autobody news may 2011 southwest edition

The Texas Senate voted to approveSenate Bill 944 on March 24. The billwas introduced by Texas SenatorMike Jackson before being trans-ferred to the Committee on Businessand Commerce. The bill now movesto the House for approval.

The bill would create an advi-sory committee for the Texas Insur-ance Commissioner that would makerecommendations regarding automo-bile insurance claims.

The full text of the engrossed(the official copy of a bill passed bythe Senate and certified by the Secre-tary of the Senate bill) follows:“2011 TX S 944AUTHOR: Jackson MVERSION: Engrossed

Houston Auto Body Association, SCRS Association of the Year,Gathers at State Capitol in Austin to Support Senate Bill 1300

The Houston Auto Body Associationasked that members of the collision re-

pair industry in Texascontact their Senatorsin support of SB1300, which was upfor committee hear-ing on April 12.

The Texas SenateBusiness and Com-merce committeevoted unanimouslyto pass SB 1300 onthat date, which willrequire more disclo-sure from insurersabout their Direct re-pair Program policiesand requirements.James Brown,

HABA’s President, and many otherswith the HABAmet inAustinApril 12 at

7am to show support for this bill.The Texas Department of Insur-

ance is in full support of this bill aswell, according to Brown.

The Committee Substitute ver-sion of the bill was passed out of com-mittee, it now heads to the Local &Consent calendar and then it will goto the House Insurance Committee.

“I would also like to extend aspecial thanks to all those who madephone calls and those who came toAustin in show of support for this Bill.I especially want to thank Larry Cer-nosek personally for the all the timehe spends in Austin on behalf of theHABA and the Collision Industry as awhole,” said Brown. To view the fulltext of this bill search ‘SB 1300’ atwww.autobodynews.com.

SCRS Industry Achievement Awards: WinnersInclude Texas' Houston Auto Body AssociationOn March 16, 2011 the Society ofCollision Repair Specialists (SCRS)held its Annual Awards Banquet at theCrowne Plaza Meadowlands in Se-caucus, New Jersey. As always, thehighlight of the event was the presen-tation of the SCRS Industry Awards,through which the Society recognizesthose that demonstrate outstandingservice and achievement within thecollision repair industry.

“Two Hawaiian words character-ize these awards and their recipients,”

explained Dale Matsumoto, chair-man of the SCRS Awards Committee.“The first, ‘aloha,’ is familiar to us asa greeting and farewell; but it also canbe used to mean the giving of one’sself-a lifestyle encompassing a life ofgiving, sharing, caring and love.”

“The second, ‘kina’ole,” meansflawless-as in doing the right thing forthe right reason with the right feeling.Most individuals can, and will, do therights things; but it is the deep feelingsSee SCRS Achievement Awards, Page 28

TX Insurance Advisory BillApproved in Committee

See 944 Committee, 1

Jim Quinten, Automotive Parts & Services Association; George Perdue,Bear Creek Collision Specialist; Larry Cernosek, Deer Park Paint & Body;Mike Riner, Riner's Paint and Body Shop; Trey Perdue, Bear Creek; DavidWalla, Walla Company; James Brown, Hanley Bros. Certified Collisionand HABA President, Don Ward, A-1 Auto & Collision; and Chris Single-ton, Goodson Collision Center. HABA is the SCRS Association of the Year.

COLUMNS in this issue...Yoswick — Effort to Develop Collision Repair Standards TakesAnother Step Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 14Franklin — Summertime Means Event Time For Body Shops . . .p. 18Chaney — Three of Largest Auto Recycling Networks Merge . . .p. 20Gonzo — On the Other Side of the Bookstore Counter . . . . . . . .p. 23Danalevich — Is Your Parts Supplier Purchasing Policy aBenefit or an Expense? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 25Insurance Insider — Insurers Will Continue to Serve “Flavorof the Day” to Shops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 32

REGIONAL ARTICLES in this issue...HABA Goes to Capitol for SB 1300 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 1HABAWins SCRS Association of the Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 1NWLCRA Hosts Supply Company at April Meeting . . . . . . . . . . .p. 4TIAA Fishing Tourney Coming in May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 8Bob English of English Color Passes Away . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 10Gunder Loses Appeal in State Farm Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 16

PAINT FOCUS ARTICLES in this issue...Painting With Waterborne at John Force Racing . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 26Getting OSHA-Compliant on Plans, Protection, Painting . . . . . . .p. 34Revisiting Paint by Numbers: Refinish Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 38New Jersey Shop Embraces PPG’s Envirobase® . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 41

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www.autobodynews.com | MAY 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

SouthwestPublisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst

General Manager: Barbara DaviesAssistant Editor: Erica SchroederContributing Writers: Tom Franklin, John Yoswick, Lee Amaradio, Dan EspersenJanet Chaney, Toby Chess, Mike Causey, Tom McGee, David Brown, Rich Evans,Ed Attanasio, Chasidy SiskAdvertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman (800) 699-8251Sales Assistant: Kristy MangumArt Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Serving Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico and adjacent metro areas, Autobody Newsis a monthly publication for the autobody industry. Permission to reproduce in any form thematerial published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher.©2011 Adamantine Media LLC.

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

AkzoNobel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Allen Samuels Katy Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 42Autoland Scientech. . . . . . . . . . . . . 23BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 24Chevyland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Chief Automotive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Dallas Dodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44David McDavid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Equalizer Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Ford Wholesale Parts DealersTX, OK, LA, NM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Garmat USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Gene Messer Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . 12Global PDR Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . 21GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 31Honda/Acura Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Huffines Hyundai Plano . . . . . . . . . 31Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . 37Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers. 19

LKQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Mark’s Casa Mitsubishi. . . . . . . . . . 26Mattei. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 39Mercedes-Benz of Oklahoma. . . . . 27Mike Calvert Toyota. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers. 36MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 15Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Parkway Family Mazda . . . . . . . . . . 20Quality Stainless Products . . . . . . . 14Ray Huffines Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . 5Replica Plastics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Scoggin-Dickey Buick . . . . . . . . . . 16Scorpion Coatings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Suzuki Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . 34Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 42VIM Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Volkswagen Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 39Young Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

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REGIONAL85 mph is A-OK on Some Texas Roads . . . 89 Accused of Staging Auto Wrecks inLouisiana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Bills Filed in Texas Aimed at IncreasingInsurance Policy Transparency. . . . . . . . 9

CA Bill Would Give Insurance CommissionerStronger Penalty Powers . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Collision Repairers in Texas Mourn the Lossof Bob English—Founder, English Color . 10

Fire Destroys Three Vehicles At TulsaRepair Shop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Florida Autobody Collision Alliance (FACA)Hosts 1st Annual First-ResponderExtrication Training. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Fontaine to Open New Truck Centerin Denton, TX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

GCIA Meeting Hosts OSHA Safety andEnvironmental Compliance ManagementPresentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Georgia Collision Association’s LaborRates Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

GM Idles Texas SUV Plant . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Gunder’s Loses Appeal to State Farm—Court Rules ‘Even if False,’ Claims arePriviledged. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

HABA to Host 1st Annual Shop Ownersand Managers Appreciation Event . . . . 12

Houston Auto Body Association, SCRSAssociation of the Year, Gathers at StateCapitol in Austin to Support SenateBill 1300 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Man Shot To Death At San Diego, CA, AutoRepair Shop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

NWLCRA Hosts Supply Company to TalkAbout New Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

OK Insurance Commissioner RevampsFraud Probes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

SC Offers Amnesty to Drivers withSuspended Licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

SCRS and FACA Co-Hosting Seminar onImproving Workshop Efficiency . . . . . . . 4

SCRS Industry Achievement Awards:Winners Include Texas' Houston AutoBody Association. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Service King Acquires 8 Alamo Body andPaint Locations in San Antonio, TX. . . . . 6

St. Philip’s College in San Antonio RalliesAround Skills-USA-Winning Classmate. . 6

Thousands Cited in El Paso for PhoningWhen Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

TIAA Annual Port Aransas Fishing TourneyComing in May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

TX Insurance Advisory Bill Approved inCommittee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Women’s Industry Network Conference,San Diego May 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

COLUMNISTSAttanasio - California Shop Owner EndorsesShop Education and Training . . . . . . . . 30

Attanasio, Chief - Indiana Shop Owner FavorsChief for Quality, Durability & Support . 17

Attanasio, PPG - 32-year-old N.J. Body ShopEmbraces PPG’s Envirobase® HPWaterborne Basecoat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Chaney - Three of Largest Auto RecyclingNetworks Merge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Chess - Getting OSHA-Compliant on Plans,

Protection and Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Danalevich - Is Your Parts Supplier PurchasingPolicy a Benefit or an Expense? . . . . . . . 25

Franklin - Summertime Should Mean EventTime For Body Shops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Gonzo - A Day to Reflect—On the OtherSide of the Bookstore Counter . . . . . . . 23

Horn - Revisiting Paint by Numbers: A DeepDive into Refinish Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Insurance Insider - Insurers Will Continue toServe “Flavor of the Day” to Shops . . . 32

Stoll - Painting with Waterborne at JohnForce Racing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Yoswick - Effort to Develop Collision RepairStandards Takes Another Step Forward . 14

NATIONALAASP-NJ to Hold 7th Annual Golf Outing . 36AASP-Pennsylvania’s Big E Trade ShowComing in October. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Airbiquity to Supply Air-Over-VoiceTechnology to Onstar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

CA Suspicious Claims Rise . . . . . . . . . . . 24Collision Hub Launches Repair University. 36Feds Open Probes of Imprezas andSorrentos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

FL Jury Rules State Farm Driver Owed$3 Million . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Ford Expands F-150/Lincoln Recall Due toAirbag Flaws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Ford Surpasses GM in March MonthlyAuto Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Ford’s CEO Mulally Says SuppliersAccomodating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Ford’s Electric Focus Will Not LeaseLithium-Ion Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Full Deliveries From Japanese SuppliersStalled Until July . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Gas Prices Not Significantly DrivingFuel-Efficient Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Higher Standard Leads to Coveted MagnaSociety Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Honda Extends Production Cuts in NorthAmerica to May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Honda Pushes Natural Gas Civic Alternativeto E-Cars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

House Rejects Changes to Bill Banning EPAand Calif. from Regulating Emissions . . 37

Hybrids & Electrics Growth OutpacesGeneral Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Hyundai, Kia Running U.S. Plants atFull Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Microsoft and Toyota Join Forces inTelematics Venture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

NHTSA to Review Claim Corolla Air BagFailed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Nissan’s Leaf Experiences A/C SensorProblem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Ryder Acquires Portfolio of B.I.T. Leasing. 43State Farm to Offer Electronic Parts Orderingto its Own Select Service Shops. . . . . . 43

Toyota Warns Dealers that Inventory Couldbe Short . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Used Vehicle Pricing Expected to Rise inQuake Aftermath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Verizon Unveils Hybrid and Alternative-energyVehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

When it Comes to Cars, Men Buy Looks,Women Seek Practicality . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Contents


The Northwest Louisiana CollisionRepair Association (NWLCRA) heldtheir monthly meeting on April 5 inthe Magnolia Room at the LouisianaTechnical College in Shreveport,Louisiana.

The meeting was hosted by Pres-ident, Chris Fielder and Secretary-Treasurer, Bill Burnside.

The I-CAR schedule was dis-cussed and the “test out” procedurethat is now in place. Students have toregister at least 2 weeks prior to thetesting.

If the deadline is missed, youwon’t be able to test. The test will begiven between 5 to 7 PM and thedoors will be locked at 5:00 PM.

For more information, contactBill Burnside or see the I-CAR web-site.

The Skills contest will be heldThursday, April 7, at the Caddo Ca-reer & Technology Center.

A motion was made andpassed for the Northwest LouisianaCollision Repair Association toprovide breakfast for the competi-tion.

The guest speaker for the meet-ing this month was Charlie Nicholsof Nichols Supply.

Nichols was the guest of KenStephenson with Louisiana Glass &Mirror, Inc.

Nichols gave the group a briefhistory of his time and experience inthe Industry.

His business is located on South-ern Ave. in Shreveport, LA.

His business handles all types ofproducts for Industrial, Janitorial,and Office Supplies. He providessame day service on most of hisproducts.

Nichols also gave attendees a les-son about microfiber paper and how itis made. It is this procedure thatmakes microfiber paper the best prod-uct when cleaning a surface. Becauseof this procedure, a microfiber towelcan be washed and reused severaltimes. This makes microfiber papercost effective because it can bewashed without getting destroyed inthe wash.

Nichols Supply also doesn’t in-clude a “fuel charge” for deliveries.

Nichols brought several products forthe group to see.

The microfiber roll and box ofmicrofiber towels were thick and ap-peared very durable, according toBurnside, it was easy to see that theycould stand up to several washingsand reuse.

On the chemical side, hebrought a product called “ENZ-IT-DET”. This product kills bacteria andodors in a number of hard to cleansurfaces.

He also had a hand cleaner calledRed Dawg. He supplies cleaners forglass, stainless steel, and other sur-faces.

He also mentioned a productcalled “Peet Sorb” which is betterthan the typical oil dry.

Peet Sorb is the only product thatis allowed to be disposed of in land-fills, so he said he sees a mandatecoming in the future.

Nichols is in the process of get-ting more catalogs ordered, so call at(318) 841-4501 to request a copy.

More information can also befound at www.nwlcra.org.

NWLCRA Hosts Supply Company to Talk About New Products9 Accused of Staging AutoWrecks in LouisianaNine people have been arrested in theLafayette, La.-area and accused ofstaging auto wrecks to collect insur-ance proceeds, according to reportsmade by Insurance Journal.

State police say the allegationsinclude preparing and submittingfake medical bills, claiming pre-ex-isting damage on vehicles and exag-gerating injuries.

Troopers say that in some cases,the suspects staged crashes usingtheir own vehicles. One used a vehi-cle borrowed from a family member,while another used a rented vehicle.

The charges range from insur-ance fraud to felony theft. If con-victed of insurance fraud, themaximum penalty is five years in jailand a $5,000 fine. If found guilty offelony theft, the person faces up tofive years behind bars and a fine ofup to $2,000.

All of the suspects were arrestedon April 5.

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The Society of Collision Repair Spe-cialists (SCRS) and the Florida Au-tobody Collision Alliance (FACA)will be co-hosting a seminar focusedon trimming workshop efficiencyled by instructor Steven J. Fel-tovich.

The seminar will take place allday on Thursday, May 19 at the Vil-las of Grand Cypress in Orlando,FL.

Whether you are the owner ofan independent business, the middlemanager in a dealership, or the pres-ident of a multi-location shop net-work, this class will show you howto improve your profits and produc-tivity.

Instructor Steven Feltovichwill discuss the origins of “lean”production, running the shop moreefficiently and effectively, raisingthe output quality while loweringoperating costs, capturing moremarket share through continuousimprovement, maximizing produc-tion and profit opportunities anddeveloping systems and processes

for assuring greater customer loy-alty.

“This class is thought provoking.It’s about a mindset and culture ofmaking every step count in your busi-ness, and at the end of it, it just makessense. If you consider ways to includeyour staff in making the job easier,measurably increasing their efficien-cies by developing win-win processes,their continued improvement to posi-tively influence your business is as-sured,” said Gary Wano, Jr., withGW&SonAutobody.

Breakfast and lunch will be pro-vided and are included in the atten-dance fee.

After the Seminar, the FloridaAuto Collision Alliance (FACA) willbe holding an evening reception fol-lowed by a statewide meeting andexpo on Friday, May 20th at thesame location.

Registration for both FACAsponsored events can be made bycontacting FACA Executive Direc-tor Cathy Mills at (904) 994-6516,or [email protected].

SCRS and FACA Co-Hosting Seminar onImproving Workshop Efficiency


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Texas-based Service King CollisionRepair Centers has agreed to acquireAlamo Body and Paint, a multi-loca-tion operator in the San Antonio,Texas area with eight large scale, highvolume locations.

The addition of the Alamo Bodyand Paint locations will make ServiceKing the largest independently andemployee owned collision repair or-ganization in the U.S. with 42 loca-tions throughout the San Antonio,Dallas, Ft. Worth, and Houston areas.

Terms of the agreement were notdisclosed. The transaction is expectedto be completed by May 1, 2011.

Mark Fuller, Alamo Body andPaint’s Co-Owner and President willbe joining the Service King Team asOperations Manager.

“We are very excited aboutAlamo Body and Paint joining theService King Team,” stated Fuller.

“For the past twenty-five years,our success has been driven by ourunrelenting focus on complete satis-faction and respect for our customersand employees,” added Fuller.

Co-Owner Dave Braun willdedicate all his time to Nexsyis Colli-sion, Inc., a developer of a multiplelocation collision repair managementsystem, where he serves as CEO.

Cathy Bonner, President ofService King said in a recorded mes-sage, “Stay tuned for more. We’ve gotmore expansion and more acquisi-tions in mind in Texas.”

Bonner was hired by ServiceKing in 2010 to lead the companythrough an ambitious national expan-sion.

At the time she joined the com-pany, Service King revealed its goalof doubling the size of the companywithin five years. The company had31 locations at the time.

Service King Collision RepairCenters was founded 35 years ago byEddie Lennox, who now serves as itschairman and CEO.

Service King’s Vice President ofCentral Texas, Brent McKinney,said, “We look forward to addingAlamo’s talented employees andskilled technicians to our base of over1,000 Service King teammatesthroughout Texas.”

Symphony Advisors, LLCacted as advisors to Alamo Bodyand Paint throughout the acquisitionprocess.

Service King Collision RepairCenters was founded 35 years ago byOwner, Chairman, and CEO, EddieLennox. Visit www.serviceking.com.

Service King Acquires 8 Alamo Body and PaintLocations in San Antonio, TX

Fire Destroys Three VehiclesAt Tulsa Repair ShopFire destroyed three vehicles earlyApril 4 in the parking lot of a repairshop in the 800 block of North Lewis,according to reports made by Okla-homa’s News On 6.

The owner of the shop said heand his girlfriend woke up at around3:30 a.m. to popping sounds.

He initially thought it was apower surge and shut off the electric-ity. That’s when he noticed the carsoutside on fire.

He called 911 and Tulsa fire-fighters responded quickly.

Two of the vehicles belonged tothe shop’s owner but one of the dam-aged vehicles belonged to a customer.

No one was injured.Tulsa Fire investigators are now

trying to determine how the firesstarted.

Students in St. Philip’s College’sCollision Technology Departmenthave created a Student Organizationwith officers rallying around one oftheir classmates, Raymond Tolosa,who placed first at the Texas SkillsUSA competition in Vehicle Refin-ishing.

The organization also recognizesthe achievements of Jose Palomo,who is also a St. Philips auto collisionstudent and finished second in thecompetition.

The students are starting afundraiser for travel expenses forTolosa to travel to the Skills USA Na-tionals in Kansas City in June.

The students are also creating aletter announcing the formation of theStudent Organization and its purposeincluding the benefit to the industryand students relating to Skills USAaccomplishments.

St. Philip’s College Auto Colli-sion Repair Program is a 2 year stateaccredited program that offers studentsthree options in their auto collision in-dustry education and career path, in-cluding a 2 year Associates in Applied

Science degree, a Collision RepairCertificate and a Refinishing Certifi-cate.

Tolosa is a Veteran of thearmed forces, and after his serviceto his country decided to take ad-vantage of the opportunity to go tocollege.

