November 2020 Southwest Edition by Autobody News

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ABAT Dons Arms for 2021 Legislative Session by Launching Consumer Complaint Drive by Chasidy Rae Sisk

The Auto Body Association of Texas (ABAT) is strategizing for the upcoming battle during the 87th Legislative Session in Texas—Jan. 12 through May 31, 2021—as it plans to introduce legislation that will have a positive impact on the state’s collision repair industry. In order to ensure they are well prepared for success in the upcoming session, ABAT has launched a consumer complaint drive to capture the attention of lawmakers regarding the industry’s concerns, in hopes of

improving the association’s chances of getting the bills passed. In an email to ABAT members, President Burl Richards wrote, “We will be asking for your help to make lawmakers aware of how important these issues are… Based on the prior meetings that I have had with the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) and Texas legislators, the major rebuttal I have gotten is that they are not getting any complaints from consumers. They have only heard from body shops about the insurance companies not fixing cars properly See ABAT Dons Arms, Page 12

AI Has Already Changed the Game for Auto Insurers by Christoph Plenio, CCC Information Services Inc.

AI is changing how insurers do business. Accelerating decisions. Improving outcomes. Constantly adapting to customized rules and permutations. This isn’t a vision, but the reality for more than 50 insurance carriers working with CCC across AI use cases. In conversations and media, AI is often discussed as a concept. That’s yesterday’s news. Today, AI is a proven factor in improving experiences and processes for countless policyholders. For example: AI applied to a single photo can predict repairable versus total loss

claims, resulting in real-time decisions that don’t leave policyholders waiting days or weeks to know the fate of their vehicle. AI applied to auto damage estimates flag outliers based on carrier-specific rules and guidelines, identifying line-level items that appear out of the norm, and resulting in greater estimate accuracy. AI-powered estimating automatically predicts which parts are damaged, whether they can be repaired or need to be replaced, and approximate labor hours, boosting appraiser productivity. See Changed the Game, Page 26

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AUTOBODYNEWS.COM Vol. 38 / Issue 11 / November 2020

SEMA Show and SEMA360: What’s the Same? by Jason Catullo, SEMA

Day-to-day business production has changed drastically during the past seven months, and specialty-equipment companies have discovered creative ways to keep operations running and adapted to an inconsistent marketplace. In the interest of serving those companies and supporting the association’s mission to help member businesses succeed and prosper, SEMA360 was created. “Each year SEMA Week creates a community exchange of innovation, education and networking that sets the course of business for the

following year,” said Tom Gattuso, SEMA vice president of events. “During this year’s SEMA Week, Monday through Friday, Nov. 2-6, the amount of content exchange and interaction between manufacturers, buyers and media will again be unmatched.” There are currently more than 600 manufacturers ready to offer an exclusive look at their newest products, highlight trendsetting vehicles and in-progress project builds, and meet with buyers through SEMA360. Gattuso has also been contacted by retailers and resellers whose businesses have not stopped moving See What’s the Same?, Page 22

SBA and Treasury Announce Simpler PPP Forgiveness for Loans of $50,000 or Less The U.S. Small Business Administration, in consultation with the Treasury Department, on Oct. 8 released a simpler loan forgiveness application for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $50,000 or less. This action streamlines the PPP forgiveness process to provide financial and administrative relief to America’s smallest businesses while also ensuring sound stewardship of taxpayer dollars. “The PPP has provided 5.2 million loans worth $525 billion to American small businesses, providing critical economic relief and supporting more than 51 million jobs,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “Today’s action streamlines the forgiveness process for PPP borrowers with loans of $50,000 or less and thousands of PPP lenders who worked around the clock to process loans quickly,” he continued. “We are committed to making the PPP forgiveness process as simple as possible while also protecting against fraud and misuse of funds. We continue to favor additional legislation to further simplify

the forgiveness process.” “Nothing will stop the Trump Administration from supporting great American businesses and our great American workers,” said Administrator Jovita Carranza. “The PPP has been an overwhelming success and served as a historic lifeline to America’s hurting small businesses and tens of millions of workers. “The new form introduced today demonstrates our relentless commitment to using every tool in our toolbelt to help small businesses and the banks that have participated in this program,” he continued. “We are continuing to ensure that small businesses are supported as they recover.” SBA and Treasury have also eased the burden on PPP lenders, allowing lenders to process forgiveness applications more swiftly. SBA began PPP forgiveness applications and remitting forgiveness payments to PPP lenders for PPP borrowers on Oct. 2. SBA will continue to process all PPP forgiveness applications in an expeditious manner. Source: SBA

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CONTENTS Auto Insurers ..................................................1

1Collision Announces Expansion into Arizona ....12

Allstate to Cut 3,800 Jobs .................................42

ABAT Dons Arms for 2021 Legislative Session

Beth Rutter Shares Sneak Peek of Pilot

by Launching Consumer Complaint Drive ........1 Farmers Insurance Collaborates with National Auto Body Council to Donate Vehicle to Local Mother.................................................16 Hurricane Delta Loss Estimates Add to An Already Costly 2020 Season..........................16 Mesa, AZ: Honda Civic Driver Killed by Takata Airbag ..................................................6 NABC Recycled Rides Program, Farmers ®

Insurance®, GEICO, Westway Ford and Reliable Chevrolet Donate Refurbished Vehicles ........................................................14 San Marcos, TX, P&Z Approves CUP for New Chuck Nash Auto Body Shop ...................6 Tesla Building Lithium Hydroxide Refinery in Texas for Cybertruck Factory .....................18

Program at I-CAR Virtual Meeting ..................49

Heroes ..........................................................55 CCG Adds 100th New Affiliate ...........................50

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

Serving Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, Utah 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. ©2020 Adamantine Media LLC.

3M Automotive Aftermarket Division ............... 13

Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers ................ 47

American Icon Automotive Finishes ................. 24

Killer Tools & Equipment Corp. ........................ 11

Audi South Austin ........................................... 45

Malco ............................................................. 10

Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers .......................... 51

Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers ...................... 55

AutoMart Mitsubishi ........................................ 43

Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts ............................. 52

AutoNation Collision Parts ............................... 25

MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers ..................... 33

BASF Corporation............................................ 35

NOROO Paint & Coatings ................................. 23

Big Mike Naughton Ford.................................. 43

North Freeway Hyundai ................................... 36

Bill Luke Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram ............... 22

Part of the Club ............................................... 43

OEC Appoints New President and CEO...............22

BMW of South Austin ...................................... 45

Peak Kia ......................................................... 43

Registration for the 2020 MSO Symposium

BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers ........................ 42

PPG Refinish ................................................... 15

Now Open.....................................................24

Bob Utter Kia .................................................. 34

RGI Spray Booth Company .............................. 30

Registration Open for SCRS’ Education Series ...20

Certified Automotive Parts Association .............. 6

Santa Fe Kia ................................................... 22

Hertz No. 1 in Customer Satisfaction .................52 I-CAR, CREF Holding Virtual Golf Fundraiser ......11 Martin Named DCR Dir. of Operations................46 Middle-Aged Drivers More Likely to Crash Than Those in Their 70s: Study .....................50 Mitchell Delivers XR Hands-Free Solution for Collision Repair Facilities .........................26 More Shops Invoicing, Being Paid For Labor to Inspect Seat Belts, According to ‘Who Pays for What?’ Surveys ...............................50 NADA Show 2021 to be Held Online ..................21

Two Denver-Area Teachers Awarded $100,000

OEC Acquisition of NuGen IT Will Further Assist

of Elon,’ Target 2021 Opening Date ...............11 Waymo Opening Fully Driverless Service to General Public in Phoenix..............................10

COLUMNISTS

Collision Repairers to Meet Requirements of Insurers, OEMs & Customers.....................40

SBA and Treasury Announce Simpler PPP

Anderson - Pricing Change Reflects the

Forgiveness for Loans of $50,000 or Less .......1

Absolute Need for Separate Charges

SEMA Show and SEMA360: What’s the Same?....1

for Scanning, Diagnostics .............................34

Spanesi Debuts Customer Experience .................6

Attanasio - BAR Auto Shop Locator Educates and Empowers California Consumers ............48 Attanasio - Killer Tools Attacks Pandemic with Mr. Fogger .............................................44 Attanasio - Online and Just in Time: SEMA 2020 Becomes SEMA360 ...................38 Phillips - The Importance of Having a Broad Understanding of Vehicle Technology ............32 Yoswick - Two Shops Walk Away from Lawsuits Against Insurers .............................36

NATIONAL AI Has Already Changed the Game for

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Gifting Restored Vehicles to Front Line

Nationwide Introduces Express App ..................54

TX Officials Laud Tesla Giga Texas’ ‘Speed

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Tow Trucks Sought in Texas Camaro Thefts .......21

for Skilled Trades Programs ..........................20

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Tesla Dominated Q2 U.S. Automotive Exports, Data Says .....................................................46 Tesla Sues U.S. Government Over Trump’s China Tariffs..................................................54 Tesla’s Cabin Camera Detecting Facial Features to Increase Vehicle Safety .................4 Using Texts & Selfies for Insurance Claims ..........4 UTI’s Blended Training Model Leads to Employment for Graduates............................24

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

REGIONAL

Advertise in our Classified Section for $50 per column inch!

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

Chevyland....................................................... 38

SATA Dan-Am Company .................................... 5

Christopher’s Dodge World .............................. 43

Schomp Mazda ............................................... 16

Classic BMW................................................... 31

Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center..........................8-9

Classifieds ...................................................... 54

Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes .............. 7

Eagle Abrasives, Inc ........................................ 19

Shop-Pro Equipment ....................................... 41

Eckler’s Automotive ........................................ 21

Southern Polyurethanes, Inc............................ 17

Emich Chevrolet.............................................. 43

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

Emich Volkswagen .......................................... 43

Steck Manufacturing Company ....................... 26

Equalizer Industries, Inc .................................. 20

Stevinson Toyota West .................................... 43

Finnegan Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge ......................... 2

Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers...................... 44

Fisher Acura.................................................... 43

Sunmight USA Corporation.............................. 37

Fisher Honda .................................................. 43

Symach .......................................................... 12

Flatirons Subaru ............................................. 43

Team PRP ....................................................... 14

Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers .......................... 53

Toyota of Laredo ............................................. 40

Fowler Honda ................................................. 22

Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers....................... 49

Why Dealers Are Now ‘Exercising Caution’ ........46

GM Wholesale Parts Dealers ........................... 41

Tsunami Compressed Air Solutions ................. 18

Your Online Presence Needs to be Refreshed

Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers .......28-29

Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers .............. 55

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers .................... 48

Young Chevrolet .............................................. 32

in Pandemic Recovery ..................................30

Innovative Tools & Technologies ...................... 39

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

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Using Texts & Selfies for Insurance Claims by Dhara Patel, PropertyCasualty360

Sometimes a simple, mature technology can reap big rewards. A case in point is property-casualty claims management, where insurers are using two established platforms in new ways: text messaging and selﬁes. Ubiquitous on social media and familiar to consumers, these digital tools are just now being adopted in

Insurance carriers are finding that texting conveys a sense of urgency and policyholders are more likely to respond to a text message. Credit: Courtney Keating, ALM Archives

the claims arena. And they are paying off in reduced claims times as well as lower claims costs. Since claims are a cost center and can eat into an insurer’s underwriting profit, claims managers are constantly looking for ways to process claims more efficiently. Insurers have harnessed technology to reduce paperwork, eliminate redundant data entry and expedite claims, but they have been slow to apply solutions that are outside their control and may

pose regulatory concerns. But as insurers become more confident of their data security protocols and feel they can meet regulatory requirements, text messaging and selfies are getting a second look. Text messaging can save time. Our company handles claims for Arrowhead and Brown & Brown national programs. In auto lines alone, we process 20,000 claims a year. So we know a thing or two about repeatable processes. Given that many claims, imagine how many times a claims adjuster picks up the phone in a year, and how many times no one answers. Reaching someone by phone these days can be hit-or-miss, and the back and forth of leaving messages is a real-time killer. Emails are not always answered, either. But texting has an immediacy that consumers like. Texting also conveys a sense of urgency. The rule of thumb is that the shorter the format, the higher the priority a message has in a consumer’s mind. So longer-format channels such as letters and emails may not get a high response, although they are often best for communicating formally. Text messages are opened almost immediately and are great for providing quick updates and asking policyholders to check their online accounts, where they can download important information or sign off

on a claim. We’ve found that policyholders like having the option of text messaging and are more likely to open texts than email. However, texting has its challenges when it comes to regulatory compliance. Many state regulations aﬀect claims communications, which must be carefully structured and well documented. A claims manager can’t just text a customer from his or her cell phone. So we’ve integrated a texting solution into our claims process. It looks like a text message to our customers, but it’s generated through our claims system, and everything is documented in the customer’s ﬁle. There are several texting solutions for business available, but ensure they are insurance compliant. For example, California requires claims communications to be by “letter” or “voice,” so we’re still working through those restrictions. Selfies reduce cycle times and payment costs For personal and commercial auto claims, we’ve partnered with a vendor to give policyholders the option of taking photos and uploading them after an accident. It’s been surprisingly successful, resulting in payment cost savings, reduced cycle times— an average of 15 days to less than four—and an improved customer

experience. We used to send an adjuster out all the time for an auto claim. Now 60% of our customers are using the selﬁe service. It turns out they like being part of the process. We knew there would be a reduction in cycle times, but we didn’t expect the average payment per vehicle would drop too. By empowering the customer, we’ve lowered body shop costs. We send the policyholder an estimate and recommend body shops in their area. If a consumer knows from the get-go how much something should cost and gets several estimates, they generally go with the least expensive one. Texts and selﬁes allow customers to get more involved in the claims process, and they like that. Policyholders are providing a lot of the information needed to investigate claims and control costs. It’s a winwin for insurers and consumers. Dhara Patel is president of American Claims Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arrowhead General Insurance Agency. Arrowhead is one of the largest national insurance program managers for commercial and personal products in the U.S., with $1.3 billion written premium in 2019. We thank PropertyCasualty360 for reprint permission.

Tesla’s Cabin Camera Detecting Facial Features to Increase Vehicle Safety by Joey Klender, Teslarati

When Tesla activated the cabin-facing camera within the Model 3 and Model Y in June with the 2020.24.5 Software Update, the company admitted it would help engineer develop safety features and enhancements for the future. However, new developments have been revealed by a notorious Tesla hacker, who has shown the coding for the cabin camera, and what facial features the function will look for to increase safety. Tesla hacker @greentheonly revealed the speciﬁc things the cabin camera is looking for after ﬁnding the software for the feature. A series of facial features and head positions are described within the software, and appear to be looking for ways to make drivers more aware and increase the safety of the vehicles.

Among the detected facial expressions are BLINDED, DARK, EYES_CLOSED, EYES_DOWN, EYES_NOMINAL, EYES_UP, HEAD_ DOWN, HEAD_TRUNC, LOOKING_LEFT, LOOKING_RIGHT, PHONE_USE, SUNGLASSES_ EYES_LIKELY_NOMINAL and SUNGLASSES_LIKELY_EYES_ DOWN. The interesting developments from the newly revealed coding show that the cabin camera will now be used by Tesla to increase safety and driver awareness. One of the most obvious indications of this is the PHONE_USE code, which will likely recognize and indicate when the driver’s eyes have left the road and have focused on a smartphone instead. Interestingly, just a few days ago, Tesla received a sixthplace ranking on the Assisted Driving Grading survey from the Euro NCAP

tests. The lower ratings were due to poor scores in the “driver engagement” metric, where the Model 3 scored only a 35 out of 100. The lack of a driver monitoring system on the Euro NCAP tests signiﬁcantly aﬀected the Model 3’s scoring on the test. It seems that Tesla is already preparing for the cabin camera to capture this data to increase vehicle safety. However, recognizing any movement or facial feature that could be a distraction to driving could be used with Tesla’s in-house insurance suite to determine a driver’s rates. For example, if the cabin camera detects PHONE_USE more often than the average driver, rates could be increased because the driver is not giving their undivided attention to the road. The likely scenario is to increase the driver monitoring system, which Tesla lacked according to the NCAP tests—expanding the driver’s aware-

ness of what is going on while driving is crucial, especially with Tesla’s self-driving and semi-autonomous functionalities. There is plenty of evidence that many people who use the FSD or Autopilot features do not use them correctly because they require the owner to continue to keep their hands on the wheel and remain aware of driving conditions. However, some owners have seen Tesla’s features as an opportunity to be less responsible on the road. The company has repeatedly stated the cars are not yet fully-autonomous. Drivers are required to continue monitoring their vehicle’s performance. The cabin camera’s monitoring system could be a pivotal way to eliminate the possibility of less-than-ideal awareness while driving a Tesla. We thank Teslarati for reprint permission.

