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Mike Causey Announces Candidacy for Commissioner of Insurance Position in North Carolina Mike Causey, a sometime Autobody News columnist, announced his candidacy for North Carolina’s Commissioner of Insurance position in Greensboro in early January. Causey chose Dare County to launch his campaign he said, “…to bring focus on the problem of Mike Causey insurance in the coastal counties. Premiums for household insurance, especially windstorm insurance, have skyrocketed in recent
years in eastern North Carolina, worse yet in the coastal counties.” Causey said he was urged by North Carolina Republican leaders to seek the office this year because of widespread and bipartisan criticism of how the State Office of Insurance has been administered. Causey is also known as a consumer advocate and lobbyist for the Independent Auto Body Association (IABA) as well as healthcare groups and Organic farming and Healthy Eating advocacy. This will be Causey’s fourth atSee Causey, Page 36
Texas Independent Automotive Association (TIAA) Holds January Meeting
VOL. 30 ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 2012
‘Standards’ Replace Non-OEM Parts as Focus of Debate at Latest CIC by John Yoswick
A report at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) on the findings of a study into what consensus exists within the industry about the development and implementation of formalized repair standards led to as much discussion about the value and validity of the study as it did to discussion of standards themselves. “I do believe this has set us backward instead of forward,” Dusty Womble of Roger Beasley Collision Center in Austin, Texas, said of the study. “I’m sorry, but honestly, I don’t see any value in the research that has been done.” But Massachusetts shop owner Chuck Sulkala—who has not participated on the committee that organized the study but was one of those interviewed by the consultant conducting the research—said some at
CIC were incorrectly presuming that the committee was trying to make more of the report than it was. “Some of the conversations here are getting us down into the weeds right now when I don’t think we’ve even gotten in the boat yet,” Sulkala said. “We’re still looking to see where the boat and lake is, to see what’s going on rather than trying to catch fish. I think we’re still in the very beginning stages.” The Study and Findings Russ Thrall of the Repair Standards Advisory Committee (an off-shoot of CIC) was clear in presenting a portion of the study’s findings that it was never intended to be a statistically valid survey of the industry. “You can’t project the findings to the industry as a whole,” he said. Rather, he said, the committee hired See CIC Palm Springs, Page 32
UPDATE: Houston City Council Delays Vote on Auto Repair Ordinance, Draft Not Favorable to Shops Speaker Tom Hansis talks to the 50 or so attendees at the Texas Independent Automotive Association (TIAA) January meeting
19 at the Barn Door, 8400 N. New Braunfels Ave. in San Antonio, TX. See TIAA, Page 16
Change Service Requested
P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018
The Texas Independent Automotive Association (TIAA) held their monthly members meeting on January
The city of Houston delayed voting on an ordinance to regulate the automotive repair and service industry affecting every type of business that touches a car, whether it’s a body shop, an independent auto repair shop, a dealership or a big store like Wal-Mart. The council rescheduled the vote for February 15, 2012, after more issues were raised at a hearing held on December 20, 2011, when the council was originally supposed to vote on this ordinance. This delay presents some new problems to both sides lobbying over the bill—they now have an entirely new council, sworn in January 3, 2012, to update on the issues and convince to vote one way or another. A new list of council members by district can be seen at www.au-
tobodynews.com, find out which district you reside in by visiting http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/2011/index.html. The Houston Auto Body Association (HABA) would like its members to reach out to the new council and make sure their opinions on this matter are heard. Kathryn van der Pol, Past President of ASA, Houston Chapter, and co-owner of Adolf Hoepfl & Son Garage, is working with the HABA on writing their own version of the ordinance, incorporating what’s good about the City’s version to present to the new council since Houston Mayor Mayor Annise Parker, wants to pass an ordinance on this issue. Mayor Parker also made some changes to the See Houston Ordinance, Page 15
Presorted Standard US Postage PAID Ontario, Ca. Permit No. 1
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HONDA OF IRVING • Over $900,000 Parts Inventory • 17,000 Parts in Stock • Trained Wholesale Crew: Gary, Marie, Jim
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www.davidmcdavid.com
Contents ANPAC Responds to Texas DOI . . . . . . . . 14 Caliber Collision Centers Opens San Antonio,
TX Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Caliber Collision Expands Coverage in the
Group—Anything But Apathetic . . . . . . 24 NATIONAL
Focus of Debate at Latest CIC . . . . . . . . 1
40 Technicians Honored at ASE 2011
New Stores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ASE Announces New Officers, Governors
Dealerships Passes Away at 91 . . . . . . . 4
Automakers Forecasted to Add Thousands
GM to Close Truck Plants for 21 Weeks,
Including Arlington. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Louisiana Cracks Down on Left-Lane
Law Enforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Red Light Runners Increasing in
Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC . . . . . . 26
for 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 of Plant Manufacturing Jobs Over the
Next 3 Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
BMW Announces Nearly $900 Million Investment, Adding 300 Jobs at its
South Carolina Plant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Albuquerque, New Mexico Due
CIECA Announces New Board of Trustees
Service King Founder Appoints New
Diamond Standard Announces “Security
to Camera Light Shut-Downs . . . . . . . . . 6 Leadership Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Texas Independent Automotive Association
for 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Shield” Extends Product Liability
Protection to Shops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
(TIAA) Hosts January Meeting . . . . . . . . 1
Erie Insurance Earns I-CAR Gold Class
Vote on Auto Repair Ordinance, Draft
Hitting the Streets with the G & C Auto Body
Van Tuyl Group to Hold Charity Super Bowl
Meguiar’s Makes $600K Product Donation
UPDATE: Houston City Council Delays
Not Favorable to Shops . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Event in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area
Super Bowl Weekend, Autobody News
to Participate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 COLUMNISTS
Evans - Doing a Charity Build for Patriot
Professionals Badge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Meter Beaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
in North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Mitchell Parts Index Sheds Light on Parts
Trends Post Japan’s Tsunami. . . . . . . . 12
Mount Cage Nuts for the Ford F-150 . . 18
Polk Says Average Age of Vehicles is at
Not the Answer for Shops Tired of
West Virginia v. Liberty Mutual Salvage
Weaver - Check Engine Light Paranoia . . . 23
Williams - Florida’s South Motors Automotive
Ford Motor Company Toyota Motor Corp.
144,900
126,981
14.1% 16.1% 15.5%
0.6%
70,993
31.8% 10.4%
8.7%
1.7%
65,002
23.2%
7.9%
819,394
9.8%
General Motors
Chrysler Group
American Honda Motor Co. Hyundai-Kia
Nissan North America Total:
169,200 121,500 93,600 81,000 80,100 79,200
900,000*
178,887 115,856 76,268 71,847
YOY%
5.4%
18.8% 21.8% -3.0%
4.9%
13.5% 14.1% -0.6%
6.2%
9.0%
10.2%
8.8%
8.9% —
*Includes projections for brands not shown
9.3%
-0.3%
8.8%
0.0%
—
1.0%
Heroic Deed to Save a Life . . . . . . . . . . 30
Priority for 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Record High . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Parts Lawsuit Moved to Federal Court . 22
Women’s Industry Network Accepting
2012 Board Applications . . . . . . . . . . . 29
—
Publisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst General Manager: Barbara Davies Assistant Editor: Erica Schroeder Contributing Writers: Tom Franklin, John Yoswick, Lee Amaradio, Dan Espersen Janet Chaney, Toby Chess, Mike Causey, Tom McGee, David Brown, Rich Evans, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman (800) 699-8251 Sales Assistant: Kristy Navarro Art Director: Rodolfo Garcia
Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018; (800) 699-8251 (760) 721-0253 Fax www.autobodynews.com Email: news@autobodynews.com
PCI Says Auto Body Legislation will be
Being Told “No” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
YOY%
Commissioner of Insurance Position
Mike Causey Announces Candidacy for
Advertising Piece. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Insurance Insider - Legislating the “Bible”
Jan 2011
Jan 2011
to Collision Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Oregon Shop’s Parts Manager Performs
I-CAR - Accessing and Repairing Body
Jan 2012
Jan 2012
Serving Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico and adjacent metro areas, Autobody News is a monthly publication for the autobody industry. Permission to reproduce in any form the material published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher. ©2011 Adamantine Media LLC.
Outreach on a Donated Mustang . . . . . 34
Franklin - Creating a Readable
Market Share
Manufacturer
Indexof Advertisers
Founder of El Paso’s Shamaley Auto
January Sales to Improve Nearly 10 Percent Year-Over-Year Sales Volume
‘Standards’ Replace Non-OEM Parts as
Houston Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CARSTAR Expands in Texas With 3
Approximately 900,000 Units Expected for Month, 13.2 Million Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate
Southwest
REGIONAL
Kelley Blue Book Forecasts 10 Percent Year-Over-Year Increase In January New-Car Sales
Autobody News
Autoland Scientech. . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 33 CCC Information Services . . . . . . . . 9 Chevyland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Classic BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 CSS USA, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Dallas Dodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 David McDavid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Equalizer Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers TX, OK, LA, NM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Fowler I-240 Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge. 11 Garmat USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Gene Messer Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . 31 GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 37 Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-21 Huffines Hyundai Plano . . . . . . . . . 10 Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . 30 Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
LKQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 36 Mercedes-Benz of Oklahoma . . . . . 28 Mike Calvert Toyota. . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 17 Nissan Genuine Parts . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Ray Huffines Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . 5 RealParts.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Replica Plastics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Russell & Smith Ford-Mazda . . . . . 26 Safety Regulations Strategies. . . . . 28 Scoggin-Dickey Buick . . . . . . . . . . 14 Solution Finish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 South Pointe Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . 7 Toyota of Fort Worth . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 37 Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 35 Young Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 3
GM to Close Truck Plants for 21 Weeks, Including Arlington
GM spokesman Chris Lee told Automotive News that 21 weeks of plant shutdowns will be spread across the three full-size pickup truck plants in Roanoke, Indiana, Flint, Michiagan, and Arlington, Texas for 2012. The plant closings, expected to be held in one week increments, will be spread over several months in 2012 to allow for teams to upgrade and rennovate the production machinery in order to produce the new GM full-size trucks, due out in 2013, according to the Chicago Tribune. GM reports they’ve been building up supply of the current model full-size trucks to accomodate the staggered plant closing so dealerships should not have to deal with strained product supply. The company has said it’s targeting inventory of about 200,000 full-size pickups, or about 90 days supply, before the shut-downs begin. Scheduled down time for GM’s plant in Silao, Mexico, that also makes full-size vehicles will be finalized after January 1, Lee said.
Caliber Collision Expands Coverage in the Houston Area
CHECK IT OUT!
Caliber Collision Centers, a multipleshop operation with locations in California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas, announced its continued expansion in the Houston region with the opening of a new collision repair facility located in Cypress, Texas. “Today’s announcement is the latest example of how Caliber continues to expand our capacity to meet the needs of our customers and insurance clients in high growth markets across the state of Texas,” said Steve Grimshaw, Caliber Collision Centers CEO. The Houston-area suburban location is Caliber’s 94th location in the southwest and 47th in Texas. “This new opening further reinforces Caliber’s position as the largest collision repair provider in Texas truly committed to becoming the collision repair provider of choice in every community we serve,” added Mark Sanders, COO for Caliber Collision Centers. The new 25,000-square-foot Cypress center will be located at 23266 N.W. Freeway, Cypress, Texas and managed by James Loftin. The building used to house a Collision Experts location.
Founder of El Paso’s Shamaley Auto Dealerships Passes Away at 91
Louisiana Cracks Down on Left-Lane Law Enforcement
www.autobodynews.com
Founder of one of El Paso’s most successful auto dealerships, Lee Joseph Shamaley Sr., passed away on December 26 at the age of 91. Funeral services were held December 30, 2011 at St. Pius X Catholic church in El Paso. Burial followed at Fort Bliss National Cemetery. Shamaley, according to the El Paso Times, retired from the auto business at the age of 85 after his family’s longLee Joseph time dealerships Shamaley Sr. had become a household name to South Texans. The Shamaley family owned its namesake dealerships until June of 2011, when Shamaley Ford and Shamaley Buick-GMC were sold to Group 1 Automotive Inc., a Houston company with more than 100 new-car dealerships. Lee Shamaley was born in El Paso in 1920. He served in the U.S. Army-Air Force during World War II, his obituary stated. In addition to a successful auto business, Lee Shamaley had also owned the Ben Franklin variety store and real estate during his career.
A new law in the state of Louisiana has State Police troopers cracking down on drivers on the state highways who refuse to move from the left lane and allow other traffic to pass. Louisiana law dictates that slower traffic must keep to the right and allow faster traffic to pass on multilane highways. According to the LA State Police, not doing so promotes road rage, encourages unsafe driving practices, impedes the flow of traffic and delays response by first responders to highway emergencies. According to Insurance Journal, the law went into effect Aug. 15, 2009, and was revised to state that motorists are not allowed to travel in the left lane of multilane highways unless they are passing another vehicle on controlledaccess highways such as Interstate 10, or passing or preparing to turn on multilane highways that are not controlledaccess such as U.S. 165 and U.S. 171. Shortly after this revision went into effect, the Louisiana Department of Transportation erected roadside signs advising motorists of the change in the law. Nine other states currently have a comparable law. In a recent leftlane enforcement detail on Interstate 10 between Sulphur and the Texas state line, troopers from Louisiana State Police Troop D issued a total of 42 citations in two hours.
