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36
YEARS
VOL. 36 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 2018
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Industry Associations Pledge 2018 Resolutions
Year in Review: The Collision Repair Industry in 2017
Most folks view New Year’s Eve as a time to reflect on the recent year and make resolutions for the next as they strive to improve themselves or their lives. Collision repair industry associations have also begun preparing for 2018 by beginning to focus on their goals for next year and how they can help their members, advance their organizations and improve the industry for everyone. Several association leaders shared their 2018 New Year’s Resolutions with Autobody News. In 2017, a lot of associations focused on membership growth, bringing
Starting with the inauguration of the 45th President, moving on to the solar eclipse and three devastating hurricanes, 2017 has been a year to remember with many major changes impacting the United States. The collision repair industry has continued to change as well, with evolving technology and raging legal battles, including the now-famous John Eagle lawsuit in Texas. Associations around the country offered a variety of educational opportunities through meetings and conferences, and as the New Year crept up on us, Autobody News spoke with several association leaders about the best and most memorable things they did in 2017.
by Chasidy Rae Sisk
educational value to members and pursuing legislative initiatives to improve the industry. Industry professionals can expect to see these endeavors continue into 2018, though industry leaders anticipate taking their efforts to new heights. The Automotive Service Association (ASA) spent a great deal of this past year on legislative endeavors, and plans to continue these initiatives into the New Year. ASA Executive Director Dan Risley shared, “ASA resolves to be represented, engaged and vocal in as many meetings, conferences, hearings, summits and alike in Washington D.C. and See Industry Associations, Page 14
Mike Orso Speaks on Lawsuits Against Nationwide and Progressive After Court Sends Them to Trial
See Lawsuit, Page 8
P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018
In November, New York’s Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision of a lower court, ruling that Nick’s Garage in Syracuse, NY, had presented sufficient evidence to defeat summary judgment as it related to its allegations against Nationwide and Progressive in two separate cases. The court’s reversal was based on it finding that the insurers may have committed deceptive practices and breached contracts with customers through their failure to pay sufficient amounts on repair claims. Although the court has not yet made
a final finding, it determined the shop had provided enough evidence to proceed to trial. Originally, both cases (Nick’s Garage, Inc. v. Progressive and Nick’s Garage, Inc. v. Nationwide) were dismissed due to lack of evidence, but in addition to basing the decision on the legal standard for summary judgement motion, the court determined that the insurers failed to prove that Nick’s Garage could not support its claims and also examined some of the shop’s evidence, presenting several findings that could significantly impact the future of the collision repair
Change Service Requested
by Chasidy Rae Sisk
by Chasidy Rae Sisk
From getting associations off the ground to establishing a broader member base, several associations focused on growth this year. Stephen Regan, Executive Director of ASA-MA/RI, shared, “The most memorable thing ASA-MA/RI has done in 2017 is open its doors. We have brought back to the region an entity dedicated solely to the advancement of collision and mechanical repair shops and those who serve them. Unlike many state trade associations in the industry, ASA-MA/RI has a fully staffed, dedicated office location. Our sole purpose is the professional operation of the association on behalf of its members and supporters.” See Year in Review, Page 15
Happy New Year! from all of us at Autobody News
South Valley, CA, Locals Charged With Auto Insurance Fraud, Farmers Ins. Noticed Same Vehicles in Claims by Brad Kava, Gilroy Dispatch
Five South Valley men, including two from Gilroy, CA, and two from San Martin, CA, were charged with run-
ning a $235,948 insurance scam in which they faked 18 car accidents and billed insurance companies for work that was never done.
Brothers Angel Topete, 36, and Joshua Topete, 34, both of San Martin, Eric Harrison, 33, and Gregory Carl Harrison, 53, both of Gilroy, as well as Hugo Lua, 39, of Hollister, CA, were also arrested in connection with the auto insurance scam, which involved 22 people, 18 of whom have been arrested. They will appear in Morgan Hill’s Superior Court. Most were friends or family members of one another, and at least one is being charged in a previous fraud ring. Investigators were tipped off to the ring by an insurance investigator with Farmers Insurance, who noticed some of the same vehicles were involved in accidents repeatedly. See Auto Insurance Fraud, Page 24
Presorted Standard US Postage PAID San Bernardino, CA Permit #2244
2 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Contents Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
to Restore Classics Through NV Nonprofit . . 28
Phillips - Mitchell Products Created to Help
Auto Body Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Phillips - The Basics of Blueprinting: Better
Arson Suspected in Fire at Bassett, CA,
ASA Northwest to Host 2018 Semi-Annual
Retreat in WA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Bay Area, CA, MSO Gives Two Cars to
Active Military on Veteran’s Day . . . . . . . . . 22
CIC Seeks Input on Issues, Value of
Shops Deliver Proper, Safe Repairs . . . . . . . 32 Cycle Times, Improved Efficiency, More
Accurate Estimates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Sisk - Mike Orso Speaks on Lawsuits Against Nationwide and Progressive After Court
Sends Them to Trial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2017 Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Yoswick - Database Enhancement Gateway
Palm Springs, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Yoswick - Recent ‘Who Pays for What?’
CIF Announces 8th Annual Gala in
Collision Industry Events to Take Place
in Palm Springs, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Driver Crashes Into Body Shop in
Portland, OR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Fix Auto USA Adds Fix Auto Moorpark, CA,
to Franchise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Got its Start 10 Years Ago . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Survey Looks at Scanning, Frame,
Mechanical Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
NATIONAL
Auto Care Association Announces New
Director, Data and Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Michael Rukov Appointed to CAWA, YANG
AWDA Announces New Leadership With
New Push for Not Your Grandfather’s
Axalta Announces 2018 Custom Finishes
Ryan Evans From ‘Counting Cars’ Demos
BASF Customer Andrew Lee and Driven To
Service King Golf Tournament in Southern
CARSTAR Offers Tips on How to Keep
Service King SoCal Teammates Present U.S.
CIECA Calls for 2018 Speakers. . . . . . . . . . . . 66
South Valley, CA, Locals Charged With Auto
Hurricane Vehicle Replacements, Increased
Board of Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Vocational Training in CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 NitroHeat Equipment at CA Body Shop . . . . 26 California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Marine Veteran Keys to Restored Pickup . . . . 8 Insurance Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
COLUMNS
Three Officer Appointments . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Calendar Competition Winners . . . . . . . . . . 64 Cure Receive State of Maryland Award . . . . 66
Your Car Safe and on the Road . . . . . . . . . . 68
Honda Fit Crash Test for Tracy Law Firm . . . . . 48 Advertising Drive Truck Interest . . . . . . . . . 71
I-CAR, ASE Present Annual Master Repair
& Refinish Technician Award . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Antonelli - Concours Body Shop in Reno, NV,
Industry Associations Pledge Their
Attanasio - Employee Sharing—Does it
Mitchell 1 Has Enhanced Its Prodemand
Attanasio - Former Body Shop Owner
Polyvance Releases New Headlight Tab
Attanasio - Selling, Buying or Expanding
Replacement Demand From Hurricane
Attanasio - Wreck Check Car Scan Centers
Six Detroit Cops Charged With Extortion for
Ledoux - OE Shop Certification Programs -
SVP of BASF Coatings Discusses Changes
Ledoux - Training, Certifying and
Tesla Strikes New Partnership with OCC’s
Phillips - Audi Discusses Car Manufacturer’s
Warning: Key Fob System Hack for
Prioritizes Education, Innovation . . . . . . . . . 58
Really Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Invents Photo Estimating App . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Your Business is Not a DIY Project . . . . . . . 44
Owner Gets his ‘I Told You So’ Moment . . . . 4
American Honda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Standardizing in the 1920’s . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Certification Program, Repair Procedures
& Training for Collision Repairers . . . . . . . . 40
Phillips - CCC VP Discusses How Company’s
2018 Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Auto Repair Information Software . . . . . . . . 64
Repair Online Training Course . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Harvey Overhyped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Taking Bribes From Repair Shop Owners. . . . 4
Ahead for Collision Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Auto Tech Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Thieves to Steal Your Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Year in Review: The Collision Repair
Industry in 2017. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Planning Meeting. The results were both encouraging and insightful. The 2016 survey responses were used to shape the structure of CIC Committee activity and the content of CIC Meetings. “The current survey is designed as both a brief scorecard on how we did in 2017 and a request to those interested to list their current concerns, which we will use to guide CIC action in the coming year. “We are all aware of the staggering pace of change in our industry, so I hope that everyone with a stake in CIC will take a couple of minutes to complete the current survey.” The next CIC meeting will be held Jan. 17–18, 2018 in Palm Springs, CA. Complete meeting details are on the CIC Website: www .ciclink.com/
Publisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst General Manager: Barbara Davies Contributing Writers: John Yoswick, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk, David Luehr, Stacey Phillips, Victoria Antonelli, Gary Ledoux Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman, Bill Doyle, Norman Morano (800) 699-8251 Office Manager: Louise Tedesco Digital Marketing Manager: Bill Pierce Art Director: Rodolfo Garcia Graphic Designer: Michelle Lucas Online and Web Content Editor: Rochelle Beckel Accounting Manager: Heather Priddy Sales Assistant: Randi Scholtes
A Few Old Shops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Anchorage Chrysler-Dodge-JeepRam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .63 AutoNation Chrysler-Jeep-DodgeRam-Fiat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . .69 Bob Smith BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Bob Smith MINI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Capitol Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) . . . . . . . . . . .19 ChemSpec USA, LLC. . . . . . . . . . . .15 Chevrolet of Anchorage . . . . . . . . . .29 Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Seattle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 Colortone Automotive Paints . . . . . .14 Cutter Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Dave Smith Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 DCH Auto Group Temecula . . . . . . .10 Del Grande Dealer Group . . . . . .16-17 Dent Magic Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Dominion Sure Seal . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Downtown Motors of LA (Audi, VW, Porsche) . . . . . . . . . . .45 ECS Automotive Concepts . . . . . . .24 Enterprise Rent-A-Car . . . . . . . . . . .38 Equalizer Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . .40 First Auto Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Ford of Kirkland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .51 Galpin Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Glenn E. Thomas Dodge-ChryslerJeep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . .67 Haddad Dodge-Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36-37
Serving California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. Autobody News is a monthly publication for the collision industry. Permission to reproduce in any form the material published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher. ©2018 Adamantine Media LLC. Autobody News P.O. Box 1516 Carlsbad, CA 92018 (800) 699-8251 (760) 603-3229 Fax www.autobodynews.com editor@autobodynews.com
Western
Antonelli - Techs Teach Disadvantaged Youth How
Digital Solutions Meet Modern Consumer
Index of Advertisers
REGIONAL
CIC Seeks Input on Issues, Value of 2017 Meetings
The Collision Industry Conference (CIC) is asking the industry and CIC Meeting attendees to participate in a brief survey by visiting www.research .net/r/VXMSYQC. The objective of the survey is to determine the current top issues impacting the collision repair industry as well as to measure the value of CIC Meetings, which took place at various venues throughout 2017. Results of the survey will help guide the direction of CIC in 2018. The survey is open to anyone interested in providing input to CIC. It asks all respondents, from their individual perspectives, to list the top three issues of concern as it relates to the collision industry. Guy Bargnes, current CIC Chairman, explained, “We ran a similar survey at this time last year as we prepared for the bi-annual CIC
Hyundai of Kirkland . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Hyundai of Seattle . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 Insta Finish Car Care . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Island Clean Air, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Kearny Mesa Subaru-Hyundai . . . . .32 Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54-55 Lusid Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .71 MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .68 Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers . .48 MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .39 Moss Bros. Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . .23 Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 Penske Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Porsche Wholesale Parts Dealers . .56 Puente Hills Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Riverside Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Robaina Industries, Inc . . . . . . . . . .25 Roy Robinson Subaru . . . . . . . . . . .59 SATA Dan-Am Company . . . . . . . . . .5 Shingle Springs Subaru . . . . . . . . . .47 Sierra Chevrolet-Honda-Subaru . . . .53 Spanesi Americas . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .57 Symach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Tacoma Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram .31 The Bay Area Automotive Group . . .49 Valley Auto Dismantlers Association, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Vintage Flatz/Cumberland Products .11 Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . .71 Wizards Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 3
Product Innovation
Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.
Wreck Check Car Scan Centers Owner Gets his ‘I Told You So’ Moment with Ed Attanasio
by Ed Attanasio
For many years, he was telling anybody who would listen that too many shops were doing sub-par and highly unsafe repairs all over the country. Industry leaders and many shop owners thought he was either the boy who cried wolf or the little chicken who announced that the sky was falling, but Rocco Avellini isn’t easily discouraged. So, he started a business called Wreck Check Car Scan Centers, which offers a second opinion for customers who suspect that their repaired vehicles weren’t properly fixed during the initial repair process. To say the least, after a while, certain body shops started hating the man while the industry as a whole kept telling him that these shoddy and dangerous repairs were rare exceptions, rather than the norm. But now, with the recent John Eagle/Honda court decision—which awarded a couple $31.5 million after being badly burned by an improper repair—the tables are beginning to turn. It was Avellini’s “I told you so” moment—now, he believes people will start to trust his claims that improper repairs are more common than one would think. He presented his findings in 1999 when addressing the California Senate, but no action was taken. In fact, the state president of the California Auto Body Association, industry association leaders and politicians, except for Senator Joseph Dunn, were not interested, he said. “If the collision industry acted at the time of the Senate hearing eight years ago, the Eagle/Honda accident would not have occurred,” Avellini said. “Instead, the collision industry was more interested in serving the insurers rather than their customers. Years ago, when I was a founding member and
chapter president for the Mid Cities chapter of the California Autobody Association, I would tell the members and officers at other organizations, including SCRS, that this was a bad situation that was going to get worse. All of them told me that these unsafe repairs were the exceptions and that only a few rogue shops were doing them. But now their tune is changing, because it’s evident that not only small shops are involved. Large
shops, collision centers and enormous MSOs with 200-plus shops are also just as guilty as some of the tiny independents out there.” Avellini, 66, has worked in almost every aspect of the collision repair and insurance industry, starting as a body man in the late ‘60s, an insurance adjuster and Nation Property Manager, equipment sales rep and owner of an auto restoration company and a body shop (Rocco’s Collision Center in southern California) for many years. When he found out about the Wreck Check software 26 years ago, he instantly saw the need for a company that protects consumers from improper collision repairs. In 1997, Avellini founded Wreck Check Car Scan Center (WCCSC) after meeting Wreck Check founder Jim Lynas. The concept of WCCSC is to have a location where the consumer has a place
to get the “Ultimate Second Opinion” regarding the completed collision repairs to their vehicle. “I have inspected more than 20,000 vehicles in my collision, insurance and post-repair inspection life, and to be honest, things are getting worse, so maybe this recent case will start to change things,” he said. “But I believe it will fade over time, the same way it did with aftermarket parts several years ago. After we started uncovering the abuse in the collision industry, we received a ton of press, and I thought that the insurers would become more proactive about making sure that collision repairs would be done in a safe and proper fashion and according to manufacturers’ specifications. But it never happened. I believe that in an ongoing attempt to control costs, the insurers are just creating new ways to achieve cost-cutting, and ultimately the repairers are left with the same, if not more liability. Repairers must remember that an insurer has no standing in the collision repair process and their only duty is to indemnify their insured and make them whole.” There is never a shortage of work for Avellini and his 45 licensees nationwide, he said. “WCCSC is growing every year as more shop owners, estimators and other collision professionals see that this is a trend rather than a fad,” he said. “Diminished value and shoddy repairs have been an issue for a long time, and until people really start pushing the envelope like we do, it’s going to be the same result. But, at least some of the fence-sitters and naysayers are now changing their tunes, especially after this recent court decision.” Avellini was telling people way back when that pre- and post-collision repair vehicle inspections were necessary—not just something to do once in
a while. “We were scanning cars when no one was talking about it, so this is a good thing,” he said. “But too many shops still aren’t doing them, which exposes them to potential problems down the road—like getting sued. The problem is that because of the continued effort by insurers to control costs, a shop owner cannot afford a quality control person to oversee the repairs as the vehicle enters each department. We tell people that these inspections should be considered on a more frequent basis, especially when dealing with extensive damage that may include structural damage and SRS deployment.” One of the main issues is that many body shops are forced into doing poor quality repairs in order to placate their insurance partners, Avellini said. “When is enough, enough? If you take 10 hours to do a 20-hour job and cut corners along the way, it’s on you— not the insurance company,” he said. “As much as the insurance companies will tell you they are, auto insurance policies are not HMO policies. They are full indemnity policies, which mean that the owner of the vehicle has a right to be made whole.” What would Avellini say to a shop that is currently cutting corners and knows it? “Years ago in a chat room, I told the other shop owners that there is no more sitting on the fence,” he said. “You’re either with the insurance companies or against them. If you don’t repair these cars correctly, especially in this post-repair inspection world, you’re setting yourself up for getting caught and possible financial liability. I have been fighting this for more than 25 years now, and it’s finally coming to a head, but it will be good only if it leads to major changes in the collision industry.”
recovered in the city to their shops. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says four retired officers have pleaded guilty to the charges and are awaiting sentencing while two current officers have been indicted. “The charged defendants should
have put the people of Detroit first, rather than lining their own pockets,” U.S. Attorney Daniel Lemisch said in a release. Current DPD officer Deonne Dotson, 45, has been indicted on six counts of extortion, while officer Charles Wills, 52, is facing four counts of ex-
tortion. Retired officers James Robertson, 45, and Martin Tutt, 29, pleaded guilty to two counts of extortion. Retired officers Jamil Martin, 46, and Anthony Careathers, 52, pleaded guilty to one count of extortion. Each extortion
Rocco Avellini, the owner of Wreck Check Car Scan Centers, has been telling people that sub-par repairs are a serious problem. Now, after a recent court decision, more and more people are starting to agree with him
Six Detroit Cops Charged With Extortion for Taking Bribes From Repair Shop Owners by Violet Ikonomova, Detroit Metro News
A half-dozen current or former Detroit police officers have been charged with extortion for taking bribes from auto repair shop owners in exchange for referring stolen and abandoned vehicles
4 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
See Detroit Cops Charged, Page 6
www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 5
ASA Northwest to Host 2018 Semi-Annual Retreat in WA by Chasidy Rae Sisk
From Jan. 25–28, 2018, ASA Northwest will host its 2018 Semi-Annual Retreat and Management Conference at the Icicle Village Resort in Leavenworth, WA. Jeff Lovell, President and Executive Director of ASA Northwest, said he is grateful to “the great group of members who are willing to take time away from their businesses to join our retreats. Everyone always enjoys our educational offerings as well as our networking opportunities.” The event kicks off on Thursday afternoon with a board meeting, followed by a Hospitality Suite that evening. Lovell noted, “Our Hospitality Suite is open all three evenings with complimentary cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. It’s a terrific opportunity to relax and enjoy great company, network with fellow members and make new friends.” Attendees will get down to business at the General Session on Friday morning, where they’ll receive business and unit reports from 9:30–11 a.m. During that time, the Ascettes, the wives of association members, will hold their Business Meeting to discuss the group’s role in the association and plan future fun events.
Friday afternoon will offer some free time for attendees to choose from several optional fun activities the association has planned. Their suggestions include hour-long Winter Wonderland sleigh rides, cross-country skiing, tubing at Ski Hill and guided snowmobile tours.
From 5–7 p.m., while the association holds its mechanical and collision roundtables, the Ascettes will hold a giving-back event for the Multicultural Child and Family Hope Center located in Tacoma, WA. They will be filling 50 backpacks with essential items and some school supplies for children who are taken, empty-handed, from their home at a moment’s notice. The evening will conclude with networking at the Junction Arcade, followed by a Hospitality Suite at the resort. Saturday morning will commence with an AMI seminar on Advanced Leadership, presented by Jude Larson of JML Real Solutions, who
Service King Golf Tournament in Southern California The Service King family helped support Seal Future Fund by participating in the Annual Service King Golf Tournament on Dec. 8 at Monarch Beach Golf Links in Dana Point, CA. The SFF exists to accelerate SEALs’ transitions into civilian life in a manner that harnesses and builds upon their unique strengths and capabilities. Navy SEALs are among the most highly trained professionals in the world, serving as paragons of leadership, teamwork, resolution and focus. As individuals who excel Continued from Page 4
Detroit Cops Charged
count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. According to the Detroit Free Press, former officer Martin admitted to taking a $500 bribe in 2014 from an auto body shop owner in exchange for referring an abandoned vehicle to that shop for repairs. The paper reports that Martin’s plea deal said he would locate abandoned vehicles through his role as a cop, have them towed, and tell the car owners about where they could send their vehicles for repairs. Under the
under extreme conditions, executing tasks with outcomes that are measured in life and freedom, their qualities are invaluable to any organization. The SFF is focused on ensuring that these individuals and their capabilities are not lost in the posterity of duty. From educational scholarships to job placement and networking opportunities, the SFF provides SEALs with countless pathways to success within the communities they fought so hard to protect.
plea agreement, he faces 24–30 months in prison. Robertson, who the Freep reports admitted to accepting two $1,000 bribes, and Tutt, who admitted to taking two $500 bribes, also face 24–30 months in prison. Careathers, who admitted to pocketing one $1,500 bribe, faces 18–24 months. “While these allegations are troubling, we are relieved that this [is] bringing closure to a long standing issue that has plagued this department,” Detroit police Chief James Craig said in the joint-agency release announcing the charges. We thank Detroit Metro News for reprint permission.
6 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
will discuss taking you and your team to the next level. Lovell shared, “Powerful, effective leadership produces powerful results. If you do not have the results you want most in life, it may be time to take your leadership to the next level. We will discuss how to identify when your leadership is being ineffective, how to make it more effective, and how to know the difference between the two.” During lunch, ASA National Vice President Tony Molla will provide an update on the national association, and at 5:30 p.m., ASA Northwest will host its semi-formal awards banquet. Following cocktails and dinner, the association will recognize last year’s leadership and honor the 2017 “Outstanding Member of the Year.” The night will conclude with networking at the daily Hospitality Suite. From 8:30–10:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, the association will hold its business roundtable as the final chapter in its Semi-Annual Retreat and Management Conference. Registration for the event costs $50 per adult, with a surcharge of $25 for Saturday’s lunch presentation and $40 for the awards banquet. To register, visit www.asanorthwest.com.
