Autobody News July 2011 Northeast Edition

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Two Very Different Pennsylvania Collision Associations Serving the Keystone State

by David M. Brown Special to Autobody News

Two associations are serving the collision-repair industry in Pennsylvania.

They are The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Pennsylvania, (AASP-PA) based in Harrisburg, and, in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Collision Trade Guild (PCTG).

The PCTG, led by Executive Director Ross DiBono, says it represents approximately 700 automotive-industry businesses, including collision shops, in its mission to achieve proper compliance and enforcement of legis-

lation such as The Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Physical Damage Appraiser Act and The Pennsylvania Unfair Insurance Practices Act, as well as other consumer-protection laws.

As part of its educating mission, the Guild publicizes consumers’ rights to choose collision repair facilities.

“The decision of where the vehicle is to be repaired is the vehicle owner’s, not an insurance company’s,” the organization stresses on its web site.

In addition, “It is the Guild’s purpose to bring accountability to the process of consumer claim handling and settleSee PA Associations, Page 25

Allstate to Open Electronic Communication with Non-DRP Shops

by John Yoswick

Allstate Insurance will soon roll-out technology that will enable shops that are not part of the insurer’s direct repair program to communicate electronically with the insurer, much as its DRP shops do.

Dan Risley, a project manager for Allstate at the company’s Illinois home office, said this new “Transactional Non-DRP” system will enable any shop to upload estimates and digital images to Allstate, receive insurerwritten estimates from Allstate, etc.

“We realize not all customers use a network shop, and we want to make it easier to do business for those shops

and for our customers,” Risley said.

Risley’s discussion of the forthcoming change was just one of recent news items related to insurance companies that will likely be of interest to shops.

Here’s a wrap-up of some of this news.

Insureds are shopping. Consumers shopped Dan Risley and switched auto insurers more aggressively in 2010 than they have for 14 years, according to preliminary survey findings from McKinsey & Co. See Allstate, Page 40

VOL. 1 ISSUE 4 JULY 2011

ASA Testifies Against Right to Repair Proposal at Pennsylvania State Hearing ASA continues to oppose Right to Repair legislation, saying that automotive service information is already available to independent repairers and consumers.

A joint committee hearing was held by the Consumer Affairs and Transportation committees of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on “Right to Repair” on June 6.

Testifying at the Philadelphia hearing were three panels of witnesses, including automobile maintenance and repair shop owners who expressed concern with “Right to Repair” legislation that has been introduced previously in the US Congress and several states. Neither the Congress nor any state has ever passed “Right to Repair” legislation.

John Francis III of Francis Au-

SPECIAL TECH

tomotive in West Chester, Pa., testified that “At Francis Automotive, we use several third-party service information providers—ALLDATA, Identifix and an online service that includes technicians from all over the world, iATN—on a daily basis. As needed, our technicians will use automotive manufacturer websites. We have several aftermarket scan tools that we use and two auto manufacturer scan tools.

Tools to perform reflashing are available for all makes of vehicles. It’s a business decision regarding which tools to purchase. We have made a business choice not to purchase equipment to reflash BMWs and Mercedes.

It is not because the tools and information are not available—they are available. But for our business model, See Right to Repair, Page 12

The New Laser Technology: A Game Changer for OEMs that Might Impact Shops p. 48

REGIONAL STORIES in this issue...

Annual AASP NJ Golf Outing Raises Scholarship Funds . . . . . .p. 4 Delaware Cracks Down on Seat Belt Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 6 CCAR Announces ‘GreenLink Shop’ Awards for NY Facilities . .p. 11 AASP-PA Holds 10th Annual Central Golf Classic . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 12 NYC Taxi Has Its Day at Pocono Raceway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 14 SCRS Comments on Farmers New COD DRP Controversy . . . . .p. 42

COLUMNS in this issue...

Insurance Insider — The “Neutral Information Provider” . . . . . .p. 22 Williams — Apathy in the Wholesale Parts Business . . . . . . . . . .p. 24 Sisk — NY’s Cross Island Collision: Training is a Tradition . . . .p. 26 Weaver — A Homemade Air Bag Light—Brilliant Stupidity . . . . .p. 31 Danalevich — Business Financial Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 32 Attanasio — Body Shops and Yelp: A Love-Hate Relationship . .p. 34 Sisk — Nigro’s in PA Exemplifies the Brotherly Love Motto . . . .p. 36 Amaradio — Learning to Face the “Big Hill” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 38 Franklin — How to Survive a Summer Slump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 41 Chaney — Auto Recyclers Host Collision Repairers in Panel . . .p. 46

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2 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Contents AASP-PA Holds 10th Annual Central

Golf Classic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

ABAC Says New Allstate Mandate Violates

Connecticut Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Wholesale Parts Business . . . . . . . . . . 24 NATIONAL

Allstate to Open Electronic Communication

with Non-DRP Shops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Advocates Worry About Axed Safety

Auto Body World in Arizona to Add Eighth

Annual AASP New Jersey Golf Outing

Auto Lender Ally, Formerly GMAC, Delays

ASA Testifies Against Right to Repair

Bill Aimed at Providing Cheaper Auto

Inspections in New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . 10

Raises Scholarship Funds . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Proposal at Pennsylvania State Hearing . 1

CCAR Announces ‘GreenLink Shop’

Awards for NY Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Delaware Cracks Down on Seat Belt

Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Mike Eruzione To Deliver Keynote at Auto

Glass Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

NY Has Difficulties Cracking Down on

Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 IPO Due to Market Conditions . . . . . . . 44

Insurance for Low-Income Families

Dies in Nevada Senate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Boyd Gerber Group to Acquire 28 Locations of Cars Collision LLC, Total Now 164 in

North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts Hold

Third Annual Soaps It Up! Car Wash for

Make-A-Wish Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Texting While Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Chevy Volts Selling at Inflated Prices, But

Insurance Fraud Penalties . . . . . . . . . . 14

Delphi Files for $100M Initial Public Stock

OK Has Lost 26 Auto Dealers Since 2009 . 14

Domestic Auto Sales Making a Comeback

NY Lawmakers, DAs Seek Stronger Auto

NYC Taxi Has Its Day at Pocono Raceway . 14

PA’s Liberty Tire Helps with GA Clean Up

GM Says Volt Will Be Cheaper . . . . . . . 44

Offering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 in California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

at Art Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Eileen Sottile and the Quality Parts Coalition

Congress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Hyundai, Kia Face Fair Trade Commission

Two Very Different Pennsylvania Collision

Associations Serving the Keystone State. 1

COLUMNISTS

Amaradio - Learning to Face the “Big Hill”. 42

Attanasio - Body Shops and Yelp: It’s a

Offer Their Legislative Update. . . . . . . . 16 Antitrust Probe on Auto Parts Pricing

After Allegations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Inspector Gadget—Making a Custom Light

Inspection Tunnel to Find Paint Defects. 50

Jackie Cooper Imports Hosts Grand

Reopening in Tulsa, OK . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Love-Hate Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

NHTSA Administrator Strickland: “A Car is

Collision Repairers in Panel Discussion . 46

Nissan Suit Goes to Federal Court . . . . . . 17

Preventive Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Penalties Under New California Law . . . 33

Chaney - Auto Recyclers Host Prominent Danalevich - Business Financial Security

Not a Social Networking Device” . . . . . 54

Prevalent Airbag Fraud Prompts Increased

Franklin - How to Survive a Summer Slump. 41

School Uses Nanotechnology to Convert

Laser Welding, and That’s Not All. . . . . 48

SCRS Releases Commentary on Farmers

“Neutral Information Provider” . . . . . . . 22

SUVs Now Safer Than Compact Cars in

Center in Savannah, GA, is All About

Tesla, Limited Production Autos May Lose

Hayhurst - New Camera-Controlled Surface Insurance Insider - Telling the Tale of the Schroeder - Chatham Parkway Collision

Dealer Partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Sisk - Nigro’s in Philadelphia Exemplifies

the City’s Brotherly Love Motto . . . . . . 36

Sisk - NY’s Cross Island Collision, Where

Exhaust Heat into Electricity . . . . . . . . . 30

New COD DRP Agreement Controversy. 42 an Accident, IIHS Report Says . . . . . . . 18

Hardship Exemption for Airbags . . . . . . 53

Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems Don’t

Mean Drivers Never Need to Manually

Check Tire Pressure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Training is a Family Tradition . . . . . . . . 26

Toyota to Face First US Sudden-Acceleration

Brilliant Stupidity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Toyota’s Japan Production Will Near

Weaver - A Homemade Air Bag Light—

Williams - Apathy, the Real Opponent in the

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst General Manager: Barbara Davies Assistant Editor: Erica Schroeder Contributing Writers: Tom Franklin, John Yoswick, Lee Amaradio, Dan Espersen Janet Chaney, Toby Chess, Mike Causey, Tom McGee, David Brown, Rich Evans, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman (800) 699-8251 Sales Assistant: Kristy Mangum Art Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Indexof Advertisers

Philadelphia Hosts Waste Conversion

Test Trial in 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Normal in June . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Northeast

REGIONAL

Serving New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and adjacent metro areas, Autobody News is a monthly publication for the autobody industry. Permission to reproduce in any form the material published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher. ©2011 Adamantine Media LLC.

Autobody News

Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018; (800) 699-8251 (760) 721-0253 Fax www.autobodynews.com Email: news@autobodynews.com

Amato Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 APRO Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Autoland Scientech. . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 40 BMW Audi of Turnersville . . . . . . . . 10 BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 36 Burdick Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Chief Automotive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Circle BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 DuPont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Equalizer Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 45 Franklin Sussex Automall . . . . . . . . 26 Fred Beans Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Fuccillo Auto Group. . . . . . . . . . 28-29 Global PDR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 47 Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . 43 Jaguar Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . 46 Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Koeppel VW-Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Lazare Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Lexus Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 32 Lynnes Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Manhattan Automobile Company. 20-21

Maxon Mazda-Hyundai. . . . . . . . . . 38 Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 41 Mercedes-Benz Wholesale Parts Center. 22 Mercedes-Benz Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Metric Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 19 NACE / CARS Registration . . . . . . . 55 Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Nucar Mazda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Porsche Wholesale Parts Dealers . 42 PPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Prince & Portnoi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Safety Regulations Strategies. . . . . 34 Scion Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . 44 Scorpion Coatings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Security Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep . . . . 11 Stadel Volvo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers DE, NJ, PA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 39 Thompson Organization . . . . . . . . . 13 Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 48 VIM Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers. 50 Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 50

www.autobodynews.com | JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

Annual AASP New Jersey Golf Outing Raises Scholarship Funds Over 100 golfers and sponsors joined the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP-NJ) for their seventh annual Lou Scoras Memorial Golf Outing on Monday, May 23 at the Colonia Country club in Colonia, NJ. The outing is held annually in memory of Scoras, a member who passed away a few years ago, to raise money for the Lou Scoras Scholarship Fund.

Early morning clouds looked like they might put a damper on the outing, but as tee time approached, the clouds broke and the sun shone on a beautiful day of golf.

“I think Lou had something to do with that,” said AASP/NJ Executive Director Charles Bryant. “I think he’s up there saying, ‘Oh no, you don’t. No rain on this day!’”

“People will always remember what Lou did for this industry,” Bryant adds. “They come out not only for Lou, but also, in support of the charity that bears his name.”

Bryant praised the outing’s sponsors, in particular Premium Sponsors the Amato Agency, All American Auto

Salvage and Hertz Rent-A-Car (Platinum); PPG, Akzo-Nobel Coatings and Enterprise Rent-A-Car (Gold); Toyota of Morristown (Silver) and Cosmo’s Ocean County Auto Wreckers (Bronze).

“All of our sponsors were incredible,” Bryant says. “They continually contribute to our association and our members should support them wholeheartedly.”

“We also want to thank former AASP/NJ President Lee Vetland of Lee’s Auto Body for doing a wonderful job with the Colonia Country Club our first year there,” Bryant adds.

“And of course all of our golfers, who had a great time once again.”

Additional sponsors included: Hole In One: Maxon Hyundai/ Mazda Holes: Auto Body Distributing Co., NuCar Connection - M-MazdaKia-Subaru-Hyundai-Saab, Enterprise Rent A Car, Holmes & McDowell, Storm Logix - Web Design, AKZO Nobel Coatings, Bloomfield Auto Body, The Amato Agency, Albert Kemperle, Toyota of Morristown, United Bank Card Network, NJ Gaso-

Jackie Cooper Imports, an Oklahoma dealership specializing in luxury import cars, hosted their grand reopening celebration on June 16 at the dealership's location in Tulsa, OK. The dealership has been serving the Tulsa market since August of 1991

encompasses 8869 square feet.

The addition allowed the dealership to expand and add an expanded Mercedes loaner fleet, a larger showroom and customer lounge (with more services including media enhancements & refreshments), inside delivery area, expanded service area and scheduling capacity, enlarged service drive, and a full-time concierge.

The building’s architecture was designed by Michael Dwyer and came to life through Contractor Stava Construction of Tulsa.

The dealership is located on 93rd and Memorial Drive in southeast Tulsa.

The theme of the event was “An Evening of Burlesque” and the dealership was able to entertain the over 600 attendees throughout the evening.

Guests were welcomed by costumed greeters with party favors (garters and rhinestone necklaces), entertained by a 7-piece band and costumed singers and enjoyed clothing and jewelry fashions presented by Saks Fifth Avenue.

The opening coincided with the arrival of the 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS. For more information please visit www.jackiecooperimports.com.

Jackie Cooper Imports Hosts Grand Reopening in Tulsa, OK

Jackie Cooper Imports left to right: Richard Wasson, Mercedes Sales Manager, Steve Lujan, General Sales Manager, Andy Truman, Porsche Sales Manager, Greg Kach, Managing Partner, Jackie Cooper, Partner

and hosted this reopening to celebrate the dealership’s remodel and new building addition.

The event ran from 6 to 8, and included food and live music from Cynthia Jesseen and the Jambalaya Jass Band. The expanded, remodeled Mercedes-Benz Autohaus now

4 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

line-C-Store Automotive Association, Continental Auto Parts, L & M Auto Center, Leesville Auto, Central Paint/Central Motor Parts, Lakewood Toyota, All American Auto Salvage, PPG, Cosmo’s Ocean County Auto Wreckers, Norwood Auto Parts, First Class Auto Glass, DuPont Performance Coatings, Meadowlands Exposition Center, Anthony’s Auto Body, Tony’s Auto Body II, Inc., Flemington Car & Truck, Flemington VW - Audi, Summit Truck, USI North AmericaPaint Booths, Dover Dodge-Chrysler Jeep, Lee’s Auto Body, Freehold Mercedes, Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes, Prince & Portnoi - Attorneys at Law, Summit Software Solutions, Inc., Federated Insurance Company, Metropolitan Car-O-Liner, Sal’s Auto Body, Utica National Ins. Co., Mountain View Auto Body, Keystone Automotive, Hertz Rent a Car, Trilenium Salvage Company, Inc., Greco Publishing/New Jersey Automotive, Norgate Technologies, Mike Kaufmann, and Triple S Farms.

Prizes: Auto Data Labels, Summit Truck, Freehold Mercedes, Utica

National Ins. Co., Hertz Rent a Car, Maxon Hyundai - Mazda, Enterprise Rent A Car, Storm Logix - Web Design, The Amato Agency, Toyota of Morristown, Auto Body Distributing Co., Cosmo’s Ocean County Auto Wreckers, NuCar Connection - GMMazda-Kia-Subaru-Hyundai-Saab, Mike Kaufman Dealer Group, Travelers Insurance Company, Merrill Lynch, Lee’s Auto Body, and Colonia Country Club.

For more information on the Lou Scoras Memorial Golf Outing and AASP/NJ, please visit www.aaspnj.org.

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www.autobodynews.com | JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS 5

ABAC Says New Allstate Mandate Violates Connecticut Law In a notice to collision repairers in the state, the Auto Body Association of Connecticut (ABAC) is warning shop owners that some Allstate managers are forcing their damage appraisers to institute new policies that are in direct conflict with Connecticut law.

According to the notice, certain Allstate damage appraisers have informed the association that their managers are instructing damage appraisers to disallow labor on any supplement involving “Labor Only Procedures.”

In addition, those same insurance managers are also mandating visual inspections on all vehicles before any appraiser can authorize repairs to start and are no longer permitting appraisers to accept body shop photos.

According to the notice, Allstate has further instructed these appraisers to disregard all documented procedures performed by a shop that did not wait for the required supplement inspection.

The ABAC says that these mandates violate Connecticut law and cause unnecessary delays. Specifically, the association says the man-

dates are in violation of Appraiser Regulations 38a790-8 which state that every appraiser must “approach the appraisal of damaged property without prejudice against, or favoritism toward, any party involved in order to make fair and impartial appraisals [and] disregard any efforts on the part of others to influence his judgment in the interest of the parties involved.”

The association is asking repair shops to monitor and record any instances in which they observe a Connecticut licensed appraiser working on behalf of Allstate refusing to follow the law.

The association has created a special Incident Report to document these instances and asks shops to fax completed reports to the association.

Remember, body shops repair vehicles for customers—not insurance companies. The body shop’s obligation is to provide a safe repair in a timely fashion.

If Allstate is refusing to pay rightful charges, you have the right to charge your customer the difference, or hold the vehicle until paid in full.

Delaware Cracks Down on Seat Belt Enforcement

The Click It or Ticket campaign was in full effect with statewide overtime seat belt enforcement from May 22 through June 4 in Delaware.

Daily enforcement traffic safety checkpoints and saturation patrols were conducted day and night by 24 state, local, and municipal police agencies statewide.

Much of the enforcement occured in the afternoons and evenings when the majority of unrestrained injuries and fatal crashes occur, according to the Milford Beacon.

Delaware’s Office of Highway Safety is very pleased with some numbers that have come out of this increased enforcement that suggest more Delawareans are wearing seatbelts.

The agency says that for the fourth consecutive year, police departments participating in the campaign issued fewer tickets than they did the year before.

Officers wrote 1,195 seatbelt citations this year—nearly 450 fewer than a year ago and nearly half the number issued in 2008.

Officials say it also resulted in the arrests of 30 wanted individuals.

Police also issued more than 1,000 citations for speeding and other traffic violations.

Delaware law requires drivers

and all passengers, including those in the back seat, to wear a seat belt.

An officer can pull over a driver if he sees any person in the vehicle not wearing a seat belt, even if there is no other violation.

The ticket, which goes to the driver no matter who is unbuckled in the vehicle, is a $25 fine plus court costs, which can eventually total as much as $70.

Participating agencies include Dewey, Dover, Elsmere, Felton, Georgetown, Laurel, Milford, Millsboro, New Castle City, New Castle County, Newark, Newport, Rehoboth, Seaford, Wilmington, Wyoming, and Delaware State Police.

Enforcement was also accompanied by a statewide public awareness effort in the form of radio & internet advertising coupled with the Buckle Up Stencil Project.

The stencil serves as a visual reminder to Buckle Up before leaving the participating business or organizations parking lot and is an image of two hands clicking a seat belt together with the works Buckle Up underneath.

For more information on Click It or Ticket campaign, enforcement results and the Buckle Up Stencil project, visit www.ohs.delaware.gov.

6 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

“If your business and your customer are being victimized by unnecessary delays or monies owed caused

by Allstate’s practices, have your customer contact the appraiser and let them explain why these practices are occurring,” the notice explains. “It is suggested the customer contact Allstate CEO Thomas Wilson at 1-847402-5000, for best results. You are also encouraged to discuss these practices with your customer and recommend that they file a written complaint with the Department of Insurance,” the notice concludes.

The association also reminds repair facilities that Connecticut law allows repair charges for storage and/or bay tie-up caused by any delay beyond the shop’s control with the stipulation that all charges must be conspicuously posted in the facility per DMV law.

When contacted about the ABAC claims, Allstate said there have not been any changes in its policy.

“Allstate has not changed its policy regarding the inspection of supplements. We have a clearly defined

process for notification of supplements and we make those inspection and approval decisions on a case by case basis, without prejudice or subjectivity, and in compliance with state laws,” said James Haskins, Allstate Senior Vice President. “We’re committed to a fast, fair and easy process for both our customers and the shops that repair their vehicles.”

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Advocates Worry About Axed Safety Inspections in New Jersey Since New Jesery did away with mandatory vehicle safety inspections required to get a valid registration sticker, inspection and fixing of certain items that would have been required for the eliminated safety portion of the motor vehicle evaluation process seem to have slipped from the consciousness of the driving public.

At least that’s what their mechanics are saying after the mechanical, or safety inspection portion, of the process was eliminated in August of 2010. State officials said they’ve seen fewer vehicles come to state inspection stations for emissions testing, which was partly attributed to new regulations exempting new cars from being inspected for five years.

A survey of members of the the New Jersey Gas-Convenience Store Retailers Association said that the number of customers having inspections performed has declined by “significant numbers” and that drivers were putting off the types of mechanical repairs previously needed to pass the state’s safety inspection, when

items are brought to their attention.