“Mr. Tolosa is a Husband and fa-

ther of 3, he has shown and continuesto show tremendous leadership quali-ties in our lab activities and class-room,” said Chris Beardsall, Facultyfor Repair and Manufacturing andAuto Collision Technologies coursesat St. Philip’s College.

According to Beardsall, Tolosaenjoys working on vehicles and hasexcelled rapidly in the 9 months hehas been attending classes.

Tolosa’s Skills USA win was hisfirst attempt in the Refinishing com-petition, earning for the first time in 6years St. Philips Colleges representa-tion in the nationals portion of thecompetition.

Aside from the Skills USA com-petition, Tolosa has also stepped upand was elected the St. Philip’s AutoCollision’s Student Organization’sfirst Treasurer.

“Raymond Tolosa works hard ateverything he does and all the fac-ulty and staff are very proud of hisachievements thus far,” said Beard-sall.

More information can be found atwww.alamo.edu.

St. Philip’s College in San Antonio Rallies Around Skills-USA-Winning Classmate

SPC Skills USA winners Jose Palomo andRaymond Tolosa

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Fish are jumping, biting and ready tobe hooked during the annual Texas In-dependent Automotive AssociationScholarship (TIAA) Fishing Tourna-ment here May 20, 2011, which isopen to the public.

According to Louie Sirianni,TIAA state president, the annual fish-ing tourney on the coast is great funand supports a great cause.

The entry fee for the tournamentis $200 per person and food tickets are$20 each.

Harms said those who fish have asuper time and usually return to thedock with plenty of fish to take homeand fry. He said there are cleaningservices available at the nearby ma-rina.

“I encourage people to registersoon because there may not be spaceavailable for those who wait until thelast minute,” Harms said. “The auto-motive industry really benefits and it’sa heck of a good time networking andfishing with one another.”

Sponsorship opportunities arealso available by calling Harms at(210) 413-2428.

The annual TIAA state member-ship meeting, management sessionand lunch follows the fishing tourna-ment from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May21, 2011 at Virginia’s on the Bay inPort Aransas. The meal, served at11:30 a.m., is free for members ingood standing.

TIAA has arranged special pric-ing at two hotels for the fishing tour-nament and TIAA meeting, but roomsare limited. Prices are good until April20.

Ten Plantation Inn and Suitesrooms are available at a rate of $89 pernight or $267 May 19 through 22. Calltoll free (877) 838-3866 to make areservation. Information about thehotel is located at http://www.planta-tionsuites.com.

Five Best Western Ocean Villasare available at a rate of $80.99 onMay 19 and $107.99 for May 20 or21. A rate of $258 is available for allthree nights. Call (361) 331-1749 tomake a reservation. Information aboutthe hotel is located at http://book.best-western.com/bestwestern/product-Info.do?propertyCode=44443.

“If you haven’t been to PortAransas for our fishing tournament,you need to make a point to attend thisyear,” Sirianni said. “It’s so beautifulout on the water and the fishing isworld class.”

“The proceeds support scholar-ships for Texas youth who attend col-lege-level automotive and collisionrepair programs within the state ofTexas,” Sirianni said.

Luke Harms, TIAA member andthe event organizer, urges everyone toget registered as soon as possible soboat captains can be lined up and con-tracted for the event.

The tournament starts at 6:30a.m. and ends at 2 p.m. Weigh-in is at3 p.m. followed by a catered meal andawards ceremony at 4 p.m.

First place awards of $500and second place awards of $250will be given in the Redfish (20-28 inches in length qualify) andSpeckled Trout categories. Theperson with the heaviest Stringer,a combined weight of up to twoRedfish and five Speckled Trout,wins $1000.


TIAAAnnual Port Aransas Fishing Tourney Coming in MayFontaine to Open New TruckCenter in Denton, TXFontaine Modification Company, aprovider of truck modification serv-ices for OEMs, dealers and fleetsthroughout North America, will opena new modification service center onMay 1 in Denton, Texas.

The new service center is dedi-cated to providing post-productiontruck modifications directly to Peter-bilt dealers. Services available todealers include APU installation, fleetservices for over-the-road and voca-tional applications, wheelbasechanges, all-wheel-drive system in-stallation, rollback body installationand paint services. The Denton facil-ity will also be supported byFontaine’s existing hub facility inGarland, Texas.

Jamil Young, Southern Regiongeneral manager for Fontaine, is re-sponsible for the new facility, as wellas the company’s Garland and Laredomodification service centers.

Fontaine Modification operatesseven service centers across theUnited States. In addition to theTexas locations, the company has fa-cilities in Charlotte, North Carolina,Dublin, Virginia, Springfield, Ohio,and Williamstown, West Virginia.

The speed limit on some highways inTexas may be raised to 85 mph, thehighest in the nation, under legislationthe Texas House approved April 6, ac-cording to reports made by the TexasStatesman.

The measure passed on a voicevote was part of a larger transportationbill. It would authorize the Texas De-partment of Transportation to raise thespeed limit on designated lanes or en-tire stretches of roads after doing en-gineering and traffic studies, TheDallas Morning News reported March31.

The Senate is considering a sim-ilar bill.

“They have high-speed roadwaysin Europe, and there could be somemerit in having some of those high-ways in Texas,” said Rep. LoisKolkhorst, R-Brenham, who intro-duced the bill. “Given the right engi-neering, we should consider it.”

Texas has more than 520 miles ofinterstate highways on which thespeed limit is 80 mph. Pushing it to 85mph would make it the highest speedlimit in the US.

One such stretch of Interstate 10“is as nice a road as you can build; it’sflat with a long line of sight, widelanes and good shoulders,” said Rep.Joe Pickett, D-El Paso. “For peoplelike us who travel that long distance, it

could be good” to raise the limit to 85mph, he said.

Some auto insurers oppose themeasure, citing safety concerns.

Opponents say that drivers rou-tinely drive about 5 mph above mostposted speed limits, which wouldmean some motorists would be push-ing 90 mph.

“Obviously, the two thingsthat kill most people on our high-ways are speed and alcohol. In-creasing it to 85, or even 75, willhave a dramatic impact on thedeath and injury rate on those high-ways where it’s implemented,”said Jerry Johns, a spokesman forthe Southwestern Insurance Infor-mation Service.

He said drivers already exceed70 mph highway speed limits.

“But 85 mph is simply too fast todrive even on a flat road. Any littlehitch can cause an accident at thatspeed. There is still traffic on thoseroads, and to drive 85 mph is simplyludicrous,” he said.

The Transportation Departmenthasn’t done the speed and safetyanalyses of roadways the legislationwould require, department spokes-woman Kelli Petras said.

“It would be awesome to travelit, but you’d have to look at the safetyand other factors,” she said.

85 mph is A-OK on Some Texas Roads


Bills Filed in Texas Aimed at IncreasingInsurance Policy TransparencyTwo pieces of legislation recently filedin Texas would require insurance com-panies to provide customers with morecomplete information on rate in-creases and expand resources avail-able to consumers for shopping themarket.

Rep.ArmandoWalle of Houstonsays House Bill 2723 and House Bill2724 would “help consumers fully un-derstand the premium increases im-posed by insurance companies and willgive consumers information on howthey can shop around.”

HB 2723 concerns accident andhealth insurance policies. Under themeasure, an insurer must notify con-sumers of the rate increase 60 daysprior to it taking effect, according toinformation posted on the TexasHouse of Representatives’ Web site.

The notice would have to in-clude the amount of the increase andinformation about how to file a com-plaint.

Additionally, the bill would re-quire the notice to include Web siteaddresses where consumers can accessinformation regarding rate increasejustifications and alternative coverageoptions.

HB 2724 contains similar provi-sions for residential property and per-sonal automobile insurance.

At the time of a policy renewal,the insurance company would be re-quired to provide a side-by-side com-parison of the new and old rates, aswell as provide information on anychanges in coverage and how to shoparound.

The bill also requires insurers togive the deductible in a dollar amount,rather than in a percent of the totalvalue of the policy.

Rep. Armando Walle is servinghis second term in the Texas House ofRepresentatives and serves on theHouse Committee on Insurance andthe House Committee on HomelandSecurity and Public Safety.

He represents House District 140,which includes northern portions ofunincorporated Harris County and theCity of Houston.

“Policyholders deserve clear infor-mation about upcoming rate increaseswith enough time to plan accordingly orshop around if they are unhappy withthe product,” said Rep. Walle.

For more information please visitwww.house.state.tx.us.

Thousands Cited in El Pasofor Phoning When DrivingThousands of talkers have beenticketed in El Paso, Texas, sincethe city’s ban on using hand-heldcell phones while driving tookeffect last spring, according toreports made by Insurance Jour-nal.

The El Paso Times reported thatmore than 6,400 tickets have been is-sued since enforcement began of theApril 1, 2010, ordinance. Violatorsface fines of $114.

The ordinance applies to alldrivers in the city, including emer-gency personnel.

More than 1,800 tickets havebeen issued during 2011, throughMarch 11.

Police Chief Greg Allen saysthe law is only enforceable if an offi-cer sees a driver using a hand-heldcell phone.

The ordinance was approved toincrease traffic safety by reducingdriver distractions.

Hands-free devices are permit-ted.

Drivers in El Paso can legallyuse a hand-held cell phone to reporta crime, traffic accident or medicalemergency.

GM Idles Texas SUV PlantGeneral Motors Co. idled a Texassport-utility vehicle plant for a day onApril 8 due to a parts shortage, aunion official said.

GM confirmed its Arlington,Texas, plant will be temporarily shutbut declined to comment on whatcaused the shutdown, according tothe Wall Street Journal.

The Arlington factory operatestwo 10-hour shifts Monday throughThursday. For the last 18 months, thecompany has also operated two shiftson Friday, and sometimes operates onSaturday, to keep up with demand,said Enrique Flores, president ofUnited Auto Workers Local 276,which represents workers at the plant.

Flores said GM officials in-formed him late April 6 that this Fri-day’s two 10-hour overtime shiftswould be cancelled because therearen’t enough parts. The plant re-sumed production on April 11.

GM said the production on April8 would be rescheduled for a laterdate.

GM’s Arlington Assembly plantbuilds big SUVs including theChevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon.The vehicles are highly profitable forGM and consumer demand has beenstrong despite rising fuel prices.


The collision industry lost one of itsleading members at the end of March;James Robert “Bob” English, Jr.,founder of English Color in the south-ern US.

Bob was raised in Dallas, andtook great pride in having graduated

from Texas A&MUniversity, Classof ‘46, with aBusiness degree.Bob was known byhis friends for hislove of a goodAggie joke, somuch so that he

was given the nickname “Aggie Bob”,which was how he was identified fordecades.

“Bob was just a core Aggie,”said Michael McCabe with EnglishColor, “Our corporate office inRichardson flies the American flagand the Texas A&M flag right belowit.”

Bob was an accomplished busi-nessman who founded EnglishColor & Supply, Inc. in 1946. Thecompany has evolved from selling

automotive batteries out of a paneltruck to becoming one of the largestdistributors of automotive paint andsupplies with 41 locations in 6states and representing productsfrom over 100 suppliers. Even afterBob’s retirement, he continued tohave an active role in an advisorycapacity and strived to maintain apersonal relationship with his dedi-cated employees.

“For our 60th anniversary, Bobdesigned a gold coin to give to all theemployees to thank them for helpinghim achieve 60 years. Along with acoin for every employee, (approxi-mately 250) he gave each employee60 brand new One Dollar Bills. Bobwanted to shake the hand of everyemployee (sales reps, managers,counter personnel, delivery drivers,etc) and thank them for their sup-port,” said Jim English, Bob’s sonand English Color’s current Chair-man.

English Color has locationsserving customers in Texas, Okla-homa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ten-nessee, Alabama and Arkansas.

“This was his business, that be-came a family business when his sonJim and son-in-law Phil came onboard, then Robert our VP was a neigh-

bor kid, then his grand-son Jeff ... to round outthe “family” business.Bob English made us allfeel like family and wewant to stay around,”said Monique Flener,Sales and Marketing Co-ordinator with EnglishColor.

English Color wasoriginally known asEnglish Bros. Aftergraduating from TexasA&M Bob borrowed$1,100 from his parentsto start his own busi-ness. The name “EnglishBros.” was chosen be-cause two of Bob’s fa-ther’s brothers had asurplus sign by thatname that they had usedin their business, andthey were no longer

using it. They let Bob use it at no cost.Bob’s biggest investment when

he started out was a half-ton paneltruck.

Collision Repairers in Texas Mourn the Loss of Bob English—Founder, English Color

Jim English (son, left), Bob English (middle), and Phil Burnett(son-in-law, right) breaking ground on store # 2 in Dallas, TXin March of 1983

Bob English

Bob’s father was SouthwestSales Manager for the National Bat-tery Company, so that’s why hestarted out selling automobile batter-ies.

Bob purchased the panel truck tocarry inventory until he could estab-lish a location, which he eventuallyfound in Frisco, Texas.

Bob fell into the paint supplybusiness just as the battery supplypart of the business began togrow.

He was explor-ing other automo-tive supply optionswhen he decidedto dabble in be-coming a PaintRepresen ta t ive ,and English ColorSupply was born.

Bob worked tire-lessly as an activeleader in the auto-motive industry andhis community, inwhich he was hon-ored to receivemany distinguishedawards.

VERSION DATE: 03/24/2011By: JacksonS.B. No. 944

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACTrelating to the creation of an advisorycommittee to make recommendationsto the commissioner of insurance re-garding certain automobile insuranceclaims.

BE IT ENACTED BYTHE LEGISLA-TURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:SECTION 1. Subchapter G, Chapter1952, Insurance Code, is amended byadding Section 1952.308 to read asfollows:Sec. 1952.308. ADVISORY COM-MITTEE. (a) An advisory committeeshall make recommendations to thecommissioner regarding:(1) the enforcement of this subchap-ter;(2) preventing and penalizing the pro-cessing of third-party claims for dam-age to a motor vehicle in violation ofChapters 541 and 542;

(3) procedures, parts, or products usedto repair a motor vehicle;(4) rules and procedures related to au-tomobile insurance claims for thecosts of towing and storing motor ve-hicles; and(5) any other matter relating to auto-mobile insurance and the repair ofmotor vehicles.(b) The advisory committee is com-posed of nine members appointed bythe commissioner as follows:(1) three members who representmotor vehicle repair facilities;(2) three members who represent thepublic; and(3) three members who representthe automobile insurance indus-try.(c) A member of the advisory com-mittee serves without compensationbut is entitled to reimbursement forreasonable expenses incurred in at-tending meetings of the advisory com-mittee.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effectSeptember 1, 2011.”

For more information please visitASA’s legislative website at www.tak-ingthehill.org.


Continued from Front Page

944 Committee

Phil Burnett (left) and Bob English (right) and one of English Color’ssignature red delivery trucks at the Auto Collision Repair Showhosted by English Color – April 29-30, 1988 at the Dallas Market Hall

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HABA to Host 1st AnnualShop Owners and ManagersAppreciation EventThe Houston Autobody Association(HABA) will host their first annualbody shop owners and managers ap-preciation event on May 19 from 7pm to 9 pm at the Cadillac Bar inHouston.

The organization will host thisevent in lieu of their monthly meet-ing for May.

The event is open to mem-bers and non-members alike.Please visit www.habaonline.organd fill out the RSVP informa-tion and fax it in so the groupcan get a head count of those at-tending.

The hope is for local body shopemployees to meet the members ofthe association and see what they areall about.

HABA hopes to interest thelocal industry in joining their as-sociation and becoming part of agreat organization that has andwill continue in the advance-ment of the collision repair in-dustry.

Please visit www.habaonline.orgfor more information.

OK Insurance CommissionerRevamps Fraud ProbesOklahoma’s new Republican insur-ance commissioner and top prosecu-tor say they’re revamping howinsurance fraud is investigated andprosecuted in the state, according toreports made by Insurance Journal.

Attorney General Scott Pruittand Insurance Commissioner JohnDoak say the two agencies will in-crease their level of cooperation andare working to streamline theprocess.

Doak says the Insurance Depart-ment will focus on insurance crimescommitted by agents and companyexecutives that cost Oklahoma’sratepayers.

Pruitt’s office, meanwhile, willfocus on expanding investigationsand prosecutions of claimants whocommit insurance fraud, includingworkers’ compensation fraud.

Doak says the goal is to makeOklahoma a “dangerous place to bean insurance criminal.”

Microsoft and Toyota Motor Corp.have forged a strategic partnership andplan to build a global platform forTMC’s next-generation telematicsservices using the Windows Azure plat-form. Telematics is the fusing oftelecommunications and informationtechnologies in vehicles; it can encom-pass GPS systems, energy managementand other multimedia technologies.

The two companies plan to par-ticipate in a $12 million investment inToyota Media Service Co., a TMCsubsidiary that offers digital informa-tion services to Toyota automotive cus-tomers. The two companies aim tohelp develop and deploy telematics ap-plications on the Windows Azure plat-form, which includes Windows Azureand Microsoft SQL Azure, startingwith TMC’s electric and plug-in hy-brid vehicles in 2012. TMC’s goal is toestablish a complete global cloud plat-form by 2015 that will provide afford-able and advanced telematics servicesto Toyota automotive customersaround the world.

As part of its smart-grid activities,aimed at achieving a low-carbon soci-ety through efficient energy use, TMCis conducting trials in Japan of its Toy-ota Smart Center pilot program, whichplans to link people, automobiles and

homes for integrated control of energyconsumption. TMC believes that, aselectric and plug-in hybrid vehicles be-come more popular, such systems willrely more on telematics services forachieving efficient energy manage-ment.

Microsoft has a long history ofdelivering platforms and services tothe automotive market, including in-car infotainment systems built on theWindows Embedded Automotive plat-form, in-car mapping services withBing and the Microsoft Tellme voiceapplication, and many other consumersolutions.

“Our announcement of our part-nership with TMC is a great exampleof how we continue to invest in the au-tomotive industry and of our commit-ment to power the services that areimportant to consumers,” said Mi-crosoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “It furthervalidates the power of the cloud, as theWindows Azure platform will providethe enterprise-grade, scalable platformthat TMC needs to deliver telematicsin its automobiles worldwide.” SaidAkio Toyoda, president of TMC: “Toachieve this, it is important to developa new link between vehicles, peopleand smart center energy-managementsystems.”

Microsoft and Toyota Join Forces in Telematics Venture

www.autobodynews.com


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A Collision Industry Conference(CIC) committee hopes by April tohave hired a consultant to help build abusiness case for a new organizationthat would oversee the developmentand implementation of formalized col-lision repair standards in the UnitedStates.

Russ Thrall, co-chairman of theRepair Standards Advisory Commit-tee, said at the CIC held in Secaucus,NJ in mid-March that several propos-als from consultants are now being re-viewed, and a decision is expected inApril. If funding for the position canbe raised, the consultant will be askedto issue a draft of the business case bythe end of September.

For a number of years, an all-volunteer CIC committee has dis-cussed and crafted some portions ofa possible standard, which would ad-dress training, equipment and evenrepair procedures. A draft of the stillin-process 100-page document canbe viewed online (www.repairstan-dards.com).

