Autobody News June 2014 Northeastern Edition

Massachusetts Commissioner of Insur-ance Joseph G. Murphy announced anagreement with Government Employ-ees Insurance Company and GEICOGeneral Insurance Company resolvinginconsistencies in its reporting of acci-dent information to state agencies andpolicyholders.

Under the terms of the agreement,GEICO has agreed to modify portionsof its current business procedures, im-plement new procedures and pay a$275,000 fine. An additional $275,000fine has been suspended pending a fu-ture re-examination by the Division ofInsurance.

“Today’s announcement is the re-sult of our ongoing monitoring of theinsurance marketplace to ensure thatconsumers are receiving the benefitsto which they are entitled and compa-

nies are competing on a level playingfield,” said Commissioner Murphy.“The company’s actions created dis-ruptive issues within the auto insur-ance marketplace in Massachusetts.”

The Division negotiated thisagreement with GEICO following amarket conduct examination ofGEICO’s practices since the companybegan offering private passenger auto-mobile insurance to Massachusettsdrivers in May 2009. The examinationspecifically identified GEICO’s incon-sistency in reporting claim informationand providing operators proper noticeof at-fault accident determinations andtheir rights to appeal those determina-tions to the Division’s Board of Appealas areas requiring a change in businesspractices. The company will notify in-

The owners of Crawford’s Auto Cen-ter Inc. in Downington, PA, have filedwhat they expect to be a class-actionlawsuit against seven major insurancecarriers and their affiliates, accusingthem of short pays and conspiring toestablish and enforce “an artificialmarket value for collision repairs,” ac-cording to the complaint.

The lawsuit was filed April 30 inthe U.S. District Court for the North-ern District of Illinois, Eastern Divi-sion, naming State Farm, Allstate,GEICO, Progressive, Farmers, Lib-erty Mutual and Nationwide and de-

fendant insurers alleging they ille-gally conspire to control the collisionrepair process and the cost of repairs.The suit, Crawford’s Auto Center v.State Farm et al, also names USAA,Travelers and American Family asconspirator insurers, though not asdefendants.

The plaintiff’s complaint seeks tohave the suit granted class action sta-tus representing any repair facility thathas done business with the defendantinsurance companies since January 1,2006.

Dorian Parsley, 44, a civilian policedispatcher, is accused of giving confi-dential police information—such as lo-cations of auto accidents, to the ownerof K & B Auto Body, a Philadelphiashop, William Cheeseman and twoother tow-truck operators, StepfonFlowers and Chad Harris, who attimes worked for K&B.

Parsley allegedly did it in ex-change for bribes, collecting thousandsof dollars in cash, from February 2011to December 2013, authorities say, ac-cording to reports in the PhiladelphiaDaily News.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office an-nounced the unsealing of an indictmentagainst Parsley, of Philadelphia;

Cheeseman, 42, of Delran, NJ; Flow-ers, 24, and Harris, 22, both of the city.All four are charged with conspiracyand bribery. Parsley and Flowers arealso charged with honest-servicesfraud.

Three of the four defendants in thealleged bribery scam pleaded not guiltyat their arraignments in federal courtMay 15. The fourth, Flowers, had pre-viously plead not guilty. All have beenreleased on $25,000 bond.

According to the indictment, thefour entered into a scheme in whichParsley texted confidential police in-formation—such as locations of autoaccidents—to the tow-truck operators

PA Body Shop Embroiled in Alleged Towing Schemewith Philadelphia Police Department Dispatcher

PA Shop Owners File RICO Suit Against Seven MajorInsurance Companies Citing Short Pays, Conspiracy

See GEICO Fined, Page 17

See Philly Towing Case, Page 9

See PA Shop’s RICO, Page 9

GEICO Fined by Massachusetts For Inconsistent Ac-cident Reporting, $275K Levied, $275K Suspended

Collision repairers from six states arepursuing legal action against insurersfor alleged antitrust violations, collu-sion by making deals with preferredbody shops to reduce labor costs, andinterfering with body shops’ businessby dictating how they do repairs.There are also allegations that shopsare being forced to use substandard re-pair parts. The body shops are seekingdamages from the suits that couldamount to damages in the billions. SeeAutobody News May edition for moredetails.

In the federal lawsuit, 14 Indianashops and others have accused StateFarm Insurance and competitors of ex-tracting “unreasonable and onerous”concessions on vehicle repair costs.When a shop doesn’t comply withprice ceilings, the insurers dissuadepolicyholders from choosing that shopfor repairs by telling them it has qual-ity issues or gets lots of complaints,the shops allege in the suit filed April2. The 34-page suit alleges insurershave violated the federal Sherman Act,

both in price-fixing and through boy-cotting tactics.

Insurance company dictates are“placing the driving public at harm,”says the lawsuit. (Other defendants in-clude Allstate, American Family,Auto-Owners, Erie Insurance, IndianaFarmers Mutual, Liberty Mutual, Na-tionwide, Shelter General and ZurichAmerican.)

Pat Johnson, a Martinsville, IN,shop owner of Brothers Body & Paintnext to IN 39, was cut from StateFarm’s Select Service Program lastNovember, unable to live with the itsrequirement that he buy vehicle partsthrough the online PartsTrader site in-stead of using his own longtime sup-pliers. Now Johnson says he is feelingthe pain of losing business from StateFarm. Revenue at Brothers Body &Paint has fallen by $100,000 so far thisyear from his former $2 million annualgross on repairing about 60 vehicles amonth. Johnson has said he may needto cut his 12-person staff, but he’s

Update on Shops’ Accusations of Insurers’ Collusion

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VOL. 4 ISSUE 3JUNE 2014

2 JUNE 2014 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Acura of Westchester . . . . . . . . . . . 9Amato Agency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . 52Axalta Coating Systems . . . . . . . . . 5B & R Associates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Baystate Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 49CCC Information Services. . . . . . . 11Central Avenue Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Certified Automotive PartsAssociation (CAPA) . . . . . . . . . . 23

Chief Automotive. . . . . . . . . . . 24, 25Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Clay Auto Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Colours, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Ditschman/Flemington Auto Group. 31Empire Auto Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Equalizer Industries, Inc . . . . . . . . . 4Fairfield Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram. 27Fitzgerald’s Lakeforest Hyundai-Subaru. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . 53Fred Beans Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Future Cure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Glanzmann Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . 37GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 34Hackettstown Honda. . . . . . . . . . . 22Honda-Acura Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-29

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers. 44Jaguar Wholesale Parts Dealers. . 50

Kia Motors Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Koeppel VW-Mazda. . . . . . . . . . . . 45Lexus Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . 46Malco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Maxon Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Maxon Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 30Mercedes-Benz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . 48MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . 35NACE/CARS Expo & Conference . 39Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Porsche Wholesale Parts Dealers . 42Providence Lacquer & Supply Centre. 6Reliable Automotive Equipment, Inc . 8SATA Spray Equipment . . . . . . . . 13Security Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram . 7Sherwin-Williams AutomotiveFinishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 17

Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . 51Sussman Auto Group . . . . . . . . . . 33TechZone Airbag Service . . . . . . . 14Thompson Organization . . . . . . . . 15Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 48Valspar Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Volkswagen Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 38Wagner Auto Group . . . . . . . . . . . 55Yonkers Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10York Kia of Medford. . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Inde

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Contents

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy HayhurstGeneral Manager: Barbara DaviesOnline Editor: Alicia BasteriContributing Writers: Tom Franklin, David Brown,John Yoswick, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess,Ed Attanasio, Chasidy SiskAdvertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman,Bill Doyle, David Petro (800) 699-8251Sales Assistant: Louise TedescoArt Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Serving New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusettsand adjacent metro areas, Autobody News is a monthlypublication for the autobody industry. Permission toreproduce in any form the material published in AutobodyNews must be obtained in writing from the publisher.©2014 Adamantine Media LLC.

Autobody NewsP.O. Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018(800) 699-8251 (760) 603-3229 Faxwww.autobodynews.comEmail: [email protected] N

ortheast

REGIONALAlbert ‘Bert’ Riley Moss II of Albany, NY,Passes at 64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Anthony E. Ciaburri Jr. of Great Kills, NY,Passes at 47 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Argument at Maryland Auto Body ShopLeads to Arrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Car Fire Spreads to Body Shop inMcKees Rocks, PA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Carubba Collision is Long Time Sponsor ofNew York State Golden Gloves Boxing . . . . . . 6

CollisionMax Renews ‘Metal of Honor’ Projectfor 2nd Year, Giving No-Cost Auto BodyRepairs to 11 Military Veterans . . . . . . . . . . . 6

GEICO Fined by Massachusetts For InconsistentAccident Reporting, $275K Levied, $275KSuspended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Hamden, CT, Body Shop Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Job Corps Offers Free Auto Body CareerTraining in Utica, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

LIABRA Monthly Meeting and Repair Seminar . . 8Martin Scorcese’s Nephew at Heroin Bustin Staten Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Mid-Island Collision Seizes Opportunity,Plans to Open Training Center . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Newborn Kittens Soften Up Rochelle Park, NJ,Body Shop Mechanics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Nick Orso’s Body Shop in Syracuse NYTakes a High-End View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

PA Auto Body Students Restore an ArmoredPersonnel Carrier. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

PA Body Shop Embroiled in Alleged TowingScheme with Philadelphia PoliceDepartment Dispatcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

PA Shop Owners File RICO Suit Against SevenMajor Insurance Companies CitingShort Pays, Conspiracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

PA SkillsUSA High School Sr. Wins CollisionDivision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Sisk - ABAC Legal Counselor Objects to Use of Camera Phone Photos for Estimates . . . . . . 13

COLUMNISTSAttanasio - Five Common Marketing MistakesBody Shops Make . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Basteri - Getting Powered Up at the 2014 WINAnnual Educational Conference . . . . . . . . . . 24

Frankin - What’s In A Name? Possibly TheSuccess Of Your Shop! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Yoswick - June Retrospective: ASA Position,CAPA, CIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

NATIONAL‘Thriving in a Consolidating Marketplace’Events: IN & IL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

35 Years Dedicated to Teaching Tomorrow’sTechs in California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

ABRA Acquires 24 Collision Centers ofAmerica Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Advance Auto Profit Up 21%, AcquisitionBoosts Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

AMI Taking Applications for $1,000High-Octane Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

AudaExplore Launches Cloud-Based Fully Scalable Enterprise Body Shop Management Solution . 37

Auto Body Parts Receive Consumer Discountat Auto Pros USA Parts Retail Website . . . . . 38

Auto Damage Experts Will Perform Inspection and

Verification for Assured PerformanceNetwork’s Certified Repair Shops . . . . . . . . 37

Automotive Aftermarket is Expected toGrow 3.4% PY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

BASF Recognizes 5 Shops as Shops of the Year. 38Bloomberg Reports Esurance to Take onAdvertising Giants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

BMW Joint Venture to Triple Carbon FiberPlant Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

CAPA Reaches 15 Year Milestone forVehicle Test Fits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Car-O-Liner Offers Free Value-Added DesignPlanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

ETI to Hold Meeting with NACE CARS in Detroit . 42Farmers Insurance’s Class Action on Climate Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

First Mass-Produced Fuel Cell Vehicles Arriveon US Soil, Free Fuel-Cell ‘Refills’ fromHyundai, Range Compares to Gas Vehicles . . 21

Ford Dealerships Exceed Enrollment Goalsfor Collision Repair Training on F-150 . . . . . 54

Four CARSTAR Shops Were Recognizedby Mitchell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Gunder Suit Against State Farm Not FiledAs Reported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

I-CAR Enhances Website, Other Improvements Coming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Judge Dismisses Suit Against GM’s AftermarketPart Price Matching Program. . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Letter to the Editor: Certified AftermarketParts Tracking is Superior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

MCR Safety Donates 26,000+ Pairs ofSafety Eyeware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

NABC Appoints Dan Young to Board of Directors . 42NACE | CARS 2014 Agenda Announced andOnline Attendee Registration Opens . . . . . . . 50

NACE Announces CRES/MSO SymposiumAgenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

NSF Certifies 500 Sheet Metal Parts Madeby Gordon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

OSHA Cracking Down on Isocyanate Exposure . 44SCRS Examines Repairer Ability to Control Data . 42SCRS Member’s E-Catalog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53SEMA Show Registration Now Open . . . . . . . . 49Sisk - Automotive Aftermarket AssociationSoutheast Finalizes Conference Plans for ‘14. . 46

Sisk - Mike Anderson Visits WMABA toDiscuss Estimating Practices, PartsProcurement and More! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Sisk - NABC’s Recent Meetings Focus on Building Positive Image for Collision Industry . . . . . . 36

Sisk - Southern Automotive Repair ConferenceHeld by Six State Associations. . . . . . . . . . . 22

Solera Buys Pittsburgh Glass Works’ Insurance Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

South Carolina Shop Files Suit Against State Farm Citing Breaches of Contract and Defamation . 45

State Farm to Raise Rates in Illinois . . . . . . . . . 33Study Reveals 2/3 of Drivers Are Distractedon the Road. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Toyota’s Relocation of US Headquartersto Plano, TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Update on Shops’ Accusations ofInsurers’ Collusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

US Government Says It Lost $11.2 billionon GM bailout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Valspar Joins National Auto Body Council . . . . 50

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Quaker Valley High School seniorJoe Popowich, 18, of Leet, PA,placed first in the collision repair di-vision in the SkillsUSA Pennsylva-nia Championships in April 2014, atthe Hershey Lodge and ConferenceCenter in Hershey, PA. Popowich

was graded byseveral judgesas he worked ona car, includingfixing a dent.

Popowich willtravel to KansasCity to competein the SkillsUSAChampionships

June 23–27, 2014.Joe attends Parkway West Ca-

reer & Technology Center and said,“I enjoy (the body work). I don’t feellike I’m ever working when I’mdoing it. I like working with myhands.”

PA SkillsUSA High School SrWins Collision Division Firefighter Crews in Hamden, CT,

spent several hours battling a two-alarm blaze at an auto body shop onApril 25, 2014. The fire chief saidthat when they arrived the roof ofthe building had already collapsed.“We never know what’s in this type

of building, could be propane tanks,could be fuel tanks,” said chiefDavid Berardesca of the HamdenFire Dept. “That’s one of the reasonswe decided to fight from the exte-rior. We had no issues with sur-rounding buildings. We had run off,we did call DEEP because we hadsome run off because of the heavywater use.” Several cars were insidethe building at the time and alsocaught fire, according to the chief.

Hamden, CT, Body Shop Fire

Martin Scorcese’s nephew was ar-rested, accused of dealing heroin atthe auto body shop where he worksin Staten Island, NY.

Police said Frank Scorcese, 39,of Staten Island, was busted afterselling heroin to undercover detec-tives at Mr. Fix It on April 30, 2014.

Scorcese was charged withdrug possession and possessionwith intent to sell.

One of the sales was in thepresence of his boss, John Santillo,55, of Staten Island.

Authorities said they foundeight weapons including two handguns, five shot guns, and a rifle atSantillo’s home. Santillo and his 57-year-old wife Lori were chargedwith weapons possession.

Scorcese has prior arrests foraggravated unlicensed operation ofa vehicle, resisting arrest, criminalpossession of a knife, and criminalpossession of a controlled sub-stance.

Martin Scorcese’s Nephew atHeroin Bust in Staten Island

Albert “Bert” Moss II, 64, of Al-bany passed away May 6, 2014, atthe Samaritan Evergreen HospiceHouse.

Bert was born in Boise, ID, toAlbert “Bert” Riley Moss and Con-stance “Connie” Lee (Chandler)Moss. They moved to Albany, NY,when Bert was six months old. Thefamily owned and operated Bert’sAuto Wrecking for many years. Bertgraduated from Albany Union HighSchool in 1968. He served two yearsin Vietnam and, on his return home,he married Anne Barrand. They laterdivorced. He received his Auto BodyTechnician Degree from Long BeachCity College (LBCC) and continuedin the auto body business. A celebra-tion of life will be held at 2:00 pm onSaturday, May 31, 2014, at the VFWpost, 1469 Timber Street, Albany, NY.

Albert ‘Bert’ Riley Moss II ofAlbany, NY, Passes at 64 Auto body technician Anthony E.

Ciaburri Jr., 47, of Great Kills, NY,died at home on April 28, 2014.

Mr. Ciaburri was born inBrooklyn, NY, and raised in BayTerrace, NY. He relocated to GreatKills in 2013.

He attended Tottenville HighSchool and earned his GED certifi-

cate.During his 25

years in the autobody field, hewas employedby RichmondCounty Colli-sion, which wasowned by hisfather, AnthonyCiaburri Sr.

The funeral was held on May2, 2014.

Anthony E. Ciaburri Jr. ofGreat Kills, NY, Passes at 47

Crews battle fire in Hamden auto body shop.Courtesy of Hamden Fire Department viaTwitter

Joe Popowich

Albert ‘Bert’ Riley Moss IIAnthony E.Ciaburri Jr.

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Place an ad in ourAUTOBODY MARKETPLACEsection of Autobody News.

Collision Systems and 1CollisionNetwork announced two “Thriving ina Consolidating Marketplace” work-shops, will take place at the Wingateby Wyndham in Indianapolis, IN, onJune 10th, 2014 and Chicago, IL, onJune 12th, 2014 at the Holiday Inn-Rolling Meadows. The program is de-signed for dealer, single and multiplelocation collision shop owners, man-agers, and marketing staff who are in-terested in discovering new ways tothrive in a consolidated, DRP, web,social, and mobile world.

Attendees will be introduced tostrategies, tactics, and technology thatwill help them be more successful ingaining market share, and competingwith the regional and national chains.Attendees will also learn how theycan use the latest sales, marketing,customer retention and referral tech-nologies and techniques to capture,service and retain more customers,revenue and profit in a consolidatingmarketplace.

Attendees will receive 14 creditsfrom the Automotive Management In-stitute (AMI) toward their AccreditedAutomotive Manger Designation(AAM). Registration is $179.00 untilregistration closes June 5th.

‘Thriving in a ConsolidatingMarketplace’ Events: IN & IL



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A fire that broke out around 4:30pm on May 1, 2014, sent emergencycrews to Isenberg’s Auto Bodymorein McKees Rocks, PA.

A worker using a blowtorch inthe back lot reportedly caught a caron fire. The flames then spread tothe building.

Five cars were destroyed, butfirefighters were able to prevent thefire from spreading to a dry cleanernext door.

No injuries were reported.Firefighters brought the situation

under control shortly after 5:00 pm.

Car Fire Spreads to BodyShop in McKees Rocks, PA

Carubba Collision is Long Time Sponsor of New York StateGolden Gloves BoxingCarubba Collision sponsored theNew York State Golden Gloves fi-nals, which were held on April 26,2014, at the Tralf Music Hall indowntown Buffalo, NY.

Over 160 boxers throughout thestate in the sub-novice, open class(male and female), and masters divi-sion bouts all participated at the

championships in Buffalo. When thefinal bell rang, 25 new Golden GloveChampions were crowned. Makingthe formal ceremonial presentationsof the awards to the winners andstepping into the ring to do the hon-ors was Carubba Collision presidentJoe Carubba.

“Joe Carubba has been a tremen-dous supporter of amateur boxing andthe Golden Gloves for a long time,”said Don Patterson, NYS GoldenGloves president. “Without the sup-port of Carubba Collision, it would beimpossible to put on this tournament,which benefits thousands of kids inWestern New York,” added Patterson.

“I believe in what the GoldenGloves stands for, and I’m proud tosupport this longstanding Americanboxing tradition,” said Joe Carubba.“These tournaments help teach kids somuch about discipline, respect, dedi-cation, and sportsmanship,” Carubbasaid.

On April 28, 2014, Corporal Moritzof the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’sOffice responded to Mas Auto Bodyin Mechanicsville, MD, for a civildispute, which turned into a distur-

bance.Per the owner

of the business,David Lee GatesJr., 54, of Me-chanicsvi l le ,was served witha notice not totrespass on theproperty.

