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Industry Responds to CNN Segment Exposing “Steering” & Use of “Sub-par” Parts in DRPs by Stacey Phillips, Assistant Editor
The recent CNN news report about the collision repair industry gave viewers an inside look at the challenges body shops face in order to repair cars safely for consumers. It aired on the Anderson Cooper 360 show Feb. 11. The 11-minute segment, entitled “Auto Insurers Accused of Pushing Cheap and Sometimes Dangerous Repairs,” explained the widespread use of “salvaged” or aftermarket parts as well as the practice of insurance companies “steering” work away from
certain shops that aren’t part of their select service programs. In addition, the program discussed the lawsuits filed by more than 500 body shops in 36 states against the top insurance companies in the country to address their concerns. “This was just another validation of, as CNN put it the ‘scheme’ that’s going on within the insurance industry and anyone associated with them. It also validates what shops all around the country have been seeing and dealing with for years,” said Ron Perretta, owner of Professionals Auto
2015 Ford F-150 Long-Term Road Test
The following article was written by Travis Langness, Associate Editor at Edmunds.com. It was published on Jan. 26 and has generated a lot of commentary online. Since many readers heard only about the reaction to the story we reprint the article here with permission of Edmunds.com.
VOL. 33 ISSUE 3 MARCH 2015
Aluminum Body Repairs Part 1 I hit our brand-new long-term 2015 Ford F-150 4X4 SuperCrew with a sledgehammer. On purpose. Twice. We bought the $52,000 F-150 from Galpin Ford in Van Nuys, California. The day after the truck was delivered to our Edmunds office in Santa Monica, I went to work with the BFH, See 2015 Ford F-150, Page 20
See CNN Segment, Page 32
Dale Delmege Passes Away Leaving a Lasting Impact and art, in addition to serving and world travel in the U.S. Navy. Dale was Collision Industry Conference (CIC) Chairman 1999–2000. He was a Hall of Eagles member and a National Auto Body Council Founding Member and Director. Dale was also founder, past director and chairman of the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA). He was recently made a lifetime member of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), one of only two such awards ever given by SCRS. In addition to writing a column for Autobody News, Dale wrote and commented widely for a number of other trade publications. Most recently the director of See Dale Delmege, Page 40
Change Service Requested
P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018
Dale Delmege, a long-time industry veteran and staunch advocate for repair quality and responsibility passed away on the evening of February 15 at home in Escondido, CA, with friends and family present. Dale occupied many management and supervisory roles in the industry and was active in numerous associations designed to protect and promote excellence in collision repair. His legacy and wisdom will be long remembered. Dale was a Renaissance man with many and varied interests including poetry, music, acting,
Travis Langness, Associate editor at edmunds.com, takes a sledgehammer to a brand new aluminum Ford F-150 to test the collision repair process. Photo credit: Edmunds.com
Employers Must Reimburse for Cell Phone Expenses Employers must reimburse employees for all necessary business expenditures or losses incurred in the course of their employment, according to Samson R. Elsbernd, attorney at Wilke Fleury, a firm that consults for CAWA members. This requirement applies to employee personal cell phone use when employees must use their personal cell phones for business purposes, even when employees have unlimited minutes and do not incur any extra charge by using their personal cell phones. In Cochran v. Schwan’s Home Serv., Inc. , 228 Cal. App. 4th 1137 (2014), a group of customer service managers brought a putative class action against their employer for failing to reimburse them for work-related
use of personal cell phones. The trial court did not certify the class action; in part because it determined that too many questions existed concerning individual cell phone plans (unlimited or limited minutes) and payment of the cell phone bills (by the employee or by someone else). The court of appeal simplified the issue for the trial court by determining that employerrequired use of personal cell phones is always required. It makes no difference whether employees incur an additional expense that they would not have incurred if they did not have to use their cell phones for work. Employers must still pay a reasonable percentage of their employees’ personal cell phone bills. Nowadays, employers would be hard pressed to See Cell Phone Expenses, Page 4
Presorted Standard US Postage PAID San Bernardino, CA Permit #2244
2 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Contents
Rich Evans, automotive TV personality and owner of Huntington Beach
2015 Ford F-150 Long-Term Road Test . . . . . . . 1
3M Awards Tool Grants to Veterans Through
ASA-NW Prepares for Automotive Training
ABRA Auto Body & Glass Acquires Seven
ASCCA/CAA Legislative Fly-In. . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Attempt by Edmunds.com to Investigate
Fraud in CA, Update on Sentencing” . . . . . . 10 Expo on March 20-22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
CAA San Diego March Chapter Meeting
“Have It Your Way!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
CREF and Hire Our Heroes Program . . . . . . 61 Repair Centers in Washington State . . . . . . . 6 Aluminum Repair Rates Runs
into Controversy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
CIF Raises Bar at Annual Gala Fundraiser
AudaExplore Donated $3M in Subscriptions
Class Action by Technician v Safelite
Automotive Distribution Network Has Sold Out
in Palm Springs, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Dismissed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Hack’s Auto Body Continues to Hold Title of ‘Best Body Shop in Pacifica’ by
Pacifica Tribune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
to Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 its Upcoming National Convention in
New Orleans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Bobby Alloway’s PPG-Painted Car Wins
2015 AMBR Award. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Junk in the Trunk Means Money in the Bank
Car-O-Liner Welcomes New Distributor:
New Rotary Lift LockLight™ Car Lift
Car-O-Liner’s Peter Richardson: Director
Rich Evans and Dean Cain Appear in
CCC ONE® Repair Methods Adds Data
San Diego, CA Woman Arrested for Auto
Chicago Foundation Looks to Help Women
for Ron’s Recycling in Ilwaco, WA . . . . . . . 14 Accessory Featured at NADA Expo . . . . . . . 27 Wheels for Warriors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Insurance Fraud in ‘Crash and Buy’ Scheme . 10
Second Generation Shop Owner in California
Kraft Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 of National Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 for 2015 Ford F-150 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 and Children Across the Country With
Car Donations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
is One Empowered Woman . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Dale Delmege Passes Away Leaving a
With New Marysville Location. . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Diamond Standard Parts’ New Web-Based
at State Capitol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Forget the Bandwagon, DePetro Drives the
a Marketingpreneur”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
GEICO Generates Underpayment Complaints
Service King Continues Seattle Growth
Sisk - ASA-AZ Attends Small Business Day Sisk - ASA-AZ Learns about “Becoming
Two-Alarm Fire Extinguished at Vista Body Shop. . 3 COLUMNS
Lasting Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Program “UNSUB” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Denver Broncos Classic Pickup Truck. . . . . 12
from Texas Shops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
I-CAR® Delivers New Honda & Acura
Vehicle-Specific Training. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Attanasio - 2015 NADA Expo Brings
I-CAR® Hybrid and Electric Vehicle
Attanasio - Does Being a Green Shop
Industry Responds to CNN Segment Exposing
Attanasio - Instagram and Twitter Grow Up . . . 52
Large Portion of Antitrust Multidistrict Litigation
23,000 to San Francisco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Improve the Bottom Line? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Attanasio - Strong and Getting Stronger:
Disable Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
“Steering” & Use of “Sub-par” Parts in DRPs . 1
in FL Dismissed, Refiled by Plaintiffs. . . . . . 28
The State of I-CAR® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Man Who Shot Victim Multiple Times at Body
to More Aluminum and Fewer DRPs . . . . . . 30
Midwest Auto Trade Show on February 19
Growth for Third Year Straight. . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Missouri Auto Dealers Association Sues
Attanasio - Utah Body Shop Owner Looks Ahead Crawford’s Auto Repair, Mesa, AZ, Sees
Franklin - New Century Marketing Basics . . . . . 8
Luehr - Cycle Time Success Using Little’s Law . 54
Luehr - Make More Money Using Theory
of Constraints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Shop in Louisiana Surrenders to NOLA Police . 57
Prepares Industry for New Technology . . . . 58
Missouri over Tesla Car Sales . . . . . . . . . . . 70
NHTSA Announces Follow-Up Airbag Recall of 2.12M Vehicles; Chrysler’s Ignition
Switch Defect Still at Large . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Sisk - A Busy March for the Automotive
Night-time Automotive Paint Additive has
Yoswick - Testing Shows Dramatic Differences
Sherwin-Williams Second Quarter
Recycling Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
in Isocyanate-Blocking by Spraysuits . . . . . 48
NATIONAL
$53M in Luxury Vehicles Destroyed After Cargo
Ship Takes on 3,000 Tons of Water. . . . . . . 66
‘Lifesaving App’ Developed by Lousiana
Body Shop Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Vehicles Glowing and Owners Crowing . . . . 69
Training Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Sherwin-Williams Spring Training in Phoenix:
Ecolean™ Level 1 Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . 17
TX Man and FL Woman Dead in Independent Airbag Explosions; No Recall Advice for
Used Car Buyers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Vehicle Purchases Expected to Soar in 2015. . 58
Body Works, and Dean Cain, an actor best known for his role as Superman will star in the upcoming TV show, Wheels for Warriors. The show is about helping American military veterans by building custom cars that not only fit their needs, but “fulfill their dreams.” The release date is scheduledfor April 2015. Stay tuned for more details in our April issue.
Two-Alarm Fire Extinguished at Vista Body Shop
A two-alarm fire that started around 11 am at a Vista, CA, body shop on February 17 caused such a heavy cloud of smoke that one man was forced out of his apartment. The shop was located inside a Vista taxi cab company building on the 1800 block of Santa Fe Avenue. Fire and smoke were seen coming from the east side of the building, reported Samantha Tatro and Wendy Fry, nbcsandiego.com. No one was inside the taxi cab company building and no one was injured as a result of the fire, Vista Deputy Fire Chief Ned Vanderpol told nbcsandiego.com. Vanderpol added that 16 engines responded to the fire and started putting up ladders and spraying down the building. Publisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst General Manager: Barbara Davies Assistant Editor: Stacey Phillips Online Editor: Victoria Antonelli Contributing Writers: Tom Franklin, David Brown, John Yoswick, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk, David Luehr Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman, Bill Doyle, Norman Morano (800) 699-8251 Sales Assistant: Louise Tedesco Art Director: Rodolfo Garcia
The neighbor who was evacuated from his apartment told NBC 7 he was not happy about that because it interrupted his nap, but neighbors who look after him said they were glad he was OK. The fire was contained about 30 minutes later. As fire officials cleared out the debris, they noticed a substance that was causing a gloss on the water, which they believed was a potentially hazardous material. The fire crews took precautionary measures and called a Hazmat team in, and they made trenches to contain the substance before it infiltrated the storm drains. Crews said it will take hours to determine what the substance is. The cause of the fire, as well as the cost of the damage, is being investigated.
Assured Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . .64 Automotive Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Automotive ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 AutoNation Chrysler-Jeep-DodgeRam of North Phoenix . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Axalta Coating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . .59 Bob Smith BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Bob Smith MINI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Capitol Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Car-Part.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Chief Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15, 23 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68-69 Colortone Automotive Paints . . . . . . . . .10 Completes Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Courtesy Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 DCH Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram . . . . . .32 DCH Kia of Temecula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Del Grande Dealer Group . . . . . . . . .18-19 Dent Magic Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Diamond Standard Parts, Inc . . . . . . . .11 Downtown Motors of LA (Audi, VW, Porsche) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 Earnhardt Buick-GMC . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 East Bay BMW-MINI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Eco Repair Systems of North America, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Elk Grove Toyota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Enterprise Rent-A-Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Equalizer Industries, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers AZ, CA, NV & UT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Galpin Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Glenn E. Thomas Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep .21 GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . .61
Serving California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. 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. ©2015 Adamantine Media LLC. Autobody News P.O. Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018 (800) 699-8251 (760) 603-3229 Fax www.autobodynews.com Email: news@autobodynews.com
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“MLB Pitcher Ted Lilly Charged with Car Insurance
Indexof Advertisers
REGIONAL
Rich Evans and Dean Cain Appear in Wheels for Warriors
Herkules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36-37 Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .54 Kearny Mesa Subaru-Hyundai . . . . . . .44 Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .63 LKQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 Los Gatos Luxury Cars . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Maita Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Malco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Mark Kia-Mitsubishi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . .62 MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . .58 Mirka Abrasives, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .48 MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .41 Moss Bros. Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . . . . .7 Motor Village LA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 PPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Puente Hills Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Riverside Metro VW-Honda-HyundaiNissan-Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Sacramento Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 SATA Spray Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Shingle Springs Nissan-Subaru . . . . . .50 Sierra Chevrolet-Honda-MazdaSubaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Sonnen BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . .55 The Bay Area Automotive Group . . . . . .29 Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . .60 Urethane Supply Company . . . . . . . . . . .8 Valspar Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers . .65 Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . .52
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 3
Second Generation Shop Owner in California is One Empowered Woman “I started out doing the admin, phones and clerical work and pretty soon I took over the front office. One of my main roles was re-writing my dad’s estimates and making sure they were correct. Back then, of course, there were no computers and everything had to be done by hand.” The business has grown considerably over the years, to say the least,
by Ed Attanasio
and people know that. In many cases, we get cars that other shops have already worked on and we have to re-work them. If we get a car in here and we don’t feel as though we’re the right shop to work on it, we will send it to another shop that works on those types of cars. Recently, we had a newer MercedesBenz in here, so we sent it to a shop in Oakland that works almost exclusively on them. We want to do the job right and if someone else is better at it, we’re not too proud to admit it. It’s all about the customer and the finished product.” As the President of the EB-CAA for her fourth year, Silva is proud to serve but also frustrated From left to right, Junior Estimator Rosi Esparza, Owner Tiffany that too few body shops Silva, Maintenance and Parts Department Coordinator Maribel step up and get involved Vergil and HR Manager Grace Baltazar make up nearly one-third at some level; any level. of the crew at Accurate Auto Body in Richmond, CA. “Shop owners say the especially after moving into its curCAA does not do enough for them and rent location more than two years they leave it at that,” she said. “But, ago. “Our original shop was small, by getting in there, you can work to around 3,000 square feet with only three employees,” Silva said. “Today, we have 15 people working here and we’re fixing approximately 100 cars monthly. We’re doing it in 18,000 square feet and have five great DRPs that we’re very happy with. There are six car dealerships right down the street and we’ve established working relationships with all of them, which is huge.” While many second generation business owners don’t seem to share the same passion that their parents possess, Silva is the complete opposite. “Early on, my dad taught me a lot of things that later have proven to be very important,” she explained. “We have high standards
Continued from Cover
employees are not required, and are aware that they are not required, to use their personal cell phones for business purposes. Alternatively, where employees are required to use their personal cell phones for business purposes, employers should ensure that they receive reimbursement for the expense.
By hiring women at her shop and leading as the President of the East Bay Chapter of the California Autobody Association (EB-CAA), Tiffany Silva walks the walk when she talks about things like volunteerism, participation in CAA and other organizations, and working for a better future for the collision industry. As a business owner, Silva wants to empower other women whenever she can. And that’s why she hired three women at Accurate Auto Body—one working in HR, another as a junior estimator and another as a maintenance and parts department coordinator. “I want to see more women working in shops, because they can do the work,” she said. “There is a good old boy network here in this industry, but it has changed for the better since when I started. We have a ton of really talented women in this industry in this area, including Gigi Walker, Kathy Mello, Lisa Daves and Trish Pickens, just to name a few, so why not more?” Tiffany’s father, Ed, entered the collision industry nearly 30 years ago after being a letter carrier for many years. Today, he still works at the shop alongside his daughter. “One day while he was out on his route, my dad saw a guy fixing a car in his garage and he thought, ‘I can do this.’ He started buying cars, fixing their dents and painting them and then re-selling them. I remember that our garage would change colors based on the latest car my father painted. For a while, it was red and then later it would be blue.” While in school, Silva worked part-time for local insurance companies and then after marrying her high school sweetheart (Dan, who works at the shop) she jumped into the family business with both feet.
Cell Phone Expense
identify one employee who does not have a personal cell phone. Employers may be liable for constructive discharge based on failing to reimburse employees for necessary work expenditures. Employers therefore, should take their reimbursement obligation seriously and ensure that
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4 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
make the changes you want to make. The organization is a forum and provides a platform for making change and bettering our industry, but more of us have to get onboard if we want it to happen.” Silva supports the Contra Costa College Collision Repair Program and that’s why she is a member of the school’s advisory panel. “With a real shortage of qualified, well-trained techs out there, we need to help the tech schools in any way we can,” Silva said. “This industry will thrive in the future, but we need to get the right people in the right jobs to achieve that, so that’s why we play a role by working with Peter Lock, the program’s director.” Is there any chance that eventually Accurate Auto Body will become a third-generation company? “Not likely,” Silva said. “My daughter is 16 and she wants to become an illustrator and my son is 13 and if he does not make it as a professional baseball player, he wants to be an engineer. They want to pursue their own dreams and collision repair is not a part of either of their plans, which is just fine.”
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 5
Crawford’s Auto Repair, Mesa, AZ, Sees Growth for Third Year Straight After analyzing their sales for 2014, Crawford’s Auto Repair, Mesa, discovered that they’ve had steady growth in their business for the 3rd year in a row. Co-owners Jeff Crawford and Brad Weiss went into business for themselves in February 2012. They attribute their growth to customer service, an uncommon business model for auto repair shops, and their marketing strategy. Their customer service and their business model are based on their refusal to hire service writers. When customers walk into the door at traditional auto repair shops, they’re greeted by a sales person who records the symptoms of the vehicle and then passes the information to the technician. Hiring service writers makes sense for traditional auto repair shops since mechanics are not usually trained in customer service. However, one of the reasons Jeff and Brad started their own business is they noticed some flaws in this system. Since the service writer stands between the customer and the technician, the gap in communication can result in a misdiagnosis of the vehicle, especially if the service writer guesses what’s wrong with the vehicle before asking the technician to perform the inspec-
tion. Also, the service writer’s job is to increase sales, so it’s not uncommon for them to add unnecessary fees or services to the bill. “By avoiding service writers, we stay true to our policy that we will never try to sell unnecessary repairs or services,” Jeff says. When customers are searching for a Mesa auto repair shop, they may find that the experience at Crawford’s Auto Repair is different from the standard auto repair shop. Since there are no service writers, that means customers speak directly to the one of the owners when they call or come into the shop, and both owners are dealership-trained technicians. Even when they have to hire additional technicians to share the work load of a growing business, they only hire technicians who can do the job as well as they do it, and customers still talk to the owners. Combine that with a thorough and free inspection of every vehicle and a walk-through of their findings with each customer. So far, customers are responding with a nearly perfect satisfaction rate, as demonstrated by a steady increase in positive reviews for Crawford’s Auto Repair on review websites like Yelp, Google, Facebook, Angie’s List
and others over the past year. Also, a large portion of new customers comes from direct word-of-mouth referrals. As Crawford’s continues to grow, they may try other marketing channels. However, they’re hesitant to distribute coupons or have sales with loss-leaders because they don’t like the “bait and add” approach to getting new customers. Their goal is to maintain the integrity of their reputation so that when they tell a customer she needs additional repairs or maintenance, she can be sure that the reason is to keep her car running smoothly and efficiently, not simply to increase sales. Crawford’s Auto Repair is located at 2855 S. Alma School Rd, Suite 107, Mesa, AZ. For questions or more information, call to speak to the owner at 480-201-0740 or visit their website at: http://www.CrawfordsAuto Service.com
enhance the success we’ve achieved in the region and across the country.” The company uses an operational excellence philosophy resulting in industry-leading operating metrics, distinguishing it from competitors and making it a preferred option for insurance carriers and vehicle owners. Scott Krohn, ABRA’s Executive VP of Operations, said the company’s success can be attributed to its proven processes. “It’s ABRA’s Op-Ex philosophy and superior processes that set us apart. We continue to evolve and grow while rating high in customer satisfaction. Our exceptional cycle times differentiate us from our competitors and make us an industry leader.” ABRA plans to continue expanding in the months and years ahead as part of its aggressive national growth strategy. It is actively seeking new opportunities to acquire repair centers and integrate them into its industry-leading operating system. Interested parties in major markets, contact Scott Gerling, (sgerling @abraauto.com or 763.585.6210). For franchise opportunities in small and midsize markets, contact Mark Wahlin, (mwahlin@abraauto.com or 763.585.6315).
6 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Service King Collision Repair Centers, one of the fastest growing collision repair companies nationwide, announced on February 3 continued growth in the Seattle area. The company closed Sunday, February 1 on the purchase of a 25,000 square-foot facility located at 9015 State Ave. in Marysville, Wash., formerly occupied by Charlie’s State Ave. Collision Repair. The large, expertly designed, facility opened for business this week and will operate as Service King’s second location in Snohomish County adding to its store located in Mill Creek. “This is an exciting step forward in our continued effort to grow in the Seattle area,” said Chris Anderson, Service King Western US Vice President. “We look forward to the success of this location and serving our customers in the Marysville community.” Service King, now with 13 locations in the area, offers all customers superior collision repair services complete with a written lifetime warranty valid at any of its more than 220 locations in 21 states nationwide. For additional information on this acquisition and other Service King locations, visit www.serviceking.com.
