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VOL. 31 ISSUE 11 NOVEMBER 2013

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NACE 2013 Proceeds As Expected, Eyes Turn to Revitalized Show in Detroit in 2014 To no one’s surprise, the 2013 NACE exhibition was a downsized event from previous years, but the Las Vegas-venue may have been the Mike Anderson most appropriate brought his tradelaunching pad for mark mix of humor, experience, consul- what is expected to tation, and evangel- be a revitalized ism to the NACE NACE event in Dekeynote address. troit next summer. Attendance has been down for the past three years, with a slight

uptick for the 2011 show in Orlando, FL. This year’s event saw another attendance dip, which ASA Executive Director Dan Risley says was expected. There were significant successes at the 2013 show such as a popular keynote by industry veteran Mike Anderson and the MSO Symposium which has been growing in attendance, Mike Anderson kicked off the 2013 NACE Expo with a keynote speech entitled “The Future Is Not Set in Stone” at the Opening General Session/Collision Industry Forum.

Anderson’s familiar audience engagement techniques were on display as he employed humor, moving personal annecdotes, and even his

Tourette’s syndrome ticks, as models and metaphors for perseverance, unity and action in the industry. See NACE 2013, Page 4

Autobody News Associations Issue covering some national and local associations from other regions. See pp. 6, 10, 16, 18, 22, 24 & 46. In the Spring, we’ll publish updates on other associations throughout the country. Tell us about your favorite Collision Repair Associations.

NC Shop Won Short-Pay Arbitration in July, Have There Been Changes or Consequences?

Virginia Shop Owner Says Collision Repair is Easy Compared to Politics

In July 2013, Michael Bradshaw, VP of Operations at K&M Collision in Hickory, NC, was victorious in a courtordered arbitration against Nationwide for a short-pay lawsuit filed on behalf of a body shop customer. We wanted to know what’s happened since. The underpayments were determined to be reasonable and necessary repair costs, but the problem continues as Bradshaw reports that this issue is an ongoing and common with several specific insurers, including Nationwide and GEICO.

Throughout the years, body shops owners all over the country have run for political office and instituted changes at the local and national level. People have said that the skills accumulated while running a body shop can easily transfer into politics. By negotiating on a daily basis with insurance companies, coordinating literally thousands of details monthly and working with a crew consisting of a wide range of distinct personalities, collision professionals are well-suited for public office, according to Doug Conner, the owner of Conner Bros. Collision Centers in Richmond, VA., an MSO consisting of four locations. Conner, 69, started painting cars when he was 17 and worked for local car dealerships for roughly 15 years. He started his very own shop in 1976 with the help of his wife Jean and his brother Donnie, another painter. “I worked for another shop to learn the business and then got the nerve to start my own,” Conner chuckled. “We signed a three-year

Currently, Bradshaw is pursuing six short-pay cases against Nationwide, three against GEICO, and one against Allstate. Still, his pursuit of full payment has not yet impacted these insurers’ practices. Bradshaw notes, “they come out and refuse to pay for the same things they just lost. Their attitude is ‘sue us again,’ and I do.” On a positive note, Bradshaw says that some other insurers who are aware of his short-pay cases have “chosen to do the right thing and pay the full repair bill because they know they’ll get tied up in the same litigaSee Bradshaw Shortpays, Page 13

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lease and were just hoping to get some cars in here at the beginning. During the first six months, we didn’t know if we were coming or MSO owner Doug going, to be honConner served two est. Our original terms as a councilman in Richmond, location was 3,000 VA, and is proud of square feet. It was the things he did a long building, so for the city, even if we parked them though he ran into complacency and a side-by-side, we lot of red tape could maybe get a total of six cars in the shop at one time. But, eventually, we saved about $10,000 and purchased some land close to our original shop. After our lease expired, we built our first shop. We never needed to borrow any money, which was very fortunate.” Today Conner is semi-retired with his two sons Kevin and Alan running his shops, after serving two terms as a councilman of the ninth See Collision v Politics, Page 22

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COLUMNISTS Attanasio - Do Ad Specialties (“Swag”) Really Make an Impression? . . . . . . . . 42 Attanasio - I-CAR Instructor Looks Back at 20 Years in the Business . . . . . . . . . 30 Franklin - Take 15 Seconds to Think about Putting Marketing Ideas to Work. . . . . . 44 I-CAR Tech - New Honda “Body Repair News” Publication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Insurance Insider - Cycle Time is Money for Everyone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Yoswick - November Retrospective on the Collision Repair Industry. . . . . . . . . 32 NATIONAL A Profile of the Evolving Collision Repair Marketplace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 AAPEX Learning Forum Amps Up Business Selling Skills to Benefit Buyers . . . . . . . 54 AASPI Board of Directors Releases Statement Denouncing PartsTrader Mandates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 AASP-MN Files Formal Complaint with State Dept of Commerce Re PartsTrader Mandates in Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 ABAC’s Decade-Long Battle Against the Hartford Insurance Co.. . . . . . . . . . 24 Allstate Plans to Increase its MA Workforce by 130 Agents . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Allstate Says Usage-Based Insurance Increasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 ASA Ohio Writes to State Farm’s CEO Ed Rust Jr. Opposing Insurer Mandated Parts Ordering . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 ASA-AZ Surveys Wholesale Parts Dealers on PartsTrader Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 AudaExplore™ Introduces GoTime Line of Driver Focused Mobile Solutions . . . 45 Auto Data Direct Adds 3 New States to Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Autobytel Acquires Assets of Advanced Mobile LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

BASF Joins ASA as Newest Corporate Member. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 BMW Asks California Court to Strike Class Action in Leaking Sunroof Case . . . . . . 49 Bob Stevenson Joins Carbench . . . . . . . . 50 CAPA Tops 60M Certified Parts . . . . . . . . 50 CARSTAR Opens First Shop in Jacksonville, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Choice Autobody Repair Association Advocates for Both Consumers and Repairers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Consumer Groups Go to Court to Force Obama Administration’s Hand on Back-Up Cameras . . . . . . . . . 53 Faces of NACE 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Independent Garage Owners of North Carolina Pushes Ahead . . . . . . . 10 Lincoln Electric Announces New Welding Devices/Lifters . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Memphis Dealership Gets 1st Full Allstate Office on Site. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Memphis-area Auto Glass Replacement Hit by Halt to Vehicle Registration Inspections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 NACE 2013 Proceeds As Expected, Eyes Turn to Revitalized Show in Detroit in 2014 . 1 NC Shop Won Short-Pay Arbitration in July, Have There Been Changes or Consequences?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 NHTSA Recommends Back Up Cameras for New Cars. . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Overall Parts Solutions is a NABC Top Level Member . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Rate of Auto Production Leads to Poorer Vehicle Quality According to Ford’s Global Purchasing Chief. . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Rhode Island’s Don Cushing Wears Multiple Hats in Parts Wholesale and Auto Body Associations . . . . . . . . 16 SCRS Adds Consolidation Tracks to SEMA Repairer Driven Education . . . . . 51 SEMA Supports Ban of E15 . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Sherwin-Williams Adds Full Feature Claims Portal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Sumpter County, SC, Continental Tire Plant Ready to Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Tennessee CRA Advances Professionalism & Consumer Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Todd Chizmar on I-CAR Board . . . . . . . . . 50 Tru-Way’s New Website, Data . . . . . . . . . 50 Urethane Supply Company Offers New Welding System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 US Auto SAAR to Hit 16.4M, Highest Level Since 2006. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Virginia Shop Owner Says Collision Repair is Easy Compared to Politics . . . . . . . . . 1 Virginia-Based Automotive Recycling Association Does More Than Green the Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 WIN Announces Opening of Most Influential Women Nominations for 2014, Gala to be Held in San Diego . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Is Expanding to New Readers Welcome We elcome to our Ass Associations socia i ti tions Issue Issu uee which h will run in the fa fall all and spring in future. In addition to covering national tradeshows like NACE and SEMA, Autobody News is dedicated to providing regular coverage of regional auto body and vendor associations. We hope you like the coverage here. Autobody News is pleased to announce that, beginning in November 2013, we have expanded our circulation into eight additional states. These states are North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia—in our Southeast Edition—and Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maryland—in our Northeast Edition. This expansion will enable us to reach out to thousands of “new” body shops and provide coverage of these states' regional auto body association activities and industry events. Our readers continue to tell us that our coverage of regional industry news keeps them informed about what’s going on locally and what other associations are doing nationwide. Get in touch with us at editor@autobodynews.com if you have a regional article or event that you’d like the rest of the collision community to know about. Publisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst General Manager: Barbara Davies Contributing Writers: Tom Franklin, John Yoswick, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess, David Brown, Rich Evans, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman, Bill Doyle, David Dawson (800) 699-8251 Sales Assistant: Louise Tedesco Art Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Southwest

REGIONAL 3M’s Hire our Heroes Campaign Has NASCAR’s Greg Biffle in the Driver’s Seat . 14 ASA Houston Boosts Helena Brown for City Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Austin Native Returns Home to Keep Auto Glass Business in the Family . . . . . . . . . 9 HABA Endorses Allen Fletcher for Representative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Louisiana Dept of Insurance Says Over 63% of Complaints are From Property-Casualty Insurance . . . . . . . . . 12 Pull-A-Part Acquires El Paso Based Mega U Pull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Ram 1500 Once Again is the ‘Truck of Texas’ Named by the Texas Auto Writers Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Service King Acquires Tri County Collision Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Indexof Advertisers

Contents

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. ©2013 Adamantine Media LLC.

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Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018; (800) 699-8251 (760) 603-3229 Fax www.autobodynews.com Email: news@autobodynews.com

A Frame Paint Booths . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Absolute Mitsubishi-Hyundai . . . . . 43 Accudraft Paint Booths . . . . . . . . . . . 4 AutoMax Hyundai Del City . . . . . . . . 6 BASF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 47 Car-Part Pro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA). . . . . . . . . . . 23 Chevyland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Chief Automotive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Classic BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Dallas Dodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 David McDavid Auto Group . . . . . . 11 Dent Tools Direct USA . . . . . . . . . . 14 Don Carlton Auto Group . . . . . . . . . 31 Equalizer Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Finnegan Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . . . 2 Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers TX, OK, LA, NM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Forklift Wrecker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Fowler Honda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 50 Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-29 Houston Auto Body Association. . . 44 Huffines Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge Lewisville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Huffines Hyundai Plano . . . . . . . . . 48 Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . 45

Intertape Polymer Group . . . . . . . . 20 KBS Coatings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers. 41 LKQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Malco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 53 Mercedes-Benz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Mike Calvert Toyota. . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Mitchell International. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers. 49 MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 33 North Freeway Hyundai . . . . . . . . . 36 Ray Huffines Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . 30 Reliable Chevrolet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Replica Plastics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Sartorius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 25 SATA Spray Equipment . . . . . . . . . 17 Scoggin-Dickey Buick . . . . . . . . . . 38 South Pointe Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge. 19 Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26, 27 Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 53 Toyota of Fort Worth . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Toyota of Laredo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 51 Valspar Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 52 Walcom USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Young Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

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Continued from Cover

NACE 2013

“We get caught up in how much things cost, in Parts Trader, in cycle time, and we forget that what matters is how we fix the car,” Anderson said. “When the industry gets a black eye, it affects every single person [in it].” “With insurers, they try to come in our industry and do things to us and not with us,” he said, citing his experience living briefly in Hawaii where he was counseled about developing a more colobarative style while teaching. At the conclusion of his talk Anderson was honored with the 2013 Joe Jackson Industry Champion Award, presented by Axalta Coating Systems, which recognizes collision repairers exhibiting outstanding leadership, charity or humanitarian works.

MSO Symposium The largest Multi-Shop Operator (MSO) Symposium to date was held on Oct. 16 and provided a strong draw to the shops in attendance. It attracted a sold-out crowd of 275 MSOs. “We had the combined benefit of collision repairers and capital market leaders, as well as expert speakers on leadership and decision-making contribute to our interactive event that focused on the current and future state of the U.S. collision repair industry,” said Vincent Romans, The Romans Group, producer of the MSO Symposium. (See p. 36 this issue for the Romans Group Profile of the Evolving Collision Repair Marketplace.) The MSO Symposium was full from start to finish. Several attendees commented it was the main reason they came to Las Vegas for the convention and a few described the event as a kind of speed dating process in which some smaller MSOs vied for attention from the four big players in attendance. “All the major players were represented at this year’s MSO Symposium and the room was a veritable ‘who’s who’ list,” says Ron Nagy, AAM, of Nagy’s Collision Specialists. “This event continues to deliver.” “The representation from both large and small MSOs at the symposium provided a good view of the changing landscape occurring within the industry on an almost daily basis,” says Frank LaViola, Assistant Vice President at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. “These changes

will undoubtedly affect all the constituents within the industry and helps us all be better prepared to tackle these changes.” “The attendance at the MSO was strong and key MSOs were well-represented,” says Shelton Byrd, Sales

Mike Anderson (l) receives the Joe Jackson Industry Champion Award from Axalta’s Michael Bennett

Executive Western Region, Mitchell International. “The overlying message of the panel discussion was the importance of recruiting talented people and fostering their growth.”

Stone Fort Takes Over the Show Major changes will occur in the show management with Stone Fort Group taking over the NACE-CARS show from current show operator Hanley Wood Exhibitions, who has managed the show for the past 13 years. Stone Fort Group offers an experienced team to provide conference management, sales and marketing for NACE and CARS 2014, and will work closely with the association in a similar capacity to Hanley Wood, who will now concentrate on the trade shows that they own. Stone Fort Group co-founders Sean Guerre and Brian Nessen have 20 years of trade show and conference experience, and reportedly have broader international marketing reach than Hanley Wood.

NABC Presented Three Vehicles The “First Responder Emergency Extrication” presentation was delivered by the Clark County Fire Department

Fred Schultz, CEO of Positively Kids, accepts Handicap-Accessible Van donation

4 NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

from Henderson, NV, who conducted live emergency extrication techniques on late model vehicles. The NABC’s Recycled Rides presentations featured three vehicles donated to local community organizations targeting those in need. The first was a specially equipped, handicap-accessible van that has been repaired by Gerber Collision and donated by State Farm Insurance. The van was donated to the Foundation for Positively Kids and will be used to transport medicallychallenged children so that they can receive the medical care they need. NABC also hosted the presentation of two vehicles donated by Allstate Insurance and repaired independently by Caliber Collision and the Van Tuyl Group. The vehicles were donated to the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youths.

I-CAR Presentations I-CAR offered three technical presentations of its “Repairability Technical Support” initiative, designed to help bridge the information gap between the repair industry and vehicle manufacturers. I-CAR hopes to improve industry access to technical repair knowledge, address gaps in repair pro-

cedures, and enhance industry technical communication with OEMs. “Vehicle Maker Repair Information and I-CAR Technical Support,” stressed the importance of OEM repair procedures, how to access information online and various resources available when accessing them. “Today’s Advanced Vehicle Construction Materials & Safety Systems,” focused on the advanced materials used by car makers and how those materials affect the repair process now and in the future. “Advanced Joining Methods–Understanding OEM Procedures and Repair Processes” covered important repair information on advanced joining technologies, which ones to use in different situations, and how to replace parts following OEM recommendations. All presentations were led by Jason Bartanen, I-CAR director of industry technical relations, and Jamie Boettcher, instructional designer and trainer. NACE and CARS 2014 will take place July 29-Aug. 2 at the Cobo Center in Detroit, MI, and will be co-located with I-CAR and CIC. To learn more about NACE, visit www.ASAshop.org or call (800) 2727467, ext. 361.

www.autobodynews.com | NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 5

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

Choice Autobody Repair Association Advocates for Both Consumers and Repairers with Chasidy Rae Sisk

Consumers play a vital role in the collision repair industry—and educated consumers are the best customers. Choice Autobody Repair Association (CARA) recognizes the importance of educated consumers as customers and believes that trade associations help repairers perform better for their customers. In fact, President Rick Finney explains CARA’s mission as “to educate the consumers of the collision industry, educate the consumers on their rights, so that if they are ever involved in an automobile accident, they (the consumer) can make an educated decision on who they want repairing their automobile. Give back the Rick Finney choice to the customer about who repairs their vehicle. Make the consumers the decision maker!” CARA is a non-profit association dedicated to educating consumers, and they believe “it is their choice who repairs their vehicle. We’re not anti-DRP or anti-insurance—we’re simply pro-consumer. We want to empower the motoring public with the confidence that it’s their opportunity, right and power to make you their choice.” CARA was established in late 2005 when Finney and several other shop owners in the Ohio Valley decided to form their own, consumerbased organization. “We felt that it was very important the consumers were aware of their rights after being involved in an automobile accident. We have had a very good response from our consumer awareness campaign.” Though CARA is based in OH, they are actually a national association with members throughout the US. They recently started a Southwestern Michigan chapter in Battle Creek, MI, plus they are planning to add many more chapters throughout the country in the near future. Currently, CARA has around 50 members, and they offer both associate and corporate memberships, each of which features various benefits, such

as discounts on BASF management training, Collision Billing Services and a plethora of other purchasing discounts. CARA also makes docu-

mentation available to members, and they distribute informational fliers to consumers. One of CARA’S most important goals right now is to strengthen the association by attracting new members. Finney notes, “Whenever I talk to a shop owner, managers, etc., I hear the same issues, no matter where the person that I talk to is from. Ohio, Michigan, Florida or California, the same issues. We need to attract new membership so that we can better address the issues that we are business owners face on a daily basis.” Other goals include continuing to address industry issues by working with other associations to share information and ideas, in addition to improving matters for their members and their customers. Finney “would like to show our membership that we need to regain control of our business as well as our customer base.” With so many lofty aspirations, it is no surprise that one of the biggest challenges CARA faces, like many other associations, is dealing with the cost of maintaining operations. Finney elaborates, “we have many issues that we need to address, and like anything else, it takes time and money. In my opinion, we as an industry need to start meeting more often with various agencies on a consistent basis and bring to their attention what some of the issues are that our membership faces in their daily business practices. I would personally like to meet with the automobile manufacturers, paint manufacturers and departments of insurance.” In addition to growing their association with new members, CARA is also in the process of scheduling meetings to address some of the issues plaguing the industry, such as the issues related to purchasing paint materials. Addressing the ongoing con-

6 NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

troversy of PartsTrader, Finney asks, “what is the benefit for shop owners and their customers? PartsTrader is just another way for an outside entity to control your business. In my opinion, this is bad for our industry, period!” Finney believes that Right to Repair is a consumer issue, and “every consumer has the right to have their vehicle repaired wherever they choose. Having said that, as shop owners, we believe we should have access to the information so that we may be able to properly repair our consumer’s vehicle as well.” When asked about CARA’s stance on the PARTS Act, Finney notes, “I have read in a consumer reports issue that consumer groups estimate the cost of collision repairs would raise by 1 billion a year, nationally, and consumers would foot that bill through their insurance premiums. It is my understanding that

when the insurance industry calculates the cost to the consumer, they are calculated with the repairs installing new OEM parts. As far as the aftermarket parts issue, we keep hearing they are guaranteed to fit and have a lifetime warranty. I believe we would all like to hear how they must be crash tested and be subjected to the same testing as the OEM parts are subjected to.” Overall, CARA’s viewpoint on many industry issues reverts back to their mission statement and their belief that is should be the consumer’s choice as to who repairs their vehicle, as is inherent in the very name of the association. CARA PO Box 392 Cadiz, OH 43907 740-942-3107 www.c-a-r-a.org

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HABA Endorses Allen Fletcher for Representative

The Houston Auto Body Association and the Automotive Service Administration are endorsing Allen Fletcher in the upcoming elections. Allen Fletcher is the State Rep that introduced HB500 and was a key player in getting this Bill passed last legislative session. Before this bill was passed the independent auto mechanic and body shops were paying higher the rate (1%) for their Franchise taxes than the Dealer owned auto mechanic and body shops. House Bill 500 allows the same Franchise tax rate (0.5%) as the dealer owned counterparts. This Bill is going to save the independent shops millions of dollars a year in taxes. We want to strongly urge everyone to put this date on their calendar and come out to support Allen Fletcher. Says the campaign, “Support us in the re-election of Allen Fletcher. Join us for family fun, food, and music. October 19th from 3pm 7pm, Tin Hall: 14800 Tin Hall Rd, Cypress, TX, 77429. Hosted By: Johnny Bang/Johnny Bang’s Bang and Bump Shop, Automotive Service Administration, Houston Auto Body Association. To RSVP, please contact Sharon at (281) 798-5931.

