March 2013 Western Edition

Western Edition California Nevada Arizona

31

YEARS

CAA-San Diego Hosts PartsTrader’s Dale Sailer

by Melanie Anderson

The San Diego chapter of the California Autobody Association hosted Dale Sailer, Vice President of Business Development for PartsTrader, Feb. 18 at the Hilton San Diego on Harbor Island.

At the meeting, with approximately 60 CAA members and visitors in attendance, Sailer provided perspective on how PartsTrader came to the market, a demonstration of the product, shared data regarding activity in the five initial markets, and answered questions.

Sailer described the PartsTrader product, which he said is an “easy-touse, online marketplace.” About half

those in attendance said they were on State Farm’s select service program.

Sailer, whose background includes working for CCC Information Services, said PartsTrader’s “new long-term home” in now located in Chicago, IL. Sailer opened his presentation by saying he was “making sure that the goals and obDale Sailer jectives of the independent collision repairer are absolutely protected and they have a wonderful opSee PartsTrader at CAA, Page 3

CAWA, ASCCA Host 4th Annual Aftermarket Industry Summit in Newport Beach Feb. 9

Jack Crawley and Rodney Pierini

GEICO Joins State Farm in Seeking Gag Order Against Ray Gunder, Tactic to Block Information GEICO has joined State Farm in seeking a gag order against Ray Gunder of Gunder’s Auto Center in Lakeland, FL. Gunder is suing the insurers on behalf of his customers for intentional short pays and a variety of other alleged misdoings.

According to Gunder’s spokespeople, GEICO brought in legal cocounsel last week from Arizona, who immediately sent notice to Gunder’s attorney, Brent Geohagan, that they would be seeking a delay/continuance for several scheduled depositions and request the court to issue a gag order to stop Gunder from sharing his legal findings.

Last month, State Farm filed a similar motion with the local court to

stop Gunder from sharing information relative to the numerous lawsuits he has filed on behalf of his customers, including deposition transcripts and results of hearings and discovery.

“Because no ‘trade secrets’ (i.e. policy premiums, methodology to set or determine pricing, demographics, etc.) will be part or parcel of the discovery in these cases, and because the terms of the insurers’ policy/contracts are readily available to all, as are their marketing efforts, I can see no viable or ‘legitimate trade secret’ concerns that would warrant the courts to issue such an order to silence Ray,” said Barrett Smith of Auto Damage Experts (ADE). “Based upon what has See Gagging Gunder, Page 7

Coming in April... First of Two Special Paint Issues, Plus:

IABA 3rd Convention & Technology Showcase Coverage . . . . . .

NADA Convention and J.D. Power Roundable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

AASP/NJ Northeast Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

TIME’s Dealer of the Year is Michael Alford, NADA Meeting Touts “Momentum” Theme

See Summit in Newport, Page 22

P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018

The Automotive Service Councils of California (ASCCA) and CAWA, representing the automotive parts

industry in California, Nevada and Arizona, hosted the fourth annual Automotive Aftermarket Industry Summit on Saturday, Feb. 9 in Newport Beach, CA. Welcoming remarks were made

by Jack Crawley, ASCCA President, and Ed Jimenez, Chair of the Board, CAWA. Summit participants included those representing independent repair facilities and aftermarket parts manufacturers, distributors and retailers.

How to recruit young blood into the business brought heated discussion in the room of approximately 100 individuals. Glenn Davis with ASCCA

Change Service Requested

by Melanie Anderson

VOL. 31 ISSUE 3 MARCH 2013

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Among the most anticipated events at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Exposition in Orlando, FL, was the TIME Dealer of the Year award. TIME and Ally Financial jointly declared Michael Alford, president of Marine Chevrolet Cadillac in Jacksonville, NC, 2013

TIME Dealer of the Year.

Autobody News was alone among collision trade media invited to attend the event, which carried the theme “Momentum,” reflecting the surge in growth of the American auto industry in 2012. See April Autobody News for Western coverage.

Presorted Standard US Postage PAID San Bernardino, CA Permit #2244

2 MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

COLUMNS Attanasio: Why Do I Really Need a Marketing Manager?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Evans: ‘55 Panel Truck Converted into a Pickup on 2006 SSR Chassis . . . . . . . . . . 38 Franklin: Pilfer and Polish the Competition’s Thunder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Insider: Consolidation Allows Insurers to ‘Dance with the Devil They Know’. . . . . . . 32 Yoswick: CIC Discussion Draws Distinction Between ‘Repair Standards’ and Shop ‘Business Standards’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 NATIONAL 21 States to Consider Electronic Proof of Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 25 Years & Still Sticking Around: American PG27 Masking Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 8 Odd but True Driving Laws. . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 ASA’s AutoInc. Selects Top 10 Websites . . . . 43 AskPatty.com CEO Jody DeVere Receives Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 ASRW Appoints New Chair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Auto Body Shop Explodes in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Automaker, OEM and Recall News . . . . . . . . 30 CCC and URG Join Forces in Parts Listing Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 CIF Names New Trustees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Cocaine Found in Car Door at Auto Body Shop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Colorado May Allow Google its Driverless Cars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Community Safety Foundation Awards $50,000 for Collision School Ultimate Makeover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Decreasing Crashes, but Higher Costs for Collisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 DuPont Performance Coatings Renamed Axalta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Education Foundation’s Leadership Circle Expands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Electric Vehicle Sales Not Off to a Good 2013 Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Ford Family to Collect $28 Million in Dividend Increase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Ford Learning from its Mistakes with Escape Recalls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 GEICO Joins State Farm in Seeking Gag Order Against Ray Gunder, Tactic to Block Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Honda Dealership Doesn’t Want a Shop Next Door. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Hot Hoods Help Troops Wounded Warrior Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Iowa Senate Bill Introduced to Study DRPs . . 34 J.D. Power & Associates Study Says Repair Time Increased by a Day in 2012 . . . . . . . 40 Kopecky Elected to CAWA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Maryland Bill Explicitly Bans Counterfeit Airbags, Global Automakers Support Increased Counterfeit Penalties. . . . . . . . . 33 Maryland Body Shop Owner Fatally Shot. . . . 10 Missouri Aims to Abolish Biennial Vehicle Inspection Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Mitchell Forecasts Shift in Property & Casualty Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 NABC Raises Thousands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Ray Evernham Gives $280,000 to Autism Society of NC for IGNITE Program; Charity Car Raised Quarter Million at Auction . . . . 50 RI Body Shop Owner Caught Vandalizing for the Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Ron Pyle Won’t Seek Another NASTF Chair Term . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Sherwin-Williams Donates $60,000 in Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Shoddy Airbags Made in China, Sold on eBay . 48 Snapshot Survey Open to Participation till Feb. 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Sterling Auto Body Offers Student Scholarships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 TIME’s Dealer of the Year is Michael Alford, NADA Meeting Touts “Momentum” Theme . . 1 Toyota Settles Recall Related Suits in 29 States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Toyota to Roll Out Wholesale Parts Development Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Urethane Supply Company Adds New Zero VOC Plastic Cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Utah Auto Body Association Gets Off to a Great Start. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

portunity to grow their business. If we don’t do that, we are being disingenuous with what we are trying to do. I’m not going to sell out those values,” he said.

“We represent a marketplace. At the end of the day, PartsTrader is marketplace that brings together buyers and sellers of collision parts in a fair, equal opportunity for all channels to participate, so that collision shops can make an informed decision on what parts they want to order. That decision is always in the hand of the repairer,” Sailer said.

Sailer pointed out that the software product being piloted in the United States is very different than what is used in New Zealand. In New Zealand, there is a 24-hour quote waiting period and the insurers see costs on every single part and approves every line item parts purchase. “We fundamentally disagree with that approach. It’s not our product over there,” Sailer said. “We don’t like the solution they are using in New Zealand. We rebuilt the product from scratch, we built it for this market.”

The root of the program began in 2008 when State Farm “wanted to get

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REGIONAL 8 LA Suspects Arrested for Staging Auto Collisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 CAA Meeting Showcases Toyota’s ‘Predictive Estimating” Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 CAA-San Diego Hosts PartsTrader’s Dale Sailer. 1 Capitol Collision in Arizona Helps Identify Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 CAWA, ASCCA Host 4th Annual Aftermarket Industry Summit in Newport Beach Feb. 9. . 1 Eden Area ROP Dominates Regional Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Inland Empire CAA Meets March 5, Rick Leos to Speak. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 New LA CAA Hosted Kristen Felder of Collision Hub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Pacific Collision Centers Gives Away 2011 Camry to Family Needing Transportation. . . 7 San Diego Stops Red Light Cameras, Rear-Ends Upped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Several LA and Sacramento Suspects Arrested in Separate Fraud Cases on Same Day . . . . 8 Sherwin-Williams Hosts Workshop in Las Vegas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Speaking to Body Shop Owners is a Tough but Rewarding Gig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Three California Auto Tech Schools Compete in SkillsUSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 TV Show ‘Inside West Coast Customs’ Builds Spacious Jeep for Shaquille O’Neal. . . . . . . 8

PartsTrader at CAA

a better handle on all the parts they were funding,” Sailer said. State Farm put out an Request for Proposal and PartsTrader won it.

In March, 2012, the pilot was introduced in Tuscon, AZ, to 25 shops. In April, 2012, the pilot rolled out in Charlotte, NC, and Grand Rapids, MI. It then went to Birmingham, AL, in May, 2012, and hit Chicago, IL, in December, 2012. In the last 11 months, the product has been revised nine times.

Sailer described the five core principles of PartsTrader: 1) Repairers choose which OEM dealers they invite to quote.

2) Repairers chose who to order from after considering quality, service, availability, delivery time, part types, the reputation of suppliers, and price.

3) Repairers choose when to order.

Sailer said repairers are not forced to quote and that repairers can order directly without having to go to the marketplace.

4) Suppliers are given a fair and equal opportunity to quote.

5) Repairer’s buy prices (other than for recycled parts) are not provided to anyone other than the repairer.

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst General Manager: Barbara Davies Assistant Editor: Melanie Anderson Contributing Writers: Tom Franklin, David Brown, John Yoswick, Rich Evans, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman, Jay Lukes (800) 699-8251 Sales Assistant: Louise Tedesco Art Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .44 Automotive ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . .49 Bob Smith BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Bob Smith MINI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 BSFco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Car-Part Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Completes Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Downtown Motors of LA (Audi, VW, Porsche) . . . . . . . . . . .25 Drew Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 DuPont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 East Bay BMW-MINI . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Elk Grove Toyota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Enterprise Rent-A-Car . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Equalizer Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Euro Spray Guns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers AZ, CA, & NV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Galpin Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12, 33 Garmat USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Glenn E. Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . .47 Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28-29 Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . .44 Innovative Tools & Tech . . . . . . . . . .27 Intertape Polymer Group . . . . . . . . .17 Kearny Mesa Subaru-Hyundai . . . . .50 Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers .53 Levan Group, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

See PartsTrader at CAA, Page 6

Serving California, Nevada and Arizona, Autobody News is a monthly publication for the autobody industry. Permission to reproduce in any form the material published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher. ©2013 Adamantine Media LLC. Autobody News P.O. Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018 (800) 699-8251 (760) 721-0253 Fax www.autobodynews.com Email: news@autobodynews.com

Western

Contents

Continued from Page 1

LKQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Los Gatos Luxury Cars . . . . . . . . . .19 Maita Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Malco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Matrix Wand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .46 MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .48 Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers .34 MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . .39 Moss Brothers Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge .15 Nick Alexander BMW . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Nick Alexander MINI . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 North County Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 PPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 PreFab Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Pro-Spray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Replica Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Riverside Metro VW-Honda-HyundaiNissan-Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 SATA Spray Equipment . . . . . . . . . . .7 Shingle Springs Nissan-Subaru . . .43 Sierra Chevrolet-Honda-MazdaSubaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .51 Timmons VW-Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .34 VIM Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers .42 Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . .48 Weatherford BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

San Diego Stops Red Light Cameras, Rear-Ends Upped

Inland Empire CAA Meets March 5, Rick Leos to Speak

San Diego has ended its red light camera program. The decision was announced by Mayor Bob Filner and Police Chief William Lansdowne.

The red light cameras had been operating at 15 busy intersections for several years, but a contract with the private firm that operates them expired.

During his recent election campaign, Filner said he wasn’t in favor of the program as it was set up. His predecessor, Jerry Sanders, declined to bring a contract renewal to the City Council before he left office.

Filner announced the change at N. Harbor Drive and Grape Street.

This intersection had the most violations amongst the 15 intersections equipped with red light cameras. The intersection accounted for almost 25% of the nearly 20,000 citations issued by the program in 2011. However, statistics show no accidents at the location since 2001. Fines are nearly $500.

Mayor Filner said there was no conclusive evidence that the cameras reduced the number of crashes. Filner said the cameras have actually increased the number of rear-end crashes in the city.

The California Auto Body Association Inland Empire chapter will meet March 5 to learn about what is being called a ‘game changer’ in the industry. It’s Toyota’s new ‘Predictive Estimating’ system.

Guest speaker Rick Leos will introduce the system and lead the discussion.

The system begins with a complete estimate and allows the user to omit items as appropriate. The system requires the user only to select the damaged portions of the vehicle (left front fender, for example), and all items related to that section of the vehicle are automatically listed, including such items as one-time use fasteners, necessary information labels, and procedures such as color sand and polish (with a link to Toyota’s bulletin indicating that it is a procedure necessary even at the factory).

The meeting will be held at Toyota/Scion of San Bernardino, 650 W. Auto Center Dr., in San Bernardino, CA. Cost is $50 for members, or $100 for non-members. Vendors are $150. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. and the speaker starts at 6:30 p.m.

Sherwin-Williams Hosts Workshop in Las Vegas

Eden Area ROP Dominates Regional Competition

Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes will host the next A-Plus™ EcoLean™ Level 1 workshop Feb. 27-28 at the Aria Resort/Hotel in Las Vegas.

The Sherwin-Williams’ exclusive EcoLean Level 1 workshops are offered to collision center owners and dealer managers from across the United States and Canada. They are designed to educate attendees about maximizing profitability by improving productivity and eliminating waste throughout their facilities.

The EcoLean 1 workshop curriculum includes: • Principles of reducing environmental waste • An overview of lean production, and its practical application in collision repair • Approaches to making the collision facility more efficient and consistent • How to build a lean culture from the ground up To register online for the upcoming Las Vegas workshop, go to www.sherwin-automotive.com/ en/Events.aspx.

For more information on EcoLean or the A-Plus Network, call (800) 3863881.

Eden Area Regional Occupational Program took top honors in every category they competed in at the recent northern California SkillsUSA conference.

Eden Area ROP, a Haywardbased job skills program, swept three categories, taking first, second and third place in automotive refinishing and collision repair.

“The kids did very well,” said Craig Lang, Eden Area ROP director.

The SkillsUSA regional conference drew 194 students from throughout northern California to Eden Area ROP, which hosted the event, Lang said.

Winners from Eden Area ROP included: Automotive refinishing technology, high school: 1. Jonathan Perez. 2.

Derrick Deo. 3. Santiago Reyes.

Collision repair technology, high school: 1. Devin Taylor. 2. Angelica Tingle. 3. Krystopher Heredia.

Introductory automotive service technology B, high school: 1. Victor Soto, Sheen Aleria, Frankie Mele, Christian Ontiveros.

Winners will compete at a state gathering in San Diego in April.

4 MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

New LA CAA Hosted Kristen Felder of Collision Hub

The new Los Angeles chapter of the California Autobody Association hosted Kristen Felder, Founder and CEO of Collision Hub, at its first meeting Feb. 21 in Torrance, CA. In her presentation, “Get Paid to Pay Attention,” Felder spoke about best practices, techniques and strategies to help improve and cultivate new ways of operating. Felder, a former corporate trainer and consultant to some of the largest insurers in the country, shared her insider knowledge regarding customer relations and discussed how repairers can enhance communications with their customer.

Felder addressed the question, “Can the repairer compete and win loyalty of the consumer?” Traditionally, collision repairers have waged ‘battle’ with repair expertise, certifications and parts types. They have neglected the rules of Consumer Engagement and continue to lose in the war over the customer.

The meeting helped the new Los Angeles CAA members learn how to take the principles of Consumer Engagement Strategy to engage their customers in the repair process.

8 LA Suspects Arrested for Staging Auto Collisions

The California Department of Insurance (CDI) announced Jan. 28 that eight suspects were arrested on felony charges alleging fraudulent insurance claims, allegedly staging two automobile accidents and fraudulent vehicle vandalism. If convicted on all charges, the suspects face up to five years in prison and fines up to $50,000 each.

The suspects, Suren Grigorian, 45; Aida Akopian, 36; Seda Markarian, 62; Mamikon Hakobyan, 74; Masis Galstan, 49; Rosa Galstyan, 42; Roza Issayan, 41; and Setik Patatanian, 49, are all from the Burbank/Glendale area.