4 FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
CARSTAR Expands in Texas With 3 New Stores
Recently, three of the country’s top independent auto body repair centers around the country have joined the CARSTAR Nation to provide their customers and community members even better service and support. CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts are North America’s largest group of auto body repair experts with some 400 stores in the United States and Canada—and growing. As a member of CARSTAR, these new franchisees will offer a new array of services and products for collision repair, including the latest in repair technology, rental vehicles, national warranties on repairs, and turnkey service for their customers. As part of CARSTAR’s commitment to customer service, CARSTAR can take care of the entire process of repairing the vehicle for the vehicle owner, from getting the vehicle towed to the facility to coordinating with the insurance company to restoring it to pre-accident condition. The new CARSTAR franchisees will benefit from the CARSTAR Management Systems, which provide resources to improve key business metrics such as cycle time, participation in CARSTAR’s 17 corporately man-
aged DRP programs, and improved purchasing power from 44 corporately managed purchasing programs. The three newest stores in the CARSTAR Nation include: ● CARSTAR Collision King, Houston, Texas. Owned by Allen Suleiman, CARSTAR Collision King has been serving the Houston market for more than a decade. ● Auto Masters CARSTAR Collision, San Antonio, Texas ● Auto Masters CARSTAR Collision, Victoria, Texas. Owned by Daniel Baker, Auto Masters CARSTAR Collision is a multi shop owner that has been serving the San Antonio region for 36 years. “We are extremely pleased to welcome these new members to the CARSTAR Nation and expand our presence in the Houston and San Antonio markets,” said David Byers, Chief Executive Officer of CARSTAR. “They all run great businesses and have strong histories of quality customer service. We’re looking forward to building their business together, helping local car owners get back on the road with fast, reliable collision repairs, and giving back to the community at the same time.”
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Van Tuyl Group to Hold Charity Super Bowl Event in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area Super Bowl Weekend, Autobody News to Participate The Van Tuyl Group, an Irving, Texasbased company with more than 70 automotive dealerships across the country, has announced the first annual Charity Super Bowl flag football tournament to be held in the DallasFort Worth area. The event will be held Saturday, February 4, 2012 Ed Attanasio at the Stampede Sports Complex in Southlake, Texas— the day before Super Bowl XLVI takes place in Indianapolis. The Charity Super Bowl will be co-sponsored by the Van Tuyl Group, PPG, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car®. All proceeds are to benefit Trinity River Mission, a volunteer-based, community learning center dedicated to supporting the development of educational success in the children, youth, and families of West Dallas. The day-long Charity Super Bowl will feature 30 4-on-4 teams
competing in a double-elimination tournament. There is an entry fee of $350 per team, with each team allowed to carry a roster of up to eight players. An awards presentation will be held at the end of the day. In addition to enjoying the games, fans attending the Charity Super Bowl can win raffle prizes and participate in a silent auction. “This is one of the most exciting weekends of the year for football lovers,” said Darren Huggins, national collision director, Van Tuyl Group. “We wanted to take that football frenzy and give something back to the community, especially to a charity that does so much good and needs our support. We’ll play 59 games in about 10 hours. We’ve even invited our competitors to take part, and they’ve accepted the challenge. Fans can come out and have a great time cheering on the teams, all while knowing they’re helping a worthy organization. This is going to be a great—and very competitive—day.”
The Van Tuyl Group has long been associated with PPG. Today, PPG Automotive Refinish supplies the company with a wide variety of innovative coating products for its dealerships. Kristen Felder of collisionhub.comwill co-host the bowl’s broadcast with Autobody News’ Ed AtKristen Felder tanasio. For details about the first annual Charity Super Bowl, call 972-670-2948. To learn more about Trinity River Mission, visit www.trinityrivermission.org. For more information about PPG, call (800) 647-6050 or visit www.ppgrefinish.com.
CSS USA, Inc. Phone: (904) 567-3825 (866) 910-0889 www.carcoonusa.com info@carcoonusa.com 6 FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Red light cameras in Albuquerque, N.M., were turned off in mid-December and local police are reporting an uptick in drivers who run red lights. Cmdr. Eric Garcia told the Albuquerque Journal he worries more drivers will ignore red lights and increase the number of crashes. Garcia says the department is going on the offensive, and warns red-light-running drivers that motorcycle units will be deployed to some of the city’s most dangerous intersections to patrol and cite these drivers. School resource officers will also monitor intersections around schools, according to the Associated Press. Red light cameras have been a contentious issue in Albuquerque since they were installed seven years ago. The state last year ordered all cameras on state roads be shuttered.
Caliber Collision Centers Opens San Antonio, TX Location
Caliber Collision Centers announced the opening of its newest location, a 22,500 square foot facility at 619 Broadway Street in SanAntonio, Texas, on January 16. “Today’s announcement is just the begin-
A Smart Solution • Simple drive in access providing a completely unique and fully enclosed working environment. • Patented technology uses a massive 179 square ft. filter area including Triple Layer Paint Arrest filters. • High Volume Low Pressure airflow technology including airlock access. • Meets the emission requirements of 98% capture efficiency. (EPA- RULE 6H)
Red Light Runners Increasing in Albuquerque, New Mexico Due to Camera Light Shut-Downs
ning of additional 2012 growth through acquisitions and the development of new brownfield locations across TX, CA, AZ and NV,” said Steve Grimshaw, Caliber Collision Centers’Chief Executive Officer.
THE CARCOON WORKSTATION
www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 7
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
Legislating the “Bible” Not the Answer for Shops Tired of Being Told “No” with The Insurance Insider
When the repair industry (later than most) finally moved into the 21st century and started writing estimates by computer, shops and insurance companies alike likened computerized estimating to the advent of the washing machine. Why a washing machine? Some of you might be old enough to remember the days of washing your clothes by hand. Although I never had the pleasure, I re-
the Bible have to do with this article? Well, the Bible is exactly the term repairers often use to affectionately refer to the estimating guides. Ooops, I mean estimating systems. If you didn’t understand my attempt at sarcasm, then reread the last sentence. Repairers affectionately referring to the “estimating systems” as the Bible is my best impression of a disheveled body shop owner who isn’t
tell you that they produce merely a guide and not the word of God. Insurers should be working with the shops to discuss and negotiate discrepancies instead of hiding behind scripture. But for every shop who insists it’s a guide and not the Bible (and complaining when it’s used against them), others are saying the same thing but talking out of both sides of their mouths. How? Through legislation. That’s right. Over the past several years, shops in some states have worked fervently to legislate the guide as the Bible. The thing that repairers curse and despise is actually being put into law in a few states. Is this the work of a evil genius, a mad scientist or just short-sighted repairers? If we were on American Idol, I would be asking you to text 3 to vote for shortsighted repairers. Under some state legislation, the estimating system will serve as the
final answer to all questions and discrepancies. The legislation states that one can’t deviate from the information provided in the estimating system. Why would anyone want to mandate legislatively something that is only a guide, especially considering the information about inaccurate labor times in the guides that has been brought to light in the past few years? There are examples of labor times that eventually have been increased by as much as 100 percent from the original times in the guide. Why would repairers do this to themselves? If you were on Family Feud, Richard Dawson would shout, “The survey says: The P-Pages.” Repairers are fighting back. They have grown tired of being told by insurers that they don’t pay to mask the door jambs or any other non-included See Insurance Insider, Page 10
Young Chevrolet
Parts for Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Oldsmobile, Pontiac
call my parents talking about the painstaking process of washing clothes in a bucket when they were kids. It was an arduous process that consumed a lot of your time if you did it right. I did write estimates by hand and I can assure you that it too was a long painful process. What made handwritten estimates worse was having to go back and try to translate what you scribbled while clutching a clipboard. If you are a member of Generation X or Y (or any other letter of the alphabet), you probably can’t relate to these old-man war stories. That said, I will try to offer a correlation you can appreciate. That’s what we’re supposed to do with the younger generation, right? Entertain them and cater to them and give them a ribbon just for participating even if they finished in last place. So for them: Handwritten estimates is like having to get up and change the channel on the TV because you can’t find the remote control. If you read the title you probably are wondering what legislation and
getting paid enough to repair a vehicle. Let’s be honest: Have you ever complained about an adjuster holding the line on a labor time because that’s what the estimating system says it is? If I had a nickel for every time a shop complained to me about one of my staff upholding the estimating systems’ labor time, I would already be retired. (Don’t worry: I won’t be able to retire for a few more years, which translates into more Insider articles for your reading pleasure.) When there is a conflict about the labor time on an estimate, the Bible becomes the deciding factor. The Holy Estimating System tells shops and insurers an approximate time to complete a specific repair operation. If the shop wants more time, the adjuster says no. Why? Because the estimating system says so. Do you question the almighty written word? Shops hate insurance companies for holding the line on the time for a specific labor operation because everyone knows it’s just a guide. Even the estimating system providers will
8 FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 9
On Creative Marketing
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
Creating a Readable Advertising Piece with Thomas Franklin
I recently received an advertising booklet in the mail. Most of the ads in the booklet were for local cleaners and various personal and home services. There was also one ad for a collision repair shop, but the shop was located many miles from my mail service where I received the booklet. The shop owner had obviously been pressured into buying an ad that was being delivered far out of his effective neighborhood. And even worse than that, it was buried in a booklet that is mostly read by housewives looking for household deals at local businesses. The shop’s ad didn’t even have a coupon that might have gotten at least a couple of people to notice it. The odds of the shop getting a single job out of this ad were probably as remote as the chance of winning the Publisher’s Sweepstakes. Unfortunately, even if this ad had appeared in a newspaper or other widely read publication, it was still unlikely to get many people reading it. There were several reasons for this. First of all, most of the print was too tiny for mature readers to read without a magnifying glass. In a space three and a half inches wide by oneinch deep, fifty-two words were crammed closely together. The shop owner had probably provided the advertiser with a list of services he wanted included in the ad. Ad sales people just want to sell the ad. They’re practically never professional ad design people, so they’ll cram anything into the ad the buyer says he wants.
There could have been more space for showing the shop’s many services if half the ad hadn’t consisted of a huge photo of a late model new car. A quick glance at the ad (which is all most people would give it) would suggest the ad was selling a late model vehicle. There was not even a slight indication that this car needed or had ever had collision repair. In the space allocated to this vehicle, there could have been two photos of the same vehicle showing it before and after repairs. Given the brief attention span of most people today, any photo has to tell the desired story very quickly. A good choice of photos might actually have compensated for the poor quality of the print message. The next problem with the ad was the choice of colors. The lettering spelling out the shop’s services was red on a blue-black background. Reverse type can be very effective, but unless the type is huge, only white or yellow or some tint in-between will stand out enough to be easy to read. Blue type would have been almost invisible and the red wasn’t much better. Ad composition has to take into account the wide variety of people who will read it. Older people will generally have a problem with small print. Men are often slightly colorblind. The colored type would be doubly difficult to read for an older man who might be a likely prospect with an expensive vehicle to repair. One
Continued from Page 8
I offer these words of advice after decades of committed service to the insurance industry: Be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it. You can legislate adding pennies to your estimates and lose dollars in the process. Instead, advocate for getting paid for what you do. Don’t advocate legislating something that is as accurate as the last estimate you wrote only to have to add a $3,000 supplement. Got a comment or question you’d like to see the Insider address in a future column? Email him at Auto.Insurance.Insider@gmail.com.
Insurance Insider
labor operation. You can almost hear one repairer saying, “Dammit, we want our 0.2 to mask the jambs,” or another one stating, “You can’t pick and choose what you want to pay for!” Their answer to all of this madness: We’ll legislate the use of the estimating systems. Now insurers will have to pay us exactly what’s in the estimating system. I could swear I’m watching, “Shop Owners Gone Wild.”
10 FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
modification could make red, blue or green stand out on a dark background: That would be a slightly larger outline type in white or yellow behind the darker lettering putting a bright outline around each letter. But this is a fairly complex type process, probably not even known to this advertiser. Publications always send a copy of an ad before printing it for the buyer to proofread. But shop owners are often rushed and would probably not take much more than a quick look at it. It’s unlikely this shop owner gave this ad much thought or looked it over at all. Print advertising, whether on paper or displayed in a website, must be instantly readable and provide a compelling reason for the reader to respond to the ad and come in for a service. A restaurant can send out a menu listing all of the selections they offer, but a list of a shop’s services isn’t an ad—it’s a menu and belongs in a
brochure, not an ad. Ad readers are motivated by price, speed of service or quality. For a body shop, price is only relevant for self-pay services, but speed of service can be very important. The quality of a collision repair is assumed to be good if one’s insurance company is paying for it. When quality is mentioned, the reader’s question will be, “Compared to what?” To establish quality, an ad could refer to on-line reviews, prior customer comments or even just the length of the shop’s warranty, but these would require a much larger ad than one-by-three inches. When it comes to print ads, less is more. If someone can be enticed to read an ad with fifty words or less (and that is already doubtful), those words had better convince the reader that this is a unique shop, so significantly better than the competition that he or she would be a fool to go anyplace else.
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www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 11
Mitchell Parts Index Sheds Light on Parts Trends Post Japan’s Tsunami by Greg Horn, Vice President Industry Relations Mitchell International
When we created the Mitchell Collision Parts Price Index (or MCPPI) a few years back, it was to serve as a barometer to measure parts inGreg Horn flation both in aggregate and split out by part type and vehicle country of origin. The MCPPI was created with the Consumer Price Index as its model as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is best known to most Americans as the general rate of inflation.
