New Jersey Automotive August 2017

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THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ALLIANCE OF AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE PROVIDERS/NEW JERSEY (www.AASPNJ.org) AND THE AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY (www.ARANJ.org)

August 2017 $595

Are Autonomous Cars a Real Threat to the Industry?

Part One of an Exclusive Series By Tom Slear

Facts, NOT Opinions:

The Urgent Push for OEM Repair Information

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P.O. Box 734 Neptune, NJ 07753 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Charles Bryant 732-922-8909 / setlit4u@msn.com 2015 - 2017 OFFICERS PRESIDENT Jeff McDowell, Leslie’s Auto Body 732-738-1948 / chacki@aol.com COLLISION CHAIRMAN Jerry McNee, Ultimate Collision Repair, Inc. 732-494-1900 / ultimatecollision@att.net MECHANICAL CHAIRMAN Keith Krehel, Krehel Automotive Repair, Inc. 973-546-2828 / krehelauto@aol.com TREASURER Tom Elder, Compact Kars, Inc. 609-259-6373 / compactkars@aol.com SECRETARY Thomas Greco, Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. 973-667-6922 / thomas@grecopublishing.com BOARD Dennis Cataldo, Jr., D&M Auto Body 732-251-4313 / jr@dandmautobody.com

Dave Laganella, Peters Body and Fender 201-337-1200 / petersbandf@gmail.com Sam Mikhail, Prestige Auto Body 908-789-2020 / mikhail@goldcar.com Ted Rainer, Ocean Bay Auto Body 732-899-7900 / trainer@verizon.net

Anthony Sauta, East Coast Auto Body 732-869-9999 / ecabofnj@aol.com

Anthony Trama, Bloomfield Auto Body 973-748-2608 / anthony@bloomfieldautobody.com BOARD ALLIED Joe Amato, The Amato Agency 732-530-6740 / joesr@amatoagency.com

Mike Kaufmann, Advantage Dealer Services 973-332-7014 / mkaufmann@advantageds.com PAST PRESIDENT ATTENDING Tom Elder, Compact Kars 609-259-6373 / compactkars@aol.com

PUBLISHER Thomas Greco / thomas@grecopublishing.com SALES DIRECTOR Alicia Figurelli / alicia@grecopublishing.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Joel Gausten / joel@grecopublishing.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lea Velocci / lea@grecopublishing.com

EDITORIAL/CREATIVE COORDINATOR Kristen Dalli / kristen@grecopublishing.com

OFFICE MANAGER Donna Greco / donna@grecopublishing.com

CONTENTS

VOLUME 47, NUMBER 8 | August 2017

10 OUT OF BODY (AND MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES 12 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 16 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE 20 I-CAR CALENDAR

21 2017 AASP/NJ ANNUAL LOU SCORAS MEMORIAL GOLF OUTING REGISTRATION 22 MECHANICAL CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE 66 NJA ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

LOCAL NEWS 24 Valtek Completes FDNY Funeral Caisson by Nick Fernandes 28 Coming Together: AASP/NJ Meetings Ignite Industry Conversation

by Jacquelyn Bauman

NATIONAL NEWS 32 GEICO Responds to NJA Scanning Feature

FEATURE by Joel Gausten 37 Facts, NOT Opinions: The Urgent Push for OEM Repair Information

COVER STORY

42 Are Autonomous Cars a Real Threat to the Industry?

by Tom Slear

Part One of an Exclusive Series

ASK MIKE by Mike Anderson 48 What are some common killers of productivity that most shop owners don’t realize exist?

AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY 53 President’s Message NO BRAKES by Ron Ananian 56 Dear Governor Christie LEGAL PERSPECTIVE by Mitchell Portnoi 60 Hit-and-Run Accidents: What to Do Next

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Charles Bryant • Mario DeFilippis • Jeff McDowell • Mitch Portnoi • Ron Ananian Keith Krehel • Jerry McNee • Bob Dirkes

Published by: Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. 244 Chestnut Street, Suite 202, Nutley, NJ 07110 Corporate: (973) 667-6922 / FAX: (973) 235-1963

www.grecopublishing.com

NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE is published monthly and is sent to AASP/NJ and ARANJ members free of charge. Subscriptions are $24 per year. NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE is published by Thomas Greco Publishing Inc., 244 Chestnut St., Nutley, NJ 07110. The editorial contents of NEW JERSEY AUTOMOTIVE are copyright © 2017 by Thomas Greco Publishing Inc. and may not be reproduced in any manner, either in whole or in part, without written permission from the publisher and/or editor. Articles in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Thomas Greco Publishing Inc. Stock Images courtesy of www.istockphoto.com.

Joe Amato, Sr. Ron Ananian Jim Bowers Charles Bryant Don Chard Guy Citro Pete Cook Ed Day Dave Demarest Phil Dolcemascolo Tom Elder

Bob Everett Thomas Greco Dan Hawtin Rich Johnson Wes Kearney Nick Kostakis Jim Kowalak Joe Lubrano Michael Lovullo Sam Mikhail Ron Mucklow

George Petrask Russ Robson Jerry Russomano George Threlfall Cynthia Tursi Lee Vetland Paul Vigilant Rich Weber Brian Vesley Glenn Villacari Stan Wilson

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OUT OF BODY (AND MECHANICAL) EXPERIENCES

A New Out of Body Experience Over 20 years ago, when I was publishing this magazine out of my basement (a virtual one-man band if you will), I started thinking of ways I could somehow make New Jersey Automotive different from my competition. Don’t get me wrong; I knew that we were as good if not better than anything out there. But I wanted to expand the magazine beyond just writing the same old stuff. An old buddy of mine, former AASP/NJ President Hank Peters, used to use the phrase “hanging fenders” whenever we’d get bogged down with the same old same old at Board meetings. Well, at that time, as a publisher and even more so as I writer, I felt like I was hanging fenders.

I tried to think of a way to add something new and at the same time get my creative juices running again as a writer.

That’s when I came up with the concept that evolved into the

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by THOMAS GRECO, PUBLISHER

Out of Body (and Mechanical) Experiences column. Maybe you never noticed, but that is actually what this column is called. I swear. Look up at the top of the page. Out of Body Experiences. Brilliant, right?

The idea to write about whatever came to my mind, whether it be industry related or not, was something I thought might work. After all, while I was growing up, my favorite writers were always sports columnists like Dick Young and Phil Pepe - guys who once a week wrote a column called “Clubhouse Confidential” in which they would just spout out about whatever they wanted to, sports related or not. They were the inspiration behind the Out of Body column. You can thank them or blame them depending on your point of view.

LOL. Personally, I’d like to thank them because here we are all

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these years later and I’m still writing them. And I have to say I am really humbled by all of the nice compliments I have gotten over the years. I am very blessed that there are actually people out there who find my work entertaining. That in itself is a huge reward, especially since I could never have imagined that 20 years ago in my basement.

So why write about it now, you ask? No, I’m not closing it down. In fact, we are taking the Out of Body Experiences to the airwaves. That’s right. As we speak, you can head on over to iTunes or Soundcloud (soundcloud.com/tskogg/outof-body-s1e1) to hear our very first Out of Body Experiences podcast co-hosted by myself, Greco Publishing Vice President Alicia Figurelli and Collision Restoration owner (and former AASP/NJ President) Eddie Day. Our idea is similar to the one I had 20 years ago: We want to bring something different to the industry. If you’re looking for a serious take on the issues, this isn’t the show for you. But if you would like to be entertained for 20 minutes or

so as the three of us take a sideways look at the industry, then by all means, please tune in. I promise you will get a bunch of laughs and at the same time nod your head and say to yourself, “Oh yeah, I can relate to that.” (Sure sounds like an Out of Body column to me!)

We are all very excited about the podcast. We think it is something totally new and refreshing. Something that will blast a jolt of humor into a very serious business. I think if I look back at the majority of my columns, that’s what I have always been trying to strive for most. I wanted my words to make you feel something. Sometimes sad. Sometimes mad.