4 NOVEMBER 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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Mesa, AZ: Honda Civic Driver Killed by Takata Airbag by David A. Wood, CarComplaints

A Honda Civic crash in Mesa, AZ, killed the driver after the Takata airbag inflator exploded, making this at least the 15th U.S. death caused by Takata inflators in Honda vehicles. In addition, more than 200 injuries in the U.S. have occurred in Honda vehicles from exploding Takata airbag inflators. These numbers don’t reflect the Honda vehicle occupants who were killed outside the U.S. According to Honda, an investigation into the Aug. 20 Arizona crash of the 2002 Honda Civic was conducted with investigators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA.) The investigation confirmed the unnamed Civic driver sustained injuries due to the ruptured Takata airbag, and later died due to those injuries. “Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family of the driver,” Honda said in a statement. In addition to the driver, Honda and NHTSA confirmed the Takata passenger airbag inflator in the Civic also exploded, causing a small fire in the dashboard. However, there

wasn’t a passenger in the seat and the ruptured passenger airbag inflator caused no injuries. The 2002 Honda Civic had been under recall since December 2011 to replace the driver-side frontal Takata airbag inflator, and the passenger airbag inflator had been recalled in 2014.

File photo

According to Honda, “Starting in January 2012, more than 15 mailed recall notices were sent over the course of eight years to registered owners of this vehicle before the August 2020 crash. In addition, Honda made numerous phone calls in an attempt to reach owners of this vehicle and physically visited the address of the current owner, leaving recall information attached to the

San Marcos, TX, P&Z Approves CUP for New Chuck Nash Auto Body Shop The San Marcos, TX, Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 13 held a public hearing and approved a conditional use permit for an automotive body shop. The request was submitted by Matthew Opuszenski on behalf of Charles. D Nash to build a new automotive body shop on the property where the Chuck Nash Dealership is located. The property is currently zoned general commercial, which requires a CUP for the shop to be built. Included with the construction of the shop was the addition of approximately 115 parking spaces. Staff reviewed the application and recommended approval with the following conditions: 1. The site is developed in a manner substantially similar to the provided site plan; 2. The applicant provides a solid screen between the auto body repair shop parking area and the adjacent property; and 3. The site is developed according

to all other codes and ordinances. The shop is proposed to be located on the southwest side of the property. According to staff, general commercial zoning has a maximum impervious cover limit of 80%. Commissioner Mathew Haverland noted the Chuck Nash dealership is not located in the 100-year flood plain, but it is in the 500year flood plain. Jarrett Davies, general manager of Chuck D. Nash, said the intention is to close the old auto body shop facility once the new one is operational. The new facility will comply with the property’s current watershed protection plan, according to staff. The CUP was approved unanimously by commissioners. Commissioner Mike Dillion said he felt good about the project as Chuck Nash had proven to be a good neighbor. We thank Corridor News for reprint permission.

home’s front door. Our records indicate that the recall repair was never completed.” The Honda Civic driver who was killed wasn’t the registered owner of the vehicle and Honda does not know if the driver was aware of the unrepaired Takata airbag recalls. Honda has been affected by defective Takata airbag inflators more than any automaker, taking extraordinary steps to get the dangerous airbag inflators away from the public and their vehicles. The automaker continues to push customers toward dealers to have free recall repairs performed, even going door-to-door hundreds of thousands of times trying to track down customers. Owners of 2001-2003 model year vehicles are especially at risk, but all Honda vehicle owners should ensure their vehicles don’t have the dangerous Takata airbag inflators installed. Acura customers can verify any open recalls at www.recalls. acura.com and Honda owners may check www.recalls.honda.com. We thank CarComplaints for reprint permission.

Spanesi Americas, Inc. announced the debut release of its new 360° Virtual Tour of its North American Headquarters. Designed to feature the entire Spanesi 360° Concept, visitors are able to easily move around the facility to explore Spanesi’s equipment, products and service offerings. Spanesi developed this groundbreaking approach to better serve its customers as industry trade shows continue to be postponed, rescheduled and canceled. The 360° Virtual Tour is available through the Spanesi Americas website, www.spanesi -americas.com. Visitors are also given exclusive access to Spanesi’s offices, training classroom, Training Center, welder training area and warehouses, and will also have access to Spanesi’s live chat and technical support features, during normal business hours. Source: Spanesi

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6 NOVEMBER 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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8 NOVEMBER 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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Waymo Opening Fully Driverless Service to General Public in Phoenix Five years ago this month, Steve Mahan, retired director of the Santa Clara Valley Blind Center, who lost his sight years before, took the world’s first ride in a self-driving car on public roads.

This little car, called Firefly, had a top speed of just 25 mph, and used a combination of lidar, radar, cameras and massive on-board computing power to navigate the busy streets of Austin, TX. Since that first ride, which some have called a Kitty Hawk moment of sorts for fully autonomous technology, Waymo has been hard at work to bring the Waymo Driver

to more and more people. In 2017, it began its early rider program in the Metro Phoenix area with the next generation of its technology, using the full-size hybrid Chrysler Pacifica. This fourth-generation Waymo Driver was significantly more sophisticated than Firefly’s technology, and for the last year, has pioneered fully driverless, paid rides on high-speed roads across a service area larger than the city of San Francisco. Over time, as Waymo improved the capability of its Waymo Driver, it increased the scope and quantity of its operations, with 5% to 10% of its rides in 2020 being fully driverless for an exclusive group of early riders under NDA. Waymo has been gathering key learnings from these riders on how to optimize its driverless service experience and continuously improve it—in their words, it’s a magical experience. Waymo also began to offer more people access to our public Waymo One service, with a vehicle operator monitoring the ride. Beginning Oct. 8, Waymo will open up its fully driverless offering

to Waymo One riders. Members of the public service can now take friends and family along on their rides and share their experience with the world. Waymo said it will start with those who are already a part of Waymo One and, over the next several weeks, welcome more people directly into the service through its app, available on Google Play and the App Store. In the near term, 100% of its rides will be fully driverless. Waymo expects its new fully driverless service to be very popular, and it is thankful to its riders for their patience as the company ramps up availability to serve demand. Later this year, after Waymo has finished adding in-vehicle barriers between the front row and the rear passenger cabin for in-vehicle hygiene and safety, it will also be re-introducing rides with a trained vehicle operator, which will add capacity and allow the company to serve a larger geographical area. Waymo achieved this milestone with the thought and care its

riders expect. It has enhanced its health and safety policies and procedures throughout its fully-owned fleet, sought the feedback of its team, partners and riders, as well as federal, local and state authorities, all while continuing to advance the Waymo Driver’s capabilities. To Waymo’s entire community: thank you for being a part of this important journey. And to all the Waymonauts who’ve worked so hard getting the company here: thanks for your dedication to its mission. Together, we’re building a safe and more accessible future with every autonomous mile we drive. Source: Waymo

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I-CAR, CREF Holding Virtual Golf Fundraiser To raise additional support for high school and college collision school programs, the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) will be collaborating with 90 I-CAR Volunteer Committee groups nationwide on a winter virtual golf fundraiser, exclusively sponsored by PPG Automotive. This event will be a private tournament within TopGolf’s online game, to be held Friday, Nov. 20 through Sunday, Dec. 20. Golfers will be able to play an unlimited number of rounds of virtual golf during those 30 days, while viewing an in-game leaderboard to see how they are doing compared to others golfing from around the country. When paying their $25 registration fee online, golfers will be able to select one of the 90 participating I -CAR volunteer committees, and $20 of their registration fee will be reinvested into collision schools in that specific market. Registration is now open online. Source: CREF

TX Officials Laud Tesla Giga Texas’ ‘Speed of Elon,’ Target 2021 Opening Date by Simon Alvarez, Teslarati

Tesla has made it a point to note that while its Gigafactories are getting more ambitious with each iteration, they are also getting faster to build. This definitely seems to be true for Gigafactory Texas, a mammoth facility that is currently being built in what officials are fondly dubbing as the “Speed of Elon.” With its rapid construction, officials have noted that the Cybertruck and Semi factory will be opening next year. The buildout of Gigafactory Texas has been remarkable from the start. In the weeks following its formal announcement, construction crews at the Gigafactory Texas site have been moving dirt, and within the past 60 days, building pads are already being constructed. In a statement to Biz Journals, Andy Linseisen, Austin’s assistant director of development services, praised the project’s pace. “They’re going very fast. They started this summer with mining and they already are building building pads in 60 days. This plant opens next year,” Linseisen said.

The construction of Gigafactory Texas is a massive project, with up to 5 million square feet planned and numerous construction jobs poised to be filled. It remains unclear if a general contractor had been hired for the construction of its Cybertruck and Semi facility, though last month, several contractors have expressed their interest in the high-profile project. That being said, reports have hinted that Tesla may be pondering the idea of working with multiple general contractors for Giga Texas’ buildout. What is rather impressive is the fact that work in the Gigafactory Texas site was reportedly started even before the project’s official announcement was released by Tesla. Travis County Public Information Officer Hector Nieto explained this was due to Tesla inheriting permits when it bought the site earlier this year. But despite this head start, Sam Owen, vice president of Stream Realty Partners’ industrial division in Austin, noted Tesla’s timeline for Gigafactory Texas is still extremely accelerated.

“For a project of that size to be open by next year would be extremely impressive. It’s fast. In comparison to traditional tilt-wall warehouse development, the timeline is impressive and very quick … just a standard project would take that long,” Owen said. Overall, the site seems to be inspiring optimism among officials. In a statement, Charisse Bodisch, the chamber’s senior vice president of economic development, noted the jobs Giga Texas will bring to the area will be notable. Being a massive electric vehicle production site, Giga Texas is expected to employ about 5,000 workers, with Tesla’s Careers Page already listing almost 100 positions available for the facility. “We are excited to see Tesla moving at ‘The Speed of Elon’ and the tremendous progress already made at the site. The jobs being created during the construction and those when Giga Texas ramps up are at a time when our community needs them most,” Bodisch said. We thank Teslarati for reprint permission.

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Continued from Cover

ABAT Dons Arms and under-indemnifying their constituents.” ABAT identified an easy way to help the consumers’ concerns reach legislators and the TDI, by creating and distributing a document that shops can complete with customers who have issues with insurers. Scenarios in which this letter would be useful include when an insurer refuses to reimburse for safety-required procedures or to pay for non-aftermarket parts, among others. Richards urged shops to “educate the customer upfront and during the repair when an indemnification issue arises. Inform the customer, and when they understand that the insurer is not looking out for their best interest, they will be more inclined to fill out a complaint form. Then, the shop simply sends it to ABAT, and we send it to the legislators that are in that constituent’s district, along with the TDI.” The consumer complaint letter calls upon the legislator to “help pass Legislation that will help consumers like me receive safe and proper repairs without having to go through an expensive court battle with this insurance company.” ABAT has begun to receive consumer complaints as shops educate their staffs on the process, and the association has also coordinated with the TDI to ensure the complaints are being submitted property. “We’ve had many shops contact us to request the forms, including shops that aren’t yet ABAT members,” Richards said. “We’re optimis-

tic about the great response we’ve received so far.” ABAT hopes to collect 1000 complaints by February 2021 to ensure lawmakers are aware of the industry’s concerns before their 2021 bills are introduced. In 2019, House Bill 1348 was defeated by the clock when the 86th Legislative Session ended, but ABAT is hopeful the 2021 incarnation of the bill will yield more favorable results. “House Bill 1348 made it through the House, but we ran out of time in the Calendars Committee,” Richards recalled. “Our 2021 bill is very similar, so we like our chances.” The bill “addresses proper repairs based on the OEM’s recommended processes and procedures, which will eliminate the ‘gray’ areas regarding what a proper repair is and how it is indemnified, plus it addresses parts that are not of the same like, kind and quality as the OEM design,” Richards explained. “It also addresses the p-pages and ability for the user to disregard certain procedures, in turn helping to provide a better, safer repair. Hopefully, creating black and white rules will reduce some of the ‘friction costs’ between the shop and insurer as well.” ABAT is also exploring a bill related to insurer reform, which would include making the appraisal clause mandatory. “Repairers are excited we’re going back into the legislative session,” said ABAT Executive Director Jill Tuggle. “We made it pretty far into the last session, and we’re optimistic since we’ve heard that it typically takes a few runs to get a

bill passed. It’s never felt like defeat, just like part of the process.” Learning from past experiences, ABAT knows the importance of getting the bill submitted as early as possible, and since experts are predicting a very busy session, the association “hopes to get it submitted and assigned a number even earlier than last session. We’re getting faster and better at this each time, and that should help with time constraints and hopefully prevent us from running out of time again,” Tuggle noted. Tuggle also provided an update on some of ABAT’s other events and projects. On Sept. 17, ABAT hosted the first meeting for a brand-new chapter in Bryan/College Station, since the state is now permitting some social activities as long as proper precautions are taken. ABAT took the opportunity to introduce local collision repairers to the association’s goals. “We let them know who ABAT is—and is not,” Tuggle said. “Some associations over the last 50 to 60 years have created a bad name for themselves, so part of our

goal is to overcome misconceptions about what a trade association is, what our purpose is and what actually qualifies as collusion,” she continued. “Many shops are surprised to learn that the parameters we’re allowed to operate within are less restrictive than what we thought. We also show them how to fix vehicles properly and to get paid for what they do. It’s great to visit a new area and assure shops that there’s hope for the future of collision repair.” ABAT’s 2020 Dean Griffin Memorial Skeet Shoot will be held Oct. 16 at Elm Fork Shooting Sports in Dallas. “We’ve received a lot of support for our 4th annual Skeet Shoot, and putting on a great event is important since we’ve renamed it in honor of late board member Dean Griﬃn.” What else is coming up for ABAT? Though ideas have not yet been cemented and finalized, Tuggle offered a teaser: “Members can look for some more fun, technologically advanced things coming their way soon!” For more information about ABAT and its events, visit abat.us.

1Collision Announces Expansion into Arizona 1Collision has added Cutting Edge Collision in Tucson, AZ, as its first collision center in Arizona. Cutting Edge is owned and operated by Gary Hagen Jr. “We are excited to become affiliated as the first 1Collision location in Arizona, and look forward to 1Collision helping our business grow in a number of areas from marketing to performance coaching,” Hagen said.

