February 2013 Southeast Edition

Southeast Edition Florida Georgia Alabama Mississippi

31

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PartsTrader Costs “$800 in Unseen Business a Month” Says Michigan Parts Wholesaler

by Melanie Anderson

Tom Kellogg—the wholesale director for the Zeigler Automotive Group’s 13 franchises in Grandville, MI—has been using PartsTrader the past several months as one of the first test markets in State Farm’s PartsTrader program.

Kellogg has been with Zeigler since 2003 and in the industry since 1975. He says he wishes programs like PartsTrader would just go away.

“We all know that PartsTrader isn’t the greatest thing out there,” said Kellogg. “I don’t know what I am

going to do to stop it, because from what I understand, it’s pretty much here to stay. We’ve got to figure out how to work around it. Not enough writing was done on it. It’s just going to be the pathway of all things in the future to come. It’s PartsTrader today, and tomorrow it’s going to parts for you, parts for them, and pretty soon there’s a plethora of third-party people involved in our business,” he said.

“The ‘beautiful part’ is they are going to allow me to do business with the same people I’ve been doing business with for the past 10 years and See PartsTrader Costs, Page 36

Greg Coccaro Settles with Progressive Insurance

You would have to go through the stress that I did to understand it. Once it was over, I still couldn’t stop thinking about it. It took me two to three weeks to get out of ‘legal mode.’ It never left me night or day for those eight years. It was very difficult for everyone involved, but we did what we did, stood up and didn’t cave.

“I think a lot of good came out of the whole thing for the industry in a lot of ways. Anyone who has followed this can understand why. I’m very glad it’s over, and so is my family. It was a little difficult to live through some of the more stressful times, but I’m back and trying to get back to myself and how I was before.”

Asked what advice he has to See Greg Coccaro, Page 30

Change Service Requested

P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018

After eight years of battling each other in court, Progressive Insurance and Greg Coccaro, owner of North State Custom in Bedford Hills, NY, have reached a settlement ahead of a Jan. 28 trial date.

Coccaro said he could not discuss the specifics of the settlement agreement, but he did express relief that he could finally put this behind him now. “After eight years, it’s pretty weird not having to think about this anymore,” said Coccaro. “I basically can now have my life back and Greg Coccaro spend a little more time working on my business.

VOL. 3 ISSUE 12 FEBRUARY 2013

PartsTrader Discussed at January 17 Georgia Collision Industry Association Meeting Dale Sailer, VP of Business Development for PartsTrader, was the guest speaker at the January meeting of the Georgia Collision Industry Association. The meeting was held Jan. 17 at the Wyndham Hotel in Marietta in Atlanta, GA. Sailer has extensive experience in the collision repair industry. He worked at CCC Information Services Inc. from 1990–1999. With CCC, Sailer was responsible for the rollout of EZNet, CCC’s proprietary Dale Sailer network that electronically connects insurers and repair facilities. He was an original member

of the CCC Autobody Services management team and served on CCC’s cross industry team that developed the first I-CAR training class for collision repair facility front office employees.

Sailer gave a presentation to the GCIA on the Parts Trader program, explaining how they got to where they are and how they came to work with State Farm. He also explained the “core principals” that PartsTrader lives by.

“He explained that repairers choose what OE’s to invite to quote on parts,” said GCIA executive director Howard Batchelor. “He also said that shops can choose who to order from and when to order. He went on to say that PartsTrader would not share the prices with inSee PartsTrader Discussed, Page 12

New Alabama Association ALARISE Discussed Federal Tax Law Changes, Other Industry Issues on Jan. 12

The new Alabama Automotive Repair Industry Society of Excellence (ALARISE) met January 12 with about 40 attendees to discuss possible concerns related to the recent federal tax law changes, as well as the possibility of working together with the Mississippi Collision Repair Association for a joint conference in the spring.

The meeting hosted three guest speakers, I.H. McNeill, III, P.C., Tony Nethery, the current acting executive director of the Tennessee Collision Repair Association, and John Mosley, owner of Clinton Body Shops in Clinton and Richland, MS. McNeill spoke on the changing federal tax law and affects on businesses.

Nethery spoke about an association and three things an association can do: • 1) Associations can educate the consumer • 2) association members can work together on common items to bring change; and • 3) association members can help educate each other.

Mosley provided attendees an

update on actions being focused on by the Mississippi Collision Repair Association. Mr. Mosley discussed how proper P-page use in the preparation of the repair estimate has led to most insurance companies agreeing to pay for the items that had long been not included on repair estimates and thus not compensated for.

The final items addressed in the meeting were the need for members to discuss the purpose of ALARISE to not only the consumer but to other repairers and collision industry vendors Steve Plier and the importance of becoming a part of the association.

According to Steve Plier, acting executive director, it is important to ALARISE and the industry as a whole to step forward to support the technical schools and students to work to build more interest in the workforce of the future.

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Gray-Daniels Gray-Daniels Chevrolet Chevrolet • Prompt, Accurate and Free Local Delivery • Dedicated Wholesale Staff • Large Inventory Hours: Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 5:30 pm Saturday 8 am - 4 pm

Parts Manager: Eddie Williamson 800-729-6160 601-206-5894 local 601-206-5899 fax ewilliamson@graydaniels.com 6060 I-55 North, Jackson, MS 39211

Gray-Daniels Gray-Daniels Lincoln Lincoln • Trained Wholesale Crew • In State Next Day Shipping w/Quick Local Delivery • Great Discounts Hours: Monday - Friday 7 am - 6 pm Saturday 8 am - 12 pm

Parts Manager: Bill Styrone 800-898-1944 601-591-2648 fax bstyrone@graydaniels.com 201 Octavia Drive, Brandon, MS 3904

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• Collision Parts Price Matching • Dedicated Wholesale Staff • Large Inventory Hours: Monday - Friday 7 am - 6 pm Saturday 8 am - 4 pm

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Gray-Daniels Gray-Daniels Ford Ford • No Order Too Big or Too Small • Highly Experienced Parts Personnel • Great Discounts Hours: Monday - Friday 7 am - 6 pm Saturday 8 am - 12 pm

Parts Manager: Bill Styrone 800-898-1944 601-591-2648 fax bstyrone@graydaniels.com 201 Octavia Drive, Brandon, MS 39042

Gray-Daniels Toyota • Prompt, Accurate and Free Delivery • Dedicated Wholesale Staff • Large Inventory Hours: Mon. - Fri. 7am - 6 pm Saturday 8 am - 4 pm

Participating in Collision Link Parts Manager: Steve Calhoun 800-530-7955 601-948-0576 601-965-8458 fax scalhoun@graydaniels.com 104 Gray-Daniels Blvd., Brandon, MS 39042

Gray-Daniels Gray-Daniels Scion Scion • No Order Too Big or Too Small • Highly Experienced Parts Personnel • Great Discounts Hours: Mon. - Fri. 7:30 am - 6 pm Saturday 8 am - 4 pm

Participating in Collision Link Parts Manager: Steve Calhoun 800-530-7955 601-948-0576 601-965-8458 fax scalhoun@graydaniels.com 104 Gray-Daniels Blvd., Brandon, MS 39042

2 FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

WWW.GRAYDANIELS.COM For All Your Collisions Part Needs

Contents

NATIONAL 3M Assists 19 Collision School Programs with $160,000 in Production Donations . 34 8 Quirky Traffic Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Alcoa Awards $40,000 Aluminum Training Grant to Collision Repair Education Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Audatex’s AutoWatch App Updates Customers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Automaker, OEM and Recall News . . . . . . 22 Automotive Ladies Lauded at Urban Wheels Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Automotive Scholarship Applications Now Available . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 California Department of Insurance Approves New Aftermarket Part Regulations . . . . 30 Centenarian Donates Rolls-Royce to Museum after 78 Years of Use . . . . . . . 33 Cintas Typecasts the Worst Driving Offenders and Offers Safety Tips . . . . . 16 Class A Shop Requirements May Change, CIC Says . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Collision Repair Education Foundation Offers $300,00 in Scholarships

King family.”

Pat James, president of AutoBody America, and Will Johnston, vice president of AutoBody America, will continue serving in leadership roles with the company.

“I am so thrilled at this opportunity to join forces with such a solid company that will help my team reach their potential for professional growth,” James said.

Texas-based Service King now operates a total of 83 repair locations with 16 in Tennessee, 55 in Texas, one in Mississippi, three in Arkansas and eight in Arizona.

“Pat, Will and their team have done a wonderful job of serving their customers and insurance partners. We are so excited to build on that level of customer service and become a part of each community,” said Chris Abraham, CEO of Service King.

“Our new team members at AutoBody America will enhance our already talented and tenured leadership team and we are excited about this partnership continuing to spur future growth for the company,” Abraham said.

Service King currently employs more than 1,800 individuals in Texas and Arizona.

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst General Manager: Barbara Davies Assistant Editor: Melanie Anderson Contributing Writers: Tom Franklin, Stefan Gesterkamp, John Yoswick, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess, Rich Evans, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman, Jay Lukes (800) 699-8251 Sales Assistant: Louise Tedesco Art Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Southeast

COLUMNISTS Attanasio: Why Should Body Shops Have a Website? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Franklin: Aligning with Agents. . . . . . . . . . 12 Insider: Changes at I-CAR a Good Foundation to Build Upon . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Yoswick: Action on Insurer ‘Most-Favored Nation’ Clauses May be on the Horizon . 18

and Tool Grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Custom Painter JoAnn Bortles Named Automotive Spokesperson for Hypertherm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Famed Batmobile Sold for $4.6 Million at Auction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 FHWA Estimates 2012 Fatalities . . . . . . . . 10 Global Electric Vehicle Sales Could Reach 3.8 Million by 2020, Research Firm Says . 39 Greg Coccaro Settles with Progressive Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 I-CAR Hosts Automotive Training Expo in March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 I-CAR: Necessary Culture Changes for Blueprinting Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Judge to Rule Soon on Batmobile Copyright Suit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 NABC Gives Update on ‘Operation Comfort’ Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 NABC Launches Newly Revised Corporate Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 NADA Hosts 48 Workshops at 2013 Convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 NADA Lines Up Keynote Speakers for Feb. 8–11 Convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 NADA Names New President Peter Welch to Post. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 New App Gives Shops New Way to Update Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 New Insurance Laws Take Effect in 2013. . 37 NHTSA Wants Loud Electric, Hybrid Cars to Save Lives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 PartsTrader Costs “$800 in Unseen Business a Month” Says Michigan Parts Wholesaler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 PartsTrader Releases Supplier Feedback Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 PCIA and ACIC Complain About New California Aftermarket Regulations . . . 30 PPG Awards $20,000 to Collision Repair Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Safelite Acquires Windshield World in Vermont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Safelite Group Acquires Boston-Based Giant Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 SCRS Holds Open Board Meeting Jan. 23 in Calif. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Stafford, VA, Shop Sold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Think Outside the Truck Box: Spray Lining, A Coating Profit Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Thousands of Sandy Ruined Cars to be Crushed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Top Safety Picks for 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Toyota Working on Safety Technology to Reduce Traffic Deaths, Create Self-Driving Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 TUFF TV Greenlights New Reality Series, Auto Wars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Two Jobbers Expand with Acquisitions . . . 38 U.S. Fines Toyota $17 Million for Not Quickly Reporting Problems, Delaying Recall . . 39 Vote: 2013 ASA Board Elections . . . . . . . 10 West VA Court Bars Insurer from Selling Used and Aftermarket Parts . . . . . . . . . 14 Work-Related Vehicle Accidents, Claims Down During Recession. . . . . . . . . . . . 14

AutoBody America, a 20-shop collision repair operation with locations in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas, was acquired by Service King Collision Repair Centers on Dec. 30. The transactions include markets in Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Jackson, TN, Jackson, MS, and Fayettville.

Service King said it will retain AutoBody America’s 250 employees throughout the 20 locations, which will have the capacity to repair more than 40,000 vehicles annually.

“We are very excited to partner with a great company in AutoBody America,” said Mike Abbott, market vice president for Service King.

“Our two companies have similar histories, which makes this merger a natural fit. AutoBody America and their great team will provide a strong platform for Service King in the southeastern United States,” Abbott added.

Jeff McFadden, president of Service King, said, “It’s comforting to partner with an organization that delivers the level of customer service that Service King customers have grown accustomed, and we are very excited to welcome the professionals at AutoBody America to the Service

Indexof Advertisers

REGIONAL 1,000 Jobs to be Created with New GM Information Technology Center Near Atlanta . 6 Actor/Activist Danny Glover Joins Nissan Workers’ Right to Unionize Campaign. . 15 AkzoNobel Hosts Winter Conference in FL . 6 Alabama Plant Has Record Year . . . . . . . . . 4 Auto Body Scammer Used Play-Doh to Fake Repairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Body Found Outside Florida Auto Parts Store . 4 CARSTAR Expands Business Development Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 CARSTAR Opens New Shop in Ocala, FL . . 4 Florida Reports a Decrease in Crashes at Intersections with Red-Light Cameras . 10 Mechanical Repairs Top List of Miami Complaints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Missouri Dealership Donates Parts to School Repair Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 New Alabama Association ALARISE Discussed Federal Tax Law Changes . . . 1 Nissan Shifting Murano Output to MS from Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 PartsTrader Discussed at January 17 Georgia Collision Industry Association Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Sales of Alabama-Made Vehicles Rose 6% in 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Sales of Honda’s Alabama-Made Odyssey Drop in December, But 2012 Ends Well . 4 Service King Acquires AutoBody America . 3 Wounded Warrior Receives New Car from Sterling Autobody, Allstate Insurance . . . 7

Service King Acquires AutoBody America

Serving Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and adjacent metro areas, Autobody News is a monthly publication for the auto body industry. Permission to reproduce in any form the material published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher. ©2013 Adamantine Media LLC.

Autobody News

Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018; (800) 699-8251 (760) 721-0253 Fax www.autobodynews.com Email: news@autobodynews.com

Allan Vigil Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers. 17

BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 33

Lythos Studios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

CCC Information Services . . . . . . . . 5

Mazda Wholesale Parts . . . . . . . . . 34

Car-Part Pro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

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

CSS USA, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Malco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Mercedes-Benz Wholesale Parts

Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Don Reid Ford. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 19

Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers

Nissan Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . 38

Equalizer Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

FL, GA, AL, MS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

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

Gray-Daniels Auto Family . . . . . . . . . 2 Gus Machado Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts

Dealers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-21

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . 35

Innovative Tools & Technologies, Inc. 7 Jim Ellis Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Nalley BMW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Palmers Toyota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Porsche Wholesale Parts Dealers . 29

Serra Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Southtowne Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Spray-Lining and Coatings . . . . . 9, 40 Subaru of Gwinnett . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 33 Tameron Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 37

www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

Alabama Plant Has Record Year The two cars produced at Hyundai’s Alabama plant both set records in 2012, helping the Korean automaker reach a new high for annual U.S. sales. 2012 sales of the Montgomerymade Sonata sedan and Elantra compact both topped 200,000, a first for the Elantra. The cars are the company’s top two sellers in the U.S. Last year’s sales of the Sonata rose 2% while Elantra sales grew 8.4% to 202,034. In December alone, Sonata sales improved 20% and sales of the Elantra increased 46%. For the year, the company sold 703,007 vehicles, up 9% over 2011.

Missouri Dealership Donates Parts to School Repair Program Springfield Imports recently gave $11,000 worth of parts to Crowder Colleges’ Collision Repair Department. Students will use the vehicle pieces to practice air bag installations, sheet metal replacements, and frame work.

“Anything that we can get is greatly appreciated and sometimes we can’t get the things we actually need to do instruction with and things like this can really help us,’ said Doug Donnel, Crowder Repair Instructor.

Sales of Honda’s AlabamaMade Odyssey Drop in December, But 2012 Ends Well

U.S. sales of the Alabama-built Honda Odyssey minivan dropped 20.6% in December, but annual sales of the flagship model produced at the Japanese automaker’s Talladega County plant still ended up in the black, reported AL.com.

Honda said it sold 9,126 Odysseys in December, compared to 11,489 in December 2011. For the year, Odyssey sales totaled 125,980, up 18% from 2011.

Results were mixed for the other vehicles made at the Lincoln, AL, plant.

December sales of the Pilot SUV dropped 2.4% to 11,366, while annual sales also fell, by 1%, to 114,848.

For the Ridgeline pickup, December sales totaled 1,553, a 6% improvement. Ridgeline sales for 2012 also grew to 14,068, up 44% over 2011.

Across its model lines, Honda sold 132,774 vehicles in the U.S. during December, a 26% increase from the year-ago period. For all of 2012, sales grew 24% to more than 1.4 million.

PartsTrader Releases Supplier Feedback Results

PartsTrader contracted with CSi Complete, an independent research organization, to survey participating parts suppliers within its first four pilot markets. PartsTrader says 67% of parts suppliers gave high marks to the functionality of the PartsTrader product. Over half (53%) of the suppliers indicated a score of 7 or above regarding their overall satisfaction with PartsTrader - on a scale of 0 (Poor) and 10 (Excellent). When asked specifically about their overall opinion of PartsTrader as a procurement tool, 67% responded with a score of 7 or higher.

PartsTrader said a 93% satisfaction score was given to the efforts of PartsTrader employees. During early internal surveys of repairers and suppliers, the performance of PartsTrader staff had been identified as an area needing improvement.

The survey also identified some areas where improvements should be addressed. PartsTrader will continue to work with industry stakeholders both within and outside of their Advisory Council to make service and product improvements as needed.

www.autobodynews.com C

Sales of Alabama-Made Vehicles Rose 6% in 2012

U.S. sales of Alabama-made vehicles grew 6% in 2012, a strong year for an industry that saw demand return to a level not seen in five years.

Combined sales of the cars, trucks, SUVs and minivans built by Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Hyundai in Alabama totaled 753,151 last year, compared to 708,805 in 2011, reported AL.com.

For December alone, sales rose 10% to 69,256.

The biggest winners for the year, volume-wise, were the Hyundai Sonata sedan and the Hyundai Elantra compact, which both broke the 200,000 mark.

As for sales growth, the Honda Ridgeline pickup led the pack in 2012, with a 44% improvement from 2011. It was followed by the Honda Odyssey minivan, with 18% growth.

