autobody news november 2011 southeast edition

Mississippi voters will have three can-didates to choose from in the race forMississippi Insurance Commissionercome the Nov. 8 general election: Re-publican incumbent CommissionerMike Chaney, Democrat Louis Fon-dren, and Reform Party candidateBarbara Dale Washer, according togulflive.com.

The position has a four-year termand $90,000 annual salary.

As the incumbent, Chaney’scampaign emphasis has been hisachievements during his time in of-fice. According to Chaney, his in-of-fice accolades include; modernization

of the department’s records system,streamlining of the agent licensingprocess, collection of more than $4million in refunds and additionalclaims for policyholders, transfer of$99.9 million to state’s windpool tohelp stabilize rates, an increase of 125new companies writing policies on theCoast, and a $1 million program thatled to grants for homeowners whostrengthened their homes against winddamage. Chaney describes his cam-paign as grassroots.

Chaney, who served in the Mis-sissippi House of Representatives

MS Insurance Commissioner Post Up forElection in November, Meet the Candidates

SeeMS Commissioner, Page 36

by Chip Foose

The SEMA show (Specialty Equip-ment Marketing Association) has al-ways been a big part of Foose Design.

I have personallybeen attending forwell over 25 years.Some of our guysat Foose Designfirst attended morethan 25 years ago.One of them evenwent to the very

first SEMA show when it was underthe bleachers at Dodger Stadium! Forthe past ten years Foose Design has

featured or unveiled specialty vehiclesat SEMA. For three years in a row webuilt cars live in front of the SEMAaudience for TLC’s TV Show Over-haulin’. We were proud in 2005 whenFoose Design featured total of 32Foose Vehicles at SEMA, a record forany designer/fabricator and more thanany of the OEM’s that year. So, need-less to say, we have history at SEMA.

For SEMA 2011 Foose designwill be featuring three vehicles. Weare currently working feverishly likeall of the other shops to make thedeadline. This year we will be proudlydisplaying the following Foose De-

Chip Foose on Bringing it to SEMA

Chip Foose

See Foose Brings It, 8

The 2011 SEMA show will occupy the LasVegas Convention Center from October 31to November 4 and attendance numberscontinue to climb as the show draws closer.The show boasts over 2,000 exhibiting com-panies already registered for booths, morethan 500 of which are exhibiting for the firsttime. The ever-popular Paint, Body andEquipment section will also return this year,showcasing companies who offer products,services and equipment suited for the colli-sion repair professional. See page 15 forI-CAR and SCRS RDE Schedule.

Brock Bulbuck, The Boyd Group Steve Grimshaw, Caliber Collision

Cathy Bonner, Service King Rollie Benjamin, ABRA Auto Body and Glass

CEOs of Four of the Largest MSOs in the Industry holdfirst-time MSO Symposium at NACE/CARS

See MSO Insights, Page 24

Moderator, ASA’s Bob Redding Terri Seefeldt, Rogers Benefit Group

Don Seyfer, Seyfer Automotive Jim Houser, Hawthorne Auto Clinic

Health CarePanel at:

NACE/CARS 2011

An auto service-oriented Health Care Panel at NACE/CARS revealedsurprising misconceptions, passionate disagreement, divided opin-ions and competing priorities for Health Care and how it should bepaid for and managed in America. A three-part series on Health Careand its likely impact on shop owners begins here next month.

See preview at:autobodynews.com

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REGIONAL

Chrysler’s Southeast & Southwest Business

Centers’ 2011 Service and Parts Business

Conference and Expo Held in Orlando, FL. 25

FL’s Gatto’s Tires & Auto Service Turns 40 . 6

Florida Auto Collision Alliance Looking to

Revamp Orlando and Miami Chapters. . . 4

Florida Auto Collision Alliance to Coordinate

Recycled Rides for FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Frustrated Florida County Tackles Auto PIP

Insurance Fraud On Its Own . . . . . . . . . . 6

Georgia Collision Industry Association

Hosts 15th Annual Golf Tournament

in Alpharetta, GA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Hialeah Auto Repair Shop Leaves Some

Customers Without Vehicles Even After

Payment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Korean Company to Open West Georgia

Factory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

LKQ Founder Donald E. Flynn Passes Away . 4

MS Insurance Commissioner Post Up for

Election in November, Meet the Candidates. 1

State Farm Concedes to Settle Three of

Gunder’s Customers’ Lawsuits . . . . . . 14

Technician at Florida’s Auto Damage Experts

Provides Expert Testimony in Criminal Trial. 8

Trademark Metals Recycling Acquires GA

Scrap Dealer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

COLUMNISTS

Attanasio - How to Use 5 Forms of Social

Media to Pack the House . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Chess - SEMA’s Repair Driven Education

and Government Regulations . . . . . . . . 32

Franklin - Choosing a More Profitable

Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Gesterkamp - Taking a Fresh Look at an

Old Debate—Color Matching, Blending,

or Both? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Insurance Insider - Can the Collision Industry

Support Two Major Trade Shows? . . . . 27

Sisk - Cape Coral, Florida’s West Coast

Collision’s Waterborne Exclusivity . . . . 12

Weaver - Dealing with Angry Customers

and Growing ‘Alligator Skin’ . . . . . . . . . 23

Williams - A Relatively Young Audi

Dealership Makes Quality Pay Off . . . . . 16

Yoswick - SCRS Affiliate Groups Help

Members Address Legislative and

Regulatory Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

NATIONAL

2011-2012 Chevrolet Corvettes Recalled

for Rear Hatch Hinges . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

AAIA ‘Shop of Tomorrow’ Vehicle Service

at AAPEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

AAPEX Learning Forum to Provide 30

A/M Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

ALLDATA Expands Integration with

Electronic Parts Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . 38

ALLDATA Training Center to Exhibit at

AAPEX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Allstate and Progressive Agree to Settle

Patent Litigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

AM Tow Package Wiring Harnesses for

Hyundai/Kia Recalled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

At NACE, State Farm Announces Change

to Shop Locator to Allow Ranking Based

on Internal Performance Score, Will Use

‘PartsTrader’ for DRPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

California Man Guilty of Selling Counterfeit

ALLDATA Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

CEOs of Four of the Largest MSOs in the

Industry hold first-time MSO Symposium

at NACE/CARS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chip Foose on Bringing it to SEMA . . . . . . . 1

Dollar Thrifty Halts Sale Process, Hertz

Still Interested in Acquisition Despite

Missed Deadline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

DuPont Exhibit at SEMA Show Live Paint

Demonstrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Florida and Michigan AAA Clubs Join

Forces, Now 2nd Largest . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Girl Scouts Gear Up at NACE for Collision

Hub’s Tools for Success . . . . . . . . . . . 35

GM Introduces Industry-First Front Center

Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

I-CAR Repairability Summit: Don’t Section

Ultra-High-Strength Steel . . . . . . . . . . . 30

IRS Offers Employers Tax Relief if Workers

Reclassified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Kristen Felder Nominated for Car Care

Council “Aftermarket Woman of the

Year” Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Mitchell Partners with Enterprise Rent-A-Car,

Integrates with Update Promise.com to

Deliver Services via RepairCenter™ . . . 38

Mitchell RepairCenter™ Standardizes Special

Materials Repair Data within TechAdvisor,

Single Source Access to Multiple OEMs. 39

NABC Nominees for 2012 Board of

Directors Announced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Polk Execs Speak about Aftermarket at

AAPEX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Virginia Branded Title for Water Damage

Settles at $2500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Contents

Southeast

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy HayhurstGeneral Manager: Barbara DaviesAssistant Editor: Erica SchroederContributing Writers: Tom Franklin, Stefan Gesterkamp, John Yoswick, Lee Amaradio,Toby Chess, Mike Causey, Dan Espersen, Tom McGee, Jeff Webster, Rich Evans,Ed Attanasio, Chasidy SiskAdvertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman (800) 699-8251Sales Assistant: Kristy NavarroArt Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Serving Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and adjacent metro areas, Autobody Newsis a monthly publication for the auto body industry. Permission to reproduce in any form thematerial published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher.©2011 Adamantine Media LLC.

Autobody NewsBox 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018; (800) 699-8251 (760) 721-0253 Faxwww.autobodynews.com Email: [email protected]

Arrigo Dodge-Jeep-Chrysler. . . . . . . 4Autoland Scientech. . . . . . . . . . . . . 23BASF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Bill Penney Toyota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 30Chief Automotive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Crown Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Delray Honda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Don Mealey Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . 24Don Reid Ford. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Equalizer Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Ford Wholesale Parts DealersFL, GA, AL, MS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Galloway Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Garmat USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Global PDR Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . 15GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 29Gus Machado Ford. . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Honda-Acura Wholesale PartsDealers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-21

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . 33Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers. 17

Malco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Mattei. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Mazda Wholesale Parts . . . . . . . . . 36Mercedes-Benz Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 8Nalley BMW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Nissan Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . 31Palmers Toyota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Porsche Wholesale Parts Dealers . 37Safety Regulation Strategies . . . . . 25SATA Spray Equipment . . . . . . . . . 19Serra Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Shop-Pro Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . 11South Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Southtowne Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . 31Subaru of Gwinnett . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 37Tameron Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 32VIM Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Volkswagen Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Inde

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The Florida Auto Collision Alliance islooking to reinvigorate two chapters inthe state’s largest metro areas—Or-lando and Miami.

The group’s active chapters cur-rently include Jacksonville, SouthFlorida, Tampa, Lakeland andSpace/Treasure Coast.

According to FACA’s ExecutiveDirector Cathy Mills the Orlandochapter was active several years agobut has fallen away from that currently.“Orlando is such a large market. Theyhave reached out to me and expresseda desire and need to bring the associa-tion back,” said Mills.

The FACA has been activelystrengthening their membership sinceMills’ appointment in January of thisyear.

“We also are looking at expand-ing in Miami where they too havereached out and expressed a need anddesire to start a chapter there,” saidMills.

Interested parties can contactCathy Mills at [email protected]. Formore information about the FACAplease visit www.facafl.com.

Florida Auto Collision AllianceLooking to Revamp Orlandoand Miami Chapters

The Florida Auto Collision Alliance(FACA) will coordinate the NationalAuto Body Council’s (NABC) Recy-cled Rides Giveaways in the state ofFlorida this year. The NABC andFACA are gifting 6 cars this year tocharity organizations in Florida. Ster-ling Autobody Centers will work ontwo of the vehicles, CARSTAR willwork on three and Sunbeam Autobodyin Jacksonville, FL, will work on one.For more information please contactCathy Mills at [email protected].

Florida Auto Collision Alliance toCoordinate Recycled Rides for FL

At Edwin Rodriguez’s auto repairshop, cars check in but sometimesdon’t check out, even after payment isreceived, according to a litany of com-plaints reported by theMiami Herald.

Luis Conde and Julissa Galarzajust want their car back; more thanthree months after an accident man-gled the couple’s 2009 Smart Car, itstill sits, disassembled, in Rodriguez’sHialeah body shop—even thoughtheir insurance company has paid themechanic thousands to have it fixed.

Rodriguez says he used the repairmoney to pay for his 2009 divorce;but dissatisfaction with Rodriguez andhis repair business dates back longerthan that.

Over the past three years, morethan 90 consumer complaints haveflooded the Miami-Dade ConsumerServices Division about Rodriguez,his current shop and a previous loca-tion near FIU’s north campus calledthe South Florida Collision.

“We can’t sleep; we’re constantlytossing and turning,” said Galarza, a 33-year-old secretary at Jackson MemorialHospital. “My car is busted in pieces.”

Rodriguez’s business could soonface a similar fate: this week, Miami-Dade Consumer Advocate LeonardElias filed a lawsuit asking the Miami-Dade circuit court to impose $70,000 inpenalties against the Collision Center.

The Collision Center, run by Ro-driguez and associate Jason Viera,has operated without a valid county li-cense since July 12. It has repeatedlydelayed the completion of car repairs,often for months longer than origi-nally estimated, and engaged in unfairand deceptive business practices, thecomplaint says.

“The purpose of the lawsuit is topreclude them from operating at an-other location under another name,and to arrest this problem,” Elias said.

IvanMarzoa, Rodriguez’s land-lord, said he is evicting the CollisionCenter—possibly by November.

“They haven’t paid for threemonths,” Marzoa said. “Before that, hehad been late, had violations, and hadcustomers complaining to us. Theywould call, trying to pick up their cars.”

At Miami-Dade Consumer Serv-ices, the stack of complaints regard-ing Rodriguez, the Collision Center,and South Florida Collision is morethan a foot tall.

Marsha Kallstrom, of Weston,

wrote on behalf of her 85-year-oldmother Elaine Cook, who hired Ro-driguez after wrecking her car. Cooksigned over a $5,700 check from All-state. Weeks later, the car remaineduntouched.

Sileimys Barreda racked up $824in rental fees while her car sat at SouthFlorida Collision for months. Ro-driguez refused to reimburse her for thecharges as she said he had agreed to do.

The Better Business Bureaugives the Collision Center an “F” rat-ing. On some occasions, customerscouldn’t get their car back until in-volving the police. And even then,Rodriguez would refuse to refund themoney they already paid.

Rodriguez, a 33-year-old Miamiresident, has been arrested four timesby local law enforcement since 1998,state records indicate. In May of thatyear, Miami-Dade police charged himwith burglary and larceny, to which helater pleaded guilty. Rodriguez hassince been booked on charges of fraud,tampering with a witness and grandtheft of a vehicle, although the lattertwo charges were ultimately dropped.

The theft arrest came just amonth after Viera and Rodriguez in-corporated the Hialeah shop, and notlong after South Florida Collision reg-istered with the state.

In July, the county suspended theCollision Center’s license for failing topay fines after it violated two Miami-Dade repair ordinances. The fines re-main unpaid. Despite the suspension,Rodriguez has continued to operate.

Rodriguez approached Conde onJune 16 at the corner of Northwest183rd Street and 67th Avenue, wherea wreck had sandwiched the couple’sSmart Car between two vehicles.

Rodriguez promised to repair thedamages, help the family work withState Farm and get them into a rentalcar. They agreed, and watched as thecar was towed to the Collision Centerat 7801 W. 26th Ave.

They say they’ve since paid Ro-driguez four different times, totalingmore than $5,000 in all, but the pairclaim he has never ordered the partsfrom Smart Car. Every time they’vepushed him for the car, he has prom-ised to have the car fixed within twoweeks. Finally, on Aug. 11, he admit-ted that he spent their money on hisdivorce and child custody proceed-ings, the couple says.

Hialeah Auto Repair Shop Leaves Some CustomersWithout Vehicles Even After Payment

Donald F. Flynn, Founder and Chair-man of the Board of Directors of LKQCorp., passed away on October 10,2011.

"We are saddened by the loss of agreat leader and friend to so many.Don's vision and leadership were key tothe amazing growth LKQ has witnessedsince 1998, the year the Company wasfounded. The Company and our share-holders owe Don a debt of gratitude forhis dedication to LKQ," stated JosephHolsten, Vice Chairman and Co-CEOof LKQ.

LKQ Founder Donald E.Flynn Passes Away


In 1971, Mike Gatto started Gatto’sTires & Auto Service in Melbourne,FL. The business is now celebratingits 40th anniversary, according toFlorida Today.

There are other numbers to note:Seven, as in how many stores thefamily-run business has on the SpaceCoast. And three, as in generationsnow involved in the business. It’s runby Mike’s daughter, PamGatto, withher two sons, Scott McHenry andMike McHenry, and son-in-law,Mike “Kiwi” Nevin.

During their 40 years in BrevardCounty, the family has learned a lotabout providing good customer serv-ice. Pam Gatto said the No. 1 rule is tohire quality people.

“We have a lot of good peoplewho work for us,” said Gatto, whoseis president of the company. “Andthey often tell me that they love work-ing with us because they can be hon-est and straightforward and do theright thing when they take care of thecustomer.”

Mike Gatto spent 22 years insales and marketing for Goodyear be-fore striking out on his own in 1971.Pam soon joined him, and the familybusiness grew from there.

She said, “Dad always told me,‘We don’t sell tires and auto service.We sell safety and peace of mind.’ “

To help celebrate the 40th an-niversary, Gatto’s is offering a fewnovel promotions.