Fix Auto USA Adds Fix Auto Moorpark, CA, to Franchise
Fix Auto USA announced its continued expansion with the addition of Fix Auto Moorpark, bringing the total number of Fix Auto franchise locations to 120. Fix Auto Moorpark in Moorpark, CA, is the third location for coowners and operators Gary Bisgrove and Gary Hesselbrock. In April, Bisgrove and Hesselbrock joined Fix Auto USA with their two flagship locations, Fix Auto Oxnard North and Fix Auto Oxnard South, and have already grown their operations to require a third location to serve the greater Ventura County market. “When we made the decision to align our business with Fix Auto USA, we didn’t think we would find ourselves in a position to expand so quickly,” Bisgrove said. “The access to national insurance programs has been key to our accelerated growth. Before, we simply did not have any national-level visibility, and now we do.” “Allowing independent operators the ability to secure the future of their body shop and to leverage an established and respected platform for continued growth is just part of the value and promise we deliver,” stated Fix Auto USA President and CEO Paul Gange. “It’s remarkable to see their growth, and we’re excited to see them expand their operations.”
www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 7
Arson Suspected in Fire at Bassett, CA, Auto Body Shop Authorities suspect arson after a fire gutted a Bassett, CA, auto body shop during the early morning of Nov. 26, destroying six cars parked inside.
investigators examining the scene came to suspect the fire was an act of arson, according to the sergeant. No one was inside the building at the time of the fire, he said. The investigation is being led by detectives from the sheriff’s Arson
Los Angeles County firefighters battle a blaze in which arson was suspected at an auto body shop along Valley Boulevard in Bassett on Sunday, November 26, 2017. Credit: Rick McClure, Special to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Los Angeles County firefighters battle a blaze in which arson was suspected at an auto body shop along Valley Boulevard in Bassett on Sunday, November 26, 2017. Credit: Rick McClure, Special to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune
by Brian Day, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
The fire was reported about 7:30 a.m. at Designers Body Shop, 13255 Valley Blvd. in the unincorporated area just west of La Puente, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. David Cortinas said. It caused an estimated $850,000 worth of damage to the building, equipment and six cars that were being stored inside, Cortinas said. After extinguishing the flames, Continued from Cover
Lawsuit
industry. Talking to Autobody News about the cases, Mike Orso, owner of Nick’s Garage, Inc., states, “First, I want to say my attorneys did a fantastic job explaining a very difficult topic. And the court got it!” First, the court pointed out that the insurance company’s contract with the customer requires them to provide sufficient payment “to return the specified vehicles... to pre-accident condition” based on “the lesser of the amounts for which the claimant can reasonably be expected to (1) repair the property to its condition prior to the loss; or (2) replace it with an item substantially identical to the item damaged” (Second Circuit Docket #15-1445-cv). The key word here, as the court asserted, is “claimant.” The court clarified that “prevailing labor rate should not be measured based on the amounts insurers can negotiate due to the high volume of claims that they process. Instead, the prevailing competitive rate should be determined by ascer-
and Explosives Detail. Handling investigators could not immediately be reached for comment. Anyone with information about the fire can reach the sheriff’s Industry Station at 626-330-3322. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477. We thank San Gabriel Valley Tribune for reprint permission.
taining what a one-time customer could expect to pay for the repair. The actual prevailing rate is one of the things that will be determined during trial. When asked about this finding, Orso shared, “In my experience in the shop, insurers think they are a wholesale buyer—the customer. In reality, they are not. Just because they can cut a deal with certain shops does not require all shops to accept it. In NY, caps on anything are against regulations. Negotiation is supposed to take place if the shop is authorized or inclined to do so.” In Nick’s Garage, Inc. v. Nationwide, the court considered whether the rates offered by the insurer were the reasonably expected rate in the marketplace, based on evidence that suggests insurance companies have a practice of masking the true effective labor rate by offering labor rate when unable to agree on prices with the shop. Orso notes, “It’s pretty common, based on what I’ve seen in my shop, for insurers to use a one-line concession to add dollars to labor rate or hours to estimates in order to get See Lawsuit, Page 14
8 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Service King SoCal Teammates Present U.S. Marine Veteran Keys to Restored Pickup
Service King Collision Repair Centers, through the volunteer efforts of its Southern California teammates, proudly presented a fully restored 2016 Chevy Colorado pickup to deserving U.S. Military Veteran Michael Spencer on Friday, Dec. 8. The presentation took place at Service King’s Southern California Charity Golf Tournament as part of the organization’s ongoing Service King Cares initiative and the company’s longtime participation in the National Auto Body Council’s Recycled Rides program. Spencer served in the U.S. Army from 1981–82 and U.S. Marines Corps from 1984–88 before receiving an honorable discharge as the result of an injury. After hearing his story, collision repair technicians from Service King’s Santee (CA) location volunteered time and weekends to restore the truck to like-new condition in time for the giveaway. “The freedom of reliable personal transportation is unfortunately a privilege that too many people overlook,” said Alan Saviano, Serv-
ice King Vice President for the Western US and former Navy SEAL. “The Service King Family and our Los Angeles teammates are deeply honored to present Mr. Spencer with a new pickup truck. We are truly grateful for his service to our country. It’s our hope this gift helps him and his family for many years to come.” Soldiers’ Angels, an organization dedicated to providing aid and comfort to members of the US Military, nominated Spencer for the vehicle giveaway. Previously, Spencer relied on public transportation or family and friends to make appointments with physical therapists, pain management doctors, neurologists and more. He was often late or missed visits altogether. The NABC Recycled Rides program brings together insurance companies, collision repairers and local businesses to donate vehicles to families in need. Service King has taken part in recent giveaways in Chicago, Philadelphia, Orlando and Arizona. Meanwhile, the company is set to give away two more vehicles before Christmas.
www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 9
Michael Rukov Appointed to CAWA, YANG Board of Directors CAWA Chair of the Board Michael Antonelli of Vantage Marketing Global has appointed Michael Rukov of Repworks Marketing to the Association’s Board of Directors. Mr. Rukov will also serve as the Young Auto Care Network Group (YANG) representative to the Board of Directors.
“Mr. Rukov has served on the Association’s Manufacturers Advisory Council, and now we welcome him to our Board of Directors. We look forward to his contributions and participation as a representative of his company and YANG,” stated Antonelli during the appointment process. After graduating from Claremont Pitzer College with dual bachelor degrees in Economics and Organiza-
tional Studies, Michael started his professional career in marketing. He worked in a variety of industries, including wholesale distribution and information technology. In 2011, Michael became the Marketing Coordinator at One Stop Parts Source and later was promoted to Products and Marketing Coordinator, then became the Products and Marketing
Manager. In 2015, Michael became the Western Regional Sales Manager for the Continental Corporation, where he was responsible for 26 western states. He recently accepted a new position with RepWorks Marketing as a Senior Executive Account Manager. In his new role, he will be responsible for the traditional warehouse distributing business in southern California, as well as being a part of the company’s executive
team. Michael co-founded YANG and is the current chairman emeritus of the YANG Advisory Council, and Chair of the Auto Care Association’s Education Committee. He also had been selected as one of the four Impact Award winners: “Four for the Future”. He is a recent graduate with an Executive MBA degree from Northwood University DeVos School of Business. Michael graduated from Leadership 2.0 in 2014 and Leadership 3.0 in 2017. He was a recipient of a 2015 CAWA scholarship award to continue his education. He is married and has two children, ages 8 and 5. Michael enjoys watching NASCAR and loves traveling the world with his family and friends. CAWA is an auto care industry trade association, which represents auto parts jobbers, retailers, warehouse distributors, manufacturers, manufacturer representatives and program groups. The association provides educational, legislative and business support to the industry and its membership. It is one of the largest trade associations of its kind in the United States and recognized as a leader in the auto care industry.
Driver Crashes Into Body Shop in Portland, OR by Staff, KATU
A driver may have fallen asleep behind the wheel during the early morning of Nov. 26 when he crashed into an auto body shop in southeast Portland, OR.
Credit: Portland Police
Police reported the crash about 2:50 a.m. at Epic Auto Body on SE Foster Road. It appears the driver crashed into the front windows of the business, damaging both the building and the vehicle. Officers found the driver a few blocks away. He was taken to the hospital for an evaluation. According to Portland Police, it looked like the driver fell asleep. We thank KATU for reprint permission.
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10 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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CIF Announces 8th Annual Gala in Palm Springs, CA
The Collision Industry Foundation (CIF) recently announced plans for its eighth Annual Fundraiser Gala, which will be held on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. at LuLu’s California Bistro, 200 S. Palm Canyon Dr. in Palm Springs, CA. The funds raised from this event will be used to provide emergency relief for collision repair professionals who have been impacted by natural disasters or other catastrophic events. “As you gather with family and loved ones at Thanksgiving dinner, we ask that you remember those whose lives have been tremendously disrupted by the many natural disasters which occurred this year,” stated William Shaw, CIF Chair and PPG Director of Business Development. “I am proud of our industry’s response and the aid delivered to many families affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and the wildfires in California. We look forward to 2018,
visiting the many friends of CIF at our Gala in Palm Springs, and meanwhile wish you and yours a happy holiday season.” To reserve your Gala spot, visit https://events.r20.constantcontact .com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07e eu4fkk5bbcdc415&oseq=&c=&ch= Pre-Pay: $70 per person or $125 VIP package incl. 3 raffle tickets
At door: $85 per person or $140 VIP package incl. 3 raffle tickets
To donate to the Disaster Relief Fund or apply for assistance, please visit http://www.collisionindustry foundation.org, or contact us directly at collisionindustryfoundation @gmail.com. Call toll free at (855) 424- 3243 or direct at (804) 427-6982. CIF is utilizing all donations for emergency living and/or tool replacement expenses.
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UPDATED DAILY
‘Replacement Demand’ From Hurricane Harvey Overhyped by Wolf Richter, Seeking Alpha
The total damage Hurricane Harvey inflicted on parts of Texas, particularly the vast Houston area, may never be fully known. In terms of vehicles, the estimates were all over the place. But one thing is known: Before the flood waters had even begun to recede, the entire industry was salivating over that huge “replacement demand.” This would come just in the nick of time, as total new vehicle sales in the US had already fallen by about 300,000 units for the year through July, despite record incentives, historically low interest rates and muscular all-encompassing marketing. The industry’s elements on Wall Street propagated the idea that post-Harvey “replacement demand” would boost auto sales in 2017, turn the year around, and possibly create another record year, with more booming sales in 2018. The estimates I came across at the time ranged from 300,000 vehicles at the low end to more than 600,000 vehicles that would need to be replaced. Much of this replacement demand would occur over the remaining months in 2017 and early 2018. These sales would be so big that they would boost US sales overall to new highs. But now, the first real numbers are emerg-
ing. Turns out, even the low-end estimates of replacement demand were too high, and all that salivation over the projected sales boom based on the larger estimates was wasted. Harveybased sales increases of new vehicles are real, but they won’t be able to pull out 2017 unit sales. New vehicle sales in the Houston metro, battered by the oil bust, had already plunged to Financial Crisis levels before the hurricane. In the 12 months through July, dealers sold 284,000 new vehicles, down 25 percent from the levels in late 2015 and early 2016, according to TexAuto Facts, published by InfoNation at the time. Hurricane Harvey brought sales to a halt in late August, and new vehicle sales plunged 45.5 percent from the already beaten-down levels last year to just 15,473 vehicles for the month. In September, the first few days of sales were essentially zero. But then dealerships reopened and the mad scramble began, and in the remaining days of the month, Houston-area dealers sold an astonishing 28,246 vehicles, up 22 percent from the beaten-down levels a year earlier. The rolling 12month total, at 277,621 vehicles, was still down 10 percent from the same period a year earlier. We thank Seeking Alpha for reprint permission.
www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 11
New Push for Not-Your-Grandfather’s Vocational Training in CA by Rachel Raskin-Zrihen, Vallejo Times-Herald
Shop classes. Vocational training. Career Technical Education. Career Education programs. Whatever you call them, programs preparing students for careers working with their hands are back in fashion after a decades-long hiatus. “California Community Colleges launched a new statewide campaign in July to raise awareness among students, parents, counselors, teachers and others about Career Education programs (formerly referred to as Career Technical Education) offered at all 114 community college campuses across the state,” Career Education Campaign officials said. “These Career Ed programs offer accessible, hands-on, real-world workforce training to help students get good-paying, in-demand jobs in California’s growing industries, including Advanced Manufacturing, Agriculture, Biotechnology, Clean Energy, Cyber-security, Construction, Global Trade, Health and many more.” Clearly, the idea of vocational training has evolved beyond the high school wood and metal shop classes some old-timers might recall creating ashtrays in, officials said. Solano Community College is firmly on the Career Ed bandwagon with its new, state-of-the-art Automotive Technology facility in Vallejo, which opened in August. At that time, course instructor Paul Hidy called the facility “a gamechanger.” Following some 30 years during which most California high schools stopped offering vocational classes, Solano Community College’s 4-yearold automotive course’s growth proves letting those programs go was a mistake, Hidy said then. “Vocational training in most high schools went away in the 1980s, and by the 2000s someone began to realize, ‘Oops, now we have no one to fix anything,’ and that started to turn around,” he said. “We’re doing our best here to make a change.” One reason vocational training was lost in most California high schools was a concern that minority students were being tracked into them automatically, without being considered for the college track, officials said. Another reason was a lack of funding, Califor-
nia Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Oakley said. “It’s been in the last five years [that] there’s been a huge emphasis, and renewed investment,” he said. Today, the emphasis is on college and career readiness—not either/or, he said.
A group of automotive students study safety inspections at Vallejo’s new, state-of-the-art Solano Community College Automotive Technology facility. Credit: Rachel Raskin-Zrihen, Times-Herald
“Either way, you still need to gain a certain level of skill and understanding at the college level,” Oakley said. The Solano Community College automotive program started at the Armijo High School auto shop in Fairfield with 24 students, moved to the old Wilson-Cornelius Ford dealership on Georgia Street in Vallejo and is now in its new facility on Ascot Parkway in Vallejo. It’s grown to some 200 students and three full-time instructors, Professor Andrew McGee said. McGee, a Vacaville resident, had to learn the trade at a trade school in Sacramento, since there were no options locally at that time, he said. He spent a decade in the aviation industry before turning to automotive, he said. “The skill set you learn here is highly transferable,” he said. “Things like troubleshooting, manual dexterity, communicating—writing and speaking—are needed in any industry. It’s not an old school auto shop mentality. It’s clean; you’re not tripping over tools. Everything is put away. It’s not your dad’s auto shop. The baby boomers are leaving the industry and there’s a huge deficit of people with the needed skill set. I think we’re beginning to reverse the negative stereotype of the automotive industry.” The SCC program offers a traditional two-year associates degree, as well as a two-semester, short-term certificate of achievement, based on one or two specific car components like oil change or tires and wheels, or
12 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
brakes, the men said. “This program is designed to prepare graduates for entry-level employment in the automotive industry as apprentice technicians, parts specialists, service consultants, or specialists in one of the many areas in the automotive service and repair industry,” according to the program’s literature. “Students who complete the program will be technically proficient in entry-level skills as defined by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation.” The program includes classroom and lab training, and prepares students for a relatively good-paying job in any number of aspects of the automotive industry, including service writers, insurance adjusters, services and fleet managers, as well as mechanics and technicians, McGee said. A good auto mechanic can expect to earn some $30 per hour, he said. The program has some 50 cars of different makes and models that the students—some 10 percent of which are women—work and learn on, he said. Education officials are still working to reverse the impression that
there’s something wrong with earning a living working with your hands, Oakley said. “We’re not training people to do roofs, and that will continue to be a fluid work force, but we are concentrating on career ed,” he said. “The economy and workforce of today [are] different than [they were] 20 years ago. There’s a need for a college credential to get into any well-paying job these days.” A complimentary effort has been under way for the past few years in the Vallejo public schools, offering what officials there call “Wall to Wall Academies” to prepare students for jobs and/or college. Launched in 2012 under former superintendent Ramona Bishop, these include focused studies in biomedical, biotechnology, international finance, law and justice, culinary arts, multimedia, engineering, hospitality and visual and performing arts, among others. One way education officials are addressing the need for a skilled labor force is by partnering with various industries, like advanced manufacturing See New Push, Page 27
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Continued from Cover
Industry Associations
around the country that will influence the future direction of this industry, specific to new vehicle technology (telematics, (ADAS) advanced driver assistance systems, autonomous vehicles and the connected car).” ASA-MI President Ray Fisher told us, “Many folks see legislation as a negative, and I understand that, but what I don’t understand is when someone does not take the opportunity to remove ‘gray areas’ that legislation may provide and turn it into a positive. I would like to see our industry professionals here in Michigan understand what has been done for them over the last few years by ASA Michigan by being supportive as a member and seizing the opportunity to be properly reimbursed according to the law. In 1974, the State of Michigan enacted the Motor Vehicle Service & Repair Act to protect consumers. We updated the law in 2016, but the law actually stipulates that the technician is the expert here in Michigan, and often times during negotiation, tactics are used that may go against the law here in Michigan; I want to see the repair industry abide by the law. Continued from Page 8
Lawsuit
closer to a shop’s requested target settlement, if they are inclined to, but they almost never change the rates in the profile of the estimate. Nick’s has submitted a lot of examples of this occurrence to the Court from our own files, and I don’t think we were an isolated case. You have to ask, why not just change the rates in the summary profile section?” “These concessions—either in the form of lump sum payments or allotting additional labor hours for repairs—had the disguised effect of paying repair shops more money for labor, while maintaining the appearance (in estimate summaries and subrogation data) of paying the lower labor rate it included in its estimates to Garage. By presenting this evidence, Garage raised a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Insurer’s offers to Garage were based on a labor rate at which the claimant could reasonably expect to have a damaged ve-
“For example, if you performed an operation on a vehicle, such as ‘PreScan’ and/or ‘Post-Scan,’ the MVSRA requires that you have that documented on your final invoice, no exceptions. In accordance, these procedures vary by vehicle manufacturer and so too does the time necessary to perform such functions. I mentioned earlier about being a member, but if we are not around, who will do it for you? Happy New Year and let’s start it off together as the professionals that we are!” Tony Ferraiolo, President of the Auto Body Association of Connecticut (ABAC), agreed that legislation is imperative, but the CT association will place a lot of emphasis on educating legislators in its state. “We are working on educating the state agencies, legislators and representatives on the importance of OEM repair procedures and recommendations, and to recognize who should make repair decisions,” he said. The North Carolina Association of Collision and Autobody Repair (NCACAR) is a newer association that has been making a huge difference in its area and hopes to gain momentum in 2018. According to NCACAR President Brian Davies, the association wants to “make a statement in our industry by hicle repaired,” according to the court document. The court determined that a trial was needed to decide whether the insurer “engaged in materially deceptive practices in violation of § 349 by purporting to offer reasonably expected, market labor rates in accordance with its policy obligations while systematically offering lowerthan-market rates.” Nick’s Garage, Inc. v. Progressive (Second Circuit Docket #151426-cv) also explored the issue of non-OEM parts, finding that, though the insurance policy explicitly permits their use, it does not indicate that the insurance company could pay only for non-OEM parts on every repair. Orso expresses, “The insurer may propose an aftermarket part, but it’s the shop’s duty to inspect and approve or disapprove of the part based on fit form and finish as well as application, safety and acceptance of liability and warranty. Very rarely after test-fitting an aftermarket collision part did we see acceptable fit or gaps aligned with adSee Lawsuit, Page 27
14 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
submitting (and passing) legislation in the state that has a positive effect on the collision repair industry. One of our main goals from the beginning was to become one of the strongest associations in the U.S., and I believe this would help put us with the greats.” Increasing membership is another important goal for many associations. Risley noted, “ASA also resolves to grow our membership in 2018 by delivering the most relevant and current tools, resources, information and training to the collision and service repair industries.” Petra Schroeder, Chair of the Women’s Industry Network (WIN®), said, “Our 2018 goals are all about our members. Increase membership, increase actively engaged members, create a connection to lapsed members, expand our local presence, create member connection tools and broaden industry events’ presence. All of this will be supported by a complete change of our technology platform to manage WIN’s day-to-day operations, so that our valued Board and committee volunteers can focus on strategic outcomes.” Many associations also see a lot of value in encouraging cooperation amongst shops and other industry part-
ners. ASA-MA/RI Executive Director Stephen Regan hopes the affiliate chapter will be able “to convince as many industry stakeholders as possible that cooperation will bring more success to all of us, rather than competition and confrontation. If we spent more time seeking common ground through cooperation and less time seeking individual advantages through denial of repair information or insurer steering, for instance, we would all be better off for it.” Auto Body Association of Texas (ABAT) President Burl Richards agreed, adding, “Every shop should share their successes and failures with others. That in itself will lead to strengthening our industry and educating all of us on a daily basis.” With these associations at the helm of changes in 2018, the New Year should be exciting for everyone in the industry. My personal resolution for 2018 is to attend as many industry events as possible and meet more industry professionals face-to-face, but if I don’t make it to your area, I’d still love to hear from you with feedback and suggestions to make 2018 the best year yet! Happy New Year!
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Continued from Cover
Year in Review
Brian Davies, President of the North Carolina Association of Collision and Autobody Repair, said, “2017 was our first full year of existence. It is a broad statement, but we made ourselves relevant to the collision industry in North Carolina and made a significant impact by bringing the collision industry closer together, learning how to work together, and helping each other improve while improving the industry in North Carolina. Another big move was being accepted as an affiliate member to the SCRS. With their support, we all feel more confident knowing we have others all over the U.S. that have our back. In addition, having the support of the largest U.S. paint manufacturer, PPG, has been invaluable, and without them, we would not be where we are now.” The Women’s Industry Network (WIN®) has surpassed its goals, but continues to focus on growth. “After a very successful and exciting 2017, it is challenging to focus on just one thing… besides encouraging,
developing and cultivating opportunities to attract women to collision repair, the WIN Board of Directors considered how we might move our organization to the next level of impacting women,” said Petra Schroeder, WIN’s Chair. “We reflected on our industry-atlarge and surveyed our board leaders, our members and our sponsors to assess their satisfaction with their WIN affiliation. This was followed by a board retreat to reflect on our current position and to dream about WIN’s contributions to our industry in the future. Finally, we charted the course to get there through our 2018–2020 strategic plan. It sets out a bold and ambitious vision for the members of WIN and all women in the collision repair industry. It will also provide direction for the ongoing growth and sustainability of our organization in a rapidly changing industry. “In our first strategic plan (2008– 2011), we envisioned a 500-memberstrong national network, recognized as a key contributor to our industry’s success. We surpassed the 500-member mark in 2016. In addition to ensuring that we continue to provide value for our growing network of members, the new plan looks beyond
our membership to identify ways that WIN can have a greater impact on industry diversity and sustainability.” Education, for both repairers and consumers, was also a major area of concern for many associations. According to Auto Body Association of Connecticut (ABAC) President Tony Ferraiolo, “I think the best thing our association did in 2017 was bring educational meetings to our members. We also took a stand on photo estimates, informing consumers and shops that, in our state, the customer has the right to have their vehicles physically inspected in person by a licensed appraiser if they choose to [do so].” Ray Fisher, President of ASAMI, shared, “There were many things that were quite memorable in 2017, but the one that I think stands out for the collision repair industry here in Michigan is the session that we created from scratch, titled ‘The Relationship between Structural Repair and Vehicle Calibration.’ The reason that it stands out was because it came about from a conversation at the PF3 Paint Supply Open House and [came to] fruition within a few months. The training was intense, and it combined
collision and mechanical technology and teachings, creating awareness for not only what is ahead, but also what is on the road currently. I am proud that ASA represents the professionals within the automotive independent collision repair industry, and I think it is important to keep that attribute at the forefront as we move into the future. Today, not only is our reputation of craftsmanship at risk, but the lives of our customers and their families are in our hands every time we make a decision to repair a vehicle. I believe that 2017 served as a ‘wake-up call’ to the repair industry reflecting on this very point via a major settlement. Just as the cardiologist does what their previous or their required annual training taught them to do during open heart surgery, the technician also has to apply their knowledge to repair the vehicle properly within the guidelines of the vehicle manufacturer to ensure safe and proper repairs. I understand keeping the cost of repairs down— that is the art of negotiation between two businesses—but it should never be used to pressure anyone to compromise proper and safe repairs being performed by the expert.” See Year in Review, Page 21
www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 15
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Shop Secrets and Strategies
Stacey Phillips is a freelance writer and editor for the automotive industry. She has 20 years of experience writing for a variety of publications, and is co-author of “The Secrets of America’s Greatest Body Shops.” She can be reached at sphillips.autobodynews@gmail.com.