Corporal Moritz then advisedGates to leave the property and herefused.

Gates was placed under arrestand transported to the St. Mary’sCounty Detention Center.

He was charged with trespass-ing on private property and failingto obey a lawful order.

Argument at Maryland AutoBody Shop Leads to Arrest

On May 7, 2014, CollisionMax, anauto body and glass repair companywith 11 shops in Pennsylvania andNew Jersey, announced that it willcontinue its Metal of Honor Projectfor a second year. Through the pro-gram, CollisionMax gives one freeauto body repair per month to a vet-eran of the United States ArmedForces for each of its repair centersin the Delaware Valley.

“This is our way of honoringand saying thank you to the men andwomen who have put their lives onthe line to defend our country,” saidJim Tornetta, president of Collision-Max. “Every man or woman whoserved in any branch of the military is

eligible. Our only regret is that thereare so many more worthy veteransout there than we can reach.”

CollisionMax selects honoreesfrom nominations submitted by thepublic at MetalofHonorProject.com.The site is now accepting nomina-tions for all 11 CollisionMax shops,and will accept nominations through-out the next 11 months for all shopsyet to give an award. The nominationdeadline for each shop is:

Glassboro, NJ: May 30, 2014Oxford Valley, PA: June 27, 2014Warminster, PAL July 25, 2014Blackwood, NJ: August 29, 2014Sicklerville, NJ: September 26,

2014Westmont, NJ: October 31, 2014NE Philadelphia, PA (Retail):

November 28, 2014Pennsauken, NJ: December 26,

2014Cinnaminson, NJ: January 30,

2015Marlton, NJ: February 27, 2015NE Philadelphia, PA (Fleet):

March 27, 2015

Each date is a Friday; nominationswill be accepted until midnight.

CollisionMax Renews ‘Metal of Honor’ Project for 2nd Year,Giving No-Cost Auto Body Repairs to 11 Military Veterans

Jerry McMullin of Bensalem, PA, left, a 2013winner of a Metal of Honor free auto bodyrepair, with Rich Tornetta of CollisionMax

(Photo Credit: NewsChopper 2/KDKA

David Lee Gates Jr.

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Job Corps is offering free technicaltraining to 16- to 24-year-olds in autobody repair careers. The program in-cludes up to two years of educationand training, campus housing, meals,and other services. There is no cost foreligible students. A student may alsoget a New York State High SchoolEquivalency at the same time theytrain for a career at Job Corps. Call315-478-5529 for eligibility require-ments and to register.

19 students from the Wilkes-BarreCareer and Technical Center AutoBody class are restoring an Ar-mored Personnel Carrier (APC), avehicle that carried troops into bat-tle. The students hope to have theAPC ready and in place at Moffatand River Streets in Plains, PA, byMemorial Day on May 26, 2014.

Job Corps Offers Free Auto BodyCareer Training in Utica, NY

PA Auto Body Students Restorean Armored Personnel Carrier

When a tow truck brought a beat-up,windowless black Volkswagen toPrestige Auto Spa in Rochelle Park,NJ, the mechanics didn’t think any-thing of it.

But when mechanic Moe Tantawent to check out the car on May 2,2014, he heard infant-like wails com-ing from the vehicle.

Three kittens—still toothless,their eyes barely open—were curledup in the back seat, crying.

Bashar Orfali, the shop’s ownerand a mechanic, brought the weeks-old kittens into the office. Orfali, who

has a cat at home, soon became aleading caregiver to the shop’s newresidents, giving them once-a-daybaths in the sink and feeding themevery few hours.

Until the kittens are more inde-pendent, the employees take turnsfeeding them every two hours.Orfali stops in on the weekends,too.

More than anything, the kit-tens have proven to be a joy forthe shop employees and cus-tomers, who play with the kittenswhile waiting for their cars.

Orfali said he knows severalpeople interested in taking the kit-tens once they are older, but hedoes not want to see the twobrothers and sister separated.

“If we can keep them here,we’ll do that,” Orfali said.

Newborn Kittens Soften Up Rochelle Park, NJ,Body Shop Mechanics

In May 2014, the Long Island Auto BodyRepairmen’s Association (LIABRA)hosted their monthly member meeting aswell as a special repair seminar. Theirmonthly meeting was held at 8PM onTuesday, May 13th at Touch of ClassCollision, located at 120 E. HawthorneAve, Valley Stream, NY, 11580. Mem-bers resumed their conversation aboutsales tax audits on auto body shops.They also covered an I-CAR aware-ness event and held a presentation onUnderstanding Auto Body IndustryLawsuit Issues.

On Saturday, May 10th, LIABRA’sspecial repair seminar was also held atTouch of Class Collision, beginning at

8:30AM. The six-hour Advanced Dam-age Analysis and Estimating Seminarfeatured presenter Larry Montanez ofP&L Consultants. Seminar topics in-cluded an Overview of Substrates, De-sign and Usage; New Joining Methods;Mainstream Aluminum Vehicles; anOverview of P-Page Logic; AdvancedP-Page Topics; and Negotiations, Op-tions, the Law and Dispelling Myths.Additionally, Montanez used three casestudies to review class pre-work esti-mates, provided an overview of damageanalysis and taught about writing dam-age reports from a hands-on approach.

Contact them at www.liabra.comor 631-941-9647.

LIABRA Monthly Meeting and Repair Seminar

Bashar Orfali, owner of Prestige Auto Spa, bottlefeeds one of the kittens. Amy Newman / staffphotographer

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According to the complaint, “De-fendant Insurers and Conspirator In-surers, through various means but, inparticular, their DRP relationships,have created an artificial market ratefor repairs (the prevailing rate) that hasbeen imposed upon repair facilitiesthroughout the country (DRP and non-DRP), and has enabled Defendant In-surers and Conspirator Insurers toartificially suppress compensation torepair facilities for insured collision re-pairs.”

Attorney Steven L. Bloch ofBerger & Montague PC, representingCrawford’s Auto Center, said that thesuit was filed in Illinois for strategicpurposes, as “several of the defen-dants are based in Illinois and con-duct a great deal of their businesseither in Illinois or emanating fromIllinois.”

“I think it speaks for itself,” Blochsaid to a media source by phone. Itstems from “the artificial establishmentand perpetuation of a so-called prevail-ing rate, which is used to suppress com-pensation to collision repair facilities.”

Filing under the Racketeer Influ-enced and Corrupt Organizations Act(RICO), the suit accuses the defendantinsurers of “long-running unlawfulconduct to suppress compensation” toshops.

The complaint states that, “De-fendant Insurers conducted the re-spective enterprises through a patternof racketeering activity by fraudu-lently establishing and misrepresent-ing the prevailing rate for collisionrepairs to vehicles covered by insur-ance, including: (1) hourly labor rates;(2) reimbursement for “paint and ma-terials”; (3) the scope and extent ofcompensable repairs; and (4) partsprices.”

The injury to plaintiffs is “under-compensation for collision repairwork and services on vehicles coveredby insurance, including the suppres-sion of hourly labor rates, suppressionof compensation for “paint and mate-rials”, suppression of compensationfor parts, and suppression of compen-sation for the scope and extent of therepair procedures performed.

The complaint also alleges that“Defendant Insurers have made falseand misleading representations of

in exchange for bribes. She allegedlycollected thousands of dollars in cashfrom February 2011 to December 2013.For extra cash, Parsley allegedly alsogave the tow-truck operators the namesand addresses of vehicle owners.

A few years ago, “in response to aseries of highly publicized, violent en-counters between tow truck operators,”the city instituted a rotational towingprogram “to stop wreck chasing and toprevent accident victims from beingtaken advantage [of] by tow truck op-erators who engaged in price gouging,”the indictment says.

The rotational system was insti-tuted in 2011 after the series of highlypublicized, violent encounters amongtow-truck operators competing forbusiness. In one case in September2010, a Philadelphia tow-truck driverkilled a rival operator.

K&B, on Kinsey Street near Worth,was on the rotation list.

Flowers gave Parsley $100 to$150 a week in exchange for the loca-tions of auto accidents from February2011 to December 2013. Cheesemanallegedly made weekly payments of

$100 to $200 to Parsley from Sep-tember 2012 to December 2013, ac-cording to the indictment. Harrisallegedly paid Parsley about $200about once a week from April to Oc-tober 2013.

Police said Parsley, a civilian em-ployee, is being suspended for 30 dayswith the intent to dismiss.

Under the Police Department’s ro-tational-towing program, a dispatcheris first supposed to alert the next tow-truck operator on a call list about thelocation where a tow is needed.

Parsley’s lawyer, Jonathan J. Sobel,said that he and his client “haven’t gonethrough the indictment yet” and will be“looking to resolve the charges with thebest results possible for Ms. Parsley.”

Fortunato “Fred” Perri Jr., Cheese-man’s lawyer, said, “We’re still re-viewing the facts and circumstances ofthe indictment and any other allegationsmade by the government.” He addedthat “Mr. Cheeseman has been a well-respected member of the business com-munity for the past couple of decades.”Both lawyers reiterated the not guiltypleas. Harris’ lawyer, Anna Durbin, de-clined to comment. Gregory Pagano,Flowers’ lawyer, did not return a callfrom the paper.


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PA Shop’s RICO

See PA Shop’s RICO, Page 16

by Ed Attanasio

Peter Lock has been a collision repairprofessor at Contra Costa College(CCC) in San Pablo, CA since 1979,long before most of his current stu-dents were ever born. It’s been a greatride and a highly satisfying journeyfor this 58 year-old devotee to the col-

lision industry andhis students. Ahands-on professorwho connects tohis students by car-ing about them andshowing it, Lock isstarting to thinkabout retirement ashe looks back at 35years in the role.

The auto serv-ices department atCCC trains peoplehow to be autoservice technicians,

customizers, body repair specialists,mechanics, painters, damage apprais-ers, collision repair technicians, partstechnicians and smog technicians. Theschool offers a two-year, four-semes-ter program in either auto repair colli-sion repair technology or automechanics, Lock said. Each semesterconsists of a combination of classroomteaching and hands-on laboratory stud-ies.

It seems like a long time ago,Lock said, but he still remembers hisearly years as a rookie teacher vividly,“I started teaching here when I was 23and things weren’t as high-tech backthen. For one, there weren’t very manyauto tech schools around like there arenow. Almost everyone had to start atthe bottom and learn the business thatway, by doing it themselves. I tell mystudents that learning never ends justbecause you graduate or get a job. I’velearned at least 10 times more than Iknew when I first started this job andthat’s been one of the great thingsabout it.”

Lock came to CCC initially as astudent himself to learn how to be abody and paint tech in 1973. Upongraduation, he was immediately hiredby a series of body shops where he didboth body and paint for five years, be-fore he started teaching at CCC. Theautomotive repair department waslimping along at that point, Lock said.

“I started out teaching just onenight class, but I could see right away

that the program was struggling tokeep open and I was hired to keep itgoing, for one. Back then there weren’tmany qualified teachers. Some peoplehad the industry experience, but I hada degree and that’s why I got the job.The opportunity was there and the wayit all came together was pure luck. Itell my students that when you get ashot, take advantage of it and seize thatmoment, because you may not ever getanother one.”

Before Lock could be a teacher atCCC, he had to take a 60-hour teachertraining class, held at UC Berkeley aspart of its continuing education pro-gram. It was one day he will never for-get, he said. “I was running late thatday and rushing home to get ready formy first training class. When I walkedin the front door, the phone rang and itwas someone telling me that my fatherhad just died from a massive heart at-tack. So, I had to decide—do I go tothis class or stay home so that every-one can come over and grieve? I askedmyself, what would my dad want meto do? And I know he would havewanted me to attend that class. So,here I was sitting in this class gettingready for an occupation for which Iknew absolutely nothing and my fa-ther had just died one hour before. Itwas a challenging time.”

During those 60 hours of train-ing, Lock decided that he was goingto make his classes fun and interac-tive, without spoon feeding his stu-dents information they couldn’t use,he said. “I could see that teaching wasgoing to be fun, mainly because I wasgoing to make it fun. I knew if I juststood up there and said a bunch ofstuff, I could lose the students ratherquickly. So I came up with ways to en-gage them without talking down tothem or making them feel like it was aone-way thing.”

The auto repair classrooms andlaboratories at Contra Costa Collegeconsist of two separate facilitiesunder one roof, Lock said. The colli-sion repair department covers 10,000square feet and has 75 students en-rolled in its program, he said, and the6,000-square-foot mechanical repairdepartment has an enrollment of 65students. CCC offers the I-CAR In-dustrial Training Alliance program,one of only two post-secondaryschools in California to do so, Locksaid. The school recently won a$50,000 grant for its excellence andused the money to buy a paint simu-lator and other much-needed things,like new desks.

The steady growth of the auto re-pair industry in Northern Californiaand the advent of new technology havekept the department at CCC healthyand flourishing, according to Lock. Ap-proximately 2,600 students have comethrough his department in 3.5 decadesand one of the best parts of the job iswhen his graduates reach out to sharetheir success stories.”Sometimes theycall excited to tell me they just got a jobat a body shop,” he said. “They call to

say thank you and that really means alot. We teach them how to fix cars, butwe also instill in them a work ethic andalso stress the satisfaction of doing ajob right.”

Many of Lock’s former studentsare now body shop owners and theyoften contact Lock periodically to in-quire about hiring some of his currentstudents upon graduation, he added. “Inow also have second-generation stu-dents entering our program and if Istick around long enough, I imagineI’ll start seeing some third-generationfuture techs coming through here.”

Although he doesn’t have firmplans yet for stepping down, retire-ment is surely in Lock’s rear viewmirror, he explained. “I want tomake sure that the program is strongbefore I retire. Until last year, I wasalso the Chairman of the AutomotiveTechnology Department at CCC, ajob we handed off to Lucille Beatty,so that I can focus on teaching,which I really love the most. I knowI can be replaced and that’s okay, butI want to be certain that the depart-ment is still thriving when I hand offthe reins.”


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35 Years Dedicated to Teaching Tomorrow’s Techs in California

Peter Lock today is a lot wiser, a little grayerand truly grateful for an amazing 35-yearteaching career

Peter Lock as asenior in high school,before attending

Contra Costa Collegeto become a bodyand paint tech andeventually becominga lifelong instructorat the school


by Chasidy Rae Sisk

Established in 1955, Mid-Island Colli-sion in Rockville Centre on Long Island,NY, received a makeover earlier thisyear when owner Robert Jesberger ex-panded his state-of-the-art facility to in-clude the building across the street,making his shop one of the largest inde-

pendent shops in the country at 85,000square feet. Renovations are still inprogress to turn the second floor of thenew building into an on-site trainingcenter for technicians and insurance per-sonnel. Jesberger strives to ensure his fa-cility is amongst the best in the nationbecause this industry is so important tohim—“I bleed this business!”

When the Mercedes-Benz dealer-ship directly across the street fromMid-Island Collision closed down in2013, Jesberger saw an opportunity toexpand his 35,000 square foot facilitywith the added benefit of ensuring theabandoned building was put to gooduse instead of allowing it to fall intodilapidation. Though the economy andcollision repair business has seen asignificant downturn over the pastseveral years, Jesberger purchased thefour-acre property with its 50,000square foot shop and turned the for-mer dealership into a collision repaircenter which he feels complements hisoriginal business quite well.

When questioned about whatmakes Mid-Island Collision so uniquecompared to other shops, Jesbergerrefers to the appearance of his shop it-self: “not too many shops look like this.We’re not a MSO, yet we’re one of thehighest dollar shops in the country. Evendealerships are putting their cars in ourfront room to promote their products!”

With around 70 employees, Mid-Island Collision repairs hundreds of ve-hicles each month, totaling well over200,000 vehicles repaired since the shop

opened in 1955. The facility also offerstowing and storage services, and theyhave received factory certifications from“every manufacturer that offers a certi-fication,” Jesberger states. Jesbergertakes pride in the fact that his employeeshave all been trained on factory require-ments and equipment, and he believes“no one else in the U.S. has more train-ing than we do.” Yet, he plans to addmore.

Now that the shop’s constructionhas been completed and the facility isfully operational, Jesberger has di-rected his attention to the second floorof his newly acquired building. Previ-ously used as a call center, the 50,000

square foot upstairs portion of the fa-cility is already set up with officespace, so Jesberger is currently work-

ing out the details of his involvementwith Axalta Coating Systems in orderto offer on-site training monthly. Healso plans to hold some manufactur-ers’ training in the facility.

Mid-Island Collision utilizes Ax-alta’s waterborne systems and havemade other efforts to run a green facil-ity. Jesberger proudly states, “we aregreen all the way. We were among thefirst in the country to transition to wa-terborne paints, and we take great carein our solid waste disposal and otherrecycling efforts.


Mid-Island Collision Seizes Opportunity, Plans to Open Training Center

See Mid-Island Collision, Page 16

Robert Jesberger at his desk job

Mid-Island Collision recently expanded to includethe building across the street from their originallocation

Several local high-end dealerships displaytheir wares in Mid-Island’s reception area


An alarmingly more prevalent concernin the collision repair industry is insur-ers’ use of camera phone photos forwriting estimates. Rather than having li-censed physical property damage ap-praisers physically inspect a vehicleafter a collision, many insurance com-panies, including AllState, State Farmand MetLife, are asking their customersto submit camera phone pictures of thedamage, and they are using these pho-tos to write their estimates. AttorneyJohn Parese, who acts as legal counselfor the Auto Body Association of Con-necticut (ABAC), believes “the growingtrend of using camera phone picturesprior to getting a repair professional in-volved is illegal, unethical, and most im-portantly, harmful to consumers.”

Furthermore, Parese notes thatthis practice violates the CT Unfair In-surance Practices Act (CUIPA) and po-tentially other consumer protectionlaws. As such, Parese has written to theCT Insurance Department outlining his

concerns on behalf of the ABAC, inaddition to writing an article forABAC’s member newsletter whichemphasizes the possible dangers ofthis new habit and why he believes itshould be declared unlawful.

In his letter to the Insurance De-partment, Parese highlights portions ofCUIPA that define unfair insurer prac-tices as misrepresentations of facts andcompelling insureds to settle a claimfor less than the value of the repair.Though the benefits for insurers towrite estimates based on camera phonephotos are obvious, it creates the haz-ard of such estimates only capturing afraction of the actual damage and thusencompassing only a portion of thecost to restore the vehicle to its pre-loss condition, and this is especiallydangerous when claimants pocket thecheck instead of paying for the repairs,a common practice that is certain to in-crease when consumers believe thedamage is purely cosmetic. Parese’s

concern is that “many of these vehiclesare not safe to be put back on the road,and the safety of a vehicle often cannotbe assessed from a camera phone pic-ture.”

Because claims are being paidbased on claimant-taken photos whichcannot possibly depict the full extent ofdamages, Parese sees this practice as “afundamental misrepresentation of pol-icy or third-party rights and benefits...Insurers have a legal and often fiduci-ary responsibility to make fair andcomplete payments for covered losses.This system is plainly designed to saveinsurers money on its own labor costs(ie. less paid appraisers) and on theamount it ultimately pays on claims (ie.calculated underpayment of claims).These savings come at the expense ofconsumer safety and complete reim-bursement.”

In his article for ABAC’s newslet-ter, Parese argues that using cameraphone pictures to write an estimate be-

fore involving a repair professional inthe process appears unethical and ille-gal based on CT’s unfair insurancepractices law. In addition to safety andlegal concerns, Parese also acknowl-edges that collision repair facilitiessuffer from this practice because theyare losing work on these needed re-pairs that insurers are arbitrarily dis-missing through the practice of writingestimates based on photos which canonly capture cosmetic damages.

