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U.S. House Committee Holds Hearings on Career and Technical Education Act On May 18 the U.S. House Commit- serve those seeking to enter the techtee on Education and the Workforce nical workforce. Witnesses included: held a hearing titled, “Helping Stu- Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. dents Succeed by Strengthening the Paul Tse, project manager, Shapiro & Duncan Inc. Carl D. Perkins Career and Jason Bates, manager, ToyTechnical Education Act.” ota Bodine Aluminum Inc. Reauthorized in 2006, Dr. Monty Sullivan, presithe Carl D. Perkins Act allodent, Louisiana Community cates federal grants to states and Technical College System for distribution to secondary Throughout the hearing, school districts and post-secthe witnesses and members ondary institutions. The purSen. Tim Kaine, recounted personal examples pose of the hearing was to D-VA examine the Carl D. Perkins of the value of local career and Act and others like it to determine technical education programs. They exwhat reforms should be made to best See U.S. House Hearings, Page 18
OEM Training Details for NACE | CARS Released
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FIAT CHRYSLER AUTOMOBILES: Introducing the allnew 2017 Chrysler Pacifica—This class will provide you with information relative to the technical specifications, metal strengths, and repair procedures. John Hughes, MOPAR Collision Repair Responsible Service Engineering, TSO, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles FORD MOTOR COMPANY: Ford FSee OEM Training, Page 20
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NACE | CARS has announced the release of details for this year’s OEM programming. NACE | CARS 2016, taking place in Anaheim, CA August 9-13, will feature record involvement and expanded training from companies such as Audi, BMW, FCA, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota, and more, who will provide information on their latest vehicles, materials and technology, how to address specific repairs, and on becoming a certified repair shop. Here is an overview of the training, which will be offered on a com-
VOL. 34 ISSUE 7 JULY 2016
MS and IN Lawsuits Alleging Steering and Price Fixing by Insurers Ordered Closed by Judge by Stacey Phillips
A Florida judge has closed two related lawsuits brought forth by body shops in Mississippi and Indiana against insurers for alleged steering and price fixing. On May 27, Middle District Judge Gregory Presnell dismissed the state claims in Capitol Body Shop, et al, v. State Farm, et al, with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled. Two weeks later, on June 10, he made a similar ruling in Indiana Auto Body Association, et al v. State Farm, et al. Both cases are part of the multidistrict lawsuit that involves more than 500 shops across the country. The 24 lawsuits filed were eventually consolidated for pretrial purposes. According to industry reports, collision repairers across the United States are watching with anticipation to find out the national implications
these recent rulings may have. A similar judgment was made in 2015 when Judge Presnell dismissed all claims in Florida’s A&E Auto Body et al, v. 21st Century et al, with prejudice. All three cases can be appealed to the Eleventh Circuit Court by Eaves Law Firm, the lead attorneys on the case. The Jackson, MS, law firm could not be reached for comment when Autobody News went to press this month. The body shops have accused insurance companies of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act and state laws “…by conspiring to suppress the amounts they are obligated to pay for automobile repairs,” according to court documents. Mississippi Case Capitol Body Shop, et al v. State Farm, et al. was the first of the 24 lawsuits filed. The court dismissed the claims in See MS and IN Lawsuits, Page 22
Ray Fisher of ASA-MI Addresses Changes to Motor Vehicle Service Repair Act, Governor Vetos Bill by Stacey Phillips
A controversial bill that would have restricted aftermarket parts vendors to sell only certain types of parts on newer vehicles to licensed repair facilities in Michigan was vetoed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder in June. House Bill 4344 would have required body shops to use new or used OEM parts or certified aftermarket parts on vehicles during their original factory warranty period or five years, whichever is less, unless they received written permission from a customer to use non-certified parts. The 62-page bill updated the 1974 Michigan Motor Vehicle Service(s) and Repair Act. “I am unable to sign this bill because it overreaches in the limitation of aftermarket parts negatively impacting consumers and creating the po-
tential for negative consequences for Michigan’s automotive industry,” Snyder wrote in his veto letter. “As Michigan continues its comeback and continues to be a leader in promoting new technology in the automotive industry, it is imperative that we ensure all components of that industry can remain strong, including Michigan’s robust aftermarket parts industry. I am concerned about HB 4344’s effect on market competition for replacement parts on motor vehicles.” House Bill 4344 was first introduced March 12, 2015 by Rep. Peter Pettalia of Presque Isle, who co-owns an automotive mechanical repair facility in Alpena, MI. On February 10, 2016, the bill passed in the House 84-22 in favor of See MI Bill Veto, Page 34