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ABRA Auto Body & Glass Acquires Seven Repair Centers in Washington State
ABRA Auto Body & Glass, a national damaged vehicle repair company, announced in February that it acquired a total of seven collision repair centers in Washington state. In a move signaling another year of growth, ABRA acquired six Barrett’s Collision Centers in South Puget Sound/Tacoma and the Olympia area along with GW Auto Rebuild in Edmonds, Washington in two separate transactions. The expansion comes less than two years after ABRA entered the region and increases its repair center portfolio to 264 in 20 states. The accelerated and continued growth is part of the company’s initiative to dramatically increase its national footprint. Duane Rouse, ABRA’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said the company is positioned for expansion and is always exploring opportunities in new and existing markets. “ABRA will continue to utilize its strong management team and talented employees to build on its accomplishments in 2015 and deliver value to our customers and business partners. Acquiring these repair centers is another opportunity to solidify our presence in the Pacific Northwest and
Service King Continues Seattle Growth With New Marysville Location
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www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 7
On Creative Marketing
New Century Marketing Basics with Thomas Franklin
Global changes are reshaping the nature of marketing today. In the earlier part of the 20th century, efforts to reach a prospective customer were referred to as “advertising.” Promotion, product packaging and publicity were all considered parts of advertising. Gradually these became four separate specialties. Now these functions have been coming together again, to become a more complicated tool we could simply call “marketing.” For example, most invoices you receive in the mail these days will also have offers to purchase other products or services. Your website may well have links to other businesses. If you do work for a dealership, your advertising will probably be at that dealership and their advertising will be at your shop. Even your phone message may refer to insurance companies and other businesses. These and other aspects of marketing are probably well integrated into your shop’s communications with the outside world. Or are they? If not, you
may be missing out on many simple (and possibly free) ways to market your business. For simplicity sake, let’s start with “free.” Today it’s nearly impossible to buy a product that doesn’t have reasons printed on it why the product you just purchased is the best choice, the most cost effective and perhaps the healthiest. Many stores attach a multitude of coupons and offers to every sales receipt. The package, sales slip or labeling had to be printed anyway, so whatever message is placed there is essentially free. Do most shops give customers printed invoices? Maybe not, but they could. Before we get into what messages could be added to customer invoices, receipts or warnings and warranties, let’s take a look at cooperative marketing. Your local grocery store may attach, in addition to food items, offers for car washes, auto insurance, medical insurance and even legal services. These are
8 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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
blatant exchange deals. Anyone redeeming one of these deals will generate a commission or finder’s fee for the store. While a shop could offer detailing, pinstriping, accessories and more, the revenue from referred business is found money. Collision repair shops have natural connections with upholstery shops, glass shops, entertainment system shops and more, all of which would welcome additional business. Most businesses rely on a few simple marketing and sales basics to build new business and keep customers coming back. Collision repair centers may not rely on the same basics, but are there ways they could? The six more general marketing and sales objectives include: (1) Simply increasing the number of customers, (2) increasing the number of customers coming back, (3) increasing the number of products each customer buys, (4) increasing how often customers buy their products, (5) increasing the total dollar value of customer
purchases, and (6) increasing the effectivenss of advertising and marketing to bring in both new and prior customers. Some shops do well at getting new customers and keeping many coming back. Others keep improving the effectiveness of their advertising and marketing to attract new customers and keep old ones coming back. But most shops seem to neglect 3, 4 and 5. These basics don’t easily apply to the collision repair business, but if a shop can find a way to implement these basic strategies, it should enjoy a nice increase in both volume and profitability. Dealerships make better use of these basics. If a dealership has a collision repair shop and also the usual mechanical maintenance, accessories store, and repair shop, they have an opportunity to increase frequency of visit. They may also be able to increase the dollar volume of sales during those visits. But do they use this advantage to increase 3, 4, and 5 for their collision repair shop?
I found many dealership body shops that failed to take full advantage of their relationship with their mechanical maintenance and repair shop. Marketing today means seizing an opportunity to attract new customers from every possible connection, or to make a profit by helping other businesses get new customers. Possibly the most neglected dimension of marketing in collision repair shops is public relations. This is broadly defined as using publicity and the media to say nice things about the shop without it being a paid advertisement, but even that has changed today. Except for an occasion article in a collision industry publication, it’s rare to see a story about a body shop in any newspaper. Today the Internet serves as the common press medium. Comments on Yelp and other rating sites are nearly all the publicity shops receive, but it doesn’t have to be that way. People still love to read about pets being saved and heartfelt stories about babies and children. The right photo and story can go viral on YouTube, but it takes a very talented public relaitions person to capture it. Marketing basics haven’t changed that much this century but the forms they now take call for a keen eye to see how to apply them.
Hack’s Auto Body Continues to Hold Title of ‘Best Body Shop in Pacifica’ by Pacifica Tribune by Victoria Antonelli, Online Editor
Hack’s Auto Body, Inc. has won ‘Best Auto Body in Pacifica’ every year except one since The Pacifica Tribune started the contest in 1997. Winners are selected based on the results of a questionnaire in the Tribune’s newspaper and online, asking readers to identify the best businesses in the area. Hack’s Auto Body was first owned by Haskell “Hack” Hanshew in 1959. In 1967, Hanshew sold Hack’s to Larry Easterby and Frank Kirby who incorporated the shop in the early 70s. It was then bought by Jack Malman in 1995 after he had worked there for six years. He and his business partner Dan Rice are the Hack’s Auto Body sixth set of owners, has won the none of which have Reader’s Choice been families. Award for Best Despite their Place for Service/ small team of seven, Repairs in Pacifica, Malman said, “It is CA for almost 20 not difficult for us to years in a row do any collision repair; workload has not been a problem. We get cars in and get them out in a very
timely fashion. All our technicians are ICAR certified in all the latest technologies. In order to be contracted with many of our direct repair insurance companies we need to have an I-CAR Gold Class rating, which we do & many of our techs are ICAR Platinum.” Ever since Hack’s opened its doors, customers have relied on the shop to free their vehicles of rust, dents, and/or a disrupted paint job, whether it’s the result of an accident or not. Major insurance companies offer their clientele a written guarantee against defects in quality and workmanship for as long as they own their vehicle if they choose to go to Hack’s for their repairs, Malman told Autobody News. He added that it wasn’t easy getting those contracts, but it has been well worth it. “We work with any and all insurance companies, Hack’s always has,” Malman said. “We are a direct repair facility for a few different insurance
Hack’s Auto Body in Pacifica, CA
companies, CSAA IE (AAA insurance) Farmers Insurance, and 21st Century just to name a few.”
Jack Malman, co-owner of Hack’s Auto Body, told Autobody News that his shop was one of the first in Pacifica, CA to switch over to a water-base paint system
According to Malman, Hack’s Auto Body only uses state-of-the-art equipment, including an AFC downdraft heated paint booth, Whitney wizard frame rack system, and a Shark electronic computerized measurement system. “We also use PPG Enviro water base paint system with water base paint dryers,” he added. “We were one of the first to have switched over to a water base paint system in our area.” Hack’s serves the community even further by sponsoring two Pacifica American Little League teams and a pony league team.
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 9
MLB Pitcher Ted Lilly Charged with Car Insurance Fraud in CA, Update on Sentencing
Long-time major-league pitcher Ted support of a claim and the third one Lilly is facing three counts of felony has to do with failing to disclose a mavehicle insurance fraud in Califor- terial fact in connection with an insurnia, reports KSBY.com. He pleaded ance claim,” assistant district attorney not guilty on January 20 to all three Lee Cunningham said to KSBY. charges. “What a lot of people may not reLilly purchased an RV worth approximately $200,000 last year, then purchased insurance and filed a claim after damaging the vehicle, reported Mike Axisa, www.cbs sports.com. Lilly sustained damage in a collision while backing up the vehicle and sought an estimate from a body shop on March 19, 2014, the California Department of Insurance’s investigation found. The estimate was $4,600, reTed Lilly, pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers back in 2010. ported Nick Wilson of the Credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images San Luis Obispo Tribune. Then Lilly bought insurance from alize is that body shops often enter esProgressive on March 24 and claimed timates into a database that insurance the damage on March 28, reported Wil- companies can check to verify claims,” son. Department of Insurance spokes“I can tell you that he’s charged woman Nancy Kincaid said to Wilson. with three different felony counts. The “They can see what the damage was first is filing a false insurance claim. and whether a false claim may have The second one is a false statement in been filed.”
The agency that arrested Lily performed a sweep in which 22 countries received warrants. Those who acquired insurance after damage, or who were uninsured or underinsured were targeted. As of February 6, Lilly has accepted a plea deal that will allow him to avoid jail time, according to the Associated Press. He did not appear in court on February 5, but his attorney entered a plea of no contest to a misdemeanor count of insurance fraud. Two other charges were dropped. Lilly will pay a $2,500 fine, serve two years of informal probation and perform 250 hours of community service. Lilly, 39, last pitched in 2013. He went 130-113 with a 4.14 ERA (106 ERA+) in parts of 15 MLB seasons with the Expos, Yankees, Athletics, Blue Jays, Cubs and Dodgers, reported Axisa. He earned over $80 million in salary during his career, according to Baseball Reference.
Car-O-Liner Welcomes New Distributor: Kraft Equipment
Car-O-Liner®, a global provider of collision repair equipment to the automotive aftermarket, announced on January 20 that Kraft Equipment LLC is now a distributor of Car-O-Liner equipment with a territory representing portions of Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada and Utah. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, Kraft Equipment LLC’s owner, Matt Kraft, has over eight years of experience in the automotive industry. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with a strong global company such as Car-O-Liner,” said Kraft. “Their diversified product offering provides exciting opportunities for customers in my market.” Doug Bortz, National Sales Manager for Car-O-Liner added, “Matt’s skills as a Mil-Std certified mig/tig welder, custom motorcycle and off-road vehicle builder, as well as his knowledge of metal finishing and aluminum welding and repair provides knowledge ideal for working with Car-O-Liner equipment.” Kraft Equipment is building a 5,000 square foot training center. Call (435) 640-4855, e-mail info@kraftequipment.com, or visit kraftequipment .com.
San Diego, CA Woman Arrested for Auto Insurance Fraud in ‘Crash and Buy’ Scheme
Tamickeua Jones, 30, was arrested on February 3 on three felony counts of insurance fraud for filing a fraudulent auto claim. She was allegedly involved in a collision while driving uninsured. According to detectives, she purchased insurance after the accident and then filed a claim. “This case and the 200 arrests in November should serve as a warning to consumers to not drive without insurance,” said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. “These are not victimless crimes. Every consumer pays for fraud through higher insurance rates, when insurers pass the losses along to policyholders.” In December of last year, Jones rear-ended another vehicle while driving without insurance. A few hours later she purchased a new insurance policy and within minutes of purchasing the policy reported to the company
she had been in an accident. She filed a fraudulent claim in an attempt to get the insurer to cover the damage to the uninsured vehicle. Tamickeua Jones The crash and is accused of buy scheme is perpetrating an the most cominsurance ‘crash mon type of auto and buy’ scheme. insurance fraud Photo courtesy in the state. Last of Department year the Departof Insurance Photo credit: Times ment of Insurance, along with of San Diego several law enforcement partners, conducted a statewide sweep arresting nearly 200 people for this type of fraud, including 35 in San Diego.
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Forget the Bandwagon, DePetro Drives the Denver Broncos Classic Pickup Truck by Bobby Fernandez, The Greeley Tribune
Hank DePetro stood alongside his 1949 classic Ford pickup Thursday afternoon, Jan. 8 at his home in Greeley. DePetro had an auto body class at Aims Community College paint the classic pickup with a Denver Broncos theme.
Hank DePetro stands alongside his 1949 classic Ford pickup at his home in Greeley. DePetro had an auto body class at Aims Community College paint the classic pickup with a Denver Broncos theme. Photos Credit: Joshua Polson/jpolson@ greeleytribune.com | The Greeley Tribune
When Hank “Doc” DePetro’s Ford pickup truck was originally manufactured, a paint job in Denver Broncos colors wasn’t an option. It’s not that the auto body advancements at the time didn’t allow a simple orange-and-blue color scheme. Rather, the Broncos didn’t exist when DePetro’s truck was manufactured. Yet, 55 years after the 1949 Ford was built, and 35 years after the 72year-old DePetro bought the vehicle, the truck was splashed in Broncos blue—with a little bit of orange sprinkled in—just as the Broncos prepared for the most critical stretch of their season. Although DePetro surely was planted right in front of a television set at 2:40 pm Jan. 11 when the Broncos played host to the Indianapolis Colts in an AFC Divisional Playoff Game, odds werethat no one showed more spirit in the days before and after the game than DePetro, who proudly
Hank DePetro holds up a photo of what the classic Ford pickup looked like originally. The truck will have more work done as students finish the interior
strolled through the streets of Greeley in his unique classic truck. With the aid of Aims Community College auto body classes and the District 6 special education students DePetro has taught throughout the years, DePetro painted and decorated his vehicle with a Broncos theme for the past seven years. DePetro — who spent 30 years as a school psychologist and educator for District 6 and the University of Northern Colorado — said when he hits the streets in his truck, “I get high-fives and (people saying) ‘Go Broncos, go Broncos.’ ” DePetro didn’t hesitate when asked to recall his favorite memory of driving his Broncos-mobile around town. “There was a lady with two grandkids, and she said she was from Seattle,” DePetro said. “She said, ‘my
Hank DePetro stands in front of his classic 1949 Ford pickup last week at his home in Greeley
daughter and all the family are Bronco fans. I’m just wondering if my grandkids could get up in your truck so I can take a picture?’ ” DePetro happily obliged. He drapes his house—built in 1938—in Broncos memorabilia. He also never shies away from decking himself out in orange-and-blue gear. But, it is his blue-coated pickup that really captures peoples’ attention. The vehicle has become a close companion of DePetro since he stumbled upon the truck nearly four decades ago. “I was looking for something to rebuild, because I sold a 1937 Chevy, and I was (wondering) ‘Why did I do that?’ ” DePetro said. “So, I’m looking in the classifieds of The Tribune
12 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
and just in a two-liner classified, it said ‘ old 1949 Ford truck. $200.’ ” DePetro bought the truck from a farmer who lived near Kersey.
A Broncos helmet sits next to the Ford logo on Hank DePetro’s classic 1949 pickup truck last week at DePetro’s home in Greeley
DePetro said the Ford wasn’t in the greatest shape—to say the least. “It was really pretty bad—rust, holes, dents,” said DePetro, who is originally from Pueblo. “Apparently the guy used it on a farm to pull a plow. The seat was clear down to the springs. Apparently mice and so on got in there. The rims were total rust. The tires that were on it were just rotted out. “And I looked at it and I thought, ‘Do you really want to do this?’ ” Just as John Elway has rebuilt
the Broncos into a legitimate Super Bowl contender, DePetro spent years breathing new life into the old pickup truck. And now, like the Broncos’ grizzled veteran quarterback Peyton Manning, DePetro’s truck may be old, but it’s far from a clunker. DePetro has made a habit of starting his truck every day during this recent cold snap. All he needs to do is pull out the choke valve, ease down on the gas pedal, and the engine starts right up. When he first purchased the truck, DePetro—on the school district’s dime—was attending classes at Aims. One of his classes was an auto body class that gave DePetro the means and materials to fix up the truck. “It started there, and it began to be transformed from this old, rusty truck to what started to look like it was for real,” DePetro said. “And the more we did, the more real it became.” We thank The Greeley Tribune for permission to reprint their article.
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 13
Junk in the Trunk Means Money in the Bank for Ron’s Recycling in Ilwaco, WA by Mike Williams, The Daily Astorian
Ron’s Recycling manages to find treasure among the clunkers that end up at the wrecking yard on Stringtown Road.
Vehicles wait to be parted out as metal is sorted for recycling at Ron’s Recycling in Ilwaco. Photo credit: The Daily Astorian
Ron Shivers and his daughter, Kristy, part out the cars that come into the yard. That’s the most profitable part of the business, she said. The company opened in 2012. The business is working out so far, she said. Truck parts tend to be more popular, especially Ford F150. She had four calls for an F250 transmission in one January week alone. Back windows for Ford trucks are a common item. It goes in spurts, she said.
“Then Ranger people will come in, then Blazers, then a whole bunch of people will come in for Taurus, but it always goes back to trucks,” she said. Repair shops in Long Beach send a lot of business to Ron’s. Auto body repair shops buy a lot of parts as well. Buying used turn signal lenses, fenders, heater fans and windows offer substantial savings over original equipment manufacturer parts and even aftermarket supplies. But it’s not just vehicles that pass through the yard. Artists come in looking for stainless steel and flat sheets of steel, Shivers said. The yard once took in a surf board with metal postcard racks attached. It came in and went out the same day. “Old bikes are really popular, running lawnmowers are really popular, go-cart frames — oh yeah,” she said. A boat builder looking for lead ballast stopped by in January. It can all be recycled or re-used. The company buys and sells metal. Washers and dryers are OK. They’ll take refrigerators but not the compressors—they don’t want the hassle with the Freon refrigerant. Sometimes people drop off cars just to get rid of them, Shivers said.
CIF Raises Bar at Annual Gala Fundraiser in Palm Springs, CA
The fifth time’s a charm for the re- which helps collision repair profescent Collision Industry Foundation sionals who have lost their liveli(CIF) Gala Fundraiser held on January 15 in Palm Springs, CA. Raising the bar for this sold-out event, the foundation hosted a cocktail party at the Lulu California Bistro. Approximately 120 people from the industry attended the event, more than any year prior. The attendees were able to participate in a raffle and silent auction featuring many donated items, including high-end All smiles at the gala electronics, custom pinstripe art® work, and a NASCAR Race Pack- hoods from a natural disaster or other age. catastrophe. Cheryl Boswell, CIF’s Treasurer, said, “Our sponsors have seen the value of the Foundation and have supported us in excess of previous events and continue to help spread the word of our efforts. They help us keep those in need in reach of assistance, and through events like our annual gala, we can conThe welcoming party at the registration table tinue to do so.” CIF was able to raise an unTo donate at any time or to precedented $34,000, also more than learn more about CIF’s current projany year before. The major focus of ects, please go to: the foundation’s support has been the www.collisionindustryfoundation Collision Industry Relief Fund, .org. 14 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
More often they sell them. Ron’s pays $70 to $85 a ton, depending on how complete the vehicle is. Whatever the case you must have the title or appropriate paperwork proving ownership.
Sticker shock “Right now prices are really down,” she said. When she started, Ron’s paid $180 a ton for scrap metal; now they pay $55. When the vehicles have been picked clean of usable parts it’s time to send off the leftover metal. Metro Metals of Vancouver comes in and picks up the scrap. One of the concerns when Ron’s sought a permit from the county was keeping vehicle fluids under control. The oil, transmission fluid and coolant all end up in recycling bins. A company hauls away the fluids. “They pay us a little bit for the oil,” she said. “Not much, but it’s better than paying to get rid of it.” Ron’s also accepts uncontaminated oil from the public, but it doesn’t pay for it. Lost and found Money, clothing, CDs, oil and tools are among the items left behind in the
vehicles that end up at the wrecking yard. Dryers often contain loose change (but not many socks). “I got a brand-new car jack, a nice one,” Shivers said. “I was ecstatic about that. It was a floor jack. I put that right in my car before my dad got back… We’ve found some pretty crazy stuff. No diamond rings, though.”
Room to breathe Ron’s Recycling owns seven acres with two acres in use. “We definitely need to expand,” she said. “Hopefully this summer.” For now they’re stacking the vehicles and business looks good. “We can pay the bills,” she said. “We get more and more customers for parts every day.” We thank The Daily Astorian for permission to reprint their article.
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www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 15
Bobby Alloway’s PPG-Painted Car Wins 2015 AMBR Award
A Bobby Alloway-built car won the 2015 America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) award at the Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) held Jan. 23-25 at the Pomona Fairplex in Pomona, CA. The striking 1933 roadster, owned by Larry Olson of Sioux Falls, S.D., was finished by Alloway and drew approval from the show judges and the crowd alike. The AMBR, an eight-foot tall trophy, is awarded annually and is regarded as the ultimate recognition of a roadsterstyle hot rod. It was Alloway’s second time winning the prestigious award; his first was in 2003. Alloway also won Best Rod of the GNRS this year with the ‘37 Chevrolet coupe that was in the top 10 in the Builder’s Challenge at SEMA this past November. The GNRS started in 1950 and is the longest running indoor car show in the world. This year, 18 competitors vied for the AMBR. Alloway’s award-winning entry featured his signature black finish embellished with contrasting blazing orange flames running nearly the entire length of the roadster’s body. Alloway uses PPG products exclu-
sively, and this showpiece was no exception. He achieved the car’s outstanding look with PPG’s DEL-
cars are almost always painted black, has been building ageless street rods since 1978. His shop, Alloway’s Hot
Car owner Larry Wilson (left), builder Bobby Alloway and the AMBR trophy in front of the awardwinning roadster
TRON ® DBU 9700 Basecoat and DCU 2002 CONCEPT® Clearcoat. Alloway, renowned as “the master of black” because his distinctive
16 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Rod Shop, in Louisville, TN, opened in 1991 and has consistently turned out a stream of award-winning vehicles. He is well known for cars that
feature a commanding, aggressive look obtained through a combination of color, proportion, stance and pure power. Along with winning the AMBR and Best Rod honors, Alloway was inducted into the GNRS Roadster Hall of Fame during the show. The Hall of Fame was established in1960 to elect “outstanding pioneers in the creative car building sport.” Alloway’s entry into the respected body was based on his illustrious career, building remarkable cars that have received significant awards. In addition to his two AMBRs, his cars have won the Goodguys’ Street Rod and Street Machine of the Year, the highly-prized Ridler trophy and others. He has also been welcomed into the National Rod & Custom Car Hall of Fame and honored as Detroit Autorama Builder of the Year. Other first-class builders that were big winners at the show included Randy Borchering of Painthouse in Cypress, Texas, and Dave Kindig of Kindig-It Design, Salt Lake City, Utah. Borchering’s two-toned 1947 Hudson painted in his custom Bad, Bad Leroy Brown and Green Acres Pearl took
First in Class, Outstanding Paint, and Outstanding Display accolades. “Winning these awards was awesome,” said Borchering. “This is the Olympics of car shows, and you’re up against top competition. Winning here is extremely gratifying.” Borchering used Deltron DP90LV Epoxy Primer, VIBRANCE COLLECTION® VP2100 Polyester Primer, Deltron Basecoat and GLOBAL REFINISH SYSTEM™ D8152 Clearcoat to reap the honors. Borchering has been using PPG products for 25 years. Painthouse has been building custom cars for almost 10 years and has a reputation for its outstanding paint jobs. Dave Kindig scored with a 1934 Dodge and a 1950 Phantom Fleetside. The Dodge took home First in Class, Outstanding Paint, Outstanding Interior and Outstanding Display awards. The car is painted a custom PPG mix called Dark Desert Sage, which was created using ENVIROBASE® High Performance Basecoat and Global Refinish System D8188 Clearcoat. The Phantom Fleetside won the 2015 Al Slonaker Award for the most innovative vehicle at the show. It’s finished in a white-over-red paint scheme using Envirobase High Per-
formance Basecoat and Global Refinish System D8188 Clearcoat. Both builds are examples of the high-level work Kindig-It Design regularly turns out. “From solvent to water, our customers make our paint shine,” said John Parran, Marketing Director, PPG Automotive Refinish. “We’re proud of our products, but we’re even more impressed by what our customers can do with them. We congratulate these winners on jobs well done and look forward to what they dream up next.” To learn more about PPG Automotive Refinish products, call (800) 647-6050 or visit the PPG Automotive Refinish website at www.ppgrefinish .com.
