may 2010 western

WesternEdition

CaliforniaNevadaArizona YEARS www.autobodynews.com

282828PresortedStandard

USPostagePAID

Ontario,Ca.PermitNo.1

P.O.BOX1400,OCEANSIDE,CA92051-1400

ChangeServiceRequested

VOL. 28 ISSUE 5MAY 2010

Threat of Lawsuit Leads to Postponementof Latest CIC Parts Presentationby John YoswickSpecial to Autobody News

Just hours before industry trainer TobyChess was to make another presentationabout non-OEM bumper and structuralparts at the Collision Industry Conference(CIC) in Atlanta on April 15, Chess saidhe was threatened with a lawsuit if he didso. He declined to reveal who threatenedthe legal action but said, because he hadnot had a chance to consult with an attor-ney, he chose to forego making his pres-entation at the meeting.

In presentations at the previous twoCIC meetings in November and January,Chess showed potential problems with anumber of non-OEM bumper parts, in-cluding apparent significant differences inthe material and structure of the parts.

That has led at least four insurers to pullback from the use of such parts; it has alsoled parts suppliers to develop improvedtracking and recall programs for the parts,and to the launch of several testing andcertification programs for such parts.

Chess was clearly frustrated by thethreat of legal action against him, sayinghe never portrayed the demonstrations asscientific research but merely as a way to“bring light” to a potential problem.

“I was asked last month why I didthis,” Chess said. “I said that I don’t workfor insurance companies, I don’t work forparts companies, I don’t work for bodyshops. I work for the consumer. I’m atrainer. I teach. So I have no vested stakein this. I thought it was necessary to saythese things. I think we’ve demonstrated

See Threat of Lawsuit, Page 40

by John YoswickSpecial to Autobody News

Collision repair associations leaders fromaround the country met in Secaucus, NewJersey, in March to share ideas and dis-

cuss state legisla-tive or regulatorysuccesses and ef-forts. The 2010East Coast Resolu-tion Forum, anevent sponsored bythe Society of Col-lision Repair Spe-cialists (SCRS) and

the Alliance of Automotive ServiceProviders (AASP) of New Jersey, washeld in conjunction with AASP-New Jer-sey’s NORTHEAST 2010 trade show.

Here’s a round-up of some of thenews and discussion from the meeting:Iowa: Janet Chaney, of the Iowa Colli-sion Repair Association, reported on theprogress of a proposed state law the groupsupports that would in essence allow Iowashops to transfer the expense of sales taxon paint materials they purchase to insur-ers or customers. Chaney said currentlyshops pay the sales tax on such purchasesbut are not reimbursed for it by insurers.

See SCRS Forum, Page 4

The California Autobody Association(CAA) has recently met with a number oforganizations and government agencies,including the California Department of In-surance, in discussion of current relatedregulations, CCR Section 2695.8 (g) thatrequire, among other things, permanent,non-removable identification of non orig-inal crash parts which is a key componentto the traceability issue. The CAA believestraceability is one of the most importantissues currently facing the collision repairindustry.

A system has to be in place within arelatively short time to track crash partsbeing installed on consumer vehicles. Ifthese aftermarket crash parts do not meetstandards in current law and cannot betracked they should not be sold in the mar-ket place.

CAA continues to stress that theproblem of possible unsafe parts in themarket cannot be fixed unless a commontraceability system is in place.

Even though other organizationshave focused on a smaller area concern-ing parts that may or may not be unsafe,the bigger issue at hand is no matter whatparts may have a failure, in advance of anywide spread failure that could cause acci-dents, this industry has a system in placethat will ensure that all parts will performor they will be subject to an efficient re-call system.

In the cause of a failure, whateversegment of the industry that is responsiblewill know that they will be designated toreimburse the affected party.

A working traceability system inSee Parts Traceability, 5

SCRS Forum Brings State Shop AssociationsTogether to Discuss Efforts and Share Ideas

CAA Takes Position on Traceability of A/MParts, Needed for Future Safety

Janet Chaney

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS

• CIC Presentation Postponed

• CRA Parts Demonstration Gets Major Media

• CAA Takes Position on Parts Traceability

• CA Insurance Commissioner Says Mercury Overcharged

• Marina Auto Body: Dealerships and DRPs

www.autobodynews.comwww.autobodynews.com

NEWSNEWSNEWSNEWSService, Diagnostic

and MechanicalService, Diagnostic

and Mechanicalcc, g cg cggService, DiagnosticDi iService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticS i o iService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticDService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticS i i o iggg, DService, DiagnosticDService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticD cccccceeeeee sssaaa tttggg iiinnnnnnaaService, DiagnosticService, Diagnosticaiiiiiirrrvvv ga tSS DService, Diagnostic

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

Mechg

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

MechanicalddandService, Diagnostic

and MechanicalService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticService, Diagnostic

See Page26

• Car West Elite Makes its Numbers in First Year

Toyota Fined, Awaits Class ActionStill A Mustang, in name only, part 2Gonzo’s Toolbox: “Slick Talkin’ Mechanic”

• Arizona Glass Bill Passes State Senate

2 MAY 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Not So Mellow

Envirobase HPis approved by GM for

worldwide use in warranty refi nish repairs.

©2009 PPG Industries All rights reserved. www.ppgrefi nish.com

World Leaders In Automotive Finishes

Color matching the new Camaro’s Rally Yellow fi nish

will be fast and easy if you’ve made the move to

Envirobase High Performance. No matter whether

an OEM color is bright and bold or a sophisticated

metallic, the Envirobase system of advanced non-stir,

high opacity toners is well-proven to offer true

matches to even the most difficult colors—a defi nite

breakthrough in color-matching accuracy.

Experience color matching with the industry’s

most advanced waterborne basecoat.

With Envirobase®

High Performance.

www.autobodynews.com | MAY 2010 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy HayhurstGeneral Manager: Barbara DaviesContributing Writers: Tom Franklin, Dick Strom, John

Yoswick, Lee Amaradio, Rich Evans, Janet Chaney, Toby

Chess, Mike Causey, Tom McGee

Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Christina Shubert(800) 699-8251Sales Assistant: Stephanie BowlingArt Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Serving California, Nevada and Arizona, Autobody News

is a monthly publication for the autobody industry. Per-

mission to reproduce in any form the material published

in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the

publisher. ©2010 Adamantine Media LLC.

Autobody NewsP.O. Box 1400, Oceanside, CA 92051-1400

(800) 699-8251 (760) 721-0253 Fax

www.autobodynews.com

Email: [email protected]

AEGIS Tools Intl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Alldata Collision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . .50

Autoland Scientech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Auto Body Guru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

BMW of Riverside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . .23

British Motor Car Distributors . . . . . . . . .4

Chassis Liner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Completes Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Crevier BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Downtown Motors of LA

(Audi, VW, Porsche) . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

DuPont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Enterprise Rent-A-Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Express Metal Recycling . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers

AZ, CA, & NV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Galpin Motors . . . . . . . . . . .24, 28-29, 34

GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . .45

Honda/Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers 25

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . .15

Johnson’s Super Service . . . . . . . . . . .17

Kearny Pearson Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . .35

LKQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . .44

Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .42

MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . .11

Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .41

Pacific BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

PPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Pro-Spray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

RBL Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Replica Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

SCA Appraisal Company . . . . . . . . . . .12

Soft-Sanders from Style-Line, Corp . . .46

Suzuki Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . .50

Timmons VW-Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

VIM Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers . . .48

Volvo Crash Wholesale Dealers . . . . . .38

Weatherford BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Inde

xofAdvertisers

Western

‘R2R Act’ Bipartisan Co-sponsor List Grows . . . . . 6

80 Percent of Tested Cars Fail Inspection Checks. 27

Arizona Auto Glass Fraud Bill Passes State

Senate 28-0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

ASA ‘Taking the Hill’ Fly-in Conference Update. . . 38

ASAA Opposing Ohio OEM Parts Legislation . . . . 27

Attanasio - Car West Elite Hits its Numbers After

One Year in Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Attanasio - Marina Auto Body Melds Dealership

Relationships & Selected DRPs . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

BMW Group has Sales Growth of 13.8% In

First Quarter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

CA Auto Recycler Meets with Rep. Thompson

in DC on R2R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

CA Insurance Commissioner Says Mercury Illegally

Overcharged Consumers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

CAA Combines Two Chapters To Make

Valley/Ventura Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

CAA Takes Position on Traceability of A/M Parts,

Needed for Future Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

California Tire Sustainability Program

“Just Check It” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

CAPA 501 Standard for Bumper System Parts . . . 12

Car Car Council Wants Consumers to Remember

Their Three “R’s” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

CARSTAR Collision Centers Promotes Green

Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Causey - Games Insurers Play. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

CAWA Battery Core Bill Now Law in Arizona . . . . 27

Controversy Between Homestead, FL, Mayor,

Blogger, and Body Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

CRA Aftermarket Parts Demonstration Gets

Major Media Attention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

CRA Writes to Insurance Commissioner Asking

For A/M Leadership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Evans - Working On a ‘57 Thunderbird With

Old School Tools & Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Falling Average Vehicle Product Use . . . . . . . . . . 26

Franklin - Concentrate Your Marketing Firepower . 44

GM Pays Back Gov’t Loans Years Early; Chrysler

Posts Operating Profit in Q1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

GM, Carfax Unite to Push Out Recall News . . . . . . 6

Gonzo's Toolbox - “You’re Just One of Those

Slick Talkin’ Mechanics” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Houston Auto Body Association Joins Existing

Texas Associations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

I-CAR Tech - Aluminum Roof Replacement On

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution And Outlander 42

IGA/NWRA Conferences Seminars in

Ft. Myers, FL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

It’s a Safety Marketplace and Consumers

Are Buying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Keystone Automotive Says Parts Traceability

Exists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

LKQ Goes Green with New Recycling Promotion . 41

Maaco Positions Itself As Customer Pay Provider 12

Maryland Salvage Bill Now Awaits Governor

Signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

McGee and Webster - It’s Still a Mustang®;

But in Name Only – PART 2 of 2 . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Minnesota Body Shop Gets 30% of Power

From Solar Arrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Mitchell Inc. Gives CAA Members Open-House

Tour of Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

National Performance Buys Speed Warehouse

of Hayward, CA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

New Redlands Warehouse For Continental Tire . . 20

New Revolution® Lift Line Offers Quality &

Value at the Right Price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Opposition Mounts to Prop. 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Parts for Profit, Part 2—Profitable Management

of Inventory & Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Pennsylvania Senator Rafferty Asks for

Investigation after Steering Experience. . . . . . . 20

PPG Chairman Charles Bunch Reports on

New Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

RAM Truck Brand Teams Up with Rocker

Zac Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

SCRS Forum Brings State Shop Associations

Together to Discuss Efforts and Share Ideas . . . 1

State Farm Prevails in Gunder Slander Suit; Gunder

Says He Will Appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Survey Says Ford Has Highest Customer Quality

Satisfaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Texas Companies Leave Millions in Tax

Credits Unclaimed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Threat of Lawsuit Leads to Postponement of

Latest CIC Parts Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Toyota Fined $16.4M, Will Face Single Sudden

Acceleration Lawsuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Transmission Anti-Rollaway Shift Interlocks

Now Required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

U.S. Chemical Introduces Two New 2.1

VOC Primers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

U.S. EPA Provides $1.5 Million to Clean Up

Contaminated Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Yoswick - Insurers And Shops Don’t Always

Speak The Same Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Contents

The bill (HF 2530) would exempt shopsfrom sales tax for wholesale materials pur-chases if sales tax is billed and collected asa line item to the shops’ customers.

“That’s money right in our members’pockets,” Chaney said. “If it’s a $1 millionshop, that’s $10,000.”

An Iowa House committee had ap-proved the bill, though it failed to makefurther legislative progress before law-makers adjourned the session.

Montana: Chaney, who also repre-sents the Montana Collision Repair Spe-cialists, said a past president of theassociation, Max Yates of Yates BodyShop in Butte, Mont., has registered to runas a Republican for an open House seat inthe Montana legislature.

“He said, ‘I’m tired of complainingabout it. I’m going to see if I can make adifference,” Chaney said.

SCRS Executive Director AaronSchulenburg said such efforts are impor-tant for the industry.

“Because that gives us somebody in-side that body, being able to speak ourvoice to their peers, instead of just usspeaking to them as a legislative body,”Schulenburg said.

New Jersey: Charlie Bryant ofAASP-New Jersey said state regulators havetold the association that companies con-ducting mobile repairs—such as those doinglot repairs at dealerships—are not coveredunder the state’s shop licensing law. He saidthe association is working to change that, inpart by pointing ouot that even photos onsome of those companies’ websites showthem doing more than just minor damage re-pairs. Representatives from other states atthe meeting told Bryant they have success-fully addressed mobile repair operations byspeaking with environmental regulators, thefire marshal, and even land zoning agencies(when a dealership was not zoned to have abody shop at its location).

Pennsylvania: Steve Behrndt of thePennsylvania Collision Trade Guild ex-pressed concern about a towing-related leg-islation in his state that he believes couldhave profound impact on collision repairs.Behrndt said the bill (HB 2041), which hasbeen passed by the Pennsylvania Houseand has been introduced in the Senate, pro-hibits a tower from obtaining a signatureauthorizing repairs, or from refusing to re-lease a vehicle to an insurer when paid fortowing and storage, seemingly overridingcurrent state law requiring permission fromthe vehicle-owner. It also requires a towerto notify the insurer of a vehicle, if known,the whereabouts of the vehicle within 24hours of the tow. Behrndt said all these pro-visions will make it easier for an insurer toget a vehicle into a shop of its choice.

“We call this legalized wreck-chasingon behalf of the insurance industry,”Behrndt said. He cautioned those from otherstates to watch for similar legislation in theirstate being promoted as s pro-consumer

towing-related bill.Massachu-

setts: Two of the threeassociations servingMassachusetts colli-sion repair shopsspoke at the meetingin New Jersey andboth said the threegroups are workingmore closely togetherthan ever before.

“I can almostguarantee you withinthe next six monthsthat we will merge,”

Peter Hendrix, president of the Massachu-setts Autobody Association, said of hisgroup, the Central Massachusetts Auto Re-builders Association, and the AASP of Mas-sachusetts/Rhode Island. “We’ve beenfighting each other and fighting the insuranceindustry, we’ve been hiring separate lobbyistand dealing with often the same issues buton our own. It hasn’t worked. It’s not goingto change unless we group together.”

Peter Abdelmaseh, executive direc-tor of AASP of Massachusetts and RhodeIsland, said proposed state legislation re-lated to shop rates is among the projects onwhich the three groups have been workingtogether. The bill would establish threelevels of shop classification, opening thedoor for higher rates for shops with betterlevels of equipment and training.

“We believe in Massachusetts that thestandards need to be attached to some eco-nomic benefit,” he said. “Otherwise, ourpeople will be out making investmentswith no return”

Connecticut: Although there was notany discussion at the meeting about anymerger of the two associations servingConnecticut shops, there was talk aboutimproved relationships among the approx-imately 600 shops in the state.

“We stopped calling each other com-petitors,” shop owner Bob Skrip of theAuto Body Association of Connecticutsaid. “We’re all colleagues. Start using thatword. In every other profession in thisworld, they all stick together. You’d talk toa colleague every day, but everyone’safraid to talk to their competitors. No morecompetitors. We’re all colleagues.”

Skrip said his group is conducting amembership drive, getting board membersand others from the group to meet one-on-one with other shop owners to offer amoney-back guarantee that new memberswill more than make back their first-yeardues to the association.

As he reported a year earlier, Skrip saidrather than legislative efforts, the association

is focused on consumer education efforts.“A smart consumer is very dangerous

to insurers,” Skrip said.He said he had no news to share with

regard to the association’s successful classaction lawsuit against The Hartford, sayingthe insurer is preparing its appeal of the $15million judgment shops won against it.

“We all knew going in from 2003 that it’sa long process,” Skrip said of the litigation.

Meanwhile, Lisa Siembab of theConnecticut Collision Repair Specialistssaid that in addition to industry educationand community service, that associationmay also focus this year on what it sees asa consumer disclosure issue related to somedealerships taking in collision repair workeven if they don’t operate a body shop.

“The consumer is being led to believethat they indeed have a body shop when infact they do not,” Siembab said. “We havea problem with that. We think the con-sumer needs to be fully informed that theirvehicle will be leaving the premises to goto a body shop to be repaired. Consumersaren’t being told this.”

She said some dealers have gone sofar as to have doors labeled “Body Shop”within the dealership. At least one memberof the Auto Body Association of Con-necticut at the meeting said that was anissue on which the two groups might worktogether.

Maryland and Virginia: JordanHendler, executive director of the Wash-ington MetropolitanAuto BodyAssociation,discussed several legislative proposals hergroup recently helped defeat. The associa-

tion opposed a bill inMaryland, for exam-ple, that it felt wouldlegitimize the use ofsalvaged airbags, anda bill in Virginia thatwould have raised thethreshold of damagerequiring a flood-damaged vehicle toreceive a branded titlefrom $1,000 to$5,000.

“Legislatively,it’s important to re-member that this typeof block is as good as

a win,”EdKizenberger, executive directorof the Long Island Auto Body Repairmen’sAssociation (LIABRA), said associationleaders should remind their members. “Hereis an example where something that is pro-posed that is detrimental to the industry.Being able to block that is important. It takesjust as much work, and sometimes more, tostop something that has momentum than it isto try to start something legislatively on yourown.”


British Motor Car Distributors

www.bmcd.comwwww.bmcd.c

o

wwwwww bmcd

.

c

• Great Inventory• Great Inventoryand service and service

• Great Inventoryand service

• Very knowledgeable and• Very knowledgeable andefficient parts team efficient parts team

• Very knowledgeable andefficient parts team

m

Parts Dept.415-776-7700800-752-2893

Monday - Friday 8:00AM to 5:00PMHours:

Continued from Page 1

SCRS Forum

Janet Chaney an-nounces Butte shopowner Max Yates willrun as Republicancandidate for Mon-tana Legislature.

Peter Hendrix, presi-dent of the Massachu-

setts AutobodyAssociation, saying“it’s not going tochange unless wegroup together.”


Speed up your operations and increase productivity with DuPont™ Cromax® Pro waterborne

basecoat system. With wet-on-wet application and no flash time between coats, it’s easy to

see why leading shops are making the switch. And for even faster results, DuPont™ ColorNet®

Color Proofing can give you great color matches before a single drop of paint is mixed.

Just a few of the ways that DuPont Refinish can help you reach your operational goals today—

while getting ahead of tomorrow’s environmental regulations.

To learn more about increasing your productivity and to contact DuPont Refinish, visit cromaxpro.dupont.com

Paint more cars faster than ever before.

Copyright © 2010 DuPont. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont ™, The miracles of science™, ColorNet ®, and Cromax ® are trademarks or registered trademarks of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company or its affiliates. All rights reserved.


The Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Re-pair Act (HR 2057) has gained more bi-partisan support with the addition of ninemembers of Congress to the growing co-sponsor list. Reps. Michael Arcuri (D-NY), Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA), BarneyFrank (D-MA), Loretta Sanchez (D-CA),James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI), Ben-nie Thompson (D-MS), Glenn Thomp-son (R-PA), Paul Tonko (D-NY) andCharles Wilson (D-OH) have declaredtheir support of the Right to Repair Act.The bill now has 60 co-sponsors in theHouse of Representatives.

“We thank these nine members ofCongress for backing this critical pieceof pro-consumer and pro-small businesslegislation,” said Ray Pohlman, presi-dent of the Coalition for Auto RepairEquality (CARE). “The Right to RepairAct does not cost tax payers money, doesnot create a new agency and, more im-portantly, does not ask taxpayers for abailout. It simply requires that vehiclemanufacturers provide car owners andtheir trusted neighborhood repair shopswith the same access to the same safetyalerts, technical service bulletins, diag-nostic tools and repair information theyprovide to their dealer network – nothingmore, nothing less. The top priority ofthe Right to Repair Act is motoring con-sumer safety, ensuring that motoristsknow what is happening with their vehi-

cles.” Because vehicles are becoming in-creasingly sophisticated with virtuallyevery system either monitored or con-trolled by computers, servicing these ve-hicle systems to keep them in safeworking order requires ready access tocomplete and accurate information, toolsand software from the car companies.The Right to Repair Act protects mo-torists by allowing them to have accessto the repair information for the vehiclethey purchased, thus ensuring that theycan choose where, how and by whomthey have their vehicles repaired.

“Allowing independent repair shopsto compete on a level playing field pro-motes fair competition and ensures thatcar owners throughout the country con-tinue to have access to affordable andconvenient automotive repair,” saidKathleen Schmatz, president and CEOof the Automotive Aftermarket IndustryAssociation (AAIA).

The Senate version of the Motor Ve-hicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act (S3181) was recently introduced with bi-partisan support by Sens. Barbara Boxer(D-CA) and Sam Brownback (R-KS).The House version of the bill (HR 2057)was introduced by Reps. EdolphusTowns (D-NY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA) andGeorge Miller (D-CA). The legislation issaid to provide car companies withstrong protections for their trade secrets.

The Washington Metropolitan AutoBody Association (WMABA) is takingcredit for successfully moving HB 1199through both the House and the Senateduring the recent 2010 legislative ses-sion.

This bill (HB 1199), which addsan exclusion to the threshold for “cos-metic damage” and “the cost of tow-ing, storage or vehicle rental,” wassuccessfully passed with majority sup-port by stakeholders, as well as legis-lators.

The bill’s provisions create an ad-ditional salvage application statementthat an insurer must provide in certaincircumstances; prohibit anyone fromusing specified costs to determine thecost to repair a vehicle for highway op-eration under the motor vehicle salvageprogram; and ensure that a specifiedcost of repair calculation may not affectspecified rights. The legislation wouldadd an exclusion for non-structuralitems to the state’s total-loss calcula-tion.

The bill also creates a specificexclusion for costs arising from tow-ing, storage and vehicle rental, andwould require a salvage certificateapplication for any vehicle acquiredby an insurance company as a resultof a claim settlement.

Maryland Salvage Bill NowAwaits Governor Signature

General Motors and Carfax have en-tered into an agreement to aid deal-ers, owners and potential buyersabout rectifying unrepaired safety,non-compliance and emission recalls.

GM executives explained thatthey’re providing millions of vehicleidentification numbers to Carfax forunits with open recalls. Brands in-clude Chevrolet, Buick, GMC andCadillac as well as ones the au-tomaker no longer sells, Hummer,Saab, Pontiac and Saturn. Buyers andsellers can access this informationthrough Carfax Vehicle History Re-ports and at www.carfax.com/recallby May 1.

Carfax research indicated thatconsumers utilizing these resourcescan help significantly increase com-pletion rates on open recalls. The dataalso revealed that about four out offive GM owners complete recall re-pairs within 18 months of being noti-fied of a recall.

“We know some people do nottake their vehicles in for recall repairswhen they get their letters. Carfaxmakes it easy for consumers to findout whether a vehicle they are con-sidering has an open recall and in-creases the chances of that repairbeing made,” stressed Jamie Hresko.

GM, Carfax Unite to PushOut Recall News

‘R2R Act’ Bipartisan Co-sponsor List Grows


Inquiry also finds insurer failed to cease il-legal acts despite previous agreements todo so

California Insurance Commissioner StevePoizner announced today that an exami-nation found that Mercury Insurance hasviolated the state insurance statutes and asa result, Mercury Insurance may have ille-gally overcharged thousands of Californi-ans for auto and homeowners insurance.

“As the head of the state’s largest con-sumer protection agency, I must ensure thatinsurance companies fulfill their obligationsand follow state law,” said CommissionerPoizner. “However, an examination done bythe Department of Insurance appears to showthat Mercury Insurance has disregarded Cal-ifornia’s consumer protection statutes andovercharged consumers. In addition, the De-partment’s examination finds that MercuryInsurance has apparently continued to vio-late the law despite agreements with the stateto terminate its illegal behavior.”

The California Department of Insur-ance (CDI) conducted a Market ConductExam covering the period of March 1,2007 to May 31, 2007. During that time-frame, CDI found that Mercury InsuranceGroup, comprising Mercury InsuranceCompany, Mercury Casualty Companyand California Automobile Insurance

Company, violated the insurance code, re-sulting in consumers being overcharged ordenied coverage. The 35 categories of al-leged violations include:

Mercury Insurance failed to correctviolations of state law indentified by theDepartment of Insurance from exams con-ducted in 1998 and 2002.

Mercury did not collect the right in-formation about a driver’s prior accidentsduring its auto insurance application andunderwriting process to make sure thatsurcharges are only applied for those acci-dents where the insured is at fault, and tomake sure people are not charged for bod-ily injury accidents when no injuries hadoccurred.

The auto insurance applicant is re-quired by Mercury Insurance to provide“lifetime” experience regarding certainmajor convictions, while the law only al-lows insurers to charge for such convictionsfor “10 years” for specific alcohol-relatedoffenses and “three years” for the others.

Homeowners’ insurance premiumcredits were not being consistently appliedwhen they were due, resulting in insuredsbeing overcharged.

Mercury’s auto insurance non-renewalnotices and procedures required the GoodDriver to take additional steps, beyond whatis provided for in the law, to obtain cover-

age when another person on the policy nolonger qualified for coverage.

Mercury’s auto insurance underwrit-ing guidelines required individuals withcertain medical impairments to undergoadditional underwriting scrutiny before apolicy could be issued.

Mercury barred from coverage peoplein certain occupations -- Bartender, LiquorStore Owner, Painter, Cocktail Wait-ress/Waiter and Artists – who didn’t meetadditional underwriting standards that werenot applied to people in other occupations.

Mercury Insurance Group has 10days to correct each violation found in thelatest exam. Should the violations not becorrected, Mercury Insurance Group facesa $5,000 fine for each violation and an ad-ditional $5,000 fine for each violation if itis found to be willful. The insurer alsofaces additional penalties for the past vio-lations, and its failure to implement cor-rections following the previous exam.

Mercury was quick to point out that Com-missioner Poizner is seeking the Republi-can nomination for California governor. Thecompany stated that “political interests”were at play in the department’s an-nouncement.

Poizner’s own spokesman acknowl-edged that making such a big announce-ment about such violations was unusual,but Poizner’s office argues that the com-pany has repeated violations it had previ-ously agreed to fix.

Mercury is the $3.5millionmain backerof Prop. 17, a November ballot initiative thatwould allow transferable “loyalty discounts”for drivers who change carriers, but the rateswould not apply to those who let their insur-ance lapse. Prop 17 would create an insur-ance surcharge on drivers, including soldiersand seniors, who have had a lapse in car in-surance coverage for virtually any reasonduring the past five years, or who missed asingle payment. Under the measure, peoplewho stopped driving and didn’t need insur-ance for a time would be required to pay upto a $1000more for car insurance when theysought to restart coverage. Currently, insur-ance companies are prohibited from impos-ing such a surcharge in California (see p. 18).

In an unrelated incident, protestersshowed up at a booksigning by Poiznerfor his new book, “Mount Pleasant.”They objected to passage in whichPoizner says he knew he shouldn’t ex-pect “Silicon Valley-caliber ambition andsmarts from East San Jose schoolkids.”

Mercury Says Poizner’sInterests are Only Political

CA Insurance Commissioner Says Mercury Illegally Overcharged Consumers

On its surface, the proposal seems fairlystraight-forward.

“Word-tracks used to offer repair shopreferrals to consumers should not includecomments, remarks or statements that dis-parage any collision repair business,” theproposal, crafted last year by the CollisionIndustry Conference (CIC) Trade PracticesCommittee, reads. “When a consumervoices their shop selection, their decisionshould be honored without further com-ment. Repairers should also refrain frommaking any comments that disparage aninsurer, direct repair program or other re-pair facilities.”

But during a recent panel discussionat CIC about how this and other trade prac-tice proposals might get implemented, itbecame clear that shops and insurers aren’talways speaking the exact same language.One man’s “steering” is another man’s“consumer education.”

“I’m not sure what this statement isintending to provide,” Allstate’s RandyHanson said, a statement echoed by someother insurance company representativeson the panel. “If you’re trying to say,’ Fol-low the law and play nice,’ we do that. ButI suspect there are other issues this is try-ing to get at, and this statement doesn’t doa lot for me in terms of what that is ex-actly.”

Industry consultant Lou DiLisiospoke for many collision repairers when atCIC he voiced frustration with insurers’view of the issue.

“It’s the implementation and execu-tion of those word tracks, and it’s what getsdone when there’s something identifiedthat’s out of place,” DiLisio said. “Whetgets done when I call up and say, ‘Yourword track was deviated from…’ Whatgets done? Unfortunately, nothing.”

Steering vs. educationThe panel discussion organized by the “In-surer-Repairer Relations Committee” atthe latest CIC meeting focused on just twoof the first five proposals developed by the“Trade Practices Committee.”

Hanson wasn’t alone in portraying theword tracks and other information used todescribe a direct repair program as “con-sumer education.”

“We should have the right to informthe consumer about the process,” MichaelLloyd of California Casualty said. “Insome states, once the customer voices achoice of shop, that’s where it stops, andI’m good with that. But there are otherstates, like California, which recentlypassed a regulation that says we have the

right to explain our program to our cus-tomers. We’re going to honor their choiceof shop, but I agree with that law that weshould have the ability to make sure theconsumer is informed.”

Joe Laurentino of Esurance toldDiLisio that he doesn’t think his com-pany’s employees stray from the com-pany’s word tracks when talking toconsumers about shop choice.

“I won’t say it doesn’t ever happen,”Laurentino said. “But the vehicles we fixtoday are highly complex. We need tomake sure they get to the repairers who canfix the car properly and by the OE specifi-cations.”

If there are concerns about the word-ing used by an Esurance employee, Lau-rentino told DiLisio, “I would personallyaddress that if you call me with the claimnumber.”

Hanson said as more and more claimscalls are handled by call centers, there is“strict adherence to the script,” scripts thatAllstate has made available to the Auto-motive Service Association for feedback(and to which Allstate responded withsome changes, he said). In response to aquestion, he said there is no financial in-centive for call center employees to get acertain percentage of customers to use aAllstate direct repair program shop.

Hanson argued against state laws thatlimit an insurer’s right to discuss the pro-gram even with a consumer who has ashop in mind.

“What about the customer who comesback and says, ‘How come you didn’t tellme you had this program?’” he said. “I en-tertain a lot of those calls. That’s a difficultconversation too because I have to tellthem I can’t tell them. They don’t under-stand that. They don’t understand thatthere’s a law that says I can’t informthem.”