“Anyone still driving a 1971 vin-tage vehicle can bring it in to one ofour stores and get a free oil change,”Pam Gatto said. “Obviously, a 40-year-old car has received a lot of TLCto keep it going, and we want to makesure that trend continues into the fu-ture.”

And if customers stop by wear-ing paisley bell bottoms or other ‘70sattire, such fringe jackets, headbandsor love beads, they will get a couponfor $19.71 off their next purchase.

“We really look forward to see-ing them,” she said.

Gatto’s Tires & Auto Servicestores are in Cocoa, Merritt Island,Viera, Palm Bay and Melbourne inthe state of Florida. Learn more aboutGattos (and about what happenedback in 1971) at gattos.com.

FL’s Gatto’s Tires & Auto Service Turns 40One county in Florida has decided notto wait on state lawmakers’ promiseto address the insurance fraud and fixthe state’s automobile no-fault law. Ithas passed its own ordinance to crackdown on fraudulent medical clinics,according to Insurance Journal.

The Hillsborough County Boardof Commissioners, by a unanimousvote, passed a series of regulationsthat will require medical clinics to ob-tain a county license if they primarilytreat people involved in automobileaccidents and earn the majority oftheir income through auto personal in-jury protection insurance claims.

Commissioner Kevin Becknersaid the new ordinance is needed ifthe county has any hope of stoppingthe fraud that he said is costing countyresidents up to $350 each in higherpremiums.

“In Hillsborough County, we arepaying $15.5 million in higher premi-ums due to fraud,” said Beckner, cit-ing a National Insurance CrimeBureau report. “This is impactingeveryone’s rates and is having a sig-nificant impact on our local economy.”

Hillsborough County, which in-cludes Tampa, has become ground zeroin the debate over PIP (personal injuryprotection) fraud. The NICB ranksFlorida number one in staged accidentswith the number of such accidents inHillsborough County increasing by166 percent between 2008 and 2009.

The county also has seen a pro-liferation of medical and pain clinicsthat primarily treat PIP patients. InHillsborough County alone there arean estimated 158 such clinics, com-pared to 74 in Pinellas County, 22 inPasco County, 20 in Manatee Countyand 17 in Polk County.

Beckner¸ who headed the initia-tive to enact the ordinance, said theregulations are narrowly drawn andare based on the experience of law en-forcement officials that investigateclinics and PIP fraud.

“We wanted to be clear how clin-ics operate, what it takes to shut fraud-ulent clinics down, while protectinglegitimate clinics,” Beckner said.

Based on a 15-month study on theissue by local officials, law enforce-ment, and other interested parties, theordinance requires PIP medicalproviders to obtain a county license.

The ordinance doesn’t apply toclinics where the majority of the

physicians are surgeons or to clinicsthat only provide magnetic resonanceimaging, computed tomography, orpositron emission tomography serv-ices. Clinics owned by publicly helpcorporations, affiliated with a medicalschool, or owned by a federal tax-ex-empt corporation are also exempt.

Targeting a clinic’s operations,the ordinance requires clinics to beopen for business at least three days aweek, during regular business hoursfrom 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m., to seewalk-in patients or allow patients tomake appointments for services, ther-apy, and other treatment.

A physician must oversee theclinic’s operations and be physicallypresent at the clinic at least three daysa week for four hours per day. Aphysician may not serve or operatemore than five PIP medical providerclinics. A license application requiresa nonrefundable fee of $500 and a$1,500 annual fee.

Failure to comply with the ordi-nance can result in a $500 fine and upto 60 days in jail. Also, physicianswhose clinic license has been revokedare prohibited from operating anotherclinic for five years.

While fully supported by thecommission, the ordinance is notwithout its critics. Cindy Barsa, whohas operated several clinics in Tampa,said the new ordinance added a layerof regulation to an already overregu-lated industry. Other critics also com-plained that the ordinance was anexample of government overreachsince it dictated the working hours ofphysicians and placed limits on theirsource of income. However, propo-nents of the ordinance, who includedinsurance agents, said it is necessaryto stem the growing fraud problem,which is pushing up driver premiums.

The Hillsborough County ordi-nance is the first of its kind in thestate. Officials say it allowed underthe county’s home charter, whichgrants it the authority to enact regula-tions affecting the health, safety, andwelfare of its residents.

The county’s action reflects thefrustration many have with state law-makers’ failure to reform the state’sPIP law. Although state officials havesaid that PIP reform will be a top pri-ority when the Legislature meets nextyear, there are no guarantees that re-form will actually pass.

Frustrated Florida County Tackles Auto PIPInsurance Fraud On Its Own


David Smith of Auto Damage Ex-perts (ADE) was recently called uponin criminal court in Oregon to renderexpert opinion on behalf of the de-fendant in an Oregon state criminalcase.

The matter involved the accusa-tion and ensuing assault charges filedby the state of Oregon against a manwho broke the side glass of his es-tranged wife’s vehicle. The accusa-tion was made that the accused struckthe window with his fist out of angerto gain entry of the vehicle.

Conversely, the defendant statedhe merely tapped on the glass with thetip of his key asking that the windowbe rolled down and upon doing so theglass broke.

The defense counsel called uponAuto Damage Experts to research andto testify as to what would be requiredto break the side glass. David Smith,with the aid of demonstrative evi-dence showed that breakage of theside glass could occur with as little astwelve pounds of force when appliedwith the tip of a pointed metal objectsuch as the tip of a key.

The sitting jury found the testi-mony and evidence to support the de-

fense and finding the accused man notguilty.

Attorney Ryan Colbridge ofCorbridge & Kroll Attorneys at Law,LLC, and the lead defense attorney inthe case stated: “I have had thechance to work with David Smithfrom Auto Damage Experts in multi-ple trials both civil and criminal.Most recently his testimony on thestand and expertise in the auto in-dustry was a primary factor in get-ting my client acquitted in a criminalmatter for which he was wrongfullycharged. David’s clear and profes-sional presentation to the jury was akey factor in their understanding offacts relevant to the case. I would,and do, recommend Mr. Smith andAuto Damage Experts freely and lib-erally to anyone who is need of suchservices.”

Barrett Smith, founder andPresident of Auto Damage Experts,Inc. stated; “with the many servicesADE provides, we never know whatwe’ll be called upon to assist withnext. This was a unique case and weare pleased that we were able to aidthe jury and the court in rendering asound and proper verdict.”

Technician at Florida’s Auto Damage ExpertsProvides Expert Testimony in Criminal Trial

Seoul-based Mando Corp., which pro-duces suspension, steering and brakingsystems, will open a facility in Meri-wether County, GA, that is set to create426 jobs. The company plans to invest$200 million in the facility, which willmake electric power steering gears andanti-lock brakes for automobile manu-facturers, including General MotorsCo., Hyundai and Kia Motors. The lo-cation gives Mando access to its cus-tomers in North and South Americaand also provides the company with awell-trained work force.

“Mando’s presence in our statehelps Georgia live up to our commit-ment to be a competitive place to dobusiness for this business and otherautomotive supplier companies,” saidChris Cummiskey, commissioner ofthe Georgia Department of EconomicDevelopment, in the release.

“A company such as Mando willprovide a tremendous economic boostto our county and surrounding area,and provide jobs that are vital for ourcitizens,” said Nancy Jones, chair ofthe Meriwether County Commission.

Mando has 8,000 employeesworldwide. For more information,visit www.mando.com.

Korean Company to OpenWest Georgia Factory

Trademark Metals Recycling LLC(TMR), an operating division of theDavid J. Joseph Company (DJJ),has purchased the assets and busi-ness of Rice Iron & Metals, Val-dosta, Ga.

TMR, headquartered in Tampa,Fla., operates more than 20 scrapmetal recycling facilities in Florida.The company says it is the largestscrap metal recycler in the Southeast.DJJ, based in Cincinnati, is a sub-sidiary of steelmaker Nucor Corp.,Charlotte, N.C.

In addition to purchasing RiceIron & Metals, TMR also announcedit has opened a new scrap metal recy-cling facility in Sanford, Fla.

According to a DJJ news re-lease, the acquired location and thenew facility will process both ferrousand nonferrous scrap metal.

The company says the additionof the two facilities “demonstratesDJJ’s commitment to expanding itsexisting regional recycling plat-forms.”

In total, DJJ operates 61 scraprecycling facilities and seven U-Pull-&-Pay self-service auto parts storesin the United States.

Trademark Metals RecyclingAcquires GA Scrap Dealer

The 15th Annual GCIA InvitationalGolf Tournament was held on Wednes-

day, October 12th, 2011 at the TrophyClub of Atlanta in Alpharetta, GA.

The GCIA thanked everyone whoparticipated and especially the eventssponsors: BASF, DuPont, PPG, SingleSource, 3M, Akzo/Nobel, FinishMas-ter, Sherwin-Williams, LKQ, RBM ofAtlanta, Enterprise Staff, and NationalCoatings & Supplies.

For more information please visitgacollisionindustry.wordpress.com.

Georgia Collision Industry Association Hosts 15thAnnual Golf Tournament in Alpharetta, GA

1st Place Team: Toyota/Finishmaster: ChuckParis, Josh Monk, Rick Eve, AJ Craighead

3rd Place Team: PPG: Steve Barnes, SteveRosier, Tony Moore, Brad Parker

Nick Bozzacco, Craig Roberts, Tom McGarry,and Joe McCaleb

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

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I N F IN I T I

State and regional associations—thattogether represent more than 2,000body shops—participated in the sixthannual “Affiliate Leadership Confer-ence” organized by the Society ofCollision Repair Specialists (SCRS)and held near Chicago in mid-Sep-tember.

SCRS Chairman Aaron Clarksaid the event is designed to help thenational association gather input fromits state affiliates on its direction andefforts, as well as to help those groupswork with one another and with thenational organization.

The affiliate groups reported ontheir recent and upcoming legislativeefforts, their interactions with shopand insurer regulators, and other ac-tivities and issues in which they haverecently been involved.

In Montana this past spring, forexample, Governor Brian Schweitzersigned into law a bill, sponsored bythe Montana Collision Repair Spe-cialists, that prohibits a insurer from“unilaterally disregard(ing) a repairoperation or cost identified by an esti-mating system” that the insurer andshop have agreed to use to determinethe cost of repair.

Bruce Halcro, a Montana shopowner and president of the associa-

tion, said gettingthe state auto deal-ers’ association in-volved in backingthe legislation waspart of whathelped push itthrough the legis-lature, where it

narrowly failed just two years earlier.The Montana association this

year had also backed a bill that wouldhave allowed body shops and others –rather than only consumers—to filecomplaints with the state insurancecommissioner’s office. That bill wasoverwhelmingly approved 97-3 by theMontana House, but died in a Senatecommittee.

JordanHendler, executive direc-tor of the Washington MetropolitanAuto Body Association (WMABA),said that this was the second year theassociation battled efforts in Virginia toraise the threshold of damage requiring

a flood-damaged vehicle to receive abranded title from $1,000 to $5,000.Proponents—including a state legisla-

tor whose vehiclewas totaled afterthe sunroof of hisvehicle was leftopen in a rain-storm—argued thatthe threshold hadbeen set decadesago, and was unre-

alistic given inflation and the increasedvalue of vehicles. Hendler said hergroup tried to point out that today’s ve-hicles have far more electronics thancars had decades ago, and that no con-sumer should unknowingly buy a vehi-cle that has had thousands of dollars inwater damage. In the end, she said, thethreshold was raised to $2,500.

Hendler said the association isalso working with the Virginia De-partment of Environmental Quality ona possible shop registration programthat could prohibit the large-quantitysale of automotive paint to anyoneother than registered shops.

A sales tax issue has recentlyarisen in Indiana, according to TonyPasswater, executive director of theIndiana Auto Body Association. Ashop in that state contacted the asso-ciation after a sales tax audit resultedin a $13,000 assessment plus penaltiesfor failure to collect and remit salestax on items such as sandpaper andtape consumed in the repair of vehi-cles. Passwater said the auditor reliedon a document that refers only to deal-ers of new cars and trailers.

“There’s no possible way youwould infer it had anything to do witha collision repair facility,” Passwatersaid. “The very last section says adealer must pay sales tax on shop ragsand towels and consumables that arenot billed to the customer.”

He said he is discussing the mat-ter with the state revenue departmentin a effort to clarify and resolve theissue.

Ron Stamm of the AutomotiveService Council of Kentucky said hisgroup expects to make a third attemptnext year to push for consumer notifi-cation legislation in that state. The as-sociation-backed bill, which has

narrowly missed making it throughthe legislative process this year andlast, would require insurers to includenotification of a consumer’s right toselect a repair shop on the bottom ofprinted estimates, and to tell the con-sumer of that right prior to explainingany direct repair program.

The Texas Senate this past Marchapproved a bill to establish an advi-sory board of shop, insurer, and public

representatives toprovide recom-mendations on theregulation of autoinsurance in thatstate, But the billnever gained trac-tion in the TexasHouse, according

to James Brown of the Houston AutoBody Association.

Likewise the Senate passed (butthe House did not) a bill that would

have required insurance companies toprovide written notice to both shopsand consumers explaining how theirpayment policies and claims proce-dures differ between direct repair fa-cilities and non-direct repair facilities.The bill also would have required in-surers to provide to shops, upon re-quest, a written explanation of therequirements to become a DRP facil-ity with that insurer. It also would havemade county mutual insurers— whichaccount for about 45 percent of theTexas market—subject to state anti-steering and consumer choice laws(from which they remain exempt).

More recently and even closer tohome for the Houston association,Brown said his group is opposing (inits current form) new shop and auto re-cycler licensing requirements beingconsidered by the Houston City Coun-cil. The proposal sets out new disclo-

Bruce Halcro

Jordan Hendler

James Brown

SCRS Affiliate Groups Help Members Address Legislative and Regulatory Issues


See SCRS, Page 13

Industry Insightwith John Yoswick

John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has a body shop in thefamily and has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988. He is the editor of theweekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com).Contact him by email at [email protected].


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West Coast Collision in Cape Coral,FL, focuses on customer service bystriving to make customers feel athome and answering all their concernsand questions. They also focus on in-forming customers about their envi-

ronmentally friendly habits. They saythey were the first—and to theirknowledge—the only shop in South-west Florida to only offer waterbornepaints exclusively, emphasizing theimportance they place on loweringharmful emissions as well as exploit-ing the other well-known benefits ofwaterborne.

West Coast Collision was origi-nally founded in 1981 by Kevin Eck,but current owners, Chuck andBrenda Romano, purchased the busi-ness in 2008. Chuck Romano had pre-viously run a shop in the Philadelphiaarea for twenty-five years, and whenthe opportunity to buy the West CoastCollision name arose in 1998, hejumped at the chance since it had avery similar history to his previous

business which he had sold to a con-solidator in 1997.

After acquiring the new business,the Romanos relocated to a more con-venient location two blocks away andinvested nearly $1,000,000 in newequipment, remodeling and renova-

tions. They fully computerized the of-fice, adding CCC One as a managementsystem, and they created an internetpresence through social networking,creating a logo and creating a brand tagline, Cape Coral’s Leading CollisionRepair Center. Their website informscustomers “At West Coast Collision,we want you to know that your car is asimportant to us as it is to you. We treatevery car as if it were our own”.

Additionally, the Romanos con-verted exclusively to waterbornepaints in order to reduce hazardouswastes by 96%. According to ChuckRomano, “we were the very first shopin Southwest Florida to use Sherwin-Williams Waterborne exclusively withno other paint line as an option…Since being the first shop to use wa-terborne and using a new Garmat3000 with Accele-Cure™, there havebeen many, many inquiry phone callsas to how we like the product and ourinput into the production aspect of theproduct. There have been a number ofshops that have added waterborne;however, I believe that we are still theonly one that is exclusively water-borne.”

In addition to utilizing waterbornepaints, the shop also contributes to thecurrent green efforts by using an ultra-efficient air compressor and aluminumair lines. They have also installed highefficiency and high output lighting toreduce the amount of energy they use,

and all recyclable materialsare handled as such, helpingWest Coast Collision to re-duce their carbon footprintand protect the environment.As they inform customers ontheir website, “the trend in themarketplace is definitely mov-ing toward greener, environ-mentally friendly productsand methods of doing busi-ness. We are doing this beforeit becomes mandatory by lawhere in Florida as it is now in

California and Canada”.West Coast Collision receives a

balanced number of older and recentmodel vehicles, but they have not haveany serious matching problems as theyhave been able to handle any issuesthat arise by blending. This is impor-

tant to Chuck Romano who feels thatthe industry has recently trended to-ward a requirement for more effi-ciency with no tolerance for error.