But mostly, I wanted you to come away with a smile on your face, looking forward to the next column. That’s what our goal is with the podcast. So, give it a shot. I promise it will be worth it.

Just, whatever you do, don’t call Eddie. (You’ve got to listen to get it!)

NJA

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RACING FOR A CURE

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

I'm writing this month's message having just returned from a trip to the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, home of AASP/NJ’s NORTHEAST® Automotive Services Show. Today wasn’t about

NORTHEAST, though - I had the pleasure of meeting with Natalia Montoya, development officer for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and also the honor of presenting her with a donation check

by JEFF MCDOWELL

on behalf of AASP/NJ. The association's intention behind this contribution - which for the second year in a row was generated in part from the proceeds of our recent Race Night event in Jersey City - is simple, and unfortunate: Nearly every one of us in this industry has been affected by cancer, whether directly or through the experiences of a loved one. Too many of our industry colleagues have been taken from us way too soon, and we hope that in some small way, we can help contribute to Memorial Sloan Kettering’s research into treating, preventing and someday curing this disease. I look forward to many more years of partnering with Memorial Sloan Kettering, and encourage you to visit mskcc.org to learn more about the great strides they’re making. We are beyond grateful for their efforts.

Looking ahead to the future, I’d like to remind our members and supporters to mark September 18 on your calendars, for AASP/NJ’s 13th Annual Lou Scoras Memorial Golf Outing. As many of you are aware, I have no intentions of golfing that day, but I still can’t wait for this year’s event.

If you’ve ever been to one of our Golf Outings, you know that the day is about much more than golf - though if that’s what you’re into, rest assured you’ll have a great time on a truly beautiful course. Our luncheon before and dinner following the tournament are great opportunities to network and mingle with your industry peers, while also honoring the memory of the late Lou Scoras, a friend to many in AASP/NJ and beyond. To register or learn more about our 2017 Golf Outing, please turn to page 21 or contact AASP/NJ Executive Director Charles Bryant at (732) 922-8909. I hope to see you there!

NJA

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

An Unrecognizable Collision Industry Is Approaching Fast

by CHARLES BRYANT

Over the years, the collision industry has endured changes that many thought would eliminate the majority of shops. When vehicle construction evolved to the unibody, many thought that they would never be able to adapt to the change. Now, looking back, it was a piece of cake. Time and time again, changes in the collision industry have frightened many simply because that is often what change does. However, usually once the change has occurred and people remember it down the line, they often wonder why they were so afraid. Most of the time, it is not as bad or as drastic as it is perceived prior to the person actually dealing with the issue. With that said, let’s talk about the changes that are coming our way right now.

W

ith completely autonomous vehicles right around the corner, we are talking about change like never before. In fact, we are talking about things that many thought would be impossible to experience. A lot of people have described modern vehicles as “rolling computers,” but this is an understatement. Although we have heard talk about driverless cars for years, most of us who have been in the collision industry for quite a few years never thought we would be around to see the day when they would actually exist – let alone be faced with having to repair them after an accident.

Who would have thought that they would need to know how to deal with repairing a damaged vehicle equipped with some of the following options a few years ago?

Advance Brake Assist Adaptive Cruise Control-Plus with Full Stop All-Speed Traction Control System Blind-Spot Monitoring (BSM) Brake Assist Brake-Lock Differential System (BLDS) Brake-Throttle Override Brake/Park Interlock Brake Traction-Control System (BTCS) Electronic Brake-Force Distribution (EBD) Electronic Roll Mitigation (ERM)

Electronic Stability Control (ESC) Full-Speed Forward Collision Warning-Plus Forward Collision Warning-Plus Forward Collision Warning Hill-Start Assist Lane Departure Warning with Lane-Keep Assist ParkSense Parallel/Perpendicular Park Assist; and much, much more.

These are just a few of the many options already in many of the vehicles on the roads today. One thing that I would be willing to bet on is that most of the old timers who have been working on cars for many years would not have a clue about how to repair one equipped with these types of options. This makes me wonder how these vehicles are getting repaired – and, quite honestly, whether they are being put back to what we commonly refer to as pre-accident condition.

Manufacturers are issuing position statements informing repairers that both pre- and post-repair scanning is required.

Yet, I get calls on a regular basis informing me that many insurers either will not pay for the scanning at all or will not pay enough to cover the cost and allow for a profit. As a result, I have been informed by certain shops that they are not going to do work that they are not going to get paid for.

Now, that is scary for numerous reasons. Obviously, if the manufacturer has issued a position statement informing the continued on page 18

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE continued from page 16 repairers that the scan is mandatory and the shops are not doing it, then the liability is going to be on those facilities if the vehicle is in a subsequent accident and doesn’t function as designed.

Naturally, the shop owner who gets behind this eight ball will attempt to claim it is not their fault because the insurer refused to pay for the scanning that was required. I would say good luck in court to anyone who attempts to use that excuse, especially if a serious injury is involved. The technologically advanced items I referenced earlier (and the training required to repair them) gives a whole new meaning to “change.” I would be willing to bet that this change taking place in the collision industry right now is the reason that shops cannot find the help needed to get the vehicles repaired. Many of the old timers who are set in their ways are simply not going to go back to school and will look for employment in other areas (or possibly retire early). New, fairly young people who are either in or coming into the industry and are willing to get the training to gain the skills required to repair these complicated automobiles are certainly not going to work for what shops are presently able to afford in light of the Labor Rates that insurers are willing to pay.

Another issue that the collision industry is faced with is finding the money for the modern equipment that shops have to purchase in order to make the repairs. Once again, the fact that insurers are failing to embrace the changes taking place and adjust the Labor Rates accordingly is going to bring the industry to a standstill. In the past, shops and insurers have been able to work things out by playing games with the hours to compensate for the low Labor Rates. However,

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these current and upcoming changes are unlike anything we’ve seen in the past, and the gap between what insurers are willing to pay and the cost involved is going to be simply too big to work out any longer. Now, issues like Labor Rates will finally have to be addressed, and some sort of mechanism will have to be put in place to require that insurers pay what it takes for a shop to make the investment in the equipment, training and certification to repair these vehicles while realizing a fair and reasonable profit.

Even now, we are faced with a collision industry that is unrecognizable from what it was a few years ago, and it’s only going to get worse. Many of the auto manufacturers are now requiring shops to be certified in order to purchase the parts for the vehicles they sell. Eventually, shops will have to decide on one or two particular types of vehicle they choose to repair. They will have to stick to only those because the cost of the equipment and training will be too much to continue repairing just any type of vehicle a customer drives.

Now is the time for the collision industry to unite and work as a team.

In the past, shops have gone down separate paths, acted alone and have still been able to become successful.

But the issues facing the industry are simply too big to face alone. The industry will only succeed through being united. That old saying, “United we stand, divided we fall” should be on the mind of every collision shop owner.