But Aaron Schulenburg, executivedirector of the Society of Collision RepairSpecialists (SCRS), challenged the ideathat insurers are consistently adhering toscripts and honoring customers’ shopchoice.

“Otherwise, I and the other associa-tion leaders in the room wouldn’t get callson a regular basis from shops who say, ‘Ihad a customer. I had their keys. I had theircar. I had a signed authorization, and thecar got towed out because of what theywere told,’ “ Schulenburg said. “That hap-pens. Often. And there’s a lot of customerswho quite frankly aren’t willing to fight. Ifthe customer doesn’t have the time or en-ergy in invest in fighting it and moving up

the ladder and meeting the (insurance)manager and going to their department ofinsurance, at the end of the day they’llthrow their hands up and say, ‘Fine, tow itout and take it where you need it.’”

Dispute resolutionThe panel also discussed another of the“Trade Practices Committee” proposals,which calls for insurers to make availabletheir DRP agreement guidelines and keyperformance metrics, and to “publish theintended field application of the program’spolicies, guidelines and metrics, alongwith a process for handling potential mis-understandings or deviations from com-pany policy.”

As with the word track proposal, thisidea got a mixed reception from insurerson the panel. Hanson said Allstate includesa copy of its direct repair program contracton its website. Lloyd said California Ca-sualty already makes standard operatingprocedures available to its direct repairshops through its website.

“But as far as posting that (DRP)

agreement to everyone, that’s not going tohappen,” Lloyd said. “Hopefully ouragreements give us some kind of compet-itive advantage. I guess that would be themain reason I just don’t see it happening.”

Laurentino said his company’s legaldepartment won’t allow Esurance directrepair agreements to be openly published.

But several shop representatives onthe panel said the actual terms of the DRPcontracts are not as much the issue as in-the-field policies and procedures being in-terpreted or implemented differently bystaff even within the same insurance com-pany.

“When we believe there’s a deviationin the field, when a policy is being applieddifferently than, as I understand, corporateintended it, where do we go to bring thatto somebody’s attention, to have some res-olution of the issue,” Bill Lawrence of LCAutomotive Group asked the insurers onthe panel.

Joe Lacy of GEICO said in those in-stances a shop should contact a supervisor


RadiatorsRadiatorsRadiatorsRadiatorsRadiatorsA/C CondensersA/C CondensersA/C CondensersA/C CondensersA/C Condensers

The Radiator and CondenserHeadquarters for Collision Centers

Mon-Fri7:30 am -6:00 pm

15912 Hawthorne Blvd. > Lawndale, CA 90260

Call our Cooling Specialists:888.500.6557

Fax: 310.793.0679www.completesplus.com

» Free Daily Delivery by 30 Company Trucks

» Free California Overnight Shipping

» Four Los Angeles Warehouses

» Limited Lifetime Warranty on All Radiators& Condensers

> Radiator Girl

NOWAVAILABLE:Cooling FanAssemblies!

Industry Insightwith John Yoswick

John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has been writingabout the automotive industry since 1988. He is the editor of the weekly CRASHNetwork (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com).He can be contacted by email at [email protected].

Insurers And Shops Don’t Always Speak The Same Language

See Insurers and Shops, Page 14


Crevier BMW

www.crevierbmw.com(714) 835-2025

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

Original BMW Parts

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

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

CREVIER BMW

The most awarded BMW dealership in theUnited States is here to help you with allyour Original BMW Parts.

Experienced, Knowledgeable and Friendly Staff

5 Delivery Vehicles

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

Serving All of Orange County & Beyond

Kevin: [email protected]: [email protected]

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

Our parts. Your peace of mind

BMWZ4 ‘10


TomWilliamson has owned and operatedmultiple body shops over many years. He’sdiscovered a formula for success that in-cludes a team of people whom he trusts todo a great job; by building referral rela-tionships with new car dealerships, and bycarefully choosing insurance Direct RepairPrograms (DRPs).

Williamson, 57, owns Marina AutoBody, with two locations in Southern Cal-ifornia. Both shops are flourishing despitetough economic times by building solidpartnerships, riding a strong reputation andstressing customer service above every-thing else.

Williamson’s Marina Del Rey loca-tion operates out of a 25,000 square-footfacility, employing 39 people and repair-ing 275–300 cars per month. The other lo-cation in Huntington Beach is in a 10,000square-foot facility, employing ten peopleand repairing 75 cars per month.

“They’re two very different sizes andtypes of businesses, but we run both ofthem using the same principles. In the end,it comes down to satisfying our customers,which are in three key groups—car own-ers, insurance companies, and the dealer-ships we work with. You can have the rightequipment, best people, and use top tech-niques to fix these vehicles, but the basicsall apply. It comes down to CSIs (customerservice indexes) in this industry. And, itcan either make you or break you.”

Marina Auto Body has done remark-ably well during the recession andWilliamson credits that success to buildinga strong reputation in the past decades. Heunderstands that a company is only asgreat as the employees who help run it andmaintain credible relationships with theirclients.

“We’re down a little because of theeconomy, but we are still keeping our carcounts high. We’re fortunate, becausemany shops are having a difficult time inthis area. I believe one of the main reasonswe’re doing well is because our team is

constantly working towards improve-ments.”

Williamson’s method of sharing em-ployees between his two locations hasproven to run his shops more efficiently.“We have to find economies of scale.There is not enough margin in this businessto ignore savings where we can take ad-vantage of them. By utilizing key employ-ees in both locations we’re able to takeadvantage of those resources,” he said.

One of the reasons Marina Auto Bodyhas held its own is its tenacity in improvingproduction processes and techniques. Inearly 2008, Marina Auto Body began usinga tracking and analysis system developedby The Fix Auto Group. This allowed thecompany to change the way the shops wereperforming, based on the information theyreceived from their customers.

“We joined Fix Auto in ‘08 and theyhelped us open our eyes. From the data andcustomer feedback they made available tous, we found out who we really were as acompany. We were able to determine whatwas missing to, not only, become better, butalso compare ourselves against our peers.We found out that we were doing a goodjob, but not a great job each time. As a team,we made diligent and appropriate changesand have seen better results overall.”

Williamson said the majority of Ma-rina Auto Body’s revenue is evenly splitbetween working with dealerships and in-surance companies. “It’s a good mix. Ihave several DRP’s and referral relation-ships with three key dealerships (Toyota ofHuntington Beach, Toyota of Marina DelRey, and W.I. Simonson Mercedes-Benz).They’re our referral source in each case.

While these dealerships don’t have theirown collision facilities, we’re proud to actas their preferred repair facility. They sendus their clients and in return we purchaseall of our parts for each Toyota and Mer-cedes-Benz from them. We’re satellite op-erations for these three accounts, and itworks very well for our mutual customers.”

It’s a comfortable situation because,by working with a wide range of clients,Williamson never puts too many of hiseggs in one basket. “I’ve always felt likewe need a blend of DRP’s and dealershipwork. When the dealerships are recom-mending us, it’s a win-win, because thecustomer in most cases is going to say,‘this must be a pretty good shop and let’stake our vehicle there.’ Then, when theycome to one of our shops, they see a pro-fessional operation. Immediately they no-tice that we all have the appropriatetraining, the latest equipment, and that weprovide great service. After the job is com-pleted, we follow it up with CSIs.

“These dealership relationships en-hance our credibility and our reputation,but then we have to deliver every time tomaintain those levels. If we didn’t perform,we wouldn’t still have these great relation-ships with both the insurance companiesand the dealerships. You’re only as goodas your last job in this industry, and weknow it,” said Williamson.

Williamson needs to keep all of hisclients happy, but he knows the car owneris the most important cog in the wheel.“Everything is driven by customer service,bottom line. The person who brings theircar into our shops has to leave here feelingbeyond satisfied every time. Sure, we wantour insurance partners and our dealershipshappy, but what we focus on is the finaluser. Without their respect and positivefeedback, we wouldn’t succeed.

“We work with the DRP’s we’ve se-lected and we believe that the insurancecompanies we’re working with today arevery pro-customer. They want their cus-tomer’s vehicles to be repaired to pre-acci-dent condition. They’re not looking for thecheapest, but want customer satisfaction.You hear it over and over again from all ofthe really good carriers. It’s about policy re-tention and not about doing a cheap repair.”

Williamson admitted that there arenever easy solutions or simple answers tothe questions surrounding what type ofpart to put on a particular car. “At times it’san issue, because in many instances cus-tomers are bewildered when we have tocall them and tell them that their insurancecompany requested that they put an after-market or used part on a car.

“I have no problem with a used part. Ifit’s an OE part, I have no issues selling it andwe communicate that fact to the customer.If their insurance company wants to put anaftermarket part on the customer’s car andthey agree to it and it doesn’t fit, we won’tput it on their vehicle. When that happens,

we’ll get the insurance company to come outand inspect. In most cases, after someonefrom the insurance company has seen in forthemselves, they’ll then allow us to put anOE part on that car. The parts are getting bet-ter, but we still experience fit problems.”

What does Williamson expect from aquality parts vendor? “The two most valu-able things a vendor can bring to the tableare knowledge and value. Our Mercedes-Benz and Toyota dealerships do an out-standing job and our relationship withthem is great. Sure, quality and price areimportant, but in the end there is no sub-stitute for a vendor’s product knowledge.”

Marina Auto Body has had great ex-periences with their parts vendors, becausethey shop around and find the ones that fitinto their system most effectively. “If theydon’t have everything you’re looking for,find a vendor that does. Our dealerships

started listening to their customers loudand clear long ago, so they have the rightpeople in their wholesale parts depart-ments which make everything easier. Theydo a great job.”

Continually refining and improvingyour business in this industry isWilliamson’s final piece of advice to hisfellow shop owners. “If we don’t strive tobe better, we’re going to be extinct prettyquickly. We need to do it by embracingnew technology, instituting employeetraining to insure proper repair techniquesand emphasizing customer service whilekeeping it a priority.”

Marina Auto Body (Orange County)17911 Georgetown LaneHuntington Beach, CA 92647(714) 848-3178www.marinaautobodyhb.com

Marina Auto Body (Los Angeles)4095 Redwood AvenueLos Angeles, CA 90066(310) 822-6615www.marinaautobody.com

Marina Auto Body Melds Dealership Relationships & Selected DRPswith Ed Attanasio

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

Between their two locations in Southern California,Marina Auto Body repairs an average of nearly 400cars per month.

A clean, comfortable customer waiting room atMarina Auto Body in Huntington Beach keepsclients content.

Body Tech Jorge Jimenez sets up a 2010 Mer-cedes-Benz GLK on a Celette bench at Marina AutoBody.


IT’S YOUR FUTURE...PUT IT IN HIGH GEAR

• Cutting Edge Web-Based Dispatch Management System.• 130+ Corporate Support Employees.• 2 National Service Centers (Los Angeles & New York).• National Marketing Division.

• Centralized Business Model.• Weekly Direct Deposits.• Established Territories Available Throughout

the U.S. & Puerto Rico.

If you’re an experienced Auto Body Estimator or InsuranceClaims Estimator and want to be in business for yourself,but not by yourself, then an SCA Appraisal Franchise justmight be right for you. With 30 years experience in theIndependent Auto, Truck, Motorcycle, Marine, RV andHeavy Equipment Appraisal business, SCA has painstak-ingly perfected its franchise model in order to provide ourfranchisees with a blueprint for proven results.

With a Franchise Licensing Fee of only $10,000.00, *plus applicable business setupand working capital costs, you can be running your own SCA Appraisal Franchisewithin a matter of *6-10 weeks.(*Franchise signing and training sessions occur every 60 days at our Los Angeles, CA headquarters)(*Business Setup and Working Capital costs can range from $3,850.00 to $28,200.00).

www.sca-appraisal.com> For more information please visit our website [email protected] e-mail:

WITH ANWITH AN SCA APPRAISAL FRANCHISESCA APPRAISAL FRANCHISEWITH AN SCA APPRAISAL FRANCHISE

Jon Gironda, Vice PresidentSCA Franchising, Inc.

Minnesota’s Southwest Journal, a regionalbusiness publication, has reported thatMulroy’s Body Shop at the corner of 39thStreet and Nicollet Avenue in Twin CitiesMinnesota, has installed the largest arrayof solar panels in the Twin Cities area, gen-erating 30 percent of the building’s power.

“Once you have grandchildren, youstart thinking about how we’ve got to doour part to leave this world in better shapethan we’ve got it,” said shop owner PatMulroy. “Body shops, we’re not known asa real green thing, but we want to changethat.”

The installation of the shop’s 174-panel, 40-kilowatt system was completedin early April as part of a project run bySouth Minneapolis-based Solarflow En-ergy, which offers solar electricity leasing.The company is under contract with XcelEnergy for the project, which involves in-stalling solar panels on 20 residential andfive commercial properties in the metro. Itis also partially funded through an Xcel En-ergy Renewable Development Fund grant.

“We’re trying to prove the model ofsolar service in Xcel territory,” said So-larflow CEO Gerardo Ruiz during a Marchinterview about the project.

Ruiz said the panels are leased at acost that is less than the value of the elec-tricity being delivered, which Mulroy willreceive at no additional expense. Mulroy

said he expects to break even financiallythis year, but because the lease rate islocked, he foresees significant savings inyears to come.

U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.)swung by Mulroy’s on April 7, along withCity Council Member Elizabeth Glidden

(8th Ward) to see the panels, talk to in-stallers and emphasize the role of federalstimulus dollars in the project. Stimulusfunds provide a grant to Solarflow basedon the value of the installation, Frankensaid.

“This is an example of where thestimulus package has created jobs and

helped create a new energy future,” hesaid. “So to me, this is just a perfect ex-ample of what we should be doing andwhat we are doing.”

Ruiz declined to specify how muchstimulus funding he was getting, but he didsay the purchase price of the system in-

stalled at Mulroys is about$300,000.

Glidden, who leads the city’sRegulatory, Energy and Environ-ment Committee, said Minneapo-lis is pushing to find more ways togo solar and Mulroy’s is standingout as an example for the rest ofthe community of how to do it.

“I live a block away from hereand Mulroy’s is one of the bestcommunity partners you canhave,” she said.

The shop is also leasing spaceto a company that converts gas-powered vehicles to electric. Theofficial launch of that business isplanned later this spring. Mulroy

said his shop’s other green efforts includethe use of eco-friendly water-basedpaints.

Mulroy’s solar array is the largest inthe Twin Cities for now, but the Min-neapolis Convention Center will pass itthis summer with a project that involvesthousands of panels.

The typical vehicle is 10.2 years old,the highest average in 14 years, ac-cording to a late-March report fromR.L. Polk & Co. Old or new, most willeventually require some form of body-work and painting. The cost should re-flect conditions including a car’s ageand projected longevity, say con-sumer-oriented statements by Maaco.A collision repair on a one to three-year-old car usually calls for state-of-the-art options. The owner of a four to10-year-old car could often benefitfrom a shop that knows how to pro-vide a superior looking job and stillfind ways to lower the estimate, espe-cially when the driver is paying out ofpocket.

“It’s important to bring a vehicleback to a condition that maintains theresale value if the car would be goinginto the resale arena,” said DavidLapps, president of Maaco CollisionRepair & Auto Painting, “such as alease turn back or a car that’s going tobe sold in the next year or so.

“However, with an older car, orone the customer... may be paying her-self, Maaco will find ways to save hermoney without affecting the quality, sothat only the expert commercial buyersof newer used cars could pick it up.”

Maaco Positions Itself AsCustomer Pay Provider

Minnesota Body Shop Gets 30% of Power From Solar Arrays

CAPA announced Feb 1 that it is devel-oping a new bumper certification stan-dard. The CAPA Bumper SystemsStandard will cover steel bumpers (frontand rear), steel reinforcements (rebars),bumper brackets and absorbers. TheCAPA program is a direct response to theimportance of truly independent certifi-cation and testing as a mechanism for fos-tering market competition. “We arepleased to respond to the cross-industrydemand for CAPA certification. The bot-tom line is that insurers, repairers, andpart distributors cannot simply look atcompetitive parts and make an informeddecision on the true comparability of thatpart to a car company brand part,” saidGillis.

To ensure comparability, the carcompany service part undergoes a com-prehensive testing regimen with the re-sults becoming the “standard” to whichthe aftermarket part is compared. The af-termarket part undergoes the same com-prehensive testing regimen. If the testresults show the aftermarket part is com-parable to the car company brand part,then, and only then, it can bear the CAPAQuality Seal. “The CAPA Quality Seal iscrucial because as the various “tests re-sults” being released demonstrate, it isimpossible to determine if an aftermarketpart will perform comparably to a carcompany brand part, unless all critical as-

pects of the part have been tested and re-viewed,” said Gillis. The CAPA programrequires comprehensive continuous postapproval inspection and marketplacemonitoring. After the dynamic bumpertesting process has been completed, theproposed standard will be presented toCAPA’s Technical Committee for reviewand approval.

The CAPA Technical Committee in-cludes representatives of key collision in-dustry segments including repairers,distributors, manufacturers and insurers.CAPA’s new Bumper Systems Standard(CAPA 501) will benefit from CAPA’shistory in quality, safety assurance, andcompliance. For over six years CAPA hasbeen certifying automotive lighting. It wasCAPA who discovered and reportedFMVSS 108 compliance issues to the Na-tional Highway Traffic Safety Adminis-tration (NHTSA) in 2004. We learned thatmarketplace and package claims aboutsafety compliance may be suspect whenwe discovered that 80% of the aftermar-ket lights we tested did not meet all the re-quirements of FMVSS 108 even thoughFMVSS 108 was printed on the boxes de-livered to shops by part distributors.Today, the best way insurers, shops, anddistributors can ensure that aftermarketlights are truly comparable to car com-pany brand lights and fully comply withFMVSS 108 is to look for the CAPA seal.

CAPA 501 Standard for Bumper System Parts

U.S. Sen. Al Franken and Minneapolis City Council Mem-ber Elizabeth Glidden (8th Ward) stopped by Mulroy’sBody Shop earlier this month to see its new solar panels,talk to installers and promote clean energy.


Texas employers are leaving millions infederal tax credits unclaimed and the op-portunity for tax savings is now greater forthose who choose to participate in the WorkOpportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program.Employers who hire unemployed veteransor eligible 16- to 24-year-olds are now en-titled to receive up to $2,400 in tax savingsfor each member of those groups added totheir payrolls in 2009 and 2010. As part ofthe American Recovery and ReinvestmentAct of 2009, these groups are now includedwith the existing 10 targeted populationseligible for WOTC.

Administered by the U.S. Departmentof Labor and the Texas Workforce Com-mission (TWC), WOTC is a federal in-come tax benefit for private employers whohire from certain groups. Tax credits rangefrom $1,200 to $9,000. WOTC reduces abusiness’ tax liability, serving as an incen-tive to select job candidates who face bar-riers in their efforts to find employment.

“We want Texas employers to earnvaluable tax credits while benefittingfrom the skills of these often untappedgroups of qualified workers,” said TWCChairman Tom Pauken. “It’s particularlyencouraging to me that unemployed vet-erans now are included in this program.”

TWC certifies which newly-hiredemployees make an employer eligible forthe tax credit based on applications re-

ceived from the new employer. AlthoughTWC was able to identify more than $200million in tax credits for Texas employ-ers in FY 2009, there were many morecredits available that went unclaimed be-cause applications were not submitted.WOTC offers employers a way to addressworkforce shortages while reducing hir-ing costs and gives job seekers a way toovercome some employment barriers.

For the newly added groups to qual-ify their employers for WOTC, new hireswho are unemployed veterans must havebeen receiving unemployment benefitsfor at least four weeks and youth must nothave been regularly employed or regu-larly attending school for six months priorto being hired.

“Our company saved $114,000 onour federal income taxes last year by hir-ing 85 qualifying employees to work inour restaurants,” said Joseph Hicks, Cer-tified Public Accountant for WrightFoods, which owns several restaurantfranchises in the McAllen area.

Within each employee group, specificeligibility requirements apply. All formsand WOTC information are available on-line at: www.twc.state.tx.us/svcs/wotc/wotc.html, or by calling the TWC WOTCunit at 1-800-695-6879.

(Source:Texas BusinessToday,Winter Issue)

Texas Companies Leave Millions in Tax Credits UnclaimedWhen most car owners think aboutgoing green, they think of hybrid vehi-cles or alternative fuels. But now, carowners can go greener when they havetheir accident damage repaired.CARSTAR Collision centers are adopt-ing green repair practices—from newpainting technology to energy savingtechniques to environmental improve-ments—designed to improve the car re-pair process and reducing the shops’carbon footprint.

CARSTAR has created a CertifiedGreen program with partners such as theEPA’s Collision Repair Campaign, En-ergy Star and Certified Green Investmentto guide collision centers through enact-ing smart environmental managementpractices and delivering continual im-provements on a yearly basis.

“We want to do our part to helpimprove the environment and enhancehow the thousands of collision repairsthat happen in CARSTAR locationsimpact their local communities,” saysDick Cross, CEO of CARSTAR Colli-sion Centers, the nation’s largest chainof collision repair experts. “There havebeen tremendous improvements in re-pair technology, new methods for de-creasing energy use, and better ways toreduce waste that, collectively, helpthe collision centers deliver a more

‘green’ car repair. We’re proud of themany CARSTAR stores who haveachieved Certified Green status andlook forward to having all of theCARSTAR stores embrace this impor-tant effort.”

The CARSTAR Certified Greenprogram will help deliver projected an-nual savings of $5,300 to eachCARSTAR Collision Center, along withan annual Eco Savings of 26.7%, whichreflects a reduction in environmentalpollution and contribution toward globalgreenhouse gas reduction. CertifiedGreen stores also qualify for tax credits,utility service rebates, governmentgrants and other benefits such as re-duced insurance premiums, workerscomp discounts and compliance conces-sions.

The first CARSTAR stores toachieve Certified Green status areCARSTAR Metcalf in Stillwell, Kan.,and Scuderi Auto Body CARSTAR inRockville, Md. CARSTAR stores aremodernizing their equipment, chang-ing to waterborne paint systems,adding energy efficient light fixtures,updating heating, ventilation and airconditioning controls, improving pol-lution prevention measures and em-ploying smart waste managementpractices.

CARSTAR Collision Centers Promotes Green Initiatives

It has been said that one does not realizethe value of a good insurance companyuntil one files a claim.

Insurers that have local agents that thepolicyholder can meet with “face to face”generally fare better than the “internetbased” insurance policies, according to nu-merous autobody association surveys.

When it comes to insurance coveragefor physical property damage, cheaper pre-miums are not always the best way to go.Remember that old adage: You get whatyou pay for!

As for the claims process for autobody repair, most claimants can use all thehelp they can get. The truth is that mostclaimants are simply not familiar with theprocess and all the pitfalls that many in-surers place in their path.

The investment in a motor vehicle issignificant for most people. Making surethe value of that investment is not dimin-ished through poor quality visible repairsis important to most vehicle owners.

While not all insurance companies areguilty of “steering” customers to certain“preferred body shops” or demandingbody shops cut corners to save a dime,most insurers do just that. The goal is tosqueeze every penny they can to pay outas little as possible on each claim.

Most insurance companies play agame—a game that makes sure that thecost of repairing an insured damaged ve-hicle is held down to the lowest level pos-sible without incurring the wrath of themasses.

Insurers bank on one important fact.The fact that most vehicle owners won’tkeep their vehicle very long. Therefore, the

insurers are not too worried about usingimitation crash parts or sub-standard parts.

Suppose an insurance company saves$40 or $50 on a part by demanding thebody shop use the “Made in Taiwan” or“Made in China” imitation crash parts.How much does this “savings” cost the un-suspecting customer? Could it be hundredsor maybe thousands of dollars at trade-intime?

When an insurance company choosesto use the cheaper types of parts, a “di-minished value” claim (DV) is a possibleconsideration in many states. A DV claimcould compensate you for the “imitationcrash parts” replacing your factory “origi-nal equipment” or “OEM” parts.

The art of steeringHere are a few of the word tracks used tomanipulate the customer into using a spe-cific “preferred” repair facility:> “Oh, sorry, we can’t guarantee the re-pairs at [your shop] because ‘they’ are notone of our network shops and they’re noton our list;”> “If you use them, we can’t get an ad-juster out for two weeks; if you take it toour network shop we will have someonestart on it right away;”> “Claims take longer to settle if you usethem;”> “Oh no, they charge more than the pre-vailing rate for this area and you will haveto ‘pay the difference’ in repair cost;”> “If you use that shop you will have topay for your rental out of pocket.”

Insurance company control of the col-lision repair industry has grown signifi-

cantly in recent years. Many shop ownersnow struggle everyday to get paid fairly.They’re pressured to use aftermarket crashparts on the jobs they do get and watch in-surers steer away customers right and left.

Shop owners are routinely “second-guessed” regarding their estimates. Theygenerally feel “under the thumb” of the in-surer (or insurer representative). All thisdaily pressure from insurers has causedmany body shop owners to be resentful to-ward the insurance industry.

This resentment is apparent fromcomments on internet blogs as well as sur-veys conducted by industry associationsand publications.

Body Shop owners who say they havelost business because of steering had thesecomments:● “We’ve been in business for 19 yearsand 99 percent of the time, the customersare very happy. Yet insurers steer businessaway from us constantly.”● “I’ve had old customers tell me theywere told to go to another shop.”● “Insurers make the customers feel as

though they won’t pay unless they take thevehicle to one of their shops.”● “Vehicles have been removed from ourshop because of insurers.”

“The companies tell appraisers whatthey can and can’t pay for,” says anothershop owner. “We continually hear, ‘Iknow you need to do it, but I can’t pay forit.’”

Tell your customers to call their in-surance company and tell them where theywould like to have their vehicle repaired.

Customers should be told: “If youneed any help deciding on which insurancecarrier to buy your policy from, ask or callyour local body shop. We can tell youwhich insurance companies are customerservice friendly and will help with your in-surance claim needs every step of the way.Some insurance companies make you feelthat they have your best interest in mindwhen in reality they are just managingtheir bottom line.”

Suggested slogan for your office:REMEMBER, IT’S YOUR CAR, YOURCHOICE.


Games Insurers Play

The Right Causewith Mike Causey

Mike Causey is a consumer advocate and lobbyist for the Independent Auto Body Association (IABA), in additionto Non-profits such as alternative healthcare groups (Citizens for Healthcare Freedom, NC Reflexology Associa-tion), Organic farming and Healthy Eating. Mike is a writer and speaker on numerous consumer issues and legis-lation. Mailing address: Causey & Associates, P.O. Box 16725, Greensboro, NC 27416 Email: [email protected]: (336) 210-1947

for a clarification. Lloyd said his companycould be willing to put together some“generic guidelines of how we do business”but would want more input from the com-mittee as to what topics should be covered.Hanson said he understand shops are some-times hesitant to move up the chain of com-mand because of possible reprisals. But hebalked at the idea of some way to submitconcerns anonymously or through a third-party or “hotline,” saying it “complicates theresolution” and often lacks enough detailedinformation to be “actionable.”

If a problem involves some sort offraud—such as an insurance companyemployee seeking some of pay-off—re-pairers should contact the corporate secu-rity department at that company, several

of the panelists said.But panelist Mike Condon, one of the

consultants that conducted a study last yearto examine the viewpoints of top autoclaims personnel, offered perhaps the mostoptimistic viewpoint on hopes for at leastone aspect of the trade practice proposal.

“It was clear that most insurers wanted,or were interested in, some sort of disputeresolution process, but none of them reallyhad any idea of how to do it,” Condon saidof the interviews in the study with topclaims personnel at nine major insurers.

He said the fact that no such mecha-nism exists could provide a good opportu-nity for the industry to work together todevelop one, rather than having a number ofdifferent ones pop up.

“What we need to start is probably todevelop requirements from insurers as towhat it might look like,” Condon said.


Insurers and Shops


DO THE RIGHT THINGENOUGH TIMES,AND PEOPLE BEGINTO NOTICE.

�e Hyundai Genesis—2009 North American Car of the Year.

Hyundai Sales Up More than 14% (year onyear). In 2008 Hyundai became the world's��h-largest automaker, with 7% marketshare in the United States.

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

�ink About It

NEVADA

ARIZONA

Family MotorsHyundai

BAKERSFIELD

800-868-9727661-837-3358 FaxMon-Fri 8am - 5:30pm

[email protected]

Tuttle Click HyundaiIRVINE

800-428-7485949-472-7430

949-586-5104 Fax949-586-7093 Fax

Mon-Fri 7am - 7pmSat 8am - 5pm

[email protected]

Henderson HyundaiSuperstoreLAS VEGAS -METRO AREA

702-565-9643702-564-7756 Fax

Mon-Fri 7am - 6pmSat 7am - 4pm

[email protected]

Chapman HyundaiPHOENIX

877-684-5803602-866-6166

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

Sat 8am - [email protected]

San LeandroHyundai

SAN LEANDRO

510-347-3010510-895-1027 Fax

Lithia HyundaiFRESNO

800-462-2231559-436-6041

559-436-0743 FaxMon-Fri 7am - 6pm

Sat 8am - [email protected]

SO. CALIFORNIA NO. CALIFORNIA

An Arizona House bill addressing autoglass businesses and insurance fraudpassed the state’s Senate April 19 with aunanimous vote of 28-0. The legislationadds a section to the state’s laws ad-dressing auto glass shops and details anumber of items that are “unlawful” forthose “who sell or repair auto glass.”

It had previously passed the state’sHouse, where it originated, but one smalltechnical amendment was made in theSenate (changing the word “advising” to“advise”), so it now returns to the Housefor Rep. McLain’s acceptance of theamendment and a final vote.

The Senate calendar defines thebill’s purpose as follows: “Outlines un-lawful practices for a person who sells orrepairs auto glass and institutes a penaltyof a class 6 felony for persons who vio-late the auto glass laws with the intent toinjure, defraud or deceive an insurer.”

