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Autobody News previously reportedon the controversial use of digital im-ages in appraisals in Connecticut(ABAC Legal Counselor Objects toUse of Camera Phone Photos for Es-timates in June 2014 issue.)

The concerns have also caughtthe attention of Massachusetts’ Com-monwealth’s Auto Damage AppraiserLicensing Board (ADALB) whichmade an advisory ruling on May 20thstating that using “quality video ordigital images” to prepare an appraisalsatisfies its regulations.

The Massachusetts ADALB ap-proved Advisory Ruling 2014-01 bymajority vote at a board meeting. Itseeks to clarify the use video or digi-tal imaging technology to settleclaims.

The adopted ruling states: TheAuto Damage Appraiser Licensing

Board has passed a motion agreeingthat an appraisal conducted by a li-censed appraiser via review of qual-ity video or digital images withdocumentation meets the require-ments of 212 CMR 2.04(1)(d) “Theappraiser shall personally inspect thedamaged motor vehicle and shall relyprimarily on that personal inspectionin making that appraisal....”

“This Advisory Ruling shall beeffective upon posting on the AutoDamage Appraiser Licensing Board-public website. Failure to comply withthis ruling could result in fines andpenalties as provided for by law.

The practice comes about wheninsurance companies allow their cus-tomers to file claims via a smartphone application. In March, for ex-

by John Yoswick

PartsTrader proposed state limits onuse of non-OEM parts, and challeng-ing the automakers’ patent designs oncrash parts were all being discussedwhen non-OEM parts manufacturersand distributors met recently inAustin, Texas.

The Automotive Body Parts Asso-ciation (ABPA) allowed only mem-bers in the room during discussion atits convention of the association’spending lawsuit challenging the valid-ity of six of Ford’s design patents oncollision repair parts. But proposed

federal legislation that would reducehow long automakers can use design

patents to preventother companiesfrom producing re-placement crashparts was amongthe topics dis-cussed at the eventby Louisiana taxlawyer Cassie

Felder, who is running for Congress.Felder, a Republican who be-

lieves in tax reform and repealingthe Affordable Care Act, told atten-

Ronald Galati Sr. is one of 41 peoplein Philadelphia indicted by a grandjury in an elaborate insurance fraudscheme that used deer carcasses tostage auto accidents, according to re-ports at Philly.com.

Galati is accused of running the$5 million scam out of his auto bodyshop in Philadelphia where he storeddeer carcasses, blood, and fur in theback of his shop to use as props tostage the accidents. Galati was in thebusiness, according to a grand jury, of“fictitious deer accidents.”

Galati, 63, was one of 41 peoplecharged in the fraud after a 16-monthinvestigation by a Philadelphia grand

jury. Also charged were his wife,Vicki, 59, and their son Ron Jr., 37,who since 2000 has been the legalowner of his father’s American Colli-sion & Auto Center at 1930 S. 20th St.

According to District AttorneySeth Williams, Galati encouragedcustomers to file insurance claimssaying they struck a deer instead of acar so insurance companies wouldconsider them “no fault” accidentsand pay the claims without raising thecustomers’ premiums.

Galati favored creating single-ve-hicle accidents because insurancecompanies would consider them “no-

Philadelphia Shop Accused of Staging Car Accidentsas ‘Fictitious Deer Crashes’, Vandalizing Own Repairs

Aftermarket Parts Sellers Hear from CongressionalCandidate With Ties To The Industry

See Photos in Appraisals, Page 14

See Staged Deer Crashes, Page 9

Massachusetts ADALB Issues Positive AdvisoryRuling on Use of Digital Images in Appraisals

See Aftermarket Parts Sellers, Page 12

Cassie Felder

By Rhode Island standards, this year’sentry in the automobile insurers ver-sus repair shops category is a mini-malist one. Nonetheless, a series ofbills in ongoing tug-of-war betweenthe auto body and insurance industriesin Rhode Island are ongoing and wereheard by the Rhode Island SenateCommittee on Judiciary June 5.

The bills are co-sponsored byNorth Providence Sen. Dominick Rug-gerio, majority leader from District 4.Corresponding bills from North Provi-dence Rep. Arthur Corvese have alsobeen referred to committee in theHouse.

The following are some of thebills up for consideration:● S2833 prohibits insurance compa-nies from mandating use of used or re-manufactured airbags or suspensionparts. It would prohibit insurancecompanies from requiring the use ofused or remanufactured airbags and/orsuspension parts when vehicle repairs

are made by an auto body shop.● S2834 establishes a two-tiered li-censing system for body shops. It cre-ates two distinct license classificationsand labor rate surveys for auto bodyrepair shop facilities, basically mean-ing different pay for different shops.● S2835 extends regulations on after-market auto body replacement parts toany automobile replacement part. Itamends the definition of the term “af-termarket part” to refer to all motorvehicle replacement parts.● Another would eliminate theprocess that allows filings by casualtyinsurers seeking rate increases or de-creases of not more than 5 percent tobecome effective when filed, essen-tially taking away the ability of insur-ers to increase rates without a hearing,according to Jina Petrarca-Karam-petsos, spokeswoman for the AutoBody Association of Rhode Island(ABARI) and daughter of Providence

Rhode Island Bills Under Consideration AffectAirbags, Two-tiered Body Shops, Aftermarket Parts

See RI Body Shop Bills, Page 18Presorted StandardUS Postage

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VOL. 4 ISSUE 4JULY 2014

2 JULY 2014 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Acura of Westchester . . . . . . . . . . 36Amato Agency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . 49Automotive ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Axalta Coating Systems . . . . . . . . . 5B & R Associates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Baystate Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 47Central Avenue Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Certified Automotive PartsAssociation (CAPA) . . . . . . . . . . 15

Chief Automotive. . . . . . . . . . . 24, 25Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Clay Auto Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Colours, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Ditschman/Flemington Auto Group. 55Empire Auto Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Fairfield Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Fitzgerald’s Lakeforest Hyundai-Subaru. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . 51Fred Beans Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Future Cure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Glanzmann Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . 43GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 48Hackettstown Honda. . . . . . . . . . . 14Herkules Equipment Corporation . . 9Honda-Acura Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-29

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers. 45Jaguar Wholesale Parts Dealers. . 53

Kia Motors Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Koeppel VW-Mazda. . . . . . . . . . . . 31Lexus Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . 53Malco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Martech Services Company . . . . . 22Maxon Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Maxon Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 44MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . 46Minute Man Wheel Lifts. . . . . . . . . 18MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . 33NACE/CARS Expo & Conference . 27Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

PDR Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Porsche Wholesale Parts Dealers . 51Providence Lacquer & SupplyCentre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Rare Parts, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Safety Regulation Strategies. . . . . 13SATA Spray Equipment . . . . . . . . 17Security Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . 41Sussman Auto Group . . . . . . . . . . 42Thompson Organization . . . . . . . . 23Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 52Valspar Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Volkswagen Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 40Wagner Auto Group . . . . . . . . . . . 19Yonkers Kia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Inde

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Contents

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

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

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

ortheast

REGIONAL

Albany-based H&V Collision to Add

Fifth Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Bronx Body Shop Catches ATV Thefts on Camera . 6

Deer Park, NY, Shop Owner Accused of Tax Fraud . 6

Fire Above Body Shop on Route 31 in

Washington Twp.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Massachusetts ADALB Issues Positive Advisory