“Our members are finding two things: A lot of vehicles aren’t getting inspected period, and some drivers are under the impression they don’t need the emissions inspection,” Sal Risalvato, executive director of the association, told the Asbury Park Press.

“When we (mechanics) find things and bring it to their attention, they’re choosing not to do certain things, like replace a cracked windshield, or they put it off.”

Bad tires and faulty brakes are the biggest safety concerns and could lead to an accident, Risalvato said.

The mechanical or “safety” part of the bi-annual inspection process was eliminated on Aug. 1, 2010, by the state Motor Vehicle Commission as a cost-cutting measure. Officials justified the change because only 6 percent of vehicles inspected fail and running the program cost $12 million.

Drivers will receive fliers in their vehicles’ registration renewal forms to remind them they still have to present their vehicle for an emissions test either at a state inspection station or a

certified private garage, Michael Horan, state Motor Vehicle Services spokesman said. “There still is a mandated emissions test every two years, that inspection still exists,” he said to the Asbury Park Press. “We will have an insert in the registration renewal to remind them to check if they’re due.”

New vehicles are the only exception to that rule, being given a fiveyear inspection sticker, he said.

Owners of new cars that had four-year stickers before the law was changed have received one-year extension stickers in the mail, Horan said.

Officials plan to look at inspection data after the one-year anniversary of the change in August “to see where we stand,” Horan said. But Risalvato said he doesn’t believe there will be enough data after one year to effectively judge if safety is being affected.

Since mechanical inspection was eliminated, a total of 5,248 summons were written between Aug. 1, 2010, and May 31, 2011, for failure to inspect or failure to make repairs and other inspection related offenses, ac-

cording to the state administrative office of the courts. Union County had the most summonses, with 1,729.

While Risalvato said part of a driver’s decision to put off work is a function of the sluggish economy, safety items that would have to be addressed to get a vaid inspection sticker a year ago aren’t being done and putting other drivers at risk.

Even if an inspector sees a burned-out brake light during the course of an emissions test, it won’t cost the driver a valid sticker, but rather just a reminder to get it looked at, Horan said.

Horan reminded drivers that under the law, they are ultimately are responsible to get broken mechanical items fixed.

The association also is giving fliers to customers with information about what drivers are responsible for maintaining on their vehicle under the law.

A March 2009 study done for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation concluded that states with vehicle safety inspection pro-

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grams have significantly fewer fatal crashes than states without such programs.

That report also suggested focusing vehicle inspection on the mechanical systems, which if they failed, could have the the highest likelihood of contributing to a crash, such as tires, brakes, and, to some extent, exterior lights such as brake, headlights and turn signals.

Horan said New Jersey motor vehicle officials read that study, in addition to those done in other states.

“It was one of many we looked at, that was part of our argument. For every study that said yes, another study said it was inconclusive whether mechanic inspection saved lives,” Horan said to the Asbury Park Press. “We looked at (New Jersey) State Police general crash data, which said 2 percent were due to mechanical issues, the majority of accident causes were due to driver error or weather.”

Risalvato said more consideration should have been given to the Pennsylvania study because it is the newest and most comprehensive study done to date.

CCAR Announces ‘GreenLink Shop’ Awards for NY Facilities

Two auto repair facilities in New York were recognized by the Coordinating Committee For Automotive Repair (CCAR) as one of the group’s GreenLink Shops for the month of May on June 1.

The GreenLink Shop status is an extension of CCAR’s CCAR-GreenLink Environmental Compliance Assistance Center and S/P2 Safety and Pollution Prevention E-learning Program--designed to promote consumer confidence in local automotive repair facilities’ environmental/safety awareness and stewardship.

The new GreenLink Shops are; Tedesco Auto Body, New Rochelle, NY and Wayside Auto Body, Jamaica, NY. “CCAR is proud to recognize these newest members of the GreenLink Shop program and their commitment to best practices in environmental and safety processes,” said Daren Fristoe, CCAR president and chief operating officer.

CCAR requires that repair facilities seeking the GreenLink Shop recognition must maintain high standards of excellence in 10 areas.

For more information please visit www.ccar-greenlink.org.

NY Has Difficulties Cracking Down on Texting While Driving

Texting while driving is a dangerous habit—just as dangerous as drunk driving—and often has similar consequences.

Fortunately, some state laws have finally caught up with the dangers of cell phone use while driving, with eight states banning all use of cell phones while driving, and 30 states banning texting while driving.

The State of New York bans handheld cell phone use while driving, including texting. The Department of Motor Vehicles imposes a $100 fine for using a cell phone while driving, as well as a two-point penalty on the offender’s driver’s license.

It would seem that with the state cracking down on cell phone use that police would find that people were hanging up before getting behind the wheel, but that has not been the case.

In fact, police are having a hard time enforcing cell phone laws.

When a driver is distracted by cell phone use (especially texting), he or she exhibits the same erratic driving behavior as a person who is intoxicated, such as crossing the double yellow line and weaving across lanes.

However, it is nearly impossible for law enforcement to prove that cell

phone use was the culprit in distracted driving.

In a DUI stop, police can give a driver a breathalyzer or field test to determine intoxication. Unfortunately, police need probable cause to examine a driver’s phone history and determine if it was used just prior to the traffic stop.

In 2009, distracted driving caused 18.6% of all accidents in New York. In 2010, the state police that patrol the New York State Thruway issued 8,172 cell phone tickets, up from 5,405 in 2008.

Until the state devises a way for police to prove cell phone use was the cause of distracted driving, New York police will continue to struggle to enforce the state’s cell phone laws.

This information was provided

by Manhattan Law Firm, Sakkas, Cahn & Weiss, LLP. For more information please visit www.sakkascahn.com or call (212) 571-7171.

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www.autobodynews.com | JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS 11

we have chosen not to purchase this equipment.”

Robert L. Redding Jr., ASA’s Washington, D.C., representative, submitted comments on the National Automotive Service Task Force’s (NASTF) role as “a voluntary industry organization, having served as a mechanism to share information and resolve issues that arise in the areas of service information, tools and training. In the United States, we have about 500 million post-warranty repair service orders each year. Independent repair facilities repair approximately 75 percent of these cars. NASTF is designed to address gaps in information that may occur in the repair. ASA and other industry partners have spent a great deal of time and resources on marketing the NASTF to independent repairers, encouraging repairers to contact NASTF if they had difficulty obtaining repair information from their third-party information provider or from the automaker websites.”

“In 2008, the total number of service information requests received

by NASTF was 44. This is out of 500,000,000 post-warranty repairs nationwide. In 2009, we had a total number of 45 requests for information and 65 requests in 2010. NASTF had no requests from Pennsylvania repairers and technicians for service information in 2009, one request for information in 2010 and no requests so far in 2011 despite hundreds of thousands of dollars spent marketing NASTF in the aftermarket, trade press articles and initiatives and promotions at industry events.”

Matthew Godlewski, vice president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said, “Automakers view independent repair shops as critical partners in vehicle repair. While factors such as styling and performance are key considerations when customers choose to purchase a vehicle from one of our companies—the factors of quality, dependability and reliability are among the most important in determining brand loyalty. A positive ownership experience for our customers throughout the vehicle lifecycle starts with the ease of getting

Auto Glass Week™ has announced that hockey legend Mike Eruzione will address attendees at the Memphis Marriott Downtown in Memphis, Tenn., on September 16, 2011. The keynote address will take place Friday morning during the event. Eruzione will speak on teamwork and the necessary steps to be successful.

Eruzione served as the captain who led the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team to its improbOlympian able Gold Medal Mike Eruzione victory in Lake Placid, N.Y. Most memorable was the moment that Eruzione scored the gamewinning goal against the unbeaten Soviet Union team to advance to the medal round. Being dubbed the greatest sports achievement of the 20th century, this story was later immortalized on film in the 2004 movie, “Miracle.”

“Mike understands how important teamwork and persistence are, so he’s well-suited to present the keynote address. I’m sure our attendees will be inspired by his life experiences both on and off the ice,” says event director Holly Biller. “We also want to thank all of the sponsors who have helped to make this event a success and bring in

such a wonderful keynote speaker.”

After the spectacular Olympic victory, Eruzione spent several years in New York and New Jersey as a commentator for the Madison Square Garden Communications Network. He provided coverage of the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils games and also did special interviews with players and coaches for many years.

For the past several years, Eruzione has traveled throughout the United States for major corporations and organizations as a motivational speaker and sports promoter. He also is the director of alumni programs at Boston University and remains actively involved in fundraising events for the U.S. Olympic Committee as well as many charities and youth programs.

In addition to Eruzione’s keynote address, Auto Glass Week will feature educational seminars, an exhibition area with suppliers, the Sixth Annual Walt Gorman Memorial Windshield Repair Olympics and the Sixth Annual Pilkington Clear Advantage Auto Glass Technician Olympics.

This is one of the largest international events dedicated to the auto glass industry. Registration and competition details are available online at www.autoglassweek.com. Contact event director Holly Biller at 540/720-5584 or hbiller@glass.com for more information.

Continued from Front Page

Right to Repair

Mike Eruzione To Deliver Keynote at Auto Glass Week

12 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

their cars repaired. This ensures repeat business.”

Godlewski closed by saying, “It is in the interests of automakers to partner with the aftermarket to ensure our customers can get their vehicles repaired.”

Howard Pitkow, longtime ASA Mechanical Division Operations Committee member and owner of Wagenwerx Inc. in Wyndmoor, Pa., also spoke at the Pennsylvania hearing highlighting that “Right to Repair” legislation is not necessary and industry resources would be better spent on training for technicians.

To view a complete summary of the federal right to repair legislation from ASA’s perspective, along with the full text, visit ASA’s legislative website at www.TakingTheHill.com.

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AASP-PA Holds 10th Annual Central Golf Classic

The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Pennsylvania on Friday, June 10th held their 10th Annual Central Pennsylvania Golf Classic from 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM. Not only did participants enjoy a day of fun, golf and camradarie on the greens but the cost of the event went to supporting the AASP-PA, the largest aftermarket association in the state and the third largest in the country. Events like this enable the group to continue to provide world class training, innumerable benefits and even a legislative voice on both the state and national level.

People who couldn’t attend for a round of golf still had the opportunity to show support for the Association through a sponsorship or door prize donation. It is events like this that carry the group through the year.

The event kicked off with a shotgun start at 8am at the Honey Run Golf Club in York.

For more information please visit www.aasp-pa.org.

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NYC Taxi Has Its Day at Pocono Raceway New York City taxis, world famous for their race car driving style, put their reputation to the test against NASCAR’S best on June 12 at Pocono Raceway. A checkered yellow Ford Fusion, designed to resemble the city’s iconic taxi fleet, took the track at Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway for the 5-HourEnergy 500, finishing 25th out of 43 cars starting.

The No. 43 was designed to replicate the 13,237 New York City yellow taxis.

The Medallion ‘NY Taxi Driver’, Financial Ford AJ Allmendinger, Fusion was pibeside his No. 43 loted by Richard Petty Motorsports driver AJ Allmendinger, who has never won a race, faced 60-to-1 odds, according to one online sports book. (You’d have a better chances of hailing a cab during a downpour in Midtown at 5 p.m.) So it’s no surprise that No. 43 didn’t win.

Jeff Gordon—now 40 years old and NASCAR’s elder statesman and fourtime champion—won for the 84th

NY Lawmakers, DAs Seek Stronger Auto Insurance Fraud Penalties

A coalition of elected officials and district attorneys demonstrated in Downtown Manhattan June 1 for harsher penalties for auto insurance fraud and the ability for insurance companies to ask for an extension to investigate fraud.

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said there is no specific law targeting people who stage car accidents to file phony claims.

Under a proposed law, those responsible could get charged with a felony. It would also allow insurance companies to ask for an extension to investigate fraud, beyond the current time limit of payment within 30 days.

Supporters say no-fault auto insurance fraud cost New Yorkers more than $200 million last year.

“It has been allowed to get worse and worse because there’s no punitive sanctions against the people who are at the core of this, the socalled runners or steerers,” said Hynes according to NY1 News.

“The only people benefiting from no reform are the trial attorneys and the criminals,” said Queens Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. The bill is pending before both the State Senate and Assembly.

time in his career, driving his DuPont Chevy.

Richard Petty Motorsports and Medallion Financial announced No. 43, made famous by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, was sponsored

by Medallion Financial, which has made billions of dollars in loans to taxi owners, and has also originated vehicle and boat loans to many NASCAR fans around the country.

“I have always wanted to see how a New York City cab driver would do against the best drivers in NASCAR, and this is the next best thing,” said Andrew Murstein, president of Medallion Financial. “We couldn’t be prouder of our relationship with Richard Petty Motorsports.

They represent excellence and integrity in sports, which is everything that Medallion strives for in business.”

The No. 43 Medallion Financial Ford Fusion is the first of what Murstein hopes will be several more taxi-themed, Medallion-sponsored race cars.winner’s circle.”

Medallion Financial’s signature company car, a 1978 Checker Cab with over one million miles on it, was also available on display at the Fan Fair area behind the main grandstand.

OK Has Lost 26 Auto Dealers Since 2009

Chrysler and General Motors’ bankruptcy filings coupled with the recession contributed to the closure of many auto dealerships in the state of Oklahoma. But 10 new dealerships have sprung up in the past few years, including several Hyundai stores, Fowler Volkswagen in Norman and a new Fiat dealership in Edmond.

Since 2009, the year Chrysler and General Motors filed for bankruptcy, many dealerships have consolidated, changed brands or closed altogether. Some whose franchises were discontinued switched to selling used cars.

According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, the total number of dealers nationwide is 17,700, down from 20,010 two years ago, an 11.5 percent drop.

In Oklahoma, there were 26 dealers who did not renew their license with the Motor Vehicle Commission from 2009 to the present.

Steve Rankin, president of the Oklahoma Automobile Dealers Association, said he disagreed with General Motors’ and Chrysler’s decision to terminate many dealers, especially those that carried Cadillac, which faces fierce competition from Lexus and BMW, according to The Oklahoman.

14 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Philadelphia Hosts Waste Conversion Congress

The Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia served as the site of the Waste Conversion Technology Congress 2011, on June 8 and 9.

The event was organized and hosted by London-based FC Business Intelligence and its EyeforEnergy division. According to EyeforEnergy, the event’s focus was on: • Waste conversion technology, including case studies from global providers of waste conversion technologies; • Financing, including private sector views on waste conversion technology investment and an update on the United States Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantees; • International Project Planning, including strategies to mitigate risk, drive down costs and increase a company’s bottom line; and • Project approval and development, from getting a project approved in a timely, cost-effective way to workable solutions to common project challenges.

“This event is unique because it addresses the issues which block commercial progress and development,” said EyeForEnergy. “It will unlock the vast potential of municipal solid waste as a profitable revenue generator [and]

will address all the key hurdles that need to be overcome by this rapidly emerging industry while also showcasing success stories from across the United States and Europe,” the event organizer said.

Speakers at the event include: • Harvey Gershman of Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc., Fairfax, Va. • Tim Cesarek, managing director organic growth, Waste Management Inc., Houston • John Eustermann, a partner with law firm Stoel Rives, Boise, Idaho • Ted Michaels, president of the Energy Recovery Council, Washington, D.C. • Jonathan Silver, executive director of the United States Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program, Washington, D.C. More information on the Waste Conversion Technology Congress 2011 can be found at www.eyeforenergy.com/wasteusa/index.shtml.

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Eileen Sottile and the Quality Parts Coalition Offer Their Legislative Update The Quality Parts Coalition (QPC) is a group of about 80 representatives from different companies and associations that focuses on preserving competition of auto repair parts by supporting the availability of lowercost alternative collision repair parts for consumers and insurers.

Eileen Sottile, a representative for QPC who has been instrumental in getting legislation together for the organization to present to Congress, gave a legislative update to Eileen Sottile Autobody News on the group’s upcoming endeavors now that there is a new Congress on the hill.

QPC came about in response to a 2005 patent infringement suit that Ford brought to the International Trade Commission (ITC) against Keystone, alleging design patent infringement of exterior collision repair parts for the 2005 F-150.

It was after this case that coali-

tion members realized they “needed a permanent change to the patent laws,” said Sottile.

According to Sottile, up to that point people in the aftermarket crash part industry didn’t think they would have design patent issues on cosmetic parts.

Ford brought yet another lawsuit against LKQ/Keystone following the F-150 case, and Sottile said that without a change in the patent laws carmakers can continually come back with lawsuits on a part-by-part basis and bankrupt the aftermarket parts industry.

Sottille says QPC was created in response to these issues to try to find a solution. This group represents all aspects of the repair industry, including; insurers, collision shops, seniors, retailers and aftermarket parts companies and manufacturers.

Some consumer groups have also voiced their support for QPC’s legislative endeavors, although they are not QPC members.

“In most cases we didn’t feel they even deserved a patent,” said

CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts Hold Third Annual Soaps It Up! Car Wash for Make-A-Wish Foundation

More than 2,000 volunteers at 140 of CARSTAR's stores across the US and Canada washed cars to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation® and Kids with Cystic Fibrosis.

On June 11, thousands of volunteers across the United States and Canada washed vehicles at CARSTAR locations in hopes of breaking the Guinness World Record for “Most Cars Washed – Multiple Venues” the franchise set in 2009 by washing more than 4,000 vehicles in eight hours. In the process, CARSTAR hoped to raise funds to help grant wishes for the Make-AWish Foundation of America and serve children with cystic fibrosis in Canada. Themed “Wash for a Wish”, the third annual Soaps It Up! Car Wash was held on June 11, 2011 and tickets were sold at participating CARSTAR stores in the U.S. for $10, with 100 percent of the ticket purchase benefiting the selected charities.

While stores across North America participated, the host for the record-breaking attempt was at CARSTAR Collision Care of Milford, OH, owned by Cincinnati native Keith Foster. The repair facility, located at 731 State Route 28, in Milford, OH, held special events throughout the week in Cincinnati and

led the countdown on washing the car that broke the record.

“Over the first two years, the Soaps It Up! Car Wash has been able to unite the CARSTAR family across North America to help thousands of children in need,” said David Byers, CEO of CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts. “Now, we are ready to continue the tradition and make the “Wash for a Wish” Soaps It Up! Car Wash the biggest and best ever. We want to break our Guinness World Record for world’s largest car wash – and bring even more support for the Make-A-Wish Foundation®.”

“We’re grateful that CARSTAR is doing so much to help us improve the quality of life for our wish kids and their families through a wish experience,” said David Williams, Make-A-Wish Foundation of America president and chief executive officer.

CARSTAR stores in Canada have been conducting the “Soaps It Up!” Car Wash for the past seven years, and this is the third time the program has been done in the US. The 2009 event was the first attempt for any group to set the record for the largest car wash across multiple locations. For more information on the “Soaps It Up!” Car Wash, visit www.CARSTAR.com.

16 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Sottile. The cosmetic parts in question are so similar to their aftermarket counterparts that Sottile said that

QPC has a hard time seeing how they rose to the standard of getting a design patent.

According to Sottile, the car companies currently have a “near monopoly” on the crash parts market with 72% control of the market and these design patents will only increase that holding.

QPC is gathering support for legislation the group may introduce in Congress sometime this year.

QPC originally introduced a bill into Congress in 2009; it aimed to make the act of providing a part solely for the purpose of repair exempt from design patent infringement. It was based on current laws in Australia and the UK known as “repair clauses.”

That bill did not get voted on by the full Senate and House before their ses-

sion closed.

QPC is currently working in a bipartisan manner to explore potential legislative solutions to the design patent issue for introduction to the current Congress that is in session.

QPC has had several meetings with Congress, including a meeting with the House Intellectual Property Subcommittee and a full Judiciary House meeting. According to Sottile, the support for reforming design patent laws with a repair clause is there, the group is just awaiting reintroduction in Congress.

“If a patent is awarded, competition in the secondary market should still be permitted,” said Sottile.

Sottile drew the distinction that QPC has no intention of prohibiting the protection a patent provides primary competitors against each other with the legislation—”but in the secondary market, when the part is only provided for repair, we don’t think it should be subject to design patent enforcement,” said Sottile.

For example, QPC believes that design patent laws should prevent

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BMW’s signature grille from Ford recreating it and using it on their Fiesta, but it should not prevent aftermarket parts companies from recreating the BMW grille for replacement on a damaged BMW vehicle.

Sottile also argues that the preservation of competition in the parts market in this manner ultimately allows for the consumer to benefit.

“There’s a big cost difference between these parts; about 25 to 60 percent,” said Sottile. “The timing is critical in this economy.”

For more information about QPC and their legislative endeavors please visit keepautopartsaffordable.org.

The full text of the QPC’s past legislation can also be seen at www.autobodynews.com.

