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Consumer Union Calls for Auto Safety Reforms, Toyota Controversy Heats Up Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, has issued a call Feb. 23 for urgent changes to strengthen U.S. auto safety regulation in the wake of the massive recall by Toyota. The influential consumer advocacy group said that the U.S. safety regulatory system should be reformed to become more transparent and that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should have more funding and the ability to impose tougher sanctions. The group also urged a number of safety mandates it said should be imposed on all automakers to address the risk of unintended acceleration of the kind now under investigation for Toyota. U.S. safety regulators should require that all cars have brake override systems, simple controls that turn off the engine in
an emergency, clear and simple labels on transmission shifters and a minimum clearance between floor panels and accelerator pedals, Consumers Union said. Toyota has faced criticism on all of those points in the run-up to a sweeping recall for accelerator-related problems that totals over 8 million vehicles globally. NHTSA says five deaths have been linked to the risk of loose floormats trapping accelerator pedals in Toyota vehicles. Another 29 fatality reports are under investigation. “Much of the ongoing debate and public outcry has centered on why these issues weren't caught or acted upon earlier,” Consumers Union said in its report on the Toyota recalls and proposed reforms.
In November of last year and January of this year, SCRS National Director and Autobody News columnist, Toby Chess, performed several demonstrations outlining comparative studies he had conducted between randomly selected OEM and Aftermarket Structural Replacement parts. See Hey Toby column last month. The parts reviewed included items such as Front and Rear Bumper Reinforcement Beams, Radiator Core Supports, Bumper Brackets and Bumper Energy Absorbers. In every example tested, there were significant differences in both the construction of, and materials used, in the aftermarket replacement part
which can significantly impact the roles that these parts serve in the transfer of energy resulting from a collision. Each of these parts also directly relates to the functionality and response of the vehicle Safety Restraint System (SRS), and could have a resulting affect on how the airbag functions in the event of a loss. The presentation also detailed that in other instances where the manufacturer had paid particular attention to utilizing the same materials as the OEM, and employed credible third-party testing, the parts appeared to perform much better in subsequent crash test video demonstrations.
See AUTO SAFETY REFORMS, Page 9
SCRS and Others Alert Industry to Concerns Over Aftermarket Structural Parts, Insurers Act
See AFTERMARKET PARTS, Page 37
VOL. 28 ISSUE 3 MARCH 2010
State Farm Says NHTSA Warned on Toyota State Farm said on Feb. 8 that it informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of a worrying trend of vehicle-caused accidents involving Toyota vehicles as far back as late 2007, based on claims data. State Farm said that it routinely tracks claim trend information and shares its data with NHTSA. “We voluntarily and routinely communicate with the appropriate government agencies when we see a product-related claim trend,” said State Farm spokesman, Jeff McCollum. “When you start to see significant claims activity that indicates that there may be widespread problems with a product, that’s when you go to the NHTSA,” said State Farm spokesman Kip Diggs. “There had to have been significant activity, a noticeable trend, for that to happen.” NHTSA spokeswoman Karen Aldana said State Farm sent the agency a
claim letter, dated Sept. 7, 2007, which was sent to Toyota concerning a crash involving a 2005 Camry. She said the report was reviewed and added to their complaint database. NHTSA officials have since responded that the State Farm report was reviewed and the agency issued a recall later that month. NHTSA said it received complaints about acceleration problems in Toyota vehicles as early as 2003, and congress is now investigating whether or not the government missed warning signs of the problems. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold the first of three congressional hearings on Feb. 24 which are expected to review the recall of about 8.5 million vehicles globally, first over floor mats suspected of trapping gas pedals, then over sticking gas pedals and brake probSee STATE FARM TO NHTSA, Page 4
We continue our Special Paint Technology issue this month with articles on:
Part 2
BASF on Newer Refinish Processes
Federal Government Pays For Shops To Go Green
Compressors Affect your Spray Gun and your Paint Technological Advancements In Overspray Collector
Dan Am-SATA & Jobbers Provide EPA Painter Spray Gun Training We conclude our special coverage in next months Autobody News
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Contents
AEGIS Tools Innovates Windshield Repair Systems. . . . 17 Alcohol-Related Teen Fatalities Drop in Oklahoma . . . . 6 ALLDATA® White Paper: Spells out Need for OE Collision Repair Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Amaradio - “Every Man For Himself” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 ASA Requests NHTSA to Use its Authority to Regulate Aftermarket Crash Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 ASA Urges Repairers to Contact Committee Members to Oppose Model Parts Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Ask Dale - Parts and Car Sales, City Vehicles, Standards for Associations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 BASF Expands Lean Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 BASF Responds to Questions on Newer Processes . . . 26 New Chair of TX Automobile Insurance Plan Association . 8 CARSTAR Collision Centers Top Celebrity Crashes of ‘09 . 38 Collision Industry Foundation to Auction for Charity . . 24 Collision Repair Students Well-Prepared for Real World . 36 CollisionBuilder.com - Free Websites to Associations . 36 Congress Asks Insurers for Toyota Accident Data . . . 10 Consumer Union Calls for Auto Safety Reforms, Toyota Controversy Heats Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Dan Am-SATA & Jobbers Provide EPA Spray Gun Training15 Data Recorders Now in Cars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 EPA Sets New NO2 Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Espersen - Proper Strategies and the Sectioning Mystery 20 Evans - Ultimate Vodka’s Shelby Series 1, Part 2 . . . . 13 Federal Government Pays For Shops To Go Green, Says GRC-Pirk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Ford & Hyundai Excel in Brand Loyalty, Toyota Still No. 1 . 25 Franklin - Help Customers Avoid ‘Jackass Bends’. . . . 28 Gesterkamp - Compressors Affect your Spray Gun and your Paint Appearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Gonzo's Toolbox - Early Morning De-Light . . . . . . . . . 19
Hand-held Phone Bans Are Not Reducing Crashes, Distraction is an Attention Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Honda Adds 437,000 Cars to Worldwide Air Bag Recall . 5 I-CAR Announces 2010 International Board of Directors . 3 I-CAR Tech - Insulated Gloves And High Voltage Batteries 31 Insurance Council of Texas Says Auto Injuries Down . . 6 Iowa Collision Repair Association Sponsors SSB 3180 . 5 Kaizen Launches LEAN Auto Body Webinar Series . . . . 8 Louisiana Says ‘No 19% Hike’ to State Farm . . . . . . . . 4 Louisiana Workman’s Comp Costs About 35% More . . 8 NADA Chair Says Dealers See Industry Rebound . . . . 10 New I-CAR Director for Curriculum Work . . . . . . . . . . 22 Okla. Insurance Dept Wants to be Stand Alone . . . . . . . 9 Oregon Posts Ratemaking Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Performance Radiator Stresses Consistency . . . . . . . 27 Record Snowstorm Hands N. Texas $25M Bill . . . . . . . 7 Replacement Safety Cert. Labels Gaining Wider Usage . 18 Bill, SB 209, Withdrawn by Maryland State Senator . . . 5 SCRS and Others Alert Industry to Concerns Over Aftermarket Structural Parts, Insurers Act . . . . . . . . 1 SCRS Expands Repairer Education Presence at SEMA— ASRW will be Mid-week in October . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Sears offering defunct dealerships auto center franchises 24 Soaring Foreign Car Sales Shape Future. . . . . . . . . . . 18 State Farm Says NHTSA Warned on Toyota . . . . . . . . . 1 Tech. Advancements In Overspray Collectors, part one 23 Tennessee House’s Anti-Steering Legislation . . . . . . . . 9 Toyota Facing Diminished Value Lawsuits . . . . . . . . . . 5 Toyota, Documents Show Savings by Limiting Recall. 21 Toyota Vulnerable to Conquests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Winter is Kind to Collision King, Lubbock, TX . . . . . . . . 7 2010 ASRW Partnering Program Kicks-Off . . . . . . . . 12 60% of Tax Rebates, Ins. Assessments not Claimed in LA . 8
Southwest
Indexof Advertisers
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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. ©2009 Adamantine Media LLC.
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381 Casa Linda Plaza, #239, Dallas, TX 75218 (800) 699-8251 (214) 371-6626 Fax www.autobodynews.com Email: news@autobodynews.com Aegis Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Allen Samuels Dodge Fort Worth . . . . . . 6 Autoland Scientech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Banner GM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . 32 Chacon Suzuki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Chemco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Chevyland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 David McDavid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Finnegan Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . . . . . 10 Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers TX, OK, LA, NM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Gladwin Paint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Global Finishing Solutions . . . . . . . . . . 16 Goodson Honda West . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Honda/Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers 38 Huffines Hyundai McKinney . . . . . . . . . . 9 Huffines Hyundai Plano . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 30 Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 40 LKQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Mattei Compressors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . 36 Mercedes-Benz of Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . 8 Mike Calvert Toyota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 35 MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 12 Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 36 Park Place Lexus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Performance Ratiator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Ray Huffines Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Replica Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 SATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 SCA Appraisal Company . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Sherwin-Williams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Shoot Suits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Suzuki Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . 38 Soft-Sanders from Style-Line, Corp . . . 13 Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . 37 Verifacts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 37 Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . 35 Young Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
I-CAR Announces 2010 International Board of Directors
I-CAR announced its 2010 International Board of Directors and Executive Committee following the I-CAR Annual Membership Meeting in Torrance, CA. The 2010 Executive Committee consists of: Chair Tom Moreland, AkzoNobel; Vice Chair Elise Quadrozzi, Crawford & Company; Secretary Dustin Womble, Roger Beasley Collision Center for SCRS; Treasurer Bob Keith, CARSTAR; Past Chair Robby Robbs, NuCon Services Inc.; MemberAt-Large Bruce Bares, Hi-Tech Collision & Glass Centers; and Member-At-Large William Brower, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. “Over 30 years ago, I-CAR was created to educate the industry on the proper repair of unibody vehicles. As today’s vehicles are complex and roles in the industry are diverse, it only makes sense for I-CAR to pursue a role-based curriculum model to better serve the collision inter-industry,” said Moreland. “The I-CAR International Board of Directors appreciates the work staff, instructors, and volunteers are doing to develop, implement, and deliver continuous improvement of the curriculum that is truly relevant and beneficial to industry professionals.”
The remaining directors include: Farzam Afshar, Verifacts Automotive; Terry W. Angell, Warren Tech; Rollie Benjamin, ABRA Auto Body & Glass; Bruce Cooley, DuPont Performance Coatings; William DeGrocco, GEICO Insurance; Ronald Doerr, General Motors Corp.; Chris Evans, State Farm Insurance Education Foundation Rep; David Henderson, See Progress, Inc.; Joseph Laurentino, Esurance; John Norton, Ford Motor Company; Sam Pezzullo, State Farm Canadian Representative; Greg Potter, Dearborn Group Technology for Equipment & Tool Institute; Monica Rivers, BMW of North America, LLC; Mike Schoonover, Schoonover Bodyworks for Automotive Service Association; and James Spears, USAA. The board of directors sets the overall strategic direction for the organization and assists in obtaining resources in support of the I-CAR Mission. The board of directors is comprised of representatives from each of the following six industry segments: collision repair; insurance; equipment, tools, and supplies; education, training, and research; vehicle manufacturers; and related industry services.
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 3
Louisiana Says ‘No 19% Hike’ to State Farm Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has denied a request by the state’s largest home insurer, State Farm, for an average 19.1% rate hike. The Bloomington, Ill.-based company filed a rate revision for their homeowners program in December of 2009, which was under review until Mr. Donelon made his announcement Feb 11. The filed rate revision would have generated an estimated $67,625,043 in additional premiums to the company and the increase would equal an average statewide rate hike of 19.1%. It would have varied from a low of minus 5% to a high of plus 44.4% in some areas. Commissioner Donelon said “after an extensive review of the filing and consideration of multiple factors including data provided by State Farm, the rate revision was determined to be unreasonable.” Determining factors, he explained, included use of an excessive loss trend by State Farm, as well as an unreasonable hurricane risk provision, and “the significant weight given to the latest version of the EQECAT hurricane model used by State Farm in justifying their revision. The EQECAT model’s projected hurricane loss provisions are 150% higher than projected hurricane loss provisions produced by the two other industry hurricane models utilized by State Farm in this filing, without ade-
quate supporting evidence for the difference,” the commissioner said, adding, “When a rate revision is filed, we use all of the evidence available to make the determination as to whether the revision is reasonable and justified. In this case, State Farm Fire and Casualty falls short of proving the need for an increase of this magnitude.” Molly Quirk-Kirby, a State Farm spokesperson said the insurer is “disappointed with the decision, but we will continue to have conversations with the Department of Insurance because we feel the rate increase is justified and needed.” In having continuing discussions with the department, she said the company will “Try to address some of their concerns.” The department said in 2008, State Farm Fire and Casualty Company had a market share of 27% of all Louisiana homeowners policies and is the largest homeowners policy provider in the state. The company said its share is 30%. Donelon said discussions with the company would not change his action, “I have made my decision and we were too far apart to justify negotiating our concerns.” There were three actuarial objections, he noted. Donelon will formally provide the company with his written reasons for action and, “They can appeal or adjust to accommodate our concerns and refile.”
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Continued from Page 1
State Farm to NHTSA
lems, and now potentially, over drive by wire throttle systems. State Farm is America’s largest auto insurer, with 42.4 million auto insurance policies. That gives it a U.S. market share of about 18%, according the Insurance Information Institute. Diggs said the company contacted the NHTSA in late 2007 and had been in touch with the regulator an unspecified number of times since then. Toyota has been hit by a huge recall of more than 8 million vehicles worldwide, (see story this issue) which has raised questions about the quality standards and credibility of the Japanese automaker. Diggs said that the models involved in the incidents State Farm had brought to the attention of the NHTSA were “consistent with the voluntary recall undertaken by Toyota.’’ Other insurers said they had not seen such a trend. “We have not seen such a pattern,’’ said Steve Witmer, a spokesman for Wisconsin-based American Family Insurance Group, the No. 10 U.S. auto insurer with a market share of 2.1 percent. However, Insurance Information Institute President Bob Hartwig said that few in-
surers beyond State Farm had a big enough auto insurance business to determine a trend like this. He added that State Farm’s insurance data had also been critical in tracking problems with tires made by Bridgestone Corp.’s Firestone unit to rollover incidents involving Ford Motor Co’s Explorer models a decade ago. “State Farm helped crack the problem with Firestone tires and few other (auto) insurers have the scale to do what they can,” Hartwig said. But other insurers are going back over accidents involving Toyota models to determine whether they may have been caused by a vehicle fault instead of the driver. “We’re currently reviewing claims that may be affected by the Toyota recalls,” said Leah Knapp, a spokeswoman for No. 4 auto insurer Progressive. “Right now it’s too soon to say how many customers may be affected, but at this point there’s no indication that it will be a significant number.” In a separate matter, federal safety officials said they will review complaints from Toyota Corolla drivers about steering difficulties on their vehicles. NHTSA said it has received about 80 complaints from drivers of 2009 and 2010 Corollas. Many said their cars could wander when they drive on the highway, making it hard to stay in lanes.
Toyota Facing Diminished Value Lawsuits as well as Massive Injury Claims The huge recalls for acceleration and braking problems are creating an unprecedented legal liability for Toyota and, potentially, the vehicle owners as well. The world’s biggest automaker faces dozens of lawsuits over injuries and deaths attributed to safety problems, with many more lawsuits expected. Lawyers and legal experts said the lawsuits could be particularly expensive for the automaker if plaintiffs can prove that Toyota was aware of problems but failed to correct them. “This has the potential to be the biggest product liability case in the automotive industry,” said Richard Cupp, a professor at Pepperdine University School of Law. Another professor is warning that Toyota owners might have to pay a portion of any damages from an accident resulting from a known safety defect that they didn’t get fixed as directed, and in a timely manner, said Marshall Shapo, who teaches torts and product liability at Northwestern University School of Law. In addition to Toyota’s massive recall and related personal injury clams, the automaker is confronted by at least 40 consumer class-action cases over the reduced resale value of its cars. The drop in resale value of Toyota and Lexus autos could also prompt insurers to reduce what they pay when any affected Toyota vehicle is totalled. Consumer lawsuits seeking economic damages for diminished value or lost use of a recalled Toyota vehicle have been filed in
at least 30 states, mostly in federal court, and could end up costing the world’s number one over $2 billion, said Another Northwestern law professor, Tim Howard, is leading a team of 22 law firms in 16 states that are pursuing a class-action lawsuit seeking compensation for lost car value. He said the suit could rival tobacco litigation in its complexity, and all the federal suits would be consolidated into a single class action in the next few months, following a hearing before a panel of judges set for March 25 in U.S. District Court in San Diego, Howard said. Toyota’s U.S. operations are based in California. Howard said that if a typical vehicle was worth $10,000 before the recalls and drops 3.5% in value ($350 per car), with 6 million recalls in the U.S., the potential damages reach $2.1 billion. If a trial attorney can prove that Toyota hid its knowledge of the defects, punitive damages could easily double that. Litigation against Toyota has snowballed since the biggest recall in its history for repairs to ill-fitting floor mats and sticking gas pedals it blames for instances of unintended, sudden acceleration in its vehicles. Toyota is not the only automaker to face such claims, but it is the largest. In 2008, Ford paid up to $500 in discount vouchers per claim to settle a diminished-value case on behalf of 800,000 customers after a tire recall prompted concerns about potential rollover crashes in its Explorer SUV.
Honda is adding 437,000 vehicles to its worldwide recall for faulty air bags announced in Nov. 2008. Honda, Japan's No. 2 automaker, has now recalled close to 950,000 vehicles for airbag problems linked to one fatality and a total of 11 injuries in the United States. While Honda’s is not the size of Toyota’s, it comes at a sensitive time for an industry struggling to draw customers back to showrooms after a brutal downturn. The company will replace the driver’s side air bag inflator in the cars because they can deploy with too much pressure, causing the inflator to rupture and potentially causing injury or death. The total of number vehicles recalled since then is approaching 1 million. The latest expansion of the air bag recall includes 378,000 cars in the U.S., some 41,000 cars in Canada and 17,000 cars in Japan, Australia and elsewhere in Asia. The North American recall was announced Feb. 9. The recall affects 952,118 vehicles, including certain 2001 and 2002 Accord sedans, Civic compacts, Odyssey minivans, CR-V small sport utility vehicles and some 2002 Acura TL sedans. Honda’s announcement comes at a time of increased attention on automotive recalls. Though the problems are unrelated, rival Toyota is in the process of recalling more than 8 million cars and trucks due to faulty gas pedals. Toyota said it would recall nearly 440,000 of its flagship 2010 Prius and other hybrids due to a braking glitch.
“There is a heightened sensitivity right now to anything to do with recalls,’’ said John Mendel, executive vice president of sales for American Honda. Honda said it is aware of 12 incidents linked to the problem—one death in May 2009 and 11 injuries. The company said it is not aware of any problems happening after July 2009. Honda decided to expand the recall after a company investigation found that more cars might contain defective air bag inflators, made by supplier Takata Corp., based in Tokyo. The problem, the company found, could be traced to a stamping machine that sometimes used insufficient pressure to make the inflators. Honda company decided to recall all vehicles using the compressed inflator propellant produced by that machine, it said in a news release. “It took time to come to that conclusion because we had to do many tests,’’ said Natsuno Asanuma, a manager of public relations at Honda in Tokyo. “We have concluded this is the cause.’’ Honda’s latest U.S. air bag recall affects certain 2001 and 2002 Accord sedans, Civic compacts, Odyssey minivans, CR-V small sport utility vehicles and some 2002 Acura TL sedans. Honda says owners should take their vehicles to dealerships as soon as they are notified by the company in writing. Notification will begin during the month of February.