Total U.S. light vehicle sales climbed to nearly 14.5 million, the highest annual total since 2007 and a 13.4% improvement over 2011, according to Autodata Corp.

“We see all the fundamentals still being in place,” said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst for Edmunds.com. “People need to buy cars. They need to get to work.”

4 FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Body Found Outside Florida Auto Parts Store

Auto Body Scammer Used Play-Doh to Fake Repairs

Two teens, a 14- and a 17-year-old, were questioned by police in mid December after a body was found behind the Advance Auto Parts store in Hallandale Beach, FL. Police were called in at 4:30 a.m. about an altercation behind the auto parts store. When cops arrived on the scene, they spotted the two teens standing over a man who was on the ground. When the teens spotted the police, they took off running.

The two were quickly caught, according to Hallandale Police Chief Dwayne Fluornoy.

The body lay next to stacked cardboard boxes and covered in a tarp. Paramedics on the scene found the man unresponsive. According to police, the injuries on the body were consistent with being beat up.

According to the Miami Herald, there was a laptop involved in the incident. A witness who lives in Mickey's Mobile Home and RV Park, which is not far from the auto parts store, claims to have heard screaming just before dawn.

For the time being, the two teens are just being questioned. Further details of the ongoing investigation are still pending.

In Port Richey, FL, authorities say a man defrauded his customers by using Play-Doh to “repair” their damaged cars.

Pasco County sheriff’s detectives believe the scam artist defrauded at least three people and may have more victims.

Nicholas Johnson, 33, of Port Richey was arrested and charged with retail theft and scheming to defraud.

Detectives say that in each case, Johnson claimed he was going to make permanent auto body work repairs, but instead used the toy compound—originally described as Silly Putty by detectives—and wax to cover up the damage.

Johnson claimed he would return the next day to finish the repairs, but he never did, detectives said.

Detectives say Johnson found his victims by driving around neighborhoods and parking lots and approaching people who needed body repair work. He was arrested in mid December and released from jail on $5,150 bond. Jail records indicate he has been arrested in the past on drugrelated charges and for interfering with child custody.

CARSTAR Expands Business Development Team

CARSTAR Opens New Shop in Ocala, Florida

CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts recently expanded its business development team by hiring Sean Darcy as director of network development for the Western U.S. and Southern California markets, and Tom Pelletier as director of network development for the South and Southeast markets.

Darcy was recently with Fix Auto and was responsible for sales and conversions. He brings more than 15 years of professional experience in collision repair and the automotive insurance industry. Previously, he served as vice president of ICC Collision Centers, and business development manager at Philip Thearle’s Autowerks.

Pelletier comes to CARSTAR from the Automotive Training Institute, where he served as a senior management consultant. He has 20 years of experience in the automotive business, both in the collision business and sales. Former positions include director of sales for ALLDATA, vice president of sales and marketing for Maxwell Emissions, and distribution/regional business manager with Snap-On Tools.

CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts recently opened a new store, Perfection Collision CARSTAR, in Ocala, FL. Owned by Michael Lessard, Lisa Lessard and Deanne Bonnet, Perfection Collision CARSTAR is the first CARSTAR location in Ocala.

CARSTAR states that Perfection Collision CARSTAR will offer an array of services and products for collision repair, including the latest in repair technology, rental vehicles, national warranties on repairs and turnkey service for customers.

CARSTAR also states that the new store will benefit from the CARSTAR Management System, which provides resources to improve key business metrics such as cycle time, participation in CARSTAR’s 19 corporately managed DRP programs, and improved purchasing power from 45 corporately managed purchasing programs.

“We are excited to welcome Perfection Collision CARSTAR to the CARSTAR network,” said CARSTAR CEO David Byers. “We are thrilled to expand our presence in Florida with this new top-notch collision repair center.”

More Mobility.

CCC ONE™ Repair Workflow users can do even more with the CCC ONE™ Tablet, accessing production, parts and labor dashboards to manage all of their work-inprocess and assign work based on individual roles from anywhere. The CCC ONE Tablet also includes the CCC ONE message center, taking inter-shop communications to the shop floor and eliminating the need for handwritten notes or informal reminders that can fall through the cracks.

CCC ONE™ Tablet Delivering more functionality in the palm of your hands.

To learn more about CCC ONE™ Tablet, logon to www.ccc-one.com/tablet or call us at 888-832-1764. ©2013 CCC Information Services Inc. All rights reserved.

Where it all comes together.®

www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 5

1,000 Jobs to be Created with New GM Information Technology Center Near Atlanta General Motors Co. said it will open a new IT center in suburban Atlanta, GA, adding about 1,000 new high-tech jobs, the Detroit News recently reported.

GM announced the third of four planned IT centers in Roswell, GA, at an event with Gov. Nathan Deal.

“This Innovation Center is exactly the kind of employer we want in the state,” said Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. “The information age will be with us for a long time, and attracting companies such as GM that are on the cutting edge of manufacturing and technology is a huge win for Georgia.”

GM said the new Information Technology Innovation Center will employ software developers, project managers, database experts, business analysts and other IT professionals.

“Locating this center in Atlanta makes good business sense,” said GM Chief Information Officer Randy Mott. “We can draw from a deep pool of high-tech expertise through the surrounding colleges, universities and talent residing in the area.”

GM is in the midst of transforming its information technology organization and plans to hire fewer than 10,000 workers as it in-sources the majority of its information technology work.

GM already has hired more than 700 IT employees to work at the Innovation Centers in Austin, TX, and Warren in Macomb County. GM plans to hire up to 1,500 for the center at its Warren Tech Center over the next four years.

Mott is leading a rebalancing of information technology at GM under which the majority of IT work will be done by GM employees instead of being outsourced, which has been the GM model for most of the last three decades.

“We look to the Innovation Centers to design and deliver IT that drives down the cost of ongoing operations while continuously increasing the level and speed at which innovative products and services are available to GM customers,” Mott said.

“The IT Innovation Centers are critical to our overall GM business strategy and IT transformation.”

GM said the location of the fourth site will be announced at a later date, but said it is looking for “geographic diversity” in the offices.

Mott, a former Hewlett-Packard Co. employee hired by GM in February, criticized HP’s legal request last month to depose two former HP employees that went to work for GM.

Nissan Shifting Murano Output to MS from Japan

The Murano crossover will become the eighth model built at Nissan’s Canton plant in Mississippi and the third nameplate the company has shifted out of Japan in recent months.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, following through on a vow to lessen the company’s reliance on expensive Japanese manufacturing and compete better in North America, has ordered output of the Murano crossover shifted to Canton, MS. The decision was announced at the Mississippi plant by Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant.

The shift is scheduled to take place during the second half of 2014 when the next-generation Murano is expected to go on sale.

About 90% of Muranos are made at Nissan’s Kyushu plant in southwestern Japan. About 70% of that plant’s output was exported to the United States. The Murano is also assembled in China and Russia.

Nissan’s factory in Smyrna, TN, has just started commercial production of the electric Leaf, which has been struggling to compete in the United States since Nissan began importing it from Japan in December 2010. This year, the Smyrna plant also will begin production of the Rogue

crossover, which currently is imported from Japan.

Japanese automakers have been building their high-volume U.S. sellers in North American since the 1980s. But the stubbornly strong yen is now vexing Japanese industry planners more than ever.

Ghosn also has promised to move production of Nissan Motor Co.’s luxury Infiniti vehicles out of Japan.

Last year, Infiniti began building the new three-row JX crossover at the Smyrna factory. And recently the company said it will build a new entrylevel Infiniti in the United Kingdom.

The company has additional sourcing plans in the works for Mexico. Nissan is constructing a $2 billion factory there and has not indicated what models it will build.

Nissan dealers sold 51,675 Muranos in the United States last year, down 4% from 2011. But the company believes it can do better when it is redesigned for a new generation next year.

Nissan North America’s U.S. market share fell in 2012, despite increased sales. The company closed the year with a combined Nissan and Infiniti market share of 7.9%, down from 8.2% at the end of 2011.

6 FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

HP said in a legal filing that 18 HP employees at its Global IT office quit on Nov. 30 and went to work en masse for GM’s new Austin IT center.

Two HP employees in Alpharetta, GA, also resigned and went to work for GM on Nov. 30.

HP said the two senior employees that it wants to depose had contracts that barred them from trying to convince HP employees to leave and join a rival firm for a year after they left HP. In October, GM announced plans to hire 3,000 HP employees for IT operations it had outsourced.

GM said it reached a deal with HP to in-source about 3,000 HP employees already running GM’s information technology operations. Under the terms of the agreement, the workers will become employees of GM. Mott called the HP action “a fishing expedition” and “very retaliatory and harassing” to the two former HP employees that the firm wants to question.

Previously, about 10% of information technology operations are handled within GM by about 1,500 workers globally.

The other 90% is handled by about 10,000 people outside GM and Mott wants to flip those percentages over the next three to five years.

AkzoNobel Hosts Winter Conference in Florida

AkzoNobel Automotive & Aerospace Coatings Americas (A&AC) will host the 39th semi-annual gathering of the Acoat selected North American Performance Groups in Florida in early February. This meeting is the first of two national Acoat selected gatherings held annually by AkzoNobel, one of the top coatings manufacturers in the world.

The conference, scheduled for Feb. 6-8 at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota in Florida, will provide information and insights for two groups critical for shaping the future of the collision repair industry.

“Acoat selected’s record of success in helping businesses advance within the collision repair industry spans more than 25 years,” noted Barry Rinehart, North American Services Manager for AkzoNobel Automotive & Aerospace Coatings Americas.

Attendees will participate in an extensive offering of classes designed to promote practices intended to perpetuate sustainable business models. The curriculum will address industry trends, technology and leadership training.

Mechanical Repairs Top List of Miami Complaints For six years, Miami consumers have complained about vehicle repairs more than any other service.

People call Miami-Dade’s Consumer Protection Mediation Center to voice their complaints about a variety of things.

“We get every type of complaint you could imagine,” said Alejandra Castro-Nunez, public relations specialist with the Miami-Dade County Business Affairs Division.

But for the sixth year in a row, consumers’ biggest gripe is vehicle repairs, with 696 written complaints filed in 2012, according to a report by the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources’ consumer protection center.

A big portion of the vehicle repair complaints are about mechanics.

Drivers who aren’t auto experts are susceptible to getting ripped off.

However, vehicle repair complaints saw a 29% decrease from 2011. Castro-Nunez attributes this in part to multiple citations starting to catch up with vehicle repair businesses.

“They’re getting the message,” she said. “It’s very easy to scam someone and tell them something’s wrong that’s not wrong. So it’s an in-

dustry that’s very high in scams.”

Gabe Cortez, owner of Plaza Tire & Auto Center, doesn’t receive many complaints from customers.

The key to his success, he said, is strong supervision, guidelines for employees and maintaining communication with customers.

“There are procedures,” he said.

“There’s nothing magic about it.”

Cortez started his business in 1977 with one mechanic. He now has six, but he said the principles are the same. “Treat the customer with friendliness and professionalism, and that’s about it.”

The next-highest number of complaints came from for-hire transportation, at 394 complaints. Other categories high on the list were housing service (175 complaints), towing (171 complaints) and automotive sales (153 complaints).

Castro-Nunez said the county’s consumer advocates can still cite businesses they don’t regulate, but if there’s a pattern of complaints against such a business, they usually sue for unfair and deceptive business practices. Sometimes, an investigation can get thousands of dollars back. Last year, the center garnered about $1.2 million in reimbursements.

Wounded Warrior Receives New Car from Sterling Autobody and Allstate Insurance in Georgia Allstate Insurance Co. and Sterling Autobody Centers gifted a wounded warrior in need of reliable transportation with a recycled car during a ceremony Dec. 21 in Duluth, GA.

through the NABC Recycled Rides Program in 2012. The vehicles were restored by technicians at Sterling auto body repair shops.

Mayor Nancy Harris participated in the ceremony at the Sterling Autobody Center at 3274 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. in Duluth. The car was presented to Sgt. Smith by Jonathan Entrekin, general manager of the Duluth Sterling Autobody.

“Reliable transportation is something many of us take for granted,” said Nancy Lemke, a spokesperson for Allstate. “We are proud to join with Sterling Autobody to transform lives and touch families and Duluth Mayor Nancy Harris, second from left; organizations across the country.

Sgt. Tracy Smith, center; Duluth Sterling AutoWhile the gift of a vehicle provides body General Manager Jonathan Entrekin, a practical means of transportation, second from right; and additional representawhat it really provides is hope.” tives from Sterling Autobody in Duluth. Credit Allstate and Sterling Autobody Allstate Centers have participated in the ReThe 2010 Chevrolet Traverse was cycled Rides initiative for the past given to Sgt. Tracy Smith, a member five years and have refurbished and of the Georgia National Guard, through gifted more than 100 vehicles. Sterthe National Auto Body Council’s Re- ling Autobody Centers is owned by Allstate. cycled Rides Program.

Sterling Autobody Centers operAllstate Insurance and Sterling Autobody Centers have donated more ates more than 60 vehicle repair facilthan 40 refurbished automobiles ities in 16 states.

www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 7

Think Outside the Truck Box: Spray Lining, A Coating Profit Engine

by Ed Attanasio

By guiding body shops, distributors and dealers in the right direction, Spray-Lining and Coatings can advise companies such as collision repairers, automotive restoration companies and car detailers to get into the industrial coatings field and succeed at a high level.

Billy Simmons, owner of Bottom Line Coatings in Houston and Texas City, TX, an automotive detailing business added Spray-Lining to its capabilities several years ago.

“At first, we were coating truck beds, which we still do. But, now we’re doing big jobs, mostly marine applications for boat builders and marine structures such as piles and piers,” Simmons said. “It’s been a great source of revenue for us, because the profit margins are high and the product is well-supported. You can apply high-spec coatings to pretty much anything.”

Spray-Lining’s Dealership Support Director Jeff Powell is a seasoned veteran of the industrial coatings game, so he knows how to make it or break it in this business, he explained. Powell works closely with each of his distributors nationwide to show them where there’s money to be made by tapping into all of the applications that require industrial coatings.

Before: This truck bed looks hopeless!

“We provide the training for body shops that want to look for different sources of revenue. Collision repairers, detailers and customizers have gravitated toward this business model, because it all starts in the automotive niche, doing truck beds primarily. But then if they want to go for larger jobs, such as doing things like larger com-

mercial trucks, warehouses, garage Lining and Coatings on a daily basis.

“We don’t just push inventory and floors, waterscapes, koi ponds and pools—it’s like a blood transfusion. then watch you sink or swim, like some of the other companies out There are more and more applications out there that need these products, and there,” he said. “The true value of with our body shop’s technical ex- working with us is our expertise. It’s pertise, coupled with decades of really that simple. Anyone can get the Spray-Lining experience, we’re able to guide body shops to new business they could not get otherwise.”

By marketing their dealers via the Internet and through direct mail, trade shows, custom signage, broadcast and print advertising in protected regions, Spray-Lining and The applications for Spray-Lining and Coatings are countless Coatings sets up its right equipment and learn how to automotive partners for success, Powapply the coatings themselves. But, ell said. can they land big ticket jobs and keep “We’ve done the same thing for the ball rolling, while avoiding comhundreds of companies all over North mon mistakes the competition might America, so it’s proven. It’s even proven in British Columbia, where the make?”

Michael Knab, owner of Shammy government controls the collision Shine in Antigo, WI, sells car wash claims process. We know how to chemicals and installs car wash equipmake money in the linings business ment. He is a Spray-Lining and Coatand can turn a small investment into ings dealer and has developed the serious income with equity rather quickly using promos, training, equip- endeavor into a lucrative side business, he explained. ment and technical savvy. We’re in“Your imagination is the limit terested in selling products, of course, with how you can use these coatings, because there are so many applications out there. Truck beds are definitely a good portion of the work we get, but we also do a lot of agricultural applications, trailers, boats, swimming pools, waterscapes, and bumpers on commercial vehicles, for example. I’ve even used them on steel-toed boots for a customer, believe or not. It’s a great product, because it is easy to apply once you get used to it. You can match colors or shoot it clear and it’s extremely versatile and adaptable.”

As a new Spray-Lining and Coatings distributor or by using a DIY kit, As a new Spray-Lining and Coatings distributor or by using a DIY kit, body shops can get body shops can get involved in an ininvolved in an industry that’s exploding dustry that is currently flourishing and but we focus more on promoting our growing, Powell said. dealers locally versus the national “We will loan you the equipment brands, so that they can make a solid for free for the first year and steer you markup and build their businesses.” in the right direction for more jobs and Support is the key, because withnon-automotive applications. We asout it, body shops can’t easily create sist you with the big job pricing, bidan ancillary business like the one ding processes and by working with Powell does for companies via Spray- our support department, you’ll have

8 FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

answers available to you 24/7. Truck beds will bring you some additional revenue to your collision customers and you’ll also get phone calls and emails asking for bids on a wide range of different projects. By providing a better alternative to Rhino or Line-X at a lower cost, income streams can propagate rapidly. For that reason, we’re looking for body shops that want to look outside the truck bed and consider other new sources of income relevant to their experience.”

By leveraging its understanding of the industry, Spray-Lining and Coatings can take on the competition and prevail against any of the “national” names in the business, Powell said. “We started in agriculture doing slip-proofing on large trailers and livestock barns and anti-stick coatings on chutes, bins, hoppers and dump trucks, well before the term “bed liner” was coined.”

“We’re an alternative for companies such as Rhino, Line-X, Scorpion Coatings and DuPont Paint Protection films because our products provide a lower-cost solution to bed liners. By providing a wide range of variable textures and high-tensile clear, we’re able to offer an affordable and proven system that can supersede the usual solutions,” Powell said.

Money making applications include jobs such as the surfacing of playgrounds

Collision repairers are often careful about exploring anything not within a comfort zone, but Powell has found forward thinkers from Massachusetts to Arizona and everywhere in between, he said, that have chosen to work with Spray-Lining and Coatings.

“Most shops can see the synergy between the collision business and what we’re doing,” Powell said.

