How the 2024 Election Might Affect the Collision Repair Industry
by Brian Bradley Autobody News
The election of Donald Trump to a second presidency and the coming shift in party control for at least one chamber of Congress will impact the collision repair industry.
namely the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and the U.S.-MexicoCanada Agreement.
To make sense of the shifting regulatory climate, Autobody News spoke to Bob Redding, president of The Redding Firm, a Washington, D.C.based lobbying group. In his capacity,
Though it’s tough to say exactly how the election will bring specific changes in areas like tariffs, federal right to repair efforts, and auto insurance premiums, it’s safe to assume the new political landscape will alter electric vehicle (EV) mandates and relax the overall regulatory environment.
Further, trade officials in Trump’s first administration prioritized the automotive industry, negotiating new bilateral, protective automotive regulations with countries including South Korea, Mexico and Canada in various free trade agreements,
Redding is the head lobbyist for the Automotive Service Association (ASA).
Redding shared his insights on what a Trump presidency, GOP Senate, and potentially a Republican House, could mean for the collision repair industry.
We’ve seen two recent rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, one in September and another Nov. 7. Combined with the election results, what could this mean for the collision repair industry?
RECAP ISSUE 2024
Year of the Vendor: OKABA Trade Show Set for February
By Leona Scott Autobody News
The Oklahoma Autobody Association (OKABA) Trade Show, happening Feb. 7-8, 2025, in Oklahoma City, OK, is becoming an unmissable event for collision repair industry professionals in the Midwest.
Called the “Year of the Vendor,” the 2025 edition of thetwo-day show will be packed with product showcases, educational sessions, networking
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and entertainment -- all tailored to empower attendees with knowledge and connections that last beyond the event.
Why Attend The OKABA Trade Show?
Brian Davis of Davis Paint & Collision Auto Centers, an OKABA board member, pointed to the show’s unique value.
“As an essential event in our
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TOPDON USA Donates $250K to North Texas Community College’s
Carroll Shelby Automotive
TOPDON USA announced a $250,000 donation in cash and cutting-edge tools to Northeast Texas Community College (NTCC) to support students in the Carroll Shelby Automotive Program, part of TOPDON’s global TOP-UP program.
“It’s exciting to watch our TOPUP program grow across the U.S. to include one of the most iconic names in automotive racing, design, and manufacturing, Carroll Shelby,” said Chad Schnitz, vice president of TOPDON USA. “It’s
Program
an honor to partner with NTCC in support of Carroll’s vision to help the next generation of automotive technicians.”
Announced during the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, the partnership was celebrated with NTCC’s Executive Vice President Dr. Jon McCullough and students from the Carroll Shelby Automotive Program. As part of the event, each student received a complimentary TopScan PRO, a diagnostic tool from TOPDON,
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Shutterstock.
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Mike Anderson Collision Repairers Looking for More than Just Parts Discounts, Find Multiple Systems a Time-Suck 30
Possible Strikes Still Threatening to Rattle Collision Repair Parts Supply Chain 8
SEMA Show Launches New Live Stream to Bring Experience to Wider Audience 38
Brian Bradley How the 2024 Election Might Affect the Collision Repair Industry 1
Elizabeth Crumbly
WrenchWay, ASE Merge Products to Improve Industry Accessibility for WouldBe Techs 36
Stacey Phillips Ronak
‘Axalta Nimbus’ Cloud-Based Platform to Increase Refinish Customers’ Productivity 12
3M, Axalta Announce Collaboration on New Training for Collision Industry 28
DEKRA Introduces QCARE to Help Collision Repairers Manage Assets, OEM Certifications 14
Leona Scott
CollisionRight Maintains Acquired Shops’ Local Identities While Updating Operations 22
Four Ways to Engage, Retain Apprentices in Your Auto Body Shop 18
Year of the Vendor: OKABA Trade Show Set for February 1
Ben Shimkus
Automotive Parts Supply Chain Withstands Port Strike 29
Scholarship America Makes Pitch to Close Collision Repair Talent Gap 26
John Yoswick
CIC Discusses Outdated Term ‘Set-Up and Measure,’ Cyber Security Risks for Shops 6
Collision Shop Owners Share Positive Changes They’ve Made to Their Businesses 4
Suits Related to Non-OEM Parts, Insurers Suing Shops, Crash Reports See Court Activity 20
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Arizona Fix Auto Owner Raises $8,000 for Cystic Fibrosis Research Through Art 44
Made in 1999 Disappearance of Colorado Auto Shop Owner 44
Collision Shop Owners Share Positive Changes They’ve Made To Their Businesses
by John Yoswick Autobody News
As the industry continues to evolve, shop owners are adapting by making change changes to their business. During a recent “collision industry roundtable,” a handful of shop owners talked about what they’ve changed within their company — and why — within the last year or two, and how those changes have played out.
Kena Dacus, co-owner with her husband Chris of Dacus Auto Body in McPherson, KS, said it’s been just over two years since they switched the shop’s compensation plan from commission to hourly.
“That high-production, commission environment was not really creating the culture we were looking for,” Dacus said. “Our technicians weren’t as focused on high-quality, OEM repairs [as we wanted]. And it was really difficult to recruit entry-level technicians because the technicians that we had really weren’t interested in taking time to help us grow some of this younger talent.”
They converted each technician’s prior year income into a 40-hour work week wage so none of them were going to earn less. At the same time, they shifted production into more segments, with vehicles moving through the different departments.
“When you have an entry-level technician, or even someone who has some automotive experience, but maybe not in collision, they can still be really valuable in different
to bring in some other talent, maybe even some from other industries, who can just work in one department and get really efficient there and then grow their skills.”
She said the shop has about 20 employees, and the change was not without challenges.
“For some technicians, it wasn’t the environment that they wanted to work in, so we did lose a couple,” she said of the transition. “But to be quite honest, those were the technicians that we had a hard time getting them to see the importance of following OEM procedures and doing quality work. So while it was scary to go through, I think it turned out for the best, ultimately.”
Starting A Stand-Alone Calibration Company
Mike Daniel, who owns three Mountain View Autobody Shops in New Jersey, in the past year bought another building in which to open a stand-alone ADAS calibration center. All three of his shops — two of which are a couple miles apart, the third about 45 minutes away — now feed cars into that center.
“I started up another LLC to do that business under,” Daniel said. “We have both DRPs and OEM certifications, so I’m fortunate to get the work through the DRPs, but fight the DRPs on the OEM side. For example, a certain insurance company said they would only pay [a certain amount] for calibrations if
departments without having to be valuable in every department,” Dacus said. “We’re able to recruit mechanics now. Mechanics actually work really well in disassembly and reassembly. And what we’re finding is we don’t need a whole shop full of A-level technicians at this point. We only need a couple because we’re able
I did them under the Mountain View label. But for whatever reason, if I have a [separate] company that owns the calibration equipment, and we sublet the work to that company, they would pay me the invoice with markup. So it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. We purchased adasThink to help us capture all the
calibrations a car may need. It isn’t perfect, but at least it’s better than not having anything at all.”
Smaller Shop Sees Big Changes
Andy Grundman has been working on succession planning with his father.
“Pat’s Body Shop has been in business since 1953, and was passed along until my father took over, and he’s now passed the business on to me,” Grundman said of his fiveemployee shop in Wausau, WI.
He’s now working to train a new manager to handle more of the dayto-day operations at the business, and has been doing some technician training through the Wisconsin Automotive & Truck Education Association and Northcentral Technical College “to help give back to the industry a little bit.”
“We’ve also recently started using EagleMMS [for materials invoicing] and RepairLogic [to research OEM repair procedures] to help make sure we actually get paid for what we’re doing,” Grundman said. “I also recently had our website revamped, and I’m in talks right now with Phoenix Solutions Group, which specializes in body shop marketing and online presence.”
Scheduled Estimates, Collecting Co-Pays
Micah Strom, co-owner of Modern Collision Repair in Bainbridge Island, WA, said it’s now been just over a year since he switched to a four-day workweek.
“It helps with employee retention and acquisition, and our customer base loves it, the fact we’re giving employees more time off,” he said.
As he talked about in a panel discussion at a Collision Industry Conference (CIC) earlier this year, he’s heard about different ways shops structure their four-day workweeks for employees, but he kept it simple. Employees work four 10-hour days, and the entire shop is closed on Fridays, giving everyone three-day
weekends.
“When COVID started, we quit doing estimates on Fridays and basically finished up what we had in the shop, so when we decided to shut down completely on Fridays, it was actually really easy at that point,” he said in that presentation. “The customers get the cars back on Thursday, so that’s worked very well
“Mechanics
actually work really well in disassembly and reassembly. And what we’re finding is we don’t need a whole shop full of A-level technicians at this point.”
for us.”
“We also shut down for lunch like a doctor’s office, with everyone having lunch from noon to 12:30 p.m.,” Strom said. “It’s much easier than staggering lunches. If you’re trying to stagger when employees are here, someone might not know what’s going on with a file if a customer calls in. So we just decide to all be here at the same time, and all be gone at the same time.”
Strom said he started doing estimates by appointment only in 2020 when the pandemic started, but has stuck with that.
“It has worked out really well for our shop,” he said. “It gives you the time to be with the customer if they have questions. You can get everything taken care of on it rather than having them back-to-back or not knowing when the next one is showing up.”
The company has 23 employees between its collision shop, separate mechanical shop, rental car business and detail shop. Strom has chosen not to be a direct repair shop for any insurance company.
“We don’t work for them; we work for customers,” he said. “A couple years ago, we started collecting the short-pays from the customer. That starts right from the beginning, when the customer walks in with an estimate, explaining to them what the differences are between our shop and other shops that are out there, explaining to them that we actually follow the OEM procedures. I’m not going to fix a car how an insurance company wants it fixed. It all comes down to educating the customer. I haven’t really noticed any change in our capture rate from estimates to a repair.”
Micah Strom said his shop hasn’t seen a decline in its capture rate since collecting insurer short-pays from customers
KENA DACUS DACUS AUTO BODY, MCPHERSON, KS
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CIC Discusses Outdated Term ‘Set-Up and Measure,’ Cyber Security Risks For Shops
by John Yoswick Autobody News
With more than 140,000 people, about 1,400 vehicles and more than 2,400 exhibiting companies filling 1.2 million square feet inside and outside the Las Vegas Convention Center, there’s a lot vying for SEMA attendees’ attention.
But for collision repairers, there were key meetings and training sessions throughout the event, held Nov. 5-8, that drew them — at least temporarily — from the trade show itself.
The Collision Industry Conference (CIC), for example, regularly holds one of its quarterly meetings during SEMA week, which it did this year on Nov. 5. Cyber protection was the focus of a presentation by the Data Access, Privacy and Security Committee, offering real-world best practices to avoid having digital systems hacked or becoming a victim of ransomware.
a sudden they tell you that you need to spend money.”
Kennedy said he equates it to having your doctor say your cholesterol is high, yet you don’t want to pay a monthly gym fee. “’I feel pretty good and nothing bad has happened yet, so I’ll just do it on my own,’” Kennedy said some people think. “That’s kind of a failure point.”
He said a cybersecurity expert can help identify areas of vulnerability within your company. “A lot of shops don’t realize that all these scan tools they have in the shop are all running on Wi-Fi,” he said. “How many of their employees are running on the same Wi-Fi? How many of them are also on these social media sites or the shopping sites that happen to be controlled by a communist country? That’s where the real risk comes in.
“That’s why I think it’s more important that you have a security expert that comes in, assesses your individual shop, your weaknesses, your strong points, and sets a plan
Shaughn Kennedy of Spark Underwriters said threat assessment and cyber insurance are among the key steps businesses of all sizes should consider.
“First, you have to realize that most standard business insurance policies out there exclude cyber,” said Kennedy, whose company focuses on the automotive repair industry. “So you actually have to have that coverage added back in through an endorsement or a stand-alone cyber policy.
“People ask me: How much cyber [insurance coverage] do I need? Well, insurance is there to pick the pieces up when something bad happens,” Kennedy continued. “The more important thing is proactively having a cybersecurity expert come in and assess your systems. Then the hardest thing for some people is to actually listen to them because all of
the topics on the agenda at CIC in Las Vegas. The Emerging Technologies Committee continued its discussion — started at a CIC earlier this year — of issues related to low voltage control systems, this time focusing on pure battery electric vehicles.
separate operations.”
He and the committee then showed how the process and equipment used to anchor, measure and pull vehicles has evolved significantly over decades, looking today nothing like the process — and the amount of time — required in the past.
And while developing and maintaining written definitions for the terminology in the industry isn’t always the most compelling content at CIC, the work of the Definitions Committee helps with communication within the industry — and can be key in negotiations and conflicts within the industry.
At CIC in Vegas, the committee received thumbs-up approval from the body for adopting about 30 definitions related to vehicle safety system calibration terms based on the work of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Those definitions, for example, differentiate between dynamic and static calibration procedures, define a half dozen different target types and two types of reflectors, and offer examples of what can be included in a “calibration report.”
“Traveling around the country visiting shops, one of the things that was disturbing was that frame machines are one of the largest investments that a shop owner makes, yet for some reason, it doesn’t seem to be a profit center in a lot of the shops that I visited,” Yeung said. “The reason I know that is a lot of frame machines are just packed away in the corner with 2 feet of dust on them. I don’t know if they purchased them just to participate in a program, or initially they were sold with the idea that it would do a better repair. But when it came down to get compensated for what was involved
“First, you have to realize that most standard business insurance policies out there exclude cyber.”
SHAUGHN KENNEDY
SPARK UNDERWRITERS
for you, and that you actually listen to them. That’s more important than the insurance itself.”
Kennedy said it’s also important to really understand the cyber policy you buy.
“Your insurance has a lot of fine print about what your obligation is under that contract,” he said. “If it specifically lists certain things, like you agreed that you’d have multifactor authentication, things like that, and you didn’t do it, then you put yourself in jeopardy where you may actually have a claim denied because you didn’t uphold your part of the contract. And a lot of times people don’t go through that policy enough, or your agent doesn’t explain it to you, and then there is a jeopardy there.”
Finding Common Language On Calibrations
Vehicle technology was also among
The definitions will be incorporated into CIC’s existing glossary of industry terms, available at the CIC website. Anyone in the industry can submit suggestions for changes or additions to the definitions included in the glossary.