Honda Adds 437,000 Cars to Worldwide Faulty Air Bag Recall
Salvaged Airbag Bill, SB 209, Withdrawn by Maryland State Senator
After strong opposition by repairer organizations at the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL), a model airbag bill, although amended, was still passed for use in individual states. The model bill establishes criminal penalties for fraudulent installation of an airbag; requires shops to maintain detailed records of airbags they purchase, sell or install; mandates that a repair facility submit an affidavit to a vehicle owner saying that an airbag was installed properly; and sets forth guidelines regulating the use of salvage airbags. The bill, intended to provide a documentation process for the use of new and salvaged airbags to protect consumers from airbag fraud, had been proposed in Maryland. On Feb. 5, the Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association (WMABA) sent out an urgent notice to repairers to oppose this bill, citing many reasons that repairers and consumers could be harmed. Many repairers had taken the initiative to contact their representative if they were on the Senate Finance committee who was hearing the bill first. Though these actions were taken immediately, WMABA was unsure of the response that would be seen in the bill hearings. Rep. Robert Damron of Kentucky, who is the NCOIL president, wrote, in an open letter to WMABA: Although we do not wish to comment on specific Maryland activity, we do wish to weigh in on some general statements regarding the NCOIL model law on which the Maryland bill was based.
Iowa Collision Repair Association (ICRA) Sponsors SSB 3180
In its 09/10 goals, the ICRA stated it is working towards introducing legislation that would allow reimbursement to endusers of sales tax on paint materials. This is a law that has been on the books since 1934 in Iowa. The ICRA says it needs to be changed. In January, Scott Weiser met with Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Joe Bolkcom (D-Iowa City) to discuss the ICRA’s tax issue. After serious consideration, Senator Bolkcom agreed to sponsor a Senate Study Bill to begin the process of consideration of legislation. ICRA will assist in the preparation of the Legislative Fiscal Note that will detail the positive or negative impact of the legislation to the Iowa General Fund. SSB3180, exempting from state sales and use taxes the sale of paint and other consumed materials at an auto body shop, is sponsored by Senator Bolkcom. The proposed legislation is written to charge sales tax on the retail price of paint supplies so that body shops would no longer pay sales tax on that cost. This means an immediate increase in net profit of 7% because they are not paying sales tax on the cost of the materials.
The Model Act Regarding Auto Airbag Fraud, adopted overwhelmingly by NCOIL on November 22, 2009, neither encourages nor discourages the use of salvaged airbags. Rather, in adopting the model law, legislators set forth a comprehensive approach to fighting airbag fraud —an approach that acknowledges today’s installation, however frequent or infrequent, of both salvaged and new original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts. The purpose of our model is to ensure that any airbag installed in a vehicle is safe. On Feb. 15, Senate Bill 209, proposed by Senator Delores Kelley (D-Baltimore County) was voted down unanimously by the Senate Finance Committee to have the bill withdrawn without foreseeable reintroduction. “This outcome was no doubt the result of WMABA, our lobbyist group Alexander & Cleaver and our Maryland constituents giving useful and pertinent information to the Senators, so that they could make an informed and consumerconscientious decision,” said Brad Whiteford, WMABA President and owner of Whiteford’s Collision. “All of the WMABA membership should be proud of the efforts of the association to head-off such a possible disaster for repairers throughout the country, because we all know how bills like these increase the chances for other special interests to attempt this in other states.” For more information contact the WMABA at: (804) 789-9649.
Data Recorders Now in Cars
Re: “What Went Wrong With My Toyota?” (letters, Feb. 6): The letter recommending a data recorder in cars like those in airliners to help the diagnosis of problems like those being experienced by Toyota owners is right on. But little known to the driving public is the fact that in many cars computers are already constantly recording vehicle speed, throttle position, braking application, air bag deployment and a host of other vehicle operating characteristics. This information is routinely downloaded by law enforcement after serious accidents. If this information were made available to an impartial investigator in addition to Toyota, the mystery might be taken out of the current situation.
Toyota Vulnerable to Conquests
Buyers who would have looked at Toyota vehicles are now considering other brands after the automaker's series of safety recalls. Analysts from Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds.com and J.D. Power say Ford, Honda, Hyundai and Chevrolet are grabbing Toyota customers, based on sales tracking data and surveys on their Web sites. Mazda, Subaru and Volkswagen are also getting upticks in buyer interest.
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 5
Insurance Council of Texas Says Auto Injuries Down The Insurance Council of Texas has reported that the number of people injured and killed in automobile accidents in Texas has continued to decline since 2003. Both fatalities and injuries are down more than 20 percent since the Texas Department of Transportation took over record keeping of state traffic reports seven years ago. Texas Department of Transportation statistics show the number of injury accidents and fatal accidents in the state have dropped in five of the last six years. A spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) said Texas is following a national trend. “Nationally, crash rates have fallen to historic lows,” said Russ Rader at the IIHS. Safer vehicles and roads, higher safety belt use and, currently, the economy are contributing to the lower injury and fatality rates, according to the IIHS. Several new auto safety features not only minimize injuries in accidents, but help drivers in avoiding some collisions. More vehicles on the road today are equipped with electronic stability control systems that can help prevent loss of control and roll-overs. Other safety features on newer cars include side airbags, lane departure warnings, forward collision warnings and active head restraints.While crashes and injuries have gone down, auto
insurance rates have remained stable in Texas due to increased medical costs and the expense of repairing new vehicles, the ICT says. The National Association of Insurance Commissioner’s (NAIC) most recent report lists Texas as 19th among states in auto insurance premiums. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) defines a reportable motor vehicle traffic accident as any crash involving a motor vehicle on a road way, resulting in the injury or death of any person, or damage to the property of any one person to the extent of $1,000.
Oregon Posts Ratemaking Data
The Oregon Insurance Division will be giving consumers access to all of the data that regulators receive when evaluating rate change requests. The division posts insurers’ rate filings on a website and gives the public a chance to post comments. The Oregon division reviews rates for individual policies, plans for employers with 2–50 employees, and portability plans. The rate filings give information about what insurers spend on salaries, broker commissions, marketing and advertising, and other administrative expenses, officials say.
6 MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Alcohol-Related Teen Fatalities Drop in Oklahoma
Since the passage of Oklahoma’s graduated driver’s license law in 1999, the number of fatality crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers has dropped from 75 in 2000 to a low of 39 in 2008. The numbers include wrecks that killed teens and others where a 16- or 17year-old was behind the wheel of at least one of the vehicles involved. Although the 2009 totals are not available, officials say preliminary data indicates there were 38 fatal crashes last year involving drivers ages 16 and 17, which would be a new low. “This is really good news,’’ said Alice Collinsworth, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office. “We’re very happy to see statistically that the GDL is having the effect of saving lives.’’ The total number of crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers dropped from 11,837 in 2000 to 7,597 in 2008, Collinsworth said. The data released this month involved a study of drivers ages 16 to 17 who were involved in crashes after the creation of the graduated driver’s license, which lawmakers passed in 1999 and amended and strengthened in 2005. The law as of 2005 allows 16-yearolds who have had a learner’s permit for six months to obtain an intermediate license, if they have passed a driver-education course,
have at least 40 hours behind the wheel, have no traffic convictions and have passed the driving skills examination. With the intermediate license, a 16year-old can drive except during the hours between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., or any time when accompanied by a licensed driver who is at least 21. At the age of 161/2, after six months with an intermediate license, teenagers can obtain unrestricted licenses if they have no convictions on their driving records. Without driver’s education, teens go through the graduated driver’s license phases but must wait a year longer before their intermediate license becomes an unrestricted license. Scott Watkins, Highway Safety Office director, said the study shows the law is having the intended effect. “This is great news for Oklahomans,’’ Watkins said. “Our goal is to make our roadways as safe as possible for people of all ages, and the statistics show that the graduated driver’s license is saving lives.’’ The new highway safety report shows that, from 2000 to 2008, 16- and 17-yearolds made up 3 percent of the licensed drivers in the state, but drivers from that age group accounted for 7.1 percent of the crashes reported in Oklahoma and were involved in 4.7 percent of fatal crashes. Source: The Oklahoman, newsok.com
Record Snowstorm Hands N. Texas $25M Bill
Winter is Kind to Collision King, Lubbock, TX
falling trees and crashing roofs. An estimated 4,200 claims came from auto, residential and commercial property owners. The average claim was approximately $6,000.
the majority of wrecks have been total losses, not just simple fender benders. The harsh winter has also caused a delay in parts deliveries from around the country so local owners will have
Recent record snowfall in the Dallas/Fort Worth area resulted in insured losses at $25 million, the Insurance Council of Texas reported. The snow accumulations of up to a foot paralyzed the area’s transportation system and caused widespread damage from
The snow began falling early on February 11 and continued to fall for most of the day. Thousands of residents were without electricity for several days as power outages were common across the area. Dennis Cavanaugh, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Fort Worth, said the storm produced the largest snowfall on record for a 24-hour period at the Dallas Fort Worth airport. In Arlington, the severe weather caused a series of wrecks on Feb. 8, in which at least five vehicles collided in an initial accident, causing a series of other crashes that ultimately involved a total of 14 cars, closing westbound lanes of I-20 for several hours.
Winter car wrecks are keeping the money rolling in for auto body shops. Collision King told local media that they’ve seen their business increase by 20 percent. Owner Steven Tisdale said
to wait longer for their car to be repaired. “People just need to be patient and understand that sometimes we can’t get the cars finished until we get all the parts. It’s kind of bitter sweet. We’re kind of like doctors. We benefit from someone else’s misfortune,” said Tisdale, owner of Collision King since 1998. Tisdale said the average cost of a repair has been about $2,500. The average wait time about four days. Established in 1998 by Steven Tisdale, a West Texas native, Collision King Repair Center specializes in complete auto body repairs including hail damage and paintless dent repairs. In just 10 short years, the business has grown from five employees in one building to 30 plus employees in four buildings.
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ALLDATA LLC has released a white paper discussing the need for collision repair facilities to have vehicle manufacturers’ OE repair information. “The people who build the cars have the final word on how to repair them after a collision,” said ALLDATA Senior Program Manager for Collision, Dan Espersen. [See Esperson’s All OEM Information column this issue.] “The manufacturers have very specific requirements about sectioning, weld types, panel attachment, handling new materials, hybrid safety and a lot more. And every manufacturer has its own requirements.”Given how rapidly vehicle technology is changing, more and more collision shops are realizing that they need up-to-date information for working on alternative steels, magnesium, aluminum, composites and plastics. In some cases, new adhesives are required to make repairs rather than traditional welding techniques. New and ever-evolving technologies, economic pressures, and requirements mandated by insurance company agreements all put enormous pressure on collision shops. With slim profit margins and labor rates held in place by market forces, increased productivity is becoming essential to survival. “This white paper resulted from talking to a lot of people who are living with today’s business and economic challenges, and from a very informative round table discussion held at the NACE conference in November,” says Espersen. “It was chaired by Jason Stahl of BodyShop Business magazine, and it confirmed for me what I already knew, that OE information can help mitigate a lot of the issues facing shops today.” To download the white paper, please visit www.alldata.com.
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 7
60% of Tax Rebates, Insurance Assessments not Claimed in Louisiana Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has announced that nearly $59 million, or 60 percent of the available tax rebates available to property insurance consumers in his state went unclaimed last year. Property owners are entitled to a state tax rebate, whether they file taxes or not, for the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation assessment charged on their insurance policy. The rebate program has been operational since 2005 and property owners can again take advantage of it for the tax year 2009. Time is running out, however, for those who have not filed a claim form. Property owners who have not filed with the Department of Revenue to recoup the amount paid in insurance assessments after Hurricane Katrina may claim the rebate on their state tax return due May 17, 2010, Donelon said. Assessments paid with insurance premiums in previous years may be claimed by filing an amended tax return for the year in which the assessment was paid.The Department of Revenue’s Louisiana Citizens Insurance Tax Credit forms may be accessed online via the Department of Revenue home page and at the Department of Insurance home page. There is a time limitation for claiming the assessment. The deadline for assessments paid in 2005 and 2006 is the end of December 2010.
Bill Jeter, New Chair of Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association For the first time in Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association (TAIPA) history a public member has been elected to lead the organization's board. Bill Jeter, of College Station, Texas, was unanimously elected to head the association's governing committee for 2010–2011. Fred Strauss with Allstate Insurance, is vice chair. Peter Kelly of Liberty Mutual Insurance, was elected second vice-chair. Mike Gerik, with Texas Farm Bureau Companies in Waco, Texas, was elected secretary. TAIPA was created by state statute to provide automobile bodily injury and property insurance required by the Texas Motor Vehicle responsibility Act. Kaizen Assembly Launches LEAN Auto Body Webinar Series Kaizen Assembly has announced the LEAN Auto Body Webinar Series—a 4course live online seminar training series specific for the auto collision repair industry. Conducted by Chris Ortiz, this series provides a hands on approach to lean auto body. “This webinar series will allow body shop owners and their staff to take advantage of our lean auto body seminars and eliminate the cost of travel,” says President Chris Ortiz. They can be scheduled for one specific company. Contact patriciabrunhirl @kaizenassembly.com or 360-715-2129.
Louisiana Workman’s Comp Costs About 35% More The costs per all paid workers’ compensation insurance claims in Louisiana averaged 35% higher than typical study states, according to a Massachusetts-based research group that studies workers’ comp. In its “Comp Scope Benchmarks for Louisiana, 10th Edition,” the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) found that injured workers in Louisiana were off the job longer than in other states with similar workers’ compensation benefit systems, resulting in higher-thantypical indemnity benefits per claim than in other study states, even though the workers’ weekly benefits were capped at lower levels in Louisiana. In addition, medical costs and expenses per claim were among the highest of the 15 states in the study. The study found that indemnity benefits per claim with more than seven days of lost time were 36 percent higher than the typical study state as a result of a longer duration of temporary disability. WCRI reported that injured workers in Louisiana were off work 34 weeks on average, which was nine to 10 weeks longer than Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and 15 weeks longer than Michigan. Medical costs per claim were 20 percent higher than in the typical study state, the result of higher utilization and higher non-
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surgical prices paid. In addition, the duration of medical treatment was 6.5 weeks (16 percent) longer than in the median study state. Despite little change in the medical fee schedule rates since 1994, the 2006 medical fee schedule in Louisiana was higher than the median of 42 states with fee schedules for all service groups except surgery. Payments per claim for hospital outpatient services also were higher than the median study state, WCRI said. Hospital inpatient payments per claim, however, were lower compared to other study states. Expenses to manage claims were among the highest of the study states, including higher than average medical cost containment expenses per claim, defense attorney payments, and medical-legal expenses per claim. WCRI reported defense attorney payments per claim with more than seven days of lost time were the highest among the 15 study states, at an average of nearly $6,500 per claim with defense attorney payments greater than $500. Source: WCRI, www.wcrinet.org.
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Tennessee House’s Anti-Steering Legislation Both the Tennessee House of Representatives and the state's Senate currently are reviewing bills that would require insurers to inform claimants of their right to choose a repair facility. The bill also would prohibit insurers from requiring insureds or third-party claimants to use a certain business for their vehicles' repairs. The bill is labeled H.B. 3488 in the House, and S.B. 3455 in the Tennessee Senate. 3488 is sponsored by Rep. Dennis Ferguson (D), while S.B. 3455 is sponsored by Sen. Ken Yager (R). Like many other recent consumer choice bills that have been filed throughout the United States in the last few months, the bill would add language to the state's insurance code defining the term “deceptive referral” (known as the practice of steering by many). The bill would define a deceptive referral as “any trade practice by which an Continued from Page 1
Auto Safety Reforms
“While the U.S. has arguably the best automotive safety net in the world, these types of infrequent problems are the hardest to catch and the most difficult to diagnose, in this case with deadly consequences.”
insurer attempts to persuade, convince, coerce, or intimidate a claimant into changing the claimant's choice of repair facility after the insurer has been informed that the claimant has selected a repair facility.” The bill reads as follows, “An insurer shall inform a claimant upon initial notification of a claim that the claimant has the right to choose the repair facility of his or her choice to repair a damaged vehicle.” It continues: “An insurer or any of its representatives shall not request or require any insured or third-party claimant to use a specific person or business for the provision of automobile physical damage repairs, automobile physical damage appraisals, automobile glass replacement, automobile parts, or glass repair service.” Both pieces of legislation were filed on January 28 and assigned to House's Consumer and Employees Affairs Committee.
The recommendations come as the U.S. Congress begins the first of two days of hearings that will feature a grilling of both safety regulators and Toyota on the question of why red flags were missed. Separately, Consumer Reports released its annual ranking of the most reliable auto brands. Honda Motor Co. topped the list for the fourth consecutive year in a tie with Subaru.
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Okla. Insurance Dept Wants to be Stand Alone A bill to make the Oklahoma Insurance Department a non-appropriated agency has passed the state Senate Appropriations Committee. Sen. David Myers, author of Senate Bill 1658, says his legislation, which was requested by the insurance department, will save the state money. “It’s important that we’re as efficient with state dollars as possible especially during hard economic times. Taking away appropriations from certain agencies that are self-sufficient, like the Insurance Department, makes good financial sense,” Myers, vice chair of the committee, said in a statement on the Senate Web site. “The state stands to save over $2.5 million in funding that could be used for other essential state services like transportation, education and public safety.” Myers pointed out that both the State Banking Department and the State Securi-
Toyota was No. 3, although Consumer Reports suspended its recommendation for the eight models recalled for sticky accelerator pedals. Hyundai Motor, one of the automakers expected to benefit most in the short-term from Toyota's woes, jumped to fourth place from ninth a year earlier. The annual report is considered an influential benchmark among consumers.
ties Commission were made into non-appropriated agencies several years ago, and he’s filed legislation this year to do the same with the Commission on Consumer Credit. “Since 2005, the Oklahoma Insurance Department has been aggressive in improving our efficiency through the implementation of new technology and operational streamlining. Granting the Department non-appropriation status is the next logical step in our process of becoming self-sufficient,” said Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland. “Oklahoma, like the rest of the country, is facing serious economic challenges. We’re determined to do our part to reduce the cost of government while serving the public well.” The bill will next be considered by the full Senate.
Many automakers set internal targets to make the magazine's list of recommended vehicles since the endorsement is seen as valuable in advertising and in supporting auto resale values.
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www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 9
NADA Chair Says Dealers See Industry Rebound
The nation’s new-car dealers and the trade organization that represents them have much to look forward to in 2010 as the industry rebounds after a tough year that brought many changes, the incoming chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) said at its convention in Orlando, held Feb. 13–15. NADA is ready to “hit the ground running” to tackle a fresh slate of issues this year with a new attitude and new agenda that relies heavily on feedback from dealer members, said 2010 NADA Chairman Ed Tonkin, a multifranchise dealer from Portland, OR, whose father, Ron Tonkin, led the association in 1989. After avoiding an “Armageddon” for many in the industry last year, Tonkin said NADA will now turn its attention to the challenges ahead: IRS issues like UNICAP and LIFO; avoiding a patchwork of mileage standards under the new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements; and closely monitoring Congress to avoid unnecessary and burdensome regulation. Tonkin said NADA’s work to get dealers exempted from oversight under the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency is an example of how the organization is well suited to represent dealers in Washington. He also said last year’s restructuring in the industry has created a “watershed moment” for au-
tomakers to establish a true partnership with their dealers -- an opportunity that may not come again. “Like my dad has said, ‘the bird doesn’t always fly by twice,’” Tonkin said. “With new ownership and new people in charge, [automakers] have a golden opportunity to craft a new relationship with their dealers, one based on a genuine spirit of cooperation.” And though much uncertainty remains, Tonkin Ed Tonkin said dealers should be optimistic. With expected sales of nearly 12 million in 2010, rising employment and improved lending, the future is bright, he said. “We’ve faced difficult times before and what did we do? We sold cars and trucks in bunches,” he said. “Every possible scenario you could imagine we dealers have remained the constant. That’s strength, that’s resiliency and that’s what America’s new-car and truck dealers are all about.” More than 15,000 dealers, automaker executives, exhibitors, media and guests attended the NADA convention.