A good first step would be to become a member of AASP/NJ. If anyone is interested, I can be reached at (732) 922-8909 or via email at setlit4u@ msn.com. NJA

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CALENDAR

AUGUST 1, 2017 Understanding the Cycle Time Process Hampton Inn by Hilton - Mt. Laurel AUGUST 2, 2017 Understanding & Preventing Refinish Defects Collex Collision, Tinton Falls AUGUST 8, 2017 Adhesive Bonding Reliable Automotive Equipment, Belford Understanding the Cycle Time Process Innovative Solutions & Technology, Lincoln Park Steering & Suspension Damage Analysis Hampton Inn by Hilton - Mt. Laurel AUGUST 9, 2017 Steering & Suspension Damage Analysis Allstate Insurance, Wall Township AUGUST 15, 2017 Advanced Steering & Suspension Systems Damage Analysis Hampton Inn by Hilton - Mt. Laurel AUGUST 16, 2017 Aluminum Exterior Panel Repair & Replacement Allstate Insurance, Wall Township AUGUST 22, 2017 Corrosion Protection Reliable Automotive Equipment, Belford Vehicle Technology Trends & Diagnostics Overview Innovative Solutions & Technology, Lincoln Park Full-Frame Partial Replacement Hampton Inn by Hilton - Mt. Laurel AUGUST 23, 2017 Automotive Foams Allstate Insurance, Wall Township AUGUST 29, 2017 Automotive Foams Hampton Inn by Hilton - Mt. Laurel Advanced Steering & Suspension Systems Damage Analysis Allstate Insurance, Wall Township

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MECHANICAL CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

MY ADVENTURES IN ITALY

by KEITH KREHEL

Over the last 30 years, my typical vacations have usually involved scuba diving, quite often in exotic locations around the globe. At the urging of my wife, we recently decided we should go to Italy. For 17 days, we traveled southern Italy, followed by a stay in Rome. We were accompanied by my friend Steve (a fellow car enthusiast) and his family.

As my friend was born in Altamura, in the Province of Bari, we began our vacation there.

small, diesel and (surprisingly enough) had manual transmissions. Small models of Fiats, Smart Cars, Alpha Romeos and Peugeots were commonplace. So much for us being a pair of car enthusiasts - most of these cars were as exciting as skim milk. I had my first and hopefully last ride in a Fiat - LOL (sorry, Kathia). A lot of local deliveries were handled by Apes (pronounced with two syllables, “Ah pay”) – a Cushman-like vehicle with three tires, a small rear bed and handlebar steering – perfect for the SOME OBSERVATIONS tight roads.

The People - From what I witnessed Driving - Mario Andretti would be proud firsthand, they were very warm. of the way most people operated their Strangers were helpful and friendly, cars but probably would have a hard assisting with directions and other time keeping up with the flow of traffic information. Steve’s relatives, of which as most were very aggressive. he had many, were great and treated us Roundabouts (or traffic circles) were like family. commonplace – and not for the faint of The Streets - Very narrow cobblestone heart with multiple vehicles jockeying streets surrounded the buildings, for position. Stops were treated as providing a very narrow road (or wide yields (if the driver slowed at all), and I walking path) that allowed car traffic to was glad for my prior experience on the travel about. Many of the cars had go kart track. Drivers holding cell damage from scraping buildings or phones were commonplace. other cars. When two cars attempt to Food - All that I have heard was true; pass each other, great care must be the food was wonderful! I suspect the taken to avoid hitting each other, the Italian economy is driven by eating. It pedestrians or surrounding buildings. I sure isn’t the automobiles. Food was have to admit that most drivers were moderately priced for the most part, cautious on the smaller roads. One time and the wine was inexpensive. (Life is while following GPS, we were actually good.) I tried many new things. Fried led to a road our car would not fit on, prawns, panzerottis, orecchiette that we had to back out of. (pasta). All were enjoyable. Nutella was Parking - Basically a free-for-all, as cars everywhere. Gelato (Italian ice cream) often parked on one side of the road followed most meals. I even tried Padre only (but from both directions). Many of Peppe - a local liqueur allegedly good the micro cars parked head-on to the for digestion. I cannot confirm the curb 90 degrees to the street. digestion bit, but I can attest that it The Cars - When I think Italian cars, I burned going down and how it think Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini – continued to burn afterwards. One boy, was I wrong. Most cars were very cream filled pastry was especially

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good. My son called them mountaintops, the locals called them something much more risqué, Tette di Sorella. I’ll let you translate.

Lifestyle - Much different, much more laid back with many people working morning to early afternoon, returning home for a hot lunch and a long nap, then back again for a few more hours later in the day. Evening brought the towns alive with people out in the palazzos (large courtyards) strolling past churches (of which there were many) to visit their favorite dessert shop or cafe to meet friends.

SOME AREAS VISITED Altamura (Means “Tall wall”) - Where my friend was born. Also the birthplace of his parents and grandparents. A wall encircled the town for protection.

Known for bread and cheese. continued on page 66

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LOCAL NEWS by Nick Fernandes

VALTEK COMPLETES

FDNY FUNERAL CAISSON

Valtek Inc. (Paterson, NJ) recently finished restoring and modifying an old Fire Department of the City of New York engine to be used as the fire department’s new funeral bearing truck (caisson).

After deciding that they needed a new funeral caisson, the FDNY solicited the truck body shop. “We work on a lot of emergency vehicles. After seeing the work we’ve done, they thought it would be a good idea for us to take on the project,” says Valtek President Brian Vesley.

Vesley says this task was a demanding one, involving the replacement and addition of hundreds of parts. “It was very challenging, but our satisfaction in meeting all of its challenges was also very rewarding.” A team of seven techs spent four months converting the fire engine into a funeral bearing truck, which involved removing its base, creating a new one that can carry a casket and replacing 30 percent of the parts. “This was a very unique situation.

It was about putting all of our abilities to work. It was an important recognition of our team’s skill set, testing our technical, coordination and performance capabilities. It required us to understand and have input on how we could accomplish our goals.” During the process, adjustments needed to be made to the body shop’s original plan. “Both Valtek and the fire department discovered new features and ideas along the way. It prolonged the completion date, but also made everything more interesting.”

Although the shop has modified vehicles in the past, Vesley considers the caisson to be the company’s most challenging project yet. “Participating in establishing the caisson’s features, assisting in the selection of the means to provide those features and determining the logistical and supervisory means to reach a successful conclusion made this our most complex project.”

Vesley described the finished truck as a symbol of the public’s appreciation for its fallen heroes. “This is more than just a vehicle. It is an important demonstration of the pride and recognition that the FDNY and the public use in order to acknowledge those engaged in serving the community.” NJA

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COMING TOGETHER:

LOCAL NEWS

AASP/NJ Meetings Ignite Industry Conversation In late June, representatives from shops all around New Jersey gathered at the Holiday Inn in Totowa and the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Toms River to partake in two nights of education on collision repair business practices led by the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) Executive Director Charlie Bryant. As any shop owner knows, navigating the minefield of this industry and owning a successful shop when dealing with insurers can be a difficult task. Bryant shared wisdom from his decades of experience in the industry with attendees, giving guests tips and notes about how to get the most out of their businesses without suffering from stagnating insurance practices.

“Who gets an authorization to repair every time a car comes in?” Bryant surveyed the crowd. “How many of you work off an insurance estimate? How many don’t write your estimate? Is your auto body license number on your estimates and your business cards? Do you give a warranty on your work and list the terms of that warranty for your consumer? Do you give notice to your customer that they have the right to receive replacement parts?”

Each hypothetical question that Bryant posed to the crowd led to a variety of reactions as hands went up and down in response to these basic business practices. After polling the crowd, Bryant passed out documents to attendees breaking down the regulations from the Department of Insurance (DOI) and highlighting important passages to help shop owners find success in a challenging industry.

“We’re all familiar with the ways that insurers complicate our daily business,” Bryant stated. “And everyone in this room knows that these practices are not once in a blue moon. They happen regularly. But the Department of Insurance says that they cannot take action against an insurer unless the damaging things the insurer is doing can be proven to be a ‘general business practice.’”

The DOI regulations over Unfair Claims Settlement Practices state that any poor business practices on behalf of insurers must be “committed in conscious disregard to the law or…committed with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice to engage in that type of conduct.”

As Bryant offered to the crowd, this would be the equivalent of if “a police officer had to catch you running a

red light three times in one week before he could give you a ticket.” So in order to truly take a step towards bettering the industry for all shops around the state, Bryant offered shop owners in attendance one large piece of advice.

“When you encounter an insurer that says, ‘we don’t pay for that,’ or ‘you’re the only one who charges for that,’” Bryant said, “Do yourself and your fellow shop owners a favor and submit a complaint to the DOI. If we work together as an industry, we can get changes made.”

