old fashioned work ethic,” Perino said. “Generation after generation of families have been coming to us for decades.” Perino’s uncles Dominick and Harry Ezzo established the shop in 1946, christening the business name with their initials. Back then, the family business provided auto body work, painting and general repairs. Perino took over business operations of D & H over 40 years later in 1988. Prior to inheriting the shop, he owned an auto body shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and also worked on the insurance adjustment side of the business. He returned to the industry when 16

his uncle started getting older and decided to retire. Today, Perino runs D & H with his business partner Bruno Loia. They offer customers a “full line of auto body service” as well as CARCO auto insurance inspections. Since taking over, Perino has noticed “drastic changes” in the operations and costs of running the business, including increased automation and computerization as well as higher costs for parts and materials. The owner said that despite the challenges, they have found ways to stay on top of the costs and improve the quality control of their services. “We make sure to do the job right and efficiently the first time so we don’t have to spend extra [money] on parts,” said Perino. He shared that the most rewarding parts of running the business are doing quality work for the customer, meeting new people and seeing them happy. We thank QNS for reprint permission.

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

missed, because Mathurin failed to follow the judge’s instructions in the Suffolk case and failed to file financial schedules in the Newark case.

Rolls-Royce has sued J&B Body Works in Mount Vernon, New York, to get back a Ghost that has been idled in the repair shop for more than 430 days. Credit: Westfair Online

The whereabouts of his various vehicles are unclear, except for the Rolls. In July 2018, the Ghost was brought to Mount Vernon. Mathurin told J&B that the car had been damaged in a deer strike and from hitting a guard rail. The front grill, headlamps, hood, and roof; rear glass and trunk lid; left front fender and bumper; left rear quarter panel and left rear bumper; and the tail

light and muffler exhaust were damaged. “Collectively these damages render the vehicle a constructive total loss,” the preliminary repair estimate stated. But Mathurin authorized repairs and J&B fixed the car. Then, J&B owner Joseph Izzo attests in a court filing, Mathurin said he would not pay for the work because AIG Insurance “had determined that there was no insurance coverage in place for this vehicle.” Now, Rolls-Royce financial services want the car. It sued J&B last month in Westchester Supreme Court, demanding that the Ghost be returned and demanding $122,000 in damages for unjust enrichment. J&B responded that under New York law, “a garage keeper who repairs a motor vehicle at the request of the vehicle’s owner has a lien upon such vehicle to the extent of services performed.” Rolls-Royce, J&B says in its counterclaim, must pay $22,485 for the Ghost. We thank Westfair Online for reprint permission.

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

Rosedale Technical College in Pennsylvania Celebrates 70 Years by Charlotte Smith, TribLIVE

Rosedale Technical College celebrated 70 years on Sept. 28 at its Blue Jean Ball, honoring its reputation as the center of training for the skilled trades in Western Pennsylvania. Founded as a for-profit institution in 1949 near Verona, it originally had a goal of training returning veterans in the trade of automotive mechanics. There was only one educational program at Rosedale, until 2001, when the diesel technology and electrical technology programs were added. Since then, programs in HVAC technology, truck driving and industrial technician programs were launched, and in 2015, welding, applied business management and collision repair technology were added. In 1969, the center was acquired by the nonprofit Electronics Institute and in 2006, moved to its current location in Kennedy Township off Interstate 79 at Route 60. It became a free-standing independent nonprofit college in 2014. Dennis Wilke of South Fayette

Township has been the president since 2006. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics and philosophy from Carnegie Mellon University and had a 14-year career with the May Company’s corporate divisions in Pittsburgh and Houston before returning to Pittsburgh, joining Rosedale in

David Smith, 43, of Claysville, PA, replaces the valve covers on a car at Rosedale Technical College in Kennedy Township, PA. Credit: File Photo, Tribune-Review

2005 as its vice president. “The biggest change since its founding 70 years ago, in my opinion, has been our conversion to a 501c3 nonprofit educational institution,” said Wilke. “The model of a small private nonprofit technical college allows Rosedale to have both

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

the nimble flexibility of a private entity while the nonprofit nature allows us to keep our focus fully on the best interests of our students.” One of the school’s newest initiatives is looking into how many employers are contributing to the cost of education. Dozens of Rosedale’s employer partners have tuition reimbursement or student loan repayment, and some even participate in bonus programs that help support the students and graduates. Students have been providing charitable organizations like Kamp Konokwee, the TC House for adults with Down Syndrome in Imperial, PA, and various local churches with free labor and repair services. In March, Rosedale sponsored its third annual “Women in the Trades Day” that drew more than 200 highschool-aged girls who listened to female leaders in trade industries and saw live demonstrations by current female Rosedale students. Last school year, the school’s female student population was up to 6.2%, an increase from just five years

ago when it was at 3.9%. Diesel Technology is currently the program with the largest enrollment, spurred on by job opportunities in the energy industry. Automotive is the next largest. “Every program we train for at Rosedale is centered around electricity,” stated Wilke. “To excel in the skilled trades today, technicians need to understand electrical theory and use critical thinking skills to diagnose and troubleshoot issues with electronically controlled equipment. The demand for talent in the skilled trades has surged in recent years, and we need more students to fill the workforce needs.” Rosedale’s biannual Career Fair was held on Oct. 3. More than 100 employers came to recruit students for employment. The college’s current strategic vision, entitled “The Five Star Focus: Elevating the Trades,” includes adding at least two programs within the next five years, expanding its footprint by at least 30,000 square feet, and adding several new collaborations with employers, other educational institutions and community development organizations.

Rosedale expects to implement an autonomous vehicle training curriculum, integrate classrooms and labs into one dynamic space and create innovative ways to have employers participate in the cost of education. An innovative program called “Soft Skills Transcript” has been embraced by employers as it reinforces and trains students’ soft skills with integration into each course. “Graduation and job placement rates are soaring as we have raised the expectations both from our students and from ourselves,” Wilke added. Community outreach will continue to be a focus. Rosedale’s annual Toys From Techs toy drive, benefiting Beverly’s Birthdays’ charity, has generated thousands of dollars’ worth of toys for children in need. In addition, Rosedale donates tools and equipment to multiple career and technical high schools, and hosts several events for local youth groups. For more information on any of Rosedale Technical College’s programs, visit www.rosedaletech.org or call 800-521-6262. We thank TribLIVE for reprint permission.

AASP/NJ Panel Discussion Addresses ADAS Growth in Industry by Chasidy Rae Sisk

On Thursday, Sept. 12, AASP/NJ provided an overview of what collision repair shop owners need to know about ADAS technology by hosting a panel discussion on the topic at the Gran Centurions in Clark, NJ. The panel discussion, moderated by AASP/NJ President Jerry McNee, featured industry experts including Mark Olson of VECO Experts, Autel’s George Lesniak, Michael Flink from Autel, LIFTNOW’s Paul Stern, and Chuck Leonard of Autopart International, Inc. The discussion was sponsored in part by USI North America. The panel commenced with participating panelists emphasizing that the collision repair and automotive industries cannot simply ignore ADAS. Olson stated, “As a repairer, you are supposed to know that you have to do the calibration. You have to do the research ... When you touch a car, you are responsible for everything, whether you know it or not. You can’t say, ‘I didn’t know,’ because ignorance is not self-defense.” Providing a variety of examples, Lesniak explored the necessary steps

ments, and Stern explained that these systems “rely on knowing exactly where ‘straight-ahead’ is. When you are going 80 miles an hour, it will make a big difference.” On the topic of insurers that object to compensating collision repair shops for pre- and post-repair scans, attendees were advised to use concrete data to educate adjusters on the necessity of these items. Flink noted, “If you don’t ask for it, you Panelists pictured (l to r) George Lesniak of Autel, Autel’s won’t get anything. You Michael Flink, Paul Stern from LIFTNOW, Chuck Leonard have to know what to ask of Autopart International, Inc., and VECO Experts’ Mark for,” and McNee added, “If Olson. Credit: AASP/NJ & Greco Publishing you charge correctly for it, move it and take something off and put you should be able to get paid for it.” For shops committed to properly it back, it needs to be calibrated. I know people say, ‘Well, I never had a educating their teams on ADAS and problem before.’ Well, how do you investing in the necessary equipment, Leonard said there’s a financial beneknow? And what if?” Flink added, “Take the time to do fit, in addition to the knowledge that it, and do it correctly,” and Olson, the shop is doing the right thing for who emphasized the importance of their customers. He said, “It is a big tracking each part of the repair in a investment to get into ADAS, but “bulletproof file,” contributed, “If you don’t lose sight of what your return on don’t document yourself - even if you investment is and in covering yourare not wrong - you are going to lose.” self.” For more information on AASP/ Because of the prevalence of ADAS technology, calibration is NJ and its future events, visit aaspnj even required during wheel align- .org. for resetting cameras and sensors accurately, noting that OEMs have established these steps for a reason. Unless all of the correct steps are taken, there is no guarantee that sensors have been reset to their accurate zero-point calibration. Lesniak said, “If we touch it,

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Speakers Discuss of “view” of any sensors. “I actually got called out by a customer who couldn’t get this vehicle calibrated. He had tried multiple times,” Lesniak said. “They sent me out to trouble-shoot, and there was what looked like a grasshopper splattered right in the middle of the camera on the windshield. Step number one in the instructions was to make sure the windshield is clean, especially in front of the camera. They skipped the basic steps.” Lesniak was just one of several speakers discussing OEM procedures and ADAS calibrations during the CIECA conference, held in Charlottesville, VA. Sean Guthrie, director of operations for the seven Car Crafters Collision Centers in Albuquerque, N.M., said one thing he thinks may slow the expected reduction in claims count based on ADAS is whether consumers are buying vehicles equipped with such systems. He said he and his wife were recently in the market for a new car and found no dealer in their region with the model vehicle they wanted that included all the ADAS features the automaker makes available for that vehicle. “It wasn’t just a matter of finding one in the trim model we wanted,” Guthrie said. “From the base of that model to the top tier, there wasn’t one available with the full ADAS suite. I asked the dealer why is it that your cars are among the safest out there, with the most available technology, yet you don’t have one on the lot with that technology. They said, ‘It’s simple, Sean: We don’t sell them. And if we do sell them, the customer wants us to turn it all off. So why would we have a car on the lot that’s $6,000 more for something that someone is just going to turn off?’” Guthrie thinks it may just be that consumers aren’t seeking out ADAS because it’s not something that is being marketed to them. Regardless, Guthrie said his company is working to do more of ADAS calibrations in-house, in part because dealerships often aren’t prepared to do so. He believes that even shops subletting the work should still research the calibra20

tion procedures to know what needs to be done. “It’s disappointing how often when you tell dealerships, ‘We removed and reinstalled all these things, and replaced these things, so this is what we need calibrated,’ they look at you and say, ‘But it drives

ing,” he said. “There are some cars that you can put into [test] modes and then drive and confirm that it worked. But for the most part, two people make it much safer.” Guthrie was asked what happens to a vehicle his company has repaired if neither his shop nor a local dealer is equipped and prepared to calibrate the ADAS. “The car sits,” Guthrie said, comparing it to a car not being released if an airbag hasn’t been installed. “We had a Subaru for which we didn’t have the calibration equipment. The dealership had the equipment but had never set it up or used it. So that car wasn’t safe to be back on the road. It took alGeorge Lesniak (right) of Autel said technicians often skip important steps in the calibration process. Other speakers most two months. We ended on the panel included (from left) Mark Allen of Audi, Sean up helping the dealer getGuthrie of Car Crafters Collision Centers, and Darrell ting the equipment set up Amberson of LaMettry’s Collision. Credit: Sheri LaFlamme and getting it done.” fine and there are no codes or dash Another speaker at the conferlights,’” Guthrie said. “This is from ence concurred. Darrell Ambera dealership that sells and services son of LaMettry’s Collision, which that vehicle. Unfortunately, more operates nine collision shops and than once we’ve had an argument two stand-alone mechanical shops with a dealership about what needs in the Twin Cities region of Minto be done. We couldn’t have that argument unless we knew the OEM repair procedures.” He said subletting the work also doesn’t relieve a shop from the liability that ADAS calibrations were done fully and properly. The only way to ensure that has happened is to road-test the vehicles, something his company does even if a dealer did the calibration work on a sublet basis and should have done its own road test. “We’ve picked up many cars after they get done at the dealership and had to turn right back around and take it back because they’re not calibrated right,” Guthrie said. “You have to test drive the car to know that. And you need to test every system, not just the ones you affected [during repairs] because they all talk, they all work together. If you affect one, you may have affected five.” Guthrie said although it varies by make and model, dynamic system calibrations and post-calibration road tests often require two people. “You’ve got somebody who needs to be manning the scan tool, while the other person is safely driv-

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

nesota, has developed ADAS calibration stations at two of its locations. He said companies such as his can be another source of calibration help for other shops if dealers in a market are not set-up to do so. He said that like Guthrie, his company won’t release a car until calibrations are completed; in one case, that even meant not taking on a particular job. “It was a Toyota van that was a handicap conversion,” Amberson said. “They had put in heavy-duty springs in the back of the vehicle. There was no data from Toyota in terms of how we should calibrate it. We reached out to the conversion company, and they admitted they just performed the conversion and didn’t do anything about the ADAS. We found that situation scary and just stepped aside and didn’t perform the repairs because there was no way we could know how to properly calibrate that vehicle. It was probably fixed by someone who probably didn’t do anything with the ADAS systems.”

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autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

NH Voices: Lawmakers Should Support Consumers and Car-Repair Bill Override by Sens. Dan Feltes and Kevin Cavanaugh, and Reps. Ed Butler and Kermit Williams, Union Leader

For over two years, a bipartisan group of lawmakers studied how consumers’ cars were repaired following a collision, how the insurance system reimburses the consumer for those repairs, and in the process, crafted House Bill 664 to keep drivers in safely repaired vehicles. Over two-thirds of the New Hampshire House and the entire Senate voted to pass HB 664 — a strong coalition of Republicans and Democrats. When Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed this popular legislation, his appointed Insurance Commissioner, John Elias, declared himself as the sole protector of consumers — but in doing so ignored the findings of people directly elected to represent you: your state representatives and state senators. His arguments have been long on insurance lobbyist talking points and very short on reality. Let’s look at the facts. For 24 months, your local elected officials listened to consumers, independent collision repair experts, car manufacturers, parts companies, the

New Hampshire Insurance Department and insurance companies. They found that to be sure your car is properly repaired, safe to operate, and most importantly, returned to “pre-loss condition,” the state, which is guaranteed by most collision policies, repair shops often need to follow the repair recommendations of the auto manufacturers. If they do follow that expert advice, the insurance company needs to cover the cost of that repair procedure. It’s that simple. Today, when you bring your wrecked car in for repairs, some insurance companies will push for you and your repair shop to ignore certain safe repair procedures. It sounds unbelievable, but one example is companies denying post-repair computer scans that make sure all the complex collision avoidance technology in your car is working properly. That scan is like getting an x-ray after your broken arm has been set, to make sure it came together properly. Skipping it may mean that you will get unpredictable and dangerous behavior from those advanced safety features. Because the bill doesn’t increase body shops’ labor rates, your premi-

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

ums should not increase. New Hampshire’s auto insurance premiums are low because our independent shops are already so competitive. While threatening that insurance costs will rise if this bill passes, the commissioner forgot to mention that auto premiums written statewide went up a whopping $35 million from 2017 to 2018. That increase had nothing to do with HB 664. He also forgot that his own website points to the rising cost of vehicles and the technology in them as the primary causes for premium increases, not body shop repairs. Speaking of data, in the two years of work and over a dozen public hearings, we saw specific evidence of insurers ignoring safe repair recommendations from auto manufacturers. Meanwhile, the insurers and the department provided no studies, no evidence, and no proof of any negative impact on your policy cost. The bill states that body shops can use the same parts, tools and equipment that they do now. The commissioner suggests that only new manufacturer’s parts would be allowed, but this is far from the truth.

After-market parts companies and auto-parts recyclers supported the “all parts are allowed” amendment, which is part of the bill. The commissioner expresses concern that the bill adds these rules to the consumer protection statutes, but neglects to mention that his own department lawyer recommended that the language be placed in that section of the law. Your elected officials heard from hundreds of independent collision repair shops, technicians and auto manufacturers that support HB 664. If you had a wrecked car, who would you turn to for repair advice? Your insurance actuaries or your local body shop and the engineers who built the car? It takes a two-thirds vote to override a veto. We hope that a two-thirds bipartisan majority will support their local consumers and small businesses and override the governor’s ill-advised veto. We thank Union Leader for reprint permission.

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autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

Revamped ARNE 2019 Exceeds High Expectations by Chasidy Rae Sisk

On Sept. 26-28, the 2019 Automotive Recyclers Northeast Education and Exposition (ARNE) took place at the Albany Capital Center in Albany, NY. Victoria Palasieski, administrator for ARA-NY, stated, “The event was a success! This year, for our second ARNE event, we partnered with PRP-NE to provide more opportunities for attendees and sponsors to connect. We wanted to maximize the event to suit the needs of all of the Northeast Auto Recyclers. We went in with high expectations, and they were exceeded! We were very pleased with the overall outcome of the event.”