“Many of our body shop dealers are using this system and doing very well performing automotive-related jobs.

But, others have embraced other uses for these products. 2013 may be the right time to look around for newest methods to profit, depending less on collision, insurance or low profit DRPs: Raising profit in the end.”

A Successful Alternative Income Stream* Reduce Collision Dependency, Complexities, Unfairness. Start Spray-Lining & Experience Profitable Avenues

ows this n k g in in -L y ra p S " d out. business inside asn with They provide u cluding great support—in ble marketing, valuae and technical experttiisons." ongoing promo -Billy Simmons oatings,

ine C Owner of Bottom-L City, Texas Houston and Texas

- 24/7/365 Technical Support - Never Pay Dealer Fees. No Fine Print - Beat Rhino/Line X; Target Bedliner Volume - Non Auto Markets and Applications=jobs and $$ - Equipment/Training Included: New/Rebuild/Loaners - Voted #1 Aftermarket Dealership ROI: NACE, AASP, MATS - Fair Trade: Your crew’s LABOR for our MARKETING- Your calls, your jobs, our product.

- Immediate Cure Clear Spray on Paint Protection Film All Colors & Textures 100% Spray Control *46% of Spray-Lining™ Dealers migrated auto shops for coatings jobs; 38% abandoned collision completly, remainder are FT professional coatings crews. Contact oiur dealers & verify this.

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www.spray-lining.com info4@spray-lining.com

Take on the Big Boys! www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 9

Florida Reports a Decrease in Crashes at Intersections with Red-Light Cameras Crashes are down at Florida intersections equipped with red-light cameras, according to a new state report.

A report of accidents compiled by the state from 73 different law enforcement agencies found that more than half of Florida agencies—41— say accidents are less frequent at intersections using red-light camera technology. Crashes were more frequent in just 11 of the 73 jurisdictions while the rest saw no change or didn’t have enough information, the Miami Herald/Times Tallahassee bureau reported.

The five-page report from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles contains data from Hillsborough County, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale and Miami and includes accidents between July 2011 and June 2012.

In that time, Miami issued 98,062 violations while Fort Lauderdale issued 19,544. Accidents at intersections with cameras were down in Miami but up in Fort Lauderdale, according to officials.

Most agencies also reported that traffic safety had improved throughout their jurisdictions “as drivers were more cautious when approaching all intersections.”

The statistics have been delivered to the Legislature, and are likely to influence debate on whether red-light cameras are in Florida to stay. Lawmakers have tried to outlaw the cameras in years past.

“The report provides information to lawmakers they can use to help them make decisions about red light cameras, if necessary,” said Kirsten Olsen-Doolan, a highway safety spokeswoman.

Although Florida legalized redlight cameras in 2010, the issue is debated in Tallahassee. Camera companies employ dozens of lobbyists and pay big money to ward off lawmakers who want to halt what they see as government intrusion.

Charles Territo, a spokesman for American Traffic Solutions, a camera company, says the lobbyists are charged with correcting misinformation about traffic cameras.

“The hope is that over time, as reports like this show crash reductions, those who oppose the programs philosophically will at least agree they provide a significant safety benefit,” Territo said. “Drivers pay more attention and drive more safely when they know an intersection is being monitored 24 hours per day seven days per week, and that’s not something many

New App Gives Shops New Way to Update Status

Audatex North America, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Solera Holdings, Inc., the leading global claims solutions provider serving the automotive industry, recently launched a new iPhone app for AutoWatch, its web-powered repair tracking solution. The new app follows the July introduction of an AutoWatch Android app and is available as a free download to all AutoWatch customers via iTunes and the iPhone App Store.

AutoWatch gives collision repair facilities a proven way to enhance customer service and improve customer communication by allowing vehicle owners to view the progress of their repairs online. Repairers use the solution daily to upload and post digital photos and the latest vehicle repair status information to an interactive website, keeping customers up to date through completion of the job.

Now, repair facilities can upload this same repair status information quickly and conveniently via their iPhones—whether they’re away from the office or working on the shop floor. At the same time, vehicle owners can choose to receive AutoWatch vehicle status updates on the web, via email or text message, and can even share updates with friends via Face-

book.

“With both Android and iPhone apps now available for AutoWatch, we’re covering every corner of the smart phone market in order to give shops all the options they need to connect more effectively with vehicle owners,” said Gordon Henderson, Vice President, Collision Repair Services, Audatex North America. “Better communication not only leads to an improved claim experience, but also translates into more referral business as well as stronger DRP relationships.”

Hundreds of AutoWatch users are now taking advantage of the mobile apps to issue instant repair updates from their smart phones, according to Henderson.

“I really like the ease and convenience of the AutoWatch iPhone App,” said Greg James, Manager of Rick Warner Body Shop in Salt Lake City, UT. “Having AutoWatch in my pocket on my phone has certainly helped me keep my customers better informed of their repair status.”

Henderson added, “The mobile apps are taking off as AutoWatch has been proven to reduce incoming customer phone calls, compress cycle times and, ultimately, increase customer satisfaction.”

10 FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

police departments have the manpower to do.”

Red-light cameras came under scrutiny in St. Petersburg after city staffers prepared a hefty report for the City Council but left out the fact that accidents at intersections with the cameras had jumped by 10%.

Sen. Jack Latvala, R-St. Petersburg, former chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, believes accidents will decrease once people get used to the cameras—because they won’t get nervous and hit their breaks. St. Petersburg installed its cameras in November 2011 and is one of the newer programs in the state.

But Sen. Rene Garcia, RHialeah, who filed a failed measure in 2011 to ban the cameras, questions whether the data is driven by financial interests.

The state gets $70 from every violation caught on camera and local governments have also seen big revenue hikes. Law enforcement agencies issued nearly a million violations last year.

“If it was really about safety, then why is the money going toward filling budget holes?” asked Garcia, adding that he’s lost the fight to eliminate the cameras, but will work to alleviate their problems.

Vote: 2013 ASA Board Elections

Voting is open through the end of February to elect the 2013 Automotive Service Association (ASA) national board of directors. All regular members in good standing with ASA are eligible to vote for one position of general director. Casting a vote is done by calling a toll-free telephone number or visiting a secure voting site, which may be accessed from ASA’s website at www.ASAshop.org.

The voting line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until voting closes at 5 p.m. Central Time on Feb. 28, 2013.

FHWA Estimates 2012 Fatalities

A statistical projection of traffic fatalities for the first half of 2012 shows that an estimated 16,290 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes. This represents an increase of about 9% as compared to the estimated 14,950 fatalities that occurred in the first half of 2011.

Preliminary data reported by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) shows that vehicle miles traveled in the first six months of 2012 increased by about 15.6 billion miles, or about a 1.1% increase.

www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 11

On Creative Marketing Aligning with Agents

with Thomas Franklin

As insurance companies set up 800 number claims lines or move away from agents altogether with direct sales and service on-line, agents have become less of a marketing target for many shops. Nevertheless, there are still numerous agents almost everywhere, and many of their customers still call them when they have an accident. Agents are still a good referral source for collision repair business, but today an agent might be more particular about who he or she refers business to. Getting and keeping an insurance customer has become more difficult for agents today. Competition from noagent, direct online companies is very intense these days. There are continual advertisements on TV, radio and the Internet, and low-ball rates to hook customers are common. It’s not easy for an agent to get new customers.

Some shops go to great lengths to get an agent’s referrals. I’ve heard of some that invite them for hunting parties, fishing trips, barbecues, golf tournaments, and trips to exotic places. A while back, one shop had a threemonth promotion where anyone bringing his or her car in for repair would have a chance to win a paid vacation to Continued from Cover

PartsTrader Discussed

surers. Dale showed a live demonstration of how shops would use the program and then how suppliers used the program. He answered many

Dale Sailer from PartsTrader

questions from the audience, but when it came to State Farm’s mandate, Dale could not answer those questions. PartsTrader is a very good program, but the way State Farm has mandated that shops use it or they will no longer be on Selective Serv-

Hawaii. But the shop went further than that: They notified the agents that whichever agent referred the winner would also win a trip to Hawaii! Another shop initiated the practice of filling every customer’s tank with gas, and noting that the fill-up was “Courtesy of the Agent.”

Some insurance companies forbid their agents from accepting any gift. But what an agent would value above all else is not a gift, but rather a new customer. But how can a shop help local agents in their search for new customers? Many shops now ask customers to fill out a “Customer Satisfaction Survey” when a job is completed, or have a CSI company call them. Those with a view to building a stronger relationship with the agents can include a question on the survey regarding the customer’s satisfaction with his or her agent. These are then passed along to the agent as a free service.

Many agents seek to sell their expertise as a way to get new customers.

Not everyone is happy with the impersonal nature of online insurance services. These days, insurance companies try to bundle home, health, life and auto insurance as a package. Covering

ice has aggravated many shops. We will see how the program rolls out when the pilot has ended in Chicago, IL,” Batchelor said.

Batchelor added he thinks PartsTrader is a very good program “because it allows you to order all your parts and not just OEM,” he said.

Jerry Poirier from Farmers Insurance

“You have access to aftermarket and salvage parts and not just the OEM brands like OE Connection. You also have the option to direct order through PartsTrader. If you did not have to wait until the quote comes back, you could go ahead and submit your parts

12 FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Tom Franklin has been a sales and marketing consultant for fifty years. He has written numerous books and provides marketing solutions and services for many businesses.

He can be reached at (323) 871-6862 or at tbfranklin@aol.com.

See Tom’s columns at www.autobodynews.com under Columnists > Franklin

all of these aspects of a customer’s life and family can raise many questions.

Clever agents try to get speaking opportunities at networking groups, professional association meetings and chambers of commerce where they can demonstrate their wide range of knowledge and their value as an agent. These are groups that a good shop marketing person will also be trying to address, so there may be an opportunity for a cooperative presentation.

Most insurance agents probably assume that people who have been insured with a competing company for a long time will be harder to convert than someone who hasn’t yet purchased much insurance. This suggests reaching the kind of audience that is a natural for a collision repair facility: young and beginning drivers. Smart shop marketing people like to speak at high schools and colleges and driving schools. When one of these is scheduled, it would be an ideal time to invite a key agent to also speak. The more a shop can align itself with an agent’s purposes, the more likely it will be to become an exclusive referral point for that agent.

One shop I work with frequently also hosts agent manager meetings reg-

order and move on to other tasks. I think the program is good for shops if State Farm would just remove the quoting option. The list price is the list price and insurers should reimburse accordingly. If the shop decides to use a different part type, they will change the estimate accordingly and bill the

Attendees at Jan. 17 GCIA meeting

customer/insurer correctly,” Batchelor said.

In other news, the GCIA discussed several other topics, including the 7th Annual GCIA Labor and Material Rate survey which will begin in late February. According to

ularly. This brings agents into the shop where they can see the modern equipment and highly-trained technicians at work. An agent will be reluctant to refer a customer to a shop that will reflect badly on the agent. Hosting meetings allows the shop to showcase its best features and to plan a shop tour for the visiting agents and managers.

Several shops have also done well with what I would call a “goodwill ambassador.” To make this work, it’s necessary to have a person who can make the rounds of the agents every month without fail, with pens, notepads or other promotional specialties, and who will be in it for the long haul. When the same person stops by every month for several years running, the agent’s people get to know this person well and trust becomes established. An older, semi-retired person is ideal for this job.

Agents are still a good referral source for collision repair shops. Many of their customers still call them when they have an accident, and an agent will gladly refer the business to a shop that he or she knows is competent, trustworthy and attractive so it will reflect positively on the agent.

Batchelor, the association will mail notices to over 700 shops in the metro Atlanta area with the link to our on-line survey. “We have asked each shop to input their posted labor rate and not any DRP rates,” Batchelor said.

In addition, GCIA members reviewed the new Toyota Predictive Estimating program.

“Pete Friedland from Southeast Toyota and Rick Leos from Toyota Motor Sales were in attendance and gave the audience a brief overview of the new program. This is a game changer for the industry and we hope other OEM’s create their own programs,” Batchelor said.

Jerry Poirier from Farmers Insurance gave an update on what the Georgia I-CAR committee is working on. He discussed a car show that they are working on and a golf tournament that they are putting together later this year.

See PartsTrader Discussed, Page 19

www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 13

Safelite Group Acquires Boston-Based Giant Glass

Safelite Acquires Windshield World in Vermont

Safelite® Group, the nation’s leading vehicle glass company, acquired Boston-based Giant Glass, effective December 31, 2012.

Owned and operated by Dennis Drinkwater and Lance Cramer since 1978, Giant Glass includes 54 employees; 30 mobile vans; and five locations in the Boston area: Lawrence, North Andover, Peabody, Weymouth, and Worcester.

“I am proud of the company that my business partner Lance and I have built,” Drinkwater said. “We have a strong customer base and excellent employees and we wanted both of them to be well taken care of in the future. We trust that Safelite® will take care of them both.”

The acquisition is the continuation of Safelite AutoGlass’s mission to profitably grow in the U.S. and to become the customer’s “natural choice” for vehicle glass repair and replacement services. Giant Glass is a well-respected company with a prominent vehicle glass replacement brand in the greater Boston area. Giant’s geographic locations and brand recognition made it highly attractive to Safelite AutoGlass®.

Drinkwater and Cramer will remain working for Safelite®.

Safelite® Group, the nation’s leading vehicle glass company, reached an agreement to acquire substantially all of the vehicle glass related assets of Windshield World, based in Barre, VT. The deal was finalized December 31, 2012.

Windshield World is a well-respected vehicle glass repair and replacement company in upper New England, which is an area Safelite® has not had a strong physical presence, which made the acquisition highly attractive to Safelite AutoGlass®.

Established in 1984, Windshield World employs 40 people and operates in 20 cities and towns in Vermont, New Hampshire and New York.

The acquisition is the continuation of Safelite’s mission to grow in the U.S. and to become the customer’s “natural choice” for vehicle glass repair and replacement services. It will allow for more coverage to better serve customers and meet insurance client needs.

“We are happy to welcome Windshield World’s employees to the Safelite® team,” said Tom Feeney, president and CEO of Safelite® Group.

West VA Court Bars Insurer from Selling Used and Aftermarket Parts

Automotive Ladies Lauded at Urban Wheels Awards

West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw recently announced that the Circuit Court of Kanawha County has issued a permanent injunction against Liberty Mutual Insurance Company from using salvaged or aftermarket crash parts to repair motor vehicles that are less than three years old. The court’s order upholds current state law that requires insurance companies and body shops to obtain a consumer’s written authorization before salvaged parts are used for the repair of new vehicles.

“This is a victory for West Virginia consumers,” said McGraw.

“Every consumer has the right to know the type and quality of crash parts used to repair their damaged vehicles.”

Liberty Mutual admitted in court documents that it had repaired nearly 200 vehicles using junkyard and aftermarket parts in violation of the Aftermarket Crash Parts Act, and defended its use of these parts which McGraw believed jeopardized consumers’ safety and diminished the value of consumers’ vehicles.

It was ladies’ night during the 17th Annual Urban Wheel Awards Jan. 13 at the Sound Board, MotorCity Casino Hotel.

The official multicultural event of the North American International Auto Show honored diversity-centered automotive initiatives and funds scholarships.

This year’s event lauded the hard work of women in the automotive industry and those companies committed to the advancement of women, said Randi Payton, president and CEO of Decisive Media, which puts on the event.

The lavish affair included performances by entertainers such as Grammy-nominated gospel singer Vicki Winans.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and 2013 NAIAS Chairman Jim Seavitt made opening remarks. The event was co-hosted by actors Niecy Nash (“Clean House” and “The Soul Man”) and Edward James Olmos (“Battlestar Galactica” and Oscar-nominated for “Stand and Deliver”).

Some awards included the Cadillac ATS, Urban Car of the Year; and the Ram 1500 Urban Truck of the Year; and the Urban Green Vehicle of the Year is the Tesla Model S.

14 FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Class A Shop Requirements May Change, CIC Says

Changes to the existing “Class A Shop Requirements” are being proposed by the Collision Industry Conference’s (CIC) Definitions Committee.

During its November 2012 meeting in Las Vegas, the CIC said several repairers voiced concerns about the “Class A Shop Requirements” and requested revisions.

In response, the CIC changed the title of the document to “Minimum Shop Requirements,” and has proposed a new set of minimum equipment, capabilities, training and certifications that repairers should meet.

The CIC’s Definitions Committee is still working on the revision of the document, and is seeking input from professionals in all segments of the repair industry.

Anyone interested in providing input, suggestions or feedback can contact Chris Evans at chris.evans.ca1b@statefarm.com, or Ron Guilliams at ron@servicedynamics.net.

www.autobodynews.com

Work-Related Vehicle Accidents, Claims Down During Recession

Work-related vehicle accidents declined during the recent recession, and likely helped reduce the number of workers compensation claims, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) recently reported.

In a report, Boca Raton, FLbased NCCI said that frequency for large truck accidents declined 16% from 2007 to 2010, while passenger vehicle accidents declined 8% during that period.

The report said the recession left fewer drivers on the road due to unemployment, and resulted in fewer truck shipments as the recession limited consumer spending.

NCCI said the trend likely had a positive impact on workers comp claim trends.

The share of lost-time comp claims resulting from non-fatal vehicle accidents fell from 3.5% of all traffic accidents in 2005 to 3.1% in 2010, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Vehicle accidents tend to create costlier comp claims than the average workplace accident, NCCI said.

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Actor/Activist Danny Glover Joins Nissan Workers’ Right to Unionize Campaign A group asking for the right to vote on the unionization of a Nissan plant in Mississippi accused the automaker of intimidation at a protest Jan. 14 in Detroit, the Detroit News has reported.

Along with actor activist Danny Glover, members of the Mississippi Alliance for Fairness at Nissan (MAFFAN) held its protest just steps away from Cobo Center and the 2013 North American International Auto Show.

According to the group, workers who show any interest in talking about organizing the plant in Canton, MS, are intimidated by management hints that the plant would close if they unionized.

“When workers at Nissan began to organize a union, Nissan responded with implied threats that they would leave Mississippi if workers unionized,” said the Rev. R. Isaac Jackson, president of the General Missionary Baptist State Convention of Mississippi and chair of MAFFAN. The UAW is supporting the group in its efforts to start a union at the factory, which has 5,000 full and contract laborers.