Moving Away From ‘Set-Up And Measure’
Also during CIC in Las Vegas, California shop owner Kye Yeung, who co-chairs a new Repair Processes and Procedures Committee, said he’s stopped using the term “set-up and measure” within his shop.
“When I opened my business in 1975, a lot of things were handwritten, and I think the terminology ‘set-up and pull’ or ‘set-up and measure’ was just us being lazy,” Yeung said during the committee’s presentation. “It was just a term so we didn’t have to do a lot of writing. And unfortunately that term is still used today, yet they’re two
to do the repair properly, maybe the technicians felt — and this is just my opinion — that maybe they weren’t compensated fairly for whatever this [process] was, and decided that if they had a way around it, they would just do it the way they needed to do it.”
Yeung said that’s why his shop has stopped using the “set-up” term. “It’s been antiquated. It doesn’t really say much. There’s no definition of it what’s really included and what’s not,” Yeung said. “What we do as far as dealing with cars that have structural damage is we ‘mount and calibrate to a frame bench for structural alignment and/or structural parts replacement.’”
As appropriate, he said, they add the term “OEM-approved frame machine.”
The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) said earlier this year that it plans to conduct a study of structural set-up and measure, similar to its 2022 study of blend refinish labor times, which helped lead all three estimating systems to reexamine their formulas for that procedure and add more flexibility to their systems related to blending.
Several hundred SEMA attendees spent part of their time in Las Vegas at the Collision Industry Conference
Trent Tinsley, right, moderated a CIC panel discussion on cyber security that included, from left, Shaughn Kennedy of Spark Underwriters and Jim Dye of Body by Cochran
Possible Strikes Still Threatening To Rattle Collision Repair Parts Supply Chain
By Abby Andrews Autobody News
As collision repairers deal with the “double whammy” of both part prices and the number needed to finish a job continuing their steady increases, looming strikes at East Coast ports and a German union threaten to add to their woes in 2025 by increasing delivery times.
Greg Horn, chief information officer for PartsTrader, spoke to Autobody News about the company’s latest parts delivery trend report, ahead of its official release Nov. 5, the first day of the 2024 SEMA Show.
Horn said there are two trends contributing to the increase in prices for remanufactured alloy wheels.
One, the wheels are getting larger. “Seventeen (inches) used to be the standard wheel on SUVs. Now you’re seeing 18-, 19-inch wheels. More material has to be removed by the reconditioning technicians,” Horn said. And two, there’s a shortage of technicians qualified to work on those wheels.
“When people in the insurance and collision repair industries talk about inflation, they usually talk about it on a part-level basis, so it’s a double whammy for this industry,” Horn said. “It’s the number of parts as well as each one of those parts going up in price.
“And that’s the cumulative effect, because parts are the biggest portion of a repairable estimate,” he said. “Labor is a close second.”
Median Part Delivery Days
The Q3 2024 report shows the average number of parts quoted per job has increased from 5.3 in 2020 to 7.4 in 2024 for passenger cars, and from 4.5 to 6.3 parts in trucks and SUVs.
“We’re seeing the proliferation of accident avoidance systems, the bumper sensors,” Horn said. “That’s really what’s fueling the increase in the number of parts for both passenger cars and SUVs.”
Meanwhile, the average part price by part type shows new OEM parts —which steadily make up 70% to 80% of parts used on a typical job, whether the vehicle make is domestic, Asian or European — has increased from $432 in 2020 to $579 in 2024.
In the same timeframe, aftermarket parts’ average price increased from $260 to a current average of $316, though that is down from its peak of $330 in Q1 2023.
Remanufactured parts — mostly alloy wheels — had the largest average price increase over the past four years, spiking from $289 to $468. More than $60 of that increase came in the last year alone, the largest increase year-over-year of any part type.
the date [the strike would begin], so those shipments were diverted to the West Coast,” Horn said. “They had to be trucked, so there’s a delay in getting them to the distribution centers.”
Aftermarket parts aren’t as susceptible to spikes in delivery days, Horn said, because suppliers tend to keep a lot in stock.
Even if the port strike had a greater effect on aftermarket parts, Horn said the median delivery days are always driven by OEM parts.
“They’re still the biggest portion of the estimate. They are still the biggest potential for an outlier, because it’s a trim piece,” he said.
Price-matched parts – when a dealership sells an OEM part at a loss to either match the aftermarket alternative or undersell another dealership in the hopes of winning a shop’s regular business – had a median of six delivery days, more than double that of aftermarket parts.
Horn said that tells him body shops are willing to wait the extra days to get an OEM-quality part at a lower price to protect their margins.
are no possibilities of human error,” Horn said.
Automated gate checks also cut down on the chances of smuggling everything from counterfeit watches to knockoff drugs.
“That is actually quite common,” Horn said.
Automating that task affects, on average, about 25 people’s jobs at a port the size of the Port of New Jersey, Horn said, so it’s a “small percentage of workers,” but the union is concerned automation will further spread to other parts of the process.
Strikes could also affect automakers. In the U.S., the UAW is threatening walkouts at Stellantis facilities, as the company struggles to address declining sales, high frequencies of warranty claims, and its obligation in the contract it signed in 2023 with the UAW to reopen the Belvidere, IL, assembly plant. This could lead to disruptions in the supply of collision parts for Stellantis vehicles.
On the bright side, the median number of days needed to receive all parts for a job is declining – down to 9.4 in Q3 2024 — despite a brief interruption at several U.S. ports in early October and severe weather events.
PartsTrader looks at both the simple average and the median plus two standard deviations, which better takes into account the “outliers” – for instance, when nine out of 10 parts arrive in a day and a half, but the 10th is backordered.
The median has been steadily decreasing since October 2023, when the UAW struck against the Big Three, driving it up to 14.8 days.
“[UAW President] Shawn Fain is a brilliant tactician,” Horn said. “He took the minimum amount of people to do these wildcat strikes at part distribution centers, knowing that was the area that the vehicle owner, as well as the franchise dealer, would feel the biggest pain. And you see that spike in in OEM parts. Now it’s down to 9.4 days, which is great.”
Horn said that was the effect analysts were expecting on aftermarket parts when the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) struck in early October, but advance planning minimized it. Those parts averaged 2.5 delivery days in Q3 2024.
“It was well known that Oct. 1 was
Parts Delivery Challenges Ahead Potential
strikes could disrupt the parts supply chain.
The ILA strike at 10 East and Gulf coast ports temporarily ended with a contract extension, but it could resume Jan. 15, 2025, if negotiations to finalize a new contract fall through.
“There has been no movement on the biggest sticking point, which is the pledge for no further automation,” Horn said.
The strike was initiated after an Alabama port violated the union agreement by implementing automated gate checks to inspect cargo and confirm the bill of lading matches the contents.
“Ports are a big security threat to the U.S. in general, so automated gate checks are more secure. There
In Germany, Volkswagen’s announcement that it is considering closing factories there for the first time in its history, citing high energy and labor costs, has sparked tension with the IG Metall union.
The union has threatened a strike at all German VW factories if any plants are closed, and is demanding the reinstatement of a 35-year job guarantee recently eliminated by Volkswagen.
Horn said VW produces a lot of parts in Mexico, but the bigger potential threat for collision repairers in the U.S. is that IG Metall has a history of “sympathy strikes,” which could halt parts production for other German automakers like MercedesBenz and BMW.
“I lived in Germany, and IG pretty much shut down production to argue for a 37.5-hour work week ages ago. And they brought most production to a standstill,” Horn said. The report said the situation in Germany “remains tense.”
A forklift driver moves racks of Jeep Cherokee body side panels at the FCA U.S. Sterling Stamping Plant in Michigan.
Connectors in Collision Repair: What Every Technician Needs to Know
In collision repair, precision and quality matter at every stage. Among the critical components are automotive pigtail connectors, which play an essential role in restoring a vehicle’s electrical systems. These small but vital parts ensure that everything from airbags to headlights functions at peak performance. When you understand how to select and source the right connectors, you save time, reduce costs, and improve repair outcomes. Here’s everything you need to know about choosing the ideal connector for your next repair.
Why Connectors are Vital in Collision Repair
After a collision, the integrity of a vehicle’s electrical system can be compromised, making reliable automotive connectors, sometimes called pigtails, essential for restoring proper function. They connect various components within the car’s wiring harness, including sensors, lights, and control modules, to maintain proper functionality and safety. A damaged or unreliable connector can jeopardize these systems, putting repair quality and safety at risk. This makes choosing high-quality connectors an important step for any repair technician looking to complete repairs with confidence.
The Challenge of Finding the Right Connector
Finding the right replacement connector is a common challenge for repair shops, with so many makes, models, and connector types on the market. Some shops may use generic parts, but an improper fit can compromise safety and repair quality. FindPigtails.com simplifies this process, offering over 350,000 connectors and multiple search options so you can quickly find the right match. You can search by keyword, VIN, make/model/year, pin count, or even upload a photo of the connector you need. Our reverse image search automatically identifies the exact part, streamlining your search so you can focus on getting the job done right.
● Comprehensive Database: Over 350,000 connectors to cover a wide range of makes and models.
● Flexible Search Options: Search by keyword, VIN, make/ model/year, or pin count.
● Reverse Image Search: Upload a photo of the connector, and our system automatically identifies the correct part.
● Pigtail Pros Support: Expert help is available via text, phone, and live chat to answer any questions.
The Value of a Trusted Connector Specialist
Partnering with a trusted connector provider can significantly impact your repair efficiency and quality. Look for providers with deep industry knowledge, rigorous quality standards, and a vast catalog that ensures you’ll always find what you need. FindPigtails.com stands out as a trusted resource, offering connectors that meet or exceed OEM specifications, so you can be confident in every repair.
Our Pigtail Smart App and intuitive search tools help technicians on the job quickly locate specific connectors. With live support from our knowledgeable Pigtail Pros, assistance is just a text, phone call,
or chat away. Working with a reliable source like FindPigtails.com means you get the parts you need with speed and accuracy, avoiding the trial and error that can delay repairs.
Repair vs. Replacement: A Cost-Saving Approach
Repairing individual connectors is often more cost-effective and practical than replacing entire harnesses, which can be costly and labor-intensive. Sourcing high-quality connectors lets you restore functionality without extensive modifications, making this approach both economical and efficient. FindPigtails.com carries a wide selection of connectors across makes and models, allowing you to replace only what’s needed while keeping repairs high-quality and budget-friendly. This approach reduces your repair cycle time and enhances productivity in your shop
Supporting Repair Specialists with Powerful Tools
At FindPigtails.com, we make connector sourcing simple with tools like our Pigtail Smart App. With search options by keyword, vehicle details, or image, we give technicians quick access to exactly what they need. Our customer support team, accessible via chat, text, or phone, provides on-demand assistance, ensuring you have expert help throughout the process.
For readers from Autobody News, we’ve set up a special page with an exclusive offer. Visit our Autobody News page to see how we can help make your next repair even smoother.
Trust FindPigtails.com for Quality Repairs
In collision repair, reliable connectors are key to completing quality work. FindPigtails.com provides the tools, selection, and support to make every repair seamless and effective. Visit us to discover the difference our products and expertise can bring to your next project.
‘Axalta Nimbus’ Cloud-Based Platform To Increase Refinish Customers’ Productivity
By Stacey Phillips Ronak Autobody News
Axalta recently announced the launch of Axalta Nimbus, the company’s cloud-based global customer experience platform for refinish customers. The application was introduced at the Automechanika Frankfurt Show in September, held in Frankfurt, Germany.
super proud to announce the new Axalta innovation that will help our customers all over the world perform better every single day and in every single repair,” said Patricia Morschel, vice president of marketing and commercial operations at Axalta, during the application’s launch at Automechanika.
At the show, Morschel talked about the company’s passion for helping customers perform better by innovating and bringing to market high-efficiency products that help customers save time, materials and energy.
She then walked conference attendees through the seven main parts of Axalta’s offerings and shared how Axalta Nimbus is unique.
from these digital processes, starting with the four basic modules: Axalta Nimbus Catalog, Axalta Nimbus Color, Axalta Nimbus Academy and Axalta Nimbus Support. As a business evolves, it can add more modules.
First, refinishers scan the color with Axalta Irus Scan, the newly launched, next-generation spectrophotometer. Second, they match the color using Axalta Nimbus Color, the platform that leverages proprietary algorithms to find, sort and return accurate color formulas.
Then, Macpherson said it’s time to mix with Axalta Irus Mix, which enables users to work more efficiently, profitably and sustainably.
Axalta Nimbus works with Axalta paint systems and is available in 23 languages, connecting teams regardless of their location.
“Axalta Nimbus seamlessly connects the entire body shop team to all of Axalta’s tools and resources in a single platform to improve efficiency, enhance productivity, boost performance and maximize profitability,” said Logan Macpherson, Axalta’s customer experience apps director, global refinish, who led the project team that created the application.
The cloud-based application connects to Axalta’s seven main offerings: product catalog (Axalta Nimbus Catalog), color retrieval (Axalta Nimbus Color), product ordering (Axalta Nimbus Store), inventory management (Axalta Nimbus Stock), training resources (Axalta Nimbus Academy), comprehensive business insights (Axalta Nimbus Insights), and support (Axalta Nimbus Support).
“Axalta Nimbus enables our customers to do business smarter,” said Troy Weaver, president of global refinish at Axalta. “This industryleading technology was designed based on the end-to-end process of how our customers work and reaffirms our commitment to not only be a leading coatings manufacturer but also a business partner dedicated to helping our customers improve productivity and profitability through technology and innovation. We are very proud of Axalta Nimbus and look forward to the impact it has in the market.”
“I am extremely excited and
“The cloud-based platform allows our customers to connect with the Axalta products and services in real time,” she said. “The system was designed with the user in mind to be very intuitive and easy to navigate, so users can seamlessly move from one application to the other.”
“For 160 years, Axalta Coating Systems has been leading the market globally and is very much renowned for their high-performance products and advanced technology,” said Michael Collie, a TV and radio journalist who spent much of his career specializing in the automotive industry and was the emcee for Axalta Nimbus’s launch at Automechanika.
