Autobody News May 2011 Southeast Edition

COLUMNS in this issue...Yoswick — Effort to Develop Collision Repair Standards TakesAnother Step Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 13Gonzo — On the Other Side of the Bookstore Counter . . . . . . . .p. 17Franklin — Summertime Means Event Time For Body Shops . . .p. 18Chaney — Three of Largest Auto Recycling Networks Merge . . .p. 21Danalevich — Is Your Parts Supplier Purchasing Policy aBenefit or an Expense? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 23Insurance Insider — Insurers Will Continue to Serve “Flavorof the Day” to Shops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 30

REGIONAL ARTICLES in this issue...GCIA Labor Rates Surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 1Tornado Strikes KY Toyota Parts Plant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 4GCIA Meeting Hosts OSHA Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 10FACA First Responder Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 12Service King Acquires 8 Locations in San Antonio . . . . . . . . . . .p. 12Skills USAWinner Congratulated at San Antonio College . . . . . .p. 20

Recyclers, Repairers Look for Ways to ImproveBusiness InteractionsBy John Yoswick

Mel Hunke said he’d like to eliminatethe “wedge” between collision repair-ers and auto recyclers.

“We used to work together reallywell,” Hunke said of the two indus-tries. “But once insurers stopped pay-ing for clean-up or repair time onrecycled parts, they basically said,‘You two fight it out.’And we’ve beendoing it ever since. That’s the wedgethat was driven.”

Hunke, a former shop owner whonow represents the Quality Replace-ment Parts (QRP), a coalition of autorecyclers in nine states, was speaking

at the third “Recycled Parts Round-table,” held in Las Vegas. The gather-ings, originally organized by QRP butnow open to anyone, bring togetherrepresentatives from all segments ofthe industry to discuss and work to re-solve issues related to recycled parts.

“We need to blow out the wedgeand put our relationship, our corebusiness-to-business process, back to-gether in a way that benefits every-one,” Hunke said as he opened themost recent roundtable.

It was clear by the end of thehalf-day meeting that many of the twodozen participants – primarily owners

See Recyclers, Page 14

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

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

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

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

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

They are also an invaluable toolwhen it comes to Direct Repair Pro-gram payment negotiations.

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

Although many insurers conductlabor rates surveys of their own, theassociations usually follow up withtheir own surveys to make sure thecorrect average rate is agreed upon.

On April 7th, 2011 the UnitedStates Court of Appeals for theEleventh Circuit upheld a lowercourt’s order granting summaryjudgment in favor of State Farm In-surance in Gunder’s Auto Center’sclaim against the nation’s largestpersonal auto insurer for slanderand tortious interference with abusiness relationship. (See Autobo-dynews.com for background.)

To recover for slander in Florida,the claimant must show (1) publica-tion of a false statement; (2) about theplaintiff; (3) to a third party; and (4)damage resulting to plaintiff from thepublication.

To state a claim for tortious in-terference in Florida, the claimantmust show (1) the existence of a busi-ness relationship; (2) knowledge of

the relationship on the part of the de-fendant; (3) an intentional and unjus-tified interference by the defendant;and (4) damage from the breach of therelationship.

The court found that, “althoughdenied by State Farm, we assume thestatements allegedly made by StateFarm disparaging Gunter’s weremade and are untrue. Nonetheless,we agree with the district court thatState Farm’s statements were privi-leged:

Under Florida law a privilegedstatement is one in which “A commu-nication made in good faith on anysubject matter by one having an inter-est therein, or in reference to which hehas a duty, is privileged if made to aperson having a corresponding inter-

See Gunder Appeal, Page 19

PAINT FOCUS ARTICLES in this issue...Painting With Waterborne at John Force Racing . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 24Revisiting Paint by Numbers: Refinish Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 26Getting OSHA-Compliant on Plans, Protection, Painting . . . . . . .p. 28

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REGIONAL

AASP-Pennsylvania’s Big E Trade Show

Coming in October . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Alabama Hail Increases Body Shop Business

in Late March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Allstate to Open 50 Agencies in Florida. . . . 6

Are Southern Auto Workers Disinterested in

Unions?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Bills Filed in Texas Aimed at Increasing

Insurance Policy Transparency. . . . . . . . 4

Body Shops May Be Affected by New

Proposed Tax in GA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

FL Drivers Could Be Paying “Fraud Tax”

With Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

FL Insurance Commissioner OKs Homeowner

Rate Hike. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

FL Jury Rules State Farm Driver Owed

$3 Million . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

FL Opens First All Electric Vehicle

Dealership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Florida Autobody Collision Alliance (FACA)

Hosts 1st Annual First-Responder

Extrication Training. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Florida House Bill Aims to Repeal Motor

Vehicle Repair Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Ford to Idle KY Plant Over Parts Shortage

From Japan Quake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

GCIA Meeting Hosts OSHA Safety and

Environmental Compliance Management

Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Georgia Collision Association’s Labor Rates

Survey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

GM Idles Texas SUV Plant . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Gunder’s Loses Appeal to State Farm—

Court Rules ‘Even if False,’ Claims are

Priviledged. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Honda to Invest $94 Million in AL Plant . . . 6

MS Gov. Vetoes Insurance Verification Bill . 6

SC Offers Amnesty to Drivers with

Suspended Licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

SCRS and FACA Co-Hosting Seminar on

Improving Workshop Efficiency . . . . . . . 4

Service King Acquires 8 Alamo Body and

Paint Locations in San Antonio, TX. . . . 12

St. Philip’s College in San Antonio, TX,

Rallies Around Skills-USA-Winning

Classmate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Texting While Driving Ban up for House

Vote in AL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Tornado Strikes Toyota KY Parts Plant . . . . 4

Yancey Truck Centers Opens Macon, Ga.,

Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

COLUMNISTS

Attanasio, Chief - Indiana Shop Owner

Favors Chief for Quality, Durability &

Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Chaney - Three of Largest Auto Recycling

Networks Merge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chess - Getting OSHA-Compliant on Plans,

Protection and Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Danalevich - Is Your Parts Supplier Purchasing

Policy a Benefit or an Expense? . . . . . . . 23

Franklin - Summertime Should Mean Event

Time For Body Shops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Gonzo - A Day to Reflect—On the Other

Side of the Bookstore Counter . . . . . . . 17

Horn - Revisiting Paint by Numbers: A Deep

Dive into Refinish Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Insurance Insider - Insurers Will Continue to

Serve “Flavor of the Day” to Shops . . . 30

Stoll - Painting with Waterborne at John

Force Racing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Yoswick - Effort to Develop Collision Repair

Standards Takes Another Step Forward 13

Yoswick - Recyclers, Repairers Look for

Ways to Improve Business Interactions . 1

NATIONAL

Airbiquity to Supply Air-Over-Voice

Technology to Onstar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Ford Expands F-150/Lincoln Recall Due

to Airbag Flaws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Ford’s CEO Mulally Says Suppliers

Accomodating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Ford’s Electric Focus Will Not Lease

Lithium-Ion Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Full Deliveries From Japanese Suppliers

Stalled Until July . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Honda Extends Production Cuts in North

America to May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

House Rejects Changes to Bill Banning EPA

and Calif. from Regulating Emissions . . 16

Hyundai, Kia Running U.S. Plants at Full

Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Nissan’s Leaf Experiences A/C Sensor

Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Used Vehicle Pricing Expected to Rise in

Quake Aftermath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Verizon Unveils Hybrid and Alternative-energy

Vehicles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

When it Comes to Cars, Men Buy Looks,

Women Seek Practicality . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Contents

Southeast

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy HayhurstGeneral Manager: Barbara DaviesAssistant Editor: Erica SchroederContributing Writers: Tom Franklin, Stefan Gesterkamp, John Yoswick, Lee Amaradio,Toby Chess, Mike Causey, Dan Espersen, Tom McGee, Jeff Webster, Rich Evans,Ed Attanasio, Chasidy SiskAdvertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman (800) 699-8251Sales Assistant: Kristy MangumArt Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Serving Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and adjacent metro areas, Autobody Newsis a monthly publication for the auto body industry. Permission to reproduce in any form thematerial published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher.©2011 Adamantine Media LLC.