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“The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety indicates that some structural parts, such as bumpers, do impact a consumer’s safety. However, the Instithe amended bill and was sent to the tute also points out that some parts, Senate. The bill was unanimously such as fenders, grills, door skins, voted out of the Senate subcommittee bumper covers, etc. are primarily coswith the understanding that modificametic and ‘are irrelevant to crash tions to the bill were necessary for safety.’ This bill doesn’t sufficiently compromise. The amendments were delineate between the two types of made and voted on in the Senate with parts, thereby limiting the use of safe, a 33-4 vote in favor of the amended bill high-quality aftermarket parts deand returned to the House. signed specifically for particOn May 31, Rep. Petular vehicles.” talia reintroduced an amendIn his veto letter, Snyder ment to the bill that provided also voiced concern that HB the opportunity for the vehi4344 would negatively affect cle owner to authorize in auto insurance prices in writing the use of non-certiMichigan. “Requiring OEM fied aftermarket parts during parts when a perfectly suitRay Fisher a repair. The House then able and safe aftermarket part file photo voted on the bill with 86-23 in is available at a lower price favor and sent to the Senate for conwill result in higher costs to insurers; currence to the changes, which did higher costs which will be passed on to occur. It also received an affirmative consumers in the form of increased vote of 33-3 the next day with one Senpremiums, deductibles, or both,” he ator being absent. said. “Those increased costs would be The following amendment was directly attributable to artificially limadded to House Bill 4344: iting competition by requiring OEM If a motor vehicle repair facility parts when less expensive aftermarket that is subject to this act replaces a parts are available.” major component part described in The Auto Care Association section 2A(A)(iii) to (xiv) during the (ACA) issued a press release on June 3 term of the vehicle manufacturer’s voicing the association’s concerns over original warranty, or during the first 5 the bill being passed and urged memyears of the vehicle manufacturer’s bers in Michigan to contact the goveroriginal warranty, whichever is less, nor’s office and request that he veto the the motor vehicle repair facility shall bill. replace the major component part, and ACA said the new restrictions a person that is an owner or operator of using “major component parts” only the motor vehicle repair facility shall apply to sheet metal and body parts. ensure that the major component part “The Auto Care Association is exis replaced with 1 of the following: tremely concerned with the bill au(A) A new original equipment thor’s intent to restrict the vehicle manufacturer part; repair community’s access to the broad (B) A used or a recycled original range of non-OEM parts,” ACA wrote equipment manufacturer part; in the press release. “Based on this lan(C) A part that meets any appliguage, it would not be difficult for vecable federal motor vehicle safety stanhicle manufacturers to lobby to extend dards established under 49 CFR 571, these requirements to many other afand meets the standards for parts rectermarket parts, as we have seen atognized as OEM comparable quality as tempted in other states. Such action verified by the Certified Automotive would provide a clear competitive adParts Association, NSF International, vantage for OEM parts over those or another nationally recognized autosources from the independent aftermotive parts testing agency. market.” (D) A part that does not meet The ACA applauded the goversubdivision (A), (B), or (C), if the fanor’s veto. “We had a tremendous efcility is directed by the owner of the fort from the industry to communicate motor vehicle in writing to install that directly with the governor’s office and part. I have to thank everyone who took the “On its face, this policy seems to time to personally write the governor,” be intended to protect consumers and said Bill Hanvey, president and CEO ensure vehicles are safely repaired. of ACA. “We worked hard to sit down That is a laudable goal,” Snyder wrote. with the stakeholders early on in this Continued from Cover
MI Bill Veto
34 JULY 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
process, but those efforts did not produce the compromise we were seeking, and we are very grateful that Governor Snyder had the astute ability to get to the heart of the matter and send this bill back to the legislature.”
Ray Fisher of ASA-MI Responds Autobody News spoke to Ray Fisher, executive director of ASA-Michigan, about House Bill 4344. Fisher has been on a mission to update the state law in order to ensure that all parts used in collision repairs are certified.
What is your reaction to GoverQ: nor Rick Snyder’s veto of HB 4344?
It is disappointing, but we reA: main optimistic and focused on our cause. There was a great deal of
misinformation that circulated that was never part of HB 4344 and created fear. I could spend time contesting various statements, but what good would that serve? The governor, by law, had only 14 days to respond or it became law, so his window of opportunity to be completely informed on the issue with so many other things going on was limited – keep in mind we have the Flint
water crisis and the challenges of the Detroit Public Schools needing his attention. Our objective remains that it is the right thing to do and we will continue forward with our goal accordingly. Can you give us some background about The Motor Vehicle Service Repair Act and how you became involved in helping to update it?