“Axalta’s innovation extends beyond refinish products and services,” he said. “They aim to allow clients’ businesses to work smarter, which is something we all have to do.”
Axalta demonstrated the application during the show, and attendees had the opportunity to take part in a hands-on experience.
Axalta Nimbus is a culmination of four years of hard work, said Macpherson, who set up the dedicated team responsible for developing the strategy behind the application.
“Leading the team was incredibly rewarding,” noted Macpherson. “They worked tirelessly to create something that we know will have a real impact.”
Because Axalta Nimbus is completely modular, Macpherson said shops of all sizes can benefit
“It is easy to use with an intuitive user interface for increased efficiency and customizable capabilities based on business need,” he added. “This allows skilled refinishers to do other, more productive tasks.”
Macpherson explained that Axalta Nimbus powers the company’s three-step Axalta Irus digital color management process: Scan – Match – Mix.
“It not only helps us to be closer to our 80,000 customers in approximately 120 countries, but it also enables our customers to work smarter,” said Macpherson.
The system will go live in North America and Europe in early 2025 and later be rolled out in Asia Pacific and Latin America.
For more information, visit axalta. com/nimbus.
Logan Macpherson, Axalta’s customer experience apps director, global refinish, and Patricia Morschel, Axalta’s vice president of marketing and commercial operations, at the application’s launch at Automechanika.
Michael Collie, a TV and radio journalist and the emcee for Axalta Nimbus’s launch at Automechanika with Patricia Morschel, Axalta’s vice president of marketing and commercial operations.
To meet with an account specialist contact:
Joey Marfin
832-771-7342 jmarfin@classicelite.com
Bobby Spears
832-597-2683 bspears@classicelite.com
Gary Allen
832-519-7699 gallen@classicelite.com
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DEKRA Introduces QCARE To Help Collision Repairers Manage Assets, OEM Certifications
By Stacey Phillips Ronak Autobody News
With body shops placing greater emphasis on obtaining OEM certifications, collision repairers can feel overwhelmed when deciding which program is the best fit for their facility. Those who are already OEM certified may find it challenging to manage the programs they are part of. At the same time, shops often manually collect the information, while trying to complete timeconsuming reporting with valuable resources.
and standards.
“As a safety and standards company, we leveraged our expertise to bring more real-time verification and processes to our partners and provide an opportunity to repurpose important resources like valuable team members who spent a lot of time with spreadsheets trying to stay compliant,” he said.
Whether it’s an independent shop owner deciding which program is the best fit or an MSO that needs traceability throughout two to 2,000 shops, Morley said QCARE brings everyone together so less
“This can be highly inefficient and costly,” said Gabriel Morley, vice president of DEKRA North America. Morley said DEKRA was committed to finding a solution to address the challenges of pursuing OEM certification. Working with its partners and the industry, the company created DEKRA QCARE (Quality Compliance and Risk Evaluation).
The cloud-based platform was designed to assist independent repairers and MSOs in proactively streamlining the management of their assets and certified networks. Morley said QCARE connects OEMs, repairers and other valuable thirdparty partners.
“QCARE can help with holistic network management, facility and asset management, mergers and acquisitions, and OEM certification and compliance,” explained Morley. “It also was designed to leverage the ability to track compliance against both internal and external standards, streamline asset and training management and enhance an organization’s field operations.
Morley said the product aligns with DEKRA’s core values around safety
The following year, the Deutsche Kraftfahrzeug-Überwachungs-Verein (German Motor Vehicle Monitoring Association) was founded and soon became known as “DEKRA.”
The company has grown to include about 49,000 employees worldwide and assists more than 500,000 customers in 60 countries on five continents.
“Through the company’s commitment to cybersecurity and the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), DEKRA is helping to build trust in new technologies and to master the related challenges, such as future mobility,” noted Morley.
Morley said DEKRA has long supported OEMs in the testing and building of automobiles.
Initially, Morley said attention was focused on technical safety, primarily in the automotive sector.
DEKRA has since expanded its activities into many diverse aspects of daily life “on the road, at work and at home,” all focused on safety.
“Through this experience, the company has helped develop and verify OEM programs in collision, service and sales,” he explained. “Today, we provide various support from technology, audit and personnel services, as well as strategic consulting.”
Morley acknowledged that everyone’s business is different.
“As a result, the company has been cognizant of providing flexibility to QCARE and a feature-rich environment that can be adapted to many market variations,” he said. “However, solutions need to be affordable if we want to see adoption, so we’ve been very mindful of balancing cost with value.”
time is spent on managing program participation and more time can be dedicated to customers and proper repairs.
“Challenges with redundancy, cost and a lack of transparency and insight in the collision repair industry with the current way of administrating a certified network often make it hard for programs to scale,” said Morley. “There is also a level of liability for 364 days after a single yearly audit is complete.”
He said QCARE tracks and manages the critical elements that contribute to compliance, such as assets, tools, people and training. Features include connecting valuable industry partners, self-service capabilities to reduce costs and delays associated with traditional IT development, and the ability to improve operations. QCARE also provides customizable reports and configurable program tracking so that organizations can build upon QCARE’s functionality.
DEKRA was established in 1924 when an industrialist named Hugo Stinnes came up with the idea of creating a voluntary technical monitoring service for motor vehicles.
For nearly 100 years, Morley said, DEKRA has been committed to ensuring people’s safety in all of life situations. What started in 1925 with the technical monitoring of motor vehicles today comprises a wide range of services, notably for
inspecting, testing and certifying vehicles, products, processes and facilities, as well as initial and further training.
The company’s portfolio includes vehicle inspections, expert appraisal reports, industrial and building inspections, advisory, training and personnel management services, as well as testing and certification of analog and digital products and systems.
With more than 500 services offered, Morley said DEKRA assists in transforming sustainable management.
Working alongside its partners, DEKRA provides self-assessment opportunities to help clients make better-informed decisions about certification pursuit, repair quality improvement and shop operations. Future goals include continuing to support partners with a strong foundation and expanding DEKRA’s connected industry partners, which include equipment, paint and distributors. In addition, Morley said DEKRA’s 2025 plans include helping to move certification programs from the expectations of tools and training to more qualitative standards and insights. Additionally, the company will shift its focus to incoming regulatory standards like supply chain risk management, environmental, and information security.
During the 2024 SEMA Show, Morley took part in a panel discussion focused on OEM Audit Tips/Tricks. Christian Ruecker, vice president of mobility sales at DEKRA North America, took part in the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) IDEAS Collide Showcase to discuss “Sustainability’s Role in Every Layer of Collision Repair.”
For more information about DEKRA QCARE, email Gabriel Morley at gabriel.morley@dekra.com.
A:Lower interest rates are going to help everybody from a single shop owner to investment groups, I think, that are working not only in the collision space, but also the mechanical space. We represent both. Even though the mechanical partners have lagged behind collision on consolidation and MSO movement, it is there.
We’re seeing more and more of it — more interest from single shops, and hearing more interest in activity in M&A. So with the trends we’re on now, certainly the ingredients would be encouraging. I think this is going to impact a lot of different segments, not just the M&A piece.
The Federal Trade Commission, structure of the board and appointments and direction, that’s going to be a big change.
But I think it’s encouraging for small business. We did not take an official position [on the election]. We have people on both sides.
But I would say a majority of our folks would certainly recognize the [potential of a coming] shift in tax policy, banking policy and competition policy. And if the House keeps trending and does fold into Republican leaders controlling the House, I think you’re going to see an impact on auto policy that’s significant. And it won’t just be in the M&A space.
Q:Trump has criticized EV incentive programs in the recent past. What do you think a Trump presidency means for EV mandates, as well as the internal combustion engine (ICE) market?
A:I think we have to look back even at this Congress and the dissatisfaction amongst many Republicans in the House — and I’m speaking for them, but I’m saying we’ve heard them say it to us, in meetings and publicly — dissatisfaction with the amount of federal funding that’s gone into incentives and charging stations, for example.
They have a lot of questions about
that. We’ve even run up against it in EV training efforts in trying to get more funding in that space. Not opposition to auto technician training, but opposition to narrow EV training. We’ve got a lot of shops, particularly in rural areas, that may not have had the volume of EV training, EV cars in their shops.
And even up to today, a university town might have half a million people. So, access is what we’ve been worried about.
We’ve had a couple of pilot projects in Colorado and California on EV training. But it’s a funding issue. Paying for these things is hard, and the only way to do it is a public-private partnership. So that impact and the lack of focus on the EV piece amongst particularly many House Republicans, I think now will be incentivized. So, we’ll see.
Federal appointments are going to be critical. If you look at not just the FTC, but you look from our perspective at U.S. DOT. I don’t know who [Trump’s] going to pick. I don’t have an inside track on that. But I know that some of the names that have been thrown around are conservatives who are not advocates of huge federal subsidies in the EV space.
And I think you could see a real directional change in that area, not just in the House of Representatives and the Senate, but also with whoever’s appointed to run the DOT, I think it’s going to be big.
A:Q:What could the next Senate bring for the industry?
[Texas Republican Sen.] Ted Cruz will chair the [Senate Commerce] Committee. And we know Sen. Cruz. He’s been very helpful to us. He’s pro-small business. I can’t imagine a scenario where Sen. Cruz, who now will be Chairman Cruz, is seeking more federal regulation of shops or more federal incentives in the space. I just don’t see it.
Now, some lobbyists may be able to sell that, but I don’t think I can. So, I don’t see that. I think that what we’re watching for is what they’ll do in the auto safety space from our perspective.
We like inspection. We like state programs in the vehicle inspections space. We like states having a lot of rights relative to vehicle safety inspection.
But the federal government certainly has a role in that and what that should look like and any incentives in that area for states that want to do it. That includes post-repair inspections, programs like in New Mexico, where it’s on resale, the vehicle has to have a post-repair inspection after a collision.
I think it’s going to be very different
[in the Senate]. I was surprised at the Pennsylvania Senate seat flipping.
But I’d be surprised if one of the first things out of the box is broad auto policy. When it comes up, I do think it would be in the EV space, but I don’t see a broad automotive emphasis, which we could’ve had under Democratic control.
And in the House, I don’t think so either. We don’t know who’s going to be chairman, but if you look at the mix of potential chairs, I don’t see that as a priority.
Q:
What about federal right to repair legislation? Some view it as favorable to small business and mom-and-pops in collision repair. Do you think there could be pushes to get those efforts off the ground?
A:We talked some about this within ASA this week, after the election with our executive committee informally. But we have an agreement with the Alliance for Automotive Innovation and with Society of Collision Repair Specialists to address the vehicle data access issue.
And we are still working on implementation for the agreement we signed in July 2023. That will be very important for ASA implementation of the agreement, making sure that our shops have access to the data they need.
We like exhausting an industry agreement or an industry process if it’s possible, and it’s not always possible. But that’s always our first choice. If it doesn’t work, you go to Congress, or on this issue, right to repair, in Massachusetts and Maine, you have laws.
What we’re trying to avoid is any activity on this at the state level that will wind right back up where we’ve been with the insurer-repairer-consumer relationship, with it regulated with the authorization being at the state level, a 50-state checkerboard footprint of regulation. And that’s a hit and miss.
A:Q:How might other regulations be affected by the election?
But even not knowing who will chair the House Energy and Commerce Committee or the subcommittees — because that does matter, the committee leadership — I still don’t see the administration encouraging any legislative effort within their own party that dramatically expands the role of the federal government, particularly at the Federal Trade Commission.
Certainly, [car] dealers have taken their share of hits from the current Federal Trade Commission in the regulatory space. I just don’t see, from a direction perspective, that continuing. I may be wrong, but I don’t see that.
One of the things that has concerned us, because we were victims of it, independent repair shops, collision and mechanical, after the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, in the service information regulation, the U.S. EPA in a Clean Air Act Amendment said emissions data must be given to independent repair shops, collision and mechanical, across the board, and that repair shops should get the same service information that franchise car dealers got. The Department of Commerce released further rulemaking on data access. Well, the OEs dumped all the info at Commerce.
They were understaffed, didn’t have the funding, and had no clue what they were doing. It was a complete failure. We met with the U.S. EPA. They reversed that policy. It took years to get this new law into a regulatory space that worked, which are the websites that you go to now, the OE websites, are a product of that 1990 Clean Air Act amendment. So, the federal government regulating this and disseminating our data or what we need to repair cars is risky.
And I’m going to be very surprised if we see the House or the Senate, particularly the Senate, going full bore to expand the number of personnel, funding and authority of the Federal Trade Commission to run these kind of programs.
For legislation and laws that are too aggressive and can try and cap out what you as a collision shop owner charge for storage fees, if your storage fee is too high — this is our view — then the consumer or the insurer should tell you, “That’s too high,” and not the government. Then, it’s up to the shop what they want to do.
But controlling prices at shops is not something we want the federal government involved in. And that was clear in our pre-meeting with the panelists, clear from our members over the years and our leadership that these capped storage fees -- in Oklahoma that was proposed, and that legislation could come up again, even though it died this next year -- that is something that we just don’t support.
We think that’s too much of government.
If we go too far on the Federal Trade Commission as a police officer under, whether “Joe Shop Owner” gets data or information from a third-party provider or the OEs or whatever, then that’s a little too much interference.
Q:Trade officials during Trump’s first term prioritized the auto industry, negotiating new bilateral trade rules and imposing more restrictive tariffs. What do you expect to see in the trade landscape under a second Trump term?
Bob Redding.
A:I think it’s anybody’s guess right now. There’s no U.S. trade representative yet. Bob Lighthizer [under Trump’s first administration] did a fantastic job.
I thought, for Trump’s first appointee, he was experienced. I’m not sure how much. He was involved in steel [litigation before serving as USTR], and I think he had some other clients where he had a lot of interaction with the [U.S. International Trade Commission] and other entities.
I’m just a big fan of theirs. Also, President Trump’s first chair of economic advisors, Gary Cohn, was one of the most inclusive senior staff people at the White House I’ve ever seen.
Where they brought small teams in — not always the same industries in the room — they might have five people from different sectors running things by them that might not be not be a priority for the industry, but had some impact. So, I was impressed with those administration appointments last time.
The establishment of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party is a big deal. They have a serious chairperson there with [Republican] Congressman [John] Molinar of Michigan.