Thrall has said the consultant isneeded to work with the volunteercommittee to conduct the interviewsand research necessary to propose astructure and funding mechanism forthe organization that would use a for-mal process to create and implementthe standards. The consultant’s reportwould also outline the value suchstandards would offer various seg-ments of the industry, and how theperformance of the standards could bemeasured.

The committee is planning aforum to be held in conjunction withCIC’s November meeting in LasVegas that would present the consul-tant’s findings and recommendations.Thrall said the committee hopes to in-clude presentations and discussion atthat forum with representatives fromshops and insurers in the United King-dom where a formalized set of indus-try standards has been in place forseveral years.

As happens during many of thediscussions of proposed industry stan-dards, a number of participants at CICin Secaucus expressed questions orconcerns about the process or out-come.

Aaron Schulenburg of the Society ofCollision Repair Specialists, for ex-ample, asked whether the fund-raisingthat was planned was just to cover theexpense of the consultant’s research,or if would be establishing funding fora standards organization even beforethe need for and interest in such an ef-fort was established. He said his grouphad recently held a conference callwith about 18 of its affiliated state re-pairer associations.

“The perspective was pretty con-sistent from association to associa-tion,” Schulenburg said. “To behonest, there was a lot of skepticismover the value, the benefit, and theoverall impact (of formalized industrystandards) on the repair facilities thatthese association represent.”

Thrall and others on the commit-tee stressed that funding was onlybeing sought to determine whetherthere is an interest in and business casefor the development of a standard-set-ting and –implementing organization.

I-CAR offers updateAlso at the meeting, Bill Stage of I-CAR provided an update on the train-ing organization’s efforts to revamp itsofferings and recognition program. Hesaid that while the Gold Class Profes-sionals designation is currently basedon “points,” it will convert to be basedon “hours” of training next year.

Stage said there are currentlyabout 4,000 Gold Class facilities inthe United States, up by about 1,800since last July. That growth, he said,came in part because of Allstate’spush to ensure all shops in its directrepair program are Gold Class.

“There’s another insurance com-pany that is pretty close to going downthat path as well,” Stage said. “Andtwo OEMs at this time are close to an-nouncing a Gold Class initiative fortheir dealership shops.”

Starting in July, I-CAR will beginto allow experienced technicians to“test-out” of some of the more “basic”courses required for “Platinum Indi-vidual” status. He said I-CAR will an-nounce three new online classes inApril, as well as about one new onlineclass about each month after that. Hesaid that while four hours of online

training currently is more expensivethan one 4-hour live I-CAR class, anew pricing structure expected to rollout in January will have “a lot morerationality” in the pricing for the twotypes of training.

Other discussion at the meetingIn other news and discussion at CICin Secaucus:● Industry trainer Toby Chess pre-sented information on the need to re-calibrate the steering angle sensor thatis part of the electronic stability con-trol system on an increasing number ofnew vehicles. Such systems are stan-dard equipment on 85 percent of 2010new vehicles, and will be required onall new vehicles as of model year2012. The recalibration is an additionalprocedure that must be done after thevehicle alignment. “It’s an added step,and there’s also no more 2-wheelalignments with these systems. That

won’t work,” Chess said. He said eventhough no “trouble light” will be lit onthe dash and the vehicle may handleproperly under normal driving condi-tions even if the system is not cali-brated, the electronic stability controlfunction may not work properly in asubsequent “emergency maneuver.”● Deborah Craig, a compliance officerwith the U.S. Environmental Protec-tion Agency, said that even though thedeadline has passed for shops to com-ply with new federal refinish and paintstripping regulations, any business thathas not complied should not avoiddoing so. “Some folks think if theyhang back and don’t submit the paper-work that somehow EPA isn’t going toknow about them,” Craig said. “Theydon’t want to shine a light on them-selves by submitting something late.Our recommendation is that you justmove forward as quickly as possibly


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Effort to Develop Collision Repair Standards Takes Another Step Forward

See Repair Standards, Page 18

Industry Insightwith John Yoswick

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


On April 7th, 2011 the United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Cir-cuit upheld a lower court’s ordergranting summary judgment in favorof State Farm Insurance in Gunder’sAuto Center’s claim against the na-tion’s largest personal auto insurer forslander and tortious interference witha business relationship. (See Autobo-dynews.com for background.)

To recover for slander in Florida, theclaimant must show (1) publication of afalse statement; (2) about the plaintiff; (3)to a third party; and (4) damage resultingto plaintiff from the publication.

To state a claim for tortious inter-ference in Florida, the claimant mustshow (1) the existence of a business re-lationship; (2) knowledge of the rela-tionship on the part of the defendant;(3) an intentional and unjustified inter-ference by the defendant; and (4) dam-age from the breach of the relationship.

The court found that, “althoughdenied by State Farm, we assume thestatements allegedly made by StateFarm disparaging Gunter’s weremade and are untrue. Nonetheless, weagree with the district court that State

Farm’s statements were privileged:Under Florida law a privileged

statement is one in which “A commu-nication made in good faith on anysubject matter by one having an inter-est therein, or in reference to which hehas a duty, is privileged if made to aperson having a corresponding interestor duty, even though it contains matterwhich would otherwise be actionable.

The court continued: “Because allstatements were made to State Farminsureds in the context of a claimunder a State Farm insurance policy,and because all statements concerned amatter of mutual interest to the in-sureds andState Farm—the quality,timeliness and costs of vehicles re-pairs—the statements were privileged.

The privilege raises a presumptionof good faith on the part of thespeaker, but the privilege is not ab-solute. The privilege is forfeited if thestatements are made with express mal-ice: [w]here a person speaks upon aprivileged occasion, but the speaker ismotivated more by a desire to harmthe person defamed than by a purposeto protect the personal or social inter-

est giving rise to the privilege, then itcan be said that there was expressmalice and the privilege is destroyed.

Gunder’s failed to proffer suffi-cient evidence of express malice toraise a material issue of fact for a jury.The statements of which Gunter’scomplains—even assuming their fal-sity—supports no inference of malice,and Gunter’s failed to proffer extrin-sic evidence of express malice. Sum-mary judgment was due on Gunder’sslander claim.

On the tortious interference claimby Gunder, the court ruled “Gunder’smakes no allegation that State Farm in-terfered with customers or prospectivecustomers of Gunder’s who were notState Farm insureds. As a matter of law,“[t]here can be no claim [for tortiousinterference with a business relation-ship] where the action complained of isundertaken to safeguard or promoteone’s financial or economic interest.”

The court continued, ““[u]nderFlorida law, a defendant is not astranger to a business relationship, andthus cannot be held liable for tortiousinterference, when it has a supervisory

interest in how the relationship is con-ducted or a potential financial interestin how a contract is performed.”

Gunder had argued in court thatState Farm had lost the priviledge be-cause it used improper means, but wasunable to prevail because the testimonydetailing the improper means had earlierbeen stricken from the court’s records.

The court continued, “ On appeal,Gunder’s cites—for the first time— [aparagraph in the] amended complaintto claim it pleaded improper means.Even if Gunder’s has preserved thisargument, the only arguably impropermeans Gunder’s alleged are the state-ments Gunder’s claims State Farmmade to its insureds about the costs,quality, and timeliness of Gunder’s re-pairs. These statements are the samestatements upon which Gunder’sgrounds its slander claims. Even as-suming the falsity of those statements,as earlier discussed, those statementswere privileged; they fail to show theimproper means needed to defeatState Farm’s privilege against a tor-tious-interference claim.”

Gunder’s Loses Appeal to State Farm—Court Rules ‘Even if False,’ Claims are Priviledged

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SHOP & PRODUCTSHOP & PRODUCTSHOWCASESHOWCASE

Jimmy Lefler owns and operates fiveextremely busy body, mechanical, andglass shops based in Evansville, Indi-ana, that are repairing more than 200cars per week, juggling eight DRPs,employing 80 people and doing ap-proximately $9million in annual sales.So, when it comes to purchasingequipment to run his shops, CEOLefler expects that his machines willperform day-after-day without break-ing down or requiring extensive main-tenance. That’s why he’s been buyinghis racks, computerized measuringsystems and lifts from Chief Automo-tive Technologies, a leading manufac-turer of pulling, measuring, anchoringand vehicle specification products.

Lefler is a third-generation bodyshop owner whose grandfather,Leroy, founded Leroy’s Paint &Fender Repair as a dirt floor garagein 1952. Times have changed. For al-most 60 years, Lefler has been ahousehold name for fixing cars in thetri-state area on the borders of Indi-ana, Kentucky and Illinois. Leflershas been winning national awardsfor the family’s contributions to thecollision industry, while expandingand succeeding in a very competitivemarket with more than 60 bodyshop/collision centers listed in thesouthern Indiana region.

Jimmy started working in thefamily’s business in 1986 in the partsdepartment. “I did it all in the begin-ning—fixed cars, washed vehicles,worked as an estimator and cleanedfloors—anything and everything tolearn the business. In 1996, I boughtout my father and starting runningthe operation,” he said.

The Lefler family has had a long-term mutually beneficial relationshipwith Chief, he said. “We bought ourfirst rack from them in 1982, after wesaw their demonstration. That wasthe key, because it was very inform-ative and they showed us everythingthat the machines could do. We haveone Chief machine right now that’sbeen here for 18 years and it’s stillgoing strong. It’s paid for itself sev-eral times over, that’s for sure. Today,we own three Chief measuring sys-tems, four racks and a drive-overlift/pulling system.”

Chief Automotive Technologiesstarted manufacturing its first pullingsystems in 1972, and it rapidly be-came a leader in the industry. Thecompany has stepped up over theyears, driving technology changes,including the introduction of comput-erized measuring systems and com-prehensive vehicle specifications.

Lefler’s VP/Operations ManagerEd Dietz praised Chief’s exemplarycustomer service for keeping histechs informed and productive whilethey are working with the manufac-turer’s machines.

“Our techs can get a Chief tech-nical person on the phone immedi-ately, and that’s critical,” Dietz said. “Itallows my technicians to resolve theirissue and stay productive, which is soimportant to our cycle times. If theyhave to sit on hold or wait to get a callback, that’s time that’s been lost.”

Roger Tutt, production managerfor Lefler’s Evansville North shop,has consistently received fast andaccurate information from the Chiefcustomer service team whenever hehas needed it.

“They make it easy. The only timeI ever need technical service fromChief is a computer-related issue, andthe technical service hotline walks meright through it every time,” he said.“The ability for a Chief technical per-son to log in remotely to see what thetech is looking at on the Genesis com-puterized measuring system com-puter is a ‘game changer’ for service.”

Lefler has all his techs trained byChief, he said, to ensure that theyknow every detail involved in the op-eration of these machines. “We re-cently brought Ken Soupene, a Chiefinstructor, on-site for a week of trainingfor all of our technicians. It was great,because all of our employees wereable to go through the training in areal-world setting, without costing usa decline in production or cycle times”.

A big part of what Chief brings tothe equation for Lefler is its training,

which allows techs to get certifiedand earn I-CAR credits in theprocess, Lefler said. “They make thetraining very effective and compre-hensive,” Lefler explained. “It’s top-notch all the way. Soupene is one ofthe best instructors we have ever en-countered from any company, andhe taught most of my techs how towork these machines.”

Chief’s support starts with train-ing and continues after the sale viathe company’s equipment reps onthe ground, Lefler said.

“Mark Lee is our equipment repand he has proven to be one of thebest we have ever worked with,” Leflersaid. “He’s very responsive and is al-ways readily available to answer anyquestions after the sale. Customerservice is a big deal, because we’reusing these Chief racks on a dailybasis, and we work them hard. So, weneed to have a guy like Mark whoknows these machines inside and outand is dedicated to servicing ourneeds. I know that if we need a part ina hurry, he’ll drive it over here, eventhough his company is in Indianapolis,a 3.5-hour ride from here. That’s thekind of customer support we’ve beengetting fromChief and reps like Mark.”

Lee, owner of Lee Equipment,has been selling Chief equipment toLefler for the past five years, and hasa long history with the manufacturer,he explained. “Chief doesn’t makecheap machines, but the quality isthere and the products’ longevity anddurability is the proof. I have cus-tomers who are still using the sameChief machines that they bought 35years ago.”

Jimmy Lefler is a third-generation body shopowner who owns five locations in SouthernIndiana

Lefler Collision &Auto Glass CentersLocation: Evansville and Newburgh, IN

Telephone: 812-423-4044www.leflers.com

Company At A Glance...

Type: Collision & Mechanical Repair

Facility Employees: 80

In Business Since: 1952

DRP Programs: Eight

Number of Locations:Three collision body shops &two mechanical/glass shops

Combined Production Space:47,800 square feet (combined)

Chief Automotive TechnologiesPhone: (800) 445-9262email: [email protected]: www.chiefautomotive.com

Lefler Auto Body Tech Rodney Blandford works on a vehicle using the shop's Chief Impulse framerack, one of the Chief machines that Lefler counts on to repair approximately 200 cars weekly

Indiana Shop Owner Favors Chief for Quality,Durability & Support

All of Lefler’s shops are busy day and night,doing $9 million in annual sales despite arocky economy

by Ed Attanasio

Summer time is nearly here and shopowners who are interested in attract-ing insurance or other referral busi-ness may be considering putting on anevent.

These can vary widely in terms ofsize and cost. I assisted one dealershipowner in creating quite a large eventto build business for his body shop. Inaddition to insurance DRP coordina-tors. Since he did a lot of work forcommercial contractors and also locallaw enforcement, he invited manycompany owners and managers andalso sheriff’s department personnel.

He put up large umbrellas overpicnic tables all along the driveway infront of his body shop work bays. Nat-urally food and drink vendors were lo-cated along there.

Each work bay was convertedinto a presentation space. By the prepand spray booths, his paint jobber setup demos of spray guns, a color-matching photospectrometer, and var-ious paint supply items.

His 3-M distributor used a bay todemonstrate special materials foreverything from windshield repair tosimple repairs on plastic and fiber-glass auto parts. Another bay houseda paintless dent removal specialist,and some attendees were providedwith small dent removals from theirvehicles. An ongoing demonstrationof the estimating and managementsystems was provided in the bodyshop office. Tours of the entire dealer-ship were given every fifteen minutes.

The cost of the event was in ex-cess of $10,000. Was it worth it? Onesmall insurance company representa-tive agreed to add the shop to theirDRP list. The dealership got a few or-ders for new pick-up trucks, but very

few new commercial company peoplecame to the event and I didn’t hear ofany new commercial contracts. Wasthe event a wise investment?

I don’t think the dealership ownerconsidered it a success, but the up-grades to the shop were needed and theP.R. value of the event was substantial.Could he have put on an event for less?The answer is a definite “Yes!” Look-ing back, I could see that a dealershipprincipal would have difficulty resist-ing turning a body shop promotionalevent into somewhat of a vehicle salesevent. That increased his cost greatly.

In general I’ve seen more shopssimply put on a barbecue along with atour of the shop. Others have madetheir shop available for a small localtrade show with suppliers and othervendors setting up their demonstra-tions and presentations on long tables.

One disadvantage of this is havingother shop owners coming through.The barbecue event can be focusedpurely on insurance company repre-sentatives and/or other referral sources.

An even more economical ap-proach to an event is to participate insomeone else’s event.

One local school put on a safedriving event. The Auto Club and alocal radio station sponsored it. A cou-ple of collision shop owners and alsodriving school owners were invited toset up tables with safe driving infor-mation. In a sense this was more of anevent looking to the future when thehigh school kids would become newdrivers, but parents were also there andhad an opportunity to learn more aboutthe participating collision repair shops.

A more direct event for the gen-eral public was put on by a shop thatbecame a voting location on an elec-

tion day. The owner played patrioticmusic and had patriotic banners allover the place.

He even hired a model dressed upin an Uncle Sam costume to conducttours of the shop for anyone inter-ested. Since many voters are long-term local homeowners with moreexpensive high-end cars, the shopowner felt he would reach the kind ofcustomer he wanted.

While a shop event aimed at insur-ance or commercial account attendeeshas to direct their promotional mail,phone calls and faxes to a very specificlist of prospects, the shop focusing onthe general public could use radio, TVand print publication ads to get the wordout. Shops located in a desirable resi-dential area could also distribute flyersdirectly to homes in the area.

Collision shops have one majoradvantage over many other businesseswhen it comes to putting on events.Most shops occupy a fairly large

space overall. Like the dealership I de-scribed, most have many parkingspaces and open repair bays wheredemonstrations and presentations canbe carried out easily.

Few people are aware of the sizeand complexity of a typical bodyshop. The event can be an ideal op-portunity to educate prospective cus-tomers on the advantage of choosing ashop with state-of-the-art spraybooths, frame measuring and straight-ening equipment, top quality weldingequipment and the many special toolsneeded to perform repairs on today’sever-changing vehicles.

Putting on an occasional event isa good promotional effort for a shopbecause it not only provides a reasonto invite key potential referral sourcesto see the shop, but it also motivatesshop owners and managers to clean upthe place and make it presentable forthe event. That alone is worth at leasta small investment.


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

Summertime Should Mean Event Time For Body Shops

to come into compliance. Give the re-gional EPA folks a call. Ask for helpin filling out the forms. Talk to folksin your trade group for assistance. Talkto your paint suppliers. A lot of thepaint suppliers have really been offer-ing such excellent customer service byhelping you comply.”

● An informal collection of cash do-nations from the approximately 150people at the meeting raised morethan $1,600 for the Japanese RedCross to support efforts to help thatcountry following the earthquakes andMarch 11 tsunami.

Continued from Page 14

Repair Standards


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TrueCar.com has released a refresheddemographic study based on car-buy-ing behavior in 2010, examining gen-der differences in auto buying.TrueCar.com’s study was based on overeight million retail purchases in 2010.

“The study shows that womencar buyers are more cost-consciousand purchased fuel-efficient vehicleswhile male buyers were completelythe opposite, purchasing vehicles thatwere either big and brawny, like alarge truck, or chose a high-priced,high-performance vehicle,” said JesseToprak, Vice President of IndustryTrends and Insights at TrueCar.com.

Some of the key findings of theTrueCar.com study include:● The brand with the highest percent-age of retail sales to females in 2010was MINI (47.9 percent), followed byKia (46.8 percent), and Honda (46.0percent) compared to 2009 when Sat-urn and Kia tied at 45.2 percent andMINI came in third at 45.0 percent.There were fifteen brands with a fe-

male ratio over 40 percent in both2009 and 2010.● The highest percentage of male buy-ers primarily purchased exotic brands.

There were five brands in 2010 at10 percent or less for retail sales towomen, including Ferrari (6.4 per-cent), Lotus (7.2 percent), Lamborgh-ini (7.4 percent), Maybach (8.0percent), and Rolls Royce (9.3 per-cent) compared to 2009 when therewere six brands; including Bugatti (0percent), Maybach (3.7 percent), Fer-rari (5.1 percent), Lamborghini (5.5percent), Rolls Royce (8.0 percent),and Aston Martin (9.0 percent).● The top ten models that had greaterthan 50 percent retail sales to femalesand at least 1,000 annual retail sales in2010 were: Volkswagen New Beetle,Kia Spectra, Nissan Rogue, Volkswa-gen Eos, Hyundai Entourage, VolvoS40, Jeep Compass, Honda CR-V,Nissan Sentra, and Hyundai Tucson.●The top ten models that had greaterthan 50 percent retail sales to males

and at least 1,000 annual retail sales in2010 were: Porsche 911, GMC Sierra,Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Silver-ado, Ford F-Series, BMW M3, FordRanger, Toyota Tundra, Dodge Ramand Audi S5.

