September 2018 West Edition by Autobody News

37 YEARS

WEST EDITION

AUTOBODY AK / CA / HI / ID / MT / NV / OR / WA / WY

Lawsuit Related to Hazardous Auto Body Repair Waste Settled in CA Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton announced July 30 that her office, with 14 other District Attorney’s Offices in California, settled an environmental protection action against Cooks Collision, Inc. The settlement was based on violations of the storage and disposal of hazardous materials and hazardous wastes. The action was filed in Sacramento County. Cooks Collision, Inc. is an automotive and auto body repair shop

that operates 38 facilities throughout California. In the ordinary course of business, Cooks Collision, Inc. stores hazardous materials and generates hazardous wastes. Inspections by the Sacramento County Environmental Management Department found that certain Cooks Collison facilities in Sacramento County were out of compliance with the hazardous materials and hazardous waste laws. District Attorney investigators from See Auto Body Repair Waste, Page 16

Discussion at CIC Highlights Dramatic Changes Coming to the Industry by John Yoswick

Michael Simon, director of strategic accounts for Bosch Automotive, is the latest to remind the industry that the absence of any dash warning lights doesn’t mean a vehicle doesn’t need to be scanned. “And the diagnostic codes do not point to a repair, only a symptom,” Simon said at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in Atlanta in August. “If a doctor takes your blood pressure and your blood pressure is high, what does that mean? He’s got to figure out if it’s hyper-

tension, is it stress in life, or what’s going on. It’s the same thing with codes. What does that code mean? It says something isn’t working right, but it still requires you to diagnose.” In his presentation at CIC, Simon made it clear that he was speaking personally rather than as a representative of Bosch. He said the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in new vehicles today are part of the automakers’ learning mode on the road to autonomous vehicles. “This is the start of the biggest economic and social shift of the last See Discussion at CIC, Page 22

AUTOBODYNEWS.COM

Vol. 36 / Issue 9 / September 2018

Industry Veteran Gene Lopez Presents at BAR Advisory Group Meeting in CA

collision repair industry, Lopez is currently the Co-Chairman of Education Gene Lopez, director of de& Training for the Collision velopment and training at Industry Conference and the California Autobody AssociSeidner’s Collision Centers, made a presentation on July ation. He is also a Co-Chair 12 at a Bureau of Automofor the National Auto Body tive Repair (BAR) Advisory Council’s Distracted Driver Group Meeting in SacraInitiative. After being invited by mento titled “New Vehicle Gene Lopez, Technology and OEM Po- director of develop- BAR Chief Pat Dorais to ment and training at speak, Lopez stated that sition Statements.” As a former member of Seidner’s Collision current California Code of Centers, made a Regulations 3303 and 3365 the I-CAR Field Operations presentation in July team, where he was a Re- titled “New Vehicle are outdated and don’t support late model vehicles, but gional and National Field Technology and OEM Position an interpretation from the Operations Manager for Statements” at a BAR could reveal the need seven years, Lopez often BAR Advisory to recognize today’s technospeaks at BAR’s quarterly Group Meeting logically advanced vehicles. meetings about industry “Some collision repairers betrends, training programs and repair procedures. A 25-year veteran of the See Gene Lopez Presents, Page 18 by Ed Attanasio

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones Says He’s Hoping to Halt Proposed Auto Tariffs by William Thornton, AL.com

On July 18, U.S. Sen. Doug Jones said he and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) are working to craft a “solution” to proposed tariffs on imported automobiles, which they say could negatively impact U.S. jobs. “We hope to introduce that proposal as early as next week, after consulting with our automotive manufacturers and working with our colleagues to grow bipartisan support for this legislation,” Jones said in remarks on the Senate floor in Washington. “I realize that folks affected by these proposed tariffs are looking for a silver bullet to stop them dead in their tracks. Right now, the only silver bullet in this case is for the President to change his mind and recognize how many jobs are at risk because of these proposed tariffs. Until that hap-

pens, we’re going to fight to protect what our states and our workers have earned.” Jones’ comments occurred as segments of the auto industry are converging on the nation’s capital to lobby against the proposed tariffs. The push is coming at the same time the Commerce Department has two days of hearings scheduled on the tariff issue. In May, President Donald Trump directed the Commerce Department to begin an investigation into whether imported vehicles and auto parts constitute a national security threat. The administration is reportedly considering a 20 to 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles. More than 2,300 comments were collected during the investigation period. Segments of the auto industry, as well as Jones, Sen. Richard Shelby See Hearings on Tariffs, Page 14

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SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

ACA Joins Auto Groups Opposing Tariffs in Open Letter to President Trump

CONTENTS Attanasio - After the Donation: Retired Marine Pays it Forward as His Mission Continues . . 60 Billings, MT, Auto Body Shops Soup Up Wheelbarrows for Meals on Wheels. . . . . . . . 8 Caliber Collision, Allstate Donate Most Valuable Car at Hot August Nights in NV . . . 19 CAWA Scholarship Program Awards Evolve Scan Tool to Christina Schneider . . . . . . . . . . 6 Figueroa Auto Repair Shops Give Way to New Highland Park, CA, Development . . . . . 10 Fix Auto USA Announces 6 New Locations in CA, NV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Hertz, Aptiv Partner To Manage Autonomous Vehicles in Las Vegas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Industry Veteran Gene Lopez Presents at BAR Advisory Group Meeting in CA . . . . . . . . 1 Infiniti of Las Vegas Earns Assured Performance Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Lawsuit Related to Hazardous Auto Body Repair Waste Settled in CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Registration Open for SCRS’ Repairer Driven Education Series at SEMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Working To Fix Every Defective Airbag in Southern California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Ahead of the Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 AAPEX Service Professionals Session To Address Career Paths for Auto Techs . . . . . . 14 ACA Joins Auto Groups Opposing Tariffs in Open Letter to President Trump . . . . . . . . . 3 All 2019 Civic Models To Feature Honda Sensing Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Analysis: Red-Light Cameras Don’t Reduce Traffic Accidents or Improve Public Safety . . 57 BASF Brands Getting a Facelift . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 CREF Announces New Board of Trustees . . . . . 32

Discussion at CIC Highlights Dramatic Changes Coming to the Industry . . . . . . . . . . 1 Ford Commits to Spending $4 Billion on Autonomous Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Ford Has To Pay Nearly $300 Million Because Of Fatal Takata Airbags . . . . . . . . . 70 Good News: Your Tesla Model 3 Is Finally Ready. Bad News: It May Take Weeks To Get It Serviced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Honda Collision Parts Program Sets New Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 It’s Christmastime Again at Freer Auto Body’s Christmas in July in Gofrey, IL . . . . . . . . . . . 76

COLUMNISTS

Business Practices ‘Unethical’ and

Attanasio - Dylan Maki Has Real Fish Stories

Violation of UTPA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

to Tell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

From Experts for Body Shops . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Ledoux - 120 Years of Body-Building Changes. . 24 Ledoux - OE Shop Certification Programs: Porsche . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Phillips - All-Female Body Shop Encourages the Next Generation of Auto Body Techs . . . 46 Roistacher - Ask the Auto Body Attorney: September 2018. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Sisk - Regional Association Event Announcements: September 2018 . . . . . . . 34 Sisk - The Power of Leadership — Tips on How To Be a Great Leader . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Nelson Glass Tools Announces New Glass Bot Quartermaster Tool . . . . . . . . . . . 64 New PPG Videos Display Diversity Commitment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Nissan Recalls 105,000 Versas for Deadly Takata Airbags. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Senators Want to Sneak Safety Exemptions or Self-Driving Cars Into Law . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The Complexities of Truck Collision Repair . . . 54 Trump Administration Seeks to Freeze Fuel Economy Standards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 U.S. Sen. Doug Jones Says He’s Hoping to Halt Proposed Auto Tariffs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Uber Drops Self-Driving Trucks Soon After Debut in Autonomous Car Shift . . . . . . . . . . . 4

NATIONAL

Uber Puts Self-Driving Cars Back to Work,

‘Will Your Self-Driving Vehicle Need a License?’ . 4

But With Human Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

83% Lack Interest in Self-Driving Cars . . . . . . 50

WAC Meeting Energizes Members. . . . . . . . . . 77

AAPEX 2018 Mobility Garage to Provide

Walmart To Transport Shoppers in Waymo

Underhood and Alternative Fuel Vehicle Training. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 AAPEX Launches Blog to Keep Attendees

ported or domestically produced. These higher costs will inevitably lead to declining sales and the loss of American jobs, as well as increasing vehicle service and repair costs that may result in consumers delaying critical vehicle maintenance.” The open letter is now live at www.NoAutoTariffs.com and appeared as a print ad in the Wall Street Journal and in Washington, D.C.based publications on Wednesday, July 18 and Thursday, July 19.

Did the John Eagle Decision Change Anything?. 26

Judge Finds Lousiana Collision Shop’s

Attanasio - To Facebook or Not? Answers

The Auto Care Association joined a coalition of major auto industry groups representing nearly 10 million jobs in the United States to urge the Trump administration to avoid imposing additional tariffs on imported autos and auto parts. In an open letter to President Trump, the seven auto groups urged the president that, “Raising tariffs on autos and auto parts would be a massive tax on consumers who buy or service their vehicles—whether im-

Self-Driving Cars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 What Is the Future for New, Used Car Sales Claims? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

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Publisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst General Manager: Barbara Davies Contributing Writers: John Yoswick, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk, David Luehr, Stacey Phillips, Victoria Antonelli, Gary Ledoux Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman, Bill Doyle, Norman Morano (800) 699-8251 Office Manager: Louise Tedesco Digital Marketing Manager: Bill Pierce Art Director: Rodolfo Garcia Graphic Designer: Michelle Lucas Online and Web Content Editor: Rochelle Beckel Accounting Manager: Heather Priddy Editorial/Sales Assistant: Randi Scholtes

Serving Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. Autobody News is a monthly publication for the collision industry. Permission to reproduce in any form the material published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher. ©2018 Adamantine Media LLC.

AkzoNobel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Anchorage Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram . . . 32 Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . 73 AutobodyLaw.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 AutoNation Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram-Fiat. 10 AutoNation Collision Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Axalta Coating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . 77 Bob Smith BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Bob Smith MINI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Capitol Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 CCC Information Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Celette, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Chevrolet of Anchorage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Chicago Pneumatic Compressors . . . . . . . . 8 Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Seattle . . . . 65 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Colortone Automotive Paints . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Courtesy Chevrolet San Diego. . . . . . . . . . 39 Cutter Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Dave Smith Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 DCH Auto Group Temecula . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Del Grande Dealer Group. . . . . . . . . . . 20-21 Dent Magic Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Diamond Standard Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Dominion Sure Seal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Downtown Motors of LA (Audi, VW) . . . . . . 49 ECS Automotive Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 EMS Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Enterprise Rent-A-Car. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Equalizer Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 First Auto Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Ford of Kirkland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . 67 Fusor Repair Adhesives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Galpin Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Glenn E. Thomas Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep . . . . 7 GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers . 36-37

Hyundai of Kirkland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Hyundai of Seattle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . 70 Kearny Mesa Subaru-Hyundai. . . . . . . . . . 48 Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . 62-63 Launch Tech USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Malco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . 74 Mercedes-Benz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23, 40-41 Mercedes-Benz Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 68 MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . 76 Mirka USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . . 74 MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . 43 Moss Bros. Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . . . . . . 31 Nicolosi Distributing, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 69 Penske Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Polyvance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Porsche Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . 66 PPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 ProLine Tool & Supply, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Puente Hills Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Rapid Tac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 RBL Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Riverside Kia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Robaina Industries, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 SATA Dan-Am Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes . . . . 9 Sierra Chevrolet-Honda-Subaru . . . . . . . . 56 Spanesi Americas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . 71 Symach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Tacoma Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram . . . . . 17 The Bay Area Automotive Group . . . . . . . . 61 Vintage Flatz/Cumberland Products . . . . . 27 Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 72 Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . 76 Western Water Products Co. . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Autobody News P.O. Box 1516 Carlsbad, CA 92018 (800) 699-8251 (760) 603-3229 Fax www.autobodynews.com editor@autobodynews.com

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Senators Want to Sneak Safety Exemptions for Self-Driving Cars Into Law by Angie Schmitt, Streetsblog USA

A group of senators led by South Dakota Republican John Thune wants to let companies rush selfdriving cars to market before any federal safety standards related to autonomous systems have been drafted.

A coalition of 65 consumer advocacy and street safety organizations has warned against the bill known as AV START, which would preempt state and local safety regulations of self-driving cars without spelling out any federal safety rules (although it would allow U.S. DOT to draft some). In addition,

the bill would exempt AVs from many safety standards that apply to all other cars. Each manufacturer would get an allotment of 100,000 vehicles to sell for use on public streets within three years. In a letter sent to Senators July 16, the coalition—which includes the American Public Health Association, America Walks and the League of American Bicyclists— demands the addition of public safety standards before the legislation is enacted. But Thune, the Commerce Committee chair who represents one of the most rural, least-populated states in the nation, wants to include the AV START language as a rider to the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, which is viewed as a must-pass. The maneuver would prevent debate and an up-or-down vote on AV START as stand-alone legislation. The rush to pass AV START See Sneak Exemptions, Page 19

‘Will Your Self-Driving Vehicle Need a License?’

Act, a pending initiative to centralize rules for testing and then deploying In an attempt to legislate the testing self-driving vehicles. “Have any of these laws changed and ultimately the impending regular use of self-driving vehicles, a lot of anything that is happening on the government entities are weighing in, ground as automakers and others perfrom Congress to individual states and fect their prototypes?” asked session moderator Eric Paul Deneven some cities. nis, a CAR analyst. It prompted attorney “Not really,” said panJennifer Dukarski to ask elist Brian Daugherty, whether the law can keep up chief technology officer for with technology. the Motor and Equipment “It usually doesn’t,” Manufacturers Association. she said, answering her own Dukarski called the pendquestion. ing federal legislation “too Dukarski was among “States and cities slow. It’s not going to get you participants at a session tiare creating tled “Will Your Self-Driving regimes that are so there.” A goal of the bill is to Vehicle Need a License?” at restrictive,” Jennifer avoid a patchwork of state and local laws on self-drithe Center for Automotive Dukarski said. ving cars. Research’s annual ManageCredit: Roger Hart Basically, the bill tells ment Briefing Seminars. In one way or another, 36 states states and cities, “You don’t have to have become involved in overseeing do this, we already have,” said fellow autonomous vehicle testing, particu- panelist Bryant Walker Smith. “States and cities are creating larly on public roads. There are federal agency guide- regimes that are so restrictive,” said lines on matters such as whether self- Dukarski of the Butzel Long law firm driving cars will still need steering in Ann Arbor, MI. She also holds an engineering degree. “In my state, the wheels. Congress is considering the so- little city of Canton is creating its called Autonomous Vehicle START own regulatory framework of how by Steven Finlay, Wards Auto

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

Uber Drops Self-Driving Trucks Soon After Debut in Autonomous Car Shift by Mike Brown, Inverse

Uber is pulling the plug on its autonomous trucks just four months after it demonstrated the vehicles shipping freight across Arizona. The ride-hailing firm has shifted plans dramatically ever since one of its autonomous cars killed a pedestrian in March, and the company told Inverse it now plans to exclusively focus on passenger vehicles. Uber bought autonomous truck firm Otto in October 2016, with CEO Travis Kalanick claiming it was part of a shift into services that “serve and elevate humanity.” Uber dropped the Otto branding in May 2017, with plans to use a 64-channel spinning lidar array on Volvo trucks using Uber’s inhouse software stack. The company revealed on March 6 that its vehicles were already moving freight across Arizona, but just 12 days later, an autonomous car killed a 49-year-old woman in Tempe, AZ, leading to an immediate halt of all self-driving vehicle operations. “We’ve decided to stop development on our self-driving truck program and move forward exclusively with cars,” Eric Meyhofer,

and when autonomous vehicles can operate in town.” Overreaching government reaction to new technology is old news, said Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina. He also is an engineer and heads a task force on on-road autonomous vehicle standards. He noted that the island of Nantucket, MA, banned automobiles in their early days. “It didn’t last because people wanted their vehicles,” he said. Daugherty said, “Regulators are struggling. You have a tug-and-pull situation. You have overreach by some people who are swimming outside their lanes.” Session panelists also discussed the inevitability of automakers facing lawsuits if a self-driving car malfunctions, causing an accident. Some of those already have occurred in test situations. A pedestrian was killed in one such incident. Smith said, “It’s safer than the one that’s just failed. That’s historic. In the early days of automobiles, when the original spokes broke, they made them thicker. When steering wheels snapped and speared drivers

head of Uber Advanced Technologies Group, told Inverse. “We recently took the important step of returning to public roads in Pittsburgh, and as we look to continue that momentum, we believe having our entire team’s energy and expertise focused on this effort is the best path forward.” The company is not dropping Uber Freight, its non-autonomous initiative that matches human truckers with shippers in a similar vein to its passenger offerings. Uber Freight continues to grow, doubling its load volume every quarter and tripling the size of its team since launching in May 2017, but the company has decided that it does not need to develop autonomous trucks to remain competitive in the space. Beyond trucks, Uber is planning to gradually return to public roads. It recently started operations in Pittsburgh again in manual mode, following a large round of layoffs for 100 existing operators. As for the employees working on the trucks, Uber plans to move them to other areas of the autonomous car business or offer them relocation or separation packages. We thank Inverse for reprint permission.

in accidents, that was fixed, too. It’s something companies do.” Dukarski touted the self-regulating effectiveness of industry oversight in autonomous car development. She said, “People say, ‘Isn’t that the fox watching the henhouse?’ Maybe it’s time to let the fox do that.” Yet, she noted, work remains in preparing self-driving vehicles for the real world of transportation. She recalled a test-drive mishap in Detroit three years ago on a road that had both lane markers and tar lines. “The vehicle followed the tar lines and almost ran into another vehicle,” she said. As automakers and other companies such as Google’s Waymo continue to develop their versions of self-driving cars, “these vehicles are constantly monitored and upgraded,” Smith said. Dukarski, who had sparred with Smith on some issues during the session, responded, “I couldn’t agree more with that.” We thank Wards Auto for reprint permission.

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autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

CAWA Scholarship Program Awards Evolve Scan Tool to Christina Schneider

OTC and O’Reilly Auto Parts have enhanced CAWA’s 2018 scholarship program by awarding the highest-ranking student seeking a career as an automotive technician an Evolve scan tool.

The student, Christina Schneider, who attends College of the Desert, was selected to receive the scan tool among 57 applicants in the 2018 awards cycle. “O’Reilly is happy to work with OTC to be able to provide this future technician with a tool she can use in her training and beyond,” commented Tom Seboldt of O’Reilly’s. Seboldt also serves as the Treasurer of the CAWA Board of Direc-

AAPEX 2018 Mobility Garage to Provide Underhood and Alternative Fuel Vehicle Training

tors, which in 2018 allocated over $16,000 in financial scholarships and gift certificates for Powerbuilt tools donated by All Trade Tools. Seboldt said, “O’Reilly and OTC are proud to partner with CAWA and their scholarship program to award a deserving student with technology they can use now and in the future.” Thanking OTC and O’Reilly was CAWA President & CEO Rodney Pierini. “CAWA appreciates the support of these two companies in recognizing the importance of scholarship awards to students who are the future of the auto care industry,” Pierini said. CAWA is an automotive aftermarket trade association that represents auto parts jobbers, retailers, warehouse distributors, manufacturers, manufacturer representatives and program groups. The association provides educational, legislative and business support to the industry and its membership. It is one of the largest trade associations of its kind in the United States and recognized as a leader in the automotive aftermarket industry.

have one-on-one interactions with exhibitors in Mobility Garage, as well as an augmented reality experience to test and install parts. AVI, a provider of advanced automotive training since 1994, will lead the Shop Equipment and Technology training in Mobility Garage. The National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) will lead the training in the Electric Car and Alternative Fuel/Energy section. This year, Mobility Garage (formerly Mobility Park) will be located on Level 2, in the Venetian Titian and Bellini Ballrooms. Training will run throughout AAPEX and a complete schedule will be available on AAPEX Mobility Garage and the AAHands-on demos, advanced training and one-on-one PEX Mobile App. interactions with exhibitors will take place in the AAPEX All Mobility Garage 2018 Mobility Garage sessions are included in Tuesday, Oct. 30 through Thursday, the AAPEX online registration fee, Nov. 1, at the Sands Expo in Las which is $40 (U.S.) through Friday, Oct. 12. To register, visit www.aapex Vegas. Attendees also will be able to show.com/attendee When attendees step into the AAPEX 2018 Mobility Garage, the experience will be technology-driven and focused, complete with demos of digital scan tools, underhood training and the latest innovations in electric vehicles and alternative fuel vehicles. AAPEX represents the $740 billion global automotive aftermarket industry and will take place

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autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

Continued from Cover

Hearings on Tariffs

and Gov. Kay Ivey, among others, have made comments opposing the tariffs. Ivey, in a letter to Commerce Sec. Wilbur Ross, said Alabama’s auto segment could lose up to 4,000 jobs as a result. Jones said he [remembers] when Alabama did not produce any automobiles; yet the state is now the nation’s third-leading auto exporter. “Now let me be clear—while the United States faces any number of threats from adversaries on any number of fronts, foreign automobiles and auto parts are not a threat to our national security,” he said. “But you know what is a threat? A 25 percent tax on the price of these imported goods.” Auto industry figures say the proposed tariffs would adversely affect American automobiles because many models produced domestically use imported parts, which they say would drive up the cost for consumers. Tariffs would also inspire retaliatory tariffs in other countries, See Hearings on Tariffs, Page 12

Billings, MT, Auto Body Shops Soup Up Wheelbarrows for Meals on Wheels

well, such as transportation and senior center operation. They first introduced custom The Adult Resource Alliance of Yellowstone County, MT, auctioned off wheelbarrows for auction at last year’s another group of customized wheel- Rockin’ Under the Big Sky event by barrows in late July during its major enlisting local auto shops. Development Director Judy Hughes said the fundraiser. wheelbarrow fabricators took the idea and ran. “I [felt] like I’d gotten a gift because they’re so passionate. They’re so enthusiastic,” she said. Last year, Will Moore put together a mobile boombox wheelbarrow that resembled the interior of a vehicle. This year, the Chassis Works painter sought to oneup himself. “This year I came up with, baJudy Hughes, development director for the Adult sically, what they would call a rat Resource Alliance, and Stephanie Elumbaugh, public rod theme,” he said. “Just some relationsspecialist, check painted Bobcat and Grizzly re-purposed automotive junk wheelbarrows that were auctioned in the “Rockin that’s put together on wheels.” Under the Big Sky” fundraiser on July 27 at MetraPark. The result is a low-slung, driPainted wheelbarrows from area auto painters and vable wheelbarrow. He started by many other donations were auctioned at the event. making the wheelbarrow well Credit: Larry Mayer, Billings Gazette sturdier to hold a human occuThe idea grew out of the use of pant. From there, he painted wood wheelbarrows in the organization’s grain into the seat and detailed the rest. The bottom frame extends out to a Meals on Wheels program, which brings food to older people in the area. foot pedal, and the whole thing moves The Alliance provides other services as under the power of an electric drill that by Matt Hudson, Billings Gazette

3 Body Shop Employees Rescue Guinea Pig in Molalla, OR by Kristen Wohlers, Molalla Pioneer

It’s not every day a guinea pig gets stuck inside the hood of a car. But when it happened in Molalla, OR, in July, the guys at Price Auto Body were quick to come to the rescue.