He’s a serious person, very smart, very educated and works well with
the ranking member. There are a lot of members from both parties that are very focused on the China piece.
I can’t imagine a scenario where the Congress doesn’t, as a majority, support what the president tries to do on China. That would be a surprise. Could we see, I mean, China is focused on specifically in the automotive context.
Q:Pundits have raised the possibility that Chinese cars, including EVs and autonomous vehicles, could be exported more to the U.S. in the future. Do you expect automotive trade with China to be a focus area in the trade conservation?
A: If you go back to the U.S.-Canada-Mexico agreement, some of the positions that USTR put on the table that were not accepted, really, I think, are precursors towards a willingness for an aggressive protectionist approach.
I think it’s going to be a very different approach. As you know, [current USTR] Ambassador [Katherine] Tai has been less assertive on trade agreements and certainly that’s just a really different approach than what Ambassador Lighthizer did or others, even going back to [former USTR] Mickey Cantor with Bill Clinton, who was very aggressive in the space, a Democratic USTR. But it’s going to be
different.
I don’t know who [Trump’s] going to pick. He certainly has some good choices out there, including former deputies that may have an interest.
Q:
In September, Trump tweeted that auto insurance rates were up 73% and he would cut them in half once he gets into office. Obviously, that can’t be a clean guarantee for every auto insurance holder. But is there any change that such a rate cut at least progresses toward being a reality, in the case of, say, deflation, or a deregulated supply chain?
A: I hope he does. I mean, my insurance rates are up. They’re certainly going to have a very, very different antitrust division at the Justice Department, a very, very different attorney general.
So, in the FTC piece, you’re going to have a lot of different federal policies. But as you know, the bulk of the regulation of these companies is at the state level. And despite having those major insurers that we focus on at various conferences and symposiums, there are a lot of small companies out there.
They’re small, local and state entities. And that is going to be a really hard job. And, you know, we have a
mix of insurance commissioners, a lot that were in the industry or going to the industry when they leave, as well as consumer activists.
That’s a tough job [to rein in insurance rates].
It’s hard. But it is, as you know, in many states, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida and California, insurance rates are high.
Q:
A:
Do you have anything else to add?
I think that generally, we are going to see some very probusiness initiatives.
I do think auto will be in the line of things that Capitol Hill addresses relative to the EV piece. I think you’ll see legislation introduced out of the box.
I think this applies to any industry sector: Whatever administrative agency that they follow, whatever cabinet official, but not just that — all the way down to Schedule C’s — I think the Trump administration has been working early, diligently, on the personnel piece, gathering names and gathering policy ideas, and I think it will be a much more hit-the-groundrunning, versus last time when it was slow getting people in place, slow getting appointments to the Senate. I think it will be very different this time.
calendar, the OKABA trade show offers an unparalleled opportunity for our members to connect, learn and grow,” Davis said. “Attendees will gain access to exclusive industry insights, innovative products, and services that can propel their businesses forward. It’s not just about networking; it’s about fostering meaningful relationships and collaborations that last well beyond the event.”
Event Highlights: What To Expect Attendees can look forward to numerous engaging activities and perks, including:
Product Showcases and Vendor Exhibits: The Trade Show Floor is free and open to all attendees. It features a variety of vendors with the latest products and innovations. It’s an ideal opportunity to explore new tools, technology and industry trends up close.
Industry-Focused Sessions: The event features a range of breakout sessions that explore topics crucial for today’s collision repair shops. Each session is capped at 50 participants to maximize the learning
experience, so early registration is highly recommended.
Friday Night Vendor Social and Comedy Night: The weekend kicks off Feb. 7 with a casual vendor social from 6 to 8 p.m., followed by an 8:30 p.m. comedy show to add a bit of fun to the networking experience.
Speakers And Presentations
OKABA has a lineup of top industry voices who will share their insights, including:
• Drew Bryant of DB Collision, offering insights from the perspective of a successful shop owner.
• Kena Dacus from Dacus Auto Body, who will discuss the benefits of a four-day workweek for productivity and work-life balance.
• Jeff Oldenettel of Collision Advice, presents strategic guidance for collision repair success.
• Daniel Buckholder on effective body shop marketing to attract new clients.
• Rick Selover with an empowering session focused on mindset and growth.
• Jerry Gastineau from Mitchell International, discussing the critical role of database development in collision repair.
The breakout sessions will run
from 9 to 10:30 a.m. and 10:40 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., offering concentrated learning opportunities with these industry leaders.
“Our primary goals for attendees are to provide valuable educational sessions, offer networking opportunities, and inspire innovation,” said Davis. “We want our members to leave the trade show with new knowledge, connections and a renewed sense of motivation to implement what they’ve learned in their own practices.”
Registration Details
Before Jan. 26, 2025, registration is $45 per person, and includes access to the vendor social, comedy night, continental breakfast, breakout sessions and lunch. After Jan. 26, the fee will increase to $75 per person.
Entry to the Trade Show Floor remains free, so professionals are encouraged to take advantage of this invaluable opportunity to explore the latest vendor offerings.
Vendor Opportunities
Vendor registration is now open, with booths filling up fast. For those looking to showcase products and services, this is an ideal chance to connect with potential clients faceto-face.
Join OKABA In Celebrating The Year Of The Vendor
With a diverse lineup of speakers and exhibitors, the OKABA Trade Show 2025 promises something for everyone, from valuable industry insights and networking to entertainment and product exploration.
“We’re excited about the diverse lineup of speakers and exhibitors this year,” Davis added, “including some of the brightest minds and most influential companies in the industry. I encourage everyone to make the most of this opportunity to learn, network, and grow together. It will be an event you won’t want to miss.”
For more information, visit okaba. org/home/event/okaba-2025-tradeshow-okc
Four Ways To Engage, Retain Apprentices in Your Auto Body Shop
By Leona Scott Autobody News
Here are four practical ways Oklahoma and Texas auto body shops are teaming up with local vocational schools, offering flexible schedules, providing mentorship and focusing on hands-on learning to help shops build a strong, skilled workforce for the future.
As the collision repair industry faces an aging workforce, recruiting the next generation of skilled technicians is crucial for the longevity of auto body shops.
Shop owners like Brian Davis of Davis Paint & Collision Auto Centers in Oklahoma City, OK, and Body Shop Manager Joey Walker of Huffines Chevrolet Plano Collision Center in Plano, TX, are paving the way by embracing apprenticeships and creating opportunities for students to enter the field. Both Davis and Walker have decades of experience and recognize that nurturing talent early on ensures a steady pipeline of skilled workers.
Here are four practical ways to hire apprentices and work around student schedules, helping auto body shops build a sustainable future workforce.
Collaborate with Vocational Schools
One of the most effective ways to recruit apprentices is by building strong relationships with local vocational or technical schools. With more than 30 years in the industry, Davis has made this a cornerstone of his approach. He actively engages with schools by visiting classrooms, hosting lunchand-learn sessions, and even judging at SkillsUSA competitions. These interactions allow shop owners to identify promising students early in their education. Davis emphasized connecting with teachers to understand which students are committed and driven.
“The biggest advantage of working with vo-tech schools is that we get to vet the students while they are in school,” Davis said.
He often starts students with entry-level work, such as detailing cars, and as they gain more experience, they transition into more complex roles. This process allows students to grow within the company, creating a strong sense of loyalty and job satisfaction.
Walker, who manages an auto body shop in Frisco, TX, shared a similar sentiment.
“Everyone who works here has come well recommended from the school,” Walker explained. By working closely with collision programs, he can identify students who are skilled and passionate about the industry.
Offer Flexible Scheduling Flexibility is key when working with student apprentices. Many young adults balance their education with part-time jobs, so offering adaptable work schedules is essential.
Walker has embraced this by allowing students to work around their school commitments. He recalled a paint prepper who works in the shop three days a week, scheduling his hours around his classes.
“We need to be more flexible if we’re going to be prepared with personnel,” Walker said. This willingness to accommodate students’ schedules allows them to gain valuable hands-on experience without sacrificing their education.
Davis has also mastered the art of flexible scheduling, often working with 17-, 18- and 19-yearold students who are still becoming young professionals. He typically pairs students with an experienced A tech, allowing them to learn while gradually increasing their responsibilities over two to three years. This approach benefits the
student and ensures they are fully prepared to transition into full-time roles upon graduation.
Create Mentorship Opportunities
Mentorship is vital in helping students transition from the classroom to the shop floor. Both Davis and Walker stressed the importance of pairing young apprentices with experienced technicians.
Davis highlighted the need for mentorship, noting that many students still develop individually.
“You’re not just turning out technicians; they could be a team lead, an estimator, a painter, a prepper — there are many possibilities,” he explained.
By pairing students with seasoned professionals, shop owners can ensure apprentices learn technical skills and develop soft skills, such as patience, communication and leadership. These mentorship opportunities foster a sense of belonging and commitment, leading to higher retention rates.
In Davis’ shop, 40-45% of students stay on after their apprenticeships, and many return after brief absences because of the strong support system they experienced during their training.
Walker has witnessed similar benefits. He has seen multiple generations of technicians work side by side, including a body technician and his son. This family atmosphere extends beyond blood relations, as Walker treats every apprentice as part of his shop’s “family.” This inclusive environment helps retain young talent and builds a strong team culture.
Invest in Hands-On Learning
Davis and Walker agree that hands-on experience is critical to
developing skilled technicians. While classroom education is important, practical application in a real-world setting is where students truly hone their abilities.
Davis works closely with instructors to ensure students are gaining the right skills. “I tell the instructors, don’t focus so much on welding — focus on disassembling a car,” he said, emphasizing the need for practical, hands-on tasks.
Davis’ shop also organizes field trips to give students a sense of what working in a shop is really like. These trips help bridge the gap between theory and practice, allowing students to become comfortable with the shop environment before they start their apprenticeships.
Walker has seen firsthand how hands-on learning benefits students, especially during busy seasons like after the Texas State Fair, when his shop experiences a surge in business. He ensures students get ample opportunity to engage in meaningful work, helping them grow their skills and confidence in real-world scenarios. Involving students and apprentices in your auto body shop is not just about filling immediate vacancies — it’s about building a sustainable workforce that will keep your business thriving for years.
By collaborating with vocational schools, offering flexible scheduling, creating mentorship opportunities and investing in hands-on learning, shop owners can cultivate a new generation of skilled technicians passionate about the industry.
As Davis put it, “We are breeding our own by hiring students and apprentices,” ensuring the next generation is prepared to take the reins in the collision repair industry.
Brian Davis
Joey Walker
16655 West Colfax Ave l Golden, CO 80401
Parts 303-590-7040 Fax 303-590-7112
Hours M-F 7am-6pm Sat 8am-4pm www.cdodge.com kkmopar@cdodge.com
6025 Arapahoe Ave l Boulder, CO 80303 Parts 303-443-3883
Hours M-F 7:30am-6pm Sat 8am-4pm wholesaleparts@fisherauto.com
5995 Arapahoe Ave l Boulder, CO 80303
303-442-1342 Hours M-F 7:30am-6pm Sat 8am-5pm parts@fla ronsimports.com
303-597-5969
M-F 7am-6pm Sat 8am-4pm parts@peakkia.com
M-F 7am-6pm Sat 8am-5pm Dadk
Suits Related To Non-OEM Parts, Insurers Suing Shops, Crash Reports See Court Activity
By John Yoswick Autobody News
There was recent activity in five industry-related lawsuits as they proceed through the process in U.S federal courts around the country.
The Florida Supreme Court in September ruled that GEICO cannot sue an auto glass company in that state under the Florida Motor Vehicle Repair Act (FMVRA). Glassco, Inc., had originally sued the insurer over what it called “deeply discounted” reimbursement for insurance claims. GEICO countersued, alleging Glassco would have insured customers assign rights to all insurance payments for repairs without informing the customers what services would be needed.
“GEICO concedes that it is not a ‘customer’ under the statute’s definition of the term.”
FLORIDA SUPREME COURT OPINION
A federal appeals court ruling in the case asked the Florida Supreme Court whether the FMVRA gives an insurer the right to sue the shop for failure to provide a written estimate. That court now has answered “no” to that question, saying the law in question focuses almost exclusively on the interactions between a “repair shop and the person who presents the car for repair.” It mentions insurers only once, relative to prohibiting substitution of used parts for new without notifying the insurer.
“GEICO concedes that it is not a ‘customer’ under the statute’s definition of the term,” the opinion said, and the FMVRA only gives a shop’s customer the right to sue. Glassco may have violated the FMVRA, the court said, but that doesn’t give GEICO a cause of action.
The ruling also said violations under FMVRA do not necessarily render “a subsequent repair invoice entirely void,” the other issue the appeals court posed to the Florida Supreme Court. The case now returns to the appeals court.
Dealer Group Gets Its Management System Data
Any body shop that has struggled
to get a copy of its data from an estimating or management system provider when switching to another provider may appreciate that a federal judge in Georgia has ordered the dealership management system firm CDK Global to provide four Asbury Automotive Group dealerships with their data as those dealerships prepare to switch from CDK to the Tekion dealership management system.
information on an accident report “to persons it knew were acquiring the information for marketing purposes,” violating the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act.
State law requires filing of a police report after any accident involving an injury or property damage exceeding $1,000.
Although Durham claimed she was contacted only by an attorney who allegedly obtained her
Asbury, which has used CDK’s system for more than a dozen years, has said it plans to switch all of its dealerships over to Tekion by 2027.
“CDK’s intent has become quite clear, that it intends to quash its competitor, Tekion, and force Asbury to stay on CDK’s platform by holding [Asbury’s] data hostage in direct violation of the parties’ agreement,” Asbury’s lawsuit alleged.
CDK countersued, accusing Asbury of using software to improperly collect its information stored within CDK’s platform, and saying if Asbury had wanted its data, it needed to switch its customer status with CDK in advance, foregoing special pricing and other perks it had in its current agreement.
Consumers Sue Over Release of Accident Reports
In late September, a North Carolina federal judge said the City of Charlotte violated federal privacy law by making car accident reports public in a way that law firms could use the disclosed data for marketing purposes, granting summary judgment and certification to a class of drivers. The city plans to appeal the ruling.