TrueCar.com also examined themost current market prices and listeddiscounts for all of the brands andspecific models that were trackedwith over 1,000 vehicle sales annu-ally.


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by Janet Chaney

The merger of three of the largest in-dependent auto recycling networks inthe country was announced at theUnited Recyclers Group Annual Con-ference in Colorado. QRP Midwest, anetwork of 33 independent recyclershas joined TEAM PRP affiliates, Ab-solute and Heartland, to form PRPMidwest. This alliance unites 52 inde-pendent recyclers in the Central geo-graphic region of the United States.

Krystyn Roberts of County LineAuto Parts, Kansas City, Missouri is theChair of QRP Midwest and feels thetiming is right, “Both PRP and QRPMidwest are very excited for the futureand the possibilities that will come fromour three independent recycling groups

joining forces. All groups have differ-ent strengths that we have brought tothe table and it just makes sense for usto team up to ultimately better serve ourcustomers and our industry.”

The merger came about quicklyafter the first meeting between the re-cycler groups at which sharing deliv-ery system resources was explored.Ultimately, they recognized the bene-fit of consolidation, leveraging a fullintegration of the three trading net-works. Significant value will be of-fered in better service to PRP Midwestmechanical and collision customersthrough the integrated delivery sys-tems, expanded inventory and accessto better salvage procurement options.

“The merger of these three qual-ity driven membership groups of in-

dependent recyclers will no doubtpositively impact the repair commu-nity in the regions covered,” statesChris Northup, an independent indus-try consultant who is currently re-tained by the TEAM PRP NationalBoard of Directors, “Realistically, thiscould provide the template for a goforward footprint of independent re-cyclers to compete on the nationalscale.” Kent Rothwell, Weaver AutoParts, Carnesville, Georgia, a TeamPRP National Board Member ispleased with the expansion, “TeamPRP encourages individualism as weuse our combined philosophy to buildthe strength of our network.”

Mel Hunke, the General Managerof PRP Midwest has been workingclosely with all entities and sees the

positive change ahead, “ I am very ex-cited about the potential resulting fromthese three networks of auto recyclers,who have a long history of commit-ment to excellence and outstandingcustomer service, joining forces toform one superior source of auto partsfor all categories of customers,” Hunkecontinues, “I am optimistic that PRPMidwest will offer even greater cus-tomer benefits than the three groupshave provided separately in the past.PRP Midwest is ready to assume aleadership role in providing “alternatesource” auto parts to our customers”.

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When it Comes to Cars, Men Buy Looks, Women Seek Practicality

A man found shot at a Point Loma-area auto repair shop was declareddead at the scene the morning of April19, according to reports made by SanDiego’s 10 News.

A customer dropping off her carfound the man at Joe’s Auto Repairin the 1900 block of Rosecrans Streetin San Diego around 7:30 a.m.

Witnesses reported hearing gun-shots at the location at around 7:15 a.m.

The owner of Point LomaSmog, which is located next door,told 10News that owner of Joe’sAuto Repair is the person who wasshot.

Police are looking for an older-model, green sedan that might be con-nected to the incident.

More information about the in-vestigations as it progresses can befound at www.autobodynews.com.

Man Shot To Death At San Diego, CA, Auto Repair Shop


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Used Vehicle Pricing Expectedto Rise in Quake AftermathAutomotive News Reporter ArlenaSawyers writes that since theearthquake in Japan, used-vehicleprices have become so volatile thatprice experts are scrambling tokeep up. And dealers, anticipatingnew-car shortages, are going be-yond usual channels to stock used-car lots, often paying more forthose vehicles and then worryingabout having shelled out too much.Prices already were high. The re-cession led to a shortage of usedvehicles, and when demand rose ascredit eased for used-car cus-tomers, prices soared. Then thequake struck.

Reduced production by Japan-ese automakers, such as ToyotaMotor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.,and the threat of production cuts byvirtually all automakers means areduced new-vehicle supply. Deal-ers who are short of new vehicleslook to the used-car lot to meet de-mand.

And prices could go evenhigher. If new-vehicle incentives dryup, as many predict, prices of usedvehicles will rise as new-car transac-tion prices go up.

Full Deliveries From JapaneseSuppliers Stalled Until JulyAutomotive News Editor Jason Steinreports that as inventories of Japan-ese products continue to dry up, Toy-ota Motor Corp. and Nissan MotorCo. have warned U.S. dealers: Fulldeliveries from Japan likely won’t ar-rive until July at the earliest, and per-haps as late as September.

Parts shortages have forced Toy-ota and Nissan to prepare several sce-narios in which full production inJapan wouldn’t begin until at least 30to 90 days after the country’s upcom-ing holiday break, said people whohave been briefed on the situation.

In the best-case scenario, bothautomakers will begin full productiona month after Japan’s Golden Weekholiday that ends May 9.

In an internal document sent todealers Friday, April 15, Toyota saidit will keep building cars in Japan athalf of the original plans until June 3,which will cost the automaker an-other 120,000 vehicles in lost pro-duction. A decision on Toyotaproduction at Japanese plants afterJune 6 “will be made at a later dateafter assessing the situation of its sup-pliers and other related companies,”the document says.

Honda Extends ProductionCuts in North America to MayAutomotive News is reporting thatHonda will extend reductions of vehicleoutput at its U.S. and Canadian plantsthrough May 6. The automaker had pre-viously said it would reduce vehicle out-put through April 22. Decisions havebeen made on a plant-by-plant basis onhow much to cut back production inorder to conserve parts. Affected plantsinclude East Liberty, Ohio, which makesthe Honda Accord Crosstour and CR-V;Greensburg, Ind., which builds theHonda Civic and Civic GX; Lincoln,Ala., which makes the Honda Odyssey,Pilot and Ridgeline; Marysville, Ohio,which produces the Accord and theAcura TL and RDX; and Alliston, On-tario, which builds the Civic and theAcura CSX, MDX and ZDX. Hondahas been altering production schedulesat those plants since March 30 in thewake of the March 11 earthquake andtsunami in Japan. The automaker said itanticipates that additional productionadjustments will continue after May 6.Honda has already restricted dealer or-ders for June, so that allocated colorsand trim levels for U.S.-built vehiclescannot be altered. It also has suspendedU.S. dealer orders for Japan-built mod-els that are sold here.

Hyundai, Kia Running U.S.Plants at Full SpeedHyundai and Kia, South Korea’sbiggest carmakers, are running fullshifts at their U.S. plants with over-time, unaffected by parts shortagesthat are curbing output for Japan-based competitors. Hyundai’s plant inMontgomery, Ala., aims to squeezeout 10 percent more Sonata andElantra sedans than its 300,000-unitcapacity this year, said Robert Burns,a spokesman for the factory. About 80miles east, Kia’s plant in West Point,Ga., has run extended weekday shiftsand Saturday work since last year andexpects that to continue for the fore-seeable future, said Corinne Hodges,a spokeswoman for Kia. ExpandedU.S. output at Hyundai and Kia con-trasts with assembly reductions at theNorth American plants of Toyota,Honda and Nissan implemented afterJapan’s earthquake on March11. U.S.-based General Motors and Ford alsocut some assembly, and ChryslerGroup canceled overtime shifts toconserve supplies of parts that mightgrow scarcer. Globally, 1.5 millionunits of auto production might be losttemporarily because of damaged op-erations at Japan-based parts and ma-terials suppliers.


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Verizon showcased some of thenewest energy-efficient additions toits motor vehicle fleet at an event at-tended by President Obama on April1. Verizon, which has the third-largestcorporate vehicle fleet in the nation,was among five companies recog-nized by the president for adding sub-stantive numbers of green vehicles.

Verizon displayed three of its lat-est energy-efficient vehicles at theevent, which featured alternative-en-ergy trucks and cars operated by someof the nation’s largest corporations.

“We’re bringing environmen-tally friendly innovation and ad-vanced technologies to our motorfleet operations,” said Jim Gowen,chief sustainability officer for Veri-zon. “By seizing the opportunity tohelp improve the environment, ourvehicles are saving energy, reducingemissions and improving our green-house gas profile.”

At the event, held in Landover,Maryland, Verizon displayed a hybridChevrolet pick-up, an all-electricChevrolet Volt and a first-of-its-kindhybrid aerial-splicing vehicle. Overthe past few years, the company hasadded hundreds of hybrid ToyotaPriuses, as well as more than 500

compressed natural gas vans and 700hybrid pickups.

Verizon is the first communica-tions company to engineer and deploya hybrid fiber splicing unit. Because oftheir weight, these vehicles (com-monly known as “bucket trucks”) usu-ally consume significant amounts offuel. To reduce fuel consumption, thecompany incorporated a hybrid engineand innovative, onboard batteries thatassist in the vehicles’acceleration, andpower the bucket lift and lighting units.

“We’re replacing less-efficientvehicles with transformational, energy-efficient cars and trucks—a move thatwill have a long-term impact on re-ducing and improving fuel consump-tion and reducing pollutants,” saidWilliam Roberts, president of VerizonMaryland. “This event is a clear ex-ample of what happens when compa-nies are allowed to innovate anddeploy different technologies to meettheir needs while achieving our sharedenvironmentally positive goals.”

Verizon was also the first com-pany in the nation to deploy hybridpickup trucks on a large scale, in acommercial setting. Last year, Verizondeployed more than 700 of these vehi-cles and plans 300 more units in 2011.

Verizon Unveils Hybrid and Alternative-energy Vehicles

Airbiquity, a provider of wirelessconnected vehicle services, an-nounced at CTIA Wireless in Or-lando, the company’s selection toprovide data-over-voice technologyto OnStar’s retail product, OnStarFMV. OnStar’s mirror-mounted re-tail device will bring connected ve-hicle services to virtually anyvehicle. “We’re exceptionally proudof Airbiquity’s eight-year relation-ship with OnStar, the leading brandin connected vehicles,” said DavidJumpa, senior vice-president ofglobal business development, Air-biquity. Currently available on morethan 40 MY 2011 GM models, On-Star soon will be available for instal-lation on most other vehicles alreadyon the road through local electronicsretailers, including Best Buy. “Withour underlying technology, OnStarcontinues to offer an innovative andcost-effective range of services todrivers,” Jumpa said. “Adding On-Star to a car is now as quick and easyas installing a new rear-view mir-ror.” According to Airbiquity, OnStarFMV will be available for purchasefrom North American consumerelectronics retailers in 2011.

Airbiquity to Supply Air-Over-Voice Technology to Onstar

Ford Motor Co. is recalling almost1.2 million F-150 pickups and someLincoln Mark LTs due to faulty airbags. Federal regulators have re-ceived hundreds of instances of in-advertent air-bag deployment, manyof which have resulted in bruises,cuts and even a chipped tooth. Twodrivers said they were knocked un-conscious. Ford, however, said it isnot aware of any accidents related tothe glitch. The recall affects Fordtrucks from model years 2004through 2006.

“If the clockspring jumper wirecomes in contact with the driver sidefrontal air bag lower horn plate, thewire insulation may become chafed,creating a potential short circuit,” theNational Highway Traffic Safety Ad-ministration said. Ford had resistedexpanding the recall because the carmaker didn’t see it as necessary, butit finally caved to pressure from reg-ulators.

“We understand the govern-ment’s desire to reach a broad groupof potentially affected consumersand will recall the remaining popu-lation of trucks for our customers’peace of mind,” a spokesman said.

Ford Expands F-150/LincolnRecall Due to Airbag Flaws

Nissan Motor Co. said there havebeen a few reports of Leaf electriccars failing to restart after they havebeen turned off because of an air-con-ditioning sensor problem.

“If this sensor is activated it willilluminate a warning light on the in-strument panel and may cause the ve-hicle to not restart once it has beenturned off. We are actively investi-gating to determine the root causeand what action is necessary to ad-dress the issue,” the company said ina statement. Nissan isn’t planning arecall because the problem isn’t asafety issue. The company says thecars won’t not stop running whilebeing driven. Nissan says it is tryingto “promptly address this issue.”

Nissan’s Leaf ExperiencesA/C Sensor Problem

Ford’s new all electric Focus isready to hit the market, however itwill be sold without a leased-batteryoption. The lithium-ion batterypack will be included with the carand will not be leased separately.Awaiting customer reaction, Ford isconvinced that leasing the batteriesis not the right strategy. Leasingbatteries would have brought theinitial price down and many pre-dicted that Ford ultimately wouldmake the decision to lease batteries.The Focus has a 28kWh electricmotor with a top speed of 84 mph.It will take around 4 hours torecharge the car, about half of whatits main competitor, the NissanLeaf, needs.

Ford’s Electric Focus Will NotLease Lithium-Ion Batteries The AASP-PA trade show in the

East, known as the Big E, will re-turn this fall October 14th through15th at the Valley Forge ConventionCenter in King of Prussia, Pennsyl-vania.

The Big E features worldrenown speakers and trainers all thewhile bringing together aftermarketparts and product specialists withAASP-PA members.

This show fills fast so visit

www.aasp-pa.org to register.Booth space is available at a first

come, first serve basis so AASP-PAurges all exhibitors to register as soonas possible.

Not only does it guaranteeyour space at the show but it allowsthe AASP-PA to publicize the factthat your business will be in atten-dance.

Visit www.aasp-pa.org to signup now to attend.

AASP-Pennsylvania’s Big E Trade Show Coming in October


Autobody News WebsiteAutobody News WebsiteAutobody News WebsiteSee the NEW


with Gonzo WeaverGonzo’s Toolbox This is a new story by Scott “Gonzo” Weaver as posted on his website,

www.gonzostoolbox.com. See his book “Hey Look! I Found The LooseNut”, which provides a Good Laugh for Mechanics of Any Age. The bookis available at amazon.com. Contact Gonzo at [email protected]

Sometime ago I had my first booksigning at a local book store. Steve’sSundry—Books and Magazines. It’sa landmark bookstore in town. Every-one knows Steve’s place. It’s been intown for more than 60 years. It’s agreat place for a large malt at the sodafountain, or to browse around thestore to find a good book. I’m not awell known author; I’m a me-chanic/technician who wrote a book.I really didn’t think there would be acrowd of potential buyers and admir-ers at the book signing; I’m not thatnaive to think I would be bringing ina flood of new customers to the bookstore.

So, instead, I used the time tostudy the people that came in and outof the store. What a wonderful place,a book store. In the back of the storeis an old counter with a bar and sev-eral bar stools. The counter, the sodafountains, and the bar stools are all

original 50’s decor. With malt shakesand great sandwiches. You couldtake the whole day to browse forbooks while sipping on a shake orcoffee. It’s a very pleasant place,nostalgic and modern at the sametime.

One regular customersitting at the end of the barwas sipping away on hiscoffee while texting mes-sages on his Blackberry.On the other end therewas an old couple whoappeared to be in their70’s reading the paperand browsing a bookor two. I could see thisNorman Rockwell paint-ing of them pictured there for proba-bly the last 40 years doing the samething.

My place for the day was at a lit-tle table next to the register. A large

stack of my books was neatly spreadacross the table. People would walkby, glance, and smile. The owner ofthe store would make short referencesto my book and try to get people in-terested in talking to this so called“author” sitting there all solemn andquiet. The register was busy with

small book purchases anda few patrons from thebar. Very home spun andrelaxing, a lot of ‘hellos’and “how’s the weather”comments throughout theafternoon. Some peoplewould ask about the footballgame coming up and otherswould want to know where acertain book was.

All this was going on whileI sat there patiently waiting for theclock to roll around to my desig-nated leaving time. Not that Iwanted to leave, oh no, I was enjoy-

ing the atmosphere and the quiet na-ture of the daily workings of thestore.

That brings me to the thoughtthat crossed my mind. Are these thesame people that come to my shopwith an attitude and misconceptionsof the auto industry? Probably so. Ihave often wondered if it’s my atti-tude that brings out the worst in peo-ple, but, the whole time I was sittingthere I was still the mechanic. I wasstill the guy they needed to fix theircar. However these people didn’tknow me as such. I was an unknownauthor signing books.

When someone would askabout my book I would tell themthat it was a book about people andthe daily happenings at my repairshop. That it was funny, but inform-ative, and you would definitely getsomething out of it. If you knew a

A Day to Reflect—On the Other Side of the Bookstore Counter

See Day to Reflect, Page 24

person in the auto industry thiswould make a great gift and theywould get a great kick out of readingit too. Well, something like that any-way. Most of the time I would get adisagreeable hmmm in response.Others had that pondering look as ifthey were going back into theirmemory trying to find what was sofunny about getting the oil changedon their car. And then walk awayshaking their head. I didn’t find thatin anyway offensive, or disrespect-ful. I found it to be a logical, and avery intelligent way for a person tostate their opinion without sayingmuch at all. I admire folks like this,the ones that can speak their mindswithout uttering a word.

As each and every one of thesepatrons would checkout at the regis-ter they gladly paid for their thingsand gave a big thank you to the per-son behind the counter. I never heardone person ever ask “why does thiscost so much”, “I think you shouldn’tcharge so much for this sandwich”, “I

know a place down the street that cando the same thing for half of whatyou’re charging.”

Now that’s funny, that’s prettymuch what I hear every day. Whatgives? Oh, now don’t get me wrong,it’s not every customer that com-plains about the prices. I have many,many customers that are eager to payfor my time and service, even a fewthat think I’m not charging enoughfor what I do. I even have some thatfeel the need to leave a tip. It’s thosethat want to complain and complainand complain that irks me. I haveeven had some tell me that I shouldgive them the part for what I paid forit. Does the book store give you thebook for what they paid for it? Comeon people. I wish I knew why it is theway it is, but for some reason per-fectly sane people arrive at an autorepair shop and become tyrannicalevil forces. Is it the smell of 90weight oil in the air? Could it be theconstant groan of pneumatic tools inthe background? I wish I knew.Maybe after I retire I’ll take a jobsomewhere pleasant. Quiet, reserved,and ever so nostalgic. Yeah. Like abook store.


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Day to ReflectGas Prices Not SignificantlyDriving Fuel-Efficient SalesWhen gas prices first spiked a fewyears ago, car industry insiders saythere was big demand for more fuel-efficient cars. But things are slightlydifferent this time around.

New Car Dealers of Utah Exec-utive Director Craig Bickmore saysgas prices a few years ago jumpedfrom around $1.50 per gallon tonearly $4. This time, the cost of a gal-lon of gas started close to $3 beforemoving up. So, demand for the highlyfuel-efficient car isn’t as high in thisstate as it was previously.

Hybrid sales went down from2.9 percent of new vehicle sales in2009 to 2.4 percent last year, accord-ing to USA Today. Sales of pickups,SUVs, crossovers and minivans wentup to 51 percent from 48 percent inthe same period.

“I think they’re looking at theirindividual circumstances and makingbuying decisions based on that ratherthan on the fact that fuel is up,” Bick-more said. Bickmore says many con-sumers are sticking with the SUVsand minivans they’re used to.But he’sconcerned about a potential ripple ef-fect new efficiency standards mayhave on manufacturers’ product lines.

CA Suspicious Claims RiseCalifornia has seen a 9 percent in-crease in suspicious insurance claimssince 2008, according to a new re-port.