CCC VP Discusses How Company’s Digital Solutions Meet Modern Consumer Needs with Stacey Phillips
Over the last several months, CCC has introduced a variety of digital solutions to the collision repair industry. These include shop management tools such as CCC ONE Engage and CCC Direct, and the cloud-based CCC Secure Share solution. Autobody News reached out to Mark Fincher, CCC’s vice president of market solutions, to learn more about CCC’s initiatives and how the company is meeting the needs of the modern consumer.
As a leading provider of softQ: ware tools and technology, what is CCC’s primary client base?
A:
CCC focuses on building solutions for customers in four dedicated markets, which include insurance carriers, collision repairers, parts suppliers and most recently, we’ve added auto manufacturers—OEMs. There are three key pieces to our business. First, is the network of stakeholders who we help connect. Next, is our single, unifying platform that seamlessly connects all of our customers with one another and the data and service providers they want to work with to drive additional and differentiated value to their business and the consumers they serve. Lastly, are our suites of market-specific solutions that help users of CCC transact. Through these connections and solutions, CCC can not only help drive process efficiency and transparency, but we also glean meaningful insights that we can deliver back to users to help them make better business decisions.
tailor the solution to their business goals. They might add tools to help them manage their DRP programs with the Perform package, or the CCC ONE
(l to r) Mark Fincher, Jacob Ku, Brian Sinnett and Paul Schwandt at the CCC booth during the SEMA show held in Las Vegas, NV
Repair Workflow solution that offers full management capability to manage their entire shop process. We recently added CCC ONE Engage, which gives shops the capability to receive appointments through our consumer-facing website www.carwise .com, and CCC Direct, repair management tools that help shop owners and managers implement and manage standard operating procedures and view the health of their business. Since we launched our core platform in 2008, we’ve provided client updates at least every two months and continue to enhance and expand our solution while ensuring we don’t stray from our simple and intuitive design. We continually invest in our core platform and deliver new solutions to collision repairers. Our intent is to create more efficiency, improve productivity and at the end of the day, help repairers deliver better customer service to their consumers.
you give us an overview Q: ofCanCCC’s digital solutions? Our company’s core solution is How has the customer experiA: estimating. All of our 22,000+ Q: ence shaped some of your comrepair facility customers use CCC pany’s initiatives?
ONE estimating software at a minimum. As their businesses grow, they can add on additional modules. That’s key to the CCC ONE platform. Hence the name—CCC ONE—everything is in one place. It’s all one application, and shops can purchase multiple features based on their needs. Rather than offering a “one-size-fits-all” approach, customers have a range of options to
We have made significant inA: vestments to enhance the customer experience. We want to equip repairers to serve the new modern consumer. A big part of this is recognizing how customers interact with companies and have certain expectations. Accenture has coined the term “Liquid Expectations” to describe this
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new phenomenon. Let me explain. A company like Amazon and a collision repair facility are two completely different businesses. However, customers start to form certain expectations of how easy it should be to do business with a specific company. Those expectations are fluid, or “liquid,” and flow over to other experiences like collision repair. As a result, CCC has been making significant investments over the past two years to help body shops deliver a more modern customer experience that today’s consumer expects. We believe this will add the most value to collision repairers and help them work more efficiently in their businesses.
Can you tell us about some of Q: the initiatives CCC has taken to deliver a more modern customer ex-
perience and how it will help with customer satisfaction?
We’ve been doing that through tools like CCC ONE™ Touch, A: which we launched several years ago and is available to the majority of our customers at no additional charge. The product allows an estimator to write the estimate at the vehicle with the consumer. Since then, we’ve been expanding that functionality to allow customers to sign all their documents on a tablet once the estimate is complete. We recently added a new functionality we call CCC Direct. Estimators can now complete all the prior damage inspection on a tablet with the customer present, so documentation can be completed right at the car. We’ve offered CCC ONE Update Plus for more than four years now. This gives a shop the capability to send text and email messages to consumers, and we continually enhance the product by providing richer experiences for the consumer. Consumers See Repairers of Choice, Page 20
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Repairers of Choice
can find out more information about the shop, such as the hours of operation, directions or even click to contact their service advisor through simple links within the text or email messages. We also launched CCC ONE Lobby so customers can check in for their visit using a digital kiosk when they first enter the shop. We’ve found this helps with the overall customer experience. A consumer is only in an accident every seven or so years. Most people have a misconception of what a collision repair facility should look like, and they may think it’s going to be a painful process. We’re hoping to change that perception by helping shops modernize the process for customers with our digital solutions. What we’re finding is that it creates an entirely different experience for the customer that they weren’t expecting. Our plan is to continue to focus more and more in these areas to be able to create that modern customer experience. Most importantly, customer satisfaction leads to referrals and return
The CCC Secure Share netA: work was designed and developed out of a need from the industry
applications come into the marketplace, and they have continued to use that EMS standard. CIECA had the foresight in the early 2000s to develop the Business Message Suite (BMS), which creates a more flexible format that enables users of the specification to determine which data elements should be sent to the receiving party. The BMS is just a specification, but this specification combined with a secure cloud platform to transmit the data creates a secure data exchange with third-party application providers.
to really get a handle around Estimate Management Standard (EMS) files. EMS was developed back in early 1990s by the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) and was used as a means for information providers to export data and allow shop management systems to import that data and eliminate the rekeying of information. Over time, we’ve seen many new
We announced CCC ONE Secure Share last September and started transmitting data to a number of application providers in April. The real benefit and the main reason we made the investment in developing Secure Share is to secure data. With EMS data today, it’s unencrypted—it’s sitting on thousands of shop servers. Shops typically have to install what is called a “data pump”
work. From an efficiency standpoint, these digital solutions will decrease the need to write everything down on paper and rekey it in later. Not only will it improve accuracy, but it also will help with first-time quality.
With the recent launch of CCC Q: Secure Share, can you tell us how it will help collision repairers exchange data?
The real benefit and the main reason we made the investment in developing Secure Share is to secure data — Mark Fincher
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from an application provider and there is no restriction for that data being shared or sold somewhere else. We’re able to secure that data using the BMS file format, so shops only have to share relevant information with their application provider through a secure mechanism. We believe this move will help protect the data for all stakeholders who have a vested interest in keeping this data secure. We also think that it will bring new innovation to the marketplace by making it easier for a new application provider to make one connection to Secure Share versus having to install hundreds or thousands of data pumps in collision repair facilities. A shop will have full transparency about what they are going to be sending. Then, if they stop doing business with a certain company, they can go into the Secure Share marketplace from within CCC ONE and terminate that connection instantly.
has the reaction been since Q: theWhatlaunch of Secure Share? We’ve received a lot of questions—mainly from the appliA: cation providers—related to costs.
We decided not to charge the repair facilities for the significant infrastructure and tools that we built. We are going to be processing thousands and thousands of files a minute so as you can imagine, significant investments have been made to support this volume and ensure data is transmitted quickly to ensure a smooth workflow for repairers. We are making it easier to connect to our network, and we’ve built an entire application suite that allows application providers to manage all of their connections in one place. Some app providers have talked about passing that cost along to their shops. We hope that the cost savings from Secure Share will keep them from doing that, and they will realize the additional benefits they will receive to scale their applications more effectively. We gave the industry a little over 18 months to prepare and we said that we’ll forfeit any revenue the first year so application providers have time to budget. We understand that there are some up-front implementation costs to connect to us, so we waived the first year of fees to be able to help offset those costs as well as allow them time to budget. In April, we’ll be dis-
continuing EMS and begin charging for Secure Share.
What are some of your future Q: plans, such as telematics? We’re currently seeing changes A: in terms of vehicle technology. Part of the impetus for us to launch our
new OEM market is to expand our network and help auto manufacturers connect into the network more efficiently. Several years ago, we bought a company called Drive Factor that is focused on the telematics space. We’ve been investing in that technology and undertaking a number of initiatives to connect vehicles to the network while working with OEMs, insurance partners and repair facilities so they can gain access to the data more quickly. There is a wealth of information coming from the connected car now. As a result, we believe there is a significant opportunity for us to help utilize that information across our network and use that data to help all of the constituents of the ecosystem get better insight to how they can more effectively manage their businesses, and ultimately use that data to serve consumers better.
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Year in Review
Burl Richards, President of the Auto Body Association of Texas (ABAT), said, “The most memorable things ABAT did in 2017 were related to Todd Tracy, who allowed us to visit his law firm in Dallas. It was unlike anything we had ever seen, with hundreds of wrecked vehicles in warehouses at his facility. It was eye-opening to see the amount of time and expertise that was being used to inspect these wrecked vehicles. Then, we invited him to speak at our tradeshow. His presence was met with a little resistance from the industry, but once everyone heard the message, ‘Repairing vehicles has consequences, so you better follow OEM guidelines,’ it was a message well-received, and I believe it made us all better for it.” For the Automotive Service Association (ASA), the most important experience in 2017 was related to legislation. ASA Executive Director Dan Risley shared, “We have invested several thousand man hours representing our
members and the industry in Washington D.C. We have been working tirelessly with legislators, other industry partners and the OE’s on new vehicle technology relative to telematics, (ADAS) advanced driver assistance systems, autonomous vehicles and the connected car. ASA has been extremely vocal and visible representing the best interests of the collision and service repair industries. Our goal is to ensure that our members continue to have access to the information necessary to repair their customers’ vehicles without having to enact legislation. As cybersecurity and data ownership continue to take center stage, we are ensuring that the independent repairer is part of the solution and equation.” A lot of momentum was begun and carried through into 2017, and 2018 is gearing up to be an even bigger year for the collision repair industry as these associations and others continue to educate members, expand their offerings and fight for the rights of shop owners and consumers. Autobody News looks forward to continuing to bring you all of the latest association news in 2018. Happy holidays!
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Bay Area, CA, MSO Gives Two Cars to Active Military on Veteran’s Day Hart will now be able to attend a school in Oakland, CA, to pursue his On Nov. 10, Mike’s Auto Body cele- A&P (Aircraft and Power plant) librated Veteran’s Day by participating cense to work on airplanes. Since the in Fairfield’s annual Veteran’s Day Pa- commute is at least 90 minutes in each rade and presenting two completely direction, the Hart family will now be refurbished vehicles to active military able to attend community and church families stationed at Travis Air Force events, meetings and doctor’s apBase. pointments for their two young boys, thanks to their Impala. Forsyth is currently assigned to the 60th OSS, where he works as an Air Traffic Controller in the RAPCON. He is married with three children, and has been stationed at Travis AFB since 2013. With his new transportation, Kyle will now be able to to aget his 1-year-old son, Hayden, to his doctor’s appointments and other commitments on time. Born in June of 2016 with a rare form of congenital heart disease that required emerSenior Airman Khalil Hart, a reservist at Travis AFB, received a 2012 Chevrolet Impala that was donated by gency open heart surgery, the Nationwide Insurance and refurbished by the crew at Forsyths’ lives were instantly Mike’s Auto Body’s Fairfield location turned upside down when It was all part of the MSO’s an- Hayden entered the world. Thankfully, nual Benevolence program, a com- the surgery was successful, but Haymunity relationship program with a den still needs constant medical attenmission to present refurbished “new” tion, which means visiting doctors used cars to deserving individuals or throughout the Bay Area on an ongoorganizations. ing basis. Life will be considerably Traditionally, one of the Benevo- easier for the Forsyth family by havlence vehicles is covered and adorned ing a second vehicle. with a red, white and blue bow, and rides in the parade on one of Mike’s Auto Body’s tow trucks all the way to its Fairfield location. With a new twist this year, the people at Mike’s asked the recipients to drive their Benevolence cars in the parade the next day, Nov. 11. “The cheers of joy and gratitude were shouted out along the entire parade route,” Program Director Sal Contreras said. “It was so amazing to see all of the love and support that was exhibited by the community. It means A thank you to Sheldon Ludlow, a tech at Mike’s Auto Body from one of Senior Airman a lot to all of us at Mike’s Auto Body, Forsyth’s daughters, for refurbishing their as well as the two military families that Benevolence car received the vehicles. This year, Mike’s Auto Body part“Senior Airman Khalil Hart, who is a reservist at Travis AFB, received a nered with GEICO Insurance, Nationwide Insurance, Operation Care and 2012 Chevrolet Impala that was donated by Nationwide Insurance and Comfort, TAFB Airman and Family then refurbished by the crew at our Readiness Center, Recycled Rides, Charity Cars, IACC, NABC, Fairfield Fairfield location. In addition, Senior Airman Kyle Forsyth received a 2014 Tire Center, Napa Auto Parts Fairfield, Toyota Corolla that was donated by Roseville Toyota, Lexus of Concord, GEICO Insurance and then refurbished Winter Chevrolet, Precision Brake and Front End, Big “O” Tires, O’Reilly by the crew at our Antioch store.” by Ed Attanasio
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independence and a chance to improve their lives. We call this a hand-up, rather than a handout, because we have seen these vehicles enable people to do great things.” The company’s next Benevolence presentation of 2017 is scheduled for Dec. 13 at its Antioch ADAC location where it will give away four Senior Airman Kyle Forsyth received a 2014 Toyota Corolla more vehicles, totaling to 72 that was donated by GEICO Insurance and refurbished by cars since 2000. the crew at Mike’s Auto Body’s Antioch store The Mike’s Auto Body Auto Parts and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Benevolence program is a “commuDerek Voss, GEICO Auto Dam- nity give-back program” with a misage Adjuster, presented Forsyth with sion to present cars to deserving his vehicle and Brad Slease, Nation- individuals or organizations during the wide Insurance Claims Manager, pre- holiday season. Everything is donated, sented Hart with his car. including the cars, parts, paint, meJust like at every Benevolence chanical inspections, tires and one full event since day one, Contreras made year of insurance. The body and paint a few welcoming and closing remarks. technicians at Mike’s Auto Body do“We never get tired of giving ve- nate their time and skills to turn these hicles to deserving people in the mili- cars into pristine “new” used vehicles. tary, and this year was special because we were able to give away two cars,” he said. “By providing these recipients with these cars, we’re giving them the www.autobodynews.com gift of transportation that offers them
We’re Looking for a Few Old Shops! Do you think you have the oldest, continuously-operated body shop in your area? Would you like to see your shop’s colorful history in print? If so, we want to hear from you. A Autobody News and collision industry journalist Gary Ledoux are working on a joint project to find, and highlight the oldest continuously operated body shops in America. Some shops may have sstarted out in the early 1900’s as a blacksmith or carriage shop. Some may have started as a mechanical repair service at a parking garage in New York or San Francisco during the 1920’s, and then turned to body work. In the latter part of the 1940’s, many ex-servicemen started body shops with skills they learned working on GI trucks and equipment. There are so many unique and interesting stories out there that should be recorded and preserved for posterity. Each qualifying shop submitted will be highlighted in Ledoux’ forthcoming book; YesterWreck: The History of Collision Repair in America. The estimated publishing date is the first quarter of 2019. No book of this sort has ever been published for the collision industry. This is a unique opportunity to be part of something special. Ledoux will provide a signed, first-edition copy of the book, upon its publishing, to any shop whose photos are used in the book. In addition, Ledoux will contact one shop from each of the five regions served by Autobody News for a complete interview and a feature story to be run in that region’s edition of the magazine. What To Send If you think you have the oldest continuously-operated body shop in your state please send us: • Shop’s Name • Address / City State and Zip • Phone number • Email address • Current owner’s name • A brief history of the shop, most importantly what year the shop was founded. Include the month if you know it. • Two to three photos of the shop, especially from its earliest days with any recognizable persons identified. These could be a picture of the front of the building, a group shot of everyone that worked in the shop at the time, people working on cars in the shop, etc. All photos should be scanned as a JPG with a minimum of 300 DPI. (Please do not take a telephone picture of a photo. The quality of such a photo cannot be satisfactorily reproduced.) All people in the photos should be identified if possible. Please send all information via email to yesterwreck@yahoo.com. For any questions, please contact Gary Ledoux @ yesterwreck@yahoo.com
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Auto Insurance Fraud
As part of the scam, members of the ring would buy cheap cars that had been salvaged and damage them. Many times, they bought insurance policies weeks before they reported the accidents, according to Deputy District Attorney Charlotte Chang, who has been prosecuting insurance fraud for the county for a decade. They would then fix the cars cheaply at body shops involved in the ring, or not fix them at all and just collect the money, she said. The highest amount paid for a car’s fake damage was $37,723. The cars included BMWs and Cadillacs. The group made 18 claims on fake collisions between 2012 and 2015. The Farmers investigator noticed that the father of one of the claimants filed the exact same claim on the same car at the same body shop months apart. Some of the claims said the drivers were parked and damaged by hit-and-run drivers. “You get greedy,” said Chang. “You do it once and you don’t get caught. You do it four to six times, and eventually someone will catch on.” She said the ring’s leaders enticed friends and family to join in, claiming they would never get caught or punished.
In some cases, suspects purchased insurance policies and then intentionally crashed cars into one or more vehicles owned by co-conspirators. All parties then filed fraudulent claims, which resulted in insurers paying the full value of the vehicles after they were declared total losses. “When false claims are paid out by insurance, losses are passed along to consumers who pay hard-earned premiums to cover real accidents,” Chang said. It was hard to break the ring, she said, because the people were related and didn’t want to talk. Over the past two years, a county auto insurance fraud unit has prosecuted four large rings made up of 33 suspects, who billed for $1 million in false accidents, Chang said. One of the defendants, Gerardo Ivan Espinoza Martinez, who owns Auto Parts USA, was arrested on an earlier case, which hasn’t yet come to trial, and is being charged again on this one. “This large ring of family and friends allegedly conspired to defraud insurers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. “The cost of insurance fraud is shouldered by consumers who pay higher premiums when insurers pass along their losses. Working with our task force partners is critical to combating the multi-billion dollar problem of insurance fraud.”
Collision Industry Events to Take Place in Palm Springs, CA
The Smart Performance Solutions 2018 & Beyond Conference will be held Friday, Jan. 19 at the Palm Springs Hilton Hotel in Palm Springs, CA, immediately following the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) taking place on Jan. 18. The Smart Performance Solutions Conference will feature presentations highlighting “smart” performance solutions, including OE certification strategies, the diagnostic and analytic profit center, advanced material construction, claims technology and the connected car, insurer relationships and business leadership principles as the industry evolves. Organizations presenting include 3M, Assured Performance, asTech, ALLDATA, CCC, a panel discussion with insurers and OEs moderated by Automotive Service Association (ASA) President Dan Risley and a special presentation by
leadership and performance coach David Luehr. The three-day event schedule offers collision repair professionals ample time for business networking opportunities, including a reception with leading collision industry professionals. The event is open to progressive collision repair center owners and managers seeking competitive marketplace solutions. In addition to the conference dates, the 1Collision Network will be conducting its annual Business Meeting on Saturday, Jan. 20 at the Hilton Palm Springs Hotel. Online registration is available for the Smart Performance Conference, Palm Springs Hilton Hotel, NABC Golf Outing and the CIC Meeting at smartperformancesolutions.com.
www.autobodynews.com
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Silicon Valley Automobile Insurance Fraud Task Force investigators initially received information about the crime ring in 2015. The two-year investigation revealed the Topete brothers conspired with family, friends and associates who posed as insurance consumers and filed fraudulent claims with six different insurers for collisions that were either staged or never occurred at all. Some of the cars and two San Jose, CA, auto shops—Espinosa Body Shop and Auto Parts USA—were used repeatedly in the scams. To date, 18 of the 22 suspects have been arrested and booked. Some of the defendants were arraigned in the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill the week of Dec. 5 on insurance fraud charges. They face jail time and will have to pay restitution to the victim insurance companies, if convicted. The Silicon Valley Automobile Insurance Fraud Task Force, which comprises investigators from the California Department of Insurance Fraud Division, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office and the California Highway Patrol, investigates crimes involving organized automobile insur-
ance fraud in Santa Clara County. If convicted, the suspects could face a maximum of five years in prison for each count and will also have to make restitution to the insurance companies.
Those arrested in this scheme are: • Alma Elisa Aguilar, 39, San Jose • Blanca Arias-Guerrero, 48, San Jose • Pedro Ozuna, 33, San Jose • Pablo Govea-Cabrera, 27, San Jose • Eric Harrison, 33, Gilroy • Gregory Carl Harrison, 53, Gilroy • Guadalupe Cardenas, 32, San Jose • Maria Cruz, 29, San Jose • Jairon Escobar, 44, Milpitas • Ivan Espinoza, 31, San Jose • Edgar Hernandez, 31, San Jose • Nora Lopez, 41, San Jose • Hugo Lua, 39, Hollister • Daniel Mendoza, 57, Milpitas • Gabriel Osuna, 24, Gridley • Carlos Ernesto Recinos, 46, San Jose • Angel Topete, 36, Martin • Joshua Topete, 34, Martin • Rafael Rangel, 35, San Jose • Samuel Osuna, 27, San Jose • Claudia Estrada, 22, Gridley • Altamirano Venancio, 35, San Jose We thank Gilroy Dispatch for reprint permission.
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Ryan Evans From ‘Counting Cars’ Demos NitroHeat Equipment at CA Body Shop by Stacey Phillips
Prestige Quality Collision Repair held an auto body event at its Westminster, CA, location in December that brought together surrounding body shops, jobbers, paint distributors, insurance representatives from AAA and television personalities.
(l to r) Greg Engle and Dave Engle from Engle Bros Fabrication; Mike Brewer, co-host of Wheeler Dealers; Stan and Pat Shrewsbury, Prestige Quality Collision; and Ant Anstead, co-host of Wheeler Dealers
These included Ryan Evans from the History channel’s reality series “Counting Cars;” Mike Brewer and Ant Anstead from the British show “Wheeler Dealers;” Sean Thomas from 3M; Parker Stronk, representing SATA spray equipment; Danny Votel, representing ANEST IWATA spray equipment; and Derek Naidoo, Joe Flores and Bernie Fischer from NitroHeat.