Joseph Yoder holds Norma the guinea pig after the guys from Price Auto Body rescued her on July 26. Credit: Deanna Yoder

Norma the guinea pig was taking a ride in the family car with owner Joseph Yoder when she escaped from his lap and made her way into the console at the front of the car. Joseph; his mom, Deanne Yoder; and the rest of the family could not manage to get her out, so they left her overnight thinking she may emerge on her own. The next day, when Norma was still stuck, Yoder decided they 8

needed help. “It’s so hot out; it had to come out because it was going to die in there,” Yoder said. “I thought, I gotta pull in the big guns because she can’t stay in there.” So she pulled in to Price Auto Body in Molalla, told them up front she couldn’t afford to spend a lot of money for the work, and asked if they could help anyway. “I thought she was joking,” said Steve Boyer, one of the guys who helped rescue Norma. “I mean, it was just kind of a funny situation. She said, ‘You aren’t going to believe this.’ And she said, ‘There’s a guinea pig stuck in my console.’” They agreed to help her. It took three men, including Boyer, owner Rod Schilperoort and Miguel Bautista about an hour and involved taking apart Yoder’s entire console before they finally rescued Norma. “I’m just so grateful,” Yoder said. “They were such good sports about it. “They didn’t charge me anything.” We thank Molalla Pioneer for reprint permission.

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

turns a short chain-drive system that Moore rigged up on the back tire. “I’m a fabricator at heart,” he said. “I just like to build things, so it was my chance to do more than just paint.” Another entry came from Riley Bestrom, a painter at Wildfire Auto Body. He crafted a highly mobile charcoal barbecue. He said he was going for a utilitarian project—something people could use. “I got to do a little fabrication and cut out the bottom of the wheelbarrow,” Bestrom said. He set the barbecue inside the wheelbarrow and added accent lighting beneath. Other pieces are more for show. One of the wheelbarrows was made into a rustic art piece, filled with an arrangement of antlers and complete with a bone-handled knife to boot. Some retain their existence as wheelbarrows and have been painted by entrants. The wheelbarrows, along with other gift baskets and donated items, were auctioned off during the Alliance’s Rockin’ Under the Big Sky event July 27 at the MetraPark pond. We thank Billings Gazette for reprint permission.

autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

AAPEX Launches Blog to Keep Attendees Ahead of the Curve

AAPEX attendees can now turn to the event’s new blog for insights from industry experts on how the latest vehicle technologies, trends and issues are impacting the global automotive aftermarket.

AAPEX represents the $740 billion global automotive aftermarket industry and will take place Tuesday, Oct. 30 through Thursday, Nov. 1 at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas. In the opening AAPEX blogs, Bill Hanvey, president and CEO, Auto Care Association, covers “The Top 4 Opportunities That Come with Access to Vehicle Data” and how the vast majority of motorists have no idea that their personal information is being collected and aggregated by their own vehicles, then sold to the highest bidder. Bill Long, president and chief operating officer, Automotive After-

market Suppliers Association (AASA), addresses “Why We Are Positive About the Aftermarket … and AAPEX,” with a look at near-term trends, including changes in the distribution model such as e-tailing and omni-channels, and how autonomy— whenever it arrives in force—will mean more miles driven as vehicle usage becomes more available to new categories of motorists. The AAPEX Blog is designed to keep attendees ahead of the curve yearround as the automotive aftermarket faces near-constant change that presents opportunities for growth, as well as long-term shifts and threats. To read the weekly AAPEX Blog, visit the AAPEX website, www .aapexshow.com. AAPEX 2018 will feature more than 2,500 exhibiting companies displaying the latest products, services and technologies. More than 47,000 targeted buyers are expected to attend and approximately 162,000 automotive aftermarket professionals from 135 countries are projected to be in Las Vegas during AAPEX 2018.

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

Figueroa Auto Repair Shops Give Way to New Highland Park, CA, Development by Barry Lank, The Eastsider

Turning auto repair and body shops into offices, restaurants or shops could be a trend along Figueroa Street in Highland Park, a neighborhood in northeast Los Angeles, CA.

Two such projects are already underway, and one of the developers said there will probably be more conversions on the neighborhood’s main street. Local planning guidelines offer “incentives to building owners and developers encouraging a return of walkable amenities,” said a spokesperson for the Angelus Complex. The project is converting part of The Shop Auto Body building at the northwest corner

The former Abdul’s Auto Care under renovation

of Figueroa and Avenue 50 into four separate storefronts for office, retail and restaurant tenants—with the auto body shop remaining in business in a smaller space. Meanwhile, another developer is working on an even bigger project next door at 5015–5023 N. Figueroa St., turning the former Abdul’s Auto Care and Car-Tique Auto Body into more than 18,000 square feet of creative office and retail space. A listing on LoopNet makes a point of mentioning the exposed brick walls and bow-truss ceilings. There is no shortage of repair places on Figueroa: Five addresses for auto repair turn up in a search between Ave 50 and Ave 56, plus another auto repair place up by Ave 59. How many of these will be converted into other uses remains to be seen. Meanwhile, work on the Angelus Complex is expected to be completed by next spring. An Angelus spokesperson said it has attracted attention from local restaurateurs, a local barber shop, a gallery representing local artists and a local retailer. We thank The Eastsider for reprint permission.

Infiniti of Las Vegas Earns Assured Performance Certification

part of the most advanced repair-capable and efficient auto body repair Infiniti of Las Vegas has been offi- network in the world. Adding to its cially certified by Assured Perform- credentials, Infiniti of Las Vegas is ance, a nonprofit consumer advocacy officially recognized by Assured Perorganization, for maintaining the right formance, Nissan, Infiniti, Kia, FCA tools, equipment, training and facili- and Hyundai. To become certified and officially ties necessary to repair participating recognized by the various automakers, Infiniti of Las Vegas passed the rigorous certification process essential to helping ensure a proper and safe repair of the new generation of advanced vehicles. Less than 5 percent of body shops across the nation meet the stringent requirements to become officially certified and recognized. The certified network is made up exclusively of bestin-class collision repair businesses that have met or exceeded the strict requirements of the certification program. Eugen Petculescu is the collision manager at Infiniti of Las According to Infiniti of Vegas’ auto body shop. Credit: Las Vegas Review-Journal Las Vegas General Manager automaker brand vehicles according Moe Fahmy, “This certification supports our reputation for superior custo the manufacturer’s specifications. In achieving its certification, In- tomer service serving our community. finiti of Las Vegas is now an integral We are your neighbors and friends, so by Staff, Las Vegas Review-Journal

have the option of certified collision repair wherever they live, work or travel. “Consumers need the confidence and peace of mind to know their vehicle is being repaired by a shop that has what it takes to ensure vehicle safety. General Manager Moe Fahmy is officially a collision care provider,” said Scott Biggs, CEO of Assured Performance Collision Care. “They represent the standard by which all other body shops are measured.” Assured Performance ColInfiniti Collision Center. Credit: Las Vegas Review-Journal lision Care works with the top The certification criteria are automakers to identify, audit and probased on auto manufacturer require- mote collision repair providers that ments. These are critical to ensure the meet best-in-class business standards vehicle fit, finish, durability, value and the manufacturer’s requirements. Consumers can visit www.autoand safety following an accident. As new model vehicles are being bodylocator.com or www.Collisionintroduced that use lightweight, high- Care.org or to find a list of collision strength materials and advanced tech- repair providers. We thank Las Vegas Reviewnology, a proper repair according to manufacturer specification is even Journal for reprint permission. more important than ever to ensure the passenger safety and proper performance of the vehicle. Auto manufacturers want to ensure that consumers www.autobodynews.com it is important to provide our customers with the peace of mind that their vehicles are being repaired correctly by highly trained professionals that care about them.”

autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

Continued from Page 8

Hearings on Tariffs

further impacting American exports, critics contend. Among the activities slated for later this week in the capital: More than 30 vehicles built in the U.S. by international automakers will motorcade past the Capitol and to the Department of Commerce July 26. One of them will be Mercedes’ GLE, made at Mercedes’ Vance plant. Seven auto trade groups are participating in two days of events coinciding with the hearings and have paid for advertisements in publications, including The Wall Street Journal. The ad comes as an open letter to Trump, thanking him for his support of the industry but urging another strategy to protect U.S. jobs. “While we understand that you are working to achieve a level playing field for trade to create more jobs, raising tariffs is the wrong approach,” the ad states. We thank AL.com for reprint permission.

Fix Auto USA Announces 6 New Locations in CA, NV

Fix Auto USA recently announced its continued expansion with the addition of six franchise locations, bringing Fix Auto USA’s total number of locations to 132.

Hertz is looking to make a safe bet on autonomous vehicles in Sin City. Coming on the heels of the rental car company hiring a new chief information officer, Hertz and its fleet management subsidiary, Donlen, announced on July 31 a new strategic partnership with Aptiv, a global technology company enabling the future of mobility. Hertz said it will assist with the operations and management of Aptiv’s Las Vegas autonomous vehicles (AVs). The company highlighted Aptiv’s technology powers what are deemed to be safe and reliable AVs in cities worldwide, with Las Vegas serving as the initial North American commercial deployment market. The two companies will execute a phased approach to develop standard operating procedures for mobility-related AV fleets. The initial program, scheduled to launch this fall, will further enhance and guide the implementation of similar programs in future markets. “Our partnership with Hertz will allow us to operate and main12

• Fix Auto Downtown LA (Los Angeles, CA): Operated by Ashraf Jakvani, who also operates Fix Auto Chino and Fix Auto Pomona • Fix Auto Las Vegas East (Las Vegas, NV): Formerly Newport Collision Center; operated by Gus Mehri

The additional locations expand Fix Auto’s geographic footprint in multiple markets including: Las Vegas, Northern California, and Southern California.

• Fix Auto Alameda (Alameda, CA): Formerly Alameda Collision Repair; operated by Arthur Mercado

• Fix Auto Castro Valley (Castro Valley, CA): Formerly Alameda Collision Repair; operated by Arthur Mercado •

Fix Auto Daly City (Daly City,

Hertz, Aptiv Partner To Manage Autonomous Vehicles in Las Vegas by Staff, Auto Remarketing

CA): Operated by Marvic Vila, who also operates Fix Auto San Francisco – South of Market

tain autonomous fleets at scale—a critical element of the offering that our on-demand mobility customers will require,” said Glen De Vos, Aptiv’s chief technology officer and president of its mobility and services group. “This relationship is an important step in the broader journey for Aptiv, within the self-driving technology space.” Michael Fisher, senior vice president and chief digitization officer of Hertz, emphasized that the company is committed to emerging mobility and actively supporting fleet management partnerships. “Hertz continues to innovate and execute winning strategies in the evolving mobility landscape. We’re pleased to announce this partnership with Aptiv, a leader in the development of autonomous driving technology,” Fisher continued. “This allows us to build on our expanding platform for managing AVs of the future while we leverage our expansive expertise and network managing our existing car rental and commercial fleets of more than 1 million vehicles.” We thank Auto Remarketing for reprint permission.

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

• Fix Auto Temecula (Murrieta, CA): Formerly Temecula Auto Body; operated by John Volpe

“I became a Franchise Partner in 2015 for many reasons, but principally to ensure my business continues to thrive long-term,” stated Jakvani. “Because of Fix Auto USA’s proven platform, I’ve been able to grow my existing operations and now expand to a third location.” “When I aligned my business with Fix Auto USA, I immediately gained access to a world-class operating platform, a nationally recognized brand and a family of operators who truly care about my success,” stated Mercado. “While my two

shops will generate over $10MM in annual revenue, Fix Auto USA is able to offer me value I can’t find anywhere else.” Fix Auto Alameda joins Fix Auto USA as the network’s single largest location generating revenues in excess of $9MM annually under 55,000 square feet of production space, all while performing at market-leading levels. “To see existing Franchise Partners expand their operations, like Marvic and Ashraf, and to welcome new operators like Arthur, Gus and John, simply underscores our mission—providing a platform for independently owned and operated body shops to achieve longterm success,” said Fix Auto USA President and CEO Paul Gange. “We welcome these new locations to the Fix Auto family.”

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autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

AAPEX Service Professionals Session To Address Career Paths for Auto Techs

liance of aftermarket organizations and industry support, is leading the general session Automotive Career Pathways: The Road to Great Technicians. The session will help identify career paths for current and future technicians and how students, parents, instructors and shop owners all play a role in career development. It will look at establishing a curriculum to ensure that technicians are uniformly trained and certified for their milestones of achievement and ultimately, The Service Professionals General Session at AAPEX that they choose to stay in 2018 in Las Vegas will focus on building rewarding the automotive aftermarket careers for auto technicians industry. Panelists include Donny Seyfer, the skills to repair vehicles equipped with new technology, regardless of executive officer and shop owner, where they are employed in the au- NASTF; Chris Chesney, senior director of customer training, Carquest tomotive aftermarket. AAPEX represents the $740 Technical Institute; and Kyle Holt, billion global automotive aftermarket president, S/P2. Carm Capriotto, industry and will take place Tuesday, podcast host, Remarkable Results Oct. 30 through Thursday, Nov. 1 at Radio Podcast, will moderate the general session, which will take place the Sands Expo in Las Vegas. The National Automotive Serv- Nov. 1 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (PDT) ice Task Force (NASTF), with an al- at the Venetian in Las Vegas. The Service Professionals General Session at AAPEX 2018 will tackle an important industry issue: building rewarding careers for automotive technicians and ensuring they have

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

Registration Open for SCRS’ Repairer Driven Education Series at SEMA

Registration for the Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ (SCRS) Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series at the 2018 SEMA Show is open and can be accessed at www .scrs.com/rde.

While continuing to pull in some of the nation’s most soughtafter subject matter experts, nearly half of the 20+ education sessions

AUTOBODY

offered through Wednesday feature first-time RDE presenters, marking the continually refreshed curriculum offered by SCRS during SEMA week. When registering for education through www.scrs.com/rde, attendees will have the option to either link the education to an existing registration or to purchase a new show pass at the same time as the education package. While all education sessions are individually available, SCRS encourages attendees to consider a Full Series Pass, which will provide the greatest value with access to one regular session in each available time slot, access to all three sessions of the OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit sessions, one ticket to the SCRS after-party on Thursday night and admission to the newly announced IDEAS Collide Showcase on Friday.

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UPDATED DAILY

autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

Working To Fix Every Defective Airbag in Southern California by Monica Rodriguez, Los Angeles Daily News/ Southern California News Group

As many local citizens can attest, for residents of Southern California, spending an hour—if not more—per day behind the wheel is the norm. Discussion of traffic finds its way into daily conversations at home and in our office, and we start every commute just hoping to avoid detours, delays or congestion, which can throw off an entire day’s schedule. Such is life in a region ruled by its roadways. And yet, right now, hundreds of thousands of Southern California residents are still driving vehicles with potentially deadly defective airbags that could explode upon deployment, not realizing the danger they face. According to the Independent Monitor for Takata and the Coordinated Remedy Program, California is home to more than 2.5 million defective inflators still in need of repair—more than any other state. More than 220 Americans have already suffered serious injuries from defective airbags, and at least Continued from Cover

Auto Body Repair Waste

Contra Costa County and several other counties then conducted undercover inspections of Cooks Collision, Inc.’s trash containers, which revealed the illegal disposal of hazardous auto body sanding dust, sanding pads, automotive paints, clear coats, solvents, non-empty aerosols and other hazardous substances used during the auto body repair process. Becton said, “The settlement approved by the judge underscores our work to protect Contra Costa County’s natural resources. Businesses must take care and follow the law in the disposal of hazardous wastes and ensure they are handled properly.” In accordance with the Hazardous Waste Control Law and Hazardous Materials Release Response Plans and Inventory Law, the stipulated judgment mandates training, reporting and compliance with the regulations on hazardous materials and hazardous wastes. The settlement totaling $1,525,000 requires Cooks Collision to pay $900,000 in 16

15 have been killed, including three victims from Southern California. In the vast majority of cases, the fatal airbag explosions were triggered by minor collisions from which the drivers should have been able to walk away.

This critical public safety issue affects drivers and passengers nationwide, but the risk is particularly urgent in our area, where prolonged exposure to high heat and humidity makes the defect even worse. As a Los Angeles city councilmember, keeping our community safe is my top priority. That’s why on June 11, my fellow mem-

civil penalties and $325,000 for investigative costs. Cooks Collision will also make an additional payment of $150,000 to fund a research project at California State University Chico focused on identifying a means for recycling by-products produced during the vehicle repair process. Cooks Collision, Inc. was cooperative throughout the investigation and implemented training and compliance programs at each of its facilities. Cooks Collision, Inc. will continue to fund a $150,000 compliance program for the next two years. The case was brought by the District Attorney’s offices of Alameda, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Los Angeles, Marin, Napa, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Ventura and Yolo counties, where Cooks Collision’s auto body repair shops are located. Cooks Collision cooperated with the District Attorney’s investigation and took steps to improve its compliance with the environmental laws brought to its attention by the prosecutors. This information was released by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

bers of Airbag Recall: Southern California came together with automakers affected by the ongoing recall to announce the launch of “Airbag Recall: Operation Find & Fix,” a new intensive outreach program aimed at fixing potentially deadly, recalled airbags in the San Fernando Valley. This hyper-local, 12-week program will involve daily outreach events in Sylmar, Pacoima and Sun Valley to help drivers check their vehicles for recalled airbags, collaboration with automakers, as well as other community-based outreach efforts across the Valley. In these three neighborhoods alone, tens of thousands of drivers have vehicles with unrepaired defective airbags that could explode like a grenade upon impact, blasting sharp metal fragments at the driver and passengers. By embracing this new program, I believe the San Fernando Valley can serve as an inspiration to communities across the state and the country on how to protect drivers from injury or death caused by defective airbags. You can help, too. First, start today by checking to see if you’re at

risk. Visit AirbagRecall.com and enter your license plate number or 17-digit Vehicle Identification Number, found on the driver-side dashboard by the windshield or on your insurance card. If the website says your recall is incomplete, schedule an appointment at a local dealership as soon as possible to have your airbag inflator replaced for free. Then, pay it forward by helping others do the same. Take a few minutes to help just one other person — a friend, a family member, a colleague, a neighbor — to check their vehicle, and you will be delivering a critical service. Each of us has a stake in the safety of our community, and each of us has a role to play in helping prevent another potentially deadly airbag incident. By working together, we can achieve our goal of fixing every defective airbag in Southern California. Monica Rodriguez is a Los Angeles City councilmember representing District 7. We thank Los Angeles Daily News/ Southern California News Group for reprint permission.

autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

Continued from Cover

Gene Lopez Presents

lieve the current code of regulations, 3303 & 3365, need to align with late model, current and future model vehicles, especially those with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS),” Lopez said. “New technology and innovation have dramatically improved vehicle safety since the latest amendments of CCR 3303 and 3365, and they don’t currently address UHSS, aluminum intensive vehicles, composites and combined metal vehicles with ADAS, which include adaptive cruise control, ABS, auto parking, blind spot monitors, collision avoidance systems, lane departure systems and many other driver assistance systems.” The problem is further impacted by the fact that most shops in the state don’t have enough proper training to work effectively on today’s sophisticated vehicles. “With only 11 percent of the auto body repair industry in the United States currently holding the I-CAR Gold Class designation and another

20 percent with some level of consistent training, it should be noted that it is possible that 69 percent of the collision repairers may be using generally accepted procedures that are not vehicle manufacturer-approved,” he said. “And because there is no consistent training, it may be assumed that some 69 percent are not repairing vehicles to the latest standards of quality and safety. According to I-CAR, there are 900 Gold Class businesses in California and only 171 consistently training, while the California Department of Insurance has noted there are some 6,200 body shops in the state.” When generally accepted repair techniques are being performed by a majority of the state’s body shops, is price more important when severity is based on a competitive nature and not safety? “With only 19 percent of the industry in California undertaking some level of consistent technical training, how do we remain competitive with the 81 percent that don’t pursue training?” Lopez said. “Competitive pricing or ‘severity’ is a major metric that shops are measured by from the insur-

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

ance industry. Oftentimes, DRP agreements and insurance policies dictate what types of parts, repairs and procedures should be used. So, are repairs in California being performed correctly while nearly 81 percent of the body shops are not informed? Are repairs based on OEM procedures, or are repairs based on generally accepted practices? And if so, what is the overall benefit of quality and safety to the consumer in the end?” Lopez also noted that OE position statements for used/recycled parts are difficult to follow when many of them are couched as suggestions. “Subject matter experts will say a bolt-on used fender, door, decklid or hood [are] all safe to use, but repairers should never compromise the replacement guidelines issued by the vehicle manufacturer,” he said. “So can we have our cake and eat it too? A position statement on used, recycled or aftermarket parts, in many opinions, is a printed representation of the OEM’s philosophy on a particular subject. “Unless the OEM used/recycled/aftermarket position statement uses terms like ‘prohibited or not au-

thorized,’ then their position statement is just expressing their preference. We don’t think it is reasonable to necessarily ‘follow a preference.’ When there are specific repair procedures, they must be followed, and used parts position statements should have stronger language in order to meet OEM position statements.” Lopez does not want history to repeat itself before another shop is sued or has to close its doors when people are badly injured, he said. “John Eagle Collision made a poor decision that cost the body shop $31.5 million,” he said. At the conclusion of his presentation, Lopez strongly recommended further study and analysis. “I believe a benefit to all would be to continue this topic in a workshop or task force environment, so that all interested parties and stakeholders can interpret if these regulations need to be amended or if legislation should review what it knew back in 1996 versus what we know now,” he said. “The next step should then be to assemble a task force of all shareholders to work toward amending these regulations.”