The National Insurance CrimeBureau (NICB) said questionableclaims originating in California andreferred to NICB from Jan. 1, 2008,through Dec. 31, 2010, rose from15,609 in 2008 to 17,082 reported in2010. Member insurance companiesreferred 16,274 questionable claimsfrom California to NICB in 2009.

Questionable claims are thoseclaims that NICB member insurancecompanies refer to NICB for closerreview and investigation based onone or more indicators of possiblefraud. A single claim may contain upto seven referral reasons.

From 2008-2010, Californiaspawned 20 percent of all of the ques-tionable claims generated in theUnited States. Within California thetop five cities posting the most ques-tionable claims were Los Angeles,San Francisco, San Diego, Sacra-mento and San Jose.The full report is at:https://www.nicb.org/File%20Li-brary/Public%20Affairs/CA-QCs08-10.pdf.

This month let’s take a look at partsordering considerations that will im-prove your bottom line. Think for amoment of all your part suppliers bothOEM and aftermarket. Do you knowwhat the return parts policy is fromeach supplier? You should if you wantto maximize your business profits.

What is their return policy onparts that do not fit? Will they reim-burse you for full labor or just the partcost and leave you with a “catch youon the next one” policy?

Not too long ago, it was no “bigdeal” to return parts for credit monthslater. Some of us may even remembercredits issued with certain part suppli-ers for returns where we did not evenproduce evidence in the form of an in-voice. Well, times have changed con-siderably when ordering auto bodyparts. Today we have the option of or-dering parts by the traditional voicephone communication or a variety of

electronic options which include fax,text, digital and e-mail.

Before ordering parts, Do youknow if there is a1) Maximum part return date2) Credit for returns for damagedparts3) Credit for returns on electricalparts4) Warranty for reconditioned wheels5) Warranty for off road usage6) Warranty for CAPA aftermarketparts (like kind & quality)7) Warranty for Mechanical Parts8) Warranty for Chrome parts9) Warranty for New sheet metalrust through10) Warranty for Non-CAPA after-market parts11) Optional mechanical service war-ranty Agreement12) Transferable warranty to a non-original owner13) Policy for compensation to shop

for wrong parts received14) Fee for shipping cost on specialorder parts15) Restocking fee after 30 Days

Having answers to the aboveparts ordering warranty concerns willassure you maintain and improve yourparts department profit margins.

For example, recently our autobody shop in Santa Barbara, Califor-nia had a very positive parts warrantyexperience involving our aftermarketparts supplier.

Our repair shop had customer ap-proval to proceed with repairs to their2010 Honda Civic. Their insurancecompany, to my complete surprise,stipulated in the repair estimate theuse of an aftermarket fender and frontbumper. I questioned the insurancecompany adjuster to make sure therewas no mistake on their proposed es-timate for such a new vehicle. The In-surance adjuster replied the insured’spolicy stipulates using aftermarketparts when available in exchange for alower annual policy premium. Uponhearing this news I decided not tomake a fuss and proceeded with re-pairs.

All appeared well until the carbumper was installed. After the bodytech installed the bumper it was quiteobvious there was a “quality of fit”problem. The bumper end did notmeet the attachment point of the after-

market left fender. Additionally, therewere noticeable one-inch gaps in frontof both headlamps. How Sweet!!!

I immediately addressed the issuewith our aftermarket supplier who re-ferred me to the district manager. Thedistrict parts manager asked me totake a few digital pictures of the mis-fit and send them to him to forwardonto the manufacturer. Within 24hours he authorized the aftermarketparts manufacturer to pay 100% of allthe body & paint labor, including paintsupplies. We then reported the poten-tial catastrophe to the insurance com-pany who authorized us to install anOEM bumper. We proceeded withcompleting the repairs.

A couple of weeks later we re-ceived payment in full for $653.93from the aftermarket parts supplier.The insurance company even com-mented on how well we handled po-tential part warranty replacementcrisis. This could have turned uglyif we choose to involve a less rep-utable aftermarket part supplierwhose warranty did not conform tofull reimbursement for parts andlabor.

By choosing carefully your sup-pliers part sales warranty, you will ex-perience increased productivity andretained shop profits.

May you all receive many “PER-FECT FITTING PARTS” and addedincome to your bottom line!


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FL Jury Rules State Farm Driver Owed $3 MillionA middle school teacher in Floridahas been award $3 million in dam-ages after a jury found State Farm re-fused to live up to its contract on a2008 car accident, according to re-ports made by Insurance Journal.

David Bowler sued State Farmfor damages and medical costs aftersuffering a fractured neck and wristin a Leigh High Acres, Fla., accident.The other driver in the crash, RandallSpivey reportedly had $25,000 in in-surance coverage. But the lawsuitclaimed that Bowler had over $2 mil-lion in uninsured motorist coveragethat State Farm subsequently refusedto pay.

State Farm said it was willingto negotiate a settlement for alesser amount, but Bowler refused

the offer and the insurer refused topay.

After a Lee County trial thatlasted four days, the jury ruled thatState Farm had an obligation to payBowler for nearly $3 million formedical costs and pain and sufferingstemming from the accident.

In Florida, all motorists are re-quired to carry uninsured motoristcoverage to insure against bodily in-jury and property damage.


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by Paul Stoll, PPG Trainer

John Force Racing drivers have wonthe last five National Hot Rod Associ-ation (NHRA) events, dating backinto late 2010. You don’t do that with-

out some body damage to your FordMustang Fuel Funny Cars.

John Force Racing has beenusing PPG’s Envirobase® High Per-

formance waterborne basecoat ontheir cars for two years now. Envi-robase® HP is very easy to use and re-pair, something that the paint team hasthe opportunity to do on more thanone occasion—when things go bad onthe racetrack. PPG waterbornebasecoat dries to a thinner film thanconventional solvent basecoats, help-ing the team keep the Ford Mustangbodies light. And PPG’s Envirobase®

HP waterborne paint has helped JohnForce Racing go green.

I had the opportunity to go to theteam’s Brownsburg, Indiana shop ear-lier this winter and spend four dayshelping paint the Ford Mustang bodiesfor 2011. I worked with Dean An-tonelli, one of John Force’s crewchiefs and general manager of theBrownsburg facility. Paint shop man-ager and graphic designer BrandonBaker, painter Dave Gregory andJesse Knox were all part of the team.

Creating Robert Hight’s 2011 FordMustang BodyLast year’s carbon fiber bodies arestripped of the PPG clearcoat and

most of the basecoat too, to keep theweight down. We used a PPG citrus-based paint remover for various rea-sons: first to be safe over the carbonfiber; second, it’s a green productthat’s safe for the environment; andfinally, the water-based stripper

works better than the caustic typepaint removers traditionally used.Envirobase® HP is a latex resinbasecoat that is very flexible and re-sists solvents and chemicals. Thepaint that is not removed, as well asthe exposed carbon fiber, are thensanded with 400 grit dry sandpaper.Sanding carbon fiber will expose the


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Painting with Waterborne at John Force Racing

Spot primed and sanded Mustang Body readyto move in to booth to spray PPG EHP SilverMetallic base coat

With the first color sprayed and Dry for 30minutes Brandon and Dave begin the maskingprocess

Yellow Paint Mask Brandon cut helps keep thedesign the same on all John Force Racing 2Mustangs

2 Coats PPG EHP White base coat

Ready to cover up the white with TransferTape, and spray Blue

White covered up with transfer tape

Robert won NHRA’s 2011 Winternationals. Proving PPG Envirobase High Performance is not onlyFast in the paint shop but also Fast on the track

fibers, so sanding is kept to a mini-mum.

Areas that require a body fillerand any fuzzy carbon fiber exposedfrom over sanding are sprayed withPPG’s ECP A-Chromatic Surfacer.After drying, we sanded with 400 gritdry sandpaper, and finished with 600grit. Envirobase® HP basecoats shouldbe sprayed over a 600 grit (or finer)scratch because of the thinner filmbuild. A sealer could be used to fillsand scratches, but on these cars,sealer is left off to help keep theweight to a minimum.

The Mustang body is now blownoff and cleaned with PPG’s One-Choice® H2O-So-Clean waterbornecleaner. This evaporates quicker andpulls the sanding dust from the sand-ing scratches much better then solventcleaner, leaving a nice surface that isready to paint. Since we are workingon a carbon fiber body, we do not getany static when wiping the body.

The first color to go down will bea metallic silver. I spray three coatsjust in the area where we will mask offthe silver with ½-inch tape for Bran-don’s design. I use an Iwata LPH400gun with a gold air cap. I let the metal-

lic silver dry between coats, whichtakes only five minutes thanks to theTurboAir Drying System® installed inJFR’s booth. Air movement is whatmakes waterborne paint dry fast, andthe TurboAir unit is a turbine blowerthat does the job quickly—speed is re-

quired at John Force Racing.After a 30-minute dry time in the

booth, masking begins. We use a plas-tic/vinyl masking tape like FBS. Bran-don also uses his computer skills tocut out a paint mask to aid in speed-ing up the process and, more impor-tantly, to keep all the designs the sameon all the John Force Racing Mus-tangs. The area of the car that will beblue is covered with plastic, so as tonot add excess paint and weight to thecar. The white stripes are sprayednext.

Two coats of Envirobase® HPT400 white toner are sprayed, withfive minutes dry time between coatsand a 30-minute dry time before we’reready for the blue. The white basecoatcovers twice as fast as solvent, so thisstep goes quickly and weighs less dueto fewer coats of paint. This also helpskeep edges between colors muchsmoother.

We mask off the white with atransfer paper that Brandon uses totransfer the vinyl decals he puts on thecar. Again, this is faster than tape andpaper.

I am back in the booth, and Ispray two coats of ‘AAA of SouthernCalifornia’ blue. The Envirobase® HPformula covers quickly, and with theTurboAir blowing, I am ready for the

second coat as soon as I can reload thepaint gun. In just half an hour, I amready to clean up and we are unmask-ing. We had a couple of small blowthroughs on the first car—easily fixed.A quick mask of the blue and re-spraya little silver. The second car was per-fect, no blow throughs.

I blew the body off and tacked itwith a PPG tack rag. Dave thenstepped in and sprayed a double coatof PPG EC700 Production Clearcoat.While custom, multiple-color paintjobs are not considered to be very pro-ductive, with the tools at John ForceRacing and the speed of the Envi-robase® HP basecoats, we where ableto spray a body a day while I was vis-iting.

The last part of the job was ap-plying sponsors’ logos on the cars,which I left in the experienced handsof Brandon.

Paul Stoll is a PPG Trainer, who,among his many duties, teaches cus-tom painting classes at PPG trainingcenters across the country. Classes in-clude training using Envirobase® HighPerformance basecoats in custompaint jobs. When not traveling, Stollcan be found at the PPG training cen-ter in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.,(909) 987-0924.


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in our heart that makes us to things,for the right reason. This year’s win-ners embody the meaning of boththese words.”

Below is a summary of thisyear’s awards, their recipients, and theachievement being recognized.Affiliate Association Award: TheHouston Autobody Association(HABA)

The Affiliate Association Awardrecognizes an SCRS affiliate that ex-hibits exemplary actions on behalf ofthe collision repair professional.

The recipient of this year’saward was selected based on the vol-ume of feedback from SCRS’ otheraffiliate associations as the HoustonAuto Body Association mixed theirvigor for advancing their market withsome out-of-the-box thinking toachieve greater transparency in theirstate’s claims settlement practices.Working with the Texas InsuranceDepartment, and solicited participa-tion from the entire market, they fa-cilitated a documented survey ofcarrier practices and made them avail-able to the public. The initiative’s suc-cess sparked interest from our otherassociations interested in creatinggreater transparency in their ownareas toward the ultimate goal of im-proved understanding of the carriers’processes in a non-legislativeway thatbrought benefit to all repairers. “It issuch an honor to receive this Awardfrom such a great organization suchas SCRS. I am amazed that eventhough we are relatively few in num-ber that we have been able to accom-plish a great deal. I am so thankfullfor all those who have worked so hardin the Association to bring about suc-cess in our efforts that has sparked na-tional attention,” said HABA’sPresident James Brown, “Thisrecognition should serve as a sourceof encouragement to all of us and spurother Collision Shops who have notjoined in our cause, to do so.”

Humanitarian Award: Toby ChessThis award recognizes an individual orgroup within the industry whose effortsadvance the industry through supportof humanitarian activities in their com-munity outside the industry.

As one of the industry’s premiereinstructors, Toby Chess has a long his-tory of providing enlightening infor-

mation in an entertaining, thought-pro-voking way. In all that time, he hasnever lost sight of the individual’s rolein the community and the ability oneperson has to make a difference forthose who need it most.

Toby spent much of 2010 trav-elling the nation, educating firstresponders on the technologicaladvancements in today’s vehiclesand delivering the knowledge theyneed to respond to emergency situ-ations quickly and efficiently, inorder to keep themselves and vehi-cle occupants safe.

Toby’s community service didn’tstop there. During the holidays he leda team of “Santa’s helpers” to donatetoys and gifts to families of U.S.Marines. These presents included over100 new bicycles, four SUVs, a 12-passenger van, two cars and a giantbox truck filled to the brim with toys.“Toby truly leads by example,” notedSCRS Past Chairman Gary Wano.“We thank him for his generous spiritand his dedication to helping thoseless fortunate.”

Regional Lifetime Achievement Award:Eddie KitzenbergerFor decades Ed Kitzenberger hasworked on behalf of the collision re-pair industry in his native New York.He founded the New York State AutoCollision Technicians Association andthe Long Island Auto Body RepairersAssociation, and serves as executivedirector for both. In addition, theNortheast Leadership Meeting wouldnot exist without his influential in-volvement. He has broken significantbarriers regarding legislation at hisstate capital by showing lawmakersthat the collision repair industry is notafraid to voice its opinion and standup for itself. He has never hesitated toassist other states or associationswhen a helping hand is needed.

“Ed is never shy to roll up hissleeves to display the leadership andcreativity necessary to succeed,” saidSCRS Immediate Past ChairmanBarry Dorn. “He stands up for therights of the consumer and repairerbecause it is the right thing to do; hedoesn’t take ‘no,’ for an answer. I havelearned a lot from him, as has ourmembership and the industry. He’s aninvaluable resource.”

Special Recognition: Greg CoccaroThere are years in which SCRS findsindividuals deserving of recognition,yet are hard to fit into a specific cate-

gory. In those cases, SCRS presents a“Special Recognition.”

While we all strive to live hon-estly, lead by example, and like tothink we would do the right thing inthe face of adversity, Greg Coccarohas proven over the past year that hedoes. In the past year his character hasbeen put to strenuous test, and he hascome through-despite some signifi-cant struggles-placing his personaland professional integrity at the fore-front of his life’s decisions. Where theless steadfast would have faltered,Greg wasn’t afraid to put it all on theline. For his dedication and tenacity ofspirit SCRS acknowledged him withthis very special award.

Collectively this year’s award re-cipients, through a variety of accom-plishments, represent the best of thebest that the collision repair industryhas to offer. “It’s satisfying to be able todevote this night to those individualswho set a positive tone for our profes-sion and serve as an inspiration for usas we move forward,” added SCRSChairman Aaron Clark. “Their enthusi-asm for the industry is infectious, andas a result they motivate us to give ourbest as well.”

Collision Industry Non-Individual Serv-ice Award: Collision HubThis award recognizes contributionsto the collision repair industry thatoriginate at a corporate or companylevel.

Collision Hub has served as a cat-alyst for the explosion of inter-indus-try dialog upon the national scene. Apremier professional networking sitefor the collision repair industry thatdeploys a suite of modern communi-cations technologies, including liveWeb broadcasts of industry meetings,Collision Hub has been extremely ef-fective at helping associations likeSCRS expand their message to agreater audience. Collision Hub, andits founder Kristen Felder, are primeexamples of service to the industry.

In addition to the recognition ofindividual acheivments, SCRS wasfortunate to also honor and thankthose that make the association’s ef-forts throughout the year possible. Asa token of appreciation, SCRS pro-vided its long list of Corporate Mem-bers with a specific mention ofgratitude and a commemorative dis-play to recognize the ongoing supportreceived by these corporations.

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Honda is making a push to improvesales of its compressed natural gaspowered Civic. Honda cautiously in-troduced the Civic GX first to govern-ment and business fleet owners andthen retail customers in a handful oftest markets. The nationwide retaillaunch set for this fall comes as Presi-dent Obama pushes for wider adoptionof fuel-efficient vehicles, includingmandating that all federal cars willneed to run on alternative, hybrid orelectric power by 2015. Potential cus-tomers could also be lured by substan-tial cost savings as oil prices climb andnatural gas prices fall in the wake ofmajor newgas discoveries in theUnited States.

The Civic GX enters a crowdedfield where new plug-in hybrid andfully electric cars such as the ChevyVolt and Nissan Leaf dominate the pressand new compact cars offer competi-tive fuel economy.

Honda’s goals are relatively mod-est -- doubling sales to around 4,000 ve-hicles in the first year of national saleswhile Nissan is hoping to hit annual USsales of 20,000 Leafs -- but it still thinksthe GX can compete.

“We’re asking the GX purchaser tomake far fewer sacrifices than any otheralternative fuel vehicle,” Eric Rosen-

berg, who heads Honda’s alternativefuel vehicle program in the UnitedStates.

“When you compare it to the Voltor Leaf, it’s the most affordable, it hasthe best range and it has the quickest re-fill.”

The GX can drive up to 250 miles(403 kilometers) on a single tank andonly takes a few minutes to fill at pub-lic or home fueling station.

The Leaf has a range of 62 to 138miles (100 to 222 kilometers) depend-ing on road conditions and takes 30minutes to partially charge at a quick-charge station and seven to 20 hoursusing a standard 220 or 110 volt outlet.

GM’s Volt can drive 25 to 50 miles(40 to 80 kilometers) on its battery be-fore switching over to a gasoline-pow-ered engine and takes four to ten hoursto charge.

Honda’s GX is also the cleanestcar on the US market, according to theAmerican Council for an Energy-Effi-cient Economy which looks at a vehi-cle’s total environmental impact.

That’s because natural gas is aclean-burning fuel. It consists primarilyof methane and emits about 30 percentless carbon dioxide and 70-90 percentless smog-forming particulates thangasoline.

Honda Pushes Natural Gas Civic Alternative to E-Cars

Ford CEO Alan Mulally said April13 that Ford is working with sup-pliers to minimize the North Amer-ican production impact of Japaneseparts shortages caused by lastmonth’s earthquake and tsunami.The only impact on Ford in NorthAmerica to date has been limitingvehicle orders in certain paint col-ors because of interruptions toJapan-supplied paint products.

Mulally said Ford has shiftedparts from slower-selling to hot-sell-ing vehicles, used scheduled vaca-tion downtime early and taken otheractions to keep NorthAmerican pro-duction from being disrupted.

He counseled patience to Lin-coln brand dealers, asking them togive increased product spendingtime to yield a broader vehiclelineup in the coming years. SomeLincoln dealers are upset that Fordis pushing them to improve theirfacilities and begin offering perkssuch as free car washes and loanervehicles when the brand’s productlineup is limited.

