autobody news april 2012 western edition

On March 16, a group of 188 U.S.lawmakers led by U.S. Senator Deb-bie Stabenow (D-MI) urged Presi-dent Obama to crack down on“predatory” Chinese pricing prac-tices, which they said are threateningthe U.S. auto parts industry and couldcost the U.S. more than a millionjobs.

“We cannot wait until furtherdamage is done,” the nearly 200members of the House and Senate—including all the Democratic mem-bers of the House Ways and MeansCommittee—said in a letter to Presi-dent Obama. “Seventy-five percent ofthe jobs in the automotive sector arein auto parts, and these jobs are at riskin every state in the nation.”

The Congressional letter encour-ages Presidential action against Chi-nese predatory trade practices in thissector to be one of the “first and high-est priorities” of his Administration’srecently created Interagency Trade

Enforcement Center. The lawmakerspraised the administration’s creationof the Interagency Trade EnforcementCenter to promote a more coordinatedeffort, which they say will provide theUnited States additional resources toexamine China’s and other nations’trade violations. This effort, unlikeany that have taken place in recentmemory, asks the Administration tofurther investigate the barriers thatChina has adopted and initiate appro-priate action to level the playing field.

The complaint is supported bythe United Steel Workers. “Mosttrade cases are filed by the privatesector after substantial injury has oc-curred. China’s practices in this sec-tor have already caused harm, but thegoal is also to alter its policies beforethe complete decimation of our do-mestic industry. In these critical eco-nomic times, we must take everyappropriate action to address unfair

The first of two bills introduced in theCalifornia Legislature (SB 1460, Lee,not yet assigned to committee) wouldremove the requirement for insurers todisclose aftermarket parts installationand make certified parts adequate forcompliance with the Business andProfessions Code (Section 9875.1).Currently consumers must be advisedin writing that aftermarket parts arebeing installed.

Lee’s bill would require only thatsuch disclosure be made in the con-sumer’s policy statement. The bill alsorequires certified aftermarket partsvendors or distributors to warrant partsequivalently to OEM, an electronictracking system to monitor recalls, anda new requirement for reporting de-fective parts to both the certifyingagency and the California’s BAR. Thebill would also require vendors to pro-vide the body shop with a serviceguarantee on defective parts which in-cludes a full refund within 60 days.

In California the Automotive Re-pair Act establishes the Bureau of Au-tomotive Repair under the supervisionand control of the Director of Con-sumer Affairs. Existing law providesthat a person who fails to comply withthe act is guilty of a misdemeanorpunishable by a fine not exceeding$1,000, by imprisonment not exceed-ing 6 months, or by both that fine andimprisonment, except as defined.

Existing law also prohibits an in-surer from requiring the use of nono-riginal equipment or aftermarketreplacement parts for repairs on an in-sured’s automobile unless the insuredhas been given advance notice of theuse of these parts in the repair estimateas well as information on the warrantyapplicable to these replacement parts.

This bill would require an auto-motive repair dealer or insurer whouses or directs the use of replacementcrash parts, as defined, to follow spec-

The U.S. Senate has passed Senate Bill1813, a two-year transportation billworth $109 billion to go toward high-way construction and auto safety initia-tives. The House of Representatives hasnot completed work on its highway billand may take up the Senate bill.The Senate legislation includes the fol-

lowing:● revises highway safety improvementprograms● directs the secretary to establish re-quirements for regularly recurring up-dates and approval of state strategichighway safety plans

U.S. Senate Passes Transportation Billwith Highway Safety Provisions

Two California Bills Attempt to Amend theBusiness and Professions Code

See Chinese Auto Parts, Page 52

See Transport bill, 0

Nearly 200 Congressmen and Senators Write inOpposition to China’s Auto Parts Practices

See CA Bills, Page 51

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REGIONALCAA Glendale/Foothill Chapter Holds Meeting

About Industry Total Losses at LKQ,Santa Fe Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

CAA to Hold Second Quarter Board of Directors Meeting in Long Beach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

CAA’s Orange County Chapter Holds Morning Meeting in Tustin, Discusses 5-Year AQMD NOx Rule Postponement and MonetizingSocial Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Caliber Collision Centers Expands in California With Acquisition of Autocraft in Torrance, Makes 101st Location in the Southwest . . . 6

California Autobody Association and Automotive Service Councils of California to HoldLegislative Day in April . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

CAPA Announces Plans for New VehicleTest Fit Lab in California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

CAWA Elects New Chair of CAWA’sManufacturers Advisory Council . . . . . . . . . 6

NV Lexus Dealership Hosts MPi TechnicianCompetition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

PPG MVP Spring Conference Sold Out . . . . . . 6SA Recycling Celebrates 50 Years at

Terminal Island, CA, Location . . . . . . . . . . . 6San Diego Cracks Down on Texting While

Driving Ban, Nets 500 Tickets. . . . . . . . . . . 8Two California Bills Attempt to Amend the

Business and Professions Code . . . . . . . . . 1Ward Myers of IMC Elected as Secretary

to the CAWA Board of Directors . . . . . . . . . 6Written PC Premiums in AZ Decline to

$7.4B in 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

COLUMNSAttanasio - Rich’s Auto Body: Approaching

50 Years and Not Slowing Down. . . . . . . . 14Cheney - Class Auto Center: An Aptly Named

First Class Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Chess - CAFE Standards Will Affect More

Than A Shop’s Miles Per Gallon . . . . . . . . 44Franklin - Sprucing Up Your Shop For Spring. 36I-CAR - Oil Spill at the I-CAR Tech Centre in

Appleton, WI, Raises Awareness. . . . . . . . 60Insurance Insider - ‘Survival of the Fittest’

Also Applies to Collision Repairers . . . . . . 42Nigro - Feather, Sand and Fill: Paint Operations

Body Shops Perform But Don’t Get Paid For. 38Schroeder - LeMans Body and Paint: Still a

Family Affair After 53 Years in theLos Angeles Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Sisk - The NORTHEAST™ 2012 Trade Show:All About the Seminars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Weaver - What If You’re Looking for Morethan One Waldo? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

NATIONAL275,000 Subaru Forester SUVs From

2009–12 Recalled For Rear Seat BeltsFailing to Lock Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Assured Performance Network OffersOther OEM Rewards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

CARSTAR Expands Sales/Marketing Teams. . 23Chrysler Launches Certified Collision

Repair Facility Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Connecticut Bill Adds Subsection to Require

Recycled or A/M Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37DealerTrack Expands Integrated Services to

Assist Dealers in Complying with New CA

Total Loss Vehicle History Law . . . . . . . . . 59Delaware Bill (HB 242) Prohibits Insurers

from Exploiting Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Fix Auto Appoints Tim Clark as Senior VP,

Insurance Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Ford Probes 2005-06 Ford Taurus Throttles . 31GM Recalling Some 2012 Regal Sedans . . . . 31Guardian Auto Glass acquires Glass Specialty

Company of Bloomington, Illinois . . . . . . . 29Helpful Documents, Tools And Information

Only a Click Away for Shops. . . . . . . . . . . 47Hyundai Recalling 2011-12 Sonata Hybrids

For Rear Seat Belt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Infiniti Launches National Certified

Collision Repair Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Infiniti Recalling 2003-04 Infiniti M45 Sedans . 31Iowa Shop’s Action and Iowa Collision Repair

Association, Established in 2005, Startingto be Heard Statewide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

LQK Has Record Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Mexico Implements New Mandatory Auto

Insurance Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Mitchell’s Claims Triage is Available to Carriers. 23Montana Collision Repair Specialists’

Legislative Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Nearly 200 Congressmen and Senators Write

in Opposition to China’s Auto Parts Practices . 1Nissan Leaf Nationwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30NORTHEAST™ Trade Show Leadership Forum. 51PSE Appoints Guy Barnes as VP, Sales &

Marketing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Rhode Island Bill Would Delete Anti-Steering

Legislation Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Specially Constructed Vehicle Amnesty to End . 43The Levan Group—Where Crash and

Mechanical Parts Intersect . . . . . . . . . . . . 40TopTech Finder Unites PDR Techs with

Body Shop Managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Toyota Recalls Another 681,000 Vehicles . . . 31U.S. Senate Passes Transportation Bill with

Highway Safety Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1UPDATE on Tow-for-Pay Scam, “Evangelist

Jerry Bratt” and “Jacqueline Harris” . . . . . 25Verifacts Symposium Recognizes Achievement,

Industry Unknowns, and Negotiation. . . . . 50WD-40/SEMA Cares Foose Challenger Raises

$115K For Charity at Barrett-Jackson . . . . 48Women’s Industry Network Holds Planning

Meeting in Late January, Will Hold Annual Conference in May in Atlanta . . . . . . . . . . 19

PPAAIINNTT SSPPEECCIIAALL2012 Ridler® Award Winner Features

BASF’s Glasurit® Paint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Airbrush Artist JoAnn Bortles is Writing

Her Seventh Painting Book . . . . . . . . . . . . 20BASF Advises Shops to Join the Move to

Waterborne Coatings Now . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Bobby Alloway’s 5 Essential Tips for

Achieving a Flawless Black Finish . . . . . . . 24Custom Painter Charley Hutton Explains

Step-By-Step How to Create RealisticWood Grain Effects With PPG Products. . . 58

PCL Has Been Primed Since 1929 withClear Solutions for Shops . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

RBL Products New Pre-Treat System . . . . . . 19

Contents

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy HayhurstGeneral Manager: Barbara DaviesAssistant Editor: Erica SchroederContributing Writers: Tom Franklin, David Brown, JohnYoswick, Lee Amaradio, Rich Evans, Janet Chaney, TobyChess, Mike Causey, Tom McGee, Ed Attanasio,Chasidy SiskAdvertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman(800) 699-8251Sales Assistant: Kristy NavarroArt Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Serving California, Nevada and Arizona, Autobody Newsis a monthly publication for the autobody industry. Per-mission to reproduce in any form the material publishedin Autobody News must be obtained in writing from thepublisher. ©2012 Adamantine Media LLC.

Autobody NewsP.O. Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018(800) 699-8251 (760) 721-0253 Faxwww.autobodynews.comEmail: [email protected]

Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .60Automotive ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44BASF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . .45Buerge Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . . . .11CCC Information Services . . . . . . . . .7Chief Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62CSS USA, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36Downtown Motors of LA(Audi, VW, Porsche) . . . . . . . . . . .17

Drew Hyundai-Volkswagen . . . . . . .43DuPont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Elk Grove Toyota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Enterprise Rent-A-Car . . . . . . . . . . .57Equalizer Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Ford Wholesale Parts DealersAZ, CA, & NV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Galpin Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29, 37Garmat USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . .53Honda-Acura Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32-33

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . .54I.C.E. Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Innovative Tools & Technologies . . .42Kearny Mesa Subaru-Hyundai . . . . .30Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers .41LKQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .56

MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .59Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers .51MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . .21Moss Bros. Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . .13Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

PCL Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28PPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2Preval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64Pro-Spray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Rare Parts Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35RBL Products, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25RealParts.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Replica Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46Riverside Metro VW-Honda-Hyundai-Nissan-Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Safety Regulation Strategies . . . . . .46SATA Spray Equipment . . . . . . . . . .18Shingle Springs Nissan-Subaru . . .22Sierra Chevrolet-Honda-Mazda-Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Solution Finish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56Star-A-Liner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .52Timmons VW-Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . .24Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .61VeriFacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers .50Volvo Crash Wholesale Dealers . . .48Weatherford BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Inde

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The Orange County chapter of the Cal-ifornia Autobody Association (CAA)held their monthly members meeting onFebruary 28 at the Tustin Ranch GolfClub at 8 a.m. Speakers Chris Linford,Travis Ashby and Rob Thatcher ofOozle Media spoke about how shopscan use social media outreach to bringin more first time customers.

Chapter Vice President BenMendoza of Kelly’s Body Shop inSanta Ana opened the meeting by an-nouncing that the chapter’s board will

remain the same for 2012. He alsotalked about the postponement of theAQMD’s Rule 1147 new NOx re-quirements for spray booth burners;shops have been given a 5 year exten-sion on the rule thanks to efforts from

CAA members and others. But hewarned shops that part of the exten-sion rule is that shops have to monitorand document their gas readings fortheir spray booths to maintain this ex-tension. If the AQMD shows up re-questing this readings log and a shophas not kept it, a hefty fine will be dis-tributed to the shop.

Oozle Media’s presentation wasdriven by the work they have donewith Shine Collision, a collision repairshop in Salt Lake City, UT. Thanks totheir social media efforts, spearheadedby Oozle, Shine has been able to in-crease their gross income by $400,000this year.

“The ROI of social media isyou’ll still be in business in 5 years,”said Travis Ashby, Oozle’s CEO.

Travis talked about how googleis now using a social search func-tion, meaning when logged into yourgoogle account, people searching ongoogle will see pages their googlecontacts have “plus oned” show upfirst. Google treats pages your con-tacts have “liked” as a recommenda-tion and brings those listings upfirst. According to Travis, this iswhy it’s important for shops to have

a social media following.Also when a potential customer

is using google to look for a business,if a business uses its social media a

lot, that will bring their page up on thesearch. According to Chris, socialmedia has a huge effect on SEO be-cause it’s more instances where yourbusiness’s name appears.

“There is a high correlation withwhat you do on social media and yourgoogle ranking,” said Chris, “One ofthe best things you can do is get peopleto share your website on Facebook.”

Oozle also differs from some

other social media companies becausethey meticulously track what calls arecoming in from a result of what typeof advertising. They have businessesuse separate phone lines for each typeof advertising they do so shops cansee where their advertising dollars arebest spent. This way they know whatgenerates the most unique callers,a.k.a. new potential customers.

Oozle also recommends recordingcalls at your shop, not only to track newcallers but also to make sure your em-ployee’s customer service is on point.

“Every call is important,” saidBen Mendoza, “Your employees havegot to have great customer service oryou’re going to lose that caller.”

According to Rob Thatcher, theway an employee conducts an inquirycall makes all the difference.

“The whole ticket to all of it is toask questions—not 20 questions—but5 questions,” said Thatcher.

For more information aboutOozle Media visit www.oozleme-dia.com.


CAA’s Orange County Chapter Holds Morning Meeting in Tustin, Discusses5-Year AQMD NOx Rule Postponement and Monetizing Social Media

California Autobody Association and Automotive ServiceCouncils of California to Hold Legislative Day in AprilThe California Autobody Association(CAA) and the Automotive ServiceCouncils of California (ASCCA) willhost a Legislative Fly-In Day on April18 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This day offers an opportunityfor association members to fly toSacramento to talk with their locallegislators about legislative issuesthey see in the collision industry. At-tendees will have an opportunity tomeet with local legislators and hearfrom various guest speakers.

Fill out the registration formavailable at www.calautobody.comand book your airfare. The associa-tions will take care of the rest, in-cluding transportation from theairport, food, and the scheduling oflegislative appointments.

Reservations will be accepted ona first come, first serve basis.

Past speakers have included:Chief, Bureau of Automotive Re-pair; Governor’s Small BusinessAdvocate, Governor’s EconomicAdviser; Chair, Select Committeeon Career Technical Education &Workforce Development; AuthorAB2289 (Smog Check), Chair Sen-

ate Transportation & Housing Com-mittee. Find your local legislator atwww. leg i s l a tu re .ca .gov /por t -zipsearch.html.

ASCCA will provide roundtriptransportation to and from the Capi-tol. There will be 2 morning shuttlepick-ups/drop offs at 7:45 a.m. and8:30 a.m. and afternoon pick-up/drop-offs between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.No airline from Burbank, San Diego,and Orange County airports offerearly flights that arrive by 9:00 a.m. Ifyou are arriving on a later flight, spe-cial arrangements will be made foryour transportation needs. The day'sschedule will be; 8:00 a.m. to 9:00a.m. welcome breakfast, 9:00 a.m. to9:30 a.m. special guest speaker, 9:30a.m. to noon legislative appointments,noon to 1:00 p.m. lunch, 1:00 p.m. to2:30 p.m. legislative appointments.

People who show up as part of agroup have a better chance of gettingan appointment to speak with theirlocal legislators and often have agreater impact.

For more information about thisevent please visit:www.calautobody.com.

Chapter Vice President Ben Mendoza dis-cusses AQMD Rule Postponement

Oozle’s Travis Ashby talks social media ROI


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Caliber Collision Centers Expands in California With Acquisitionof Autocraft in Torrance, Makes 101st Location in the SouthwestCaliber Collision Centers announcedits continued expansion into the LosAngeles area with the acquisition ofAutocraft of Torrance.

Caliber Collision’s newly ac-quired 24,000 square feet collision re-pair facility is now open at 3032Kashiwa Street, Torrance, CA.

“Our most recent acquisitionprovides additional Caliber Collisionmarket penetration around the LosAngeles market as we continue togrow both organically and throughstrategic acquisitions across Califor-nia, Texas, Arizona and Nevada mar-kets. Our Torrance opening createsadditional Los Angeles area capacityas we provide our insurance clientsthe cost management, operationalconsistency and customer focus they

require in today’s competitive insur-ance market” said Steve Grimshaw,Caliber Collision Centers’ Chief Ex-ecutive Officer.

“Our new Torrance openingrepresents our 101st center in thesouthwest and our 46th center inCalifornia. This new center nowbrings our total number of Los An-geles area locations to 15 as we con-tinue to grow into the greater LosAngeles collision repair provider ofchoice” added Mark Sanders, ChiefOperating Officer for Caliber Colli-sion Centers.

Ward Myers of Interamerican MotorCorporation (IMC) has been electedSecretary of the CA/AZ/NV Auto-motive Wholesalers Association(CAWA) Board of Directors.

He joins other 2012 officers ofthe Board including Steve Sharp ofWORLDPAC as Chair, Ed Jimenezof Riebe’s Auto Parts as Vice-Chair,Ron Aparicio of Walker Products asTreasurer and Mary Davis of NGKSpark Plugs as Immediate Past Chair.

Ward Myers of IMC Elected as Secre-tary to the CAWA Board of Directors

PPG’s annual spring MVP BusinessSolutions Conference, to be held fromMarch 25-27, at the Pointe Hilton Tap-atio Cliffs Resort in Phoenix, Arizona,has sold out, PPG announced March 1.

The conference has a notablelineup of well-known, motivationalkeynote speakers, relevant seminars,and interactive workshops all focusedon aiding attendees in improving theircollision center performance. Theconference is structured to give par-ticipants exposure to fresh approachesfor advancing their competitive capa-bilities.

Two prominent keynote speakershighlight the conference agenda:Vince Poscente and Joe Calloway.

“We are very pleased that ourcustomers recognize the importanceof these conferences,” said JimBerkey, director of PPG MVP Busi-ness Solutions. “We put a lot of effortinto providing pertinent informationand processes that can make a real dif-ference in a collision center’s businesssuccess. Apparently, our customersare finding genuine value in what weare offering because these confer-

ences are gaining in popularity. Weare delighted to have another sell-outevent.”

These PPG conferences are bian-nual events; the next conference willbe held in the fall.

For more information, visit ppg-mvp.com.

Additional information aboutPPG MVP Business Solutions and fu-ture conferences may also be obtainedby calling (866) 237-8178.

PPG MVP Spring Conference Sold Out

Michael Antonelli of Vantage Mar-keting Global, inc. has been electedthe 2012 Chair of CAWA’s Manufac-turers Advisory Council. Antonelli isfounder of Vantage Marketing Global,inc., a resource management companyserving the automotive supply chainand is based in Grand Island, NewYork. Mr. Antonelli is joined by RonAparicio of Walker Products as the2012 MAC Vice –Chair. The MAC of-fers the Association a manufacturersperspective in the distribution channeland members also participate inCAWA’s standing committees.

CAWA Elects New Chair of CAWA’sManufacturers Advisory Council

Caliber’s new Torrance location

MPi, a provider of dealership servicedepartment diagnostic solutions, helda skills competition to determine whois the best service technician at Lexusof Henderson on March 10, accord-ing to Auto Remarketing News.

MPi hosted about 7,000 techni-cians from 455 dealerships nation-wide in this competition, called REVIt UP. The competition consisted of aseries of four races designed to testtechnicians’ skills and speed usingMPi’s software system for the vehi-cle inspection process.

The REV It UP national champreceived $5,000 cash, a $5,500 scantool from OTC and two grand prizecustom trophies—one for the winnerand one to display at the dealership.

The company also pointed outthe grand prize winner additionallyreceived a NASCAR race ticketweekend with the venue based uponwinner’s home location from PhyzixAutomotive. Phyzix provided VIPpasses for two, pit passes, airfare andaccommodations.

“Changes in automotive tech-nology over the past 10 years haveprofoundly changed the way autodealers now have to work on cars,”MPi emphasized.

More details about MPi and itstools can be found at www.mpifix.com.

NV Lexus Dealership HostsMPi Technician Competition

The scrap metal recycling firm SA Re-cycling, headquartered in Orange,Calif., is celebrating the 50th year of theoperations of its Terminal Island, Calif.,location. SA Recycling, which has morethan 50 locations in three Westernstates, processes about 3 million tons offerrous and nonferrous scrap per year.

To commemorate the anniver-sary, the company held a celebrationat its Terminal Island site on Feb. 27,2012. The facility, on 27 acres, has op-erated a mega shredder since 2006. SARecycling has operated the TerminalIsland facility for nearly five years.Prior to SA Recycling acquiring thefacility, the Terminal Island locationhas operated under different names.

David Thornburg, a spokesmanfor SA Recycling, says since the com-pany acquired the facility it has trans-formed the location to one of the“greenest” recycling facilities in thecountry. The company has state-of-the-art stormwater systems and otherprograms to reduce the facility’s im-pact on the environment, he says.During the anniversary celebration,the company singled out Francisco“Pancho” Rojas, who has worked atthe location for 44 years and nowserves as a maintenance manager ofthe facility. The facility has a total ofabout 150 employees.

SA Recycling Celebrates 50 Years atTerminal Island, CA, Location


Written PC Premiums in AZ Decline to $7.4B in 2010A report on Arizona’s property/casu-alty insurers issued on March 1 showsa drop in written premiums to $7.4billion, and a large increase in lossesincurred to $6.4 billion for 2010.

The report, from the Arizona In-surance Council, shows these andother economic impacts of the P/C in-surance industry, which covers com-mercial, home and auto risks; 2010 isthe most recent year for data.

The yearly compilation of databy AIC comes from numeroussources, including insurers and the In-surance Information Institute.

The report shows P/C premiumswritten by Arizona insurers havefallen steadily in the past four years:2009 ($7.6 billion), 2008 ($8.1 bil-lion), 2007 ($8.4 billion). Written pre-miums were $8.2 billion in 2006.

“It has been a trend of slightlydecreasing written premiums,” saidRon Williams, executive director ofAIC.

Williams attributes that down-ward trend to largely strong competi-tion and the remaining impacts of theprolonged economic recession.

“During recessionary times peo-ple are looking to cut back on ex-penses whenever they can,” Williamssaid.

As a sort of double whammy onthe state’s P/C industry, 2010 wasalso bad year because of intensestorms, many of which caused “sig-nificant hail damage,” he said, addingthat rising costs of parts and labor torepair those claims for commercial,home, property and auto were alsocontributors to the increase in lossesincurred.

The $6.4 billion in losses for Ari-zona insurers in 2010 dwarf the lastfive years on record. They were upfrom $4.6 billion in 2009, and $5 bil-lion in 2008. Losses were $4.8 billionin 2007 and $4.3 billion in 2006.

But Williams couldn’t saywhether falling premiums and risinglosses would be enough to start to turnthe market in Arizona

The report also shows the 950 in-surers operating in Arizona have asignificant economic impact on thestate.

In terms of employment in 2010there were over 28,000 P/C insuranceprofessionals residing in the state, andinsurance companies paid over $153million in state premium taxes.

More than $9 billion of P/C in-surers’ assets were invested in Ari-zona municipal bonds, according tothe report.

The San Diego Police Departmentstarted a campaign cracking down onthe texting while driving ban in thestate of California from February 13to 18. During this campaign, whichlasted for a span of 6 days in Febru-ary, officers cited nearly 500 driverswho were texting or talking on theirphones while driving, according toNBC San Diego.

Officers cited 467 adults whothey saw texting or talking on theirphones without a handsfree device,according to a press release from theSheriff’s Department.

In addition to the cited drivers,CHP officers and Sheriff’s deputies alsosaid they spotted over one thousand dis-tracted drivers during this period.

“Distracted driving is a serioustraffic safety concern that puts every-one on the road at risk,” read a state-ment from the department.

According to the Sheriff’s De-partment, many of the drivers pulledover for texting or talking on thephone said they were aware of thewell-publicized crackdown beforebeing pulled over.