After going through the regulations set forth by the DOI, attendees shared some grievances with one another, commiserating about the unfair practices facing them as shop owners, and sharing with one another things that have worked for them.

“The best thing you can do is educate your consumer,” said one attendee. “You have to be more involved in how you handle your customer and your claims. Explain to them their rights as your client and your rights as a shop.

Tell them everything you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how it’s going to help them.”

Bryant also brought up some of the resources provided by AASP/NJ to help shops in their day-to-day business, including the AASP/NJ Hot Line, Labor Pool, equipment exchange, insurance benefit programs, and especially the AASP/NJ Legal Defense Fund.

“There are certain things facing us that we won’t solve here tonight,” Bryant explained. “We may not even get them solved completely through [the DOI] regulations. I believe the only way we will we really make this industry better is through standing our ground, working together, and by bringing the terrible things insurers are doing to us to a court of law.”

To find out more about AASP/NJ and what can be done to help New Jersey repair shops, visit www.aaspnj.org.

NJA

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NATIONAL NEWS

GEICO Responds to NJA Scanning Feature New Jersey Automotive Publisher Thomas Greco recently received a letter from GEICO in response to Tom Slear’s article, “Insurers and Scanning: A ‘Very Big Disrupter,’” in our June 2017 issue. In particular, GEICO contacted Greco in regard to the following passage: Joe Lacy, GEICO’s director of performance review – “I manage the folks who go out and audit our adjusters,” he says – insists that GEICO feels pre- and post-repair scans are needed and will pay for them.

“We are not going to argue,” he says. “All the manufacturers say it’s necessary. We’ve made the commitment. We are going to do it. How do you argue with manufacturing? It’s a requirement.”

Within GEICO, the problem isn’t resistance, but inertia. In all large corporations, there’s perfunctory communication and real communication. The former is the plethora of emails and memos that employees barely read and rarely follow. The latter is the notes and guidance from direct supervisors that indicate

clearly what action needs to be taken. The former travels quickly but has little effect. The latter travels slowly and oftentimes inaccurately, yet it’s what ultimately moves organizations in one direction or another.

GEICO employs some 3,000 adjusters. Lacy would like to say they are all on the same page, but he knows better. The approach from a GEICO adjuster should be: If the scan makes sense, then GEICO will pay for it. “If the shop can do [a scan] in-house – fine,” he says. “If subbed out, we’ll pay the rate as long as it is competitive. I understand this is a mechanical procedure, and those rates are solid.”

The story doesn’t reflect GEICO’s position accurately.

As the article makes clear, the scanning process and its role in the automotive repair process is still evolving. Some major manufacturers have published guidelines on the process and others have not. Those that have are not all consistent, for example differing in when they suggest scans be performed, the rate to

be charged or the time it takes to do so. GEICO continues to believe each claim needs to be handled on its own merits, including the frequency, cost, time charged or need for scanning. Our processes will continue to evolve over time as additional information on this procedure becomes available.

In his letter, D. Ryan West, vice president of claims at GEICO’s home office, clarified the insurer’s current official position on scanning:

INSURERS AND SCANNING: A “VERY BIG DISRUPTER”

NATIONAL FEATURE by Tom Slear

S

tate Farm Claim Consultant/P&C Claims Chris Evans calls pre- and post-repair scans “a very big disrupter,” one of the biggest he’s experienced in his 30 years with the company. The amount of money associated with the procedures is relatively small, yet the discussions that accompany them persist, popping up again and again like in Whack-A-Mole.

In an effort to provide direction, a number of car manufacturers published position papers last year that offered clarity but came with additional confusion. For example, General Motors said this in October: “All vehicles being assessed for collision damage repairs must be tested for Diagnostic Trouble Codes during the repair estimation.

Additionally, the vehicle must be retested after all repairs are complete.”

In their statement issued last June, Nissan agreed with GM up to a point. All Nissans should be scanned following a collision repair, but pre-scans are recommended only “where appropriate.”

Mark Allen, the collision programs and equipment manager for Audi, has not yet written a position statement, but based on what the company’s engineers tell him, he’s inclined to go with only post-repair scans. He believes pre-repair scans have a higher probability for abuse than use.

“It depends on what machine you use, who does [the scan], and do they follow the guided fault finding in the repair,” he says.

Small wonder that Evans says, “I

would like to have the car companies play a more specific and definitive role in this.”

Then there’s the matter of the estimating companies. The portion of the collision repair industry that’s supposed to do the studies and come up with the times for specific repair procedures has been missing in action when it comes to scans. As Evans observes, “The estimators really need to be front and center.”

The insurance companies apparently are boxing shadows when it comes to tackling the matter of whether to pay (and how much) for scans. In an effort to get a more precise sense of what they are thinking, New Jersey Automotive contacted the 10 largest auto insurers in the United States and the largest international insurer. State Farm and GEICO, numbers one and two in the American market, responded with interviews. Numbers three, five and seven – Allstate, USAA, and Liberty Mutual – showed interest, but didn’t come through with anyone to talk to before deadline. Farmers (#6) and Nationwide (#8) said they didn’t have anyone available to discuss the issue.

Travelers (#10) declined to participate.

Progressive (#4) and American Family (#9) did not respond.

Chubb, the large international company, went with “no comment,” an understandable reaction after the media relations disaster precipitated in December by one of its regional US tech specialists who proclaimed in an email that Chubb would allow pre- and

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post-repair scans on all cars 1990 model year and later. No sooner did the email hit the street then Chubb labeled it premature and proceeded to walk it back, saying that the company policy is to evaluate each repair for the worthiness of pre- and/or post-repair scans.

An 18 percent success rate isn’t what was hoped for, but the two who did cooperate are the largest automobile insurers in the country. State Farm and GEICO have a combined market share of just under 30 percent. Joe Lacy, GEICO’s director of performance review – “I manage the folks who go out and audit our adjusters,” he says – insists that GEICO feels pre- and post-repair scans are needed and will pay for them.

“We are not going to argue,” he says. “All the manufacturers say it’s necessary. We’ve made the commitment. We are going to do it. How

do you argue with manufacturing? It’s a requirement.”

Within GEICO, the problem isn’t resistance, but inertia. In all large corporations, there’s perfunctory communication and real communication. The former is the plethora of emails and memos that employees barely read and rarely follow.

The latter is the notes and guidance from direct supervisors that indicate clearly what action needs to be taken.

The former travels quickly but has little effect. The latter travels slowly and oftentimes inaccurately, yet it’s what ultimately moves organizations in one direction or another.

GEICO employs some 3,000 adjusters. Lacy would like to say they are all on the same page, but he knows better. The approach from a GEICO adjuster should be: If the scan makes sense, then GEICO will pay for it.

“If the shop can do [a scan] inhouse – fine,” he says. “If subbed out, we’ll pay the rate as long as it is competitive. I understand this is a mechanical procedure, and those rates are solid.”

State Farm is more nuanced in their approach. Though Evans claims the company pays for scans “a lot,” the company is not yet ready for a final decision. For now, it’s a case-by-case basis.

“We’re still in a learning mode,” he says. “We’re perfectly fine paying for this procedure as often as we do, but the problem is that there are still a lot of unknowns. We’ve seen scanning being requested anywhere from a half hour of labor time from a body shop because they have the tools and equipment to do it themselves, to $600 from another shop because they send a car down the road to a dealership. We just hope the

estimating companies move quickly on this, but also accurately. We would hate for them to come out with a cursory approach.”

However that turns out, Evans has one pointed piece of advice for collision repair shops: “In my personal opinion, body shops will have to make an investment. I don’t see scan tools as much different than needing a piece of frame equipment that fixes a unibody properly or changing a paint system from a conventional system to a waterborne system. The shops are going to need the equipment in-house.

It’s a natural progression.”

NJA

Tom Slear is a freelance writer based in Annapolis, MD. He has written extensively about the collision repair industry over the last 30 years.