According to Jackson, employees at the Canton plant—which assembles seven different vehicles, including the Titan and Frontier pickups, Armada and Xterra SUVs, Altima sedan and

two Nissan vans—have been seen wearing T-shirts reading “Want a union? Move to Detroit.”

MAFFAN also stated that salaries and benefits to contract employees at the plant were half of its full-time workers.

Actor Danny Glover advocates for the right to unionize at a plant in Mississippi

“The right to work doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to organize,” Glover said. “They have unions in South Africa and Japan. We’re only asking for the right to vote on a union and not face intimidation.”

David Reuter, Nissan’s vice president of corporate communications, denied the accusations.

“Those allegations are unfounded,” said Reuter, who is in Detroit for the auto show. “As to the T-shirts, those are freely worn by some of our employees as a show of support

for the company. We have a large contingent in our plant who want to make sure the union understands they don’t want a union in our factory.”

Reuter pointed out the annual manufacturing wage in the Canton area has increased since Nissan moved its plant into the area.

“Their annual average wage is one of the highest, if not the highest manufacturing wages in Mississippi,” Reuter said.

“As for unionization at the factory, that is something for our employees to decide, and we respect their right to do so. But when you get to the bottom line, we know internally that there is little interest in being unionized.”

Michael Carter is one of the workers at the Canton plant who is pushing for the right to vote on a union.

“It’s not about pay; it’s about respect,” said Carter, who earns $23.50 an hour. “We want a voice in what’s going on at the factory.”

The UAW has been frustrated in its efforts to organize Nissan workers in the South.

“This is not only a fight for the workers in Mississippi, it’s for all workers,” Glover said. “For the right to stand up and say ‘I am a man.’”

PPG Awards $20,000 to Collision Repair Foundation

The PPG Industries Foundation has awarded the Collision Repair Education Foundation a $20,000 grant that will provide named post-secondary collision student scholarships.

The scholarships will be part of the Education Foundation’s spring 2013 offerings, valued at more than $300,000, and will greatly assist collision students facing financial barriers.

“PPG is privileged to take an active role in supporting the industry’s future professionals through these scholarships,” said Domenic Brusco, PPG Automotive Refinish senior manager, industry relations, and Collision Repair Education Foundation Board of Trustees member.

“By providing collision repair students with support for the best technical education possible, we are giving collision repair businesses a chance to hire well-trained students who can be productive, efficient and capable employees from day one of the job.”

“PPG is happy to offer these opportunities and continue its strong relationship with the Collision Repair Education Foundation,” Brusco said.

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Cintas Typecasts the Worst Driving Offenders and Offers Safety Tips According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an estimated 32,310 motor vehicle traffic fatalities occurred in 2011. With snowfall and the potential for icy roads now part of many forecasts, it’s even more important for drivers to be cautious and follow the rules of the road. To remind commuters to avoid hazardous driving behaviors, Cintas Corporation, a leader in first-aid and safety products, has identified the seven worst driving offenders.

The seven worst driving offenders are: 1. The Beauty Queen—Women have been known to occasionally apply lipstick, mascara and even nail polish while driving. But without both hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, it’s easy to lose control of a vehicle. To avoid a fender bender and a botched makeup application, drivers should leave beauty products in their purses at all times.

2. The Hungry Commuter—Eating while driving is yet another habit that results in hands-free driving. Hungry commuters are often involved in accidents or near misses because they can’t react quickly to sharp curves or properly handle lane changes. Drivers should eat before they drive or plan a roadside stop in order to grab a meal.

3. The Tech-Obsessed—Although many states have laws prohibiting or limiting texting or talking on cell phones, drivers still obsess over gadgets like phones and GPS systems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 25% of drivers in the U.S. admitted to “regularly or fairly often” talking on cell phones while behind the wheel. Drivers should refrain from these activities since reflexes are slowed when their attention is on technology.

4. The Sleepy Traveler—Oftentimes commuters refuse to pull to the side of the road when they feel tired, choosing instead to drive. In fact, a 2011 poll by the AAA Foundation found that nearly a third of drivers admitted to driving when they had trouble keeping their eyes open. Drowsy driving has even been likened to drunk driving because it impairs reaction time and judgment. Sleepy drivers should look for a rest stop if they feel unable to keep their eyes open and concentrate on the road.

5. The Daydreamer—These drivers are often lost in their own thoughts and thinking about everything but driving. According to the CDC, nearly 15 people die each day in the U.S. in car crashes that involve distracted

8 Quirky Traffic Laws

Thousands of Sandy Ruined Cars to be Crushed

This list of unusual traffic laws in the United States comes from The Allstate Blog.

1. No honking after 9 p.m.

Little Rock, AR, banned the “sounding of horns at sandwich shops” to stop drivers honking for curbside service.

2. No Jumping from a Vehicle In Glendale, CA, it is illegal to jump from a car while it is in motion.

3. No Betting On Driving In Massachusetts, it is illegal to drive on a bet or a wager.

4.Too Young for a Driver’s License? In Indiana, there is no minimum age requirement for driving a horse-drawn buggy down the road.

5. Blink and You’ll Miss the Signal Utah drivers must signal two seconds before turning.

6. Too Many Passengers?

In Nebraska, there is no rule against adults riding in a cargo area.

7. Ok to Work Behind the Wheel?

According to the ‘2011 Colorado Motor Vehicle Law Resource Book,’ “the use of computers in motor vehicles is specifically permitted.”

8. Check Your Feelings at the Car Door Although it’s not exactly a law, the Arizona driver’s manual warns against angry, excited, worried and depressed drivers.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) says progress is being made in identifying and removing thousands of vehicles damaged beyond repair by Sandy. The estimate of 230,000 insurance claims for vehicle damage in the areas affected by Sandy remains unchanged at this time. Many of those vehicles were flooded and are being towed to holding areas where they will be loaded on car haulers and taken to facilities to be crushed.

driving. Focusing on the road, rather than the destination, personal problems or to-dos will keep daydreamers’ heads out of the clouds.

6. The Road Rager—Road ragers are far from courteous. They tailgate, cut others off and become angry easily. To curb their emotions, drivers should allow themselves enough time to reach their destination and have patience with others on the road. If commuting via car is too stressful, they should take a mental break at a rest stop or consider alternate routes of transportation.

7. The Rule Breaker—According to the Governors’ Highway Safety Association (GHSA), speed is involved in about one third of traffic deaths each year, and is a problem that has seen little improvement over the past 30 years. Rule breakers are those who don’t wear seatbelts, frequently speed and ignore important signs and signals. To avoid costly tickets and car accidents, drivers must take proper precaution by fastening seatbelts, watching their speed and taking note of stop signs and red lights.

For more information on firstaid and safety solutions from Cintas, please visit www.cintas.com/firstaidsafety.

Stafford, VA, Shop Sold

The owner of an auto body shop in Spotsylvania County, VA, recently purchased a similar operation in Stafford County.

Olaf Herrick purchased Barnes Auto Body, which is on Commerce Parkway off U.S. 17 in Stafford. The sale, which included both the real estate and the operating business, took effect Jan. 1.

Herrick bought the collision repair business from James and Anne Barnes, who ran it for the past 22 years before deciding to retire.

Herrick has owned and operated Southern Auto Body on Houser Drive in Spotsylvania for the past 25 years and will continue to do so. Herrick said he knows James Barnes well and worked with him for many years.

The Barnes Auto Body name will remain, as will all the company’s employees.

Herrick said he has installed new equipment at the facility, which specializes in European cars. He said the operation will continue to run as it had before the sale.

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Industry Insight with John Yoswick

—John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has a body shop in the family and has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988. He is the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com).

Contact him by email at jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.

Action on Insurer ‘Most-Favored Nation’ Clauses May be on the Horizon A key element of some direct repair program (DRP) contracts is indirectly coming under increasing scrutiny by federal regulators—leading some to predict insurer pricing demands on shops soon may be forced to change.

The contract clause in question is often referred to as the “most-favored nation” clause in that it requires a supplier—such as a body shop—to provide the buyer with which it has a contract such as an insurer—with the same pricing it offers its “best” or “most-favored” customer.

Most-favored nation (MFN) clauses have been the subject of lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny in the health care industry in recent years, and the Automotive Service Association (ASA) is among the groups hoping to turn that attention to similar clauses in DRP contracts.

State Farm initiates MFNs first gained prominence in the collision repair industry in 2006 when State Farm announced some significant changes to its Select Service agreements. One of the changes was an MFN requirement.

George Avery, a claims consultant with State Farm, defended the new requirement at the time by saying that because State Farm writes more than twice as many estimates as its nearest competitor, it felt it should be getting any discounts that shops offer to other insurers or customers.

“If you choose to give no discounts whatsoever, that’s perfectly fine with us,” Avery said in a 2006 interview. “I don’t have a problem with that. But if your business model includes some discounts, then we want to be part of it.”

He said he recognizes that shops may offer one insurer a discount on parts but not labor, and another insurer a discount on labor but not parts.

Under the new agreement, Avery said, the shop must provide State Farm with all the best discounts it offers in any category.

“If anyone or everyone gets a 10% discount except State Farm, for example, if you’re interested in our program and I select you, I would like that 10%,” Avery said. “That’s when

repair facilities need to make a decision. Please understand I’m saying this with the most respect I can muster: If your business practice is that you give discounts but you can’t afford to give me the discount, then perhaps this program is not for you.”

State Farm said it could check on how a shop bills other insurers when subrogating claims paid by the other carrier for which State Farm is ultimately responsible.

“Am I going to scour that stuff?

I’m not going to look at your business.

I’m going to trust you,” Avery said.

“But if it comes to my attention, I’m going to take appropriate action and I’m going to take it now.”

Shops, regulators, courts respond Collision repair shops took a variety of paths in dealing with the new MFN policy, which has since been emulated by a number of other insurers. Those that had previously offered other insurers little in the way of discounts were not widely impacted. Some that had offered discounts didn’t see it as a good business option to extend those discounts to the largest auto insurer—and raised their charges to the other insurers or dropped those programs. Still others just began giving State Farm the MFN status the insurer was seeking.

Some, too, parted ways with the State Farm program—of their own choice or that of the insurer. State Farm reduced the number of shops participating in “Select Service” by about 40% in 2006 and 2007 as it rolled out the new agreement.

But by 2010, MFNs that insurers had implemented in the health care industry were beginning to creep in the news: • In March 2010, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal challenged the MFN clause of a health insurer-provider contract. Blumenthal notified the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary of his ongoing investigation into what he termed the “anti-competitive clause” that Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Connecticut has in its contracts with hospitals and doctors. Blumenthal said such clauses “may drive up health care

18 FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

costs and drown out competition.”

• In late 2010, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Detroit seeking dismissal of a federal antitrust lawsuit that alleges that the “most favored nation” clauses of the insurer’s contract with hospitals is anti-competitive. The U.S. Department of Justice and Michigan’s Attorney General had brought the lawsuit against the health insurer, saying MFN clauses raise hospital prices, discourage discounting and prevent other insurers from entering the marketplace. It said that some Blue Cross clauses required Michigan hospitals to charge the insurer’s competitors up to 40% more for services. Blue Cross was unsuccessful in arguing the suit should be dismissed because as a statecreated entity, the company is protected from federal antitrust lawsuits, and because the government failed to show specific economic harm caused by its behavior.

“This cannot be allowed in Michigan, and let me be clear: We will challenge similar anti-competitive behavior anywhere else in the United States,” Christine Varney, the U.S. Assistant Attorney General’s Office antitrust chief at the time, said.

• Most recently, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held a joint workshop this past fall that many saw an indication that anti-trust regulators have “a reinvigorated focus on most-favorednation (MFN) clauses.”

“Although at times employed for benign purposes, MFNs can, under certain circumstances, present competitive concerns,” the two agencies noted prior to the workshop. “This is because they may, especially when used by a dominant buyer, raise other buyers’ costs or (prevent) would-be competitors from accessing the market. Additionally, MFNs can facilitate collusion and stabilize coordinated

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pricing among sellers.”

ASA’s Bob Redding participated in the workshop and said, “What was evident from the workshop is that public policy regarding MFN clauses is still evolving. There are a number of outstanding questions such as whether these clauses - a common practice in many business sectors have a net benefit for consumers. The FTC and the DOJ have a difficult task in determining how to regulate MFN clauses in order to protect consumers and small businesses.”

Following the workshop, ASA wrote a letter to the Department of Justice asking for a full review of the clauses as used in direct repair agreements.

“The anti-competitive nature of these clauses ensures both our members and consumers are at a disadvantage,” Redding said in the letter.

Redding seems hopeful the issue will remain within the focus of regulators.

“This is an area that has not worked in our favor as collision repairers in the past,” Redding said.

“But we’re going to see more interest in this area by the FTC and the Department of Justice.”

Continued from Page 12

PartsTrader Discussed

Steve Plier from the Alabama Automotive Repair Industry Society of Excellence was in attendance and discussed a multi-state industry conference to be held on April 26 & 27 in Biloxi, MS. Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and Georgia will be attending to discuss issues that are affecting the industry. Planners hope to have Aaron Schulenburg from SCRS, Ray Gunder, his attorney Brent Koehagan and attorney Erica Eversman there to give presentations to educate the industry.

Future GCIA meetings will include Liz Stein from Assured Performance Network to talk about their certification programs and rebate programs, and Georgia attorney Kent Eichelzer to answer questions regarding assignment of proceeds, power of attorney, and many other legal issues affecting our industry.

For more information about GCIA, contact Executive Director, Howard Batchelor at Howard@GCIA.org or call at 770.367.9816.

I-CAR Hosts Automotive Training Expo in March

I-CAR hosts the Automotive Training Expo (ATE) on March 1 in Seattle, WA, at the Doubletree Inn. The Automotive Training Expo is the west coast’s largest training event of the year. Don’t miss out on these exciting training opportunities and more.

I-CAR TRAINING Friday, March 1, 8:00 a.m–12:00 p.m.: Aluminum Intensive Vehicle Repairs (ALI01). Instructor, Larry Hults

Friday, March 1, 1:00p.m–5:00 p.m.

Vehicle Technology and Trends 2013 (NEW13); Instructor, Larry Hults

Saturday, March 2, 8:00 a.m–12:00 p.m.: Squeeze-Type Resistance Spot Welding (WCS04); Instructor, John Leddy

Saturday, March, 2, 2:00 p.m–4:00 p.m.; I-CAR Presentation Bob Mickey, North East Regional Manager

Automotive Scholarship Applications Now Available

Applications for automotive scholarships are now available through the 2013 SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund (SMSF) at: www.sema.org/scholarships. Students preparing for careers in the auto or auto parts industries may be eligible for financial awards of up to $5,000.

The $5,000 Top Student award marks an increase from the award’s previous amount of $4,000. Similarly, scholarships for students attending four-year programs are up from $2,000 to $3,000, and awards for students attending two-year programs increased from $1,000 to $2,000.

Awards are granted to eligible applicants based on academic achievements, work experience, community involvement, essay content and recommendations. Students may re-apply each year, provided that they still meet the eligibility criteria.

The application deadline for all SMSF awards is March 29, 2013. For additional details, visit: www.sema.org/scholarships or contact Juliet Marshall at julietm@sema.org or 909-978-6655.

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GM Recalls Nearly 119,000 Pickups for Missing Latches

General Motors Co. is recalling 145,000 pickups that may not have a secondary latch to prevent the hood from unexpectedly opening.

The recall covers the 2010-2012 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon trucks that may not have a back-up hood latch, including 118,800 in the United States, along with 15,264 in Canada, 7,492 in Mexico and 4,069 around the world.

If the primary latch isn’t engaged while the vehicle is in motion, the hood could strike the windshield potentially causing a crash, GM said in a report filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

An analysis of one hood showed the latch assembly had no evidence of welds for the secondary latch, suggesting the latch assembly missed the weld station at the latch plate supplier.

GM said the production process did not have any error-proofing to prevent material from bypassing the end of line weld station.

Dealers are to inspect for the presence of the secondary hood latch.

If the latch is missing, dealers will replace the hood.

Audi Plans 2016 Start in Mexico

Audi is firming up plans for its plant in San Jose Chiapa, Mexico.

Mattias Rust, project manager for staff in Mexico, said construction will begin in 2014 and production will start in May 2016 with about 3,800 employees.

Audi plans annual output of about 150,000 units of its Q5 crossover.

Training of Mexican employees is scheduled to start this year at Audi’s Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm plants in Germany.

Some Audi employees from Germany will help with the launch in Mexico. The automaker is recruiting German workers for deployments ranging between four and 15 months, as well as for stays of up to five years.

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BMW Sales Surge in China

BMW Group said sales of its cars and SUVs in China rose 73% in December to 30,470 vehicles. Sales of BMW brand vehicles increased 72% to 28,184, while deliveries of Mini brand vehicles surged 96% to 2,286.

In November, BMW Group reported a sales leap of 62.3% to 31,090, which the automaker said was due to strong demand for its X1 small SUV and series 3 long wheelbase models.

Full-year group sales in China rose 40% to 326,444 vehicles, BMW said.

Dealer Lawsuit Against Tesla Dismissed by Judge

Dealers trying to block Tesla Motors Inc.’s retail stores in Massachusetts lost another round when a judge dismissed their lawsuit against the electric vehicle maker.

In a recent ruling, Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Fishman said the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association and other plaintiffs lacked standing to sue. It was the same reasoning the judge used in a November ruling denying a preliminary injunction against Tesla’s suburban Boston store.

“We disagree with his decision,” Robert O’Koniewski, the association’s executive vice president, said.

He contends the association has standing under changes made to the state’s franchise law in 2002. “If you read the statute, it’s pretty clear: a factory cannot own a store, and a dealer can sue for injunctive relief if they feel the public is being harmed.”

Tesla, in a statement, said the ruling validated its retail strategy in Massachusetts and other states.

“We are confident that other states will also come to this same conclusion and look forward to following through on our commitment to introduce consumers to electric vehicle technology in an open, friendly, no-pressure environment,” Elon Musk, Tesla co-founder and CEO, said. Tesla’s first Massachusetts showroom opened in September.