San Diego Cracks Down on TextingWhile Driving Ban, Nets 500 Tickets

The 2012 Ridler® Award winner an-nounced at Detroit Autorama® Febru-ary 26 was the 1955 Ford T-Bird,owned by Dwayne Peace of Tyler,Texas. The car was painted withBASF’s Glasurit® 90-Line™ BrilliantRed waterborne paint.

“BASF’s Glasurit paint has beenon six of the last 11 Ridler award win-ners,” said Vitor Margaronis, Mar-keting Director, BASF CoatingsSolutions, North America. “We’revery proud of this achievement andthe quality of our products.”

The list of products used to paintthe car included Glasurit’s Epoxy801-72, Polyester Filler1006-26, 90-Line Waterborne Basecoat and HSMulti Clear 923-155.

A total of 64 vehicles competed

for the coveted award at the DetroitAutorama. Vehicles are judged basedon three criteria: creativity, engineer-ing and workmanship.

“The execution of the plan andthe quality of the build were out-standing,” said Butch Patrico, Co-chairman of the Detroit Autorama andRidler judging supervisor. Patrico alsosaid the process for this build wassimilar to what a major manufacturerwould do to build a prototype. "Thiswas not a normal build. He didn’t fol-low a cookie cutter process.”

The car was painted by JacobEdens and Jeff Greening of GreeningAuto Company in Nashville, Tennessee.

“The entire painting process tookabout six months,” said Jesse Greening.“The color helped it show very well.”

The Ridler award is named afterDon Ridler, who started promotingAutorama in the 1950s. With his ex-pertise, Autorama became one of thetop hot rod shows in the country. Fol-lowing Ridler’s passing in 1963, a de-cision was made to create an award tohonor his memory. The Ridler awardhas been given out to the best newcreations since 1964. Cars must beshown for the first time to be eligiblefor the award.

To learn more about BASF refinishproducts visit: www.basfrefinish.com.

2012 Ridler® Award Winner Features BASF’s Glasurit® Paint

The 2012 Ridler Award Winner from DetroitAutorama is the 1955 Ford T-Bird owned byDwayne Peace featuring BASF’s Glasurit90-Line Brilliant Red paint

The California Autobody Association(CAA) will hold their second quarter2012 Board of Directors meeting onMay 18 and 19 at the Westin Hotel inLong Beach. Quarterly Board Meet-ings are open to all CAA members.

The weekend schedule of eventsis as follows; Friday, May 18th, 2012:6:30 pm to 9:30 pm Reception-Horn-blower Cruise for Board Meeting At-tendees; Saturday, May 19th, 2012:7:00 am to 8:00 am ContinentalBreakfast, 8:00 am to noon CAABoard of Directors’ and MembershipMeeting, noon to 1:30 pm CAALunch, 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm CAABoard of Directors’ and MembershipMeeting. Make reservations now withthe hotel and with the CAA beforerooms run out. All room blocks areavailable until Friday April 20, 2012at $139.00 for single or double occu-pancy. Reservations after this date aresubject to non-group rates and roomavailability. Call the hotel reservationsnow at 562-436-3000 and ask for theCAA group block. All Reservationsmust be prepaid. Visit www.calauto-body.com for registration forms.

CAA to Hold Second Quarter Boardof Directors Meeting in Long Beach

by Tom Franklin

Although she was home ill, LindaHolcomb, Glendale/Foothill ChapterPresident, gave a report on the CAA’sfirst Quarter Board Meeting held inSacramento. It was read by chapterboard member, Mark D’Angelo, whoconducted the evening meeting.Linda said, “I have to tell you I am

very excitedabout our newPresident, DavePicton. He de-livered one ofthe best presi-dent’s speechesI’ve heard in along time. Davewould like tohear from anyof our membersabout theirideas and direc-

tions of our Industry and the CAA.His phone number is (916) 731-8203.Please feel free to call him.”

D’Angelo said, “The focus of thismeeting is a very important issue inour industry, total losses. They are af-fecting our body shops every day andtaking away repairs from us. Not tomention that most of the customers re-ally don’t want their cars totaled. Thepurpose of this meeting is to take alook inside the world of total lossesand find out why they are happening,and where they are going.”

The principal speaker at themeeting was Herb Lieberman, whoserves on LKQ’s Operating Commit-tee, work with LKQ’s Govt AffairsDept and represents LKQ Corp tomany inter- and intra-industry nationalassociations by speaking on “TheTotal Loss Dilemma.” With more than430 facilities in five countries, LKQprovides its customers with the indus-try’s largest selection of replacementparts and services. LKQ specializes inrecycled OE auto and truck parts, new

aftermarket replacement parts, recon-ditioned OE replacement parts, re-manufactured engines andtransmissions, rebuilt OE replacementparts, heavy truck and equipmentparts, paint and body shop suppliesand equipment, and salvage vehicledisposal, with national part purchaseprograms and insurer services. Themeeting included a tour of the LKQfacility to get a one-on-one look attheir business behind the scenes.

Herb said, “This is a multiple In-dustry Concern—not just the concernof LKQ Corporation. In fact it is soimportant that SCADA has made thetopic of salvage determination, pur-chase, sale and processing its numberone issue of concern for 2012. This isa topic that I believe has great impacton the collision repair industry, allsuppliers to the collision repair indus-try and—truly most important of all—a direct impact on the consumer whowe are all in business to serve. “

He started out by noting thatLKQ handles between 10,000 and12,000 salvage vehicles a week. Theyobtain most of these vehicles throughcompetitive bidding. While this mayseem like a lot, he began showing howmany vehicles could have been avail-able, not only for salvage bidding, butto shops to be repaired. Out of 65,000a week, 19,500 (30%) are exportedout of the U.S. Out of the 24,500 takenby professional dismantlers, manyparts are also shipped out of the coun-try, largely to Russia and Nigeria atthis time. This should be of great con-cern to collision shop owners becausethose 10,500 (25%) vehicles couldhave stayed in the U.S. and been re-paired by our body shops. To makethis worse, Insurance Auto Auctionsrecently signed an exclusive agree-ment to provide China with their ve-hicles.

One aspect of the problem he em-phasized, is the absence of a uniformstandard for what constitutes a total

loss, what percentage of a vehicle isrepairable and how the title isbranded. Every state makes its own

laws. Often aninsurance com-pany makes thedecision, tak-ing away re-pairs from thecollision indus-try and alsooverruling cus-tomers who re-ally don’t wanttheir cars to-taled. Herbnoted that in

New South Wales, Australia, a lawwas passed that required any vehiclethat was declared a total loss by a pro-fessional estimator, to only be sold forend-of-life processing. The result wassignificantly more vehicles being re-paired by the industry.

Herb stressed that this problemcan only be solved in the U.S. by shopowners coming together with otherconcerned players like auto disman-tlers to press for laws declaring some-

thing like a 50% consumer right to re-pair. The potential control for such aright is already in place. In California,used car dealers are required to reportthe VIN of a vehicle to the NMVITS,National Motor Vehicle Title System,or pay a $1000 fine per vehicle. In thisdifficult economy more people arechoosing to repair and keep their ex-isting car rather than buying new.Lobbyists for organizations like theCAA need to educate legislators aboutthis issue and stress the importance ofprotecting consumer rights as wellproviding business and jobs for a vitalindustry like ours in our state and inthe nation.

Herb Lieberman can be contactedat [email protected] information on this topic canalso be obtained by contactingPatrick Matthews, district managerfor the west region, at 562-587-9014,or [email protected].

Percentages mentioned in this ar-ticle are used as approximate numbersbased on actual LKQ Purchases andpercentages given by major salvageauctions.


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CAA Glendale/Foothill Chapter Holds Meeting About Industry Total Losses at LKQ, Santa Fe Springs

Mark D’Angelo

Herb Lieberman

● requires the secretary to issue guid-ance to states on establishing perform-ance measures and targets for statehighway safety improvement programsto reduce serious injuries and fatalitieson highways.

In addition, the bill authorizes

highway safety research programs, in-cluding data collection, crash reductionprojections, low-cost safety measuresand safety policy studies.

The House version of a highwaybill currently has no new auto safetyprovisions. House Speaker JohnBoehner (R-Ohio) has said the Housewill not consider the five-year, $260billion proposal to fund highways, butwill consider a shorter-term bill.

Continued from Front Page

Transport bill


LeMans Body and Paint: Still a Family Affair After 53 Years in the Los Angeles AreaLeMans Body and Paintwas started in1959 by Lyman Beetley as a smallused-car dealership and collision re-pair shop in Santa Monica. Tragically,he passed away in 1964 at the too-soon age of 54. When his sons,Richard and Robert, took over the

business when they were justteenagers in 1964, they pushed thebusiness more towards the collisionrepair work and slowly phased out theused car sales over the next few years.

In 1974, the brothers purchasedthe building north of the original lot,and then the building south of it in1980. This created a private officespace for managers as well as an ex-panded paint area.

Richard’s children, Kim and

Kirk, and Robert’s sons, Bill and Ed,took over the business in the late1980s and still manage it today.

According to Kirk, in the early70s his father and uncle were the firstguys in the area to really take theirshop to the next level, with a polishedreception area and a strong emphasison customer service—requiring allpersonnel to dress in a business pro-fessional attire. They also built in

some achitectural flair to the newbuilding which earned them a city ofSanta Monica beautification award.Putting in the extra effort helped bringtheir business and the industry as awhole from the “local garage mental-ity” to an important service business

in the community.When the third generation took

over the business DRP relation-ships were just starting to heat up,so the group took an aggressiveapproach towards insurance con-tracts and rapidly expanded thebusiness. They added a second lo-cation in Los Angeles in 1999 anda third in El Segundo in 2007. Thefamily also brought in long-timefamily friend Ross Kulkin to helpmanage the business. Ross hadspent 10 years on the insurance

company side and was able to addsome great perspective to the group.

Across all 3 locations the busi-ness has 60 employees, sees an aver-age of 350 cars per month and grossesabout $9 million annually. The busi-ness has about a dozen DRP contracts,some for nearly 20 years. The SantaMonica shop encompasses 16,000square-feet, the Los Angeles shop is21,000 and the El Segundo location is32,000. All 3 locations are also I-CAR

Gold Certified. “We all try to run it as one,with a uniform approach”said Kirk, “My father anduncle are also still involvedin the business; they’ve beenaround a long time so thereare things that they add in aconsulting manner that arepriceless.”The family all works to-gether for the common goodof the business by spreadingthemselves out among the

three locations and meeting weekly toensure unity.

“While our body shop familycontinues to grow, most people havebeen here a decade plus,” said Ross.

“We have very low turnover whenit comes to our employees,” said Kirk.Painter Sam Share, who is now in hiseighties and started his employmentfrom day one at LeMans, still comesin and helps out the painters in Santa

Monica. He was head painter at Le-Mans for over 35 years, and now hestill comes in to assist the paint de-partment. His apprentice Oscar Flo-res took over 23 years ago and is stillgoing strong, training his oldest sonEddie to take over paint production,

while his youngest son Mario is nowpart of the office management team.

With 3 fully-functional locationsthe business can load level work andemployees across the locations toeven workloads and fill personnelgaps. The business keeps all of theirdigital information and bookkeepingon a cloud service. This way any in-formation needed at one business canbe pulled up easily at another. Re-cently their estimating systemprovider, CCC One, has also moved toa cloud format and with that all three

shops can view each other’s estimatesand performance from their respectiveoffices.

LeMans has used PPG paints forthe last 20 years—after changing totheir Envirobase waterborne productsabout 6 years ago, Kirk says he could-n’t be happier.

“Everyone was afraid in the be-ginning that the colors wouldn’t comeout right, etcetera, but we’ve had verylittle issue with using waterborne,”said Kirk.

According to Kirk, David

Grande with PPG and Jim Williamsfrom FinishMaster really educatedhim on waterborne technologies andadvised him during LeMans’ switch in2007. Kirk said it only took about amonth to 6 weeks for his painters toget used to spraying waterborne and

with the constant technicalsupport and excellent serviceprovided by PPG and Fin-ishMaster he was able tostay focused on the front of-fice instead of the paint pro-duction during the transition.“We’ve enjoyed a great part-nership with LeMans, andlook forward to it continuingin the long term,” saidDavid.

Kirk says their paint preparationprocess is also more important withwaterborne than with solvent.

“A better quality prep is requiredwith waterborne than with solvent,”said David. According to David wa-terborne is a thinner product and itwon’t fill any small sand scratcheslike solvent. So more attention to theprep process helps to deter this, whilethe actual spraying process is basicallythe same.

Kirk also says the high cost ofchanging to waterborne is “a bit

overblown.” At hisshop, he said therewasn’t a whole lot ofcost associated withmaking the changeand he didn’t have tochange everythingabout his paint arealike some companiesare suggesting. For hisshop, he said he gave

all the spray booths a deep cleaningand added additional fans to increaseair movement. This helps combat wa-terborne’s longer base coat dry times.PPG has also been modifying their topcoats to increase production.

Kirk also says he can’t wait forwaterborne clear coats to come out tocomplete the process, because hethinks it will cut down a lot on thepaint fume smell, which will reallybenefit shops in densely populatedareas like their locations.

with Ed Attanasio

Shop and Product Showcase

with Ed Attanasio

Shop Showcase

with Ed Attanasio

Social Media for Shops

with Erica SchroederShop Showcase

The Right Causewith Mike Causey

Industry Insightwith John Yoswick

Erica Schroeder is assistant editor at Autobody News in Carlsbad, CA. She lovesto talk with owners about their shops and goings on in their areas. Contact herat [email protected], or 800-699-8251

See LeMans, Page 18

Lyman Beetley and his business partner at the SantaMonica location shortly after it opened in 1959

LeMans’ Santa Monica location, present day

Kirk Beetley, Bill Beetley and Ross Kulkin in the private office spacejust south of the Santa Monica location

Robert and Richard Beetley with DuPont’s Clyde Milhouse(standing) and DuPont jobber Bob de la Pena in 1972.This article highlighted the class and elevated customerservice the brothers brought to the shop


Rich’s Auto Body: Approaching 50 Years and Not Slowing DownSpanning four family generations andin business for nearly 50 years, Rich’sAuto Body in Merced, Calif. has seenthe automotive collision industrychange and re-invent itself more thanjust a few times over the decades.

Leonard Rich, Jr., who will turn80 this year, is the founder and still thedriving force behind this large opera-tion. Rich, Jr.’s son, Leonard Rich III(age 55), is the shop’s general man-ager and his son Joseph (age 29)works by his side while they run a50,000-square foot body shop thatalso includes a towing company, carmuseum, upholstery division, carrestoration business and a vehicle de-tailing business.

Rich's Auto Body, Inc. wasfounded in the summer of 1964 byLeonard Rich, Jr. after learning the in-dustry while working at his father'sbody shop in Ambridge, Pennsylvaniafor seven years. In 1962, Rich, Jr.moved to the west coast to join his fa-ther’s relocated shop.

“I drove one of my father’s oldtwo trucks to California from Am-bridge,” Rich, Jr. said. “My dream wasto be a doctor and I wanted to pursue it,but then one day my mother told me,‘One thing you can do is fix cars, so godo it! Plus, your grades aren’t goodenough.’ That was the best advice I evergot. Two years later I decided to try andmake it on my own, so I opened myown shop.”

When most 79 year-old people areretired or considering it, Rich, Jr. worksat his shop five days a week, startingearly in the morning and not leavinguntil well after closing, in many cases.How has he been able to keep going100% in this hectic industry for morethan 50 years?

“I still exercise three times everyweek,” he replied. “I cycle and run andI watch what I eat and that is prettymuch how I do it. It’s not compli-cated—if you care about your healthand body, you can work until you don’twant to anymore. I still love it, so I haveno plans to quit. I told my wife that if Idie right here at this shop just take meout on a gurney, no big deal. I don’twant it to interfere with our cycle times.But, staying at home and slowing downwould drive me crazy. I have to keepworking.”

Restoring antique cars led to anongoing revenue source for Rich’s AutoBody 46 years ago when a customerwanted an old Lincoln-Continentalpainted, he said.

“One day in 1966, a fellow camein here with a classic 1940 LincolnContinental. They only made 400 ofthis particular car. He wanted it paintedand I gave him a price of $700 and hesaid that’s too much. He said he wantedto use the car as his wife’s second vehi-cle. I thought, this guy doesn’t knowwhat he has, so I asked him do youwant to sell it? I traded it to him for aMercury I had and the rest is history.We now restore cars year-round and Ihave collected a bunch of them. We’recurrently working on a Pierce-Arrowfor a customer and it is a beautiful car.”

After collecting more classic carshimself, Rich, Jr. opened a museum at

his facility and it’s a big attraction. Itfeatures 70 mostly domestic vehiclesvalued together at approximately $2million, including some rare Packards,Buicks and Chevys. His rarest is a 1938Buick Century convertible, valued atroughly $65,000, Rich, Jr. said.

Surviving through three deep re-cessions, several wars and ten U.S.

Presidents, Rich’s Auto Body’s biggesttest has been an unending struggle withthe insurance companies, he explained.

“In the ‘90s, we were chargingaround $26 an hour for labor and I feltlike we weren’t making enough to paythe bills. We had three DRPs and Iwrote them all a letter and told themthat I was raising my rate by five dol-lars. So, they fired me immediatelyand my head was spinning. I’m not

going to make it, I thought. But youknow, we made it through and eventu-ally they came back. We must havehad what they needed, because theymade me hang for 3-4 years, but theyall came back. The insurance compa-nies dictate so much in this industryand some of them insist on doing ittheir way and with their rules. Theytell you what they’re going to do andthat’s it. They set the standards, not us.It never ends. We have one insurancecompany that we’re working withright now and they’re saying thatweekends should count as work days

and it’s not logical. Andthey want you to use re-cycled parts or less ex-pensive parts, but in theend, we’re responsiblefor the finished prod-uct.”

But, by workingwithin the system, Rich,Jr. has flourished in evenhard times, he said.“Over the years, wefound a happy medium

with the insurance companies and weperform for them. We go out of our wayto accommodate them when we can,but sometimes we will fight them onquality. It’s always a situation wherewe’re representing the customer’s in-terests, believe me.”

Although he has established mutu-ally beneficial relationships with his in-

surance partners over time, Rich, Jr. stillruns into steering practices, he said.

“When you have a facility likeours in a small town, people are goingto come here and then some of these in-surance companies will try to steerthem to another shop. They say steer-ing is no longer an issue, but it’s nottrue. Once a customer says I’m takingmy car to Rich’s Auto Body, theyshouldn’t say anything more or recom-

mend another shop,but it happens al-most daily. Califor-nia law says theycan’t force them togo to any othershop, but they don’tstop trying.”

Leonard Rich IIIis the shop’s gen-

eral manager and has been working forhis father off and on over the years,after owning a restaurant and workingin real estate, he said. “I came back, be-cause it’s a good business to be in.While others are struggling, we will al-ways have work in this industry, be-cause it will rain and there will beaccidents. As long as nobody gets hurt,we’re doing well.”

How has Rich’s Auto Body suc-ceeded for so long in such a volatile in-dustry, we asked Leonard III? “I wouldcall it karma. We do so much extra stuffaround here for our customers and theword gets out. You build a reputationone vehicle at a time, and after so manyyears doing it, I know it pays off.”

Joe Rich, Rich III’s son, is theshop’s manager and deals primarily withproduction issues, he said. “I started outat the bottom and worked as a carwasher and a general gofer, and thenprogressed to be a parts puller, partsmanager and eventually I wanted to getinto estimating. I went to go to work foranother shop for a while in order to learnthe trade from a different perspective,and that’s where I really grew up. Work-ing for my father and my grandfather isa blessing and I appreciate my situationevery day. I think our success starts atthe top. When our employees see mygrandfather still working at his age,from early morning to late evening ,they can’t help but have a great attitudeand believe in their work.”

with Ed Attanasio

Shop and Product Showcase

with Ed Attanasio

Shop Showcase

with Ed Attanasio

Social Media for Shops




Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based inSan Francisco, California. He can be reached [email protected].

Son Leonard Rich III, (at left) father LeonardRich, Jr. and grandson Joseph Rich togetherrun Rich’s Auto Body in Merced, Calif.

Leonard Rich III, (at left) father Leonard Rich, Jr. and grandsonJoseph Rich together run Rich’s Auto Body in Merced, Calif.

Rich’s Auto Body today

Environmental legislation and in-creasing restrictions on VOC emis-sions continue to transform thecoatings industry and collision repairbusiness. Waterborne paint systemshave become more prevalent as thebest way to radically reduce green-house gasses. At BASF, this environ-mental breakthrough has also becomean opportunity for product and serv-ice innovation to add superior value,helping increase shop safety, produc-tivity, quality and, ultimately, cus-tomer satisfaction.

Innovative BASF Products LeadsAs a world leader in automotive refin-ishing products, BASF introduced oneof the first waterborne systems withthe launch of the Glasurit® 90-Line™in 1992. Ahead of its time, the high-performing 90-Line began a revolu-tion that has not only made manycollision repair shops more environ-mentally friendly, but has improvedquality and throughput — throughease-of-use, low material consump-tion, fast-drying formulas, better hid-ing and easier blending.

Moreover, the fact that approxi-mately 70 percent of all new cars arefinished with waterborne paint make90-Line an ideal system for repair. Andwhen it comes to quality, it’s reassur-ing to know that the world’s finest au-tomobiles—including Mercedes-Benzand BMW—have waterborne paint. Inaddition, ultra-luxury cars such asMaybach and Rolls Royce are handsprayed at the plant with 90-Line.

For collision repair centers thatdemand high productivity, superiorquality and cost efficiency, BASF’s R-M® automotive finishes continue to bethe right choice. R-M’s low-VOC wa-terborne basecoat—Onyx HD™ —has been used by many independentcollision repair centers and car dealer-ships for almost two decades. The sys-tem brings next-generation processesinto the shop, while offering excellentversatility, durability and cost effec-tiveness along with superb colormatching with BASF’s proprietaryCOLOR-MAX® system. And, OnyxHD does all this while meetingtoday’s most stringent VOC regula-tions at local, regional and nationallevels.

The combination of R-M’s fastdrying primers, high gloss “no-bake”clears and Onyx HD low-VOC water-borne basecoat reduce cycle time and

energy consumption while helpingpreserve the environment. Beinggreen with Onyx HD can actually save

you some green, helping make thebusiness case to switch to the water-borne system.

More Than Just Great ProductsBASF’s Glasurit® 90-Line™ and R-M® Onyx HD™ paint products aresupported by industry-leading lifetimewarranties, along with technical train-ing programs, advanced color infor-mation systems and businessmanagement programs.

SmartTrak® is a state-of-the-artcolor management system that pro-vides fast and accurate color formulas.It’s designed to help increase shopprofitability and productivity throughcolor updates, inventory and stockcontrol management, formula cus-tomization, cost and low-VOC track-ing, advanced reporting and more.

The company’s comprehensiveVisionPLUS® program is an industry-leading suite of value-added programsgeared specifically for collision repaircenters. This full-service toolkit helpscollision center managers and ownersmonitor, grow sales, streamline busi-ness operations and gain a solid com-petitive edge in the industry. And,VisionPLUS Online is a turnkey toolthat allows collision repair centers totrack, analyze and advance their busi-ness in real time. This allows for im-mediate and continuous improvement,increasing shop productivity and prof-itability.

Better to Lead Than Follow the PackIn the U.S., some state and local ju-risdictions are taking the lead in

regulating automo-tive refinishing emis-sions. California andDelaware, for exam-ple, have developedpractice standards forshops to reduce VOCemissions. And, as afurther indication ofthings to come,Canada has alreadyrequired all shops toswitch to waterbornebasecoats.

Clearly, shopswould be well advisedto stay ahead of com-ing legislation andswitch to waterbornesystems before it be-comes mandated.

When consideringconversion to a water-

borne paint system, be sure to consultwith your BASF representative. Be-yond the regulatory considerations,

keep in mind the following advan-tages:• Reduced basecoat solvent emissionsby approximately 90 percent• Increased quality and customer sat-isfaction• Improved color matching• Improved throughput• Applied with conventional sprayequipment and easy to clean up• Improved safety (less toxicity, lowerodor and reduced flammability)• Reduced hazardous waste

Before you make the final deci-sion to change to a waterborne paintsystem, it is important to be aware ofnot only the advantages of using wa-terborne technology, but also key dif-ferences when compared to a solventsystem. There are many questions ashop should ask before switching towaterborne coatings. Let the expertson Waterborne Automotive Finishesfrom BASF answer them for you.