The legislation identifies the fol-lowing items as illegal:

* To submit a false claim to an in-surer for auto glass repair or replacementor for related services if the serviceswere not provided, if the work appearson the invoice as being completed in anincorrect geographical area, resulting in ahigher payment, if the work wasn’t au-

thorized by the owner or lessee of the ve-hicle, or if the invoice was mislabeledwith such a date that insurance coveragemight not have applied;

* To advise a policyholder to “fal-sify the date of damage to the auto glassthat results in a change of insurance cov-erage for repair or replacement of theglass;”

* To misrepresent the price of therepairs or replacement being billed to aninsurer, or that the insurer has approvedthe repairs “unless the auto glass repairor replacement facility has verified cov-erage or obtained authorization directlyfrom the insurance company or any otherthird party administrator contracted withthe insurance company and the evidencehas been confirmed by fax, e-mail orother written and recorded communica-tion;”

* To advise a customer that the workwill be paid entirely by his/her insurer“unless the insurance coverage has beenverified by a person who is employed byor is a producer contracted with the pol-icyholder’s insurer or is a third party ad-ministrator contracted with the insurer;”

* To add to the damage of the autoglass prior to the work being done, or toencourage a customer to do the same “to

increase the scope of repair or replace-ment;” and

* To perform work “clearly and sub-stantially beyond the level of work nec-essary to repair or replace the auto glassto put the vehicle back into a safe pre-damaged condition in accordance withaccepted or approved reasonable andcustomery glass repair or replacementtechniques.”

In addition, the legislation includesa section making it illegal for an autoglass business representative to “misrep-resent the relationship of the glass repairfacility to the policyholder’s insurer.”

The bill originally was introducedby Arizona Rep. Nancy McLain, whoadvised at a recent hearing that she in-troduced the bill “to try to get rid of someoutright fraud that’s going on in thewindshield repair business.”

Representatives of the ArizonaGlass Association, including RexAltreeof New Image Auto Glass and KerrySoat of FasBreak, both of which arebased in Arizona, worked closely withlegislators to reach an agreed-uponwording in the bill.

To read background on the bill andits journey to passage, see www.glass-bytes.com and www.autobodynews.com

Arizona Auto Glass Fraud Bill Passes State Senate 28-0

place will ensure that crash parts manufac-tured will have correct non-removable iden-tification and produced to the higheststandards.

“With the evolution of the automo-bile, more and more replacement parts canbe argued that they are related to the over-all safety of the vehicle,” states DavidMc-Clune, Executive Director, CaliforniaAutobody Association. “We appreciatewhat other groups are doing on a smallerscale, but the bigger issue is having partsproperly identified and a standard systemfor the traceability of all safety relatedparts available. When you really start con-necting the dots, this single traceabilityissue has such a far reaching impact that itcould change how we look at collision re-pair in the future. And in my opinion, thatis going to be a good thing for the collisionrepair industry, including the insurers andconsumers.”


Parts Traceability

California’s other Collision Associa-tion, CRA, does not endorse trace-ability, favoring testing andcertification of Aftermarket parts,followed by recall if necessary. SeeCRA Letter to Insurance Commis-sioner p. 43.

by David M. BrownSpecial to Autobody News

A trio of auto association groups is nowserving the Lone Star State: San Antonio-based Texas Independent Auto Associa-tion; Austin’s Automotive Parts &Services Association; and, as of 2009, theHouston Auto Body Association, whichbecame an affiliate of the national Societyof Collision Repair Specialists in February.

Established in 2009 to serve thegreater Houston area, HABA comprisesapproximately 35 owners and managers ofcollision centers (Active Members), busi-nesses associated with the collision indus-try (Associate Members) and like-mindedassociations that abide by the group’s codeof ethics (Group Affiliate Members).

The group was formed to put the col-lision industry in Houston on a straighter-course. “Many of us felt we weren’t gettingfair and reasonable compensation for ourwork,” says the group’s president, JamesBrown, owner of Rapid Body Works inHouston. He notes that different areas andinsurers were using unique procedures, cre-ating confusion and misinterpretation.

Brown explains that Andy Holder,owner of Metropolitan Collision, also inHouston, began contacting body shops thefirst part of 2009, and by that SeptemberHABAbecame a registered nonprofit associ-ation. Holder is now vice president of thegroup. “Together, we could strategize andagree on standards and procedures to improvebusiness for all of us, so that consumers couldbe ensured their vehicles were being restoredto their safe pre-loss condition,” says Brown,whose nine-year-old company is ICAR Plat-inum and ASE certified.

HABA’s membership requirementsinclude proof of liability insurance andtechnical certification for technicians, theuse of a computerized estimating system, alifetime warranty against defects and anapproved spray booth meeting current fed-eral and local requirements.

Brown says that the organization isdedicated to setting just and equitable stan-dards and providing a forum for working outdifferences between shops and shops and in-surers. HABA is establishing itself as a con-sumer advocacy agency in providing bothinformation and a presence at the Texas Leg-islature to protect the public’s rights, as wellas those in the collision industry.

“One of our members has already hadmeetings with the Texas Insurance Com-missioner and presented questions as wellas signed petitions to add to the ConsumerBill of Rights,” Brown reports.

Assisting Brown and Holder as boardof directors officers are Phillip Hahn,Treasurer (Mossy Nissan Collision Cen-ter); Jennifer Barbee, Secretary (Metro-politan Collision); and Ronnie Brush,

Chairman of the board (Westside LexusCollision Center).

SCRS is welcoming of HABA, whichadds to its portfolio of 38 affiliate associa-tions comprising 6,000 collision repairbusinesses and 58,500 specialized profes-sionals in the United States.

“It is always exciting for SCRS topartner with new, emerging industry lead-ers,” says Aaron Schulenburg, executivedirector of SCRS.

“The HABA has exhibited tremendousdrive and determination in the formation oftheir association, and their commitment tothe implementation of recognized and prac-ticed repair standards is laudable.”

The oldest organization of the Texasthree is the Texas Automotive Parts &Services Association, founded Oct. 11,1932, as the Automotive Wholesalers ofTexas. As a trade association designed toserve the automotive aftermarket industry,APSA serves a 10-state membership of800 members representing approximately2,000 locations. Besides Texas, represen-tative states are Kansas, Oklahoma, Ne-braska, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas,Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming.

The members own or represent autoparts and paint stores, machine shops, en-gine rebuilders and service repair shops,both mechanical and collision. In the lastfew years, through a series of mergers,APSA has grown from a single state asso-ciation to a regional association which, be-cause of the increase in the number ofmembers, has enabled APSA to pro-vide quality programs and benefits, saysthe organization’s president, Jim Quinten.

For instance, the group offers its mem-bers an insurance package through the mem-ber-owned AP&S Insurance Agency. Still,the most important work APSA does is leg-islative advocacy — lobbying in the variousstates and in Washington, Quinten explains.He is assisted by the APSA vice president,Melanie Norman, and a 25-member boardof directors representing all 10 states.

“The members own the association,and it only exists for their benefit,” hesays. “The APSA staff works for the mem-bers and are dedicated to that effort.”

Formed in 1980, TIAA comprises me-chanical and body shops throughout Texas.The organization began with chapters inOdessa, Waco, Austin, Houston, San An-

tonio and the Rio Grande Valley, but mem-bership grew to approximately 850 mem-bers statewide. Between 30–40 collisionshops now belong.

“Our members are mostly family-owned and -operated independent businessthat put the focus on customer service on apersonal level,” says Gary Pundt, TIAApresident and owner of Alamo HeightsGarage in San Antonio.

Joining him on the board are HankAmor, vice president and owner of OakHill Automotive in Austin; David BippertSecretary, owner of Lone Star Radiator inSan Antonio; and Roy Baird, Treasurer,owner, Car Pro of San Antonio. In May,the group will choose new officers at itsannual meting, Pundt explains.

“We formed so that our memberswould have more control over the state andlocal chapters and be able to monitor theLegislature and act on our own behalf atthe state level and not get lost in the na-tional association shuffle,” he explains.

The group actively monitors legisla-tion affecting the mechanical and the col-lision industry: “We have members inAustin that will at a moment’s notice rallysupport to testify at the state capitol on be-half of our membership.”

He adds: “We’re also a great platformfor our members to network across the state

and be able to stay in touch and discuss in-dustry issues that come up.” He notes thatthese include “insurance-steering problemsand the repair process that the insurancecompanies force upon the collision shops.”

Education is also an important TIAAcomponent. Members serve on various ed-ucation boards, offering feedback on newtraining programs and guidance for futuretechnicians. The group also fund raises forscholarships to give financial aid to thosedeserving and in need.

For the last for years, TIAA membershave also donated services and parts to repairvehicles at no charge for residents of batteredwomen’s shelters inAustin and SanAntonio.Says Pundt: “This is a public service that weare proud to do, and we feel it is a great wayto give back to our local communities.”

James Brown, President, [email protected] (832)-515-9609

Jim Quinten, APSA8000 Centre Park Drive, Suite 150Austin, Texas 78754Phone: 512-339-0044Fax: [email protected]

Gary Pundt, State PresidentT.I.A.A. [email protected]

Houston Auto Body Association Joins Existing Texas Associations

David Abrahams (l) of PPG distributorTASCO presenting a substantial dona-tion to HABA President James Brown.


Mitchell International hosted an OpenHouse for CAA members at their MitchellTechnology Campus in the Scripps Rancharea of San Diego on March 23rd.

The CAA San Diego Chapter joinedwith Mitchell International to host theOpen House so that CAA members couldget a unique insider’s view of Mitchell’scollision information software and devel-opment facility.

The event was well attended with ap-proximately 100 participants. Mitchellprovided small group tours of their edito-rial and software development areas andexplained how tremendous amounts of in-formation is turned into state-of-the art

tools for collision repair professionals.Mitchell also hosted a casual dinner at theend of the tour.

Hosting the Mitchell tour was MikeMilliken, VP Content Management. Thetour coordinator was Gil Silva, Director ofEditorial Operations/Data Acquisition.

The Mitchell tour was comprised of 4stops (see photos).

Jerry explained how the MitchellCollision Estimating Database team wasmade up of 3 key process teams. TheParts Team is comprised of staff withmany years of dealership Parts Depart-ment experience, the Labor Team staff

each have over 10-15 years of collisionrepair hands-on experience and the Esti-

mating Team is made up of staff with es-timating backgrounds.

Many in the CAA group were im-pressed to hear that Mitchell measures eachcar independently from what the OEM’s pro-vide as measurements.According to Tom: “Ittakes about 6 hours to measure a vehicle. Ifit’s in Mitchell, it’s been measured by us.”

For additional information about theCAA and membership benefits, contactHop Sanchez at [email protected]

For additional information aboutMitchell International and their productsand services contact Amanda Smith at 858-371-1523 or [email protected]


A Towing Company

Johnson’s SuperService, Inc.

Phone: (323) 876-6550 • Fax: (323) 876-8707Cell: (818) 795-2123

1033 N. Fuller Ave., West Hollywood, CA 90046-6603

y

OfficialSheriff’sImpound

Call For Competitive RatesFast & Reliable ServiceAuctions Twice Per Month

Manager: John Sakajian

Express Metal RecyclingExpress Metal Recycling

HighestPrices Paid

For YourMetal $$

Buyer of All Types of Recycled Metal

• Car Bodies/Body Parts (Carroseria/Partes)• Iron (Hierro)• Aluminum (Aluminio)• Copper (Cobre)• Brass (Latón)• Stainless Steel (Acero Inoxidable)• Wire Harnesses (Arnés de Cables)• Starters/Alternators (Motor de Arranque/Alternador)

• A.C. Units (Unidad de Aire Acondicionado)• Radiators (Radiadores)• Aluminum Wheels (Rines de Aluminio)• Steel Wheels (Rines de Acero)

Pagamos Los Precios MásAltos Por Tu Metal $$

(Compradores de Todo Tipo de Metal Reciclado)

12207 Branford StreetSun Valley, CA 91352

Peter SakajianjPhone: 818.974.0317

Scott SakajianCell: 818.970.5881

Fax: 818.897.0012

er SakajianCall Today!

S

Mitchell Inc. Gives CAA Members Open-House Tour of Facilities

1st stop: TechAdvisor-Repair Standards Database- Serge Pirino, Manager Procedural Department.

2nd stop: Collision Estimating Database – JerryGastineau, Manager, Labor Department.

3rd stop: Vehicle Dimension Database – TomBeres, Supervisor, Vehicle Dimension Department.

4th stop: Mitchell Data Center – Larry Grimes, Manager, IS Services. Larry gave a tour through the Mitchellhigh-security IT Data Centers.


Our Team has 300 years of combined experience.

We have over 35,000 sq. ft. of parts inventory onhand with a combined value of over $2,000,000

We have a large fleet of vehicles for deliveringyour parts with-in San Diego & Imperial Counties.

We have a large Shipping & ReceivingDepartment for National and WorldWide Shipping.

www.kearnypearsonkia.com

If you are an Automotive Repair Shop,Body Shop or Fleet for Wholesale Parts.

858-560-5033 or

800 635-6669CALLCALL

WWee’’rree thee PPeerfffeecttDeesssttinnattiionn fooor yyoouur

Orriiggiinaal KKiaa Paarrtss

We’re the PerfectDestination for your

Original Kia Parts

WHOLESALE PARTSWHOLESALE PARTSWHOLESALELESALE PARTS

Ford Motor Company now has the highestcustomer satisfaction with vehicle qualityamong all major automakers, a new con-sumer research study shows.

Eighty-four percent of customerswho purchased 2010 model-year Ford,Lincoln and Mercury cars and trucks aresatisfied with the quality of their vehicle,a 4 percentage point improvement sincethe fourth quarter of 2009, according tothe first quarter Global Quality ResearchSystem (GQRS) study, conducted forFord by RDA Group of Bloomfield Hills,Mich.

With the improvement, Ford’s cus-tomer satisfaction scores are now signifi-cantly higher than all other full-lineautomotive manufacturers, includingAsian and European automakers, accord-ing to the study.

The study also showed Ford has thefewest number of vehicle defects or“things gone wrong” among all full-linemanufacturers in the first three months ofownership. Owners of 2010 model Ford,Lincoln and Mercury owners reported1,107 TGWs per 1,000 vehicles, an 8 per-cent improvement compared to last year.

“To become the No. 1 automaker interms of customer satisfaction with vehi-cle quality is amazing accomplishment and

testament to the whole company’s com-mitment to quality,” said Bennie Fowler,Ford group vice president, Global Quality.“All the third parties studies are showingthe same thing—Ford now has world-classquality.”

As Ford’s quality has improved, it hasreduced warranty repair rates on vehiclesin their first three months of service by anaverage of more than 40 percent in everymajor business region around the world inthe past three years.

“Ford has proven its commitment toquality by demonstrating steady improve-ments through consistency and discipline,”said Donald Pietrowski, president, RDAGroup. “Those improvements are clearlyreflected in rising customer satisfactionwith its products.”

Ford captured eight segment leadersin customer satisfaction, TGW or both.Notably, Fusion Hybrid owners now report93 percent satisfaction with the quality oftheir vehicle while 92 percent of Taurusowners are satisfied.

The following models led their re-spective segments in the survey:

* Taurus, Satisfaction leader D/E car.* Fusion Hybrid, Satisfaction leader C/Dcar

* Milan Hybrid, TGW leader C/D car* Focus, Satisfaction leader C car* Mountaineer, TGW leader Medium Tra-ditional Utility* Expedition, TGW and Satisfaction leaderLarge Utility* Navigator, TGW and Satisfaction LeaderLarge Premium Utility* Ranger, TGW and Satisfaction LeaderCompact Pickup

These dramatic gains in qualityhave also contributed to a 23 percentyear-over-year improvement in the re-sale values of Ford vehicles with one tofive years on the road – outpacing theindustry average by 4 percentagepoints.

“While we are proud of the progresswe’ve made, we know how important it isto keep the momentum going,” saidFowler. “We can never be satisfied.”

The GQRS study is conducted on aquarterly basis with scores assessed fromsurvey responses collected from owners ofvehicles purchased within specific timeframes.

New vehicle owners are asked to re-port any defects or issues as well as ratetheir satisfaction with vehicle quality on ascale of 1 to 10 across an array of vehiclesystems and features.

Survey Says Ford Has Highest Customer Quality Satisfaction

The California Labor Federation joined agrowing list of organizations in oppositionto Proposition 17, the Mercury Insurance-sponsored measure that would allow in-surance companies to raise drivers’premiums based on their history of buyingauto insurance (see related story, p. 7.)

Prop 17 is also opposed by consumerand citizen groups including ConsumersUnion, Consumer Watchdog, ConsumerFederation of California, California Al-liance of Retired Americans andVoteVets.org.

The California Labor Federation ismade up of more than 1,200 AFL-CIO andChange to Win unions, representing 2.1million union members in manufacturing,retail, construction, hospitality, public sec-tor, health care, entertainment and other in-dustries.

Doug Heller, with the Stop Prop 17campaign, said today, “Labor organiza-tions that represent millions of California’sworking families have joined the fight tostop this insurance industry ripoff that willincrease the price of auto insurance. WhileMercury Insurance will spend millions ofdollars to try and buy this election, groupsrepresenting millions of Californians willbe warning voters to oppose Prop 17.”

This weekend the Democratic Partyof California, at its convention, will decide

whether to oppose Prop 17. Party delegatesare being urged to join labor, consumer,senior and veterans groups and oppose thisinsurance company funded initiative.

The California Department of Insur-ance issued a scathing report about Prop17 sponsor Mercury Insurance’s history ofovercharging and discriminating againstcustomers and the company’s failure tomake promised changes after similar in-vestigations in 1998 and 2002. The De-partment has filed an administrativelawsuit against Mercury. (see p. 7 thisissue.)

“Democratic party members shouldtake a strong stand against an industrybully with a nasty track record of cheatingCalifornia drivers that is now running a de-ceptive campaign in order to raise auto in-surance premiums on Californians alreadystruggling in a tough economy,” saidHeller.

Prop 17 would create an insurancesurcharge on drivers, including soldiersand seniors, who have had a lapse in carinsurance coverage for virtually any rea-son during the past five years, or whomissed a single payment. People whostopped driving and didn’t need insurancefor a time would be required to pay up toa thousand dollars more for car insurancewhen they sought to restart coverage.

Opposition Mounts to Prop. 17

The Ram Truck Brand announced apartnership with GRAMMY-winningSouthern-Rock artists, Zac BrownBand, to help honor U.S. soldiers aswell as promote the band’s USO Tourand their latest single.

“Just as your vehicle is an exten-sion of who you are—music also de-fines your inner character,” saidOlivier Francois, Lead Marketing Ex-ecutive, Chrysler Group LLC. “TheRam Truck Brand and Zac BrownBand both strive to connect with peo-ple and have a unifying ‘can do’ atti-tude and a character filled withauthenticity, care, passion and pride.”

“We are excited about the newalignment with Zac Brown Band,”said Fred Diaz, President and CEO,Ram Truck Brand, Chrysler GroupLLC. “It’s the Grammy-award win-ning ‘Best New Artist’ meets the2010 Motor Trend ‘Truck of theYear.’ It’s a true win-win partnershipfor our customers, dealers and theRam Truck Brand.”

Zac Brown commented, “Per-forming with the USO for the menand women in uniform has been agreat experience for us. We wanted tofind a bigger way to thank them, away to mobilize people nationwide toshow their support.”

RAM Truck Brand Teams Upwith Rocker Zac Brown


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

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

You're always guaranteed thatthey will fit right the firsttime, every time.

Hit One Out of the Park!Call your local AuthorizedFord Wholesaler today!

with our Genuine Ford Partswiiiitthhhh our GGGGGenuiiiine FFFFordddd PPPParttsttsPPPParde FFHit a HOME RUN!Hit a HOME RUN!Hit a HOME RUN!Hit a HOME RUN!

Park!d

SO. CALIFORNIA NO. CALIFORNIA

Antelope Valley FordLANCASTER

Wholesale Parts Dept.661-945-0881

661-945-3501 Faxwww.avford.com

[email protected]

Airport MarinaFord

LOS ANGELES

888-590-6622310-306-2899 Fax

[email protected]

Bob Wondries FordALHAMBRA

Wholesale Direct888-238-5415

626-284-9109 [email protected]

Buerge FordWEST LOS ANGELES

310-820-1431310-826-0221 Fax

Cerritos FordLincoln Mercury

CERRITOS

562-405-3535866-413-6622

562-405-3561 Fax

Colley FordGLENDORA

Wholesale Parts877-441-3673

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

Drew FordLA MESA

800-648-7431619-668-7765

619-668-7719 Faxwww.drewauto.com

Fairview FordLincoln MercurySAN BERNARDINO


909-889-1741 Fax

Ford of MontebelloMONTEBELLO



Future Ford of ClovisCLOVIS

800-350-2552559-294-0816 Fax

Fritts FordRIVERSIDE

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

Galpin FordVAN NUYS

818-778-2005818-778-2090 Fax

Kearny Pearson FordSAN DIEGO

858-560-5033800-635-6669

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

Pacific FordLONG BEACH

800-353-7224562-492-9452 [email protected]

Palm Springs MotorsCATHEDRAL CITY

760-328-7149760-328-5092 Fax

Perry FordNATIONAL CITY

619-474-6451619-336-3288 Fax

Super FordLincoln Mercury

(Formerly Puente Hills Ford)CITY OF INDUSTRY

800-965-1055626-965-9666 Fax

[email protected]

Tuttle-Click FordLincoln Mercury

IRVINE

949-472-5230949-472-0327 Fax

Vista Ford of OxnardOXNARD


805-278-0554 Fax

WorthingtonFord

LONG BEACH

800-622-4225562-421-4033


Harrold FordSACRAMENTO

916-922-8355916-922-2691 [email protected]

Novato FordNOVATO

415-897-3978415-898-4429 [email protected]

Serramonte FordCOLMA

Wholesale Parts Dept. Phone:650-301-7190

Wholesale Parts Dept. Fax:650-301-7087

www.serramonteford.com

Sunnyvale FordLincoln Mercury

SUNNYVALE

408-738-1530408-738-3125 Faxwww.fordautodirect.com

The Ford Store ofSan LeandroSAN LEANDRO

800-690-6906510-347-4160 Fax

Veracom Ford ofSan MateoSAN MATEO

800-420-1321650-375-8785 Fax

[email protected]

Walnut Creek FordWALNUT CREEK

925-932-2901925-937-7460 Fax

Ford CountryHENDERSON

702-558-8100702-566-7037 Faxwww.fordcountrylv.com

Friendly FordLAS VEGAS

702-877-6546702-870-6280 Fax

Gaudin FordLAS VEGAS

702-796-2762702-792-5370 Fax

Team FordLincoln Mercury

LAS VEGASWholesale Parts Dept.702-395-5144

702-395-5196 Faxwww.teamfordparts.com

Camelback FordLincoln Mercury

PHOENIX

602-248-8396602-240-5645 Fax

Power FordNorth Scottsdale

SCOTTSDALE

480-998-0652

Sanderson FordGLENDALE

800-367-3673623-842-8762

623-842-8799 Faxwww.sandersonparts.com

ARIZONA

NEVADA

NO. CALIFORNIA

NEVADA

Make us your one-stop shop today!

These dealers are Genuine Ford Parts wholesale specialists.

Pennsylvania Senator John C. Rafferty Jr.(R) has introduced Senate Resolution 254

calling on the state’sinsurance commis-sioner to investigatethe practice of steer-ing by insurers in thecollision repair in-dustry and report hisfindings back to thelegislature. SR254was introduced onFeb. 26 and reads: Aresolution urging theInsurance Commis-sioner to investigatethe prevalence of thepractice by whichmotor vehicle insur-ers coerce or other-

wise attempt to aggressively direct their in-sureds who have filed claims for damagedmotor vehicles to use motor vehicle repairshops that have been preapproved by theinsurer or that are affiliated with the in-surer, thereby restricting or adversely af-fecting the choice of the insureds to selectrepair shops of their own choice.

Rafferty experienced insurer steeringfirsthand following a collision with a deer lastyear. He introduced the resolution followinga hearing days before during which he told In-surance Commissioner Joel Ario, “I’m find-ing it very disturbing that this is happening.”

Rafferty said, “Five or six individualswho own auto repair shops have told meinsurance companies agressively turning[customers] to what they’re calling theirpreferred shops... individual shop ownersare starting to lose business.”

The resolution urges the InsuranceCommissioner “to investigate the prevalenceof the practice by which motor vehicle in-surers coerce or otherwise attempt to aggres-sively direct their [insureds] to use motorvehicle repair shops that have been preap-proved by the insurer or that are affiliatedwith the insurer, thereby restricting or ad-versely affecting the choice of the insuredsto select repair shops of their own choice.”

Referring to the issue as a “serious prob-lem,” Rafferty said in a hearing prior to theresolution’s introduction that, “I think this issomething that we have to get a handle onand tell the insurance companies to back off.”

The bill has been assigned to the Sen-ate Banking & Insurance Committee onwhich Rafferty serves.

Rafferty, an attorney that previouslyserved as Pennsylvania’s Deputy Attorney

General, represents parts of Berks, Chesterand Montgomery counties just outside thecity of Philadelphia.

The resolution, if passed, would re-quire the Insurance Commissioner to re-port the findings of its investigation to theGeneral Assembly within six months of theadoption of the resolution.

In an unrelated matter, the Pennsylva-nia Collision Trade Guild wrote to PAcommissioner Joel Ario asking that “struc-tural crash parts (i.e. front and rearbumpers, bumper brackets, energy ab-sorbers, structure members etc.), manufac-tured by other than the original equipmentmanufacturers (OEM)” be recalled, andwhere necessary, re-repairs be undertakento return affected vehicles to their pre-losscondition relative to safety and perform-ance.”


OF DOWNTOWN LA

GENUINEPORSCHE PARTS

GENUINEVOLKSWAGEN PARTS

GENUINEAUDI PARTS

> Best Delivery Service (Twice Daily) to LA County> $750,000 Genuine Audi Parts Inventory> 8,000 + Parts in Stock

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

Best Delivery Service (Twice Daily) to LA County <$500,000 Genuine Parts Inventory <

6,000 Numbers in Stock <

Service Hours:8:00am - 6:30pm



FAUSTO G.Parts Manager

MARLON L.Parts Manager

CARLOS L.Parts Manager

Audi of Downtown LA1900 S. Figueroa Street

Los Angeles, CA 90007

www.audidowntownla.com

Tel 213.747.7248Fax 213.222.1261

1900 S. Figueroa Street


www.vwdowntownla.com

1900 S. Figueroa Street


www.porschedowntownla.com

Tel 213.748.4624Fax 213.222.1278

Tel 213.747.7246 • 213.747.7247Fax 213.222.1272

GENUINEPORSCHE PARTS

$50

GENUINE

Inventory

GENUVOLKSWAGEN PAR

tory

Pennsylvania Senator Rafferty Asks for Investigation after Steering Experience

New Redlands WarehouseFor Continental TireContinental Tire the Americas says it isnow at full operating capacity at itsnew distribution center in Redlands,CA. The company held an official rib-bon-cutting ceremony and open housefor the local media and business com-munity on April 15. Continental tookoccupancy of the facility earlier in theyear in a move that consolidated twosmaller operations in Ontario andSouth Gate, Calif. The Redlands ware-house offers 500,000-square-feet ofspace situated on a 27.5 acre-plot ofland. The facility is now fully opera-tional for Continental’s passenger andcommercial tire divisions and featuresa state-of-the-art operating system toexpedite orders.

“We are very pleased to open ourdoors in an official way,” said AdamSepanski, warehouse manager, Conti-nental Tire. “We couldn’t have found abetter location than right here in Red-lands, and we look forward to a longtenure in this outstanding facility.”

The new facility will provide Con-tinental with enough space to store anddistribute more than 450,000 passen-ger, light truck and commercial tires.The facility is expected to move an es-timated two million units each year.

Senator John Rafferty(R-44) remarked toInsurance Commis-sioner Joel Ario

that he has receivednumerous constituent

complaints aboutauto insurancecarriers dealing

with repair shops.

e-mail:[email protected]

800-699-8251

To advertisecall Joe Momber at:


In what can only be called a remarkableturnaround since last year’s bankruptcy pro-cedings, both GM and Chrylser have re-warded the faith of “bailout” proponentswith strong first quarter results reflectingbetter vehicle sales buoyed by a thawingeconomy and improved consumer spending.

General Motors announced it has re-paid loans from the U.S. government, fiveyears ahead of schedule. GM completedthe repayment of its loans from the U.S.and Canadian governments by paying theoutstanding balances of $4.7 billion and$1.1 billion respectively.

In addition, Chrysler announced anoperating profit for the first quarter of2010, so may soon be in a position to startto repay its government loans as well.Chrysler posted a $143-million operatingprofit in the first quarter and was on trackto at least break even this year on an oper-ating basis with a stronger cash position.Chrysler owes the U.S. government nearly$7 billion in loans. Payments on principalare not due until 2011 and full repaymentis not expected until 2014.

The administration wasted no time intaking credit where it is due, saying thatnot only did the $85 billion auto industrybailout work, it saved millions of jobs.President Barack Obama “took a lot of

heat” to keep GM alive, said Vice Presi-dent Joe Biden. “And this has even ex-ceeded our expectations.”

White House press secretary RobertGibbs led off his press briefing with theGM and Chrysler news, saying it justifiesPresident Obama's “very difficult and un-popular decision” to loan them money lastyear. The loans were designed to assist “astructured bankruptcy, and save 1 millionto 3 million jobs.”

While the Obama administration stillexpects a loss on the taxpayer bailout ofthe industry, it will be smaller than initiallyforecast. The White House budget officeonce projected the loss on the GM pack-age alone to be some $30B, but now saysit will likely not exceed $8B.

GM didn't need to be making thispayment now. The company had alreadypaid back $2 billion of what it owes underthe terms of the Troubled Asset Relief Pro-gram that began in December of 2008. Thecompany had until 2015 to repay the restbut chose to do so now for reasons of busi-ness psychology in an attempt to reducethe “Government Motors” taint.

“We’ve developed a healthy, cleanbalance sheet and we’ve developed a coststructure that allows us to be competitive,”CEO Ed Whitacre, said of GM’s perform-

ance. Much of GM’s improvement comesfrom slashing its debt load and workforceas part of its bankruptcy reorganization lastyear. It has stated it wants to be a publiccompany again as soon as practical, butCEO Whitacre's team has backed off ofthat commitment somewhat.

GM still owe $45.3-billion to the gov-ernment that will be repaid when the com-pany sells its IPO stock offering, whichGM chief financial officer Chris Liddellsaid would take place “when the marketsand the company are ready.” GM is still along way from regaining its blue-chip sta-tus. It remains more than 60 per cent gov-ernment-owned and lost $3.4 billion in lastyear's fourth quarter alone.