“Gary has great knowledge and experience and is recognized for his commitment to safe, proper and high-quality collision services,” said 1Collision President Jim Keller commented, We are delighted to welcome Gary into our family of collision repair centers.” For more information visit www.1collision.com. Source: 1Collision

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NABC Recycled Rides® Program, Farmers Insurance®, GEICO, Westway Ford and Reliable Chevrolet Donate Refurbished Vehicles On Sept. 24, two deserving Dallas women pursuing their careers and education amid overcoming challenging circumstances experienced a life-changing event—the presentation of vehicles to provide them independence and the ability to work and take care of their families— thanks to the National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides® program along with car donors Farmers Insurance® and GEICO, and collision repair partners Westway Ford and Reliable Chevrolet, both Berkshire Hathaway Automotive companies. The first presentation was held at Westway Ford in Dallas, and the second took place at Reliable Chevrolet in Richardson, following all state and local safe-distancing and health policies. The two deserving recipients were selected by Trinity River Mission/Boys and Girls Club of Dallas. “These two young women are tremendous role models for overcoming challenges to pursue their

dreams of education and careers,” said Darren Huggins, national collision director for Berkshire Hathaway Automotive. “We’re honored to work with our team members at Westway Ford and Reliable Chevrolet, our partners at Farmers Insurance® and GEICO, and contributing supporters to present these vehicles to Tania and Leticia. We wish them all the best for their success in the future.” NABC™, Farmers Insurance® and Westway Ford presented a refurbished 2016 Ford Fusion to Tania Peredo, a first-in-her-family college student juggling her school courses, work and supporting her siblings and father, all with an unreliable car. Peredo has been a program recipient of Trinity River Mission since 10th grade. She excelled in all aspects of the program, including the required 20 hours of community service. At home, she has been a strong pillar for her family, caring for her father after a debilitating accident,

along with her three siblings. She took two jobs the summer of her senior year to help support the family. She earned her associate’s degree in science from Lassiter Early College High School and is now at Oklahoma University, where she is pursuing a biology degree with a pre-dental track. With no financial help from home, she currently pays for all of her expenses through her on campus work-study job and attempts to send money home. Peredo’s unreliable vehicle has caused a major strain on her already diminished finances. For her, this car is more than just a reliable vehicle; this car will literally assist her in achieving her lifelong dreams. Additional partners in the project include 1.800.Charity.Cars, English Color, Original One Parts, All Star Auto Lights, Intertek, 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division, Professional Parts Group and PPG. In the second presentation, NABC™, GEICO and Reliable Chev-

rolet presented a 2014 Chevrolet Impala to Leticia Isabel Duran. Duran was nominated through Trinity River Mission as an outstanding AmeriCorps alum, volunteer and employee in need. She first came to TRM as an intern from the University of North Texas at Dallas, pursuing her bachelor’s degree in psychology. She assisted youth with psycho-educational groups, peer groups, field trips and homework help. Once she joined the team as an executive administrative assistant, they learned of her daily struggles. She is the first in her immediate family to graduate from middle school, high school and college. Her parents only made it halfway through elementary school and worked hard so that she could achieve what they did not. Currently, her younger sister lives with Duran and her husband, Ricardo, while attending college. Duran does not currently have a vehicle, which makes it difficult for her

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to get to work in Dallas and care for her family and her parents, as well as puts a strain on her finances in paying for gas and rides from others. Obtaining a vehicle from the NABC Recycled Rides program is life-changing for Duran and her family. Reliable transportation will allow her to get to work and daily activities and fund her and her family’s dreams of further education and business opportunities. Supporting partners in the project are 1.800.Charity.Cars, English Color, LKQ, NTB, Elite Electronics, Hi-tech Paintless Dent Removal, 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division and PPG. NABC Recycled Rides® is a unique program in which businesses representing all facets of the collision repair industry team up to present vehicles to individuals and families in need of reliable transportation. Since the inception of the NABC Recycled Rides® program in 2007, members of the National Auto Body Council® have donated more than 2,500 vehicles valued at more than $36 million. Source: NABC

Hurricane Delta Loss Estimates Add to An Already Costly 2020 Season by Danielle Ling, PropertyCasualty360

Loss estimates are in for Hurricane Delta, the 10th named storm to hit the U.S. this season. With Delta’s arrival on southern shores, the 2020 hurricane season breaks a 104-year-old record for the most named storms in a season. Hurricane Delta made landfall in Louisiana on Oct. 9 as a Category 2 storm, and the second hurricane in six weeks to hit the southwestern coast of Louisiana. Affected areas in Louisiana and Texas experienced flooding rains, significant storm surge, road closures and strong winds as Delta reached a maximum sustained surface wind speed of 100 mph. The storm flooded communities and blew tarps off homes and businesses in affected regions that include areas damaged by Hurricane Laura just six weeks prior. On Oct. 14, catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide published its insured loss estimate and analysis for Hurricane Delta. AIR estimates industry insured losses

Farmers Insurance Collaborates with National Auto Body Council to Donate Vehicle to Local Mother Farmers Insurance donated a newly refurbished vehicle to a local single mom on Oct. 8. Farmers worked with Service King to restore a 2016 Ford Focus for the deserving recipient as part of the National Auto Body Council (NABC) Recycled Rides program. “The Farmers team is dedicated to giving back and helping make a positive impact in our communities,” said Carly Kraft, external communications manager at Farmers Insurance. “In providing reliable transportation, it’s our hope the newly restored vehicle will help meet the recipient’s needs.” The car was restored by technicians at Service King who donated their time and skills. The organization also contributed gift cards to provide additional assistance to the recipient. Brittney Jones was nominated for the vehicle by Driving Single Parents Inc., a nonprofit organization founded in San Antonio, TX, that provides a family vehicle to qualified single parents in need. Jones is excited for the ways the

new car can help support her and her 4-year-old son. The NABC Recycled Rides program brings together collision repairers, insurers and others in the collision industry in an effort to make a difference and give refurbished vehicles to individuals and service organizations that would benefit from reliable transportation. The NABC Recycled Rides program began in 2007 and since then has donated more than 2,500 vehicles valued at more than $36 million.

to onshore property resulting from Hurricane Delta’s winds and storm surge will range between $1 billion to $3 billion. New analysis from CoreLogic also estimates insured losses for Hurricane Delta, breaking down costs by category. In its report,

Larsen, principal, insurance solutions at CoreLogic, said in the report. “Damage from Hurricane Laura extended inland and concentrated on roofs and exterior building cladding, and Delta’s impact could have a double-jeopardy impact. For

“Recovery from Hurricane Delta will likely be exacerbated due to ongoing rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Laura,” — Tom Larsen

CoreLogic estimates insured wind losses for residential and commercial properties in Louisiana and Texas will fall between $0.5 billion and $0.9 billion. Insured storm surge losses are estimated to be an additional $0.2 billion to $0.3 billion, and damage to offshore structures ranges from $0.8 billion to $1.5 billion. “Recovery from Hurricane Delta will likely be exacerbated due to ongoing rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Laura,” Tom

homeowners, it is critical to work hand-in-hand with insurers to understand their coverage and financial responsibility.” CoreLogic’s analysis examines onshore losses for residential homes and commercial properties and incorporates contents and business interruption, but does not include broader economic loss from the storm. We thank PropretyCasualty360 for reprint permission.

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Tesla Building Lithium Hydroxide Refinery in Texas for Cybertruck Factory by Simon Alvarez, Teslarati

A recent report from market intelligence publisher Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has revealed Tesla is poised to build a lithium hydroxide chemical plant in Texas. The lithium hydroxide refinery will reportedly be used to feed the upcoming Cybertruck Gigafactory. The spodumene conversion facility will be built adjacent to Gigafactory Texas, and based on Benchmark Minerals’ report, the facility has a target date of Q4 2022 for its start of operations. This is a notably aggressive timeframe for such a facility, though it is distinctly Tesla. Ultimately, the lithium hydroxide refinery will add to Tesla’s plans to set up a cathode facility in Texas, which CEO Elon Musk has described as part of the electric car maker’s cell production plan. The upcoming conversion/refining plant will turn hard rock spodumene ore into lithium hydroxide, which is used directly in battery cells. It should be noted that prior to Tesla’s battery efforts, this process has traditionally been performed in China using spodumene sourced from Australia. In its report, Benchmark Minerals noted that Tesla will be using a hydrometallurgical process to turn its spodumene ore into lithium hydroxide, effectively eliminating the use of sulphuric acid. This process, however, remains untested in the commercial scale. Interestingly enough, a recent announcement from Australian mining firm Piedmont Lithium has revealed Tesla has signed a five-year deal to acquire spodumene from a mine in North Carolina. In its press release, Piedmont noted its Tesla deal represents about one-third of the expected 160,000 tonnes per annum that’s expected to be produced at its North Carolina mine. This deal will likely supply Tesla with 8,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide a year, starting between July 2022 and July 2023. In its report, Benchmark stated the Piedmont Lithium deal will likely account for just over half of Tesla’s battery needs for Gigafactory Texas in 2023, the first estimated

full production year of the electric car maker’s 4680 cells. With this in mind, Tesla would still need to secure more spodumene supply beyond Piedmont Lithium’s capabilities, especially if the company intends to fully ramp its battery cell production capabilities.

introduced and we expect that post2022 ramp to be rapid.” Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Product Director Andrew Miller added Tesla’s lithium hydroxide chemical plant in Texas will allow the electric car maker to closely monitor the cost and quality of its batteries’

Credit: @FutureJurvetson / Twitter

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Managing Director Simon Moores highlighted the significance of Tesla’s battery production push. “Lithium’s foundations for the 21st century are beginning to shift in what is a China-dominated part of the lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle supply chain. Tesla is the first automotive OEM to enter lithium production—a watershed moment,” he said. “And it does so without having to mine lithium from the ground. Not only will it allow Tesla to control costs at this supply chain step, it will once again see the spodumene trade flows point towards the USA instead of China, a market that has dominated spodumene conversion for a generation through majors such as Tianqi and Ganfeng Lithium. “It will also significantly bolster its negotiating power on its future lithium hydroxide contracts once it harnesses the ability to produce a consistent battery ready lithium hydroxide and scales capacity,” he continued. “Tesla has clearly come to the realization that it cannot rely on the upstream of the supply chain or investors to expand quickly enough for its needs. It has now taken some of that responsibility away from the miners and chemical producers and once Tesla gets to grips with the lithium refining process, scale will be

components. Miller said Tesla’s efforts to move upstream in the battery supply chain will likely be replicated by other carmakers in the future.

“With Tesla entering the upstream of the lithium-ion battery supply chain at the conversion stage the company does not have to become a lithium miner, a skill-set and company culture that is entirely different to creating chemically refined materials,” Miller said. “Controlling the lithium conversion from the raw material—spodumene concentrate—means they can not only reduce the cost but also control the quality of the lithium hydroxide output more closely. “This is additional evidence that lithium will remain a specialty chemical that is tied to and tailored for the needs of the end-users, rather than a commodity,” he said. “In addition, Tesla’s efforts to move upstream will likely be replicated by other auto manufacturers, and in other areas of the supply chain. Having control of advanced material costs into the EV supply chain is an increasingly important factor in lowering battery prices.” We thank Teslarati for reprint permission.

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Registration Open for SCRS’ Education Series The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) announced registration is open for the 2020 Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series, and can be accessed at https://rde.scrs.com. The RDE series will be released in conjunction with SEMA360, on the same days of Nov. 2-6. The online RDE Full Series Pass ($375) provides even greater accessibility to educational solutions, unlocking access to all sessions being offered in the 2020 Repairer Driven Education series. Unlike in-person, where attendees had to pick and choose between sessions within a time slot, the RDE Full Series Pass will provide access to all sessions produced for the program, and will remain accessible through August 2021 for continued reference. For a full list of RDE sessions and speakers, visit https:// rde.scrs.com/courses. Source: SCRS

Two Denver-Area Teachers Awarded $100,000 for Skilled Trades Programs by Audra Streetman, CBS 4 Denver News

Two Colorado high school teachers were named winners of the 2020 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence. On Oct. 14, Cherry Creek Innovation Campus automotive technology teacher Brian Manley and STEM School Highlands Ranch engineering teacher Mike Shallenberger were each surprised with $100,000. Manley and Shallenberger represent two of only three grand prize winners nationwide. The award designates $70,000 for their high school skilled trades program and $30,000 for the teacher. The award was created in 2017 by Eric Smidt, the founder of national tool retailer Harbor Freight Tools. “Trades teachers are educating and developing the tradespeople of the future,” Smidt said. “Many of the students in their classes today will become—as soon as next spring—the workers who keep our critical care infrastructure, our communication networks, our homes

and cars up and running. The prize is our way of saying thank you to their teachers.” Manley teaches automotive technology at Cherry Creek Innovation Campus in Centennial, CO. This fall, he will begin his 26th year of teaching. The master automobile technician is currently in his final year of a doctoral program focused on leadership for education equity.

Credit: CBS

Shallenberger is an engineering teacher at STEM School Highlands Ranch. The 21-year veteran teacher designed a Career Discovery program that offers tours and facilitate paid internship opportunities. Shallenberger’s students have the chance to earn their associate’s degree, tuition-free, while still in high school.

“This year has been one of the toughest on record for skilled trades teachers as they switch between in-person, remote or blended learning—all while trying to do their life’s work of preparing the next generation of tradespeople,” said Danny Corwin, executive director of Harbor Freight Tools for Schools. “At a time when tradespeople are more essential than ever, so is trades education. We are honored and grateful to have the chance to shine a spotlight on these teachers’ amazing work.” The 2020 prize drew more than 600 applications from 48 states and included three rounds of judging. In July, the field was narrowed to 50 finalists. An additional 15 teachers will win $50,000, with $35,000 going to their public high school skilled trades program and $15,000 to the individual teacher. The 32 finalists who were not named winners will receive $1,000 gift cards from Harbor Freight Tools. We thank CBS 4 Denver News for reprint permission.

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Tow Trucks Sought in Texas Camaro Thefts by Steven Symes, Motorious

Criminals want your car and they’re going to great lengths to get them. Sure, locking your doors and putting your beloved ride in a garage at night help, but there are thieves who are determined to get past those kinds of barriers. Then there are these outlaws in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas who used unmarked tow trucks to snag three Chevrolet Camaros in late September. Police in Mansfield have released images taken from cameras in the area of the thefts. They show two tow trucks, one a white Ram and the other a black Chevrolet Silverado with roof lights, stealing the Camaros. According to police, this isn’t a case of repo guys taking cars people haven’t paid for, before anyone draws that conclusion and dismisses this case. The three stolen Camaros were later recovered. However, the result was anything but happy. The engine and transmission had been yanked out of all three and they were dumped within a one-mile radius. That alone would seem to indicate these two tow

trucks are working together. Police not only posted the photos of the tow trucks on Twitter, which admittedly aren’t the best quality, they also put up a video of the Ram tow truck driving slowly by a first-gen Camaro. The muscle car is parked in a well-lit area, so it’s a pretty brazen crime. We wouldn’t be surprised if these guys keep going after other performance cars if they aren’t caught. We’ve seen car thefts absolutely skyrocketing in 2020. The year started off OK, then the coronavirus lockdowns fueled a spike in thefts. Just when we thought criminals wouldn’t up their game, car thefts have been climbing even higher. If you don’t want to deal with filing an insurance claim and going vehicle shopping again, take even more steps than you have been to secure your ride. If you have information about these tow trucks stealing Chevy Camaros, contact Lt. Harrell of Mansfield Police at 817-804-5709. We thank Motorious for reprint permission.

NADA Show 2021 to be Held Online by Auto Remarketing Staff

NADA Show 2021 is going virtual. The National Automobile Dealers Association announced Oct. 12 that its annual convention and expo, previously scheduled for January in New Orleans, is moving online and will run Feb. 9-11. “Dealers are both incredibly resilient and incredibly optimistic. Their resiliency has been proven time and again this year. So too has their optimism, because throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we remained optimistic and hopeful that we would be able to gather together in person in New Orleans for the most important NADA Show,” NADA Chairman Rhett Ricart said in a news release. “But the coronavirus has been persistent, a second wave is predicted to coincide with flu season, and, as things stand, public health controls remain too restrictive to allow the Show to go forward in person,” Ricart said. “Recognizing these realities, we are transi-

tioning to a virtual Show.” NADA said in the release that among the features of the digital convention will be more than 60 educational workshops and sessions, an online expo hall and OEM franchise meetings. NADA President and Chief Executive Peter Welch said, “While we are disappointed we cannot be together in New Orleans, we are excited about what a virtual Show will mean for dealers and the entire auto industry. “And without any of the travel costs associated with attending an in-person Show, we’re very hopeful that a far greater number of dealership employees will be able to attend virtually and get all the benefits the Show has to offer. This indeed could be the first NADA Show that many dealership employees are able to attend.” Registration opens in coming weeks; more information can be found at NADAShow.org. We thank Auto Remarketing for reprint permission.