The Mitchell Collision Parts Price Index for 2011
The CPI is one of the most closely watched economic indicators because it tracks the rate of inflation for a wide sampling of goods we routinely buy. Just in the way the CPI measures a “basket” of goods and services and compares the prices month to month. This basket contains
‘market basket. We selected the top 20 most replaced collision parts for the following categories: Hood, fenders, headlamps, turn signals and side marker lamps. We pulled data from 2003 through the third quarter of 2011. We then created weighted average prices for these parts in aggregate, setting the base year at 2003 and equal to 100. This allows us to compare inflationary trends by part type. All part types are retail prices, in the case of LKQ/used parts, are calculated with the mark up included in the pricing.” In the most recent edition of the Industry Trends Report, this useful tool also allowed us to evaluate the impact of the Japanese Tsunami on collision parts prices. What we found was that despite some industry experts predicting parts shortages, repair delays and hoarding of used parts, there was virtually no impact on collision parts prices. What always intrigues me as I evaluate the data from this index, is that there are several other factors in play. When I looked at the overall index over time, what is interesting is the rapid increase in recycled parts prices for all vehicle types, and that salvage parts and aftermarket parts, drove the inflation index for 2011. OEM parts pricing,
wherein they will match or adjust their pricing to compete with top selling aftermarket parts. The primary aim of the OEM’s to match the competition is to maintain parts sales and stem the tide of aftermarket parts use in collision repairs. Have they been effective? As evidenced by chart 3, showing the num-
Part Use by Number of Parts
ber of collision parts used by part type, the increase in matching programs has not stemmed the decline in OEM parts use, but interestingly; aftermarket parts use also declined during the same period. By looking at the repair labor hours for the same period,
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by contrast; decreased in the aggregate. How did the OEM parts index decrease? It was in large part a result of the expansion by auto makers ‘match the competition’ programs,
12 FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
See Mitchell, Page 16
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hundreds of different types of goods and services ranging from the inexpensive to very expensive. In creating the Mitchell Collision Parts Price index, we used a similar approach of taking a collision
in pricing of recycled parts, starting in 2009 and accelerating rapidly in 2010, but still below the base year of 2003. What is behind this phenomenon? If we look back, the recycled parts distribution channel experienced
Recycled Parts Sourcing for the Repair Shop
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Mitchell Collision Parts Price Index by Part Type – All Vehicles
we see an increase in the number of average repair hours, indicating a shift to repairing panels rather than replacing them. An increase of repair hours is good news for collision repairers, and it remains to be seen if this increase is sustainable. Let’s examine recycled parts as well. The MCPPI shows an increase
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www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 13
ANPAC Responds to Texas DOI Last month we reported that John Borek, General Manager of Autocraft Bodywerks in Austin, Texas, has filed a complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance against American National Property and Casualty Company (ANPAC) and a claims services company, American Claims Services, alleging that they “knowingly used a fraudulent document to justify their short-pay” of a claim. In filing his complaint with the Texas DOI Property and Casualty Complaint Department, Borek wrote: “We believe that based on this document, ANPAC/ American Claim Service is knowingly using a fraudulent document to justify their short pay to limit the price paid for repairs to [the] automobile. By not performing these necessary operations, it will result in an incomplete repair. I have spoken today with the field appraiser assigned to this file and he confirmed that he put the needed repair operations on the original estimate although a document generated from ANPAC/American Claim Service shows a zero by all these operations.
In a letter of response to the Texas Department of Insurance, ANPAC said an appraiser working on its behalf used “an outdated document” when denying a supplement for color sand and buff from Autocraft Bodywerks in Austin, Texas, and that the supplement has now been paid. John Borek of Autocraft filed a complaint with the regulator last month after receiving a document that the American Claims Services appraiser indicated was from Audatex showing that color sand and buff is included in refinish times. In his complaint, Borek called the document “fraudulent” given that Audatex, after searching its “Database Reference Manuals” back to 1993, concluded that the document is “most certainly not from ADP/Audatex.” After a call asking for an update or comment on the complaint, the Department of Insurance sent Borek a copy of ANPAC’s December 27 initial response letter, saying it will notify him “once we receive additional information that was requested.”
Polk Says Average Age of Vehicles is at Record High The average age of cars and light trucks currently in operation in the United State has increased to 10.8 years, according to Polk, an automotive market intelligence firm. Passenger cars showed a modest increase in age since 2010, from 11 years to 11.1 years at the end of June 2011. Light trucks (including pickups and SUVs) show a more sizeable gain in the same time frame, from 10.1 years to 10.4 years. Overall, average vehicle age has been increasing quickly over the past five years. Polk reports average age based on an analysis of national vehicle registration data. The slowdown of the aging of passenger cars directly correlates to the low sales volumes and the mix of car and truck sales in the U.S. market in 2008 and 2009, a time in which more trucks than cars were registered. While more trucks were sold over the same timeframe, they showed a faster aging rate. Polk expects this trend may change in the coming years as CUV and small SUV populations in the U.S. market have risen in 2010 and 2011 due to their continued success in the market.
Additionally, the rebound in new vehicle sales in 2011 and for the next couple of years will most likely slow down the aging rate seen in the market over the past three years, according to Polk. “The increasing age of the vehicle fleet, together with the increasing length of ownership, offers significant business growth opportunity for the automotive aftermarket,” said Mark Seng, global aftermarket practice leader at Polk. “Dealer service departments and independent repair facilities, as well as aftermarket parts suppliers, will see increased business opportunity with customers in need of vehicle service.” Year-over-year Light Vehicle Population Declines Come to an End 2011 marked the end of the U.S. vehicle population decline that has occurred annually since 2008. According to Polk, the total vehicles in operation (VIO) in July 2011 was just over 240.5 million, an increase of 500,000 units over July in the previous year, and nearly equal to 2009 VIO. The highest VIO on record was achieved in July 2008, when more than 242 million passenger cars and light trucks were on America’s roads.
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14 FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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Continued from Front Page
Houston Ordinance
ordinance, and the version that will be voted on February 15, 2012, can be viewed in its entirety at www.autobodynews.com. “While this ordinance has good intentions, it paints the entire industry with one stroke. The proposed ordinance stems from an effort to eliminate a problem that comes from a small percentage of unscrupulous collision-repair shops, which is one segment of the automotive repair trade. This attempt at a solution will wrap an already difficult business in more red tape,” says van der Pol. Writing in the Houston Chronicle, Van der Pol says there are some good features for the consumer in this ordinance: “The ordinance will require all auto-repair facilities to post their license number on their advertising and invoices so that the consumer will know which companies are city-licensed repair facilities. “It will also require auto-repair facilities to carry a minimum amount of liability insurance. Currently, there is no local or state law that requires a repair shop to have insurance. In an uninsured shop, car owners are liable for anything the garage owner does with their car. Good shops already purchase insurance, but virtually all shops that lack integrity will also lack insurance. “Giving approval over the phone for any collision work will be illegal and limits will be placed on certain fees charged by collision shops. There is a good reason for this. Repairs resulting from accidents usually cost thousands of dollars. While we are hesitant to say that the city should set pricing for any private business transaction, we agree every approval for collision repair should be in writing. The ordinance includes pages and pages that regulate how records will be kept, how repair shops may gain approvals from customers and establishes fines for sometimes honest mistakes that must be paid to the city. If this new law takes effect, phone approvals for mechanical work will be allowed only if the customer provides a third signature permitting an estimate either to be given orally, in person, or over the phone. Records of that approval have to be maintained for two years. Automotive profession-
als are concerned about this for a few reasons. “Our main concern,” continues van der Pol, “is that if your car is towed in to a mechanical shop, the facility can’t even look at the car until the owner comes in or faxes or emails a signature. If you are a business owner with a fleet account, you will have to email, fax or come to the shop to give approval of authorization or to sign a waiver. This will slow down the repair process and be an inconvenience for everyone involved. “Mechanical work is entirely different from collision. It differs in that it’s quick, less costly and customers depend on our efficiency so they can get their autos back. The city’s proposal will slow down this repair process. If it sounds complicated, it will be even worse when customers are confronted with the legalese. If they refuse to sign the waiver authorizing estimates by phone, the customer will have to return to the shop, find a fax machine or send an email. “While the Automotive Service Association (ASA) fully supports efforts to root out bad players in our industry, we believe this ordinance overregulates and will be a burden to our customers who don’t own fax machines, have access to email or have a second car to come back to the shop for a signature. This is going to affect senior citizens, the disabled, those with lower incomes, and those who depend on one vehicle the most. “Another provision is that no authorizations are required for repairs under $100. As long as your bill is $99.99, the repair shop does not need your permission to make repairs or perform maintenance on your vehicle. Our concern is that if you are dropping off your car for an oil change and the technician calls because he determines your coolant needs to be flushed, the work will exceed $100. Then you will have a delay in repair if you did not sign the waiver - even though we still have the two signatures required by the state. This provision seems unnecessary and could lead to confusion and abuse. “If a shop neglects to put the license plate number, vehicle identification number, or mileage on a work order, or records it inaccurately, it could result in a criminal misdemeanor charge with a $200 to $500 fine.
“Why do the mayor and some members of City Council feel this ordinance is needed? “The ASA was told it was necessary because there were some bad body shops taking advantage of insurance companies, resulting in a rise of insurance premiums. “ASA requested information through an open records request about the complaints so that as an industry, we could better understand what problems the city is trying to address. The complaints did indeed support that there are some bad players in the collision repair industry who are charging excessive disassembly fees, administrative fees and are holding cars hostage. We were given 257 complaints filed over a three-year period with the Houston Auto Dealers, a division of the Houston Police Department that enforces automotive repair facility licenses. Of those, 61 complaints concerned excessive fees from collision shops—none from mechanical. It is a problem, but, “it’s like killing flies with a cannon instead of a flyswatter,” as Councilmember Jolanda Jones said. “Last, there is the concern about increased costs of implementation that will be passed on to consumers. All our paperwork will have to change to comply. Not to mention all our fees and permits were increased this year. For example, in 2011 a Houston automotive repair facility license increased 147 percent, from $200 to $495. “What do we recommend? Ideally, the city should create two separate automotive licenses, one issued to regulate the collision industry and another, simpler one, for the mechanical industry. Many at City Hall acknowledge that this would be a real fix, but there is a rush right now to pass the ordinance before the end of the year. What’s the rush? ASA has known about this proposal for less than a year, and we have been working diligently with the city to help. The Automotive Service Association wants City Hall to slow down, listen to both industry and consumers and do it right the first time. Houston City council also approved changes to the city’s ordinance on Nov. 30 covering towing companies and auto shops geared toward “trying to make sure that an unhealthy relationship between the tow truck drivers and collision repair shops is monitored more closely,” Mayor Parker said. “There are lots of reports that after accidents, tow trucks may be
being paid bounties to take cars to particular collision repair shops.” Other key industry representatives, including the Houston Auto Body Association (HABA), applaud some of the proposed mandates but are quick to say others may end up bogging down reputable businesses, slowing their ability to serve customers. James Brown, President of the Houston Auto Body Association (HABA), testified before the Mayor and City Council on behalf of HABA on November 29, voicing the HABA’s concerns with the current language in the ordinance. Brown was pulled into a private meeting with the Mayor’s Assistant, the City Attorney, and members of HPD Auto Dealers Division (Capt Baimbridge & Sgt Provost) following his testimony. The meeting lasted around an hour and a half and the group informed Brown that none of the latest revisions HABA requested would be honored for one reason or another. “We do think there’s a lot of good things in there, said Brown to KHOU 11 News Houston. “But there are a lot of things that still need some work. There are a lot of things in there that give the insurance companies the same authority as the consumer—the owner of the vehicle—which we would like to see taken out.” “HABA has been working with HPD Auto Dealers Division for over a year and that has resulted in a lot of positive changes,” said Brown, “HABA has also worked closely with ASA on the revisions and we have made a lot of progress but still have a ways to go.” Councilwoman Sue Lovell, who spent a year meeting with auto repair industry representatives to craft the changes, said that once a car arrives, some unscrupulous collision repair shops charge more than $1,000 just to generate an estimate. She brandished a binder full of complaints to back her assertion that while most merchants are honest, there have been enough cases of abuse to warrant the city’s intervention. “It’s really about consumer protection,” she said. Jeanette Rash, owner of Fast Tow and leader of a consortium of wrecker companies that clears freeway breakdowns for the city, supported the revisions in part because it will allow storage yards to increase daily rates for the first time in a decade, from $15 to $20.
www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 15
Service King Founder Appoints New Leadership Team
Eddie Lennox, Founder, Chairman of the Board, and CEO of Service King Collision Repair Centers, the nation’s largest employee-owned operator of collision repair centers, announced new leadership appointments of the company. Lennox announced that Service King’s President, Cathy Bonner, is the new Chief Executive Officer. Lennox will continue as Chairman of the Board of Service King. Lennox said, “Service King has the best leadership team in the collision industry. Cathy Bonner has added seventeen new locations now covering 70% of the Texas population.” Lennox added that Bonner’s next goal is to lead the second growth phase making Service King a national company by adding assets beyond the Texas borders. Moving into the President’s role is Chris Abraham, currently VicePresident of the Houston Market. Jeff McFadden will take the role of Executive Vice President. Also joining the executive leadership team in new positions are Eileen Clark, Chief Financial Officer, and Michael Devendorf, Chief Operating Officer. Continued from Page 12
Mitchell
the most advances of any parts channel. Large internet vendors began online and ‘near real time’ inventory displays in the estimating platforms as well as standalone applications. Large acquisitions happened in this arena as well, all allowing for more rapid market feedback of demand and pricing. I believe this lead to a market correction of pricing in the years leading up to 2009, and what we are now experiencing is an acceleration of prices because of the increase in overseas and rebuilder sales, and decreasing the population of parts harvested vehicles. What will the future hold? I believe we will continue to see a restriction of supply for recycled parts, as the impact of slumping new car sales and high used car prices that began in 2008 (and continues today) begins to ripple through the salvage parts supply world. Aftermarket parts producers hold an advantage here, as they can custom tailor output to demand, a luxury that recyclers do not have.
Continued from Front Page
TIAA
The meeting was held at 6:30 p.m., starting with a networking period. Speaker Tom Hansis from the UTSA Small Business Development Center was this month’s speaker and he talked to the 50 or so attendees about how shops can benefit from mentoring services that UTSA offers to shops. UTSA offers online training, workshops and business advising for San Antonio-based small businesses. For more information about the UTSA Small Business Development Center, please visit sasbdc.org. The TIAA will hold their next meeting on February 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the County Line on I-10. The speaker will be from the State Comptrollers office. For more information about this meeting and other upcoming events for the association please visit www.tiaa.net.