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Sherwin-Williams Spring Training in Phoenix: Ecolean™ Level 1 Workshop
More than 50 body shops have begun their lean journey with Sherwin-Williams in the last six months. The next EcoLean™ Level 1 workshop will be held on March 3–4, 2015 in Phoenix, AZ, at the Phoenix Airport Marriott and Swift Transportation.
These workshops are offered to collision center owners and dealer managers from across the United States and Canada. They are designed to educate attendees about how to maximize profitability by improving production and eliminating waste throughout their facilities. “Our goal is for our attendees to leave the two-day event inspired, confident and armed with the necessary tools to immediately increase the quality and produc-
tion output of their businesses,” says Greg Eisenhardt, SherwinWilliams A-Plus™ Network Marketing Manager. At this particular training session, the Phoenix EcoLean Level 1 workshop curriculum will include a facility tour of Swift Transportation’s ‘Best in Class’ extensive repair center, as well as specific topics including: ● Improving Workshop Efficiency—The history of Lean Production, and its practical application in collision repair ● The Principles of 5S— Methods of making your facility more efficient and consistent ● Overcoming Lean Implementation Challenges—Roundtable discussion with Sherwin-Williams’s Business Consultants To register online for the upcoming Phoenix EcoLean Level 1 workshop, go to www.sherwin-automotive.com/ecoleanwp. For more information on EcoLean or the A-Plus Network, call (800) 7985872.
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 17
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Continued from Cover
2015 Ford F-150
intentionally denting the Ford’s right quarter panel. Crazy? Maybe. But we wanted to find out if repairing the aluminumbodied Ford is more expensive and time-intensive than repairing traditional steel-bodied trucks. Remember, the F-150 is the first pickup truck with a lightweight aluminum body and bed. After much thought we chose to smash the bed side because it would need to be repaired, as opposed to a dented door, fender or hood, which could simply be replaced. So in the name of consumer awareness we dented our truck with two big blows from a sledgehammer (the impact also cracked the taillight) and drove it straight from the Edmunds garage to our local Ford dealer, Santa Monica Ford, and asked for an estimate. Take the jump to check out the sledgehammer video (on Edmunds.com). Hiding the fact that we’re Edmunds.com was important so our experience truly represented the real world. No special treatment. I also didn’t want to admit that I had hit the truck with a hammer, so I lied and told the service advisor that the damage happened while I was parked. I told him I had no idea what happened. I also told him that to avoid raising my insurance rates, I’d be paying out of pocket for this repair. He grimaced and sympathized with me, then got out his clipboard and pointed out the areas that needed repair. Various sections of the panel had deformed and would need to be pounded out. Near both the top and the bottom of the panel, there were creases and folds in the aluminum that would need to be fixed before they could be painted. According to the advisor, the aluminum would be much harder to fix than steel. His shop was trained to fix the aluminum but it required special tools and would take extra time. A job like this on an F-150 with steel panels “would take half the time.” After about 10 minutes, the advisor came out with an estimate. I approved the work and asked if I could come back in a few days and photograph the repair in progress. He agreed. [Part 2 follows.]
Aluminum Body Repairs Part 2 After bouncing an 8-pound sledgeham-
mer off the side of our new long-term 2015 Ford F-150, twice, I went undercover and drove it to our local Ford dealer, Santa Monica Ford, for repair. As explained in Part 1 of our adventure, the idea was to test the hypothesis that when the aluminum body of our 2015 F-150 is damaged, it takes longer and is more expensive to repair than a more traditional steel-body pickup truck. Ford claims the 2015 Ford F-150 is up to 700 pounds lighter thanks to its aluminum panels, which increases
● Work area separation / isolation system Work separation can be an aluminum separation (Curtain) system or a separate room. Aluminum vehicles undergoing repairs must be able to be separated from vehicles undergoing steel repairs ● Specialized aluminum SPR rivet gun Approved by the Ford Paint & Body Technical Center.
This might seem like a complicated list, but many body shops have had this stuff for years. Aluminum body panels on cars aren’t really new. They’re just new in the pickup truck segment, so there are dozens of independent shops and Ford dealers near our Santa Monica office that can handle this repair. Finding a certified independent shop, however, or a properly equipped dealer Detail of hammer damage. Photo credit: Edmunds.com might be more difficult in overall fuel economy and payload. other parts of the country. But what happens when Thor decides When I dropped the truck off at to use your truck for target practice? Santa Monica Ford, the manager told According to Ford, “the majority of me they would definitely be repairing collision repairs can be completed by the panel, not replacing it. Perfect. It most body shops today (e.g. bumpers, would take “seven to ten business days” grilles, mirrors, dings, dents) [but] major collision repairs should be performed by aluminum-capable Ford body shops or National Body Shop Network members.” Along with training from the “Ford F-150 Collision Repair Program” Ford body shops or independent body shops would need some specific equipment to repair the damage on our truck. Here’s a list of the equipment Ford recommends “to be aluminum repair capable”: ● Dedicated aluminum MIG welding system Welder must be 200v and equipped with Pulse MIG Technology ● Dedicated aluminum hand & power tools A small hand tool kit that contains all needed tools has been developed and is required to be purchased through Rotunda ● Dedicated aluminum dent extraction system Dent extraction system must contain an aluminum stud welder, heat gun, pyrometer, aluminum hammers and dent extraction system ● Dedicated aluminum Wet Mix air filtration system Dust extraction system must be a Wet Mix technology system and can be a portable or central installed system
20 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
to finish the job and they welcomed me back to take photos of the process. Less than a day after I handed over the keys, though, I got a call from the body shop. The service advisor had misquoted the price of a part and they needed my approval to move forward. Ruh-roh. The second time I hit the truck, the taillight cracked, and even though it still functioned properly we wanted to fix it. Ideally, we’d replace just the broken piece, the lens. Unfortunately, it’s permanently mated to the housing and Ford only sells this part as a single unit. What’s more, we got our F-150 in the Lariat trim level. That means it’s equipped with (amongst other things) a blind-spot monitoring system. The sensors for that system are housed in the taillight and as you might expect, this all led to a higher price for the taillight assembly than previously expected. Much higher. The price jumped from $106.28 to $887.25. For a taillight. Without much of a choice, I approved the price increase and thanked the shop for double-checking with me. Two days later, I checked in on the F-150 to see what progress had been made. The body shop had removed the
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 21
“Sport 4x4” sticker and the taillight and started dent repair, pulling out the damaged areas. Four days after dropping off the truck (two days after my first checkup) I dropped by the shop again. This time they were in full sanding mode, prepping the truck for paint. If I looked closely, I could see where the sledgehammer had made contact, but the damage was starting to disappear. During the second visit, the service advisor let me know the truck would be finished on schedule, just a few days later. Sure enough, seven days after we dropped off the truck, it was ready to go. Check out Part 3 as we welcome the 2015 Ford F-150 back into our fleet with full details on the cost to repair it.
Aluminum Body Repairs Part 3 “The normal aluminum labor rate is $120 an hour, but since you’re paying out of pocket I’m going to cut you a deal,” the service advisor said, holding back the computer print-out. “I’m only going to charge you our normal rate of $60 an hour but it’s over 20 hours of labor.” When I dropped off our longterm 2015 Ford F-150 a week ago, I couldn’t tell if the advisor was trying to soften the blow of a costly repair or if he was really taking pity on me. There was no “Aluminum Body Rate” on their posted list of prices in the waiting room, just the “Body Rate per Hour” of $60. Whether this was an exaggeration or not, it was a nice sentiment. I lied to the service advisor, so in his mind, I was the victim of a hitand-run accident and I deserved a bit of leeway. The damage was actually a result of two blows from a sledgehammer. We were testing the theory that aluminum is more expensive to repair than steel and I had lied about the damage to get the most realistic customer experience possible. So far, it seemed to be working. The repair would take “twice as long as steel” but I’d be paying half the standard rate. It was time to break out the calculator and do some funky math. He handed over the sheet and explained each item. After straightening the panel as best they could, they’d apply a specialized aluminum paint filler, then primer, paint, color sand and buff the panel, replace the taillight and put on a new “Sport 4x4” sticker. For “seven to 10 business days”
worth of work, the price of labor and parts totaled $2,082.73. My eyes went wide, but I signed the estimate, declined a rental car and handed over the keys. As I mentioned in Part 2 of the story, the price went up quickly when the taillight turned out to be more expensive than previously thought. Instead of the $106.28 for a standard taillight, our Lariat’s LED light with the blind-spot sensor cost $887.25. With the subsequent increase in sales tax, the repair bill totaled $2,938.44. Ouch. True to their word, the body shop finished the work a week after I dropped the truck off. And to my eye, they did an almost-perfect job. The panel is straight, it retains all the original character lines and the paint is matched perfectly. The only real flaw is the placement of that “Sport 4x4” sticker. It’s about two inches too far to the left of where it should be. Dan Edmunds came with me to check on the repairs and neither of us noticed at first, but it certainly stands out now that our more eagle-eyed co-workers have pointed it out. Side note: We’ve contacted the dealer and they’ve ordered a new sticker. An outside vendor does the sticker placement and they’ll come to us to fix it, free of charge. I should note that repairing aluminum differs from repairing steel in several ways. It requires special tools (re-read Part 2 if you missed those details) and it stretches in different ways than steel. As a result it can require a more experienced hand. It seems like the staff at Santa Monica Ford has that part covered. But what about replacing body panels all together? If we had been in a more serious accident, with another vehicle involved for instance, and we needed a panel replaced, could it take a shop longer to get that panel in stock? According to Ford, the body panels aren’t any more expensive now that they’re made out of aluminum. The price for a replacement right rearquarter panel on a steel-bodied 2014 F-150 is $967.48. And for the same panel on an aluminum-bodied 2015 F150? $967.48. That’s nice to hear, but what would it have cost to fix a steel panel rather than replace it? As you’ll notice in the above photo of the estimate, there are 24.4 hours of billed labor. Of that, 20 hours are listed for the repair of the aluminum body panel. The other 4.4 hours are things like removing the molding, taking off the bumper and uninstalling the tailgate.
22 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Clearly, that labor wouldn’t take any more or less time regardless of what the parts are made of. If we go with the theory that our service advisor presented though, and assume fixing a steel panel would take half the time, it works out to just 14.4 hours of labor. Work that in to the above estimate and you’ll get a total of $2,338.44. That’s $600 less. Let’s take that a step further, though. Assuming that the labor rate for aluminum was the $120 an hour the service advisor told us, and going with our quoted time of 20 hours or body labor to pound that panel out, we’re looking at $4,138.44. That’s a difference of $1,800, a price increase of nearly 77 percent versus the cost of repairing a steel panel for 10 hours at $60 per hour. To be sure we called our regular body shop, Golden Hammer in Santa Monica. The shop has fixed dozens of dented, dinged and damaged Edmunds long-term test vehicles. That shop charges $50 an hour to fix a steel panel and $105 an hour for aluminum. Take it a little further down the rabbit hole and there’s insurance to think about. If we had gone through insurance to pay
for this repair, my out-of-pocket cost for the repair might not have changed so much, but that’s probably not where it would end. Imagine you’ve got a $500 or even $1,000 deductible on your insurance policy. You hit a tree, tell the body shop guy you have no idea what happened, but insurance is paying to fix it. Your insurance premiums may go up, but the remainder of the cost is passed along to your insurance company. In this scenario, the associated insurance cost for owning an aluminum-bodied vehicle likely goes up too. Maybe it already has. There’s plenty to speculate about when it comes to the new 2015 Ford F150, and we’ve got a year to keep testing out our theories, but there are a few things we know for sure. One: It takes more time, unique tools and specialized training to fix aluminum body panels. Two: Those repairs, whether through higher labor rates or longer service times, cost more money than repairing steel. And three: It’s really fun to smash things with a sledgehammer. We thank Edmunds.com for giving Autobody News permission to reprint their article.
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Western Associations
Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware, who writes on a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family of NASCAR fans. She can be contacted at crsisk@chasidyraesisk.com.
ASA-AZ Attends Small Business Day at State Capitol with Chasidy Rae Sisk
Executive Director Luz Rubio states, “we at ASA-AZ have called for the assistance of other small business associations when trying to get help on passage or defeat of a bill, and events like this allow us the opportunity to learn about other associations, alliances and coalitions that are out there working on behalf of small business owners. We are very fortunate to have relationships with these groups, and though from time to time we have to be on opposing sides, we can work together on events like these.” Michele Reagan, AZ Secretary of State, speaks at the The day consisted of preSmall Business Day event in Phoenix sentations on various bills eration of Independent Businesses of from this legislative session, given by AZ (NFIBAZ) to the State Capitol for the following featured speakers from their annual Small Business Day. The the legislature: Senate President Andy event was coordinated by NFIBAZ Biggs, House Speaker David Gowan, with input and assistance from other Senate Assistant Democratic Leader small business associations. Steve Farley, House Democratic On February 5, the Automotive Service Association of Arizona (ASA-AZ) and 18 other small business associations accompanied the National Fed-
24 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Leader Eric Meyer, House Appropriations Chairman Justin Olson, and Representative Bob Thorpe. According to Rubio, one of the event’s highlights was a presentation by new
Documentation signed by Arizona Governor Douglas A. Ducey and Secretary of State Michele Reagan declaring February 5th as Small Business Day
Secretary of State Michelle Reagan who presented a declaration from Governor Doug Ducey naming February 5th as Small Business Day. “The importance of being part of events like these is the ability to network with other small business associations and owners and to learn about their challenges as well as their successes. Small business owners many times feel alone and struggle trying to figure things out.” Rubio also notes, “Those in attendance enjoyed the event and understand the power that an association can have in helping them with their challenges as they strive to grow their business. The event was very successful, and the exchange of information is always invaluable.” ASA-AZ PO Box 81517 Phoenix, AZ 85069 602-544-2600 www.asaaz.org
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 25
ASA-NW Prepares for Automotive Training Expo on March 20-22 by Chasidy Rae Sisk
On March 20-22, the Automotive Service Association of the Northwest (ASANW) will be producing their annual Automotive Training Expo (ATE) at the Doubletree Seattle Hilton Hotel; the event is also being sponsored by the Northwest Tire Dealers Association, ICAR and ASE. Jeff Lovell, Executive Director of ASA-NW, notes, “ATE provides Management and Technical training for the collision and mechanical industries. We hold this annual event in order to provide training and education for our members as this is part of our mission statement to our members and the industry.” In addition to a plethora of management and technical training classes, ATE 2015 will feature four keynote speakers. During lunch on Saturday from 11:30AM until 12:45PM, Mark Warren will give a presentation entitled “Lessons Learned After 25 Years in Business” which is sponsored by WORLDPAC. At 7:15-8AM on Saturday, following breakfast, Rick White will discuss “The Seven Pearls of Business Wisdom,” which is being
sponsored by ICM, and after lunch, Jay Gubrud will present “Rev Up Your Relationships” from 12:30-1:15PM, sponsored by Kukui Corporation. The final keynote presentation, entitled “Turnaround Point – the How-to for Shop Success” and sponsored by Turnaround Tour, will be presented by Gary Gunn during breakfast on Sunday from 6:30-8AM.
In between keynote speakers, ATE boasts a wide variety of management and technical training opportunities, including seven I-CAR classes for the benefit of the collision repair professionals in attendance. Instructors include Jay Gubrud, Jay Kuykendall, Bill Haas, Rick White, Maylan Newton, Kevin McCartney, Charlie Zimmerman, Eric Ziegler, Scott Shotton, Gary Smith, Fred Wilson, Martin Petkovitz, Mark Warren, Fred Donaldson, Donny Seyfer, Cecil Bullard, Danny Sanchez, Bernie Thompson, Karl Schneider,
Adam Robertson, Dave Scaler, Albin Moore, Bob Ward, and Paul Stewart. The complete itinerary is available on the event’s website. The expo hall will open Friday and Saturday evenings from 4-8PM with hors d’oeuvres and a no-host bar. Approximately 60 vendors and industry leaders will exhibit at the event. Exhibitors include AllData Corporation, I-CAR, LKQ, NAPA and many others. Lovell proudly states, “we are anticipating another sold-out event for 2015 with over 900 industry attendees. Our expectations have already been met with the response from the industry. The expo portion of this event has been sold out since August 2014, and currently, we are 20% above last year’s registration at this time.” The all-inclusive cost for ATE 2015 is only $425, and those interested in attending can register at the event’s website: www.atetrainingexpo.com. ASA-NW 7403 Lakewood Drive W. Suite 7 Lakewood, WA 98499 253-473-6970 www.asanorthwest.com
GM’S CONQUEST PARTS PROGRAM Bump The Competition Com mpettitio on “Bump” keeps growing and now includes over 7,000 part numbers.
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It’s easy to get Genuine GM Parts at aftermarket competitive prices. 1. Send a complete insurance repair estimate to your GM dealer. 2. Your GM dealer will review and notify you about Genuine GM Parts that are eligible for “Bump The Competition” discounts. 3. Place your order and take advantage of the savings!
Or even easier... 1. Use CollisionLink. 2. “Bump” eligible parts are marked and discounts automatically applied to your order. 26 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
GEICO Generates Underpayment Complaints from Texas Shops
Several collision repair shops in the Houston, TX, area are voicing claims that GEICO insurance has been refusing to pay certain rates for towing bills, administrative fees, and storage on total loss vehicles. Autobody News recently spoke to two of these shops to find out more. We are currently awaiting response from GEICO. Please check the Autobody News website for more details, as well as the April issue of the print publication.
CAA San Diego March Chapter Meeting “Have It Your Way!”
The California Autobody Association’s (CAA) San Diego Chapter will hold its first meeting of the year on Tuesday, March 3 at 6 pm. The goal is to have an open discussion and hear members’ ideas about what to present at future CAA meetings. CAA SoCal Representative Cindy Shillito will also speak about the benefits that CAA provides and how members can best take advantage of them. It will be held at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse, 2150 Harbor Island Drive, San Diego, CA 92101 (619) 291-9110. Contact Cindy Shillito at (714) 944-40138 or email radiatorgirl@socal .rr.com.
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Class Action by Technician v Safelite Dismissed
A former Safelite AutoGlass technician who sued the company alleging he had been denied overtime wages has asked both the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court of Central California to dismiss his case. He was seeking class action status; however, no other named plaintiffs appeared. In his lawsuit filed against Safelite in 2010, Joseph Perez, a California resident, alleged that he and other associates in the state had been denied overtime wages he believes they were owed for working more than eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. “Perez’s individual claims alleged in the complaint against defendant Safelite Group, Inc. are hereby dismissed,” the U.S. District Court judge wrote on March 6, 2012. However, the judge added, “that plaintiff specifically retains a personal stake in the class claims as a representative of the class.”
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New Rotary Lift LockLight™ Car Lift Accessory Featured at NADA Expo
At their NADA Expo Booth #2519S, Rotary Lift will introduce a new product called LockLight™, a patent-pending new lift accessory that shows technicians, shop managers and health/safety inspectors at a glance if a vehicle lift is resting on its locks. Every time a technician raises a vehicle for service on a lift, standard industry safety practices require that the lift be “lowered to locks” before starting work. To do this, the vehicle is raised to slightly above working height, and then lowered a bit until the lift locks engage. This process relieves the lift’s hydraulic pressure and places the load of the vehicle securely on mechanical safety latches. Doing so reduces the chance of the vehicle freefalling if the lift system fails. “Anytime a vehicle is in the air, the lift should be on its locks,” says Ron Lainhart, parts and service manager for Rotary Lift. “This practice is outlined in the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) Lifting It Right vehicle lift safety manual and training course. Recently, occupational safety and health inspectors have been citing dealerships for each lift they find that is not on its locks with a vehicle in the air. LockLight is the only product on the market that gives a visual indicator of whether
repair systems of North America LLC
a Robaina Group LLC company
or not a lift is resting on its load-holding device. With LockLight, shop managers can tell at a glance whether or not all the lifts in use at any given time are on their locks as they should be, mak-
ing it a pretty effective insurance policy against citations, employee injury and property damage caused by improper lift use.”
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The LockLight device is approximately four inches square with a large light in the center. It is mounted to the lift or the control console (for light-duty inground lifts) and connected to the lift’s hydraulic system. When LockLight detects that the lift’s hydraulic pressure has been relieved, the light in the center turns green, indicating that the lift is on its locks and work can begin. LockLight (part #FA834 for 110V and part #FA835 for 220V) can be installed on any Rotary Lift two-post or four-post surface lift, or SmartLift® inground lift. It is also compatible with other brands of hydraulic lifts. For a live LockLight demonstration, stop by the Rotary Lift booth (#2519S) at the NADA Expo in the Moscone Center, San Francisco, Jan. 23-25. To learn more, contact your local Rotary Lift distributor, visit www.rotary lift.com or call (800) 640-5438. You can also find Rotary Lift on Facebook, www.facebook.com/RotaryLift and Twitter, twitter.com/RotaryLift. Check out our product videos on Vimeo at: http://vimeo.com/groups/rotary.