10 MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Congress Asks Insurers for Toyota Accident Data
A House committee has asked five insurance companies to provide it with information by the week of Feb. 22 regarding accident trends involving cars and trucks manufactured by Toyota. The request by the House Energy and Commerce Committee was prompted by a statement Tuesday by State Farm indicating that it had alerted federal safety regulators in late 2007 about a rise in reports of unexpected acceleration in Toyota vehicles. However, officials of two of the four other companies, Allstate and Progressive, that received the request for information said they have so far found no signs of a similar trend in claims they have received. The request for the data comes as three congressional committees gear up to hold hearings soon on the Toyota recall issue. The House Energy and Commerce Committee sent the letter seeking the data from Allstate, Farmers Group, GEICO, Progressive and State Farm. It is one of the three committees planning hearings on the issue. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee plans a hearing Feb. 24 and the Energy and Commerce Committee plans a hearing the next day.
The Senate Commerce Committee has scheduled a hearing March 2. In responding to the State Farm data, NHTSA officials said the report was reviewed and the agency issued a recall later that month. But a spokesman for Allstate cautioned that it had examined its records and found “there was no apparent trend” in claims it had “processed that would point to a recurring problem.” Mike Siemienas, the Allstate spokesman, also said that it had a process in place to deal with recalls “because they occur all the time.” Mr. Siemienas said Allstate is in the process of responding to the request for the data from the E&C panel. Lee Knapp, a spokesman for Progressive, added that the company is currently reviewing claims that may be affected by the Toyota recalls. “Right now it's too soon to say how many customers may be affected, but at this point there's no indication that it will be a significant number.” She added, “We're also reviewing the request from Rep. Waxman, and if we have anything that is responsive to that request, we will provide it.”
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www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 11
ASA Urges Repairers to Contact Committee Members to Oppose Model Parts Act
The National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) Property and Casualty Insurance Committee Spring 2010 meetings will be held Friday, March 5, through Sunday, March 7 in Isle of Palms, SC. The Automotive Service Association (ASA) has asked repairers to contact state legislators who serve on this committee prior to the meetings regarding an aftermarket parts model act that is on NCOIL’s agenda. The Property-Casualty Insurance Committee meetings commence Friday morning. ASA asks repairers to contact committee members in opposition to the Model Act Regarding Motor Vehicle Crash Parts and Repair. This model act has several key provisions that are harmful to the automotive repair industry. These provisions include the current language on certified replacement crash parts and their equivalency to OEM parts, the lack of required written consent by the consumer for the use of replacement crash parts as well as other concerns and language in Section 6, Choice of Repair Facility. To contact your state legislators who are on the committee regarding this proposed NCOIL model act, please go to ASA’s legislative Web site at www.TakingTheHill.com. The letter is found in the “Current Alerts” section. A list of state legislators serving on the committee follows:
2010 ASRW Partnering Program Kicks-Off, Strong Industry Support
ASRW 2010 reports strong industry support for this year’s events via the ASRW Partnering Program (APP). The APP is designed to foster industry participation by partnering organizations supporting the many segments of the automotive service and repair industry. APP participants promote unified industry involvement, while strengthening their respective groups and memberships. The ASRW 2010 events will take place Oct. 10–13 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas (no longer during AAIW). ASRW is a standalone event specifically created for all automotive service and repair professionals, enabling even more industry segments to join under the umbrella. The high-quality educational program is scheduled Oct.
Chair: Sen. Ruth Teichman, Kan. Co-Vice Chair: Sen. Jake Corman, PA. Co-Vice Chair: Rep. Steve Riggs, Ky. Rep. Kurt Olson, Alaska Assem. William Barclay, N.Y. Rep. Greg Wren, Ala. Assem. Nancy Calhoun, N.Y. Sen. Larry Teague, Ark. Sen. William J. Larkin Jr., N.Y. Sen. Joe Crisco, Conn. Sen. James Seward, N.Y. Rep. Perry Thurston Jr., Fla. Sen. Keith Faber, Ohio Rep. Rich Golick, Ga. Rep. Jay Hottinger, Ohio Sen. Vi Simpson, Ind. Rep. Robert Godshall, Pa. Rep. Ron Crimm, Ky. Rep. Brian Kennedy, R.I. Rep. Robert Damron, Ky. Sen. David Bates, R.I. Rep. Ted Edmonds, Ky. Rep. Charles Curtiss, Tenn. Rep. Chuck Kleckley, La. Rep. Craig Eiland, Texas Sen. Dan Morrish, La. Rep. Hubert Vo, Texas Rep. Marc Corriveau, Mich. Del. Harvey Morgan, Va. Sen. Alan Sanborn, Mich. Rep. Kathleen Keenan, Vt. Rep. Mike Colona, Mo. Rep. Virginia Milkey, Vt. Sen. Buck Clarke, Miss. Sen. Bob Dearing, Miss. Sen. Dean Kirby, Miss. Rep. George Keiser, N.D. Sen. Jerry Klein, N.D. Rep. Don Flanders, N.H. Sen. Carroll Leavell, N.M.
12 MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
10-13, a Sunday through Wednesday day pattern; the comprehensive exhibits will be open from Oct. 11-13, Monday through Wednesday. ASRW currently features the International Autobody Congress & Exposition (NACE), sponsored by the Automotive Service Association (ASA), the only event of its kind designed for the collision repair professional; the Congress of Automotive Repair & Service (CARS), also sponsored by ASA, the premier event for automotive service professionals; as well as Auto Glass Week, dedicated to the automotive glass professional. “NABC has been a proud supporter of NACE and an active participant in the ASRW Partnering Program since its inception. Through the APP we are able to
promote the event, attract new attendees, and grow our membership all at the same time,” says Chuck Sulkala, NABC executive director. “Our presence at NACE is vital and allows us the platform with which to highlight our community awareness project, NABC’s Recycled Rides – benefiting families and service organizations in need throughout the United States.” The ASRW Partnering Program is intended to grow ever-stronger by encompassing even more industry organizations and involvement. Should your organization wish to learn more about the advantages and be considered as a future APP participant, please contact Pamela Miller, APP facilitator, today at pmiller@hanleywood.com.
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
Ultimate Vodka’s Shelby Series 1, Part 2 with Rich Evans
We’re back on part two of three on our Shelby Series 1 project that we started in the last issue. We left off last month having the car ready for our base color. I chose a House of Kolor Orion Silver paint. Now a lot of guys think it’s only waterborne that we can use in California, but there are companies such as House of Kolor that have additives we can use to make it [low VOC] compliant. To do that we’re going
House of Kolor Orion Silver Base with Transtar top coat sanded with 3M 800 grit sand paper using the Quick Cut sanders followed by Soft-Sanders
to use one part paint, one part KU150 catalyst, and two parts KV1 reducer. This way we can use these familiar custom colors
and still be compliant with the low VOCs. Of course this will also work in shops outside California, who want to be more envorionmentally conscious and safe. A word or two about safety because making something compliant doesn’t mean it’s 100% safe. I always wear the MicroFlex Midknight™ gloves for the booth area and things I’m doing. I can go through 100 pairs or more easily on a project like this, but it’s worth it. I also always use my shoot suits which keep me nice and clean and away from the lacquer thinners and other solvents that can get into the pores of your skin. I also use a fresh air system from SATA which keeps me safe. I want to be around for another 40 years and still be painting without worrying what any refinish product can do to me over a long period of time. We’re going to end up with two batches in the booth, with applying three coats of Orion Silver base coat, but before that we have to hit it with the sealer. I am using House of Kolor KS210. It comes in a white and a black and I mixed 50% of each to get a gray color so I can apply silver over top of it. First I apply two light
coats of the sealer over the surface and the parts. I’m going to apply three coats of the orion silver total. I’m using my SATA gun at 27 psi when I’m applying base color. We’re getting our silver base on with a topcoat. I like TranStar and I’m using 6531 to 2.1 low-VOC clearcoat. For my hardener I use the 6894HT and that allows just a little bit more flow time. It is better for what I do—graphics and custom work.
graphic design touch; and the airbrush skills all in one. I don’t have to sub-source anything. He’s a real talent and I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot more of his work out there.
Matt Van Wingerden, Air brush artist extraordinaire.
House of Kolors Orion Silver Base coat with Transtar top coat
I’ve been using Transtar topcoat for about 14 years and I’ve never once had it bite me or go wrong. A lot of guys out there might not apply enough material so don’t skimp. It’s all about how you apply your material. I’m putting two coats on because I know I’m going to go back and sand it down with 800. I’ve chosen to use a topcoat versus an SG100 (Intercoat clear) because of all the taping. Instead of using the SG100 and having to use the KU150 and the KV1 to get this compliant—to me, it’s better to put a low-VOC clearcoat on and skip the SG100 system. We get the two coats on and I’m going to come through with 800 grit 3M wet and dry and I’m going to use the Soft-Sander blocks and Quick-Cut sanding DAs on the flatter areas. There aren’t many of those on this car. The Soft Sanders are a huge help because the multiple lengths of sanding blocks fit the body contours. The blocks are all color-coded so as you use them more you find out which ones help you most. Obviously they’re saving me a lot of time and give me a better result. A straight block really doesn’t work on this project because of all the contours going on. I can use any of the Style-Line Super-Flex® sandpapers up to 3000 grit. We’re cutting this with 800 grit and then we’re going to bring it in and do a mock-up for graphic layout. I’ve called in Matt Van Wingerden to do the airbrushing on the project. You might remember him from his Marilyn Monroe headliner that we did for the ‘57 Chevy last year. Matt is very creative. He’s young but very well-rounded as an artist. He wears three hats: having the plotter skills; the
What we want is the real subtle graphic layout and Matt’s doing the Ultimate Vodka bottle that I explained in the last column. We want this bottle to look real and it represents the company, so Matt is my design and concept to place it on the hood in the rally stripes.
Graphic lay out.
Matt puts about 20 hours into getting the bottle looking great and we’ve got the car mocked-up, sanded down with the 800 grit and ready for the second color which is going to be True Blue Pearl (part number PBC36.Q01) from House of Kolor. I used a panel-alignment tool before I tore the car down. I take an 1/8-inch drill bit and drill into the hinge areas of the hood, doors, fenders, the rear hatch; just so I have a reference so I can put those panels back exactly where they were. I know where I am all the time instead of wasting a lot of time trying to line things up. You experienced guys know what I’m talking about. I’ve designed my own panel alignment tool which is just a set of 6 screwdrivers with an 1/8-inch dowel of different lengths to get into different areas. So you can make your own, or I’ll make them available soon for others. Sometimes we need to make our own tools, but these tools work for me. I’ve saved a lot of time with them and time is money. So now that we’ve got everything mocked-up, our graphic design is going to include some rally stripes, striped down the left and right hood right before it meets the fender. We’re going to break it off in the front to make it look racy and add some check-
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 13
ered-pattern designs. I collaborated with Ed Blinn—with Patron Tequila, the owner—on the layout. I really want to give them what they’re looking for and represent their company and their brand as best we can. I use Photoshop to mock-up the vehicle in a picture to get on the same page with the company. When they give me the thumbs up then we need to make that picture real. That’s the way that works for us here at Rich Evans designs. We’ve got all the graphics layed out and then we mask everything up ready for the True Blue Pearl second base color. I like 3M tape and masking paper, which is a real
Vodka lettering look really deep so that it’s really popping off that Orion Silver. We’re going to shadow where the checkerboards meet the graphic on the fenders and give it a natural rollover so it looks like it’s rolling underneath that graphic and disappearing. It’ll be real subtle with a couple of little highlights here and there that’ll make sense to separate the blues (where it meets blues) especially on the front where it comes around and meets the rally stripe. We want that stripe to go underneath the rally stripe to look like they’re really diving underneath it. You don’t have to overdo it to get the look. We’re not going for a
House of Kolor True blue pearl.
Ready for Transtar top coat
good quality tape that doesn’t leave residue behind, especially when you’re doing graphics. Make sure you pre-clean all your panels before you mask them. Using the MicroFlex gloves keeps your fingerprints off the car. Use a nice hard mask, applied tight, so it’s easy to unmask. All of those steps really count when you’re trying to put out a highquality commercial product. It takes a little longer but your end results are better. So after tear down, we have two batches. It could easily be three batches but if I do three it could cost another six hours of time waiting between coats. It’s a little crowded but I have enough room to walk around and apply the True Blue. I’m using a 1.4 tip on my SATA gun and my comfort zone is 27 psi so it atomizes the paint and I don’t have a really high build. I might get a two-mill build with this project’s six coats, half-triggered to just give me coverage with the second base color. You want to make sure that you are not creating more work for yourself and don’t get a high build on your second base color. When you’re doing graphics you can extend yourself for more color, sanding and buffing to make it smooth, where you can’t feel the lines. With the left to right doors we’re adding the Ultimate Vodka image on and we got those laid out to where they look natural and not crowded. I just used the House of Kolor white base color, two coats, with just enough for coverage. We put on the white before we applied the True Blue, then re-masked so when we’re done with the True Blue graphic part we can de-mask everything and add our shadows to give it a three-dimensional look. It’ll make the Ultimate
bunch of wavy effects or anything like that. This car needs to look like it’s going 100 miles an hour standing still. We’re using six True Blue coats throughout the two batches and then demasking. You really need to spend your time cleaning up making sure everything is right. Blow off everything, tack it off, walk around, check it and make sure that everything is blown out before you apply your TranStar clear topcoat. I’m going to apply five coats and one tack coat. I like to use the tack coat to make sure I’m covering it and creating a foundation for my clear that I’m going to apply pretty heavily on. I’m going to come back and cut two of those coats off so I really want to leave a minimum of 3–3½ coats of clear for a protective coat throughout its lifespan. I have a system when I’m spraying my clear with my RP gun, which is a 1.4, and I recommend everybody get an RP gun with a 1.4. I’ve been using one for about six years and I use it about 35–37 psi, about 3 inches away. I usually shoot at about 3 inches and I like to control the product when it goes on and make sure it’s flat. I want to make sure that I’m in control and the paint is not controlling me and there’s really no room for double lapping. You’ll create a comfort zone for yourself. A word about keeping it clean. Go to shootsuits.com and pick yourself up a Rich Evans shoot suit (ad adjacent). I’m walking around in a shoot suit all the time they’re washable, they last forever, and the price is right. Cleanliness and safety go hand in hand because they show care and attention to detail. It’s nice to walk out of the booth and see everything right and
14 MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
clean. You’re happy, you don’t have dirt flying around, and you don’t have to repeat steps. Once again, time is money. So five coats of clear, one tack, that leaves me a lot of room to color, sand, and buff. For that, I am going to start with 800 grit and we will finish this in the third stage of this article. I really want to get the steps and procedures across to you guys so you can try what I’m doing, or maybe you’ll come across one or two things that you’re not doing that you might try that might help you save time. I’m going to hit some of my flat areas with the Quick Cut sander with 800 grit.
Second batch with clear coat ready for color sand and buff
That’s what I start with then I really keep my focus on the second topcoat (True Blue) and it works those areas down because I know they’re going to be two mills higher than everything else. So as I applied my topcoat I really pounded on the five coats. Find
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a system that works for you but 15 minutes in between each coat works for me. By the time it’s tacking and is starting to set up, I pile it on again. You know that you have a window of 24 hours between coats so some of you guys out there are doing extra by putting 3 coats on, sanding, cleaning everything up, putting it back in the booth and putting another three coats on. Take your time to read up on your product to see what your windows are. You can put three coats on, and come back the next morning, without sanding, and put another three coats on. The more you dig into the product details and the more you use it,
Blocking with the Soft Sanders 1000--1500 grit
the more it will work for you the way works for me. It’s worked for me for years. Breaking out the Soft Sanders, I’ve got about five or six blocks that I’m using on this. They’re different sizes and lengths and See SHELBY PART TWO, Page 39
Dan Am-SATA & Jobbers Provide EPA Painter Spray Gun Training Autobody News recently attended a 3-hr. evening training session for about 35 painters, informally called a “SATA EPA clinic,” held at Sacio Enterprises in San Diego. The Jan. 20 event was hosted by the jobber, Tri City Paint, headed by Steve Ellis, Sales Manager, and assisted by Wayne Morrison and Felipe Contreras. Also present was the local representative, Gerry Carter, from Total Sales & Marketing. The featured presenter was Steve Treutel, national industry relations and training manger for Dan Am/SATA, who covered the theory behind the EPA regulations, the compliance requirements, and some critical, but often overlooked, maintainance issues for spray guns. The training included hands-on booth spraying before the painters could be certified in the course. We asked Treutel about training painters in light of the new EPA rule, and what refinish companies—including hardware manufacturers—and jobbers can do, and are doing, to help them get up to speed. Steve Treutel ◄ Two things are happening in the collision industry right nowthat are huge, the EPA rule and waterborne, and I’m not sure which is the larger. First, the EPA put into the rule what so many of us wanted to do for some time
Steve Treutel, right, talks to a San Diego group of motivated painters seeking national certification for EPA mandated painting operations.
which is basically educating the painter. What we’ve done at Dan Am and SATA is set up a training program with our 39 reps doing evening clinics on this. We cover how the gun operates works, volume, air, from HVLP to RP technologies: they all fall into this rule. We teach them how to achieve the very best transfer efficiency Then we turn around and physically do it. Every student in the class sprays and is graded on it. In the past if you tried to hold a workshop for painters about how to use their own spray gun nobody would show up. They thought that they knew everything there was to know. It’s because everybody learned by watching someone else, not by knowing the principles behind the painting process. Now they say “thank you.”
Every paint manufacturer out there and their brand of waterborne basecoat is working to make that operate and dry the way they want it to with color match and everything else. Understanding how that gun is set up is critical. Starting with California, now every paint company is releasing their waterborne nationally, some more effectively and aggressively than others. But now you’ve got the OTC group in the North-
Steve Treutel reviews protective equipment and explains some of the potential health hazards the EPA rules are designed to prevent.
east, and the Great Lakes group also, which are working on their waterborne law for 2012, only two years away. I think it could all happen nationally within 5-10 years. That’s a lot of painters—bigger, even, than the California waterborne launch because we’re talking about changing
primers and clears (to match the 1151 rule) and everything that goes with that. As we’re doing these evening clinics and I’m working with our reps we hear that everybody wants to know how soon until I have to do it? Across the street that shop might’ve already changed over to water, or is seriously planning for it. ABN ► So what percentage would you say are doing it voluntarily?
Steve Treutel ◄ So far, it’s a small percentage that have changed over voluntarily but it’s bigger than many people think. In many cases it’s a shop that wants to stand out from its competition more. For some of them it’s just for marketing; others are saying “it’s going to come anyway” and I don’t want to be waiting in line for jobbers and reps to help me. ABN ► We know about two large MSO body shops that are planning a “flip the switch” date to transition to waterborne.