Chuck believes that the future ofthe industry lies in collision centers

becoming more like claims processingcenters as collision front offices areworking more closely with the insur-ance direct repair programs and deal-

ing directly with customers. This isimportant as both insurance compa-nies and customers are becomingmore demanding.

“We see that the evolution andexpense of the automobile has created

a customer that is moreaware and wants to knowmore about how the vehicleis repaired so as to retain itsvalue at trade-in time. Theyare very fearful of CARFAXreports! Also, we see insur-ance partners wanting moredetail and photo documenta-tion in how a claim is han-dled for their files and futurereference, with an increasingnumber of forms that need tobe detailed and signed,”

Chuck told Autobody News.The shop encompasses 7,100

square feet and is staffed by nine em-ployees. Of the nine employees that


Cape Coral, Florida’s West Coast Collision’s Waterborne Exclusivitywith Chasidy Rae Sisk

Shop Showcase 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].

WCC’s paint mixing area

WCC’s paint booth

sure and documentation requirements,and establishes an 11-member “auto-motive board” appointed by the mayor(and not necessarily including a colli-sion repair shop representative). Whilethe proposal includes no minimum re-quirements for equipment or training,it has detailed rules regarding fencingaround the business property, andmakes it unlawful for “grass or vege-tation to grow to a height of more thannine inches above the ground.”

Brown said there is a lot to likein the 28-page proposal, and he ap-plauds the council’s effort to deal withthe businesses—including shops con-nected with towing storage lots—that“hold vehicles hostage” and chargeexorbitant fees to release a vehiclethat a consumer wishes to move to an-other repair facility.

But, he said, some of the man-dates—such as requiring customersignature on any supplement over$100, and storing (at customer re-quest) old parts for up to three days toreturn to the customer—are just too

cumbersome. His group is also con-cerned that the proposal essentiallygives insurers, as the “authorizedagent” of the consumer, the samerights as the owner of the vehicle.

In an unrelated effort, Brownsaid the Houston association recentlyhad a shop labor rate survey con-ducted by an independent third-party.Shops are being urged to notify stateinsurance regulators if an insurer isunwilling to pay the shop’s postedlabor rate by taking a photo of theposted rate and emailing it along withthe estimate at the lower rate (withcustomer and claim information omit-ted) to the Texas Department of In-surance.

“Right now they’re just collect-ing those and we’re laying thegroundwork,” Brown said.

In addition to discussing ways toaddress issues that many of the stategroups are facing, the affiliates alsodiscussed some of the issues SCRS ispursuing, including a survey to insur-ers about their policies on parts usage,and interaction with the Environmen-tal Protection Agency regarding inter-pretation and enforcement of its newrefinishing regulation.

work at West Coast Collision, threeare body professionals, two arepainters and one focuses on partswhile the remaining three employeesare office personnel. The shop repairsapproximately fifty-five vehicles permonth. In addition to collision repairservices, the shop offers towing,frame straightening, paintless dent re-pair, detailing, scratch removal andend of lease repairs and clean-up.

West Coast Collision is stockedwith standard body equipment, aswell as ProSpot welders, a Garmat3000 with Accele-Cure™ to flash wa-terborne, Garmat Prep stations, aChief Impulse EVHT frame rack anda New International flatbed. They alsouse a Genesis computer measuringsystem and CCC One managementand estimating system. Techniciansare I-Car certified. The shop is AMIand AAM Manager certified, and theyparticipate in direct repair programswith State Farm, Allstate and Califor-nia Casualty.

The Romanos are proud of theircurb appeal, location and profession-alism, listing these as reasons for theirsuccess. “My wife, Brenda, and I justlove the business. We created a type

of Feng-Shui atmosphere here in ouroffices that instantly makes peoplefeel relaxed and at east. It’s actually areal pleasure to come here to work”.They plan to continue growing and re-fining their business through the useof Defined Measurable Improvement(DMI).

West Coast Collision is also in-volved with the community throughthe local Chamber of Commerce andsupporting the local Police depart-ments. They have also donated tolocal sports teams, Jr JC’s and Toysfor Tots. They even donated funds tothe roadway improvement in front ofthe shop to build a landscaped centerisland.

West Coast Collision901 Country Club Blvd.Cape Coral, FL 33990239-574-1505www.westcoastcollision.net


www.autobodynews.comC

www.autobodynews.com

Continued from Page 10

SCRS

Following Ray Gunder’s charge al-leging altered documents that showState Farm’s manipulation of theirmarket survey of rates and allowances,State Farm has elected to pay thecharged amounts of Gunder’s AutoCenter and avoid further discovery ofits business records. See sidebar.

In seeking discoverable informa-tion pertinent to three separate law-suits by three of Gunder’s customers(of which Gunder was acting on behalfof each customer through power-of-attorney) State Farm’s refusal/failureto provide the requested documenta-tion within the time-frame providedresulted in a court’s order compellingthe nation’s largest personal auto in-surer to comply and present the sub-poenaed records ‘or else.’

As a result, State Farm first madeovertures of a global settlement toavoid further litigation (and discovery)by inviting Gunder’s to mediate themore than 30 pending lawsuits pressedagainst them on behalf of Gunder’scustomers for claims including, but notlimited to Tortious Interference againstState Farm employees includingLarrySwearengin and Bob Davis as well asBreach of Contract and Bad Faithclaims against State Farm Insurance.

While guarded, Ray Gunderagreed and thus the Contempt of Courthearing scheduled for September 22ndwas postponed and mediation wasscheduled for October 6th, 2011.

On September 27th, Gunder re-ceived notice that State Farm wouldprovide full payment for the amountsoutstanding on the three lawsuitswhich were pending which includedthe issue of Contempt of Court.● Raymond Ellsworth Gunder[Wincey] v. State Farm Florida Insur-ance Company Case No.: 53-2008SC-005094-0000-00, County Court, PolkCounty, FL Initial amount at issue$163.31● Raymond Ellsworth Gunder[Miller] v. State Farm Florida Insur-ance Company Case No.: 53-2008SC-005093-0000-00, County Court, PolkCounty, FL Initial amount at issue$124.48.● Raymond Ellsworth Gunder[Dewey] v. State Farm Florida Insur-ance Company Case No.: 53-20011SC-00895-0000-LK, CountyCourt, Polk County, FL Initial amountat issue $1,461.01

The payments included consider-ation for the underpaid amounts for

paint & materials (supported by PMCLogic invoicing), low labor allowancesand refusal to provide consideration forrarely questioned simple proceduresfrom R&I of hardware and trim opera-tions to refinish related processes suchas car-cover, color sand and buff, etc.

The initial mediation betweenGunder’s and State Farm took placeon the morning of October 6th andwhile a monetary offer (which wouldno doubt be considered substantial bysome) was presented by State Farm’slegal counsel, it was found by Gunderto be insufficient and thus rejected.

Following the mediation Gunderstated: “While I'm disappointed thatwe couldn't come to an agreement; asI would very much like to put the is-sues behind us and be compensatedfairly to restore people's vehicles andtheir peace of mind; we are encour-aged to continue on with discoveryand having our day in court. We haveno fewer than 30 similar cases in theprocess of being filed on behalf of ourcustomers; all with same or similar is-sues. State Farm is paying approxi-mately $120,000 in legal fees andcosts for these three cases which theyhave now elected to settle and will nodoubt be paying substantially more inthe coming months and years shouldthings continue as in the past.”

Shortly after mediation, a settle-ment letter came from State Farm. Re-view of the letter from State Farm legalcounsel states in part: “After furtherconsideration, and to discontinue theneed for further litigation, State Farmhas decided to tender the amounts atissue in each of the above-referencedmatters, with interest.” The amountsState Farm will pay are: $163, $124 and$1,461, totalling $1748 and change.

“In summary, with this letter,State Farm has paid the amount as-serted by the insured to be in disputefor the above referenced claim,thereby curing any circumstance re-lating to any alleged improper esti-mate of damage or payment under theapplicable policy, and any claim orcoverage denial, claim handling ortrade practice as the result of same,”the settlement continued. Ray Gunderstated further; “we've been sharingour legal journey with the collision re-pair industry and we'll continue to doso in the hopes our successes will en-courage others to consider their legaloptions. Meanwhile, we'll continue to‘Pound the Rock!’”


State Farm Concedes to Settle Three of Gunder’s Customers’ Lawsuits

These claims on behalf of customersof Gunder’s Auto Center are part of along legal history between the autocenter and State Farm. In early 2010Gunder filed a claim against StateFarm for Tortious Interference andSlander following disparaging com-ments allegedly made by employeesof the insurer to their customers re-garding the body shop.

“This entire matter hinges onwhether any insurer, including StateFarm, can merely target a repairer andhave the right to say anything they wishwith the intent to harm the repairer anddisparage their good name in an effortto interfere with the relationship be-tween the repairer and their customer;so long as the insurer does not breachthe legal limit referred to as ‘ExpressedMalice’, said Ray Gunder, owner of theshop, in a statement last May.

The suit has gone through the ap-peals process multiple times since theinitial complaint was filed. Most re-cently, in April of 2011, the U.S.Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Cir-cuit upheld a lower court’s ordergranting summary judgment in favorof State Farm in Gunder’s claim of

slander and tortious interference witha business relationship against the na-tion’s largest personal auto insurer.

In June Gunder filed an appeal ofthe decision with the U.S. SupremeCourt.

“After considerable thought,counsel and discussion with familyand close friends, and as a result of re-cent activities on other pending casesagainst State Farm, I decided to pro-ceed with submitting what is referredto as a Petition for Writ of Certiorarito the United States Supreme Courtrequesting their review and opinion ofthe lower court’s ruling,” Gundersaid. “As we continue to ‘pound thatrock,’ I see we are standing on a sub-stantial amount of gravel…and asI’ve said before, we’re all-in andwe’re too close to quit now and willcontinue until we either prevail or ex-haust all opportunities to do so.”

A Bit of History in Gunder’s Case Against State Farm

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Tuesday / 3pmTitle: Economic Pricing Considerationsfor the Collision Industry in 2012

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Title: Lean 3.0 = A Practical Path toUsing Lean to Improve Process Flow

November 2 Thursday / 8amTitle: I-CAR: Steel Unitized StructuresTechnologies and Repair (SPS07) /Where: Las Vegas Convention Center,N231-242

Title: I-CAR: Unitized Structures andFull-Frame Damage Analysis (DAM12)/Where: Las Vegas Convention Center,N231-242

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Friday / 8amTitle: I-CAR: Advance Material DamageAnalysis (DAM08) /Where: Las VegasConvention Center, N231-242

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Friday / 12:30pmTitle: SCRS Repairer Driven Education:Using the DEG to Make Dollars andSense of the Estimating Systems /Where: LVCC

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I-CAR is returning to the SEMA Showin 2011 with I-CAR training available toattendees each day of the Show.The Repairer Driven Education series

developed by SCRS is over 300%larger than the debut year. Following arethe highlighted training sessions beingoffered.Nearly every collision repair related

group is meeting at SEMA: CIC, I-CAR,SCRS, NABC, The OEM Collision RepairRoundtable, AASP, and the Collision In-dustry Foundation, have all plannedmeetings and functions at the show.

The newest member of the AutobodyNews Distinctive Dealerships Groupis Audi-Mission Viejo in SouthernCalifornia. A relatively new dealer,only seven years old, Audi-MissionViejo has managed to thrive by alwaysputting quality first.

Quality is in all areas of the partsdepartment. Justin Stinnett is a partsdirector who knows how to makequality pay off. Justin began only twoyears ago, with a bloated inventoryand untrained personnel. He neededall of his twenty years experience tochange that. Since then, there has beena steady rise to the top and is one ofthe best Audi parts departments in theregion. His secret has been to insist onquality. Quality means the newest andbest available technology for his de-partment, and the best employees hecan find.

Justin’s investments in technol-ogy include state-of-the-art inventorycontrol, and a simple and easy inter-net order system. Audimv.com is agood example of how to set up a sim-ple online parts link. A well organizeddepartment holds over a half-million

dollar inventory, and a modern com-munications system completes the ba-sics.

Justin has four quality counter-men, led by Armando with twentyyears experience, then Henry andRobin with eight years, and Mario

with six. A bilin-gual crew workswell in the south-ern Californiamarket, languageissues are noproblem. Thisteam works to-gether with com-mon goals, tokeep their depart-ment the best in

the region. Their efforts have been re-warded, their wholesale business hastripled!

Customer service is the standardhere, promises are kept, and ordersare always completely filled. Suchservice creates the friendships andloyalty so necessary to success inthese times.

Justin sees himself as a business-man, instead of a parts man, and re-gards the changes he has made asinvestments, not expenses. He be-lieves “You get what you pay for. Andif you have great people, you willachieve great results.” Results, for adealer, equal profits. This parts de-partment creates profit, which is ex-actly my philosophy. With propermanagement, the parts departmentwill be a dealership’s best investment,not its worst.

Again, no dealership can succeedwithout support. Audi is a companythat wants to have the best parts de-livery system possible. They have in-stituted a “local parts council,” whichmeets quarterly, to communicate withdealers and ensure a smooth flow ofparts to all of their customers. Audirecognizes Justin’s hard work, and haschosen him for membership in theircouncil. When important visitors ar-rive from Germany, Audi-MissionViejo’s parts department is on theirtour, as an example of growth, organ-ization, and cleanliness.

An aside to all body shops in theMission Viejo area… Should youneed any parts for an Audi, call Audi-Mission Viejo. You are guaranteed toget great service, and I am proud to in-clude them in my list of DistinctiveDealerships.

In other areas, I’d also like to rec-ommend Audi of Downtown LA in

Los Angeles and Circle Audi in LongBeach.

To see all of Larry Williams’ arti-cles go to autobodynews.com and se-lect Williams under the Columnistsmenu. See also Larry’s popular seriesof Parts for Profit articles in his col-umn section. You can also link di-rectly at: www.autobodynews.com/columnists/williams-larry.html


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sign vehicles:

1957 Mercedes 300SL “Gullwing”Built on behalf of BASF Corporationthe Gullwing was delivered to theFoose Design shop in HuntingtonBeach, California. This pristine Ger-man wonder car is going through asubtle, but significant customizationprocess. Most noticeable, the frontand rear bumpers were removed andstored, being replaced by newly cus-tom fabricated units which have beenartfully re-designed into slimmer andmore elegant versions. The newbumpers fit neatly up against the bodyfor a seamless integrated look. A slightmodification to the signature rearbulge above the rear wheel housebrings it in line with the front wheelhouse bulge. Minor modification tothe grille and grille shell will stillfocus on the elegant opening of thestock version. The nose emblem hasbeen removed along with the rearmarkers with all bodywork beingsmoothed. New side trim, hand

crafted from brass stock has been ma-chined, milled, filed and polished be-fore the final chrome plating. Newheadlight bezels have been machinedout of billet aluminum and carefully

fit to the front fenders, which weremassaged for a seamless blend offender to chrome ring. New headlightsare being installed for a clean Euro-pean look. A two tone paint job fea-turing BASF Waterborne material willcombine an upper charcoal silver anda lower bright silver separated by aninterior matching red accent line. The

separation line is still in the designphase as I want to focus on the elegantbody lines of this classic vehicle. Wewill be installing a custom made set ofsprings to bring to Gullwing to just theright ride height. A custom set ofFoose Wheels shod in Pirelli P ZeroNero tires will finish off the design. Ifyou plan on attending SEMA, makesure to drop by the BASF Booth werewe will unveil and feature the BASFFoose Gullwing Project.

