autobody news february 2012 western edition

by John Yoswick

A report at the Collision IndustryConference (CIC) on the findings of astudy into what consensus existswithin the industry about the devel-opment and implementation of for-malized repair standards led to asmuch discussion about the value andvalidity of the study as it did to dis-cussion of standards themselves.

“I do believe this has set us back-ward instead of forward,” DustyWomble of Roger Beasley CollisionCenter in Austin, Texas, said of thestudy. “I’m sorry, but honestly, I don’tsee any value in the research that hasbeen done.”

But Massachusetts shop ownerChuck Sulkala—who has not partic-ipated on the committee that organ-ized the study but was one of those

interviewed by the consultant con-ducting the research—said some atCIC were incorrectly presuming thatthe committee was trying to makemore of the report than it was.

“Some of the conversations hereare getting us down into the weedsright now when I don’t think we’veeven gotten in the boat yet,” Sulkalasaid. “We’re still looking to see wherethe boat and lake is, to see what’sgoing on rather than trying to catchfish. I think we’re still in the very be-ginning stages.”

The Study and FindingsRuss Thrall of the Repair StandardsAdvisory Committee (an off-shoot ofCIC) was clear in presenting a portionof the study’s findings that it wasnever intended to be a statistically

In a letter to ‘Certain Interested andAffected Parties’ the California DOIhas taken a second step to addressconcerns of collision industry stake-holders. In November the DOI’s legaldivision hosted a meeting to discussproposed revised aftermarket part reg-ulations. The results of that discussionare under review by the department(see http://tiny.cc/ydvp6). Now theDOI, under Commissioner DaveJones, is taking on the issue of LaborRate Surveys, DRPs, and Steering.Departmental attorney, Teresa R.Campbell has organized a January25th meeting (10–12:00 noon at the

DOI in Sacramento, and has draftedcontemplated revisions to the Califor-nia Code of Regulations, impactingDirect Repair Programs and LaborRate Surveys. Steering is also ad-dressed in language concerning in-surer recommendations of automobilerepair dealers. Although welcominginput and discusssion, the ‘rulemak-ing file’ will not be opened until for-mal notice is given by DOI and thatcomments must be submitted duringthe formal public comment period.

The language (complete text fol-lows) proposes that insurers shall re-

For drivers in California, the risk ofan auto accident is higher than manyother parts of the country becauseCalifornia has more licensed driversthan any other state—more than 22million drivers on the road. It’s nowonder then that there are close to6,000 active shops in California, andmore that do some custom or occa-sional repair work. While some alsosay California is also the hardest placeto run a profitable shop due to legisla-tive and othe factors, CARSTAR islooking for franchise opportunities inthe golden state.

Last fall CARSTAR announced a

new business development team, ap-pointing Mark Behrens, Director ofNetwork Development for California,and saying he would focus on expan-sion of the CARSTAR brand into Cal-ifornia and adding new franchisepartners to existing CARSTAR mar-kets.

Now CARSTAR Auto Body Re-pair Experts has announced an agres-sive expansion effort in California tooffer select body shop owners an op-portunity to join North America’slargest MSO network with over 400stores in the United States and

California’s DOI Calls Meeting, Drafts Reformsto Labor Rate Surveys, DRPs, and Steering

See CIC Palm Springs, Page 54

See CARSTAR, 0

‘Standards’ Replace Non-OEM Parts as Focusof Debate at Latest CIC

See DOI Meeting Page 16

Autobody News custom columnistRich Evans had a busy fall and hol-iday season at his shop in Hunting-ton Beach, CA. As they have forthe past four years, Rich and Patri-cia Evans held their Christmasparty at Huntington Beach BodyWorks on Saturday, December 17.The party benefitted America’s

Baby Cancer Foundation.The party also included a special

appearance from Santa with gifts,

food, drinks, and special motor sportsthemed entertainment.

For more information please visitwww.babycancer.org or www.hunt-ingtonbchbodyworks.com.

See Rich’s column this issue.

Rich Evans’ Charity Build for PatriotOutreach(see p. 58) and also Baby Cancer Foundation

Rich Evans with party attendees showing offsome of the gifts they received

Benefit attendees lined up for a chance tovisit with Santa

CARSTAR Launches Expansion Effort inCalifornia, Sees “Tremendous Opportunity”

CaliforniaNevadaArizona YEARS www.autobodynews.com

3030ww.autobodynews.comww

WesternEdition

VOL. 30 ISSUE 2FEBRUARY 2012

PresortedStandardUSPostage

PAIDOntario,Ca.PermitNo.1

P.O.BOX1516,CARLSBAD,CA92018

ChangeServiceRequested

2 FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

REGIONAL2012 NABC Annual Fundraiser Held in

Conjunction with CIC in Palm Springs, CA. . 84,000 Arrests Made of Suspected Drunk

Drivers in AZ During Holidays . . . . . . . . . . . 6AZ Repeals State’s Clean Cars Program

Modeled After California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Bay Area Iraq Veteran Gets Car Makeover by

Two Bay Area Body Shops . . . . . . . . . . . . 53CA DOI Recovers $54 Million for Consumers

in 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4CA/NV/AZ Automotive Wholesalers Association

(CAWA) Delivers Rebuttal to Letter ofOpposition to “Imitation” AftermarketCrash Parts Legislation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

CAA to Hold Q1 2012 Board Meeting inSacramento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

California Names New Deputy InsuranceCommissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

California’s DOI Calls Meeting, Drafts Reformsto Labor Rate Surveys, DRPs, and Steering. 1

CARSTAR Launches Expansion Effort inCalifornia, Sees “Tremendous Opportunity” . 1

CAWA Appoints Manufacturers AdvisoryCouncil for 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Ford Launches Silicon Valley Presence withNew Research Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Full Text of California DOI’s ProposedAmendments to Insurance Code . . . . . . . . 18

Hitting the Streets with the G & C Auto BodyMeter Beaters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Hyundai’s New U.S. HQ in Fountain Valley . . . 4Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones Approves

“Principally At-Fault” Regulations . . . . . . . . 9Mike Rose’s Auto Body Adds Eighth Location

in Lafayette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Nevada Texting While Driving Ban Takes Effect. 4Seven Western Fix Auto Collision Centers

Provide Refurbished Vehicles to Families . . 6

COLUMNSEvans - Doing a Charity Build for Patriot

Outreach on a Donated Mustang. . . . . . . . 58Franklin - Creating A Readable Advertising

Piece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24I-CAR - Accessing and Repairing Body Mount

Cage Nuts for the Ford F-150 . . . . . . . . . . 26Insurance Insider - Legislating the “Bible”

Not the Answer for Shops Tired of BeingTold “No” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Schroeder - The Elite Group Collision CentersAcquires Firestone Auto Body in Downey,CA, Increasing Their Locations to Eight. . . 28

Sisk - A1 Grand Auto Body in NY—A FamilyCommitment to Quality Repair . . . . . . . . . 60

Sisk - Customers Expect Quality in AllRespects from The Body Shop of Athens . 56

Weaver - Check Engine Light Paranoia . . . . . 35Williams - South Motors Automotive Group—

Anything But Apathetic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

NATIONAL‘Standards’ Replace Non-OEM Parts as

Focus of Debate at Latest CIC. . . . . . . . . . . 140 Technicians Honored at ASE 2011

Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC . . . . . . . . 30Airbags Changing Vehicle Scrappage Age Mix . 49ANPAC Responds to Texas DOI. . . . . . . . . . . 61ASE Announces New Officers, Governors

for 2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25ASRW Calling For Presenters at NACE/CARS

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Automakers Forecasted to Add Thousands

of Plant Manufacturing Jobs Over theNext 3 Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

BMW Announces Nearly $900 MillionInvestment, Adding 300 Jobs at itsSouth Carolina Plant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

CIECA Announces New Board of Trusteesfor 2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Collision Hub Launches The Hub™ YourSocial Media Toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Diamond Standard Announces “SecurityShield” Extends Product LiabilityProtection to Shops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Erie Insurance Earns I-CAR Gold ClassProfessionals Badge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Florida’s Auto Angels Host Second AnnualVehicle Giveaway, Already Planning for ‘13. 60

Heavy Duty Aftermarket Associations JoinForces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Meguiar’s Endows 676 Schools with $600KProduct Donation Through Collision RepairEducation Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Mike Causey Announces Candidacy forCommissioner of Insurance Positionin North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Mitchell Announces Wicklunds CARSTAR asWinner of Get-a-Life Dream Vacation . . . . 52

Mitchell Parts Index Sheds Light on PartsTrends Post Japan’s Tsunami . . . . . . . . . . 44

Nissan and Daimler to Produce EnginesTogether at Nissan’s Tennessee Plant . . . . 57

NRC Releases Automotive ElectronicsSafety Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Oregon Shop’s Parts Manager PerformsHeroic Deed to Save a Life . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Parts Distributor and Insurer Elected toCAPA’s Board of Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

PCI Says Auto Body Legislation will bePriority for 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Polk Says Average Age of Vehicles is atRecord High . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Rich Evans’ Charity Build for PatriotOutreach(see p. 58) and also Baby Cancer Foundation. 1

Rotary Lift, Chief and Elektron Coming toNational Automobile DealersAssociation Expo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Sales Rebound and Mix Change For NewVehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

SCRS Responds to Article on InsurerInvolvement in Setting Rates . . . . . . . . . . 28

SCRS, ASA, AASP Release Joint StatementRegarding the Collection and Reportingof Repairer Business Data . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Solera Announces Global Cooperation WithAllianz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

State Farm Concedes Another Lawsuit Broughtby Gunder’s Auto Center of Lakeland, Fl . . 14

Three Developments Shaping ’11 Aftermarket . 46Update: Delray Beach, FL, Shop Owner’s

Opposition to GEICO’s 10% Charge onDomestic OEM Parts Pays Off . . . . . . . . . 15

UPDATE: Houston City Council Delays Voteon Auto Repair Ordinance, Draft NotFavorable to Shops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Used Car Drought Ignites Dealer BayCompetition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Van Tuyl Group to Hold Charity Super BowlEvent in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area SuperBowl Weekend, Autobody News to Participate. 14

West Virginia v. Liberty Mutual Salvage PartsLawsuit Moved to Federal Court . . . . . . . . 34

Women’s Industry Network Accepting 2012Board Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

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. ©2011 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 . . . . .57Autoland Scientech . . . . . . . . . . . . .35Automotive ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . .27Buerge Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . . . .19California Superstores . . . . . . . . . . . .7CCC Information Services . . . . . . . . .2Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62Crevier BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25CSS USA, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Downtown Motors of LA(Audi, VW, Porsche) . . . . . . . . . . .24

Drew Hyundai-Volkswagen . . . . . . .14DuPont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Elk Grove Toyota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42Enterprise Rent-A-Car . . . . . . . . . . .55Equalizer Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Ford Wholesale Parts DealersAZ, CA, & NV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Galpin Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31, 39Garmat USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . .43Honda-Acura Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32-33

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . .53ICE Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Innovative Tools & Technologies . . .15Kearny Mesa Subaru-Hyundai . . . . .23

Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers .29LKQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .52MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .50MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . .37Moss Bros. Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . .13Nissan Genuine Parts . . . . . . . . . . .11Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Preval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64RBL Products, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9RealParts.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Replica Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47Riverside Metro VW-Honda-Hyundai-Nissan-Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Safety Regulation Strategies . . . . . .18Shingle Springs Nissan-Subaru . . .30Sierra Chevrolet-Honda-Mazda-Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Solution Finish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58Star-A-Liner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .49Timmons VW-Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . .38Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .61VeriFacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6VolkswagenWholesale Parts Dealers .51Volvo Crash Wholesale Dealers . . .48Weatherford BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Inde

xofAdvertisers

Western

www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2012 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

Manufacturer Jan 2012 Jan 2011 YOY% Jan2012

Jan2011 YOY%

General Motors 169,200 178,887 5.4% 18.8% 21.8% -3.0%

Ford MotorCompany 144,900 126,981 14.1% 16.1% 15.5% 0.6%

Toyota MotorCorp. 121,500 115,856 4.9% 13.5% 14.1% -0.6%

Chrysler Group 93,600 70,993 31.8% 10.4% 8.7% 1.7%

American HondaMotor Co. 81,000 76,268 6.2% 9.0% 9.3% -0.3%

Hyundai-Kia 80,100 65,002 23.2% 8.9% 7.9% 1.0%

Nissan NorthAmerica 79,200 71,847 10.2% 8.8% 8.8% 0.0%

Total: 900,000* 819,394 9.8% — — —

Kelley Blue Book Forecasts 10 Percent Year-Over-YearIncrease In January New-Car Sales

Approximately 900,000 Units Expected for Month, 13.2 MillionSeasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate

January Sales to Improve Nearly 10 Percent Year-Over-Year

Sales Volume Market Share

*Includes projections for brands not shown


Don’t Just Choose a Job, Choose a Career!

LEARN TO EARN

New in trade with No Skills???Become an Entry Level Estimator / Adjuster In 8 weeks

• Free Job Placement - On Line Job Center• Little Investment With Highest Returns• One Stop Learning Center • Limited Class Size• DRP-Procedures - Evening Classes

(Train yourself or your newly hired employee, “Invest today for the Future”).

• Short Courses - Evening Classes(P-Pages, Negotiation, Cycle Time, CSI, Large Loss, Damage Analysis, etc.,Day, Evening, Weekend Classes Available).

• 8-Week Specially Designed Estamatic Course - Daytime(The rest of your life begins today).

• ASE Certified Staff Instructor with over 20 yearsof hands on experience

Global Alliance for Student Advancement Inc.A Nonprofit Community Based Organization (DBA)

ICEINSTITUTEFor Continuing Education

5050 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027

Enroll Now at: www.ICEforU.orgNew training sessions start every month.

Preregistration Required.

Financial Aid:Special Financing Program Designed & Provided

for our students by WELLS FARGO and CHASE BANK.

Call: (310) 980-9454

Chair of the CAWA Board of Direc-tor’s , Steve Sharp of WORLDPAC,has appointed five industry represen-tatives to the Association’s 2012Manufacturers Advisory Council.The new appointees are:● Jon Holder, Magnaflow, Directorof Market Development● Frank Oliveto, ADVICS – NorthAmerica, Industry Relations● Ed Turnquist, Standard MotorProducts, Zone Manager● Tom Walsh Jr., Lucas Oil, Ac-count Executive● Carl White, BBB Industries, WestCoast Regional Sales Manager

“We are pleased to welcomethese industry members to the CAWAleadership and look forward to theirparticipation and contributions to theautomotive aftermarket industry outwest,” said Chair Sharp following theappointments. He went on to say “ weare pleased these individuals havestepped forward to give somethingback to our industry”

CAWA is an automotive after-market trade association representingcompanies and individuals in Cali-fornia, Nevada and Arizona. Formore information see www.cawa.org.

CAWAAppoints ManufacturersAdvisory Council for 2012 Back in June, Nevada became the

34th state to ban texting while driv-ing. Nevada also passed a law ban-ning handheld cell-phone use whilebehind the wheel, although hands-freecell phone use (such as through Blue-tooth) remained legal.

Officers began issuing warningsin October, although the law officiallyhit the books January 1, 2012.

Las Vegas police wasted no timein enforcing the state’s new ban ondriving while texting or talking on ahandheld device, according to Insur-ance Journal. Police Sgt. PeterKisfalvi told the Las Vegas Sun thatofficers wrote more than 230 citationsin the first week of the year.

Fines are $50 (first offense), then$100 (second) and then $250 (subse-quent violations) now that the warn-ing period is over.

Enforcement of the Nevada bansis primary, meaning drivers can bestopped and cited for that reasonalone.

The bill behind the law, SB 140,was approved by Gov. Brian San-doval, who had made it clear that hewould support a statewide ban on textmessaging while driving.

The Assembly’s final vote came

May 30, 2011, and the Senate signedoff June 4.

Sen. Shirley Breeden, who au-thored the bill, added handheld cellphones to the 2011 version of the bill;her 2010 version failed to pass.

The Senate lowered fines tomatch the Assembly’s version inorder to get the distracted driving billthrough.

Nevada Texting While Driving Ban Takes Effect

On Jan. 3, 2012 Hyundai MotorAmerica released a rendering of itsproposed new U.S. headquartersbuilding in Fountain Valley, Califor-nia, its U.S. base of operations for thepast two decades.

The new building will representmore than a $150 million investment,the largest amount ever committed toan office building in the U.S. byHyundai Motor Company.

“This new national headquartersrepresents Hyundai’s vision for thefuture and reflects the innovation andcreativity that our brand has come torepresent,” said Hyundai MotorAmerica CEO John Krafcik. “It alsoreflects our commitment to invest inand benefit the communities in whichwe operate around the world.”

Designed by world-renowned ar-chitecture and design firm Gensler,the building will be LEED-certified,targeting the gold level. Leadership inEnergy and Environmental Design(LEED) is an internationally recog-nized green building certificationprocess assessing the sustainability ofa building’s design, construction andoperations.

The building design is sleekand modern, yet classic, and builton a structural pedestal foundationwith floating translucent glassfloors above. The focal point of the

building is its impressive two-storyhigh entrance, which leads to anopen-to-the sky public courtyard inthe building’s center. A showroomof Hyundai vehicles will be visiblefrom the freeway side of the newstructure.

The new headquarters buildingwill be approximately 419,000 sq. ft.and six stories high. A one-story,50,000 sq.ft. technical services facil-ity connects to the main building. Anadjacent parking structure will also bebuilt on the site.

Demolition of the old headquar-ters building along the 405 San DiegoFreeway is currently underway. Con-struction of the new building is ex-pected to begin in spring 2012, and isprojected to generate approximately1,530 direct and indirect jobs duringthe estimated 19-month buildingprocess.

The building is slated for com-pletion by the fall of 2013. During thedemolition and construction, HyundaiMotor America employees are in tem-porary office space in Costa Mesa,California.

For more information pleasevisit www.hyundaiusa.com.

Hyundai’s New U.S. HQ in Fountain Valley

The California Department of Insur-ance California Insurance Commis-sioner Dave Jones announced theCalifornia Department of Insurance'ssuccessful recovery of more than $54million for consumers in 2011 onJanuary 10, according to InsuranceJournal.

The CA DOI was able to dothis through consumer complaintinvestigations and market conductexaminations of insurance compa-nies.

The consumer services divisionof the DOI operates the consumercommunications bureau, which han-dles the (800) 927-HELP consumerhotline and other bureaus, includinghealth claims, claims services, andrating and underwriting services.

The division recovered over $49million for consumers in 2011, ac-cording to the department.

The market conduct division,which investigates insurance com-pany operations, recovered roughly$5 million for consumers.

The division performs examina-tions of insurance company claims,underwriting, rating and marketingpractices.

CA DOI Recovers $54 Millionfor Consumers in 2011

www.autobodynews.comCHECK IT OUT!


Advertise in ourCLASSIFIED SECTIONfor $50 per column

inch!

[email protected]

Place an ad in ourAUTOBODY

MARKETPLACEsection of

Autobody News.

Ford Motor Company announced planson January 6 to create and open its firstdedicated research lab in Silicon Val-ley early this year, saying it is growingthe company’s commitment to maketechnology affordable for millions.

“Ford has an incredible heritageof driving innovation in the trans-portation and manufacturing sectorsduring the past 107 years,” said PaulMascarenas, Ford chief technical of-ficer and vice president of Researchand Innovation. “Now it’s time to pre-pare for the next 100 years, usheringin a new era of collaboration and find-ing new partners to help us transformwhat it means to be an automaker.”

Ford President and CEO AlanMulally will elaborate on the newareas of focus for the forthcoming Sil-icon Valley lab, plus Ford’s latest in-dustry-leading technologies includingSYNC®, EcoBoost™, MyKey® andinflatable rear safety belts, when hereturns to the International CES onJan. 11 for the Innovation PowerPanel keynote. This will be Ford’sfourth consecutive keynote presenta-tion at CES.

Ford Research and Innovation,the company’s advanced engineeringarm, will open the new Silicon Valleylab in the first quarter, helping ensureFord keeps pace with consumer trendsand aggressively prepares for the fu-ture by developing mobility solutionsto harness the power of seamless con-nectivity, cloud computing and cleantechnology.

“An open attitude to new ideas iscritical to solving the transportation,environmental and societal challengeswe expect in the future,” said Mas-carenas. “With increasing pressuresfrom urbanization and the need to re-duce energy use, we’re going to seeenergy storage, wireless connectivity,sensing systems and even autonomousvehicles as key parts of the solution.”

The new Ford lab will be locatedin the San Francisco Bay area of Cal-ifornia and will serve as a hub for in-dependent technology projects andidentification of new research invest-ments and partners located along thewest coast. Ultimately, the lab willcreate an “innovation network” con-necting Ford’s Advanced Design Stu-

dio in Irvine, Calif., and Ford em-ployees working with connectivityplatform partner Microsoft Corp. inRedmond, Wash.

“Silicon Valley represents a deepand dynamic technology neighbor-hood and is far from Dearborn,” saidK. Venkatesh Prasad, senior techni-cal leader for open innovation withFord Research and Innovation. “Withso many opportunities and so muchpotential, our new lab will allow us toscout new technologies and partnersin their own environment and con-tinue our expansion beyond the tradi-tional automaker mindset to driveinnovation for a better mobility expe-rience.”

Prasad—a Silicon Valley veteranhimself—will travel from Dearborn tothe Bay area regularly to shape thelab. The new research lab’s employ-ees will be recruited both locally androtated-in from the global network ofFord employees and will spend theirtime developing and discovering newtechnologies, trends, partners and col-laborative research projects, saidPrasad.

The number of Ford employeesat its new lab will be comparable towhat you expect of a startup, with anemphasis on quality over quantity,said Prasad.

Prasad added that the establish-ment of Ford’s all-new Silicon Valleylab will not duplicate or replace workbeing done at the company’s Researchand Innovation Center in Dearborn, itsEuropean facility in Aachen, Ger-many, or the recently established tech-nology office in Nanjing, China.

Ford’s global Research and Inno-vation team is already working in sev-eral key areas that will be supportedby the work of the Silicon Valley lab.

“Ford integrates technologies,software and electronics at the samepace as the most innovative compa-nies in the world—our platform justhappens to be the car,” said Mascare-nas. “The new Silicon Valley lab willpropel us further as we look at themany facets of life where mobility in-teracts with society and see how wecan make those experiences better formillions of customers around theworld.”


COLLISION REPAIR PROFESSIONALSEPAIR PROFESSIONALS

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

VeriFacts Coaches will work with progressive shops whilesetting their own flexible schedule as an independentcontractor. Full time and part time openings available inmultiple 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

Ford Launches Silicon Valley Presence with New Research Lab

Seven Fix Auto repair center locationsparticipated in Recycled Rides in2011, a National Auto Body Council-sponsored program that connectsbody shops with charity organizationshelping people in need. The programallows body shops to repair and do-nate vehicles to families and serviceorganizations. The program was ableto donate over 150 vehicles in 2011thanks to the efforts of willing bodyshops.

Three Fix Auto locations inSouthern California—Escondido,Oceanside, and Riverside—and onein Denver, Colo., donated carsthrough Operation Homefront; an or-ganization that provides emergencyfinancial and other assistance to mili-tary families and wounded warriors.

In Pasadena, California, FixAuto donated a vehicle throughFoothill Unity Center—a source of

food, health services and crisis assis-tance for more than 4,000 local, low-income families.

A Portland, Oregon, Fix Auto lo-cation donated a car to a family witha sick child at OHSU DoernbecherChildren’s Hospital.

Fix Auto will be gifting the finalcar to an Operation Homefront fam-ily in Santee, California, in mid-Janu-ary, 2012.

“We are honored to participatein this program and we hope to ex-pand our participation to includeeven more cars next year,” said PaulGange, Fix Auto president and chiefoperating officer. He also said theselocations went above and beyond thedefinition of the donation, “in somecases, the families walked away withgas cards, car seats, toys and car in-surance,” in addition to their recycledride.

Seven Western Fix Auto Collision Centers ProvideRefurbished Vehicles to Families

A statewide DUI holiday task forcein Arizona made more than 4,000 ar-rests of suspected drunk driversfrom November 24, 2011 to January1, 2012, according to Claims Jour-nal.

The Governor’s Office of High-

way Safety, the office responsible forthe task force crack down, said in anews release on January 1 that 1,085drivers were been arrested for ex-treme DUI and 385 people were ar-rested for aggravated driving underthe influence.

4,000 Arrests Made of Suspected Drunk Drivers in AZ During Holidays

The National Auto Body Council(NABC) held their annual golf eventfundraiser on January 11, 2012, at theTahquitz Creek Golf Resort in PalmSprings, California. A total of 133

golfers registered for the scramble for-mat. The event was able to raise$55,000 this year and was held in con-junction with the NABC’s open boardmeeting, which took place the previ-ous day, January 10, as well as theCollision Industry Conference (CIC),which took place January 11, 12, 13.

The annual fundraising eventplays an integral part in providing theresources that support the organizationin its mission of improving the imageof all dedicated collision industry pro-fessionals because it is a major source

of funding for the group. Not onlydoes it help NABC implement theprograms and activities that define itand give shape to this purpose, it helpsreduce the cost of NABC’s programs

for participants, making them more af-fordable.

The fundraising committee com-prised of current NABC board mem-bers worked together throughout lastyear in setting higher goals and ex-pectations for this year’s golffundraiser, success that translated intoadditional revenue. “Every sponsor-ship opportunity available was takenadvantage of and every golf slot wasfilled equating to the higher revenue,”

stated David Merrell, NABC golfcommittee chair.

“I would like to thank all oursponsors, including presenting spon-sor Hertz Rent-A-Car, for giving the

National Auto Body Council muchneeded support,” said National AutoBody Council Executive DirectorChuck Sulkala. “We are extremelygrateful they find our mission to mag-nify the good works of the industry inthe view of the general public worth-while enough to give so much ofthemselves. It fuels our inspiration tokeep doing what we do in new and in-novative ways.”

The fundraising golf event wasopen to both individuals and teams,and was played using a four-person

scramble format. The event concludedwith a buffet reception, awards cere-mony, and prize package drawings.

An earlier tee off time and a com-plimentary breakfast, together with amore relaxed atmosphere, seemed toresonate with attendees and build addi-tional enthusiasm for the golf fundraiser.

Making the event that much morespecial was a Recycled Rides giftingceremony in which a 1999 Ford FreeStar mini-van was presented to a sin-gle mother of two, Maria Mendez, ahome health care worker from Indio,whose son is disabled. His wheelchairwas difficult for Maria to load into herold station wagon. The Free Star isbetter suited to accommodate it and ismore reliable, relieving Maria of someof the daily stress that is part of herlife. Pacific Collision Centers ofCathedral City, California, was thecollision repair facility responsible forrefurbishing the vehicle, which HertzRent-A-Car provided. Javier Lopez,manager of Pacific Collision Centers,oversaw the project in his shop.

Visit www.autobodycouncil.orgto learn more.


CHEVROLET1450 South Shamrock Ave.Monrovia, California 91016

• Exceptional Service• Full-time Experienced

Wholesale Specialists• Ready to Serve You• Genuine OEM Tires

626-249-0032Parts Dept.:

Hours:Mon.-Fri. 7am - 6pm; Sat. 8am - 4pm

Fax: 626-932-5660www.sierraauto.com

[email protected]

SUBARU1450 South Shamrock Ave.Monrovia, California 91016

• Wide Delivery Area• Competitive Pricing• Ready to Serve You• Genuine OEM Tires

Fax: 626-932-5660


626-359-8291Parts Dept.:

[email protected]

HONDA1450 South Shamrock Ave.Monrovia, California 91016

• Open Saturdays• Serving all of San Gabriel

Valley for over 30 Years• 5 Delivery Trucks• Genuine OEM Tires

Fax: 626-932-5660


800-320-9065Parts Dept.:

[email protected]

MAZDA735 East Central Ave.

Monrovia, California 91016

• Extensive Inventory• Free Delivery• Dedicated Wholesale

Parts Staff• Genuine OEM Tires

Fax: 626-932-5660


800-245-8509Parts Dept.:

[email protected]

2012 NABC Annual Fundraiser Held in Conjunction with CIC in Palm Springs, CA

Golfers had the option of playing individuallyor in teams during the fundraising event


Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones Approves “Principally At-Fault” RegulationsCalifornia Insurance CommissionerDave Jones announced December 26the final approval of amended regula-tions that simplify the requirementsfor determining whether a driver isprincipally at-fault (PAF) for an acci-dent, which impacts consumers’ abil-ity to obtain “Good Driver Discounts”under Proposition 103.

The amended regulations pre-pared by the Commissioner clearedthe final administrative hurdle, havingobtained approval from the Office ofAdministrative Law.

The amended regulation also al-lows an insurer to rebut presumptionsconcerning circumstances where adriver should be considered at-faultbecause the insurer may have evi-dence that the driver's acts or omis-sions caused the accident.

The amended regulation also cor-rects problems with the PAF defini-tion by including accidents involvingbodily injury or death, restoring "totalloss or damage" language, and raisingthe threshold for property damage,which has not been adjusted in nineyears.

In addition, it allows insurers torely solely on Comprehensive LossUnderwriting Exchange (CLUE) andInsurance Services Office (ISO) re-ports. LexisNexis® C.L.U.E.® Autoand ISO's A-PLUS™ are subscribingloss underwriting exchange carriersdatabases containing personal auto-mobile claims information.

In response to the amended regu-lation, CLUE and ISO have modifiedtheir databases to include informationpertinent to insurers’ principally at-fault determinations. With this addi-tional information, an insurer's use ofCLUE reports should be a reliablesource of information and will allowinsurers to make timely auto insur-ance quotes to consumers.

“Today we obtained final ap-proval of the Department of Insur-ance’s amended “principally at-fault”regulations,” said CommissionerJones. “The amended regulations in-clude important consumer safe-guards.”

Chief among the consumer safe-guards are:● The clarification and requirement of

a consistent procedure that a driver’sinsurer at the time of an accident andany subsequent insurer must follow todetermine that the driver is principallyat-fault for the accident.● The prohibition of insurers from re-lying solely on Department of MotorVehicle Reports, which do not containenough information for insurers tomake a principally at-fault determina-tion.● The disapproval of the right of aninsurer to charge a driver with a prin-cipally at-fault accident when thedriver does not provide enough infor-mation.● The requirement of subsequent in-surers to accept a driver’s declarationof his accident history if no other in-formation is available.

The California Autobody Associationwill hold their 1st Quarter 2012Board of Directors’ Meeting on Feb-ruary 10th and 11th, 2012, at the Em-bassy Suites in the SacramentoRiverfront Promenade, Sacramento,CA.

Quarterly Board Meetings areopen to all CAA members.

Call Hotel Reservations now at916-326-5000 (or 1-800-EMBASSY)and ask for the California AutobodyAssociation group block to book yourstay.

Schedule of Events:Friday, February 10th , 20126:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Reception (Em-bassy Suites Riverfront Promenade)

Saturday, February 11th, 20127:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. ContinentalBreakfast8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. CAA Board ofDirectors’ and Membership Meeting12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. CAA 2011Awards Luncheon and Guest Speaker1:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. CAA Board ofDirectors’ and Membership Meeting

For more information pleasevisit www.calautobody.com.

CAA to Hold Q1 2012 BoardMeeting in Sacramento

Search:

Autobody Newson Facebook

Mike Rose’s Auto Body, an MSO inbusiness for 40 years, with shops inthe San Francisco Bay Area, an-nounced the addition of their eighthlocation on January 17.

“We are excited to have the op-portunity to open a shop in the city ofLafayette. We will be able to make itmore convenient for our customers inthe Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga andRossmoor areas,” said Mike Rose,founder and owner.

The shop’s hours are Mondaythrough Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Theshop’s manager is Jason Laus.

The other seven facilities in theSan Francisco Bay Area are locatedin, Walnut Creek (2), Concord (2),Pittsburg, Antioch, and Brentwood.