Caliber Collision, Allstate Donate Most Valuable Car at Hot August Nights in NV

Of the thousands of cars at Hot August Nights this year, the most valuable one might be a newly restored 2013 Toyota Camry. But to Erika Macias, a Reno, NV, single mother and cancer survivor, it is an invaluable, life-changing gift of transportation. Macias was presented keys to the refurbished Toyota Camry by Caliber Collision, whose teammates at its Carson City location volunteered personal time to repair and restore the vehicle, which was provided by Allstate Insurance. At the age of 36, Macias, a hardworking mother of two boys, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She received aggressive treatment that sent her through physical and mental trials. The treatment was also expensive, forcing the family to rent a smaller place to live, limit their spending on essentials and return their only vehicle back to the dealership. “Hot August Nights, with its backdrop of beautifully restored classic cars, was the ideal venue to present Erika with the gift of transportation to help restore her to the

rhythm of her life,” said Todd Dillender, senior vice president at Caliber Collision. Caliber Collision and Allstate partnered on the car donation as part of the National Auto Body Council’s Recycled Rides™ program, in which collision industry businesses team up to repair and donate cars to individuals in need. “Through the years, we have helped many families dealing with tough situations,” said Chad Rhoads, regional claims leader at Allstate. “We are proud to be able to get these families back on the road by providing a means of transportation.” Macias was nominated for the Recycled Rides vehicle by Moms On The Run, a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to local breast cancer patients undergoing treatment in the Reno community.

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Continued from Page 4

Sneak Exemptions

before safety standards are enacted is proceeding despite the killing of Elaine Herzberg by a self-driving Uber car in Tempe, AZ, this spring. A National Transportation Safety Board report revealed that Uber had programmed the car not to brake in certain situations and that the backup driver was watching TV on her phone at the time of the crash. Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a consumer advocacy group, said the coalition doesn’t oppose selfdriving cars but wants to ensure safety protections are in place before laws legalize sales to the public. “The promise is that these are going to be safer,” he said. “There’s no requirement that these be even as safe as what we have right now. That’s really a problem.” Even Keith Crain, the longtime publisher of Automotive News, thinks lawmakers are shirking their duty to protect the public: “Autonomous vehicles may

provide the opportunity to save even more lives and prevent more injuries. But they must also adhere to the same strict standards that exist today. “It is bad enough that automakers are testing these vehicles on public roads. To even think about manufacturing these vehicles for the public without meeting today’s standards is simply irresponsible.” The coalition has proposed nine changes to the AV START legislation, including a mandate that data recorded in crashes be disclosed, and a requirement that AVs pass a “vision test” showing they can process visual information about their surroundings. Human drivers must also demonstrate that they’re licensed. We thank Streetsblog USA for reprint permission.

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Continued from Cover

Discussion at CIC

100 years,” he said. “Think about how many businesses and people will be affected by this technology change.” To offer some perspective on the transformation that is likely to occur in the coming decade, Simon reminded CIC attendees what the key new features were of the best-selling car 10 years ago: the 2008 Toyota Camry. “It had some darker wood; the backseats reclined; there was an optional stability system, and I think that was one of the first years where a hybrid version was available,” Simon said. “Now look at the 2018 Camry. The notable features include a bird’s eye view camera with perimeter scan. A pre-collision system that’s not just stopping the car, but stopping the car and trying to swerve out of the way. Lane departure alert and assist is standard. Automatic high beams. And dynamic radar cruise control.” He said the electrification of vehicles has been slower than he expected, but that by 2028, there will be an estimated 120 million electric vehicles on the road. “Next year you will see a lot of [electric] cars with a 300-mile range,” he said. “And charging time is getting better …You can get 180-mile charge in about 20 minutes.” Far fewer people will own their own car, he said, when they can page a driverless vehicle to pick them up. “The car [population] will probably be significantly smaller,” Simon said. “This one study I read said the 250 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2018 will drop to 33 million by 2050.” The number of hours those vehicles will be on the road, however, will increase by 400 percent. Returning to the topic of scanning, Simon said a pre-repair scan of vehicles gives collision repairers the information needed to “design a reliable work flow.” He said a good aftermarket scan tool will “cover about 95 percent of what’s out there,” though he acknowledged that may not include a current model year vehicle when it first hits the road. “In cases where the tool doesn’t cover it, there are companies that

offer services where you are connected to the OE tool,” he said. “You also can partner with shops that may have the OE tool.” Use of Aftermarket Tools Discussed But during the question-and-answer session that followed, trainer and consultant Mike Anderson of Collision Advice challenged Simon’s assertion that an aftermarket scan tool is adequate for collision repairers. He said in his experience, use of an OE scan tool or service is the only way to determine if a vehicle is subscribed to a telematics system like OnStar, and if so, temporarily disable the system during repairs. “If I have a vehicle that’s connected to the internet, and I do not disable that OnStar-type system, it will generate emails to that consumer [during repairs] and I will get consumer complaints,” Anderson said. Chuck Olson of AirPro Diagnostics, which offers remote scanning services, said there are manual procedures to disconnect telematics systems. And Jim Silverman of the Automotive Training Institute said that while he respects Anderson, he is concerned about the concept of arguing for the use of only OE scan tools. “I think everybody in this room needs to think about it: If we promote using only OE scan tools, if we tell the OEs we agree with that, then the next step is using only OE shops,” Silverman said. “They’re going to say only use our shops. I don’t think any of us want that.” During the discussion, Jake Rodenroth of asTech, which also offers remote scanning services, said the industry may be so focused on the issue of scanning that fundamental repair elements are being overlooked. “In our [ADAS] calibration center in Dallas, we are seeing a high failure rate of vehicles that have been repaired in collision shops and brought in for calibration,” Rodenroth said. “In terms of radar cameras and things like that on the front of the car, we’re seeing about a 30 percent failure rate. The vehicles weren’t straight enough for calibration. And we’re also seeing about a 50 percent failure rate on blind spot calibration. As a repair community, we need to check ourselves. We’re still an industry that fights over whether the car is

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

going to get measured or aligned. When you have systems that are pulling reference materials based on the center line of the car, that’s a little bit of an issue.” Also at CIC In other news and discussion at CIC in Atlanta:

• Jeff Peevy, president of the Automotive Management Institute (AMI), was named the new chairman of CIC for 2019. Peevy, who spent 16 years with I-CAR prior to taking the helm at AMI in 2015, currently co-chairs the CIC’s “Education and Training Committee.” He was selected by the previous CIC chairmen to succeed Guy Bargnes, who led the conference in 2017 and 2018.

• Jon Ruttencutter of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) discussed the issue of counterfeit automotive parts. He showed video of tests conducted on counterfeit airbags, in which the bags failed to deploy, deployed late, broke away

from the steering wheel or launched projectiles into what would be the interior of the vehicle. “We have yet to test a counterfeit airbag that works properly,” Ruttencutter said. Collision repairers can get more information or report suspected counterfeit airbags through the agency’s website (www.iprcenter.gov).

• Bill Garoutte, CEO of the National Auto Body Council (NABC) said that since 2007, NABC’s Recycled Rides program has resulted in more than 1,700 vehicles being rehabbed and donated to people in need. The program is on track in 2018 to average one car per day. Anderson of Collision Advice said the 294 shop locations that participate in 20 groups he leads for Axalta Coating Systems have committed to repairing and giving away 300 vehicles on a single day next year. Recycled Rides is one of NABC’s initiatives to “exemplify the professionalism and integrity of the collision repair industry.”

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In Reverse with Gary Ledoux

120 Years of Body-Building Changes The first auto body designers and builders represented what was already an old established craft. People had been traveling in wheeled carriages for hundreds and hundreds of years. But at the dawn of the 20th century, they would be powered not by horses or some other draft animal, but by some sort of motive power. It mattered little to early body builders if vehicles were propelled by a gasoline engine, electric power or steam. Their task was to create a conveyance that would carry people—period. The body builders contended that if the carriage designs of the late 1800s were good enough for horses, they were good enough for engines. And so it was that wood was the first automotive substrate. One of the earliest references to an automotive body comes from the story of a doctor in Youngstown, OH. In June 1895, Dr. Carlos Booth experienced a runaway situation with his wagon and team of horses. Not wanting to experience that again, he designed motor vehicle and commissioned a local shop to build it. Among its many features was a “body designed to hide the engine and the mechanisms of the vehicle.” (This is perhaps the earliest reference to an automobile body that served primarily as an aesthetic portion of the vehicle.) He is purportedly the first doctor in American to make house calls in a motor vehicle. It’s unknown if his car ever needed body work. A short time later, in 1897, a car named the Hugot hit the street with a wicker body. It was certainly lightweight. The bad news was it couldn’t take much of a hit. The first U.S.- built auto to use a steel body (in the midst of a world of wooden bodies) was the 1901 Eastman Steamer. The first to have an aluminum body was the 1902 Marmon. Both the Eastman and Marmon were built with all-wood frames to which metal panels were pinned. For the most part, cars were primarily made of wood or wood and some steel. The wooden body panels of

Gary Ledoux is an industry veteran with 48 years’ experience in the automotive and OEM collision parts industry. His column appears exclusively in Autobody News. He can be reached at YesterWreck@yahoo.com

those early cars restricted body designers. Wood can only be steamed and bent into simple curves. When applied to wooden frames, the body panels of one make of car looked pretty much like those of any other make. When sheet steel and aluminum came along, this sameness in appearance started to change. If you think using adhesives to hold car bodies together is something new in the 21st century, think again. Body engineers used caseinbased glue to hold early wooden body members together on the Cadillac, Columbia, Locomobile and Peerless from 1898 to 1904. Casein is a chemical found in milk, which is highly water-resistant. Many people point to 1979– 1980 as the beginning of the age of the unibody car. However, in 1916 the Ruler Auto Company manufactured 3,000 unibody vehicles dubbed the Ruler Frameless. Body members were fashioned into tubular form to give metal the rigidity it needed to do without a frame. The engine and suspension members rested on a platform. In October 1919, the Detroit Auto Dealers Association held the first “Closed Car Salon” auto show featuring only closed-body vehicles. Open-body vehicles were the norm of the time, but more and more were closing them. Oddly, many people did not like closed-body vehicles and considered them too ostentatious, not unlike “riding around in a display case.” The enclosed body, largely made of wood, was a cabinet-maker’s work of art. However, building it was arduous and time-consuming. The final product was not light, silent, nor especially durable. But it gave rise to the need for body technicians. The growing use of stamped metal parts would soon speed the process of coach-building. By the 1920s, some wood and sheet metal was being replaced with a new material—Vehisote. Not unlike the use of aluminum today, Vehisote was lighter weight and more versatile for the growing size of ve-

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

hicle and light truck bodies. The Agasote Millboard Company was founded in England in 1909, producing a sort of fiberboard made from recycled paper and glue formed into 4 X 8 foot sheets under extreme heat and pressure. (This sounds a lot like today’s plywood.) The process was brought to the U.S., and in 1915 various car companies began using the large sheets to create roofs on cars made of both wood and steel. The sheets were also known as “Vehisote,” part of the “Homosote” family of products. Vehisote was a favorite material for building truck bodies in the 1920s. By the 1930s, most car companies were using the body-on-frame car-building format that would last for more than 40 years! But not everyone “got the memo.” In 1940, the Budd Company of Detroit was the first to create what is known today as a uni-

body construction vehicle. Nash Motors was the first automaker to contract with Budd for the new body format. And then there was this: Time magazine of August 25, 1941 reported, “The first plastic car was shown by Henry Ford in Dearborn last week. His plastic, consisting of 70 percent cellulose, derived from hemp, sisal and wheatstraw, with a resin binder, is made of soybeans, wheat, cotton, hides, plus a few imported, now hard-to-get ingredients including cork, rubber, tung oil. The material was supposedly lighter than steel and could withstand 10 times the impact.” It sounds like the “grandfather” of high-strength steel. In 1943, Boeing Aircraft Company designed an automobile slated for post-war production. Its design, not surprisingly, was heavily influSee 120 Years, Page 64

autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

Did the John Eagle Decision Change Anything? by Gary Ledoux

The John Eagle decision of October 2017 was one of the most momentous in the history of the collision repair industry in America. Because Dallas-based John Eagle Collision Center did not follow OE repair procedures to repair some hail damage on a 2010 Honda Fit, resulting in severe physical and emotional harm to owners Matthew and Marcia Seebachan in a subsequent accident, attorney Todd Tracy represented the couple in a civil lawsuit which they won, forcing the shop to pay $31.5 million in damages. Almost a year has gone by since then. Plenty of magazine articles have been written and seminars have been provided by Tracy and auto body associations about the effects of the lawsuit and how shops can protect themselves from experiencing a similar situation. Some ad-hoc conversations with shop owners and spurious social media postings by both shop owners and techs indicate that some shops have

taken the John Eagle case seriously and made some positive changes to their SOPs. Others seem to have taken the “It’ll never happen in my town” attitude. Based on the John Eagle decision and other recent industry trends, including use of OE parts, pre- and post-scanning and recalibration, Autobody News wanted to get a clearer picture of what shops are actually doing to determine if the industry is indeed changing … or not. Survey Methodology Near the end of July 2018, Autobody News sent an email survey to approximately 15,000 body shops at random. Over the following several days, 157 shops completed the survey for a response rate of about 1 percent—not an overly large response—but the results are eye-opening. Survey Questions The same questions were asked under two different circumstances: 1) What the shop’s policy was prior to the John Eagle case (before Oct. 1, 2017), and

2) What their policy was after the John Eagle decision became known (after Oct. 1, 2017). Note: The question of pre- and post-scanning and recalibration was not the main focus of the John Eagle case. However, the question of scanning and recalibration began to get more attention about the same time and is still a topic of debate for a complete and safe repair, so it was included in this survey. Questions included: * What percent of the time did you look up and follow OE repair procedures? * What percent of the time did you use new, OE parts for repair? * What percent of the time did you perform a pre- and post-diagnostic scan? * What percent of the time did you recalibrate those devices requiring recalibration based on a post-repair scan? To get a better perspective, shops were also asked about their DRP associations and how many they had. The results were: 28% - 0 DRPs 26% - 1-3 DRPs 28% - 4-6 DRPs

8% - 7-10 DRPs 9% - 10+ DRPs To get an idea of a shop’s size, we also asked how many shop employees each respondent had. The results were: 30% - 1-7 employees 32% - 8-15 employees 18% - 16-25 employees 20% - 25+ employees Survey Results For brevity, we are publishing overall shops (includes all responding shops), smallest and largest shops by employee count, shops with no DRP associations and those with the most DRP associations. Numbers reflect statistics prior to the John Eagle decision and after the John Eagle decision. What percent of the time did you look up and follow OE repair procedures? At the core of the John Eagle decision was whether or not the shop followed OE repair procedures. After some explanation, even a jury of laypeople understood the concept and the gravity of the situation. It seems that most of the rest of the industry

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did as well. On average, only 34.4 percent of shops used OE procedures 80 to 100 percent of the time prior to the John Eagle decision. After the John Eagle decision, the number roughly doubled for all categories except those with zero DRP programs, who were using OE procedures more to begin with anyway. What percent of the time did you use new, OE parts for repair? Of course, the use of OE parts has been an issue since the 1990s; even more so now with the advent of OE position statements calling for their use along with proper repair procedures. Overall, those shops using OE parts 80 to 100 percent of the time took a sizeable jump from 29.7 percent to 41.1 percent. The largest jump, from 23.4 percent to 57.4 percent was in the 1—7 employees category. Typically, smaller shops have fewer or no DRP associations, so that is less of an issue for them. Plus, a smaller shop would have more to lose if it encountered a lawsuit of the scope of the John Eagle case. What percent of the time did you perform a pre- and post-diagnostic scan?

Overall Shops 1-7 employees 25+ employees 0 DRP programs 7-10 DRP programs Prior JE Post JE Prior JE Post JE Prior JE Post JE. The concept of pre- and post-repair scans has been around for years, but has only come to the forefront in the last couple of years due to the expanded use of ADAS systems. Overall, the process of pre- and post-scanning has doubled recently. It is unclear if the John Eagle case had anything directly to do with this, but if nothing else, it has made shops aware that they are solely responsible for correct repairs and the consequences of not doing so can be dire. It is interesting to note that the 7–10 DRP programs category, having the lowest percentage of shops conducting preand post-scans, jumped dramatically from 14.3 percent of shops to 57.1 percent of shops conducting pre- and post-scans 80 to 100 percent of the time. It is unknown if payment (or not) by the insurance company for the preand post-scan operation was a factor. What percent of the time did you recalibrate those devices requiring recalibration based on a post-repair scan?

Overall, this measurement took a sizeable jump from 53.8 percent of shops recalibrating 80 to 100 percent of the time to 77.7 percent. Again, one of the largest changes is the smaller shops, those with 1 to 7 employees, perhaps because they have the most to lose in a catastrophic lawsuit situation. Those shops with a large amount of DRP relations also had a large change, but only because they were recalibrating so rarely prior to October 2017. Here are some of the comments that accompanied the surveys Chris Norris of Weavers Auto Center in Shawneee, KS, said, “We need to stand up for the consumer that drives the vehicle. BTW we are the only ones!” Kime Collision of Standish, MI, wrote, “We have been doing this for years knowing that sooner or later everyone would have to. It looks like reality is finally catching up in our industry.” And then there was this anonymous word to the wise, “You have to be willing to let the vehicle leave if the Customer or Insurer is unwilling

to repair the vehicle correctly.” So… what can be said about the John Eagle decision and its effect on the industry? A year ago, many writers, consultants and pundits said it was a wake-up call for the industry. They said that shops had to pay more attention to OE procedures and proper repairs. If the above information, small sampling that it is, is to be believed, then it looks like not all, but many shops have “seen the light” and are using more OE procedures and OE parts. As for scanning and recalibrating, a recent CCC report of the first quarter of 2018 indicates a small increase in scans, less than what the above figures would indicate. However, CCC’s Susannah Gotsch is also quick to point out that just because there is no scan on the estimate, it doesn’t mean one wasn’t done. Will the swing to greater use of OE procedures be permanent? An educated guess says ‘yes.’ As long as technology continues to move forward and becomes increasingly sophisticated at a faster and faster rate, technicians will have no choice … if the car is to be properly and safely repaired.

autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

Honda Collision Parts Program Sets New Standard by Gary Ledoux

In the earliest days of the collision repair industry, when shop employees needed a replacement part they picked up the phone and called a supplier, quite often an OE dealer. Simple? Yes. Quick? Maybe. Efficient? Not necessarily if the shop needed multiple parts, some possibly hard to find, and had to keep calling until they were found. Starting in the early 1980s and still true today, the fax machine saved time and effort for both shops and parts suppliers. By around 2006, OEConnection was able to do something no one had done before—electronically connect OE dealers with body shops, allowing the two to communicate, the shop to order parts and the OE manufacturers to run a conquest or pricematching programs utilizing the OEC software. This was a win for everyone, including the shop, the dealer, the customer, the OE and the insurance company. Utilizing OEConnection’s CollisionLink® software, American Honda launched its Collision Select conquest program on July 1, 2009. The program ran very well for several years. The program reached its peak around 2016 when the number of transacting body shops reached a plateau and growth had ceased. So, in true Honda fashion, the Collision Marketing Group went “to the spot” to interview dealers and body shops all over the country to see what was going on. Here is what they heard:

• Shops and dealers said, “It is taking way too much time to conquest parts.” In other words, after the estimate had been written using either aftermarket or salvage parts, it then became incumbent upon the OE dealer, using the OEC software, to contact the shop to negotiate the price of certain key OE parts to see if the dealer could change the shop’s mind about what parts to use. Ultimately, this resulted in more parts sales for American Honda and those OEs who followed this model, but it was more work on the part of the dealer and the shop. Plus, dealers were not always consistent using the program, and the number of shops using CollisionLink® was somewhat 28

limited compared to the size of the body shop network.