22 FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

GM Could Face $918 Million Hit from Bankruptcy Lawuit

A U.S. bankruptcy judge could soon rule on whether the 2009 government-led restructuring of General Motors improperly favored hedge funds, and an adverse ruling could cost the automaker nearly $1 billion.

Judge Robert Gerber must decide whether a ‘lock-up agreement’ in the restructuring sent $367 million to a group of hedge fund noteholders at the expense of other creditors.

A trust representing unsecured creditors has sued to undo the lockup agreement, arguing that it was a last-minute deal secretly folded into GM’s bankruptcy to ensure the hedge funds’ support.

After the automaker, or ‘Old GM,’ filed for bankruptcy in 2009, its best assets were sold to the new General Motors Co. The remainder of the company once known as General Motors Corp. then was liquidated for the benefit of creditors.

While the hedge funds, which hold notes with about $1 billion in face value, received the $367 million under the lock-up agreement, unsecured creditors received just pennies on the dollar. The hedge funds and other investors in the notes also received a claim against ‘Old GM’ for $2.67 billion. In its lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, the creditors’ trust alleged that the lock-up agreement was unfair to ‘Old GM’ creditors. The trust said the deal took place after the bankruptcy filing.

GM Recalls Trucks, SUVs

General Motors is recalling almost 54,700 of its 2013 trucks and sport utility vehicles because of a roll-away danger, according to a report the automaker filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The action covers the Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT; Chevrolet Avalanche, Express, Silverado (1500 and heavy duty), Suburban and Tahoe; GMC Savana, Sierra (1500 and heavy duty) and the Yukon and Yukon XL. All are 2013 models.

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February 2013

Subaru Recalls 634,000 Cars

Subaru is recalling as many as 634,000 vehicles in the United States for potential lighting problems that could lead to smoke or fire, according to U.S. safety regulators. The recall potentially affects some Forester vehicles 2009-2012, all Legacy and Outback vehicles 2010-2012, and some Tribeca vehicles 2006-2012.

The 633,842 vehicles potentially affected by the recall may be equipped with accessory puddle lights that when lit brighten the areas under the doors, according to NHTSA documents. A short circuit can develop when the light or connector are exposed to an electrolytic moisture source such as road spray that has road salt in it, the NHTSA said. That can cause heat that could melt the plastic, resulting in smoke or fire.

Nissan Reprices Leaf

Nissan announced that U.S. pricing for the new 2013 Nissan LEAF will start at an MSRP of $28,800 for the newly-added S grade, making it the lowest priced five-passenger electric vehicle sold in the United States. Depending on location, some consumers may purchase the vehicle for as low as $18,800 with qualifying federal and state tax credits, putting the LEAF on par with gas-powered vehicles of its size.

Nissan’s objective for the LEAF has always been to produce an affordable zero-emission vehicle for the mass market, and the 2013 LEAF is a prime example of that commitment with increased value at every trim level, making it more accessible for more people.

“With nearly 50,000 LEAFs on the road globally, we are the leaders in zero emissions vehicles and our class-leading product just got better,” said Billy Hayes, Global vice president of LEAF sales for Nissan.

‘From the very outset, Nissan has continuously advanced and refined the affordable zero emissions vehicle ownership experience. Now customers won’t have to pay a premium for owning a green car that’s really fun to drive, and that’s exciting.”

Toyota Top in U.S. Recalls

Toyota Motor Corp. recalled more vehicles—5.3 million—than any other automaker in the U.S. in 2012.

It was the third time in the last four years that Toyota led in U.S. recalls.

A Detroit News review of recall data found that 16.2 million cars, trucks, motorcycles and RVs were recalled in 2012, a 4.5% increase over the 15.5 million vehicles recalled in 2011. Combined, the seven biggestselling automakers in the U.S. market recalled about 13.5 million vehicles last year, up from 12.5 million in 2011.

The number of recall campaigns fell slightly in 2012 to 593, from 587 campaigns in 2011.

Several big recall trends emerged: Fire issues, air bag problems, rust and rollaway vehicles accounted for most of the major recalls in 2012. And U.S. regulators fined three major automakers—Toyota, BMW AG and Volvo Cars—for failing to issue timely recalls.

Toyota had the most difficult year on the safety front. Honda Motor Co., which led 2011 with 3.9 million recalls, called back 3.4 million vehicles in 2012, second among automakers. Third among automakers was General Motors Co.

Hyundai Recalls Velosters

Hyundai is recalling Veloster cars for sunroof and parking brake flaws for certain Veloster 2012 coupes. The first recall includes 13,500 cars built Nov. 1, 2011–April 17, 2012 and equipped with panoramic sunroofs.

The sunroof assemblies in these cars may break while the car is being driven. In a separate action the car maker is recalling 4,490 Velosters built from July 2, 2011–Feb. 27, 2012 and equipped with manual transmissions. The cars’ parking brake mechanisms might bind after exposure to moisture and road grime.

GM Volt Sales Tripled in 2012

General Motors Co. said its 2012 sales of the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt tripled from 2011. U.S. sales of the Volt for 2012 topped 23,000 for the year, said Michelle Malcho, a spokeswoman for GM. GM had sold 20,828 extended-range electric Volt cars through November. In 2011, it sold 7,671 Volt cars, below its forecast of 10,000 for its first full year of sales. Volt sales got a boost when California granted solo drivers access to carpool lanes. GM spokesman Jim Cain says 1-in-3 Volts are now sold in the Golden State.

NHTSA Clears Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Freestar

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is ending its investigations into the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2004-05 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey without seeking recalls, saying the issues don’t pose a serious safety concern.

The U.S. auto safety agency recently closed both investigations and posted a report disclosing the decisions.

In July, NHTSA opened an investigation into 107,000 Chrysler SUVs of power steering hose blowoffs that could result in fires.

Chrysler said the condition would typically occur early, with less than 8,000 miles. Chrysler modified the cooler assembly process to address factors that may contribute to hose blow-offs.

Separately, NHTSA said it was closing an investigation into 205,000 2004-05 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans over complaints of faulty jacks to change tires.

NHTSA said about half the consumers in complaints were using the jack for something other than tire changing. About half had also not properly chocked a wheel or set the parking brake.

Toyota to Fix Faulty Trunk Release Lever in Lexus

Toyota is expected to alert about 700,000 vehicle owners of 20072013 Lexus ES, 2006-2012 Lexus IS, and 2013 Lexus GS models due to a problem with the emergency trunk release found by Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports found that the emergency interior trunk escape lever on the 2013 Lexus ES and GS can easily snap off during use, potentially leaving a trapped occupant without any way to escape. When the lever is pulled straight or toward the passenger side of the vehicle, it worked fine, Consumer Reports said.

However, when pulled toward the driver’s side, the plastic surround acts as a fulcrum and snaps the emergency release handle off easily, preventing the trunk from opening.

Consumer Reports immediately notified both Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about its findings.

Toyota was able to reproduce the problem, and it identified another model, the IS, that also was prone to the release breaking.

Toyota is replacing the ABS plastic release with a more robust polypropylene unit, strengthened with supporting ridges.

www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 23

Inside Insurance

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

Changes at I-CAR a Good Foundation to Build Upon with The Insurance Insider

Training…What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Say it again.

Hopefully, you were able to sing along to the modified lyrics to the song “War,” a hit performed by Edwin Starr. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is a famous song protesting war. And that probably also means that you were born in a different generation where war and protests are things you’ve only read about.

Speaking of protests, there was an informal one staged by collision repairers a few years ago. Leaders in the industry were dissatisfied with ICAR’s direction and the level of service I-CAR provided. The training I-CAR offered was deemed outdated and to some degree was becoming more irrelevant by the day.

I-CAR listened and took action, making significant change to its training curriculum, structure and delivery methods. This led to additional, much needed changes in the requirements to attain I-CAR Gold and Platinum status.

In my humble but wise opinion, I-CAR finally did something right.

They listened to their customers. They asked the entire industry for input – and then delivered.

There are pundits out there who question I-CAR’s motives. “They did it for the money,” stated one uninformed repairer. “They did it because insurance companies made them do it,” cited another uninvolved repairer.

If improving the level of training and competency of technicians is an ulterior motive, then I-CAR guilty is as charged. While you may not like the new requirements or costs, the decisions were not made in a vacuum.

Many of the brightest minds in the industry participated this cataclysmic shift within I-CAR. And yes, if you were wondering, the brightest minds in the industry aren’t solely insurance company representatives.

Has I-CAR’s implementation of Pro Level training requirements been beneficial? From an insurer’s perspective, it was a significant win for the entire industry. The days of a painter taking a class on steering to attain I-CAR Platinum are now as outdated as the misconception that

anyone with a toolbox on wheels is a professional body technician.

I-CAR still has a lot of other changes to make, but this is a solid foundation to build upon. I wish they would have made these changes sooner but it is indicative of the entire

industry. Repairers and insurers are notoriously slow to adopt and implement change. Why should a supplier to the industry like I-CAR be any different?

I realize that there are some challenges with the new I-CAR Gold Class system and cost is at the top of the list. Small independent shops to large consolidators have publicly expressed their concerns with the cost of the training. But aside from the cost, there is no denying the need for ongoing education specific to your job and responsibilities, especially when you consider the alarming rate of change in the way vehicles are being manufactured. You will not be equipped to properly repair many vehicles without training.

I realize that there is still a lot to be desired relative to I-CAR training, but at the present time there isn’t a better alternative. I believe that the cost to train technicians would be a moot point if there was a financial incentive. Most shops don’t believe that there is a return on investment. In some ways, I agree with the premise that there is no direct return, even though there are least a few insurance companies that require Gold Class status. Insurance companies should pay a higher labor rate to those shops that have made significant investments in training as well as tooling and equipment.

“If you truly believed that, you would change it,” you might be thinking. My answer is that it isn’t that simple. The complexities of labor rates and the impact it can have on the pricing of our insurance products could make a carrier non-competitive and

24 FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

lose market share almost overnight.

That is one example of the differences between repairers and insurers. Repairers can make a decision for their business, take accountability and understand the short- and long-term impact. Insurers do not have that luxury or the latitude to take immediate action. A decision made in one department could adversely impact several others, unknowingly to those taking the action. Policyholder retention and growth are the primary drivers of most decisions made by carriers in today’s extremely competitive marketplace. That is why there is such a focus on cost and customer service.

For now, a shop’s return on investment in training can be found in a safe and proper repair, professional technicians and reduced cycle time.

Although I would never say that I-CAR Platinum or Gold Class designations guarantee a proper repair, I believe that they increase the probability

of one. Ongoing training through the Pro Levels 2 and 3 ensure that a technician’s knowledge improves and that he or she grows professionally.

I-CAR still has a lot of work to do but the longest journey starts with the first step. Hopefully, 2013 will bring about the next level of change that is needed, including more testing.

This has always been a sore subject amongst those who have ever paid for or taken an I-CAR class.

The reality is that unless more insurers require I-CAR Gold Class or Gold Class shops are compensated at a higher rate, the altered lyrics in Starr’s song will continue to resonate with many in the industry.

“The Insider” is an auto insurance company executive who wishes to remain anonymous. This column reflects solely the opinion of The Insider as it offers an unvarnished look at various issues impacting the collision industry.

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SCRS Holds Open Board Meeting Jan. 23 in Calif.

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) will hold an open board meeting from 8-10 a.m. in Palm Springs, CA, on Weds., Jan. 23.

The meeting, preceding the National Auto Body Council (NABC) golf tournament, will be held in the Plaza A & B rooms of the Palm Springs Hilton. The two-hour meeting will include updates from the SCRS staff and committees, outlining current and future work initiatives the association has undertaken on behalf of its membership.

The meeting will include a detailed presentation from the SCRS Education Committee, led by committee member Toby Chess. The topic will focus on areas of friction between repair facilities and insurance companies surrounding proper frame and structural repair approaches; including specific misunderstandings that exist in the marketplace and the proper methodology to address welding, pulling, repairing or replacing frames on today's modern fleet.

“Understanding the highly specific requirements that automobile manufacturers expect of repair facilities, should foster an appreciation for the level of complexity involved in these types of repairs,” said SCRS Ed-

ucation Committee Chairman, Paul Val. “Toby and the committee have done a great job compiling information that exists in the marketplace, and sculpting it into a presentation that should hopefully eliminate some of the tension that exists in this area by broadening the understanding of necessary procedures and equipment,” he said.

This meeting is open to any member of the industry and there is no registration fee.

SCRS also encourages collision repair professionals to attend the Repairer-Only Forum at the Palm Springs Hilton from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 24. This meeting will be a continuation of the previous Repairer-Only Forum held at the SEMA Show in November.

The Forum will enable repairers to receive timely updates on current industry topics and trends discussed at the last meeting, or at the CIC meeting earlier in the day.

Additionally, the January meeting will serve to determine the structure, function, time, date and locations for future meetings in 2013. This event is limited to collision repairers and direct representatives of collision repair businesses. Attendees must present a business card to gain access at the meeting.

TUFF TV Greenlights New Reality Series, Auto Wars TUFF TV recently announced its acquisition and distribution of the new original reality television show Auto Wars. The half-hour series, produced

by Dart Entertainment, will follow two auto body shops in direct competition with each other, whose owners are best friends.

“We’re excited to be working with Dart Entertainment on Auto Wars. Our viewers are going to love the drama that this new show brings with it. The body shop owners are so passionate about their businesses and protective of their families, that when they butt heads it’s unlike anything else. We have looked at numerous original reality shows, and Auto Wars was simply one of the best,” said Lou Seals, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of TUFF TV. Body shop entrepreneurs Jimmy Garrison and Anthony Fortunato are best friends and the show’s leading characters. Anthony Fortunato has

been the owner of his highly successful auto body shop for nearly 10 years. But when Jimmy opens up a nearby auto body shop of his own, the drama begins. The series also revolves around Jimmy’s wife and Anthony’s girlfriend (also best friends) who are regrettably in the middle of the business/friendship drama. Tensions rise and boiling points are reached as the guys engage in serious “wars,” such as paint balling each other’s cars and stealing each other’s business deals.

“Finding these guys was a producer’s dream. When I first sat down with the guys, I had wished the cameras were already rolling. It’s always ideal to walk into a real story with cameras instead of making it all up. That’s what reality television is all about,” said Artie Davis, the show’s Executive Producer from Dart Entertainment. “Partnering with TUFF TV has proven to be a perfect fit for us,” Davis added. “They have been there every step of the way and have been crucial in the development of the series. We are already in the development stage of more original programming with them.”

TUFF TV (www.tufftv.com) is the first digital broadcast network to offer original programming targeted at men and their specific pursuits, interests, and hobbies they are passionate about.

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NADA Lines Up Keynote Speakers for Feb. 8–11 Convention The National Automobile Dealers Association hosts its 2013 Convention & Expo in Orlando, FL, Feb. 8–11.

The NADA Convention & Expo is the automotive industry’s retail event of the year and the world’s largest international gathering place for franchised new-vehicle dealers.

The convention offers dealers the opportunity to meet face-to-face with executives of major auto manufacturers, and features hundreds of exhibitors showcasing the latest equipment, services and technologies and dozens of workshops with the industry’s best trainers.

Keynote speakers include the NADA Chairman’s address by 2012 NADA Chairman Bill Underriner, an industry message by John Krafcik, President and CEO of Hyundai, an inspirational message by astronaut Captain Mark Kelly, an address by incoming 2013 Chairman David Westcott, and a keynote address by Robert Gates, former secretary of defense.

NADA Chairman’s Address Bill Underriner, 2012 NADA Chairman, will address convention attendees on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 2:30 p.m. at the Orange County Convention Center in Exhibit Hall D. Underriner, president and coowner of Underriner Motors in Billings, MT, was 2012 chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association and represents Montana’s franchised new-car dealers on the association’s board of directors.

In the automobile business since 1984, Underriner took over the family business in 2001. He currently owns Honda, Hyundai, Buick and Volvo franchises in Billings. Previously, he served three terms as Treasurer of NADA and on the association’s Executive, Industry Relations, Dealership Operations and Membership committees. He has also served as chairman of the association’s Finance and Convention committees. Underriner has held a variety of offices with the Montana Automobile Dealers AssoBill Underriner ciation, including chairman of the board. He has been a member of the Dealers Election Action Committee’s (DEAC) Presidents

Club for five years.

Industry Message John Krafcik, President and CEO of Hyundai, also will present his message at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9 in Exhibit Hall D in the Orange County Convention Center.

Krafcik, president and chief executive officer of Hyundai Motor America, is responsible for the strategic direction and management of the company’s operations in the United States.

Krafcik joined Hyundai in 2004 as vice president of Product Development and Strategic Planning after a long tenure at Ford Motor Company.

With his guidance, Hyundai reshaped its American lineup with industryleading positions in design, innovation, and fuel efficiency.

After moving to his current role in late 2008 as president and chief exJohn Krafcik ecutive officer, Krafcik and his team have increased Hyundai’s U.S. market share over 50% under challenging market conditions on the strength of growing accolades, breakthrough products, and innovative marketing programs.

Inspirational message Captain Mark Kelly, Commander of the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s final mission, speaks at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 10, in Exhibit Hall D at the Orange County Convention Center.

Kelly is an American astronaut, retired US Navy Captain, best sellingauthor, prostate cancer survivor, and an experienced naval aviator who flew combat missions during the Gulf War. The winner of many awards, including the Legion of Merit, two Defense Superior Service Medals and two Distinguished Flying Crosses, Kelly was selected as an astronaut in 1996. He flew his first of four missions in 2001 aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour, the same space shuttle that he commanded on its final flight in May 2011. He has also commanded Space Shuttle Discovery and is one of only two individuals who have visited the International Space Station on four different occasions.

Already a celebrated American, Kelly became the center of international attention after the January 2011 assas-

26 FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

sination attempt on his wife, former US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

In their best-selling memoir, Gabby, the couple shares their story of hope and resilience with the world. The inspirational memoir has topped multiCapt. Mark Kelly ple best-seller lists.