Ruling on Use of Digital Images in Appraisals . 1

Philadelphia Shop Accused of Staging Car

Accidents as ‘Fictitious Deer Crashes’,

Vandalizing Own Repairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Prospect, CT, Body Shop Owner Arrested After

Accident Takes Down Route 68 Power Lines. . 22

Rhode Island Bills Under Consideration Affect

Airbags, Two-tiered Body Shops, Aftermarket

Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Sisk - AASP-MA's May Statewide Meeting

Features Industry Attorney Erica Eversman . . 4

Sisk - AASP-NJ’s 10th Annual Lou Scoras

Memorial Golf Outing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Sisk - ABAC Holds Annual Officer Elections,

Welcomes Larry Montanez Back to

Continue Training. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Sisk - LIABRA and Auto Body Craftsmen’s

Guild Holds First Joint Meeting. . . . . . . . . . . 10

Stamford, CT, Body Shop Buys South End Shop

Location for $1.6M to Expand Business. . . . 10

Wolcott, CT, Shop Operated Without License,

Obtains One, But Still Rankles Local

Competitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

COLUMNISTS

Attanasio - How to Market to Millennials . . . . . 24

Franklin - Ding Day–A Marketing Tactic . . . . . . 30

Luehr - Using an Outside Expert to Improve

your Competitive Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Yoswick - Highway to Hell, Blueprinting, Rekeying

Estimates, State Farm and OEConnection. . . 34

NATIONAL

Aftermarket Parts Sellers Hear from Congressional

Candidate With Ties To The Industry . . . . . . . 1

AMI to Honor New Managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

ASA-CO to Host Pinnacol Safety Meeting

July 9 in Denver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Attorney and AASP-MN Lobbyist Kevin Walli

is Minnesota’s Shop Champion . . . . . . . . . . 38

AudaExplore Pledges $150K to SkillsUSA

in Tool Grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Caliber Acquires MSOs in Los Angeles and

North Carolina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Calif. Advocates Say Job Training, Including

Collision Repair, Provides Path from Prison . . 26

CARS This Year Is All New, ASA Promises

It Will Be The Best Show Ever . . . . . . . . . . . 50

CARSTAR Sees Record Revenue in 2013, Plans

Expansion of HQ in Leawood, KS. . . . . . . . . 31

CCAR and ShipMate Launch Improved

HazmatU website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Chrysler Airbag Recall Being Probed by

Regulators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Crashes Cost Almost $1T in Costs,

Loss of Life, Pain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Fix Auto Acquires Alaska Shops. . . . . . . . . . . . 47

I-CAR Gold Class and ASE-Certified Shops

Rewarded at NACE | CARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

I-CAR® Adds New OEM Segment Development

Director, John Bosin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

I-CAR® And National Auto Body Council

Partner on Membership Discount, 30% Off

Until End of 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

I-Car® Conference on Future of Collision Repair

and Automotive Industry, July 30 In Detroit . 54

Interactive Advanced Steering and Suspension

Systems Damage Analysis Course . . . . . . . 49

Job Corps Orientation Set For Oswego, NY,

on June 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

John Borek Takes Aggressive Action,

Files Trespassing Complaints Against

Argumentative Appraisers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Letter to the Editor - Why Should Insurers

Get Free Estimates When They’re Not

Using Adjusters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

MERA Joins the Excitement at

NACE | CARS 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

MO Shop Porter Steals Car, Joyrides Off-Road,

Posts His Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

NACE 2014: In its 32nd Year, It’s Still a

World Collision Repair Event . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

New Study Says More Than 75% of All Pickup

Trucks will be Aluminum-Bodied by 2025 . . 54

Niebling Auto Body: 120 Years and Still

Going Strong in Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Nissan and Assured Performance Partner for

Certification and Consumer Referrals. . . . . . 32

NSF International’s Bob Frayer Earns Prestigious

ASQ Quality Leader Award. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

OH’s Three-C Body Shops Has Filed Over

100 Lawsuits Against State Farm

Alleging Systematic Shortpays . . . . . . . . . . 36

PartsTrader Integrates Hollander

Interchange Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

SCRS Open Board Meeting on July 28th

in Detroit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Service King Collision Repair Centers Finalizes

Sterling Collision Centers Acquisition . . . . . . 26

Sisk - ASA-Midwest—Take Me Out to

the Ballgame! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Sisk - ASA-NW’s Automotive Training Expo 2014. 32

Sisk - LaCIA Hosted Louisiana Attorney General

at May 22 Meeting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Sisk - New Auto Body Association of Texas

Launches June 18, PartsTrader Provides

Impetus, Statewide Members Invited to Join. . 42

VIN and Safety Labels from AutomotiveID

Bring Vehicles Another Step Closer to

Pre-Loss Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Women’s Industry Network Celebrates Excellence

In Leadership and the Formal Transition of the

‘Most Influential Women’ Program to WIN . . 47

Young Technician’s Program to Debut at CARS . 53

Wanted Fugitive Shot and Killed After SWAT

Standoff at West Haven, Utah, Shop . . . . . . 18

www.autobodynews.com | JULY 2014 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

I would like your opinion on somethingI’m seeing becoming a trend. I am see-ing more and more insurance companiesmaking the body shop do the original es-timate and send up pictures. We willhave one of our customers bring a car toour shop and they want US to do thework. They call their insurance companyup and let them know the car is at ourshop. Normally, they would send out ainsurance adjuster to do the estimate be-cause for years now if we did one it wasnot good enough for them. They wouldnot want it. They would do their ownand in turn we would go over it andmake adjustments or add to it from there.They may argue and haggle if repairtimes were unacceptable. Now, Nugentonline uploading of pictures and esti-mates is available. I’m finding more andmore insurance companies telling us togo ahead and use Nugent, upload andsend pictures.

All of a sudden now our esti-mates are good enough for them ! Ofcourse they are saving money by notsending out an adjuster! This is whatI’m upset about. Before we weren’tgood enough to write a estimates now

they want us to write the estimate andsend up pictures for free! Why do theythink my time is worth nothing?

My partner and I share the officework and are out in the shop workingall day. Our time is valuable. When weare in the office our production timesuffers. The insurance companies tellme “Well, you write free estimatesdon’t you?” My answer is ‘yes, to aprospective customer that I don’t know,or my regular customers,’ but when Ihave a customer that drops his car off Iknow I have that job already. The per-son has picked my shop. Why is it theinsurance company feels that I shouldprepare the estimate for them on mydime? They are saving money by notpaying an adjuster, but I feel theyshould at least pay me some fee for mytime and not take advantage of me.Small shops cannot take that kind ofabuse and I think it’s taking an extremeadvantage of shops and the proprietors.I would like your [readers’] thoughts onhow we can combat this abuse.

Thanks, Pete Gutierrez,Pete <[email protected]>

Letter to the Editor: Why Should Insurers Get FreeEstimates When They’re Not Using Adjusters

Letters to the Editor can be sent to [email protected]. They may be edited forlength and clarity. See Facebook/autobodynews to respond via comment.

AASP-MA held their Statewide Meet-ing at the Doubletree Hotel in West-borough, MA, on May 13. The eventfeatured noted industry attorney EricaEversman, Chief Counsel for VehicleInformation Services, Inc. and founderof the Automotive Education and Pol-icy Institute, a non-profit organizationgeared toward educating consumers.