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Continued from Cover

What’s the Same? forward. Neither has the association. While there’s no SEMA Show in 2020, SEMA360 was built to provide buyers with a viable marketplace that offers benefits like an in-person trade event. “Industry buyers and manufacturers have made it clear that a marketplace is needed during this challenging year,” said Gattuso. “Attendees will discover that SEMA360 has many of the same benefits and business opportunities as the SEMA Show, with a focus on new product intros, vehicle debuts, networking and educational sessions.” For buyers and media, planning for SEMA360 is similar to the SEMA Show. For instance, at the SEMA Show, attendees can view a new product display, gather specs and a description, collect pictures and press material, and connect with the manufacturer on the Show floor. The same can be done through SEMA360 in a very efficient manner; including the direct connection to the manufacturer.

OEC Appoints New President and CEO OEConnection LLC (OEC), the leading technology provider to automotive original equipment manufacturers, has announced the appointment of Patrick C. Brown as its new president and CEO. Brown succeeds Chuck Rotuno, who was named executive chairman. These changes were effective immediately. Brown brings extensive experience running high-growth companies in the FinTech, InsurTech and automotive industries. Most recently, Brown served as president and CEO at Innovative Aftermarket Systems (IAS), a leading provider of technology and finance & insurance (F&I) solutions to the automotive industry. IAS is one of the largest F&I providers in the U.S., serving more than 6,000 dealerships across the country. Brown holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and bachelor’s degrees in economics and finance from Wingate University. He also serves on the board of All Web Leads, Inc. Source: OEC

Here’s a look at some more similarities between the SEMA Show and SEMA360: The dates for SEMA360 and the week of the SEMA Show are the same, beginning Monday, Nov. 2, and concluding Friday, Nov. 6. The SEMA Show is open to the trade only. SEMA360 is the same: open to trade only. The SEMA Show features qualified buyers and media. SEMA360 will feature qualified buyers and media. The SEMA Show and SEMAS 360’s main buyer benefits and takeaways are the same: finding new products and new ideas. The online platform is anchored with a robust New Products Showcase of more than 1000 products. Industry-leading education sessions will be a main focus of SEMA360 and feature the relevant content participants in the in-person SEMA Show have grown to count on to build their businesses. Vehicles, always a mainstay at the SEMA Show, are featured in a SEMA360 online Builder Showcase and in many of the 600+ Manufacturer Showcases so buyers and

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media can still spot trends and see products in application. OEMs use the SEMA Show to announce new products, partnerships and initiatives. There are four OEMs ready to do the same this year. Celebrities and notable industry icons are part of the fabric of the in-person Show. SEMA360 will also feature the insights and talents of many of these popular personalities. Show-special deals will be integrated into many of the online manufacturer presentations, just as they are at the in-person SEMA Show. Networking and connecting with industry colleagues can be facilitated as they are at the SEMA Show with virtual public and private meeting rooms with video and chat capability. While SEMA360 is all online, it has been purpose-built to include the features SEMA Show visitors have grown to expect—all designed to connect the industry and help propel businesses into a successful 2021. Nowhere else will you find the level of industry participation: 600-plus Manufacturer Showcases, a New Products Showcase featuring 1,000

products, a Builder Showcase with hundreds of vehicles, industry-leading education with 50 seminars, and unmatched networking with thousands of industry buyers and media. If you want to be part of the momentum and energy that is moving the industry forward into 2021, you need to be part of this year’s SEMA Week and you need to be part of SEMA360. Register to attend: www.sema360. com/buyer.html Register for a Manufacturer Showcase www.sema360.com/manufacturer.html Register here to submit a vehicle build www.secureprod.sema show.com/SEMAESM/ESM/Builder Showcase.aspx We thank SEMA for reprint permission.

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UTIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Blended Training Model Leads to Employment for Graduates As the pandemic continues to deliver a colossal shock to the economy, with weekly unemployment claims increasing to 870,000 for the week ending Sept. 19 and topping an unprecedented 700,000 each week for more than six months, Universal Technical Instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pandemic response plan and blended training model are delivering results, with graduates ďŹ nding employment across the nation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In a time of extraordinary challenges, our students are completing their education and going to work,â&#x20AC;? said Jerome A. Grant, CEO. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The fact that there are good jobs waiting for our graduates speaks to industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urgent demand for skilled technicians and the quality of our industry-aligned education model.â&#x20AC;? The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimated pre-pandemic there will be more than 110,000 job openings for automotive, diesel and collision repair technicians on average annually across the U.S. through 2028. In an economic downturn, people and businesses keep their vehicles longer and trained technicians remain in demand to maintain and service them.

To meet employer demand and support students in continuing their educations during the pandemic, UTI transitioned its on-campus, in-person training to a blended format, and has built and continues to enhance a model that blends online, instructor-delivered teaching and demonstrations with hands-on training in campus labs that meet health authority guidelines. The blended model prepares UTI students for high-tech careers, requiring hands-on and digital skills, and for upskilling on the job, as employers train on new technology online and virtually. Corey Vanderploeg was four weeks from graduation when the pandemic hit, and completed his training in UTIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blended model, using a HEERF CARES Act emergency grant to help support himself and stay in school. He graduated from UTI-Avondaleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diesel program in June and immediately went to work as a technician with Pape Machinery in Portland, OR. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d spent the last ďŹ ve years working in dead-end jobs and, without UTI and the support I received, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d probably be out of work altogether due to the pandemic,â&#x20AC;? Vander-

ploeg said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There will always be a need for people who work on diesel trucks and equipment.â&#x20AC;? UTIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s manufacturer-speciďŹ c advanced courses have also continued during the pandemic, with strong student outcomes. These programs train students who have completed their core program to work with a speciďŹ c manufacturerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vehicles and technology. Employers extend oďŹ&#x20AC;ers of employment to many of these students even before they graduate and, for some of these programs, manufacturer partners cover studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tuition. After initially putting his love of German vehicles aside and working in construction, Davidson Ansick enrolled at UTI, completed core automotive training and was selected for the Porsche Technology Apprenticeship Program (PTAP.) He graduated from the program in the midst of the pandemic, crediting the instructors who supported him, and immediately went to work for Porsche of the Main Line in the Philadelphia area. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I found out about the Porsche program and learned it was manufacturer paid and would almost guarantee a job after school, it was

an easy choice,â&#x20AC;? Ansick said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now I work for the best of the best.â&#x20AC;? Seth Werner, a graduate of the automotive program at UTIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NASCAR Tech and this summerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Volvo Service Automotive Factory Education (SAFE) program, now works as a technician for Parkway Volvo in Wilmington, NC. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was under the assumption that as a new tech, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d mostly be doing brake jobs and oil changes, but by day two, I was already working on more complex issues, including computer problems,â&#x20AC;? Werner said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Studying online and in person was diďŹ&#x20AC;erent, but it was deďŹ nitely worth it.â&#x20AC;? Zachary Gaulin, who graduated from UTIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Motorcycle Mechanics Institute (MMI) in Orlando and the Harley-Davidson program and is employed as a service technician at Big Moose Harley-Davidson in Maine said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the increases of people riding their bikes, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re understaďŹ&#x20AC;ed, but I am constantly energized by doing something I love, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m making good money as a young person right out of school.â&#x20AC;? For more information about UTI, visit www.uti.edu. Source: UTI

Registration for the 2020 MSO Symposium Now Open The Automotive Service Association (ASA) announced earlier this month the ninth installment of the MSO Symposium would take place as a ďŹ ve-day virtual event the week of Nov. 9, and that for the ďŹ rst time ever, the program is open to the entire industry and at no cost. Registration is now open. The 2020 MSO Symposium will run as a series of 90-minute, daily webinar sessions that provide insight and guidance on the most important issues in the automotive collision repair business. Similar to years past, the agenda, timing and content is driven and directed by industry leading members who participate on the programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advisory board. The program features speakers like Susanna Gotsch, industry analyst from CCC Information Services; Rex Green, global co-head automotive aftermarket investment banking with JeďŹ&#x20AC;eries LLC; OEM and insurance company representatives; and panel participants from a variety of multi-shop organizations,

both large and small from across North America. Additional information on this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s agenda and speakers can be found at www.msosymposium.com/agenda Registration to the virtual 2020 event is complimentary thanks to the eventâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s industry supporters and sponsors. To read more information about these companies and the equipment and services they provide, visit www. msosymposium.com/sponsors To attend the 2020 MSO Symposium, registration is required. To begin the registration process, visit http://events.r20. constantcontact.com/register/ event?oeidk=a07ehcob3dzaf8081d4&llr=rzo6p8n6&showPage=true Companies and organizations interested in taking part in our limited sponsorship opportunities, visit the MSO Symposium website or contact us. Any additional questions can be directed to Jennie Lenk at JennieL@ msosymposium.com. Source: ASA

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Mitchell Delivers XR Hands-Free Solution for Collision Repair Facilities Mitchell, a leading provider of technology, connectivity and information solutions to the Property & Casualty (P&C) claims and Collision Repair industries, announced the release of Mitchell Intelligent Vision, the industry’s first Extended Reality (XR) hands-free solution integrated into the collision repair workflow. Introduced last year as a proof of concept, the solution was featured at the company’s mPower Conference, a virtual event held Oct. 13-15, and shipping is expected before the end of the year. The Mitchell Intelligent Vision solution is designed to improve the speed, efficiency and accuracy of the collision repair workflow—from vehicle check in to check out. Mitchell collaborated with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and RealWear, Inc. on its delivery, leveraging the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Mobile XR Platform and the RealWear HMT-1 100% voice-controlled headset. “XR is transforming industries across the globe,” said Brian Vogelsang, senior director of product management, Qualcomm Technol-

Continued from Cover

Changed the Game AI-powered 3rd-party injury evaluations ensure accurate assessments of impact severity, availability of complete injury causation analytics, and that medical bill review is accomplished in the most efficient and effective manner for the third-party adjuster. These are just a few examples of the near touchless claims experience that exists today with people engaging where necessary to confirm AI-led claims flow from accident detection, to first notice of loss, to predictive method of inspection and beyond. This is a small snapshot of AI today. Tomorrow’s AI will empower even more business decisions earlier in the process and with even greater precision. AI run on edge devices, such as mobile phones, will detect contextual information from the accident scene while augmented reality technologies deployed on these same mobile phones will more fully engage consumers.

ogies, Inc. “With our Snapdragon technology paired with Mitchell’s expertise in automotive repair, we are excited to help transform the way

ly ruggedized headset was designed for environments like collision repair facilities where technicians need to streamline operations and enable hands-free access to much-needed repair procedures,” said Sanjay Jhawar, co-founder and president, RealWear. The Mitchell Intelligent Vision solution allows technicians to automate the collection of data—including consumer and vehicle information—for faster vehicle check in. They can also use the solution to take time-stamped photos of the damage and automatically upload them to Mitchell’s Mitchell Intelligent Vision is the industry’s first Extended cloud-based ecosystem. Reality (XR) hands-free solution integrated into the Voice activation and an collision repair workflow. XR field of vision provide quick access to critical collision repairers work—by help- OEM procedures during teardown ing them improve productivity, meet and repair, reducing research time. customer expectations and address Prior to check out, technicians can the challenges of today’s complex visually document the repair work automobiles with the new Mitchell with the Mitchell Intelligent Vision solution. Those images are then reIntelligent Vision solution.” “RealWear’s purpose-built, ful- tained in Mitchell’s software.

The Mitchell Intelligent Vision solution will be available first to U.S. repair facilities. The company also expects to announce availability in Canada soon, having successfully completed pilot testing. “Mitchell is committed to delivering innovative, cloud-based solutions that streamline workflows and support proper, safe vehicle repair. With Mitchell Intelligent Vision, we’re again breaking new ground and taking a small but very significant step forward in bringing wearable technologies to the collision industry,” said Olivier Baudoux, senior vice president of global product strategy and artificial intelligence at Mitchell. “Through our open ecosystem and work with industry leaders like Qualcomm Technologies and RealWear, we’ll continue to advance the use of XR and XR-powered solutions to meet the needs of our customers and the market.” More information about the Mitchell Intelligent Vision solution can be found at https://www.mitchell.com/mitchell-intelligent-vision/ Source: Mitchell

And AI-powered accident reconstruction will create the most detailed view of an accident yet, including the vehicle(s) involved, the scene and related damage. All, delighting the consumer in ways hardly imaginable today. The future of AI has multiple extensions across the insurance enterprise to inform more decisions, experiences, and performance. We are already starting to deliver on this future by processing and learning from more than a trillion dollars of historical data from multiple sources—telematics, driving data, vehicle history and more—connecting it in real time to provide a view of what happened and what is to come. The future is exciting, but it is important when looking ahead to not overlook the impact AI is already delivering today. And, for CCC and its customers, there’s nothing artificial about that. Source: CCC www.autobodynews.com

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Please contact these dealers for your Honda or Acura Genuine parts needs. HONDA COLORADO

NEW MEXICO

TEXAS

Mike Maroone Honda

Garcia Honda

Honda of San Marcos

Rusty Wallis Honda

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800-677-6632 505-260-5002

866-392-1313 512-392-1313

877-466-3272 214-328-3891

Colorado Springs

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 7-5 rick.williams@mikemarooneauto.com

Mile High Honda Denver

800-548-4730 303-369-7800

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Albuquerque

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

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Honda Cars of McKinney

800-943-4227 504-368-5687

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Irving

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Northside Honda San Antonio

800-727-8705 210-340-0831

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

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McDavid Honda Irving

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Dept. Hours: M-F 7-5:30 parts@superiorhonda.net

Alexandria

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 8-5 darryldotsy@rustywallis.com

Lewisville

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Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 9-5 csmith@hondasanmarcos.com

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Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5; Sat 8-5 hondaparts@mynshonda.com

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Hiley Acura

Murray

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Fort Worth

Pikes Peak Acura Colorado Springs

Salt Lake City

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

COLORADO

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Austin

League City

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888-454-0947 817-809-7762

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Sterling McCall Acura Houston

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Your Online Presence Needs to be Refreshed in Pandemic Recovery by Gary Ledoux

holiday in 2018.

In last month’s article I discussed how, due to the COVID pandemic and having limited mobility, more people were conducting more business online. As this article is being written, more businesses are being opened and travel restrictions are easing, but many experts think the switch to greater e-commerce predicated by the pandemic will remain long afterwards. The “new” normal is a greater reliance on the internet to find and buy products and services. Based on my last article, I looked at about 50 random body shop websites and Facebook pages. I looked for some shop websites based on a Yelp listing and never found the shop’s own site! Here is what I learned.

Spelling counts: Remember when you were in third grade taking a test and you asked the teacher if spelling counted, and she said yes? Guess what. It still does.