New Jersey Automotive | June 2017 | 37

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FEATURE by Joel Gausten

Facts,

NOT

Opinions: The Urgent Push for OEM

Repair Information

When the industry looks back at 2017 just a few short months from now, pre- and post-repair scanning will be acknowledged as one of the biggest topics that defined the year. As shops and insurers alike continue to work to address the matter (often butting heads in the process), the discussion has succeeded in doing wonders to promote the importance of staying up on OEM manufacturer position statements.

In an effort to get shops in line with repairing vehicles to the correct specifications, automakers continually publish statements either recommending or outright requiring that certain actions be performed on their automobiles in the shop.

A quick review of the highly recommended industry site oem1stop. com/positionstatements reveals OEM-issued statements on dozens of procedures for multiple makes and models. All of these documents can go a long way in helping a shop explain to a customer or an insurer why a particular part or procedure is necessary to ensure a safe repair. However, it is important for anyone who reads these statements to know that these are only snapshots of the bigger picture – basically the CliffsNotes of the collision repair world. A position statement might be a great way to clarify something in a pinch, but a thorough and professional repair depends on reviewing and understanding the complete procedures available from the OEM for a particular vehicle. This information is available to the industry in a variety of ways, ranging from the manufacturers themselves to third-party vendors including ALLDATA, Mitchell and CCC. Looking up OEM procedure information is a standard practice at Ultimate Collision Repair, the Edison-based facility owned by AASP/NJ Collision Chairman Jerry McNee. “We look into it on every single car that comes in based upon the repairs. We either get it from the manufacturer or ALLDATA Collision. We print it out and have it with the car and the technician, then the manager reviews it to make sure that it’s being done as per the OEM guidelines and instructions.”

While following OEM procedures is the only true option available if a technician wants to repair a vehicle as the automaker intended, the reality is that locating and strictly abiding by this information can be a

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If you don’t take advantage of what’s available to you, you might be heading towards an early retirement – or worse. lengthy and often frustrating process. For one thing, a considerable amount of OEM repair information is in a constant state of change. These days, that could mean that a procedure that was deemed appropriate just a month ago can actually be drastically different today.

“Every time you do something, you need to have that repair procedure just in case there’s a change. You need to know that up front versus pulling it in, getting started on it and then realizing, ‘Oh, there’s the repair procedures. We don’t have what we need.’ At a minimum, you’ll have two to three employees who will have to read, research, print, pull up and locate the information on how to do the job.”

Let’s take a procedure like changing a quarter panel on an ’08 BMW. If your first inclination when that car rolls into your shop is to reach for the repair procedures published that year, McNee warns that BMW now wants bonding, riveting, gluing and “very little to almost zero” welding in that procedure. How would even the most experienced technician know that unless they had a look at the most current information available?

To make matters even more complex, the correct OEM information isn’t always found in the most obvious place. For example, industry consultant and technical expert Larry Montanez tells us that BMW repair information regarding aluminum alloy wheels is located in the paint section of the repair procedures. However, Montanez stresses that this – and any other obstacle that a shop can think of – is still no excuse for not making a commitment to repairing vehicles the correct way.

“The problem is not that the OEMs aren’t providing information; the problem is that most people in the industry are sometimes too lazy to read industry magazines that give insight on how to track this information down.”

According to current industry figures, only around 20 percent of the technicians in this industry are actually accessing the repair procedures available to them. Additionally, the vast majority of facilities have yet to actively embrace the Database Enhancement Gateway (degweb.org) – the free service (funded by AASP National and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists) that addresses issues with the three database providers on issues such as (but not limited to) labor time discrepancies, missing labor time and included/not-included operations. As of this writing, the decade-old DEG had received just barely over 11,000 inquiries from industry end-users.

“There are around 40,000 shops in the United States,” observes Montanez. “How many people have

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Mike Anderson [Collision Advice] and I have seen in classes across the country? It has to be tens of thousands, and the DEG is mentioned in every one of our classes. Most people are reluctant to do research, and they are not aware of their true cost of doing business.”

Of course, there is also a major financial incentive for shops to utilize OEM repair procedures at all times.

The fact remains that carriers would have little ground to stand on if the majority of shops in a given market strictly followed the exact repair and equipment recommendations established by the automakers. If people know there are repair procedures and specific tool guidelines but will not follow them because they claim they’re not getting paid for them, it could be argued that they are empowering the people who have made zero investments and don’t care to do it the right way. When shops follow the OEM repair procedures and actually charge for them, the more likely they’ll get paid for being the professionals they are.

“The shop’s estimate is the only estimate that matters,” insists McNee. “At the end of the day, if you can prove that the repair needs a procedure, the insurers have to pay.”

This also applies to work performed under a referral contract with a carrier. While insisting on OEM procedures could result in a fair amount of friction with an insurer, McNee believes that it could also save a shop’s livelihood if there is ever a legal issue over a repair.

“If push comes to shove and this ends up in the court of law, there’s only one responsible party to make sure that car’s fixed correctly – and that’s the shop. Your excuse of, ‘The insurance company’s not paying me for it, therefore we didn’t do it’ will not fly, and you will absolutely be liable.”

Yes, OEM repair information can be difficult to navigate, which is all the more reason to use its providers as often as possible and become familiar with how each source operates. But because so few shops crack open the repair procedures to begin with, the opportunity for true education in this arena decreases. If you don’t take advantage of what’s available to you, you might be heading towards an early retirement – or worse.

In the words of McNee, “It doesn’t matter if you’re a one-man band or a 50-person shop – you’ve got to be willing to put the time in and do what you’ve got to do. Do you want to be at the top of your game? Don’t cry about the way things are unless you’re willing to do something about it.”

NJA

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Are Autonomous

Real Threat to the

Part One of an Exclusive Series

By Tom Slear

“It Ain’t Ever Driving Me Nowhere”

T

Maybe, Maybe Not

By Tom Slear

he prevailing wisdom among automotive prophets is that within 10 years autonomous cars will have a noticeable presence on US highways.

Within another 20 years – 2045 or so — they will be prevalent, and most of them, barring a political push to the contrary, will be truly driverless, which is to say they won’t have steering wheels or brake pedals.

C

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Cars a

Industry?

“Highly speculative,” SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg says of the timing. Those predictions come from “folks who are invested in vehicular innovation,” something akin to the General Motors display at the 1939 New York World’s Fair that teased onlookers with the idea of hands-free, feet-free driving by 1960.

There’s also the practical matter of replacing the current US stock of vehicles, which currently numbers over 200 million, most with lifespans of 10 to 15 years. Even if manufacturers started selling autonomous cars tomorrow, it’s likely more than 30 years would pass before they become commonplace.

Yet as mind-boggling and worrisome – if not scary – as driverless cars might seem, there’s no doubt they are over the horizon and making their way to roadways near us all.

A Long Time Coming

The notion of self-driving ground vehicles has been around for over 100 years. In 1912, two US inventors developed a small, box-shaped go-cart guided by light sensitive cells.

Packed with explosives, it was designed to move on its own toward enemy trenches. Hearing the noise, opposing soldiers ostensibly would turn on their flashlights, thereby guiding what was called the War Dog to its target and…boom.

That concept survives today more in the form of heatseeking missiles than driverless vehicles. Yet the idea of relieving drivers of driving persisted for decades without ever reaching critical mass. That began to change in the 1990s.

Innovations such as self-parking, adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking were the early signs. But they merely assist a driver, and only for a short time. The thought of replacing drivers didn’t come into focus until 2005, when the Defense Department’s research arm, DARPA, ran its second of three all-comers challenges for self-driving vehicles.

Until then, autonomous vehicles were robots comfortable only in controlled environments, such as factories, with fixed paths and prescribed tasks. Software engineers could rely on proven if/then code because the “if” was always known. The robots were useless when faced with the subtlety and uncertainty drivers encounter routinely, such as distinguishing a wall from heavy rain, a rock from a shadow, or ice from moisture.