According to CDI investigators, the department received a tip from an informant in December 2010 alleging that Grigorian filed a fraudulent insurance claim stemming from his report of vandalism to a 2007 Mercedes sedan parked in the garage of his Burbank residence. The insurer paid approximately $20,000 to settle the damages claim. Further investigation revealed Grigorian and others were also allegedly involved in two suspected staged collisions in 2008.

In that case, multiple insurers paid out over $62,000 to settle damage claims.

www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 5

Continued from Page 3

PartsTrader at CAA

“These are the five things we will never yield on,” Sailer said. “If we ever bend on these five things, if the company itself doesn’t shut down, I am out of here. Because if we don’t do these five things, we aren’t being fair to you.”

Sailer compared the PartsTrader software to Expedia or Travelocity in concept, then demonstrated on the following steps: 1) Repairer creates an estimate 2) Repairer sends a request for quotes 3) Supplier submits quotes 4) Repairer reviews quotes and orders based on his parameters 5) Supplier confirms orders 6) Repairer’s estimate is updated “Repairers create the marketplace,” Sailer said. “Nobody is pushing suppliers on you that you don’t want to do business with. You build the database.”

As the pilot was being introduced in its test markets, many body shops complained about the quoting time period.

Sailer said the quoting time period goes down to 30 minutes after suppliers get used to the new tool and today all five test markets are at 30 minute quote time.

“A tighter procurement process

works for everybody,” Sailer said.

As of today, there is no cost to the vendor. However, that will change in 2014 when suppliers will start to be charged a fee to use the program. When

Khristina Enciso, Karen Fierst (top), Marco Vargas took in the presentation

asked by a dealership owner how much the fee would be to parts suppliers in the future, Sailer declined to give a specific answer, but said, “It will be less than the value being received by the dealer.

Here’s the reality. We want this product to be used by everybody. It will not be used by everybody if the fee makes everybody (gasp) and then we’ll only get a small percentage of the marketplace. It’s gotta be a fee that when you look at it you say ‘oh it’s nothing, it’s no big deal.’ By the way, what is the price today? Zero. The reason why it’s zero is

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because we have not demonstrated the value yet.” He added that “body shops will never pay” for the service.

Sailer was asked about confidentiality of price margins and Sailer said only the suppliers see the screen for default margins by part type.

Others were concerned about what PartsTrader will do with the data it collects from the program. “PartsTrader will never sell data,” Sailer said, but added that it may turn the data into industry trend reports to share with the industry.

Audience members also wanted to know about training. Sailer said the program is so easy that it can be learned

Paul Amato (l) and Hop Sanchez were among the interested attendees

in 30 minutes. He said PartsTrader has a series of short training videos, and that shops and suppliers may try online training demos. A small field team will See PartsTrader at CAA, Page 14

NABC Raises Thousands

The National Auto Body Council (NABC) said its annual golf fundraiser raised roughly $55,000 towards helping military veterans get started in the collision industry through Operation Comfort.

The tournament, held in Palm Springs, CA, the day before the start of the Collision Industry Conference’s annual planning meeting, took in between $25,000–$30,000 of gross profit, said NABC executive director Chuck Sulkala at CIC. “[Operation Comfort] is not an NABC program,” Sulkala said. “This is coordinating on behalf of the industry. This is your program.”

NABC has raised $300,000 in pledges to Operation Comfort, onefifth of the way to its overall goal of $1.5 million to purchase, renovate and equip a repair facility in San Antonio, TX, with the purpose of training and educating military veterans on skills that will prepare them for jobs in the collision industry.

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Pacific Collision Centers Gives Away 2011 Camry to Family Needing Transportation

Other sponsors and supporters inThree of Mrs. Alfaro’s children, Pacific Collision Center of Cathedral City, CA, recently provided a 2011 cluded Hertz Rent-A-Car, Costal ages 7, 13 and 20, live at home. The Toyota Camry to a Coachella family Comprehensive Insurance, The Elite 13-year-old boy, Miguelito, was born Group, Single Source Inc., PPG, Com- with cerebral palsy and spinal bifida. in desperate need of transportation.

The giveaway, held in conjunc- plete Plus, Toyota of Puente Hills, Su- Last year, twenty-year-old Ashley was involved in a horrible tion with the NABC Golf car accident and was left Fundraiser in Palm Springs with brain damage. She is on Jan. 23, was coordinated currently in both physical through Pacific Collision and speech therapy. Both Centers and the Recycled Ashley and Miguelito reRides program. quire the use of wheel“We had both the honor chairs. To get to their and pleasure to gift a vehicle specialists and therapists to a needy family in the Palm appointments three times a Springs area,” said Steven week in Moreno Valley, Vettel, owner of Pacific Colthey must get up at 4:30 lision Centers. “Our director a.m. to take four buses, and of marketing, Martha Serna, don’t return home until 7 worked with Recycled Rides, p.m. along with local charities, Va“Pacific Collision Cenriety of the Desert and Angel ters is committed to the ReView, to help facilitate the Beatriz Alfaro receives a Camry through the Recycled Rides program cycled Rides program,” gifting of a 2011 Toyota said Vettel. “Providing a Camry to Beatriz Alfaro,” perior Plating & Bumpers, Certified vehicle to a family in need is a very Vettel said. rewarding experience for our entire “This was the second year in a Glass.

The recipient is a single mother of staff and we look forward to particirow that we’ve participated in the Palm Springs Recycled Rides vehicle eight children, and coincidentally re- pating for years to come.”

Established in 1987, Pacific Colgifting. This year we were able to get ceived the new car on her birthday. the support of Costal Comprehensive Beatriz Alfaro and her family were se- lision Centers operates six collision Insurance in Walnut, CA, to provide a lected for the car giveaway due to repairs centers in Fullerton, Covina, six-month insurance policy,” Vettel their lack of transportation which truly Downey, Ontario, Cathedral City and created a hardship.

Escondido. said.

Continued from Cover

Gagging Gunder

been learned through discovery thus far, I can fully understand why these two insurers would not want the information relative to their conduct exposed. As such, Ray’s actions and successes have been extremely beneficial to other repairers and consumers and to the collision repair industry atlarge and may encourage some insurers to change their business practices.”

Added Gunder, “I’m not overly concerned. I have excellent legal counsel, and I’m confident that Brent will do what he can to defend against the insurers’ efforts to silence me. My only concern is not being able to show what goes on and how other repairers can be successful in properly and thoroughly serving their customers (and their employees) in receiving proper compensation. I believe this is what the insurers fear most and why they’re trying to shut me up. Regardless, until I’m ordered to keep quiet, you can bet I will continue to share my journey with others as we ‘pound the rock.’”

www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 7

Colorado May Allow Google its Driverless Cars

Colorado lawmakers are debating a change in state law that would allow cars without drivers on roads, the Claims Journal recently reported.

A bill to make Colorado at least the fifth state where automatic cars are legal is up for debate in the Senate Transportation Committee.

The driverless cars are being developed in California by Google.

Colorado’s proposal would state that automated cars must still contain licensed drivers, and the cars must have an override switch so they can be driven manually if needed. The “drivers” in automated cars would be allowed to text or type, hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals.

With smartphone-wielding drivers more distracted than ever, backers said robotic vehicles have the potential to significantly reduce collisions and traffic fatalities. Nearly all car accidents are a result of human error.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans a research initiative to determine the safety and reliability of automated driving technologies.

NHTSA head David Strickland said the cars hold “great promise” for reduced crashes.

Several LA and Sacramento Suspects Arrested in Separate Fraud Cases on Same Day In Burbank, CA, Suren Grigorian, 45, reported that his 2007 Mercedes Benz had been vandalized while parked in the garage of his residence.

Grigorian then filed a claim for which his insurer paid $20,000. Suspicion was later aroused in Dec. 2010 when an informant told investigators at the California Division of Insurance (CDI) that it was Grigorian who inflicted the damage, rather than an anonymous perpetrator.

What began as a vandalism claim led to felony charges alleging insurance fraud and at least two staged auto accidents. Now each of the eight people arrested in connection will face hard time—up to 5 years in jail—and individual fines of $50,000, if convicted of the charges before them.

According to the CDI, further investigation implicated seven others: Aida Akopian, 36; Seda Markarian, 62; Mamikon Hakobyan, 74; Masis Galstan, 49; Rosa Galstyan, 42; Roza Issayan, 41; and Setik Patatanian, 49. Authorities arrested Grigorian along with those mentioned above. All family members or close associates of Grigorian, these suspects must now appear in court to either refute or confirm their respective involvement in two purportedly staged auto collisions (both in 2008) for which multiple in-

TV Show ‘Inside West Coast Customs’ Builds Spacious Jeep for Shaquille O’Neal

West Coast Customs, renowned vehicle customizers and producers of the hit vehicle-build reality TV show ‘Inside West Coast Customs,’ is featuring a blast from the past when Shaquille O’Neal asks Ryan Friedlinghaus, CEO and founder of West Coast Customs, to build him a new Jeep. After many years and countless cars, Shaq’s back and has asked the crew at WCC to build him the ultimate Jeep. It’s time for old friends to reunite and for the crew at WCC to transform an ordinary vehicle into another work of art.

“West Coast Customs has built several cars for Shaq,” said Friedlinghaus. “Shaq was one of my first celebrity clients and because of his size, building vehicles to fit a giant is always a challenge.”

The ‘Shaq’s Back’ episode will be the first episode of the 2013 season on Velocity Channel. Ryan and the WCC crew will take a four-door Jeep and transform it into a two-door conversion which will be ‘just right’ for the NBA legend. The vehicle’s exterior will feature BASF matte black paint, Oracle accent lighting, Rigid Industries off-road led lights,

Magnaflow Exhaust, Poison Spyder brawler bumpers and rockers, Smittybilt winch, and FUEL wheels. The interior of the Jeep showcases custom Roadwire leather seats with signature embroidery, and a booming Pioneer audio system and head unit.

Check out Inside West Coast Customs, Sunday at 9 pm EST on Velocity. A complete TV show schedule will be on the www.westcoastcustoms.com.

Owner Ryan Friedlinghaus and his shop have been doing exclusive custom builds for the MTV show Pimp my Ride, TLC's Street Customs, Street Customs Berlin and now on his new show Inside West Coast Customs. Ryan and his crew are world-renowned for their extreme vehicles, outrageous features, and next level designs.

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8 MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

surers doled out $62,000.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Auto Insurance Fraud Division is prosecuting cases against all of them.

In Sacramento, CA, authorities arrested five suspected auto fraudsters that same day: James Adkins, 44, Justin Highsmith, 33, James Peacock, 38, Kori Feinstein, 33, and Kevin Johnson, 37, each face one felony count of insurance fraud, including providing false statements in support of an insurance claim. Feinstein and Johnson were also charged with one felony count of possession of stolen property and vehicle theft.

According to CDI investigators, in May 2010, Adkins filed a claim with his insurer and credit union alleging that his 2002 Cadillac Escalade had been stolen. Adkins told both the insurer and law enforcement that his ride was taken from his Sacramento. residence.

However, investigators contend that six weeks prior to filing the claim, Adkins, Highsmith and Peacock staged the theft. Investigators further allege that in April 2010, Johnson purchased Adkins’ Cadillac. After becoming aware the car was reported stolen in July 2010, Johnson attempted to hide the vehicle from the law en-

forcement officials who had contacted him to inspect it.

According to investigators, Johnson purchased parts from other salvaged vehicles and swapped the parts onto the Cadillac in an attempt to conceal its true identity. Johnson and Feinstein then allegedly went to the California Department of Motor Vehicles and re-registered the Cadillac as a 2004 GMC Yukon.

After interviewing witnesses and conducting an investigation, CDI’s Auto Fraud Task Force reportedly discovered that Highsmith and Peacock assisted Adkins in this owner give-up insurance fraud scheme. It was also discovered that Johnson used a local auto repair facility to assist him in switching out stolen parts on the vehicle.

Although the insurance company ultimately denied Adkins’ claim, it would have paid approximately $26,000, had the fraud not been discovered.

Adkins, Highsmith, Feinstein and Johnson were all arrested and booked at Sacramento County Jail.

Peacock is currently in custody serving time at Lancaster State Prison in Los Angeles County on an unrelated matter. Bail for Johnson has been set at $100,000; bail for the other suspects is $40,000.

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CAA Meeting Showcases Toyota’s ‘Predictive Estimating” Tool

by Tom Franklin

The first California Autobody Association meeting of 2013 for the Pasadena/Glendale/Foothill chapter was held at Brookside Country Club in Pasadena on Jan. 30.

Chapter president Linda Holcomb was unable to attend, but Lillian Maimone from Marcos Auto Body presided in her place. The relatively short meeting was sponsored Lillian Maimone

by Joe Carrier of (file photo) Auto Equipment Solutions, and Eric Eberhart with G&K Services. G&K Services provides uniforms for 170,000 businesses and has operated since 1902. The meeting also included a brief introduction by Anthony Guinn from WIN Auto. He is heading up the new Los Angeles CAA chapter. Their first meeting will be February 21 at the Carson Holiday Inn, and a special meeting is set for April 21 at the Toyota Museum in Torrance.

Although the meeting room was only supposed to hold up to 100 people, 118 actually showed up. There was enormous interest in Toyota’s new Auto Parts Bridge.

It is an electronic parts catalog that integrates with an estimating system to provide exact parts prices, taken from manufacRick Leos (file turer’s bill data, photo) and includes technical service bulletin information. Although Rick Leos, Toyota Body and Collision Business Development Consultant, did the actual presentation, he was supported by Ruben de Loera, Scott Nunez, and Terry Banks, who is a Dealer Operations Consultant.

Leos showed, on screen, a prototype predictive estimate with parts line items provided for the estimate. Because of the completeness of the database, even little parts generally not available in estimating systems, will appear complete with exact prices.

Where aftermarket parts have been entered, the system will display the

Maryland Body Shop Owner Fatally Shot

The owner of V&W Auto Body in Landover, MD, was found fatally shot in his shop on Jan. 28.

Police say Keith Watson, 48, was already dead when they found him shot by someone who remains at large.

Watson’s Audi A6 was missing, and later found abandoned in the 300 block of Hillside Terrace in Landover, police said. They credited a Crime Solvers tip with helping detectives locate the car.

Prince George’s County police said the murder occurred about 1 p.m.

Monday inside Watson’s auto body shop, located on Rainswood Drive in Landover. Law enforcement officials are not certain that stealing the car was the primary motive for the killing. Police are investigating other possibilities, the officials said.

Watson’s wife, Vida Watson, was at a conference in Florida when she got the call that police had circled her husband’s auto body shop in Landover with yellow crime-scene tape, and relatives could not reach him.

“It should not have happened,” Vida Watson said outside her home in Upper Marlboro. “It’s a nice car, but it wasn’t to the point where you have to take somebody’s life to get.”

Vida Watson said her husband had co-owned the shop for about five years, and on Monday, like most days, he was working there. Vida Watson said she got a call from her sister-inlaw telling her that police had surrounded the shop and no one could reach her husband.

Vida Watson said she tried to call and text him herself, but he did not respond. When she got on the plane, she knew his car was missing, but it wasn’t until she landed in the Washington area that Keith Watson’s daughter told her what had happened.

“I really lost it,” Vida Watson said. “I just started crying.”

Vida Watson said her husband, who came to the United States from Jamaica about 20 years ago, was a “hard worker” and a loving father to his two children and stepson. He had long worked repairing cars; the two met when he brought one to a shop where she was working to get an alignment done. In his spare time, Keith Watson enjoyed playing dominos.

“He was extremely helpful and generous to everyone,” Vida Watson said. “If you had a need, he’d find a way to fulfill that need for you.”

10 MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

grated with one of the three main estimating information providers, but no decision has yet been made on which of the three providers will be selected.

Various shop personnel in the audience wondered why only one provider would have this product and whether or not it would make the other two providers irrelevant. The real power of this product lies in the fact that it doesn’t apply to Toyota only. The product provides templates for other automobile manufacturers to plug in their prices. When a vehicle’s VIN is entered in an estimate, the APB brings in the exact parts prices for that vehicle.

This feature could conceivably impair the competing information providers, or even drive them out of business.

The product is not yet on the market. Thirteen pilot stores are doing the blueprinting. While the product is being used, missing or needed information can be added, continually making the product more complete.

Leos stated that this Auto Parts Bridge will create a new industry standard.

OEM parts for comparison. With this Auto Parts Bridge (APB) being used, he said, it’s impossible to make a parts price error. This could eliminate most supplements except judgement time and missed damage.

More than just parts, however, a simple click would display all of the steps needed to install the part and any technical issues that would have to be addressed. There will always be an indication if there is a requirement for “don’t repair, replace only.” The system will indicate a “one-time use” part to avoid compromising safety. Some notations could save a shop a significant sum. For example, he mentioned a ground bracket on a fender which, if removed, could damage a wire harness that would cost $4500 to replace.

Adjuster disputes over procedures could be eliminated because the procedures required will always be indicated, like color sand and buff, use seam sealer and more. A 3-M tie-in provides specific information.