Parese hopes that the issues hehas raised will convince the CT Insur-ance Department to prohibit insurersfrom engaging in this unethical prac-tice in his state. Unfortunately, his bat-tle only encompasses the state of CT,and though he is unfamiliar with thelaws in other states, he encouragestrade associations across the countryto investigate how this trend violatestheir state laws and to join the battleto protect consumers and the integrityof the collision repair industry.

ABAC Legal Counselor Objects to Use of Camera Phone Photos for Estimates

with Chasidy Rae SiskNortheast Associations

Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware,who writes on a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family ofNASCAR fans. She can be contacted at [email protected].

adamant about not letting State Farmdictate his parts-buying.

“They’re a force to be reckonedwith. You don’t want to argue withthem. But sometimes you have to standyour ground,” he said.

“They trusted me for 20 years,and now I’m nothing,” Johnson said ofState Farm. Johnson has repaired carsin Martinsville since 1982, said insur-ers are continually expanding theirlists of work they won’t fully pay for.That included no longer paying fullcost for installing corrosion protectioninside a bumper and doing fine sand-ing on body panel paint jobs, he said.

“They don’t tell you not to (per-form certain routine repair tasks),”Johnson said. “They just don’t pay forit. If they went to Wal-Mart, they’dpick up 10 things and they’d pay forsix. That’s the way they operate,” saidJohnson, who has joined the Indianalawsuit against the insurance compa-nies.

When insurers don’t cover the fullcost of repairs, “it’s such a difficultthing to pass on to a customer,” saidKevin Wells, who operates QualityCollision Inc. in Bloomington and is aplaintiff in the suit. Wells said he oftenjust eats the cost the insurance com-pany won’t pay. “I’m taking it in theshorts by about $6 an hour for everyjob I do,” Wells said.

Johnson said he’d be happy if in-surance companies dropped their ap-proved-shop lists and repair mandatesand paid for claims without dictatingthrough reimbursements how bodyshops like his should do their job.

“I don’t tell them how to sell insur-ance,” he said. “All I want to do is fixcars.”

Surveys Also Point of ContentionBody shops say State Farm conductssurveys of the going labor rate shopscharge in a given area. The data andmethodology are not disclosed, shopscomplain. “Shops are simply requiredto blindly accept State Farm’s pro-nouncements regarding these matters.”

The insurer attempts to prohibitshops from discussing the labor ratesthey provide as part of the surveys,“asserting any discussion may consti-tute illegal price fixing.”

Shops that complain the labor rateis inadequate are often told they are theonly body shop in the area to say so

and that they don’t conform to the“market rate.”

In fact, “State Farm knew multi-ple shops had attempted to raise theirlabor rates and advised State Farm ofsuch,” the suit alleges.

The shops allege insurers havefailed to abide by industry standardsfor auto repairs and repair-estimatingdatabases. At the same time, many in-surers pressure shops to reduce costsby using recycled parts. But used partslike doors can require hours of addi-tional labor to be made to fit properlyand to be reconditioned.

Ultimately, shops are required toeither make “less than quality” repairsor suffer a financial loss. Taking short-cuts raises the specter of safety issues,but once a vehicle is repaired, it’s noteasy to spot problems such as im-proper welds that might be hidden byseam sealer.

“The guys can’t make it. It’s notthat they are bad businesspeople,” saidScott Blake, of Blake’s Carstar Colli-sion Center in LaPorte and presidentof the IABA.

Insurers RespondThe insurance companies have re-sponded in kind in the media, defend-ing their DRP programs as a key wayto keep premiums on auto policiesunder control.

“These lawsuits are another at-tempt to undermine programs insurershave put together” to hold down vehi-cle repair costs, said Bob Passmore, aspokesman for the Property CasualtyInsurers Association of America, whichrepresents insurance companies.

“The programs have been around20-plus years, and they are time-tested.People like them. They achieve de-sired results” to get vehicles repairedquickly by repair shops vetted by theinsurer and at reasonable cost, he said.

“This suit has no merit and in noway accurately describes the businessrelationship State Farm has with thou-sands of body shops across the country,”said Missy Dundov, a spokeswomanfor State Farm.

Dundov said State Farm built itsSelect Service network by listing bodyshops that provide warranties on theirwork and meet performance standardsset by State Farm. But a State Farmcustomer is “free to choose the repairshop of his or her choice,” even if it’snot on the Select Service list, she said.When it comes to parts, Dundov said,State Farm’s “current business prac-tice” is to pay for non-factory-made

parts only in uses that don’t play a rolein crash protection—unless a customerrequests otherwise. If a body shop istold to install a used part, “we rely onthe repairer to inspect the part and en-sure that it is of sufficient quality to re-pair the vehicle properly,” she said.

Dundov said PartsTrader “createsa consistent approach to parts order-ing,” she said, and does so “at a com-petitive price, as quickly as possible.”Body shops overall have had a “quitepositive” reaction to the online order-ing system, Dundov said.

As for allegations in the lawsuitthat State Farm steers customers tobody shops in its Select Service net-work, Dundov said it’s up to customersto decide what body shop to use.

A spokesman for Progressive,Jeff Sibel, said, “We are aware of thenew litigation against us and believethat we can demonstrate the fairness inour claims practices at the appropriatetime.”

A GEICO spokeswoman, Chris-tine Tasher, said the company won’tcomment on pending litigation.

IABA Comments“There’s going to be a battle,” saysTony Passwater, executive director of

the Indiana Auto Body Association,the lead plaintiff. Passwater says thaton average, insurers won’t reimbursefor $550 to $750 worth of work on atypical repair job of $3,500, leaving itup to the body shop to pick up the un-paid costs. That $550 to $750 estimateof unreimbursed costs will likely beused by the body shops’ attorneys infiguring their damage claims againstthe insurers.

Passwater said the state once hadabout 2,000 shops; there are now 800to 1,000.

Passwater has been promoting thelawsuit among auto body shops aroundthe state and expects that the 24 cur-rent plaintiffs will swell by 15 to 20 inthe next several months.

But some shop owners, he said,are reluctant to join because “they’reconcerned about any retribution the in-surance companies might do.”

Plaintiff’s AttorneyEaves said he thinks the numerouslawsuits he and co-counsel are filingcould eventually be consolidated inone court. He said he expects to pres-ent testimony from “whistle-blowers”who worked for insurance companies



Shops’ Accusations

See Shops’ Accusations, Page 16


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fact, and concealed and omitted factsregarding the prevailing rates for in-sured collision repair services andcompensable repair procedures.”

Dick Luedke, spokesman forState Farm, told a media source thathis company believes the suit has no

merit, like in other suits filed by col-lision repairers in recent months.

“This suit has no merit and in noway accurately describes the businessrelationship State Farm has withthousands of body shops across thecountry,” stated Luedke.

and will give evidence of collusionamong companies in their businesstactics.

But the litigation could be fierce,Eaves said.”We’re anticipating exten-sive pushback. They’re making bil-lions of dollars by these practices and

they’re not willing to give it up easily.”Eaves said several insurance compa-nies have approached him to ask aboutsettling the claims to avoid lengthy lit-igation and a possible high-stakes jurytrial. “We are already in discussionwith three insurance companies thatare willing to discuss resolving it. Iwas kind of shocked. I never had acase where somebody came so quicklyand wanted out.”


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Mid-Island Collision wasfounded in 1955 by Vincent Brett,but Jesberger took the business overin 1987 and has worked tirelessly totransform the collision repair facilityinto a cornerstone of the communitythrough his support of various worthycauses, including the Wounded War-rior Project, the Interfaith NutritionNetwork, Island Cares, Island Har-vest, and other food pantries.

Although Mid-Island Collision islauded as a cornerstone of the commu-nity for their charitable contributions,Jesberger insists, “we don’t do enough –we need to do a lot more! I built this

business on Godly service and need todo my duty.” He explains that there is astark contrast between the haves and thehave-nots on Long Island and lack offood is a huge problem. As such, Mid-Island Collision tries to ease this burdenby participating in food drives year-round, not just during the holiday season.The shop also supports charities focusedon aiding the underemployed and un-derpaid citizens in their community.

All of this sounds like plenty tooccupy the average Joe, but Jesbergeris anything but average… he has sev-eral more irons in his fire yet! As apro-consumer facility, Mid-IslandCollision does not participate in anyDRPs, and “we never will,” Jesbergeremphasizes. “When you’re paid like aprostitute, that’s how you work—just

a quick in and out. How do you do aquality job when you’re restricted byinsurer mandates?”

Jesberger has no qualms about bat-tling insurance companies that don’twant to properly compensate him to re-pair vehicles to his high standards ei-ther. “When you have a bully, you cantry to run away and hide, but eventually,you have to hit them first. The worstpart of any fight isn’t the fight itself –it’s the fear and anticipation leading upto it, so just hit ‘em straight on! Insurersdon’t have an agenda for restoring a carto its pre-loss condition. How can an in-surer with no factory training tell uswhat needs to be done? That’s insane inthe membrane! We’ve received shortpays on anything and everything youcan imagine. My motto is ‘if you don’t

negotiate, we WILL litigate,’ and we’vebeen very successful with only a fewcases lost and hundreds won.”

Jesberger has been involved in thecollision repair industry since he was13 years old, so he has seen manychanges during that time. He notes thatthe advancements in technology andstandards is making the future of the in-dustry increasingly difficult “for 99%of shops, but 1% will stand out if theyare factory trained and equipped. Youhave to be at the top of your game.Many are called, but few are chosen!”

Mid-Island Collision20 Lakeview AvenueRockville Centre, NY 11570516-766-0101www.midislandcollision.com

Continued from Page 12

Mid-Island Collision


PA Shop’s RICOContinued from Page 14

Shops’ Accusations

www.autobodynews.comCHECK IT OUT!


dividuals affected by these actions, in-cluding consumers who are no longerinsured by GEICO, within 60 days.

The settlement requires GEICOto amend claim information reporting,implement new business practices toensure operators determined at-faultreceive notice of that determinationand their rights to appeal, and warrantthat data reported to the Merit RatingBoard is effective and timely. GEICOwill be subject to ongoing monitoringand a re-examination in the next twoyears, after which the commissionerwill levy or rescind the second fine.

Under the terms of the agree-

ment, GEICO must also:● Properly report past claim in-

formation to the Merit Rating Boardand other insurance carriers for claimsthat occurred between May 18, 2009,and June 1, 2013.

● Provide notice of at-fault accidentdeterminations and the right to appealthose determinations to operators not pre-viously notified of GEICO’s at-fault ac-cident determinations between May 18,2009, and June 1, 2013. Operators af-fected by this inconsistency in GEICO’sprior business practices will be allowedto appeal those determinations to the Di-vision’s Board of Appeal. Consumerswho elect to appeal will have their $50filing fee reimbursed by GEICO.

● Implement new business prac-tices to ensure that operators deter-

mined to be at-fault for accidents re-ceive timely notice of the determinationas well as an explanation of their rightsto appeal the determination.

● Routinely audit the effectivenessof new business practices designed toprevent errors and report the results tothe division over the next two years.

As I read your story entitled “EastCoast Resolution Forum and Leader-ship Meeting at Northeast 2014” writ-ten by Chasidy Rae Sisk and publishedin the April 2014 Mid-month newslet-ter, the following caught my eye:

‘Another conversation ensued aboutthe fact that recalls on aftermarket partsaren’t as closely monitored as OEM re-calls, creating a safety issue when shopsare unable to locate vehicles that havebeen fitted with recalled aftermarket parts.Ferraiolo circled back to the importanceof educating consumers so they can fighttheir own battles, mentioning the currentABAC campaign to educate consumers.’

While I am sure Ms. Sisk capturedthe conversation correctly, I would liketo comment on the issue raised duringthe conversation, an issue which is ofparticular interest in view of the recentGM ignition switch problem.

I wanted to call your attention toan article which came to my attentionrecently. I’m sending it as an FYI,background, if you wish, since theissue of an aftermarket part recall hascome up in Autobody News’s coverageof the East Coast Resolution Forum.The March 26, 2014 Reuters by BenKlaymen, Marilyn Thompson andJulia Edwards article (link below)clearly outlines the impossibility of, inthis case, GM to track a part. TheOEMs have no mechanism to identifythe channel of distribution of theirparts sold into the aftermarket. In fact,it appears as if they are not even surewhich new vehicles were built with thefaulty part. http://www.reuters.com/ar-ticle/2014/03/26/us-gm-recall-after-market-idUSBREA2P21620140326

While the article refers to the cur-rent recall involving a GM mechanicalpart and not a cosmetic external bodypart, the fact is that, unlike GM or otherOEMs, the collision repair aftermarkethas a mechanism for addressing recalls.

Every certified aftermarket part,whether certified by CAPA or NSF, isclearly designated so that it can betracked by the manufacturer to the dis-tributor. NSF certified distributors cantrack the parts to the exact collision repairshop. I believe that some distributors canalso track to the vehicle, if the shop hasprovided the R.O. or claim number, but Idon’t know how common that ability is.

In any event, the distributor candefinitely track the part to the shop, if notto the exact job. Ironically, while shopsoften erroneously allege that aftermarketparts cannot be recalled, as is reported tohave happened at the Forum, the fact isthe breakdown in the certified aftermar-ket part recall process, is between theshop and the vehicle owner. As you cansee, based on the information in theReuters article, the recall process for cer-tified aftermarket parts is far superior tothat of the OEMs—Karen [email protected]



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The series of storms that wreakedhavoc across much of the United Statesin April rank as the first billion-dollareconomic loss event of 2014 that canbe attributed to thunderstorms, accord-ing to Aon Benfield, the world’s lead-ing reinsurance intermediary’s monthlyGlobal Catastrophe Recap report. At

least 40 people were killed by flashflooding and severe weather during thestorms, which included nearly 70 con-firmed tornadoes across more than 20states in the Plains, Mississippi Valley,Southeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlanticregions.

Insured losses due to the multi-day outbreak will likely end up in thehundreds of millions of dollars, AonBenfield said.

Employees of Auto Glass Now inJackson, MS, escaped serious injury ordeath just minutes before a tornado lev-eled the automotive glass company onApril 28, according to regional man-ager John Ketchum. The shop waspretty much a total loss, but the com-pany has already leased a new buildingand is back in business already, he says.

“[Employees at the shop] calledme as I was on my way,” Ketchum ex-plains. “They were concerned becausethe weather was getting bad and tor-nado alerts were being issued. Theywere listening to the radio but none ofus realized the severity of the storm.When the alarms [warning sirens] wentoff, I told them to leave. About 20 min-utes later the building was gone. All wecould salvage was a chair.”

The employees are safe and theirhomes were not damaged, Ketchumadded, but one manager lost both fam-ily vehicles.

“Basically, I got there and saw allthe damage. I gathered everybody to-gether and assured them they still have

a job with us and they aren’t going any-where. I was lucky to find the building.I called the owner [Tony Hakimian]and told him the extent of the damage.He said to tell everybody we were tak-ing care of their pay for the week. Wedid not want them worrying. I took theemployees out to dinner and Tonybought these guys new tools,” he ex-plains.

Ketchum and the owner were ableto find a new building and sign a newlease quickly.

“We are so fortunate that wefound these people a new home for thebusiness. In about an hour we had anew lease signed,” he says. “The nextday the employees were back to work.We’re waiting for the phones to behooked up and we are almost ready todo mobile repair and replacements. Wehave vehicles being delivered today,”Ketchum says.

The tornado that leveled the facil-ity was part of a larger storm systemthat caused widespread destruction inthe state.

At least three tornados smashedhomes and businesses, flipped trucksover on highways and injured a still un-known number of people in Missis-sippi and Alabama as the massivestorm system passed over several statesin the South, also threatening to un-leash severe thunderstorms, damaginghail and flash floods.

FEMA reported that 15 of the 30tornadoes on April 27 struck Arkansas,with 5 in Iowa, 4 in Kansas, 3 in Ne-braska and one each in Louisiana, Mis-souri and Oklahoma.

People in the path of the systemwere on edge as the National WeatherService posted tornado watches andwarnings around Mississippi, Ten-nessee, Alabama and Georgia. Fore-casters said the system was the latestonslaught of severe weather that trig-gered deadly tornadoes in Arkansas,Oklahoma and Iowa on Sunday, killingat least 40 people.

Arkansas was the hardest-hit stateon the first day of the tornado outbreak,and an EF4 tornado roared through

Mayflower, Vilonia and other nearbytowns.

The storm was so huge it was vis-ible from space, photographed byweather satellites that showed tumul-tuous clouds arcing across much of the

South.The Florida Panhandle was hit

with up to two feet of rain in a 24 hourperiod causing widespread flooding,washing away roads, and requiring hel-icopter and boat rescues. Florida Gov.Rick Scott said that officials receivedaround 300 calls for rescue from

stranded residents. A 10-mile stretch ofI-10 was closed due to flooding, leav-ing people stranded for hours. Gov.Rick Scott declared a state of emer-gency for the panhandle due to the im-pacts.

Aon Benfield also attrib-uted economic losses of $950million to a large hailstormthat hit the Denton, Texasmetro area in April, an eventthat generated insured lossesof about $650 million. Thatstorm also caused widespreaddamage in parts of the Plains,Midwest and Mississippi Val-ley.

According to remarks madein February by Insurance In-formation Institute presidentRobert Hartwig, 80% ofU.S. natural disaster related

insurance claims’ payouts in 2013 wasattributable to tornadoes and severethunderstorms, accounting for $10.27billion. Oklahoma incurred the mostdamages due to tornadoes last year,Hartwig said, with nearly $2 billion inpayouts, many of which were from aseries of tornadoes in May 2013.


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Deadly Tornados Caused by Massive Storm Hitting 20 States, At Least 40 Deaths, $1 Billion in Damages

Michael Harrell, left, of J&J Towing holds up a tow cablebefore attaching it to a flooded car that was swept offFairfield Avenue by torrential rains and deposited in aditch as fellow employee Charles Thomas assists froman inflatable boat in Pensacola, FL, on April 30, 2014.(Photo: G.M. Andrews)

An injunction by Florida shop owner RayGunder that aimed to block State Farm In-surance’s rollout of the PartsTrader partsprocurement system in Florida was neverfiled in Polk County, FL, Court as waspreviously reported by Autobody Newsand other news outlets. Attorney John

Eaves Jr. announced in November at anindustry meeting in Florida that an in-junction was being filed on behalf of Gun-der. The Alliance of Automotive ServiceProviders of Illinois later issued a releasestating that the injunction was filed onNov. 20. Stay tuned for more information.

Gunder Suit Against State Farm Not Filed As Reported


A federal judge in Louisiana grantedthe defendants’ motion to dismiss alawsuit brought by a distributor ofnon-OEM parts that alleged GeneralMotor’s price matching program wasanti-competitive. The suit, Felder’sCollision Parts v. General MotorsCompany et. al. was originally filedagainst GM and the Allstar Automo-tive Group, an OEM dealer.

The initial complaint, filed in Oc-tober 2012, said the program, whichrequires dealerships to ‘sell OEMparts below dealer cost,’ is a violationof the Sherman Act, the Robinson-Pat-man Act (which prohibits anticompet-itive pricing) as well as the Louisianaunfair trade practices and anti-trustlaws. Court documents describe an-titrust, monopoly, and predatory pric-ing concerns.

Felder’s Collision alleged thatGM and original-equipment partsdistributors such as All Star Auto-motive Group engaged in illegal“predatory pricing” practices to un-dercut aftermarket prices and driveaftermarket competitors out of busi-ness. The suit alleges violations offederal and state antitrust and state

consumer protection regulations.As Autobody News reported

last June, U.S. District Judge JamesBrady granted Felder’s motion tofile an amended complaint. We in-correctly reported that the full com-plaint had been dismissed. Ratherthe judge denied the Defendants’Motion to Dismiss and allowed thesuit to proceed.