Mike’s has a direct repair rela-tionship with the following insurancecompanies: 21st Century, AAA, All-state, Bristol West, Encompass, Es-urance, Farmers, GEICO, GMAC,Liberty Mutual, Mercury, Progres-sive, Safeco, Travelers, Unitrin andUSAA.

Mike Rose’s Auto Body wasformed in 1972 by Mike Rose at age19, to serve communities throughout

the Contra Costa County.At that time,there were 5 employees working in3000 square feet. Today, Mike’s em-ploys 195 people working in over

135,000 square feet. Rose believes hiscommitment to providing a qualityproduct, community involvement andgenuine concern for his customers’ re-pair experience has led to more thanfour decades of growth.

Mike Rose’s Auto Body2260 Via De MercadosConcord, CA 94520(925) 689-1739www.mautobody.com


Mike Rose’s Auto Body Adds Eighth Location in Lafayette

Mike Rose’s Auto Body’s eighth location at3430 Mt. Diablo Blvd, in Lafayette, CA

The Arizona Governor’s RegulatoryReview Council voted January 17 torepeal the state’s Clean Cars pro-gram, a set of tailpipe-emissions stan-dards adopted in 2008, in favor ofless-stringent federal regulations. Theregulations went into effect in 2011.

According to the Cronkite News,environmentalists argued that the re-peal would discourage zero-emissionvehicle development and harm thestate’s air quality, but supporters ofthe change said it would have negli-gible environmental impact and noeconomic impact.

“We believe this was the bestcourse of action,” Henry Darwin, di-rector of theArizonaDepartment of En-vironmental Quality, which called forthe change, said to theCronkite News.

The program was supposed tomirror standards in California and re-quired car companies to lower emis-sions that harm air quality, reducegreenhouse gas emissions and selland develop infrastructure for zero-emissions vehicles. The state willnow follow federal emissions stan-drads, which are much less stringent.

Members of the council voted 5-1 to repeal Clean Cars.

AZ Repeals State’s Clean CarsProgram Modeled After California

Canada. As a member of CARSTAR,the company says franchisees canoffer an array of services and productsfor collision repair, including the lat-est in repair technology, rental vehi-cles, nationwide warranties on repairsand turnkey service for their cus-tomers.

“There is a tremendous opportu-nity for body shop owners in the Cal-ifornia marketplace, as the heavytraffic and enormous number of driv-ers create a constant need for qualitycollision repair,” said David Byers,CEO of CARSTAR Auto Body Re-pair Experts. “But it’s a competitiveenvironment where store owners mustmeet strict environmental standards,manage insurance relationships anddeliver high KPIs, drive sales andmargin improvement on tight budgetsand continually provide excellent autobody repairs. These store owners arelooking for the business services andresources that only CARSTAR canprovide, and we’re looking forward toadding a select group of these shopowners to the CARSTAR Nation.”

CARSTAR says that Californiashop owners who become CARSTARfranchisees will benefit from theCARSTAR Management Systems,which provide resources to improvekey business metrics such as cycletime, participation in CARSTAR’s 17corporately managed DRP programsand improved purchasing power from44 corporately managed purchasingprograms.

California shop owners who be-come CARSTAR franchisees willbenefit from the CARSTARManage-ment Systems, which provide re-sources to improve key businessmetrics such as cycle time, participa-tion in CARSTAR’s 17 corporatelymanaged DRP programs, and im-proved purchasing power from 44corporately managed purchasing pro-grams.

California shop owners inter-ested in learning more about opportu-nities with CARSTAR Auto BodyRepair Experts can contactKeith Mc-Crone, CARSTAR Director of Net-work Development–California, at(858) 859-1511.

Interested shops can also visitwww.carstar.com for more informa-tion.

Continued from First Page

CARSTAR

California appointed John F. Finstonto the position of Deputy Commis-sioner for Corporate & RegulatoryAffairs at the California Departmentof Insurance on January 5.

Previously Finston was the headof SNR Denton’s insurance regula-tion practice, accruing more than 30years of experience in insurance reg-ulatory, insolvency and transactionalissues for insurance companies andtheir customers, according to Insur-ance Journal.

Finston will serve as a top advi-sor to Insurance CommissionerDaveJones on issues related to state, fed-eral and international oversight of in-surance and reinsurance.

California Names New DeputyInsurance Commissioner

e-mail:[email protected]

800-699-8251

To advertisecall Advertising Sales at:

www.autobodynews.com


Oregon Shop’s Parts Manager Performs Heroic Deed to Save a Lifeby Ed Attanasio

Would you step up and be a hero ifyou were in an emergency situationwith little time to think? Many of ushave asked ourselves this same ques-tion, but few ever get the opportunityto find out.James Bray, a parts manager at

Fix Auto Portland East in Oregon wastested in a big way when he was calledupon to pull a man out of a burning car

and save his life.If Bray ever hadany doubts abouthis courage or hisability to act hero-ically, they wereall answered at 2a.m. on December3. In a highlystressful situationrequiring quickthinking andquicker action,Bray was able tothink fast and takelifesaving action.That early morn-ing a BMW hit autility pole right infront of Bray’s

house in Vancouver, Washington. Nor-mally, Bray would have been asleep,but luckily for the driver, he was stillawake, playing computer games.

Sounds in the night are mostlyweather or animal-related in Vancou-ver, but this one caught Bray’s atten-tion immediately. “It was a very deeppop sound and I had no idea what itmight be. So, I went to the window inthe living room and that’s when I sawthe car wrapped around the lightpole.”

With an orange glow comingfrom under the hood, Bray instantlyknew it was more than just a fenderbender.

“So many things went throughmy mind. Is someone in there and willthe car explode? So, I said to my wifecall 911. I got dressed as fast as I couldand ran out to the vehicle.”

Bray assessed the scene quicklyand it didn’t look promising at the out-set. He explained, “one guy got outthrough the back seat, and another guyjumped out through the front passen-ger-side door. The BMW’s windowswere tinted and the car was quicklyfilling up with smoke. I asked the twoguys if anyone was still left in the car,

but they weren’t making any sense.They were basically incoherent.”

Rather than wait for a responsethat wasn’t forthcoming, Bray acted.“I hit the driver’s window with a flash-light that I always carry with me, but itwouldn’t break. So, I smacked it againand this time it shattered. I could seethere was a driver stuck in there andhe was yelling, because his legs wereon fire. I told my wife Mindy to bringthe fire extinguisher.”

Bray could see that the door wasunlocked, but it wouldn’t open. “Itried to open it a few times, but it wasjammed, so I asked the two other guysto help me, but we still couldn’t get itopen.”

Bray handed his folding knife toone of the passengers and told him tocut the driver’s seat belt while he triedto put out the flames in the car with thefire extinguisher. But every time theflames subsided, they instantly re-turned.

“I figured it must be the fuel line,because the flames wouldn’t stop,”Bray said. “At that point, I realized wehad to get this guy out of the car rightnow or he would burn up. So we cutthe seat belt, but he still couldn’t gethim out. He was stuck in there.”

Bray’s quick thinking and com-mon sense kicked in at that point.“We cut the shoulder belt, not think-ing about the lap belt and that’s whatwas holding him in. I gave my knifeto one of the two passengers earlier,but he lost it. But I always carry aLeatherman multi-tool on my keychain and it has a knife. I just reachedin there and cut the strap pretty eas-ily.”

After several attempts, the threemen pulled the driver from the carthrough the window, burned but stillalive, Bray said.

“His shoes were melted to whereI couldn’t recognize them and hispants were on fire. Within seconds,there was an explosion in the vehicleand pretty soon it was completely en-gulfed in flames. The whole thing tookaround three minutes, that’s all itwas.”

The next day, the Vancouver Po-lice reported that the driver wasBrian J. Hall, 22. He was trans-ported to the Legacy Health System’sburn unit in Portland with third de-gree burns and in serious condition.He and his friends were returningfrom a University Oregon football

game that evening when the accidentoccurred. Whether alcohol or drugswere involved is still under investi-

gation, according to the VancouverPolice.

Bray’s Aunt Camille Eber is hisboss at Fix Auto East Portland andshe’s extremely proud of what hernephew did on December 3.

“He did an amazing thing,” she

said. “I am very proud of James for hisselfless and level-headed reaction. Healways carries a keychain Leatherman

Tool, a pocket knife and a flashlight.He had all of them that morning andthat is why the driver is now alive. Wenever expect to be in a situation likethat, but James did not hesitate andwas prepared. He will always be ahero in my eyes.”


It’s a family affair at Fix Auto Portland East in Oregon, including (from left) Parts Manager JamesBray; Operations Manager William Bray; Retired former Owner Jim Eber; Owner Camille Eber(James’s aunt) and Office Manager Iala Bray

James Bray is theparts manager at FixAuto East in Port-land, Oregon. Bymoving quickly andbeing prepared, hesaved a man from aburning BMW thatcrashed into a utilitypole


• Large Inventory • Fast & Free Delivery• 12 Trucks Serving San Diego County, Imperial County

and parts of Riverside County• Experienced Wholesale Specialists Ready to Serve You

• Large Inventory • Fast & Free Delivery

San Diego’s Best Selection of Hyundai

New & Re-manufactured Parts!New & Re-manufactured Parts!San Diego’s Best Selection of Hyundai

New & Re-manufactured Parts!

p y

1-888-839-07771-888-839-07771-888-839-0777

Monday - Friday: 7:00 am - 6:00 pmSaturday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Hours:

8850 Grossmont BoulevardLa Mesa, CA 91942

HYUNDAIHYUNDAIDREWDREWHYUNDAIDREW

www.drewhyundai.comEmail: [email protected]

omuto.com

1-619-668-7782 Direct

Genuine OEM Volkswagen Parts!Genuine OEM Volkswagen Parts!Genuine OEM Volkswagen Parts!

VOLKSWAGENVOLKSWAGENDREWDREWVOLKSWAGENDREW

www.drewvolkswagen.comEmail: [email protected]

Monday - Friday: 7:00 am - 6:00 pmSaturday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Hours:

8850 Grossmont BoulevardLa Mesa, CA 91942

1-888-839-07771-888-839-07771-888-839-07771-619-668-7782 Direct

en.comwauto.com

m

• Large Inventory • Fast & Free Delivery• 12 Trucks Serving San Diego County, Imperial County

and parts of Riverside County• Experienced Wholesale Specialists Ready to Serve You

TheVan Tuyl Group, an Irving, Texas-based company with more than 70 au-tomotive dealerships across thecountry, has announced the first annual

Charity SuperBowl flag footballtournament to beheld in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The event willbe held Saturday,February 4, 2012at the Stampede

Sports Complex in Southlake, Texas—the day before Super Bowl XLVI takesplace in Indianapolis.

The Charity Super Bowl will beco-sponsored by the Van Tuyl Group,PPG, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car®. Allproceeds are to benefit Trinity RiverMission, a volunteer-based, commu-nity learning center dedicated to sup-porting the development of educationalsuccess in the children, youth, and fam-ilies of West Dallas.

The day-long Charity SuperBowl will feature 30 4-on-4 teams

competing in a double-eliminationtournament. There is an entry fee of$350 per team, with each team al-lowed to carry a roster of up to eightplayers. An awards presentation willbe held at the end of the day. In addi-tion to enjoying the games, fans at-tending the Charity Super Bowl canwin raffle prizes and participate in asilent auction.

“This is one of the most excitingweekends of the year for footballlovers,” said Darren Huggins, na-tional collision director, Van TuylGroup. “We wanted to take that foot-ball frenzy and give something back tothe community, especially to a charitythat does so much good and needs oursupport. We’ll play 59 games in about10 hours.We’ve even invited our com-petitors to take part, and they’ve ac-cepted the challenge. Fans can comeout and have a great time cheering onthe teams, all while knowing they’rehelping a worthy organization. This isgoing to be a great—and very compet-itive—day.”

The Van Tuyl Group has longbeen associated with PPG. Today,PPG Automotive Refinish suppliesthe company with a wide variety of

innovative coatingproducts for itsdealerships.

Kristen Felderofcollisionhub.comwillco-host the bowl’sbroadcastwithAuto-body News’Ed At-tanasio.

For details about the first annual Char-ity Super Bowl, call 972-670-2948.

To learn more about Trinity RiverMission, visit www.trinityrivermis-sion.org. For more information aboutPPG, call (800) 647-6050 or visitwww.ppgrefinish.com.

Van Tuyl Group to Hold Charity Super Bowl Event in the Dallas-FortWorth Area Super Bowl Weekend, Autobody News to Participate

Ed Attanasio Kristen Felder

Upon State Farm’s October 10th,2011 written denial to provide con-sideration for a plethora of recom-mended and necessary repairprocedures and materials, Ray Gun-der owner of the 44 year oldGunder’s

Auto Center in-structed his legalcounsel, AttorneyBrent Geohagan,to prepare the nec-essary steps to filea lawsuit againstthe nationwide in-surer at the request

of and authorization by his customer.The lawsuit was prepared and

filed on October 25th along with aCivil Remedy Notice (CRN) whichwas accepted by the courts on De-cember 16th, 2011. State Farm’s legalcounsel responded in a letter to Gun-der’s Attorney dated January 19th,2012 stating, in part, “at all timesState Farm acted in good faith andfairly and honestly toward its insured,

State Farm Concedes AnotherLawsuit Brought by Gunder’sAuto Center of Lakeland, Fl

Ray Gunder

See Gunder, Page 50



Eddie Quintela, the shop owner fromDelray Beach, FL, who wanted toknow why GEICO was charging his

customers a 10% deductible on theirdomestic OEM parts and other laboroperations, regardless of fault, and inaddition to regular deductible and/orapplicable betterments, has been vin-dicated. Quintela was finally able toget GEICO to remove the deductibleoff one of his customer’s estimates.

Quintela, who owns CollisionConcepts Inc., asked why GEICO wasapparently assessing this fee in PalmBeach county but not in nearby Polkcounty; and why an insured driving aforeign made vehicle was not deducted10% for OEM parts, but one driving avehicle made in the United States wasmade to pay 10% extra for their parts.Other labor operations were defined aswet sand and buff and all clips andbolts. GEICO claimed it was custom-ary in his market, while Quintela dis-agreed with proof from surveying othershops in the area. Collision Conceptsis not a DRP for the insurer.

“Just want to say thank you toGeico for paying what is fair and rea-sonable to repair our mutual cus-tomer’s vehicle,” said Quintela, “It is agood start to what I hope is a new andimproved relationship between Geicoand all collision repair facilities.”

To view the full text of the emailexchanges between Quintela andGEICO please see Autobody NewsJanuary 2012 Edition or www.auto-bodynews.com, search ‘Quintela’.


I-CAR has announced that Erie Insur-ance, an I-CAR Gold Class Profession-als business, has equipped its staff ofauto physical damage appraisers withthe latest training available in the in-dustry, providing them with the knowl-edge and skills needed to help increaseCSI scores, improve operational effi-ciencies and minimize repair mistakes.

I-CAR said that Erie Insurance isnow one of only five insurance organ-izations to have achieved the industry-recognized I-CAR Gold ClassProfessionals designation as a corpo-ration. Insurance businesses can earnthe Gold Class designation at a cor-porate level, as Erie has, or at a busi-ness location.

I-CAR CEO and President JohnVan Alstyne said, “By achieving theGold Class designation, Erie Insur-ance has shown a dedication to bothcustomers and employees by invest-ing in training that will provide valu-able services. Through Erie'scommitment to I-CAR training, ErieAuto Physical Damage Appraisersnow possess role-based knowledgethat can improve estimating accuracyand help reduce cycle time, both ofwhich lead to increased customer sat-isfaction.”

Van Alstyne added, “With therapid rate of change in vehicle tech-nology, continuous role-relevant train-ing is essential. It is another key driverto customer satisfaction, and, ulti-mately business success.”

Jim Brown, Erie VP and man-ager, material damage, said, “Erie In-surance is committed to delivering topnotch service to our customers and isfocused on providing our staff withthe training and resources needed intoday's collision repair industry. Byproviding our customers with accurateestimates, we can improve claims ac-curacy, which will allow us to con-tinue providing our policy holders thathave been in automobile accidentswith the best repair plan possible.”

Businesses that have earned theI-CAR Gold Class Professionals busi-ness designation are required toachieve high levels of training as wellas maintain ongoing annual training,according to I-CAR.

“I-CAR is pleased to designateErie Insurance as a Gold Class busi-ness and provide the staff at Erie witha training path that will improve theiroverall operational efficiencies,” saidJoyce Kasmer, I-CAR director ofbusiness development.

Erie Insurance Earns I-CAR Gold Class Professionals Badge Update: Delray Beach, FL, Shop Owner’s Opposition toGEICO’s 10% Charge on Domestic OEM Parts Pays Off

Eddie Quintela sent multiple email letters toGEICO’s local claims supervisor seeking refunds(or at least an explanation) for his customerswho are being charged an additional 10% on alldomestic OEM parts appearing on estimates.Quintela was vindicated when GEICO removedthe 10% deductible on their client’s estimate.

Mike Causey, a sometime AutobodyNews columnist, announced his candi-dacy for North Carolina’s Commis-sioner of Insurance position in

Greensboro in earlyJanuary. Causeychose Dare Countyto launch his cam-paign he said, “…tobring focus on theproblem of insur-ance in the coastalcounties. Premiums

for household insurance, especiallywindstorm insurance, have skyrocketedin recent years in eastern North Car-olina, worse yet in the coastal counties.”

Causey said he was urged byNorth Carolina Republican leaders toseek the office this year because ofwidespread and bipartisan criticism ofhow the State Office of Insurance hasbeen administered.

Causey is also known as a con-sumer advocate and lobbyist for the In-dependent Auto Body Association(IABA) as well as healthcare groupsand Organic farming and Healthy Eat-ing advocacy.

This will be Causey’s fourth at-tempt at the position, after losing inthe general election in 1992, 1996 and2000 to Democratic incumbent JimLong.

Causey, a Greensboro native, willrun under the Republican ticket. Hecurrently serves as commissioner onthe North Carolina Public Officers andEmployees Liability Insurance Com-mission and is a member of the Guil-ford County Agricultural AdvisoryBoard. Current Democratic Commis-sionerWayne Goodwin is also seek-ing re-election.

In an interview in the Beaufort Ob-server, the interviewer expressed a“high level of frustration of residents ofBeaufort County with the insurancebusiness in our county. Many residentsin Beaufort County experienced severeproblems with insurance companies fol-lowing Hurricane Irene and even morehave experienced difficulty in obtainingsatisfactory coverage at a reasonableprice. We asked him what he proposedto do about those problems if elected.”

“One of the main reasons I’mrunning is that I want to help people

who are having problems with insur-ance companies,” said Causey. “Thatwould be one of my top priorities inbuilding a “customer-oriented” Insur-ance Department. As for the problemof difficulty in getting reasonable cov-erage, particularly comprehensivehomeowners’ and mobile homeown-ers’ policies, I would work with theLegislature to address that problem.One of the specific things I wouldwant to look at is the idea of makingevery policy equally available acrossthe state. That would broaden the riskpool and I think that is something weneed to take a hard look at.” Headded: “we need a more competitiveinsurance industry in North Carolinaand that is another thing I would wantto work on.”

Mike Causey is not to be confusedwith another Mike Causey, who is asenior correspondent for Federal NewsRadio. He covers federal employee payand benefits issues and writes a dailycolumn about these topics.

You can read our Mike Causey’scolumns at autobodynews.com/colum-nists/causey-mike.html.


Mike Causey Announces Candidacy for Commissioner of Insurance Position in North Carolina

Mike Causey

port the results of any labor rate sur-vey within 30 days to the departmentwhich will in turn make the resultsavailable. The survey information willinclude names and addresses of theauto body shops and the total numberof shops surveyed. The 16 current un-fair claims settlement practices de-tailed in Section 790.03(h) of theCalifornia Insurance Code will be pro-hibited, including ‘failing to the at-tempt in good faith to effectuateprompt, fair, and equitable settlementsof claims’.

Following are selected quotesfrom the proposed language:

“A survey, conducted pursuant toInsurance Code section 758, shall notbe used to cap or reduce the labor ratecharged on an estimate or repair orderprepared by the claimant’s chosen autobody repair shop or to support the pre-sumption of reasonableness of an in-surers’ adjustment of a written estimateprovided by a claimant.

“Nothing in these regulationsshall preclude an insurer from volun-tarily negotiating and/or contracting

Continued from Front Page

DOI Meeting

with an automobile repair facility for aspecific labor rate.

“Nothing in these regulationsshall require an insurer to conduct anauto body labor rate survey.

“Nothing in these regulationsshall require the insurer to use theposted labor rate of a shop surveyed.

“the Department may considerthis survey in determining whether aninsurer has offered a fair and reason-able claims settlement and/or whetherthe insurer has supported the reason-ableness of its adjustment of a writtenestimate provided by a claimant.

“the Department will not con-sider any survey submitted to the De-partment more than one calendar yearprior to the date of the written estimateprovided by the claimant.

“the insurer must survey allknown auto body repair shops licensedto perform collision repairs by the Bu-reau of Automotive Repair in a spe-cific geographic area. All [qualifying]shops that respond to the survey shallbe used to determine the prevailingauto body rate in that geographic area.

“The survey shall only use laborrates of auto body repair shops licensedby the Bureau of Automotive Repair

“An insurer may only use laborrates in a survey reported by shopsthat meet specific standards. (see fulltext for standards).

“the following non-public infor-mation shall be separately included inany submission to the Department:

(1) the labor rate reported by eachshop that responded to the survey;

(2) the name and address of eachshop sent a survey, but did not respondtothe survey, reported for each geo-graphic area surveyed;

(3) a copy of the survey ques-tionnaire used to survey the auto bodyrepair shops.

(g) For purposes of a survey com-pliant with this section, “prevailingauto body rate” means the greater of:(1) the mean average labor ratecharged by auto body repair facilitiesin the specific geographic area or, (2)the rate, at or below which, the major-ity of surveyed shops charge in a spe-cific geographic area. Other statisticalmethods may be used by an insurer ifthey are approved by the Department.”

“If an insurer submits a surveypursuant to this section, the Depart-ment may require the insurer to sub-mit a public version.

“Insurers shall not use any dis-counted rate negotiated or contractedwith members of its Direct Repair Pro-gram, or any other Direct Repair Pro-gram... as part of a labor rate survey”

“a geographic area used by an in-surer in a survey shall be no smallerthan a United States Postal ServiceZip Code and shall not be larger thana thirty (30) mile radius from the cen-ter of the geographic area being sur-veyed.”

SteeringWith regard to Steering, supplementallanguage is added to the InsuranceCode Section 758.5, expanding thedefinitions a claimant has chosen anautomotive repair dealer when theclaimant has specified to the insurer aspecific automotive repair dealer...which he or she wishes to repair thevehicle.

“Suggest or recommend” meansthat the insurer has communicated thename or names of one or more auto-motive repair dealers, has requestedthat the claimant choose a shop that isdifferent than the shop chosen by theclaimant. or communicates any infor-mation to the claimant which is rele-

vant only to the choice of the automo-tive repair dealer. The insurer shall notcommunicate false, deceptive, or mis-leading information to the claimant.including, but not limited to:

A. Advising the claimant that theclaim payment will be reduced by alower labor rate, when the insurer hasnot· conducted an Auto Body RepairRate Survey.

B. Advising the claimant that aninspection of the vehicle will occur ata date that is later than the reasonabletime necessary to inspect the damagedvehicle.

C. Advising the claimant that theautomobile repair dealer chosen bythe claimant has a record of poor serv-ice or poor repair quality, or of othersimilar allegations against the dealer,without clear documentation in theclaim file supporting these statements.

D. Requesting or requiring thatthe claimant have the vehicle in-spected at or by an automobile repairdealer where the insurer has a DirectRepair Program or by any other auto-mobile repair dealer identified by theinsurer, after the claimant has chosenan automobile repair dealer. (See fulltext next page.)


A Smart Solution THE CARCOONWORKSTATION

• Simple drive in access provid-ing a completely unique and fullyenclosed working environment.• Patented technology usesa massive 179 square ft. filterarea including Triple Layer PaintArrest filters.• High Volume Low Pressureairflow technology includingairlock access.• Meets the emissionrequirements of 98% captureefficiency. (EPA- RULE 6H)

CSS USA, Inc.Phone: (904) 567-3825

[email protected]

(866) 910-0889

Proposed additions to the current textof regulations are in blue text and pro-posed deletions to the current text ofregulations are indicated in red text.

Title 10, Chapter 5, Subchapter 9, Ar-ticle 7

Amend section 2698.91 as follows:Section 2698.91

Auto Body Repair Labor Rate Surveys(a) Section 758(c) of the InsuranceCode provides that any insurer thatconducts an auto body repair laborrate survey to determine and set aspecified prevailing auto body ratein a specific geographic area shallreport the results of that survey tothe department which shall makethe information available upon re-quest. The survey information shallinclude the names and addresses ofthe auto body repair shops and thetotal number of shops surveyed.Section 790.03(h) of the CaliforniaInsurance Code enumerates sixteenclaims settlement practices that,when either knowingly committedon a single occasion, or performedwith such frequency as to indicate ageneral business practice, are con-sidered to be unfair claims settle-ment practices and are, thus,prohibited. The practices prohib-ited include failing to the attempt ingood faith to effectuate prompt, fair,and equitable settlements of claimsSection 790.10 of the California In-surance Code provides that thecommissioner shall, from time totime as conditions warrant, afternotice and public· hearing, promul-gate reasonable rules and regula-tions, and amendments andadditions thereto, as are necessaryto administer this article 6.5 (UnfairPractices). The Insurance Commis-sioner has promulgated these regu-lations in order to accomplish thefollowing objectives:(1) To define certain terms in

Section 758(c) of the InsuranceCode and to delineate the limitedpurpose, limited use and minimumstandards of a survey conductedpursuant to this Insurance code sec-tion;(2) To delineate the purpose,

use and minimum standards ofa·survey, which the commissionermay consider to be reliable evidencethat an insurer has settled or paid

automobile repair insurance claimsin a fair and equitable manner; and(3) To promote the good faith,

prompt, efficient and equitable set-tlement of claims.

(a) (b) An “auto body repair laborrate survey” or “survey” is any gath-ering of information from auto bodyrepair shops regarding what auto bodyrepair labor rate the repair shopscharge, used to determine and/or seta specified prevailing auto body repairrate in a specific geographic area.(b) (c) For purposes of a surveyconducted pursuant to CaliforniaInsurance Code Section 758(c),“prevailing auto body rate” means therate determined and/or set by an in-surer as a result of conducting an autobody labor rate survey of auto bodyrepair shops in a particular specificgeographic area and used by the in-surer as a basis for determining thecost to settle automobile collision,physical damage, and liability claimsfor auto body repairs(c) (d) Any labor rate survey resultsreported to the Department of Insur-ance pursuant to Insurance Code sec-tion 758 shall include the followinginformation that will be made avail-able to the public upon its request:

(1) The name and address ofeach auto body repair shop surveyedin responding to the labor rate sur-vey;

(2) The address of each auto bodyrepair shop surveyed in the labor ratesurvey Date the survey was com-pleted;

(3) The total number of shopssurveyed in the labor rate survey andthe total number of shops that re-sponded to the survey, reported foreach geographic area surveyed;

(4) The prevailing rate estab-lished determined and/or set by theinsurer for each geographic area sur-veyed;

(5) A description of the specificgeographic area covered by the pre-vailing labor rate reported.

(6) A description of the formulaor method the insurer used to calcu-late or determine and/or set the spe-cific prevailing auto body ratereported for each specific geographicarea.

Any confidential information notrequired by this section should be re-moved from the labor rate survey re-sults prior to submitting the survey to

the Department of Insurance.(e) Insurers shall either conduct thesurvey in writing or maintain writ-ten records of the information gath-ered by any method other thanwriting. Upon request. the depart-ment shall have access to allrecords, data, computer programs,or any other information used. bythe insurer or any other source todetermine geographic area laborrate information. This informationwill be held confidential pursuant tothe provisions of subsection2698.91(g).(f) Insurers shall send the results oftheir labor rate survey to the De-partment of Insurance within 30calendar days of completing thelabor rate survey. The Departmentshall designate the unit within theDepartment that will receive laborrate surveys. In cases where the sur-vey data used by an insurer ischanging on a regular basis, the sur-vey shall be submitted no less thanannually. In order for the Depart-ment to more effectively make sur-vey information available to the

public, the Department may requirethat a survey be submitted in a stan-dard electronic or other format inorder to publish survey data on theDepartment’s public web site.(e) (g)The Department of Insurancewill make the public portions of thesurvey reports available upon writtenrequest to the Custodian of Recordspursuant to the California PublicRecords Act,Government Code sec-tion 6250 et seq. The additional non-public records and otherinformation used by the insurer toconduct the survey shall not be thesubject of a Public Records Act re-quest, pursuant to the CaliforniaPublic Records Act, GovernmentCode section 6250 et seq nor subjectto other disclosure by the Depart-ment except where required to do soby a valid subpoena or court order.(h) The primary purpose of a

survey submitted pursuant to In-surance Code section 758 and com-pliant with this· section is to informthe public about the prevailinglabor rates charged ina specific ge-ographic area and to provide insur-


Northeast 2012

Booth# 317

Full Text of California DOI’s Proposed Amendments to Insurance Code

ers with a starting point in negoti-ating labor rates with auto body re-pair shops for a direct repairprogram. A survey, conducted pur-suant to Insurance Code section758, shall not be used to cap or re-duce the labor rate charged on anestimate or repair order preparedby the claimant’s chosen auto bodyrepair shop or to support the pre-sumption of reasonableness of aninsurers’adjustment of a written es-timate provided by a claimant pur-suant to section 269S.8(f)(3) ofCalifornia Code of Regulations,Title 10, Chapter 5, Subchapter 7.5,except as provided in Section2698.92 of these regulations.(i) Nothing in these regulations

shall preclude an insurer from vol-untarily negotiating and/or con-tracting with an automobile repairfacility for a specific labor rate.(j) Nothing in these regulations

shall require an insurer to conductan auto body labor rate survey.(k) Nothing in these regulations

shall require the insurer to use theposted labor rate of a shop sur-veyed, unless that shop responds tothe survey that it charges its postedlabor rate in the majority of repairsthat it effects, not including whatthat shop charges through its directrepair program with insurers orother wholesale accounts.

Note: Authority cited: Sections758, 12921, and 12926, InsuranceCode. Reference: Sectiong 758 and790.03, Insurance Code; Section6250-6276.48, Government Code;and Section 2695.8(f)(3) of CaliforniaCode of Regulations, Title 10, Chapter5, Subchapter 7.5.