No labor times are included in the package because no time studies will be done and warranty times are too incomplete. The package will be inte-

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facebook.com/prospray youtube.com/prosprayautofinishes www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 11

Speaking to Body Shop Owners is a Tough but Rewarding Gig

by Ed Attanasio

I have been a standup comic for 15 years, so I’m familiar with tough crowds. Luckily, I didn’t get any hecklers when I talked recently about social media and Internet marketing to the Santa Clara chapter of the California Autobody Association (SC-CAA) at their January meeting.

I put my arsenal of one-liners, knock-knock jokes and shadow puppets on hold. I tried to provide a presentation focusing on useful information that body shops could put to use almost immediately.

Overall, my presentation, entitled “Marketing and the Internet for Body Shops,” went well—until I mentioned Yelp, at which point the 50 people in attendance frowned in unison and rolled their eyes almost on cue.

Body shop owners have their multiple issues with Yelp for obvious reasons and when I told them about my opinion of the highly-popular site, they didn’t like my stance in general.

“Yelp is like commuter traffic,” I told the membership. “Trying to control it is difficult or even impossible, so

spend your limited time doing other things where you can have more significant impact. Shops that have only positive reviews on Yelp can backfire, because the public knows no one is perfect, even for shops that have the word “Perfect” in their name.” After some discussion on the topic, I realized that I had opened Pandora’s Box

ship in attendance, consisting of body shop owners and their personnel, car dealership parts people and various vendors. First we tackled the basics, starting with a question I still hear often from body shops—Why do I need a website? For the same reason why you need a business card and a sign out front. Having a website is as

The SC-CAA chapter recognized its 2012 board, including (from left) 2013 President Randy Greenblat, Tabias Padilla, Steve Sturken, Don Dutra, Adam Piper, Miguel Espana, Alex Ornelas, David Mello and Nathan Chukes

and that Yelp warrants its own presentation in the future. Search Autobodynews.com for previous articles on Yelp, pro and con.

Here are some of the other things I shared with the SC-CAA member-

12 MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

important as having a paint booth.

Most consumers will use your site primarily for three reasons: Directions to the location, contact information, and a list of your services and capabilities. Bells and whistles and

other features are nice. (Photo galleries, testimonials from satisfied customers, how-to articles, etc.) But in the end they mainly want your address and phone number. One thing I can’t understand is when body shops don’t have their contact information on their home page. It should always be large and prominent and the first thing visitors will see, because time is money and people have miniscule attention spans.

Then, I tried to pinpoint several forms of social media that are most appropriate for the collision industry, because not every form of social media works for body shops, in my opinion. For instance, I suggested that unless Justin Bieber is your newest estimator or Paris Hilton is your receptionist, Twitter is probably not ideal for you. Even though Twitter is popular in the collision industry, the Twitterverse is best suited for directing traffic to a website.

To be effective in a consumer-oriented social universe that changes daily, I suggested to everyone that they save time and research by concentrating on the following and in this

have misconceptions about blogs, because they’ve seen so many bad ones online, consisting mainly of baby or pet pictures and somebody’s bad poetry. But the reality is that blogs are now increasingly popular and more and more body shops are creating them. Two important tips for blogging: 1) Provide only 100% original content for a blog and 2) Make it fresh by posting at least two new blog articles every month, at a minimum.

I also talked about Google, YouTube and LinkedIn at some length, three portals that I greatly value because I have seen them work for body shops nationwide. Google is an amazing company that proMarketing Manager Cristina Vargas, owner John Roast vides approximately 30 busi(left) and Estimator Travis Dickson, all from German Auto ness tools for businesses, Body, attended their first SC-CAA meeting including Google+, Google a “Social Media/Internet Starter’s Places, Google Maps, Google CalenKit,” and after setting it up, maintain- dar, Google forms and of course, ing your social media and website can Gmail. After a quick tutorial, you can be achieved in less than 10 hours quickly learn how to use Google to immonthly. prove your shop in a multitude of ways.

I talked about the subject of blogs YouTube is now one of the most and how you really need one and how effective search-oriented sites on the they can cost very little. Many people web. Collision repairers producing order: Facebook, Google, YouTube, FourSquare and LinkedIn. On top of that, by performing monthly Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts and establishing a blog, any body shop can quickly establish a presence online without dedicating a large amount of time and money to it. Think of it as

fun, informational and/or witty videos and posting them on YouTube while

After my presentation, the SCCAA covered some new business, outlining the chapter’s schedule of meetings and other events to take place during 2013. One piece of exciting news was the announcement of the chapter’s Trade Faire, and event that has been a huge success in the past, but was suspended for a few years due to financial constraints and limited participation. Now, it’s back and slated for sometime in September, according to John Rost, the owner of B2B Perfection in Sunnyvale 2013 SC-CAA President with Nathan Chukes, head collision instructor at CCOC were on hand at the SC-CAA’s January meeting Randy Greenblat. Also, the chapter’s golf tournament linking them to their websites, blogs, will be back again this year, after Facebook pages, has proven to be being a success and a money maker very effective. YouTube videos can be for the organization in 2012. In inexpensive to produce and can pro- March, the University of Toyota will vide an easy way to disseminate use- be on hand to talk about its curriculum ful information while differentiating and most importantly, how to properly you from the competition. work on hybrids, according to Alex With LinkedIn, body shops can Ornelas, SC-CAA board member and strengthen their position with their parts manager at Toyota of Palo Alto. vendors and the business community. After the meeting, the SC-CAA swore It can also be used to find and hire in its 2013 officers and board and pregood front office people, estimators, sented them with plaques for their techs and other personnel. service to the chapter in 2012.

www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 13

Three California Auto Tech Schools Compete in SkillsUSA structor Daniel Pareja.

SkillsUSA is a highly-respected As they displayed their skills at a re- national organization for students in gional SkillsUSA competition on Jan- trade, industrial, technical and health uary 26 at Eden Area ROP in occupations education. It sponsors the Hayward, CA, top students from three SkillsUSA regional, state and national competitions annually, designed to test the skills needed for a successful entry level performance in given occupational fields, including collision repair.

With local collision professionals on hand to judge every aspect of the competition, the regionals were broken down into a series of tests, including a written estimate, a five-minute job interview and an ASE-type From left, SkillsUSA Regional Two State Coordinator John Taylor; gold medal winner for post-secondary written test in both catere-finishing and paint category Erica Criley from CCOC gories. For the collision reand local Hayward City Councilman Mark Salinas pair students, they also had helped to celebrate Criley’s big win to repair three dents in a automotive tech schools vied for fender, showing their metal repair medals and a trip to the state finals in skills, as well as taking a hands-on San Diego, CA, on April 4-7. welding test. For the auto body refinThirty-five high school and col- ishing/paint students, they had to lege students studying automotive paint and clear coat a car panel and collision repair from Eden Area show their masking, filling and prepROP, Central County Occupational ping skills on a van. Pareja was happy Center (CCOC) in San Jose, CA, and Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, CA, competed in two categories: collision repair and autobody refinishing/paint.

With 12 medal winners overall, each of the schools were well represented, but in the end, Eden Area ROP took eight Students competing in the estimating section of the competition at medals, under the di- the SkillsUSA Regional Competition, held at Eden Area ROP on rection of Head In- January 26, 2013

by Ed Attanasio

Continued from Page 6

PartsTrader at CAA

also go out to shops on an as-needed basis. Sailer admitted that the first round of training they provided wasn’t terribly good but by the time they got to Chicago, training was significantly better but not yet perfect.

Coming soon to the PartsTrader software will be a tool where repairers can rate suppliers for accountability, and the suppliers will be able to do the same regarding repairers. Each party will be rated by a star system. “We will

begin collecting feedback late Q1 and will begin presenting ratings in Q2,” Sailer said.

Sailer said there are currently 1,000 active suppliers on the program, with 54% who are fully participating and 46% who are fax only, and 18% who are alternative suppliers. According to Sailer, there are 605 are active repairers on the program.

Other statistics Sailer reported include: ● Over $20 million in confirmed orders ● 36,000 requests See PartsTrader at CAA, Page 24

14 MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

to see a high level of competition and from D&S Body Shop were judges in enthused that so many students were the paint category; Richard Mello involved. from TGIF Auto Body was a judge in “These competitions provide a the estimating part of the competition; great opportunity to see what our top Barbara Juarez, a welding instructor students can do, because this is the real at Eden Area ROP, was a judge; Juan thing,” Pareja said.

“The students are out there all alone, so the pressure is intense.

They’re not able to ask questions and the clock is running, so the students get to find out what they’re capable of and where their skills compare to the other schools.” Medal winners in the SkillsUSA Regional Competition Special recogni- included Angelica Tingle (Eden Area ROP); Kristopher Heredia (Eden Area ROP); Devin Taylor (Eden Area ROP); Travis Livingstone (Cuesta tion goes out to all College) Gary Griswold (Cuesta College) and Erica Criley (CCOC) the local collision professionals that volunteered their Martinez from Komatsu was a judge, time and/or company’s products and and David Gill from Pacific Credit Union conducted all of the job interalso acted as judges at the competiviews. Chris Pareja from B-to-B tion.

Paint was donated by Martin Auto Power Exchange also judged the inColor and PPG; Pete Fralic from terviews and Bill Andrews, head instructor from the College of Alameda, Total Sales donated all of the sand paper, safety equipment and fillers; judged the masking and prepping tests.

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Community Safety Foundation Awards $50,000 for Collision School Ultimate Makeover

The Community Safety Foundation, funded by AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah Insurance Exchange, has awarded the Collision Repair Education Foundation $50,000 for an Ultimate Collision Education Makeover grant. The grant will be awarded to a Northern California school (from the Oregon border to Fresno) with an auto collision repair program. The winning high school or post-secondary school’s collision program will receive $50,000 worth of tools, equipment and supplies.

“I commend the Community Safety Foundation for stepping in to provide a Makeover grant. The grant will help build a stronger foundation for collision programs, by providing the tools necessary for leading-edge collision repair instruction,” said Clark Plucinski, Executive Director of the Collision Repair Education Foundation. “The Community Safety Foundation’s support will allow us to reach even more instructors and students,” he said.

“In this time of dramatic cutbacks to educational programs of all types, we are pleased to support a technical program that leads directly to more jobs for Northern Californians and improved auto repair services for motorists,” said Rose Guilbault,

President of the Community Safety Foundation.

The following California schools and their collision programs will be eligible to receive this Makeover grant and have their $50,000 collision wish list fulfilled: • College of Marin (Novato, CA) • Seaside High School (Seaside, CA) • College of Alameda (Alameda, CA) • Contra Costa Community College (San Pablo, CA) • Eden Area ROP (Hayward, CA) • Central County Occupational Center (San Jose, CA) • San Jose Job Corps Center (San Jose, CA) • Mission Valley Regional Occupational Center–Fremont Kennedy High School (Fremont, CA) • Livermore High School (Livermore, CA) • Mission Trails ROP (Salinas, CA) • Modesto Junior College (Modesto, CA) • De Anza High School (Richmond, CA) • Solano Community College (Fairfield, CA) • Vacaville High School (Vacaville, CA) • San Joaquin Delta College (Stockton, CA) • Charles A Jones Skills Center

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(Sacramento, CA) • American River College (Sacramento, CA) • Lodi Academy (Lodi, CA) • Yuba City High School (Yuba City, CA) • Yuba Community College (Marysville, CA) • Ponderosa High School (Shingle Springs, CA) • Turlock High School (Turlock, CA) • Valley Community School/Merced Campus (Merced, CA) • Merced College (Merced, CA) • Central Adult Learning (Fresno, CA) • South Tahoe High School (South Lake Tahoe, CA) • Paradise High School (Paradise, CA) • Lassen Technical Institute (Susanville, CA) The Ultimate Collision Education Makeover grant debuted in 2009 to help auto repair instructors provide strong technical programs in schools.

While only one school will receive the $50,000 grant, many of the schools that do not receive the grant will receive donated supplies, tools, and equipment they requested in their grant application.

The deadline to apply is May 31, 2013. For more information, contact Director of Grant Programs Melissa Marscin at 888.722.3787, Ext. 282.

Capitol Collision in Arizona Helps Identify Fraud

An auto body repair shop in Phoenix was recently lauded by five of the largest insurance companies in Arizona for exposing a man in Phoenix, AZ, for staging fake collisions to collect huge insurance claims. Body shop staff with Capitol Collision Repair Specialists worked with Arizona Auto Insurance and the Phoenix police operatives in nailing down the suspect.

The criminal is suspected of staging more than 10 collisions in the past year and processing claims amounting to more than a $1 million.

Charges have been filed and the case is pending in court.

Technicians from the auto body repair shop called the Arizona Auto Insurance Company and reported their suspicion that the accident was staged. They became suspicious of the man’s actions and his vehement refusal of the assistance extended by their representative to process his insurance claim on his behalf.

“We became suspicious when he turned down our offer to help him with his insurance. Besides, it was quite obvious judging by the damage on the vehicle that the collision was staged,” said a rep from Capitol Insurance.

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To commemorate AmericanÂŽ brand PG27â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s masking tape, IPGÂŽ is inserting silver tickets into some cores of their rolls of PG27 masking tapeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Willy WonkaÂŽ style. But in this case, you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t win a tour of a chocolate factory, but rather a 4-day/3-night trip to SEMA 2013 or an American ExpressÂŽ gift card containing $100 to $500, according to McCalden. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This promotion will run from now until September 15, 2013, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve dedicated some significant marketing funds to this endeavor,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The grand prize trips to SEMA in Las Vegas will be a great trip for three lucky winners. People can scan a

by Ed Attanasio

If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a painter or a prepper, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a very good chance that at one point youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve used AmericanÂŽ brand PG27 tape from Intertape Polymer GroupÂŽ (IPGÂŽ). Universally known as a reliable, high-performance masking tape, PG27, also known as Premium Grade,

Intertape Polymer GroupÂŽâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s AmericanÂŽ brand PG27 masking tape is celebrating its 25th anniversary as a popular product that has been an integral part of the collision industry since 1988

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QR code on our ad in Autobody News to find out more details about the promotion and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be keeping everyone in the loop as we announce new exciting offers.â&#x20AC;?

If you know masking tape, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re more than just aware of PG27, IPGÂŽâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s signature automotive aftermarket tape

How many rolls of PG27 have been sold over the years? If you figure a busy body shop fixes 200 cars per month, then that means they likely use an average of 20,000 rolls of masking tape annually, equaling roughly $30,000 per yearâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;just on tape! So, when a collision repair business is looking for a masking tape, they obviously desire one that is af-

fordable, reliable and versatile. AmericanÂŽ brand PG27 has proven itself again and again and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still one of the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s go-to products for painters worldwide. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Body shops rely on PG27 for a lot of reasons,â&#x20AC;? McCalden explained. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With its fine crepe backing, it ensures nice clean breaklines. It lays down flatter and always provides a sharp paint edge and handles cornering brilliantly. It took us three years to develop it back in the late 1980â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a success story ever since. Through intensive research and testing, our engineers were able to use advanced adhesive breakthroughs to come up with a tape that has lasted the time and performed at a high level time and again.â&#x20AC;?

When any product survives and flourishes in this tough collision industry, you know itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a proven performer and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why IPGÂŽ is so proud of AmericanÂŽ brand PG27, a tape that stuck around for 25 years and is looking forward to a very bright future.

BE ON N THE LOOKOUT L FOR THE FO CORES! CORES S! Help us s celebrate elebrate the 25th 5th Anniversary of our American A canÂŽ brand PG-27 (PG) automotive masking tape! ap Each h month in 2013, 3 we will be hiding Silver 3,

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Tickets in the cor cores es of our ou ur PG-27 masking tape. Find d one, and you could ance to win one e of two (2) 4-day/3-night trips ips to SEMA 2013, have a chance an AMEX gift car card d valu valued ed between $100-$500 or an AmericanÂŽ brand t-shirt!

Scan the QR code or go to http:// olymer.com/Pa ages/auto.html intertapepolymer.com/Pages/auto.html for Official Contest Ruless and Regulations.

T A P E S & F I L M S â&#x20AC;˘ P A C K A G I N G P R O D U C T S & S Y S T E M S â&#x20AC;˘ B U I L D I N G M AT A T E R I A L S â&#x20AC;˘ E N G I N E E R E D C O AT AT E D P R O D U C T S TM

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—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.

Industry Insight

CIC Discussion Draws Distinction Between ‘Repair Standards’ and Shop ‘Business Standards’ with John Yoswick

The most recent discussion of industry “standards” at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) centered around the differences between “repair standards” and “business standards,” and whether either one—or both—are needed, and whether some organization is needed to implement them.

Based on a “repairer-only” meeting the night before the CIC discussion in Palm Springs, CA, a number of CIC attendees reiterated that repairer organizations have already declared that OEM repair procedures are the industry’s standards for repair, and that I-CAR has agreed to work with the automakers to fill in the “gaps” where no such procedures exist.