For more information aboutswitching to waterborne, contact yourBASF representative by calling 800-825-3000, or visit www.basfrefin-ish.com.


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“It’s just about adapting tochanges in the industry,” said Kirk,“My advice to shops making theswitch to waterborne; don’t fear it—embrace the change and move on tothe next challenge.”

PPG also guarantees LeManspaint work because their techs arePPG certified. Kirk says this is a nicesafety net for the businesses and rein-

forces LeMans’ decision to use PPGproducts exclusively.

David said that PPG backs Le-Mans’ lifetime warranty on their paintjobs, which backs the overall paint job

against all issues. Basically, if there isa product failure issue on a job doneat LeMans, PPG will assist in gettingthe vehicle redone.

LeMans’ next step in their expan-sion will be a mechanical facility,slated to open in 2013.

“We’re trying to encompass allaspects of the collision repair and pro-vide our customers with a one-stop fullauto care experience,” said Kirk, “Wealso want to reduce cycle time by con-trolling more aspects of the repair.”

Ross’s attitude from a marketingstand point is once you cap-ture a customer you want toretain as much work fromthem as possible.

Kirk says the fact that theyhave been able to remainfamily owned and operatedfor 53 years is a big feat; thegroup has done this by find-ing each person’s niche andletting them take on that roleso no one butt’s heads. By

finding where each person is strongestthey have been able to work togetherwith minimal conflict.

The fourth generation of Beetleysis coming out of their teen years and

are beginning to learn the business;Kirk says he is excited to see the newideas and energy that they will bringto the table.

“We have great managers andshop personnel,” said Kirk, “We areblessed to have found such great, ex-

perienced people and we do our bestto promote a family atmosphere withmutual respect.”

Kirk also attributes a lot of thebusiness’s staying power to theiradaptability.

“We’re adaptable, unlike a lot ofthe businesses that have been aroundas long as we have,” said Kirk, “We’renot stuck in our ways, we embrace theindustry changes as they come.” ButKirk says a lot of times with industrychanges it’s best to do your home-work.

“You’ve got to be patient,” said

Kirk. “Everyone is out to invent orreinvent the next best tool or businesspractice! We need to focus on ourstrengths and what has worked for us,keeping an open mind and an eye onour competition.”

LeMans is also known for theirability to deliver top-notchcustomer service for a com-petitive price.“We’re not the highestpriced in town—but we’redefinitely higher in servicethan most,” said Kirk.For more information pleasevisit www.lemansbody.com.

LeMans Santa Monica2107 Lincoln BlvdSanta Monica, CA 90405310-452-3870

LeMans Los Angeles3040 S. Robertson BlvdLos Angeles, CA 90034310-836-2448

LeMans El Segundo200 Nevada StreetEl Segundo, CA 90245310-426-9400


Continued from Page 12

LeMans

The paint mixing room at LeMans’ El Segundo location

LeMans’ Los Angeles location, acquired in 1999


Women’s Industry Network Holds Planning Meeting in LateJanuary, Will Hold Annual Conference in May in Atlanta The Women’s Industry Network(WIN) Board gathered in Dallas, TX,in late January to review the group’sactivities in 2011 and plan for 2012and early 2013.

“This Strategic Planning meetingis a yearly event that we rely on tohelp keep us focused and on-track toachieve the goals we have set out forour organization,” said Board Chair,Victoria Jankowski.

WIN will focus on these primaryareas this year: enhancing the value ofWIN membership and sponsorship;improving WIN’s web and socialmedia presence to provide a more ro-bust communication and educationalvehicle for members and sponsors;forming a Task Force to conduct aneeds analysis on our website and so-cial media presence and make recom-mendations to the Board; increasingindustry visibility of WIN, our activ-ities and our members; providing aWIN presence at strategically signifi-cant industry events; making WINpromotional materials available uponrequest to WIN members who arewilling to represent the organizationat events of importance to them; es-tablishing a more robust operationaland governance structure for the

Board of Directors; refining standardsfor Board nominations and subse-quent executive appointments; refin-ing the WIN nomination process andput additional form around the execu-tive appointments.

“This new executive appoint-ment process will be implemented asthe current term ends and the new onebegins,” said Jankowski.

The 7th Annual WIN Confer-ence, “Be The Change!”, will be heldon May 6-8, 2012 in Atlanta, GA.

Keynote speakers for this annualconference will be Robyn Benincasa,an adventure racer, firefighter andmotivational speaker, and CathyBonner, CEO of Service King Colli-sion Repair Centers. Benincasa willpresent a keynote address titled “Ex-treme Change: Adapt, Overcome &Win As One,” in which she will sharestories of triumph through adversity.Bonner will also present a keynote ad-dress titled “The Ten Commandmentsof Leadership.”

For more details please visitwww.womensindustrynetwork.com.

RBL Products has introduced its Pre-treatment system in the automotive af-termarket. The system is very simple.It consists of a water-based conversioncoating that is applied by wiping ontoa bare metal surface. The product pro-tects against corrosion and promotesadhesion. The directions are simply,you just wipe the pre-treatment ontothe bare metal. Then let it air dry. Theaverage dry time is between 2–5 min-utes. You can then apply primer sur-face directly over the pre-treatment. Itcan be used on Hot and cold rolledmetal, galvanized, stainless steel, alu-minum, and other exotic metals.

The pre-treatment system was de-veloped as a substitute for wash, etch,and epoxy primer. Expensive primersand waiting for 24 hours, as well asadhesion and corrosion issues, are nowa thing of the past.

The pre-treatment system chem-istry was developed and patented byHenkel Corporation. RBL Products re-cently was granted exclusive rights toconvert the technology into pre-satu-rated wipes and markers. Henkel is thelargest pre-treatment company in the

world. The same process is used onevery car produced since World War ll.Every vehicle as soon as it enters thepaint shop is processed by a multi-stage zinc phosphate dip and rinse sys-tem before it enters e-coat and primer.

RBL president, Ron Lipsonstated “The pre-treatment product putsback what was removed from themetal when grinding and sanding oc-curs. Once the industry understandsthe product and how it works it willbecome standard on all bare metal re-pairs. Insurance companies are goingto mandate this product where appli-cable.” For more information visitwww.rblproducts.com.

RBL Products New Pre-Treat System

A bare metal piece treated with the RBL Pre-treatsystem (left) and a non-treated piece (right)

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Airbrush Artist JoAnn Bortles is Writing Her Seventh Painting Bookby Erica Schroeder

Airbrush artist JoAnn Bortles, whoowns Crazy Horse Custom Painting,and lives in Waxhaw, NC, started air-

brushing her art onto motorcycles as ateen in the seventies on a dare. A life-long interest in art led her to Parson’sSchool of Design in New York City,but she eventually had to return to

suburban Connecticut to help out herparents. She had taken welding classesin high school and became a certifiedwelder after returning home. Sheworked various factory jobs for thenext few years until the words “Ifyou’re such a hotshot artist, why don’tyou try and paint my bike tank?”jolted her into the world of custompainting.

Her painting career really tookoff after the unexpected death of afriend in 1993. Her friend David hadalways pushed JoAnn to take herpainting to the next level, saying sheshould be more serious about her tal-

ent. After he passed away unexpect-edly JoAnn decided to honor hismemory by taking a crack at becom-ing a professional custom painter. Soshe moved to Florida, which then, asnow, was a hot spot for custom paint-ing and honed her craft.

“Being around all these greatpainters made me really want to upmy game,” said JoAnn. While inFlorida JoAnn met and married herhusband (now ex-) and they moved toWaxhaw in 1996. When she got toNorth Carolina, JoAnn realized it wasa totally different game and since shewas relatively unknown in the areashe had a hard time finding peoplewho would let her paint their cars.

“Those first years in North Car-olina were pretty rough,” said JoAnn.She painted hot rods, motorcycles,boats, just about anything she could.

Then in 1998 JoAnn showed sixmotorcycles she painted at theEasyriders Bike Show in Charlotte,NC. The six bikes took home the sixtop trophies, including Best of Show.This got the attention of one of theEasyriders Magazine editors and hetold her if she did well at their showin Columbus, OH, that the magazinewould do a feature story on her.JoAnn’s Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute

bike won Second Place Bestof Show at the Columbusshow, so the magazine did thearticle on her.

The publicity from the arti-cle and her awards at Char-lotte attracted many morecustomers and was a turningpoint for her career. JoAnnwas featured in (and wrote herown articles for) SouthernLiving, Easyriders, VTwin,Street Rodder, Hot Rod,American Iron, Ironworks,

Hot Bike, VQ, and many other maga-zines.

She has also written no fewerthan six books on custom paintingwith publisher Motorbooks. Her firstbook “How to Custom Paint YourMotorcycle” was published in 2005.JoAnn is currently working on herseventh book with SATA SprayEquipment, to be titled The CompleteGuide to Automotive Painting: FromPrep to Final Coat, which will havea heavy focus on waterborne paintingtechniques, using PPG’s Envirobasewaterborne paints in particular.

The book is slated to come out

in 2013 and will have two main sec-tions. The first half will focus onvehicle restoration from plastic re-pairs to sheet metal to body restora-tion. JoAnn’s welding andbodywork background will shapethis how-to section. The second half

will focus on custom painting usingboth waterborne and solvent tech-niques. One of the main projects inthe book will be restoring a 1967Firebird that has been waiting forattention for 20 years.

The car is “pretty rough” saysJoAnn, but by the end of the year shewill have the car restored completely.

The book will detail this process andJoAnn hopes it will show her readershow manageable a big project can beif approached with the right attitude

and processes. The goal is tomake the book answer anyquestion about bodywork,painting and custom work.The book will be availablethrough all SATA jobbersworldwide in addition tobeing sold on Amazon,Barnes and Noble and otherbooksellers.

JoAnn started using PPGpaints in 1995, and she saysshe couldn’t be happier with

their products.“PPG is without a doubt the most

user-friendly product I’ve ever used,”said JoAnn, “And that’s what makes itthe best bargain for painters. The highquality of PPG products actually savepainters time and money. PPG prod-

ucts make my painting lifeeasier.”

JoAnn stands behind herwork and the durability ofPPG’s products with a con-sumer guarantee on her workfor 5 years.

JoAnn also says that of allthe waterborne paints she hasused, PPG paints thesmoothest with the tightestlines. She finds it especiallyunique for painting wood-grain faux finishes. She alsostill uses PPG’s solvent-basedpaints for some applications.

“Whether I’m using solvent or water,I use whatever works best for thepainting situation,” said JoAnn.JoAnn also likes SATA Spray Guns.She recalls first starting out usingthe cheapest equipment she couldfind. Then when she met the peopleat SATA and tried out their productsshe said she realized why you

would pay more to use theseguns.

“Paint is so expensive,”said JoAnn, “When the paintis all mixed and you’re readyto go into the booth, is not thetime to find that you have aproblem with your paint gun.And time is money. Havinggood quality equipmentmakes all the difference.”Joann now uses SATA gunsexclusively on her work.

“Using good equipmentchanged the way I work,” said JoAnn.She is really thankful for some of herother product relationships, including

See Crazy Horse, Page 22

A close-up of the 1965 Impala SS that JoAnn painted inLas Vegas; this car has taken home several awards forbest flames

The Stevie Ray Vaughan mural JoAnn won 2nd Place Bestof Show with at the Cleveland EasyRiders Show in 1998

The ‘67 Firebird JoAnn is restoring and customizing forher seventh book. This is what the car looks like beforeany work has been done. The after photo will look far dif-ferent. According to JoAnn, many of her projects looksomething like this when she gets started.

A close-up of some burlwood woodgrain Crazy Horsepainted on a ‘46 Ford

JoAnn astride one of her custom creationswith a favorite spray gun, a SATA RP. The bikewon Best Motorcycle Paint of the Year in 2005

Evercoat, Gerson, American Tape andMeguiar’s.

“Just being able to say I workwith these companies is a very hum-bling experience, it shows just how farI have come,” said JoAnn.

JoAnn says her process really de-pends on the vehicle she is workingon; she generally creates a pre-workdrawing on the computer to show theclient and get their input. SometimesJoAnn and the customer will collabo-rate on the design a bit here, and

sometimes the customer ishappy with the initial draw-ing. Then after customer ap-proval she starts painting.JoAnn basically free-hands alot of the art; sometimes sheuses Art Tool templates onmore complicated projects.

“The templates are re-ally a time saver,” saidJoAnn. She often uses acombination of templates, sketchingand free-hand to get the look shewants.

“Custom paint is only as goodas what’s underneath it,” said JoAnn.And in her shop, much of the body-

work and prep are handledby her assistant DavidMalkin.JoAnn has won dozens ofawards for her work, includingPPG’s Top 5 Most Outstand-ing Paint in 2006, Best ofShow and First Place at the2006 Easyriders Bike Show,GoodGuys Shows BestFlames in 2005, Best Paint atthe Boardwalk Show at 2005Daytona Bike Week, Big BearCar Show Best Flames in

2009, Best Painted Motorcycle of theYear in 2005 and 2012, and many otherawards.

JoAnn will attend the SEMAshow this year and will also paint a1932 Ford on Power Block TV’s Mus-cle Car section in the coming weeks.She is also a member of the SEMAAssociation and serves on their SBNSelect Committee.

For more information aboutJoAnn and Crazy Horse CustomPainting, please visit www.crazy-horsepainting.com.

Crazy Horse Custom PaintingPO Box 623Waxhaw, NC [email protected](704) 843-3780


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Crazy Horse

JoAnn painted this 1939 Ford in 2005 with real fireflames, it was the first real fire paint that she did and itwon PPG's Top 5 Most Outstanding Paint in 2006

JoAnn and her 2004 Crazy Horse Chopper which hasbeen driven hard. The paint job has held up extremelywell, a testiment to the work and product quality

CAPA is announcing that its Valida-tor, Intertek, will be opening anotherCAPA Vehicle Test Fit Center in Cal-ifornia. The new location will be inaddition to CAPA’s Grand Rapids,Michigan facility, the site of CAPA’soriginal Vehicle Test Fit lab.

“CAPA’s Vehicle Test Fit (VTF)program was developed and imple-mented by CAPA in 1999. Whiletoday, CAPA’s unique vehicle test fitprocess has become the industry-ac-cepted test for the quality of after-market parts, it was completelyrevolutionary when we originally in-troduced it,” said Jack Gillis, CAPA’sExecutive Director.

“It’s likely that of all CAPA’s ex-tensive Certification requirements, theVTF has played the single most criti-cal role in the universal acceptance ofCAPA Certified parts as truly compa-rable to car company brand parts.”

Andrew Gleason, Intertek’s Op-erations Manager of AutomotiveProducts Certification said, “We arecurrently in the process of reviewing anumber of potential locations and willbe making the final decision shortly.”

For more information, pleasevisit www.capacertified.org.

CAPA Announces Plans for NewVehicle Test Fit Lab in California


CARSTAR Expands Salesand Marketing TeamsCARSTAR Auto Body Repair Ex-perts is expanding its corporate lead-ership and service teams to addindustry experience and expertise,naming David B. James as VP ofMarketing and Sharon Mazanec asRegional Service Manager for theMidwest.

James is an award-winningmarketing professional with over 15years of experience leading corpo-rate strategy and marketing initia-tives. James brings a broadbackground in traditional and onlinemarketing.

Joining James on theCARSTAR Team is SharonMazanec, CARSTAR’s MidwestRegional Service Manager.Mazanec comes to CARSTAR withover 25 years experience in the col-lision repair industry and was re-cently named one of 2011’s MostInfluential Women in the CollisionRepair Industry by AkzoNobel.Mazanec has an extensive back-ground in the collision repair indus-try including Allen SamuelsEnterprises and Sterling AutobodyCenters, among other collision re-pair companies in Texas.

Fix Auto Appoints Tim Clark asSenior VP, Insurance ServicesFix Auto USA announced the ap-pointment of Tim Clark, CPCU, assenior vice president of insuranceservices. As a key member of FixAuto USA’s senior managementteam, Clark will be charged withstrengthening Fix Auto’s existing in-surance relationships and implement-ing new strategic partnerships. Inaddition, Clark will oversee the FixAuto insurance services department,including the Fix Full PerformanceClaims Solution (FFPCS) program.

Before joining Fix Auto, Clarkled Performance Claims where hewas instrumental in launching thenetwork management technologyplatform used by four of the top eightU.S. insurers. Prior to PerformanceClaims, Clark was the vice presidentof insurance services at Safelite AutoGlass, where he was responsible fordeveloping Safelite’s claims out-sourcing strategy for extending man-aged claims solutions to Property andCasualty insurers. Clark began his in-surance claims career at Safeco In-surance, holding a variety of fieldmanagement and corporate positionsbefore becoming an elected officer ofthe company.

PSE Appoints Guy Barnes asVP, Sales & MarketingPainters Supply & Equipment Co.(PSE) has announced the promotionof O. Guy Bargnes to the position ofsenior vice president, sales and mar-keting effective March 12, 2012.Bargnes has served as vice-presidentof sales and marketing since joiningthe company in June, 2010. “Guy hasbeen instrumental in driving sales andmarket share growth of our automo-tive refinish business,” said PSEPresident, Patrick Mayette. “He hasalso lead PSE’s Learning Center ini-tiative to deliver the best value-addedprograms to our customers.”

Bargnes will be taking on addi-tional responsibility in 2012 leadingthe development of the specialtycoatings group which was recentlyannounced at PSE’s national salesmeeting. He will continue to repre-sent Painters Supply on the followingindustry trade organizations: Auto-motive Aftermarket Industries Asso-ciation (AAIA) where he is PBESChairman until May, 2013, NationalAuto Body Council (NABC) andCollision Industry Conference (CIC).

Prior to joining PSE, Bargnesheld senior level sales and marketingpositions at BASF Corporation.

Mitchell’s Claims Triage isAvailable to CarriersMitchell has announced the immedi-ate availability of Claims Triage, atechnology solution created specifi-cally to streamline resource alloca-tion decision-making for physicaldamage claims. Claims Triage al-lows insurance carriers to determinethe most efficient resource for an as-signment at First Notice of Loss(FNOL), thereby improving cus-tomer satisfaction by acceleratingclaims settlement.

“Mitchell is continuously striv-ing to improve the insurance claimsexperience with the most innovativesolutions, driven by our data-centricapproach to high performance claimsmanagement,” said Paul Rosen-stein, Vice President for Mitchell.

“Claims Triage is another com-pelling example of our commitmentto serving the unique property claimsneeds of our insurance clients.”

Claims Triage eliminates as-signment guesswork by definingquestions and criteria around the sta-tus of the vehicle. Claims Triage isfully integrated within MitchellWorkCenter™.

To learn more, please go toMitchell.com/WorkCenter.

Bobby Alloway loves the color black.Alloway, who has been building andpainting hot rods for years, was namedthe 2011 Autorama Builder of the Yearat the 59th Detroit Autorama earlierthis year. The award was just the latest

in a long series ofcoveted accoladesfor the painter, in-cluding Goodguys’Street Rod andStreet Machine ofthe Year, the DonRidler MemorialAward, America’s

Most Beautiful Roadster, plus count-less others. He was inducted into theRod & Custom Hall of Fame in 2004.

“It s rich, classy and doesn’t‘hurt’ any car,” says Bobby. “No oneever says, ‘that s an ugly color’ whenit s black.”

Some painters avoid black be-cause of its reputation for being un-forgiving in calling attention to eventhe tiniest of flaws. Alloway maintainsthat the prep and painting processshould be the same, regardless ofwhether the car is red, blue, white or

black. What is the secret to his flaw-less finishes? “The key is to not be ina hurry,” says Bobby. “Don’t take anyshortcuts.”

Here are some tips from the mas-ter himself:

Tip 1: “Make sure the car is straightas an arrow,” says Bobby. He followsthis rule religiously regardless of thepaint color.

Tip 2: Choose the right black color.Bobby uses PPG Deltron®, and is cur-rently a big fan of DCC9300 for singlestage work and DBC9700 when usingbasecoat. “It s a rich black,” saysBobby. “It s also friendly to use andisn’t prone to ‘printing’ (the kind ofunwanted imprint that can occur whenyou set a panel aside on a towel orrag).” For clearcoat, Bobby’s processincludes PPG Concept® DCU2002.Where two to three coats of clear arerecommended, Bobby and his teamwill apply additional coats.

Tip 3: Get the fat out (aka any ‘or-ange peel’),” using 600 grit sandpa-

per. “This is where most peoplemake their mistake,” says Bobby.“They’re afraid they’ll remove toomuch material by using the coarsepaper. You want to flatten it out sothat all that’s left is sand scratches.

This is where having five or six coatsof material is essential, since three tofour of them may be sanded off incertain areas.”

Tip 4: Sand single parts or panelsusing sanding blocks of varying sizesand shapes. Alloway’s hot rod shopuses many styles of blocks, but willalso make a new one if needed for theproject. “This doesn’t have to be ex-pensive,” says Bobby, “You can make

them yourself depending on what youneed.”

Tip 5: Sand, sand and sand somemore. Follow the 600 grit with 800,1000, 1200, 1500, 2000 and 2500 grit

sandpaper. Do not skip a sin-gle step! Whereas three to fourdays of sanding might be typ-ical, it is not uncommon for avehicle in Bobby’s shop to besanded for several weeks. TheAlloway process requires aflow coat of DCU2002 whichis sanded and buffed.

For more informationabout Bobby Alloway, please

visit www.allowaysrodshop.com. Formore information about the productsmentioned in this article, please seewww.ppg.com.


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UPDATE on Tow-for-Pay Scam, “Evangelist Jerry Bratt” and “Jacqueline Harris”Last month we reported on the tow forpay scam going around and severalmore body shops contacted ABN tothank and update us. The invitationcomes by FAX or from a deaf-services

relay call. The relay call operator willcall you and say a deaf person has needfor your services. Calls have been re-ported in California, Florida and Geor-gia. Some names have changed but the

basic scenario is that their car needs tobe towed from another state to be fixedat your shop. But they need you to paythe tow bill before the car can be deliv-ered. Several shops have received faxes

from someone using the names “Evan-gelist Jerry Bratt” or “Jacqueline Har-ris” repeating the basic scenario sayingthey had an accident in a Cadillac Es-calade on their way to Kansas or to

visit their mother. The fax also asks forthe address of your shop.

For example, Sherry at Califor-nia Auto Body in San Diego, CA, re-ceived a fax from “Jacqueline Harris”

on March 13 stating the same set upas the Jerry Bratt scam. The fax shereceived came from a number with aDallas, TX, area code, but the faxeshave not all come from the same

number or area code. The scammerexpects shops to pay a tow bill over a$1000 and they tell you the “wrecker”will only accept a moneygram. Some-times they also request a credit card.Paula Chipman at GTA Auto Body inChatsworth, CA, received the fax onthe right.

In the deaf or disabled relay ver-sion of the scam, Vivian from Chico,CA, reported that she had received thisscam relay call: “This person had asimilar scenario, they were from mytown traveling to Texas in a 2008 Es-calade and had an accident. After Iasked for the tower’s phone number soI could contact them directly, she dis-connected from the call. When I calledAT&T they said the call was generatedfrom a computer and there was nothingthey could do about it. They could be inanother country. This is not only ascam but a terrible way to use a dis-ability as a means to rip people off.”

Don’t fall prey but alert us if youreceive this fax or are otherwise con-tacted. The reported sending fax num-bers: 202-204-0669, 469-519-0414 and678-250-9047.


Class Auto Center: An Aptly Named First Class OperationClass Auto Center in Long Beach, Cal-ifornia is aptly named—truly a firstclass operation. This 15,000 square footshop stands out like a beacon to L.A.traffic on the 405 Freeway. The facilitywas built from the ground up in 1990by owner Ray Neveau.

Neveau’s first shop was a verysmall two-bay shop in a dead end alleyin Long Beach, however his impecca-ble reputation brought customers to hisdoor. Erik Sumen was a ‘surfer’ kidwho loved cars and knew of Neveau’sreputation, being very much in awe ofhim. Erik was fixing jet skis at home inhis garage, when he found Ray Neveauin his little shop in the alley. Erik ea-gerly went to work for Ray as the‘donut boy.’ Neveau then built ClassAuto Center and their relationship hasbuilt this business to where it stands talltoday.

This unique, upscale repair facilitydoes all the estimating, bookkeepingand management of the operation up-stairs. As you walk into the hi-techwaiting room, customers are welcomedby a customer service representativeand seated in a quiet and clean environ-ment, while the business of running thisbusiness is done up stairs. Even partsare managed upstairs and moved by afreight elevator that ascends to the partsroom and descends into a corner of theproduction area.