Ford’s CEO Mulally SaysSuppliers Accomodating

NHTSA to Review ClaimCorolla Air Bag Failed

Feds Open Probes ofImprezas and Sorrentos

The National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration has agreed to review apetition claiming the frontal air bag ofa 2008 Toyota Corolla failed to deployduring a crash.

The agency said in a statementon its website that it received a peti-tion that “the frontal air bags in theirMY 2008 Corolla failed to deploy dur-ing a 55-mph frontal impact with alarge animal (a deer). During thiscrash, neither the driver nor front pas-senger was seriously injured in the in-cident.”

Federal regulators have opened twonew auto safety investigations intoSubaru Impreza and Kia Sorento vehi-cles. The National Highway TrafficSafety Administration said it openedan investigation into 50,000 2011 KiaSorento SUVs. NHTSA said it has re-ceived four complaints alleging a lossof power because of a sudden failureof a transmission intermediate drive-shaft. Another five complaints allege aloss of power because of transmissionfailure that could be related to a drive-shaft failure.

A federal jury found that ToyotaMotor Corp. isn’t responsible for a2005 crash that the driver blamed onthe floor mat or the electronic throttle,in the first case to go to trial since au-tomaker recalled millions of its vehi-cles, according to reports made byClaims Journal.

After 45 minutes of deliberationApril 1, the jury found Toyota was notliable for product liability for theScion’s floor mat or for the absence ofa system that allows the brake to over-ride the accelerator when both arepressed.

The car’s driver, 59-year-oldLong Island physician Amir Sitafal-wala, contended that defects in theelectronic throttle system or the floormats caused him to suddenly acceler-ate and crash into a tree.

U.S. Magistrate JudgeE.ThomasBoyle ruled out evidence about thecar’s electronics earlier this month.Sitafalwala’s 2008 lawsuit was the firstto go to trial since Toyota recalled mil-lions of vehicles beginning in 2009.

In a written statement, Toyota

called the verdict an “early indicatorof the strength of the legal theories be-hind unintended acceleration claims”against it.

“We believe that this case sets animportant benchmark for unintendedacceleration litigation against Toyotaacross this country,” the statementsaid.

Toyota has recalled more than14 million vehicles globally to fixgas pedals and other safety prob-lems, including more than 2 millionthat were recalled in February to ad-dress accelerator pedals that couldbecome entrapped in floor mats orjammed in driver’s side carpeting.The company paid the U.S. govern-ment a record $48.8 million in finesfor its handling of three recalls. U.S.regulators said earlier this monththat electronic flaws were not toblame for reports of sudden, unin-tended acceleration.

Hundreds of claims from aroundthe U.S. related to the recalls havebeen consolidated under one judge ina U.S. District Court in California.

Toyota Wins New York Case over UnintendedAcceleration

Shawn Saidi, 48, owns Active AutoBody in Sunnyvale, Calif., a highlysuccessful shop whose motto is “Mak-ing Friends by Accident.” It might bea catchy slogan, but Saidi has suc-ceeded in the collision industry not bychance or by accident. He’s the cur-rent president of the California Auto-body Association’s (CAA) SantaClara chapter, and has enthusiasticallyembraced the leadership role, becausehe wants to make this industry betterand help other shops in the process.

Active Auto Body is located in a13,300 square-foot facility. They fix75–90 vehicles monthly and have twoDRP relationships, from which thecompany derives approximately 25%off their total business. Saidi worksalongside his wife Lisa, who handlespayroll and human resources. Theshop employs 13 people, includingSaidi’s niece Desiree, who works part-time as a receptionist.

Saidi’s journey into collision re-pair began with his passion for restor-ing classic cars. “I was relying onbody shops to do the body and thepaint on these older cars, after I haddone all of the mechanical work,” hetold Autobody News.

“But, I was running into prob-lems with the body shops, becausethey would tell me ‘three months’ andthe car would still be sitting there ayear or more later. Then when I gotthe cars back, the work wasn’t right,so I would basically lose interest in thevehicle and just eventually sell it. Itwas very frustrating because it kepthappening over and over. I told mywife that if I ever go into business formyself, I’m going to get a body shop,and I’ll make sure we do the job right

and meet all our deadlines. We’ll giveit back to the customer better thanwhat they were expecting.”

After retiring from a successfulcareer in the printing industry, Saidiwent into collision repair and openedActive Auto Body in 2002, creating adream and a new era for his wife Lisaand himself.

“We found a location in Moun-tain View and we figured let’s give ita shot and it and see how it goes. Wewere there for five years, then we

moved to this larger facilityin Sunnyvale. We’ve beengrowing every year, even inthis tight economy. Some ofthe credit goes to our newlocation. Our former facilitywas in a ‘body shop row’area, but now we’re in anicer part of Sunnyvale. Wegot the zoning changed inthis area. There weren’t anybody shops around here. Itwas zoned for R&D ware-houses, but no automotive.

Everyone said it’s not going to workand we were really worried, but theold customers came back and they saythey like this new location muchmore.”

Saidi appreciates the two DRPshe has, but he’s also happy that theymake up just one quarter of his busi-ness, saying: “It’s tough, because youwant them, but you don’t want them,if you know what I mean? Some ofthem want you to do things that aren’tright, and those are the ones I have is-sues with. Of the two DRPs we haveright now, one of them is awesomeand the other one wants to have a lit-tle more control. We try to keep thecustomer informed, because in the endthe person we want to make happy isthe customer. If aftermarket parts arebeing put on their car, we let themknow. We tell them that we prefer toput factory parts on their car, but wehave to go with what’s in their policy.Our hands are tied in that situation.”

Why did Saidi join the CAA?“As an outsider looking in, I neededto learn as much as I could about thisindustry fast,” he said. “There are twoways to do it—go knock on otherbody shops’ doors and start asking

questions, or join an organization likethe CAA. When I first saw the CAA’smotto, Integrity, Honesty and Crafts-manship, I thought I want to be a partof that. Everyone has been absolutely

great—from the Board of Directors allthe way to each and every member. Ican go in there and ask them questionslike what type of paint booth should Iuse? What kind of spray guns should Iuse? How do you control your qual-

ity? These people are my competitors,but they’re more than willing to helpme in any way they can.”

One of the top concerns of theCAA’s membership involves findingproperly trained techs that can carrythis industry into the next decade andbeyond. “There’s definitely a short-age of good, skilled techs out there.So right now, we’re talking to I-CAR.We’re pleased to see that their cur-riculum has gotten better and they’veadded more classes. We’re also work-ing in conjunction with Bay Area highschools and junior colleges specifi-cally to get auto body classes in theirschools. That way, students can havea head start when they try to pursuethis career. We feel that through edu-cation, we can get better, hirabletechs.”

Another issue the CAA is very in-terested in is the current state of insur-ance labor rate surveys, Saidi said.


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with Ed Attanasio

Shop and Product Showcase

with Ed Attanasio

Shop Showcase

with Erica SchroederShop Showcase

The Right Causewith Mike Causey

Industry Insightwith John Yoswick

Shop Showcase stories feature shop owners who are making a difference in the industry.Contact us at [email protected] to tell your story. Ed Attanasio is an automotivejournalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at [email protected].

California Shop Owner Endorses Shop Education and Training

Shawn Saidi and his wife Lisa have operated Active AutoBody since 2002. This year, Saidi became the president onthe CAA’s Santa Clara chapter

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“This is still a problem, and we’reworking on it. We want to know howthey come up with some of these num-

bers, because we can’t figure them out.Right now, California is waiting to see

what (our new) Governor Jerry Brownwill do, so that we can try to get sometype of response. It’s still a huge prob-lem and we want to resolve it.”

Steering by certain insurancecompanies is still also an industry-wide problem, Saidi explained. “Ohyes, we still encounter it quite a bit. Itoccurs when customers want to bringtheir car here, but the insurance com-panies tell them, ‘you have to takeyour car to one of our preferred bodyshops for the estimate.’ They givethem no options. In many cases, thecustomer has already brought their carto us and we’re in the process of dis-cussing the job with them. This kindof thing makes it so much harder to

get the business and it is definitely (il-legal) steering.”

Saidi also does a considerableamount of work for customers whodon’t want to go through their insur-ance companies. “We get them in andout quickly, because we value thiskind of customer. We’ve learned thatthese types of jobs can bring us morework than the insurance companiescan, through referrals and word ofmouth, because it goes a long way.”

At the end of the year, Saidi’sterm as the CAA Santa Clara ChapterPresident will expire, so does he haveany plans to seek higher office withinthe organization?

“I’ve considered it,” he said.

“When I was at the recent CAA Boardof Directors meeting in Sacramento, Istarted asking myself, what can I doafter my term is over? I’ll definitelystay involved in some capacity, oneway or another. If I want to go to thestate level—fine. Either way, I’ll beworking with the CAA, just to makesure that I’m one step ahead of thegame, by knowing what’s going on outthere. We need our message heard, be-cause the insurance companies have alot of money and they’re talking toeach other all the time. If we only have100 auto body shops working together,we’re surely not going to overpowerthem. That’s why we need more mem-bers to keep our voices heard.”

Painter Javier Espinosa paints roughly 80cars per month for the growing body shop

Georgia Collision Association’s Labor Rates SurveyThe Georgia Collision Industry Asso-ciation (GCIA) will again conduct alabor rates survey for body shops inthe Atlanta area.

The purpose of this survey is toprovide Georgia collision shop ownerswith prevailing rates for labor and ma-terial charges so all shops can be paidfairly for work performed.

CSi Complete is conducting thesurvey as a third party. Go tohttp://www.csicomplete.com/gcia/sur-vey.aspx to complete the survey.

Labor rates surveys are a valuabletool for body shops in any area. Theyhelp to determine the fair and prevail-ing rate for work done at a collisionshop in a variety of areas including

metalwork, refinishing, painting, etc. They are also an invaluable tool

when it comes to Direct Repair Pro-gram payment negotiations.

Associations in many areas at-tempt to conduct annual labor ratessurveys to keep track of the industryaverage for posted door rates.

Although many insurers conduct

labor rates surveys of their own, the as-sociations usually follow up with theirown surveys to make sure the correctaverage rate is agreed upon.

[email protected] us!write us!www.autobodynews.com

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The Insider offers an unvarnishedlook at various issues impacting thecollision industry from an insurers’perspective.

In past columns I have explored manydifferent perspectives on the value ofdirect repair programs. I believe mostDRPs provide value to the vehicleowner as well as the shop, althoughbased upon the responses I’ve receivedfrom readers, there are a lot of peoplewho disagree with my position.

But from my perspective, mostvehicle owners reap tremendous valuefrom DRPs. DRPs have raised the barfor body shops; it forces them to pro-vide exemplary customer service andhigh quality repairs. They also need tocontinually train their staff and investin equipment otherwise risk being leftbehind as technology evolves. As a re-sult, insurance companies don’t wantto do business with every shop in thecountryand they shouldn’t. Theyshould want the best-in-class repair-ing their policyholders’ vehicles.

But there is one reason why thecurrent DRP models sucks, regardlessof insurance carrier. This exceptionprovides absolutely no value to theshopalthough it does provide a lot ofvalue to the insurance company. Can

you guess what the exception is?Okay, it’s actually not just one thing. Itcan be summarized in four words: fla-vor of the day.

Similar to the ice cream shop inyour neighborhood, insurance compa-nies regularly serve shops a flavor ofthe day (or week or month). Insurancecompanies have a set of guidelines thata shop must agree to in order to partic-ipate in their program. These guide-lines are in writing and allow a shopowner to decide whether or not the pro-

gram is of value to them. I cautiouslyuse the word guidelines because the lit-eral translation is “concessions.” WhileI don’t agree with concessions, at leastthey are in writing. It allows the shopowner to make a business decision asto whether or not the concessions areworth the potential additional work.

Unlike the guidelines, however,the “flavor of the day” isn’t in writing.Unlike in the ice cream shop, it isn’tposted or advertised. And it sure theheck doesn’t taste good.

What I’m talking about is partsusage, paint labor hours, cycle time,repair times, rental car days and thelike…whatever it is that the insurer de-cides that today is most important tothem. There are enough flavors of theday to make Baskin Robbins jealous.

And unfortunately, sometimesthese unwritten rules are weightedmore heavily by the insurer than thewritten ones. Shops are routinelyeliminated from a DRP for not adher-ing to everything that they neveragreed to adhere to in writing.

Sound fair? Not really. What cana shop do? You can say noand jeop-ardize your relationship with that car-rier. Fair? Not at all. This is what werefer to in the U.S. as the 500-poundgorilla or the bully on the playground.

How do these flavors of the dayoccur? Are they handed down fromthe insurer’s corporate headquarters?In most instances, no. It’s somethingthat is usually a result of a local or re-gional claim office. Management inthese offices have the autonomy to dowhatever is necessary to meet theirbudgets. Thus the “flavor of the day.”Local or regional management ana-lyzes data and identifies trends while

trying to figure out what number canbe manipulated to give them the resultthey desire. That’s why the flavor isalways different and ever-changing.

Shops need to find a way to workwithin the system because you aren’tgoing to beat it. I’m not encouraginganyone to give into whatever the in-surance company wants. Nor am I en-couraging fraud. I am encouragingyou to play the game.

Continue to write complete, con-sistent estimates. Perform the workyou write on the estimate. Documenteverything.

As you know, the flavor of theday changes routinely. If you can holdout for a day or a week, somethingelse will be a priority and today’s fla-vor can quickly become yesterday’sold ice cream.

You can’t change the flavor butyou can change what you do and howyou react.


with Rick WhiteShop Management

with Stefan GesterkampPaint Management

with Gonzo WeaverGonzo’s Toolbox

with Richard ArnoldJobber Journal

with Dale DelmegeAsk Dale

Mainstream Media

Automakers’ Actions and Analysisby Autobody News Staff

Shop Showcaseby Autobody News Staff

with Ed AttanasioShop and Product Showcase

with Ed AttanasioConsumer Callout

with Walter DanalevichShop Strategies for Savings

with The Insurance InsiderInside Insurance

with Ed AttanasioCustom Corner

with Chasidy Rae SiskCompany Connections

with Chasidy Rae SiskNortheast News

with Chasidy Rae SiskShop Showcase

with Erica SchroederShop Showcase

with Erica SchroederShop Snapshot

The Insider is a corporate-level executive with a Top 10 auto insurerin the U.S.. Got a comment or question you’d like to see him addressin a future column? Email him at [email protected]

Insurers Will Continue to Serve “Flavor of the Day” to Shops

As I promised in last month’s article,I have put together a checklist to helpyou get ready for an OSHA inspec-tion. This a not a complete checklistand you will probably need some out-side help to help you achieve totalcompliance, but it will help you havea better understanding of what isneeded to get your facility ready foran inspection.

You can also call your stateagency and they will come out a giveyou a courtesy inspection. All viola-tions will need to be corrected, butthere is no fine/ticket issued at thetime of inspection. You should knowthat they will return to check if the vi-olations have been corrected and youwill be on their radar screen. I willneed another article to complete thischecklist, so stay tuned next month.

To see the OSHA standards, go toGoogle.com and type in 29CFR 1910.38. This is the official OSHA web site.

First off, do you have 10 or moreemployees? If ‘yes,’ you will need awritten Emergency Contingency Plan.I took this description from the OSHAManual:

1910.38(b) Written and oralemergency plans. An emergency ac-tion plan must be in writing, kept inthe workplace, and available to em-ployees for review. However, employerwith 10 or fewer employees may com-municate the plan orally to employees.

An example of an Emergency Exit Plan

Do you have a Written Hazard Com-munication Plan?OSHA rule 29CFR 1910.1200 statesthat you need to have an active safetyand health program in operation thatdeals with general safety and health

program elements as well as manage-ment of hazard specific to your shop.

A written plan which describestraining, labeling, Material SafetyData Sheet (MSDS) management andother requirements of “Right-to-Know” must be in place. A good startfor you and your employees is I-CAR’s 4-hour WKR 01 (HazardousMaterials, Personal Safety, and Refin-ish Safety) class. The class deals withMSDS sheets, personal protectionequipment and a number of hazardsthat are common in the body shop.

A couple of other items that youmay want to incorporate into yourplan.● A written procedure for handling in-house employee complaints regardingsafety and health.● An incentive program for reducingwork place injuries● A formal disciplinary policy relat-ing to safety. I know one shop that willwrite up techs who do not wear theirsafety glasses. Second time is a oneday suspension, third write up is 3-daysuspension, and the fourth write up istermination.

Do you have all your current andpast MSDS sheets? Are they in a con-spicuous location? Did you know thatyou must retain all MSDS sheets for30 years after product is no longerbeing used? After the evacuation plan,this is a big ticket item with OSHA in-spectors. You can obtain them fromyour jobber, manufacturer’s reps andon-line.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)Let’s talk about Personal Protectiveequipment. Look at the picture belowand tell yourself what is wrong.

The refinish tech is mixing paint withno eye protection, gloves, respirator,

and paint suit. He is being exposed toisocyanates and doesn’t know it. Whois responsible for the Personal Protec-tive Equipment (I will refer to it aPPE) and its use? Well, the employeris responsible for providing the equip-ment and the training in using it andthe employee is responsible for actu-ally using it.

Respirators:● A respirator fit test is requiresyearly (29 CFR 1910.134).

● Respirators must be placed a sealedcontainer when not in use (29 CFR1910.134)● A program in place for training andproper use of respirators.● The type of respirator used for spe-cific products will be found in the Pre-ventative Measures of the MSDSsheets.● Respirator cartridges need to be re-placed on a regular basis. 3M P100cartridges need to be replacing after40 hours of use or 30 days, whichevercomes first.

Here are some common ques-tions that are asked about PPE:● Are approved safety glasses re-quired to be worn at all times in areaswhere there is a risk of eye injury?● Are protective goggles providedand worn where there is any danger offlying particles and harmful vapors(isocyanates for example)?


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Tech Notes

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

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

with Jeremy HayhurstPublisher’s Page

with Karyn HendricksShop Showcase

with David M. BrownShop Showcase

Shop Showcasewith Jeremy Hayhurst

Hey Toby!with Toby Chess

California Autobody Associationwith David McClune

Collision Repair Association of CA.with Richard Steffen

Insurers Excel at Steeringwith Richard Steffen

Year in Quoteswith John Yoswick

Transition Planningwith John Yoswick

Mainstream Media

My Turnwith Joe Momber

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

● Are protective gloves issued forvarious toxic exposures? (Again, youcan look in the Preventative Measuresof the MSDS sheets for specific typeof gloves that are necessary for a par-ticular product).● Do you have an eye-wash stationand it is properly maintained?● Is protective clothing supplied forpainting (paint suit for protectionagainst overspray and isocyanates)and welding (jackets and gloves)?● Is proper hearing protection equip-ment furnished? Here is an example ofan ear muff.

What Gets Most Scrutiny from OSHA?The area that receives the most atten-tion during an OSHA inspection is thepaint department. Let’s look at some

of the problem areas that need your at-tention. The painter is first on my list.

All painters should be wearing apaint suit, glove and utilize a fresh-airsystem. I think that the fresh air sys-tem incorporates goggles and respira-tor into one system. Your painter canwear a half-mask fresh air system or arespirator, but must also wear gogglesif used instead of the full fresh air sys-tem. (Did you know that the fastestroute for hazardous materials to getinto the blood stream is through theeyes?)