Adopt section 2698.92 as follows:Section 2698.92

Additional Standards for Auto Body Re-pair Labor Rate Surveys(a) If a survey complies with thestandards set forth in Section2698.91 and the additional stan-dards set forth is this section, theDepartment may consider thissurvey in determining whether aninsurer has offered a fair and rea-sonable claims settlement and/orwhether the insurer has supportedthe reasonableness of its adjust-ment of a written estimate pro-vided by a claimant pursuant tosection 2695.8(f)(3) of CaliforniaCode of Regulations, Title 10,Chapter 5, Subchapter 7.5. In in-

stances where the standards inthis section and Section 2698.91conflict the provisions of this sec-tion shall supersede the provisionsof Section 2698.91.(b) Unless otherwise authorized

by the Department in determiningwhether an insurer has offered afair and reasonable claims settle-ment and/or whether the insurerhas supported the reasonableness ofits adjustment of a written estimateprovided by a claimant pursuant tosection 2695.8(f)(3) of CaliforniaCode of Regulations, Title 10,Chapter 5, Subchapter 7.5, the De-partment will not consider any sur-vey submitted to the Departmentmore than one calendar year priorto the date of the written estimateprovided by the claimant.(c) To be a statistically valid

survey, the insurer must survey allknown auto body repair shops li-censed to perform collision repairsby the Bureau of Automotive Re-pair in a specific geographic area.All shops that respond to the survey,and which meet the standards setforth in subsection 2698.92(e) ofthese regulations, shall be used todetermine the prevailing auto bodyrate in that geographic area.(d) The survey shall only use

labor rates of auto body repairshops licensed by the Bureau ofAutomotive Repair to performauto body collision repairs. Thissubsection shall not require an in-surer to verify the licenses statusof surveyed shops with the Bureauof Automotive Repair, in caseswhere the survey questionnaireasks the repair shop to respond asto whether it is duly licensed toperform auto body collision re-pairs and, if so, to provide its li-cense number.(e) An insurer may only use

labor rates in a survey reported byshops that meet the following spe-cific standards. This subsectionshall not require the Insurer to in-spect surveyed shops, in caseswhere the insurer has asked the re-pair shop in the survey question-naire whether it meets thespecifically identified standards.Failure of a shop to meet the iden-tified standards shall not void aclaimant’s right to select that autobody repair shop to effect repairs,as provided in Insurance CodeSection 758.5. The fact that a shopdoes not meet these standards

should not be construed as per-mission for an insurer to implythat the shop is inferior or shouldnot be used by the claimant to per-form repairs, but only that thisshop’s labor rate may not be usedin a survey. In order for a shoplabor rate to be used in a survey itmust:1. Meet all equipment require-

ments for auto body repair shops, asrequired by the Bureau of Automo-tive Repair and as described in Cal-ifornia Code of Regulations, Title16, Division 33, Chapter 1,Article 6,Section 3351.5, Equipment Re-quirements for Auto Body RepairShops;2. Have proof of garage

keeper’s liability and workers’ com-pensation insurance or equivalent;3. Have a gas metal arc

(GMA/MIG) welder and techni-cians qualified or certified in properwelding techniques;4. Have the ability to hoist a ve-

hicle for inspection and repair;5. Have a four-point anchoring

system capable of holding a vehiclein a stationary position duringframe and/or unibody pulls which is

suitable for the specific type of ve-hicle being repaired;6. Have electrical or hydraulic

equipment capable of making si-multaneous multiple body or struc-tural pulls;7. Have a pressurized spray

booth equipped with a fresh air-supplied respirator system thatmeets current federal, state andlocal requirements;8. Have the ability to complete

and verify four-wheel alignmentthrough computer printout eitherfrom an in-house alignment systemwith at least one technician that is·certified or qualified or utilize aqualified sublet provider;9. Offer a written limited life-

time warranty against defects inworkmanship;10. Have the ability to remove

and reinstall frame, suspension, en-gine and drive train components;11. Have the ability to evacuate,

reclaim and recharge vehicles airconditioning system using EPAcompliant in-house equipment andcertified technicians or use a quali-fied sublet provider; and12. Subscribe to a provider of


Recycled Parts Sourcingfor the Repair Shop

To learn more, call 1-888-828-0014 or visit www.realparts.com

Try RealParts.comNOW for FREE

Quick and EasySolicit live Internet parts quotesdirect from your choice of recycledparts vendors in accordance withyour guidelines and expectations. “RealParts.com is more

than just a parts locator.It’s also a productivityand cycle time tool!There are no multiplephone calls.Part searches arebroadcast direct viathe Internet to ourchosen vendor network.Recyclers respond liveknowing who we areand what we expect”

Richard FishFix Auto

Oceanside and Tustin, CA

No limitations• Any part• Any year, make & model• Collision or mechanical

No hassles• Your rules• Your vendors• Your program

No hold-ups• No questionable database

information• No multiple phone calls• No busy signals• No hold time• No promised call backs


750 Potter Street, Berkeley, CA 94710www.weatherfordbmw.com

Weatherford BMW

Weatherford BMW

www.weatherfordbmw.com(800) 995-9269

(800) 995.9269(510) 841.5996 Fax(800) 995.9269(510) 841.5996 Fax

Toll Free:Toll Free:

[email protected]

Over $1 million parts inventoryExtremely Knowledgeable Parts CrewOur fleet of vehicles will get your order deliveredwhen you need itAt Weatherford BMW we are 100% committedto your complete satisfaction

Original BMW Parts and Accessories

structural specifications with peri-odic updates covering the vehiclestructure for the make, model, andyear of the vehicle(s) being repairedand wheel alignment specificationsfor the make, model. and year of thevehicle(s) being repaired.(f) In addition to the public in-

formation, as described in section2698.91(d), the following non-pub-lic information shall be separatelyincluded in any submission to theDepartment:(1) the labor rate reported by

each shop that responded to the sur-vey;(2) the name and address of

each shop sent a survey, but did notrespond tothe survey, reported foreach geographic area surveyed;(3) a copy of the survey ques-

tionnaire used to survey the autobody repair shops.(g) For purposes of a survey

compliant with this section, “pre-vailing auto body rate” means thegreater of: (1) the mean averagelabor rate charged by auto body re-pair facilities in the specific geo-graphic area or, (2) the rate, at orbelow which, the majority of sur-

veyed shops charge in a specific ge-ographic area. Other statisticalmethods may be used by an insurerif they are approved by the Depart-ment.(h) The additional data and

survey information provided in ac-cordance with this section shall notbe the subject of a Public RecordsAct request, pursuant to the Cali-fornia Public RecordsAct. Govern-ment Code section 6250 et seq.(1) If an insurer submits a sur-

vey pursuant to this section, the De-partment may require the insurer tosubmit a public version, containingthe public information required inSection 2698.91 of these regulationsand a version containing the non-public information.(i) Insurers shall not use any

discounted rate negotiated or con-tracted with members of its DirectRepair Program, or any other Di-rect Repair Program, as defined insection 2698.90, as part of a laborrate survey to determine and set theprevailing auto body rate in a spe-cific geographic area. Nothing inthese regulations shall be construedto preclude an insurer from includ-

ing the non-discounted or non-con-tracted posted rate of a Direct Re-pair Program shop in its survey. Forpurposes of this section, a geo-graphic area used by an insurer ina survey shall be no smaller than aUnited States Postal Service ZipCode and shall not be larger than athirty (30) mile radius from the cen-ter of the geographic area beingsurveyed. Other geographic areasmay be used, if statistically validand which represent a reasonableeconomic or market area, if ap-proved by the Department.(ii) (iii) Note: Authority

cited: Sections 758, 758.5, 790.03,790.10, 12921, and 12926, InsuranceCode. Reference: Sections 758,758.5 and 790.03 of the InsuranceCode; Section 6250- 6276.48, of theGovernment Code; and Section2695.8(f)(3) of California Code ofRegulations, Title 10, Chapter 5,Subchapter 7.5.

DRAFT TEXT REGULATION FILE:REG-2011-00024

SteeringTitle 10, Chapter 5, Subchapter 7.5,

Article 1Amend FCSPRs section 2695.8(e) asfollows:

(e) No insurer shall:(1) require that an automobile be

repaired at a specific repair shop; or,(2) after a claimant has chosen

an automotive repair dealer, sug-gest or recommend that an automo-bile be repaired at a specific repairshop(s), unless all of the require-ments set forth in California Insur-ance Code Section 758.5 have beenmet, except when a referral is ex-pressly requested by the claimant.For purposes of California Insur-ance Code Section 758.5 and thissubsection, a claimant has chosenan automotive repair dealer whenthe claimant has specified to the in-surer a specific automotive repairdealer registered with the Bureauof Automotive Repair pursuant tosections 9884 and 9889.52 of theBusiness and Professions Codewhich he or she wishes to repairthe vehicle. For purposes of Cali-fornia Insurance Code Section758.5 and this subsection, “suggestor recommend” means that the in-surer has communicated the name


GreatService.

GreatPrices.

GENUINE SERVICE & PARTS

951.509.2125951.509.2123 Fax

Direct Line:

951.509.6574951.509.6575 Fax

Direct Line:951.509.6577951.509.6578 Fax

Direct Line:951.509.6577951.509.6578 Fax

Direct Line:

951.509.6550951.509.6523 Fax

Direct Line:Riverside Volkswagen

Riverside Honda Riverside Hyundai Riverside Mazda

Riverside Nissan

8330 Indiana Ave., Riverside, CA 92504

99

DFREE DELIVERY TO

MOST OF THE INLAND EMPIREMention this ad for

a free gift!Hours: Mon-Fri. 7-7; Sat. 8-5

CompetitiveParts Pricing!

We UseCollision Link!

GenuineOEM Parts!

HugeInventory!

QualifiedStaff!



8330 Indiana Ave., Riverside,CA 92504

8330 Indiana Ave., Riverside, CA 925048330 Indiana Ave., Riverside, CA 92504

or names of one or more automo-tive repair dealers, has requestedthat the claimant choose a shopthat is different than the shop cho-sen by the claimant. or communi-cates any information to theclaimant which is relevant only tothe choice of the automotive repairdealer. The insurer shall not com-municate false, deceptive, or mis-leading information to theclaimant. including, but not lim-ited to;A. Advising the claimant that

the claim payment will be reducedby a lower labor rate, when the in-surer has not· conducted an AutoBody Repair Rate Survey, compli-ant with CCR Section 2698.92;B. Advising the claimant that

an inspection of the vehicle willoccur at a date that is later than thereasonable time necessary to in-spect the damaged vehicle, as refer-enced in paragraph (3) of thissection.C. Advising the claimant that

the automobile repair dealer chosenby the claimant has a record of poorservice or poor repair quality, or ofother similar allegations against the

dealer, without clear documentationin the claim file supporting thesestatements.D. Requesting or requiring that

the claimant have the vehicle in-spected at or by an automobile re-pair dealer where the insurer has aDirect Repair Program or by anyother automobile repair dealeridentified by the insurer, after theclaimant has chosen an automobilerepair dealer.

(3) require a claimant to travelan unreasonable distance or wait anunreasonable period to either to in-spect a replacement automobile, toconduct an inspection of the vehicle,to obtain a repair estimate, or to havethe automobile repaired at a specificrepair shop. For purposes of thissection, an insurer shall inspect thedamaged vehicle within seven (7)business days after receiving thenotice of loss, provided the vehicleis made available for inspection.For purposes of this section, an un-reasonable distance shall be nomore than thirty (30) miles fromthe claimant’s residence, unless thenearest repair shop is further thanthis distance.


The right part makes the difference.

Fax: 858.300.3331800.548.91244797 Convoy St. • San Diego, CA 92111Hours: Mon-Fri 7 - 6; Sat 8 - 5

Email: [email protected]

www.kearnymesasubaru.com/parts

• We Have Wholesale Specialists Ready to Help andAdvise You on All Your Subaru Genuine Parts Needs

• Offering Free Delivery (M-F) and Competitive Discounts

SUBARUKEARNY MESA

It just makes sense.

Fax: 858.300.3331800.469.97314797 Convoy St. • San Diego, CA 92111Hours: Mon-Fri 7 - 6; Sat 8 - 5

Email: [email protected]

www.kearnymesahyundai.com/parts

• We Have Wholesale Specialists Ready to Help andAdvise You on All Your Hyundai Genuine Parts Needs

• Offering Free Delivery (M-F) and Competitive Discounts

HYUNDAIKEARNY MESAYOUR SEARCH ENDS HERE.

Sales Rebound and Mix Change For New VehiclesCar and light truck 2011 sales in theU.S. continued to rebound, up nearly1.2 million units in annual sales overthe previous year. Nevertheless, thenew light vehicle market in the U.S.has a long way to go to match thenearly 17 million annual sales aver-aged between 1999 and 2007.

Domestic Nameplates Gain ShareGeneral Motors, Ford and Chrysler in-creased their combined sales 15.1%,besting by half the overall 10.3% gainin new vehicle 2011 volume. Chryslerfinished the year strong, up more than26%; while General Motors recorded13% sales growth during 2011, withFord climbing 11%.

Korean Nameplates Pass GermansHyundia and Kia combined for a26.5% increase in 2011 volume, nearlynine times stronger growth than allother foreign nameplates. The strengthof Hyundia and Kia is underscored bytheir passing German nameplates intotal U.S. unit volume. Just four yearsago (2007), German light vehicle U.S.sales topped Korean volume by morethan 35%.

Toyota and Honda Volume Down2011 was a down year for Toyota and

Honda which together shed more than200,000 vehicles in 2011 volume fromtheir combined 2010 sales. During No-vember and December, however, Toy-ota posted a 3% increase; while Hondacontinued to struggle. Nissan, on theother hand, had a strong 2011, up 15%.

Rebounding Foreign ShareWith Toyota and Honda likely to re-bound in 2012 and continued stronggrowth from Korean and Germannameplates, Lang Marketing expectsforeign nameplate 2012 share will turnupward, returning to approximately55% of light vehicle 2012 volume.

Historic Mileage Downturn in 2011Mileage by all types of vehicles onU.S. roads will suffer at least a 1.3%decline, with car and light truckmileage down even more. This will bethe second largest U.S. mileage plungein more than 55 years (since WW II).

Traditional Growth Drivers AbsentAftermarket car and light truck growthin the U.S. traditionally has been pro-pelled by two factors: an increasingnumber of light vehicles on U.S. roads,and more miles driven by cars andlight trucks. In 2011, neither of thesetwo growth factors were in play.

I recently received an advertisingbooklet in the mail. Most of the ads inthe booklet were for local cleaners andvarious personal and home services.There was also one ad for a collisionrepair shop, but the shop was locatedmany miles from my mail servicewhere I received the booklet.

The shop owner had obviouslybeen pressured into buying an ad thatwas being delivered far out of his ef-fective neighborhood. And evenworse than that, it was buried in abooklet that is mostly read by house-wives looking for household deals atlocal businesses. The shop’s ad didn’teven have a coupon that might havegotten at least a couple of people tonotice it. The odds of the shop gettinga single job out of this ad were proba-bly as remote as the chance of win-ning the Publisher’s Sweepstakes.

Unfortunately, even if this ad hadappeared in a newspaper or otherwidely read publication, it was stillunlikely to get many people reading it.There were several reasons for this.First of all, most of the print was tootiny for mature readers to read with-out a magnifying glass. In a spacethree and a half inches wide by one-inch deep, fifty-two words werecrammed closely together. The shopowner had probably provided the ad-vertiser with a list of services hewanted included in the ad. Ad salespeople just want to sell the ad. They’repractically never professional ad de-sign people, so they’ll cram anythinginto the ad the buyer says he wants.

There could have been morespace for showing the shop’s manyservices if half the ad hadn’t consistedof a huge photo of a late model newcar.

A quick glance at the ad (whichis all most people would give it)would suggest the ad was selling a latemodel vehicle. There was not even aslight indication that this car neededor had ever had collision repair. In thespace allocated to this vehicle, therecould have been two photos of thesame vehicle showing it before andafter repairs. Given the brief attentionspan of most people today, any photohas to tell the desired story veryquickly. A good choice of photos

might actually have compensated forthe poor quality of the print message.

The next problem with the adwas the choice of colors. The letteringspelling out the shop’s services wasred on a blue-black background. Re-verse type can be very effective, butunless the type is huge, only white oryellow or some tint in-between willstand out enough to be easy to read.Blue type would have been almost in-visible and the red wasn’t much bet-ter.

Ad composition has to take intoaccount the wide variety of peoplewho will read it. Older people willgenerally have a problem with smallprint. Men are often slightly color-blind. The colored type would be dou-bly difficult to read for an older manwho might be a likely prospect withan expensive vehicle to repair. Onemodification could make red, blue orgreen stand out on a dark background:That would be a slightly larger outlinetype in white or yellow behind the

darker lettering putting a bright out-line around each letter. But this is afairly complex type process, probablynot even known to this advertiser.Publications always send a copy of anad before printing it for the buyer toproofread. But shop owners are oftenrushed and would probably not takemuch more than a quick look at it. It’sunlikely this shop owner gave this admuch thought or looked it over at all.

Print advertising, whether onpaper or displayed in a website, must


www.porschedowntownla.com Service Hours: M-F 7:30 - 6:30; Sat 8 - 4

• Best Delivery Service (Twice Daily) to LA County• $500,000 Genuine Porsche Parts Inventory• 6,000 Numbers in Stock

OF DOWNTOWN LA

1900 S. Figueroa StreetLos Angeles, CA 90007Parts Manager: Marlon L.

Tel: (213) 748-4624 Fax: (213) 222-1278

• Best Delivery Service (Twice Daily) to LA County• $750,000 Genuine VW Parts Inventory• 8,000 Numbers in Stock

1900 S. Figueroa Street • Los Angeles, CA 90007Parts Manager: Carlos L.

www.vwdowntownla.com Service Hours: M-F 7:30 - 6:30; Sat 8 - 4

Direct: (213) 747-7246 • (213) 747-7247Fax: (213) 222-1272

AudiGenuine Parts

Audi of Downtown LA1900 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90007Tel: (213) 747-7248 Fax: (213) 222-1261

www.audiofdowntownla.comParts Manager: Fausto G.

Service Hours: M-F 7:30 – 6:30; Sat 8 - 4

Best Delivery Service (Twice Daily) to LA County$750,000 Genuine Audi Parts Inventory8,000 + Parts in Stock

Creating A Readable Advertising Piece

On Creative Marketingwith Thomas Franklin

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

The National Institute for AutomotiveService Excellence (ASE) announcedin December the officers for its Boardof Directors for 2012.Mike Phillips,V.P, Organizational Development,NAPA Auto Parts/Genuine PartsCompany, Atlanta, Ga., is Chairman;Rob Barto, Manager, TechnicalTraining Design, Nissan North Amer-ica, Franklin, Tenn., is Vice-Chair-man; Glenn Dahl, SeniorCoordinator, Technical Education,Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC,Bloomingdale, Ill., is Treasurer, andGreg Gaulin, Owner, Gaulin’s ofWilliamsville, N.Y., is Secretary.John Pfennig, Manager, Service Ed-ucation for Navistar, Inc. in War-

renville, Ill., serves as Past Chairman.“2011 was a milestone year for

the ASE certification program as wecompleted the move to our new com-puter-based testing (CBT) format,”said Tim Zilke, ASE President. “Theleadership and guidance of the ASEboard is vital to ensuring the ASE pro-gram keeps pace with our changingindustry. Through the outstandingcommitment of ASE’s all-volunteerboard and the support by the compa-nies that encourage such talented peo-ple to serve, ASE will continue tooffer our automotive professionals thehigh-quality credentialing programthey have come to expect.”

Also announced were newlyelected members to ASE’s Board ofGovernors, representing various seg-ments of the industry. The new Gover-nors are: Bobby Bassett, Manager ofTraining North America AutomotiveMarket, Gates Corporation, Ridgeland,Miss., and John Prosser, ManagerTechnical Training Operations, Amer-ican Honda, Torrance, Calif.

“I’d also like to take this oppor-tunity to thank our outgoing boardmembers for their service over theyears,” Zilke continued. Steppingdown as their terms expire are AlDuebber, President, Duebber’s Auto-motive Service, Inc., Cincinnati,Ohio; Joe Torchiana, President, OneStop Tire and Auto Service, Inc., WestChester, Pa., and Lori Blaker, Presi-dent, Technical Training Incorporated(TTi), Rochester, Mich.

“Each of these individuals volun-teered their time to serve on the ASEboard to the benefit of our industryand the thousands of automotive serv-ice professionals who proudly wearthe ASE Blue Seal. We thank them fortheir service and wish them continuedsuccess,” said Zilke.

The National Institute for Auto-motive Service Excellence was estab-lished in 1972 as a non-profitorganization to help improve the qual-ity of automotive service and repairthrough the voluntary testing and cer-tification of automotive techniciansand parts specialists. Today, there aremore than 360,000 ASE-certified pro-fessionals at work in dealerships, in-dependent shops, collision repairshops, auto parts stores, fleets, schoolsand colleges throughout the country.

For more information aboutASE, visit the ASE web site atwww.ase.com.

be instantly readable and provide acompelling reason for the reader to re-spond to the ad and come in for a serv-ice. A restaurant can send out a menulisting all of the selections they offer,but a list of a shop’s services isn’t anad—it’s a menu and belongs in abrochure, not an ad. Ad readers aremotivated by price, speed of service orquality. For a body shop, price is onlyrelevant for self-pay services, butspeed of service can be very impor-tant. The quality of a collision repair isassumed to be good if one’s insurancecompany is paying for it. When qual-ity is mentioned, the reader’s questionwill be, “Compared to what?”

To establish quality, an ad couldrefer to on-line reviews, prior cus-tomer comments or even just the

length of the shop’s warranty, butthese would require a much larger adthan one-by-three inches. When itcomes to print ads, less is more. Ifsomeone can be enticed to read an adwith fifty words or less (and that is al-ready doubtful), those words had bet-ter convince the reader that this is aunique shop, so significantly betterthan the competition that he or shewould be a fool to go anyplace else.


Crevier BMW

www.crevierbmw.com(714) 835-2025

Mon - Fri: 7:00 am - 7:00 pm Sat: 7:00 am - 6:00 pm Sun: 10:00 am - 6:00 pmParts Hours:

1500 Auto Mall Drive, Santa Ana, CA 92705www.crevierbmw.com

(800) 945.1618 Wholesale Direct(800) 945.1618 Wholesale Direct(714) 835.4359 Wholesale Direct Fax(714) 835.4359 Wholesale Direct Fax

CREVIER BMW

The most awarded BMW dealership inthe United States is here to help you withall your Original BMW Parts.

Experienced, Knowledgeable and Friendly Staff

5 Delivery Vehicles

$3,000,000 Parts Inventory means great partsavailability and quicker vehicle turn rate for you

Serving All of Orange County & Beyond

Kevin: [email protected]: [email protected]

— 2008 winner of BMW’s “Center of Excellence”.

Our parts. Your peace of mind.

BMWZ4 ‘10

ASE Announces New Officers, Governors for 2012

Search:


Beginning with the 2009 model yearFord F-150, the cab body mount boltsare secured with a cage nut. The cagenut is held in position inside a cage nutretainer that is attached to the insideof a floor crossmember.

The crossmember is attached tothe underside of the floor pan, whichcreates an enclosure for the cage nut.The retainer has two nut retainingtabs, one on each opposing side of thenut that are folded against the nut tohold it in place (see Figure 1).

In some instances, the cage nutmay spin when attempting to removeor install a body mount bolt. If the nutspins, it will have to be accessed and

secured in order to complete the boltremoval and the installation process.Accessing the Cage NutAccessing the cage nut will requiredrilling a hole from the top of the floor

pan at the cage nut location. Be care-ful not to drill into the cage nut re-tainer. Ford service informationspecifies using a 50 mm (2") hole sawfor this procedure (see Video atwww.i-car.com).

Accessing the drilling lo-cations on the floor pan willrequire removing certainparts, and pulling back thecarpeting. Depending on thecab style, parts that may re-quire removal include thescuff plate trim panel, con-sole, and seats.

The locations of the bodymount cage nuts vary de-pending on the F-150 cabstyle. Locations for the Regu-

lar Cab model will differ from thoseof the SuperCab and SuperCrew mod-els.

Locations for the SuperCab and Su-perCrew are the same (see Figure 2).Refer to the appropriate service infor-mation for the specific location andprocedure for drilling the hole.

Repair ConsiderationsThrough the drilled hole, locate the

cage nut retainer tabs andbend them upward toallow access to the cagenut (see Figure 3). Use asuitable tool to hold thecage nut and remove thebody mount bolt.

The cage nut maybe reused if the threads arenot damaged. If damaged,it must be replaced withthe correct part number(#78101C38). Ford serv-ice information warnsagainst using a standardnut as a replacement, as

this may result in damage to the vehi-cle.

The body mount bolts are one-time use, and must be replaced onceremoved. Be sure to replace these

bolts with the correct part number.The bolt part numbers vary depending

on the cab style. Torque the new boltsto 115 N•m (85 lb-ft).

A service plug (part #W651023-S300) is available to cover the holefollowing installation of the bodymount bolt.

ConclusionWhen attempting to remove the body

mount bolts on some Ford F-150 models, be aware thatthere may be situations whenthe cage nut may spin pre-venting removal of the bolt.

Removing the bodymount bolt will requireusing a hole saw to provideaccess to the cage nut inorder to secure it to pre-vent it from spinning whenturning the bolt. Locationsof the cage nuts vary de-pending on the F-150 cabstyle. Ford service infor-mation includes proce-

dures for locating and drilling theholes.

For comments or suggestions onthe Advantage Online, please contactI-CAR [email protected].


Accessing and Repairing Body Mount Cage Nuts for the Ford F-150

I-CAR TechThis 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.

Figure 1 - The body mount bolt cage nut is secured inposition inside a cage nut retainer by tabs that are foldedagainst the cage nut

Figure 2 - Shown are two of the body mount/cage nutlocations on the floor pan of this F-150 SuperCrew

Figure 3 - Shown is a cage nut retainer with the tabs bentupward allowing access to the cage nut

[email protected] us!write us!write us!

Give us your opinion on matters affecting the industry.

w


Original BMW Parts

bmwusa.com

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

BMWof EscondidoEscondido(800) 544-4269

BMWof PalmSpringsPalm Springs(760) 324-8314

BMWofSan DiegoSan Diego858-560-0268FAX (858) 277-7928

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

CenterBMWSherman Oaks(818) 990-9518

Crevier BMWSanta Ana(714) 835-2025

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

NewCenturyBMWAlhambra(626) 576-2867

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

Savage BMWOntario(800) 241-4269

South BayBMWTorrance(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


The Elite Group Collision Centers Acquires Firestone Auto Body inDowney, CA, Increasing Their Locations to EightThe Elite Group Collision Centers isa group of eight collision centers inthe Los Angeles, Orange County andPalm Springs area owned by MikeSalyards and Tim Mullahey.

Mike managed Cone CollisionCenter in Fullerton, CA, for 15 yearswhen Tim bought the dealership Conewas connected to, Cone Chevrolet—later changed to Mullahey Chevrolet.Tim and Mike decided to go into part-nership together starting with ConeCollision Center; and as they grewthey branded their group of collisioncenters under the Elite Group Brand,but kept the collision centers’ originalnames due to their great reputationsacquired over time.

Since going into partnership,Mike and Tim have bought sevenreputable collision centers. Over thepast 10 years they bought CrenshawCollision Center in Los Angeles,Prestige Too Autobody in Torrance,America’s Collision Center in Or-

ange, Harbor Collision and SignalHill Auto Body were combined intoPrestige Too Collision Center ofLong Beach, and most recently, Fire-stone Auto Body in Downey.

5 months ago the group alsowent into partnership withSteve Vettel of Pacific Col-lision Centers on a locationin Cathedral City. The groupalso has owned CentralCoast Collision in ArroyoGrande for several years butonly recently brought itunder the Elite Group branddue to its distance from therest of the locations. CentralCoast is located near SanLuis Obispo, CA.

“We take a lot of pride in thenames of our collision centers,” saidMike. The locations Elite Group hasacquired had great reputations intheir communities before beingbought by Elite Group, so they main-tained their original names and thustheir prestigious reputations, merelyadding the Group brand name as sup-port.

The group is able to see about1000 cars per month and grosses inexcess of 25 million per year. They

have about 165 employeesacross all locations thatwork on vehicles for severalinsurance companiesthrough DRPs.“There are very few Insur-ance Carriers we aren’taligned with,” said Mike, re-ferring to Direct Repair Re-lationships.Following in the footstepsof the original Cone Colli-

sion location, all of the locations ac-quired are large locations.

Cone Collision has remained thehub of the group’s locations, wherethey have a full Korean and Hispanicmarketing team in order to reach outto those communities near their loca-

tions. Mike’s daughter, Megan, runsthe marketing department for thegroup.

Being a family-oriented busi-ness, Mike’s two sons also work atthe Fullerton location; Travis hasbeen the General Manager there forabout 5 years and Michael “Cole” isa Service Advisor who handles theGEICO insurance account.

Tim also owns two Ford dealer-ships, one being Central Ford of LosAngeles. The dealership is a fewblocks away from Firestone AutoBody, so the group decided to buyFirestone in January of 2012 to serv-ice this dealership.

“We wanted a location to servicethat dealership and because of Fire-stone’s reputation we decided to ac-quire it,” said Mike.

Elite Group will keep Firestoneunder the same name that it has al-ways operated in order to keep theirexisting, faithful clientele.

The location is quite large, like

all of the other locations Elite Grouphas acquired, and is able to do about$400,000 in work each month with

22 employees.“We really take alot of interest inour employees,”said Mike. WhenElite acquires a lo-cations, they usu-ally keep mosteverything aboutthe business thesame, due to theiracquisition ofwell-established

locations. This includes most of thestaff. According to Mike, a lot of theemployees at Cone Collision havebeen there since he began there 17years ago.

“We take a lot of pride in havingsome of the best techs in the indus-

try,” said Mike.Elite Group also sends a lotof their employees to train-ing, mostly through CerritosCollege, a local junior col-lege.According to Mike, EliteGroup’s employees havebeen very successful inthose classes and they havebeen able to create some re-ally good, new employees.

The Elite Group’s employees alsomaintain their I-CAR Gold and Plat-inum statuses.

The Elite Group of CollisionCenters’ mission is to satisfy 100 per-cent of their customers, 100 percentof the time. According to Mike, theyachieve this goal by having the bestemployees working together with acommon purpose.

Cone Collision Center600 W. Commonwealth Ave.Fullerton, CA. 92832(714) 871-2545www.elitegroupcc.com

with Erica SchroederShop Showcase Erica Schroeder is assistant editor at Autobody News in Carlsbad, CA. She loves

to talk with owners about their shops and goings on in their areas. Contact herat [email protected], or 800-699-8251

Cone Collision Center in Fullerton, CA, was the first locationin the Elite Group of Collision Centers, it still remains thebusiness’ headquarters today

Cone Collision Center has a state of the art reception area

The Elite Group acquired Firestone Auto Body in Downey, CA, at thebeginning of 2012, in order to service their nearby dealership

Firestone Auto Body’s reception area

SCRS Responds to Article on Insurer Involvement in Setting RatesIn a letter released December 20th,2011, the Society of Collision Repair

Specialists (SCRS) provided commen-tary on an article written by USA

Today contributing editor,AdamBelz,and entitled, Auto body shops say they,

not insurers, should set costs.See SCRS, Page 40


NO. CALIFORNIADublin Kia

DublinWholesale Direct

(925) 828-8251(925) 829-2941 FaxM-F 7:00am - 6:00pmSat 8:00am - 4:30pm

Elk Grove KiaSacramento/Elk Grove(888) 244-3404(916) 753-1040(916) 753-1045 Fax

www.elkgrovekia.com

Momentum KiaVallejo

(707) 638-1825(707) 554-2637 Fax

[email protected] 8am - 5pmSat 8am - 3pm

San Leandro KiaSan Leandro

(510) 347-3010(510) 347-3003(510) 895-1027 FaxFree Local DeliveriesShipping Available

SO. CALIFORNIACar Pros Kia

CarsonToll Free

(800) 553-0940Parts Direct

(310) 221-9101(310) 816-9811 Parts Fax#1 Wholesale Dealer Serving

Southern California

Citrus KiaOntario

(800) 583-7042(909) 390-0948(909) 390-0982 Fax

[email protected] - Sat 7:00am - 6:00pmFree Local Delivery

Ask for Ike, Jimbo, Chris, Juan, Sean, JeffSe Habla Español

First KiaSimi Valley

1-888-531-4785(805) 306-1085 FaxFree Local DeliveryM-F 7:00am - 6:00pmSat 8:00am - 5:00pmSe Habla Español

Ask for David or Julio

Kia of El MonteEl Monte

(626) 450-0500(626) 443-9800 Fax

www.kiaofelmonte.comM-F 7:30am - 6pmSat 7:30am - 3pm

North County KiaEscondido

(760) 945-9939(866) 888-3074 [email protected]

www.northcountykia.comM-F 7am - 6pm

In San Diego Over 10 Years

Precise fit and finish, easy instal-

lation and a limited warranty

direct from KIA — all genuine

advantages of genuine KIA

parts.Your local KIA retailer

has all the parts you need.