Steve Treutel ◄ Yes, there are a lot of proactive shops that are gearing up their equipment and they have the plan in place. They understand that new equipment can make it a lot easier. You can spray water See DAN AM/SATA EPA, Page 35
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 15
Hand-held Phone Bans Are Not Reducing Crashes, Distraction is an Attention Problem
Distracted driving is an attention problem not a manual operation problem, so it’s no surprise to many that laws banning the use of hand-held phones while driving have failed to reduce crashes, according to research conducted by the Highway Loss Data Institute. HLDI, an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), said its findings were based on a comparison of crash damage insurance claim rates in four U.S. jurisdictions before and after the phone use bans. The research showed claim rates remained steady compared with nearby jurisdictions that have not passed such bans. “The laws aren’t reducing crashes, even though we know that such laws have reduced hand-held phone use, and several studies have established that phoning while driving increases crash risk,� said Adrian Lund, president of the IIHS and HLDI. In New York, HLDI noted, there was a decrease in collision claim frequencies relative to comparison states, but that trend began “well before the state’s ban took effect.� HLDI added that trends in the District of Columbia, Connecticut and California did not change. Mr. Lund said, “So the new findings don’t match what we already know about the risk of phoning and texting while driving. If crash risk increases with phone use
and fewer drivers use phones where it’s illegal to do so, we would expect to see a decrease in crashes. But we aren’t seeing it. Nor do we see collision claim increases before the phone bans took effect. “This is surprising, too, given what we know about the growing use of cell phones and the risk of phoning while driving. We’re currently gathering data to figure out this mismatch.� Mr. Lund said a possible reason for the finding may be that drivers are switching to hands-free phones, which presents about the same risk as hand-held phones. “Whatever the reason,� he said, “the key finding is that crashes aren’t going down where hand-held phone use has been banned. This finding doesn’t auger well for any safety payoff from all the new laws that ban phone use and texting while driving.� On January 11, 2009, The National Safety Council advocated a total ban on cell phone use while driving, stating the practice is clearly dangerous and leads to fatalities. The group’s president likened talking on cell phones to drunken driving. She said cell phone use increases the risk of a crash fourfold, and that hands-free cell phones are just as risky as hand held phones. The council examined more than 50 scientific studies before reaching its decision. For more see autobodynews.com
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Autobody News’ Online Feedback Following are some responses posted on this story as it ran online at a number of media sites, including autobodynews.com. These are anonymous responses, not news sources, and do not represent any kind of survey results or, necessarily, majority opinion. —Editor � Accidents are not decreasing because the law is not enforced by police. Actually I see police on the road using cell phones as motorists. Police look at people talking on phones and do not even pull them over. � This new study result simply can’t be accepted. I question the baseline and quantifiable information, and perhaps the limited span of the time period from which data has been grabbed. Regardless, personally and from others are many accounts of hazardous driving behaviors of persons in deep phone conversation or texting. Laws belong on the books with stiff penalties for violations.
� I’m amazed that so many still think the problem lies in a driver having a cell phone in their hand. It’s the fact that people’s minds, not their hands, are preoccupied when using a cell phone in any fashion while also driving a car. The ban needs to be on any usage, not just texting.
� In July of 2008, California banned the use of cell phones while driving for all persons under the age of 18 years. The State also banned the use of hand held cell phones for persons over the age of 18 while driving. All cell phone users have to utilize hands-free devices, either corded or cordless, such as Bluetooth, to be within the law and avoid fines. That law is a huge joke! Every day I watch dozens of people with their cell phones glued to their ears and yapping away. There are a number of possibilities for their idiotic behavior: 1) They don’t care about the law; 2) They don’t care if they get caught; 3) They would rather pay the fine than shut their mouth. They think whatever they have to say is more important than safe driving; 4) They think they can talk and drive but they can’t chew gum and walk So, brilliance aside, what did the lawmakers think these rocket scientists were going to do to dial their cell phones? Not all of them have voice dial, so here we now have motor mouth tethered to the cell phone by their new hands-free ear bud and microphone combo, holding it up in front of him or her, trying to see the keyboard and dial a number. Or holding a piece of paper and a pen and the cell phone, while trying to write down a number that has appeared on the screen, and must be of utmost importance.
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16 MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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Company Connections
AEGIS Tools Innovates Windshield Repair Systems Worldwide Bob Birkhauser, owner of AEGIS Tools International, has 34 years experience in the automotive glass industry, as a second-generation owner/operator/product developer whose father started an auto car glass specialist company 48 years ago. “My parents started their auto glass business in 1961 and I became an S.O.B. AEGIS Tools Owner (Son of the Boss) after Bob Birkhauser I graduated from Unigrew up within his family’s auto versity of Wisconsin specialist business, in 1975,� Birkhauser starting in 1961. said. “My dad wanted me to commit to the family business, so he made me sign a five-year commitment agreement. I never looked back or hesitated for a minute.� In 1982, Birkhauser invented the first AEGIS windshield repair system for Auto Glass Specialists, Inc., to be used in his family’s chain of auto glass installation
centers headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. “In the earlier days of this industry, windshield repair was an emerging service available primarily from repair-only franchises. Viewed as a serious threat to the auto glass replacement industry, windshield repair reduced the demand for replacement and directed referrals away from replacement shops.� Never slowed by a challenge, the Birkhauser family decided to offer repair as an additional service, but needed highquality tools without franchise fees. Within a short time, the AEGIS windshield repair system was designed, tested and awarded two patents. Over the years, AEGIS designed innovative glass installation tools and refinements to the windshield repair system. In 2005, the Birkhausers sold the Auto Glass Specialists installation centers to Belron North America but retained AEGIS Tools International, which is now a separate corporation. “AEGIS Tools International Inc. is a small, family-run business still located in
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Madison,� Birkhauser said. “AEGIS tools and equipment are sold worldwide through a network of distributors and our Web site. Our specialties are in custom-configured windshield repair kits and tools to make glass installations safer and more ef-
three decades ago, AEGIS has sold its products to more than 17,000 auto glass shops, Birkhauser said. AEGIS Tools has designed many of the most popular auto glass repair systems in the market today, Birkhauser said. “Auto glass techs from all over the world provide us with valuable feedback, telling us what products want manufactured and how these tools can be designed or re-designed in order to make their jobs easier,� he said. “We tap into our customers’ extensive knowledge regularly and it makes for better tools.� AEGIS Tool’s windshield repair systems are AEGIS Tool’s staff assembles one of the company’s patented windshield inthe company’s largest stallation tools. sellers, Birkhauser said, ficient. Constantly innovating, a staff en- popular with auto glass shops, collision regineer brings new ideas from concept to pair facilities, new car dealerships and design, while a talented group of cus- wholesale distributors. tomer/field testers assist us in making our The company’s newest leading product tools the most well-designed in the indus- is the patented dry vacuum-hydraulic prestry. Most of our components are made in sure system for AEGIS windshield repair, the Upper Midwest and assembled at and featuring the QuikSilver Technology, which shipped from our Madison production fa- allows repairs in as little as five minutes, cility.� Birkhauser explained. Dry vacuum allows In 1990, Birkhauser became president all moisture and air to be evacuated from the of AEGIS Tools and assumed complete break, while hydraulic pressure forces resin control of the company when his father re- completely and quickly into the break. tired several years later. The company is One of Birkhauser’s main goals is flourishing today, with seven employees helping auto glass companies doing a betand selling more than 1,000 repair wind- ter quality job by using superior products shield kits annually, he explained. and bettering efficiently, ergonomics and overall safety, he said. Even with better tools and training in 2009, there are still a wide range of safety and quality issues in this industry Birkhauser said. “I would guess that 80 percent of the same types of mistakes happen when auto glass work is performed,� he said. “Some errors are small, AEGIS Tools headquarters is located in Madison, Wisconsin. but others are significant, It’s a worldwide business today, but we don’t have any sympathy for compaBirkhauser said. “Half of our business is nies who take shortcuts using inferior materiinternational right now. We’re currently als and engaging in unsafe practices. If you selling to 50 countries and growing this violate the standards, you’re running a risk of rapidly expanding market, to shops and giving the customer an unsafe product.� wholesale distributors in South and Central America, France, Germany, Nether- AEGIS Tools International lands and sections of Eastern Europe.� 2810 Syene Road AEGIS Tools sells primarily wind- Madison, Wisconsin 53713 shield tools, repair kits and related com- (608) 274-9266 ponents. Since opening its doors more than www.aegistools.com www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 17
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Soaring Foreign Car Sales Shape Both Detroit’s and the Aftermarket’s Future Autobody News
by Jim Lang, Aftermarket Insights
Annual 2009 vehicle sales are in, and the picture is clear. Foreign vehicles (imports and transplants) have gained control of the U.S. new vehicle market. Foreign cars and light trucks captured 55.8% of dwindling 2009 new vehicle sales, up from 52.5% of the 2008 market and much stronger than their 48.9% share in 2007. This is phenomenal growth since 1999, when foreign models totaled only 29% of new vehicle sales.” “Americans purchased 16.2 million vehicles in 2007. By 2009, new vehicle volume slumped to 10.4 million (down 36%), as foreign cars and light trucks increased their sales share more than one-seventh in two years. Skyrocketing foreign share of new vehicles is reshaping the aftermarket.” Domestic share of new vehicle volume (not including transplants) plunged from 51.1% in 2007 to only 44.2% by 2009. General Motors sank from 24% of 2007 sales to only 20% of the 2009 market. Ford held at 16% share from 2007 to 2009; while Chrysler saw its share fall nearly one-third, from 13% to just 9%. GM unit sales dropped 41% between 2007 and 2009; while Chrysler sank 51%. Ford achieved a Pyrrhic victory (among the Detroit Three), as its volume receded a mere 27% from 2007 to 2009. Toyota passed Ford in 2009 volume, capturing second position, as Honda pushed Chrysler from fourth place. Reshuffling Foreign Vehicle Share Hyundai and its Kia division sold 735 thousand new vehicles in 2009, within 10 thousand units of all German carmakers combined and pulling close to Nissan in a bid to take sixth position in total sales. The Hyundai Kia group is on track to pass Nissan as well as all German carmakers in 2010 U.S. volume.
Aftermarket Impact The foreign new vehicle surge is a future which has already happened. Its impact on the aftermarket in the next five to ten years is inevitable. Here are just a few aftermarket changes coming from this ongoing seismic shift in carmaker sales mix. 1. Manufacturers, Distributors, Retailers and Installers which cannot adapt
March 2010
to the changing mix of vehicles on U.S. roads will not hold their competitive positions. 2. Domestic cars and light trucks will generate one-tenth less aftermarket product share in six years than they do today, and their volume of aftermarket products will steadily decline. 3. Foreign cars and light trucks will increase their aftermarket product share more than one-fifth over the next six years, and they will generate all aftermarket product growth during that time. 4. Aftermarket volume will disproportionately be captured by product brands which are deemed “appropriate” for use on foreign cars and light trucks (imports and transplants) by Installers and DIYers. 5. Service outlets perceived by consumers as “qualified” to repair foreign cars and light trucks will disproportionately gain market share. 6. Retail Parts Stores as well as parts distributors which sell brands perceived as “appropriate” by DIYers and Installers for use on foreign vehicles will disproportionately increase their aftermarket sales share. Foreign Vehicle Aftermarket Gains Foreign cars and light trucks will set the course of aftermarket growth and development over the next ten years. By 2020, foreign vehicles will generate the majority of aftermarket use of many (if not most) product categories.
Domestic Woes Affect the Aftermarket Over the past three years, the number of domestic cars and light trucks (not including transplants) sold in the U.S. dropped a total of over four million units, reflecting lower overall new vehicle sales and plunging domestic car and light truck share. Domestic cars and light trucks sank to 44% of 2009 vehicle sales, down from 51% of the 2007 market and off more than two-fifths from their 78% share of the 1998 new-vehicle market. While January 2010 vehicle sales seemed to show stabilizing Detroit Three volume, there are some problems in the January numbers. For example, despite General Motors posting a sales gain, its January share was only two-thirds what it was 11 years ago. Although Ford is showing sales strength, its share is down nearly one-third
18 MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
from 1998; and the future of Chrysler remains cloudy. Unless Chrysler can stage a comeback, with the assistance of Fiat, Chrysler's sales could plummet and take the Detroit Three's combined share into the basement. Change Is In The Pipeline However, things can change rapidly, as shown by Toyota's recent headaches, and the Detroit Three could stage a comeback. Nevertheless, even if things stay about where they are over the next several years (or even improve a bit), significant aftermarket changes are already in the pipeline. Less General Repair Shop Volume Growing legions of foreign cars (imports and transplants) on U.S. roads means that general repair shops (Service Stations and Garages), which traditionally depend on domestic vehicles for a majority of their volume, could shrink substantially in repair share over the next several years.
More Specialized Repair Specialty Repair Shops (outlets conducting a limited menu of repair) and Foreign Specialists (outlets focusing on imports and transplants) stand to ring-up big repairvolume gains at the expense of Dealers and general repair outlets.
DIFM versus DIY Repair As domestic vehicles on U.S. roads grow older, they will generate an increasing portion of DIY volume. At the same time, the Service market will continue expanding its product share, bolstered by the growth of foreign vehicles, which are much more often taken by their owners to professional shops rather than be repaired by DIYers.
Foreign Vehicle Strength With domestic cars and light trucks losing new vehicle share, foreign models will expand their portion of the Service market, which will generate most if not all car and light truck aftermarket growth over the next several years. This means all car and light truck product expansion for the foreseeable future will be generated by foreign vehicles (imports and transplants). Their aftermarket product sales will continue
expanding at an unprecedented rate.
OE Brands And OE Distribution The strength of OE brands and OE distribution will differ substantially between domestic and foreign vehicles. OE distribution and OE brands for foreign cars and light trucks will continue ringing-up strong sales; while thousands of domestic Dealer closings and declining domestic vehicle sales will severely undercut the domestic segment of the OE channel and the domestic OE brands it distributes. This will provide opportunities for independent (non-OE) aftermarket distribution and non-OE brands. Aftermarket Changes How well the Detroit Three perform over the next several years has significant consequences for many aspects of the aftermarket. These changes will widen the gaps between aftermarket winners and losers. From Aftermarket Insight™ by Jim Lang, President of Lang Marketing Resources, Inc., www.langmarketing.com. Replacement Safety Certification Labels Gaining Wider Usage More body shops are taking advantage of ordering replacement safety certification labels online. The Federal Safety Certification label and the Tire and Loading label are required by law to be permanently affixed at the time of manufacture. The Federal Safety Certification label indicates compliance with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and includes the month and year of manufacture which is important for recalls. The Tire and Loading label contains several key pieces of information such as the manufacturer’s recommended PSI for the vehicle’s tires, the maximum weight (“load”) recommended for the vehicle, and the recommended tire size. These labels provide the vehicle owner with valuable information and should be replaced if damaged or removed. Body shops also benefit from replacing these labels with a standard part mark-up and labor rate. All major insurance companies accept these labels, so shops are paid to replace the label rather than tape the old one back on. Shops can log on to www.AutomotiveID.com.
Gonzo’s Toolbox
Excerpted from Scott “Gonzo” Weaver's New Book, “Hey Look! I Found The Loose Nut”, which provides a Good Laugh for Mechanics of Any Age. For more information, Contact Scott Weaver at Gonzosae@aol.com and see his website at www.gonzostoolbox.com.
Early Morning De-Light and Nursing Ingenuity with Gonzo Weaver
Here’s another true story from my book. It reminded me that the true sign of a craftsman is no wrinkles in the duct tape.
A few years ago a nurse dressed in her scrubs came into my Tulsa auto-electric shop early one afternoon. She had just finished her morning shift at the hospital. She told me that things were kind of tight at her house financially, and she didn’t have a lot to spare for car repairs. I told her I would help her out as much as I could. Her problem was that her headlights didn’t work, and she really needed to take her old Datsun (Dats before Nissan) to work in the early morning hours, regardless whether or not she got a ticket for having no headlights. She explained that she had to leave for work at ‘Oh-dark-thirty,’ as we used to say in the Marines, so I was thinking she had some sort of lighted route that would keep the prying eyes of the law off her tail. “I get the picture, Ma’am. I’ll take a look at it,” I said. Now I’m no car snob but I was genuinely suprised at how decripit this hasbeen automobile she was driving was. It
should have been crushed years earlier, although it looked pretty much all biodegraded already—completely rusted and dented up with not much left of the interior. But as it was, this was this nice lady’s only ride to-and-from work. Yes, she would wait to see what I found. Rather than surveying the outside any longer than necessary, I popped the hood and got right to work on finding the problem. It wasn’t that hard to find. At the positive battery post on this type of car was a series of fusible links that powered up different systems in the car. One of them was corroded off the terminals. It just so happened to be the one that powered the headlights. I grabbed the trusty baking soda and cleaned off the crud from the positive post of the battery. After replacing the corroded end of the fusible link, I attached it back onto its proper post. One flick of the headlight switch and she was in business.
I went into the lobby and told the nurse, who was waiting anxiously, what I had found. I told her that it was going to be a cheap fix, and not to worry about having to get a car-fix loan (as she had worried aloud to me). I then asked her how long had she been driving around with no headlights. She told me with an air of satisfaction, “Oh, I had headlights all the time. I just wanted the factory ones to work because I was getting tired of changing the batteries in the other ones.” Say what? Factory ones? Batteries? What other ones? Did I miss something? I just stared at her for a few seconds. I thought that by now I was pretty good with electrical systems. What did I miss on this old Datsun’s electrical schematics that involved alternate headlights that she was aware of, but I wasn’t? “Really?” I said. “Can you show me what you are talking about?” We walked out to the car and there on each edge of the front bumper were two 9-
volt flashlights duct-taped around the bumper with what could have been a whole roll of tape. She walked up to them and pushed the button on each of the right and left flashlights. Then she turned around to face me with both arms out stretched like a TV ad model; pointing one toe and all. And wouldn’t you know it… she’s got headlights, sort of. “I just thought it was going to cost so much to fix them that I have been putting it off for months,” she said. “But I had to buy so many batteries I thought it would be cheaper to find out what was really wrong with the factory ones.” Now I’ll admit I’ve never seen ducttaped flashlights attached to a bumper before. And I haven’t seen them since... But I’ll tell you this, if I’m ever in need of a nurse in an emergency, who can get the job done till the cavalry comes, she is my choice. Way to go girl. You got my vote for duct-tape engineer of the month.
You can order Gonzo’s book, Hey Look! I Found The Loose Nut, from Amazon and other sources. Gonzo is working on a second volume now. Contact him at the banner address.
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 19
ALL OEM Information
Dan Espersen is ALLDATA® CollisionSM Program Manager. Dan is a Gold Pin Member of the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) and holds an AA Degree in Automotive Technology. He has 17 years of experience in the collision industry and 17 years of experience in the automotive industry.