• Shop owners said, “Give me your best price up front and let me make the decision. If I am in the middle of writing an estimate, I will use the OE part if I can. If you have a conquest price, why should I have to wait for a dealer to get back to me when I am ultimately making the decision anyway?”

Now, 10 years later, technology has brought parts procurement to the next level. American Honda is again on the cutting edge as the first OE to use CCC One to promote parts ordering at the time the estimate is written, rather than after the fact, and offers an MSRP or promotional price that is consistent across all participating Honda or Acura dealers. They have also made the program’s execution easier, quicker and seamless. It is already changing the culture of many shops that use it. Here’s how it works: Shops using CCC One with the proper software engaged will be provided a list of parts suppliers for each part needed on an estimate. Depending on which parts suppliers have enrolled in the program and are using the software, the shop may see, for example, an aftermarket bumper cover, salvage bumper cover or an OE bumper cover from multiple OE dealers. In each case, the parts will have a price and availability listed. In the case of the OE part from Honda/Acura, each part number will show the MSRP price and a “Promotional Price” that will be the same no matter what Honda or Acura dealer is listed. Assuming the shop wants the OE part, it is then up to the shop to decide from which dealer to buy the part, depending on availability, the shop’s relationship with the dealer and the final price the shop will pay the dealer for that particular part. The program does not pit one Honda or Acura dealer against the other. The “Promotional Price” is what was referred to in past American Honda programs as the “conquest price,” or the price the shop would charge the insurance company to compete with aftermarket or salvage parts. For example, assume a

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

bumper cover is $400 MSRP and carries a “Promotional Price” of $325. Under Honda’s former conquest program, the dealer would negotiate the price with the shop, which could have been between $400 and $325. This led to inconsistencies, even within a single dealership, depending on the parts sales person dealing with the shop. With American Honda’s new “Collision Parts Promote” program, pricing will be consistent and require less work for all involved. Plus, “Promotional” parts, in most cases, are seen as an alt-OEM part. This helps shops trying to meet a parts-type objective as a DRP. And this business model eliminates the negotiation process, thereby saving both the shop and the dealer time and work. Once the shop has selected the parts they want from their vendor of choice, the order can be placed using a “shopping basket” similar to Amazon.com or other online services. For Honda and Acura dealers, a connection exists between CCC One and the dealer’s Dealer Management

System (DMS), so the order is placed with the dealer electronically. There is no re-keying. The dealer only needs to bill the parts, pull them and ship them—a real time-saver for all. On the back-side, each dealer knows what they will pay American Honda for the parts and what their rebate amount will be from Honda for all parts sold in this manner. American Honda’s new “Collision Parts Promote” program was officially launched at the last SEMA show in November 2017. In a July 2018 phone interview, Kirk Adams, assistant national manager for American Honda’s Collision Group, noted, “We ran a pilot program for almost a year before we launched nationally last November, so we proved the concept and knew it would work well. In the intervening nine months, we have enrolled 900 Honda and Acura dealers for this program. That’s about 70 percent of our dealers. About 800 have ‘gone live’ and are currently active with the program. On the shop side, CCC One is in about 24,000 See New Standard, Page 71

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Bruce Roistacher has tried in excess of 100 jury trials in federal and state courts. He is a former NYC prosecutor and has previously represented insurance companies, which can be a great advantage to his automotive clients. Bruce can be reached at Bruce@AutobodyAttorney.com or by phone at 866-Law-MANN.

Auto Body Attorney with Bruce Roistacher

Ask the Auto Body Attorney: September 2018 I want to thank all of the shop owners around the country who have favorably responded to my initial column from last month. If you have a question or concern about any legal issue that may arise in your business, don’t hesitate to contact me at 1-855-Law-Mann or contact Autobody News. Although I can’t give legal advice, I can give a general opinion about your issue and point you in the right direction. In this edition, I want to explain some very basic definitions of terms that you may see me discuss in future columns. You may experience some of the following in your day-to-day business:

1. OEM – This is simply Original Equipment Manufacturer parts and equipment that may be marketed by a manufacturer. However, these parts are assembled and installed during the construction of a new vehicle. They are in contrast to after-market parts, which are subsequently installed, e.g.., Champion sparkplugs, Kinsler fuel injectors, BMP engine blocks. You have to be careful because many auto parts are sold through multiple brands, causing some vehicles to have non-OEM parts. This area contributes to much of the litigation that is currently taking place, i.e., the State Farm case that I discussed in my prior column. Another topic that unfortunately occurs is the situation where insurance companies short shops on payments regarding OEM vs. after-market parts. Shops should fight back! There have been successful verdicts and settlements around the country on this issue and many others.

2. CAPPING – Watch out for companies capping labor rates and paint materials itemized, such as PaintEx. They may have no legal basis in capping or even outright rejecting your hard-earned payments – they add up! Gamesmanship by the insurance industry is alive and well, i.e., their latest word game is called a calcula30

tor. Why, you might ask? It’s simple and means nothing. PaintEx is a presentation that falls under the gaap rule (generally accepted accounting principles). These are the same rules that every insurance company uses every day. PaintEx is only one example of many that insurance companies attempt to reject because it saves them money and at the same time takes money out of your pocket. 3. UNFAIR PRACTICES – Insurance companies will deny, delay and try to defend and use methods such as steering, totaling and negotiating unfairly. The insurance companies will keep getting aggressive unless shop owners push back. 4. ASSIGNMENTS – Assignments from your customer, the insured, are crucial to obtain and must be legally sufficient. They legally put you, the shop owner, in the legal position of your customer for negotiating and subsequent litigation with insurance companies, if required. Each state may have their own requirements, which must be followed precisely.

5. SHOP SAFETY – Lately, the entire topic of environmental rules and regulations has become extremely important in your day-to-day business. This is particularly common regarding respiratory protection and hazard communication. My suggestion is to issue written warnings to your employees to create what we call informed consent. This can later be used as evidence to prove that legal and sufficient notice of any potential danger has been given to your employees. Remember, employee safety is a must and proper safety equipment and environmentally acceptable chemicals have to be used, as both Federal and State agencies may visit your shops for inspection. They have the power to commence legal action against your shop, which could lead to fines and even put your permits or license in jeopardy. 6.

TOTALING – In their never-

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

ending effort to “tighten the belt,” the practice of totaling, i.e., when insurance companies declare an automobile too damaged for repair when you know that it is repairable. This process obviously saves the companies the expense of parts and labor. The result? You lose business. Insurance companies have long used the method of favoring certain shops, perhaps in your area, to obtain favorable rates. Although it is perfectly understandable that any business has an absolute right to make profits, cut expenses and costs and deal with certain companies, they can’t do it by illegall and/or unfair means. That applies to small businesses as well as to the largest companies in the world that have faced scandal or criminal conviction, such as Archer Daniels Midland, Bankers Trust, BP, British Airways, GE, International Paper,

Samsung, Sears Roebuck and Company, Tyson Foods, VW, Waste Management and many more. Let me be clear: It is my opinion that the time has come that shop owners who have suffered serious financial loss due to any unfair practice by an insurance company begin to take legal action in an attempt to recover their hard-earned gains.

7. TORTIOUS INTERFERENCE WITH BUSINESS – If not criminal, almost every state recognizes the principle of tortious interference with business relations. This concept can be known by different names such as “intentional interference with contractual relations” or a “tort of negligent interference,” depending on the state that your business is in. It happens when one entity intentionally damages someone else’s contractual or business relationship with

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a third party, causing economic harm. It can also occur if it happens without intent but in a negligent manner. Courts have held that tortious interference of business relations can occur when false claims against the business are made, which can affect reputation that drives business away. Each state requires proof of certain factors, including proof of damages or the harm caused. If proven, there might even be punitive or a punishing award that may increase any judgment rendered. Examples are when insurance companies or appraisers intentionally or negligently comment or publish untrue statements that downgrade a particular shop for another to a potential customer. The aforementioned scenario has been the subject of litigation around the country, and there have been some large verdicts that have been returned against insurance companies. 8. DEFAMATION – Very close and part of the above concept is the area of defamation. Reputation is a valuable asset in

any business. A damaged reputation can result in significant financial hardship. As previously stated, statements made to a third party about a particular shop—if untrue and actual damages can be proven that are directly related to those false statements—can be used to prove a claim of defamation. States obviously vary. However, the usual requirements are the following: (1) your reputation must be harmed and you must be able to prove it; (2) the statement must be false and you must be able to prove it; (3) you must identify the entity or person who made the statement; (4) you must have suffered provable damages directly relating to the above. The above are only an introduction to some of the most common legal issues that have wound up in our courts, and many have involved insurance companies and/or their appraisers. If you feel that you have been the victim of any of the aforementioned actions by an insurance company and have suffered damages directly related to their actions, you should consult an experienced attorney for legal advice. See you next month!

Judge Finds Lousiana Collision Shop’s Business Practices ‘Unethical’ and Violation of UTPA by Staff, WBRZ

A judge has decided that a prominent capital area body shop’s business practices and advertisements

were in violation of the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act. WBRZ first reported on a lawsuit filed back in May that alleged Owens Collision misrepresented the contract customers signed and held vehicles longer than necessary “to increase non-repair fees.” It also claimed that Owens marked up the

AUTOBODY

cost of parts and bills for unreasonable fees. Court records say Judge Todd Hernandez found the business’s refusal to allow customers to view their vehicles while in Owens’ possession “absurd, unethical, unscrupulous and has proven to be substantially injurious to its customers.” In response, the judge ordered that the business allow customers full access to their vehicles during regular business hours. He also said Owens was prohibited from misrepresenting the terms and conditions of its contracts in the future. The judge dismissed the individual claims filed against business owner Greg Owens. We thank WBRZ for reprint permission.

www.autobodynews.com

UPDATED DAILY

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

BASF Brands Getting a Facelift

July 24, 2018 - BASF Automotive Refinish is updating its brand images, beginning with new product labels for productivity brand RM®, in Q3 2018. A newly designed logo for economy brand LIMCO®, as well as new labels for both Limco and BASF’s premium brand, Glasurit®, will follow later in the year. “As the world’s largest chemical company, our primary focus is on R&D and innovation,” said Marketing Director Dan Bihlmeyer. “We are also a twenty-first century organization, focused on leading edge facets of business from technology to communications to design. These new labels express BASF’s commitment to market leadership.” Glasurit’s newly designed labels are accompanying its 130th birthday in 2018 and R-M’s newly designed labels are arriving in time for its 100th birthday in 2019. For more information about BASF Automotive Refinish, visit www .basfrefinish.com.

CREF Announces New Board of Trustees

The Collision Repair Education Foundation announced the appointment of three new members to its Board of Trustees, including: Doug Irish, Fayetteville Technical Community College; Mark Helvenston, Insurance Auto Auctions; and Steve Schmidt, State Farm. Jeanne Silver, chair of the Foundation Board of Trustees, said, “We are pleased to welcome the new trustees to the Collision Repair Education Foundation board. The diverse viewpoints that come from a blend of industry segments add to our mutual efforts on behalf of the students and their schools.” Industry members interested in joining the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s roster of supporters to assist high school and post-secondary collision school programs and students should contact Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode at 847-463-5245 or Brandon.Eckenrode@ed-foundation.org

autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

Associations Assembling 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.

Regional Association Event Announcements: September 2018 Please see below for upcoming regional automotive association events taking place in September. ASA-CO To Host 2 Training Sessions ASA-CO will hold two exciting training opportunities in September. On Sept. 24 and 25, Greg Marchand will teach “Growing Your Customer Base” at Advance Auto Parts (CARQUEST) in Denver, CO from 6 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. each night. The course will explore the simple things that often get overlooked but can allow a repair facility to increase their customer base. Attendees will learn how to effectively use customer satisfaction, customer referrals, quality control and consistency to increase their customer base in a controlled and profitable manner during this interactive training seminar. On Sept. 26 and 27, Marchand will teach industry professionals

about “Exceptional Customer Handling Skills” in Fort Collins, CO. For more information about either of these training seminars, visit www.asacolorado.org.

ASA-CO To Host 1st Annual Golf Tournament On Sept. 16, ASA-CO will host its first annual ASA-CO Golf “Fore” ASA Green Tournament at the Homestead Golf Course in Lakewood, CO. In addition to a round of golf, the four-person scramble will feature contests, prizes and networking opportunities galore. Check-in begins at 7:30 a.m. with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Early bird registration is available for $110 per player ($440 for a team of four) until August 31. After August 31, the price is $125 per player ($500 for a team of four). Proceeds from the event benefit ASACO initiatives and its Automotive

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

Student Scholarship Fund. For more information, visit www .asacolorado.org. ASA-Midwest To Host Leadership Summit From Sept. 7–9, ASA- Midwest will host its 2018 Leadership Summit at Lake of the Ozarks in MO. This event provides an opportunity for association members to share ideas, celebrate accomplishments and renew their commitment to industry excellence. For more information, visit www .asa-midwest.org. PPG’s Robb Power To Teach ASA-OH How To Optimize Performance Through Repair Planning From Sept.18–20, ASA-OH will host a workshop titled “How to Optimize Performance Through Repair Planning,” presented by Robb Power,

senior management of business solutions for PPG Automotive Refinish. Tuesday’s workshop will be held at Ohio Auto Kolor in Columbus, OH, with Thursday’s session taking place at ESC of Cuyahoga County in Independence, OH. During the workshop, Power will explain the impact traditional estimating processes have on collision business work flows, and he will provide detailed instructions and demonstrate the benefits of the Repair Planning Process as well as provide a list of dos and don’ts for successful implementation. The workshop is intended for shop management, estimators, parts personnel and technicians. It is available to ASA-OH members at a cost of $45 for members and $90 for nonmembers. For more information, visit www .asaohio.org.

St. Louis I-CAR Committee, CREF To Co-host Job Fair The St. Louis I-CAR Committee and the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) will co-host their 2018 Job Fair for the Collision and Automotive Industry on Friday, Sept. 21 from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, IL. More than 650 automotive and collision students from local high schools and colleges plan to attend in addition to 650 local STEM students. Last year’s event attracted 1,487 students, and this year is shaping up to be competitively attended. Fees collected over the cost of the career fair will be distributed back to participating technical schools that fill out the paperwork for the CREF Make-Over Grant. For more information, contact Gene Slattery (gene@automotive technology.com) or Shelly Jones (sjones@abraauto.com). CCRE To Host Educational Seminar in Atlanta The Coalition for Collision Repair Excellence (CCRE) will host an ed-

ucational seminar on Sept. 28 and 29 at the Embassy Suites at the Atlanta Airport in Atlanta, GA. The weekend will focus on educational presentations, informative networking and the use and proper implementation of contracts and other documents. Industry professionals who attend can expect to gain an understanding on becoming more profitable in the current collision repair business environment and learn how to increase revenue and profits in order to pay for the high cost of equipment, training and technology. Topics will include state of the industry, contracts and documents, strategies and word tracks, implementing the CCRE process, damage analysis and job costing, time-based vs. value-based services, a roundtable discussion and much more. For more information or to register, visit www.theccre.com. MACA To Host 12th Annual Tailgate Party On Sept. 23, the Midwest Auto Care Alliance (MACA), formerly ASAMidwest as of Sept. 14, will host its 12th Annual Tailgate Party at Arrow-

head Stadium. Shop owners, vendors, managers, technicians and families are invited to watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers and enjoy a day of food, drinks and fellowship. More information is available at www.mwaca.org or www.asa-midwest .org. ARA To Host 75th Annual Convention and Expo The Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) will hold its 75th Annual Convention and Expo on Nov. 1–3 at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort in Orlando, FL. Sponsored by Hollander, the event will feature more than 30 educational sessions taught by industry leaders. For more information, visit www .araexpo.org. AWAF To Offer Speed Mentoring On Sept. 26, the Automotive Women’s Alliance Foundation (AWAF) will hold a Speed Mentoring session at Faurecia’s North American Headquarters in Auburn Hills, MI. Attendees will enjoy the opportunity to break into small groups and spend 15-

minute mentoring sessions with six executive level women and men discussing key industry topics in an informal setting. For more information, visit www. awafoundation.org. AAAMS 2018 Business Conference To Be Held in Hilton Head Island, SC From Sept. 20–23, the Automotive Aftermarket Association of the MidSouth, Inc. (AAAMS) will host its 2018 Business Conference at the Hilton Head Marriott Resort and Spa in Hilton Head Island, SC. This year’s theme is “Sailing into the Future.” The conference will begin on Thursday evening with dinner and a cash bar. Friday will commence with a meeting for the AAAMS Board of Directors, Past Presidents and Past Directors, followed by a Conference Committee meeting and ending with a welcome reception. Saturday morning’s agenda includes seminars on the AAAMS Annual Business Meeting and Business Insurance/HR Services Program Update (IGO Insurance Agency), WebSee Event Announcements, Page 49

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P HONDA CALIFORNIA

AutoNation Honda Costa Mesa

866-411-4759 714-434-5270 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 8-5 kleines@autonation.com

AutoNation Honda Roseville Roseville

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Barber Honda B a ke r s f i e l d

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First Honda S i m i Va l l e y

888-523-0698 805-584-6646 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 7:30-5 hondaparts@firstautogroup.com

Galpin Honda Mission Hills

800-GO GALPIN 818-778-2005 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-2 mteeman@galpin.com

Honda Cars of Corona Corona

800-557-3652 951-734-9045 Dept. Hours: M-Sat 7-5 terry.love@pscauto.com

ACURA CALIFORNIA

Acura of Fremont F re m o n t

888-435-0504 510-431-2560 Dept. Hours: M-F 8-6; Sat 8-5 mike.ohare@acuraoffremont.com

Acura of Pleasanton Pleasanton

888-985-6342 925-251-7126 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-6 mitch.cash@hendrickauto.com

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Please contact these dealers for your Honda or Acura Genuine parts needs. CALIF O R N I A

CALIFORNIA

WA SHINGTON

Honda of Hollywood

Pacific Honda

University Honda

Hollywood

San D i e g o

D av i s

Auburn

800-371-3719 323-466-3205

858-565-9402

253-288-1069

jgardiner@pacifichonda.com

800-585-8648 530-758-8770

Robertson Honda

Dept. Hours: M-Sat 8-6; Sun 8-5 dfortier@uhdavis.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 8-6 parts@hondaofhollywood.com

North Ho l l y wo o d

Honda of Oakland Oakland

510-547-8047

800-508-3894 818-301-3511 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-8; Sat 7-6

Honda of Pasadena Pasadena

800-433-0676 626-683-5880 Dept. Hours: M-F 8-6; Sat 8-4

IDAHO

Larry H. Miller Honda Boise

San Francisco Honda

888-941-2218 208-947-6060

San Fra n c i s c o

415-913-5125 Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5 partsws@sfhonda.com

Scott Robinson Honda

Honda of the Desert

Torra n c e

Hinshawâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Honda Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 7:30-4:30 rickb@hinshaws.com

McCurley Integrity Honda R i ch l a n d

800-456-6257 509-547-7924 Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5:30; Sat 8-4 hondaparts@mccurley.net

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5

South Tacoma Honda

N E VA D A

Findlay Honda

Ta c o m a

L a s Ve g a s

Cathedral City

310-371-8320

760-770-0828

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6:30; Sat 7-5 mluna@scottrobinson.com

702-982-4260

888-497-2410 253-474-7541

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30; Sat 8-5 fsanchez@findlayauto.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5 bgregory@southtacomahonda.com

Selma Honda

Findlay Honda Henderson

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 7-5 mpartridge@honda111.com

Larry Hopkins Honda

Sel m a

Sunnyvale

800-717-3562 559-891-5111

408-720-0221 408-736-2608 Dept. Hours: M-Sat 8-5 parts1@hopkinsdirect.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 7:30-4:30 hondapartsmgr@selmaautomall.com

Sierra Honda

Metro Honda

Monr ov i a

Montclair

800-322-8540 626-932-5614

800-446-5697 909-625-8960 Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30; Sat 7:30-4 wholesaleparts@metrohonda.com

Ocean Honda

South Bay Honda Milp i t a s

877-475-1142 408-324-7460

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-4:30 mickw@oceanhondasantacruz.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5 parts@southbayhonda.com

CALIF O R N I A

AutoNation Acura of South Bay Torrance

310-784-8680 Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5 iwashitas@autonation.com

Bakersfield Acura Bakersfield

661-381-2600

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5 fhhparts@findlayauto.com OREGON

Lithia Honda of Medford

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-4 parts@sierracars.com

831-464-1800

Santa Cruz

Henderson

888-234-4498 702-568-3531

CALIFORNIA

M e d f o rd

888-471-7445 541-770-3763 Dept. Hours: M-Sat 7:30-6; Sun 10-5 medfordhondaparts@lithia.com

IDAHO

WA SHINGTON

Metro Acura

Lyle Pearson Acura

Mont c l a i r

Boise

Fife

800-446-5697 909-625-8960

800-621-1775 208-377-3900

253-926-3331

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30 wholesaleparts@metrohonda.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-6 acuraparts@lylepearson.com

Acura of Honolulu

Findlay Acura

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30 bakersfieldacuraservice@yahoo.com

Henderson

866-931-9086 808-942-4557

877-770-5873 702-982-4160

Marin Acura

Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5; Sat 8-4 Johara@lithia.com Tokuda@lithia.com RayleenGarcia@lithia.com

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-4 jmoore@findlayauto.com

Corte Madera

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5 johnny@hinshaws.com

N E VA D A

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Hono l u l u

800-77-Acura 415-927-5350

Hinshawâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Acura

Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5:30; Sat 8-4 parts@marinacura.com autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

Tips for Busy Body Shops with Stacey Phillips

Stacey Phillips is a freelance writer and editor for the automotive industry. She has 20 years of experience writing for a variety of publications, and is co-author of “The Secrets of America’s Greatest Body Shops.” She can be reached at sphillips.autobodynews@gmail.com.