ARA-NY honored its outgoing board members during ARNE 2019 (pictured l to r: Dan Marks, Anthony Wahl, Eric Wilbert & Paul Hand). Credit: ARA-NY

Palasieski continued, “With more than 350 attendees and over 50 sponsors and exhibitors, there were plenty of opportunities for business networking, employee training, and even some fun as we held our ARANY Auction led by ARANY Past President Bill Tolpa as the Auctioneer, with help from ARANY Immediate Past President Dan Marks and Adrianna Lee from e-Comply.” ARNE 2019 began on Thursday, Sept. 26 with a kick-off party where New York’s new State DMV Commissioner Mark J. F. Schroeder provided welcoming remarks, focusing on the theme of moving forward as a community. The 6th Annual Summit of Automotive Recyclers was featured on Friday, Sept. 27, which included discussions on a variety of topics, including communications, trading groups, e-commerce, and succession planning. After lunch, four sessions were offered on Friday afternoon which included seminars on employee recruitment and retention, sales, OSHA, and DOT compliance, among other topics. 24

The expo floor opened on Friday evening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and champagne toast. The expo was open until 11 p.m. with dinner stations, an open bar, a live auction and much more.

ARA-NY leaders cut the ribbon for the grand opening of ARNE 2019’s expo floor. Credit: ARA-NY

The PRP-NE Awards Breakfast was held on Saturday, Sept. 28. An additional four sessions were available on Saturday morning which boasted a wide variety of industryrelated topics to help attendees better succeed in their businesses. In addition to an ATV raffle drawing, lunch featured a keynote presentation by PRP-NE and ARA-NY Associate Member Mark Brown of Brown’s Auto Salvage in Vermont, and ARNE 2019 concluded with the expo and final educational wrap-ups. ARA-NY’s goal for the event was “To bring together automotive recycling yards across the Northeast and Canada for networking, training and camaraderie,” Palasieski explained. “We wanted to be able to have a joint event to maximize employee attendance and time away for supporters. Attendees were pleased with the event as it allowed them to interact with more companies than usual and take part in training sessions that were specific to what they were looking for.” “We integrated the Expo Floor with the Friday evening social hour to make for better networking among the attendees and our supporters,” Palasieski added. “We had something for everyone with sessions for U-Pull It yards, Quality Control, Trading, YMS training sessions, OSHA Compliance, DOT Compliance, Leadership, Expanding Your Customer Base and more! ARNE 2019 could not have been so successful without the collaborative efforts of Ron Wilbert and Paula Knapp of PRP-NE, OARA’s Steve

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

Fletcher, Ron Matthews from ARARI, Bruce Crawford of ATRANH, as well as ARA-NY’s Board of Directors – everyone did a great job, and their contributions are greatly appreciated!” Palasieski believes that association-sponsored events are important to members and the industry because “These events help bring together the experienced and the new, especially at our annual Summit of Automotive Recyclers, where we discuss the latest issues, tips and trends that are affecting business these days. It is a time for our members to get together and find new ways to do business.” ARNE began when ARA-NY introduced a Summit of Automotive Recycling Leaders as part of its Annual Convention and Trade Show. According to the group’s website, “This Summit attracted leaders from across the region and Canada. ARA presidents came to participate in the high-level discussions and sharing of knowledge. A conversation began to unite the region for one, major trade show in order to increase attendance,

provide greater support opportunities for vendors, and offer a diversified platform for networking. From those Summits - ARNE was created. Fol-

New York State DMV Commissioner, Mark J. F. Schroeder, provided the welcoming remarks during ARNE 2019’s Kickoff party (pictured l to r: ARA-NY Administrator Victoria Palasieski, PRP-NE’s Richard Wilbert, DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder, and outgoing ARA-NY President Dan Marks. Credit: ARA-NY

lowing the Inaugural ARNE Convention & Trade Show in 2017 ... we have revamped to bring you the ARNE Education & Exposition for 2019, with a greater focus on training and education than ever before.” For more information, visit arne.pro or arany.com.

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

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Inspection Law hicles. “The current inspection regime hits lower-income residents the hardest and the overall benefit of the safety inspection is unclear or are hard to prove, considering states in the Midwest with similar demographics and weather have similar or better crash data statistics,” Conley said. “That suggests to me that the inspection in and of itself in NH is not a significant contributor to road safety.” Public Safety Daniel Goodman, a spokesman for AAA Northern New England, said his organization supports annual safety inspections. “These inspections are intended to detect mechanical and safety defects that, if left uncorrected, could cause or contribute to the cause of a traffic crash,” he said. “Ensuring all the clunkers and risky cars are off the roads keeps the driving public safer.” Peter McNamara, president of the New Hampshire Automobile

Dealers Association, has said vehicle safety inspections protect the public. “According to the 2017 DMV statistics, over 54,720 cars failed for bad tires,” he said. “To pass, tire tread depth must be at least the thickness of a penny. Over 81,905 vehicles failed for inadequate brakes. To pass, a brake pad must be at

A headlight aligner sits in front of a truck at Bayside Service on Union Avenue in Laconia, NH. State inspections stations are required to use the devices for every inspection. Credit: Adam Drapcho, The Laconia Daily Sun photoz

least 1/16th of an inch thick to provide proper stopping power. When over 16 percent of the vehicles inspected are reported as failed, it is pretty obvious why annual inspections are needed.” Inspection Checklist Conley said sometimes a consumer

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

may question whether the repairs required to pass a safety inspection are really needed. “Most auto mechanics are ethical, but there are some who are not, and you generally don’t know who they are,” he said. “As a consumer, you are left not knowing if the repairs that are recommended are actually needed.” Troop G’s Audit State Police Troop G did an audit of 55 inspection stations in Belknap County between July 9-11 and found multiple violations of requirements under the inspection systems. Such audits are performed statewide, but they are not aggregated into a report that examines how the system is performing, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Past Legislation Last year, state legislation to reduce the requirement for inspections to every other year failed to pass. Another bill that didn’t gain traction would have allowed people who buy a new car to skip inspections for the first three years.

Rep. Charlie St. Clair, D-Laconia, said people tend to get their cars fixed even if safety inspections are not required. He also said there’s a business motive to leave the law unchanged. “But there has to be a way to make it more user-friendly for citizens,” St. Clair said. “The cars being built today are not the cars we had even 15 years ago.” There are also legal requirements to maintain one’s car. “You can’t drive around the highway with a light out or on bald tires and not run the risk of being stopped by a police officer and get a warning and have to get it fixed,” he said. Many who responded to a Laconia Daily Sun Facebook question said they supported yearly inspections for safety reasons. Others said the requirement made no sense on new cars, and some objected to the mandate entirely. “Biggest scam on car owners,” said Ann Marie Banfield. “I never lived in a state that did this until we moved to NH.” We thank The Laconia Daily Sun for reprint permission.

Annual Car Show Drives Support for TCHS in Phoenixville, PA by Staff, Daily Local News

Neighbors, proud car owners, car enthusiasts, students and staff came together to support local career and technical education students during the Seventh Annual Car Show held at the Technical College High School (TCHS) Pickering Campus in Chester County, PA. The event, held on Saturday, Sept. 28, combined unique vehicles, food, music and raffles with all proceeds raised going to TCHS student scholarships. “The car show is a community event that keeps growing bigger and better every year,” said TCHS Pickering Campus Principal Joseph Fullerton. “The support for our students has been so strongly expressed today, from the cars that arrived hours early, the number of vehicles present, the 20-plus alumni that returned to campus to the current students and staff who volunteered their time and energy to ensure the event was a success,” he added. In between directing traffic, assisting with registration and providing and serving food, TCHS Pickering students spent the day interacting with

the community and learning from the car owners. Frequent car show participant, Tom Badman, was excited to have the opportunity to enter his 1931 Chevrolet 5 Window Coupe in a more local competition: “I live right down the street, so I’m thrilled to participate in an event I enjoy that also directly benefits my community. Unlike at other car shows, I’ve been able to meet fellow car enthusiasts from my neighborhood and share my automotive restoration experience with these exceptional students.” The TCHS Car Show marked the first time that many of the participants and attendees visited the TCHS Pickering Campus. “We knew that the TCHS campuses work with the local school districts and had heard that the students here do amazing work in their programs, so we wanted to meet them, contribute to their success and see the school first-hand,” said Matthew and Barbara Boyle. “This has also been a great opportunity for me to connect with other classic car owners and see how they’ve maintained their vehicles, as I own a 1963 Panel Truck that I’ve been working on,” added Boyle.

As a young family in the Phoenixville community, John Hammond and his wife were also thrilled to attend an event where they could support a good cause and entertain their children. “This is our first time here,” said Mr. Hammond, “and it’s been such a fun day showing our kids the cars, enjoying good food and supporting our neighbors.” The Hammonds and other attendees enjoyed walking around the campus, admiring cars, such as: an antique Ford F100, a 1970 Dart Swinger, the TCHS Brandywine 2016 project car, a 72-78 Australian Ford Falcon Coupe, a Tesla Model 3, and many more. This year’s car show winners were a 2015 Dodge Challenger/owner Paul Boule, Best in Show; 1965 Ford Mustang 2+2/owner Jon Chintalan, first place muscle car; 1996 Ford Bronco/owner Ken Rapp, first place diesel truck; 1943 International MQ4/owner Mark Serfass, first place military vehicle; 1957 Ford Thunderbird/owner Val Phillips, first place classic car; 2015 Dodge Challenger/owner Paul Boule, first place custom car; 1941 Chevy Pickup/owner Bruce Gilbert, first

place antique car. In addition to taking home the first place military vehicle trophy, Serfass also enjoyed the opportunity to see former colleagues and experience the car show’s growth since he helped to start the event seven years ago. “I was the automotive collision instructor at the TCHS Brandywine Campus in Downingtown, PA, and with the CCIU for about 33 years. Now that I’m retired, I don’t see everyone as often, so today has been great for me to come back, talk to fellow instructors and current students and see how the car show has grown,” said Serfass. “The car show has already doubled in size since last year, and I’m looking forward to seeing it continue to progress and bring the community together,” he added. The TCHS 7th Annual Car Show was sponsored by Applied Enterprises, Black Horse Auto Body, the Chester County Technical College High School, the Chester County Intermediate Unit and Paul R. Saville Concrete. We thank Daily Local News for reprint permission.

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

Amaral Motors in Newtown, CT, Becomes Latest Modzelewski’s Service by John Voket, The Newtown Bee

Danny Amaral appeared resolute as he stood talking with The Newtown Bee in the mostly empty showroom of his family’s sold automotive facility on South Main Street in Newtown, CT. “I’ve had to face the question of whether I want to do this for the rest of my life,” he said with the same warm smile that has greeted customers over more than half a century since he began working there under the watchful eye of his dad, Anthony, back in the mid-1950s.

Dan Amaral chats with an unidentifiable customer in front of Amaral Motors in Newtown, CT. Credit: John Voket, The Newtown Bee

“This is the only job I’ve ever had,” Amaral said of the former auto dealership and filling station that has sustained as a service garage, emissions testing location, and body shop in recent years after the gas pumps and Chrysler dealer affiliation disappeared. While Amaral Motors closed at the end of September, the familiar landmark will remain, albeit under the new ownership of the Modzelewski family and James Modzelewski — a third-generation member of his family who is known throughout western Connecticut for operating vehicle repair, recovery, and towing services for more than 50 years. Amaral said he was not too concerned about finding something else to do in his semi-retirement, but added that he never worked anywhere else—and never really wanted to. “My earliest memories are sitting on my father’s lap steering some of the cars as he drove them around the lot,” the retiring local business owner said. According to Dan Amaral, his dad, Anthony, built and opened the garage — which is relatively unchanged in its appearance from the street — after he purchased an acre 28

of land from his future wife, Mary Helen Eghan, back in 1932.

One of the few pieces of memorabilia left at Amaral Motors in the days ahead of the business closing is a Quality Dealer award from the Chrysler Motors Company, conveyed to Anthony Amaral, who established the landmark garage and dealership in 1932. Credit: John Voket, The Newtown Bee

Nine years later, Dan came along, and it was not long before the youngster became a fixture at the shop. Aside from the addition of a body shop in the 1980s, Amaral said the physical layout of the garage has not changed. ‘A Prime Location’ James Modzelewski said he has plans to add a commercial building on the south end of the lot where his company will house specialty towing and recovery vehicles the company will be operating from the site. He is also planning technology enhance-

The familiar repair facility changed heads in early October and has become the fourth location for the Modzelewski family’s expanding network of towing and body work facilities in western Connecticut. Credit: John Voket, The Newtown Bee

location and make a new home for our company here in Newtown,” he said. “Our business is growing, and in this line of work, you can never have too much space.” Modzelewski said he and the Amaral family, who have been friends with James’ family for many years, began discussing the possibility of a transition for the property back in April. Calling the South Main Street facility a “prime location,” Modzelewski said the expansion of his family business will permit the likely addition of staff to complement their workforce, which currently numbers about 45. The Modzelewski family handles vehicle care, body work, and towing and recovery for hundreds of private customers and is on 24-hour call for the Connecticut State Police and local police departments from the New York border in Danbury, east to Oxford, and north to Kent and Cornwall. The company currently boasts a pool of around 40 wreckers, including heavy-duty apparatus that can

handle massive commercial vehicles like tour buses and tractor-trailers.

Second-generation garage owner Dan Amaral, left, shakes hands with third-generation vehicle service and towing company principle James Modzelewski in front of Amaral Motors on South Main Street on Sept. 25. Credit: John Voket, The Newtown Bee

“We hope to become Newtown’s premier one-stop location for towing, mechanical, and body work,” he said, “and we’re hoping to continue serving all of Dan’s great customers, too.” For more information, please visit modztowing.com or modzelewskiautobody.com. We thank The Newtown Bee for reprint permission.

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ments consistent with what customers will need to accomplish repairs and service on newer vehicles. Modzelewski said the acquisition of Amaral Motors will be the company’s fourth location and its second in Newtown. The family already has a leased commercial facility off Edmond Road. “We’re excited to revamp this

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Military Veterans “Employer Guide to Hire Veterans” prepared by the Department of Labor, Griffith suggested. The department also offers a webpage addressing frequently-asked questions about hiring and retaining veterans. Griffith said many veterans transition jobs several times after leaving the military before finding their niche, but tend to stay in organizations that provide training opportunities, and that showcase “a military-friendly” attitude or a “veteran culture.” When a tornado hit near Service King’s headquarters in the DallasFort Worth area in 2016, Service King touted the role that more than 100 members of it staff – including veterans – played in serving hot meals to those in the affected area. That year, it also aired a 30-second ad highlighting Jeremiah Kuehl, one of 100 veterans the company had already hired. “He talked about feeling like he had transitioned from one family – the military – to another family,” Griffith said of the ad.

He said that Service King welcomed him, understood he had posttraumatic stress and worked around it. “‘They found a job that was perfect for me,’” Griffith said Kuehl communicated in the ad. “Because of that one ad, I think Service King had about 400 or 500 applications immediately, all veterans,” Griffith commented. Griffith said one other key to successfully hiring and retaining veterans for your business is providing something that most young employees want: a clear career path. “At the end of the day, most veterans want to help take your organization to another level,” Griffith said. “So if you tell them where they fit in, if you tell them why their job is important to your mission, they tend to want to stick with it. That’s one of the things that employers don’t do all the time; they don’t show them a growth potential in the organization, they don’t show them that pathway. In the military, we do that. We give them a career path, and employers tend to fail to do that.” One way businesses of any size can offer such a path, Griffith said, is

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

though a Department of Labor (DOL) Registered Apprenticeship Program. “If you take a chance on people through an apprentice program, they tend to want to stick with you,” she said. Creating such a program doesn’t have to be complicated for the employer, Griffith said. Another entity, like a community college or for-profit

Aaron Schulenburg of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) said the association is seeing ‘test estimates’ showing up on vehicle history reports.

program like Universal Technical Institute, can do the actual training. The program just has to have a structured system that involves both the training and paid on-the-job experience. If the program is DOL-registered, any veteran completing it receives a nation-

ally-accredited certification, which should entice veterans, Griffith said. A DOL website includes information to help employers with the process, and Griffith said there are also state-level consultants that can assist. Last year alone, she helped build 168 registered apprenticeship programs, at businesses of all sizes, and said she can be a contact for shops seeking to get started. Please email Griffith with any questions at griffith.roxann.s@dol.gov Data Privacy Concerns Discussed During a discussion at CIC about new consumer data privacy laws being enacted by states around the country, Aaron Schulenburg of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) said he thinks many shop owners may be unaware of how much data they are actually sharing with other entities. “Most of them don’t think about it as a sharing of data,” Schulenburg said. “What they think is: I’m ordering a part, or I’m extending a rental vehicle agreement for a customer, or using a CSI service. But in all of those interactions, if they are allowing

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

pumps or programs on their computers from those companies to access [estimate data] files, all of those are in fact an exchange of data.” While the state data privacy laws tend to apply only to larger companies than most collision repair businesses, Schulenburg pointed out that shops are likely sharing customer data with those larger businesses that come under the new requirements of the law. As an example of how shops may be unaware of what data is being pumped from their servers or desktop computers, Schulenburg said the association has seen an increase in members reporting that estimates they have written – in some cases just ‘test estimates’ on undamaged cars have resulted in incidents showing up on vehicle history reports, such as CARFAX. “We’ve talked about this before at CIC, but it’s always been kind of cast aside as a one-off situation, or something that could be explained away,” Schulenburg said, citing publicly-available police accident reports as one potential source. “I can tell you that the volume of inquiries that we as an association have fielded in the last 18 months to two years cannot be explained away by circumstance.” He said SCRS is continuing to look into the issue. “I’m disappointed that I can’t come up here and say, ‘This is how the information is getting there. This is what’s happening,’” Schulenburg said. “That is the intent of the research.”

body shop after a jury found the shop’s failure to follow OEM repair procedures for a 2010 Honda Fit contributed to the severe injuries the Seebachans sustained in that vehicle in a subsequent accident. “Here is a young couple who had their whole life ahead of them when this happened to them,” Peevy said. “The Seebachans really want the industry to know some things.” Peevy said he was particularly compelled to invite the Seebachans to speak at CIC after realizing the couple had many similarities to his daughter and son-in-law, who also live in Texas, who are about the same age as the Seebachans, and who also bought a used Honda Fit from a dealership at about the same time the Seebachans did.