Whitacre, the former telecommunica-tions executive, announced the loan play-back at the company’s Fairfax AssemblyPlant in Kansas City, Kan. He also said GMis investing $257 million in that factory andthe Detroit-Hamtramck plant in Michigan.No new jobs will be added, but workers atboth plants are gaining job security becausethey will build the next generation of thepopular midsize Chevrolet Malibu.

Chrysler, now run by Italy's FiatGroup, posted an operating profit of $143million in the first quarter that was attrib-uted to cost cuts and sales of its new Ram

Heavy Duty pickup. The company isbuilding up cash but had a net loss of $197million in the quarter and has shed $3.78billion after it emerged from bankruptcyon June 10. That loss included $2.1 billionin payments to the healthcare trust fund ofthe United Auto Workers.

Chrysler-Fiat CEO Sergio Mar-chionne has said Chrysler will break eventhis year (Fiat also lost significant moneylast year) saying, “This positive operatingresult in the first quarter is a concrete indi-cation to our customers, dealers and sup-pliers that the 2010 targets we have set forourselves are achievable. We are also gen-erating cash to finance the investmentsbeing made in our product portfolio andbrand repositioning,”

Larry Summers, presidential eco-nomic adviser and co-architect of thebailout, wrote:In 2008, the American auto industry lostover 400,000 jobs and analysts estimatedthat at least 1 million more jobs could havebeen lost had GM and Chrysler liquidated.That didn't happen. Instead, over the pastnine months since GM and Chrysleremerged from bankruptcy, the industry hasactually added 45,000 jobs— the strongestpace of job growth in the auto industry innearly a decade.


One of the largest wholesalers in California

FREE DELIVERY Monday thru Friday from our fleet of parts delivery trucks

Efficient and committed to excellence

Call our courteous wholesale specialists:Duane, Gabriel and Pedro

Original BMW Parts

Our parts come equipped with their own experts.

Pacific BMW

www.pacificbmw.com(818) 552-4747

Original Thought #89:

4648 San Fernando Rd., Glendale, CA 91204www.pacificbmw.com

Pacific BMW

818.552.4760818.246.8261 Fax

818.552.4760818.246.8261 Fax

818.552.4747818.552.4753818.552.4747818.552.4753

GM Pays Back Gov’t Loans Years Early; Chrysler Posts Operating Profit in Q1


Reprinted from the Insurance Institute ofHighway Safety, Status Report, V. 45, No. 4.

Car safety ratings often grab the mediaspotlight. Sometimes they’re published bythe Institute, while other ratings are fromthe government or Consumer Reports.Bigger news than these periodic mediasplashes is the growth of the safety mar-ketplace around the world, spurred by theavailability of vehicle ratings from multi-ple sources.

“These crashworthiness ratings aren’tin competition. One isn’t better than an-other,” says Institute president AdrianLund. “The key is to look at every avail-able source of safety information andchoose a car, pickup, or SUV with top rat-ings across the board. These vehicles areon the market, and buyers are findingthem.

A new poll confirms the attention thatconsumers are paying to safety, factoring itinto their vehicle choices. In turn, this de-mand puts pressure on auto manufacturersto compete in the safety marketplace.

Consumer interest isn’t new: Morethan a half century ago, Ford officials es-timated that installing optional lap beltsand other safety features in 1956 modelspushed sales up about 200,000. The safetybelts generated demand that was “consid-erably higher than originally anticipated,”A.L. Haynes of Ford told Congress in1957.

Other early indicators of car buyers’interest in safety involve their rejection ofvehicles perceived to be unsafe. Sales ofChevrolet Corvairs plummeted after 1965,for example, when Ralph Nader focusedpublic attention on suspension problemsthat could lead to loss of control androllover. Likewise, negative publicityabout the easyto-damage fuel tanks onFord Pintos led to declining sales in the1970s.

By the 1980s, automakers were tun-ing in to safety and beginning to competein the worldwide safety marketplace. Asign of this involves airbags. After wagingin earlier years what the US SupremeCourt dubbed “the regulatory equivalentof war” against frontal airbags (see StatusReport, July 7, 1983; on the web atiihs.org), automakers began competing in

the mid-1980s to put air-bags in cars aheadof federal requirements (see Status Report,Dec. 7, 1985; on the web at iihs.org). Sideairbags followed at a much faster pace, be-ginning in the 1990s. This also is when au-tomakers began a concerted effort toredesign vehicle seats and head restraintsto provide better occupant protection inrear-end crashes.

Among the most important safety ad-vancements since the 1990s are the rede-signed structures of passenger vehicles.

Now the fronts and sides themselves, notjust the safety features inside, provide im-portant protection in crashes.

Initially pushing automakers towardthis emphasis on safety was the popularityof The Car Book, a National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)brochure that compiled safety informationvehicle model by vehicle model. Launchedin 1980, it became the most frequently re-quested government publication of itstime.

Raising consumer interest in safety tomuch higher levels are the crash tests andcrashworthiness ratings published not onlyby NHTSA but also by private organiza-tions in the United States and worldwide.Consumers use the comparative ratings tomake informed choices among cars to buy.

US government was first: The 1972Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Sav-ings Act required NHTSA to establish aprogram of car crashworthiness ratings.

The resultant New Car Assessment Pro-gram (NCAP), launched in 1978, isn’t partof any government regulatory program. Itexists to provide consumer information,initially assigning pass or fail scores tocars based on performance in front andrear crash tests. Since then the pass/fail rat-ings have given way to stars, 1 to 5 de-pending on how well a vehicle performs infront, side, and rollover tests.

Now more than 30 years old, NCAPis due for some changes (see Status Re-port, July 24, 2008; on the web at iihs.org).

The high NCAP scores most vehicles earnlimit the usefulness of the ratings in dis-tinguishing safety differences among ve-hicles.

“We do favor changes,” Lund says,“but at the same time it’s important to rec-ognize NCAP’s success over decades.Auto manufacturers have improved the de-signs of their vehicles. In particular,they’ve improved the restraint systems inmodern cars to earn high NCAP ratings.”Besides NCAP, both the Institute and Con-sumers Union rate vehicle safety, and theratings attract more media attention thanNCAP’s. Institute crash tests routinely arecovered on national news, attracting tensof millions of viewers. About 8 millionpeople subscribe to Consumers Unionpublications, making the flagship Con-sumer Reports a top 10 magazine.

Ratings expand worldwide: Com-parative safety ratings aren’t confined tothe US market. NHTSA’s pioneeringNCAP has spawned similar programs inother countries. These include:

1. EuroNCAP, launched in 1997, isbacked by 7 governments, the EuropeanCommission, and by consumer groups inevery EU country. Ratings are based onoccupant protection in front, side, and poletests. There’s also a test for whiplash in-jury in rear impacts and a set of measuresto compare the damage vehicles inflict onpedestrians in crashes. EuroNCAP booststhe ratings of vehicles with safety belt re-minders, speed limiters, and electronic sta-bility control.

2. Japan’s NCAP, established in 1996and revised in 2001, is a government pro-gram based on front and side tests adoptedfrom both US government and Institutetests. Japan’s side test is conducted at afaster speed than EuroNCAP’s (35 versus30 mph).

3. Launched in 1992, ANCAP in Aus-tralia and New Zealand is sponsored bynational and state governments together

with insurers and other private groups.Current tests are based on the front andside impacts conducted by EuroNCAP.

4. Also launched in 1999 is Korea’sNCAP, sponsored by the Ministry of Con-struction and Transportation. Tests includenot only front, side, and rear configura-tions but also brake and rollover tests.

5. The world’s newest NCAP is inChina, where the basis of the ratings is aregimen of front and side tests. This pro-gram is run by the China AutomotiveTechnology & Research Center, an inde-

It’s a Safety Marketplace and Consumers Are BuyingConsumers are paying at-tention to vehicle safety

A new institute pollshows safety is a high pri-ority among drivers“You need all the safety you can get.” Thisis what a respondent to a 1992 Institutesurvey said when asked about factors thatare important when buying a new car (seeStatus Report, May 23, 1992; on the webat iihs.org). The responses haven’tchanged much since then. Safety still is im-portant. It’s the second most importantfactor, behind only quality/reliability, in boththe 1992 survey and a new one conductedfor the Institute earlier this year.

Eighty-six percent of respondents tothe 2010 survey said safety is a very im-portant consideration. Only 2 percent saidit’s not important.

What’s new this year is the propor-tion of respondents who know about vehi-cle crash tests and safety ratings. Back in1992, only the federal government wassupplying such ratings, but since then theInstitute and others have begun rating vehi-cle safety and attracting extensive media at-tention to the comparative results. So it’snot surprising that more than 3 of every 4respondents to the 2010 survey saidthey’ve seen vehicle safety ratings.

The source of such ratings isn’t up-permost in consumers’ minds. Only 30percent of respondents could name an or-ganization that provides ratings (ConsumerReports was mentioned the most). Only 14percent could name the rating of their pres-ent vehicle. Yet 78 percent said they’d seensafety ratings, mostly on the internet, inmagazines, or on television. Sixty-sevenpercent said such ratings would be veryuseful in purchasing a vehicle or consider-ing what vehicle to own.

These findings are in line with a 2005survey conducted for Euro-NCAP in theCzech Republic, France, Germany, GreatBritain, Italy, Poland, and Portugal. Safetyand reliability were cited as the top factorsin buying a car. Each was deemed impor-tant by 94 percent of EU respondents. Only2 percent said these aren’t important.

Almost half of the EU respondentsoverall, including more than 70 percent inGermany, said they had used or looked forinformation about the crash protection pro-vided by various vehicle makes. The sourceof this information was fairly evenly distrib-uted among car magazines, friends or ac-quaintances, and newspaper or television.

The Institute’s telephone survey of 928licensed drivers 18 and older was conductedin February 2010 by International Commu-nications Research in Pennsylvania. The2005 survey for EuroNCAP was conductedby Market & Opinion Research International.It involved face-to-face interviews as well astelephone polling of more than 900 adults ineach of the 7 EU countries.

The safety ratings published by the institute, consumerreports, and the federal government aren’t in competi-tion. One isn’t better than another. The key for any carbuyer is to look at every available source of safety infor-mation and choose a vehicle with good ratings across theboard. These vehicles are on the market, and buyers arefinding them.

Knowing that consumers factor safety into their decisionsabout which vehicles to buy, auto manufacturers rush toadvertise any safety honor associated with their products.


When you repair a BMW, use theparts that are identical to thoseused in Series production – and justas reliable. Choose Original BMWParts. Because you can’t repair yourreputation.

Original BMW Parts

bmwusa.comYou only get one chance atthe first repair.

Original Thought #78

Original BMW Parts

X6 M 2010

Southern California BMW Centers

BMWof PalmSpringsPalm Springs(760) 324-8314

BMWofRiversideRiverside800-453-4455FAX (951) 352-5760

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

Brecht BMWEscondido(800) 544-4269

CenterBMWSherman Oaks(818) 990-9518

Crevier BMWSanta Ana(714) 835-2025

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

NewCenturyBMW, IncAlhambra(626) 576-2867

Pacific BMWGlendale(800) 283-6601

Savage BMWOntario(800) 241-4269

South BayBMWTorrance(310) 939-7342(310) 939-7343

Sterling BMWNewport Beach(949) 645-8729

Niello BMWSacramento(916) 486-1299

Sonnen BMWSan Rafael(415) 482-2040

Weatherford BMWBerkeley(800) 995-9269

Northern California BMW Centers

pendent group authorized by the govern-ment.

A common characteristic of theseNCAPs and the crash-worthiness evalua-tion programs run by the Institute andConsumers Union is that the tests aren’tpart of any regulatory program. In fact, theidea of these tests conducted primarily forconsumer information is to see which ve-hicles go beyond minimum governmentalrequirements to do a better job of protect-ing their occupants in crashes. For this rea-son, the tests generally are moredemanding than those required to complywith safety regulations established by gov-ernments in the United States and else-where.

Ratings influence automakers: Pro-viding consumer information is the pri-mary, but not the sole, purpose of ratingvehicles for safety. The ratings also pres-sure automakers to manufacture safer cars.As a former Ford executive put it, the rat-ings “provide information we have to ad-dress. Our customers are paying attention.”

The hard evidence that automakersheed the ratings is the overall improve-ment in scores. NCAP was first, com-pelling manufacturers to improve vehiclerestraints. Another example involves theInstitute’s frontal offset crash tests. Whenthe first set of results of this program be-came public in the mid-1990s, poor per-

formers outnumbered good ones (see Sta-tus Report, Dec. 2, 1995; on the web atiihs.org). But this has turned around, andit’s the rare new car design that doesn’tearn a good rating based on the same test.So successful is this program that the In-stitute has looked for ways to get out of thebusiness of frontal offset crash testing al-together (see Status Report, March 29,2006; on the web at iihs.org).

“Everybody who has been rating ve-hicle safety for years has a similar successstory,” Lund says. “The scores improveover time, and sometimes very quickly.This wouldn’t happen over and over againif consumers weren’t paying enough at-tention to the ratings to make automakerstake notice.”

Real-world data complement tests:Besides vehicle ratings based on con-trolled tests, information is available aboutthe onthe-road safety experience of hun-dreds of passenger vehicles. For example,the Institute publishes death rates by vehi-cle make and model (see Status Report,April 19, 2007; on the web at iihs.org).The affiliated Highway Loss Data Institutecompares vehicle loss experience under 6insurance coverages, including 3 related toinjuries. Both the insurance statistics andthe death rates are adjusted for driver ageand other factors that could influence theresults.

“This real-world information com-plements the crash test results. Each kindof information has its strengths,” Lundexplains. “The tests take the driver fac-tor completely out of the comparisonsamong vehicles, focusing on design dif-ferences that influence safety. The real-world results are useful, too, becausethey indicate what’s going on out on theroad. The idea is to pick vehicles withgood test results and good real-world ex-perience, too.”

Future of vehicle safety ratings: Sofar ratings worldwide indicate primarilyvehicle crashworthiness — that is, howwell a vehicle protects its occupants in col-lisions. A couple of years ago the Instituteadded the availability of electronic stabil-ity control to the criteria to earn its highestaward, TOP SAFETY PICK, and the fol-lowing year EuroNCAP began factoringthis feature into its safety ratings.

The addition marks a new directionbecause electronic stability control isn’tabout crashworthiness. It’s designed tohelp drivers maintain control in emergen-cies and avoid crashing in the first place.Thus, more recent ratings of vehicle safetyreflect not only crashworthiness but alsohow well a vehicle can help a driver avoida crash.

This may be the direction of the fu-ture, as more crash avoidance features are


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

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

OOOOOnnnneeee ooooffffff SSSSSoooouuuuttttthhhhhheeeerrrrnnnn CCCCCaaaalllllliiiiiffffffoooorrrrnnnniiiiiaaaa’’’ssss LLLLLaaaarrrrggggggeeeesssstttt CCCCCoooolllllllllllliiiiissssiiiiioooonnnn PPPPPaaaarrrrttttssss IIIIInnnnvvvveeeennnntttttoooorrrriiiiieeeessssOne of Southern California’s Largest Collision Parts Inventories

(866) 665-2365Call DIRECT

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

5

5

210

405

27118

101 170

ROSCOE BLVD.

En Nuys, CA 91406

5

210

170

N

• Over 50,000 parts in stock and ready to ship• We do bulk buying so we can pass the savings on to you• 16 professional parts associates ready to assist you• 20 delivery trucks serving Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Santa Clarita Valley, the

San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas• Ask about our volume discounts• We ship around the U.S. and the world• Online ordering through OEConnection —

Call for details

FORD FLEX ‘10

These days automakers mostly

advertise the crash test ratings of

their safest vehicles, but before

such ratings became ubiquitous

some automakers advertised the

real-world experience of their

cars. For example, General Mo-

tors ran an annual ad toutIng the

better-than-average insurance

loss experience of its product

line. The 1981 ad shown above

ran in more than 330 newspapers

and magazines as part of what

GM described as “a continuing

effort to emphasize the quality” of

its products.

added to cars. Their potential to reducecrashes is huge (see Status Report, April17, 2008; on the web at iihs.org), but thefeatures are relatively new. They aren’t onmost models yet, so their effectivenesshasn’t been quantified. The Institute isworking on this.

“If our evaluations find that some ofthe newer features are reducing crashes,we’ll report this and look to factor it intoour vehicle safety ratings,” Lund prom-ises. Other organizations are headed in thesame direction, seeking to expand theamount and quality of safety informationavailable to consumers worldwide.

Defects Versus Safety RatingsSafety ratings indicate how well a car pro-tects its occupants in a crash, comparedwith other models. The tests on which theratings are based sometimes reveal safetydefects but aren’t designed to do so. Fer-reting out vehicle design defects that jeop-ardize safety and deciding what to doabout them are the work of the NationalHighway Traffic Safety Administration’s(NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation.“If one of our crash tests finds a defect, wereport it to NHTSA. We also tell the auto-maker, who might elect to fix the problemvoluntarily and initiate a recall. If we be-lieve a proposed fix will solve the prob-lem, we report the findings to consumers

and let them know that our published rat-ings apply only to vehicles that have beenfixed. This has happened a number oftimes,” says Institute president AdrianLund.

By the same token, the Institutewould downgrade the crashworthiness rat-ing of a vehicle that isn’t fixed. This virtu-ally never happens, though, becausedisclosure is such a powerful incentive.Automakers usually hurry to fix any prob-lems the Institute uncovers in its tests.Most safety defects aren’t uncovered incrash tests conducted by the Institute orany other group. Most such problems arerevealed by consumers who report prob-lems to NHTSA. The agency monitorscomplaints, looking for trends indicatingthat a serious defect might exist, and thenopens an investigation when a trend indi-cates this step is warranted. NHTSA is au-thorized to order automakers to recallvehicles and make repairs, based on in-vestigations indicating serious safety prob-lems in a vehicle’s design, construction, orperformance.

“Think of crashworthiness ratings asgeneral information about car safety, andthen consult NHTSA about specific safetyrecalls,” Lund concludes. “Make sure avehicle you’re thinking of buying hasn’tbeen recalled or, if it has, the problem hasbeen fixed. Then it should be okay.”


Order Genuine Honda and Acura Partsfrom the following dealerships.from the following dealersh

i

‘09 Acura TSX

rtsrts

‘09 Honda Accord

The Collision Parts that Fit the Best

They’re here to serve yourcollision parts needs!

Acura of SerramonteColma

650-757-2371650-755-8260 Fax

[email protected]

Acura & Honda of the DesertCathedral City

760-770-0828 Honda

760-321-2700 Acura

760-328-2489 Shared FaxM-F 7-6 Honda/Acura

Sat 7-5 Honda

NO. CALIFORNIASO. CALIFORNIA

F. John Azevedo and his wife ShirleyAzevedo, owners of Pacific Auto Sal-vage Inc. in Napa County, CA, met withRep. Mike Thompson (D-S.Helena) onMarch 18. The meeting was in conjunc-tion with the (ARA) Automotive Recy-clers Association Legislation Daysmeeting held in Washington, DC,March 17–19 2010.

During the visit, ARA memberspresented issues that affect the Auto-motive Recycling Industry. The Azeve-dos said they were lucky to have Mr.Thompson and Jonathan Birdsong, hisLegislative Director, speak with themin person; many of the members do notget to see their Representatives, onlystaff. During the visit, Anthony Liv-ingston, Director of Government Af-fairs with ARA, addressed three majorissues: 1) National Motor Vehicle TitleInformation System (NMVTIS); 2) Na-tional Vehicle Mercury Switch Recov-ery Program (NVMSRP); 3) MotorVehicle Owners Right to Repair (HR2057)

“HR2057 is probably the biggestissue for me and my son at Pacific AutoSalvage. My son Willie Azevedo is a li-censed ASE Master Automotive Tech-nician. In order for us to provide aquality part and the solution to our cus-tomer’s transportation needs, we needto be able to accurately test the parts we

provide to our customers. We also needthe vehicle repair information so thatwe can help our customers properly di-agnose their automobile problems,”said Azevedo.

Small auto repair businesses saythat if HR2057 does not pass the inde-pendent auto repair and auto part sup-ply businesses like Pacific AutoSalvage will not have access to the in-formation needed to test and repair cus-tomers’ cars. There will not be anychoice for the consumer, but to taketheir cars back to the dealer. That is nota good solution for the auto industryand the consumers.

“If you can’t afford $5,000 for anew Dodge transmission and buy a re-built one from me for $800, you stillhave to have your car towed to the dealerbefore it will work,” Azevedo said.

CAAuto Recycler Meets with Rep. Thompson in DC on R2R

Left to right, Pacific Auto Salvage owner, F. JohnAzevedo, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-S.Helena),Shirley Azevedo and Jonathan Birdsong lastmonth in Washington D.C.

www.autobodynews.comwww.autobodynews.com

NEWSNEWSNEWSNEWSService, Diagnostic

and MechanicalService, Diagnostic

and Mechanicalcc, g cg cggService, DiagnosticDi iService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticS i o iService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticDService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticS i i o igService, DiagnosticgService, Diagnosticg, DService, DiagnosticDService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticD cccccceeeeee sssaaService, DiagnosticService, Diagnostica tttggg iiinnnnnnaaService, DiagnosticService, Diagnosticaiiiiiirrrvvv ga tSS DService, Diagnostic

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

Mechg

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

MechanicalddandService, Diagnostic

and MechanicalService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticService, DiagnosticService, Diagnostic


Western Edition May 2010CALIFORNIA • NEVADA • ARIZONA

Falling Average Vehicle Product Useby Jim Lang, President, Lang Marketing

The number of cars and light trucks onU.S. roads increased slightly during 2009;while light vehicle aftermarket productsales receded. As a result, average light ve-hicle product volume continued its down-ward trend during 2009, at user-price.

Ten Year Aftermarket ViewProduct use by the average car and lighttruck decreased $13 at user-price between1999 and 2009, with 2009 product volumetotaling just over $360 for the typical lightvehicle on U.S. roads.

Rate Of DeclineAftermarket product consumption per lightvehicle declined at a 0.4% average annualpace between 1999 and 2009, underscor-ing that all aftermarket product gains

across the overall light vehicle marketwere generated by the expanding numberof vehicles on U.S. roads during these tenyears.

Cars Versus Light TrucksAftermarket product consumption by thetypical car is falling faster than is light ve-hicle truck product volume.

While annual product use per passen-ger car in the U.S. declined 16% between1999 and 2009, light truck product use forthe average vehicle climbed nearly 3%over this ten-year span.

Passenger Car Product UseAftermarket product volume by the aver-age passenger car slipped below $275 atuser-price during 2009, much less than thenearly $325 in 1999 product volume percar.

This reflects the increasing average ageof cars in the U.S. and the growing numberof domestic cars twelve years and older.

Generally, consumers perform onlynecessary repairs on older vehicles. Con-sumers are also inclined to purchase econ-omy rather than premium aftermarketcomponents when having repairs done bymechanics or performing DIY work onolder vehicles.

Light Trucks Also Decline in 2009Light trucks averaged $4 less in 2009

products per vehicle than during the previ-ous year.

This annual product decline amonglight trucks is the result of two factors: anaging truck population and a drop in ac-cessory volume, which average muchmore per light truck than for the typicalpassenger car.

Growth Versus DeclineAftermarket product use by the averagelight truck climbed over $12 between 1999and 2009, while product consumption bythe typical car slipped nearly $55 at user-price. At the same time, total light vehicleaftermarket product sales climbed nearly16%, a direct result of the increasing num-ber of light vehicles on U.S. roads andlight truck population growth.

More AnalysisIn-depth analysis of the changing use of af-termarket products for cars and light trucksas well as for all light vehicles is providedin the soon-to-be-released 2011 AAIAFactbook & Lang Aftermarket Annual.

From Aftermarket Insight™ by Jim Lang,President of Lang Marketing Resources,Inc., www.langmarketing.com.

Toyota agreedApril 19 to pay a $16.4 millionfine imposed by the Transportation Depart-ment—the largest ever government penaltyagainst an automaker, and the maximumamount allowed under U.S. law. The fine wasimposed on Toyota for concealing and delay-ing the release of information related to re-cent recalls to fix sticking pedals. Toyotafailed to tell the agency about the ‘stickypedal’ problem for at least four months.”

The Houston Chronicle reported,“The government has linked 52 deaths tocrashes allegedly caused by acceleratorproblems in Toyotas. The recalls have ledto congressional hearings, a criminal in-vestigation by federal prosecutors, dozensof lawsuits and an intense review by theTransportation Department.” A separateinvestigation by the Los Angeles Timeshas indicated that more than 100 deathsmay ultimately be blamed on the defect.

The federal fine “is only narrowly tai-lored for one of the many defects,” con-firms Susan Schroeder, the Orange County(California) DA’s chief of staff, “and it inno way effects our case.” It does not releaseToyota from civil or criminal actions, in-cluding the recently filed lawsuit. The fed-eral court system has consolidated morethan 200 separate lawsuits against Toyota

into one single class-action suit, which willbe heard in a California courtroom.

The Los Angeles Times reports, “In aruling handed down [April 16], the U.S.Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigationallowed more than 100 suits seeking class-action status, as well as at least 50 personalinjury cases, to be adjudicated in a singlefederal courtroom.”

The Detroit Free Press notes, “law-suits began appearing last fall as Toyotainitiated recalls eventually involving about8 million vehicles,” all triggered by claimsthat some Toyota vehicles can acceleratesuddenly, without input from the driver.

The Times put the number at about150 lawsuits, but an AP report on April 21claims the decision “affects more than 200lawsuits against Toyota around the coun-try.” Claims have been filed by ownersseeking “damages from Toyota for injuriesor deaths attributed to instances of suddenacceleration,” as well as some who don’tclaim their Toyotas have been involved inaccidents, but who are suing because theirvehicles have lost value due to the recalls.

Toyota had pushed the courts to con-solidate all of the claims into a single case,according to the Times. The company ar-gued that “the legal process would be best

served if the cases were argued in onecourtroom.”

However, there are risks for Toyota inthis approach. Reuters notes, “Somelawyers estimate Toyota faces potentialcivil liability of more than $10 billion as itstruggles to contain an auto-safety crisisthat has tarnished its public image.” Sucha massive claim will be covered heavily bythe media, and a loss in the lawsuit couldbe devastating to the Japanese automaker.

The major players in the courtoomwill be used to high stakes. The legal teamopposing Toyota, Reuters reports, include“firms with experience ranging from bigtobacco litigation to the Enron Corp bank-ruptcy and claims arising from the ExxonValdez oil spill.” The first hearing in thematter has been set for May 13.

Lexus GX 460 recallToyota said the factors contributing to theLexus GX 460 rollover risk include com-ponents such as 18-inch wheels, as well asheavy components, such as the fuel tank,which is located on the left side. Plus “theleft side is made even heavier because ofthe presence of the driver.”

Toyota also said the activation of thevehicle stability control “may not be suffi-

cient in certain circumstances due to thesetting of the VSC program.

Toyota will update the VSC programto enhance the effectiveness of the VSC sothat the risk of the vehicle sliding, even tothe point that it is almost sideways, will bereduced.

Sienna RecallToyota has issued a recall order for about600,000 Sienna minivans from modelyears 1998 through 2010, in order to cor-rect a defect that could cause the spare tireto fall from beneath the van.

In light of bad publicity from a se-ries of high-profile recalls, the companyhas released details of this recall to themedia unusually quickly—before TheNational Highway Traffic Safety Admin-istration had time to issues a formal re-call order. The New York Times reports,“Toyota said its latest recall covered the1998–2010 model year Siennas withtwo-wheel-drive that have been sold orregistered in 20 cold-climate states andthe District of Columbia. Toyota said rustfrom road salt could cause the carriercable that holds the spare tire to rust andbreak, allowing the tire to tumble into theroad.”

Toyota Fined $16.4M, Will Face Single Sudden Acceleration Lawsuit


New cars with automatic transmissionsmust be equipped with an interlock de-vice that requires the brake pedal bepressed before the driver can shift thetransmission out of “park,” as of Sept.1, 2010.

The National Highway TrafficSafety Administration took the actionin response to a law passed in 2008 de-signed to protect children from vehiclerollaways in which a car is inadver-tently shifted into neutral or anothergear. The new requirement applies toall passenger cars and light trucksweighing 10,000 lbs. or less.

Transmission Anti-RollawayShift Interlocks Now Required

Larry Pacey, president and CEO of Na-tional Performance Warehouse (NPW),has announced that the company is ac-quiring the wholesale operations ofSpeed Warehouse.

The transaction will be completedon April 26th. Speed Warehouse hasbeen in business for more than 60 years.The business was started by Jerry Lightin 1949, selling high-performance partsafter World War II. Speed operates outof three distribution points in Hayward,San Jose, and Tustin, CA.

National Performance Buys SpeedWarehouse of Hayward, CA

In recognition of Earth Day, the Car CareCouncil is encouraging vehicle ownersto consider the new 3 R’s to do their partto protect the environment: Reuse, re-duce and repower. Consumers couldmake a huge environmental contributionand a wise investment by reusing orhanging onto their current vehicles ratherthan buying a new one, by reducingemissions and fuel consumption throughvehicle maintenance and by repoweringa failed engine. This year marks the 40thanniversary of Earth Day.

Last year, eight out of 10 cars failed atleast one component of a national ve-hicle-inspection process, according tothe Car Care Council (carcare.org)

Problems were:● Low, overly full, or dirty engine oilwas found in 27% of cars● Low, leaky, or dirty coolant in the ra-diator or surge tank was identified in26% of cars.● One out of every two belts was un-satisfactory in 51% of cars● 10% of cars required at least onenew hose.

80 Percent of Tested Cars FailInspection Checks

The Automotive Aftermarket SuppliersAssociation (AASA) is working to op-pose provisions in Ohio legislation thatwould bar OEM part sales to non-fran-chised dealers or reimbursements to non-franchised dealers for warranty or recallwork. The two provisions are part ofHouse and Senate bills revising Ohio’smotor vehicle franchise laws. Rep. MattLundy (D-Ohio 57th District) is the spon-sor of HB 364 and Sen. Mark Wagoner(R-Ohio 2nd District) introduced a com-panion bill in the Ohio Senate.

In its March 22 letter to Rep. Lundy,AASA noted, “Aftermarket manufactur-ers are deeply concerned with languagecontained in HB 364 ... We believe thisprovision eliminates consumer choice byrequiring individuals to obtain replace-ment parts only at automobile dealer-ships.” The letter notes that the provisionwould affect both independent repairshops and the DIY market. “The lan-guage restricts the access to originalequipment parts only to auto dealers. Ve-hicle owners would no longer performtheir own maintenance with the parts oftheir choice. Moreover, independent re-pair shops would no longer have accessto the full range of parts that consumersmay need for vehicle repair,” the AASAletter noted.