ASA Houston Boosts Helena Brown for City Council

The ASA Houston Chapter is asking members to support Helena Brown in her run for City Council for District A. In their endorsement, ASA says, “In 2012, the City of Houston tried to pass new regulations on our shops that could result in new requirements for paperwork and fines starting at $500 per paperwork violation, plus hundreds of hours of lost shop time due to delays in processing customer work orders. Helena Brown, Council Member of District A was one of leaders in City Council who truly helped us in fighting Chapter 8-22. She assisted us greatly in speaking out, organizing public meetings to these regulations that would have been bad for shop owners and bad for our customers. As the City continues to look for new ways to tax and regulate businesses, we cannot let down our guard. That’s why we are asking you to join us in supporting our friend Helena Brown for Houston City Council District A. Please join with us, other shop owners and managers by supporting an upcoming fundraiser or make your contribution by credit card, at: www.helenabrown.com/contribute.htm

Service King Acquires Tri County Collision Center

Service King Collision Repair Centers announced that it has acquired Tri County Collision Center of New Braunfels, Texas, which serves Comal, Guadalupe and Bexar counties. “We’re looking forward to partnering with a company with a rich history in New Braunfels like Tri County Collision Center,” said Jeremy Lennox, market vice president –South Texas, Service King. “Their commitment to innovation, quality auto body repairs and customer satisfaction aligns with Service King’s values and gives us great confidence that this will be a successful opportunity for our growing team in South Texas.” Service King currently has 13 locations in the San Antonio market, but this will be the first in New Braunfels. “We’re expanding our talented group of teammates as well as expanding our footprint in the South Texas region,” said Service King CEO Chris Abraham. “The Tri County team is now a part of the Service King family, and we take great pride in blending our rich cultures and values. We are committed to carrying the torch of their pristine reputation in the local community and providing growth and opportunity for our new teammates.” Service King now has more than 80 locations in Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.

Pull-A-Part Acquires El Paso Based Mega U Pull

Atlanta-based Pull-A-Part, LLC (www.pullapart.com) which serves the do-it-yourself, used auto parts market, has acquired the El Paso location of Mega U Pull, a self-service auto recycling yard. The new El Paso location is the second Pull-A-Part operation in Texas, following its acquisition of the U-PullIt Auto Parts location in Brownsville, Texas. The acquisition of Mega U Pull, part of the Pull-A-Part long-term growth strategy, increases the company’s holdings to a total of 26 used auto parts superstores in 12 states. “The addition of Mega U Pull in El Paso to our growing network of stores expands our presence in the southwestern market and supports the Pull-A-Part strategy of acquiring outstanding, existing operations or selectively developing greenfield locations across the country,” said Ross Kogon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pull-A-Part. “Pull-A-Part looks forward to serving more new customers in Texas and being a part of the dynamic El Paso community,” Kogon said.

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8 NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Austin Native Returns Home to Keep Auto Glass Business in the Family Terry Schmidt, a 52-year-old Austin native, has returned to his home town after living in the Twin Cities, MN, area for a number of years working with a family business. He’s the new owner of Viking Auto Glass & Bumper, which was owned and operated by his cousin Fred Schmidt for more than 30 years. Schmidt’s family owns various businesses throughout town, as his father ran the Theissen Signs shop for many years. Terry worked for his father for two years, in 1992 and 1993, and also ran his own neon sign company. Yet, he spent most of his time as a welder-turned-salesman in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. He didn’t think he would come back to Austin after living in the Cities for so long, but a phone call from Fred earlier this year caused him to reconsider. Fred was considering retirement and asked if Terry would take over the auto glass repair and auto supply business, “to keep it in the family.” He officially took over the business in June. A Normandale Communitiy College graduate in business manage-

Welcome to the ALL NEW

ment, Terry said he’s well-acquainted with the business and hopes to expand Viking’s customer base. He employs two part-time glass repair technicians

Terry Schmidt

at the moment, but he hopes to hire one or two more employees within a year. In addition, he plans to expand his auto shop supply inventory — he carries paints, sanding supplies, thinners, fillers, and putties, among other things — and expand his sales routes to auto repair shops in southeastern Minnesota and northern Iowa.

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ASA Ohio Writes to State Farm’s CEO Ed Rust Jr. Opposing Insurer Mandated Parts Ordering The Automotive Service Association of Ohio (ASA Ohio) has sent a letter to State Farm CEO Ed Rust Jr., expressing the association’s opposition against any insurer-mandated parts ordering system. In the letter, ASA Ohio President Joe Sanfillipo III explaines the association’s concerns surrounding State Farm’s new policy, which requires all collision repair shops participating in its Select Service program to electronically order parts through PartsTrader LLC. After a brief pilot program was tried in various locations throughout the country, it has been reported that State Farm intends to complete a nationwide rollout of the plan by the end of 2014. ASA Ohio carefully reviewed the information available on State Farm’s new parts procurement mandate and held open sessions to discuss the proposal. After reviewing the program and hearing concerns from ASA Ohio members, it was determined that the State Farm mandate has the potential to disrupt the relationship between automotive repair facilities and their

parts vendors. Furthermore, the letter describes that the added influence that such a mandate would give State Farm over collision repair market pricing would have a negative impact on repair facilities’ operations and would take even more control away from automotive repair professionals. The letter explains that the most efficient method of ordering parts is in a free market system. Disrupting this process through a single mandated system will negatively affect the relationship repair professionals have developed with their customers, who have trusted them to service their vehicles. In its letter, ASA Ohio encourages State Farm to offer the online parts ordering system to its Select Service network on a voluntary basis. Should the electronic platform prove to be efficient and improve the automotive repair process, then ‘certainly’ the industry would adopt the program.

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Southeast Associations

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

Independent Garage Owners of North Carolina Pushes Ahead with Chasidy Rae Sisk

The Independent Garage Owners of North Carolina (IGONC) recently held their annual Automotive Service & Technology Expo the weekend of September 27–29, 2013 at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center in Cary, NC. According to Executive Director Bob Pulverenti, the event went well with around 200–250 attendees, but most were from the mechanical side of the association as IGONC has had a more difficult time getting collision shops and their vendors involved. IGONC does their best to put together useful seminars, and this year’s event featured 14 seminars on management and business related topics. Pulverenti believes these types of industry events are important. They present a good networking opportuBob Pulverenti nity for shop owners to meet and work together, plus they provide a casual setting for interacting with vendors and suppliers. Pulverenti would like to see more collision repairers involved with the exposition but, he says, “it’s like pulling teeth to get the shop owners and technicians to come.” He notes that even the monthly seminars put on at the I-CAR training facility in IGONC’s office are not well attended by local collision shops. In fact, generating interest and participation is one of the biggest challenges his association faces. Because people can research online and obtain a good portion of their information that way, many no longer see the value of associations, according to Pulverenti, “but we still have a purpose and fulfill a need.” Despite these challenges, IGONC has been able to maintain their membership, though they haven’t seen much growth since the recession began. While they had planned to expand into SC and VA in 2008, economic difficulties inhibited those plans, but they still hope to expand into those neighboring states once the economy improves. IGONC is North Carolina’s largest member-sponsored, non-profit association servicing the automotive

repair, service and collision industry. It was established in 1959 by a group of garage owners with the goal of helping members deal with the challenges

Thomas Richard at the Regional Auto Center, Greensboro, NC

facing their industry. Originally named the Independent Garage Owners of America which eventually became ASA affiliated, but over time, they ended their affiliation with ASA and have since become associated with SCRS and AASP. Pulverenti notes, “everything changes over time, and we have to reinvent ourselves constantly, but I still feel like we’re a relatively strong group compared to other associations.” According to their mission statement, IGONC exists “to help make NC’s independent garage owners the absolute best in the country.” They undertake the distribution of the most upto-date information on automotive repair and business practices, protecting members from unfavorable legislative initiatives, and by building productive relations between members, vendors and consumers. Though IGONC membership peaked in the mid-1980s with around 1000 members, they have managed to maintain around 550 members throughout the economic crisis of the past decade. Pulverenti believes this is due to creating a positive perception of what the association does, such as providing vendor benefits, education, information and training. IGONC also plays a role in legislative matters on behalf of their members, such as when they participated in a rally for Right to Repair several years ago in the nation’s capital. Short-term, IGONC’s goals are to continue providing information to members and to seek benefits to help put money back in garage owners’

10 NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

pockets. They also constantly monitor understand what they’re introducing or legislation, mostly locally but also on a how it impacts the industry, whether in national scale when necessary. Going a positive or negative way.” He finds forward, they plan to focus more on it frustrating because, even if IGONC educational initiatives and to look at compiles documentation, they are industry trends to determine how they lucky to get an audience with legislacan best serve their members and the tors who do not have the time or interautomotive repair industry as a whole. Since IGONC recently wrapped up their annual expo, they do not have much on the docket right now. According to Pulverenti, IGONC has a repair shop licensing bill they’d like to introduce when they sense the timing is more favorable. Pulverenti notes that in- Clint Rogers of Triangle Collision in Morrisville, NC stituting legislation is one of the largest challenges facing the inest to get involved, and he believes the dustry today. “Sometimes, legislators only solution is for people from this inwill introduce a bill, thinking they’re dustry to become legislators so they doing good for one or two constituents understand the challenges collision rewho complained, but they don’t really See IGONC, Page 14

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Ram 1500 Once Again is the ‘Truck of Texas’ Named by the Texas Auto Writers Association

For the third time in four years, the Ram 1500 has been named the Truck of Texas by the Texas Auto Writers Association, retaining its 2012 title and beating out the redesigned Chevrolet Silverado. Ram and the rest of the Chrysler Group took home 15 of 24 awards at the Texas Truck Rodeo, bringing home not only Truck of the Year honors, but also SUV and full-size SUV of Texas in addition to other awards last weekend. The Texas Truck Rodeo is an annual event. This year, 61 pickups, SUVs and crossovers were put through rigorous testing. Texas is often viewed as a major sales and marketing battleground for U.S.

trucks and SUVs. A successful campaign in Texas is seen as a bellwether for national success in those segments.

Ram 1500

“Members of the Texas Auto Writers Association have always enjoyed the Texas Truck Rodeo,” Michael Marrs, TAWA president said in a state-

ment “It’s a unique chance to compare vehicles back-to-back in a timely manner on the same course and provide honest, real-time feedback to our industry partners.” The newly redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee was named the SUV of Texas —it also took home the award for best midsize SUV. The Summit EcoDiesel edition won the best midsize luxury SUV title. Full-size SUV honors were given to the Dodge Durango, while the Jeep Wrangler Sport was named the best off-road SUV. The other members of the Detroit 3 were not left out: Ford’s F-150 SVT Raptor was named the best off-road pickup

by the auto writers for the fifth consecutive year, while the GMC Terrain Denali won compact luxury SUV honors. More than 40 members of the Texas Auto Writers Association were on hand at the two-day event. “The Ram, Jeep and Dodge brands from Chrysler Group clearly impressed our TAWA members at this year’s event,” Marrs said in a statement. “There’s no doubt that innovative powertrains, impressive designs and new technologies are paying off for these brands.” Ram won best luxury pickup with the 1500 Laramie Longhorn, best heavy-duty pickup with the 2500 HD and best commercial vehicle with the ProMaster.

Louisiana Dept of Insurance Says Over 63% of Complaints are From Property-Casualty Insurance

Of the 1537 consumer complaints resolved by the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) in the first half of 2013, 983 were related to property and casualty insurance. Those complaints resulted in Louisiana insurance policyholders receiving an additional $3.3 million in insurance payments in the first half of 2013 as a result of assistance from the department. Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says these

funds are in addition to the original amounts offered to consumers by their insurance companies and are the result of LDI staff working with insurance companies to resolve complaints. The average money additional money received per complaint was $3,375 Overall, from all lines of insurance, the LDI received more than 2,000 consumer inquiries and more than 1,500 consumer complaints from

12 NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

January through June 2013. “The experienced LDI staff can assist consumers to secure additional insurance settlements when their particular case warrants such action. Our staff can advise on when to file a complaint against an insurance company and help resolve disputes with insurers,” said Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon. “We can assist in determining what options are available to consumers when they are unsatisfied with

the resolution of a claim.” This amount is up from the first half of 2012, when the LDI assisted consumers in receiving more than $2.6 million in additional insurance payments stemming from consumer complaints. For year-end 2012, insurance policyholders received an additional $6.4 million in payments by requesting assistance from the Louisiana Department of Insurance.

Continued from Cover

Bradshaw Shortpays

tion if they don’t.” In Bradshaw’s July victory against Nationwide, the insurer’s short-pays included: labor rates ($48 Body & Refinish, $80 Mechanical and $65 Frame), procedures (i.e. sand and buff, final detail, road test, color tint and collision access time), invoiced paint & materials, sublet markup, fixture usage and a $250 Damage Analysis fee which included a comprehensive part by part inspection of all components including: exterior panels, inner structure, mechanical components and SRS and seat belt systems. The award also included storage charges at a rate of $50 per day for the total amount of $2,506.98 plus accrued interest until the insurer’s full payment is made. “I’m glad the courts recognized whom the repair experts were.” says Bradshaw. “From the beginning I was very confident we would succeed through our legal system in proving all our charges to be both reasonable and necessary. For any insurer to expect all shops to operate by the same rates, procedures and charges regard-

less of training, manufacturer certifications, equipment and facilities is ludicrous. The fact is we have made a commitment to repairing vehicles properly, adhering strictly to all manufacturer repair methods and guidelines and what we’re consistently finding with some insurers is they care very little about manufacturer certifications and proper repairs and only about bottom line cost and the cheapest repairs possible. My Father (CEO) and I decided if we were going to stay in business and continue to repair vehicles properly we could no longer accept insurer dictated repair costs. We found that short-pay litigation was necessary to stop insurer underpayments and provide our customers with the factory certified repairs their policy affords them.” Bradshaw credited assistance and advice from Erica Eversman, Ray Gunder, Barrett Smith and many other industry experts as well as his legal team of Jason A. Orndoff and William E. Morgan for his legal victory. Bradshaw admits that there are challenges to pursuing short-pay cases, such as the difficulty of waiting to receive the money rightfully owed to him. He also notes that there has

been a great deal of pushback from certain insurers who go out of their way to steer customers to other shops. “I hope our actions and results encourage other quality-minded repairers to seek similar actions against the less than ethical insurers. We learned a great deal in this initial case and I have had to embark on two more cases against Nationwide for shortpays in the amounts of $5,663.24 and $10,135.52. I’m confident we will prevail as I know we are in the right. I know such actions are necessary to stop such behavior and to best serve our community members, our employees and our company,” Bradshaw said. “We’ll continue to share our efforts with others so they may know that they no longer have to accept insurer dictation of repairs, rates, materials and charges.” Bradshaw hopes that his victories in pursuing short-pay cases “will make it easier for other shops to pursue them. Maybe we’ll even get to the point where the insurance companies just do the right thing instead of forcing shops to pursue litigation in order to get paid what they are rightfully owed.” For shop owners interested in pursuing a short-pay case, Bradshaw

advises you to start by finding a knowledgeable attorney who is willing to learn about the collision repair industry and to consult with other attorneys across the country. It is also imperative that you are “meticulous in your documentation, especially the repair contract.” Bradshaw believes that the solution to preventing such lawsuits from being necessary is multi-faceted. First, it must begin by “educating shop owners and their personnel as it relates to what is necessary for proper repairs and how to bill accordingly. Because many shops don’t do this, the ones who do look like the bad guy to the insurers.” Next, more legislation is needed to dictate what the insurance companies are required to do when paying for a claim. Finally, consumer education is key; “we need to teach consumers to purchase proper insurance coverage from a carrier who will reimburse them fairly in the event of a loss.” One of Bradshaw’s suits against Nationwide involves a vehicle which was declared a total loss midway through the repair, and Bradshaw is in the midst of a battle to receive payment for the work completed thus far.

www.autobodynews.com | NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 13

3M’s Hire our Heroes Campaign Has NASCAR’s Greg Biffle in the Driver’s Seat At the NASCAR Sprint Cup race this fall at Texas, NASCAR star Greg Biffle will be driving a No. 16 3M Ford Fusion with a strong force behind it – the power of the 3M Hire Our Heroes program. Biffle’s No. 16 3M Hire Our Heroes Ford Fusion will feature a paint scheme created by legendary car designer Chip Foose to honor the veterans recognized through the 3M Hire Our Heroes program in 2013. Chip Foose will also be in attendance in Texas to cheer on Biffle.