There are no Direct Repair Rela-tionships with insurance companies atClass Auto Center. They have strong re-lationships with their dealership part-ners and take excellent care of theirmutual customers. This shop pays closeattention to all details and they have ahigh customer return rate.

Class Auto Center proudly hasearned Manufacturer Certification fromMercedes Benz, Audi, Porsche and a aspecial Certification for the Nissan GT-

R. The 15 trained technicians at ClassAuto Center have the best manufacturercertified equipment available for them.They exclusively use Celette, the onlyfully authorized unibody and framestructure repair system for high end Eu-ropean motor cars. They use the newWielander-Schill Inverter Spot Welder.

Two down draft paint booths are ina separate building in acorner of the pie shapedlot , just a few feet fromthe production build-ing. Two prep stationsare in the same buildingas production. Leadpainter, Miguel, is astickler for detail andexpects very high qual-ity from himself and his

team of four. They use Spies Hecker ex-clusively, and recently updated theirwaterborne technology to the new SpiesHecker Permahyd Hi Tec.

Aluminum repair is a condition ofmost Manufacturer’s Certification. Allaluminum repairs must be isolated andcompleted in a no-contamination envi-

ronment. Class Auto has again taken astep towards exceptional quality andbuilt their aluminum room in a com-pletely separate building.

“We all take pride in what wedo,” says Sumen, “we have long termemployees and have built a culture ofworking together.” You could hear thefriendly sound of agreement whenwalking through this shop. Sumencontinues, “We arefamily oriented andsort things out so wecan keep things sim-ple in our employ-ees lives.” ClassAuto has a princi-pled core that makesit easy for everyoneto follow protocol.“We follow repairmanufacturers rec-ommendations anddo the repair rightthe first time,”Sumen states with confidence.

This year, Sumen and Neveau aretackling a new challenge. They haveopened Global Collision Center, lo-cated at V.W. of Garden Grove. Thisexisting shop needed the businessmodel, experience and enthusiasm ofthis team. The major remodel of thisfacility has brought it to the Classstandard, although Global will not bea Certified facility. It will work on allmakes and models.

There will be no DirectRepair Relationships, at thistime, at this store. The bookof business will be built fromcustomer referrals and deal-ership relationships. Theywill maintain their commit-ment of superior quality andcustomer service that willfollow them from Class AutoCenter.

Global Collision is wellequipped with a Chief EzLiner, down draft spraybooth and updated weldingequipment. They will alsouse Spies Hecker waterborne

Pernahyd Hi-Tec. Miguel, the leadpainter from Class Auto Center willoversee the paint department in thenew shop, as well. This facility has

great curb appeal on a main thorough-fare in Garden Grove.

Class Auto Center is an activemember of the California AutobodyAssociation, participating in the Glen-dale Foothills Chapter. Erik Sumenalso participates on the GovernmentalCommittee for the Collision IndustryConference (CIC). Class Auto keepsits fans apprised with a Facebook page

and it looks like there will be more so-cial media for these shops in the fu-ture.

Inspiring confidence with the cus-tomer, their business card reads: ‘Spe-cializing in collision repair andcosmetic care of World Class automo-biles.

Class Auto Center3031 Cherry AvenueLong Beach, California 90807562-595-6400www.classautocenter.com

Global Collision Center10800 Trask AvenueGarden Grove, California 92843714-638-7444

with David BrownShop Showcase

with Attorney Martin ZuradaBody Shop Law

with Domenico Nigro

The Community-Focused Body Shop

with Janet CheneyShop Showcase Janet Chaney has been involved in the collision industry as shop owner and business

consultant. She serves her clients through Cave Creek Business Development.Contact her at [email protected].

Class Auto Center in Long Beach

The aluminum room at Class Auto Center inLong Beach

Erik Sumen outside the new Global Collision Center atVW of Garden Grove, CA

The team at Class Auto Center



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When it opened its doors more thaneight decades ago, Pacific Coast Lac-quer (PCL) Automotive was provid-ing products for body shops paintingautomotives such as Ford Model A’s,Hudson Roadsters and Austin 7’s.Today, the brands and names have

changed, but PCL still markets a widerange of paint-related products to thecollision industry, including surfacecleaners, pre-treatment coatings,primer surfacers, primer sealers, sin-gle stage topcoats, aerosols and sol-vents.

The body shop business haschanged in a big way since 1929, backin the days before DRPs or labor rate

surveys. But according to Ruben La-guna, PCL’s Director of Sales andMarketing, quality products backedby solid customer service is still a for-mula for success and longevity. Sincebeing hired by the company in 1988,Laguna has seen PCL grow andchange with the times and is proud ofthe company’s role by providing solu-

tions for body shops that are100% compliant and makefinancial sense as well.“I tell my customers that our

products offer all threethings: Performance, qualityand price,” Laguna stated.“That’s why they represent agreat value across the board.You can save money, but are

you sacrificing quality or performanceas a result? And just because you paymore, does that necessarily meanyou’re getting real value?”

Manufacturers of automotive re-finishing products have come andgone over the years and PCL is proudto be the only manufacturer of its typestill doing business in California. Bydeveloping new products through its

extensive R&D efforts at its head-quarters and factory in Los Angeles,PCL has developed a wide range of in-novative products, including severalthat can be used with both solvent andwaterborne paint systems,” Lagunaexplained.

Body shops make up 85% ofPCL’s total revenues through morethan 300 paint suppliers and jobbersstatewide. The company’s best-sellingproducts are its primers and clears andwithin the last few years, the manufac-turer’s flat black and flat clear topcoatshave become extremely popular, espe-cially with customizers making thefashionable trend more commonplace.

Twenty-four years ago, changesin California’s environmental laws

drastically changed the types of sol-vents that had to be used for cleaningpaint guns. PCL quickly became thenumber one provider of these types ofsolvents in the California market, be-cause they were able to change rapidlyand adhere to the new requirementsquickly.

In addition, all of PCL’s compli-ant cleaning solvents adhere to SouthAir Coast Air Quality ManagementDistrict (SCAQMD) Rule 1171,which began requiring more water-borne cleaners starting in 1999. All ofPCL’s products are designed to meetand/or exceed local and national envi-ronment and air quality laws and re-quirements, according to Laguna.

Exemplary hands-on customerservice has long been a key element toPCL’s continued success, Laguna ex-plained. “If you use our products, youalso get our knowledge and our yearsand years of experience. We respondquickly to questions and concernswithout fail, and if one of the bodyshops using our products gets cited forsome reason, we’re there to representthem and address the violation. It

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doesn’t happen very often, because weformulate our products to be 100%compliant across the board, but whenit does, we do everything we can torectify it.”

Training in order to learn the ap-plication techniques associated withany of PCL’s products is also alwaysavailable, Laguna said. “Our products

are very easy-to-use, so most of ourcustomers don’t require training. Butif they want it, we will come out thereand train them right at their shop. Weback every product we make and

that’s why we’ve been serving the au-tomotive industry continually for solong.”

By making products that have be-come invaluable to body shopsthroughout California over thedecades, PCL has survived several re-cessions without taking a hard hit, La-guna said. “Between 2007 and 2008,when the economy took a beating, weincreased revenues by 20-25%. Whentimes are lean, more body shops buyour cleaners, primers and sealers par-ticularly, because they know they willdo the job, saving them time andmoney.”

Susan Simmons is a 30-year vet-eran of the automotive paint industryand is the store manager of Finish-Master in Montclair, California. Serv-icing approximately 200 SouthernCalifornia body shops, Simmons hasbeen working with PCL since she en-tered the field, she said.

“PCL has definitely found sev-eral niches over the years and by pro-viding compliant products ataffordable prices, they’ve done verywell,” Simmons said. “We sell their

primers, surfacers, sealers, clears andsolvents to a wide range of differentcustomers, from custom shops to do-it-yourselfers to hobbyists, restorationshops and of course, regular bodyshops. We get customers who call usall the time and ask specifically forPCL’s products, especially their flat

black paint fast-drying product.”Simmons values the support and

accountability offered by PCL, shesaid. “Paul Casanova is my PCL rep,and he is always available and willing

to help us in any way. He hasassisted us in training and onnumerous special projects. Ifwe ever have any issues withPCL products, Paul is thereto do whatever it takes tomake it right. If there is anyhint of trouble, he replacesthe product without question.PCL definitely followsthrough and stands behind

all of their products, which makesworking with them a no-brainer.”

PCL Automotive3150 East Pico Blvd.Los Angeles, CA 90023(800) 752-1566www.pclautomotive.com

Guardian Auto Glass LLC announcedFebruary 27 it has formed a new com-pany, Guardian Auto Glass Bloom-ington, LLC to acquire the assets ofGlass Specialty Company based in

Bloomington, Illinois. Guardian AutoGlass provides glass repair and re-placement services for automobiles,buses, trucks and recreational vehi-cles and now has more than 75 loca-

tions throughout the United States.Glass Specialty began operations in1957 and currently provides autoglass replacement and repair servicesfrom multiple servicing locations

across Illinois.Ron Talley, current CEO of Glass

Specialty will serve as vice presidentand managing partner of the new com-pany.

Guardian Auto Glass acquires Glass Specialty Company of Bloomington, Illinois


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TopTech Finder Unites PDR Techs with Body Shop ManagersTopTech Finder, an open job market-place bringing together automotive re-pairers and paintless dent repair(PDR) technicians, announces itswebsite is now available at:www.toptechfinder.com. By provid-ing an online search engine to connectautomotive repairers and qualifiedPDR technicians, TopTech Finderputs power and convenience back intothe hands that count. In addition, be-cause of the damaging storms in theSoutheast and Midwest, TopTechFinder is waiving all fees on jobsposted in the month of March by bodyrepair shops in effected states.

TopTech Finder is the vision ofCEO Jeff Herman, who developed theidea to help body repair shops easilyconnect with reputable PDR techni-cians to fix hail damaged vehicles.“When hail storms hit, a shop’s regu-lar PDR resources are often over-whelmed with work. Shops are thenforced to choose from techs who ar-rive at their door, without any knowl-edge of the tech’s reputation, qualityof work, experience, or training.Shops have told me horror storiesabout handing that first customer carover to an unknown tech”, said Her-man. “TopTech Finder solves this

problem by letting repairers investi-gate techs before they hire them.”

Repairers of all types can posttheir PDR jobs for free on the site.They can then search for techs and seetheir online profiles. Tech profilesshow qualifications including experi-ence, training, certifications, and as-sociations. If satisfied, repairers caninvite techs to the job. Conversely,techs can search for and apply forjobs. Body repair shops, retail PDRbusinesses, hail teams and other re-pairers can create their free, no obli-gation account at:www.toptechfinder.com.

Nissan opened up sales for their Leafall-electric vehicle to all states in theUS on March 1, 2012. After the EV'sinitial launch in limited markets atthe end of 2010 and a piecemeal,state-by-state roll out throughout2011, the Nissan Leaf will finally beavailable to order all around the U.S.Nissan sent out a statement saying inpart, “We are officially a 100% elec-tric nation. Look out for an e-mailaround 3/1/12 detailing when youcan order your Nissan Leaf.”

Nissan Leaf Nationwide

Mexico Implements New Mandatory Auto Insurance LawsTwo of the most popular Mexican des-tinations for US and Canadian touristshave passed new laws recently requir-ing drivers to carry auto liability insur-ance at all times. Baja California Norte(home of destinations such as Tijuana,Ensenada, Rosarito, and San Felipe)and Jalisco (home of destinations suchas Guadalajara, Lake Chapala, andPuerto Vallarta) have passed laws re-quiring that all drivers carry liabilityinsurance. Other states have had simi-lar mandatory auto liability insurancelaws in place for some time.

Derek Kartchner, Vice Presidentof Business Development forhttp://www.mexpro.com said, “We feelthis is a good step towards solving ahuge problem; whether in the US or inMexico uninsured drivers create an un-needed burden at the time of an acci-dent, and cost all drivers more. Weapplaud the states that have taken stepstowards alleviating the number ofuninsured drivers in Mexico, and en-courage other states to do the same.”

Jim Labelle, CEO of IIG said,“While this is an important law, wewould also urge our customers to en-sure they are protecting their own in-terests. Not only should visitors toMexico purchase Mexico Auto Liabil-

ity coverage, but also Comprehensiveand Collision coverage. We encourageall of our customers who drive to Mex-ico to obtain a similar level of cover-age in Mexico that they carry in theUSA or Canada.”

Labelle’s firm has insured over 1million US and Canadian plated vehi-cles since launching its website a littleover ten years ago. Visitors to Mexicocan purchase and print their policies inreal time on http://www.mexpro. com.All policies sold on the site meet thenew state requirements, and manyother optional coverages are availableto ensure that consumers are properlycovered when driving in Mexico.

For more information about theselaws or to purchase a Mexico Auto In-surance policy visit http://www.mex-pro.com or call 1- 888-467-4639.

LKQ Corp. has announced results forits fourth quarter and full year endedDec. 31, 2011. Income for the fourthquarter was $56.1 million, a 36 per-cent increase over the 28 cents pershare reported for 2010. For the fullyear 2011, income from continuingoperations was $210.3 million.

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GM Recalling Some2012 Regal SedansGeneral Motors is recalling about3,633 2012 Buick Regal sedans forparking lights that fail to activate whendrivers turn on the vehicle’s headlightswitch, according to Consumer Re-ports. According to the National High-way Traffic Safety Administration, thisflaw violates U.S. safety standards andmay cause an increased risk of vehiclecollisions due to reduced visibility ofthe Buick car.

NHTSA says the recalled BuickRegal parking light malfunction iscaused by a software programmingerror during the sedans’ manufacturefrom February 2011 to last month. GMwill notify Buick Regal owners af-fected by this safety flaw to bring theircars in to local dealerships where thevehicle’s “body control module” willbe reprogrammed for free.

General Motors is expected tocontact owners of recalled Buicks atthe end of March. However, con-sumers can receive more informationabout this safety recall by calling GM’stoll-free customer support line (800-521-7300) and asking about GM recallnumber 12048 or by visiting theNHTSA website: www.SaferCar.gov.

Infiniti Recalling 2003-04 Infiniti M45 SedansNissan North American has issued arecall of about 8,120 Infiniti M45 lux-ury sedans, according to the NationalHighway Traffic Safety Administra-tion. The agency says the 2003-2004model years of the Infiniti M cars havea flaw that causes the gas gauge to dis-play a higher fuel level than theamount of gas actually in the vehicle’sfuel tank, according to Consumer Re-ports.

NHTSA first investigated re-ported problems with the InfinitiM45’s fuel gauge last December. Andaccording to the latest report fromNHTSA, they traced the issue to afaulty circuit board used in Infinti M45sedans made from March 2002through June 2004.

Nissan is expected to begin noti-fying customers affected by this recallin mid-April. Owners will be in-structed to bring their recalled InfinitiM45 cars to local dealerships wheremechanics will modify the fuel sys-tem’s circuit board for free. For moreinformation, consumers can call Nis-san’s toll-free customer service num-ber (888-327-4236) or visit theNHTSA’s website: www.SaferCar.gov.

Ford Probes 2005-06Ford Taurus ThrottlesA federal probe was launched in Feb-ruary into 2005-06 Ford Taurus sedansby the National Highway TrafficSafety Administration after 14 con-sumer complaints of stuck throttles.

According to NHTSA’s Office ofDefect Investigations (ODI), the ma-jority of consumers have complainedof high engine speeds—up to 4,000RPMs—when shifting the Ford Taurusout of gear and into Park or Neutral.Others have complained of difficultyin slowing or stopping a moving car,according to Consumer Reports.

In some of the cases reported tothe federal safety agency, drivers al-legedly had to shut off the Taurus’ en-gine and/or shift into Neutral in orderto stop the vehicle.

The alleged incidents are believedto be related to the cars’ cruise controlcables—however, engineers with FordMotors and NHTSA’s ODI are work-ing to determine what causes the throt-tle to stick and determine whether abroader recall of the Ford Taurus isnecessary.

Consumers can file a vehiclesafety complaint on NHTSA’s website,www.SaferCar.gov.

Toyota Recalls Another681,000 VehiclesToyota has issued recalls for theirCamry, Venza and Tacoma models,reaching a grand total of 681,000 vehi-cles. According to Consumer Reports,the smaller portion of the recall in-volves 70,500 model year 2009 Cam-rys, and 116,000 Venzas from 2009 to2011. The larger parts of this recall be-longs to the 495,000 Tacoma trucksfrom model years 2005 to early 2009.

The Camry and Venza recall hasto do with the contact-type stop lampswitch; silicon grease may havereached the inside of the switch andcaused an increase in electrical resist-ance. If this occurs, warning lamps onthe instrument panel may be illumi-nated, the vehicle may not start, or theshift lever may not shift from the“Park” position. In some cases, the ve-hicle stop lamps may become inopera-tive. Tacomas may experience frictionbetween the spiral cable and the re-tainer in the steering wheel spiral cableassembly may occur in some vehicles.

Toyota hopes to alert affectedowners in early April. The fix shouldonly require about 30 minutes and willbe done for free at the Toyota deale-ship.


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559-435-5000Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5; Sat [email protected]

First HondaSimi Va l ley

888-523-0698805-584-6646

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800-GO GALPIN818-778-2005

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Honda Cars of CoronaCorona

800-557-3652951-734-9045Dept. Hours: M-Sat [email protected]

Honda of HollywoodHol lywood

800-371-3719323-466-3205

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Showcase HondaPhoenix

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Autobody News April 2012CALIFORNIA • NEVADA • ARIZONA


Infiniti has launched a new nationwideInfiniti Certified Collision Repair Net-work, a comprehensive program de-signed to recognize and distinguish bodyshops that meet or exceed standards forrepair work, training, equipment and de-livery of Infiniti customer service.

The new certification program isopen to both Infiniti retailer-ownedand independent collision shops.

“The purpose of the certificationprogram is to provide the resources tohelp ensure consistency of the repairof Infiniti vehicles on a national basis,”said Carnie Colliver, senior manager,Parts and Service, Infiniti Americas.

“Each Infiniti owner that comesinto these certified facilities presentsadditional face-to-face opportunitiesto reinforce the Infiniti Total Owner-ship Experience.”

The certification program will beconducted in conjunction with DuPontPerformance Coatings (DPC), whichwill assist in the implementation ofthe program’s certification process,and I-CAR, the Inter-Industry Confer-ence on Auto Collision Repair, whichwill conduct technician training.

“Facilities that have the willing-ness to participate in this programmust have the commitment to achievehigher standards in the collision repairindustry. This program will be a plat-form to satisfy all aspects of their cus-tomers’ automotive service needs,”said Colliver.

● Infiniti Certified Collision Re-pair Facilities will be able to distin-

guish their facility from non-Certifiedrepairers, by an ever expanding mar-keting package including but not lim-ited to:

● A shop plaque acknowledgingto customers the facility is a memberof the Infiniti Collision Repair Net-work and recognized as meeting therequirements set forth by Infiniti

● Customer marketing materialsexplaining the benefits of using thecertified shop network for repairs andthe use of OEM collision parts

● Exclusive website for InfinitiCertified Collision Repair Facilities toobtain program and technical infor-mation

● Infiniti owner awareness mar-keting initiative

● Shop locator for owners toidentify Certified shops in their area

“The overriding goal is to pro-vide a better customer experience—with an assurance of safety throughthe repair process and facility stan-dardization, and the financial preser-vation of the vehicle to help minimizediminished value after collision re-pairs,” added Colliver.

“Certified network collision repairfacilities will deliver a professional re-lationship consistent with the Infinitibrand—and enjoy the added prestige ofbeing recognized by Infiniti as meetingour stringent factory standards.”

For more information on en-rolling contact the Infiniti collisiongroup via email at: [email protected]

Infiniti Launches National CertifiedCollision Repair Network

Chrysler Group’s Mopar Brand hasannounced that enrollment is nowopen for the newly launched ChryslerRecognized Certified Collision RepairFacility program. This program in-volves the services of Assured Per-formance Network and allows dealersand independent collision repair facil-ities to meet the qualifications neces-sary to be recognized by Chrysler as acollision repair facility of choice forits Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Fiat andRam vehicle owners.

Chrysler’s program is managedby Assured Performance Networkand is designed to benefit OEMparts purchases and ensure customersatisfaction via Certificates of Au-thenticity (see sidebar below).

Under the program, shops willbecome a “Chrysler Recognized Cer-tified Collision Repair Facility,” andreceive official signage from Moparwith Chrysler Group logos. The certi-fication opens the shop for approvalfor other programs, not yet specified.

Member shops will receive 5%rebates on 100% OEM Chrysler col-lision repair parts. When repairs arecompleted with OEM collision repairparts, a Write Certificate of Authen-ticity, to help the resale value of thecustomer’s vehicle, will be created forthe customer’s records. Updates willbe made to the CARFAX vehicle re-port showing 100-percent OEM partswere used in the repair, and that aChrysler Recognized Certified Colli-sion Repair Facility made the repairs.

Shops will also receive a busi-ness development report to help eval-uate the business and identify keyimprovemments.

“We announced earlier this yearthat Mopar would be changing theentire ownership experience of ourvehicles, and this program is anotherimportant step forward,” said TonyBrenders, Vice President of Techni-cal Service Operations, Mopar.“Working with Assured PerformanceNetwork, we will not only expandour repair capabilities across theU.S., we will also ensure that thework performed will be to the highestlevel of quality.”

The new certification process re-quires key business standards includ-ing:

● Road to Gold: Attaining andmaintaining I-CAR Gold Class Pro-fessional shop status

● Minimum welding standards:Owning and utilizing squeeze typeresistance spot-welding equipmentwhich duplicates the original assem-bly process

● Minimum measurement stan-dards: Utilizing structural straighten-ing equipment with three- dimensionalmeasurements

The program launches on March26, 2012. Shops interested in begin-ning the certification process canvisit:www.ChryslerCertifiedShop.com formore details and program registra-tion.

Chrysler Launches Certified CollisionRepair Facility Program

Assured Performance Network Offers Other OEM RewardsChrysler joins GM and Nissan in thecertified collision shop program man-aged by Assured Performance Networkwhich is designed to benefit OEM partspurchases and ensure customer satis-faction via Certificates of Authenticity.

Assured Performance Network

also offers member benefits whichearn 5% rebates from GM and Nissan.GM and Nissan are providing an in-centive and reward for shops to usemore genuine GM and Nissan partsand less aftermarket.

Members can receive a rebate of

5% off list price on GM and Nissanparts when you repair using 100%GM and Nissan parts on ALL repairsusing GM and Nissan collision parts.

Members can print and present a“Certificate of Authenticity” to theircustomers illustrating that you have

used 100% Genuine GM and Nissanparts to repair their vehicle.

The posting and auditing processis automated with 100% Write ESP(enhanced settlement process).

For more information see:www.assuredperformance.net


OK, I really do fix cars for a living. Itake a car that’s acting up, locate theproblem, and make the appropriate re-pair. Sometimes I haven’t a cluewhere to look when I start, but with afew proper tools, a little ingenuity,and a whole lot of experience I’ll findthe problem eventually.

It’s like finding Waldo, that nerdylittle guy dressed in red and white whotravels a lot and specializes in challeng-ing people to locate him. He sometimeshides in plain sight. You’ll usually haveto look closely to find him. Except my“Waldo” doesn’t wear a red and whitecap to give himself away. My Waldo isusually something to do with a compo-nent or part that has failed, or has de-cided to be difficult. I sometimes thinkthat these weird repair jobs that end upat my shop are like an elaborate game of“who can find Waldo first?”

I’m not always the first guy to tryand find Waldo. A lot of times a cus-

tomer will take their car to a relativeor next door neighbor, or they’ll findthe cheapest shop or the closestgarage in their area. I’ll hear a cus-tomer tell me they always go to a cer-tain shop for all their repairs, so theythink nothing of going to a specialistfor repairs. But, when that doesn’twork it’s time to ask for a recommen-dation for a shop that can make the re-pairs. Now, of course, this isn’t trueof everyone. A lot of people have afamily mechanic they have used foryears, while others believe the dealer-ship is the only place to go for repairs.Whichever or whatever way worksfor each and everyone is just fine withme. One way or another somebodyhas to find Waldo.

When it comes to cars, Waldocan be pretty crafty. He can be hidingin thousands of places. He can beunder the hood, behind the dash, inthe trunk, or under the seat. He can be

well concealed or under layers ofcomponents—carpet, plastic, or en-gine parts. With today’s cars he caneven be inside a computer lurkingabout in the form of a corrupted bit ofinformation. I never know where he’llshow up, but I’ll do my best to findhim. The other day I was on a Waldohunt for a whacked out gas gauge.The fuel gauge was stuck on emptyon this ‘03 Ford Van. It came from an-other shop after they had given up onit. The shop had already tried a newsending unit in the tank, but it onlylasted a day or two before the gaugequit again.