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Large Portion of Antitrust Multidistrict Litigation in FL Dismissed, Refiled by Plaintiffs by Stacey Phillips, Assistant Editor
Judge Gregory Presnell in Florida has dismissed a large portion of a Federal lawsuit in multidistrict litigation court accusing State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. and 40 other insurers of conspiring to suppress reimbursement rates for vehicle damage repair costs. However, the plaintiffs have already refiled claims that were dismissed without prejudice. John Eaves of Eaves Law Firm in Mississippi, the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, said this was not a surprise. “We anticipated [the dismissal],” said Eaves. “This is what was done the first time we filed a complaint in Florida.” “My interpretation is that [Judge Presnell] wanted a lot more of the actual facts and details in the complaint… instead of something so general,” Eaves told Autobody News. However, the ruling may be a setback for hundreds of other auto repair shops alleging similar claims against insurers in the multidistrict litigation in the District Court. Shops across the country have provided Eaves with an abundance of information that he has now incorporate into the revised complaint. He said it is a longer document, much more detailed and comprehensive. As of the date of the ruling, 22 other cases initially filed in numerous states, including Indiana, Kentucky and Virginia, are currently before Judge Presnell for coordinated pretrial proceedings. In re Auto Body Shop Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 2557, complaints filed (M.D. Fla.). According to the plaintiffs in the Florida action, the defendants exercise control over labor and repair costs by entering into DRPs with body shops. In exchange for providing certain concessions of price, priority and other matters, the defendants list the shops as “preferred providers.” However, the defendants, led by State Farm, allegedly have conspired to use the DRPs as a way to set maximum price limits on the shops’ products and services, according to the suit. If the labor rates are deemed unacceptable, the defendants demand a lower rate, arguing the higher rate does not conform to the market rate and therefore violates the DRP, the plaintiffs argued. Further, failure to comply with the defendants’ demands results in removal from the preferred-provider program or
improper “steering” of customers away from the “noncompliant” auto body shop’s business, the plaintiffs say. But Judge Presnell ruled that the plaintiffs offered no details about how or when the insurers entered into the alleged price-fixing agreement. The fact that a number of defendants have indicated an unwillingness to pay more than State Farm has to pay for parts or labor also does not, itself, violate the Sherman Act, he said. “It is not illegal for a party to decide it is unwilling to pay a higher hourly rate than its competitors have to pay, and the fact that a number of the defendants made statements to that effect does not tip the scales toward illegality,” Judge Presnell wrote. The plaintiffs also failed to establish that the defendants may have engaged in boycotting activity by allegedly steering customers away from noncompliant shops, according to the ruling. “There is no allegation that any defendants refused to allow any of its insureds to obtain a repair from such a shop or refused to pay for repairs performed at such a shop,” the judge said. The plaintiffs also cannot move forward with their claim for tortious interference with business relations, he said, because the defendants had an existing financial interest in the relationship between their insureds and the plaintiffs and were therefore “privileged to interfere in that relationship.” “For tortious interference to be unjustified, the interfering defendant must be a third party, a stranger to the business relationship,” he said. Judge Presnell did, however, permit the plaintiffs to continue with their claim for conversion, which alleges the defendants failed to make full payment for certain labor and material costs. Other defendants in the action include 21st Century Centennial Insurance Co., Allstate Fire & Casualty Insurance Co., Geico General Insurance Co. and Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. The claims brought by the plaintiffs included: quantum meruit, unjust enrichment, quasi-estoppel, tortious interference with business relations, conversion, and violations of the Sherman Act in regards to price-fixing. All but one count, quasi-estoppel, was dismissed without prejudice, meaning that plaintiffs will be able to file an amended
28 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
pleading reasserting the counts by Feb. 10. The quasi-estoppel (count III) was dismissed with prejudice, meaning that it will not be allowed to be refiled. The term is described by Florida courts as “… a legal doctrine, applicable in certain limited circumstances, which provides that ‘[a] party cannot, either in the course of litigation or in dealings, occupy inconsistent positions.’” Another way to think about quasiestoppel is: Someone (#1) thinks something (A) is true and takes action based on that belief, someone else (#2) says “A is not true (even though #2 previously said it was)” and that causes #1 to do something that results in harm (i.e. business loss). If it turns out that A was true to begin with, #2 is guilty of quasiestoppel. The plaintiffs sought to have quasi-estoppel applied in regard to repair estimating databases. According to court documents, “The Plaintiffs allege that the Defendants ‘have relied upon and asserted the validity/authority of the databases... when it has been to their respective advantage’ but that, in other instances, the Defendants
‘have refused to compensate and/or fully compensate Plaintiffs for materials expended and work performed, including labor and labor rates, upon reliance of these very same guides, claiming that they are unnecessary to complete the work at hand.’” Court documents stated that the Plaintiffs sought to have the Defendants stopped from denying the applicability and reasonableness of the repair databases; however, the Florida court did not find this to be a cause for action. “The Court’s order is a significant victory for Farmers and the other defendants,” wrote the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, representing Farmers’ affiliates, in an article posted on Weil’s website. “Though the Court dismissed all but one claim—for quasi-estoppel—without prejudice, it strongly suggested that plaintiffs would have difficulty remedying their remaining claims in an amended complaint. Additionally, this decision dismissed claims based on allegations similar to those contained in approximately 20 other cases in a consolidated See MDL Dismissals, Page 51
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Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.
Utah Body Shop Owner Looks Ahead to More Aluminum and Fewer DRPs with Ed Attanasio
Perk’s Auto Body in Clearfield, Utah, is a third generation shop that has been fixing cars since 1968, long before there were DRPS or aluminum cars. Current owner Chris Perkins, 42, learned the business from his grandfather and his father, but now he has the reins and the experience to develop his own perspective of the industry. Dad and grandpa are gone now, but Mom still works aside her son in the shop every day. Perkins is currently the treasurer for the Utah Auto Body Association (UABA), a young organization that is working for a better collision industry in the Beehive State. Perkins fondly describes the early days of the business. “Initially, the shop did auto body, mechanical work and was also a snowmobile dealership, all in the same building,” he said. “Then in 1973 my grandfather, Dale Perkins, moved the shop to our current location and it became just a body shop at that point. In 1988, my father, Chad Perkins, bought my grandfather out, because my grandpa had some health issues. He was very sensitive to the new paints and so he had to get out of the shop. They tried to make the paint healthier but it made him sick, so he quit right there and became an insurance adjustor, which he did for a short time.” Perkins worked by his father’s side to learn the collision business. He started out sweeping floors, the same way most second and third generations do it. “I pretty much grew up working in the business, starting really at age 12 by doing whatever he told me what to do and just hanging out here with my dad,” Perkins said. “At the time, he worked nights and put in a lot of hours, so I’d come up after school and spend time with him. I gravitated more to the painting side to start with and through high school I was a prepper. Then after I got married, I started painting cars for about 10 years before moving into the office. In 2005, we built another building and basically doubled our size so right now we’re about 9,000 square feet combined and we fix about 80 cars monthly.”
By diversifying and doing more than just collision repair, Perk’s Auto Body is flourishing in a tough market. “We do a lot of accessories for a Ford dealership here in town, installing flares and scoops and smaller ones,” Perkins said. “It has become a
these different cars. I think the chal- as a five to seven year return on inlenge is to keep up with the technol- vestment and as a way to build our ogy and the training so that when business outside of just the DRP something new rolls into your shop model. So for right now there’s only the F150 this year, but I believe in you know how to fix it.” Has Perkins joined the Rush to 2017 the Silverado is going to be aluminum and I just read an article yesAluminum? terday that Toyota is going to start to “Yes, definitely. I just saw it as an opportunity to maybe use aluminum sheet metal. So I just differentiate us from other wanted to get in on the ground floor shops in our area by becom- and get to the point where when those ing board certified. I think trucks started really rolling in here we aluminum is the only realistic already have the experience and we’re way for production cars to re- already set up to fix them.” Perkins has seen the shop’s reladuce their weight and hit those CAFÉ numbers. We tionships with insurance companies haven’t had a car in here yet change over the years. “Ten years ago, but the Ford dealer that we when I first started working in the office, we had seven DRPs and about work with just got a few in 80% of our work was DRP work at now. And it was a big investPerk’s Auto Body fixes approximately 80 cars monthly and has a great working relationship with a local Ford that time,” Perkins said. “Then my fament to get the Ford aludealership that brings him a lot of work, installing accesther and I just decided that we didn’t minum certification and buy sories primarily like being told how to fix cars. We felt all the equipment. I figure we nice little niche for us, because we invested right around $85,000 by the like we were being forced to fix cars have a ton of trucks around here and time it was all said and done. I see this See UT Shop Looks Ahead, Page 50 people aren’t afraid to spend their money on them. The Ford dealership has become a great partner for us and we couldn’t be happier about it.” The shop also does restorations and custom work. • Delivery to Greater Sacramento and “We get a few in here every year, Reno/Tahoe Areas mostly muscle cars. At the beginning, • Highly experienced parts personnel we were doing mostly custom work • No order too big or too small and restorations, but now collision repair makes up the majority of our • Largest late model inventory in the area work. Right now we’re doing a ’57 • Absolute best prices Chevy and we just did a 1970 AMC Rebel Machine. We do the body work and paint only and someone else does the upholstery and the mechanical stuff. Restorations can be profitable, as long as you bid them right and you let the customer know it’s a sideline and it may take a while to get it done. As long as they’re comfortable with that, it’s a really good way to keep our guys busy full-time even if we have a slow spell for a couple of days.” www.maitasubaru.com Perkins has been able to see the Call us Today! industry change first hand, especially with the explosion of new technology. “I like the changes and the fact that we have to keep learning,” he explained. “I think it makes our job more Fax: 916.484.4878 challenging and more rewarding to Hours: M-F 7:30 am - 5:30 pm learn these new skills and to be able to 2410 Auburn Blvd. - Sacramento, CA 95821 use this new equipment and to fix
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nies trying to cut corners and force them to use unsafe parts and unsafe methods on their cars,” said Eaves, the lead attorney for the antitrust Multi District Lawsuit filed in Florida. Buddy Caldwell, Louisiana’s Attorney General, and Jim Hood, Attorney General of Mississippi, were also featured. Both discussed their concern about safety issues using these kinds of parts. Caldwell has already filed a lawsuit against State Farm Insurance, and Hood is in the process of filing one as well. Hood explained the problem of insurance companies steering business away from body shops that don’t follow their rules. “They’re going to say, we’ll blackball you. We won’t put you on our select service list, and we’re going to make you send us estimates [supplements] to us five different times just to aggravate you. That’s what they do,” said Hood. “They use their economic power to grind down working people.” CNN included the following statement from State Farm: “Our customers choose where their vehicles are going to be repaired. We provide information about our Select Service Program while at the same time making it clear they can select which shop
Continued from Cover
CNN Segment
Body in Pennsylvania. “This segment [CNN] strengthens our position with the nationwide suits,” said Perretta. “These types of tactics are tragic and offensive, deliberate and most of all hurting family’s of consumers financially through diminishing the values of the second largest investment people are making all across the country and their safety.” During the show, Drew Griffin, CNN Special Investigation Unit Correspondent, looked into the allegations. He interviewed Bill Burn, a national auto repair expert, as well as Matt Parker, owner of Parker Auto Body in Monroe, LA. Both addressed the issue of “bad repairs” conducted by some body shops allegedly due to pressure from the insurance companies to use sub-par parts. John Eaves Jr., of Eaves Law firm in Jackson, Mississippi, also spoke during the segment. “Every state in the union is experiencing the same sort of struggle here between the body shops trying to do the work the right way, and the insurance compa-
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will do the work.” Dick Luedke, spokesperson for State Farm Insurance, said that only a small portion of the information they provided to CNN was used in their report. “We are disappointed that CNN
plaintiffs a third chance to re-plead,” said Luedke. “Moreover, a magistrate judge has recently recommended to the district judge that the Mississippi complaint also be dismissed. We did make CNN aware of those rulings.”
Matt Parker, Owner of Parker Auto Body in Monroe, LA showed CNN’s Drew Griffin a re-manufactured headlight that State Farm asked him to use in a Toyota Tacoma
did not choose to report what you have already reported, that all of the counts in the multi-district litigation in Florida that are specific to the state of Florida have been dismissed twice, although the court has permitted the Florida
Neil Allredge from the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies was also interviewed by Griffin. “In many cases, these parts are no different,” said Allredge. “They’re made in the same factories. One just comes
out with an auto manufacturer’s name on it and others don’t.” When Griffin told Allredge “That’s not true,” Allredge disagreed. After Griffin showed him a replacement hood for a Honda that was made in Taiwan and coming apart, Allredge went on to say that he didn’t know the circumstances of the parts Griffin mentioned and didn’t provide further comment. During the show U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, said, “Salvaged parts, inferior or even counterfeit parts certainly raise safety concerns. And often, those kind of parts involved in this practice of steering,” said Blumenthal. “And that’s why I have been concerned for years about it and why I think the Department of Justice should be investigating. One of the cars featured on-air was videotaped at Clinton Body Shop in Clinton, Mississippi. John Mosley, owner of the shop and the President of the Mississippi Collision Repair Association, said CNN contacted him when they were in the area interviewing the attorney generals. He said the Executive Producer of the show, Scott Bronstein, asked if Mosley had a car that had been taken
to a direct repair shop and suffered from a poor repair due to the parts used or actual labor operations performed. He replied that he had a vehicle brought in recently from Eugenia Randle. Randle brought her car into Mosley’s shop after it had been repaired twice at a “preferred” insurance company shop and was still not working properly. In the CNN report, Randle said, “Well, cosmetically to me, it looked fine. But once I got in and got down the street, it just started driving really crazy. And I immediately took it back,” she said. When she brought it to Clinton Body Shop, Mosley said one of his employees took it out for a drive and found it to be unsafe. “So we put it up on the rack, we found the bent wheels, the frame damaged and other issues with it,” said Mosley, who also owns a shop in Richland. After CNN’s Griffin took it out for a test drive himself, he said, “Not only the tail section ripped and unrepaired, three of four tire rims [wheels] were damaged. And as I drove, the steering wheel was shaking so violently, I had to grip down from veering to the right. The front left tire was just wobbling,”
said Griffin. Griffin was referring to a damaged left rear frame rail. “I carefully drove this shaking car right back to the insurance company’s preferred auto body shop, where the general manager promptly told us to leave.” In response to the CNN report, Jack Gillis, Executive Director of Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA), said, “The bad news: we all know that substandard parts exist in the market. The good news: CAPA’s independent, fully transparent non-profit rigorous quality certification program enables shops, insurers and part distributors to identify high-quality, safe and good fitting alternative parts. Because neither shops nor insurers can identify quality alternative parts by looking at them or depending on seller’s claims, CAPA provides the market with the ability to make an informed and quality-based choice. Shops and consumers want repairable vehicles without compromising quality. CAPA provides that option.” He added, “As to the broad brush disparagement of collision repair shops, clearly there are thousands of other American collision shops that do qual-
ity work and use CAPA quality parts— it’s just too bad that they weren’t part of the story.” In a recent letter to its members, the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) stated, “The CNN special program highlighted the practices of identifying the cheapest parts in their claims settlement practices, and it is similarly common that their indemnification practices reflect prices that are substantiated by the lowest common denominators in the market as well; not necessarily what consumers would support in a well-functioning marketplace. “It is important to recognize that there are both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ market representatives in every trade and profession. It would also be inaccurate to make the assertion that simply because a collision repair business works with an insurance company, that they must be performing sub-par work.” SCRS further stated, “What the newscast helped to highlight was that the system is broken, allowing those with the financial responsibility to indemnify for loss to interject themselves into influencing price and thereby the process and/or quality of services provided.”
www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 33
NHTSA Announces Follow-Up Airbag Recall of 2.12M Vehicles; Chrysler’s Ignition Switch Defect Still at Large by Autobody News Staff
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced on January 31 the recall of more than 2.12 million Acura, Dodge, Jeep, Honda, Pontiac, and Toyota vehicles for a defect that may cause airbags to deploy inadvertently. The recalls will provide vehicle owners with a new remedy after the manufacturers’ original attempts to fix the defects proved ineffective in some vehicles. “Keeping the traveling public safe is our number one priority, and we expect the manufacturers to get this remedy right to prevent injury to drivers and their families,” Foxx said. The new recalls cover 2.12 million Acura MDX, Dodge Viper, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty, Honda Odyssey, Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix and Toyota Avalon models made in the early 2000s. The vehicles were subject to earlier recalls to address a problem with an electronic component manufactured by TRW that caused some airbags to deploy inadvertently – that is, in the absence of a crash. The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) discovered through the monitoring of incoming data from consumers and automakers that some vehicles remedied under the previous recalls may have experienced inadvertent deployments. NHTSA urged all three automakers to issue new recalls to implement a more effective remedy. NHTSA has identified about 40 vehicles in which airbags deployed unexpectedly after receiving the original remedy. Action by consumers is especially important because about 1 million Toyota and Honda vehicles involved in these new recalls are also subject to a recall related to defective Takata airbags that may deploy with enough explosive force to cause injury or even death to vehicle occupants. Because of the dangers involved in an inadvertent deployment, and because some of the vehicles involved may also have defective Takata airbags, NHTSA urges consumers who were covered by the original recalls to take their vehicles to their local dealer for the original remedy. That remedy significantly reduces the chance of an airbag deployment that presents a safety risk.
“This is unfortunately a complicated issue for consumers, who may have to return to their dealer more than once,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. “But this is an urgent safety issue, and all consumers with vehicles covered by the previous recalls should have that remedy installed. Even though it’s a temporary solution until the new remedy is available, they and their families will be safer if they take the time to learn if their vehicle is covered and follow their manufacturers’ instructions. A hassle is much better than a family tragedy.” NHTSA will take a series of additional steps to ensure safety, including: Seeking additional information from the TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., which made the electronic part believed to be involved in the inadvertent deployments, about the potential defect, its causes, and whether other makes or models might be affected. Seeking information from the automakers about how quickly they can make the new, more effective remedy available. “NHTSA is committed to using every tool available to make our roads safer, and that includes using our authority and influence to make sure companies are doing what they should do to protect safety,” Rosekind said. But Takata airbags aren’t the only recall plaguing the auto industry. Chrysler’s safety defect with the ignition switch also has consumers worried. Rachel Jefferson overlooked a recall notice in July 2014, and experienced firsthand the dangers of a “safety device” gone rogue. After she exited off of I-70 in Kansas City, KS, her 2009 Dodge Journey abruptly shut off. Luckily she was able to maneuver the vehicle to the side of the exit ramp, where she had to restart the vehicle to put it in park, reported Melissa Yeager of kshb.com. Dodge Grand Caravans and Chrysler Town and County were also affected by this recall. The notice reports that the key fob can become loose and swing out of position causing the car to stall. It also causes the passenger safety de-
34 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
vices, like air bags, to become inoperable, reported Yeager. Thirteen deaths and 54 accidents have been linked to a similar defect with GM vehicles. However, FiatChrysler Automotive US, LLC (FCA US, LLC) has reported no injuries or deaths, and only two accidents. The NHTSA was made aware of the issue in 2010. The manufacturer issued a recall for select models in 2011 and expanded the recall in 2014, reported Yeagar. The letter Jefferson received last summer stated that her vehicle was safe to drive, and that another letter would be issued if that changed. She called her dealership thinking she had missed the notification, but it turns out that it hadn’t even been delivered yet. It has been six months since Jefferson’s Dodge Journey shut off middriving, and she is still waiting for her local Chrysler dealership to receive the correct parts to make repairs. Like dozens of other angry drivers, Jefferson filed a complaint with NHTSA about the delay, reported Yea-
ger. Yeager also found complaint after complaint in the NHTSA’s database from drivers who had experienced stalling and couldn’t get a timely repair. Rosemary Shahan, founder of the consumer watchdog group Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety or CARS, believes consumers waiting for parts have a right to be concerned. Federal law requires that manufacturers have safety recall repairs done promptly. However, Shahan said in reality that doesn’t always happen, reported Yeager. She attributes this to the stockpiling of repair parts by manufacturers before sending out recall notices. NHTSA and FCA US, LLC both echoed that statement, saying it takes time for manufacturers to stockpile parts and have mechanics ready to make repairs. A spokesman for FCA US, LLC told Yeager that this was a rare instance for the automobile maker where engineers needed additional time to study and develop the right solution to fix the defect.
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Attempt by Edmunds.com to Investigate Aluminum Repair Rates Runs into Controversy by Stacey Phillips, Assistant Editor
A recent video and transcript released by Edmunds.com has caused controversy in the industry. During the twominute video, Travis Langness, the Assistant Editor at Edmunds.com, hit a brand new 2015 Ford F-150 with a sledgehammer. Twice! Ouch, said several industry players, but it wasn’t just about the damage to the truck. His intent? To find out if it takes longer to repair the aluminum-bodied truck than a steel-bodied one and, perhaps, belatedly, to compare the costs involved. Langness drove the F-150 to the body shop at Santa Monica Ford in greater Los Angeles to put it to the test. After going through the repair process, and admitting in his article that he had misrepresented the nature of the damage, he concluded that it took more time to fix the aluminum body panels and cost more money than repairing steel. The original version is reprinted with permission from Edmunds.com on the cover. Autobody News asked Edmunds.com for further comment. “As with any vehicle in Edmunds’ Long-
Term testing fleet, our F-150 experiment was designed to simulate a service experience of any regular truck owner,” said Scott Oldham, Editor in Chief at Edmunds.com. “Like many of
we trusted him to get the work done. While we were surprised to learn from the advisor that the repairs typically cost twice as much and typically take twice as long on the new aluminum-
Travis Langness, Associate Editor of Edmunds.com, before taking sledgehammer to Ford F-150. Photo courtesy: Edmunds.com
these owners, we took our vehicle to the nearest Ford dealership for the repairs. The service advisor said that his facility could handle the repairs, and
38 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
bodied truck as the steel-bodied truck, we were able to confirm those facts with a trusted local independent body shop. In the end, the work was per-
formed within the time and the cost that was quoted to us, and we were satisfied with the quality of the repairs.” However, Edmunds.com did not test a steel-bodied truck with damage from a similar impact. Autobody News contacted Ron Davis, owner of Santa Monica Ford, and learned that he had no idea that Langness was pretending to be an ordinary collision customer. “I think it’s silly to try and extrapolate an industry trend from a $2,500 repair,” Davis said. “It seems like they came in with an agenda.” Davis said the dealership made a quality repair and charged a fair price. “Edmunds is making a mountain out of a molehill,” he said. “To draw conclusions on an industry trend from an isolated case on a small repair like this is a faulty conclusion on the part of Edmunds.” A typical repair of course is not going to be the result of a sledgehammer dent. This was a unique situation and may not represent standard repairs statistically. However, the question remains, ‘Is this going to be the general case for aluminum repairs?’