(L-R) SSgt. Caruthers, U.S. Army, Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 15 3M Ford Fusion, Sgt. Grant, U.S. Army, Jack Roush, owner, Roush Fenway Racing, Lt. Gen. Tom Waskow, U.S. Air Force (ret.) and board member of USO-NC

The car’s hood design reflects the respect of the saluting soldier flanked by the stars and stripes, with the stripes down the side creating a fast, sleek look for the car. “It’s an honor to drive a car that recognizes the many contributions of our country’s military members while they were on active duty, and also support a program that enables them to learn new skills that translate to caContinued from Page 10

IGONC

pairers face. Regarding other issues facing the industry, Pulverenti notes that mechanical shops are dealing with pressure from mass merchandisers and car dealerships, while collision repairers face insurers’ pressure in terms of labor rates and steering. Labor rates for collision repair are set unrealistically when looking at the cost of operations and labor, but trying to convince insurers to increase the labor rate seems futile at times. Similarly, PartsTrader also negatively impacts collision repairers. Pulverenti explains, “it’s a bad thing because obviously bidding on parts re-

reers in the collision industry now that they are back home,” said Biffle. “The car looks regal and fast, and we’re going to need all of that speed at Texas if we’re going to claim that Sprint Cup trophy.” 3M recognizes the need for qualified technicians in the collision repair industry and has created an opportunity to help returning veterans and their families that have chosen to pursue careers in the collision repair industry. The 3M Hire Our Heroes campaign raised funds throughout the year to help offset the costs of tuition, books, tools and equipment for returning veterans and their families. 3M is partnering with the Collision Repair Education Foundation, the National Auto Body Council, and Operation Comfort to help support rehabilitation and training and drive employment in the collision repair industry for America’s returning veterans. The goal of the 3M Hire Our Heroes campaign, which kicks off in January 2013, is to donate up to $250,000 to benefit returning veterans and their families. The donation is based on the sales of select popular 3M products to qualified distributors. “The men and women who have served our country bring excellent training and skills, a commitment for doing the job correctly, a passion for intellectual achievement and a strong work ethic – all tremendous attributes for employment in today’s colli-

duces the list price and profit margins, just like labor rates that are being controlled by insurers reduces their profit margins.” Unlike ASA, IGONC favors Right to Repair in some form as they believe the information needed to safely repair a vehicle should be guaranteed accessible to repairers; however, he is convinced that as various states get these bill passed, it will become a non-issue. NC has a bill regarding Right to Repair in mind, but it has not yet been introduced as they are watching for developmens for similar bills in other states. IGONC PO Box 90426 Raleigh, NC 27675-8117 800-243-1560, www.igonc.com

14 NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

sion repair industry,” said Dale Ross, U.S. Marketing Operations Manager for 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division.

“Our industry needs qualified repair professionals with the necessary skills to keep pace with the evolving repair standards,” added Ross. “We are committed to helping repair facility owners and managers around the country get the capable, qualified repair professionals they need to perform at the high standards expected in today’s collision industry while honoring the tremendous service of our military men and women.” Nearly 60 grant winners, including military members and family members of veterans, were selected from applicants all across the United

States. Each recipient received a financial grant to purchase tools and equipment needed to start their career in collision repair. 3M partnered with the Collision Repair Education Foundation to award and administer the grants for these deserving applicants. A number of the nation’s military veterans who work in auto body repair shops and their shop owners who nominated them are headed to the November NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Texas. The winning military veterans will have an opportunity to experience the pre-race ceremonies from pit road and meet Roush Fenway Racing owner Jack Roush, as well as Biffle and Foose. Ultmately the 3M Hire Our Heroes campaign is supporting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in raising awareness for hiring America’s heroes and helping drive employment in the collision repair industry for these deserving veterans and their families. 3M is proud to have the honor of being a national board member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hiring Our Heroes program.

www.autobodynews.com | NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 15

Northeast Associations with Chasidy Rae Sisk

Rhode Island’s Don Cushing Wears Multiple Hats in Parts Wholesale and Auto Body Associations World wide, collision repair is a complex industry with many factors weighing heavily on its practice and progress, and the environment in New England is no different. There are constant legal battles, training issues and new technology to contend with, making it difficult for many people to keep up with and stay ahead of all these changes. The easiest way for many to keep up with current trends and information is supporting industry associations with your involvement on a local and national level. Don Cushing of Rhode Island is the Wholesale Manager at Bald Hill Dodge Chrysler and Jeep. With nearly 40 years of experience in and around the collision repair industry, Cushing is a valuable resource for information and trends locally and nationwide. Cushing exemplifies this involvement with several important associations: the Mopar Masters Guild (MMG), the Auto Body Association of Connecticut

(ABAC), and the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Massachusetts (AASP/MA). “I take my career with Bald Hill DCJ and my involvement with the Mopar Masters Guild, ABAC News and AASP/MA very seriously, and I’m determined to make a difference! I use all of these avenues to network with customers and build relationships because without our customers we are nothing.” After graduating ITT Technical Institute in 1974, Cushing began his career as a parts counterperson at a small dealership in Providence RI, and after a few months, he was recruited by a large dealership, under the direction of Ernie Wennerstrom, his current Parts Director at Bald Hill. After a few years working for various smaller dealerships during which he “yearned to get back to the wholesale side of the business,” Cushing was hired as the Wholesale Representative

at a Chrysler dealership where he was employed for 16 years. A change came in 1997 when Wennerstrom hired Cushing as Bald Hill’s Wholesale Manager and made him responsible for supplying over 1100 customers for their mechanical and collision departments. Cushing notes, “I have several parts representatives that work alongside me in my endeavors to gain customer base and formulate new and exciting ideas to increase the company revenue.” Cushing became involved with MMG in 1998 when Wennerstrom introduced him to the Executive Board who were interested in having Cushing create their newsletter. Cushing’s contributions yielded success. He says, “What started out as a simple updated pamphlet to members has now turned into a multi-page magazine featuring members’ stories, vendor profiles, vendor ads and industry news! The plus side of working for the

Mopar Masters Guild is that I get to listen and hear what the ‘Best of the Best’ have to offer at guild events.” The same year, Cushing began expanding Bald Hill’s customer territory into CT, and as Bald Hill acquired more customers in their neighboring state, Cushing met many collision repair shop owners who belonged to ABAC. Over time, he told them about his success with MMG’s newsletter, and in 2001, he helped them launch ABAC News, the official newsletter for ABAC. The newsletter, combined with the financial support of its advertisers, allowed ABAC to continue growing their educational and legislative programs. Through his roles with Bald Hill, MMG and ABAC, Cushing also became involved with AASP-MA, and in November 2012, he was appointed as their Statewide Association Division Director. His duties are to serve the Board of Directors by using his

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experience as a vendor to contribute input on the many concerns and issues facing the industry. Currently, ABAC’s most important topic is the Hartford Lawsuit. In regards to this endeavor, Cushing notes, “This class action lawsuit will certainly be a game changer in the way that insurance companies conduct themselves in the future, both on the local (Connecticut) level, northeast and nationwide. Increasing membership, the education of ABAC members and shop owners and legislation are some of the ongoing issues that the ABAC is focusing on. These endeavors will prove extremely valuable as they move forward.” He also explains that a few of the ways that ABAC works toward achieving their goals is through seminars, OEM presentations, guest speakers at events and advertising. Another important concern in CT right now is their Anti-Steering Bill, and Cushing has “always supported the fact that everyone has a right to choose the repairer of their choice. There should be no influence from the insurance company on where a customer brings their vehicle.” One of MMG’s biggest events is

their annual meeting at NADA, and their next meeting is scheduled for January 2014 in New Orleans, LA. According to Cushing, “This annual meeting draws the best Mopar parts managers (and the top 100) in the country. The motto for the MMG is ‘the exchange of information by likesize dealers in a non-competitive environment.’ This meeting combined with several Performance Group meetings throughout the year keeps members apprised of new and innovative ideas that are brought forth from these gatherings.” Recently, Cushing was elected as President of the Southern New England Mopar Service and Parts Master’s Guild. The group meets once a month, and their variety of guest speakers tends to draw a decent crowd. Cushing hopes that this role will also allow him to aid with necessary industry improvements; “I plan on using this position to help to further educate attendees in their daily operations and hopefully share some ideas and best practices (as we do with the Mopar Masters Guild) with each other.” In regards to issues impacting the collision repair industry as a whole,

Cushing notes, “As we move forward in the automotive industry, there are challenges that we all face. The Right to Repair Act is one. Working for a dealership and with our large customer base, we have always shared and assisted with information that our customers (collision and mechanical shops) need. I don’t believe that we should just sell parts to our accounts and not help them when they are in need. This is also one of the main reasons why I don’t support the Parts Act. We as a dealer of OEM parts have the resources to give our wholesale customers information on repairing their vehicles in the best and safest way possible according to our manufacturer specifications.” Though PartsTrader has not yet impacted the New England area, Cushing believes that these type of insurer-mandated parts programs are the biggest challenge facing the industry, and he fears that it will soon spread to impact his company’s market area. “I can see alienation of customers, delayed deliveries, reduced profits and most of all, dissatisfied consumers. The only winners in this game are State Farm and PartsTrader.” What can be done about Part-

sTrader, insurer steering, and other issues plaguing the industry? Cushing advises, “I hope that all parties involved (mainly collision shop owners) work towards getting educated and ‘doing their homework’ before embracing this product. Let your thoughts be known. Be vocal. Get involved!”

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Southeast Associations

Tennessee CRA Advances Professionalism & Consumer Issues with Chasidy Rae Sisk

Getting local shops involved tends to pose the biggest challenge for most collision repair associations, and this is currently the focus for the Tennessee Collision Repairers Association (TCRA). As TCRA strives to increase their membership, Executive Director Tony Nethery shared some insight into the association and their objectives. TCRA was established in 2006 when three collision repair shop owners met for lunch and the conversation turned to “the struggles of going it alone in the collision industry,” according to Nethery. This casual conversation sparked an idea and a goal, leading to the first TCRA meeting about a month later which was held at a restaurant in Jackson, TN. One of the founders volunteered to serve as chair until a board could be formed and an official charter completed. Though 50 people attended TCRA’s first meeting, “the crowd dwindled to about half of that when it was made clear that TCRA was being formed to increase knowledge and work together, not to do battle with insurers,” Nethery explains. Still, enough interest was generated to allow TCRA to form a second chapter in Nashville the following year. Currently, the Jackson chapter of TCRA focuses on the western part of the state, while their Nashville chapter services central TN; however, since TN is over 400 miles long, they hope to establish an eastern chapter in the near future. Currently, TCRA consists of around 20 member shops, but they are actively seeking new members and sponsors across the state. As such, they are also restructuring their board and meeting locations and times. While TCRA’s current membership is lower than it has been in the past, Nethery believes “our members are committed to seeing it grow again.” Previously, each TCRA chapter had their own Board of Directors and officers and would meet monthly on their own, but Nethery notes that this “basically resulted in two associations with sometimes completely different agendas.” As TCRA tries to increase their membership, they are also restructuring the organization to pro-

mote unity. According to Nethery, “In order to try and boost attendance, we are now meeting every other month as a large group and moving the meetings to different areas to make travel equal for everyone. At the first of the year, we hope to elect one set of officers for the state and include board members from the entire group. This allows us to bring in better speakers Tony Nethery because of the larger group and keeps us all working on the same issues. We are also hiring a part time staff member to keep up our website, send out reminders and solicit new members.” Anyone in the state is invited to join TCRA, and there are definitive benefits to membership, according to Nethery. “Membership in TCRA provides an opportunity to have a stronger voice in the industry. Many young shop owners have had the benefit of being mentored by their peers.” TCRA is a member of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), and they subscribe to SCRS’s mission, purpose and objectives which include promoting education and communication within the collision repair industry. In May 2012, TCRA also entered into an alliance with the Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) in order to provide several new industry and business-related benefits to members, including a discount on the cost of TCRA’s membership. The top purpose of TCRA is education and communication between collision repairers. They promote a professional atmosphere, as seen in their policy which is detailed on their website: that all officers, sponsors and members of TCRA conduct themselves and their transactions in a legal and ethical manner; and in addition, follow all guidelines and regulations set forth by the association during meetings and events, and exhibit great care regarding the reputation of this organization. TCRA’s objective is “to develop a forum for interaction and exchange of ideas between body shops in TN,

18 NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

promote ethical and best practices, and to communicate with and educate members in all matters relevant to these objectives.” Nethery clarifies, “our mission is to educate the consumer and ourselves on how to correctly repair a vehicle and to promote ethical business practices.” Regarding the emphasis on education, Nethery notes, “education is important for the same reason in this industry that it is in any other. An educated consumer is a customer that will make good choices in repair and not be easily steered by the insurer. In the state of TN, there is no license required to do collision repair, other than a business license that anyone can buy. A hairdresser has to have a license to cut hair, but anyone can call themselves a collision tech and cut your car in half. The fact that is even sadder is that an insurer will pay them (anyone who says they are a body shop) the same rate that they pay the shop who is trained and has in-

vested millions in equipment. This will not change until our industry begins to work together and develop some sort of license or standards.” One of the ways that TCRA is promoting education to members is through participation in the annual Southeastern Conference which includes TN, AL, GA, MS and FL. They have been involved with the conference since 2012 and hope to see an increase over the 250 attendees from last year when they meet again in April 2014 in Biloxi, MS. TCRA also believes that communication is vital in this industry, and Nethery explains, “we believe the biggest problem in the industry is the division of the shop owners. Even fierce competitors need to stick together on key issues that will hinder the freedom to do business in the future. That is the value of being part of an association.” See Tennessee CRA, Page 21

www.autobodynews.com | NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 19

ASA-AZ Surveys Wholesale Parts Dealers on PartsTrader Usage Over 130 people attended an Automotive Service Association of Arizona (ASA-AZ) meeting on the evening of August 13th that featured Dale Sailer from Parts Trader and George Avery, national spokesperson from State Farm Insurance. Mike Anderson of Collision Advice facilitated the meeting in which questions were answered following presentations by Mr. Sailer and Mr Avery. Among those in attendance were two state legislators curious about the program and the impact on constituents. (See John Yoswick’s article on this event in the September Autobody News.) The meeting coincided with the national rollout of Parts Trader in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. Arizona was the first state in which Select Service shops were required to locate and purchase all parts using the relatively new and controversial program without benefit of the “fax only” option. Select Service shops are now only allowed to purchase parts from vendors that agreed to sign a Parts Trader Agreement.

As a follow up to this meeting, ASA-AZ sent out surveys to new car dealerships parts departments. “The overwhelming majority of our collision repair members are opposed to the mandated use of parts procurement programs” stated Luz Rubio, Executive Director for ASA-AZ. “We sent out the surveys to find out how Parts Trader was actually working for vendors and whether they felt it added value to their business.” Thirty OEM vendors replied to the survey with results that were overwhelmingly negative in regards to how parts departments felt the program was working for them. “The results of our survey do not seem to support Mr. Sailer’s claims that Parts Trader has been well received by many of the vendors using it” said Ms. Rubio. One of the respondents commented on the overall program, “We have not seen a value in the program. We pride ourselves on relationships built with repairers throughout the years and find Parts Trader to be an unnecessary part of our business. There are a lot of unanswered questions as to who will pay

20 NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

for the Parts Trader program and how that will affect established relationships and pricing models.” ASA-AZ released a position statement opposing Parts Trader on July 27, 2012. “Feedback from OEM parts vendors as well as repairers has given us no reason to change our position regarding the use of Parts Trader” commented Ms. Rubio. “Not one collision trade association has come out in support of the State Farm mandate and now, it is clear, that OEM parts departments are also opposed to its use. It is time for State Farm to consider an alternative instead of forcing repair shops and parts vendors to use a program that is both unpopular and ineffective.” The ASA AZ continues to reinforce its position that insurance companies should stay in the business of insurance and leave all aspects of the collision repair process including parts ordering to the collision repair professionals. For additional information about ASA of Arizona visit www.asaaz.org. Survey results can be downloaded at Autobodynews.com.

Memphis Dealership Gets 1st Full Allstate Office on Site

Car buyers in Memphis will soon be able to purchase insurance for their new vehicle before they even drive off the lot. Chuck Hutton Chevrolet has been tapped to be the first dealership in Tennessee to add a full-service Allstate Insurance office on-site. The dealership is part of an initiative by Allstate, the nation’s no. 2 auto insurance company, to place agencies in dealerships across the country. The program has already been piloted at dealerships in other states. Chuck Hutton chief financial officer Richard Carney says the dealership earned the opportunity to pilot the program in Tennessee because it is the state’s leading seller of Allstate’s extended service contracts—policies that cover mechanical items that would not ordinarily be covered under warranty. “The hardest thing in insurance sales is prospecting,” Carney says. “But in this business we have 300 people a day that come through the lot. That creates a lot of opportunities.” The office will be run by Steve Hutton and is expected to open Dec. 1. Tennessee state law prohibits onsite offices, so the office at Chuck Hutton will be located in the old Oldsmobile showroom next door to the main dealership at 2471 Mt. Moriah Road.

Continued from Page 18

Tennessee CRA

TCRA’s most relevant short-term goal revolves around PartsTrader, and they are currently trying to exert influence to dissuade PartsTrader from spreading in their state. TCRA does not believe that PartsTrader will improve cycle time, but it will allow insurers to exert control on parts profitability in the future, just like they control labor rates today. “All of the group hopes that somewhere along the way that Parts Trader will be stopped but also believe that it is not likely that it will. We are encouraging all the OEM parts venders to not sign up on Parts Trader. The only thing that will stop Parts Trader will be if enough venders do not sign up for it

to work,” Nethery explains. The topic of Right to Repair yields mixed views amongst TCRA members since the association consists of dealership shops and independent shops, but Nethery notes that it is not really a big issue in TN at present. Though TCRA is not currently involved in any legislative matters, Nethery explains that when they’ve pursued legislative reform in the past, the challenges they’ve faced are acquiring the revenue to combat insurers’ lobbyists and, once the law is passed, making sure that it is enforced.