SEMA Cares WD40 Feature VehicleI can’t tell you much about this car,because it will be a complete surpriseand will be unveiled to a live audienceat SEMA. For the past couple ofyears, WD40 Corporation has spon-sored the design, fabricationand auction of a vehicle onbehalf of SEMA Cars; theChildren’s Charity and theRichard Petty supported Vic-tory Junction Camp. Previousvehicles have included a Ca-maro, and a Mustang, so it’syour guess what this year’svehicle will be! All I can sayis that it will be awesome and AllAmerican Muscle!! I am designing the

paint scheme and coordinating the ef-forts on the build which is scheduledto include a full Hotchkis Suspension,Street Scene body modifications, Ma-gnacharger, Pirelli Tires, MHT/FooseWheels, MagnaFlow Exhaust,Katzkin Leather Interior, and ofcourse BASF Paint. Make sure to stopby the WD40 Booth for the unveilingof this car and stay tuned to the BarrettJackson Auction in January, PebbleBeach, Florida as this cool car goesacross the blocks for the benefit ofChildren’s Charities. I am thrilled tobe involved in such a important proj-ect with great partners.

1932 MUROC Roadster “Magnatude”Based on a design I developed some

years back for Jerry Kugel, ten fend-erless, and ten fendered versions of


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Foose Brings It

Stock ‘57 M-B Gullwing, wait till you see theFoose custom version

this basic design were produced. Theelegant roadster body was my designand hand-formed by Marcel De Lay.The result is a custom body that islonger, lower and sleeker than a stock’32 Ford, but one that retains the all ofthe character of that iconic roadster.

When Jerry and Maureen Mag-nuson of Magnusun Superchargerfame purchased theirs, they asked if Iwould be interested in working withthem. When finished mechanically,essentially a blank canvas, it wasturned over to us at Foose Design forthe all-important paint, interior designand the Foose one-off signature billetwheels. We selected a two-tone BASFWaterborne butterscotch pearl paintwith champagne metallic overtones.

The buckskin tone leather interior wasfabricated by Jim Griffin Upholsteryand provides the perfect contrast to thepaint. The subtle but artful details suchas the hand-form moldings around theCarson top and body, a Duval-stylesplit windshield and the copious

amounts of plated and pol-ished components set this ’32Ford roadster apart from allothers. It features an LS-1Chevy with an intercooledMagnacharger (not surprising,being that Jerry Magnuson isthe owner and CEO of Mag-nuson Products!) Magnituderuns on custom one-off FooseDesign wheels 17×7 in frontand 20×10 in back and huge

Pirelli Scorpion P-Zero tires allaround.

Many of the mechanical sys-tems were designed and fabricatedby Jerry Magnuson at his super-charger company, Magna Chargerthat builds superchargers for cars andtrucks like Corvettes, Camaros,Hemi Challengers and Hemi Rams.Magnuson’s early background in-cluded working on Dan Gurney’sEagle Indy cars, so his ability to de-

sign, fabricate and integrate mechan-ical systems is second nature.Unique items like the remote actu-ated hideaway headlights give theMagnatude sleekness and function.The innovative air inlet scoop feedsthe Magna Charger supercharged en-gine that is monitored by a custombillet dashboard. All were engi-neered and fabricated at MagnaCharger. We finished it at Foose De-sign and debuted it at SEMA 2009.

After SEMA, the Magnatudetoured the country hitting the GoodGuys car show circuit where it wonevery competion it entered and gar-nered the Street Rod d’EleganceCrown at the Goodguys Del Mar Na-tionals. Jerry Magnuson and his wifeMaureen accepted a challenge fromthe editors of HOT ROD magazinewho dared them to drive the Mag-natude on the 2010 Hot Rod PowerTour, a 1370-mile cruise that encom-

passed eight days and seven im-promptu car shows. The Magnatude,fresh off the California indoor showcircuit, made the trip without incident.HOT ROD readers were thrilled to seethis Foose creation in person.

After the Power Tour, the Mag-natude was taken to the Good Guysevent in Columbus, Ohio where it wascritically judged and won the presti-gious Good Guys Street Rod of theYear. I am proud of our work at Foosecombined with the great skills ofMagnuson, and especially with howwell it performed on Power Tour.

Hopefully the above details onthe above will whet your appetite formore and you will join us at SEMA2011. It’s bound to be another stand-out year. If you make it, stop by theFoose Booth out in the front and sayhello.

See you at SEMA 2011!!


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Autoway HondaClearwater

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General Motors announced the indus-try’s first-ever front center air bag onSeptember 29. The airbag is an inflat-able restraint designed to help protectdrivers and front passengers in far-side impact crashes where the af-fected occupant is on the opposite,non-struck side of the vehicle.

The front center air bag will beintroduced on the Buick Enclave,GMC Acadia, and Chevrolet Traversemidsize crossovers in the 2013 modelyear. This new safety feature will bestandard on Acadia and Traverse withpower seats and all Enclaves.

The front center air bag deploysfrom the right side of the driver’s seatand positions itself between the frontrow seats near the center of the vehi-cle. This tethered, tubular air bag isdesigned to provide restraint duringpassenger-side crashes when thedriver is the only front occupant, andalso acts as an energy absorbing cush-ion between driver and front passen-ger in both driver- and passenger-sidecrashes. The air bag also is expectedto provide benefit in rollovers.

GM analysis of the NationalHighway Traffic Safety Administra-tion’s Fatality Analysis ReportingSystem database, found that far-sideimpact crashes, which the front cen-ter airbag primarily addresses, ac-counted for 11 percent of the beltedfront occupant fatalities in non-

rollover impacts between 2004 and2009 involving 1999 model year ornewer vehicles. These far-side fatali-ties, where the occupant is on the non-struck side of the vehicle, alsorepresent 29 percent of all the belted

front occupant fatalities in side im-pacts.

“The front center air bag is notrequired by federal regulation, andno other air bag in passenger vehi-cles today offers the type of restraintand cushioning this air bag is de-signed to provide for front occu-pants,” said Scott Thomas, seniorstaff engineer in GM’s advanced re-straint systems.

The front center air bag is ex-pected to add to the vehicles’ recordof third-party crash test performance.The 2012 model year editions of thesemidsize crossovers have receivedfive-star Overall and Side Crashsafety ratings from NHTSA’s NewCar Assessment Program, and 2011Top Safety Picks from the InsuranceInstitute for Highway Safety.

“The front center airbag has realpotential to save lives in sidecrashes,” said Adrian Lund, presi-dent of the insurance Institute forHighway Safety. “GM and Takata areto be commended for taking the leadin this important area.”

GM and technology supplierTakata developed the front center airbag over the course of three years,testing many design iterations toachieve packaging, cushioning, andrestraint for a variety of crashes andoccupant positions. Numerous ele-ments of the air bag’s jointly patentedcushion design address the restraint’sunique performance characteristicswhile considering a range of occupantsizes.

“While no restraint technologycan address all body regions or all po-tential injuries, the front center air bagis designed to work with the other airbags and safety belts in the vehiclesto collectively deliver an even morecomprehensive occupant restraintsystem,” said Gay Kent, GM execu-tive director of Vehicle Safety andCrashworthiness. “This technology isa further demonstration of GM’sabove-and-beyond commitment toprovide continuous occupant protec-tion before, during and after a crash.”

More information can be foundat www.gm.com.

GM Introduces Industry-First Front Center Airbag

GM’s industry-first front center airbag willdeploy from the right side of the driver’s seatand protects the driver in side crashes

Curt Manufacturing is recallingabout 2,400 tow package wiring har-nesses because moisture can seepinto the converter module and defeatthe internal circuit protection, ac-cording to reports made by Con-sumer Reports.

This could potentially cause themodule to overheat, leading to a firehazard.

Sold as an aftermarket product(not through Hyundai), the tow pack-age wiring harnesses connect tow ve-hicle lighting circuits to trailerlighting circuits for 2009 through2011 Hyundai Veracruz and KiaSorento vehicles. The affected unitsthat are not water tight, will havepart number 56024.

According to the NationalHighway Traffic Safety Administra-tion, Curt Manufacturing has alsoidentified a similar problem with thetow harnesses designed for 2009 to

2011 model year Hyundai Santa FeSUVs.

NHTSA and Curt have ex-panded the recall to include thesemodels, part number 55538, believedto be installed in approximately2,254 Hyundai Santa Fe vehicles.

The safety recall to notify own-ers begins this month, and the towpackage wiring harness will be re-placed for free.

Veracruz and Sorento ownerswho are uncertain the brand of towgear on their vehicle should check,as it is possible that many consumersdid not register their purchase andtherefore would be difficult for CurtManufacturing to reach.

For more information, con-sumers can call Curt Manufacturingat 715-831-8713, or contact the Na-tional Highway Traffic Safety Ad-ministration at 888-327-4236, orvisit Safercar.gov.

AM Tow Package Wiring Harnesses for Hyundai/Kia RecalledThe National Highway Transporta-tion Safety Administration (NHTSA)has announced a recall for 2011 and2012 model year ChevroletCorvettes, according to reports madeby Consumer Reports.

The sport coupes have rearhatches that can separate during acollision and cause further injuries.

According to NHTSA, the prob-lem stems from faulty hinges, whichmay not be able to bear the weight ofthe sport car’s rear hatch.

These rear hatch hinges, whichfail to meet federal safety standards,may have been installed in about5,755 Chevy Corvettes from Januaryto September of this year.

General Motors is currentlyworking to iden-tify whichCorvettes are in-volved in thislatest recall. Thecompany willcontact ownersaffected by thisrecall to bringtheir cars tolocal dealerships

where mechanics will replace bothrear hatch hinges free of charge.

For more information, con-sumers can contact Chevrolet (800-630-2438) or NHTSA (toll-free:888-327-4236) or visit the Safer Carwebsite: www.SaferCar.gov.

2011-2012 Chevrolet Corvettes Recalled for Rear Hatch Hinges


If there is one thing I find hard to dealwith in this topsy turvy world of theauto repair business is the way somepeople will react when they are at therepair shop. It’s the way they conductthemselves at the shop when it comestime to get their car repaired.

Over the years I’ve been praised,and degraded. I’ve been called a saintand I’ve been called the devil (orworse). I’ve heard the shouting andthe stuff I probably wasn’t suppose tohear (walls don’t always block soundyou know). After awhile you’ve heardit all before, and the attitudes that yousee at the front desk become a part ofthe daily grind. Coping with all this iswhat I call; “growing alligator skin”. Itry not to take things so personal, I’lllet the alligator skin handle it, and thentake off my protective coat before Iget back home to the wife and kids.

What gives with the need forsuch a thing as “alligator skin”? I be-

lieve there a several factors inherentto the automotive industry that bringson this crocodile coat of protection.

Mistrust of the automotive repairworld in general is what I believe isthe number one factor; but what bringson that mistrust? Is it the incompetentmechanic? I doubt that is always thecase. Is it the money out of their pock-ets which they were not expectingwhen they drove down the road to therepair shop? I believe it’s more in thehands of the unknowing consumerwho reads and watches too manyevening news reports on the un-scrupulous business practices of thefew out there that really are rip offsand not the normal operations ofcountless decent shops in this country.

If you tie that into the other part ofthe equation it starts to make somesense. What is that other part? The cus-tomer, their car, and what they do ordon’t do with their family transportation.

As I try to tell my customers;“Maintenance on a new car doesn’tdo much to the value of the car or itscurrent condition. It’s when it’s olderand the miles are creeping up that allthe previous maintenance pays off”.The inevitable degrading condition ofthe car doesn’t happen all at once, ittakes time and miles for that to hap-pen. And, sometimes some old fail-ures will cause new failures to occur.

“General Maintenance” isn’t a guyin theArmy reserves, it’s something weall need to do. It is almost always over-looked, and a lot of times we will avoidor put it off, until it’s too late. That’swhen the raised voices or mistrust startsat the service counter and that alligatorskin becomes a necessity again.

Of course, there are always thoseTV scammers that will try to tell youthey have the latest greatest productto aide in the diagnosing of your ve-hicle. Let’s not forget about the inter-

net and the “wonderful” sources of in-formation out there that the customerwill no doubt inform you about whenthey show up with a complaint.

I’m sure there are doctors, lawyers,and many other professional trades thatknow who’s the best and the worst intheir field. We sometimes hear aboutthose on the evening news, just not asoften as the car repair business seems tobe focused on. But cars are needed byeveryone, no matter what the condition.Think about it, you may not need alawyer tomorrow morning to get towork, but I’ll bet you’ll need your car.

Educating the customer shouldstart from the time they sign on the dot-ted line and purchase their vehicle. Norecourse is given to educate the newowner on what needs to be done in thefuture with their new found horse-power. It’s up to the owner to deal withthe maintenance issues and any repairs

Dealing with Angry Customers and Growing ‘Alligator Skin’with 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 Alligator Skin, Page 24

by John Yoswick

More than 400 shops were representedon a panel discussion at this year’s2011 International Autobody Con-gress & Exposition (NACE) – butonly four chairs were needed on thestage.

That’s because the four speakerswere representatives of some of thelargest multiple shop operations(MSOs) in the industry, which com-bined have more than 7,200 employ-ees and annual sales topping $1.26million.Ca

The four were speaking at a newforum held for the first time at thisyear’s NACE in Orland, Fla., a day-long session aimed at (and open to)only MSOs. Much of the content ofthe panel discussions during the sym-posium, however, could have beenequally of value to the single-locationshop owner who wants to expand hisor her business.

During the “Lessons LearnedFrom the Big Four,” panel discussion,for example, Cathy Bonner, the presi-dent of the 47-shop Service King

chain in Texas, was asked what rolesocial media plays in her company’sextensive marketing efforts. Bonnersaid she thinks it’s a stretch to thinkthat people want to “socialize” with acollision repair shop, and that measur-ing return on an investment in socialmedia is difficult given how infre-quently the average driver needs ashop’s services.

Still, she said, Facebook andTwitter are reasonable inexpensiveways to help build a brand and nameawareness by helping promote, for ex-ample, Service King’s charitable ef-forts. Social media are how a growingpercentage of the population may findyour shop and understand your repu-tation, she said.

“People want to do business notjust with good-performing companies,but with companies they like,” Bon-ner said. “They want an emotional at-tachment to that company. Socialmedia can help you develop that.”

The panel was asked what, otherthan improved pricing, they expectfrom their vendors as they have grownas buyers. Rollie Benjamin, CEO of

the 110-shop ABRA Auto Body &Glass chain, said his company focusesmore on service than price whenworking with vendors. In terms ofparts, for example, ABRA looks forvendors that can do more to help withcycle time by getting the right part tothe shop at the right time.

“We survey our people to scorethe vendors on what level of customersatisfaction they giving our managersrunning these shops,” Benjamin said.“We give a report card to the ven-dors.”

Steve Grimshaw, CEO of theCaliber Collision Center chain, whichoperates 92 shops in four states, heconsiders what aspects of businessthat vendors excel in – and then looksfor ways to put that expertise to workfor Caliber.

“Rental car companies are ex-perts at customer service,” Grimshawsaid. “I expect them to leverage thatexpertise to help me train my peoplehow to be customer service experts.You have paint vendors who are ex-perts on lean processes; I expect themto dedicate resources to help improve

our operations. There’s generally a lotof willingness on their behalf to dedi-cate resources to help us achieve ourobjectives. So it becomes more of astrategic relationship than a vendor re-lationship.”

What are the MSOs looking forin terms of expanding into new mar-kets or acquiring other collision repairbusinesses? Benjamin said his com-pany operates company-owned shopsin currently six major metropolitanareas, but 35 of its shops are franchiseoperations in mid-sized cities.

Bonner said her company’smodel is to operate large shops inhigh-visibility locations. The averageService King location, for example,has 13 direct repair programs – nearlytwice that of most other MSOs – anddoes $5.4 million in annual sales. Agood candidate for Service King ac-quisition, she said, may be family-owned like Service King, will have asimilar culture, and will have room toperhaps double its sales from$250,000 to $500,000 a month.

She said that although all of the

that come up. I personally have neverbought a car and had the salesman walkover to me and mention, “Now youknow, you’ll need to set some moneyaside for general maintenance and theusual break downs.” Without theneeded “know-how” the car is left to itsown demise and the maintenance is leftfor another day. So, once you add up allthese factors there is only one thing thatis going to happen at the repair shop—a disgruntled owner with an issue abouttheir car.

Now we are back to the originalproblem, how do you deal with all ofthis? Start with a bit of Alligator skin,be prepared for the customer to tell youtheir life story about their car. They’regoing to tell you what they think nomatter what you say or do. Let themget it out and keep your alligator skinintact. Stay calm, but professional.