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PA’s Liberty Tire Helps with GA Clean Up at Art Center Pittsburgh-based Liberty Tire Recycling, a provider of tire recycling services, has donated tire collection and reclamation services to help an Atlanta area arts center facing a dilemma.

Crews from Liberty Tire’s plant in Atlanta have collected and recycled as many as 1,000 scrap tires that were illegally dumped on the property of The Arts Exchange in Atlanta. The reclamation is taking place in midMay of 2011.

“When the center contacted us to tell us what they were facing, we were happy to offer our assistance at no charge,” said Dewey Grantham, regional sales manager for Liberty Tire Recycling. “The warmer months are upon us, and abandoned tire piles can be a haven for vermin and insects.

They can also cause a fire hazard. The Arts Exchange certainly doesn’t want to face such a situation when they host outdoor activities for children.”

Employees at The Arts Center have been working to resolve the situation since they discovered the tire piles in the fall of 2010. When they began making inquiries into how to

remove the tires, they learned that the center could be charged as much as $2 per tire for removal.

“We are a non-profit arts center that aims to provide affordable work space for visual and performing artists,” said Lisa Tuttle, a board director for The Arts Exchange and a studio artist. “Our tenants include African dance companies, an online digital arts magazine, and a youth steel band. As you might imagine, we have limited resources. We are pleased that Liberty Tire is willing to perform this service to us and to the community at no cost.”

Once the tires are collected, Liberty Tire Recycling will shred and grind them into crumb rubber and other saleable commodities, such as rubber mulch for landscaping and playgrounds; infill for synthetic athletic fields; and rubberized asphalt.

“Liberty Tire Recycling has a well-deserved reputation for remediating illegal tire dumps across the country,” said Jeff Kendall, CEO of Liberty Tire Recycling. “We are hoping that a few hours of work at The

Arts Exchange will go a long way toward creating a safer environment for the people who rely on the center.”

More information on Liberty Tire Recycling, which recycles some 130 million passenger tire equivalents (PTEs) annually, can be found at www.libertytire.com.

Nissan Suit Goes to Federal Court

Canton’s lawsuit seeking to invalidate a state law that bars the city from annexing the Nissan plant site is now in federal court. The Clarion-Ledger reported attorneys for Nissan North America moved the case from Madison County Circuit Court because the city raised new issues in an amended complaint. A federal judge can hear a case involving questions of state law if opposing parties are citizens of different states. Nissan North America is headquartered in Tennessee though it is incorporated in California.

Canton officials say the 2000 legislation prohibiting the city from annexation violates the equal protection clauses in the US and state constitutions. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves.

A hearing date has not been set.

www.autobodynews.com | JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS 17

SUVs Now Safer Than Compact Cars in an Accident, IIHS Report Says Sport utility vehicles are now safer than cars of the same weight, thanks to anti-rollover technology, according to a recent study.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said in a report issued June 9 SUVs in the 2006-09 model years had a driver fatality rate half that of cars.

“The rollover risk in SUVs used to outweigh their size/weight advantage, but that’s no longer the case,” thanks to electronic stability control, said Anne McCartt, the institute’s senior vice president for research, according to the Detroit News. “Pound for pound, SUVs have lower death rates.”

In assessing risk, the study counts the number of years that each model has been on the road and multiplies that by the number of that model’s vehicles. SUV driver deaths totaled 28 per million registered vehicle years, compared to 52 for trucks and 56 for cars.

Among all vehicles, minivans again had the lowest driver fatality rate: 25 per million registered vehicle years, according to the new report.

The last time the institute conducted a similar study, in 2007, large minivans had 66 deaths per 1 million vehicle years, while very large ones had 39, the lowest overall fatality rates among mainstream vehicles.

Researchers say minivans tend to have the lowest fatality rates in part because drivers are more likely to be carrying young children and are more careful.

The relative risk of different types of vehicles has changed, as automakers have worked to make SUVs more stable and less prone to rollovers.

When the insurance institute conducted its 2007 study, for 2002-05 models, car death rates were lower than SUVs in every weight class but one. In the latest study SUVs in all weight classes had a lower driver death rate.

In 2007, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration required all vehicles to be equipped with electronic stability control, or ESC, by the 2012 model year.

By the 2008 model year, ESC already was standard on 65 percent of cars, 96 percent of SUVs and 11 percent of pickups. The technology helps avoid skidding, as well as maintain control when drivers swerve.

ESC senses when a driver may lose control and automatically applies brakes to individual wheels to help stabilize the vehicle and avoid a rollover. Motorists often have no idea ESC has kicked in to protect them.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the trade association that represents Detroit’s Big Three, Toyota Motor Corp. and eight other automakers, said the new study shows that ESC has become extremely valuable.

“As automakers, safety and innovation are two of our most important values, and our actions back that up: Automakers were introducing ESC before the government rulemaking on it,” alliance spokesman Wade Newton said to the Detroit News. “ESC is considered so effective that NHTSA has previously estimated that the technology can potentially prevent 71 percent of passenger car rollovers and 84 percent of SUV rollovers.”

NHTSA estimated the cost to the automotive industry of adding ESC will total $985 million, $111 per vehicle with antilock brakes and $479 for those without ABS. But the benefits far outweigh the costs, according to NHTSA. “Thanks to this technology, we anticipate the number of rollover fatalities to drop by thousands every single year,” NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said in a statement.

Rollover crashes, he said, are the deadliest of all wrecks.

When it adopted the ESC regulation in 2007, NHTSA predicted the technology could reduce rollovers by 84 percent, preventing between 5,300 and 9,600 deaths and as many as 238,000 injuries a year. Rollovers, which had exceeded 10,000 for years, fell to under 8,300 in 2009.

The insurance institute study said ESC reduces the risk of a fatality in a single-vehicle crash by 49 percent and 20 percent in multiple-vehicle crashes.

It also lowers the risk of a deadly crash by 33 percent overall, and cuts the risk of a fatal single-vehicle rollover by 73 percent.

Federal rules require ESC systems to prevent oversteer and understeer.

In January, NHTSA issued additional regulations intended to protect motorists in rollover wrecks.

Those rules, to reduce the number of people partially or completely

18 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

ejected through side windows during rollover crashes, will begin phasing in during 2013.

NHTSA issued new rules in April 2009 to toughen roof strength during rollovers. Rollovers account for less than 2 percent of all crashes, but 40 percent of all fatalities.

The rules doubled the roof strength requirements for vehicles to 6,000 pounds.

Heavier vehicles from 6,000 to 10,000 pounds, which have never been regulated, must now meet roof strength standards.

The phase-in schedule, which begins in September, will be completed for all affected vehicles by the 2017 model year.

Least Deadly Vehicles (Driver deaths per million vehicles) • Audi A6 four-door 4WD (0) • Mercedes E-Class four-door 4WD (0) • Toyota Sienna (0) • Ford Edge 4WD (0) • Nissan Armada 4WD (0) • Land Rover Range Rover Sport (0)

• Land Rover LR3 (0) • Honda CR-V 4WD (7) • Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD (11) • Acura MDX (11) • Mercedes E-Class four-door (12) • Lexus RX 400h (12) • Lexus GX 470 (13) • Mercedes M-Class (14) • Saab 9-3 four-door (16)

Most Deadly Vehicles (Driver deaths per million vehicles) • Nissan 350Z (143) • Nissan Titan crew cab 2WD (126) • Chevrolet Aveo (119) • Chevrolet Cobalt (117) • Nissan Titan extended cab 2WD (111) • Kia Spectra5 (102) • Chevrolet Malibu Classic (99) • Hyundai Tiburon (96) • Nissan Versa (96) • Chevrolet Colorado extended cab 2WD (93) • Nissan Titan crew cab 4WD (92) • Kia Rio (89) • Kia Spectra (87) • Mazda Miata MX-5 (83) • Subaru Legacy (83)

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The Insider is a corporate-level executive with a Top 10 auto insurer in the U.S.. Got a comment or question you’d like to see him address in a future column? Email him at Auto.Insurance.Insider@gmail.com

Inside Insurance

Telling the Tale of the “Neutral Information Provider” with The Insurance Insider

In the Middle Ages, civilians didn’t have computers, television, radio, Pong, or even ping-pong. So what did they do for entertainment? One tradition was story-telling. The great thing about telling such tales was that you were forced to use your imagination.

Although it’s important to note that you weren’t expected to believe everything that was being said.

Fairy tales often have a happy ending and tell us about a world where anything is possible. The tale I’m about to tell you is about the “neutral information provider.”

This tale begins in the 1980s, around the time of the first electronic estimating system. For decades prior to the advent of electronic estimating, shop and insurers slaved away preparing handwritten estimates. Along came a brilliant man named Maximillion. He believed that there was a faster and more accurate way to pre-

pare an estimate. He thought he could equally help body shops and insurance companies through the use of technology. Because this new idea would benefit both parties, he thought he would be able to sell this new product to two different customers. In fact, he

could charge the same amount to each.

It was the beginning of the now overused term “win-win.” All he had to do

was find a way to take the data from printed estimating books and put it in an electronic format.

In a matter of three weeks, he created a robust software application. He spent the next few months selling his product to insurers and repairers alike.

Everyone in the country adored him. He was a hero living the American dream.

He was making far more money than he ever dreamed possible. Life was grand. Who would have imagined that putting a book into a computer could make so many people so happy?

If we were in Medieval Times, our story would have ended there and

the hero would ride off into the sunset with a beautiful maiden on the back of his horse. But because we’ve witnessed computers, television, radio, Pong and ping-pong (and even Beer Pong, a newer non-technology-driven version of Pong fueled by alcohol), we have something else they didn’t have in the Middle Ages: “reality.” It’s difficult to use your imagination and dream big when you know it’s virtually impossible to have a happy ending with an information provider.

Our story resumes with our superhero Maximillion looking to expand his very profitable business. The challenge is that he now has competition. As a result, he is losing customers. Max is faced with making his first big decision since deciding to go into business. Does he sell his product one at a time to 60,000 body shops spread all across this free and beautiful country, or does he sell it to a handful

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of insurance companies? I think we all know which route Max took—the path of least resistance, of course.

The insurance companies purchased the estimating system and required shops to buy the program as a prerequisite to be on their direct repair programs. Maximillion’s profits soared and so did the insurance company’s leverage.

Here the fairy tale ends and the nightmare begins for the shops. Maximillion is trying to serve two masters.

Unfortunately, it’s not possible. Shops and insurance companies have different interests and needs. The once-neutral information provider is being pulled in two different directions.

I think everyone knows who prevailed. Maximillion could lose millions if he chooses to side with the shops. Right or wrong, he is heavily influenced by the insurance companies. Although he attempts to remain neutral, it’s nearly impossible in a world where cost drives most decisions.

Now let’s use our imagination as to what happens next. Over the next 30 years, the strong influence of the insurance companies is evident in all

three major estimating systems.

We’ve witnessed and experienced the so-called enhancements to the systems, enhancements that were clearly designed for one purpose—to appease the demands and suggestions of insurance companies.

This isn’t a fairy tale. It’s the reality of what has transpired. Shops should be outraged. They should be sending a strong message back to the information providers and take action where appropriate. For the information providers, being neutral should not be a choice but a requirement.

Shops and insurers alike pay a lot of money to the information providers. The estimating software should not be influenced by any one group or groups. These companies should provide information—not a service where the highest bidder decides what’s added or modified to the database or system.

The Insider is a corporate-level executive with a Top 10 auto insurer in the U.S.. Got a comment or question you’d like to see him address in a future column? Email him at Auto.Insurance.Insider@gmail.com.

Toyota’s Japan Production Will Near Normal in June

Toyota production in Japan will recover to 90 percent of pre-disaster levels in June, faster than the world’s biggest automaker had projected and highlighting its power to bounce back from the supply disruptions caused by the March earthquake and tsunami, the automaker predicts according to the Associated Press.

The disasters in northeastern Japan had damaged the plants of key parts suppliers, disrupting production at all Japanese automakers. Even with production increasing, some vehicle models could be in short supply for months.

Toyota Motor Corp. gave its good news to suppliers in a meeting at the end of May, company spokesman Keisuke Kirimoto said to the Associated Press. It previously said global production would be at about 70 percent in coming months and was not expected to return to normal until late this year.

By the end of May, the crisis had cost the company production of 550,000 vehicles in Japan, and another 350,000 overseas. Production had been back recently at about 50 percent.

Toyota was initially missing 150 kinds of parts because of the supplier

problems, and that was reduced to 30 parts earlier this month.

Other automakers are also suffering. Nissan Motor Co. expects worldwide production to be back at pre-disaster levels by October, and Honda has said normal production levels weren’t expected until late this year.

Auto production in Japan plunged 60.1 percent in April from the previous year, according to Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association data released May 31.

The 292,001 vehicles was a dramatic drop from 731,829 vehicles the same month a year earlier and marked the seventh straight month of on-year declines.

Toyota already said it will return to a faster-than-expected 70 percent of normal production in June in North America. It had cut North American production to about 30 percent of normal in May by idling factories for days or reducing workers’ hours.

Japanese automakers are also facing another possible production problem in Japan — power shortages.

It is still unclear how serious the power shortage might be for Toyota because electricity will be transferred from other areas.

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Parts Profiles

Larry Williams is an innovative parts manager with national awards and over 30 years of experience in creating and managing profitable departments. He can be reached for consultation at ljoew2@gmail.com

Apathy, the Real Opponent in the Wholesale Parts Business with Larry Williams

APATHY – absence of passion, emotion, or excitement.

I hate to say this, but this word seems best to describe the attitude of many parts managers I have spoken to. It’s not their fault, just their response to their daily input of negative information. Every day they get another dose of pressure, criticism, and doom. They worry about the dealership’s future, loss of customers, rising costs and falling profits. All this on top of the daily stress of filling orders, creates the natural response, “please just let me survive.” They exist on a short term basis, hour by hour, day by day, and month by month. This is how it has been for over three years, since the start of the last economic crash.

We have lost 15% of our dealerships. The weak have perished, and the strong have survived. Here is the good news… things seem to be getting better. According to the L.A. Times, we’ve had a 20% increase in auto sales so far this year! This is the start of a new growth cycle. Smart survivors are taking this opportunity to shed their fears and expand their operations. I say smart because this is the best time to get aggressive and go after new business. The survivors have less competition, and should see steadily increasing sales.

We will always have a minimum level of business. Our customer’s lifestyle demands transportation. Our communities are designed with separate living and commercial areas, and walking between them is not an option. We must have our cars! Maintaining and repairing a modern automobile requires trained technicians and expensive equipment. Very little work can be done by the average owner. Money for maintenance is still short, but repairs are a necessity. That means steady work for all of us.

Now is the time to be positive.

Shake off that dull, negative attitude.

Aggressive solicitation of new customers will pay off for those dealers that move now. Take some time and visit your best customers. Congratulate them for their tenacity and tell them you will be with them for the good times ahead. Partners who sur-

vive hard times always find their bonds stronger. Keep an eye out for customer opportunities that you may have overlooked. Be ready to serve the new customers that will be calling you.

There is another major negative assumption to overcome. Several parts managers have told me of their loss of interest in the wholesale market. The main reason for this is the lack of profit. It seems that there is constant pressure to reduce costs, starting at the corporate level. I am talking about the insurance companies that cover most of today’s repair costs.

In a never-ending search for investor earnings, quality, care, workmanship, and pride are considered to be unnecessary. The only thing that matters to these corporations is their bottom line.

They constantly push the repair shop to reduce the cost of the repairs. The shops cannot reduce their labor cost any lower; employees are already at the poverty level. The only place to cut is the cost of materials. The solution for some shops is the use of cheaper parts. These shops adopt the practices of the corporations, and consider only the cost of materials. Save a dollar, no matter what method you use.

We need to fight back! Quality in both parts and service needs to be worth more than a 5% discount. For example, sheet metal has been a center of concern for several years. Cheap replacement imported metal has found customers, at the cost of quality. Numerous organizations have come out to support the use of original parts only. We all agree on the value of quality in this area. How about the rest of the operation? How about quality of service?

I have never advocated sacrificing service and quality for cost. I believe if you pay less, you get less.

There is a minimum everyone must pay for quality service. The competition should be for better service, not cheaper prices. I believe that servicing the wholesale market is still a rewarding job. Our final goal, happy customers, is a worthy goal and customer satisfaction brings us our own happiness.

24 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Autobody News has always supported quality in our industry, promoting the best products, materials, and service, never “less for less.” In keeping with this philosophy, I would like to offer an opportunity for those dealers who believe in the quality of their service to speak out. I would like to promote those dealers who still believe in customer satisfaction.

Strong, optimistic leaders deserve recognition and support. Any of you that believe as I do, and want to spread their message of quality service; contact me at ljoew2@gmail.com.

I will include you in my column, and promote you as a truly distinctive dealership, a good partner in the auto body repair industry.

Take an active, aggressive role now in your local community. Attend as many local business meetings of the auto industry as possible. Take a stand for quality service above all

else. Our customers deserve our best efforts, and our best efforts will bring us more customers. This is an opportunity for a “win-win” for all.

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Continued from Front Page

PA Associations

ments in Pennsylvania.”

An affiliate of the national association, Minneapolis, Minn., based AASP, the 1,300-member AASP-PA comprises three divisions: Mechanical, Collision, and Towing.

“Any firm that repairs cars is welcome as a member,” says its executive director, Jerry Schantz, who has been with the association for 21 years. He notes that AASP-PA is also an SCRS member.

The group began in 1955 as the Pennsylvania chapter of the Independent Garage Owners of America.

Schantz says the group supported education, technical and management programs for its members; bonding of shops; mechanics’ registration; safety inspection and mechanic’s lien laws; group advertising and insurance; and liaisons with government and industry groups.

In 1972, the association, having merged with the Pennsylvania Auto Body Association, became the Automotive Service Councils of Pennsyl-

vania and, in 1986, it became the Automotive Service Association of PA. This is today’s AASP-PA. The organization provides a variety of services to its members, including health insurance programs and workers compensation insurance discounts and property and casualty insurance. In addition, the group lobbies at the federal level and in Harrisburg, where the group’s governing body meets four times a year.

A full-time lobbyist, John V. Kulik, has represented the group for 25 years on such issues as safety and emissions inspections, environmental regulations, labor laws and motor-fuel marketing. Among the battles fought and won, notes Schantz: guarding owners against artificial fee caps for emissions tests and ensuring that safety and emissions inspections remained annually required, rather than the proposed biennial program. Members strongly endorse these benefits.

“Our company sees many financial and economic benefits from association programs,” says Chet Elia, owner of Elia Auto Body Shop in Reading, PA. These include rental uniform discounts, garage liability insur-

ance, office forms and many training seminars and programs.

One of these programs is Tech Train—an annual event with 2-1/2 days of classroom training, said Elia, whose family has been an AASP-PA member for more than 30 years. In 1960, his dad, Ralph, founded the company, which has been at the current location since 1965. He and his brother Francis oversee day-to-day operations.

“The technical and business training and the workers comp program are two of the major benefits that we use,” says Ken Lenhart, owner of Lenhart’s Service Center in North Huntingdon.

He joined AASP-PA in about 1996. “I had recently bought the business from my father and wanted to learn more about the industry than just repairing automobiles.”

Friendship and camaraderie are also important. “The biggest benefit is rubbing elbows and the exchange of ideas with successful automotive business owners,” Elia says.

Lenhart agrees: “The largest benefit is the relationships and the knowledge from other members,” Lenhart says. “My closest friends and their

families are people who I have met through AASP-PA. “The knowledge that I have gained from other members has allowed me to step out of the box of our family-owned business and to experience the potential of owning an automotive-repair business. I have learned since becoming a member and, being active in the association, how to manage my business—and not allow the business to manage me.”

For Lenhart, association membership is an important legacy as he plans a second location. His grandfather started the business in 1930, and his father assumed control in the late ‘50s. “My son Nicholas has been working with me for the last 10 years or so and working toward being a fourth-generation owner.”

For Schantz, the AASP-PA empowers members such as Elia and Lenhart to protect their businesses and prepare for the future: “Insurance companies and environmental regulations,” he says, “are the largest challenges facing the collision industry.” Contact: AASP-Pennsylvania/Delaware Harrisburg, PA (717) 564-8400, www.aasp-pa.org

www.autobodynews.com | JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS 25

Shop Showcase

Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware, who works in a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family of NASCAR fans.

She can be contacted at crsisk@chasidyraesisk.com.

NY’s Cross Island Collision, Where Training is a Family Tradition with Chasidy Rae Sisk

Cross Island Collision, established in 1976 in Floral Park, New York, is a family-run business centrally located at the border between Queens and

for thirty-five years. George Haggerty owned several gas stations before he decided to go into the auto body business, and he opened his shop with only three employees.

What is most striking about Cross Island Collision is the longevity of the employees, which they credit to being treated like family. The employee tenure ranges between ten and twenty years.