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Continued from Cover

Collision v. Politics

district in Richmond, VA. He decided to run for the first time in 2004, when he began to see an alarming trend in local Richmond politics, he explained. “There was a period of time in Richmond here when we had a lot of council people ending up in jail for a wide range of reasons. For bribery, outright theft and other things—we were really in horrible shape here in Richmond for a few years. I was always under the impression that in order to be a public official, you need to have this degree or that degree, so I never really considered it. But eventually I realized that these politicians might have degrees, but they don’t have common sense. Their job was being a council member and that was it. They were professional politicians, essentially. So that’s when I decided to get interested and involved. I served for six years, completing two terms from 2006 to 2012 and I never bribed anybody or stole anything from anyone.” During his first campaign in 2004, Conner lost in a three-person race, but it was a learning experience, he explained. “So, I ran the next time in 2006 and beat the incumbent in a close race where I won by only 250 votes. It was great, because I knew I was going to make changes and I was excited about the opportunity to play a role in helping the city. It turned out to be an interesting new experience, with surprises every day—just like running a body shop.” Conner immediately saw that he could apply his skills in the collision repair field to use in the political arena. Said Conner, “All I can say is that body shop owners are more than capable of holding any of these political positions and handling the responsibilities associated with them. A person running a body shop has tons of experience, both professionally and personally that can be easily transferred to being a council person, a congressman or even a senator or a governor, in my opinion. Education helps, but I believe real-world experience is the most important thing required for any job. Serving in public office parallels the collision repair business in many ways, because body shop professionals have to develop skills to make it, such as negotiation (DRPs), networking (community out-

reach), managing people (employees) and delivering results.” Conner achieved a lot of really good things while being a councilman for Richmond and is proud of it. “We

obviously going to be more motivated. By outsourcing our fleet, we saved several million dollars every year, because it’s 100% based on performance, so we’re not paying for people or cars sitting around doing nothing.” After a year in office, Conner began to see the bad side of politics and it’s called inactivity. “When it comes to government, nobody wants to stick their necks out, because they’re afraid to lose Conner Brothers Collision Repair has four locations, but is their jobs,” Conner said. “So looking to open its fifth soon. Here the shop is sponsoring nothing happens except for a a local community car wash lot of talking and posturing. had drainage issues and problems with They’re real good at coming up with the infrastructure, so those were es- reasons not to do something. It’s very sential things that needed to be fixed tough and if you want to achieve anyright away,” Conner said. “We did thing, you have to stay on it and work some band-aid work, but we never re- at it. It takes a long time and that’s ally completely fixed it, and if I had why we have so many problems in won a third term, I am confident we this country—the inactivity can kill could have gotten that done. I ran out you. of time. We had some huge projects “In planning, for instance, it’s all that were taken care of and that is very about what you can’t do,” Conner said. gratifying. I started a career and edu- “For example, some of the sign ordication commission, which got labor nances in this city are ridiculous. They people together working with our would block new businesses from getschools. It led to the establishment of ting new signs, for example, with these a career training facility, which is being built right now, to provide nursing training for welfare mothers and people who need new careers for whatever reason. We’re training people for jobs where there is demand in Richmond, like laboratory technicians, pharmacy technicians for medical coding professions, for example. In one year, we can train someone to be a lab tech and we know that companies will hire them, because we’re also working with the employers.” Another significant accomplishment that Conner is proud of involves his outsourcing of the city’s fleet. “We went to Baltimore and checked out a fleet service and determined that we could save $200,000 a month by outsourcing our city’s fleet. With roughly 1,000 vehicles and their equipment, it was a huge undertaking. The thinking behind outsourcing is just like a shop running on salary vs. commission. The people who were running the fleet were on salary. Now, sure they weren’t making a lot, but they also weren’t doing much either. By using an outside company, total accountability became a part of it and there was a huge difference right off the bat. If you have someone working for commission or flat rate, they’re

22 NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

lame restrictions, but I told them, ‘How do you expect new businesses to come here when we won’t even let them have a sign?’ We need new businesses to become successful, so that we can build up our tax base and offer services to our folks, but you’re going to wrestle with this small business owner about the size of his sign? It’s in a commercial area, I told them, but you would think we’re in Hollywood, the way they were reacting. In every situation, I was advocating small businesses and their rights, because that’s where I came from. But, red tape will slow you down and discourage you, because there is so much of it. It took a lot of time and effort, and I did get some things done, but it was tough.” Accountability was something else that Conner eventually realized was non-existent in local politics, at least in the city of Richmond. “The average politician talks a lot and makes a bunch of promises. They’re hoping that people eventually forget about what they said. If you do what you say you’re going to do, people will remember that, you know? I feel like I was different because I followed through and cared and that’s the most important thing I can say about that.”

www.autobodynews.com | NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 23

Northeast Associations with Chasidy Rae Sisk

ABAC’s Decade-Long Battle Against the Hartford Insurance Co. For nearly ten years, the Auto Body Association of Connecticut (ABAC) has been engaged in a legal battle with the Hartford Fire Insurance Company (the Hartford), and though a judge and jury awarded the victory to ABAC, the fight is not yet over as the Hartford has appealed the ruling to the state’s Supreme Court. Still, Tony Ferraiolo, President of ABAC, remains optimistic, noting “this is one of the biggest things happening in the industry right now, and it will rock the country if—no, when—we win next year.” ABAC filed a class-action lawsuit against the Hartford in 2003, claiming the insurer was manipulating labor rates across the state and using steering practices to direct customers to shops on their direct repair program (DRP). Besides getting a discounted rate from their network of DRPs, the insurer also had their appraisers use the same uniform labor rate in their estimates across the state, thus pressur-

ing independent shops to lower their rates. David Slossberg, lead attorney for ABAC in this lawsuit, noted that, as a result of this conduct across the industry, profit margins for auto body shops have decreased from 6% to less than 2%, which disregards the shops’ expenses related to training, equipment and environmental regulations. In November 2009, a Superior Court jury in Stamford ruled in favor of ABAC, awarding $14.7 million in compensatory damages to the shops represented in the lawsuit because they found that the Hartford David Slossberg engaged in unfair trade practices which resulted in a loss to CT body shops. Earlier this year, in May, Superior Court Judge Alfred J. Jennings granted injunctive relief which mandated that the Hartford “re-

frain from interfering with the independent judgment of motor vehicle physical damage appraisers in its employ in the performance of their du-

ties… including the determination of the hourly rate to be applied in calculating the labor component of costs to repair.” The injunctive relief was granted after the jury found the Hartford to be engaging in unfair business practices through the use of in-house appraisers and their network of DRP shops to artificially suppress labor rates in CT. In addition to being prohibited from interfering in their appraisers’ judgments, the Hartford will also be required to submit a Quarterly Com-

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pliance Report to the court which must include: (i) the range and average of hourly rates used by each Hartford appraiser, (ii) hourly rate(s) charged by all shops under DRP contract with the Hartford, (iii) any changes the Hartford makes to estimates or appraisals as a result of reinspection or supervisory reviews, and (iv) a summary of any adverse or disciplinary action against any of the Hartford’s CT-licensed appraisers. Judge Jennings ruled in favor of ABAC and the shops they represent yet again in June 2013, awarding $20 million in punitive damages intended to punish the Hartford for manipulating the labor rate and to deter other insurance companies from engaging in the same unlawful conduct; the award is believed to be the largest unfair trade practices award ever issued in the state of CT. Jennings explained the award was

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meant to send a message to the Hartford and other insurers that any violations of fair trade rules will not be tolerated. After the Hartford appealed the court’s decision, a stay was placed on the injunctive relief, but Ferraiolo notes that during the two weeks it was in effect, it seems to have caused other insurers to begin negotiating higher labor rates and concessions. He emphasized that appraisers should be negotiating rates on a shop-by-shop basis, establishing labor rates based on the individual shop’s business model, the quality of their repairs and the model of the car being repaired. “What we have sought to achieve in this lawsuit is simply for the Hartford and its appraisers to follow the law,” said Ferraiolo. “We already won the case, but now we’re dealing with the political and bureaucratic nonsense. Yet, there is merit in the fact that we’ve engaged in a ten-year battle, and the jury decided in our favor.” ABAC also acts as a “watchdog” on their members’ behalves, meeting with legislators to explain how the Hartford’s actions negatively impact their constituents. Ferraiolo says, “we’ve had a lot of success in showing the negative impact on consumers, but the insurers consistently try to muddy the waters.

Still, this is industry-changing stuff! As long as it doesn’t become politically corrupt, we will win next year.” Like Ferraiolo, Slossberg is confident that after fighting this battle for more than a decade, the ABAC will ultimately prevail. “This case should give hope to all those individuals and small businesses who think they can’t push back against the big insurance companies. The ABAC and some 1000 small businesses in the State of Connecticut won a hard fought and wellearned jury verdict which was followed by carefully written and well-reasoned decisions by the trial judge regarding injunctive and punitive damages.” While Ferraiolo is definitely pleased with the court’s ruling, he is less confident that the Hartford will comply with the judge’s mandates, noting that the insurers just don’t seem to be getting the message, despite ABAC’s victories in court. Ferraiolo believes that DRP shops are part of the problem because they are doing the publicity for the insurers, claiming that it’s necessary to be on DRPs in order to stay in business. He notes, “they’ve helped build

this big monster, but now they can’t destroy it.” A & R Body Specialty, Ferraiolo’s shop, is a medium-sized, independent shop which represents that market that’s in trouble as most mid-sized shops participate in DRPs in order to stay in operation; however, he insists that while solutions are few and far between, and shops like his are at a competitive disadvantage due to

the unfair trade practices of the Hartford and other insurers, independent mid-sized shops are trying to compete in the market by providing education to both their employees and the consumer and by offering excellent customer service. Because the case is still in the appeals process, none of the shops have received any of the awarded funds yet. If the Hartford’s appeal is rejected, each member of the class-action lawsuit will have to apply to receive their share of the money, and the trial court will establish a process to distribute the funds.

The class originally began with 1000 CT body shops, but it has since grown to include an estimated 1500 shops affected by the Hartford’s practices. The sheer number of complainants “shows the breadth and extent of the damage caused by the defendant’s misconduct,” according to Judge Jennings. In establishing the amount of punitive damages, Jennings also considered the net worth of the Hartford, somewhere in the $12 to $13 billion range, in order to ensure the award would be a meaningful deterrent to the insurer. Jennings has not yet determined the amount that will be awarded to ABAC’s attorneys who have not received a cent of compensation from this ten-year long lawsuit. Ferraiolo praises the attorneys’ dedication to the cause; “our attorneys are aggressive and are working very hard to win this case. They have just as much, if not more, invested since they don’t get paid unless we win!” In fact, these attorneys have proven their support of local auto body shops yet again by representing ABAC in a second, similar lawsuit which was filed four years ago against Progressive for steering and labor rate suppression. This case is being pursued in Federal See ABAC v Hartford, Page 35

www.autobodynews.com | NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 25

AASP-MN Files Formal Complaint with State Dept of Commerce Re PartsTrader Mandates in Minnesota The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Minnesota (AASP-MN) has filed a formal complaint with the Minnesota Department of Commerce requesting timely administrative and/or legal action to prevent State Farm from mandating that repair shops use the PartsTrader parts procurement system. The Complaint and Request for Relief is based on State Farm’s violation of Minn. Stat. § 72B.092, subd. 1(6). This provision, enacted in 2007, prohibits insurers from specifying “…the use of a particular vendor for the procurement of parts or other materials necessary for the satisfactory repair of the vehicle.” The complaint states that the mandated use of PartsTrader restricts market options for parts procurement, and therefore should be prohibited as intended by the legislature. AASP-MN was instrumental in getting this provision included in Minnesota law. In May 2007, Minnesota’s Governor, Tim Pawlenty, signed into law a bill, proposed by AASP-MN, that added specifying

parts procurement vendors to the list of prohibitions on insurers in collision cases. In addition to existing language providing for an insured’s right to choose a shop and other prohibitions, two additional prohibitions were included to prevent insurers in collision cases from adjusting a damage appraisal without conducting a physical inspection or specifying parts vendors. The law states that no insurer shall: ● adjust a damage appraisal of a repair shop when the extent of damage is in dispute without conducting a physical inspection of the vehicle; or ● specify the use of a particular vendor for the procurement of parts or other materials necessary for the satisfactory repair of the vehicle. This clause does not require the insurer to pay more than a reasonable market price for parts of like kind and quality in adjusting a claim. For more than a year, AASPMN has corresponded and met with Department of Commerce officials to express concerns regarding the mandated use of PartsTrader in other

states. According to AASP-MN, the department was reluctant to act until State Farm indicated its intention to implement PartsTrader in Minnesota. AASP-MN is also pursuing this issue with the office of the Attorney General. Information has been transmitted to the appropriate officials to request that they work with, or in lieu of, the Department of Commerce to prohibit the implementation of PartsTrader as a violation of Minnesota Statute. In addition, AASP-MN has consulted with legal counsel to identify possible causes of action that could be brought before a court. In May of 2012, AASP was among the first industry associations to go on record stating that State Farm’s newly-mandated bidding process for parts procurement was an unprecedented and uninvited intrusion into the business of collision repair. AASP-MN says its efforts reinforce that position and are intended to protect the interests of the collision repair industry and give voice to its concerns.

CARSTAR Opens First Shop in Jacksonville, FL

CARSTAR is entering the Jacksonville, FL, market with its first local shop. American CARSTAR Collision is located at 13051 Beach Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32246. The shop is owned by Randy Sikes. “In today’s market it is critical to be part of a winning team,” said Sikes of his new partnership with CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts. The new CARSTAR store will benefit from the CARSTAR Management System, which provides resources to improve key business metrics such as cycle time, participation in CARSTAR’s 19 corporately managed DRP programs, and improved purchasing power from 45 corporately managed purchasing programs. “We are thrilled to welcome Randy and American CARSTAR Collision as our first collision repair center in the Jacksonville region,” said David Byers, CEO of CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts. “Randy brings excellent experience running a successful body shop and we look forward to continuing to build his business as part of the CARSTAR network.”

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AASPI Board of Directors Releases Statement Denouncing PartsTrader Mandates The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Illinois (AASPI) Board of Directors has denounced PartsTrader and supporting the efforts of the Mississippi Collision Repair Association (MSCRA) in their lawsuit against State Farm to halt the insurer from requiring that shops in Mississippi use PartsTrader. AASPI’s statement comes on the heels of State Farm expanding its mandated use of PartsTrader beyond the Chicago metro area and into the entire state of Illinois. “PartsTrader and its mandated use by State Farm proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the overwhelming purpose of this program is

to minimize the shop’s control of their business and expand the profitability of State Farm,” said AASPI President Jeff Kallemeyn. “PartsTrader is crippling the business relationship between shops and suppliers, and ultimately the vehicle owner will receive inferior repairs due to mandated usage of PartsTrader.” AASPI will be hosting a statewide meeting on November 23, 2013 at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, IL, featuring guests from MCRA and their lead attorneys in their lawsuit against State Farm. Also making an appearance will be Ray Gunder of Gunder’s Auto Center in Lakeland, FL.

WIN Announces Opening of Most Influential Women Nominations for 2014, Gala to be Held in San Diego The Women’s Industry Network announced that nominations for the Most Influential Women (MIW) Awards will open on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013 and will be accepted through Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013. The winners will be recognized at a gala held during the 2014 WIN Educational Conference, May 5-7, 2014, at Paradise Point in San Diego, CA. The MIW award recognizes women who have enriched the collision repair industry with their leadership, vision and commitment to excellence. “Being recognized as one of AkzoNobel’s Most Influential Women in the collision repair industry was si-

multaneously humbling and empowering,” said Linda Sommerhauser, owner of Autobody Color Co. in Kansas City, MO. “I was humbled because I knew that there were so many within the industry who could have just as easily been recognized for their many contributions. However, I also felt empowered because I was now part of a recognized community of leaders who were committed to making the path a little easier for others to follow.” In addition to the MIW awards gala, where honorees are presented with a Tiffany’s crystal award and custom commemorative pin, WIN has added a new element to the program this year. Recipients will have the opportunity to invest in the future of collision repair by mentoring a WIN scholarship winner as they continue their education toward a career in the industry. “We felt this was an important way for seasoned professionals to embrace the future of our industry,” said Margaret Knell, chair of the MIW Planning Committee. Honorees have held positions in every facet of the collision repair industry, as shop owners, body and paint technicians, managers, wholesalers, lobbyists, suppliers, insurance adjusters, consultants, educators, editors and writers, and industry association directors. “Being honored as a Most Influential Women in 2011 was an amazing experience,” said Barbara Davies, co-owner/general manager of Autobody News. “I was thrilled to be a part of such an impressive group of women from so many different parts of the industry. Having the opportunity to get to know this group of smart, inspiring and creative women has been the highlight of my career in the collision repair industry.” The MIW program’s charter aligns with WIN’s mission to “enhance the role of women in the industry” and has recognized more than 75 women for their professional accomplishments and for going beyond requirements of their positions to give back to their communities. Although WIN membership is not a requirement for nomination, more than 30 percent of MIW recipients are currently, or have previously been, members of WIN.