Kelly and Giffords appeared in an exclusive Diane Sawyer interview, and on Nightline and The Daily Show.

Kelly has a new children’s book titled Mousetronaut: A Partially True Story.

Kelly’s identical twin brother, Scott, is also an astronaut who served as commander of both the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.

They share the distinction of being the only siblings who have traveled in space.

Incoming NADA Chairman’s Address David Westcott, the 2013 incoming NADA chairman, will address convention attendees on Monday, Feb. 11 at 3:30 p.m. in Exhibit Hall D in David Westcott the Orange County Convention Center.

Westcott, president of Westcott Automotive, in Burlington, NC, was the 2012 vice chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association and represents North Carolina’s franchised new-car dealers on the association’s board of directors.

A new car-dealer since 1981, Westcott previously was NADA’s Region II vice chairman and a North Carolina Auto Dealers Association (NCADA) chair to the Self-Insurance Fund. He was also chairman of the Buick National Dealer Council, GM President’s Council and Buick’s Brand Team.

From 1995 through 1996, Westcott was president of the NCADA, during which time he also received the TIME Dealer of the Year Award from NADA and TIME Magazine.

Keynote Address Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense from 2006-2011, will also speak at 3:30 on Monday, Feb. 11 at the Orange County Convention Center in Exhibit Hall D.

Dr. Robert M. Gates served as the 22nd Secretary of Defense and is the only Secretary of Defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in that office by a newly-elected President.

President Barack Obama is the eighth president Gates has served. He previously served under President George W. Bush.

On Gates’ last day in office, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.

Before becoming Secretary of Defense in 2006, Gates was the president of Texas A&M University, the nation’s sixth largest single campus university.

Prior to assuming the Texas A&M presidency, on August 1, 2002, he Robert Gates served as interim dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M from 1999 to 2001.

Gates joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1966 and spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional. During that period, he spent nearly nine years at the National Security Council, The White House, serving four presidents of both political parties.

Gates served as director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993.

He is the only career officer in CIA’s history to rise from entry-level employee to director. He served as deputy director of Central Intelligence from 1986 until 1989 and as assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser at the White House from January 20, 1989, until November 6, 1991, for President George H.W. Bush.

Gates has been awarded the National Security Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, has three times received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, and has three times received CIA’s highest award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal.

He is the author of the memoir, “From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insiders Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War,” published in 1996.

Until becoming Secretary of Defense, Gates served as chairman of the See NADA Keynote Speakers, Page 30

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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.

Why Should Body Shops Have a Website? with Ed Attanasio

I was at a collision-related event recently when a body shop owner asked me, “Why should I have a website? The only reason I have one now is because my main competitor next door has one,” he explained. My first response was “That’s a very good reason right there.”

I am surprised when I find so many successful body shops that don’t have websites. So, I decided to poll some industry and Internet experts to assemble a list of convincing reasons.

Ten years ago, having a website was something to consider and weigh the advantages, but in today’s world, it’s a no-brainer for many reasons.

I recently received a direct mail piece by a company that has a new DIY site that can help body shops to create websites easily and affordably.

It’s called Collision Websites and the owner is David Moore, a collision veteran who has helped countless shops to develop award-winning websites over the years. Now, he’s made the process of creating a site so easy that even shops that are dragging their feet can step up and have a website within hours, rather than weeks or even months.

His letter started out with some tough love questions, but very timely ones for body shops that don’t currently have websites and/or don’t see any value in them. His opening line immediately got my attention.

• Are you on the cutting-edge or about to get cut?

• As this industry gets younger and smarter, are you falling behind?

Working hard used to be the formula for success, but now technology has changed the game.

Did you know that nearly 9 out of 10 people requiring collision work will search the Internet to find someone to repair their vehicle?

Statistics show that 95% of all people in the United States expect a reputable business to have a website.

Unless your customer base is made up of that non-tech 5%, you’re not impressing or even reaching most of your market. If you currently don’t have a website, you’re losing revenue while reading this. And even a lousy website could cost you even more.

So, for those who are still doubters,

here are my main reasons for having a website:

1) Affordable Websites are less expensive and can produce quality leads when compared to other forms of media. The Internet is a proven leader when it comes to cost per response. If you’re using a content management system such as Word Press, you can keep your website fresh and up-to-date by adding new content all the time. Because you’re big on the Internet doesn’t mean you should abandon other forms of advertising altogether. Print, radio, TV and direct mail advertising are still very strong when integrated into a media mix, and can be used to entice people to access your site and find out more about your shop.

Think of a big hand with each finger representing one form of media, working in conjunction to reach customers and get cars in your shop.

2) Accessible The Internet enables body shops to break through geographical barriers and become accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. With sites like Google Maps and MapQuest, the days of getting lost while attempting to find your shop is greatly diminished, even for the directionally challenged. We always suggest that you should have a map showing your shop displayed prominently on your home page containing directions and landmarks. Since body shops are brick and mortar businesses obviously, finding you is essential and making it as easy to your potential advertisers is key.

The evolution of websites has made the yellow pages and other phone directories fairly obsolete. In the old days, shops that had moved or added new locations were forced to wait until the phone books came out to tell the world where they are. Because a website is flexible, you can change the content as often as you like, which is ideal for shops that are moving or adding locations.

3) Convenient It is far more convenient for a person to research a product on the Internet than it is to get in a car, drive somewhere and look for or ask someone for information on a product. They don’t

28 FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

have to call around or go to a library— it’s all there on their desk top, lap top or smart phone. The potential customer can visit your website whenever they want in their own privacy and comfort, without the stress and disruptions that exist in the real world. Your website is a self-service entity that can bring you customers while you sleep.

4) Valuable Your website can deliver real value by offering a ton of valuable information, such as useful tips, sage advice and general interest content that can entertain and inform your customers. This will also help them to remember your name when they get in an accident. You can use features on your website such as visitor polls, online surveys and other things and then access your website statistics to find out what your customers like and don’t like. Website statistics show you how much traffic your website receives, how the visitor

got to your website and where, geographically, the visitor is from.

5) Credible A website offers you a forum to tell prospective new customers why you’re a solid company and thereby warrant their respect and adulation.

One of the best things about the Internet is that a little mom and pop shop can get as much exposure as a big chain with multiple locations. Solid shops doing exemplary work will always succeed—but by telling the world how good you are as often as you can, it surely does not hurt. If you’re not selling your brand 24/7, who will? By having a website that is full of content, simple to navigate through and easy to find, you’re instantly in the game and will be recognized as a player almost overnight.

By having a presence online, you can take full advantage of all the advantages the Internet offers—and a good website is definitely the very first step.

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NADA Hosts 48 Workshops at 2013 Convention Several workshops will be available to attendees of the 2013 NADA Convention & Expo. Workshops are available to those in the dealer, manager or allied w/workshop registration categories. Workshops are on a first-come, first-serve basis and there is no additional registration or sign-up necessary.

Workshops subject matter include executive leadership, Internet solutions, legal and regulatory, managing resources, parts and accessories, sales, leasing and finance, and service and body shop.

Some of the workshops offered are: • Meet NADA: Not Your Daddy’s Orientation • Bring Disney Customer Service to Your Dealership • Cause Marketing: Your New Tool for Higher Profits • Coffee Stains: Poor Customer Service in Your Store • Current Trends in Today’s Buy/Sell Market • Managers and Family: Keys to Your Succession Success • Overcome Burnout and Reclaim Your Fire • Healthcare Reform and the Impact on the Dealership

• NADA Workforce Study: How to Compete in Your Market • Is Your Website Built for Fail or Sale?

• Are You the Dealer You Say You Are? • Digital Moments That Matter: Local, Mobile, Social • Avoid Fraud and Embezzlement in Your Dealership • Keep Top Talent on Your Employee Roster • Discover Hidden Profit in Your Parts Department • Eliminate the F&I Bottleneck for Good • Five Winning Strategies to Sell More Used Cars • Pre-Owned War: Dealers Versus Private Individuals • A Multipoint Inspection Process That Really Works!

• Improve Your Body Shop’s Scorecard For more information, about NADA, visit www.nada.org. To register for the 2013 NADA Convention & Expo, go to: nadaconventionandexpo.org/nada2013. Registration costs vary due to membership status, number of attendees, and date of registration. Hotel and travel information is also included on the website.

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NADA Names New President Peter Welch to Post The National Automobile Dealers Association, located in McLean, VA, recently appointed Peter Welch as its new president. Welch served as president and chief executive officer of California New Car Dealers Association since 2003.

The NADA Board of Directors held a special meeting Jan. 8 in Dallas, where they unanimously approved Welch as president. He was selected after a nationwide search and will officially take office on Feb. 1.

Welch, 59, is leaving the statewide new-car dealers Sacramento-based organization after 23 years. He managed the association’s government affairs office, including legal, legislative and regulatory affairs, since 1990.

“I’m excited and honored to be selected as the Peter Welch is leaving the position next NADA president,” he said, of CEO for the adding “NADA is California New Car Dealers Association a well-run organization. I look forto become president of the National ward to following Automobile Dealers in the tradition of strong leadership Association

at NADA. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get started.”

Current NADA chairman Bill Underriner said, “Peter will be a great leader at NADA. He has an impressive track record in California, where every day he faced some of the toughest regulatory and legislative issues in the industry. He’s a car guy who comes highly recommended not just from people in California, but also across the nation.”

Dave Westcott, NADA vice chairman and incoming NADA chair, said, “Peter Welch is a great selection.

He is the right person to help lead our organization as we confront the challenges ahead.”

“For 23 years, Peter has successfully guided our organization through the twists and turns of the legislative and regulatory maze in California, leaving CNCDA with a well-deserved reputation as a tough and nimble champion of franchised new-car dealers in this state,” said Darryl Holter, a Los Angeles auto dealer and the organization’s chairman. “No wonder NADA picked Peter for the job.”

Welch said he’ll “miss California and miss working for the state’s best entrepreneurs.”

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www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 29

California Department of Insurance Approves New Aftermarket Part Regulations Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced that the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved amended regulations submitted by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) regarding the use of non-original equipment manufacturer (OEM) replacement crash parts, generally known as aftermarket parts. These regulations were sought by Commissioner Jones to further protect California consumers from physical and financial harm caused by defective or inferior aftermarket parts and to enhance insurer accountability in the claims process, said CDI. The new regulations, originally released by CDI in June 2012, are to go into effect on January 30. Insurers will be required to comply on and after March 30, 2013.

“The amendments build on existing protections by requiring insurers

to settle automobile insurance claims using repair standards described by the Bureau of Automotive Repair, and not the insurer’s own standards of repair,” said Commissioner Jones. “This also places greater accountability on the insurer when they require use of an aftermarket replacement part so that damaged automobiles are repaired properly and safely.”

After investigating complaints from consumers and automobile repair shops and evaluating the law, CDI drew the conclusion that defective or otherwise non-compliant aftermarket parts continued to infiltrate the repair process due to insurers’ failure to perform the necessary steps to ensure public safety.

CDI had been made aware of defective aftermarket bumper reinforcements, hood latches, and other safety related parts being required by insur-

ers that otherwise were not compliant with current repair standards. CDI had also been made aware of substantial costs borne by automobile repair shops and their customers associated with installing defective or poorly fitting parts required by insurers. Performing repairs that do not comply with current repair standards or placing an inferior aftermarket part in a vehicle may cause the vehicle’s value to depreciate. Defective parts may cause injury or even death if they malfunction.

Prior to beginning the formal rulemaking, CDI listened to stakeholders representing consumers, insurers, automobile repair shops, distributors, and automobile manufacturers. CDI also held a pre-rulemaking workshop in November 2011, which included strong representation of many stakeholders involved in the process.

Specifically, this rulemaking will strengthen and enhance current law by: • Requiring an insurer to pay for the costs associated with returning a defective part and the cost to remove and replace the defective part with a compliant non-OEM part or an OEM part; • Requiring the current insurer’s warranty be expressly stated in the estimate of repair generated by the insurer; • Requiring an insurer to cease use of a part known to be non-compliant, and to notify the part distributer within thirty (30) days; • Requiring an insurer to pay for an amount to repair the damaged vehicle to its pre-loss condition in a good and workmanlike manner, based upon the repair standards required by auto body repair shops licensed by the Bureau of Automotive Repair.

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America issued the following statement pertaining to the new California regulations governing aftermarket parts: New California Department of Insurance (CDI) regulations approved by the California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) are likely to drive up auto body repair costs for consumers and micromanage how insurers develop auto body repair estimates, cautioned the Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC).

“We want to send a cautionary message to consumers because these new regulations give auto body repair shops a distinct advantage in preparing scope of work estimates, which could drive up repair costs,” said Armand Feliciano, ACIC vice presi-

dent.

“Auto insurers write the checks for approximately 80% of all auto body repairs in the nation. Insurers work hard to give policyholders quality repairs and get them back on the road, while managing costs to keep premiums affordable. These regulations essentially require insurers to pay whatever auto repair shops demand. Insurers no longer have the ability to negotiate the most effective, less costly repair.”

The CDI regulations were originally released in June 2012. ACIC provided comments expressing concerns in August 2012. The OAL approved the regulations on December 31, 2012 and will become effective on January 31, 2013.

“These regulations let auto body

repair shops—who have a financial stake in the repair process—to unilaterally set the repair prices, and insurers will not be allowed to counter those prices,” said Feliciano. “Additionally the regulations will incentivize repair shops to use original manufacturer parts—which are 60% more expensive than aftermarket parts even though the aftermarket part is equivalent, or in some cases better.”

Under the new aftermarket parts regulations, insurer estimates for auto repairs must do the following: (1) Be in “an amount that will allow for repairs to be made in accordance with accepted trade standards”; (2) Must not “deviate from the standards, costs, and/ or guidelines provided by the third-party automobile collision repair estimating soft-

ware”; and (3) Require insurer adjusted estimates to be in either “an edited copy of the claimant’s repair shop estimate or a supplemental estimate..., and the adjusted estimate must “identify specific adjustment made to each item and cost ....”

“The new rules also require insurers that encourage the use of aftermarket parts to provide written warranties on parts that the insurers did not manufacture,” said Feliciano.

“The enabling legislation that authorizes these regulations required manufacturers to warrant the aftermarket parts, not insurers.”

Under the new aftermarket parts law, insurers who try to control costs by specifying the use of aftermarket

Continued from Page 26

Board of Directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America. He has also been president of the National Eagle Scout Association.

A native of Kansas, Gates received his master’s degree in history from Indiana University and his doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University.

Gates was installed as Chancellor of the College of William and Mary in 2012.

PCIA and ACIC Complain About New California Aftermarket Regulations Citing Consumer Costs

NADA Keynote Speakers

Independent Trustees of The Fidelity Funds, the nation’s largest mutual fund company, and on the board of directors of NACCO Industries, Inc., Brinker International, Inc. and Parker Drilling Company, Inc. Gates currently serves on Starbucks’ Board of Directors. He has also served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Council on Education, the

30 FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Continued from Cover

Greg Coccaro

other shops considering legal action against insurers, Coccaro said it depends on the circumstances.

“One has to think long and hard before taking on a billion-dollar corporation,” he said. “In my case, I felt I had no choice. The problem is that it has to be something that’s pretty egregious for you to do it. I felt if I didn’t do it, I had a chance of losing my business, so that’s why I did it. I

See ACIC Complains, Page 36

don’t think it’s something that a single shop wants to take on. Anything similar to what I did would have to be done on a class-action where there are multiple shops rather than laying it on the shoulders of one individual shop.

Don’t take anything on alone unless you absolutely have to.”

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

I-CAR Tech

I-CAR: Necessary Culture Changes for Blueprinting Process Blueprinting is a term often heard in the ure 1). This is where everyone involved working together in a dedicated stall. process starts, the same blueprinting collision repairDistinctive industry. Blueprinting inDealerships the repair process is responsible for This system allows for the two people process must be followed on each vemeans different things to different peoall the repairs of all the vehicles, not with Larry Williams ple, but blueprinting really is establishjust the person who did a particular ing a standard operating procedure task. This does not mean that everyone (SOP) that allows for the discovery of does the same tasks or needs to work all the damages before repairs begin. As on all the vehicles that come through part of the blueprinting process, all the the repair facility. What this does mean parts should be identified right down to is that the words “that’s not my job” the blend panels and the clips that are should be eliminated from everyone’s with Lee Amaradio Jr. needed. The correct repair information vocabulary.

By changing to a team apshould be found along with any color proach, when one person is struggling matching that needs to be done. Folwith something, there is always somelowing these steps and others, before reone to offer assistance or guidance. pairs begin, will eliminate the problems The people involved in the bluethat arise from finding additional damprinting process also need to underage during the repair process, which can stand that one of the main concepts of interrupt and delay the repairs on that blueprinting is rearranging the order of vehicle. Worse yet, is when the vehicle the steps necessary to repair a vehicle. is repaired incorrectly because vehicle For example, the “extra work” at maker repair procedures were not folthe beginning of the repair process may lowed. be incorrectly perceived as additional One of the biggest challenges to work. However, in reality it is work that implementing the blueprinting process was traditionally done throughout the may be the staff’s perception of what repair. By doing this work in the beginwill be involved. To be successful, ning, all of the repairs can be completed those perceptions must be changed. in a complete, efficient, and timely manner. An example of this would be disassembling a blend panel before the vehicle enters the repair technician’s stall, and finding that a door molding is a one-time use molding. By identifying this one-time use molding in the beginning of repairs, it allows the part to be ordered and prevent the vehicle from with Dan Espersen being delayed due to a missing part.

Some staff members may not be Figure 1 The estimator is working with a disassembly technician at the vehicle, as it willing to make the necessary changes is being disassembled to the new blueprinting process. In this case, the person in charge may have to make some hard decisions. If this perChanging Staff Perceptions The blueprinting process requires a son can be convinced to try the changes, culture change throughout the repair they’ll most likely get onboard with the facility. It also requires input from the changes. If the person refuses to change entire team, not just management, to what they’ve always done, the bluebe successful. To change the culture, printing process will be difficult, if not it may take some time for everyone to impossible to implement. Unfortuwith Mike Causey get onboard with the changes.