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

AkzoNobel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Arrigo Dodge-Jeep-Chrysler . . 10Autoland Scientech. . . . . . . . . 17Bill Penney Toyota. . . . . . . . . . 15BMWWholesale Parts Dealers. 30Chief Automotive. . . . . . . . . . . . 7Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Delray Honda . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Don Mealey Chevrolet. . . . . . . . 4Don Reid Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Equalizer Industries. . . . . . . . . 23Ford Wholesale Parts DealersFL, GA, AL, MS . . . . . . . . . . 32

Galloway Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . 15Garmat USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Global PDR Solutions . . . . . . . 13GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . 22Gus Machado Ford . . . . . . . . . 18HondaWholesale Parts Dealers. 21Hyundai Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Kia Motors Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Mattei. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Mazda Wholesale Parts. . . . . . 27Mercedes-Benz Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

MOPAR Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Nalley BMW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14NissanWholesale Parts Dealers. 27Palmers Toyota . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Porsche Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Quality Stainless Products . . . . 8Scorpion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Southtowne Hyundai. . . . . . . . . 6Tameron Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . 22Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers. 19Volkswagen Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Inde

xofAdvertisers


A tornado struck a manufacturingplant on the southeast side of Hop-kinsville, Kentucky, on April 4, toss-ing pieces of the roof, collapsing part

of the aluminum structure and injur-ing seven people, officials said.

The plant, Toyoda Gosei Auto-motive Sealing Kentucky (TGASK),makes weatherstripping for Toyotavehicles.

The plant is located betweenHopkinsville and Pembroke, Ken-tucky.

About 184 employees were in-side TGASK when the storm arrivedshortly before noon, said Paul Ray,spokesman for the Hopkinsville Po-

lice Department.None of the injured had life-

threatening injuries, said spokes-woman Jessica Beckham of JennieStuart Medical Center. Ray said theinjuries were mostly bumps andbruises.

Tornado watches were in effectthe rest of that night in portions ofLouisiana, Mississippi, northwesternFlorida, most of Alabama and north-ern Georgia, including Atlanta. Severethunderstorms were moving throughand flood warnings were issued insome areas.

Numerous trees and power lineswere down across the area, the Sher-iff's Office said.

“It could have been a lot worse,”Ray told CNN. The plant was “veryfortunate that at that time, there werevery few injuries, and only minor in-juries.” All employees had been ac-counted for, he added.

The full affect of the damages tothe building and its possible affect onproduction at the plant have not beenfully disclosed.

Tornado Strikes Toyota KY Parts Plant

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

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

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

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

for assuring greater customer loy-alty.

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

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

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

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

SCRS and FACA Co-Hosting Seminar onImproving Workshop Efficiency

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TGASK sustained damage to the east side ofthe plant after the tornado

Bills Filed in Texas Aim to IncreaseInsurance Policy TransparencyTwo pieces of legislation recentlyfiled in Texas would require insurancecompanies to provide customers withmore complete information on rate in-creases and expand resources avail-able to consumers for shopping themarket.

Rep. Armando Walle of Hous-ton says House Bill 2723 and HouseBill 2724 would “help consumers fullyunderstand the premium increases im-posed by insurance companies andwill give consumers information onhow they can shop around.”

HB 2723 concerns accidentand health insurance policies.Under the measure, an insurer mustnotify consumers of the rate in-crease 60 days prior to it taking ef-fect, according to informationposted on the Texas House of Rep-resentatives’ Web site. The no-tice would have to include the amountof the increase and information abouthow to file a complaint.

Additionally, the bill would re-quire the notice to include Web siteaddresses where consumers can ac-cess information regarding rate in-crease justifications and alternativecoverage options.

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

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

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

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

He represents House District140, which includes northern portionsof unincorporated Harris County andthe City of Houston.

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

For more information seewww.house.state.tx.us.



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Allstate Insurance says it wants toopen nearly 50 new agency offices inFlorida.

About half of those openingswill be in north Florida, the companysaid, according to reports made by In-surance Journal.

“North Florida has shown in-credible growth for our agencies,”says Bob Jackson, regional salesleader for Allstate’s Florida regionbased in St. Petersburg. “In order tomeet the demands of our current andfuture customers, we’ve made a deci-sion to expand.”

Allstate estimates that each newoffice will mean multiple job oppor-tunities for licensed staff, perhaps asmany as 130 new jobs statewide.

The agencies will sell auto,home and life insurance, according toa spokesman.

Allstate began scaling back onits property insurance writings inFlorida in 2005, after the severe hur-ricane season but it has shown re-newed interest in Florida businesslately.

Last spring, it launched an effortto write about 50,000 new multilinepolicies and began looking into tak-ing out policies from state-backedCitizens Insurance Corp.

In Florida, Allstate operates asCastle Key Insurance Co.and CastleKey Indemnity Co.

Allstate changed the names ofits Florida subsidiaries to Castle Keyin July 2009.

The insurer said the namechanges were made in order to “bet-ter reflect the fact that these propertycompanies are separately capitalizedfrom Allstate Insurance Co.” Thecompany has about 1,000 agents inthe state.

Allstate agents operate as inde-pendent contractors selling Allstatepolicies. They can own their ownfranchise while drawing on supportand resources from the parent com-pany.

The company said there is nofranchise fee associated withowning an Allstate agency, al-though candidates need to have$50,000 to $75,000 in liquid cap-ital.

The company says that moneydoes not go to Allstate; rather itshows the new agency can pay forthe normal operation costs associ-ated with opening and running anagency.

Visit www.insuranceagent.flori-dajobs.com for more information.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbourhas vetoed a bill to set up an electronicsystem to verify that drivers have in-surance, a program intended to reducethe number of uninsured drivers on thestate’s roads, according to reportsmade by Insurance Journal.

In his veto message, Barbour saidhe supports the concept of the verifi-cation system but questioned whetherthere had been sufficient analysis ofthe costs of the proposed system andwhether the proposed civil penaltieswould pay for it. He also said he wasconcerned that the bill requires thepublic safety department to suspend adriver’s license of the owner of a ve-hicle in violation of the insurance law,a task that may be beyond that depart-ment’s authority. Barbour said he be-lieves the language of the bill can befixed by clearly delineating the dutiesof the appropriate agencies. The gov-ernor said he is open to signing a re-vised bill.

“Once the language in the bill iscleaned up, these agencies will be ableto develop a workable system to verifyvehicle liability insurance coverage ofthe vehicles on the highway. I amamenable to including this in the nextspecial session,” he said.

MS Gov. Vetoes InsuranceVerification Bill

Honda plans to invest $94 million inits manufacturing facility in Lincoln,Alabama, and will add 20 jobs at thefacility, according to reports made byAutomotive World.

The Associated Press, citingHonda spokesman Mark Morrison,said this investment will go towardsincreasing production capacity and im-proving the flexibility of vehicle andengine manufacturing. The Lincolnplant employs more than 4,000 people.According to the report, the TalladegaCounty Commission approved taxabatements for the project on the nightof 28 March 2011.

The project is expected to becompleted in mid-2012, according tothe Associated Press.

Honda Manufacturing of Ala-bama produces Honda’s Odysseyminivan, Pilot SUV, Ridgeline pick-upand V6 engines for these vehicles.

This facility is Honda’s largestlight truck production source. Up tonow, Honda has invested more than$1.4 billion in the facility, which hasannual output capacity of 300,000 ve-hicles and V6 engines.

In February, the US accountedfor production of 81,717 Honda vehi-cles.

Honda to Invest $94 Millionin Alabama Plant

Allstate to Open 50 Agencies in Florida


Fraudulent insurance claims by driv-ers in Florida have cost vehicle ownersand insurers nearly $1 billion since2008, according to recent analysis bythe Insurance Information Institute(III).

The III’s recent study pointed outthat the typical two-car family in thestate could be paying what amounts toa “fraud tax” of up to $100 associatedwith their Florida auto insurance pre-miums due to fraudulent behavior as-sociated with the state’s currentno-fault auto insurance system. Stagedauto accidents and other fraudulent be-havior have already cost both the in-sured and insurers an estimated $853million since 2008, the III says. Basedon the current trend discovered in thestudy, the costs from 2009 through2011 could reach $1.5 billion.

“There are more auto insuranceclaims and a higher percentage ofthem seem to require extensive med-ical treatment. This is a costly combi-nation that only offers one reasonableexplanation, fraud and abuse of the no-fault auto insurance system is beingpaid for by all drivers, and steps mustbe taken to reverse this course,” saidLynne McChristian, Florida’s repre-sentative for the III.

FL Drivers Could Be Paying“Fraud Tax” With Insurance Suncoast Electric Vehicles is now

open in St. Petersburg, Florida offer-ing Wheego electric cars and Vantageelectric vans and trucks.

The dealership only offers allelectric zero emission vehicles forcommercial, municipal and consumerneeds.

This dealership is the first of itskind in the sunshine state.

Suncoast owner Richard Nim-phie says, “I am told that I am inno-vative, opening an all electric car andtruck dealership. In fact, this is farfrom the truth. The first electric vehi-cle was produced sometime between1832-1839 by Robert Anderson inScotland. In 1895, Americans beganto devote attention to electric vehiclesand by the early 1900's you could buyan electric car that had a top speed of14 mph and a range of 18 miles. Theproblem was, you would have to pay$2000 for it, while you could buy aModel T for $650.”