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Couple Who Sued Shop to Speak at Next CIC During CIC meetings this year, chairman Jeff Peevy has left an empty chair on the stage as a reminder to attendees of an important industry constituent not generally represented at the meetings: the consumer. “Those families who ride in the cars that our industry repairs should be at the forefront of our thoughts,” Peevy said at CIC in Indianapolis in July. He’s taking that message to the next level at the upcoming CIC in Las Vegas on Nov. 5 by inviting two such consumers to speak: Marcia and Matthew Seebachan. The Texas couple in 2017 won a $42 million judgment against a Texas dealership 32

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

CIF 10th Annual Gala to be Held in CA

Accudraft Participates in Ford Dealer Program

The Collision Industry Foundation (CIF) is thrilled to announce its 10th Annual Gala event which will be held in Palm Springs, CA, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. local time. Over the past few years, CIF has experienced overwhelming interest in the Gala. Rather than limit the number of guests who can attend, the event is moving just one block east to “The Bank,” Palm Springs’ hottest mid-century venue! The new location can accommodate twice the number of attendees as before. We encourage you to spread the word and bring a friend - or two! The goal of this annual industry event is to raise funds to support collision repair industry professionals with emergency relief in times of crisis, so everyone attending should participate in the raffles and visit the Silent Auction. Register now at http://cifgala .org/.

Accudraft is proud to announce its participation in the Ford Rotunda Dealer Equipment Program as an official approved supplier. The Ford Rotunda Dealer Equipment Program is a national program that is endorsed by Ford Motor Co., and it provides Ford and Lincoln dealers with recommended and approved equipment that has been tested for effectiveness when servicing their makes and models. “Accudraft is thrilled to be working with the Ford Rotunda Dealer Program and for the opportunity to provide customers with new state-of-the-art finishing equipment for their repair facilities,” said Guido Pippa, president of Accudraft Paint Booths. Accudraft prides itself on building the most technologically advanced paint booths and finishing systems on the market. The equipment is way ahead of its competition when it comes to energy efficiency, and the paint booths are designed to improve curing times while reducing energy costs.

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

CCRE and PCTG Mourn Loss of Ferdinand Gonzales by Chasidy Rae Sisk

Ferdinand Gonzales, a founding member of the Coalition for Collision Repair Excellence (CCRE) and the Pennsylvania Collision Trade Guild (PCTG), lost his battle against cancer in September at the age of 75. Gonzales formerly owned Ferdi’s Autobody, Juniata Park Collision Center, and High Tech Autobody in Philadelphia. CCRE addressed their sadness over the loss of Gonzales in an October newsletter. Ferdie will be missed by many, especially those working to protect the unaware consumer and the repair industry that Ferdie Gonzales safeguarded with every breath.” Preceded in death by his wife Geraldine, Gonzales is survived by four children, 11 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made in the memory of Gonzales to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Special Olympics.

AASP-PA TOOLS Feature Industry Favorites by Chasidy Rae Sisk

AASP-PA held its annual T.O.O.L.S training and expo on Nov. 8 – Nov. 10 at Kalahari Resort & Conventions in the Poconos Mountains, PA. Amanda Henry, executive director for AASP-PA, said, “This is my favorite time of year for AASP-PA, where I get to witness techs come away with something they didn’t know before, observe shop owners absorb how to improve their bottom line and interact with those in the industry throughout the weekend.” The event began on Friday, Nov. 8 with a welcome reception. Educational seminars on Saturday, Nov. 9 took a hiatus at noon for lunch and a vendor show. After the afternoon’s seminars, attendees enjoyed a reception, dinner, vendor show and hospitality suite. The vendor shows provided an opportunity for attendees to network with industry vendors and learn about the products and services they offer. Door prizes were given away at the end of Saturday evening’s vendor show. The agenda on Sunday, Nov. 10 featured morning and afternoon sessions as well as lunch with Keynote

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

Speaker Maylan Newton who delivered a powerful presentation on “Influence!” The description of his keynote stated, “Influence is the power to have an important effect on someone or something. If someone influences someone else, they are changing a person or thing in an indirect positive or negative, but important way. Each day you influence many directly and indirectly. Have you ever thought about whether your influence on people is positive or negative?” Newton also presented “Don’t Just Sit There – Do Something” on Saturday, Nov. 9. Saturday morning’s other educational sessions included “Effective Electrical Troubleshooting General Motors Stop-Start Technologies” presented by John Gillespie and sponsored by CTI, “Service Manager’s Guide to Shop Performance” from AutoZone, “Immobilizer and Anti-Theft System Diagnosis” delivered by Eric Ziegler, and I-CAR training on “Understanding the Cycle Time Process.” On Saturday afternoon, Mike Reynolds presented “ADAS Part I,” while Bill Fulton discussed “Diagnostic Strategies on Broken Cars -

Beyond the Code - Including BUS Circuit Diagnostics.” Ziegler talked about “Laptop Based Diagnostic Tools,” and Dan Gilley covered “Improving Effective Labor Rate.” Reynolds continude with “ADAS Part II” on Sunday morning. Sunday morning’s additional offerings included CTI-sponsored “J-2534 Domestic Programming Update” with Gillespie, “How to Become a Talent Magnet” with Rick White of 180BIZ, an AMI-certified course, and Gilley’s “Outstanding Tools for Selling More Service.” On Sunday afternoon, Fulton presented “Enhanced and Functional Scan Tool Testing,” and AutoZone offered training on “Hybrid Electric Vehicles: Service and Maintenance.” Newton returned for “The Catastrophic Failure of You! It Happens ... But Will Your Business Survive It?” White taught another AMI-certified course, “Making Change Stick,” and Paul Hill educated attendees about “I-CAR Program Enhancements.” For more information or to register, visit aasp-pa.org/TOOLS or facebook .com/TOOLSPennsylvania.

Fourth Generation Body Shop in Red Bank, NJ, Closing by John T. Ward, redbankgreen.com

After almost 80 years of banging out dents and straightening frames, a Red Bank, NJ, auto body shop has headed to the scrap heap. Sanford Auto Body, at the corner of West and Wall streets, shut its doors on Oct. 31, said owner Jim Sanford, and Oceanport resident who ran the business with his daughter, Stephanie Sanford.

The home of Sanford Auto Body, at the corner of West and Wall streets, will be razed to create parking for the nearby Red Bank Corporate Plaza, the sellers say. Credit: John T. Ward

Jim’s grandfather, Ralph Hornsberger, founded the business a block away, on Monmouth Street, in 1941, just across the street from where he also had a Sinclair gas station. “People couldn’t buy cars be-

cause of the war, and so they were getting their cars repaired more after they had accidents,” said Jim, who will celebrate his 77th birthday later this month. The business moved from the corner of Pearl and Monmouth streets to West Front Street in 1958, and two decades later to its present site — the onetime home of the Oh Boy Bakery, which had a small fleet of electric delivery trucks, and then the Jack Arnold heating oil service, said Jim. Along the way, the business passed to Jim’s father, John, and a partner, George Lussier, who retired in 1988. Stephanie Sanford, who’s run the front office for the past 18 years, told redbankgreen she and a longtime employee, Scott Sarpolos, had considered keeping the business going. But as long as it was open, her father would continue showing up, and “he needs to take it easy” now, she said. Her father said that trends in the industry are not favorable to independent shops, as auto insurers increasingly put body shops under contract and then squeeze them to keep a lid on costs. “I have no regrets,” he said. “I’ve put in my time.”

In his time, he’s seen many repeat customers as their families grew and children got into accidents with their own vehicles, he said. The Sanford’s are in contract to sell the property to PRC Group, owner of Corporate Plaza, the red-

Jim Sanford and daughter Stephanie Sanford are the third-and fourth-generation members of their family to work in the shop. Credit: John T. Ward

brick office building that dominates the block, which is also bound by Maple Avenue and West Front Street. A November closing on the deal is expected, after which PRC intends to raze the building and use the site for parking, said Stephanie. We thank redbankgreen.com for reprint permission.

Body Shop in NY Gives Away Five Cars by Katherine Borchert, Yorktown News/TAPinto

Yorktown Auto Body in Yorktown Heights, NY, gave away five cars to individuals in need on Saturday, Oct. 5. “It’s about the community coming together and helping everybody out,” said owner Perry Gusikoff at the celebration. Yorktown Auto Body bought, repaired, and refurbished all five cars and have been working on the giveaway for the past five months, Gusikoff said. The winners—Bobby Caroline, Julie Marotta, Eric Lemus, Jose Andrino and Diego Ortiz— are all Yorktown residents who were nominated by someone close to them and selected by a committee made up of five Yorktown officials and business owners. Gusikoff said that he hopes his act of charity will inspire others to be more charitable. “This is a very emotional thing for a lot of people here,” said Gusikoff. “Hopefully we made a positive impact on their life somehow.” We thank Yorktown News/TAPinto for reprint permission.

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autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

Rivian Patent Reveals Automated Control System for Semi-Autonomous Driving by Joey Klender, Teslarati.com

A new patent submitted by Rivian reveals an upcoming control system wherein access to in-vehicle functions like semi-autonomous driving capabilities and media controls will be customized to an individual driver.

Credit: Teslarati.com

Rivian submitted U.S. Patent number WO2019200308, titled “Methods, Systems, and Media for Controlling Access to Vehicle Features” in April 2019. The design concept aims at

providing effective boundaries within use of the vehicle’s functions. The vehicle would initially identify the driver. When the driver attempts to initiate semi-autonomous features, the platform would then attempt to make a decision if the driver is qualified to activate the function. If they are determined to be qualified, the vehicle will perform the function. However, if the vehicle disqualifies the driver from the function, it will then inhibit the feature and display a notification, indicating that the requested feature is not available. The decision-making process would work within the vehicle’s computer, allowing it to connect to what Rivian calls a “Communication Network”. This network would then run to a server responsible for making the final decisions in the process. This server would determine the driver’s accessibility to the feature in question. The patent states the following: “Methods, systems, and media for controlling access to vehicle fea-

tures are provided. In some embodiments, the method comprises: determining identifying information of a driver of a vehicle; receiving an indi-

Credit: PatentScope

cation that the driver wants to activate a feature of the vehicle; determining whether the driver is qualified to activate the feature based on the identifying information; in response to determining that the driver is not qualified to activate the feature, inhibiting activation of the feature and causing a user interface to be presented that in-

dicates that the feature cannot be used; and in response to determining that the driver is qualified to activate the feature, activating the feature.” As technology becomes more prevalent in everyday life, some drivers may not be ready to operate certain features available on semi-autonomous capable cars. The restriction of certain features will prevent a disastrous event from occurring. The mission of self-automated driving is to create a safer environment on the road for all vehicles. One accident with features of fully-autonomous or semiautonomous driving would set the industry back significantly. The patent from Rivian will prevent this from happening, by limiting certain features from drivers who are not necessarily qualified to operate these functions. We thank Teslarati.com for reprint permission.

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“Who Pays for What?” Survey Finds Shops Billing, Being Paid a Processing Fee An increasing number of shops over the past several years have begun charging and being paid for the administrative tasks involved in processing total losses, according to the findings of a recent “Who Pays for What?” survey.

“Certainly shops may agree to waive any such fees as part of a direct repair agreement,” said Mike Anderson of Collision Advice, who conducts the quarterly “Who Pays for What?” surveys in conjunction with CRASH Network. “But the process has continued to become

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more complex. It can involve more tear-down, more research of OEM procedures, unloading or loading the vehicle to and from a tow truck, etc., and more and more shops cannot afford to perform all these tasks for free.” Data from the “Who Pays for What?” survey this past summer shows that the percentage of shops that say they “never” charge to process total losses has steadily declined from 30% in 2015 to just 19% this year. The percentage of shops negotiating to be paid a fee to process these vehicles surpassed 80% for the first time this year, up from just under 70% in 2015. Of those negotiating to be paid, 63% report being paid “always” or “most of the time” by the nation’s eighth largest insurers.

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From the Desk of Mike Anderson with Mike Anderson

Mike Anderson is the president and owner of Collision Advice, a consulting company for the auto body/collision repair industry. For nearly 25 years, he was the owner of Wagonwork Collision Center, an OEM-certified, full-service auto body repair facility in Alexandria, VA.

‘Skate to Where the Puck Is Going, Not Where It Has Been’ Each year, I apply various presentation themes, and this year, I based my theme on something Wayne Gretzky, the legendary hockey player, once said. He was asked what he learned that made him such a great player, and he said, “Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.” In other words, he looked ahead, anticipating where the puck would be. As this year begins to wind down, we all need to think about not where the “puck” is in our industry right now, but where it is going to be—where you’ll want to be and how you’ll get there. Here are four examples of how, like Gretsky on the ice rink, you may want to be looking ahead rather than looking at things as they are now. 1. Scanning has become the norm in the industry, which is good, but where the “puck” is going is a related

process—calibrations. Shops need to be investigating the time, money and, most importantly, investing in shop space to be able to perform more ADAS calibrations in-house. Understand what types of vehicles you most commonly work on that require calibrations. Research those procedures, understand what targets or tools are needed, and look for the potential space to do them. The space can be a hurdle; the average body repair stall is 300 to 400 square feet, but some of these calibrations can require 1,200 to 1,800 square feet. This is where the “puck” is going, and starting to head there now will help you succeed. 2. We need to start thinking about artificial intelligence (AI). While it remains to be seen whether AI can be used to write estimates, I believe it is or soon will be used to identify total

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

losses. What does that mean for shops working to anticipate where the “puck” will be? Think about the nonDRP work you do, and how much total losses contribute to your revenue in terms of tear-down costs, storage fees or administrative fees. Storage is generally 100% gross profit, right? All that shop revenue may start to decline as AI is introduced. The consumer will send in some photos, and if the AI system identifies their vehicle as a total loss, that vehicle is going straight to the auction yard, not a shop. That’s something you need to start preparing for in terms of “skating to where the puck is going.” 3. The estimating system providers say claim counts have declined somewhat, albeit not a lot. That slow decline seems likely to continue, if not accelerate, as more vehicles on the road have ADAS features. It’s not

likely to be a dramatic shift, but even a 5% or 10% decline will have an impact on your business. In this case, skating to where the puck will be means working on your capture rate. For those on DRP programs, for example, you need best practices in place to ensure you follow-up on any assignments in a timelier manner. It’s easy when we get busy to not be as quick to jump on those; however, as claim counts decline, you need a designated person or a well-defined process to follow-up on those assignments quickly. For work outside of DRP programs, shops should prioritize responding to potential customers seeking estimates or appointments, to capture that work rather than lose it to competitors. 4. A fourth way you can “skate to See Where the “Puck” Is Going, Page 54

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

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Lia Honda of Enfield Enfield

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NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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Custom Impala Built for Charity

Volkswagen to Begin Development and Production of Lithium-Ion Batteries

Lowrider and Quaker State announced plans to build a custom, one-of-a-kind 1968 Chevrolet Impala, with intentions to auction the popular and classic vehicle to support a charity. The restored lowrider will be unveiled at the 2019 SEMA Show in Las Vegas at the Shell “Pioneering Performance” experience on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 12:30 p.m. PST. “Working with Quaker State on this build provides us a great opportunity to give back,” said Joe Ray, Lowrider editor-inchief. “With a community that is often misrepresented, it is important to us to raise awareness and make our Impala unique in the same way our community members are.” The vehicle will go through several customizations as it evolves from a half-century-old vehicle to a modern-day cruiser. “We can’t wait to get to work with Lowrider and create such a special build,” said Jaclyn Chastain, Quaker State Marketing Manager.