“We don’t need a new third-party entity. We don’t need a committee at CIC,” Jeff Hendler, the administrator of CIC, said, as the “Repair Standards Advisory Committee” opened its dis-

cussion. “The repairers who just stood up told you: We know what the procedures are. We just need this group to understand that those are the procedures, that is the source.”

“Yes, there are gaps (in the OEM procedures),” Scott Biggs of the Assured Performance Network said.

“We’ve asked I-CAR to (address those). I-CAR and its board responded and said, ‘Yes, we will.’ They have put the apparatus in place. That’s now happened. They have staff working on it. The repairers here wanted to make sure that you have all heard us loud and clear: We’re not going down some other bunny trail.”

But proponents for “business standards,” which address—for example, the types of equipment and training shops should have—argued that that type of standard must be developed and implemented hand-in-hand

with repair standards in order for either to be effective. Mike Monaghan, a former shop owner who helped develop a set of shop and reMike Monaghan pair standards in the United Kingdom, said those allencompassing standards identified “what a good body shop should look like.”

“I’m fully supportive of OEM methods… but until you identify what ‘good’ looks like, you will be here in another 15 years, having the same discussions,” Monaghan said.

It’s the shops without the right equipment, training and processes, he said, that “compromise your industry, and compromise the insurer’s ability to do the job fairly and understand

what a true cost of repair is.”

Monaghan said the standards effort in the U.K helped weed out substandard repairers, thinning the market from 18,000 shops to about 3,000 shops—1,000 of which meet the standards and now do 80% of the repairs.

“When you have 38,000 shops approximately in the U.S., all in this room know that the good majority of those should not be practicing collision repair today,” Monaghan said.

“They are not safe.”

Alternative to automaker certifications?

Steve Nantau, a recently retired Ford Motor Company executive who has worked on the standards issue at CIC for a number of years, acknowledged that some of the discussion in the past has been thwarted by confusion over what aspects of standards the committee was addressing. He noted that even

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the committee’s “Repair Standards” name may have been unintentionally misleading.

But as more and more automakers have developed requirements for their own shop certification programs, Nantau said, some on the committee saw industry-defined shop standards as a way to avoid, for example, a shop needing five different Steve Nantau brands of welders just to comply with multiple automaker certification requirements.

An industry-defined shop standard would also be open to any qualified shop, rather than having automakers pick and choose among equally-qualified shops, Nantau said.

But Aaron Schulenburg, executive director of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), said he believes collision repairers are more interested in having widespread acceptance and implementation of OEM procedures as the repair standard rather than working toward more all-encompassing shop standards.

“I don’t think we want to go down

the road of this is how you must run your business and how your business must be,” Schulenburg said. “Establishing a standard of how a repair is performed benefits all. Then leave the certification process up to the open market. Let’s stop trying to bite off the certification part right now. Let’s establish a baseline repair standard, which the (repair) industry already recognizes.”

Tim Adelmann, executive vice president for business development for 137-shop ABRA Auto Body & Glass chain, said he too is interested in whether all segments of the industry will accept any standards that are Tim Adelmann developed.

“Today, we can get all the data we need to do a proper repair,” Adelmann said. “The thing that concerns me is buy-in from the body: Do we all agree that this the right way to fix the car?”

He said although CIC brought shops and insurers together to develop standards for the digital images needed to document claims, that stan-

dard hasn’t been widely adopted, and insurers still have varying requirements for digital images.

“So my fear as a collision repairer is that we’ll have a standard or repair procedures but we don’t have consensus with OEMs, repairers and insurers,” Adelmann said.

Bad repairers exist As another example, Adelmann said most direct repair programs have training and equipment requirements that clearly aren’t being followed or enforced.

“We hire technicians that come from body shops that are on direct repair programs yet they are not I-CAR trained, and they’ve never used a resistance spot welder,” Adelmann said.

“The shop they came from didn’t have a measuring system. But these shops are participating in direct repair programs.”

“There are bad repairers out there,” Schulenburg agreed. “Let me say it right now: I represent repairers and some of them probably aren’t that good. But there are a lot of insurers in the room who aren’t paying for OEM repair procedures, though there are carriers out there who do. I guess in-

stead of saying we all agree the OEM repair procedures are recognized, so let’s move on to the next step. Why don’t we instead focus on getting those procedures recognized. I think we’re moving too far forward before we get that.”

But, Nantau countered, how do you ensure OEM procedures are actually being done without some sort of thirdparty audit system? That was what the committee was postulating when it stopped to gather input—which turned out to be conflicting—on whether this is the direction the industry wants to go.

(A survey of CIC participants just prior to the standards discussion at the meeting in Palm Springs found that 79% were in favor of shops being inspected to ensure compliance with requirements for tools, equipment and training.)

CIC Chairman George Avery said the topic will remain on CIC’s agenda in 2013.

“My [point] is that this will not be solved here today,” Avery said.

“But we’re going to take it in steps.

I’m committed as the chair of CIC to take these things step-by-step, with the right people. I think having this conversation is very valuable.”

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Social Media for Shops

Why Do I Really Need a Marketing Manager? with Ed Attanasio

In my last column, I discussed why you still need a website. Just as important is having a marketing manager, especially for companies with more than one location. In today’s world, every shop on the planet is vying for one of those top spots, where they can attract multiple DRPs and dramatically increase their revenue. To achieve this, collision repairers have to deal with every aspect of their business—from personnel to training to bookkeeping and everything in between. Marketing, unfortunately, doesn’t always make it to the top of the list, because it rarely brings results overnight and shop owners aren’t patient, as a rule.

When I talk to shops about marketing to consumers I describe a ‘churn.’ You might not get butter right away, but if you get margarine, it’s a good start. Marketing is like building a structure and that’s why it takes time.

If you start doing marketing and are perplexed that the phone isn’t ringing off its hook a few weeks later, you’re being unrealistic and setting yourself up for failure. Too many shops or MSOs don’t go the distance when it comes to marketing and abandon their efforts before they give it a chance to succeed.

I talked to three very successful shops recently that have marketing managers, in order to pick their brains and ask the number one question many shops want to know—will he or she pay for themselves over a reasonable period of time? If hiring a marketing person is a long-term expense rather than an investment, it can’t work; but if it makes you money, most body shop owners would embrace the idea rather quickly.

ROI (Return on Investment) is a nice acronym, but to get there takes a lot of work and a strategic approach.

Craig Camacho is the marketing manager for Keenan Auto Body, with 11 locations in Philadelphia and Delaware.

When he was hired by the company in 2002, Keenan had five shops that were doing roughly $600,000 in business annually. Today, the company is doing $21 million in business. Camacho knows he isn’t the main reason for the company’s explosive growth, but he also realizes that his marketing efforts have definitely played a role.

“One thing I would tell shops that are thinking about hiring a marketing person is that the technology is not going away. By continually plugging away at things like social media, advertising and other out-of-the-box approaches, we’ve been able to reach a point where we now fix almost 1,000 cars per month. We now have 21 DRPs and we dedicate 2.5% of our annual gross to our marketing efforts. We started out with a budget of 1.5% and increased it as we started to see some success.”

Devising a budget for marketing is the easy part, Camacho said, but without continually running analytics and seeing what works, the churn will not produce enough results to justify itself.

“Many shops don’t know if their marketing works, so they take a shotgun approach and just blindly buy things like billboards, direct mail, radio and TV, among other things. This usually fails, because there is no cohesive plan.”

Rich Villanueva is the marketing director at Michael J’s Body Shop, with two locations in San Jose, CA. He came from the high-tech industry after working in Silicon Valley for many years, so he was already very familiar with the technology, but he had to learn the collision industry from the ground up.

“Collision is unlike anything else I’ve ever done,” Villanueva stated.

“I’ve now been doing this for almost three years and we’ve increased our revenues by 32% since I came onboard here. I’m not doing it all by myself, because we have a great staff and a very progressive owner. I work a lot on customer service, making sure that every car we repair goes as planned, so that we have a happy customer, which leads to solid referrals. We’ve been working hard on our social media and website and now our average customer spends 2.5 minutes on our site, which is exceptional. We have also increased our Internet visibility 300% since I came onboard. We’ve embraced a lot of new things, like YouTube videos we create, search strategies that work and social media that brings us clients, coupled with some old school conventional marketing, which involves going out and meeting with insurance

20 MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

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

companies and meeting agents.”

Jeff Ryan, the owner of Michael J’s Body Shop, had a feeling that Villanueva would succeed as his marketing person, even though his background wasn’t in collision or even in the automotive field, he said. “We’ve been friends for a long time, so I was confident that he could do a good job. It took some time to get all of the puzzle pieces in place, but once we established a plan, we could see results. Rich has paid for himself many times over, so hiring him was definitely a smart move.”

Jeremy Eaton is the marketing guru at Collision Repair Specialists in St. Joseph, MI. He was hired by his father after attending the Academy of Art in San Francisco, so he had no marketing background. Eaton works around 50 hours weekly to provide marketing support for his family’s one location, he explained.

“I’ve only been doing this since April and we’ve already experienced a

spike in business. We’ve succeeded by using things like Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest to bring our message to the public. The process never stops and we’re not afraid of trying new stuff to see if it will work. We do a ton of charity because we want to do it, but I know it strengthens our position in the community and so it’s a win-win. Recently, we did a diaper drive for a non-profit and we have previously partnered with the United Way. We provide our amazing facility to charities and it’s been great. I also do a lot of internal things with the staff, such as team building, goal setting and other strategies to empower our people and it’s also been very effective.”

Marketing management isn’t new, but many body shops are new to the science. Positive results will lead to more cars and more money, and soon it will become a no-brainer and an addition to your staff that could soon be an indispensable part of your business.

www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 21

Continued from Cover

Summit in Newport

and Ward Myers with CAWA facilitated the discussion, a topic that worries an aging workforce.

“Younger people want to make better money,” one participant spoke up. Many agreed and some commented how their children, early in their careers, were already making more money than their parents. Others said their sons and daughters don’t want to follow in their footsteps because they see their parents working

Jack Crawley and Ed Jimenez

too hard for too little money. Another complained that the younger generations have an “entitlement problem” and don’t want to work hard.

Many agreed that to make the industry more attractive to younger generations, owners need to pay well and offer good benefits to be competitive in the job market.

Jerry Kubitsky, Summit Transmissions

“But it’s not just about money,” another participant argued. “It’s about the enjoyment of working on cars.”

Myers asked the group what they are doing to attract new talent. “As an industry, we’re not promoting the industry. We’re not doing a good job recruiting younger generations,” he said. Several agreed that the industry needs to improve its image from “a dirty, grungy job” to a viable, attractive career path. “Don’t use a greasy photo of a technician with a dirty rag hanging out of his pocket,” one gentleman said, criticizing common mar-

keting materials.

All agreed that education is one of the most important steps the industry could take to improve recruitment into an industry where the average age of a body shop owner is late 50s. Several shop owners expressed concern about high schools and community colleges cutting technical programs due to budget cuts and an emphasis on academic degrees.

Several CAWA and ASCCA members stood up and urged their fellow members to get involved in their local high school and college programs, to mentor students, and to tell instructors what skills they should be teaching their students to make them hireable. Others suggested shop owners should get involved in career days at schools to promote the field of automotive repair.

Members also commented that training is an industry-wide problem because staff aren’t getting consistent training to update and improve their skills in a rapidly-changing and advancing field.

Parts Purchasing Dennis Montalbano, ASCCA, and Scott Nassif, CAWA, facilitated the

discussion of where the distributor buys parts and who within the company makes the decision to buy. Nassif explained that parts purchasing is market driven, based on quality, availability and price. “As a supplier, we’re driven by what our customers are asking for,” he said. He added that the difference he’s seeing today is an emerging second tier of garage where repairers are not as concerned about quality because they just want the cheapest. However, he said, other customers demand quality and are concerned about service. “It’s a dilemma between price and quality,” he noted.

Aaron Lowe, VP Government Affairs, AAIA

One repairer stood up and said he does not give the consumer a lot of choice. He buys the best part he can to get the best value and to reduce the

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risk of having to re-do the repair.

Another shop owner said he wants to see the origin of the part to make a better decision on the quality of the part.

Steve Sharp with WorldPac summed up the topic by stating, “We try to stock what you buy. It’s very simple.”

Right to Repair Aaron Lowe, Vice President of Government Affairs with the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, summarized the recent “Right to Repair” legislation passed in Massachusetts and what it means to the California aftermarket business.

In Massachusetts, the new legislation allows access to all of the non-proprietary repair information required to have vehicles repaired at a shop consumers choose, whether at a new car dealership or an independent shop. The law levels the playing field between the big car manufacturers’ dealerships and independent, neighborhood repair facilities, allowing the latter to finally be able to access the same non-proprietary automobile diagnostic and repair information that is currently only available to the manufacturers’ dealers and their new car dealerships.

It is now illegal in Massachusetts for automakers to withhold repair and diagnostic information, not just for passenger cars, but for motorcycles, RV’s and bigger trucks and construction vehicles.

By 2017, manufacturers are required to establish websites or cloud technology that will contain the same information and software that dealers have access to as part of their proprietary tools.

Lowe noted that the win in Massachusetts is a huge victory for the

Jack Molodanof, ASCCA legislative advocate

whole country because once the automaker information is online, it is available to everyone, but he also stressed the importance of an eventual national right to repair law to add strength and validity for all states.

SB 750 Jack Molodanof, legislative advocate with ASCCA, and Norm Plotkin, legislative advocate for CAWA, summarized how grassroots advocacy brought about a big win for both organizations at stopping a bill aimed at restricting access to certain aftermarket parts.

Members of both organizations wrote letters, sent faxes and emails and made phone calls urging a veto of the bill.

“One person can make a difference,” said Molodanof.

On Sept. 26, the two organizations claimed a victory for consumers and the automotive aftermarket alike as the bill, aimed at attempting to lock out the industry from information relative to key replacement in certain automobiles, was vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown. Opponents of the bill contended that by withholding key code information, BMW was forcing their vehicle owners to have their vehicles serviced at dealerships, thereby eliminating the option for consumers to have their cars serviced at independent repair shops.

Brake Pad Legislation Larry Moore, ASCCA and Norm

Plotkin, CAWA, addressed new regulations regarding brake pads and how to tell if brake pads sold and installed are compliant. Regulation of brake pads came about when it was discovered in the late 1980s that there was an excess of copper in the San Francisco Bay, which was causing toxicity in aquatic organisms, leading fish to become toxic. The cause of copper in the Bay was found to come from cop-

Marcus Zartarosian, Craig Johnson, Mary Kemnitz

per in brake pads. Every time someone used their brakes, copper dust was left behind on the roadways and rain was washing the copper dust into the waterways. Ceramic brake pads historically have had more copper in them than semi-metallic or non-asbestos organics. Copper in brake pads See Summit in Newport, Page 37

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On Creative Marketing

Tom Franklin has been a sales and marketing consultant for fifty years. He has written numerous books and provides marketing solutions and services for many businesses.

He can be reached at (323) 871-6862 or at tbfranklin@aol.com.

See Tom’s columns at www.autobodynews.com under Columnists > Franklin

Pilfer and Polish the Competition’s Thunder with Thomas Franklin

The dictionary says ‘pilfer’ means to steal articles of little value, but you might say value is in the eye of the beholder. By now your competition probably has a website, a Facebook page, a Twitter account and more. Have you checked these out? How effective do you think the contents on these promotional tools are? How do they compare with yours? Have you even looked?

Are these articles of ‘little value’ that you might ‘pilfer’ and then polish to increase the value and fit your own needs? Your competitors may have spent dearly to get these tools created, but their designs and ideas are yours to copy if you modify them to showcase your shop. It’s been said that imitation is the highest form of flattery, but I’m not suggesting that you settle for a cheap copy of your competitors’ ideas.

You need to improve—and improve greatly—on what you see.

Actually, you may already have your own version of what you see on your competitor’s site and other media, but this battle for the eyes and minds of on-line shoppers has just begun. Your shop may be smaller than any of your competitors, but if your website and other media are more powerful and impressive than they are, you will be the biggest in the shopper’s mind. How can you beat that for inexpensive expansion?

Your first line of attack is to identify which of your competitors has media elements worth pilfering. Don’t settle for one or two. Look at as many as you can. Then expand your search.

Scour the country for shops that have spectacular sites and media presence.

If you’re going to pilfer ideas, why not Continued from Page 14

PartsTrader at CAA

● 60,000 orders ● 69% orders processed electronically ● 30% repairers using it for non-State Farm work

Comments from the attendees An industry consultant commented that he believes the program will benefit everyone. He commended PartsTrader for its efforts because he sees a need for automated parts procurement.

steal from the best?

Actually, most collision repair sites will have the same elements.

Photos of the shop, personnel, and equipment with promotional information and customer satisfaction statements that make up a good part of most sites. The trick is to showcase yours in a more creative, eye-catching and ear-catching way. For example, getting an aerial photo view of your shop is possible in most parts of the country, but it’s seldom seen in on-line promotions. One shop’s site I viewed had 360 degree viewing of the inside of the repair area. This could be of value in promoting to an insurance company, but have little value for a collision repair shopper. You have to decide which public you’re most interested in impressing.