Nimphie is convinced that thetime for electric vehicles is here tostay and after nearly forty years in theretail auto business he believes that ifsomeone is able to produce an alter-nate fuel vehicle at a substantiallylower operating cost, there is surely amarket for the vehicle.

His dealership is able to offerone of the first highway capable,plug-in zero emission automobiles.

According to Nimphie, the goodnews is that his dealership hasWheego vehicles available for deliv-ery within a short time after being or-dered instead of the long delay thatother manufacturers may be experi-encing.

The Wheego Whip meets theneeds of more than 80% of thosedriving 10 to 25 miles per day, localdriving.

An electric plug-in low speedvehicle with a range of up to 40 miles,it is short, light, compact and easy todrive. Nimphie describes it as a per-fect, intelligent, green alternative forurban dwellers.

“Wheego wants to make the bestelectric cars and also educate every-one as to the practical benefits ofowning and driving one. They do notaspire to be the biggest car company,or make the fastest cars, but instead,to make safe, reliable and fun prod-ucts without compromise. It was thatphilosophy that convinced me to part-ner with them,” Nimphie said.

Please visit www.suncoastelec-tricvehicles.com for more informa-tion.

FL Opens First All Electric Vehicle DealershipThousands of South Carolina driverswill be able to legally get back behindthe wheel through a one-week amnestyprogram for suspended licenses, ac-cording to reports made by InsuranceJournal.

The Department of Motor Vehi-cles said that the amnesty applies toresidents who lost their driving privi-leges for violations that don’t involvedrugs or alcohol.

Agency spokeswoman BethParks said nearly 10,500 drivers qual-ify. About 20 percent of those drivershave two suspensions.

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

The program will be offered May16-20 at 17 offices around the state. Itwas required as part of a sentencing re-form measure passed by the Legisla-ture last year.

SC Offers Amnesty to Driverswith Suspended Licenses

www.autobodynews.comCHECK IT OUT!

Florida House Bill 5005, “Deregula-tions of Professions and Occupa-tions,” sponsored by Rep. EstebanBovo Jr., R-Dist. 110, includes provi-sions that would repeal Florida’s lawrequiring the registration of motor ve-hicle repair shops with the Motor Ve-hicle Repair Advisory Council and theregulation of motor vehicle repair.

The Florida Motor Vehicle Re-pair Act, which became a law, wascreated to assist consumers with mat-ters relating to motor vehicle repairshops.

The Motor Vehicle Repair Advi-sory Council was created to adviseand assist the Dept. of Agricultureand Consumer Services in carryingout and reviewing the rules relatingto the Florida Motor Vehicle RepairAct.

The law applies to dealers of newand used cars, trucks and motorcycles;garages; service stations; self-em-ployed persons; truck stops; and paint,body, brake, muffler, transmission,mobile repair and glass shops.

Registered shops must post, in aconspicuous location in the customer

service area, the registration certifi-cate and a sign advising consumers oftheir rights under the Motor VehicleRepair Act and give the department’stoll-free telephone number for assis-tance or information.

Shops must also include in thesign a statement advising consumersthey are entitled to the return or in-spection of replaced parts, if requestedat the time the work order is placed.

Finally, shops must include theirregistration number in any advertise-ments, announcements, or listings re-lating to motor vehicle repair in anynewspaper, magazine or directory.

If Bill 5005 were to be passed ascurrently drafted, motor vehicle repairfacilities will be deregulated. TheMotor Vehicle Repair Act is vital tothe motor vehicle repair experiencefor consumers in the state of Florida.

Before 1993, there were approx-imately 5,500 consumer complaintsper year related to automotive repair.Resolutions for these complaintswent through the state court system,which was an expensive 2- to 3-yearprocess.

During fiscal year 2009-2010,there were only 1,743 complaints forthe year, a 70 percent decrease sincethe start of the program. With theFlorida population increasing 35 per-cent during that time, the effective de-crease in complaints was actuallycloser to 80 percent.

The Florida Motor Vehicle Re-pair Act is self-funded by the automo-tive service industry, and helps tooffset much of the cost for the callcenter for all of the motor vehicle-re-lated programs. The annual cost of theprogram for 90 percent of shops is$50.

There are more than 22,000 autorepair shops in Florida. The programcreated by the Florida Motor VehicleRepair Act is effective and success-fully arbitrates nearly 70 percent of allcomplaints within 60 days.

The programs in Florida are cost-effective for consumers and the in-dustry as a whole.

It has been a model programfor other states. ASA opposes theseprovisions included in House Bill5005.


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Ford Motor Co. will have to shutterits first plants April 4 through 8 dueto parts shortages related to theJapanese earthquake and tsunamilast month, according to the DetroitNews.

Ford sales analyst George Pipassaid the Louisville, Ky., plant will beidled next week due to a parts short-age. He declined to identify the part.The plant makes F-Series Super Dutypickups as well as the Ford Expedi-tion and Lincoln Navigator.

The timing of the downtime isfortuitous as sales of large trucks andutility vehicles have fallen off withrecent high gasoline prices, Pipassaid.

Additionally, the Genk, Bel-gium, plant that makes the S-Max andGalaxy minivans and Mondeo mid-size sedan will also be down nextweek, which will help prevent partsshortages in the weeks to come. Theplant would have been down for aweek in May but Ford moved up thetiming to preserve parts.

Ford’s Hermosillo, Mexico,plant will be down the week of April4 to retool for the new 2012 Fusionand Lincoln MKZ. This was previ-ously scheduled and it is not parts re-lated.

And the Flat Rock, Mich., plantwill be down next week because Fordhas an abundance of Mustangs. Daysupply is about 116 days which is al-most double the desired inventorylevel. Pipas said total production fig-ures are unchanged.

In a regulatory filing in April,Ford said it is assessing the impact ofthe earthquake and while the au-tomaker has no production facilitiesin Japan, it continues to work withsuppliers of parts and materials lo-cated there to ensure shipments con-tinue with minimaldisruption.

“We also are pursuing othersources of supply as necessary andpracticable,” Ford said, noting therestill are restrictions on ordering ve-hicles in certain paint colors becauseof a pigment that is solely made at aplant by the damaged nuclear reac-tor.

“Because the situation in Japancontinues to develop, supply inter-ruptions related to materials and com-ponents from Japan could manifestthemselves in the weeks ahead.”

The automaker said if shipmentof a key component is affected and analternate supply cannot be found, itwould adversely affect the au-tomaker’s financial condition.

Ford to Idle KY Plant Over Parts Shortage FromJapan Quake

Body Shops May Be Affectedby New Proposed Tax in GAThe Georgia legislature is talkingabout cutting the income tax rate, butthey hope to make up the moneythrough an auto service sales tax, ac-cording to reports made by Georgia’sWhitfield County News.

The bill would cut the state’spersonal income tax rate from six-percent to four-and-a-half percent.But, it would place a sales tax on autorepairs and the casual sale of cars,boats and airplanes.

Republicans say it would makethe state more competitive with Ten-nessee and Florida, which do nothave a state income tax. Democratssay it will hike taxes on the middleclass. The owner of TateAutomotivein Dalton agrees with Democrats,saying it would add 4 dollars to everyhour of service.

“I don’t think it’s a fair tax, to behonest with you. I think we’re taxedenough already. Georgia’s alwaysbeen exempt on labor taxes, and Ihave a feeling its going to hurt peoplemore than they’re already hurting.”

Democrats say the Republicansdon’t understand what their tax swapwill do. Republicans cancelled a com-mittee debate on the bill on March 30.


Major foreign automakers have beenplacing their US factories in thesouth, including Montgomery, AL,due to the generous state and local in-centives as well as a workforce thatis resistant to unions, according to theLos Angeles Times.

Montgomery is the home ofHyundai Motor Manufacturing Ala-bama, LLC.

UAW organizers are currentlyattempting to persuade southern-lo-cated companies to let the unionmake its case to workers. The paperreports, for example, that members ofthe United Auto Workers tried to lureHMMA employee Deric Golden intosigning a union card, an offer he de-clined.

UAW President Bob Kingwants Hyundai and the other compa-nies to agree to a set of organizingprinciples for “fair elections” thatwill allow the union to make its pitchto employees in a setting that's free ofworkplace “tension, fear and dis-cord,” according to the report.

Texting While Driving Ban upfor House Vote in ALThe Alabama House is making a sec-ond attempt to ban texting while driv-ing, according to the MontgomeryAdviser.