Jillian Zywien, Executive Direc-tor of AASP-MA, says “this was one ofour most well attended meetings withover 80 participants. I am thrilled wewere able to secure Ms. Eversman tospeak in Massachusetts. This is the firsttime she has spoken to AASP-MAspecifically, and it was an invaluableopportunity for our shops to learn froma nationally renowned expert in thefield. Our members learned a great dealfrom Ms. Eversman, so much so thatwe are planning to bring her back toMA for a more concentrated program.”

In consideration of feedback frommembers, AASP-MA’s fall meeting

will feature an aluminum repair pro-gram with a panel of experts on thesubject. The association encouragesmembers to submit such ideas for theirmeeting because, according to Zy-wien, “we are here to serve you.”

AASP-MA held their AnnualGolf Outing, sponsored by EnterpriseRent-A-Car, on June 12 at the CharterOak Country Club in Hudson, MA,

praised as one ofthe finest coursesin the state. Thisyear’s event wassold out for thefirst time in the as-sociation’s history;however, openingsare still availablefor the luncheon,

and Zywien encourages even non-golfers to “please consider joining usat this beautiful venue.”

For the 2014 Golf Outing, AASP-MA added a number of additional gifts

for golfers and vendors. Zywien noted,“in addition to golf, green fees, cartfees, a catered breakfast, and lunch,each player received a golf shirt, golfballs and tees. Thanks to Al Brodeur’sAuto Body, golfers also received a $10voucher to redeem on Hole 9 for acomplimentary cigar, cigar cutter andlighter. All new items will be a com-plement to our raffle prizes, competi-tion hole prizes and hole-in-oneprizes.”

AASP-MA members are also ex-cited for the association’s upcomingCasino Night, scheduled to be held onNovember 15 at the Putnam Club atGillette Stadium. The association hassecured a room block at the Renais-sance Boston/Patriots Place Hotel andSpa for members wishing to spend thenight after the event, but Zywien urgesinterested parties to register as soon aspossible as there are limited spotsavailable for the stadium tour andevent.

Zywien believes that the associa-tion’s educational and social events areimportant because “they act as a forumfor members to share ideas and con-cerns. By hosting a variety of events,the association can create a strong net-working community that facilitates re-lationships that are beneficial to ourmember shops. The association workshard with our leadership to developthese educational programs, and weare always looking for new programsthat are of benefit to your business.”

AASP-MAwww.aaspma.org


AASP-MA’s May Statewide Meeting Featured Industry Attorney Erica Eversman

with Chasidy Rae SiskNortheast Associations

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

A Great Neck shop owner who in Jan-uary pleaded guilty to not paying statetaxes for three years has made pay-ment in full for what he owed, ac-cording to Nassau County DistrictAttorney Kathleen Rice.

Joseph Caraccia and two com-panies he owned—Auto Bodyworks of275 East Shore Road and Auto BodyWorks II of 300 East ShoreRoad—paid $167,500 to the state De-partment of Taxation and Financeafter receiving a conditional dischargeby Nassau County Supreme CourtJudge Martin Massell. Caraccia, a65-year-old a resident of Queens, hadpaid another $167,500 in January afterhe pleaded guilty to petit larceny andhis two companies pleaded guilty tosecond-degree grand larceny.

“By failing to pay his fair shareof taxes, this defendant withheldmoney that could have been used topay our first responders, to repairroadways, and to maintain our parks,”Rice said. “With this sentence, themoney he owes taxpayers will finallybe going to fund the vital services thatall of us depend upon.”

Marvin Hirsch, Caraccia’s at-torney, said the failure to pay taxes byCaraccia and his two companies arose

from “some bookkeeping problems.”“Mr. Caraccia has been a long-

standing businessman in NassauCounty and Queens,” Hirsch said.“He’s made full restitution.”

The district attorney’s officelearned about Caraccia’s tax evasionfrom a tip to their office. The NassauCriminal Investigations Division ofthe state Department of Taxation andFinance investigated the tip and founddifferences between taxes that werepaid by insurance carriers to the auto-mobile repair shops and the amount oftaxes the two shops paid the state,Rice said.

Investigators searched Caraccia’soffices and obtained financial infor-mation regarding the businesses thatled to Caraccia’s arrest on Oct. 24,2012. Investigators determined Carac-cia failed to pay $335,000 between theyears of 2009 and 2012. Caraccia’sautoshops were charged with second-degree grand larceny on Dec. 18,2013.

Thomas Mattox, commissionerof the state Department of Taxationand finance, praised Rice. “I com-mend District Attorney Rice and herteam for prosecuting the defendants,”Mattox said.

Great Neck, NY, Shop Owner Makes Full Restitution for hisTax Liability, Repays Over $320,000 to State

Erica Eversman,file photo Follow us on Twitter:

@autobodynewsAccept no Substitutes!



The Zoning Board of Adjustmentheard testimony at the May 14 meet-ing on an application to convert theformer Stafford Glass building at 168Godwin Ave. into office space and amotor vehicle repair shop. The appli-cant, Warren Struz, has owned theadjoining Midland Park Auto Body at172 Godwin Ave. for 34 years. Healso owns a third property at 154Godwin Ave containing a house thatwould create a horseshoe-shapedcompound. Strutz is seeking site planapproval, a use variance and bulkvariances for the 21,682-square-footStafford Glass property west of Vree-land Avenue in the B-1 zone. Thezone permits motor vehicle servicestations and offices but does not allowauto repair businesses. Struz said theapplication was not an expansion buta way to accommodate his currentbusiness. He said the 7,378-square-foot Stafford Glass building would beused as a reception area and officespace with the rear portion of thebuilding used for automobile diag-nostics. He said no painting or autobody work would be performed at the168 Godwin Ave. site. “That workwill continue in the [auto body] build-ing,” he said.

Midland Park Auto BodyProposes Bldg Conversion

State Sen. Dominick Ruggerio andRep. Arthur Corvese have been afrequent supporters of bills to sup-port Rhode Island's auto body shopsover the past decade, and their cam-paign finance reports show the in-dustry is supporting them back.According to online campaign fi-nance reports going back 12 years,Ruggerio has received a combined$12,600 from employees of Provi-dence Auto Body and Petrarca & Pe-trarca Law, which are both ownedby the Petrarca family. John Pe-trarca owns Providence Auto Bodyand his daughter, Jina Petrarca-Karampetsos, heads up PetrarcaLaw and is the spokeswoman forthe Auto Body Association ofRhode Island. Corvese has received$3,500 from Providence Auto Bodyemployees during that time, and an-other $1,500 from those associatedwith Petrarca Law.

See cover story this issue formore on legislation sponsored byRuggerio and Corvese at the assem-bly.

Rhode Island Sen. and Rep.Disclose Shops’ Support

An auto body shop owner is askingfor the public’s help in tracking downtwo suspects who stole three-wheelATVs from his shop. The owner saysthis is the first time in decades he’sbeen robbed. A surveillance videoshows two men breaking into Per-sonal Touch Auto Body on BostonRoad on Memorial Day and pushingtwo of the ATVs that were up for saleonto the street, and then coming backto return for the third one. “These twoproceeded into the building and triedfor 5-10 minutes to start these trikesthat I have for sale,” said Mike Tri-nagel. The two thieves desperatelytried to start the ATV’s. When that ef-fort failed, they wheeled the two ve-hicles up Boston Road.