Q:
Michigan is one of multiple A: states that with a few exceptions, requires an automotive repair facility and its technicians to be registered/licensed under the Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Act (Act 300 of 1974). Technicians must also identify the specialties they employ. The act has had very few updates since its inception. Upon taking over as executive director of ASA-Michigan in January 2010, I began working with the secretary of state’s office to update the bill. Off and on for the previous 10 years it was discussed but really did not seem to get anywhere outside of a few meetings. We began with our collision and mechanical division committees here See MI Bill Veto, Page 50
Continued from Page 34
MI Bill Veto
in Michigan, met with key personnel at the secretary of state’s office and also held meetings at a grass root level with some of the legislators, both in the House and Senate. We stayed focused on the issues and continued on our path. In 2014, a state representative had a constituent that had been taken advantage of in the Metro Detroit area and the representative was surprised about some of the “holes in the system” that had occurred over the past 40 years. Unfortunately, it took a victim to prioritize this task, but we were already there and working on things, so it began moving quickly.
When was House Bill 4344 inQ: troduced? A bill was first introduced in A: 2014, but it had little time for the 60 plus pages of revision. In the
spring of 2015, it was resurrected with the new term and the bill was introduced. It weathered multiple meetings, went through the sub-committee with a few changes and onto the House floor where it was delayed – basically because what has been deemed “controversy over aftermarket parts.” In a section of the rules from 1974, under the definitions of fraud and misrepresentation, the verbiage of “merchantability of parts” was used. Over the past decade or more, I was hearing more and more from the collision repair industry about the quality of some of the aftermarket parts they were being asked to use. Due to today’s vehicles having multiple airbag systems, seatbelt tensioners and other safety devices on their vehicles, I could no longer accept the vagueness of the term “merchantability of parts,” so I sought to define it and took props as I did – my job was to protect my independent repair facilities and they in turn, their customers!
What were some of the changes Q: incorporated into the bill? Keep in mind that this applies to A: mechanical and collision repair facilities here in Michigan, so many of
the changes were to update the law; a lot has changed in 42 years. Picture for a second a 1974 Chevrolet Impala and a 2016 Chevrolet Impala…I would say
the vehicles and technology have changed a little. Paraphrasing the law as it currently stands from 1974, anything $20 or more had to have a written estimate before work could be performed and if any additional work was needed, the work could not exceed $10 or 10% of the original cost, whichever was less. In 1974, we could buy and install a headlight for under $20! What changed were things not applicable back in 1974. Since 1974, we have all come up with “best practices” that may have us start with a “zero” dollar amount and providing a written estimate before any work is performed, but still, we needed to update the “what if” scenarios. I took in a chart with a calculation using the consumer price index (CPI) calculator and showed that $20 then was like $83 now. I wanted to get mechanical facilities to at least get their costs covered if they were to spend a little time using a scanner. The same holds true on the additional amounts. Unfortunately, we had to compromise logic during the process as I was seeking to raise it to $100, but the language as it is written in the bill allows for $50 or more, requiring a written estimate and then additional costs were increased to 10% or $50, whichever is less. There are quite a few changes that brought the rules over into law as well, taking “interpretation” out of the equation. It also has laid some groundwork for better use of technology as we move forward. A lot has been accomplished in the bill that doesn’t get talked about as much because of the addressing of the merchantability of parts.
What was the main intention of Q: being proactive and getting involved in this legislation?
Our focus was to make sure that A: these parts had a requirement before being put on our consumer’s
cars, our friend’s cars and our family’s cars. We NEVER introduced any legislation to the House or Senate at any given time that prevented aftermarket mechanical parts like some organizations have falsely published. We NEVER introduced legislation at any time that prevented the sale of any aftermarket parts nor any used/recycled parts; something that was also falsely published, emailed and communicated. However, what we did do and stayed focused on was requiring aftermarket parts to be certified by a national third-party entity that would be
50 JULY 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
able to say the parts are comparable to an OEM standard, hence certifying the part. As the bill evolved, we were quick to add language that clearly stated that recycled or used OEM parts could also be used. As the bill continued, many compromises were made but were never “good enough” to opposing parties, so we went as far as we were willing to bend. The final language is not what I had originally intended, but it was the best compromise while meeting the objective.
industry I represent.
A:
and OEM parts?
What is the association’s posiQ: tion on this bill? As already mentioned, we preferred our original language reA: garding the use of aftermarket sheet
metal parts because we believe it was the right thing to do, but as compromise was required, we remain 100% supportive of this legislation as it is written.