German automaker Volkswagen has announced that it has taken steps to begin the development and production of lithium-ion battery cells to use in future vehicles. The company has currently staffed 300 employees to the preliminary battery project, but it has its sights set on potential battery mass production activities in the future. Volkswagen plans to invest 900 million euros into the development of vehicle batteries. “We can now produce cells that we develop ourselves on an industrial scale. In other words, the processes are very similar to mass production and, in the end, the products are ultimately representative of tests on our test stands or in our cars,” said Frank Blome, head of Volkswagen’s Center of Excellence in Salzgitter, Germany. Volkswagen has stated that it has plans to open a 16 GWh factory alongside the Center of Excellence in Salzgitter in 2023 or 2024. And while Blome admits that the company has a lot to learn regarding batteries, VW plans to utilize

by Joey Klender, Teslarati.com

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

plant to the new lithium-ion battery production plant. The German automaker will also open a recycling plant for its lithium-ion batteries that will dispense and reuse materials. “Yes, that’s pretty long-term, with recycling already working today. The market does not yet provide the quantities of old batteries. But the procedures are likely to be earlier than the batteries actually do,” Blome said. They plan to open the Volkswagen e-Golf electric car. Credit: Teslarati.com battery recycling plant by 2020. Volkswagen’s Dieselgate scan“Of course, we want to bring everything we do here to our sup- dal seems to be moving behind pliers, and we also recommend them, and with the company’s incertain technologies to our suppli- tentions to develop and produce its ers, both in the manufacturing own batteries it seems that they are process and in the design of the looking to expedite the process. A cell, and thus have opportunities move in the right direction, perhaps to improve our cars by using the Volkswagen will begin to regain the bringing innovations first,” Blome respect of those who look at vehicle corporations to combat the global added. The new plant will create 700 climate crisis. new jobs for Volkswagen and they also plan to move “specially-quali- We thank Teslarati.com for reprint fied” employees from the existing permission. information from industry leaders, like Swedish company Northvolt, in order to create the most cost-effective, high-quality product possible.

ASA, AAM Host Forum Focused on New Tech, Data Access and Cybersecurity by Chasidy Rae Sisk

On Sept. 12, ASA and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM) partnered to host the 6th Annual Technology and Telematics Forum at the Hilton Garden Ballroom in Troy, MI. The first half of the day featured five panels with topics intended to prepare collision repair professionals for the imminent technological advances in the industry’s future. Bob Redding, ASA Washington, D.C., representative, described the event: “It’s an opportunity for independent repairers to hear first-hand the latest vehicle technology advances, discussions about data access, and dialogue with colleagues.” ASA Executive Director Ray Fisher felt the program was very successful, and he stated, “I want to thank the Alliance for not only their sponsorship of the program, but more importantly, sharing our vision of a productive dialogue with our professionals within the automotive repair industry.” Segmented discussions focused on new vehicle technology, data access and cybersecurity with subject matter experts from the automotive

and collision repair industries teaching attendees how these topics will impact their businesses. A panel discussion on “What’s at Stake for Me With These New Technologies” included Frank Leutz of Desert Car Care in AZ, Jason (Buck) Zeise from LaMettry’s in MN, Airpro

Diagnostics’ Vice President of Strategic Business Operations Josh McFarlin, and Robert C. Passmore, CPCU, assistant vice president, Personal Lines Policy, American Property Casualty Insurance Association. Exploring factors revolving around vehicle data access, Leutz and Zeise emphasized the importance of educating consumers about their vehicles, data that is collected, and how that data is utilized by the repairer. Chuck Olsen, senior vice president of Operations and Automotive

Technology for Airpro Diagnostics, participated in a panel discussion alongside Ford’s Dave Johnson and Ethan Wilson, senior government relations manager & legal counsel, Turo, as they covered “What’s New?” Fisher recalled, “Data access is necessary to diagnose and repair vehicles but must ensure that consumers’ privacy rights are protected.” A third panel discussion, focused on “Data Access and Cybersecurity Solutions,” included Mobile Auto Solutions’ President Kevin DiVito, Mitchell1’s Ben Johnson, and John Ohly, director of Federal Affairs for AAM. Debra Bezzina, managing director of the Center for Connected and Automated Transportation for the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, delivered a question-and-answer style presentation on “What’s Now, New and Next.” During “Think About This on Your Way Home,” GM Vice President of Global Security Jeff Massimilla emphasized the importance of cybersecurity for modern vehicles and shared information on the steps GM is taking to strengthen digital security as technology continues to advance exponentially.

Fisher said, “The panels covered a lot of information and a great number of ideas were shared. It is what ASA is here for. One of the assets that our members have is our Washington, D.C., representative, Bob Redding, who did a great job bringing this together for ASA. I say this because when we often talk about Bob’s advocacy work in Washington, D.C., oftentimes, it is assumed we are talking about legislation. The reality is, and though that truly is a segment of what he does for us, Bob is also there at the table with anyone that needs to be involved to make sure these discussions are had, much like what we saw at this event. I believe that we also heard a clear message today that car manufacturers must make cybersecurity a priority for the safety and well-being of consumers and they will protect that investment. That is where the discussion ensues about ‘data access,’ and from what I could tell, the concern is more about establishing qualification and equipment for access, not denying anyone access. In other words, you want a cardiologist taking care of your heart condition, not the orderly!” For more information about ASA, visit asashop.org.

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National News with Chasidy Rae Sisk

Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware, who writes on a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family of NASCAR fans. She can be contacted at crsisk@chasidyraesisk.com.

ASA’s September Webinar Emphasizes Importance of Cybersecurity On Sept.18, ASA hosted the newest installment of the association’s monthly Webinar Wednesday series featuring Tekmetric CEO Sunil Patel who presented “Cybersecurity 101 for Shop Owners.” Attendees were welcomed by ASA Vice President Tony Molla who introduced the webinar’s presenter and explained that the webinar was designed to teach the basics of shop’s internet security, firewalls and how to protect data, as well as to explore best practices involved in securing your network and the differences between cloud-based and locally-installed shop management systems. Attendees also learned about the most common security holes that currently exist in collision repair and automotive shops and what can be done to protect against them. Molla introduced Patel who began by explaining, “Cybersecurity is a newer buzzword, and one of the hardest things for people to grasp is that cybersecurity is not tangible; it’s security that you can’t see or feel or touch. It’s a matter of protecting yourself against the criminal or unauthorized use of electronic data or the measures taken to achieve this. Security is one of the utmost things we’ve created in our software.” Some people argue that the threat to cybersecurity has been somewhat inflated, and Patel concurred that most individual single shop operators probably have little to worry about because they don’t have enough data that is marketable on the black market. He said, “We’re not a major target for these hackers, but we still need to be careful with the changes in technology.” Patel began his presentation by defining some technological terms. He compared the IP address to a shop’s physical address and ports to a shop’s windows, noting this is where information is transferred. He also explained that firewalls are used to protect the user’s internet and devices, defining it as “the guardian or gatekeeper that allows traffic between your network and the internet.” After briefly describing some 46

notable security attacks in 2019, including Lake City, FL’s, payment of $460,000 after a ransomware attack and the attack against 30,000 computers in the Atlanta Police Department, Patel answered the most pressing cybersecurity question: why? The reasons for cybersecurity attacks are various. A victim may have valuable data that is worth something on the dark web, though Patel said that’s rare in the automotive industry. Some hackers just attempt attacks for fun or practice, while the most common reason is to earn money through ransomware attacks since victims are usually willing to pay to unlock their data. Cybersecurity attacks can be crippling to a business, and though competitors can initiate such an attack, Patel said that’s uncommon and not generally expected. The biggest threats for the automotive industry in 2019 are phishing, ransomware and vehicle jacking. Phishing is a means of attempting to fish for valuable information and becomes increasingly sophisticated with machine learning. Ransomware is the most common attack and usually occurs as a result of a simple click on an incorrect link which locks the computer down and encrypts the data, preventing the user from unlocking it unless they pay the ransom, most commonly in the form of a wire transfer. In vehicle jacking, hackers take control of the victim’s vehicle. In 2014, DARPA funded a hacking attempt to prove how easy it was by inserting a line of code in a GM Impala and completely taking the vehicle over via WLAN. Patel noted, “As vehicles get more and more complex, technologies that were manual are now electronic and can be accessed remotely through the network. It’s easier to take over vehicles that are all electronic.” The biggest issues for independent repair facilities are employee theft of shop information, credit card skimming, outdated firewalls and security protocols being used, and too many holes in the infrastructure. Patel also discussed the increasing

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prevalence of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), which involves hackers piecing together data that enable them to steal someone’s identity. “If you’re storing information on premises which includes customer’s vehicle, address, date of birth, this is information you can use to identify a person, and you can’t store this information. If someone was to steal this data, they can identify a person, and this can lead to identity thefts,” Patel stated. “Be careful with the ‘customer notes’ section of your shop management system - we’ve noticed some information being written here, such as credit card numbers, and this is not a secure space for confidential information.” Providing basic precautions that shops can take to protect their information from cybersecurity risks, Patel advised, “Keep your router and firewall secure. Change your default

password – you should always change that. Update your router and firewall regularly with the latest firmware. Create a separate guest; your customer should not be on your private network. It shouldn’t even be open to employees unless they’re using a shop tool. Ensure all your computers are up-to-date. It’s annoying, but it’s very important to ensure it’s on the latest version. Updates usually come out because vulnerabilities were found.” Patel then explored the differences between cloud-based and onpremise shop management systems. An on-premise system relies on the security of the shop’s hardware which may be damaged, plus it requires manual updates, constant infrastructure updates, and manual backups. In contrast, cloud-based systems are secure in the cloud with See Cybersecurity Webinar, Page 62

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Industry Training with Stacey Phillips

Stacey Phillips is a freelance writer and editor for the automotive industry. She has 20 years of experience writing for a variety of publications, and is co-author of “The Secrets of America’s Greatest Body Shops.” She can be reached at sphillips.autobodynews@gmail.com.

The Growth of “Emerging Technologies” in Collision Repair Shops Blockchain, artificial intelligence, systems and this is something that 5G and edge computing. These are we as an industry need to come to just some of the emerging technolo- grips with.” gies collision repairers will likely encounter in the future, said Fred Iantorno, vice president of Internet of Things (IoT) for VeriFacts Automotive. Iantorno, former executive director of the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA), offered insight during a Guild 21 webinar in September about a variety of technologies that are becoming more Fig. 1 5G commonplace in the industry. “People refer to these as emergIantorno highlighted eight emerging technologies,” said Iantorno. ing technologies collision repairers “Well, they are not emerging any- should be aware of— more. They are here today, and they are all around us.” Iantorno: 5G is faster than 4G. It Although many of them may not does have greater speed, but it is also be found in a typical repair shop, lower latency; in other words, it’s Iantorno said it’s important to be more responsive. A message goes aware of what’s coming and currently through more rapidly and responses being used by other industries. can come back faster. There is also “Technology has grown faster an ability to connect to more ‘smart’ and has become more perdevices. Every piece of elecvasive in the last five years tronics can now be conthan it has in the previous nected: lights, sensors, your 50 years,” said Iantorno. washer, dryer, garage door, George Avery, host of even the oven! And the cost the Guild 21 webinar, is coming down tremenasked Iantorno to share his dously. thoughts about the current Fred Iantorno, vice The number of connected state of the industry as it re- president of Internet devices to the Internet alof Things (IoT) for lates to technology. ready exceeds the number of VeriFacts Automotive “Two of the biggest humans on the planet. There challenges are vehicle structure and are predictions that in time, there will safety systems,” said Iantorno. be 1,000 connected devices for every In regard to vehicle structure, he man, woman and child. talked about the high-strength steels, With 5G and the use of cloudcomposites and other new materials based apps, collision repair facilities that are increasingly being used in are going to need good, reliable Wivehicles. Fi. Without it, it’s going to be a chalIn addition, he said safety sys- lenge to connect to or print a repair tems all come down to one word: Ad- procedure and will lead to inefficienvanced Driver-Assistance Systems cies in shops. (ADAS). “These systems are not only Iantorno: AI is creeping into almost being used in high-end vehicles, like every facet of our lives—through our Mercedes-Benz and BMW, but they smartphones, cars, and home auare also starting to show up in stan- tomation. In fact, a form of AI is sitdard vehicles such as the Toyota ting in the thermostat of my house. It Corolla, Buick Encore and Volkswa- knows when I like to lower the temgen Jetta,” said Iantorno. “There’s a perature and it has learned my habits. lot of technology embedded in these This is part of machine learning 48

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Iantorno: Most of us have heard about blockchain in terms of bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Those are just some of its applications. Blockchain is the underlying technology in which you have distributed digital ledgers. It’s used in today’s manufacturing companies to improve their supply chain. It’s also used in health care, electronic companies and in the financial sector. With this technology, every

Fig. 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI)

(ML)—which is based on the idea that systems can learn from data. You may have also heard of deep learning—a subset of ML. AI will accompany every technology implemented moving forward and is already impacting our industry. For example, AI is the engine that drives photo estimates. Intelligent First Notice of Loss (FNOL) is another AI function that can originate from a vehicle or a smartphone.

Fig. 3 Blockchain

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party has a copy of the entire ledger and access to all the data. If somebody changes the data, everyone will be informed. This provides full transparency.

Iantorno: IoT is not a technology. It’s more like an umbrella for everything to be connected and perform various functions. An example is when your phone communicates with your doorbell or TV.

edge computing, that device talks directly to other devices and to/from a local processing device. You may be wondering why this is important technology. Earlier, I mentioned that billions of de-

“The number of connected devices to the Internet already exceeds the number of humans on the planet,” — Fred Iantorno

Fig. 4 Internet of Things (IoT)

However, like anything else, there are parts of the transaction that you as a supplier, for example, don’t have a need to know, so that is hidden. Within our industry, think about blockchain as the documentation that covers every step of the repair cycle from the initial FNOL to the estimate to the repair order to the parts order until final settlement. All of this information is sitting in a block, which is chained together. There are already implementations being used in our industry; for example, in subrogation.

The latest versions of the tools and equipment found in a collision repair facility either contain a computer or some sort of “edge-computing” device. Therefore, if a shop has any of the latest model tools or equipment, you are already on your way to being a connected shop. Iantorno: Edge computing relates to 5G, Wi-Fi, mesh networking and IoT. 5G lowers the latency and the networks, meaning data can travel faster between servers and devices; whereas, edge computing takes care of the processing needs. For example, with cloud-based technologies, your data goes into the cloud; it is processed, and then comes back. With

that down lower, you’ll get better results and AI will operate faster. With greater speed, lower latency and being able to connect more devices, edge computing is going to be necessary. (Fig. 6) Iantorno: With virtual reality, you wear specialized glasses and the object you see through the glasses is

vices are going to be connected. As a result, it’s essential to get computing down to a lower level, so things happen quicker. Otherwise, think about how much computing power you will need in the cloud. Even though it looks and sounds limitless, if you start to move some of Fig. 6 Virtual vs. Augmented Reality

Fig. 5 Edge Computing

not there, hence the word “virtual.” It appears to be right in front of you, but it isn’t. This is useful when it is costly to train multiple technicians on how to use a piece of equipment. Augmented reality, on the other hand, uses several devices. You can still wear glasses; however, a tablet

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or phone may be used instead. The object you are seeing is physically in front of you, but the technology overlays a two- or three-dimensional graphic or video in a way that aids a person to perform a task. For example, if you want to bolt something on a vehicle, augmented reality will walk you through the steps. Repairers should be prepared for this technology to be used in in the future. Iantorno: 3D printing has the potential to turn every enterprise, even if it’s a small business or home workshop, into a factory. Not only does it

Fig. 7 3D Printing

have the ability to print small parts, but it also has the potential to print larger parts such as bumper skins or passenger seats. For example, there are European companies building driver seats in a couple of days using 3D printing. Some MSOs are dabbling in printing small clips and other things of that nature. Almost anything can be made with a 3D printer. With a $3,000 printer, you have the ability to print a wide variety of items. The “ink” that is used for the printing, such as silver or aluminum, is what can become costly; however, the price points are starting to come down. Iantorno: The use of robotics is an interesting topic that I predict we will see more of in collision repair shops over the next couple of years. The International Federation of Robotics said there will be 2.1 million industrial robots installed in factories around the world by 2021. Robots manufacture today’s phones, vehicles, appliances, and can paint almost everything. For example, there is a plant outside Chicago that runs 24/7 and robots do all of the paint

Repairify Welcomes New CFO

Fig. 8 Robotics

production. If you can paint a car in a factory, why not be able to paint it in a repair facility? Maybe not with today’s paint booth or physical layout, but why not? In summary, I believe there are a lot of technologies we should be learning about as we plan our collision repair businesses. This isn’t something you have to have an absolute working knowledge of in order to appreciate it. We need to know what’s taking place and what is driving the changes within the industry. We also need to be openminded and learn about them even if we don’t want to. If you embrace the change, it can be fun.

Repairify, Inc., a leading cloudbased automotive technology and diagnostic services provider, announced the appointment of Teresa Covington as its chief financial officer. Covington will join the organization’s senior leadership team and lead the company’s global finance operations. Covington is a strategic financial executive with more than 20 years of C-level experience with publicly-held and privately-owned companies. Most recently, Covington was heading the global Finance organization at AeroVironment, a publicly-traded technology company in aerospace and defense that designs, manufactures, and distributes unmanned aerial vehicles. “I am very excited and eager to join asTech and to work with an extraordinary group of professionals. My aspiration is to apply my passion and experience in technology and operations to build and lead a strong finance team for a company with a global mission to make the world a safer place,” Covington said.