However they got greedier. Theyactually came back after 3:00 in themorning and stole a third trike. Theycouldn’t get to a fourth one because itwas blocked in between cars and asign. The three ATV’s are worth about$6,000. Trinagel is offering a $2,000reward for the return of the Trikes, anda $1,000 reward for information thatleads to the arrest and conviction ofthe two men. See video at http://7on-line.com/ news/exclusive-atvs-stolen-from-auto-body-shop/86032/

Bronx Body Shop CatchesATV Thefts on Camera

The New York State Department ofTaxation and Finance announcedJune 5 that the owner of an autobody shop in Deer Park, NY, hasbeen charged with grand larceny forfailing to pay the proper amount ofsales tax. The defendant is DeanMarchese, 52, of 136 Barnman St.,West Babylon. Marchese is theprincipal owner of Deer Park AutoBody Corporation (formerly DeerPark Collision, Inc.) at 93 West 1stStreet. He was arrested on June 3and charged with one count ofGrand Larceny in the Fourth De-gree. Marchese allegedly underre-ported $2,120,443 of the autoshop’s sales for the tax years 2009through 2012. The Departmentcharged that he owes the State$182,888 in sales tax on those sales.The defendant is scheduled for ar-raignment in Suffolk County FirstDistrict Court on June 17. This casewas investigated by the Tax Depart-ment’s Criminal Investigations Di-vision and will be prosecuted by theOffice of the Suffolk County Dis-trict Attorney’s Office. As always, acriminal complaint is merely an ac-cusation and the defendant is pre-sumed innocent until proven guilty.

Deer Park, NY, Shop OwnerAccused of Tax Fraud

Under New York law, the faithless ser-vant doctrine permits an employer torecover compensation already paid toan employee where:● the employee’s material and sub-stantial misconduct violates the con-tract of service; or● the employee has engaged in mis-conduct that constitutes a breach ofthe duty of loyalty or good faith.

Two recent decisions—one fromthe US District Court for the SouthernDistrict of New York and one fromNew York’s trial court—highlight theapplication of the faithless servantdoctrine, which can be a powerfulweapon in the arsenal of an employerthat discovers wrongdoing by a cur-rent or former employee.

Breach of duties causes forfeiture ofvested optionsThe plaintiff in Trimarco v DataTreasury Corp(3) sought to enforce aseries of agreements granting him eq-uity in the defendant, which he hadserved first as a consultant and later asan employee and its chief operatingofficer. The plaintiff sought a declara-tory judgment enforcing an option topurchase 1.5 million shares of thestock of the defendant, an interest thathis expert valued at $60 million. The

defendant asserted affirmative de-fences based on the plaintiff’s allegedbreach of the covenant of good faithand fair dealing and breach of his fi-duciary duties.

The option was fully vested andthe plaintiff was not required to re-main employed by the defendant toretain that interest—indeed, the ter-mination of his employment wouldhave had no impact on the option.Given that the option was, by itsterms, not subject to forfeiture, theplaintiff argued that any breach byhim of the covenant of good faith andfair dealing or his fiduciary dutiesshould not adversely affect his rights.The court rejected this argument,finding that “infidelity is a bar to aclaim for enforcement of a contract”.

The faithless servant doctrine isa powerful tool that may be used byemployers that are the victims ofwrongdoing by employees to recovercompensation already paid and avoidpayment of additional compensationthat may otherwise be due.

In addition to claims for damagesarising out of misconduct by currentor former employees, employers areadvised to consider claims that theymay have under the faithless servantdoctrine.

NY's ‘Faithless Servant’ Doctrine Is Alive And Well

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On Monday, May 19, AASP-NJ heldtheir 10th Annual Lou Scoras Memo-rial Golf Outing at the Colonia Coun-try Club in Colonia, NJ. CharlesBryant, Executive Director forAASP-NJ, notes “the golf outing wenteven better than we expected. This is

especially true because in the daysleading up to the outing, we had beengetting intermittent rain storms andjust gloomy weather. The golf outingstarted at 1PM and traditionally runsuntil about 5:30PM. From 1-5:30PM

on the dot, the weather was absolutelybeautiful. At precisely 5:30PM, weheard a loud thunder and saw a blastof lightning, and immediately after,the golf carts began flying in like awagon train. It almost seemed like thethunder and lightning was somehowheld up until all of the players finishedtheir 18 rounds of golf… the responseto the outing seems to get better andbetter each year. This year was no ex-ception. We had just under 100 play-ers, and the sponsorship response wasoverwhelming.”

Sponsorships for the event rangedfrom hole sponsors to bronze, silver,gold and platinum sponsors, andAASP-NJ received everything fromgolf balls to flat screen televisions inprize donations. Special lunch and din-ner sponsors provided participantswith meals and even a special cigarbasket which contained a bottle ofaged scotch. Nearly 40 companiessponsored holes for the event with an

additional 15 sponsors contributingprizes. Platinum sponsors included theAmato Agency, All American AutoSalvage, Hertz Rent-A-Car, EnterpriseRent-A-Car, and PPG. Prizes wereawarded for lowest team score, longestdrive, closest to the pin and hole-in-one.

The AASP-NJ Golf Outingserves as a fundraiser with a portionof the proceeds going towards a spe-cial educational scholarship fund, butBryant explains, “most importantly, it

is held in honor of one of our own, Mr.Lou Scoras, formerly of HolmdelAuto Body. It has been ten years sinceLou passed away, yet it seems likeyesterday because of the wonderfulperson that Lou was and because ofthe impact he had on the collision in-dustry here in NJ. Lou Scoras was oneof the great people in our industrywho did not just sit back and wait forthings to happen. Lou loved the in-dustry and donated a large amount ofhis own personal time to makingthings happen to better the collisionindustry every day. I have no doubtthat it is because of Lou that we con-tinue to get the great response to theouting every year.”

Bryant sees these types of eventsas a fun way to bring industry mem-bers together for an enjoyable daywhere they don’t have to worry aboutthe daily stress associated with run-ning a business. “Most of the peoplethat come out and play golf at our out-

AASP-NJ’s 10th Annual Lou Scoras Memorial Golf Outing



AASP-NJ President Jeff McDowell joins asso-ciation members for a fun day of socializing Numerous sponsors contributed to make

AASP-NJ's golf outing a success

fault” and pay the claims without rais-ing the vehicle owners’ premiums,Williams contended. Galati wouldcopy keys to cars brought into hisshop for repair, and an accomplicewould later find them parked on thestreet, steal them, and crash them intothe other vehicles owned by Galaticustomers, a grand jury witness said.The purported point of their vandal-ism? To create more work and poten-tial insurance paydays for AmericanCollision.

According to grand jury witnesses,Galati would say: “I live my life tocheat insurance companies.”

Williams said Galati’s shopwould pour deer blood over cars andsimulate accidents, then take photos tosend to insurance companies. Deerweren’t the only props used, the pros-ecutor said: geese, dogs, chunks ofmetal and concrete, and hurtled car-tons of fruit were also used in thefraudulent photos.