Forty automotive professionals wererecognized on November 16, 2011, atthe Fall board meeting of the NationalInstitute for Automotive Service Ex-cellence (ASE) held at the MarriottCity Center in Charlotte, NC.

The annual awards banquet spot-lights top scorers on the ASE Certifi-cation Tests. Thirty differentcompanies from both OEM and After-market segments sponsored the indi-vidual technician recognition awardsin the Auto, Truck, Collision and Partscategories, along with three instructorawards. In addition to looking for topscores on ASE tests, award sponsorsexamine on-the-job excellence, com-munity service and other factors whenselecting honorees.

This year’s celebration in Char-lotte was enhanced by a visit from fiveformer Team ASE drivers, who vol-unteered their time to sign autographsand meet the award winners in person.NASCAR drivers Kasey Kahne,Jason Leffler and Mike Bliss werejoined by Ted Musgrave and JimmySpencer to help make the reception amemorable affair. In addition, there

were two new award sponsors thisyear, one being the first ever from themilitary, representing the US AirForce.

“ASE has been honoring the bestof the best in our industry for morethan 30 years, and this year we recog-nized forty outstanding individualsfrom all across the nation,” said Tim

Zilke, ASE President & CEO. “Wecouldn’t do this without the support ofour many award sponsors, whoseranks include some of the best-known

names in the industry. Theircommitment to excellenceis reflected in the talentedindividuals we recognizeeach year.”

The National Insti-tute for Automotive ServiceExcellence was establishedin 1972 as a non-profit or-ganization to help improvethe quality of automotiveservice and repair throughthe voluntary testing andcertification of automotivetechnicians and parts spe-cialists. Today, there aremore than 360,000 ASE-certified professionals atwork in dealerships, inde-pendent shops, collision re-

pair shops, auto parts stores, fleets,schools and colleges throughout thecountry. For more information aboutASE, visit the Web site atwww.ase.com.

ASE 2011 Award WinnersASCCA/ASE Master AutomobileTechnician of the Year: PatrickNicoll, Pat’s Automotive, Santa Maria,Calif.AYES/ASE Instructor of the Year:David White, Parkside High School,Willards, Md.BodyShop Business/ASE Master Coll.Repair & Refinish Tech of the Year:Michael Baker, Pro-Tech Collision,Pacific, Mo.Bridgestone Retail Operations/ASEMaster Automobile Tech of the Year:Noel Barnhart, Firestone CompleteAuto Care, Delmar, Iowa.Chrysler/ASE Master AutomobileTechnician of the Year: Scott Rosen-crantz, Garber Chrysler Dodge JeepRam, Flushing, Mich.Chrysler/ASE Master Collision Re-pair & Refinish Technician of theYear: Mike Hunkler, Larry HillisChrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, PoplarBluff, Mo.Delco Remy/ASE M/H Truck Electri-cal/Electronic Sys Tech of the Year:Joseph DeLap, Ryder, Dakota, Ill.Delmar Cengage Learning/ASE Auto-


SHINGLE SPRINGSSHINGLE SPRINGSSHINGLE SPRINGS

530.677.6528 FAX

SUBARUWholesale’s Our Business For Your Business

530.676.0444Call us Today!

4045 Wild Chaparral Dr.,Shingle Springs, CA 95682www.shinglespringssubaru.com

5

Hours: M-F 8:30 am - 5:30 pm / Sat 8 am - 5 pmHours: M-F 8:30 am - 5:30 pm / Sat 8 am - 5 pmHours: M-F 8:30 am - 5:30 pm / Sat 8 am - 5 pm H

• Professional and Knowledgeable Staff• FREE UPS Ground Freight• We Match or Beat All Competitor Coupons• Serving Northern California for Over 25 years• Mention This Ad for an Extra 5% Off

• Highly Experienced Parts Personnel• Highly Experienced Parts Personnel• No Order Too Big or Too Small• No Order Too Big or Too Small• Serving Northern California for Over 25 years• Serving Northern California for Over 25 years• Family Owned and Operated• Family Owned and Operated• Order Parts: [email protected]• Order Parts: [email protected]• Mention This Ad for an Extra 5% Off• Mention This Ad for an Extra 5% Off

• Highly Experienced Parts Personnel• No Order Too Big or Too Small• Serving Northern California for Over 25 years• Family Owned and Operated• Order Parts: [email protected]• Mention This Ad for an Extra 5% Off

NISSANWe Have The Parts You Need!

530.677.6528 FAX

SHINGLE SPRINGSSHINGLE SPRINGSSHINGLE SPRINGS

530.676.0444Call us Today!

4045 Wild Chaparral Dr.,Shingle Springs, CA 95682www.shinglespringsnissan.com

H Hours: M-F 8:30 am - 5:30 pm / Sat 8 am - 5 pmHours: M-F 8:30 am - 5:30 pm / Sat 8 am - 5 pmHours: M-F 8:30 am - 5:30 pm / Sat 8 am - 5 pm

GENUINE SERVICE & PARTS

40 Technicians Honored at ASE 2011 Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC

PHOTO CREDIT: ASE, ASE 2011 Technician AwardWinners: Top row: Steven Sass, Brad Dressen, KenPassmore, Adam Russell, Mike Hunkler, John Roderich. 4throw: Warren Butrim, Pat Nicoll, Kevin Treichel, AnthonyBausano, Scott Rosencrantz, Noel Barnhart, Andreas Miller.3rd row: Steven Ray, Collin Harris, John Gillies, Dan Walsh,Rob Bender, Neal Nuce, John Kasper. 2nd row: David White,Sandro Giordano, Alan Davis, Shawn Lehman, JesseBerryman, Rob McNees, Jack Harlan, Joseph DeLap, John,Wood, Glenn Ferrer. 1st row (seated): Joseph Londo, DanPratt, Joseph Young, Mike Baker, MSgt. Andrew Slater,Mike Byer, Leo Dufault, Andy Olson, Jeff Heinz, Mark Regan

mobile Technician of the Year:William Davis, JD Byrider, N. Balti-more, Ohio.Freightliner/ASE Master M/H TruckTechnician of the Year: Robert Mc-Nees, Jr., Truck Centers, Inc., MiddleBrook, Mo.Sterling/Western Star/ASE MasterM/H Truck Technician of the Year:Kevin Treichel, Don’s Truck Sales,Greene, Iowa.Gates/ASE Master Automobile & L1Technician of the Year: AndreasMiller, Stonum Automotive, Long-mont, Colo.GM/ASE Master Automobile Techni-cian of the Year: Jeffrey Heinz, Hen-drick Auto Mall, Apex, N.C.Honda/ASE Master Automobile Tech-nician of the Year: Joseph Londo,Bianchi Honda, Erie, Penna.Acura/ASE Master Automobile Tech-nician of the Year: Sandro Giordano,Acura of Turnersville, Blackwood,N.J.Identifix/ASE Aftermarket DrivabilityTechnician of the Year: Andy Olson,Courtesy Car Care, Holmen, Wisc.Midas International/ASE AutomobileTechnician of the Year: John GilliesIII, Midas Auto Service Experts, Lud-

ington, Mich.Mitchell 1/ASE Technician of the Fu-ture: Steven Ray, The AutomasterBMW, Essex Junction, Vt.Motor Age Training/ASE Master Au-tomobile & L1 Tech of the Year:Joseph Young, San Diego MiramarCollege, San Diego, Calif.NATEF/ASE Instructor of the Year:Bradley Dressen, Butte College, Or-land, Calif.Navistar/ASE Master M/H TruckTechnician of the Year: ShawnLehman, Tri County Motor Sales,Stoystown, Penna.Navistar/ASE Master School BusTechnician of the Year: KennethPassmore, Midwest Transit Equip-ment, Indianapolis, Ind.Navistar/ASE Parts Specialist of theYear: Adam Russell, Sr., GoodmanTruck & Tractor, Amelia, Va.Navistar/ASE Truck Paint & RefinishTechnician of the Year:Collin Harris,Int'l Truck Sales of Richmond, Man-quin, Va.Nissan/ASE Master Automobile Tech-nician of the Year:Glenn Ferrer, Nis-san of St. Augustine, Palm Coast, Fla.Infiniti/ASE Master Automobile Tech-nician of the Year: John Roderich,

Fields Infiniti of Glencoe, Phillips,Wisc.Pep Boys/ASE Master AutomobileTechnician of the Year:Mark Regan,Pep Boys, Walpole, Mass.Peterbilt/ASE Master M/H TruckTechnician of the Year: John Wood,Interstate Truck Center, Oakdale,Calif.PPG/ASE Master Refinish Technicianof the Year: Robert Bender, BenderAuto Repair, Saltsburg, Penna.Snap-on/ASE Master AutomobileTechnician of the Year: Jack HarlanIII, Harlan’s Auto Care, Canfield,OhioSnap-on/ASE Master Coll. Repair &Refinish Technician of the Year: NealNuce, Precision Collision Repair Cen-ter, Wake Forest, NCSnap-on/ASE Master M/H TruckTechnician of the Year: Steven Sass,Sr., A.N.D. Service, Inc., Carlstadt, NJStandox/ASE Refinish Technician ofthe Year: Daniel Walsh, Boch Colli-sion Center, West Bridgewater, Mass.Subaru/ASEMaster Automobile Tech-nician of the Year: Daniel Pratt,Flatirons Subaru, Firestone, Colo.TECH-NET Professional/ASE MasterAutomobile Tech of the Year:Michael

Byer, Mike Byer Auto & Truck Re-pair, Asheville, NC.Toyota/ASE Master Automobile Tech-nician of the Year: Warren Butrim,Koons Toyota of Annapolis, Arnold,Md.Toyota/ASE Master Coll. Repair &Refinish Technician of the Year:Leonel Dufault, Toyota of NorthDartmouth, Westport, Mass.Lexus/ASEMaster Automobile Techni-cian of the Year: Anthony Bausano,Lexus of Smithtown, Huntington, N.Y.USAF/ASE Technician of the Year:Msgt. Andrew Slater, Ramstein AirBase, Germany, US Air Force.Valvoline Career Tech/ASE Instructorof the Year: John Kasper, MillingtonHigh School, Memphis, Tenn.Volvo/ASE Master Automobile Tech-nician of the Year: Jesse BerrymanIII,Koons Volvo, Westminster, Md.


(818) 778-2090 FAXHOURS: M-F 7AM-6PM, SAT 8AM-5PM WWW.GALPIN.COM

OOOOOOOOONNNNNNNEEEEEE OOOOOOOFFFFFF SSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOUUUUUUUTTTTTTHHHHHHEEEEEERRRRRRNNNNNNN CCCCCCCCCAAAAAALLLLLLIIIIIIFFFFFFOOOOOOORRRRRRNNNNNNNIIIIIIAAAAAA’’’’SSSSSSS LLLLLLLLAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGEEEEEESSSSSSSTTTTTTLLLLLLARGESTL CCCCCCCCCOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIISSSSSSSIIIIIIOOOOOOONNNNNNN PPPPPPPPAAAAAARRRRRRTTTTTTSSSSSSS IIIIIIIINNNNNNNVVVVVVVEEEEEENNNNNNNTTTTTTOOOOOOORRRRRRIIIIIIEEEEEESSSSSSSONE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S LARGEST COLLISION PARTS INVENTORIES

5

5

210

405

27118

101 170

ROSCOE BLVD.

5

210

170

N

• 50,000 parts in stock and ready to ship• We do bulk buying so we can pass the savings

on to you• 16 professional parts associates ready to help you• 30 delivery trucks serving the San Fernando

Valley and surrounding areas• We ship around the U.S. and the world• Online ordering through OEConnection

— Call for details

We are authorized to sell Ford’sRecovered Original Equipment (ROE).

(866) 665-2365Call DIRECT

Wholesale HotlineGALPIN WHOLESALE7868 Orion Ave. • Van Nuys, CA 91406

u

FORD EXPEDITION ‘12

Search:



®

+++


Autowest Honda RosevilleRosev i l le

800-262-3201916-783-5628

Dept. Hours:M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-5:30

[email protected]

Avery Greene HondaVal le jo

800-834-8886707-551-3202

Dept. Hours:M-F 7:30-6; Sat 7:30-5

[email protected]

Barber HondaBakersf ie ld

661-396-4235Dept. Hours:M-F 8-5:30

[email protected]

Clawson HondaFresno

559-435-5000Dept. Hours:

M-F 8-5; Sat [email protected]

Galpin HondaMiss ion Hi l ls

800-GO GALPIN818-778-2005

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

[email protected]

Honda Cars of CoronaCorona

800-557-3652951-734-9045

Dept. Hours:M-Sat 7-5

[email protected]

Honda of OaklandOakland

510-547-8047Dept. Hours:

M-F 7-8; Sat 7-6

Honda Redwood CityRedwood Ci ty

650-364-1011Dept. Hours:

M-F 8-5:30; Sat [email protected]

Kolbe HondaReseda

800-735-1424818-609-7441

Dept. Hours:M-F 7:30-6; Sat 7:30-5

[email protected]

Larry Hopkins HondaSunnyvale

408-720-0221408-736-2608

Dept. Hours:M-Sat 8-5

[email protected]

Metro HondaMontc la i r

800-446-5697909-625-8960

Dept. Hours:M-F 7:30-5:30; Sat 7:30-4

[email protected]

Nelson HondaEl Monte

626-258-3494Dept. Hours:


Robertson HondaNorth Hol lywood800-508-3894818-301-3511


San Francisco HondaSan Francisco

415-913-5125Dept. Hours:M-F 8-5:30

[email protected]

Selma HondaSelma

800-717-3562559-891-5111

Dept. Hours:M-F 7-6; Sat 7:30-4:30

[email protected]

University HondaDavis

800-585-8648530-758-8770

Dept. Hours:M-Sat 8-6; Sun 8-5

[email protected]

Findlay HondaHendersonHenderson

888-234-4498702-568-3531


[email protected]

Bell HondaPhoenix

866-682-9802602-772-4159

Dept. Hours:M-F 7-6

[email protected]

Chapman HondaTucson

800-461-6744520-202-5770


[email protected]

Santan HondaChandler

800-765-1353480-285-2804

Dept. Hours:M-F 7-5:30; Sat 7-5

[email protected]

Showcase HondaPhoenix

800-537-8236602-230-7306

Dept. Hours:M-F 7-7; Sat 8-5; Sun 9-4

[email protected]

CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA ARIZONA

CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA NEVADA ARIZONA

The Honda and Acura Dealers Listed Here are Subscribers:HONDA

ACURA

Acura of PleasantonPleasanton

888-985-6342925-251-7126

Dept. Hours:M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-6

[email protected]

Metro AcuraMontc la i r

800-446-5697909-625-8960

Dept. Hours:M-F 7:30-5:30

[email protected]

Power Acura South BayTorrance

310-784-8647Dept. Hours:


Santa Monica AcuraSanta Monica

866-332-4950310-449-0064


[email protected]

Findlay AcuraHenderson

877-770-5873702-982-4160


[email protected]

Acura of PeoriaPeor ia

866-347-4507623-792-2559


[email protected]

Acura of TempeTempe

866-455-6601480-344-6703


[email protected]

ARIZONA

NEVADA

www.autobodynews.comwww.autobodynews.com

NEWSNEWSNEWSNEWSService, Diagnostic

and MechanicalService, Diagnostic

and Mechanicalcci Di ii Di iService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticS i i iService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticS i i igService, DiagnosticgService, DiagnosticService, Diagnosticg, DService, DiagnosticDService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticD cccccceeeeee sssoService, DiagnosticoService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticService, Diagnosticoaaa tttggg iiinnnnnnaaService, Diagnosticaiiiiiirrrvvv ga tSSS DService, DiagnosticggService, Diagnostic

nda dda dddddaaa ddanddnnnnnnaaanda daandddandd hanicalech n caMd Mec a calllhanical Mechanicali Mechanical Mechanical Mechanicalicnhecg

Mechg

MMd Md cccccceee aaaaaa lllaa Mechanicalaiiinnnnnnaa MechanicalahhhhhhMM Mechanical MechanicalM aaMMechanicalgService, Diagnostic

MechanicalddandService, Diagnostic

and MechanicalAutobody News February 2012CALIFORNIA • NEVADA • ARIZONA


Diamond Standard Announces “Security Shield” Extends Product Liability Protection to ShopsDiamond Standard Brand Parts hasannounced a program of extendingproduct liability protection to ap-proved collision centers free of chargeto address major concerns about lia-bility on parts.

Diamond Standard says its “Se-curity Shield” provides the collisioncenter leverage and protection againststructural parts usage demands into re-pair, the various levels of parts qual-ity which continues to exist,substitution of parts and the growingreality of aftermarket structural partsproduced by manufacturers with noU.S. assets or product liability cover-age putting the shop in the position ofbeing the “manufacturer” in a poten-tial lawsuit seeking damages due to apart defect or failure leading to seri-ous injury.

Program reaction has been highlypositive among the major associationswith the Automotive Service Associa-tion (ASA) and its collision membersbeing the first association to partici-pate in the program. ASA and Dia-mond Standard announced in Januarya strategic alliance based on ASAmember product liability protectionfrom Diamond Standard. This uniqueprogram underscores ASA’s focus onexacting standards for a complete andsafe repair, and provides clear and

meaningful evidence of DiamondStandard’s confidence in standing be-hind the highest quality parts and partspolicies. A unique website supportingthe strategic partnership and coveragebenefit will debut Feb. 1, 2012 pro-viding ASA members access to thefull program content including back-ground, coverage, a limited lifetimewarranty statement and a convenient“Certificate of Coverage” downloadfeature. The Diamond Standard Secu-rity Shield site will also debut Feb. 1,2012 (www.diamondstandardsecuri-tyshield.com).

The issue of shop liability andtimeliness of the Diamond StandardSecurity Shield program cannot be un-derstated and takes on greater impor-tance as evidenced by a feature storyearlier this week regarding shop lia-bility.

In the January 9, 2012 – Vol. 19addition of Crash Network(www.CrashNetwork.com) the featurestory “Liability Questioned” was pub-lished based on New Jersey shopowner Joe Lubrano’s expressed con-cern related to non-OEM parts.Specifically Mr. Lubrano posed thequestion of a shop being held respon-sible for diminished value or liabilityclaim if a non-OEM absorber, rein-forcement or hood does not function

properly in a subsequent accident,possibly causing body injury in a liti-gious society and called on the Colli-sion Industry Conference meeting thisweek to take this matter as seriouslyas he does. Diamond Standard Secu-rity Shield product liability protectionfirmly addresses Mr. Lubrano’s con-cerns.

Diamond Standard SecurityShield product liability protection intotal, represents $40 million in prod-uct liability coverage as added secu-rity to the collision center owneragainst the unlikely scenario of per-sonal vehicle-owner injury directly re-lated to the failure of new DiamondStandard parts in the repair manufac-tured by Reflexxion Automotive Prod-ucts or Production Bumper StampingsInc. $15 million in product liabilitycoverage is extended by the specificmanufacturing group member for itsDiamond Standard Brand Parts.

The incremental $25 million ispremiere coverage extended to ap-proved collision centers as co-insuredtotaling $40 million in total coveragedirected to quality, industry best prac-tice shop associations, DRPs, MSOs,facilitators and consolidators recog-nized by the industry as ordering andinstalling only the highest level qual-ity structural components.

“Giving back to the industryfront line is a central premise of Dia-mond Standard throughout the yearand pivotal piece in our developmentof a unique branding program ad-dressing the major issues in our in-dustry. To receive the honor anddistinction of ASA’s strategic partner-ship and support of Diamond StandardSecurity Shield validates the single-minded purpose of Diamond Stan-dard—not only manufacturing andmarketing the safest and highest qual-ity parts available, but also precisionparts using correct material, toolbuilding, stamping and process con-trols here in America,” said MikeO’Neal, President of Diamond Stan-dard Parts, LLC.

“It is Diamond Standard’s ‘Cul-ture of Quality’ that permeates its veryfabric with a commitment to the in-dustry of ‘One Quality of Manufac-turing’ consistency that separatesDiamond Standard from other Manu-facturers. It is the “One Quality” partmanufacturing commitment with USAassets in place that uniquely enablesDiamond Standard to provide the col-lision shop owner with the solutionand avoid risk due to the use of struc-tural parts from foreign manufacturersoffering no product liability protec-tion.”

West Virginia v. Liberty Mutual Salvage Parts Lawsuit Moved to Federal CourtA lawsuit alleging that insurance com-pany Liberty Mutual implementedpolicies that called for body shopowners to repair new vehicles using“junkyard” parts has been moved tofederal court. State Attorney GeneralDarrell McGraw filed the lawsuitagainst Liberty Mutual and St. Albansbody shop ownerGreg Chandler lastmonth, alleging that the body shopfollowed an illegal insurance policy toinstall used or aftermarket crash partson vehicles manufactured within threeyears of the date of the crash.

The West Virginia Attorney Gen-eral’s office calls it an effort to “buytime” in the lawsuit brought by thestate’s Attorney General against it andone of its DRPs—Greg Chandler’sFrame & Body LLC (Greg’s Body

Shop)—over the use of salvage partsmoved to federal court. The changeforced the cancellation of a hearing inwhich a circuit court judge could haveordered Liberty Mutual to temporar-ily discontinue the practice of callingfor the use of salvage parts on vehiclesthree years old or newer, a violation ofstate law (which similarly prohibitsthe use of non-OEM parts on such ve-hicles without the owner’s consent).

Attorneys for Liberty Mutual ar-gued the case belongs in federal courtbecause they say it involves issues re-lated to the federal Magnuson-MossWarranty Act. West Virginia AttorneyGeneral McGraw sued Liberty MutualInsurance Company and Greg’s BodyShop, for repairing vehicles with sal-vage parts in violation of state law.

Attorney General McGraw’s suit, filedin the Circuit Court of KanawhaCounty, details repeated violations ofthe West Virginia Consumer Creditand Protection Act by Liberty Mutualand Greg’s Body Shop. McGraw’s of-fice alleges that Liberty Mutual re-quired body shops to repair vehicleswith reconditioned, remanufactured,and used parts in violation of West Vir-ginia law. In addition, Liberty Mutualfailed to provide the proper notices andwritten statements to consumers.

In West Virginia, it is unlawfulfor an insurance company to requirethe use of salvaged, used, or recondi-tioned OEM crash parts when negoti-ating repairs of motor vehicles withinthree years of manufacture, withoutacquiring the motor vehicle owner’s

consent. McGraw’s office began in-vestigating Liberty Mutual and Greg’sBody Shop after receiving evidencethat new vehicles were being repairedwith “junkyard parts.” The investiga-tion by McGraw’s Consumer Protec-tion Division confirmed that LibertyMutual employed a policy that vio-lated state law. McGraw’s lawsuit asksthe court to enjoin the defendantsfrom engaging in this unlawful activ-ity in the future, seeks restitution forconsumers whose cars were illegallyrepaired with “junkyard” crash parts,and asks for civil penalties.

Consumers who think they havebeen a victim of Liberty Mutualshould contact Attorney General Dar-rell McGraw’s consumer protectionhotline at 1-800-368-8808.


Charlie comes in every now and then.I guess you could say he’s a regularbut I think I would call him more ofan opportunist when it comes to hiscar repairs. He’ll go to an oil changeplace for oil changes, a tire shop fortires, a transmission shop for trans-mission, so on and so on. If there isan opportunity to get his car into ashop he’ll make an appointment andget it in. But, the one thing he seemsto always use me for is the check en-gine light.

Normally, most people don’t paythat much attention to the check en-gine light unless it’s staying on. NotCharlie, he’s absolutely paranoid itwill come on and stay on.

Somehow, some way somebodyhas told him that the check enginelight is not a warning of a problemwith the exhaust emissions or relatedengine/transmission problems but theprecursor to a ticking bomb that will

bring an end to his ride of rides. It’sas if the check engine light is the trig-ger to the doom and gloom of his car.

At times, Charlie thinks the checkengine light has stayed on a longerthan it should when he starts it up inthe morning. This prompts an imme-diate phone call and a trip to the repairshop. With all these trips he’s seen meuse several different code readers,scanners, O-scopes, and laptops that Ihave at my disposal to check codesand related engine systems.

There’s times I think he justwants to see what new gadget I’ve gotthat I can hook up to his car. The morebells and whistles I throw out therethe more he seems to show up withanother reason for me to recheck hiscar. He can probably name a bunch ofthe scanners that I’ve used, seriously,he’s been to the shop that many times.

Sometimes I wish he would takeup antique car collecting; go buy

something old enough that it doesn’thave a check engine light in it and seeif he gets the idea that the entire uni-verse doesn’t revolve around a serv-ice light. It’s not like he doesn’tremember cars without check enginelights he just doesn’t seem to under-stand that a car can operate withoutone anymore. Why he’s even told meabout an old car he drove while hewas in college that leaked oil so badthat he had to keep a can or two withhim at all times. Talk about somethingthat sounds like it was on the verge ofdoom and gloom, also sounds like thetypical college kids car.

So you would think he wouldhave some understanding of the innerworkings of the automobile, but ap-parently once the service light cameinto the everyday vocabulary his un-derstanding has wasted away just likethe oil in that old car from college.

I’ve tried to explain to him about

the meaning of the service light andabout the various reasons for it tocome on but it just doesn’t seem tosink in. I’m hoping the day nevercomes that his old car actually doesturn on the check engine light, be-cause if it did he’d probably worryhimself all the way to a coronary andhe would have to have the car towedin while I’d have to make a call to 911and have him towed to the emergencyroom. Of course I hope that neverhappens, but with him I could seesomething along those lines.

I generally let him watch thescanners do their work or have himwatch a graph while I check thingsunder the hood. The other day he wasconcerned about his O2 sensors andwanted to know if they were workingcorrectly because he thought he sawthe check engine light pop on andthen go right back off. There were no

Check Engine Light Paranoiawith Gonzo Weaver

Gonzo’s Toolbox 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].

See Check Engine, Page 39


Hitting the Streets with the G & C Auto Body Meter Beatersby Ed Attanasio

It all began 20 years ago as a knee-jerkreaction to a bad experience with aparking meter maid, but today it hasbeen lauded as a successful social ex-periment while evolving into a highlyeffective viral marketing endeavor.The G & C Meter Beaters are a SantaRosa, California, based creation of

Gene Crozat, the owner of G & CAuto Body, with seven locations in theNorthern Bay Area, with an eighthopening in June.

During the 10 days right beforeChristmas, the G & C Meter Beaterssave drivers from getting parkingpenalties by feeding their meters be-fore the City of Santa Rosa’s parkingenforcement officers are able to nail

them with a $33 parking ticket. It’s aprogram that Crozat began when hewas upset over what he felt was an un-fair parking ticket he received twodecades ago.

“I was rushing back to my carafter shopping and the meter maid was

sitting there waiting for the meter toexpire,” Crozat said. “She saw mecoming, but she gave me the ticketanyway. I was really mad, so I went tothe bank and got a bunch of quarters.I told my kids—get out there and putmoney in all these meters before theyexpire. That’ll show ‘em.”

But brilliant ideas don’t alwaysgain traction overnight and the Meter

Beaters were a prime ex-ample. To say that thepowers-that-be in SantaRosa weren’t enamoredwith Crozat’s idea was amajor understatement.“They threatened mykids and told them ‘yourdaddy is going to jail’, ”Crozat explained. “Theydidn’t like the fact thatwe were stopping peoplefrom getting parkingtickets and said we wereinterfering with their op-eration. The mediaflocked to the story andpretty soon the citybacked off.”

Over the years, Crozat and hisMeter Beaters have touched manylives positively, he said. “Once peopleget our flyers on their windshieldstelling them they’ve just saved themfrom a parking ticket, they’re sothrilled they send us money, which wedonate to charity. I have some incred-ible letters here from people, includ-ing one gentleman who thought hewas getting a ticket when he returnedto his car after being at the hospital.His doctor had just informed him thathe was dying, so when he saw theticket it really hit him hard. But, thenwhen he realized there was no ticket,it made his day. Here was a guy withtragic news, probably still in shock,but avoiding that parking ticket was abig deal for him.”

When people return to their vehi-cles and see something on their wind-shield resembling a parking ticketthey’re obviously upset, but insteadthey get this little holiday greetingfrom the Meter Beaters of G & C AutoBody:

While you shoppedThe Meter Maid stoppedTo give you a Christmas TreatThe price of this giftCould cause you a fitAs well as a present so neat

The G & C ElvesThought your rage could be shelvedIf the system could just be beatSo we put in a dimeTo add to your timeAnd keep that maid in her jeep.Your expired meter was paid for by:G & C Auto Body “Meter Beaters”Happy Holidays

To see the Meter Beaters in action forourselves, we walked around down-town Santa Rosa with them onesunny, warm December afternoon.The crew consisted of eight highschool students earning extra moneyduring the holidays.

By skillfully feeding electronicparking machines and distributing thevouchers on cars whose time wasabout to expire, The Meter Beaterstake their jobs seriously. Just ask theleader of the pack, Johnny Reguera,who runs G & C’s towing division andoversees the Meter Beaters effortsevery holiday season.

“We get better at this every year,”Reguera explained. “It’s an art formactually. With the old parking meters,it was all about feeding coins intothem and now we have to pay for thevouchers and continually check thetimes. But, it works well and we knowthat we’re saving shoppers and resi-dents from getting parking tickets.Some people know when we’re com-ing, so they don’t pay for their park-ing during that time. They know we’regoing to beat the meter, so they relyon us. I wouldn’t recommend it, but itseems to work for some.”

As we observed the Meter Beat-ers in action, we encountered severalpeople right after avoiding a parkingticket, courtesy of G & C. A shopper

named Odessa J. was upset and hold-ing what she thought was a parkingticket in her hand when she ap-proached us. When Reguera told herto look again, she screamed out injoy. Would you now take your car toG & C if you get in an accident, weasked her? “Definitely,” she ex-claimed. “What a nice thing for themfor do, especially during the holi-days!” And that was pretty much thesame thing we heard from every onewe ran into.Toni Guanella is the Manager of

Parking for the City of Santa Rosa.She explained that at one time the citywasn’t happy with Crozat’s MeterBeaters, but now they embrace themfor obvious reasons. “We love them,because in the end it brings moremoney to the city. With a staff of justfive, we can’t catch everyone. I knowthere may have been some issues withthe Meter Beaters in the past, but nowwe appreciate it and never interfere.By filling these meters before they ex-pire, we’re getting a boost in revenue

for Santa Rosa. I know they spend alot of time and money on this project,but in the end the goodwill pays off,I’m sure. I tell my people to stay outof the Meter Beaters’ way and let themdo their jobs. I know that people intown anticipate it every holiday sea-son and we do too, honestly.”

Do the G & C Meter Beatersmake a difference in Santa Rosa everyyear, we asked Chief JohnnyReguera? “No doubt about it,” he said.“I can tell by the smiles and thewarmth we get from people right afterwe’ve saved them a ticket. It’s notcheap doing this—we’re going tospend around $10,000 this year—butfor us, it’s worth every quarter…ordime!”

The Meter Beaters (from left) include Brendan Harris, MB ChiefJohnny Reguera, Monique Grayson, her son Jerome Graysonand Dawn Marie Vance, as they hit the streets of Santa Rosa,Calif. every holiday season for 10 days to pay for people’s park-ing and avoid parking tickets

One of the proud Meter Beaters is Dawn MarieVance, whose father works for one of G & CAuto Body’s shops

Steve P. from San Francisco happily displayshis parking voucher, purchased on his behalfby the Meter Beaters, sponsored by G & CAuto Body in Santa Rosa

Meter Beater Brendan Harris purchases parkingvouchers to distribute them on car windshieldsthroughout downtown Santa Rosa, Calif.