Such ambiguity was the essence of the DARPA challenges (along with one to two million dollars in prizes). Computers do many things better than humans. They crank numbers almost instantaneously and never make mistakes. They stay focused regardless of how tedious the task. And they forget nothing.

But they can’t perceive like humans. Calculate the sum of the prime numbers between 100 and 20,000? No problem.

Calculating the number of dogs in a field filled with four-legged animals is another matter entirely. Telling the difference between a Great Dane and a small pony regardless of the camera’s precision is considerably harder for a computer—and by extension, software engineers — than beating a chess champion (which a computer first did in 1996).

Drive, Not Perceive, Better Than Humans

The Stanford team (a cross-discipline body of students, staff and professors from the areas of Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Aero-Astro, and Optimization) used a process called machine learning to develop the operating system that drove its vehicle, dubbed Stanley, completely unassisted through a 132-mile course in the southern Nevada desert. Machine learning teaches a computer through experience. After seeing thousands of cats and dogs and told New Jersey Automotive | August 2017 | 43

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COVER STORY each time which one is which, it eventually can discern one from the other. By today’s standards, Stanford’s system had rudimentary machine learning – Stanley’s average speed was a mere 19 mph – but enough for car manufacturers and technology companies to take notice.

Granted, it’s unlikely computers will ever see and perceive as well as humans. Yet that’s not the relevant issue. What matters is whether a car’s operating system can see and understand well enough to drive better than humans. That’s a much lower standard.

Let’s face it. We aren’t very good drivers. How else can we explain some 35,000 deaths every year on American roads?

We drive when we are drowsy (or drunk). We speed when the weather is bad. We look upon yellow lights as challenges. We turn on blinkers and expect everyone else to get out of the way.

Software suffers from none of those shortcomings. In a study published earlier this year, the international advisory firm KPMG estimated that unemotional, vigilant, safety conscious autonomous vehicles will reduce the number of accidents significantly. When autonomous cars are commonplace, accidents will drop some 90 percent from today’s level. That statistic alone, even if it turns out to be optimistic by a factor of two or three, makes a compelling case for autonomous vehicles.

On the other hand, we humans don’t logically evaluate safety. Mostly, we don’t want to give up control regardless of what the data indicates. It’s why many prefer driving to flying even though flying is by far a safer mode of travel. Surrendering control to a computer is an enormous leap of faith, one that AASP/NJ Executive Director Charlie Bryant won’t make.

“It ain’t ever driving me nowhere,” he says, using bad grammar for emphasis.

Bryant has plenty of company. Four out of five of the 1,000 US drivers who participated in an AAA survey early this year said they would be afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle. Age was not as much of a discriminator as one would think.

Generation Xers and Millennials were only 10 and 12 percent, respectively, less opposed to autonomous cars than Baby Boomers.

Overcoming Fear

The counter to this imposing degree of opposition is that we always mistrust new technology, especially when we believe it infringes on our safety. We need some time for experience, efficiency and convenience to soften our fears. Elevator operators were common long after push-button technology rendered them obsolete. Commercial air travel took a good while to gain widespread acceptance.

Here’s a likely scenario for getting from driver to driverless: Autonomous vehicles become the backbone of fleets that provide transportation services. You send a message by smartphone indicating a destination and a car picks you up at your front door within minutes and drops you off at work, a restaurant, or a Yankees game, and moves on. You might pay then. More likely you have a subscription with the service and you pay monthly.

Before long you realize that your private car, which spends over 90 percent of its useful life in driveways or parking lots, is superfluous. Maintenance costs and insurance premiums disappear. Since fewer cars use the roads, congestion lessens.

(Simulation studies indicate that a self-driving fleet vehicle programmed to handle several passengers simultaneously, while keeping them all within a few minutes of their schedules,

44 | New Jersey Automotive | August 2017

will replace six to 10 privately owned cars.) Navigation is never an issue. Autonomous vehicles get into accidents, but they are less frequent and less severe.

Word spreads, and before long, “It ain’t ever driving me nowhere,” morphs to, “Why not give it a try?”

GM, Ford, Volvo, Google, Uber, Lyft and many other companies are betting billions of dollars that will be the case.

After an orientation period via fleet vehicles, demand will likely build for privately owned autonomous cars. The only major variable is government regulation. Will states allow vehicles with no human monitors inside? Autonomous vehicles offer the most benefits when they are truly autonomous. But the image of a car zipping down the highway at 65 miles per hour with no steering wheel, no brake pedals, and no one inside will undoubtedly make regulators and politicians nervous. The compromise might be vehicles fully capable of driving themselves but quickly able to shift to being driven.

What About Our Kids and Grandkids?

When I took drivers’ education in 1968, I learned to never, ever back up without looking out the rear window. I absorbed that lesson hook, line, sinker and rod. Then along came cameras that provided a clear picture of what was behind the car. Nevertheless, I swore I wouldn’t trust them…until I did.

I don’t think the same will happen to me with autonomous cars. Charlie Bryant and I think alike. But both of us are in our late 60s. What about our kids and grandkids? They might hold the line against this new technology, as my generation did with nuclear power. Then again, one of my daughters recently told me she rarely uses email. That’s so last year. She’s evolved into a texting machine. If she can text safely and continuously while riding in a car, the likelihood she will reject autonomous cars is not high.

If others her age (she’s 25) follow suit, the collision repair industry will be forced to remake itself. You’ve seen some of this with the advent of electronic sensors, but the final step to autonomy will cause major disruption. Think about it. Who insures a car when there’s no driver? Who’s liable in an accident? How much will a self-driving car self-repair? And what will car manufacturers manufacture when the essence of a car is software?

Tune in next month.

NJA

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ASK MIKE INDUSTRY ADVICE

Do you have a question for Mike?

Contact New Jersey Automotive Editorial Director Joel Gausten at joel@grecopublishing.com or (973) 600-9288, and we’ll ask him in a future issue.

What are some common killers of productivity that most shop owners don’t realize exist?

This month, we “ASK MIKE” to discuss the topic of hidden killers of productivity that can affect virtually every shop out there. We at New Jersey Automotive hope you find this following exchange useful, and we encourage you to reach out to us if you have a question for Mike on this or any industry-related matter that he can answer in a subsequent issue.

New Jersey Automotive: Based on your experiences working with shops in this industry, what do you see as some of the common killers of productivity that most shops don’t realize even exist?

Mike Anderson: As I travel across the country and work with hundreds of shops, one of the things that I have learned is that for every person you have in the collision department of your body shop – let’s say four techs or three techs and a helper, but not anyone in the refinish department – you should be turning between $53,000 to $63,000 a month in sales on average per technician. Therefore, five times $63,000 would be $315,000.

But when I go in and see a lot of shops, they’re not turning those kind of numbers; they’re only turning maybe $45,000 a month in sales per technician. When we start looking at that, we’re like, ‘Wow, they should be turning more.’ Now, I want to add a caveat there – with a smile – that this

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down cars faster than the office staff can write the estimate or get approvals.

The third thing is 100 percent disassembly. If we don’t do that in the very beginning, we’re going to have starts and stops throughout the process, which impacts productivity.

Last but not least, we have to be able to get the right part the first time as fast as possible. does not apply to Larry Montanez’s consulting clients in New York! But when I start to look at why people are not being productive enough, I generally look first at cycle time in three microcycles: Pre-repair, repair and post-repair. Pre-repair is arrival to start, repair is start to complete and post-repair is complete to delivered.

There are a lot of things that happen before the technician gets the vehicle or after they are done with it that really impact our cycle time, which impacts our sales.

There are four things that impact pre-repair: Number one is scheduling. We take in more cars than we can process in a given day, and they sit for a couple of days.