Most of the time, if you explain thediagnostic procedures and the results ofthe repair in terms that they can under-stand. Things will go a lot smoother.Sometimes I might have to go through ita few times but it’s worth the effort.

So the key to this whole ordeal is todo a good job, be prepared to back up

what you do with an explanation thatcan be understand by the typical driver.As long as you do that you can keepyour wits about you and you won’t losetoo much skin for your efforts. Keep inmind; it can be a little rough around thewater’s edge. You may have to standyour ground and make your pointknown. Keep it as calm as possible andexplain as best as possible.

These issues usually don’t applyto the person who keeps up with theirmaintenance schedules or comes in ona regular basis. They understand theneed and respect the work you do. It’sthe ones that only show up when theircar has reached the water’s edge andcan’t go an inch further without fallinginto the crocodile infested water. Theywill stammer around trying to find away to get their car repaired withoutstepping off into the deep end and risklosing money, time, and their temper.We’ve all been there, and we can allunderstand the problems involved.

Let’s not forget that explainingthings can only go so far. You don’twant to have to resort to their tactics,that’s not good business.

But, remember one thing, thecustomer is still dealing with an alli-gator, and they can bite back if they’renot careful.


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Alligator Skin

MSOs Share Insights During First-time Symposium at 2011 NACE

SeeMSO Insights, Page 31


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2011 Equus

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Chrysler’s Southeast & SouthwestService & Parts Business Conferencewas held at the Disney ContemporaryResort in Orlando from October 12through 14. More than 375 dealers,parts managers, and service managersenrolled in the conference; represent-ing over 240 of the highest volumedealerships in the country.

The 3-day conference providednumerous educational sessions spe-cific to dealer principals, service man-agers and parts managers as well as a

vendor expo. This is the thirdyear that the show has com-bined representatives fromtheir southwest and southeastregions into one show—previ-ously each region had separateshows.

The first day of the confer-ence was kicked-off by FrankLasater, SEBC Service andParts Manager, and BillHarry, SWBC Service andParts Manager. RolfAssmuth,V.P. Technical Service Opera-

tion, followed with a ServiceOperations Update and aMopar Parts Update by JimSassorossi, Director, MoparField Service & Parts, con-cluded the morning.

The afternoon sessionsincluded Mopar Brand Visionby Trish Hecker, DirectorMopar Marketing, and Dis-ney’s Approach to BusinessExcellence by Jeff Noel fromthe Disney Institute.

The second day of theconference providedover twenty Service,Parts and Dealer Principalbreak-out sessions for the at-tendees to choose from. Thisyear's conference offeredmore flexible and diverse ed-ucation sessions as a result ofattendee feedback from theprevious years. This allowedattendees to better adapt theirsessions to their individualneeds, resulting in more

dealer principals and managers in at-tendance than any previous confer-ence.

There was also a Vendor ExpoThursday night with over 100 vendorsparticipating.

The conference wrapped up onFriday with various presentations byindustry experts and closing remarksfrom Frank Lasater, SEBC Service& Parts Manager.

Chrysler’s Southeast & Southwest Business Centers’ 2011 Serviceand Parts Business Conference and Expo Held in Orlando, FL

(L to R): Chris Lashley and Clint Edwards (Tom Edwards,Inc.); Doug Stubblefield (Vero Beach CJD); Lumena Litts(Vero Beach DCJ); and Bill Brobst (DCJ of Winterhaven)

The Vendor Expo was well provided by over 100 exhibitors

(L to R): Rolf Assmuth (V.P. Mopar Technical Service Op-erations),Mike Mahalak (VP/GM, Winter Haven DCJ)and Frank Lasater (Service & Parts Operations Manager,Southeast Business Center).

These days going to the movie theatercan be very expensive. Theater own-ers have come to realize that formerpatrons now get their films onlinefrom services like Netflix. To com-pensate for the loss of these cus-tomers, they have begun to add luxuryamenities like select seating and per-sonalized service in the auditorium.And of course the price of a ticket hasskyrocketed, in my area to around$14.00 for a ticket.

Sadly, in this economy, lower-in-come car owners have also migratedto cheaper paint and body providers.Shops like “One Day Paint and Body”are getting much of the business thatquality shops used to get to keep theirtechnicians busy and keep paint pur-chase volume up.

It may be time for shop owners totake a hint from theater owners andmore thoroughly focus on higher in-come prospective customers. Manyshops already do aim their marketingat higher end European vehicles likeBMWs and Mercedes, but the range ofvehicle choices has also increasedgreatly. The Korean automakers havebegun to claim a larger share of themarket. Like theater owners, a shopowner has to ask, “What special ameni-ties will get all better quality car-buyersto choose my shop over any other?”

Many shops have already fo-cused on pampering their customers.They go beyond proving a rental carto taking the rental car to the customerand having a lock box for keys so thecustomer can drop off the rental car atthe shop after hours. A shop may also

choose to cover the difference in costfor a luxury rental vehicle. A luxurylounge with big TV, WIFI, computergames for kids and up-scale refresh-ments are already commonplace.Many shops offer a car wash and inte-rior clean. For higher end customers,shops may even include exterior andinterior detail. But who pays for all ofthese amenities when insurance com-panies are working to reduce whatthey will pay for?

Like theater owners who raise theprice of tickets, astute shop owners arerealizing the need to offer more self-pay options even for insurance payjobs. Unlike theater owners, they can’task for $5.00 for a box of popcorn ora cold drink. More ingenuity is calledfor. Time is a major concern for manyvehicle owners, so one new specialtycalled “Cosmetic Car Repair” in-cludes an in-house bumper repair kitthat can sometimes enable the shop toturn out a bumper repair in just a fewhours. This eliminates outsourcingcosts and also delivers the rapid repairthe customer wants.

Another aspect of the same sys-tem is a more sophisticated version ofpaintless dent repair. Once again,speed of repair is the special value. Al-though cosmetic car repair is a specificsystem, other cosmetic improvementsmay be desired. Many shops have acontract with a vehicle graphicsprovider who will do pin striping, clearcar bras and more.

Another dimension of the luxurytheater game is a focus on providingselect films specifically chosen for an

audience with those preferences. Invi-tation-only showings have alreadybegun. If a shop has managed to cap-ture sufficient information about cus-tomers, it may be in a position to doinvitation-only showings. For exam-ple, as baby-boomers age, there aremore handicapped drivers. A showingof power lifts, power running boardsand special driver’s seat modificationscould bring in previous customers whowere, or have become, handicapped.Prior customers whose children arereaching driving age may respond toan invitation to see black-box drivingcontrols and speed governor systems.

Parents of younger children aremore concerned with child car seats.These must be placed properly to pro-vide maximum protection. Manufac-turers of products like these may bewilling to send a representative to theshop to do an invitation-only demon-stration for customers with small chil-

dren. More than a million pets arekilled every year in vehicle accidents.Pet restraints and other controls arenot only another add-on a shop canoffer pet owner customers, but if ashop has collected customer informa-tion about pets, an invitation-onlypresentation of pet control products ispossible.

As a shop gets more involved inproviding a few luxury accessories,significant opportunities open up to gobeyond repairs and become an infor-mation provider. Like the child carmanufacturers or distributors, theseaccessory providers have a wealth ofrepresentatives eager to go out to gen-erate business for their companies. Allyou, as the shop owner, have to do issend out the invitations and providethe space and perhaps a few refresh-ments. In a sense, you become thenew theater owner in a business oncelimited to collision repair.


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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

AAIA will feature its new Shop of To-morrow showcase at AAPEX in booth#3066 to highlight vehicle service usingconnected technology. Included will be:Diagnostic, service information andtelematics services delivered from thecloud by ALLDATA; A plug-in telem-atics device and cloud-based servicespowered by Carma Systems; Back shopalignment and service solutions byHunter Engineering communicatingseamlessly with the shop managementsystems; Internet parts location and or-dering services engineered by WHI So-lutions.

The AAPEX Learning Forum will fea-ture 30 education sessions with specificclasses recommended for general after-market audiences, warehouse distribu-tors, manufacturers, retailers, autorepair shops and parts stores. 28 of the30 sessions are offered at no cost. Thetwo additional Lunch & Learn sessionsare $25 each. Sessions will take placeTues., Nov. 1 to Thurs., Nov. 3, at theSands Expo Center. Sessions will beheld at the Venetian Hotel, Marco PoloRooms 701-706. The Lunch & Learnsessions will be held in Marco PoloRooms 801/802.

AAIA ‘Shop of Tomorrow’Vehicle Service at AAPEX

AAPEX Learning Forum toProvide 30 A/M Programs

“The Insider” is an auto insurancecompany executive who wishes to re-main anonymous. This column reflectssolely the opinion of The Insider in hisunvarnished view of various issuesimpacting the collision industry.

Can NACE Survive as a ‘traveling re-gional trade show’?Well, it’s that time of year again:lights, slots, dice, scantily-cladwomen, lavish parties, casinos andNACE? Actually, it’s not—NACE isalready over. In case you missed it,NACE (the International AutobodyCongress and Exposition) took placein early October in Orlando, the firsttime it moved from Las Vegas in morethan a half-dozen years.

Yes, I was one of a handful ofpeople that showed up to support theindustry’s longest-standing nationaltrade show. I have missed only four ofthe 29 of these annual extravaganzas,

and I wasn’t about to let a trip tosunny Florida deter me from attend-ing.

I have to admit, I was apprehen-sive about spending the money andtime to attend two shows this year. .How this small industry can supporttwo national trade shows (NACE andthe SEMA show in November, whichI will discuss in my next column) isbeyond comprehension. In fact, Iwould say it’s not possible.

Here’s my best guess: We will beback to one national industry tradeshow in the next three years. There’sno way that the large companies buy-ing booth space will continue to throwgood money after bad. Even asidefrom the poor economy, national tradeshows like NACE are a dying breed.Yup, even the mighty dinosaur even-tually went extinct.

The once-almighty NACE isdying a slow death. Before anyone

submits an obituary, please note thatthe show still stands some chance ofsurvival. Although this year’s NACEwasn’t the typical NACE we’ve beenaccustomed to, there was somethingdifferent and positive. Aside fromthe fact that there weren’t a lot ofpeople there, which made it easier tonavigate the show floor, the smallerevent meant my feet were intact aftera few days of walking. Usually, I canhardly walk after the weekendmarathon.

All kidding aside, the positivenews is the reality that NACE couldsurvive and possibly reinvent itselfas a traveling regional trade show.There is a small percentage of peo-ple who have attended NACE in thepast few years who walk a tradeshow floor to find a special deal orsee something new. But the vast ma-jority of the attendees attend theshow to participate in other related

industry events, or to network andreduce future travel expenses bymeeting with large groups of peopleover a short period of time.

Because this article is aboutsharing inside information and help-ing my dedicated readers gain abroader perspective, I suppose Ishould tell you something you prob-ably don’t know. NACE transform-ing into just a large regional tradeshow didn’t happen overnight or byaccident. It’s been a slow death. Inthe years leading up to its demise, theindustry tried to tell organizers it wastime for change. They assembled acommittee of industry experts thatwere supposed to help guide them to“NACE: The Next Generation.” Thegoal: to actually create a trade showthat met the demands of their cus-tomer and once again generated ex-citement.


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Can the Collision Industry Support Two Major Trade Shows?

See Insider on NACE, Page 28

with The Insurance InsiderInside Insurance The Insider is a corporate-level executive with a Top 10 auto insurer

in the U.S.. Got a comment or question you’d like to see him addressin a future column? Email him at [email protected]

I mentioned social media to a bodyshop owner recently and, to say theleast, it wasn’t received enthusiasti-cally. There seems to be a very smallgroup in the collision industry thatvalues social media and this guy wasnot one of them.

“Why would I put my shop onFacebook?” he said. “I don’t have alot of customers who are teenagegirls!” I told this gentleman thatFacebook and most other forms ofsocial media aren’t being used exclu-sively by teenage girls. Facebook’s800 million members aren’t allteenagers, and they certainly aren’tall girls.

Last month’s NACE meeting fea-tured a keynote speaker, Chris Bro-gan, who’s a social media guruaccustomed to talking to large auto-motive groups like those attendingNACE/CARS, and the GM Dealers ofCanada, for example.

What’s going on here? Whywould some shops and associationsspend valuable time instructing on so-cial media while others can’t run awayfrom it fast enough?

David Moore, the owner of Col-lisionBuilder.com, a company that de-signs web sites and develops socialmedia plans for body shops and re-lated businesses, has seen a recentspike in body shops getting involvedin several forms of social media.

“It’s unavoidable,” Moore ex-plained. “Three or five years ago, hav-ing a company web site was enough,but now your shop’s customers areusing more and more social media. It’snot just for students or people in their20s anymore. Corporate types, seniorcitizens, your employees and yourcompetitors are using it and in manycases, several times daily. To keep intouch with your clients on a regularbasis and attract new ones, more and

more body shops are gravitating to-ward sites like Facebook, Twitter,LinkedIn and even Youtube, withsolid results.”

One of the first early adopters ofsocial media in the collision industrywas Wren’s Body Shop in Dou-glasville, Georgia, a company that re-pairs 160 cars monthly, employs 20people and does approximately $3million in annual sales. OwnerJames Wren jumped into the socialmedia game with both feet severalyears ago and it’s paid off for him ina big way.

“I know for a fact we’ve receiveda good amount of business throughour involvement in Facebook andLinkedIn,” Wren said. “Sometimes weget several new customers everymonth and the social media keeps usin touch with our past customers.We’re still doing the other forms ofadvertising, but now we’re focusing

more on social media. All it costs usis our time, so it makes a lot moresense. Facebook has been great for usgetting new business. LinkedIn hasbeen booming for us more recentlyand we’re definitely interested inusing Youtube to get exposure for avideo we produced.”

Facebook and LinkedIn are idealvehicles for body shops or profes-sional organizations, such as the Cal-ifornia Autobody Association, to keepits members informed are in the loopabout news and events. Rather thangetting an avalanche of e-mails fromyou, people interested in your busi-ness can check in for updates alongthe way. It’s not as disruptive as e-mail because you don’t have to worryabout spam. When your neighbors andpeers see your social media, it addsimmediate value to your message, andthe interaction among the group canrapidly build.


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How to Use Five Forms of Social Media to Pack the Housewith Ed Attanasio

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

NACE organizers slowlychanged the direction of the show, butby then it was too late. The excitementof NACE was basically reserved forthose looking for a Las Vegas vaca-tion. Attendance plummeted. The re-ported show attendance becamesimilar to an Enron annual report:There was a lot of inflated numbersand not a whole lot to support the factthat the trade show floor looked like abocce ball court on the weekend. Onewould swear that they were using adog-years multiplier where every oneattendee accounted for seven [orga-nizers said 15% more attended thanlast year].

Although NACE organizersmade a lot of mistakes along the wayand often acted with arrogance, therewere other contributing factors. Thisis kind of like a murder mystery:There are a lot of suspects and clues,but we still aren’t sure of the killer orthe murder weapon.

But I think that the real killerof NACE was the SEMA show.SEMA is offering something that

NACE no longer does: attendees,attendees and more attendees. Oh,and something else: attendees.SEMA can be found in the diction-ary under the word “excitement.”SEMA will have about 10 times thenumber of attendees as NACE didthis year.

As far as the murder weapon, Ithink it was a vote at a Collision In-dustry Conference (CIC) meeting inearly 2010. The attendees of this con-ference were asked to vote when andwhere they would like their fall meet-ing to be held: keep it as scheduled inNovember in Las Vegas, or move it afew weeks earlier to when NACE hadbeen rescheduled to be held. Theyvoted for the conference to be held inLas Vegas at the same time as SEMA[by one vote—Ed.]. The rest is historyand we now have two trade shows tosupport.

That’s it for now. See you inVegas, baby.

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


Insider on NACE

The first thing you need to do inorder to start a social media plan, (inmy opinion), is to create a Facebookpage. Then, invite friends to your pageand spread the word. Get your em-ployees, customers and vendors whouse Facebook to invite their friends aswell. This will enable you to contactanywhere from hundreds to thousandsof people just be tapping into your em-ployees’ friends’ lists. For a direct ap-proach, it’s very easy to find specificpeople by searching for them on Face-book and sending them a messagethrough the link that’s under their pro-file picture.