Due to continually increasing autosales since the government autobailouts in 2009 have spurred growthand optimism with US automakers.According to the Los Angeles Times,the U.S. auto industry plans to addthousands of jobs this year. Foreignautomakers are also suspected tobuild more U.S. factories due to un-stable economies overseas.

“The yen, the euro, all the cur-rencies that affect the manufacturers’balance sheets, except for the dollar,are in flux. So the only way to hedgeis to build where you sell,” RebeccaLindland, an analyst with IHS Auto-motive, said to the Los AngelesTimes.

Mercedes-Benz announced thecompany would add about 1,500 jobsat plants in the Carolinas this year inearly January. Ford Motor Co. andChrysler Group also announced plansto add hundreds of workers to theirMichigan, Kentucky and Illinoisplants.

Audi executives have also talkedabout building a factory in the U.S.,possibly at the Volkswagen complex

in Chattanooga, Tenn. Audi is also ru-mored to be mulling sites for its ownNorth American manufacturing plantbeyond parent Volkswagen’s factoryin Chattanooga, Tennessee, AudiCEO Rupert Stadler told a Germannewspaper.

Audi plans to grow substantiallyin North America and building itsown production facility is part of thatstrategy, Stadler told the paper. “It isnot a question of if, but only ofwhen,” he said. Nissan is in theprocess of adding about 1,000 work-ers in Tennessee as it gears up for pro-duction of the Leaf electric vehicleand its batteries, as well as newPathfinder and Infiniti SUVs.

Automakers sold an estimated12.8 million vehicles in 2011, a 10.3percent increase from 2010 and thehighest numbers since 2008. Au-tomakers expect sales to reach about13.8 million in 2012.

As recently as a decade ago, theindustry employed about 1 millionworkers. It then fell into a steady de-cline that included layoffs of 200,000workers during the 2008 and 2009 re-

cession. At the industry’s lowest itemplyed about 550,000 manufactur-ing workers.

Hiring has started to climb backslowly in the past two years, and nowthe research center forecasts employ-ment will top 750,000 by 2015.


Miles ahead withMiles ahead withMiles ahead with$850,000 inventory...$850,000 inventory...$850,000 inventory...

Surf with us for a GreatSurf with us for a GreatDeal on Collision Parts!Deal on Collision Parts!Surf with us for a GreatDeal on Collision Parts!

Surf with us for a GreatSurf with us for a GreatDeal on Collision Parts!Deal on Collision Parts!Surf with us for a GreatDeal on Collision Parts!

3940 Cherry Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807

1-888-489-50011-888-489-5001TollTollFreeFree

FaxFax 562-426-3550562-426-35501-888-489-5001Toll

Free

Fax 562-426-35503940 Cherry Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807

1-888-489-50011-888-489-5001TollTollFreeFree

FaxFax 562-426-3550562-426-35501-888-489-5001Toll

Free

Fax 562-426-3550

Miles ahead inMiles ahead inMiles ahead incustomer service...customer service...customer service...

Ask for Tee or Bill3 delivery trucks serving South Bay, L.A.,

Orange County — Irvine to Brea

[email protected]

M-F 7-6, Sat 8-4 (No Delivery)

Ask for Miguel or Dana3 delivery trucks serving South Bay, L.A.,

Orange County — Irvine to Brea

[email protected]

M-F 7-6, Sat 8-4 (No Delivery)

Forester ‘11

Passat CC ‘11

The Collision Industry ElectronicCommerce Association (CIECA)Board of Trustees has elected the fol-lowing officers for the year 2012:● Chair – Denise Caspersen, Auto-motive Service Association● Vice Chair – Troy Weaver,DuPont Performance Coatings● Treasurer – Paul Barry, Perform-ance Claims● Secretary –Kathy Goddard, Safe-lite Corporation

Each of these officers will serve onthe Executive Committee, which over-sees CIECA business matters betweenboard meetings and maintains theBoard’s agenda.Michael Lloyd, Cali-fornia Casualty Management Company,will assume the title of Past Chair on theCIECA Executive Committee.

More information about CIECAcan be viewed on the CIECA website: www.cieca.com.

CIECAAnnounces New Boardof Trustees for 2012

Automakers Forecasted to Add Thousands of Plant Manufacturing Jobs Over the Next 3 Years

Advertise in ourCLASSIFIED SECTIONfor $50 per column

inch!

[email protected]

Place an ad in ourAUTOBODY

MARKETPLACEsection of

Autobody News.



codes stored and I asked him if it hap-pened when he first started it or afterdriving several miles. It was while hewas driving for a bit and not when itfirst started.

“What difference does thatmake?” he asked.

I then explained to him abouthow the heater circuit operated towarm up the sensor and what the sen-sor actually did in relation to the fuelmixture. This only made him evenmore curious to what they did.

“Watch this Charlie. I’ll graphthe O2 sensors here on this scope andI’ll show you the front sensor and itscorresponding rear sensor. You’ll seethe voltage changes on the screen aswell as the differences between thefront and rear sensors at the same timeon the screen,” I told him.

“Fascinating, simply fascinat-ing,” he said, “But I don’t see howthat translates to fuel?”

The more I explained the more heseemed to be lost. He still seemed tobe more concerned about what was

going to happen with that check en-gine light.

I kept up with the explanationuntil I got to the point where he wasjust staring off into space and lost in-terest in me, the check engine lightand the little graph moving up anddown on the screen.

I don’t know if he ever under-stood a thing I said, or for that matterhas reconsidered the importance ofthe check engine light. All I know isthat at some point in time somebodyis going to tell him something stupidregarding the check engine light andhe’ll make another trip to the shopand watch the fascinating little linesbounce around on my scope screen.

No matter what I say, no matterwhat I do, old “Check Engine Char-lie” will still listen to some B.S. fromsomebody out there and then headover to my shop for another diagnos-tics that will amount to nothing.Maybe I need to come up with myown B.S. to counteract what everyoneelse keeps telling him.

I guess it comes down to the oldsaying: If ya can’t dazzle them withbrilliance, buffalo them with a littlebull.


(818) 778-2090 FAXHOURS: M-F 7AM-6PM, SAT 8AM-5PM WWW.GALPIN.COM (818) 778-2090 FAXHOURS: M-F 7AM-6PM, SAT 8AM-5PM WWW.GALPIN.COM

(866) 665-2365Call DIRECT

Wholesale HotlineGALPIN WHOLESALE7868 Orion Ave. • Van Nuys, CA 91406

5

5

210

405

27118

101 170

ROSCOE BLVD.

5

210

170

N

OOOOOOOONNNNNNEEEEE OOOOOOFFFFF SSSSSSSSOOOOOOUUUUUUTTTTTHHHHHEEEEERRRRRNNNNNN CCCCCCCCAAAAALLLLLIIIIIFFFFFOOOOOORRRRRNNNNNNIIIIIAAAAA’’’SSSSSS LLLLLLLAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGEEEEESSSSSSTTTTTLLLLLARGESTL CCCCCCCCOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLIIIIISSSSSSIIIIIOOOOOONNNNNN PPPPPPPAAAAARRRRRTTTTTSSSSSS IIIIIIINNNNNNVVVVVVEEEEENNNNNNTTTTTOOOOOORRRRRIIIIIEEEEESSSSSSONE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S LARGEST COLLISION PARTS INVENTORIES

• 50,000 parts in stock and ready to ship• We do bulk buying so we can pass the savings

on to you• 16 professional parts associates ready to help you• 30 delivery trucks serving the San Fernando

Valley and surrounding areas• We ship around the U.S. and the world• Online ordering through OEConnection

— Call for details

s

you MAZDA CX9 ‘12

Continued from Page 35

Check EngineIn keeping true to their motto, “Dri-ving the Future for Women in Colli-sion Repair,” the WIN NominatingCommittee is now accepting applica-tions for seats on the WIN Board.

The Board consists of various in-dustry segments including but notlimited to: shop owners, jobbers, sup-pliers, consultants, paint companiesand insurance companies. Aside fromthe WIN annual Conference in Mayvolunteer WIN Board members worktogether to foster an environment thatencourages the education, recruit-ment, retention and networking ofwomen in the collision repair indus-try.

“Within a short time, theWomen’s Industry Network hasgrown in size, produced informa-tive and motivational events, andbecome a recognized industry asso-ciation through volunteer efforts,industry sponsorships and the en-thusiasm of the WIN membership.WIN is all volunteer. Volunteeringfor the WIN Board is an outstand-ing opportunity to have a presentand future influence on our indus-try. If you are motivated to “drivethe future for women in collisionrepair, apply for the WIN Board.”said Denise Caspersen, of ASA,

chair of the WIN Nominating Com-mittee.

The deadline for applications isFebruary 24, 2012. For application re-quirements and further details goto womensindustrynetwork.com.Completed applications should bemailed or PDF copy emailed to WINNominating Committee; c/o ASA –Denise Caspersen; 8190 Precinct Line,Suite 100, Colleyville, Texas 76034.For further information please contactDenise Caspersen, phone: (817) 514-2906; email: [email protected]

To find out how you can be-come involved and support WIN orfor information on becoming amember or sponsor of WIN, pleasecontact Victoria Jankowski [email protected] or Jeanne Silver [email protected].

WIN is also offering scholar-ships to female collision industrystudents, instructors and shop em-ployees to attend its 2012 confer-ence May 6-8 in Atlanta.

Scholarship applications mustbe submitted through mail byMarch 9. Visit womensindustrynet-work.com for additional details onscholarship requirements and theapplication mailing process.

Women’s Industry Network Accepting 2012 Board Applications


When the repair industry (later thanmost) finally moved into the 21st cen-tury and started writing estimates bycomputer, shops and insurance com-panies alike likened computerized es-timating to the advent of the washingmachine. Why a washing machine?

Some of you might be oldenough to remember the days ofwashing your clothes by hand. Al-though I never had the pleasure, I re-call my parents talking about thepainstaking process of washingclothes in a bucket when they werekids. It was an arduous process thatconsumed a lot of your time if you didit right.

I did write estimates by hand andI can assure you that it too was a longpainful process. What made handwrit-ten estimates worse was having to goback and try to translate what youscribbled while clutching a clipboard.

If you are a member of Genera-tion X or Y (or any other letter of thealphabet), you probably can’t relate tothese old-man war stories. That said,I will try to offer a correlation you canappreciate. That’s what we’re sup-posed to do with the younger genera-tion, right? Entertain them and cater tothem and give them a ribbon just forparticipating even if they finished inlast place. So for them: Handwrittenestimates is like having to get up andchange the channel on the TV becauseyou can’t find the remote control.

If you read the title you probablyare wondering what legislation andthe Bible have to do with this article?Well, the Bible is exactly the term re-pairers often use to affectionately referto the estimating guides. Ooops, Imean estimating systems.

If you didn’t understand my at-tempt at sarcasm, then reread the lastsentence. Repairers affectionately re-ferring to the “estimating systems” as

the Bible is my best impression of adisheveled body shop owner who isn’tgetting paid enough to repair a vehi-cle. Let’s be honest: Have you evercomplained about an adjuster holdingthe line on a labor time because that’swhat the estimating system says it is?If I had a nickel for every time a shopcomplained to me about one of mystaff upholding the estimating sys-tems’ labor time, I would already be

retired. (Don’t worry: I won’t be ableto retire for a few more years, whichtranslates into more Insider articles foryour reading pleasure.)

When there is a conflict about thelabor time on an estimate, the Biblebecomes the deciding factor. The HolyEstimating System tells shops and in-surers an approximate time to com-plete a specific repair operation. If theshop wants more time, the adjustersays no. Why? Because the estimatingsystem says so. Do you question thealmighty written word?

Shops hate insurance companiesfor holding the line on the time for aspecific labor operation because

everyone knows it’s just a guide. Eventhe estimating system providers willtell you that they produce merely aguide and not the word of God. Insur-ers should be working with the shopsto discuss and negotiate discrepanciesinstead of hiding behind scripture.

But for every shop who insistsit’s a guide and not the Bible (andcomplaining when it’s used againstthem), others are saying the same

thing but talking out of both sides oftheir mouths. How? Through legisla-tion.

That’s right. Over the past severalyears, shops in some states haveworked fervently to legislate the guideas the Bible. The thing that repairerscurse and despise is actually being putinto law in a few states. Is this thework of a evil genius, a mad scientistor just short-sighted repairers? If wewere on American Idol, I would beasking you to text 3 to vote for short-sighted repairers.

Under some state legislation, theestimating system will serve as thefinal answer to all questions and dis-

crepancies. The legislation states thatone can’t deviate from the informationprovided in the estimating system.

Why would anyone want to man-date legislatively something that isonly a guide, especially consideringthe information about inaccurate labortimes in the guides that has beenbrought to light in the past few years?There are examples of labor times thateventually have been increased by asmuch as 100 percent from the originaltimes in the guide.

Why would repairers do this tothemselves? If you were on FamilyFeud, Richard Dawson would shout,“The survey says: The P-Pages.”

Repairers are fighting back. Theyhave grown tired of being told by in-surers that they don’t pay to mask thedoor jambs or any other non-includedlabor operation. You can almost hearone repairer saying, “Dammit, wewant our 0.2 to mask the jambs,” oranother one stating, “You can’t pickand choose what you want to pay for!”

Their answer to all of this mad-ness: We’ll legislate the use of the es-timating systems. Now insurers willhave to pay us exactly what’s in theestimating system. I could swear I’mwatching, “Shop Owners Gone Wild.”

I offer these words of advice afterdecades of committed service to theinsurance industry: Be careful whatyou ask for, because you just mightget it. You can legislate adding pen-nies to your estimates and lose dollarsin the process.

Instead, advocate for getting paidfor what you do. Don’t advocate leg-islating something that is as accurateas the last estimate you wrote only tohave to add a $3,000 supplement.

Got a comment or question you’dlike to see the Insider address in a fu-ture column? Email him at [email protected].

Legislating the “Bible” Not the Answer for Shops Tired of Being Told “No”with The Insurance Insider

Inside Insurance 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]

The letter from SCRS counterspoints raised in the initial article, andprovides information supporting theassertion that the property & casualty

insurance industry’s direct influenceover collision repair market pricing,has impacted both the consumer andthe small businesses that make up thecollision repair industry. Several keycomponents of the letter identify that:● Property and casualty insurance car-riers have become increasingly in-

volved in activities that extend beyondthe business of insurance, while inter-jecting themselves into collision repairbusiness activities.● The responsibility to compensate forfair and reasonable costs of the loss issignificantly different than definingwhat is fair and reasonable.

● Average gross collision appraisal val-ues have remained stagnant comparingthe first and third quarters of 2009,2010 and 2011, and older data indicatesthat the average appraisal value has re-mained flat for at least the last 7 to 8years; meanwhile, consumer auto in-

See SCRS, Page 44


SCRS


When it comes to Ford GenuineParts, go with a winning team.

Use Genuine Ford Parts for yourcustomers late model Ford,Lincoln and Mercury vehicles.

You're always guaranteedthat they will �t right the�rst time, every time.

Take it to the End Zone.Take it to the End Zone.

Call your local AuthorizedFord Wholesaler today!

with our Genuine Ford Parts

Ranger 2011

es.

d

SO. CALIFORNIA NO. CALIFORNIA

Airport MarinaFord

LOS ANGELES888-590-6622

310-306-2899 [email protected]

Antelope Valley FordL ANCASTER

Wholesale Parts Dept.661-945-0881

661-945-3501 Faxwww.avford.com

[email protected]

Bob Wondries FordALHAMBRA

Wholesale Direct888-238-5415


Buerge FordWEST LOS ANGELES310-820-1431

310-826-0221 Fax

Citrus FordONTARIO

909-390-0948909-390-0982 Fax

[email protected]

Colley FordGLENDORA

Wholesale Parts877-441-3673

909-592-8577 FaxE-mail your [email protected]

Drew FordL A MESA

800-648-7431619-668-7765

619-668-7719 Faxwww.drewauto.com

Fairview FordSAN BERNARDINOWholesale Direct909-386-0220

909-889-1741 Fax

Ford of MontebelloMONTEBELLOWholesale Direct888-566-5240


Future Fordof Clovis

CLOVIS800-350-2552

559-294-0816 Fax

Fritts FordRIVERSIDE

951-343-7556951-687-3044 [email protected]

Galpin FordVAN NUYS

818-778-2005818-778-2090 Fax

Kearny PearsonFord

SAN DIEGO858-560-5033800-635-6669

858-560-9648 FaxLargest wholesaler in SanDiego with 17 delivery trucks.

Ken Grody FordCARLSBAD

760-438-2892760-431-0803 [email protected]

Pacific FordLONG BEACH800-353-7224


Palm Springs MotorsCATHEDRAL CITY760-328-7149

760-328-5092 Fax

Super FordLincoln Mercury

(Formerly Puente Hills Ford)CITY OF INDUSTRY800-965-1055


Tuttle-Click FordLincoln Mercury

IRVINE949-472-5230

949-472-0327 Fax

Vista Ford LincolnMercuryOXNARD

Wholesale Direct805-983-4551

805-278-0554 Fax

Worthington FordLONG BEACH800-622-4225562-421-4033


Harrold FordSACRAMENTO916-922-8355


Serramonte FordCOLMA

Wholesale Parts Dept. Phone:650-301-7190

Wholesale Parts Dept. Fax:650-301-7087

www.serramonteford.com

Sunnyvale FordLincoln Mercury

SUNNYVALE408-738-1530

408-738-3125 Faxwww.fordautodirect.com

The Ford Store ofSan LeandroSAN LEANDRO800-690-6906

510-347-4160 Fax

Walnut Creek FordWALNUT CREEK925-932-2901

925-937-7460 Fax

Ford CountryHENDERSON702-558-8100

702-566-7037 Faxwww.fordcountrylv.com

Friendly FordL AS VEGAS

702-877-6546702-870-6280 Fax

Gaudin FordL AS VEGAS

702-796-2762702-792-5370 Fax

Berge FordMESA

480-497-7660480-497-7581 [email protected]

Camelback FordLincoln Mercury

PHOENIX602-248-8396

602-240-5645 Fax

Chapman FordSCOT TSDALE480-946-3900

480-949-7617 Fax

Earnhardt FordCHANDLER

480-763-6233480-783-4655 Faxwww.earnhardtford.com

Power FordNorth Scottsdale

SCOT TSDALE480-998-0652

Sanderson FordGLENDALE

800-367-3673623-842-8762

623-842-8799 Faxwww.sandersonparts.com

ARIZONA

NEVADA

NO. CALIFORNIA

ARIZONA

These dealers are Genuine Ford Parts wholesale specialists.

Make us your one-stop shop today!

This month’s distinctive dealer isSouth Motors Automotive Group inMiami, Florida. This dealer servicesHonda, BMW, VW, Suzuki, Mazda,Mini, and Infiniti. Parts managerMike Franceschi contacted me afterreading my article on “Apathy, theReal Opponent in the Wholesale Busi-ness.”

For a link to the article see thelast paragraph or just go to autobo-dynews.com and search ‘apathy’WhatI wrote in that article was:

“Now is the time to be positive.Shake off that dull, negative attitude.Aggressive solicitation of new cus-tomers will pay off for those dealersthat move now. Take some time andvisit your best customers. Congratu-late them for their tenacity and tellthem you will be with them for thegood times ahead. Partners who sur-vive hard times always find theirbonds stronger. Keep an eye out forcustomer opportunities that you mayhave overlooked. Be ready to servethe new customers that will be callingyou.“There is another major negative as-sumption to overcome. Several partsmanagers have told me of their loss ofinterest in the wholesale market. Themain reason for this is the lack ofprofit. It seems that there is constantpressure to reduce costs, starting at thecorporate level. I am talking about theinsurance companies that cover mostof today’s repair costs. In a never-end-ing search for investor earnings, qual-ity, care, workmanship, and pride areconsidered to be unnecessary. Theonly thing that matters to these corpo-rations is their bottom line. They con-stantly push the repair shop to reducethe cost of the repairs. The shops can-not reduce their labor cost any lower;employees are already at the povertylevel. The only place to cut is the costof materials. The solution for someshops is the use of cheaper parts.These shops adopt the practices of thecorporations, and consider only thecost of materials. Save a dollar, nomatter what method you use.“We need to fight back! Quality inboth parts and service needs to beworth more than a 5% discount. Forexample, sheet metal has been a cen-

ter of concern for several years. Cheapreplacement imported metal has foundcustomers, at the cost of quality. Nu-merous organizations have come outto support the use of original partsonly. We all agree on the value ofquality in this area. How about the restof the operation? How about qualityof service?“I have never advocated sacrificingservice and quality for cost. I believeif you pay less, you get less. There isa minimum everyone must pay forquality service. The competitionshould be for better service, notcheaper prices. I believe that servicingthe wholesale market is still a reward-ing job. Our final goal, happy cus-tomers, is a worthy goal and customersatisfaction brings us our own happi-ness.”

Mike shared the article with hiscountermen, and was pleased to beable to say to them: “I’m not the onlyone who talks about this every day!”This comment, in my opinion, is thekey to understanding Mike’s successin these troubled times. He talks to hismen every day, encouraging them andkeeping their spirits high.

There are four full time whole-sale countermen, Ozzie, Rudy, Alex,and Danny. Professional, knowledge-able men, with more than a hundredyears of experience available to theircustomers! This team keeps five driv-ers constantly on the road. Belinda,Carlos, Jose, Luis and Noel makethree runs daily, and will go as far assixty miles to service their customers.An inventory of over half a milliondollars ensures “on hand” status offast moving parts. A daily orderingsystem means needed parts are almostalways available the next morning.

Body shops in this area have hada hard time the last few years, butsales at this dealership have heldsteady, and even increased slightly de-spite the recession. Collision Link isused by this dealer, of course. Thisprogram allows Mike to be competi-tive on pricing, ensuring repairs are al-ways made with quality, originalparts. Every dealer I have talked tomentions Collision Link as one oftheir most valuable tools in the whole-sale market.

Mike has been at South Motorsfor twenty years, fifteen of them asparts manager. He says his “secret tosuccess” is his focus on sales. His of-fice is near the front counter, and hetalks to his customers as often as pos-sible. He watches his daily sales, stay-ing on top of his business with hisfriends. He calls one or two each day,checking to make sure he has filledtheir orders properly, and that they aresatisfied with his service.

Mike takes his job very person-ally, and talked to me about the valueof long term relationships, and thefeeling of “family”, not just cus-tomers. He spoke about trust, sincer-ity, and respect. He spoke of serviceover price, wanting happy customers,and close partnerships with valuedcustomers.

These philosophies, of service,and partnership are common to all thesuccessful managers I have talked

with in the last year. They all considertheir customers as friends, and makeprice a minor condition to the businessof auto repair.

I believe that success is not de-termined by a building, a location, ad-vertising, or price. Success is a rewardto those people who want it, work forit, and are never stopped. MikeFranceschi is successful because hisdesire to be the best knows no bound-aries.

I recommend this distinctivedealer to any auto body shop in theMiami area that wants the best serv-ice available. You can do no betterthan the South Motors AutomotiveGroup.

You can read Larry’s apathy arti-cle online in its entirety at:http://www.autobodynews.com/colum-nists/williams-larry/item/5198-apathy-the-real-opponent-in-the-wholesale-parts-business.html.


• Dedicated WholesaleStaff with Over 100Years Experience

Parts800-952-5307

Fax916-405-8045

Direct916-405-4700

9640 W. Stockton Blvd. • Elk Grove, CA 95757

Hours:Mon-Fri 7-7 • Sat 7-5

9640 W. Stockton Blvd. •

• Large Inventory

• Daily Local Deliveries

South Motors Automotive Group—Anything But Apathetic

Parts Profileswith Larry Williams

Larry Williams is an innovative parts manager with national awards and over 30 years of experience increating and managing profitable departments. He can be reached for consultation at [email protected] read all his columns go to http://www.autobodynews.com/columnists/williams-larry.html

Collision Hub announced the launchof The Hub™, a monthly SocialMedia consulting tool delivered tocustomers each month as a graphicand video rich eMagazine. The Hubwill be content-rich with industry-rel-evant material that encourages local-ized and internally managed socialmedia strategies.

The Hub will include columnsand video blogs fromKristen Felder,Founder and CEO of Collision Hub,

as well as Liz Blackman, CollisionHub’s Social Media expert and Oper-ations Director. The Hub will also pro-vide subscribers with direct access toCollision Hub’s social media consul-tation team as well as ongoing supportand guidance at every level of their so-cial media journey. Each month theCH team will give shops step-by-stepaction plans to implement, suggestedsocial media postings based on a cal-endar of events, creative marketing

ideas to employ and pre-packagedvideo content for shops to downloadand share in their social media outlets.

These tools will allow shops toincrease page engagement, followersand improve their SEO rankings.

According to The Hub Editor andCollision Hub social media expert LizBlackman, “during our three years oftraveling and speaking on SocialMedia we were asked over and overto become the marketing consultant of

Collision Repairers across the coun-try. However, at Collision Hub we be-lieve the best person for any socialmedia campaign is the business staffthemselves. By tackling the ‘hows’ ofSocial Media and by helping shops tokeep their social media in house, it isour belief that The Hub will rocketlaunch Collision Repairers to the forefront of their communities.”

To learn more visit: www.colli-sionhub.com/thehub.


818-832-1660Fax: 818-832-1692

[email protected]: 6:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Saturday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

We are YOUR Source for GM Partsin Los Angeles!

Extensive inventory — Delivery trucks are in your area

Accountable, responsible & unconditionally

dedicated to excellence

AUTOMOTIVE GROUP

San Fernando Valley

WWW.CITY-CHEVROLET.COM

• Large Inventory of Mechanicaland Collision Parts

• Fast Delivery/7 Delivery Trucks

• Over 250 Years Combined Parts

Experience

San Diego

800-927-2277Toll Free:619-276-6900Parts:619-276-2414Fax:

Hours:Mon-Fri: 7:30am - 6pm;Sat: 8am - 5pm

CITYCHEVROLET

OUR PARTS IN THE TRAINED HANDS OF A PROFESSIONALTogether it’s a Masterpiece!GM Parts

Finish Second to None.

www.gmgoodwrench.com©2010 GM Corp. All rights reserved

Wholesale Direct: 925-828-8251Fax: 925-829-2941

Chevrolet•Cadillac•GMC•Buick•PontiacOldsmobile•Saab•Saturn•Hummer

4200 John Monego Ct., Dublin, CA 94568

Hours: Mon. - Fri. 7am - 6pmSat. 8am - 4:30pm

Serving Contra Costa, Alameda,San Joaquin Counties.

An Authorized Saturn Wholesaler.

Collision Hub Launches The Hub™ Your Social Media Toolbox


Mitchell Parts Index Sheds Light on Parts Trends Post Japan’s Tsunamiby Greg Horn, Vice PresidentIndustry Relations Mitchell International

When we createdthe Mitchell Colli-sion Parts PriceIndex (or MCPPI)a few years back, itwas to serve as abarometer tomeasure parts in-flation both in ag-

gregate and split out by part type andvehicle country of origin. The MCPPIwas created with the Consumer PriceIndex as its model as the ConsumerPrice Index (CPI) is best known tomost Americans as the general rate ofinflation.

The CPI is one of the mostclosely watched economic indicatorsbecause it tracks the rate of inflationfor a wide sampling of goods we rou-tinely buy. Just in the way the CPI

measures a “basket” of goods andservices and compares the pricesmonth to month. This basket containshundreds of different types of goodsand services ranging from the inex-pensive to very expensive.

In creating the Mitchell CollisionParts Price index, we used a similarapproach of taking a collision ‘marketbasket. We selected the top 20 mostreplaced collision parts for the fol-lowing categories: Hood, fenders,headlamps, turn signals and sidemarker lamps. We pulled data from

2003 through the third quarter of2011. We then created weighted aver-age prices for these parts in aggregate,setting the base year at 2003 and equalto 100. This allows us to compare in-flationary trends by part type. All parttypes are retail prices, in the case ofLKQ/used parts, are calculated withthe mark up included in the pricing.”

In the most recent edition of theIndustry Trends Report, this usefultool also allowed us to evaluate theimpact of the Japanese Tsunami oncollision parts prices. What we foundwas that despite some industry expertspredicting parts shortages, repair de-lays and hoarding of used parts, therewas virtually no impact on collisionparts prices.

What always intrigues me as Ievaluate the data from this index, isthat there are several other factors inplay. When I looked at the overallindex over time, what is interesting is

the rapid increase inrecycled parts pricesfor all vehicle types,and that salvage partsand aftermarket parts,drove the inflationindex for 2011. OEMparts pricing, by con-trast; decreased in theaggregate.

How did the OEMparts index decrease?It was in large part aresult of the expan-

sion by auto makers ‘match the com-petition’ programs, wherein they willmatch or adjust their pricing to com-pete with top selling aftermarket parts.The primary aim of the OEM’s tomatch the competition is to maintainparts sales and stem the tide of after-market parts use in collision repairs.

Have they been effective? As ev-idenced by chart 3, showing the num-ber of collision parts used by parttype, the increase in matching pro-grams has not stemmed the decline inOEM parts use, but interestingly; af-

termarket parts use also declined dur-ing the same period. By looking at therepair labor hours for the same period,we see an increase in the number ofaverage repair hours, indicating a shiftto repairing panels rather than replac-

ing them. An increase of repair hoursis good news for collision repairers,and it remains to be seen if this in-crease is sustainable.

Let’s examine recycled parts aswell. The MCPPI shows an increasein pricing of recycled parts, starting in

2009 and accelerating rapidly in 2010,but still below the base year of 2003.What is behind this phenomenon?

If we look back, the recycledparts distribution channel experiencedthe most advances of any parts chan-nel. Large internet vendors began on-line and ‘near real time’ inventorydisplays in the estimating platforms as

well as standalone applications. Largeacquisitions happened in this arena aswell, all allowing for more rapid mar-ket feedback of demand and pricing. Ibelieve this lead to a market correc-tion of pricing in the years leading up

to 2009, and what we are now experi-encing is an acceleration of prices be-cause of the increase in overseas andrebuilder sales, and decreasing thepopulation of parts harvested vehicles.

What will the future hold? I be-lieve we will continue to see a restric-

tion of supply for recycled parts, asthe impact of slumping new car salesand high used car prices that began in2008 (and continues today) begins toripple through the salvage parts sup-ply world. Aftermarket parts produc-ers hold an advantage here, as theycan custom tailor output to demand, aluxury that recyclers do not have.

Greg Horn

The Mitchell Collision Parts Price Index for 2011

Mitchell Collision Parts Price Index by Part Type – All Vehicles

Part Use by Number of Parts

surance premium costs continue to riseand the Insurance Information Instituterecently reported that private auto in-surance is the most profitable line of in-surance coverage in the United States.

● The insurance industry’s approach toestablishing a singular prevailing laborrate charge for all businesses within amarket fails to recognize the existenceof reasonable variance between com-petitive businesses.● When the repair shop has entered intoboth the DRP contract with the carrier,and an authorization to repair contract

with the vehicle owner, it is not neces-sarily as simple as insurers “promotingpoor quality work,” but it becomes aquestion of who has more influenceover the repair facility’s decision mak-ing in the repair process, and whose in-terest drives those decisions.

In summary, the association statesthat, “the question is not IF insurance

carriers directly impact collision repairmarket pricing, but rather IF their ap-proach and purpose is appropriate. Arewe really talking about saving con-sumer’s money, or are we talkingabout increasing insurance companyprofits at the expense of their policy-holders and the small businesses whoserve them?”


SCRS

The city of Houston delayed voting onan ordinance to regulate the automo-tive repair and service industry affect-ing every type of business that touchesa car, whether it’s a body shop, an in-dependent auto repair shop, a dealer-ship or a big store like Wal-Mart.

The council rescheduled the votefor February 15, 2012, after more is-sues were raised at a hearing held onDecember 20, 2011, when the councilwas originally supposed to vote onthis ordinance.

This delay presents some newproblems to both sides lobbying overthe bill—they now have an entirelynew council, sworn in January 3,2012, to update on the issues and con-vince to vote one way or another.