However, in the current orderJudge Brady ruled that Felder’samended complaint failed to ade-quately plead its case that the de-fendants violated federal antitrustlaws or engaged in predatory pric-ing. On the antitrust claim, the judgeruled that complaint did not prop-erly define the geographic market.

“Felder’s would like this Courtto believe that at the heart of thiscase ‘is a fundamental legal ques-tion—whether the All Star Defen-dants’ practice of selling parts tocollision centers and body shops ata price below the cost paid to GMfor a particular part constitutespredatory pricing.’ However, whatis fundamental to any antitrustanalysis is a proper definition of the

relevant market and a defendant’spower to detrimentally effect com-petition therein. Indeed, this inquiryinto both market definition and mar-ket power is fundamental to prop-erly evaluating the plausibility of apredatory pricing scheme.

The amended complaint onlylisted portions of Louisiana and Mis-sissippi as the geographic market.

Beyond concerns about the geo-graphic market defined in the com-plaint, the judge also ruled that theamended complaint failed to properlyplead a predatory pricing scheme.

The ruling states, “After re-viewing the Amended Complaint,the Court finds that Felder’s hasfailed to amend to allege below-costpricing pursuant to the Fifth Circuitstandard as instructed by the Courtin its previous ruling. Therefore,even if Felder’s had sufficiently pledthe relevant geographic market, itwould still have failed to properlyplead a predatory pricing scheme.”

Representing the Plaintiff is thelaw firm Sher, Garner, Cahill, Richter,Klein and Herbert LLC of New Or-leans.


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Judge Dismisses Suit Against GM’s Aftermarket Part Price Matching Program Toyota’s Relocation of USHeadquarters to Plano, TXToyota Motor Corp.’s relocation of its U.S.headquarters to Plano, Texas, may bring $7.2billion of economic activity to the area over10 years, according to an analysis for the city.

The figure includes $4.2 billion frompayroll, along with direct and indirectspending, and sales and property tax rev-enue, according to the analysis by GrantThornton LLP, a Chicago-based audit, taxand advisory company. The report was re-leased May 12, when the city, a Dallas sub-urb, approved incentives for the company.

The world’s largest carmaker said lastmonth that it would consolidate U.S. sales, en-gineering and finance operations to Texas,moving jobs from California, New York andKentucky. By 2018, the company could have3,650 full-time workers in Plano at an aver-age salary of $104,000, according to the re-port.

Plano approved $6.75 million of grantsfor the company, along with discounts on prop-erty taxes. The state is offering $40 million ofincentives. Carly Schaffner, a Toyota spokes-woman, said in an e-mail that the company ap-preciates support from Plano and its residents.The company is “committed to being a modelcorporate citizen,” Schaffner said.

Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentzsaid “It became clear to me that, althoughthe four-affiliate structure worked in thepast, it was going to get into our way in thefuture.”


At Port Hueneme, near Los Angeles,Hyundai’s Tucson Fuel Cell CUVsbegan rolling onto U.S. soil May 20,marking the first delivery of a mass-produced fuel cell vehicle for the U.S.market. The first retail sale of the Tuc-son Fuel Cell is expected within thenext several weeks in Southern Cali-fornia. Under the Hyundai leasingprogram, approved lessees can driveHyundai’s next-generation TucsonFuel Cell for just $499 per month, in-cluding unlimited free hydrogen refu-eling and “At Your Service” valetmaintenance at no extra cost.

For the first time, retail con-sumers can now put a mass-produced,federally-certified hydrogen fuel cellvehicle in their driveways, with avail-ability at three select southern Califor-nia Hyundai dealers: Tustin Hyundai,Win Hyundai in Carson, and HardinHyundai in Anaheim.

“Hydrogen-powered fuel cell ve-hicles represent the next generation ofzero-emission electric vehicle tech-nology, and we’re proud of our lead-ership role in this important segmentof the alternative fuel vehicle market,”

said Mike O’Brien, vice president,corporate and product planning,Hyundai Motor America.

“The range and refueling time ofour Tucson Fuel Cell compare favor-ably with gasoline vehicles, makingthem a seamless transition from tradi-tional gasoline-powered vehicles.We’re excited to provide customers inSouthern California a way to transi-tion to a zero-emission vehicle withminimal compromises.

The Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cellwill initially be offered to customers inthe Los Angeles/Orange County region

for a 36-month term at $499 per month,with $2,999 down. This includes theaddition of a remarkable new additionto the Hyundai Assurance program –unlimited free hydrogen refueling.Consumers have shown strong interestin the Tucson Fuel Cell leasing oppor-tunity, with over 200,000 unique visi-tors to the Tucson Fuel Cell micrositeat hyundaiusa.com/tucsonfuelcell.

Tucson Fuel Cell owners willenjoy all the same services of theHyundai Equus “At Your Service”valet program. As Equus ownershave enjoyed since its introduction in2010, should a Tucson Fuel Cell re-quire any service, a Hyundai dealerwill pick up the vehicle and providea loan vehicle, then return the carafter service to their home or busi-ness, at no charge.

First Mass-Produced Fuel Cell Vehicles Arrive on US Soil, Free Fuel-Cell ‘Refills’ from Hyundai, Range Compares to Gas Vehicles

Farmers filed nine class actions inApril against nearly 200 communitiesin the Chicago area. It is arguing thatlocal governments should have knownrising global temperatures would leadto heavier rains and did not do enoughto fortify their sewers and stormwaterdrains. The legal debate may center onwhether an uptick in natural disastersis foreseeable or an “act of God.” Thecases raise the question of how citygovernments should manage theirbudgets before costly emergenciesoccur. “We will see more and morecases,” said Michael Gerrard, direc-tor of the Center for Climate ChangeLaw at Columbia Law School in NewYork. “No one is expected to plan forthe 500-year storm, but if horribleevents are happening with increasingfrequency, that may shift the duties.”Gerrard and other environmental lawexperts say the suits are the first oftheir kind. Lawyers for the localitieswill argue government immunity pro-tects them from prosecution, saidDaniel Jasica of the State's Attorney'sOffice in Lake County, which is namedin the Illinois state court suit. “If thesetypes of suits are successful - where isthe money going to come from to paythe lawsuits? The taxpayers,” he said.

Farmers Insurance’s ClassAction on Climate Change

Hyundai’s Tucson Fuel Cell CUVs began rollingonto U.S. soil, marking the first delivery of amass-produced fuel cell vehicle for the U.S.market. (image credit: Hyundai Motor America)

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The Southern Automotive RepairConference (SARC) took place at theBeau Rivage Resort and Casino inBiloxi, MS, April 11 and 12, 2014.With six state associations collaborat-ing to host the event, expectations hadset the bar high, and no one was dis-appointed!

Steve Plier, executive director ofthe Alabama Automotive Repair Soci-ety of Excellence (ALARISE) whohosted the first SARC in 2012, was“pleased with the conference. Thiswas the first year that we had six stateassociations working together, and wealso had visitors from eastern Texaswho are considering forming an asso-ciation in their area. I think that we all

realize that theonly way to effectthe change neededin this industry isby providing colli-sion repair indus-try professionalswith the opportu-nity and means to

educate themselves on business prin-ciples and to remain abreast of thetraining and equipment necessary torepair vehicles in light of ever-chang-ing technology.”

The first SARC was held in 2012with most attendees coming from AL,but when ALARISE worked with theMississippi Collision Repair Associa-tion (MSCRA) in 2013, attendancespiked to around 250 industry profes-sionals, including some attendeesfrom FL and GA. By including fouradditional associations in 2014,SARC more than doubled attendancewith nearly 600 individuals present topartake of the networking and educa-tional opportunities provided by theconference. The new associationswho participated in the 2014 SARCwere the Florida Auto Body Associa-tion (FACA), the Georgia CollisionIndustry Association (GCIA), theLouisiana Collision Industry Associ-ation (LaCIA), and the TennesseeCollision Repairers Association(TCRA). The group decided to hirean Administrative Coordinator, Geor-gia Thorson, to handle the day-to-dayquestions and details, and Plierpraises Thorson for doing such an ex-

cellent job in coordinating the event.Of course, the six associations

who hosted the conference also de-serve credit for its success. AaronSchulenburg, Executive Director ofSCRS, praises the collaborators. “I’vehad the fortune to be involved in eachiteration of this event since it was es-tablished, and it is amazing to watchthe growth of involvement and drivein the marketplace. There is a lot to besaid for the organizational efforts ex-tended by the state associations whoare all involved in orchestrating theevent, and it certainly makes us proudthat all of those organizations areSCRS Affiliate Associations… I al-ways expect a lot out of this event, andit never fails to deliver.”

The 2014 SARC focused on edu-cation, business principles, consumerprotection, and shops’ right to receivefair compensation for work per-formed. These efforts received appro-bation from SCRS; as Schulenburgexplains, “marketplaces benefit fromthe ability to have a strong and fo-cused group create opportunities forthem to learn from some of the indus-try’s leading subject matter experts inthe convenience of their own backyard. Just as important, the associationevents promote camaraderie and net-working. It’s through these types ofevents that competitors can view eachother as colleagues and that there canbe healthy discussion about ways thatthe industry can better serve the con-sumer.”

The conference began on Fridayafternoon and continued on Saturdaywith a full agenda of featured speak-ers, breakout sessions, and sponsordemonstrations, in addition to exhibi-tions on the tradeshow floor whichwas open for the duration of the con-ference. Topics ranged from market-ing to the new aluminum F-150 andbeyond; Plier boasts “you name it andwe covered it!”

Registration began at 4PM onFriday with the Welcoming Recep-tion and exhibition floor opening at6PM. The presentations on both Fri-day and Saturday were moderatedby the Master of Ceremonies,Patrick Porter, radio personality andowner of Porter’s Body Shop in

Brookhaven, MS. At 5:30PM, thefirst breakout session of the confer-ence was “Businesses MarketingStrategies,” presented by Ron Per-retta and sponsored by PPG.

On Saturday, the tradeshow floorwas open from 8AM until 5PM, allow-ing attendees to visit exhibitors’booths in between educational semi-nars. Ron Perretta began Saturday’sconference at 8AM with a two-hour“Social Media Workshop,” sponsoredby PPG which ran at the same time asfour additional breakout sessions. BillByrnes of America’s Auto Body andMitchell International both presentedat 8AM, and Byrnes repeated his sem-inar at noon. Next, at 9AM, TonyNethery, Executive Director ofTCRA, discussed “Future Equipment,Training and Cost,” while in anotherroom, the Coalition for Collision Re-pair Excellence (CCRE) explainedwho they are and what they strive todo.

The Featured Speakers segmentof the conference began at 10AM withan Industry Update as presented bySchulenburg on behalf of SCRS.Schulenburg was followed by RichardValenzuela of NABR who discussed“Variable Rate Systems.” In additionto Byrne’s second breakout session atnoon, two more sessions were held atthe same time: a two-hour session onthe new aluminum F-150 model, ledby Chief’s Ford F-150 Project Man-ager, Richard Perry, and a one-hoursegment by Dave Bortz of Car-O-Liner. While Valenzuela repeated hisseminar at 1PM, Ron Perretta of Pro-fessionals Auto Body held a breakoutsession entitled “Business Basics,”thus concluding the event’s breakoutsessions.

From 2-6PM, the final four Fea-tured Speakers gave one-hour presen-tations, beginning with CongressionalMedal of Honor Recipient, Mike


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by Alicia Basteri, Online Editor

As a newbie to the collision repair in-dustry, I was one of the 65 newWomen’s Industry Network (WIN)members attending their first WIN An-nual Education Conference, which washeld May 5–8, 2014, at the ParadisePoint Resort & Spa in San Diego, CA.

I wasn’t sure exactly what to ex-pect—and was more than pleasantlysurprised!

Even before arriving, after joining

WIN and registering for the confer-ence, I received a personal email froma WIN member warmly welcomingme to WIN and offering assistancewith any conference questions. Thiswas to set the tone for my experience.

Day 1: Monday, May 5thThe meeting kicked off on an unchar-

acteristically blustery day (for SanDiego, anyway). I received anotherwarm welcome at the registration desk,and was super stoked to unwrap a styl-

ish black pashmina from my welcomepacket—it certainly came in handy!

As I walked into the conferenceroom and looked around for a seat, Ipaused and smiled as I realized that itwas a room full of women (well, therewere a few men). I settled in next tofriendly faces as the emcee, MichelleSullivan, welcomed a record numberof 178 conference attendees.

“When I think about why I get soexcited about WIN, for me it is allabout camaraderie—camaraderie isthe spirit of WIN.” Sullivan then in-troduced the theme of the conferenceby inviting attendees to “Power Up!”

Next, 2013-2014 WIN Board ofDirectors chairwoman Margaret Knellrecognized WIN achievements over thepast year, the 2014 WIN Conferencesponsors, as well as committee chairs,co-chairs, and other members. In addi-tion, she presented Denise Caspersenand Ruth Wenigerwith the 2014 WINCornerstone Award, which is awardedto individuals on the WIN Board of Di-rectors who exemplify the values andvision of WIN.

Laurie Cusic, senior facilitator forBrody Professional Development, then

presented “Bridging the GenerationalGap,” which addressed the need to un-derstand generational differences in aworkplace with four distinct genera-tions—traditionalists, baby boomers,generation Xers, and millennials (or

generation Yers)—and attendees partic-ipated in a related networking event.

My overall first impression wasthat there was great energy in theroom, and, unlike a lot of other con-


Getting Powered Up at the 2014 WIN Annual Educational Conference

Recipients of the 2014 WIN Cornerstone Award,Denise Caspersen and Ruth Weniger

The scavenger hunt was designed to meet attendees from different generations

ferences, everyone seemed genuinelyexcited—and “powered up”—to bethere, friendly, supportive, and proud.

This feeling was solidified duringthe welcome dinner at Paradise Cove,where attendees mingled with oldfriends and new over a luau-themedmenu, followed by roasting marsh-mallows in a bonfire to make s’mores.

Day 2: Tuesday, May 6thAttendees started day two with the an-nual WIN Scholarship Walk to raisefunds for the WIN Scholarships.

Following a continental breakfast,charismatic keynote speaker Dr. VernaCornelia Price, CEO of ThePower of People ConsultingGroup and author of “ThePower of People: Four Kindsof People Who Can ChangeYour Life,” tapped into theWIN “Power Up!” themewith her message of “ThePower of You!” Dr. Price ex-plained that you are born withpower; no one has morepower than you; no one cantake your power (but you cangive it away); and your power multi-plies when you use it. She also talkedabout the four types of powerful peo-

ple: adders, subtractors, multipliers,and dividers.

Next up, the engaging ColetteCarlson, founder of “Speak YourTruth”, talked about “The Hard, ColdTruth—Working Hard Isn’t Work-ing,” including how to communicatesuccesses, cultivate connections, anddevelop strategic relationships.

After lunch, attendees went toone of three workshops about tech-nology (“Mastering the Muck ofYour Technology” by Kathi Burns),negotiation skills (“Truth About Ne-gotiation: A$k and You Shall Suc-ceed” by Colette Carlson), or

sustainability (“The Green Revolu-tion” by Mike LeVasseur).

The day ended with the WIN An-

nual Membership meeting, which pro-vided the “2014 Report to the Industry”including reports from the Communi-cations, Membership, Finance, Schol-arship, Nominating, and Governancecommittees. In addition, theWIN Board of Directors, newWIN Executive Committee,and WIN Scholarship winnersin attendance were recognized.

The evening festivitiesstarted with a cocktail recep-tion, followed by the annualWIN Gala and Most Influen-tial Women Ceremony. Afterdinner, WIN colleagues andfriends recognized and intro-duced the honorees: Freder-ica Carter, president of F.Carter Events, LLC (formercommunications manager atAkzoNobel); Jordan Hendler,executive director of theWashington Metropolitan AutobodyAssociation; and Leanne Jefferies,director of Collision Programs forAIA Canada. And last but not least,dessert was served!

Day 3: Wednesday, May 7thAfter a continental breakfast, JohnKett, president and CEO of Insurance

Auto Auctions (IAA), presented “TheIncreasingly Interconnected APD Sys-tem,” covering the operational andtechnological forecast for IAA andkey information about the direction of

the industry.Following the break, Jane Hylen,

senior vice president of North CentralOperations Enterprise Holdings, pre-sented “Keys to Success” within theautomotive industry.

Tracy Holberry from Sherwin-Williams presented the 2014 Scholar-


Keynote speaker Dr. Verna Cornelia Price talking about“The Power of You!”

New WIN board members: (left to right) Marie Peevy,Trish Gould, Jaclyn Byers, Jessica Rob, and NinaPedrazza-Zinna

See Getting Powered Up, Page 30

by Chasidy Rae Sisk

Since Nick Orso’s Body Shop wasfounded in 1954, their goal has been toprovide “the finest in collision repairand painting services.” While this mayseem to be a daunting task in itself, it’s

not the only aspira-tion of Mike Orso,President of NickOrso’s Body Shopin Syracuse, NY.Mike also strivesto stay involvedwith his local com-munity and to do

his part for the environment throughhis shop’s many green efforts.

Originally opened as a three-bayrepair shop, Nick Orso’s Body Shopis now one of the largest independ-ent, family-owned collision repairfacilities in their area. The shop spe-cializes in high-end vehicles, a featrequiring extensive skill and atten-tion to detail, and their excellentcraftsmanship has been displayed bythe cars they’ve restored which ap-pear at car shows all along the EastCoast.

Mike credits Nick Orso, his fa-ther and the shop’s founder, for pro-moting the proper values and workethic which has led to the shop’s suc-cess. Mike proudly notes, “customerscame from all over the country forcollision and specialty custom paint-work that only Nick could do. Cus-tomers would say, ‘nobody but Nicktouches my car.’ Nick was self-taughtand became an exceptional craftsman.He loved to fix something no one elsecould fix, to make something workthat others gave up on, and it thrilledhim to no end. Working with his handswas his passion.”

A member of SCRS and CCRE,Nick Orso’s 28,000 square foot facil-ity employs 22 individuals repairingan average of 150 vehicles monthlyand doing approximately $3 millionin business annually. As part of theirefforts to provide customers with aquality repair, the shop follows man-ufacturers’ guidelines and recom-mendations whenever possible. Theyalso aid customers by providing tow-ing services and substitute transporta-tion, ensuring that their customers arewell taken care of from the very be-

ginning of the process. A rental fleetof 35 new Honda, Accords, Civics,CRVs and Odessey Van are ready toroll.

Emphasis on customer serviceplays an integral role in Nick Orso’sBody Shop’s success. “At NickOrso’s, satisfying our customers isthe most important goal wehave!” Mike Orso explains,“our whole organization isdedicated to quality controland customer service - itmakes our shop successful.Whether the car is a VW,Bentley or GMC, the repairhas to fit the customer’s ex-pectation and be as close ashumanly possible to pre-loss condition.” The shop isa NAPA Approved CollisionCenter with repairs coveredby Nick Orso’s limited war-ranty and backed by NAPAnationwide.

Another way that NickOrso’s Body Shop ensuresthe vehicle is repaired to theproper standards is throughthe use of Martin Senour’s

Vortex waterborne basecoat systemand clear urethane topcoat, chosenpartially because of the associationwith Sherwin-Williams and theNAPA distribution system. Accord-ing to Orso, “our NAPA distributorand the Martin Senour team were keyto our success in implementing the


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Nick Orso’s Body Shop in Syracuse NY Takes a High-End View

Mike Orso follows in his father's footsteps

Founder Nick Orso

Vortex line, and they continuallytrain and update our staff on productimprovements.” In regards to the im-portance of the paint system in the re-pair, Mike also notes, “most parts arepurchased in factory primer, and wecreate the surface structure of primerlayers to closely duplicate the factorylayers on a particular make and typeof vehicle.”