Heather Durham sued the city, saying its police department improperly disclosed her personal
this past summer, a week before the trial was set to again, Repairify agreed to settle the portion of the lawsuit related to two of the patents when the court found the documents Repairify produced did not establish the company owned those two patents. In light of the new document, Repairify is now asking the court to reverse its dismissal related to those two patents.
Counter Suit Against GM Can Continue
Also recently, a federal judge in Michigan denied General Motors’ motion to dismiss an aftermarket parts retailer’s claim that the automaker was behind a government raid of its warehouses. GM is suing Quality Collision Parts for patent infringement, saying the company sells non-OEM parts that violate GM’s design patents.
information through the accident report, others who could potentially be part of the class action say they were contacted by body shops that had similarly obtained accident report information.
New Documents May Revive Lawsuit
In a possible turnaround in another lawsuit, Repairify, parent company of asTech, told a federal court in Texas that its new counsel has identified a document it says unequivocally demonstrates the company’s rights to patents it argues were violated by LKQ Corporation subsidiary Keystone Automotive, doing business as Elitek Vehicle Services.
Repairify had sued LKQ related to violations of three patents, but
Quality Collision Parts earlier this year counter sued, challenging the validity of the patents and arguing GM “has unclean hands in the way it pursued whatever patent rights it had before the present case started.” Its tortious interference counter suit says GM used “false or misleading allegations” to “improperly influence the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a raid on Quality Collision’s warehouses.”
While dismissing some claims in Quality Collision’s counter suit, Judge Denise Hood allowed the tortious interference allegation to stand, saying Quality Collision had adequately stated a claim that GM had known in advance about the raid, cooperated with the government, and knew it would be disruptive to Quality Collision’s business and would help the automaker with its planned design patent infringement lawsuit.
In seeking to dismiss the counter suit, GM’s filing stated Quality Collision’s “delusional allegations are not grounded in reality.”
CollisionRight Maintains Acquired Shops’ Local Identities While Updating Operations
By Leona Scott Autobody News
As one of the fastest-growing companies in the collision repair industry, CollisionRight has captured attention by expanding to 100 locations in just four years. Under the leadership of CEO Rich Harrison, the Ohio-based company has achieved rapid growth through a combination of strategic acquisitions, operational efficiency and a focus on maintaining the local identity of its acquired brands.
we’re now positioned for continued expansion into other states.”
The strategy is far from complete. Harrison noted CollisionRight plans to triple its footprint over five years.
“We aim to expand in the 10 states we’re already in and are looking at opportunities in Virginia as our 11th state and elsewhere. Achieving critical mass and density is key for profitability and scale,” Harrison said, adding that the focus will be on acquiring more shops while maintaining a strong emphasis on recruiting top talent.
In an interview with Autobody News, Harrison shared the strategies that fueled CollisionRight’s rise, the importance of preserving the unique histories of local shops, and how the company plans to navigate the challenges of further expansion.
A Strategic Vision for Rapid Expansion
When Harrison founded CollisionRight in late 2019, he had the benefit of extensive experience in the automotive industry. “I spent over 20 years in the auto glass sector.” he said. “I recognized collision repair was a highly fragmented field, ripe for consolidation.”
His timing was opportune — though the COVID-19 pandemic created widespread uncertainty across industries, Harrison saw it as an opportunity. “The pandemic was a gift for us,” he said. “It gave us time to plan, grow strategically, and acquire shops at a pace that might not have been possible otherwise.”
Key to CollisionRight’s growth was starting in markets like Ohio that, at the time, had less competitive intensity from national consolidators than in other parts of the country like Texas and California.
Harrison’s merger and acquisition background also played a pivotal role. “We had a clear focus: invest in collision repair shops in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, like Erie, PA, and Flint, MI,” said Harrison. “This model has worked exceptionally well for us, and
Maintaining Local Identity in a Consolidating Industry
One of CollisionRight’s distinguishing features is its commitment to preserving the local identity of the shops it acquires.
“I love local branding,” Harrison said. “Some of the shops we’ve acquired have been around for 75 years, some even up to 100 years. These are neighborhood shops with strong reputations and repeat business and referrals deeply rooted in their communities.”
The commitment to local identity also maintains the trust and relationships these shops have fostered over the decades. CollisionRight integrates acquired shops into its common operational platform while allowing them to retain their names and customer relationships.
“It’s a delicate balance,” Harrison said. “We want to modernize and streamline operations, but we also want to honor the history that makes these shops unique. That’s why we rely on systems like CCC to help us manage operations while respecting the local heritage of each shop.”
Navigating Workforce and Culture Challenges
As CollisionRight expands, scaling workforce management has become a central challenge. “When we had four shops, it was easier to manage the workforce and maintain a cohesive
culture,” Harrison said. “Now, with 101 shops, keeping everyone engaged is a bigger task.”
To address this, Harrison emphasized the importance of leadership and employee engagement.
“If people are engaged, they give 30% more discretionary effort at work,” he said. “My vision is to provide the best possible customer experience and make our shops the best places to work.”
To ensure this, CollisionRight conducts regular employee surveys -six-minute questionnaires employees can complete on their phones -- to gauge satisfaction and areas for improvement. The surveys are a quick and effective way to make sure they’re staying in touch with the needs of their team members.
Creating a strong company culture across such a diverse network also requires intentional leadership. “It comes down to great leadership at every level,” Harrison said. “Leaders at our shops need to understand the company’s vision and make it their own while maintaining the unique culture of their local market.”
Leading the Way in Technological Advancements
Beyond growth and culture, Harrison sees technological innovation as a key differentiator for CollisionRight. The collision repair industry is rapidly evolving, especially with the increasing need for vehicle calibration and scanning.
“Calibration is huge for us,” Harrison said. “We want to ensure vehicles are scanned and calibrated properly. That’s why we’ve set up 360ALIGN, our mobile fleet that provides calibration services for our shops.”
CollisionRight performs scans on more than 90% of repair claims, a critical step in ensuring high-quality repairs.
“As we continue to expand, investing in new technology will be pivotal,” Harrison said. “The industry is moving towards more sophisticated diagnostics, and we want to lead the charge in that area.”
CollisionRight’s success is about growing responsibly, preserving the unique identities of the shops it acquires, and staying ahead of the curve in a constantly changing industry. With a clear vision for the future, the company seems well-positioned to continue its upward trajectory while staying true to its local roots.
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Scholarship America Makes Pitch To Close Collision Repair Talent Gap
by Ben Shimkus Autobody News
The collision repair industry could soon be facing a deep workforce shortage. While experts expect the industry to grow in the short and long term, shop owners have expressed concerns about a need for more skilled labor, particularly with more vehicles deploying tech-based features like advanced driver-assisted systems (ADAS) and battery-electric vehicles (BEVs).
Recent studies by CCC Intelligent Solutions said the shortages are hitting collision shop’s bottom lines. The study found a 4.9% year-over-year wage increase, partially due to a shorter availability of workers. Individual shops are already spotting the education gaps between younger technicians and the current strains in the repair industry.
“This is going to be a real struggle for the industry, to keep and get people that are willing to learn new technology,” John Ling , the owner of NEK Collision Repair in Lyndonville, VT, told Autobody News. “It’s always been a hands-on
be a technical industry.”
However, Scholarship America believes it has a solution.
The Minnesota-based organization, which started in 1958, has awarded more than $5 billion of scholarships to more than 3.1 million students across the U.S. since its inception. Scholarship America works with member companies, offering students from diverse backgrounds
“This is going to be a real struggle for the industry, to keep and get people that are willing to learn new technology,”
financial rewards to limit the high costs of higher education. The organization has worked with manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz and Toyota on previous projects. During their four-year programs, students in Toyota’s program
between $5,000 to $20,000.
The organization made its pitch to auto manufacturers and vehicle maintenance companies in a recent blog post for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). The organization explained that targeted scholarships can help businesses train future technicians, upskill existing employees, and establish a philanthropic presence in their communities.
“Investing in educational support like scholarships for your employees can have a two-fold benefit: you’re assuring new members of the workforce that they can continue to grow, learn, and develop on the job,” explained Claire Berge Schmidt , associate vice president of marketing for Scholarship America. “And, by supporting them as they complete certifications, acquire new skills and move up the career ladder, you’re also upskilling your own workforce.”
Many students, particularly those from low-income families and historically marginalized communities, face the tough choice of taking on debt or working fulltime jobs alongside their studies, Schmidt explained. Scholarship
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programs aimed at historically underfunded groups could provide a pathway into the automotive workforce while alleviating some burdens of student loans.
For private businesses, Scholarship America hopes the upfront costs of early-career investment could alleviate the financial hardships associated with wage inflation and worker shortages.
“In addition, by creating scholarships for employees’ families, you’re also providing a benefit that can help them as they move further into their career and as their own kids grow up,” Schmidt added. “No other benefit keeps on giving quite like a scholarship program.”
More than 3.4 million students are expected to graduate from American high schools each year between 2025 and 2028, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. According to Scholarship America, the hope is that automotive companies at all levels will recognize the benefits of supporting future technicians, help close the skills gap and give back to the communities that support their business.
Arizona Auto Repair Owners Drive Business Growth, Community Giving
Three Arizona entrepreneurs are combining business success with community service, as Freedom Brands LLC has expanded its auto repair services across Arizona while giving back to local residents in big ways.
Led by co-presidents Gene Boiseau, Jake Brown and Jake Morrow, the multi-store business includes five Meineke Car Care franchises and four Maaco locations across Phoenix, Tucson and Prescott.
“We opened in June 2020 and the business has been booming ever since,” said Morrow. “We provide affordable paint jobs with collision repair for the car owner, and we provide our fleet customers a great combination of quality, speed and affordability for both paint, collision repair, mechanical repair and maintenance all in one stop. It has really been a winning combination for us.”
The team doubled down on that winning combination to create a dynamic community philanthropy program.
“We are grateful to be in a position where we have a
successful enterprise and are in a position to be able to give back,” said Boiseau. “We all believe strongly that when you have been fortunate enough to experience success, it is important to help others less fortunate for whatever reason.”
One of the many ways that they have accomplished that is providing reliable transportation to people in need through the National Auto Body Council (NABC) Recycled Rides program. Their goal is to gift four vehicles a year.
So far, the company has gifted three cars to individuals facing challenging circumstances, including a mother of four children, two of whom have autism, and a single mother leaving an abusive relationship. The team is currently working on its fourth vehicle donation.
“We believe very strongly about the importance of giving back to those in need, and the NABC Recycled Rides program has given us the opportunity to do that with a turnkey program,” said Brown. “We always like to see the smile on the
face of a satisfied customer when we deliver their car, but this takes it to a whole different level when you see the joy on the face of these people struggling to take care of their families without a reliable vehicle. You realize that you are truly changing a life. It is humbling and rewarding.”
In addition to the vehicle donation program, the company supports the community through food drives, backpack collections for underprivileged children, and collaborations with local rotary club fundraisers. Freedom Brands has also established the Freedom Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to expanding these outreach efforts across Arizona.
symbolizing the hands-on training NTCC students will now access. Additionally, nearly 100 students from the TechForce Foundation attending the APEX Show also received TopScan PRO units.
“Carroll Shelby was committed to giving young people an opportunity to improve their lives through a career in the automotive industry,” McCullough said. “I’m confident that Carroll would have welcomed TOPDON’s efforts to support the students enrolled in our program.”
Founded in 2007, the Carroll Shelby Automotive Program at NTCC offers degrees and certificates aimed at preparing students for automotive careers, with input from industry partners. The two-year collaboration will bring TOPDON’s professional-grade tools, including jump starters, power supplies, thermal cameras and diagnostic scan tools, to NTCC students and alumni, along with product discounts.
Through the TOP-UP program, launched globally in 2022, TOPDON USA has steadily expanded its commitment to U.S. trade schools and community colleges to address the growing demand for skilled automotive technicians.
3M, Axalta Announce Collaboration on New Training For Collision Industry
by Stacey Phillips Ronak Autobody News
3M and Axalta announced a collaboration to introduce a new training content series for the collision repair industry focused on automotive refinishing.
“It is meant to focus on the best practices of process optimization possible for an impactful enhancement to the body shop process around the themes of productivity, efficiency, quality, as well as safety and sustainability,” explained Corey Munn, 3M’s Automotive Aftermarket global commercial director.
“It was a natural fit to work together on this initiative. We wanted to work together to share our insights and guidance to any body shop looking to improve their operations in an accessible format,” said Patricia Morschel, vice president of marketing and commercial operations at Axalta. “With the current labor shortages and challenges of attracting and retaining talent, it’s important to continue to provide resources to body shops to ensure the industry’s long-term viability.”
About a year ago, 3M and Axalta discussed the importance of helping the industry understand the proper repair process in a constantly changing environment.
As leaders in training and education, both companies recognized their synergies and decided to collaborate to tackle the challenge together and help drive the industry forward.
An essential aspect of the program was to ensure it was process-based and not product-focused.
“This initiative is not about selling more products,” noted Munn. “We truly wanted to bring together competencies, capabilities and shared values to address the real needs of our industry and help body shops understand how they can optimize their processes.”
He said the output of the collaboration reflects the best in refinish process expertise. 3M and Axalta brought together application engineers with decades of refinish process experience to share
fundamental refinish practices and methodologies.
“With the breadth and depth of refinish knowledge that both companies possess, our teams codeveloped the content based on proven processes,” said Morschel, adding, “These modules are designed to be brand agnostic, so no matter which products are being used, the overarching takeaways can be implemented to help improve efficiency and increase consistency while reducing errors.”
“For the past several years, we have heard more than ever from our mutual customers that their body shops are challenged to maintain the same levels of productivity, efficiency and quality as ever,” said Munn. “Today, it takes longer to do a repair, and it’s a more complex process.”
As a result, the training series was designed to help address these challenges. The companies took a unique approach when creating the program.
“Historically, a lot of training has been centered around the appropriate use of specific products,” said Munn. “This training is specifically based on the underlying processes.”
The objective was to provide understanding and education around common refinish practices irrespective of the products used.
Five co-branded training modules are being developed to help technicians and shops improve their understanding of repair process practices and, ultimately, have greater operational outcomes.
The modules, which range from five to 10 minutes, will include practices that shop leaders and technicians can implement to optimize the refinish process. The first three are planned to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2024. Two additional modules will be available in the first quarter of 2025.