The Power of Leadership — Tips on How To Be a Great Leader An important aspect of being a great tribute ideas, ask questions and challeader is knowing when and how to lenge how things are,” said Perlman. create what Ken Perlman refers to “If they don’t feel safe, they are going to hold back.” as “psychological safety.” Many of his favorite techniques “Pioneered by Amy Edmondson at Harvard University, psycho- are based on his 30 years of business logical safety is a belief that one will experience. He often shares them in not be punished or humiliated for the course he teaches at USC related speaking up with ideas, questions, to organizational design and creating high-performing teams. He concerns or mistakes,” said said they are easy to put into Perlman, managing director practice and can achieve imat CultureSync and a promediate results. fessor at the University of Perlman began his Guild Southern California (USC). 21 discussion talking about “It’s essential to high perwhat it takes to create an formance.” environment where people During a recent Guild Ken Perlman, 21 podcast sponsored by managing director feel comfortable speaking at CultureSync up and sharing what they VeriFacts, Perlman shared tips on how to be a great leader and believe. A large part of this centers foster an environment of psycholog- on the “rules of engagement.” “Whenever you are part of a ical safety. “As a leader, it’s your job to team or in a group, there are rules of make it safe for other people to con- engagement, whether they are written

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

or discussed,” he explained. “Sometimes they are unwritten, and we call them ‘culture,’ and other times they are written, and we call them guidelines.” He suggested implementing the “Family Feud” rule. Similar to the popular game show, Perlman said the Family Feud rule is when every answer an employee shares is honored and respected. “It’s a way of creating an environment that is a lot less risky for someone to speak up,” said Perlman. He also shared information about a research study conducted by Google that was undertaken to learn about their employees and what makes them successful. The study was explained in an in-depth New York Times article written by Charles Duhigg: “What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team.” According

to the article, in 2012 Google studied hundreds of its company’s teams to find out why some were successful and others weren’t. “We had lots of data, but there was nothing showing that a mix of specific personality types or skills or backgrounds made any difference. The ‘who’ part of the equation didn’t seem to matter,” Abeer Dubey, a manager in Google’s People Analytics division, was quoted as saying in the article. “There was no direct correlation between who they put on a project and whether or not that project would be successful,” said Perlman. “What they learned was that it wasn’t ‘who’; it was ‘how.’” Summarizing the study, Perlman said Google found five key elements that separated high-performing teams from lower-performing teams. This included:

• Impact: Team members needed to feel their work really mattered and would create change. • Meaning: The work was personally important to the employees and their development. • Structure & Clarity: Employees had a clear idea of their roles and how they were connected to their coworkers to contribute to the greater good.

• Dependability: Team members could be trusted to accomplish their tasks on time and meet the company’s high standard of excellence. • Psychological Safety: Team members felt it was safe to take risks and be vulnerable in front of one another.

Perlman said teams that fostered an environment where employees could contribute openly were higher-performing. More recently, a Wall Street Journal article described research showing that “companies that scored in the top quartile on [management asking for ideas from employees and

encouraging employees to try new approaches], [experienced] on average more than five times the revenue growth of companies in the bottom quartile.” “Teams where someone made a mistake and they were punished disproportionally saw lower performance because people were holding back,” he said. “They weren’t sharing the wild idea; they weren’t disagreeing, and you saw a lot more group think and regression to the average opposed to striking out to do something bold and different.” As a result, Perlman encourages leaders to give some leeway to their teams. “You’re asking your employees to do something differently,” he said. “If it was easy and/or safe, they would have already done it. If it’s more complicated or risky, they might have some questions.” When looking at the same situation from an employee’s point of view, Perlman’s advice to those who feel they aren’t in a safe environment with their superiors is to start small. “Simply recognize the answer you want to give and the answer you

think is the right answer,” he suggested. Then he said to offer both: the safe answer and the one that might be different than the way things have been done. “That way, you’re being respectful and acknowledging that you know the answer that is going to end up being the right one, but saying, ‘I think we could do better,’” he said. When talking about exceptional leadership traits, Perlman used the example of “Pep” Guardiola, considered one of soccer’s best players and coaches and the current manager of Manchester City. Perlman shared some of the methods Guardiola used to enable him to achieve excellent results. This included being clear on the team’s goals, deconstructing complexity for them to make the goals simple to understand and enabling excellence by setting and modeling the standards. Perlman also brought up the various types of conflict that can arise and are important to be aware of: 1)

When goal incompatibility exists

2) Differentiation among team members (for example, language, experience or expertise) 3) Task interdependence when people are required to work together

4) Limited resources, which can lead to restraints.

His advice is to do something that he called Flip The Script (FTS). “For people who work together regularly, as someone starts talking we tend to think we know where they are going and we can finish their sentence,” said Perlman. “We actually stop listening and we wait for them to stop talking so we can argue, contradict or correct them.” Instead, Perlman said to stop thinking and just listen. “If you think you know what they are going to say, don’t play that tape that is in your head; listen to the words coming out,” he said. Not only will this help an individual understand what they are going to say, but it will also minimize the risk of missing what they are talking See The Power of Leadership, Page 71

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OE Shop Certification with Gary Ledoux

OE Shop Certification Programs: Porsche by Gary Ledoux

In our ongoing effort to keep our readers informed on the latest industry trend, OE shop certification programs, Autobody News spoke this month with Mike Kukavica, collision training instructor for Porsche Cars North America, Inc., about its program. ABN: Does your program have a specific name? When was it started?

Porsche: It is called the Porsche Approved Collision Center Program, or PACC Program for short. The program was launched with the first trial audits, which were done in May of 2009. Our first candidate collision center reached “Porsche Approved Collision Center” status in October 2009.

ABN: What is the main purpose of the program?

Porsche: The purpose of the PACC Program is to raise the quality of repairs that Porsche vehicles receive. We are focused on what the technician is doing to the vehicle. The program will ensure that the technician is working in an environment that includes the workspace, tools, equipment and technical information needed so that they can perform the repairs as specified by Porsche AG in the workshop manual.

ABN: What are the program requirements (tools, equipment, training, facility, etc.)?

Porsche: There are requirements regarding customer handling, facility (including information technology), special and general tools, equipment, refinish products and staff training. Each PACC is required to have two structural technicians, one estimator and one refinish technician who must meet certain training and certification requirements specific to their job role. These people must be separate individuals, come to the facility each day and be dressed for and seen to be performing the job each day. In other 42

words, one person cannot take all the training and qualify for all four roles. ABN: Does the shop need to be ICAR Gold Class?

Porsche: No. When it comes to training, we focus on individuals rather than the shop as a whole. The four people who fill the training requirements must be I-CAR Platinum individuals in their job role. In the past, we specified a list of individual classes; however, over time we have learned that for shops who participate in multiple OE programs, the Platinum requirement is less burdensome than a list of individual classes. In addition, the two structural techs must be ASE Master Techs, and the estimator and refinisher must pass their respective ASE tests. It sounds like a lot as far as training and testing go ... and it is. But we need people who know what they are doing before they get here to participate in Porsche in-house training … we don’t have the resources to train techs from zero. ABN: What are the program benefits (plaque, signage, free access to repair info, shop locator, etc.)?

Porsche: Like other programs, we provide the shop with a plaque and a unique PACC logo that no other shop can use. We give the shop a spot on the PACC locator website, which is linked from porsche.com, and the 1(800) Porsche call center will also refer customers to our PACC shops. Access to the workshop manual is included in the program fee. In addition, PACC shops are the only shops that have access to restricted parts. ABN: What are restricted parts?

Porsche: Any aluminum part that is a permanent part of the vehicle’s structure or steel part that is joined to an aluminum part is restricted to only PACCs. The reason we do this is that repair of aluminum vehicles, although becoming more common, is still so far outside the mainstream of common

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

collision repair that a competent generalist collision center is not able to perform a repair that maintains the safety and performance characteristics of the vehicle prior to the accident.

ABN: How do you manage to restrict parts to shops?

Porsche: From the shop’s point of view, ordering restricted parts is the same as ordering any other part. When the dealer submits the stock order to Porsche, they must include the shop’s unique code. When the order is fulfilled, the restricted parts are shipped directly to the shop. If they are not coded as a PACC in our system, neither the shop nor the dealer will be shipped the parts. ABN: What shops are eligible?

Porsche: Dealer sponsorship is the

only prerequisite, so dealer-owned and independent centers are able to apply. This also includes MSOs, although each shop is treated as an individual entity. Just because one shop qualifies doesn’t mean that they all qualify. No collision center is recognized as a Porsche Approved Collison Center until they meet the standards 100 percent. Sponsorship is important because PCNA exists to support our dealer network; thus everything has to be done in partnership with our dealers. Sponsorship means that the dealer wants us to work with a particular collision center and that they will collect the program fees on our behalf, among other things. ABN: Have you had any dealers that sponsored a shop and then broke off their relationship with that shop and refused to sponsor them? See Certification Programs, Page 49

autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

Day Job/Night Job with Ed Attanasio

Dylan Maki Has Real Fish Stories to Tell When Dylan Maki, VP at Maki Body & Glass in Grand Rapids, MN, isn’t landing big DRPs or luring in body repair work by stressing quality and top-notch customer service, he is a professional fisherman who competes in large tournaments nationwide. As Dylan, 25, continues his legacy by taking over the family shop from his father, Brian, who’s preparing to retire, he focuses on his career in collision repair, but he’s also crazy about fishing and the challenges it presents. Earlier this year, Dylan and his fishing partner, Joe Bricko, won the Minnesota State Fishing Championship on Lake Vermilion, which enabled them to compete in the 2018 AIM National Championship Shootout on June 1–2 on Chippewa

Dylan Maki, VP at Maki Body & Glass in Grand Rapids, MN, is a professional fisherman when he’s not running his family business

Flowage in Wisconsin. Only the best anglers out of three states— Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota—get to compete in the AIM Nationals, Dylan said. “They pick the top 10 in each state and by winning the state tournament, we qualified for the championship, and that’s where we wanted to be,” he said. “If you want to be a respected tournament fisherman, you have to get in this one because only 30 boats compete, but there are some of the best fishermen in the country there.” Finishing third in the AIM Nationals, Dylan and Joe caught a total 44

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

of 24.5 lbs. while the winning duo to be ahead of the game too because landed 32.49 lbs, which means that the competition is the best in the Dylan and Joe were only one big fish country. We prepare by getting out away from winning it all. there on the lake before the event to “First prize in this tournament is a new $50,000 fishing boat, and then it’s door prizes for the other top finishers” Dylan said. “It was good to get out there and compete, but you always want to win, obviously.” Chippewa Flowage’s third-largest lake is known as a “walleye factory”—a fish that Dylan has been pur- Dylan and his fishing partner, Joe Bricko, finished third suing relentlessly since he in the 2018 AIM National Championship Shootout on June started angling as a young 1–2 on Chippewa Flowage, WI. Here, the pair poses with Dylan’s parents, Kelly (far left) and Brian (far right) child. “Walleye fishing is challenging practice (also called ‘pre-fishing’) because they’re very versatile,” he and really study the conditions and said. “They can be found in deep where the fish hang out during cerwater and shallow water and know tain times of the day.” how to use infrastructure like trees, Collision repair done right reroots, aquatic plants—you name it. We are always looking at the walleye’s behavior to find out where it might be and learn more about the fish, but they’re unpredictable in many ways. Chippewa is also a very interesting lake that is 10 miles wide in many places with lots of tiny channels, little bays and small islands.” There’s a lot going on for Dylan when he’s not chasing walleye because Maki Body & Glass is always busy. Dylan multi-tasks and steps in when needed. “I’m head estimator and production manager, but when things get jammed, I’ll jump in and help with the production by fixing a bumper or whatever else it takes,” he said. Dylan’s grandfather, Rayno Maki, started the business in 1952, back when the average repair was roughly $350. Today, his grandson knows that to repair today’s vehicles correctly, it comes down to continual training and preparation—just like tournament fishing. “We stress training in a big way, so everyone here is I-CAR-certified because we always want to be at the forefront of this industry,” he said. “With tournament fishing, you have

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

quires an eye for detail and a passion for the art of returning a vehicle back into its pre-accident condition. Fishing requires similar skills, and that’s why Dylan loves both activities, he said. “I get satisfaction from both, and that’s why I love doing them. Doing a good job on a customer’s car is like catching a big fish!” he said. After finishing in third place at AIM National Championship Shootout, Dylan wants to compete again in 2019 and take the top prize home this time. “We are going to have to get better before then so that we can qualify again,” he said. “Right now we are ranked ninth out of 100 boats in Minnesota, but they only take the top five for the Shootout. We will need to have a few really good days to move up, but we’re pretty confident and there’s still plenty of time left.”

autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

Shop Strategies with Stacey Phillips

All-Female Body Shop Encourages the Next Generation of Auto Body Techs When Hilary Noack was a teenager, she noticed a flier about a festival in Long Beach, CA, called Ink-N-Iron. At the time, it featured old custom cars, tattoos and music. “I thought to myself, ‘This embodies everything that I want my body shop to be someday,’” she recalled. “I’m going to name it Ink&Iron.” Fast-forward 12 years later, and Noack now operates Ink&Iron body shop in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, which focuses on restorations and minor collision repair work. One of the unique features of her business is that it is owned and operated by women. Plans are in place to expand to other locations in Canada and the United States with the first opening in Detroit, MI, in 2019. Autobody News talked to Noack about her body shop and how she encourages co-op students and apprentices to learn the trade.

Q: A:

Can you share how you started in the auto body industry?

I remember hanging around my dad when I was growing up while he was working on cars and tuning them up. I wanted to buy a car when I was 17 years old, and the only

From there, I transitioned straight into an apprenticeship program at Centennial College in their automo-

ample that women can do it. There was no reason why I couldn’t. Seeing what amazing work they did, how they had to work twice as hard for half the respect and hearing their individual stories of discrimination and how they overcame it was my motivation. I wanted to provide a safe, judgment-free work environment where we could all learn from each other as well as train the next generation of fe(l to r) Audrey Batson, Lindsay Tadros, Emily Noack, male techs. Hilary Noack, Alexandra Chiarore, Olivia DiGianfelice I opened Ink&Iron in and Kimberly Diem Hanh Cao April 2015. I now have an tive division. I began working at 427 apprentice, a licensed technician and Auto Collision, one of the largest body a co-op student who is getting high shops in North America, after com- school credit for helping at the shop. pleting the third and final level of my schooling for the apprentice program. What are your expansion plans? How did you decide to open your shop and employ only women?

I have known that I wanted to open my own shop since I started in the trade, but I knew it would need to be unique in order to stand out from the crowd. It was definitely a goal of mine. When I first started at 427 Auto Collision, I was the only female in the workplace. I was also the only female through all three levels of my schooling. By the time I left the body shop, about a decade later, there were about eight of us. I met some awesome girls and watched them go through the apprenticeship program Hilary Noack opened Ink&Iron body shop in Mississauga, there. I also taught a night Ontario, Canada, in 2015 school course in auto body one I could afford was a 1970 Oldsmo- repair at Centennial College. Later, I bile. It was pretty rusty, and I wanted taught the auto body apprenticeship to learn how to repair it. There was a full-time during one semester prior to body shop nearby where my parents opening my shop. I thought I should start a shop lived, and I asked if I could work there as a co-op student during my last year that was all-female and use it as a of high school. They said yes, and I way to encourage more women to join the trade and set a positive exthought it sounded so cool. 46

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

Currently, I am operating one location, but I would like to see my business grow to include more locations in different cities. My goal is to have Ink&Iron locations all across North America! I often get told by girls that they wish there were something similar to what I own where they lived and that they would love to work in a place like this. I like being able to give co-op students and apprentices the experience to work in a shop and teach the skills they need. I think this gives them the confidence to be able to go out into this industry and feel like they belong and have a right to be here. I’m excited to open a location in the Motor City of Detroit next year. My husband, Dan Fournier, is from Detroit, and it’s a really cool city.

autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

What are some of the challenges of operating an all-female shop?

What is your advice to other shops who are dealing with a shortage of techs in the industry?

I definitely think you get the typical stereotypes and people crying that it’s sexist and women belong in the kitchen, or they bet there are just men who work here and the business is a front for something.

Q: A:

I absolutely agree that there is a shortage of techs. It’s the

What do you enjoy most about running your body shop?

I think it is the ability to do my own thing and plan my schedule. One of the reasons I wanted to be an entrepreneur is the freedom. It’s Monday morning and I’m excited to go to work. I’m here seven days a week, and I’m working on cars that I want to focus on. I love doing this type of work, and I have a good customer base. My job is fun. I absolutely love what I do, which is to provide a place that is a good environment to teach women and encourage the next generation. We’re friends here as well, and we’re all really close. It’s a positive workplace.

take on a co-op student or an apprentice. The apprentice programs offer many benefits. As an apprentice, you are getting paid as if you were a regular employee. There is an awesome incentive in grant money and they often offer grants to the employers too. I know it’s hard because this industry is so fastpaced; you need to get the car done quickly, but people need to take the time to train the next generation. So many people are retiring out of the trade; you have to put that investment into training people.

(l to r) Kimberly Diem Hanh Cao (apprentice), Hilary Noack, Audrey Batson (licensed tech) and Emily Bedford (co-op student)

same up here in Canada too. Everyone is dying for skilled labor, but at the same time, I know a lot of techs either who have zero industry experience or who have maybe taken a course, and no one will hire them. I think that employers need to

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What is the benefit of using social media to promote your body shop?

In this day and age, everything is very much going digital, and I think social media is a great tool. We currently have over 6,000 followers on our Facebook page. I found you have to be consistent when using social media and try to post

something every couple of days. It’s a great way to share your work and message. It’s also very visual. People love to see pictures of what you are doing. YouTube is also a great tool to use. I’m planning to make more videos of the repair process. I would love to take a build and film it from start to finish to give people an idea about how the process works. I think this will help educate our customers.

Q: A:

What is one of your biggest challenges at Ink&Iron?

One of our challenges is getting people to realize how much it costs to either repair or paint a car. People don’t understand the investment in materials or how much it costs. Sometimes, I have people who come by with the whole side of their car totaled and they ask if they can wait while it is being fixed. I find that we often need to educate customers on the repair process and why it costs so much.

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New PPG Videos Display Diversity Commitment

PPG has posted two new videos reinforcing its solid commitment to workplace diversity — a key element of the company’s core values and a priority across all PPG Industries’ business units. The new videos are the latest installments in PPG’s Success through Diversity program that focuses on diversity in the PPG workforce. The new videos, each two minutes in length, feature Automotive Refinish team members Cristina Fronzaglia-Murray, PPG director of customer engagement & communications, and Erin Detchon, PPG technical sales trainee, discussing their positive experiences at PPG. The diversity videos are available for viewing on the Automotive Refinish YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/PPG Refinish They join the previously produced Power of Diversity video. For more information about PPG, call (800) 647-6050 or visit www .ppgrefinish.com.

Continued from Page 35

Continued from Page 42

site Design and Social Media Program Review (Net Driven), Office Supplies Program Review (Kennedy Office), and Payroll Service Program Review (PrimePay). The afternoon will feature “Trends in the Aftermarket–Near Term and Long Term,” presented by Philip Atkins of Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) as well as Roundtable Discussions facilitated by Atkins. On Saturday evening, AAAMS will hold its President’s Reception, followed by a banquet, awards Ceremony and AAMS Scholarship Live Auction. The conference will conclude on Sunday morning after breakfast with an inspirational message from Pastor Brett Myers of First Baptist Church.

Porsche: We have had that happen in a few cases. When it has, we have worked to find another dealer to pick up the sponsorship if possible.

Event Announcements

Sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, visit www.aaamsonline.com/events.aspx.

www.autobodynews.com

Certification Programs

ABN: Are any shops specifically ineligible?