“We really won’t know the impact for awhile because we use a make and model rating system, which is basically based on our claims data,” said Dick Luedke, spokesperson for State Farm Insurance. He said the insurance company typically tracks the cost of insuring every vehicle by make and model. “When those costs change because of a change in the structure of the vehicle, as is the case is here for the Ford F-150, we will be able to see what impact that has, whether it increases the cost or decreases the cost and we adjust our premiums accordingly.” There has been much speculation among auto body shops that aluminum repair will be more expensive because raw aluminum costs more than raw steel. “We don’t make that supposition,” said Luedke. “We let our data tell us whether that is actually true before we actually change our prices. Generally speaking you need about a year’s worth of data for it to be at all meaningful.” Autobody News spoke to Michael Levine, Truck Communications Manager at Ford Motor Company, regarding the video posted by Edmunds.com. “In our experience, the cost to re-
pair cosmetic damage to aluminum is comparable to steel,” said Levine. “For cosmetic repairs, aluminum isn’t really any more difficult to repair than steel is based on historical data collected from repairs of other Ford vehicles with aluminum body panels; it just requires different training and it might require different tools.” He said it should have taken less than 10 hours to repair the truck. Ford has used an aluminum hood on the Ford F-150 since 1997. Levine said that by using high-strength aluminum alloy that’s more dent- and ding-resistant than the steel body of the outgoing truck, the company is able to significantly reduce the weight of the Ford truck by up to 700 pounds. “When we do that, the weight saved comes back to the customer in terms of better performance. The truck accelerates faster, it brakes sooner, it can tow more, it can haul more and it helps get better fuel efficiency,” said Levine. “…In the event of a major collision we’re actually going to save time over the previous steel truck because we’ve designed the truck in a modular fashion so some structural repairs can be completed with less labor,” he said. The 2015 Ford F-150 went on
sale this past November and is now available nationwide. In the case of Langness’s truck, he paid cash for the F-150 repair so an insurance company was not involved. He also made it clear that the truck would not be resold any time soon. Levine said each Ford dealer and independent body shop sets it own hourly repair rates, based on the local market. Todd Hesford, the owner of Mission Viego Auto Collision in Orange County, CA, is in agreement that ultimately it will be up to the individual body shop in regards to price. “From our personal standpoint, I have zero ideas of raising the prices specifically for aluminum repair.” He said as a business if you want to stay relevant and in the game, you need to invest in the tooling and education to fix today’s cars. “To think that we’re going to have two types of costs just because one is made out of a different material, I think that’s foolish because aluminum has been around for a long time and we haven’t had two sets of prices,” said. Hesford’s family has owned Mission Viego Auto Collision since 1979 and been based in the same location since 1983. Hesford, however, did say he finds aluminum repair to be
more challenging than similar repairs to steel. “If you speak to anybody, the OEMs, the insurance companies, the collision centers, they are all going to agree and tell you that repairing aluminum is more difficult and it does take longer.” After watching the video, Hesford said, “I don’t think the test was very fair. You say you want to do a test and a comparison, where is the same hit on the same truck with the same amount of pressure in the same spot with a steel-bodied car?” He did find it impressive that the aluminum held up. “Hat’s off to Ford because that thing took a hit,” he said. “The one thing I learned is that truck is tough!” Oldham from Edmunds.com said this experiment underscores the importance of buying and testing vehicles to give their audience a true scope of the ownership experience. “We’ll continue to put our Ford F150 through the paces over the next year and report on all of the good and bad and everything in between,” he added.
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National Associations
Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware, who writes on a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family of NASCAR fans. She can be contacted at crsisk@chasidyraesisk.com.
A Busy March for the Automotive Recycling Industry with Chasidy Rae Sisk
The Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) is preparing for a busy month in March with several conferences and their annual Hill Day and State Legislative Summit. Their series of events includes the Greater Midwest Auto Recycling Expo, the ARA Annual Hill Day, the ARA State Legislative Summit, the International Automobile Recycling Congress, and the Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association’s Annual Convention. The month will kick off on March 5-7 with the 22nd Greater Midwest Auto Recycling Expo in Kearney, NE. Hosted by ARA affiliate the Automotive Recycling Industry of Nebraska, this event is very popular with professional automotive recyclers in the Midwest. On March 16 and 17, ARA members will flock to Washington DC for the ARA Annual Hill Day and State Legislative Summit Programs where they will represent the professional automotive recycling industry in the halls of Congress. ARA CEO Michael Wilson notes, “Automotive recyclers across the country look forward to this annual opportunity to make a difference on behalf of their businesses and
the automotive recycling profession, educating members of Congress about the issues that are important to the industry and learning from their peers in neighboring states.” This initiative will commence on Monday, March 16, with the ARA 8th Annual State Legislative Summit which began in 2008 as an opportunity for ARA members to identify critical legislative issues impacting the industry on a state level. This year’s Summit will focus on sharing information, discussing lessons learned last year, and addressing the issues currently dominating the 2015 state legislatures. Association members will head to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, March 17, to meet with their Congressional representatives. Last year’s event included ARA members from over 20 states attending Hill Day to support the requiring of automotive manufacturers to provide OE parts data. Wilson states, “Their efforts made a difference and contributed to a broader understanding in Congress of why OE parts data is critical to the industry as well as consumer safety. As a result of this and other direct outreach, members of Congress are on record asking au-
Continued from Cover
long term betterment of our industry than Dale Delmege,” said Afshar. “I was pleased to be able to recognize the scale of Dale’s contributions over the years by naming our ACE Award for the exceptional collision repair center the ‘Dale Delmege Award.’” Dale is survived by his wife Mary, his five children: Laura, Diana, Dale Jr., Mark and Caleb; and his eight grandchildren, as well as his sister, Leslie McDonald. Dale requested that the Children’s Skin Disease Foundation, www.csdf.org, receive gifts of donations in lieu of flowers. Memorial services have not yet been announced by the family. Dale’s Autobody News columns can be read at http://www.autobodynews .com/columnists/dale-delmege.html. Autobody News extends heart-felt condolences to his family.
Dale Delmege
Chelsea Management Group, his own firm, Dale stayed active in the industry by advising and consulting with companies as diverse as Hertz and VeriFacts. VeriFacts CEO and long-time friend, Farzam Afshar, has said VeriFacts implemented the Dale Delmege Award to recognize Dale’s significant and lasting contributions throughout each segment of the collision repair industry. The award recognizes a collision repair center consistently producing and delivering verified repair quality. “Dale was a great friend and mentor. He used to say he had held every known unpaid job in the industry. I know of few people as committed to, and influential in, their pursuit of the
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tomaker representatives about the sharing of OEM part numbers with the professional automotive recycling industry: http://www.c-span.org/video/ ?c4519887/rep-adam-kinzinger.” On March 25-27, ARA is going international. Their immediate past President Ed MacDonald,will be speaking at the International Automobile Recycling Congress in Berlin about end-oflife vehicle recycling in Canada’s Arctic. Wilson will also be in attendance as he continues building key relationships between ARA and the association’s global partners. Additionally, ARA intends to update attendees about the association’s efforts related to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partners to gain access to OEM parts data. The 2015 International Automobile Recycling Congress will feature two keynote speakers. The Secretary General of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association will highlight “the role of the automotive indus-
try in the context of ELV recycling,” while Volkswagen’s Chief Officer for Environment, Energy and New Business Areas will share his opinions on Environmental Protection-Driving Innovation. Meeting planners anticipate that the 2015 Congress will attract 250 automotive recyclers and industry stakeholders. ARA will conclude their hectic month on March 26-28 at the annual convention of an affiliate chapter, the Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association, in Toronto. As the largest automotive recycling event and trade show in Canada, this event draws attendees from Canada as well as upstate NY and the greater New England area, including recyclers, repairers, insurers and other industry supporters. ARA 9113 Church St. Manassas, VA 20110 www.a-r-a.org
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National Associations
Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.
Strong and Getting Stronger: The State of I-CAR® with Ed Attanasio
We sat down with Jeff Peevy, the Senior Director of Field Operations and Segment Development at I-CAR® to talk about some recent events and a few misconceptions about the organization. Most repairers know that ICAR is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing the training, knowledge and skills required to perform quality repairs that are needed by all participants in the repair process, but not many know the scope of the organization. Peevy leads a team of over 2,000 volunteers, instructors and field managers who team up to conduct over 15,000 instructor-led classes and certification in the U.S. each year. He also oversees the strategic development of I-CAR support and services for the “Repairer” market segment. During his 32 years in the automotive industry, Peevy has worked as a technician, shop manager, instructor, National PBE manager for a large U.S. supplier, and director of Technical Training and Application Research for an automotive paint manufacturer. He holds a business administration degree and a position on the board of directors for the National Auto Body Council. He is also a member of the Society of Organizational Learning, which grew out of an MIT program designed to foster collaboration among corporations committed to fundamental organizational change. Peevy has a passion for promoting the critical role that knowledge plays within repair operations. Over the past five years he has been leading a team studying the impact that knowledge and skills have on operational performance. The research findings directly correlate knowledge acquired through training with gains in business Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and improved competitive advantage. A “learning culture” is a necessary element to the future success of collision repairers. One Major Misconception about I-CAR: “A lot of people don’t realize that I-CAR is a not-for-profit organization and that means that we are a very vision and mission focused organization ever since our founding in 1979. We have approximately 2,000 volunteers who are from different seg-
ments of the industry and 315 volunteer committees in the United States. They believe in the organization and the value of training to the extent that they give up their personal time Jeff Peevy is the to really help the Senior Director of organization in a Field Operations variety of ways, inand Segment Development cluding helping us at I-CAR® find classrooms to use and assisting with promoting and scheduling classes. Without these highly driven and very dedicated volunteers we could not be where we are today. We also have approximately 480 part-time instructors; most of them have other full-time jobs. They are paid employees of I-CAR, but they go above and beyond the regular call of duty. Most of them started out as volunteers like I did and they got bit by the bug. There are definitely some benefits to being an instructor. Besides the pay, there’s the access to the updated technical information, and the networking is a big plus as well. Most of these people get bit by the training and it’s pretty addictive.” The Re-ignition of I-CAR: “Today, I-CAR is spearheaded by our CEO and President John Van Alstyne. He joined the organization in 2010, bringing with him 20 years in the OEM and vehicle technology sector of the automotive industry. His is a truly a strategic leader and visionary who is dedicated to preparing the industry to repair the vehicles of tomorrow. Before he joined, though, it was a real challenging time for the organization from 2006 to 2008. We were limping along and struggling to develop forces. Everyone rolled up their sleeves and just started looking at ways to be better. There was a core group of us and it was kind of do-or-die at that point. And there were two things that needed to happen--one was to organize and capture the feedback in meaningful ways and the second was to build the mechanisms from which that feedback could be disseminated into a place that would lead to action. So, we started implementing a formal project management system, and then we de-
42 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
veloped a program we call ISAC and that stands for Industry Segment Advisory Council. We went out into the shops and asked questions. A lot of these people had been very critical of us in the past, and we wanted their feedback. We asked them to sit down with us and we picked their brains. We asked them if we could meet with them regularly and they agreed. It’s been wildly successful for us and the industry has been extremely kind. Many of those people who really had lost faith in I-CAR had come to the table and helped us develop a direction. And that was how we developed part of the same professional development program that we use now. Between these actions and John’s leadership, we have definitely turned the organization around and are on the right path.” Role Relevant Training: “We had hundreds of collision repairers, insurance people, tech schools, suppliers and automotive manufacturers working with us. By using the information they
shared with us, we developed the roles that we now have in our role relevant training. The goal was to develop a standard of knowledge and we simply facilitated that process as staff. We did not manipulate it or make it something that was pre-conceived; rather, we listened closely to the industry and then acted on it. We launched it in July of 2010 and it has been a success. In the old system, the classes weren’t based around roles, so people just took the classes for the points. People needed the points for the recognition program so it didn’t matter what class they took and that was one of the main criticisms. Now, we analyze every class to make sure it’s relevant and we drill down into those knowledge areas. From a legacy standpoint we wanted to make sure that anyone who had taken classes in the past would receive credit for that. It was a mixture of current courses and new courses and that model is still implemented today. It’s a very dynamic
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system and there is a process of continually updating courses and building new courses and making sure each one is relevant to what’s going on. Our CEO & President points out every chance he gets about the ‘technical tsunami’ of new vehicles, new technologies and new materials— each year, roughly 65 vehicles are debuted or redesigned, many of them manufactured with unfamiliar materials and systems. This requires a pretty robust process, and we’ve had to expand our organization to keep up with it.” I-CAR Today: “People say that ICAR is in the best position it’s ever been in and I would say that’s true—and not just financially. Our leadership team is outstanding, we get things done. We are in the best position we’ve ever been in with OEM relationships, and turning these OEM relationships into courses. Our overall ability to develop relevant courses and the talent we have at the ICAR Tech Center has grown dramatically. We’ve redesigned and invested in our processes to develop and update courses. We implemented a state-of–the art Learning Content Management System to help us develop new classes better and faster. To better support the industry, we’ve greatly expanded our
customer service support and marketing programs. We are now much more responsive to the industry, doing the things that we desperately needed to do. And all of this is greatly helping the collision repair Inter-Industry as a whole, including front-line technicians, shop owners, estimators, insurance specialists and field educators.”
knowledge and skills that contribute to proper repairs, improved business performance and risk reduction. It took about two years for the shops to get aligned in that transition and we have a little over 3,000 or so shops that have gone through the three levels of training for the Platinum designation, each referred to as an I-CAR ProLevel®. Each
The Professional Development Program transition: “It took about two years to transition to the I-CAR Professional Development Program™ (PDP), which trains collision repair professionals in essential role-relevant knowledge and skills. The PDP had tentacles into the I-CAR Platinum Individual® recognition program, which is for collision repair professionals who achieve and maintain high levels of role-relevant training that contributes to complete, safe and quality repairs. For businesses, the I-CAR PDP provides collision repair and insurance businesses with a reliable training framework for acquiring Gold Class® and maintaining the up-to-date
ProLevel progressively builds upon prior learning to continually advance each professional’s knowledge and skills. We’ve seen a growth in training since the development of PDP and especially with the ‘technical tsunami’ of new and redesigned vehicles.” Reparability Technical Support: “Following months of extensive development, I-CAR officially launched the Reparability Technical Support (RTS) portal this past July. The portal was designed to improve accessibility of critical repair information for the entire collision repair industry. I-CAR collaborated with OEMs and others in the industry to improve accessibility of
“People say that I-CAR is in the best position it’s ever been in and I would say that’s true—and not just financially.” —Jeff Peevy
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critical repair information. The portal houses thousands of pages of OEM repair information specific to vehicle models in a user-friendly format that can be accessed by smartphone, desktop computer and everything in between. A key element of the portal is the ‘Ask I-CAR™’ features, where technicians can submit a question online or call I-CAR technical experts for advice on their toughest repair questions. In addition to the portal, the RTS initiative is working to bridge the gap between OEMs and the collision repair industry by acting as a linking pin between the two, and hosting summits and Industry Segment Advisory Councils.” The Learning Culture: “To be effective, training programs should not be positioned as a requirement or simply a box to be checked. Rather, a learning culture should be established within each organization in the collision repair ecosystem. Training should be encouraged, accomplishments should be rewarded, and those trained should be viewed as achievers and role models. After years of studying the connection between training and improved performance, I-CAR has identified that ‘Learning Culture’ is the secret sauce to becoming a top performing shop.”
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Western Associations with Chasidy Rae Sisk
Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware, who writes on a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family of NASCAR fans. She can be contacted at crsisk@chasidyraesisk.com.
ASA-AZ Learns about “Becoming a Marketingpreneur” On Wednesday, January 21, the Phoenix Chapter of ASA-AZ held a 6:30 PM dinner meeting at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Phoenix. In addition to enjoying a great meal with good company, attendees heard about how to become a
Members of the ASA-AZ Phoenix Chapter enjoy a dinner meeting at the Old Spaghetti Factory
“Marketingpreneur” from guest speaker Patrick Harter of the Provision Team. Luz Rubio, Executive Director of ASA-AZ, said “January kicked off at the Phoenix Chapter with a bang! Four new members were introduced, and Bell Auto Service was celebrating
their 40 years in service. A very diverse group of over 40 attendees that included shop owners, managers and spouses were interacting and sharing.” Boasting 30 years of small business experience and 16 years of experience in Fortune 100 Corporate, Harter possesses an unparalleled understanding of the many traits needed for a small business owner to be successful. He aids their growth with strategic marketing techniques, including traditional marketing elements as well as mobile and social media platforms. Harter also shares ideas for improving operational proficiency and efficiency. In his presentation “Becoming a Marketingpreneur,” Harter shared tips for marketing a business on a limited budget. Attendees received a plethora of suggestions on creating advertising campaigns and how to develop a marketing plan. Harter explained which types of marketing to employ, dis-
cussing the pros and cons of advertising through traditional print, radio, TV, mobile and/or social media outlets. Highlights of the presentation included the identification of the audience, image, message and the call to action.
Guest speaker Patrick Harter of the Provision Team informs attendees of the ASA-AZ Phoenix Chapter meeting how to be a “Marketingpreneur.”
Rubio states, “the audience learned that social media is very important as is updating your shop’s online presence through all of those means. Owning your business radius is also imperative.
Many questions were raised specific to shops and how to effectively produce advertisements that will get the attention of the customer.” Three chapters of ASA-AZ already have scheduled roundtable events for February. On the evening of Thursday, February 5, the West Valley chapter meeting will be held at Tech 1 Auto in Peoria. The next Wednesday, February 11 will begin with the Central Chapter’s 7 AM Roundtable event at Coco’s in Phoenix. One week later, on February 18, American Auto Recycling in Gilbert will host the East Valley Chapter’s Roundtable at 6:30 PM. RSVPs are required, and reservations are being accepted through the association’s website. ASA-AZ PO Box 81517 Phoenix, AZ 85069 602-544-2600 www.asaaz.org
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Lean Operations
David Luehr is the owner of Elite Body Shop Solutions, LLC, a collision business consulting firm based in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a 30 year veteran of the collision repair industry. David is an expert in Body Shop Operations and specializes in Lean, and Theory of Constraints methods. Email him at dluehr@msn.com
Make More Money Using Theory of Constraints with David Luehr
Most of you readers have heard about Lean thinking, Lean manufacturing, or simply Lean. But have you heard about the Theory of Constraints (TOC)? I know some of you have, but as with Lean, the concept may still be a little unclear to you. Although there are both commonalities and differences between Lean and TOC, I believe collision re-
pairers can benefit from understanding and applying both ways of thinking to their repair businesses.
Lean The word Lean was originally used in James Womack’s 1990 book entitled “The Machine that Changed the World.” His book described the dominance of Toyota and the effectiveness of a production system that banishes waste from the value stream. This lean thinking has revolutionized many industries and still does today. Unfortunately, many collision repairers have made attempts to implement such thinking and systems in their shops with limited results at best. While I believe that there are many benefits to creating a lean culture and adopting lean methods and using its tools, few shops that I am aware of have figured out how to fully realize their profit potential unless they have also become familiar with the Theory of Constraints.
Theory of Constraints The Theory of Constraints was first introduced to us by an Israeli physicist name Eliyahu M. Goldratt in his 1984 book “The Goal.” This book has had a profound effect on my life since first reading it in the early nineties. I would highly encourage all of you to read this book too. Although there is a little more to it, it is basically bottleneck management and adopting an understanding that there is always at least one resource (department, machine, person) in your business that is a lim-
iting factor to your throughput ability (making money).
Local efficiency vs. global efficiency The problem with many collision repair businesses is that silos are created in each department, each attempting to perform their portion of the work to whatever feels most efficient to them. On the surface this “local efficiency” may look like a good idea because everyone is motivated to perform their best; however, the problem with this is it can create dramatic peaks and valleys in the flow of the work from one department to the next. For example, if it is more efficient for a paint shop to primer the whole day’s work at one time or wait until all the bumpers are prepped and ready before loading into one giant booth batch, guess who usually suffers? That’s right, the guy that has been waiting all day to build his cars and now the paint shop unloads all of them at once! This poor technician can only build one car at a time so cycle time and global efficiency suffers. Both Lean and TOC teaches us that sometimes we actually need to reduce batch size in order to improve throughput. Focus on global efficiency instead of local efficiency.
as possible. If the paint booth is the constraint, are you effectively using it during all the work hours in the day, or does it sit empty until 10 am? Also consider the hours the booth is in operation. There are more than eight hours in a day; you get to choose how to use them.
Step 3: Subordinate to the constraint. When you subordinate to the constraint you are effectively making sure it does not get interrupted or delayed in any way. Again, if your booth is a constraint, you would want to make sure that the quality of the prep work was sufficient and your colors were tinted so no additional delays would occur while the vehicle was in the booth. You should also make sure the booth is well maintained to avoid mechanical failures. Blueprint/Damage analysis departments are often a constraint yet I am amazed at how often the people performing these opera-
tions are routinely interrupted to deal with other issues. You need to “protect” your constraint at all costs! Subordinating also means making sure that everyone in the shop clearly understands that nothing comes before the constraint, especially their own agendas of silo efficiency.
Step 4: Elevate the constraint. This step simply means to make the department, or resource bigger. It could mean you need to add a tech, buy a frame rack, or perhaps apply some Lean tools and techniques to increase the constraint’s capacity. Again, the size of your constraint dictates the size of your potential throughput.
Step 5: Repeat steps 1-4. Much like Lean, TOC is a continuous improvement process. Once one constraint is identified and resolved, begin at Step 1 again. See Make More Money, Page 51
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The 5 Steps to busting bottlenecks Theory of Constraints uses a systematic approach to busting bottlenecks and increasing your shop’s ability to make money.
Step 1: Identify the constraint. This step is usually pretty easy to identify because it is usually the resource that has the most inventory (cars) stacked in front of it waiting to be worked on. In many shops I find the constraint to be the paint booth (or poor use of the booth), but in many advanced shops that are performing thorough disassembly and blueprinting, the hold-ups are commonly there. Also it is not uncommon for the biggest constraint to be the front office itself.