You will also need a CO monitorif you use shop-supplied air. There aresystems that use electric pumps thatproduce no carbon monoxide, oil va-pors, or oil mist. The only drawback

is that the painter will need a separateair hose (The SATA unit pictured uti-lizes one hose. You plug your air lineinto a unit on a supplied belt and asmall hose comes off the unit to theCO monitor and then delivers fresh airto the helmet.)

I ask the same questions everytime I conduct I-CAR’s WKR 01class to refinish technicians andhelpers. Do you mix paint? Do youclean the guns? When they answer‘yes,’ I ask them if they wear gog-gles, respirators, paint suits, andgloves when they perform both task.The majority answer that comesback is they ‘only wear gloves.’ Iso-cycantes are present in all three op-erations: mixing, painting, andcleaning. The appropriate PPE mustbe worn at all times. You need to en-force this rule or you are settingyourself up for a lawsuit. Be fore-warned.

Here are some other areas in thepaint department that need your atten-tion.● All containers need to have aworkplace label. If you mix paint forthe day, it is not necessary, but if thepaint is not used that day, it willneed a label. A piece of maskingtape with the paint code is not suffi-cient.

This is a disaster in the making.● All metal flammable containersmust be grounded● A fire extinguisher must bewithin 10 feet of any inside storagearea of flammable liquids (More on

fire extinguishers in the next arti-cle).● All solvent wastes and flamma-ble liquids must be kept in fire-re-sistant, covered containers when notin use.

● All hazardous liquids must have aspill containment system

● No smoking signs must beposted in areas of flammable liquidstorage● Paint mixing rooms/areas musthave explosion proof lights.

There are many companies thathave these materials (Grainger is anexample). Craig Oliveira of Kent Au-tomotive gave me his parent com-pany’s (Lawson Products) SafetyCatalogue and I found it to be ex-tremely helpful in getting all the in-formation and products necessary tobe in OSHA compliance. It is free—check with your local Kent Automo-tive Representative or other reputablesource. Next month’s article willfocus on the rest of the shop. Staysafe.



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Collision Hub April 18 announces thelaunch of Repair University, a LIVEeducational video series for the colli-sion repairer and insurer, Powered ByChief Automotive Technologies.

The first LIVE episode in the2011 series, Facility Verification &Quality Processes: What It Means toYou, will air May 4th at 9:00 AM PSTon CollisionHub.com and will featureMark Olsen of VeriFacts Automo-tive.

The episode will explore “Ex-posing Your Greatness in CollisionRepair”. By the end of this class youwill have a better understanding ofhow minor changes can have atremendous overall impact on yourdaily operations.

We will cover how internalprocesses can effect cycle time, prof-itability and quality. Most importantly,we will cover the benefits of shop ver-ification and the impact that has onyour customer, both insurance com-panies and vehicle owner. Withtoday’s informed customers, this is aMUST attend class.

“With the invaluable resourcesprovided by VeriFacts Automotiveand the continuing support of ChiefAutomotive Technologies, CollisionHub is thrilled at the opportunity toprovide ongoing educational re-sources to the collision repair indus-

try as a whole,” said Collision Hubfounder and CEO Kristen Felder.

About VeriFacts AutomotiveCommitted to ensuring that collision re-pairers have the correct information andskills necessary to repair today's diverseand complex vehicles, VeriFacts is rec-ognized as one of the industry's onlyon-site, hands-on coaching and qualityassessment solutions available to colli-sion repair and claims professionals.VeriFacts' repair methodologies, tech-nical competency and professional in-tegrity position it to provide a widearray of valuable services to the colli-sion repair, insurance and manufactur-ing communities.

About Collision HubCollision Hub is the premier network-ing and multi-media marketing web-site created for the Collision RepairIndustry. Collision Hub’s mission is toprovide a central network for all par-ticipants in collision repair and relatedindustries. The site encourages partic-ipation of all parties including: tech-nicians, shop owners, suppliers,insurance companies, auto glass in-stallers, towing companies and rentalcar agencies. For more information,visit www.collisionhub.com or con-tact Elizabeth Blackman at [email protected].

Collision Hub Launches Repair University

For only the second time since 1998(the other time was February 2010),Ford surpassed General Motors in totalU.S. monthly auto sales. Despite gaso-line costs being up 17% since the be-ginning of the year, truck sales continueto be strong, with Ford seeing trucksales up 24.3% during the month andup 21.7% year to date. For GM, the Sil-verado saw sales increase 8.9% duringthe month while sales are up 27.6% forthe year. For Chrysler, the Dodge Ramsaw sales increase 23% for the monthand 39% for the year. Additionally, withrespect to Chrysler, the recently re-re-leased Durango should be an area forgrowth.

Chrysler reported the best salesresults in nearly three years, whileNissan reported numbers that nearlymatched Chrysler’s as a result ofheavy incentives. Some automakers(namely Nissan and Ford) had a smalllevel of incentives during the first twomonths of the year, however, Nissanreally ratcheted up the incentiveswhich helped to fuel the monthlysales result. Ford’s incentives on theother hand were down 9.7% year overyear according to TrueCar.com; how-ever, compared to the month of Feb-

ruary, incentives were up 7.8%. In-centives were a main culprit for GM’sless than stellar result during thequarter, with incentives being down16.7% compared to February. Part ofthe problem with offering heavy in-centives is that it pulls forward somefuture sales.

Ford Surpasses GM inMarch Monthly Auto Sales

The Association of AutomotiveService Providers of New Jersey willhost their 7th annual AASP-NJ LouScoras Memorial Golf Outing onMay 23 at the Colonia CountryClub.

Lunch will be served at11:30 and tee-off time will startat 1:00.

The event is dedicated to LouScoras of Holmdel Auto Body andpart of the proceeds from the outingwill go to create a collision industryscholarship fund.

The association is still look-ing for sponsors for this event,please visit www.aaspnj.org formore information.

AASP-NJ to Hold 7th An-nual Golf Outing

The Detroit News is reporting thatU.S. sales of hybrid and electriccars rose nearly twice as fast in thefirst three months of 2011 as themarket, according to research firmEdmunds.com.

Bolstered by rising gas prices, gas-electric hybrid and electric car sales in-creased 37 percent in the first quarter to78,523 vehicles, Edmunds said.

Toyota Motor Corp. accounted formore than two-thirds of the total, but thebiggest sales gains were recorded byHonda Motor Co., Germany’s BMWAG and General Motors Co., whichrolled out the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car late last year.

During the first quarter, sales ofvehicles with conventional powertrainsrose 20 percent.

In the budding hybrid and electricvehicle market, Toyota led with 54,609vehicle sales, up 37 percent. Sales of itsflagship gas-electric Prius car rose morethan 50 percent.

Honda moved into second placeafter boosting sales 84 percent to 11,354vehicles, followed by Ford, whichrecorded a 9 percent rise to 7,704 ad-vanced technology vehicles. Not all hy-brids are winners, though, Edmunds

cautioned. Sales of Toyota’s premiumLexus HS 250h car declined nearly 80percent.

Americans bought smaller carsand SUVs in March. The trends liftedU.S. sales of new vehicles by 17 per-cent from a year earlier to 1.25 mil-lion, a rate that shows the autoindustry’s slow and steady recoveryremains on track. The monthly salespace, adjusted for seasonal differ-ences and projected out for the year,came in at 13.1 million. That’s upfrom last year, but still far belowyears when car sales hit 16 million ayear.

Hybrids & Electrics GrowthOutpaces General Vehicles

Toyota is telling U.S. dealers that newvehicles could be in short supply thissummer because of production slow-downs in Japan and North America. Ina memo to dealers, Toyota’s U.S. gen-eral manager Bob Carter said Toyotais producing cars and trucks at re-duced levels in April and hasn’t set itsproduction schedule for May throughJuly. Production has been hamperedby parts shortages after suppliers weredamaged by the March 11 earthquakeand tsunami in Japan.

Toyota Warns Dealers thatInventory Could be Short


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The House late Wednesday rejectedDemocratic attempts to soften a bill tobar the Environmental ProtectionAgency and California from regulat-ing tailpipe emissions but delayed afinal vote until April 7, according tothe Detroit News Washington Bureau.

The legislation, co-sponsored byRep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, chair-man of the House Energy and Com-merce Committee, and Sen. JamesInhofe, R-Okla., would block the EPAand California from issuing new regu-lations limiting tailpipe emissions —and other sources of greenhousegases.

“I’m from Michigan. I knowwhat a struggling economy looks like.And I think it is a travesty that thisgovernment is deliberately imposingpolicies that will harm job creatorsand working families,” Upton said onthe House floor April 6.

After debating the bill, the Houserejected a series of Democraticamendments on a mostly party-linevote.

The Upton-Inhofe measurewould overturn a 2007 Supreme Court

decision giving the EPA authority toregulate tailpipe emissions as a dangerto public health under the Clean AirAct.

That ruling allowed California toimpose its own tailpipe emissions lim-its.

The prospect of a patchwork ofseparate state and federal emissionslimits has been harshly criticized byautomakers.

Although the House is expectedthe pass the measure, it faces an uphillbattle in the Senate, which on April 6rejected a measure similar to theHouse plan.

That measure was tacked to asmall business bill sponsored by Sen.Minority Leader Mitch McConnell,R-Kentucky. The amendment was de-feated on a 50-50 vote — 10 votes lessthan necessary to end debate in theSenate.

Other similar amendments todelay EPA rules, including one bySen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan,also were voted down.

White House Press SecretaryJay Carney hailed the Senate vote

to defend the EPA’s “ability to pro-tect public health under the CleanAir Act.”

“The Senate also rejected anapproach that would have increasedthe nation’s dependence on oil,contradicted the scientific consen-sus on global warming, and jeop-ardized America’s ability to leadthe world in the clean energy econ-omy,” he said.

Automakers have stayed neutralon the Upton-Inhofe bill.

The United Auto Workers andother major unions have opposed thebill.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, said onthe floor that EPA regulators “drinktheir lattes” and work in “marblepalaces” as they write tailpipe emis-sions regulations.

“The EPA is on a mission to de-stroy American industry,” Poe said.

In the wake of the Supreme Courtdecision, the Obama administrationreached a deal with California and au-tomakers in May 2009 to set nation-wide fuel efficiency standards for the2012-16 model years, hiking

fleetwide efficiency to 34.1 mpg by2016.

The deal essentially extendedCalifornia’s proposed standards na-tionwide, but gave automakers addi-tional flexibility early on.

The pact will cost the auto indus-try about $52 billion over five years,but save 1.8 billion barrels of fuel overthe life of the vehicles.

The Obama administration says itwould save $3,000 per vehicle in gasover the life of the vehicles.

The House measure would barthe EPA and California from takingpart in the 2017-25 tailpipe emissionslimits.

The National Highway TrafficSafety Administration, however, couldgo forward with fuel efficiency stan-dards for the same period.

House Rejects Changes to Bill Banning EPA and Calif. from Regulating Emissions


on Facebook

by Greg Horn, VP Mitchell

Recently, I published an article on re-finish times broken down by vehicletype, age and origin in the Q1 MitchellIndustry Trends Report (ITR). Iwanted to see if all vehicles receivedthe same treatment in the refinishprocess regardless of these factors.“Paint by Numbers: A Deep Dive IntoRefinish Data,” drilled down into therefinish data for a year’s worth of ap-praisals and compared these elementsto determine if there were significantdifferences in the refinish process.

At the outset, I want to stateclearly that this article examines thedata only and is not intended to be con-strued as advocating or refuting anyOEM refinish procedure or recom-mendation. I firmly believe that everydamaged vehicle is unique and theproper repair procedure must be doneon an individual basis. This determi-nation should include the vehicle’s de-sign, age, condition, finish, locationand extent of damage, automaker andpaint company recommended proce-dures, and last but certainly not least,the customer’s expectations.

Our data immediately pointed outthat there are in fact differences in therefinish process appearing on the ap-praisals. According to the data domesticmade vehicles, including trucks/SUVsand older vehicles, received slightlyfewer additional paint operations.Trucks and SUVs have slightly fewerhours added for blending into adjacentpanels, averaging 1.35 hours of blendvs. 1.4 on average for passenger cars onestimates where a blend was specified.Surprising? That’s one way to put it.

The original ITR article spurreda great deal of discussion in the colli-sion repair industry. Many expressedthat the data didn’t represent what wastruly indicative of the operations re-quired; rather they felt it was repre-sentative of what insurers paid for. Infact, the data does reflect what waswritten and accepted for the repair be-cause the estimates were “aged,”meaning at least 90 days had elapsedbefore we queried the data. Note, Isaid accepted because these repairs re-flect that an appraisal was written, aclaim was made and presumably therepairs were done in accordance withthe appraisal.

I also received many questionsabout the difference in allotted hoursfor blend into adjacent panel time vs.full refinish operations and believe itis important to clearly state the differ-ences between the two in the MitchellProcedure Pages.

In order to explain the differenceswe need to clarify our refinish labor timepremises. The steps for refinishing a newundamaged E-Coated panel include:

* Solvent wash* Scuff panel and clean* Mask adjacent panels* Prime or seal as required* Final Sanding and clean* Mix materials* Adjust spray equipment* Apply color * Clean equipment

Mitchell refinish labor times alsoallow for flash times between coats.

When blending a panel the re-duction in labor time is due to not hav-ing to perform the following steps:

* Prime or seal as required* Final Sanding and clean* Mix materials* Adjust spray equipment* Clean equipment

The largest portion of not includedtime is for flash time between coats.The blend formula is to be used in con-junction with refinishing an additionalpanel on the vehicle and thereforewould not allow for the already in-cluded flash times on the original panel.

Were vehicle owners charged forthe additional operations that were notapproved for reimbursement by insur-ers? While this occasionally does hap-pen, and is not a great customerexperience for the vehicle owner, it issafe to assume that this practice doesnot occur on every estimate where ad-ditional paint operations are per-formed but not reflected in theuploaded estimate. Again, the fact thatcalling for a blend on a truck or SUVis less frequent than on smaller pas-senger cars points to the fact that withthe larger panel areas found on trucksand SUVs there is more of an oppor-tunity to blend within the damagedpanel. Some may object to this con-clusion and say cost shifting was in-volved, meaning that the additionalcosts were spread into other areas ofthe appraisal so that a shop could becompensated for what was truly re-quired. Unfortunately, that may be thecase and there is no way in the data toisolate instances where cost shifting is

occurring. It is important to note thatwhen we looked at blending withinthe panel, we did not evaluate howmany refinish hours were specified onthe appraisal for a specific panel vs.full refinish time. It is very likely thatthe full base and clear coat were spec-

ified in the damaged panel, however,that data is nearly impossible to sepa-rate in a data pool of several millionestimates. We focused on the blendoperation as called out in the ap-praisal.

In looking at the results of theoriginal refinish study, I did not fullyexplore the question of geography inthe initial finding. Does the area of thecountry affect how many hours ofblend time are reported? Herein liesthe key; areas in the Midwest andSouth had fewer hours of blend time,and they also have the largest popula-tion of trucks/SUVs as well as moredomestic vehicles than foreign.

When broken out by West Coast,Midwest, Southern and Eastern states,the blend time is lower in states wherethere are higher volumes of trucks andSUVs being repaired. We can con-clude that in today’s collision repairenvironment, older vehicles, domesticvehicles and trucks and SUVs receivefewer blend hours in part because the


Revisiting Paint by Numbers: A Deep Dive into Refinish Data

Asia Domestic Europe 1 yr or Less 1 yr to 5 yrs 5 yrs or older Car Truck/SUV

Asia Domestic Europe 1 yr or Less 1 yr to 5 yrs 5 yrs or older Car Truck/SUV

Avg Blend Hrs Only Ests w/Blend1.46

1.44

1.4

1.3

1.42

1.38

1.36

1.34

1.32

1.28

Ray Gunder, the founder of PolkCounty’s Gunder’s Auto Center, a 43year-old auto collision repair and me-chanical shop, made the following state-ment after the judgment was delivered:

“Last night, after getting thecourt’s decision, I re-read it and justsat in disbelief just staring at it forhours. Is it really possible in this coun-try for a huge conglomerate like StateFarm to attack my small business withwhat are known to be outrageous liesand be considered legally privileged?

“As I understand it, the legal rule isthat the so-called ‘privilege’ is forfeitedif derogatory and defamatory commentsre made with ‘Express Malice.’

“To be considered ‘Express Mal-ice’ one would need to reach the levelof calling me and/or my family mur-derers and rapists.

“State Farm came after us in2004 in an attempt to silence my voiceby attacking our company’s reputationin our community and their attempt tofinancially destroy our business bysteering customers away with totally

untrue and outrageous lies… and that,according to the court, at least in mycase… is legal!? This ruling is justice?

“It’s important to understand that ifthis ruling stays; every honest and ethi-cal shop owner in the industry is in jeop-ardy of similar efforts against them ifthey don’t fall in line and do as they’retold by this megalith insurer and otherinsurers who may chose to follow suit!

Continued Gunder, “This rulingis scary for all of us. Although this isbut one ‘leg’ of my legal journey tocorrect the harmful and predatorypractices of some insurers, it’s a verybitter pill to swallow!

“Know this; I’ve been knockeddown but I’m not knocked out. I’mgoing to continue to “pound that rock”and find the justice that I believe ex-ists in our legal system!

While I’m not a poker player, theterm ‘I’m all in’ is indeed applicableas I’m too far invested in time and fi-nances to quit now and I’ve neverbeen one to see a wrong and not try tomake it right and with the best legalrepresentation one could hope for, wewill continue to move on.

“What one doesn’t find in this de-cision is one of the most important parts;

State Farm speaking improperly andslandering Gunder’s “once” is privilegedin the courts opinion, but speaking lies“over” and “over” again knowing theyare lies is indeed “Express Malice”!

“We will prove that State Farmhas continuously committed Slanderwith Express Malice and have done soregularly with an evil intent.

“I believe with right there’smight and Gunder’s will press on andwe will begin by giving serious con-sideration to submitting a request for areview and appeal with the UnitedState’s Supreme Court.”

A copy of the court’s ruling maybe found at: http://www.courtlis-tener.com/ca11/26Fy/gunders-auto-center-v-state-farm/

In another lawsuit the shop haspending against the insurer in PolkCounty Court, a judge has granted theshop's request to compel State Farmto make documents and a number ofwitnesses available to the shop's at-torney as part of the discoveryprocess. Among those that shop attor-ney A. Brent Geohagan seeks to de-pose in the case are representatives ofat least eight repair shops that serveState Farm insureds in Polk County.

panel is being blended within thepanel and in part because of the ge-ography of where the vehicle is lo-cated.

The focus on refinish operationsis particularly important as we seedramatic increases in the cost of abarrel of oil. As Mideast turmoil ad-versely impacts the cost of oil, Amer-icans are shifting towards smallervehicles. Increases in paint costs be-cause of rising oil costs will soon fol-low. While refinish operations havebeen an area of contention betweensome collision shops and insurers,when the price of oil rises, so does thefrequency of contention and the vol-ume of questions our editorial depart-ment receives related to refinishing.Looking towards the future, as westart the shift away from large SUVs,the increasing number of smaller ve-hicles on the road will increase thenecessity of blending into adjacentpanels.

Statements and opinions expressed inthis article are solely those of the au-thor. They are not offered as and donot constitute legal advice or opinionof Mitchell International, Inc.