Meguiar’s Makes $600K Product Donation to Collision Schools
Meguiar’s Inc., a 3M Company, has come to the aid of 676 secondary and post-secondary collision programs across the country by donating sets of their Unigrit Fine Grade Blending and Finishing Discs through the Collision Repair Education Foundation. The donation, in total equaling a retail value of $600,000, will ease collision department budgets by providing students the opportunity to work with up-to-date supplies. The gift from Meguiar’s helped the largest amount of schools in one donation in the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s history. Northern Virginia Community College (Alexandria, VA) Collision Repair Instructor Geoffrey Brown said, “Thank you so much for Meguiar’s very generous donation. These sorts of donations really help our program by being able to expose our students to products and techniques that we could not afford to provide out of our limited budget.” For additional information about Meguiar’s Car Care Products visit www.meguiars.com Contact Brandon Eckenrode at Brandon.Eckenrode@ed-foundation.org or 847-463-5244 for more information.
16 FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
PCI Says Auto Body Legislation will be Priority for 2012
The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America’s (PCI) said auto body legislation would be one of its key priorities for 2012. PCI said it anticipates the major auto body repair and glass issues for 2012 will involve aftermarket parts, labor rates, steering and estimating systems. To help control costs and promote customer service, PCI said it will oppose legislative efforts that would restrict insurers’ ability to make recommendations or suggestions to consumers on individual repair facilities or that would impede insurers’ ability to manage the claim repair process and control costs on behalf of consumers. “PCI is committed to advancing a pro- consumer agenda that supports healthy, competitive insurance markets across the nation,” said Paul Blume, senior vice president of state government relations for PCI. “In these tough economic times consumers are best served by measures that address the cost drivers of insurance and provide individuals with choices. Our agenda will also help modernize state regulatory environments and improve insurance marketplaces.” In addition to auto body legislation, other priorities include protecting
and promoting the viability of a competitive private insurance market, curbing fraud and abuse in several no- fault auto insurance systems, addressing auto body repair and coastal property insurance issues, as well as advancing cost containment measures in state workers compensation systems. In addition, PCI anticipates credit-based insurance scoring and tort reform to once again be legislative issues during 2012. PCI said it made significant progress at the state, federal, and international levels last year on many issues, despite facing an anemic economy, increasing political and regulatory pressures, and historic natural disasters. Looking forward to 2012, PCI said it anticipates facing many of these issues again, with the additional challenge of advancing its advocacy agenda during a watershed presidential election year.
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www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 17
I-CAR Tech
This article first appeared in the I-CAR Advantage Online, which is published and distributed free of charge. I-CAR, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, is a not-for-profit international training organization that researches and develops quality technical education programs related to collision repair. To learn more about I-CAR, and to subscribe to the free publication, visit http://www.i-car.com.
Accessing and Repairing Body Mount Cage Nuts for the Ford F-150 Beginning with the 2009 model year Ford F-150, the cab body mount bolts are secured with a cage nut. The cage nut is held in position inside a cage nut retainer that is attached to the inside of a floor crossmember.
pan at the cage nut location. Be careful not to drill into the cage nut retainer. Ford service information specifies using a 50 mm (2") hole saw for this procedure (see Video at www.i-car.com). Accessing the drilling locations on the floor pan will require removing certain parts, and pulling back the carpeting. Depending on the cab style, parts that may require removal include the scuff plate trim panel, console, and seats. The locations of the body Figure 1 - The body mount bolt cage nut is secured in mount cage nuts vary deposition inside a cage nut retainer by tabs that are folded pending on the F-150 cab against the cage nut style. Locations for the ReguThe crossmember is attached to lar Cab model will differ from those the underside of the floor pan, which of the SuperCab and SuperCrew modcreates an enclosure for the cage nut. els. The retainer has two nut retaining Locations for the SuperCab and Sutabs, one on each opposing side of the perCrew are the same (see Figure 2). nut that are folded against the nut to Refer to the appropriate service inforhold it in place (see Figure 1). mation for the specific location and In some instances, the cage nut procedure for drilling the hole. may spin when attempting to remove or install a body mount bolt. If the nut Repair Considerations spins, it will have to be accessed and Through the drilled hole, locate the cage nut retainer tabs and bend them upward to allow access to the cage nut (see Figure 3). Use a suitable tool to hold the cage nut and remove the body mount bolt. The cage nut may be reused if the threads are not damaged. If damaged, it must be replaced with the correct part number (#78101C38). Ford service information warns Figure 2 - Shown are two of the body mount/cage nut against using a standard locations on the floor pan of this F-150 SuperCrew nut as a replacement, as secured in order to complete the bolt this may result in damage to the vehiremoval and the installation process. cle. Accessing the Cage Nut The body mount bolts are oneAccessing the cage nut will require time use, and must be replaced once drilling a hole from the top of the floor removed. Be sure to replace these
bolts with the correct part number. The bolt part numbers vary depending
Conclusion When attempting to remove the body mount bolts on some Ford F150 models, be aware that there may be situations when the cage nut may spin preventing removal of the bolt. Removing the body mount bolt will require using a hole saw to provide access to the cage nut in order to secure it to prevent it from spinning when turning the bolt. Locations of the cage nuts vary depending on the F-150 cab Figure 3 - Shown is a cage nut retainer with the tabs bent upward allowing access to the cage nut style. Ford service information includes proceon the cab style. Torque the new bolts dures for locating and drilling the holes. to 115 N•m (85 lb-ft). For comments or suggestions on A service plug (part #W651023S300) is available to cover the hole the Advantage Online, please contact I-CAR at following installation of the body advantage@i-car.com. mount bolt.
Give us your opinion on matters affecting the industry.
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18 FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
w
Central Kia Plano
(972) 422-9320
(972) 633-5761 Fax M-F 7:30am - 7:00pm Sat 8:00am - 5:00pm
De Montrond Kia Houston
Wats 1-800-392-6704 (281) 872-3909 (281) 872-3914 Fax
Fredy Kia Houston
Toll Free 800-883-1933 Direct (713) 941-3600 (713) 947-8053 Fax 7:00am - 6:00pm M-F 7:00am - 12:00 Noon Sat Free local delivery Free DSI shipping
Gene Messer Kia Lubbock
888-786-8128
(806) 785-2238 Fax
M-F 7:00-7:00, Sat 8:00-6:00 csides@genemesser.com
Huffines Kia Denton Denton
940-321-2504
(940) 497-2920 Fax
M-F 7:00-7:00, Sat 8:00-5:00 Local Delivery Available www.Huffines.net
Huffines Kia McKinney
LOUISIANA
Kia of Baton Rouge Baton Rouge 5740 Siegen Lane
(225) 490-8000
(225) 490-8014 Fax
OKLAHOMA Cable Kia
Oklahoma City
Wats (866) 751-1055 (405) 787-6582 (405) 789-8500 Fax
McKinney
Ferguson Advantage Imports Broken Arrow
800-880-8815
Capitol Kia
13573 North US Hwy 183 Austin
(512) 583-1900
469-525-4450
(469) 525-4459 Fax
M-F 7:00-7:00, Sat 8:00-5:00 Local Delivery Available www.Huffines.net
Moritz Kia
(918) 317-6280 Fax
(512) 583-1899 Fax
TEXAS
Central Kia
(817) 595-8325 Fax
(972) 257-7650 Fax
39650 LBJ Freeway South Dallas
Open M-F 7:00am - 6:00pm
Archer Kia Houston
1-888-983-1425
(281) 983-1437 Fax
7:30am - 6:00pm M-F Irving
(972) 257-7602
M-F 7:30-7:00, Sat 8:00-5:00
Hurst
(877) 651-4542
Southwest Kia
Toll Free 888-544-9249 Direct (972) 616-0069 (972) 421-0294 Fax
M-F 7:30-6:00, Sat 8:30-5:00
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The Honda and Acura Dealers Listed Here are HO N D A TEX A S
TE XAS
Bankston Honda
OKLAHOMA
Honda of Frisco
N EW M E X I C O
Joe Marina Honda
Garcia Honda
Lewisville
Frisco
Tu l s a
A l b u q u e rqu e
800-344-8611 972-219-0021
866-442-2711 972-731-3176
800-722-0520 918-491-0110
800-677-6632 505-260-5002
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 8-5 www.bankstonhonda.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7:30-5:30 cedgar@mcdavid.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-4 parts@joemarinahonda.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8:30-5 Jscott@garciacars.com
Benson Honda
Russell & Smith Honda
LOUISIANA
Santan Honda
San Antonio
H o us t o n
Walker Honda
C h a n d l e r, A Z
800-727-8705 210-340-0831
800-833-0180 713-663-4266
A l ex a n dr i a
800-765-1353 480-285-2804
Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5; Sat 8-12 hondaparts@bensonhonda.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 8-6; Sat 7-4 rnarvaez@russellsmith.com
Cleo Bay Honda
Wholesale Parts Direct
318-448-8255 318-445-6677 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30 hondaparts@walkerautomotive.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-5:30; Sat 7-5 wholesaleparts@santanhonda.com
Showcase Honda
Killeen
Au s t i n
Patty Peck Honda
P h oe n i x , A Z
877-253-6229 254-699-2478
800-234-4441 512-458-2910
Ridgeland, MS
800-537-8236 602-230-7306
Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5 parts@cleobay.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 8-6 sales@wholesalepartsdirect.com
Gillman Honda
OKLA HOM A
800-748-8676 601-957-3400 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5 pmartin@pattypeckhonda.com
Houston
Don Carlton Honda
Superior Honda
800-999-8309 713-776-4834
Tu l s a
Harvey
800-722-2379 918-622-9670
800-943-4227 504-368-5687
Dept. Hours: M-Sat 7-6 hondaparts@doncarlton.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-5:30 parts@superiorhonda.net
Dept. Hours: M-F 8-6; Sat 8-5 gduckworth@gillmanauto.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 8-5; Sun 9-4 dfoote@vtaig.com
AC U R A TEX A S
TE XAS
TEXAS
L OUISI A NA
Champion Acura
David McDavid Acura
Sterling McCall Acura
Acura of Baton Rouge
G ulf Freeway
Plano
H o us t o n
Baton Rouge
800-749-6227 713-371-4700
972-964-6044
713-596-2337 713-596-2338
866-733-2861 225-756-6166
Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-7; Sat 7:30-4 rkahl@sterlingmccallacura.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5 dlavigne@acurabr.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 7-5 championacuraparts@autonation.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 8-5 dgrajczyk@mcdavid.com
Mac Churchill Acura OKLAHOMA
David McDavid Acura
F o r t Wo rt h
Aus tin
888-824-9634 817-806-0571
Don Carlton Acura of Tulsa
Metairie
Tu l s a
Dept. Hours: M-F 6-7; Sat 8-5 jguin@macchurchill.com
888-550-7278 918-664-2300
800-359-8555 504-465-8555
800-575-3553 512-401-5976 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 8-5 jraygo@mcdavid.com
Walker Acura
Dept. Hours: M-Sat 7-6 acuraparts@doncarlton.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-2 parts@walkeracura.com
www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 21
Service, Service, Diagnostic Di Diagnostic gnostic and an d Mechanical M e chanical ch aniccal al NEWS nd Mec echanical Mech ech ec hanical ca
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Autobody News
February 2012
TEXAS • OKLAHOMA • LOUISIANA • NEW MEXICO
Diamond Standard Announces “Security Shield” Extends Product Liability Protection to Shops
Diamond Standard Brand Parts has announced a program of extending product liability protection to approved collision centers free of charge to address major concerns about liability on parts. Diamond Standard says its “Security Shield” provides the collision center leverage and protection against structural parts usage demands into repair, the various levels of parts quality which continues to exist, substitution of parts and the growing reality of aftermarket structural parts produced by manufacturers with no U.S. assets or product liability coverage putting the shop in the position of being the “manufacturer” in a potential lawsuit seeking damages due to a part defect or failure leading to serious injury. Program reaction has been highly positive among the major associations with the Automotive Service Association (ASA) and its collision members being the first association to participate in the program. ASA and Diamond Standard announced in January a strategic alliance based on ASA member product liability protection from Diamond Standard. This unique program underscores ASA’s focus on exacting standards for a complete and safe repair, and provides clear and
meaningful evidence of Diamond Standard’s confidence in standing behind the highest quality parts and parts policies. A unique website supporting the strategic partnership and coverage benefit will debut Feb. 1, 2012 providing ASA members access to the full program content including background, coverage, a limited lifetime warranty statement and a convenient “Certificate of Coverage” download feature. The Diamond Standard Security Shield site will also debut Feb. 1, 2012 (www.diamondstandardsecurityshield.com). The issue of shop liability and timeliness of the Diamond Standard Security Shield program cannot be understated and takes on greater importance as evidenced by a feature story earlier this week regarding shop liability. In the January 9, 2012 – Vol. 19 addition of Crash Network (www.CrashNetwork.com) the feature story “Liability Questioned” was published based on New Jersey shop owner Joe Lubrano’s expressed concern related to non-OEM parts. Specifically Mr. Lubrano posed the question of a shop being held responsible for diminished value or liability claim if a non-OEM absorber, reinforcement or hood does not function
properly in a subsequent accident, possibly causing body injury in a litigious society and called on the Collision Industry Conference meeting this week to take this matter as seriously as he does. Diamond Standard Security Shield product liability protection firmly addresses Mr. Lubrano’s concerns. Diamond Standard Security Shield product liability protection in total, represents $40 million in product liability coverage as added security to the collision center owner against the unlikely scenario of personal vehicle-owner injury directly related to the failure of new Diamond Standard parts in the repair manufactured by Reflexxion Automotive Products or Production Bumper Stampings Inc. $15 million in product liability coverage is extended by the specific manufacturing group member for its Diamond Standard Brand Parts. The incremental $25 million is premiere coverage extended to approved collision centers as co-insured totaling $40 million in total coverage directed to quality, industry best practice shop associations, DRPs, MSOs, facilitators and consolidators recognized by the industry as ordering and installing only the highest level quality structural components.