The nearly 100 people who attended had the opportunity to see Evans “test drive” the NitroHeat system. Evans works at Count’s Kustoms, a hot rod and chopper customization/restoration shop in Las Vegas, NV. “Count’s Kustoms has used NitroHeat for the past two years,” said Bernie Fischer, factory representative for NitroHeat. “Evans tells us that he uses the equipment in the shop on a daily basis and loves it.” While Evans demonstrated the NitroHeat equipment in the spray booth, Fischer shared the main benefits of NitroHeat, which uses heated compressed nitrogen instead of compressed air as a propellant. “NitroHeat reduces cycle time in the spray booth by about 20—25 percent, which increases production in the shop,” said Fischer. Since nitrogen doesn’t carry any moisture, Fischer said the flash time is cut in half in between coats. “If you are a busy shop and you have a lot of throughput, you can paint even more if you are faster at what you do,” he said. “At the end of the day, you will be able to push one more car through in the same eight hours.” In addition, Fischer said an average customer can save 20 percent on all paint materials using NitroHeat,
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and the finished product is cleaner, nicer and more evenly distributed. Pat Shrewsbury, owner of Prestige Quality Collision Repair, first learned about NitroHeat while watching “Counting Cars” on television. He had an opportunity to see how the equipment
Ryan Evans, from the History channel’s reality series “Counting Cars,” demonstrating the NitroHeat equipment at Prestige Quality Collision Repair
operates during the SEMA show held this past November in Las Vegas, and purchased it about a month ago. “The first thing we noticed is the reduction in flash times—the ability to paint the jobs faster because there is less waiting in between coats,” said Shrewsbury, who has operated his business for 35 years. “The drying times of the products are a lot quicker in general and the paint lays out nicer because of the stead-
ier stream of nitrogen, which makes for a smoother flow, versus standard compressed air.” NitroHeat was established in 2010 by Derek Naidoo. With more than 30 years of experience in the automotive engineering industry, Naidoo set out to look for a more efficient propellant for spray painting, which ultimately led to the development of the NitroHeat system. There are two standard models of the NitroHeat equipment—the Nitromax 15 cfm (cubic feet per minute) and Nitromax 30 cfm. “The Nitromax 15 cfm is for a smaller shop with one spray booth and one painter painting,” said Fischer. “The Nitromax 30 cfm is a larger machine and allows two painters to work simultaneously.” Fischer said both machines offer the same results when it comes to cycle time reduction, paint savings and increased quality with the finished product. For bigger shops, an auxiliary tank can be used next to the generator so three or four painters can work at the same time, and NitroHeat can customize larger machines for different applications. For more information, visit http:// nitroheat.com/.
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New Push
and logistics, to educate and turn out potential employees with the needed skill sets. The Solano College auto tech program, for instance, is working on partnerships with local auto dealers for internships for training on specific makes and models of vehicles. “So we’re partnering with industries—advanced manufacturing, logistics (ports, transporting goods, robots and drones)—many middleskill, good-paying jobs, and that’s the new career ed,” Oakley said. “Auto mechanic, warehouse supervisor (and the like) now require a college credential.” Though California’s education officials think the effort to reverse the old trend away from anything not requiring an advanced degree is working, there is still quite a way to go, Oakley said. “There’s been a $200 million or more investment to kick-start this effort,” he said. “Career ed in our colleges is beginning to do great things to prepare people for good-paying jobs.”
What’s offered at which college depends on the industry sectors operating nearby, he said. “Each region has different industry sectors,” he said. “In the East Bay Area, the focus is on advanced manufacturing, so where once we trained students to work on sheet metal, now it’s about using computer-assisted manufacturing, using automated machines and computer-powered robots.” Working with one’s hands has essentially lost its stigma, Oakley said. “This new generation of millennials understands there are a number of different career areas they’re familiar with, and they see opportunities in the ability to be a self-starter or engage specific skills, that good wages can be made without earning a bachelor’s degree,” he said. “We’re not only introducing these regionspecific career opportunities—we’re also giving students a tool to find the types of salaries they can make in a given industry.” The Salary Surfer website— which contains state databases—can be found at www.cccco.edu by scrolling to the salary surfer button. You can also Google “salary surfer.” Also, career advancement usually
requires continued education, he said. “Even if you want to work with vehicles, you need a college education to keep up with how the technology works,” Oakley said. Jackson Devries of Fairfield, 19, who is taking the automotive technology certificate course at SCC, said he hopes to work on cars at a dealership. “I prefer hands-on learning to book learning,” he said, adding that he’s known since he was 18 that this was the direction he hoped to go. “I have always liked cars. Automotive is for me.” Also 19 and from Fairfield, Jonathan Gonzalez said he realized at age 15 that he wanted to work with cars. “I’m into keeping people on the road and keeping their vehicles healthy,” he said.
For information on the SCC auto tech program, call (707) 864-7171 or visit www.solano.edu/future_students.
We thanks Vallejo Times-Herald for reprint permission.
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Lawsuit
jacent panels or mounting points. Sheet metal was lighter gauge and parts weighed less. Some parts were missing mounting holes and supports. The Court got it that the shop and the insurer have to go through a process where non-OEM parts are proposed for the repair.” The court pointed out that nonOEM parts must at least be equal to the OEM part in terms of fit, form, finish, quality and performance, citing evidence that this is not always the case. The trial will serve to determine whether this requirement was met for each vehicle in question. Progressive and Nationwide had successfully argued that there was no claim for breach of insurance contract since they had operated in good faith, but the Second Circuit Court rejected this defense because the policies and NY regulations also require the insurers to pay the amount necessary to restore the vehicle to its pre-loss condition or to replace it. Sine one of these independent obligations were See Lawsuit, Page 29
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Techs Teach Disadvantaged Youth How to Restore Classics Through NV Nonprofit by Victoria Antonelli
Volunteers from the collision repair and mechanical industry are teaching disadvantaged youth how to refurbish classic cars through a nonprofit organization called Team Restorations. Incorporated in Reno, NV, in June 2017 by Lanny Backes, Team Restorations plans to eventually auction off the finished hot rods and muscle cars before donating the proceeds to those in need. Autobody News reached out to Backes to learn more.
1. What is your background, and why did you decide to start Team Restorations? I spent 20 years in the commercial airline parts industry as a broker of parts, engines and aircrafts. In my 20s, I made a lot of money, and knew from that experience that it took more than just money to make me happy. My
ect car to donate back into our community, was formed. I saw a car go through the Barret Jackson auction a few years ago and it was for a charity. It auctioned for much, much more than the car was actually worth, so it inspired me years later to try and use this medium to raise capital for charities in our community.
2. Why automobile restoration? I’ve always been interested in classic cars, specifically muscle cars. My first car was a Volkswagen Beetle. I did a lot of work on that car [to make] it into a “Baja Bug” that my friends and I rode around the Arizona desert in for fun. When I was 15, my dad bought a ‘72 Chevelle that needed some work done. I later wound up with that ‘72 Chevelle and by the time I was done with it, it looked like a true SS and was a ticket-getter! I knew I enjoyed turn-
(l to r) Manny – Teen Challenge counselor; Teen Challenge Students – Jake, Clay, Justin, Andrew, Sebastian, Silas; Michael – Teen Challenge counselor; Ryan – Teen Challenge counselor; Chris Devine – Team Restorations, Vice President; Lanny Backes – Team Restorations, President; Kelly Enget – Volunteer, shop owner “Engines by Enget”
grandfather used to tell me, “Find something you love to do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life,” and that kept coming to mind. Plus, there were much fewer opportunities making their way to the brokering sector. This forced me to make a decision on whether to stay in or begin looking for other work. I also severely damaged my lumbar spine, which affected my abilities. I had it surgically repaired/fused in February this year. I’m still recovering, but overall am at least able to walk a little better now. I had a little exposure to some nonprofit organizations here in Reno through When Charity Works, and they inspired me to explore what I could do for the community with my own nonprofit. Eventually, the idea of working with youth and teaching them the skills involved in restoring classic cars, and then utilizing the proceeds from the raffle or auction of the proj-
ing wrenches, and I always wanted to learn auto body and paint to round it out. I worked in a body shop for a few months about seven years ago as a way to learn the process. Three years ago, I did a complete color change paint job on my Toyota truck. I knew then that doing that type of work as a career was beyond my physical capabilities, but I really enjoyed doing it!
3. What types of projects do you do? We do complete frame-off restorations and resto mods on all of our projects. Besides refurbishing hot rods and muscle cars, we have built into our business plan a program that takes low-cost, economical family-type vehicles in on donation, and does necessary refurbishments to make them dependable, reliable, nice-looking daily drivers. They can then be used in a program that gets cars to families in need. We plan to complete a couple of cars per
28 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
year for this.
4. How many people work for the organization / how many volunteers do you have? Currently, no one is officially on payroll with Team Restorations. I have a few guys who will eventually become full-time in the organization, and as we grow we hope to be able to expand into new communities and offer jobs to some of our interns who come up through the program. Presently, we have four volunteers who are professional mechanics and/or auto body and paint technicians.
5. What are the backgrounds / age demographic of the volunteers and interns? The volunteers (teachers) we have up to this point range [in age] from mid30s to about 50. We have a paint pro from Coachcraft Auto Body, an engine builder from Engines by Enget, an ASE-certified master mechanic from Tires Plus and a couple of restoration specialists from Classic Rod Shop. I will be soliciting help from more shops once we [become] more established.
Our interns (students) are all young adults ranging [in age] from 14 to early 20s. The interns come from a completely varied background and demographic. However, most would fall under the “at-risk youth” classification, meaning their situations have put all of them in compromising positions at some point, so they aren’t in the mainstream of other peer students.
6. How can others get involved? The three organizations we are working with—Teen Challenge, The Children’s Cabinet and Inspire Academy—are the only organizations [from which] we have interns coming into the program at this point. Until we have the ability to field more projects, and have more volunteers and staff to lead the student interns, we will have to remain fairly closed [off from] taking anyone not in these existing programs. It is my hope that we can open up the program to offer opportunities to more young adults, but it will require a larger facility with more space, equipment and tooling, as well as staff. For volunteers, any professional repair and maintenance technicians in-
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terested in working with our youth and leading them in restoration is encouraged to contact us so that we can discuss the program with them further and figure out a good fit for them.
7. What do the volunteers have to complete during a typical project? The project cars are completely disassembled by the interns, and all parts are properly inventoried for the reassembly process. The body repairs include typical dent repairs, filler application and block sanding prep. Cutting and welding replacement panels and floor pans will be taught to and performed by interns as well. Primer and paint application and finish are also going to be
work, we will also be teaching engine and drivetrain, suspension and brakes, and electrical as we completely go through each restoration. Once an intern has been through a couple of complete projects, they will have good resume material for getting jobs within the auto body repair and paint industry. At the very least, they should be able to find an apprentice position. We will also be funding a scholarship program for those who want to further their formal education and training.
8. Do you have partnerships with collision repair-related businesses? We do have some partnerships forming with local companies like Sierra Invisible Shield, Coachcraft Auto Body, Classic Rod Shop, Tires Plus, Engines by Enget, Hot August Nights and MAG Auto Auctions. We still have needs for tooling, equipment and cash donations, as well as project cars and trucks. We also haven’t yet made a decision and activated an insurance policy. The “interns” typically refurbish classic cars and hot rods Since those run annually with taught and performed by all interns. payment in advance, we have been Along with the body, paint and interior holding off until we are ready to begin
working in the shop.
9. Anything else you’d like our readers to know? I want to thank Aaron Valencia of Lost Angels Children’s Project in Lancaster, CA, for his inspiration and also for leading the way in his community. I found Aaron in May this year while trying to find other companies doing what Team Restorations plans to accomplish, and I believe Aaron is the only other one in the country! When we spoke over the phone, his enthusiasm for what we were getting ready to launch was awesome, and seeing his success helped us know that it could truly be done. Most of the owners of classic cars today are either baby boomers or their children, and Team Restorations aims to pass the torch on to the millennials with the hope that we can help keep these cars alive well into the future. How else can we keep the love for these cars alive if we don’t create the passion within them from an early age?
To learn more about Team Restorations and how to support its cause, contact Lanny Backes at lanny@team restorations.org.
Continued from Page 27
Lawsuit
not met, the court found that the insurer could not prove satisfaction of contractual obligations based on meeting the other obligation to negotiate in good faith. Of course, the concept of good faith negotiations is a subjective idea to begin with. As Orso points out, “In my experience, many insurers viewed offering any concession at all as meeting their ‘good faith’ requirement. I remember one appraiser offered us $5 on his estimate for caulking. The two-part product we were using was $89. He offered us $5 more. When I refused to accept, he said, ‘Well, I made a good faith offer.’ So, what insurers view as good faith negotiation may often be less than the true costs of the repair.” The court also found that the claims presented by Nick’s Garage were not barred by NY Insurance Law 2601’s existence, even though only the NY Attorney General has the right to sue insurers for unfair claims See Lawsuit, Page 59
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www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 29
Shop Management
Employee Sharing—Does it Really Work?
Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.
with Ed Attanasio
lose their best employees, but if there is no business, profitability suffers.” We all know that finding and retainThe biggest question is this—will ing top technicians is not as easy as it competing body shops be willing to used to be. share their employees? In fact, in some parts of the coun“If you look at any company, estry, they’re calling the shortage of pecially startups, their success really qualified people an epidemic. Shops happens when they partner with other are working hard to bring in cars to companies,” Massabki said. “By colfix, but what do they do when there is laborating and creating a network of no one to do the job? peers or partners, small companies beThe idea of job sharing isn’t any- come bigger and more successful, and I thing new. In fact, in 1972 the New believe that this will be the same case Ways to Work Foundation was cre- with auto repair and body shops. The ated to “establish a work world that key to a successful partnership is to find responds to the changing a win-win formula and viable needs of individuals and ormeans to execute the partnerganizations,” according to ship. the San Francisco Business “The auto repair industry Times. It became even more is plagued with mistrust and prevalent two decades later risk-averse small business when more and more people owners with limited rebegan looking for alternative sources to figure out how to Elie Massabki is work arrangements. make an employee-sharing the founder and Two important factors owner of mechanics transaction work in a legal, that began to push the job marketplace.com, a efficient and risk-free manner. site that will help sharing movement were the This is the big value that our birth of the World Wide Web, shops lend out and app brings. We don’t simply borrow their which made it easier for both connect shops together. The employees companies and job share parapp and legal agreement that ticipants to share information through our members agree to formalize the web tools. These web tools enabled transaction between the shops to avoid employees to share work in a more misunderstandings. It sets rules for ethcollaborative environment in an asynical behavior and employee safety; chronous manner, while the everprovides step-by-step guidance to shop changing demographics also drove the managers on what they need to do to job-sharing arrangement even further. conduct a transaction; goes through a So, here comes a company called process to ensure best fit between what Skill-Loan LLC, based in San Carlos, the job requires and the employee’s CA, that operates Mechanics and Body skills; and provides an efficient and Shops Marketplace, a website accomreal-time way of communicating bepanied with a mobile application. The tween the shops.” owner and founder is Elie Massabki, It’s job sharing taken to a whole who has extensive experience working new level, Massabki said. for Silicon Valley high-tech startups. “Borrowing and loaning employ“Our idea originated from the fact ees is a new concept in this industry that small businesses are in constant that addresses the ups and downs of the need of help, and auto repair shops, business and helps business owners opboth mechanical and collision, do not timize their operations to the market have a local marketplace that addemand,” he said. “This is where the dresses their daily need for skills, servskill loan concept originated, and that’s ices, equipment and parts,” he said. why we filed a patent on it. We are “The brick and mortar business is building regional trusted networks for cyclical, which makes it very difficult auto repair shops to collaborate forfor a small business to balance its mally, ethically and efficiently. In order changing demand for personnel with for shop owners to feel comfortable the ups and downs of the business on a loaning their best employees, every weekly basis. Employers don’t want to shop that borrows an employee has to by Ed Attanasio
30 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
agree to our terms and conditions, which state that they can’t hire a borrowed employee for a period of 12 months. If they need a full-time employee, we help them find one. This is the peace of mind and legal protection we help provide every shop owner, because we know that poaching has become a problem in this industry.” With the collision repair industry being like a roller coaster, Skill-Loan is making the concept of employee sharing a viable solution. By providing convenient alternatives for shops of all sizes, they can call plug in technicians when they need them the most. “We are enabling shops to fill in the gaps, so that it won’t impact their production or cycle time,” Massabki said. “If they need a tech to cover for one of their permanent employees while they go on vacation or are out on leave, we can help them. Or if a shop does not have enough work, they can loan out their employees for a pre-
determined period.” In addition to the employee marketplace, Massabki and his team have designed a portal where shops can resell parts they’re not using for repairs. “We discovered that collision repair shops often get stuck with used body parts that they can’t use for whatever reason,” Massabki said. “Often, they sit for years, but now we’ve created a portal where shops can sell these parts and maximize their profits. With auto dismantlers, used parts suppliers and specialty suppliers connected to the platform, all of our members are able to expand their networks, find and buy what they want, sell their excess inventory, as well as outsource their unique capabilities to other shops in a very efficient manner. They can also borrow tools and equipment from other shops through the Mechanics and Body Shops Marketplace app.” As the website and applications
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www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 31
Stacey Phillips is a freelance writer and editor for the automotive industry. She has 20 years of experience writing for a variety of publications, and is co-author of “The Secrets of America’s Greatest Body Shops.” She can be reached at sphillips.autobodynews@gmail.com.
Product and Process
Mitchell Products Created to Help Shops Deliver Proper, Safe Repairs with Stacey Phillips
Ten years ago, when a new automo- tegrated into Mitchell’s suite of prodbile was introduced to the market, the ucts. Concurrently, the company is repair of that vehicle was essentially moving its product suite to the cloud. the same as the previous year’s model. “With applications in the cloud, “That’s no longer the case,” exwe give customers a greater level of plained Jack Rozint, vice president of flexibility that is much easier to work sales and service at Mitchell Internawith than any desktop-based applicational. “New model vehicles tion—while we find greater are now likely to include scalability and an integration computers and electronic syscapability,” he said. tems that weren’t previously Autobody News talked to offered, and this means that Rozint about Mitchell’s latest new repair procedures are reinitiatives and how the comquired. With the overriding pany is helping body shops challenge of the complexity deliver proper and safe reJack Rozint, of vehicles, at Mitchell we pairs. vice president of sales and service recognized the need to proat Mitchell What are some of the vide our customers with the International new products Mitchell latest vehicle information to has introduced over the last year? help them deliver proper and safe repairs. It is our number one focus.” We had three industry firsts this As a result, the company has inyear. In addition to the Mitchell troduced a variety of products over the Diagnostics system and Mitchell Cloud last year, particularly focusing on OEM Estimating, we had what I believe is repair procedures and how these are in-
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the first artificial intelligence platform for the industry—Mitchell WorkCenter™ Assisted Review. With Assisted Review, we use artificial intelligence—machine learning—to review photos of damage and give advice and guidance to humans to help them with claim reviews. It’s pretty interesting and exciting, although it’s a little scary for some people to think that a machine is going to be evaluating the images. What I ask people is, ‘Would you prefer a machine that has actually been proven to be more accurate in photo-based image processing and has been trained on 500,000 similar types of damage, or a human that may be new to the industry and has never seen a damaged panel exactly like the one you are submitting?’ We have been working with a company called Tractable. The project grew out of that company looking for good applications to apply artificial
intelligence, especially with photo analysis, and how that might relate to the automotive claims process. The first iteration came out in the form of reviewing damaged panels and helping decide whether the panels should be repaired or replaced. There are pros and cons to it, but I think that overall, it’s going to help [facilitate] more efficient processing of claims, which ultimately benefits everybody.
With the changes in digital Q: technology and using the cloud, what is the learning curve for shops? At Mitchell, we see that as our A: challenge: How do we build more powerful applications that are
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be very powerful, flexible, scalable and extensible, so that’s our design principle in everything we are doing. Mitchell Diagnostics is a perfect example because it helps customers address repair issues with complicated vehicles. Because the application is in the cloud, it allows us to share data and information. We can enable a process that is more efficient for those repairing cars and processing claims. It’s so easy to use that virtually anybody with just five minutes of training can go out and do a pre-scan or a postscan on a vehicle. You can do it without even opening the hood and without getting dirty. It’s a very simple and easy-to-use product. If you have the training and the willingness, it has the capabilities to do some amazing things—such as the recalibration of a Ford F-150’s lane departure system. With Mitchell Cloud Estimating, we show users a four-minute training video, and we’ve seen them watch two minutes of that video and then start writing estimates. Then we come back a couple hours later, and they have written three or four estimates and are having a great time. There is literally no formal training required
because anybody who is familiar with any estimating system can sit down with the new cloud product and get up to speed quickly. That’s a big deal, because there are people coming into the industry who don’t have 20 years of experience writing estimates.
The 2,940-square-foot Mitchell Technical Research Center in San Diego, CA
Our goal is to put together the solutions that have depth and features underneath, and at the same time include a user interface that is intuitive, easy to understand and use and doesn’t require a lot of training.
Congratulations on the recent Q: launch of Program Freedom. What are some of the benefits you can share about this initiative?
I’m really excited about ProA: gram Freedom. The complexity in our industry continues to grow
almost exponentially. As a result, carriers are attempting to process claims more efficiently, because the insurance industry is competitive like never before. They are constantly looking at ways they can improve their policy holders’ service more cost effectively, and that leads to pressure on the collision industry to deliver more efficiently. Now we’re trying to deliver better service and repairs in an environment where the vehicle complexity is going through the roof. Each year’s models bring new challenges with repairability, whether it is recalibrating computers, bonding techniques, riveting, substrates, etc. It’s getting more complicated to repair vehicles today, which is requiring more training, equipment and tools. Program Freedom is based on Mitchell’s cloud-based estimating and communications platform. Repair facilities can choose to share data via EMS or BMS and decide which data fields are shared with each partner. We
think this is fundamentally critical to the industry. In the past, shops have had the ability to share data with whomever they wanted. I believe the industry has benefited tremendously from being able to do that. At Mitchell, we think it should remain that way because it has worked well for the past 20 years, spawning innovation along the way. That’s what Program Freedom is about at its core—it’s an alternative where you can continue to share data with program administrators and service providers on your terms, without the limitation of proprietary protocols and closed data networks. We’ve also made a commitment to the industry that we are not going to charge transaction fees for running your business using our data. We believe Program Freedom offers collision repairers a higher level of control over their business data. When one dominant provider has the ability to control business transactions and data, it creates an environment that stifles competition, pricing goes up, and service goes down. We at Mitchell wanted to provide an alternative to that. See Mitchell Products, Page 56
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www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 33
OE Shop Certification
Gary Ledoux is an industry veteran with 48 years’ experience in the automotive and OEM collision parts industry. His column appears exclusively in Autobody News. He can be reached at YesterWreck@yahoo.com
OE Shop Certification Programs - American Honda with Gary Ledoux
Welcome to the first of what will be a series of articles on one of the hottest topics in the collision industry today, OE shop certification programs. For our first one, we spoke with Rossana Alvarez, Assistant National Manager for Collision Parts Marketing for American Honda. ABN: Does your program have a specific name?
American Honda: The full name is ProFirst Certified Body Shop program, more often referred to as simply “ProFirst.” The program was introduced at the Northeast Trade Show on March 18, 2015 but the official launch date was April 1, 2015 to coincide with our fiscal year.
ABN: What is the main purpose of the program?
American Honda: As stated in our program term and conditions, the purpose of the ProFirst Certified Body Shop Program is three-fold:
■ Promote the correct, complete, and safe repair of Honda and Acura vehicles. ■ Provide support to those collision repair businesses who have demonstrated a commitment to a high level of customer care and satisfaction. ■ Provide Honda and Acura owners with a high level of confidence that their collision-damaged vehicle will be repaired in a complete and safe manner.
ABN: What are the program requirements?
American Honda: First and foremost the shop must be an I-CAR Gold Class shop or, as an alternative, be a VeriFacts VQ or Medallion shop. About 90 percent of our shops are Gold Class, about five percent are VeriFacts shops and five percent are both. We also have some OE-specific training that must be completed and maintained. This includes six on-line classes, developed by Honda and administered by I-CAR that must be completed by at least one estimator,
and two steel-structural technicians or one steel structural and one steel nonstructural technician. We have a rather lengthy tool and equipment list that the shop must have. However, we do not specify a brand of equipment, only that whatever the shop has meets our specifications. The shop must have a CSI system although we do not specify the provider. We know there are several out there and some of our dealer-shops have their own and I know some of the MSO’s have their own. We simply feel that the shop owner or manager must be aware of how his customers feel about their experience with the shop. We don’t have specific facility requirements but we expect the shop to be clean and professional looking and customer-centric where it needs to be. ABN: What are the program benefits?