Galati’s wife, son and daughter,several insurance adjusters, tow truckdrivers, a city official, and a police of-

ficer are also among those charged,says Philly.com.

Among others charged in theinsurance scheme were a formerPhiladelphia police officer, DouglasDiEmidio, 50, and Robert Otter-son, 48, an employee and mechanicwith the city’s Office of Fleet Man-agement.

According to the grand jury pre-sentment, DiEmidio created false acci-dent reports to help Galati “legitimize”bogus accidents.

DiEmidio was fired last year afterbeing charged in an unrelated casewith stealing $10,000 worth of elec-tricity by tampering with the meter onhis South Philadelphia home. Hepleaded guilty in December in Com-mon Pleas Court and was sentenced tothree years’ probation.

Otterson, a $49,000-a-year cityemployee, allegedly enabled Ameri-can Collision to obtain a $1.8 millioncity contract by falsely certifying thatthe body shop had a specializedwelder needed to work on city policecars.

The defendants were chargedwith counts alleging operating a cor-rupt organization, conspiracy, insur-ance fraud, bid-rigging, and theft.

Assistant District Attorney DawnHoltz, the prosecutor in the case, said14 people have surrendered andagreed to cooperate in the prosecu-tion.

Williams said the investigation ofGalati began when two insurancecompanies, Erie and Progressive, con-tacted his office about suspicious be-havior by insurance adjusters.

Cheryl Stanton, 58, of SouthPhiladelphia, an appraiser for Erie In-surance, was accused of acceptingcash and gifts from Galati to inflateestimates of crash damage.

Arthur Juliano, 37, of SouthPhiladelphia, an appraiser for Allstate,was also charged with accepting cashfrom Galati.


Continued from Cover

Staged Deer Crashes

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ing are just there to have some fun andrelaxation, and few are anywhere nearpros… Everyone can relax and get alaugh when someone like me missesthe ball altogether!”

Overall, AASP-NJ was verypleased with the outcome of theirevent. Bryant adds “we could nothave asked for a better response orturnout. Everyone that I spoke to hada blast and can’t wait for the 2015outing. I would like to say thank youto everyone that played and a specialthank you to all that sponsored onany level. I would also encourageeveryone to support those that sup-port the AASP-NJ when it comestime to choose where to spend moneyon parts, materials, paint, equipmentor anything related to our wonderfulindustry.”

AASP-NJwww.aaspnj.com

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On Thursday, May 29 at 7:30PM, theLong Island Auto Body Repairmen’sAssociation (LIABRA) held its firstmeeting since merging with the AutoBody Craftsmen’s Guild (ABCG).The meeting, which took place atSpray City Collision located at 1316Castleton Avenue in Staten Island NY,focused on the joint organization’slegislative goals, labor department up-dates and sales tax audits on auto bodyshops. Enterprise Rent-A-Car pro-vided pizza and soda for attendees.

The meeting began with a presen-tation by Ed Kizenberger Jr, Direc-tor of ABCG and Executive Assistant

for LIABRA, whodiscussed the im-portance of unitybetween the twomerging groups aswell as the need forthe collision repairindustry to be rep-resented in theirstate. He continuedto speak about theassociation’s goalsand how they will

use LIABRA’s experience garneredover the past three decades to improvethe Guild as they prepare to become anorganization focused on education.

Next, Ed Kizenberger Sr, Exec-utive Director of LIABRA, empha-sized the need to educate all shops inorder to assist those shop owners withthe least knowledge to reach their full

potential because “the least educatedof shop owners will be the ones whotarnish our industry and hold us backfrom making progress.” KizenbergerSr also spoke about the association’slegislative agenda for 2014, specifi-cally their proposed parts procurementbill which would prevent insurersfrom interfering with the parts order-ing process and restoring control overthis aspect of the repair to the collisionrepair professionals and the con-sumers.

Further discussion followed onthe association’s plans to conduct alabor rate survey as well as their focuson providing educational opportuni-ties not only to collision repair facili-ties on Long Island but also the fiveboroughs which they plan to expandinto. The group also covered whatthey hope to achieve through this ex-pansion with the ABCG.

Last but not least, Mark Stonefrom Sales Tax Defense LLC pro-vided a comprehensive presentation

on the importance of properly keepingrecords and other ways to prevent asales tax audit. He also explained theaudit process and discussed whatrights a shop has during the investiga-tion.

This was the ABCG’s first meet-ing since the group deteriorated aroundthree years ago, and Kizenberger Jrnotes “it was an eye opener for manyparticipants with a lot of good infor-mation that a lot of them hadn’t heardbefore. We’ve received some reallypositive feedback from members sincethe meeting.

Kizenberger Jr feels that associa-tion meetings and events are vital “be-cause knowledge is power. Unlessshop owners know how to run theirbusinesses properly, they will run thisindustry into the ground. We need toimprove the performance of the low-est performing shops to keep themabreast of changes in the industry be-cause the outliers drag the rest down.

It’s a pretty big deal that we educateeveryone we can reach.”

LIABRA and ABCG’s next meet-ing will be held in the Fall in Brook-lyn. The last ABCG meeting that was

held in Brooklyn five years ago at-tracted 125 attendees, so KizenbergerJr predicts their next meeting will beheavily attended by members andnon-members alike.

LIABRAwww.liabra.com


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Stamford, CT, Body Shop Buys South End ShopLocation for $1.6M to Expand BusinessDarien-based Signature Group, acommercial real estate firm, an-nounced it has negotiated the sale of315 Greenwich Ave. and 39 SelleckSt. in Stamford’s South End for atotal $1.6 million. The buyer is Ex-treme Auto Body & Auto Repair,which will move from its currentnearby Stamford location, expandingits business into the one-story indus-trial buildings. The buildings meas-ure 5,739 square feet (GreenwichAvenue) and 4,000 square feet (Sell-eck Street). They adjoin and occupya single, half-acre tax lot. SignatureGroup’s Bobby Gillon and Andrew

Carney, each a vice president, repre-sented the seller, BonCap RealtyLLC.Don Corbo of Stamford-basedNew England Properties representedthe buyer.

“There has been a great deal ofdevelopment in Stamford, specifi-cally in the South End,” Gillon said.“The demand for residential, retailand office properties has made thesesmaller commercial properties in-creasingly scarce. We’re pleased thatthis sale will keep quality auto repairservices in a neighborhood with agrowing residential and businesspopulation.”


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dees at the ABPA event that havinggrown up in her parent’s BatonRouge business, Felder’s CollisionParts, she has a good understandingof the issues facing the non-OEMparts industry.

“This industry hasn’t had a realfriend in Congress,” Felder said. “Formany of you who have been to the leg-islature, who’ve been up there trying toget some of these bills passed, fightingagainst some of the things that affectyou, there aren’t a lot of real friends tothe industry there, not a lot of peoplethere who really understand this indus-try. And so it’s really important for youto pay attention to this race, and I’masking for your support in this race.”

One of the issues Felder men-tioned she would go to Congress un-derstanding is the “PARTS Act,” anABPA-supported bill that would slashautomaker design patent protectionfrom 14 years to just 30 months.