In addition to a reAt Cross Island, a clean and tidy shop is a prerequisite for spectful attitude to his productivity and successful DRPs. workers, Haggerty beNassau, making it convenient for cus- lieves strongly in the rententive power tomers to come and go with public of training. Some shop owners seem to feel that there’s a danger in training transportation.

George Haggerty, the father of people too well, thinking that’s levercurrent owner Brian Haggerty, age for the employee to seek another founded Cross Island Collision which job. What if they leave? But Haggerty has now been in the same location knows that’s the wrong attitude. What

26 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

if you don’t train them, and they stay? praisers who work at Cross Island The shop employs fourteen indiCollision use the Pathways estimating system.. Each of these appraisers must viduals whose average tenure is bealso pass a test given by the NYS Detween ten and twenty years. Cross Island Collision is I-Car Gold certified as well as ASE certified. Employees receive additional training in SP2, a hazardous waste management program.

Employees regularly attend I-CAR courses as well as those offered by companies like Car-OThe Jamaica Ave storefront with prominent signage has Liner, and seek input from helped Cross Island stay healthy for 35 years. other company trainers in order to be aware of the most current partment of Insurance to show that repair methods. Cross Island Collision they have the necessary skills to aputilizes two Car-O-Liner unibody praise damaged vehicles by testing their knowledge of the cars as well as benches, a Down-Draft booth, MIG welders and BASF waterborne paints. their understanding of applicable insurance laws.

The shop employs two appraisers licensed with the NYS Department of Due to the experience of the personnel, as well as insistence on quality Motor Vehicles. The two full-time ap-

parts, the shop stands firmly behind its lifetime guarantee on all of the work that they perform.

The shop is 12,000 square feet with an additional 5000 square feet of storage.

participates in the ‘Horseability’ program, designed to introduce horseback riding to autistic children as a means of therapy. The shop supports this program by raising awareness and assisting with fundraising efforts.

The crew at Cross Island Collision averages significantly better than ten years with the company, which management credits to training and respect given.

Cross Island Collision processes insurance claims as per the industry standard and participates in direct repair programs with Allstate and MetLife.

They also participate in GEICO’s program Auto Repair Express (ARX). Additionally, the shop supports an on-site Enterprise Rent-a-Car location. They generally repair between eighty and one hundred cars each month.

As part of their efforts to aid their community, Cross Island Collision

According to Brian Haggerty, his shop stands out because they treat their customers and employees like family, they provide exceptional customer service, and they offer pick-up and delivery services.

Cross Island Collision, Inc. 22612 Jamaica Avenue Floral Park, NY 11001 516-354-7772 www.crossislandcollision.com

Bill Aimed at Providing Cheaper Auto Insurance for Low-Income Families Dies in Nevada Senate A bill to reduce the required auto insurance coverage for low-income families in Clark County has quietly died in the Nevada Senate as of May 31, according to the Las Vegas Sun. “The Republicans didn’t have an appetite for it,” said Assemblyman Kelvin Atkinson, D-Las Vegas, the sponsor of Assembly Bill 299, according to the Las Vegas Sun. “We’ll fight another day.”

The Senate Commerce, Labor and Energy Committee approved the bill on a 4-3 vote, but it never came up for a vote in the full Senate before the May 31 deadline.

The bill would have allowed a household to qualify with a gross annual income at or below 250 percent of the federally designated poverty level.

The current law requires minimum coverage of $15,000, or $30,000 for two or more individuals for death and injury. It requires $10,000 in coverage for property damage.

The low-cost policy would have provided death or injury coverage of $10,000 per person or $20,000 for two or more individuals. It would have set property damage coverage at $3,000.

The proposed policy would have only covered vehicles valued at $20,000 or less.

Atkinson said the state Insurance Division didn’t know how many people would be eligible in the pilot program, which would have started in Clark County, according to the Las Vegas Sun. This uncertainty coupled with State Farm Insurance Company’s announcement that premiums would likely only be reduced by about $50, although the company took no formal standpoint on the bill, led to the bill’s demise.

To finance the program, 50 cents would have been added to every private car insurance policy in the state.

That would have required a twothirds vote on the bill in the Senate and Atkinson said he wasn’t able to muster up the three Republican votes he would have needed.

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www.autobodynews.com | JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS 29

Service, Service, Diagnostic Di Diagnostic gnostic and an d Mechanical M e chanical ch aniccal al NEWS nd Mec echanical Mech ech ec hanical ca

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School Uses Nanotechnology to Convert Exhaust Heat into Electricity Autobody News

July 2011

NEW YORK • NEW JERSEY • PENNSYLVANIA • DELAWARE

No one is happy about rising gas prices, and to make matters worse, up to 60 percent of each $4 gallon is wasted, lost as heat that pours out of the exhaust pipe.

But what if some of that heat could be collected and converted back into electricity that can recharge the battery that powers the lights, wipers, power steering, or even the electric motor in a hybrid vehicle?

The technology to do just that exists, but it’s still a work in progress.

The solution lies in thermoelectric devices, and engineers at the A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, are challenging previous assumptions about the behavior of the nanoscale materials used to build them. Create better materials, they say, and cars will make much better use of that expensive fossil fuel.

But contrary to the common assumption in nanotechnology, “better” in this case may not always mean “smaller.” That realization may change the way engineers develop future thermoelectric devices.

A material whose response to a change in temperature generates electric potential, or vice versa, exhibits what is known as the thermoelectric effect. Thermoelectric devices can generate electricity when heated by

an external source, or quickly cool or heat their environment when powered with electricity.

So why doesn’t every car have a thermoelectric power generator?

“The reason thermoelectric devices have so far been limited to niche markets is that their efficiency is still too low,” said graduate student Jane Cornett (Department of Materials Science and Engineering). “The goal of our work is to design thermoelectric materials that convert energy from one form to another more efficiently so we can promote the widespread use of products that recycle waste heat and effectively reduce our consumption of fossil fuels.”

For example, cars manufactured or retrofitted with a thermoelectric device placed around the exhaust pipe can use waste heat to generate electricity, improving their overall miles per gallon, especially when a powerdraining system like the air conditioning is in use.

If the device is too bulky and inefficient, however, it will consume more energy than it contributes.

To tackle the problem, Cornett and her advisor, Professor Oded Rabin (Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics), had to challenge some popular theories.

“Previous models told us that the use of nanomaterials at small dimensions would lead to an improvement in power generation efficiency,” said Cornett. “The models also predicted that the smaller the nanostructure, the more significant the improvement would be. In practice, people weren’t seeing the gains they thought they should when they designed thermoelectric devices with nanoscale components, which indicated to us that there might be an issue with the interpretation of the original models.”

Cornett and Rabin have presented a revised thermoelectric performance model that confirms that smaller is not always better. Using advanced computer modeling to investigate the potential of thermoelectric nanowires only 100 to 1000 atoms thick (about 1000 times smaller than a human hair), they demonstrate that in the set of the tiniest nanowires, measuring 17 nanometers or less in radius, decreasing their radii does result in the increased thermoelectric performance previous models predict. In nanowires above 17 nanometers in radius, however, an improvement is seen as the radius increases.

“The surprising behavior in the larger size range demonstrates that a different physical mechanism, which was overlooked in previous models,

is dominant,” said Cornett.

“People were looking for solutions in the wrong places,” said Rabin. “We’ve created a better understanding of how to search for the best new materials.”

Thermoelectric devices are currently used in a few consumer products, including refrigerators and CPU coolers in computers. They could eliminate the need for fluorocarbon refrigerants, giving rise to fluid- and compressor-free cooling systems that pose fewer health and environmental hazards.

Cornett and Rabin’s research is supported in part by the Minta Martin Foundation and the ARCS Foundation.

For More Information: See “Thermoelectric figure of merit calculations for semiconducting nanowires.” Jane E. Cornett and Oded Rabin. Applied Physics Letters 98(1), 182104 (2011) or visit http://apl.aip.org/resource/1/applab/v98/i18/p182104_s1.

The Clark School of Engineering, situated on the rolling, 1,500-acre University of Maryland campus in College Park, Md., is one of the premier engineering schools in the US, with graduate and undergraduate education programs ranked in or near the Top 20.

The Clark School garnered research awards of $171 million in the last year.

Toyota Motor Corp. will face the first test trial in February 2013 of lawsuits combined in federal court that claim a defect causes the company’s vehicles to speed up uncontrollably, a judge said according to Bloomberg News.

U.S. District Judge James V. Selna in Santa Ana, California, said in a “tentative order” that the first bellwether trial would be of claims by the families of two people killed in a Nov. 5, 2010, crash in Utah. Paul Van

Alfen died when his 2008 Toyota Camry crashed into a wall. Passenger Charlene Lloyd died the next day.

Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, recalled millions of U.S. vehicles starting in 2009, after claims of defects and incidents involving sudden unintended acceleration. The recalls set off hundreds of economic-loss suits and claims of injuries and deaths.

“The conduct of a trial in the first quarter of 2013 will markedly ad-

vance these proceedings,” said Selna, who is overseeing most of the federal suits. A bellwether case is used by the court and lawyers for both sides to test evidence and liability theories before moving on to other trials or limiting future litigation. Selna picked the Van Alfen case from six submitted by lawyers for the company and plaintiffs.

In February, the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis-

tration said their probe of possible electronic defects found no causes for unintended acceleration other than sticking accelerator pedals and floor mats that jammed the pedals.

“We are pleased that the initial bellwether will address plaintiffs’ central allegation of an unnamed, unproven defect in Toyota vehicles,” Celeste Migliore, a Toyota spokeswoman, said in a statement.

Toyota to Face First US Sudden-Acceleration Test Trial in 2013

30 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Gonzo’s Toolbox

This is a new story by Scott “Gonzo” Weaver as posted on his website, www.gonzostoolbox.com.

Gonzo has been serving the Tulsa area at Superior Auto Electric for over 27 years. See his book “Hey Look! I Found The Loose Nut”, which provides a Good Laugh for Mechanics of Any Age. The book is available at amazon.com. Contact Gonzo at Gonzosae@aol.com.

A Homemade Air Bag Light—Brilliant Stupidity with Gonzo Weaver

Sometimes I wonder if the things I find wrong with some cars are there for me to find out how ridiculous some people can be. I’ve got to question the thought process and not-sobrilliant ideas that some people have, just before total stupidity takes over. I gotta ask … “What were you thinking?”

The other day I had a late 90’s GM in the shop. The owner had recently bought it from a small car lot, and had no idea of the history of the vehicle. It was one of those “great deals” that he couldn’t pass up. Why is it these great deals always have some sort of catch to them? Maybe it would be a good idea to have it checked out before you buy it. After looking at it, I might tell you to “pass it up.” Honestly, I’ll never understand why someone will buy a used car when they know nothing about it, or decide after they buy it to finally have

it checked out … but they do.

This particular creation had some strange problems. It had a strange battery drain. At first glance all the instrument cluster warning lights, interior lights, and all the electrical functions seemed to be working correctly, but there was a drain strong enough to drain the battery in a day or so. Finding the solution was going to lead to an even bigger problem.

Narrowing it down by watching the amp meter for the parasitic draw value, and pulling fuses till the numbers dropped back into factory specs was the next procedure. Of all things, it ended up back to a crossed up circuit between the air bag system and the charging system. I decided to check the air bag system for codes.

This was interesting, it was offline. No communication with the crash box. Hmmm, I’m a little confused, because I know I saw the air

bag light come on and go off when I pulled it into the shop. Turning the key off, and then restarting the car didn’t help me much, because the air bag light was on and then off. But then again, maybe it did help. Like I said, the light came on, and then went off … Hey, wait a minute isn’t there supposed to be a few seconds before it goes off? Isn’t this how it verifies its systems are functioning properly?

So, what’s going on here?

As a technician I’m trying to follow the codes, the diagnostic charts, and the operating description of the system I’m working on. This particular problem wasn’t following any typical scenarios. Take into account this whole thing started off because of a battery drain … I’m really starting to scratch my head over this one.

I had a lot of different ways to go with this one. I could try and follow the draw a little further, or I could

chase the problem from the air bag side of it. Maybe, it will all lead to the same problem. I think I’ll work on it from the air bag side of the problem.

The air bag fuses were all good, and the light did come on in the dash.

So, I decided to pull the air bag diagnostic module out and pin check the leads to see if that would go anywhere. My first check on any system is the positive signals and then the grounds. Why? Because a loss of ground can be seen as an open lead, and if the positive signals are there, you’ll actually find a voltage signal on the open ground. That’s what electricity wants to do: find ground, and take the shortest path back to the source of the voltage.

In this case they were all there, but when I checked the leads to the instrument cluster the voltage was coming towards the crash box rather See Airbag Light, Page 33

www.autobodynews.com | JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS 31

Shop Strategies for Savings

Walter Danalevich, AAM, has been the owner of Santa Barbara Auto Refinishing since 1979. Contact him at: sbarbody@earthlink.net.

Business Financial Security Preventive Maintenance with Walter Danalevich

Earlier this year (Autobody News, February, 2011) I wrote a shop savings article (Credit Card Processing Fees—Dings, Dents, and Crashes at Your Bottom Line) for ABN readers warning about credit card host processing fees which could significantly ding their bottom lines. My February article pointed out that these fees can be very substantial for body shops.

If you missed the article, you can read it along with my other columns in my column section www.autobodynews.com/columnists/danalevichwalter.html.

Now I would like to re-emphasize the importance of taking extreme caution with authorizing Credit Card hosting agreements and specifically their cancellation fees. A body shop owner contacted me to share his story involving a nightmarish experience pertaining to a cancellation fee he got sucked into compliments of his prior Merchant Credit Card processing Host.

This body shop owner read my ABN article and phoned me to express his frustration during the past five months as a result of his shop cancelling a merchant credit card host service. His shop had recently signed a service agreement, based on the credit card host’s friendly telemarketing sales pitch: “we will give you the lowest credit card processing fee rates on Earth.” Here’s what happened.

The shop’s bookkeeper was continuously aggravated by the credit card host’s customer service department. When she called with questions they were consistently tossed back and forth between service reps. None could provide adequate explanations of the reason for transaction fee deductions from their business checking account.

Soon afterward, the owner and bookkeeper accepted an offer from another Credit Card host, who also offered “the lowest processing fee rates on earth.” The new credit card host sweetened the deal by agreeing to pay the cancellation fee up to $400.

Sounds good, right?

The shop owner proceeded to send an e-mail to his existing credit card host giving written notice for cancellation of service. A couple of

months later the bookkeeper performing account reconciliation noticed an unfamiliar automatic withdrawal on their business checking account and informed the shop manager. He assumed the fee was taken by the prior credit card host which he had cancelled months ago. The shop owner inquired with the Credit Card Host and was told they have not received a cancellation notice and were continuing to actively withdraw monthly minimum usage fees as per the user agreement.

The shop owner had fortunately kept a hard copy of the cancellation email and read it to the credit card customer service rep. The credit card rep made it sound as if fault was with the body shop and not the credit card host, and wanted the shop to send a “signed letter” of cancellation of services.

Shop manager complied and sent the same e-mail letter previously sent and attached his signature.

About a month later the shop manager received a phone call from the fast talking credit card host representative indicating that a new cancellation fee of nearly $1,000 was due.

The shop owner told him he was crazy (using some colorful language) and that he wasn’t responsible for their inadequate customer service. The credit card host rep acknowledged that customer service changes had taken place. The manager requested a breakdown of the proposed cancellation fee charges and was told he would receive them that very same day. No cancellation fee invoice was received that day.

A couple of days later the shop received a copy of the initial service agreement, signed by the manager, which stated in tiny size 6 print that there was a $900 minimal cancellation fee if service was terminated before three years had elapsed. There was also a cancellation fee of $250 disclosed in the terms and conditions manual. This was the fee the shop was planning on forwarding to the new credit card host for reimbursement.

Also received was a cancellation form invoice for $1,235 which had absolutely no explanation attached.

By now the shop owner was not feeling any love for the self-pro-

32 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

claimed “lowest credit card processing fee on Earth” company. He was worried that the credit card host had possession of his business checking account bank routing number and knowing the credit card host could easily insert a large “dent” into his business checking account balance at any time.

The body shop owner had a meeting with his bank manager to discuss the best solution and some peace of mind. The bank manager said a stop payment could be placed that would prevent any future unauthorized withdrawals. However he cautioned that there are common ways the credit card host can easily get around this security tool. The bank manager recommended that the body shop owner permanently close his bank account and open a new account. The shop owner followed his bank manager’s advice and now sleeps without the

worry of having automatic withdrawals made to his account without his authorization.

This story is a cautionary tale for avoiding crashes to your bottom line and a reminder for us all to be careful who we allow access to our banking and other financial information. Oh yeah, watch out for the #6 or smaller size print before you sign anything.

Ed—Anyone considering a new credit card processing provider should start with a review website comparing fees like that at credit-card-processingreview.toptenreviews.com and proceed with due diligence from there. Your mileage may vary.

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Continued from Page 31

Airbag Light

than to the cluster. What now? (Here it’s helpful to remember: I love my job, I love my job, repeat as necessary.) I guess I better pull the cluster and check the wiring from there back to the crash box and see if that goes anywhere.

After pulling the dash it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see what the problem was. On the back of the instrument cluster somebody had cut the circuit board line to the air bag light, and then added a soldered-on wire to the charge light. So when the charge light was on, so was the air bag light.

Once the car started (provided the charging system is working correctly) the charge light would go out, and so would the air bag light. Huh???

You can imagine my “mechanical language” was not for the faint of heart when I found out what was going on. It seems some genius didn’t want to replace the air bag module, so they invented their own air bag warning light instead. Brilliant stupidity…

I think that’s the best way to explain

it. I can’t imagine somebody went through all the trouble to deceive the buyer of this car for a safety issue such as air bags. It should be a criminal offense and it is in some states (see adjacent story this page.)

After undoing the homemade airbag light, the draw was completely gone. Now the only thing to do was to replace the air bag module to bring it back up to working order.

Leave it to some unscrupulous dork out there to try something like this. I’m not saying anybody would have caught the problem at first glance. It was a well thought out deception. If you were not intentionally looking for an air bag light delay, I don’t think you would have caught the problem. But, I still think it is a good idea to have any car checked out prior to buying it. Maybe, just maybe, you can spot problems like this before you own the problem.

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Airbag Fraud, Insurance, Refund Scams In the abstract, airbag fraud occurs when the original airbag is not replaced or calibrated to its previous condition. Airbags are expensive materials and the replacement process is a delicate exercise.

Unscrupulous used car dealers more likely to shirk this process to save time and money in getting cars ready for resale. By reducing the amount of money put into a car, the potential profit increases. Repair shops also engage in this practice for the same reasons. They stand to make more money by purchasing airbag parts very cheaply over the Internet, yet they can charge a customer or insurance company full price for the parts and labor.

As such, airbag fraud has two distinct components: insurance fraud, where the airbag cavity is stuffed with concealable materials such as rags, foam or paper towels while the insurance company is

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Consumers must navigate a number of potential dangers when considering a used car. They have to make sure the mileage is accurate, determine if the engine is in reasonable condition, and ensure that the brakes and suspension are in working order, to name just a few. However, even the most conscientious buyer may not think about whether the airbags are in their original condition, especially if the buyer is purchasing a car with a salvage title.

Because of this naivety, airbag fraud is becoming increasingly common.

National Highway Transportation Administration (NHTSA) issued a report on fatal crashes in 2008 that revealed troubling information about used airbags. In 255 of 1,446 fatal accidents, airbags had not been replaced after a previous crash. In nearly 50 percent of all fatal crashes with non-deployed airbags, these safety devices were defective or simply missing. So while non-deployments are rare, fatalities are likely when airbags do not work as intended.

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www.koeppelmazda.com www.autobodynews.com | JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS 33

Social Media for Shops

Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.

Body Shops and Yelp: It’s a Love-Hate Relationship with Ed Attanasio

The other day I overheard a woman talking on her cell phone. I couldn’t help it. She was upset and yelling.

“Try me, buddy,” she screamed into the phone. “I will Yelp you right out of business!”

Wow, I thought. ‘Yelp’ is now a verb (like ‘Google’), and obviously a part of some people’s daily language.

If you don’t know about Yelp, it’s a nationwide review site where people post comments about their experiences with particular businesses. It promotes itself with the tagline: Real People. Real Reviews. It’s easy to find at Yelp.com.

For many companies, including body shops, Yelp can boost a business with great reviews or damage their bottom lines with snarky comments and low ratings from unhappy customers.

The problem is that those ‘unhappy customers’ might really be jealous competitors, terminated former employees, or a disgruntled ex-spouse or two.

San Francisco Attorney Martin Zurada is putting together a suit against Yelp on behalf of G&C Autobody, contending that the website is manipulating customer reviews to generate revenue for the startup

Yelp is currently getting unfavorable reviews from a lot of body shops throughout the country due to their policies on editing the reviews that are posted. Some shops are suing the San Francisco startup or considering doing so. They allege that the website manipulates customer reviews while the company claims that their system is done by computers, not people with an agenda, such as Yelp advertising salespeople, for example.