Proper Repair Strategies and the Sectioning Mystery with Dan Espersen
With all of the new vehicles being developed and introduced every year, your staff may have questions about how to develop a strategy or a proper repair plan for adequately repairing a vehicle to a safe and quality standard. Among the many decisions you will have to make will be whether to repair, replace or section a structural component. The answers will depend primarily on what the industry currently recommends. This knowledge will be the most important tool that you and your staff will have available to them on a daily basis. Collision business management practices, as well as KPI demands from insurers, are often confusing and misunderstood by estimators, technicians and sometimes the management team. By obtaining and referring to manufacturers’ or industry-accepted repair procedures in the pre-production phase, your staff will have the knowledge necessary to repair the vehicle up front, rather than after or during production. Ask yourself this: If we had proper repair information up front, could we: ● Lower cycle times? ● Reduce out-sourcing? ● Increase hours per day? ● Develop or enhance insurance or customer relations CSI? ● Reduce costly returns? ● Improve efficiencies? ● Increase overall shop revenue? ● Enhance our staff’s knowledge? I am guessing the answer is yes! How are you currently gathering critical repair information? Current information gathering techniques are often time-consuming, cumbersome and more often than not, unsuccessful. Estimating systems offer labor times, parts pricing and very limited diagnostic information, but they do not offer comprehensive repair procedures or “how to” information, such as current manufacturers’ sectioning and repair procedures. When asking collision repair shops how they obtain repair information, I have been told: ● Technical experiences ● Training programs ● Co-workers ● Dealerships contacts (when available) ● Technical manuals ● Industry training instructors ● Manufacturer-supplied installation instructions ● OE websites ● Educated guesses
Most of these sources are time-consuming to research, sometimes outdated or incorrect, incomplete—and most importantly, not all in one place! The authority regarding proper sectioning procedures and practices is the vehicle manufacturer. Best practices should always be the recourse when a manufacturers’ procedure is not available. The decision to section or replace an entire component on a damaged vehicle should be a systematic process involving: ● Readily available, up-to-date repair documentation from the most reliable and reputable source ● An educated and qualified staff that understands current Industry repair practices and theories ● A method or process to gather repair information in the pre-production stages ● A proper teardown or disassembly process to perceive all hidden damages ● A working knowledge of available tools, techniques and talents within your facility ● Parts availability ● Insurer program requirements (If applicable) With all of these elements in place, your staff should have the critical tools in place to develop a proper repair plan. The sectioning mystery doesn’t have to be a mystery. Manufacturers publish many procedures that we may not know exist when it comes to structural repair recommendations. Without the proper procedures we could be setting ourselves up to fail. Resource the manufacturers repair procedures first to determine the best course of repair. ● Educate your staff on industry theories and applications. ● Develop a preproduction plan to gather reputable repair information in a timely manner. ● Develop an
20 MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
evaluation or disassembly stage, or a method to properly identify hidden damages. ● Provide your staff with manufacturers’ recommended guidelines and current industry-recommended repair information. ● Refer to Industry Best Practices if the manufacturer does not publish repair information for a given oper-
ation. While the manufacturers may not always provide all the information you need, they provide a lot. We need to be aware of the information they do provide. I learn of new sectioning and repair procedures every day on all makes and models. You and your staff can too—through effective communication, proper guidance and education. The effort will help make your business stand out above all the rest. Here is the manufacturer’s procedure for sectioning the front lower frame rail on a 2008 Dodge Caliber: 2008 Dodge Caliber SRT-4— Front Lower Frame Rail 1. With vehicle mounted to appropriate pulling and 3-dimensional measuring equipment, complete the following procedure paying particular attention to body dimensions while fitting and welding panels.
2. Remove bumper components, cooling module, headlamp, and all other components for clear access to repair area.
3. Remove front rail cap panel on damaged rail. 4. Remove welds holding lower radiator crossmember to damaged rail (if crossmember is damaged, remove completely).
5. Remove welds holding FESM structure to rail (if damaged, remove complete assembly). 6. Mark existing rail as follows: a. Right side i On inner rail, mark at 50mm forward of the leading edge of flanged hole in rail. ii On outer rail, continue mark from inner rail.
7. Mark replacement part in same location.
8. On left rail, remove bracket located on inner rail.
9. Using a cut-off wheel, reciprocating saw, or equivalent: a. Cut all existing parts on the forward side of the scribe line using care not to damage the material that will not be removed. i. Right rail section location: When installation of new tip is complete, there is a 6mm hole on the inner rail at the forward edge of the section joint which may need to be recreated or restored. ii. Left rail section location: When installation of new tip is complete, there is a 10mm hole in bottom horizontal surface of rail which may need to be restored. b. Cut all replacement parts on the rearward side of the scribe line again using care not to make any additional damage but do not discard any material yet. 10. Clean all sharp edges and create a slight taper for weld purposes.
Toyota Testifies, Documents Show Savings by Limiting Recall Actions
Under sharp and at times hostile questioning, the president of Toyota's U.S. operations told a Capitol Hill hearing on Feb. 23 that even the massive recall by the world's biggest automaker may “not totally” resolve safety problems implicated in accidents in the United States that have killed nearly three dozen people. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. President James Lentz defended the embattled Japanese auto giant's safety record, but conceded that the company had failed to meet its own high standards in responding to the crisis. The company was too slow to respond to the safety issues that have led at least three congressional committees to begin what is likely to be a long and exhaustive investigation, Mr. Lentz acknowledged. “Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our good-faith efforts,” Mr. Lentz told an oversight panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Lentz insisted that Toyota's engineers had identified “two specific, mechanical causes” of sudden unintended acceleration, which has been associated with at least 34 deaths, according to complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). “We are confident that no problems exist with the electronic throttle control
system in our vehicles,” Mr. Lentz said. “We have designed our electronic throttle control system with multiple fail-safe mechanisms to shut off or reduce engine power in the event of a system failure.” Toyota President Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company founder, will testify Feb. 24 before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. In documents obtained by the Detroit Free Press, Toyota’s leading U.S. executive ‘boasted’ to the automaker’s Washington staff last summer that they had saved the company more than $100 million by actions which limited any regulatory action on sudden acceleration to a recall of equipment such as floor mats, according to documents turned over to a key U.S. House committee which will hold hearings on the issue Feb. 24. In the documents, the deal with the government was listed among “Wins for Toyota” in an internal presentation by Yoshimi Inaba, chairman and CEO of Toyota Motors Sales U.S.A. in Washington last July 6. The documents were among thousands of pages turned over to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. A second committee will met on Feb. 23 to discuss the Toyota recalls. “The question this raises is was the bottom line factored into Toyota’s decision
making,” said Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for the committee’s ranking Republican, Rep. Darrell Issa of California. Issa has acknowledged that his family owns four Prius models. “Did regulators do their due diligence once problems were brought to their attention? Did Toyota raise potential safety problems with regulators as soon as they knew a problem existed?” Toyota defended its commitment to safety. “Our first priority is the safety of our customers and to conclude otherwise on the basis of one internal presentation is wrong,” the company said in a prepared statement. “Our values have always been to put the customer first and ensure the highest levels of safety and quality.” Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide in recent months because of sudden acceleration problems the company and regulators have connected to entrapped floor mats and potentially sticky accelerator pedals. A third recall covered more than 400,000 hybrid vehicles, including the popular Prius for faulty brakes. Earlier this month, before the hybrid recall, Toyota executives estimated that the unintended acceleration recalls would cost $2 billion in lost sales and cost of extra parts for repairs. Toyota stopped produc-
frame rail repair area. b. Inside the rail, inject a creeping wax based rust inhibitor compound through the existing holes in the frame ensuring 100% coverage including the space between the original frame rail and the reinforcing sleeve; using Mopar Cavity wax kit (part #68042969M) I Undercoating kit (part # 68042967AA) or equivalent. c. Apply a durable top coat to the outside of the repair area.
rail, centering them on cut edge. Clamp and tack the weld in position when proper fit is confirmed.
11. From the remaining replacement part, cut a 19mm strip from both the inner and outer rail. Clip off the weld flanges, top and bottom, and dress edges. These pieces will be the weld-backer. 12. Prepare welding equipment per the weld chart.
13. Install the weld-backers into the frame
14. Weld using a skip-stitch method until the full length of the joint is completed on both the inner and outer rail. To avoid excessive heat buildup, move between inner and outer rail during welding. 15. Dress welds without removing any base material paying particular attention to the mounting surface of the outer rail.
16. Reinstall bracket removed from left rail.
ing eight models in the U.S. from Jan 26 until Feb. 8. Analysts have said the cost could be higher. Toyota has said repeatedly that no malfunction in any of its vehicles’ electronic throttle system contributed to any incidents of unintended acceleration, which has been cited in hundreds of accidents, including 34 fatalities, according to NHTSA. But the automaker has offered a brakeoverride software remedy on 2007 through 2010 models of the Toyota Camry, Avalon, Lexus ES and IS models. Brake override ensures that the brakes will slow the vehicle if both accelerator and brake pedals are pressed at the same time. Toyota is making the brake override standard equipment on all Toyota and Lexus models by the end of 2011 model year, but it has refused to offer it on many of the 5 million vehicles covered by the floor mat and sticky pedal recalls. The estimated cost savings of more than $100 million was among nine points that Inaba’s presentation labeled as “Wins for Toyota.” In addition to the savings, Inaba made note that NHTSA had found no defect. That was before the Jan. 21 recall that found a possible defect in the gas pedals among 2.3 million vehicles, and the braking recall on Prius and other hybrid models.
17. Either install new or reposition the lower radiator crossmember and FESM structure and clamp in place and weld. 18. Install new front rail cap panel.
19. Dress the welded area and apply corrosion resistant coatings inside and out. a. Apply etch-primer to the inside of the
Note: Use Mopar Cavity wax kit (part # 68042969AA) I Undercoating kit (part # 68042967AA) or equivalent.
©2010 ALLDATA LLC. All rights reserved. All technical information, images and specifications are from ALLDATA Collision. ALLDATA is a registered trademark and ALLDATA Collision is a mark of ALLDATA LLC. All other marks are the property of their respective holders.
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 21
Paint Management
Stefan Gesterkamp is a Master Craftsman and BASF representative who has been in the automotive paint industry for 27 years. He started his career in a custom shop before turning to collision repair. Stefan graduated from the University of Coatings and Colorants in Germany and is the author of “How to Paint Your Show Car.”
Compressors Affect your Spray Gun and your Paint Appearance with Stefan Gesterkamp
After my February column on spray-gun choices appeared in Autobody News, I was asked to clarify a point I made on CFM availability in the shop during peak air consumption. CFM stands for cubic feet per minute and a spray gun’s peak performance is depending on proper air volume. Each spray gun is engineered and tuned, just like a carburetor, for a specific CFM consumption. Some spray guns ask for 89 CFM and others want 17 CFM or more for optimum performance. Less CFM consumption doesn’t automatically translate into a better quality spray gun; it simply means that it could be the better choice for your situation. Most manufacturers’ spray guns will consistently perform well and do exactly what they are designed to do, as long as you provide them with their basic pressure and volume requirements.
How do you know how much CFM you have available? The following is not a 100% scientific answer to that question, there are simply too many unknown (to me) variables in every shop’s situation, but it is a fairly reliable rule of thumb and it beats buying highly expensive equipment you are likely to use only once. Just look at the tag on your compressor for the necessary information and do the following math. A standard two-stage piston compressor produces about 4 CFM per HP (horsepower) and a screw drive compressor generates about 4.7 CFM per HP. Multiply your compressor’s HP rating by the appropriate CFM and you get your maximum CFM output. To have all of the potential CFM available to you, the air should be delivered to your work area in a 1½–2 inch pipe. Make sure that the connections from the compressor to any filter or dryer is also properly sized. Whenever possible, the pipe should be a closed loop system. The moment you close the pipes in a looped system, the pipe becomes a very effective storage reservoir. It also evens out the air
In January I-CAR appointed William (Bill) Stage to fill the newly created position of director of marketing & distribution. Stage will report to John Edelen, president and CEO of I-CAR. Stage arrives at I-CAR with more than 20 years of experience in the collision inter-industry and previously served as I-CAR director of Field Operations, Marketing and Product Development from 1990 through 1994. In addition to his previous experience with I-CAR, Stage most recently served as manager, Network Support Services for AkzoNobel Coatings, a position he held since 2007. From 1994 to 2006, Stage was vice president & director of Field Services for Mitchell International. Stage also owns SSR Collision Center in Alpharetta, GA. “I am very excited to join I-CAR at this time to assist in implementing the new programs developed under John Edelen's leadership,” said Stage. “The I-CAR staff and volunteers are a dedicated group of individuals committed to improving the industry and I am proud to be a part of the team.” In his new role as Director of Marketing and Distribution, Stage has been tasked with taking a body of work two years in the making to the next level. The role-based training curriculum known as
the Professional Development Matrix realigns the I-CAR curriculum into a framework for industry training based upon an individual’s role and level of experience and responsibility. “It’s important to me that we engage every segment of the industry around this body of work. Central to this curriculum model is the I-CAR vision that every person in the collision industry, current and future, has the necessary knowledge and Bill Stage skills relevant to their position to achieve a complete and safe repair,” said Stage. “I’m very excited to serve I-CAR and the inter-industry at a greater capacity as a member of I-CAR’s leadership team.” “I want to reassure our volunteers and instructors that they play a key component in our role-based training curriculum, as they administer and deliver training to the industry,” said Stage. “ICAR’s history and 30 year legacy was built by volunteers and instructors many of whom are still involved with I-CAR today, it is our vision that we continue to be defined by the industry that is our future.”
The Relationship between your Compressor, your Spray Gun and the Final Appearance of your Paint Finish
New I-CAR Director for Curriculum Work
22 MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
availability to each work station. All of your quick-disconnect couplers in the paint department should be 3/8 of an inch in diameter. Many shops are still using ¼ inch couplers or wall regulators with too low of a CFM rating and can’t figure out why the paint jobs are not as nice as they hoped for. Leave the rest of the shop on ¼ inch couplers. Nobody in your shop is as dependent on CFM as your painter and he deserves to get preferential treatment when it comes to air supply. Most shops don’t have a dedicated compressor for the paint department. In that case, you must deduct the air consumption of all other air tools that could potentially be used at the same time from the total CFM produces. By deducting all of the potential air tool CFM consumption from the total volume produced, you get a good idea what type of spray-gun you can consistently support in your shop. Be sure to consult the air tool owner’s manual for the actual CFM consumption of each tool. Following are some general figures for the most frequently used tools in our industry. A standard DA sander consumes about
10–15 CFM and an air buffer 20–25 CFM. A wide-open air blower could use as much as 35–40 CFM. The length of your air hose is also a factor in the calculation; you can lose an additional 1 CFM for each 10 feet of hose over the standard 32-foot length. Depending on the type and the manufacturer of your quick-disconnect couplers, you may lose as much as 7 CFM for each quick-disconnect coupler the air has to travel through. One last comment about CFM. Your air supply is only as good as the weakest link in the system. If your air volume is restricted anywhere between the compressor and the gun, your available volume can’t be more than the restriction allows to pass through. For example, if the compressor is hooked to the main line with only a ¾ inch pipe, it doesn’t matter what you do after that restriction, you can only access the volume that passes through that pipe. Whether it’s 100 HP or 10 HP compressors wouldn’t matter. Last but not least, all pressure regulators and filtration systems should be rated for sufficient CFM pass-through.
Technological Advancements In Overspray Collectors, part one by Rand Schweizer — Chemco Mfg. Co. Inc.
This is part one of a two-part article condensed from a longer article by Rand Schweizer. You can read the full article courtesy of Chemco Mfg at their website: www.chemcomfg.com/ articles/articles-tipsoverspray-collectors.html
Introduction From today’s vantage point, the industrial finishing industry’s technical challenges of the 1960s through most of the 1980s were pretty straightforward. Conventional air spray equipment was the predominant application technology. Most finishers were spraying low-solids, solvent-based coatings. Frequently, production painting was done in waterwash spray booths that operated for weeks, sometimes even months,
Fig. 1. Expanded paper paint overspray collector.
with little maintenance. Over time, the booth’s water tank would fill with the captured overspray solids. The water-saturated sludge cake was manually removed from the tank over a weekend and production resumed the following Monday morning without a hitch. Intermittent or batch spray painting was generally done in dry filter spray booths. Typically, these booths were equipped with either expanded paper (see Fig. 1), accordion-style pleated paper, or spun fiberglass paint overspray collectors. Depending on the finishing process particulars, these collectors were capable of capturing 85–97% of the overspray entrained in the booth’s exhaust air stream. Most of the remaining overspray was deposited in the booth’s back section, on the exhaust duct’s interior walls, and on the exhaust fan blades. Any residual overspray still entrained in the exhaust was emitted to the atmosphere.
How Do They Work? Overspray is the paint mist produced as a byproduct of spray application processes. As the cost of industrial coatings has increased, finishers have worked to maximize their application process transfer efficiency. They have a double incentive to minimize overspray. By definition, over-
spray isn’t applied to substrates; therefore, it is wasted. Additional expense is incurred to capture and dispose of this wasted atomized paint. In spite of the use of higher transfer efficiency spray technologies, such as HVLP, electrostatic air spray, and automatic rotational atomizers, more than 30% of all spray-applied liquid industrial coatings end up as overspray. During 1998, U.S. industrial finishing operations produced more than 90 million gallons of liquid paint overspray. Recent advancements in collector testing procedures have produced laboratory test data that challenge the accepted rules-of-thumb on how collectors actually capture overspray. The arresting process is more complex than previously thought. Most modern collectors utilize a combination of physical principles to capture and retain overspray from spray booth exhaust air streams. At the end of the 20th century almost all overspray collectors utilize one or a combination of several types of mechanical filtration. Traditional air filtration technology teaches us there are three mechanical filtration processes that may be used to remove foreign particles from a moving air stream. 1. Impingement, also known as impaction 2. Interception 3. Straining Impingement is the process by which the larger (typically 0.10 microns) overspray particles are captured. As the oversprayladen exhaust air stream approaches the face of the arresting media, the individual air molecules begin to align themselves with the openings in collector face. The larger overspray droplets have too much forward inertia to follow the surrounding air molecules as they zig and zag through the collector’s staggered openings. Figure 2 shows an overspray droplet about to be impinged on the front face of an expanded
Fig. 2. Impingement.
paper collector even as the air shifts laterally to pass through the openings in each
ply of the media. Depending upon the process dynamics of a given spray booths, as much as 80% of the total mass of the entrained overspray may be impinged on the collector’s face. An additional 15 to 18% of the overspray is removed as the exhaust air stream passes through the successive stages or layers of the filter media. The remaining 2 to 5% (the smallest droplets) pass into the exhaust plenum to be deposited on the fan blades or the exhaust duct. Droplets making it past these impediments pass into the atmosphere. Interception is the primary process utilized in spun fiberglass collectors. It is also a secondary capturing process at work in many impingement collectors. The effectiveness of the interception process is directly proportional to the number of intercepting surfaces in the media. Arrestance by interception occurs when overspray droplets make accidental contact with a media element while entrained in the exhaust air stream passing through the media pad. Interception requires the individual overspray droplets to remain at-
Fig. 3. Interception.
tached to the filter element for the remainder of the collector’s functional life. Although many overspray droplets are relatively sticky, most interception collectors are tackified—coated with a sticky substance, usually an oil or a pressure-sensitive resin by the media manufacturer. Interception collectors are more effective in capturing larger overspray droplets than smaller ones. Experience shows that smaller fibers are more likely to retain droplets than larger ones. Additional factors having a positive impact on the performance of interception media include the air velocity—slower is better than faster, the depth of the media—thicker media increases the probability that a droplet will make contact with a fiber, and the fiber density— the closer adjacent fibers are to each other the greater the likelihood that interception will occur. Figure 3 depicts an overspray droplet making contact with a fiber element as the exhaust air carries it through the collector. Read part two in April’s Autobody News.
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 23
SCRS Expands Repairer Education Presence at SEMA—ASRW will be Mid-week in October
In a move that will fuel the contest for the hearts and minds of collision repairers between ASA (which sponsors the NACE/CARS events) and AAIW (which supports AAPEX and SEMA)—the 2010 SEMA Paint & Body Equipment (PBE) area will be growing due to a new affiliation between SEMA and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS). SCRS will be collaborating with SEMA as the host of REPAIRER DRIVEN EDUCATION, which will be premiering this year within the show and resulting in a larger SEMA footprint dedicated to the collision repair industry. “We look forward to working with the SCRS to develop a valuable and relevant educational program,” said SEMA VP of marketing and member services Tom Myroniak. Typically featuring 50–60 sessions throughout the week, the educational program is one of the cornerstones of the annual trade-only event. “As more and more attendees at the SEMA Show become interested in the paint and body market, it is becoming increasingly more important to incorporate seminars targeted specifically to this audience,” said Myroniak. “Working with the SCRS will be instrumental in helping us deliver value to this growing group.” REPAIRER DRIVEN EDUCATION at SEMA will feature a wide array of topics
and course selections focused on bringing education and information covering relevant issues that impact collision repairers across the nation. In addition to the educational offerings and collaborative work in the PBE wing of the show, SCRS will be holding their fall board meeting at the SCRS headquarter hotel, the Las Vegas Hilton. These meetings will be held in conjunction with other industry events, such as the Collision Industry Conference (CIC), to be held at the same location. “SCRS’ longstanding mission has been to educate, inform and represent the collision repair professional,” stated SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg. “A venue such as this certainly provides a stimulating and exciting environment to build upon the educational focus of our activity, and we are looking forward to a bright future of possibilities for our industry as we collaborate to bring enhanced collision industry offerings to the SEMA Show.” “Responding to our membership’s needs and desired direction has always been one of the strong traits of SCRS,” added SCRS Chairman Barry Dorn. “Through ongoing discussions with our membership, it is obvious that there is a strong desire to participate, and have representation, in this event. Partnering with SEMA to significantly enhance the offerings available to our indus-
I-CAR Announces 2010 International Board of Directors
I-CAR announced its 2010 International Board of Directors and Executive Committee following the I-CAR Annual Membership Meeting in Torrance, CA. The 2010 Executive Committee consists of: Chair Tom Moreland, AkzoNobel; Vice Chair Elise Quadrozzi, Crawford & Company; Secretary Dustin Womble, Roger Beasley Collision Center for SCRS; Treasurer Bob Keith, CARSTAR; Past Chair Robby Robbs, NuCon Services Inc.; MemberAt-Large Bruce Bares, Hi-Tech Collision & Glass Centers; and Member-At-Large William Brower, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. “Over 30 years ago, I-CAR was created to educate the industry on the proper repair of unibody vehicles. As today’s vehicles are complex and roles in the industry are diverse, it only makes sense for I-CAR to pursue a role-based curriculum model to better serve the collision inter-industry,” said Moreland. “The I-CAR International Board of Directors appreciates the work staff, instructors, and volunteers are doing to develop, implement, and deliver continuous improvement of the curriculum that is truly relevant and beneficial to industry professionals.”