Step 2: Exploit the constraint. Exploiting the constraint involves making sure we are using the resource as effectively
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Industry Insight
—John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has a body shop in the family and has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988. He is the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com). Contact him by email at jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.
Testing Shows Dramatic Differences in Isocyanate-Blocking by Spraysuits with John Yoswick
gamut here. Our objectives here were New testing announced at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) earlier to determine if there is a viable way to test a suit for isocyanate exposure, and this year indicates that not all spraywithinEd Attanasio suits are created equal terms of preif so, do we see any variability when venting penetration of isocyanates. comparing suits. We absolutely can Brandon Thomas of GMG En- test the spraysuits, and absolutely can virosafe shared the results of testing look at the variability within these his company had done on six spray- suits and the type of protections they suits with brand names including actually provide the painters.” Thomas said he conducted the DeVilbiss, DuPont, Sata and Shoot Suit. Without disclosing which test re- testing because of the conflicting or with Ed Attanasio sults were for each specific suit (be- unclear responses (if any) he received cause of liability concerns), Thomas last fall from the manufacturers of showed that only one of the six ap- spraysuits when he asked if their suits peared to fully prevent isocyanate ex- provide refinish technicians with proposure. Four others showed varying tection from isocyanates; some of the levels of exposure, and one appeared manufacturers told him no such testing to offer no more protection than not was possible and that only manufacwearing a suit atwith all. Ed Attanasioturers with “deep pockets who can af“This is not a finger-pointing ex- ford lawsuits” make any claims about ercise,” Thomas said. “It’s an exercise the protection their spraysuits offer. In his presentation at CIC, held to see if we can do better due diligence in terms of what we’re equipping our in January in Palm Springs, CA, Thomas emphasized that the testing employees with. Do all spraysuits perEdhave Attanasio form the same? with No. We a full was not designed to indicate the level
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of health risks to which painters wearing the various spraysuits may be exposed. Thomas’s testing was not examining how much isocyanate exposure painters face while spraying in the booth. In fact, his testing began by having a painter wear one of the testing sensors on his wrist outside of the spraysuit. After spraying clearcoat on two fenders and a hood for about 10 to 12 minutes, the sensor showed no isocyanate exposure. (Thomas postulates that this may be because more exposure time is necessary, or that the sensors may have showed more exposure if placed lower in the booth on the painter’s lower legs.) So Thomas’s testing was done by placing the sensors on a spraycard placed inside the same area in each of the suits, then spraying that area directly for about five seconds with a pass from right-to-left and back again. (A similar test to simulate a spill exposure had similar findings although
Media and Publicity for Shops
Insurer recognized for emphasis on safety and pollution-prevention
Geico has received the “2015 Excellence in Safety and Pollution Prevention Award” from S/P2, an organization created to help the automotive service and repair industry meet OSHA and EPA guidelines. Bob Medved of S/P2 presented the award to Geico’s Joe Lacy at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) held in Palm Springs, CA. Medved said Geico “excels at safety and pollution prevention,” providing S/P2 training for its entire claims staff, and requiring at least one person at each of its direct repair shops complete the training and testing. In accepting the award, Lacy acknowledged that in the past he “wasn’t a very safe person,” and that he was “no stranger to emergency rooms.” But having a doctor with a scalpel inches away when he had metal in his eye convinced him to become more focused on safety. “I don’t ever want to do that again,” Lacy said. Each year, S/P2 provides training and testing of more than 100,000 students, instructors, shops and claims staff nationwide through industry-specific online safety and pollution prevention training. For more information, visit www.sp2.org. 48 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
one suit that fared fairly well in the spray test did less well in the spill test.) The sensors turn bright orange with initial isocyanate exposure and a more dull, brownish orange with more saturated exposure. Based on this testing, only one of the six suits tested prohibited isocyanate exposure. “But this is not a working environment of standing and spraying in a booth for hours,” Thomas said. “What we wanted to confirm is we can test these suits, and we have that ability. So some of the manufacturers’ claims that there is no test is false. And we want to invite and engage the manufacturers to take some ownership of this.” He said his next step is to present the findings to the manufacturers “to give them the opportunity to recreate it or maybe test all their suits, and then share those results with the [CIC] body.” “There are a lot of options out there, and unfortunately, shops are li-
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able for choosing the correct suit, not the manufacturers and not the jobbers or distributors,” Thomas said. This was the fourth consecutive CIC meeting that included discussion of isocyanates, a family of chemical compounds, found in several products used in collision repair (most notably, clearcoats), that can pose serious and permanent health risks if not handled properly. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), workers improperly exposed to isocyanates can suffer permanent respiratory complications, and even death, from a single episode of overexposure or intermittent exposures at low concentrations. They are a leading cause of occupational asthma. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has stepped up inspections of body shops nationwide as part of a three-year emphasis (until mid-2016) on protecting workers from isocyanate exposure. Collision repair is one of about 10 industries targeted by OSHA under the program. The OSHA shop inspections under this program are not brief; they may be conducted over three or four days, possibly spread out over several weeks.
Inspectors are checking a shop’s chemical inventory, safety data sheets, hazard assessment training and personal protection equipment (PPE). They are checking the shop’s OSHA 300 logs for five years, and reviewing workers' medical records. They are interviewing employees to ask about PPE usage, asthma diagnosis, or symptoms (such as watery eyes, shortness of breath, chest tightness) that occur at work but dissipate away from work. And they are conducting air sampling and wipe sampling on skin and PPE—and even in areas such as drinking fountains or employee break rooms where other employees could be exposed to isocyanates if a painter, for example, sits down or touches items while still wearing a shootsuit or gloves. How long do isocyanates on such surfaces pose an exposure risk for others? Speaking at CIC last fall, Catherine Sayles of Bayer Material Science, a raw material supplier of isocyanates to paint manufacturers, said it varies. “If it’s still wet, I would definitely say you have that potential,” she said. “Once it’s dry, it depends on how much of it is there, how thick it is, how much isocyanate is actually in the product.”
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She said shops can check for surface or skin contamination from isocyanates—after clean-up of a spill, for example—by using Swype test kits for aliphatic isocyanates. Sayles also said her company recommends the use of nitrile gloves (not latex) when working around isocyanates, but cautioned that shops can no longer presume that “blue gloves” are nitrile as opposed to just latex. “In the past, the latex manufacturers always made their gloves white and the nitrile gloves were blue,” she said. “Now the manufacturers of latex gloves are also making them in different colors, including blue. So there’s confusion sometimes as to whether a blue glove is latex or nitrile. You want to make sure you’re paying attention to the box and what kind of glove you’re using, because latex gloves are not adequate for isocyanate protection.”
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UT Shop Looks Ahead
differently than we wanted to and we weren’t fixing them how the OEMs recommended, so we’ve gradually stepped away from the DRPs . We only have two now and I’m down to about 25% of our gross sales coming from DRPs. We picked up some fleet work to make up the difference on various fleets and government contracts and it’s worked out well.” Certifications have become more important now, according to Perkins, and they will become even bigger. “I think you’re going to see the OEMs become a lot more involved in the repair process and I think they’re going to make their procedures more available. As a result, we’re going to see more body shops becoming more liable for the safety of those vehicles. And when a body shop starts being liable, they’re going to be less willing to give these insurance companies concessions, because now the body shop is taking all the risk.”
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Make More Money
Drum, Buffer, Rope Another one of the elements of TOC involves Drum, Buffer, Rope. (DBR) You can learn a lot about this by reading Goldratt’s “The Goal.” There is Continued from Page 28
MDL Dismissals
multi-district litigation pending in Florida, entitled In re Auto Body Shop Antitrust Litigation.” The Weil team represents Farmers’ affiliates 21st Century Centennial Insurance Company, 21st Century Indemnity Insurance Company, Foremost Insurance Company Grand Rapids, Michigan,
also a lot of information about it on the internet. Essentially, DBR suggests that your company has a drum beat that everyone follows. The beat follows the speed of your constraint resource. An example of this is that all body shop departments work to keep in pace with the constraint resource. The buffer (a small buildup of work) ensures that the constraint never runs out of work. The rope is tied to your scheduling of work coming in. In other words, you schedule your repair jobs in as your constraint can begin working on it. As with lean thinking, scheduling too many repair jobs in
leads to excess inventory (waste).
Summary During my training at the AGI Goldratt Institute, I was told by a very wise TOC Instructor that the smart practitioners eventually decide where they want the constraint to be and then they build their business around it. This keeps you from spending all your time chasing bottlenecks around your shop. I want to drive home a most important point. Whether you subscribe to Theory of Constraints or not, it is a universal law that your business throughput ability will always be dictated by your system’s constraint. On occasion, this constraint can be the
market you serve. If you don’t have enough work to feed your shop you can still use TOC thinking to help solve your problem using the 5 steps. You may have to Identify, Exploit, Subordinate, and Elevate your company’s attention to marketing or other forms of attracting additional work. I am going to leave you with an eye-opening figure. Every dollar lost in a constraint resource due to mechanical breakdown, quality defect, or any other reason is a dollar lost forever! If you run a shop producing $100,000 a month and your constraint shuts down, it costs you roughly $600 an hour! You may want to protect your constraint!
Bristol West Insurance Company, and Security National Insurance Company. James Burns, co-leader of the antitrust practice at Dickinson Wright PLLC, told Autobody News that the Court’s most recent ruling is a significant victory for the defendants, and one that could potentially lead to a quick end to the proceeding. “While the Court has granted plaintiffs leave to amend several of their claims, if the proceeding is going
to continue they will need to demonstrate that the infirmities identified by the Court in the recent ruling have been remedied in an amended complaint,” said Burns, who is not involved in the MDL proceeding. “Whether that will be possible remains to be seen. In any event, any amended complaint will likely be met by a renewed motion to dismiss by the defendants, setting up another significant ruling by the Court this Spring or Summer.”
When Autobody News spoke to Eaves on Jan. 22, he was in Washington D.C. to meet with members of the House and Senate regarding the introduction of a bill to enforce the 1963 Consent Decree. This was a follow up to his earlier trip in September 2014 when Eaves and more than 65 body shop owners visited the Capital to begin these discussions. “My goal here [in Washington See MDL Dismissals, Page 55
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Social Media for Shops Instagram and Twitter Grow Up
Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.
with Ed Attanasio
I am not afraid to admit it when I’m gram are praising it for bringing them wrong. I never thought eBay would business and gaining more traction work and that’s exactly what I said to with their younger customers. Roger the company’s Founder Pierre Omid- Henson, the owner of Advertising with Ed Attanasio yar one day back in 1995 in San Jose, Business Consulting Associates in SilCA. He’s now a billionaire and I live icon Valley has been doing marketing in a van down by the river. And I had for automotive companies since 1979 a chance to be one of the first em- and he’s excited about photo app for ployees at Netflix many years ago, but several reasons. I opted out—because I could not be“Almost every week, one of my lieve that peoplewith would Ed mailAttanasio the discs automotive customers asks me about back to the company. Bad move. So, one form of social media or another last year when I said that Instagram and most of the time I tell them no,” and Twitter were going to trend down Henson explained. “If you’re using a and that they weren’t ideal for the col- form of social media that does not lision industry, well-that too was a bring you business, what’s the point? mistake. Now I’m willing to do my Companies see their competition using mea culpa…once again. Pinterest, for instance, so they want to Instagram: The millennials do the same. But in the end, it’s a call it “The Gram” and sure, Justin waste of time and the worst thing you Bieber and the Kardashians post can do is leave it dormant. Time is every day, but now small businesses money and just because Joe’s Auto such as body shops are doing the Body is using it does not mean it will same. If you’re not familiar with In- work for you. We do an in-depth stagram, it’s an online photo-sharing analysis of every form of social media and social networking service that that’s out there and right now Instalets users take pictures, apply filters gram is hot, hot hot! So, for shop ownto them and share those pictures in ers or marketing people at MSOs who several ways, including through so- are against Instagram, I feel like cial networks such as Twitter and they’re living in the dark.” Facebook. Instagram is available as So, exactly why is Instagram so an application for iPhone, iPad and hot currently? “My clients use InAndroid devices. stagram to educate their prospects Instagram was the 7th largest US by posting photos, videos, and hostmobile app in 2013 with 33 million ing contests. We have one body shop unique users, a 66% increase from that is giving away soccer tickets as 2012 according to Nielsen. About 40 a promotion and we know for a fact million U.S. users accessed Instagram that they received at least a dozen on a monthly basis in 2014 according jobs from it. The whole idea is use to eMarketer. Instagram users repre- social media to stay in the public sent 16.1% of all Internet users. It is mind’s eye and then when they need roughly one eighth the size of Face- you, they’re already familiar with book, yet has 15 times the engage- your name. Visual social media is ment and twice the engaged user base what Instagram is all about and I of its parent company. Almost 25% of now recommend it to most of my auU.S. smart phone users interact with tomotive clients.” Instagram at least once per month. Twitter: I swore I would never Roughly 67% of U.S. Instagram users Tweet, but I also said I would never are between 18 and 44, namely mil- use Grecian Formula. You get older lennials and GenX. and hopefully you get wiser. Although Body shops that are using Insta- Twitter isn’t exactly my cup of tea, I
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can clearly see it is strong and getting stronger. With 250 million users, 80% of them using it via mobile devices, Twitter is here to stay. As an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short 140-character messages called "tweets", registered users can read and post tweets, but unregistered users can only read them. H&V Collision Centers, with five locations in upstate New York has been using Twitter successfully for more than two years and Instagram for almost a year, according to the company’s Marketing Manager Rhianna Herring. “We want to connect with our entire demographic and we know that Twitter and Instagram are helping us to reach all of our potential customers, not just the ones in their 20s,” Herring explained. “We have tracked the results and we know that we’re getting new jobs from Instagram and Twitter.
Media and Publicity for Shops
Our success with both of them is based on the fact that we provide a lot of content and we try to keep it interesting. With five shops, there’s a lot going on and we try to distribute all of our content amongst all of the locations. Variety is key, because how many pictures of satisfied customers with their vehicles can we run? By constantly changing our message and keeping it fun, we’re able to keep our audience engaged on both platforms. We never spam our followers and we never try to hard sell them, and I think our audience appreciates that.” So, if part of your New Year’s resolutions involves working harder and smarter at your marketing, maybe it’s time to add a few tools to your social media mix with Instagram and Twitter. If you get one new customer every month, why not at least give it a try and then re-examine them after say, six months? You might be pleasantly surprised with the results.
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Lean Operations
Cycle Time Success Using Little’s Law with David Luehr
David Luehr is the owner of Elite Body Shop Solutions, LLC, a collision business consulting firm based in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a 30 year veteran of the collision repair industry. David is an expert in Body Shop Operations and specializes in Lean, and Theory of Constraints methods. Email him at dluehr@msn.com
“Get The Keys!” is the usual mantra below, it represents a repair shop that at most collision repair shops these averages two vehicle deliveries a day. days. That is completely understandThis shop has 10 cars in it. 10 divided with Jennifer Driscoll-Chippendale able given that the only way we can by 2 = 5 days average cycle time. profit from that vehicle’s damage is if we get the keys first. If you are a fortunate enough collision center to have plenty of work coming in, that thinking could be a problem. That problem with Erica is Little’s Law and it plays a hugeEversman role in your performance. Big MSOs understand this law very well and have taken many steps to ensure they maintain an optimum car count or “WIP” through the use of scheduling or load leveling. By unLet’s take a look at the same shop Attanasio derstanding thewith correctEdnumber of again, only now they have been grabunits to have at your repair facility at bing a lot more keys! What would the any given time will give you the op- average cycle time be now? You do portunity to maximize both profits and the math. cycle time. I will boldly go forth and In order to reduce cycle time, you say that the number one biggest influ- often must reduce your WIP. The trick ence on most shops' withcycle Ed Attanasio time performance is simply based on the amount of work they bring in each day. There is nothing magical about bringing all the repairs in on a Monday unless you can start on all with of themEd onAttanasio Monday! Little’s Law was named after MIT Professor, John Little and is a mathematical formula that is is to not lower the WIP to the point used to calculate cycle time. In the case that people are standing around and of collision repairers, we usually measyour revenue begins to suffer. Conwith Victoria Antonelli ure cycle time from the point a customer versely, if you have too much WIP and drops off their vehicle until it is finished feel your cycle time may suffer, you and picked up. (Keys to keys) may need to consider a temporary increase on production hours in order to Check it out… return to Optimum WIP levels. Cycle Time Performance = WorkTo choose an Optimum WIP Unit in-Process Units with (Number of Cars) dinumber Chasidy Rae Sisk for your shop – reverse the vided by/daily throughput (Average math: number of units produced per day) ► Find your average number of repairs
The Legal View The Legal View
Midwest Associations
National Associations
Northwest Associations
to keys days) ► Multiply repairs produced daily X goal cycle time days = Optimum WIP Units Example: XYZ Body Shop produces four cars a day on average and wishes to reduce its cycle time to an average of seven days per RO. 4 X 7 = 28 XYZ Body Shop must maintain a work in process (WIP) count of 28 cars to achieve its cycle time goal of seven days. However, if XYZ Body Shop does not have the systems and resources available to effectively process the reduced number of ROs quickly, they run the chance of damaging revenue. I recommend that you set your goals to reduce WIP incrementally as your system improvements allow. You can see the important role that work-in-process plays in cycle time performance. The path to Optimum
Performance must involve Optimum WIP and it all begins with good scheduling skills and habits. These habits do not need to involve over-rated fancy computerized scheduling solutions, it can be done using a simple spreadsheet and a little common sense so don’t over-think it. Feel free to email me if you would like to see an example of this, but you may be disappointed by its simplicity. dluehr@msn.com There are many things that affect your cycle time performance, but understanding Little’s Law and simply paying attention to your Optimum WIP could have a huge impact immediately!
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Midwest News # of cars in process
(keys in hand, authorization to repair) Cycle Timewith Ed Attanasio Performance = Average # of cars delivered per day
(You can also measure using Dollars or Labor Hours instead of units) So if you look at the funnel graphic
produced daily (Total vehicles delivered divided by days in the month) ► Choose your goal cycle time (keys
54 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
See these Hyundai dealers below for all your collision parts needs!
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Continued from Page 51
MDL Dismissals
D.C.] is to understand what the best way is to present this in the new congress and decide who is going to take the lead on it and articulate the message,” said Eaves. He said the objective of the lawsuit and the bill is the same. “At the end of the day it’s to protect consumers by protecting the shops that are loyal to the consumers that want to do the re-
pair the right way and the best way and not let the insurance companies cut corners that tie their hands.” *Part V. Conclusion in the court documents incorrectly states that Count IV of the Amended Complaint is dismissed with prejudice. It should have read Count III, Quasi-Estoppel, is dismissed with prejudice. (Please see page 10-12 in court documents for details.)
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CCC ONE® Repair Methods Adds Data for 2015 Ford F-150
CCC Information Services announced that its CCC ONE® Repair Methods now includes repair procedure data for the 2015 Ford F-150. Mark Fincher, Vice President, Market Solutions, CCC Information Services. “We’ve seen more than 400 2015 F-150 estimates in the three short months since it debuted. Part price and labor time data have been available to estimators, but getGive us your opinion on ting the repair procedure data into the hands of customers was a top priority. We’re excited that data is now live in CCC ONE®.”
Car-O-Liner announced the promotion of Peter Richardson to Director of National Accounts. Richardson acted as the company’s Key Accounts Manager since 2013, working with OEM and MSO partners across North America to discuss. “Through Peter’s collaboration, we have solidified our connection with valued key accounts,” said Jeff Kern, CarO-Liner President of the Americas. matters affecting the industry. “Building our partnership with the OEM and MSO accounts is crucial to ensure our total solutions for OEM approved repairs contribute to a safe repair process.”
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www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 55
National Associations
2015 NADA Expo Brings 23,000 to San Francisco with Ed Attanasio
The aisles at the Moscone Center were educational workshops for dealers and jam-packed with 23,000 dealers and their managers, several hundred exsuppliers from across the globe at the hibitors on the expo floor and numerwith EdDealer Attanasio 2015 National Automobile Asous networking events, including lavish, over-the-top parties featuring bands such as Cheap Trick, Joan Jett
Northwest Associations
Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.
and Huey and the News. Car dealers and their suppliers were excited and in a good mood, because their industry is thriving. This
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he expects to see a steady growth in vehicle purchases in 2015, with sales of new cars and light trucks expected to reach 16.94 million. In his first keynote address as chairman of NADA, Bill Fox delivered a message to critics of the franchised
with Victoria Antonelli Global Finishing Systems was in the house at the NADA Convention & Expo in San Francisco. From left, Business Development Manager Troy Volbrecht,with VP of Refinish Brandon Rae Chasidy Lowder and Collin Armstrong, Business Development Manager in front of their booth
Midwest Events Sisk
sociation (NADA) Convention & Expo in San Francisco, CA, Jan. 22-25. Considered the “Automotive InRepresenting Dent Wizard at NADA were (left) dustry Event of the Year,” the NADA Regional Business Development Manager for with Ed Attanasio convention includes dealer-manufacthe Northeast and Canada Tom Duffy and National Director of F&I Sales Aaron Cooper turer franchise meetings, hundreds of
Midwest News
Axalta was exultant about the turnout for this year’s NADA Show. From left, Thomas McGarry, North American Manager for IT Tech Services; Deirdre Mayhood, ProfitNet Territory Manager; Gary Scott, Business Segment Manager, OEM Aftermarket and Brian Mahoney, National Acct. Manager, OEM Aftermarket made the trek to the City by the Bay to wave their flag
was supported during the first day of the Expo, when Steven Szakaly, the NADA’s Chief Economist, said that
From left, Chuck McKee, Art Ewing and Adolph Cosio represented Pro Spot at this year’s NADA Convention & Expo in San Francisco
dealer network. “The automotive franchise system is the best and most efficient method of bringing new vehicles to the driving public,” Fox said. “The franchise system breeds competition
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56 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
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that benefits consumers, manufacturers and local communities alike.” The auto industry has survived because it is rooted in dealer innovation and value, Fox said. “It was dealers who survived wars, recessions, a
Roberto Hornedo from Pacific Collision Equipment Company and Bob Zelano the Director of Car-O-Liner Operations at the Car-O-Liner booth at the NADA Convention & Expo
depression, oil embargoes and manufacturer bankruptcies. We survived all that because we are leaders—not followers—of change. This is the industry that changed everything. The reality is that dealers are catalysts for change.” Other notable keynote speakers at the NADA Convention & Expo included Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida, Comedian and avid car collector Jay Leno and on Sunday, an inspirational message was presented by
Dr. Beck Weathers, a survivor of the 1996 Mt. Everest tragedy. There was a lot of walking, networking and of course, partying. One of the most talked about events at NADA 2015 was the Dealertrack party at ATT&T Park, home to the World Series San Francisco Giants. The music was provided by the legendary Allman Brothers and the event quickly sold out.