Felder also discussed the “devas-tating” impact that automaker partsprice-matching programs have had onher parent’s business and others in the

non-OEM parts industry. She said shedrafted the lawsuit that Felder’s Colli-sion Parts filed in 2012 against GeneralMotors, alleging that General Motor’s“Bump the Competition” price-match-ing program was an illegal predatorypricing scheme designed to drive non-OEM parts distributors out of business.(A U.S. District Court judge dismissedthe case in April, but Felder’s CollisionParts has filed an appeal of that deci-sion. See Autobody News June 2014issue.)

Felder asked ABPA members tosupport her campaign to representLouisiana’s 6th Congressional Dis-trict. She is seeking financial contri-butions (www.cassiefelder.com) bothfrom individuals and through businesspolitical action committees.

“Obviously there are a lot of is-sues that are going to be affecting mydistrict,” Felder said. “But this industryhas been so important to me and myfamily, that this was absolutely one ofthe industries I wanted to target.”

State Legislation DiscussedState legislation related to non-OEMparts was also the focus of anotherpresentation at the ABPA conventionin Austin. Ray Colas, director of gov-

ernment affairs for LKQ Corporation,told the non-OEM parts suppliers thatthe body shop industry seems reinvig-orated.

“PartsTrader is something thathas motivated them, not only throughlegislation but also litigation,” Colassaid. “With that momentum, they’rethrowing us under the bus as well.”

In the past, Colas said, most ofthe legislative challenges to aftermar-ket parts came from automakers.

“But the body shops have reallytaken it over,” he said. “Now the au-tomakers are supporting the bodyshop association initiatives.”

Colas talked about a number ofbills his company successfully lobbiedagainst, including one introduced inMaryland last year that would haveprohibited the manufacture, sale or in-stallation of a counterfeit or substan-dard airbag.

“Some of you may wonder: Whyare we concerned about airbags?There are no aftermarket airbags,”Colas said. “Well, that’s true today.That doesn’t mean that in the futurethey may not exist. So we want to pro-tect that market today in case in the fu-ture there is an opportunity for that.We don’t want to be restricted from

selling any alternative part.”Colas said after a “long, drawn-

out fight” and “a very, very close call,”aftermarket parts supporters were ableto convince Maryland lawmakers thisyear not to pass a bill that would re-quire insurers to pay for new OEMparts for repairs to vehicles manufac-tured within the previous three years.

“Jordan Hendler (executive di-rector of the Washington MetropolitanAuto Body Association, which backedthe Maryland legislation) has done agreat job educating these legislators,meeting with them year after year,”Colas said. “It’s something we reallywant to keep an eye on.”

A lawmaker in Iowa also neededto be “re-educated” about the after-market parts industry, Colas said, afterhe introduced at the behest of bodyshops a bill that included a provisionsimilar to the one in Maryland. Colassaid that lawmaker’s district includesan LKQ facility.

“We got there and told him, ‘Hey,you’re really going to affect our busi-ness,’ ” Colas said. “This is how manyjobs we have in your district.”

Colas said the Iowa bill also in-cluded provisions prohibiting an insurerfrom recommending a shop without



Aftermarket Parts Sellers

also telling the customer they aren’t re-quired to use a recommended shop, andfrom requiring a shop “to use a specificvendor or process for the procurementof parts or other materials.” Colas saidthose provisions will likely be includedin a future piece of legislation.

“There will be a bill that’s rein-troduced, but it will not include the af-termarket parts restriction,” Colas said.

PartsTrader addresses questionsKen Weiss, director of business de-velopment for PartsTrader, also spokeat the ABPA convention, just daysafter his company completed nationalroll-out of its system, now reportedlyused by more than 7,500 body shopsand 8.500 parts suppliers. Weiss saidthat by the end of this past April, partslists from more than 700,000 esti-mates had been put out for quotethrough PartsTrader, and more than1.25 million orders totaling more than$450 million had been placed throughthe system.

Weiss said although State Farm“is a little bit restrictive with regard toaftermarket parts,” he expects non-OEM parts orders through the systemto increase as shops use PartsTraderfor non-State Farm jobs.

He cited a number of benefits thatPartsTrader offers suppliers, including“increased sales opportunities andfewer parts returns.” However not

everyone at theABPA conventionagreed with Weisson this last point.

“We have notnoticed a lower re-turn rate on (partsordered through)PartsTrader versus

phone calls versus faxes versus any-thing,” Bob Petty of Collins CollisionProducts in Loveland, CO, told Weiss.“Our return rate is higher than it’s everbeen in the history of the company.”

Petty also asked if returned partsare taken into account in the fees Part-sTrader charges to suppliers, which arebased on average monthly sales. Weisssaid they are, provided that parts pur-chased through the PartsTrader systemare also returned though the system.

“We all know the games todaywhere repairers will buy multipleparts, sometimes just to get a receiptthat they can show somebody else,and then return the part,” Weiss said.“With the PartsTrader system, youcan only buy a part once unless youreturn it. Then you can buy the partagain from another supplier. So wethink that will avoid some of thegames and will help bring down thereturns.”

Weiss was asked if there’s a wayfor a shop to bypass the system to re-turn a part.

“Only if you let them,” Weisstold the parts distributors. “If theywant to return a part, you need to tellthem, ‘You bought this through Part-sTrader; you need to return it throughthe system,’ so you get credit for thereturn.’ If they don’t want to return itthrough the system, then, I hate to sayit, but they are probably up to nogood.”


Ken Weiss

at www.autobodynews.com

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Russ Hoernis of Hoernis Auto Body inBelleville, IL, has created a 20-minutevideo and posted it on YouTube todemonstrate all of the steps in thefeather, prime and block procedure thatmust be performed to bring a repairpanel back to a new, undamaged one.

“Feather, prime and block is a re-finish operation that for years has beensnubbed by the insurance industry as ei-ther an included operation in repair times,or they have just been unwilling to com-pensate shops for the work and materi-als utilized. I have researched the CCC,Audatex and Mitchell manuals, and eachestimating system has independentlystated that feather, prime and block is anecessary operation that must be per-formed to bring a repaired part back to anew, undamaged panel. Each manualalso clearly states that published refinishtimes are for new, undamaged panels.”

After documenting the entire op-eration, Hoernis goes over the laborand materials used and ultimately cal-culates that not getting paid for this re-sults in roughly $50,000 per year inlost revenue to his shop.

Hoernis concludes the video bysaying, “I hope for whoever is watch-ing that this clarifies some of the is-sues we are up against.”

IL Shop Owner Posts 20-minVideo of FPB for Panel Fixes

ample, Esurance has announced it isoffering real-time video appraisals forconsumers using its mobile applica-tion.

Allstate, State Farm and MetLife,are also asking their customers to sub-mit camera phone pictures of the dam-age, and they are using these photos towrite their estimates. In Connecticut,Attorney John Parese, who acts as legalcounsel for the Auto Body Associationof Connecticut (ABAC), said he be-lieves “the growing trend of using cam-era phone pictures prior to getting arepair professional involved is illegal,unethical, and most importantly, harm-ful to consumers.”

Because claims are being paidbased on claimant-taken photos whichcannot possibly depict the full extent ofdamages, Parese sees this practice as “afundamental misrepresentation of pol-icy or third-party rights and benefits...