The House voted 86-2 March 31for legislation sponsored by Republi-can Rep. Jim McClendon ofSpringville. He got a similar billpassed last year, only to see it die inthe Senate. Some senators who op-posed the bill last year didn’t comeback after the November legislativeelections, and that makes McClendonoptimistic.

“It is my hope with the Senatewe have now that is not going to hap-pen,” he said.

McClendon’s bill would maketexting while driving a primary of-fense, which means officers couldpull over drivers for texting withoutseeing any other offense. Fines wouldbe $25 for a first offense, $50 for asecond offense and $75 for subse-quent offenses. Court costs, whichvary from county to county, wouldalso apply.

An opponent, Democratic Rep.Alvin Holmes of Montgomery, saidpolice will use it to target black driv-ers and issue more tickets.

Alabama Hail Increases BodyShop Business in Late MarchStrong storms came with a lot ofdamaging hail to Alabama March 26and 27, according to WBRC. Hun-dreds of vehicle owners have insur-ance agencies and body shops busy.Folks are scrambling to try to getthose dents and dings repaired.

Two-hundred vehicles came into Gunter Body Shop and AutoGlass in Jasper by March 29. MackGunter owns Gunter Body Shop andAuto Glass. He said, “I’ve been doingthis for a long time and been througha lot of hail storms. This has been thebiggest one so far, a lot of claims.”

Hollis Mitchell of Jasper hadhail damage to two of his vehicles.

Mitchell said, “It was loudcrashing thunderous hail it was amaz-ing. We weren’t thinking at the timeabout the hail and what it was doingto the roof and cars.”

State Farm set up extra claims lo-cations to handle the heavy volume ofcustomers. State Farm representativeJim Aldridge said, “We are going tobe writing estimate and paying dam-ages all this week into next week.”

State farm had the extra claimslocations set up in Alabama throughApril 2.

Yancey Truck Centers OpensMacon, Ga., LocationYancey Truck Centers opened itsnewest full-service Internationaltruck sales and service location inMacon, Ga. Located at 1320 GuyPaine Rd.

Yancey Truck Centers’ Maconstore is the fifth Yancey Truck Cen-ters store operating in the state.

The Macon location will pro-vide middle Georgia with the parts,service and warranty for entire lineupof International Trucks products in-cluding heavy-duty, medium-dutyand IC bus, as well as new and usedtrucks.

The new location will supportIdeaLease for renting and leasingtrucks, as well as being an Inter-national authorized PartSmartdealer.

International Fleet Charge willalso be accepted at the Macon storefor customer convenience.

And as a fully authorized Inter-national, Cummins and Caterpillardealer, the Macon store will serve awide variety of customer needs.

In addition to Macon, YanceyTruck Centers also operates in Al-bany, Blackshear, Tifton and Val-dosta, Ga.

Are Southern Auto WorkersDisinterested in Unions?

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

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

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

sionrepair shop.Therequirements for ship-ping hazardous materials with the Depart-ment of Transportation was also discussed.

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

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

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

GCIA Meeting Hosts OSHA Safety and EnvironmentalCompliance Management Presentation


FL Insurance CommissionerOKs Homeowner Rate HikeFlorida’s insurance commissioner,Kevin McCarty, has approved ratehikes averaging 18.8% for home-owners who are covered by StateFarm.

The insurer had sought an aver-age increase of 28%, according to aWTSP.com report.

The insurer’s rate hikes, takingeffect July 1 for new business andJuly 15 for renewals.

Insurance Commissioner KevinMcCarty also approved a 62% in-crease for the carrier’s commercialresidential policies, meaning an in-crease for those who own and rent outproperties in the state.

Despite a five-year lapse inmajor hurricane activity in the state,State Farm officials asked for the in-creases from the Florida Office of In-surance Regulation because of risingcosts.

The insurer, the state’s largestprivate carrier, provides coverage to632,000 policyholders in the state.

The rate approval “is an impor-tant step for State Farm Florida to re-main viable in this marketplace,”company spokesman MichaelGrimes said.

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

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

State Farm said it was willing tonegotiate a settlement for a lesseramount, but Bowler refused the offerand the insurer refused to pay.

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

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

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


SHOP & PRODUCTSHOP & PRODUCTSHOWCASESHOWCASE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Company At A Glance...

Type: Collision & Mechanical Repair

Facility Employees: 80

In Business Since: 1952

DRP Programs: Eight

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

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

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

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

Indiana Shop Owner Favors Chief for Quality,Durability & Support

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

by Ed Attanasio

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

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

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

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

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

Dixie Highway Auburn-dale, FL 33823-9505.

All Pro UsedAutoParts provided the ex-ample vehicles for thetraining.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

Training Instructor Steve Laszlo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

For a number of years, an all-vol-unteer CIC committee has discussedand crafted some portions of a possi-ble standard, which would addresstraining, equipment and even repairprocedures. A draft of the still in-

process 100-page document can beviewed online (www.repairstan-dards.com).

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

The committee is planning aforum to be held in conjunction withCIC’s November meeting in LasVegas that would present the consul-tant’s findings and recommendations.Thrall said the committee hopes to in-clude presentations and discussion atthat forum with representatives from

shops and insurers in the United King-dom where a formalized set of indus-try standards has been in place forseveral years.

As happens during many of thediscussions of proposed industry stan-dards, a number of participants at CICin Secaucus expressed questions orconcerns about the process or out-come.Aaron Schulenburg of the Society ofCollision Repair Specialists, for ex-ample, asked whether the fund-raisingthat was planned was just to cover theexpense of the consultant’s research,or if would be establishing funding fora standards organization even beforethe need for and interest in such an ef-fort was established. He said his grouphad recently held a conference callwith about 18 of its affiliated state re-pairer associations.

“The perspective was pretty con-sistent from association to associa-

tion,” Schulenburg said. “To be hon-est, there was a lot of skepticism overthe value, the benefit, and the overallimpact (of formalized industry stan-dards) on the repair facilities that theseassociation represent.”

Thrall and others on the commit-tee stressed that funding was onlybeing sought to determine whetherthere is an interest in and businesscase for the development of a stan-dard-setting and –implementing or-ganization.

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

Effort to Develop Collision Repair Standards Takes Another Step Forward

Industry Insightwith John Yoswick

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

See CIC, Page 15

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of shops and recycling yards – learnedthings that could help them eliminatethat wedge. Here are some of them.• Photos could help. A Texas shopowner at the meeting asked if recy-clers can make photos of the partsthey have available. Photos, he said,can help a shop confirm the color andcondition of the part. It also could helprecyclers with better quality (or moreaccurately described) parts competewith those selling lower-priced butlower-quality parts, because the shopcould see, for example, that the lower-priced part has rust along the bottomedge.

Several recyclers at the meetingpointed out that yards meeting theAutomotive Recyclers Association’sCertified Automotive Recycler pro-gram take as many as two dozen pho-tos of vehicles before dismantling.Although few recyclers have photosof individual parts available, these“Gold Seal” recyclers can providethose vehicle photos upon request tothe shop.• Consider more part types. One po-tential win-win-win for recyclers, in-surers and repairers could result ifrecyclers helped make shops aware ofparts they are likely to need in a repairbut that are not typically purchasedfrom a recycler.

“If you buy a fender, hood andbumper from me, but you also needthe windshield washer jug and batterytray and all the other stuff recyclersare currently crushing, we can amor-tize our overhead and dismantlingcosts over more parts, and you can in-crease your alternative part usage andsave totals,” Hunke said.

A representative of one multi-shop operator at the meeting said hiscompany is working with recycledparts vendors on just such an effort sothe collision repair business can main-tain insurer-required levels of recycledparts usage without having to usestructural or other types of recycledparts it would prefer not to.• Understand and use part grading anddamage codes. Those at the meetingagreed that too few recyclers andshops recognize and understand thecodes that have been standardizedwithin the industry to grade recycledparts and identify the type and loca-tion of damage on those parts. Educa-tional and reference materials on these

description systems are available atthe “Standards & Codes” section ofthe ARA website (www.a-r-a.org).• Understand estimating issues relatedto recycled parts. Industry consultantand former shop owner Mike Ander-son said at the meeting that he serveson an Automotive Service Associationcommittee that recently updated the“not-included operations” chart it cre-ated for recycled parts (a similar chartis available for new parts as well). Thecharts summarize what operations arenot included in each of the “BigThree” estimating system times andthus may need to be added to an esti-mate when using such parts.• More data would help. Participantsat the Recycler Roundtable meetinghave agreed that some data collectioncould help shops and recyclers workbetter together – and perhaps help in-fluence insurer practices. Work hasbegun, for example, on a survey tobetter understand the expectations ofshops, insurers and recycler in termsof recycled parts use to help each seg-ment better meet more of those ex-pectations. They survey is likely toask shops, for example, how valuablethe availability of photos of recycledparts would be.