Look for the use of color. Many sites seem to have a lot of gray images or background. Spring for a design specialist with a flair for color and dramatic imagery. Think auto show. If your site and media look like everyone else’s, viewers will pass it by in a flash.

When you’re scanning other shop sites, watch for images and colors that grab you instantly. Now it’s time to pilfer an idea worth copying and polishing. And don’t forget sound. Think about the background music on commercials that grab your attention. Loud sounds can be a turn-off, so a pleasing sound for your site will keep visitors looking.

Now for the hard part. You may want to create a showcase for your shop that puts the competition to shame, but you have very little material to work with. If you want colorful images and your actual shop is a study in shades of

Brian Orr of Jack Orr’s Auto Body, which has been in business for 62 years, said he was concerned about the insurer’s intrusion into his business.

“The only thing left for us is parts profits. That keeps us open.” He also complained how the program will change their relationships with their suppliers.

His grandfather and father built the business and he came into it at age 16, and during all those years they’ve been building relationships with people. “If we had solidarity in the industry and See PartsTrader at CAA, Page 47

24 MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

gray, it may be time to put your painter to work creating a more colorful place.

Do you have expansive walls that could display a dramatic mural? Using image wraps normally used for commercial vehicles would allow you to put images of your favorite high-end vehicles right on the walls of your building. And consider the appearance of your crew. With a little imagination you can blow the competition away with your shop’s appearance.

Finally, watch for what’s missing in the competition’s presentations. Do you have a niche that many shops ignore? Do you provide special items for the aged or handicapped? These can show your shop as having compassion for others. Do you have a waiting area with elements for parents to entertain their children while they’re waiting? Do you provide special door-to-door service with rental cars, or after-hours rental car dropoff? Do you have key personnel that

you might showcase? Have you worked on celebritys’ or local politicians’ vehicles? If you have old photos of interesting jobs or shop events you can probably have them scanned into digital images.

And don’t forget social connections. Affiliation with girl scouts, boy scouts, charities, hospitals, local schools or churches and more can connect you with like-minded viewers and separate your shop from the crowd. You may not be able to afford regular events but it only takes one to provide you with plenty of images for your media and sites. One Ford dealer I helped with marketing put on a spectacular event with an armored vehicle from the sheriff’s department and a couple of concept cars from the Auto Show. With images like these on the opening home page, few viewers would pass it by. Get creative and you can beat anything the competition could come up with.

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Hot Hoods Help Troops Wounded Warrior Project

Four eBay auctions were held recently to raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project. Each auction consisted of a race car hood autographed

by Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne and/or Ray Evernham, as well as a photo of the car as it competed in the 2013 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals and a photo of Stewart or Kahne signing the hood.

“I am extremely excited about these auctions and I hope we can raise a lot of money for the Wounded Warrior Project,” said David Prickett, owner of Western Performance Parts and Neverlift Motorsports in Fresno, CA. “This whole deal has been a lot of fun and I’ve had the pleasure of talking with some great people.”

The auctions lasted 10 days on

eBay, and at the completion of the auctions, Neverlift Motorsports made the donation to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Prickett, former BCRA Most Improved Driver and BCRA Champion and 2012 USAC WS Dirt Champion,, has a long history in midget racing, both with BCRA and USAC and have a complete BCRA / USAC schedule planned with a three car team in 2013.

Neverlift Motorsports would like to thank everyone involved in this project: Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Ray Evernham, Tony Stewart Racing, Fabozzi Motorsports, Kassik Motorsports, Jesse Frazier, Crysalli Artesian Water, Mt. Rose Mixes, Western Performance Parts, Wunder-Bar, Millican Farming Service, Frazier Construction, TK All State, Memorial Machine, Pro Screen Signs and Graphics, Top Shelf Design, Afco Racing, Hoosier Tire, Simpson Race Products, K&N Engineering, Shell Shock Design, Wilwood Engineering, Moose Motorsports, SpeedTech Chassis, Caps Jet-Hot Coatings, XRP, MPD Racing, Schoenfeld Headers, Royal Purple and MaxiLube.

Missouri Aims to Abolish Biennial Vehicle Inspection Requirement; ASA Urges Repairers to Oppose Bill

Missouri State Sen. David Sater (R29) has introduced legislation that would dilute the Missouri State Motor Vehicle Safety Inspection Program by eliminating the requirement that all motor vehicles obtain a biennial certificate of inspection, and instead be inspected triennially.

The Automotive Service Association (ASA) opposes these changes to the Missouri Motor Vehicle Safety Inspection Program. The bill’s effect would be to create less-safe highways in Missouri, more accidents leading to loss of property, more injuries and possibly more deaths.

State government studies of vehicle safety inspection programs in Missouri and Pennsylvania have indicated that inspection programs deter accidents, injuries and deaths.

ASA asks Missouri repairers to contact their legislators and express their opposition to S.B. 136. Repairers can go to ASA’s legislative website at www.TakingtheHill.com to send an opposition letter. Sending a letter takes only a few minutes.

See the full text of the bill at www.TakingTheHill.com.

Ford Family to Collect $28 Million in Dividend Increase

The Ford family, which owns more than 70 million shares of the Ford Motor Co., stands to make $28.3 million this year with the news that the automaker is doubling its quarterly dividend, The Detroit News recently reported.

Ford’s dividend, which sat at 5 cents per share for the past year, will bump up to 10 cents per share, a sign analysts say points to strong 2012 financial results and a promising 2013 outlook.

Among the biggest beneficiaries of the increased dividends is Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr., who has 14.5 million common shares of Ford stock and more than 4 million Class B shares, according to last year’s company proxy statement. He will make nearly $7.5 million this year in dividend payments.

And outside the Ford family, company CEO Alan Mulally, who owns nearly 22.4 million shares of Ford’s common stock, stands to receive about $9 million this year in dividend payments.

For a five-year span dating from late 2006 through 2011, Ford paid no dividend. It announced in late 2011 the return of a nickel-per-share dividend.

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Mitchell Forecasts Shift in Property & Casualty Industry Mitchell’s 2013 Industry Trends Report (ITR) for the first quarter presents expert insight into trends, current events in the industry and the economic outlook. The ITR leverages Mitchell’s sophisticated data sets and state-by-state data from Enterprise Rent-A-Car on the repairable length of rentals. This interactive report offers a comprehensive look at data-driven trends in the Property & Casualty (P&C) industry.

The Auto Physical Damage edition Written by Greg Horn, Vice President of Industry Relations at Mitchell, the feature article, “The State of Repairs: Does Repair Efficiency Vary from State to State,” explores the relationship between rental length and labor hours for repairable estimates, and which body labor type has the greatest influence on rental length and overall labor hours. The significance of this is that operating efficiency does vary from state to state, and shop owners who are able to incorporate rental and estimating data into business decisions can increase efficiency.

The data from Enterprise Rent-ACar shows that the industry’s average length of rental (LOR) decreased by 0.1 days in Q4, 2012 but in the Northeast, due to Hurricane Sandy, the average LOR was 12.4 days. Weather, climate, economics, age of vehicle and parts availability are factors in determining LOR. “With this new information, industry resources have finally caught up to market demands,” said Horn.

“Thanks to the state-by-state look at the relationship between rental hours and body shop labor, repair shop owners can now take the combined data to see how they rank against the overall state average, or measure how they stack up against in-state competition.”

The Auto Casualty Solutions edition The feature article, “Analytics in Action,” written by Dr. Edward Olsen, Mitchell’s Senior Claims Consultant, underscores the importance of data analytics in the P&C industry, especially for carriers who need to understand every aspect of the claims resolution process. Sharing insight on two projects derived from the newly

announced Mitchell ClaimsLab, Olsen discusses how the Medical Severity Index (MSI) and Casualty Loss Triangle Reporting will impact the industry in 2013.

Currently, the MSI is a quarterly report based on the results of the open claims data benchmarked with Q1, 2008 results. The addition of ClaimsLab data will allow carriers to monitor performance and change procedures in a more proactive and precise manner through the MSI. In 2013, ClaimsLab will enable Mitchell to develop a loss triangle tool that will provide a series of analytical reports to allow carriers to assess the composition of their claim losses from a unique perspective that includes a mix of provider and treatment information. A casualty loss triangle is a valuable tool for the projection of future losses and reserving, and to benchmark performance against the industry.

“We’ve heard the industry buzz about the term Big Data and data analytics, but there hasn't been an easy way for P&C insurance carriers to receive valuable data, analyze it in

meaningful ways and have it presented in a manner that is visual, compelling and easy to understand—until now,” said Olsen. “Mitchell’s new ClaimsLab is the missing link and these initiatives are just two examples of how Mitchell is applying analytical expertise to help the industry gain a deeper understanding of business and outside forces. Readers of this ITR will have a greater understanding of the MSI and Casualty Loss Triangle Reporting initiatives we have in place in 2013.”

The ITR has highlighted ongoing and emerging industry trends and key performance indicators for auto physical damage collision and casualty industries for over a decade. The insights and perspectives via several editions focus on the data-driven, technology-enabled innovations impacting the insurance claims handling marketplace. The complete report is available at www.mitchell.com/industry-trendsreport. First published in April 2001, Mitchell’s ITR now reaches more than 33,000 collision and casualty industry professionals.

www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 27

28 MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

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AUTOMAKER, AU A UTO OM MA M AK AK ER OEM OEM AUTOMAKER KE R,, OEM, M,, AND AND RECALL RE R E C AL CA ALL LL EC Autobody News

Toyota Recall for Passenger Seat Sensor

Southeast Toyota Distributors (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia.

During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.

If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger’s size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.

Honda Airbag Recall

Honda is recalling certain model year 2009-2013 Pilot and 2011-2013 Odyssey passenger vehicles manufactured from March 13, 2008, through December 21, 2012. One or more rivets that attach the airbag module to the airbag cover may be missing. The absence of more than one rivet could alter the performance of the driver’s airbag during deployment. This could potentially increase the risk of injury during a crash.

Honda will notify owners and instruct them to take their vehicle to a Honda dealer. The dealer will inspect the driver’s airbag module and replace it if necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on, or about, February 16, 2013. Owners may contact Honda at 1-800-999-1009.

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Chevy Malibu Recall

General Motors is recalling certain model year 2013 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles, manufactured December 6, 2011, through January 15, 2013. One or more rear suspension bolts may not have been tightened to the specified torque. This may lead to sudden changes in vehicle handling.

Sudden changes in vehicle handling may increase the risk of a crash. General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and retighten the bolts as necessary, free of charge. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-521-7300.

Toyota Recalls 1.29 Million Cars for Air Bags, Wipers

Toyota is recalling over one million cars around the world for faulty air bags and defective windshield wipers.

The company is recalling 907,000 cars, mostly Corollas, due to air bags that can improperly inflate when the vehicle’s electronic signals damage a chip in the part that controls the air bags. It also is recalling 385,000 Lexus IS luxury cars with wipers that can get stuck if there is heavy snowfall.

Initially, the Japanese automaker had said there were no accidents related to either problem, but Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman Naoto Fuse said that two crashes were reported in the U.S. related to the air bag problem. Toyota had not been able to confirm them and Fuse said it is unclear whether anyone was injured in the two crashes. Toyota has confirmed 18 cases in the U.S. of abrasion-type injuries from the air bag problem, he said.

As part of the air bag recall, Toyota is recalling some 752,000 Corolla and Corolla Matrix cars in the U.S., about 141,000 vehicles in Canada and thousands of similar vehicles in Japan and Mexico that were manufactured between December 2001 and May 2004. The part will be corrected to be able to block damaging signals, said Fuse.

The problem wipers affect three kinds of Lexus IS models.

30 MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

GM Recalls 13,000 Cars for Bolts and Airbag Issues

General Motors Co is recalling 13,680 cars globally to address potential problems with improperly tightened suspension bolts and faulty airbags, according to the company and documents filed with U.S. safety regulators.

Neither issue has resulted in any accidents or injuries, GM said.

2013 Chevrolet Malibu LTZumGM is recalling 8,519 2013 model year Chevrolet Malibu sedans in the United States as one or more rear suspension bolts may not have been tightened properly, which could lead to loss of vehicle handling and increase the risk of a crash, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

GM is recalling another 1,060 of the cars in Canada, Mexico and overseas, GM said.

Owners initially may notice noise and minor handling issues, but as the condition progresses sudden changes in vehicle handling could occur, NHTSA said.

GM also is recalling 3,896 2012 model year Buick Verano, and Chevy Camaro, Cruze and Sonic cars in the United States to address potentially faulty airbags, NHTSA said.

The driver side front airbag has a shorting bar that may intermittently contact the airbag terminals, possibly causing the airbags not to deploy and increasing the risk of injury, according to the NHTSA.

Chevy Airbag Recalls

General Motors is recalling certain model year 2012 Chevrolet Camaro, Buick Verano, Chevrolet Cruze, and Chevrolet Sonic vehicles. The driver side frontal air bag has a shorting bar which may intermittently contact the air bag terminals.

If the bar and terminals are contacting each other at the time of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver’s frontal airbag, that airbag will not deploy, increasing the driver’s risk of injury.

www.autobodynews.com

March 2013

Volvo Profits Plunge 17%

Swedish truck maker AB Volvo saw profits tumble in the fourth quarter as sales slumped 17% on weakening demand in key markets.

The net profit in the final three months of 2012 was $125 million.

Volvo said that demand for trucks sagged in southern Europe and Japan while “North American customers have remained cautious because of uncertainty about the future economic development.”

Last month Volvo announced it would buy a 45% stake in China’s Dongfeng Motor Group Co. — a deal it said would make it the world’s biggest heavy trucks maker.

Chryler’s New ‘13 Dart

Chrysler Group introduced the limited-edition Mopar ‘13 Dart, marking the fourth special-edition Moparbadged vehicle created since the company partnered with Fiat S.p.A in 2009.

Building on the success of the Mopar ’10 Challenger, Mopar ’11 Charger and the Mopar ‘12 300, the limited-edition Mopar ‘13 Dart will be built and customized with Mopar performance parts and accessories.

Production for a limited run of 500 units will begin this spring at the company’s assembly plant in Belvidere, IL. “Our new Mopar ‘13 Dart will turn heads and stand out from the crowd,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group’s service, parts and customercare brand. “For this special, limitededition vehicle, we specifically kept the driver in mind as we added select Mopar parts and accessories.”

Inspired by the tuner scene, the Mopar ‘13 Dart is designed for driving enthusiasts. Powered by a 1.4-liter MultiAir® intercooled turbo engine with a manual transmission, the Mopar ‘13 sports a gloss-black finish with a pair of car-length Mopar Blue stripes, which mirror each of the three previous Mopar-themed models.

From the racing scene, Mopar added a premium brake kit with slotted rotors.

Toyota Reclaims No. 1 Spot

Toyota Motor Corp. regained the No. 1 ranking, displacing General Motors Co., after selling a record number of 9.75 million vehicles worldwide for 2012.

Sales of vehicles under Toyota’s Hino, Daihatsu, Lexus, Toyota and Scion brands were up 22.6% over the previous year.

Japan’s second- and thirdlargest automakers also broke sales record as the industry recovered from a spate of natural disasters and other setbacks.

Nissan Motor Co.’s global sales rose 5.8% to 4.94 million vehicles, while Honda Motor Co.’s sales surged 19% to 3.82 million vehicles.

By the start of 2012, most of Japan’s automakers had fully restored production from the disruptions of 2011 caused mainly by a giant tsunami. They also benefited from strong demand in the U.S. and Asia, a limited exposure to the weak European auto market, and improving currency trends.

Forecaster IHS Automotive has penciled in Toyota for first place in 2013; the automaker is expecting to sell 9.91 million vehicles. But IHS noted that Germany’s Volkswagen AG could be a strong contender.

Mitsubishi Recalls 1,400 EVs for Faulty Brakes

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is recalling 1,400 electric vehicles for faulty brakes.

The Japanese automaker said it is recalling 1,402 2012 i-MiEV electric vehicles built between December 2011 and September 2012 and were sold in the United States.

The brake system vacuum pump could become inoperable because of a faulty part built by a German supplier.

The investigation began after an owner in Japan made a complaint in June.

The automaker told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration it is unaware of any crashes or injuries.

Dealers will replace the vacuum pumps on the vehicles.

A repair schedule will depend on parts availability, and the automaker hasn’t released a timetable yet for notifying dealers and owners.

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Chrysler Wins U.S. Ruling Against Two Dismissed Dealerships

A federal judge has ruled against two Chrysler Group dealerships in New York whose owners lost their franchises as part of the automaker’s 2009 bankruptcy.

Eagle Auto Mall and Terry Morris Chrysler-Jeep sued Chrysler in August 2010. They alleged that the automaker failed to follow the directives of binding arbitration that called for Chrysler to provide Eagle Auto Mall with a “customary and usual” preliminary deal to renew the dealership.