So where is that little beanie capwearing weirdo hiding this time? Istarted with behind the steeringwheel. After doing the self test on thedash it was clear the gauge was notresponding, so I broke out the gaugesimulator and hooked it up to the fuelgauge. Even with the tester adjustedto 160 ohms (full tank reading) itnever budged off of empty. GotchaWaldo! You’re in the instrument clus-ter… aha! Got ya this time for sure yaskinny little twerp!

I got the new cluster approved andinstalled it the next day. I hooked up tothe scanner, checked that all the pro-gramming needed was done. That’stypical stuff… mileage, tire size, etc …not a big deal (with the right scanner,an IDS in this case or the dealer partsdepartment can set most of it up for youwhen you order it. Actual program-ming needs vary from year to year, sobe careful to follow all manufacturer’sdirections). I was so convinced that Ihad this one I didn’t think I needed torecheck my work, so I was in for a sur-prise when the gas gauge didn’t moveright away. I’ve seen this before. It cantake a minute or two, or up to 20 min-utes if the key was on while filling upthe tank. I didn’t recall turning the keyon when I was installing the new clus-ter, but by the time I had the van off thelift and backed out of the shop thegauge was working. Done, problemsolved. Waldo, you’re out-of-here!

Boy was I wrong. Seems oldWaldo had to come back just a fewdays later. The gauge is back onempty again just as it did with the firstshop. Now what is he doing? Waldo

is a crafty kind of nerd. Is he messingwith me? I’m about to “go mechanic”on his butt.

Back to the gauge tester again.This time the gauge reacted with everymovement and changed with everysetting I could put it through on thetester. I knew the empty reading onthis tank is around 15 ohms and a fulltank is 160, so I should have a readingsomewhere in between those readingsfrom the tank sender. It was 16 ohms?Oh, come on. Is this tank empty? Igave the tank a couple of knocks withmy knuckle “rap, rap, rap” and askedsheepishly, “You in there, Waldo?”

I got an approval to drop the tankdown to check it further. I could tellthe other shop changed the tank send-ing unit. They had butt-connected thelead together (Gee, ya could have justdisconnected it) but I did notice some-thing rather strange about the sendingunit. The float was bent around thefuel pump and an edge of the bail wastrapped against the actual fuel pumpbracket. Waldo is up to somethinghere, and it’s not the sender.

I grabbed a flashlight and lookeddown in the tank. There inside the tankis the tray that the fuel pump rests in.It’s mainly there as a way to control thesloshing affect of the fuel and to helpgive the gauge a steady reading. Theonly thing was the tray wasn’t stayingin place. It had broken free from thebottom of the tank and was slidingback and forth as the van drove downthe road. “Waldo, you’ve been a verynaughty little fellow,” I said to myself.

The only thing that made senseabout the dash being bad was thatsomebody must have tried to sendvoltage back up the sending wires tothe dash, and it probably knocked thegauge out. It wouldn’t have been hardto do with the gauge and fuel pumpleads all in the same connector. Some-body could have easily (accidently Ihope) crossed the wrong leads, whichcreated another Waldo. While theoriginal Waldo remained in hiding in-side the gas tank the whole time.

Now I just have to tell the cus-tomer where I found him at this time.Great, just great—two Waldo’s in twoplaces in one car. I think I’ll let Waldoexplain this one to the owner himself.

What If You’re Looking for More than One Waldo?

with Rick WhiteShop Management

with Stefan GesterkampPaint Management

with Gonzo WeaverGonzo’s Toolbox

with Richard ArnoldJobber Journal

with Dale DelmegeAsk Dale

Mainstream Media

Automakers’ Actions and Analysisby Autobody News Staff

Shop Showcaseby Autobody News Staff

with Ed AttanasioShop and Product Showcase

with Ed AttanasioConsumer Callout

with Walter DanalevichShop Strategies for Savings

with The Insurance InsiderInside Insurance

with Ed AttanasioCustom Corner

with Chasidy Rae SiskCompany Connections

with Chasidy Rae SiskNortheast News

with Chasidy Rae SiskShop Showcase


with Erica SchroederShop Snapshot

This is a new story by Scott “Gonzo” Weaver as posted on his website, www.gonzostoolbox.com.Gonzo has been serving the Tulsa area at Superior Auto Electric for over 27 years. See his book“Hey Look! I Found The Loose Nut”, which provides a Good Laugh for Mechanics of Any Age.The book is available at amazon.com. Contact Gonzo at [email protected].

It’s been said that a picture is worth athousand words. Yet, with today’s digi-tal cameras in cell phones, even, pic-tures are worth less than a dime adozen. Yesterday’s promotional pieces,flyers, brochures and even websitepages, all may have nice photos, butpeople are less impressed with themthese days. To really make an impact ona potential source of referral business,you need to get them to come to theshop and see the real thing. One livecontact is easily worth more than athousand pictures.

With spring arriving, this could bea good time to spruce up the shop andpush for some live visits by referral co-ordinators you’ve been chasing. Overthe winter some aspects of your shopmay have fallen into disrepair or worse.Getting an entire shop showcase-readyis generally not an easy task. Spareparts storage and the paint mixing roommay have become major eyesores.

Walk through the shop and imagine youhave an insurance executive or dealer-ship owner walking along with you. Trylooking at your place from his or hereyes and take some notes. These couldbe the improvements that make the dif-ference in how your shop is valued as aplace to refer customers.

A few standard interior-decoratingmeasures can make a major difference inhow your shop is perceived. If you oftenhave spare parts or some other eyesorein your office or waiting area, a usefuldevice to hide that kind of thing is theroom divider. These are generally just acouple of free-standing 2’x 6’ or 3’x 6’panels hinged together, but depending onhow they’re painted or covered with fab-ric or used to display promotionalposters, they can be a significant visualasset in an otherwise drab room. If theoffice or waiting area is uncomfortablysmall, a mirrored wall gives an illusionof larger space and also reflects light to

brighten a dimly lit room.Although a body shop is in the au-

tomotive painting business, it’s surpris-ing how many shops fail to adequatelypaint their buildings, driveways andequipment. Just painting the spray boothdoors makes them look newer and bet-ter maintained at a glance. The same istrue of the paint storage room. Olderequipment like ancient frame machinesand welding equipment can be sprucedup quickly with a coat of the metallicpaint you use on vehicles every day.Dealership shops are more likely to haveidentifying signs over bays indicatingbody work, frame work, welding, etc.

Dealership driveways also usuallyhave painted lines to direct customers tovarious parts of the facility. But an in-dependent shop can add a perspective ofprofessionalism by adding a few signsaround to designate how various baysare used and perhaps some painted lineson driveways. These simple cosmetic

measures will make a major differenceto visitors accustomed to well organizedand generally very clean offices.

While these improvements mightbe made to impress an insurance exec-utive or dealership owner, other changesmight be added for more specific visi-tors. Some shops have begun to take ad-vantage of the “baby boom generation”achieving the status of “seniors,” andlooking for ways to alleviate physicalproblems that can come with aging.Special handicap access elementsaround the shop can assist an older per-son taking a shop tour and the shopcould profit from offering and installinghandicap-assistance devices like powerrunning boards. Driving schools havebegun to multiply as public schools dropdriver training classes. Some shops in-vite student drivers in to look at heavyhits to alert them to what can result fromhazardous driving. A shop showcasemight add a display to that effect. Also a


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Sprucing Up Your Shop For Spring

Custom Cornerwith Rich Evans

On Creative Marketingwith Thomas Franklin

Action Countswith Lee Amaradio Jr.

with Sheila LoftusYour Turn

Opinions Countwith Dick Strom

Shop Showcasewith Janet Chaney

Industry Overviewwith Janet Chaney

Industry Interviewwith Janet Chaney


Tom Franklin has been a shop sales and marketing consultant for fifty years. He haswritten numerous books and provides marketing solutions and services for many busi-nesses. He can be reached at (323) 871-6862 or at [email protected]. See Tom’s columns at www.autobodynews.com under Columnists > Franklin


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you SUBARU IMPREZA ‘12

Raised Bill 387 in CT calling for the useof alternative parts as the primary meansof repair on state vehicles. The amend-ment reads: (j) In performing the re-quirements of this section, theCommissioners ... shall use recycled, re-manufactured or aftermarket parts as theprimary means of maintenance and re-pair of the state fleet, provided the re-quirements of this subsection shall notapply to any fleet vehicle under the man-agement of the Department of Emer-gency Services and Public Protection.

Connecticut Bill Adds Subsectionto Require Recycled or A/M Parts

As more insurers begin offering pay-as-you-drive insurance options inwhich vehicle driving patterns aretracked by the insurer through a de-vice hooked to the vehicle’s on-boarddiagnostic system, a Delaware bill(HB 242) would prohibit the releaseof such data by insurers to others, andwould prohibit insurers from usingthe information for anything otherthan consideration for premium dis-counts, unless the policyholder givesconsent. Any violation of the billwould charge the violator with aClass G Felony.

Delaware Bill (HB 242) ProhibitsInsurers from Exploiting Data Rhode Island is becoming a legislative

battleground for competing interests be-tween shops and insurers. No fewerthan six bills have been introduced thisyear in an attempt to modify the state’sunfair competition laws. In January, H7688 introduced a classification system:creating “three (3) classifications of fullcollision licensees based upon theamount and type of equipment main-tained and used by the auto body shop,the number of certified technicians em-ployed by the auto body shop, certifi-cation and compliance withenvironmental agencies such as theEPA.” This bill also required differentlabor rate surveys for each classifica-tion. H 7690 introduced “three (3) busi-ness days advance notice to the insureradjusting the claim for damage to thevehicle for the purpose of allowing theinsurer an opportunity to appraise andphotograph the vehicle prior to disman-tling” and bolstered the insurance fraudstatute by requiring shops and insuredsto certify that repairs have been madein accordance with the insurer’s ap-praisal and indemnifying the insurer forrepairs not made at the request of the in-sured. Now, bill H 7782, introducedFeb. 16, would amend the state’s unfaircompetition law by deleting the sectionof the law that requires insurers to in-

form insureds or claimants of their rightto use the shop of their choice. Thedeleted section (15) reads:

(15) Requiring that repairs bemade to an automobile at a specifiedauto body repair shop or interferingwith the insured’s or claimant’s freechoice of repair facility. The insured orclaimant shall be promptly informed bythe insurer of his or her free choice inthe selection of an auto body repairshop. Once the insured or claimant hasadvised the insurer that an auto body re-pair shop has been selected, the insurermay not recommend that a differentauto body repair shop be selected to re-pair the automobile. An auto body re-pair shop may file a complaint with thedepartment of business regulation al-leging a violation of this subdivision(15). Whenever the department of busi-ness regulation has reason to believethat an insurer has violated this subdi-vision (15), the department shall con-duct an investigation and may convenea hearing. A complaint filed by an autobody repair shop must be accompaniedby a statement written and signed by theinsured or claimant setting forth the fac-tual basis of the complaint, and the in-sured or claimant must voluntarilyappear and testify at any administrativeproceedings on the complaint.

Rhode Island Bill Would Delete Anti-Steering Legislation Languageshop that caters a bit to mothers andparents should consider adding somechild-entertainment items that could beemphasized when showing a mother orparent around the shop. This kind ofconvenience can make a major differ-ence when a prospect is comparingcompetitor shops in your area.

While all of these improvementswould significantly help sell your shopto prospective referral source visitors,the impact on shop personnel should-n’t be overlooked. Sprucing up a workbay and perhaps making some im-provement in the appearance of stan-dard worker clothing tells a technicianhis or her work is valued and especiallyappreciated at this time. This sametechnician is likely to also present abetter P.R. image when people arecoming through on a tour. Efficiencystudies have shown that personnel ingeneral perform better in well organ-ized, attractive spaces. You may havestarted out to simply make improve-ments to impress anyone comingthrough on a shop tour, but you couldalso be pleasantly surprised to find thatyour improvements have reduced cycletime and made a major difference inyour financial bottom line.

How much money are you losing eachyear by not charging for Feather, Sandand Fill (aka Feather, Prime and Block)?If you’re charging nothing, I can guar-antee you $5,000 more in yearly profitsif you follow this advice and start get-ting compensated for the necessary workyou’ve always been doing.

Feather, Sand and Fill is a non-in-cluded procedure that takes the sur-face from 150-grit level smoothness tothe condition of a new, undamagedpanel that can then begin the refinishprocess. The labor and supplies usedwith with feather, prime and blockmay fluctuate based on the nature ofthe repair area and should be consid-ered when deciding which work needsto be performed. I will address the is-sues many shop owners have in get-ting insurance companies to pay forthis procedure, the laws involved, andpossible solutions to consider.

In 2006, the Collision IndustryConference Estimating Committee de-fined feather, prime and block as“non-included refinish operations thatcomplete the process from 150 grit tothe condition of a new, undamagedpanel... The body/paint labor and ma-terials necessary to prepare the re-paired area from 150 grit to thecondition of a new undamaged part isa valid and required step in theprocess. The labor and material al-lowances for these operations requiresan on-the-spot evaluation of the spe-cific vehicle and damage.”

Despite this clarification, shopsare still having trouble claiming thisprocess and being paid for the workand materials. Some insurance com-panies say that Feather, Sand and Fillis included in the repair process,which simply isn’t true. In addition,often times, on many insurance com-pany estimates, they state that feather,sand and fill is included in the repairprocess, which directly contradicts thelaw, the P-Pages, and the logic of ourbusiness. Of course, the insurancecompanies don’t want to pay for thiscostly operation becuase they’vehaven’t had to pay for it for years.

An even stronger argument can bemade using the language in the federalregulations imposed through the EPA’s6H rule. “On January 9, 2008, the EPAaccepted a new standard known as the

HAPs 6H rule to reduce the public’shealth exposure to Hazardous Air Pol-lutants (HAPs). The agency’s main ob-jective is to significantly lessen theamount of HAPs released into the en-vironment during paint stripping orsurface coating operations.

During such work practices, themost dangerous chemicals, namely,methylene chloride (MeCl), cadmium,chromium, lead, manganese andnickel compounds, represent signifi-cant risk to employee health if properengineering and administrative con-trols are not in place.”

The 6H rule requires that thisportion of the process needs to bedone by the paint department, in anenclosed space, and is therefore a re-finishing procedure, not a body repairprocess. This rule helps solidifyFeather, Sand and Fill as a refinishingprocess by definition of the law, but itstill isn’t properly compensated for bythe Insurance Companies.

This means that any application ofprimer that is sprayed through a HVLPspray gun must be done by a certifiedpainter, inside an enclosed sprayboothand billed as a paint procedure.

But how should your shop chargeand get paid for it?

It is a judgment call that must benegotiated on the spot. The repairprocess only takes you up to the 150grit level, but I have to get the panelsto pre-loss condition before the refin-ish process can take place. I am facedwith this issue on almost every singlejob and I approach it by talking withthe adjuster directly. I say “If the P-Pages state that this is a necessaryprocess to repair a job and bring itback to pre-loss condition, then whywould it not be covered?” So, first Iprove my point that it’s a necessarypart of repairing the vehicle. I cite The6H rule that supports claiming it as arefinishing process. At this point,some insurance companies will payfor the operation, while others simplywill not pay. In this case, the insurancecompanies are forcing auto bodyshops to break the law by not listingthe procedure as a refinishing processand therefore admitting to violatingthe 6H rule. Failure to comply to the6H rule can result in hefty, daily finesand even jail time. If your shop does-

n’t report or charge for it, you are in away admitting to breaking the law.

Another typical response is thatcharging for feather, sand and fill is notcompetitive in the market, and becauseother body shops are allowing the in-surance agencies to take advantage ofthem, they claim that all shops shouldfolllow suit. I also hear “you’re the onlyshop that charges for this process,”which simply isn’t true. So the insur-ance company is literally telling us thatbecause other shops aren’t recoupingthese costs, we should all lose the rev-enue and break the law.

So how do you calculate the costsof FSF (or FPB)?

A simple forumla that I’ve comeup with over the years in the business,and doing my own time studies is asfollows: I use .3 per repair hour to cal-culate FSF. The example we’ll use is a2 hour repair. 2 X .3 = .6, Refinishlabor rate = $48 x .6 = $28.80, Paintand Materials = $27 x .6 = $16.20.

Total costs associated with FeatherSand and Fill on a 2 hour job is $45.

If a shop performs two of theseeach week, there is a yearly loss of$4680 a year. In addition, at a sales taxrate of 8%, the state is losing $375 ayear for each shop not being paid forthis process.

If you simply use the formulaabove, your painter’s efficiency goesup and you’re no longer supplyingthese materials for free.

Determine your repair times first,state this is only a repair process, firstnegotiate your body repair time andspecify that this is only for the repairs,not for refinishing.

Once that is established then younegotiate your time and costs forFeather, Sand and Fill by using myformula. This will increase yourpainter’s efficiency, it will increase theprofitability of your paint supplies andit will add to your overall business


COLLISION REPAIR PROFESSIONALSEPAIR PROFESSIONALS

Wanted.Wanted.Wanted.VeriFacts Automotive offers quality assessment and coach-ing, plus facility resources verification for collision repair facilities. VeriFacts is seeking individuals with the following requirements:

VeriFacts Coaches will work with progressive shops while setting their own flexible schedule as an independent contractor. Full time and part time openings available in multiple states.

• Extensive hands on collision repair experience • Teaching experience • Passion for mentoring technicians • Insurance experience is desirable

Please apply with resume or cover letter to:[email protected] or call (949) 272-3838

Feather, Sand and Fill: Paint Operations Body Shops Perform But Don’t Get Paid For

with David BrownShop Showcase

with Attorney Martin ZuradaBody Shop Law

with Domenico Nigro

The Community-Focused Body Shop

with Janet CheneyShop Showcase

Domenico Nigro is the president of Nigro’s Auto Body, a very progressive shop fortheir community in Philadelphia. In addition to many productivity innovations, Nigro’sinstalls equipment for disabled drivers, has developed several phone Applications,and represents products which directly support charities such as United Way and theNational Breast Cancer Foundation. Contact him at: [email protected].

See Feather, Sand and Fill, Page 43


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by Ed Attanasio

It’s like water and oil; church andstate—the Democrats and the Repub-licans. For many decades, there havealways been two disparate sources forcollision and mechanical parts. Butnow, still mired in an economy that isimproving but lagging, aftermarket

parts distributors are starting to thinkoutside the parts box and adding me-chanical parts to their collision inven-tory and vice versa. When ancillaryrevenue becomes vital to the bottomline, every company starts lookingharder for the “new, new thing”. Bybeing a one-stop parts source and ex-panding their inventories, companiesare increasing profits and building alarger, more loyal customer base.

The Levan Group, Inc. has beenin business for two decades and hasfive locations in California and Texas,so owner Kenny Levan has seen thecollision parts industry change and re-invent itself on many levels. That’swhy he began incorporating mechan-ical parts into his collision inventorywithin the last several years.

“We’re always looking for waysto increase our revenue, because onceyou rely totally on certain types ofparts, you’re limiting yourself,” Levansaid. “We discovered that our bodyshop customers want certain mechan-ical parts to supplement their crashparts. It’s a matter of convenience andif we can match the prices they’refinding elsewhere, it’s an easy deci-sion for them.”

By offering a limited range of me-chanical parts, such as radiators, lamps,window regulators, shocks, brake partsand struts, for example, the LevanGroup has attracted a new group of

customers, including nearby mechani-cal shops, walk-in cash customers anda whole new business segment theyhad never tapped into before—the do-it-yourself (DIY) market.

“The DIY customers are startingto save money by doing repairs theywould not consider before,” Levansaid. “Now, we get about 30% of our

business from these people.And by adding more chemi-cals, clears, bondo and sandpaper (he does not sell paint),we are appealing more andmore to the growing DIY partof our overall business.”

Owned and operated by sixbrothers, Kenny, Michael,Brandon, Andy, Harry, andHenry; each Levan overseesone location while Andyworks at all five warehouseswhen required. It’s a hard-working family that came tothe United States from Viet-nam 33 years ago. In 1988,they started the Levan Group

with little capital but lots of sweat,Levan said.

“I came to this country when Iwas 13 and I always tell people, Istarted working the minute I got offthat boat and haven’t stopped yet,” hesaid. “It’s a family business, so wemake the decisions together and wework as a team. We’re always think-ing of new ways to make our companybetter, and adding parts or supplies toour inventory has turned out to be a

wise move. We carry mechanical partsat all of our Bay Area locations andwill be expanding to include Sacra-mento very soon. By the end of 2012,all of our Northern California loca-tions will have collision and mechan-ical parts, as well as shop supplies.”

Other parts distributors have

merged collision and mechanical partsand seen it lead to more profits and ad-ditional customers as well. SSF Im-ported Auto Parts in South SanFrancisco is such a business, market-ing both mechanical and collisionparts with good results, according toBill Foxworthy, the company’s Colli-sion Parts Director.

“When business slows down,both mechanical and collision shopsstart looking around for new sourcesof income,” Foxworthy explained.“Body shops obviously need mechan-

ical parts to complete a lot of their re-pairs and more and more people arebuying salvaged cars, fixing them upand re-selling them, especially with alot of the higher-end imported vehi-cles we sell parts for.”

SSF sells a fair amount of frontend parts, water pumps, fans, bear-ings, condensers, wheel components

and air conditioning parts tobody shops. Conversely, me-chanical shops are buyingmore headlights, grill, em-blems and other accessory-type body parts as needed,according to Foxworthy. It’shit-and-miss and tough totrack, but Foxworthy knowsthat SSF is providing a value-added feature by offeringboth. SSF sells collision partsfor 80% of the car nameplatesthey also sell mechanicalparts for, including BMW,Mercedes-Benz, Porsche,

Volkswagen, Audi, Mini Cooper, Saaband Volvo.

“Sure, our mechanical lines areour bread and butter,” he said. “Butwe’re starting to see that the two typesare slowly morphing together, so werealize that we need to keep sellingboth. When business starts lagging,

we see a spike in collision parts sales,so we know it’s a necessary part ofwhat we’re selling. We’re in an age ofconvenience and shops realize time ismoney. If they can improve cycletimes as a result, it’s a win-win, defi-nitely.”

Foxworthy has been in parts forseveral decades, so he has seen theparts industry change with the Inter-net and other technological advances,he said. “The auto repair industry hasseen a lot of drastic changes, but inother ways they’ve been reluctant tochange. Selling both mechanical andcollision parts would be a logical al-ternative, especially when we’re allfighting for that extra dollar. But, it’snot the traditional way of doingthings, so aftermarket distributorsaren’t going that way. The overall at-titude is we're not going to changesomething that's already working. But,we all know that’s shortsighted think-ing.”

By incorporating aftermarket col-lision parts into their inventory mix,Midway Aftermarket in Kansas City,Missouri has benefitted by the resur-gence in the DIY market while ap-pealing to body shops that want a mixof recycled parts coupled with new af-termarket parts, Marketing DirectorAimee Studna explained.

“For more than 20 years, our sal-vage yard has been our core business,”she said. “Several years ago, westarted identifying a need with ourcustomers who wanted a mixture ofrecycled parts and aftermarket parts,both collision and some mechanic alparts, mostly air conditioning partsand radiators. Now customers askabout them and we sell them rightalongside the crash parts and our re-cycled inventory. This way they get amix of new aftermarket and recycledparts, which appeals to a lot of the in-surance companies.”

Can collision and mechanicalparts co-exist together in the samewarehouse? Will automotive shops ofall types gravitate toward this one-stop shopping approach to acquiringparts and how will the OEM’s reactwhen it starts becoming more thanjust a minor trend? Stay tuned, be-cause we’ve learned that if money isinvolved, people will adapt andquickly change their ways of think-ing in the pursuit of increased profitsand a bigger piece of the overall partspie.

The Levan Group—Where Crash and Mechanical Parts Intersect

Inside Sales Rep Leo Puentes, Owner/Manager KennyLevan and Sales Rep Andrew Knowles market a widerange of both collision and mechanical parts at the LevanGroup

Kenny Levan runs the San Jose, Calif. location for TheLevan Group. He started selling collision repair parts inaddition to his mechanical inventory to better cater to thedo-it-yourself market and body shops looking for a one-stop solution

Bill Foxworthy is the Collision Parts Director atSSF Auto Parts, a company that sells bothmechanical and collision aftermarket parts forbrands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz,Porsche, Volkswagen, Audi, Mini Cooper,Saab and Volvo


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The collision repair industry has toomany body shops. I’m not sure anyonewould seriously dispute that. Thesooner we can rid ourselves of 15,000body shops, the better all of us will be.Yes, it’s true, all of us will be far betteroff. This includes insurance companies,vendors, body shops themselves andconsumers.