The remaining directors include: Farzam Afshar, Verifacts Automotive; Terry W. Angell, Warren Tech; Rollie Benjamin, ABRA Auto Body & Glass; Bruce Cooley, DuPont Performance Coatings; William DeGrocco, GEICO Insurance; Ronald Doerr, General Motors Corp.; Chris Evans, State Farm Insurance Education Foundation Rep; David Henderson, See Progress, Inc.; Joseph Laurentino, Esurance; John Norton, Ford Motor Company; Sam Pezzullo, State Farm Canadian Representative; Greg Potter, Dearborn Group Technology for Equipment & Tool Institute; Monica Rivers, BMW of North America, LLC; Mike Schoonover, Schoonover Bodyworks for Automotive Service Association; and James Spears, USAA. The board of directors sets the overall strategic direction for the organization and assists in obtaining resources in support of the I-CAR Mission. The board of directors is comprised of representatives from each of the following six industry segments: collision repair; insurance; equipment, tools, and supplies; education, training, and research; vehicle manufacturers; and related industry services.
24 MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
try makes a lot of sense, and we are ecstatic to build upon what is shaping out to be a very strong foundation between SCRS and the SEMA Show.” “We’re constantly adapting to changes in the industry,” notes Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO. “We challenge ourselves to deliver high value to both exhibitors and attendees, all with the goal of providing them with a show that is current and relevant.” Manufacturers interested in exhibiting at the SEMA Show will be able to access space rental agreements in mid-March. Attendee registration for the event opens in May. Updated information is available at www.semashow.com. The third annual Automotive Service & Repair Week, ASRW 2010, announced that Jerry Burns will return as the event chairman for the International Autobody Congress & Exposition (NACE); and Mitch Schneider will serve as the event chairman for the Congress of Automotive Repair & Service (CARS). The ASRW 2010 events will take place Oct. 11–13 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas (no longer during AAIW). ASRW will now be a stand-alone event specifically created for all automotive service and repair professionals. Eucational programs are scheduled Oct. 1013, a Sunday through Wednesday. Exhibits will be open from Oct. 11–13.
Collision Industry Foundation to Auction Donations for Charity The Collision Industry Foundation (CIF) is planning to continue its success of raising funds through its online EBay Store to benefit the charitable causes of the collision repair industry by having a 2010 drive to collect items for the online auction. Last year, the EBay efforts raised $12,000 towards the Blanket the City Detroit project, giving to local food banks in need for the hardest hit region of our country. As a continuation of the many good works of CIF, the goal of this drive is to fund projects, new and established, such as Recycled Rides title transfer grants, industry grant assistance, disaster relief funding, and more. The CIF EBay Store needs donations of any item that can be auctioned through the popular bidding website EBay such as tickets to sports games, hotel stays, memorabilia, or any other item that could have value. It is not required to be related to automotive; there is no limit to the possibilities that can be donated to the program. The CIF EBay store is perpetual, but a major push for a group of items will be due by March 31st. To donate an item please contact the CIF Admin Office at (804) 427-6982, email: collisionindustryfoundation@gmail.com (no hyphen).
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Ask Dale
Dale has been Collision Industry Conference Chairman 1999–2000; a Lifetime Member (since 2001) of Society Of Collision Repair Specialists. He is a National Auto Body Council Founding Member and Director; a C.I.E.C.A. Founding Member, Director, and Chairman. Contact Dale at DaleSR@cox.net.
Parts and Car Sales, City Vehicles, Standards for Associations with Dale Delmege
The dealer owner where we buy most of our parts for a certain line of cars approached us with a proposition. In return for an extra discount on parts, he wants us to pass along customer names as new car sales prospects. Anything wrong with that?
Not for the dealer. He’s entitled to use whatever information he can dig up. But without the customer’s unequivocal prior permission it’s a foolish risk for you, no mater what the additional discount is worth. Your knowledge of the customer’s identity is not your property to use to your benefit. In any case, in this age of privacy sensitivity, sooner or later a customer will claim to have been damaged somehow by your “unauthorized” disclosure. Incidentally I know of some DRP’s where even a first offense in this department will result in immediate and irreversible termination. Our competitor seems to have just about all the city and county vehicle collision repair business pretty well locked up. Does this traditionally go up for bids? How do we go after it? Don’t you have enough in your life to de-
press you already? This is highly political, low-profit, low-quality, shop-clogging business. Unless you like doing $2000 jobs for $1600, leave it to the guys that fix taxis. Try this instead: Go make some good sales calls on the HR departments of at the one or two non-profit agencies in your area with the most employees. Provide them with special cards for them to give their employees that will produce an automatic $10 or $25 contribution to the agency for each employee’s car fixed at your shop. Dale, Settle a bet. My brother says me driving my most expensive car to my shop every day makes the employees resentful. I say that good employees are motivated by seeing the material benefits of hard work. You lose. I hope you bet him the car.
We have been a dues-paying member of our state trade association for many years. It’s been beneficial learning and sharing best practices. But recently the association has become very aggressive politically, hiring a lobbyist to confront insurers with
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the Insurance Commissioner and publishing “consumer education” materials that have an anti-insurer flavor. Is our membership going to cost us business? Not unless you’re a conspicuous spokesman for the new aggressiveness. But at some point you will have to ask yourself whether everyone your dues are supporting are worthy fellow members of your profession. If you can’t remember the last time your association kicked out somebody for not being up to its standards, what’s the point of being part of it?
We used to belong to a paint company “20 group” where we compared numbers three or four times a year. What are considered good basic operating numbers these days?
Circumstances and regions vary, of course, but you really need to be at least in the low 40’s at the gross margin line to have enough left over for sufficient retained earnings to keep strengthening the business. Nobody on the property should be cashing a bonus check for a month below 40%. With margins on parts typically below 30%, you need your gross margin on direct labor at 60% or more including benefits. Also, if your paint & materials sales are less than 10% of total sales in any quarter, your estimators need some more training. Indirect labor needs to be at or below 12% of sales, and rent shouldn’t get much beyond 5% of sales unless you’re the landlord. Get back in a 20-group, but pick critically. They range from pointless to priceless.
Ford and Hyundai Excel in Brand Loyalty, Toyota Still No. 1
Ford Motor Company vehicles accounted for four of the top five vehicles for customer brand loyalty, according to recent industry analysis from Experian Automotive. The analysis, compiling industrywide automotive trends for the third quarter of 2009, also saw Hyundai performing strongly with gains in overall market share and increased new vehicle registration. From the second to third quarter of 2009, Ford customers continued to show strong loyalty for the Ford brand. Ford’s Fusion, Edge, Flex and Five-Hundred models were all within the top five vehicles for customer brand loyalty at 61.8 percent, 57.8 percent, 57.6 percent and 56.3 percent, respectively. Ford Freestyle had the 10th highest brand loyalty at 47.6 percent. Hyundai performed strongly in the third quarter by gaining 2.2 percentage points in overall market share and experiencing a 30.1 percent increase in new vehicle registrations. Ford also saw improvements in market share, growing by 1.1 percentage points, and in new vehicle registrations, growing by 5.1 percent for the quarter. “Given the extraordinary challenges in the current economy, Ford and Hyundai showed positive growth,” said Jeff Anderson, director of Consulting and Analytics for Experian Automotive. “Both were able to pick up market share gains and improve on their customer loyalty. This gain in momentum should see these companies well-positioned for success when the market turns around.” While Ford had a strong presence in brand loyalty, Toyota’s new Venza model was No. 1 in brand loyalty at 63.2 percent. Toyota’s Prius (51.8 percent) and Camry (48 percent) came in at numbers
seven and nine, respectively. When it came to corporate loyalty, Toyota moved ahead of GM to take the top spot. Ford followed closely in third place. Other insights from Experian Automotive’s analysis included: ● Hyundai’s corporate loyalty rose to fifth overall to nearly tie with Honda at almost 40 percent loyalty. ● The Cash for Clunkers program (July 1, 2009, to Aug. 24, 2009) accounted for a quarter of Q3 2009 new vehicle registrations. Toyota led brand loyalty among participants, with 41 percent of those who disposed of a Toyota purchasing another Toyota vehicle. ● Cross-Over Vehicles and Small Car– Economy were the two fastest-growing vehicle segments, gaining 50,747 and 49,698 more registrations, respectively, year over year. Full-Size pickup trucks saw the largest decline with 114,613 fewer registrations than in the same quarter for 2008. “For several quarters now, the industry has worked diligently to better understand the ever-evolving landscape of consumer tastes in vehicles,” said Scott Waldron, president of Experian Automotive. “The recent shifts in consumer loyalty, corporate market share and vehicle class preferences show that building future success will come from increased knowledge of the changes in consumer buying habits today.” However, the brands seeing the biggest upswing in owner loyalty during the initial aftermath of the Toyota recalls are Korean and Big 3 automakers, according to Kbb.com, which also pointed out that brand consideration and loyalty for Toyota has eroded. Kia and Hyundai appear to show the steepest upward movement.
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 25
a s n -
Company Connections
BASF Responds to ABN’s Questions on Newer Refinish Processes Autobody News was recently able to ask Hans Kempf, Regional Training Instructor in charge of Course Development at BASF Automitive Refinish, for some observations about recent trends in waterborne and other refinish issues. ABN ► What is the approximate growth rate of BASF waterborne product sales? Has it plateaued or is it growing steadily in non-mandated waterborne areas?
HK ◄ Growth continues to be strong in all areas and we expect it will continue to increase.
ABN ► Is consumption of waterborne product becoming more efficient with experience and training, i.e., do painters and their shops get cost benefits as they get more experience? HK ◄ We have found the learning curve to be very short for both the Glasurit 90Line and the Onyx HD product lines. The degree and type of benefits that are associated with switching to waterborne are both shop and technician dependant. It can be said that at some shops do in fact experience speed and material use efficiencies once they have completed the transistion to a low VOC portfolio.
ABN ► Is air management more or less critical with newer formulations of BASF product? Can you be specific about how important air (humidity, cleanliness, and temperature) is to proper application of the product? HK ◄ There have been few changes in the formulations of our waterborne basecoat over the last several years, which is to say that things remain the same. The drying mechanism of all waterborne paints require good airflow, this importance increases as the relative humidity rises. BASF recommends a clean and temperature controlled environment for all our paint systems, not just the waterborne products. Just like for higher VOC systems, we have developed products and procedures for spraying our low VOC products over a broad range of temperatures. ABN ► How involved is BASF with the data providers and their cost estimates?
HK ◄ Because we understand the importance of accurately estimating material cost, BASF is willing to provide the appropriate information necessary for data providers to create accurate estimating systems. ABN ► Let’s just “air” some issues with
current refinish processes and get your initial thoughts:
Color matching and mixing HK ◄ Color adjustment and tinting is a necessary evil in our industry as OEM color variations continue to be problematic. The OEM color palette continues to expand bringing more complex colors that must be adjusted at the shop level. So many painters have had little to no real training that creates an understanding around color adjustment. Certainly, the training centers around BASF Color Tools and information: ColorMax, SmartTrak, SmartSCAN and how to use these tools most effectively. When colors still need to be adjusted, our training’s approach is to distill color into its basic components that are analyzed individually and corrected separately. It also instills into the painter what toner characteristics to consider when adjusting and their effects. This is a straight forward, step by step process that replaces the old confusing “trial by error approach” so many painters have struggled through. Spray gun operation and cleaning HK ◄ Throughout all of our technical courses there is a strong emphasis on proper usage of any spray gun regardless of what brand. Students are coached with the basics: overlap, distance, speed and proper pressure, but also on more effective techniques of application such as back-blending and proper clearcoat blending. An understanding of gun set up and tip/cap choice is taught, which is absolutely critical for any painter. Through the new EPA regulations, cleaning is limited to using enclosed gun cleaners or hand disassembly, both aspects are thoroughly reviewed with painters.
Spray booth maintenance and management HK ◄ The properly operating spray booth defines the heart beat of any collision shop, but it can also be the “Achilles Heel” as well. BASF training covers the basics of booth operation and maintenance including filter change-out schedules, filter media requirements, proper velocity testing, balancing and troubleshooting. Clear and primer training HK ◄ Although a large amount of effort goes into proper training of waterborne basecoats to meet new VOC regulations, clearcoat and primers are also being affected by these same rules. Proper instruction into both VOC compliant products and National Rule is conducted covering topics such as: prep and sanding, cleaning, application, film build, equipment, dry
26 MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
time, productivity and blending/repairing. New products are continuously being introduced to make our customers more profitable. What better way to learn about these than where the expertise really lies, in a BASF training class.
Low VOC, solvent-based product HK ◄ With the established and impending low VOC legislation, it is crucial for our customers to feel comfortable with BASF’s compliant product portfolio. Although many application and performance aspects of these products are superior to traditional solvent based products, people resist and fear what is unfamiliar to them, this is understandably just human nature. Developing an understanding around these products is done to ease this transition. Although BASF continues to lead the industry’s development with low VOC products, many products have been successful in the collision industry for many years already. BASF Training highlights these products and presents a digestible approach to transitioning to compliancy.
BASF Expands Lean Education
BASF has dramatically expanded its Lean educational program for customers. BASF’s Lean program used to offer a half-day introduction to Lean, giving collision centers a high-level overview of Lean concepts. BASF’s Lean education component of VPU now includes three additional programs. ● Launching Lean (VPU-031) is a twoday workshop that demonstrates fundamental concepts. This is the first step in implementing a continuous improvement business model. ● Lean Implementation (VPU-032) is a three-day workshop centered around a body shop simulation that guides customers in identifying non-value added activities, exploring methods for reducing waste and developing ways to measure success. ● Leading a Lean Culture (VPU-033) is a seminar for those considering a lean business model in which customers assess their individual businesses and establish a plan for Lean implementation.
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Performance Radiator Stresses Consistency of Product and Service With 57 warehouses in the U.S. and Canada, Performance Radiator has grown steadily since opening its initial location in 1988. Owner and CEO Mike Carr, 50, founded the company out of a duplex in Seattle, Washington, after working for a radiator retailer for five years.
Performance Radiator carries an inventory of $15 million in radiators, A/C condensers and vacuum parts, as well as various related radiator, exhaust and A/C components.
“When I saw a need for a radiator distribution company that could deliver a quality product on a consistent basis to shops throughout North America, I knew I
could fill a void in the market,” Carr said. “I was convinced that my concept would work if I could get the right products and the right people, and it has proven to be a solid business model.” Over the years, Performance Radiator has added an average of five new warehouses per year. In 2002, the company purchased PWI, Inc., and took over their nationwide locations. Performance now has warehouses located from Miami to Anchorage. Performance Radiator employs more than 400 people and carries an inventory of $15 million in radiators, A/C condensers and vacuum parts, as well as various related radiator, exhaust and A/C components. The company owns a fleet of over 200 delivery trucks. Consistency of product is a big reason for the steady growth of Performance Radiator. “We use the same suppliers for all our locations,” Carr said. “Our approach is simple—we get the best parts we can from highly reliable sources that meet even the most stringent OE specs. We will never
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purchase inferior parts just to re-sell them at a profit.” With more than 28 years of experience in the radiator and A/C industry, Carr knows a quality part from an inferior one instantly. “A lot of aftermarket manufacturers claim that they make parts that are OEM-compatible,” he said. “But, they’re certainly not what I would put in my car. We’ve found many of the aftermarket radiators use lesser grade materials or are poorly designed.” Performance Radiator purchases its parts from reputable sources only and has been using many of the same vendors for 22 years. “We get the majority of our parts from the same OE plants in Thailand that make all of the parts for Suzuki, Kawasaki,
With 57 warehouses in the U.S. and Canada, Performance Radiator has grown steadily since opening its initial location in 1988.
Honda and Mitsubishi. The main difference between what we buy and the aftermarket is that the companies we deal with build 98 percent of their own parts, including oil coolers, tanks, tubes and header design, using all of our tooling. And we don’t use 50 different companies for our parts, either. 70 percent of what we sell is made in one factory. By doing it that way, we can monitor the quality from start to finish.” When it comes to competing against the recycled/remanufactured industry and the aftermarket, Performance Radiator is confident in how they stack up. “We feel we have better coverage and a superior product overall,” Carr said. “We think we know the business better. We realize that price is very important, but we don’t ever undercut our competition on price. We see the value of the job hinging not just on price, but also on service, availability and the overall quality of the part. The lowest price is not always the smart buy.” A large part of Performance Radiator’s business comes from body shops who respect the company’s quality products, reasonable prices, quick delivery and industry experience. “We particularly pride ourselves on our knowledge and service. We have a ton of tenured employees working for us, with
more than 20 people who have been with the company for a minimum of 15 years in this industry. Same-day delivery is another convenience we offer our body shop customers. With cycle times as a priority, shops appreciate the fact that we can get them their parts within four hours, in most cases.” Performance Radiator markets itself to shops through a variety of methods, including their Web site (www.performanceradiator.com), outside sales reps, and direct mail. Knowing specifically what shops need and meeting those needs is a major priority for the company. “We know how important it is for body shops to get the right parts for a job, on time and within their budget. Time spent waiting around for parts that end up not fitting can kill a shop, because while they’re sitting around, it’s costing them money and skewing their cycle times. Money can evaporate quickly in this industry—and we know thatso we’re always trying to find new ways to serve our shop customers better,” Carr said. Business has been uneven recently but Carr sees a bright future for Performance Radiator once the dust created by the recession settles. “People are taking the insurance money and keeping it,” Carr said. “Plus, cars are being totaled out by the insurance companies much easier nowadays, which has directly affected us in a major way.” What does the immediate future look like for his industry? Carr is hopeful, yet understandably cautious.
Performance Radiator owns a fleet of over 200 delivery trucks.
“There will be a nationwide shakeout, where some companies fall by the wayside while others consolidate their operations. We’ll survive, but it will be rocky for a while until the credit market opens up. The market will stabilize at some point, but there will be fewer players in this segment. In many ways, it’s a natural progression.” Performance Radiator 3901 First Avenue South Seattle, Washington 98134 (877) 723-4286
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 27
On Creative Marketing
Tom Franklin has been a sales and marketing consultant for forty 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.