The content will be accessible through both organizations’ learning management system platforms, which include the 3M Academy and Axalta Academy.
There is no cost associated with the education, which is available to all industry stakeholders, whether or not they are using 3M or Axalta products.
“As a steward of the industry, it’s important that we challenge ourselves as to how are we helping to look after the most pressing needs and challenges of the industry,” noted Munn. “It’s no secret that there is a significant need in the industry for skills development, specifically around the growing shortage of skilled labor.”
The process-based modules are intended to support the technical advancement and career growth of collision refinish technicians.
and body shops will take this content and apply it.”
“Between Axalta and 3M, we share over 300 years of industry expertise,”
Munn said that to preserve the industry, everyone must come together to ensure a vehicle is returned to its pre-accident condition as productively and efficiently as possible, while adhering to OEM repair procedures.
“I’m very proud of this collaboration that is truly focused on advancing the industry,” said Munn. “I’m excited to see how technicians
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said Morschel. “It’s our responsibility to continue to pass that knowledge along to the next generation of refinish professionals. Our vision for this joint initiative is to set a new standard for how knowledge is shared throughout the industry.”
For more information about the training modules, visit: axaltalearning. netdimensions.com/index-sso.html or 3MCollision.com/Learn.
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Automotive Parts Supply Chain Withstands Port Strike
by Ben Shimkus Autobody News
Catastrophic weather and union strikes put the automotive parts industry on edge, but fears of temporary inflation in the collision repair segment seem to have been avoided.
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), which represents port workers along the eastern U.S. coastline, initiated a strike Oct. 1, halting work for 50,000 members and stalling operations at 14 major ports along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. The strike came as regional hubs grappled with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and prepared for Hurricane Milton.
These concurrent events alarmed automotive analysts. European manufacturers ship vehicle parts to the East Coast, and a prolonged strike could have impacted parts availability across the segment, raising prices for repair shops and customers. The automotive parts industry had already been dealing with inflationary pressures for years due to supply chain disruptions, severe weather patterns and the workforce’s return after COVID-19 shutdowns.
“The timing for the strike couldn’t
have happened at a worse time [for automotive parts]. Right when there were ships bound for the East Coast, the storm was shutting down ports proactively,” said Greg Horn, chief industry relations officer at PartsTrader. “We dodged a bullet here. It could have been a very devastating strike for the U.S. economy in general.”
Fortunately for the automotive parts industry, the strike ended after three days, with a temporary deal between the ILA and the U.S. Maritime Alliance. The agreement, which will last until January 2025, has helped prevent further supply disruptions. According to Horn, prices have remained stable despite the turbulence.
PartsTrader operates an online marketplace that connects repair shops with parts suppliers, streamlining the process of sourcing and purchasing components. The platform optimizes repairs and improves cost efficiency by allowing businesses to compare prices and availability in real time.
Horn explained that PartsTrader tracks two key metrics to assess market health: the number of quotes per part and delivery timelines. By analyzing these data points, the
company can diagnose potential disruptions and evaluate the impact of events like the ILA strike. However, he noted that advanced rerouting and sufficient stock levels helped suppliers avoid significant delays, minimizing the strike’s effect on parts availability.
In preparation for the strike, suppliers rerouted dozens of cargo ships from the East Coast to the West Coast in mid-September. Ports on the West Coast, which had been operating at 70% capacity, absorbed the increased load, reaching 80% capacity without major delays.
“I think the takeaway is the suppliers had enough advanced notice. They altered their plan. They had enough stock already that it is a non-event,” Horn said. “So, good news all around.”
Horn attributed the suppliers’ preparedness to investments made following the COVID-19 lockdowns and past union contract disputes. Asian manufacturers had planned shipments well in advance of strikes proposed by the ILA’s sister union, the International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union (ILWU), representing West Coast port employees. Meanwhile, American
manufacturers streamlined their distribution networks before the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike in 2023. While the limited impact from the
“I
think the takeaway is the suppliers had enough advanced notice. They altered their plan. They had enough stock already that it is a non-event,”
GREG HORN
initial strike shows that automotive supply chains are more robust than initially anticipated, Horn warned the union’s contract runs out in January. The ILA’s three-month agreement increased union wages by 61.5%, but negotiators remain divided over major disagreements that could send port workers away again in January. Mediators are hammering out disagreements over port automation and health care benefits.
“It isn’t over yet,” Horn said. “There is still a possibility that they won’t come to an agreement and they go on strike again after the 15th of January. It ain’t over until it’s over.”
Collision Repairers Looking for More than Just Parts Discounts, Find Multiple Systems a Time-Suck
As I mentioned in previous columns, I’ve conducted more than a dozen meetings bringing together collision repairers with regional wholesale parts managers for one of the automakers. The key goal: to give both sides of the parts purchase transaction a better understanding of each other’s perspective, and a clearer understanding of how the parts processes work between all the various stakeholders.
In the most recent of those columns, I shared some of what collision repairers said loud and clear about what they are looking for in a best-in-class OEM wholesale parts vendor. When they decide who to buy parts from, what are the most important considerations? The list invariably included:
• Acceptance of electronic parts orders.
• Good inventory. Getting the right part quickly can be just as — or even more — valuable to a shop as
the discount.
• Knowledgeable, helpful staff.
• Accurate ETAs. Shops said some vendors receiving electronic
parts orders may not input the actual estimated time of arrival. The system may default to an ETA of the next day, when in fact that has not
been researched and verified by the parts vendor. As I said in my previous column, it is critical that wholesale parts departments understand that collision repairers make decisions based on parts availability. These decisions impact the shop’s employees and customers, their relationships with insurers, their productivity and their bottom line. Accurate communication is critical. If it were possible, shops would love to have the ability to know the part availability at the warehouse.
• Ability to scrub parts order by VIN.
• Prompt pick-up of returns and processing of credits. If parts are returned because the vehicle turned out to be a total loss, and the vendor can’t accept the returns without a parts return fee, shops said they can bill the insurer for that parts return fee.
• Email confirmation of orders received.
• Full and complete orders,
One shop owner told Mike why it took him 50 minutes to order a headlight due to having to use multiple parts ordering systems.
with no “orphan lines.” Let’s say a body shop orders eight parts, but the dealership sends them nine, perhaps because of a supersession. If the shop is electronically ordering parts, and electronically receiving invoices, there’s not a place for that orphan line to go. Tell the shop you’re sending an extra part so they can update the estimating system and have a place to receive all the items in that order. Again, it all comes down to great communication.
• Consistent delivery windows. Having drivers arrive at the shop within consistent windows of time each day helps shops plan production. I’ll discuss the issue of shops that have inefficiencies and fail to perform 100% disassembly leading to multiple parts orders in a future article.
• Accuracy of order fulfillment and billing. Most shops said they would like to receive credits back in 48 hours or less.
• It would be great whenever possible to have parts invoiced in sequential order to match the shop purchase order in the management system.
• Shops say it would be useful if a vendor can provide a monthly report showing their percentage of return parts for the month
(excluding core charges).
And yes, a “fair discount” always made the list. But I assure you, in meeting after meeting, among shop representatives from all types of shops, all around the country, “fair discount” was never the first expectation mentioned, not ever considered the No. 1 demand. It was usually the fifth, sixth or seventh thing that made it to the list.
The best discount in the world doesn’t matter, for example, if the part is wrong or it takes forever to get the part. I’m sure there are parts vendors reading this and thinking, “Mike, you don’t understand. All my shop clients care about is price or discount.” I promise we will address this in a future article.
Lastly, for any insurers or automakers reading this: Shops are just as frustrated as parts vendors at having to use multiple platforms to order parts. I’ll go into this more in a future column, but here’s a not-uncommon scenario one shop owner recently shared with
system — we’ll call it Parts System 1 — showed available parts, and he selected parts from that list.
Step 2: As a direct repair shop for an insurer that requires the use of another parts system — we’ll call it Parts System 2 — he dumped the estimate into that system and waited for bids to come back. For the headlight alone, that system found 45 options, so he went through that list to find the best options.
Step 3: Back in the estimating system, he deleted the previous headlight and entered the one from Parts System 2. By that time — which happened to be the following morning — the estimating system had refreshed its system and so presented new headlight options, including one that was less expensive. He went back into Parts System 2 to document why he was choosing the headlight from Parts System 1.
Step 4: He then scrubbed the estimate for compliance, and that report has its own parts search that being made.
Step 5: With the estimate written to comply with insurer requirements, he then sent the estimate to Parts System 3, one that’s required for the relevant automaker’s certification program. That system identified new OEM parts that match all the pricing on the earlier parts found, but to accurately reflect what is being done to the vehicle, he has to delete all the previous parts found and reenter all the price-matched parts from Parts System 3.
Fifty minutes later, he said, he could finally order the parts. In that amount of time, he said, he could have blueprinted another job. This scenario happened every single day. This is ridiculous. We need to work together on a solution.
I hope at least one person in the insurance industry will reach out to me to better understand the impact of this and how much this delays things for shops and customers. We are stepping over $100 bills to pick up pennies. There is a better way.
Smart Calibrations Adds New Phoenix, AZ, Location
Brian Guerrero and Troy Schooley, longtime leaders in the advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) calibration industry, announced the opening of their second calibration center in Phoenix, AZ, under the Smart Calibrations brand.
Their first location, the Tucson ADAS Calibration Center, has been serving the local area and has gained a reputation for its top-notch customer service and high-quality work.
Building on this success, Guerrero and Schooley are eager to extend their services to the Phoenix community, ensuring that more drivers have access to industryleading ADAS calibration.
“We’ve been in the automotive industry for years and saw a growing need for precision in ADAS calibration,” said Schooley. “Opening in Phoenix allows us to meet that need and continue making the roads safer.”
Kevin Caruso, chief operations officer at Car ADAS Solutions, praised Guerrero and Schooley’s commitment to the industry and the communities they serve.
“Brian and Troy are true pillars
in their communities,” Caruso said. “Their dedication to precisely calibrating vehicle safety systems to function as the manufacturer intended is industry-leading, and we’re excited to support their outreach as they open this second location.”
The 4,000-square-foot Phoenix facility is equipped to handle up to four vehicles at a time, and specializes in ADAS calibration. By ensuring that safety features such as lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking function as the manufacturer intended, Smart Calibrations is dedicated to delivering top-tier, accurate service.
For Guerrero and Schooley, safety is at the heart of their mission.
“Calibration isn’t about clearing codes,” Schooley explained. “It’s about ensuring that the vehicle systems are aligned and functioning precisely to the manufacturer’s specifications.”
Car ADAS CEO Greg Peeters recognizes Guerrero as one of the company’s very early adopters and great business partners, pioneering the calibration industry in the
Arizona market.
Their dedication to precision is what makes Smart Calibrations stand out, and the Phoenix community has already embraced the new facility, which opened its doors to customers last month.
Smart Calibrations is set for expansion, with plans to open additional calibration centers throughout Arizona over the next 18 months.
“We’re committed to growing and meeting the increasing demand for ADAS calibration,” Schooley said. “Our expansion will allow us to bring these services to more communities, expanding our reach and impact on road safety.”
Instrumental in helping Guerrero and Schooley expand has been Car ADAS Solutions, a key partner in the launch of their Phoenix center and their ongoing growth.
“Car ADAS Solutions has been an incredible partner from day one,” said Schooley. “From helping us find the perfect location to providing topnotch training for our technicians, their support has been invaluable.”
Car ADAS Solutions played a large role in finding real estate for
the Phoenix location. “We spent months trying to find the right property,” Guerrero recalled. “It was only with the help of Car ADAS Solutions and their real estate connections that we found a space that met all our needs.”
Beyond location, Car ADAS Solutions has ensured Smart Calibrations’ technicians receive comprehensive ADAS training, equipping them with the latest knowledge and tools to perform precise calibrations.
“Their support doesn’t end when we open the doors,” Schooley noted. “Just the other day, we called them for assistance, and they were there immediately to help us with an issue in the shop.”
As they look toward the future, Guerrero and Schooley remain committed to expanding Smart Calibrations while maintaining their focus on safety and precision.
“We’re proud of what we’ve built so far, and we’re excited to bring more calibration centers to Arizona,” said Guerrero. “Our goal is to help more drivers feel confident that their vehicles are safe and properly calibrated.”
New Vehicle Prices Rise Slightly in October, But So Do Incentives
The average transaction price (ATP) paid for a new vehicle in the U.S. in October was $48,623, higher than the revised September price of $48,423 and 1.7% higher from yearearlier levels of $47,826, according to new data from Kelley Blue Book.
For more than a year now, newvehicle prices in the U.S. have remained mostly unchanged and near $48,500, as higher inventory levels continue to hold downward pressure on the market.
New-vehicle sales incentives climbed higher in October, jumping from a revised 7.2% of the ATP in September to 7.7% in October, an increase of more than 6% month over month. Compared to one year ago, new-vehicle incentives have increased more than 60% as automakers compete for sales.
“’Tis the season for automakers to make their final push for 2024 sales,” said Cox Automotive Executive Analyst Erin Keating “While some automakers focus on managing production, many will likely maintain or even increase their seasonal incentives to attract buyers. With competition intensifying, these strategies will be crucial in
maintaining market share and driving end-of-year sales. Our team is generally optimistic for new-vehicle sales to close out the year — extra incentives will certainly help.”
New-vehicle incentives have been climbing for more than two years after hitting a floor in the Fall of 2022. In October, eight mainstream automakers had average incentive packages above 10% of average transaction price, and all four of the Stellantis domestic brands — Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram — had incentive packages above the industry average, as the company works to clear inventory. Ram incentives were among the highest in the industry.
Porsche, Toyota, Land Rover and Cadillac continue to have the lowest incentive spend.
Incentives Climb Higher in Major Market Segments
In the U.S. market, the top three vehicle segments routinely account for more than 45% of all vehicle sales, according to Kelley Blue Book analysis, and competitive price pressures have ATPs moving in different directions.
Full-size pickup trucks, where sales have been relatively soft in 2024, saw year-over-year ATPs lower in October by 1.3% at $65,389, down from $66,256 in October 2023. Incentives averaged 8.7% of ATP.