Make sure all information is current: A couple sites showed information that was obviously old. Two noted—in August 2020—their shop was closed for the Christmas/New Year’s

Grammar counts: Correct grammar and proper syntax makes your message easier to read and understand, not to mention more professional-looking. Make it easy to navigate: What is important to your customer? Your shop name, location, phone number, email address, hours of operation, how to find the shop on Google Maps and services available should be prominently displayed and easy to find. Granted, other information is important, but if they can’t find the most basic information, nothing else matters. Make it easy to contact you: Make your phone number, email address or social media contact information

prominent on your site. When you receive an inquiry, be sure to answer promptly. Nothing says “we don’t care about you” quicker than an unreturned contact. If you have OE certiﬁcations, or other industry-recognized qualiﬁcations, list them: If you are certified by an OE, are I-CAR Gold Class or ASE Blue Seal, chances are you worked hard and spent time and money getting there. Why not promote it? Customers will be looking for it. Use contrasting colors for text: Make your site easy to read. White text on an almost all-white background is difficult to read. Black on white, or other contrasting colors, is preferred. Don’t promote what the average lay person doesn’t understand: You might have just spent a pile of money for the latest whiz-bang welder or other piece of equipment and you and others in the industry might think it’s really impressive. But to the

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average customer, meh. It’s enough to say you have the latest equipment to handle any repair needs. Use high-quality photos: Most people are very visual and photos are great. But make sure they are in-focus and not distorted. Promote your own people: While we are on the subject of photos, seeing a before and after photo of a vehicle you fixed is OK. But how about photos of your most valuable assets, and the thing that makes your shop unique—your people? Don’t confuse your customer: As far as potential customers are concerned, your shop exists to provide collision repair services and that’s what they are looking for. If you are involved in racing or some other extracurricular activity, and you want to mention it, great. But don’t let that coverage overwhelm your main message. Keep “social” in social media: So-

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cial media, especially Facebook, is meant to foster two-way communication. For the 2.4 billion people worldwide who use Facebook, nothing irks them more than to not be able to leave a comment, or to have their comments or posting threads removed. This is sure to repel any potential customers. Keep your social media fresh: Be sure to post new items regularly to keep people interested. Facebook pages that look “abandoned” are a major turn-off. Mark Claypool, AAM, founder and CEO of Optima Automotive, a leader in the automotive repair industry for web design, social media management and search engine optimization also offers the following: Many collision shop websites need to be refreshed: Many look old and dated and way behind the times Make sure you have a “mobile-friendly” site: According to BroadBandSearch, an internet consultancy, in 2009, less than 1% of those people

who had internet access used a mobile device, such as a phone or tablet. Today, 51.5% of internet users use a mobile device. Can your site be viewed on a phone? Make sure your message is clear: Let people know that you are an essential business and ready to serve your clients. Make it easy to do business with you: There are a lot of people online but not everyone is internet savvy. Make it easy for your potential customer to contact you, upload a photo or request an estimate. Drop-off and pick-up procedures: If you are still using social-distancing procedures, be sure to spell those out on your site. Make sure you rank high in an internet search: Go to Google and search for a collision shop in your town. If your shop is not coming up at the top—or worse yet, not coming up at all—you may need to do some search engine optimization so people can find you.

Dealership body shops need extra care: If your shop is part of a dealership, you should have your own web presence, not simply a sub-domain of the main dealership site. Being part of a dealership site makes it two to three times as hard for people to find you and makes it near impossible to compete with independent collision shops. If you are still wondering about the impact of the internet and how it is affecting your business, consider the following stats from BroadBandSearch: 61.4% of the world’s population uses the internet 89.4% of Americans have internet access and use it on a daily basis. There are 351.8 million registered domain names in the world. You need your customers to find just one—yours. The average time it takes a web page to load in the U.S. is 5.6 seconds. According to Google, the best performing sites take 3 seconds. Every second a user spends waiting for a site to open is an opportunity for them to click off the site. If your site

takes between six to 10 seconds to open, the customer is probably already gone. Facebook is the fourth most visited website in the world. Does your shop have a Facebook presence? Thinking of making a YouTube video? There are 1.8 billion unique monthly visitors to YouTube. 50% of internet users watch YouTube videos and product demos before buying anything. If you don’t have, at minimum, a website and Facebook page for your shop, you need one of each. And if you have one of each, make it a good one. Your future business depends on it.

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with Stacey Phillips

Techs of the Future

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

with Stacey Phillips

The Importance of Having a Broad Understanding of Vehicle Technology Up until recently, it was common working cooperatively.” practice for technicians to plug in a It’s not uncommon to have up dongle to the OBDII—onboard diag- to 43 networks in a car. These innostics—port to diagnose a vehicle. clude high priority systems, such as As modern cars have become in- steering, braking and airbag deploycreasingly computerized with sophis- ment, as well as lower priority ones ticated electronics, that is no longer such as adjusting the seat and radio the case, according to Scott McCor- control. mick, president of the Connective “I think we’re seeing an evoluVehicle Trade Association (CVTA.) tion in the relative importance of the “Take a Chevy Volt, for exam- technicians who are working on a car ple, that can change or update its that we really haven’t had before,” electronics over time,” said McCor- he said. “They are ones who are the mick. “That might sound great if agents of change, the ones who unyou want to upgrade the electronics derstand what is going on in a vehicle in two years, but you have to realize so they can lead their teams.” that the car is a system and changing McCormick is an accomplished one piece of software in it can create executive in the automotive and aeroissues.” space fields, focused in advanced If technicians aren’t familiar manufacturing, operations, strategy with the potential problems and restructuring. For the that could affect the vehicle, past 20 years, he has been a McCormick said, they will globally recognized expert most likely not be able to on vehicle communications. repair it properly. As a reHe has degrees in mathesult, it is becoming essential matics, mechanical and aerothey have a fundamental and space engineering; a master’s broad understanding of the Scott McCormick degree in business adminisissues at hand and the nectration; and doctoral research essary skills to address them when a in Artificial Intelligence. customer comes in experiencing difAfter spending the first 25 years ficulties. of his career working as a program “In the past, technicians, for the manager at General Electric, modmost part, had a familiarity with how ernizing aircraft and transportation, cars are built,” he said. “That will be- McCormick was the executive dicome increasingly important as more rector of the Automotive Multimedia electronics are being added to vehi- Interface Collaboration, a nonprofit cles.” research organization of the world’s Auto manufacturers are produc- largest automakers. ing cars with more than 100 million He established the Connected lines of code. In comparison, Mc- Vehicle Trade Association in 2005. Cormick said a Boeing Dreamliner The nonprofit organization facilitates has 4 million lines of code. the interaction and advances the in“Every level of automation we terests of the entities involved in the go up is going to add between one vehicle communication environment. and 200 million lines of code,” he Currently, there are 24 industry segexplained. “It’s not like Microsoft Of- ments involved, representing seven fice; it’s not one package.” countries. Instead, there are disparate packIn addition to being named the ages running simultaneously. commissioner for the East Lansing, “We’re now dealing with sys- MI, Transportation Commission, tems that were once standalone ob- for the last eight years McCormick jects—a device or computer board— has been appointed by Congress to something that went into the car,” advise the Secretary of Transportasaid McCormick. “It’s coming to the tion on matters relating to the study, point where all of these devices are development and implementation of

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS.) Throughout his career, McCormick has created a variety of instructional courses that help advance knowledge and understanding in the future of transportation.

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In 2015, he was asked to develop a two-hour class for technicians coming out of trade schools and twoyear community colleges. The goal was to teach them about the changes taking place in automobiles today. In his current role as president of CVTA, McCormick launched

the Connected Vehicle Professional (CVP) credentialing program, in collaboration with The NEXT Education, in 2015. The comprehensive education and certification curriculum helps professionals build a specific skill set in the ITS community. The goal is to ensure individuals have the foundational understanding necessary to perform tasks involving connected vehicles and intelligent transportation. This includes in-vehicle safety, infrastructure, communication protocols and security. A series of three courses—focusing on Vehicle-to-Vehicle, Vehicle-to-Infrastructure and Vehicle-to-X connectivity—were designed for vehicle technicians, insurance professionals and others looking to enhance their knowledge in this growing sector. See Vehicle Technology, Page 52

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with Stacey Phillips

From the Desk of Mike Anderson with Mike Anderson

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

Pricing Change Reflects the Absolute Need for Separate Charges for Scanning, Diagnostics I wanted to use my column this month to share with you a conversation I had recently with Jake Rodenroth of asTech. As many of you are aware, asTech recently announced some price changes for the remote scanning and diagnostic services they offer, and that’s something a lot of people have been asking me about. So I wanted to use this column to, first, provide some clarity on that, and separate the facts from the myths. Because I’ve been hearing some misinformation out there. But this isn’t really about asTech. I’m just using what they’re doing to make my second and more important point, something I’ve been preaching for years—includ—and that’s the absolute need for shops to separate out their scanning time and their diagnostic time. So let’s start with asTech’s change. I asked Jake to explain the new pricing model they rolled out. “I’m happy to explain it, but I also want to commend our company’s leadership for the research and consensus-building they did prior to making the change, and for the effort they’ve made to communicate and explain it,” Jake told me. “If you go to our website, astech.com, in the ‘resources’ section you can find a frequently asked questions document about the change, and they even established an email team, at pricing@ astech.com that can respond to any questions someone may have about the change.” The pricing change, Jake told me, was designed to make asTech’s services “competitive with other providers out there.” “When we started scanning vehicles for the collision industry, the bulk of the industry wasn’t scanning cars at all,” Jake said. “In the early days when I started with asTech, we were doing seven or eight cars a day. Now we’re well over 5,000. We hadn’t made a pricing change in four years, but decided it was the right thing to do. “Now, for vehicles where there

are no diagnostic issues—nothing the scan shows is out of whack, no steering angle sensor value that isn’t good or a seat weight sensor that is irregular—we made those scans $50. We broke up the service we do into pieces,” he continued. “The scan itself is $50. If it needs a technician or a service manual or a wiring diagram in order to figure out a possible fix, then we charge a $69.95 fee on top of that scanning charge. That brings it back to what our original pricing was, which was $119.95.” OK, I want to go on record as saying I, Mike Anderson, am absolutely, 100% in support of this. My agreement with this, however, is not because it makes asTech services competitive. The dollar figures are not my point or my concern. I support this change because it’s high time our industry separates scanning time from diagnostic time. This pricing model does that. Think about it: Diagnostic time varies. Just as judgement times varies based on the size of the damage, the accessibility to it and the substrate involved, diagnostic time varies. Isn’t the time it takes to research one diagnostic trouble code (DTC) different from researching five? And it’s not just looking up the DTC. You then have to navigate the OEM repair procedures, the flow chart, to determine what the most probable cause is. If there are four possible causes, it might be the first one you try, or the fourth one. All this takes time. I think asTech did the right thing here. But I don’t care if you use asTech, or another provider, or do it yourself in-house. What I care about, and the whole point of this article, is the need to separate out your diagnostic time from your scan time. I also think there’s another lesson for shops from the change asTech made to its pricing model. The scanning and diagnostic charges are somewhat higher for certain makes of vehicles, such as Porsche. I asked Jake why. “It comes down to the fact that

our cost of goods sold is just higher for those vehicles,” Jake told me. “It’s not only the higher expense of the scan tools, but the higher cost to attract a tech who specializes in running the tools for those European models. “The complexity of those vehicles also plays a role. From an R&D perspective, once we developed the software, we have to verify it, test the remote hook-up to the Porsche tool against a direct hook-up to the Porsche tool,” he siad. “That means obtaining both new and wrecked Porches to simulate what our customers will send us. We need to cover that cost. We’re not just throwing a higher number out because it’s an expensive car. There’s real merit to it.” That makes sense to me because it synchs up with what I’ve also preached to shops for years. You need to understand all the training

and equipment and other costs involved in earning an OEM certification, and price accordingly. I’m not focused here on whether the specifics of asTech’s pricing are good or bad, competitive or not competitive. I’m just in support of the change to separating out the scanning charge from the diagnostic charge. In my opinion, that’s a change that every shop, no matter who does that work on the vehicles they repair, needs to make.

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with Erica Schroeder

Industry Insight with John Yoswick

—John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon who 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.

Two Shops Walk Away from Lawsuits Against Insurers

Shop Showcase

Two shops have ended lawsuits voluntarily dismissed its own lawfiled against insurers that had been suit against GEICO that alleged the transferred to a U.S. District Court insurer conspires with its direct rewith Ed Attanasio in Florida that has been overseeing pair shops to fix prices and boycott dozens of similar lawsuits. Leif’s. Professionals Autobody in Dun- Like Professionals’ lawsuits, cansville, PA, filed two lawsuits in Leif’s lawsuit had been filed in 2017, one naming Kemper Insurance 2017 and had been consolidated to and one naming multiple insurers, Presnell’s court in Florida. GEICO including State with Farm, Ed Allstate and filed a motion to dismiss the case in Attanasio USAA, alleging bad faith, breach of August, arguing the lawsuit failed to contract, unjust enrichment and tor- offer specific facts to support the altious interference for refusing to ful- legations. ly reimburse claimants for vehicle In voluntarily ending the lawrepairs. The lawsuits sought about suit in mid-September, Leif’s told $8 million combined. the court “current circumstances in The insurers made various ar- Portland (COVID-19, riots, unconwith Ed Attanasio guments calling for dismissal of the trolled forest fires) have negatively lawsuits. Kemper, for example, said impacted Leif’s business [and] as a Professionals already litigated its result, at present Leif’s Auto canclaims as a party in a similar law- not responsibly pursue its claims suit, brought by the Alliance of Au- against GEICO on the other side of tomotive Servicewith Providers of Penn- the country.” Ed Attanasio sylvania and other shops, that was Leif’s and GEICO are still indismissed by the same U.S. District volved in two other lawsuits. One is Court in Florida. a class action in which shop owner Professionals’ individual law- Leif Hansen is suing over GEICO’s suit, Kemper argued, was too vague, alleged refusal to pay for vehicle lacking the required “plain statement scanning for Hansen’s personal veof the claim showing the pleadhicle, which GEICO insured. withthat Stacey Phillips er is entitled to relief,” and failed to In the other lawsuit, GEICO conpoint to any action by Kemper that tends it should not have to do busi“unjustifiably interfered with iden- ness with Leif’s, despite Oregon’s tifiable contracts with identifiable law guaranteeing consumers the right vehicle owners [that] caused [Pro- to use their choice of shop, because doing so, GEICO says, subjects the fessionals] damage.” with Stacey Phillips GEICO also argued Profession- insurer’s employees to menacing and als’ lawsuit in which GEICO was other harassment by the shop. named should be dismissed because The lawsuit says Hansen and legal precedents show providing Leif’s “intentionally create an atmoservices unilaterally and then seek- sphere of fear and intimidation that ing compensation doesn’t qualify leads to adjusters’ inability to adewith Stacey Phillips one to claim unjust enrichment. quately perform their work.” It said The Hartford and Farmers ar- Hansen and other Leif’s employees gued the amounts alleged to involve routinely yell at adjusters, threaten them in the lawsuit failed to reach to have them arrested or to sue them the $75,000 threshold for federal ju- personally and carry around knives risdiction. and talk about guns. In both lawsuits, Professionals “In particular, at least one Leif’s with Stacey Phillips failed to meet the court deadline in employee has talked about ‘killing August to respond to the insurers’ mo- people,’ with the intention of frighttions for dismissal, so Judge Grego- ening the GEICO adjuster,” the lawry Presnell dismissed the lawsuits in suit states. mid-September. The company routinely obstructs That same week, Leif’s Auto adjusters’ access to inspect vehicles, Collision Centers in Portland, OR, GEICO claimed, through such means

Social Media for Shops

SEMA Show Goes On

as making adjusters wait for up to multiple hours to do so, or by refusing to tell the adjusters where a vehicle is located, forcing them to “wander around Leif’s premises, which are approximately 5 acres in size,” to find the car located among “hundreds” on the premises. GEICO adjusters “have experienced significant stress and emotional harm,” the lawsuit claims, and “at least one GEICO adjuster has refused to return to Leif’s premises for fear of physical injury or harm.” GEICO is seeking unspecified damages exceeding $75,000 for lost profits, damage to reputation and excessive labor costs “due to assignment of additional claims personnel.” Although Oregon law prohibits an insurer from refusing to do business with a particular shop chosen by an insured, GEICO is asking the

Media and Publicity for Shops Shop Strategies

Body Shops Giving Back

court to declare the insurer need not continue to do business with Leif’s, given that Oregon law also requires an employer do what is “reasonably necessary to protect the life, safety and health” of its employees. Leif’s argues nothing in Oregon’s anti-steering law “provides for any express exemption at all, let alone a specific exemption” like the one GEICO is seeking. GEICO doesn’t argue the law requiring it provide workplace safety for its employees is “inherently incompatible” with the anti-steering law, Leif’s argues, because GEICO appears to have no concern about sending its staff into shops other than Leif’s. If that’s the case, Leif’s argues, GEICO should instead seek an order halting “the violating behavior” it alleges is happening at Leif’s, rather than seeking “a judicial revision of the anti-steering law.”