The second thing is administrative bottlenecks; shops are understaffed in the office, and the shop tears

If we can do those things really well, then the vehicle tends to go through the shop faster. The faster we fix cars, the quicker we can get other cars in and improve our sales. There’s a myth out there that if you fix cars fast, you’re not doing quality work. I have to disagree with that. I know shops that fix cars fast and do exceptional work, and I know shops that take a long time and do horrible work. There are arguments on both sides, but at the end of the day, you can fix cars fast and do quality work as long as you schedule properly, you’ve streamlined your administrative processes and you’re not bottlenecked there. You also have to do a 100 percent teardown and have a really good sheet. If we do those things, we tend to see that the vehicle flows through the shop very fast.

Then we have post-repair. A lot of times, the tech gets done with the car,

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it’s checked, washed and cleaned up.

But paperwork chases the car; we’re waiting to get an approval from somebody, finalize the car or get payment. Now, the vehicle sits for a day or two. And all those problems are caused by not doing that prerepair process right.

So when we look at productivity, a lot of times people go in and “5S” their shop – sort, set, shine, standardize, sustain – and organize everything, buy more paint booths and frame machines and hire more technicians. But I find that the problem in a lot of cases isn’t in the production side of the shop; the problem is the things that happen before you even start on a car.

NJA: All of this sounds great, but what are some hurdles that shops face in getting their pre-existing staff to change to where this is fully embraced and implemented?

MA: What I tend to see is that a lot of owners and managers try to do it to their employees and not with their employees. When you do something to your employees, it’s like a dictatorship; they’re just going to push back at you. But when you do it with them, their voice counts; they feel like they’ve been heard. They’ve got skin in the game; they were part of the discussion to say how the shop is going to do things.

NJA: What are the fundamental first steps a shop owner should take if they see that their business’ productivity is not where it needs to be? Also, are there general things that any shop – regardless of size – needs to do to get the process moving in a better direction?

MA: One is looking at data – data tells a story. I once learned something

from a guy who was a higher-up at a dealership group. He said, ‘Mike, data tells you to do one of two things – celebrate or go look.’ Let’s say that the average length of rental or cycle time in your area is 12 days and you’re at nine days. You’re three days better, and you should celebrate with your employees. We don’t celebrate often enough. All we do is beat them up when things are bad; we need to celebrate more. But if the average length of rental is nine days and you’re at 12, well then you need to go look.

You need to spend some time out in the shop and see what’s going on.

We have something called the Ohno Circle; that is something from Toyota. That is when you put a circle in the middle of the floor, and if you thought somebody had managerial potential, you would say, ‘Stand in

that circle and just observe and tell me what you see at the end of the day.’ You come back later and ask, ‘What do you see?’ The candidate responds, ‘Well, I noticed this person’s walked back and forth six times.’ At the end of the day, you would find out why that person was walking back and forth six times.

Maybe it is something where you can relocate the equipment closer to him or her to make it more efficient. In Japanese culture, that is how it was determined whether someone was a good managerial candidate or not – through their ability to observe waste or inefficiencies. Sometimes, when you’re living inside your own little aquarium, you have a sheltered look – you can’t see the forest for the trees.

It’s good to sometimes just observe and note what you see.

NJA

Mike Anderson is an Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) and the former owner of Wagonwork Collision Centers, two highly acclaimed shops located in Alexandria, VA. He has served as a member of many industry organizations throughout his career, including the WMABA Board of Directors, the Mitchell Advisory Board, the MOTOR Advisory Board, the ASE Test Review Committee, the National Auto Body Council, the Collision Industry Conference and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists. Additionally, he is a past Virginia SkillsUSA chairman, serves as a facilitator for Axalta Coating Systems’ highly recognized Business Council 20 Groups in both the US and Canada and facilitates numerous courses for Axalta Coating Systems’ Educational Series.

He currently offers expert industry consulting via his latest venture, Collision Advice (collisionadvice.com).

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ARANJ 2017 Officers

President Bob Dirkes - Dirkes Used Auto Parts (609) 625-1718 dirkesauto@gmail.com

1st Vice President Ian Szoboszlay - Ocean County Auto (732) 349-0332 ian@cosmosautoparts.com

2nd Vice President Darryl Carmen - Lentini Auto Salvage (908) 782-6838 darryl@las-parts.com

3rd Vice President Rodney Krawczyk - Ace Auto Wreckers (732) 254-9816 aceautonj@comcast.net Executive Director Brian Snyder - Auto Recyclers of NJ (609) 714-2339 brian@aranj.org

ARANJ 2017 Board of Directors Mike Ronayne - Tilghmans Auto Parts (609) 723-7469 tilghmans@snip.net Mike Yeager - EL & M Auto (609) 561-2266 elandmauto@aol.com

Ed Silipena - American II Autos (609) 965-6700 esilipena@yahoo.com Harry Shover - Porchtown Auto (856) 694-1555

Norm Vachon - Port Murray Auto (908) 689-3152 portmurrayauto@yahoo.com Dylan Rinkens - East Brunswick Auto (732) 254-6501 ebautonj@comcast.net

ARANJ

President’s Message

The Automotive Recyclers Association of New Jersey

New Tire Legislation and What It Will Cost You

The State of New Jersey 217th Legislature has introduced and passed a bill that is destined to have negative consequences on the environment, the businesses that handle tires and the consumers who purchase used tires. The final bill has been sent to Governor Christie to approve or veto.

The manufacturers of tires do not have any responsibility placed on them for recycling their product. Tire piles and tires thrown in the woods are already a problem in New Jersey; if we reduce the volume of reselling used tires, that many more have to end up somewhere. This bill also creates more sales volume for the manufacturers of new tires by reducing the sale of used tires. The consumer will now have very limited choices in their ability to buy used tires and, as a result, will be driven to purchase new tires at a much higher price no matter what their financial ability is. The businesses that sell used tires and purchase parts of vehicles will have limited outlets for these tires and increased cost for their disposal.

We are in a time where we are trying to be environmentally sensitive and reuse and recycle all that we can. We are trying to stretch every dollar and save money by purchasing used products and lengthen the life cycle of items. You would think that our elected officials would be a part of these efforts and put responsibilities back on the manufacturers and not on the backs of everyone else.

Bob Dirkes, ARANJ, President Dirkes Used Auto Parts (609) 625-1718 dirkesauto@gmail.com

New Jersey Automotive | August 2017 | 53

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For Genuine Hyundai parts, contact these Authorized Hyundai Dealers.

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DEAR GOVERNOR CHRISTIE,

NO BRAKES by Ron Ananian

Did you ever want to write the guy in charge and tell him he’s wrong about something? Yeah, me too.

Let’s do this together...Here goes...

As a lifelong NJ resident and long term tax payer celebrating 43 plus years of being in the automotive industry, I am exercising my right to question just what is going on with the NJ State Motor Vehicle Inspection program. It does not make sense to me at any level and I question what the reasons for its existence in its present form are?

Recently, I received notice that my Emissions Repair Technician certification is due for renewal. I have been part of the program since it went private and have tried to be a cheerleader for its importance and need, both in the shop and around the industry. The need for recertification I understand; why I have to have training in diesel engine repair I do not. In the past year I have worked on two diesel vehicles, one of which was just sold. The other only comes out in winter for snow plowing. A very limited market for us in our repair shop, to say the least. But we are not unlike many other smaller shops throughout the state. Diesel in my neck of the woods is a dead issue. Why do I need to spend time, money and resources to remain certified in something that frankly is of no value to me? Gas guys in Diesel class is a tough sell and tedious. We already have enough to do keeping up with changes to gasoline engine technology; to make the effort with little chance of return for doing so is ridiculous. I am guessing the mandate comes from the Federal level of the EPA and if so, then they’re wrong too.

Obtaining certification in an area with little return is a waste of EVERYONE’S time; yours, technicians, instructors and agencies. Wouldn’t the money be better spent elsewhere for more direct results? How about focusing on the safety aspect instead?

Last week, I had to service a 1999 Lincoln Continental for a customer. The car needed four tires due to dry rot; the sidewalls were literally cracking all around with gaps of 1/8 inch. The tread was good but the tires were bad regardless.