Eagle Auto Mall and Terry Morris Chrysler-Jeep were two of 789 U.S. Chrysler dealerships terminated as part of Chrysler’s bankruptcy.

In a ruling issued Jan. 24, District Judge Leonard Wexler found that the letters of intent that Chrysler offered to the owners of the two dealerships after they won arbitrations to restore their franchises were customary and usual.

In 2009, as part of its bankruptcy-supervised reorganization, Chrysler stripped franchise rights from both dealerships’ owners. They later won their franchise rights back in arbitration.

One Third of Ford Dealers Will Sell EVs

More than 900 dealers, about a third of the Ford-brand dealer body, will be certified to sell Ford-brand plug-in vehicles by spring, Ford said.

That number of EV Certified Dealers has grown from about 200 dealers in November and is ahead of where the company projected it to be.

EV Certified Dealers have to meet special certification requirements in order to be allowed to sell Fordbrand plug-in vehicles. Ford currently offers two: the Ford Focus Electric and C-Max Energi. A third plug-in, the Fusion Energi, goes on sale soon.

Ford attributed the spike to increased demand for the electrified vehicles.

To be certified, Ford dealers must install at least two on-site charging stations, including one in the customer parking area and another in the service department.

Dealers must also keep at least one Focus Electric and C-Max Energi on hand for demonstrations. And 80% of sales consultants, sales managers, service managers and service advisers are required to take specialized training in vehicle electrification.

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

Inside Insurance

Consolidation Allows Insurers to ‘Dance with the Devil They Know’ with The Insurance Insider

The industry has been inundated with news about consolidators buying new locations and expanding into markets where they have not traditionally had a presence. To be honest, it’s happening at such a rapid pace that most of us in the insurance industry were caught off guard. In an economy that has struggled, the last thing we expected was capital investment firms plunking down large sums of money to purchase consolidators and then provide capital for aggressive growth. Existing large consolidators investing their own money to buy additional locations was even more surprising to insurers.

Why is it a surprise? Well, there’s the fact that most shops regularly complain that they can’t make any money

in this industry because of the sinister insurance industry. Perhaps the all-toocommon refrain about the lack of profitability in the collision repair industry

has no substance. If people who have far more money and are significantly smarter than me are throwing down millions of dollars to buy body shops, maybe we’re not clearly understanding “lack of profitability.”

I’m not averse to shops making a profit, of course, but I am averse to shops saying the sky is falling when in fact it’s raining money.

So what does all this consolidation mean to the insurance industry? Are we happy, sad or indifferent? The best answer I can give is a quote from one of my all-time favorite movies: “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

If you don’t know the movie, I am not going to tell you because you’re probably not old enough to appreciate it anyway. But I will say this: It doesn’t make a difference to insurers what direction the industry is headed regarding consolidation. We have no ability to control it, and have no desire to influence it. It’s something that will happen organically without our input—one of the few times in the history of the collision industry when we as the insurance companies are not forcing change. Honestly, it’s a little refreshing that we don’t have to be the

ones to help facilitate change. It gets tiring dragging body shops to the dance to help improve their business, operational efficiency and customer service.

There, I said it. We are tired of having to make shops do a better job.

Speaking of dances, I remember the days of the “sock hop.” I realize I’m really going back in time, but this was the thing to do and the place to be on Friday nights. I fondly remember shoes being piled up and everyone in the school dancing. Kids today don’t have any idea what they missed out on.

As surprising as this may seem, I remember times where I had a decision to make about whom to dance with. That’s similar to the decisions we as insurers are faced with as consolidators become larger and their footprint in the U.S. becomes wider. It was such a nerve-racking decision back then. Do I dance with Suzie, who I always seem to bump into at these

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high school mixers, or do I take a risk and try to dance with Betsy? I don’t know too much about Betsy and she may say ‘no.’ I typically chose the safe route, as Suzie was a sure thing.

Ergo the cliché, “Dance with the devil you know, or dance with the devil you don’t?”

(If Suzie’s mom ever heard me refer to her sweet daughter as a devil, my mom would have been called and I would be skipping supper that evening.)

We as insurers view consolidators and independents in a similar manner. We know the consolidators because they’re at every dance, just like Suzie. They’re going to be available, and more often than not are a willing and able-bodied partner. The independents may dance as well but may never have a chance to show it. I guess Betsy and many independents will be standing up against the wall wondering what it would be like to dance the night away.

I suppose that could be our loss, but dealing with the devil you know sure makes doing business easier. And quite frankly, Suzie looks a lot cuter and has more to offer. Please don’t send any e-mail about misogyny. I’m not degrading women or any individ-

ual woman. I am trying to indicate that, much like the large consolidators, some bring far more to the dance.

They have more assets, as it were.

Although we don’t take a position on consolidation, it can make it easier for us to do business. Most consolidators have a single point of contact for a small market of locations.

Managing 10 shops becomes easier when we can make one phone call to share performance results and identify areas where improvement is needed.

Furthermore, consolidators typically have a training regimen to ensure that the revolving door of estimators and customer service representatives are adequately trained so that their service level doesn’t deteriorate. They also provide a level of additional services that the majority of independents can’t compete with.

The reality is that Suzie is not only here, she wants to dance, and she is the prettiest girl at the sock hop.

Sorry, Betsy.

“The Insider” wishes to remain anonymous as he offers an unvarnished look at various issues impacting the collision industry. This column reflects an individual’s opinion only.

Maryland Bill Explicitly Bans Counterfeit Airbags, Global Automakers Support Increased Counterfeit Penalties

Maryland’s HB 885 will explicitly prohibit a person from ● making, distributing, or selling a counterfeit airbag or a substandard airbag; ● installing a counterfeit airbag or a substandard airbag in a motor vehicle; ● selling or installing a device that causes the vehicle diagnostic system to inaccurately indicate that the airbag is functional when a counterfeit airbag or a substandard airbag is installed; ● representing to another person that a counterfeit airbag or a substandard airbag that is installed in a motor vehicle is not a counterfeit airbag or a substandard airbag If the violation of this act contributes to death or bodily injury, the person is guilty of a felony.

The Association of Global Automakers has announced its support of Maryland House Bill 885. The association has been working closely with bill sponsor Delegate Keiffer Mitchell Jr.’s office to provide technical expertise on the issue.

“Counterfeit replacement airbags

are a serious safety problem,” said Mike Stanton, Global Automakers’ president and CEO. “We want to do everything we can to ensure that consumers’ vehicles are repaired with airbags that operate as intended, meeting strict manufacturer and government standards.”

Global Automakers and its members assisted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), based on the agency’s discovery of recent sales and installations of counterfeit airbags that posed a risk of serious injury to the public.

“Individuals who knowingly sell or install dangerous counterfeit and substandard airbags should be punished,” Stanton said. “That is why we are working to pass legislation in Maryland and other states to bring attention to this important consumer issue.”

The bill was referred to the Maryland House Environmental Matters Committee. The committee will hold a hearing on the legislation on March 1, where Global Automakers will testify.

www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 33

Iowa Senate Bill Introduced to Study DRPs

ASA has reported that Iowa state Sen. Brad Zaun (R-20) recently introduced Iowa Senate Bill 42 requesting an interim study committee on automobile insurance direct repair programs (DRPs).

Under the legislation, the interim study committee is to study DRPs used by some automobile insurance companies to provide repairs for claimants. The study is to include the following: A review and analysis of the use of such DRPs by the automobile insurance industry in Iowa and the effect of the use of such programs on automotive body repair shops, insurance costs and Iowa consumers.

Membership of the interim study committee will include: • Three consumers, • Four members who represent auto body repair shops in the state, • Four members from the automobile insurance industry.

To view the full text of the bill, visit ASA’s legislative website at www.TakingTheHill.com and click on the “Track State Legislation” tab in the left menu.

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Honda Dealership Doesn’t Want a Shop Next Door

Sherwin-Williams Donates $60,000 in Products

Honda of Watertown, CT, is appealing a Planning and Zoning Commission decision to allow an auto body repair shop next door. The dealership filed a complaint Jan. 12 asking the Waterbury court to overturn the commis-

The Watertown Planning and Zoning Commission approved an auto body repair shop at this old industrial building. Honda of Watertown is appealing that decision

sion’s decision to approve the 3,000-square-foot repair shop in an existing industrial building at 29 New Wood Road. The building is currently used for an industrial machine shop, which is allowed in the Business Shopping Center District as a nonconforming use. Auto body shops are not allowed in the zone, but the commission can change one non-conformyourbyopinion on ing Give use forus another a two-thirds vote if it finds the new use is more appropriate than the former use.

Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes donated more than $60,000 in products to several schools involved with the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s 2012 Ultimate Collision Education Makeover school grant program.

“Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes believes in supporting secondary and post secondary educational facilities so that they can better their programs which help to make well-educated students into employees in our industry,” said Rodney Habel, director of training operations for SherwinWilliams Automotive Finishes.

The schools that requested Sherwin-Williams products as part of their application include: Sarasota County Technical Institute in Sarasota, FL, Freedom High School in Freedom, WI, and Applied Technology Center in Rock Hill, SC. Sherwin-Williams also donated paint for the collision shop walls of the 2012 grant winners, Nichols Career Center in Jefferson City, MO, and Manhattan Area Technical College of Manhattan, KS.

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AskPatty.com CEO Jody DeVere Receives Award

Jody DeVere, founder and CEO of AskPatty.com, received the Women’s Automotive Association International Distinguished Service Award.

The award was presented during the 14th Annual WAAI Spirit of Leadership Awards Reception on Saturday, February 9 at The Peabody in Orlando, FL. DeVere founded AskPatty.com in 1999 as a social media site to provide expert advice to women on automotiverelated topics and to teach strategies to enhance women’s experiJody DeVere ences in dealing with automotive-related businesses through the AskPatty.com Certified Female Friendly program.

Currently, more than 7,000 individuals employed in auto dealerships as well as tire, collision and repair centers hold AskPatty certification credentials. A long-time member of the WAAI Board of Directors who Contribute previouslyWant servedto as chairman, De- to us holds yourthe opinion VereGive currently position on of ma vice chairman and treasurer.

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Auto Body Shop Explodes in Fitchburg, Massachusetts

A large explosion at a Fitchburg, MA, auto body shop Feb. 5 caused serious damage to nearby buildings and displaced about a dozen people.

The explosion occurred at Victory Auto Supply-Speed Shop at 214 Lunenburg St. around 5:21 p.m., said Fitchburg Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Curran. No one was injured in the explosion, he said.

“It was really quite a horrific blast initially, and fortunately no one was in the immediate area of the explosion,” said Curran.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation and numerous departments, including the State Fire Marshal’s office, responded to the scene.

After the blast, four buildings, including the auto body shop, were boarded up and flagged as unsafe, displacing about 10 to 12 people, he said. The Red Cross worked to find shelter for those unable to return to their homes, he said.

The initial report of the incident came from a Fitchburg police detective who happened to be in the area, he said. The scene was described as a loud explosion and “a wall of flame,” said Curran.

ASRW Appoints New Chair

Automotive Service & Repair Week (ASRW) has announced that Dan Stander, AAM, Fix Auto Highlands Ranch in Littleton, CO, will serve as the next event chairman for the International Autobody Congress & ExDan Stander position (NACE).

Stander succeeds Ron Nagy.

Stander is a second-generation collision shop owner with 30 years of experience. He holds the Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) designation from the Automotive Management Institute (AMI) and is a graduate of the University of Colorado.

As an ASA member for 30 years, Stander is active in the ASA-Colorado affiliate, currently serving as president of ASA Colorado’s Collision Division and on the state organization’s Board of Directors. Stander is also instrumental in ASA’s activities at the national level with his involvement in the ASA Collision Division Operations Committee and its Refinish subcommittee, as well as serving on the ASA Board of Directors as Collision Division director.

Decreasing Crashes, but Higher Costs for Collisions

Even as the number of fatal and injury crashes decline, the societal cost of injury and fatal traffic collisions is on the rise, according to a report from the National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR).

The societal cost of fatal traffic collisions reached an estimated $6.4 million in 2012, a 100% increase compared to $3.2 million in 2005.

Injury crash costs follow the same upward trend. The community’s cost of an injury crash rose to $134,555 in 2012, a 97% increase from 2005.

The NSCR reports that these costs would have been much higher had fatal crashes and injury crashes not declined by 24% and 7%, respectively, from 2005 to 2010.

Based on these numbers, the NSCR urges communities to continue setting better standards on roadways to reduce collisions, such as adding red-light and speed safety cameras.

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CCC and URG Join Forces in Parts Listing Service

CCC Information Services Inc. (CCC) and United Recyclers Group (URG) announced Jan. 25 the implementation of a new parts listing service within CCC ONE Estimating.

The service uses parts data gathered by URG to provide CCC ONE Estimating customers direct access to a comprehensive recycled parts inventory from auto recyclers.

“CCC is making significant investments in its alternative parts solutions to improve the coverage and availability of insurance-quality parts for our estimating users,” said Jim Dickens, senior vice president for CCC. “URG has created a dynamic organization and a quality parts listing service that is open to all recyclers looking to present their parts information to auto repair professionals.”

URG’s technology provides inventory and pricing data to CCC ONE Estimating, allowing users access to recycled parts inventory and information as estimates are being written.

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Kopecky Elected to CAWA

Summit in Newport

Matthias Kopecky of SSF Auto Parts, LLC has been elected to the CAWA Board of Directors. He will also serve on the Association’s Membership and Education Committee in 2013. Kopecky started his career in the aftermarket in 1999 and currently directs and oversees the Purchasing and Product Management Department, reporting directly to the CEO. Matthias’ responsibilities also include collaborating with SSF suppliers for Marketing and Promotions efforts.

Also elected for an additional three year term on the Board are: • Scott Nassif, NAPA Auto Parts– Apple Valley • Mary Davis, NGK Spark Plugs • Frank Kohlweiss, Kohlweiss Auto Parts • Borise Cota, Akebono Corporation, • Jack Hardy, Chris Kouri and Associates CAWA is a regional automotive aftermarket trade association which represents auto parts jobbers, warehouse distributors, retailers, manufacturers and manufacturer representatives in California, Nevada and Arizona. The Association provides education, legislative, regulatory and business support to the industry and its membership.

provides adhesive friction and also helps the pad to cure in the mold faster due to the thermal conductivity of copper.

In 2010, SB 346 Kehoe was signed into law and limits the use of copper in motor vehicle brake pads to no more than 5% by weight on or after Jan. 1, 2021 and no more than .5% by weight on or after January 2025.

Brake pad manufacturers, beginning in 2014, must obtain certification to demonstrate compliance. Vehicle manufacturers and retailers of brake pads are required to ensure that are only compliant brake pads are sold in California.

While Washington law requires packaging to be marked, California does not, but the industry will work together to be uniform. Brake friction products will be marked with required edge code markings to note environmental regulatory compliance, and a three leaf design printed directly on box or affixed to the box with a sticker or applied to the product label will also note regulatory compliance.

CIF Names New Trustees

RI Body Shop Owner Caught Vandalizing for the Business

At the recent Collision Industry Foundation (CIF) meeting at the Hilton in Palm Springs, CA, the CIF Board elected two additional members to the Board of Trustees to carry on the Foundation’s initiatives throughout the coming years.

The two new trustees are Shawn Heimback with Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Inc. and Cheryl Boswell with DCR Systems.

In addition, the CIF Board elected in the fall of 2012 Dave Merrell, PartsTrader; Petra Schroeder, DuPont Performance Coatings; Kelly Broderick, Dedoes; Brandon Devis, Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes; and Rick Tuuri, Audatex, a Solera Company.

The current CIF Board of Trustees Executive Committee are William Shaw, PPG Industries, as Chair; John Bosin, Akzo Nobel Coatings, as Vice Chair; Jim Muse, FinishMaster, as Treasurer; and Rod Enlow, CCAR, as Secretary. Remaining in their positions as trustees are Stacy Bartnik, CARSTAR, and Jeanne Silver, CARSTAR Mundelein.

A man was caught on surveillance camera keying cars at a Warwick car dealership, and investigators say the suspect is the owner of a nearby auto body shop.

Stevie D’s, a car dealership in Warwick, RI, has had dozens of cars vandalized over the years. The dealership’s owner, Steven Davis, set up surveillance cameras to try to catch the vandals responsible. The video captured a man keying cars, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage. Davis identified the man as Tony Lombardi, owner of Airport Body Shop.

For the last few years, Steven Davis has sent damaged cars to Airport Auto Body to get them repaired.

Police confirm the surveillance video shows Lombardi pull into the dealership, then check inside and walk along two cars, dragging his keys along the way.

“This is a gentleman, a guy we thought was working with us on a business and he was working against us,” said Davis. Police report that Lombardi damaged five cars, and Davis says the damage could cost $7,500.

Lombardi wasopinion arrested and Give us your on charged with vandalism.