What types of information shouldyou post about your shop? Well, prettymuch anything and everything to cre-ate ongoing online conversationsamong your friends. Did you recentlyrepair a rare or classic vehicle? Didsome of your techs win an award fortheir job performance or recently com-plete some I-CAR courses? Does yourpainter have an amazing hot wingsrecipe (forward it to me, please)?These are the types of things that willkeep your circle of friends engagedand continually checking out your so-cial media. Make it fun and readable

and people will come back again andagain.

The process with LinkedIn is ba-sically the same, but focusing more onyour professional contacts. With anyform of social media, setting it up is abig step, but administrating and main-taining it is also crucial. Too manyshops start doing it because their com-petitor down the street is doing it, buteventually they let their social mediasit dormant. People think “If I build it,they will come” but that couldn’t befurther from the truth. Ideally, youshould have a person dedicated to keepthe dialog flowing and your socialmedia up-to-date, with at 2-3 newposts monthly.

The advantage of Twitter is thatanyone out there in cyberland can findyour shop. I suggest putting the nameof your city in your Twitter address(like @joesbodyshopsanjose) so thatpeople can find you searching thatway. Hopefully, if you’ve been tweet-ing for sometime already, you alreadyhave a considerable Twitter commu-nity assembled, but if not you can rap-idly build one by letting all of yourcurrent and former customers, vendorsand associates about your new Twitter

account, by sending notifications toeveryone on your e-mail list.

Blogspot.com (others are blog-ger.com, wordpress.com, tumblr.com)is an easy site to use for setting up andmaintaining a blog for your shop.Blogs are stronger than ever before andthey provide advantages over websites, because they can easily be up-dated on a regular basis. Think of anewsletter concentrating on your shop.Blog readers will anticipate and expectfresh information. Give customershelpful tips; talk about your paint, partsand equipment vendors (they appreci-ate it) and continually sell your brand.It’s fairly easy to publish a blog and byleveraging it and linking it to yourmain web site, you’ll get majormileage out of it. To learn a lot quicklyabout blogging, there are a ton ofbooks and online tutorials. But, trustme—blogs are easy to create. If youknow how to attach a photo or cut andpaste text, you’re already there.

Finally, Youtube can help you toattract people to your company. Shootsome video of the shop, interviewingyour managers or your techs andcounter people. You can even inter-view your vendors and/or customers,

but get them to sign releases first. Andthen post the videos on Youtube, link-ing them to your social media, includ-ing your blog and your web site. Onesuggestion is make your videos lessthan two minutes in length, becausestudies show that people have veryshort attention spans and won’t sitthrough anything longer.

A step beyond a blog would be amore dedicated phone app which pro-vides a service but also helps cus-tomers find your shop such as thosecreated by shops like Nigro’s inPhiladelphia. See last month’s Auto-body News or go online to check thisout.

Hopefully we’ve outlined somebasic forms of social media for you touse to promote your business, attractnew customers, strengthen your rela-tionships with your existing customersand make money. All it takes is time, arudimentary knowledge of softwareand the willingness to induct yourselfinto the new age of customer-focusedadvertising.


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Unless specifically recommended bythe vehicle maker, parts with a tensilestrength over 600 MPa should only bereplaced at factory seams. This is just

one of the “best practices” identifiedat a Repairability Summit hosted by I-CAR earlier this year. Summit atten-dees consisted of subject matterexperts from vehicle makers, tool andequipment makers, collision repair fa-cilities, insurance companies, and theAmerican Iron and Steel Institute.

The primary intention of thesummit was to identify best practicesfor working with ultra-high-strengthsteels (UHSS) and the new construc-tion methods found on late modelvehicles. In February 2012, I-CARwill premiere its Best Practices forHigh-Strength Steel Repairs(SPS09) course, highlight-ing issues covered duringthe Summit and other bestpractices.

While vehicle makerrecommendations should befollowed first and foremost,these best practices can beleveraged where none exist.For example, while there’s alot more information on steelstrengths in the vehicle serv-ice information with each new modelyear, sometimes the information is notthere. Summit attendees discussedvarious tests the technician can per-form in the repair facility that helpidentify if the steel is mild, HSS, orUHSS (see Figure 1).

Knowledge GapTo prepare what information wouldbe discussed at the summit, I-CARconducted a survey of technicians

in the field, asking whatkind of information theywould like to see from I-CAR in a future course onthe subject of advancedconstruction. The survey re-vealed a lack of informationamong technicians actuallymaking the repairs, and adefinite need for a courseaddressing the subject.

Summit DiscussionsThe agenda for the summit was laidout like a repair plan. After the dis-cussion on steel strength identifica-tion, the group discussed bestpractices for anchoring and pullingand different removal methods. Thecreated heat-affect zone from heatingand removal methods was a major dis-cussion point (see Figure 2).

A discussion on attachmentmethods focused on GMA (MIG)welding heat-effect on UHSS, thechanges in spot weld machine set-tings, and how destructive testing of

spot welds differs on UHSS panelscompared to HSS or mild steel.

Somewhat new attachmentmethods like MIG brazing and self-piercing rivet bonding were dis-cussed, including the applicationswhere they are recommended and

possible future uses (see Figure 3).To facilitate the conversation,

I-CAR brought in two vehicles withsimilar side damage. The vehicleswere of the same make and model,

and even though separated by onlyone model year, the later modelcontained significantly more UHSScompared to the previous model.The two vehicles were used to iden-tify the necessary changes in re-

pairs due to more use of UHSS.

SummaryIt became clear during the recent I-CAR Repairability Summit that vehi-

cles cannot be repaired usingthe same repair methods thatwere acceptable just a fewyears ago.

Industry experts that at-tended the Summit addressedthese issues and agreed on alist of best practices that canbe used when vehicle makerrepair information does notexist. The list will be avail-able in the Best Practices ForHigh-Strength Steel Repairs

(SPS09) course premiering in Febru-ary 2012.

Watch a video describing some ofthe highlights on the Best PracticesFor High-Strength Steel Repairs(SPS09) course at www.i-car.com.


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I-CAR Repairability Summit: Don’t Section Ultra-High-Strength Steel

with Kathy Steck-FlynnAutobody CSI

with Dan EspersenALL OEM Information

with Tom McGeeALL OEM Information

with J.R. CarlsonConsumer Callout

Automaker Actions and Announcementswith Jeremy Hayhurst

Autobody Techwith Jeremy Hayhurst

Parts Profileswith Larry Williams

Automaker Actions and Announcementswith Janet Chaney

I-CAR Tech

Amaradio Explains CRAwith Lee Amaradio Jr.

Consumer Callout

The Right Causewith Mike Causey

with Ed AttanasioShop Showcase

Say What?!

This article first appeared in the I-CAR Advantage Online, which is published and distrib-uted free of charge. I-CAR, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, is anot-for-profit international training organization that researches and develops qualitytechnical education programs related to collision repair. To learn more about I-CAR, andto subscribe to the free publication, visit http://www.i-car.com.

Figure 1 - Industry experts discuss steel identification

Figure 2 - Industry experts discuss anchoring andstructural straightening of UHSS

Figure 3 - Industry experts discuss MIG brazingapplications

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17 shops Service King has added thisyear have been in Texas, the companyis interested in expanding into otherstates.

“My father used to tell me youcan plan your work, but don’t plan onit working out,” Bonner added as acaveat. “It is important to plan, but interms of growth and decisions aboutacquisitions, you have to have adapt-ability as well.”

Grimshaw said reputation withina market is critical when consideringbusinesses to acquire.

“If you think you’re going to buya (shop) that wasn’t performing welland that when you put your name onthe sign, all will be forgiven, that’sbeing a bit naïve,” Grimshaw said. “Ittakes a long time and you have tomend a lot of fences to reestablish areputation.”

The panel was asked to commenton a proposition, espoused by an in-surer in the United Kingdom, thatbusiness often “trip over themselves”trying to exceed customer expecta-

tions when they would be better offjust ensuring they consistently meetthose expectations every time.

Brock Bulbuck, CEO of TheBoyd Group, a Canadian-based firmthat also operates 128 shops in theUnited States (many under theTrue2Form and Gerber tradenames)said the problem with that concept isthat customer expectations keep ris-ing.

“If you don’t strive to wow andexceed and set the bar as high as youcan, I think you run the risk of estab-lishing a culture in your organizationwhere just doing your job is goodenough,” Bulbuck said. “I don’t thinkthat’s conducive to create promoters(among customers) and growing yourbusiness.”

Grimshaw, too, said exceedingexpectations is the key to differentiat-ing your business from the competi-tion.

But Bonner said there is somelogic in what the U.K. insurer was es-pousing.

“I think in collision repair, theprimary customer is insurance, and ifyou don’t exceed their expectations,you will not be rewarded with

growth,” she said. “The secondarycustomer is the traditional retail cus-tomer. I think it’s true that you don’thave to exceed their expectations; youjust have to satisfy them. That’s whatwe’re rewarded on by the primarycustomer, the insurance companies,whether we have satisfied those cus-tomers and given them great service.”

As the panel discussion ended,Bulbuck said he’s interested in seeingother MSOs succeed because itdemonstrates the success of the busi-ness model overall.

“I truly believe the success ofeveryone in this room is dependentupon the collective success of theMSO sector,” Bulbuck said. “So myadvice is a bit self-serving: Never putyour business at risk, never bet thefarm, either operationally or finan-cially.”

The MSO symposium was a newevent at what was the first NACE heldoutside of Las Vegas in seven years.NACE organizers said the return towhat will likely be a 3-city rotation(Orlando, New Orleans and LasVegas) appears to have paid off; re-ported attendance at this year’s event(more than 18,000 people) was up 15

percent over 2010. About 40 percentof those who pre-registered indicatedthey were first-time attendees.

Next year’s event will be heldOctober 10-13 in New Orleans, andorganizers say the success of thisyear’s MSO symposium will result ina similar session being held next year.While it will continue to be open onlyto MSOs, organizers point out thatNACE includes nearly 90 other train-ing sessions that have no such restric-tion on attendance.

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


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SEMA is just around the corner andmany of you will be attending the tradeshow and SCRS repair-driven educa-tion. I am teaching a class on how gov-ernment regulations will impact thecollision industry right now, but forthose who cannot attend, I am going tohighlight my presentation here. Let’slook at the US Government CAFÉ(corporate average fuel economy)standards. By the year 2015, the CAFÉstandard for the industry (cars andtrucks combined) is 31.6 MPG (35.7for cars and 28.6 for trucks). How willthese standards affect body shops?

First, cars will need to get lighterand smaller. The use of aluminum willincrease. You will see more hoods,deck lids, fenders and other body partsbeing made from aluminum. Manyaluminum hoods are double paneledwith virtually no access to the backside. Most shops today do not the ca-pability to repair this type of damage.What is needed is an aluminum studgun.

The unit pictured first comes with

the stud gun and a number of handtools for repairing aluminum. The ma-chine pictured second is just the studgun with the puller. You will need toinvest in hand tools because aluminumtools can’t be used on steel compo-nents because of the likelihood of gal-vanic corrosion. Dent Fix, ReliableAutomotive Equipment and ProSpotare a few examples of companies thatsell aluminum repair equipment. You

will also need to invest in training. Re-pairing aluminum is not difficult, butthere are a few techniques that need tobe learned to achieve a successful re-pair.

You will also see smaller vehi-cles. With smaller cars, you will see anincrease in the use of ultra highstrength steels in cabin reinforcementsfor passenger protection. Nearly allmanufacturers require full replacementof these reinforcements and that willlead to more total losses. Let’s look atFederal Motor Vehicle safety standard216A.

FMVSS 216A deals with roofcrush. The standard for 2009 was 2.5times Gross Vehicle Weight. In otherwords, if a car weighs 2000 pounds,the roof would need to support 5000lbs. The Insurance Institute for High-way Safety did not think the 2.5 stan-dards were sufficient, so they set astandard for 2009 at 3 times GVW and4 times GVW by 2012. To gain a 5 starrating, the vehicles manufacturers hadto increase the strength of the ‘B” pil-lar reinforcements. How does this in-creased strength affect the collisionindustry?

The first thing that comes to mindis the need for OEM data. You cannotdo structural repairs or structural partsreplacement without it. For example,you can section a “B” pillar on (lowerportion) on a Toyota Venza, but youwill need to replace the entire rein-forcement on a Toyota Camry.

The following page was takenfrom Toyota’s Technical InformationSystem or TIS for short. The sheetshows where to section and the type ofwelds that are needed for a quarterpanel replacement. You can subscribeto TIS or you can subscribe to ALL-DATA (they obtain the OEM data foryou).

While at SEMA, check with the

OEMs for their current data (most ofthe time they make it available free) orcheck out ALLDATA. It is another in-vestment that any body shop will needmake. The stronger reinforcementshave also created a need for pre-mea-suring for damage analysis.

Besides the roof crush, thesesuper strong reinforcements are de-

signed to transfer energy and deform.This energy will travel to the oppositeside of the vehicle and, if not measuredbefore an estimate is written, can leadto all kinds of problems. The “B” pil-lar on the opposite side of the car canmove (side impact), but the floor maynot and this can lead to all kinds of im-proper fit issues. You will need to lookat measuring systems that can measure“A” and “B” pillars without placing avehicle on a frame machine.


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Tech Notes

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

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

with Jeremy HayhurstPublisher’s Page

with Karyn HendricksShop Showcase

with David M. BrownShop Showcase

Shop Showcasewith Jeremy Hayhurst

Hey Toby!with Toby Chess

California Autobody Associationwith David McClune

Collision Repair Association of CA.with Richard Steffen

Insurers Excel at Steeringwith Richard Steffen

Year in Quoteswith John Yoswick

Transition Planningwith John Yoswick

Mainstream Media

My Turnwith Joe Momber

Toby Chess is an I-CAR program instructor, Welding specialist, and former salvage yardoperator. Toby is universally known in the collision industry for his charitable works,worthy causes, and magic tricks. He can be reached at [email protected]

SEMA’s Repair Driven Education and Government Regulations

Some of the manufactures thatmake this type of equipment are,Celette, Car-O-Liner, The CollisionEquipment Group and Chief Automo-tive Equipment. You see all of thesemachines at SEMA. Still dealing withthe stronger “B” pillars, you will need

to invest in an inverter spot welder.Ultra High Strength steels are verysensitive to heat. MIG welding pro-duces a large heat affected zone.

The weakest part of the weld is inthe heat affected zone. The tempera-ture when MIG welding can approach

2000 degrees Fahrenheit and UHSSsteel becomes mild steel at that tem-perature. It’s weaker and it loses all ofits energy transfer properties. A spotweld, on the other hand, has a verysmall heat affected zone.

Inverter Spot welding machineshave computers to reduce the heat af-fected zone on HSS and UHSS metals.

Manufacturers of these smart ma-chines include Car-O-Liner, Elektron,Wielander+Schill, Tecna, and Com-puSpot. Besides being able to producea smaller heat affected zone, comparedwith their predecessors, they are fullyautomatic and can keep records on thewelds for each repair job. But don’trun out and buy one without doingyour homework. First and foremost,you will need to check your electricalsupply. These machines only work on3-phase power. They also require largegauge wires (minimum of 4 gauge is


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Heat Affected Zone

Heat Affected Zone See Hey Toby!, Page 37

As a paint manufacturer’s rep, there isnot a single month that goes by with-out being put in the middle of colli-sion repairers and insurers; expectedto chime in on a dispute about what isnecessary for a proper repair. In theJuly 2010 edition of Autobody News, Iwrote an article on the debate aboutColor Match, Blending or both and nomatter how many industry expertssince then have expressed a similarpoint of view—this debate neverseems to loose momentum.

While arguing my point a monthago, I realized that we could end thisdebate once and for all. For a moment,let’s assume that in 2011, all partiesinvolved in collision repair have cometo the conclusion that blending is notonly an option, but a necessary and re-quired part of a quality repair process.I like to compare this to the restaurantexperience. If you go out for an ex-pensive dinner and the restaurant sim-ply slaps the food on your plate,without creating a pleasant arrange-ment, the food will still tastes thesame. Chances are the customer willnot consider this a satisfying experi-ence, or be a repeat customer at thisestablishment. Just like the owner ofa restaurant, collision repairers and in-surers want the same thing to maintaina successful business. We need happyvehicle owners that give us high CSIratings and long-term customer reten-

tion. Blending is for collision repair-ers and insurance companies, what ar-ranging the food is to the restaurantbusiness. It is a must have in today’sbusiness world.