One meeting participant also sug-gested that a statistical case study lookat whether insurers could benefit fromaccepting lower values for salvage if itincreased the availability, pricing anduse of recycled parts.

A study could also look at howinsurer-mandated use of particular re-cyclers or the “lowest-cost” part neg-atively impacts shop efficiency.• Spend some time at each other’sbusiness. Recyclers and shops at themeeting who had taken the time tovisit the recycling yard they purchasefrom—or the body shops they sellto—agreed it was time well-spent. It’sa great way to see things that each sidein the transaction may be doing or notdoing that negatively affects the other.

Ordering parts ahead of deter-mining if a vehicle is a total loss—orordering the same parts from multiplerecyclers to see which arrive first or inthe best condition—are examples ofshop practices that negatively affectrecyclers, those at the meeting dis-cussed. Recyclers’ dismantling prac-tices, or failure to accurately describepart conditions, cost shops time andmoney. Time spent at each other’sbusinesses can help shops and recy-clers work better together, those at themeeting agreed.

• Understand the value of the GoldSeal designation. Recyclers at themeeting said shops could help them-selves and the industry by just askingthe recyclers they deal with, “Do youhave the Gold Seal designation?”

Gold Seal is earned by recyclerswho meet the ARA’s Certified Auto-motive Recycler requirements andalso conduct ongoing customer satis-faction surveying. A description of theprogram requirements, and a list ofGold Seal recyclers nationwide, isavailable at the ARA website (www.a-r-a.org).

Among the benefits to a shop ofusing a Gold Seal recycler is that thoserecyclers are required to use the ARApart grading and damage codes. Everypart from these recyclers includes aGold Seal tag that includes a toll-freenumber a shop can use if a part arrivesnot as it was described.

“Last year alone, we kicked threeGold Seal recyclers off the Gold Sealprogram because they didn’t meet thecriteria,” a recycler who serves on theprogram’s oversight committee said atthe roundtable meeting. “There wascomplaints against them from shops,and we removed them.”

Many of the shops at the meetingacknowledged they needed to go backand ask the recyclers they work withif they have the Gold Seal designa-tion.

Participants at the meeting alsoagreed that more needs to be done toidentify in the parts locating serviceswhich parts are from Gold Seal recy-clers.

The industry also needs to work,they agreed, to help insurers under-stand that just as “certified non-OEMparts” are better than non-certified,that there are cycle time and otherbenefits to be gained from using partsfrom Gold Seal recyclers.

Janet Chaney of Cave CreekBusiness Developer said the goal ofthe Recyclers Roundtable is to con-tinue such discussion between repair-ers and recyclers and to bring in othersegments of the industry as needed.

Chaney, who serves as the ad-ministrator of the roundtable, said thenext meeting is being planned forApril 16 in conjunction with theUnited Recyclers Group (URG) eventbeing held in Denver.

For more information, emailChaney: [email protected].


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Continued from Front Page

Recyclers

Stage said there are currentlyabout 4,000 Gold Class facilities inthe United States, up by about1,800 since last July. That growth,he said, came in part because ofAllstate’s push to ensure all shopsin its direct repair program areGold Class.

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

Starting in July, I-CAR will beginto allow experienced technicians to“test-out” of some of the more “basic”courses required for “Platinum Indi-vidual” status. He said I-CAR will an-nounce three new online classes inApril, as well as about one new onlineclass about each month after that. Hesaid that while four hours of onlinetraining currently is more expensivethan one 4-hour live I-CAR class, anew pricing structure expected to rollout in January will have “a lot more

rationality” in the pricing for the twotypes of training.

Other discussion at the meetingIn other news and discussion at CICin Secaucus:● Industry trainer Toby Chess pre-sented information on the need to re-calibrate the steering angle sensorthat is part of the electronic stabilitycontrol system on an increasingnumber of new vehicles. Such sys-tems are standard equipment on 85percent of 2010 new vehicles, andwill be required on all new vehiclesas of model year 2012. The recali-bration is an additional procedurethat must be done after the vehiclealignment. “It’s an added step, andthere’s also no more 2-wheel align-ments with these systems. Thatwon’t work,” Chess said. He saideven though no “trouble light” willbe lit on the dash and the vehiclemay handle properly under normaldriving conditions even if the systemis not calibrated, the electronic sta-bility control function may not workproperly in a subsequent “emergencymaneuver.”● Deborah Craig, a compliance offi-

cer with the U.S. Environmental Pro-tection Agency, said that eventhough the deadline has passed forshops to comply with new federal re-finish and paint stripping regula-tions, any business that has notcomplied should not avoid doing so.“Some folks think if they hang backand don’t submit the paperwork thatsomehow EPA isn’t going to knowabout them,” Craig said. “They don’twant to shine a light on themselvesby submitting something late. Ourrecommendation is that you justmove forward as quickly as possiblyto come into compliance. Give theregional EPA folks a call. Ask forhelp in filling out the forms. Talk tofolks in your trade group for assis-tance. Talk to your paint suppliers. Alot of the paint suppliers have reallybeen offering such excellent cus-tomer service by helping you com-ply.”● An informal collection of cash do-nations from the approximately 150people at the meeting raised more than$1,600 for the Japanese Red Cross tosupport efforts to help that countryfollowing the earthquakes and March11 tsunami.


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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

Nissan’s Leaf ExperiencesA/C Sensor Problem

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

Ford’s Electric Focus Will NotLease Lithium-Ion Batteries

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

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

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

After debating the bill, the Houserejected a series of Democraticamendments on a mostly party-linevote. The Upton-Inhofe measurewould overturn a 2007 SupremeCourt decision giving the EPA au-thority to regulate tailpipe emissionsas a danger to public health under the

Clean Air Act. That ruling allowedCalifornia to impose its own tailpipeemissions limits.

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

Although the House is expectedthe pass the measure, it faces an up-hill battle in the Senate, which onApril 6 rejected a measure similar tothe House plan.

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

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

White House Press SecretaryJay Carney hailed the Senate vote todefend the EPA’s “ability to protectpublic health under the Clean AirAct.”

“The Senate also rejected an ap-proach that would have increased the

nation’s dependence on oil, contra-dicted the scientific consensus onglobal warming, and jeopardizedAmerica’s ability to lead the world inthe clean energy economy,” he said.

Automakers have stayed neutralon the Upton-Inhofe bill. The UnitedAuto Workers and other major unionshave opposed the bill.

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

In the wake of the Supreme Courtdecision, the Obama administrationreached a deal with California and au-tomakers in May 2009 to set nation-

wide fuel efficiency standards for the2012-16 model years, hiking fleetwideefficiency to 34.1 mpg by 2016.

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

The pact will cost the auto in-dustry about $52 billion over fiveyears, but save 1.8 billion barrels offuel over the life of the vehicles.

The Obama administration saysit would save $3,000 per vehicle ingas over the life of the vehicles.

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

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

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with Rick WhiteShop Management

with Stefan GesterkampPaint Management

with Gonzo WeaverGonzo’s Toolbox

with Richard ArnoldJobber Journal

with Dale DelmegeAsk Dale

Mainstream Media

Automakers’ Actions and Analysisby Autobody News Staff

Shop Showcaseby Autobody News Staff

with Ed AttanasioShop and Product Showcase

with Ed AttanasioConsumer Callout

with Walter DanalevichShop Strategies for Savings

with The Insurance InsiderInside Insurance

with Ed AttanasioCustom Corner

with Chasidy Rae SiskCompany Connections

with Chasidy Rae SiskNortheast News

with Chasidy Rae SiskShop Showcase

with Erica SchroederShop Showcase

with Erica SchroederShop Snapshot

This is a new story by Scott “Gonzo” Weaver as posted on his website,www.gonzostoolbox.com. See his book “Hey Look! I Found The LooseNut”, which provides a Good Laugh for Mechanics of Any Age. The bookis available at amazon.com. Contact Gonzo at [email protected]

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

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

original 50’s decor. With malt shakesand great sandwiches. You could takethe whole day to browse for bookswhile sipping on a shake or coffee.It’s a very pleasant place, nostalgicand modern at the sametime.

One regular cus-tomer sitting at the end ofthe bar was sipping awayon his coffee while tex-ting messages on hisBlackberry. On theother end there was anold couple who ap-peared to be in their70’s reading the paper andbrowsing a book or two. I could seethis Norman Rockwell painting ofthem pictured there for probably thelast 40 years doing the same thing.