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Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 8-5 www.bankstonhonda.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7-5 Gene.chenault@hendrickauto.com

Dept. Hours: M-Sat 7-6 hondaparts@doncarlton.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8:30-5 Jscott@garciacars.com

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Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7:30-5:30 cedgar@mcdavid.com

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David McDavid Acura

Mac Churchill Acura

A u stin

F o rt Wo rt h

800-575-3553 512-401-5976

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Acura of Baton Rouge

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 8-5 jraygo@mcdavid.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 6-7; Sat 8-5 jguin@macchurchill.com

866-733-2861 225-756-6166

David McDavid Acura

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Pl a no

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M e t a ir ie

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Old School Know How

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

I-CAR Instructor Looks Back at 20 Years in the Business with Ed Attanasio

When body shop professionals in Northern California yell “Show me the Money!” they’re probably not quoting from Jerry Maguire, the 1996 film starring Tom Cruise. No, it’s more likely that they’re referencing Kurt Money, a body technician who is renowned for being an especially skilled instructor for the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR). Virtually all repairers know I-CAR is a not-for-profit training organization focused on education, knowledge and solutions for the Collision Repair Inter-Industry and developing and delivering technical training programs to professionals in all areas of the Collision Repair InterIndustry. Money is celebrating 20 years as an I-CAR instructor this year, but he’s surely not resting on his laurels. As a full-time body man working at Larkfield Body and Paint in Santa Rosa, CA, and teaching a wide range of I-

CAR courses, Money’s schedule is jam-packed. If he’s not mentoring body techs and fixing cars, he’s enjoying his Harley motorcycle. Money is all about teaching people, helping them and making a better industry; by volunteering his time when possible and showing that he cares. Money, 56, came to northern California from Spanish Fork, UT—just outside of Provo—in 1979. After graduating from Utah Valley Technical College, Money decided to start his own shop and later hired two of his classmates to work for him. It was called Money’s Body & Paint and before long the shop was doing well. But Kurt was not ready to own and operate his own business at that point in his life. “The business was fine, but I was more into having a good time, playing a lot of golf, bowling and not paying attention to the shop. I was playing when I should have been working and pretty soon I ran it into the ground. It was a

useful lesson and what I learned was, I don’t want to own my own shop!” After working briefly for a Chevy dealership’s collision center in Provo, UT and supervising a crew of nine, Money decided to go west. “I loaded my tools in my van and headed to California,” Money said. “I was actually going to San Diego, but my voltKurt Money has been teaching techs age regulator failed through I-CAR for and caused my vetwo decades hicle to break down in Santa Rosa. I took it to a dealership and they told me that the van made it all the way from Utah on the charge that was left in the battery, which was very surprising.” After working for a decade as a body tech at a Cadillac dealership in Santa Rosa, Money got a job at Larkfield Body and Paint in 1990, where he

RAY HUFFINES

still works today. “It’s a third-generation shop and they treat all of us like family,” he explained. “Dave Hartman is the owner and he’s an exceptional individual. He’s the best boss I’ve ever had, because he cares about us and doesn’t treat us like employees.” In 1985, Money started taking ICAR classes, to learn as much as he could about his profession and improve his skills, he said. “When I first found out about I-CAR, some of the older guys told me that I didn’t need to take those classes. But, I found out that ICAR was offering information I couldn’t find anywhere else. Back then, they had approximately 16 classes and I took them all. My instructor was a guy named Bob Puckett and he’s retired now. When I saw him in action, I thought to myself, I can do this.” His I-CAR teaching career started over a gentleman’s bet, Money said. “I told one of my fellow techs that I was thinking of becoming an in-

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structor for I-CAR. But he said, ‘You can’t talk in front of two people, how are you going to get up there and talk to a group?’ So, we made a bet and it actually provided me with additional motivation. I jumped in there and started teaching and I’ve been doing it now for 20 years.”

tion in front of him and it wasn’t easy. I learned a lot from that and now I integrate it into my teaching. I use humor and I try to present the information in a way that the students can absorb easily. I’m hands-on and I like to teach visually. My approach is I teach the way I would want to be taught. I come up

Peter Lock (left), the head instructor at Contra Cost College and Jim Boyle, the owner of Regal Collision in Vallejo, CA have known and worked with Kurt Money for many years

To see what he could do, I-CAR sent Money to Orange County to meet with Lead Instructor Ronnie Swaggert. “I admit, it was a little intimidating,” Money said. “I had to make a presenta-

with scenarios that the techs can relate to and that way they get involved and retain the information.” By using his proven techniques, a wide range of people within the col-

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lision industry have grown to know and respect Money for his uncanny ability to connect with his students. One of these is Dan Welsh, the owner of Crockett’s Premier Auto Body in Pinole, CA and a former I-CAR instructor who currently sits on the organization’s board. “All I can say is Kurt Money is a special individual,” Welsh said. “I keep waiting to run into his twin, because the man gets so much done there must be two of them. He’s very methodical and exceedingly fair and in everything he does, he puts other people first. He never takes credit and makes himself accessible to all his students, by giving them his cell phone number and even his home phone number.” Peter Lock, the head instructor at Contra Costa College’s auto tech department has been working with Kurt Money since day one. Money periodically teaches Lock’s students welding classes and uses the Contra Costa College’s classroom to teach I-CAR classes on Saturdays, he said. “When I first met Kurt, I was expecting someone completely different. He pulled up on his Harley with the long hair and he had a Harley T-shirt on (he owns 86 HD T-shirts). I thought, what is going

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on with this guy? But after spending a day with him, I realized he’s pretty amazing. He’s a special person and he lives to teach. Kurt gives his time freely and has helped us in so many ways.” Jim Boyle, the owner of Regal Collision in Vallejo, CA, also goes way back with Money and like everyone else, has nothing but good things to say about the man. “He is a unique individual and the one thing I can say is that his passion for teaching and helping people really stands out,” Boyle said. “When he gets up there in front of a class, you want to listen to him. I most appreciate his sense of humor and his attention for detail. He inspires people to be better, and that’s what teaching is all about.” Gene Lopez, a regional manager for I-CAR is yet another Money fan, for several reasons. “Kurt is a tech, so he can deliver the information in a way that other techs can relate to,” Lopez said. “With 20 years of teaching experience at I-CAR, he is an integral part of the Santa Rosa market. He is a selfstarter and works wells with other people, including Maria Reynaga, our chairman in that region. For him, it’s his life, not just a profession and that’s why we value him so greatly at I-CAR.”

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Historical Snapshot

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

November Retrospective on the Collision Repair Industry with John Yoswick

20 years ago in the collision repair industry (November 1993) “My time away from the industry this year made me more aware than ever that many of the people who keep telling us how we can improve the claims process, improve parts ordering, improve productivity, improve turn-around time and cut car rental costs don’t know the first thing about how our shops operate or half the steps required to properly repair a damaged vehicle. Computers and software programs are great, but computers don’t take the nuts and bolts out of a fender, and they can’t comprehend the fact that a left door can’t be replaced with a right door, even if the part numbner on the invoice is the correct part number. “It seems that many insurance companies—and some shops—have bought into the promise that one or another computer system will solve many or all of their problems. There is always one direct repair program or another telling shop owners that something will greatly expedite the claims handling process…All these promises sound great on paper or in panel discussions, but they don’t do the repair work.” ► from a column by Bobby Johnson, at that time the owner of B&J Collision in Jefferson, Texas

15 years ago in the collision repair industry (November 1998) PPG has done a comprehensive study of over 2,000 collision repair facilities. Here is a snapshot of some of the statistics: The average labor rate: $34 an hour. Average gross profit per hour per technician: $45.63 (top 25 percent), $32.57 (middle 50 percent), $19.69 (bottom 25 percent). Labor efficiency (hours sold versus available hours): 154 percent (top 25 percent), 118 (middle 50 percent), 82 percent (bottom 25 percent) PPG’s Rich Altieri said it is likely that repair opportunities will continue to decrease. His prediction: By 2006, 40 percent of today’s shops will cease to exist. If the collision industry is a $24 billion business, 24,000 shops doing $1 million a year in sales would take care of the market. ► As reported in Hammer & Dolly. Indeed in 2006, there were about 36,000 shops, 40 percent fewer than the 60,000

Altieri said there were in 1998. (Last year there were about 34,500.) The average labor rate nationally last year was $45.43, up 33 percent since 1998, but below 41 percent cumulative rate of inflation during that period; to keep up with inflation, the national average last year would have had to have been $47.89.

10 years ago in the collision repair industry (November 2003) Collision repairers who are part of State Farm’s “Select Service” or “Service First” direct repair programs have been lauding the insurer for the way it administers its claims management process for vehicle repair. It’s a process that technicians and shop owners are saying puts trust in collision repair professionals. Repairers have often been frustrated with how insurers handle the claims management process. For years they have argued that many insurers are overly involved in the process and don’t let repairers do their job without telling them how it should be done. But State Farm is taking a different approach. “To put it simply, State Farm is letting the experts—collision repair professionals—do what they do best,” says Don Keenan, owner of Keenan Auto Body in Clifton Heights, Penn. Keenan said State farm respects its Select Service collision repair shops’ experience and expertise and “as a result, we’re freed up to do the best possible job.” The Society of Collision Repair Specialists earlier this year issued a press release praising State Farm for what the organization is calling a “professional approach to claims management.” “I have received countless calls from members commenting on the positive relationship with State Farm, SCRS Executive Director Dan Risley said. ► As reported in Auto Body Repair News (ABRN). The most recent national survey allowing shops to rate insurers with regard to reimbursement policies and claims handling efficiency still found State Farm at the top, but with a score of 64.8 (out of 100), down from 93.4 in 2003. In 2003 it had a nearly 30point edge over its closest competitor. Now two other insurers are within 4.2 points of knocking State Farm out of the top spot. SCRS this past year has been among the most vocal critics of State

32 NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Farm’s implementation PartsTrader, and Risley, now with the Automotive Service Association, wrote to State Farm in September saying the insurer’s mandated use of a vendor “that solely financially benefits State Farm is more dictatorship than partnership.”

5 years ago in the collision repair industry (November 2008) Minnesota shop owner and NACE chairman Darrell Amberson said (at the event’s opening sessions) that the collision industry should also be paying close attention to increased efforts by automakers to gain design patents on crash parts, which could limit competition from non-OEM parts manufacturers. He said that while design protection is a “fundamental right” for any industry, it could also drive up parts costs, also leading to more total loss vehicles. He called on the estimating system providers to bring more automation, sophistication and automaker information

to the systems to help them evolve from being “just a guide to a tool that could be used to blueprint jobs.” The systems, he said, currently are too incomplete and subject to interpretation. “Can you imagine a world where we didn’t have to spend so much effort negotiating, debating (and) looking for non-included operations? I think whether an insurer or repairer, we could probably increase our life expectancy if we didn’t have to deal with this,” Amberson said, drawing laughter and applause from the crowd. Overall, Amberson, despite the struggling economy and the specific challenges the collision repair industry faces, is optimistic about the opportunities for those shop owners who embrace new technology and processes, diversify their business, and think of themselves as business people, not repairers. ► from Autobody News coverage of the 2008 International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE)

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Inside Insurance

Cycle Time is Money for Everyone with The Insurance Insider

How often have you heard the expression Time is Money? It’s a phrase that applies to many businesses but—as it pertains to body shops, insurance companies and vehicles owners—it is only half of the equation. In this industry, time equals money and customer service. It’s much more expensive to find a new customer than to retain an existing one. As insurers we are aware that the time it takes to repair an insured vehicle is directly tied to the insured’s CSI score and retention rates. Low cycle time equals high CSI, so we need to focus on reducing cycle time. Here’s what I mean. Although customer service can’t be defined by an algebraic equation, it’s safe to assume that cycle time is less than or equal to customer service. (I promise I won’t reference algebraic equations for the remainder of the article.) The important idea is that the less time it

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

takes to repair a vehicle, the greater the customer service is. That’s because, even when the vehicle owner rates customer service poorly in terms of the repair itself—or the handling of the

For the collision repairer, reduced cycle time equals increased sales equals more money. Increased CSI increases customer-driven repeat and referral business. Therefore, reducing

claim, the overall score is going to be better when the repair is done quickly. Also, if you can get repairs through your facility faster, you can move more repairs through the same facility and you make more money.

cycle time translates to increased collision repairer profitability, CSI, and customer referrals and repeat business. I am not suggesting that shops should sacrifice quality just so you can get the customer’s car back

sooner. But I am pointing out the importance of managing cycle time. The importance of cycle time goes far beyond the dollars saved in rental car expense. It also goes beyond the fact that if you repair the car quicker, you can get another car in the shop. For insurance companies, there’s another factor: open claim liability. The longer a claim is open, the more likely the claim will increase, for a lot of reasons. Paying and closing claims quickly reduces open claim liability, and that’s additional motivation on the insurer’s part to push for reduced cycle time. Body shops tend to think that this is just part of the game for insurance companies, that we are just imposing our will on hapless shops to save a few dollars on a rental car. But if you remove yourself from that “usagainst-them” posturing and think about something other than arguing with insurance companies, you will realize that this just makes sense.

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We are all in business to deliver a service to the customer. You just happen to repair cars; we simply provide coverage in the event of a loss. But the bottom line is that delivering customer service is a more important business proposition than anything else the shop or insurance company does. In the highly competitive insurance and collision repair markets, retaining policyholders and getting repeat business will make the difference between survival and prospering. The challenge for insurance companies is that we are beholden to the time that body shops take to make the repairs. With few exceptions, the time it takes for you to repair a vehicle is solely dependent upon your shop’s management and operational efficiency. Although you may think it’s an insurance company goal to manage your shop, it isn’t. We don’t have enough manpower or systems to manage your business for you. Instead we need shops to be conscientious about cycle time. Better cycle time equals high customer service scores which equals greater policyholder retention. It is frustrating as an insurance executive to realize that we lose policyholders because the customer was

dissatisfied with the length of time it took to repair their vehicle. I realize that insurance companies can adversely impact cycle time with outdated processes or lack of trust (though I’m sure many of you will email me to point this out). But the fact remains that there are tens of thousands of body shops in the industry. A small percentage of you understand what I am saying. And an even smaller percentage actually take action to ensure that cycle time and operational efficiency are dominant in all phases of your facility. The greater percentage of body shops repair cars at their own pace because, after all, they don’t owe anything to the insurance company. They proclaim that they are repairing the car the right way and you just can’t rush such things. If you are one of those short-sighted people, please don’t repair any of my customers vehicles. But for those that want to survive what is going to be a continual reduction of shops in the United States, please keep reading. The moment you are notified that there is a claim, we are starting the clock. Why? Because we are doing that internally with our own staff. We are

monitoring and assessing every step of the claim process. The stopwatch starts the moment you are notified of the claim, and only stops when the customer is handed back their keys. The days of measuring cycle time by the number of days is gone. Insurance companies are measuring cycle time by the minute. We can no longer tolerate working with shops that aren’t driven to improve their efficiency and cycle time – especially when your competition down the street understands the rules of engagement and how to win. I know that all shops aren’t created equal. Fortunately, we are getting better at identifying the “haves” from the “have-nots.” If you aren’t keenly aware of the cycle time in all phases of your operation, your fate will be sealed because your customers won’t tolerate it. Time is money. Customer satisfaction and retention is driven by how long it takes you to repair the car.

Continued from Page 25

ABAC v Hartford

Court, and ABAC will be seeking class certification later this year. As Ferraiolo stated repeatedly, these lawsuits could change the collision repair industry if the association is victorious. Industry leaders from other states have already begun contacting ABAC to express interest and seek advice on how to pursue these types of battles. The Hartford was contacted for comments, but none have been received at press time. Auto Body Association of Connecticut (ABAC) 104 Cheshire Rd Prospect, CT 06712 203-767-5731 www.abaconn.com info@abaconn.com

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A Profile of the Evolving Collision Repair Marketplace by Vincent J. Romans & Mary Jane Kurowski, The Romans Group

Part 1 of our annual series examines the largest shop groups in the industry, their growing market share, and an analysis of the numbers. This year’s report expands to include Canada. The impact of globalization is increasingly evident with the emergence and migration of new and hybrid auto physical damage models that exist in other countries throughout the world; some of which are finding their way to the United States. There has also been an increase in U.S. and foreign trans-border investments involving various segments within the collision repair, property and casualty auto insurance and the automotive aftermarket ecosystem. In light of this, we have expanded our annual analysis and profile of the U.S. collision repair marketplace to include Canada.