The decision to use the Vortex wa-terborne line is also “due to its greenbenefits, part of our effort to continueundertaking environmentally friendlyactivities,” Orso explains. Orso beganthe transition to waterborne in 2008when he converted two old downdraftspray booths to waterborne paint dry-ing systems, followed by upgrading hiscompressor and dryer systems.

In 2013, they replaced both boothswith new Sacio Zero Emission tech-nology. Though the expense was sig-nificant, over $300,000 for the two newbooths, the benefits outweigh the costssince it substantially reduces their VOCoutput. Orso says, “new technology af-fords us faster production time andfaster drying time. Instead of paintingfive projects a day, we can do eight orten projects a day in each booth.”

Nick Orso’s Body Shop was alsothe first business in their area to con-vert to solar power when they in-stalled 280 solar panels on their roof,allowing them to collect enough en-ergy to supply 90% of the powerneeded for the shop. Although the in-vestment cost $400,000, a quarter ofthat was funded by state and federalgrant money, and the project has al-lowed Orso to reduce electricity costsby 60-70%. In recognition of theirpositive environmental efforts, NickOrso’s Body Shop received a citationfrom the New York State Assembly.

Explaining his decision, Orsostates, “I wanted to have an alternativepower system in my business, and welooked at everything from wind tosolar power… We were the first busi-ness in our area to switch over to solar

power – our project is what they wrotethe code to for solar power installa-tions. Before our project, the largestsolar power installation in town was

when someone put a couple panels intheir front yard. No one got into asetup where the whole business wason solar power with a dual meter,where overrun could be sold back tothe power company.”

In addition to their commitmentto the environment, Nick Orso’sBody Shop also takes their commit-ment to their community very seri-ously. The shop is very active insupporting charities and improvingsocial awareness, such as local StopDWI and Zero Tolerance, DistractedDriving and NY Move-Over Law ef-forts. They sponsor local youthsports activities, mentor at colleges,

and speak at high school career daysin their area. Nick Orso’s also sup-ports local churches and their neigh-boring AIDES Resource Center, inaddition to numerous other charita-ble contributions and services. NickOrso’s participates in NAPA-3M’sjoint effort to “Hire Our Heros” andparticipated in the “Rides” programwhere a restored car was given to adeserving family. “At the end of theday my goal is to give back some ofwhat the community has given me.It’s a good feeling to pay it forward”Mike said.

Nick Orso’s Body Shop638 West Genesee StreetSyracuse, NY315-471-8521www.nickorso.com


Nick Orso working on a car in early days

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HONDA

ACURA

Tischer AcuraLaure l

800-288-6983301-498-3322

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat [email protected]

Acura of BostonBr ighton

800-254-1169617-254-5400

Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5:30; Sat [email protected]

Lia Honda of EnfieldEnf ie ld

800-221-3131860-741-3401

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30; Sat [email protected]

Schaller HondaNew Br i ta in

800-382-4525860-826-2080

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5; Sat [email protected]

Criswell HondaGermantown

866-738-2886Dept. Hours: M-Thu 7-9; Fri 7-7:30; Sat 8-6

[email protected]

O’Donnell HondaEl l icot t C i ty

410-461-5000410-461-9654


Ourisman Honda of LaurelLaure l

800-288-6985301-498-6050


AutoFair HondaPlymouth

508-927-5272Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-7; Sat 7:[email protected]

CONNECTICUT

MARYLAND

MASSACHUSETTS

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Cambridge HondaCambr idge

866-258-6216617-453-5450


LIA Honda NorthamptonNorthampton

800-369-7889413-586-6043


Clinton HondaAnnandale

908-735-0900Dept. Hours: M,Tue, F 7-6; W, Thu 7-7;

Sat [email protected]

Hackettstown HondaHacket ts town

888-450-8126908-852-4172


Honda of PrincetonPr inceton

800-682-5941609-683-5941

Dept. Hours: M-F 8-4:[email protected]

Honda of TurnersvilleTurnersv i l le

800-883-0002856-649-1584


Hudson HondaWest New York866-483-6917201-868-9500

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7:30-5; Sun [email protected]

Madison HondaMadison

800-648-0293973-822-1710

Dept. Hours: M-Thu 7-8; Fri 7-6; Sat 8-6;[email protected]

Planet HondaUnion

800-964-7280908-964-8411


Rossi HondaVine land

800-893-3030856-692-4449

Dept. Hours: M-F 6:30-5; Sat 7:[email protected]

Route 22 HondaHi l ls ide

973-705-9100Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7:30; Sat 8-5

[email protected]

VIP HondaNorth P la inf ie ld908-753-1680


Babylon HondaWest Baby lon

631-669-5800Dept. Hours: M-F 7-7; Sat 7:30-3:30

[email protected]

Brewster HondaBrewster

845-278-4177Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5; Sat 8-4

[email protected]

Dick Ide HondaRochester

800-462-0056 (N.Y.)585-586-4919

Dept. Hours: M-Thur 8-8; Fri 8-5:30;Sat 8-5

[email protected]

Lamacchia HondaSyracuse

315-471-7278Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30; Sat 9-1

[email protected]

Lia Honda of AlbanyAlbany

800-272-6741518-482-2598

Dept. Hours: M, T, W, F 7:30-5:30;Thur 7:30-8; Sat [email protected]

Lia Honda of WilliamsvilleWil l iamsvi l le /Buf fa lo877-659-2672716-632-3800

Dept. Hours: M-Thu 7:30-8;Fri 7:30-5; Sat 8-5:[email protected]

Ray Laks HondaWest Seneca

716-824-7852Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-8; Sat 7:30-5:30

[email protected]

Apple HondaYork

800-960-9041717-848-2600

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 7-4; Sun [email protected]

Baierl HondaWexford

724-940-2006Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5; Sat 8-4

[email protected]

J.L. Freed HondaMontgomeryv i l le215-855-3587

Dept. Hours: M-Thur 8-6; Fri 8-5; Sat [email protected]

Shadyside HondaPi t tsburgh

800-468-2090412-390-2908

Dept. Hours: M-F 7:[email protected]

Sussman HondaRoslyn

800-682-2914215-657-3301


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Acura of TurnersvilleTurnersv i l le

888-883-2884856-649-1884


Elite AcuraMaple Shade

856-722-9600Dept. Hours: M-F 8-5; Sat [email protected]

Acura of WestchesterWestchester

914-834-8887Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-8; Sat 8-4; Sun 9-4

[email protected]

Curry AcuraScarsdale

800-725-2877914-472-7406


Paragon AcuraWoodside

718-507-3990Dept. Hours: M-F 8-6; Sat 8-5; Sun 9-4

[email protected]

Smithtown AcuraSt . James

888-832-8220631-366-4114


Apple AcuraYork

877-5APPLE5717-849-6639

Dept. Hours: M-F 7-5:30; Sat [email protected]

Baierl AcuraWexford

800-246-7457724-935-0800


Davis AcuraLanghorne

866-50-ACURA215-943-7000


Lehigh Valley AcuraEmmaus

877-860-3954610-967-6500


Sussman AcuraJenkintown

800-826-4078215-884-6285


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Thornton. The motivational speakershared war stories with an emphasison teamwork, and Plier notes thatThornton’s speech was “very mov-ing… If that didn’t send chills up yourspine, I don’t know what would!”

Next, Dave Poston, CollisionMarketing Manager for AmericanHonda, discussed “Honda Repair Tech-nologies,” followed by Assured Per-formance’s Aaron Clarkwho covered“OEM Certification”, providing anidea of what’s to come regarding thistopic. The event concluded with a dis-cussion and question-and-answer ses-sion on the details and status oflawsuits filed against insurers, led byJohn Mosley, President of MSCRAand owner of Clinton Body Shop, andRay Gunder of Gunder’s Auto Center,along with Attorney John Eaves Jr.

Alysia Hanks, Executive Direc-tor of LaCIA, was “most excitedabout getting to meet Mr. Gunder. Hewas just as nice as could be, and Icould tell he really cares about this in-dustry when he spoke. It was also niceto be around so many individuals in

our industry who also think it’s wellpast time for a change.”

Hanks was also honored to haveRandy Ishee, from the LA AttorneyGeneral’s office, attend SARC 2014as a guest of the LaCIA. He was in-vited to speak at one of the meetings,and Hanks said, “when I spoke to himbefore the event ended, he told me itwas his mission to right the wrongs inthis industry for all these good peoplein it and, most importantly, for theconsumer. He has friends in otherstates who are in this industry, and hecouldn’t believe the things he was un-covering. We’re lucky to have him onour side.”

Regarding the many educationalseminars and breakout sessions, Schu-lenburg noted, “attendees were en-gaged in the conversation throughoutthe day and were clearly hungry forthe motivation and tangible solutionsthey received from all the speakers.With more than 500 repairers in atten-dance, it was a success by every meas-ure.” Concurring with Schulenburg’sanalysis of attendees’ interest in thediscussions at the conference, Pliersays that “their enthusiasm tells methat repairers thirst for this kind of in-formation and that they want to im-

prove for the consumer.”Hanks believes the event went

very well, and she feels “so lucky tobe part of an industry where we haveso many people who just genuinelywant to do the right thing and make anhonest living without having the dailyfights we have to battle… I think [theconference] was a great opportunityfor us to network with other states andhear what they are doing. I’m alreadylooking forward to next year!”

The only negative feedback Plierhas received referenced the plethora ofinformation presented—“we receiveda few complains about the classes run-ning together and attendees not havingenough time to visit the exhibitors. Westubbed our toes on a few things, likethe over packed agenda, and wecould’ve done a better job organizingregistration. We are looking at ways toavoid cramming so much in for nextyear to make it easier to pick andchoose which segments each person

wants to attend and to allow more timefor networking and visiting exhibitors.”

Despite these minor stumblingblocks, Plier believes the SARC 2014went well overall, and the niceweather that weekend led him to state“it was like a little vacation but alsoan educational opportunity.” He alsobelieves that Biloxi was the perfect lo-cation for people to come out andenjoy the conference as it is about ascentralized as possible. The six col-laborating associations met on Fridaynight, and deciding to keep the SARCin Biloxi for the next two years, theyset dates. Next year’s conference willbe held on April 17 and 18, 2015,while SARC 2016 will take place onApril 8 and 9. The core group has al-ready begun planning for next year’sevent with the goal of addressing asmany hot topics in the industry as pos-sible. If this year’s SARC was any in-dication, next year’s event should beeven more exciting!


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SARC Delivers

ship recipients in attendance, StephanieBaker and Suzanna Hernandez, with acertificate for tuition and travel-relatedexpenses paid in full for any automotivetraining course at a Sherwin WilliamsTraining Center of their choice.

Margaret Knell closed the confer-ence with a summary of the events andofficially passed the torch to DeniseCaspersen, newly-elected chairwomanof the WIN Board of Directors.

If you’re a woman in the collisionrepair industry, I highly recommendthat you join WIN (visit http://the-

womensindustrynetwork.ning.com/page/join-win-1 or email Mary Kunz [email protected]) and attendthe 2015 WIN Annual Education Con-ference.

If you’re already a WIN mem-ber, WIN asks that you please con-sider joining a committee as WIN isentirely volunteer-based. Sign in tohttp://thewomensindustrynetwork.ning.com/page/join-a-committee andclick on the Committee descriptionto find full descriptions and contactinformation.

If you missed the 2014 confer-ence but will be attending the 2014NACE/CARS Expo and Conference,stop by the WIN booth.

2014 WIN Most Influential Women honoreesLeanne Jefferies, Jordan Hendler, andFrederica Carter

WIN Scholarship winners with WIN Committeeco-chairs: (left to right) Suzanna Hernandez,Teresa Bolton, Stephanie Baker, and BevRook-Twibell


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1) Too Many Hats. Too Little BandwidthYou’re the owner, estimator, painter,front office person, receptionist, mar-keting director, technician and de-tailer. Oh, and I also forgot janitor,psychiatrist and a shoulder to cry on.As a marketing person, I wouldn’tknow how to write an estimate orpaint a fender, so why do you insist ontrying to do it all when it comes toyour marketing, public relations andadvertising? Wearing too many hatsmeans you’re doing too much andmarketing should be the first hat to re-move from your busy life as soon asyou possibly can.

Solution: Empower and DelegateIn some cases, you may already havesomeone in your crew that can helpyou in your marketing efforts. Maybeone of your estimators or front officepeople can play a role in your market-ing scheme. One body shop took anewbie office assistant and turned her

into a confident and extremely effi-cient marketing professional and nowshe does all of their e-mail marketing,blogging, social media and online ad-vertising. All it took was one day oftraining and she was up and runningand ready to take on the world.

2) Too Late to the Party Without a strategized plan and an an-nual marketing budget, you’re shoot-ing in the dark and the first casualtycould be your business. Too manybody shops get fat and happy whenthe cash flows in, but all of a sud-den—wow, the competition comes totown or they lose a DRP and jump intopanic mode. One body shop ownerfreaked out when three MSOs movedinto his city, so he borrowed $50,000and asked me where should he spendit? Use it for your retirement, I said,because marketing is something youdo all the time—not just in emergencymode.

Solution: Make It a PriorityMarketing moves quickly and if yourcompetitor is working faster andharder than you are, they will obvi-ously capture more market share.There are only so many car accidentsin your area every year, so why is theshop down the street fixing 150 vehi-cles monthly while you’re doing halfthat? Maybe because they’ve madetheir marketing a priority while manyof your marketing projects are sittingin a constant state of limbo. “We’ll getto that next week…next month…nextyear,” and then it never happens. Mar-keting is not a part-time thing reservedfor evenings and weekends, it’s fast-paced and ever-changing and that’swhy it needs to be full-time and on thefront burner.

3) Too Many Unrealistic ExpectationsIf a marketing company says thatthey’ll get you ranked #1 on Googlewithin one month’s time, listen to

what your father used to tell you—“Ifit looks too good to be true, well…”Some so-called marketing agenciescan get you involved in what they call“black hat tactics” while promisingyou the world, which can lead toGoogle sanctioning you and shuttingdown your web site. If any companypromises you anything—get it in writ-ing and don’t pay them until they de-liver.

Solution: Devise a Plan and Stick to ItToo many business owners (not justbody shops) develop a “checked box”mentality when it comes to their mar-keting efforts. “We updated our website, created a blog and did some SEO,so we’re good.” Well, maybe you’regood right now, but how about threemonths from now? Just by checkingthings off on your marketing to-do listdoesn’t mean you can stop or slowdown. New content should be addedto your site all the time to enhance


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Five Common Marketing Mistakes Body Shops Make

with Ed Attanasio

Social Media for Shops

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

SEO. Your blog needs new articles,photos, etc. on an ongoing basis. Ihate to see a collision blog that hasn’tbeen updated since 2012, for example.Marketing, advertising and public re-lations is not a start-and-stop thing.

4) Too Dependent on DRPsYou have some nice cozy DRPs thatbring you tons of business, but if theymake up more than 80% of your totalrevenue, you’ve got too many eggs inone basket. What happens if you fum-ble a couple repairs and suddenlyyou’re no longer the insurance com-pany’s flavor of the week? A healthybalance between DRPs and non-DRPbusiness should be close to 50-50, buttoo many shops don’t get it, until theyget the axe. By continually hammeringaway at the big three—marketing, pub-lic relations and advertising—one DRPwon’t be able to make or break you.

Solution: Seek Your IndependenceIf you’re DRP dependent, you mightwant to do more consumer marketingand advertising, such as radio and TVbroadcast, outdoor advertising, directmail, online advertising and socialmedia. You can continue relying onyour DRPs, but when times change

and the DRPs are harder to attain,you’ll be in a better place and moreprepared for a life with fewer DRPs.Plus, it all works together to brandyour business, so that when con-sumers do have a choice, you’re ontheir radar.

5) Too Much MicromanagementPerform your due diligence and talk toa lot of marketing experts beforechoosing which way to go. But onceyou find the right company or individ-ual, let them do their job and step aside.Too many body shops owners listen toeveryone about marketing—theirwives, girlfriends, the postman and theguy at the deli down the street. Hire theright people and let them perform. Sitdown with them every 3-6 months tocheck the results of their work and re-assess things at that point, but don’tjump the gun when you don’t see in-stant results. Marketing takes time, likefine wine—but in the end you’ll startseeing positive results, because solidmarketing is an investment and not anexpense.

Solution: Become a SpongeLearn as much as you can about mar-keting, advertising and public rela-

tions and then pass it on to the peoplewho will actually be doing the heavylifting. If you’re knowledgeable, youwon’t have to take advice from peo-ple who read something somewhereand aren’t afraid to share it with you.You need to be the final arbiter whenit comes to your marketing. You maynot have the time to do it yourself, butat least you’ll know what’s going on.The paint companies, professional or-ganizations and marketing firms offerclasses, training sessions and seminarsall the time and many of them are free,so be a sponge and suck up as muchof this information as you can, be-cause knowledge is power.


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A new Plymouth Rock Assurancestudy reveals that nearly two-thirdsof drivers engage in distracted driv-ing behavior on a daily basis.

The study, which consists ofdata surveys of 3,300 consumers,shows that texting and driving isone of the biggest distracted drivinghabit among drivers. More than 50percent witnessed a driver textingwith at least one adult passenger inthe car, and nearly 40 percent wit-nessed a driver texting with at leastone child in the car.

The study’s findings furtherunderscore Plymouth Rock’s pushfor distracted driving awarenessthrough their campaign launched inAugust 2013.

Encouraging drivers to join thefight against distracted driving, andin lieu of Distracted Driving Aware-ness Month, Plymouth Rock urgesall drivers to sign the PledgeAgainst Distracted Driving. ThePledge is a commitment to refrainfrom cell phone usage and any otherform of distracted driving, and al-ways stay focus on the road. Driverscan access the pledge and learnmore by visiting FightDistracted-Driving.com.

Study Reveals 2/3 of DriversAre Distracted on the Road

State Farm, Illinois’ biggest car in-surer, plans to raise its auto rates inthe state by an average of 2.3 per-cent starting May 26, according to afiling. “Auto insurance rates in Illi-nois were adjusted to better reflectchanging claims costs,” namely arise in car repair costs, said MissyDundov, spokeswoman for theBloomington-based home and autoinsurer. The exact price change willdepend on the coverages that poli-cyholders have, she said.

State Farm to Raise Rates

Recently the president of the localAutobody Association Chapter re-named his shop. It had been J & LBody Shop for many years, but hechose to rename it Fix Auto, Sun Val-ley. Obviously he chose this name toreflect a relatively new relationshipwith the Fix Auto organization. Butthere may have been a deeper reasonfor the renaming. When all a prospec-tive customer has to judge a shop isthe name, a name like J & L reallysays nothing about the nature or qual-ity of the shop. And this shop name istypical of many shop names that justreflect the owner’s name or names.But even those shops that intend toconvey some degree of quality intheir name -- like Elite Auto Body,Precision Auto Body, Superior AutoBody, Supreme Auto Body, Ace AutoBody, etc. -- are so commonplacethey are no longer noticed. The effectcan be the exact opposite of what wasintended. Ideally you need to create aname with a trademark image that noone can ever mistake as someoneelse’s! And that image has to conveyquality and uniqueness at a singleglance -- not an easy task.

First of all, recognize your ownuniqueness. Every human is different.We have unique fingerprints andvoiceprints. Your shop also has at leastone unique characteristic. There is atleast one thing that your shop does alittle different (and hopefully a littlebetter) than most shops around you.Find a way to emphasize that. Youdon’t necessarily need to change thename of your business, but you doneed a sub-title, a slogan that stronglyannounces some specialty that isuniquely yours. Some shops special-ize in a particular make of vehicle.

Identifying their specialty is easy.They can announce: “We are mastersof Jaguar repair” or “Porshe repair” or“Volvo repair.” Others may focus onbeing “Paint Matching Specialists” or“Excelling in Perfect Restoration.”Shops that are already successful maynot need much more, but those withno recognizable image need to be dou-bly creative. While actually changingthe name of your body shop may be amore radical move than is necessary, itcould also be a very powerful market-ing action if a name with exceptionaldrawing power is selected.