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with Ed Attanasio

SEMA Show Goes On

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

with Ed Attanasio

Online and Just in Time: SEMA 2020 Becomes SEMA360

ve buyer database to connect manuMedia and Publicity for Shops facturers with resellers.

You can put your gambling mo- people at SEMA were still hopeful ney back in your pocket and take a they could pull off the show for its withyou Edwon’t Attanasio deep breath because have 53rd consecutive year. to rush around trying to find hotel But when major companies oprooms and flights again this year. ted out and the reality began to set SEMA 2020 changed to in, Gattuso started looking at Plan B, SEMA360 on Aug. 5, when it was and the result is SEMA360, an unannounced COVID-19 and concerns precedented completely virtual trade over the availability of facilities and show. with Stacey Phillips Gattuso has been with SEMA services would make an in-person show impossible. for nearly two decades, but these Instead of logging countless mi- are uncharted waters for even an inles walking throughout the Las Vegas dustry veteran. He knew if the show Convention Center and putcouldn’t happen the same ting in 15- to 20-hour days, way it has since 1967, there with Stacey Phillips SEMA360—Nov. 2-6—will was a viable alternative, but allow you to participate in they would have to move the annual show, but from quickly. the comfort of your office or “We knew that with 90 living room. days left, we had to make Touted as a “100% on- SEMA’s Vice President hard decisions,” he said. of Events Tom line trade-only with event Stacey that “We looked at several apPhillips Gattuso and his focuses on an ecommerce team tried to make proaches and even consimarketplace, new products, SEMA 2020 happen, dered holding it completely vehicle builds and edu- but when it looked outdoors. With health and impossible, they cation for the automotive safety as a top priority, we specialty equipment indus- started developing studied several preventive SEMA360, a 100% try,” SEMA360 is breaking virtual trade show measures to minimize risks with Stacey Phillips ground and changing the for all those at the event, trade show industry through innova- including required use of face cotion. verings, addition of hand sanitizing SEMA360 will feature a sim- stations, increased cleaning, one-way plified platform for manufacturers aisles and more. But in the end, it to showcase their new products and wasn’t going to happen, so we began innovations, as well as efficient inter- pursuing Plan B.” action between manufacturers and reGattuso knew that without with Victoria Antonelli sellers for quality business exchange. SEMA, it would leave a void in the In addition, SEMA vehicle re- automotive industry that couldn’t veals from world-class builders will be filled easily. take place virtually; industry-lea“Our role has always been to ding education focused on profes- represent our membership the best sional development and new strate- way we can and help them to succeed gies will be more robust ever. in their businesses,” he said. “The with Edthan Attanasio And as always, SEMA’s media SEMA show benefits the industry at contacts will report news, products large, and holding it every year in and innovations to a world-wide au- the fourth quarter is a major deal for dience, according to a SEMA press body shops. They can stay ahead of release. trends and acquire new technology SEMA has survived through that can help them for the next three the Great Recession of 2008, the to five years and even longer. with Gary Ledoux shooting at the Mandalay in 2013 “So, that’s why we came up and 9/11, but this was all-new ter- with SEMA360 where attendees ritory for SEMA’s Vice President of and exhibitors can do almost all of Events Tom Gattuso and his team. the same things they could at the acEven while the COVID-19 pan- tual show. SEMA360 addresses that demic stretched into late July, the need by leveraging SEMA’s exclusi-

Shop Strategies

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“We are comfortable where we are with this new digital component,” Gattuso said. “Much of the work we’re doing now will be in place for many years to come and will continu-

ally bring value to the whole SEMA experience. We’re investing in our future and seeing some positive signs as a result. We will have many of the majors participating at SEMA360 and although our goals are modest, we are very pleased with the industry’s reaction to date.” The SEMA360 Education Program will still feature more than 30

professional development seminars and candid conversations with industry-leading celebrities and personalities. Attendees will be able to sign up for an unlimited number of seminars at no additional cost, when registering to participate in SEMA360. SEMA Senior Manager of Professional Development Gary Vigil said while circumstances will prevent in-person educational sessions, SEMA remains committed to helping our industry members succeed and prosper. “Each educational session in SEMA360 was carefully crafted to help attendees make smarter business decisions, and offers the exciting opportunity to hear stories and advice from a diverse collection of highly successful, entrepreneurial leaders.” Unlike the SEMA Show, where vehicle space is limited and vehicSee SEMA 2020, Page 42

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OEC Acquisition of NuGen IT Will Further Assist Collision Repairers to Meet Requirements of Insurers, OEMs & Customers by Autobody News contributor Autobody News recently talked with Pete Tagliapietra, founder and president of NuGen IT, about the company’s acquisition by OEConnection (OEC) in July and what it means for the collision repair industry. OEC, established in 2000, is a leading parts fulfillment software solution provider for OEM distribution networks.

As a result of the OEC acquisition of NuGen IT, Tagliapietra said the companies are working together to deliver a combined technology platform that will not only facilitate a substantive step forward in refining the collision repair industry, but will also drive higher levels of efficiency over what is available in the market today. “As much as DRPs impacted the way collision repairers process damaged vehicles since the early 1990s, it is inevitable that technology and OEM-certified repair networks will impact this long-standing model,” said Tagliapietra. “The industry is moving toward a model in which OEMs will have significantly more influence on where and how to repair vehicles.” The discussion led to further questions.

How did your experience working in three different market segments lead you to establish NuGen IT?

I began working in the collision repair industry at a young age doing all the tasks technicians didn’t want to do at a collision repair facility. After completing my higher education, I spent 10 years in automotive retail, specifically in collision repair management, and then had a decade of auto claims experience working for two different insurance companies. Following that, I worked for a collision repair

database and estimating system information provider for 15 years. Looking back, I realize how fortunate I am to have worked in these three market segments of our industry. My experience has given me a good perspective on how to create balance and minimize friction among those segments. In the late 1980s, I met Dayle Phillips, who became my business partner at NuGen IT. Dayle, who was employed at a leading-edge software development company, often collaborated with me to discuss possible technology solutions to an auto claims or collision repair problem. We found our skills complemented one another. I’ve never met anybody like Dayle who understands a business issue and can come up with a solution that applies technology and enhances the process significantly, eliminating the amount of human task associated with it. After 35 years of experience in the industry, I felt it would be an ideal time to start my own business in 2004. As a result, I established NuGen IT and Dayle joined the company in January of 2006. It has been an incredible run since then.

tinuously reinvested into research other formatted document. Hence, and development. We typically look an insurance appraiser or body shop at where gaps exist in the process service manager knows when the esfor collision repairers and insurers. timate is not in compliance with the Then, we identify accuracy, efficien- database, external or internal policies, cy and productivity issues, as well and procedures or regulatory requireas technology to further refine the ments. process in various end-user The technology is compatworkflows. ible with any estimating sys We rely heavily on our tem and almost any formatted business-rules-driven comtemplate. As a result, collision pliance technology to acrepairers use one compliance tool rather than purchasing complish this through the multiple tools to meet their products we develop. I believe this, along with other Pete Tagliapietra needs and requirements of their insurance company parttechnologies—such as our ability to accurately transform a PDF ners. of an estimate back into the CIECA NuGen IT’s product offerings inLegacy EMS (Estimate Management corporate robotics automation whenSystem) or BMS (Business Message ever possible. Software robots can Suite) data formats—helped set our perform the analysis function on behalf of the user, so the correct outcome is company apart from competitors. Our product offering also heav- delivered the same way every time, ily focuses on Business Process creating accuracy, uniformity and conCompliance. Business Process Com- sistency. pliance utilizes computer software to The nice thing about robotics analyze an estimate or just about any automation and software intelligence,

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From the onset, the goal was to leverage the CIECA (Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association) Standards the collision industry embraced. The strategy was, and has been, to offer open solution platforms to the insurance and collision repair communities. Limiting the proprietary software environment with the exchange of information between insurers and collision repairers was having a positive impact on the industry. We set out to create an open environment that would alleviate estimating system mandates for insurance companies, allowing collision repairers to select and license the estimating system that provides the best outcome for both parties. Over the years, NuGen IT con-

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commonly referred to today as machine learning, is computers can “perform an outcome” the same way every time based on the input of many different variables. Initially, we developed our products primarily for insurance companies and giving them open network capabilities to deliver an assignment directly to a network or non-network repair facility. As long as a collision facility had an internet connection and a computer, they could receive an assignment and then import the administrative data into their system(s). As our company evolved, we believed collision repairers were at a disadvantage. Auto claim process applications for insurance companies were plentiful, and we saw an opportunity to provide software applications to collision repairers that could significantly alleviate the administrative burden they are faced with. Today, our application services are offered equally to both of these market segments.

How have NuGen IT’s product offerings evolved for col-

lision repairers?

On the collision repair side, we understood the great need for products to help repairers meet their internal needs, insurance and regulatory requirements. As a result, we started offering “hybrid solutions” to collision repair organizations. For example, we developed a strategic partnership with ALLDATA about eight years ago and devel-

presented the concept of Self-Management to a leading insurance company, which resulted in a pilot project with two major MSOs. The concept led to a new way of capturing and analyzing shop performance and measurement. Our compliance technology allows our collision repair customers to optimize an estimate before submitting it to the insurance company. Estimate optimization ensures it is

“The industry is moving toward a model in which OEMs will have significantly more influence on where and how to repair vehicles.” — Pete Tagliapietra oped Estimate Integration. The goal was to proactively deliver OEM repair procedures to collision repairers regardless of the estimating system or manufacturer. Shops could analyze and audit estimates to ensure they were incorporating the required repair procedures before submitting them to insurance companies. We also pioneered the concept of DRP (Direct Repair Program) Self-Management. Around 2010, we

accurate as possible and meets the insurance company’s policies as well as identifies overlooked labor operations that could end up in a supplement request. It can be a daunting task for a service advisor at a collision repair facility to keep track of various DRP policy procedures for multiple DRP programs, and our goal is to help them streamline the task by fully automating the process, thus eliminat-

ing the time trying to be compliant.

How have NuGen IT’s prodCan you share information about the recent acquisition by OEC?

After our two companies learned more about each other, we realized the possibilities of how combining our technologies could bring a lot more value to the market segments we serve, particularly with collision repairers. That really excited us. We felt this was an excellent opportunity to take repair blueprinting to a new dimension. Today’s collision repairers must refer to multiple information providers to get all the information needed to process an insurance claim. For example, once collision repairers receive the assignment from an insurance company through an information provider, they have to write the estimate, conduct the part search, work with a rental car company, report vehicle status and comply with Customer Service Index (CSI). This all falls into the issue of scorecarding, which the industry highly utilizes.

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By combining our companies and allowing each to do what it does best, it’s ultimately going to address the issues facing collision repairers, now and in the future.

How have NuGen IT’s prodHow is the industry changing and what should shops be aware of?

As one of the people in the industry who has worked in all three segments—collision repair, insurance and information provider—I believe my experience has taught me there can’t be just one dominant force driving the industry. In the past, this has been insurance companies. The insurance industry has been a driver to how the collision repair industry operates, particularly its involvement in processing an auto claim. I see a paradigm shift occurring where we need to recognize how the three market segments need to work together. It will be not easy to accomplish and will take time, but it has to happen. We’re already seeing manufacturers develop strategic relationships with major insurers.

Continued from Page 38

SEMA 2020 le applications must be submitted by a participating manufacturer, the SEMA360 Builder Showcase will enable vehicle builders the opportunity to enter vehicles directly into the program. “We’re excited to open up the SEMA360 Builder Showcase to all the talented builders across our industry,” Gattuso said. “We wanted to put a spotlight on the trends and innovation that go into these vehicle builds every year while highlighting the people who bring the creations to life. This is truly a worldwide platform to show off the passion and creativity SEMA Week has become known for. The support we have had for SEMA360 has been tremendous, and we can’t wait to see what this new Showcase feature will bring.” SEMA360 recently published a list of things to do during SEMA360 to get the most out of this completely virtual online event.

Insurance companies will need to collaborate with OEMs and collision repairers to ensure there is more than a satisfied customer, going beyond what it is today. What we’ve done for the last 20 years is not good enough anymore. It’s my opinion that manufacturers are becoming increasingly concerned about protecting their brand, knowing when a car gets damaged, there is just as much technology and software to deal with along with the body and any mechanical repair. Collision repairers are now required to be collision repair experts, mechanical repair experts and system technology experts. Otherwise, they need to outsource some services to complete the repair. OEC and NuGen IT will further assist collision repairers to meet the requirements of their insurance partners, ensure to OEMs the vehicle is being repaired correctly, meet internal business objectives and better serve mutual customers. Looking ahead, our goal is to also help OEMs better manage their certified repair networks and provide collision repairers, insurance

“Get your workspace ready for five days focused on new products and feature vehicles. Make sure you have a reliable computer. Prepare a spot on your hard drive to download brochures and sell sheets from manufacturers. Check your internet connection. Have a camera, microphone and speakers on your computer so you can participate in optional video chats. Consider getting blue light glasses to ease the strain on your eyes. A comfortable chair will make the experience much more enjoyable. Have a plan. Remember to schedule breaks when you get up and walk around and stretch your hands and fingers. Also, block times on your calendar to participate in the seminars you don’t want to miss, and for browsing the New Products Showcase, Builder Showcase and Manufacturer Showcase pages.” No name badges, no Cirque de Soleil shows, no monster buffets and no industry cocktail parties until next year—hopefully. Say goodbye to SEMA 2020 and hello to SEMA360.

companies and manufacturers the data. This will be critical in the future. In the last 10 years, I have continued to emphasize to our employees that it’s all about the data. I believe software will continue to diminish in value/price and the value of the data will continue to increase. I am convinced data is the “newfound gold” in the collision repair industry and am dumbfounded by collision repairers freely giving it away and allow others to profit from it. I am extremely proud of what the NuGen IT team has accomplished and couldn’t be more excited about this next step in our evolution. OEC has a tremendous and successful track record of delivering solutions for automobile dealers, collision repairers and OEMs, and I look forward to what this will mean for our collective customer base and parent company.

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with Victoria Antonelli

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Killer Tools Attacks Pandemic with Mr. Fogger During the pandemic, some com- use against SARS-CoV2, the virus panies have succeeded while others that causes COVID-19. have paused or closed their doors When the pandemic hit in March, completely. Those can Ledoux pivot Trueit gave his crew two weeks off, withwho Gary have been able to not only survive, but but then came up with his idea for Mr. thrive during these uncertain times. Fogger, and all of his nine employees Such is the case with Killer came back to work in order to make Tools in Orangevale, CA, and its ow- and distribute it. ner and inventor, Gerry Trueit, 72. “We wanted to create tools that Trueit’s company has concei- would enable technicians to sanived and designed moreStacey than 50 protize cars thoroughly so that shops with Phillips ducts, and estimates at least one or wouldn’t have to worry about the two are being used in every body health of their employees and custoshop in North America right now. mers,” Trueit said. “Insurance companies are allotting 60 to 90 minutes to sanitize these cars, so this has become the new normal way and will with Mike Anderson likely continue long after this thing passes.” More than two decades ago, Trueit discovered a pneumatic door skin tool, and that’s when the story began. He bought a motor home, and with his wife and Killer Tools was founded by Gerry Trueit, far left, almost his dog, they hit the road to 20 years ago to create tools and equipment that make visit as many body shops as collision repairs easier and more efﬁcient they could. When Trueit saw a definite need “We sold so many that we were for a tool that would help the colli- forced to get off the road so that we sion repair industry as the pandemic could focus on manufacturing them,” continued, he and his team develo- Trueit said. ped a system to accommodate both “We chose the name Killer Tools body shops and their insurance part- because I would show up in a colliners. sion shop and people would tell me With a pivot move that even LeBron James would be proud of, Killer Tools developed a machine that generates ozone to completely disinfect interiors of vehicles before and after repairs. Offered in 110V and 12V, they have become top sellers. Most recently, Killer Tools also unveiled a cordless sanitizing tool named Mr. Fogger, so technicians Shortly after the pandemic hit, Killer Tools unveiled a cordless sanitizing tool, Mr. Fogger, or car detailers can sanitize touchposo that technicians or car detailers can sanitize ints and vehicle interiors more quitouchpoints and vehicle interiors more quickly ckly and efficiently using the least and efﬁciently amount of disinfectant. Killer Tools sells Bioesque Bo- that I always had the ‘killer’ tools,” tanical Disinfectant Solution, which Trueit said. “So, we adopted the uses thymol, an all-natural antimi- name and incorporated. Since we becrobial agent derived from the thy- gan back in 2002, we have sold more me plant, registered by the EPA for than 50,000 of these tools, and they

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From the Desk of Mike Anderson self-leveling door lift, the family of Shark welders, Cordless Tool Garage, the Painter’s Helper and the largest variety of tram gauges in the industry. Killer Tools sells its tools through

more than 10,000 distributors worldwide. The main question Trueit asks before developing any tool is if will it be used by the industry enough to make it worthwhile. That’s why he and his team are always soliciting feedback on any tool or piece of equipment they release to the world of collision. He works closely with a skilled management team, consisting of his General Manager Mario Harders—formerly with DentFix—and a fellow tool inventor and former body man, Tim Gerhards. “We sit down and determine if there are a definite need and a viable market for any tool we decide to pursue,” Trueit said. “You can make something that works well, but if it’s not accepted by the industry, it will just sit on shelves.”