Martin Zurada, a San Francisco attorney who has represented several

collision repair companies in different capacities over the years, is currently in the process of putting together a civil suit on behalf of Gene Crozat, owner of G&C Auto Body, with seven locations in Northern California.

Zurada has been watching the Yelp situation for quite some time and he believes the website is manipulating its review system to benefit itself and generate increased revenues as a result.

“As a business owner, the Internet has a lot of power, obviously, because people are Googling, Yahooing and Yelping all the time and looking at your business online,” Zurada said.

“We know that people are going to read the reviews, but the business owners are rarely given an opportunity to respond to any of the reviews or comments being posted, or at least test these claims online.”

Zurada questions the accountability of a site that allows anyone to post reviews without offering a chance to question their reasons. “The motives of these customers are never discussed in these reviews.

For example, you might have a disgruntled vendor who is upset with you because you didn’t pay them on time, and so now they’re writing bad reviews on Yelp. An angry customer will write a negative review and it could potentially be there forever. You can’t respond to the validity of these claims, so the only way a business owner can get satisfaction is via the legal route. But, it’s a long and expensive process to take them to court and collecting is even more difficult.”

Suing Yelp successfully is a tricky proposition for many reasons, Zurada explained. “Some businesses have tried to sue them, but the problem is that the content provider is merely posting what someone else is saying.

They have a certain degree of immunity based on basic Internet laws, so Yelp is not directly liable for items posted on their website. If everything online was contested, of course, there would be no Internet, so they have to be protected to a certain degree. If they’re posting someone else’s claims, we have no issue with that. But, with Yelp passively accepting, organizing,

34 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

and indexing these opinions from the community, what they’re doing is essentially manipulating content in such a way to make money. At that point,

encountered a situation where Yelp will call them or visit their business and tell them if you sign up, we will help you. It just seems like businesses who don’t sign up with them have more bad reviews appearing more often while positive reviews seem to disappear.”

Zurada has encountered this scenario more than once, he said.

“With G&C, we’ve seen it happen—favorable reviews of Crozat’s shops fall off after 30 days, while a small handful of CAA Santa Clara Chapter President Shawn Saidi and his wife Lisa have very mixed feelings. They’ve encountered some unfavorable reviews are questionable practices by Yelp, yet they realize they receive a still listed there from fair amount of new business from the website 2008, for example. I don’t they’re no longer a passive content know what Yelp’s secret algorithm is, but it allegedly detects reviews that are provider. Now they’re actively disreal vs. fake ones. It seems that comparaging your business. Many companies, including body shops, have panies who won’t sign up with Yelp

have more bad reviews and when good ones are posted, they identify them as fake. Good reviews are suppressed and bad ones stay there forever. That’s our main issue with Yelp. Yelp denies it and says they’re neutral, but there has been some considerable litigation against them already along this vein.”

Zurada is in the process of researching former civil suits that have been filed against Yelp, in order to devise the best strategy, he said. “We’re in the process of analyzing these other suits, to see how they were approached and what was either successful or not in pursuing Yelp.

“Of course, Yelp has gotten very good at defending these cases, so it’s not an easy task. How do you prove damages? Yelp defends itself by saying, hey, we don’t know how these reviews actually affected your business, because you can’t prove who stayed away based on bad reviews or not. Potential customers might not choose your shop, because they don’t like the photos of your facility or any of a hundred other reasons. It’s a lawsuit of some definite complexity, but Yelp is not immune to being sued and if they are manipulating this data to make

profit, they’re liable for it and body shops need to be remunerated for their damaged revenues.”

Recently, a group of 66 business owners filed a lawsuit against Yelp, alleging that the website has been running an “extortion scheme” and has “unscrupulous sales practices” in place to generate revenue. They claim that Yelp’s representatives regularly call businesses demanding monthly payments in the guise of advertising contracts, in exchange for removing or modifying negative reviews. The companies involved in the litigation contend that Yelp informed them that bad reviews would disappear by signing an advertisement agreement with the site.

One of the plaintiffs in this current law suit against Yelp is John Mercurio, the owner of Wheel Techniques, a 25year-old company that repairs and does in-house cleaning, polishing and custom painting of wheels in Santa Clara, California.

It all started with a phone call, Mercurio explained. “The people at Yelp contacted me and told me if I purchased an advertising plan with them, they’d help me to get rid of the bad reviews or at least get them

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knocked down the list,” he said. “But, when I told them no way, they immediately removed a total of roughly 50 5-star reviews off my page. We were looking at Yelp.com while we were talking to them, and within a few minutes the positive review that was formerly at the top was gone and a one-star review suddenly appeared in its place” Mercurio felt used and was very upset at what he saw as a kind of extortion. “It was pretty obvious to us that they’re in control and what can we do? In my opinion, the laws haven’t caught up to the Internet yet, and that’s why it’s hard to sue them and even tougher to win.

“We’ve got a ton of proof, because we’ve been documenting everything along the way and I pull reports from Yelp twice per week. They filter my reviews so that my overall rating sits at 2.5 stars. One week, I received three reviews that were all at 5 stars, yet my rating remained at 2.5, because I won’t buy advertising from them.

The 5-star rankings are taken off all the time without any reason, and these are 100% legitimate customer reviews. We need to prove that Yelp’s so-called automated system is bogus, and we have evidence that some of these reviews were done manually. They wanted $1,000 per month, which is ridiculous.

Yelp has cost me a lot of business, up to a one third, I estimate. I know for a fact that a lot of people look at our Yelp reviews every month, so it has hurt my business in more ways than we can ever know.”

Shawn Saidi owns Active Auto Body in Sunnyvale, Calif., a highly successful shop located in a 13,300 square-foot facility and fixing 75–90 vehicles monthly. He is also the current president for the Santa Clara Chapter of the California Autobody Association.

Saidi says Yelp brings him customers, but he is also wary of the site, for several reasons. “They actually generate a lot of business for us. Customers tell us that they see us on Yelp all the time. Most of our reviews on their site are excellent, but we have a few that are really bad. One was from a customer who brought his car to us

around five years ago. About three months ago he wrote a lengthy review that reads like a novel. When you read his review, you can see that we tried to do literally everything we could to make him happy. But, five years later, he’s still not satisfied. A few months ago, we let an employee go and right after that, we got a bad review that was obviously written by this vengeful former employee. It contains a bunch of false information, but there it sits for all to see.”

Saidi isn’t a social media expert, but he can clearly see that something is peculiar in the way his reviews are managed by Yelp, he said. “I don’t know how their system works, but we’ve had more than 100 positive reviews taken off. One of our customers called me and told me that they put his positive reviews aside. This is a legitimate customer and we’ve repaired two of his vehicles, so why are his comments deleted? So, we contacted Yelp and asked them why. They told us that their system goes through the reviews to analyze them for authenticity. If it’s a 5-star review and the user has never posted before, it gets set aside. Then, they tried to sell me advertising— again!”

The anonymity of the reviews on Yelp protects the users, but it also creates a situation fostering unaccountability, Saidi, he explained. “If one of my customers has an issue with one of our repairs, we can sit down and rectify it. I’m not going to email the person, sharing comments back and forth—I’d prefer to sit down with them and handle it properly person-to-person. We always do whatever we can to make it right and we’re proud of our work, but if they’re only commenting online and won’t bring their vehicle back, we can’t help them.”

Yelp was invited to respond to this story but declined to do so.

Next month: How can you defend your reputation when it’s been disparaged online?

Law Offices of Martin Zurada 785 Market Street, Floor 16 San Francisco, CA 94103 (415) 637-8483

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Shop Showcase

Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware, who writes on a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family of NASCAR fans.

She can be contacted at crsisk@chasidyraesisk.com.

Nigro’s in Philadelphia Exemplifies the City’s Brotherly Love Motto with Chasidy Rae Sisk

When William Penn gave Philadelphia its motto as the City of Brotherly Love, he wasn’t thinking about auto body shops. It was 1682 after all. But I don’t know of any other business in Philly that has embraced that motto to the degree that Nigro’s Auto Body has. Located at 939 Washington Ave, Nigro’s Auto Body has always felt the importance of giving back and fostering the community that surrounds them.

This shop continuously proves its dedication to community by donating time, money and energy to improve the daily lives of their customers, neighbors and the city in general.

Aniello Nigro founded Nigro’s Auto Body in 1983 after working at several local shops and deciding to provide customers with the quality workmanship he had learned while an apprentice at his uncle’s shop in Florence, Italy. He adopted his own motto: “Old World Craftsmanship, New World Technology.” Aniello had an auto body shop at a smaller location for about six months before moving to his current location on Washington Avenue. His son and coowner of the shop, Domenico Nigro, tries to follow the same code of standards and ethics as his father. His goal is not only to make his customers happy but also to provide them with knowledge about their automotive repairs, including a lifetime guarantee on the work done at his shop.

Domenico Nigro explained that the shop’s goal is to help the industry and provide customer satisfaction, and he believes one important way to do this is by helping people and disseminating information to other shops. By showing customers that they care, Nigro’s plans to build their brand by helping people so customers know they can trust the shop to do what is

best for them and their vehicles. By uniting with other shops, even nationwide, difficult situations become surmountable as another shop has encountered it and can share their experience, whether it be a technical, insurance or customer situation.

Nigro’s Auto Body is very active in their community in Philadelphia.

Besides donating money to many charities, such as the Childrens’ Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and through setting up fundraisers for Holy Spirit Church and their Padre Pio Foundation, they also contribute to Italian-American organizations, churches and rehabilitation centers.

One such center is De La Salle Vocational for youths on probation where Nigro’s assists with revitalizing the auto body program in particular as well as participating in the program in general. The family has also established the Nigro Family Foundation which benefits women, children and rehabilitation. Nigro’s takes the consumers needs seriously, becoming one of the first shops with “Green Technology” and most recently, becoming an ‘Ask Patty’-Certified Female Friendly Shop.

AutoTex’s PINK Wiper Blades, on sale at Nigro’s, benefit the National Breast Cancer Foundation. For more information, visit www.autotexpink.com or call (800) 692-3962

Recently, Nigro’s Auto Body began selling AutoTex Pink wiper blades which allow customers to follow the shop’s example of giving back as the proceeds benefit the National Breast Cancer Foundation. The blades also have a motto: “Change A Blade and Change A Life.”

The shop participates in fundraisers and charity walks, as well as various food, phone and blood drives.

They also are in the process of establishing sponsorship for annual awards

36 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

for those who help the community and are often underappreciated, such as teachers, firefighters, police, doctors and so forth, in addition to offering

Additionally, the shop works with a company to install equipment for disabled drivers, and the proceeds of this effort are donated to the Bon-

(left to right): Joseph Coulter, Aniello Nigro, Domenico Nigro & Raffaelle Mele

scholarships for children’s education.

Experts at restoring antique and exotic cars, the shop has also contributed efforts to restoring vehicles for the Simeone Foundation Museum.

nacotti Fund. The shop has received a car seat certificate from Safe Kids so they can teach parents how to properly install their child’s car seat, and they plan to participate in a Child Safety Original BMW Parts

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program with CHOP to test car seats as well. They are also involved with the Boy and Girl Scouts, allowing children to earn auto body badges at the shop.

Nigro’s hosts an Ask Patty-certified course to teach women about their vehicles, as well as driving safety classes.

They are also currently developing three phone applications. The first allows the user to contact medical care, the police and emergency contacts as well as sending information directly to the insurance company to help process their claim and show liability in case of an accident. The other two applications are focused on teen driving safety; the first monitors speed and emails parents speed and location information when the teen exceeds a specified speed limit, and the second blocks teens from texting while driving, responding to incoming calls and texts that the recipient is driving and will return the call when available.

Nigro’s also reveals a feeling of responsibility toward the environment.

Besides being one of the first shops in the area to go green, they also sell Passchal handbags which are made from recyclable materials, the proceeds of which benefit the United Way,

DuPont Hospital and the Nigro Family Foundation. They participate in the effort to preserve nature by recycling everything possible, including metals, plastic and fiberglass. They also use Sikkens waterborne paints, by AkzoNobel, and they are currently in the process of researching how they can adopt solar energy power sources.

The shop shows that they care for all aspects of the customer’s wellbeing by offering auto financing and a deductible program to help save money. Additionally, the shop is working on participation in a third-party program called Don’t Pay Us to Fix Your Car which basically allows customers, subject to credit approval, to use their insurance check to pay off high-interest, long-term debt, giving them up to a year to repay the loan without interest for a small upfront fee.

Visiting the shop’s website, potential customers can see further evidence that Nigro’s Auto Body truly cares about their needs. The site offers information about their many programs as well as resource articles with useful information such as the steps to take if involved in an automobile accident and how to save money on gas, among others.

Adding to the site’s comprehensiveness is the option of translating it into English, Spanish or Italian, the three languages spoken in the shop.

Though Nigro’s typically utilizes standardized equipment, such as MIG welders, a Chart frame machine and measuring systems, one unique piece of equipment that they rely on is their handmade downdraft spray booth. Aniello Nigro hand-crafted his booth using a design from his uncle’s shop in Florence, Italy. The inside of the booth is covered with white ceramic tiles, and according to manager Wayne Simmons, their “multi-filter downdraft design provides a perfect airflow, virtually eliminates contaminants, and is heated for baking finishes, basically allowing our painter to create near-flawless finishes.”

Nigro’s Auto Body employs six workers and encompasses 3000 square feet where they complete approximately twenty-five cars each month.

The shop has been certified I-CAR Gold, and by PPG, ASE, ASA, BASF and ADP, in addition to being Esco Institute EPA Certified. In addition to auto body work, Nigro’s also engages in some towing and accident-related mechanical repairs.

Domenico Nigro concedes that this is one of the toughest times he has seen in all the years of Nigro’s existence. The economy, price of parts, tougher insurance and adjuster relations and regulations, combined with customer demands and the technology of the automobiles all add up to tough times. However, Domenic maintains it does not all have to be doom and gloom. He has compiled several pamphlets specifically for fellow shop owners and is very willing to share them along with other thoughts, ideas, and questions. He urges shop owners to contact him by email at NigroAutoBody@Comcast.net and place Body Shop Magazine Article in the subject line. He regrets that phone calls cannot be handled due to volume.

Nigro’s is determined to help unite the body shop industry and share some of the wealth of information they have gleaned from doing business throughout the decades.

Nigro’s Auto Body 939-41 Washington Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19147 215-925-0910 www.nigrosautobody.com

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Action Counts

Learning to Face that “Big Hill” with Lee Amaradio Jr.

Learn each day to deal with the issues you are faced with at the moment. We all make huge mistakes when we look too far ahead and begin to worry about what might or could happen eventually.

I ride mountain bikes, and have been for years, but recent circumstances have kept me off of my bike for quite some time. Last week I chose to break out my bike, fill up the tires, and go for a ride. I chose a route that I knew very well. It’s a short 12-mile loop with a big demanding hill at the end.

As I started my ride everything went as planned except I realized quickly that I was not in the shape I had been in the past. I was very familiar with this route because I had done the ride a hundred times or so. I knew the “Big Hill” that was waiting for me at the end, when I would be the most tired. As I continued on I really wasn’t sure I was feeling strong enough to do the “Big Hill.” I continued to think about the “Big Hill” constantly as I rode on. I realized that I was worrying about the “Big Hill” so much that I was adjusting the way I was riding and this was making me more tired. I was conserving energy by going slower then faster, (wrong technique) and was not feeling good at al. My entire focus was on the “Big Hill,” so much so that at this rate I may not even make it to the “Big Hill.”

I stopped to take a break. I was exhausted thinking that I was really out of shape when it dawned on me that

worrying about the hill was consuming all of my energy. I was too concerned about how I thought I would feel if I didn’t conserve enough energy instead of just riding the best I could and dealing with the hill when I got there. The hill that I may not even ride up was dictating how I was riding now and adding an element of stress that made no sense at all.

I realized that there was a mental battle going on in my mind and it was sapping my strength. I have read many articles which have pointed out that dealing with stress can use up to seventy percent of our physical energy. I was feeling this firsthand now and the “Big Hill” was consuming my strength. I needed to make a decision right then to either ride the hill or not ride the hill or my entire ride would be pointless. I would be returning home feeling defeated rather than uplifted and strong.

So I decided I was going to ride the hill no matter how painful it was. I got back on my bike. Now my goal was only to get to the hill and to the top of it as quickly as possible. I felt a surge of energy like the days of old and was pedaling as fast as I could to the base of the hill. The very thing I was afraid of before was now what was motivating and energizing me.

I faced the hill and dealt with it and it lost its power over me. Not only did I get to the top of the hill but I learned a lesson that I was able to apply

Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems Don’t Mean Drivers Never Need to Manually Check Tire Pressure

Auto manufacturers and consumers have spent tens of millions of dollars on the new tire pressure monitoring systems that are required on all new vehicles, but Ford Motor Company now suggests that consumers should not rely on the monitors to make certain that their tires have the proper amount of air.

Instead, it recommends the weekly use of a gauge to more accurately check tire pressure. Keeping tires at the recommended pressure can reduce the average amount of fuel used by 3 to 4 percent.

“Many drivers will be wasting fuel—and money—if their tires are underinflated,” says David Rohweder, Ford’s tire and wheel expert. “Properly

inflated tires play an essential role in enabling vehicles to achieve their best fuel economy.”

The right amount of pressure in the tires also enhances safety. Virtually all new vehicles are equipped with tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) that alert the driver when a tire is significantly underinflated, but that doesn’t mean drivers no longer have to check the air pressure regularly.

Even if underinflation has not reached the level to trigger illumination of the TPMS low-pressure warning light, drivers should check the pressure in their tires frequently. Ford recommends customers perform the check See Tire Pressure Checks, Page 39

38 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Lee Amaradio, Jr. is the president and owner of “Faith” Quality Auto Body Inc. in Murrieta, California. Lee is president of the CRA as well as an advocate for many other industry groups. He can be contacted at lee@faithqualityautobody.com

to my business and my life in general.

I had faced the hill—the thing that I was most afraid of at that time—and I had dealt with it, so it lost its power over me. Whether or not I decided to ride up the hill was not the issue. I needed to make a decision early on to face it so I could free my mind up and concentrate on the task at hand, which after all, was just riding the bicycle.

The stress was not only mentally exhausting it was also draining me physically. After I made it up the hill and went home feeling stronger, inspired, and satisfied like I had really accomplished something that day.

We worry about many things that we will never change in the collision industry—that is, the “Big Hill” is not going to go away. But how we deal with our “Big Hills” is what will make the difference. I recognized that making the decision itself was the key, not whether or not I actually rode up the “Big Hill.”

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I reminded myself that I needed to free my mind so I could concentrate on what was before me. I needed to eliminate the stress that was controlling my present to be able to keep moving so my strength could return. I needed to make the decision about what I was going to do with the “Big Hill,” beforehand—a simple decision —either ride up it or not.

Once I decided to ride the hill, it was easier to focus on getting to the top when I actually arrived at the bottom.

The stress of thinking about the hill took more physical strength than actually riding the hill did.

In business we have many “Big Hills.” Some we will choose to ride up, others we will choose to go around, but it’s better make the decision to ride or not as soon as you can so you don’t waste energy thinking about what may happen or what could be. Learn to enjoy the ride, and those “Big Hills” will take care of themselves.

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Continued from Page 33

Airbag Fraud Law

billed for actual airbag parts; and refund scams, where a body shop actually orders a new airbag for a customer but never installs it. Instead, the shop bills the customer for the part and returns the airbag to the manufacturer.

Unfortunately, there are no hard statistics detailing the prevalence of airbag fraud, but insurance officials are concerned about the warning signs driving this trend. Jim Quiggle, Director of Communications for the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud says, “Airbag fraud is a black hole for data,” and, “Nobody knows how widespread it is, but the warning signals are everywhere.”

The coalition’s executive director, Dennis Jay, is concerned with online sites selling nonconforming airbag parts in violation of state law.

He explains that there are enough instances for consumers buying used cars to be concerned, because there is a potential for a vehicle to not have a functioning airbag.

California Passes Automotive Repair Act, Doubling Fraud Penalties To address this growing concern, the California Senate recently passed the Automotive Repair Act (Senate Bill 869), which established the Bureau of Automotive Repair. Among the many regulations the Bureau will enforce, auto repair shops would now be required to return airbags to their original operating condition when replaced during collision repair.

Under the new statute, a repair shop or dealer who prepares a written estimate for the replacement of a deployed airbag, and who fails to repair and fully restore it, is guilty of a misdemeanor that is punishable by a $5,000 fine, by one year imprisonment in a county jail, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

A number of automakers, including Honda, Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Toyota, applauded the legislation.

They found it clarifies repair shops’ responsibilities, reduces fraud, and promotes driver safety.