They nately, it may end in the manager and may feel that the new system will af- technician deciding to part ways; this is fect their efficiency and the work they never an easy decision. produce. That is one of the reasons to A disassembly blueprint estimator implement small changes at first, so is an example of one of the many opthat the people who are resistant to tions for implementing the blueprintmaking the changes can see positive ing process. With this option, the results immediately. person that does the disassembly is It is also important to change the also the one submitting the completed staff’s thought process from being an damage report. Another option is a individual to a team concept (see Figdedicated technician and estimator

to develop an SOP so that they can be consistent in the blueprinting process.

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ALL OEM Information

Figure 2 An estimator is taking preliminary measurements using the Matrix Wand measuring system

How blueprinting is implemented will be influenced by the size and configuration of the repair facility (see Figure 2). Whatever system will work in the repair facility is what should be implemented. While all vehicles and collisions are different, the blueprinting process for each repair can remain consistent. It is important that once the

hicle. However, this does not mean that the blueprinting process cannot evolve and change. Once the blueprinting process is in place, there will be steps in the process that may require modification and improvement.

For more information on implementing the blueprinting process, take the I-CAR Live Demo “Blueprinting Process and Damage Discovery (BLU01)” course.

This interactive course defines the blueprinting process and helps improve repair quality while streamlining efficiencies through a standardized approach to collision repair planning.

During this course, the instructor uses an actual vehicle to demonstrate technique to help students uncover hidden damage that impacts the repair process.

To find a class near you and to register, visit www.i-car.com and use the Live Class Search Feature.

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Audatex’s AutoWatch App Updates Customers

Audatex North America, Inc. recently launched a new iPhone app for AutoWatch, its web-powered repair tracking solution. The new app follows the July introduction of an AutoWatch Android app and is available as a free download to all AutoWatch customers via iTunes and the iPhone App Store.

AutoWatch gives collision repair facilities a proven way to enhance customer service and improve customer communication by allowing vehicle owners to view the progress of their repairs online. Repairers use the solution daily to upload and post digital photos and the latest vehicle repair status information to an interactive website, keeping customers up to date through completion of the job.

Now, repair facilities can upload this same repair status information quickly and conveniently via their iPhones—whether they’re away from the office or working on the shop floor.

At the same time, vehicle owners can choose to receive AutoWatch vehicle status updates on the web, via email or text message, and can even share updates with friends via Facebook.

“With both Android and iPhone apps now available for AutoWatch, we’re covering every corner of the smart phone market in order to give shops all the options they need to connect more effectively with vehicle owners,” said Gordon Henderson, Vice President, Collision Repair Services, Audatex North America.

“Better communication not only leads to an improved claim experience, but also translates into more referral business as well as stronger DRP relationships.”

Hundreds of AutoWatch users are now taking advantage of the mobile apps to issue instant repair updates from their smart phones, according to Henderson.

“I really like the ease and convenience of the AutoWatch iPhone App,” said Greg James, Manager of Rick Warner Body Shop in Salt Lake City, UT. “Having AutoWatch in my pocket on my phone has certainly helped me keep my customers better informed of their repair status.”

Henderson added, “The mobile apps are taking off as AutoWatch has been proven to reduce incoming customer phone calls, compress cycle times and, ultimately, increase customer satisfaction.”

Centenarian Donates Rolls-Royce to Museum after 78 Years of Use, Noting U.S. Manufacturing Allen Swift died in 2005 at the age of 102 and had owned a Rolls-Royce automobile longer than anyone else in the world. He had the forethought and funds to ensure its future preservation after his death.

The young man was passionate about his green-over-green soft-top convertible, not only driving it on a regular basis, but maintaining it meticulously over the decades (the two door-received a complete bodyoff restoration and engine rebuild in 1988).

Rolls-Royce acknowledged Mr. Swift in 1994, awarding him a crystal Spirit of Ecstasy award for his length of ownership.

By 2005, Swift had logged more than 170,000 miles on its analog odometer and he was recognized as the oldest living person to have owned a car from new. He passed away that year.

Swift left the Lyman & MerAllen Swift drove his Rolls-Royce for 78 years rie Wood Museum of Springfield before donating it to a museum to ensure its History a $1 million gift to crepreservation ate a new exhibition to care for In 1928, while living in Spring- his roadster and tell the story of field, MA, Swift’s father gave him a Rolls-Royce manufacturing in the 1928 Rolls-Royce Piccadilly P1 Massachusetts town.

Roadster as a graduation present.

Today, Mr. Swift’s beautiful PicSpringfield and Rolls-Royce cadilly P1 Roadster is prominently have a history—from 1920 to 1931, displayed in the museum’s Transthe British automaker built 2,944 ve- portation Collection. hicles in the city as part of its attempt to establish a U.S. plant.

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3M Assists 19 Collision School Programs with $160,000 in Production Donations via Foundation

Alcoa Awards $40,000 Aluminum Training Grant to Collision Repair Education Foundation

Collision Repair Education Foundation Offers $300,000 in Scholarships and Tool Grants This Spring

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3M has come to the aid of 19 secondary and post-secondary collision programs across the country by donating their Hookit II sets through the Collision Repair Education Foundation.

This product donation, valued at $160,000, will ease collision department budgets by providing students with the opportunity to work with upto-date supplies.

3M Marketing Manager Dale Ross said, “3M is honored and pleased to continue our support of the Collision Repair Education Foundation and the many career and technical schools around the country. We are keenly aware that providing stateof-the-art products to these students during their education is vital to ensuring their future and the future of our industry.”

Collision Repair Education Foundation Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode said, “According to the surveys and information we receive back from instructors, secondary and post-secondary collision school programs on average have a budget of $6,000 to run their program each year. Through our industry supporters, such as 3M, we are able to as-

The Collision Repair Education Foundation is offering more than $300,000 in scholarships and tool grants to collision students this spring.

Secondary and post-secondary collision students attending career and technical schools and colleges have the opportunity to apply for $300,000+ in available scholarships and tool grants available through the Collision Repair Education Foundation and the organization’s industry supporters.

The spring 2013 opportunities include: • 3M Hire Our Heroes Veteran Scholarships & Tool Grants • Alliance of Automotive Service Providers Massachusetts (AASP-MA) Tool Grants • ABRA Auto Body & Glass Tool Grants • Alcoa Foundation Aluminum Training Grants • CCC Michael Salvatore Memorial Student Repair Technician Scholarships • Chicago Pneumatic Student Tool Grants • Collision Repair Education Foundation Board of Trustees Scholarships • Collision Repair Education Foundation Scholarships

sist instructors with this minimal budgetary amount to instruct proper collision repair training to the future professionals of the industry. 3M has lead the way in providing product donations to collision school programs the past several years and their commitment to the industry.”

Inter-industry organizations and individuals who are interested in supporting the Education Foundation and increasing the amount of assistance provided to collision schools and students should contact Education Foundation Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode at Brandon.Eckenrode@edfoundation.org or 847463-5244.

The Collision Repair Education Foundation, founded in 1991, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to securing donations that support philanthropic and collision repair education activities that promote and enhance career opportunities in the industry.

For information on how to donate to programs supported by the Education Foundation, visit us on the Internet at: www.CollisionEducationFoundation.org

• GEICO Scholarship and Tool Grants • I-CAR Northwest Region Scholarships • The Lon Baudoux Legacy Scholarships • PPG Automotive Refinish Scholarships • Service King Tool Chest Grants • Sherwin-Williams Primer Pack Grants • Sterling Autobody Centers Scholarship & Tool Grants Students may apply for scholarships online at CollisionEductionFoundation.org by February 15.

All students who apply will receive a free safety kit which includes a complimentary technician shirt/uniform, safety glasses, mechanic gloves and a disposable dust respirator.

Alcoa Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Alcoa, the world’s leading aluminum company, recently awarded the Collision Repair Education Foundation a $40,000 grant that will provide educational and aluminum repair training to post-secondary collision instructors and students.

Collision instructors and students will have the opportunity to apply for the aluminum repair training grant as part of the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s spring 2013 student scholarship/tool grant opportunities.

Seventeen collision instructor/student pairs will be selected to attend aluminum repair technical training at the I-CAR Tech Centre in Appleton, WI, during the summer of 2013.

“The work of the Collision Repair Education Foundation is spot on with our desire to educate and train people for important STEM-related trades including automotive repair,” said Randall Scheps, Director of Marketing for Alcoa Automotive.

“As the mix of materials in this market continues to change as consumers seek more fuel-efficient vehicles, this work is even more important.

Though it will also make it evident

that working with and repairing aluminum is actually no more difficult that any other material—it’s just different,” Scheps said.

Collision Repair Education Foundation Executive Director Clark Plucinski noted, “As more and more of today’s and future vehicles are being constructed with aluminum, it is crucial that repair professionals complete aluminum repair technical training in order to repair consumer’s collision damage properly. Through this Alcoa grant, not only will instructors gain technical training that they can bring back to their classroom for additional students, but the students will have completed industry recognized, I-CAR aluminum repair training making them more employable to the industry. I thank Alcoa for their support and we look forward to working together with them and ICAR on training the future repair professionals of the collision industry.”

Collision Repair Education Foundation spring 2013 scholarship and tool grant applications are available online at www.CollisionEducationFoundation.org. Questions? Call 847.463.5244 or email Brandon.Eckenrode@ed-foundation.org.

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NABC Launches Newly Revised Corporate Website

The National Auto Body Council (NABC) recently launched an updated version of its corporate website—www.autobodycouncil.org— that includes a timely and comprehensive approach to presenting information on the organization and the programs and services it provides.

In addition, the website contains details—some of it being published for the first time—regarding the NABC’s most recent events and initiatives, including Distracted Driving, InLanguage and Operation Comfort.

New material is also being made available on long-standing, established projects like Recycled Rides and First Responders Emergency Extraction (FREE). An expanded history on the National Auto Body Council and why it came into being is another noteworthy addition.

The website’s layout and organization has been re-designed to be more inviting to visitors, making it easier to find and access the desired information. Online forms make it vastly simpler to submit registration information to the National Auto Body Council, including that for NABC membership and sign-ups and sponsorships for the annual golf fundraiser. Descriptive overviews of the recently introduced

Award of Distinction and Bodyshop Image Award are also available, complete with printable PDF forms for those wishing to nominate individuals for the awards.

“Though the website has always contained useful information for our members and those interested in the work of the National Auto Body Council, we thought we could do a better job of delivering it,” said Liz Stein, NABC marketing co-chair.

“And since we were going to streamline the website, what better time to bring the information it contains up-to-date to reflect the variety of new programs and services we have begun to deliver. We think visitors will be pleasantly surprised by the changes they’ll see when they land on our site.”

Please note that the transition to the redesigned website is in process and that some sections may still under construction. Completion is slated for the upcoming weeks.

The National Auto Body Council extends an open invitation to its members and the industry to let us know what they think.

Please contact Liz Stein at (888667-7433) or e-mail chuck@autobodycouncil.org if you would like to provide feedback.

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NABC Gives Update on ‘Operation Comfort’ Mission

The National Auto Body Council (NABC) recently announced an update to its formal plan to raise $1.5 million to provide I-CAR curriculum and training to wounded veterans in a partnership with Operation Comfort.

Along with NABC website updates, a weekly update of the committees progress, activities and plans will be communicated to the industry atlarge via press releases or “Mission Status” updates.

Chuck Sulkala, executive director of the NABC, said “This project has been given highest priority by the NABC board and we will give ongoing updates and total transparency to the entire industry of our efforts.”

The plan includes raising $1.5 million to purchase, completely renovate, and equip a 30,000-square-foot training facility in San Antonio, TX, on behalf of Operation Comfort’s Automotivation program. The NABC has raised over $200,000 to date towards this goal.

“There is no other program in our industry that connects wounded veterans with entry-level job opportunities in auto body repair. Participants will receive training in collision re-

pair, estimating, vehicle refinishing and other related topics toward the goal of preparing them for full-time employment in our industry. We have an obligation to help those who have given so much for the freedoms we treasure,” said Sulkala.

Founded in 2004, Operation Comfort is a 501 C-3 nonprofit organization that complements the rehabilitation efforts carried out by the U.S. Army at the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC). As a form of occupational therapy, the organization runs the AutoMotivation program through which disabled veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan—in many cases those that have lost one or more limbs—are helped with rehabilitation through automotive-related repair activities.

Visit www.operationcomfort.org/ automotivation/ for more information.

All collision repair-related associations, businesses, body shops and individual collision repairers are strongly encouraged to make donations for this project. For any further information, contact Chuck Sulkala at chuck@autobodycouncil.org or call (888) 667-7433.

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Continued from Cover

PartsTrader Costs

there’s a fee. I don’t know how that’s better for me. So far, I can’t get anything out of PartsTrader or CollisionLink/OE Connection because they are under a non-disclosure agreement,” Kellogg added.

Kellogg is unhappy with how PartsTrader has affected his business.

“It’s absolutely terrible. It gets me very small visibility. We are a multi-program dealer. I deal with wholesale parts.

It’s imperative I see the entire estimate. I can’t see the entire estimate the way PartsTrader works, and so far they haven’t been too keen on my suggestions on how to become more visible. We just want to be 100% visible. We want every opportunity to sell our parts.”

Kellogg continued, “In our business, or in any business, you want full visibility. But they (PartsTrader) narrow what can be seen in their program. If you send over the estimate through CollisionLink, I get to see Continued from Page 30

ACIC Complains

parts must do the following: 1) Must disclose in writing that it warrants aftermarket parts to be “at least equal to the original equipment manufacturer parts in terms of kind, quality, safety, fit, and performance”; 2) Cease using the aftermarket parts if the insurer has knowledge that a part is unequal to the original equipment manufacturer parts”; and 3) Pay for the costs associated with “returning the part and the cost

everything, all the things you are looking for a quote on—aftermarket pricing, everything you can possible do— and we get to submit a quote on that.

When it comes through as a PartsTrader order, all I get is ‘quoted new’ or ‘quoted aftermarket.’ Well, the rules of the Mopar Conquest Program are that I have to have an estimate. Do I quote it as an aftermarket part, a competitive part, or a new part? If they are not asking for an aftermarket part, all I can do is quote it as new.

Once I made the bid and they come back and say “Hey, I had to go aftermarket” and I could say “Hey, I wish you’d give me a shot,” they aren’t going to retype all that information in again. They’re gonna say they already got the part ordered.”

Kellogg said he loses about 50 or 60 claims a month now and estimates his loss of gross income at $800 a month because of PartsTrader.

He’s hoping that in the future, PartsTrader will bought out by OE Connection as they have a current non-disclosure agreement between the

two of them, and it’s his opinion that a sale between the two is a possibility.

The current system through OE Connection has full visibility.

While Kellogg’s main complaint is not having complete visibility for an estimate on PartsTrader, he also says, it’s “duplicating something over and over again, and having a bunch of ankle biters, not in the wholesale business, turning the business into a pricing war because they are not sitting on large inventory” trying to undercut him.

He bases his business on larger shops and MSOs because they already understand that discounting isn’t everything.

While PartsTrader is a thorn in his side, Kellogg admits it hasn’t been the biggest game-changer in the business over the past several years. “It’s just another hurdle. It’s a puddle. It hasn’t become a giant pothole yet.”

But, he said, if wishes could come true, he’d wish it away. He’s worried about other insurance companies following suit. “I am worried about what’s

coming down the line. Who’s next?”

He added, “The fear I have with PartsTrader, and if you understand how State Farm works—State Farm does a $3.6 billion [annually in parts] business—they have to pay sales tax on what it is they do at retail level. So if they get a bunch of idiots who don’t understand this business, who are selling parts to everyone, and they get them to lower the manufactured suggested retail price, then they may only have to pay taxes on $2.6 billion off retail, which would decrease their taxable liability by a billion dollars. And it would also ruin our business. I don’t want to see that happen. But I think this is one reason why they are doing it. That’s my opinion.”

Kellogg said he sees how the ‘PartsTrader effect’ is trickling down to affect other businesses. “I just don’t know how to make it go away, but I wish that it would. Anytime when you start decreasing our revenue, we have to let something go, like advertising or people. There is always a ramification for everything,” Kellogg said.

to remove and replace” the aftermarket parts “The use of aftermarket parts is a proven way to make quality car repairs while containing costs which then keeps premiums reasonable,” said Feliciano. “These regulations will make it more difficult for insurers to provide policyholders with affordable alternatives and choices. Limiting the use of aftermarket parts is like taking away the option to saving money by using generic drugs.”

Feliciano said the new regulations give auto body repair shops “a distinct advantage in preparing scope

of work estimates, which could drive up repair costs.”

Feliciano told media sources that, “Auto repairers have resorted to legislation via the regulatory process. We feel that some of these regulations that have been put into place are outside of what the CDI has the authority to do.”

Former president of the ACIC, Sam Sorich, discussed the new regulations in his law blog this week and explained some of the insurance industry’s concerns. Sorich is now an attorney with the law firm Barger & Wolen LLP in Sacramento.

“Insurers argued that the depart-

ment lacked the authority to impose auto body repair shop regulations on insurers,” Sorich wrote. “Insurer representatives also contended that the regulatory provision that an insurer must warrant a non-OEM part is inconsistent with a Business & Professions Code statute which explains that non-OEM parts warranties are provided by the manufacturer or distributor of the parts.

Insurers pointed out that the amendments would be harmful to the public because the amendments’ restriction on the use of non-OEM parts will lessen competition in repair parts and will lead to higher repair costs.

Custom Painter JoAnn Bortles Named Automotive Spokesperson for Hypertherm JoAnn Bortles, a custom hot rod/motorcycle fabricator, certified welder, and renowned custom painter, was recently named 2013 national automotive spokesperson for Hypertherm, a manufacturer of advanced cutting systems.

Autobody News featured Bortles in its March, 2012 issue, “Airbrush Artist JoAnn Bortles is Writing her Seventh Painting Book.” See www.autobodynews.com and search ‘JoAnn Bortles.’

In her new role, Bortles will help educate and teach people about the benefits of using Powermax plasma systems and make public appearances on behalf of Hypertherm at a variety of automotive conferences and shows,

including SEMA and the Hot Rod & Restoration Show. She is scheduled to participate in a variety of speaking opportunities across the country.