A new list of council membersby district can be seen at www.au-tobodynews.com, find out whichdistrict you reside in by visitinghttp://www.houstontx.gov/plan-ning/2011/index.html. The HoustonAuto Body Association (HABA)would like its members to reach outto the new council and make suretheir opinions on this matter areheard.Kathryn van der Pol, Past Pres-

ident of ASA, Houston Chapter, andco-owner of Adolf Hoepfl & SonGarage, is working with the HABAon writing their own version of the or-dinance, incorporating what’s goodabout the City’s version to present tothe new council since Houston MayorMayor Annise Parker, wants to passan ordinance on this issue. MayorParker also made some changes to theordinance, and the version that will bevoted on February 15, 2012, can beviewed in its entirety at www.autobo-dynews.com.

“While this ordinance has goodintentions, it paints the entire industrywith one stroke. The proposed ordi-nance stems from an effort to elimi-nate a problem that comes from asmall percentage of unscrupulous col-lision-repair shops, which is one seg-ment of the automotive repair trade.This attempt at a solution will wrap analready difficult business in more redtape,” says van der Pol.

Writing in the Houston Chroni-cle, Van der Pol says there are somegood features for the consumer in thisordinance:

“The ordinance will require allauto-repair facilities to post their li-cense number on their advertising and

invoices so that the consumer willknow which companies are city-li-censed repair facilities.

“It will also require auto-repairfacilities to carry a minimum amountof liability insurance. Currently, thereis no local or state law that requires arepair shop to have insurance. In anuninsured shop, car owners are liablefor anything the garage owner doeswith their car. Good shops alreadypurchase insurance, but virtually allshops that lack integrity will also lackinsurance.

“Giving approval over the phonefor any collision work will be illegaland limits will be placed on certainfees charged by collision shops. Thereis a good reason for this. Repairs re-sulting from accidents usually costthousands of dollars. While we arehesitant to say that the city should setpricing for any private business trans-action, we agree every approval forcollision repair should be in writing.

The ordinance includes pagesand pages that regulate how recordswill be kept, how repair shops maygain approvals from customers and es-tablishes fines for sometimes honestmistakes that must be paid to the city.

If this new law takes effect,phone approvals for mechanical workwill be allowed only if the customerprovides a third signature permittingan estimate either to be given orally,in person, or over the phone. Recordsof that approval have to be maintainedfor two years. Automotive profession-als are concerned about this for a fewreasons.

“Our main concern,” continuesvan der Pol, “is that if your car istowed in to a mechanical shop, the fa-cility can’t even look at the car untilthe owner comes in or faxes or emailsa signature. If you are a businessowner with a fleet account, you willhave to email, fax or come to the shopto give approval of authorization or tosign a waiver. This will slow down therepair process and be an inconven-ience for everyone involved.

“Mechanical work is entirely dif-ferent from collision. It differs in thatit’s quick, less costly and customersdepend on our efficiency so they canget their autos back.

The city’s proposal will slowdown this repair process. If it soundscomplicated, it will be even worsewhen customers are confronted withthe legalese. If they refuse to sign the

waiver authorizing estimates byphone, the customer will have to re-turn to the shop, find a fax machine orsend an email.

“While the Automotive ServiceAssociation (ASA) fully supports ef-forts to root out bad players in our in-dustry, we believe this ordinanceoverregulates and will be a burden toour customers who don’t own fax ma-chines, have access to email or have asecond car to come back to the shopfor a signature. This is going to affectsenior citizens, the disabled, thosewith lower incomes, and those whodepend on one vehicle the most.

“Another provision is that no au-thorizations are required for repairsunder $100. As long as your bill is$99.99, the repair shop does not needyour permission to make repairs orperform maintenance on your vehi-cle. Our concern is that if you aredropping off your car for an oilchange and the technician calls be-cause he determines your coolantneeds to be flushed, the work will ex-ceed $100. Then you will have adelay in repair if you did not sign thewaiver - even though we still havethe two signatures required by thestate. This provision seems unneces-sary and could lead to confusion andabuse.

“If a shop neglects to put the li-cense plate number, vehicle identifi-cation number, or mileage on a workorder, or records it inaccurately, itcould result in a criminal misde-meanor charge with a $200 to $500fine.

“Why do the mayor and somemembers of City Council feel this or-dinance is needed?

“The ASA was told it was neces-sary because there were some badbody shops taking advantage of insur-ance companies, resulting in a rise ofinsurance premiums.

“ASA requested informationthrough an open records request aboutthe complaints so that as an industry,we could better understand what prob-lems the city is trying to address. Thecomplaints did indeed support thatthere are some bad players in the colli-sion repair industry who are chargingexcessive disassembly fees, adminis-trative fees and are holding carshostage. We were given 257 com-plaints filed over a three-year periodwith the Houston Auto Dealers, a divi-sion of the Houston Police Department

that enforces automotive repair facilitylicenses. Of those, 61 complaints con-cerned excessive fees from collisionshops—none from mechanical. It is aproblem, but, “it’s like killing flies witha cannon instead of a flyswatter,” asCouncilmember Jolanda Jones said.

“Last, there is the concern aboutincreased costs of implementation thatwill be passed on to consumers. Allour paperwork will have to change tocomply. Not to mention all our feesand permits were increased this year.For example, in 2011 a Houston auto-motive repair facility license increased147 percent, from $200 to $495.“What do we recommend? Ideally, thecity should create two separate auto-motive licenses, one issued to regulatethe collision industry and another,simpler one, for the mechanical in-dustry. Many at City Hall acknowl-edge that this would be a real fix, butthere is a rush right now to pass the or-dinance before the end of the year.What’s the rush? ASA has knownabout this proposal for less than ayear, and we have been working dili-gently with the city to help.

The Automotive Service Associ-ation wants City Hall to slow down,listen to both industry and consumersand do it right the first time.

Houston City council also ap-proved changes to the city’s ordinanceon Nov. 30 covering towing compa-nies and auto shops geared toward“trying to make sure that an unhealthyrelationship between the tow truckdrivers and collision repair shops ismonitored more closely,” MayorParker said. “There are lots of reportsthat after accidents, tow trucks may bebeing paid bounties to take cars to par-ticular collision repair shops.”

Other key industry representa-tives, including the Houston AutoBody Association (HABA), applaudsome of the proposed mandates butare quick to say others may end upbogging down reputable businesses,slowing their ability to serve cus-tomers.James Brown, President of the

Houston Auto Body Association(HABA), testified before the Mayorand City Council on behalf of HABAon November 29, voicing the HABA’sconcerns with the current language inthe ordinance. Brown was pulled intoa private meeting with the Mayor’sAssistant, the City Attorney, and

See Houston Ordinance, Page 46


UPDATE: Houston City Council Delays Vote on Auto Repair Ordinance, Draft Not Favorable to Shops

members of HPD Auto Dealers Divi-sion (Capt Baimbridge & Sgt Provost)following his testimony. The meetinglasted around an hour and a half andthe group informed Brown that noneof the latest revisions HABA re-quested would be honored for one rea-son or another.

“We do think there’s a lot of goodthings in there, said Brown to KHOU11 News Houston. “But there are a lotof things that still need some work.There are a lot of things in there thatgive the insurance companies thesame authority as the consumer—theowner of the vehicle—which wewould like to see taken out.”

“HABA has been working withHPD Auto Dealers Division for over ayear and that has resulted in a lot ofpositive changes,” said Brown,“HABA has also worked closely withASA on the revisions and we havemade a lot of progress but still have aways to go.”

Councilwoman Sue Lovell, whospent a year meeting with auto repair

industry representatives to craft thechanges, said that once a car arrives,some unscrupulous collision repairshops charge more than $1,000 just togenerate an estimate. She brandisheda binder full of complaints to back herassertion that while most merchantsare honest, there have been enoughcases of abuse to warrant the city’s in-tervention. “It’s really about consumerprotection,” she said.Jeanette Rash, owner of Fast

Tow and leader of a consortium ofwrecker companies that clears free-way breakdowns for the city, sup-ported the revisions in part because itwill allow storage yards to increasedaily rates for the first time in adecade, from $15 to $20.


Genuine Nissan and Infiniti OEM WholesaleParts are superbly crafted to strict qualitystandards. Use of genuine OEM WholesaleParts is a shift in the right direction towardtrouble-free repairs and quicker turnaround.The following dealers proudly stock genuineparts for your Nissan or Infiniti repairs. Callyour local distributor today!

2011 Juke Shift into Genuine Nissan and Infiniti OEM Parts

CORONA NISSANCORONA

800-553-7438(951) 549-6564 FaxServicing L.A., Orange,

Riverside & San Bernardinocounties

INFINITI OFBAKERSFIELDBAKERSFIELD

661-617-2020(661) 617-2039 Fax

M-F 8-5www.infinitiofbakersfield.com

MOSSY NISSANNATIONAL CITY

800-300-7251(619) 474-4347 FaxSame Day Delivery

Throughout All San DiegoLargest Inventory in San Diego

SHINGLE SPRINGSNISSAN

SHINGLE SPRINGS530-676-0444(530) 677-6528 Fax

www.shinglespringsnissan.com

DOWNEY NISSANDOWNEY

888-444-1355(562) 334-1195 FaxBilly Smith-Parts Manager

M-F 7-6, Sat. 7-5www.downeynissan.com

METRO NISSANINFINITI OF MONTCLAIR

MONTCLAIR800-243-5575(909) 625-4087 FaxAsk for Rita or SteveLarge inventory available

NISSAN OFBAKERSFIELDBAKERSFIELD

888-402-6915(661) 835-0389 FaxM-F 7-6, Sat. 8-5

www.nissanofbakersfield.com

S. CALIFORNIA N. CALIFORNIA

DIRITO BROTHERSNISSAN

WALNUT CREEK800-865-5792

(925) 934-8459 &(925) 934-8221 Fax

LITHIA NISSANFRESNO

800-870-7779559-436-6040 Parts Direct

559-438-0183 FaxM-F 7-6, Sat. [email protected]


Houston Ordinance Three Developments Shaping 2011 AftermarketThree major forces emerged whichdrove 2011 aftermarket growth andwill continue to shape the car and lighttruck aftermarket for many years.

More Product Use Per VehicleDuring 2011, aftermarket product vol-ume for the average car and light truckin the U.S. increased approximately3%. This drove-up total aftermarketlight vehicle product sales at a timewhen total miles declined and car andlight truck population was stagnant.

This is the second consecutiveyear of increased product use per ve-hicle and reverses a trend of dimin-ishing product consumption by thetypical car and light truck in the U.S.between 2000 and 2009.

Foreign Nameplate JuggernautLang Marketing, in its preliminaryanalysis, estimates foreign nameplatesgenerated nearly two-thirds of car andlight truck product expansion in theU.S. during 2011 at user-price.

With foreign nameplates ac-counting for over 50% of new vehiclesales since 2008, conditions are set forcontinued foreign nameplate after-market growth. Soaring gas pricesduring first half of 2008 sent foreign

nameplate share soaring from 50% tomore than 56% of new vehicle vol-ume in just a few months.

Cash For Clunkers ignited a sec-ond-stage of foreign nameplate salesgrowth during the third quarter of2009, when foreign cars and lighttrucks posted a record-high 58% newvehicle share.

However, the 2011 tsunamicaused production problems for manyJapanese carmakers and also createdparts shortages. To compound matters,Toyota experienced safety and qualityproblems in 2011 which drove-downtheir U.S. sales. The likelihood ofhigher 2012 gas prices and returningto normal supplies of Japanese carsand light trucks in Dealer lots and afading of Toyota’s negative consumerperceptions will combine to boost for-eign nameplate 2012 sales share.

Independent Service Outlet StrengthAll light vehicle service market(DIFM) product growth during 2011was generated by Independent (non-Dealer) car and light truck Serviceoutlets. This marks the third consecu-tive year in which non-Dealer outletsexpanded their light vehicle aftermar-ket product share.


800-699-8251





Polk Says Average Age of Vehicles is at Record HighThe average age of cars and lighttrucks currently in operation in theUnited State has increased to 10.8years, according to Polk, an automo-tive market intelligence firm. Pas-senger cars showed a modestincrease in age since 2010, from 11years to 11.1 years at the end of June2011.

Light trucks (including pickupsand SUVs) show a more sizeable gainin the same time frame, from 10.1years to 10.4 years. Overall, averagevehicle age has been increasingquickly over the past five years. Polkreports average age based on ananalysis of national vehicle registra-tion data.

The slowdown of the aging ofpassenger cars directly correlates tothe low sales volumes and the mix ofcar and truck sales in the U.S. marketin 2008 and 2009, a time in whichmore trucks than cars were registered.While more trucks were sold over thesame timeframe, they showed a fasteraging rate. Polk expects this trendmay change in the coming years asCUV and small SUV populations inthe U.S. market have risen in 2010and 2011 due to their continued suc-cess in the market.

Additionally, the rebound in newvehicle sales in 2011 and for the nextcouple of years will most likely slowdown the aging rate seen in the mar-ket over the past three years, accord-ing to Polk.

“The increasing age of the vehi-cle fleet, together with the increasinglength of ownership, offers signifi-cant business growth opportunity forthe automotive aftermarket,” saidMark Seng, global aftermarket prac-tice leader at Polk. “Dealer servicedepartments and independent repairfacilities, as well as aftermarket partssuppliers, will see increased businessopportunity with customers in need ofvehicle service.”

Year-over-year Light VehiclePopulation Declines Come to an End

2011 marked the end of the U.S.vehicle population decline that hasoccurred annually since 2008. Ac-cording to Polk, the total vehicles inoperation (VIO) in July 2011 was justover 240.5 million, an increase of500,000 units over July in the previ-ous year, and nearly equal to 2009VIO. The highest VIO on record wasachieved in July 2008, when morethan 242 million passenger cars andlight trucks were on America’s roads.

Meguiar’s Endows 676 Schools with $600K Product DonationThrough Collision Repair Education FoundationMeguiar’s Inc., a 3M Company, hascome to the aid of 676 secondary andpost-secondary collision programsacross the country by donating sets oftheir Unigrit Fine Grade Blending andFinishing Discs through the CollisionRepair Education Foundation. The do-nation, in total equaling a retail valueof $600,000, will ease collision depart-ment budgets by providing students theopportunity to work with up-to-datesupplies. The gift from Meguiar’shelped the largest amount of schools inone donation in the Collision RepairEducation Foundation’s history.

“Since 2008, 3M has providedover $2 million in product donationsto the Collision Repair EducationFoundation and these have greatly im-pacted instructor’s ability to properlyinstruct collision students,” statedCollision Repair Education Founda-tion Executive Director, Scott Kruger.“On behalf of collision students andinstructors nationwide, we thankMeguiar’s and 3M for their continuedsupport and invite additional collisionindustry businesses to follow 3M’slead in providing product donations tosecondary and post-secondary colli-sion school programs.”

Northern Virginia CommunityCollege (Alexandria, VA) Collision Re-pair Instructor Geoffrey Brown said,

“Thank you so much for Meguiar’s verygenerous donation. These sorts of dona-tions really help our program by beingable to expose our students to productsand techniques that we could not affordto provide out of our limited budget. Thestudents are already excited about beingable to get to use them and are nowlooking forward to next semester whereI am sure we will put them to good use.Thank you Meguiar’s!”

“Being able to assist in the de-velopment of our nations young pro-fessionals is an extremely gratifyingfeeling and one that our company isproud to be able to take part in” ex-plains John Dillon, Global Vice Pres-ident of Meguiar’s Professional andMarine Division. “We are excited atthe ability of collision repair studentsthat are supported by this foundationto have the opportunity to have firsthand experience with our product andto learn the proper techniques to usethem. It is a complete win-win oppor-tunity for everyone involved.”

For additional information aboutMeguiar’s Car Care Products visitwww.meguiars.com. Industry mem-bers and companies interested in sup-porting collision programs shouldcontact Brandon Eckenrode at [email protected] or847-463-5244.

PCI Says Auto Body Legislation will be Priority for 2012The Property Casualty Insurers Asso-ciation of America’s (PCI) said autobody legislation would be one of itskey priorities for 2012. PCI said it an-ticipates the major auto body repairand glass issues for 2012 will involveaftermarket parts, labor rates, steeringand estimating systems. To help con-trol costs and promote customer serv-ice, PCI said it will oppose legislativeefforts that would restrict insurers’ability to make recommendations orsuggestions to consumers on individ-ual repair facilities or that would im-pede insurers’ ability to manage theclaim repair process and control costson behalf of consumers.

“PCI is committed to advancinga pro- consumer agenda that supportshealthy, competitive insurance mar-kets across the nation,” said PaulBlume, senior vice president of stategovernment relations for PCI.

“In these tough economic timesconsumers are best served by measuresthat address the cost drivers of insur-ance and provide individuals withchoices. Our agenda will also help mod-ernize state regulatory environmentsand improve insurance marketplaces.”

In addition to auto body legisla-tion, other priorities include protecting

and promoting the viability of a com-petitive private insurance market, curb-ing fraud and abuse in several no- faultauto insurance systems, addressingauto body repair and coastal propertyinsurance issues, as well as advancingcost containment measures in stateworkers compensation systems. In ad-dition, PCI anticipates credit-based in-surance scoring and tort reform to onceagain be legislative issues during 2012.

PCI said it made significantprogress at the state, federal, and in-ternational levels last year on manyissues, despite facing an anemic econ-omy, increasing political and regula-tory pressures, and historic naturaldisasters. Looking forward to 2012,PCI said it anticipates facing many ofthese issues again, with the additionalchallenge of advancing its advocacyagenda during a watershed presiden-tial election year.

Search:


by SCRS, ASA, AASP

The issue of data ownership is of ever-increasing importance to both con-sumers and businesses as technologyexpands the landscape of digital trade,and the collision repair industry is notimmune to concerns relative to ulte-rior use of business generated data.During the past several decades, theestimating and management systemcompanies have increased their prod-uct offerings beyond core estimatingand management functions for repairfacilities. Their scope of servicespresently includes the collection, gen-eralized aggregation, analysis, andsale or provision of repairer data tothird parties. Collision repairers con-tend that:● The collection of data is unilaterallydemanded as a point of sale require-ment for every estimating system op-tion offered in the market, barringrepairers that wish to provide elec-tronically generated estimates fromhaving the option of keeping theirbusiness data from being utilized forunauthorized purposes.

● The information that is harvestedfrom the collision repairer’s system isbeing used for purposes other thanthose that the subscriber had intendedwhen contracting to use the estimatingsystem software.● The information is used by second-ary customers in ways that may ulti-mately be detrimental to thesubscribing end-user who generatedthe data.

When this issue was first broachedseveral years ago, one primary re-sponse on the part of the estimatingsystem providers was that the only databeing captured was that obtained viathe upload of Direct Repair (DRP) es-timates, and those end-users had im-plicitly waived any data ownershiprights by agreeing to upload estimatesas a condition of their participation inthe (DRP) program. They also claimthat no privacy rights have been vio-lated since the information is all col-lected in a depersonalized manner, andpresented as an overall aggregation ofdata collected. While we continue tocontest the validity of both positions,the advent of cloud based platforms has

expanded the data collection potentialto include any businesses utilizing theserver-based programs. It has also ex-panded the potential of data miningfrom only estimating programs to thepossible inclusion of information gen-erated from business management pro-grams or other technology basedservice platforms.

The Information Providers mayseek to reassure the collision industrythat they have taken all necessarysteps to safeguard repairer/consumerinformation from data privacybreaches.

While the data may remain safe-guarded from threats in the traditionalsense of electronic security, the mem-bers of the collision industry remainconcerned that the information is notnecessarily safeguarded from the tech-nology firms themselves who havebuilt in contractual permissions toforce the industry to permit utilizationof the data in ways that were not in-tended or expressly approved by theircustomer base.

We believe it is long overdue forour industry to have the express op-

tion to either “Opt In” or “Opt out” ofallowing technology firms to have ac-cess to ancillary uses of our data as apoint of sale requirement to utilize thenecessary tools once intended to aidthe industry in running our businesses.

This statement serves as a publicrequest from the collision repair in-dustry to Audatex, CCC, Mitchell andother technology firms who collectdata. The industry seeks removal ofcontractual clauses within End UserLicense Agreements which requirepermissive access to aggregate andcollect end-user data as a point-of-salerequirement to purchase those pro-grams.

Further, we believe that if a busi-ness is to permit their data to bemined, they should be entitled accessto an annual report specifically indi-cating where that data was used, and alist of parties that received reports uti-lizing data from the user’s system. Webelieve the ability for businesses tochoose participation in the data col-lection process is a reasonable solu-tion, and we look forward to yourresponse.


Your Source for Wholesale Volvo Parts

Right Part. Right Price.Right Now.

Trust your order to the collision parts specialists at these fine Dealers

volvo Genuine parts

Sanderson Volvo of PhoenixGLENDALE

888-249-3673623-842-8799 Fax

[email protected]

Galpin VolvoVAN NUYS

818-778-2005818-778-2090 Fax

www.galpin.com

So.California

Arizona

ASRW | NACE | CARS is committedto meeting the needs of collision re-pair and automotive service profes-sionals. The ASRW ConferenceProgram has a long and rich historyof bringing industry experts and pro-fessional speakers to the ASRW at-tendees with important, relevant andleading edge information.

ASRW attendees depend on theseminars to keep them motivated, cur-rent with technology and industrytrends, expand their horizons and ex-plore new opportunities.

If you are an industry speaker,subject matter expert or professionalspeaker interested in helping collisionrepair and automotive service profes-sionals grow and prosper, you are in-vited to submit your presentation(s)for consideration to be included in the2012 ASRW Conference Program.

The expos will take place Octo-ber 10 through 13, 2012 at the MorialConvention Center in New Orleans,LA. Sessions are selected to fit one ofthe following tracks: Management,Technical or Women’s ProfessionalDevelopment. Time slots available forthe sessions are 90 minutes or 3hours. All 3 hour sessions are sched-uled for Wednesday, Oct. 10. The 90minute sessions will be scheduled forWednesday, Oct. 10 through Satur-day, Oct. 13. Presenters should be

available to speak on any day of theconference.

All presentations selected for theManagement and Women’s Profes-sional Development tracks will besubmitted to the Automotive Man-agement Institute (AMI) for approvaland attendees will receive AMI cred-its for their participation.

The deadline for submitting pre-sentations is Friday, February 10th.Show Management and the ASRWconference planning committee willreview all proposals and base evalua-tions on originality of proposal, pastspeaker performance or references,timeliness of topic, practical applica-tion of concepts or information,and/or relevance of content to the col-lision repair and automotive serviceindustries. Final selections will bemade by Show Management. Speak-ers must agree to meet deadline re-quirements with a signed speakeragreement. Please go to www.nace-expo.com to submit presentations forconsideration.

ASRW Calling For Presenters at NACE/CARS 2012

SCRS, ASA, AASP Release Joint Statement Regarding the Collection and Reporting of Repairer Business Data



Jim Lang, of Aftermarket Insight, saysthat “Car and light truck scrappage (ve-hicles removed from operation) de-clined as a percent of vehicles on U.S.roads during 2009 and 2010. These lowscrappage rates helped boost car andlight truck average age.

“Not reflected in overall scrappagerates is the ongoing shift in the age ofvehicles scrapped in the U.S. As a re-sult of airbag deployment, many vehi-cles which on the basis of collision

damage alone would not be scrappedare heading to the junkyard. Deploy-ment of a single airbag will cause mostvehicles at least seven years old to bescrapped.”

Last year in the U.S., airbags de-ployed in over 1.2 million vehicles. Ve-hicle damage resulting from airbagdeployment ranges from $1,200 to over$6,000 per bag depending on the loca-tion of the bag (dashboard, door, etc.)and the type of vehicle. Government re-

ports indicate that virtually all vehiclesat least seven years old in which a sin-gle bag deploys are scrapped. Increas-ing damage from multiple airbags (asnewer vehicles have more airbags) isscrapping many vehicles which wouldotherwise be repaired and returned tooperation. If multiple bags deploy(some new vehicles have up to eight),airbags can cause additional damage(beyond the crash itself) sufficient toscrap even new and expensive vehicles.

As newer vehicles are scrapped becauseof airbag deployment, increasing scrap-page rates will not necessarily reducethe average age of vehicles. As long asnew vehicle volume remains relativelylow versus the nearly 17 million aver-age-annual sales from 1999 to 2006 andscrappage remains relatively moderate,a growing share of scrappage will occuramong vehicles below the 10.6 year av-erage-vehicle age. This will boost theage level of vehicles in the U.S.


Galpin SubaruVan Nuys

(818) 778-2005(818) 778-2090 Fax

www.galpin.com

Kearny Mesa SubaruSan Diego

(800) 548-9124(858) 300-3331 Fax

Mon.-Fri. [email protected]

www.kearnymesasubaru.com/parts

Subaru of GlendaleGlendale

(818) 550-1500(818) 549-3850 Fax

Mon.-Fri. 7-6; Sat. [email protected]

Sierra Subaru ofMonroviaMonrovia

(626) 359-8291(626) 932-5660 Fax

Mon.-Fri. 7-6; Sat. [email protected]

www.sierraauto.com

Timmons SubaruLong Beach

(888) 489-5001(562) 426-3550 Fax

Tue. 7-8; Mon., Wed.-Fri. 7-6;Sat. 8-4, Sat. No Delivery

[email protected]

Marin SubaruSan Rafael

(415) 257-4690(415) 257-4684 FaxMon.-Fri. 7:30-5:30; Sat. 8-4

[email protected]

Shingle Springs SubaruShingle Springs(530) 676-0444

(530) 677-6528 Faxwww.shinglespringssubaru.com

Subaru of Santa CruzSanta Cruz

(800) 549-8490(831) 420-1402

(831) 420-1923 FaxMon.-Fri. 7:30-6; Sat. 8-5

[email protected]

Power SubaruScottsdale

(480) 425-2950(480) 425-2948 Fax

Mon.-Fri. 7-6; Sat. 7-4

Subaru Superstoreof Chandler

Chandler(877) 443-3239(480) 268-2402

(480) 621-3805 FaxMon.-Fri. 7-6; Sat. 7-5

[email protected]

ARIZONA

NO. CALIFORNIASO. CALIFORNIA

The following dealerships are eager to serveyour needs. Call your local Subaru collision

parts specialist today!

SO. CALIFORNIA

NO. CALIFORNIA

Airbags Changing Vehicle Scrappage Age Mix

with due regard for its insured’s in-terest.”

Furthermore the correspondencestates, in part, “State Farm has de-cided to exercise its rights underFlorida law to avoid unnecessary lit-igation. Accordingly, enclosed is acheck made payable to you and Ray-mond Gunder in the amount of$1090.70—which is the amount de-manded in the CRN, plus statutory in-terest. This amount is paid to ensurethat any alleged violations are curedin accordance with the statute ofFlorida law and to preclude unneces-

sary litigation. Again, State Farm’spayment should not be construed asan admission of any wrongdoing orliability on the part of State Farmwho denies any liability, as well asthe standing of Mr. Gunder to pursueany claims, but exercise of its rightunder Florida law to avoid protracted,vexatious litigation.”

On receiving the news from hisattorney, Ray Gunder said, “I amelated that State Farm has chosen tostep up and pay what was due ourcustomer and that State Farm electedto settle rather than proceed with along drawn-out and costly litigation.The word “vexation” means harass-ing; and/or annoying as if the settle-

See Gunder, Page 54


Gunder

The CA/NV/AZ Automotive Whole-salers Association (CAWA) an-nounced their response to a letter ofopposition to “imitation” or aftermar-ket crash parts legislation written bythe Alliance of Automotive Manufac-turers, CA New Car Dealers Associa-tion, California Autobody Associationand Consumer Attorneys of CA to CAsenators and assembly members onDecember 5.

The letter sent by these organiza-tions to their senators and assemblymembers states; “The above-identi-fied organizations and signatorieswrite to inform you of their collectiveopposition to legislation that promotesnon-OEM (original equipment manu-facturer) crash parts as the functionalequivalent of OEM parts. [Nonorigi-nal Equipment Manufacturer (Non-OEM) crash parts are parts made by aparty other than the original car man-ufacturer without the dimensions, de-sign specifications, tolerances or otherinformation known to the originalequipment manufacturer.]

“Existing law requires insurersthat compel consumers to accept non-OEM parts when vehicles are repairedto inform consumers that “imitation”parts will be used and to warrant the“imitation” parts are “oflike kind,quality, safety, fit and performance” asOEM parts. For years, the insuranceindustry and off-shore, aftermarketparts industry have tried to weaken thelaw so they may compel unsuspectingconsumers to accept inferior non-EOM parts.

“We support existing law and opposeefforts to weaken it for the followingreasons:● Existing law promotes disclosureand fair repair practices.● Too many non-OEM parts are

clearly inferior to OEM parts. For ex-ample, see the Bureau of AutomotiveRepair study on this issue. Also, Con-sumer Reports has debunked the ar-gument that aftermarket “tin” parts arecomparable to OEM parts.● Use of non-OEM parts may impairwarranties and reduce the value ofused vehicles.● Vehicles are increasingly complex,designed to dissipate crash energy bycollapsing as engineered, and rely onmultiple sensors to immediately de-ploy airbags upon contact. The use of“imitation” parts may impair thesehighly-integrated functions and en-danger passengers.“If approached to author legislation to

unfairly promote the use of “imita-tion” crash parts, please contact us.We request the opportunity to discussthis important consumer protectionissue with you before introduction.”

The CAWA responded by releas-ing a statement that reads, inpart, “For the first time, in ourmemories history, the car manu-facturers and their new car deal-ers have joined with the triallawyers and a sister aftermarketorganization, the California Au-tobody Association, to collec-tively suggest to legislators thataftermarket replacement partsare inferior, imitation and theiruse could negatively impactwarranties and compromise mo-torist safety.“In reviewing the enclosed let-ter, notice the disparaging re-

marks about replacement parts, andrecall that a legislator does not distin-guish, in their minds, between crash orhard parts as manufactured and dis-tributed by the aftermarket. Please

know that CAWA will continue to de-fend the aftermarket’s reputation as anecessary option that is in the publicgood when it comes to replacementparts and service. We will continue todrive home our quality, availabilityand competitive advantage with legis-lators and their staffs through meet-ings, in district visits to parts stores andwarehouses, in our everyday processesof lobbying on behalf of our industryand in our political action funding.“This new and bolder attack by the carcompanies and their new car dealerswill not go unnoticed and will be chal-lenged with the resources available tous. Rest assured CAWAwill continue topromote and protect the interests of theaftermarket industry and your ability todo business in the states we represent.Please contact [email protected] or800.332.2292, ext. 1 should you haveany immediate questions or commentsregarding this recent miss-representa-tion of aftermarket parts and service.”

Please see www.cawa.org for moreinformation.


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 BayMINITorrance310-939-7342310-939-7343

California

Nick AlexanderMINILos Angeles800-800-NICK323-583-4109 Directwww.alexandermini.com

CA/NV/AZ Automotive Wholesalers Association (CAWA) Delivers Rebuttalto Letter of Opposition to “Imitation” Aftermarket Crash Parts Legislation

Rotary Lift, Chief Automotive Tech-nologies and Elektron will introduceequipment designed to help dealers in-crease their fixed operations produc-tivity and profitability at the 2012NADA Expo at the Las Vegas Con-vention Center, February 3 through 6,2012.

The Rotary Lift Shockwave™-equipped SmartLift® environmentallyfriendly inground lift and Elektron®

Multispot MI-100control T squeeze-type resistance welders from Chiefwill make their industry debut at theshow.

Shockwave-equipped SmartLiftinground lifts and two-post surfacelifts are the world’s fastest lifts. Their25-second rise and 19-second descenttimes are twice as fast as traditionallifts’. These DC-powered lifts alsocost less to install and operate, foreven speedier return on investment.Time and motion studies have foundthat Shockwave-equipped lifts candrive an additional $3,259 of profitper bay annually. Rotary Lift will runside-by-side speed demonstrations ofstandard vs. Shockwave-equipped

lifts in NADA Booth 718 throughoutExpo show hours so dealers andfixed operations managers can seethe power of Shockwave for them-selves.