So let’s assume we all agree onthe point of blending, where does thisleave the color match portion of theestimate? During my last conversationI had with an insurance representative,I noticed clearly why we go around incircles on this issue. It is the classicalcase of misunderstanding or misinter-pretation of the term color match.

When I asked what he felt consti-tutes color match, he explained to me,what we all know as the process oftinting the color. It is not overly sur-prising to me to find this to be the casewith insurance adjusters. More oftenthen not, they didn’t repair vehicles asa professional prior to their current po-sition. It is nobody’s fault by the way,just a matter of fact. What I foundmore disturbing was the fact that somecollision repairers felt similar whenasked.

Let’s take a close look at what theterm color match really represents. Itis a combination of a number of dif-ferent tasks and operations that haveto be accomplished to get to the stageof painting. This includes locating andverifying the paint code on the vehi-cle. If you repair a wide array of dif-ferent makes and models, this can be a

tricky task. Paint codes are located inevery imaginable location on automo-biles. They can be located anywherein the engine department, door open-ing, glove department, the centercouncil or hidden somewhere in thetrunk. And let’s not forget some carsthat have no code anywhere on the ve-hicle.

After locating and verifying thecode, the painter has to retrieve allavailable information the paint manu-facturer’s computer system providesfor the repair. In general, the color re-trieval systems will display more thenjust one solution. The next step fromthere is checking variant decks for theavailable solutions, or spraying outsamples for what was not available asa chip. Although paint companies tryto supply paint samples for the mostcommon variants on the market, it isimpossible to have a chip for each andevery one of them.

Now and only now are we gettingto the portion of the color matchingprocess that is debatable. Is the bestvariant found good enough for a suc-cessful blend? Reality is that 90% ofthe color matching activity has to beaccomplished simply to paint, blend-ing or not.

I am not an expert on estimating.I haven’t written one in 17 years. I amalso not a data provider to this indus-try, but it became clear to me that weneed to change the terminology. It re-quires separating and itemizing all ac-tivities currently bundled under thecolor match line item on an estimate.The vast majority of what is consid-ered color matching can be comparedto and should be handled like setuptime for frame work. A repair opera-tion on its own that should not be bun-dled with color tint time. It has to bedone, should be itemized and needs tobe paid for.


Taking a Fresh Look at an Old Debate—Color Matching, Blending, or Both?

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

Stefan Gesterkamp is a Master Craftsman and BASF representative who has been inthe automotive paint industry for 27 years. He started his career in a custom shopbefore turning to collision repair. Stefan graduated from the University of Coatingsand Colorants in Germany and is the author of “How to Paint Your Show Car.”

Car rental firm Hertz Global Holdingsstill wants to buy Dollar Thrifty Au-tomotive Group, despite missing adeadline to make a final offer, and ischasing antitrust approval for atakeover of its smaller rival, accord-ing to Reuters.

On October 11, Dollar Thriftysaid it failed by end-October 10 toflush out any final takeover bids thatmet antitrust concerns, and planned togo ahead as a stand-alone company.

However, Dollar Thrifty, whichhas been at the center of an 18-monthtug-of-war between Hertz and rivalAvis Budget, said it would considerany changes to Hertz’s offer or anyother offer that might be made.

One of Dollar Thrifty’s biggestshareholders said it was highly likelyHertz would win antitrust approvaland would push to get a deal throughearly. The shareholder asked not to beidentified due to the sensitivity of theissue. He noted that Avis, whichdropped out of the bidding last monthciting volatile debt markets and its re-cent $1 billion acquisition of its Euro-pean arm, has the potential to returnto the bidding fray in a few monthswhen it has paid down its debt.

Hertz was always seen as morelikely to win regulatory clearance asit serves the high-end market, and isalready in the process of selling itslow-cost Advantage brand.

Dollar Thrifty Halts Sale Process, Hertz Still Interestedin Acquisition Despite Missed Deadline


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With over 100 girls registered andnearly that number in attendance, Col-lision Hub’s second annual GirlScouts: Tools for Success program wasa huge success. For the event, the GirlScouts of Citrus Council in Orlandocame to the NACE show floor for anhour of conversations with leaders inthe industry about the incredible op-

portunities available to young womenin the collision repair.

The girls learned about frameequipment and measurement systemswith Bob Holland of Chief, the his-

tory of DuPont with Petra Schroeder,the chemistry of paint and color withLaura Yerkey of ProSpray, advancedsoftware and new technologies fromCCC’s Susanna Gotsch, scholarshipopportunities with the Women’s In-dustry Network, and more.

Following the NACE Tools forSuccess tour, Collision Hub hosted a

Women’s Panel sponsored by LKQand moderated by Eileen Sottile,which featured:● Kristen Felder—Founder andCEO, Collision Hub● Denise Casperson— Manager,ASA Collision Division● Audra Fordin—Owner, GreatBear Auto Repair and Auto BodyShop, Flushing, NY● Stacee L. Royce—LaboratoryManager, Paint Applications andMasking Systems, 3MAutomotive Aftermarket Div.● Petra Schroeder—Brand De-

velopment Manager Standox, DupontPerformance Coatings● Victoria Jankowski—P&C ClaimsConsultant, State Farm and Presidentof WIN

Girls heard from these incrediblewomen about everything from theirpersonal journeys into the industry towords of advice going forward. Colli-sion Hub offers this program as a wayto connect with the leadership pipelinethat is the Girl Scouts and to possiblylight the spark that will one day usherthem into the industry as our futureCEOs, Marketers, Painters, Lobbyists,Technicians, Mechanics, Shop Own-ers, Engineers, Chemists, Industry An-alysts and more.

“In addition to their time on theNACE floor visiting selected companybooths, we were able to introducethese dynamic young women to thework of the Women's Industry Net-work and the National AutobodyCouncil's Recycled Rides Program,”said Kristen Felder, Collision HubFounder and CEO. “We believe thatOctober 8, 2011 was yet another steptowards a wonderful career explo-ration and mentoring program betweenthe Girl Scouts of America and the col-lision repair industry at large.”

Tools for Success was PresentedBy Enterprise Rent-A-Car with the

Women’s Panel Discussion and lunchProvided By LKQ. Other event sponsorsincluded: Chief Automotive Technolo-gies, 3M, PPG, VeriFacts Automotive,AutoBody America, AkzoNobel, FixAuto, DuPont, CARSTAR, Mitchell,Esurance, Pro-Spray Automotive Refin-ishes, Automotive Service Excellenceand CCC Information Services.

The Girl Scouts is reforming itsmission to incorporate an emphasis onengineering, science, and technologyand are seeking avenues to achievethis goal. As the collision repair indus-try continues to seek ways to recruitnew talent and creative methods forconnecting with costumers, CollisionHub hopes to offer access to a truly un-tapped demographic.

Tools for Success offered aunique opportunity for leaders in ourindustry to speak with a premieregroup of goal-oriented and intelligentyoung women and capture their poten-tial as future leaders and consumers aswell as the support of each scout’s ex-tensive personal network as potentialcustomers and champions of the colli-sion industry.

Girl Scouts Gear Up at NACE for Collision Hub’s Tools for Success

Local Girl Scouts were able to tour the NACE floorand get a taste of the collision repair industry inCollision Hub’s second annual Tools for Successprogram

Kristen Felder Nominated for Car Care Council“Aftermarket Woman of the Year” AwardCollision Hub Founder and CEO,Kristen Felder was recently nomi-nated for this year’s Car Care Coun-cil Women’s Board “AftermarketWoman of the Year”, an award thathonors women in the aftermarket fortheir dedication and service to the in-dustry.

The winner will be announced atthe 14th Annual Car Care Council

Women’s BoardReception on No-vember 1; 5 p.m. -6:30 p.m. at theSands Expo Cen-ter in Las Vegas,Nevada during theannual SpecialtyEquipment Market

Association (SEMA) tradeshow.“Our Women’s Board ‘After-

market Women of the Year’ awardsare a way for us to applaud excep-tional women in the aftermarket fortheir dedicated service, as well asto recognize women who are goingabove and beyond to make a differ-ence in the industry,” said AAA’sRuth Ehlinger, president of the

Car Care Council Women’s Board.“I have always been passionate

about education and supportingwomen in the industry as a Women’sIndustry Network board member, anAkzo Nobel Most Influential Womanand the founder of Collision Hub,”said Felder upon receiving the nomi-nation. “Collision Hub was created asa safe space for all parties in the auto-motive industry to come together andcollaborate towards transformationand positive change.”

For more information about theCar Care Council Women’s Board,visit http://women.carcare.org or e-mail [email protected].

For more information aboutCollision Hub, visit www.collision-hub.com or contact Elizabeth Black-man at [email protected].

Kristen Felder

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At NACE, State Farm Announces Change to Shop Locator to Allow RankingBased on Internal Performance Score, Will Use ‘PartsTrader’ for DRPsState Farm has changed its shop locatorsystem, accessible from its consumerwebsite, to now rank its Select Serviceshops based on current performancescores as assessed by State Farm in thegeographic region the customer selects.Previously the system listed shops inorder based only on proximity to the ad-dress entered.

State Farm’s Claims Consultant,George Avery said that once the systemis fully implemented, if a customer istrying to find a Select Service shopwithin 15 miles of a certain zip code,they will see a list of all Select Serviceshops in that area. The system defaultsat 15 miles, but they can contract theirsearch or expand it up to a 50-mile ra-dius.

The shop with the best score in thearea will be listed first, the shop with thesecond best score will be listed second,and so forth. State Farm said it’s possi-ble the customer would have to advancea page to see the bottom-ranked SelectService shops if the search area is largeenough, but again, all Select Serviceshops in the area specified by the cus-tomer will be shown.

The scores themselves will not beshown on the shop locator, but SelectService shops always have access to

their score and performance data. Ashop’s score, on a scale of 1 to 1,000, isupdated monthly and is establishedusing a proprietary formula that takesinto account the key performance indi-cators State Farm uses to track eachshop’s performance.

Several other features of the repairfacility locator have been modified in aredesign of both Statefarm.com andState Farm’s B2B site for shops.

“We’re not going to list the highestperforming shop that’s 100 miles away,”said Avery. “It’s all pulled from the samesource,” he said. “It’s the same data feedthe repair facility uses. My guess is thatthe day the shops get their update, theymay go to the locator to see where theyfall in the list.”

Avery continued: “We’ve evalu-ated what our capacity needs are basedon the needs of our customers and askedlocal management to use some tools wehave to determine how many SelectService shops they need in their givenmarkets,” he said. “We’re always inter-ested in dealing with high performers.Some repairers have improved, and ifthey have, we encourage them to con-tact local management and share somekey KPIs to give them a sense of howthey’re doing business. And then if there

is a capacity need, local managementwill approach them. Most local man-agement has an ongoing dialogue withmany repairers in their neighborhoodbecause, just because you’re not on Se-lect Service, doesn’t mean you’re notgood. So don’t be offended if there areno openings.”

As far as the electronic parts order-ing system that State Farm is exploring,Avery says they continue to explore thatconcept as they feel it’s in the best in-terests of their customers and repairers.

“We want to be very transparentthat we’re gathering information andvisiting people and getting their input tohelp us build an application,” saidAvery. “We think it will help everyone.”

Insurer will Require ‘PartsTrader’Avery also said that PartsTraderwill bethe electronic parts ordering system theinsurer expects it will eventually requireits Select Service shops to use. He saidtesting of the system in several marketscould begin in December. “It’s hard totell for sure, but we would like to getsome testing started before the end ofthe year,” Avery said. PartsTrader hasyet to launch but has a provisional web-site at www.partstrader.us.com. Notethis is not ThePartsTrader.com.

Polk Execs Speak aboutAftermarket at AAPEXSeveral Polk executives will provide af-termarket insight as part of the annualAutomotive Aftermarket Products Expo(AAPEX) Nov. 1–3, 2011 in Las Vegas.Polk presentations will include Polk’sunique perspective and broad expertisein both the OEM and aftermarket seg-ments of the industry. Tim Rogers, Polkpresident, will kick-off the annual AAIATown Hall meeting with comments onfive key trends Polk sees affecting theautomotive aftermarket, Wed., Nov. 2 at7 a.m. in the Venetian Hotel Ballroom.Other talks will beld that afternoon.

ALLDATA Training Centerto Exhibit at AAPEXALLDATA has developed a new conven-ient training option for customers, the onlineALLDATA Training Center. Launched inlate August, over 400 customers have al-ready taken advantage of this service.Demonstrations will be given in booth#3265 at the 2011 Automotive AftermarketProducts Expo (AAPEX), November 1-3,in Las Vegas. The Training Center is an in-teractive website where customers canlearnhow to use ALLDATA products. Access isavailable 24/7 so customers can quickly getthe most out of their product subscriptions.”

from 1993 to 1999, and in the Missis-sippi State Senate from 2000-2008,was elected as Insurance Commis-sioner in 2007.

Fondren, a self-employed attor-ney-at-law and previous public de-fender of Jackson County from1977 to 1981, will focus his cam-paign on being a “friend to policy-holders” through stopping rateincreases. Part of the way he woulddo that, he said, is to involve a pub-lic actuary—a professional who an-alyzes the financial consequencesof risk—in insurance premiumhearings.

Fondren plans to spend the fewweeks before the election spreadinghis message both on the Coast andbeyond. At press time Fondrenplanned to speak at the AARP in Hat-

tiesburg during the last week of Oc-tober, at the Mississippi EconomicCouncil’s Hobnob Mississippi inJackson on Nov. 2, and at the TupeloChamber on Nov. 4.

Fondren also served in the Mis-sissippi House of Representativesfrom 1972 to 1976 and was Mayorof Moss Point, MS, from 1969 to1971.

Like Fondren, Chaney alsoplans to speak at the MississippiEconomic Council’s Hobnob Mis-sissippi.

Washer, a retired teacher fromHattiesburg, will focus on achievinga balance between lowering ratesand attracting new business, provid-ing free windshield replacement forauto policyholders, and making surethat insurance companies do notbreach contracts, according to thecandidate.

For more information please visitwww.mid.state.ms.us.

Continued from Front Page

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recommended) due to the increase inamps that is needed. Again, before youpurchase one of these “bad boys,’ getthe electrical needs and consult with aqualified electrician.

One more item pertaining to sideimpact, is the side curtain. Side cur-tains will be mandatory on all vehiclessold in the United States by the year2013. With more vehicles with sidecurtains, knee bolsters, and between

seat air bags, the cost of repairs isgoing to skyrocket and that will in turnlead to more total losses. Moreover,with a number of insurance companiesnot paying sublet markups (they arenow calling them handling fees), you

better start doing the work yourself.That translates into more training andequipment.

A scan tool will be needed to resetthe codes on the SRS system. Youneed this tool to clear the codes on theoccupant classification system, whenyou R&I the front passenger seat. Youwill need this tool to reset the steering-angle sensor.

Let’s review the SAS. The gov-ernment has mandated all vehicles bythe year 2012 have some sort of elec-tronic stability system. Part of that sys-tem is the steering angle sensor. Thesteering angle sensor counts the steer-ing-wheel revolutions accordingly.The overall steering wheel angle isthus made up of the current steering

wheel angle together with the numberof steering wheel rotations. If a cor-rection is needed, the ABS is activatedand/or the engine is retarded to slowthe vehicle down to prevent skids androllovers. Every time an alignment isneeded, a complete 4 wheel alignmentis done followed by a recalibration ofthe steering angle sensor. If this is notdone, the ESC may not work properlyor, even worse, not at all. Most sys-tems will not show a fault code on thedash, therefore, a scan tool will beneeded to reset the steering angle sen-sor. A couple of other governmentalitems that are on the horizon that youshould be aware of are the new Freonrefrigerant—HFO-1234yf and, ofcourse, waterborne paints for those notyet mandated.