JoAnn Bortles with best paint of the year 2006

“We are pleased to welcome JoAnn Bortles to the Hypertherm team and look forward to reaching an ex-

36 FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

panded automotive audience with JoAnn’s extensive background and knowledge,” said Reese Madden, director of North American Marketing.

“She brings to our team a multitude of skills and understands the need for plasma cutting in the hot rod and auto restoration segment.”

Bortles brings more than 30 years of automotive, technical experience and expertise to her new role and Hypertherm welcomes the opportunity to reach a new Powermax market segment through this partnership.

“As the owner of a small shop, the number one rule I have learned is that time is money. Wasted time is very expensive and by using the right prod-

ucts, it makes all the difference in how much profit a shop will make each week,” said Bortles. “I look forward to showing shop owners and hobbyists the benefits of plasma cutting, and breaking the old stereotypes of plasma from decades ago.”

Bortles was the first female to break into the motorcycle painting industry. Her other “firsts” include the following: • First female whose personal bike was featured on the cover of Easyriders Magazine in 2004 • First custom painter/fabricator featured in Southern Living Magazine • First female biker featured on NBC’s TODAY Show

Original Batmobile Sold for $4.6 Million at Auction

Judge to Rule Soon on Batmobile Copyright Suit

at Barrett-Jackson, the Scottsdale, AZ, rare and classic auto auction house. There was a reserve price for the car, built and owned by famed car customizer George Barris.

The one-of-a-kind 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car was originally created by a design team at Ford Motor Co.’s Lincoln styling department. The 19-foot-long, two-seat, bubble-topped grand touring car prototype was entirely hand-built in 1954 by Ghia Body Works in Turin, Italy, and unveiled in 1955 at the Chicago Auto

A Gotham Garage replica of the “1966 car,” the television Batmobile

The iconic Batmobile from the 1960s television show sold for $4.6 million at the Barrett-Jackson classic car auction held in Arizona the weekend of Jan. 19–20.

The midnight-black and fluorescent-red-pinstriped car that Adam West’s Batman used to battle villains in Gotham was up for grabs Jan. 19

Show. In late 1965, 20th Century Fox Television and William Dozier’s Greenway Productions tapped Barris to come up with a car to foil Batman’s enemies.

Barris said he bought the 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car from Ford for $1, then transformed the Lincoln in just 15 days for $15,000.

The car features bulletproof plexiglass bubble windshields and the Bat Ray (dual 450-watt laser beams that blasted obstacles to bits). It also has a Bat-O-Meter, which identified the location of the bad guys, as well as oil squirters (fashioned from lawn sprinkler heads) to foil evil-doers.

“I saw the script and it said, ‘Bang,’ ‘Pow,’ ‘Boom,’” Barris, now 87, said.

“That’s exactly what I wanted the car to do. I wanted it to be as big a character as the actors.”

Since the television show ended in 1968, the Batmobile has been on display at Barris Kustom Industries in North Hollywood, CA, in a gallery.

“It’s difficult to part with,” Barris said. “Whoever the lucky buyer is, I hope they have as much fun with it as I did.”

The buyer of the car is Phoenixarea logistics company executive Rick Champagne.

A copyright case involving DC Comics, custom-car builders and the Batmobile from the 1960s Batman television series could reach a conclusion later this month, the Wall Street Journal’s Driver Seat recently reported.

In 2011, DC, a unit of Warner Bros.

Entertainment Inc., sued car builder Mark Towle, who runs Gotham Garage, a Santa Ana, CA, shop whose business

includes selling hand-built Batmobile replicas. Both sides filed recently for summary judgment and a hearing with a judge is scheduled for Jan. 30. The judge could find in favor of either party or decide the case has to go to trial.

The company said the replicas violate copyrights associated with vehicles Batman has used dating to the character’s early comic-book days.

Towle and his Los Angeles lawyer, Larry Zerner, counter that

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cars are not subject to copyright protection and the Batmobile from the television show—known to fans as “the 1966 car”—has virtually no design connection with earlier comicbook versions.

The television car that people of a certain age recall fondly began life in the mid-1950s as a Lincoln Futura concept vehicle for display in auto shows. Legendary car customizer George Barris built the car and, Zerner said, many car builders including his client have made and sold replicas since then.

Indeed, another custom car shop called Fiberglass Freaks could play a part in deciding the case. The Logansport, IN, company has been building Batmobile replicas for about nine years and has done so under a license from DC Comics since 2010.

Shop owner Mark Racop said the problem started when Gotham Garage began offering its cars through online auctions. Descriptions of the cars included statements suggesting the Batmobile design isn’t protected under copyright and licensing laws, Racop said.

The case happens to be unfolding as the original 1966 Batmobile was recently purchased for $4.6 million at auction. See adjacent story.

California The California workers’ comp benefit delivery system will undergo changes in 2013 as part of SB 863, the Workers’ Compensation Reform Package, which passed in the 2012 legislative session. SB 863 is intended to reduce system costs as a set-off for increased worker indemnity benefits.

SB 863 is designed to contain costs in several ways, while increasing permanent disability (PD) benefits for workers. Two goals of the bill were to change the way in which the system deals with PD, and how medical liens and billing disputes are handled.

Florida The Sunshine State’s HB 119 Motor Vehicle Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Insurance was signed into law

by Gov. Rick Scott last May. The bill, which has been described as the most significant auto insurance law in years, seeks to clamp down on alleged abuse and fraud, and improve the state’s no-fault PIP system. The medical benefits provisions of the law took effect on Jan. 1, 2013. They include the requirement that accident victims report an auto-related injury and seek

treatment within 14 days. Policyholders could receive up to $10,000 in benefits for emergency medical care, and $2,500 for less serious injuries.

New Jersey The Garden State planned to implement new rules regarding motor vehicle PIP insurance on Jan. 4, 2013.

Proposed changes included adding more procedures to the physicians’ fee schedule to slow rising auto insurance costs. Critics say the new fee schedule limits the types of procedures that could be reimbursed at ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), and sets hospital outpatient surgical facility fees higher than ASC fees for certain services. The N.J. Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers is seeking a stay from the court on the implementation of the new rules.

Illinois Beginning in January, SB 0275 will allow state agencies that issue occupational or professional licenses to provide expedited temporary licenses to service members and their spouses who meet certain requirements. This could make it easier for military veterans to enter the insurance profession.

Visit InsuranceJournal.com for more information.

www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 37

Toyota Working on Safety Technology to Reduce Traffic Deaths, Create Self-Driving Car Toyota Motor Corp. said it is working to develop new vehicle safety technologies that could help reduce traffic deaths and lead to a fully self-driving car, the Detroit News recently reported.

At the 2013 International CES— the annual consumer electronics show —Toyota and its Lexus unit said while research “could lead to a fully autonomous car in the future, the vision is not necessarily a car that drives itself.”

“In our pursuit of developing more advanced automated technologies, we believe the driver must be fully engaged,” said Mark Templin, Toyota group vice president and general manger of the Lexus Division.

Toyota was showing off a futuristic vehicle, based on a Lexus LS, that shows some of the new features that could help drivers avoid crashes.

Toyota says the research vehicle can scan movement of objects around it, identifying a green light versus a red light, while measuring its trajectory.

A 360-degree LIDAR laser on the roof detects objects around the car up to about 75 yards, while three highdefinition color cameras detect objects about 165 yards away, including traffic lights and approaching vehicles.

The vehicle has radars on the front and sides of the vehicle that measure the location and speed of objects to create a comprehensive field of vision at intersections.

Automakers, including Toyota, are already using some vehicle monitoring systems including cameras and radar to help drivers avoid crashes.

They include lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist systems, blind-spot warning systems, forward-collision warning and prevention systems, and adaptive cruise control. All are aimed at stepping in when inattentive drivers are about to crash.

Google Inc., which has been testing driverless vehicles on public roads with a person sitting in the driver’s seat, has lobbied states to allow the vehicles. It has logged more than 300,000 miles using a retrofitted fleet of autonomous vehicles on U.S. roads and has won permission to conduct the tests in Nevada and California.

Toyota and other automakers are also working on connected vehicles for an Intelligent Transportation System that could allow cars to warn each other about impending crashes through ‘vehicle to vehicle’ or ‘vehicle to infrastructure’ communication.

A ‘smart stop sign’ could warn a car that an oncoming driver was about to ignore the sign.

Toyota began full-scale operations in November at new 8.6-acre ITS proving grounds, located within the Higashi-Fuji Technical Center in Toyota City, Japan.

The proving grounds replicates urban roads and traffic signals and simulates real-life traffic situations using other vehicles, pedestrians and traffic lights.

Last August, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood kicked off a yearlong test of nearly 3,000 smart cars in Ann Arbor that’s also looking at the same issue.

The study will show whether drivers averted crashes because of the vehicles communicating with one another.

The Transportation Department is funding 80% of the $25 million project, partnering with eight major automakers, including General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Toyota, Honda Motor Co., Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG, Hyundai Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. In addition, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute is conducting the test of about 2,800 cars, trucks and buses.

Two Jobbers Expand with Acquisitions

National Coatings & Supplies (NCS), a national paint and body equipment distributor headquartered in North Carolina with over 75 locations in 28 states, has acquired the Grinstead Group, a Louisville, KY-based operation that includes distributor locations in 11 cities in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia in addition to its corporate office and a customer service center.

Grinstead was founded in 1968 and distributes AkzoNobel and BASF automotive refinish products as well as industrial coatings from a variety of manufacturers. NCS distributes DuPont, BASF, PPG & AkzoNobel.

Wesco buys Automotive Paint Specialties Wesco Auto Body Supply, Inc., a paint, body and equipment supplier based in Mountlake Terrace, WA, acquired Automotive Paint Specialties, a jobber with eight locations based in Bend, OR. The acquisition will give Wesco a total of 33 locations throughout Idaho, Oregon and Washington State.

Wesco plans to keep the APS locations operating under the Automotive Paint Specialties name and Ben Tuma, founder of Automotive Paint Specialties, has agreed to stay on with

the Wesco Group to assure a smooth transition. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are very excited about this latest acquisition in the Oregon market,” says Wesco VP Roger Howe, who handles acquisitions and corporate affairs for the company.

Wesco was started as a single location in Everett, WA, more than 40 years ago by its founder and President Lloyd J. White.

“The combined strength of the two companies is very exciting, we will be better positioned to service our customers in all the markets we serve,” said White. “The real success and strength of both companies continues to be the incredible employees.

We look forward to continued growth and success as the market continues to consolidate.”

This deal, which closed on December 31, is the third acquisition for Wesco in the past 12 months. The company also acquired LDI Automotive Paints, Inc. in Tacoma, WA, and Evergreen Paint, Inc. in Longview, WA, during 2012.

NHTSA Wants Loud Electric, Hybrid Cars for Safety

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed a minimum sound standard for electric and hybrid vehicles to help reduce pedestrian fatalities.

Electric and hybrid vehicles are very different than their gas-only counterparts in that they are virtually silent at low speeds, but such quiet operation makes it difficult for pedestrians (and those who are hearing impaired) to detect an approaching vehicle.

The proposal would require these ‘quiet’ vehicles meet a minimum sound requirement when they travel under 18 miles per hour. Above that speed, there is sufficient noise.

Automakers can determine the sounds they want, but the characteristics would need to meet the new regulation. Also, vehicles of the same make and model must emit the same sound.

NHTSA estimates this proposal could prevent thousands of injuries per year.

Currently, a number of models already have these artificial sounds, including the Fisker Karma with a Jetson’s-like whir and the Nissan Leaf has a high-pitched whine.

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U.S. Fines Toyota $17 Million for Not Quickly Reporting Problems, Delaying Recall The U.S. government hit Toyota Motor Corp. with a record $17.4 million fine for failing once again to report problems in a timely manner to federal regulators and for delaying a safety recall, the Claims Journal reported in December.

The fine against the world’s biggest automaker from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency that monitors vehicle safety, is the maximum allowed by law. It’s the fourth fine levied against Toyota in the past two years for similar infractions, and it’s the largest single fine ever assessed against a car company over safety defects. In 2010, Toyota paid a total of $48.8 million in fines for three violations.

The latest infraction raises questions about whether the fines are big enough to deter automakers that withhold information from NHTSA, and whether the government agency can do enough to stop repeat offenses. The fine is a tiny fraction of Toyota’s earnings. The company posted a $3.2 billion profit in the third quarter alone.

Toyota said it agreed to pay the penalty without admitting any violation of the law. It also pledged to strengthen data collection and evaluation to make sure it takes action more quickly.

“We agreed to this settlement in order to avoid a time-consuming dispute and to focus fully on our shared commitment with NHTSA to keep drivers safe,” Ray Tanguay, the company’s chief quality officer, said in a statement.

The latest fine stems from a June recall of SUVs from Toyota’s Lexus luxury brand. About 154,000 of the 2010 Lexus Rx 350s and RX 450h models were recalled because the driver’s-side floor mats can trap the gas pedal and cause the vehicles to speed up without warning. The problem was similar to troubles from 2010 that prompted a series of embarrassing safety recalls by the company.

Toyota has recalled more than 14 million vehicles globally to fix sticky gas pedals and floor mats. The recalls tarnished the company’s sterling reputation for reliability and cut into sales.

Recently its sales have rebounded as it appeared to put the safety problems in the rear-view mirror.

But NHTSA said that Toyota failed to report acceleration problems in the Lexus SUVs within five business days of discovering them, as required by U.S. law. The agency said it began investigating the SUVs early this year after receiving complaints

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from consumers. In May, the agency contacted Toyota about the problem, and it took the company a month to report 63 incidents of floor mats trapping gas pedals, NHTSA said.

“I expect Toyota to rigorously reinforce its commitment to adhering to United States safety regulations,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.

Next year, the maximum fine NHTSA can assess will double to $35 million.

Toyota, NHTSA said, agreed in a settlement to make internal changes to comply with U.S. laws.

In an August interview, Jim Lentz, Toyota’s highest-ranking U.S. executive, told The Associated Press that the company was obeying the law in giving information to NHTSA. In 2010, Toyota paid two $16.4 million fines and one $16 million fine, all for reporting violations. NHTSA said at the time that the company didn’t report problems with sticking gas pedals in a timely manner, nor did it report problems with floor mats trapping gas pedals. Toyota also told NHTSA that a recall of commercial trucks in Japan for a steering problem did not affect U.S. vehicles. But a year later, the company recalled similar vehicles in the U.S.

Top Safety Picks for 2013

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently awarded 13 vehicle models with its Top Safety Pick+ award for 2013.

The vehicle models named as IIHS’ Top Safety Pick+ for 2013 include the Acura TL, Dodge Avenger, Chrysler 200, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord two-door, Honda Accord four-door, Kia Optima, Nissan Altima, Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Suzuki Kizashi, Volkswagen Passat and Volvo S60.

To earn the Top Safety Pick+ accolade, all 13 vehicles received “good” or “acceptable” ratings in the IIHS’ new small overlap test, an evaluation that simulates safety performance when the front section of a vehicle hits another vehicle or permanent object, such as a tree or utility pole. The IIHS said small overlap crashes account for roughly 25% of frontal crashes that result in serious injuries or fatalities to occupants.

The IIHS said midsize, luxury cars were the first group of vehicles evaluated through its small overlap test. Midsize, moderately priced cars will be evaluated next, and the organization will announce additional Top Safety Pick+ winners after tests are conducted. Safety results for small SUVs will be announced this spring.

Global Electric Vehicle Sales Could Reach 3.8 Million by 2020, Research Firm Says

Sales of plug-in electric vehicles and of hybrid electric vehicles are expected to grow exponentially throughout the decade as the number of affordable vehicles increases and the charging infrastructure to support them continues to improve, says a new report that claims that the market for electric vehicles is still in its early stages.

According to the report from Pike Research, this will lead to sales of more than 3.8 million a year by 2020.

“Sales of electric vehicles have not lived up to automakers’ expectations and politicians’ proclamations, but the market is expanding steadily as fuel prices remain high and consumers increasingly seek alternatives to internal combustion engines,” says senior research analyst Dave Hurst. “Indeed, sales of plug-in electric vehicles will grow at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 40% over the remainder of the decade, while the overall auto market will expand by only 2% a year.”

Hybrid electric vehicles, such as the Toyota Prius, which use a traditional petrol or diesel engine alongside an electric motor, have been on general sale throughout the world for over a decade, and as cheaper mass-produced plug-in electric vehicles such as

the Nissan Leaf, plus plug-in hybrids electric like the Chevrolet Volt (that use a petrol or diesel engine to charge the electric battery) have started to come to the global market since 2010.

Nissan Leaf

In the US, the latest figures from the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) projected that sales of plug-in electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales more than doubled in 2012, hitting 44,888 compared with 17,735 in 2011 (this includes business fleet as well as individual consumer sales). However, the figure represents less than 0.5% of all types of cars sold in the country over the same period, estimated by EDTA in December to total 13.08 million, and this week projected to reach 14.5 million, according to Ward’s Auto and Autodata.

www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 39

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Top 5 Reasons to Give Us a Call: Provide A New Value Added Service And A New Customer Base People Will Bring You Non-Collision Work ($$)

Capture Money In & Out Of The Truck Bed

Spray-Lining Targets Serious Non Auto & Auto Income

Other Applications Mean Huge Profit & Synergy With Truck Bed Liners

877.891.8741 Take on the Big Boys & Start Winning Again!

BEFORE

AFTER Total process took just 2.5 hours!

ONLY WORLD CLASS Spray-Lining, Polyurea, Poly Hybrid & Polyurethane FOR THE KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE & UNMATCHED EXPERTISE

Spray-Lining is the Collision Alternative

Learn How to Take on Rhino & Line-X and Go with the Very Best • Warranty Backed 100% • Loan the Equipment From Us for the Entire 1st Year Examples of In-shop work: Jeeps, Trucks, Trailers, Parts & Boats.

Out of shop work: Floors, Waterscapes & Fireproofing.

Anti-stick jobs such as Bins, Hoppers, Chutes, Dumps & Slides.