The Elektron Multispot MI-100control T resistance welder is the“smartest” welder on the markettoday. Designed specifically for spotwelding vehicle structural body dam-age to areas manufactured with high-strength and advanced high-strengthsteels, the MI-100control T constantlymonitors the materials being weldedand automatically adjusts the weldingparameters during the repair processto ensure uniformity. The welder de-tects and compensates for interfer-ence factors such as dirt, adhesives orprotective coatings, as well as achange in materials. The welder willeven adjust electrode pressure asneeded.

“Fixed operations remain an im-portant factor in dealer profitability,”says John Rylee, marketing directorfor Rotary and Chief parent companyVehicle Service Group (VSG). “Asdealers increasingly heed OEM sug-

gestions to add express service lanes,improve service times and bring colli-sion repair back ‘in house,’ we’re pro-viding equipment that enables them tomaximize these investments forgreater customer satisfaction andoverall profitability.”

For more information about Shock-wave, visit www.rotarylift.com/shock-wave. To learn more about the full line ofcollision repair equipment from Chief,including Elektron welders, visitwww.chiefautomotivetechnologies.com.You can also find the brands on Face-book, Twitter and YouTube. The RotaryLift booth number is 718.

Rotary Lift is a brand of vehiclelifts and equipment designed to in-crease technician productivity.Founded in 1925 by the inventor ofthe first automotive hydraulic lift, Ro-tary Lift offers the broadest line oflifts for use in professional automo-tive service, commercial truck andtransit, and enthusiast/residential cus-tomer segments. There are more Ro-tary Lift products used in vehiclerepair shops around the world thanany other brand. Chief Automotive

Technologies is one of the world’slargest manufacturers of collision re-pair products and services, includingframe-pulling equipment, vehicle an-choring systems, computerized meas-uring systems, and vehicle framespecifications. Chief is also a providerof comprehensive training on struc-tural analysis, computerized measur-ing, collision theory and design basedrepair. Additionally, Chief is the ex-clusive supplier of Elektron welders,battery chargers and plasma cutters inNorth, Central and South America.

Rotary and Chief are VehicleService Group (VSG) brands. VSGcomprises eight major vehicle liftingand collision repair brands: RotaryLift, Chief Automotive Technologies,Forward® Lift, Direct-Lift®, Hanmec-son®, Revolution® Lift, Blitz® andnogra®. Based in Madison, Ind., VSGhas operations worldwide. VSG ispart of the Engineered Systems seg-ment of Dover Corporation (NYSE:DOV), a multi-billion dollar, globalproducer of innovative equipment,specialty systems and value-addedservices.


Want every jobWant every jobto be a bang-up job?to be a bang-up job?Want every jobto be a bang-up job?

WE WANT TO BE YOUR SOURCEFOR REAL VOLKSWAGEN PARTS.

These dealers are Genuine VW Parts Wholesale Specialists.

We have the Real Volkswagen CollisionParts that make your job easier andyour customers happier. With your skilland our parts, every collision repair willbe a bang-up job. And that will add upto more repeat business for both of us.Call your order in today.

So. California

City VolkswagenSAN DIEGO

880000--992277--22227777FAX: 619-276-2414

M-F 7:30am - 6pm;Sat 8am - 5pm

www.cityvolkswagen.com

Volkswagen ofDowntown LA

LOS ANGELES

221133--774477--77224466FAX: 213-222-1272

Ask for Carlos or Erasmo

No. California

Dirito Bros. WalnutCreek Volkswagen

WALNUT CREEK

11--880000--VVOOLLKKSSWWAAGGEENNFAX: 925-934-0786

[email protected]

TimmonsVolkswagenLONG BEACH

11--888888--448899--55000011FAX: 562-426-3550

[email protected]

Drew VWSAN DIEGO

888888--883399--00777777DIRECT: 619-668-7782

FAX: [email protected]

Rotary Lift, Chief and Elektron Coming to National Automobile Dealers Association Expo

Mitchell, a San-Diego-based providerof technology, connectivity and infor-mation solutions to the Property &Casualty claims and Collision Repairindustries, announced the winner ofMitchell’s Get-a-Life Dream Vacationcontest held in 2011.

Mitchell’s RepairCenter™ teampresented Gabrielle Kephart ofWicklunds CARSTAR and Glass inLiberty, MO with a check totaling$5,000 in late December 2011, for anall expenses paid trip to Maui, Hawaii.RepairCenter is the industry’s firstShop Workspace™ solution that man-ages the repair, the customer, and thebusiness, all from a single personal-ized workspace, helping body shopsmanage their businesses so well thatthey have time to “get a life.”

“Congratulations to WicklundsCARSTAR for winning Mitchell’sGet-a-Life Dream Vacation,” said JimO’Leary, Mitchell’s Vice President ofRepair Solutions. “We are pleased toempower shop employees to ‘get alife’ by simplifying every aspect ofcomplex auto collision repair businessenvironments. Mitchell’s Repair-

Center auto shop management soft-ware streamlines key repair processesto help body shops be more efficient.”

O’Leary added, “We believe thata trusted partnership―founded on lis-tening, responsiveness and collabora-tion―is the cornerstone of Mitchell’sand our clients’ success, and we willcontinue building on the value we de-liver to the collision repair industry.”

“I’m thrilled that I wonMitchell’s Get-a-Life dream vacation– I couldn’t believe that I won,” saidKephart, Collision Repair Consultantfor Wicklunds CARSTAR. “MitchellRepairCenter is a great program thathelps me daily in my job, from man-aging and navigating through files toget info on a certain file. I’m lookingforward to having an amazing time inMaui with my mother.”

RepairCenter is the industry’sfirst Shop Workspace, building on thestrength of Mitchell’s market-leadingbusiness management systems, repairinformation content, and customer sat-isfaction services functionality. Re-pairCenter’s flexible design allowsauto body shops to select the toolsthey need to create a customizedWorkspace that meets their exactneeds, and then add modules as theirbusinesses evolve.

To learn more about Repair-Center and Mitchell’s other solutionsfor collision repair facilities please fillout the contact us form onMitchell.com or contact your Mitchellrepresentative.

Wicklunds CARSTAR & Glassof Liberty, MO was the FirstCARSTAR Franchisee. Founded onthe principle of raising the standardsof the collision repair industry, Wick-lunds CARSTAR Collision RepairCenter must meet strict requirementsconcerning quality of work, trainingand customer satisfaction. WicklundsCARSTAR & Glass has earned TheCARSTAR President’s PlatinumAward for Excellence in CustomerSatisfaction. Customers have givenWicklunds a Customer SatisfactionIndex Rating of 97% or greater sincethe program’s inception in 2002.Quality repairs combined with an ex-ceptional warranty and excellent cus-tomer service. For more information,visit www.wicklundscarstar.com.

For more information aboutMitchell, visit www.mitchell.com.


Genuine Mazda parts are specifically designed, engineered and tested for Mazda vehicles. Customers and repair professionals prefer the quality and satisfaction that only comes from genuine Mazda parts.

Galpin MazdaVan Nuys818-778-2005Fax 818-778-2090www.galpin.com

Chapman MazdaPhoenix866-593-5078602-344-4501Fax 602-344-0315Mon-Fri [email protected]

Give your customers what they deserve... The Best.

SO. CALIFORNIAARIZONA

Order your Genuine Mazda Parts from one of these parts specialists in your area.

Mazda 3 ‘11

Mitchell Announces Wicklunds CARSTAR as Winner of Get-a-Life Dream Vacation

Receiving Mitchell’s Get-a-Life Dream Vacationcontest prize from Stephan Brisard, Director ofProduct Marketing, Mitchell Repair Solutions,right, are (from left): Rochelle Wicklund,Collision Repair Consultant, Gerald Wicklund,Owner/General Manager, Gabrielle Kephart,Collision Repair Consultant at WicklundCARSTAR and Glass, the winner of the tripto Maui, Hawaii

With new car and light car sales plung-ing from an average of nearly 17 mil-lion units per-year (1999 to 2007) toless than a 12 million new vehicle an-nual average between 2008 and 2014,there will be a rapid drop in used ve-hicles seven years and newer through2017, with used-vehicles shortages inkey model years continuing to 2020.

Major Dealer Profit StreamsVirtually all Dealer profits come fromtwo sources: used-vehicle sales alongwith parts and labor volume. For mostDealers, new car and light truck salesdo not contribute to the bottom line.

With the coming plunge in usedvehicles available for Dealers to sell,Dealer profits from used-vehicle oper-ations will crater. To compensate forthis income loss, Dealers need to driveother sectors of their business.

The only major opportunity forDealers to expand profits (to compen-sate for the loss of income from lowerused-vehicle sales) with be to promoteparts and labor sales, primarilythrough their bays.

Renewed DIFM Competition FromDealer BaysThis means Independent (non-Dealer)service outlets will face renewed com-petition from Dealers who are beingsqueezed by a lack of used vehicles

and dwindling warranty dollars (re-sulting from improved vehicle qualityand reduced new vehicle sales).

Repair SpecialistsWhile many Repair Specialists are ex-panding their menu of repair jobs,their business still remains more con-centrated among a core group of repairoperations than general repair shopssuch as Service Stations and Garages.

Ten-Year DIFM Growth RunBetween 2000 and 2010, Repair Spe-cialists expanded their DIFM productvolume at an annual rate more thantwice the pace of overall Service mar-ket growth. Their share of Servicemarket product volume increasednearly one-quarter between 2000 and2010 as their combined DIFM productvolume soared over 50% at user-price.

Foreign SpecialistsOutlets focusing on the repair andmaintenance of foreign nameplates op-erate a smaller number of outlets andservice bays than Repair Specialists.Foreign Specialists achieved nearly5.0% Service annual market productexpansion during these 10 years, higherthan the growth pace of Repair Spe-cialists which account for a much largershare of total Service market productvolume than Foreign Specialists.

Used Car Drought Ignites Dealer Bay Competition

Search:Autobody News

on Facebook

As a sign of gratitude, two Bay Areabody shops and Enterprise Rent-a-Carmade an Iraq war veteran’s homecom-ing a little more special, by restoring hiscar for free, according to reports by CBSNews and The Saratoga News in De-cember last year. The car belongs toArmy Specialist Anthony Gadd, whobought it off Craigslist while serving inIraq. At $1,300, he got what he paid for.

The formerly beat-up 1996 Volk-swagen Golf with a messed-up bumper,had been completely restored, insideand out, all for free. With a refurbishedbody and new paint, it has never lookedbetter after 89,000 miles. The restoredcar was revealed to Gadd on Dec. 3,2011, who came home from Iraq on No-vember 8.

“Wow! It looks amazing,” Gaddsaid. “Oh my gosh, it’s gorgeous.”

Over the past four months, a smallarmy of craftsmen, painters and me-chanics donated the materials and a hun-dred hours of their time. AndersonBehel body shop in Santa Clara did thepaint.

“I have a huge appreciation for thesoldiers that are on active duty and those

who have served in the past,” saidDavid Mello of the body shop. “And soI think I got the easy part, paintingsomebody’s car.”

FCC Collision center in MountainView said the 15-year-old car had a lotof problems. Altogether, it was $7,000of work.

The 26-year-old is now unem-ployed, looking for work in computerscience. Gadd’s mother, Anne, said herson was initially hesitant to accept sucha gift. because he said other soldiers aremore deserving. But he eventually came

around. “People in our country are sopatriotic and love you for serving ourcountry,” she told her son. “They are sograteful and want to stand with you. Andthis is the way they know ho

“I don’t think I did anything spe-cial. I didn’t do anything courageous oranything like that,” Gadd said. “I justdid my job.”

After Gadd bought the beat-up car,which was parked on the family’s streetin Saratoga, the Gadd’s next-door neigh-bor Chad Iken, a Bay Area regionalvice president at Enterprise Rent-A-Car,offered to talk to a few people he knowsin the body shop business to help out.He found Matt Piper of FCC CollisionsCenter in Mountain View and AndersonBehel in Santa Clara, both of which of-fered to refurbish and repaint the car forfree. Neither did it for the publicity, andare shy about taking credit for theirwork.

“We don’t get an opportunity to in-teract with a lot of veterans,” Piper said.“But we feel for people who have toleave our country and spend time in anot very pleasant place away from fam-ily. It’s a lot tougher than a 9 to 5 job.

And it’s just our token attempt to helpout.”

As Gadd tells the story, he foundthe car by searching on Craigslist whilehe was still in Iraq, knowing he’d needwheels to be able to drive to UC Davisin January to finish up his degree in

computer science engineering. At thetime, he was overseeing helicopter mis-sions in Iraq with the National Guard’s40th Combat Aviation Brigade, basedout of Fresno.

“They did all this work, like $7,000on a $1,300 car,” Gadd said. “Theyredid every panel. They replaced everypart. It’s really important for people toknow that there are people in the com-munity who do good things for vets.”


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

QUALITY IS ALL WE THINK ABOUT. THAT

AND QUALITY.

Hyundai Sonata 2011

ARIZONA

Chapman HyundaiPHOENIX

877-684-5803602-866-6166

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

Sat 8am - [email protected]

San Leandro HyundaiSAN LEANDRO

510-347-3010510-895-1027 Fax

Lithia HyundaiFRESNO

800-462-2231559-436-6041

559-436-0743 FaxMon-Fri 7am - 6pm

Sat 8am - [email protected]

SO. CALIFORNIA

NO. CALIFORNIA

Tuttle Click HyundaiIRVINE

800-428-7485949-472-7430

949-586-5104 Fax949-586-7093 Fax

Mon-Fri 7am - 7pmSat 8am - 5pm

[email protected]

Drew HyundaiSAN DIEGO

888-839-0777619-668-7782 Direct


www.drewhyundai.com

SO. CALIFORNIA

Kearny Mesa HyundaiSAN DIEGO

800-469-9731858-300-3331 Fax

Mon-Fri 7am - 6pmSat 8am - 5pm

[email protected]

Bay Area Iraq Veteran Gets Car Makeover by Two Bay Area Body Shops

Army Specialist Anthony Gadd, an Iraq Warveteran, sits inside his restored VolkswagenGolf. Gadd’s car was restored by a group ofbody shop mechanics who donated materialsand their time. (courtesy CBS)

FCC Collisions Center in Mountain View andAnderson-Behel in Santa Clara complete redidthis VW Golf for Army Specialist AnthonyGadd. (Courtesy of Anthony Gadd)


valid survey of the industry.“You can’t project the findings to

the industry as a whole,” he said.Rather, he said,

the committee hireda consultant to domore of a type offocus group: Hour-long conversationalinterviews withmore than 40 indus-try representatives

to develop some sense of the industry’sopinions regarding repair standards.

Though a more in-depth reporton the study’s findings is expectedto be released in the comingmonths, the committee released a21-page summary (posted online athttp://tinyurl.com/7tysey4) of someof the more quantitative findings,the responses to the questions ask-ing participants for yes-or-no orranking responses.

In 42 interviews with shops, in-surers, associations, automakers andsuppliers, the consultant found that all18 shop representatives interviewedsaid they would support the standardseffort; generally less than 65 percentof those in the other segments (whichincluded six shop associations or net-works) concurred.

While not quoting intervieweesdirectly, the report offers a sense ofsome of the comments made. Shop as-sociation representatives, for example,questioned what such a program isgoing to do for shops, and said insurersshould not be in a position to influencehow vehicles are repaired. Two of thesix insurers interviewed also said thatinsurers shouldn’t be involved and thatshops should drive the effort.

The last question in the draft re-port issued by the committee askedsurvey participants what they see asthe likelihood that the repair standardsinitiative would be implementedwithin the next five years. Thrall saidusing a scale of 1 (no chance) to 4(definitely), most respondents weresomewhere in the middle.

“It’s leans toward ‘likely’ (a 3 onthe survey’s scale), but it’s more ‘per-haps (a 2 on the scale),’” Thrall said.“So people definitely aren’t sure itwill be possible to implement thiswithin the next five years.”

CIC Participants Speak OutThough the discussion that followedthe committee’s report at CIC, held inJanuary in Palm Springs, Calif., in-cluded some discussion of the issueof standards, much of it focused oncriticism or defense of the researchstudy itself.

Some of the CIC participantswho spoke included:● Aaron Schulenburg, executive di-rector of the Society of Collision Re-pair Specialists (SCRS), who said hefelt the survey questions seemed lessfocused on “determining the appetiteof the industry” for a formalized stan-dard program and more on “carvingout the menu.” He said the consultant,in addition to the 42 interviews, par-ticipated in a conference call withmore than a dozen of SCRS state af-filiate groups. “I think it was veryclear from our folks on that call that(standards) are something that is valu-able to be done by collision repairersfor collision repairers, but that therewas skepticism of having involve-ment among entities such as insur-ance carriers involving theestablishment of repair standards.”● Paul Massey of Ford Motor Com-pany said that although OEM repairprocedures are the logical basis for re-

pair standards, it’sreally up to shops,insurers and con-sumers to decideif there’s value indeveloping a for-malized standardsprogram. Thestudy, he said, did-

n’t answer the questions he thinks theindustry needs to ask itself. “At theend of the day, if you put in standardswould a lot more customers chooseyou over the next guy,” Massey said.“If you put in standards, do you run abetter, more competitive and prof-itable business? And if you put in

standards will the insurance compa-nies use you versus the other guy?”● Steve Nantau of Ford said hethinks many shops misunderstand“repair standards” as just dealingwith the process of the actual repair,when he and the committee envisiona more inclusive program that in-cludes standards for training andequipment, and a third-party certifi-cation or auditing entity like one inthe United Kingdom. “If you don’thave a third-party doing this, I canguarantee you that the OEMs aregoing to have certification programsfor independent shops,” Nantau said.“We’re seeing that already. And it’snot going to be open to just anyonewho’s qualifies. They’re going to bechosen. If you qualify and youweren’t a chosen one, you’re notgoing to be able put a (certified) signabove your door like you could if theindustry create a third-party that cer-tifies all who qualify.”● Consultant Matt Ohrnstein ofSymphony Advisors urged proponents

of standards de-velopment not to“allow intermedi-aries to profit bytaxing collision re-pair shops aroundthe country fortraining, certifica-tion, OE-specific

equipment and third-party verifica-tion.”● Committee member and current CICchairman Mike Quinn emphasizedthat the committee sees the study as in-

formation-gather-ing, not a licenseto push somethingforward. “Thisconversation is thebeginning of manyconversations,” hesaid. “There’s noplans of any kind

to move this forward any further fromthis study. It’s up to the industry to de-cide what happens next.”

I-CAR promises responseAlso at the CIC meeting in PalmSprings, I-CAR CEO John Van Al-

styne said his organization hopes torespond by April to a joint requestfrom multiple repairer associationsthat I-CAR play a role in standardsformation.

Last fall, a number of industryassociations issued a statement call-

ing published au-tomaker repairprocedures the“official industry-recognized repairstandards for col-lision repair.” Inthe statement, thegroups acknowl-

edged that OEM repair procedures are“incomplete in comparison to the fullscope of vehicles and repair opera-tions that exist in the marketplace,”but they should serve as a baselinefrom which further development ofprocedures occur.

The associations called on I-CARto create an industry council “to iden-tify gaps in existing OEM procedures”and to develop processes to closethose gaps, vetting any industry-pro-posed alternatives, modifications oradditions to OEM procedures.

At CIC in Palm Springs, Van Al-styne reiterated what he said last fall,that he sees merit in the proposalgiven I-CAR’s current involvementwith the automakers. But he also hassaid I-CAR’s board must decide whatrole it’s appropriate for the organiza-tion to play, and that he has personallybeen in touch with I-CAR stakehold-ers to gather feedback.

He said the I-CAR board’s“strategic planning committee” will re-view that compiled feedback and makea recommendation to the board—witha decision, he said, likely by CIC’sApril 25-26 meeting in OklahomaCity, Okla.

John Yoswick, a freelance writerbased in Portland, Oregon, who hasbeen writing about the automotive in-dustry since 1988, is also the editorof the weekly CRASH Network (for afree 4-week trial subscription, visitwww.CrashNetwork.com). He can becontacted by email at:[email protected].

Continued from Front Page

CIC Palm Springs

Russ Thrall

Paul Massey

Matt Ohrnstein

John Van Alstyne

Mike Quinn

ment was settled merely as a nuisanceclaim. I’ve never once found where

an insurer has ever overpaid a claimand they didn’t in this matter either.They knew what they owed and whyand that they would lose if it went infront of jury. They also knew, theywould surely incur additional and sig-

nificant legal costs and interest just asthey have in the past. I don’t carewhat they say their motivation was aslong as they pay us so we can pay ourteam-members for every drop ofsweat they drop in the repair of our

customer’s vehicles.”“It will be interesting to see how

the other three active lawsuits wehave filed against State Farm on be-half of our customers turn out,” con-tinued Gunder.


Gunder

The Automotive Service Association(ASA) has noted the National Re-search Council’s (NRC) Transporta-tion Research Board recently releaseda study reviewing automotive elec-tronics safety, which will likely resultin electronics safety policy changes.

The committee that produced thereport found that the increasingly ca-pable and complex electronics systemsbeing added to automobiles presentmany opportunities for making drivingsafer but also present new demands forensuring their safe performance. Thesesafety assurance demands pertain bothto the automotive industry’s develop-ment and deployment of electronicssystems and to NHTSA’s safety over-sight role. With regard to the latter, thecommittee recommends that NHTSAgive explicit consideration to the over-sight challenges arising from automo-tive electronics and that the agencydevelop and articulate a long-termstrategy for meeting these challenges.

ASA said the study—which wasrequested by the National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration(NHTSA) after the 2009–2010 reportsof sudden acceleration problems inToyota vehicles—was meant to iden-

tify how the NHTSA’s regulatory, re-search and defect investigation pro-grams can be strengthened to meet thesafety assurance and oversight chal-lenges created from the use of auto-motive electronics.

The ASA said key findings fromthe study include the following:• Electronic systems have becomecritical to the functioning of modernautomobiles.• Electronic systems are being inter-connected with one another, and withdevices and networks to provide theirdesired functions.• Proliferating and increasingly inter-connected electronics systems are cre-ating opportunities to improve vehiclesafety and reliability, as well as de-mands for addressing new systemsafety and cyber security risks.• By enabling the introduction ofmany new vehicle capabilities andchanges to familiar driver interfaces,electronics systems are presenting newchallenges for system design and ve-hicle-level integration.• Automotive manufacturers imple-ment many processes during productdesign, engineering and manufactur-

NRC Releases Automotive Electronics Safety Report

See NRC Report, Page 57

On January 12, BMW announced thatthe company will invest nearly $900Million and add 300 new jobs in 2012in its South Carolina plant. This an-nouncement was made during a cere-mony to commemorate a majorproduction milestone—2,000,000 ve-hicles have rolled off the assemblyline since the company began U.S.production in 1994.Frank-Peter Arndt, BMW

Group Board Member responsible forProduction, revealed the company’sintention to expand its X-model fam-ily. He revealed that production of thenew BMW X4 will occur at the Spar-tanburg plant, spurring significant in-vestment and job creation necessary toprepare the facility for the new model.

“I am delighted to announcetoday, over the next three years, weplan to invest nearly $900 Million U.S.dollars. With this investment, we willbe able to produce 350,000 units herein the mid-term,” said Arndt. “This isone reaction to the rising global de-mand for our BMW X Models.”

Governor Nikki Haley spoke atthe ceremony saying, “BMW has once

again provided tremendous evidencethat South Carolina is a blueprint forsignificant economic developmentsuccess. The partnership between thiscompany and our State is an enduringexample of how to attract, retain andgrow business to stimulate perpetualjob creation.”

“Two million vehicles have pre-pared our team well to meet the newopportunities that lie ahead for ourplant. We look forward to a newmodel with great anticipation. Fornearly 20 years, this team has alwaysproven their steadfast commitment toproducing quality vehicles for ourcustomers around the world,” re-marked Josef Kerscher, President ofBMW Manufacturing.

“I am thrilled to celebrate the twomillionth BMW today,” said BobbyHitt, Secretary of Commerce forSouth Carolina. “BMW’s impact onSouth Carolina’s economy and over-all competitiveness is always worthcelebrating. This new economic in-vestment and commitment of jobs is atestament to South Carolina’s strongautomotive manufacturing industry.”

With the addition of 300 newjobs this year the plant will raise pro-duction capacities up to 300,000 units.By the end of the year, the plant willemploy nearly 7,500 people at itsmore than 4.0 million square foot fa-cility. Since the original 1992 decisionto build BMW’s only U.S. plant inSouth Carolina, this announcementbrings BMW Group’s total investmentin the state to nearly $6 Billion U.S.dollars and represents its largest, sin-gle investment to date in its SouthCarolina plant.

In 2011, the plant produced276,065 vehicles for over 130 marketsaround the world representing a 73%increase versus 2010. Seventy percentof the vehicles produced (192,813)were exported making BMW thelargest automotive exporter to thenon-NAFTA countries. Sales of thevehicles produced at the plant havemet with continued high demand. Ac-cording to Arndt, throughout theworld, more that 117,000 X3’s weresold in 2011 representing a 156%growth of this vehicle versus its pred-ecessor.

The 2 millionth vehicle to roll offthe line in Spartanburg was a Vermil-lion Red Metallic X3 xDrive35idriven by BMW Associate TerryGardner, a 16-year BMW veteran.Accompanying the driver, were asso-ciates: Renita Williams, TrungPhan and Olga Yurchenko. Theseassociates represent teams from eachof the plant’s manufacturing tech-nologies: Body, Paint and Assembly.While all vehicles are custom orderedprior to production, this symbolic ve-hicle will remain on display at theSpartanburg Plant to commemoratethe milestone.

Also making remarks at the mile-stone event were German Ambassadorto the United States Peter Ammon,United States Congressman TreyGowdy and Spartanburg CountyCouncil Chairman Jeffrey Horton.

Since 1994, the plant has under-gone four major expansions and pro-duced 6 different BMW models.Employment has grown from 500 in1994 to more than 7,000 today. Visitwww.bmwusfactory.com for more in-formation.


BMW Announces Nearly $900 Million Investment, Adding 300 Jobs at its South Carolina Plant


From the moment I came across theBody Shop of Athens’ online, I couldtell there was something special aboutthis shop. Their offer of insider tips,latest news updates and the detaileddescription of the repair processhinted at a shop dedicated to educat-ing the customer and keeping currentin the industry, but I had no idea howdedicated owners Carl and CarlaColquett also were to their Georgiacommunity and the environment.

In November 2008, the BodyShop of Athens in Athens, GA, was thefirst in their market to convert to a wa-

terborne paint system. They also recy-cle all paper, plastic, cardboard andmetal materials, providing recyclecontainers for each employee, andthey have three separate dumpsters toaccommodate their efforts, includingone that is made of recycled materialsitself. The Body Shop of Athens vol-unteered to be the first shop inspectedin their area for 6H compliance, andCarla sat on the EPA/EPD Stakehold-ers Federal 6H Rule Committee forthe state of Georgia, representing thecollision industry segment. Carl andCarla also support local green energyexpos by hosting a booth to explainwaterborne paint and recycling.

The shop shows its communityefforts in many ways. In addition tosponsoring and donating to many or-ganizations, such as Junior League ofAthens, Athens Area Cancer Auxiliaryand Business Network International,they also sponsor their local BoyScouts and Food 2 Kids organizations.They participate in Toys for Tots aswell and are in collaboration with theState Police for free child seat safetychecks at their shop. They offer freemeeting space in their conferencerooms to the community, and they

subsidize space for the InternationalOffice of Women to the World, whereCarla also serves as a board member.

Even though they are busy withthe day-to-day business of running asuccessful body shop, Carl and Carlaalso take time out of their hecticschedules every Saturday morning torecord a radio show on 1340 NewstalkAM and Bulldog 103.7 FM called“CarChat with Carl and Carla” wherethey discuss details consumers shouldknow about their vehicles as well ascurrent events in the community.

Carl Colquett founded the BodyShop of Athens in 1995 after graduat-ing Athens Technical College andspending fifteen years at the localGMC/Cadillac dealership. Carla be-came active in the business about fouryears ago, using her background insales, marketing and upper manage-ment to improve the business. Sincethe shop was dated and located on aside street, when they decided theywanted to grow in the last quarter of2010, they moved 1.5 miles down theroad to their current location on amain highway between downtownAthens and the mall. According toCarla, “we relocated because of thecustomer experience and to meet andexceed the environment required byinsurance providers.”

Their dedication to customerservice can be seen in each repair thatleaves their shop. Expectations arehigh as evidenced by a sign in theirestimator’s office reading “AlwaysExpect Excellence.” They even havea climate-controlled drive-through es-timating and delivery area. They havealso opened a sizable Jittery Joe’s Cof-fee Shop in their lobby for customers.It’s more than a caffeine fix, it’s a so-cializing hub for the whole commu-nity.

As a final “chocolates-on-the-pillow” gesture, each repair is deliv-ered with a care package consisting ofa car-shaped cookie, a logo bag, logobottle of water and a rose with a hand-written thank you card, along with thecustomer’s final paperwork and war-ranty information. The CSI scores, notsurprisingly, are near 100%.

The Body Shop of Athens offerson-site rental vehicles as well as a

smartphone application called “Help ICrashed My Car,” an car accidentemergency assistant where drivers canstore all of the information they needin case of an accident.

The shop is also in the process ofobtaining their Female Friendly Cer-tification through askpatty.com, andthey embrace modern social media byfrequently updating their Facebookpage. Since opening, the shop hasnearly doubled their revenue by build-ing relationships, experimenting withnew ideas and expanding their view ofwhat it means to be a quality auto

body shop.Carl and Carla attended the

NACE expo in Las Vegas in 2010, andthey found the amount of educationaland networking opportunities to beamazing. It was enjoyable for Carlabecause “we were able to spend timeworking on our business, not in ourbusiness.”

In regards to the modern businesspractices, the shop has been embrac-ing the current trends of meticulousdisassembly and lean processes whichlead to more efficient repairs. Theynote that the trend towards waterbornepaint products is good all around,from the environmental benefits to theexceptional color matching. Addi-tional sources of revenue includeglasswork, paintless dent repair, stor-age and mechanical work. They arealso currently working on an expressbumper repair lane.

When asked about challenges theshop has experienced lately, Carlanoted that many consumers do not un-derstand their rights of repair choiceand that the shop provides a warrantyof the workmanship, not the insurancecompany. Also, with the influx of newtechnology, many customers are re-

questing estimates by emailing or tex-ting photographs of their damaged ve-hicles.

Carla noted the tendency of con-sumers to delay repairs and use fundsfor other obligations due to the currenteconomy as well as challenges con-cerning aftermarket parts.

The Body Shop of Athens is ASEand I-CAR certified. Carl and CarlaColquett are both AMI graduates (Ac-credited Automotive Managers), andboth sit on the Athens Tech AdvisoryBoard for the Collision Division. Ad-ditionally, Carla is a state certifiedcontinuing education instructor for in-surers, the vice president of CollisionASA NE Georgia and a member ofWIN, Womens’ Industry Network.

The Body Shop of Athens is a14,000 square foot shop of which4000 sq. ft. is dedicated to the lobby.There are nine employees working inthe shop. The shop uses a SaicoDowndraft Paint Booth, Chief FrameMachine, Rotary Lifts and SpotWelders. Their CCC One estimatingand management system has been es-pecially useful in enhancing produc-tivity, and Carla also credits thewaterborne paint system as a majorbenefit to their business. In the lastquarter of 2011, the Body Shop ofAthens averaged seventy vehicle re-pairs monthly. They utilize PPGAquabase paints, and though they geta mix of older and newer model vehi-cles, they do not have any difficultymatching the paint on older vehicles.Carl and Carla strive to educate cus-tomers on all aspects of the refinishprocess.