A few body shops in the Los An-geles area have names that suggestcertain characteristics. One shop, forexample, is named “Car-tique,” an ob-vious adaptation of “boutique” whichsuggests a small but elite type of shop.Another body shop was named “Pi-casso,” obviously a reference to thefamous painter and an implication thatthis shop specializes in fine paintwork. One shop in the Marina areawas called the “Insurance CollisionCenter,” a direct reference to their pri-mary source of work. “Country ClubAuto Body” in Mission Hills wouldseem to be catering to affluent cus-tomers (or “wanna be” affluent cus-tomers). A shop that emphasizesservice might want to choose a namelike “Red Carpet Auto Body,” thatsays to a prospect, “Come to our shopand we’ll roll out the red carpet foryou.” A name of this kind also pro-vides some immediate ideas for decor.

In his “The Guerrilla MarketingHandbook,” Jay Levinson has a num-ber of good suggestions on name selec-tion that might apply to body shops. Foropeners he discourages seeking advicefrom friends, family and other casual

bystanders. He notes that names se-lected by committees are “usually los-ers.” He suggests instead making a listof the qualities your business empha-sizes, with an eye to incorporating a keyquality in the name of your shop. Someexamples might include “Speedy,” “Re-liable,” “Fearless,” “Flawless,” “Pro-fessional,” or “Jiffy.” Jay also cautionsagainst the word “International,” aname is so frequently used, it gets lostin the shuffle. It takes up six fullcolumns in one Business White Pagesalone!

Some marketing research donemany years ago turned up the fact thatpeople were unusually attracted to theword “Apple” in a business name. Afterthat survey, there was a rash of newbusinesses with the word “Apple” in thename. These ranged from “Apple OneEmployment Agency” to “The AppleFarm” restaurant, “Apple School” and,most famous of all, “Apple Comput-ers.” In New York I wouldn’t be sur-

prised to see a shop called “Big AppleAuto Body,” but elsewhere it may bewiser to come up with a different ap-proach.

After all is said and done, if ashop’s name is “Superior Auto Body”and the work isn’t “superior,” or evencompetent, no amount of name-changing is going to compensate forthat liability. And if a shop’s name is“Mediocrity Plus” but the work is ex-cellent, the name will be only a smallliability. A good name or slogan is anessential part of a good “First impres-sions marketing strategy,” but once aprospective customer is in your shopand has experienced your fine qualityof work, it will no longer matter whatyou call your shop. When you’ve cho-sen well and communicated it well,your “trademark image” will be in-delibly branded on the minds of bothcustomers and prospective customersand will quietly contribute to yourcontinuing prosperity.


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On Creative Marketingwith Thomas Franklin

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

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On Wednesday, April 30 and Thurs-day, May 1, the National Auto BodyCouncil (NABC) held several meet-ings at I-CAR’s Corporate Offices inHoffman Estates, IL. Their StrategySession was held at 8AM on Wednes-day, and on Thursday, their 8AMCommittee Meeting preceded their10AM Board Meeting. This series ofmeetings was scheduled as part of theNABC’s ongoing efforts to build ontheir three-year strategic plan to con-tinually enhance initiatives that pres-ent a positive image of the collisionrepair industry in local communities.

Nick Notte, NABC Board Presi-dent, explains “as an organization, wecontinually review and consider wayswe can reach more collision repairerswho could benefit from the commu-nity initiatives we have developed.One of our goals is to partner and de-velop a synergy with other industrygroups which collectively benefits allof us in the collision industry.”

As such, key topics at these meet-ings included finding ways to increasecollaboration with other industry or-ganizations and to reach a broader au-dience of collision repair professionalsthrough the use of targeted industrysegmentation data. NABC’s efforts tocollaborate with other industry organ-izations can be seen in the upcomingCollision Industry Breakfast whichwill be held at the Skills USA compe-tition in Kansas City in June; thebreakfast is being jointly sponsored bythe NABC, the Collision Repair Edu-cation Foundation (CREF) and I-CAR.

In regards to their second effortdiscussed at the meetings, the NABChopes to utilize industry segmentationdata to ensure the organization isreaching the broadest possible audi-ence of collision repairers with a focuson all classes of facilities, includingeverything from small independentshops to larger multi-shop operations.

The NABC has also engaged in a con-certed effort to develop ways bywhich to further define and enhancethe value propositions provided totheir members. Notte notes, “sinceJanuary, we have had a record numberof new members join the NABC aswell as many who have renewed theircommitment.”

Recycled Rides also continues tobe one of the NABC’s main initia-tives, and they plan to hold presenta-tions about this and other core effortsat upcoming industry events, includ-ing June’s Skills USA as well as inJuly when they attend NACE in De-troit. Notte says, “NABC’s signatureinitiative, Recycled Rides, has gainedsignificant traction in communitiesnationwide, and we are enthusiasticabout our goal to donate 300 vehiclesthis year. We are energized and wantto capitalize on this positive, collabo-rative momentum in our mission topromote a positive image of our colli-

sion industry.”

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Auto Damage Experts Will Perform Inspection and Verificationfor Assured Performance Network’s Certified Repair ShopsAssured Performance and Auto Dam-age Experts (ADE) announced at thelatest Collision Industry Conference(CIC) that ADE has been chosen toperform the inspection and verifica-tion of Assured Performance Certifiedrepair facilities across the country.

The Assured Performance certi-fication program provides a third-party assessment of a shop’s abilityto properly repair today’s complexvehicles back to the manufacturer’sspecifications by having the propertools, equipment, training, and facil-ity. Assured Performance and ADEwill work together to deliver an ac-curate and efficient process to assessthe participating shops’ capabilities,providing the consumer with an ac-curate and credible national networkof competent and reliable shops tochoose from in the event of a colli-sion. ADE has been long known forits superior vehicle appraisal and val-uation services, but ADE also pro-vides a suite of services including,but not limited to:● Detailed Collision Forensics● On-Site and Remote Pre-Repair In-spections, ensuring the accuracy of anestimate● In-Process Repair Monitoring en-

suring the proper processes and mate-rials● Post-Repair Inspections and Verifi-cations, providing confirmation of anaccurate repair● Training and Assistance in DamageAnalysis, equipping shops and adjus-tors with the most up-to-date infor-mation on repair specifications andtechniques.● Assessment of Required Repairsand the manufacturer’s recommendedprocesses and materials● Coaching/Consulting for day-to-daybusiness operations

“Assured Performance has devel-oped a first-class program, which offerssignificant value and opportunities to itsqualified members,” said Barrett Smith,ADE’s Founder and President. “We’reexcited and proud to work with AssuredPerformance in helping quality repair-ers take advantage of the many benefitsof the Certification program, includingrecognitions from numerous OEMs.”

For more information on AssuredPerformance visit www.assuredper-formance.net.

For more information on AutoDamage Experts, visit www.Auto-DamageExperts.com or e-mail:[email protected].

AudaExplore Launches Cloud-Based Fully Scalable EnterpriseBody Shop Management SolutionAudaExplore(TM), a leading data-driven solution provider to insurancecarriers, repairers, dealerships andfleet owners, today announced thelaunch of MSO Pro(TM), a cloud-based enterprise body shop manage-ment (BMS) solution that deliversunmatched capability to managemultiple repair locations and busi-ness functions through one experi-ence.

Featuring enterprise-level func-tionality with a dashboard-driven de-sign, MSO Pro is based upon proventechnology, which has alreadyprocessed tens of thousands of repairorders, and millions of dollars in col-lision repair revenue. The solution isan open architecture design that inte-grates with estimating platformsfrom AudaExplore or other technol-ogy providers to deliver unique cus-tomer moments and increase repairerproductivity through the following:

● Predictability: Repairers canmake better, more informed deci-sions that impact customer satisfac-tion and profitability outcomesthrough customer satisfaction report-ing, predictive production loadscheduling and standardizing processacross multiple repair locations.

● Scalability: No matter the sizeor number of locations, from a singleshop looking to grow into an MSO toorganizations opening their 100th lo-cation, the platform combines robustperformance analytics and reportingwith applications for all businessfunctions including: HR, Sales, Cus-tomer Relationship Management andOperations.

● Efficiency: Reducing complexIT integration across business func-tions and locations with its stablecloud-based accessibility via singlesign-on, self-service management ofadministrator permissions and thor-ough user adoption training and sup-port.

“We’re excited to bring to mar-ket a proven and comprehensive en-terprise solution--the first of its kinddesigned for MSOs,” said GordonHenderson, VP of Collision RepairSolutions, AudaExplore. “MSO Probreaks new ground in collision repairoperations, filling a void in whichmany MSOs have chosen to eitherbuild their own homegrown systems,or deal with the limitations of single-shop or low-volume solutions that re-quire ongoing add-ons to supporttheir multi-shop businesses.”


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Auto Body Parts Receive Consumer Discount at AutoPros USA Parts Retail WebsiteAuto body parts are now under newterms of sale at the Auto Pros USAwebsite. All import and domesticparts shippable are receiving newsticker prices for purchasers. Dis-counts for select types of auto partscan be hard for consumers to locatedue to the increase of freight costs forautomobile parts shipments. The AutoPros USA company is now providinga discount for all used auto body partsavailable for sale at http://autopro-susa.com. The entire inventory ofAmerican and imported models ofparts that are available for public salethis year has been lowered in retailprice. New contracts with agencies of-fering better prices has helped to con-figure the current discounts that arefound when shopping on the companyhomepage in 2014.

“The vehicle body parts that areoffered are in preowned and in after-market condition to provide easy se-lection options for parts purchasers,”an Auto Pros source said.

The automobile replacementparts for sale that are marketed on theAuto Pros website to consumers nowfeature a new phase of warranty cov-erage. The extension of warranty pe-riods now included for most parts

sales is already calculated in thequoted prices.

“American and foreign au-tomaker brands can be found usingour search location tool on our home-page to discover all components dis-counts in place,” confirmed thesource.

The Auto Pros USA companywebsite now provides consumers withthe updated toll-free phone line usedto support customers not shoppingthrough the homepage this year. Thenumber at 1-888-230-1731 is now inplace for consumers to use for locat-ing company supplied parts.

The AutoProsUSA.com com-pany provides discounts for vehicleparts and accessories that can be pur-chased through its Internet portal.This company has launched a data-base available to consumers with hun-dreds of suppliers currently quotingprices before purchase. The AutoPro-sUSA.com company has a staff of ex-perts contributing to the customersupport now available daily. The au-tomotive partners that are foundthrough the company website changeperiodically as different distributorsare included in the North Americannetwork.

BASF Automotive Refinish recentlyrecognized five collision repair shopsas 2013 Performance Group Shopsof the Year at its VisionPLUS Busi-ness Solutions Performance GroupConference in Clearwater, FL. Colli-sion repair shops that utilize BASF’sVisionPLUS Business Solutions, andparticipate in the program’s Perform-ance Group meetings, were eligiblefor the award. The 2013 winningshops are:● Auto Body Specialties, Springfield,OR, Byron Davis, Owner.● Crystal Lake Automotive, Lakeville,MN, Jim Siegfried and Karl Drotning,Owners.● Frank’s Autobody Collision Solu-tions Network, Vernon, British Co-lumbia, Canada, Matt Brunelle, JesseBrunelle, Dave Brunelle and ReneBrunelle, Owners.● LaMettry’s Collision, Richfield,MN, Joanne LaMettry, Owner.● Center Square Motors, Blue Bell,PA, Chuck Dietch, Owner.

The five winners were selectedbased on criteria including sales im-provement; overall gross profit im-provement; Vision PLUS PerformanceGroup meeting attendance; and meet-ing participation and contributions.

BASF Recognizes 5 Shopsas Shops of the Year

The U.S. automotive aftermarket isexpected to grow on a compound an-nual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.4 per-cent until 2017, according to the“2014 Joint Channel ForecastModel” produced by the AutomotiveAftermarket Suppliers Association(AASA) and the Auto Care Associa-tion. The model predicts that the totalaftermarket sales will grow from$238.4 billion in 2013 to $273.4 bil-lion in 2017, an increase of $35 bil-lion over four years. “The forecastmodel demonstrates that despitestrong new vehicle sales, historichigh gas prices and a flattening ofmiles driven, our industry is poisedfor steady growth,” said KathleenSchmatz, Auto Care Associationpresident and CEO. “Why? The av-erage age of vehicles is 11.4 years,the oldest ever, and the age mix ofvehicles continues to favor older ve-hicles, creating a robust sweet spotfor service and repair.” Said BillLong, AASA president and COO,“The forecast model anticipates thatgrowth in population, employmentand income will lead to an increasein miles driven and the number ofvehicles on the road resulting inlong-term aftermarket growth.”

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20 years ago in the collision repairindustry (June 1994)The association representatives at the(Society of Collision Repair Special-ists’ Leadership Conference) meetingwere in unanimous agreement on oneissue: insurer involvement in partspurchasing. A resolution, passed unan-imously, recognized the right of insur-ers to pursue programs they view ascost-saving, but called for the insur-ance industry to consider repair in-dustry concerts when developing anysuch program.

The resolution listed some of theindustry’s concerns regarding insurerinvolvement in the ordering or pur-chasing of parts, specifically:

• that insurers will use such pro-gram to force or intimidate a shop touse parts suppliers with which theshop does not want to do business;

• that the programs would sub-stantially reduce shop profits;

• that inefficiencies could result

from delays caused by such problemsas inaccurate parts numbers used inthe electronic process;

• that return of parts might bemore complicated (because of the dis-tance of the participating supplier, forexample); and,

• that the quality of service pro-vided by parts suppliers may suffer ifthe choice of suppliers is limited bysuch a program.

—as reported in Collision Expert

15 years ago in the collision repairindustry (June 1999)How much more money can the insur-ance industry squeeze from collisionrepairers? Try $2 billion to $4 billion.That’s the figure presented in an articlecalled “Achieving World-Class ClaimsPerformance Using Innovative SupplyChain Management” in McKinsey’sProperty-Casualty Insurance Annual.

How could the insurance indus-try realize this savings? By creating

super direct repair programs.“In general,” the report said,

“channeling more repair volume tofewer network participants leads tobetter prices and other concessions.”

David Friedman, one of the au-thors of the report, amplified the point.

“Let’s say State Farm says to theirDRP providers, ‘We think you’re thebest of the best and we’ve got a newhigher-grade program where we’ll

channel even more work to you andwe’ll have less inspection.”

—As reported in The GoldenEagle. By mid-2000, State Farmwas piloting a “Select Service” pro-gram with Sterling Collision shops(prior to that chain being owned byAllstate) in several markets; theprogram eventually replaced the in-surer’s “Service First” program, sig-nificantly reducing the number ofparticipating shops.

10 years ago in the collision repairindustry (June 2004)Tom McGee would like everyone inthe collision industry to ask them-selves two questions: What led you toget into this industry, and did you everexpect when you started out to bedoing what you’re doing now?

McGee, the CEO of I-CAR,posed those questions to about 60people attending an I-CAR “industryforum” in Chicago as a way to intro-

June Retrospective: ASA Position, CAPA, CIC

with John YoswickHistorical Snapshot

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

Solera’s Tony Aquila, speaking at an interna-tional collision repair conference in 2009,said businesses should focus on ‘value’rather than price, “because cheap sucks.”


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I-CAR® reinforces their ongoingcommitment to providing improvedservices to industry professionals bylaunching the first of many en-hancements to the I-CAR website.These first enhancements are cen-tered around the user registrationand tracking portal, myI-CAR.com,with improvements that includemore user-friendly, streamlined reg-istration and login pages, along withredesigned, personalized landingpages for faster navigation and easeof class scheduling. Users will seean immediate difference during thelogin process and find navigationeasier as soon as they enter the site.The new landing pages have graph-ically-focused visual navigation foreasy identification of quick links tofrequently utilized resources and in-formation. Some of the new high-lights include immediate visibilityto Gold Class and Platinum recog-nition status, expiration dates andreports that provide specific detailson training required by students andbusinesses in order to achieve ormaintain their Platinum or GoldClass status. Visit www.i-car.com orcontact Customer Care at 800-I-CAR-USA.

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duce his concept for some websites tohelp attract more young people intothe industry.

“Nobody ever explains the careeropportunities,” said McGee, who saidhe’s now the head of an internationaltraining organization but started out inthe autobody “hobby class” in his highschool. “I use the example of touringthe DuPoint lab and looking at peoplewho used to be technicians now work-ing in the chemistry area in productanalysis. Guys who worked in the stallnext to me at my first job out of col-lege now work for GM and Daimler-Chrysler. Did I expect them to go thereor me to go here? No. But we don’tshow parents what these opportunitiesare to allow them to understand thatkids can make a good career and livingin this industry.”

McGee, drawing on his own ex-perience as the father of three kids,ages 7 to 12, suggested that I-CAR de-velop age-based websites that wouldinclude such interactive activities asracing and other games, drag-and-dropcustomizing of vehicles, trivia andprintable coloring books that wouldgive kids reasons to visit thesites…The sites would let kids tinkerwith cars “virtually,” and also help

them see that collision repair skills canlead to rewarding careers not onlywithin shops, but also with paint com-panies, information providers and in-surers.

—As reported in Autobody News.I-CAR launched two such websites in2005. CollisionCareers.org is still live,though it is fairly static and offers littlein the way of career path “stories” as itdid in the early days. CollisionKids.orgis no longer an active site. McGee leftI-CAR in 2008 and is now with the Au-tomotive Training Institute.

5 years ago in the collision repairindustry (June 2009)Tony Aquila, CEO of Solera, Inc. (theparent company of AudaExplore) toldthe 250 IBIS attendees (shops, insurersand vendors from about two dozencountries) that businesses moving for-ward can take one of two roads.

“I think you can just focus on‘faster, better, cheaper,’ but to me, that’sa dead-end,” he said. “It really doesn’ttake you anywhere, because eventually,you can’t make it that much cheaper,and you start to erode your profitability,then you start to lose your enthusiasmand vision, and everything kind of un-ravels. Or you can focus on what we be-

lieve, which is ‘faster, better, more valu-able.’ Focus on high-value things thatallow you the opportunity to innovate.Because then price is not the issue. It’sabout the value you are delivering. Wemake no bones about it: When we dosomething, we want to get paid for it be-cause we’re doing something high-value.”

Aquila was asked how his com-pany’s shop customers can use thatconcept when they feel continuallysqueezed by insurers.

“If the customer is saying theywant cheaper, then I would argue to mypeople that we’re not doing a goodenough job providing more value,”Aquila said. “When you focus on justprice, the value curve is out of the equa-tion. That means innovation is not hap-pening. You’re not giving them moreservices. When customers say to me,‘We need it cheaper,’ then I immediatelythink: What do I have to do to add morevalue so they stop talking about cheap.Because cheap sucks. It’s not good forany of us. What we need to concentrateon is how do we get the waste out of theprocess.”

—as reported in CRASH Network(www.CrashNetwork.com), June 29,2009.


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Many repairers are unaware of thebreadth of data being extracted fromtheir servers, where it is being ex-tracted from, what settings they couldemploy to better control the flow ofinformation, or even how that infor-mation may be used beyond its in-tended purpose. For years, the Societyof Collision Repair Specialists(SCRS) has alerted its members aboutthe potential risk and liability associ-ated with inadequate control over esti-mate data and business information.

For example, SCRS was notifiedof growing concerns relative to thecollection of data through participa-tion in the PartsTrader parts procure-ment program. As the program rolledout across the nation, more questionsbegan to arise when end-users noticedkey identifying information from non-State Farm estimate files populatingtheir PartsTrader dashboard. The re-pairer concern surrounds the amountof non-voluntary information beingprovided through the data collectionprocess, which could offer valuableinformation surrounding market vol-ume and shop volume, raising furtherconcerns over the potential of violat-ing agreements with non-involved car-riers by sharing information with anunrelated third-party.