United States In 2012, U.S. merger and acquisition activity for multiple-location platform transactions took place in 10 states and involved 17 independent collision repair organizations with 128 locations as compared to 48 locations in 2011. These platform transactions shifted approximately $300 million in revenue during 2012 with average revenue transferred of $2.35 million per location. Year to date through September 2013, we see slower M&A activity within the collision repair industry as reflected in the following chart. The 2013 YTD acquisition activity for multiple-location platform transactions took place in 5 states and involved 9 independent collision repair organizations with 59 locations. These platform transactions have shifted approximately $158 million in revenue to date during 2013 with average revenue transferred of $2.2 million per location. See first chart. Through September 2013, ABRA entered two new markets, Washington and Indianapolis, while Caliber and Service King’s

transactions were in existing markets. Boyd/Gerber entered the Michigan market with its Hansen Collision platform transaction. These MLOs also had a number of single-location acquisitions in 2012 and 2013 along with Brownfield and Greenfield locations which built out their respective markets. The following map indicates which states had the most independent multiple-location platform

try. One strategy is being driven by independent and dealership regional MLOs which are focusing their expansion within existing and/or contiguous markets. Another strategy of national independent consolidators, such as Boyd/Gerber, ABRA and Caliber, is the continued focus of activity primarily within existing markets through clustering and leap-frogging into new regions and markets using platform acquisitions to gain entry. Unlike these larger, multi-region MLO companies, there have been few regional MLO consolidators venturing into new platform markets. The northeast markets continue to be absent of any significant MSO market entry. The third strategy is aggressive expansion by franchise consolidator MLOs such as CARSTAR and ABRA. ABRA is onboarding both dealer and independent franchisees in second- and third-tier markets. CARSTAR is targeting

growth with independent repairers in specific targeted markets with some market penetration in the northeast. Fix continues its twopronged strategy of building out its franchise model in target markets while maintaining and growing its banner network across a broader U.S. marketplace. These acquisitions, Brownfield and Greenfield, and franchise conversions strategies will continue to influence the direction of consolidation and rightsizing within the collision repair industry and will result in increased MLO market share in the U.S. The $20+ million U.S. collision repair segment continues to grow their market share and brand relatively faster than other segments of the collision repair industry. This growth is being driven by an increasing number of variables. ● Private equity’s continued interest in the collision repair industry ► U.S. MSO organizations with private equity financing and support include the following (see chart):

North Freeway Hyundai merger and acquisition activity from 2010 through 2013. Despite the slowdown in merger and acquisition activity thus far in 2013, multiple-location operators, and the collision repair industry in general, continue to move through what we have identified as Contraction, Consolidation and Convergence. We believe that Constructive Transformation, the inevitable and necessary heavy lifting associated with the integration of different organizations and their business platforms, is one of the main reasons consolidation momentum has tapered down. Other factors, such as higher valuations and more complex transactions requiring longer periods for due diligence, also contribute to this temporary respite. We continue to see three main active expansion strategies shaping the collision repair indus-

36 NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

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● MLO access to various private and strategic partner capital for business, market growth, expansion and infrastructure development increasing consolidation through single- and multiple-location acquisitions ● The segment’s local and multimarket footprint which offers greater consumer and insurance company choice ● Multi-level selling and marketing for insurer choice brand preference with access to insurance company direct repair claims ● Ongoing operational improvement, resulting in increased vehicle repair quality, higher daily touch time, increased throughput, lower cycle time, and shorter length of rental ● Business service differentiation,

market segmentation and brand recognition/reputation ● MLO market leadership through sustainable, toptier, competitive performance results ● Expanded business hours of operation including multiple daily shifts, weekends and hybrid work shifts ● Insurance DRP focus that drives single point of contact, operational conformity, predictable and sustained repair quality, and competitively ranked repairer performance outcomes ● An integrated, multi-level sales and marketing approach to capturing consumer, insurance, rental, and fleet ● Expansion of new and hybrid network platforms involving MLOs

United States $20+ Million MLO and the $10 to $20 Million Segments In the past, we have reviewed and profiled the $20+ million MLO segment. The 2012 U.S. profile has been expanded to include our work on the $10 to $20 million multiple-location operator seg-

ment. This profile of the $20+ million and the $10 to $20 million multiple-location collision repair operators includes: ● Independent and dealership MLO collision repair operators processing $20+ million or more in revenue annually within the U.S. market ● Independent and dealership MLO collision repair operators processing $10 to $20 million in revenue annually within the U.S. market ● Professionally-managed operators providing performancebased, brand-recognized and competitively-differentiated collision repair services ● Companies focused on achieving top-tier, self-managed, and customer-required performance results, high customer satisfaction, and consistent and sustainable quality repairs ● Businesses that tend to pursue multiple customer segments for collision repair revenue including property and casualty insurance DRP, automotive dealer, accident management, rental car, and direct-pay consumers

● Organizations typically incorporating strategic planning as part of their proactive approach to their business, market development and growth ● Operators practicing business process improvement and operations excellence; managing the organization by incorporating and integrating all functional areas such as finance, personnel, operations, sales/marketing, and technology as a minimum foundation for their business platform Both the $20M+ MLO and the $10 to $20M MLO collision repair profile used for this analysis excludes repair facilities that focus exclusively or primarily on expedited paint and cosmollision, paintless dent removal, glass repair, and mechanical only; and collision repair related primarily to auction vehicles. We do recognize that within these segments some companies continue to be in various stages of strategic growth, transformation and transition to business models approaching that of an insurance company DRP or diversified customer collision repair See Evolving Marketplace, Page 52

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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.

New Honda “Body Repair News” Publication

A new free publication from Honda features body repair information on their new models. The first two editions of Body Repair News are now available on Honda’s Service Express website. The premier publication in the series focuses on new model body repair information for the 2014 Acura MDX and the second edition covers the 2013 Honda Accord. Subsequent Body Repair News editions will be created, or updated, for each new

grams showing strengths of steel (see Figure 1), to new structure applications, to structural foam locations, and repair guidelines. Body Repair News summarizes new body and vehicle technology that may affect collision and other body repairs. It is not intended to replace the detailed information contained in the body repair and service manuals. Rather, it simply helps collision repair industry personnel understand why using the vehicle

Figure 1 - This colored illustration shows the materials and strengths of steel used on the 2014 Acura MDX. (Photo courtesy of American Honda Motor Co, Inc.)

model and any minor model change where significant body design changes are made. Body Repair News is more than just a token few pages of new model highlights. The premier issue is 10 pages of technical information collision repair professionals need to know, everything from colored dia-

maker service information is so important to complete and safe repairs. The new Acura MDX has a front door ring reinforcement made of 1,500 MPa steel. During replacement, where spot welding does not reach, Honda specifies MIG brazing and no GMA (MIG) plug welds. In the publication, the restrictions for welding on

Sumpter County, SC, Continental Tire Plant Ready to Roll Nearly a year and a half after breaking ground, the new Continental Tire the Americas plant in Sumter County, SC, is nearly ready to start production. The 1 million-square-foot facility is slated to begin production by January 2014, but could start even before then, according to local reports. “We hope to begin in January 2014, but we’re striving to do better than that,” Tom Tompkins, a plant engineer, told local media. “Most of the

machines are functional. They’re just in the testing phase. We’ve already produced test tires as a finished product.” When production begins, the plant will produce an estimated 4.5 million tires a year, with capacity expected to increase to 8 million by 2021. Continental Tire the Americas, is headquartered in Fort Mill, South Carolina and is a subsidiary of Continental AG.

40 NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Position Statements & Body Repair News”, and then scroll down to Body Repair News. It is provided free of charge, along with the company’s position statements and emergency response guides. Repair techniques on the 2013 Honda Accord are included in the I-CAR Live Vehicle Technology and Trends 2013 (NEW13), the Figure 2 - This photo shows tensile strength test results Online Collision Repair for of welding 1,500 MPa steel to 590 MPa steel. The 1,500 Honda and Acura Vehicles MPa steel fractured first, because the welding heat re(HON01e), and the upcomduced its strength far below 590 MPa. (Photo courtesy of ing Live Replacement of American Honda Motor Co, Inc.) Unitized Structural Vehicles tions and guidelines are included. Also (SPS10) courses. Repair features on included are details on the passive re- the 2014 Acura MDX are included in straint system on the vehicle, and elec- the upcoming Live Vehicle Technoltrical repair information, which shows ogy and Trends 2014 (NEW14) how Honda wants repairs done on course. wiring pigtails and connectors. Body Repair News is available For comments or suggestions on the on the opening page of the Service Advantage Online, please contact IExpress website. Click on “Industry CAR at advantage@i-car.com. the 1,500 MPa steel are not only spelled out in detail, there are photos of what can go wrong if welds are done on this steel (see Figure 2). Several other welding precau-

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Social Media for Shops

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

Do Ad Specialties (“Swag”) Really Make an Impression? with Ed Attanasio

As I start to pack for my annual pilgrimage to SEMA, I’m thinking about all those overloaded shopping bags carried through the exhibit halls bulging with what we know in the business as the advertising specialty. Anything emblazoned with your company’s name: pens, scratch pads, key chains, calendars, baseball caps, mugs, bags, foam footballs, clocks, and bottle openers—is called an ad specialty. Although some simply know them as “swag” or “chotchke,” other people call them “things that sit around my office.” I’m guilty of enabling my hoarding tendencies this way. We’re so used to seeing them that it may be a surprise to learn that the automotive industry is by far the largest user of these promotional items. Some people (including me) delight in collecting pens and baseball caps while others argue that most ad specialties end up in the roundfile and

then the landfill. What will future civilzations think about us when in the year of 2220, archeologists dig up tons of coffee mugs and refrigerator magnets that say “Bill’s Body Shop” or “Tom’s Auto Collision”? Will they laugh and point out ad specialties as a token of our society’s eventual demise?

they a good use of my advertising money?’ Have you ever encountered a customer who actually said, “I saw your name on a desk pad and that’s why I brought my car here.” The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) is the largest media, marketing and education organization serving the $19.4 billion promotional

“Nationwide the automotive industry buys more promotional items than all other consumer product companies combined” — Advertising Specialty Institute

Many companies use them as an effective form of branding and advertising, particulaly for businesses that have infrequent contact with their customers, like body shops. If you’re a body shop and spending a significant amount of money on ad specialties, you should always ask yourself ‘are

products industry, with a network of over 25,000 distributors and suppliers throughout North America. ASI’s CEO is Tim Andrews and I had a chance to talk to him recently about the power of the ad specialty and how automotive repair businesses can benefit from using them.

“For impressions, ad specialties are by far the most cost-effective form of advertising out there,” Andrews explained. “Every time someone sees your name on a pen or a key chain, that’s called an impression. During lean economic times, ad specialties are an ideal solution for smaller companies that need to get their names out there, but they can’t afford other forms of conventional advertising. Ad specialties are remembered and kept and many of them are used by people for many years, based on our research.” Getting a high-quality ad specialty and personalizing it for your current customers is also a great way to further strengthen your position with your customer base, Andrews says. “For your return customers or top influencers in your community, personalization is a unique way to really connect even more with your mostprized contacts. If someone has a t-

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shirt or a pen with their own name on it, they will logically keep it for a much longer period of time. It creates additional value and the impressions derived from a personalized ad specialty can be ten times higher, in some cases.” Also, instead of buying 2,000 cheap plastic pens, for example, maybe purchase a smaller number of higher-quality pens, in order to keep them in the hands of your customers longer. “The more they use that pen, your brand name and logo will remain further in the top of their minds, which means your efforts will grow exponentially,” Andrews said. “An inexpensive pen or key chain might get discarded after limited use, but if the end-user values it and sees it as being special, it will remain on their desk and in their possession for a much longer period of time. It just makes sense.” The products that leave the most positive impressions and those that recipients keep longer are: outerwear, shirts, recognition items (awards, plaques), caps/headwear, flash drives, health and safety products, desk/office accessories, and bags, according to

Andrews. ASI provided several statistics that are worth noting when making decisions on promotional products. ● Nearly nine in ten (87%) recipients of promotional merchandise can identify the advertiser on the item. ● Over one-half (52%) of the time, ad specialties leave a more favorable impression of the advertiser. ● Promotional products deliver the same or a better ROI than other forms of media. ● 81% of product recipients indicated that an item’s usefulness is the primary reason to keep it. ● There are nearly 8,000 different automotive-related promotional products currently in ASI’s database. ● The automotive industry buys more promotional items than all of other consumer product companies combined nationwide. ● Study results show that most people own approximately 10 ad specialty items on an on-going basis and hold on to them for an average of six months, a far longer time period than any other traditional form of advertising. What’s your ultimate goal in giving a pen, hat or key chain away?

Who’s your target audience? Are you trying to reach out to prospective customers? Or, are you staying in touch with your VIP clients, those who seem to get into more accidents or have higher-end vehicles? Are you doing a campaign targeting your vendors, insurance agents, local community leaders or organizations? It all comes down to finding your target market and continually branding. Many automotive-related businesses use ad specialties as one of their main forms of marketing. For example, glass replacement companies often distribute scratch pads, desk calendars, and other items to auto body shops. Since most body shops frequently work with several glass replacement companies, it’s a good idea for them to keep their name and phone number in front of them. Car dealers often provide license plate brackets to their customers with the dealer’s name and logo—nine times out of ten the customer never thinks about it again, but the dealership is being advertised to everyone who sees that new car and thinks about buying that model for themselves. So, as I run around at SEMA, loading up on pens, hats, key chains,

scratch pads and any else I can get my hands on, I will be thinking about the power of the ad specialty. Ad specialties are a useful form of branding and that’s why they’ll continue to be an integral part of the marketing and advertising efforts of almost every body shop in this country today. Recently, for example, a company that manufactures and sells these items sent me a nice little key chain flashlight with my name and company printed on it. It’s something I might actually use, if I can find room on my already overloaded key chain.

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

On Creative Marketing

Take 15 Seconds to Think about Putting Marketing Ideas to Work with Thomas Franklin

A few years back I attended a management-training seminar put on by Kepner-Tregoe, Inc., a prestigious management consulting company based in Princeton, New Jersey. The principal speaker noted that the company had completed a follow-up survey to find out how many companies had implemented the costly plan and procedures they had developed for those clients. Sadly, they found that only about 20 percent of their clients had put more than a few of their recommendations to work, and many had simply put the entire package on a shelf and forgotten about it. This tendency to put new projects on the shelf is common to many kinds of business, and the collision repair industry isn’t immune to it. Many autobody industry publications have had articles on body shop marketing for years, often describing spectacular business gains made by specific shops using one marketing strategy or another. And yet I seldom see these strategies put into action by shop owners that I know read the publications. I can only conclude that there are too many things on a shop owner’s “to-do-list” to allow him or her to focus on a new marketing strategy. There are only 24 hours in a day, and even less than that in a typical workday. Finding the time to introduce what might be a complicated new marketing strategy can seem nearly impossible. Back around the year 2000, I heard another speaker named Al Secunda who had an interesting new approach to getting a difficult project under way. He had written a book entitled The Fifteen Second Principle (Berkley Books, 1999). Simply put, he suggested committing to spending at least 15 seconds on the project every day. When he spoke I thought that 15 seconds seems like a ridiculously small amount of time. What can you do in 15 seconds? At the very

least, he said, you will find out if you care enough about getting it done to spend a few seconds, or you will find out that you don’t even care that much. And if you do care, even a few seconds are enough to focus on at least one step you can take to further the project. Once into a marketing project, you will often discover that there are previously unrecognized reasons why

ment better marketing strategies can subject one to the real pain of a lost job. Probably a better motivational strategy is to give the people expected to do the work the current repair volume numbers versus the potential jobs that can come from the marketing initiative, but this can’t be done in 15 seconds. So what can? Many body shops in the U.S. are enamored with Toyota’s lean produc-

“Unless the pain of not doing something is greater than the pain of doing it, most people will choose not to do it” —United Health Plan Manager

you didn’t want to take on the project. For one shop, the idea to put up some new signs ran squarely into a city’s legal prohibition for certain kinds of signs. This meant working around the prohibited ones to find those that would be acceptable. Another shop owner decided to begin a prior customer-calling program to dig up some return business or referrals. This project flew in the face of employee resistance to phone soliciting and required some re-training and even recruiting new personnel. With a new project there is always the possibility of running into what can seem to be insurmountable obstacles, but without taking a few moments to consider it, nothing will ever be done. Probably the most frequent barrier to getting a new project under way will be the resistance of people needed to do the work. A manager at United Health Plan once said, “Unless the pain of not doing something is greater than the pain of doing it, most people will choose not to do it.” Of course that suggests punishing people for not taking action, an unwise approach to getting those projects under way. But in the real world of many body shops competing for limited repair jobs, failing to imple-

tion philosophy, based on kaisen, the concept of continuous improvements. When focusing on continuous marketing improvements, small incremental steps may be best. Marketing genius Jay Abraham, in his invaluable book Getting Every-

thing You Can Out of All You’ve Got writes, “It’s amazing how few companies ever test any aspect of their marketing and compare it to something else.” Abraham suggests experimenting and always testing a small sample before committing to a major marketing expenditure. Just devoting those few seconds every day to evaluating a marketing initiative could save a shop owner a lot of wasted money and perhaps zero in on one that really brings in the business! A good example is calling prior customers to see if there might be more need for repairs now, or perhaps a referral to a friend or family member. So what’s to test? A wrongly worded phone call could annoy the prior customer and do more harm than good. But some carefully planned test calls could reveal what approach works best. And an astute shop owner might put this test together in just a few seconds. It’s worth a try.

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• Our mission is to create an environment of professionalism, respect, accountability, excellence, enthusiasm and the ability to collect fair and reasonable compensation for collision repairers who properly restore vehicles to their safe pre-loss condition.

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For more information on becoming a Member, please visit our website at: www.habaonline.org

AudaExplore™ Introduces GoTime Line of Driver Focused Mobile Solutions AudaExplore™ has announced the launch of GoTime, a new line of driver-focused mobile solutions that streamline and accelerate a range of partial and total loss claims and repair processes while driving an improved and optimized vehicle owner experience. “There’s a perfect storm of change hitting the market—from a new generation of vehicle owners to the pervasiveness of mobile devices to newly available self-service offerings that enable new ways of engaging vehicle owners never before possible until now,” said Neal Lowell, AudaExplore’s vice president of product management and innovation. “Our GoTime line of mobile solutions empowers insurers and repair facilities to address these market dynamics head on, with features that take business efficiencies and the vehicle owner experience to the next level.” The GoTime family of mobile solutions is powered by AudaNet, AudaExplore’s global, intelligent, nextgeneration claims and collision repair platform. GoTime product highlights include: ● GoTime Autosource. Drives immediate accuracy and quicker per-

formance for insurance staff and independent appraisers. According to AudaExplore, it is the only smart phone app with advanced vehicle identification, one-thumb conditioning, and the market-driven valuations of Autosource, AudaExplore’s valuation service. AudaExplore says the intuitive design of GoTime Autosource empowers appraisers to easily complete comprehensive vehicle-side inspections. ● GoTime Repair. Designed to enable peak performance for collision repair facilities through better repair tracking and shop management. By combining AudaExplore’s AutoFocus body shop management system (BMS) with AudaExplore’s AutoWatch collision repair tracking software on smart mobile devices, the company states that users can quickly and easily optimize operations, reduce cycle times and maximize customer communications. ● GoTime Appraiser. AudaExplore calls this feature an all-in-one mobile solution that enables appraisers to efficiently and effectively manage appraisal appointments and vehicle repairs while providing vehicle owners with an optimized customer experience. Going beyond just photos,

GoTime Appraiser features drag-anddrop schedule updates, integrated turn-by-turn directions, single-click customer communications, AudaExplore’s patent-pending vehicle photo guides, and location-specific repair statuses and alarms. “With the mobile technology age comes new ways of increasing the efficiency and productivity of appraisers and collision repair experts in the field, as well as delivering immediate and optimal communications to vehicle owners,” added Lowell. “We are fanatical about providing our customers’ customers with the best experience possible and are proud to bring the first three GoTime solutions to market, building upon our commitment to delivering continuous innovation and integrated intelligence for the automobile claims market.” In other news, the company announced Oct. 8 it will expand its global automotive data footprint with the addition of Chrysler vehicle manufacturing build data, for vehicles in the US., Canada and Mexico. The expansion brings Chrysler vehicle build data accuracy to every country where Chrysler vehicles are sold through AudaExplore’s AudaVIN™ vehicle identification technology.