The brakes were also a major concern; all four brakes were in need of repair with the right rear brake locked up! The wheel would not turn. The brake caliper was probably in

need of replacement; clearly an unsafe situation. But the vehicle had passed inspection. Why? Because the only concern was for OBD 2 emissions and paperwork. Safety has nothing to do with inspection anymore. The customer commented how wrong I was. It had passed inspection, after all. Therefore, the customer insisted it did not need ANYTHING! How misinformed the public is, right?

When I drive on Route 80 or Route 287 and see cars on the side of the road, or when I read about accidents tying up traffic for miles, I always wonder how? Could it be that a tire, brake or suspension failure had something to do with it? And how much damage did we do to the environment with all those cars idling or going slower trying to get past that accident zone? If EPA’s answer to the need for me to be Diesel certified is every bit helps and counts, how come this doesn’t?

The Bottom Line is....

I have run my business the same way for over 40 years.

Never let the inmates run the asylum; lately they are when it comes to the NJ State Inspection program. There is clearly a need for it; but the limited resources we all work with need to be reserved, preserved and redirected for a more efficient usage. You have a very difficult job, Mr. Governor. But that is what you signed up for. As Governor of the state I live in, please know that it is my right, actually my job, to question all that goes on. To question all of it is difficult. This situation is a no brainer and very obvious to me.

Chances are I won’t hear from you; at a 15 percent approval rating and term of office coming up, I really don’t expect you to care. But if you do, I welcome you with open arms.

Feel free to contact me courtesy of this magazine...or, since I heard you’re interested in radio, call me during my radio show hours, Saturday 2-4PM Eastern time.

Thanks, Ron Ananian

’Til next time, I’m Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor, reminding you that “Good mechanics aren’t expensive; they’re priceless.”

Ron Ananian, owner of R\A Automotive in Waldwick, NJ (est. 1978), is heard weekly in 140 markets on his nationally syndicated radio talk show. He is a working technician and former AASP/NJ Board member. Beyond his radio show, Ron writes and speaks for the automotive industry at trade shows and events. Visit The Car Doctor online at www.cardoctorshow.com.

56 | New Jersey Automotive | August 2017

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by Mitchell Portnoi, Esq.

Hit-and-Run Accidents: What to Do Next LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

In New Jersey, where the population is densely concentrated in a number of cities and surrounding communities, it is relatively common to be involved in a “hit-and-run” accident.

Those individuals usually flee the scene due to any number of reasons, such as being uninsured or unlicensed or perhaps due to a warrant having been issued previously for their arrest.

Whatever the reason, there are a few steps that are very important to take if you are ever involved in such an accident.

First, get whatever descriptive information you can get from the fleeing vehicle – the color of the car, the make, the model, a description of the driver, etc. Second, do not attempt to run down or chase any hit-and-run vehicles; this will exacerbate the problems and perhaps cause more harm than good.

Third, contact the police and make a report of the incident. Make sure to give

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police the full story of the accident and include any of the descriptive information that you were able to initially obtain. Allow the police to attempt to obtain accident information from the fleeing automobile. It is most important to have a police report that corroborates the fact that there was another vehicle responsible for the cause of the accident.

Why is this important? Because in New Jersey, we have mandatory Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage and Underinsurance (UIM) for policies that contain liability insurance. We are covered by our own policies even if we cannot find the phantom vehicle that caused the accident (UM coverage) or if the identified vehicle has a limited amount of coverage (Underinsured Motorist Insurance, a.k.a. UIM coverage). Additionally, there is no requirement in New Jersey that there even be an impact between the

offending vehicle and the injured prospective party. (In New York and some other states, there is the requirement of an “impact.”) In other words, we are already paying for insurance coverage for injury or damage caused by either an unknown or underinsured party.

It is strongly recommended that you seek the counsel of an experienced personal injury attorney if you are involved in an accident with a hit-andrun driver. You have more rights than you may have originally known.

NJA

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Flemington Volkswagen 213 ROUTE 202/31 FLEMINGTON, NJ 08822 TOLL FREE: 800-216-5124 FAX: 908-782-9397 rmuir@flemington.com www.flemington.com

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Paul Miller VW of Bernardsville 118 MORRISTOWN ROAD BERNARDSVILLE, NJ 07924 TOLL FREE: 877-318-6557 LOCAL: 908-766-1600 FAX: 908-766-6171 www.paulmillervw.com

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New Jersey Automotive | August 2017 | 65

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MECHANICAL CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE continued from page 22

Matera - Where The Passion of the Christ was filmed – town built into a mountain.

Alberobello - Town with the “trulli,” which are hut-like homes made out of limestone. The occupation of the owner is identified with a white-painted symbol on the roof.

Pompeii - City destroyed by neighboring Mt. Vesuvius.

Impressive, but seeing the casting of bodies of victims was sobering.

Positano - City on a cliff. It scared the hell out of me as we drove along the narrow road on the edge of mountains competing with tour busses for our share of the road. Great view, but I am afraid of heights. I will not go back.

Rome - What history. Vatican City, St. Peter’s Basilica – the largest, most ornate building I’ve ever seen. The Coliseum, the Parthenon - One wow after another!

Polignano a Mare - Overlooking the east coast. One area had a beach comprised of stones. No sand - tough on adult feet.

(Bring your water shoes.) With cliffs on both sides of crystal blue water – very picturesque.

Sorrento - Beautiful area near Positano, both were on the west coast, overlooking the Island of Capri. The Limoncello factory is located here, and the lemons (some bigger than a grapefruit) were in season.

In conclusion, we covered a lot of ground and had a great time. The GPS (phone) worked well in the capable hands of the “Alpha Male” – my friend’s son, Joe.

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ADVERTISERS’ INDEX 1-800-NEW-PARTS ........................................................................14-15 Accudraft ........................................................................................17 Acme Nissan ..................................................................................4 Action Nissan of Flemington ............................................................53 Amato Agency ................................................................................45 American Honda Motor Company ....................................................52 Audi Group......................................................................................34-35 Axalta Coating Systems ..................................................................6 BMW Group ....................................................................................40-41 BMW of Springfield..........................................................................23 Bram Auto Group ............................................................................25 Bridgewater Acura ..........................................................................58 Cadillac of Mahwah ........................................................................36 Carworx ..........................................................................................10 Classic Audi ....................................................................................13 Collision Equipment Company..........................................................50 Clinton Acura ..................................................................................IBC Crestmont Family of Dealerships......................................................46 Empire Auto Parts............................................................................18 Flemington Audi ..............................................................................5 Flemington Group............................................................................51 Ford Group......................................................................................20 Future Cure ....................................................................................12 Glen Toyota ....................................................................................OBC Hyundai Group ................................................................................54 Innovative Solutions & Technology / Pro Spot....................................27 J Sabino Consulting ........................................................................66 Klean Frame....................................................................................18 Lynnes Nissan East..........................................................................20 Maxon Hyundai ..............................................................................61 Maxon Mazda ................................................................................57 Mazda Group ..................................................................................44 MINI Group......................................................................................26 Mopar Group ..................................................................................29 NUCAR............................................................................................30-31 Phillipsburg-Easton Honda ..............................................................IBC Porsche Group ................................................................................47 PPG ................................................................................................3 PPGMS ..........................................................................................48 Princeton BMW ..............................................................................63 Princeton MINI ................................................................................11 Subaru Group..................................................................................33 Subaru of Morristown ......................................................................39 Town Motors ..................................................................................55 Toyota Group ..................................................................................62 Toyota of Hackensack......................................................................IFC Toyota of Morristown ......................................................................39 Tri-State Luxury Collection ..............................................................8-9 Valtek..............................................................................................19 VIP Honda ......................................................................................58 VW Group ......................................................................................65 Westbury Jeep Chrysler Dodge Ram SRT ........................................59 Wheel Collision Center ....................................................................19

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