My place for the day was at alittle table next to the register. Alarge stack of my books was neatly

spread across the table. Peoplewould walk by, glance, and smile.The owner of the store would makeshort references to my book and tryto get people interested in talking tothis so called “author” sitting there

all solemn and quiet. Theregister was busy withsmall book purchases anda few patrons from the bar.Very home spun and relax-ing, a lot of ‘hellos’ and“how’s the weather” com-ments throughout the after-noon. Some people wouldask about the football gamecoming up and others would

want to know where a certain bookwas.

All this was going on while I satthere patiently waiting for the clockto roll around to my designated leav-ing time. Not that I wanted to leave,oh no, I was enjoying the atmosphere

and the quiet nature of the daily work-ings of the store.

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

When someone would ask aboutmy book I would tell them that it wasa book about people and the dailyhappenings at my repair shop. Thatit was funny, but informative, andyou would definitely get somethingout of it. If you knew a person in theauto industry this would make a

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

See Day to Reflect, Page 31

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A more direct event for the gen-eral public was put on by a shop thatbecame a voting location on an elec-tion day. The owner played patrioticmusic and had patriotic banners all

over the place.He even hired a model dressed up

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

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

Collision shops have one majoradvantage over many other businesseswhen it comes to putting on events.Most shops occupy a fairly largespace overall. Like the dealership I de-

scribed, most have many parkingspaces and open repair bays wheredemonstrations and presentations canbe carried out easily.

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

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


Custom Cornerwith Rich Evans

On Creative Marketingwith Thomas Franklin

Action Countswith Lee Amaradio Jr.

with Sheila LoftusYour Turn

Opinions Countwith Dick Strom

Shop Showcasewith Janet Chaney

Industry Overviewwith Janet Chaney

Industry Interviewwith Janet Chaney

Industry Insightwith John Yoswick

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

Summertime Should Mean Event Time For Body Shops

The AASP-PA trade show in the East,known as the Big E, will return thisfall October 14th through 15th at theValley Forge Convention Center inKing of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

The Big E features world renownspeakers and trainers all the whilebringing together aftermarket partsand product specialists with AASP-PAmembers. This show fills fast so visit

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

come, first serve basis so AASP-PAurges all exhibitors to register as soonas possible. Not only does it guaranteeyour space at the show but it allows theAASP-PA to publicize the fact thatyour business will be in attendance.

Visit www.aasp-pa.org to sign upnow to attend.

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

est or duty, even though it containsmatter which would otherwise be ac-tionable.

The court continued: “Becauseall statements were made to StateFarm insureds in the context of aclaim under a State Farm insurancepolicy, and because all statementsconcerned a matter of mutual interestto the insureds andState Farm—thequality, timeliness and costs of vehi-cles repairs—the statements wereprivileged.

The privilege raises a presumptionof good faith on the part of thespeaker, but the privilege is not ab-solute. The privilege is forfeited ifthe statements are made with expressmalice: [w]here a person speaks upona privileged occasion, but the speakeris motivated more by a desire to harmthe person defamed than by a purposeto protect the personal or social in-terest giving rise to the privilege,then it can be said that there was ex-press malice and the privilege is de-stroyed.

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

On the tortious interference claimby Gunder, the court ruled “Gunder’smakes no allegation that State Farminterfered with customers or prospec-tive customers of Gunder’s who werenot State Farm insureds. As a matterof law, “[t]here can be no claim [fortortious interference with a businessrelationship] where the action com-plained of is undertaken to safeguardor promote one’s financial or eco-nomic interest.”

The court continued, ““[u]nderFlorida law, a defendant is not astranger to a business relationship,and thus cannot be held liable fortortious interference, when it has asupervisory interest in how the rela-tionship is conducted or a potentialfinancial interest in how a contract isperformed.”

Gunder had argued in court thatState Farm had lost the priviledge be-cause it used improper means, but wasunable to prevail because the testi-mony detailing the improper meanshad earlier been stricken from thecourt’s records.

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

Ray Gunder, the founder ofPolk County’s Gunder’s Auto Center,a 43 year-old auto collision repairand mechanical shop, made the fol-

lowing statement after the judgmentwas delivered:

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

“As I understand it, the legal ruleis that the so-called ‘privilege’ is for-feited if derogatory and defamatorycomments re made with ‘ExpressMalice.’

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

“State Farm came after us in2004 in an attempt to silence my voiceby attacking our company’s reputationin our community and their attempt tofinancially destroy our business bysteering customers away with totallyuntrue and outrageous lies… and that,according to the court, at least in mycase… is legal!? This ruling is justice?

“It’s important to understand thatif this ruling stays; every honest and


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Mr. Tolosa is a Husband and fa-

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

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

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

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

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

More information can be found atwww.alamo.edu.


ethical shop owner in the industry isin jeopardy of similar efforts againstthem if they don’t fall in line and do asthey’re told by this megalith insurerand other insurers who may chose tofollow suit!

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

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

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

“What one doesn’t find in thisdecision is one of the most importantparts; State Farm speaking improperly

and slandering Gunder’s “once” isprivileged in the courts opinion, butspeaking lies “over” and “over” againknowing they are lies is indeed “Ex-press Malice”!

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

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

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

In another lawsuit the shop haspending against the insurer in PolkCounty Court, a judge has grantedthe shop's request to compel StateFarm to make documents and a num-ber of witnesses available to theshop's attorney as part of the discov-ery process. Among those that shopattorney A. Brent Geohagan seeks todepose in the case are representativesof at least eight repair shops thatserve State Farm insureds in PolkCounty.


Gunder Appeal

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

SPC Skills USA winners Jose Palomo andRaymond Tolosa

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

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

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

Ford Expands F-150/LincolnRecall Due to Airbag Flaws


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by Janet Chaney

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About TEAM PRP: Team PRP isa national network of independentauto recyclers, offering expanded in-ventory, regional transportation sys-tems and knowledgeable support staff.

Three of Largest Auto Recycling Networks Merge

Ford CEO Alan Mulally said April 13that Ford is working with suppliers tominimize the North American pro-duction impact of Japanese partsshortages caused by last month’searthquake and tsunami. The only im-pact on Ford in North America to date

has been limiting vehicle orders incertain paint colors because of inter-ruptions to Japan-supplied paint prod-ucts.

Mulally said Ford has shiftedparts from slower-selling to hot-selling vehicles, used scheduled va-

cation downtime early and takenother actions to keep North Ameri-can production from being dis-rupted.

He counseled patience to Lincolnbrand dealers, asking them to give in-creased product spending time to yield

a broader vehicle lineup in the comingyears. Some Lincoln dealers are upsetthat Ford is pushing them to improvetheir facilities and begin offering perkssuch as free car washes and loaner ve-hicles when the brand’s product lineupis limited.

Ford’s CEO Mulally Says Suppliers Accomodating


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

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

Some of the key findings of theTrueCar.com study include:● The brand with the highest percent-age of retail sales to females in 2010was MINI (47.9 percent), followed byKia (46.8 percent), and Honda (46.0percent) compared to 2009 when Sat-urn and Kia tied at 45.2 percent andMINI came in third at 45.0 percent.There were fifteen brands with a fe-male ratio over 40 percent in both2009 and 2010.● The highest percentage of male buy-ers primarily purchased exotic brands.

There were five brands in 2010 at10 percent or less for retail sales to

women, including Ferrari (6.4 per-cent), Lotus (7.2 percent), Lamborgh-ini (7.4 percent), Maybach (8.0percent), and Rolls Royce (9.3 per-cent) compared to 2009 when therewere six brands; including Bugatti (0percent), Maybach (3.7 percent), Fer-rari (5.1 percent), Lamborghini (5.5percent), Rolls Royce (8.0 percent),and Aston Martin (9.0 percent).● The top ten models that had greaterthan 50 percent retail sales to femalesand at least 1,000 annual retail salesin 2010 were: Volkswagen New Bee-tle, Kia Spectra, Nissan Rogue, Volk-swagen Eos, Hyundai Entourage,

Volvo S40, Jeep Compass, HondaCR-V, Nissan Sentra, and HyundaiTucson.

– The top ten models that hadgreater than 50 percent retail sales tomales and at least 1,000 annual retailsales in 2010 were: Porsche 911,GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Corvette,Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-Series,BMW M3, Ford Ranger, Toyota Tun-dra, Dodge Ram and Audi S5.

TrueCar.com also examined themost current market prices and listeddiscounts for all of the brands and spe-cific models that were tracked withover 1,000 vehicle sales annually.

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

Airbiquity, a provider of wire-less connected vehicle services, an-nounced at CTIA Wireless inOrlando, the company’s selection toprovide data-over-voice technologyto OnStar’s retail product, OnStarFMV. OnStar’s mirror-mounted re-tail device will bring connected ve-

hicle services to virtually any vehi-cle.