AASA appealed to Lundy to amendthe provisions.

ASAA Opposing Ohio OEMParts Legislation

The California/Nevada/ArizonaAutomo-tive Wholesalers' Association (CAWA)says that Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer hassigned into law HB 2130 to address a dis-crepancy in battery core sales and de-posits. HB 2130, authored by Rep.Michele Reagan and sponsored on behalfof CAWA, will update the amount of therecycling deposit that retailers can chargeconsumers who purchase automotive bat-teries to an amount that is not greater thanthe recycling deposit charged by batterymanufacturers. The bill increases from $5to not more than $15, the recycling de-posit that a retailer can charge a consumerfor the purchase of a new battery. The de-posit is returned to the consumer upon thereturn of the used battery core. The billalso increases from 30 days to 45 days theamount of time a consumer has to returna used battery core for recycling, in orderto have the recycling deposit returned infull. “CAWAis elated with this victory onbehalf of Arizona automotive parts storesand retailers. Last year we heard from ourretailer members how important this issuewas for them, and as a result, we actedquickly and proactively to address thismonetary discrepancy related to the saleand deposit of automotive batteries,” saidRodney Pierini, CAWA president andCEO. In 1990, legislation was enactedthat prohibits the disposal of automotivebatteries in landfills or by incineration. In

CAWA Battery Core BillNow Law in Arizona

Car Car Council Wants Consumersto Remember Their Three “R’s”


Serving the greater Los Angeles metro

HOURS: M-F 7AM-6PM, SAT 8AM-5PM WWW.GALPIN.COM


Wholesale Hotline

GALPIN WHOLESALE7868 Orion Ave.Van Nuys, CA 91406

5

5

210

405

27118

101 170

ROSCOE BLVD.

N

• 10 Vehicle Lines

• Over 50,000 part numbers in stock & ready to ship

• 16 professional parts associates ready to assist you

• We offer volume discounts on all our productlines—Call to discuss your needs

• 20 delivery trucks serving Simi Valley, ThousandOaks, Santa Clarita Valley, the San FernandoValley and surrounding areas

• Shipping across the U.S. and around the world

• Online ordering through OEConnection - call for details

A One-Stop shop foA One-Stop shop for All Your Mechanical Parts NeedsA One-Stop shop for

Brakes Rotors

Oil Springs

Stereos Wheels

Improve YouImprove Your Profits with GalpinImprove YouImprove Your Profits with Galpin


opolitan area Multi-Million $$ Inventory & 50,000+ Parts in Stock

(818) 778-2090 FAX

or All Your Mechanical Parts NeedsA One-Stop shop for All Your Mechanical Parts NeedsA or All Your Mechanical Parts Needs

Shocks

Exhaust

Struts

Calipers

Sensors

Filters

Multi-Million-Dollar Inventory

Experienced Sales Personnel

Multi-Million-Dollar Inventory

ur Profits with GalpinImprove Your Profits with Galpinur Profits with GalpinImprove Your Profits with Galpin


with Gonzo WeaverGonzo’s Toolbox Excerpted from Scott “Gonzo” Weaver’s Book, “Hey Look! I Found The

Loose Nut”, which provides a Good Laugh for Mechanics of Any Age. Thebook is available at amazon.com. Contact Scott Weaver [email protected] and see his website at www.gonzostoolbox.com.

A referral came in from and old customer.It was an early 90’s Ford pickup that couldhave passed for a clown car. This thing hadevery color of the rainbow on it. Wind-shield was cracked, and the driver side win-dow was hanging sideways. Even the bedof the truck was loaded down with all kindof debris from roofing shingles to oldbusted up lawn furniture. Not to mentionthe interior could use some house cleaning.

These are the type of vehicles I hateto get stuck behind when I’m riding mymotorcycle. You just never know whensomething is going to fly out of the bed ofthe truck and smack into you.

The only reason I even took this pileof junk into the shop was because it was areferral from a regular customer. Normally,if you pull up to the shop in this bad ofshape you better have one hell of a heartbleeding story, or I’ll tell you to get it ondown the road.

Anyway, this beat up old Ford had somany problems. I had to do my best to sortthough what I could. It was hard to start,and when it did start it had a terrible miss.If you tried to drive it even few feet itwould buck and backfire, and eventuallystart to move, but not without a great ef-fort on the motor’s part.

I called our junk collector and toldhim what I had found right off the bat, andthat it needed taken care before we wentany further. The old distributor had such awobble in the shaft that half the time itcouldn’t find the contact points. I thoughtthis was why it was so hard to start, and forthat matter the big backfire. Of course a lotof other things could cause the same prob-lem. But this was so obvious any first yeartech could have spotted the problem.

“So that’s all there is wrong with it?”he asked. “I seriously doubt that. I haven’tchecked it for codes. I haven’t looked at

the transmission or fuel pressure, but thisdistributor has got to go,” I said.

Now it’s a money thing. He told meto go ahead with it, and keep him informedof the results.

After installing the distributor itstarted right up, even sounded pretty good.Before pulling it out onto the road, Ithought I better check those codes. Therewere 2 codes; One for a TPS, and anotherfor the transmission. I called him and toldhim what I found.

Now it’s back to money thing again.“OK, go ahead with the TPS. I don’t thinkthere is anything wrong with the transmis-sion,” he told me. This was like putting thecurse of Murphy on the truck. Somethinghas to go wrong now.

I put the TPS in, and cleared the codes.The engine started great, ran terrific, andsounded surprisingly solid. All the codescleared, and no more really obvious prob-lems (I could have spent days straighteningthings under the hood). It was time to hitthe road. Oh, oh. The truck’s transmissionwas trash. It had all the gears, well, sort of.It would lumber along, drop in and out ofgear, and find a new neutral position whenit had a chance. For the most part the trans-mission was in about as good of shape asthe rest of the truck. Just plain overworked.You might as well put a fork in this one, be-cause it’s done.

Time to make the call. It seems everytime you get this far into one of these neverending repairs it will reach a point whereyou’re not solving one problem at a time,but creating an even bigger one, the finan-cial one. Almost every time this type ofcustomer will go along with what needsdone until he thinks you don’t know whatyou’re doing, and are just out to take theirmoney. Not so! The whole thing comesdown to maintenance. It’s not like every-

thing broke at once. They let it go, then ex-pect a one-fix repair with a discount!.

Like I said, the outcome is a little dif-ferent each time, but the common factor isusually the same. I’m not getting paid forall the work I have completed….onlysome sort of agreed upon amount of the re-pair. This guy took it the extreme. When Icalled him and told him about the trans-mission he didn’t have the money. I ex-pected this. Oh, he didn’t have the moneyfor the repairs we had already done. Whathe was going to try to do was talk me intogiving the truck back to him, and he wouldpay so much each week, because heneeded that truck to get back and forth towork. If he didn’t have a way to get towork he couldn’t pay me. I told him thathe should have thought of that before heagreed to the work that was done, becausethe car doesn’t leave until the bill is paid.That’s when he started in on me. “You’rejust one of those slick-ass talking mechan-ics,” he shouted through the phone.

“Well that might be the case, and Ihave called worse, but we did have anagreed upon bill.” I said. “Oh come onman, I know it didn’t need any of thatwork you did. All it needed was a trans-mission. So I’m not going to pay for any ofit, and I’m picking up my truck today,” hescreamed into the phone.

Now there are two things to keep inmind on this story. One, he originallyagreed to all the repairs as they were gettingdone. And two, he didn’t think there wasanything wrong with the transmission. Ordid I miss something in the conversation?

The screaming on the phone went onfor what seemed like hours. There was nogetting through to him about the agreedupon work, or the conversations we hadabout the additional work to the truck. Orthe fact that I had originally told him about

the amount of items I found wrong withthe truck. I could tell I might as well betalking to the wall.

“OK fella, I can see we’re not goingto get anywhere. You know me being aslick-ass talking mechanic and all; tell mehow much you have and be honest now. IfI agree to accept the amount I’ll put yourtruck out front, and you bring in what cashyou have and I’ll give you the keys. HereI am trying to help you out, and now allyou want to do is change things after thefact. I didn’t want to do this job in the firstplace because of the horrible condition itwas in, but another customer said you werean upstanding guy. So I did the work. Takeyour truck home and do whatever youwant with it, because I don’t need to makea living off someone who doesn’t trust me.Even if the guy who referred you does.

He agreed to this strange arrangement,but he was still mouthing off when he gotto the shop. He walked out to his truck andstarted right up. He came back in the officestill mad as hell, and wanted me to showhim which parts I changed, so he wouldn’tchange the same ones again. I did, and thenhe wanted a receipt for the parts. You canfigure out the rest, he left the same way hecame in. Unfortunately for him, there wasno way to show his manhood with a tiresquealing peel out in the parking lot. Thetransmission doesn’t work that well!

Oh by the way, I do feel sorry for theguy, and wish I could have done more forhim since he was a referral from a goodfriend and customer. The money is very im-portant, but I do need to have some assur-ance that I’m appreciated for what I do.The old customer and I talked about it later.He said he thought the guy was a kind andconscientious guy. He’d never heard a cussword out of him, since he was the janitor athis local church and all. Go figure.

“You’re Just One of Those Slick Talkin’ Mechanics”

BMW Group has Sales Growth of 13.8% In First QuarterThe BMW Group increased sales by 13.8%percent in the first quarter: A total of315,614 (prev. yr. 277,264) BMW, MINIand Rolls-Royce brand automobiles weredelivered to customers worldwide. Thecompany’s sales volumes rose 12.1% inMarch to reach a total of 141,701 (prev. yr.126,381) vehicles. All three brands madestrong gains: Sales of BMW brand vehiclesclimbed 12.7% to 117,696 (prev. yr.104,423) units in the month under review.MINI delivered 23,880 vehicles in March(+9.1%), while Rolls-Royce automobileswere presented to 125 customers (+78.6%)last month. Ian Robertson, member of the

Board of Management of BMW AG, re-sponsible for Sales and Marketing: “We areback on our growth track in nearly all theautomobile markets. We had a good firstquarter with a sales increase of 13.8%. Weintend to continue improving on last year’sfigures throughout the second quarter,thanks not least to the new BMW 5 SeriesSedan and new models such as the 3 SeriesCoupé and Convertible.”

Robertson added: “For 2010 as awhole, we are aiming for healthy growth inthe single-digit percent range to reach morethan 1.3 million vehicles.”

In the United States, the company

posted a 7.4% increase in volumes, withsales of 55,051 (prev. yr. 51,244) vehiclesbetween January and March. Substantial in-creases were also seen in other key markets:For instance, in the United Kingdom salesclimbed 13.8% to 34,327 (prev. yr. 30,165)units; in France sales were up 5.2% to14,462 (prev. yr. 13,745) units; and in Spainsales were 37.4% higher at 10,374 (prev. yr.7,549) units. The BMW Group made gainsin almost all automobile markets in the firstquarter. The company achieved new quar-terly records not only in the emerging BRICcountries of Brazil (+131.2%), Russia(+11.6%), India (+32.5%) and China

(+106.1%), but also in Austria (+23.1%),South Korea (+65.8%) and Malaysia (967 /+14.0%), as well as in the Latin Americanmarkets (4,173 / +71.0% - including Brazil)and the Middle East (3,908 / +13.1%).

Despite the overall downward markettrend, the BMW Group was the only Ger-man manufacturer to also make gains in itslargest single market, Germany, where it ex-panded its market share. With a total of56,617 (prev. yr. 55,837) vehicles sold inthe country in the first three months of theyear, there were 1.4% more new BMW andMINI registrations than in the same periodlast year.


with Tom McGeeALL OEM Information

Tom McGee is National Account Manager for ALLDATA Collision. He has had a long career with I-CAR, in-cluding as President & CEO. Tom is an ASE certified Master Collision Repair/Refinish Technician. He hasalso run his own collision facility and been a career and technical school instructor. He can be reached [email protected]. For other Tom McGee articles in Autobody News, go to:http://www.autobodynews.com/tom-mcgee/index.php — JEFF WEBSTER is an ALLDATA Technical Writer.and Jeffrey Webster

In my April column, I wrote that, as I visitshops, I sometimes hear the same com-ments regarding the need for OE repair in-formation. Among the most common are:

“I’ve been fixing cars since 1960-something and we know how to fix them.”

“They are still cars and nothing is re-ally changing on them.”

“My technicians are great and theyknow how to fix cars.”

So, last month, I started comparing a1965 Ford® Mustang® with the 2008 ver-sion. The point being that fixing today’scomplex cars requires more than experi-ence. New metals and plastics, electronicsystems and reset procedures, hybrid sys-tems and more have changed the way wedo business.

Let’s continue looking at the Mustangto see what has changed over the years andhow those changes affect the collision re-pair process.

Sectioning – Lower Frame RailWhile I looked everywhere I could, I wasnot able to find any sectioning proceduresfor the front lower frame rail on the ‘65.Here is a portion of the 2008 sectioningprocedure:

Always refer to ALLDATA® Colli-sionSM for safety procedures, identificationof material types, recommended refinishmaterials, and removal and installation pro-cedures. Always refer to the vehicle manu-facturer for questions relating to applicableor non-applicable warranty repair informa-tion.

MaterialFront Frame RailWARNING: Frame rail crush zones ab-sorb crash energy during a collision andmust be replaced if damaged. Straightendamaged frame rails to correct frame di-mensions prior to frame member section-

ing. Failure to follow these instructionsmay adversely affect frame rail perform-ance and may result in serious personal in-jury to vehicle occupant(s).

NOTE: Right side shown (Figure 1), Leftside similar.

NOTE: Cut line shown in illustration is ap-proximate, refer to the following proce-dure for specific cut locations.

WARNING: Never install used or recon-ditioned parts (as specified below) frompre-owned, salvaged or damaged vehicles.The use of such parts could lead to seriousinjury.

Never use non-Ford parts or acces-sories for completing repairs.

Ford Motor Company does not ap-prove or recognize body and structural re-pair procedures, tools, parts or anythingbut new genuine Ford equipment. Fordcannot attest to the safety, quality, durabil-ity or legality of non-Ford parts or acces-sories. Use of such parts could lead toserious personal injury as they may con-tain damage which is not visible.Ford does not approve use of the follow-ing:• Salvaged or used parts• Major body clips or assemblies fromsalvage vehicles• Aftermarket structural or body com-ponents• Salvaged or reconditioned wheels• Used supplemental restraint system(SRS) components

- air bags- restraint sys-tem modules- safety belts,buckles or re-

tractors- crash sensors

Returning a vehicle to pre-accident condi-tion can only be assured if repair proce-dures are carried out by skilled techniciansusing new genuine Ford parts and Ford-ap-proved methods. Structural component re-

pair proceduresapproved by Ford,using genuine Fordparts, have been val-idated by FordMotor Company en-gineers.Ford Motor Com-pany does not en-dorse, cannot attestto, and makes norepresentations re-

garding structural repairs (frames, rails,aprons and body panels) carried out usingnon-genuine Ford Motor Company parts ornon-Ford-approved methods. In particular,Ford makes no representations that the ve-hicle will meet any crash safety or anti-cor-rosion performance requirement. Suchparts and methods have not been tested byFord, and may not meet Ford’s require-ments for safety, performance, strength,quality, durability and corrosion protection.

Ford Motor Company bears no re-sponsibility or liability of any kind if re-pairs are performed using alternativestructural component repair proceduresand/or parts.

WARNING: Invisible ultraviolet and in-frared rays emitted in welding can injure un-protected eyes and skin. Always useprotection such as a welder’s helmet withdark-colored filter lenses of the correct den-sity. Electric welding will produce intenseradiation, therefore, filter plate lenses of thedeepest shade providing adequate visibilityare recommended. It is strongly recom-mended that persons working in the weldarea wear flash safety goggles. Also, alwayswear protective cloth-ing. Failure to followthese instructionsmay result in seriouspersonal injury.

WARNING: Al-ways wear protectiveequipment includingeye protection withside shields, and adust mask whensanding or grinding.Failure to followthese instructionsmay result in seriouspersonal injury.

NOTICE: This sectioning procedure is onlyrecommended when collision damagedoes not extend into the front shock towerarea. For more severe collision damage,repairs must be made at the original fac-tory seam and joint locations. Failure tofollow these instructions may compromisethe structural integrity of the vehicle.

NOTE: The following repair procedure il-lustrates the sectioning of the front sidemember and fender reinforcement compo-nents In situations where collision damageis less severe, the sectioning procedure torepair only those damaged componentsmay be determined from these procedures.

1. Position the vehicle on a frame repairrack following the manufacturer’s recom-mendations. Measure the vehicle to deter-mine if the body requires straightening andalignment.

• Remove the front bumper For addi-tional information, refer to Bumpers.2. Remove the engine For additional in-formation, refer to Engine System - Gen-eral Information.3. Remove the suspension components Foradditional information, refer to Front Sus-pension.

NOTICE: The frame rail sectioning instruc-tion kit provides the specific service pro-cedure instructions for replacement of theframe rail sectioning kit. It is mandatorythat the replacement section be installedper the installation guidelines. The framerail service component must be located tomaintain the original factory dimensions.For additional information, refer to Bodyin this section for correct underbody di-mensional information.4. Remove the radiator support assembly.5. Cut off the front apron from the mainpart of the apron, 80.5 mm (3.16 in) for-

ward of the 14 mm (0.55 in) x 20 mm(0.78 in) slot, and remove the remainder ofthe apron (Figure 2).

6. NOTE: Factory spot welds may be sub-stituted with either resistance spot weldsor Metal Inert Gas (MIG) plug welds.Spot/plug welds should equal factorywelds in both location and quantity. Do notplace a new spot weld directly over anoriginal weld location. Plug weld holeshould equal 8 mm (0.31 in) diameter.

NOTE: Refer to welding equipment manu-facturer’s instructions for correct machineset up. Drill out the spot welds in the frontfender apron reinforcement.

It’s Still a Mustang®; But in Name Only – PART 2 of 2

Item Part Number Description1 16055 LH / 16054 RH Frame rail sectioning kit

See Still a Mustang, Page 34


951.785.1612951.352.5760 Fax

BMW of RiversideThere’s no place like it.

Original BMW Parts

bmwusa.com

Over $1 million in inventory - Original BMW PartsPrompt, professional, courteous serviceThree delivery trucks serving the Inland EmpireOrders accepted via fax or email:[email protected]

Wholesale Direct:

3060 Adams St. • Riverside, CA 92504

Controversy Between Homestead, FL, Mayor, Blogger, and Body ShopIn late January, the City of Homestead, FL,contracted A&B Paint & Body Shop at 142SW Fifth Ave, to repair damage to the frontand rear of a city-owned Ford Expeditiondriven by Mayor Steve Bateman. Totalcost: $1,303.86, which the city paid for.The cause of the damage was said to be ashredded rear tire on the SUV.

A local blogger, Francisco Alvarado,deemed the matter highly suspicious sincethe shop’s records indicated that touch upwork was done on the front of the vehicleas well. Alvarado said he had a tip that themayor had been involved in an unreportedcar accident in a city vehicle and that thecity manager was trying to cover it up toprotect his boss, the mayor.

Wrote Alvarado: “Oh, really? Well,those must have been some serious tireshreds that the pieces would not only dam-age the back of the SUV but also propelthemselves forward to bang up the front ofthe vehicle too.”

The city manager’s assistant, MarleneVolkert, provided Alvarado with the fol-lowing account:

There was no “crash.” Mayor StevenBateman and Councilman Jimmie L.Williams were returning to Homestead inthe City-owned Ford Expedition from aFlorida League of Cities, Institute forElected Municipal Officials Conference inGainesville, Florida.

The left-rear tire failed about 100miles from Gainesville while the vehiclewas travelling approximately 70 mph.When the left-rear tire disintegrated, itdamaged the vehicle's bodywork. The ve-hicle was safely driven to a stop withoutimpacting anything. The tire was changedand the vehicle was driven without incidentto Homestead.

According to the city's risk manager,Priscilla Thompson, there are no legal re-quirements to file an accident report for atire blow-out unless that blow-out results inan accident with another vehicle or resultsin incidental property damage external tothe vehicle itself.

Repairs to city vehicles that are dam-aged in such cases are handled without “in-cident” reports.

Alvarado pressed the matter furtherquoting text messages between the mayorand the city manager, saying the dates did-n’t add up: “Marlene Volkert had explainedthe damage occurred as Bateman and a citycouncilman were returning from a trip toOrlando on January 24. Yet text messagesfrom [City manager] Purrinos to Batemanindicated the SUV was banged up threedays earlier. In one of the messages, Purri-nos informs Bateman not to “worry the firehas been put out.”

Now definitive information has beenprovided by the person who should have

been asked first, the body shop owner/man-ager.

Phil Spinella, owner of A&B BodyShop in Homestead, says he can't remem-ber the exact date he put a bid in to repairthe Expedition or when he picked up theSUV from the city's motor pool, but he in-sists the damage he repaired on MayorSteve Bateman's city-issued SUV wascaused by a blown tire.

“There is no question about it,” Spinellasaid via a telephone interview with blogger,Alvarado. “The tire's rubber housing took outthe rear bumper. That's what we billed for.As a courtesy to the city, we also touched upthe front bumper.”

The final word on the saga may havebeen spoken by a responder to the blognamed “Spraygun.” He wrote:

“Tire delamination at highway speedcauses massive damage. The City isprobably a real important customer. Soyou've ordered the matching paint andyou have some left over, what's a busi-ness owner to do? Easy. Prep that frontbumper and let's take care of all thosenicks and scratches while we're at it.Keep a good customer happy by makingvehicle look good as new. (really impor-tant if vehicle is leased) Only question iswhy it is difficult for most journalists tounderstand how small business reallyworks.”

The Independent Glass Association(IGA) and the National WindshieldRepair Association (NWRA) arehosting an expansive seminar sched-ule at their conferences in FortMyers, FL, on May 20–22. This sem-inar schedule will accompany theSpring Auto Glass Show™ and otherspecial conference events. The semi-nars feature a wide array of topicssuch as "Legislative & Standards Up-date," "Internet Marketing: WebsitesThat Produce Results," and "Steeringand Grass Roots Initiatives."

Scott Orth of Scott Orth Inc. willpresent "Internet Marketing: Web-sites That Produce Results." Orth willaddress how companies can use theInternet to grow their businesses.

Collision industry representativeWade Ebert will be joining the IGA todiscuss "Freedom of Choice: Fromthe Auto Body Perspective." Ebert,who is widely respected in the autobody industry, will share with atten-dees his experiences and what's helearned in his battle for freedom ofchoice.

The NWRA will be featuring aseminar entitled "Windshield RepairMarketing Tips," presented byNWRA member Corbin Archer ofTechnaGlass Inc.

IGA/NWRA ConferencesSeminars in Ft. Myers, FL

At the company's recent annual meeting,PPG Industries’ Chairman and CEOCharles Bunch reviewed steps the com-pany took in 2009 to respond to the globalfinancial crisis that began at the in 2008and continued through 2009.

“The strategic vision we have estab-lished is to continue to be the world’sleading coatings and specialty productscompany,” Bunch said. “We have contin-ued to make progress toward achievingthat vision. Yet, in 2009, we were clearlychallenged with an uncertain and difficultglobal economy. At PPG, we respondedquickly and decisively.”

Bunch said that during 2009, PPGshifted its priorities to respond to the dif-ficult economic conditions.

“We placed greater emphasis on op-erating discipline. We worked on restor-ing margin leadership, especially in thecoatings industry. We focused more onprofitability than pure growth. We tooksteps to improve our cost structure, andwe worked to leverage our global tech-nological and manufacturing capabilitiesto the most efficient use of the entire com-pany. We keyed in on costs, margins,working capital and cash flow,” he said.Bunch also noted two restructuring ini-tiatives—one announced in September2008 and one in March 2009 – that are

expected to result in approximately $250million in annual cost savings once com-pleted.

“In addition to our cost-cuttingmeasures,” Bunch said, “PPG benefitedfrom actions it has taken over the pastseveral years to grow the coatings and op-tical and specialty material componentsof our portfolio.” He said that the propor-tion of PPG’s sales in these businesseshas grown substantially over the past fewyears. “These businesses saw continu-ously improving positive momentumthroughout the year, and by the end of2009 were delivering higher year-over-year earnings,” he said.

Bunch commented that the companyalso benefited from efforts to broaden thegeographic reach of its business, andspecifically its expanding footprint in theAsia/Pacific region, which posted recordearnings for the year and now representsabout 15 percent of the company. “Over-all, our efforts to transform PPG haveserved us well in this downturn,” Bunchsaid. In 2009, PPG posted sales of $12.2billion, a decrease of about 23 percentversus the prior year. This was largely at-tributable to the contraction of demand inmany of PPG’s key end-use markets,which in turn was driven by the global re-cession.

PPG Chairman Charles Bunch Reports on New Strategy


ARIZONAMark KiaScottsdale

(480) 425-5318Watts Line (866) 800-6045

(480) 663-7503 FaxM-F 7:30am - 6:00pm, Sat 8:00am - 4:00pm

Local & Out of State Delivery

Salazar KiaAvondale

(800) 876-5199(623) 643-9609 Fax

www.crawfordeals.comM, W, F 7:00am - 6:00pmT, Th 7:00am - 9:00pmSat 8:00am - 5:00pm

Local & Out of State Delivery

Tempe KiaTempe

(480) 603-2587(480) 603-2597 [email protected] 7:00am - 6:00pmE-mail orders welcome!

NO. CALIFORNIAElk Grove Kia

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

www.elkgrovekia.com

San Leandro KiaSan Leandro

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

SO. CALIFORNIACar Pros Kia

CarsonToll Free (800) 553-0940Parts Direct (310) 221-9101

(310) 816-9811 Parts Fax#1 Wholesale DealerServing So. California

Citrus KiaOntario

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

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

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

First KiaSimi Valley

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

Ask for David or Julio

Fullerton KiaFullerton

(714) 871-6300(714) 738-0665 Fax

Kearny Pearson KiaSan Diego

(800) 635-6669(858) 560-5033(858) 560-9648 Fax

Largest wholesaler in San Diegowith 17 delivery trucks

Kia of El MonteEl Monte

(626) 450-0500(626) 443-9800 FaxM-F 7:30am - 6pmSat 7:30am - 3pm

www.kiaofelmonte.com

Precise fit and finish, easy instal-

lation and a limited warranty

direct from KIA — all genuine

advantages of genuine KIA

parts.Your local KIA retailer

has all the parts you need.

7. Drill out the spot welds attaching theshock tower to the apron panel, and theapron to the lower rail.• Dress all spot weld surfaces.8. Chamfer inner and outer side member cut-line surfaces to improve butt weld surfaces.9. Measure 12.5 mm (0.49 in) rearward

from the lower rail cutline. Drill seven 8mm (0.31 in) holes in the insert overlaparea flange (Figure 3).10. Transcribe the inner front side membercutline to the new lower side member, cutto length and chamfer the bull end to im-prove the weld surface.11. Construct an insert from the unusedinner side member material (Figure 4).12. Measure 12.5 mm (0.49 in) forwardfrom the lower rail cutline. Drill nine 8mm (0.31 in) holes in the new lower side

member for attachment of the insert (Fig-ure 5).13. Apply corrosion protection to the re-pair areas on the vehicle and service parts(Figure 6).14. Position the insert to the new lowerside member, clamp and check fit andalignment MIG plug weld 9 holes.15. Measure underbody to verify correctdimensions. For additional information,refer to Body for dimensional information.

16. Position the new radia-tor support assembly, apronpanel, rail assembly, frontfender lower reinforcementand front fender upper re-inforcement (Figure 7).• MIG plug weld allholes.17. Fusion weld the frontfender upper and lower re-inforcements to the front

fender apron, front fender apron to the ra-diator support and the seam between theold and the new side members.• Dress all welds.18. Install the engine. For additional infor-mation, refer to Engine System-GeneralInformation.19. Install the suspension components. Foradditional information, refer to Front Sus-pension.Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)As near as I can tell, the ‘65 Mustang came

equipped with bias-ply tires.You had to provide yourown pressure gauge to de-termine the air pressure inthe tires. Today we have tirepressure monitoring sys-tems. Here is the procedureto reset the TPMS on the2008 Mustang:

NOTE: If the vehicle hasbeen stationary for morethan 30 minutes the sensorswill go into a “sleep mode”to conserve battery power.It will be necessary to wakethem up so they will transmit the latest tirepressure information to the Smart JunctionBox (SJB).NOTE: The tire pressure sensor trainingprocedure must be done on a single vehiclein an area without radio frequency noise

and at least 1 m (3 ft) away from other ve-hicles equipped with a Tire Pressure Mon-itoring System (TPMS).

Radio frequency noise is generated byelectrical motors and appliance operationcellular telephones remote transmitters,power inverters and portable entertainmentequipment.

NOTE: If a sensor does not respond to theTire Pressure Monitor Acti-vation Tool attempt to acti-vate the same sensor withthe Tire Pressure MonitorActivation Tool. If the sen-sor still does not respondmove the vehicle to rotatethe wheels at least one-fourth of a turn and attempt

to activate the same sensor again.NOTE: The SJB has a 2-minute time limit


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

OOnnee oofff SSoouutthhheerrnn CCaallliiifffoorrnniiiaa’ss LLaarrgggeesstt CCoolllllliiissiiioonn PPaarrttss IInnvveennttoorriiieessOne of Southern California’s Largest Collision Parts Inventories


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

5

5

210

405

27118

101 170

ROSCOE BLVD.

ENuys, CA 91406

5

210

170

N

• Over 50,000 parts in stock and ready to ship• We do bulk buying so we can pass the savings on to you• 16 professional parts associates ready to assist you• 20 delivery trucks serving Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Santa Clarita Valley, the San

Fernando Valley and surrounding areas• Ask about our volume discounts• We ship around the U.S. and the world• Online ordering through OEConnection —

Call for details

HONDA ACCORD ‘10


Still a Mustang

See Still a Mustang, Page 37


Car West Auto Body has six locations inNorthern California fixing approximately1,200 cars monthly combined, but thecompany’s prize gem is its 52,000-squarefoot shop in Fremont, CA. The facility em-ploys 35 people and contains approxi-mately $1.8 million in equipment alone,making it one of the largest body shops inthe entire Bay Area.