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Why Dealers Are Now ‘Exercising Caution’ by Auto Remarketing Staff

Dealerships sold millions of used vehicles during the summertime, including a four-month stretch of yearover-year sales gains. However, Black Book isn’t necessarily seeing buyers and managers rushing to replenish store inventory. According to their newest “COVID-19 Market Insights” released Oct. 13, analysts highlighted a typical autumn wholesale price cooldown, explaining those softer prices aren’t always bringing the hammer down to send vehicles onto transport trucks bound for stores. “Retail demand has softened, but dealers are still in need of inventory after the strong summer sales. However, they are exercising caution in purchasing high-priced inventory,” Black Book said in the latest report. “Instead, they are being very selective with their purchasing decisions. “Lower-mileage used vehicles continue to be good substitutes for the models that still lack in new supply, like full-size trucks that have days’ supply well under 30 days,”

analysts added. Speaking of those full-size trucks, analysts noticed prices for those units finally dipped after 19 weeks of increases. Full-size truck values dipped by 0.18%. Triggered in part by that movement, Black Book’s volume-weighted data showed overall truck segment values—including pickups, SUVs and vans—declined by 0.34% last week, nearly doubling the previous week’s drop of 0.19%. Analysts mentioned that both mainstream and luxury subcompact crossovers continue to experience heavy value declines as they plummeted by 1.13% and 0.98%, respectively. Black Book also pointed out that new-model inventory levels of full-size crossovers and SUVs continue to be low too, “so depreciations are remaining fairly stable.” Those units edged down by just 0.05% this past week. On the car side, value depreciation accelerated compared to the previous week. According to Black Book’s volume-weighted data, analysts said

overall car segment values decreased 0.92% the last week, up from the previous week’s drop of 0.66%. Black Book noticed that mainstream car segments—subcompact, compact, midsize and full-size—all suffered declines of more than 1% with those sub-compacts leading the way at 1.40%. The report mentioned that premium sporty cars continue to generate interest as values for those units

“Retail demand has softened, but dealers are still in need of inventory after the strong summer sales. However, they are exercising caution in purchasing high-priced inventory,” — Black Book ticked just 0.02% lower, counter to the overall car segments trends. “Sales results at the auctions improved last week for many remarketers as many floors have now been adjusted to reflect the softening in wholesale values,” analysts said. “This was not the case for all sellers, with many of the dealer lanes seeing a lot of ‘ifs’ and high no sale

Tesla Dominated Q2 U.S. Automotive Exports, Data Says by Joey Klender, Teslarati

Data is showing Tesla held a considerable share of the U.S. automotive exports during the second quarter of 2020, with 35.4% of the total car exports during the threemonth span coming from the electric automaker. Kevin Rooke of Zap EVs indicated the U.S. automotive market exported 68,900 vehicles. Meanwhile, Tesla built 36,800 of its 90,891 sold cars at the Fremont facility in Northern California. 29,684 vehicles were produced at the Shanghai production plant. This leaves 24,407 cars that were produced in the U.S. to be available for export. Giga Shanghai did not export vehicles in Q2. However, Tesla plans to send some Giga Shanghai-produced Model 3s to Europe in the future. Tesla’s 24,407 exported vehicles make up 35.4% of the 68,900 exports that the U.S. had during the second quarter. Tesla has experienced the same tumultuous 2020 as any oth-

er company in the world, but the way it responded to the adversity is more than admirable. Despite having its American production facility shut down during the first month of Q2 2020, Tesla managed to deliver 90,891 vehicles.

Even more impressive is the fact that Tesla is beginning to change the U.S.’s massive automotive trade deficit, which has been primarily consisting of imports for many years. Rooke points out that the influx of Tesla’s exports is starting to shift how U.S. consumers buy and sell cars. Other countries, like German and Japan, who have several largescale automotive manufacturers, are heavy on exports, which contributes to a strong economy. German brands like Volkswagen and Japanese brands like Honda have been popular with U.S. drivers for

rates on a few luxury manufacturer lanes with remarketers holding firm to floors,” they added. One other trend Black Book mentioned in the latest report directly correlated with how dealers are behaving in the lanes. “A couple of weeks ago, we noticed the success the independents were finally having in being able to successfully bid against the larger buyers. However, this past week we

an extended period. However, now that EVs are becoming more popular in the automotive market, and Tesla, an American company, is leading the charge, exports are becoming a larger part of the U.S. market. Now that Tesla has one international plant constructed in China, and another under construction in Berlin, Germany, exports may slow down slightly for the electric automaker. However, there are still plenty of regions where Tesla does not have a manufacturing plant, and Fremont will be responsible for shipping cars across the water into other territories. For example, while the Model S and Model X are not Tesla’s top sellers, they are still requested by international buyers. Fremont will continue to be the only plant that will manufacture these cars for the foreseeable future, so exports will continue to be a factor for Tesla even though its international presence continues to ramp up. We thank Teslarati for reprint permission.

did see that change a bit as the larger buyers got a little more aggressive in their bidding,” analysts said. “This was especially true on the lanes where the remarketer was letting go of most any of the inventory that received a bid,” analysts went on to say. We thank Auto Remarketing for reprint permission.

Martin Named DCR Dir. of Operations DCR Systems is excited to announce Dave Martin has been named director of operations. In his new role, Martin will lead operational standards across all the company’s markets, including Ohio, New York, North Carolina and Massachusetts. Martin began working in the collision repair industry in 2001, after serving four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. As director of operations, he plans to continue building a culture that focuses on the complete repair experience using the DCR Systems Process while providing a great customer experience. For more information about DCR Systems, visit https:// www.dcrsystems.com/. Source: DCR Systems

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with Victoria Antonelli

Product Innovation

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

with Ed Attanasio

BAR Auto Shop Locator Educates and Empowers California Consumers About 10 years ago, I wrote an artic- Google, the BAR’s Shop Locator is a le about the Bureau of Automotive “more convenient way to find shops”, Repair (BAR), an organization eve- according to Clay Leek, who overry body shop inwith California more sees BAR’s smog check, engineering GaryisLedoux than familiar with, but the general and information services division. “We have enhanced this feature public doesn’t even know what the acronym means. with a new interactive map, a series Most people encounter the BAR of filters and a mobile app, so that when their cars are smog checked, or consumers can access this informathey see a plaque on a wall in a wai- tion anywhere, all the time,” Leek ting room at a body shop. said. “People can search for locations with Stacey Phillips I used some of my near their address, their city or their ZIP code, and then friends and other people the Shop Locator tells the back then to find out what user their proximity to the they knew about the BAR. shop. Only six out of the 30 peop“At the same time, people le I talked to knew what the can make sure that the shop BAR was and what it does. with Mike Anderson I also got some pecu- Clay Leek, head of is licensed by BAR. This liar responses to my query, BAR’s smog check, allays peoples’ fears and giengineering and including “It’s law-related, ves them an additional layinformation services right?” and “Is it a bartender division, worked with er of comfort knowing that union?” they’re taking their vehicle a team to develop BAR’s new Auto to a licensed business that Now in 2020, consuShop Locator to is in good standing with the mers are savvier about their cars, and that includes kno- educate and protect BAR.” consumers For example, I chose the wing about the BAR and its role in the automotive repair indus- Automotive Repair filter, followed try in California. By working hard to by the Auto Body filter. I then teseducate the public about what they ted the locator and quickly found a do and how they can protect con- sample of the 50 body shops closest sumers, the BAR has significantly to me, one of which was on probaenhanced its communications and tion with the BAR. To eliminate any marketing, including its website at ambiguity, the listing of the shop is www.bar.ca.gov. surrounded by a big red border with BAR’s website offers an Auto the word “Probation” listed clearly Shop Locator, a convenient and fast within the listing. way for consumers to find a licensed To get feedback from the collisiautomotive repair facility nearest to on repair industry, Leek and his team them. received input from a wide range of Originally it was designed to lo- automotive industry representatives cate Smog Check stations, but now it and body shops during their develophas been expanded to include all li- ment stage. censed auto repair businesses, inclu- The BAR registers and regulates ding body shops, mechanical repair 36,000-plus California automotive shops, air conditioning, parts retai- repair dealers and mediates automolers, auto dismantlers, glass winds- tive repair complaints, saving Calihield and mobile mechanics. fornia consumers millions of dollars The Auto Shop Locator also each year in the form of direct reallows users to obtain two other pie- funds, rework and bill adjustments, ces of invaluable information—the for example. shop’s BAR license number and The BAR is one of 37 organizawhether or not it’s on probation or tions under the umbrella of the Dethe subject of a pending enforce- partment of Consumer Affairs. BAR ment action by BAR. was established within DCA in 1972 Rather than using MapQuest or following enactment of the Automo-

OE Shop Certification

Product Innovation

tive Repair Act. In response to consumer and industry concerns about fraud and incompetence in the auto repair industry, the act established BAR as the licensing and regulating authority over automotive repair dealers. The act also gave BAR authority to license and regulate stations and individuals that perform services in the areas of lamp and brake inspection and repair. In 1982, California became the 20th state in the nation to adopt a vehicle inspection and maintenance (smog check) program. Pursuant to authority granted by SB 33, BAR became the administrator of the California Smog Check Program in 1984. For more than 40 years, BAR has helped to protect California consumers from its headquarters in Rancho Cordova and 12 field offices stationed throughout the state. The

organization serves many functions and administers various programs aimed at protecting Californians. Leek is happy with the finished product and invites shop owners and managers to make sure their shop is properly listed on the Auto Shop Locator. “I think they will like it for its simplicity and functionality,” he said. “We are really excited because by using it, consumers can stay informed and make educated decisions within a competitive automotive repair marketplace.”

From the Desk of Mike Anderson

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ions s ai-

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r its he caustay cisiotive

Beth Rutter Shares Sneak Peek of Pilot Program at I-CAR Virtual Meeting After safety, process is the sec- “Some graduates can be hired ond most important thing that schools right out of school because they’ve obtained the knowledge they need Four guest speakers attended the teach collision repair students. St. Louis I-CAR Committee’s Sep- “An educator without a text- to start in a shop; others aren’t even tember virtual meeting, including book can’t do much, but if you close—collision repair curriculum collision repair industry profession- can take it home, you can do a lot isn’t consistent across all colleges, al Beth Rutter, who spoke about of work on that,” Helterbrand said. and we are working to address that.” the Pilot Program. Rutter agreed to “We [must] maintain a high level of The mission of the National share some additional information educator for students. Our Pilot Program is “to be the catalyst in the development with Autobody News. program is a little harder of national ‘school-to-work’ The Pilot Program originat- in the sense that we make collision educational proed three years ago at Ranken Tech, the students focus on themgrams at the post-secondary where Collision Director John Hel- selves, but we make them terbrand designed an apprentice- lifelong learners. So, it’s all level by bringing the colliship program to ensure collision stu- about taking care of the stusion industry and colleges dents are prepared to successfully dent.” Beth Rutter recently together in a collaborative enter their career after graduation. A currently-silent in- spoke about the Pilot partnership that not only in Students work with mentors at dustry partner recognized Program at the St. creases the number of quallocal shops, obtaining hands-on re- the value of Ranken’s Pilot Louis I-CAR Com- ified technicians available mittee’s September to the industry but allows pair experience in conjunction with Program and proposed exvirtual meeting. students to be mentored in classroom education, as tasks begin panding it nationally. with the most mundane and progres- “We need more than just a cur- a supportive environment that imsively advance along with the stu- riculum to address the issue of our proves the image of technicians and fractured industry,” Rutter empha- the collision industry as a whole.” dent’s knowledge and skills. “Students rotate between eight sized. “Recognizing that entry-level With decades’ worth of colliweeks in the classroom, followed techs need a basic level of knowl- sion repair industry experience, Rutby eight weeks at a shop where they edge in order to be trainable and ter got involved with the program to implement the techniques they just hirable, we decided to start with the communicate with the shops and the learned,” Rutter explained. colleges. schools. “We have to get the shops’ buyin for mentoring the students, and then the colleges have to agree to implement the curriculum we’ve developed, which is ASE-accredited,” she said. “There’s a lot of benefits for the schools, though. They receive a lot of support and an I-CAR curriculum, plus by the time the student finishes the program, they are Pro-Level 3 and able to obtain their welding certification as soon as they test.” Four colleges are currently participating, though three will not These Dealers are Genuine Wholesale Parts Specialists. have seated classes until January 2021 due to COVID-related concerns. Students at Ranken Tech and Texas Louisiana at the College of Lake County in Illinois are currently learning in the Sterling McCall Toyota Price LeBlanc Toyota classroom and interviewing with HOUSTON BATON ROUGE local shops that meet the program’s 800-231-1440 800-960-1157 criteria. 713-270-3942 Fax 225-408-1249 Fax Mentoring shops must be I-CAR M-F 7am-7pm; Sat 7am-4pm Gold Certified, use updated tools and equipment and have a mentor who Toyota of Laredo can “take students under their wings,” LAREDO Rutter said. The current mentor shops 888-818-5176 include several large MSOs as well 956-718-4259 Fax as a handful of independent collision M-F 7:30am-6pm; Sat 8:30am-5pm repair facilities. www.toyotaoflaredo.com “Once they qualify, the shop presents to the students and interby Chasidy Rae Sisk

Do it Right! Use

views them, so the student is hired before the first eight-week rotation ends,” Rutter said. “In the next rotation, students will work in shops on the things they are now learning and report back to their instructors, who also make visits to the shop to check on their students’ progress. “Working in the shop allows young students ease into the workplace, building work ethic which can be tough to learn. Collision repair requires learning so much that, even if it’s your passion, it’s still very stressful. This program allows the students to leave that stressful situation after eight weeks and return to school to discuss their experiences with their peers and instructors.” Working as an independent consultant with the program, Rutter’s role includes easing the students’ transition from the class to shop rotation, and last year, she developed and led a one-day workshop for mentors and mentees to learn effective communication. She is currently building online training for this year’s virtual world. As with any aspect of the collision repair industry, obstacles must be overcome as the Pilot Program gains speed. “It’s a lot of work,” Rutter said. “We have to implement a brand-new curriculum, and the rules for doing that vary by state. In order to be ASE-accredited, the college is required to hold advisory committee meetings, and that means getting the industry involved. “We’re kind of building a bridge as we’re walking across it, but once the colleges build relationships with their local collision repair industry, I believe it will take on a momentum of its own.” Depending on how the school lays out its curriculum, the program can take up to two years, but by graduation, the student has a degree and real-world experience. For participating collision repair facilities, “it’s like a two-year interview where the student, subject to normal employment parameters, becomes inculcated into the shop’s culture over that time,” Rutter said. “Students get the benefit of going to a college that provides a robust eduSee Beth Rutter, Page 52

autobodynews.com / NOVEMBER 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS 49