“Giving back to the industry front line is a central premise of Diamond Standard throughout the year and pivotal piece in our development of a unique branding program addressing the major issues in our industry. To receive the honor and distinction of ASA’s strategic partnership and support of Diamond Standard Security Shield validates the singleminded purpose of Diamond Standard—not only manufacturing and marketing the safest and highest quality parts available, but also precision parts using correct material, tool building, stamping and process controls here in America,” said Mike O’Neal, President of Diamond Standard Parts, LLC. “It is Diamond Standard’s ‘Culture of Quality’ that permeates its very fabric with a commitment to the industry of ‘One Quality of Manufacturing’ consistency that separates Diamond Standard from other Manufacturers. It is the “One Quality” part manufacturing commitment with USA assets in place that uniquely enables Diamond Standard to provide the collision shop owner with the solution and avoid risk due to the use of structural parts from foreign manufacturers offering no product liability protection.”
West Virginia v. Liberty Mutual Salvage Parts Lawsuit Moved to Federal Court
A lawsuit alleging that insurance company Liberty Mutual implemented policies that called for body shop owners to repair new vehicles using “junkyard” parts has been moved to federal court. State Attorney General Darrell McGraw filed the lawsuit against Liberty Mutual and St. Albans body shop owner Greg Chandler last month, alleging that the body shop followed an illegal insurance policy to install used or aftermarket crash parts on vehicles manufactured within three years of the date of the crash. The West Virginia Attorney General’s office calls it an effort to “buy time” in the lawsuit brought by the state’s Attorney General against it and one of its DRPs—Greg Chandler’s Frame & Body LLC (Greg’s Body
Shop)—over the use of salvage parts moved to federal court. The change forced the cancellation of a hearing in which a circuit court judge could have ordered Liberty Mutual to temporarily discontinue the practice of calling for the use of salvage parts on vehicles three years old or newer, a violation of state law (which similarly prohibits the use of non-OEM parts on such vehicles without the owner’s consent). Attorneys for Liberty Mutual argued the case belongs in federal court because they say it involves issues related to the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. West Virginia Attorney General McGraw sued Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and Greg’s Body Shop, for repairing vehicles with salvage parts in violation of state law.
22 FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Attorney General McGraw’s suit, filed in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, details repeated violations of the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act by Liberty Mutual and Greg’s Body Shop. McGraw’s office alleges that Liberty Mutual required body shops to repair vehicles with reconditioned, remanufactured, and used parts in violation of West Virginia law. In addition, Liberty Mutual failed to provide the proper notices and written statements to consumers. In West Virginia, it is unlawful for an insurance company to require the use of salvaged, used, or reconditioned OEM crash parts when negotiating repairs of motor vehicles within three years of manufacture, without acquiring the motor vehicle owner’s
consent. McGraw’s office began investigating Liberty Mutual and Greg’s Body Shop after receiving evidence that new vehicles were being repaired with “junkyard parts.” The investigation by McGraw’s Consumer Protection Division confirmed that Liberty Mutual employed a policy that violated state law. McGraw’s lawsuit asks the court to enjoin the defendants from engaging in this unlawful activity in the future, seeks restitution for consumers whose cars were illegally repaired with “junkyard” crash parts, and asks for civil penalties. Consumers who think they have been a victim of Liberty Mutual should contact Attorney General Darrell McGraw’s consumer protection hotline at 1-800-368-8808.
Gonzo’s Toolbox
This is a new story by Scott “Gonzo” Weaver as posted on his website, www.gonzostoolbox.com. Gonzo has been serving the Tulsa area at Superior Auto Electric for over 27 years. See his book “Hey Look! I Found The Loose Nut”, which provides a Good Laugh for Mechanics of Any Age. The book is available at amazon.com. Contact Gonzo at Gonzosae@aol.com.
Check Engine Light Paranoia with Gonzo Weaver
Charlie comes in every now and then. I guess you could say he’s a regular but I think I would call him more of an opportunist when it comes to his car repairs. He’ll go to an oil change place for oil changes, a tire shop for tires, a transmission shop for transmission, so on and so on. If there is an opportunity to get his car into a shop he’ll make an appointment and get it in. But, the one thing he seems to always use me for is the check engine light. Normally, most people don’t pay that much attention to the check engine light unless it’s staying on. Not Charlie, he’s absolutely paranoid it will come on and stay on. Somehow, some way somebody has told him that the check engine light is not a warning of a problem with the exhaust emissions or related engine/transmission problems but the precursor to a ticking bomb that will
bring an end to his ride of rides. It’s as if the check engine light is the trigger to the doom and gloom of his car. At times, Charlie thinks the check engine light has stayed on a longer than it should when he starts it up in the morning. This prompts an immediate phone call and a trip to the repair shop. With all these trips he’s seen me use several different code readers, scanners, O-scopes, and laptops that I have at my disposal to check codes and related engine systems. There’s times I think he just wants to see what new gadget I’ve got that I can hook up to his car. The more bells and whistles I throw out there the more he seems to show up with another reason for me to recheck his car. He can probably name a bunch of the scanners that I’ve used, seriously, he’s been to the shop that many times. Sometimes I wish he would take
up antique car collecting; go buy something old enough that it doesn’t have a check engine light in it and see if he gets the idea that the entire universe doesn’t revolve around a service light. It’s not like he doesn’t remember cars without check engine lights he just doesn’t seem to understand that a car can operate without one anymore. Why he’s even told me about an old car he drove while he was in college that leaked oil so bad that he had to keep a can or two with him at all times. Talk about something that sounds like it was on the verge of doom and gloom, also sounds like the typical college kids car. So you would think he would have some understanding of the inner workings of the automobile, but apparently once the service light came into the everyday vocabulary his understanding has wasted away just like the oil in that old car from college.
I’ve tried to explain to him about the meaning of the service light and about the various reasons for it to come on but it just doesn’t seem to sink in. I’m hoping the day never comes that his old car actually does turn on the check engine light, because if it did he’d probably worry himself all the way to a coronary and he would have to have the car towed in while I’d have to make a call to 911 and have him towed to the emergency room. Of course I hope that never happens, but with him I could see something along those lines. I generally let him watch the scanners do their work or have him watch a graph while I check things under the hood. The other day he was concerned about his O2 sensors and wanted to know if they were working correctly because he thought he saw the check engine light pop on and See Check Engine, Page 24
www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 23
Parts Profiles
Larry Williams is an innovative parts manager with national awards and over 30 years of experience in creating and managing profitable departments. He can be reached for consultation at ljoew2@gmail.com. To read all his columns go to http://www.autobodynews.com/columnists/williams-larry.html
Florida’s South Motors Automotive Group—Anything But Apathetic with Larry Williams
This month’s distinctive dealer is South Motors Automotive Group in Miami, Florida. This dealer services Honda, BMW, VW, Suzuki, Mazda, Mini, and Infiniti. Parts manager Mike Franceschi contacted me after reading my article on “Apathy, the Real Opponent in the Wholesale Business.” For a link to the article see the last paragraph or just go to autobodynews.com and search ‘apathy’ What I wrote in that article was: “Now is the time to be positive. Shake off that dull, negative attitude. Aggressive solicitation of new customers will pay off for those dealers that move now. Take some time and visit your best customers. Congratulate them for their tenacity and tell them you will be with them for the good times ahead. Partners who survive hard times always find their bonds stronger. Keep an eye out for customer opportunities that you may have overlooked. Be ready to serve the new customers that will be calling you. “There is another major negative assumption to overcome. Several parts managers have told me of their loss of interest in the wholesale market. The main reason for this is the lack of profit. It seems that there is constant pressure to reduce costs, starting at the corporate level. I am talking about the insurance companies that cover most of today’s repair costs. In a never-ending search for investor earnings, quality, care, workmanship, and pride are considered to be unnecessary. The Continued from Page 23
Check Engine
then go right back off. There were no codes stored and I asked him if it happened when he first started it or after driving several miles. It was while he was driving for a bit and not when it first started. “What difference does that make?” he asked. I then explained to him about how the heater circuit operated to warm up the sensor and what the sensor actually did in relation to the fuel
only thing that matters to these corporations is their bottom line. They constantly push the repair shop to reduce the cost of the repairs. The shops cannot reduce their labor cost any lower; employees are already at the poverty level. The only place to cut is the cost of materials. The solution for some shops is the use of cheaper parts. These shops adopt the practices of the corporations, and consider only the cost of materials. Save a dollar, no matter what method you use. “We need to fight back! Quality in both parts and service needs to be worth more than a 5% discount. For example, sheet metal has been a center of concern for several years. Cheap replacement imported metal has found customers, at the cost of quality. Numerous organizations have come out to support the use of original parts only. We all agree on the value of quality in this area. How about the rest of the operation? How about quality of service? “I have never advocated sacrificing service and quality for cost. I believe if you pay less, you get less. There is a minimum everyone must pay for quality service. The competition should be for better service, not cheaper prices. I believe that servicing the wholesale market is still a rewarding job. Our final goal, happy customers, is a worthy goal and customer satisfaction brings us our own happiness.” Mike shared the article with his countermen, and was pleased to be able to say to them: “I’m not the only
mixture. This only made him even more curious to what they did. “Watch this Charlie. I’ll graph the O2 sensors here on this scope and I’ll show you the front sensor and its corresponding rear sensor. You’ll see the voltage changes on the screen as well as the differences between the front and rear sensors at the same time on the screen,” I told him. “Fascinating, simply fascinating,” he said, “But I don’t see how that translates to fuel?” The more I explained the more he seemed to be lost. He still seemed to be more concerned about what was
24 FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
one who talks about this every day!” This comment, in my opinion, is the key to understanding Mike’s success in these troubled times. He talks to his men every day, encouraging them and keeping their spirits high. There are four full time wholesale countermen, Ozzie, Rudy, Alex, and Danny. Professional, knowledgeable men, with more than a hundred years of experience available to their customers! This team keeps five drivers constantly on the road. Belinda, Carlos, Jose, Luis and Noel make three runs daily, and will go as far as sixty miles to service their customers. An inventory of over half a million dollars ensures “on hand” status of fast moving parts. A daily ordering system means needed parts are almost always available the next morning. Body shops in this area have had a hard time the last few years, but sales at this dealership have held steady, and even increased slightly despite the recession. Collision Link is used by this dealer, of course. This program allows Mike to be competitive on pricing, ensuring repairs are always made with quality, original parts. Every dealer I have talked to mentions Collision Link as one of their most valuable tools in the wholesale market. Mike has been at South Motors for twenty years, fifteen of them as parts manager. He says his “secret to success” is his focus on sales. His office is near the front counter, and he talks to his customers as often as possible. He watches his daily sales, stay-
going to happen with that check engine light. I kept up with the explanation until I got to the point where he was just staring off into space and lost interest in me, the check engine light and the little graph moving up and down on the screen. I don’t know if he ever understood a thing I said, or for that matter has reconsidered the importance of the check engine light. All I know is that at some point in time somebody is going to tell him something stupid regarding the check engine light and he’ll make another trip to
ing on top of his business with his friends. He calls one or two each day, checking to make sure he has filled their orders properly, and that they are satisfied with his service. Mike takes his job very personally, and talked to me about the value of long term relationships, and the feeling of “family”, not just customers. He spoke about trust, sincerity, and respect. He spoke of service over price, wanting happy customers, and close partnerships with valued customers. These philosophies, of service, and partnership are common to all the successful managers I have talked with in the last year. They all consider their customers as friends, and make price a minor condition to the business of auto repair. I believe that success is not determined by a building, a location, advertising, or price. Success is a reward to those people who want it, work for it, and are never stopped. Mike Franceschi is successful because his desire to be the best knows no boundaries. I recommend this distinctive dealer to any auto body shop in the Miami area that wants the best service available. You can do no better than the South Motors Automotive Group. You can read Larry’s apathy article online in its entirety at: http://www.autobodynews.com/columnists/williams-larry/item/5198apathy-the-real-opponent-in-the-whol esale-parts-business.html.
the shop and watch the fascinating little lines bounce around on my scope screen. No matter what I say, no matter what I do, old “Check Engine Charlie” will still listen to some B.S. from somebody out there and then head over to my shop for another diagnostics that will amount to nothing. Maybe I need to come up with my own B.S. to counteract what everyone else keeps telling him. I guess it comes down to the old saying: If ya can’t dazzle them with brilliance, buffalo them with a little bull.
with our Genuine Ford Parts When it comes to Ford Genuine Parts, go with a winning team. Use Genuine Ford Parts for your customers late model Ford, es. Lincoln and Mercury vehicles. You're always guaranteed that they will fit right the first time, every time. Take it to the End Zone.
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These dealers are Genuine Ford Parts wholesale specialists.
Bob Tomes Ford, Lincoln, Mercury M cK I N N E Y
800-792-1155 214-544-5081 214-544-5194 Fax
Casa Ford, Lincoln E L PA SO
915-490-8437 915-775-8259 Fax gilbert@casaford.com www.casaford.com
Champion Ford Gulf Freeway H O U S TO N
Wholesale Direct
800-388-4005 713-371-4111 713-371-4101 Fax
www.fordparts.com/champion
Five Star Ford
N O RT H R I C H L A N D H I L L S
Wholesale Direct
800-895-7827 817-577-2781 817-577-0558 Fax www.5starford.com
Call your local Authorizedd Ford Wholesaler today!