Midsize SUVs ATPs increased by less than 1% to $48,977 in October, while incentive packages averaged 8.0% of ATP. In the that segment, 30 models are vying for attention, including some EV models, such as the new Honda Prologue and Chevrolet Blazer EV.
Incentives were highest — averaging 9.4% of ATP — in the competitive compact SUV segment, where 25 different models are fighting for sales. The average transaction price for a new compact SUV was flat year-over-year —$36,769 in October – but nearly 30% below the industry average.
EV Transaction Prices
Electric vehicle ATPs, at $56,902 in October, were lower than the revised September estimate of $57,580. Year over year, EV prices were higher by 0.9%, and compared to the industry average, EV ATPs in October were higher by just more than 14%,
roughly in line with the premium paid one year ago.
EV incentives in October, however, were much higher than one year ago, helping make them more affordable for consumers. The average incentive package offered on an EV, including estimates for government incentives when applicable, was 13.7% of ATP, up from a revised 11.6% in September and well more than double the level seen one year ago when incentives were 5.6% of ATP.
EV incentives have been elevated throughout 2024, according to Kelley Blue Book data, averaging near 11% of ATP, well above industry average.
The average transaction price for a new Tesla — the industry’s EV leader — declined in October from September to $56,705, according to an initial estimate, but was higher year over year by more than 10%.
Lower month-over-month Tesla prices in October were likely influenced by a drop in Cybertruck ATPs, which fell below $100,000 for the first time since launch. In October, the Cybertruck ATP was $98,495. Sales were also lower, dropping to 4,254, the lowest total since June.
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Nissan, Stellantis Announce Job Cuts, Production Decreases
Nissan Motor Co. said it will cut 9,000 jobs and scale back its global manufacturing capacity by 20% as part of a cost-saving effort amid declining sales in major markets, while Stellantis announced plans to cut a shift at its Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, leading to indefinite layoffs for around 1,100 union-represented employees starting Jan. 5.
Nissan is targeting a $2.6 billion reduction in costs in the current fiscal year, the company revealed Nov. 7.
In a press conference, CEO Makoto Uchida acknowledged Nissan’s struggle to keep pace with market trends, particularly in the U.S., where the company lacks a competitive lineup of hybrid vehicles.
“We didn’t foresee HEVs [hybrid electric vehicles] ramping up this rapidly,” Uchida said.
The restructuring measures include a global job reduction of approximately 6.7% of Nissan’s 133,580 employees. However, Uchida declined to specify where the job and production cuts would occur.
While Nissan has a significant presence in the U.S., with its corporate headquarters in Franklin,
TN, and major factories in Tennessee and Mississippi, it remains unclear if these sites will be impacted.
“Tennessee is important to Nissan,” Director of Corporate Communications Kyle Bazemore told The Tennessean, noting the upcoming production of the all-new Murano at Nissan’s Smyrna plant.
In addition to job cuts, Nissan plans to reduce its vehicle development lead time to 30 months and deepen partnerships with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors.
The automaker also revealed plans to sell up to 10% of its stake in Mitsubishi Motors, aiming to raise $445.45 million.
Nissan’s latest quarterly report reflects the urgency of these measures. Operating profit dropped 85% to 31.9 billion yen for the July-September period, missing analysts’ expectations.
The company’s global sales also fell 3.8% during the first half of the fiscal year, driven by a 14.3% drop in the Chinese market and a nearly 3% decline in the U.S., which together account for almost half of Nissan’s total sales by volume.
As Nissan undergoes this
extensive restructuring, Uchida and other executives have voluntarily agreed to take pay cuts, with the CEO forfeiting 50% of his monthly compensation starting this month.
Stellantis
In its announcement of the shift cut at its Ohio facility, Stellantis cited the need to reduce inventory levels and improve operational efficiency as driving factors. The company said the layoffs will specifically impact the Toledo South Assembly Plant, which produces the Jeep Gladiator, and will transition from a two-shift to a one-shift operating pattern.
“As Stellantis navigates a transitional year, the focus is on realigning its U.S. operations to ensure a strong start to 2025, which includes taking the difficult but necessary action to reduce high inventory levels by managing production to meet sales,” Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson shared in a statement provided to the Detroit Free Press. “These are difficult actions to take, but they are necessary to enable the company to regain its competitive edge and eventually return production to prior levels.”
The Toledo Assembly Complex
currently employs approximately 4,400 workers across its South and North plants, the latter responsible for manufacturing both gaspowered and hybrid versions of the Jeep Wrangler. The company has issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices to state and local officials as well as to the United Auto Workers (UAW) union.
According to Stellantis, affected employees will receive supplemental unemployment benefits amounting to 74% of their pay for one year, along with an additional year of transition assistance. Health care coverage will also continue for two years as part of the company’s commitment to its UAW contract obligations.
This announcement follows similar workforce reductions earlier in the year at Stellantis’ Warren Truck Assembly and other facilities, as the automaker faces a challenging sales environment in the U.S. The cuts come during a period of heightened labor tension, as UAW officials recently voiced concerns over Stellantis’ approach to meeting investment commitments at a rally in Detroit.
U.S. Marine Vet Who Received Donated Vehicle Now Helping Fellow Vets in Need
Since coming home in 2004 after three tours in Iraq, Robert Olivarez has devoted himself to helping other veterans recovering the emotional and physical toll of war. It is a labor of love and dedication.
Oiverez was an infantryman for the U. S. Marine Corps. Being on the front line meant he was in constant danger. When an IED exploded near him, he caught shrapnel in his leg and arm, injuries which still cause constant pain 20 years later.
Despite his injuries, the Marine sergeant stayed with his troops to finish his tour. He was awarded the Purple Heart, the oldest military medal.
When he did return home, he found work, but his purpose in life was clear: helping other injured veterans recover.
“There are a lot of them who come home feeling empty,” Olivarez said. “They lose their sense of worth when they return to civilian life.”
He joined the Military Order of the Purple Heart, whose mission is to foster an environment of goodwill and camaraderie among combat wounded veterans. The organization, founded in 1932, has
more than 45,000 members.
Olivarez, who lives in Marysville, WA, north of Seattle, would get in his “beater” car and visit any veteran in need. That was, whenever his car was working. Reliable transportation was out of his reach.
In 2016, the local commander brought his service to the attention of the National Auto Body Council (NABC) Recycled Rides program, which works with insurers, collision shops and nonprofits to find veterans and others in need and present them with reliable transportation.
GEICO donated a 2013 Scion xB and the team at a Service King
(now Crash Champions) collision repair center refurbished it. On June 29, 2016, NABC Recycled Rides presented Olivarez with the car he would use for the next eight years to fulfill his commitment to his fellow veterans.
“I was able to travel more to see my fellow veterans, and also save money on fuel and repairs, and visit my children more frequently,” said Olivarez. He is the proud father of six, five of whom live with his ex-wife.
The donated car also helped him finish his degree in communications and public relations from Skagit Valley College.
But that’s not the whole story of Olivarez’s commitment. He visits high schools to talk to students about what it means to be an American and to help their Junior Reserve Office Training Corps (JROTC) chapters. He has been the Purple Heart chapter’s historian and welfare officer. If a veteran needs clothing or food, or medical or legal help, he makes it happen.
Olivarez served in several more roles on his way to becoming commander of Purple Heart Chapter 12 in Seattle and, recently, national
senior vice commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. He has now become the national commander of the organization, a two-year role that will make use of his strong leadership skills.
Every position he has held in the Military Order of the Purple Heart is volunteer. There is no salary, even for the national commander. He manages to excel at his job in the construction field, while dedicating all his free time to his family or to service to veterans.
Olivarez gave a poignant example of what motivates him. “I was told of a Marine veteran who was contemplating suicide,” he recalled. “I jumped in the Scion and drove to him. We talked about how his life was worth something and how important it was for his child to grow up with a parent.”
He keeps in touch with his Purple Heart colleagues. “Not only were we able to save a life, we have watched as this veteran started college and began living a positive life,” Olivarez said.
It is a positive life that Olivarez models for all Purple Heart medal recipients.
•
the Wheel.
WrenchWay, ASE Merge Products To Improve Industry Accessibility For Would-Be Techs
By Elizabeth Crumbly Autobody News
Through an innovative partnership, two industry innovators are seeking to up the ante when it comes to connecting schools with professional partners and upping the quality of auto body education in high schools and postsecondary institutions.
Each organization brings varied existing online infrastructure to the table. WrenchWay’s School Assist program is a platform that connects schools with industry support, and the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence’s (ASE) Adopt a School program puts schools in proximity with those looking to hire. Their combination on the School Assist platform means a bigger user base and more reach across the industry.
“WrenchWay had this really cool online platform for doing the same things (as the Adopt a School program),” ASE CEO Dave Johnson told Autobody News. “We thought, ‘We need to get together.’ I will admit, it started out as me saying, ‘I hate those guys!” because they were doing these things that I thought ASE should have been doing. But hey, if you can’t beat them, join them.”
What The Partnership Means
It was this line of thinking that led WrenchWay to want to make sure its platform was accessible to more users. Access is free for schools:
instructors can post shadow and tool donation requests, internships and ask for class speakers. Industry members like shops and dealerships can post donations like extra engines that might otherwise be scrapped.
“It’s not a complicated process, but what’s complicated is getting everyone onto one platform. That is key to what we wanted to do with WW and ASE,” explained WrenchWay co-founder Mark Wilson. “We feel strongly that for industry to properly
support schools, you have to get everyone to one place … There needs to be kind of a hub for that to happen.”
The ASE online presence wasn’t as strong as WrenchWay’s, according to Johnson, which was part of the reason the organization decided to combine its focus with WrenchWay. Earlier this year, the two organizations met and began grinding out partnership points.
The joint effort will do several things for the platform:
• It ups the program’s centralized aspect for industry partners.
• It’s a place for the ASE’s Education Foundation to invite its 2,000-plus ASE accredited schools to participate, although all schools, even non-accredited ones, will still be allowed to participate for free.
• It allows the platform to offer a lower price point for industry partners like shops and dealers. The current option, which is $1,800 yearly, provides access to School Assist, along with a job board recruiting tools and best practices. The partnership will bring about a lower pricing tier of $750 per year for those who want access only to School Assist.
• It’s an opportunity for WrenchWay and ASE to build out additional programs together.
The fact that the platform is still free for schools and caters to institutions not accredited with ASE means lots of accessibility for smaller programs, Wilson said. Some schools don’t even have auto body programs, he said, but the platform is in place to make sure general tech education teachers can tout it as a career.
And it’s a time-saver for industry partners, too.
“We can save you a ton of time on making sure the schools in your area — you have access to them and their requests,” Wilson said. “Just the time savings to create those relationships but then also manage them every new year and new semester easily covers that cost.”
Ongoing Updates
Recent tweaks and updates have made School Assist more accessible for users. A mobile app lets users flip between individual and organizational views. Shops can also record assists — the instances in which they’ve helped schools — slightly differently now, Wilson pointed out. Assist documentation can now remain open for addition of more information until a school decides to close it out. Other improvements like quick links and dashboards for schools have made
user experience more streamlined, he said.
Moving forward, there’s room for growth as the merge progresses. WrenchWay CEO Jay Goninen sees that fact as par for the course as the platform develops.
“There are a lot of things that you assume are just automatically going to click or take off, and then, once
you build it, you identify those points where you thought something was going to go a certain way and didn’t, you really can fine tune and tweak things, and I think our team has done a really, really good job at that,” he said.
Industry Accessibility
The companies plan to continue platform buildout, welcoming audience feedback along the way, Wilson said. They’re also working together on the Voice of Technician Survey and Report, along with a technician pay tool, in which auto body techs can enter their actual pay amounts for industry research. Joint events and webinars and an online community are in the works, too.
The platform development though, is a key focus in making the industry accessible for the next generation, though, Goninen said.
“Core to our mission as a company, which I think ASE works alongside of us very well with, is to promote and improve technician careers,” he explained. “And the more that we can stoke the fire for any student who is looking to get into our industry, the better our industry is. I think there are a lot of students who have the desire to get into our industry but don’t have the program that gets them exposure to what it is that we do.”
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Mitchell Integrates Protech Technology To Streamline ADAS Calibrations
By Abby Andrews Autobody News
Mitchell and Protech Automotive Solutions announced an integration allowing Protech’s ADAS ID3 solution to align with Mitchell’s Diagnostics
Rozint, senior vice president of repair sales at Mitchell.
Protech’s ID3 uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify which ADAS calibrations a repair will need based on three sets of data: estimate lines, diagnostic trouble codes
as a Service (DaaS) platform to deliver precise, AI-generated ADAS calibration recommendations directly within Mitchell Connect.
Mitchell’s Predictive ADAS solution, incorporating Protech’s technology, is set to launch in the first half of 2025.
“This fills a gap in the Mitchell Diagnostics process,” said Jack
(DTCs) from a scan and OEM repair procedures.
“It takes those three sets of data points to come back with a report saying based on that, you need to recalibrate these systems,” Rozint said.
The process is completed in the cloud through Mitchell Connect. When a customer uploads an
estimate to Connect, it is transmitted to Protech, which runs the estimate through its ID3 service. Protech then transmits the ADAS calibration report back through Connect, which adds the report to the estimate.
“Determining the OEMrecommended calibrations on a given repair is timeconsuming and could be error-prone when done manually,”
“Repairers have everything right there,” Rozint said.
With ADAS features now included in nearly every new vehicle, the need for accurate identification and calibration of these safety components has become increasingly critical in collision repair.
“It’s more important than ever that estimators and technicians have easy access to ADAS calibration information in order to safely return collision-damaged automobiles to the road,” Rozint added.
The integration aims to simplify the repair planning process and reduce the risk of missed or
incorrect calibrations.
“Determining the OEMrecommended calibrations on a given repair is time-consuming and could be error-prone when done manually,” said Don Mikrut, vice president of Protech. “However, leveraging Protech technology along with Mitchell’s can help repairers improve efficiency, reduce rework and, most importantly, return critical safety systems to pre-accident condition.”
Mitchell demonstrated the new integration at its booth at the 2024 SEMA Show, along with other AI capabilities currently in development.