“Insurers have a legal and often fi-duciary responsibility to make fair andcomplete payments for covered losses.This system is plainly designed to saveinsurers money on its own labor costs

(ie. less paid appraisers) and on theamount it ultimately pays on claims (ie.calculated underpayment of claims).These savings come at the expense ofconsumer safety and complete reim-bursement,” writes Parese.

In Massachusetts the appraisalprocess explicitly requires personal in-spection and 212 CMR 2.04 detailsthe procedures for conducting ap-praisals. In Section D, Requirement ofPersonal Inspection and Photographsthe regulation states: “The appraisershall personally inspect the damagedmotor vehicle and shall rely primarilyon that personal inspection in makingthe appraisal. As part of the inspec-tion, the appraiser shall also photo-graph each of the damaged areas.”

This requirement is now in doubtgiven the ADALB ruling.

Carl Garcia, owner of Carl’sCollision Center in Fall River, MA,and a member of the ADALB, told amedia source that understanding hownew technologies could improve theclaim process is a key driver for thenew ruling. Garcia has a radio showon 1480 WSAR where he fields con-sumer questions on collision repair.

“Last year, attorneys at the Mas-sachusetts Division of Insurance

drafted a detailed, five-page opinionthat basically said that a personal in-spection was not a physical inspectionso virtual technologies could be usedunder the existing regulation,” saidGarcia. “In my view, the advisory rul-ing shows that we’re open to newtechnologies but we have to be surethey will benefit consumers and im-prove the claim process. This opinionmoves us in the direction.”

Garcia cautioned, however, thatthe requirement for documentation ofhow video or images were used to cre-ate the appraisal is an important partof the ruling. “Quality video and im-ages along with documentation is im-portant. The capabilities of smartphone can vary impacting the photosthey take,” said Garcia. “Anyoneusing the technology should thor-oughly document how any technologywas used and how it supports the ap-praisal.”

Rick Starbard, owner of Rick’sAuto Collision in Revere, MA, and apast-president of both the Alliance ofAutomotive Service Providers ofMassachusetts (AASP-MA) as well asthe National AASP organization, isconcerned that the ruling might openthe door to increased steering by in-

surance companies in the Common-wealth and create problems for con-sumers. “I take a ton of photos in mybusiness and I still find that I oftenneed to go back out and look at the ve-hicle,” said Starbard. “I’m also con-cerned that this could make it easierfor an insurance company to steerwork or just use the shop as their drivein facility. Now an insurer will just say‘Take the car to this shop and they canshoot some photos and send them tous’ to get the car to the shop theywant.”

According to Starbard, AASP-MA will focus on working with theMassachusetts Division of Insuranceto revise the regulation to clearly de-fine what is allowed. “Having this rul-ing when they are going to need tomake a regulatory change does notmake sense,” said Starbard. “I’m con-cerned that insurers will use this rul-ing to justify using a couple of smartphone pictures from consumers to set-tle the claim. The ruling leaves a lotopen to interpretation that needs to beaddressed in the regulation.”


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Wolcott, CT, Shop Operated Without License, ObtainsOne, But Still Rankles Local CompetitorsA shop in Wolcott was doing busi-ness without a license and the ownerstayed open for months. The De-partment of Motor Vehicles knewback in August that North East Cus-toms did not have a license or whenlocal Eyewitness News visited theshop two weeks ago. Despite beingopen illegally for months, they stillgot a license. Eyewitness Newswent back to North East Customsand within minutes, they shut theirdoors. When Eyewitness News vis-ited North East Customs two weeksago, the owner Bob Lebrun agreedto talk with the station and he said “Ihave a license.”

The I-Team was told he didn’thave one. Last summer after gettingsome complaints, DMV officials or-dered him to shut down and they evenarrested him on 12 charges of operat-ing without a license. One charge forevery vehicle that was in the shop thatday. Instead of doing what he wastold, Lebrun kept right on doing busi-ness. Even after knowing North EastCustoms continued to operate ille-gally, DMV officials gave them a li-cense.

“Businesses fall through the cracks,”said DMV spokesman William Sey-

mour. Seymour said they don’t haveenough staff to revisit every business,yet they were being told the ownerwas still operating.

“You would have to be up thereevery day issuing a summons,” Sey-mour said. “We don’t have the man-power.”

Lebrun will have to go to courtand may be fined for operating with-out a license but only for those 12counts. However, he will not for allthose months he stayed open.

“It’s not a level playing field,”said Ken Giles, who owns the autoshop Final Finish. Giles said he findsthis insulting. He said he has paid thestate thousands of dollars to make surehis license is in good standing andwithout a license you can’t get bond-ing or insurance.

“When I started finding out hewas doing work without a license,you wonder ‘we pay and just makeends meet,” Giles said. “How doyou compete with that?” DMV offi-cials said they feels it’s better to getthese businesses a license becausethis way consumers are better pro-tected. This way they can have re-course through the state if there’s aproblem.


by Chasidy Rae Sisk

Whether you’ve struggled with theneed to replace automotive VIN andsafety labels or if you’ve never giventhem a second thought, the fact re-mains that federal law mandates theselabels be permanently affixed to every

vehicle, yet they’re the part leastlikely to be fixed during a repair!Manufacturers rely on both the safetycertification label and the tire-and-load label to convey important safetyinformation to drivers. These labelsare customized with the VIN andmonth/year of manufacture for each

unique vehicle, but while it’s easy tomatch these labels to a specific vehicleon the production line, manufacturersare not equipped to replace a singlecustom label after the car leaves theirplant. That’s where AutomotiveIDcomes in!

Automotive ID launched in 2007to fill this need within thecollision repair industry.One-of-a-kind VIN andsafety labels were not beingreplaced and, at best, werebeing cut out and stuffed inthe glove box. The com-pany’s sole business is theproduction of these uniqueVIN and Safety certificationlabels, and AutomotiveIDsupplies collision repair fa-

cilities in every state in the U.S. aswell as throughout Canada.

As a provider of aftermarket au-tomotive labels to the collision repairindustry, AutomotiveID produceshigh-quality labels for all makes andmodels of cars and light trucks, al-lowing their replacement to go from

nearly impossible to one of the easiestparts to replace. Beyond the simpleneed to restore a vehicle to its pre-losscondition, replacing these labels is im-perative because they instruct driverson how to handle and main-tain their vehicles, includingtire inflation recommenda-tions and load limits, both ofwhich are extremely impor-tant since ignoring these rat-ings can lead to dangerouswrecks; this is why the Na-tional Highway Transporta-tion Safety Administration(NHTSA) insists the informa-tion contained on these labelsis critical to public safety.

For collision repair facilities, thebenefits of restoring a vehicle to itspre-loss condition by using Automo-tiveID’s labels is obvious, but becauseinsurance companies also recognizethe benefit of maintaining the safetyof their customer’s vehicle and thevalue of their own insurable interest,shops can finally get paid for doingthe right thing and replacing these cus-

tom VIN and Safety certification la-bels. Besides the safety factors men-tioned, AutomotiveID’s labels alsohelp consumers maintain the value oftheir vehicles as appraisers typically

discount trade-ins with missing labelssince the absence of these labels limittheir knowledge of the vehicle.