Check the Vehicle History Even with the new law in place, driv-

ers should take the following steps to make sure that airbag repairs are properly completed.

For used car buyers, checking a vehicle’s Carfax or Autochex history is an important step. This report will indicate whether a car has been in an accident, which would lead buyers to do a VIN number check on each of the car’s airbags. A technician could even check the airbags to see whether the same airbags are still in the vehicle.

For owners having cars repaired, checking the airbag indicator is essential. When the car starts, an airbag indicator should appear instantly and then go out. A continuous flashing light may indicate an airbag system malfunction. If the light never turns on, the airbag may be missing.

Consumers who believe they are victims of airbag fraud should contact an experienced attorney to learn more about their rights and options.

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Tire Pressure Checks

with an accurate (+/- 0.5 psi) digital tire-pressure gauge. Check tire pressure when the tires are cold, before they have been driven on. And always remember to check the air pressure in the spare tire when you check the other tires.

Air temperature can have a great effect on tire pressure, just like when a child’s ball goes flat when left out in the garage in the winter. Temperature can change tire pressure by an average of one psi for every change of 10 degrees. Driving also affects tire pressure.

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Continued from Front Page

Allstate

The survey analysis authors told Auto Insurance Report that the percentage of consumers who got a quote from another insurer was up 23 percent last year, and the percentage of those who actually changed to another insurer was up 56 percent. Only 48 percent of consumers have been with the same insurer for six or more years, down from 53 percent in 2008.

The economy is certainly prompting some of this trend. Many people are looking to shave household costs, and may be willing to switch for far less in savings than it may have taken them to bother just a few years ago.

But another reason for the shopping may be that auto insurance advertising soared 22.6 percent to a record-high $5 billion last year, according to analysis by Dowling and Partners Securities. That reversed a 4.2 percent decline in advertising in 2009.

Prior to 2009, the industry had increased advertising spending for seven straight years. In the past decade, insurance industry advertising —the vast majority of which focuses on auto insurance—has grown 211 percent from $1.6 billion in 2001. The biggest jump in advertising last year was by Farmers Insurance, which spent $505 million, up 125 percent from the previous year.

Insureds are confused. Although motorists may be shopping for insurance, they don’t necessarily know what they are buying. More than onethird of U.S. drivers who have read at least part of their auto insurance policies have had trouble making sense of them, according to an online Harris Interactive poll commissioned by InsuranceQuotes.com.

About 87 percent of the 2,079 insured drivers surveyed said they had read at least some portion of their policies, but 36 percent of those drivers said those policies were somewhat or very difficult to understand.

Insurance rates outpace labor rates. Increases in auto shop rates are not quite keeping up with overall inflation—but pricing for auto insurance is rising faster.

The national average for body and paint labor rates has risen only modestly year-over-year since 2006, according to figures from CCC Infor-

mation Services. The average body labor rate rose from $41.42 in 2006 to $44.67 in 2010, up an average of 2.1 percent per year (paint labor rates rose similarly). The national average hourly rate for paint materials rose slightly faster, from $22.26 in 2006 to $25.37 in 2010, an average increase of 3.5 percent per year.

Overall, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for autobody work rose an average of 3.44 percent per year for that 5-year period.

By comparison, the CPI for all products rose an average of 2.2 percent per year. The CPI for auto insurance rose an average of 2.6 percent per year, and the CPI for vehicle parts and equipment (other than tires) rose an average of 3.92 percent per year.

But data for the first four months of 2011 tells a different story. The overall CPI seems to be rising faster than that for autobody work, and the CPI for auto insurance is staying even above that.

State lawmakers consider insurance-related bills. As legislative sessions wrap-up for the year in many states, bills regulating insurers in ways that impact shops continue to be passed, considered or rejected.

A bill approved by the Nevada Assembly to establish a program to help low-income drivers get low-cost auto insurance coverage died in that state’s legislature in late May because it failed to come up for a vote in the Senate within 110 days of introduction.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin is urging motorists to oppose three bills in that state that would strip his office of its ability to cap auto insurance rates.

“We hear the insurance companies calling it auto rate modernization,” Goodwin said. “Well, if making your rates skyrocket is modern, then you can just call me old-fashioned.”

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has signed a law cutting the minimum property damage coverage that drivers in that state must carry from $15,000 to $10,000.

And in appointing insurance company executive Kevin Clinton as the new insurance commissioner of Michigan this spring, Gov. Rick Snyder made clear his priorities for Clinton. Snyder, a Republican, said Clinton must “make sure consumers are protected by making sure financial institutions are sound,” and will “lead

40 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

our effort to eliminate burdensome regulations that are preventing the (financial) industry from growing.”

More federal oversight coming.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury in May announced plans to create a Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance to provide guidance to the new Federal Insurance Office created as part of federal Wall Street reforms.

Half of the committee’s members will be reserved for state and tribal insurance regulators; other members will be chosen from the various insurance industries, the agent and broker community, public advocates and academia.

Allstate looks to change a downward trend. Allstate’s acquisition of Esurance (and Answer Financial, an insurance quote service) from White Mountains Insurance Group is widely viewed as a good move for the insurer, which has seen its marketshare drop the past two years. The buy should help Allstate, as the country’s secondlargest auto insurer, better compete with No. 3 GEICO and No. 4 Progressive which, like Esurance, sell directly online and which have been gaining marketshare ground as Allstate has faltered. GEICO’s 5 percent

growth in total premiums last year puts it on track to catch Allstate (if Allstate’s rate of decline in recent years continued) by 2013.

Esurance, founded in 2005, sells policies in 30 states and has seen its total premiums grow on average by 20 percent a year for the past five years.

Anti-texting effort continues.

With Indiana recently becoming the 32nd state to approve insurer-supported bans on texting-while-driving (Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering a similar ban), State Farm offers a free widget for the Android phone that it hopes will help drivers avoid the urge to read or send a text while behind the wheel.

The “On the Move” widget allows users to compose and reload customized messages—such as, “I can’t respond right now because I’m driving”—that are sent as automatic responses to incoming text messages.

Collision repairers needn’t be overly considered with such efforts, however. Research by the Highway Loss Data Institute showed last year that accident rates aren’t reduced by laws prohibiting drivers from texting or from using hand-held cell phones.

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How to Survive a Summer Slump with Thomas Franklin

In my neighborhood, several shops are saying they’re having a “summer slump.” Maybe it’s the economy.

Maybe people have gone on vacation ignoring needed repairs. With gas prices sky high people are driving less and having less accidents. Whatever the case, it can come down to less business for the moment. What can a shop owner do to survive this down time?

Perhaps one bright spot is all of this is the fact that with less jobs to do, you may have more time to improve marketing and sales and maybe squeeze more profits out of the jobs you do get. This could be an ideal time to take a closer look at previous estimates (and estimators) to see if revenue and profits were slipping through the cracks. Today we have computer software to go through an estimate to find missed opportunities for revenue, but not every shop uses it, or takes the time to use it even if it’s available. Periodically a wise manager will review

a few estimates to see how his or her estimators are doing. A summer slump can be a perfect time to get this done.

When business is slow, less money is coming in. It’s also a good time to look for costs that can be cut without harming the bottom line. Since personnel pay is usually the largest expense at a shop, laying people off is often the first choice in cost cutting, but it may not be the wisest. Cutting back on advertising and marketing during a slow time is not a good idea, but this can be a good time to get more bang for your marketing buck. Today Yellow Page listings and ads are outrageously expensive—unless they’re really bringing in customers. One shop did an inventory of Yellow Page ad responses to see how many calls actually produced business. The largest percentage of calls was from vendors trying to sell the shop some service or product. Hardly any calls produced even an estimate. This is a good place to start cutting costs.

Mazda 3 ‘11

Tom Franklin has been a sales and marketing consultant for fifty years. He has written numerous books and provides marketing solutions and services for many businesses.

He can be reached at (323) 871-6862 or at tbfranklin@aol.com.

See Tom’s columns at www.autobodynews.com under Columnists > Franklin

Another area to examine while you have the time is closing ratios.

How many estimates are resulting in work orders? Are your estimators capturing every possible job? I recall one shop I visited that often had a potential customer walk through some selected areas of the shop to look at highly precise repair operations like frame measurement and color matching. I was told that a little sales talk on the superiority of the shop’s expertise often convinced the customer that this was the best place to leave the car for repairs. This down time could also be a good time to get a couple of display areas highly polished for customer viewing.

Reviewing prior marketing efforts may also produce some unexpected opportunities. One shop I visit has repaired police vehicles for years, but he says when the sergeant in charge of repairs changes, there is always a danger of that individual hav-

ing his own favorite repair facility.

Losing that repair business could be very costly so he makes it a top priority to get to know a new sergeant immediately. A change in personnel at any key business source can represent either a danger of loss or an opportunity for gain. During this summer slump there may be time to call on some dealerships, commercial prospects or potential government agencies to get to know the person responsible for outsourcing vehicle repairs. It can be a good time to make change your ally.

Another good use of extra time can be checking out your neighborhood for ways to get more visitors to your shop. Schools, churches, health clubs and gyms and other organizations where a substantial number of people come can provide an opportunity to host an event at your shop. One shop offered a teacher at a church See Summer Slump, Page 44

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SCRS Releases Commentary on Farmers New COD DRP Agreement Controversy Recently, industry trade publications, including Autobody News (June, 2011) have reported on the concern voiced from repair facilities across the country over intrusive elements of Farmers Insurance new COD agreement. The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) reviewed the content, and believe that it is in the best interest of the industry to make the agreement available for public review.

Insurance carriers have continued to increase pressure over repair shops to obtain the quickest/cheapest repair, while interjecting themselves further into the oversight and management of repair businesses. The industry is often disadvantaged by restriction of communication from participants of these programs, and it is important for the industry to rely on factual review of documents, rather than anecdotal musings. If we wish for business conditions to improve, it is important that our industry finds the voice to express our concerns openly and honestly without fear of being transparent.

To that purpose, SCRS has highlighted some areas of interest. All recipients of this communication are notified that the materials presented are not to be construed as direction or suggestion, and is intended simply to better inform individuals acting within their own judgment, making sound business decisions, without agreement to take concerted action.

Please note that in these excerpts, “Exchange” refers to Farmers Insurance, and “Vendor” refers to the DRP repair facility:

5.2 DISPUTED AMOUNTS. If Exchange in good faith disputes any portion of a Vender invoice (“Disputed Amount”), Exchange will timely pay Vendor for the undisputed amounts of that invoice. Unless otherwise specified by federal or state laws, statutes, codes, rules, or regulations, within thirty (30) days of receipt of an invoice from Vendor on which a Disputed Amount appears, Exchange will (i) notify Vendor in writing of the specific items in dispute; and (ii) describe in detail Exchange’s reason for disputing each such item. Within thirty (30) days of Vendor’s receipt of such notice, the Parties agree to negotiate in good faith to reach settlement on any items that are the subject of such dispute. Vendor will not terminate this agreement on the basis of an alleged breach involving Exchanges

failure to pay a Disputed Amount unless the Disputed Amount exceeds fifteen percent (15%) of the total amount payable under this Agreement or the sum of twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000), whichever amount is greater.

(SCRS Note: DRP facilities would seemingly have agreed that the carrier can dispute their charges 30 days after they are invoiced, and the repair facility can’t terminate their agreement based on a breach of contract if they fail to pay unless it is a $25k short-pay.)

11.4 Vendor shall ensure that its General Liability, Workers Compensation, Garage Liability, Coverage for Garage Operations, and Physical Damage insurance policies allow Vendor to waive its rights of recovery prior to a loss and that the carriers furnishing such insurance policies shall be required to waive all rights of subrogation against Exchange, its officers, agents, employees, and other vendors and subcontractors.

To the extent permitted by law, Vendor shall look solely to its insurers and not to Exchange’s insurers for loss or damage arising from Exchange work performed.

(SCRS Note: How many business carriers will allow their clients to waive their rights in this manner through this agreement? Will a collision repair business still have coverage if they sign this?

How many of the shops have taken the time to forward this provision to their carriers to ask if they approve of their unilateral waiver of rights to subrogate against the carrier in question? What if a staff re-inspector injures themselves on the shop property due to their own negligence? It appears plain and simple; the liability falls on the shop for their repair approach and choices.)

12. MOST FAVORED CUSTOMER. During the term of this Agreement, if Vendor enters into a written contractual relationship with an insurance company or organization pursuant to which (a) Vendor provides services substantially similar to those provided to Exchange, and (b) Vendor provides pricing or other commercial terms that are more favorable than the pricing or commercial terms being provided to Exchange for work performed by Vendor, then Vendor shall offer to Exchange in writing, within thirty (30) days of Vendor entering into such agreement, the same or better pricing and/or commercial terms to Exchange. On a quarterly basis, Vendor shall provide a written certification

42 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

executed by an officer of Vendor of Vendor’s compliance with this Most Favored Customer provision.

(SCRS Note: “Most Favored” pricing language is currently being challenged in the healthcare industry. Is it interesting that the repair industry is constantly asked to be “competitive” and those same parties now want the industry to guarantee pricing given to another party, which by virtue is not competition.)

16. SUBCONTRACTING 16.1 (ii) Sublet repairs reflecting a retail price within the local market should be written without a mark-up. Sublet items reflecting a wholesale price may be considered for a mark-up not to exceed 25% of the sublet charge. All invoice mark-ups combined may not exceed $200 for the entire repair.

17. INSPECTION OF BOOKS AND RECORDS. Vendor agrees to maintain and preserve its books and records in accordance with generally accepted assounting procedures (“GAAP”) for a period of three (3) years or for a longer period if required by applicable

law or regulation. Any time prior to the termination of this Agreement and for a period of two (2) years thereafter, Exchange shall have the right to inspect and audit such portions of the Vendor’s books and records as is necessary for purposes of verifying amounts payable to Vendor or its authorized subcontractors and to verify compliance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. Vendor agrees to make such books and records available for inspection by Exchange, its designee, or any insurance regulatory authority immediately upon request.

(SCRS Note: Are business owners willing to open internal accounting books to a party outside of the business? There are concerns voiced regularly throughout the industry regarding data that is shared through electronic mechanisms. Now this program appears to require businesses to open up all their books, P&L statements and proprietary business information to another party.)

27. BACKGROUND CHECKS. 27.2 In no event will Vendor in the performance of this Agreement use the services

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of an individual who has been convicted of a felony, including but not limited to any convictions involving dishonesty, a breach of trust or moral turpitude.

(SCRS Note: Language in this section is similar to requirements in other programs, requiring complete background checks, and no shop can employ individuals who have ever been convicted of a felony; in some states that may mean a DUI. How many of businesses hire good, decent employees—from detailers, technicians to office staff - who may have made mistakes in the past, but have earned their employers trust and respect for the work they do today? Is it necessary to allow another party to interject who is employed in a privately run business?

Is the requirement reciprocal to the representatives who will interface with repair facilities in the field?)

There is lots of information in this agreement. SCRS’ decision to release a link to this document is in no way to be construed as legal or ethical advice or opinion; however, it is our hope that the industry finds the information useful in making educated business decisions, and discusses the material responsibly.

— SCRS Staff

Boyd Gerber Group to Acquire 28 Locations of Cars Collision LLC, Total Now 164 in North America

Boyd Group Income Fund announced June 20 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the 28 locations of Cars Collision Center of Colorado, LLC and Cars Collision Center, LLC, in a deal valued at approximately $21 million U.S. Cars is a private company that operates 14 locations in Illinois, eight locations in northern Indiana, and six locations in Colorado. It generated sales of approximately US$65 million in the 12 months ended April 30, 2011.

Subsequent to the acquisition, Boyd will have a total of 45 locations in the Chicago-area market, up from 23.

This is the company’s second major acquisition in about year. Last summer, Boyd announced its acquisition of the 37 locations of True2Form Collision Repair Centers for $18 million U.S. One year ago, prior to the True2Form acquisition, Boyd had a total of 56 U.S. locations. Following the True2Form deal, this latest Cars acquisition and a number of individual deals since last summer, the company has more than doubled the size of its U.S. operations to 127 stores. The company has not acquired any additional locations in Canada.

“We are very pleased with the planned acquisition of Cars, as we con-

tinue to execute on our stated strategy of growing our business,” said Brock Bulbuck, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Boyd Group. “By

Boyd Group North American Coverage

our estimates, the acquisition will position Boyd as the largest multi-location collision operator in North America, not only in terms of number of locations, but also in terms of annual sales. After completing this transaction, Boyd will have a total of 164 collision repair centers across 13 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces.

Bulbuck said, “We expect to see substantial benefits from the transac-

tion, including expanded critical mass and presence in one of our key markets, an expanded national footprint which translates into enhanced value to our U.S. insurance company clients, as well as additional synergies.

We are confident that the similarities between the business models of Boyd and Cars, as well as each company’s vision for the future, will result in an excellent strategic fit. While we are continuing our growth strategy of adding eight to 13 new locations per year, this acquisition represents a unique and attractive opportunity to acquire another strategic multilocation repair business and achieve accelerated growth.”

The transaction is expected to be completed by July 1, 2011, subject to certain closing conditions being fulfilled. Funding for the transaction will be through a combination of cash, U.S. bank debt, third-party financing, and a seller take-back note. Boyd said the company will not be issuing any new equity to fund the transaction.

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Continued from Page 41

Summer Slump

school an opportunity to bring her class to the shop for an educational tour to see what collision repair is like.

Many shops have a large open space that isn’t used on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Offering a space for a bake sale or group meeting can get local people familiar with the shop and its activities. Most people prefer to patronize a familiar business.

Another way to benefit from checking out your neighborhood is noticing what signs are eye-catching.

Many business owners are proud of their display efforts and would be willing to share information on what signs and displays have been most effective for bringing in new customers.

Although these are reaching customers for a different kind of business, the odds are good that this information may open your eyes to a new way to reach local people. It’s unlikely you would ever try these outreach efforts when business is good, but taking advantage of this time to reach out may help you survive the “summer slump.”

Chevy Volts Selling at Inflated Prices, But GM Says Volt Will Be Cheaper

Several Chevrolet dealerships around the country are pricing this already expensive vehicle as much as $20,000 above the Suggested Retail Price, according to GreenTech. Some dealers are reportedly selling Volts as used vehicles so they can pocket the $7,500 tax credit.

Gas prices have caused a number of new car buyers to seek to buy the Volt and other electrics and hybrids.

Some dealers and Chevrolet reps claim that such practices are “exaggerated.” AutoNation has, even, asked its dealers not to charge a premium for the Volt. In some cases, however, GM has had to intervene and has encouraged dealers to take the long-term view or approach to this opportunity.

Some say this is capitalism at its worst while others retort that the practice of marking up hot vehicles may be termed “un-American”—but hot vehicles have always been marked up for years. What is ironic and even hard to understand is that there are indications that potential buyers are actually not being turned off or even angry about such pricing practices—which just does not seem to ring true.

This kind of conduct by Chevrolet dealers is really ironic as well as self-defeating particularly since the public generally still regards the dealer

Auto Lender Ally, Formerly GMAC, Delays IPO Due to Market Conditions Ally Financial Inc. has decided to delay an initial public offering (IPO) because of weak market conditions, two people briefed on the matter said to the Detroit News on June 10.

The mortgage and auto lender and bank holding company was expected to launch a road show ahead of an IPO planned before the July 4th holiday.

The IPO could come in late July or early August, or be pushed until after the Labor Day holiday, when much of Wall Street returns from vacation, said the officials on June 9.

They asked for anonymity because the information had not been made public.

The US Treasury Department plans to raise $5 billion as part of a $6 billion offering when Ally goes public.

The Treasury Department owns a controlling 74 percent stake in Ally as part of the $17.2 billion bailout during the financial crisis.

Ally filed the paperwork March 31 in order to launch an IPO. Ally declined to comment on June 9.

The Treasury is expected to sell some shares. Other owners such as General Motors Co., which holds a 9.9

percent stake in Ally, and Cerberus Capital Management LP, which holds a 9 percent stake, do not plan to sell shares.

Treasury has received about $4.9 billion in returns from Ally to date, including $2.2 billion in dividends and interest.

The company reported a $1.1 billion profit in 2010.

Citi, Goldman, Sachs & Co., J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley are all advising Ally on its initial public offering.

With more than $172 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2010, Ally operates as a bank holding company.

Ally also has operations in mortgage and commercial finance, and the company's subsidiary, Ally Bank, offers retail banking products through its online arm.

Ally, which was known as GMAC Inc. until last year, was founded by GM more than 90 years ago as its inhouse finance arm. It sold a 51 percent stake in the company in 2006 to Cerberus Capital Management LP in a $7.4 billion deal.

44 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

body to be not always trustworthy, transparent, or timely with good guy sales tactics, according to GreenTech.

Basically, these dealers are blowing a great opportunity to demonstrate to new car buyers, particularly, the kind of people who can afford to buy a Volt, that they are fair and above board in the sales process for a new Chevrolet.