What are the implications for What is the general consensus Q: collision repair shops in MichiQ: from collision repair shops in gan if the bill is passed? the state about the use of aftermarket
The collision repairer will finally see only quality parts coming through their door and in turn, reduce their liability significantly. Though I am not in agreement, the bill will also require the consumer to direct a repair facility in writing to use a noncertified aftermarket part during the vehicle manufacturer’s warranty period or a period of five years, whichever is less. This puts a great deal of responsibility and liability back on the consumer and off of the collision repair professional, which is still a win for the
Too often we forget the pressure A: these repair facilities are under when performing collision repair. They
have a customer who has gone through a tragic event disrupting their lives and is seeking almost instantaneous results; they have various tasks coming at them during the process; if they are part of a program, they are constantly being measured; and lastly they need to be competitive while remaining profitable. So, anytime their touch time increases, See MI Bill Veto, Page 58
Gordon Michael Joins Spanesi Americas
Spanesi Americas has announced perience includes Technical College that it is expanding its team to better Collision Repair Instructor, I-CAR serve its customers and the collision Tech Centre staff, and collision reindustry. pair technician. “We are extremely “I’m very pleased to be pleased to announce that joining the Spanesi organiGordon Michael has zation,” said Michael. “I joined the Spanesi team. am always willing to help Gordon will be providing out a fellow technician or our customers and distriboffer a easier way of doing utors with training and ina repair. I love learning and stallation support,” said sharing information about Gordon Michael Timothy Morgan, managnew technology and how it ing director of Spanesi Americas. “I fits into the collision industry. have previously worked with Gor- Spanesi is a leader in innovation and don and know that his education and technology, and with the complete training experience will help Spanesi product line that they offer, I’m lookto continue to support our customers ing forward to great things ahead.” as we continue to grow.” For more information, contact Bringing more than 30 years of Timothy Morgan at 224-SPANESI experience in the collision industry (772-6374) or tmorgan@spanesito Spanesi Americas, Gordon’s ex- americas.com. Continued from Page 50
MI Bill Veto
their parts procurement is stalled or their cycle time overall is affected, their production goes down and their profits
decrease and/or become a loss. One of the complaints we continue to hear is that some of these parts that probably shouldn’t even be available in the market are being requested for replacement on a 2015 vehicle, and in their gut they feel these parts won’t
Auto Care Association Participates in Copyright Roundtables on Embedded Software and DMCA
Aaron Lowe, senior vice president of regulatory and government affairs for the Auto Care Association, participated in a series of roundtables produced by the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. on May
18-19. The roundtables were part of a study being undertaken by the office on copyright law and its relation to software-embedded consumer products as well as issues related to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Lowe discussed the growing use of software on late model vehicles and concerns that the vehicle manufacturers were adopting anticompetitive technological protection measures that prevent parts manufacturers, service facilities and consumers from accessing the software needed for repair and maintenance.
“The absence of clear guidance regarding interpretations of copyright defenses is having a chilling impact on companies developing replacement components, causing companies in the auto care industry to be concerned about extensive and disruptive litigation,” said Lowe. He further requested that the Copyright Office make a determination that DMCA does not prohibit circumvention of technological measures that are used by companies to prevent lawful repair under patent law of products whose operation is controlled by embedded software. Lowe told the Copyright Office that “a consumer who purchases a vehicle should own that car, including all of the software embedded in that vehicle. Therefore, consumers and those chosen by consumers to service those vehicles should have the freedom to access that software for purposes of lawful repair.” For more information, contact Aaron Lowe at aaron.lowe@autocare .org.
58 JULY 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
Spanesi Americas Continues Expansion in Gulf States Spanesi Americas is continuing to expand its distribution and customer support across North America. A recent addition to Spanesi Americas is Complete Collision Equipment, Inc. who is providing distribution and customer support in the Gulf States, specifically the Houston, TX market as well as LA, MS, and AL. “We are very pleased to have Complete Collision Equipment join the Spanesi Americas team,” said Timothy Morgan, managing director of Spanesi Americas. “As we have continued to grow in sales and market share, we are also be growing our distribution and customer support teams to allow us to continuously exceed our customer’s expectations.” Led by Kyle Pinton, Complete Collision Equipment brings years of collision repair equipment experience
perform as they should, but were never tested to validate these concerns. I sometimes think that today we use the term “free market system” when all other debates fail, but we also have to understand that when it was identified as a free market system, we were also
to Spanesi and the Gulf States. “I have worked with Kyle in the past and I am very happy to have him back,” stated Morgan. “His vision and desire to provide exceptional customer support to the collision industry are great additions to our team, and within his first month with Spanesi Americas, he broke all ‘New Distributor’ sales records to date!” “I am very excited to be able to represent the complete line of Spanesi products,” said Pinton. “I see the superior quality and detail in the products along with the Spanesi Americas team to support the customer after the sale. My market has shown a positive reaction to the direction and changes our company has taken.” You can contact Kyle and Complete Collision Equipment at 228731-3092.
teaching “business ethics” in high school. Putting a five-year-old in a major league baseball game and saying “good luck” is not “fair competition”—these parts are the five-year-old and have no business being forced into the game!
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