TEXA S
Gene Messer Ford, Mazda, Lincoln, Mercury AMARIL LO
Wholesale Direct
806-355-7417 806-352-9604 Fax
ribarra@genemesser.com Fordparts.com/genemesser
Helfman Ford STA FFORD
800-634-8008 281-240-0642 Fax
McRee Ford DIC KINSON
281-337-1529 281-534-2009 Fax
rbeeman@mcreeford.com www.mcreeford.com
North Park Lincoln, Mercury, Subaru, Isuzu SAN ANTONIO
800-880-8846 Toll 210-341-8846 Direct 210-341-3904 Fax
parts@helfmanford.com www.fordparts.com/helfman
www.fordparts.com/northparklm
HOU STON
HOUS TON
Joe Myers Ford 713-482-5000
parts@joemyersford.com
Kinsel Ford BEAU MONT
Wholesale Direct
800-468-4550 866-339-7711 Fax
Lone Star Ford HOU STON
800-756-2293 281-931-3300 281-931-3378 Fax www.lonestarford.com
Russell & Smith Ford
800-392-1983 713-663-4222 Direct 713-664-0965 Fax
fordparts@russellsmith.com www.rsfordparts.com
Tommie Vaughn Motors HOUSTO N
800-944-4415 713-869-4755 713-293-4309 Fax
www.tommievaughn.com
Waxahachie Ford WAXA HACHIE
888-325-4947 972-825-4578 Direct 972-825-4576 Direct lyanez@landerscorp.com www.waxahachieford.com
OKLAH OMA
Bob Moore Ford
OK L A H O M A
United Ford PDC TULSA
Wholesale Direct
800-800-9001 800-676-8509 Fax
adodson@penskeautomotive.com www.fordparts.com/unitedford www.unitedford.com
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40 Technicians Honored at ASE 2011 Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC Forty automotive professionals were recognized on November 16, 2011, at the Fall board meeting of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) held at the Marriott City Center in Charlotte, NC. The annual awards banquet spotlights top scorers on the ASE Certification Tests. Thirty different companies from both OEM and Aftermarket segments sponsored the individual technician recognition awards in the Auto, Truck, Collision and Parts categories, along with three instructor awards. In addition to looking for top scores on ASE tests, award sponsors examine on-the-job excellence, community service and other factors when selecting honorees. This year’s celebration in Charlotte was enhanced by a visit from five former Team ASE drivers, who volunteered their time to sign autographs and meet the award winners in person. NASCAR drivers Kasey Kahne, Jason Leffler and Mike Bliss were joined by Ted Musgrave and Jimmy Spencer to help make the reception a memorable affair. In addition, there
Zilke, ASE President & CEO. “We couldn’t do this without the support of our many award sponsors, whose ranks include some of the best-known names in the industry. Their commitment to excellence is reflected in the talented individuals we recognize each year.” The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence was established in 1972 as a non-profit organization to help improve PHOTO CREDIT: ASE, ASE 2011 Technician Award the quality of automotive Winners: Top row: Steven Sass, Brad Dressen, Ken Passmore, Adam Russell, Mike Hunkler, John Roderich. 4th service and repair through row: Warren Butrim, Pat Nicoll, Kevin Treichel, Anthony the voluntary testing and Bausano, Scott Rosencrantz, Noel Barnhart, Andreas Miller. certification of automotive 3rd row: Steven Ray, Collin Harris, John Gillies, Dan Walsh, technicians and parts speRob Bender, Neal Nuce, John Kasper. 2nd row: David White, cialists. Today, there are Sandro Giordano, Alan Davis, Shawn Lehman, Jesse Berryman, Rob McNees, Jack Harlan, Joseph DeLap, John, more than 360,000 ASEWood, Glenn Ferrer. 1st row (seated): Joseph Londo, Dan certified professionals at Pratt, Joseph Young, Mike Baker, MSgt. Andrew Slater, work in dealerships, indeMike Byer, Leo Dufault, Andy Olson, Jeff Heinz, Mark Regan pendent shops, collision re“ASE has been honoring the best pair shops, auto parts stores, fleets, of the best in our industry for more schools and colleges throughout the than 30 years, and this year we recogcountry. For more information about nized forty outstanding individuals ASE, visit the Web site at from all across the nation,” said Tim www.ase.com. were two new award sponsors this year, one being the first ever from the military, representing the US Air Force.
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mobile Technician of the Year: William Davis, JD Byrider, N. Baltimore, Ohio. Freightliner/ASE Master M/H Truck Technician of the Year: Robert McNees, Jr., Truck Centers, Inc., Middle Brook, Mo. Sterling/Western Star/ASE Master M/H Truck Technician of the Year: Kevin Treichel, Don’s Truck Sales, Greene, Iowa. Gates/ASE Master Automobile & L1 Technician of the Year: Andreas Miller, Stonum Automotive, Longmont, Colo. GM/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year: Jeffrey Heinz, Hendrick Auto Mall, Apex, N.C. Honda/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year: Joseph Londo, Bianchi Honda, Erie, Penna. Acura/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year: Sandro Giordano, Acura of Turnersville, Blackwood, N.J. Identifix/ASE Aftermarket Drivability Technician of the Year: Andy Olson, Courtesy Car Care, Holmen, Wisc. Midas International/ASE Automobile Technician of the Year: John Gillies III, Midas Auto Service Experts, Lud-
ington, Mich. Mitchell 1/ASE Technician of the Future: Steven Ray, The Automaster BMW, Essex Junction, Vt. Motor Age Training/ASE Master Automobile & L1 Tech of the Year: Joseph Young, San Diego Miramar College, San Diego, Calif. NATEF/ASE Instructor of the Year: Bradley Dressen, Butte College, Orland, Calif. Navistar/ASE Master M/H Truck Technician of the Year: Shawn Lehman, Tri County Motor Sales, Stoystown, Penna. Navistar/ASE Master School Bus Technician of the Year: Kenneth Passmore, Midwest Transit Equipment, Indianapolis, Ind. Navistar/ASE Parts Specialist of the Year: Adam Russell, Sr., Goodman Truck & Tractor, Amelia, Va. Navistar/ASE Truck Paint & Refinish Technician of the Year: Collin Harris, Int'l Truck Sales of Richmond, Manquin, Va. Nissan/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year: Glenn Ferrer, Nissan of St. Augustine, Palm Coast, Fla. Infiniti/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year: John Roderich,
Fields Infiniti of Glencoe, Phillips, Wisc. Pep Boys/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year: Mark Regan, Pep Boys, Walpole, Mass. Peterbilt/ASE Master M/H Truck Technician of the Year: John Wood, Interstate Truck Center, Oakdale, Calif. PPG/ASE Master Refinish Technician of the Year: Robert Bender, Bender Auto Repair, Saltsburg, Penna. Snap-on/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year: Jack Harlan III, Harlan’s Auto Care, Canfield, Ohio Snap-on/ASE Master Coll. Repair & Refinish Technician of the Year: Neal Nuce, Precision Collision Repair Center, Wake Forest, NC Snap-on/ASE Master M/H Truck Technician of the Year: Steven Sass, Sr., A.N.D. Service, Inc., Carlstadt, NJ Standox/ASE Refinish Technician of the Year: Daniel Walsh, Boch Collision Center, West Bridgewater, Mass. Subaru/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year: Daniel Pratt, Flatirons Subaru, Firestone, Colo. TECH-NET Professional/ASE Master Automobile Tech of the Year: Michael
Byer, Mike Byer Auto & Truck Repair, Asheville, NC. Toyota/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year: Warren Butrim, Koons Toyota of Annapolis, Arnold, Md. Toyota/ASE Master Coll. Repair & Refinish Technician of the Year: Leonel Dufault, Toyota of North Dartmouth, Westport, Mass. Lexus/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year: Anthony Bausano, Lexus of Smithtown, Huntington, N.Y. USAF/ASE Technician of the Year: Msgt. Andrew Slater, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, US Air Force. Valvoline Career Tech/ASE Instructor of the Year: John Kasper, Millington High School, Memphis, Tenn. Volvo/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year: Jesse Berryman III,Koons Volvo, Westminster, Md.
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ASE Announces New Officers, Governors for 2012 The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) announced in December the officers for its Board of Directors for 2012. Mike Phillips, V.P, Organizational Development, NAPA Auto Parts/Genuine Parts Company, Atlanta, Ga., is Chairman; Rob Barto, Manager, Technical Training Design, Nissan North America, Franklin, Tenn., is Vice-Chairman; Glenn Dahl, Senior Coordinator, Technical Education, Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC, Bloomingdale, Ill., is Treasurer, and Greg Gaulin, Owner, Gaulin’s of Williamsville, N.Y., is Secretary. John Pfennig, Manager, Service Education for Navistar, Inc. in Warrenville, Ill., serves as Past Chairman. “2011 was a milestone year for the ASE certification program as we completed the move to our new computer-based testing (CBT) format,” said Tim Zilke, ASE President. “The leadership and guidance of the ASE board is vital to ensuring the ASE program keeps pace with our changing industry. Through the outstanding commitment of ASE’s all-volunteer board and the support by the compa-
nies that encourage such talented people to serve, ASE will continue to offer our automotive professionals the high-quality credentialing program they have come to expect.” Also announced were newly elected members to ASE’s Board of Governors, representing various segments of the industry. The new Governors are: Bobby Bassett, Manager of Training North America Automotive Market, Gates Corporation, Ridgeland, Miss., and John Prosser, Manager Technical Training Operations, American Honda, Torrance, Calif. “I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank our outgoing board members for their service over the years,” Zilke continued. Stepping down as their terms expire are Al Duebber, President, Duebber’s Automotive Service, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio; Joe Torchiana, President, One Stop Tire and Auto Service, Inc., West Chester, Pa., and Lori Blaker, President, Technical Training Incorporated (TTi), Rochester, Mich. “Each of these individuals volunteered their time to serve on the
ASE board to the benefit of our industry and the thousands of automotive service professionals who proudly wear the ASE Blue Seal. We thank them for their service and wish them continued success,” said Zilke. The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence was established in 1972 as a non-profit organization to help improve the quality of automotive service and repair through the voluntary testing and certification of automotive technicians and parts specialists. Today, there are more than 360,000 ASE-certified professionals at work in dealerships, independent shops, collision repair shops, auto parts stores, fleets, schools and colleges throughout the country. For more information about ASE, visit the ASE web site at www.ase.com.
CIECA Announces New Board of Trustees for 2012
The Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) Board of Trustees has elected the following officers for the year 2012: ● Chair – Denise Caspersen, Automotive Service Association ● Vice Chair – Troy Weaver, DuPont Performance Coatings ● Treasurer – Paul Barry, Performance Claims ● Secretary – Kathy Goddard, Safelite Corporation Each of these officers will serve on the Executive Committee, which oversees CIECA business matters between board meetings and maintains the Board’s agenda. Michael Lloyd, California Casualty Management Company, will assume the title of Past Chair on the CIECA Executive Committee. More information about CIECA can be viewed on the CIECA web site: www.cieca.com.
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Automakers Forecasted to Add Thousands of Plant Manufacturing Jobs Over the Next 3 Years Due to continually increasing auto sales since the government auto bailouts in 2009 have spurred growth and optimism with US automakers. According to the Los Angeles Times, the U.S. auto industry plans to add thousands of jobs this year. Foreign automakers are also suspected to build more U.S. factories due to unstable economies overseas. “The yen, the euro, all the currencies that affect the manufacturers’ balance sheets, except for the dollar, are in flux. So the only way to hedge is to build where you sell,” Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with IHS Automotive, said to the Los Angeles Times. Mercedes-Benz announced the company would add about 1,500 jobs at plants in the Carolinas this year in early January. Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group also announced plans to add hundreds of workers to their Michigan, Kentucky and Illinois plants. Audi executives have also talked about building a factory in the U.S., possibly at the Volkswagen complex in Chattanooga, Tenn. Audi is also ru-
mored to be mulling sites for its own North American manufacturing plant beyond parent Volkswagen’s factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler told a German newspaper. Audi plans to grow substantially in North America and building its own production facility is part of that strategy, Stadler told the paper. “It is not a question of if, but only of when,” he said. Nissan is in the process of adding about 1,000 workers in Tennessee as it gears up for production of the Leaf electric vehicle and its batteries, as well as new Pathfinder and Infiniti SUVs. Automakers sold an estimated 12.8 million vehicles in 2011, a 10.3 percent increase from 2010 and the highest numbers since 2008. Automakers expect sales to reach about 13.8 million in 2012. As recently as a decade ago, the industry employed about 1 million workers. It then fell into a steady decline that included layoffs of 200,000 See Automaker Hiring, Page 32
Women’s Industry Network Accepting 2012 Board Applications In keeping true to their motto, “Driving the Future for Women in Collision Repair,” the WIN Nominating Committee is now accepting applications for seats on the WIN Board. The Board consists of various industry segments including but not limited to: shop owners, jobbers, suppliers, consultants, paint companies and insurance companies. Aside from the WIN annual Conference in May volunteer WIN Board members work together to foster an environment that encourages the education, recruitment, retention and networking of women in the collision repair industry. “Within a short time, the Women’s Industry Network has grown in size, produced informative and motivational events, and become a recognized industry association through volunteer efforts, industry sponsorships and the enthusiasm of the WIN membership. WIN is all volunteer. Volunteering for the WIN Board is an outstanding opportunity to have a present and future influence on our industry. If you are motivated to “drive the future for women in collision repair, apply for the WIN Board.” said Denise Caspersen, of ASA, chair of the WIN Nominating
Committee. The deadline for applications is February 24, 2012. For application requirements and further details go to womensindustrynetwork.com. Completed applications should be mailed or PDF copy emailed to WIN Nominating Committee; c/o ASA – Denise Caspersen; 8190 Precinct Line, Suite 100, Colleyville, Texas 76034. For further information please contact Denise Caspersen, phone: (817) 5142906; email: denisec@asashop.org To find out how you can become involved and support WIN or for information on becoming a member or sponsor of WIN, please contact Victoria Jankowski at victoria.jankowski.gsfg@statefarm.com or Jeanne Silver at Jeanne@carstarmundelein.com. WIN is also offering scholarships to female collision industry students, instructors and shop employees to attend its 2012 conference May 6-8 in Atlanta. Scholarship applications must be submitted through mail by March 9. Visit womensindustrynetwork.com for additional details on scholarship requirements and the application mailing process.