Porsche: If a collision center bypasses our system and acquires (or attempts to acquire) restricted parts, they will be banned from participating in the program. Also, any shop proven to have attempted to make a repair using unauthorized techniques because they aren’t able to acquire the restricted parts (pulling, welding aluminum instead of replacing the part, etc.) will not be allowed to become a PACC. ABN: Do you have any program partners such as Axalta, VeriFacts, Summit, Assured Performance or other? If so, what role do they play? Porsche: Our consulting partner is Summit Consulting, Intl. They pro-

vide our CSI service and data warehousing and carry out the onsite audits of the collision centers. Initial and renewal audits are the same— everything is checked. Some shops ask why we check everything every year; they think it is a “check the box program” where if you have been checked once, you are good forever. But that is not the case with Porsche. ABN: Does Summit use their own people or sub the work out to other individuals?

Porsche: Summit uses their own people. They have the right skill set combining both technical knowledge and business acumen. We have about 130 shops now and about 30 shops pending, so Summit can easily do the job. ABN: What is the fee for the program? Does the program run on an annual basis?

Porsche: The initial fee for independent collision centers is $7,500 and $3,500 for dealer-owned collision centers. There is a yearly reSee Certification Programs, Page 65

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All 2019 Civic Models To Feature Honda Sensing Technology by Gary Ledoux

If history has taught us anything about vehicle technology, it is that the latest advancements may be introduced in limited production or highline cars—from the hydraulic brake systems of the 1930s to the curved windshields of the 1950s and the advent of disc brakes in the 1970s—but eventually, that technology will be applied to every vehicle in the car maker’s line-up. Such is the case with Honda’s 2019 Civic, the 10th generation of one of America’s most popular and celebrated cars. Introduced in the fall of 2015 with first the sedan and then the coupe, the 10th-generation Civic will surpass 1 million units this year. Moving forward to make Honda Sensing® standard equipment on all Honda vehicles by the year 2022, all trim levels of the 2019 Civic sedan and coupe, from the base LX to the highest-line touring, will feature Honda Sensing® technology. This underscores the increasing need for pre- and post-scanning and recalibration of critical components when making collision repairs. Honda Sensing® is Honda’s ex-

clusive intelligent suite of safety and driver assistive technologies designed to alert drivers to things they may miss while driving. The suite consists of:

• Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS): Designed to help keep the car centered in a detected lane

• Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC): Maintains a set following interval behind detected vehicles • Road Departure Mitigation System (RDM): Adjusts steering and braking if the vehicle crosses detected lanes without signaling

While major automakers and companies, including Uber, Waymo and Apple, work on developing self-driving vehicles, most con-

sumers want to remain in the driver’s seat, based on a survey by Esurance. The majority (83 percent) of consumers expressed low or no interest in giving up control behind the wheel, based on the survey of

• Honda Lane Watch™: Any time the right turn signal is activated, the camera on the passenger-side mirror will turn on, displaying a live video on the car’s Display Audio TouchScreen, providing four times more vision than a standard mirror

• Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS™): Applies brake pressure when an unavoidable collision is determined

• Forward Collision Warning (FCW): Uses a camera on the windshield to detect vehicles in front of your vehicle, activating audio and visual

• Auto High-Beam Headlights: When driving at night above 25 MPH with the headlight switch turned to AUTO, the system will apply high or

• Lane Departure Warning (LDW): Detects un-indicated departure from detected lanes, providing visible and audible alerts

1,100 U.S. vehicle owners. Almost a quarter (24 percent) of parents of children under 19 years old prefer the benefits of autonomous vehicles, as did 15 percent of non-parents. Esurance also analyzed 397,000 English-language posts on Twitter and found that 17 percent of the conversations on driverless technology related to topics surrounding fears. By age, consumers 18 to 34 were three times more likely to embrace the benefits of being driven in a self-driving car than adults 55 and over. One in three drivers said some form of autonomous vehicle technology should be developed to combat distracted driving. We thank MediaPost for reprint permission.

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Other available Honda safety driverassistive technology features, depending on the vehicle model and trim level, include:

• Blind Spot Information System: When the turn signal is activated and a vehicle is detected in the adjacent lane, an audio and visual alert will activate until the adjacent vehicle moves away or until the turn signal is turned off

83% Lack Interest in Self-Driving Cars by Chuck Martin, MediaPost

alerts that you are at risk of a collision

www.autobodynews.com

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

• Cross Traffic Monitor: When in reverse, both audio and visual alerts are activated if another vehicle approaching from either side is detected

low beams, depending on the surrounding environment.

On its consumer website, American Honda posted, “We are passionate about the safety of not just everyone who gets in a Honda, but of everyone who shares the road with them too— from other drivers to bicyclists to pedestrians.” By model year 2020, Honda expects “…a 50 percent reduction in crashes involving model year 2020 Honda vehicles.” By model year 2030, Honda predicts that everything on the road will be connected, “including pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcycle riders.” By model year 2040, Honda expects all Honda models of that year to be accident-free. It is also expected that a synergy will exist between Honda and other vehicle makers and transportation providers to work together to eliminate all accidents. By model year 2050, Honda predicts a “network of intelligent, interconnected machines” that will communicate with one another as well as other areas of infrastructure to provide efficient, trouble-free and accident-free transportation.

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Media and Publicity for Shops

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

with Ed Attanasio

To Facebook or Not? Answers From Experts for Body Shops People started jumping off the Facebook bandwagon after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica was allowed to “harvest” user data without consent from Facebook users, compromising their personal data. Others are gravitating away from social media overall for many reasons and concentrating more on things such as blogs, email newsletters and other forms of original content to attract customers. But, for collision repairers, many have stayed put because Facebook is still a great way to promote their businesses. So, we recently asked Nick Schoolcraft, president at Phoenix Solutions Group, and Angel Iraola, owner of Net Business Consulting & Solutions, if body shops should still utilize Facebook and how to use it for optimum results. ABN: Should body shops still believe in Facebook, even though it has lost momentum recently due to the data breach?

Schoolcraft: The short answer is yes, and the main reason is that today’s consumer has become accustomed to living in a world of increased transparency. As unfortunate as these breaches are to our level of trust, consumers continue to interact with brands even after a breach has occurred. While trust has always been a commodity that is hard to come by, it’s important to understand the way Facebook approaches businesses vs. personal profiles. A personal profile represents you as a human being, while a business page represents your business. However, to have a business page you are required to have a personal profile to manage it. What is important to note is that Facebook cares more about the personal profile data than the data on the business’s page. Most shops don’t realize there is a difference between a profile and a page. This is why it’s critical to seek out an organization that understands the difference between the two and partner with them when diving into the digital marketing space. 52

Iraola: We have changed our customers’ approaches on Facebook and now are relying on other forms of social media as part of a marketing mix, but Facebook is here to stay and a necessary part of any plan we devise for body shops. Some consumers quit using Facebook initially after the breach, but many of them have returned based on our research. They were skeptical about Facebook but later realized that it was still the best way to connect with their friends and associates and find businesses and services quickly and easily. In the meantime, we are adding Instagram and LinkedIn to our marketing plans for our body shop clients, and both are working well. ABN: Maybe the question rather should be “Is Facebook (or any other social platform) the correct platform for your shop?”

Schoolcraft: Exactly. The focus should be placed on better understanding how social platforms can reaffirm your organization’s trust with a collision repair customer. By having a full understanding of which platforms work best for you, your shop will be able to use these tools to attract new customers and deliver growth to your business. Therefore, it is vital that body shops rethink their social strategy and begin developing social media content that is rooted in customer insights [and] aligning with their needs while further accentuating the shop’s customer-first mindset. Unfortunately, shops often misuse channels like Facebook by focusing solely on driving conversions (sales), rather than what the platform was initially intended for: community engagement. Consumers have begun to blur the lines between industries, meaning they expect the simplicity and convenience they encounter in one experience to apply to every experience, regardless of the difference in industries. Because of this, it’s vital that your brand has a presence on the channels that your prospective cus-

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

their current and potential customers in a highly focused and targeted way. You can specify users in a tight geographic area based on their interests, etc., so you don’t have to take a shotgun approach, which leads to more engagement, and you pay only for those people rather than people who may not be in your market.

tomers use. And how you approach your activity on these channels is critical.

Iraola: Some shops are perfect for Facebook, because they support it through their in-house efforts and have a lot of things to post. They perform a wide range of community-related activities and are proactive with their philanthropy and maintain a blog that is connected to Facebook, so they’re posting new items all the time. We also suggest that they purchase Facebook advertising on a regular basis in order to get their name out in front of more people. Some shops think that all they need to do is establish a Facebook page and hope that people will find it on their own, but from our experience, it does not work that way. For a very small amount of money, they can get in front of a significant amount of

ABN: So, the days of businesses posting cute videos and funny photos on Facebook are over?

Schoolcraft: Yes. We have learned that collision facilities should not use Facebook as a tool to showcase their comedic talent or to share recipes, but rather as an outlet to provide information on how they can serve their community, as well as incorporating the differentiators a shop has over its competitors. The reason for See To Facebook or Not?, Page 64

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The Complexities of Truck Collision Repair by Susan L. Hodges, Transport Topics

Heavy-duty collision repair is becoming increasingly complex due to a variety of factors, including the conversion from steel to aluminum bodies, the changing componentry and design of trucks and the proliferation of onboard sensors. This added complexity is causing more fleets to consider outsourcing this type of specialized work, industry experts said. “It’s almost like repair shops have to be not only experts in repair, but in finding the repair information, depending on the year, make and model of the truck,” said Joey Fassett, general manager at Al’s Automotive and Truck Service Center in Exeter, N.H. On a typical day when a collision job rolls in, Fassett’s team does an inspection to identify all parts that may have been impacted. “Then we find out what pieces have to be replaced, what work must be done, and everything that goes into it for the insurance estimate,” he said. As Fassett’s team identifies the components, they also plan how to put them back together. “We have to follow all the specs required to make the truck roadworthy again so that everyone is safe,” he said. “Those specs are whatever research and due diligence repair shops do to ensure they’re addressing the right systems, using the right parts and materials, and following procedures in a way that conform to the initial integrity required of each component,” Fassett said. Jim Kolea, president of PennFleet Corp., a collision-repair company in Boothwyn, Pa., cites an example highlighting the importance of accurate repair. “Think about all of the sensors in a truck with crash-avoidance technology,” he said. “If any of those sensors are out of alignment by even one degree, it could cause an accident.” As for one large fleet, PepsiCo Inc. “does not own a body shop,” said Lee Kirby, senior fleet manager at the White Plains, N.Y.-based private fleet operator. “All of our equipment that has body damage is outsourced, and we have many shops we use at different locations we handle.” 54

PepsiCo has about 20,000 heavyduty trucks, Kirby said. “The big item we look for in collision repair is turnaround time or the amount of down time. Other than that, we are agnostic on how repairs get made.”

to be certified to weld on aluminum fleet sends all of its body work out. “We have enough problems get- ladder trucks, and you have to be reting all the mechanical done,” he certified every year.” Adler used to take collision-resaid. Colerain has 14 specialized pair jobs to a nearby truck dealership. heavy-duty vehicles in its fire depart- “But they didn’t know how to do alument alone, including lad- minum,” he said. He subsequently der trucks, pumpers, tankers visited several local repair shops, talkand a decontamination unit. ing to shop owners and examining the “All of our fire apparatus work being done. When a light-duty pickup truck is made of aluminum, and that takes special knowledge ran into a Colerain firehouse in June to repair,” Adler said. “Alu- 2013 and hit a pumper truck so hard minum is not only lighter that it moved the vehicle three feet and lasts longer than steel, it and caused $30,000 in damage, Adler behaves differently,” he said, had it towed to a shop that he now works with regularly. “This shop is noting that aluminum corChris Sterwerf and his father, Dennis Sterwerf, founder of Fairfield Auto and Truck Service, stand next to their rodes rather than rusts and second to none, and that truck was shop's repair-planning computer Credit: Fairfield Auto and still out almost two months,” he said. has different bonding propTruck Service Meanwhile, Johnson Equiperties than steel so the repair Kolea compares the technology protocols are different. ment currently performs repairs on in heavy-duty trucks today to that in “If you’re bolting on a light with Leonard’s Express trucks involved in personal computers. “It’s changing steel screws, for instance, the screws collisions less than 500 miles from almost overnight, but no one is writ- should be stainless steel because Farmington. Work on trucks involved ing repair procedures. We need to stainless doesn’t rust,” Adler said, in more distant crashes is outsourced make sure procedures are out there.” adding that the screws must be coated to shops in those areas. To that end, Robert Braswell, with a sealant to maintain the bond. Now, however, Johnson Equipexecutive director of American Truck- “Welding on aluminum is different ment is building a collision repair ing Associations’ Technology & Main- from welding on steel, too. You have shop at Leonard’s Express. The new tenance Council, said two new TMC task forces have formed to address the issue. “One will deal with turning the wrenches—creating guidelines and best practices to improve safety, quality and reliability of service,” Braswell said. Come Check our Large Selection of Genuine Hyundai Parts. The other group will develop “a road map of steps in the business ü process, showing what a customer ü should expect from the beginning to ü ü the end of the repair,” he said. One maintenance director thinks the guidelines are needed. “Most manufacturers have gone ü ü to composite plastic or fiberglass hoods, and the adhesives are different for each one,” said Kevin Adriaansen, director of maintenance for Leonard’s Express, a Farmington, • Dedicated Wholesale Staff N.Y.-based national truckload carrier • Competitive Wholesale Prices with about 300 heavy-duty company • Large Inventory of Genuine OEM Parts trucks, and Johnson Equipment Sales and Service Inc., a sister company. Call us Today! Parts Dept. 619-668-7782 “Aluminum is another challenge,” he said. “Some can be straightened, but you have to watch how you heat it to Hours: Mon-Fri 7-6 / Sat 7-4 straighten it. If a panel is compromised redgcomb@socalpenske.com // iadame@socalpenske.com too much, you have to replace it.” 8850 Grossmont Boulevard, La Mesa, CA 91942 Mike Adler, fleet manager for Colerain Township, Ohio, said his

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

shop will house a paint booth and frame-straightening equipment, and employ up to six repair professionals. Adriaansen of Leonard’s Express said, “It’s being built to keep as much of the Leonard’s Express collision work in-house as possible, to turn the equipment around quicker and help control costs at the same time.” “With the addition of this shop, we’ll be able to do virtually all our repairs in-house,” he said. Johnson Equipment also does collision work for other fleets, and Adriaansen sees the trend increasing. “If you’re not going to do collision repairs internally, you need to partner with someone who’ll help you,” he said. “More fleets, especially larger ones, are doing this so they can get their equipment back on the road faster and mitigate some costs internally.” So quickly are the components and design of heavy-duty trucks changing that Chris Sterwerf, chief finance and operations officer at Fairfield Auto and Truck Service in Fairfield, Ohio, said large body shops are starting to em-

ploy full-time research-and-repair planners. “Traditionally, shops had one technician to handle a truck from beginning to end,” said Sterwerf. “But now the work is so sophisticated that you need an expert to disassemble and a repair planner to watch and work alongside with a computer, looking up repair information.” “Then the truck is passed on to a structure technician, then to the body department, then to refinishing, and then back to assembly to be put back together,” Sterwerf said, adding that ideally, the person who disassembled also performs the reassembly. Repair information can be hard to find, Sterwerf said. This is partly because manufacturers aren’t required to share it and partly because when the information is accessible, “it may be a lot of mechanical information but very little about collision repair.” Ted Burke, president of Dennis K. Burke Inc., a Taunton, Mass.based fuel distributor, said his company outsources all collision and body work to a network of vendors

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for Decisiv, which develops software for the commercial vehicle market, believes fleets could benefit significantly from systems that streamline communication and collaboration between fleets and service providers. “By giving everyone in the service process visibility from beginning to end, you give all parties valuable information about how trucks behave and how to repair them, and you save time and money in the long run,” she said. Liao said Decisiv’s platform integrates with truck management systems to pull up a truck’s service history, warranties, repair notes and manufacturer details and put them all in one place. “And if a truck is broken down on the highway, the platform can gather the truck’s history and telematics information that’s entered into the system and tell you which dealers are nearby with availability of space, parts and technicians,” she said. Meanwhile, TMC’s task forces are starting their work. Sterwerf chairs the HD Collision Repair Guidelines task force. See Truck Collision Repair, Page 77

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CHEVROLET 56

scattered across the eight states on the fleet’s delivery route. “I think it’s more efficient to have this expertise outside,” said Burke, whose fleet operates 85 heavy-duty trucks. “We don’t have many accidents that require body work, so it’s not economically feasible for us to build up that kind of expertise inhouse. We only do maintenance work in our shop.” Sterwerf said that in his experience, “many fleets and dealerships don’t have body shops or have tried them and can’t sustain them.” “With the specialized equipment and the cost behind it — a frame machine can cost more than $200,000 and a paint booth can cost upward of $700,000 — you need a volume of work to substantiate those costs,” he said. Sterwerf also said fleets that do their own collision repair take on a lot of liability that can be diversified by outsourcing the work. “Because it’s hard to get repair information, you might not repair the vehicle properly, and that can come back to haunt you,” he said. Peggy Liao, a spokeswoman

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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Analysis: Red-Light Cameras Don’t Reduce Traffic Accidents or Improve Public Safety by Staff, The Daily

Red-light cameras don’t reduce the number of traffic accidents or injuries at intersections where the devices are installed, according a new analysis by Case Western Reserve University. Touted by supporters as a way to increase public safety by ticketing drivers who continue through red lights, the cameras actually shift traffic patterns: More drivers tend to brake harder and more abruptly, increasing fender-benders and other socalled “non-angle” collisions. “Once drivers knew about the cameras, they appeared to accept a higher accident risk from slamming on their brakes at yellow lights to avoid an expensive traffic citation— thereby decreasing safety for themselves and other drivers,” said Justin Gallagher, an assistant professor of economics at Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve. Gallagher is co-author of a paper posted to Social Science Research Network, commonly known as SSRN, based on an analysis of thousands of collisions over a 12-year span reported by the Texas Department of

Transportation. Researchers focused on data while red-light cameras were operating and again after they were removed (by voter referendum) in Houston—and drew on similar data from Dallas, which still has its redlight camera program.

In Houston, the installation of the cameras led to 18 percent more nonangle accidents, with an estimated 28 percent jump in these collisions in a combined Houston-Dallas data sample, researchers found. While removing the cameras in Houston caused 26 percent more “angle” accidents—such as T-bone collisions, considered among the most dangerous—it’s likely the cameras actually led to more accidents overall, since there are more non-angle accidents, researchers concluded.

“There is no reason to believe that there is a reduction in overall accidents thanks to red-light cameras,” Gallagher said. “Our analysis does not support the case that the cameras improve public safety, which is one of the main justifications used by public officials and law enforcement.” More than 400 communities in the United States—including 36 of the largest 50 cities—have installed the devices, usually placed at busy intersections with a history of accidents. Yet some communities have removed the cameras, including Cleveland, where Case Western Reserve is located, and Houston. The process of using the cameras to issue traffic citations—mailed to a vehicle’s registered owner—has largely withstood legal challenges. But their use has also been heavily scrutinized as mere revenue generators, with most programs administered by out-of-state, for-profit contractors. Tens of millions of dollars were collected from drivers in Houston and Dallas during the years analyzed for the paper. “There is clear evidence that installing a camera reduces the number of vehicles running a red light,” Gal-

lagher said, “but the predicted relationship between the number of vehicles running red lights and the total number of accidents is ambiguous— and certainly not compelling enough to justify some claims of proponents of these devices.” Data on the types of injuries ocurring in these traffic accidents (fatalities, incapacitating and non-incapacitating, and more minor) failed to provide a case in which the cameras increased the safety of intersections where they’re installed, Gallagher said. In 2015, more than 35,000 people died and 2.4 million were injured in traffic accidents nationally, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While the U.S. Department of Transportation recommends a set yellow-light caution length of 3 to 6 seconds, there is no uniformity among intersections. The study’s co-author was Paul Fisher, a graduate student in economics at the University of Arizona and a 2017 Case Western Reserve graduate. We thank The Daily for reprint permission.

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autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

Trump Administration Seeks to Freeze Fuel Economy Standards by David A. Wood, CarComplaints.com

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have released their proposed vehicle fuel economy rule called the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021–2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks. It’s the first step in setting fuel economy standards for 2021-2026 vehicles, standards much lower than those created by the Obama administration. According to the EPA, its April 2018 evaluation determined fuel economy standards should be revised for model year 2022–2025 vehicles because current standards are allegedly based on outdated information. The EPA claims it had no choice but to evaluate current standards because the Obama administration “short-circuited” the process and released its final emissions determination just days before leaving office. Now NHTSA and the EPA say they have had time to study the pros and cons of following current fuel economy standards and the available options included in the proposed rule. EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the most recent information and data were used to create a solution that will apply to all states, creating more “realistic standards” that “can save lives while continuing to improve the environment.” Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao also said the new rule creates more “realistic standards” that will bring “newer, safer, cleaner and more fuel-efficient vehicles” to the roads. NHTSA said a 2018 study shows the newest vehicles are also the safest compared to older models, with crashes in new models resulting in fewer injuries and deaths. According to the Trump administration, “correcting” current fuel economy standards will remove barriers that currently block consumers from buying new safer cars. NHTSA and the EPA claim current fuel standards are a contributing factor to the increasing cost of new cars that now average $35,000, and backers of the new plan claim keep58

ing current standards will add more than $2,300 to the price of a new car. EPA Assistant Administrator Bill Wherum said the Department of Transportation and the EPA estimate the proposed rule could lead to 12,000 fewer fatalities over the lifetime of vehicles built through 2029.