Actually, it is very annoying, frustrating, and even surprising that we keep seeing automotive retailers behave like this. This is price gouging and an illegal sales practice. These dealers are preying on people who want to be responsible citizens and to be green by buying a Volt.

The even more confounding aspect of this price manipulation is that some dealers will seek to “devalue” the trade of the green vehicle buyer by suggesting that their three year or more old vehicle is a gas hog and therefore not worth even what Kelley Blue Book says it should be.

General Motors said June 10 that dealers in all 50 states can take orders for the 2012 Chevy Volt, which will come in a model priced just below $40,000.

The plug-in hybrid Volt is now available in six different models, rather than three, with the lowest listed at $39,995, or about $1,000 less than the 2011 price. The high-end model with

leather, backup camera, navigation system, and other features is $46,265.

Prices include the destination fee but not other taxes and fees.

Buyers can benefit from a federal tax credit of $7,500 for plug-in vehicles with batteries the size of the Chevy Volt's. GM is already working on bringing down the cost of the electric powertrain in the Volt, as the price is still higher than that of traditional hybrids.

Significantly for GM, the Volt will now be on sale nationwide, rather than in just seven states and the District of Columbia. The company took a regional rollout approach in an effort to work out kinks in the selling and home charging station installation process.

Since GM and Nissan, which makes the all-electric Leaf, started delivering their plug-in sedans about six months ago, auto industry watchers have been tracking the monthly sales totals, with both carmakers about even in total sales for the year to date, according to GreenCarReports.com.

GM said it expects to sell 45,000 Volts to fleet and retail customers in 2012. The Volt refresh will include a handful of new features, including three years of OnStar navigation service, and the same eight-year/100,000 mile warranty for its battery. tC 2011

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Auto Body World in Arizona to Add Eighth Location

Hyundai, Kia Face Fair Trade Commission Antitrust Probe on Auto Parts Pricing After Allegations

South Korea’s antitrust regulator has begun a probe into allegations that Hyundai Motor Group forced its auto parts suppliers to lower product prices, a person familiar with the matter said June 9 according to the Detroit News.

The Fair Trade Commission this month visited the offices of Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp. and Hyundai Mobis Co. after sending the companies, all members of the Hyundai Motor Group, notice of the probe, the person said.

It wasn’t clear which auto parts and which suppliers are involved.

Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s fifth-largest car maker by sales, dewww.autobodynews.com clined to comment.

CHECK OUT!and Kia Motors HyundaiITMotor usually have price-setting negotiations with around 2,000 subcontractors twice a year.

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Auto Body World Collision Centers, based in Phoenix with several for forcing its parts suppliers to reshops in the south-central past of duce component prices. the state, will add its eighth locaThe antitrust watchdog’s latest tion, the company announced May move comes as the government is ex31. pected to place more emphasis on The new 34,000-square-foot supporting small and midsize compashop, located on W. Chandler Blvd. in nies, many of which continue to exChandler, AZ, will open in June. perience tough times even as the Auto Body World Collision Cennation’s conglomerates power the ters was founded in 1962 and is Aricountry out of the 2007-2008 global zona’s largest independently owned financial crisis. multi-shop operator, with shops With South Korea recovering throughout the Phoenix and Casa quickly from the crisis, President Lee Grande markets.

Give us your opinion onsingle matters affecting the industry.

Myung-bak, whose five-year “This addition is an important term ends in early 2013, has urged step in Auto Body World’s overall South Korea’s conglomerates to try to growth strategy, which includes share the “warmth of the economic redeeper expansion into Arizona,” said covery” with their smaller peers and Mark Turner, Auto Body World’s publisher@autobodynews.com prosper together with them. president, “This is a great opportunity for us, and we look forward to many more like it.”

“This new location compliments our footprint very nicely because it allows us to serve consumers and our insurance partners along the 1-10 corTo advertise ridor in the east valley,” said Auto The source for timely call Joe David Momber Body World CEO, Fait.at: information that every The new location will bridge the 800-699-8251 body shop needs! gap between the company’s south e-mail: Gilbert location and their Casa Grande jmomber@autobodynews.com location.

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Auto Body World Collision Centers is continuing to seek out well-run companies throughout Arizona for acquisition.

Interested owners should contact Auto Body World President Mark Turner at m.turner@autobodyworld.com.

For more information on the company, visit autobodyworld.com.

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Industry Overview with Janet Chaney

Janet Chaney has been involved in the collision industry as shop owner and business consultant. She serves her clients through Cave Creek Business Development.

Contact her at jchaney.cavecreek@gmail.com.

Auto Recyclers Host Prominent Collision Repairers in Panel Discussion URG, the United Recyclers Group, hosted a Body Shop Panel Discussion at their 2011 annual conference in Englewood, CO, April 15. A lot of common ground was discovered in this

saying that somewhere, somehow, collision repairers and recyclers quit effectively communicating.

Facilitator Don Porter, of State Farm Insurance opened up the discus-

ment of the collision industry, reshop and the insurance company. That doesn’t work for anyone.” This state- ported that they found no one actument triggered an ovation from the ally using the damage codes and few people knew about them. Repairers 300 attendees in the room. noted that condition codes on parts There is the beginning of a solufound through third party locaters tion available that could reduce the ‘condition’ had no meaning to them at all. The Damage Code information discusproblem. The Automowith John Yoswick sion was positive for both groups, tive Recycling Association, in concert with recognizing that they have someCIECA, has developed thing to work towards. a standard set of damGary Wano, owner/operator of age codes to be used by G.W. and Son Auto Body in Oklahoma City, OK, said, “Have a little patience repairers and recyclers.

They are established with us please, sometimes our concept of a usable part may be different than and accepted, through your sales staff’s, but we are working CIECA, by both industries. However, the on this.”

Tim Adelman, Executive Vice panel came to the conPresident of Business Development clusion that no one is with Janet Chaney United Recyclers Group hosted its first Auto Body Panel Discussion in April: (l-r) Facilitator, Don Porter, State Farm using them. for ABRA Auto Body and Glass, Insurance; Gary Boesel, CARSTAR, Denver, CO; Gary Wano, G.W. and Son, Oklahoma City, OK, Dan Stander, Fix The participating shared these first quarter 2011 statisAuto, Jerry Standers Collision; Bob Jones, RJones BODYPROS, Des Moines, IA; Clark Plucinski, True 2 Form/Gerpanelists, who repre- tics from 100 ABRA locations. On a ber; Tim Adelman, COO ABRA Body and Glass sent a very large seg- scale from 1–10, 10 being the highest, URG panel discussion, which was acsion, asking panelists to introduce knowledged by everyone in the room. themselves and say a little about their These Thes ese luxury luxury lu ry automobiles autom aut omobiles om obiles The hour-long panel discussion was business. Porter made sure the audideserve to effective in its goal of honest dialogue ence of recyclers was involved, saydese servee to be be be discussing needs and opportunities being “You don’t have to be nice to finished finish shed with wit ith tween these two industries. All stakeme—just be nice to these people,” reGenuine Genu nuinee holders want to do better business and ferring to the collision repairer panJaguar Jaguar ar Parts...

Parts P ts.... ts.. the repairers and recyclers would like elists. ...And to do business better, together. Over Everyone on the panel shared al...A .. .And nd we know kn Jaguar.

Jag agua uar.

800 recyclers attended the two-day most the same story about the ‘condiXJ 2011 > event. tion’ of parts and on-time delivery “We have grown (our indus- dates. In today’s collision repair martries) together from mom and pop ket, shops are measured (by insurers) organizations to the large conglom- by what proportion of alternative parts erates we are today,” said Clark they use, cost effectiveness, and most NEW JERSEY Plucinski, Executive Vice-President importantly—cycle time. Cycle time of Sales and Marketing at True 2 was recognized by this panel as the Form—which recently became a most critical component in their busiMadison Jaguar part of the Boyd Group/Gerber col- ness operations today. If a used part is MADISON lision repair chain. Plucinski re- delivered to a shop that is expecting minded everyone in the room that an undamaged part and they receive a “We are now all inter-connected in part with undisclosed damage, that is (973) 410-1503 Fax business-to-business relationships.” a significant cost to everybody.

M-F 8am - 5pm In resolving difficulties, Plucinski Bill Abold, of A&P Auto Recyasked for patience. “These processes cling in Cicero, New York, shared the michaels@madisonjaguar.com are working, but it is like pushing a frustration he and other recyclers exwww.madisonjaguar.com rock up a hill [which keeps rolling perience. “We work with our collision back]. We just have to be patient and customers, train our staff, but when keep doing the same thing.” parts are found electronically and the Gary Boesel, owner and operator price is the lowest common denomiof two CARSTAR collision repair nator, then the shop is going to get that centers in the Denver area, concurred. cheapest part and they are not going “[Things have evolved] over the years to accept it. We then have to work and are different than they used to be,” through the price difference with the

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46 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

measuring overall CSI, OEM scored 9 and Recyclers scored 7.5. For overall quality of parts received, Recyclers: 7.4, Accuracy of the Part, Recyclers: 8.2 and On-Time Delivery, Recyclers: 6.8. “We survey parts people for supplier improvement opportunities,” explained Adelman.

For the shops on the panel, relationships with a good quality recycler was the most important criteria.

Shops are looking for a good product and want it to be delivered on time.

“The goal at our shop is to spend less time on the phone and on email,” said Dan Stander, General Manager of Fix Auto Highlands Ranch. “It is more time effective and we don’t have any confusion about descriptions.”

The formal panel ended but dialogue continued throughout the halls most of the day. Bob Jones, owner-operator of R Jones Body Pros, in Des Moines, Iowa, put it succinctly, “You guys want to sell us the correct part and we want to buy the correct part.”

The inter-industry communication initiated at the April meeting should help collision repair and auto recycling industries start working for

the common goal: better business for everybody.

More on the Panelists’ Credentials The credentials of the panelists brought together by the URG was impressive.

In 2010, Boesel was selected as Small Business Person of the Year by the Aurora, CO, Chamber of Commerce and he sits on the CARSTAR National Advisory Board.

Wano’s family owned business is a Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, and Volvo Certified shop. He is Immediate Past Chair of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) and in 2008 was Body Shop Business’ Executive of the Year.

Dan Stander is ASA’s National Collision Division Director.

Both Bob Jones and Clark Plucinski are Collision Industry Conference, “Hall of Eagles” members.

Jones is a founding member and past Chairman of SCRS. Plucinski serves on numerous Industry Boards and was voted Body Shop Business’ Collision Shop Executive of the Year in 1996.

Tim Adelman now leads ABRA’s industry relations and serves on numerous industry advisory boards.

Domestic Auto Sales Making a Comeback in California, Nationwide More California buyers are making a shift to buying domestic cars again, giving domestic automakers the kind of boost they haven’t seen in years, according to reports made by the LA Times. California is the nation’s largest and trendiest car market but lately it has been one of the worst for American brands.

Domestic automakers have been gaining ground lately mostly because they have come out with a new generation of small cars and compact SUVs that are competitive with the Hondas and Toyotas that have long dominated the market, said George Peterson, president of AutoPacific Inc., a Tustin, CA, automotive industry consulting firm.

“Historically all of the domestics have had a real challenge selling in California,” Peterson said to the LA Times, “but that’s changing.” Ford and Chrysler have improved their sales in California in the last year .

A year ago, Chevrolet was essentially a non-player when it came to

small-car sales in the state. GM’s Cobalt subcompact accounted for a barely measurable 1.1% of sales to California consumers—the crucial retail part of the business that factors out fleet buyers such as car rental companies and governmental agencies. Its replacement, the Cruze, has surged to 3.3% of the subcompact market in the first quarter of this year.

While that’s still small compared with the dominance of the market leading Honda Civic, which accounts for 1 of every 5 compact car sales in the state, Chevrolet is capturing a growing slice of sales as more people learn about the Cruze, according to auto analysts.

Electronics and so-called infotainment systems such as OnStar and Ford’s Sync are also giving domestic brands a sales advantage over their Japanese rivals, Peterson said.

Chevrolet had 8.3% of retail auto sales in California during the first quarter of this year, according to the CaliSee CA Domestic Sales, Page 53

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www.autobodynews.com | JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS 47

Autobody Tech

Jeremy Hayhurst is a former geochemist, university science publisher, and now Autobody News magazine owner who started working in a body shop in high school. He’s not a tech expert but he knows how to find one. Contact him with your questions, ideas and suggestions at publisher@autobodynews.com.

New Camera-Controlled Surface Laser Welding, and That’s Not All with Jeremy Hayhurst

sity laser beam is focused onto the etration hole in the melt require frame seen on one side. From the other side At the Laser World of Photonics 2011 working surface with a diameter of rates of several kilohertz for an accutrade fair held in Munich, Germany, of the welded car door the join is inrate analysis of the contour. So how May 23–26, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft several tenths of a millimeter. The exvisible. This is a perfect weld—the could this be imscientists presented some amazing kind every car manufacturer dreams proved? new applications for lasers and reof, because it could be used anywhere lated automotive technologies. on the car body. Expensive design As any self-respecting tech geek work to hide the seam, such as folding How would a perfect knows, LASER stands for “light amautomotive weld be the sheet metal or covering with trim, plification by stimulated emission of would no longer be necessary. done?

The news is that research scienradiation,” but only the geekiest know As if controlled by an tists at the Fraunhofer Institute for that self-lighting lasers are really opinvisible hand, the tical oscillators, rather than ampliwelding head on the Physical Measurement Techniques IPM in Freiburg, Germany, have alfiers, and therefore the acronym robot’s arm races should have been LOSER, for “light along the sheet metal ready turned this car makers’ dream oscillation by stimulated emission of into reality. parts. Where the laser radiation.” It’s too late to change now. hits, sparks fly and Controlled partial penetration Amaradio Jr. Regardless,with lasersLee have long welding is how experts refer to the the metal glows red since eclipsed the Buck Rogers image hot. The process lasts process in which the laser does not burn right through all the sheets of that brought them into the general just a few seconds.

In the new surface welding process the laser produces a perfect seam. consciousness in the late fifties. In a The outer door panel metal, in contrast to full penetration Bottom left: Weld seam profile. The penetration depth is controlled welding, where a hole briefly forms in former life, I edited a well-known and the door frame without damaging the bottom surface. (© Fraunhofer IPM) the melt pool. Instead, the weld seam laser science textbook, so I have some are now welded tois controlled to penetrate the lower familiarity with the concepts, but I treme temperatures cause the auto gether perfectly. A thin weld seam exbody metals to instantly melt. A capilwas taken with the following discustends along the join, but it can only be sheet without damaging the bottom sion from Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in lary filled with metal vapor develops, which may extend to the underside of Germany on how indispensible laser technology has become in automotive the surface. If it does, a feature known manufacturing. It’s about to get more as a full-penetration hole is formed.

This hole is closed again by the weld so.

What’s not so clear is how this puddle as the laser beam, or production line, travels forward. The fullnow proven but still pending technology, which has just caught the eye of penetration hole is an indicator of the the OEMs, will affect car designs and strength of the weld by assuring that the whole cross-section of the sheets repairability for shops in the future. is used. However, seam irregularities like spatters, craters, or underfill repeatedly occur in this complex and THESE DEALERS ARE GENUINE highly dynamic process. They lower the quality of the welds or, in the WHOLESALE PARTS SPECIALISTS. worst case, render them unusable.

An important quality feature for PENNSYLVANI A with Dan Espersen the strength and quality of the weld Faulkner Toyota Thompson Toyota seam is complete joint penetration.

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surface. Up to now, however, it was not possible to precisely control this type of welding and produce a seam that reliably meets strength requirements. Surface welding, instead of penetration welding, allows a laser to produce a weld that is only visible on one side. But how do you control the laser power to prevent it burning a hole through the sheets of metal? The answer is a new camera system that analyzes thermal images in real time, controls the beam, and ensures a perfect weld.

“As we do not weld through the sheet, basically we cannot see what we are doing,” says Andreas Blug, project manager at Fraunhofer IPM. Their solution uses a ground-breaking camera that generates temperature images, which enables the system to recognize how deep the laser has penetrated into the sheets. Where it burns into the metal, causing it to melt, the images show a hot region. If the bottom of the melt pool reaches the gap between the upper and lower sheets, the conduction of heat is interrupted and a cooler point can be seen.

This is the full-penetration hole already described. From the relative fre-

quency of this full penetration hole the system calculates the penetration depth into the lower sheet. A software program then adapts the output of the laser to the specific requirements.

“The process is closed loop controlled in real time,” Blug explains.

An extremely rapid camera system is needed for this.” The system is based on cellular neural networks (CNN). A tiny processor is integrated in each pixel. They all work simultaneously and speed up the analysis of the individual images enormously—whereas, in conventional image processing systems, a few processors process the data consecutively.

“In this way the system analyzes up to 14,000 images per second,” says Blug. This compares with the usual rate of only 1,000 to 2,000 images per second. Together with colleagues from Stuttgart University and Dresden University of Technology, the Fraunhofer IPM research scientists have now developed a prototype which perfectly controls the surface welding process, offering car makers a further great benefit in comparison with full penetration welding: zinc does not vaporize on the bottom side of the weld.

The corrosion problems encountered on galvanized car bodies are therefore a thing of the past.

Laser Technology in New Applications Conserving energy is a top priority for auto manufacturers today and laser technology is helping that goal. In addition to welding, lasers are being used to process thin light-weight components made of fiber-composite materials, as well as to manufacture more efficient engines and more powerful batteries.

Lasers take the lead Cars rolling off assembly lines today are cleaner, quieter and efficient than ever before. However ever-stricter environmental regulations and steadily rising fuel costs are increasing the demand for cars that further reduce their impact on the environment. In the U.S. this emerging target is the 62 mpg fleet average fuel standard that is causing concern among politicians and automakers alike.

Even present day customer demands are tough for manufacturers to meet: car bodies should be safe yet light-weight and engines durable yet

Finish it like a Masterpiece

efficient. Year after year, new models must be developed and built that can claim to be better, more efficient, and more intelligently designed than the last.

The race against time and competitors places high demands on manufacturers and their suppliers to innovate and laser technology is increasingly effective in meeting those goals.

Resistant to wear and universally applicable, laser light is an ideal tool in the manufacture of vehicles. Lasers can be used to join, drill, structure, cut or shape any kind of material. Surfaces can be engineered for motors and drive trains that create less friction and use less fuel. Lasers are not only a decisive tool in faster, more efficient and economical production, but also towards making better energysaving vehicles.

A weight-loss program in automotive manufacturing Extra vehicle weight costs energy. Vehicles have to be accelerated and decelerated every time they’re driven, over the entire lifespan of the vehicle.

See Laser Tech, Page 51

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www.autobodynews.com | JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS 49

Inspector Gadget—Making a Custom Light Inspection Tunnel to Find Paint Defects

by Janet Cheney

What happens when two brainiacs spend time together? At Autocraft Bodywerks in Austin, Texas the results were a custom Light Inspection Tunnel, used to find defects in the painting process and perfect the standard of their work in this high end collision repair facility. Owner John Borek and his IT guy, Dan McLaughlin, of Next Technologies, designed and built this Light Inspection Tunnel.

The Light Inspection Tunnel came about through John Borek’s continual quest for improvement in his business. He believes that if OEM’s are manufacturing automobiles, and collision repairers are in the business of remanufacturing automobiles then certain technology should apply.

Borek realized it was becoming more difficult to find imperfections in refinish. He also recognized the challenges for paint buffers to reach the lower half of refinished panels to properly cut and polish cars. He thought through the process; how do the manufacturers build, refinish and examine the cars?

A Light Inspection Tunnel, similar to the OEM’s would work well in this high end collision repair center, helping deliver customer perfection.

The information Borek was looking for was not available from the manufacturers, (tunnel lighting technology is not revealed to the public), so he developed a plan. He went to iTunes and downloaded all National Geographic Channel’s ‘Ultimate Factories’ and studied the auto manufacturer seg-

The Light Inspection Tunnel designed by John Borek, Autocraft Bodywerks in Austin, Texas

ments. He joined SAE, the Society of Automotive Engineers, and extensively researched and found several articles on automotive paint defects and

paint inspection lighting. Information from various sources were gleaned to perfect the project. Borek found many articles on the subject, one written by Charles Lloyd, “An Objective Measure of Severity for Small Topographical Defects in Automotive Paint,” who worked with Ford Motor Company. He found Ford has done extensive research on paint inspection lighting and has implemented by managing and measuring through baseline tests.

After a careful and long discovery process, The Light Inspection Tunnel at Autocraft Bodywerks started to come together, taking over a year to design and build.

Everything was custom designed and built to order. Nova Verta USA built the frame of the inspection tunnel. LDPI Lighting Solutions designed and built the lights, which include mirrors in the lights, delivering the technology for defect free refinish. The Tunnel is controlled by a computerized low voltage touch-screen panel designed by Next Electronics. It also has a 3 foot lift built into the floor to bring the cars to a better position for inspec-

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tion, buffing and polishing. The finished product is working well in this shop and is also a handsome piece of engineering and does what it was designed to do—deliver the best product to Autocraft Bodywerks customers.