“We’re exceptionally proud ofAirbiquity’s eight-year relationshipwith OnStar, the leading brand inconnected vehicles,” said DavidJumpa, senior vice-president ofglobal business development, Airbiq-

uity. Currently available on more than40 MY 2011 GM models, OnStarsoon will be available for installationon most other vehicles already on theroad through local electronics retail-ers, including Best Buy. “With ourunderlying technology, OnStar con-tinues to offer an innovative and cost-

effective range of services to drivers,”Jumpa said.

“Adding OnStar to a car is nowas quick and easy as installing a newrear-view mirror.” According to Air-biquity, OnStar FMV will be availablefor purchase from North Americanconsumer electronics retailers in 2011.

Airbiquity to Supply Air-Over-Voice Technology to Onstar

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

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

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

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

Before ordering parts, Do youknow if there is a1) Maximum part return date2) Credit for returns for damagedparts3) Credit for returns on electricalparts4) Warranty for reconditioned wheels5) Warranty for off road usage6) Warranty for CAPA aftermarketparts (like kind & quality)7) Warranty for Mechanical Parts8) Warranty for Chrome parts9) Warranty for New sheet metal

rust through10) Warranty for Non-CAPA after-market parts11) Optional mechanical service war-ranty Agreement12) Transferable warranty to a non-original owner13) Policy for compensation to shop

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

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

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

Our repair shop had customer ap-proval to proceed with repairs to their2010 Honda Civic. Their insurancecompany, to my complete surprise,stipulated in the repair estimate theuse of an aftermarket fender and frontbumper. I questioned the insurancecompany adjuster to make sure therewas no mistake on their proposed es-timate for such a new vehicle. The In-

surance adjuster replied the insured’spolicy stipulates using aftermarketparts when available in exchange for alower annual policy premium. Uponhearing this news I decided not tomake a fuss and proceeded with re-pairs.

All appeared well until the carbumper was installed. After the bodytech installed the bumper it was quiteobvious there was a “quality of fit”problem. The bumper end did notmeet the attachment point of the after-market left fender. Additionally, therewere noticeable one-inch gaps in frontof both headlamps. How Sweet!!!

I immediately addressed the issuewith our aftermarket supplier who re-ferred me to the district manager. Thedistrict parts manager asked me totake a few digital pictures of the mis-fit and send them to him to forwardonto the manufacturer. Within 24


Is Your Parts Supplier Purchasing Policy a Benefit or an Expense?






Mainstream Media













Walter Danalevich, AAM, has been the owner of Santa BarbaraAuto Refinishing since 1979. Contact him at:[email protected].

See Shop Strategies, Page 27

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by Paul Stoll, PPG Trainer

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

out some body damage to your FordMustang Fuel Funny Cars.

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

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

HP waterborne paint has helped JohnForce Racing go green.

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

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

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

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


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Painting with Waterborne at John Force Racing

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

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

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

2 Coats PPG EHP White base coat

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

White covered up with transfer tape

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

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

Areas that require a body fillerand any fuzzy carbon fiber exposedfrom over sanding are sprayed withPPG’s ECP A-Chromatic Surfacer.After drying, we sanded with 400grit dry sandpaper, and finishedwith 600 grit. Envirobase® HPbasecoats should be sprayed over a600 grit (or finer) scratch becauseof the thinner film build. A sealercould be used to fill sand scratches,but on these cars, sealer is left offto help keep the weight to a mini-mum.

The Mustang body is now blownoff and cleaned with PPG’s One-Choice® H2O-So-Clean waterbornecleaner. This evaporates quicker andpulls the sanding dust from the sand-ing scratches much better then sol-vent cleaner, leaving a nice surfacethat is ready to paint. Since we areworking on a carbon fiber body, wedo not get any static when wiping thebody.

The first color to go down will bea metallic silver. I spray three coatsjust in the area where we will maskoff the silver with ½-inch tape for

Brandon’s design. I use an IwataLPH400 gun with a gold air cap. I letthe metallic silver dry between coats,which takes only five minutes thanksto the TurboAir Drying System® in-stalled in JFR’s booth. Air movementis what makes waterborne paint dry

fast, and the TurboAir unit is a turbineblower that does the job quickly—speed is required at John Force Rac-ing.

After a 30-minute dry time in thebooth, masking begins. We use a plas-tic/vinyl masking tape like FBS. Bran-

don also uses his computer skills tocut out a paint mask to aid in speed-ing up the process and, more impor-tantly, to keep all the designs the sameon all the John Force Racing Mus-tangs. The area of the car that will be


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1st coat of PPG EHP Blue water base coat Body unmasked, tacked, ready for Clear Coat

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See Painting with Waterborne, Page 27

by Greg Horn, VP Mitchell

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mitchell refinish labor timesalso allow for flash times betweencoats.

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

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

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

Were vehicle owners charged forthe additional operations that were notapproved for reimbursement by insur-ers? While this occasionally does hap-pen, and is not a great customerexperience for the vehicle owner, it issafe to assume that this practice doesnot occur on every estimate where ad-ditional paint operations are per-formed but not reflected in theuploaded estimate. Again, the fact thatcalling for a blend on a truck or SUVis less frequent than on smaller pas-senger cars points to the fact that with

the larger panel areas found on trucksand SUVs there is more of an oppor-tunity to blend within the damagedpanel. Some may object to this con-clusion and say cost shifting was in-volved, meaning that the additionalcosts were spread into other areas ofthe appraisal so that a shop could becompensated for what was truly re-quired. Unfortunately, that may be thecase and there is no way in the data toisolate instances where cost shifting is

occurring. It is important to note thatwhen we looked at blending withinthe panel, we did not evaluate howmany refinish hours were specified onthe appraisal for a specific panel vs.full refinish time. It is very likely thatthe full base and clear coat were spec-ified in the damaged panel, however,that data is nearly impossible to sepa-rate in a data pool of several millionestimates. We focused on the blendoperation as called out in the ap-praisal.

In looking at the results of theoriginal refinish study, I did not fullyexplore the question of geography inthe initial finding. Does the area of thecountry affect how many hours ofblend time are reported? Herein liesthe key; areas in the Midwest andSouth had fewer hours of blend time,

and they also have the largest popula-tion of trucks/SUVs as well as moredomestic vehicles than foreign.

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


Revisiting Paint by Numbers: A Deep Dive into Refinish Data

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

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

Avg Blend Hrs Only Ests w/Blend1.46

1.44

1.4

1.3

1.42

1.38

1.36

1.34

1.32

1.28

hours he authorized the aftermarketparts manufacturer to pay 100% of allthe body & paint labor, includingpaint supplies. We then reported thepotential catastrophe to the insurancecompany who authorized us to installan OEM bumper. We proceeded withcompleting the repairs.

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

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

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

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

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

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

blue is covered with plastic, so as tonot add excess paint and weight to thecar. The white stripes are sprayednext.

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

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

I am back in the booth, and Ispray two coats of ‘AAA of SouthernCalifornia’ blue. The Envirobase® HPformula covers quickly, and with theTurboAir blowing, I am ready for thesecond coat as soon as I can reload thepaint gun. In just half an hour, I amready to clean up and we are unmask-

ing. We had a couple of small blowthroughs on the first car—easilyfixed. A quick mask of the blue andre-spray a little silver. The second carwas perfect, no blow throughs.

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

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

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


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Painting with WaterborneContinued from Page 23

Shop Strategies


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

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

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

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

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

An example of an Emergency Exit Plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Respirators:● A respirator fit test is requiresyearly (29 CFR 1910.134).● Respirators must be placed a sealedcontainer when not in use (29 CFR1910.134)

● A program in place for training andproper use of respirators.● The type of respirator used for spe-cific products will be found in the Pre-ventative Measures of the MSDSsheets.● Respirator cartridges need to be re-placed on a regular basis. 3M P100cartridges need to be replacing after40 hours of use or 30 days, whichevercomes first.

Here are some common ques-tions that are asked about PPE:● Are approved safety glasses re-quired to be worn at all times in areaswhere there is a risk of eye injury?● Are protective goggles providedand worn where there is any danger offlying particles and harmful vapors(isocyanates for example)?● Are protective gloves issued forvarious toxic exposures? (Again, youcan look in the Preventative Measuresof the MSDS sheets for specific typeof gloves that are necessary for a par-ticular product).● Do you have an eye-wash stationand it is properly maintained?● Is protective clothing supplied for

painting (paint suit for protectionagainst overspray and isocyanates)and welding (jackets and gloves)?● Is proper hearing protection equip-ment furnished? Here is an example ofan ear muff.

What Gets Most Scrutiny from OSHA?The area that receives the most atten-tion during an OSHA inspection is thepaint department. Let’s look at someof the problem areas that need your at-tention. The painter is first on my list.