The proposal also claims other benefits of freezing fuel economy standards at 2020 levels, including a reduction of “societal costs” by $500 billion and savings of $253 billion from lower new car prices. In addition to the proposed ruling, the administration says California and states that follow it should not have the ability to set different fuel economy standards than federal rules. Current regulations allow California to set its own environmental standards and a state can choose to follow California’s laws instead of federal regulations. Wheeler said the rule will “create a 50-state solution that will enable more Americans to afford newer, safer vehicles that pollute less.” According to NHTSA and the EPA, the proposed rule will have a minimal impact on fuel consumption and the environment, but it’s estimated there will be a 2–3 percent increase in daily fuel consumption. As for the environment, the government estimates the following:  An increase from 789.11 ppm (parts per million) to 789.76 ppm in atmospheric CO2 concentration in 2100.  A 3/1,000 of a degree Celsius increase in global average temperature in 2100.

 A 8/100 of a percent increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration in 2100.

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

Both agencies also claim there will be no noticeable impact to net emissions of smog-forming air pollutants. Those estimates are allegedly based on an average fuel economy rating of 37 mpg for model year 2021–2026 vehicles, compared to the 46.7 mpg for 2025 under the current standards. As can be imagined, not everyone sees the subject in the same favorable light as the Trump administration. A group of 20 attorneys general say they will sue to prevent any drop in standards. “The Trump administration just proposed rolling back limits on car pollution. If the rule is finalized, our coalition of 20 AGs will go to court to put the brakes on this reckless and illegal plan,” said New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood. Underwood said weakening the standards will harm the health of children and seniors while increasing the cost of climate change for every state. Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, said

the proposal will cost the average family hundreds of dollars a year extra for gas, all while increasing air pollution. “The Trump administration’s proposal to slam the brakes on America’s successful Clean Car Standards is a massive pileup of bad ideas,” he said. And one Vermont driver chimed in when told of Trump’s estimates of savings with “societal costs” and administration claims about the minimal environmental impact. “It’s going to save $500 billion in ‘societal costs’? Well, I’d rather pay extra for a fuel efficient car versus one that gets 18 mpg but can order an iced mocha whenever I’m within two miles of a Starbucks. Meanwhile, VT just had the hottest July on record.” NHTSA and the EPA are accepting public comments for the next 60 days to listen to alternatives and ideas from U.S. consumers. We thank CarComplaints.com for reprint permission.

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After the Donation: Retired Marine Pays it Forward as His Mission Continues by Ed Attanasio

Iraq War veteran Josue GuerreroUribe received a completely refurbished 2017 Hyundai Elantra from Allstate and Caliber Collision in Costa Mesa, CA, late last year as part of the National Auto Body Council (NABC) Recycled Rides™ program.

Retired Marine Josue Guerrero-Uribe received a 2017 Hyundai last year from Caliber Collision and Allstate as part of NABC’s Recycled Rides program, so that he could help others

A retired member of the Marine Corps Infantry, Guerrero-Uribe was nominated by The Mission Continues, a nonprofit organization that enables veterans to continue their service in the community through a wide range of philanthropic activities. With his Elantra, Guerrero-Uribe was able to help more people and pay the gift forward, he said. “When I saw that the people at NABC, Caliber Collision and Allstate were doing such a wonderful thing for me with this car, I knew that I had to use this vehicle to help others,” he said. “It was a blessing and unexpected, so I realized right there that I could use it to further my work with The Mission Continues.” Before he received the Recycled Rides vehicle, Guerrero-Uribe said he was spending countless hours on public transportation traveling to participate in his volunteering activities. “I was taking buses and trains to different events, and then one day I was standing there in the rain and the people at The Mission Continues asked me, ‘How did you get here?’” he said. “When I told them I didn’t have a car, they recommended me to the Recycled Rides program, and then one day I got the call.” Since then, he has logged hun60

dreds of hours to help build sports fields and schools and teach financial management and English classes at various schools and libraries to some of Los Angeles County’s poorest residents with The Mission Continues. Less than 20 years ago, Guerrero-Uribe’s situation was a lot different than it is today. “I enlisted in the Marines in December 2000 at age 23, and was stationed at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, CA, and then things happened quickly after that,” he said. “I entered boot camp in January, graduated on Mother’s Day, graduated from infantry school on the 4th of July and then joined my platoon in August—all in 2001. And then 9/11 happened. Everything happened so fast; I never even got a chance to unpack my gear.” To prepare for the aftermath of 9/11, Guerrero-Uribe was sent to the Twenty-Nine Palms National Training Center for one year to get ready for the harsh conditions of Iraq. In March of 2003, he became part of the first invasion of Iraq, but prior to that he was sent to Kuwait to construct “Camp Commando” and its entire infrastructure. “We built everything there; you name it,” he said. “It was just sand when we got there. One day, I remember carrying sand bags up to a

tion with the First Marine Expeditionary Force (1MEF) and Regimental Combat Team-1 (RCT-1) became part of a combat team.

rero-Uribe said. “They told us that we did such a good job in Baghdad that they were attached to Task Force Tripoli to take down the palace,” he said. “We were the first people there, and it was an amazing and heartbreaking thing to see. Here was a huge palace with waterfalls, marble flooring and gold-plated toilets everywhere, and just right outside the walls there was so much poverty and starvation. So much excess while the rest of Iraq was suffering—it was a humGuerrero-Uribe is often interviewed as a spokesperson bling experience.” with The Mission Continues One day in Iraq, Guer“We were the first ones who rero-Uribe jumped off a truck with a went through the middle of Iraq and mortar on his shoulder, landing awkended up in downtown Baghdad,” he wardly and blowing out his hip. “Something in my leg popped, said. “We took over the U.N. building in Baghdad, and it was very exciting. but I just kept going and ignored it,” We were on autopilot at that point and he said. “When I got back to the states, didn’t even know what day it was, but I realized that something was really wrong with it.” we kept moving.” Guerrero-Uribe got his “five secThe next stop was Saddam’s See After the Donation, Page 76 palace in Tikkrit, North Iraq, Guer-

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Guerrero-Uribe is a volunteer platoon leader with The Mission Continues, a national nonprofit that encourages veterans to continue their service in the form of volunteerism

sniper’s tower, and I thought, ‘Wow, we’re an easy target right now.’ We were the laborers and also did the security 24/7 at the camp.” When the official bombing on Baghdad began, Guerrero-Uribe and his platoon, (Weapons Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines) in conjunc-

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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Continued from Page 52

To Facebook or Not?

this is because social media is an element of the collision customer’s purchase journey and should be used that way—as a validating resource, rather than expecting it to be a conversion tool. While a well thoughtout and purposeful social presence can help in converting customers, it should not be considered this industry’s next silver bullet. It’s simply a piece of the overall marketing puzzle. Our research is further validated, as Facebook’s mission is “to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.”

Iraola: We tell our shop clients that they should still have fun with their Facebook pages, because people still expect that from Facebook to a degree. But, yes—if you post too many funny videos or other trivial content, you might lose your relevance. Keep in mind that collision repair is not an impulse buy and that most people don’t ever wake up in the morning thinking warm and fuzzy thoughts about the experience of getting into a car accident. Your image on any social media should be similar to that of an attorney, a bank or a school where transparency, honesty and full accountability are key, so always take the high road when you post anything on Facebook.

Nelson Glass Tools Announces New Glass Bot Quartermaster Tool

Nelson Glass Tools, manufacturer of Glass Bot Systems, announces the newest product to their line of tools, the Glass Bot QuarterMaster. This new tool mounts to the outside of the glass part and using a man-made filament, quickly cuts through the adhesive and datum pins. No damage to

paint or moldings for successful R & I’s. The QuarterMaster is simple to use and faster than other methods, and is available in November 2018. Nelson Glass Tools is a northern California based tool manufacturer, specializing in auto glass removal tools. For more information visit: www.glassbot.net.

Continued from Page 24

120 Years

enced by aircraft design, featuring a 75HP rear engine and an all-aluminum body. It never reached production, but its development underscores the fact that aluminum for cars bodies is not a new idea. In the 1950s, Chevrolet introduced the fiberglass-bodied Corvette. Studebaker would build its Avanti with fiberglass in the 1960s. Around 2006, car makers started combining aluminum bolt-on parts, like doors, hoods or trunk lids with bodies that were otherwise made of steel. It seemed like a unique idea at the time and a great way to save weight to increase fuel mileage—but it was certainly not new. In 1963, the Dodge Polara was available in a special package with weight-saving aluminum front fenders, bumper and hood with a custom hood scoop. The aluminum saved about 150 pounds, less weight for… “the 426 engine and automatic transmission to push down the drag strip or around a NASCAR track.”

Some technicians consider use of “glue” or epoxy to keep pieces of a car together as too new and heretical and something that will never work. If a part is not bolted, riveted or welded together, how will it ever hold? Yet, in 1984 Volvo announced the use of epoxy to tack-weld body parts together, thus reducing the number of conventional spot welds from 4,000 to 500. Granted, body building, bodybuilding material and the way automobile bodies must be repaired have seen some dramatic changes in a relatively short time beginning with the Obama administration in January 2009, and the massive changes made to CAFÉ standards. But changes in the way vehicles are built and the way they need to be repaired have changed many times over the automobile’s history and will continue to evolve.

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Certification Programs newal, and that is $3,500 for all PACCs. This fee includes access to the in-house Porsche training and access to the Workshop Manual. ABN: Do all shops renew?

Porsche: With few exceptions, most shops want to renew. But a common problem is those shops that came in meeting the minimum requirements of only two qualifying structural technicians, one qualifying estimator and one qualifying refinisher. If, upon renewal, they are missing any of those people, they must be replaced with a person equally qualified. We also run into a timing problem sometimes where ASE tests are only given quarterly. The shop might have to wait until the tests are administered to requalify. And of course, we sometimes run into renewal problems where a required tool has walked out the door or been broken and not replaced. When these things happen, we will give them time to renew, but we don’t give

anyone a “pass.” Every shop has to be at 100 percent to be called certified.

ABN: Is there an optimum number of shops you want to have and if so, how close are you to reaching that number?

Porsche: We would like every Porsche dealer (about 200 in the US) to have a PACC to refer their customers to. Ideally, that means each dealer would sponsor one collision center; however, in some cases a dealer will sponsor more than one, and in some areas, more than one dealer will share a PACC. Right now, we have about 130 PACC shops. ABN: Have you had any shops drop out and if so, why?

Porsche: If a dealer drops their sponsorship of a collision center, we may lose them. However, our retention rate over the life of the program is close to 100 percent. ABN: What has been the biggest challenge in establishing the network?

Porsche: We believe that overall, our

program is the toughest in the industry. The process is lengthy, especially in terms of the training and certifications that are required. However, when a collision center reaches Porsche Approved Collision Center status, they know that they are among the best in the industry.

ABN: What is your biggest challenge in maintaining the network?

Porsche: Staff turnover has caused problems in that in addition to in-house training from Porsche, there are training and certification requirements for both I-CAR and ASE. If the collision center has only the bare minimum trained, turnover causes them problems because it can be a lengthy process to fulfill all of the training requirements. ABN: Based on the John Eagle verdict in October 2017, did you make any changes to your program?

Porsche: We foresaw this happening, and consider it vindication of our requirements that the Workshop Manual is used and adhered to for all Porsche vehicle repairs. In fact, we require our

technicians to have their own device (laptops, iPad, etc.) capable of accessing the Workshop Manual.

ABN: Because of your laser-focus on correct repairs, do you have inspectors go back to the shop to ensure OE repair methods are being used? Porsche: No, not as a matter of course. We just don’t have the resources. However, I or my partner, Frank Turner, will make ad-hoc visits to PACC shops when we visit an area. ABN: What do you see for the future of OE certification programs (yours and/or other OE programs)?

Porsche: We believe that the collision centers that participate in OE programs will get stronger and stronger in the industry. The vehicles are becoming more complicated and the collision centers just can’t keep up on their own. They need support from the OE. If vehicle construction technology continues on its current path, the future is specialization; signs that say “all makes and models accepted’ will be a thing of the past.

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autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

Good News: Your Tesla Model 3 Is Finally Ready. Bad News: It May Take Weeks To Get It Serviced by Russ Mitchell, The San Diego Union-Tribune

As Tesla ramps up its Fremont, CA, factory to escape what Elon Musk called “production hell” with its new Model 3 electric sedan, some customers are enduring their own state of suffering trying to get Teslas serviced.

Tesla service center in Costa Mesa, CA Credit: Allen J. Schaben, Los Angeles Times

Parts shortages, long repair delays and problems getting through on customer help lines have led to scenes of strife at Tesla’s service centers. At the entrance to the company’s Dublin, CA, center recently, an agitated Model X owner was trying to drop his SUV off for repair. A Tesla service agent said he couldn’t leave the car there because the facility was too busy. He could make an appointment to bring it in another time, maybe in a couple of weeks. “But I don’t want to drive it!” said Kaushal Bhaskar, a software engineer from nearby San Ramon who complained he sometimes couldn’t get the passenger door to open, while other times the door would open up all by itself—including once on the Interstate at highway speeds. “This is a safety concern for me!” Another service rep was assisting Mike, the owner of a red Model 3 with door-lock problems who declined to give his last name. He’d lock the car, walk away, and it would electronically unlock itself. That caused him to alter his vacation plans. “I couldn’t take it to Yosemite like that,” he said. The agent said Mike would have to leave the car there awhile: “The amount of cases I’ve got right now is unbelievable.” Service complaints are common at traditional automobile dealers, of course—even for new cars. But weeks-long waits for basic auto repair are rare, and months-long waits 66

for body parts are practically unheard of for all but the most exotic vehicles because spare parts from automakers and after-market manufacturers are stocked in inventory. Spare body parts for repair almost always are made by the original manufacturer, said Bill Hampton, editor of the industry trade publication Auto Beat Daily. But, he said, it’s not surprising that such parts aren’t a top priority right now at Tesla. “When you’re making dramatic efforts to manufacture 5,000 [Model 3s] in one week, you sure can’t say, ‘Hey, some guy in Topeka needs a new hood. Too bad,’” Hampton said. The parts shortage goes well beyond California. In Norway, the third-largest market for Tesla cars after the U.S. and China, some customers told Norwegian media they have been waiting months on body parts for their damaged Teslas. Musk addressed the Norway problem on Twitter on July 5, saying “Norwegians are right to be upset with Tesla. We are having trouble expanding our service facilities in Oslo especially. Can solve quickly with Tesla mobile service vans, but awaiting govt permission to do so.” He has not addressed problems in the U.S. or elsewhere. The Times asked Tesla to make a service executive available to talk about what the company is doing to improve customer service, but it declined. Only Tesla knows the full extent of its quality problems. J.D. Power, which ranks initial vehicle quality, measures all mass-market automakers except Tesla, which declines to provide quality data requested by the market research firm. A Tesla spokesman said in a prepared statement that the company’s own global satisfaction scores for service are above 90 percent. A new parts distribution service was opened this spring in California, the statement said, and while “call volumes have increased dramatically due to the overwhelming excitement around the Model 3, this hasn’t impacted our ability to respond to emergency roadside events.” Tesla has “plans in place” to hire

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

more staff in customer support “in the event they are unable to find their answers” at Tesla’s support site “or in their Tesla account,” the company said. And it plans to open a large new

A tent outside the Tesla factory in Fremont, CA, was pressed into service to ramp up Model 3 production Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images

service center in Oslo later this year. Tesla cars have topped Consumer Reports’ owner satisfaction survey for the last two years, the company noted. Jeff Klein, a publishing executive in Northridge, said the hood and front quarter panel on his wife’s Model S were damaged in a March accident. Four months later, the car is still parked at a Tesla-certified repair shop, waiting for parts, while Klein makes monthly payments on

the lease. Klein didn’t need a loaner vehicle. “The general manager said it could take several months, that Tesla didn’t seem to realize that their cars might get in accidents and they had no parts inventory,” Klein said. “Their parts are made to order, just like their cars.” On Tesla online forums, customers complain about long hold times on Tesla’s customer service phone line and waits of sometimes hours to check the status on a car delivery or repair, or to ask for a refund on a car deposit. Some report Tesla doesn’t get back to them at all. Mathijs Kok of Bueren, Germany, said the company promised by phone someone would return his call to correct a windshield problem on his new Model S. No one called him back. The next time he had a problem—this one with unresponsive roadside assistance—Kok emailed the company. He never heard back,

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autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

despite some follow-up reminders. Kok, who said he runs a customer support department at Aerosoft GmbH, a flight simulator software maker, called the email snub “nasty.” “The lack of callbacks was sloppy, almost certainly caused by too much work,” he said. “In a nutshell, it’s damned hard to get in contact and they have lacking procedures to make it possible for issues to be missed and not followed up in time.” Service problems are not new at Tesla. In August, the company’s president for sales, marketing, delivery and service, Jon McNeill, said on the Tesla Motors Club forum the company had “streamlined” customer service “to make contacting the right person at Tesla easier.” Six months later, McNeill quit Tesla to become chief operating officer at Lyft. In June, Karim Bousta, Tesla vice president of worldwide service and customer experience, left, as did David Erhart, senior director for reliability and testing. Tesla’s sales and service approach differs greatly from most automakers, which sell their cars to franchised dealers. Tesla owns and

runs retail sales and service operations on its own. The company’s 74 service centers in the U.S. are complemented by Tesla Rangers, a mobile service program that dispatches service workers to fix some cars on site. The company also has pioneered “over the air” updates, where software updates can be beamed to the car without having to bring it to the dealer. Tesla executives have said this approach lowers Tesla’s capital costs. But accelerating production— to 53,339 cars of three different models in the second quarter, up 55 percent from a year earlier and almost a five-fold increase from the same period in 2015—may be overwhelming Tesla’s service resources. Add to that the wide variety of Model 3 quality problems reported on Tesla customer forums, including broken glass, bad paint jobs, body panel gaps, dead batteries, wind noise, dents, scratches and software problems including door locks and weirdly behaving touch screens. Tesla has one of the most rabidly loyal customer bases of any automaker, of course. The same forums

Walmart To Transport Shoppers in Waymo SelfDriving Cars by Chuck Martin, MediaPost

Walmart is starting a pilot program using Waymo self-driving cars to transport shoppers to and from grocery pickup locations.

The trial will run out of a Walmart store in Chandler, AZ, and be limited to a group within Waymo’s 400 daily users, called “early riders,” according to a blog post by Tom Ward, vice president, digital operations, at Walmart. The cars of Waymo, which

AUTOBODY

started as Google’s self-driving car project, have driven more than 8 million miles on roads across 25 U.S. cities. For the Arizona project, shoppers will place an online grocery pickup order on Walmart’s website. “Our personal shoppers get to work picking customers’ orders based on their pickup times,” stated Ward. “Waymo does the rest. They transport customers to and from pickup, and all the while, those customers can text, nap, work … you name it.” The goal of the pilot is to learn, with a focus on making Walmart’s online grocery pickup more convenient, according to Ward. We thank MediaPost for reprint permission.

www.autobodynews.com

UPDATED DAILY

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

are peppered with praise for the cars and with Tesla service. And auto reviewers are near unanimous in their praise for the way the Model 3 drives. Consumer Reports relies on customer surveys for its own quality assessments. Mike Quincy, an automotive specialist at the research organization, called Tesla’s quality record “mixed.” “The good news is that the Model S has a new-car predicted reliability better than average,” Quincy said, referring to the mainstay Tesla sedan. “The bad news is that the Model X has proved far worse than average. Too few surveys have been collected yet to evaluate the Model 3.” If Model 3 quality proves subpar and service issues aren’t fixed, it could mean deeper trouble for Tesla as the company tries to go mainstream, according to Karl Brauer at Kelley Blue Book. Early Tesla buyers are “so in love with the car, they’d ignore things most buyers wouldn’t put up with, like delays for repairs or batteries that fail multiple times,” Brauer said. He suggested that Musk spend more time straightening out issues at

Tesla and less time on cave rescue operations or offering to fix water contamination problems in Flint, MI—Musk’s latest social cause. As the Model 3 broadens Tesla’s customer base, it may test the company’s “over the air” service model. At the Dublin service center, Bhaskar’s service rep said a review of his vehicle’s operational data, captured on Tesla’s cloud storage system, showed the door never opened by itself. “But I have seen it with my own eyes,” Bhaskar insisted. (The Times called the Dublin center three times to ask the service manager for comment. No calls were returned.) Bhaskar told the rep he’d take the car home and make an appointment, but wanted a written statement acknowledging the door safety problem. “We’re not putting this on paper,” he was told. “Here, that’s not the way business is done.” The issue was escalated, and after 45 minutes, Bhaskar was allowed to leave his car. He departed in a Mercedes-Benz SUV loaner. We thank The San Diego UnionTribune for reprint permission.