SCRS researched the issue withPartsTrader, and each of the estimat-ing system providers to identify themeans and extent in which the data is

being accessed and collected, and in-quiring if repair facility end-usershave options to restrict non-requireddata from being collected, accessed, orshared. As a result of that research,SCRS issued an article outlining theresulting responses from each of thetechnology organizations. The articleconcludes that:

Technology has increased theability to communicate informationamongst businesses; however, the in-crease of applications that indiscrimi-nately extract data in the backgroundfor unknown or unintended purposesis a concern for repairers who haveobligations to protect data generatedby their business.

There are advancements beingmade, or already in place, from someestimating system providers that allowcollision repair facilities to maintainbetter control over the data files beingexported from the estimating systemsto other data collection sources.

The solutions and options foreach estimating system vary, so it isimportant to compare capabilities ofthe software programs relative to fea-tures that allow greater control overunwanted data transfer, and to makeany necessary profile changes in linewith individual business practices.

Read the full article at:http://scrs.com/data/uploads//2014-april-scrs-examines-repairer-ability-to-control-data-flow.pdf.

SCRS Examines Repairer Ability to Control Data

NABC Appoints Dan Young to Board of DirectorsThe National Auto Body Council(NABC) appointed Dan Young,CARSTAR senior vice president ofinsurance reltions, to its Board of Di-rectors. Young will complete a two-year term vacated by Mark Lovell ofLKQ Corporation because of in-creased business commitments.

As part of his responsibilities onthe NABC Board of Directors, Youngwill also serve as chair of the NABCDistracted Driving Initiative, an intra-collision industry effort to educate

young drivers onthe dangers ofinattentive anddistracted driv-ing.

“We are de-lighted to wel-come Dan to ourBoard of Direc-

tors,” said Chuck Sulkala, NABCexecutive director. “Dan’s consider-able industry experience from boththe collision repair as well as insur-ance perspectives will be invaluablein helping NABC enhance commu-nity service programs that our mem-

bership can use to make a positiveimpact in their local communities.”

Sulkala also thanked MarkLovell for his years of service to theNABC. “We appreciate the signifi-cant investment of personal time thatMark has dedicated to NABC as amember of the board and especiallyfor his efforts to pioneer, develop,and chair the Distracted Driving Ini-tiative,” said Sulkala.

”I have been a long-time sup-porter of NABC and its initiatives togive back and help those in need,”said Young. “I am honored to havean opportunity to work with my col-leagues on the Board of Directorswho are all committed to NABC’smission to identify and implementprograms that promote a positiveimage of our collision industry.”

Another automotive industry organ-ization will be joining Industry Weekand the NACE/CARS 2014 Confer-ence & Expo in Detroit MI. TheEquipment & Tool Institute (ETI)will hold their board meeting Tues-day, July 29, 2014, at the WestinBook Cadillac in Detroit,. Dan Ris-ley, Automotive Service Association(ASA) president and executive di-rector, stated “We are thrilled to haveETI join us in Detroit this year. Thisis a very important and respected or-ganization, and their support is sig-nificant to Industry Week. Theoverriding purpose of the event is tobring the industry together, and ETI’sinvolvement is another example ofcollaboration.” “ETI is pleased to beholding our summer Board of Direc-tors Meeting in Detroit in conjunc-tion with Industry Week,” said JessieKorosec, ETI meeting and eventmanager. “The Westin is an excellentvenue and we are looking forward toa successful meeting.”

Visit www.etools.org andwww.naceexpo.com to learn more.

ETI to Hold Meeting withNACE CARS in Detroit

MCR Safety donated over 26,000 pairsof safety glasses and goggles worthnearly $50K to the Collision RepairEducation Foundation (CREF). Theywill be distributed to collision schoolprograms across the country for fall2014.

“We protect people and areproud to contribute our safety eye-wear to help support CREF ef-forts...We hope our contributions willfoster safety awareness throughouttheir careers,” stated Glen Herald,MCR Safety COO.

CREF director of develop-ment Brandon Eckenrode noted,“On behalf of the thousands of col-lision students that this donationwill assist and help keep them safewithin their collision school pro-grams, I would like to thank MCRSafety for their continued support.This in-kind donation will be one toremember, and it was awe-inspiringto have a semi-truck deliver 15 pal-lets of the donated glasses and gog-gles. As collision school instructorscontinue to face shrinking programbudgets, this type of donation helpsfree up additional funds that cannow be used elsewhere within theircollision program.”

MCR Safety Donates 26,000+Pairs of Safety Eyeware

Dan Young

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BMW Group’s joint venture withSGL Group will spend $200 millionto triple the capacity of its carbonfiber products plant in Moses Lake,WA. The factory will become theworld’s largest producer of carbonfiber, with an annual output of 9,000tons by 2015 when the expansion iscompleted. The plant provides car-bon fiber reinforced plastics forBMW’s family of i electric and plug-in hybrid cars—the i3 electric com-pact car and the i8 plug-in hybridsports car. The i3 has just been re-leased in the US and the i8 is tolaunch in August. The carbon fiberhas been used to produce 5,000 i3cars at BMW’s factory in Leipzig,Germany, which has a daily output of100 vehicles. With the expansion,BMW said it will be able to use thecarbon fiber for other models “atcompetitive costs and in large quan-tities.” The redesigned 7-series flag-ship sedan due in two years isexpected to make extensive use ofcarbon fiber. The joint venture, SGLAutomotive Carbon Fibers, is 49 per-cent owned by BMW. The partnershave spent $100 million on the plant,which has 80 employees. The expan-sion will create 120 additional jobs.

BMW Joint Venture to TripleCarbon Fiber Plant Capacity

The U.S. government lost $11.2 bil-lion on its bailout of General Mo-tors, more than the $10.3 billionTreasury estimated when it sold itsremaining GM shares in December.The $11.2 billion loss includes awrite-off in March of the govern-ment’s remaining $826 million in-vestment in "old" GM. The U.S.government spent about $50 billionto bail out GM. During the com-pany’s 2009 bankruptcy, the govern-ment’s investment was converted toa 61% equity stake in the automaker,plus preferred shares and a loan. TheUS bailout of GM and Chryslersaved 1.5 million jobs in the UnitedStates, according to the Center forAutomotive Research in Ann Arbor,MI. GM just posted its 17th consec-utive profitable quarter. Earnings,however, were hurt by a $1.3 billioncharge for the costs of various re-calls, including for faulty ignitionswitches on 2.6 million cars. GM isunder investigation by the JusticeDepartment, U.S. auto safety regu-lators and Congress over its failureto detect the faulty ignition switchfor over a decade. The U.S. Securi-ties and Exchange Commission isalso investigating GM.

US Government Says It Lost$11.2 billion on GM bailout

A representative of GMG Envirosafewarned attendees of the Collision In-dustry Conference held April 9–10that OSHA is cracking down on bodyshops to ensure workers are protectedfrom isocyanate exposure. BrandonThomas, chief operations officer ofGMG, a company that offers OSHA,EPA and DOT compliance solutions,said a study done by OSHA’s coun-terpart in Britain found that paintersin a body shop environment have 80times the risk of occupational asthmafrom isocyanates than industrialworkers. It’s precisely for that reason,Thomas said, that OSHA is targetingthe collision industry more aggres-sively than others. According toThomas, OSHA has fined body shops$1.6 million over the last three years.OSHA’s enforcement division has in-creased inspections 25 percent overthe last four years because they havea bigger budget, and there is an aver-age of 4.33 citations per inspection.OSHA’s goal, Thomas said, is toeliminate isocyanate exposure alto-gether in two ways: engineering con-trols (spraybooth, mixing rooms,ventilation, gun washers, etc.) and ad-ministrative controls (PPE trainingand processes).

OSHA Cracking Down onIsocyanate Exposure

The Certified Automotive Parts As-sociation (CAPA) incorporated itsVehicle Test Fit (VTF) program in1999 and since then, CAPA has per-formed more than 10,000 VTFs toensure that the gap, flush and fit ofCAPA parts rival those of OE parts.Since then, there has been a dramaticincrease in the quality of the after-market parts submitted for testingunder CAPA’s rigorous certificationstandards. CAPA says its programwas so successful that after it was ini-tiated, the Collision Industry Confer-ence (CIC) performed blind test fitsto compare CAPA Certified parts toOE service parts. CIC participantsselected the CAPA Certified part fiveout of eight times. “While todayCAPA’s unique vehicle test fitprocess has become the industry-ac-cepted standard for test fitting after-market parts, it was entirelyinnovative when we introduced it,”said Debbie Klouser, CAPA’s direc-tor of operations. “Considering all ofCAPA’s extensive certification re-quirements, the VTF has played thesingle most critical role in today’s ac-ceptance of CAPA Certified parts asthe best way to contain repair costswithout compromising quality.”

CAPA Reaches 15 Year Mile-stone for Vehicle Test Fits


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The owners of Coastal CollisionWorks, David and Susan Monta-naro, filed suit on March 6 againstState Farm in the SC Court of Com-mon Pleas for defamation, unfairtrade practices, breach of contractwith their insureds and breach ofagreement with Coastal Collision.The shop is located at 2543 SavannahHwy, Charleston, SC, 29414. BeckySnelgrove and Steve Fields arenamed in the suit as State Farm rep-resentatives.

Coastal Collision Works accusesState Farm of engaging in a course ofaction to artificially depress the pricefor the repair of damaged automobilesin the Charleston, SC, area. In addi-tion it accuses State Farm of:

● Attempting to persuade CoastalCollision Works and other Charlestonbody shops to agree to repair automo-biles for an amount less than they or-dinarily charge in exchange forprompt adjustment of losses; for re-ferral of business; and for being listedby State Farm as a “preferred” shop.

● Attempting to persuade Coastal

Collision Works and other Charlestonbody shops to repair automobiles onthe basis of the State Farm estimate ofdamage instead of performing an in-dependent evaluation of damage.

● Attempting to persuade CoastalCollision Works and other Charlestonbody shops to not use new parts but tosubstitute parts of an inferior quality;to repair instead of replace parts re-quiring replacement; and to ignoredamages that might not be recogniza-ble by the customer.

● Arbitrarily refusing to pay rea-sonable costs associated with neededrepairs.

● Refusing to pay the fair marketprice of parts, insisting that any bodyshop doing State Farm repairs orderfrom a specific parts supplier and thenrefusing to reimburse the body shopsfor the extra time involved in orderingparts from the specified parts supplier.

● Refusing to pay for certain re-pairs and operations necessary in therepair of damaged vehicles.

In addition, the shop says StateFarm falsely accused the owners of

charging noncompetive prices and ofperforming work not reasonably nec-essary for a proper repair, which hasdamaged the shop’s reputation andcaused it monetary damages.

According to the plaintiffs, StateFarm violated the South Carolina Un-fair Trade Practices Act by steeringcustomers to competitors, citing theState Farm Select Service Program.

The plaintiffs have requestedtriple damages from the court.

A State Farm spokesman had notresponded to a request for comment atpress time.

South Carolina Shop Files Suit Against State Farm CitingBreaches of Contract and Defamation

This spring, four CARSTAR AutoBody Repair Experts stores wererecognized by Mitchell, as recipi-ents of the 2013 AutocheX™ Solu-tion Premier Achiever Awards.“Repair shops are making a com-mitment to their customers on adaily basis,” said Jim O’Leary, VicePresident of Mitchell Repair Solu-tions. “It’s important for Mitchell torecognize these efforts and honorthose teams that have gone aboveand beyond to deliver some of theindustry’s best service.” The 12thannual Premier Achiever Awardshonor collision repair shops thatconsistently achieve the highestcustomer satisfaction scores asmeasured by the AutocheX solu-tion, either independently or as partof an insurance-sponsored repairprogram.

The CARSTAR shops honoredthis year were:● Walt’s Autobody CARSTAR –Topeka, KS● ABC CARSTAR Body & Frame– Prescott, AZ● Superior Auto Body CARSTAR –Pinellas Park, FL● Autobody ResurrectionCARSTAR – Lakeland, FL

Four CARSTAR Shops WereRecognized by Mitchell



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The Automotive Aftermarket Associa-tion Southeast Inc. (AAAS) AnnualConference and Trade Show 2014 willbe held June 5–8, 2014, at the Sandes-tin Village of Baytowne Wharf in Des-tin, FL. In addition to providing usefuleducational information, the eventwill offer an excellent forum for net-working opportunities and plenty ofadventure through a fishing expedi-tion, golf tournament, and dinnercruise.

The cost of the conference is $135per person with additional fees for thegolf tournament and deep sea fishingexpedition as detailed below. To regis-ter, return the registration form (avail-able at www.aaas.us/events.aspx) andpayment to AAAS Annual Conferenceand Trade Show, 11245 ChantillyParkway Court, Montgomery, AL36117.

For questions or additional infor-mation, contact Jennifer Johnson at800-239-7779 or [email protected].

Thursday, June 5The conference will begin on Thurs-day, June 5, 2014, with a WelcomeReception from 6:00–7:30 PM.

Friday, June 6Networking opportunities will resumeat 5:15 AM Friday, June 6, 2014, withdeep sea fishing aboard the Miss HazelCharter Boat located behind the Fish-erman’s Wharf Restaurant on Highway98. With a huge 20-by-20-foot fishingdeck, the boat can accommodate up to20 people, who will be provided withall necessary equipment and lunch, toenjoy this angling trip at a cost of only$100 per angler. At 2:00 PM, theAAAS Board of Directors meeting willbe held at the Baytowne ConferenceCenter, and the evening will concludewith the AAAS Chairman’s Receptionat the Baytowne Marina.

Saturday, June 7After a continental breakfast andtabletop show at 7:30 AM, the educa-tional portion of the conference willbegin on Saturday, June 7, 2014, at8:30 AM with AAAS chairman MikeMorgan welcoming attendees andsharing the “State of the AssociationReports.”

Following Morgan, the firstpresentation of the morning will be“Aftermarket Changes and TrendsImpacting You and Your Business,”given by keynote speaker John Wash-bish, president and CEO of After-market Auto Parts Alliance. Over thecourse of his four-decade-long careerin the aftermarket industry, Washbishhas served on several councils andassociation boards in addition to re-ceiving multiple awards that recog-nize his leadership skills. Morganfeels “very fortunate to have Johnjoining us for our annual conference.We look forward to his visit, and himsharing his views and insights on theindustry and the economy.”

AAAS has also scheduled threeadditional gentlemen to follow Wash-bish, and they “are honored to wel-come an impressive list of guestspeakers who will deliver very timelyeducational and informative presenta-tions on some of the most importanttopics facing the aftermarket industrytoday,” Morgan states.

Washbish’s presentation will befollowed by Scott Luckett, CEO of theAutomotive Aftermarket Industry As-sociation (AAIA), who will discuss“The Connected Car: The Impact ofVehicle Telematics in the Auto CareIndustry.” Luckett’s efforts in the af-termarket industry have yieldedrecognition in the form of the 2001Northwood University AutomotiveAftermarket Education Award and the2002 University of the AftermarketFounders Service Award.

Following a short break, “After-market Access to OEM Vehicle RepairInformation” will be presented bySkip Potter, executive director of theNational Automotive Service TaskForce (NASTF). With over 45 yearsof experience in the automotive in-dustry, Potter has worked for multipletrade associations and been recog-nized with several awards, includingbeing named an “Aftermarket Influ-ence” by Babcox Publications in1999.

The concluding seminar, “Oba-macare: Its Impact on You, Your Em-ployees, and Your Business,” will beled by Wayne Bowling, senior vicepresident of employee benefits for the

Willis Group. Bowling has been in-volved in the sphere of employee ben-efits since 1981 and will have plentyof useful insights on the highly-antic-ipated topic of Obamacare.

The 2014 Bell/Hines MemorialScholarship Golf Tournament willstart at 12:30 PM at the BaytowneRaven Golf Course. Proceeds fromthe tournament benefit the AAAS Ed-ucational Foundation Scholarship Pro-gram (AAASEF). The four-personscramble is an 18-hole tournamentwith competitions for longest drive,straightest drive, closest to the pin,and hole-in-one prizes on par-3 holdswith a possible prize of up to $10,000,sponsored by Federated Insurance.The golf tournament was establishedin 2008 to honor Dick Bell and AlHines for their tireless contributions tothe aftermarket industry. Participantswill be charged $125 per golfer with$25 being a tax-deductible donation toAAASEF. The entry fee also covers

green fees, lunch, refreshments, and agolf kit.

The AAAS Annual Conferenceand Trade Show 2014 will concludeon Saturday night with a dinnerparty and bay cruise aboard Sun-Quest Cruises’ Solaris, included inthe conference cost. With threedecks of indoor and outdoor attrac-tions, attendees will enjoy a three-hour dinner cruise with three fullcourses, a premium bar, and houseentertainment.


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On Thursday, May 1, the WashingtonMetropolitan Auto Body Association(WMABA) hosted industry speakerMike Anderson for a full-day educa-tional seminar on “The Encyclopediaof Estimating Practices” at the LKQTraining Center in Linthicum Heights,MD. In addition to providing a State ofthe Industry update, Anderson’s semi-nar also touched on parts procurement,the future of DRPs, cycle time andmany other topics. Jordan Hendler,Executive Director of WMABA, de-scribes the seminar: “With his usualboisterous and ‘take-me-as-I-come-or-leave-me’ personality, Mike gave at-tendees more than they bargained for.Safety is his number one priority, andhe wants every pair of ears to hear howvehicle technology is changing every-thing we know about collision repairprocesses.”

Through his passionate approach,Anderson’s goal was to stress that, de-spite the importance of focusing on

cycle time, safety is an even morepressing concern for collision repair-ers because the consumer is trustingtheir repair facility to look out for theirbest interests and ensure that their caris restored to its pre-loss conditionproperly. “A lot of people aren’t awareof what it takes to fix a car properly. Idon’t mean that disrespectfully; it’sjust that the industry is changing sofast that it takes a lot to keep up onthings today. You really have to spendtime on training,” Anderson empha-sizes.

In discussing the impact that aproper repair estimate has on cycletime, Anderson explained, “when youpass on an estimate that’s really in-complete and another technician findsmore damage, you’re just creating in-efficiency in your process… Speed isthe name of the game. It’s not justabout writing an accurate blueprint tofix the car right...Even if you’re not aDRP, you have to get [better] at turn-

ing cars quicker just because there isless profit on a job and you have toturn more cars just to get to the break-even point quicker. We really tried tofocus [in the class] on just how the es-timate is really the basis for getting theright part the first time and the basisfor communicating properly with acustomer.”

Anderson discussed everythingfrom receiving proper reimbursementfrom insurers to lean processes, re-ducing stress in the shop environmentand the demands that new technologyplaces on repairers. “We really have tounderstand that with all this new tech-nology with accident avoidance sys-tems, lane departure systems andautonomous braking that you can’tjust go through [the vehicle] like in theold days and say, ‘I’m just going tocheck out all the lights and doorlocks.’” You have to have a scan toolto actually take and check a lot ofthese things during an output test and

[make] sure they’re working prop-erly.”

Rather than suggesting quickfixes, Anderson provides tools andmethods for learning, focusing onthe long-term solution of student-initiated learning and adaptation. Aspart of this initiative, Anderson pro-vided attendees with a list of web-sites where they can acquire thistype of necessary knowledge:www.DEGweb.org, www.Collision-Advice.com, www.EstimateScrub-ber.com, www.PartsVoice.com, andwww.Estify.com.