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Custom Corner with Rich Evans

Rich Evans is the owner of Huntington Beach Bodyworks and an award winning painter and fabricator. He offers workshops in repair and customization at his facility to share his unique talents. For contacts and design samples visit www.huntingtonbeachbodyworks.com

‘55 Panel Truck Converted into a Pickup on 2006 SSR Chassis Last September while I was in Eastern Canada working on the 2004 H2 Hummer build for the filming of the pilot for “World Wide Car Building,” we were also challenged by a local Nova Scotia resident to do another build at the same time.

dreds of modifications to make everything work. With a short deadline, we had to simplify the project. By simplifying the project, we welded fenders on, welded the hood, grill, bumper all in one piece and made a tilt front end for it. I had to widen the front end 2 1/2 inches on each side just for clearwith Thomas Franklin ance, for turning radius and tire fit and to make everything look proportionate. That was a big obstacle. I left the headlights in the original position. I took the fenders and widened them 2 1/2 inches, did a pie cut along the fenders, pushed it all together and didn’t have to do too much more except fab together a couple pieces above the headlight and then filled in the 2 1/2 I was hesitant at first to take on a inch gap on the fenders. second vehicle, but the group I brought We had to borrow doors from anwithScotia Dickare Strom out with me to Nova over other project while we were up there the top builders and it raised the bar on to get us ahead of the game. We took the challenge, so I agreed. I looked at out an extra five inches off the roof. what this customer had and basically The customer had already started this he had all the pieces to the puzzle. The and the cab was too long. I took two project was a 1955 panel truck and this tailgates and used one as the front of

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customer wanted to make it into a pick the bed and one as the tailgate. We up truck and put it on top a SSR chastook a clam hatch window from a sis. I thought that was cool. I thought, 1955 Suburban and actually utilized wow, we could go with new, modern that so the window would pop open. build and old school with new modern From that point, while were there, technology. Without even thinking we got into a real rough primer, so we about it twice, and we were only there had the customer ship it out here to for 10 days, I told the guys with Sheila Loftus we were going to step it up and do a second build. None of the guys even hesitated about jumping on board, especially Ian Roussel. He was excited about it because this was more his dream project.

As we got into it, we found out we had to widen the body to fit over the chassis. We my shop in Huntington Beach. We realso had to build the full structure of ceived the truck Oct. 8. We really had the floor and we had to make hun- the odds against us. We reached out to

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some of my folks at Wyotech and some of the team flew out from Texas and Phoenix to help finish it up so we could get it done before SEMA. With everybody helping out and working around the clock, we were able to get it to SEMA 2012 in the Wyotech booth.

Every turn of the wrench, every pull of the trigger, every stroke of the sand block, everybody’s help into finishing this project, all the way to the interior guys being called in the last minute, and with pieces and parts going back and forth between the customer in Canada, we made the impossible possible and with quality.

So, we actually unveiled two vehicles at SEMA. The customer had not

told his wife about this project and he brought her to SEMA. We unveiled the vehicle in the Wyotech booth with his wife there and just seeing the look

on her face made everything worth it.

I don’t like to push projects to the very end and skip steps over the quality, but I know we all walked away from this project knowing everything See ‘55 Panel Truck, Page 54

www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 39

J.D. Power & Associates Study Says Repair Time Increased by a Day in 2012 As repairable and total loss claims are being paid faster, overall claimant satisfaction with the auto insurance claims process increased in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared with the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2013 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study–Wave 1, released Jan. 24.

Interestingly, while overall claim satisfaction increased and the time it takes to pay claimants decreased, the average cycle time of the vehicle repair increased by 1.2 days to 13.5 days in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared with 12.3 days in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The study measures claimant satisfaction with the claims experience for auto physical damage loss. Depending on the complexity of the claim, a claimant may experience some or all of the following, which are measured in the study: first notice of loss; claim service interaction; damage appraisal; repair process; rental experience; and settlement.

Overall, claimant satisfaction with the auto claims process in the fourth quarter of 2012 increased by six points to 861 (on a 1,000-point scale) from the fourth quarter of 2011, primarily due to an 11-point increase in settlement satisfaction.

Contributing to the improvement in settlement satisfaction are slight increases in the ratings of two attributes in this factor: fairness of the claim settlement and timing of the settlement.

The study finds that the average time to pay claimants decreased to 13.9 days in the fourth quarter of 2012, down from 16.4 days in the same period of 2011. While the average time to pay claimants for a repairable claim (11.8 days) decreased by 1.3 days from the fourth quarter of 2011, the largest decrease is in the time it takes to pay total-loss claims, down by an average of 5.1 days to 18.5 days.

“Regardless of the claim type, the faster the claimant is paid and can move forward with a repair or to replace their vehicle, the more likely they are to be satisfied,” said Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “In addition, satisfaction with the claims professional is at an alltime high, indicating that the process is becoming smoother, with more frequent updates throughout contributing to a much more satisfying experience.”

Satisfaction with the repair process is 862, a decrease of two points from the

fourth quarter of 2011. Contributing to lower satisfaction is a decline in the percentage of vehicles being fixed right the first time—89% in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared with 91%t in the fourth quarter of 2011.

“While insurers have made significant progress in the past 12 months to improve the efficiency of the claims process, the repair providers have not kept pace,” said Bowler.

“Failure to repair a vehicle correctly is critical to the customer experience as average satisfaction scores tumble over one hundred points for those who had to bring their vehicle back for repeat repairs.”

On average, claimants who take their vehicle to a non-direct repair provider wait 16 days to get their vehicle back, 2.9 days longer than when they take their vehicle to a direct repair provider (13.1 days, on average). The gap in time between a direct repair provider and non-direct repair provider in the fourth quarter of 2012 has increased from only 1.8 days in the same period in 2011.

The 2013 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study–Wave 1 is based on responses from more than 3,000 auto insurance customers who settled a claim within the past 6 months.

DREW HYUNDAI

8 Odd but True Driving Laws

The Houston Chronicle reported these strange, but true traffic laws: 1) Don’t burn rubber in Derby, KS. Burnouts are illegal. It could cost you 30 days in jail for the misdemeanor charge.

2) If you get convicted of a DUI in New Jersey, the state will permanently strip you of the right to have a vanity license plate.

3) Ice cream trucks are banned in Indianola, IA. 4) Honking is illegal in Oxford, MS, because it might scare nearby horses.

5) It’s illegal to drive with a gorilla in your back seat in Massachusetts.

6) If you’re riding a camel in Nevada, stay off the freeway. It’s illegal to ride a camel on a Nevada freeway.

7) If you leave an elephant at a parking meter in Florida, you have to pay the meter. An elephant requires the same fee as any vehicle.

8) It may be news to some that in San Francisco, CA, you are barred from wiping your car windows with your used underwear.

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Sterling Auto Body Offers Student Scholarships

Sterling Auto Body Centers is offering an interactive student scholarship this spring for secondary and postsecondary collision students located in close proximity of the MSO. The scholarship is being offered through a $25,000 donation to the Collision Repair Education Foundation.

In order to qualify for the awards, students must meet with their local Sterling Auto Body Centers store manager for an interview. From the list of candidates, eight collision students will be selected to receive a $2,500 scholarship to help with their education expenses.

“With the serious shortage of quality technicians on the horizon, helping to fund the education of students interested in collision repair should be a priority of every major repairer in our industry today,” said Mike Nuxoll, human resources vice president for Sterling. “We’re thankful for the work of the Foundation, and you can bet that we’ll look to have first shot at these students as they near graduation.”

Sterling Auto Body Centers also donated $5,000 to the Education Foundation’s Collision Repair Education Campaign.

Cocaine Found in Car Door at Auto Body Shop

Cocaine with a street value of $150,000 was found in a car door purchased from an out-of-state salvage yard by a Poplar Bluff, MO, automotive repair shop. More than 2 kilograms of pure cocaine was found.

Authorities believe the narcotics came to Missouri by mistake.

Det. Jason Morgan and Det. Steve McCane were called to the Poplar Bluff repair shop after workers took the door apart. The investigation continues into whether the wrecked vehicle could contain more drugs, and who owned the vehicle. The vehicle has a current license for this year, so it is likely a recent wreck, said Poplar Bluff police chief Danny Whiteley.

It appears the door came from a late-model SUV wrecked in the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, area, which was impounded by police and never claimed, said Whiteley. It then ended up at a Dallas salvage yard.

Unknown to the people who handled it after the accident, about 6 pounds of powder cocaine was tucked away in five plastic storage containers inside the door.

The part was ordered by a Malden, MO, salvage yard, which had it delivered to Poplar Bluff.

Ron Pyle Won’t Seek Another NASTF Chair Term

Ron Pyle, president and chief staff executive of the Automotive Service Association (ASA), recently announced he would not seek another term as chairman of the National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF).

“I have been very closely associated with NASTF since 2002, and ASA has been involved for more than a decade—hosting the first NASTF meeting in Las Vegas. I am honored that my peers have elected me to represent ASA on the NASTF board for another threeyear term and I look forward to contributing to the evolving mission of the organization,” said Pyle.

ASA’s original goal was to help create a model auto industry organization that would work to facilitate communication between independent repairers and automakers.

NASTF’s most important role was to ensure a successful, private sector process whereby service and tool information as well as training would be provided by the automakers to independent repair shops.

“This past year was particularly eventful for NASTF as it became an autonomous and self-sufficient organization,” said Pyle. “NASTF had relied on ASE for administrative services and financial and in-kind contributions from

the founding associations and constituent groups to operate. With the hiring of an executive director and the development of a reliable revenue stream from the vehicle security registry activity, NASTF has taken a significant step forward.

“I am particularly looking forward to the upcoming NASTF general meeting to be held at the ASA-MoKan VISION Conference in Kansas City, MO, March 8. I expect there will be many familiar faces in the audience, but there will be an opportunity to reach some who have never been exposed to NASTF or the work it does on their behalf.”

Subsequent to achieving success in identifying gaps in service information and resolving them, it became clear that NASTF could provide a conduit for the transfer of secure information and sensitive data between the OEM and the independent repairer, thus the Secure Data Release Model (SDRM) was created.

This unprecedented, cooperative effort processed almost 400,000 transactions in 2012 through the Vehicle Security Professional (VSP) Registry.

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ASA’s AutoInc. Selects Top 10 Websites AutoInc., the official publication of the Automotive Service Association (ASA), recently selected its annual “Top 10 Automotive Repair Websites,” which are featured in the magazine’s January 2013 issue. Since its inception, AutoInc.’s Top 10 feature has been a guide to help shop owners understand the capabilities of the Internet in the automotive repair industry.

AutoInc.’s “Top 10 of 2013” includes (in alphabetical order): ● Auto Pro To Call, Chapel Hill, NC, autoprotocall.com ● Braxton Automotive, Atlanta, GA, braxtonautogroup.com ● Cool Springs Automotive, Brentwood, TN, myCSauto.com ● EuroService Automotive, Warrenton, VA, ferrisautomotive.com ● Flossmoor Family Automotive Repair, Flossmoor, IL, flossmoorfamilyauto.com ● Hillmuth Certified Automotive, Columbia, MD, hillmuth.com ● Hubbard Woods Motors, Winnetka, IL, hubbardwoodsmotors.com ● Louetta Automotive, Cypress, TX, louettaautomotive.com ● Mid-Cities Service Center, Euless, TX, midcitiesservice.com ● Wheeling Auto Center, Arlington

Heights, IL, wheelingautocenter.com “Even in an age where social media is reigning more and more, a shop’s ‘calling card’ remains its website. These shops have done their research and put some careful thought in producing sites that are dynamic, educational and engaging. We applaud them for their efforts,” said Ron Pyle, ASA president and chief staff executive.

Each year, AutoInc. judges review scores of website submissions and narrow the field down to what they consider the best, based on a variety of factors. The goal is to help other shops employ the Internet as a powerful tool and show them how fellow shop owners use the Web to improve productivity, enhance marketing programs and, ultimately, increase their businesses’ bottom lines.

Judges use set guidelines and a scoring sheet to evaluate specific features of each site uniformly. Sites are evaluated using the following criteria: First impression, Objective/purpose, Visual design, Innovation, Appearance, Credibility, Navigation, Interactivity, Consumer friendliness, Encourages action, Technical, and Social media interaction.

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Electric Vehicle Sales Not Off to a Good 2013 Start

Electric vehicles and plug-in electric hybrids are off to a tough start in January, after a disappointing 2012, the Detroit News Washington Bureau recently reported.

General Motors Co. recently said sales of its plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt rose 89% to 1,140 over January 2012, but that’s still much lower than recent months—including the 2,633 Volts sold in December. It’s the fewest Volts sold in a month since February 2012, when GM sold just 1,023.

GM spokeswoman Michele Malcho said low inventories in California crimped sales in January after a huge month in December. Many buyers opted to buy in December because of tax incentives, she said. But the company is working to replenish its stock in California. California and Michigan account for 46% of Volt retail sales.

Toyota said January sales of the Prius plug-in fell from 1,361 in December to 874 in January.

Nissan Motor Co., meanwhile, said January 2013 Leaf EV sales fell 3.8% over 2012 to 650—and by more than half over December’s 1,489 sold.

The current model ‘12 Nissan Leaf, Nissan says, is nearly a sellout, as the Japanese automaker prepares to introduce the upgraded 2013 model

this month.

Nissan sold about 10,000 Leafs in 2012—including nearly half in the final three months.

The Leaf started January with fewer than 900 cars in its U.S. inventory. The 2013 Leaf began production at Nissan’s Smyrna Assembly Plant earlier this month, with the first 2013 models expected to leave Smyrna this month.

“The sustained higher demand for Leaf is creating a shortage in the supply that will last until the pipeline is filled with new 2013 model vehicles sourced from Tennessee,” Nissan said.

‘The Nissan Leaf sales rate grew significantly in fourth quarter, which resulted in dealers starting January with an even more limited supply of the electric vehicles than we anticipated,’ said Brendan Jones, Nissan director of electric vehicle marketing and sales strategy.

This week, Ford Motor Co. said it was offering hefty lease discounts of more than $10,000 on its slow-selling electric Focus.

The Dearborn automaker said on its website that it has dropped the base price of the Focus EV by $2,000 for cash sales and is offering up to $10,750 off for three-year-leases.

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Ford Learning from its Mistakes with Escape Recalls Ford Motor chief executive Alan Mulally says the automaker is learning from its four recalls of the new 2013 Ford Escape, including two that required owners to stop driving their vehicles until they could be repaired.

Mulally said the automaker is improving processes to reduce issues with new vehicles and that the automaker is learning from its mistakes.

“We learned from every one of them. A couple of them were a surprise. One was a manufacturing issue,” Mulally said. “Nothing is going to change about that number one focus is on quality. That’s why we hold vehicles up when they are not ready. Those are great lessons learned.

We’re dealing with them now,” he said. “We were very disappointed it happened on a fantastic vehicle. ...

We’re always learning new things and we'll fix the process.”

Mulally said Ford pays a lot of attention to make sure its suppliers can keep up with higher production.

Mulally said last year that Ford would lose sales in 2012 because of capacity constraints. He said that supplier capacity was also an issue last year that has been largely resolved.

On Nov. 30, Ford issued its fourth recall for its 2013 Ford Escape

since introducing the new SUV in June—a recall of 89,000 Escapes and Ford Fusions for fire risks— and said it didn’t have a fix. About 10 days later, Ford unveiled a software upgrade to fix the vehicles.

Ford urged owners of the vehicles with 1.6-liter engines to contact dealers to immediately get alternative transportation.

Ford said it was issuing the recall after reports of engine overheating followed by engine fires while the vehicle was running. There were reports of 13 fires, including 12 in Escapes.

In July, Ford recalled 11,500 new 2013 Ford Escape SUVs with 1.6-liter engines and urged owners to stop driving them immediately because of fire dangers caused by damaged fuel lines.

In that recall, the risk stems from a possible damaged fuel line that may lead to a significant fuel leak that could lead to a fire if the vehicle is running. Ford reported there have been three fires since June 9, including one in a customer vehicle in Canada and two at its Louisville Assembly plant.

In September, Ford issued another recall for its 2013 Ford Escape, saying an improperly installed part could lead to a risk of a fire.

QUALITY IS ALL WE THINK ABOUT. THAT AND QUALITY.

Education Foundation’s Leadership Circle Expands

Five collision industry members have joined the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s Industry Leadership Circle through personal contributions to the organization.

Tim Adelmann, executive vice president of ABRA Auto Body & Glass; Stacy Bartnik, vice president of field services for CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts; Eric Bickett of Fix Auto USA; Chris Northup of General Distribution Consultants; and Michael Minutillo, owner of Master Auto Body, each donated $1,000 or more to the organization.

The monetary donations will be used to financially support secondary and post-secondary collision repair students and school collision programs.

“I applaud these industry members for their support and joining an exclusive list of individual, highlevel contributors,” said Clark Plucinski, executive director of the Education Foundation. “Through the collision industry coming together and supporting its future workforce can we create the best educational opportunities for these students.”