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cbohanna@futurenissan.com www.futurenissanparts.com autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

Uber Puts Self-Driving Cars Back to Work, But With Human Driver by Shelby Rogers, Interesting Engineering

After being pulled for several highprofile controversies and related deaths, Uber’s autonomous cars are coming back to roadways. Eric Meyhofer, head of Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group, announced in a recent Medium piece that its self-driving cars would return just four months after a fatal accident caused Uber to stop testing. “After the tragedy in Tempe, we launched a top-to-bottom review of our self-driving program with a focus on safety. Today, we are taking a first step towards bringing our selfdriving vehicles back to public roadways in Pittsburgh,” he wrote. Uber is implementing what’s called a Mission Specialist behind the wheel at all times. However, from Uber’s description, the “Mission Specialist” position just sounds an awful lot like any other Uber driver. The only difference is that this driver is behind the wheel of a car capable of being put into an autonomous mode. Meyhofer explained, “We’re starting with cars in manual mode with a Mission Specialist sitting be-

hind the wheel and manually controlling the vehicle at all times. Mission Specialists undergo extensive training to operate self-driving vehicles on our test track and on public roads. The Mission Specialist behind

Credit: UberATG, Medium

the wheel is primarily responsible for maintaining vehicle safety, while a second Specialist in the passenger seat will document notable events.” The company assured readers that they’ve done more than ensuring a human in the car pays attention to their surroundings. They’ve also added real-time driver monitoring to all self-driving vehicles that will send an audio alert to an inattentive Mission Specialist as well as another

Ford Has To Pay Nearly $300 Million Because Of Fatal Takata Airbags by Jay Traugott, CarBuzz

Although airbag supplier Takata has filed for bankruptcy, the after-effects of the fatal airbag recalls continue. According to Reuters, Ford has agreed to what’s described as a “socalled economic loss settle of $299.1 million.” This settled amount will

cover various forms of economic loss linked to the faulty airbag inflators, such as claims that vehicles were stated as being safe but really were not, and for cars that people had overpaid for despite the airbags. Many owners were forced to pay various out-of-pocket expenses. Ford isn’t the only automaker that agreed to a settlement, which has now climbed to a total value of around $1.2 billion. Other automak70

ers include Ferrari, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Subaru and BMW. The defective Takata airbags have been connected to the deaths of at least 23 people and more than 290 injuries worldwide. The exact problem with the inflators is that they can explode, flinging metal shrapnel at passengers’ faces. A total of 21 deaths took place in Hondas, while two happened in Fords. The settlement Ford agreed to with affected owners takes into account specifics like lost wages, child care costs and vehicle repairs. Ford will also offer free rental or loaner vehicles to these owners as they wait for the necessary repairs. As of July 18, a total of 30 million vehicles in the U.S. still require repairs. The Takata airbag recall was the largest safety recall in auto industry history, affecting roughly 100 million inflators among 19 major automakers. Takata’s bankruptcy happened back in June 2017, but not before it agreed to a $1 billion settlement with the U.S. Justice Department. We thank CarBuzz for reprint permission.

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

person monitoring the vehicle’s performance. They added new collision avoidance systems that will remain enabled even when the car is in manual drive mode. Uber’s autonomous cars will also have a front tablet for turn-by-turn navigation with a reconfigured look to make sure it doesn’t distract anyone in the vehicle while the vehicle is in motion. “Self-driving technology has the potential to change how we move, reinvent how we design cities and save lives. We recognize our responsibility to contribute to this future, and the essential role that safety plays as we move forward,” Meyhofer wrote. The restrictions placed on the self-driving program seemed to come solely from the pedestrian death in Tempe, AZ, and government restrictions placed on the company in the wake of the accident. At one point, the fate of Uber’s self-driving segment seemed bleak. Arizona Governor Doug Ducey—the man who initially championed Uber’s self-dri-

ving technology being brought to the state—banned the company from further testing. Shortly after, Uber fired its self-driving car operators in its Pittsburg and San Francisco locations. One element of Uber’s update seems to be in direct response to the events at Tempe—the driver tracking and alert system. While investigating the Tempe death, officials determined that operator Rafaela Vasquez looked down at her phone 204 times in order to watch television during a 43-minute test drive. The drive ended when Vasquez killed Elaine Herzberg after she stepped in front of the vehicle. The police determined Vasquez had enough time to avoid Herzberg had her eyes been on the road. We thank Interesting Engineering for reprint permission.

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Continued from Page 28

New Standard

shops, and most of those shops are connected to at least one Honda or Acura dealer. About 12,000 shops are currently transacting using this program. If a shop does not have CCC One, we have a manual process to help that particular shop participate.” When asked how this will work with Honda’s ProFirst program, Adams noted, “We currently have 1,350 ProFirst shops around the country. Only 41 of them do not use CCC One. That’s a 96 percent penetration rate. It doesn’t get much better than that.” The Tonkin Parts Center, part of the Ron Tonkin dealer group in Portland, OR, handles wholesale parts operations for the 15+ lines of cars sold by the Tonkin group, including Honda and Acura. The center consists of 125,000 square feet carrying $13 million to $15 million in inventory. American Honda chose the Tonkin Parts Center as one of three pilot dealers for the program.

Keith Burtram, senior manager for the center, said, “Honda is one of our fastest-growing lines, and we always take advantage of American Honda’s programs. The Collision Select program from 2009 was alright but not very efficient, so we used it very little. Plus, to make the program work, we had to ask our shops to check the competitors first, then come back to us. The entire transaction was done after the estimate was written and many decisions had been made. Using CCC One and Honda’s new “Collision Parts Promote” program, everything is more efficient for us and the shop. There is no re-keying on our side or the shop side. That saves a shop hours and money. The best part is the shops are using a tool (CCC One) that they are already familiar with, so the learning curve is real short. We have already seen an increase in Honda and Acura parts sales with this program and CCC One.” Jim Kinsherf, vice president of OEM Business Development for CCC, said, “This parts acquisition model started as ‘True Parts’ around 2014 and has morphed into the CCC

Think Genuine Subaru Parts.

Parts Network. We are happy to help enable Honda’s Collision Parts Promote and other OEM programs on our platform.” When asked about the future of the CCC Parts Network and programs such as Honda’s, Kinsherf said, “This technology is very robust and presents many possibilities. A program using a promotional price like Honda’s could be applied geographically, by state for example. Or it could be applied by model year, based on a vehicle’s VIN number. For example, let’s say the same part number bumper cover fits four model years. Ordering that bumper cover for the latest model car may receive a promotional price that is different than a four-year-old vehicle. There are a wide range of possibilities.” Leigh Guarnieri, manager for American Honda’s Collision Group, said, “Due to the complexity of running two programs, we will be sunsetting the Collision Select program, started in July 2009, at the end of 2018. This will leave only the ‘Collision Parts Promote’ program … which is a win-win for everyone. It sets a new standard for the industry.”

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The Power of Leadership

about. If this can be accomplished, Perlman said the conversation becomes much different and usually is more effective. Wrapping up his presentation, Perlman highly encouraged everyone to connect with his or her most influential leader—let the person who had a significant influence on you personally and/or professionally know why they were influential and thank them. “If you have a chance to do it, make the phone call, shoot them an email or put up a Facebook post. Reconnect with them in some way,” said Perlman. “I’ve yet to be surprised or disappointed by their response.” For more information, email Ken Perlman: perlman@culturesync.net.

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Continued from Page 39

Monrovia (626) 359-8291 (626) 932-5660 Fax Mon.-Fri. 7-6; Sat. 8-4 parts@sierracars.com www.sierraauto.com

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autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

What Is the Future for New, Used Car Sales Claims? by Susanna Gotsch, Property Casualty 360

U.S. auto sales for the first six months of 2018 were stronger than many analysts originally anticipated, but were driven in large part by growth in fleet sales while retail sales were essentially flat. Higher interest rates, some pullback by auto lenders, less consumer demand and higher gas prices were among the headwinds faced by the U.S. new vehicle market. However, it still managed to see an increase of 1.9 percent for the first six months of 2018 versus same period in 2017 (car sales fell by 11.8 percent, while light truck sales grew by 10 percent). Most new and used vehicles were financed, with average payments and loan term lengths hitting new highs, according to Experian’s “State of the Automotive Finance Market First Quarter 2018” report. Unfortunately, this means that many more people owe more money on their vehicles than they are worth, and the percent of new vehicle loans with negative equity also remains high, according to Edmund’s 2018 Automotive Industry Trends: Midyear Update. How will tariffs affect pricing? Growing issues with new vehicle affordability have been a key reason used vehicle sales have remained strong both in terms of volume and pricing. Despite significant increases in used inventory from large volumes of lease returns, wholesale and used vehicle prices have remained relatively stable, registering much smaller declines than many analysts had originally feared. The younger age and quality of vehicles coming back as lease returns have led to higher overall used vehicle transaction prices, which according to Edmunds.com, reached an average of $19.7K in Q1 2018 versus $16.7K in Q1 2013. The tariffs imposed by the U.S. on July 6 of this year and the threat of additional tariffs could drive up new vehicle prices even further, potentially slowing auto sales in the second half. The tariffs against China that went into effect in July add a 25 per72

cent border tax to Chinese-made vehicles made for U.S., and U.S.-made vehicles face a new 40 percent tariff in China. The U.S. is still working to determine whether it will impose tariffs on other countries, based on whether imports are threats to national security. About half of parts and vehicle imports come from Canada and Mexico, so any tariffs put on those countries could have severe impacts on U.S. auto sales. If prices on new cars are raised, more consumers might shift to the used market (annually only about 17M new vehicles are sold in the U.S.; in 2018 the U.S. is on track to sell 39.4M used vehicles)—where prices are already up due to more light trucks in the overall volume of lease returns into the used market. While analysts believe increases in new vehicle prices from tariffs won’t necessarily lead to an increase in used vehicle prices immediately, the tariffs would likely lead to lower depreciation rates for used vehicles, a factor that would lead to higher total loss vehicle values over time. Total loss vehicle values remain elevated so far in 2018, as the shift toward a newer, more expensive total loss vehicle population continues. Non-comprehensive total loss vehicle values are up over 3 percent for the four quarters ending Q2 2018 versus a year prior, and vehicles ages 0–6 years now account for 34 percent of total loss volume versus 29 percent in the four quarters ending Q2 2014. Total loss frequency also continues to rise, as the percent of total losses that were older than 15 years of age remains elevated at 15.4 percent, and among vehicle appraisals, total loss frequency increased across all vehicle ages.

Impact on Vehicle Repairs Vehicle repair costs also rose 3 percent in the four quarters ending Q2 2018, with the largest increases occurring among the newest vehicles. Growth in the number of labor hours per claim, the average hourly labor rate, the average number of parts replaced per claim and the average price paid per part are all contribut-

SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

ing to higher repair costs overall. Volume share growth in segments like light trucks, European vehicles and newer model year vehicles where repair costs are higher are also contributing to higher cost overall. Yet while both repair costs and total loss costs continue to rise, the industry has begun to see a leveling off in claim frequency. The U.S. economy continues to be strong; unemployment numbers are at all-time lows, and the U.S. has seen registered vehicle counts grow again to nearly 1.3 vehicles per licensed driver, said Michael Wayland in his U.S. sales outlook on autonews .com. However, as growth in vehicle registrations has again surpassed overall growth in U.S. miles driven, the miles driven per vehicle (a proxy for “accident exposure”) have fallen, helping collision and property damage liability claim frequency to also taper. For example, repairable claim counts (excluding comprehensive) for 2018 through June were up only

0.4 percent from the same period in 2017. Less severe winter and spring weather in many parts of the U.S. has also meant fewer overall losses. A comparison of the share of losses with primary impact of hail or water for the first six months of the year reveal a much smaller percent in 2018 versus several prior years. Comprehensive losses’ share of overall repairable and total loss claim counts fell in both Q1 and Q2 of 2018 compared to prior years. Assuming no major economic event, such as a full-blown trade war or recession, or no major catastrophe such as a Superstorm Sandy or Hurricane Harvey, data from the first six months of the year would suggest that 2018 will see little growth, if any, in accident and claim counts. However, given rising costs and repair complexity, both the insurance industry and collision repairers will remain under pressure to have the training and tools to operate efficiently and effectively. See Sales Claims, Page 77

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autobodynews.com / SEPTEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS

Ford Commits to Spending $4 Billion on Autonomous Vehicles by Jessica Miley, Interesting Engineering

Ford has signaled its dedication to the development of autonomous vehicles by announcing its plans to spend $4 billion on the sector through 2023. The carmaker has created a Limited Liability Company (LLC) called Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC, which will host the company’s self-driving systems integration, autonomous vehicle research and advanced engi-

Credit: Argo

neering, AV transportation-as-a-service network development, user experience, business strategy and business development teams. The $4 billion budget includes dedicating $1 billion to autonomous driving startup Argo AI. The new company will be based out of Ford’s

Corktown campus in Detroit, headed by Sherif Marakby. Marakby will report to a board of directors chaired by Ford’s executive vice president and president of mobility, Marcy Klevorn.

Argo AI To Help Take Ford Into the Autonomous Car Market Argo AI is the brainchild of former Google Self-Driving Engineer Bryan Salesky and former Engineering Lead at Uber Advanced Technologies Group Peter Rander. Ford’s involvement in the group has been public knowledge since February 2017. The latest announcement of additional funding and the formation of the LLC shows that Ford is ready to mean business when it comes to autonomous vehicles. Previous research into the technology was spread across departments, but this latest move to bring all the parts together shows that Ford is moving towards a vision of commercial deployment of autonomous cars. Ford Looks to the Future of Electric Autonomous Cars “Ford has made tremendous progress across the self-driving value chain—

Nissan Recalls 105,000 Versas for Deadly Takata Airbags by David A. Wood, CarComplaints.com

Nissan is recalling about 105,000 Nissan Versa cars to replace frontal passenger Takata airbag inflators at risk of exploding. The metal inflators contain the explosive propellant chemical ammonium nitrate, which degrades over time. A small fender-bender can cause the airbag inflator to blow up and send shrapnel into occupants. Nissan says various areas of the U.S. are affected by the Takata recall. Model year 2011 Nissan Versas and 2011–2012 Nissan Versa hatchbacks are being recalled if they were ever registered in the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Nissan is also recalling certain 74

2010–2011 Nissan Versa sedans and 2010–2012 Nissan Versa hatchbacks that have ever been registered in: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Nissan dealers will replace the front passenger airbag inflators starting in July 2018, but concerned owners may call Nissan at 800-867-7669. CarComplaints.com has ownerreported complaints about Nissan Versa cars and many other Nissan models. We thank CarComplaints.com for reprint permission.

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from technology development to business model innovation to user experience,” said Ford CEO Jim Hackett. “Now is the right time to consolidate our autonomous driving platform into one team to best position the business for the opportunities ahead.”

supply chain choreography and inventory leanness that rivals any industrial model in the world.”

Ford’s electric vehicle strategy includes making the charging process for electric vehicles effortless as well as rethinking car ownership models. Ford will also follow Tesla with over-the-air software updates to enhance capability and features of its vehicles as new software is developed. “The evolution of computing power and IT have helped bring great products to customers—from cars to tablets,” Hackett said. “We can now harness this technology to unlock a new world of vehicle personalization,

vehicle businesses. Detroit’s oldest neighborhood will see a new Ford grow out of a 1.2 million-square-foot space. Corktown is expected to house 2,500 Ford employees, most of whom will work in its emerging mobility team. In addition to being a space for Ford and its partners, the site will serve as a mix of community and retail space and residential housing.

Detroit’s Long Automobile History Will Continue With a New Electric Face Ford’s Corktown campus will become a hub for its electric and autonomous

“Ford has made tremendous progress across the self-driving value chain—from technology development to business model innovation to user experience,” — Jim Hackett

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Continued from Page 60

After the Donation

onds of fame” while deployed in Iraq when he and his platoon were featured in “21 Days to Baghdad,” a special produced by the National Geographic Channel. “I’m at the end of it, saying ‘Hi Mom,’ and celebrating while carrying a mortar,” he said. “So, that’s the proof that I was there.” When Guerrero-Uribe’s tour in Iraq ended and he returned to the states, he was suffering from clinical depression and PTSD, among other problems. “Being in Iraq was a huge rush all the time, so when I got home I couldn’t adjust to the 9-to-5 pace of everyday life,” he said. “I had lost my tribe, and I was lonely and became very isolated. I was hiding my pain with pain killers and started quitting jobs or getting fired.” In 2015, he checked into the West Los Angeles V.A. Hospital and started turning his life around. “It saved my life because I didn’t want to admit that I was damaged goods,” he said. “I was headed for a dark place and without the help, I might still be there. They enabled me to reset my life and understand all of the things that I was hiding from.” Today, Guerrero-Uribe uses his vehicle to deliver other veterans to volunteer at a wide range of charitable projects through The Mission Continues. “I load the car up with vets from the Hollywood Veterans Center, and we go out to places like schools to get our hands dirty and build things,” he said. “There is something going on pretty much every weekend, and it’s a team effort and great therapy.” To continue his mission, Guerrero-Uribe recently submitted a fellow Marine’s name for a car through the NABC Recycled Rides Program. “His name is Mathew Shepherd, and he will be receiving his car this month,” he said. “He hasn’t missed any events and is working on himself, so he is a perfect candidate for a car, just like I was!”

www.autobodynews.com 76

It’s Christmastime Again at Freer Auto Body’s Christmas in July in Gofrey, IL by Jill Moon, The Telegraph

Freer Auto Body celebrated Christmas in July on July 20 to kick off the Godfrey, IL, region’s biggest fundraising event of the year. Community Christmas collecting started in May with the announcement of this year’s date for the annual Christmas in July at Freer Auto Body. The event is led by Freer Auto Body Owner and President Tim Freer’s daughters, Lily and Taylor Freer, whose event last year raised more than $40,000. “It was a huge success,” said the girls’ mother, Carrie Freer. Freer Auto Body is one of the largest contributors to the United Way’s and The Telegraph’s Community Christmas, which collects items all over the Riverbend region through business collection centers and individuals. “Those individuals and families in need should have a nice holiday,” said the girls’ grandmother, Margaret Freer. “We appreciate the community supporting us and enabling us to give.” United Way’s annual Community Christmas donation drive offi-

cially begins in November, but Christmas in July helps to exponentially jumpstart the campaign.

Community Christmas collecting started in May with this year’s annual Christmas in July, which took place July 20 at Freer Auto Body in Godfrey, IL. Collection continues at the event, led by the daughters, Taylor and Lily Freer, of the shop’s owner and president, Tim Freer. Last year, the event raised more than $40,000

The top needs in the community generally are for new coats, blankets and household and personal care items. Other items collected through the program include non-perishable food, new and unwrapped toys for kids of all ages, baby formula and diapers, and new clothes, socks, hats, gloves and scarves. Alton High School also con-

tributes to Community Christmas through its annual non-perishable food drive, which typically provides 90 percent of the food donations for the program. “We are once again enlisting the help of the community with Christmas in July,” said Margaret Freer, who works at Freer Auto Body with her son and his wife. “We have great prizes this year.” Raffle items included a Norwegian Cruise Line getaway, donated by Freer Auto Body; $2,000 in cash donated by Axalta Coating Systems; four St. Louis Cardinals “green seats,” donated by Amy and John Barnerd; four St. Louis Blues “glass seats,” donated by Alton Materials; and four tickets to Maroon 5 on Sept. 13 at Scottrade Center, donated by Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC. All raffle items were donated, and the printing was donated by McBride Printing. Thus, 100 percent of the event proceeds goes to helping families in need at Christmastime through Community Christmas, a Riverbend-wide outreach program sponsored by the United Way and The Telegraph. We thank The Telegraph for reprint permission.

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WAC Meeting Energizes Members by Chasidy Rae Sisk

On July 17, Women in Automotive and Collision (WAC) hosted a meeting at Automotive Technology in Fenton, MO.

A dozen people attended WAC’s July 17 meeting to plan for the group to attend upcoming industry events. Credit: WAC

According to WAC President Shelly Jones, “The meeting was energizing! I enjoy working with this group of people on our common mission. We share ideas, we laugh, and Continued from Page 56

Truck Collision Repair

“The goal is to improve safety for the driver, fellow motorists and

we get things done. “A dozen people attended the July meeting, including two new members: Amy Redfield of Redfield Collision and Avery Hodge from Original One Parts. We now have 16 members and seven corporate sponsors. WAC member Jim Earnest, Weber Chevrolet, provided a delicious dinner for the group.” The main focus of the evening was planning for upcoming events that WAC will attend. The group will have a booth at the V8TV Drive-In Cruise on August 16 at Sky View Drive-In in Belleville, IL. “WAC member Kelle Oeste, of V8 Speed & Resto Shop, suggested the event as a great opportunity for WAC to get the word out about the great career opportunities within the automotive and collision industries,” Jones said. “We will be hosting a coloring contest to engage the children and handing out information to

technicians,” he said. “The more we have in black and white, the better.” Fassett of Al’s Automotive and Truck Service Center chairs the HD Collision Repair Roadmap task force. Kolea of PennFleet Corp. is a

parents. This fun family event is being presented by V8TV. More information regarding this car cruise and movie night is available at www .v8tvshow.com.” WAC will also host a table at the Enterprise 2018 Golf Classic at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis on Sept. 10. WAC Social Media Manager and Enterprise 01 Group Manager Tricia Belz provided this opportunity. Jones pointed out, “Many of the participants have a vested interest in the industry that we serve, so we hope to reach others that will join us in our mission. This will be a fun day of networking.” WAC’s next meeting will be held on August 21. More information about the group is available at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ wacstl/ (Women in Automotive and Collision) or on Instagram at WAC STLGROUP.

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Continued from Page 72

Sales Claims

Susanna Gotsch is director and industry analyst for CCC Information Services Inc. Contact her at sgotsch@cccis.com. The information and opinions presented are for general information only, are subject to change and are not intended to provide specific recommendations for any individual or entity. This article was originally published on PropertyCasualty360.com. Copyright (c) ALM Media Properties. All Rights Reserved. Republished here with permission.

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