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Gunder’s Loses


The Mid-State Chapter of theFlorida Autobody Collision Alliance(FACA) provided hands-on training toCentral Florida area First-Responders

including Fire Department personnelfrom the areas of Lakeland, Auburn-dale and Winter Haven on April 13.

I-Car certified instructor; SteveLaszlo, was on hand to assist in thetraining and provided information oncurrent vehicle construction technol-ogy and related materials.

Training forcused on avoidingareas on newer vehicles where airbagsor electrical components could pose apotential risk. Newer hybrid and all-electric vehicles can be dangerous foremergency personnel unfamiliar withthe cars mechanics.

Activities took place at 6:30 pm atAll Pro Used Auto Parts, 1425 Old

Dixie Highway Auburn-dale, FL 33823-9505.

All Pro Used AutoParts provided the ex-ample vehicles for thetraining.

Food and beverageserved to participantswas also provided byGunder’s Auto Centerand Subs and Such ofLakeland.

The Florida Auto-body Collision Allianceis a State-wide associa-tion of collision repair-ers and is committed tothe future of the colli-sion repair industry.

FACA’s mission isto provide the leader-ship needed to raise theprofessional image ofthe industry and to de-velop new industryleaders.

FACA’s goal is toeducate, inform andrepresent the collisionrepair professional inall aspects of the indus-try.

For more informa-tion on FACA pleasevisit:www.FACAFL.com or

contact Ms. Cathy Mills,Executive Director via e-mail at:[email protected] or byphone at (904) 994-6516.

Florida Autobody Collision Alliance (FACA) Hosts 1st Annual First-Responder Extrication Training

Certified first responders and firemen learn electrical and airbag‘hot spots’ to avoid on newer vehicles

Training Instructor Steve Laszlo

The proper equipment used in real-life scenarios was used dur-ing the training

Firefighters were able to put the information learned to workright away with vehicles from All Pro Used Auto Parts

In February this year, California Sen-ator Noreen Evans introduced legisla-tion expanding the InsuranceCommissioner’s restitution authoritywhich at present is only allowed inlimited circumstances. Simply put, SB631 would grant explicit authority tothe state Insurance Commissioner toorder restitution as part of an adminis-trative enforcement action against aninsurance company. The new powerscould be used to punish broker-agentsand other licensees in all instanceswhere the Commissioner finds any vi-olation of the California InsuranceCode.

The expanded authority wouldprotect consumers from what SenatorEvans described as the “David andGoliath” dynamics that can occurwhen a consumer seeks repayment ofmonetary losses or out-of-pocket costsassociated with wrongful insurancecompany conduct.

SB 631 would allow the Com-missioner to “impose upon an in-surer, licensee, or other entity orperson subject to the commissioner’sauthority specified remedies, eitherby way of settlement or following a

hearing, whenever the commissionerfinds that there has been a violationof an applicable insurance provi-sion.”

“The status quo allows insurancecompanies to violate the law and thensimply nudge consumers away fromregaining the monetary losses they ex-perienced,” said Senator Evans.“Restitution-granting authority al-ready exists in several other state de-partments. Senate Bill 631extends thissame authority to the Insurance Com-missioner and simultaneously pro-vides built-in safeguard for allparties.”

Evans said the bill also providessafeguards for insurers should theydisagree with the restitution order bythe Insurance Commissioner, becauseunder SB 631 insurers may still seeka judicial appeal and go to court.Should a consumer wish to directlypursue judicial action against an in-surer, rather than receiving restitutionthrough the Insurance Commissioner,the bill still allows them to do so, sheadded.

“The Department of Insurance isrequired by law to protect consumers

against misconduct from insurers,” In-surance Commissioner Dave Joneshas said. “However, the InsuranceCommissioner does not have the au-thority to order insurers to restore out-of-pocket expenses or moneywrongfully obtained due to insurermisconduct. This needs to change, andit needs to change now.”

Senator Evans’ office issued anSB 631 Fact Sheet that provides fur-ther information on the proposed leg-islation. According to the Fact Sheet,insurance consumers occasionallysuffer monetary losses at the hands oftheir insurance providers, for exam-ple, when they receive less moneythan they are entitled to on a claim.Currently, when an insurer breaks thelaw and causes monetary damages toa consumer, the only path to remedyfor consumers is to sue insurers incourt, which is time-consuming, ex-

pensive, and further burdens thecourts.

Insurance advocacy group Insur-ance Brokers and Agents of the West(IBA West), representing some 14,000agents and brokers, said it is con-cerned because persons entitled to re-ceive restitution are defined sobroadly as to include insurance com-panies—meaning broker or agentscould conceivably be required to payrestitution to their own insurers in theevent of even minor violations of In-surance Code or regulatory provi-sions. The association also isconcerned that the bill lacks “mean-ingful” limits on the Commissioner’sability to impose financially devastat-ing punishments.

The bill was most recentlyamended on March 24 and a hearingin the Senate Insurance Committeehas been scheduled for April 27.

CA Bill Would Give Insurance Commissioner Stronger Penalty Powers


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SHOP & PRODUCTSHOP & PRODUCT SHOWCASE SHOWCASE

The conversion to waterborne paintin states like New Jersey is a realityfor body shops throughout the North-east, because by 2012 regulationswill likely mandate the use of the newpaint. While some collision busi-nesses are not enamored with theidea of changing the way they’vebeen painting cars for decades,many are happy to say ‘goodbye’ tosolvent and ‘hello’ to waterborne.Proactive shops that see the value inmaking the changeover beforethey’re forced to do so by law arejumping on the waterborne band-wagon right now.

One of these proactive shops isAndrews Auto Body in Brick, NewJersey; a shop that has embracedPPG Envirobase® High Performancewaterborne paint in a big way.

If you live in or around Brick, youknow the name Andrews. This sec-ond-generation body shop has beenaround since 1979, when Rich An-drews, Sr. started his small bodyshop and built a substantial cus-tomer base, many, many years be-fore waterborne paint was evensomething to consider.

But growth dictates new proce-dures. In August of 2009, Rich, Sr.,and his whole family moved to anew, 6,000 square-foot facility. I saythey all “moved” there because theentire family works for the business.Mom (Linda) is the front office man-ager, her oldest son Keith, 36, is theshop’s manager; Rich Jr., 31, is theshop’s lead painter and their sister,Jennifer, is the shop’s assistant officemanager. And dad is still there,watching his sons as they take theirshop to a new level—which includeswaterborne.

Since the move, Andrews haspurchased a towing company anddoes a lot of work for the town ofBrick, Keith Andrews said, whichhas provided a new source of rev-enue for the shop. Simultaneously,Andrews Auto Body made thechangeover to PPG Envirobase®HP basecoat in their new, larger fa-cility. The moves have paid off in abig way, because the shop is hittingbetter numbers than ever.

“We’ve tripled our revenue sincemoving here and now we’re repairing50–60 vehicles per month,” Keithsaid. “Switching to the PPG water-borne paint has played a big part ofit. This year, we’re on track to do $1.4million, which is very encouragingnews, especially since we’re still in arecession and all the snow this win-ter didn’t help us either. We switched

over to waterborne to stay ahead ofthe game. We know we don’t have todo it until 2012, but we decided—since we’re moving—why not usethe opportunity to do it now? ThePPG rep convinced me that their En-virobase® HP waterborne would be abetter way of doing things, so wemade the move and we haven’tlooked back. PPG Envirobase® HP isa great product and we’re happy withit for several reasons.”

As lead painter it was particularlyimportant that Rich Andrews, Jr. was100% onboard with the switchover toPPG waterborne, because he is theshop’s only painter and runs thecompany’s paint department fromthe mixing station all the way to thepaint booth.

The whole changeover startedwith the training provided by PPG,both on-site and through their train-ing center in Maryland. Rich, Jr. ex-plained, “They trained me on thewaterborne system in shop and thenthey sent me to Maryland for furthertraining. Scott Pearson, from PPGwas great and he made the transitionpainless. Our paint jobber, AlbertKemperle Paint and Body EquipmentInc., played a big role too. The PPGpeople were here several times andthey stayed with us until we were to-tally comfortable with the paint andprocedures. They walked us throughthe process until the result was per-fect. We’d been using solvent since1979, so this was a significantchange, obviously.

“It was a huge change, so Iadmit I was a little reluctant at first,”Rich, Jr. said. “But I didn’t have to re-

do one single car, to be completelyhonest. The color matches are spot-on and the finished product is betterthan solvent. There was a very smalllearning curve, but once I got intothe groove on how to spray it anddry it, it was a pretty smooth transi-tion.

Keith Andrews knows that PPGhas been instrumental in improvinghis production system and he con-tinues to be pleased by the com-pany’s top-notch customer service.“PPG has done a great job in help-ing us be more productive in gen-eral,” said Keith. “Everyone withPPG has been excellent in every as-pect of what they do for us. If I askthem or Albert Kemperle, my PPGjobber, I get it. They respond to mealmost immediately in every case,which is great. That’s all you can askfrom a paint company. PPG hasplayed a very integral part in gettingus to where we are now, so it’s beena great relationship.”

Now that he’s been using thewaterborne basecoat for almost 18months on a daily basis, what doesRich, Jr. think of waterborne in gen-eral? “It may slow you down for afew minutes, but in the end youwon’t be re-doing jobs, because thecolor matches are perfect. With En-virobase® HP, the finished productis better, with zero comebacks orcomplaints. They make the simplematches so simple and it has prettymuch eliminated spray outs. I’mnow doing 3–4 cars a day, and Idon’t have to do even one singlespray out. I’ve reached a pointwhere I can just trust it.”

It may take a few more minutes to paint a carwith waterborne vs. the old solvent days, RichAndrews, Jr., said, but the finished product issuperior in every way.

Andrews Auto BodyLocation: Brick, NJ

Telephone: 732-920-3692www.????.com

Company At A Glance...

Type: Collision Repair

Facility Employees: Nine

In Business Since: 1979

DRP Programs: Four

Number of Locations: One

Combined Production Space:6,000 square feet

PPG Automotive RefinishCompany Contact: Cindy PiazzaPhone: 440-572-2800email: [email protected]: www.ppgrefinish.com

It’s a family affair at Andrews Auto Body in Brick, New Jersey. From left, Rich, Jr. is the shop’slead painter; his sister Jennifer is the assistant office manager; Rich, Sr. started the shop 32 yearsago; his wife Linda runs the front office; and Keith Andrews manages the shop

32-year-old N.J. Body Shop Embraces PPG’sEnvirobase® HP Waterborne Basecoat

Lead Painter Rich Andrews, Jr. doesn’t have tore-do jobs by using PPG Envirobase® HP wa-terborne paint, he said, because the colormatches are on the money 100% of the time

by Ed Attanasio


THESE DEALERS ARE GENUINE WHOLESALE PARTS SPECIALISTS.

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Sterling McCallToyotaHOUSTON

800-231-1440713-270-3942 FaxMonday - Friday 7am - 7pm

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The Women’s Industry Network(WIN) will host their 5th annual WINConference May 1 through 3 at theWestin Gaslamp Quarter in SanDiego.

The conference will be led bytwo keynote speakers; Jennifer Sertland Lauren Fix.

Jennifer Sertl will focus on whatit means to be strategic in the 21stcentury, what it takes to be a leaderand how the soul of your business as

well as your per-sonal soul willdrive your busi-ness and per-sonal success inyears to come.

J e n -nifer is founderand president ofAgility3R, an or-

ganizational effectiveness companywhich fosters collective wisdo-macross all levels within organiza-tions.

Lauren Fix will draw upon herexperiences to share tips for successin our day to day interactions withmales and females alike.

She will address staying con-nected to those you network with,

both male and female; the glass ceil-ing as related to networking and ad-vancement; as well as using your“feminine force” for positive changeand other things to achieve successin our professional and personallives.

Lauren is the owner of Automo-tive Aspects Inc., a consulting firmthat provides media consulting,broadcast messaging strategy serv-ices and motivational seminars.

She has been a member of theSociety of Automotive Engineers(SAE) since 1980 and is ASE Certi-fied.

WIN’s Conference Speakerswill include Greg Horn withMitchell and Helen Todd with Colli-sion Buzz, among others.

To register online for this con-ference please visit:www.regonline.com/2011_WIN_conference or www.womensindus-trynetwork.com.

Women’s Industry Network Conference, San Diego May 1

Lauren Fix


on Facebook

The Georgia Collision Industry Associa-tion (GCIA) held their first monthly meet-ing of the spring on April 14th at 6:30 PMat the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter.

The group had Chuck Elliott, Dis-trict Manager with KPA as their guestpresenter. Elliott explained the differencesbetween the recent inspections completedby the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) related to your waste streamswithin a body shop versus the typicalOSHA inspections which are generallyabout employee safety and compliance.

The night began with a discussion onOSHA and the expectations the organiza-tion has when it comes to safety in a colli-

sion repair shop. The requirements for ship-ping hazardous materials with the Depart-ment of Transportation was also discussed.

The Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA)’s guidelines for envi-ronmental compliance were also dis-cussed, along with a summary ofcommon violations by body shops suchas throwing away liquids in the trashand the proper disposal of spray cans.

KPA is the nation’s compliance ex-pert on safety, environmental, andhuman resources, serving more than3,000 clients nationwide. KPA’s on-site,on call, and online environmental andsafety services are critical in reducingaccidents and associated costs while en-suring the highest level of compliancewith EPA and OSHA regulations. Addi-tionally, KPA provides an HR systemthat screens problem applicants, forcescompliance with state and federal regu-lations and dramatically reduces the riskof lawsuits and administrative costs.

Questions can be directed to ChuckElliott directly at [email protected] (404) 626-6310. For information canalso be found at www.gacollisionindus-try.wordpress.com.

GCIA Meeting Hosts OSHA Safety and EnvironmentalCompliance Management Presentation

Chuck Elliott with KPA presented atten-dees with OSHA, EPA requirements

AudiGenuine Parts

Order Audi Genuine Parts from these select Dealers

Nothing else measures up.

Bob Moore AudiOKLAHOMA CITY405-749-6086405-749-6091 FaxMon-Fri 7:30am - [email protected]

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State Farm has announced that in thecoming months it will develop a newelectronic parts ordering system for itsSelect Service shops.

The new parts ordering plan wasrolled out to the DRP shops throughan online video.

In the video, claims consultantGregg McDonald outlines StateFarm’s plans, stating that the companywill work with repairers, parts suppli-ers and technology vendors to developa new electronic ordering solution.

To view the video, go tohttp://www.statefarm.com/landing/b2b/eparts-ordering.asp.

McDonald said the insurer willwork with all segments of the industryto develop a system to “reduce theamount of time and effort needed tosearch for, source and order all parttypes,” and “to give suppliers a betterview of the process, and access tocomplete parts orders.”

McDonald also said that the sys-

tem will include a review tool to allowshops and vendors to provide feed-back on the parts ordering experience,saying “Supplier choice and decisionsregarding which parts are best suitedfor the individual repair will remain inyour hands.”

In 2009, State Farm ended anelectronic parts ordering test it hadrolled out in California and Indiana,saying it had no plans to implementsuch a program nationally, but that ithad found that electronic parts order-ing “has value”.

The Select Service agreementthat participating shops must signgives the insurer the right to requireelectronic parts ordering.

As of yet there is no firm startdate for the test. According to GeorgeAvery, State Farm claims consultant,the company has yet to work out de-tails about which Select Service shopswill participate or what kind of tech-nology will be used.

“We don’t have a timeline and wedon’t know where we’re going to testit,” Avery said. “Our intent is to givethe repairer the choice of the type of

parts they want to use. We’ll thor-oughly test this solution before we rollit out to our shops, like we do all ofour projects.”

The goal is to improve the effi-ciency and accuracy of the parts or-dering process to minimize returnsand potentially increase the speed ofrepairs.

State Farm could potentially ben-efit through reductions in rental costsand overall repair costs by eliminatingsupplements and returns.

The first electronic parts pro-gram, which was designed based onan OE discounting program, ran from2007 to 2009.

“This is just the next step in theprocess,” Avery said. “We’re takingwhat we learned and applying that toimprove efficiency, get the right partsand possibly fix the car quicker.”


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State Farm to Offer Electronic Parts Ordering to its Own Select Service Shops

Higher Standard Leads toCoveted Magna Society AwardRusnak Auto Group With Audi Deal-erships in Pasadena and WestlakeOffer Customers Outstanding Serv-ice, Value and Selection

Audi established the Magna So-ciety Award program in order to rec-ognize U.S. dealerships that stand outas the best of the best. To qualify,dealerships can’t just meet or exceedsales targets. They must also demon-strate the ability to maintain a solidfinancial foundation, merit high cus-tomer satisfaction scores and demon-strate that their facilities and staffrepresent a progressive, Audi culture.

The Rusnak Auto Group isproud to announce its two Audistores, located in Pasadena and West-lake, won the 2010 Audi Magna So-ciety Award. By offering two storesin Southern California, Rusnak Audiis able to offer greater value alongwith a superior selection.

Rusnak Auto Group enjoys a45-year history as one of thestrongest auto retail groups in LosAngeles and sells nine brands of au-tomobiles as well as high-qualityCertified Pre-Owned and pre-ownedvehicles from 11 locations in Arca-dia, Loma Linda, Pasadena andWestlake. Visit Rusnak Auto Groupat www.rusnakonline.com.

Ryder Acquires Portfolio ofB.I.T. LeasingRyder System completed the acquisi-tion of the lease, rental and mainte-nance portfolio of B.I.T. Leasing, aprivately owned, 58-year-old full-ser-vice truck leasing and fleet servicescompany headquartered in Hayward,Calif.

The acquisition was completedin two phases: the first phase com-pleted in August 2010 and the finalphase completed in March 2011.

Ryder acquired BIT’s fleet ofapproximately 364 full-service lease,121 rental, and 72 contract mainte-nance units serving 131 contract cus-tomers from BIT’s service locationsin Rohnert Park, Hayward, San Joseand Watsonville.

Ryder began operation at BIT’sformer Rohnert Park location in De-cember. Customers who were beingserviced from BIT’s former locationsin Hayward, San Jose and Wat-sonville will now be served by one ofRyder’s six existing locations in theBay area. BIT’s existing dealershipbusiness will continue to operate asBayshore International Trucks.

The acquisition is expected toadd approximately $9 million in an-nualized operating revenue toRyder’s Fleet Management Solutionsbusiness segment.

Thousands of South Carolina driv-ers will be able to legally get backbehind the wheel through a one-week amnesty program for sus-pended licenses, according toreports made by Insurance Jour-nal.

The Department of Motor Vehi-cles said that the amnesty applies toresidents who lost their driving priv-ileges for violations that don’t in-volve drugs or alcohol.

Agency spokeswoman BethParks said nearly 10,500 driversqualify. About 20 percent of thosedrivers have two suspensions.

Their driving privileges will berestored if they pay the required feesand have insurance. Most reinstate-ment fees are $100.

The program will be offeredMay 16-20 at 17 offices around thestate. It was required as part of a sen-tencing reform measure passed bythe Legislature last year.

SC Offers Amnesty to Driverswith Suspended Licenses


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autobody news may 2011 southwest edition

Documents

scrs awards committee

bill aswell

approvesenate bill

scrs industry awards

bill search sb

collision industry

scrs association

house insurance committee