The Body Shop of Athens cur-rently does not participate in any di-rect repair programs. Although theyare in favor of obtaining such rela-tionships, they are doing their researchbefore securing any agreements forfear that mandates on parts and proce-dures can jeopardize the quality oftheir repairs. As always, Carl andCarla think about the customer first.

The Body Shop of Athens2950 Atlanta HighwayAthens, GA 30606(706) 546-1158thebodyshopofathens.com

Customers Expect Quality in All Respects from The Body Shop of Athens

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 Showcase

with Erica SchroederShop Snapshot

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].

The Body Shop of Athens Owners Carl andCarla Colquett

The Body Shop of Athens occupies a 4,000square-foot building on Atlanta Highway

In the latest step forward in the col-laboration of the Renault-Nissan Al-liance and Daimler, Nissan’s Decherd,Tenn., plant will build Mercedes-Benz4-cylinder engines for Infiniti andMercedes-Benz starting in 2014.

Nissan and Daimler will produceMercedes-Benz 4-cylinder gasolineengines together at Nissan’s power-train assembly plant in Decherd, Tenn.Production will begin in 2014, withinstalled capacity of 250,000 units peryear once full ramp–up is achieved.The Decherd facility will produce en-gines for Mercedes-Benz and Infinitimodels.

“This is the newest milestone inour pragmatic collaboration and ourmost significant project outside of Eu-rope so far,” said Renault-Nissan CEOCarlos Ghosn. “Localized capacityreduces exposure to foreign exchangerates while rapidly enabling a goodbusiness development in North Amer-ica—a win-win for the Alliance andDaimler.”

The collaboration marks the firstproduction of Mercedes-Benz enginesin the North America Free Trade re-

gion. The Tennessee plant’s strategiclocation and logistics links ensure adirect supply of engines starting in2014 for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class,built at Daimler’s vehicle plant inTuscaloosa, Ala.

“In the context of our Mercedes-Benz 2020 growth strategy, we havedecided that we will expand the pro-duction capacities required for thisclose to the customers. Through thestrategic extension of our cooperationwith Renault-Nissan we can realizenear-market engine production in theNAFTA region on attractive economicterms and make optimum use of syn-ergies arising from the cooperation,”Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of theDaimler Board of Management andHead of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said.“Thus we are systematically broaden-ing our manufacturing footprint in thisimportant growth market.”

Nissan began powertrain assem-bly in Decherd in 1997. Today it man-ufactures 4-, 6- and 8-cylinder enginesfor the complete lineup of U.S.-pro-duced Nissan and Infiniti vehicles.The plant also houses crankshaft forg-

ing and cylinder block casting opera-tions. In 2011, Decherd producedmore than 580,000 engines on a cov-ered area of more than 1.2 millionsquare feet (111,000 square meters).

Project portfolio expandsDaimler and the Renault-Nissan Al-liance launched their strategic collabo-ration in April 2010, including anequity exchange that gives the Renault-Nissan Alliance a 3.1 percent stake inDaimler and Daimler a combined 3.1percent interest in Renault and Nissan.

The collaboration began withthree project pillars:1. Joint smart/Twingo architecture:The project is on track for launch inthe early first quarter of 2014. Two-seater smart vehicles will be producedat Daimler’s plant in Hambach,France, and four-seater smart and Re-nault production are slated for Re-nault’s plant in Novo Mesto, Slovenia.2. All-new entry-level city van projectfor Mercedes-Benz: The project is onschedule with expected launch in late2012. Manufacturing at Renault’splant in Maubeuge, France.

3. Powertrain cross-supply: The Al-liance is supplying Daimler with com-pact three-cylinder gasoline engines tobe used in smart and Twingo vehiclesand four-cylinder diesel engines to beused in the jointly developed lightcommercial vehicle and in Mercedes-Benz’s next generation of premiumcompact cars. Daimler will supplyNissan and Infiniti with four- and six-cylinder gasoline and diesel enginesfrom the current and future engineportfolio as well as with automatictransmissions.

Since its founding in April 2010,the collaboration has been graduallyexpanded. In addition to the an-nouncement this week about NorthAmerican engine production, thecompanies also decided to partner on:Platform sharing: Infiniti plans to basea premium compact vehicle on theMercedes compact-car architecture,starting in 2014; Zero-emission vehi-cles: Daimler will provide batteriesfrom its production facility in Ka-menz, Germany, and Renault-Nissanwill provide electric motors for the usein electric vehicles.


AudiGenuine Parts

Order Audi Genuine Parts from these select Dealers

Nothing else measures up.

Audi ofDowntown LALOS ANGELES213-747-7248213-222-1261 FaxAsk for Carlos or Fausto

Circle AudiLONG BEACH800-675-2472562-597-2854 FaxAsk for Eddie or Nate

So. California

Nissan and Daimler to Produce Engines Together at Nissan’s Tennessee Plant

ing intended to ensure that electronicssystems perform as expected, and todetect failures when they occur.

The ASA said the 16-membercommittee that conducted the studymade the following recommendationsto the NHTSA:• NHTSA should become more en-gaged in standard-setting and other ef-forts aimed at strengthening the wayauto manufacturers ensure the safeperformance of their automotive elec-tronic systems.• NHTSA should convene a technicaladvisory panel comprised of individu-als with backgrounds in the design, de-velopment and safety assurance ofautomotive electronic systems. Thepanel should be consulted on relevanttechnical matters that arise with re-spect to all of the agency’s vehiclesafety programs, including regulatoryreviews, defect investigation processesand research needs assessments.• NHTSA should undertake a com-prehensive review of the capabilitiesthat the Office of Defects Investigation(ODI) will need to monitor and inves-

tigate safety deficiencies in electron-ics-intensive vehicles. A regular chan-nel of communication should beestablished between NHTSA’s re-search program and ODI to ensure thatrecurrent vehicle safety problems arethe subjects of research.• Event data recorders (EDRs) shouldbe commonplace in new vehicles.• NHTSA should initiate a strategicplanning effort that gives explicit con-sideration to the safety challenges re-sulting from vehicle electronics.

“This report likely assures thatNHTSA will proceed with policychanges relative to automotive elec-tronics review and safety. The recentsecurity breaches or hacking activitiesin some vehicles increases the need forautomotive repairs to be done by pro-fessionals,” said Bob Redding, ASA’sWashington, D.C., representative.

“The automotive industry’s effortwith the National Automotive ServiceTask Force’s (NASTF) Secure DataRelease Model is an example of inde-pendent repairers working with auto-mobile manufacturers to ensure vehiclesecurity. We are hopeful that NHTSAwill include independent repairers inthe strategic planning process for auto-motive electronics safety.”


NRC Report

Alan Taylor from Motor Trend Radiocalled me last fall to say he had part-nered up with eBay Motors to ‘per-sonalize’ a 2012 5.0L Mustangdonated by Galpin Ford, and auctionit during SEMA 2011. He wanted toput a team together to take the carfrom “stock to extreme,” but stillstreet legal. I was in.

They also wanted to do a video-for-the-web program about personal-izing the car from start to finish. Theprogram is called modJOBS, and youcan go to eBay Motors and watch our6–8 minute episodes at cc.ebay.com/mod-jobs. It’s narrated by Alan andDennis Pittsenbarger from Hot RodMagazine Live. (I come in on episode#3, Sweet and Low.) So modJOBSmakes it fun, everybody gets to teamup and you get to follow along bywatching the episodes of how to builda vehicle and how to add accessoriesand what’s available out there forthese new vehicles.

Alan said the car would be auc-tioned on Ebay and the proceedswould go to a charity called PatriotOutreach (www.patriotoutreach.org)to contribute to treating PTSD. The ul-timate team would include Vick Edel-brock, Jr. (supercharged engine);Revo Reeves (interior), Ryan ‘Ryno’Templeton (paint), and me (modifieddesign and fabrication).

I love building cars and washappy to put time and effort to benefitthe people that have served our coun-try and are the real heroes. They goover and risk or sacrifice their lives tomake better lives for us. Here was achance to give something back.

So we started off with Galpin’s2012 5.0L Mustang with the goal ofputting some more personality behind

it to represent the men and womenthat serve our country and providesome benefits when they get backfrom serving.

Basically we’re going to take thiscar and partner with a lot of peoplefrom the performance, the wheels, thebraking, paint, parts, concept, and ex-haust. So 2012 Mustang, basicallybringing it over to get the performancehandled by Edelbrock so what a bet-ter way to get the performance done.So they put a supercharger in thisthing, which gives you another 100-150 horsepower to bring it up to 550-hp at the flywheel. I don’t want to giveyou all the inside scoop on it becauseI really want you guys to watch ourmodJOBS episodes and follow usalong the build that way.

I reached out to a team of guys tohelp me so I didn’t have to carry thewhole weight of this build. We gotRyno Templeton from Blast of Air, alot of you guys will know him frommy Allstar team on Car Warriors. Ialso reached out to Revo Reeves whoowns Stitch Craft Interiors. Revo didthe interior and the audio and Rynodid the airbrush art on the headlinerand the paint. We did a logo for PatriotOutreach on the fiberglass headlinerthat I made. We don’t really want toget real loud with this car but we wantto make it kind of subtle and cool.Everybody knows me, I’m always realloud, so I’ve got to tune it down andback a little bit, which you’ll see bywatching the modJOBS videos.

With the interior we’re just goingto do it real subtle but real cool. So

with my design concept I came upwith, I want to make the car look likeit’s going 100mph and then I want torepresent Patriot Outreach and designa really cool rim. I came up with a rimand for you guys to see it you’re goingto have to go visit modJOBS and see

the episode. I basically took a wheelwith the Chevron stripes incorporatedin it and it’s also got Army, Air Force,Coast Guard, Marine and Navy repre-sentation on it to represent what theseguys do in a nutshell. What a betterway to give back and show our thanksthan to really put some heart to it and

that’s what I did in that wheel design.I’ve got Brian with Onward Coatingcutting my wheels and I want to thank


Doing a Charity Build for Patriot Outreach on a Donated Mustang

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

Industry Insightwith John Yoswick

Rich Evans is the owner of Huntington Beach Bodyworks and an award winning painter andfabricator. He offers workshops in repair and customization at his facility to share his uniquetalents. For contacts and design samples visit www.huntingtonbeachbodyworks.com

The 2012 Ford Mustang, seen here at SEMA 2011, was built by the modJOBS team to benefitPatriot Outreach. The car was auctioned off on eBay Motors and yielded $50,100, all of whichwill go to Patriot Outreach to support treatment for PTSD

With Dennis Pittsenbarger (l) checking out thecaliper covers by MGP Caliper Covers

Ryno Templeton airbrushed the tribute to thearmed forces on the headliner


him for being able to get these wheelsout on time. It came down to a pinchwhere we had to put these wheels on aplane and get them out here in time tomake it for the big unveiling at 2011SEMA. I wanted to incorporate itsown stand alone grille, so I created agrille kit for it, and also a scoop. Andfrom there we’re incorporating a rac-ing stripe down the side, a graphic,and then Ryno’s going to do his thingwith some stars and stripes. Theprocess is really cool. It’s about peo-ple getting together. We called onHurst Shifters. My buddy Nate overthere sent over a shifter for the projectand also reached out to Magna Flow.They also sent out some product forBolt on and we were actually able totake it over to them and have them in-stall it. There were a whole lot of othersponsors that came together on this,I’d really like you guys to tune intomodJOBS, that’s the whole purposebehind this story. I can tell the storybut being able to circle back and

watch it, just go toEbay Motors andclick modJOBS andfollow along. An-other cool thing wasthat we got to inter-act with eBay cus-tomers and let themchoose. I createdthree concepts withthe help of Rynoand let them choosewhich concept andpaint job to go with.If we do more ofthese we will proba-bly incorporatewheels, body kits,

and stuff like that and make it a buildyour own car. It makes it unique whenyou’re interacting with the viewersand the customers in finding whatthey want. After creating all this andbuilding this car, the journey was cool.Benchmark Productions are the peo-ple that produced everything. We didmost of the build here at Huntington

Beach Body Works, where we haveRich Evans Designs, my shop. MGPCaliper Covers provided some RichEvans One Off Caliper Covers. To seethem go to mpgcalipercovers.com and

get your own covers that you can in-stall within 20 minutes max. That’s aneasy way to personalize your car. It’svery inexpensive and it looks reallycool.

I need to thank my sponsors foreverything they do: BF Goodrich al-ways comes to play with a set of tires.G Force is what we used on this build.They have a new tire coming out aswell so look for that it’s going to bereally cool. I don’t want to spill thebeans before I’m able to but BFG isreally working hard and keeping yousafe on the road. The guys that partic-ipated in this, Gil did a lot of work onthe finishing part of it, the buffing andthen we had to come in where we gotsome white compound on the plasticso I can’t forget to mention SolutionFinish. All you body shop guys outthere having problems catching thatwhite spit off when you’re buffing thecars and it’s getting in the black and

you’re using laquer thinner to clean itout and it turns it white. SolutionFin-ish.com, check it out. It will resolveyour oxidation problem. Wipe it on,wipe it off, you’re good to go. No mis-takes had and you don’t have to buyparts and this and that.

You can go to my website, hunt-ingtonbeachbodywork.com and/orrichevansdesigns.com, or go to EbayMotors, huge site for used and newparts and the sale of cars. So check out

my new parts, check out the new car,check out my new wheels. You don’thave to do a lot to change and person-alize a car, and that’s proven by whatwe’ve got going on here with thisproject.

The biggest thing is I want every-one to check out is PatriotOutreach.organd if there’s anything you can do tobring awareness to that organization,do it. For every set of wheels I did forthis project that are sold, a portion isgoing to that charity. I like to tie my-self to projects where we’re not justthinking of ourselves. That’s whatmakes projects like this fun and itmakes getting up in the morning feelgreat.

I’ve got some really cool stuffcoming up for you guys next month.2012 is going to be a good year andI’ve got a lot of good things going on.I’m fortunate enough to have projectsthat I can pick from and when you canbring the cool into building projects itmakes life that much better, especiallywhen you love what you do. I eat,breathe, live, sleep, what I do and Iwas fortunate enough to find it youngand here I am. Hopefully you guyscan keep it all positive and keep con-sistent and always try to better your-self at what you do. Peace out!

Setting up for the video

The set of modJOBS’ production in my shop, Huntingdon BeachBody Works

A daylight view

Another daylight view

The Certified Automotive Parts Associ-ation is pleased to announce the electionof John Palumbo of PartsChannel, Inc.and Bill Brower of Liberty Mutual In-surance to CAPA’s Board of Directors.

John Palumbo is a widely recog-nized leader in the collision repair in-dustry. Palumbo’s 15 years of experiencebegan in 1996 as chief financial officer atKeystone. His responsibilities includedstrategic planning, mergers, acquisitions,banking, insurance, benefits, finance, ac-counting, tax planning, compliance, andinvestor relations. John is currently thechief executive officer for PartsChannel,Inc., a privately held distributor of after-market collision replacement parts. Hereceived his BS degree from Canisius

College in Buffalo, New York and grad-uated with an executive master of busi-ness administration from Peter F.Drucker Claremont Graduate Universityin Claremont, California. He is also acertified public accountant.

Bill Brower is a highly respectedproperty and casualty claims manage-ment professional with extensiveclaims experience and a long estab-lished background in auto physicaldamage claims. Since 2004 Browerhas been the Assistant Vice President& Manager Auto Physical Damage forLiberty Mutual Insurance. Bill gradu-ated Magna Cum Laude from FranklinUniversity in Columbus, Ohio in 2005.He is in the process of studying for his

MBA which he expects to complete in2013. Bill began his career as a repairtechnician at his father’s body shop inLiberty, North Carolina in the 1970s.He served on CAPA’s Technical Com-mittee for six years, holds positions onthe PCI Physical Damage Committee,and is Vice Chairman of the I-CARBoard of Directors.

“CAPA is fortunate to have both ofthese gentlemen on the CAPA’s board.Their expertise and guidance will be in-valuable in our effort to ensure markethas continued access to high quality al-ternative certified parts,” said JackGillis, Executive Director of CAPA.

“Our Board provides CAPA with aunique insight into issues facing the

aftermarket parts industry and has con-tributed enormously to the nation’s fore-most part quality certification program,”he continued. CAPA’s Board now in-cludes: Bob Anderson, Anderson’s Au-tomotive Services; Bill Brower, LibertyMutual Insurance Company; Bill Daly,Allstate Insurance; Warren Farrar,State Farm Mutual Insurance; JackieGillan, Advocates for Highway andAuto Safety; Jack Gillis, CAPA; JohnPalumbo, PartsChannel, Inc.; ClarkPlucinski, True2Form/Boyd’s Group;Ed Salamy, K.S.I. Trading Corp.; BenSteinman, Ben's Auto Body; MikeWest, Southtowne Auto Rebuild Formore information please visit www.ca-pacertified.org.

Parts Distributor and Insurer Elected to CAPA’s Board of Directors


A1 Grand Auto Body in NY—A Family Commitment to Quality RepairA1 Grand Auto Body of Garden CityPark, NY focuses on family orientedbusiness onquality repairs. This em-phasis on quality dates back to owner,Brian Hogan’s early interest in auto

body repair. When customers handtheir keys over to Hogan, he wantsthem to know and be confident thatthey are putting their vehicle in thehands of a man who has been workingon cars for most of his life and whosepassion for automobile restorationguarantees their car will leave theshop looking much better than whenthey drop it off.

When his staff is short-handed,Hogan is always eager and willing topick up the tools to help restore hiscustomers’ vehicles. His children arefollowing in his footsteps as he did inhis father’s. Hogan’s daughter, Ariel,works in the front office, and his son,Joseph, will begin working for his fa-ther later this year as part of a work-study BOCES program.

In fifth grade, Brian Hogan wouldtake a bus to his father’s shop afterschool in order to sweep the floors andpark cars. The ten-year-old found thejob very exciting. A year later, helearned to sand body surfaces, and thiswas followed by his first real project.

At the age of thirteen, BrianHogan purchased his first car, a Cut-

lass Supreme, for $50. He spent a lotof time on that car, ultimately chang-ing the color three times. Hogan re-calls, “I made it my perfect first car.That was my project car.” Since then,Hogan has owned hundreds of cars.One of his best memories is helpinghis son restore a 1999 Ford Mustangwith front-end damage to the point thatit won Best in Show at a competitionin Commack, NY. He also rebuilt aChevy Corvette and an early-modelMustang for the Fraternal Order of Po-lice as touring vehicles for their anti-drug and anti-DWI campaigns,complete with custom paint jobs.

From the beginning, Hogan’spastime was destined to be his career.His grandfather, William Benson, hadopened an auto body shop in Queensin 1939 where Brian’s father, JosephHogan, worked in the 1940s until heopened his own shop, Grand BodyAuto, in 1953 on Jamaica Avenue.

Hogan continued to work for hisfather after high school, finally open-ing his own shop in 1997 in Garden

City Park. He still gets a thrill fromrestoring a damaged vehicle, and hetries to uphold his father’s stated goalof restoring the vehicle to look like itis brand new. Like his grandfather,Hogan guarantees his work for thelifetime of the vehicle, stating “if you

fix the car right, there should be noproblem in guaranteeing it. If you prepand prepare each part you put on prop-erly, it’s going to last.”

In addition to his Garden CityPark facility, Hogan also owns a 4000square foot shop in Hempstead, butdue to his customer database whichincludes around 60,000 customers, heis currently in the process of openinga third shop of 1600 square feet onDenton Avenue in New Hyde Park.Each location employs six auto bodytechnicians.

Hogan’s businesses utilize aShark measuring system from Italyand all of the latest frame equipment.The shops are ASE and I-CAR certi-fied. They do not participate in any di-rect repair programs currently, butHogan has been approached byGEICO and is considering joiningtheir DRP in his new shop.

The technicians paint with RMDiamont. They report no difficultywith color matching as most of the ve-hicles they repair are newer models,specifically 2011 and 2012 vehicles.Hogan notes that the restoration busi-ness has taken a nosedive, but hisshops specialize in heavy collision re-pairs, even receiving referral workfrom other shops. Due to the damagefrom August’s hailstorm, each ofHogan’s shops are currently averaging

repairs on 15–20 cars each week.One thing that A1 Grand boasts

that no other shop can is Hogan’sRaising the Bar Code software whichhe created to help integrate severalshop management systems. Using thissystem, Hogan is able to scan the ve-hicle registration, allowing pertinentinformation to populate within a fewseconds, updating the database to pro-vide an estimate for the customer. Thisallows A1 Grand Auto Body to pro-vide an estimate to customers withinfive minutes of entering the shop.Hogan’s software is just one way inwhich he strives to keep in touch withcustomers and provide quality service.Though several companies have of-fered to buy the the software, Hoganrefuses to sell his competitive advan-tage.

Hogan shows his dedication byclosely monitoring customer satisfac-tion with the paintless dent repairsmany shops used to repair cars dentedby the uncharacteristically severe hailstorm in August 2011. Using thismethod, many dents reappear, butHogan is busy contacting the cus-tomers in his database to inform themthat their insurance companies willcover further costs to permanently re-pair this damage. This second round ofdent repairs has kept his shops busy forthe past several months.

A1 Grand Auto Body is a shopthat can guarantee quality becauseBrian Hogan stands behind it. Qualityauto repairs are definitely a familycommitment from the Hogans and A1Grand Auto Body.

A1 Grand Auto Body105 Herricks RoadNew Hyde Park, NY 11040(516) 294-4200

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 Showcase

with Erica SchroederShop Snapshot

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].

Brian Hogan and his daughter, Ariel

A1 Grand’s tow trucks promote their services

On Tuesday, December 20th, theAuto Angels group, in associationwith The Mid Florida chapter of theFlorida Auto Body Collision Alliance(FACA), presented 12 reconditionedvehicles to a dozen local families tomake for very special Christmas forall involved.

Cheers and tears eruptedthroughout the ceremony as keys tonewly reconditioned vehicles werepresented and the pre-selected andnotified men, women and childrenwere led to their newly reconditionedvehicle by an Auto Angel.David Stewart, this year’s Auto

Angels Chairman stated: “Gettingtwelve vehicles ready turned out tobe a massive undertaking and could-n’t have been accomplished withoutthe hard work and resources of manydedicated professionals; but the sac-rifices paled in comparison to thefeeling of accomplishment each of us

felt in seeing the faces of the recipi-ents. It was amazing and the truespirit of Christmas giving was felt byall. A special thank you to the AutoAngels’ committee, whom withouttheir hard work and dedication, thisvery worthwhile program couldn’t

Florida’s Auto Angels Host Second Annual Vehicle Giveaway, Already Planning for 2013

See Auto Angels, Page 62


THESE DEALERS ARE GENUINE WHOLESALE PARTS SPECIALISTS.

CALIFORNIA

Elk Grove ToyotaELK GROVE

916-405-4700800-952-5307916-405-8045 FaxMon. - Fri. 7am - 7pm;Sat. 8am - 5pm

www.elkgrovetoyota.com

Last month we reported that JohnBorek, General Manager of AutocraftBodywerks in Austin, Texas, has fileda complaint with the Texas Depart-ment of Insurance against AmericanNational Property and Casualty Com-pany (ANPAC) and a claims servicescompany, American Claims Services,alleging that they “knowingly used afraudulent document to justify theirshort-pay” of a claim.

In filing his complaint with theTexas DOI Property and Casualty Com-plaint Department, Borek wrote: “Webelieve that based on this document,ANPAC/ American Claim Service isknowingly using a fraudulent documentto justify their short pay to limit theprice paid for repairs to [the] automo-bile. By not performing these necessaryoperations, it will result in an incom-plete repair. I have spoken today withthe field appraiser assigned to this fileand he confirmed that he put the neededrepair operations on the original esti-mate although a document generatedfrom ANPAC/American Claim Serviceshows a zero by all these operations.

In a letter of response to theTexas Department of Insurance,ANPAC said an appraiser working onits behalf used “an outdated docu-ment” when denying a supplement forcolor sand and buff from AutocraftBodywerks in Austin, Texas, and thatthe supplement has now been paid.

John Borek of Autocraft filed acomplaint with the regulator lastmonth after receiving a document thatthe American Claims Services ap-praiser indicated was from Audatexshowing that color sand and buff is in-cluded in refinish times.

In his complaint, Borek calledthe document “fraudulent” given thatAudatex, after searching its “DatabaseReference Manuals” back to 1993,concluded that the document is “mostcertainly not from ADP/Audatex.”

After a call asking for an updateor comment on the complaint, the De-partment of Insurance sent Borek acopy of ANPAC’s December 27 ini-tial response letter, saying it will no-tify him “once we receive additionalinformation that was requested.”

ANPAC Responds to Texas DOI

Solera Holdings, Inc. a leading globalprovider of software and services tothe automobile insurance claims pro-cessing industry, announced a newagreement making Solera the exclu-sive preferred global provider of auto-mobile insurance claims processingsoftware and services for Allianz SE, aleading global financial servicesprovider.

Solera’s mission with this agree-ment is to provide Allianz with essen-tial software solutions, data servicesand support in 28 markets in which Al-lianz and Solera work together and tocontinue to focus on innovative prod-ucts and services that help motor in-surance policy holders receive a worldclass claims handling experience.

“It is a real privilege to beawarded this exclusive agreement byAllianz. We are very excited about Al-lianz’s commitment to innovation andthe importance it places on technol-ogy. As its exclusive preferred globalprovider of automotive claims soft-ware and services, we will work tire-lessly to enhance its global valueproposition. The Allianz commitment

to global growth and approach to stan-dardize processes while giving its op-erating entities the freedom to buildlocal businesses is one we admire andfollow at Solera. This agreement is thesingle largest global agreement Solerahas ever signed and will create sub-stantial value for Allianz and Solera,”said Tony Aquila, founder, Chairmanand CEO of Solera. “The agreementwill continue to strengthen relation-ships among our respective local com-panies, resulting in an acceleration ofbenefits for all stakeholders.”

Pursuant to the agreement, Solerawill provide Allianz with essentialsoftware solutions, data services andsupport. At the same time, Solera willbe able to work closely with Allianz ata global and local level both on prod-uct development and delivery at thelocal country level. There will also beenhanced cooperation agreements be-tween the local Allianz companies andlocal Solera companies, including es-tablishing a framework for new agree-ments in countries where the two localcompanies did not have an agreementpreviously.

Solera Announces Global Cooperation With AllianzThe Commercial Vehicle SolutionsNetwork (CVSN) and the Heavy DutyDistribution Association (HDDA) an-nounced a collaborative agreement de-signed to strengthen the independentheavy duty distributor aftermarket. Theannouncement was made at a pressconference at the opening of HeavyDuty Aftermarket Week at The MirageHotel in Las Vegas, NV.

Organization leaders explainedthat while both groups will remain sep-arate and distinct entities, they willshare a number of benefits and pro-grams by virtue of HDDA’s segmentaffiliation with the Automotive After-market Industry Association (AAIA).These include market research, publicrelations, communications, education,governance, publications and legisla-tive and regulatory affairs.

The collaboration will be a majorstep in expanding AAIA’s involvementin the commercial vehicle aftermarketthrough a closer and stronger partner-ship with CVSN, according to AAIA.

“AAIA is extremely pleased towork more closely with CVSN, whichwill help expand our association’s foot-print in the overall motor vehicle after-market,” said Kathleen Schmatz, AAIApresident and CEO. “We have seen the

recent benefits of collaborating on leg-islative issues so this greater ‘comingtogether’ will be a real win-win.”

“CVSN shares common goalswith HDDA and AAIA for the successof our industry segment through educa-tion, growing strategic relationshipswith our supplier partners, and a strongactivism to counter unfair competitionand regulations that threaten us,” saidMarc Karon, of CVSN and TotalTruck Parts. “For the first time in 45years, the independent heavy duty af-termarket will speak with one strongvoice.”

“CVSN has found that partneringwith HDDA and AAIA has deliveredpositive results,” said Karon. “We havefound true synergy in working togetheron projects like Heavy Duty Aftermar-ket Week and the CVSN LegislativeSummit that have benefited our mem-bers and the industry.”

“The greater collaboration be-tween CVSN and HDDA will leveragethe economies of scale from greater ac-cess to the valuable resources atAAIA,” said Dave Scheer, HDDAchair and president and CEO, InlandTruck Parts. “This new ‘coming to-gether’ will strengthen all three asso-ciations.”

Heavy Duty Aftermarket Associations Join Forces


AUTOBODY MARKETPLACE

WWHHEEEELLSS AAMMEERRIICCAANine Locations in the USA!

888-4-FIX-RIM$109 to repair with this ad

wwwwww.. ff iixxrr iimm..ccoomm

• Thousands of OEM Remanufactured Wheels in Stock

• Lifetime Guarantee• CNC Quality• Powder Coated

101

POLYCRACKE

RWaterborne Wax andWaterborne Wax andGrease RemoverGrease RemoverWaterborne Wax andGrease RemoverSINCE 1985SINCE 1985SINCE 1985

Available fromAvailable fromYOUR local Jobber orYOUR local Jobber or

CALL: 973.335.2828CALL: 973.335.2828FAX: 973.402.7222FAX: 973.402.7222

Available fromYOUR local Jobber or

CALL: 973.335.2828FAX: 973.402.7222

[email protected]@[email protected]

[email protected] us!write us!www.autobodynews.com

CHECK IT OUT!

Start Your FREEMail Subscription.

CALL 800-699-8251

The source for timely information that every

body shop needs!e-mail:

[email protected]

800-699-8251

To advertisecall Joe Momber at:



800-699-8251



Promote your business with an exclusive article featuring

your products or services.

800-699-8251CALL: Joe Momber for details!



800-699-8251Call for details!

[email protected]

Want to Contribute to this Southwest Edition?Give us your opinion on matters affecting the industry.

write us!write us!


Autobody News WebsiteAutobody News Websiteat www.autobodynews.com

Register Your Email for OurSee the NEW

Free Monthly NewsletterFree Monthly Newsletter

Search:Autobody News

on Facebook

[email protected] us!write us!www.autobodynews.com

CHECK IT OUT!

Start Your FREEMail Subscription.

CALL 800-699-8251

The source for timely information that every

body shop needs!e-mail:

[email protected]

800-699-8251

To advertisecall Joe Momber at:



800-699-8251





800-699-8251CALL: Joe Momber for details!



800-699-8251Call for details!

[email protected]

Want to Contribute to this Southwest Edition?Give us your opinion on matters affecting the industry.

write us!write us!


Autobody News WebsiteAutobody News Websiteat www.autobodynews.com

Register Your Email for OurSee the NEW

Free Monthly NewsletterFree Monthly Newsletter

Advertise in our CLASSIFIED SECTIONfor $50 per column inch!

[email protected]

Place an ad in our AUTOBODY MARKETPLACEsection of Autobody News.

have been possible.”The Auto Angel’s committee

members include:● David Stewart, Chairman, Stew-art’s Auto Repair● Ray Gunder, Past Chairman, Gun-der’s Auto Center● Barrett Smith, Auto Damage Ex-perts, Inc.● Cherri Surrency, Stewart’s AutoRepair

● Nick McLeisch, Maurice’sBody Shop/Towing● Doc Jenkins, Jenkins Lin-coln Mercury Collision Center● Michael Meisner, Meis-ner’s Paint and Body● Paul Hawk, Bernie’s BodyShop● Mike Maskolunas, BartowFord

For more information oron how you may participatein next year’s Auto Angelsprogram, contact DavidStewart at:

[email protected] or call(863) 965-2030.

12 reconditioned vehicles lined the entrance to VictoryChurch in Lakeland, FL, awaiting their new, very appre-ciative owners

The families chosen to receive these vehicleswaited as each car was matched up to thefamily it would go home with


Auto Angels

autobody news february 2012 western edition

Documents

carstar islooking

california doihas

fall carstar

carstar brand

existing carstar

alsosay california

malized repair standards

occasional repair work