American Honda: Each shop receives the following:
■ Wall plaque which is replaced each year ■ Outdoor metal sign ■ Use of the ProFirst logo on the shop’s website and social media sites ■ Free access to Honda/Acura repair information ■ Free access to Honda/Acura parts catalogs ■ Their shop’s name listed as a search result on American Honda’s ProFirst Shop Locator, which is located on American Honda’s parts and service consumer web site (owners.honda .com/parts-service/), and American Honda’s collision web site (collision .honda.com) ■ Free access to a technical help line which will go all the way to Japan if necessary ■ Honda and Acura owners can have their collision-damaged car towed free to a ProFirst shop if the vehicle is still under warranty and under the Roadside Assistance program ■ Shops receive several free collateral advertising items including consumertargeted brochures, a poster, and window-clings ■ Shops have exclusive access to a Los-Angeles based vendor who can
34 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
provide various promotional items emblazoned with the ProFirst logo and the shop’s name. ■ Each shop receives the ProFirst Quarterly magazine free
As an adjunct benefit, for about two years, American Honda has been promoting ProFirst shops in two of the insurance industry’s leading magazines. ABN: What shops are eligible?
American Honda: Both dealer-owned and independent shops are welcome as long as they meet the program requirements.
ABN: Must an independent shop be sponsored by a dealer? (If so has that caused any problems?)
American Honda: We went that route with a prior “recognized” program and yes, there were problems so we chose not to do that again.
ABN: Are any shops specifically ineligible?
American Honda: Our program is limited to US shops and dealers. We occasionally get calls from shops or dealers in Canada. Honda Canada has their own program, also called ProFirst, but it is under their own auspices. Other ineligible shops include those that cannot or will not meet Honda’s requirements.
ABN: What is the fee for the program? / Does the program run on an annual basis?
American Honda: The annual fee is $2700. It is the same for both dealer and independent shops.
ABN: Do you inspect every shop and if so, who does the inspections?
American Honda: Every shop is inspected on an annual basis to ensure program compliance. Some shops question the need for an annual inspection. However, managers change, technicians change and so maintaining compliance is an on-going issue.
ABN: Is there an optimum number of shops you want to have and if so, how close are you to reaching that number?
American Honda: Based on our calculations and the number of Honda and Acura units in operation, our ideal number is 1,200 to 1,250. We have been at that number for several months. We are still adding a few here and there but their placement is very strategic. Mostly, when shops call or email us and want to get on the program we ask where they are and if they are Gold Class or a VeriFacts shop or not. If they are Gold Class or VeriFacts but we don’t need a shop where they are located, we will likely put them on a waiting list. ABN: Have you had any shops drop out and if so, why??
American Honda: Yes, a few have dropped out. Some left because of a management change or ownership change. Some left because they joined the program for the wrong reason, thinking ProFirst was a DRP program. And some just could not or would not maintain their Gold Class status. ABN: Does Honda provide their certified shops with any brand-specific training? American Honda: As stated above, Honda provides six one-hour, on-line classes administered through I-CAR. More are planned for a later date. The current classes include:
HON10e – Honda and Acura Service Information HON11e – Honda and Acura High Strength Steel Repair HON12e – Honda and Acura Restraints Collision Repair HON14e – Honda and Acura Electrical Collision Repair HON15e – Honda and Acura A/C Collision Repair HON16e – Honda and Acura TPMS Collision Repair
ABN: Does Honda provide shops with any marketing or promotional materials? See Certification Program, Page 56
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36 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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800-508-3894 818-301-3511 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-8; Sat 7-6
Honda of Pasadena Pa sa de na
800-433-0676 626-683-5880 Dept. Hours: M-F 8-6; Sat 8-4
Larry H. Miller Honda B o is e
888-941-2218 208-947-6060
S an Fra nc is co
415-913-5125 Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5 partsws@sfhonda.com
Scott Robinson Honda
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 7:30-4:30 rickb@hinshaws.com
Honda of Fife
IDAH O
San Francisco Honda
Hinshaw’s Honda
F i fe
888-229-2956 253-922-3331 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6 Sat 8-5; Sun 8-4 parts@hondaoffife.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5
McCurley Integrity Honda
N EVAD A
Findlay Honda
Ri ch l a nd
Honda of the Desert
To rra nc e
Ca the dra l City
310-371-8320
760-770-0828
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6:30; Sat 7-5 mluna@scottrobinson.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30; Sat 8-5 fsanchez@findlayauto.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5:30; Sat 8-4 hondaparts@mccurley.net
Selma Honda
Findlay Honda Henderson
South Tacoma Honda
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 7-5 mpartridge@honda111.com
Larry Hopkins Honda
S el m a
Su nnyva le
800-717-3562 559-891-5111
408-720-0221 408-736-2608 Dept. Hours: M-Sat 8-5 parts1@hopkinsdirect.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 7:30-4:30 hondapartsmgr@selmaautomall.com
Sierra Honda
Metro Honda
Mo nrov i a
M ontcl a ir
800-322-8540 626-932-5614
800-446-5697 909-625-8960 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30; Sat 7:30-4 wholesaleparts@metrohonda.com
Ocean Honda
South Bay Honda Mi lpit as
877-475-1142 408-324-7460
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-4:30 mickw@oceanhondasantacruz.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5 parts@southbayhonda.com
C AL IFOR N I A
CAL IFO RNIA
H e nd e r so n
Tac o ma
888-234-4498 702-568-3531
888-497-2410 253-474-7541
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5 fhhparts@findlayauto.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5 bgregory@southtacomahonda.com
ORE GON
Lithia Honda of Medford
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-4 parts@sierracars.com
831-464-1800
Sa nta Cr u z
La s Ve g as
702-982-4260
800-456-6257 509-547-7924
M ed f o rd
888-471-7445 541-770-3763 Dept. Hours: M-Sat 7:30-6; Sun 10-5 medfordhondaparts@lithia.com
H AWAII
N EVAD A
Acura of Riverside
Bakersfield Acura
Acura of Honolulu
Rive r sid e
B akers f i el d
H o no l ul u
H en d e rs o n
888-701-0725 951-688-1500
661-381-2600
866-931-9086 808-942-4557
877-770-5873 702-982-4160
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-8; Sat 7-5 Ricardo.pena@hendrickauto.com Mark.reed@hendrickauto.com Jason.torres@hendrickauto.com
AutoNation Acura of South Bay To rra nce
310-784-8680 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5 iwashitas@autonation.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30 bakersfieldacuraservice@yahoo.com
Marin Acura
Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5; Sat 8-4 Johara@lithia.com Tokuda@lithia.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5:30; Sat 8-4 parts@marinacura.com
Metro Acura Mo nt c lai r
800-446-5697 909-625-8960
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-4 jmoore@findlayauto.com WASH I NG TO N
C or t e Mad era
800-77-Acura 415-927-5350
Findlay Acura
IDAH O
Lyle Pearson Acura
Hinshaw’s Acura F i fe
B o is e
253-926-3331
800-621-1775 208-377-3900
Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5 johnny@hinshaws.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6 acuraparts@lylepearson.com
Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30 wholesaleparts@metrohonda.com www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 37
Product Innovation Former Body Shop Owner Invents Photo Estimating App with Ed Attanasio
Ryan Taylor, 37, has 20 years of experience in the collision repair industry—which means he started his career when he was a teenager. In fact, he said, he opened his own shop in Vancouver, Canada with a little knowledge and a passion to succeed when he was just 17. “I started fixing dents when I was 14 and left home at 16,” Taylor said. “I began working for a dealership doing entry-level tasks in a service depart-
Ryan Taylor, a former body shop owner, invented Bodyshop Booster in 2009, an app that streamlines the estimating process for both customers and shops
ment, and after a while I began a little operation in the back of the dealership doing PDR and minor collision repair on cars, and it grew from there.” Taylor was waiting for school to start at the University of Victoria to pursue a business degree, but in the interim he decided to further pursue his modest business. “I needed a facility, so I got one, and then when the time came for me to go to school, I thought, ‘Why do I need a business degree [when] I own a business?’ So, I never did get that business degree, but things worked out anyway,” he said. The lack of a college degree didn’t dissuade Taylor, because by 2010, he had eight locations performing collision repairs and a catastrophe-response division performing hail PDR throughout Canada. In addition to the shops, the niche he and a partner developed involved repairing large fleets for car manufacturers in huge numbers, ranging from 500 all the way to 20,000. In 2014, Taylor had an opportunity to sell the business and began working on Bodyshop Booster, a concept he began back in 2009 when he started using it at his shops.
“We were looking for a tool that would give us a competitive advantage and provide convenience for our customers,” Taylor said. “The best way to describe it is Netflix vs. Blockbuster. For the average person today, to get an estimate from a body shop, you have to do it during business hours and take half a day off from work. So it’s a big commitment to get an estimate, but it really does not have to impede the [repair] process by using our very intuitive photo estimating app.” The timing was right—The technology and the need for Taylor’s app fortunately converged. “The rise of the photo applications started when some of the insurers (State Farm and All State, for example) came out with their own, and we saw that there were issues with many of them,” he said. “One of the main problems is the fact that customers inherently had no idea how to take a good photo with their phones. Invariably, they take a photo from 2–3 inches away and then the people at the shop are trying to build an estimate based on these poor-quality photos. What ends up happening is that the estimator will write a sheet that is lower than it should be. If you talk to any shop in this situation, you will hear their complaints about how low the estimates are based on these photos. “Shops ask us all the time about what they should do when customers walk in and say that they just want an estimate. So, we instruct them to say, ‘I’ve got your VIN number and I’ll look up all your information, but to save time, did you use an insurance estimate app to settle the claim on your vehicle?’ Since we have their VIN number, the customer is going to be forthright in most cases. We then tell [shops] to explain to the customer that if we find more damage, we can supplement the claim. So we’ve opened up that conversation, and now the shop has the information it needs to do a fair estimate.” Bodyshop Booster is all about making business easier, so Taylor created a “frictionless system,” he said. “Since I am in Canada, I often use an example by comparing some shops with beaver dams,” he said. “You have
38 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.
a river flowing and there are beaver dams all along all the way. All that does is restrict the flow, so at the very bottom of the stream, you have a trickle where you should have a river. It’s no different when customers are looking for an estimate. The shop is only open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and many people work; the customer has to drive to the shop and wait to get the estimate. All of these obstacles are being put in front of the customer and making the process more difficult. So, the concept behind Bodyshop Booster is to eliminate the beaver dams, resulting in a better flow of customers.” From the very beginning, Taylor and his team have done everything they can to make the app easy for shops and their customers to use, he said. “In just seconds, we can switch them over to Bodyshop Booster,” he said. “There are no downloads, passwords, you don’t need to go to the app store—it’s instantly in there within 2–
3 seconds. This tool uses a system called ‘guided discovery’ that takes the customer through the process of taking a series of photos of their vehicle in a way that [allows us to] accurately assess the damage. It allows us to evaluate the damage remotely and in most cases, we are able to get the customer in for a repair appointment without ever having to come to the store first.” By using Bodyshop Booster, a shop can also qualify a customer quickly, Taylor said. “A shop that uses our app can tell upfront from their photos whether it’s a job they want to do—such as a rust job, a restoration or a total loss,” he said. “By using the app, they can know right away and it allows them to cherry pick the marketplace. It becomes a very powerful tool as a result. No one has ever used Netflix and then said, ‘I can’t wait to go back to Blockbuster.’ Bodyshop Booster is the Netflix of the collision business.”
www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 39
OE Shop Certification with Stacey Phillips
Stacey Phillips is a freelance writer and editor for the automotive industry. She has 20 years of experience writing for a variety of publications, and is co-author of “The Secrets of America’s Greatest Body Shops.” She can be reached at sphillips.autobodynews@gmail.com.
Audi Discusses Car Manufacturer’s Certification Program, Repair Procedures & Training for Collision Repairers Taking the time to mentally reinvest in your business, attend hands-on training and understand your shop’s limitations can all help you run a successful collision repair facility, according to Mark Allen, collision programs manager for Audi USA. During a recent Guild 21 podcast sponsored by VeriFacts Automotive, Allen shared insight on Audi’s certification program and the importance of staying up-to-date on OEM repair procedures.
Guild 21: Audi vehicles must be repaired by OEM-certified shops. What process do you recommend shops use to obtain equipment that is approved for use in the Audi certification program?
Allen: Volkswagen Group of America represents Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati motorcycles, Lamborghini, Porsche and Volkswagen. The equip-
ment we certify is relevant within the house of Volkswagen. It’s important to understand why certain pieces of equipment are certified over others, and it all comes down to the culture of the company. It is what makes an Audi an Audi and a Ford a Ford. To say brand X should look, smell and taste the same as brand Y is not a realistic comparison. The realism of it is that there is a process that goes on about once a year, and also during the development of crash repair procedures. I know it seems like other welders should work with our vehicles, but there is a very strict process that welders go through. It’s the same with rivet guns. They are tested for strength and other parameters in Germany and then the research is submitted. The materials used to manufacture the vehicles are also factored in so that when the piece of equipment is checked, we are assured
40 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
that it will do the job.
scription-based certification programs where manufacturers form a network, Guild 21: Can an Assured Performbut it’s not necessarily as stringent as ance Network shop be part of the Audi ours. Then there are those I refer to as the “half-pregnants.” They are someprogram? what between where the Audi program is and where the Assured Performance shops are. We try and pick partners who will work well with our dealers, and we predicate it on having the dealer form a relationship directly with the body shop rather than us assigning it to them. We also look at where the vehicle population Mark Allen, Collision Programs Manager for Audi USA lives and meet the needs of the Allen: In my opinion, there are three people in those areas. different types of certification. There’s the Audi program that is very much Guild 21: Does Audi require dealer driven by repair procedures and dic- sponsorship to join the certification program, given the lawsuit against tates the tools, equipment and training used during the repair. On the other Mercedes for the alleged dealer extorend of the spectrum, there are sub- tion, and are there any thoughts about
changing this?
that goes on. Some of the best partners I have are independently owned body shops that serve our dealers. The network doesn’t just serve our dealers. It is the practice and basic belief of Audi of America. Everyone who works for the company and has either a vehicle assigned to them or leased, goes to an Audi-certified repairer if they are in an accident—no questions asked. If a vehicle is damaged in transportation, it goes to an Audi certified repairer. If there is a paint issue or warranty issue, it will go to an Audi certified repairer. We put our money where our mouth is. We make sure they go to those repairers.
Allen: We’re always looking at how to do the best job for our customers. Our belief up to this point is that the dealer is in charge of their immediate area and is familiar with the customers there best. To have a sponsorship relationship between the dealership, whether it’s their own body shop or an independent repairer, is pretty important to give that level of care to the customer. We don’t just look at it as a program. Realistically, the repairer is a key player in it and should work closely with the dealer. It’s not predicated on parts sales. I tell everyone there’s nothing on my performance review that says to sell one more part or one more part dollar. I don’t believe that is what we are about. We are responsible to take care of the general health and welfare of the motoring public and make sure the repairs are done to meet a certain standard so they have the same safety afforded to them after the repair as the original structure. The parts are an organic side byproduct of that. However, that should not be a reason why we have sponsorship. It should be that customer retention—the customer care
Guild 21: What are your thoughts about the restricted parts for OEM certification?
Allen: Yes, we restrict parts and probably have the largest catalog of restricted parts based on technical competencies required to do those repairs and install those parts. I feel it is appropriate for our customers and if someone who was not certified does the repair, I couldn’t stand behind the structure, and would suggest rebrand-
over to service engineering where the engineers promptly look at the vehicles. Collision repair engineers and technicians work together to determine and document the repair procedures as well as the specific tools that will be used. Then the vehicle is crashed into a wall. We measure it to ensure the vehicle meets the same specifications as when the car was first built. An average of 150 cars are used to ensure the models meet the various international standards. When a failure occurs, everyone looks at the repair scenario to determine what failed and how it should be fixed. Failure is how we learn. I don’t take it as a negative, but rather as an opportunity to move ahead. That information is incorporated into the repair procedures, and when production changes are made by a manufacturer, shops are not notified about the updates. I encourage all shops to check for updates on a regular basis to stay informed about changes, because they often occur without notice.
ing and retitling the car by the person who did that repair.
Guild 21: What frame machines are recommended by Audi?
Allen: There are three companies currently approved by the Volkswagen group: Celette, Car-O-Liner and Spanesi. These manufacturers all work closely with Audi and are involved in the process well before the car is released for sale. They have all of the CAD data and have shown that their measuring systems and frame systems can hold their measurements and tolerances in many different ways.
Guild 21: Can you tell us about Audi’s repair procedures?
Allen: As I explain to our incoming Audi of America employees, aftersales is kind of a misnomer. Manufacturers sell cars, service, parts and accessories, financing and a few other small products. Aftersales is where a lot of us live. When a vehicle is being developed, it goes through its initial engineering and clay modeling, and then moves into production. Afterward, a group of vehicles are moved
Guild 21: What are the parameters for shops that want to take part in the See Audi Discusses, Page 48
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VADA Celebrates 37 Years Representing Dismantling and Recycling Businesses in Antelope Valley, Glendale, San Fernando, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Santa Clarita Counties. www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 41
Historical Snapshot
—John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has a body shop in the family and has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988. He is the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com). Contact him by email at jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.
Database Enhancement Gateway Got its Start 10 Years Ago with John Yoswick
20 Years Ago in the Collision Repair Industry (January 1998) One insurance company is not only calling for the use of non-deployed airbags from salvaged vehicles, but is actually selling the units to repair shops.
Collision Industry Conference (CIC) attendees 15 years ago had a chance to compare three salvage decklids that a shop ordered from three different suppliers and brought to CIC for review
At the Collision Industry Conference in Las Vegas, Earl Cameron of Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) said his company has been selling airbag units to repairers from SGI’s salvage vehicles for about a year. SGI insures all of the 860,000 vehicles in the Canadian province. Like insurers in other provinces, SGI meets regularly with auto dealer and repair shop associations to reach agreements on REITs, repair practices, etc. But unlike most other insurers that sell salvage vehicles whole, SGI dismantles its salvage vehicles and sells parts, including airbags. “Because of our unique position of having these parts available, because of the concerns of controlling our claims cost, when we met with the repair industry, we made an agreement that for vehicles where the airbag had been deployed, we would provide recycled airbags that we were in possession of for the exact make and model of that vehicle, including color match,” Cameron said. “We started that at the
end of 1996, and it was well-received by the repair industry. What we are trying to do is repair as many vehicles as possible. The more total losses we have, [the more] our costs go up. The more vehicles we repair, the happier our customers are, and certainly the happier the repair industry is. It’s a win-win situation. “One of the other reasons that we wanted to use these up is that the airbags that were undeployed had been sold, and SGI had no way of knowing where they were going, whose vehicle they went on, and whether the customer actually knew they were getting a used or undeployed airbag. So by doing this, we provide the airbag to the repairer. The industry acceptance of that is because we’re providing the airbag, we know which vehicle it came off of, how many miles are on it [and] what type of accident it was in. That was the control they wanted from us to make sure they weren’t getting an airbag that may have been damaged or not properly stored.” Cameron admitted that his company has not done any crash testing of vehicles in which the undeployed airbags were installed. – As reported in Collision Expert. No major U.S. auto insurers have moved toward calling for the use of salvage airbag modules.
15 Years Ago in the Collision Repair Industry (January 2003) Auto recyclers had to cringe at the results of a Collision Industry Conference (CIC) committee’s latest demonstration. As it did earlier this year, the CIC “Parts and Airbags Committee” had a local shop order the same type of part—in this case, a decklid with taillights for a 1990 Honda Civic— from three different salvage yards. The shop was asked to use yards it normally does business with, and not to disclose that the parts were being used in a CIC demonstration. All three of the parts that arrived and were displayed at CIC would pose challenges for the collision repairer, according to Jeanne Silver, co-chair of the committee. One was a 1998 Honda decklid, which would’ve fit the
42 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
vehicle, but was not the same model year or newer as required by some insurers. It also took two business days to arrive at the shop, and while the auto recycler described the part as [being] in “good condition,” many at CIC described it as having “light damage.” One of the other parts, which arrived the day after it was ordered, was in good condition but was even older (1997), arrived with no taillights, and was identified on the invoice as a 1998 part with taillights and hinges (also missing). Based on the lack of a VIN sticker and its significantly lower mill thickness of paint, the third part was determined to be an OEM service replacement part that had been previously repaired. Also described by the salvage provider as being in “good condition,” the decklid had a damaged taillight, and collision repairers used such words to describe the overall
condition as “moderately damaged” and “junk.” On the upside, it arrived at the shop just two hours after it was ordered. Silver said any number of problems with the decklids – their age, condition missing parts – could’ve created cycle time delays for the shop. – As reported in Autobody News
10 Years Ago in the Collision Repair Industry (January 2008) Three collision repair associations are jointly launching what they foresee as a key tool in helping the industry improve the accuracy and fairness of the estimating databases. After more than a year of planning and development, the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG) is going live with its website, providing a single place for anyone in the industry to submit requests for reviews of labor times or operations in any of the See Retro News, Page 53
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Old School Know How
Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.
Selling, Buying or Expanding Your Business is Not a DIY Project with Ed Attanasio
Twenty-two years ago, David Roberts saw what was happening there and was the Chairman of the Board for figured it might go the same way in Caliber Collision Centers, Inc. when the collision repair industry. And we he wrote an article in Autobody News. were right, in a lot of ways. I thought The article, titled Shop Consoli- it was going to happen more quickly, dation, Is It Inevitable?, makes him but what has occurred is very close to look like the Nostradamus of the col- what we envisioned. I don’t know if lision repair industry. we organized the consolidation paIn his column, Roberts accurately rade, but we were certainly able to get predicted that consolidation was indeed out in front once it started. unavoidable. He saw two factors drivWhat were some of the biggest ing this process. Insurance companies changes that enabled the conwere already pressuring shops to cut solidators to grow and capture more of costs, improve efficiency and assume the market? many of the adjusting and administrative functions. Roberts also When that article was envisioned a rapid increase written, there was a in the sophistication of shop very adversarial relationship technology, which would rebetween the insurers and require more expensive equippairers. They just didn’t trust ment, tools, processes and each other. Insurers always training. As a result, he preDavid Roberts is held a hammer over the shops. dicted many of the 54,000 the former Chairman The shops fought back by shops in the industry at that of the Board for time would be absorbed by Caliber Collision and making sure that they got consolidators or close their now owns Automo- every single dime out of every doors because they couldn’t tive Group at FOCUS transaction, one way or anafford to make these invest- Investment Banking other. DRPs were just getting started and we recognized their potenments. tial to help control costs and reduce In 1995, he co-founded Caliber friction—and get more cars to repair. It Collision, the world’s first collision took a long time for providers like repair consolidator. As Chairman of Caliber to organize and perform on Caliber through 2003 and the initial their promises—and to convince the leader of its Corporate Development insurers they could be trusted as partteam, Roberts wrote the book on how ners. Today, as the insurance industry to change, grow and thrive in this ingoes through its own consolidation tensely competitive industry. Helping with huge cost pressures, they are raise more than $125 million in capital much more willing to send more and for Caliber, he also led the acquisition more transactions to their DRP partof 37 individual shops and Multiple ners because it allows them to reduce Shop Operators while at Caliber. their costs and improve service. And In 2003, Roberts stepped away it’s not just the consolidators, but also from his role at Caliber and formed the other MSOs and high performing inAutomotive Group at FOCUS Investdependents that are benefitting as ment Banking, a team of six professionals with deep experience advising well. Today, the top 300 consolidators on mergers, acquisitions and capital and MSOs fix 40 percent of the repairable vehicles and make 80 percent formation to automotive investors, colof the profits in an industry that has lision repairers, distributors and dealshrunk by 20,000 shops over 22 years. erships.