How can we make this happen ata faster pace? That may be beyond thelimited scope of this mastermind, butit wouldn’t be an Insider article with-out a recommendation or two, sobuckle up and get ready.

The car manufacturers shouldfurther develop their certificationprograms and join together as onevoice to educate consumers at thepoint of purchase. “If your car is inan accident, you must take it to anOEM Certified Repair Facility toguarantee a proper repair. Takingyour vehicle to a body shop outside

the Certified program could result inan improper repair and compromiseyour safety.”

Sadly, that statement isn’t sometrumped-up idea to scare people. It’s afact and the motoring public should

know that while there are more than35,000 body shops in the country, toosmall a percentage are prepared to re-

pair aluminum, iden-tify substrates, weld“exotic” metals anduse proper-sectioningprocedures.

The complexitiesof today’s vehiclesprovide a significantchallenge to repair-ers. And five yearsfrom now, the 2012vehicles will looklike a Model A doestoday.

U n f o r t u n a t e l y,there aren’t a lot ofpeople who fully un-derstand the implica-

tions. Most industry pundits willprobably tell you that I’m solely re-ferring to the Mom-and-Pop body

shops as being ill-equipped or lackingin necessary repair information. Aucontraire, mon frère…I’m referring toshops that might be just like yours,maybe even most shops. I’m not try-ing to lose readers, just the shops thatare clinging to their outdated businessmodels and procedures like a motherbear to her cub.

And since we aren’t likely tosee car manufacturers creating so-phisticated certification programsthat virtually eliminate the bottom-feeders, there is an alternative. Onethat is probably a little more hu-mane. For the Rhodes Scholars andmy fellow Ivy league compadres, Ioffer you: The Darwin Theory. Yes,a concept so primitive that a cave-man could follow along. Flo?Maybe not.

It’s a simple but effective con-cept. Survival of the fittest is surelythe answer to the ills of this over-pop-


‘Survival of the Fittest’ Also Applies to Collision Repairers






Mainstream Media













The Insider is a corporate-level executive with a Top 10 auto insurerin the U.S.. Got a comment or question you’d like to see him addressin a future column? Email him at [email protected]

success and bottom line.If you try these methods and they

don’t work, you should show the ad-juster the P-Pages, even reference thisarticle. Ask the adjuster to prove toyou that you don’t have to do this stepwhich is required by all three estimat-ing systems and established as an in-dustry standard. What do they say? Ifyou’re still not being compensated,have them call me.

Write us, let us know if you’recharging for this operation. The onlyway for justice and fair compensationfrom insurers is through cooperationand unity among shop owners. Allow-ing the insurers to strong arm your bot-tom line is costing us thousands eachyear. A standard formula can be ap-plied to all jobs that account for thesecosts in a fair and transparent manner.

ulated industry. If you are from anarea where deer are prevalent, youmay be able to better relate to mybody shop reduction initiative. Inmany states, deer have become aproblem. There are too many deer andnot enough predators to keep the pop-ulation down. The answer to thatproblem is open season.

How does this relate to bodyshops? I’m not suggesting open sea-son where we shoot the weak andvulnerable. There’s no need to sug-gest that when we have a naturalpredator. Consolidators are the yingto the yang, the french to the fry, andthe predator on the bottom-feedingbody shops.

Thankfully, the mega-mightyshops are slowly and steadily elimi-nating competition from the market-place. It’s a slow, arduous process butone that will ultimately yield the pos-itive result we all seek (even thoughyou may not know you want it),which is fewer shops. Consolidatorsreceive a substantial number of callsevery month from shops looking tosell their businesses. It has become abuyer’s market, and those with capi-tal are licking their chops but patiently

waiting. Why buy today when theprice tomorrow is going to be a littlecheaper? The Mom-and-Pop shopsare dying a slow death, and the longerthey wait to sell, the less they aregoing to get.

Most insurance companies arehappy to see the attrition of shops, al-though the rate of decline is less thandesirable.

This isn’t about eliminating theMom-and-Pop businesses that wewere once the backbone of Americaand still play a big role. It is abouteliminating the undersized deer, theone with a limp and the one that can’tsee very well. By eliminating theweak, the larger, more astute opera-tors can continue to grow at a rapidrate. That will raise the overall qualityand efficiency of shops in this indus-try. The shops that can better serve ourcustomer. Ooops, I mean our mutualcustomer.

The Insider is a corporate-levelexecutive with a Top 10 auto insurerin the U.S.. Got a comment or ques-tion you’d like to see him address in afuture column? Email him at [email protected].


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Specially ConstructedVehicle Amnesty to EndSEMA has been working with the Cal-ifornia legislature and state agencies toprovide protection for owners of im-properly or illegally titled and registeredspecially constructed vehicles(SPCNS). Under a looming threat ofprosecution, this program was pursuedto help vehicle owners and buildersavoid a situation that could have led toconfiscated cars and felony law en-forcement actions. Beginning July 1,2011, an amnesty program to allowproper registration of previously regis-tered SPCNS went into effect. The pro-gram is slated to conclude on June 30,2012—roughly 16 weeks remain (as ofMarch 12, 2012). These solutions per-mit these vehicles to demonstrate com-pliance with current BAR smog-checktailpipe emissions requirements, in ad-dition to providing amnesty for ownersthat have knowingly made false state-ments regarding the value of these ve-hicles, the year of manufacture orknowingly falsified any other facts indocuments filed with the DMV or CHP.Owners of vehicles that are subject tothe smog laws may install one of sev-eral OEM engines and related power-train components that are intended tomeet state emissions requirements.

Ask most people about CAFÉ stan-dards and they would immediatelythink of food quality control. There isanother meaning that you probablyknow and it will drastically impactyour business, but you may not beaware why it will.

CAFÉ stands for Corporate Aver-age Fuel Economy-- the average milesper gallon on an OEM’s passengercars and trucks. The standards forpassenger vehicles will rise from thenational current 27.5 mpg to 35.7 mpgby 2015, while light trucks will gofrom 23.5 mpg to 28.6 mpg. My nextquestion is how will the OEMs ac-complish these figures? Car andtrucks will be lighter and smaller, witha greater use of aluminum, plastics,carbon fiber, magnesium and ad-vanced high strength steels (60 per-cent of all steel in today’s vehicles isAHSS). These exotic materials are thereason that fuel economy will impactbody shops.

Aluminum is being used on vir-tually all makes and models builttoday, not only on upscale importsports cars. The hood on a ToyotaPrius for example is made from alu-minum. You will need to invest innew tools and training to work withincreasing use of this metal.

Even with an increase in the useof aluminum, the percent of usage isrelatively small compared to the useof Advanced High Strength Steels.Steels (AHSS) will pose the biggestproblems for repairers and we need

to look at the challenges for thesesteels. The first area is we need tounderstand is the effect of heat onmetal.

Heat applied to mild steel will in-crease its strength (once it cools).Heat applied to high strength steelswill decrease its strength. Heat ap-plied to ultra high strength steels(UHSS) will destroy the steel. Re-member these facts.

A couple of other facts that youneed to remember: There are twotypes of energy behavior that weneed to recognize when dealing withtoday’s vehicles. The first one is en-ergy absorption. This is the processof dissipating the energy by the de-formation of the part. As the partcollapses, energy is lost as it travelsfrom front to back or back to front.This deformation is accomplishedby use of laser welds (differentthicknesses of metal or differentmetals attached together with laserwelds), collapse zones and rein-forcements. Most of the metal ontoday’s vehicles utilizes highstrength steel with MPa (a megapas-cal is a unit of pressure, which hereis a measure of stiffness or tensilestrength of materials) ratings be-tween 440 and 590. The second

type of energy behavior that we dealwith is energy transfer.

The design of energy transfer isto move the energy away from the im-pact without it deforming. This is ac-complished by making the partextremely strong. Many OEMs uti-lizes ultra high strength steels in thecabin reinforcements (“A” pillar rein-forcement, “B” pillar reinforcementand roof and rocker reinforcements).The MPa ratings are 600 and abovewith some metals reaching over 1400MPa’s for these metals. You ask thequestion why are they using thesesuper metals. The answer is simple.The government and Insurance Insti-

tute for Highway Safety demanded it.Let’s look at Federal Motor Vehicle


CAFE Standards Will Affect More Than A Shop’s Miles Per Gallon

Tech Notes

National News in BriefWEB WINDOW: - www.autobodynews.com

Regional News in BriefWEB WINDOW: - www.autobodynews.com

with Jeremy HayhurstPublisher’s Page

with Karyn HendricksShop Showcase

with David M. BrownShop Showcase

Shop Showcasewith Jeremy Hayhurst

Hey Toby!with Toby Chess

California Autobody Associationwith David McClune

Collision Repair Association of CA.with Richard Steffen

Insurers Excel at Steeringwith Richard Steffen

Year in Quoteswith John Yoswick

Transition Planningwith John Yoswick

Mainstream Media

My Turnwith Joe Momber

Toby Chess is an I-CAR program instructor, Training specialist, and former salvage yard operator.Toby is universally known in the collision industry for his work with first responders and advocacyfor body shops and consumers. He can be reached at [email protected]

Besides hand tools and aluminum stud guns,you will need to know how to weld aluminumand you may need to invest in a dedicatedaluminum welder

Note that the front of the Volvo has collapsedand shortened length is evident, but there is nodeformation in the passenger’s compartment

The IIHS devised a test to determine thestrength of the “B” pillar to withstand roofcrush in a roll over scenario

See Hey Toby!, Page 48


North County BMW

www.ncountybmw.com(800) 564-8222

North County BMW


North County BMW


North County BMW


Original BMW Parts

bmwusa.com

Original BMW Parts

bmwusa.com

Original BMW Parts

bmwusa.com

Original BMW Parts

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When you repair a BMW, use the parts that are identical to those used in Seriesproduction – and just as reliable. Choose Original BMW Parts. Because youcan’t repair your reputation.

Southern California BMW Centers

BMW of EscondidoEscondido(800) 544-4269

BMW of Palm SpringsPalm Springs(760) 324-8314

BMW of San DiegoSan Diego858-560-0268FAX (858) 277-7928

Bob Smith BMWCalabasas(818) 340-9640FAX (818) [email protected]

Center BMWSherman Oaks(818) 990-9518

Long Beach BMWSignal Hill(800) 794-4269(562) 427-5494www.longbeachbmw.com

New Century BMWAlhambra(626) 576-2867

Nick Alexander BMWLos Angeles(800) 800-NICK(323) 583-4108 [email protected]

Savage BMWOntario(800) 241-4269

South Bay BMWTorrance(310) 939-7342(310) 939-7343

Sterling BMWNewport Beach(949) 645-8729

Niello BMWSacramento(916) 486-1299

Sonnen BMWSan Rafael(415) 482-2040

Weatherford BMWBerkeley(800) 995-9269

Northern California BMW Centers

You only get one chance at the first repair.Original Thought #78

• Original BMW Parts & Accessories

I attended my second consecutiveAASP/NJ Northeast Trade Show, of-ficially show number 36, on March 9and 10 at the Meadowlands Exposi-tion Center in Secaucus, NJ. As Ispend more time at these kinds ofevents I begin to appreciated howmuch there is to learn in this compli-cated business of collision repair. It isa very educational and useful eventthat collision repairers should makethe effort to attend next year if possi-ble.

My focus this year was to coverthe seminars which included water-borne technology, nitrogen welding,triage blueprinting, and managerialcourses. I was especially curious onhow they had been updated from lastyear. If you didn’t see my coverage oflast year’s show it might be worth aquick review as several of the speak-ers drew upon their previous presen-tations. Check out my story at

autobodynews.com, search ‘Northeast2011’ (select exact phrase).

Shop Differentiation: How to MakeYour Shop Stand Out, with Mark OlsonIn a presentation geared for shop own-

ers and managerson how to moresuccessfully pro-mote their facili-ties and to set theirshop apart fromlocal competitors,no one has moreof the necessaryexperience and

background than Mark Olson, COOof VeriFacts Automotive and a well-known industry speaker for a coupleof decades. Olson is an accomplishedexpert in many specialties in collisionrepair but has particular expertise invehicle damage assessment, proper re-pair methods and collision industry

forensic analysis. Starting with a reminder that

shop owners will get no business ifthey do not remember to ‘ask for thecar keys,’ Olson focused on the goalto obtain more business. With the de-cline in the number of industry shops,his seminar attempted to show shopowners and managers what it’s goingto take to stay in business.

Beginning with the assumptionthat quality work will make a shopstand out, Olson admits that thiscomes with a price since standing outtoo much will make competitors try toknock you down. He notes that peoplewill know a shop for two reasons: ifthey do something really great, or ifthey do something really bad.

Drawing on his seminar from lastyear, Olson reminded attendees thatthere are things that people know,things that they are aware they do notknow, and then there are things that

they are unaware that they don’tknow. Addressing several attendeesdirectly, he proved his point by show-ing that there are many rules in the in-dustry that shop owners are not awareof since the rules change constantly.He stressed that this business is allabout understanding the rules of colli-sion repair.

An example Olson gave of autobody technicians being unaware ofrules was the case of weld-throughprimers. Most weld-through primersstate on their label not to weldthrough, and they must be dabbed oneven though they come in a spray can.See last year’s coverage for more de-tails.

Though the rules change con-stantly, technicians are held account-able to the current rules, so they needto stay up-to-date. Shop owners ormanagers should acquire information


The NORTHEAST™ 2012 Trade Show: All About the Seminars






Mainstream Media













Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware, whowrites on a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family of NASCAR fans.She can be contacted at [email protected].

See Trade Show, Page 49

Verifacts’Mark Olson


by John Yoswick

Looking for tips, tools and resourcesto help your business, defend your po-sitions or do your part for the indus-try? Here’s a collection of links tosites, documents and information youmay find interesting and useful.

— Motor Information Systemshas released a revised edition of itsGuide to Estimating(http://tinyurl.com/7zhbvr3), its ex-planation of what is and is not in-cluded in its estimating labor times(the system used by CCC InformationServices). Revisions made in the Feb-ruary 2012 version are highlighted inblue within the guide.

The new guide, for example, in-dicates that recalibration of the steer-ing angle sensor is not included inMotor labor times. Bumper labortimes are now shown to include lampswhen mounted to the bumper but notinclude optional equipment lamps orthose not mounted to the bumper.Labor times for fender inner panelsare now shown to include grinding,filling and smoothing welded seamsup to 150 grit sandpaper. The guideadds electrical wiring to the list ofnon-included items on frame labor,steering column overhaul, trunk lid,lift gate and quarter panel times.Hinge pillar glass and moldings arenow listed as included in cowl, hingepillar and dash panel times.

— I-CAR has actually loweredthe cost of its online training(http://tinyurl.com/7rsb2sb) to make itcomparable (on an hourly basis) to thefee for its live, classroom training.There are now more than four dozenonline classes available, some vehicle-specific (such as “Ford F-150 FrameReplacement”) and others more gen-eral (such as “MIG Brazing”).

— Although the NationalHighway Safety Administration(NHTSA) said earlier this year ithad found no discernable defectthat led to two fires in ChevroletVolts weeks after they crashed, it isstanding by its recommendation(http://tinyurl.com/7jd88tu) thatshops not store severely-damagedvehicles with a lithium-ion batteryinside or within 50 feet of a struc-ture or another vehicle.

— Whether or not your shop par-ticipates in State Farm’s “Select Serv-ice” program, it can be interesting tocheck out the program’s revised shop

locator system (http://tinyurl.com/7yegybx) that policyholders, agents orclaims personnel can use to locate aparticipating shop. Rather than locat-ing shops based solely on proximity,the system now ranks shops based ontheir current performance score fromState Farm (although those scoresaren’t shown on the site). Interest-ingly, only three shops appear on firstpage of search results; users have toclick through to subsequent pages(each of which lists five shops) to seeadditional shops - potentially includ-ing shops that could be much closer totheir home or work than ones higherup on the search results.

— Ask shops about their naggingconcerns about the future, and chancesare they’ll mention the increasingcrash avoidance technology on newvehicles. They probably weren’theartened by the fact that DavidStrickland of the National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration recentlysaid his agency will decide next yearwhether to mandate vehicle-to-vehicle communication technologiesin new cars, which he said could ad-dress up to 80 percent of crash sce-narios

“We have been working on thisnotion for over a decade,” Stricklandsaid, according to the Detroit FreePress. “We really do feel very bullishon the prospect of getting it on theground.”

But those who make a livingbased on auto crashes can take somemeasure of comfort from a recent re-port (http://tinyurl.com/7ujp5ws) fromthe Highway Data Loss Institute. Itsays that even with such mandates, itcan take decades before new safetyfeatures are in 95 percent of vehicleson the road. According to the report,it won’t be until 2016 that 95 percentof vehicles have front airbags, for ex-ample, and until 2028 for side airbags.

Based on that trajectory, forwardcollision crash avoidance technologywon’t be in 95 percent of registeredvehicles until 2049, the Institute pre-dicts.

— And just in case you want toread more about future vehicle tech-nology, an article (http://tinyurl.com/6s88yp6) in a BBC news magazineasks, “How close are we to a crash-proof car?” It quotes a Volvo techni-cal adviser who says the automakerhas pledged that after 2020, no onewill be killed or seriously injured in

one of the automaker’s new cars.And Wired magazine in February

(http://tinyurl.com/7foslf4) featured afascinating look at the “autonomouscar,” one that essentially drives itself.

— This may come under the sar-castic heading of, “Tell me somethingI didn’t know,” but the highly-publi-cized report(http://tinyurl.com/6ukvr4s) regardingpaint and materials compensationmethodologies released earlier thisyear also found that while averagecosts for paint and materials havegrown by 50 percent since 2005, theaverage compensation rates paid byinsurers have risen by only 23 percent.

Much of the coverage of thestudy focused on the fact that it foundthat 64 out of 68 industry participantsinterviewed think the current waypaint and materials compensation iscalculated is a poor methodology.Only four people (including represen-tatives of three repairer operations andone estimating system provider) ratedthe current system as “adequate” or“good.” The study concluded the cur-rent system is flawed in part becauseon smaller jobs, repairers do not re-ceive adequate compensation, and forlarge repair jobs, insurers believe ma-terials charges become excessive.

The study, conducted by Rich-field Associates and commissioned byComputerLogic (which produces thePMCLogic paint and materials cost-calculation system), included inter-views with shops, insurers, suppliers,association executives, consultantsand trade publication editors.

—If you’re interested in somedocuments that challenge the insur-ance industry, the Consumer Federa-tion of America issued a report(http://tinyurl.com/6phzony) earlierthis year that says insurance premiumshave become an undue economic bur-den on low- and moderate-incomeAmericans, and that state regulatorsshould do more to help reign in thesecosts.

“What is undeniable is that highauto insurance costs for (these) house-holds either impose a substantial fi-nancial burden or greatly limiteconomic opportunity, especially ac-cess to jobs,” said the report’s authors,who are a former Texas regulator andthe executive director of insurance atthe Consumer Federation of America.

The report suggests loweringminimum liability limits, creating spe-

cial programs (as has been done inCalifornia and New Jersey) to helplow-income Americans get cheaperinsurance coverage, and eliminatingpolicy pricing elements (such as edu-cation level and credit history) thathurt low-income households.

Meanwhile, another recent reportfrom a coalition of consumer groupssays Insurers overstate their industry’sfinancial losses from natural disastersand otherwise manufacture perceivedcrises to allow them to dramaticallyincrease premiums and profits.

The report (http://tinyurl.com/7t6h8d2) says Americans have for 35years been “victims of this industry’slittle-understood economic cycle, cre-ated by anticompetitive (yet legal) un-derwriting practices, unique andopaque accounting policies and virtu-ally unchecked power when it comesto regulation of insurance rates.”

The report from Americans forInsurance Reform—a project of theCenter for Justice & Democracy atNew York Law School that includesnearly 100 consumer groups—said in-surers are once again using disasterslike Hurricane Irene to end a 5-year“soft market” of stable rates andheavy competition among insurers,and replace it with a “hard market”marked by extreme rate hikes.

Insurers can overstate losses fromdisasters, the report says, because theyare based on estimates of unknown fu-ture claims, which are, during “hardmarkets, wildly exaggerated.”

The study’s authors point outthat insurers make plenty of profit inboth types of markets not throughunderwriting but through investmentof surplus that has been set aside forfuture claims. That surplus has risenby a factor of almost 40, the studystates, and totaled $580 billion in2010.

The report urges governments torequire more data from insurers, gainmore control over rates, and repeal in-surer’s antitrust exemption under theMcCarran-Ferguson Act.

John Yoswick, a freelance writerbased in Portland, Oregon, who hasbeen writing about the automotiveindustry since 1988, is also the edi-tor of the weekly CRASH Network(for a free 4-week trial subscription,visit www.CrashNetwork.com). Hecan be contacted by email [email protected].

Helpful Documents, Tools And Information Only a Click Away for Shops

Safety Standard 216A.By the model year the government

wanted a 2 ½ times gross vehicleweight to be placed at the “B” pillar, but

the IIHS wanted 3 times and by modelyear 2012, 4 times. What happenedwas most manufacturers were able tomeet the 2012 standards in 2009 and

those vehicles received a 5 star rating.We now need to look at heat and

its affect on these metals.I am going to heat the metal with

an induction heater and monitor thetemperature with a non contact ther-

mometer. I will take a before and afterreading with an instrument to test thestrength of steels.

The next part to be tested was a“B” pillar reinforcement from a VolvoXC90. The part is constructed of ad-vanced steel alloyed with boron.

I want to end this with a couple ofthoughts.You will need to invest in an inverter3 phase spot welders.You will need to invest in obtainingdata for all structural repairs.You will need to invest in Training,You will need to invest to be compet-itive and safe.


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The above 2 welds are fusion welds. Themetal becomes molten (over 2200 degreesFahrenheit) and when it cools, a ring formsaround the weld known as the Heat AffectZone. This area on high strength steel isweaker than its surrounding metal. In thecase of ultra high strength steel, this areahas a strength equivalent to the strength ofmild steel, which has no energy absorptionor energy transfer capabilities

HEAT AFFECT ZONE

MIG Weld

Spot Weld

One method of reducing the heat affect zone isskip welding. A bead length of 25 to 38 MM ismade (#1 weld). A second weld is made(#3) and the weld is closed by last weld (#2).Let’s look at what heat does to metal

The first test was done on a front rail on a2009 Toyota Camry which is high-strengthsteel and has a strength category of 440 MPa.The value of the steel is 16.9 which convertsto a 440 MPa reading

The steel was heated to 1000 degreesFahrenheit for 15 seconds and allowed tocool naturally. A second reading was taken

The strength of the metal dropped to 250 MPa.It lost nearly 50 percent of its strength. This isthe reason why Toyota states in their CRIB#175 -- “Do not use heat for straightening”

A reading of 53.7 or 1380 was observed.Again the part was heated to 800 degreesFahrenheit for 20 seconds

Readings were taken again after the part wasallowed to cool naturally

The reading was 27 or 50 percent less onthe point scale, but was a slightly above600 MPa. Think about this. Fusion weldingtakes place at 2200 degree and this partwas only heated to 800 degrees. Thinkwhat would have happened to the steel if itwas heated to 2200 degrees? It would havelost all of its strength. This is why mostmanufacturers require the cabinreinforcements to be installed at factoryjoints and not sectioned


Hey Toby!

This “B” pillar reinforcement on a 2010 ToyotaScion is being replaced at the factory joint inthe roof and it is not sectioned

The WD-40/SEMA Cares Foose Chal-lenger is used to raising eyebrows, butby the time it rolled off the auctionblock at the Barrett-Jackson CollectorCar Auction January 20, in Scottsdale,Arizona, it also raised big money forcharity to the tune of $115,000. This isthe third consecutive year WD-40 Co.has partnered with SEMA Cares tobuild a custom vehicle for a good cause.

The WD-40/SEMA Cares Camaro andWD-40/SEMA Cares Mustang alsoraised money for the same two SEMACares charities—Childhelp and VictoryJunction Camp—and the three vehicleshave raised a combined total of morethan $400,000 for those charities.

“On behalf of the SEMA CaresCommittee, I would like to extend a

WD-40/SEMA Cares Foose Challenger Raises$115K For Charity at Barrett-Jackson

See SEMA Foose, Page 62

from the vehicle manufacturers or anaftermarket service that acquires theinformation from the manufacturerson every car, for every repair. This istheir responsibility since the manufac-turers will not alert shop owners whenthey change their rules. While Olsonadmits that many mistakes result fromshop owners and technicians beingunaware of the current regulations,this can be aided by knowing every-thing about a car from the very begin-ning of the job, when they first writethe estimate to ensure a quality repair.