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

You will also need a CO monitorif you use shop-supplied air. There aresystems that use electric pumps thatproduce no carbon monoxide, oil va-pors, or oil mist. The only drawbackis that the painter will need a separateair hose (The SATA unit pictured uti-lizes one hose. You plug your air lineinto a unit on a supplied belt and a

Getting OSHA-Compliant on Plans, Protection and Painting

Tech Notes

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small hose comes off the unit to theCO monitor and then delivers fresh airto the helmet.)

I ask the same questions everytime I conduct I-CAR’s WKR 01class to refinish technicians andhelpers. Do you mix paint? Do youclean the guns? When they answer‘yes,’ I ask them if they wear goggles,respirators, paint suits, and gloveswhen they perform both task. The ma-jority answer that comes back is they‘only wear gloves.’ Isocycantes arepresent in all three operations: mixing,painting, and cleaning. The appropri-ate PPE must be worn at all times.You need to enforce this rule or youare setting yourself up for a lawsuit.Be forewarned.

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

This is a disaster in the making.● All metal flammable containersmust be grounded

● A fire extinguisher must bewithin 10 feet of any inside storagearea of flammable liquids (More onfire extinguishers in the next arti-cle).● All solvent wastes and flammableliquids must be kept in fire-resistant,covered containers when not in use.● All hazardous liquids must have aspill containment system

● No smoking signs must be postedin areas of flammable liquid storage● Paint mixing rooms/areas musthave explosion proof lights.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Honda Extends ProductionCuts in North America to MayAutomotive News is reporting thatHonda will extend reductions of ve-hicle output at its U.S. and Canadianplants through May 6. The automakerhad previously said it would reducevehicle output through April 22. De-cisions have been made on a plant-by-plant basis on how much to cutback production in order to conserveparts. Affected plants include EastLiberty, Ohio, which makes theHonda Accord Crosstour and CR-V;Greensburg, Ind., which builds theHonda Civic and Civic GX; Lincoln,Ala., which makes the HondaOdyssey, Pilot and Ridgeline;Marysville, Ohio, which produces theAccord and the Acura TL and RDX;and Alliston, Ontario, which buildsthe Civic and the Acura CSX, MDXand ZDX. Honda has been alteringproduction schedules at those plantssince March 30 in the wake of theMarch 11 earthquake and tsunami inJapan. The automaker said it antici-pates that additional production ad-justments will continue after May 6.Honda has already restricted dealerorders for June, so that allocated col-ors and trim levels for U.S.-built ve-hicles cannot be altered. It also hassuspended U.S. dealer orders forJapan-built models that are sold here.

Hyundai, Kia Running U.S.Plants at Full SpeedHyundai and Kia, South Korea’sbiggest carmakers, are running fullshifts at their U.S. plants with over-time, unaffected by parts shortagesthat are curbing output for Japan-based competitors. Hyundai’s plantin Montgomery, Ala., aims tosqueeze out 10 percent more Sonataand Elantra sedans than its300,000-unit capacity this year,said Robert Burns, a spokesman forthe factory. About 80 miles east,Kia’s plant in West Point, Ga., hasrun extended weekday shifts andSaturday work since last year andexpects that to continue for theforeseeable future, said CorinneHodges, a spokeswoman for Kia.Expanded U.S. output at Hyundaiand Kia contrasts with assembly re-ductions at the North Americanplants of Toyota, Honda and Nissanimplemented after Japan’s earth-quake on March 11. U.S.-basedGeneral Motors and Ford also cutsome assembly, and ChryslerGroup canceled overtime shifts toconserve supplies of parts thatmight grow scarcer. Globally, 1.5million units of auto productionmight be lost temporarily becauseof damaged operations at Japan-based parts and materials suppliers.

The Insider offers an unvarnished lookat various issues impacting the collisionindustry from an insurers’ perspective.

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

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

should want the best-in-class repair-ing their policyholders’ vehicles.

But there is one reason why the cur-rent DRP models sucks, regardless of in-surance carrier. This exception providesabsolutely no value to the shopalthoughit does provide a lot of value to the in-surance company. Can you guess whatthe exception is? Okay, it’s actually notjust one thing. It can be summarized infour words: flavor of the day.

Similar to the ice cream shop inyour neighborhood, insurance compa-nies regularly serve shops a flavor ofthe day (or week or month). Insurancecompanies have a set of guidelines thata shop must agree to in order to partic-ipate in their program. These guide-lines are in writing and allow a shopowner to decide whether or not the pro-gram is of value to them. I cautiouslyuse the word guidelines because the lit-eral translation is “concessions.” WhileI don’t agree with concessions, at least


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

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

they are in writing. It allows the shopowner to make a business decision asto whether or not the concessions areworth the potential additional work.

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

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

And unfortunately, sometimes theseunwritten rules are weighted more heav-ily by the insurer than the written ones.Shops are routinely eliminated from aDRP for not adhering to everything thatthey never agreed to adhere to in writing.

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

How do these flavors of the dayoccur? Are they handed down fromthe insurer’s corporate headquarters?

In most instances, no. It’s somethingthat is usually a result of a local or re-gional claim office. Management inthese offices have the autonomy to dowhatever is necessary to meet theirbudgets. Thus the “flavor of the day.”Local or regional management ana-lyzes data and identifies trends whiletrying to figure out what number canbe manipulated to give them the resultthey desire. That’s why the flavor isalways different and ever-changing.

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

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

As you know, the flavor of the daychanges routinely. If you can hold out fora day or a week, something else will bea priority and today’s flavor can quicklybecome yesterday’s old ice cream.

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


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

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

“We’re bringing environmentallyfriendly innovation and advancedtechnologies to our motor fleet opera-tions,” said Jim Gowen, chief sustain-ability officer for Verizon. “By seizingthe opportunity to help improve theenvironment, our vehicles are savingenergy, reducing emissions and im-proving our greenhouse gas profile.”

At the event, held in Landover,Maryland, Verizon displayed a hybridChevrolet pick-up, an all-electricChevrolet Volt and a first-of-its-kindhybrid aerial-splicing vehicle. Overthe past few years, the company hasadded hundreds of hybrid ToyotaPriuses, as well as more than 500compressed natural gas vans and 700

hybrid pickups.Verizon is the first communica-

tions company to engineer and deploya hybrid fiber splicing unit. Because oftheir weight, these vehicles (commonlyknown as “bucket trucks”) usually con-sume significant amounts of fuel. Toreduce fuel consumption, the companyincorporated a hybrid engine and inno-vative, onboard batteries that assist inthe vehicles’ acceleration, and powerthe bucket lift and lighting units.

“We’re replacing less-efficient ve-hicles with transformational, energy-efficient cars and trucks—a move thatwill have a long-term impact on reduc-ing and improving fuel consumptionand reducing pollutants,” said WilliamRoberts, president of Verizon Mary-land. “This event is a clear example ofwhat happens when companies are al-lowed to innovate and deploy differenttechnologies to meet their needs whileachieving our shared environmentallypositive goals.”

Verizon was also the first com-pany in the nation to deploy hybridpickup trucks on a large scale, in acommercial setting. Last year, Verizondeployed more than 700 of these ve-hicles and plans 300 more units in2011.

Verizon Unveils Hybrid and Alternative-energy Vehicles

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great gift and they would get a greatkick out of reading it too. Well,something like that anyway. Most ofthe time I would get a disagreeablehmmm in response. Others had thatpondering look as if they were goingback into their memory trying to findwhat was so funny about getting theoil changed on their car. And thenwalk away shaking their head. I did-n’t find that in anyway offensive, ordisrespectful. I found it to be a logi-cal, and a very intelligent way for aperson to state their opinion withoutsaying much at all. I admire folkslike this, the ones that can speak theirminds without uttering a word.

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

Now that’s funny, that’s pretty

much what I hear every day. Whatgives? Oh, now don’t get me wrong,it’s not every customer that complainsabout the prices. I have many, manycustomers that are eager to pay for mytime and service, even a few that thinkI’m not charging enough for what Ido. I even have some that feel theneed to leave a tip. It’s those that wantto complain and complain and com-plain that irks me. I have even hadsome tell me that I should give themthe part for what I paid for it. Doesthe book store give you the book forwhat they paid for it? Come on peo-ple. I wish I knew why it is the way itis, but for some reason perfectly sanepeople arrive at an auto repair shopand become tyrannical evil forces. Isit the smell of 90 weight oil in the air?Could it be the constant groan ofpneumatic tools in the background? Iwish I knew. Maybe after I retire I’lltake a job somewhere pleasant. Quiet,reserved, and ever so nostalgic. Yeah.Like a book store.


Day to Reflect

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