Garmat’s General Manager Johan Huwaert and the company’s Marketing Manager Debbie Teter had a booth in their booth—a paint booth that attracted collision center managers all of the three days at the 2015 NADA Convention & Expo
To bring a little San Francisco flavor to the trade show floor, the people at NADA surprised exhibitors and attendees with fun performances by Dragon Walkers from Chinatown and dancing hippies from Haight-Ashbury, who were played by local theater students.
Man Who Shot Victim Multiple Times at Body Shop in Louisiana Surrenders to NOLA Police
A 29-year-old man was gunned down Feb. 5 outside an eastern New Orleans body shop in the 7500 block of Chef Menteur Highway, New Orleans police told Jonathan Bullington, NOLA.com. The body was found behind a chain-link fence in front of the shop around 12:30 pm. A silver four-door car was parked next to the victim, who suffered multiple gun shot wounds. Family and friends of Joshua Jackson gathered around the crime scene and had to be contained by police. Woodrow Johnson, Later that 38, was booked day, just hours Thursday, Feb. 5, after pulling the with second-degree trigger, a 38murder in connection year-old-man with the shooting came forward as death of 29-year-old the gunman. Joshua Jackson in Woodrow eastern New Orleans. Johnson was (Orleans Parish arrested and Sheriff’s Office) charged with second-degree murder in the shooting
A grieving man runs past an officer to get to the scene as New Orleans Police investigate the shooting death of a man in front of an auto repair shop in the 7500 block of Chef Menteur Highway on Thursday, February 5, 2015. (Michael DeMocker, Nola.com / The Times-Picayune)
death of Jackson, reported Bullington. Those who knew Jackson said he was a business owner who purchased cars from auctions and repaired them to resell, reported Bullington.
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www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 57
Midwest Auto Trade Show on February 19 Prepares Industry for New Technology
The focus of the 5th Annual Midwest Autobody Trade Show is: Training – New Equipment – New Technology. This one-day power-packed event is February 19 at the Sheraton West Des Moines in Des Moines, Iowa. “This is everything you need for the future in one place,” says Iowa Collision Repair Association President, Dick Merron. “This is a great opportunity for our industry.” The popular show opens with the “There Is No Free Lunch” luncheon. Iowa State Senator Brad Zaun, an industry favorite, leads the luncheon for the third year. He is joined by Iowa Collision Repair Association lobbyist Scott Weiser and National I-CAR Chairman, Bob Keith. Ken Boylan, Global Training Manager, Chief Automotive Technologies will present “Introduction to Aluminum.” Boylan will be on the show room floor to visit with attendees throughout the trade show, and have on hand a Ford F-150 aluminum truck. The show floor opens its doors directly after the luncheon to over 65 vendor display booths. In addition, I-CAR’s New Technology 2015 starts the day at 8:30. Show specials, gift certificates, special show discounts and door prizes will be offered throughout, along with a
display of new car models. This year the Midwest show will host a Refinish Competition between seven Iowa Community Colleges; these colleges will compete in the first Midwest Autobody Trade ShowCommunity College partnership effort, in part due to generous donations from 3M, The Collision Education Foundation and Keystone Automotive. Students will be refinishing a 2005 Cobalt hood using their own creative custom design work. Hoods will be judged by custom motorcycle builder Steve Bruggenwirth from Albany, Illinois. “We are very excited to integrate this competition into the trade show,” said Janet Chaney, Iowa Collision Repair Association Executive Director. “We will embrace these students and welcome them to this great industry.”
Trade Show Features: ● ICAR NEW 15-Vehicle Technology and Trends 2015 ●“There Is NO Free Lunch” luncheon featuring Senator Brad Zaun, Iowa Collision Repair Association lobbyist Scott Weiser and I-CAR National Chairman, Bob Keith ● Introduction to Aluminum presented
Car Purchases Expected to Soar in 2015
Huntington Bank’s Third Annual Midwest Economic Index states 16 percent of consumers will purchase a car in 2015. The response represents a 10 percent increase over definite intent for car purchases in 2014 for consumers interviewed in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. “It’s still a great time to buy,” said Huntington Auto Finance Director Rich Porrello. “Consumers are benefitting from low interest rates, high trade-in values and a wide range of manufacturer incentives. Add to that enthusiasm for an outstanding 2015 model year, falling gas prices and the ongoing economic recovery, and we’ll continue to see strong buyer demand throughout the year.” In comparison to consumers with definite plans to purchase a car in 2014, the Midwest Economic Index revealed increases of 13 percent in West Virginia, 12 percent in Western Pennsylvania, 11 percent in Indianapolis, 9 percent in Michigan and 8 percent in Ohio. The automotive industry has now experienced five consecutive
years of growth in the number of autos sold and is poised for a sixth in light of increased consumer optimism about the U.S. economy. However, studies by IHS Automotive on Polk Co. registration data found that the average vehicle on American roads runs more than 11 years old. In line with this growth, Huntington experienced its fifth consecutive year of record loan production in 2014. With loans totaling $5.2 billion, Huntington financed more cars than any other time in its 60-year history serving the automotive industry. During the year, Huntington added hundreds of dealers to its network, which now totals more than 3,700 dealers in 17 states. Additionally, Huntington held to super-prime lending, serving dealers locally and delivering 70 percent of indirect loan decisions within three seconds or less.
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58 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
by Ken Boylan, Chief Industries, Global Training Manager Mr. Boylan will cover the future of aluminum, aluminum repair, laser welding, friction stir welding, bonding and riveting and “new” steel techniques ● 65 Trade Show Booths New Equipment, New Tools, Door Prizes, Product Demonstrations ● Custom motorcycle painter, Steve Bruggenwirth, featured in Baggers Magazine ● Community College Refinish Competition Schedule: 8:30-11:30 am – ICAR’s New15 – Vehicle Technology & Trends 2015 ● Instructor Scott Schuerman – Please register and pre-pay for this class at www.i-car.com
12:00-2:00pm – “There is No Free Lunch” Industry Issues Luncheon ($40) ● Iowa Senator Brad Zaun & ICRA Lobbyist Scott Weiser: ● “Cool Tools for Today’s Vehicles” ● “Demystifying Aluminum and Other New Technology” 2:00 – 7:00 pm - Midwest Auto Body Trade Show
● 60 plus booths ● See the Ford F150 Military Grade Aluminum Pick Up Meet Ken Boylan – Global Training Manager – Chief Automotive Technologies ● Community College Refinish Contest – ‘You Be the Judge’
Featured Vendor List: ● Axalta ● 3M ● Aeromotive ● Akzo-Nobel ● Arnold Motor Supply ● Audatex ● Automotive Refinish Solutions ● Billion Automotive ● Body Parts Store ● Car-Part ● CCC
The 5th Annual Midwest Auto Body Trade Show is a free inter-industry event, inviting collision repairers, insurers, manufacturers, vendors, recyclers, OEMs and students from the Midwest to participate. Please call Sheraton West Des Moines (515-223-1800) for the Trade Show room rate of $129. For further information, call Janet Chaney at 480720-2565.
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www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 59
Shop Showcase
Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.
Does Being a Green Shop Improve the Bottom Line, or Does Green Mean Green? with Ed Attanasio
Known as the Greenest Shop in the profit,” Hubbard said. “But, I also want USA, Selecta Body Shop in San Fran- to do be a fair employer and a responcisco’s Mission District has received sible member of the business commumajor praise, top reviews and now a nity. Part of being a green operator in a with Ed Attanasio prestigious award for running an en- very environmentally-conscious city vironmentally responsible business. like San Francisco and maintaining the But, the burning question that proba- B-Corp certification means that I can bly every body shop owner anywhere hopefully make money, but also we wants to know is does being green in- want everyone to win—my customers, crease profits or in the end, or does it my family, my neighbors and my emjust help the owner to sleep better at ployees.” withcare Edand Attanasio night? Do customers maybe It took two years of hard work to more importantly—do the insurance turn an old building into Selecta’s new companies care? 10,000-square-foot facility and it ate up just about all of Hubbard’s funds to make it a reality, he said. But since starting business in April 2013, the with Ed Attanasionumbers have slowly edged up, to the point where he can say that November 2014 was his first profitable month after fixing 65 cars. “We still want to do 100 cars monthly, because we can handle the volume and that’s been our goal,” Hubbard explained. “The numbers are improving every month and the future looks solid. We picked up two great DRPs during the last four months of Owners J.R Hubbard and his wife Jackie have 2014 and now we have a total of three. watched as their business has grown without We easily absorbed the increased compromising their beliefs about running a workload during the fourth quarter business that is better for the environment and now we’re excited about 2015.” Being in it to win it when it comes Last November, Selecta Body to being 100% green from the first day Shop won a significant award at the he opened his doors, Jeremy “JR” 2014 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, when Hubbard, the owner of Selecta Auto AkzoNobel Automotive & Aerospace Body has now been in operation at his Coatings Americas (A&AC) ancurrent location for almost two years. nounced that three North American Since opening, he’s refined his processes and further embraced the green way of doing things, while trying to be a fair employer in every aspect of his business. To this end, Selecta Auto Body is the only collision repairer in the country today that has achieved BCorp certification, by meeting rigorous standards of social and environmental perform- In operation since April 2013, Selecta Body Shop in San ance, accountability and trans- Francisco is called an “ultimate green shop”, featuring the newest, cutting-edge techniques for saving materials and parency. Sure, Hubbard wants energy, among other things to make money and fix cars right, but more than anything else he companies were selected as winners of the fifth annual FIT Sustainability wants to run his business “with a conAward, an industry recognition proscience.” gram honoring businesses and organi“I’m a father and an employer obviously and I want to be able to make a zations that are actively engaged in
Social Media for Shops
SEMA Show Goes On
practices that advance the concepts of sustainability. Selecta took one of the three coveted spots, which was a big deal for a lot of reasons. “Being green is definitely a plus, especially when it comes to market-
Hubbard truly walks the walk when it comes to being green. Some of the more notable things he’s done to his shop include installing motion sensors in every room of the shop so the lights turn off when the room is not in use and uncovering the building’s skylights and front windows to use natural light whenever possible. He also mounted more than 350 pothos plants on the wall to bring fresh air to the shop. He purchased an oversized Global Finishing Solutions downdraft heated Later last year, Selecta Body Shop started turning a profit spray booth so that he can and being green has definitely played a pivotal role paint more cars and parts siing,” Hubbard said. “It all works hand multaneously, thereby saving time and in hand and awards like the FIT Sus- materials. The shop features two curtainability Award from AkzoNobel are tained-off areas, one dedicated for prep a huge deal. To be honored at a show and the other for detailing work. Hubbard is also gearing up for the like SEMA and having other shops interested in what we’re doing, that’s collision industry’s rush to aluminum. beneficial for us and the industry as a “We know that aluminum is coming, but to what degree nobody really whole.”
Media and Publicity for Shops
60 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
THESE DEALERS are GENUINE WHOLESALE PARTS SPECIALISTS. C AL IFOR NIA
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knows.” Hubbard said. “So, right now we have an area dedicated for aluminum work when we get it. We don’t have a ton of extra space here and we’re taking full advantage of what we currently have, but when aluminum becomes a significant amount of our volume, we’re ready.” There was definitely an added cost to building what Hubbard describes as “the ultimate green shop,” but once it was up an and running, it was all worth it, he said. “Some shop owners may think it costs a lot more to be green, but it’s really not that more expensive overall, because we’ve cut our waste and it is definitely showing up in our bottom line now. We don’t waste anything and we’re coming from that mindset, so once you get into being green, the benefits start to become apparent.” By using more natural light whenever possible and painting all of his floors with reflective paint, insulating his ceilings to retain heat and installing motion sensors on all his lights. Selecta’s utility bills are lower. And of course, by saving paint, clear coat and sealers with every car painted, it adds up to offset his original investment. “It starts to make more and more sense
after you’ve done it for a while,” Hubbard said. “We’re using fewer products to fix our customers’ cars without sacrificing quality and that’s the important thing.” Do customers in San Francisco really care about the fact that Selecta Body Shop is a green shop and did it help him to land his most recent DRPs? “I would say yes to both questions,” Hubbard said. “I believe 100% that our customers care. If they don’t know it initially, we let them know and most of them say very positive things. If we do a good job on their car and on top of that we’re a green shop, yes—I believe they will come back. And do the insurance companies see any value in the fact that we’re doing things with the environment in mind? I definitely do—if they can align themselves with a forward-thinking, responsible company—why not?”
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3M Awards Tool Grants to Veterans Through CREF and Hire Our Heroes Program
Through the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) and the 3M “Hire Our Heroes” program, four winners have been selected for a tool grant. The recipients, all military veterans, began their collision education at various colleges around the country starting in the summer/fall of 2014. Each winning student had the opportunity to select $2,500 worth of tools to help them during their education and for employment after graduation.
The winners are: ● Jerry Rawson (Bridgerland Applied Technology College, Logan, UT)
● Glenn Valdez (Kennedy King College, Chicago, IL)
● Courtney Washington (Fayetteville Technical Community College, Fayetteville, NC)
● Anthony Wrinkler (UTI, Sacramento, CA)
Clark Plucinski, Executive Director of the Collision Repair Education Foundation said, “The Collision Re-
pair Education Foundation is proud to continue to partner with 3M and the Hire Our Heroes program to offer these grant awards. There are an incredible amount of opportunities in the collision industry and thanks to 3M, these winning students will have the tools that will make them successful in their education and beyond. It is an honor to show our support of military veterans through this program.” “This is our third year of providing this type of support to our military veterans and their family member,” said Dale Ross, 3M U.S. Marketing Operations Manager Automotive Aftermarket Division. “We hope to continue to attract veterans to our industry, and help those that choose this career path get the tools and training they need to be successful.” Additional scholarship opportunities are currently available for students studying at collision repair schools, including veterans, at the website, www.CollisionEducation Foundation.org under “Students.” For more information, please email Scholarships@ed-foundation.org or call 888.722.3787, Ext. 283.
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www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 61
‘Lifesaving App’ Developed by Lousiana Body Shop Owner by Stacey Phillips, Assistant Editor
After hearing about multiple accidents involving teens due to texting and driving, a Louisiana body shop owner decided he wanted to make a difference. Mike Watson, owner of Jim’s Body Shop in La Place, created an app called Text Guardian that prevents teens from using their phone while driving.
The anti-driving-and-texting app, Text Guardian, became available for Andriod users to download in February 2015, with an iOS version soon to follow
Text Guardian was designed for parents to download on their child’s phone. “The app literally locks your whole phone except for the ability to call 911 or three contacts that mom and dad agree to in case of an emergency,” said Watson. “What inspired me were too many news reports, and customers coming in and telling me that ‘I was texting and driving,’ ” said Watson, who began working at his father’s body shop on weekends and summer vacations at age 12, switching to fulltime at 17. Watson’s father opened Jim’s Body Shop in 1985. When he retired in 2006, Watson began running the business. He found that a lot of teens were coming into his shop with broken wrists, damage to their legs or back or even facial bruises. “For some reason, teens feel necessary to confess what happened to us. They’ll tell us what they did,” said Watson. With two children and three grandchildren of his own, Watson said the accidents he heard about as a result of texting and driving bothered him a lot. He began doing research on the texting apps that were available and found that they didn’t have some of the features he felt were important, such as accountability or reporting to parents.
After talking to some of his tech friends about the possibly of creating an app, he contacted the company Zapporoo for assistance in July 2014. The app has been tested over the last several months and the Android version will be launched the end of February. An iOS version will be released depending on the demand. “What’s in your heart can be brought forth with a lot of effort,” he said. Watson said the name Text Guardian came about after his secretary Linda Teate mentioned that the app was like a Guardian Angel. Once parents download the app and set up an administrative page, they can choose certain parameters such as the speed they would like the app to be activated. Once set, the teen is not able to make any adjustments. Another key feature sends an immediate text that reads “Text Guardian is in use at this time. Will text you back when it is safe to do so.” to anyone who tries to call or text the child while he/she is driving. “We see a lot of low-speed crashes,” said Watson. “They’ll be driving through a neighborhood at 20 miles an hour and that’s when they think it’s the safest to text. Watson said it’s actually one of the most dangerous times. Parents who download the app to their own phones have the same options except the app does not need to be password protected. If their teen figures out a way to override it, the parent receives an immediate text that the app has been deactivated or attempted to be deactivated. Watson encourages parents to also download Ignore No More, created by app developer, Sharon Standifird. If a teen is ignoring a parent’s calls or texts, the app causes the phone to lock automatically. “If they do manage to disable that app [Text Guardian] and they are still on the road, and mom and dad are aggravated, they can go to the Ignore No More app and lock their son or daughter’s phone.” All of the other apps on the phone will be blocked, except for Google Maps. “We feel navigation is very necessary,” said Watson. He said he was offered a large sum of money to sell the app but decided against it once he found out that
62 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
the intent was to destroy it. “I was ready to take the money until they divulged what they wanted to do with it,” said Watson. “I told them how would I be able to sit at night with the news coming on and another report of a teen being killed in a texting and driving accident. I might have a pocket full of money but I would have a destroyed heart.” He is currently working on a paid version of the app, which will offer an option to turn off blocked calls or texts. Future plans include partnering with trucking companies that want to ensure their drivers do not text and drive. Another goal is to form a relationship with insurance companies. The idea is to create a history calendar that tracks if the teen attempts to disable the app. The information will then be sent automatically to the insurance carrier. Watson said the goal is for the insurance company to offer discounts to those who use the app. “How could any insurance company refuse to offer this app?” said Watson. “When Text Guardian is in
use, phone distraction is not an issue. Text Guardian could save insurance companies hundreds of thousands in claims each year, not to mention the lives that will be saved.” According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2,524 teens died in motor vehicle crashes in 2013. Watson and his wife Ann have realized the Text Guardian app could be a big part of saving lives. “It will absolutely save lives and that’s my dream,” said Watson. “The goal is to watch the stats go down.” “The greatest reward of all is going to be when I start seeing stats run down and then kids get so used to this app it becomes simply like a seatbelt,” he said. “We know that it could actually hurt business but that’s not the issue. Lives are the issue.”
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Chicago Foundation Looks to Help Women and Children Across the Country With Car Donations by Victoria Antonelli, Online Editor
Twenty-five years ago, Molly CantrellKraig experienced firsthand what it’s like to be a single mother raising a fourmonth old without a means of transportation. “I hitched a ride with a friend who was a welder at a local factory,” said Cantrell-Kraig. “He Molly Cantrellwould drop me off Kraig, founder of two hours early for Women With Drive [college] classes, Foundation. Photo credit: @Linda where I would do Horton Photography my homework at a Chicago restaurant across the street from the main campus before school.” Cantrell-Kraig graduated and began working, and was then able to buy a reliable car and provide for her family. She credits her success to a trustworthy mechanic, Steve Curry of Curry’s Auto, Inc. in Muscatine, Iowa. “He helped me to not only learn about how to take care of my car, but
also how to budget maintenance costs,” said Cantrell-Kraig. “To this day, I would trust him with a blank check.” Cantrell-Kraig now dedicates her life to helping women in the same predicament she was once in, through the Women with Drive Foundation (WWDF). She started WWDF threeand-a-half years ago, a dream she had wanted to make a reality since 1997. “I have a media background, not a nonprofit administrative background,” said Cantrell-Kraig. “One of my friends, financial analyst Carol Roth told me, ‘Expect it to take three times as long as you think it will and for it to cost three times as much.’ She was right.” For the first three years, CantrellKraig funded the operation with her personal savings. She spent sixt to nine months researching where similar organizations had failed, to be sure her project would be worth the investment. “The momentum we’re building is significant and every day we forge one more meaningful relationship designed to provide a solution to systemic, generational poverty,” said Cantrell-Kraig.
Diamond Standard Parts’ New Web-Based Program “UNSUB”
Diamond Standard Parts announced its new “UNSUB” web-based program: www.unsubparts.com. The program gives access to all Diamond Standard Part’s offerings including both photo and descriptive information using either the OEM reference number, the Partslink + DS, DSN, or DSC number, or by selecting the vehicle, Make/Model/Year. The Make/Model/Year function shows all parts and part photos for the model made by the company. Michael O’Neal, President of Diamond Standard Parts, said “Taking delivery of what you order, specify and pay for in structural parts solutions is critical and should be a basic obligation of the supplier.” The parts are available through their distributor programs in the USA and Canada including the AQRP program at Keystone, an LKQ Company. “Substitution of structural safety parts goes against everything the quality driven aftermarket manufacturers and their supporters have continued to strive for in choosing safe and tested certified parts,” said O’Neal. “The low end supply chain continues to choke the system with misinformation, serious product quality downgrades, and lack of attention to detail.” O’Neal said after taking a survey with members of the largest body shop associations, comments included
cycle time issues, interruption of work flow processes, extended rental car days, repair backlogs, dead space in paint bays, thicker repair files and dissatisfied customers for shops and insurers. “Diamond Standard’s unique, trademarked part number system using the Partslink number + DS, DSN (NSF), or DSC (CAPA) ex: FO1006251DSN listed in the databases is easy to find, easier to identify, and eliminates substitution,” said O’Neal. “Diamond Standard is the only One quality manufacturer of structural safety parts in the aftermarket.” One Quality Manufacturing means Diamond Standard only makes one quality of structural parts for the North American market. Unlike other manufacturers, O’Neal said the Bartlett, TN-based company does not sell in other countries in the world that are low price/low quality driven. He said the DS parts numbering system is important because some suppliers using their unique part number use the same number for all levels from every manufacturer, certified, non-certified, or junk. He said this can cause confusion for the buyer and eliminate lost sales. Visit diamondstandardparts.com, unsubparts.com or email mike@diamond standardparts.com
64 MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
The foundation, which started in Iowa and recently relocated to Chicago, IL, donates refurbished vehicles to female candidates who are in a crunch. So, what categorizes a Women With Drive?