Help Customers Avoid ‘Jackass Bends’ by Creating Channels with Thomas Franklin
In the 1940s, in the Spring the Missouri River, in the vicinity of Kansas City, would overflow from heavy Winter snows and Spring rains. The result was serious flooding of the surrounding land. One factor that made the flooding worse was the meandering nature of the river, and one of the worst meanders was locally called “Jackass Bend” where severe flooding was nearly an annual event. To resolve this situation, the U.S. Corps of Engineers dug a straight new channel several miles South of the old one called the Liberty Bend cutoff, and dammed up the old channel. And they built a new bridge across the new channel called the Liberty Bridge. I’ve noticed that a number of shops put their customers through a few “Jackass Bends” just to get their vehicle repaired. Forms must be filled in and a customer may have to wait for an estimator and then wait for a rental car. The popular buzzword of the day is “Lean Procedures,” with a focus on eliminating unnecessary steps and delays. Much of the emphasis is placed on lean production, but lean customer processing is equally important. Many shops thrive on customer referrals and a customer subjected to a series of “Jackass Bends” is not likely to go out of the way to refer the shop. A recent survey of health care systems in other countries noted that countries that use a health care data card similar to a credit card, can keep many doctor visits to just a few minutes. All of the patient’s medical and physical information is on the card and can be accessed in seconds. The card is updated after the visit, so the patient need never fill in a form on the next visit. Today most drivers licenses have a magnetic strip like a credit card. Using a card reader may enable a shop to capture much of a customer’s information from the drivers license without having a form filled out. But this concept opens the door to even better time savings along with a marketing advantage. If a shop acquires the technology to create a collision customer data card of its own, the customer can walk away with a piece of plastic that identifies everything about his or her vehicle plus all of the repairs and parts installations that have been made. The next visit will require practically no data capturing at all. Will the customer keep this card in his or her purse or wallet? Possibly not, but most astute shops now provide every customer with an accident information pamphlet or booklet to keep in the glove compartment. It’s a simple move to add a slot or pocket to hold the data card. People are naturally inclined to follow the easiest path. This strategy alone
can incline most customers to return to the shop to get handled more quickly and avoid tiresome form filling. But there is a way to get even more mileage out of the data card. By adding a master code number to the card and keeping that master code along with this customer’s data on the shop’s computer system, the customer need not even come into the shop to begin the process of getting set up for the next repair. The code could be sent by e-mail, fax, phone, or entered into a preset area on the shop’s website. When the customer arrives, he or she simply drops off the vehicle.
28 MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
If this was all of the value a shop could get from providing a data card, it would be well worthwhile, but this is only the beginning. The card can now be used for additional sales and marketing advantages. If a shop also has a vehicle maintenance division, tires, brakes, air conditioning service, tune-ups and other reminders can be programmed in. If a shop sells accessories, winterizing products and other seasonal items can be promoted. Today’s credit cards have enormous data storage capabilities. These items won’t even begin to overload the card’s capacity.
Finally, for the shop owner who is really serious about getting the most out of a data card system, there is the added possibility of links. The Internet is filled with websites that earn all revenue from advertisements on the site. A shop can offer promotional connections on the card to a local car wash, car rental facility, automatic transmission repair shop and other related businesses. All of these advantages can be had by simply eliminating “Jackass Bends” and creating a new channel for data to flow. By the way, I really hope the current snowfalls in the east and southeast don’t cause serious flooding.
ASA Requests NHTSA to Use its Authority to Regulate Aftermarket Crash Parts
The Automotive Service Association (ASA) has written a formal letter to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) administrator David L. Strickland asking him to review why NHTSA does not regulate aftermarket crash parts, and to begin an aftermarket crash parts regulatory program as soon as feasible. For yearsASA’s policy for automotive replacement crash parts has been that consumers should have notice as to the types of parts used to repair their vehicles and give written consent as to the use of these parts. However, very few states have implemented this policy, so most consumers have no conception of the
parts used in a repair. ASA is very concerned with the quality and safety issues relative to the proliferation of aftermarket crash parts being used to repair vehicles involved in a collision. In 2000, ASA met with members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce and asked the committee to investigate NHTSA’s role in aftermarket crash parts regulation. The committee requested that the General Accounting Office (GAO) review NHTSA’s role in regulating replacement crash parts. The GAO report on “Motor Vehicle Safety: NHTSA’s Ability to Detect and Recall Defective Replacement Crash Parts is Limited” resulted in several important conclusions:
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NHTSA has broad authority to set safety standards for aftermarket crash parts. The Motor Vehicle Safety Act provides NHTSA with the authority to prescribe safety standards for new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle equipment sold in interstate commerce—a category that includes aftermarket crash parts. Although NHTSA has the authority to regulate aftermarket crash parts, it has not determined that these parts pose a significant safety concern and therefore has not developed safety standards for them. The act also provides NHTSA with more limited authority to prescribe safety performance standards for
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used motor vehicles to encourage and strengthen state motor vehicle inspection programs. Because NHTSA may set motor vehicle safety standards for vehicle systems (like brakes and lights as well as for an entire vehicle, the agency could elect to develop safety standards for occupant restraint systems, which could incorporate airbags, under the used vehicle provision. NHTSA has not developed such standards because it has not identified significant problems with occupant restraint systems that could be addressed by state motor vehicle inspection programs. Less than half the states have state motor vehicle inspection programs.
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Make us your one-stop shop today! www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 29
Federal Government Pays For Shops To Go Green, Says GRC-Pirk Management
As an environmentally conscious shop owner, paint supplier or contractor, you may be eligible for a valuable funding opportunity. There has never been a better time to tap into the lengthy list of government rebates, tax credits and other financial incentives designed to encourage shops to achieve federal, state and local compliance. Many key incentives enacted over the last several years have focused on encouraging shops to incorporate environmental compliance into their operational plans. One incentive in particular relates to Certified Green Investment “CGI”, and is being utilized by many paint manufacturers and suppliers. One of the key provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 allows a tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot for certain environmental improvements made for equipment put into service since 2005. In certain instances, this deduction may be available to someone other than the equipment owner for early compliance with Environmental Protection Agency rules and regulations. Intended to offset some of the costs of qualifying energy-efficient improvements to commercial buildings, the CGI incentive allows taxpayers to take an immediate expense for the cost of equipment that would normally be recovered through depreciation over as many as 39 years.
To help you better understand the CGI incentive under Section 179D of the federal energy tax code and how it may be able to benefit a shop, the environmental professionals at GRC-Pirk Management have put together the following brief list of frequently asked questions.
What are the requirements of Section 179D? To qualify, energy-efficient improvements must reduce total annual energy and power costs with respect to the interior lighting, spray booth operation, heating, cooling, and ventilation and hot water systems by 50%. Partial deductions are allowed. Energy simulation and sustainability is required to justify the CGI incentive; and inspection and testing must be completed by a qualified engineer or contractor registered in the EPA jurisdiction. How much is the deduction? • Maximum deduction is $1.80 per square foot for a 50% reduction in total annual energy and power costs (compared to a reference building that meets the minimum requirements of ASHRAE Standard 90.1 2001); not to exceed the amount equal to the cost of energy-efficient commercial building property placed in service during the taxable year • Partial deduction is 60¢ per square foot for a 25-40% reduction in lighting power density (50% in the case of warehouses)
Who qualifies? • Building owner at the time of building improvements • Public buildings – the owner may allocate the tax deduction to the designer (engineer, contractor, architect, environmental consultant or energy services provider) for the taxable year that includes the date on which the property is placed in service What is the eligibility timeframe? Shop upgrades must be completed after December 31, 2005 and before January 1, 2013 What documents do I need to produce? Current full set of architectural plans that includes all specifications • Energy compliance documents for lighting, HVAC and envelope (Title 24 or IECC) • Recordkeeping File – computer file used to generate T-24 documentation • Certified Letter of Opinion – Registered Environmental Assessor “REA” qualification letter • EPA HAPs 6H Compliance Notification NESHAP 43 CFR 63 Subpart HHHHHH certification What do I get from a CGI 179D review? • FTD certificate package—requires federal tax documentation for CGI incentive • Provide review of existing T-24 or IECC to verify compliance with current code requirements
• Review building lighting, HVAC and envelope systems for Federal Tax Deduction qualification • Records Management Agreement for sustainability, analysis and certification documentation
How do I claim the CGI incentive? • The tax deduction is taken on the “Other Deductions” line of the taxpayer’s return • Tax returns may be amended going back three consecutive tax years
The green movement for miscellaneous surface coating operations is much more than merely a trend. Local building codes are mandating that buildings be more efficient, and even insurance carriers are beginning to demand improvements that will reduce a shops operating cost. Given the growing number of incentives available to encourage incorporating certified green improvements into a shop facility, it is important to consider any federal, state or local incentives available. Steven E. Schillinger, is President and Robert Morris is Legal Counsel for GRCPirk Management in Reno, Nevada For confidential consultation, call Toll Free: 1-888-374-PIRK (7475) Email: Fund2843@mypacks.net or visit www.ReComply.com.
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I-CAR Tech
This article first appeared in the I-CAR Advantage Online, which is published and distributed free of charge. I-CAR, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, is a not-for-profit international training organization that researches and develops quality technical education programs related to collision repair. To learn more about I-CAR, and to subscribe to the free publication, visit http://www.i-car.com.
Insulated Rubber Gloves And High Voltage Batteries Ever since the requirement of wearing insulated rubber gloves, or lineman’s gloves, when working on hybrid electric vehicles was introduced in vehicle service information, there have been questions. Are these really the same gloves worn by those who work with high voltage power lines? Are these gloves necessary or are they overkill? Are these gloves only used for disabling and enabling the high voltage? What does the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) say about the use of these gloves?
in (see Figure 2). Among the requirements printed on the bag label are the use of leather protective outers, testing requirements, and protecting the gloves from chemicals and other contamination. On the outside of the box, there are precautions to not store the gloves inside out, folded, or in direct sunlight.
hand size of the technician who will be wearing them. For some glove manufacturers, there are only three choices: small, medium, and large. Other manufacturers offer half sizes, in inches. To find your measurement, lay your hand palm down on a flat surface and measure the circumference around your finger knuckles (see Figure 4). Add one inch to that measurement, and that is your hand size for insulated rubber gloves.
This article is designed to answer these questions. Figure 2 - Requirements for testing and care for the gloves are outlined on the plastic bag and box where the gloves are packaged.
Figure 1 - This chart shows the AC and DC voltage ratings for each class of insulated rubber gloves.
Glove Requirement Toyota is clear on when insulated rubber gloves should be worn. The vehicle maker states that the gloves should be worn “whenever working near high voltage components. High voltage components include the high voltage battery, system main relay, service plug receptacle and fuse, orange-colored cables, inverter assembly, electric drive motors, DC-DC converter, and the electric air conditioning compressor.” In other words, the gloves are not just worn when disabling and enabling the high voltage battery.
There are several classes for insulated rubber gloves, from Class 00 to Class 4, depending on the maximum use voltage that the gloves can withstand (see the table in Figure 1). It is generally accepted by the vehicle makers that Class 0 gloves are a good choice when working on hybrid electric vehicles, as they are rated at 1,500 volts DC maximum use voltage. Class 0 gloves are solid black in color. Why is the vehicle maker service information limited as to the care and testing of these gloves? Vehicle makers expect technicians to follow the instructions and requirements from the glove manufacturer. These are commonly printed on the box and the plastic bag the gloves are shipped
OSHA addresses the testing, use, and care of rubber insulating gloves in the Personal Protective Equipment Standard 1910.137, Electrical Protective Devices. There are more details in the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard Specification for In-Service Care of Insulating Gloves and Sleeves.
Glove Label In the cuff portion of each glove, there’s a nonconductive label (see Figure 3). As listed in the table in Figure 1, the label is colored depending on the glove class. Information on the label may include the glove manufacturer, the class, and the rated maximum-use voltage. The AC voltage rating is only listed on the label, since these gloves are more commonly used when working with AC voltages. The label will also indicate if the gloves are resistant to ozone (Type II) or non-ozone resistant (Type I).
Figure 3 - There is several information on a label on the cuff of each glove.
The label may indicate the glove size. Insulated rubber gloves are not one-size-fits all. They should be purchased based on the
Figure 4 - To find the size glove for you, measure your hand around the knuckle area and add one inch.
Storage Proper storage is important to help keep the gloves in good condition. The gloves should be stored in a location as cool, dark, and dry as possible. The location should be as free as practicable from ozone, chemicals, oils, solvents, damaging vapors or fumes, and away from electrical discharges and sunlight. Fluorescent light and sunlight are especially harmful to rubber.
The gloves should be stored flat, not folded, and not in any manner that will cause stretching or compression. They should be kept inside a protective container or canvas bag. The original box that the gloves came in is also a good storage compartment for the gloves. Inspection Before Use OSHA requires that the technician who will use the insulated rubber gloves inspect the gloves for damage before each use, and immediately following any incident that can reasonably be suspected of having caused damage. If the inspection finds any of the following, the gloves should be discarded:
● Hole, tear, puncture, or cut ● Embedded foreign object ● Ozone checking, which looks like dry rot. Ozone checking is a series of interlacing cracks produced by ozone on rubber under mechanical stress. ● Texture changes caused by swelling, softening, hardening, or becoming sticky or inelastic
The gloves should be cleaned as needed to remove foreign substances. If any defect is found that might damage the insulating properties, such as spilled chemicals that do not wash off, the gloves should be submitted to a testing facility for testing.
Minor damage to the gloves can be repaired, but only in the area between the wrist and the reinforced edge of the opening, called the “gauntlet area” of the glove (see Figure 5). In this area, small cuts, tears, or punctures may be repaired by applying a compatible patch. Minor blemishes in this same area may be repaired with a compatible liquid compound. The patched area should have electrical and physical properties equal to those of the surrounding material. No more than three patches may be applied to one glove. Any gloves that are repaired should be retested by a testing facility before they are used.
Figure 5 - Insulated rubber gloves may be repaired, but only in the gauntlet area.
OSHA also specifies that an air test should be done in the field before each use, and at other times if there is cause to suspect any damage. The ASTM standard specifies that an air test can be done by holding the glove by the cuff and rolling the gloves gently toward the fingers to form an air pocket inside the glove. While the air is entrapped, check the gloves for punctures or checking, listen for escaping air, and hold the gloves up against your cheek to feel for escaping air. If the glove will not hold pressure, the glove is damaged and should not be used. The air test can also be done with a mechanical inflator. On the higher classes of gloves, an inflator is required because the gloves are too stiff to be rolled up by hand. Remove all jewelry before putting the gloves on. This is a common recommendation whenever working in a collision repair facility, but is of special importance here so as to not snag the gloves on rings See Next Page
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 31
or watches, etc., potentially damaging the gloves.
Protective Leather Outers Insulated rubber gloves should be protected while being worn with protective leather outer gloves. OSHA excludes the limited use of Class 00 and Class 0 gloves from this requirement. That is because for most industries, these lighter gloves are used where high finger dexterity might be needed to handle small equipment and parts, and leather outers might be too bulky. For most work on hybrid vehicles, however, leather outers are highly recommended by the glove manufacturers and vehicle makers. The leather helps prevent catching the rubber gloves on sharp sheet metal parts and frayed wiring, possibly puncturing the rubber. The leather outers should be exclusive for this purpose. Do not use the leather outers as general use gloves. The leather outers should be sized and shaped so that the rubber glove is not deformed. The top of the cuff of the leather outer should be shorter than the rolled top of the insulated rubber glove by at least 13 mm (1/2 in). The leather outers should be inspected just as often as inspection of the insulated rubber gloves. They should not have holes, tears, or other defects that affect their ability to give protection to the insu-
lated rubber gloves. The inner surface of the leather outers should be inspected for sharp or pointed objects. Care should be taken to keep the outers away from oils, greases, chemicals, solvents, and other materials that may damage the insulated rubber gloves. This also goes for the insulated rubber gloves. Insulated rubber gloves are available from some manufacturers in kit form, which includes the leather outers and a canvas bag for storage.
Testing at a Testing Facility Insulated rubber gloves are tested before being sold, but that’s not the last test. The gloves should be tested every six months by an official testing facility. Once the gloves are removed from the plastic bag they were shipped in, they start to deteriorate. So even if they are used only once, they will require retesting in six months time. If the gloves were purchased, but not put into use for several months, retesting may be required before the gloves are even used for the first time. OSHA states that the gloves may not be used if they haven’t been tested within the previous 12 months. Find the nearest testing facility by doing an Internet search for “glove testing.” The testing is not done differently depending on the facility you find. The ASTM standard includes requirements that every testing facility must follow. The
standard requires that the testing facility:
* wash the gloves. * do a preliminary inspection similar to what is done in the field. * do a more detailed inspection which includes turning them inside out and may include inflating them with air. * make any necessary repairs. * do an electrical test.
Note in the table in Figure 1 that the electrical retest is at a higher-rated voltage than the initial test. The gloves are electrically tested while filled with water and immersed in a water bath. The test voltage is applied between one and three continuous minutes. Once the testing is completed, the test facility may note the date of the test directly on the gloves. Employers are required to certify that the gloves have been tested in accordance with the OSHA requirements. This can be done by noting the results and dates of the test in a log, or by noting whether the test dates are printed on the gloves. The test facility we contacted does print the test dates directly on the gloves and maintains seven years of reports, which can be provided to the repair facility if ever needed. Conclusion Class 0 insulated rubber gloves, or line-
When you repair a BMW, use the parts that are identical to those used in Se-
man’s gloves, are required whenever working near high voltage parts on an electric or hybrid electric vehicle. There are strict requirements for using, protecting, storing, inspecting, and testing of these gloves. If you are a technician assigned to do work on one of these vehicles, become familiar with the glove requirements. There are, of course, a lot more precautions that should be taken when working near high voltage parts on an electric or hybrid electric vehicle beyond just the insulated rubber gloves. The I-CAR course Electric And Electric Hybrid Vehicles (ALT01) discusses these safety precautions. Vehicle makers also provide safety training for hybrid vehicles. Toyota, for example, offers instructor-led training courses “Toyota Hybrid Collision Repair” and “Toyota Prius Collision Repair” at three training sites in the U.S. For more information on this training, visit www.crrtraining.com. We would like to give thanks to Kim Schneider, an independent electrical contractor based in Philadelphia, PA, for his assistance with alerting us to the multiple issues with these insulated rubber gloves.
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Action Counts with Lee Amaradio Jr.