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CCG Adds 100th New Affiliate Certified Collision Group™ has added its 100th new independent affiliate location for the year 2020, continuing its five-year run of consistent and exponential growth. “This year has challenged all of us, yet we remain confident in our founding principles of leveling the playing field on behalf of the top independent collision repairers,” said Marty Evans, COO. “We are devoted to doing all we can to support our independent owner-operators who are performing best-inclass repairs and providing the industry’s finest customer service. “We continue to grow our internal team and provide exceptional products, and we do so only through the remarkable support of our current affiliates, terrific vendor and insurance partners and our founders.” Source: CCG

Middle-Aged Drivers More Likely to Crash Than Those in Their 70s: Study by Christopher Smith, Motor1.com

Young drivers think old drivers go too slow and get confused too easily. Old drivers think the young whipper-snappers go too fast and take too many chances. In between are the middle-aged drivers, which generally have the best track record of them all. However, that could be changing according to a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Data for 21 years was compiled, starting in 1997 and running through 2018. The study looks at the number of fatal crashes per 100,000 licensed drivers, with the data further broken down into four age groups: 35-54, 70-74, 75-79 and over 80. To be fair, the overall trend for the period shows a decline for all age groups, but the over-70 crowd saw a substantial drop. Fatal crash rates dropped 43% for folks in their 70s, while the middle bracket dropped 21%. Interestingly, the bulk of that decline for older drivers occurred

not in recent years, but through the first half of the data set. Crash rates for middle-age and 70-74 segments were nearly identical, with the 75-79 bracket matching the other two groups in 2012. From there,

middle-agers crept upwards overall while both 70-year-old groups held fairly steady or even declined slightly. As for the over-80 crowd, fatal crashes per licensed drivers have decreased by a full 50%, but in 2018, it remains the group most likely to be involved in a deadly accident. This is all rather inter-

esting considering the number of older drivers on the road has increased significantly over the last 21 years. What’s the reason for this trend? IIHS points to safer cars with more advanced safety systems as well as better overall health for older drivers. Changes in infrastructure with regards to road signs and intersections are also thought to be a factor. As for why the middle-age fatality rate crept higher, IIHS notes a correlation between periods of economic growth and increases in impaired driving, notably due to alcohol. It’s theorized that middle-agers indulge in such activities more than others. It will be interesting to see how 2020 and coronavirus affect these trends; however, that data likely won’t be available for at least a couple of years. We thank Motor1.com for reprint permission.

More Shops Invoicing, Being Paid For Labor to Inspect Seat Belts, According to ‘Who Pays for What?’ Surveys Given that automaker procedures often call for inspections of seat belts in vehicles that have been involved in a collision, industry trainer Mike Anderson is glad to see continual growth the past four years in the percentage of shops being paid for this procedure.

of the time” by the eight largest insurers when they perform and bill for the procedure on behalf of their customers. That’s up from just one in four back in 2016, and up even from just last year when about onethird of shops reported being paid regularly.

“I think the ‘Who Pays’ surveys are helping raise awareness of the need for this procedure,” — Mike Anderson But he also says he’d feel better if the pace of growth was even faster. “This is one of the procedures I’m most concerned about,” said Anderson, of Collision Advice. “The data from our ‘Who Pays For What?’ survey in July, while heading in the right direction, still indicates to me that too few shops are researching OEM repair procedures and so are unaware of the need to inspect seat belts.” About two in five shops now say they are paid “always” or “most

Part of that change is based on a decline in the number of shops that acknowledge they’d never sought to be paid for the procedure. Back in 2016, more than 62% of shops said they had never billed for inspecting seatbelts. That’s fallen to 41% this year. “I think the ‘Who Pays’ surveys are helping raise awareness of the need for this procedure,” Anderson said. “One of the things I’ve learned in researching OEM procedures is that many automakers include two procedures related

to seat belt inspections. One may be a seat belt precaution, generally a list of what you need to look for if a vehicle has been in an accident. The other is a seat belt inspection, procedures required when you reinstall a seat belt removed as part of repairs.” The latest quarterly “Who Pays for What?” survey, which Anderson conducts in conjunction with CRASH Network, is now open through the month of October. It focuses on scanning and ADAS calibration procedures, but also surveys shop labor rates and their billing practices relative to shop supplies, like plastic repair materials and seam-sealer. Shops can take the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/ r/9LXYVTN Survey participants receive a report with complete survey findings at no charge, broken down by region, insurer and DRP vs. nonDRP. The report also includes analysis and resources to help shops better understand and use the information presented. Anderson said the survey,

which will take about 15 to 25 minutes, can be completed by anyone in a shop familiar with the shop’s billing practices and the payment practices of at least some of the largest national insurers. Each shop’s individual responses are held in the strictest confidence; only aggregated data is released. The results of previous surveys are also available online at https:// www.crashnetwork.com/collision advice. Collision Advice (www. CollisionAdvice.com) is an independent training and consulting firm featuring some of the most respected and experienced experts in the collision repair industry. CRASH Network (www.CrashNetwork.com) is a subscription newsletter offering news and information not available from other industry sources. Source: Collision Advice

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50 NOVEMBER 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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Hertz No. 1 in Customer Satisfaction Hertz announced Oct. 14 that for the second consecutive year, it has earned the No. 1 overall ranking for Customer Satisfaction in the J.D. Power 2020 North America Rental Car Satisfaction Study, which surveys leisure and business customers. Hertz also received top honors in the following categories: reservation process, pick-up process and rental car, which includes satisfaction with the overall vehicle and its cleanliness. As traveler needs shifted amid the pandemic, Hertz quickly adapted to meet customer expectations. The car rental brand raised the bar on its already high standards for safety and cleanliness by introducing the Hertz Gold Standard Clean seal. To further help customers travel safely and confidently, Hertz launched new capabilities within its mobile app this year to facilitate a touchless rental experience by enabling them to select and purchase more products and services digitally. Source: Hertz

Continued from Page 32

Vehicle Technology The blended learning approach combines online education through the NEXT Education’s platform as well as two half-day instructor-led online classroom sessions. Those who complete courses earn the Connected Vehicle Trade Association Certificate of Competency. McCormick has also worked closely with Elaina Farnsworth, CEO of The NEXT Education, to create courses for technicians and installers to teach them about the equipment that will be included in the cars of the future. Both McCormick and Farnsworth participated in the recent TU-Automotive Detroit 2020 conference, which focused on future automotive trends, including autonomous vehicles, electrification and digital services. McCormick said one of the most critical future advancements is related to blockchain. “Blockchain is basically a mathematical structure for storing data,” explained McCormick. “Everything in blockchain is connected.”

Continued from Page 49

Beth Rutter cation, which helps them get hired.” Retention is another goal of the program. Nearly half of the students who graduate collision repair programs leave the industry within two years, according to Rutter. “With an industry that needs qualified techs so badly, we can’t afford to lose the ones we have because it’s too difficult to find a job,” she said. “We need to take care of our people, treat them well, and that starts by training these students, so they have the knowledge and ability to get hired in entry-level positions. “Then, the facilities must treat them well enough that they want to stay. If everyone does their part, it works for the entire industry.” Those interested in obtaining more information about the Pilot Program can email Beth Rutter at bethinca@cox.net. “Beth talked about her role in helping to build a mentorship program that supports entry-level technicians in the workforce, while they For example, a collision repair shop could log all of the repair work and use blockchain to locate a part for the specific model of vehicle in one place, and the information would be accessible to other segments of the industry. He used the example of a shop trying to locate a part for a 5-yearold vehicle. Using blockchain, “You could locate that part almost instantaneously,” he explained. “Anytime you can reduce the amount of time you are doing something, you become more efficient and effective; therefore, more profitable.” Blockchain could also be used to ensure valid parts are being used on a vehicle. McCormick highly recommends educating technicians on the use of this technology to ensure they are trained properly. “It’s a tremendously new skillset and people who have this understanding are going to be in the highest demand,” he said. For more information, email Scott McCormick at sjm@connectedvehicle .org.

earn their degrees at college,” said St. Louis I-CAR Committee Chair Shelly Jones. “Beth talked of the importance of information sharing between a school, student and collision repair shop, and how she created a workshop to develop strong communications between the mentor and mentee.” Three additional guest speakers attended the St. Louis I-CAR Committee meeting. Rob Ferguson, ASE Education Foundation, briefly discussed the benefits of schools being accredited by the ASE Foundation. Robbie Saladino, I-CAR principal, business development southcentral region, spoke about virtual live classes and shared a progress update on the committee’s goals. “We have just three goals left to complete out of nine,” Jones said. “It has been a team effort.” Brandon Eckenrode of the Collision Repair Education Foundation shared information about the upcoming virtual golf fundraiser, which will be open Nov. 20 through Dec. 20. Golfers can begin practicing at WGT.com or by downloading

the free “WGT Golf” app. “During registration, people will have the option to play in support of the St. Louis Committee. When they pick our committee, a portion of the $25 registration fee will go to support our local school collision programs,” Jones said. “Overall, the meeting was well-attended, and there were a lot of great discussions.” The St. Louis I-CAR Committee’s last meeting of 2020 will be held virtually at 8 a.m. Nov. 12. Additional information about the St. Louis I-CAR Committee and its upcoming activities can be found at facebook.com/ICARSt LouisCommittee.

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Tesla Sues U.S. Government Over Trump’s China Tariffs by Martin Bigg, CarBuzz

The ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China led to President Donald Trump imposing tariffs on imported Chinese goods, including auto parts. Unsurprisingly, these increased costs have riled major automakers that rely on importing parts from

China to manufacture cars. Now, several automakers are taking action by suing the U.S. government. CNBC reported Tesla is suing the U.S. government and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer over the Trump administration’s tariffs on parts Tesla imports from

China to manufacture its electric cars like the Model 3 and Model Y. According to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade, Tesla wants the court to declare two batches of Trump administration tariffs to be void, and refund Tesla the tariffs it paid with interest. The specific tariffs Tesla has issues with are known as List 3 and List 4. Since it was introduced in 2018, List 3 places 25% duties on $200 billion of imported goods from China. List 4, on the other hand, imposes a 7.5% tariff on $120 billion of Chinese imports and went into effect in 2019. Tesla’s lawsuit doesn’t specify which parts Tesla paid tariffs on or how much it paid, but the company’s lawyers argue that the “imposition of List 3 and List 4 duties was arbitrary and capricious because USTR did not provide meaningful opportunity to comment, failed to consider relevant

factors when making its decision, and failed to draw a rational connection between the facts found and the choices made.” Tesla also applied for waivers in 2019 on artificial graphite, silicon oxide and door ring tailor welded blanks. The waivers for these expired in August 2020. Tesla isn’t the only automaker taking action against the U.S. government, either. Mercedes-Benz has also filed a lawsuit accusing the U.S. government of “prosecution of an unprecedented, unbounded and unlimited trade war impacting over $500bn in imports from the People’s Republic of China.” Volvo, which is now owned by China’s Geely, has also filed a lawsuit as the automaker “believes the way to reach economic growth is to reduce tariffs and harmonize international trade.” We thank CarBuzz for reprint permission.

www.autobodynews.com

UPDATED DAILY

Nationwide Introduces Express App To address independent agents’ need for speed and ease of doing business, in 2019 Nationwide introduced Nationwide Express®, a technology platform that enables agents to quote multi-line policies in as little as two minutes. On Sept. 23, Nationwide introduced a new Nationwide Express mobile app, which allows agents to scan a driver’s license to complete an auto quote in as little as 60 seconds. Agents can also add a renters policy with just one click. The launch of the new mobile app now puts the power to generate quotes on the go into the palm of an agent’s hand. Agents can access Nationwide Express today in all states Nationwide offers personal lines insurance, with additional features to be added this year. The Nationwide Express mobile app is available in 31 states on iOS devices. More states and an Android version coming soon. Source: Nationwide

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Caliber Commits to ‘Restoring You’ by Gifting Restored Vehicles to Front Line Heroes Living its purpose of Restoring the Rhythm of Your Life®, Caliber, with its portfolio of automotive services brands—including Caliber Collision, the nation’s largest auto collision repair company—is pleased to extend its “Restoring You” community and teammate program. In collaboration with its insurance partners as part of the National Auto Body Council’s Recycled Rides® program, Caliber will be gifting restored vehicles to front line medical workers, medical support staff and first responders who are helping fight the pandemic. Caliber, which encompasses Caliber Auto Care and Caliber Auto Glass, in addition to Caliber Collision—with its 1,173 centers across 33 states and the broadest network of OEM-certified collision centers in the country—is committed to repairing and maintaining the vehicles of all drivers and fleet operators. During this extraordinary time, the company recognizes a particular need among medical workers, their support staff and first responders, many of whom may worry about

for reliable, safe transportation among those who have been working so hard to fight this pandemic— those in front line roles as medical workers, medical support staff and first responders. “We know that the current environment is putting a severe strain on these workers and their families, and we want to provide them with the gift of transportation through our long-standing partnership with insurance carriers and the National Auto Body Council’s Recycled Rides® program.” As part of its Restoring You initiative, Caliber Collision in Riverside, CA, teamed up with The giftings will occur in Auto Club of Southern California to gift a vehicle to a areas with concentrated local single mother earlier this summer needs, including Dallas/ “The COVID-19 pandemic Fort Worth, Los Angeles and New has made us think differently about York Metro. how we serve our communities as Caliber invites the public to an organization,” said Steve Grim- nominate a worthy health care shaw, CEO of Caliber. “We have worker, medical support staff or seen communities banding together first responder in these markets to during this challenging time, yet we receive a refurbished vehicle from recognize that there are still needs a local Caliber center and teamhow they’ll get to work and elsewhere for daily necessities without reliable transportation. Caliber aims to help ease this hardship by gifting newly refurbished vehicles to deserving recipients.

Continued from Page 44

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Killer Tools In many cases, Trueit has been able to find great ideas from body technicians that eventually lead to inventions being used today. “We have built a reputation for being a company where if you have a concept and we think it will work, we’re not afraid to pursue it,” Trueit said. “They conceive it, and we test it and then manufacture it and sell it. One technician who came up with a great idea for a tool has made more than $300,000 within the last decade. “Technicians are not afraid to think outside of the box, and most of the tools we sell were designed in order to complete a task,” he said.. “That is why I like being a part of this industry. Knowing that many of our tools are in shops is very satisfying.” Trueit prides himself on making tools that will last and withstand heavy use, he said. “We use attention to detail and stress things like quality and safety. I have had to reject several ideas because I thought that the tools would

mates. Nominations can be made at calibercollision.com/restoring-you and will be received through mid-October. Since 2012, Caliber has teamed up with its insurance partners to obtain and restore hundreds of vehicles to pre-accident condition. The company has gifted more than 500 vehicles to veterans, active duty service members and others in need of reliable transportation. Today, Caliber is directing its efforts to aid crucial front line health care workers and first responders, while inviting the public at large to participate by nominating those who have given so much to communities during this time of need. For more information about Caliber’s program for medical workers, medical support staff and first responders, go to www.calibercollision.com/restoring-you. To learn about Caliber’s history of community involvement, including NABC Recycled Rides®, visit www. caliber collision.com/about-us/community -involvement. Source: Caliber Collision

be too dangerous. As a result, all of our tools last. “We are here to repair anything we make. Our phone does not ring and I’m usually the one to answer it, which is a good thing. I tell my people that if the phone isn’t ringing, that means we are doing a good job.” The King of Killer Tools—or Head Shark—still loves what he’s doing and isn’t thinking about retiring any time soon. “We have created a niche for us by taking people’s ideas and making them happen,” Trueit said. “If we can come up with a new tool and sell it for the right price—we already have a customer base waiting to buy it.” Sounds like a killer situation.

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