Anderson was pleased withparticipants’ responses to his semi-nar: “Everybody was interactiveand had lots of great questions. Oneof things I found really refreshingwas there were a lot of young peo-ple in the class, particularly youngfemales. It’s really nice to see moreand more women represented in theindustry. It’s always nice to see

Mike Anderson Visits WMABA to Discuss Estimating Practices, Parts Procurement and More!

with David BrownShop Showcase

with Attorney Martin ZuradaBody Shop Law

with Domenico Nigro

The Community-Focused Body Shop

with Janet ChaneyShop Showcase

with Frank SheroskyIndustry Business Beat


with Chasidy Rae SiskWestern Associations

with Chasidy Rae SiskOld School Know How


with Chasidy Rae SiskSoutheast News

with Chasidy Rae SiskMidwest Associations


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with Ed AttanasioShop Showcase

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young people. With what we do withregards to computers and technology,young people are more open to [thisindustry].”

As a recurring speaker at WMABAmeetings, Anderson praises the associa-tion and explains why he is always will-ing to visit the East Coast to teach theassociation’s members. “I get the privi-lege of working with a lot of differenttrade associations across the country, andI don’t think a lot of people realize whatthey have in Jordan Hendler as executivedirector. She is truly one of the most pas-sionate people you can ever meet in theindustry.”

As of May 12, 2014, you can now reg-ister to attend the 2014 SEMA Show atwww.SEMAShow.com/register. Theannual trade show for the automotiveaccessories market is set for Tuesday–Friday, November 4–7, 2014, in LasVegas, NV.

You can register as an attendee,exhibitor, and media member:

Attendees: Distributors, retail-ers, installers, and buyers who will bemeeting with exhibitors at the SEMAShow should register as an attendee.Applicants may be required to submitproof of employment in the industry.During registration, attendees will beable to sign up for special events and

seminars, including those offered bythe Society of Collision & Repair Spe-cialists (SCRS), Tire Industry Associ-ation (TIA), and more. Approvedattendees who register before the earlydeadline in October 2014 will receivetheir badges in the mail.

Exhibitors: Theexhibitor category isfor company person-nel working in thebooths of exhibitingcompanies. To securean exhibitor badge,individuals will needto have the uniquepassword and user idthat was provided,via email, to the pri-mary contact at theexhibiting company.The primary contactmay register the en-tire staff at one time

quickly and easily. Exhibitor badgesare not to be used for non-employees,including contest winners, contrac-tors, and vendors. During registration,exhibitors will also be able to ordercomplimentary tickets to the SEMAIndustry Awards Banquet. Tickets tothe banquet, which is attended by3,000 attendees and considered bymany to be the industry’s premier cel-

ebration, sell for $50 each.Media members: Editors and

journalists covering the SEMA Showcan register for complimentary mediacredentials. Applicants may need tosupply proof of media affiliation,such as bylined articles or businesscards. All approved media will beable to pick up their credentials on-site in the SEMA Show Media Cen-ter, which includes exclusive servicesand amenities to assist with reportingfrom the event. During registration,media are able to secure a ticket tothe LTAA Media Preview—a brand-new event that will give media ex-clusive early access to new productson Monday, November 3, 2014, theday before the SEMA Show officiallyopens.

“There are many advantages toregistering early for the SEMA Show,”said Peter MacGillivray, SEMA vicepresident of events and communica-tions. “Early application expedites theregistration process, which is the firststep to developing a personal plan forthe show. Whether you’re an exhibitor,buyer, or media, having a plan in ad-vance of the event is the best way toensure success.”

Complete details about the SEMAShow and registration are available atwww.semashow.com.

SEMA Show Registration Now Open


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Valspar Automotive is the 32nd Na-tional Auto Body Council (NABC) Di-amond Member.

“From the time we first visitedwith NABC representatives at theSEMA Show in 2013, we knew thiswas an important mission that we needand want to support,” said Peter Will-man, Valspar Automotive North Amer-ica general manager. “Communityinvolvement matters to us, which iswhy it was an easy decision to join andhelp further the NABC mission and itsprograms.”

“We applaud and welcomeValspar’s leadership commitment tothe NABC,” said Chuck Sulkala,NABC executive director. “Valspar’smembership at our highest Diamondlevel represents a strong endorsementof the value and important work byour entire membership as we continueto strengthen and build a positiveimage of our collision industry.”

View all NABC Diamond Mem-bers at:nationalautobodycouncil.org/mem-bership/diamond-members.

Valspar Joins National Auto Body Council

NACE has announced the schedule isnow available for the Collision RepairExecutive Symposium (CRES), for-merly the MSO Symposium. TheMSO Symposium has been an ex-tremely popular, sold-out event duringNACE since it premiered in 2011,drawing attendance from the largestmulti-shop operators in the collisionrepair industry. This all-new CRESbusiness event now caters to a broadergroup of collision repair executives al-lowing it to be more inclusive of someof the best, as well as the largest, oper-ators in the marketplace. This year’sevent includes key changes in contentincluding a focus on management, op-erations and participation from insur-ance company executives presentingleading information on industry trends.

Designed for collision repairmulti-shop operators, as well as opera-tors looking for high-growth strategies,mergers and acquisitions, divesting, andoperational excellence, CRES is sched-uled for Friday, August 1. The NACE |CARS Expo will take place Thursdayand Friday, July 31-Aug. 1, with educa-tion beginning Wednesday, July 29, atthe Cobo Convention Center in Detroit.

Registration for CRES is $150 be-fore June 14 and $250 following, and isavailable online at http://www.NACE-expo.com/Content/Register/3/ for qual-ified shop owners. This “nextgeneration” CRES event provides in-formation for high-growth shop ownersand multiple-store operators that is un-paralleled. This year’s CRES includesan Expo Pass, as well as a ticket to theOpening General Session and WelcomeParty Thursday, July 31, allowing formultiple networking opportunities forshop owners and MSOs throughout theevent.

“A significant amount of time,effort and planning has been in-vested in developing the fresh con-tent for this year’s all-new formatfor CRES as we strive to deliver rel-evant, high-level content for this im-portant and rapidly growing segmentof the collision repair industry,” saidRussell Thrall, Collision Week pub-lisher, symposium moderator andco-producer.

Dan Risley, ASA president and ex-ecutive director, and CRES co-producerstated, “Some businesses are preparingfor expansion through growth or acqui-

sition while others are preparing formerger or divestiture. This symposiumwill provide information essential in un-derstanding market conditions andpreparing for the future, regardless thesize of the business.”

Sponsorship opportunities for theCRES are selling quickly, with 12sponsors confirmed to date: ASA, Au-daExplore, AutoZone, Axalta Coating

Systems, BASF, Car-O-Liner, ChiefAutomotive Technologies, Collision-Week, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, PPG,UniCure and Universal Technical Insti-tute. It is co-produced by ASA, NACEand Russell Thrall.

CRES will be moderated by ateam of experts including Marcy Tieger,Roger Wright, Erick Bickett and Rus-sell Thrall.

NACE Announces CRES/MSO Symposium Agenda

As of May 6, 2014, both online attendeeregistration and housing reservationsare open for the 32nd annual NACE |CARS 2014 Expo & Conference athttp://www.naceexpo.com/Content/Register/3/. Part of Industry Week, the col-lision and service repair industry’s pre-mier networking event, the NACE |CARS 2014 Conference will be heldJuly 30–August 2, 2014, and the Expowill be held July 31 and August 1, 2014,at the COBO Convention Center in De-troit, MI. Other Industry Week eventsinclude many board and associationmeetings on July 28, 2014; the Colli-sion Industry Conference (CIC) sum-mer meeting on July 29, 2014; and theI-CAR Conference and Gala 35th An-niversary Networking Event on July 30,2014.

View the Conference Program andSchedule-At-A-Glance at:http://www.naceexpo.com/page.cfm/Action=Seminar/libID=1/listID=1/t=m/goSection=5.

Expo passes to access the showfloor only can be purchased for $35.Individual, 90-minute conference ses-sions are available for $75 per sessionor individual three- or four-hour con-ference sessions are available for $150per session. A Day Pass is $250, andSaturday Mechanical Sessions are$150. A full-access Super Pass is $315for members and $365 for non-mem-bers. All prices noted reflect early birdpricing, which is in effect through June14, 2014. I-CAR Add-On Education,the Collision Repair Executive Sym-posium (CRES)/MSO Symposium,

and Technology and Telematics Forum(TTF) events are available at an addi-tional charge.

New for 2014, all registration op-tions include the NACE | CARS ShowFloor Receptions in the evening on July31 and August 1; the Opening GeneralSession the morning of July 31, 2014;and The Assembly - Industry Forum inthe afternoon on July 30, 2014. Addi-tional details on these events will be re-leased in the near future.

Special discount pricing is availablefor Automotive Service Association(ASA) members, and discounts are alsoprovided for other industry organizationmembers. All NACE | CARS exhibitorswill be offering substantially discountedExpo Passes and 10 percent off any con-ference purchase (excluding I-CAR Add-

On Education). Attendees are encouragedto contact an exhibitor to redeem this dis-count. For a list of current exhibitors, visithttp://fp37.a2zinc.net/clients/Stonefort-Group/NC14/public/eventmap.aspx. Inaddition, special discounts are availableto students and educators focused in theautomobile repair industry.

Additionally, NACE | CARS partic-ipants are encouraged to book hotel reser-vations early, as the rooms are filling fast.Attendees and exhibitors can review thehotels within the official housing blockand reserve their rooms online.

NACE | CARS 2014 Agenda Announced and Online Attendee Registration Opens



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NSF Certifies 500 Sheet Metal Parts Made by GordonNSF International has certified 500 dif-ferent sheet metal hoods and fendersfrom Gordon Auto Body Parts Co.,Ltd. via the NSF Automotive CollisionReplacement Parts Certification Pro-gram. The NSF certification of 500unique sheet metal parts includes morethan 700 different models from allmajor auto companies. NSF certifiedparts now cover more than 20,000 ve-hicle applications and represent a sig-nificant increase in the number of sheetmetal certified parts available in themarket. This 500 parts certificationcomplements Gordon’s already certi-fied steel bumpers and bumper brack-ets. To earn certification, Gordonautomotive parts were independentlyreviewed and tested against OE serv-ice parts and all hoods and fenderswere fitted to vehicles to ensure properfit. NSF International also regularlyaudits Gordon’s OE-ready manufac-turing facilities and quality systems toensure that they meet or exceed eachof NSF’s stringent requirements.

“Achieving this important certifi-cation from NSF International is es-sential as it underscores the quality andintegrity of our automotive parts interms of fit, form and function. Welook forward to certifying more autoparts in the near future,” said RichardWang, Gordon Auto Body Parts Co.

Executive Assistant to President. “ThisNSF certification occurs in conjunctionwith the increase in Gordon’s sheetmetal parts inventory so we are pre-pared to offer these NSF certified partsto ensure inventory levels can meet theanticipated growth in demand.”

“Earning NSF certification un-derscores Gordon’s commitment to en-suring that high-quality collisionreplacement parts are available so bodyrepairers, insurers and distributors canmake more quality repairs using NSFcertified hoods, fenders, steel bumpersand bumper brackets,” said BobFrayer, Director of NSF Interna-tional’s Automotive Collision Certifi-cation Programs. In addition to sheetmetal components, the NSF Automo-tive Collision Replacement Parts Cer-tification Program tests and certifieslamps, bumper fascias, reinforcingbeams (rebars), step bumpers, plasticcomponents and absorbers. NSF alsooffers automotive collision parts dis-tributor certification, which requiresdistributors to have quality manage-ment systems in place that addresstraceability, service and quality issues.This includes having an effectiverecords system, inventory systems totrack orders and parts through the sup-ply chain, and an ISO 9001-certifiedquality management system.

Car-O-Liner Offers Free Value-Added Design PlanningCar-O-Liner®, a leading globalprovider of collision repair equipmentto the automotive aftermarket, offersWorkShop facility design planning forCar-O-Liner equipment placement asa free value-added service throughlocal authorized Car-O-Liner Distrib-utors.

Through this service, shops ad-dress challenges posed by limited spaceor awkward building layouts by de-signing a concept for how Car-O-Linerequipment will best fit to optimizework flow, thereby providing confi-dence that their equipment investmentwill maximize both technician produc-tivity and shop profitability.

After consulting on the objec-tives of the facility, the Car-O-LinerDistributor will work with shop oper-ators and their architects to plan andvisualize the most effective layout

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To learn more about how aWorkShop facility design plan canimprove your efficiency, contact yourlocal Car-O-Liner Distributor, visitwww.car-o-liner.com, or call toll free(844) 833-9419.


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ABRA Auto Body & Glass, a lead-ing national damaged vehicle repaircompany, announced the purchase ofall 24 Collision Centers of Americarepair centers in Chicago, Illinois,the surrounding communities, andNorthwest Indiana. Terms of the dealwere not disclosed.

“They’re a great company. Iknow our employees and customerswill be in good hands moving for-ward and will receive the same per-sonalized service and top-qualityworkmanship they have enjoyedwith us over the years.”

ABRA is one of the largest andfastest growing multi shop repair op-erators in the country. Today’s trans-action boosts its nationwideportfolio to 218 collision repair cen-ters in 17 states.

“ABRA is one of the mosticonic brands in the collision repairindustry,” said David Mulder Sr.,founder and president of CollisionCenters of America. “They’re a greatcompany. I know our employees andcustomers will be in good handsmoving forward and will receive thesame personalized service and top-quality workmanship they have en-joyed with us over the years.”

ABRA Acquires 24 CollisionCenters of America Locations

The Automotive Management Insti-tute (AMI) is accepting applicationsfor the $1,000 Arrowhead SpecialtyMarkets "High Octane" Scholarship.The scholarship, which is awardedto an Automotive Service Associa-tion (ASA) Mechanical Divisionmember who strives to be, or ispresently working in a managementcapacity. The scholarship will beapplied toward the recipient’s ex-penses to attend the 2014 Congressof Automotive Repair and Service(CARS) in Detroit, July 31–Aug. 2.CARS is sponsored by ASA and of-fers an educational lineup of AMIseminars, technical training coursesand industry sessions, an expositionand the opportunity to network withother automotive service profession-als. To be eligible, applicants mustwork in the mechanical repair in-dustry; must demonstrate an interestin self-improvement through educa-tion and training; must own or workfor a business that is an ASA mem-ber in good standing; and, if the ap-plicant is not the business owner,must be recommended by the owner.To request a scholarship application,call AMI at (800) 272-7467, ext.101.

AMI Taking Applications for$1,000 High-Octane Award

Allstate Corp., the largest publiclytraded home and auto insurer, hiredAlan Gellman from Wells Fargo &Co. to oversee marketing at its Es-urance unit. Gellman will be chief mar-keting officer, reporting to EsuranceChief Executive Officer Gary Tolmanin San Francisco. He held marketingroles for the past 10 years at WellsFargo, the auto insurer said. Allstate hasramped up advertising spending to wincustomers from big spending rivalssuch as GEICO and Progressive Corp.

Solera Holdings Inc. says it is buyingthe insurance and services division ofprivate equity-owned Pittsburgh GlassWorks LLC for $280 million, expand-ing the Texas-based insurance soft-ware company’s business to includeautomobile repair and claims man-agement services. Solera’s acquisitionof the insurance division, which is ex-pected to close by the end of June, willbe paid for entirely with cash, thecompany said. Pittsburgh GlassWorks is owned by NY-based privateequity firm Kohlberg & Co. LLC.

Auto parts retailer Advance AutoParts Inc reported a 21 percent risein quarterly profit, helped by the ac-quisition of the biggest operator ofthe Carquest chain of auto repairshops and car parts stores. AdvanceAuto completed the acquisition ofGeneral Parts International Inc inJanuary, making the company thelargest auto parts retailer by sales inthe United States. Advance Auto’snet income as reported rose to$147.7 million in the first quarterended April 19 from $121.8 milliona year earlier.

Bloomberg Reports Esuranceto Take on Advertising Giants

Solera Buys Pittsburgh GlassWorks’ Insurance Business

Advance Auto Profit Up 21%,Acquisition Boosts Sales

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According to Ford, 850 Ford dealer-ships have enrolled technicians intraining courses to learn how to docollision repairs on the 2015 alu-minum F-150 pickup. Ford said thenumber exceeds its goal of having 750dealerships enrolled in the courses bythe end of 2014.

The training courses will betaught by instructors from I-CAR.Jason Bartanen, I-CAR director ofindustry technical relations, calls itone of the biggest technical trainingprograms of its kind ever. So far, I-CAR has scheduled about 700 classesin locations around the country. Deal-ership training begins this month.Training for independent collisionshops and insurance estimators beginsin June.

“Because of the magnitude andvolume of this vehicle, I think we’regoing to see a fantastic response tothis course,” he said.

Ford’s shift from steel to alu-minum on its biggest-selling vehicleis an enormous industrial undertakingand affects everyone from the factoryfloor to the collision repair shop. Fordwants to be sure collision repair spe-cialists know what they’re doing thefirst time a damaged aluminumpickup rolls into a shop.

Ford sold 763,402 F-series trucksin 2013. It doesn’t report sales of theF-150 separately from the rest of the Fseries, but Ford production statisticsshow that 69 percent of all F-seriesproduction was F-150 in 2013.2-part course

The I-CAR training course willbe divided into two segments. Thefirst teaches general aluminum repairtechniques, including aluminum weld-ing and the operation of rivet guns.The second concentrates on particulardesign elements of the 2015 F-150 it-self.

Ford has offered to pay the costof one technician per dealership forthe training course, which takes abouttwo days and costs about $1,000.Dealerships that want to have morethan one trained technician will paythe additional expense to send extratechnicians.

To work on aluminum, Fordrecommends that dealerships withbody shops and independent repairshops buy new tools, including spe-cialized rivet guns, MIG (metal inertgas) welders and specialized vacuumsystems. Ford has estimated dealer-ships can buy the equipment theyneed to get started for $30,000 to$50,000.

When aluminum is bent or bro-ken, it behaves differently than steel.Aluminum does not have the “metalmemory” to resume its original shape,as steel does.

Ford strongly recommends col-lision shops set up separate areasfor working on aluminum becauseof steel-aluminum contamination is-sues. Galvanic corrosion, similar torust, can occur when the metalstouch each other. Combustion canalso occur when the two metalsmix.

Among the training requirementswill be a weld test in which techni-cians will be asked to perform sixwelds from two positions. I-CARwelding experts will travel to dealer-ships and repair shops to be sure thatthey have acquired the proper alu-minum-handling equipment and thatit is installed properly, Bartanen said.Independent shops

Roughly 20 percent of Ford’s

more than 3,000 dealerships havebody shops; the rest outsource thework to other dealerships or to inde-pendent collision repair shops. Fordsaid it has enrolled about 420 inde-pendent shops and hopes to enroll 750by year end.

Technicians aren’t the only oneswho need a better understanding ofthe aluminum repair process: Insur-ance adjusters do, too.

Said Bartanen: “This trainingwill be open to the insurance industryso insurance adjusters will know whatto do and can write more accuratedamage assessments.”

I-CAR and Ford experts also willoffer lectures and demonstrations onrepairing the new F-150 at the Inter-national Autobody Congress & Expo-sition (NACE) July 30-Aug. 2 inDetroit.

The 2015 F-150 is scheduled toarrive in dealerships in the fourthquarter.

Ford Dealerships Exceed Enrollment Goals for Collision Repair Training on F-150

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Parts Dept. Hours: Mon-Thurs...7am-7pm Fri...7am-6pm Sat...8am-2pm

AudiGenuine Parts

Audi Shrewsbury780 Boston TurnpikeShrewsbury, MA 01545

866.438.3997Parts Dept. Hours: Mon-Thurs...7-7 Fri...7-6 Sat...8-2 Sun...Closedwww.audishrewsbury.com

• Large Inventory• Experienced Staff• Large Delivery Area

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ORIGINAL BMW PARTS & ACCESSORIES


Documents

Autobody News June 2014 Northeastern Edition