“Every Man For Himself”
I have watched our industry take two steps backwards and one step forward for over thirty years. Because of this “every man for himself” attitude that runs predominately within the collision industry, we are unable to control the repair process even when it comes to safety. I have heard it said that most shops really would fix the cars correctly but they are being hindered because they are not being paid enough. I say “Bull.” Either you fix the cars correctly or you are lying to yourself and risk resembling a crook. Sounds tough? Not really. It’s the truth. The choice is yours. We are the ones that know how to repair collisions. When something is denied by the insurer we scramble to figure out a way to make enough money on the repair to make it worthwhile. Many shops have moved safety issues to the back burner and profit becomes their main concern. They move to the damage control mode because they still need to make money. If you go against the grain and make a stand for safety issues and the integrity of the repair, you risk looking like the bad guy when in
fact you are the good guy, and the real ones qualified to do the repair. “Cost should never supersede safety, ignorance should never have the power over knowledge, and intimidation should never be mistaken for negotiation”. We lack standards and we lack any form of enforcement from the Powers That Be, so we are between a rock and a hard place. We need to stand up for ourselves, even against the other shops that are not fixing the cars right. I think that we need to make this “every man for himself” attitude work for us by standing up against those shops that are saving deductibles (it’s illegal) and putting unsafe vehicles on the road. I really believe that many repairers “really don’t care” and no matter how much they were paid they would still cut every way possible to put more money in their pocket. I recently (before Toby Chess’ groundbreaking parts comparison) got a call from my quality control manager to tell me that we had installed an A/M bumper reinforcement on a vehicle (against our company policy) and the customer was on their
MIKE CALVERT TOYOTA www.mikecalverttoyota.com
Lee Amaradio, Jr. is the president and owner of “Faith” Quality Auto Body Inc. in Murrieta, California. Lee is president of the CRA as well as an advocate for many other industry groups. He can be contacted at lee@faithqualityautobody.com
way to pick it up. He wondered if I knew about it. I told him ‘no,’ then I made a few phone calls to get to the bottom of it. At the same time I had the OEM reinforcement ordered. As the story unraveled it turned out that one of my estimators was trying to take the easy way out so he ordered it himself (we have a full time parts department so estimators don’t normally order any parts). I told him to contact his customer and tell him the vehicle would be delayed because we were going to be using the OEM reinforcement. He then told me the insurance company wouldn’t pay and the customer wouldn’t either. The estimator thought he was doing the right thing because he had informed the customer and the customer was fine with the A/M part. My question to him was “is the customer an expert in collision repair?” I made my point as any court would have. I made a choice to re-repair the vehicle the correct way and it cost me money. Was it right that I had to pay to repair this customer’s vehicle the way I knew that it should have been done? No, it wasn’t right
that I had to make up the difference, but it was definitely wrong for us to leave the A/M reinforcement on the vehicle, no matter what the customer wanted. Why? Because we are the repair experts and we hold the liability. Any lawyer would be able to make a case against any of us—even with the customer’s approval because we are “the experts.” Soon after this incident, Toby Chess’ test at CIC made everyone realize that there is a definite liability involved with using an A/M bumper reinforcement and I felt great because I have no skeletons in my closet because we have NEVER used one. In life we need to stand for something. We need to believe in what we do, and there are lines that we just will not cross. We need these boundaries in collision repair. Who is dictating what the proper collision repair standards are? We have had the Fox guarding the Hen house for so long that we think that “cost” is the primary driver for the collision industry, when it’s obvious that “safety” should be. When it comes to See Next Page
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www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 33
“safety,” everyone needs to listen. Safety is a word everyone understands. Just look at what Toyota is going through because of some un-safe vehicles hitting the roads. But the collision industry puts thousands and thousands of un-safe vehicles on the road every year and everyone looks the other way because it would cost so much more money to repair them all correctly. I’m talking real safety issues such as air-bag deployment because of inferior workmanship. When “used frame rails” are still being used in repairs even though it’s against every manufacturer’s recommended repair procedure, and A/M parts that have not been crash-tested are still allowed, it just proves how out of whack things really are. Someone should apologize to Toyota. I would like to see the OEM’s do the crash test with the A/M bumper reinforcements to really prove we have a industry safety problem and put a stop to selling these inferior parts to thousands of unsuspecting consumers and their families. [See ASA article on facing page—Ed.] They should be concerned because air bag deployment can be changed so drastically by something as minor as putting too many welds or not enough welds during the repair (see the Toyota watermelon video). Don’t you think a bumper reinforcement made out of mild steel will effect air bag de-
ployment? Any changes from OEM requirements could turn the air bag into a deadly projectile instead of the life preserver it was intended to be. Safety of the vehicle can never be compromised especially when you are the one that carries the liability. So should those that have knowingly or unknowingly repaired vehicles in an unsafe manner be held responsible for correcting any problems related to safety? I say absolutely “YES.” But this would be way too costly. I mean that many shops would need to step up and re-do hundreds of vehicles. The Aftermarket parts companies could lose enormous amounts of money. Those insurers that have guaranteed these parts would need to step up and take responsibility for the warranties involved. But “NO,” there will be some more tests done to say that these parts are safe and everyone involved will do damage control. We will return to the status quo of “every man for himself” and once again nothing will change and un-safe repairs will continue to hit our highways every day because money has become more important than safety. SAY IT’S NOT SO!
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Continued from Page 15
Dan Am/SATA EPA
with whatever you have today, but it gets much easier and better with the right equipment. We look at what they have already. You have a primer gun, a sealer gun, and a clear gun, but is it ready for tomorrow’s product? Is in good working condition? Just because it’s a good and relatively new gun, if you haven’t maintained it correctly it might not be working well enough for the new product. Now the EPA wants to make sure that you have the right transfer efficiency, and that’s important for both shop profitability and the environment. If you’re just starting with waterborne and you don’t keep your equipment clean, you’re going to have much bigger problems than you ever had with the solvent. But guess what, if you do it right, and maintain and adjust your equipment, things work better. The paint dries the way it’s supposed to, your color match is correct, and you’re right with the EPA, because you kept your gun clean.
ABN ► So, that isn’t the product’s fault, it’s yours? Steve Treutel ◄ Yes. All of a sudden painters are learning the hard way that they need to keep my gun cleaner than they
ever have before. You could have one of our SATAjet 3000 (HVLP and RP) that we’ve had out for 3-4 years. If you bought it then and you’ve never replaced the nozzle set, it’s already worn out to some point, and then do you really have the right nozzle set up or whatever you are going to be changing to? For waterborne I like to look at it a little differently. We do a true evaluation of a shop. Do we have enough air volume to run the equipment you need. Do you have enough to run the blowers. Are you planning HVLP? But how much air does that take? Are you doing overalls or just bumper jobs? Figure out the CFM required. Then look at the quality of your air. Just because you got a lot of air doesn’t mean it’s clean enough. If you might have oil droplets or oil vapors. This creates another contamination. Is it breathable? Think about making your air breathable quality. Now we can look at the guns—the difference between HVLP and RP technology is how much air do they use? If you don’t have enough air for HVLP, it doesn’t matter how good a painter you are. You’re never going to be able to get the same job that the paint company training center will do. Typically for HVLP we like to see 15–18 CFM and 29 lbs pressure. For RP technology you’d be around 10 CFM,
about a third less air volume, which is the make or break point. For a shop that has maybe a 10 hp compressor serving three prep people and a painter, you’re right on the edge. At that point the RP might be the better choice. The quality can be maintained even at the lower volume. That’s why we have the two kinds of guns and the EPA has said that if you have the transfer efficiency, you can maintain high quality at the lower volume. Nothing wrong with that. If you have enough volume, HVLP is a good way to go because you have all the atomization, and shaping of the pattern, and drying with 10 pounds or less at the air cap. There is a lot of tooling done on an HVLP gun to get all that working. With RP type technology you have a higher air cap pressure,which does a lot of the work for you so RP can actually work very nicely for you, especially if you don’t have enough volume of air to run HVLP. ABN ► Do all the large shops run, or prefer, HVLP? Steve Treutel ◄ No. It’s not always the large shops that are better off using HVLP. Sometimes they have so many painters and technicians running air tools that they’re not really able to run HVLP efficiently. Many large, and good, shops use RP. With the paint companies doing more conversions, they’re learning more about
The training includes hands-on, in booth, demonstrations and tests.
where those lines are. They saw shops that were kind of right on the edge of not having enough air, and they allowed them to try it and they found out they don’t have enough air. I think we’re seeing our entire industry getting smarter about this. As paint companies continue to improve their products, you’re going to see different nozzle generations, increased transfer efficiency and probably even less air required. You need to have guns that do the atomization, but then also have the increased transfer efficiency so that the shops are still profitable. Now the painters understand why they need to do it. If you have a bit of time for people to relax and listen to you. Education is becoming, once again, important. All the players are changing how they’re doing their training. They’re taking the time to explain it. See DAN AM/SATA EPA, Page 37
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www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 35
Collision Repair Students are Well-Prepared for the Real World Completely needing restored, one of Wiederholt’s own muscle cars is a project many of the students are working on with hopes that it will be finished
by Dustin Henggeler, NNL writer This article is reprinted with the kind permission of the Nodaway News Leader, Maryville, MO.
They don’t have desks or written tests to take each week, but you’d better believe these students are learning something everyday. The new collision repair class at the Northwest Technical School [in Maryville, MO], taught by Ron Wiederholt, gives the students just what they need to learn; hands-on experience on real vehicles. “What’s so great about this type of work is that you’re not working on an assembly line, doing the same thing everyday,” said Wiederholt. “You face a new project every day. Even if it’s the same spot on a vehicle, you will need to do different types of repairs in order to get a car looking new again.” From fender benders to complete restoration of older cars, Wiederholt’s students never see the exact same project twice and are always kept busy. Students come to the class from as far away as Mound City, Craig/Fairfax and North Andrew, or as close to home as Northeast Nodaway and Maryville. Adults are welcome to take the class, too; in fact, two are currently in the class: one is 63 years old, proof that it’s never too late to learn or pick up a hobby.
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by the end of the school year. Earlier in the year, the students also completely rebuilt a military vehicle that is now being used by local volunteer firefighters. And on top of just repairing cars, the students are also constructing and painting vehicles that they give away for those who cannot afford a fully-operational car. Having owned his own auto-body shop for 10 years, Wiederholt knows the importance of keeping up with the times and does his best to offer these new techniques to his class. Learning about the care and repair of hybrid vehicles is something his class takes part in, keeping their expertise on anything from old school to cutting edge. “The kids in here aren’t your typical students who enjoy science or math, but
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enjoy the hands-on experience,” Wiederholt commented. “When I show them something new in here, they’re always wide-eyed and ready to learn.” Though his class can handle 30 students, Wiederholt has only 15, but the plan is for more students next fall. And since this is his first year of offering the class, it’s hard to say where his students will be after graduation. Wiederholt knows that some of his students plan to come back next year, even if it’s post-secondary. The collision repair curriculum is a two-year program, so future students may plan to take it their junior year if the school district allows. Collision repair, a field that could only become extinct when we don’t use cars, will be a growth area. Wiederholt makes sure his students learn everything from the basics of the shop to the various techniques any repair project requires of a Mr./Mrs. Fix-it. “I make sure that the students know that a clean shop is the most important thing in terms of safety,” said Wiederholt. “I also give them new project partners everyday so they can get used to working with new people all the time. Students need to know how to work safe as part of a team, keeping the work area clean and safe as well.”
CollisionBuilder.com Provides Free Websites to Associations
CollisionBuilder.com, in an effort to improve communication throughout the industry, is now offering free websites for collision repair associations. Any and all recognized collision repair associations are eligible. Domain registration, hosting, and monthly maintenance are included. “As an industry, we need to move forward with our utilization of communication tools,” said David Moore, president, CollisionBuilder.com. “The web offers us the opportunity to get our message out locally and nationally. We can no longer sit on the sidelines hoping things will get better, we have to get involved.” The website consists of a home page, about us page, contact us page and a current news page. The website’s content will be editable using CollisionBuilder.com’s EZ Edit feature. This will enable the association to inform members of current news and events and to keep their website updated. Additionally, Moore is offering free consultation/instructions on how collision repair associations can utilize Facebook and Twitter accounts to improve member communication. CollisionBuilder.com designs and develops websites for the collision repair industry; offering both custom and predesigned packages. Visit www.collisionbuilder.com, and contact David Moore.
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36 MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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Continued from Page 1
Aftermarket Parts
As a result of these studies, the Auto Body Parts Association (ABPA), who represents more than 150 manufacturers, distributors and suppliers of aftermarket crash parts, has taken what SCRS views as a responsible first step, stating to their members that if sufficient testing is not available they recommend “discontinuation of the production and sale of these part types as well as immediate notification to the estimating systems to eliminate these parts from their database.” These studies were performed after receipt of concerns from various members’ shops that there has been an increase in utilization of these aftermarket structural replacement parts in the claims settlement practices of certain insurance carriers. SCRS urges the collision repair industry to understand the magnitude of this issue, and to heed warning as well. SCRS recommends that collision repair professionals use exceptional caution when performing repairs to consumers vehicles, and to only use parts that will perform with the same expectation of quality and safety, both upon installation, and for the life of the vehicle. SCRS also recommends that repair facilities understand the liability associated with utilization of inferior parts, and to avoid
being unduly influenced to utilize any replacement part that has not undergone credible independent testing to ensure it meets quality and safety based standards. “This is a serious issue, that has not received enough attention from the industry in the past,” reiterated Chess. “These parts are critically affecting the structural design of a vehicle in its post-repair state. I think the ABPA has shown their leadership through their release, and we need to hold their members, the people and organizations that manufacture and supply these parts, accountable for the quality and safety of their product. The OEMs put a lot of money into research and development to ensure that the end product operates reacts and sustains damage in very specific way. Any replacement part made available to the market should be required to have that same expectation of performance.” “This issue is concerning on so many levels,” stated SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg. “Obviously our members have to understand the liability implications they have when making critical repair decisions such as part selection. The problem with many of these parts is that a visual inspection at the shop level often can’t uncover significant differences, like material or alloy variances. We can’t visually see the difference in weight, or that one part is .25 mm thinner than another; especially when the two aren’t side by side
for comparison. It should also not be the responsibility of the shop to make a determination on which part is equivalent, or not. If it is not quality, if it is not safe, it shouldn’t even make its way to the market; but they are. We have too many examples, even with current internal ‘quality assurance programs’ in place, that they are being manufactured, sold, and utilized, despite not meeting the most basic of requirements such as material composition.” “Most importantly, there has to be a way to address the individuals who already have parts that have now been deemed ‘inferior’ on their vehicle. It is not enough to accept that suppliers will deal with the issue on case by case bases if, or when, there is a problem. If the process and infrastructure are not in place, to support the ability to notify consumers when a problem has been identified, then we need to significantly fix that infrastructure before more parts are sold. If there is a parts problem generated from the OEM, there is an elaborate recall process in place. Every consumer is notified and their vehicle is corrected. These critical safety parts should not be treated with any less urgency. This is an issue that requires a proactive solution, rather than reactive; the motoring public deserves more,” Schulenburg added. SCRS has made the presentations prepared by Chess available on their website at www.scrs.com. We encourage every
member of the industry to ensure you are familiarized with this issue. It is important for the repair industry to understand the subject matter, and it is also SCRS’ hope that the insurance industry will exhibit equal concern over the seriousness of an issue that impact both industries, and the customer base we each serve. This will continue to be an area of significant focus for the association in the upcoming year, and will continue to share information on the subject as it develops. Continued from Page 35
Dan Am/SATA EPA
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These dealers are Genuine VW Parts wholesale specialists. www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 37
CARSTAR Collision Centers Toasts Top Celebrity Car Crashes, 2009 Celebrities can make great customers for collision repair centers, with frequent crashes in their cars and clashes with the paparazzi chasing them. In their honor, CARSTAR Collision Centers, the nation’s largest chain of collision repair experts, are kicking off the inaugural CARSTAR’D Awards to recognize the top of the charts in dings, dents, crashes and collisions. And the winners are..... 10. Nicole Richie: On October 5, 2009 a paparazzo rear-ended her car and caused her to have to go to the hospital for observation in Beverly Hills, Calif. (TMZ) 9. Michael Jackson and family: The Jackson clan made the list twice in 2009, first when MJ’s kids Prince Michael, Paris and Prince Michael II were driving with their nanny Grace Rwaramba in Encino, Los Angeles on October 21, and a photographer rammed their security vehicle, and second with a hit-and-run incident with a photographer in London on October 23, 2009. (ANI)
8. LeAnn Rimes: Rimes was questioned by the Los Angeles Police Department over her possible involvement in a hit and run car accident August 20, 2009, in Brentwood, Calif. Rimes reportedly rear-ended
a car that was stopped in the left turn lane. There were no injuries and minor damage to the cars. She also had a run-in with a security golf cart at The Commons in Calabasas, Calif., on December 4, 2009. (TMZ) 7. Anne Hathaway: The Devil Wears Prada star was involved in a car collision in LA on December 17, 2009. The star’s boyfriend Adam Shulman was driving the car when he collided with a bicycle on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood. (RadarOnline)
6. Renée Zellweger: Zellweger was in a car accident in Beverly Hills on August 31, 2009. The actress was fine and there were no injuries—her car was towed away from the scene. One of the headlights from Renée’s car was shattered and one of the cars lost a license plate in the smash. (TMZ)
5. Olympic medalist Michael Phelps: Better in water than behind the wheel, Phelps was involved in a three-car accident in Baltimore on August 13, 2009. Phelps was not injured, but a woman in the other car was shaken up and taken to a local hospital, due
to “head and arm pain.” (TMZ)
4. Lawrence Taylor: The NFL legend had an illegal tackle with hit-and-run on November 9, 2009, allegedly ramming his Escalade into a 1984 Ford van two separate times before driving off. (TMZ)
3. George Michael: The singer was involved in a car collision August 14, 2009, in London. In a statement released Aug. 15, Michael claimed that statements by the driver that Michael appeared “dazed” after the accident and had been “weaving all over the place” before crashing were false.
2. Weezer: While on the way to Boston via Toronto on December 7, 2009, Weezer’s bus slid off the road just outside of Albany, NY, after hitting a patch of ice. Lead singer Rivers Cuomo was quickly transferred to the hospital. Drummer Josh Freese explained on Twitter that there are “some injuries, but everyone’s alive and in one piece.” (PerezHilton.com) And the leading celebrity car crash of 2009 made headlines around the world......
1. Tiger Woods: The world’s number one golfer was injured early Friday, November 30, 2009 when he lost control of his SUV outside his Florida mansion. A local police chief said Woods’ wife used a golf club to smash out the back window to help get him out. Tiger took the blame for an “embarrassing” car crash that gave him cuts, bruises and public scrutiny like never before. Soon after, news of Woods’ having over 12 alleged mistresses came out. (Perezhilton). I guess he didn’t think to blame it on unintended acceleration. —Ed. Surprisingly absent from the 2009 list are top contenders Brittany Spears and Lindsey Lohan, who have earned spots on the CARSTAR’D All-Star list for their past vehicular performances.
EPA Sets New NO2 Standard
EPA has tightened the one-hour standard for measuring emissions of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), but left the annual standard unchanged. The long-term exposure remains at a maximum of 53 parts per billion (ppb) while an acceptable shortterm exposure limit is now 100 parts per billion. Short-term concentrations of NO2 were previously allowed to range from 100–200 ppb.
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38 MARCH 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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Continued from Page 14
Shelby Part Two
they’ve got 40 grit to 3000 grit sandpaper you can use. It’s all good for wet sanding. The blocks will take you from A to Z processes. They’re a great tool to add to your collection; not for everything you do, but they’re a great tool to have in your arsenal for time-saving and better quality. Every job is different every job is a different panel that needs to be sanded so these are a great product to complement the rest of your toolbox. They’ve saved me a lot of time and money. They pay for themselves on the first job I used them on. I also just found out that PPG
has adopted them for their training programs, which is a great endorsement. We’ll talk about the color sanding steps and procedures next month along with the delivery of the car. And we’ll see where this project goes on tour and see how many thousands of people will put their eyes on it. You always want to make sure that you keep your quality high and have a good product. I don’t use or endorse anything I don’t believe in. I always thank my sponsors. I cannot create or build cars without them. Thanks to Chicago Pneumatic™ for my pneumatic tools. MicroFlex™ for the safety of the latex gloves that they provide. I want to thank Shoot Suits for providing a comfortable safety suit. Quick Cut Sanders for providing a tool
that is a very efficient product which is well thought out. House of Kolor for putting out such great products. I want to thank TranStar for such a great topcoat. I look forward to trying out some of their new products will be writing more about those in future. I also want to thank 3M for all the support they’ve given me over the years and the great products that they keep coming out with.
and this app showcases a good selection of about 80 different vehicles I’ve done. It shows some diversity, but isn’t everything. We’ll probably add hundreds of more cars to this game over time. It’s also a learning app to recognize makes, models, and model years of different projects that came through my shop.
Rides of Rich Evans—iPhone App I have a new free iPhone app game called Rides of Rich Evans that you can download through iTunes. It’s a fun app. Try to beat the game. You can google ‘Rich Evans’ or ‘Rides of Rich Evans’ to learn more. I’m always trying to put something new out there
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