“The goal of any repair is to putthe vehicle back into the same stateand shape as it was so it performs thesame way in the next collision as it didin this collision and is cosmeticallycorrect,” said Olson.

Switching topics to that of thecounter culture of quality, Olson rein-forced that a “quantity culture” is onein which shops focus on throughput,cycle time and profits, assuming qual-ity will take care of itself. Askingquestions such as “how soon?”, “how

fast?” or “how much?” sends the mes-sage to technicians that quantity ismore important than quality.

Olson believes it is necessary toestablish a new culture with a balancebetween quantity and quality wherethere should be a shift from “goingthrough the motions” to everyonebeing committed to the process. It isthe responsibility of each employee todeliver a quality repair to the cus-tomer. Though he insists that everyonewants to do the right thing, doing sorequires everyone knowing what theright thing is.

The four components to a posi-tive repair experience are thoroughdamage assessment and customercommunication, internal quality con-trol stage checks and peer inspections,pre-delivery inspection and estimatereview, and well-defined customer de-livery protocol. Concerning customercommunication, it is useful to learnthe customer’s preference for commu-nicating to best provide customerservice; some customers might prefera personal phone call while others findan email or text to be sufficient.

VeriFacts also suggests using astage-check verification in which the

technician and a peer inspector signsoff at each step of the repair: Body,Refinish, Assembly, Sublet, Interior &Exterior Clean-up and Final Inspec-tion. This will help reduce the numberof unsatisfied customers and increaseyour CSI.

Olson put it simply: “this is aboutexposing your excellence.”. Some keyways to show the world that a partic-

ular shop is greatis through word-of-mouth, Inter-net, especiallysocial media, andadvertising. It isalso useful to givecustomers tours ofthe shop, just as

giving an insurance company a tour todemonstrate flow, equipment, specialcertifications and so forth is helpful inconvincing them to add your shop totheir DRP and refer their business inyour direction.

VeriFacts’ research finds thatshops tend to improve in quality overtime. The typical pattern shows an im-provement in quality, followed by adrop before the shop finds a steadypattern. Olson emphasizes that it only

takes a month to create a habit whichis necessary for those looking for sus-tained change over time. The manageror owner drives this pattern, and ifthey enforce a particular behaviour fora solid month, employees are morelikely to accept this as habit and con-tinue adhering to it.

Discussing quality dimensions,Olson says the five key elements arerepair planning, equipment, materi-als/parts, process consistency and re-pair quality. Repair planning meansensuring that the shop has the requi-site systems, credentials and access torepair information, while the equip-ment aspect concerns making sure thatessential equipment is well-main-tained, accessible and working prop-erly. Shops should make sure thecorrect materials and parts are beingutilized also. Process consistency en-tails setting up and enforcing standardworking procedures “to ensure con-sistency and sustainability of repairoutcome,” and for repair quality, “theassessor will verify repair quality byobserving in-process vehicles andtechnicians’ work to validate confor-mance to VQ standards.”


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Trade Show

Larry Montanez III


by Janet Cheney

The fourth annual Verifacts Automo-tive Fix it Right/Fix It Smart Sympo-sium, was held February 23–24, at thespectacular Laguna Cliffs MarriottResort in Dana Point, California. Thisinvitation-only symposium was at-tended by 350 collision professionalsincluding shop owners, insurers, andrelated industry partners.

Industry veteran Dale Delmegewas Master of Ceremonies for thedayand a half event. In opening the eventDelmege asked if anyone rememberedthe name of Albert Einstein’s math

teacher?” After the expected and silentanswer of ‘no,’ Delmege answered hisown question: “No one remembers hisname, yet he unlocked the intellectualkey that changed the world.”

This simple question set the toneas Delmege invited the attendees tochallenge conventional thought andexplore the future. The internationalline up of speakers and panelists cameprepared to do that.

A most unusual and grati-fying segment of the Sympo-sium was Verifacts recognitionof other industries who have aproven commitment of qualityand excellence.

Dr. David Spong, who re-tired as President of BoeingAerospace Support, is theonly two-time recipient of theMalcolm Baldrige NationalQuality Award, the only for-mal recognition of the per-

formance excellence of both thepublic and private U.S. organizations,receiving said awards from PresidentsBill Clinton and George W. Bush. TheBaldridge Award is given by the Pres-

ident of the United States.Dr. William Buchanan, an Ortho-

pedic Surgeon with Kaiser Permanentehas been instrumental in pursuing con-tinuous improvement in the organiza-

tion with unprecedented success. Dr.Buchanan also serves as a volunteer onthe Los Angeles Sheriff’s Air RescueProgram. Dr. Buchanan brought a videoshowing an intense display of what theLA Air Rescue people do and how crit-ical systems and procedures are to thisprocess of saving lives.

Los Angeles County Sheriff LeeBaca and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s

Department Aero Bureau were recog-nized for their exemplary AviationSafety Management System.

Verfifacts CEO, Farzam Afshar,recognized these three with the Veri-facts “Role Model and Safety Award.”

Several presentations followed.Negotiate Like the Pros, by AttorneyJohn Patrick Dolan, was informa-tive, uplifting and much fun. Atten-dees participated in a brief ‘survey’identifying certain behavior styles.His message: be Tough, Shrewd andCool Under Pressure. ‘Don’t roll overand play dead—there are other op-tions.’

Fix it Right/Fix it Smart soundslike a simple formula, yet the chal-lenge of the unknown from every in-dustry segment was recognized.Discussion points revolved aroundthe theme of unprecedented change.Recognizing the ‘firehose’ of infor-mation being thrown at the industryand how is this to be assimilated andused effectively, to identifying thebalance of cost containment inter-secting with new technology. As oneindustry representative confessed,


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Verifacts Symposium Recognizes Achievement, Industry Unknowns, and Negotiation

(l to r) Larry Jeffries, CARSTAR Canada, Stacy BartnikCARSTAR USA, and Farzam Afshar, CEO of Verifacts Au-tomotive at the NABC display

(l to r) Jeanne Silver CARSTAR Mundelein,Kristen Felder, Collision Hub, and ShawnCollins of 3M, share a moment at the VerifactsSymposium

ified procedures when using replace-ment crash parts, to expressly notifythe automobile owner regarding theuse of specific categories of crashparts in making the repairs, and to pro-vide disclosures as to the warranty forthose parts, as specified. Because thisbill would create a new crime, the billwould create a state-mandated localprogram. The California Constitutionrequires the state to reimburse localagencies and school districts for cer-tain costs mandated by the state.Statutory provisions establish proce-dures for making that reimbursement.

The bill would provide that no re-imbursement is required by this act fora specified reason.

Tire Repair Non-exclusion Galgiani’s bill (AB 2065) wouldamend the Business and ProfessionsCode to remove tire repair and chang-ing from the list of exclusions to re-pairing vehicles. Existing law definesthe repair of motor vehicles to mean all

“we are not sure even where we aregoing.”

Selected industry partners dis-played innovative products and wereavailable for education and discus-sion throughout the event.

Verifacts CEO, Farzam Afsharand COO, Mark Olson, are co-

founders of thecompany. Theircollective experi-ence brings a highlevel of innovativethought, skills andindustry knowl-edge to VerifactsAutomotive. TheSymposium is areflection of theirindustry message.

This Symposium brought to-gether a collaboration of informationand an amalgam of industry mindsmelded together to work towards theultimate goal of achieving better re-pairs, better processes, better rela-tionships. In short, a better industryand Verifacts would say, ‘ExposingExcellence in Collision Repair.’

For more information see:www.verifactsauto.com.


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CCAALLIIFFOORRNNIIAA

by Chasidy Sisk and Janet Cheney

Attendance at the recent NORTH-EAST trade show, at the Meadow-lands in Secaucus, NJ, was up 20%from last year, which was up from

the year before. Some seminars wereoverflow seating and organizers hadto pull in extra chairs for people whoarrived late were standing.

Heard and seen at the show weresome familiar figures in the industry.Several took the mike at the NortheastLeadership forum.

One person we all wanted tohear from was the owner of NorthState Custom, Greg Coccaro, whosurprised a number of attendeeswith the revelation that he’s back todoing business with Progressive In-

surance, despitethe long and tor-turous legal bat-tles between thetwo. Even thoughbusiness is rela-tively slow forshops in the area,his Progressive

work has actually picked up. Coc-caro was told by a Progressive em-ployee that “Progressive does nothave a network of shops in NewYork any more, so the intense steer-ing they practiced in this area hassubsided.” Coccaro added, “I’mnow repairing cars for Progressive’s

customers onceagain.” Coccarostill owes some$500,000 in legalfees to defend hisshop’s reputationand his ownname. He hopesto be able to re-

cover his losses due to the causes ofaction in his pending lawsuit againstProgressive.

Another engaging speaker at the

forum was Tony Lombardozzi withAutomotive Collision Repair Servicesin New Hampshire, who repeated hismessage of self-sufficiency for the in-dustry and his advocacy of independ-ence from insurers through his

presidency of the Coalition forCollision Repair Excellence(CCRE). Lombardozzi put itplainly: “The insurer is not athird party to our contract withour customer and should not beinvolved in the repair process.What an insurer appraiserwrites is meaningless. It servesno purpose in the repairprocess.”

The show-organizer and ex-ecutive director of the Alliance

Automotive Service Providers ofNew Jersey (AASP/NJ), CharlesBryant, agreed with Lombardozzi’sassessment of insurer involvement.

Bryant under-scored that repair-ers not negotiatewith insurers.

“Offer them acup of coffee, talkto them about lastnight’s hockeygame, and direct

them to the car they want to write anestimate on,” Bryant said. “But don’tgo back there with them and don’t ne-gotiate the repair... You are the experton how to repair cars, not the insur-ance company. Write what needs to bedone, make a proper and safe repairand bill fairly for your work.”

Both stressed that repairers needto take responsibility for educatingcustomers about the repair processand explain why the estimate the re-pairer wrote is the most reliable one.

Janet Cheneygave a quick re-port on a couple ofstate’s associa-tions that don’t al-ways have the earof the nationaltrade press. Seeher article this

issue (p. 54 and 55). See also ChasidySisk’s column at autobodynews.com.

NORTHEAST™ Trade Show Leadership Forum

AASP/NJ Exhibiting at Northeast 2012, their own show

Tony Lombardozzi

Janet Cheney

Greg Coccaro

Charles Bryant

Search:Autobody News

on Facebook

Mark Olson,Verifacts COO, talksabout the smartway to fix a car


CA Bills

See CA Bills, Page 53

trade practices by foreign countries,”said USW President, Leo Gerard.

This letter follows action by theUnited Steelworkers (USW) and oth-ers to identify broad sets of practicesutilized by China to protect its autoparts sector to the disadvantage of itscompetitors. The Congressional letterratifies USW concerns and calls forimmediate action. The USW repre-

sents about 850,000 workers in theUnited States and Canada in a widevariety of industries, ranging fromglass making to mining, paper, steel,tire and rubber and other manufactur-ing environments.

The United Steelworkers (USW)says that America’s auto parts sectorcontinues to be threatened by unfairlytraded auto parts imports from Chinaand its policies that exclude US prod-ucts from their markets. The USWlauds the 188 members of Congresswho signed the Congressional letter,

demonstrating broad political supportbehind intentions to stop China’s pro-tectionist, predatory and illegal tradepractices.

The lawmakers included manyfrom the auto manufacturing states ofthe upper Midwest, which will likelybe important in Obama’s bid for re-election in November.

They said China uses a “vastarray of policies” to give its auto partsproducers an unfair trade advantage.

Those include Chinese limits onimports of foreign auto parts and sub-

sidies that drive down the prices autoparts that are made in China, the law-makers said.

“These tactics are working. Chi-nese auto parts exports are rapidlygrowing and have increased almost900 percent since 2000,” the law-makers said.

The appeal follows Obama’s re-cent decision to establish an intera-gency task force to boost U.S.enforcement of trade agreements. Thelawmakers urged Obama “to use allexisting authorities” to protect the


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maintenance of and repairs to motorvehicles, as specified, and excludesfrom the definition, among otherthings, repairing tires, changing tires,lubricating vehicles, installing lightbulbs, batteries, windshield wiperblades, and other minor services. Thisbill would delete repairing and chang-ing tires from that exclusion list.

Reasons cited for the removal

are administrative: Because the fail-ure of a person repairing and chang-ing tires to register as an automotiverepair dealer with the bureau wouldconstitute a crime, the bill would im-pose a state-mandated program. TheCalifornia Constitution requires thestate to reimburse local agencies andschool districts for certain costs man-dated by the state. Statutory provisionsestablish procedures for making thatreimbursement. This bill would pro-vide that no reimbursement is requiredby this act for a specified reason.

U.S. auto parts sector, but did not out-line a particular course of action.

Advocates have said the admin-istration’s options include bringing acase at the World Trade Organizationor initiating an action under U.S.trade remedy laws that would lead toduties or other restrictions on importsfrom China.

The USW also filed a petitionwith the US government alleging thatthe Chinese government unfairly fa-vors, through subsidies and othertrade measures, its domestic manu-

facturers of “green” goods like solarpanels and wind turbines. The peti-tion was filed under a section of UStrade law—Section 301 of the TradeAct of 1974—that was once a strongprotectionist weapon but has basi-cally gone dormant since the adventof the World Trade Organization.


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See these Hyundai dealers below for all your collision parts needs!

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Hyundai Genesis 2012

ARIZONAChapman Hyundai

PHOENIX

877-684-5803602-866-6166

602-866-6196 FaxMon-Fri 7am - 6pm

Sat 8am - [email protected]

Lithia HyundaiFRESNO

800-462-2231559-436-6041559-436-0743 Fax

Mon-Fri 7am - 6pmSat 8am - 1pm

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Tuttle Click HyundaiIRVINE

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Montana Collision Repair Specialists’ Legislative Recordby Janet Cheney

The Montana Collision Repair Special-ists is an active association that is ex-periencing growth in membership thisyear. The association’s spring meetingis in Great Falls in April. Guest speak-ers will be Steve Bullock, Montana At-torney General, who recentlyannounced his candidacy for Governor,and Jesse Laslovich, Chief Counsel forthe Montana Securities and InsuranceDivision, who has announced his can-didacy for Montana Attorney General.

This association has a strong leg-islative history. Their most recent leg-islative victory was in 2010 when a billwas passed that ‘prohibits insurers fromdisregarding a cost item identified by anestimating system.’

In October of 2011, Montana StateAuditor, (Insurance Commissioner),

sent an Advisory Memorandum to allProperty and Casualty Insurers doingbusiness in the State of Montana, ad-vising them of the law and stating pos-sible fines.

MCRS Past President, Max Yates,owner of Yates Body Shop in Butte,Montana has served region, HD 74, asState Representative for the last twoyears. Representative Yates has also an-nounced his candidacy to continue hisseat in the State Legislature in 2012/13.For a state as large as Montana, this as-sociation stays very connected throughtelephone calls and email and jobbersupport. Fall and Spring Meetings arewell attended, hosting at least 80 peo-ple. Many shop owners will drive 7-8hours to attend a meeting. Membershipis almost at 100 shops out of about 225in the state. Not bad for a state that hasmore cows than people!

Hyundai Recalling 2011-12 Sonata Hybrids For Rear Seat BeltA recall of 2011–2012 HyundaiSonata Hybrid cars was issued by theU.S. National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration on March 8. Accord-ing to the report, more than 14,700 ofthe Hyundai hybrid vehicles have rearcenter seat belts which fail to meetfederal safety standards. However,Hyundai believes it doesn’t need tofix the seat belt issue with all Sonatahybrids—or notify all affected Sonataowner, as required by the usual fed-eral safety recall procedures, due tothe fact that the issue only affectsSonata hybrids manufactured afterDecember 2010.

According to the federal safetyagency claims both the lap and shoul-der portions of the rear center seatbelts disconnect when occupantspress the 3-point safety belt’s unlockmechanism—a violation of safety

standards. According to ConsumerReports, Hyundai claims it will fixthe rear center seat belt issue in theapproximately 1,633 new Sonata Hy-brids still in dealer’s lots. But thecompany has filed a petition with theagency to not fix the approximately13,095 hybrids already in owners’hands “on the basis that the non-com-pliance described is inconsequentialas it relates to motor vehicle safety,”said the NHTSA recall notice. UntilNHTSA reviews and denies theHyundai petition, Sonata Hybridowners will not receive any notifica-tion from Hyundai that their vehiclemay have this safety issue and that afix is available. Owners can stay ontop of federal safety recalls regardingtheir vehicles by subscribing toNHTSA e-mail alerts from theagency’s website: www.SaferCar.gov.

275,000 Subaru Forester SUVs From 2009–2012 Recalled For Rear Seat Belts Failing to Lock ProperlySubaru of America is recalling 275,000Forester vehicles from the 2009 to 2012model years. The models have rear cen-ter seat belt systems which do not meetfederal safety standards and could inhibitthe proper installation of child safetyseats, said the U.S. National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration.

NHTSA also says the automaticlocking retractors in the rear center seatpositions of the recalled Subaru Forestersdo not lock properly. This increases therisk of injury to passengers sitting in thatseat position during a collision. The seatbelt flaw could prevent the proper instal-lation of child safety seats in the rear cen-

ter section of Subaru Forester vehicles.Subaru will notify owners of ForesterSUVs, manufactured from November2007 to March 2012, who may be im-pacted by this federal safety recall inmid-April. Owners will be instructed tobring their recalled Foresters to localdealerships where mechanics there will

replace the rear center seat belt assemblywith a new, modified automatic lockingretractor for free. Consumers can callSubaru's toll-free customer support line(800-782-2783) regarding the recall cam-paign identification number WQA-37.Consumers can also visit the NHTSAwebsite, www.SaferCar.gov.


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MONTCLAIR800-243-5575(909) 625-4087 FaxAsk for Rita or Steve

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Iowa Shop’s Action and Iowa Collision Repair Association, Established in 2005, Starting to be Heard Statewideby Janet Cheney

When Tom O’Mara, an Iowa shopowner, was told by an insurance com-pany that they were only going to payhim $52 an hour, even though his laborrate is $56, he became “mad as heck andwas not going to take it anymore.” Hecalled the vehicle owner and read thestate law to him. The law in Iowa saysthat if the insurer writes an estimate orhas one written for them, and the repaircosts more than the estimate, the insurermust pay the difference. The vehicleowner called the insurer and insisted theypay O’Mara’s bill. Then O’Mara calledthe Iowa Governor’s office repeatedlyuntil he got a face to face meeting withGovernor Terry Branstad. O’Mara hadto convince the governor’s aide first be-fore getting a meeting with the governor.He showed him estimates and letters heclaims revealed insurer threats againsthim, the last three years’ worth of priceincreases he has had to endure, and acopy of the 1963 Consent Decree. “Ihighlighted everything in the ConsentDecree that the insurers agreed not to doanymore,” O’Mara said. “I let themknow this is the third time I’ve given a

copy of the Consent Decree to the Stateof Iowa and asked, ‘What are you goingto do about it? This is still enforceable.”As a result of this meeting, the Governorrequested that the Iowa Department ofInsurance research three business prac-tices in Iowa: collision repair labor rates,steering, and non payment of storage.This was last September.

This story made national news inUSA Today and may have helped opena line of communication between Iowacollision repairers and the governor’soffice.

In only a few years, the ICRA hasbecome an established and recognizedstate organization that supports educa-tion, training, and industry networking.

Sales Tax Reimbursement LegislationDue to the abbreviated legislative ses-sion at the State Capital in Des Moinesin 2011, the ICRA Sales Tax Legislationwas tabled. Representative Tom Sandshas been working closely with ICRAlobbyist Scott Weiser and has commit-ted that this initative will be first in linein the legislative docket in 2012.

In 2008 ICRA stopped the ColorAll franchise from getting licensed to

do business in Des Moines. Color Allis a franchise that promotes collisionrepair work done in a parking lot undera tent. ICRA has been introduced to thelegislative process at the State Capitalin Des Moines, working with the Na-tional Federation of Independent Busi-ness State Manager, Andy Warren.

In December last year, six BoardMembers of the Iowa Collision RepairAssociation (ICRA) met with Iowa In-surance Commissioner, Susan Voss andapproximately twenty representatives ofthe insurance companies. The DOI rec-ognized the association as representa-tive of the collision industry and askedthem to assist with the labor rate surveyin the next 30 days. Against the recom-mendation of the ICRA, a labor rate sur-vey was done in that short period oftime and results have not yet beenposted. This is a work in process and weare looking for a better working rela-

tionship with the DOI and Governor’soffice in Iowa and will move forwardthis year on the Governor’s request.

This association is hosting theMidwest Auto Body Trade Show,March 28 at Prairie Meadows, in theDes Moines area. Admission is free,there are management, technical train-ing, and product demos. Over 50 ven-dors are participating. We are veryexcited about this event. It is going tohave great product displays and lots ofshow specials and door prizes.

Most Iowa Community CollegeCollision Repair programs will alsohave booths and bring their students tothe show. Also, three of our dealershipmembers are bringing hot new cars tothe show room floor. Admission is freeand the ICRA is anticipating a greatand enthusiastic crowd.

For more information contact:www.iowacra.com



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A process that Olson recom-mends implementing is working oncars using the OEM recommenda-tions. It is necessary to follow manu-facturers’ instructions by-the-book asthey have reasons for their require-ments, and disregarding their rules canlead to unsafe repairs. The fact thatmistakes occur in this area is a failureof the process, not a failure of techni-cians, according to Olson. He claimsthat there needs to be consistency inthe market for shop owners to exposetheir excellence.

OEM Procedures v. Repair StandardsDecisions for Estimology: Part 1OEM Repair Procedures vs. RepairStandards was a two part seminar,given by Larry Montanez III of P&LConsultants and IACDA, which ad-dressed repair standards: where theyare now and what’s likely in the fu-ture. Many OEM’s repair standardswere covered, including discussion ofthe OEM positions, repair proceduresand the potential development of re-

pair standards within the industry.Montanez broke his seminar into twoparts beginning with P&L’s missionstatement: “Our training programswill assist the Collision and InsuranceIndustries to work together during allstages of a physical damage claim in aspirit of fairness, intelligence, cooper-ation and accuracy. This will help toserve a vehicle’s owner, the mutualcustomer, with fast, safe and pre-losscondition repairs that are fiscally rea-sonable under OEM and industry ac-cepted practices.”

Montanez began with the OEM’sself interests: liability protection,component failure supported by test-ing, government regulations, con-sumer advocates, IIHS crash testingand NHTSA investigations, lawsuitsand court decisions, and warran-tee/defects attributed to design flaws.OEM position statements were cre-ated for the purposes of or because ofOEM liability protection, componentsfailures supported by case studies,lawsuits and court decisions, re-engi-neering design flaws, ensuring safe re-pairs and product, copyright andtrademark protection.

Getting specific with OEM

guidelines from several manufactur-ers:

Montanez illustrated thatAcura/Honda forbids the use of after-market or alternative components aswell as the replacement of structuralcomponents. They forbid the use ofsalvaged airbags or other components,as well as sectioning frame compo-nents, bonding, and steel or aluminumwheel repairs.

Audi dictates which spot weldersand bench systems can be used as wellas specific repair equipment, specifictraining for ASF and steel, specificwelding, and repair procedures andparts. They also specify the use ofOEM components and wheels and de-fine structural repair.

BMW specifies the use of spotwelders, bench systems, repair equip-ment, rivet-bonding, steering geardamage, and other repair proceduresand parts. They also demand certaintraining for steel and dictate the use ofOEM components and wheels, a spe-cific body filler thickness and PDF re-quirements.

Chrysler/Jeep’s OEM guidelinesrequire certain weld bonding proce-dures, structural component usage,

and the use of heat during repairswhile prohibiting reconditionedwheels and salvaged air bags. GeneralMotors forbids the use of salvagedairbags and reconditioned wheels, butthey allow recycled OEM compo-nents. They specify panel bondingprocedures, clipping procedures andPDF procedures.

Montanez discussed the OEMguidelines of several additional manu-facturers, but most were some varia-tion of the above. More importantly,he advised where to find the repairprocedures. In addition to OEM web-sites, shop owners or managers can goto i-car.com or nastf.org. Both providelinks to OEM websites, or they can goto ALLDATA collision’s websitewhich provides access to approxi-mately 95% of OEM information on-line. Montanez emphasizes theimportance of acquiring OEM infor-mation for each repair made in a shop.