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In Reverse with Gary Ledoux

Gary Ledoux is an industry veteran with 50 years’ experience in the automotive and OEM collision parts industry. His column appears exclusively in Autobody News. He can be reached at YesterWreck@yahoo.com

The 1980s – “A Time of Awakening” Those who have been in the collision industry for a long time remember the 1980s as the advent of automotive unibody construction. New equipment purchases would reach a frenzied pitch and industry shows would blossom to accommodate the equipment purchases, but it was a lot more than that. Industry veteran Tony Passwater called the 1980s, “A Time of Awakening” for the collision industry. Enter the Computer Today, computers come second-nature to us. Everyone has a laptop or a tablet or some portable device. We

“Glossary of Computer Terms” which included now-quaint terms such as: backup, cathode ray tube, central processing unit, cursor, hard disc, kilobyte, megabyte, menu, menu-driven, and modem. In a trade magazine article, industry veteran Chuck Sulkala notes that it is important to know your own market in terms of customer demographics. This would include male/female, type of car driven, insurance carrier, etc. He also notes that keeping track of all that information is a lot easier if tallied and maintained by … you guess it … a computer.

“Getting involved in a trade association is probably the first thing a new shop owner should do after he puts his sign over the door.” ” — Bill Wicklund

use them for everything; but, in the early 1980s, computers were a new “unknown” to most of us. Computerization affected the lives of practically everyone on the planet—the collision industry included. More specifically, 1982 will be marked as the beginning of the collision industry’s “information age” with the advent of electronic estimating systems, shop data management systems and trade publications. In a 1998 industry trade magazine, Passwater noted that the mid1980s was a “… time of awakening for our industry. Shop owners wanted to not only learn the computer program in and of itself, but how to be better business people. As such, some shop owners began to rise to the top of the industry, others struggled, and some just could not keep up and fell by the wayside.” A couple of trade magazine articles appearing in early 1984 discussed the pros and cons of computerizing a body shop and what to look for in a small business computer. One of the shop owners interviewed for the articles noted, “A good manager runs a shop by the seat of his pants. The manager in the future will manage numbers rather than manage people.” At the end of the piece was a handy 52

And with the advent of computers came a concept that would drive the business management side of the collision business into the future – the Auto Repair Management System (ARMS). It was the dawn of business management for shops. Cleaning House As far back as 1910 when horse stalls were being “mucked-out” by livery stable owners to accommodate the parking and servicing of cars, a call has gone out from the earliest of “motoring magazines” to clean up the new “parking garages” and service areas so that “women may enter them.” Eventually, the “horse droppings” and attendant smells were replaced with bondo dust, lead filings, crumpled masking paper and all sorts of waste products strewn on the floor. In many shops, a customer could not sit down to discuss a repair job without getting covered with dust. Again, with the advent of collision-specific magazines in the early 1960s, trade magazine editors and industry pundits had been asking shop owners to physically clean up their shops—get rid of the bondo dust, dirt, overspray and nasty smells and make the shop more pleasing and presentable to the average person. It was said that

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neat, clean, and professional-looking places of business would attract walk-in customers. One magazine editor lamented, “Many shop owners say that they have the best body men in town, the best painters, and the latest equipment and years of training and experience so it shouldn’t matter what the shop looks like.” To which she also offered her favorite retort, “That’s all very commendable, but how do your potential customers know all this?” Industry veteran Tony Lombardozzi who managed the body shop at MacMulkin Chevrolet in Nashua, NH, during the late 1960s and early 1970s noted, “On Fridays, we stopped work at noon and everyone cleaned their own work bays. We hosed down the walls and got rid of as much dust as possible. We tried to make the place look neat and clean.” Another industry veteran who worked in a body shop at

a neighboring Lincoln-Mercury dealership noted, “Our shop was a like a coal mine. The dust was terrible.” Public Perception Since the 1940s, the public had a dismal view of the collision repair industry … and rightfully so. The shop owner was perceived as an unkempt, cigar-chomping Neanderthal in dirty, dusty clothes working in a dirty, dusty shop with a bunch of dirty, dusty guys. But by the mid-1980s, that was changing. One industry pundit noted that because shops had to buy lots of new, expensive equipment, and were starting to do things on a computer, there was a newfound pride among shop owners. They wanted to be seen, and be perceived as more professional—because they were more professional. A trade magazine editor wrote in 1985, “The man running the collision shop has

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changed. He is now a business owner, a business executive, and he looks and acts the part.” Another editor wrote, “To match their new physical image, many shop owners still needed some phone-answering and basic people skills.” It would all come eventually. Training Training became crucial, but shops had not yet bought into the concept of “continuing education.” This would change. Equipment companies would continue to provide training for their own products. In 1984, the Car-O-Liner company announced the opening of a training facility at its headquarters in Livonia, MI. The company offered a three-day, generic course open to anyone. The course covered automobile construction, wheel alignment, analyzing structural damage, repairing metal, MIG welding, and bench procedures. Formed in 1979, I-CAR was continuing to grow. In 1986, I-CAR was looking for more trainers to teach a growing number of students and class material. Classes included about a 50/50 mix of shop people

and insurance people. Despite their growth, in 1986, I-CAR was still searching for credibility and wider acceptance with the insurance industry, repair industry, and consumers. Their goal was to have insurance companies specify that cars be repaired at a shop that had I-CAR trained technicians. Banding Together The ‘80s was certainly a time for new organizations to spring-up, many becoming mainstays well into the 21st century. The ‘80s gave the industry the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), the Collision Industry Conference (CIC), ASE and the NACE show. During the early 1980s, from New Mexico to New Jersey, it seemed every month a new local or regional collision industry organization was popping up. In a February, 1983 trade magazine article, Bill Wicklund of Wicklund Body Shop in Liberty, MO, noted, “In order to operate a business and know how to handle it, the shop owner has to get involved with trade associations to keep up with what’s going on in the real world. Getting in-

volved in a trade association is probably the first thing a new shop owner should do after he puts his sign over the door.” Despite the proliferation of associations by forward-thinking individuals, not every shop owner was joining. An open letter appearing in a trade magazine to all body shop owners asked, “… if there were 58,000 body shops in the U.S., and only 2,500 were members of the Automotive Service Councils, 1,400 were members of the Independent Automotive Service Association, and in its first 120 days, 225 were members of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists, then where were the rest of the shops and had they not joined any industry association?” The letter was written and signed by John Loftus, then president of the SCRS. Today, there is still a call for more people to get involved in trade associations and take an active role in their own industry. Human nature says we will never get everyone involved; but, look how far we’ve come with the people who have donated their time and expertise.

ences for shops to connect and engage with their customers at every point in the repair process, from booking appointments, to check-in

at the shop, staying in touch throughout the repair, and measuring customer satisfaction once repairs are complete. “CCC is constantly investing in the success of our clients, equipping repair facilities with a modern, mobile means to deliver best-inclass customer service,” said Mark Fincher, vice president, Market Solutions for CCC. Obtained via PR Newswire.

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Where the “Puck” Is Going where the puck is going” is by reviewing your staffing. Do you have technicians, estimators or managers who are likely to retire in the next three-five years? Have you thought about what you are going to do to replace them? Start working on that strategy now rather than later. Get a game plan in place. Start building your “bench” or “farm team” of talent, so that when those people retire, you are prepared with someone who you can move into those positions. It’s not always easy to know exactly where the “puck” is going. Being able to do that is part of what set Gretsky apart from so many other hockey players. I believe the same will be true for the shops that keep looking for where the industry is headed and taking steps to be there.

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CCC Enables Repairers to Reach Customer Engagement Milestone CCC Information Services Inc. (CCC) announced that a new customer engagement milestone was reached through its CCC ONE Platform. In the third quarter, CCC ONE powered nearly three million unique digital connections – one million in a single month – and enabled collision repair facilities to exchange more than 13 million individual messages with the customers they serve. “We have used UpdatePlus for a long time and have seen marked improvements in our customer satisfaction scores,” said Ryan Cropper, Able Body Shop. “By keeping customers informed of the status of their vehicle we remove concerns and questions about whether their car will be returned on time.” The CCC ONE Platform powers mobile and digital experi-

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Social Media for Shops

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

with Ed Attanasio

Do You Know Anyone Who Needs to “Digitally Diet?” Many of us have been on diets over the years. Anything in excess is bad, which was precisely what my aunt told me after she saw me eat an entire large pizza on a dare at age 12. Her advice resonated with me a few hours later when I got a Babe Ruth size stomachache and had to live on Pepto-Bismol for the next 48 hours. The valuable lesson I learned back then is that anything pleasurable is addicting and, evidently, spending time on our personal devices fits neatly into that category. It’s become a big problem that’s affecting both men and women, young and old equally, it seems. It’s easy to get addicted to our personal devices that can change our lives in many ways—both good and bad. As a busy collision repair professional, you’re balancing half a dozen things simultaneously, and much of it involves your cellphone.

You need to text an insurance agent; call your paint jobber; send several emails to employees, customers and vendors, etc. Digital overload is affecting people so much that many are doing a “digital detox,” where they go cold turkey over a period of time. To me, that sounds a little daunting and I fear I might lose my mind from digital withdrawal. Everyone has their own reason to digitally diet. The other day, I was out with some people who represented three age groups—I was the senior (61); there was a Millennial (32), and we were accompanied by a Gen Xer (23). We didn’t have much in common, except for the fact that we all admittedly spend too much time on our personal devices. The Gen Xer is a huge music fan and has more than 800 songs on his phone. If he’s awake, it means

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

he’s connected to his earplugs which seals him away from the real world, which he likes. The Millennial is now a hardcore app addict with more than 100 on his phone (the national average is 30, how many do you have?) And as the senior in the room, I’m not tech-savvy enough to get addicted, but that doesn’t mean I’ll ever stop trying. The other day, it took me more than 20 minutes just to change my fantasy football lineup via my new iPhone! Digital addictions are not limited to smartphones either. Video game addiction is a serious issue worldwide with kids (and adults) playing games for 15-plus hours daily and have detached from society completely as a result. My friends had to recently send their 17-yearold son to a video game rehab boot camp to the tune of $15,000—and it did not work.

My niece sent more than 1,200 texts one month, many of which were pictures of food. I can see if you’re eating a fancy dinner, but McDonald’s? In this always-on and connected world, it’s just too easy to find ourselves repetitively staring at screens and mindlessly swiping through pablum online for countless hours while the real world quickly passes us by. In a study conducted this year by KDA Engineering, most Americans (92%) believe that smartphone addiction is a real issue. Although 60% of Americans believe they touch their cellphone 100 times or less daily, the reality is that a typical user taps, touches, glances at or swipes their phone a shocking 2,617 times per day, according to Dscout Research. Going to sleep at night doesn’t See “Digitally Diet?”, Page 63

Effective Repair Planning Utilizing PCE (Process-Centered Environment) lision industry-specific PCE principles, according to Tim Ronak, senior Many collision repairers are famil- services consultant at AkzoNobel. iar with the process improvement “A body shop might be clean and methodologies such as Lean, The- tidy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean ory of Constraints and Six Sigma. that the best processes are in place to AkzoNobel has taken components of support repair planning,” said Ronak, during a presentation to a group of body shops in Honolulu, Hawaii, which was sponsored by Island Concepts. “Once a facility has assessed the effectiveness of its current repair planning process, the next step is to identify the best practices that drive improvement and standardization.” In part two of a two-part Tim Ronak from AkzoNobel talked about having the best series, Ronak talked about processes in place to support repair planning the building blocks of Akeach of these disciplines specific to zoNobel’s PCE principles, which the collision repair industry and la- include 5S, standardization, waste beled them as a Process-Centered reduction, visual management, Environment (PCE). Those who have continuous flow, in-process quality implemented repair planning in their and continuous improvement. businesses, but are still experiencing How would you describe 5S? supplements and other delays, have found success after incorporating colby Autobody News Contributor

5S is a systematic approach to creating and maintaining a manageable work area where everything has its place. The facility is specifically organized to create a visual environment that “talks to you” through visual guides that support the repair planning process, which makes it conducive for employees to do their jobs in a consistent, repeatable way. The objective is to build a strong foundation for a PCE transformation, establish discipline and produce quick and visible results. The 5S process was first defined in the 1960s by Hiroyuki Hirano from Toyota Motor Company. The English version of 5S is based on five Japanese words:

Sort (seiri): Remove what is not needed, add what is missing and store or discard unnecessary items. Set in order (seiton): Arrange items for ease of use and employ visual tools to identify where everything belongs.

Sweep/shine (seiso): Clean the workplace. Standardize (seiketsu): Establish standards and schedules to maintain the first three. Sustain (shitsuke): Adopt 5S into corporate culture by continued application and auditing. How does standardization promote conformity within the repair process?

Standardization is an agreedupon set of work procedures established to maintain quality, efficiency, safety and predictability in a shop. It maximizes performance and minimizes waste. The key is to do the same things the same way each time. There are three important components of this: standard operating procedures (SOPs), standard work and standards. SOPs are the instructions that explain the operations in detail. This

See Repair Planning, Page 72

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Post Repair Calibration – A Growing Crisis by Gary Ledoux

Have you, as a body shop owner or manager, ever taken a vehicle to an OE car dealer for a post-repair recalibration on an Advanced Driver Assist System (ADAS) vehicle only to get the “deer in the headlights” look from the dealership service manager, or simply be told the car does not require recalibration … even though you know it is required? If you have, welcome to the club. ADAS systems, once used only on high-line cars, are now seen in almost every vehicle. Even the ubiquitous “every-man car,” the Honda Civic has had ADAS components for several years. Mark Olson of Vehicle Collision Experts LLC (VECO Experts) of Seattle, a noted industry leader and consultant wants to reverse this trend by bringing it to the attention of the OE’s through as much anecdotal evidence as can be mustered before the industry week at this year’s SEMA show. His message to the OE’s will be to encourage them to properly train dealership personnel on the need for, and how to perform postcollision repair recalibration for those vehicles with ADAS systems. Anecdotal Evidence Mounts On Sept. 3, Olson sent out a call to the industry at large via social media asking for particular instances including names, types of vehicles involved, etc. Some of the early responses revealed the following: • A general manager for an independent body shop located in upstate New York noted, “GM, Toyota and Chrysler dealers have all said to me ‘… is the light on? No? Then it is fine.’ I have literally begged them to do diagnostic and calibration with little to no success. • A manager for a Fix Auto shop in Canada wrote, “What I am seeing is position statements from the car makers about how something has to be done. Recalibrate a mirror that has been R&I only, and then take the vehicle to the dealer for them to turn around and say it didn’t need it. Dealers going against what their companies’ position statements are. How are we supposed to keep up if local dealers get to change the rules?” 60

• An independent body shop in the upper mid-west wrote about work his shop had done on a 2018 Nissan Murano. “We had the vehicle towed to the [Nissan] dealership. Shortly after it was dropped off, they called and said it didn’t need a calibration on the front radar. I told them it did. They called back a while later and said they talked to their “A” mechanic at their other store and it did not need a calibration. I told them I was going to go on the Nissan tech site, print the exact procedure for the calibration, they were to perform it and bill me for it accordingly.” • Another upper mid-west body shop owner experienced a problem with a Subaru, similar to the Fix Auto shop in Canada. He wrote, “We will provide adjusters with the repair procedures for recalibration and they will call the dealer and the dealer will tell them the opposite of the Subaru procedures. We don’t have the backing from the dealership.” • The same shop owner had some issues with a GM dealer when he brought a collision-repaired car to that dealership for recalibration. Thinking ahead, the shop owner went into the vehicle’s shop manual, found the documentation regarding recalibration and brought them to the dealership. The shop manager continues, “When I handed them the documents, they said they never saw those documents and asked where I got them. The service department spoke with their own body shop about the inspections and since their body shop wasn’t doing them … it wasn’t needed.” In another instance with a Honda vehicle, the shop owner received a call from the Honda dealer service manager asking how a particular calibration was supposed to be performed. The shop owner printed the procedure right out of the Honda repair manual and sent it to the dealer. Wake Up and Smell the Liability Asked about this situation, veteran collision repair and consumer advocate Erica Eversman, J.D. founder and principal of the Automotive Education & Policy Institute, noted, “If a body shop brings a car to an OE dealership, the recognized authority and representative of the OE, and the dealer service manager tells the shop

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

that the car in question does not need to be recalibrated, or if they accept the car for recalibration, do a cursory or otherwise incomplete job and hand the car back to the body shop, it could be argued in court that the body shop should reasonably expect that the dealer knew what they were doing, accept the job as-is and move on. In this case, the body shop could have a legitimate defense – assuming the jury bought it; however, you would have to go through the entire mess and cost of a trial to discover this. Or the jury could simply say that as a collision repair facility, ‘you should have known better’ and still find you at fault.” Some industry people feel that improperly repaired ADAS systems, or failing to recalibrate them properly could be a ticking time bomb for the industry. It could be a replay of the John Eagle case. An “Invisible” Problem One of the major problems with the issue of recalibration … or lack thereof, is that it is difficult to “see.”

