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Discovery Channel’s New ‘Texas Car Wars’
If you thought regular shop ownership was tough, try flipping cars for a living! Discovery Channel’s new onehour series, Texas Car Wars, travels deep in the heart of Texas and into the fast-paced world of auto-flipping. Four extremely competitive auto body
shops engage in full-on bidding wars to find the most valuable jalopies and turn them into resell jackpots. The new eight-episode, one-hour series premiered on Sept. 6. Austin, TX—one of the car auction hot spots of the US—is where the junk cars of yesteryear get a last
chance to hit the road. The world of auto-flipping is a risky business and the stakes are high as each auto body shop faces off in auction showdowns. The teams only have 10 minutes to do the most basic inspection, but they are not allowed to start the cars. Will the cars have workable engines? Will the buyers discover a hidden gem? Or will they go broke before they even reach their auto garage? Watch as one man’s junk truly becomes another man’s treasure. Texas Car Wars follows the bidding wars between four Texan auto shops that are known for their fearlessness at each auction. Watch as they each take very different approaches to auto-flipping. Watch which garage made the most money in each episode as they flip junk cars into one-of-akind automobiles. See Texas Car Wars, Page 46
Insurers Likely to Overcharge Long-Term Customers Says Texas Study
study produced by the Office of Public Insurance Counsel (OPIC), could save 19 percent on annual premiums when switching insurers. “This study supports what we have believed for a long time,” OPIC executive director Deeia Beck said in a statement. “Consumers must shop their policies to ensure they aren’t overpaying for insurance.” See Long Term Insurance, Page 46
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A consumer advocate study from Texas “strongly supports” the notions that shopping around for an auto insurance policy can produce savings for a policyholder and that the longer a policyholder stays with a company, the stronger the likelihood they’ll be paying more than they should. A policyholder who stays with the same company for more than eight years, according to estimates from the
VOL. 30 ISSUE 10 OCTOBER 2012
‘Is TDI Commissioner Kitzman Biased towards Insurers?,’ State Farm Investigated Eleanor Kitzman, commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance, is being accused of having a bias toward insurance companies as the result of removing consumer protections in health insurance rules, attending a campaign Commissioner fundraiser held by Eleanor Kitzman an insurer, and for suggesting that the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association increase premiums. Her accusers include lawmakers, consumer advocacy groups and the Texas Medical Association, according to reports in the Texas Tribune. Kitzman, who was appointed to her position, worked in the insurance industry for more than 20 years, but
the article said that she believes the knowledge and experience she gained from her years in insurance help her in her position as insurance commissioner. “I have friends who work in the insurance industry, but that’s not how I make decisions,” Kitzman told the Texas Tribune. “There are many senators, Republican and Democratic, that are concerned that she’s a little too proinsurance company,” said Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, who chairs the Senate Nominations Committee. Now Kitzman’s TDI is expected to join with Texas prosecutors in conducting a criminal investigation into allegations that State Farm pocketed one billion dollars that should have
According to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a 10% reduction in vehicle mass increases fuel efficiency by 7% on average, so it’s clear what advantages lighter weight and stronger materials can bring to future vehicles. As the automotive industry absorbs CAFE regulations and consumer desire for fuel efficient cars, the goal of mass reduction has enabled some startling improvements in production time and costs for carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is emerging as a practical and cost-competitive alternative for mid-volume production cars, previously used only in exclusive lowvolume vehicles like the Corvette ZR1 pictured. Plasan Carbon Composites based in VT and owned by Plasan Sasa, an Israeli defense contractor, will be producing carbon panels for a midvolume production vehicle as early as January 2013 from its locations in Western Michigan. This means that by early 2013, body shops could be tasked with carbon fiber repairs.
“It will be the first time that carbon fiber has been used this extensively on a base production car anywhere in the world,” said Gary
See Commissioner Kitzman, Page 36
Carbon Fiber Advances Enable Mid-Volume Production Vehicles from MI Factory by 2013
Lownsdale, Chief Technology Officer of Plasan Carbon Composites. The key enabler for this up to 50,000units-per-year vehicle application is Plasan’s patented Pressure Press processing technology. A secrecy agreement prevents Plasan officials from naming the vehicle or the automaker, but details about the vehicle will emerge soon. January 2013 marks the start of body See Carbon Fiber, Page 14
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