Q:
A:
How were you able to forecast What do you do now at FOCUS Q: the future of the industry so preQ: Investment Banking? cisely more than two decades ago? We represent collision repairSome of it was luck, but much A: ers, paint jobbers and car dealA: of it came from my experience erships in raising capital and selling to
in the medical industry years before. I
consolidators, other MSOs and private
44 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
equity firms. Over the last three years, we’ve sold nearly 100 shops and paint distributors, including some of the largest transactions in the industry. We also advise many Twenty Groups, conferences and investment firms, helping them understand what’s going on across the entire automotive ecosystem. And we currently advise some really fast-growing MSOs that are seeking strategies and capital to “grow and thrive” and compete with the big guys. For other clients who know they are not positioned to grow or have decided to exit the industry, we help them navigate the sale process, find the right partner and maximize their return. When they ask us for advice, we don’t sugarcoat it. It’s a tough industry today and if you don’t have the drive, capital, management and scale to compete, oftentimes the best decision is to sell.
How do you know which shops Q: are prime to be sold and/or acquired by a consolidator?
We’ve built a proprietary database that has information on A: literally every shop in the US. With
all this data, we can pretty much slice and dice the entire industry with useful information about the shops’ volumes, the paint they spray and their paint distributors, their DRPs and their competitors. We also track every transaction and shop opening, including brownfield and greenfield locations. This allows us to produce a very robust picture of where acquirers are headed, the kinds of shops they are acquiring and information on the values they are offering to sellers. We’ve established trusted relationships with key executives in the pool of acquirers—from consolidators to large MSOs to private equity firms. Because we understand the strategies, goals and criteria important to each of these potential acquirers, we know it’s not one size fits all. Sometimes the best fit for a seller may be a regional MSO or market competitor rather than a consolidator. This unique set of data, knowledge and experience helps our clients get better positioned for selling their businesses.
Why do shop owners decide to Q: sell while others want to build and grow?
Some operators have kept up A: with the dramatic industry changes and built large and still-grow-
ing MSOs. Others have found it more difficult and are trying to figure out what’s next. Increasingly, owners who are looking to exit their businesses reach out to us with questions about their value, the right time to sell, the right way to go about selling, whether they should sell their real estate along with the business, who is the best acquirer, who will take the best care of their employees. Many growing MSOs want to learn more about their markets, how they can access growth capital and strategic advice on the best ways to do that. A lot of the shops that ask us about their next move have already decided to sell their business. Sometimes it’s after a consolidator has approached them, looking to buy, made an offer or asked them to name a price. Most often, they are looking for us to confirm their decision and help them through the process. Somebody who has spent their entire life building a business doesn’t want to make a mistake when they sell. They want to take care of their employees and they don’t want to sell for less than they’re worth. Some have unrealistic ideas of their value, while others undervalue their business. Some are worried that they can’t retire on what they think they will get, but they also realize things aren’t going to improve by ignoring reality. So we give them the facts as opposed to wishful thinking. The decision to sell is as much an emotional one as it is financial. It’s never easy to move on to the next stage of life. But our job is to help our client navigate through all of this, with information and experience they can’t find anywhere else.
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Stacey Phillips is a freelance writer and editor for the automotive industry. She has 20 years of experience writing for a variety of publications, and is co-author of “The Secrets of America’s Greatest Body Shops.” She can be reached at sphillips.autobodynews@gmail.com.
Tips for Busy Body Shops with Stacey Phillips
The Basics of Blueprinting: Better Cycle Times, Improved Efficiency, More Accurate Estimates By implementing the blueprinting process, you will want to have a really process, collision repairers are finding clear definition of what’s going to hapthat hidden damage can often be un- pen to that vehicle and how all the covered before the vehicle is repaired. pieces come together.” John Shoemaker, business develHe said there are five main objecopment manager for BASF, said that tives to blueprinting: developing an acblueprinting can lead to better cycle curate plan of repair that identifies all times, improved efficiency and a more labor operations; communicating the accurate estimate. During the repair requirements to all deSEMA show in Las Vegas, partments; devising a schedShoemaker shared blueprintule for repair; putting together ing tips with body shop owna plan for resource utilization; ers and managers who and eliminating work stopattended his Society of Collipage. sion Repair Specialists Some of the useful tools to (SCRS) seminar: “The Basics consider having on-hand durJohn Shoemaker, of Blueprinting.” ing the blueprinting process business develop“Hidden damage is the ment manager for include a point of use cart, BASF, shared tips number one reason for delays which eliminates errors as well on blueprinting in the repair process,” said as trips back and forth to the during the SEMA Shoemaker. “Blueprinting is a office; a camera; a tread depth show in Las Vegas team effort that involves the gauge; measuring and blend estimator, the body technician, the tools; dent viewer boards; system scanpainter and your parts people. When ners to verify trouble codes and diagyou’re finished with the blueprinting nose restraint system codes; and parts
carts.
15 Steps for Successful Blueprinting: 1. Review initial estimate Shoemaker stressed the importance of reviewing the initial estimate to triage the repair and determine if tear-down is really necessary. “You can find out quickly what the vehicle needs by scanning the estimate,” he said.
2. Map the vehicle Different marker colors can be used to map a vehicle. For example, use a green marker to indicate operations that have been approved for repair; a yellow marker to show supplement operations; and a red marker to note areas not approved to repair or that are identified as pre-existing damage. Shoemaker said shops can visually enhance the repair plan using circles, arrows or short notes and write customer requests or repair messages on
the windshield.
3. Verify vehicle information and take preliminary photos When verifying the vehicle information, Shoemaker said to look at the make, model, trim level decoding, mileage, production date, exterior and interior color of the vehicle. He said that one of the most critical things to do during the process is verify the preliminary photos, which should include four separate shots that capture each corner of the vehicle in a photo, as well as photos of the license plate, the instrument cluster, one with the engine running, dash warning lights and mileage, VIN plate and production date. 4. Pre-scan diagnostics A pre-scan of the vehicle will locate any diagnostic trouble codes with the vehicle. “That’s where you are going to
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pick up your time, by finding issues in front of the repair” said Shoemaker. “Through the OEM process, you’re going to find a ‘tree.’ Some people call it a rabbit hole. The time you’re going to bill for is based on how far down that rabbit hole you’re going to have to go to correct the trouble code.” He recommends having fully charged batteries before conducting any scan. In addition to a pre-scan, Shoemaker said a post-scan of the vehicle will verify the need for recalibration.
5. Damage review When conducting a damage review, Shoemaker recommends starting at the end with the most damage and working panel by panel to the opposite end of the vehicle to identify the repairs needed. Part of the repair process includes a review of the Procedural Pages (P-pages), which describe the included and non-included labor operations. The Society of Collision Repair Experts (SCRS) Guide to Complete Repair Planning is a free resource available on the SCRS website and includes operational reminders for the collision repair in-
dustry.
6. Disassemble for repair First, Shoemaker recommends positioning your parts cart to store all the parts removed and separate the usable from the unusable. Place the clips in labeled bins and identify any that are broken. “Disassemble with reassembly in mind,” said Shoemaker. “We want to disassemble completely so when you go to put it back together, you’ve got every single thing you need.”
7. Perform the R&I (remove and install) process Repair access can include headlamps, mounting brackets, windows and Interior trim while refinish access includes door handles, weather strips and fender liners. “Make sure to include this information in the line notes,” said Shoemaker. “The estimate is a communication device that tells everybody what you are doing and why.”
8. Inspect lighting and wiring The number one CSI complaint, according to Shoemaker, regards lamps. As a result, he recommends inspecting
all wiring harnesses for kinks/breaks, looking for broken bulbs and identifying the number of broken wires in the line note. A parts line can be added for connectors, tape and solder.
9. Inspect inner vehicle structure When reviewing the structure composition, Shoemaker said to pay close attention to the metals you are working with. OEM websites, AllData and ICAR guidelines are all resources that can help shops determine steel type and ultimately, the reparability of the vehicle.
10. Structure measurement and repair: “Similar to scanning, any vehicle that has considerable damage needs to be measured,” said Shoemaker. Establishing torque box measurement includes measuring select points, determining the damage, reason (squash or mash) and severity. Shoemaker recommends shops itemize each repair required. “Document exactly what you replace,” he said. “We live in a litigious society. We own the repair—we give everyone a lifetime warranty.”
11. Determine additional damage
This includes associated damage to adjacent panels, mechanical repairs and interior repairs from secondary impact and restraint systems. Some of the websites that can be accessed to verify the repair process in respect to restraint systems include: OEM procedures, ICAR, AllData and OEM1stop.
12. Refinish requirements During this stage of the process, Shoemaker said to determine blend requirements, the multi-stage process, paint times, as well as any clear and stripe requirements. When looking at identifying the paint type for a certain vehicle, use your paint manufacturer’s system, such as BASF’s SmartTrak system.
13. Address other requirements Checking the fluid and tires are also important parts of the process. “Any fluids removed should be measured,” said Shoemaker. “This allows for adequate replacement and billing.” After identifying the specific OEM requirements, reusable fluids can be stored in a sealed container and any Freon recovered should be documented. Regarding tires, note the tire See Blueprinting, Page 60
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Continued from Page 41
Audi Discusses
training offered by Audi?
Allen: Training is an important part of Audi’s certification process. We currently have one training center up and running in Ashburn, VA, where we had over 450 seats available this year, and have filled 90 percent of them. Hopefully, by the mid-first quarter of next year, we will have a second facility as well. We’ve had a capacity issue in the past, so we’ve only been able to allow technicians to be part of the program, but going forward we may be able to rethink that as capacity opens up. We currently share space with our sister brand Volkswagen. They utilize the facility about 50 percent of the time. We also welcome insurance companies to come to our training facility. We think it’s a healthy way to have a conversation about why you should do this and not that. We have quite a few folks who come through the program. The GEICO insurance national training center is about four and a half miles away. Over the years, we’ve formed a good partnership with them where they will bring their estimators and managers to our week-long training, which consists of IIHS instruction as well. We show them the number of Audis and Lamborghinis we test and how the physical bodies are cut up. The technicians receive hands-on training and get to make mistakes. I don’t look at making a mistake as a negative. I look at it as a learning opportunity. It’s better for the tech to make a mistake at
the training center than on a customer’s car. Overall, we’re trying to take care of our customers in the best way possible and form a team that includes the technician, the body shop, the insurance company and of course, Audi America.
Guild 21: One of the challenges shops have today is being able to get insurers to agree with the OEM repair procedures—not just with Audi, but with other manufacturers as well. Do you have any suggestions on how collision shops can deal with that?
Allen: After listening to Todd Tracy [The Tracy Law Firm] and Erica Eversman [chief counsel at Vehicle Information Services] speak at SEMA, I think there are a least 42 million reasons someone would want to follow the OE repair procedures! I hope everyone knows where to find them. Those who participate in the OE roundtable—a group of OEM manufacturers who meet for collision repair purposes—review this information on a regular basis. We have a collision website that has access to every participating OEM’s repair procedures and their position statements. For those who aren’t familiar with the website, I encourage you to check it out: www .OEM1stop.com. Todd Tracy made an excellent point during the SEMA show. He advised shops to research, document and photograph. Because influencers repair vehicles in a way that is incongruous with the OEM repair procedures, there needs to be notification given to the
Honda Fit Crash Test for Tracy Law Firm
customer. Realistically, what I think should happen if aftermarket parts are outlined on an estimate or the final RO (repair order), is that it should say something like, “Audi as redesigned by xyz insurance company representative.” In these circumstances, I believe they should accept the liability for that vehicle. If you are a technician who is coming up with a repair process that is your own and does not follow the OEM repair procedures using the tools and equipment prescribed, do you think you have a better chance than the well-founded, well-funded group that crash tested the car? Probably not. Most likely, I think you are going to wind up talking to Todd Tracy.
Guild 21: What are some of the things you would like to share with those in the industry about Audi?
Allen: First of all, moving forward as an industry we have to start looking at ourselves, and recognize that we can’t repair everything. I think shops have to look at what the large preponderance of their business is and take steps to ensure that we are doing good work for our customers, whether it’s repair-
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Karco on behalf of attorney Todd Tracy of Tracy Law Firm on Dec. 18, 2017, conducted this IIHS moderate-overlap crash test of a 2009 Honda Fit with a roof bonded with 3M 8115 adhesive instead of the welds Honda demands. The bonding and other non-OEM repairs done on this test Fit were meant to mimic the repairs done on a same-generation 2010 Fit owned by Tracy’s clients Matthew and Marcia Seebachan 48 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
ing an Audi, a Ford or a Toyota. Whatever the brands are that come through your door on a regular basis, repair them to the very best and highest ability that you can. It may sound great that you have an Audi R8 V10 plus in your shop, but if you don’t know how to fix it, you are liable and potentially putting your customer at risk. Know your limitations and pass that work on to the shops that focus on those vehicles. If you take the time to build those relationships, they will most likely pass on vehicles that your shop is likely to repair. I think doing this would serve everyone much better. I highly recommend taking the time to make a mental reinvestment in your business. Read industry publications and attend educational events like SEMA’s SCRS seminars, CIC, and the Northeast Show. Take advantage of the learnings offered and find out how others conduct business. The better we repair vehicles, the better we will be as an industry. As a result, I believe shops will start to say, “We are not willing to do it cheaper just because it’s cheaper, because that’s wrong. I’m willing to do it the right way for the right reasons and the right compensation.”
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Industry Insight
—John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has a body shop in the family and has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988. He is the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com). Contact him by email at jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.
Recent ‘Who Pays for What?’ Survey Looks at Scanning, Frame, Mechanical Operations with John Yoswick
More shops are charging and getting not differentiating between pre- and paid for post-repair “health scans” of post-repair scans,” Mike Anderson of vehicles than they are pre-repair scans, Collision Advice, co-creator of the but both procedures increasingly withareEd Attanasio“Who Pays for What?” surveys, said. being done and being paid for, accord“So while a direct comparison to preing to recent “Who Pays for What?” vious results isn’t possible, it’s intersurvey findings. esting to note that in 2016, more than The first of the 2018 quarterly one-third of shops said they had never “Who Pays” surveys, which is focused asked to be paid for any vehicle scan. on refinish operations, is being conThis year, only about 12 percent of ducted throughout the month of Janushops said they have never asked to be with Ed Attanasio ary. Click here (https://www.crash paid for a post-repair scan.” network.com/collisionadvice) for more Among those shops that have neinformation or to take the surgotiated to be paid for pervey. forming these scans, 64 Each of the quarterly percent are paid “always” or surveys, conducted by Colli“most of the time” by the sion Advice and CRASH eight largest auto insurers to Ed Attanasio Network, focuseswith on a differperform the post-repair scan, ent aspect of collision repair. and 51 percent are paid “alOne of the 2017 surveys ways” or “most of the time” Mike Anderson looked at frame and mechanfor scanning the vehicle preical operations, including vehicle repair. A year earlier, only about 41 perscanning. Nearly 800 shops across the cent of shops said they were paid withto Ed country responded thatAttanasio survey, “always” or “most of the time” for eiwhich asked shops what procedures ther pre- or post-repair scans. they bill for, and about how frequently In terms of other frame and meeach of the largest auto insurers pays chanical labor operations, about 51 for those procedures. The surveys, percent of shops say they are paid “alwhich have been conducted since ways” or “most of the time” to pres2015, consistently find that more than sure test and purge a vehicle cooling with Stacey 85 percent of participants say they Phillips are system when necessary as part of a reusing the surveys to improve their port, yet more than 40 percent of business. shops acknowledge never having Last summer’s frame and me- billed for this not-included procedure. chanical “Who Pays for What?” surAnderson said it’s become increasvey found that about 1-in-5 shops said ingly important to check the OEM re-
Shop Showcase
to initialize an electronic check-valve. So the labor time for this may vary based on whether this procedure can be done manually, versus requiring a scan tool.”
steering angle neutral point. That’s why it’s a procedure that was asked about on the “Who Pays for Survey?” While 80 percent of shops nationally are paid “always” or “most
Social Media for Shops
SEMA Show Goes On
The “Who Pays for What?” surveys have found that while ALLDATA continues to be the most widely used source of OEM repair information for collision repair shops, the automaker websites and I-CAR’s “Repairability Technical Support Portal” have gained in usage over the past two years
The cooling system procedure was among those for which more shops reported being paid regularly compared to the previous year’s survey (a 5.9 percentage point increase). More than 40 percent of shops said State Farm always pays for this procedure when it is necessary, performed and billed for; among the top
Media and Publicity for Shops
of the time” to disconnect and reconnect the battery when it is necessary and included on the invoice, about 10– 12 percent of shops acknowledged they have never even negotiated to be paid for this procedure. This is despite the fact that it is clearly often required by the automaker, such as when welding on a vehicle.
Shop Strategies
Body Shops Giving Back with Stacey Phillips
eight largest insurers, Progressive is the least likely to pay for the procedure, but still 28.5 percent of shops reported that Progressive pays for it “always.” Anderson said it might be easy to overlook a seemingly simple “not-included” procedure, like disconnecting and reconnecting the battery, on estimates. But what sometimes seems like a basic operation from the estimator’s perspective can turn into a project out in the shop. If the technician must remove trim panels to gain access to the battery, that adds more “not-included” time to the job. There also can be other model-specific procedures that must be followed when a battery has been disconnected. On some Toyota trucks, for example, reconnecting the battery also requires correcting the
Tips for Busy Body Shops with Stacey Phillips About 51 percent of shops report being paid “always” or “most of the time” for “pressure test / purge a vehicle cooling system,” up from 45 percent in 2016, yet the “Who Pays for What?” survey also found that more than 2-in-5 shops say they’ve never billed for that procedure when it was necessary and completed
My SEMA
they have never with charged for (so perpair procedures in relation to testing Stacey Phillips haps haven’t performed) a pre-repair and purging cooling systems. vehicle scan, compared to only 1-in“Many automakers are now using 10 shops who said they have never electronic check-valves on their coolcharged for a post-repair scan. ing systems,” he said. “You can’t just “In previous surveys, we asked manually bleed those cooling systems more general question about scanning, any more. You need to use a scan tool
Shop Strategies
50 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
with Victoria Antonelli
Two-thirds of shops sublet out wheel alignments, according to “Who Pays for What?” surveys, but among those who perform them in house, almost 70 percent bill for them using a flat-fee while the rest use estimating system time billed at the shop’s mechanical rate
“Every vehicle manufacturer says you must disconnect the battery for welding,” Anderson said. “Some shops believe that if they’re using a ‘memory saver,’ that is sufficient. That’s not accurate. You still need to disconnect the battery cable. Once again, it is important to research the OEM procedures on battery disconnect/reconnect.” Interestingly, the survey found some variation by region in the billing/payment practices for the procedure. In the Midwest, more than 20 percent have never charged for it, and only 64 percent are paid “always” or “most of the time.” But in the Northeast, 88 percent are paid “always” or “most of the time,” and only 5 percent have never charged for it. The survey did find some uptick See Who Pays for What?, Page 60
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In Reverse
Gary Ledoux is an industry veteran with 48 years’ experience in the automotive and OEM collision parts industry. His column appears exclusively in Autobody News. He can be reached at YesterWreck@yahoo.com
Training, Certifying and Standardizing in the 1920’s with Gary Ledoux
their focus to servicing the cars they Training Providing a steady stream of automo- sold, both as a way to create revenue tive technicians, both mechanical and and to show customers how good their body, is a challenge today, not unlike service was so that when they needed the 1920’s. At least today we have I- another new car, they would rememwith Gary Ledoux CAR, Automotive Management Insti- ber who took care of them. This cretute, and others. In the 1920’s we had ated a need for even more repair the “University of Uncle Sam.” mechanics, and more support for voOn November 9, 1917, the Fedcational training at the high school and eral Board for Vocational Education secondary school level. authorized payment of funds to public High school auto shop evolved school for the purpose of providing into to pre-auto-shop classes at the juntechnical training, including that of ior high school level and post-highwith Stacey Phillips auto and truck repair, for military perschool auto shop night classes for those sonnel and the “University of Uncle people not ready for secondary school Sam was born. In Los Angeles, for exbut seeking a better understanding of ample, five highs schools trained 675 auto mechanics. As cars got more sosoldiers in twenty-nine different trades, phisticated, educators broke auto meincluding auto mechanics. After the chanic classes into several distinct war ended, many schools bought the categories including engine rebuilding, equipment outright, including mechanwith Ed Attanasiotransmissions, electrical and so forth. ics tools and equipment, and kept the This, it was thought, would better preclasses going for the high school stupare a young mechanic for what they dents. Thus, the advent of high school would likely find in the real world of auto shop got a “jump start.” auto repair if they worked for a large Many educators saw auto shop as garage or auto dealer. A full page newsa way to keep boys interested in school paper ad for a large Washington, D.C. and as such, encouraged and supported garage in the late 1920’s reveals 11 difsuch curriculum. Auto shop, and referent departments including body and lated vocational classes became the dofender, paint, auto upholstery, electric, main of boys who were “good with their tire, battery, blacksmith, general repair, hands” rather than “college bound.” In and more. Both Ford and Chevrolet ensome respects, it stigmatized those boys couraged their dealers to departmentalin the “auto shop” strata as something ize for greater efficiency and customer “less” than the college bound boys. On service. This likely gave rise to the the other hand, it made high school dealer body shop. more meaningful and pragmatic for Despite all the classes and varythose students who probably would not ing regimens, one thing the schools have gone to college no matter what didn’t teach, was business managetheir financial or social standing may ment. Graduates of these automotive be. In the 1920’s and 30’s, high school schools, and those that took auto shop auto shop opened the door for many in high school were prepared to work a boys to something other than farming, wrench or a spray gun, but not a penor the drudgery of a factory job. It precil or an adding machine. Business pared many would-be mechanics, auto classes were virtually non-existent. refinishers, auto upholsterers and fuThis created a long-standing problem ture shop owners. whereas many mechanics and body Prior to WWI the auto industry men went to work for large garages was focused on selling people their and after they became adept, decided first car. It was sell, sell, sell, with not they would strike out on their own and a lot of emphasis on maintenance and start their own business. Working a repair. When the war ended, auto dealwrench or a hammer and dolly is not ers anticipated a return to the selling the same as running business, paying mentality but instead, the country went bills, meeting payroll, and dealing with into a downturn and new cars were not customers. Subsequently, many failed. selling. In what may have a been a first True business management training for in what would be a recurring cycle the collision repair industry would need throughout the years, dealers turned to wait until February 1983 when the
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52 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
ARMS training was established.