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Oregon Shop’s Parts Manager Performs Heroic Deed to Save a Life by Ed Attanasio
Would you step up and be a hero if you were in an emergency situation with little time to think? Many of us have asked ourselves this same question, but few ever get the opportunity to find out. James Bray, a parts manager at Fix Auto Portland East in Oregon was tested in a big way when he was called upon to pull a man out of a burning car and save his life. If Bray ever had any doubts about his courage or his ability to act heroically, they were James Bray is the parts manager at Fix all answered at 2 a.m. on December Auto East in Portland, Oregon. By 3. In a highly stressmoving quickly and ful situation requirbeing prepared, he ing quick thinking saved a man from a and quicker action, burning BMW that Bray was able to crashed into a utility pole think fast and take
lifesaving action. That early morning a BMW hit a utility pole right in front of Bray’s house in Vancouver, Washington. Normally, Bray would have been asleep, but luckily for the driver, he was still awake, playing computer games. Sounds in the night are mostly weather or animal-related in Vancouver, but this one caught Bray’s attention immediately. “It was a very deep pop sound and I had no idea what it might be. So, I went to the window in the living room and that’s when I saw the car wrapped around the light pole.” With an orange glow coming from under the hood, Bray instantly knew it was more than just a fender bender. “So many things went through my mind. Is someone in there and will the car explode? So, I said to my wife call 911. I got dressed as fast as I could and ran out to the vehicle.” Bray assessed the scene quickly and it didn’t look promising at the outset. He explained, “one guy got out through the back seat, and another guy jumped out through the front passenger-side door. The BMW’s windows
were tinted and the car was quickly filling up with smoke. I asked the two guys if anyone was still left in the car,
and this time it shattered. I could see there was a driver stuck in there and he was yelling, because his legs were
It’s a family affair at Fix Auto Portland East in Oregon, including (from left) Parts Manager James Bray; Operations Manager William Bray; Retired former Owner Jim Eber; Owner Camille Eber (James’s aunt) and Office Manager Iala Bray
but they weren’t making any sense. They were basically incoherent.” Rather than wait for a response that wasn’t forthcoming, Bray acted. “I hit the driver’s window with a flashlight that I always carry with me, but it wouldn’t break. So, I smacked it again
on fire. I told my wife Mindy to bring the fire extinguisher.” Bray could see that the door was unlocked, but it wouldn’t open. “I tried to open it a few times, but it was jammed, so I asked the two other guys to help me, but we still couldn’t get it open.”
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Bray handed his folding knife to one of the passengers and told him to cut the driver’s seat belt while he tried to put out the flames in the car with the fire extinguisher. But every time the flames subsided, they instantly returned. “I figured it must be the fuel line, because the flames wouldn’t stop,” Bray said. “At that point, I realized we had to get this guy out of the car right now or he would burn up. So we cut the seat belt, but he still couldn’t get him out. He was stuck in there.” Bray’s quick thinking and common sense kicked in at that point. “We cut the shoulder belt, not thinking about the lap belt and that’s what was holding him in. I gave my knife to one of the two passengers earlier, but he lost it. But I always carry a Leatherman multi-tool on my key chain and it has a knife. I just reached in there and cut the strap pretty easily.” After several attempts, the three men pulled the driver from the car through the window, burned but still alive, Bray said. “His shoes were melted to where I couldn’t recognize them and his pants were on fire. Within seconds, there was
an explosion in the vehicle and pretty soon it was completely engulfed in flames. The whole thing took around three minutes, that’s all it was.” The next day, the Vancouver Police reported that the driver was Brian J. Hall, 22. He was transported to the Legacy Health System’s burn unit in Portland with third degree burns and in serious condition. He and his friends were returning from a University Oregon football game that evening when the accident occurred. Whether alcohol or drugs were involved is still under investigation, according to the Vancouver Police. Bray’s Aunt Camille Eber is his boss at Fix Auto East Portland and she’s extremely proud of what her nephew did on December 3. “He did an amazing thing,” she said. “I am very proud of James for his selfless and level-headed reaction. He always carries a keychain Leatherman Tool, a pocket knife and a flashlight. He had all of them that morning and that is why the driver is now alive. We never expect to be in a situation like that, but James did not hesitate and was prepared. He will always be a hero in my eyes.”
BMW Announces Nearly $900 Million Investment, Adding 300 Jobs at its South Carolina Plant On January 12, BMW announced that the company will invest nearly $900 Million and add 300 new jobs in 2012 in its South Carolina plant. This announcement was made during a ceremony to commemorate a major production milestone—2,000,000 vehicles have rolled off the assembly line since the company began U.S. production in 1994. Frank-Peter Arndt, BMW Group Board Member responsible for Production, revealed the company’s intention to expand its X-model family. He revealed that production of the new BMW X4 will occur at the Spartanburg plant, spurring significant investment and job creation necessary to prepare the facility for the new model. “I am delighted to announce today, over the next three years, we plan to invest nearly $900 Million U.S. dollars. With this investment, we will be able to produce 350,000 units here in the mid-term,” said Arndt. “This is one reaction to the rising
global demand for our BMW X Models.” Governor Nikki Haley spoke at the ceremony saying, “BMW has once again provided tremendous evidence that South Carolina is a blueprint for significant economic development success. The partnership between this company and our State is an enduring example of how to attract, retain and grow business to stimulate perpetual job creation.” “I am thrilled to celebrate the two millionth BMW today,” said Bobby Hitt, Secretary of Commerce for South Carolina. “BMW’s impact on South Carolina’s economy and overall competitiveness is always worth celebrating. This new economic investment and commitment of jobs is a testament to South Carolina’s strong automotive manufacturing industry.” With the addition of 300 new jobs this year the plant will raise production capacities up to 300,000 See BMW SC, Page 38
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Continued from Front Page
CIC Palm Springs
a consultant to do more of a type of focus group: Hourlong conversational interviews with more than 40 industry representatives to develop some Russ Thrall sense of the industry’s opinions regarding repair standards. Though a more in-depth report on the study’s findings is expected to be released in the coming months, the committee released a 21-page summary (posted online at http://tinyurl.com/7tysey4) of some of the more quantitative findings, the responses to the questions asking participants for yes-or-no or ranking responses. In 42 interviews with shops, insurers, associations, automakers and suppliers, the consultant found that all 18 shop representatives interviewed said they would support the standards effort; generally less than 65 percent of those in the other segments (which included six shop associations or networks) concurred. While not quoting interviewees directly, the report offers a sense of some of the comments made. Shop association representatives, for example, questioned what such a program is going to do for shops, and said insurers should not be in a position to influence how vehicles are repaired. Two of the six insurers interviewed also said that insurers shouldn’t be involved and that shops should drive the effort. The last question in the draft report issued by the committee asked survey participants what they see as the likelihood that the repair standards initiative would be implemented within the next five years. Thrall said using a scale of 1 (no chance) to 4 (definitely), most respondents were somewhere in the middle. “It’s leans toward ‘likely’ (a 3 on the survey’s scale), but it’s more ‘perContinued from Page 29
Automaker Hiring
workers during the 2008 and 2009 recession. At the industry’s lowest it
haps (a 2 on the scale),’” Thrall said. “So people definitely aren’t sure it will be possible to implement this within the next five years.”
CIC Participants Speak Out Though the discussion that followed the committee’s report at CIC, held in January in Palm Springs, Calif., included some discussion of the issue of standards, much of it focused on criticism or defense of the research study itself. Some of the CIC participants who spoke included: ● Aaron Schulenburg, executive director of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), who said he felt the survey questions seemed less focused on “determining the appetite of the industry” for a formalized standard program and more on “carving out the menu.” He said the consultant, in addition to the 42 interviews, participated in a conference call with more than a dozen of SCRS state affiliate groups. “I think it was very clear from our folks on that call that (standards) are something that is valuable to be done by collision repairers for collision repairers, but that there was skepticism of having involvement among entities such as insurance carriers involving the establishment of repair standards.” ● Paul Massey of Ford Motor Company said that although OEM repair procedures are the logical basis for repair standards, it’s really up to shops, insurers and consumers to decide if there’s value in developing a formalized standards program. The Paul Massey study, he said, didn’t answer the questions he thinks the industry needs to ask itself. “At the end of the day, if you put in standards would a lot more customers choose you over the next guy,” Massey said. “If you put in standards, do you run a better, more competitive and profitable business? And if you put in standards will the insurance companies use you versus the other guy?” emplyed about 550,000 manufacturing workers. Hiring has started to climb back slowly in the past two years, and now the research center forecasts employment will top 750,000 by 2015.
32 FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
● Steve Nantau of Ford said he thinks many shops misunderstand “repair standards” as just dealing with the process of the actual repair, when he and the committee envision a more inclusive program that includes standards for training and equipment, and a third-party certification or auditing entity like one in the United Kingdom. “If you don’t have a third-party doing this, I can guarantee you that the OEMs are going to have certification programs for independent shops,” Nantau said. “We’re seeing that already. And it’s not going to be open to just anyone who’s qualifies. They’re going to be chosen. If you qualify and you weren’t a chosen one, you’re not going to be able put a (certified) sign above your door like you could if the industry create a third-party that certifies all who qualify.” ● Consultant Matt Ohrnstein of Symphony Advisors urged proponents of standards development not to “allow intermediaries to profit by taxing collision repair shops around the country for training, certificaMatt Ohrnstein tion, OE-specific equipment and third-party verification.” ● Committee member and current CIC chairman Mike Quinn emphasized that the committee sees the study as information-gathering, not a license to push something forward. “This conversation is the beginning of many conversations,” he said. “There’s no plans of any kind to move this forward any further Mike Quinn from this study. It’s up to the industry to decide what happens next.” I-CAR promises response Also at the CIC meeting in Palm Springs, I-CAR CEO John Van Alstyne said his organization hopes to
respond by April to a joint request from multiple repairer associations that I-CAR play a role in standards formation. Last fall, a number of industry associations issued a statement calling published automaker repair procedures the “official industryrecognized repair standards for collision repair.” In the statement, the John Van Alstyne groups acknowledged that OEM repair procedures are “incomplete in comparison to the full scope of vehicles and repair operations that exist in the marketplace,” but they should serve as a baseline from which further development of procedures occur. The associations called on I-CAR to create an industry council “to identify gaps in existing OEM procedures” and to develop processes to close those gaps, vetting any industry-proposed alternatives, modifications or additions to OEM procedures. At CIC in Palm Springs, Van Alstyne reiterated what he said last fall, that he sees merit in the proposal given I-CAR’s current involvement with the automakers. But he also has said I-CAR’s board must decide what role it’s appropriate for the organization to play, and that he has personally been in touch with ICAR stakeholders to gather feedback. He said the I-CAR board’s “strategic planning committee” will review that compiled feedback and make a recommendation to the board—with a decision, he said, likely by CIC’s April 25-26 meeting in Oklahoma City, Okla. John Yoswick, a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988, is also the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com). He can be contacted by email at: jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.
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Hitting the Streets with the G & C Auto Body Meter Beaters seven locations in the Northern California Bay Area, and an eighth opening in June. It all began 20 years ago as a knee-jerk During the 10 days right before reaction to a bad experience with a Christmas, the G & C Meter Beaters parking meter maid, but today it has save drivers from getting parking penalbeen lauded as a successful social experiment while evolving into a highly ties by replenishing their meters before the City of Santa Rosa’s parking eneffective viral marketing endeavor. forcement officers are able to nail them They’re called the G & C Meter Beaters, a creation of Gene Crozat, the with a $33 parking ticket. It’s a program owner of G & C Auto Body, with that Crozat began when he was upset over what he felt was an unfair parking ticket issued two decades ago. “I was rushing back to my car after shopping and the meter maid was sitting there waiting for the meter to expire,” Crozat said. “She saw me coming, but she gave me the ticket anyway. I was really mad, so I went to the bank and got a bunch of quarters. I told my The Meter Beaters (from left) include Brendan Harris, MB Chief kids—get out there and Johnny Reguera, Monique Grayson, her son Jerome Grayson put money in all these and Dawn Marie Vance, as they hit the streets of Santa Rosa, meters before they exCalif. every holiday season for 10 days to pay for people’s parkpire. That’ll show ‘em.” ing and avoid parking tickets by Ed Attanasio
But brilliant ideas don’t always take traction overnight and the Meter Beaters were a prime example. To say that the powers-that-be in Santa Rosa weren’t enamored with Crozat’s idea was a major understatement. “They threatened my kids and told them
Steve P. from San Francisco happily displays his parking voucher, purchased on his behalf by the Meter Beaters, sponsored by G & C Auto Body in Santa Rosa
‘your daddy is going to jail,’” Crozat explained. “They didn’t like the fact that we were helping people from getting parking tickets and said we were interfering with their operation. The
media flocked to the story and pretty soon the city backed off.” Over the years, Crozat and his Meter Beaters have touched many lives positively, he said. “Once people get our flyers on their windshields telling them they’ve just saved them from a parking ticket, they’re so thrilled they send us money, which we donate to charity. I have some incredible letters here from people, including one gentleman who thought he was getting a ticket when he returned to his car after being at the hospital. His doctor had just informed him that he was dying, so when he saw the ticket it really hit him hard. But, then when he realized there was no ticket, it made his day. Here was a guy with tragic news, probably still in shock, but avoiding that parking ticket was a big deal for him.” When people return to their vehicles and see something on their windshield resembling a parking ticket they’re obviously upset, but instead they get this little holiday greeting from the Meter Beaters of G & C Auto Body: See Meter Beaters, Page 37
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Custom Corner
Rich Evans is the owner of Huntington Beach Bodyworks and an award winning painter and fabricator. He offers workshops in repair and customization at his facility to share his unique talents. For contacts and design samples visit www.huntingtonbeachbodyworks.com
Doing a Charity Build for Patriot Outreach on a Donated Mustang with Rich Evans
Alan Taylor from Motor Trend Radio called me last fall to say he had partnered up with eBay Motors to ‘personalize’ a 2012 5.0L Mustang donated by Galpin Ford, and auction it during SEMA 2011. He wanted to put a team together to take the car from “stock to extreme,” but still street legal. I was in. They also wanted to do a videofor-the-web program about personalizing the car from start to finish. The program is called modJOBS, and you can go to eBay Motors and watch our 6–8 minute episodes at cc.ebay.com/ mod-jobs. It’s narrated by Alan and Dennis Pittsenbarger from Hot Rod Magazine Live. (I come in on episode #3, Sweet and Low.) So modJOBS makes it fun, everybody gets to team up and you get to follow along by watching the episodes of how to build a vehicle and how to add accessories and what’s available out there for these new vehicles.