Autobytel Acquires Assets of Advanced Mobile LLC

Autobytel has purchased Advanced Mobile LLC, a provider of mobile communications services for the automotive industry. Autobytel said it will offer OEMs and dealers the ability to connect with consumers using a preferred method of text communication, via a secure platform that protects consumers’ privacy. Autobytel will also offer dealers a comprehensive suite of mobile products including apps, websites, Send2Phone capabilities and text message marketing. Advanced Mobile, founded in 2006 and based in King of Prussia, PA, markets a full range of advanced mobile technologies that facilitate communication between dealers and car buyers on smart phones and tablets. This platform will be the core of an array of mobile services Autobytel will offer to its dealer and manufacturer customers, and will also be available to consumers through Autobytel’s websites. “Last year, more than 326 million U.S. wireless subscribers sent more than 2 trillion text messages,” said Jeffrey Coats, president and CEO. “This acquisition enables us to offer the industry the mobile resources it requires to successfully communicate with car buyers in a preferred manner,” Coats said.

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National Associations

Virginia-Based Automotive Recycling Association Does More Than Green the Industry with Chasidy Rae Sisk

Environmental concerns have become a major priority in the collision repair industry and removal and reutilization of recyclable material. The Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) is playing an increasing role in this movement. Since it was established in 1943, ARA has been the only trade association representing the automotive recycling industry. It is dedicated to efficiently removing and reutilizing automotive parts as well as seeing to the safe disposal of inoperable motor vehicles. ARA has expanded to repreMichael Wilson sent approximately 1250 companies through direct membership, plus over 3000 additional companies worldwide through their affiliated chapters in 43 states and 14 other countries.

CEO Michael Wilson explains their mission: ARA aims to further services and programs to increase public awareness of conserving the future through automotive recycling and to promote the industry’s value to the automotive consumer. ARA encourages aggressive environmental management programs to assist member facilities in maintaining proper management techniques for fluid and solid waste materials generated from the disposal of motor vehicles. ARA offers many benefits to their members, such as networking opportunities, legislative representation, marketing tools and even discounts on liability insurance and training through their own university, ARAU. Their website features resources for members, and ARA publishes weekly electronic newsletters as well as a bi-monthly magazine, Automotive Recycling, to provide members with needed information on the latest indus-

Memphis-area Auto Glass Replacement Hit by Halt to Vehicle Registration Inspections

The auto glass replacement industry in Memphis is feeling some pain after the city halted auto inspection requirements for registration renewal, says an article in the AGRR publication glassBYTEs™. Without this net to catch windshield damage, the demand for auto glass repair and replacement work is on the decline. “It’s just about killed the replacement auto glass industry,” says Shawn Barnett, manager of A&B Fast Auto Glass in Memphis. “We’ve seen a big decline in business. It’s dropped by more than 50 percent. “We’ve switched over to do more home glass work,” Barnett adds. “We haven’t laid anybody off yet, but we’re a small company so we don’t have a lot of people.” Meanwhile, Jack Morris Auto Glass has also felt the “hurt,” according to Jack Morris, CEO. The company has locations in Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Arkansas and Mississippi. “Fortunately, we operate in more areas than just Memphis,” says Morris. “If I were to guess, I would say our business has been down about 10 percent and I would say close to half of the dip is the economy and the other half is because of this. “We’ve complained to the state and county about this,” he adds. “Everything [the economy] is just kind of shaky right now and I don’t see

the halt in inspections ending anytime soon. Years ago, it used to be that residents had to get vehicles inspected three times a year in Memphis, then it went to two times and about seven or so years ago, it went to once a year. It helped business even when inspections were required just one a year. But with the economy the way it is, if there is a crack in the windshield, consumers are just deciding to put off getting the windshield repaired or replaced.” Mark Yates, a veteran auto glass technician in Memphis, says he was laid off from Jack Morris Auto Glass after demand for windshield repair and replacements dropped. “The fact they are no longer doing vehicle inspections is really hurting business,” says the 30-year industry veteran. “I got laid off along with a few others. Before, if your windshield had damage, the city wouldn’t pass your car under inspection. After the inspections stopped, the local police were supposed to give more tickets for damaged windshields but we haven’t seen this happen.” Yates says he submitted applications with other local auto glass companies in the Memphis area, but that no one is hiring. “I just went and put in applications at two other companies but See Glass Replacement, Page 48

46 NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

try trends, training and technological updates. According to Wilson, ARA serves members by offering a broad spectrum of programs and benefits for all sizes of automotive recycling oper-

ations: “business models for professional automotive recyclers include both full and self-service platforms, and our clients range from do-it-yourselfers to independent repair shops to large insurance based collision repair facilities.” ARA also maintains two foundations for the benefit of their members and the industry at-large. Their Educational Foundation hosts a library of in-

dustry-specific training courses which are available through the ARA University. ARA’s Scholarship Foundation promotes continuing education by awarding over $30,000 in scholarship grants to the children of their members and their members’ employees. Discussing the challenges ARA faces to maintain operations, Wilson lists branding, consolidation within the industry, the exportation of salvage vehicles out of the country, the unlevel playing field at salvage auctions and with unlicensed or illegally operating entities, and advancements in technology. He says the industry needs to overcome the competition and barriers erected by auto manufacturers seeking to protect their market share. ARA also deals with the common problems of adapting to the changes inherent as new generations come of age, such as how to get them involved with the association and its leadership. Wilson explains their current

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focus: “the professional automotive recycling industry is not immune to the effects of the type of seismic events that have transformed the American automotive sector over the past few years. Our members must be equipped to adapt to the effects of this change in order to meet emerging markets in new and creative ways. We are also focused on providing our members with the skills and knowledge to meet the challenges that new, more complex motor vehicles bring to our facilities. A recent Polk report detailed that the number of vehicles older than 12 years has increased by more than 20 percent, and that percentage is expected to continue to rise for at least the next five years. These numbers predict a significant wave of inoperable motor vehicles that will be arriving soon at automotive recycling facilities throughout the United States. As an industry, we must seize the opportunities these increasing inventories create for the proper and efficient removal and reuse of ‘green’ automotive parts.” ARA leadership held a strategic planning retreat earlier this year the purpose of which was “to articulate a future that realizes the full potential of members’ businesses. ARA is working

continually to engage industry partners that want to help advance the automotive recycling profession and, at the same time, try to bridge gaps between us and those entities that have minimal interest in supporting policies that promote the utilization of OE recycled parts.”

Currently, ARA is planning for their upcoming 70th annual convention which will be held November 6 –9 at the Sheraton Convention Center in Phoenix, AZ. They are planning a robust program of educational and training opportunities for their members, such as the Certified Automotive Recyclers (CAR) program. ARA is currently working on the new CAR program in order to emphasize the industry’s environmental stewardship.

ARA also looks forward to hosting automotive recyclers from around the globe for the International Roundtable on Automotive Recycling which will take place immediately after their convention. Recently, ARA partnered with CIECA in order “to leverage expertise and implementation tools of both parties, develop standards and advance new business platforms. CIECA develops technology electronic communication standards that allow better connectivity within the industry. This partnership is increasing parts sales and reducing risk.” Other pending projects include ARA9001, a quality control system specifically tailored to the automotive recycling industry that is based on elements of the association’s current Gold Seal program and continued recognition and utilization of the Green Recycled Parts trademark. The association also recently released ARA Direct, an online auction platform where members can purchase vehicles from various insurance companies, wholesalers, fleets, franchise dealers

and others in a manner that significantly changes the means by which members’ vehicle acquisition demands are met and increases their inventory. Though these matters are more than enough to keep ARA occupied, they work in the regulatory and legislative sphere as well. In addition to working with the EPA to make storm water permitting appropriate and effective for professional automotive facilities plus regularly educating members on OSHA standards, ARA has been working with the DOJ to increase compliance and enforcement of the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS). Their work with DOT to combat the use of counterfeit airbags has led to ARA’s involvement in legislation on this topic as educate consumers about recycled OEM airbags. Wilson believes this legislation also “benefits body shop owners because they will be able to better identify counterfeit airbags and also understand the cost-effective option of using non-deployed recycled OEM airbags in repairs.” ARA also supports evaluations on the need for and cost of new regulations while keeping an eye on how these changes impact jobs which bene-

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fits collision repair shops. The current motor vehicle safety recall legislation under consideration in the Senate applies to rental fleets, “but ARA is taking the opportunity to educate policymakers on the need to include recall data into third party inventory management systems so recyclers can identify through their electronic inventory searches whether a particular part has been recalled; this benefits body shop owners because this would guarantee that the recycler wouldn’t unknowingly sell a recalled part to a repairer,” says Wilson. Additionally, ARA has taken an interest in metal anti-theft legislation to prevent duplicative mandates on professional automotive recyclers. Though recyclers are already regulated by sales and reporting requirements, anti-theft legislation proposed in Congress protects city and municipality infrastructures as well as body shops and consumer assets. Wilson admits there are always challenges when trying to get legislation signed into law, beginning with misrepresentations about recycled parts. In order to educate legislators about the industry, ARA must combat those opposed to the proposed legislation, pre-

senting a challenge since these competitors often have significantly more resources. Wilson believes that OEMs need to embrace parts reutilization at the design stage. He says, “technological advances are eliminating past barriers to foster robust international commerce. Access to parts data that only automotive manufacturers can provide is crucial to enable the auto body industry as well as automotive recyclers to compete in emerging technologies and business platforms; this is a need both our industries share. Only with this important data can the automotive recycling profession efficiently and accurately identify OE recycled part matches for repairs and total loss determination calculations.” Another challenge is the expansion of parts technology as electronic parts are all being added to the mix of collision and mechanical parts inventory, necessitating even more specific data to appropriately describe for reuse. Though ARA has not taken a formal position on PartsTrader, Wilson notes, “we continue to monitor and evaluate the program’s rollout. Several ARA recyclers are members on the PartsTrader

Allstate reports that drivers that are signed up for its usage-based insurance program, Drivewise, will register more than one billion miles driven this month. Allstate said that Drivewise is launching in Kentucky and Montana this month, making the usage-based insurance product available in 22 states including New York and New Jersey. Allstate’s usagebased auto insurance (UBI) product measures mileage, hard braking, excessive speed, and the time of day when a customer drives. Using that data, Allstate calculates insurance premium savings for each customer using its telematics technology. Customers can receive savings equal to 10 percent of premium. After the first six months of use, savings are based on driving performance calculated from the data collected. The company said that seven of every 10 Drivewise customers save money through the program and no one receives an increase. Of the drivers earning a discount, the average savings is 14 percent per vehicle. Allstate reports that roughly, a third of all new customers enroll in the Drivewise program, where it is available.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has included a recommendation in its New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) that encourages manufacturers to equip new vehicles with a rearview video system. NCAP includes a fivestar rating system for raising consumer awareness about crashworthiness and rollover safety information. The NCAP update is separate from NHTSA’s proposed rule to update Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 111 (Rear View Mirrors) to require all new passenger cars be equipped with a rearview camera system. The equipment is intended to prevent accidents by alerting drivers when pedestrians are behind the vehicles. Under a law passed in 2008, the NHTSA had until 2011 to issue the rule to be phased-in by 2014. While the law permitted sensors, mirrors or other devices to provide drivers with rearward information, the NHTSA determined that a camera and dashboard display screen system was the best solution. The automakers have generally objected to not being provided more flexibility in determining cost-effective ways to achieve the goal.

Allstate Says Usage-Based Insurance Increasing

Advisory Board, and ARA invited PartsTrader representatives to provide a presentation on the program at our upcoming convention.” ARA is also monitoring initiatives related to Right to Repair, and Wilson explains, “ARA has long argued that car owners and independent repair shops need full access to the information, parts and tools necessary to accurately diagnose, repair and reprogram vehicles. ARA staff has been actively coordinating with our affiliated state chapters in New England to monitor R2R initiative on the state legislative level as well as continued to dialogue with stakeholders involved in the national Right to Repair conversations.”

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Glass Replacement

they are not hiring,” he says. “Business is slow all around.” Yates found a position as an auto glass technician near the Sarasota, Fla., and is relocating. He worked in Florida years ago, but says he left when the recession hit and work plummeted in the state. “This is what it feels like in Tennessee now,” Yates says. “Fortunately, business in Florida has picked up so I’m going back.” The Memphis City Council ended funding for the auto inspection stations in late June, effectively shutting them down. The Council apparently had hoped that either Shelby County or the State of Tennessee would take over inspection responsibilities, according a local report; however, this has not been the case. Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell has said the county government has no intention of stepping in to fund the inspections. “In other localities, we do run it, but we don’t pay for that,” says Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. “Where we run it, the users are paying for it or the local county is paying for that. My understanding is … we were willing to run it, but we don’t pay for it any where else, so it’s not fair for us to pay for it here.”

NHTSA Recommends Back Up Cameras for New Cars

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BMW Asks California Court to Strike Class Action in Leaking Sunroof Case

BMW has asked the U.S. Northern California District Court to strike the proposed state class action status of a lawsuit filed against the company by two BMW owners who claim that drainage tubes installed to pull water away from vehicles’ sunroofs do not properly work, leading to water damage. Plaintiffs’ attorneys claim the class should include California residents who have “owned or leased any BMW X5 series vehicles, X3 series vehicles and 5 series vehicles.” In response, BMW’s attorneys claim in court documents, “First, the purported class is not ascertainable because it includes many persons who have no claims against BMW North America. Those putative class members whose cars have never manifested the alleged defect, those whose sunroofs leaked for reasons other than the alleged defect and those whose cars are covered under warranty—and thus eligible for repair at no cost to them— cannot claim they suffered any cognizable injury and therefore lack standing.” The attorneys also claim, “The class includes many vehicles purchased more than ten years ago, meaning that the transactions at issue are well outside

the statutes of limitation of, for example, plaintiffs’ CLRA (three year), UCL (four year) and breach of express warranty (four year). At a minimum, persons whose claims are outside the statutes of limitation should be excluded from any proposed class.” BMW’s attorneys also point out that it is difficult to identify owners who have “experienced water damage because of the alleged defect, rather than other reasons—including lack of maintenance, accident damage or even leaving the sunroof or trunk open before a rain storm.” Citing the certified pre-owned BMW warranty, attorneys claim that the automaker “cannot be held liable for ‘failing to company with the warranty’ or ‘refusing to repair’ if putative class members did not comply with their own obligations under the warranty or if the warranty does not provide coverage for the damage claimed. Determining whether such compliance exists will require individualized inquiries precluding class certification as a matter of law.” BMW’s attorneys conclude by claiming, “Plaintiffs cannot represent the putative class specified in their complaint because the class is simply too board and faces overwhelming in-

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dividualized inquiries and because plaintiffs cannot satisfy basic typicality requirements. These deficiencies are plain, even at the pleading stage. For the foregoing reasons, the class allegations therein should be stricken.” Attorneys for plaintiffs’ Monita Sharma and Erica Anderson claim “BMW designed, manufactured, distributed, sold and leased various makes and models of BMW vehicles that contain a serious design defect that significantly impacts both the safety and value of its vehicles. Specifically, numerous models of BMW vehicles manufactured during the class period were designed so that certain vital electrical components known as SDARS, RDC, and PDC modules, are located in the lowest part of the vehicles’ trunk. … Because BMW decided to place these vital electrical components in what is essentially the lowest part of the vehicle (the spare tire well under the trunk), they are especially prone to water damage that can be caused through the normal and ordinary use of the vehicle. “When this water damage occurs, the vehicles become inoperable and pose a serious safety risk to those who experience this problem. Although these components are highly suscepti-

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ble to water damage, BMW provides no warnings or advisories to BMW owners about the location of this vital equipment or the importance of keeping the vehicle’s trunk compartment free of liquids,” they continue. The attorneys point out that drainage tubes are installed to pull water away from the sunroof. “Unfortunately, these sunroof drains were designed in such a way that they are prone to become clogged with dirt, debris, leaves, and other naturally-occurring materials. When these tubes become clogged, they come loose or leak into the trunks of the vehicles. These leaks, which eventually flood the trunks of the vehicles, cause the vital electronic components contained at the bottom of the vehicles’ trunks to short-shutting off certain components of the automobile necessary for driving and creating a potential safety risk,” the attorneys allege. BMW had asked the court earlier to dismiss the lawsuit by Sharma and Anderson. The court had not issued any decision at press time.

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Allstate Insurance Co. plans to significantly increase its Massachusetts workforce by the end of 2014 by hiring 130 more insurance agents. Allstate opened its first Massachusetts office in October 2012 and has since expanded to more than 18 locations throughout the state with more than 40 employees. The company plans to open another 30 offices in the next year. Several other national insurance companies, including Geico and Progressive, have also entered the Massachusetts market in recent years.

BASF Joins ASA as Newest Corporate Member

BASF is the newest corporate member of ASA. “BASF is excited about the changes at ASA. They’re off to a fresh start with a new leadership team and are strengthening relationships within the collision repair industry. A good example is the combined NACE/I-CAR/CIC conference in Detroit next year. We believe collaborations like this can help the collision industry thrive,” said Joe Skurka, manager, OEM and Industry Relations. Visit www.ASAshop.org or call (800) 272-7467, ext. 361.

US Auto SAAR to Hit 16.4M, Highest Level Since 2006

Lincoln Electric Announces New Welding Devices/Lifters

Tru-Way’s New Website, Data

CAPA Tops 60M Certified Parts

Bob Stevenson Joins Carbench

Todd Chizmar on I-CAR Board

Sherwin-Williams Adds Full Feature Claims Portal

Urethane Supply Company Offers New Welding System

Allstate Plans to Increase its MA Workforce by 130 Agents

Tru-Way Company has launched a new, data-driven website offering point-to-point vehicle measuring data for cars, trucks and SUVs from the 1950s to now. The website’s database contains more than 10,000 vehicles that can be searched by vehicle year and model, or by classification—domestic, imports or classics. Said Loretta Clos, manager at Tru-Way. “Tru-Way is unique in [its] offering of valuable historical data for older vehicle platforms that may be difficult to find... with the ability to purchase measuring data in a choice of format appropriate for them.”

Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes A-Plus Network, in affiliation with VehicleOwnersGuide.com, has released a new dispatching system aimed at increasing car count for APlus shops and making claims management simpler for insurers. A-Plus shops will now have access to the provider’s Open Claims Gateway, a full feature claims portal that includes claims workflow, dispatching, estimate review, vendor e-Coupons, consumer translations and analytics. The new dispatching system is populated with the A-Plus Network’s leading collision repair facilities and will provide a turnkey repair network for insurance companies throughout the U.S. and Canada. The Open Claims Gateway portal will also dispatch cars to A-Plus shops, and then these facilities and insurance companies can use the system to manage the claims. “Open Claims Gateway will be provided free of charge to A-Plus Network facilities, and there is no contract to sign,” said Troy Neuerburg, director of sales excellence at SherwinWilliams. “This system offers numerous benefits.” It also includes the ability to generate a consumer estimate and an e-Coupon program.

The Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) announced that its parts volume has reached nearly 62 million CAPA certified parts. In the past five years, CAPA has increased its number of part applications by and average of 16% each year and added 17 new manufacturers to the program, bringing the total to 43 manufacturers. The number of CAPA parts sold in the market has also increased by 13% in that time frame. While metal parts have been the backbone of the CAPA program, plastic parts and lights are now the fastest growing part categories.

The Urethane Supply Company recently released the 6057-C Nitro Fuzer Welding System, a new nitrogen welding technology that combines hot air and nitrogen welding. The Nitro Fuzer includes fine-flow control regulators on both the air and nitrogen sides. Those are combined with output pressure gauges and a flow gauge to give users control over the amount of gas that is used during the welding process. The system includes a pressure safety circuit to help prevent burn out in heating elements, an electrically actuated air-nitrogen switch, and a melt-proof silicone and fiberglass braided hot air welder hose. The Nitro Fuzer also features an integrated airless welding system to allow for smoothing out the nitrogen weld and for repairing thermoset polyurethane. “It’s a fraction of the cost and time of two-part epoxies,” said Kurt Lammon, president of the Urethane Supply Company. “An average six-inch repair costs about $2 for the plastic welding rod; with epoxy, it could cost over $30.” The Nitro Fuzer is shipped fully assembled and includes a variety of accessories and an instructional DVD.

50 NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

The U.S. auto industry’s new-vehicle sales in 2014 will hit their highest level since 2006 as consumers continue to replace aging cars and trucks. Edmunds.com forecast that sales next year will hit 16.4 million vehicles. That would be up from an estimated 15.5 million the firm expects in 2013 and the highest total since 16.5 million were sold in 2006. However, the projected 6% growth rate would be the industry’s smallest increase since sales bottomed out at 10.4 million vehicles in 2009.

Car Bench America welcomes Bob Stevenson to the position of National Sales and Training. Stevenson will be responsible for sales and training of; Car Bench®, Inverter Spot Welders, Computerized Measuring, AluminumSteel-and MIG Brazing Machines, Self-Piercing Riveting (SPR), Aluminum Repair Tools and most all other equipment needed to rebuild today’s and forthcoming automotive body and chassis construction. Stevenson brings 20 + years of professional collision knowledge and experience in both paint and equipment.

Lincoln Electric announced Sept. 19 that it has added a line of magnetic angle fixturing devices and hand lifters to its Radius tool Welding Gear product group. The tools are designed to position steel for tack welding or other pre- or post-weld operations. They also are ideally suited for cutting and grinding applications. The magnetic fixtures are available in three different models intended for various material thickness or applications. The design makes them ideal for tight spaces.

I-CAR announced the appointment of Todd Chizmar of Chrysler Group LLC to its international board of directors. The senior manager of technical training for Chrysler, Chizmar has been part of the automotive industry for nearly 20 years, the last 14 in technical and management roles at Chrysler. Said I-CAR chair William Brower, “His insights will be particularly helpful as I-CAR begins to significantly increase its repair-related technical support of the industry through its new Repairability Technical Support and Knowledge initiative.”

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SEMA Supports Ban of E15

SEMA is supporting legislation (S. 344) introduced in the U.S. Senate to ban the sale of gasoline containing 15% ethanol. The bill would overturn actions taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) two years ago to permit ethanol levels to rise from 10% (E10) to 15% (E15). The agency is only requiring a gas pump warning label to alert motorists that E15 could potentially cause equipment failure for vehicles older than model-year 2001. “This legislation is necessary to protect auto enthusiasts by preventing damage to older vehicles and high-performance specialty components,” said SEMA Vice President of Government Affairs Steve McDonald. “SEMA applauds Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and David Vitter (RLA) for their efforts to correct by statute a flawed decision by the EPA. Unless enacted into law, E15 may soon appear at a gas station near you.” Ethanol increases water formation that can then create formic acid and corrode metals, plastics and rubber. Older cars and certain highperformance specialty parts are not constructed with corrosion-resistant materials or able to tolerate the higher temperatures at which E15 may burn.

SCRS Adds Consolidation Tracks to SEMA Repairer Driven Education SCRS has included several tracks in its Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series at the SEMA Show that will address the consolidation trend in the industry. “SCRS is continually looking at ways that we can help collision repair business owners succeed in the marketplace, and we realize that what defines success varies for the wide array of repairers operating in today’s shifting landscape,” said SCRS Chairman Ron Reichen. “We suspect that the private equity entering our industry is going to continue to fund acquisitions, and that means independent collision businesses are likely to be interested in one of two models for success: they will either position themselves to compete against consolidation or position the business to sell for the highest value.” SCRS has put together several sessions, including a panel of well-known industry veterans who made headlines of their own during the sale of their previous businesses. The panel, “If I Knew Then What I Know Now – Lessons Learned Selling My Body Shop,” will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7. Panelists will discuss things they learned in the process that can help attendees interested in proceeding down a simi-

lar path best prepare themselves. Subject matter experts include: • Aaron Clark, former owner of Collision Solutions, sold to ABRA Auto Body & Glass • Pat O’Neill, former owner of 911 Collision Centers, sold to Caliber Collision Centers • Dan Bailey, former owner of A&B CARSTAR, sold to CARSTAR Franchise Systems • Mike Anderson, former owner of Wagonwork Collision Centers, sold to Pohanka Collision Centers “There is a great deal of combined knowledge among these experts, who will be offering first-hand insight into how to navigate the process of valuing and selling your business,” said SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg. “That said, it is very important to point out that we have a great deal of optimism that independent collision repair owners can thrive in today’s marketplace as well, and have also defined specific programs that address solutions for them.” Perhaps none of the programs address these solutions more specifically than Wednesday afternoon’s session entitled, “Competing in a Consolidated Marketplace.” This session will be led by Tim Ronak of AkzoNobel and will take place from 3 to 5 p.m.

Ronak will discuss the most current consolidation information available as of November 2013 and suggest the path consolidation may take and the impact it might have on the industry at large. He will compare collision consolidation to other industries to identify strategies that were successful within those industries when consolidation reshaped their business model. Participants will have better understanding on how to navigate in this environment and insight into survival strategies for their business. On Friday from 12:30–2:30 p.m., Scott Biggs of the Assured Performance Network will host a session entitled, Creating a Parallel Universe: Reinventing the Collision Repair Industry, focusing on profit, prosperity and business survival in the decades ahead. Attendees will see alternative versions of the future based upon the plans and agendas of insurers, MSOs and OEMs. The 2013 RDE series is sponsored by industry organizations such as SEMA, PPG Automotive Refinish, GM Genuine Parts, BASF Refinish, Ford Motor Company, AkzoNobel, Hertz, Axalta Coating Systems, Goliath Carts, PBES (a division of AAIA), LKQ Corp., SATA, Spanesi Americas, Sherwin-Williams and AASP.

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Continued from Page 38

Evolving Marketplace

segment platform. Portions of this report contain a specific segment of multiple-location networks (MLNs) that include collision repair conversion and multi-segment customer-focused franchisor Maaco along with franchise consolidator networks CARSTAR and ABRA. Fix Auto, currently a hybrid model which includes both franchise members and non-franchise repairers participating in Fix’s franchise brand and its banner network model, are also included. These organizations represent a significant market segment of the collision repair industry that warrants continued tracking and monitoring. There are various types of multiple-location networks that are not currently included here such as integrated and outsourced auto physical damage and glass networks, Safelite and LYNX APD, accident management firms such as The CEI Group, cooperative

Overall Parts Solutions is a NABC Top Level Member

Overall Parts Solutions, a leading parts procurement and logistics technology provider for the collision industry has become a top-level Diamond member of NABC. Based in Grand Prairie, Texas, Overall Parts Solutions provides a collision parts tool called OPSTRAX, a Web-based parts coordination system designed to work with major estimating and management systems. “We look forward to being an integral part of the National Auto Body Council,” said Nick Bossinakis, president of Overall Parts Solutions. “With the help of many of our partners in the collision industry, we have been quietly growing our business. As we now take our business to the next level, we believe we have an obligation to support the work of the National Auto Body Council, which will strengthen and benefit all of us in the collision industry. “ With the addition of Overall Parts Solutions, membership in the National Auto Body Council now includes 199 businesses and individuals representing all facets of the collision industry. OPS joins 26 other companies at the top-tier Diamond sponsor level.

marketing, consumer advocacy and management networks like Assured Performance, and peer performance groups including The Everest Partners, PPG’s Par Kaizen and the Coyote Group. Nevertheless, we do understand the value and growing importance these organizations have among their customers and constituents in providing solutions and supporting their needs.

Key Findings for the 2012 U.S. $20+M MLO Market Segment ● The 68 $20+M MLO organizations: ►Processed 14.7 percent of the $30.7 billion in collision repair revenue nationally ►Represent $4,504 billion in revenue, up 65 percent from 2006 ►Represent 3.9 percent of the 35,200 collision repair locations ● When combining the $20+M MLO organizations and the four franchise branded consolidator MLN networks: ►They represent $5.8 billion or 19.1 percent of the $30.7 billion collision repair market ● When the $20+M MLO organi-

Auto Data Direct Adds 3 New States to Database

Auto Data Direct, a Web-based motor vehicle record database, has added Washington, Virginia and Indiana to its lineup, bringing the company’s state count to 31. Company president Jim Taylor said, “This is an important milestone in the growth of our company’s services. ADD’s core business is to provide real-time motor vehicle inquiries to DPPAqualified companies. We’ve grown from Florida records only in 1999 to now working with 31 states. Our customers value a single point of access for records so that the process of finalizing transactions is easy, accurate, and can be completed from online without extra steps to retrieve the information from other sources.” The records provided by ADD include include owner, lien holder, and registration information as well as vehicle data such as make, model, year, tag and title number, and records are made available through a secure internet connection, based on a company’s qualifications under the Federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA). ADD also provides a national title pointer with information from the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System.

52 NOVEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

zations are combined with the MLN networks and the $10m to $20M MLO segment: ►These combined three segments represent $7.2 billion or 23.5% of the $30.7 billion collision repair market ● Within the top ten $20+M MLOs, five are independent and five are dealer groups ►These top ten organizations account for 55.9 percent of all $20+M MLO production locations ►They represent 54.1 percent of all $20+M MLO revenue ►On average, the $20+M MLOs process $3.2 million per production location, over four times more than the average annual revenue for <$20M MLO repairers of $775,718. ● Revenue for the top ten independent and dealership MLOs was $2.4 billion, an increase of $1.1 billion over 2006’s revenue of $1.3 billion Key Findings for the 2012 U.S. $10 to $20M MLO Market Segment As indicated earlier, this group of MLOs represents the next level segment being tracked as part of

the broader U.S. market. These MLOs compete not only on a local market basis, but also with the regional and larger multi-platform MLOs. They each bring an entrepreneurial and customized approached to how they succeed and compete. They continue to grow their businesses organically and through new locations in order to remain competitive or position themselves as merger or acquisition candidates. ● The 107 $10 to $20M MLO organizations: ►Represent $1.4 billion in revenue ►Processed 4.5 percent of the $30.7 billion in collision repair revenue nationally ►Represent 530 or 1.5 percent of the 35,200 collision repair locations ● The top 25 processed $409M revenue and have 140 locations while the top 50 represent $745M, over 50% of this segments revenue, with 272 locations.

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Consumer Groups Go to Court to Force Obama Administration’s Hand on Back-Up Cameras Consumer groups are taking the Obama administration to federal court over its about-face on backup cameras. In a lawsuit filed today in federal court in New York, two individuals and four organizations—including Consumers Union, the advocacy wing of Consumer Reports magazine— asked a judge to order the U.S. Department of Transportation to set rear visibility standards for light vehicles, as required by a 2008 law. DOT proposed rules in 2010 that would have required backup cameras in all new cars and light trucks. Final rules were delayed multiple times after automakers and White House officials raised concerns over costs. Before leaving office this year, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood set a new goal of completing the standards by 2015. With the lawsuit, the consumer groups hope to force the administration’s hand and make backup cameras a standard feature on new light vehicles several years sooner. “When Congress ordered this rule issued in three years, they meant three years, not seven,” said Scott Michelman, an attorney for Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group. Neither the DOT nor the U.S. Department of Justice would comment on

the lawsuit. DOT has added the safety device to the list of recommended features under the federal New Car Assessment Program. The move does not impose any requirement on automakers but it “will encourage both automakers and consumers to consider more vehicles that offer this important technology,” LaHood’s successor, Anthony Foxx, said in a statement. “While adding this technology to our list of safety features is important, I remain committed to implementing the rear visibility rule as well,” Foxx added.

Opposition and support The rules still face resistance from some car companies, though some suppliers stand to gain from a mandate. Trade groups representing automakers challenged the rules in meetings with the White House in 2011, saying that backup cameras would be less cost effective than other features required in cars, such as electronic stability control. DOT said rearview cameras would replace electronic stability control systems, which are now required by law, as a recommended advanced

technology feature in the NCAP program. According to NHTSA estimates, an average of 292 fatalities and 18,000 injuries occur each year as a result of back-over crashes involving all vehicles, the agency said in a December 2010 report. NHTSA said 228 fatalities of those fatalities involve light vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less. “Two particularly vulnerable populations—children and the elderly —are affected most,” the report said. “Approximately 44 percent of fatalities involving light vehicles are children under five—an unusually high percentage for any particular type of crash. In addition, 33 percent of fatalities involving light vehicles are elderly people 70 years of age or older.”

Cost per life Also in 2010, NHTSA estimated that adding a backup camera to a car would cost $58 to $203, depending on whether the car already has a display screen, and would save 95 to 112 lives per year—and up to $18 million per life. Even without a mandate, backup cameras have become more common in recent years. They were standard or optional in 77 percent of 2013 model-

year vehicles, according to Edmunds.com, up from 32 percent of 2008 models. Trucks, minivans and crossovers, which tend to have more limited rear visibility than cars, have often been the first vehicles equipped with the cameras. But some automakers have decided to put them into smaller cars, as well. When the redesigned 2015 Honda Fit subcompact arrives in showrooms next year, Honda’s entire lineup will have backup cameras as a standard feature. Ami Gadhia, senior policy counsel at Consumers Union, said all types of cars could use better visibility. Even if backup cameras gain widespread acceptance across the market, that is no substitute for a government mandate, she said. “We don’t see a need for a compromise on safety,” Gadhia said in an interview. “We think it should be offered across the board.”

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AAPEX Learning Forum Amps Up Business Selling Skills to Benefit Buyers

The Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) 2013 Learning Forum will offer several sessions on successful sales and marketing approaches to help buyers grow their business. AAPEX is set for Tuesday, Nov. 5–Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas. AAPEX Learning Forum sessions with a focus on evolutionary techniques will cover turning phone shoppers into buyers, how to build brand strength, tactical team planning and selling to increase a team’s selling success. Revolutionary techniques will focus on marketing and selling to millennial consumers, the latest in sales and marketing technology, mobile marketing and taking advantage of the

import parts explosion. The following marketing, sales and branding sessions will be presented by professional speakers and industry experts: • Brand Supremacy: Building Brand Strength in the Automotive Aftermarket • Marketing and Selling to Millennial Consumers • Import Parts Explosion: Are You Taking Your Share? • SWAT Team Selling: Leading Your Team to a Competitive Advantage • Implementing Account Planning to Increase Your Team’s Selling Success • Sales and Marketing Trends: The Latest Technology That Will Increase Your Cash Flow

• The Three Quickest Ways to Grow Your Bottom Line with Mobile Marketing • Handling the Phone Shopper: Turning Phone Shoppers Into Customers This year’s Learning Forum will feature nearly 40 free sessions, the highest number ever offered at AAPEX. Sessions will begin on Monday, Nov. 4 – the day before the official start of AAPEX – and continue through Nov. 7. Attendees are encouraged to make their travel plans accordingly. All sessions are accredited by the University of the Aftermarket toward the Automotive Aftermarket Professional (AAP) and Master Automotive Aftermarket Professional (MAAP)

professional designations. Sessions will be held at the Venetian Hotel, on the Venetian/Palazzo Congress Center Level 1, Marco Polo Rooms 701-707. Since the sessions are free-of-charge, seating is first come, first served. For a list of topics, speakers, session descriptions and a schedule, visit the AAPEX Learning Forum, www.aapexshow.com/education. AAPEX represents the $477 billion global motor vehicle aftermarket and is jointly sponsored by the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) and the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA). For more information, visit www.aapexshow.com or e-mail: info@aapexshow.com.

Rate of Auto Production Leads to Poorer Vehicle Quality According to Ford’s Global Purchasing Chief The recent surge in U.S. auto production is hurting vehicle quality because automotive parts suppliers have less time to fix problems that emerge on the line, Ford Motor Co.’s new global purchasing chief told reporters for Automotive News. Hau Thai-Tang, who led the overhaul of Ford’s Mustang sports car in 2005, also said the No. 2 U.S. automaker is exploring a cost-cutting strategy that requires Ford to tweak the

design of its global models for specific regions. Auto parts suppliers, which closed scores of factories during the financial crisis, are operating around-the-clock to meet consumer demand for cars and trucks that is marching toward pre-recession levels. “Everyone is running flat out and it’s contributing to some of the quality challenges that we’ve seen,” said ThaiTang, who oversees Ford’s $100 billion

global budget for everything from raw materials to marketing to paper towels. U.S. auto sales are on pace to reach 15.6 million units this year, according to J.D. Power and LMC Automotive. Many analysts expect auto sales to exceed 16 million vehicles in 2014, possibly topping the 16.1 million vehicles sold in 2007. J.D. Power and LMC forecast that U.S. auto production will rise 3 percent to 16.5 million next year.

To meet increased demand, suppliers have less time to do preventative maintenance on their equipment because the are working to meet rising U.S. vehicle demand, Thai-Tang said. One of Ford’s vehicle programs has a “yellow” rating, meaning that too many suppliers are operating at full tilt, Thai-Tang said, without naming the vehicle. In the past, Ford executives have said supply problems hampered the launch of the Lincoln MKZ sedan.

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