Consumers, the ones most directly affected by having a post-collision car properly recalibrated don’t know enough about it to ask the right questions. And even if they did know what questions to ask, they should be asking the OE, and there really is no direct contact between consumers and the OE. Independent body shops don’t have a direct line to the OE for twoway communication. All that exists is electronic access to that OE’s repair materials …. which many fail to read. Every OE has field representatives to call on dealers which allow a back and forth exchange. And they all have similar areas of responsibility. But rarely does the topic of proper post-repair recalibration come up. First … only about 38% of dealerships have their own body shops. Second, when the OE rep walks into a dealership, they usually have their own agenda for the day – objectives to be met and people to see. These may include dealing with warranty customers, technician training, intro-

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duction of new programs, etc., but rarely does it include topics germane to collision repair. What is the Answer? When asked what body shops should do to protect themselves, Eversman replied, “Shops should do their own homework and know what needs to be done relative to scanning and recalibration. If they can do it themselves in-house, all the better. If they have to sublet it to a dealer, know what needs to be done, and present the dealer with that documentation. When the car is retrieved, demand signed documentation that the car has been properly recalibrated based on the OE protocols.” Eversman continued, “Knowing what needs to be done to which car regarding scanning and recalibration should be on the shoulders of the shop’s estimator. And to help them, the onus of supplying that information should rest with the estimating systems so they are truly helping shops make a safe and complete repair. In that same vein, the OE’s could do more to make their respective dealers aware of this situation and how

to address it. A body shop representative should not get a ‘deer in the headlights look’ from dealer personnel when the subject of recalibration is brought up.” Jerry Dalton, president of Dalton Collision with two locations in Tennessee said in a social media posting, “We ALWAYS look up and print OEM calibration procedures, discuss with service if they have necessary equipment, hand them instructions, and then make them document that the calibration has been performed. Then, we test drive the car to ensure the system functions properly.” Chuck Olsen, senior VP of Operations & Automotive Technology for AirPro Diagnostics said, “I recommend when a collision shop identifies the need for a calibration to bring documentation with them including parts replaced and repair procedures performed. Include the calibration needed and the service information that calls for it based on what was done.” Olsen continued, “After going to the dealer, or any other sublet provider, save your dealer documentation on what they did, perform a

road test and validate functionality. Make sure to ask for scan results showing all systems are clear or post-scan it yourself to document. In defense of dealership techs and advisors, most have not been exposed to this until a body shop comes in and asks for it.” A Wider Scope Ideally, body shops should be able to conduct recalibrations in-house. This could improve cycle time and the shop would know it was completed. However, given the complexity of recalibrating some systems on some cars, the time needed, and the cost of equipment, some body shops are going to continue to bring the repaired vehicle back to the dealer. So at minimum, the dealer should be able to know what is needed to scan and recalibrate the brand and models of cars their dealership handles. If you are a body shop that has had trouble getting an OE dealer to recalibrate a post-repaired vehicle, please send your story to Mark Olson of VECO Experts to mark@ vecoexperts.com or call Olson at 888-362-2511.

Continued from Page 46

Cybersecurity Webinar state-of-the-art technology trusted by banks. They are automatically updated and backed up and can be accessed from anywhere in the event of a disaster that prevents access to the repair facility. Patel stressed, “A locally installed system can never be as secure as a cloud-based system.” Once Patel’s presentation concluded, Molla presented attendees’ concerns for the question-and-answer portion of the webinar event. Patel pointed out, “It’s just another type of crime that’s going to continue to happen.” ASA’s October Webinar Wednesday on Oct. 16 will feature Brian Farrington, ASA’s Wage & Hour attorney, who will discuss “Countering the Dealership Overtime Exemption.” On Oct. 30, the association will also offer a Bonus Webinar entitled “Let’s Get Technical on Coolants” with Robert Bassett of the Gates Corporation. For more information on ASA, its events and future webinars, visit asashop.org.

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Ram Truck Celebrates Ten-Year Anniversary of Becoming Stand-Alone Brand A decade strong, Ram Truck is celebrating the ten-year anniversary of becoming a stand-alone brand with the launch of the “Power of Innovation,” a multimedia campaign that showcases the brand’s decade-long and ongoing commitment to building the industry’s most innovative and award-winning trucks.

The campaign includes three new broadcast videos, all-new digital content that can be viewed on the Ram brand’s digital and social media channels, including RamTrucks.com, YouTube, Face-

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book, Instagram and Twitter, as well as new content featured on the Ram brand’s social series #RamDoesThat. “Power of Innovation marks the ten-year anniversary of Ram as a stand-alone truck brand, created with a distinct DNA and a commitment to building the best trucks for our customers,” said Marissa Hunter, head of marketing, FCA – North America. “This campaign brings to life the innovations that Ram has made in those ten short years and honors the brand values that we share with our fans. As we look to the future, hard work, integrity, innovation and dedication to service will continue to guide our decisions and sit at the core of our marketing efforts.” Obtained via PR Newswire.

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“Digitally Diet?” release you from a cellphone addiction. It’s the last thing most people look at before going to bed at night, according to the study. Of the respondents, 44% had been woken up by the noise, and 41% by the light from a mobile phone in the bedroom. 74% of the respondents used mobile technology in the shared bed at least once a week. However, only 18% reported using a shared smartphone or tablet together in bed. Americans claim that they “somewhat or strongly agree that periodically ‘unplugging’ or taking a ‘digital detox’ is important for their mental health. So, how does all of this digital dieting impact your business as a body shop owner or manager? The owner of Advertising Business Consultants, Inc. in San Jose, CA, Roger Henson is a 40-year advertising/marketing veteran, so he was there before the Internet and smartphones began impacting our lives. The evolution is a good thing, but many people can’t handle it,

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Henson said. “I tell my kids to control the amount of time they spend on their smartphones because extreme use can cause problems like Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), ‘text neck’ and eye strain. If you need to be connected, try to use your laptop, ideally at a proper workstation. People are now designating no-device times; stepping away from incessant buzzing notifications for incoming calls, emails, texts, etc. and giving social media a timeout.” As a marketing guru, what does Henson tell his body shop clients about their presence online and how digital dieting might affect them? “In today’s collision repair industry, there are plenty of great apps out there that are convenient for consumers and make the industry more efficient altogether,” he said. “I never blame technology when people complain about using it too much or having other issues with it. Technology makes our lives easier both personally and professionally, but the impulse to overdo it will always be there. If you’re using a photo app or aggressively pursuing social media for your shop, continue doing it.”

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Kevin Hart’s Plymouth ‘Cuda Fate Not Pretty As comedian Kevin Hart goes through the process of physical rehabilitation after wrecking out in his 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda named Menace, the car is set to be taken apart.

possibility the restomod will be kept in its disassembled state once the investigation is done. Making matters worse, TMZ claims CHP is pushing for changes in California laws regarding restored cars. More specifically, shops would

Another issue on the table is salvaged cars that are subsequently restored. CHP is pushing for government regulation requiring such vehicles to be inspected by officials before they can be licensed in the state. Needless to say, many car restoration shops and enthu-

a car for drivers inexperienced with high-powered rear-wheel-drive models to drive hard. Hart’s friend and the fiancé of his wife’s trainer, Jared S. Black, was driving Menace on Mulholland Highway when he lost control, crashed

Credit: Motorious

California Highway Patrol will continue its investigation by performing an autopsy on Menace, taking the car apart to determine if anything malfunctioned. Alcohol has already been ruled out as a factor in the crash. This won’t be a quick teardown of the car, but instead, forensic investigators anticipate the process will take about three weeks. There’s a

have to install safety harnesses, even if the original design didn’t include them. The 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda had no such restraints, a factor CHP believes contributed to the serious nature of Hart and the driver’s injuries. However, the other passenger who sustained only minor injuries also wasn’t wearing any safety restraints at the time of the crash.

siasts won’t like this push one bit since it means the government alters the original look of their vehicles by force. Menace is a 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda restomod created by SpeedKore for the 2016 SEMA show. It comes with a Hellcat engine, multiple carbon-fiber body panels, a reinforced chassis, and other performance enhancements. Needless to say, it’s not

through a fence, and the car rolled multiple times down an embankment. Black had to be airlifted to a hospital, while Hart was able to transport himself for care. Rebecca Broxterman, the trainer, was in the backseat but only sustained minor injuries.

by Steven Symes, Motorious

We thank Motorious for reprint permission.

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INSIST ON GM GENUINE PARTS ONLY ORIGINAL PARTS PROTECT THE VEHICLE’S VALUE. Call Callll Any Ca Any ny of of These Th T hes ese Wholesale Wh W ho olles esal ale Parts Pa P art rts Dealers De D ea alle errs Below Be B ello ow Maryland

Massachusetts

New Jersey

New York

Criswell Chevrolet

Mastria Buick Cadillac GMC

Open Road Cadillac

East Syracuse Chevy

888-572-1045

973-845-3014

973-538-6978 Fax M-F 7 - 5 martin.kolbusch@openroad.com

315-437-5464

315-437-0878 Fax M-F 7:30 - 5; Sat 8 - 3 partsdept@esyrchevy.com

Open Road Chevrolet

Potamkin GM

800-981-9451

212-708-3080

GAITHERSBURG

866-922-1636

301-590-1457 Local 301-670-0936 Fax M-F 7 - 7:30; Sat 7 - 6 partssales@criswellauto.com

Ourisman Chevrolet of Rockville ROCKVILLE

800-345-4640 301-424-5332 Local 301-294-6381 Fax M-F 7 - 5:30

Massachusetts

RAYNHAM

508-822-4074 Fax M-Th 7:30 - 7:30; F 7:30 - 6 Sat 7:30 - 5 wholesale@mastria.com

UNION

New Jersey

Barlow Chevrolet DELRAN

800-220-1452

856-461-8417 856-764-1498 Fax M-F 7 - 6; Sat 8 - 4 pseay@barlowautogroup.com

Balise Chevrolet Buick GMC Business Elite

Cadillac of Mahwah

413-233-2185

201-579-6497

SPRINGFIELD

413-733-8617 Fax M-F 8 - 5 lvazquez@baliseauto.com

201-579-6506 Fax M-F 7 - 5

Flemington Buick GMC Cadillac

800-559-9210

877- 657-2787

781-762-9210 800-991-1009 Fax M-F 7:30 - 5 bchwholesale@boch.com

FLEMINGTON

908-782-1795 Fax M-F 7 - 5; Sat 7 - 3 www.njparts.com

Long Cadillac

Malouf Buick GMC

508-820-9322

800-669-6256

SOUTHBOROUGH

800-982-2258 508-879-1212 Fax M-F 7:30 - 5 tschube@longauto.com

Marty’s Buick GMC KINGSTON

908-686-2727 908-687-4267 Fax M-F 8 - 5; Sat 8 - 4 david.connell@openroad.com

Ott Miller Chevrolet WEST CALDWELL

973-226-6666

862-210-8491 Fax M-F 8 - 5 smadden@ottmiller.com

MAHWAH

Boch Chevrolet NORWOOD

FLORHAM PARK

New York

Bay Ridge Chevrolet BROOKLYN

718-232-4488

347-218-9771 Mon-Sat 8 am - 5 pm parts@bayridgechevy.com

EAST SYRACUSE

NEW YORK CITY

212-708-3127 Fax M-F 8 - 4:30 jmorena@potamkincadillac.com

West Herr Chevrolet ORCHARD PARK

716-662-7707

716-688-5519 Fax M-F 7:30 - 5; Sat 8 - 4 sgraham@westherr.com

Pennsylvania

Blaise Alexander Chevrolet GREENCASTLE

717-597-2131

717-597-6932 Fax M-F 8 - 5; Sat 8-2 jsnyder@blaisealexander.com

BICAL Automall

Tom Hesser Chevrolet

718-484-6903

800-435-9586

BROOKLYN

NORTH BRUNSWICK

718-484-6624 Fax M-F 8-5; Sat 8-4

732-821-5410 732-821-7549 Fax M-F 8 - 4:30; Sat 8 - 1 aaiello@malouf.com

DePaula Chevrolet

SCRANTON

570-558-3677 570-342-8645 Fax M-F 8 - 5; Sat 8 - 2 mhanson@tomhesser.com

ALBANY

800-727-8357

518-489-0184 Fax M-F 7:30 - 5 parts@depaula.com

800-870-7573

781-585-7570 781-585-2966 Fax M-F 7:30 - 5:30; Sat 8 - 4 brucem@martysbuickgmc.com

GENUINEGMPARTS.COM

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

Technology to Improve Customer Service, Reduce Cycle Times by Susanna Gotsch, Property Casualty 360

Our industry is using technology like never before to reimagine the consumer claim and repair experience. Digital capabilities are informing, improving and most importantly, helping

Digital technology plays an increasingly important role as vehicle repairs become more complex and repair costs and cycle time increase. Credit: Shutterstock via Property Casualty 360.

reduce the overall time from when a loss occurs to when a vehicle is repaired and ready for pickup, which is becoming ever more critical as vehicle complexity, repair costs and cycle time grow. Improving Consumer Satisfaction

Amid Rising Repair Costs According to the J.D. Power 2018 Auto Insurance Study, better access to online self-service tools through insurer websites and mobile apps has helped drive auto insurance customer satisfaction to its highest level since CY 2000. CCC Information Services, Inc. is seeing strong evidence of the shift toward digital in claims, as many carriers are supporting the capability for consumers to take photos of their damaged vehicle and use those to generate the estimate of record. This removes the need to schedule an appointment at a drive-in, or for an adjuster to come to the vehicle owner’s home or work for the inspection. The Sweet Spot Over the last 15 years, repair costs for the industry have steadily shifted into higher dollar ranges with fewer coming in below $1,000, and roughly 40% now falling between $1,000 and $4,000. Repairs between $3,000 and $4,000, for example, grew from 6.6% of the volume in CY2004 to 8.3% by CY2018. These are historically the claims where we have seen the highest productivity and customer satis-

claims. We found customers with the telematics-enabled claims also chose photo estimating as the initial method of vehicle inspection more often, resulting in an added reduction in the number of days from assignment sent to estimate upload. As vehicle complexity continues to increase, repair costs and repair cycle times are expected to rise further. Our industry will need to continue to evaluate and evolve its use of technology to make positive strides on Credit: CCC Information Services Inc. via Property delivering a consumer exCasualty 360. perience that can counter help lift overall shop productivity and the impact of vehicle dynamics. CSI for both the repairer and insurer. Reprinted with permission from the September 2019 issue of Claims MagTechnology is Making a Difference For drivable and non-drivable vehi- azine. cles, the number of days from loss to loss report was dramatically lower by We thank Property Casualty 360 for nearly 90% for telematics-enabled reprint permission. faction index (CSI). By improving cycle time for these losses, both could see even better scores, and ultimately

www.autobodynews.com

AUTOBODY

Tesla Autopilot Protects Nature: It Saved Momma Bear and Cubs by Gustavo Henrique Ruffo, InsideEVs

Tesla Autopilot is still in beta testing, but it now has reached a point in which it saves lives. Despite being blamed for accidents, it performs really well. Mother Nature can now say the same. Better saying, a mother bear and its two cubs can, according to a video shot by Andrew Whittle’s TeslaCam.

The Right PARTS A PERFECT Fit.

Performance had made most of the journey on Autopilot. When momma bear and her cubs crossed the road, Autopilot immediately braked.

Order Genuine Mazda Parts from these Parts Specialists in your area DELAWARE Credit: InsideEVs

Credit: InsideEVs

He was near the Glacier National Park in Montana. We don’t know when or precisely where. It was dark, and his Tesla Model 3 66

UPDATED DAILY

Would a focused driver have done the same? Most certainly. But what if he was distracted? What if he did not see the bears? In any of these possibilities, it is excellent to know how well Autopilot works in such situations. Whittle backed up the car a bit to avoid an attack by an apparently defiant mother bear. That was enough for her to leave peacefully. We thank InsideEVs for reprint permission.

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

Nucar Mazda Wholesale Parts Distributors New Castle

800-633-6606 www.nucarparts.com

VIRGINIA

Brown’s Fairfax Mazda Fairfax

703-385-3994 Fax 703-591-5348 M-F 7:30-6 Joe.wood@brownscar.com www.brownscar.com

MARYLAND

Ourisman Mazda Of Rockville Rockville

855-417-4511 Fax 240-499-2488 M-F 8-5:30; Sat 8-5

rockvilleparts@ourismanautomotive.com

www.rockvillemazda.com

Audi dealers strive to make you an Audi Genuine Parts fan.

• Audi Part Professionals are experts on collision parts, replacement components and mechanical items. • Regardless of the age of your customer’s Audi, Audi dealers have access to over 200,000 part numbers and are supported by a nationwide network of distribution centers to help ensure non stocked parts are delivered the next day.

Helping you do business is our business. Order Audi Genuine Parts from these select dealers. Maryland

New Jersey

New York

Audi Bethesda

Audi Meadowlands

Paul Miller Audi

Audi Buffalo

Bethesda 240.762.5636 301.718.1847 Fax M-F 7:30am-6pm Sat 8am-2pm

North Bergen 201.408.2085 201.223.7842 Fax M-F 7am-6pm Sat 8am-2pm

Parsippany 800.356.4553 973.575.7793 973.575.5911 Fax M-F 8am-6pm Sat 8am-5pm

Buffalo 716.683.3343 716.706.0449 Fax M 7:30am-8pm Tu-F 7:30am-6pm Sat 8am-4pm

rgreen@euromotorcars.com

Audi Silver Spring Silver Spring 301.890.3015 800.288.6982 301.890.3748 Fax M-F 7:30am-5pm wholesaless@mileone.com www.audisilverspring.com

Massachusetts Audi Shrewsbury Shrewsbury 888.751.7214 508.581.5880 508.845.1642 Fax M-F 7:30am-5pm audiwholesaleparts@mcgovernauto.com

jpooler@bbmcc.com

DCH Millburn Audi Maplewood 800.553.9250 973.762.2381 Fax M-F 7:30am-6pm Sat 7:30am-4pm ddipalma@dchusa.com www.dchmillburnaudi.com

Flemington Audi Flemington 877.657-2787 908.782-1795 Fax M-F 7:30am-5pm Sat 8am-12pm www.njparts.com

www.paulmilleraudi.com Audiparts@paulmiller.com

avwparts@towneauto.com

Audi Queens

New York Audi Albany Latham 518.783.5554 518.213.8182 M-Sat 7:30am-6pm audiparts@audialbany.com

Audi Brooklyn of Bram Wholesale Parts Network 866.770.5999 718.392.6570 Fax M-F 7:30am-5:30pm

Flushing 929.297.0788 917.809.6442 Fax M-Sat 8am-5pm parts@audiqueens.com

Audi Southampton Southampton 631.204.2565 Tue-Sat 8am-5pm parts@audisouthampton.com www.audisouthampton.com

parts@lexusofqueens.com

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

Tesla’s Charging Connector Patent Paves Way for the Semi’s Megachargers by Simon Alvarez, Teslarati.com

A published patent application from Tesla suggests that the electric car maker is continuing in its efforts to improve its already-stellar Supercharger Network. The design, which features a liquid-cooled charging connector, can potentially pave the way for a more ambitious charging infrastructure, perhaps one that can specifically cater to the all-electric Semi’s Megacharger Network.