With Dennis Pittsenbarger (l) checking out the caliper covers by MGP Caliper Covers
Alan said the car would be auctioned on Ebay and the proceeds would go to a charity called Patriot Outreach (www.patriotoutreach.org) to contribute to treating PTSD. The ultimate team would include Vick Edelbrock, Jr. (supercharged engine); Revo Reeves (interior), Ryan ‘Ryno’ Templeton (paint), and me (modified design and fabrication). I love building cars and was happy to put time and effort to benefit the people that have served our country and are the real heroes. They go over and risk or sacrifice their lives to make better lives for us. Here was a chance to give something back. So we started off with Galpin’s 2012 5.0L Mustang with the goal of putting some more personality behind
the episode. I basically took a wheel with the Chevron stripes incorporated in it and it’s also got Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine and Navy representation on it to represent what these guys do in a nutshell. What a better way to give back and show our thanks than to really put some heart to it and
The 2012 Ford Mustang, seen here at SEMA 2011, was built by the modJOBS team to benefit Patriot Outreach. The car was auctioned off on eBay Motors and yielded $50,100, all of which will go to Patriot Outreach to support treatment for PTSD
it to represent the men and women that serve our country and provide some benefits when they get back from serving. Basically we’re going to take this car and partner with a lot of people from the performance, the wheels, the braking, paint, parts, concept, and exhaust. So 2012 Mustang, basically bringing it over to get the performance handled by Edelbrock so what a better way to get the performance done. So they put a supercharger in this thing, which gives you another 100150 horsepower to bring it up to 550hp at the flywheel. I don’t want to give you all the inside scoop on it because I really want you guys to watch our modJOBS episodes and follow us along the build that way. I reached out to a team of guys to help me so I didn’t have to carry the whole weight of this build. We got Ryno Templeton from Blast of Air, a lot of you guys will know him from my Allstar team on Car Warriors. I also reached out to Revo Reeves who owns Stitch Craft Interiors. Revo did the interior and the audio and Ryno did the airbrush art on the headliner and the paint. We did a logo for Patriot Outreach on the fiberglass headliner that I made. We don’t really want to get real loud with this car but we want to make it kind of subtle and cool. Everybody knows me, I’m always real loud, so I’ve got to tune it down and back a little bit, which you’ll see by watching the modJOBS videos. With the interior we’re just going to do it real subtle but real cool. So
34 FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
with my design concept I came up with, I want to make the car look like it’s going 100mph and then I want to represent Patriot Outreach and design a really cool rim. I came up with a rim and for you guys to see it you’re going to have to go visit modJOBS and see
Ryno Templeton airbrushed the tribute to the armed forces on the headliner
that’s what I did in that wheel design. I’ve got Brian with Onward Coating cutting my wheels and I want to thank
ple getting together. We called on Hurst Shifters. My buddy Nate over there sent over a shifter for the project and also reached out to Magna Flow. They also sent out some product for Bolt on and we were actually able to take it over to them and have them install it. There were a whole lot of other sponThe set of modJOBS’ production in my shop, Huntingdon Beach sors that came toBody Works gether on this, I’d him for being able to get these wheels really like you guys to tune into modout on time. It came down to a pinch JOBS, that’s the whole purpose bewhere we had to put these wheels on a hind this story. I can tell the story but plane and get them out here in time to being able to circle back and watch it, make it for the big unveiling at 2011 just go to Ebay Motors and click modSEMA. I wanted to incorporate its JOBS and follow along. Another cool own stand alone grille, so I created a thing was that we got to interact with grille kit for it, and also a scoop. And eBay customers and let them choose. from there we’re incorporating a racI created three concepts with the help ing stripe down the side, a graphic, of Ryno and let them choose which and then Ryno’s going to do his thing concept and paint job to go with. If we with some stars and stripes. The do more of these we will probably inprocess is really cool. It’s about peocorporate wheels, body kits, and stuff
like that and make it a build your own car. It makes it unique when you’re interacting with the viewers and the customers in finding what they want. After creating all this and building this car, the journey was cool. Benchmark
everything they do: BF Goodrich always comes to play with a set of tires. G Force is what we used on this build. They have a new tire coming out as well so look for that it’s going to be really cool. I don’t want to spill the beans before I’m able to but BFG is really working hard and keeping you safe on the road. The guys that participated in this, Gil did a lot of work on the finishing part of it, the buffing and then we had to come in where we got some white compound on the plastic so I can’t forget to mention Solution Finish. All you body shop guys out
Setting up for the video
Productions are the people that produced everything. We did most of the build here at Huntington Beach Body Works, where we have Rich Evans Designs, my shop. MGP Caliper Covers provided some Rich Evans One Off Caliper Covers. To see them go to mpgcalipercovers.com and get your own covers that you can install within 20 minutes max. That’s an easy way to personalize your car. It’s very inexpensive and it looks really cool. I need to thank my sponsors for
A daylight view
there having problems catching that white spit off when you’re buffing the cars and it’s getting in the black and you’re using laquer thinner to clean it out and it turns it white. SolutionFinish.com, check it out. It will resolve your oxidation problem. Wipe it on, wipe it off, you’re good to go. No mis-
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takes had and you don’t have to buy parts and this and that. You can go to my website, huntingtonbeachbodywork.com and/or richevansdesigns.com, or go to Ebay Motors, huge site for used and new parts and the sale of cars. So check out my new parts, check out the new car,
Another daylight view
check out my new wheels. You don’t have to do a lot to change and personalize a car, and that’s proven by what we’ve got going on here with this project. The biggest thing is I want everyone to check out is PatriotOutreach.org and if there’s anything you can do to bring awareness to that organization, do it. For every set of wheels I did for this project that are sold, a portion is going to that charity. I like to tie myself to
projects where we’re not just thinking of ourselves. That’s what makes projects like this fun and it makes getting up in the morning feel great. I’ve got some really cool stuff coming up for you guys next month. 2012 is going to be a good year and I’ve got a lot of good things going on. I’m fortunate enough to have projects that I can pick from and when you can bring the cool into building projects it makes life that much better, especially when you love what you do. I eat, breathe, live, sleep, what I do and I was fortunate enough to find it young and here I am. Hopefully you guys canwww.autobodynews.com keep it all positive and keep conCHECK IT OUT! sistent and always try to better yourself at what you do. Peace out!
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“One of the main reasons I’m running is that I want to help people who are having problems with insurance companies,” said Causey. “That tempt at the position, after losing in would be one of my top priorities in the general election in 1992, 1996 and building a “customer-oriented” Insur2000 to Democratic incumbent Jim ance Department. As for the problem Long. of difficulty in getting reasonable covCausey, a Greensboro native, will erage, particularly comprehensive run under the Republican ticket. He homeowners’ and mobile homeowncurrently serves as commissioner on ers’ policies, I would work with the the North Carolina Public Officers and Legislature to address that problem. Employees Liability Insurance ComOne of the specific things I would Give opinion on matters the mission andus is ayour member of the Guilwant to affecting look at is the ideaindustry. of making ford County Agricultural Advisory every policy equally available across Board. Current Democratic Commisthe state. That would broaden the risk sioner Wayne Goodwin is also seekpool and I think that is something we publisher@autobodynews.com ing re-election. need to take a hard look at.” He In an interview in the Beaufort added: “we need a more competitive Observer, the interviewer expressed a insurance industry in North Carolina “high level of frustration of residents and that is another thing I would want of Beaufort County with the insurance to work on.” business in our county. Many resiMike Causey is not to be confused dents in Beaufort County experienced with another Mike Causey, who is a To advertise The source for timely severe problems with insurance comsenior correspondent for Federal News call Joe Momber at: panies following Hurricane Ireneevery and Radio. He covers federal employee pay information that 800-699-8251 even more have experienced difficulty and benefits issues and writes a daily body shop needs! in obtaining satisfactory coverage at a column about these topics. e-mail: reasonable price. 800-699-8251 We asked him what You jmomber@autobodynews.c can read our Mike Causey’s CALL he proposed to do about those prob- columns at autobodynews.com/columwww.autobodynews.co Start Your FREE nists/causey-mike.html. lems if elected.” Continued from Front Page
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Meter Beaters
While you shopped The Meter Maid stopped To give you a Christmas Treat The price of this gift Could cause you a fit As well as a present so neat The G & C Elves Thought your rage could be shelved If the system could just be beat So we put in a dime To add to your time And keep that maid in her jeep. Your expired meter was paid for by: G & C Auto Body “Meter Beaters” Happy Holidays
To see the Meter Beaters in action for ourselves, we walked around downtown Santa Rosa with them one sunny, warm December afternoon. The crew consisted of eight high school students earning extra money during the holidays. By skillfully feeding electronic parking machines and distributing the vouchers on cars whose time was about to expire, The Meter Beaters take their jobs seriously. Just ask the leader of the pack, Johnny Reguera,
who runs G & C’s towing division and oversees the Meter Beaters efforts every holiday season. “We get better at this every year,” Reguera explained. “It’s an art form actually. With the old parking meters, it was all about feeding coins into them and now we have to pay for the vouchers and continually check the times. But, it works well and we know that we’re saving shoppers and residents from getting parking tickets. Some people know
One of the proud Meter Beaters is Dawn Marie Vance, whose father works at one of the G & C Auto Body locations
when we’re coming, so they don’t pay for their parking during that time. They know we’re going to beat the meter, so they rely on us. I wouldn’t recommend it, but it seems to work for some.”
As we observed the Meter Beaters in action, we encountered several people right after avoiding a parking ticket, courtesy of G & C. A shopper named Odessa J. was upset and holding what she thought was a parking ticket in her hand when she approached us. When Reguera told her to look again, she screamed out in joy. Would you now take your car to G & C if you get in an accident, we asked her? “Definitely,” she exclaimed. “What a nice thing for them for do, especially during the holidays!” And that was pretty much the same thing we heard from every one we ran into. Toni Guanella is the Manager of Parking for the City of Santa Rosa. She explained that at one time the city wasn’t happy with Crozat’s Meter Beaters, but now they embrace them for obvious reasons. “We love them, because in the end it brings more money to the city. With a staff of just five, we can’t catch everyone. I know there may have been some issues with the Meter Beaters in the past, but now we appreciate it and never interfere. By filling these meters before they expire, we’re getting a boost in revenue for Santa Rosa. I know they spend a
lot of time and money on this project, but in the end the goodwill pays off, I’m sure. I tell my people to stay out of the Meter Beaters’ way and let them do their jobs. I know that people in town anticipate it every holiday season and we do too, honestly.”
Meter Beater Brendan Harris purchases parking vouchers to distribute them on car windshields throughout downtown Santa Rosa, Calif.
Do the G & C Meter Beaters make a difference in Santa Rosa every year, we asked Chief Johnny Reguera? “No doubt about it,” he said. “I can tell by the smiles and the warmth we get from people right after we’ve saved them a ticket. It’s not cheap doing this—we’re going to spend around $10,000 this year—but for us, it’s worth every quarter…or dime!”
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Erie Insurance Earns I-CAR Gold Class Professionals Badge
I-CAR has announced that Erie Insurance, an I-CAR Gold Class Professionals business, has equipped its staff of auto physical damage appraisers with the latest training available in the industry, providing them with the knowledge and skills needed to help increase CSI scores, improve operational efficiencies and minimize repair mistakes. I-CAR said that Erie Insurance is now one of only five insurance organizations to have achieved the industryrecognized I-CAR Gold Class Professionals designation as a corporation. Insurance businesses can earn the Gold Class designation at a corporate level, as Erie has, or at a business location. I-CAR CEO and President John Van Alstyne said, “By achieving the Gold Class designation, Erie Insurance has shown a dedication to both
customers and employees by investing in training that will provide valuable services. Through Erie's commitment to I-CAR training, Erie Auto Physical Damage Appraisers now possess rolebased knowledge that can improve estimating accuracy and help reduce cycle time, both of which lead to increased customer satisfaction.” Van Alstyne added, “With the rapid rate of change in vehicle technology, continuous role-relevant training is essential. It is another key driver to customer satisfaction, and, ultimately business success.” Jim Brown, Erie VP and manager, material damage, said, “Erie Insurance is committed to delivering top notch service to our customers and is focused on providing our staff with the training and resources needed in today's collision repair industry. By providing our customers with accurate
estimates, we can improve claims accuracy, which will allow us to continue providing our policy holders that have been in automobile accidents with the best repair plan possible.” Businesses that have earned the ICAR Gold Class Professionals business designation are required to achieve high levels of training as well as maintain ongoing annual training, according to I-CAR. “I-CAR is pleased to designate Erie Insurance as a Gold Class business and provide the staff at Erie with a training path that will improve their overall operational efficiencies,” said Joyce Kasmer, I-CAR director of business development.
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BMW SC
units. By the end of the year, the plant will employ nearly 7,500 people at its more than 4.0 million square foot facility. Since the original 1992 decision to build BMW’s only U.S. plant in South Carolina, this announcement brings BMW Group’s total investment in the state to nearly $6 Billion U.S. dollars and represents its largest, single investment to date in its South Carolina plant. In 2011, the plant produced 276,065 vehicles for over 130 markets around the world representing a 73% increase versus 2010. Sales of the vehicles produced at the plant have met with continued high demand. Give us your opinion on mat Visit www.bmwusfactory.com for more information.
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