Delana, WWDF car donation recipient, steps into her refurbished white Saturn sedan
“The number one quality we look for in a candidate is self-determination. She must want a new life for herself. We do not approach the equation with the idea of ‘saving people,’” said Cantrell-Kraig. “We partner with women in transition, women with drive. These are women who know that they want something different; they just lack access, transportation and systems to teach her how to be-
come herself. Technically, the qualifications are listed on our website: must be drug free, employed or engaged in a program designed to help her become independent.” Local nonprofits, including Jane Addams Resources Corporation, the Department of Human Services, and various churches, lend a hand in the selection process. “These capacity-building organizations help provide the support for the two years our participant is in the programs,” said Cantrell-Kraig. An application and interview with the WWDF board is also required for consideration, she added. “I remember the first time I opened a letter from a woman who applied for a car,” said Cantrell-Kraig. “I had to sit down and cry for a second, gathering myself. It hit me like a ton of bricks: someone was putting her trust in me and our organization to help her and her children. It was humbling and reminded me of the quote from Jim Rohn, ‘Success is something you attract by the person you become.’” Before the car giveaway process can start, a functional vehicle must be
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Cantrell-Kraig added. Once a vehicle is donated, it is taken to an Authorized Service Vendor who appraises it, and arranges for WWDF to take title of the car. If it isn’t salvageable or it’s worth “too much” for a participant to maintain and insure, the vehicle or vehicle parts are sold and 100 percent of the proceeds benefit WWDF. If it is worth refurbishing, a mechanic will perform repairs and tune-ups to ensure the recipient has a safe, functional vehicle. “The women [then] buys the car outright, in order to satisfy insurance liability issues. For example, Marcie’s Marci (center) poses in front of her own form of transportation 1999 Honda Accord had a thanks to the Women With Drive Foundation Kelly Blue Book value of Kraig said she initially approached car $4,900, but she purchased it for the dealerships, but they wanted the founcost of tax and title transfer, which dation to buy the cars, which would’ve came to around $200,” explained been out of their budget. However, she Cantrell-Kraig. “This gives the particsaid they are still open to form a partipant a ‘stretch goal’ or a stake in her nership with either a dealership or car own future and absolves us from absorbing risk. Participants are required rental company, such as Hertz, Enterto carry mandated state insurance on prise or Carfax. “It’s one of the reasons we the car for the entire time she is in our moved to a larger metropolitan area,” program. She also pays for her own obtained. As of now, cars are donated through churches or privately by individuals. According to Cantrell-Kraig, usually it’s a scenario where the children have gone off to college or an elderly relative can no longer drive, leaving the vehicle unused. Cantrell-
fuel. Once she purchases the car, it is hers.” Cantrell-Kraig said the WWDF has not partnered with other car giveaway programs, such as Recycled Rides, but hopes the recent move to Chicago will open more doors for the foundation. She also said she is looking to form partnerships with rideshare companies or on-demand transportation services like Zipcar, Enterprise, Lyft and Uber. When asked about the reach of her program, Cantrell-Kraig responded, “We are not national yet, but our boards, local and national advisory, are exploring the method and means to scale to meet a national need. Our Articles of Incorporation are in Iowa, but…we are currently transferring our legal apparatus to operate [in Chicago]. That said, our existing legal structure enables us to award vehicles in every state.” Cantrell-Kraig stresses the importance of working together to improve the lives of women and children in the United States. “Each of us has been in a place where the kindness and confidence of another has helped alter our outcomes,” she said.
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AudaExplore Donated $3M in Subscriptions to Schools
AudaExplore, a Solera Company, gave over $3 million in software donations in 2014 through the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) to various schools across the country. The AudaExplore Educational Institutions Program began in 2010 and to date, more than 230 collision repair school programs in 40 states across the U.S. have benefited from in-kind donations of the company’s estimating software through the program’s partnership with the Foundation. Under the AudaExplore Educational Institutions Program, the company provides a comprehensive software and training package — free of charge — to vocational and technical schools throughout the U.S. To qualify, schools must complete an online survey conducted by the CREF. Thousands of students nationwide participate in the free online training that is available as part of the Educational Institutions Programs. “Without the generosity of AudaExplore, many of these schools would not be able to afford such a great learning tool,” said Clark Plucinski, Executive Director of CREF. “Budgets are so small and schools can barely afford tape and sandpaper let alone this type of training program.”
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www.autobodynews.com | MARCH 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 65
$53M in Luxury Vehicles Destroyed After Cargo Ship Takes on 3,000 Tons of Water A cargo ship, heading to the Middle East with 1,400 luxury vehicles,
started taking on water near the Isle of Wright in Hampshire, England 45
Hoegh Osaka takes on water Photo Credit: myfirstclasslife.com
Hoegh Osaka hits ground. Photo Credit: myfirstclasslife.com
UK salvage firms were able to drain 3,000 tons of water from the Hoegh Osaka and recover the remaining shipments. Photo Credit: myfirstclasslife.com
200 damaged Land Rovers were removed from the cargo ship by the UK’s leading maritime salvage firms. www.autobodynews.com Photo Credit: myfirstclasslife.com
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minutes after leaving port. The 590foot-long Singapore-registered Hoegh Osaka left Southampton on January 3, just after 8 pm. Once the ship began tipping dangerously to one side, the captain made the decision to run it aground. This action prevented the ship from sinking, potentially saving the lives of 25 crew members on board, who were later rescued by helicopter, reported myfirstclasslife.com. After that, one of the UK’s leading maritime salvage firms was brought in to quickly plug the hole. The mission was to bring the ship somewhat upright, and tow it to shore. Some 3,000 tons of water flooded into the ship during the accident, and had to be pumped into empty fuel tanks on board the vessel to help bring it upright, reported myfirstclasslife.com. Authorities made the decision to tow the stricken ship back to Southampton to begin res-
cue operations on the luxury vehicles trapped inside. Because the ship wasn’t completely flooded, a portion of the vehicles were salvageable. However, regardless of the captain’s actions, the $53M shipment degraded heavily once the damages were calculated. Other cargo included tens of millions of dollars worth of heavy duty agricultural equipment bound for Germany. Despite some mishaps in bringing the ship ashore, including a salvage boat accidentally ramming the side and puncturing another hole in it, the Hoegh Osaka arrived in the Southampton port upright, reported myfirstclasslife.com. Authorities and company executives gained access to the cargo hold to survey the damage, finding nearly 200 completely damaged Land Rovers that they plan to repair if possible, myfirstclasslife.com reported.
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TX Man and FL Woman Dead in Independent Airbag Explosions; No Recall Advice for Used Car Buyers
Unadvertised safety defects can make hicle identification numbers through an airbag defect but have not been fixed, owners, starting in 2011. Though the buying a used car in America a dan- automobile website or federal safety according to a search of the cars’ vehi- car was later included in a new recall, gerous decision. database.To advertise cle information numbers in a federal in June of last year, Honda had not yet To advertise Carlos Solis died in January 2015 After a year of record recalls over database.The source for timely mailed a recall notice to Solis, Martin call Advertising Sales at: and call Joe Momber at: after the airbag in a used car he bought faulty General Motors ignitions At least five more that cars in the added. information every last year from a Texas dealer exploded, Takata airbags, used cars with recalls dealer’s inventory, including a 2006 In Congress, lawmakers have in800-699-8251 800-699-8251 body shop needs! sending a piece of metal into his neck, continue to be sold to unknowing buy- Chevy Cobalt and a 2005 Pontiac Grand troduced bills that would require usede-mail: e-mail: reported Hiroko Tabuchi, nytimes.com. advertising@autobodynews.com ers. Am, are under recall for defective igni- car dealersjmomber@autobodynews.com and rental companies to fix CALL 800-699-8251 Solis, 35, was not aware when he bought Hien Tran, 51, is yet another sus- tion switches but have not been fixed, recalled cars before they are put back the vehicle that its airbags could be de- www.autobodynews.com pected victim of an airbag rupture in according to the database. A sixth car into publicwww.autobodynews.com use. But those measures, Start Your FREE fective and had been recalled, according Florida. She did not know that the used with a faulty ignition switch, a 2006 which auto dealers oppose, have stalled. to a lawsuit filed by his family on Janu- 2001 Honda Accord she bought from a Chevy Impala, marked on the dealer’s Most major rental companies, though, MailisSubscription. ary 26. dealer a year earlier had open recalls, website as sold. Other defects in cars now say that they voluntarily fix reA New York Times review of other her family told Tabuchi. She died after listed in the inventory include problems called vehicles. ve usvehicles your opinion affecting the industry. tocrankshaft Contribute tolights. this Southwest Edition? listed onlineon by matters the dealer, All her Takata-made airbag ruptured in an Want with the and brake A National Highway Traffic Safety See the Register Your Stars Auto Sales in Cypress, TX, shows accident in September, sending metalNEW A dealer representative who de- Administration spokesperson told Em that close to half of those cars have also shards into her face and neck, Tabuchi clined to identify herself told Tabuchi Tabuchi it will again push for Congress been recalled for safety defects, but reported after speaking with local au- she could not talk about individual to prohibit used-car dealerships from have not been repaired. thorities. sales, but publisher@autobodynews.com did confirm that the online selling vehicles with an open recall and publisher@autobodynews.com Federal laws do not require used Solis’s death on Jan. 18, caused by inventory was up to date. Her manager the rental of vehicles with open recall. www.autobodynews.com at an www.autobody car dealers to repair vehicles with safety the Takata airbag in his 2002 Honda could not be reached for comment. defects before putting the cars back into Accord, was the sixth fatal accident The Accord that All Stars Auto public use, and dealers do not have to worldwide linked to the faulty airbags. Sales sold Solis two previous Promote yourhad business with Promote your business with disclose to customers that a vehicle is His passenger, an 11-year-old girl, was owners, both registered in Texas, acan exclusive article featuring an exclusive article the subject of a recall, reported Tabuchi. not injured. cording to a vehicle historyfeaturing compiled Congress has been presented with legDespite the death, All Stars Auto by Carfax. The originalorowner sold the your products or services. your products services. To advertise to change this, but no progress Sales continues to sell cars with de- vehicle in 2011, according to the CarTheislation source for timely call according Joe Momber has been made. fects, to the at: article. Of the fax report, the same year Honda first information that every Consumers are left on their own to 33800-699-8251 used To carsadvertise listed on the dealership’s recalled that model over defective call inventory, Sean Hartman at: recalls, airbags. body check shop whetherneeds! a used vehicle has been online 15 have open e-mail: recalled for a safety defect by either pur- reported Tabuchi. Two of those—a A Honda spokesman, Chris Mar800-699-8251 CALL: Momber for details! Call for details! chasing a vehicle history report from ajmomber@autobodynews.com 2005 Honda Accord and a 2006 Ram tin, told Joe Tabuchi the automaker had CALL 800-699-8251 e-mail: vendor like Carfax or running their ve- pickup—are under recall over Takata’s sent multiple recall notices to previous www.autobodynews.com shartman@autobodynews.com 800-699-8251 800-699-8251 Start Your FREE
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Night-time Automotive Paint Additive has Vehicles Glowing and Owners Crowing “The idea came up back in 2002. I developed, manufactured and sold Toxic Toad is, ironically, a non-toxic, different forms of concrete sealer and environmentally-friendly additive that was looking for something new and can make any vehicle glow in the dark. different,” said Howe. “It wasn't until When asked about why he chose 2013 when a friend in the auto body the name, owner and creator Chad business gave me the idea to see how Howe replied, “I wanted something compatible it would be with auto body paints. With the help of my friend Terry Karn from Advanced Auto Body, with 30 years in auto body work, we tried our first project.” After only one try, the duo noticed that the additive made the guinea pig vehicle glow nicely, but left the paint gritty and rough. “So after a few more trials and errors, we came up with a great product and process,” A vehicle with the clear Toxic Toad additive during the said Howe. “With the right radaytime tios and application, we now that would stick out, and after weeks can spray over any base color without of trying to come up with a fun name, altering it, while maintaining a great it hit me that toxic toads’ colors are day look as well as a glow at night. brighter the more toxic they are. So the When applied right, nobody could name just seemed to fit with the glow.” ever tell that the finished product The product, which can be mixed would glow in the dark.” into any auto paint clear product beToxic Toad is not UV activated; fore spraying, was launched in Febru- any light will charge up the paint job ary 2013 at the Lennox, South Dakota for hours at a time. The additive comes headquarters. in four glow colors that go on clear by Victoria Antonelli, Online Editor
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and dry clear, as well as two different green base glow colors. “We do get a lot of requests for new colors, but we are staying with the maximum glows,” said Howe. “Al-
and brighter the glow. “Toxic Toad has a lot of repeat customers who are amazed at the results,” said Howe. “The response has been great.”
At night, the Toxic Toad additive causes the automotive paint to glow in the dark, while remaining unnoticeable during the daytime
though the options are out there for additional glow colors, they just don't glow as bright or as long.” Although the product can be sprayed on any color car, Howe says the lighter the base color, the longer
The unique product can be ordered online, and is often shipped to destinations outside the United States. “With just the internet and word of mouth our sales have gone global,” said Howe.
New American Honda Training Now Available Through I-CAR American Honda Motor Co, Inc. announced the launch of two new collision training modules, produced by American Honda and delivered exclusively through I-CAR®, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair. The new modules, available online at i-car.com/hondatraining, are the first in what will become a new series of Honda and Acura-specific training available to all shops across the entire industry. These modules are unique in that they are the first to be developed by an OEM, and delivered through I-CAR. All planned courses will be available on-line, providing quick, easy access to all shops. The first module, Using Honda and Acura Service Information (HON10e) is an on-line course educating students about the importance of using factory service information. It provides information on Honda and Acura publications and how to access them. The second module, Honda and Acura High-Strength Steel Repair (HON11e) provides an overview of the different grades of high-strength steel used in Honda and Acura vehicles and approved repair methods. Both courses, as well as additional American Honda courses still in development, will be required for shops
wishing to apply for and participate in the soon-to-be launched ProFirst Certified body shop program. “I-CAR is uniquely qualified to deliver the new training modules developed by American Honda” said Steve Osborne, Assistant Vice President of Parts, Service & Technical Operations. “Their platform provides the most effective and efficient delivery of our content to the professional repair industry. And the on-line classes make it cost-effective for shops by eliminating the need to travel. Safe and complete repair is our goal and to achieve that we recognize our responsibility to make this training available to all shops that repair Honda and Acura vehicles.”
ASCCA/CAA Legislative Fly-In
The California Autobody Association (CAA) is partnering with Automotive Service Councils of California (ASCCA) for the 2015 Legislative Fly-in April 14 at the State Capitol. Space is limited and reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. More information can be found on ascca.com, upcoming events, or by contacting Lauren or Mary at 916-924-9054.
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Missouri Auto Dealers Association Sues Missouri over Tesla Car Sales by Lisa Brown, stltoday.com
The Missouri Auto Dealers Association is suing the Missouri Department of Revenue and its director, Nia Ray, for allowing electric-car maker Tesla to sell vehicles directly to consumers. In the lawsuit filed Jan. 22 in Cole County Circuit Court, the Missouri Auto Dealers Association, or MADA, alleges the revenue department issued a dealers license to Tesla to sell vehicles in Missouri in violation of state law. Tesla, the Palo Alto, CA.-based maker of electric vehicles that was founded in 2003, does not sell its cars through traditional franchised dealerships. Rather, the company, led by billionaire CEO Elon Musk, sells vehicles from company-owned stores and over the Internet. Tesla opened a $2 million service center in University City in June 2013 after it was issued a dealer license by the revenue department in the spring of 2013. Tesla has since added multiple charging stations locally, including at the Four Seasons and Magnolia Hotel St. Louis downtown. Telsa also opened a store in Kansas City last month. Its entry-level Model S starts at $69,900. There are nearly 200 Model S cars in Missouri, according to Tesla.
Sherwin-Williams Second Quarter Training Schedule
Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes announced on February 2 its latest second quarter 2015 collision repair industry courses and training sites that will be available from April 1 through June 30, 2015. Participants will learn through a combination of classroom, digital, and hands-on settings at various metropolitan Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes training centers, according to Rod Habel, Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Director of Training Operations. “Our hands-on and digital classroom training is available to all shop owners, managers, painters, and technicians, who can choose to advance their business-building, production-excellence and/or paint application techniques, as needed.” He noted that the following hands-on, paint and processes application-based courses will be offered during the first quarter: AWX Performance Plus™ Waterborne Refinish System; Color Adjustment and Blending; Fleet CFR; and Painter Certification. For information about the training visit http://www.sherwin-automotive .com/collision-repair/training-support/ or call 1-800-SWULTRA (1-800-7985872).
MADA, which represents 381 franchise car dealers, maintains that state law requires manufacturers to sell motor vehicles through a dealer holding a valid franchise agreement with the manufacturer. The revenue department and Ray “have created a non-level playing field where one entity — Tesla — is subject to preferential treatment and all bona fide dealers are discriminated against,” the lawsuit states. Reuther Ford, a dealership in Herculaneum, and Osage Industries, an ambulance manufacturer based in Osage County, joined the MADA as plaintiffs. Last year, an amendment to a bill in the Missouri Legislature sought to end direct-to-consumer sales by Tesla, but the amendment was ultimately pulled from the bill. Michelle Gleba, the revenue department’s spokeswoman, said the department does not comment on pending litigation. Last year, the department’s acting director, John Mollenkamp, said in a statement that automakers that have existing franchise agreements with dealers are barred from competing directly with them; however, the law does not apply to companies that never had such agreements. A Tesla spokesman made the same argument Jan. 22.
I-CAR® Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Disable Search
I-CAR® announced in Jan. the launch of the Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Disable Search on the I-CAR Repairability Technical Support (RTS) Portal. In the Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Disable Search, repair professionals will find information on how to identify where parts of the hybrid or electric system are located, how to disable the system before beginning a repair, welding best practices and refinish precautions. “The RTS team has worked diligently to bring all of this information into a singular location because of the importance for all repair professionals to understand how to properly disable hybrid and electric vehicles to ensure their own safety,” said Jason Bartanen, Director of Industry Technical Relations for I-CAR. “In addition to technician safety, if the vehicles are not properly disabled they can cause damage to the vehicle.” For more information on how to safely approach hybrid and electric vehicles after a collision, and how to understand the risks and risk-avoidance of working around alternative fuel vehicles, technicians can choose from Live and Online training from the I-CAR Professional Development Program™.
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“The fact that MADA tried and failed last year to change existing Missouri law to make it apply to Tesla, proves the frivolousness of this legal challenge,” Diarmuid O’Connell, Tesla’s vice president of corporate and business development, said in a statement. But Lowell Pearson, MADA’s attorney and a former revenue department deputy director, said the state has, in effect, created “an exception for a new entrant in the business.” “It disadvantages hundreds of Missouri car dealers who have been doing business for many, many years,” he said. Pearson said the MADA is asking the Circuit Court to bar the revenue department from renewing Tesla’s license for the University City location and bar it from receiving other dealer licenses elsewhere in the state. “It’s quite well established that a car manufacturer cannot sell vehicles directly to the public and they must be sold through a licensed dealer,” Pearson continued. The revenue department “chose not to enforce that law for Tesla.” Opponents of Tesla’s business model in other states have argued that it runs afoul of state laws that prohibit direct sales of motor vehicles by manufacturers. In September, Tesla prevailed in a lawsuit brought by an auto dealers group
in MA after the state’s highest court ruled the group lacked standing to sue. In MO, the MADA maintains that Tesla’s direct-to-consumer model harms dealers whose business depends on the state requiring all manufacturers to comply equally with state law. Some states, including Texas and Arizona, bar Tesla from selling cars directly to customers. “We feel it’s a violation of the law,” MADA’s president and CEO, Doug Smith, said in a conference call with reporters last week, describing Tesla’s business model. “The law ... clearly states that a manufacturer cannot sell vehicles to consumers.” Smith said his group’s opposition is not with Tesla, but how it sells cars. “We’d love to see Teslas all over the road,” he said. “We’d just like them to sell through dealerships like any other (manufacturer).” Tesla’s O’Connell said the dealers simply are looking to limit consumers’ ability to choose. “The goal of both this lawsuit and anti-Tesla legislation is to create a distribution monopoly that will decrease competition, hurt consumer choice, and limit economic investment in Missouri,” he said. We thank www.stltoday.com for permission to reprint their article.
Automotive Distribution Network Has Sold Out its Upcoming National Convention in New Orleans
The Automotive Distribution Network’s 13th national convention has sold out, with a record-breaking crowd expected for the gathering taking place Feb. 26 through March 1 at the New Orleans Hyatt Regency. The ADN is the umbrella organization for three of the premier groups in the automotive aftermarket: Parts Plus, Independent Auto Parts of America, and Auto Pride. The combined strength and stability of these top groups in a Network of over 300 WD locations that service 1,500+ affiliated auto stores and over 2,000 affiliated service centers. In addition, these members support Network Products Warehouse, a member-owned warehouse distribution company located in Somerville, Tennessee. This facility is strategically placed to provide unique products and services exclusively for the members of the Automotive Distribution Network. “I salute the Network’s members for generating enthusiasm among their customer base for what should be our largest gathering yet,” said Mike Lambert, president of
the Network. “The strong support from the Network’s manufacturer partners will be evident in our 50,000-square-foot expo area, enabling our members and their customers to have some face time with our vendors while checking out their latest products and services.” Six-time world champion driver Clay Millican will make an appearance with the Parts Plus/Great Clips Top Fuel dragster, in addition to other motorsports stars appearing at the expo in New Orleans. In anticipation of the sellout crowd, the Network signed several renowned seminar speakers to appear at the event to provide realworld training on topics ranging from vehicle diagnostics to social media to relationship-building with female customers.
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