The Tesla Semi visits Yandell Truckaway. Credit: Arash Malek

During the all-electric truck’s unveiling, CEO Elon Musk mentioned that the Semi will be able to

replenish as much as 400 miles of range in as little as 30 minutes thanks to a network of Megachargers. Neither Musk nor Tesla provided the specs of the Megacharger during the vehicle’s unveiling, though speculations were high that network might provide a power output that is several times more powerful than the company’s Supercharger V2 Network, which had an output of around 120 kW then (Supercharger V2 stations have since been improved to 150 kW). Being a large vehicle, the Semi requires a lot of power for its charging needs, involving the rapid transfer of mass amounts of electricity in a very short period of time without encountering any heating issues. Tesla notes that its liquidcooled supercharger connector does not only allow faster charging; it also makes the routing of wires in a charging connector much more efficient. This means that Tesla’s Supercharger connectors could eventu-

An illustration of Tesla’s liquid-cooled Supercharger design. Credit: US Patent Office

ally be smaller and more compact despite being capable of greater output. Tesla’s Superchargers are among the fastest and most expansive electric vehicle charging infrastructures in the auto industry. In keeping with its spirit, the company has made it a point to never stop innovating, as exhibited by the company’s debut and ongoing ramp of its Supercharger V3 Network. Such innovations appear to be required of the company, especially with the rollout of ambitious EVs such as the Semi, a vehicle with a different charging infrastructure compared to Tesla’s existing lineup of electric cars. That being said, Tesla nevertheless deserves credit for pushing the envelope and staying on top of its innovations.

An illustration of Tesla’s liquid-cooled Supercharger design. Credit: US Patent Office

We thank Teslarati.com for reprint permission.

Confidence through the corners, because we never cut them. Porsche Genuine Parts and Service, only at your local authorized Porsche dealer. Porsche Bethesda North Bethesda, MD 855-272-3952 301-945-5795 Fax

Porsche Norwell Norwell, MA 781-261-5230 781-261-5274 Fax

Porsche Princeton Lawrenceville, NJ 609-945-1500 609-799-0879 Fax

Porsche Silver Spring Silver Spring, MD 800-288-6982 301-890-3748 Fax

Flemington Porsche Flemington, NJ 800-216-5124 908-782-9397 Fax

Porsche of Southampton Southampton, NY 631-204-2565 631-204-2559 Fax

ashley.fertitta@ porschebethesda.com

wholesales@mileone.com

porschenorwell.com

rmuir@flemington.com

princetonporsche.com

gspano@porscheofsouthampton.com

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

Porsche of The Main Line Newtown Square, PA 610-886-1010 610-886-1020 Fax parts@potml.com

National Association Event Announcements: November 2019 by Chasidy Rae Sisk

ASA’s November Webinar Wednesday Focuses on the New Smartphone Consumer On Nov. 20, the Automotive Service Association (ASA) will host its monthly Webinar Wednesday at 1 p.m. EST. The November edition of

the series will be “The New Smartphone Consumer,” taught by Jason Soto of MobileSoft Technology. Soto will educate participants on key mobile app features shop owners can use to increase car count and how facilities can benefit from a mobile app, plus he’ll share success stories from shop owners who have launched their own app. For more information or to register, visit asashop.org. WIN to Host Drop-In Lunch During SEMA

On Wednesday, Nov. 6, the Women’s Industry Network (WIN) invites members, sponsors and designated guests to join the association for a quick networking lunch along with an update about WIN. The lunch will take place from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. in Room N221 of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Those interested in attending must RSVP by visiting WIN’s website: womensindustry network.com. YANG Happy Hour During AAPEX19 The Young Auto Care Network Group (YANG) will host a Networking Happy Hour at the Yardbird Southern Table & Bar inside the Ve-

netian Hotel in Las Vegas on Nov. 6. The largest networking meet-up of the year, this event is held in con-

Think Genuine Subaru Parts.

junction with AAPEX and is open to all current and new YANG members. Refreshments will be provided, but those interested in attending must RSVP by Friday, Nov. 1. For more information, visit autocare.org/yang/. DRIVE Debuts New Workshop: The Power of Trust On Nov. 18 and 19, DRIVE will debut a brand new workshop entitled “The Power of Trust” at DRIVE headquarters in Monrovia, CA. The workshop will focus on the crucial issue of trust and how it is vital for business owners to know how to earn someone’s trust and to know who to trust. The workshop will explore what trust is, how to earn trust and how to get it back once it’s lost. According to Robert Spitz, senior vice president of Curriculum for DRIVE, “DRIVE is continually striving to bring the most advanced business practices and information to our clients,” he said. “[This workshop] speak[s] directly to the newest business systems and methods our clients want to know about.” For more information about DRIVE and its workshops, visit driveshops.com.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Belmont (617) 826-5013 (617) 489-0733 Fax

Keene (866) 832-0013 (603) 757-0013 (603) 719-0932 Fax

Cityside Subaru

Long Automotive Group Framingham (800) 982-2298 (508) 879-1212 Fax

Mon.-Fri. 7:30-5:30; Sat 7:30-5 ztheodorou@fentonautosales.com NEW JERSEY

Flemington Subaru

Natick (888) 456-2200 (508) 745-2004 (508) 647-1539 Fax

Mon.-Fri. 7:30-5 bseymour@flemington.com www.njparts.com

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Liberty Subaru

Tilton (800) 358-4029 (603) 729-1300 (603) 729-1301 Fax

Mon.-Fri. 7:30-6 parts@libertysubaru.com www.libertysubaru.com

Mon.-Sat. 7-9 parts@metrowestsubaru.com

Belknap Subaru

Call your local Subaru collision parts specialist today!

Subaru of Keene

Mon.-Fri. 7:30-5 tschube@longauto.com

Metrowest Subaru LLC

The following dealerships are eager to serve your needs.

Minnesota Careers in Auto Repair and Service (MNCARS) is proud to announce the release of new video resources to expand its outreach and raise awareness of career opportunities in the automotive service and collision repair industry. The new videos feature students who are currently enrolled in automotive programs telling their stories about how they got there and what they love about the industry. These students are the future of the industry and they share their passion and excitement about the opportunities in front of them. The videos and other updated materials support the 2019 campaign message of “Turn Your Passion Into a Career.” In addition to refreshing the campaign’s look and feel and adding text message/SMS marketing capabilities, MNCARS will be advertising on the YouTube platform to reach students with automotive interests. To see a few of the studentfocused videos, head to the MNCARS YouTube channel.

MASSACHUSETTS

Mon.-Fri. 7:30-5:30 parts@citysidesubaru.com

We’re focused on getting you the Genuine Subaru Parts you need — fast and competitively priced. Put us to the test on your next Subaru repair or service job.

MNCARS Expands Efforts to Promote Careers

Mon., Wed., Fri. 7:30-5 Tue., Thu. 7:30-7; Sat. 9-3 awright@belknapsubaru.com

Flemington (877) 657-2787 (908) 782-1795 Fax

Emerson (888) 782-9493 (201) 261-3261 Fax

Miller Subaru

Lumberton (609) 261-7844 (609) 261-7843 Fax

Mon.-Fri. 7:30-5 dseward@millertransgroup.com autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

Boyd Autobody & Glass President to Retire

CARSTAR Opens Location in Minnesota

After 22 years of dedicated service, Eric Danberg, president of Boyd Autobody & Glass, has announced his retirement, which will be effective March 31, 2020. “Eric will be greatly missed not only for his tremendous business acumen, industry knowledge, leadership and significant contributions to Boyd Autobody & Glass, but also for his sense of humor, integrity and overall quality as a person. We wish Eric the very best in this next chapter of his life,” said Tim O’Day, president & COO of the Boyd Group. We are very pleased to announce Tony Canade, president of Assured Automotive, will be appointed to the role of Chief Operating Officer, Canadian Operations, for the Boyd Group Inc., effective Jan. 1, 2020. In this expanded role, Canade will assume responsibility for Boyd Autobody & Glass in addition to the Assured business. He will continue reporting to O’Day.

CARSTAR announced the opening of its first Minnesota location, CARSTAR Bighley Auto Body, located at 2409 Margaret Street N., North St. Paul, MN, 55109. A three-generation business for this family of repairers, Mike Bighley, owner of CARSTAR Bighley Auto Body, has grown up in the industry. “It felt like we were on the outside looking in, where I saw the market undergo significant change, but our business was not able to take advantage of those growth opportunities,” says Bighley. Bighley’s grandfather opened the business in 1957 with his father taking it over in 1977. This 7,600 square foot facility is equipped to provide premier repairs to all makes and models. “The CARSTAR family is comprised of several independently owned family businesses, like the Bighley’s, and our model is built to specifically help them thrive,” says Michael Macaluso, president, CARSTAR.

Obtained via boydgroup.com.

Driven Brands Acquires ABRA Franchised Locations Driven Brands, North America’s leading group of automotive aftermarket brands, announced its acquisition of ABRA Automotive Systems LP, the franchising subsidiary of ABRA Auto Body Repair of America (ABRA). The move adds 55 premier franchised collision repair facilities to the collision

portfolio of Driven Brands. It excludes corporately-owned ABRA facilities that were purchased by Caliber earlier this year. The acquisition of ABRA is part of Driven Brands’ continued growth in the heavy collision repair space, beginning with the acquisition of CARSTAR, which has doubled in size since its initial acquisition in 2015. “We are happy to welcome the ABRA franchisees and team into the Driven Brands family,” said 70

Jonathan Fitzpatrick, CEO of Driven Brands. “With over 700 franchised heavy-collision shops in the Driven Brands portfolio, we believe Driven is a perfect home for the ABRA franchise system.” Michael Macaluso will oversee both CARSTAR and ABRA as the president of Driven’s newlycreated collision vertical. Dean Fisher will take on Macaluso’s previous role as president of CARSTAR. “From the first day we entered the industry back in 1984, our approach to this business has focused on providing quality repairs and superior customer service,” said Tim Adelmann, chief business development officer, ABRA Auto Body Repair of America. “We are confident in the benefits Driven Brands will bring to both our owners and customers.” Obtained via PRWeb.

www.autobodynews.com

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

PennDOT Receives Grant The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) was awarded an $8,409,444 Automated Driving System Demonstration Grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation, to test the integration of automated driving systems within work zones. In May of 2019, Rep. Glenn Thompson was joined by nine members of the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation in expressing their support of PennDOT’s grant application to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao. “As driving technologies advance, safety must be at the forefront of these innovations,” said Thompson. Eric Donnell, Ph.D. and director of the Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, elaborated on the University’s research plans. “Penn State scientists will deploy a van to collect data and map work zone configurations,” said Donnell. “Solutions developed by our team will be tested at the Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute’s closed-loop test track, and ultimately applied in work zones across the Commonwealth.

Ranken Instructor to Receive I-CAR Award I-CAR, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, has announced that Walt Rundell, an instructor at Ranken Technical College in St. Louis, will receive the 2019 I-CAR Platinum/Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) Master Collision Repair & Refinish Technician of the Year award. Rundell was cited by I-CAR for his career spanning nearly four decades, his robust and diverse skill set and his hands-on approach that has benefitted the next generation of collision repairers. “Among your peers, you are known for your broad, in-depth knowledge, and many look up to you as a mentor,” said John Van Alstyne, I-CAR president and CEO. “At I-CAR, we value your many contributions over the years as an instructor, volunteer committee member and all-around ambassador advancing our mission.” The award will be presented in November during the fall 2019 ASE Board of Governors meeting and annual Technician Recognition Awards banquet.

The RIGHT

COLLISION PARTS

For Your Collision Job. Visit these Genuine Hyundai Parts Dealers:

Massachusetts

ROUTE 2 HYUNDAI

Norwood 391 Providence Hwy.

888-240-3495

BOCH HYUNDAI

800-559-9210 781-762-9210 800-991-1009 Fax

Mon-Fri 7:30am - 5pm bchwholesale@boch.com

Leominster 743 North Main St.

978-534-9933 Fax

Mon-Thu 7:30am - 7:30pm Fri-Sat 7:30am - 6pm parts@rte2hyundai.com www.rte2hyundai.com

Finish it like a Masterpiece THE DEALERS BELOW ARE MERCEDES-BENZ GENUINE PARTS SPECIALISTS.

USE GENUINE MERCEDES-BENZ PARTS. DELAWA RE

NEW YORK

NEW JERSEY

PENNSYLVANIA

Mercedes-Benz of Wilmington Wilmington

Mercedes-Benz of Goldens Bridge Goldens Bridge

Mercedes-Benz of Atlantic City Egg Harbor Township

Mercedes-Benz of Fort Washington Fort Washington

800-800-1949

302-995-5030 Parts Direct 302-995-5033 Fax M-F 7:30am - 5pm Sat 8am - 2pm parts@mbofwilmington.com www.mbofwilmington.com

MARYLAND

Mercedes-Benz of Annapolis Annapolis

888-801-2369

443-875-0290 443-875-0315 Fax M-F 7:30am-6pm Sat 8am-1pm rhamilton@mileone.com

MASSACHUSETTS

Mercedes-Benz of Burlington Burlington 844-200-MBOB (6262)

914-232-8146

914-232-5733 Fax M-F 8am - 5:30pm Sat 8am - 2pm dkorkatzis@mercedesbenzgb.com

Mercedes-Benz of New Rochelle New Rochelle

800-581-2705 914-206-3797 Fax M-F 8am - 6pm Sat 8am - 5pm parts@mbnewrochelle.com www.mbnewrochelle.com

Mercedes-Benz of Smithtown St. James

631-265-5339 631-265-8146 Fax M-F 8am - 5pm Sat 8am - 4pm mlevantino@mbofsmithtown.com www.mbofsmithtown.com

609-645-9310

267-419-1414

215-540-0263 Fax

M-F 7:30am - 6pm Sat 7:30am - 5pm

mbpartswholesale@yourmercedes.com

Mercedes-Benz of Newton Newton

Mercedes-Benz of West Chester West Chester

800-842-0557

800-220-7278

888-302-2369 973-383-1284 Fax

215-540-0263 Fax

M-F 8am - 5pm realmercedesparts@mbofnewton.com

M-F 7:30am - 6pm Sat 7:30am - 5pm mbpartswholesale@yourmercedes.com

Mercedes-Benz of Paramus Paramus

888-30-PARTS 201-265-7808 201-483-2782 Fax M-Th 7:30am - 7:30pm F 7:30am - 5pm Sat 8am - 5pm parts@prestigemb.com

781-229-1600 617-275-2185 Fax M-F 7am-7pm Sat 8am-5pm parts@mbob.com www.mbob.com

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

Continued from Page 57

Repair Planning may involve regulations, standards and specifications. Standard work is the sequence of job tasks that must be performed to complete a job effectively. They are designed to be repeatable, eliminate waste, increase productivity and ultimately become the framework to build on continuous improvement. Standards are rules that provide clear expectations. For example, there might be a shop poster displaying the process for edging parts or spot welding. A standard can help build consistency in your business, so employees know what is expected of them, there are fewer errors, and everything operates more efficiently. If you don’t have a strong foundation, eventually the process can disappear; then, you are forced to reinvent it or backfill it with an alternative.

• Ensure DRP guidelines are followed if applicable; • Ensure the repair is completed within the customer and insurance guidelines; and • Ensure the established triage and methodology are followed and involve all stakeholders including mechanical, body, refinish and parts.

Q: A:

What is important to know about waste reduction?

Understanding waste is critical to a process-centered environment. Waste is anything that doesn’t add value to the customer or process. In states like Hawaii, there is a lot of vehicle movement due to space limitations. This means every time there is a work stoppage or a change in production direction, it wreaks havoc on throughput for facilities that don’t have room to move cars. It’s imperative to come up with an easy way to standardize throughput so vehicles can move freely through the facility.

ties that don’t alter the fit, form or function and the customer isn’t willing to pay for, such as moving the car and equipment maintenance. Finally, there is non-value adding waste that the customer also isn’t willing to pay for, like the excessive movement of cars and the extra time it takes for repair due to supplements.