They call it Car West Elite Auto Body,and tout it as a premium auto body shop—and when people see it for the very firsttime, it’s hard to disagree.

It’s an enormous undertaking withthousands of moving parts, but CraigMoe, the president of Car West Auto Body,is reporting respectable numbers from hisFremont location after just one year in ex-istence. Many people said Moe was crazyfor opening a big shop in April ‘09 in themidst of a deep recession, but it now lookslike a sage move, because the Fremont fa-cility is fixing 175 cars per month andadding more all the time.

“We figured it would take us at least ayear to get ramped up to where we we’remaking money and we’ve done that,” Moetold Autobody News.

“For the first couple of months, wewere doing 35–50 vehicles per month andnow we’re just under 200. We’ve alreadyreached its minimum capacity to makemoney, so it’s worked out very well. It’snot like we came here thinking we’d haveto start all over. We knew we were going toget a fair amount of business at the start,because we had been doing all the colli-sion work for Magnusssen’s Lexus of Fre-mont out of our Dublin location. We wererunning the Dublin shop 24/7, so it waslogical to move that work to Fremontwhen we opened.”

Shop Manager Brian Hobaughbrought his key employees from Dublin towork at their Fremont shop so that theycould hit the ground running when itopened. “We took most of the top peoplefrom our Dublin facility so that we couldimmediately start servicing the Mag-

nussen’s Lexus located in the FremontAuto Mall. The entire purpose of buildingthis shop was to be closer to the dealership.The transition has worked well and we’repleased with the results. The service toMagnussen’s was uninterrupted and fairlyseamless, which was our goal.”

In the meantime, Car West’s Dublinfacility has re-ramped up their volumequickly through targeted marketing and byreaching out to the area. “We’ve extendedour market reach in Dublin now by addingmore and insurance DRPs and we’re alsogetting a lot of referral business from thedealerships in the area. We have Dublinback to where it was before we opened thefacility in Fremont.”

Hobaugh is enthused about the resultshe’s seen within just one year of operationat the company’s Fremont mega-shop, heexplained. “Craig essentially said, ‘we’llbuild it and they’ll come’and it’s worked outthat way. Once people see this shop, theywant to work with us. It speaks for itself.”

Car West Elite is Moe’s dream shop,containing all of the bells and whistles hebegan to envision many years ago. “Thisis my first opportunity to build a shop fromthe ground up, so to speak. We had a shell,but when it came to the complete layout—the overall design, the equipment we putinto it and exactly how it was going to beset up—including the lean processes andeverything—we did it all from scratch. Webasically started with a blank piece ofpaper and we didn’t want to make any mis-takes.

Moe traveled throughout the state tolook at other cutting-edge shops before de-signing his own, he said. “We lookedclosely at some of the top body shops inCalifornia and researched all of the bestequipment. Then, we had many, manymeetings with employees and vendors.The worst thing you can do is build some-

thing without everybody’s input. We madesure that everyone contributed feedback,from the technicians, mechanics, paintersand management. And I believe we dideverything right. I think we nailed it.”

By implementing a production systemwhere techs work in teams and help eachother when needed, Car West Elite is op-erating smoothly, hitting their cycle timesand putting out the type of quality they’realways thriving for, Moe said.“The shop is very efficient. We wanted tocreate a facility where our customerswould always want to bring their cars here.We wanted to carry the same high-endlook and approach throughout the entireshop. I’ve seen some impressive shopswhere the front end of the facility is reallynice, but when you get into the actual shopitself, that’s where they try to save money.We didn’t cut back in any aspect of thisshop and it’s paid off.”

To get their name out there, Car WestAuto Body showcases their Fremont shop

whenever they can. “Part of our marketinginvolves using the shop for meetings,luncheons and training sessions for insur-ance companies, I-CAR classes, and forequipment vendors to promote the facilityand the industry as a whole. We’ll do what-ever it takes to get exposure for this shopand to get people to see what we’ve done,”Moe said.

What will the immediate future looklike for Car West?

“Things will get better,” Moe said.“From what I’ve seen, we’ve already hitthe bottom of this recession, so we’re ex-cited about growing and pushing to capac-ity. We’re doing only 25% of what thisshop can produce. Our goal is 700 cars permonth and I believe we can get there.”

To feed their plus-sized shop, CarWest Elite has added several insuranceDRPs and local car dealerships in the Fre-

mont area to their list of customers. “We’readding DRPs and we have several more inthe works. We’re very close to the Fre-mont Auto Mall and we’ve always beenworking with Magnussen’s Lexus, butwe’ve now also added Fremont Chevroletand are now working Jaguar, Volvo, Nis-san, and Land Rover—all from the AutoMall,” Moe said.

Being a multi-shop operation (MSO)has helped Car West Auto Body in acquir-ing insurance business, Moe said. “It’s amodel that many insurance companies pre-fer, I believe,” he said. “They want onepoint of contact with a company like ours,so that if there are any changes to their pro-gram or administrative procedures theyneed to deal with, they don’t have to callsix different people. It’s convenient and theinsurance companies are leaning towardthat model more and more.”

Moe also thinks the number of bodyshops in the Bay Area will shrink consid-erably more within the next year, he said.“We’ve seen a lot of car dealerships closewithin the last 18 months, so it logicallymeans that more body shops could closetheir doors as well. There are shops outthere right now that are probably out ofbusiness, but they just don’t know it orhaven’t admitted it yet. The problem in thisbusiness is that you have to keep investingin newest equipment and adapting to serv-icing the insurance companies the bestway you can. We decided a long time agoto gear our key performance indicators(KPIs) toward dealing with the insurancecompanies. They’re always looking at ourcycle times, days and hours touch time andcustomer satisfaction numbers, so we’respecifically gearing ourselves to what theinsurance companies are looking for.”

Car West Elite Auto Body4311 Solar WayFremont, California 94538(510) 657-3300Shop Manager Brian Hobaugh52,000-sqaure-foot facility

Car West Elite Hits its Numbers After One Year in Businesswith Ed Attanasio

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

Car West Elite Auto Body operates from a huge fa-cility in Fremont, Calif.

Body techs work in teams and support each other within the production system imple-mented at Car West Elite Auto Body.

Car West Elite prides itself on a high profile recep-tion area that impresses customers and vendorsalike.

between sensor responses. If the SJB doesnot recognize any 1 of the 4 tire pressuresensors during this time limit, the horn willsound twice and the message center (if

equipped) will display TIRE NOTTRAINED REPEAT and the entire proce-dure must be repeated.

NOTE: For vehicles with different front andrear tire pressures (such as the E-Series andcertain F-Series), the tire pressure sensorsmust be trained following a tire rotation.Failure to train the sensors will cause theTPMS indicator to illuminate. For vehicleswith the same tire pressure for front and reartires, tire rotation will not affect the system.

1. Turn the ignition switch to the OFF posi-tion, then press and release the brake pedal.2. Cycle the ignition switch from the OFFposition to the RUN position 3 times, end-ing in the RUN position.3. Press and release the brake pedal.4. Turn the ignition switch to the OFF po-sition.

5. Turn the ignition switch from theOFF position to the RUN position 3times, ending in the RUN position.

The horn will sound once and theTPMS indicator will flash if thetraining mode has been entered suc-cessfully. If equipped, the messagecenter will display TRAIN LFTIRE.6. NOTE: It may take up to 6 secondsto activate a tire pressure sensor.During this time, the Tire PressureMonitor Activation Tool must remainin place at the valve stem.

Place the Tire Pressure Monitor ActivationTool on the LF tire sidewall at the valvestem. Press and release the test button onthe Tire Pressure Monitor Activation Tool.The horn will sound briefly to indicate thatthe tire pressure sensor has been recog-nized by the SJB.7. Within 2 minutes of the horn sounding,place the Tire Pressure Monitor ActivationTool on the RF tire sidewall at the valvestem and press and release the test buttonto train the RF tire pressure sensor.

8. NOTE: Do not wait more than 2 minutesbetween training each sensor or the SJBwill time out and the entire procedure mustbe repeated.Repeat Step 7 for the RR and LR tires.

The procedure is completed after thelast tire has been trained. When the train-ing procedure is complete the messagecenter (if equipped) will display TIRETRAINING COMPLETE.

For vehicles notequipped with a messagecenter successful comple-tion of the training proce-dure will be verified byturning the ignition switchto the OFF position withoutthe horn sounding. If thehorn sounds twice when theswitch is turned to the OFFposition the training proce-dure was not successful.9. Using the scan tool locate the updatedTPMS sensor identifiers trained to the SJBand document them.10. NOTE: This step is required to clearDTC C2780 cause the SJB to exit the man-ufacturing mode and to make sure thereare no other concerns with a newly pro-grammed SJB.

If the sensors are being trained due tothe installation of a new SJB clear anyDTCs and carry out the SJB On-DemandSelf Test.

It’s still a Mustang, but it has definitelychanged since the 60’sThere have definitely been changes in thisvehicle since the ‘60’s. And we haven’teven touched the diagnostic trouble codes,changes in the drivetrain, or even the num-ber of exterior colors available. We mighthave been able to set the points and timingon the ‘65 without OE technical informa-

tion, but you cannot work by memory ontoday’s version of the Mustang, or anyother vehicle for that matter. You definitelyneed the proper OE technical information.

©2010 ALLDATA LLC. All rights re-served. All technical information, imagesand specifications are from ALLDATACollision. ALLDATA is a registered trade-mark and ALLDATA Collision is a markof ALLDATA LLC. All other brand namesand marks are the property of their respec-tive holders.


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

Weatherford BMWOriginal BMW Parts

Weatherford BMW

www.weatherfordbmw.com(800) 995-9269

Over $1 million parts inventoryExtremely Knowledgeable Parts CrewService When You Need ItAt Weatherford BMW we are 100% committedto your complete satisfaction

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

Toll Free:Toll Free:

[email protected]

Original BMW Parts and Accessories


Still a Mustang

San Diego, Brea, LA County, and RialtoNeighborhoods to gain health, environ-mental, and economic benefits

The U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) has announced $1,542,085million in brownfields grants to the South-ern California communities of San Diego,Brea, LA County, and Rialto, all receivingfunding through the Brownfields Assess-ment, Revolving Loan Fund, and CleanupGrants program.

Across the nation, nearly $80 millionin brownfields grants will be used for theassessment, cleanup and redevelopment ofbrownfields properties, including aban-doned gas stations, old textile mills, closedsmelters, and other abandoned industrialand commercial properties.

“Cleaning up and reusing distressedproperties brings new jobs and strongercommunities,” said Jared Blumenfeld, Re-gional Administrator for EPA in the PacificSouthwest. “In addition to creating greenjobs, local efforts to revitalize brownfieldsites reduce threats to public health whileattracting positive investments in ourneighborhoods.”

Brownfields grants in Southern Cali-fornia will be distributed as follows:

San DiegoAssessment Grants$200,000 for hazardous substances$200,000 for petroleum

EPA has selected the City of SanDiego Redevelopment Agency for twobrownfields assessment grants. Commu-nity-wide hazardous substances grantfunds will be used to inventory and prior-itize sites and conduct 12 to 15 Phase I andfour or five Phase II environmental site as-sessments. Grant funds also will be usedfor cleanup planning and community out-reach activities. Petroleum grant funds willbe used to perform the same tasks at siteswith potential petroleum contamination.

City of Brea$141,085 for hazardous substances

EPA has selected the City of Brea for abrownfields assessment grant. Site-specifichazardous substances grant funds will beused to perform a Phase II environmentalsite assessment of the Brea “Rails to Trails”project site - Union Pacific Railroad portionlocated between State College and BreaBoulevards. Grant funds also will be usedto support community outreach activities.

Los Angeles County$200,000 for hazardous substances$200,000 for petroleum

EPA has selected Los Angeles Countyfor two brownfields assessment grants,

$200,000 for hazardous substances and$200,000 for petroleum. Community-widehazardous substances grant funds will beused to inventory brownfield sites in thetargeted unincorporated areas of East LosAngeles, and conduct 15 Phase I environ-mental site assessments and Phase II envi-ronmental site assessments at high-prioritysites. Grant funds also will be used to sup-port community outreach activities. Petro-leum grant funds will be used to conductthe same tasks at sites with potential pe-troleum contamination.

RialtoAssessment Grants$200,000 for hazardous substances$200,000 for petroleumCleanup Grant$200,000 for hazardous substances

The Redevelopment Agency of theCity of Rialto was selected to receive twobrownfields assessment grants and a brown-fields cleanup grant. At one time, the citywas home to seven citrus packing plants thatshipped to all regions of the country. Today,this area contains many brownfields. Thetarget areas contain 47 underground storagetank sites, 18 of which are leaking. Brown-field assessments will clarify the threatsposed by the sites to human health and theenvironment, and are expected to help cat-alyze cleanup and redevelopment.

The brownfields program encouragesredevelopment of America’s estimated450,000 abandoned and contaminatedwaste sites. As of March 2010, EPA’sbrownfields assistance has leveraged morethan $14 billion in cleanup and redevelop-ment funding, and 61,277 jobs in cleanup,construction, and redevelopment.

These investments and jobs targetlocal, under-served and economically dis-advantaged neighborhoods – places whereenvironmental cleanups and new jobs aremost needed. Cleaning up our communitiesis one of EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jack-son’s priorities, which leads not only tohealth and environmental benefits but alsoeconomic development and prosperity.

In total, EPA is selecting 304 grantsthrough the Brownfields Assessment, Re-volving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grantsprograms:

● 188 assessment grants, totaling $42.56million, will conduct site assessment andplanning for cleanup at one or morebrownfields sites as part of a community-wide effort.● 17 revolving loan fund grants, totaling$17 million, will provide loans and sub-grants for communities to begin cleanupactivities at brownfields sites. Revolvingloan funds are generally used to provide

low interest loans for brownfieldscleanups.● 99 cleanup grants, totaling $19.36 mil-lion, will provide funding for grant recipi-ents to carryout cleanup activities atbrownfield sites they own.

Since the beginning of the brownfieldsprogram in 1995, EPA has awarded 1,702assessment grants totaling $401 million,262 revolving loan fund grants totalingmore than $256.7 million, and 655 cleanupgrants totaling $129.4 million. As part ofAdministrator Jackson’s commitment tothis program, the 2011 proposed budget in-cludes an increase of $215 million forbrownfields with a focus on planning,cleanup, job training and redevelopment.

In 2002, the Small Business LiabilityRelief and Brownfields Revitalization Actwas passed. The brownfields law ex-panded the definition of what is considereda brownfield, so communities may nowfocus on mine-scarred lands, sites contam-inated by petroleum, or sites contaminatedas a result of manufacturing and distribu-tion of illegal drugs (e.g. meth labs).

More information on EPA’s brown-fields program, success stories, and FY2010 grant recipients:http://www.epa.gov/brownfields


Your Source for Wholesale Volvo PartsRight Part. Right Price. Right Now.

Trust your order to the collision parts specialists at these fine Dealers:

S80 ‘10

volvo Genuine parts

No.California

Carlsen VolvoPALO ALTO

650-493-3205800-70-VOLVOwww.carlsenvolvo.com

Sanderson Volvo of PhoenixGLENDALE

888-249-3673623-842-8799 [email protected]

Galpin VolvoVAN NUYS

818-778-2005818-778-2090 Fax

www.galpin.com

So.California

Arizona

U.S. EPA Provides $1.5M to Clean Up ContaminatedProperties in California

The Automotive Service Association(ASA) has extended the registrationdeadline for the ASA 'Taking the Hill'Fly-In and Automotive ManagementInstitute (AMI) Leadership Confer-ence to be held May 11–12 in Wash-ington, D.C. The deadline has beenextended to Wednesday, May 5.Event details and an online registra-tion form are available at www.Tak-ingTheHill.com. Travel and hotelaccommodations are the responsibil-ity of each participant.

The ASA Fly-In will address thekey issues facing both collision- andmechanical-repair professionals, andallow members to meet face-to-facewith policymakers on The Hill. TheAMI Leadership Conference sessionsscheduled for May 11 will allow at-tendees to participate in two three-hour workshops focusing on ethicalleadership. The workshops are de-signed to enhance attendees' businessand personal success.

For additional information aboutASA, including past news releases, goto www.ASAshop.org, or visit ASA'slegislative Web site at www.TakingTh-eHill.com. The Web site contains con-ference times, travel suggestions and adownloadable flier about the event.

ASA ‘Taking the Hill’ Fly-inConference Update


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

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

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

3940 Cherry Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807

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

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

Free

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

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

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

Free

Fax 562-426-3550

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

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

Orange County — Irvine to Brea

[email protected]

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

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

Orange County — Irvine to Brea

[email protected]

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

Forester ‘10

Passat CC ‘10

The Car Care Council and CalRecyclehave partnered to promote California’snew Tire Sustainability Program – “JustCheck It” – to inform consumers about thebenefits of tire inflation and maintenance.

CalRecycle kicked-off the educationcampaign at a special event at the StateCapitol Southeast Parklands in SacramentoonApril 22, coinciding with Earth Day andNational Car Care Month. State legislators,consumers and the media are invited to at-tend the event. The California Air Re-sources Board(CARB), the Bu-reau of Auto Re-pair (BAR),AAAof Northern Cali-fornia and otherstate agencies andindustry and environmental groups exhib-ited and participated along with the CarCare Council.

“Working with CalRecycle on itspublic awareness outreach is a natural fitfor the Council’s ‘Be Car Care Aware’consumer education campaign,” saidRich White, executive director. “Propertire inflation and care is a key mainte-nance message echoed by the Councilfor improved vehicle fuel efficiency,safety and extended tire life.”

“Now more than ever, Californiansare looking for simple ways to save money

and live green,” said CalRecycle ActingDirector Margo Reid Brown. “Checkingtire pressure once a month takes just a fewshort minutes and delivers many lastingbenefits, including better performance, im-proved fuel efficiency and longer lastingtires, which saves money while helping toprotect the environment.”

About the Car Care Council:The Car Care Council is the source of in-formation for the “Be Car Care Aware”

consumer educationcampaign pro-moting the bene-fits of regularvehicle care,

maintenance andrepair to con-

sumers. For a copy of the council’s CarCare Guide or for more information, visitwww.carcare.org.

About CalRecycle:CalRecycle is the state’s leading author-ity on recycling, waste reduction, andproduct reuse. CalRecycle plays an im-portant role in the stewardship of Cali-fornia’s vast resources and promotesinnovation in technology to encourageeconomic and environmental sustain-ability. For more information, visitwww.calrecycle.ca.gov.

California Tire Sustainability Program “Just Check It”

The California Autobody Association(CAA) has combined two chapters tomake a new chapter called the CAA Val-ley/Ventura Chapter. Their first meetingfor 2010 was a huge success with over 200people in attendance. It was held on March

24th at the Odyssey Restaurant in GranadaHills. The speakers were the EEEC AutoBody Inspection Task Force. If you wouldlike more information about this chapterplease contact Cindy Shillito the So CalCAA rep at [email protected].

CAA Combines Two Chapters To Make Valley/Ventura Chapter

CAA Valley/Ventura 2010 Board Members (left to right standing):Jim Marko (President); Gary White (Chapter Board Rep); Joe Pellegrino; Marsh Gluchow;Jeff Stevens; Mitch Shenkin; Kyle Huckman; Jay Flor; Kyle Sabie; (kneeling): Mark D’An-gelo; Adam Belsky (Secretary); Paula Chipman (Treasurer) is missing from photo


Autobody News WebsiteAutobody News WebsiteAutobody News WebsiteSee the NEW


to the industry that there has to be more thanjust selling these parts. I hope that after I getsome legal counsel on this, I can come backto you and show you more of what I didfind. Some (of the non-OEM parts) are verygood. And I was prepared to tell you aboutthat.”

What may have provoked alarm in themarket was that Chess was preparing topresent his results on a series of tests onOEM and aftermarket hoods. In part, Chesshad intended to point out that a particularreplacement hood for an ‘09 Corolla, whichwas CAPA-certified, had tested very closeto the OEM control in his analysis. Ofcourse, this information was not relayed tothe attendees.

Without confirming or denying it wasthe source of threatened legal action against

Chess, LKQ Corporation, following theCIC meeting issued a written statementabout Chess’ presentations (see sidebarabove), including the one last November inwhich he used a firefighter’s extrication sawto show it was easier to cut through themetal used to make a particular non-OEMbumper bar being sold as a replacement foran OEM part made from ultra-high-strengthsteel.

In its statement, LKQ Corporation saidit tried to replicate such a test and found“the saw [also] cut through the OE rebarwith relative ease, “raising concerns that“there is a lot of misinformation beingspread.”

The company pointed to crash testingit did that it says showed both an OEM andnon-OEM bumper passed federal safetystandards for passenger protection.

A number of CIC participants in At-lanta after Chess’ announcement expressedoutrage that legal threats would be used to

prevent a presentation and open discussionat the meeting.

Speaking as a past CIC Chairman,Chuck Sulkala said this was the firstsuch incident he was aware of in CIC’snearly 30-year history. He said Chess wasmerely raising awareness of issues thathad been discussed for decades, and com-mended parts suppliers for finally takingaction in the months since Chess’ previ-ous presentations to address traceabilityof the parts.

“To have something stopped becauseof a potential lawsuit is shooting the mes-senger,” Sulkala said. “The day of stoppingdiscussions at CIC because of a legal issuehas got to come to an end. It should neverhave come to be in the first place.”

Industry consultant John Bosin, whochairs the CIC Parts Committee, also calledsuch a threat of legal action “reprehensible”and told Chess he would help start a legaldefense fund if necessary.

“Whomever has initiated this (threatof) legal action passed up the opportunityto use this as the forum it is, to express theirviews,” Bosin said.

“We would have been open. We maynot have liked what we heard, but theycould have come here. They were wel-come. Whoever it is, why aren’t they heretalking about the issue and telling us whattheir concerns are and explaining their ac-tions.”

CIC Chairman and Collision Weekpublisher Russ Thrall assured CIC atten-dees he would “figure a way through thisto make sure the things that need to be saidget said.” Like Bosin, he said CIC’s mis-sion is to serve as an open forum for theindustry.

“If there’s a presentation up herethat you find uncomfortable or you feelis wrong, that’s why the microphones(throughout the room) exist,” Thrallsaid.


Threat of Lawsuit

In a media-oriented demonstration or-ganized by the Collision Repair Associa-tion of California (CRA), AutobodyNews’ columnists CRA President LeeAmaradio (left in photo) and IndustryTrainer Toby Chess (using saw) werefeatured on ABC TV news replicatingChess’ earlier demonstration of softersteel in certain aftermarket parts vshigher-strength steel in OEM bumper re-inforcements.

In the photo Lee Amaradio steadies anaftermarket reinforcement bar for TobyChess who saws through it in a pressdemonstration of the apparent differencebetween OEM and an unspecified type ofaftermarket reinforcement bar. The sawhardly scratched the OEM part (see videoat www.autobodynews.com) yet cut thisparticular aftermarket part with apparentease.

Attending the April 8 demonstrationin Sacramento was California State As-semblymanDave Jones, (flanked by Ama-radio (l) and Chess (r) in the photoadjacent) who said he wants claimants no-tified if they had their vehicles repairedwith any aftermarket bumper bar. Jonessaid he wants insurers to stop requiring theuse of aftermarket rebars.

Jones released the following state-ment on April 9:

“Unbeknownst to mostCalifornians, for manyyears inferior aftermar-ket parts have been in-stalled in their carswhen they are repairedas part of an insuranceclaim after a collision.These substandardparts can affect thesafety and performanceof the vehicle in a fu-ture collision and posea serious risk to anyoneon California roads andhighways.

California law re-quires that aftermarketreplacement crash partsonly be used in the re-

pair of an automobile if “the parts are atleast equal to the original equipment man-ufacturer parts in terms of kind, quality,safety, fit, and performance,” and that in-surers warrant that these parts are in factas good or better than the manufacturerparts.

Today, I am calling on the InsuranceCommissioner and the Insurance Industryto:

* Identify all of the vehicles that con-tain these inferior aftermarket bumper re-

inforcement bars;* Notify the owners ofthe vehicles of the exis-tence of these substan-dard parts and the riskthey pose; and,* Develop a programto replace all of thedefective bumper re-inforcement bars onCalifornia roads andhighways.

If the Insurance In-dustry is not able to takethese simple steps tocomply with Californialaw and protect our resi-dents, legislation shouldbe introduced that ordersinsurance companies to

do so, and provides strict penalties for fail-ing to do so.”

State Assemblyman Dave Jones flanked by CRA president Lee Amaradio(left) and ICAR trainer Toby Chess (right) announces his plan to take leg-islative action if Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner fails to addressthe issue of damaged vehicles repaired with aftermarket reinforcementbars. Jones said he wants claimants notified if they had their vehicles re-paired with an aftermarket bumper bar and said he wants insurers to stoprequiring the use of aftermarket bars.

Lee Amaradio steadies an aftermarket reinforcement bar for Toby Chesswho saws through it in a press demonstration of apparent differencesbetween OEM and aftermarket reinforcement bars.

LKQ Issues Statement Following CIC Meeting“LKQ believes the collision industryneeds accurate and relevant informa-tion. In an effort to determine the ve-racity of Mr. Chess’ “sawzall” test atNACE in November 2009, we at-tempted to replicate his test of the OErebar. Our results were significantlydifferent! The saw cut through the OErebar with relative ease.

“Questioning the relevance of asawzall test, we chose to conductcrash tests of the aftermarket part. Theresults of the tests, which more accu-rately replicate actual accident condi-

tions, showed the aftermarket rebarmet FMVSS208, the federal standardfor occupant safety.

“That both the OE and aftermarket re-bars performed well in the crash testwas not surprising. But, by performingthe sawzall test ourselves, it is veryclear to us that there is a lot of misin-formation being spread. LKQ believesthat it is important for the consumerand the industry to receive relevantand accurate information, so we havecommunicated that message to theparties involved.”

CRAAftermarket Parts Demonstration Gets Major Media Attention

State Farm won a summary judgementagainst Ray Gunder (see Autobody News,April edition) on March 26.

The U.S. District judge, Steven D.Merryday, ruled that although State Farmmay have made defamatory statementsabout Gunder’s Auto Center of Lakeland,Fla., the shop failed to prove that the in-surer’s primary motive in making suchstatements was to harm the shop rather thanfurther its own cause.

Gunder had alleged that State Farm“intentionally and unjustifiably interferedwith [Gunder’s] relationships with its cus-tomers” by falsely stating to insureds thatthe shop overcharged for repairs and com-pleted repairs in an untimely, inefficient andsubstandard manner.

The judge noted that Gunder’s AutoCenter was terminated from State Farm’sDRP program in 2004, and case records alsoshowed that Gunder’s objected to StateFarm’s method of compensating repairshops for paint and materials.

To recover for slander, the plaintiffmust show 1) that the defendant publisheda false statement; 2) about the plaintiff; 3)to a third-party and 4) the plaintiff suffereddamages as a result of the publication of thestatement.

State Farm argued that even if StateFarm agents uttered false statements aboutthe plaintiff, the statements are privileged.“State Farm was acting as an insurer andwas communicating with the party seekingbenefits under the insurance contract aboutan issue in which they have a common in-terest, the prompt and full repayment of re-pairs,” the court decision stated.

Although thejudge agreed that thecommunications be-tween State Farm andclaimants were privi-leged, he noted thatthey could still beconsidered slander-ous if Gunder’s couldprove State Farm

acted with “express malice,” meaning, “illwill, hostility or evil intention to defame andinjure.” However, the court ruled that “Theplaintiff fails to provide extrinsic evidenceof express malice.” The Florida SupremeCourt defined “express malice” as follows:

Where a person speaks upon a privi-leged occasion, but the speaker is mostlymotivated more by a desire to harm the per-son defamed than by a purpose to protect


Genuine Nissan and Infiniti OEM Wholesale Parts aresuperbly crafted to strict quality standards. Use of genuineOEM Wholesale Parts is a shift in the right direction towardtrouble-free repairs and quicker turnaround. The followingdealers proudly stock genuine parts for your Nissan or

Infiniti repairs. Call your local distributor today!2010 Altima Coup

Shift into Genuine Nissan and Infiniti OEM PartsShift into Genuine Nissan and Infiniti OEM Parts

S. CALIFORNIA N. CALIFORNIA

CORONA NISSANCORONA

800-553-7438(951) 549-6564 Fax

Servicing L.A., Orange, Riverside& San Bernardino counties

METRO NISSANINFINITI OF MONTCLAIR

MONTC L A I R800-243-5575

(909) 625-4087 FaxAsk for Rita or Steve

Large inventory available

MOSSY NISSANNA T I ONA L C I T Y800-300-7251

(619) 474-4347 FaxSame Day Delivery

Throughout All San DiegoLargest Inventory in San Diego

DIRITO BROTHERS NISSANWALNU T C R E E K800-865-5792

(925) 934-8459 &(925) 934-8221 Fax

LITHIA NISSANF R E SNO

800-870-7779559-436-6040 Parts Direct

559-438-0183 FaxM-F 7-6, Sat. [email protected]

METRO NISSANR ED L ANDS

909-793-3377(909) 793-5196 Fax

Serving the inland empire& deserts

Keystone Automotive, a subsidiary ofLKQ Corporation, has offered prod-uct traceability through its KeyTracprogram for more than eight years.Products installed on vehicles re-paired with aftermarket parts that arepart of Keystone’s quality assuranceprograms are traceable from the re-paired vehicles back to the manufac-turers’ specific production runs.

KeyTrac provides 100 percenttraceability of all of Keystone’s qual-ity assurance parts from the vehicleowner back to the original raw mate-rials. No other program in the after-market industry provides 100 percenttraceability. At the time of installa-tion, details including the part lotnumber, manufacturer, and other per-tinent tracking information. are auto-matically recorded as part of a bodyshop’s invoice records. The lot num-ber corresponds to the date and placeof the manufacturer’s part produc-tion.

“We stand behind the quality ofthe parts we sell to collision repair-ers. For the past eight years we haveused Key Trac, Keystone’s propri-etary tracking software, to supportour commitment to provide qualityaftermarket parts,” commentedRobert Wagman, senior VP division,LKQ Corporation.