Autocraft Bodywerks is a well established Austin, Texas collision repair center. They specialize in Lexus and Honda, however, work on all models.

The quality of repair and customer service at John Borek’s shop is First Class and the distinctive offering of the Light Inspection Tunnel is a tool used to deliver the best repair to his valued customers.

The Light Inspection Tunnel is just one of John Borek’s innovative creations. If you drive by his house during the Halloween season you will see a life size flying saucer that looks like it ‘just landed’ and Klatu from ‘The Day The Earth Stood Still’ will be stepping out to join the Trick or Treaters.

Borek, who has been in the business since high school in 1984, is an innovator and ongoing student of collision repair, “Everyday I learn something, when you think you know it all is when you need to get out.”

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Trust your order to the collision parts specialists at these fine Dealers 50 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

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

Continued from Page 49

Laser Tech

To reduce weight, manufacturers are increasingly turning to the use of fiber-reinforced plastics, which are 30-50 percent lighter than the metals they are replacing. However, these new materials are difficult to process.

Fiber-reinforced plastics are brittle, meaning conventional cutting and drilling tools are quickly worn out and the standard assembly techniques used for metal components are often not effective.

“Lasers represent an ideal alternative here,” explains Dr. Arnold Gillner of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen, Germany.

“Lasers can cut fiber-reinforced plastics without wear and can join them too. With the appropriate lasers, we can cut and ablate (remove material from the surface of an object) the components with minimal thermal side-effects. Lasers can also be used for welding light-weight components —a viable alternative to conventional bonding technology. We can even join

fiber-reinforced plastics to metals with laser welding. The laser roughens the metal surface, while the plastic, briefly-heated, penetrates the pores of the metal and hardens. The results are very stable.”

Weight reduction can also be achieved with high-strength metallic materials. These, however, are also difficult to process.

“Joining combinations of various materials allows us to make optimal use of the individual materials’ specific properties. But this proves to be difficult in many cases,” explains Dr. Anja Techel, Deputy Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden.

Her team believes in lasers: “With our newly-developed integrated laser tools, we can now even weld together combinations of materials, free of fissures or cracks.”

At Laser 2011, Fraunhofer scientists presented, for the first time, a new welding head capable not only of focusing with extreme precision but of moving back and forth across the seam with high frequency to mix the molten materials. When they harden, they create a stable bond.

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Lasers Replace Chemistry Lasers also save time and money in tool design. The molds used in the production of plastic fixtures and steering wheels, for example, have to be structured to give the finished component a visually and tactilely appealing surface.

Most car manufacturers order a design from their suppliers, whose surface typically has the appearance of leather.

Until now, the negative pattern used to create the design has been etched out of the steel tools used in injection molding—a tedious and time-consuming process. “With lasers, the steel surface can not only be patterned more quickly, but also with greater scope for variety,” explains Kristian Arntz of the Fraunhofer Institute. “We can transfer any possible design directly from the CAD model to the tool surface: What will later become a groove in the plastic is preserved as a ridge, while the surrounding material is vaporized. The process is efficient, fully automatic, and highly adjustable.”

Saving Energy, Low Friction Motors Laser technology is also applied in engine optimization. Engineers strive to keep friction as low as possible in order to improve efficiency. “That is true not only for the electric engines currently being developed, but also for classic internal combustion engines and diesel motors, as well as transmissions and bearings,” says Arnold Gillner. Ceramic, high-performance coatings are especially desirable, because they are not only resistant to wear but also smooth, which generates less friction. Coated metal components have until now been prohibitively expensive, being produced in plasma chambers in which the ceramic was vaporized and applied to the surface of the components. Fraunhofer scientists have now developed a less expensive and faster method in which work pieces are coated with ceramic nanoparticles, then treated with a laser. This finishing process has already been applied to gear wheels and bearings.

Lasers can also be used to make specific modifications to the properties of engine parts. “Friction between the cylinder wall and piston is responsible for a big part of a motor’s energy consumption. That is why we try to minimize it. This is especially important for engines featuring modern, automatic start-stop functions that are stressed by frequent ignition,” says Gillner. “To protect them, we ensure that the cylinder is always coated with a film of oil.

Laser technology can help reduce friction with special structuring processes that improve oil adhesion.” Fraunhofer researchers aim to increase the engine’s life-span and reduce energy consumption in this way.

Improving Batteries for Electric Cars Lasers can also increase the efficiency and life-span of electric batteries. That is good news for manufacturers and prospective owners of electric cars, since batteries continue to be the most expensive component of the vehicles.

The engineers and scientists at Fraunhofer are currently working on various solutions to make batteries more durable and less expensive. One approach is to increase the surface area of the electrodes with appropriate coating in order to increase their efficiency. Another approach involves analyzing and optimizing production processes. Manufacturers produce batteries using one anode and one cathode cell, which they link. In theory that sounds simple, but in practice the fusing of copper anodes with aluminum cathodes creates brittle connections that break easily. That presents a problem in cars because of road vibration. With the help of lasers, researchers at the ILT have succeeded in forming durable connections between electrodes without creating the vulnerable brittle alloys. Researchers at the IWS in Dresden have developed an alternative solution in which a laser warms the surfaces and rollers press them together. “Using roll plating with lasers and inductive pre-heating, we were able to create very stable connections with high electrical conductivity, with only a minimal loss of power,” reports Anja Techel.

“The finished batteries are very efficient. And since only small amounts of electrical energy are transformed into heat, these batteries do not require as much cooling.”

The bulk of this article is sourced directly from Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft with additional edits. To learn more about Frauhofer, Europe’s largest application-oriented research organization, go to www.fraunhofer.de.

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www.autobodynews.com | JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS 51

Shop Showcase

Erica Schroeder is a writer and editorial assistant for Autobody News in Oceanside, CA. She can be reached at eschroeder@autobodynews.com.

Chatham Parkway Collision Center in Savannah, GA, is All About Dealer Partnerships with Erica Schroeder

Chatham Parkway Collision Center has been serving Savannah, GA, for the last

cians have been trained to Toyota factory standards as well as ASE and ICAR,” said Iaco.

Part of the requirewith John Yoswick ments for the certification are for the body shop to have the most cutting edge equipment, including welders, spray booths and lifts. Chatham uses two Blowtherm ultrawith Ed Attanasio mix down-draft spray booths.

Chatham Parkway Collision Center on Park of Commerce Blvd.

Iaco said Chatham seven years. The body shop is owned is the only Toyota Certified Collision by the nearby Chatham Parkway SubCenter in the low-country Savannah aru/Lexus/Toyota/Scion dealership but area. Their equipment and level of is run independently so they are able to technical knowledge is what sets them Ed Attanasioapart from their competition. service all makeswith and models.

Industry Insight

“These guys here really love it,” Iaco said of the waterborne paint system, “they had a really easy time making the switch.”

Shop Showcase

Social Media for Shops

The whole crew at Chatham stands outside the building

The body shop partners with the dealership, taking in customers that have been referred to them for service.

“We get a lot of business that way, but we do all makes and models,” said Joanie Iaco, Body Shop Manager. Chatham is able to see an average of 180 cars per month.

Chatham employs 16 people in their 11,000 squarefoot space including; 5 body men, 5 painters, 3 estimators, one office manager, one body Body Shop Manager shop manager and Joanie Iaco one porter who assist technicians on the shop floor.

Chatham is also a Toyota Certified Collision Center, meaning they have to meet certain Toyota benchmarks and standards in 10 different areas, including training and shop materials. Body shops must qualify annually for this certification.

“From a customer’s point of view it’s great—they know all the techni-

Chatham switched to PPG waterborne paint in 2009. According to Iaco, the paint distributor for PPG made the change very easy by providing on-site technical support throughout the transition from solvent-based paint.

“We always welcome the opportunity to use a “greener” product and improve quality at the same time,” said Chatham’s Fixed Operations Director Tom Ryals.

The distributor provided on site technical support for Chatham as long as necessary, accoding to Iaco.

The paint technicians really like the new waterborne system.

Lead painter Jeff Cooper said “the paint match is a lot easier than with Painter Bob Emiry solvent-base. You don’t get dye back or shrinking like with solvent-based paint.”

Painter Bob Emiry added “What you see is what you get—a quality finished product.”

52 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Painter Jeff Cooper

Iaco also believes the collison industry is a great career route for women that is often overlooked; she worked her way up through the ranks at JM Lexus in Margate, FL, for 17 years before moving up to Savannah about 6

months ago. She originally wanted to work as a title clerk for the dealership, but got hired in the body shop instead.

“I really enjoy it; this is a great shop, a great area and the technicians are all wonderful,” said Iaco.

The technicians work in teams on the shop floor at Chatham, making finishing the heavy work load this shop brings in easier for everyone.

“We do a lot of Lexus work here, so that quality just has to be there,” said Iaco. Chatham focuses on quality and they believe that starts with their technicians.

Chatham Parkway Collision Center 41 Park of Commerce Blvd.

Savannah, GA 31405 912-443-4443 www.cpbodyshop.com

Tesla, Limited Production Autos May Lose Hardship Exemption for Airbags Tesla Motors Inc. may lose an exemption that has allowed it to sell a $109,000 electric roadster with air bags that don’t meet U.S. safety standards, according to Automotive News.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration may stop giving waivers to an 11-year-old regulation that cars sold in the US have so-called advanced air bags, it said yesterday in a Federal Register notice. The air bags have sensors that adjust force to occupants’ heights and weights.

Tesla, Lamborghini and other limited-production automakers have won exemptions over the past five years on financial-hardship grounds.

“The people who are bringing these vehicles in and are buying them should be made aware” that they have air bags that fall short of US safety requirements, said Jeffrey Runge, a former NHTSA administrator who is president of Biologue Inc., which consults on transportation safety.

Tesla has sold about 1,700 Roadsters worldwide. Roadster production, for which the company is seeking another waiver, is scheduled to end this year, said Khobi Brooklyn, a spokeswoman for Palo Alto, Calif.-based Tesla. By mid-2012, the company plans to begin selling Model S sedans, which will comply with the air-bag rules, Brooklyn said.

Group Lotus Plc, the British sports-car maker, said this week it’s ending production for North America of its Elise and Exige models due in part to the air bag requirement, according to Edmunds.com.

Companies ranging from Ferrari SpA, controlled by Fiat SpA, to Wheego Electric Cars Inc., which makes two-seat electric LiFe cars, have also received waivers.

“NHTSA tentatively concludes that the expense of advanced air bag technology is not now sufficient, in and of itself, to justify the grant of a

petition for a hardship exemption from the advanced air bag requirements,” the agency said.

Lamborghini’s last exemption expired in February and Ferrari’s ended in August 2009.

Wheego, which sold its first LiFe on April 22, has sold 24 and has about 300 ordered, said Les Seagraves, vice president for product development and legal counsel for the Atlantabased company. The cars sell for a starting price of $33,000 and have standard driver’s and passenger-side air bags. The company expects the four-door plug-in model it’s developing to have advanced air bags, Seagraves said.

“We had been working on this vehicle for about three years and in order to put the advanced air bags in the car, it would have cost us another million and a half dollars and another 18 months of development,” Seagraves said. “We’re a tiny startup

company. That would have pretty much put us out of business.”

NHTSA began requiring advanced air bags in model-year 2004 cars and trucks sold in the US, allowing exceptions to keep using standard air bags for manufacturers producing fewer than 10,000 vehicles in a year.

About 10 companies have received the waivers, said Karen Aldana, a spokeswoman for the auto-safety regulator.

Panoz Auto Development Co., based in Hoschton, Georgia, estimated in a 2006 filing with NHTSA that including advanced air bags in its custom sports cars would add about $6,129 to the cost of each vehicle.

Lamborghini, a unit of Volkswagen AG, had a waiver for its Murcielago model. Lamborghini said in a 2009 filing with NHTSA that it expected to spend $15 million to comply with the air bag requirement for future models.

Continued from Page 47

most a full percentage point to 49.1% in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the auto dealers group.

Helped by a trio of sedans, the Fiesta, Focus and Fusion, Ford is also making large gains. Its retail sales in California jumped 37% from January through April over the same four months last year, compared with a 25% gain nationally over the same period.

“Clearly, this market is a litmus test for Ford’s ability to grow our business by connecting with small car customers,” Ken Czubay, the company’s vice president U.S. sales and marketing.

To win in California, an automaker has to offer competitive fuel efficiency because of the way high gas prices in the region influence sales, Czubay said. Ford says it has learned that lesson and is applying it to even its large vehicles. Later this year, Ford is coming out with a turbocharged four-cylinder version of its Explorer SUV, which already sells well in California in a six-cylinder version. And Ford is seeing sales of its six-cylinder F-150 pickup truck outpace its V8 offering.

Ford’s share of the California market grew to 11.6% in the first quarter, compared with 11.3% in the same period a year earlier, the dealers group said. Ford says that’s the high-

est level since 2002. The Dearborn automaker narrowly trailed second place Honda in the first quarter and could jump ahead now, because of the quake-related production and supply problems hampering sales of some Japanese-branded autos.

This is good news to auto dealers such as Ron Davis, owner of Santa Monica Ford, who said sales last month were 67% above May 2010.

“We are drawing from a bigger base of customers than we used to, especially younger people, who historically in Southern California have tended to be import buyers,” he said.

Peterson said he believes the California market is undergoing a generational shift in which domestic automakers are having success selling competitive passenger cars and crossovers rather than relying on the large trucks and SUVs of previous sales upswings.

“Each time they bring out a new generation car they only get stronger,” he said.

Nationwide domestic automakers have not only seen improvement over the past year, but have been able to get the upper hand sales-wise on some of the top import-brand carmakers.

According to auto sales released for the month of May by Autoblog, the Chrysler Group, which consists of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles,

posted a 10-percent sales gain for the month when compared to the same period a year ago, led by strong sales of its Jeep brand.

Chrysler’s strong sales, combined with an extremely poor showing from Toyota, due to the impact from disasters in Japan earlier this year, allowed the Pentastar brand to slip into the number three sales spot behind General Motors and Ford.

Chrysler took a positive turn for improvement in Consumer Reports testing, after years of not making the grade. The Dodge Durango and Charger are the two most improved vehicles out of eight new models the auto testing center is rating. All of the automakers new or refreshed vehicles are better than their predecessors, reflecting much better attention to detail, said Consumer Reports’ David Champion.

Japanese brands took the brunt of the sales hit in May, due in large part to fallout from the earthquake and tsunami that hit the island nation hard in March of this year. Of the three major Japanese automakers, Toyota was hit the hardest, down over 30 percent. Lexus, Toyota’s luxury brand, fared ever worse, down nearly 45 percent from May of last year.

It remains to be seen if rising sales for domestic autos in the US will

CA Domestic Sales

fornia New Car Dealers Assn. That’s up from 7.4% in the same period a year earlier and is its highest level since 2007, when sales were powered by large trucks and SUVs rather than the small cars and crossovers the company sells more of now.

“The growth in California is extremely important to us,” said Alan Batey, vice president of sales and service for Chevrolet.

The Chevrolet Camaro is California’s top selling sporty compact, with about a third of the market, according to the dealers trade group. Its Equinox compact SUV has climbed to third in that segment’s ranking, trailing the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4.

Chrysler, which has just started to launch a series of new vehicles since emerging from bankruptcy in 2009, is only beginning to gain traction in California. Including its Dodge and Jeep brands, Chrysler had 5.9% of the California market in the first quarter, unchanged from a year ago.

Toyota is still the top player with 18.5% of the California retail market, but that’s been inching down. The share of the California market controlled by Japanese automakers fell al-

See CA Domestic Sales, Page 54

www.autobodynews.com | JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS 53

NHTSA Administrator Strickland: “A Car is Not a Social Networking Device” The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is studying ways to encourage new drivers to disconnect from mobile devices and the Internet while operating vehicles, Administrator David Strickland said at an automotive technology conference in Novi, MI. “I’m not in the business of helping people Tweet better. I’m not in the business of helping people post to Facebook better,” Strickland David Strickland said “My job is to make sure we keep people safe behind the wheel.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, whose department oversees NHTSA, has said drivers are distracted by vehicle information and entertainment systems such as Ford Motor Co.’s Sync and General Motors Co.’s OnStar.

The Transportation Department has launched the Web site www.distraction.gov to educate Americans and policymakers about the dangers of

distracted driving. Strickland and his boss, LaHood, are also working with the states to enforce against distraction. To date, 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam have passed antitexting laws. Eight of those states have also banned handheld-phone use while driving.

The Transportation Department has began developing guidelines for in-vehicle systems and aims to publish them this fall, Strickland said.

“I’m not going to deny the fact that people want these things,” Strickland said. “They do. Especially the generation behind us. They’re used to being connected 24 hours a day.”

The agency is looking for ways to “impart to these future drivers that it’s OK to not be connected when you’re operating a car,” he said.

GM’s OnStar, which has more than 6 million subscribers, has been testing applications that would let users make audio updates to their Facebook pages and have messages from the social-media site read to them while driving.

The system already provides crash-notification services as well as

Ford Sync Ford has been selling Sync, based on Microsoft technology, since the 2008 model year.

Ford added features such as touch-command controls and voiceactivated climate control last year and plans to add social networking, Web browsing and thumb controls similar to those on Apple Inc.’s iPod to 80 percent of its models by 2015.

BMW AG and Daimler AG also have added Internet and smartphone access this year to vehicles such as BMW’s 5-series sedan and Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz SLK roadster. However, BMW has also launched a nationwide ad campaign comprised of TV, print, online and radio ads and a strong in-dealership message.

“A car is not a [social networking] device—a car is a car,” Strickland said. “We will not take a backseat while new telematics and infotainment systems are introduced. There is too much potential for distraction of drivers.”

Troy-based Delphi Automotive LLC, riding a wave of Wall Street interest in the auto sector, has filed financial documents in preparation for an initial public stock offering, according to the Detroit News.

The former General Motors Co. parts unit emerged from bankruptcy in late 2009 after a four-year restructuring, owned primarily by private equity firms including Elliott Management, Silver Point Capital and Paulson & Co., the investment arm of billionaire John Paulson.

In documents submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission late May 27, Delphi filed for a $100 million IPO—a placeholder figure—but the final amount could be $1 billion or more.

The company will disclose the number of shares, pricing and the amount it expects to raise when it gets closer to launching the offering. Delphi didn’t say when it plans to go public.

The maker of fuel-injection systems and other parts said it plans for its stock to trade under the symbol DLPH. The move toward public ownership follows GM’s successful $23.1 billion IPO in November—the largest

ever. Another major supplier, Allison Transmission Holdings, which also was once a GM unit, also plans an IPO. California-EV start-up Tesla Motors Inc. had a successful start-up in June, raising $226 million. It said this week it is filing for a follow-on stock offering to raise $200 million or more.

The restructured Delphi is slimmer and more profitable. It eliminated most of its US plants and hourly workers during bankruptcy, along with billions in pension obligations and other debts. It also canceled salaried retiree health care and life insurance. When it filed for bankruptcy, Delphi had 50,000 U.S. employees and more than 30 plants.

Today, it has about 5,000 at five U.S. factories. Delphi operates 110 manufacturing facilities and 14 major technical centers and employs about 110,000 people worldwide. About 90 percent of Delphi’s 100,000 hourly workers worldwide are in low-wage countries and 30 percent of its factory workers are temporary workers.

The company had revenue of $4 billion in the first quarter, with net income of $310 million. Last year, it re-

ported $13.8 billion in revenue and net income of $703 million.

David Cole, chairman emeritus of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor expects Delphi’s IPO to be successful.

“They are positioned to be very profitable, especially as auto sales return to traditional levels,” Cole said.

“They’ve gotten a lot leaner and moved their production to low-cost areas.”

Auto sales are still at “depression” levels—still far below the 15-16 million annual vehicles sold. “Investors in an IPO will buy on the expectation that sales will rebound,” Cole said. David Whiston, an auto analyst at Morningstar Inc. in Chicago, said the key question for Delphi was its customer base.

“Any auto supplier that has a cleaned-up balance sheet from bankruptcy has good prospects given that I expect U.S. auto sales to be several million units a year higher over the next few years than they are today,” Whiston said. Delphi has been talking to bankers for months about taking steps to get ready for their IPO. In March, Delphi bought GM’s stake for $3.8 billion.

directions and information such as vehicle diagnostics.

Delphi Files for $100M Initial Public Stock Offering

54 JULY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Continued from Page 53

CA Domestic Sales

sustain and if, after the dust settles for Japanese automakers, import sales won’t overtake the US market again.

Though many domestic automakers have seen increases in California that indicate better prospects for longterm viability, a sustained nationwide sales increase in domestic autos is a much different question.

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