Q: A:

What are the ways a shop can reduce waste?

There are multiple ways to do this in a shop. Having a repair planner sit at a mobile workstation near the vehicle while it is being disassembled can be effective. Shops can also track how the business is doing in terms of sales and if repair planning is actively being done each day. Shops can monitor when cars come in and if the technicians are notified quickly during disassembly. Other ways include verifying the color at the repair planning stage and having a lot plan where vehicles are parked. How can a shop control its workspace through visual management?

Visual displays provide information to everyone on the shop floor, so they understand the process at a glance. This ensures the safe and proper execution of operations. Some examples of how shops can implement visual management tools include displaying a standardized ‘map’ of how to store parts on a parts cart, where that cart should sit and even delineating a box on the floor in the stall where the vehicle is to be parked for repair planning. Overall, it is important for a shop to be consistent to be successful.

Q: A:

What is the role of continuous flow?

In a continuous flow environment, cars flow through the shop without any backflows, unnecessary idle time, rework, excess inventory or delays. It is the sequence of repair process steps that are practical to implement in a highly variable environment. In the last article, I talked about Shop A being the repair planning department and Shop B being production. The goal is when a vehicle leaves Shop

Different types of waste include: • Transportation – the ability to move vehicles; (l to r) Camille Phillips, Island Fender; Todd Stogdell, Island Concepts; and Gary Higa, Island Fender

The SCRS Complete Guide to Repair Planning is an excellent, free resource available to shops that I highly recommend downloading from the www.SCRS.com website.

Q: A:

What are the components of a good repair plan? A good repair plan should:

• Identify all damage, including frame and sublet; • Identify all necessary parts and labor; • Identify the repair methodology that is going to be used including refinish; • Identify the correct color variant; 72

• Inventory – balancing the amount of work;

• Motion – the movement of people; • Downtime; • Overproduction; • Overprocessing; • Defects – which include errors, redos and comebacks; and or • Underutilizing human potential so employees aren’t used to their fullest capacity. Waste can be categorized in three different ways. There are value-added activities that the customer is willing to pay for and change the fit, form or function of the vehicle to pre-accident condition. Second, there are necessary, non-value adding activi-

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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A, it can continuously flow through Shop B. I recommend setting your internal production date in a way that makes sense for your operation. Know your cycle time and how much you can produce and then balance your production input. This will start to improve your operations, cycle time and the number of days cars are onsite. It is important to limit the number of cars in production on-site to just the amount that maximizes the process time of each repair. We refer to this as your Optimal Work in Production (WIP). For continuous flow to be successful, you need all the parts, tools and equipment at the facility; good organization; skilled, trained employees; and standards so there are clear expectations. By doing repair planning without the other procedures in place, you will merely be creating a process where you are writing the best estimate without the profitable gains of increasing throughput.

How can a shop ensure inprocess quality?

The goal is to do everything one time effectively and accurately. This includes numerous inprocess quality checks (QCs), where the work is assessed against predetermined standards before advancing to the next step. The goal is to have clear quality standard checkpoints to ensure that the desired quality is achieved. Implementing standardization within repair planning creates in-process quality. There are two types of inspection. Self-inspection is when a technician inspects the work he or she does after it is complete and fixes any defects before sending it to the next area. Successive inspection is when the next technician performs a quality inspection when receiving the vehicle. If there is a problem, both techs decide who will fix it and how to prevent it from occurring again.

What is important to know in terms of continuous improve-

ment?

The idea is to continually look at the process of repair plan-

ning and determine ways to improve it, so we’re evolving. By seeking the involvement of employees and giving them the “why” behind the decision, you’ll gain their confidence and trust.

necessary repair processes included? • Communication: Are all stakeholders involved in the repair plan?

What are the critical audit points of repair planning?

• Parts organization: Does the process allow you to find and visually identify the status of the parts to all stakeholders?

Creating an audit process is the optimal way to sustain repair planning. It takes about 15 minutes per car once you have it established. The critical points of an audit include:

• Administrative process: Have you gone through the repair plan and checked if there are any missed administrative tasks?

Q: A:

• Triage: Did someone QC the checkin process and prioritize the vehicles for repair planning? In triage, always repair plan the smallest job first. You can’t afford an extra day on a one-day job; that’s 50 percent longer than it should take. However, on a ten-day job, one day longer is only 10 percent. • Complete disassembly: Are all the damaged and R & I parts exposed and laid out to tell the story of the repair plan? • Writing the repair plan: Are all the

• Scorecard: Have you measured and tracked the results each day? Before you begin repair planning, certain elements need to be built. You must have those pieces in place for it to be sustainable for the future. By organizing your work environment and then being able to sustain it, your shop will thrive. This is part two in a two-part series.

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Amazon Buys 100,000 Rivian Electric Trucks in Pursuit of Carbon Neutrality by Nick Lavars, New Atlas

Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian has landed itself a new customer, and a monumental one at that. The world’s largest retailer, Amazon, has signed on to buy 100,000 of Rivian’s zero-emission trucks as part of a wider push to clean up its business operations, which includes a commitment to be completely carbon neutral by 2040.

These early glimpses of its engineering chops were enough to attract $700 million of investment in February this year, with Amazon itself leading the charge.

The e-commerce giant is now doubling down on its relationship with the automotive startup, announcing an order of no less than 100,000 Rivian electric delivery trucks. This, according to Amazon, is the largest order of electric vehicles in history. And considering that is around how many total vehiJeff Bezos launched The Climate Pledge on Thursday, cles Tesla was able to deliver Sept. 19, which commits Amazon to being completely carbon neutral by 2040. Credit: Amazon in an entire record-setting quarter after a tumultuous Rivian has made quite a splash time getting its manufacturing processes since rolling into 2018’s LA Auto up to speed, that will be no small underShow to debut a pair of electrified ve- taking for an electric vehicle maker, hicles, its R1T pickup and R1S SUV. much less one that is just getting started.

RI, OK, and WV Top the Nation for Worst Road Infrastructure On top of taxpayer dollars, it’s estimated that driving on roads in need of repair costs motorists $120 billion in vehicle repairs and operating costs – $533 per driver, according to a recent report by QuoteWizard.

QuoteWizard found a correlation between states that use funds to maintain roads and states that rank well overall for road infrastructure. States with poor road infrastructure had higher costs per driver and typically poor road conditions across the board. Key Findings: • Rhode Island, Oklahoma and West Virginia top in the nation for worst road infrastructure. • Tennessee, Georgia and Florida best in the nation for road infrastructure.

QuoteWizard, a LendingTree company, and one of the nation’s leading online insurance marketplaces released its report on states with the worst road infrastructure finding that 61% of highways nationwide are in fair to poor condition. Transportation for America estimates a cost of $231 billion a year to keep our existing road network in acceptable repair. While analyzing FHA data, 74

• Top ten states with the worst infrastructure cost drivers an annual average of $752 from poor road conditions. • Top five states with the worst infrastructure spend below the national average of 30% on-road repairs. Obtained via PR Newswire.

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

In any case, having Amazon onside certainly won’t do these efforts any harm. The retailer expects these electric vans to begin delivering packages for customers as early as 2021, and to have all 100,000 of them on the road by 2030. This forms part of a new environmental initiative launched by CEO Jeff Bezos on Thursday, Sept. 19, called The Climate Pledge, which commits the company to being completely carbon neutral by 2040, im-

come a part of the pledge. “We’re done being in the middle of the herd on this issue – we’ve decided to use our size and scale to make a difference,” says Bezos. “If

Amazon expects Rivian’s electric vans to being delivering packages for customers as early as 2021. Credit: Amazon Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian has landed itself a new customer, and a monumental one at that in Amazon. Credit: Amazon

plement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement and measure and report its greenhouse gas emissions along the way. It hopes other companies will sign on to be-

a company with as much physical infrastructure as Amazon – which delivers more than 10 billion items a year – can meet the Paris Agreement ten years early, then any company can.” We think New Atlas for reprint permission.

Study Finds Costs to Own a New Car are up 24% in 2019 by Shawn Goggins, iFIBER ONE News

The costs to own and maintain a new vehicle are going up according to an AAA study. The study says finance costs on new cars have jumped 24% in 2019, pushing the average annual cost of vehicle ownership to $9,282, or $773.50 a month. That’s the highest cost associated with new vehicle ownership since AAA began tracking expenses in 1950. “Finance costs accounted for more than 40% of the total increase in average vehicle ownership costs,” said John Nielsen, AAA’s managing director for Automotive Engineering & Repair. “AAA found finance charges rose more sharply in the last 12 months than any major expense associated with owning a vehicle.” The big bump in finance charges comes from rising federal interest rates and higher vehicle prices. The new figures come from Your Driving Costs, which reviews nine categories of vehicles-consisting of 45 models – to determine the average annual operating and ownerships costs of each. AAA focuses

on top-selling, mid-priced models and compares them across six expense categories: fuel prices, maintenance/repair/tire costs; insurance rates; license/registration/taxes; depreciation; and finance charges. Annual average costs increased in each category. Of all costs, depreciation, a measure of how quickly a car loses value, remains the single biggest cost of ownership, accounting for more than a third (36%) of the average annual cost. Average fuel costs rose to 11.6 cents per mile, 5% higher than last year. Electricity prices for EV charging also rose 0.1 cent per kilowatthour (0.08%). Average maintenance and repair costs climbed marginally to 8.94 cents per mile, up 8.9% over last year. The increase was fueled by the growing complexity of vehicle systems and an updated methodology for calculating repair costs. The cost of licenses, registration fees and taxes rose $14 to $753 per year, an increase of 1.9%. We thank iFIBER ONE News for reprint permission.

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autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

Tesla Pickup Truck Still on Track for November Unveiling by Simon Alvarez, Teslarati.com

It appears that Tesla’s highly-anticipated Pickup Truck is still poised to be unveiled sometime this coming November. The update was shared on Twitter by CEO Elon Musk while responding to an inquiry about the upcoming vehicle’s official reveal date. While Musk did not specify a date in his recent tweet, a previous announcement from the CEO last month estimated a November unveiling event for the Tesla Pickup Truck. Prior to this, Musk noted in late July that while the vehicle was “close,” the truck’s reveal was “maybe two to three months” away. This coming November is just a bit over this estimate. Interestingly, a November reveal for the Tesla Pickup Truck would mark around two years since the unveiling event of the company’s Semi, which could only be described as the company’s most exciting reveal event to date. Tesla surprised both its enthusiasts and the auto industry as a whole during

CIECA Unveils New Logo & Announces Winner of Logo Refresh Contest

the Semi event by unveiling its next-generation Roadster, a successor to the car that started it all for the company that boasts an insane 0-60 mph time of 1.9 seconds and range of 620 miles per charge. Musk has teased several notable aspects of Tesla’s upcoming pickup truck, with the CEO stating during the 2019 Annual Shareholder Meeting that the vehicle will feature performance that’s comparable to a base Porsche 911 while boasting a towing capacity that can match industry leaders like the Ford F-150. “If the (Ford) F150 can tow it, the Tesla truck can do it,” Musk said. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Tesla Pickup Truck would be its starting price. Musk has stated that the vehicle will be priced at “well under” $50,000. The CEO also added that at most, the vehicle should have a starting price of around $49,000. “You should be able to buy a really great truck for $49k or less,” Musk said. We thank Teslarati.com for reprint permission.

CIECA announced the winner of the organization’s logo refresh contest on Sept. 18 during the annual CIECA CONNEX conference in Charlottesville, VA. Lauren Stefanov, a graphic designer at Safelite Autoglass, created the winning design and received a $500 Amazon gift card. “As part of CIECA’s 25th-anniversary celebration this year, we wanted to refresh the CIECA logo,” said Steve Betley, chairman of CIECA. “We greatly appreciate the unique design Lauren created for the new CIECA logo.” Stefanov has been employed with Safelite for the past two and a half years and works in the company’s marketing department. “I was shocked and excited when I learned that my logo was the winning design and am honored that my logo was chosen,” said Stefanov, who also received the second-place prize—a $100 Amazon gift card—for an additional logo she created. Dina Magon, a visual designer at CCC Information Services, was the thirdplace winner and received a $50

Amazon gift card. Stefanov said the inspiration for the new logo came from the words connectivity, translating and simplification.

As part of CIECA’s 25th anniversary celebration this year, a refresh of the CIECA logo was created. Credit: CIECA

“I wanted to tie in elements from the previous logo to the design and used a single circle rather than the multiple circles in the original logo,” she said. “The three half circles radiating out from the main circle symbolize technology, translating and connectivity.” The finalists’ designs are featured on the CIECA website: https: //www.cieca.com/info.php?pnum= 85bc7d3febc918&preview=1.

YANG Meetup Held in Conjunction With ACA Leadership Days ways extremely appreciative of its sponsors and any opportunity to netOn Sept. 18, the Young Auto Care work, and the feedback from this event Network Group (YANG) hosted a was very positive. It was everything I Regional Meetup in conjunction with thought it would be: good food, great the Auto Care Association’s 2019 people.” YANG members also had the Fall Leadership Days and Legislative Summit, held at the Hyatt Regency opportunity to attend the ACA’s 2019 Washington on Capitol Hill in Wash- Fall Leadership Days and Legislative ington, D.C. The event was spon- summit. This three-day event served as an opportunity for the association’s most engaged members to discuss industry issues and association initiatives, while the Legislative Summit offered a forum for addressing industry issues and sharing them on Capitol Hill. “The YANG Luncheon was very nicely put together by the venue. The food spread was incredible and it Young Auto Care Network Group members gathered for was great to have a nice sitnetworking during ACA’s Leadership Days in Washington, down meal and network D.C. Credit: YANG with fellow YANG memsored by Sensata Technologies and bers,” Lutz stated. “Sensata TechnoloSchrader TPMS Sensors. Jacki Lutz, gies and Schrader TPMS Sensors head of Global Marketing Communi- were very proud to sponsor this event. cations and Intelligence of Aftermar- Sensata is a huge promoter of buildket Business for Sensata Technologies, ing and retaining young talent, and said, “The YANG membership is al- Schrader is fortunate to be a part of by Chasidy Rae Sisk

NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

the Sensata family and help encourage meetings like this in the industry.” “YANG’s main purpose is to network, and that is really what the luncheon was all about. It was simply providing a scheduled event for the members to get together, connect and continue building those careerlong relationships that are so important in the automotive aftermarket,”

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YANG members enjoyed a delicious spread during their Sept. 18th luncheon. Credit: YANG

Lutz explained. “Having official meet-ups like these really make a world of difference on how the industry works together. Bringing people together in a neutral setting from all different channels is crucial to building a strong industry that continues to find success.” For more information about YANG and its events, visit autocare.org/ yang.

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autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2019 AUTOBODY NEWS

Does Automatic Emergency Braking With Pedestrian Detection Work? by David A. Wood, CarComplaints.com

Automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection is marketed as safety technology, but research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found the systems didn’t do much at all. And at night the technology did nothing to prevent crashes with pedestrians, a bad sign considering 75% of pedestrian deaths occur at night. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: “A pedestrian automatic emergency braking (PAEB) system is an emerging safety technology that provides automatic braking for vehicles when pedestrians are in the forward path of the vehicle’s travel and the driver has taken insufficient action to avoid an imminent crash.” About 6,000 pedestrians are killed each year in the U.S., so the prospect of technology to reduce those fatalities is seen as promising. AAA researchers used four midsize sedans equipped with automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection (2019 Chevy

Malibu, 2019 Honda Accord, 2019 Tesla Model 3 and 2019 Toyota Camry) and put them on a closed course using simulated pedestrians. The best results involved a car doing 20 mph during the day with an adult crossing the road, but even then, the braking/pedestrian

Collision Works Acquires DeShields

time with the car traveling 20 mph when a child ran out from between two vehicles.

Collision Works acquired DeShields Truck Services Inc. in Oklahoma City on Sept. 13, 2019. Collision Works, an auto body collision and paint repair company, is locally owned and operated now with 21 locations across Oklahoma and Kansas. The acquired company, DeShields Truck Services Inc., provides full collision repair including frame repair, painting and bodywork services for heavy-duty vehicles including semi tractor-trailers and RVs. DeShields is one of the only facilities in Oklahoma City to provide heavy-duty vehicle repair, which dovetails into the Collision Works existing business model. “We are proud to announce DeShields Truck Services Inc. is now part of the Collision Works family,” said Barry Hadlock, president of Collision Works. “Our top-notch customer service standards combined with the new heavy-duty repair technology and equipment will allow us to serve an expanded audience.” For more information about Collision Works, visit CollisionWorks.com.

• All of the test vehicles collided with the adult pedestrian after the car made a right-hand turn. • When approaching two adults standing alongside the road and with the vehicle traveling 20 mph, a collision occurred 80% of the time. • The systems were generally ineffective in all situations where the vehicle was traveling 30 mph. • At night, none of the systems detected or reacted to the adult pedestrian.

systems avoided collisions only 40% of the time. By taking the speed of the car to 30 mph, most systems completely failed to avoid the pedestrian target. That may sound bad, but other driving scenarios were even more challenging for the braking systems. AAA provided the following depressing results. • A collision occurred 89% of the

According to researchers at the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, automakers have the right intentions in creating automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection systems, but the technology has a long way to go before drivers and pedestrians can feel safe. We thank CarComplaints.com for reprint permission.

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