Certified Technicians Today, in the 21st century, the issue of licensed or certified body technicians continues to periodically bubble to the surface of the industry kettle. The trouble is, there is no universally accepted way of denoting who is, and who isn’t a qualified, competent mechanic or body technician. ASE offers testing for mechanical as well as body technicians and is generally perceived as valid inasmuch as an industry standard for testing goes. But no law exists that says everyone, including industry people and consumers, has to accept ASE testing as valid. I-CAR is the training arm of the industry and is generally accepted in the collision repair industry as a premier training entity providing technicians with a “Platinum” status for completion of prescribed training. However, there is no law that codifies the training and designates that someone completing the training is qualified to perform safe and complete repairs. I-CAR training provides the knowledge, but not necessarily the skill. But the concept of licensing, or certifying mechanics or body men or shops to ensure competency is nothing new. As far back as pre-WWI when the idea of the personal chauffeur/mechanic began to wane and the independent auto repair industry was in its infancy, anyone and everyone who thought they could repair a car was getting into the business. Some were competent or at least gave the repair an honest try. Many were inept, and some were just simply con-artists. This soon led to a public outcry for honest and ethical “garagemen” and competent mechanics who could make a satisfactory repair. Legislators and industry observers agreed something needed to be done, and the move was on to license or certify auto repairers. At first, it seemed that everyone was behind it. But along with certification went unionizing. Mechanics calculated that if they unionized, then became certified, they could command higher wages. Garage owners and car dealers quickly made the same calcu-
lation. The garage owners and car dealer owners quickly used their influence to kill the first attempt at licensing or certifying. By the mid-1920’s the issue was dead… for the time being. The issue of certification, not technicians but shops, would not gain much traction for almost 100 years when the OE’s began certifying shops that met their criteria.
Standardizing Repair Costs As the independent repair network began to evolve in the 1920’s, the public perception of the auto repair business was not so savory. Many mechanics and garages were honest and provided value, some did not. And those that didn’t gave a black eye to everyone. Garage service managers and auto-maker engineers and service related executives wanted to clean up the industry and reform the motoristmechanic relationship. To do this, standard times were established for standard procedures. In effect, “flatrate time” was invented. Advocates thought that customers seeking to have work done, should be able to go into a shop, be quoted a price, have the work performed, and pay the price quoted. Advocates calculated that this simple procedure would remove motorists worry and anxiety when having their car repaired and thus, provide a more friendly and cordial atmosphere. The basic concept was sound. The problem was, who would create the flat-rate times? Ford Motor Company established some of the first flat rate times for their dealership mechanics. These were based on elaborate time-motion studies in controlled settings, removing brand new parts on brand new cars and replacing them with other brand new parts on the same brand new car. No time allowance was made for rusty bolts, broken bolts or other work impediments. Ford also created some flat-rate times for body repair with a similar problem – but worse. It was easy to remove a fender or running board that was brand new and clean. It was quite See In Reverse, Page 56
Continued from Page 42
Retro News
“Big Three” estimating databases. “This is to help people who use these products when they have a question about a labor time, missing parts or inaccuracies that they feel are in a database,” said Lou DiLisio, an industry consultant who helped create the DEG. “This is for everyone in the industry: insurance companies, repairers, whoever uses the products.” The DEG also announced at the recent Collision Industry Conference (CIC) that it has hired a full-time administrator to track and follow up on requests submitted. Aaron Schulenburg, who has experience as an insurance field appraiser and collision repair shop manager and consultant, has been named to lead the DEG. The DEG has been created and funded to date by three associations: the Automotive Service Association (ASA), the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP) and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS). Although users of the estimating databases have always been able to
submit “requests for review” to the database providers, the process has not always been simple or easily accessible. The idea behind DEG, DiLisio said, grew out of an effort by March Taylor, a Hawaiian shop owner who died this past August and who had
In 2008, Aaron Schulenburg was named the first administrator for the Database Enhancement Gateway, about a year before he became executive director for SCRS
begun using the CIC website in 2001 to assist with the submission and tracking of requests for reviews to the three information providers. “We’ve basically picked up where the efforts of March left us,” DiLisio said at CIC. “He would spend countless hours going through database inquiries, making sure they were valid
SIERRACHEVROLET
and sending them on to the information providers, following up on them and getting back to the people who sent them in. All in all, it helped improve the accuracy of the database.” The DEG has worked with the information providers to develop a common electronic form that all three will accept for request for reviews. The website will assist shops in submitting the necessary information, and responses and any responses or resulting changes will be tracked, published and logged. – As reported in Directions. Ten years later, the DEG (www.DEGweb .org) has processed more than 11,500 inquiries. Schulenburg left his position with the DEG after about a year to become executive director of SCRS.
5 Years Ago in the Collision Repair Industry (January 2013) I-CAR welding trainers say one of the first and most important steps to good welding may be the most-often skipped: making some practice or test welds each time. I-CAR’s Jeff Peevy said conducting some practice welds on the same type of material as on the vehicle helps ensure the welder is dialed in
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properly. The practice welds can be destructively tested—the only sure way to check if a weld is proper. Clifton Meaders, a claims supervisor with California State Automobile Association (CSAA), said he has asked during reinspections of repaired vehicles to see the destructive test welds a technician made, but they rarely can produce them. “That’s one of the things we see as well,” said Mark Olson of VeriFacts Automotive, which conducts in-shop technical audits and training. “The destructive tests are just not there. It’s not being done.” – As reported in CRASH Network (www.CrashNetwork.com), January 14, 2013. Peevy is now with the Automotive Management Institute, and Olson is now with Vehicle Collision Experts, LLC (VECO Experts). A 2017 “Who Pays for What?” survey (www.crashnetwork.com/collision advice) found that 22 percent of shops that perform and invoice for “set-up and perform test welds” say they are paid “always” or “most of the time” by the eight largest auto insurers; about three-quarters of shops said they have never asked to be paid for that procedure.
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HONDA www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 53
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54 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 55
Continued from Page 52
Continued from Page 34
a different job when the parts were mangled and twisted. As with anything new, some people liked the system, some did not. Good mechanics who could meet or beat the times had no problem. Other, less talented mechanics simply moved to another garage that did not use flatrate time. Some garages lost half their work force when flat-rate times were implemented. Training, certifying and standardizing – concepts that started in the 1920’s and may have changed over the years, but still challenge the auto repair industry, both mechanical and collision, today.
American Honda: Yes as stated above. And we will soon be introducing promotional videos that shops can have custom made with their own shop name, logo, and message to be run on their web sites or social media sites.
In Reverse
UPDATED DAILY www.autobodynews.com
Continued from Page 33
Mitchell Products
Can you tell us about the new Q: Mitchell Technical Research Center?
We’ve had a technical research A: center for years in San Diego, only a mile and half from our main of-
fice. We recently moved it to a larger space. We manage all of our data inhouse. We build our own database for parts and labor and conduct time studies and research into repair methods and techniques. When new vehicles are introduced to the market, we take them to our tech center and use a very sophisticated 3D laser system to measure them. The car is put up on a hoist and scanned in detail, so we can generate super precise measurements. We also have a training room at the 2,940-square-foot tech center where association meetings are held, such as the ones hosted by the California Autobody Association.
What can collision shops exQ: pect from Mitchell moving for-
Certification Programs
ABN: Does Honda have a field staff dedicated to this program? If so, what is their focus?
American Honda: We have ten field personnel spread across the US. Their main focus is to on-board new shops, provide support to existing shops, and provide administrative support for Honda’s national office.
ABN: Does Honda provide a magazine or other printed materials for their certified shops?
American Honda: We provide ProFirst Quarterly magazine, containing technical articles as well as profiles on ProFirst shops and other helpful information. ABN: What has been the biggest chal-
lenge in establishing the network?
American Honda: When we first got started, shops considered the “certified shop” concept to be the domain of the more exotic European marques like Jaguar, Mercedes or BMW. They didn’t see Honda and Acura as being “exotic enough” or using exotic substrates to a point that warranted a shop certification program. Eventually they saw which way the wind was blowing across the collision industry landscape, and jumped on board. ABN: What has been the biggest challenge in maintaining the network??
American Honda: We notify the shop 90 days in front of their expiration date. Under normal circumstance, and if all goes well, this should give them plenty of time to do what is necessary to complete the recertification process. However, some shops fail to pay in a timely manner or have lost their Gold Class status or failed to keep up with their Honda-specific training. Many times when this happens, and the shop cannot rectify the situation in time, the shop expires and is removed from the program.
ABN: Do you have a website where consumers can find your certified shops?
American Honda: Yes, as mentioned earlier, our Shop Locator is on American Honda’s parts and service consumer web site (owners.honda.com/ parts-service/), and American Honda’s collision web site (collision.honda .com) These web sites also serve as a platform to help educate consumers on the importance of proper vehicle repair performed by qualified technicians. ABN: What do you see for the future of OE certification programs? American Honda: The collision industry is changing before our very eyes. Going forward, certification programs will need to adapt in a proactive manner to the new challenges before us.
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ward?
In the industry right now, it’s siA: multaneously challenging and exciting because there is so much
change. I’ve been in the industry for more than 30 years, and the pace of change is greater than anything I’ve ever seen. It’s daunting at times for many people, and I understand that completely because repairs are getting more complicated. I also find it exciting because there is a lot of change. This gives us the opportunity to do things more efficiently. We have a new management team in Mitchell’s Auto Physical Damage Solutions division, led by Debbie Day, plus some veterans who have been with the company for 20-plus years. We have a nice mix of people who have been at Mitchell a long time with a serious injection of new energy. There are some exciting things on the horizon. We’ve been able to accomplish a lot this past year and have a lot more coming in terms of the latest generation of technology. Everything we do is to support collision shops in making proper and safe repairs.
56 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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San Bernardino (909) 888-8686 (909) 571-5483 Fax Mon.-Fri. 7:30-6; Sat 7:30-5 parts@lovesubaruparts.com www.sbsubaru.com
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Subaru of Santa Cruz Santa Cruz (888) 844-7131 (831) 420-1402 (831) 420-1923 Fax Mon.-Fri. 7:30-6; Sat. 8-5 parts@santacruzsubaru.com www.santacruzsubaru.com
www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 57
Victoria Antonelli is a freelance writer and model, based in Los Angeles. She has been writing for the collision industry since 2013. She can be reached at vantonelli.autobodynews@gmail.com.
Techs of Tomorrow
Concours Body Shop in Reno, NV, Prioritizes Education, Innovation with Victoria Antonelli
When Gil Grieve purchased his first shop when you go out of business.” I body shop in 1985, it was a 4,000- spent everything I owned on that square-foot, one-man operation. Today, paint booth; I had to tell my vendors Concours Body Shop has grown to I wasn’t going to be able to pay them 40,000 square feet and 30 employees, with Gary Ledouxon time, so they gave me 90 days, and with $6 million a year in sales. Autobody News reached out to Grieve to learn more about his apprenticeship program, risk-taking strategies, and thoughts on the future of the industry.
In Reverse
OE Shop Certification
1. Why do you think your single-location shop has been so successful? with Gary Ledoux Timing has a lot to do with it; I was in the right place at the right time. Don’t Gil Grieve took Concours Body Shop from get me wrong—the industry was still 4,000 square feet and one employee in 1985 chaotic back then, but in a different to where it is today: 40,000 square feet and way than it is today. What really set 30 employees me apart from the competition was my decision to invest in a $40,000 it ended up working out. The paint downdraft heated paint booth in 1987. booth ended up giving me an advantage with Phillips Paint booths at that timeStacey were $2,000, for 10 years that no one else in the area so everyone thought I was crazy. I had had. I could do a quality paint repair shop owners coming up to me saying, and a quality paint job in a timely man“We’ll give you ‘this much’ for your ner and at a faster rate than anyone else.
OE Shop Certification
Shop Management with Ed Attanasio
HYUNDAI
They all just stood back and watched.
2. Do you have any OEM certifications? No, I haven’t jumped on the OEM bandwagon for certifications yet because I just don’t see the big value in it. I feel that I can get the same education online through Google as I can through an OEM certification, and I don’t have to spend $250,000. There are times it limits me, however. Where I live, we just don’t have a big population with Mercedes Benz, Porsches, or Audis; this is truck country. It will come back to haunt me one day, but right now I’m still not convinced that that’s the direction it’s all going to go.
3. What is experience with finding employees? I have a rapport with the local high schools, and so that’s where we find most of the students who enter our apprenticeship program. I make a point to go talk to the counselors and tell
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them to let me know if they have any students who even think they’re technical or talk like they want to be technical anything in this world, and I will interview them. I’ve had pretty good success with that. One of my employees, Mark Leonard, has taught collision repair and refinish at the Truckee Meadows Community College Carson City campus for 10 years, but only one of his students has entered our apprenticeship program. It can be difficult to find youth who are interested in anything technical because we don’t have any real arts programs in this area. Since there isn’t a good course of entry into the field, it’s hard for students to figure out if they even have the talent for it.
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January to [the following] January. Out of the three students, typically one will be chosen to continue working at the shop. When the students begin the apprenticeship, I give them a $2,500 tool box; if they make it, they get to keep it. For the first 30 days, they learn how to read an estimate and evaluate a vehicle. After that, the students spend the next 30 days in the detail shop seeing what the end product will look like. Once the 60-day introduction is complete, they’ll begin dissembling and assembling parts. From there, they’ll begin working on dings and dents, and then panel replacements. At this stage, they’ll be focusing on more cosmetic damages, so they can learn the repair process and procedures. We aim to get the students to a point where, by the end of the year, they’re fixing bigger dents and changing door skins and quarter panels. If they make it through the program, we’ll keep them at that stage for a couple of years until they’re ready to get into structure, like working on rockers, rails and floor pans. Once they’re at the point where they can take a job, they’ll start with small front and rear hits for a couple more years. When they start to get
an attitude and get impatient, they’re usually ready to move on to something else. An attitude isn’t always a bad thing; it’s a sign of desire. One of the biggest challenges for a lot of shop owners is paying these students enough to survive while they progress from the beginning stages of the apprenticeship to a point where they can take a job confidently.
5. Do you use social media to promote your shop? I’m not going to lie to you, I’ve really been challenged as a business owner and a person of my generation to get on the social media bandwagon. Sometimes, it hurts me to admit that I don’t have a big Facebook presence, but it’s honestly by choice.
6. What’s the current state of the industry, and where do you think it’s heading? This whole industry is a moving target. It’s ever-changing in all areas, whether you’re talking about consumers, carriers, auto body shops or manufacturers. I stand back in sheer amazement some days. It’s a revolving clock—12 o’clock being the best and 6 o’clock being the worst—and it
tends to go from 12 to 6 every five years. In terms of the workforce, we’re at a time where we need to get the youth of this country to understand that collision repair is a big industry and it’s a good industry. Currently, it’s kind of at the downside of its life, but I can see a lot of aspects improving in the future, because they have to. Right now, we’re all in a holding pattern waiting to find out what the solution is going to be and no one knows what it is. In my opinion, until the OEMs and the carriers sit down at a table and figure out each other’s agenda and learn to work with each other, nothing is going to change. To learn more about Concours Body Shop, visit concoursbodyshop.net
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Continued from Page 29
Lawsuit
settlement practices. Orso will still need to prove his cases in a trial, but these rulings from the appellate court reinforce rulings across the country that show insurers are not in control of the collision repair industry as much as the industry has been led to believe. Insurers have more factors to consider than their own costs and concerns. Safe vehicles for the consumer must be at the heart of every repair, but the collision repair industry still has a long way to go. “I would not expect utopia tomorrow. There are players out there that have bought into the business model that insurers are the customer. The wrongful death suit in Texas shows the responsibility is squarely on the shop for repair quality and safety,” Orso says. “The companies that truly want to settle claims, by negotiating all elements of the claim, will respect the shop’s intentions and move on. They will see these cases as an ‘I told you so’ or ‘a-ha’ moment. Others that have bought into the fight See Lawsuit, Page 60
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Continued from Page 50
Who Pays for What?
in shops’ research of OEM repair methods. Nearly half (48.8 percent) of shops responding to the survey said they research OEM procedures all or most of the time; this was up from 42.7 percent two years ago. Only 18.2 percent of shops said they either “never” or “only occasionally” research OEM procedures, an improvement from two years earlier when more than 25 percent said they rarely or never did. According the survey data, ALLDATA remains the most popular source of OEM information, but I-CAR’s “Repairability Technical Support Portal” and the automaker websites have each seen a steady increase in usage over the past two years, with nearly half of shops now reporting they use those sources. “Some shops think if they fix the same type of vehicle frequently, they don’t need to check those procedures every single time,” Anderson said. “But at one point last year, when you replaced a quarter-panel on a Ford Mustang, the procedure required re-
placing the roof as well. Today, Ford has a sectioning procedure. So it’s important to research the procedures every time because things change.” Anderson said that while he is pleased to see more shops researching the proper repair methods, “at the end of the day, this should still be done 100 percent of the time.” Shops can take the current “Who Pays for What?” survey (or sign up to be notified about future surveys) at https://www.crashnetwork.com/collisionadvice. The four different surveys, conducted one at a time per quarter, each take about 15–25 minutes, and should be completed by the shop owner, manager or estimator who is most familiar with the shop’s billing practices and the payment practices of the largest national insurers. Individual responses are not released in any way; only cumulative data is released. At the website, shops also can download the results of previous surveys, reports that break the findings down by region, by insurer and by DRP vs. non-DRP. The reports also include analyses and resources to help shops better understand and use the information presented.
I-CAR, ASE Present Annual Master Repair & Refinish Technician Award
I-CAR® announced it has awarded the I-CAR Platinum™/ASE Master Collision Repair & Refinish Technician of the Year award to Kurt Money of Shotwell’s Auto Body in Santa Rosa, CA. Money has more than 42 years of experience as a collision repair technician. He was selected from hundreds of individuals who hold both I-CAR Platinum recognition and ASE Master Collision Repair and Refinish certification for demonstrating superior commitment to the industry and the importance of training. The award was presented on Nov. 15 at the annual ASE Technician Awards banquet in San Diego. He has been an I-CAR live and hands-on instructor for more than 25 years and won two Instructor of the Year awards during that time. He was recognized in 1998 as 3M/ASE Collision Repair Technician of the Year. He is currently a technician at Shotwell’s Auto Body and is Platinum Recognized as a Steel Structural, Electrical and Mechanical, Refinish, Aluminum Structural, and Non-Structural technician. Money has always enjoyed working on cars. He opened up the
Utah Valley Trade Tech class catalog one day, and auto body was the first thing he saw. He hasn’t looked back in more than 40 years. “No two accidents are the same—the work is different every day,” Money said. “The cars are changing with new metals and materials, and I love coming to work every day and doing the work.” Learning has been important to Money his entire career. “When I started, I just learned from the guy next to me. I would ask why things worked a certain way and couldn’t get an answer. I don’t want to do work just because I’m told that’s the way—I want to know the reason. Training and education have given me those answers. It’s what people need,” Money stated. “I-CAR is thrilled to recognize the value Mr. Money places on continuing education and technical knowledge, along with his unwavering commitment to the industry and to I-CAR,” said I-CAR CEO & President John Van Alstyne. “It is a testament to the quality of his work and his ability to pass knowledge and skills along to other technicians.”
60 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Continued from Page 47
Blueprinting
size and depth in the line note, as well as the brand.
14. Complete repair plan and take final photos When completing the repair plan, Shoemaker said to verify the “Incl” labor and conduct a P-Page audit for all the vehicle parts and procedures. When in doubt, he recommended consulting the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG) database found at degweb.org. Funded by the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP) and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), DEG was developed to help improve the accuracy of collision repair estimates. The repair plan can be used as a checklist for final photos. “Take the photos in the order of the estimate and label them for clarification,” said Shoemaker. Continued from Page 59
Lawsuit
song, ‘delay, deny and defend’ should consider this Second Circuit decision Continued from Page 30
Employee Sharing
begin to gain momentum, Massabki is hoping that his creation eventually becomes the go-to site for job sharing, borrowing and swapping. “We have more than 400 shops and suppliers in the California Bay Area onboard, and the marketplace is now open and fully operational. We are also actively recruiting independent reps to promote our solution nationwide, and recently added Indianapolis, IN, and Las Vegas, NV, to our markets,” he said. One of the early adopters of this concept is Tony Olea, operations manager at Dynamic Auto Body in San Jose, CA. “The Mechanics Marketplace app is a greatly needed resource for us in many ways,” Olea said. “It will help us quickly find temporary technicians to cover for some of our techs, give us an additional resource to locate used
15. Vehicle value and reparability When determining a vehicle’s value, Shoemaker said shops can conduct thorough research on the NADA website and indicate the exact make, model and trim as well as the current mileage. The reparability of a vehicle can be determined by taking the appraisal total and dividing it by the vehicle value as a percentage. For example, if you take the appraisal total of $8,695 and divide it by a vehicle value of $12,025, the repair percentage is 72%. Shoemaker said that by comparing the repair percentage to your local laws, it will help you determine if a vehicle should be repaired or considered a total loss. “Overall, when you are blueprinting, be thorough and descriptive, itemize all repairs, take photos and document, document, document,” said Shoemaker. “Use line notes whenever possible. They’re free—they don’t cost a thing. If the insurer says, ‘No,’ you haven’t given them enough information.” as a wake-up call. I think it remains to be seen what happens. I really don’t know why it takes a nuclear war to correct bad behavior. In the end, it should be about fair negotiations with a goal of claims settlement.” parts for some of our cars and help us outsource some of the mechanical work we don’t do here. I am also very happy that we can now sell our used body parts and increase our profits with the app.” Another value-added feature that was recently added to the Mechanics Marketplace is a job posting portal. Imagine a CareerBuilder or Job.com that caters specifically to the automotive repair industry where collision professionals can post their resumes and shops can search for new prospects. To connect to his members on an ongoing basis and build on his concept of trusted networks, Massabki is going to conduct a series of quarterly meetings. The meetings will help create closer relationships with them and allow Massabki to learn from them as well. “We want to brainstorm with our members and find out what their needs are, so that we can provide solutions that will become the norm in the automotive repair industry,” he said.