Keystone Automotive SaysParts Traceability Exists

LKQ Corp. is celebrating Earth Day bykicking off a new promotion for its cus-tomers and those who want to help theenvironment. LKQ will plant a tree inhonor of each person who visits the web-site www.LKQGetGreen.com and entersa valid email address between April 22and June 30. "Choosing to buy recycledcar and truck parts is an easy way for ourcustomers to do something good for theenvironment, but for Earth Day, wewanted to give them a chance to do evenmore to ‘Get Green with LKQ," saidRobert Wagman, senior vice president ofoperations, Wholesale Parts Division forLKQ. "We also wanted to open up theopportunity to be green to anyone whosigns up at our website." Wagman alsopointed out that LKQ is committed tohelping the environment year-round. "Wealways celebrate Earth Day, but for us,being green is just the way we do busi-ness, not a once-a-year event." Last year,LKQ processed more than 492,000 vehi-cles, which is equivalent to recyclingabout 540,000 tons of steel (or more steelthan the Willis Tower, Empire StateBuilding, Eiffel Tower and the BeijingNational Stadium, the world's largeststeel structure, combined), 47,000 tons ofaluminum (equivalent to 3.2 billion alu-minum cans), and 13,000 tons of copper.LKQ helped to reduce greenhouse gasemissions by more than 890,000 tons

LKQ Goes Green with NewRecycling Promotion

State Farm Prevails in Gunder SlanderSuit; Gunder Says He Will Appeal

Ray Gunder

See State Farm Prevails, Page 45

The use of dissimilar metals together inone area of the vehicle structure, and theattachment methods used with those mate-rials, can affect damage analysis and repairversus replace decisions. Two models fromMitsubishi that require these considera-tions are the Lancer Evolution and Out-lander.

The Lancer Evolution and Outlanderare equipped with an aluminum roof, onmodels without a sunroof (see Figures 1and 2). On models with a sunroof, theroof panel is made from steel. On vehi-cles with an aluminum roof, the roofpanel is attached to steel roof rails androof bows.

According to the 2008–2010 Lancer Evo-lution and 2007–2010 Outlander Body Re-pair Manuals, the aluminum roof panel ismade from a type of aluminum containingmagnesium, copper, and silicon. The man-uals state that this type of aluminum hasthe equivalent strength of cold-rolled steelsheets.

Roof Panel AttachmentThe aluminum roof panel is rivet-bondedto the front, side, and rear roof rails, andbonded with adhesive alone to the innersides of the front and rear roof rails and tothe center roof bow. Self-piercing rivets(SPRs) are used for the factory rivet-bond-ing attachment.

Roof Panel RemovalFollowing the removal of the SPRs, the

roof panel is ready to be separated fromthe body at the bonded locations. To as-sist in the removal process, heat can beused in the bonded area of the damagedpanel with a flameless heat source up to204°C (400°F). As the adhesive getswarmer, its strength and bond willweaken. Heating above 204°C (400°F)may weaken high-strength steels and alu-minum. The lower center roof bow on theLancer Evolution, and the inner side roofrails on both the Lancer Evolution andthe Outlander are high-strength steelparts.

Installing a Replacement Roof PanelBlind rivets and adhe-sives are used for thereplacement roof panelattachment. The rec-ommended rivet diam-eter is 4.8 mm.

The adhesiveused for the rivet-bonding is differentfrom that used for theattachment areas withjust adhesive. TheLancer Evolution andOutlander body repairmanuals state to usean epoxyayresin struc-tural adhesive for therivet-bonding attach-

ment, specifically 3M AAD Part No. 8115or equivalent. For the adhesive bonding at-tachment, a urethane body sealer, specifi-cally 3M AAD Part No. 08360 orequivalent is recommended.

The recommended adhesives are ap-plied to the appropriate locations, noted inthe repair manual. The adhesive maker’srecommendations should be followed forpart preparation.

For specific instructions, refer to thevehicle maker’s technical information athttp://www.mitsubishitechinfo.com. Thisis a subscription-based web site. Sub-scriptions are available for one day,seven days, 30 days, six months, or oneyear.

ConclusionEstimators, auto physical damage ap-

praisers and collision repair techniciansmust provide complete and accurate di-agnosis and repairs to maintain the reli-ability of a vehicle structure. Damageanalysis and repair versus replace deci-sions have become more challenging be-cause of the increased use of dissimilarmaterials in vehicle construction, suchas the rivet-bonded aluminum roof panelon some Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution

and Outlander mod-els.

This aluminum roofpanel replacementprocedure is just oneexample of this typeof construction tech-nology.

The I-CAR AdvancedMaterial DamageAnalysis (DAM08)course presents addi-tional information re-garding the use of

dissimilar metals in new vehicle con-struction. Watch for it in your area.

For comments or suggestions on the Ad-vantage Online, please contact I-CAR [email protected].

Photos courtesy of Mitsubishi MotorsNorth America, Inc.

I-CAR TechThis article first appeared in the I-CAR Advantage Online, which is published and dis-tributed free of charge. I-CAR, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair,is a not-for-profit international training organization that researches and developsquality technical education programs related to collision repair. To learn more aboutI-CAR, and to subscribe to the free publication, visit http://www.i-car.com.

Figure 1 - (Mitsubishi media photo) This 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutionhas a rivet-bonded aluminum roof panel.

Figure 2 - (Mitsubishi media photo) This 2008 Mitsubishi Outlander has arivet-bonded aluminum roof panel.

Aluminum Roof Replacement On The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution And Outlander


GeGGGeGGGGeGGeGeGeGeGGeGeGeGeGeGeeGeGe uunununununununuuuuuuuuuuuuuinininninnininninininnnninnninniiiiiiiiiiinnninneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee MMMMMMMMMMiMiMMMMMMMMiMiMMiMMMMiMMMMMitstststtststtsttsuububububububuububuuuuubububbisisisiiisshihihihih rrrrrepepeppepepeppeppppplalallalaalllllacccecececeeececeeececceccccc mememeememememmemememememeemmmeentnttttttttntnttnnntnttntt CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCrrarrrarararararrarrrrrararrrrr hsssshhhshhshhshhhshhshshshshhhhshshhshhhhhhhhhh PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPaaaarrrrrrrrrra tstttsttsttstttsttt aaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrereeeeerre ccccccccccccclolololoolololoolollolooloololololololololoosesseseeeeeeeee aaaaaaatttttttttt hahhhahhahaahaaaaaaaaahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaandndnddndndndndnndndndndnndndddddndddddddddddddddd ttttttttttttttttthhhhrhrrhhrrroououououououououououuuouuouooughghghghhhhhhhhhhghhhhghghhhghghhhhghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ttttthehehhhhheeheeheheeheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ffffffffffffffffffffffoolllllllolllolololollllllloollolololloolllolooollol wwwwwwwiiiiwwiiwwiiwiwiwwwwwiiiwiiiwiwwwwiwiwiiiiwwwingngngnggngngngngngngngngnnggngnggngnnnnnngnnnnngggqqqqquuquuqquqququqquqququuuuuuquuuquuqqqq alallllllaalalalaala iitiitiitittitiiitttttyyyyyyyyyyyy ddededeedededededeeeeeddedeeedeedededddd alalalallllalalaalaalalalallllalleeeeereeeeeereeeeeereeererrrshhhshhhshhshhshhshhshsshhshsshhsshhshhhhhhshshipiipppppppppppppppipppps.sss.s.s.ss.ssssssss.ssssss..sssssss TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTThhhhehehehhhheheeehheeheheehhhheheheeeeeheheeeeeeeheeeeheeeeeeeeeeeeeheeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhheheeeeheeehh yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy !!!ooo!o!!!!!!!!!o!o!ooo!oooooooooo!oo!!!oooo!eeeeeeererrereeeererereerererererereereeeereererererrerrerreererreererer eeeeeeeeeeeeeeexxcxcxcxcxcxccccccxxxcxxxcxcxxcxcxcxcxcccxcxcxcxcxcxcxxcxccxxxcxcxccxcxcxcxcxxcccepepeppepeepppppepeeeeepeeeeppeepeepeeeeeepttttiitttiititttttittiiiitititiitttittiti nonnononnnnoooonnnnonnnononnnonononooonooonnalalalllllllalalaalllllallalaall ccccccccccccccccccccccccccc ssussuuuussusuusuuuusususuuuuuuuuusussuusuuuusuuuu ttotootootottttoooott mememmemmmemmemeeeemeemmemememmmeeeeeememmememeememeemmemmmmmmmememmm rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr eesessssesseeseeeeseeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeseeervrvrvvvvrvrvrvvrvrrrvrrvvrvrrvrvrvrvrrvrvrrrrvrrrvrvrvrvrvrvvrviciiiiccccciiciciciicccicicccciciiciiiciiiicci eeeeeeeeee,eeee,e,e,,,,e,, wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwiidididididddiddiididiidiiiidiidididididiidddidiiddiiididdidididdddiddidddeeeeeeee ssseseeeseeesesseseseeesesseeeeeeseseeeseseseseseeesessseseseseseses lelellleeeelellleeeleleleeeeeeeelelelleeeleleleeleeeccctcttctctcttttctcccctcctctttttcttttiioioioooioionnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn oofffffofoffffofofoofofofofffoofofofofooofofofofofooo iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnn-nn-n-nn-nnnn-nnn-nnnnnnnnnn stsststststststtttttttttttttsttststtttsttttttttttttoococccooooocococococcccccoccocoooooccococckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkpappappaapapapapppapapapppapappppapppppappapaapapapappppppapaaaappppaapapppaapppppappppppppppp rtrtrtrtrtrttrrtrrtrttrtrrrrtrrrrrrrr sssssssssss nananaanaanannanannnnnnananaaannandddddddddddddddddd ththththththhhhhhthtththhhthhhhththhhththhththtththhhthhhhhhthhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeexxxxxxxxxxxexxexxxexxxexexexeexexxxexxxxxexxxxppeppepepepeppepeppeepepepepepeeppepepppppepppp ririrrrriririirirririrriririrrirrrirriirriririiirririiririeneneeeneenneenennennnnnenennennnnenennnnnnnnnnnnnennnnnnnnnnennnnneennnneennennn eeccccececcecceececceeceeceeececceceecececececeecccececececececceeceeeeceeeeceeeceeeeeeececeecceeeecceceeceececeee nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnececeeceececceececceeccecececcececeeeeceecececececceeeeeeeeceeeeeeeeccceeeseesesesssesesssseseseseessssessssseesessesseseseeeesesseseeseseessseeeesessesessssssaaaaaassaaaasaaassaaasssaaassaaasaarrryyryyryryrryryryryrryyryryrryryryyryyryryryryrryryyryyrryrrryryyryrryyyyyy tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttoooooooooooooooooooooooo ennneeeennnnnennenneennennneneeeenennnneeeeenenennennnennnneeenenenneennnsssususuuuuuuuuusussussuuusuuuuusuusuuuusuuussuuuuuuuusussuuuuuuurerereeeeererrereerereererer yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyououooouuououuuuuuouuuuuouuuuuuuououoouuoouoouuuuuoouuuuouoouuuuuuuourrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeererrreerrrerreerrrerrrreerrrreerrrrreerrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeererrrrrr ppppppppappaaaappppppappapaapppppappaaapppppaaappppppppppaappppaappppppaapppppapppppppppppppppp iiiiiiiiriiririiiriririiriiirriirriiiriiiiiirriiiririiiiriiiriii sssssssssssssssssssss ppppprprrrrrppprrpprrrppprrrprprrpprrppprpppppppprpppppppprprrrpppprppppprppprppprppppppppppppp oooooocococooocooococcocoooococoocoocoocococoooooocoooocooooco eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedddddddddddddddd sssssmmmmsmmsssmmssmsmmmmssmmmmmmmmmsmsmmmmooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooothttttthththhhtthtttttttthththttthhthtt llylyyyyyyyyylylyyyyyylyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyylyyyyyyylyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy...

Genuine Mitsubishi replacement Crash Parts are close at hand through the followingquality dealerships. They o!er exceptional customer service, wide selection of in-stockparts and the experience necessary to ensure your repairs proceed smoothly.

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttsssssssssssssssssss yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd... PPPPPPPPPPPPPPeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooooooooooooooooooooooopppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppllllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssstttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt....Parts you Need. People you Trust.

Order your Collision Repair Parts from one of these Crash Parts Specialists near you:

2010 Outlander

Veracom MitsubishiSAN MATEO

866-509-0642(650) 340-6108 Fax

M-F 7:30 am - 5:00 pmSat 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

[email protected]

CCAALLIIFFOORRNNIIAA

Chapman MitsubishiPHOENIX

877-684-5803(602)-866-6166

(602) 866-6196 FaxM-F 7:00 am - 6:00 pmSat 8:00 am - 3:00 pm

[email protected]

AARRIIZZOONNAA

[email protected] us!write us!www.autobodynews.com

CHECK IT OUT!

Start Your FREEMail Subscription.

CALL 800-699-8251

The source for timely information that every

body shop needs!e-mail:

[email protected]

800-699-8251




800-699-8251

To advertisecall Advertising Sales at:


Promote your business with an exclusive article featuring

your products or services.

800-699-8251CALL: Joe Momber for details!



800-699-8251Call for details!

[email protected]

Want to Contribute to this Southwest Edition?Give us your opinion on matters affecting the industry.

write us!write us!


Autobody News WebsiteAutobody News Websiteat www.autobodynews.com

Register Your Email for OurSee the NEW

Free Monthly NewsletterFree Monthly NewsletterFree Monthly Newsletter

The CRA has hand-delivered a letter (seebelow) to Insurance Commissioner StevePoizner asking that he enforce the law byrequiring insurers to either stop putting af-termarket reinforcement bars in damageestimates, or else warrant to the claimantthat the aftermarket bar is as good as high-strength steel bars from the vehicle manu-facturer.

Allen Wood, CRA Executive Direc-tor, signed the letter which points out thataftermarket proponents incorrectly believeautomotive repair dealers (ARDs) are re-sponsible for determining if aftermarketparts are equal to OEM.

“There is no mystery to the law,”stated Wood, “it clearly requires insurersto warrant that the aftermarket part is atleast equal to OEM. Therefore, Commis-sioner Poizner, show us you can lead byenforcing current law. The CRA has yet tohear if the Commissioner or his staff un-derstands that the burden of proof on theworthiness of aftermarket reinforcementbars falls on the insurer.

The CRA’s letter reads:300 Capitol MallSacramento, CA 95814

Dear Commissioner Poizner,On behalf of the CRA, I want to expressthe association’s concern over your depart-

ment’s failure to address the issue of unsafeaftermarket reinforcement bars in a timelyfashion, or more significantly, to press in-surers for a response to this problem.

In a letter of February 2, 2010 I wroteyou regarding how certain aftermarket re-inforcement bars were inferior to those pro-duced by the vehicle manufacturer and thatthis difference in quality could compromisepassenger safety in a collision. After twoweeks without a response from you or yourstaff, we sent a follow-up letter dated Feb-ruary 17, 2010. As a result of the second let-ter, a meeting was convened on March 4involving your legal counsel, Peter Conlin,and board members of the CRA, the CRA’slobbyist and myself. Mr. Conlin appearedto understand the safety concerns. However,it is imperative that your department graspwhy as the regulator of insurers, the depart-ment should be out in front of all otheragencies in terms of protecting vehicle oc-cupants from unsafe automobile parts.

Specifically, Section 2695.8 (g) of theCalifornia Code of Regulations states: “ Noinsurer shall require the use of non-originalequipment manufacturer replacement crashparts in the repair of an automobile un-less:(1) the parts are at least equal to theoriginal equipment manufacturer parts interms of kind, quality, safety, fit and per-formance: and (3) insurers specifying the

use of non-original equipment manufacturerreplacement crash parts warrant that suchparts are of like kind, quality, safety, fit , andperformance as the original equipmentmanufacturer replacement crash parts.”

Insurers typically specify the usage ofnon-original equipment crash parts in theirprepared damage assessments/settlementoffers. When a California insurer specifiesthe usage of an aftermarket part, by regu-lation the insurer is required to warrant thepart per Section 2695.8(g). Insurers speci-fying the use of aftermarket parts that donot meet the regulatory standard of “ likekind and quality” would appear to be par-ticipating in an unfair claims practice.

On April 8, 2010 State AssemblymanDave Jones [see related story this issue]and the CRA held a press conference toalert California consumers about the usageand dangers associated with these sub-standard aftermarket parts. A key portionof the conference involved a live demon-stration by Mr. Toby Chess, a collision in-dustry trainer. Mr. Chess explained howOEM reinforcement bars were comprisedof ultra high-strength steel while the after-market counterparts were a low-gradealloy. He easily sawed through the after-market part while the saw didn’t penetratethe OEM part. He went on to detail howthe weaker aftermarket part would ad-versely affect deployment of an airbag dur-ing a collision.

At the conference I discussed thequality issue with a representative of theaftermarket industry who said that not allaftermarket parts are inferior. I asked himhow is a consumer or shop owner to deter-mine when a part is compliant. He stated it

is the repair professional’s responsibilityto determine if the aftermarket part meetsthe quality standard. This concept is con-trary to current law. The warranting ofequal, kind, quality, safety, fit, and per-formance is regulated as part of the busi-ness of insurance and not auto repair. Anyshifting of liability is not supported by cur-rent regulation as this issue is rooted in thebusiness of insurance and not repair.

Commissioner Poizner, our request issimple: enforce current law. Don’t allowclaims settlement practices to be based oncosts associated with parts that do not meetregulatory requirements. California con-sumers should not be subject to the re-en-gineering of the structural and related safetyaspects of their vehicles via the insuranceclaims process. Today’s vehicles are de-signed to save lives and any compromise ofthe engineering of these vehicles during theclaims process should not be tolerated.

I understand the department may beperplexed by how it is to assess the qualityof aftermarket reinforcement bars. Our as-sociation stands ready to assist your staff inthis deliberation. However, forming a work-ing group, or calling for a study, should notbe the first response. The law requires in-surers to warrant that aftermarket parts arethe same as OEM. Please require insurersthat limit benefits to aftermarket reinforce-ment bars to prove to you that these partsare as good as OEM—it’s the law!

Allen Wood, Executive DirectorP.O. Box 2891, Rancho Cordova, CA95741-2891916-837-2362 www.cra-ca.com

CRA Writes to Insurance Commissioner Asking For A/M Leadership


A Work Of Art.

Isn’t it time others see her the way you see her?

Fiberglass Quarterpanel Extensions. Replica Plastics of Dothan designs, tests andmanufactures over 400 quality parts for GM cars including Buick, Cadillac,Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Chevrolet. Our affordable quarter panels install in minutes,without having to remove the rearbumper, and come with a full lifetimewarranty. Contact us today for acomplete listing of parts and prices.

P.O. Box 1147 • Dothan, Alabama 36302P: 800-873-5871 F: 334-792-1175

W: replica-plastics.com E: [email protected]

U.S. Chemical & Plastics, a division ofAlco Industries and a leader in repair, re-finish, appearance and maintenance prod-ucts for the automotive aftermarket, hasadded two new low 2.1 VOC primers toits line-up of refinishing products, includ-ing 2520™ DTM Primer and 2720™ 2KUrethane Primer.

“Our 2520 is a fast drying, highbuild, direct-to-metal primer,” said SharonNixdorf, product manager. “It's ideal foruse on properly-prepared bare substrates,body filler and sanded original equipment(OE) finishes. It also features outstandingfilling, leveling and sanding propertiesand offers excellent adhesion to baremetal.”

USC 2520 is available now alongwith 2515-4 Activator, which is specifi-cally formulated for use with the DTMPrimer.

The company's 2720 2K UrethanePrimer is a high quality, two-componentacrylic urethane that is easy to sand andcan be applied to a variety of substrates.It provides outstanding fill, build and

color holdout and is ideal for repairs re-quiring the use of low-VOC primers.

USC 2720 should be used with 2715-4 Activator, which is specifically formu-lated for use with the 2K Urethane Primer.

USC's new 2520 and 2720 2.1 VOCprimers join an already extensive familyof premium primers, including USC 1KAcrylic, Easywork Epoxy, Easywork 2KUrethane, Morton Eliminator HB Poly-ester and Morton Impact FlexiblePrimer/Surfacer. This diverse offeringgives auto body repair professionals sev-eral options for selecting the right primerfor each unique project.

U.S. Chemical Introduces Two New 2.1 VOC Primers

DTM Primer. Urethane Primer.

Insurance companies are up to their oldtricks again. Apparently none learned thelesson of the M-2 fiasco a few years ago.Because insurance executives are oftengraduates of business schools and thor-oughly educated in corporate culture, theyhave a natural tendency to believe themyth of “economy of scale.” This leadsthem to believe that a monolithic mess likeM-2—a consolidator that bought up a hugenumber of shops only to collapse under apile of debt, loss and inefficiency—couldrepair vehicles for much less than inde-pendent shops.

Around that time, the nations largestinsurance company dropped dozens ofsmall shops in favor of large shops andconsolidators they believed could deliverrepaired vehicles for less because of“economy of scale.” Management guruPeter Drucker observed many years agothat so-called “economy of scale”—bywhich shops would be expected to pur-chase parts and outsource some servicesmore cheaply—are generally lost becauseof bloated bureaucracies that arise in largecorporations so that tracking real costs areoften lost in the shuffle. At the end, M-2could no longer pay for parts or stall onpayments. Inconsistent payment of em-ployees resulted in continual turnover ofemployees. The idea that “economy ofscale” is really that important in a labor-intensive business like collision repair iscorporate think nonsense.

So now another large insurance com-pany (see last month’s column) is droppingdozens of small shops—not because they

failed to do quality repairs or to treat cus-tomers fairly—but because the company’scorporate-minded executives believe themyth that shifting to large consolidatorsand multi-shop enterprises will result inlower repair costs. The irony of their moveis their inconsistency in reasoning. This isa company that still works through agentsbecause agents provide personalized care.They ignore the fact that large corporateshops tend, like M-2, to have revolvingdoor employees who thus pay far less per-sonal attention to customers.

So what does this have to do with thedozens of independent shops that suddenlyfind a major insurance source of jobs andrevenue disappear? The usual response isto scramble to find other sources of busi-ness. Unfortunately this often means try-ing many multiple marketing efforts atonce. By dividing their resources into rel-atively unfocused advertising, promotionand sales efforts, they lose the power thatcould be gained from one highly concen-trated marketing effort at a time. It’s notthat a shop should only go after a dealer-ship, a DRP, a fleet account or any otherspecific source. It’s just that it’s more ef-fective to choose a single target and put allavailable resources behind that one bigpush. Otherwise they’re like a militarybombing operation that scatters a fewbombs over a large area without hitting themost important target.

An example of concentrated firepowerwould be going after a new insurance DRPby addressing the agents, the adjusters, thelocal coordinator and also executives at the

state and national level. Records of priorjobs performed for that insurer’s customersand letters from satisfied customers plus anyother relevant documentation may takesome time to assemble, but that is the kindof ammunition needed to press this market-ing initiative. One shop manager who suc-ceeded in gaining new DRP business for hershop traveled to several CIC meetings tomeet the top-level insurance executives whorepresented their companies at the periodicalmeetings. Rather than the usual approach,contacting the local DRP coordinator andsending a comprehensive package of infor-mation about the shop, she used a top-downapproach, using her CIC contacts to influ-ence the local coordinators, and then usingthe references from customers and agents toreinforce her proposal.

A concentrated effort to get a dealer-ship’s business would involve getting thebuy-in from every level of management,including the used car sales manager, theparts manager, the service manager, and ofcourse the general manager and owner.Shop records of jobs performed on those

makes and models of vehicles would rein-force this shop’s ability to focus on this deal-ership’s products. While a DRP arrangementeither exists or it doesn’t, it is possible withmany dealerships to propose a “toe-in-the-door” approach, such as a dealership that al-ready had an “authorized collision repairfacility.” You could take on any overload andany problem jobs the other shop preferred notto do. Dealership relationships can be a lotlike marriages, often ending in divorce. Byproviding exemplary service, the “toe-in-the-door” shop, became the new authorized shopwhen the other shop failed to deliver one toomany times. Losing a major source of busi-ness—especially in a tough economy likethis— can be a devastating experience, butit’s essential for a shop owner or manager toresist scattering resources all around. Using aconcentrated firepower approach may notguarantee a result, but it can form a basis fora second and third concentrated effort ifneeded and provide a feeling of certainty thatall that could be done has been done on thatone target. That certainty will make the nextconcentrated effort that much more effective.


with genuine mazdaparts.

Genuine Mazda parts are specifically designed, engineered and tested for Mazda vehicles.Customers and repair professionals prefer the quality and satisfaction that only comes from genuine Mazda parts.

Chapman MazdaPhoenix

866-593-5078 or 602-344-4501Fax 602-344-0315Mon - Fri 7-6; Sat [email protected]

Galpin MazdaVan Nuys

818-778-2005Fax 818-778-2090www.galpin.com

Give your customers what they deserve...The Best.

SO. CALIFORNIA ARIZONA

Order your Genuine Mazda Parts from one of thesetrained crash parts specialists in your area:

Mazda 3 2010

Custom Cornerwith Rich Evans

On Creative Marketingwith Thomas Franklin

Action Countswith Lee Amaradio Jr.

with Sheila LoftusYour Turn

Opinions Countwith Dick Strom

Shop Showcasewith Janet Chaney

Industry Overviewwith Janet Chaney

Industry Interviewwith Janet Chaney


Tom Franklin has been a sales and marketing consultant for forty years. He haswritten numerous books and provides marketing solutions and services for manybusinesses. He can be reached at (323) 871-6862 or at [email protected].

Concentrate Your Marketing Firepower

Revolution® Lift brand has a new line ofvehicle lifts, from the world’s leading liftmanufacturer and available throughoutNorth America from local Rotary Lift dis-tributors. The Revolution Lift line offersquality, safety and overall value at a com-petitive price.

With the many economic chal-lenges facing shops today, it’s more im-portant than ever to buy the rightequipment at the right price. In the past,shop owners have been willing to sacri-fice value for low price when choosingwhich vehicle lifts to install, says JohnRylee, director of marketing. Now theydon’t have to.

The Revolution line currently in-cludes the lift models most commonlyfound in North American independent re-pair shops: two-post, four-post and spe-cialty. The two-post lifts range in

capacity from 9,000 lbs. to 12,000 lbs.Four-post lifts are available in 9,000 lb.or 14,000 lb. models. Also available area 6,000 lb. mid-rise lift and a motorcyclelift.

Technician productivity and wellbe-ing are paramount at Revolution Lift. AllRevolution two-post and four-post liftswear the gold label that demonstrates theyhave been third-party tested by ETL, andALI certified to meet ANSI/ALI ALCTV-2006 safety standards. They are manu-factured in an ISO 9001 certified facilityowned by Revolution’s parent company,Vehicle Service Group (VSG).

Revolution lifts are backed by morethan 85 years of lift design and manufac-turing experience, plus an unmatched net-work of factory-trained distributors andinstallers who can provide convenient in-stallation, parts and service.

New Revolution® Lift Line Offers Quality & Value at the Right Price

the personal or social interest giving rise tothe privilege, then it can be said that therewas express malice and the privilege is de-stroyed. Strong, angry or intemperate wordsdo not alone show express malice; rather,there must be a showing that the speakerused his privileged position to “gratify hismalevolence.”

Ray Gunder openly discussed with theother repair shops State Farm’s method fordetermining the “prevailing competitivemarket rate” for repairing vehicles insuredby State Farm..

The judge said “in essence, the plain-tiff alleges that State Farm began falselyaccusing the plaintiff of “overcharging”customers promptly after State Farm ad-monished the plaintiff for attempting to setprices in the area. Although State Farmstatements (if false) might be defamatory,the plaintiff offers no evidence (other thanthe alleged falsity of the statements) fromwhich a juror could infer malice. The state-ments “do not inherently demonstrate ex-press malice.”

Gunder submitted additional affi-davits from several potential and formercustomers who said they would have usedGunder’s for repairs had it not been forstatements about the shop made by State

Farm. Regarding State Farm’s claims thatGunder’s overcharges for repairs, the shopsubmitted proof that State Farm routinelypaid for repairs at other shops that chargedrates similar to or higher than Gunder’s.When the judge ruled for summary judge-ment the additional affidavits were de-clared moot.

“State Farm neither attacked the plain-tiff's moral character nor accuse the plaintiffor its proprietors of violent crime; each al-legedly slanderous statement concerns onlythe matter of common interest between StateFarm and the insured—the quality and valueof the plaintiff's work,” said the judge.

Merryday ruled that the evidenceprovided by Gunder’s was insufficient

and failed to show “express malice” onthe part of State Farm: “The plaintifffails to present evidence showing thatState Farm’s ‘primary motive’ was toharm the plaintiff rather than to furtherState Farm and the insured’s mutual in-terest in securing timely, quality repairsto the insured’s automobile,” the deci-sion stated.

Ray Gunder has said he will appeal.


Our parts in the trained hands of a professional.

Corvette ‘10

Doug Raby, Wholesale Mgr.

10 Parts Personnel to Serve Your Business5 Delivery Trucks

Our Delivery Area: ALL SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Toll Free: (800) 281-4412Wholesale Parts Direct:

(951) 699-1504Fax: (951) 676-4789

Mon-Fri: 7:00 AM - 6:00 PMSat: 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

27360 Ynez Road,Temecula, CA 92591

Toll Free: 800-336-1404Fax: 619-220-7145

[email protected]

Delivering to: San Diego, Orange, Riverside& Imperial Counties

• $125.00 Cash Reward for your 1st Parts Order*• $100.00 Visa Gift Cards for your Loyalty*

• Fast Delivery Service • Best Discounts • Friendly People

Parts Phone: 866-709-3379Fax: 916-338-5477

4811 Madison Ave. Sacramento, CA 95841

Our wholesale staffs are always ready to helpyou out whether you simply have a question

or wish to place an order for a new part.

Serving the Capital Region.Performance Chevrolet

Hours: Mon-Fri 7:30 AM - 5:30 [email protected]

GM PartsFinish Second to None.

Togetherit’s a

Masterpiece

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

[email protected]: 6:00 AM - MidnightSaturday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PMSunday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM

We are YOUR Sources for GM Partsin Los Angeles!

Extensive inventory — Delivery trucks are in your areaAccountable, responsible & unconditionally

dedicated to excellence

AUTOMOTIVE GROUP

San Fernando Valley

Dick Anguiano, Parts [email protected]

Paradise Chevrolet

6350 Leland St.,Ventura, CA 93003

7:30 - 6:00 M-F,8:00 - 3:00 Sat.