Noting that “repair standards aremade up by people who are trying toappease a different group of peoplewho have no business being involvedin collision repair, and who are justlooking to save money on it”, Mon-tanez noted that if repair standards are



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created, they should be decided scien-tifically by a group including repairspecialists, engineers, and so forth. Hespecifies that creating repair standardsare only a good idea where none existand the manufacturer refuses to re-lease any. OEM repair standards can-not be rewritten to save moneybecause, as Montanez reminded hisaudience, “when you start playingaround for money, you’re risking peo-ple’s lives.”

OEM Procedures v. Repair StandardsDecisions for Estimology: Part 2Continuing his seminar on OEM andrepair standards, Larry Montanez IIIof P&L Consultants and IACDA fo-cused his second session on the prosand cons of developing General Re-pair Standards, as well as the legal is-sues involved, how they should bedeveloped and who should developthem.

Opening with the topic of whowants repair standards, Montanez ex-plained that collision repairers wantthem because they are untrained andtoo lazy to search for them on OEMwebsites. MLO shop owners wantthem to make insurance “partners”

happy, since insurers desire repairstandards because they are greedy andcovet savings. Aftermarket suppliersare also driven by greed and the desireto make sales, while many industry as-sociations are influenced by insurers.However, Montanez insists that theidea of creating repair standards is notcompletely wrong.

The pros of creating repair stan-dards are as follows: more availableprocedures, lower insurer costs, lowerseverity, fewer totaled vehicles, morerepaired vehicles, better insurer rela-tions, more use of used parts, moresectioning procedures and more partsoptions. Meanwhile, Montanez listedthe cons as: more improper repairs,more liability exposure, more fatali-ties, more injuries, more diminishedvalue lawsuits, more shop lawsuits,dangerous to motorists and more badbusiness decisions.

If repair standards were created,Montanez insisted that it should beginwith the formation of an independentgroup comprised of OEM representa-tives, collision repairers, engineers,physicists, metallurgists, industry ex-perts and I-CAR Tech Center’s JasonBartanen and Steve Marks. Addi-

tionally, repair standards should onlybe created where none currently existand only after a request letter to theOEM has failed. They should also besupported by crash testing and com-puter animated drawings, and theyshould be reviewable every sixmonths. Montanez points out that thisprocess should not include insurancecompanies because “no one careswhat the insurance companies think.”

Using a case study of a businessdecision, Montanez talked about a2006 Nissan 350z which was soldafter chroming the factory rims. Onemonth later, in October 2006, theowner was driving northbound on Rt.405 in Los Angeles while an LAPDmotorcycle traveled southbound whenwheel separation occurred, causingthe wheel to hop the median and hitthe police officer, throwing him 150feet from the point of contact. Whenthe car’s owner purchased the vehicleat a local dealership, he was offered achrome rim package, and the job wassublet.(Search ‘Nagel’ at autobo-dynews.com for this story from 2011.)

Unfortunately, Nissan has pro-hibited chroming on their rims sincethe mid-1990s since they noted achange in metallurgical propertieswhich caused problems with holdingstrength. The dealership paid $2.75million between the salesman, theowner and the technician, while the$20 million case against the subletjobber, owner, technician and evendriver is still pending. Montanezclaimed that every shop that uses anoutside rim source promotes improperrepairs.

In the case of improper repairs, li-ability falls on the repair facility, theowner personally, the technician (insome states) and sublet jobbers. Thesupplier can also be sued, but the in-surer will never be in the courtroomfor an improper repair. In the instanceof liability, safety factors are impor-tant, so only the OEM guidelines mat-ter.

OEM procedures are derivedusing the scientific method which in-cludes research, experiments, analysisand so forth. Their engineering designprocess works as follows: define theproblem, brainstorm, background re-search, specify criteria or protocols,create alternative solutions, choose thebest solution, develop a design pro-posal, build a prototype or mode, testand evaluate or redesign, refine andretest, create or produce, and finally,communicate the results. The goal be-

hind these engineering principles is tokeep the occupants safe, therefore it isvery important not to change the pa-rameters of OEM guidelines. Shopsshould also heed manufacturers’ repairareas.

In closing, Montanez defined thecost of business, specifying that mate-rials are not a cost of the shop. Theseshould be paid by the insurance com-pany or customer, so shops shouldnever ignore OEM procedures to cutcosts as this could lead to unsafe re-pairs which could result in injuries ordeaths to the occupants as well as po-tential claims against the shop. P&LConsultants can be found at pnLEsti-mology.com.

Drying Waterborne: What You Need toKnow NOWTaught by Tom Beck, CEO of FutureCare, the seminar about Drying Wa-terborne taught many important prin-

ciples concerninghow to properlydry waterbornepaints. Since Beckhas been involvedin the conversionto waterbornesince 2003, hisgoal in this semi-

nar was to teach attendees about therealities of converting to waterbornein an attempt to best prepare them forthe transition.

Beck began by showing that fric-tion slows down the air touching thesurface, thus there is a small area sur-rounding a car in a paint booth whereair velocity is decreased. This is thefriction micro barrier which extendstwo to three inches around the carwhere the air is pulled in tight. In orderto dry waterborne paint, it is necessaryto open up this micro barrier.

Laminar air flow is air that movesin one direction, and though this iswhat is used in spray booths, it is theenemy of waterborne which needs amulti-directional air flow in order todry efficiently and effectively. Thoughair velocity is more important thantemperature, increasing air velocityand temperature is even better.

When researching how to bestdry waterborne, Beck found that whileincreasing the amount of air, cubicfeet per minute, by adding fans willreduce dry time, it increases energyconsumption, thus costing moremoney. Switching tactics, he investi-gated the effectiveness of increasing


Tom Beck



Custom Painter Charley Hutton Explains Step-By-Step How to CreateRealistic Wood Grain Effects With PPG ProductsCharley Hutton, custom painter ex-traordinaire, explains how to create arealistic, wood grain look with a fewsimple tools and PPG Envirobase®

High Performance basecoat.A painted wood-grain effect is

one way to add a distinctive look toyour custom build. In this step-by-step article, Charley will show youhow to paint a panel with one style ofwood in the center, framed by anotherwood grain look.

Creating the wood grain effect isabout having the right tools. You’llwant to have a variety of sponges,some with loose density for creatinglarger grain, and others more densefor tighter grain. Sea sponges areideal. You’ll also need a choice ofbrushes, preferably inexpensive oneswith stiff bristles. The brushes areused to create very tight grain lines,what we call the “dry brushing” tech-nique. And finally, you’ll need an air-brush and compressor for shadowingand highlighting.

Of course, like learning any spe-cial effect technique, it will take somepractice to get the technique down.“Some of the techniques I’ve learnedactually came by accident,” said Hut-ton. “For example, Paul Stoll, PPG’scustom painter/trainer, and I discov-ered a cool trick while doing a ’49 tinwoody. We didn’t like the look wewere getting, so when we went towipe the paint off, it smeared and cre-ated a really nice wood grain effect—and I’ve been using this techniqueever since.”

The PaintTwo colors of basecoat are neededfor the wood-grain look—a dark,reddish brown (T442 Woody Brownat 800.0 pts. and T430 Green 100.0pts.) and a lighter tan color (T429Trans. Golden Yellow at 940.0 pts.,T442 Brown 40.0 pts. and T430Green 20.0 pts.) In my case, Huttonuses PPG Envirobase® High Per-formance basecoat and he says itworks wonderfully.

“I especially like the fact that ifyou apply some paint and you don’tlike the effect you’re getting, you caneasily re-wet again with more water-borne color, giving yourself a freshstart,” said Hutton.

Painting the Outer Frame(1) Hutton starts with a white base-coated panel, masked off to createa center panel. Each end of theouter frame should be masked withmitered corners, typical of woodframes.

(2) Start with the top and bot-tom portions of the frame. Wet yourfiner sponge with the lighter tancolor, squeezing out the excess bypressing it into the side of the mix-ing cup. Then, simply drag thesponge across the surface in one di-rection, repeating the process sev-eral times. Next, we need to maskthe outer frame to create a beveledlook. With ¼-inch tape, mask from

the side where you want the lightsource to appear to come from. Dothe same with the bottom edge. Thenmask the frame panels, leaving onlythe bottom edges of the frame ex-posed.

(3) Then, as the paint begins todry and get sticky, drag your glovedhand across the painted surface. As itbegins to drag it’ll create authentic-looking grain with that knotty look.After dragging all the way across thepanel for several strokes, start fromthe center and drag, and make smallerswipes in succession, gradually taper-ing your strokes to short swipes. If thepaint starts to set, just re-wet it withmore waterborne paint.

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

10 11 12

(4) After finishing the top andbottom of the outer frame, mask thecorners off before doing the sides. Besure to “under mask” a bit, which inthe end will create a darker line high-light. Then, using your sponge andgloved hand, create the wood-grainlook on the side panels, as you did on

the top and bottom. Remove themasking on the corners and allow thepaint to dry.

(5) Next, we need to mask theouter frame to create a beveledlook. With ¼-inch tape, mask fromthe side where you want the lightsource to appear to come from. Dothe same with the bottom edge.Then mask the frame panels, leav-ing only the bottom edges of theframe exposed.

(7) Airbrush the areas left un-masked. This will darken them andcreate the illusion of shadows.

(8) After creating the darkershadow lines, re-mask over the linesin preparation of creating a lighter,highlight line. Once you airbrush theunmasked areas of the frame, making

it darker, the area covered by the tapewill leave a lighter, highlight line.

(10) Shadow and Toning. Next,reduce the same lighter color with aclear basecoat T490 at 2:1, and re-duce 4:1 with reducer. This willmake the color more transparent.Airbrush the outer frame panels toadd tone and accentuate the grain inthe wood. When the ¼-inch lines areunmasked it will leave the lighterhighlights.

Painting the Center Panel(11) After it’s dried, re-mask the outerframe, and remove the masking fromthe center—you’re ready to create thewood grain effect on the middlepanel. With the sponge, use the sametechnique as the outer frame to applythe color. Start at one end and drag the

sponge in straight lines across thepanel. Keep applying coats and as thepaint begins to dry, it’ll get sticky andcause the sponge to drag. This createsa streaked, grained look.

(12) Now you want to add tonewith a paintbrush and the darker, red-dish shade of brown. Dip the brushinto the mixing cup and tool it out, solittle is left on the bristles. Using lightstrokes, swipe the brush across thepanel, creating the darker streaks.First, apply strokes horizontallyacross the panel. Be sure to leavestreaks to mirror the inconsistentcolor of natural wood.

(13) Next, airbrush the panel invertical, up ‘n down strokes. This iscalled “ribbing.”

(14) If you’d like to add a simplelogo, this is the stage to do it. Usingthe same paint you used to tone thewood, airbrush the cut-out of thelogo. This will create a darker high-light around the letters, creating a de-bossed effect.

For more information about theproducts used in this project, pleasevisit www.ppg.com.


Choose Original MINI Parts.Because you can’t repairyour reputation.

YOU ONLY GET ONE CHANCE AT THE FIRST REPAIR.

These Dealers Below Are Original MINI Parts Distributors:

S Hardtop 2011

South Bay MINITorrance310-939-7342310-939-7343

California

Nick Alexander MINILos Angeles800-800-NICK323-583-4109 Directwww.alexandermini.com

13 14

DealerTrack Registration and TitlingServices Group now offers a new solu-tion for California dealers so they cancomply with a new state law that goesinto effect beginning in July.

With the passage of Assembly Bill1215 last year, DealerTrack explainedall used vehicles offered for sale in Cal-ifornia must have a vehicle history re-port pulled from the National MotorVehicle Title and Information System.

DealerTrack indicated it integratedthe history reports into their ElectronicVehicle Registration process in an effortto ensure compliance with the law andprovide an efficient, cost-effective toolfor dealers.

Partnering with Florida-basedAuto Data Direct, a provider of real-time access to vehicle records, Dealer-Track will offer ADD’s new StiQRproduct to enhance the availability ofvehicle histories to consumers.

The StiQR developed by ADDlast year uses QR code technology todeliver NMVTIS reports to consumersat the point of sale. An individuallycoded sticker, adhered to the vehicle’swindow, can allow consumers to scanand instantly receive a currentNMVTIS report using a free app ontheir smartphone.

DealerTrack reiterated the newCalifornia law requires that a NMVTISreport must be provided to consumersfree of charge if requested, and thatwhen a brand is found on a vehicle, ared warning label is placed on it alertingthe consumer to the issue.

As dealers know, the NMVTISdatabase is a U.S. Department of Jus-

tice information system operated by theAmerican Association of Motor Vehi-cle Administrators that contains auto-mobile information from states,insurance carriers and the salvage in-dustry.

As of March 2009 every businessthat handles junk, salvage or total lossvehicles must report specific pieces ofinformation about these vehicles to thenational database.

DealerTrack senior vice presidentMark Furcolo emphasized, “Dealer-Track is always committed to helpingdealers comply with state legislation,especially as it evolves.

“By partnering with ADD, we willprovide California dealers with aunique solution that leverages ADD’sStiQR technology with our OLRS notonly to ensure all state requirements aremet, but also to provide dealers with anefficient, cost-effective electronic toolfor managing the vehicle registrationand titling process,” Furcolo continued.

ADD president Jim Taylor added,“Auto Data Direct has spent the last 11years developing Internet-based toolsfor the automotive industry that assistswith compliance and efficiency for au-tomobile dealers.

“When we developed the StiQR,our goal was to provide both dealersand consumers instant access to infor-mation that is vital when purchasing aused car,” Taylor went on to say. “We’revery pleased that this innovative prod-uct will be a valuable tool for Californiadealers as they meet the new require-ment and benefit from the StiQR’s mar-keting and lead generation capabilities.”

DealerTrack Expands Integrated Services to Assist Dealers inComplying with New California Total Loss Vehicle History Law

A small motor oil spill incident at theI-CAR Tech Centre in Appleton, Wis-consin in the spring of 2011 has raisedour awareness of the many considera-tions involved with a material spillinto the environment. What started asan accidental collision between asnowplow and a 55-gallon drum of

waste oil on an adjoining property re-sulted in an experience we wouldnever want to repeat.

There were several steps and de-cisions that had to be made to assureproper cleanup. What was morestressful than what we knew about theincident was what was unknown. Howfar had the spill traveled? Was thegroundwater contaminated? Whatpublic agencies might have to be in-volved? How much was this all goingto cost?

We thought we’d share our expe-rience to perhaps benefit another fa-cility that might encounter a similarincident.

Discovery and Initial StepsThe spill was discovered in mid-Aprilas the snow melted (see Figure 1). A55-gallon drum of motor oil in a park-ing lot near the Tech Centre propertywas damaged by a snowplow duringthe winter. Some 30 gallons of spilledoil was carried off the pavement along

with the melting snow. A rainstormfurther aggravated the situation.

The company that provided thesnow plowing offered to immediatelycome in and dig out all of the contam-inated soil and stone, take it to a locallandfill, and replace it with fresh newmaterial. The offer was put on holdwhile we sought legal and other pro-fessional advice. We were informedthat because we discovered the con-tamination and it was on our property,we were responsible for immediatecontainment to minimize environ-mental impact. We were also respon-sible for addressing possibledownstream contamination.

A local civil engineering and en-vironmental firm was hired to assessthe spill. Their observation showed“visual and olfactory evidence of pe-troleum contamination.” That initialobservation was verified by a coresampling. It was recommended thatwood chips and hay bales be layeredon the visible spill areas in an attemptto contain it (see Figure 2). The engi-neering firm added a ten-foot ab-sorbent boom to the containmentefforts. They were also required to in-form the Wisconsin Department ofNatural Resources Regional SpillsCoordinator.

The Wisconsin Department ofNatural Resources was the only publicagency that had to be involved withthe incident. Numerous photographswere taken of the site, including aerialphotographs. An early concern wasthat the oil had leaked into a ditch con-taining surface water (see Figure 3).Whether the oil had contaminated anygroundwater was unknown untilweeks later.

CleanupA couple weeks after the initial obser-vation, it was agreed that the snowplowing company that first made theoffer to remove the spill would be al-lowed to do so, but only under theguidance and direction of the civil en-gineering and environmental firm.

Excavation began in May. Due tothe electrical and telecommunicationsunderground conflicts, it all had to bedug out by hand (see Figure 4). Nearlysix tons of soil were excavated,

loaded, and sent to a qualified landfill.The depth of the excavation varied,but it was no deeper than 6". By lateMay, the spill was entirely contained.By early June, all affected soil was re-moved. This had to be confirmed byanother round of soil samples.

The final 13-page report by thecivil engineering and environmentalfirm, in color and spiral bound, con-tained the entire testimony since thefirm was hired. An appendix included

all the photos, lab analysis charts, andstatements from everyone involved.The firm’s final observation wassummed up in the statement: “Giventhe amount of oil released and theamount of contaminated materialhauled away, the environment hasbeen restored to the extent practica-ble.”

The excavated area had to bebackfilled with clean topsoil andseeded. The snow plowing companyhandled all the expenses for the spillcleanup, except for the initial coresampling that I-CAR had authorizedon its own.

One of the last steps was receiv-ing a final signoff from the WisconsinDepartment of Natural Resources Re-gional Spills Coordinator. That two-page report did not come until weeksafter the final engineering report wasprinted and delivered. The DNR re-port stated that the spill was cleaned


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This article first appeared in the I-CAR Advantage Online, which is published and distrib-uted free of charge. I-CAR, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, is anot-for-profit international training organization that researches and develops qualitytechnical education programs related to collision repair. To learn more about I-CAR, andto subscribe to the free publication, visit http://www.i-car.com.

Oil Spill at the I-CAR Tech Centre in Appleton, WI, Raises Awareness

Figure 1 - The spill was discovered in thespring after the snow melt

Figure 2 - Sawdust and hay bales were firstadded to the site for containment

Figure 3 - There was a fear that the spill hadmigrated into a nearby drainage ditch

up to the extent practicable, and nofurther cleanup is needed. The

groundwater was not contaminated.The spill had not migrated into thedrainage ditch. It was also noted thatno citations had to be issued in con-nection with the spill. Final landscap-ing of the area could then begin. Thefinal cost to I-CAR was much lessthan what we had feared.

Suggestions for a Similar IssueIn case a facility encounters a similarissue, we can only suggest beingforthright with the environmental au-thorities. It will do no good to try and

hide the incident or ignore the issue.Contact the local agency and ask,

“What do I need to do aboutan outdoor oil spill?” Simi-lar to a vehicle owner in-volved in their first collision,a facility owner doesn’tknow what to do when anaccident occurs.

We took the initiative tocontact the local engineeringfirm to do a core sample. Wethen asked the firm what dowe do next? Their advicewas to take every effort tocontain the spill. Being up-front about the incident is al-

ways the best approach.

ConclusionThe affair required us to collaboratewith legal, engineering, and environ-mental firms that we had little or nocontact with previously. As it turnedout, the spill did not contaminate sur-rounding groundwater. It was con-tained and cleaned up in a relativelyshort time. We hope this story of ourexperience will help whatever con-taminant spill situation you may en-counter.


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Figure 4 - The excavation had to be done by hand due tothe obstructions in the area

the speed of the air, linear feet perminute, and found that it is a very use-ful method in drying waterborne, evenmore so if the temperature is also in-creased. By offering a system withmultiple nozzles, he is able to accel-erate speed and increase the tempera-ture of the air simultaneously.

An issue with waterborne paintsis the rate of evaporation as waterdries slower than solvent-basedpaints, evaporating chemically at itsown pace. Humidity is the enemy ofwaterborne paint, as is the dew pointwhich is the point at which the aircannot hold any more moisture. Thus,it becomes necessary to condition theair to accepting more moisture inorder to dry waterborne paints moreeffectively.

Warm air is less dense than coldair and is thus able to absorb moremoisture. Unfortunately, cold air set-tles lower to the ground since it ismore dense, and this leads to an inef-fective method of drying paint whenusing a downdraft air flow which willpush air down over the car, causingthe ends of the car to dry much fasteras more air is being pushed throughthese small spaces between the vehi-cle and the walls of the booth.

Accelerated Drying Systems canreduce flashoff and energy costs be-cause they increase productivity by al-lowing more cars to be processedthrough the booth. Beck classifies sys-tems that use compressed air, such ashand-held dryers, as stage one sys-tems which consume a lot of energy.Stage two systems do not use com-pressed air. Such systems include ceil-ing fans, booth pods and Jun-AirQADS.

Jun-Air’s Quick AcceleratedDrying Systems (QADS) providetwice the velocity of a booth pod, plusthey increase the air temperature bythirty degrees by redirecting thehottest possible air from the plenumdown to the car. Beck said the tem-perature will need to be greatly in-creased in a system that forces airdownward in order to reach the goalof 140°F in bake mode, but since coldair sinks and warm air settles on topof it, the lower surfaces of the car willstill not reach the necessary tempera-tures for the paint to dry properly. Thisis critically important as the paint willmove if a clear coat is applies before

100% of the water in the paint is evap-orated. By bringing air from theplenum through ducts on the side ofthe booth, the QADS allow all surfaceareas on the vehicle to reach the nec-essary temperature to dry effectively.

Additionally, the QADS containsa ionization bar which neutralizesstatic electricity within the booth.Since static electricity is the enemy inthe spray booth, the QADS systemdisperses positive and negative ions inthe air, allowing flake to orient prop-erly so that the paint will look thesame in all places. The system can beretrofitted with AFC, Accudraft,Blowtherm, Future Cure, Omia,SprayBake, Sunkiss and Welbuilt,among others.

Painting With Blended NitrogenMichael Haydell, President of Hay-dell Industries, taught the seminar onpainting with blended nitrogen to

teach the secretsof painting withnitrogen technol-ogy instead ofcompressed air,claiming that itwill cause a sig-nificant drop inthe use of wet ma-

terials, a dramatic increase in booththrough-put and a large decrease inthe cost of booth exhaust filters.

During the seminar, Haydelldiscussed his company’s nitrogentechnologies compared to generalcompressed air spraying systems.Because of moisture, temperatureand static changes, the viscosity ofpainting material changes each timeit is sprayed, and it is therefore notrepeatable in every instance. Addi-tionally, a typical air compressorbuilds static, and colder, dry air ismore statically charged which re-sults in the material separating onceapplied to the substrate.

According to Haydell, “static ismaking the material do what it wantsit to do, not what the painter wants itto do.” He adds that this is the case re-gardless of whether the reducer is sol-vent-based or waterborne.

Showing two videos to comparespraying with compressed air andwith nitrogen, Haydell demonstratedthat with compressed air, some partsof the substrate were never touched bythe paint, even after three coats.Meanwhile, the substrate was fullycovered in only two coats when ap-


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Michael Haydell

See Trade Show, Next Page

special thanks to Craig Jackson and thestaff at Barrett-Jackson for their helpwith the auction, as well as the manage-ment team at WD-40,” said LuanneBrown, SEMA Board Member andSEMA Cares Committee Chair. “Theirhard work not only with the Challengerbut with the three WD-40/SEMA Caresvehicles, combined with the creativestyle and vision of Chip Foose, has ex-ceeded our expectations and will allow

us to continue to make a difference inthe lives of thousands of children.”

Chip Foose, who designed the cus-tom ’12 Dodge Challenger SRT8, wason hand at Barrett-Jackson to see the ve-hicle cross the auction block anddropped the hammer to close the auc-tion as the vehicle received the winningbid from Khaled bin Alwaleed bin TalalAlsaud of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“Working with Chip Foose, whohas used WD-40 Multi-Use Product hisentire life, is an honor,” said TimLesmeister, vice president of marketingfor WD-40 Co. Visit WD40.com/Foose.

plied with Haydell Industries’ perfectfluid carrier.

As another means of showing theperfect covering technique of his fluidcarrier, Haydell suggests putting opti-cal enhancers in the primer and usingblack lights in the booth to see thespots that were missed. Likewise, ifUV blockers are added to the base, itis easy to see where the optical en-hancers are not covered under a blacklight, thus showing the ability to com-pletely cover the substrate in only twocoats when using nitrogen technology.

Haydell Industries separates im-

purities at a gas level by temporarilyseparating the gases to redirect air’sproperties. They also control temper-ature through their hose, allowingthem to control viscosity by control-ling temperature. By using less mate-rial, shops can release less VOCs intothe atmosphere as well. Haydell alsoclaims that his system is very lowmaintenance as long as the hose is notdamaged by being run over.

Overall, Haydell insists that by re-ducing coats and materials by 30–50%,shops can also save 20–30% in mate-rial costs by using nitrogen technology.


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