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SVP of BASF Coatings Discusses Changes Ahead for Collision Industry rience to vehicle owners.” The all-female build was led by The BASF Automotive Refinish CoatBogi Lateiner, co-host of All Girls ings booth stayed busy throughout this Garage on the Velocity network. year’s four-day SEMA Show in Las Lateiner gathered more than 90 women Vegas, serving as the location for events throughout the country to build the 1957 ranging from exclusive autograph sesChevy Montage that was unveiled at the sions to the unveiling of an all-female BASF booth on Oct. 31. The Montage vehicle build. project was created to bring women in the automotive industry together to work on building a unique vehicle, giving some women their first opportunity to work in a garage next to another woman. The R-M Onyx HD fan-voted color, created by Lateiner with the help of BASF’s color experts, in addition to the fan-submitted color The booth also included new color name “Tenacious Teal,” selected by offerings, premium builds, business soLateiner, were also revealed at the lutions and KC’s Custom Colors by BASF booth. BASF R-M, launched by KC Mathieu “I absolutely appreciate all of my of KC’s Paint Shop. Additionally, fans and everyone who helped make BASF exhibited the Time Merchant, a this happen,” Lateiner said. “BASF has been a huge supporter of this build from the very beginning.” Autobody News reached out to Chris Toomey, SVP of Coatings Solutions at BASF, during the SEMA Show to learn more about BASF’s plans for the future and some of the industry changes he foresees. Can you share information Chris Toomey, SVP of BASF Coatings, standing at the about your role at BASF and BASF Automotive Refinish Coatings booth at the SEMA the current focus of the comShow with the 1957 Chevy Montage pany? 1932 Ford Roadster by Goolsby CusI started my career at BASF in toms displaying a custom color devel2011 with a background in the chemoped with the BASF Color Ideation ical industry, and became SVP of process, and the Roadster, a 2017 Garia Coatings Solutions in 2014. Within Gold Car featuring BASF Coatings. my responsibility, there are two main Chip Foose’s Custom 1971 Ford focuses. One is providing paint for the Mach One Mustang, the most recent OEMs, and the other focuses on the creation by renowned designer/builder refinish business. Chip Foose, was also unveiled at the BASF booth. The unique vehicle was a 2010 Mustang GT inside of a 1971 Mustang body, and featured Glasurit 90 Line. “BASF offers our customers a complete partnership, starting from before the car is even built, through every repair or improvement it undergoes,” said Marvin Gillfillan, BASF Bogi working with BASF and her team to create the Vice President, Business Man- custom color for the Chevy Montage agement, Automotive Refinish. “Our focus is to put customers first, imBASF is the largest chemical inproving productivity and profitability dustry supplier to the automotive into help deliver the best customer expedustry. We have a substantial amount by Autobody News Staff
62 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
of time and money invested in various elements of automotive. We’re involved with the OEMs regarding topics such as light weighting, autonomous vehicles, energy reduction and processes. We are looking at how we can help the OEMs operate more efficiently and assist them as
they are developing the technology in the cars of the future. BASF conducts a lot of research and development on that side. How does this relate to the collision repair industry? There are probably three big impacts: First is the surface on the cars. You are starting to see the lightweight materials and synthetic materials coming in. From a coatings standpoint, there are a lot of challenges in this area. Second is the electronics. I believe it’s going to apply to the industry overall as repairers become more specialized and familiar with high tech equipment on the vehicles. There is going to be a different expertise required for that than what has existed traditionally. Third is the business model. Technology, the use of Bogi Lateiner, co-host of All Girls Garage on the Velocity big data and integrated sysnetwork, gathered more than 90 women throughout the tems are all going to affect the country to build the 1957 Chevy Montage that was unveiled at the BASF booth at SEMA on Oct. 31
See Changes Ahead, Page 65
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Axalta Announces 2018 Custom Finishes Calendar Competition Winners
Glen Mills, PA – December 11, 2017: Axalta Coating Systems announced the winners of its Custom Finishes Calendar Competition. The vehicles chosen are some of the most prestigious automotive builds in the United States fin-
ished with Axalta brands, including Cromax®, Spies Hecker®, Standox® and Imron®. Axalta representatives selected winners that demonstrated superior use of color, finish quality, technical difficulty, design originality and artistic merit. The twelve winners featured in Axalta’s 2018 Custom Finishes Calendar are: Cover and April: Gil LeBlanc, 1959 Chevrolet Corvette (Cromax) January: Brenda McDaniel, Heath Hoover, 1948 Chevy 3100 (Spies Hecker) February: Mike and Linda Jo Mitchell, Abe Zigan,
2016 Harley Davidson Road Glide (Spies Hecker) March: Bob Garwood, 1965 Buick Riviera (Cromax) May: Jeremy Miller, Grant Brown, 1955 Ford F100 (Spies Hecker) June: Greg Nuss, Matt Jasperson, Chuck Badour, 1937 Mack Jr (Imron) July: Wayne Hunter, 1970 Plymouth Superbee (Cromax) August: Dwayne Roberts, Jerron Settles, 2016 Dragster Sinister Series (Cromax) September: Gary Alexander, Kevin Zwgart, 1965 Chevrolet Nova (Cromax) October: Mike Moss, Rob Deming, Derek Morawski, 1966 Gerhardt Indy Car (Cromax) November: Wayne Davis,1955 Chrysler Imperial (Spies Hecker) December: Richard Broyles, 1941 Ford Roadster (Cromax) Axalta Coating Systems 50 Applied Bank Boulevard Glen Mills, PA 19342, USA
Axalta selected Des Kleineibst, award winning automotive photographer to capture the winning vehicles. Kleineibst’s experience in lighting, studio and on-location photography combine to highlight the quality of workmanship and unique characteristics of each vehicle. For more information visit axalta .com.
Mitchell 1 Has Enhanced Its Prodemand Auto Repair Information Software With The Addition Of 1search Plus
This new interface streamlines the user experience with an easy-to-use graphical design and intuitive workflow to help auto repair technicians work more efficiently. “We are delighted to introduce a new user interface in ProDemand that follows the same logic that auto repair technicians use when diagnosing and repairing vehicles,” said Gary Hixson, senior market manager for ProDemand
at Mitchell 1. “This advanced search technology returns all of the repair information that technicians need in a single lookup, helping them improve both efficiency and accuracy.” The new interface takes repair information to a whole new level of intelligence with advanced search technology that scans the vast database of Mitchell 1 content and returns only the specific information the technician needs. OEM and SureTrack®
For more information visit: www .mitchell1.com.
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64 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
real-world information are more tightly integrated and returned together in a single location, with no switching between tabs or scrolling through long lists of articles. The user selects a vehicle, enters a search term, and 1Search Plus returns information in a unique graphical layout, organized in the same flow that auto technicians use when approaching a diagnosis and repair. Key features and benefits include: • The graphical card format is intuitive and easy-to-navigate. • Cards are returned in workflow format, following how technicians would naturally work on a job, making their process easier to complete. • Results are more targeted, so technicians can spend less time scrolling as data is now categorized into more specific cards. • OEM and real-world information are now classified at the same level, not separate “buckets,” streamlining navigation between ProDemand modules. • Cards populate only if there is relevant information, so technicians only see information for the results they need.
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Continued from Page 62
Changes Ahead
whole value chain of the collision industry once a car is involved in an accident. This includes the information transmitted up front until the car is finally delivered to a customer, and how that is managed and communicated. What were some of BASF’s highlights during the SEMA show? This year, we had two main focuses. One of them is that we’re certainly promoting all of our brands more broadly than we have in the past— brands that fill the lower-cost niche in the industry. We tended to rely on, and still rely on, Glasurit and R-M brands, and now we are really bringing our full brand portfolio to the marketplace— Limco and Norbin. The second thing is that we’re always very proud of our builds and our car unveilings, especially the allwomen build this year. It’s very exciting. There is a need to have more people in the industry. We need more diversity; we want to raise the profile that there is a great place for women in
itself—is to make the shop profitable. We want to get involved in conversations with shops about what drives profitably—sometimes it’s operations, sometimes it’s human resources and sometimes it’s something else. We can play a role in all of this. That means being integrated with all of the partners—working with the distributors and the shops to figure out how we can deliver solutions that the shops really require. We have great products, but I think the biggest change to BASF in the last few years is driving to the shop what it is that it needs, and how we Women traveled from around the U.S. to Phoenix, AZ, to provide solutions for them. contribute their talents to the creation of the Chevy Montage Service levels, dependability, manufacturer level. This is not a surengagement with our partners—they prise. At some point, we are going to all build off the base of great products. reach the end point of consolidation. This year, we’ve introduced cusWhat really needs to happen is a greater tom colors. We’re working with shop degree of integration between the difowners and car enthusiasts when they ferent value partners in the chain. I want a certain special color that is not think you’re going to see the manufacstocked, or they need help designing turers more closely integrated and see a color. We bring in BASF designers the distributors partner more closely from the OEM side and work with with the shops. them to design that perfect color, beAt the end of the day, our job— cause they are artists. and this is where BASF differentiates The trend is going toward custhis industry. What types of changes do you foresee in the future? Consolidation is happening all over the industry, and it’s going to continue to happen, whether it’s at the shop level, the distributor level or the
tomization. We’re seeing it with OEMs as well. It allows that specialization and helps drive retention and awareness by the industry. What is your advice to collision repairers? Choose your partners wisely. There are some companies that are very forward-thinking about this, and there are some companies that are a little late to the game. Collision shops really need to understand their own business model and how they need to evolve into what they want to become. How are BASF performance groups helpful to repairers? There are a couple of different levels. The first level is that they provide an opportunity for shops to get a perspective on their own data in a collective form. We share comparative data with them on what really good shops are doing and how they are driving efficiency, and help them understand and see where they may have opportunities. It’s really an opportunity for education development at a business level for shops to help them increase their performance. For more information on BASF, visit https://www.basf.com/us/en.html.
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5445 Gasoline Alley Drive // Bakersfield, CA 93313 www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 65
BASF Customer Andrew Lee and Driven To Cure Receive State of Maryland Award
BASF customer Andrew Lee and the charity he founded, Driven to Cure, recently received the William Donald Schaefer People Helping People Award from the Maryland Comptroller. The award was presented at the National Institutes of Health in Washington D.C. on November 17.
Andrew was diagnosed with a rare form of kidney cancer when he was 19. Now 21, Andrew chose to fight his cancer and raise awareness of rare kidney cancers by creating the charity. He has raised more than $400,000 and shared his story of hope to thousands with his Driven to Cure custom 2015 Nissan GT-R. “We’re honored to support Andrew and Driven to Cure,” said Dan Bihlmeyer, BASF Marketing Director, Automotive Refinish. “His spirit and determination are an in-
CIECA Calls for 2018 Speakers
CIECA is seeking experienced thought leaders and industry professionals to share their knowledge and expertise as it works with the industry to explore emerging issues, promulgate leading practices and advocate for the collision repair industry. CIECA currently has the 2018 Annual Symposium and 2018 Monthly CIECAst speaking opportunities available for you to get involved.
CIECA events bring together all segments of the collision repair industry to discuss current trends, forecasting for the future, and how to prepare for the road ahead. CIECA’s goal is to offer content that will help with solutions to pain-points and challenges facing the industry at this very moment and in the coming year. If interested in presenting at a CIECA event, please submit a proposal. http://www.cieca.com/info .php?pnum=85a0b123a93bda&pre view=1
spiration for all.” BASF provided the custom DTC orange Glasurit paint with a pearl effect for the GT-R and has continued to support Andrew and Driven to Cure at various events including the Cars & Fight Cancer event October 14-15 in Virginia and at the SEMA Show n 2016. “Andrew was chosen because of his amazing passion and commitment to raise awareness and money to help find a cure for rare cancers,” said Peter Franchot, Comptroller. “His dedication and bravery are inspirations to all Marylanders. The work he’s doing brings hope and improves the quality of life for people around the world.” The award, established in 2012, honors the public service of former Maryland Mayor, Governor and Comptroller, Schaefer. The award is presented to Maryland residents in each of the 23 counties and the city of Baltimore who demonstrate an unwavering dedication to helping others. For more information visit: www .driventocure.org.
Polyvance Releases New Headlight Tab Repair Online Training Course
Polyvance’s new PR-03 Headlight Tab Repair course is an online training course designed to teach technicians and estimators how to repair broken headlight tabs with the nitrogen plastic welder.
The course is an interactive video-based training program that takes roughly one hour to complete.
The course will teach technicians how to evaluate whether a damaged headlight is repairable, how to identify the type of plastic from which a headlight housing
is made, how to fusion weld broken headlight tabs with the nitrogen plastic welder, how to finish a repaired headlight to original appearance, and much more. The course is broken up into small segments, and can be stopped and started whenever necessary. Polyvance hopes this new course will help body shops repair these parts instead of replacing them. Shops that perform plastic repairs can reduce their cycle time, reduce their average cost to repair, and make increased profits by keeping the labor dollars in the shop. The course is approved as part of I-CAR’s Industry Training Alliance and is redeemable for one I-CAR credit hour. Those interested in the training course can sign up at polyvance.tortal.net. The price of the course is $99.00. For the benefit of its clients, Polyvance has uploaded a promotional video that highlights a few of the repairs covered in the course. The video can be found on their YouTube channel. Contact Kurt Lammon at 800633-3047 for inquiries.
Auto Care Association Announces New Director, Data and Innovation The Auto Care Association recently announced the addition of Daniel Zenko as director, data and innovation under its strategic development department.
Zenko brings nearly two decades of expertise in data analysis and enterprise research to the association, having most recently served as the senior director of research operations at RainKing Solutions for more than 10 years. During his time at RainKing, Zenko pioneered the company’s first research development department, which expanded to a team of more than 200 employees. Under Zenko’s direction, RainKing developed new and sophisticated data analytics tools for IT sales, and was featured on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest revenue growth USA companies five times. His primary focus was on building
66 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
the research coverage universe, data analytics and quality assurance, as well as integration of internal data with external, vendor-provided data. He also built the foundation of RainKing’s research design and processes, led the development of research tools, as well as the analysis, evaluation, and reconciliation of vendor data. Before his role at RainKing, Zenko was the research director at Bigdough.com, a provider of financial markets intelligence (now integrated with Ipreo). Zenko was the architect of key research department workflows, where he created and led both data integration and quality assurance teams. Zenko designed a groundbreaking tool to measure trading commissions generated by asset management firms, with ranking and trading volume and trading commissions per each brokerage.
Zenko will bring his experience and skills to the strategic development team, where he will lead the Auto Care Association’s efforts in category management data collection and reporting, as well as revamping how the association’s members interact with its industry-leading data in real time. Zenko will also play a key role in working with the association’s market Intelligence team to harmonize its in-house research and identify new industry data sources, in addition to leading the development of new member-facing research and analytics tools. “Bringing Daniel on board with the association was an easy decision,” said Bill Hanvey, president and CEO, Auto Care Association. “His phenomenal track record of developing and implementing real-time data solutions for market intelligence-centric organizations made him a perfect fit for what we’re working towards at the Auto Care Association for our members.”
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www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 67
CARSTAR Offers Tips on How to Keep Your Car Safe and on the Road Cold weather can create some of the harshest driving conditions of the year. The months between October and February top the list for accidents, vehicle damage and injuries.
are free of ice before heading out on the road—and consider updating with new flexible windshield wipers before the snow hits • Make sure all mirrors are clear and properly adjusted for visibility
the front wheels to go. If your rear wheels are sliding left, steer left. If they’re sliding right, steer right
“Advanced safety technology is a great development, but it’s no match for Mother Nature with her icy roads and snow drifts,” says Dean Fisher, COO for CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts. “With proper preparation, some preventative driving measures and an eye on the weather report, drivers can protect themselves and their vehicles during the winter months.”
Slow Down and Stay Back: • When there is snow or ice on the ground, drop your speed to a safe limit
• If you have standard brakes, pump them gently
CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts repairs thousands of vehicles damaged in snowy, icy accidents each year. Here are a few helpful tips to make winter driving safer. Check Your Visibility: • Add de-icer to your windshield wiper fluid •
Make sure your windshield wipers
• Clean your headlights and check the bulbs in all of your vehicle lights—front and rear
• Leave extra distance between your vehicle and the car in front of you for additional safety
• Do not use cruise control on icy roads
• Use caution on bridges, overpasses, and infrequently travelled roads because they may be slippery from ice
• Use extra caution when driving on one-lane roads
Skidding Safely If your rear wheels skid… • Take your foot off the accelerator • Steer in the direction you want
• If your rear wheels start sliding the other way as you recover, ease the steering wheel toward that side. You might have to steer left and right a few times to get your vehicle completely under control
• If you have anti-lock brakes (ABS), do not pump the brakes. Apply steady pressure to the brakes. You will feel the brakes pulse—this is normal If your front wheels skid… • Take your foot off the gas and shift to neutral, but don’t try to steer immediately.
• As the wheels skid sideways, they will slow the vehicle and traction will return. As it does, steer in the direction you want to go. Then put the transmission in “drive” or release the clutch, and accelerate gently.
Prepare for a Snow Day: • If your vehicle has rear wheel
drive, add bags of sand or kitty litter to help make your vehicle easier to control
• Pack a snow day kit just in case you get stuck. Important items to include are a blanket, gloves, hat, water, granola bars, flashlight and extra batteries, extra cell phone battery, flares, wooden matches in waterproof container, compass, scissors, rope and first aid kit
• Prepare a toolbox for digging your car out with foldable shovel, 2×4 planks to put under tires, ice scraper and snow brush, reflective triangles, flares and exterior windshield cleaner
If the unfortunate winter accident does occur, CARSTAR recommends having a collision plan in place so you aren’t stranded on the roadside waiting for assistance. CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts offers high-quality, reliable repair service in 32 states and 10 Canadian provinces. Just call 1-800-CARSTAR when you have an accident and they will send the tow truck, contact your insurance company, arrange for a rental car and repair your car. For information and store locations, visit http://www.CARSTAR .com.
AWDA Announces New Leadership With Three Officer Appointments
On Nov. 27, the Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association (AWDA), a community of the Auto Care Association, announced the election of several new officers to the association’s executive committee, who began their terms on Nov. 3. Mauro Cifelli, vice president, sales & marketing, Vast-Auto Distribution Ltd., Montreal Quebec, has been named AWDA’s vice chairman. Previously, Cifelli served as secretary of AWDA and as a member of the Council of Governors. Cifelli replaces out-going vice chairman, Don Bickle, Jr., president, Warehouse Inc., Hays, Kan. Moving into the position of secretary is William (“Henry”) Slack, CEO, Slack Auto Parts Co., Gainesville, GA. Slack served a three-year term on AWDA’s Council of Governors and is active on the Auto Care Association’s Emerging Technology Committee. Tim Trudnowski, president, Automotive Jobbers Supply, Spokane, WA, has been named AWDA’s incoming treasurer. Trudnowski, a former AWDA Chairman, follows in
the footsteps of long-time treasurer Richard Beirne, Automotive Parts Headquarters. Beirne will remain on the AWDA Executive Committee as treasurer emeritus. AWDA Chairman Bobby Segal, CEO, Automotive Supply Associates, Concord, NH, will continue in this position and complete his two-year term in November 2018, whereupon Cifelli will step into the chairman’s position. In order to provide long-term consistency within AWDA’s leadership, both the secretary and treasurer positions are appointed by the board to open-ended terms. Commenting on the new appointments, Larry Northup, executive director, community engagement, Auto Care Association, and liaison, AWDA, said, “All these individuals have a deep commitment to AWDA and the Auto Care Association, having served in many diverse capacities. The vast institutional and industry knowledge they bring to the table will be invaluable as AWDA deploys its many resources for the benefit of traditional distribution and the auto care industry at large.”
68 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 69
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Warning: Key Fob System Hack for Thieves to Steal Your Car by Lynn Walford, Auto Connected Car News
Drivers with electronic key fobs— watch out! Car thieves are using a system to collect your key fob signal, save it and use it later. It’s called a “relay attack unit or box.” People who park their cars outside their homes on public streets can have their key fob signals copied and saved, then amplified to gain access to the vehicle. Thieves take the code and send it to the signal booster, and then the booster works on the car to open the doors or start the vehicle. If you have a key fob, it can be copied and used by thieves, says Tim Dimoff, President of SACS Consulting and Investigative Services, who reports that the two-box system copies the codes and then sends them to another person further away. To secure your car, don’t use the key fob to lock it or unlock it—the signal can be copied. Use the button on the door to lock the car and read your car manual to see if standing near the door with the fob and then tapping the button on the door will unlock your car. To be extra sure, you can use a steering wheel or pedal bar lock on the vehicle.
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As we reported earlier, if you live near a public street, you can keep your key fob in a tin, Faraday bag or the freezer. It will block the signal from going out into the street. “The fact that thieves can not only open the car, but start it, is very frightening,” said Roger Morris from the National Crime Bureau (NICB). The devices have been tested on 35 cars, and 18 vehicles were vulnerable. In December 2016, NCIB reported on a series of unscientific tests at different locations over a two-week period. Thirty-five different makes and models of cars, SUVs, minivans and a pickup truck were tested. NICB partnered with NICB member company CarMax, because it is the nation’s largest used car retailer and has nearly every make and model in its inventory. Tests were also done at a new car dealership, an independent used car dealer, at an auto auction, on NICB employee vehicles and ones owned by private individuals. The NICB was able to open 19 (54 percent) of the vehicles, and start and drive away 18 (51 percent) of them. Of the 18 that were started, after driving them away and turning off the ignition, the device was used to restart 12 (34 percent) of the vehicles.
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NICB reports different devices are offered for sale to thieves. Some use different technology, and may work on different makes, models and ignition systems. More expensive models may have a greater range and better capabilities for opening and starting a vehicle. While there may not be an effective way of preventing this kind of theft at this time, NICB advises drivers to always lock their vehicles and take the remote fob or keys with them. Drivers should also be on the lookout for suspicious persons or activity, and alert law enforcement rather than confronting a possible thief. It’s also a good idea to never invite a break-in by leaving valuables in plain sight. And once thieves get inside, they can easily steal a garage door opener and valuable papers, such as the vehicle registration, that could lead them to your home. So take the garage door opener with you and take a picture of your registration on your cell phone, rather than keeping it in the glove compartment. This hack is different from the Nick Bilton signal amplifier hack, where the signal of the key fob is amplified to open the car door and steal expensive goods.
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We thank Auto Connected Car for reprint permission.
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Hurricane Vehicle Replacements, Increased Advertising Drive Truck Interest
by Staff, Auto Remarketing
Jumpstart Automotive Media’s latest path to purchase report released Nov. 28 shows that in October, month-overmonth shopper interest was up 14 percent for full-size pickups and 11 percent
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This is not the only way to hack into cars. Hacker/researcher George Hotz, who was stopped from testing his self-driving autonomous car system, released a car reverse-engineering tool/hacking device, “panda,” for $99. Comma.ai, a company founded by Hotz, is offering software and hardware so that developers can use it to create their own car hacks and/or see how car software operates. Using the cabana can reverse-engineer the raw CAN messages from a Honda with a live USB connection to panda. There is even a deeper hacking device called giraffe that pulls signals from the advanced driver safety systems and radar.
The 2018 Ford F-150. Recent data from Jumpstart shows the model saw shopper interest increase by 27 percent compared to last October. Photo courtesy of Ford
for three-quarter-ton and 1-ton pickup trucks. In addition to advertising that typically spotlights trucks during sporting events such as football games and the World Series, Jumpstart suggests that shopper interest in trucks this October was particularly strong due to remaining vehicle replacement activity stemming from Hurricane Harvey and Irma damage. “Between increased advertising focus, truck replacement needs and continued low fuel prices,
shoppers had many reasons to turn their attention toward pickups and SUVs during the month of October,” Jumpstart senior analyst of strategic insights Colin Thomas said in a news release. “However, what’s curious today is that shopper interest continues to wane for smaller utility vehicles, which have been very popular for versatility, functionality and value.” Among trucks, full-size pickup trucks and both threequarter-ton and 1-ton pickups had the highest share of shopper interest in October. Full-size pickup trucks and 3/4 and 1-ton pickups saw interest increases of 4.8 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively, compared to the rest of the year. The Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado led October’s truck interest with increases of plus 27 percent and 13 percent, respectively, compared to last year. Larger trucks, such as the Ford F-250 Super Duty and RAM 2500, both had month-over-month growth in interest of plus 22 percent. Additionally, October was also the fourth consecutive month that share of interest declined for the subcompact SUVs/CUVs segment, which has seen a shopper interest decrease of 29 percent since June. We thank Auto Remarketing for reprint permission.
www.autobodynews.com | JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS 71
72 JANUARY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com