TOLLFREE 888-514-8268PARTSDIRECT 805-642-0134FAX 805-644-7214

Our Delivery Area:ALL VENTURA COUNTY, SANTA BARBARA,GOLETA AND VALENCIA

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

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


State Farm Prevails

[email protected] us!write us!www.autobodynews.com

CHECK IT OUT!

Start Your FREEMail Subscription.

CALL 800-699-8251

The source for timely information that every

body shop needs!e-mail:

[email protected]

800-699-8251




800-699-8251

To advertisecall Advertising Sales at:




800-699-8251CALL: Joe Momber for details!



800-699-8251Call for details!

[email protected]

Want to Contribute to this Southwest Edition?Give us your opinion on matters affecting the industry.

write us!write us!


Autobody News WebsiteAutobody News Websiteat www.autobodynews.com

Register Your Email for OurSee the NEW

Free Monthly NewsletterFree Monthly Newsletter

We are going to switch it up this monthand go back to the old school way of fix-ing things on a `57 Thunderbird. A friendfrom New York shipped me out his Thun-derbird, and there’s a good story behind it.His Dad had it in the family for awhile andtook it for its last drive before turning itover to his son. We know what happenedfrom there. It got in a car accident and tooka heavy hit to the front. My buddy knowsmy work and was prepared to ship me the

car from New York, so I told him ‘no prob-lem, I could fix it.’

Now it would probably be faster andeasier to go to a wrecker and buy a frontclip to repair this Thunderbird. But withmy experience buying parts for older cars,I always seem to come across problemswith those parts when I buy them. They’realso expensive.

Here I decided we are going to repairas much as possible and see what’s avail-able in new parts, which are easily repro-duced from jigs made to reproduce theoriginal parts. The nose panel was avail-able; a couple of the fiberglass pieces wereavailable, but that would take away fromits original feel. Then I happened to get acall from a buddy in New Zealand, WillieNewman, a friend who is probably one ofthe best metal finishers on the planet. Nota lot of guys I know here are doing muchmetal finishing, but in New Zealand it’s avalued trade. They will fix or fabricatewhat they don’t have or can’t get easily,and they get very good at it.

Willie stopped off in California on hisway to Germany and I figured it would bea good time for me to take on a differentchallenge and repair, rather than just buy-ing, by making a few panels. It’s good tohone your inner craftsman. There’s always100 ways to fix a car but I’m always will-ing to try something new and approach itin a different way.

I got the car on the frame rack andtied the car down securely. It looks like itgot hit above the frame. So what I want todo is hang my gauges on the four points ofthe chassis so I can see if the chassis isbent or not. The chassis looks good so we

are one step ahead. Looking at the uni-structure bolted on the chassis and fromthere we need to start with our left fenderwhich is pretty much wasted. In most peo-ple’s eyes that fender is gone. They’d cut itoff and put a new one on.

This time I’m going to take a moredifficult route and repair that. It’ll takeprobably about 160 hours of actual laborversus spending the money on “gold parts”from the wrecking yard. When you have acustomer that is budget conscious, it paysto have to have an A, B and C plan. Whatis left over is profit.

I’m going to repair as much as I canand reach out to companies that will sup-ply me with the available parts needed. Isend the bumper out for repair. I am goingto get a left headlight bezel, a left headlightassembly, a new grill and there’s a nosepiece and a reinforcement for a nose piece,a new harmonic balance drum. I’m alsogoing to need a new radiator.

What I can’t repair I’ll get used. I amgoing to have to repair the left and rightcore support, the lower balance, repair theleft fender, left inner fender, the hood, lefthood hinge. I’ll get the harmonic balancerused. Other than that we are going to haveto repair everything else.

Starting with the fender we take ahalf-inch piece of metal and make a tem-plate because the right and left side are ba-sically the same but flip-flopped. We willmake a template, flip-flop it to the right.Then put this piece of metal behind it, drilla hole in the middle of it and use it as apulling device, so we’re not tearing thefender. We want to put tension on it andmassage this fender out and walk it backout to give it shape.

There’s a lot of hammering and dol-lying involved. Willie and guys like himuse more gas acetylene torches versus theTIG or MIG. It’s just great old-schoolcraftsmanship. They use a low flame andthe type of rod you use when you’re piec-ing things together you can hammer anddolly and flatten out the weld from behind,as long as you make access when you’redoing that. We pull on the fender and get it

pretty true, and at a certain point removesome of the paint so we can see what’s un-derneath and guess what? We run into a lotof shoddy craftsmanship. We then decidednot to put another fender on it because wemight run across it in the other fenders orrust or extra work so we were geared upfor it. We had to cut a few pieces out onthe top of the fender.

After getting it pulled we got the newparts in and had to make some alterationswith those parts. The header panel was re-ally flimsily done and the inner reinforce-ment I just had to pack it back up and sendit back to the place I got from. I ended upordering the left and right baffle, at 300bucks each, and they weren’t even closeto being a fit. So we just took the old ones;hammered and dollied them out, gettingthe reference lines from the factory stamp-ing and just spent a lot of time hammer-ing and dollying these parts. Each part thatwe took, we dressed up, got it back to asclose as we could. When we go for amockup, things are getting closer. You’rescrewing and fitting them in, cross meas-

uring, using your grills and other piecesfor reference.

We expect some obstacles. The nextbig part was straightening out that hood.We didn’t want to pay an arm and a leg fora hood. We figured we would remove theskin from the frame and that will give usthe access to straighten that frame. Beforedoing that we hammer and dolly the frame.

We used a flat bench where we could re-ally get on it and push it back to get themajor buckle out of it. Then we depickedit and fixed the frame.

The metal has memory so you canhammer and dolly areas that are obvious




















Rich Evans is the owner of Huntington Beach Bodyworks and an award winning painter andfabricator. He offers workshops in repair and customization at his facility to share his uniquetalents. For contacts and design samples visit www.huntingtonbeachbodyworks.com

Working On a ‘57 Thunderbird With Old School Tools & Techniques

Hood.

Hood Reinforcement.

Hood Repaired.

ly damaged. You don’t want to look atthe whole picture at this point. You wantto have a plan, go in, hammer and dolly,get things straightened out, it will starttaking its shape back. Then we’ll go tothe hood and hammer and dolly that. We

had to do a lot of shrinking to give it itsshape because the metal was reallystretched. Take your time and bring backsome real craftsmanship. I know that’s adying art.

Nowdays, working on the moderncars, we’re really just changing panels thatare already made available. A lot of bodytechs out there aren’t really learning thecraftsmanship. I try to learn somethingnew everyday and the biggest thing is astaying active. “If you don’t use, you loseit.”

I make an effort to work alongsideother people who’s work I admire and tryto learn their ways of doing things. If I

don’t like what I learn, I just won’t use it orapply it. Even if you are only picking up20% of what’s being done, you are learn-ing. That’s the key. Learning somethingnew every day will make you better atwhat you do at the end of the day.

So getting our left and right bafflesbanged and hammered out. We get thehood where we need it so all the pieces arecoming into place. On the front of thefender we needed to cut the front flange offand make a flange, taking a piece of metal,putting it in the brake and take it over tothe shrinkers. Woodward supplies me witha lot shrinkers, English wheel and brakesand shears. Go to their web site. They’vegot a great set of equipment choices that ifyour just working in your garage or youhave a body shop and you want to startmessing with metal of more and fabbingyour own pieces. These are affordableproducts, and if you do it more and moreeveryday, you might get a heavier dutyproduct that is a little bit more expensive.Those are available through Woodward aswell.

Use what you have. A lot of jigs youhave to make up for putting these hoodson, or clamping things. When you’re mak-ing parts, you have to make jigs and tem-plates. It’s more man hours, but it’s lessmoney out of your pocket and more profitin your pocket.

So getting back to that flange on thefront fender, we create that. We’ll fit itover, mark it, and cut the old piece it hastoo many cracks and too many welds.Too many people have worked on it, andthe metal is too thin. We’ll add a newpiece there. So taking measurementsand making sure everything is in itsright place. We take the torch and gas it,hammer and dolly it, and tack it inplace. Just like a TIG you are going towork your way around and hammer anddolly it. Make sure the metal is not mov-ing. Keep checking it. Check your ref-erences and use what templates andwhat pieces you have. We’ve got the

new hinge in and we’re putting thehinge on just to check our gaps. We raninto a few problems on the hood, buteventually, if you keep checking it,you’re going to get it right.

You are dealing with a unistructureso with everything screwed in place youcan move things around and adjust it.You want to have the integrity of every-thing moving smoothly. You want yourgaps to be even. Again, it’s a lot of ham-mering and dollying. Make sure youwear earplugs because it does get loud. Alot of body shops aren’t used to just ham-mering and dollying any more. If youwalk into a body shop and you hear ham-mering and dollying, you know the realthing’s going on. It’s a kind of music tomy ears. It’s amazing what you can dowith a hammer and a dolly.

We had to make some adjustmentsthat to the front nose panel we bought. Wehad to cut and move it in because it wasway off. Sometimes the parts that you arebuying have to be modified to fit. They aregoing to be close but not really accurate.Any time you are buying aftermarket partsyou can guarantee you have to modifythem somewhat to fit. Make sure you doyour mockup and check things as you go.Don’t weld things into place and put yourhood on without checking your gaps be-cause you are going to run into some prob-lems.

Working with Willie, who has maybe35 years of experience with this kind ofcraftsmanship, is a great experience. All hedoes is build, so coming into a collisionjob he might not understand it in the sameway guys who do it everyday. But he doesthis kind of fabrication every day, so heknows that when he comes across obsta-

cles, he can actually take a flat piece ofmetal and just make it, versus purchasinga replacement.

So think about that if you’re buildinga hot rod or an old-school vehicle and youcan’t find the part. Don’t think you’re at adead end because there are ways. Thereare videos out there that can show youhow. Gene Winfield has a line of videosout. So does Ron Covell. Visit their Websites.

I thought this would be a goodproject to cover in the column becauseit was fun and satisfying doing it. It’sgood to stand back and see what youcan fix versus replace. Everything thatyou learn from this kind of project youare going to be able to take to the nextone. You are going to be able to dependon yourself to create and make some-thing cool. Using that approach withhammering and dollying so you are notusing so much filler. Anytime you aretaking out a dent or something makesure you are getting it as metal finishedas possible by using slapsticks or metalfiles. You want to file everything down.Guys like Willie file everything. Hitand pick and find your lows and highsand hammer and dolly it until it comesout true. You don’t want to take toomuch metal away because it takes awayfrom the strength and integrity of thevehicle.

Next time I’ll be able to show you a57’ Thunderbird completed with usingevery part you’ve seen damaged, re-paired versus the grill and the nosepanel. I had to alter those. The grill waschrome, so I used that as referencepoint. I think of it like the old black-smiths who have inspired me. Espe-cially the guys that used to make thesuits of armor. That took thousands andthousands of hours but they did what

they did without a welder. They did withwhat they had: fire, hammers, wood,whatever they needed, even leather toput things together and they rivetedeverything.

Imagine what you can do today if youapplied that kind of creativity with thetypes of tools you have available now.Anyway that’s the story for this month.Take a look. I think you guys will be im-pressed with what was done.

Thanks as usual to my sponsor com-panies. I’ll go over them next column.


by Larry Williams

This is Part 2 of lastmonth’s article di-rected to dealershipparts managers di-rectly managing em-ployees handling bothmechanical and colli-sion parts, however,the same principles

apply to parts management in a body shop. To read Part 1, see Autobody News, April2010 edition or look online at www.auto-bodynews.com.

Larry Williams is a former parts man-ager and consultant who has received na-tional awards during his 40 years of creatingprofitable departments. He can be reached [email protected].

Making the most profit out of your inventoryis easy, and once set up properly, needs min-imum maintenance. Making the best profitout of your personnel is the hard part. This iswhy I spend most of my effort on my people.

The hardest part of any profession islearning the language. The various termi-nologies used to communicate needs. Autoparts is one of the hardest, a language ofmultiple words for the same item. Con-troller, solenoid, actuator, module, ECU, etc.

can all used to describe the same object.Only a few years ago Ford started a programto unify parts terminology. Now all depart-ments, design, engineering, manufacturing,service and parts would all refer to a part byone name. Manufacturers have been in busi-ness almost a hundred years, and only noware addressing the problem. Same thing withnew models…all kinds of information forsales and service, nothing for parts educa-tion. Everyone must learn on the job.

Qualified personnel are difficult tofind, so your best results will be if you trainyour people yourself. Promote from withinon a scale of needed expertise, driver,stockman, back counter, front counter,phones. Always start new counter person-nel at the back counter. They can get themost help, information, and actually see thevehicle if necessary. Technicians will edu-cate a new counterperson better and fasterthan any other method. Every person hasan area they are happiest working in, findthe best fit for your personnel. A person ismost productive when working in the areathat they like. They make fewer mistakes,enjoy their work, have less attendanceproblem, etc.

Every person must know exactly whattheir job and their responsibilities are. Notjust verbal, WRITTEN DOWN! You mustcreate your own policy and procedure man-

ual, with every position defined, and all du-ties outlined. Only with a permanent“bible” for your department can you copewith ongoing personnel issues.

A few examples:

Driver Duties:1) Maintain a professional appearance2) Keep my vehicle clean and maintaineddaily.3) Maintain a professional attitude with allmy customers.4) Organize my deliveries in the best wayfor time and distance.5) Maintain contact at all times.6) When not delivering, assist with receiv-ing-shipping, and housekeeping.7) Obtain training toward further advance-ment.

Receiving Clerk Duties1) Maintain my area in a neat and clean, or-ganized manner.2) Complete all receipts every day.3) Complete all paperwork every day.4) Complete all stocking duties every day.5) Report all errors, mistakes, problems im-mediately.

Shop Counter Duties1) Fill all part requests as quickly as possible.2) Record all transactions at time of sale.

3) Attempt to fill all missed sales with localsources.4) Verify all unfilled orders with both tech-nician and service advisor.5) Handle all “car down” orders as quicklyas possible.6) Process all core and warranty part returnsdaily.7) Keep my area as neat as possible.Analyze and define every position and dis-cuss with each employee exactly what youbelieve their job duties are. The result cre-ates secure feelings between you and yourpeople about their work.

Here are a few thoughts concerningeach position.

Parts Driver:One of the most important, yet lowest-paidand least-trained position. Many times, thisis the only representative of the dealer to ac-tually meet the customer face-to-face. Yourdriver is the symbol of your professionalism,pride, and sincerity in all transactions withyour most frequent customers. These cus-tomers have the option of purchasing partselsewhere, and if offended by a driver surelywill. Let your drivers know how importantthey are to the image of the dealership, andthat the customers are theirs as well as thedealers. Their uniforms must be clean andwell kept, their appearance a credit to your


We have the Real Volkswagen Collision Parts that make your job easier and your customers happier. 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.

Want every job to be a bang-up job?We want to be your source for Real Volkswagen Parts.

These dealers are Genuine VW Parts wholesale specialists.

So. California

TimmonsVolkswagenLONG BEACH

11--888888--448899--55000011FAX: 562-426-3550

[email protected]

Volkswagen ofDowntown LA

LOS ANGELES

221133--774477--77224466FAX: 213-222-1272

Ask for Carlos or Erasmo

No. California

Dirito Bros. Walnut CreekVolkswagenWALNUT CREEK

11--880000--VVOOLLKKSSWWAAGGEENNFAX: 925-934-0786

[email protected]

Arizona

CamelbackVolkswagen

PHOENIX

880000--887766--55119999FAX: 602-200-1192

www.camelbackdifference.com

Parts for Profit, Part 2—Profitable Management of Inventory & Personnel

Larry Williams

business. Delivery trucks must be clean,with easily read signs, not cluttered, but withname and phone numbers clearly stated.

Make each driver responsible for theirvehicle. Check all fluids, tires, gasoline, etc.each night, in order to have them completelyready for the next morning’s business. Re-member, your customers appreciate earlydeliveries rather than late ones. It is better tohave several runs each day to different areasrather than one run that will take all day.Short runs allow you to make an emergencyrun for that “special” customer. If you havea central location in town, divide your de-liveries by area, east/west, or north/south,and set a schedule. Make sure all your cus-tomers are aware of your schedule. Alwayshave some way to keep in touch with yourdriver—radio, pager, cell phone, etc.

Give your driver some discretion in thefield. Allow him to make minor adjustmentsfor damaged goods, returns, wrong parts,etc. Your customers will appreciate the quickhandling of their problems. Drivers are re-sponsible for obtaining all information whenwrong parts are sent, since the second tripmust be correct.

I make a note here about an unfortunatebias in our industry. I have found it unwiseto use a female driver in a situation that callsfor speedy deliveries. The typical garage orbody shop customer is male, and whenmeeting a female driver, usually wants to

talk longer than he would with a male driver.This creates a no-win situation for the fe-male driver. If she stops to be friendly, she isdelaying deliveries to the rest of her cus-tomers. If she is efficient, the man willsometimes interpret this action as curt or un-friendly, and may hesitate on placing hisnext order. None of this is her fault; it’s justthe situation. I therefore have used only maledelivery drivers, although I have absolutelyno hesitation in placing women in any otherparts department position. Indeed, some ofmy best parts salespeople have been women.

Receiving-Shipping:Stated in that order because receiving is themost common and the most important duty.All incoming freight must be checked piece-by-piece. Quantity ordered, billed, and re-ceived must match. All packing slips mustbe checked and turned in to the manager forfinal accounting. Mark all exceptions onpacking slips, also a separate exception re-port to the manager. For extra parts, makepacking slips for posting; then make allclaims after checking with the factory in-voice. All part number changes must beposted, any bin locations changed daily,after all the receiving is done.

Remember, you must have accuracy inthree places: physical on-hand stock, computerinventory information, and your accountingdollars. All three have to agree at all times.

Parts received are generally in two clas-sifications, stocking and special orders.Stock orders are easier to handle. Every parthas a location, and no pressure to deliver.Orders are received in the morning and partsare on your shelves in the afternoon.

Special orders are a completely differ-ent situation. All special orders are to beconsidered high priority. A $2.00 part can beholding up a $1,000 job. After checking allthe parts on the packing slip, separate piecesby order type. Priority is your shop, thenwholesale, and finally retail.

With shop orders, speed is your firstconcern, followed by communication. Takeall shop orders to a designated area nearyour back counter. Give written notificationto your back counter personnel and also tothe responsible service consultant. Partsshould also be visible to the technicianswhen they are at the back counter.

Wholesale customers are next. Notifythe counterperson responsible; then placethe part in either the will-call or deliveryarea for your driver.

Retail customers are last, but they re-quire the most handling. A copy of the spe-cial order is attached to the part; the part isplaced in a special order section in alpha-betical order. A copy of the order is placed inan alphabetical file, and another copy is usedto contact the customer. A phone call is best,but a post card can also be mailed.

Special orders will always accumulate.For reasons unknown, even when parts havebeen pre-paid, customers will not come backfor them. You must clean out special ordershelves on a regular basis. This is just a partof normal business.

The most important thing about ship-ping is keeping records. Duplicates of pack-ing slips, carrier name and shipping number,all necessary information to track shipmentsmust be kept in an organized file, preferablykept by carrier and date. Remember, if youcannot prove liability on lost shipments, youwill have to assume the loss.

As you can see, the receiving, ship-ping, housekeeping portion of the depart-ment’s business is critical to all sales areas.This is a good position for an assistantmanager. You need someone with good or-ganizational skills, who is good with pa-perwork, neat, and supportive of all theother personnel. This position is truly thefoundation of a good parts department.

Shop Counter PersonelAs I have said before, the back counter isthe best place to train a future counterper-son. The technician cannot be lost or drivenoff by unfortunate delays or errors. The car,the technician, all of the necessary infor-mation, is here. Advice and help are avail-able at all times. Your regular back counterpersonnel can always use the extra handsand feet, and the heavy volume of ordersprovides the greatest experience in the leastamount of time.

Your back counter (service sales) isthe best profit center and the backbone of allparts department sales. A good parts opera-tion contributes to increased service andsales. Customers who have their car repairedin a timely manner return for more service,and continue to purchase vehicles at yourdealership. The most important thing forservice sales is the proper inventory of ex-pected parts. You must never be out of partsfor regularly scheduled service. Set mini-mum amounts (two services) for all partnumbers. Not having simple items such asspark plugs, filters, etc. will give your cus-tomer the worst possible impression of yourdepartment and dealership.

A separate fast-moving stock area mustbe next to your back counter. Not only for fil-ters and fluids, your service special order sec-tion must also be here. A separate shelf, inview of your technicians, is used for all “cardown” orders. The part is a constant reminderto get the car into the shop and finished.

The back counter is also the center forphasing in new numbers and adjusting on-hand quantities. Here is where you purchaseparts from other dealers or more impor-tantly, other parts suppliers, like NAPA andAUTO ZONE. If you have a regularmonthly bill of over $1000 for your own carline, you are not managing your inventoryproperly. Independent part stores only carrythe most popular parts, the same ones youshould never be out of.

Every purchase of a part that has a fac-tory number needs to be entered in your sys-tem. Instruct all of your countermen to useonly factory numbers on purchase orders.When you do your daily review, enter all thesenumbers as lost sales. You should only have todo this two times before the number comes upon your suggested stock order. If you do notcatch these missed sales, you will continue giv-ing away profits that rightfully belong to you.

If your dealership includes a body shop,assign one person to handle all these orders.This position is mandatory training for a fu-ture wholesale counterperson. They mustknow how your best customer operates inorder to work with him. Six months of ded-icated involvement with a functioning bodyshop will give them the experience necessaryto understand this customer’s point of view.

Remember, you are not just a partswarehouse. You are a partner in the auto re-pair business. Your people should know howtheir parts will be used. They should beaware of a technician’s primary needs, andwhich parts need to be available first. Thisattitude creates a bond between you andyour customer that will benefit you both.

Retail Counter PersonelAfter learning on the back counter; trans-fer your trainees to the front counter. Bynow they should be able to find the mostcommon parts, and understand the repairprocedures used in mechanical and bodyrepair. At the front counter they will learn


Let Enterprise Pick You Up.

We’re the rental replacement specialists with over 50 years of experience and a team dedicated to helping your business grow. Our free pick-up and award winning customer service enables your customers to get on their way fast with a great replacement vehicle at a preferred rate.

Pick-up subject to geographic and other restrictions. ©2007 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company. 803733 9/07 MEW

Contact your Enterprise representative to find out more.

how to take care of a new kind of cus-tomer… the kind that can be extremelyfrustrating to serve.

The typical front counter (walk-in) cus-tomer is an amateur mechanic, who may ormay not know the correct terminology of thepart, or parts, that he needs. A trainee willlearn to use illustrations, locations, and de-scriptions to determine the required parts.These customers need more time per salethan any other. Patience is the primary re-quirement for this position. Other walk-incustomers will be your local wholesale ac-counts; picking up orders.

This position, along with your partsdriver, is the “face” of your dealership. Thefirst few seconds of your customer’s experi-ence determines all of his future purchases.A smile, with a pleasant greeting, helps setthe stage for future sales. An attitude ofbeing “interrupted” however is unfortu-nately a common occurrence in many busi-nesses. If you happen to notice this attitude,shift your employee to the back counter,where his frustration will do less harm.Technicians know how to deal with this, andmay help you save the employee. At thefront counter the manager will also learn ifthe trainee is a salesman or an “order taker.”Most of your employees will simply take or-ders. There are very few “natural” salesmenfound in parts departments. Cultivate thesepeople when you find them. This is the typeof personality you want on the front counter,

and later, on wholesale telephones. Specialtraits to look for are friendliness, extra con-sideration, eagerness, keen sense of enthu-siasm, and the desire to help. All of thesecharacteristics are required to understanddifficult customers, and again, patience! Youare looking for someone who likes to solveother people’s problems. This employee willhave ideas that encourage sales—by chang-ing displays, promoting accessories, andlooking for extra opportunities which pro-mote growth. In other words, this is an “A-type” personality. This employee respondsbest to positive feedback, self-management,and performance rewards, and is one of yourbest profit-producing assets.

Let this person be the one who takes theoverflow of your telephone business. Hetakes the calls from your main telephonenumber—not your direct wholesale lines.This process allows gradual entry into tele-phone sales. Some time must be spent in thiscapacity in order to gain the experience nec-essary for the most difficult position; thevoice of your dealership.

Retail Counter Duties1) Keep work area neat and clean.2) Maintain a professional image.3) Maintain a professional attitude.4) Greet every customer as soon as possible.5) Maintain the sale. When parts are out ofstock, check nearby sources, then specialorder.

6) Call customers when special orders arrive.

Wholesale Telephone SalesThis position calls for your most experi-enced personnel. It is the voice of your de-partment, and the hallmark of yourcompetence. Many of your important cus-tomers will never see anyone except yourdriver. Their perception of you will be theperson they talk to when they place theirorder. That perception must be the best onepossible. Your employee will have to recog-nize exactly what the customer wants, with-out delay, and complete the transactionquickly.

Here is the perfect spot for your “A-type” individual. This person loves to hearthe phone ring, has a smile in their voice,and makes friends easily. This employee en-joys getting ahead, reaching goals, and re-sponds to rewards.

This individual will have every toolthey need at their disposal. Telephone, com-puter, paper, order forms, pens, andstapler—everything should be at their sta-tion. Time management is the key to whole-sale success. Every call needs to be handledas efficiently as possible, to keep your linesopen for the next call. If any call is for morethan two parts, train your personnel to al-ways call back. Never keep a customer onhold. The hold button is your worst enemy.

Your next enemy is doubt. Time spentgoing to the bin to check on a part is time

wasted. Your telephone wholesaler must al-ways be able to trust the inventory informa-tion available to them. If the inventory statesthat there is one part in stock, they must beable to sell it, without checking. The accu-racy of your inventory is key. The partsmanager is the one who should accept all re-sponsibility for the accuracy of the inven-tory. You can allow your people to makeinventory adjustments, but make sure theynotify you of any and all changes that havebeen made. You need to know if your in-ventory errors are excessive, and why.

If you do your job right, an increasewill be the natural result of your efficiency.With proper training, you will always havepersonnel available to move up into salespositions. Simply add personnel as your de-mand increases.

Increasing business can bring on a newset of problems—a breakdown in commu-nication being the most common one. Watchyour telephone traffic, and be prepared toadd additional direct phone lines when nec-essary. With a large wholesale operation, aseparate line just for your drivers is also agood idea.

Some dealers employ outside sales per-sonnel to promote their business. I havenever done this myself, but you may find itthat works for you.

Comments? Contact Larry Williams [email protected].


Genuine Parts And Accessories

Making the cheap parts work takes R&R — and they don't pay you for that. So insist on using genuine Suzuki parts in the first place.It's good for both your customer and your business.Get your parts from the crash parts specialists.

So. California

Family Motors SuzukiBAKERSFIELD

800-868-9727 (661) 837-3358 FaxHours: Mon-Fri 7:30-5:[email protected]

No other replacement parts offer the same fit, finish and structural integrity as Authentic Audi parts. That’s because they’re built to the same blueprint specifications as original parts. Stamped on the same factory dies, too. So there are no surprises when it comes to installation or painting.

And they are the only replacement parts backed by a limited warranty for 12 months or 12,000 miles. Your Audi dealer has ready access to a full inventory of the parts you need for new and older models. Give your Audi customers the only parts fit for their Audi.

Audi of Downtown LALOS ANGELES213-747-7248213-222-1261 FaxAsk for Carlos or Fausto

Circle AudiLONG BEACH800-794-7955562-597-2854 FaxAsk for Dave or Pete

SO. CALIFORNIA

2010 S5 Cabriolet


AUTOBODY MARKETPLACE

WWHHEEEELLSS AAMMEERRIICCAANine Locations in the USA!

888-4-FIX-RIM$109 to repair with this ad

wwwwww..ff ii xxrr iimm..ccoomm

• Thousands of OEM Remanufactured Wheels in Stock• Lifetime Guarantee• CNC Quality• Powder Coated

101

8’ x 8’ x 20’ Powder Oven

$18,995Order Now At888-770-0021

Distributors Wanted

9’ x 14’ x 26’ Paint Booth

$5,975Free Crating

On All Orders!

Distribute auto, chemicals, sealers, adhesives,tapes, aerosols, dual cartridge, plastic repair,

panel bonders, foams, seam sealers, etc.High margins & quality | Very competitive | Actual manufacturer

International Epoxies & SealersFor Distributor or Sales Opportunities: Contact Jerry

1-800-451-7206 ext. 109; or [email protected]

» Reduce Cycle Times» Repair More Cars» Improved Repair Technique

* Ram & Pump Not Included

(916) 316.3672 www.therailsaver.com Patent Pend.

CONVERT WITH CONFIDENCE:PPG Envirobase® High Performance

PPG’s Envirobase® High Performance is the indus-try’s most advanced waterborne basecoat. With afull range of non-stir, high-opacity toners, expectnothing less than superior color match. This com-pact system is easy to use and offers superior hid-ing and excellent productivity. With its fastapplication and dry times, Envirobase HP makesconverting with confidence easy.

PPGFor more info., visit www.ppgrefinish.com orcontact your local PPG distributor or salesperson.

SSuuppeerr AAssssiilleexx… is the perfect sandingmedium that provides speed, uniform cov-erage and an extremely shallow sandingpattern. Our technology prevents irregularscratches caused by Non-woven products.

EAGLE GUYSTo see this and the rest of our cutting edgesanding and polishing systems visit us at:wwwwww..eeaagglleegguuyyss..ccoomm

DRAMATICALLY INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY ANDPROFITS BY 70%! The techniques and materials forScuffing, Blending and Primer Finishing haven’tbeen perfected until now.

Auto Body Shop For Sale.Prime Northridge, CA Location. $199,000

Existing body shop in same location for 20+years. Operated by current owners for 7+ years.

Annual gross $600,000+.

Excellent location on busy street. 34,000-36,000cars drive by this shop every day according tothe City of Los Angeles Dept. of Transportation.• Five Bays + Office. • All Equipment Included.

• Owner Retiring. Great Opportunity!

818-262-6342

Factory Authorized Repairs

888888--777733--00333399

Advertise in ourCLASSIFIED SECTION for$50 per column inch!

Call or e-mail now for rates:

[email protected]

Place an ad in our AutobodyMarketplace section of

Autobody News.

To advertise, call800-699-8251

may 2010 western

Documents

parts suppliers

original crash parts

chess saidhe

dont work forparts companies

scrs forum

autobody newsjust hours

nonremovable identification

thethreat of legal action