SEMA Show Launches New Live Stream To Bring Experience To Wider Audience
By Abby Andrews Autobody News
The SEMA Show is already one of the best-attended trade shows in the U.S., but this year, it cast a much wider net with SEMA Live.
“We’re hoping to give people a behind the scenes look at the show and broadcast it to a global audience,” said Tom Gattuso, vice president of events for SEMA.
SEMA Live was available on SEMA’s YouTube channel beginning Nov. 5, and broadcast live content during all hours the show was open – 31 total – bringing custom car reveals, celebrity interviews, educational opportunities and new tool and product demos to everyone with an internet connection.
After the show ended, the live streamed content was broken down into shorter videos geared toward specific areas, like collision repair for instance, that can be viewed at any time on the YouTube channel.
“We’re going to have hundreds of hours of coverage that we’re going to be able to edit and customize for a unique user experience, like we’ve never been able to do before,” Gattuso said in an interview with Autobody News before the show.
Similar to how live sporting events
are covered, SEMA Live had an anchor desk and field reporters, including one person reporting from a stage outside the Las Vegas Convention Center where the build contests are held.
Each day of the show was broken down into 80 segments, filled with “everything from walking through an exhibitor’s booth and finding out what new products are there, to a serendipitous interview with a celebrity that just happens to be at the show, to some of our keynote speakers,” Gattuso said. “We’re really hoping that this thing is going to be a combination of what’s cool, what’s new, and where the industry’s headed in terms of trends and innovation.”
Since pandemic shutdowns ended, the SEMA Show has been the mostattended trade show in North America, winning the title in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Last year was also the show’s biggest year ever, with 160,000 attendees.
This year is on track to be another high-water mark – Gattuso said more than 2,400 exhibitors will be there, beating 2019’s previous record numbers, and attendee registration was on pace to at least equal if not surpass 2023.
So why is the live stream important if everyone in the automotive aftermarket industry is already in Las Vegas?
Gattuso said the NFL is a great example.
“The NFL had an opportunity in the late 1960s to put their product on television, but the NFL owners were most interested in selling seats at their stadium and hot dogs and beer. They felt like television would inhibit that, and they were against it at the beginning,” Gattuso said. “They finally agreed, and it brought the football product to a much wider audience. They found that their stadiums filled even more than they had, and there was still a huge fan base that was interested in watching it on television.”
SEMA Live will bring the SEMA Show experience to people who may be inspired to attend a future show inperson, or continue to watch it remotely, Gattuso said.
And while it might feel like the entire industry is at SEMA, like all trade shows, most people in attendance live within a small geographic radius.
“We have 140 countries represented and all 50 states, but the majority of our people come from west of the Rockies,” Gattuso said. “We want to be able to let people who can’t travel there to see what’s going on, and then be able to make decisions on whether it fits for them or not.”
When planning the segments, Gattuso said SEMA focused on the
“value centers” of the show. Priorities included showing new products on display, walking the show floor to look at exhibitor booths and custom builds, speaking to celebrities in attendance, and interviewing presenters and speakers to give viewers a feel for the educational opportunities at the show.
The SEMA Show has “this weird, cool factor that there’s a lot of business that happens, there’s a lot of trend spotting. There’s all these really cool vehicle builds. And then, hey, there’s Travis Pastrana and Kane Brown at the Nitro Circus booth as the motorcycles are doing backflips,” Gatusso said. “We want to draw people in to this iconic event that we’ve got.”
SEMA Live is simply a way to leverage the show’s content in a way SEMA itself has never done, but other media partners have.
“Social media kind of set everything on edge, and we found that people who came to the show would just take walkarounds [videos] of all the cars, post 1,500 car walkarounds, and they would get tens of millions of views,” Gattuso said. “We said, ‘OK, well, that’s great for that person, but we have all the cars, so what could we do that wouldn’t step on anyone’s toes but complemented what our partners were doing?’ And this became that answer.”
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NHTSA Closes Probe Over Engine Defect
Risks of 411,000 Fords
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) officially closed its investigation into a potential engine defect affecting 411,000 Ford vehicles, including popular models like the Ford Bronco, Edge, F-150 and Lincoln Aviator. The probe, launched in July 2022, examined a potentially faulty valvetrain in Ford’s 2.7L and 3.0L EcoBoost engines, which could cause vehicles to lose power unexpectedly.
The investigation expanded over time to include Ford’s 2021 and 2022 models with these engine types, following 1,066 unique reports of sudden power loss. This malfunction, caused by intake valves cracking and falling into the combustion chamber, was linked to valves that exceeded Ford’s hardness specifications, increasing brittleness. Ford attributed this defect to specific manufacturing issues from a supplier.
In response, Ford issued a recall in August for 90,000
affected vehicles, primarily focusing on models with limited driving history.
The automaker said data showed the vast majority of failures occurred in cars before they had been driven 20,000 miles, with more than half of all reported failures occurring before 5,000 miles. Ford also noted the faulty intake valve material was altered for vehicles produced after October 2021.
Ford’s recall plan includes a dealer inspection and testing for cars with insufficient mileage, allowing Ford to identify and replace defective valves if needed. Additionally, Ford announced an extended warranty for recalled vehicles, covering up to 10 years or 150,000 miles. No crashes or injuries have been reported due to the issue.
NHTSA said the rate of failures linked to the valve defect has decreased significantly since November 2021, suggesting the issue has largely been resolved in newer production runs.
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DataTouch Releases New AI Tool
DataTouch announced the commercial release of “P-Pages AI,” an artificial intelligence (AI) technology offered to collision repair shops to efficiently convert estimates received in a PDF format from external appraisal sources into a sharable digital format based on CIECA Standards.
It was designed to correctly interpret and apply the existing Collision Estimating Guide (CEG) Procedure Pages (P-Pages) for each estimating system.
In just a few seconds, P-Pages AI generates an updated electronic estimate that identifies the “not included” operations and costs per the P-Pages that are frequently overlooked by the appraisal source. The P-Pages AI estimate also identifies the section within the CEG P-Pages that documents the operation required to complete the repair for each crash part.
For more information about DataTouch and P-Pages AI, visit www.datatouch.us.
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Arizona Fix Auto Owner Raises $8,000 For Cystic Fibrosis Research Through Art
After a successful career as a police officer, Troy Buck, owner of Fix Auto Avondale in Arizona, turned an unexpected discovery of his auto painting talent into a fundraising journey that recently generated $8,000 for cystic fibrosis research.
Blending his passion for art with his expertise in automotive repair, Buck has shown how personal passions can support meaningful causes and community connections.
Buck’s artistic journey began when a friend asked for help painting a truck, igniting a love for automotive painting that has since paralleled his professional work.
“Art has always been a way for me to express myself and connect with others,” Buck said. “Being able to mix my passion for auto painting with my work in collision repair has been incredibly fulfilling.”
After dedicating over 100 hours to his most recent painting, Buck received a unique
endorsement when NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon autographed the piece at Hendrick Motorsports in Charlotte, NC. This final touch, along with assistance from Axalta – which provided the paint and coordinated the event logistics — contributed to the painting’s $8,000 auction sale at the Limitless 2024 Conference on Oct. 10, with proceeds going entirely to cystic fibrosis research.
“Troy’s remarkable journey is a testament to the power of passion and creativity,” said Damien Reyna, U.S. COO, Driven Brands Collision. “His dedication not only elevates our brand but also makes a profound difference in the fight against cystic fibrosis, inspiring others to use their talents for a greater purpose.”
Through his work, Buck continues to demonstrate how collision repair professionals can make a difference beyond their field by harnessing unique talents and community support for philanthropic impact.
Arrest Made in 1999 Disappearance of Colorado Auto Shop Owner
A man has been arrested in connection with the 1999 disappearance and murder of Colorado auto body shop owner Dale Williams, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Dan Bishop, 68, was taken into custody Oct. 17 on a firstdegree murder charge, marking a breakthrough in a cold case that baffled investigators for 25 years.
Bishop is currently being held on a $1 million bond.
Williams, who owned an auto body shop in Nucla, CO, went missing on May 27, 1999, after receiving a call about a stranded driver near Bedrock. However, Williams never made it to the location.
Nearly six weeks later, on July 4, his truck was found submerged in a river, with a rifle and spent shell casing in the bed of the vehicle, the CBI said. Firearm purchase records showed the .22 caliber rifle belonged to Bishop. Investigators found that
Williams and his wife had helped Bishop’s wife leave him and relocate to Texas, which may have played a role in the motive.
The investigation into Williams’ disappearance was reopened in September 2023. The CBI said based on the comprehensive investigation, officials believe Bishop acted with his cousin, who is now dead, to murder Williams.
Nucla, a small town near the Utah-Colorado border, is located about 340 miles southwest of Denver.
Toyota strengthened music education programs at several schools in Arizona and Georgia with a donation of $80,000, aiming to nurture students’ creative and collaborative skills. The donation will benefit Chandler High School in Chandler, AZ, as well as Fulton County Schools’ Benjamin Banneker High School and TriCities High School in Atlanta, GA.
The funding is intended to sustain and enhance existing music programs, empowering students to explore their talents and fostering an environment that supports artistic growth. “Music is not just an art form, it’s a universal language that fosters creativity and collaboration,” said Steve Appelbaum, sponsorship senior manager at Toyota. “Every student deserves the opportunity to explore their talents, be it in music, sports or any academic pursuit, as it enriches their educational journey and prepares them for success in any career they choose.”
A student-centered event at Tri-Cities High School marked the
announcement, featuring Latin Grammy-nominated artist Danny Ocean and Grammy-nominated composer Mali Wilson. The artists led an interactive session with students, engaging in conversations on how music plays a vital role in self-expression and collaboration. Local music producers also joined the session, demonstrating the role of collaboration in artistic and professional success.
Earlier this year, the Toyota USA Foundation reinforced its commitment to education through grants for STEM-focused programs in Fulton County, GA, Chandler, and Tempe, AZ. These initiatives are part of Toyota’s Driving Possibilities program, which brings educators, nonprofits and industry partners together to provide students with access to high-growth career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math.
With this latest donation, Toyota extends its educational support into the arts.
Ford Motor Company will pay $165 million in penalties following a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation into delayed recalls and inaccurate reporting of defective rearview cameras, the agency announced -- the second-largest civil penalty in the agency’s 54-year history.
“Timely and accurate recalls are critical to keeping everyone safe on our roads,” said NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman. “When manufacturers fail to prioritize the safety of the American public and meet their obligations under federal law, NHTSA will hold them accountable.”
The NHTSA’s consent order requires Ford to make an upfront payment of $65 million, with an additional $55 million deferred and $45 million allocated for performance improvements.
The penalty is surpassed only by the Takata airbag settlement.
As part of the agreement, Ford will overhaul its safety compliance
processes under the oversight of an independent third party. This includes developing a safety data analytics infrastructure, implementing a VIN-based traceability system, and creating a multi-modal imaging test lab focused on low-voltage electronics.
Ford will also review all recalls issued in the past three years to ensure proper scope and compliance. If necessary, the company must initiate new recalls to address any overlooked defects. In addition, Ford is tasked with improving information-sharing across disciplines, enhancing its ability to analyze data for safety defects, and expediting recall decisions.
The three-year consent order may be extended by NHTSA for a fourth year if necessary. During this period, Ford must meet quarterly with NHTSA, maintain accurate safety evaluation records, and ensure the functionality of its VIN lookup tool for consumers.
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Hurricane Helene Floods 138,000 Vehicles Across 6 States
Hurricane Helene left 138,000 vehicles flood-damaged across six states, according to estimates by CARFAX. The vehicle history report provider has not yet released estimates on the number of vehicles possibly damaged by Hurricane Milton, which closely followed Helene, but it previously estimated there were already 89,000 flood-damaged vehicles thanks to tropical storms and hurricanes that hit the U.S. from June through August.
As Helene’s floodwaters ravaged communities in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, thousands of vehicles are at risk of entering the used car market under deceptive conditions.
“These cars may look showroom fresh, but they’re literally rotting from the inside out,” said Faisal Hasan, vice president for data at CARFAX. Floodwater can lead to mechanical and electrical issues that could put unsuspecting buyers at risk of costly repairs and potential safety hazards.
Florida was the hardest hit by Helene, with CARFAX reporting 60,700 water-damaged vehicles in the state. South Carolina followed with 27,500, and North Carolina with 22,900. Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia also saw thousands of vehicles damaged by the storm — 16,800, 4,900 and 4,900 respectively. In many cases, scammers will clean and relocate these cars, selling them to unsuspecting buyers far from the areas impacted by the storm.
“After cleaning up the cars and moving them across the country, these scammers will try to lure unsuspecting buyers into thinking they’re getting a great deal,” Hasan warned.
Consumers are urged to be vigilant when purchasing used vehicles in the coming months, particularly from private sellers or dealerships located far from flood-impacted areas. Checking a vehicle’s history report through services like CARFAX can help potential buyers avoid purchasing a flood-damaged car.
New Law Targeting Shell Companies Increases Reporting For All Small Businesses
In a move to combat money laundering and tax evasion, the federal government has enacted a new law requiring most businesses to report detailed beneficial ownership information. This legislation, part of efforts to peel back the layers of anonymity provided by shell companies, will come into full effect by Jan. 1, 2025.
Critics argue that while the intent behind the law is clear, its implementation may pose challenges for smaller businesses, which could find the administrative burden overwhelming.
“Unfortunately, this will impose burdensome reporting requirements on most businesses, and the willful failure to report information and timely update any changed information can result in significant fines,” the California Autobody Association said in an email to members. Despite these concerns, federal authorities say the new is necessary for ensuring economic integrity and security.
Under the new regulations, beneficial owners are defined as
individuals who either directly or indirectly own more than 25% of an entity or have substantial control over it, regardless of actual ownership stakes. Businesses must now submit a range of identification details for these owners, including legal names, residential addresses, birth dates and a unique identifier number from valid documentation such as a passport, driver license or state ID card. Additionally, entities are required to provide images of these documents for all listed beneficial owners.
The law’s primary aim is to provide greater transparency in business operations and ownership, thereby hindering the ability of individuals and groups to use complex corporate structures to evade financial oversight and legal accountability. However, it also introduces significant compliance obligations for businesses.
For more details on the reporting requirements and implications for businesses, visit the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network at www.fincen.gov/boi-faqs.