HFO-1234 yf is a new type ofFreon that is now being used in Eu-rope. GM will be using it on their U.S.vehicles next year. This new Freon ismuch safer to the environment than134A. You will have to invest in a newrecovery system, leak detection equip-ment, and new manifolds.

Many states have mandated theuse of waterborne paints in areas ofpoor air quality. It is only a matter of

time before the paint companies willswitch entirely to waterborne so, ifyou’re not already there, you better geton-board soon. You will have to retrainyour paint staff and invest in newequipment. It is easier to do it now andnot when it is mandated. Where areyou going to get the money to pay forall of this equipment?

It comes from profits and everytime you give something away, youare making a lot less in profits. Isuggest that you visit the Society ofCollision Repair Specialists web site(scrs.com). Scroll to the center ofthe page and click on the Guide tocomplete repair planning. There areover 800 not-included items on theirestimating guide and by adding afew of these items to all your esti-mates; you can achieve some higherprofits. The best part of all, it is freefor everyone. Enjoy SEMA, I knowI will.


The followingdealerships areeager to serveyour needs.Call your localSubaru collisionparts specialisttoday!

GEORGIA

Subaru of GwinnettDuluth

(678) 584-7245(678) 584-7246 Fax

Mon.-Fri. 8:00-6:00Sat. 8:00-4:00

www.subaruofgwinnett.com

Genuine Porsche Parts... Only The Best.

These Select Dealers Have The Parts You Need.

Cayman 2011

FLORIDA

Brumos PorscheJJaacckkssoonnvviillllee

800-726-9155904-725-0358 FaxM-F 7:30am - 5:30pm

[email protected]


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WANT EVERYWANT EVERYJOB TO BE AJOB TO BE ABANG-UP JOB?BANG-UP JOB?

WANT EVERYJOB TO BE ABANG-UP JOB?These dealers are Genuine VWParts Wholesale Specialists.

WE WANT TO BE YOUR SOURCE FOR REAL VOLKSWAGEN PARTS.With your skill and our parts, every collision repair will be a bang-up job. And that will add up to more repeat business for both of us. Call your order in today.

Georgia

Dwight Harrison VolkswagenSNELLVILLE

11--880000--554411--99334422FAX: 678-836-1104

We Participate in CollisionLinkM-F 8am - 6pm;Sat 8am - 4pm

[email protected]

Mitchell Partners with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Integrates withUpdate Promise.com to Deliver Services via RepairCenter™Mitchell has announced a partnershipwith Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Under theterms of the agreement, Mitchell willdirectly integrate Enterprise Rent-A-Car services into both its auto repairmanagement software and insuranceclaims management software solu-tions, RepairCenter™ and WorkCen-ter™, by automating and simplifyingthe end-to-end vehicle rental workflowfor insurance carriers. Planned forearly 2012, the integration simplifiesthe rental process by eliminating man-ual updates and “middleman” commu-nication between the insurer, bodyshop, rental agency and consumer.When a repair is delayed, an automaticnotification can be sent from Repair-Center's shop management system di-rectly to WorkCenter insurance usersor to the Enterprise representative to letthem know they need to perform arental task. Representatives and claimshandlers will be able to send rental re-quests, extend rentals and receiverental updates.

Paul Rosenstein, Mitchell's VicePresident of Claims Solutions, said“Partnerships with respected industryleaders like Enterprise Rent-A-Car area part of our commitment to simplifyand optimize complex claims and busi-

ness environments, ultimately creatingan exceptional customer experience atevery stage of the claims process.”

Dave Smith, Vice PresidentStrategic Solutions Sales, for Enter-prise Rent-A-Car, said, “This is a sig-nificant opportunity for insurers tospeed up automotive claims processingand increase customer satisfaction. Inaddition, direct integration of Enter-prise Rent-A-Car into Mitchell's solu-tions empowers small insurers to gainaccess to rental integration withouthaving to build it themselves.”

Separately, Mitchell has alsoteamed with UpdatePromise.com™ toenhance its RepairCenter™ auto repairshop software with proactive repairstatus updates. UpdatePromise is aWeb-based service provider that deliv-ers automated repair status updates tocollision customers via text messageand e-mail. This allows body shopusers to manage delivery date prom-ises, repair status updates, and cus-tomer responses from within theRepairCenter body shop softwareworkspace. The widespread use of textmessaging gives auto repair shops animproved option to communicate andconnect with their customers in a con-sistent, proactive way.

Allstate and Progressive Agreeto Settle Patent Litigation

Two AAA clubs have combined opera-tions to become the second largestAAA club in North America. AAAAuto Club South, based in Tampa, Fla.,affiliated and combined with The AutoClub Group based in Dearborn, Mich.,effective Oct. 1. The new enterprise,known as The Auto Club Group, nowserves members and customers across11 states and two U.S. territories. Theyare: Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan,Nebraska, North Dakota, Wisconsin,Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Is-lands. The group also serves most ofIllinois, Minnesota and Tennessee, aswell as a portion of Indiana. The neworganization provides membership,travel, insurance and financial servicesto more than 8.4 million membersthrough about 300 office locations. It ismaintaining corporate headquarters inboth Dearborn and Tampa. RobertSharp, chair of the former Auto ClubSouth board, is now chairman of theboard of The Auto Club Group. CharlesPodowski continues as CEO, and JohnTomlin, former Auto Club South CEO,is chief operating officer. The AutoClub Group will provide access to abroader array of insurance products andservices in the former Auto Club Southregion.

Florida and Michigan AAA ClubsJoin Forces, Now 2nd Largest

Virginia Branded Title for WaterDamage Settles at $2500Jordan Hendler, executive director ofthe Washington Metropolitan AutoBody Association, said a Virginia statelegislator whose vehicle was totaledafter the sunroof of his vehicle was leftopen in a rainstorm was a proponentthis year of legislation to raise thethreshold of damage requiring a flood-damaged vehicle to receive a brandedtitle from $1,000 to $5,000. Advocatesfor increasing the bar said that the four-decade-old limit was unfair, especiallybecause of inflation and rising stickerprices. They argued that the higherlevel would help consumers at resaleas well as used-car dealers that don'twant a vehicle branded because of$1,000 of damage to a luxury car's sun-roof or leather seats. Hendler saidWMABA tried to point out that today'svehicles have far more electronics thancars had decades ago, and that no con-sumer should unknowingly buy a ve-hicle that has had thousands of dollarsin water damage. The threshold wasraised to $2,500, down from the $3500proposed. The Virginia water damagethreshold had been unchanged since1966. Only Virginia, Washington,D.C., and Hawaii set thresholds—all at$1,000—on water damage allowed be-fore a vehicle's title is branded, ac-cording to the National Consumer LawCenter.

ALLDATA has recently launched up-dates to their shop management sys-tem, ALLDATA Manage. “Theexpanded features and parts catalog in-tegration was in direct response to cus-tomer feedback,” said MarkGunnerson, Director of Sales and Op-erations. ALLDATA Manage key fea-tures include:● Integration with major parts cata-logs: AutoZone, Internet Auto Parts,WHI Solutions/Nexpart, Autoi, Acti-vant and WorldPac● Expanded online ordering providessingle click stock checks, pricing andparts order processing● Easy to use catalog setup and view-ing● AutoZone parts images, specifica-tions and availability● Improved product speed and per-formance“Integration with leading parts catalogshas significantly lifted sales for bothALLDATA and our affiliated partssuppliers,” said ALLDATA PresidentJeff Lagges. “Ordering parts online issuch a huge timesaver for shops. Intoday's competitive business environ-ment, it is critical for shops of all sizesto lower expenses through efficiencies.Our system is designed to do just that.”For more information please visitwww.alldata.com/manage.

ALLDATA Expands Integrationwith Electronic Parts Catalogs

Allstate Insurance Co., Allstate Fire &Casualty Insurance Co. and ProgressiveCasualty Insurance Co. announced theyreached a settlement agreement over lit-igation involving technology patentsand questions of trademark infringe-ment. In the suit, Progressive allegedthat Allstate infringed on its usage-based car insurance and online insur-ance policy servicing technology.Progressive also alleged trademark in-fringement. The companies entered intoa trademark co-existence agreement in-volving the Drive and DriveWise trade-marks. They also cross-licensed certainpatent rights with each other.

“This was about protecting andleveraging Progressive's investment ofmore than 15 years in usage-based in-surance research, development, testingand piloting,” Chuck Jarrett, Progres-sive's chief legal officer, said. “Wehave always said we are willing to li-cense our intellectual property rightsto others and that we will enforcethose rights when necessary.” Allstatesaid: “Although confident in the mer-its of its case, Allstate is pleased to beable to leverage its patent portfolio inthis settlement by providing a licenseto Progressive and to eliminate the dis-traction from this litigation.”


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The IRS has launched a new programthat will enable many employers to re-solve past worker classification issuesand achieve certainty under the tax lawat a low cost by voluntarily reclassify-ing their workers. The new programwill allow employers to get into com-pliance by making a minimal paymentcovering past payroll tax obligationsrather than waiting for an IRS audit.The IRS says under the VoluntaryWorker Classification Settlement Pro-gram companies will owe about 1 per-cent of wages paid to reclassifiedworkers in the past year, with no inter-est or penalties due. The program is partof a larger “Fresh Start” initiative at theIRS to help taxpayers and businessesaddress their tax responsibilities. Theprogram will allow businesses thathave been improperly labeling theiremployees as independent contractorsto reclassify workers and make only asmall payment to cover past payrolltaxes. To be eligible, a company musthave consistently treated the workers asnon-employees; have filed required1099 tax forms for the past 3 years; andnot be under a worker classificationaudit. Part of the program will be in-creased vigilance about misclassifica-tion of workers in the future.

IRS Offers Employers TaxRelief if Workers Reclassified

NABC Nominees for 2012Board of Directors AnnouncedThe National Auto Body Council(NABC) hasclosed nominations for theseven 2012 board positions comingopen at the end of this year’s term.Every nominated individual has ex-pressed their interest and desire to workfor the NABC board. They were offeredthe opportunity to participate in the dis-cussions and approval of the NABC’snew mission and vision statements, aswell. The candidates are listed in theirorder of nomination: Keith Bell, AkzoNobel; Stacy Bartnik, CARSTAR;Kenneth Seavey, Hertz First Edition;Mike Jordan, Manchester Collision;Karen Fierst; Fred Iantorno; Jon Faris,Enterprise Car Rental; Kristen Felder,Collision Hub; Elizabeth Stein, FixAuto; David Niestroy, 3D Body Works;Richard Perry, Chief Auto Technolo-gies; Mark Lovell, Precision Collision.

Based on NABC bylaws, an offi-cial ballot will be sent to all NABCmembers for their consideration. Theactual election will take place at theNABC annual meeting to be held in theHilton Hotel in Las Vegas on Tuesday,November 1, 2011 at 12:30 p.m. con-current with the SEMA Show. Only In-dividual members in attendance or thedesignated representative of a membercan participate in the vote.

DuPont Custom Finishes (DuPont) willparticipate at the annual SpecialtyEquipment Market Association (SEMA)tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nov. 1–4.DuPont Custom Finishes, exhibiting inbooth #22789 in Hot Rod Alley, CentralHall, will feature DuPont™ Cromax®

Pro, Chroma Premier® and Hot Hues™custom paint products. Industry airbrushand pinstripe artists will be showcasingtheir skills with live demonstrations inthe booth using DuPont™ Cromax® Prowaterborne products. Vehicles on dis-play in the booth will include a 2012DuPont Calendar winning ‘61 ChevyImpala, owned by Tim Brown of Jack-sonville, Fla.; a ‘71 Challenger ownedby Bob and Karon Zeitler and paintedby John Riehn of John’s Autobody andPaint. Imperial, Mo.; and a ‘50 Fleetlinebuilt by Tim Strange, owner of StrangeMotion Rod & Custom Constructionand host of PowerBlock TV series“Search & Restore.” Strange will makeappearances to sign autographs in thebooth 10 am–12 pm on Wednesday,Nov. 2 and 1–3 pm on Thursday, Nov.3. More information about DuPont Cro-max® Pro Waterborne, Hot Hues customfinishes or ChromaPremier® paint prod-ucts is available at www.pc.dupont .comor phone 1-800-GET-DUPONT.

DuPont Exhibit at SEMA ShowLive Paint Demonstrations

California Man Guilty of SellingCounterfeit ALLDATA ProductsOn June 28, 2011 the ALLDATA Anti-Piracy team in conjunction with theSacramento Valley Hi-Tech CrimesTask Force concluded a six-month in-vestigation into illegally copied ALL-DATA products being sold out ofNorthern California. The subject of thisinvestigation was publicly advertisingthe pirated software in his efforts todistribute it. Undercover officers con-versed with the target who agreed toprovide the illegal product in exchangefor cash. After the actions of the sus-pect placed him in violation of Cali-fornia law, he was taken into custody.The subject is being charged withfelony counts of Possession/Sale ofCounterfeit Articles in reference topenal code 350(A)(2) which statesthat the offense involves 1,000 ormore articles. On July 27, 2011 thesubject pleaded guilty to felonycharges in Superior Criminal Court.ALLDATA has a team that actively in-vestigates the illegal copying, sale anddistribution of its products and workswith law enforcement throughout thecountry to prosecute persons who sellALLDATA products illegally. TheSacramento Valley Hi-Tech CrimesTask Force includes 32 local, state, andfederal law enforcement agencies.

Mitchell RepairCenter™ Standardizes Special Materials RepairData within TechAdvisor, Single Source Access to Multiple OEMsMitchell International, Inc. has an-nounced the integration of its SpecialMaterials Quick Reference Guide intothe RepairCenter™ TechAdvisor autorepair shop software solution. The in-tegration simplifies the structuralidentification process for techniciansby presenting the special materialsdata in Mitchell’s proprietary formatthat remains consistent across the dif-ferent OEM’s.

“Instant access to the SpecialMaterials Quick Reference Guide viaRepairCenter represents the first timethat special materials specificationsare available from multiple manufac-turers in a consistent, user-friendlyformat from a single repair shop solu-tion,” said Jason Bertellotti,Mitchell’s Vice President of RepairSolutions. “This enhancement is justone example of Mitchell’s ongoingcommitment to optimizing the colli-sion repair process. We continue to in-vest in TechAdvisor and find newways to leverage Mitchell’s collisionexpertise to augment the OEM dataand create a truly unique value propo-sition for the collision repair indus-try.”

TechAdvisor’s Special MaterialsQuick Reference Guide helps ensurethe proper repair of today’s advanced

vehicles by identifying and color-cod-ing special materials such as HSS andaluminum consistently across all man-ufacturers in an easy-to-read format.Color codes indicate the compositionof parts, helping technicians to per-form the correct repair procedures andestimators to determine whether theparts can be repaired or replaced. Col-lision repairers are empowered tomore quickly research today’s com-plex cars and trucks, write more accu-rate estimates, and ensure properrepairs with the end goal of reducingcycle times and increasing customersatisfaction.

RepairCenter TechAdvisor is aleading-edge auto repair shop solutionthat provides a searchable database ofhistorical vehicle repair reference dataspanning up to 30 years and leverag-ing Mitchell’s 65 years of collision in-dustry expertise.

For more information aboutTechAdvisor and Mitchell’s otherbody shop software solutions for col-lision repair facilities, call Mitchell at800-238-9111 or visit the website atwww.mitchell.com.



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

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FLORIDA GEORGIA

Armstrong FordHOMESTEAD305-248-7031

305-242-6336 [email protected]

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Bartow Ford Co.BARTOW

863-533-0425863-533-7758 Faxwww.fordparts.com/bartowford

Bill Currie FordLincolnTAMPA

800-752-8203800-844-2455 [email protected]

Don Reid FordMAITLAND/ORLANDO407-644-5111

407-645-4971 FaxM-F 7:30-5:30; Sat 8-4www.donreidford.com

www.fordparts.com/donreidford

Greenway FordORLANDO

800-773-5078407-515-6454 Fax

www.greenwaypartscenter.com

Mike Davidson FordJACKSONVILLE904-725-3060


Sam GallowayFord LincolnFORT MYERS888-578-8883


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Bobby JonesFord Lincoln

AUGUSTA706-738-8000

706-261-8004 [email protected]/bobbyjonesford

Make us your one-stop shop today!

autobody news november 2011 southeast edition

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