Snapshot Survey Open to Participation till Feb. 28

The Collision Repair Industry Snapshot Survey, co-sponsored by the Collision Repair Education Foundation and I-CAR, is open for responses from collision shop owners and managers. The collected data will be compared to previous benchmarks. Trends over the years will be analyzed, with results published and shared with the industry.

The electronic survey is intended only for shop owners or managers. All responses will be kept confidential and results will be reported in aggregate; respondents will not be contacted; and the list will not be sold or shared.

Collision shop owners or managers are invited to take the survey at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C ollision_Industry_Snapshot_Survey The deadline for survey response is Feb. 28 and a report to the industry will be made sometime in May, although the timeline may fluctuate, depending on responses.

Availability of the report will be available on the Collision Repair Education Foundation and I-CAR websites.

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DuPont Performance Coatings Renamed Axalta

by Chasidy Rae Sisk

When the Carlyle Group completed their acquisition of DuPont Performance Coatings in February 2013 for $4.9 billion, they also announced that DPC will be renamed Axalta Coating Systems.

As DPC serves over 120,000 customers in 130 countries around Mike bennett the world, a large concern is how this will affect their customers. Luckily, Marketing Director Mike Bennett was willing to answer a few questions about what this means for current DPC customers.

Bennett assures customers that the transition from DPC to Axalta Coating Systems will be as seamless as possible.

There will be no changes made to the company’s products, formulas, location or personnel. The only changes planned pertain to rebranding their products as they remove the DuPont name and labels. Axalta Coating Systems is working hard to continue with business as usual as they attempt to do what is best for their customers, and Bennett notes “this is a bit liberating for us as it allows

us to focus on our market instead of getting involved with the strategic planning necessary for the larger company.” He hopes that customers will recognize the focus being placed on their needs as Axalta Coating Systems rebrands their products.

Axalta Coating Systems will continue functioning as DuPont Performance Coatings until the second quarter of 2013 when their new name is officially launched. Additional branding information will be released over the next two months, and though Axalta Coating Systems has two years to remove DuPont’s name from their products per their agreement with their former parent company, they intend to complete the rebranding process far ahead of schedule.

Bennett believes that the division from DuPont into Axalta Coating Systems will allow the company to best serve their customers since profits made will now be funneled directly back into the automotive finish business, enabling them to improve their offerings.

According to Bennett, focusing on manufacturing quality automotive paint will “provide a great opportunity for us and our customers, allowing us to focus on what is most important to our company.

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Toyota to Roll Out Wholesale Parts Development Tool

Summit Consulting International, Inc. recently announced that Toyota is launching SCI’s Parts Sales Xcellerator (PSX) tool to all STAR Elite dealers in the first half of 2013. Following a successful pilot, Toyota quickly recognized the potential of PSX to help dealers gain greater insight into wholesale parts activities and act on customer buying habits to improve parts sales.

“With PSX, our dealers can quickly and easily consolidate data so they know exactly how their accounts are performing, while also identifying additional sales and marketing opportunities,” said Jerry Raskind, Wholesale Development Manager–Toyota Motor Sales.

“PSX’s CRM capabilities make it simple and efficient for dealers to track all prospect and customer information and activities so they can meet the needs of their accounts, market more effectively, and increase their wholesale business,” he said.

PSX helps dealerships navigate their way to wholesale growth by clearly identifying sales opportunities, easily managing sales activities, and actively promoting business.

Urethane Supply Company Adds New Zero VOC Plastic Cleaner

Urethane Supply Company’s new EcoClean is a zero VOC (volatile organic compound) plastic cleaner for use before plastic repair and refinishing jobs to ensure the best performance from fillers, paints and adhesion promoters.

EcoClean is designed to perform as well as solvent-based plastic cleaners when preparing plastic for repair and refinishing work. It’s not regulated by use limitations even in tightly controlled VOC regions.

“EcoClean is the perfect, easyto-use substitute for USC’s Super Clean plastic cleaner when you want or need a solvent-free cleaner,” said Urethane Supply Company President Kurt Lammon.

EcoClean removes mold release agents and silicones, and is safe for use on all plastics. It is approved for use in USC Bumper and Cladding Coat Paint and Primer plastic preparation and it’s made in the USA. Urethane Supply Company specializes in developing automotive plastic repair and refinishing products. The company serves the bodyshop, restyling, automotive repair and bumper recycling markets.

Continued from Page 24

PartsTrader at CAA

charge what we need to and not back off, we wouldn’t be here right now. We can’t blame insurance companies for this whole mess. In reality, we need each other. We need to stop being so dysfunctional, stick together and stand up for what’s right.” When asked if his shop would drop State Farm’s DRP program when PartsTrader came to the San Diego area, he said they were not ready to drop State Farm. After Sailer’s

presentation, Orr still did not feel that the complete story was revealed. “As the industry changes, it always seems to be for the benefit of the insurance companies. The biggest loser in the process is the customers.”

Curtis Duggan, who has owned his business since 1989, feels the program is an invasion of their profits. He feels people in the industry are letting insurers take control.

Ted Stein from Drew Ford Collision and past president of San Diego CAA said as he opened the meeting,

“My big takeaway, and I am split, I am not all about collision repair, as some of you know, I am also concerned about wholesale parts and selling parts to you guys to properly fix cars. It changed my outlook and I see a big win for parts

Brian Orr (l), Ann Duggan, Curtis Duggan

suppliers, believe it or not. You gotta read between the lines. I think there is a big win for repairers also but you’ll have to decide that for yourselves.”

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21 States to Consider Electronic Proof of Insurance With almost half of state legislatures in the country likely to consider changing their laws to allow drivers to use their cell phones to show their insurance identification card in order to prove they are insured, electronic proof of coverage is one of the hottest insurance-related legislative trends for 2013, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).

“States are taking another step into the electronic age by changing their laws to allow drivers to show their insurance ID cards on their smartphone,” said Alex Hageli, PCI director, personal lines policy. “Pretty much every motorist has been there at one time or another, digging around in the glove compartment box desperately trying to find your insurance card after being pulled over by the police. No longer will motorists be ticketed and have to take time off of work to go to court for driving without insurance just because they couldn’t find a current ID card in their car. This is such a common sense switch that will save everybody time and effort.”

PCI anticipates over 20 states will consider electronic proof of coverage bills or regulations in 2013. The states discussing e-Card proposals include:

Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Wyoming’s measure, SF 87 has already cleared the Wyoming State Senate.

“Electronic proof of coverage, or e-Card, is a win-win-win for consumers, insurers and state officials.

Consumers are using their cell phones for more and more things. They want less paper and more online account features,” said Hageli.

“Like any other business, insurers want to meet their policyholders’ needs and are developing apps and expanding online services to satisfy customer expectations. Without changing the law, though, insurers are still required to send paper ID cards to each customer. These proposed laws will enable insurers to adapt to changing consumer behavior. Finally, the courts win because the docket will be cleared up of individuals who had insurance but just didn’t have a current ID card,” he said.

In 2012 five states made the change to e-Card including: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana and Minnesota.

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Shoddy Airbags Made in China, Sold on eBay The federal government recently issued an urgent national alert to warn drivers of a potentially deadly safety risk of shoddy airbags.

The feds say Dai Zhensong flooded the U.S. with shoddy airbags forged inside his factory in China. His potentially deadly crime is “an extreme safety risk,” the federal government said.

Zhensong pleaded guilty and received 37 months in federal prison.

Bodyshops that buy and install cheap or knockoff bags like Zsensong’s for a few dollars fraudulently charge insurers $1,000 or more for new replacement versions.

The danger is almost impossible for motorists to detect because the airbag is well-hidden inside its compartment. The con usually only surfaces in a crash, when airbags are needed the most.

Zhensong bought airbag systems made by legitimate car companies, then copied them at his factory. They were made of cheap and substandard materials, and poorly put together.

Zhensong then bought trademark emblems from Honda, Toyota, BMW, Audi and other dealerships in China, and fastened the emblems to the bags.

He sold them on the Internet and

black market for only $50–$70 each.

To untrained consumer eyes, his knockoffs could’ve been the real thing.

He sold potentially thousands of deadly airbags from his U.S. base in Chattanooga, TN. Charlotte, NC, body shop owner Igor Borodin sold about 7,000 of Zhensong’s counterfeit airbags on eBay for at least $1.4 million, federal officials say.

Investigators found another 1,514 airbags at Borodin’s home, ready for sale. Other fakes were found at his body shop, waiting to be installed in customer vehicles. The feds intercepted yet hundreds more bags being shipped to him.

The feds tested some of Zhensong’s airbags on crash dummies.

Some bags didn’t inflate or inflated only partially. Other bags sent out searing fireballs when inflated, or spewed sharp pieces of shrapnel at the crash dummies. A bolt lodged in one dummy’s forehead.

The fakes could involve as many as 250,000 vehicles, feds say.

Vehicles with airbags replaced in the past three years by a repair shop that isn’t part of a new car dealership may be at risk.

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Ray Evernham Gives $280,000 to Autism Society of NC for IGNITE Program; Charity Car Raised Quarter Million at Auction Ray Evernham and the Evernham Family’s Racing for a Reason on Feb. 7 presented $280,000 in proceeds from the recent auction of the 1964 Plymouth Belvedere “ForPly” at the Bar-

Ray Evernham with his 64 Plymouth Belvedere

rett-Jackson Scottsdale auction to the Autism Society of North Carolina to benefit IGNITE, a new community center in Davidson, NC, co-founded

by Evernham.

IGNITE, operated by the Autism Society of North Carolina, offers opportunities and a community of support for young adults with high-functioning autism or Asperger’s syndrome enabling them to enjoy a better quality of life as

valued members of the community in which they live and work.

The ForPly, housed in the restored body of a near-half-century-old 1964 Plymouth Belvedere—the year, make and model that won the 1964 Daytona 500 and NASCAR Grand National Championship—features a Kasey Kahne-driven Dodge racing powertrain, plus the driveline of a modern day race car that Evernham’s former team Evernham Motorsports built and raced at the Daytona 500.

The one-of-a-kind ForPly, which was restored and built at the Ray Evernham Enterprises facility in Mooresville, NC, is the first custom design and build project by Evernham.

Hot Rod magazine, which will feature the ForPly in an upcoming issue, recognized it as “One of the Top 10 Trendsetting Cars of SEMA Show 2012.”

The presentation took place in Evernham’s automotive museum and restoration facility where the ForPly was built.

Originally unveiled at the Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes

Toyota Motor North America has settled its outstanding cases with attorneys general in 29 states and one U.S. territory regarding allegations of foot-dragging in its safety recall process from 2005 to 2010.

As part of the settlement, in which Toyota admits no liability or wrongdoing, Toyota will pay $29 million to be divided among the states and American Samoa.

This effectively closes the case as it pertains to states; no others have claims remaining against Toyota regarding recall actions.

But private parties still can sue the company.

In December, Toyota set aside $1.1 billion to cover recall-related suits by individuals and government entities. The $29 million settlement will be paid from those funds, Toyota said.

The state attorneys general had targeted Toyota for an alleged lack of transparency in its recall process regarding tens of millions of vehiopinion clesGive over us the your five-year period, on in- ma cluding the period when incidents of alleged unintended acceleration were reported in connection with Toyota vehicles. publisher@auto

booth at SEMA Show 2012 in Las Vegas, Evernham’s street-legal 1964 Plymouth Belvedere combines old school American style with modern NASCAR racing technology. Aptly named ‘ForPly,’ the custom car marked Evernham’s debut as a car designer and builder.

“We set out to design the ultimate street machine that took a vintage American muscle car with great motorsports heritage and brought it into the modern age,” said Evernham.

“There is not another one like it in the world. We appreciate it being highlighted on center stage on the biggest night of the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auto auction,” he said.

“Sherwin-Williams is proud to partner with Ray Evernham on his first design venture, and especially so that Ray specified the car’s color scheme using Sherwin-Williams® Automotive Finishes,” said Bobby Moody, the company’s Director of Motorsports “But more so, we’re excited to see this completed project raise more than a quarter million dollars for such a worthy cause.”

write

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PartsTrader at CAA

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Autobody News: What are the benefits for body shops?

Dale Sailer: The key benefit is that it put the body shop in control of the parts procurement process, which is where control should be. The body shop is the customer in the procurement process. PartsTrader allows the shop to act like the customer. The shop has a need (actual parts that can be purchased now), it communicates that need to the market in a matter of seconds, and the market responds with commitments as to availability, quality, delivery time and

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If suppliers fail to meet their commitments, the shop has the ability to rate the suppliers’ performance, impacting that supplier in the future. If a supplier successfully meets their commitments on a regular basis, they receive favorable ratings, and therefore likely increase their business in the market. For the shop, a procurement process that typi-

cally requires an estimator to be actively involved in phone calls and database searches, not to mention being put on hold and leaving messages, for upwards of 30 minutes to an hour per vehicle, can now accomplish the same task in a matter of minutes, with far greater accuracy.

Autobody News: When will the program go live across the country?

Dale Sailer: PartsTrader is in the process of developing a national rollout plan. We can’t specifically provide dates or locations at this time.

Autobody News: Thank you.

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www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 51

Utah Auto Body Association Gets Off to a Great Start

by Janet Chaney

The Utah Auto Body Association held its first formal meeting January 12 at the ASET warehouse in Salt Lake City. In spite of a blinding snow storm, over 100 people showed up for this inaugural event.

The Utah Auto Body Association was formed by a small group of shop owners and vendors recognizing the need for a united industry to meet the ever growing barrage of industry challenges. Before the association was formed, two informal meetings were held to get feedback and support from the Utah industry. Both well attended meetings, standing room only, brought vigorous and positive discussion and the decision was made to move forward with a state association The Utah Auto Body Association is now managed by an interim Board of Directors. Bob Torrey (recently retired from Ken Garff Collision Centers) currently chairs the Board consisting of Cory Stanger, Alpine Auto Body, Jeff Miller, Miller Auto Body, Stan Ware, Dave’s Body Shop, Brian Nichols, Cascade Collision

Centers, and Alex Ware of Dave’s Body Shop who is currently Treasurer.

This hardworking and dedicated group is building the infrastructure of the association and developing the working agenda for the coming year and the future. They are listening to the Utah repair industry. A questionnaire was handed out at the January meeting, asking attendees what issues are most important to them. Committees will focus on education, membership, legislative affairs, and EPA regulations. The UABA will have biannual statewide meetings and six smaller member meetings a year. The smaller meetings will be more ‘work sessions’ where committees will be developed and offer opportunities for industry people to work together to make a difference.

The second meeting of the UABA will be held in St. George, UT, February 28.

“Most of the Board will be traveling to St. George for this meeting on the 28th of February,” said Torrey, “The UABA is a statewide organization and we feel it is important to try to reach as many shops as we can.”

The Utah Auto Body Association is proud to be the 40th State Affiliate of the Society of the Collision Repair Specialists.

“That was the first thing we did,” said board member Stanger. “We saw tremendous benefit from being affiliated with SCRS and the national collision industry.”

SCRS Executive Director, Aaron Schulenburg, was guest speaker at the UABA event, delivering a rousing industry presentation congratulating Utah on the success of a great start to this new association.

“I’m so impressed with the passion, motivation and willingness to ‘roll up the sleeves’ by the Utah group right now,” said Schulenburg.

“These are industry professionals who are actively looking to make a difference. I think what is most impressive is that it really seems to permeate the whole group, not just the board and the executive officers.

Here we had a meeting that happened to be distracted by a blizzard and they still had nearly 100 attendees show up. The drive and determination is impressive and I think will bring the

state great results moving forward.

There are a lot of passionate and bright individuals involved, and I’m excited to watch their momentum.”

Schulenburg’s thoughtful message was well received. He shared industry issues, such as insurance mandated parts procurement and the national discussion on industry standards. He explained the tools and resources developed and offered from SCRS, always stressing the value of belonging and participating in an association.

The UABA Board is rolling up its sleeves, literally, for the Utah Collision Industry.

Chairman Torrey cooked a fabulous feast for this January meeting and the rest of the Board were the servers and kitchen help. There was no charge to attendees. The meeting was held on the warehouse floor, amidst award winning air brush automotive art at the ASET facility owned by Bill Williams, a strong industry supporter.

Torrey cooked the food and the entire Board made it happen.

It re-defines the meaning of association and working together.

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51

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paper, etc. We could not have done guys from Wyotech seeing something myself at what I do, and learning from ‘55 Panel Truck www.autobodynews.com 800-699-8251 this without them. Two 3M reps even go from almost next800-699-8251 to impossible to other people. Time will always be

showed up and helped us buff the vewe did was on or above our standards hicle. Jack with Manson Radiator and the truck was absolute beautiful. made us a one-off radiator.

We had Tuff Skin step up and spray in Thanks to everybody that helped. the bed liner about Register midnight, andYour they Email I think for a lotOur of people were surprised were able to turn that around in about we made it. We had a lot of people four hours, which was a huge help, so with sleepless nights helping out. At thanks to Tuff Skin. 3M provided us the end of the day, we showed up with at www.autobodynews.com with all our sand paper, fillers, seam a great project and a lot of memories.

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