AutomotiveID’s replacement la-bels fulfill many needs to the benefit ofall vested parties. In addition to provid-ing federal regulation compliance of re-paired vehicles, these labels preservethe value of the vehicles, provide nec-essary tracking information, and supply


VIN and Safety Labels from AutomotiveID Bring Vehicles Another Step Closer toPre-Loss Condition

Installing a replacement Tire & Load label will ensure yourcustomers know how to maintain their vehicles and con-tribute to their overall safety

AutomotiveID’s replacement BMW certification label con-tains the same information as the manufacturer's original

the repair facility with incremental rev-enue and compensation on work forwhich they haven’t traditionally re-ceived payment. Each party in the col-lision repair industry has different, yetvalid, reasons for recognizing the im-portance of replacing vehicle labels, butthe predominant concern relates to pub-lic safety, and AutomotiveID’s servicesundeniably contribute to this factor.

AutomotiveID offers a completeline of automotive labels, includingcertification, service parts, tire andloading, emission control, paint andtrim, anti-theft and all other aftermar-ket labels that are typically difficult tofind. All of their replacement labelsmeet the standards set forth by theNHTSA, and AutomotiveID enters allinformation by hand to ensure accu-racy as part of their thorough processof quality control and independentverification procedures.

So how do you order replace-ment labels from AutomotiveID? Eas-ily because it’s all done online!Simply visit their secure website,complete the order form, and uploada photograph of the original label. Au-tomotiveID will enter the necessaryinformation and print a new labelwhich you can receive as early as the

next business day. AutomotiveID’s re-placement labels adhere to all NHTSAcontent standards, contain the exactinformation as the original label, in-cluding fully functional bar codes, andare permanent and weatherproof.

With their industry-leading, web-based ordering and rapid returnprocesses, AutomotiveID ensures theirreplacement labels are the “easiest partto put back on,” so what are you wait-ing for? Visit their website and restorethe vehicles in your shop to their pre-loss condition today!

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by Alicia Basteri

John Borek, general manager of Au-tocraft Bodywerks Inc. in Austin, TX,has resorted to filing four criminaltrespassing complaints against insur-ance appraisers.

On average, about four insuranceappraisers come into his shop every

day. Occasionally,an appraiser willfind fault with thelogic behind cer-tain repair esti-mates. Borek saidthat he usuallypoints out the man-

ufacturer’s specifications when thishappens and prints them out for the ap-praiser on the spot, which tends tomollify their concerns. However, hesometimes gets an appraiser who stillwants to argue.

According to Borek, most of theappraisers who want to argue areyoung and have never worked on a carin their life. Having worked on carsfor over 30 years himself, this can befrustrating, to say the least—not to

mention a waste of time.So, when he gets a particularly ar-

gumentative appraiser, he calls hismanager after the third incidence. If ithappens again, he files a criminal tres-passing charge. Once the appraiser hasbeen served papers, he’s not allowedon the property. If he violates the order,he could be arrested and fined.

Borek hasn’t had to have an ap-praiser arrested, although he said theydid serve papers to the wrong guyonce—a father with the same name asthe son who worked at the same insur-ance company.

Now, it costs money to file a crim-inal trespassing charge, he has to hire alawyer, etc. This isn’t something thathe wants to do—it’s a last resort. Andit’s a last resort that he’s only imple-mented four times in 30 years. Thisstrategy has worked for them.

Borek told Autobody News that hehas received calls from body shop em-ployees all over the country saying thatthey ‘wished they’d thought of that, wayto go, etc.’ Maybe his self-proclaimedout-of-box thinking is setting precedentsin the industry.

John Borek Takes Aggressive Action, Files TrespassingComplaints Against Argumentative Appraisers

John Borek


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Auto Body owner John Petrarca.ABARI is backing the license

classification bill, the aftermarketparts bill, and the insurance notice billas “good consumer” pieces of legisla-tion, said Petrarca-Karampetsos. Shetold The Breeze that ABARI membersare “as confident as we always are”that state lawmakers will wonce again“support the consumer” as they’vedone historically.

The Property Casualty InsurersAssociation of America is opposingall four above pieces of legislation,calling them “bad bills” that will takemore money from average Rhode Is-landers.

Ruggerio and Corvese have de-clined to discuss any of their bills withmedia.

Frank O’Brien, vice president ofstate government relations with theProperty Casualty Insurers Associa-tion of America, said the continuedcampaign by Ruggerio and andCorvese—lawmakers he says havesupported a combined 17 bills sup-ported by ABARI over the past

decade—is having a cumulative neg-ative impact on consumers, helping tocause some of the highest insurancerates in the country to balloon further.

The insurance notice bill on June5’s docket is unique in that it doesn’trelate to auto body issues, saidO’Brien, but is “more related to sourgrapes.” Rhode Island is one of 14states that has a “flex-rating” statutein place allowing an expedited rate fil-ing process for insurers if the size ofthe increase is 5 percent or less.

According to O’Brien, less than10 percent of rate filings actually takeadvantage of the statute. Having thestatute in place has actually resultedin lower rate increases, said O’Brien.Without it, insurers may be reluctantto change their rates in response tocompetition.

The National Association of Mu-tual Insurance Companies issued thefollowing news release:

The National Association of Mu-tual Insurance Companies providedtestimony to the Senate Judiciary Com-mittee opposing S. 2834 that wouldcreate a dual licensing classificationsystem for auto collision repair shops.

“The legislation is totally unnec-essary,” said John Murphy, NAMIC’s

state affairs director for the Northeast.“If the auto body repair industry wantsto create a classification system, it cando so without involving the Legislaturein its marketing strategies.”

According to Murphy, the Legis-lature has appropriately identified theminimum standards that all auto col-lision repair shops should meet inorder to protect consumers and shopworkers. “Any bells and whistles be-yond that should be left up to individ-ual shops,” he said.

Details of bills and amendmentsare available online:● http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText14/SenateText14/S2833.pdf.● http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText14/SenateText14/S2835.pdf.● http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText14/SenateText14/S2834.pdf.

The NAMIC letter is available at:http://www.namic.org/pdf/14member-advisory/140605_RIautoBodyRpr.pdf.


RI Body Shop Bills



H&V Collision Center will be addinga fifth location in the next few weeks,continuing the growth of the Albany-based family-owned business. Thenew location will join current H&VCollision Center locations in Troy,Queensbury, Colonie and Saratoga.Founded 40 years ago, H&V has ex-panded from a two-man operation tothe largest independently-owned col-lision repair business in the capitalregion. “H&V Collision Center hasbeen proud to serve our customersover the past four decades, includingworking with many repeat customersfor years,” said Vartan Jerian Jr., vicepresident. “We are excited to be ex-panding our service to our customersand the region. “The addition of afifth location continues an excitingperiod of growth and expansion forH&V Collision Center. We havepromised 2014 would be a big yearfor us, and expect other good news inthe coming weeks.” The expansiontakes place as H&V Collision Centeris also updating image and branding.A new logo for H&V was unveiledthis spring, along with a digital andoutdoor billboard campaign and newcompany tagline, “Let’s Get YouBack on the Road.”

Albany-based H&V Collisionto Add Fifth Location

A wanted fugitive who barricadedhimself inside a West Haven autobody shop was shot and killed the af-ternoon of June 4th when he pointed agun at SWAT officers after negotia-tions broke down, the Weber CountySheriff’s Office reported.

Kristopher Chase Simmons, 35,was shot by two Ogden Metro SWATofficers after over four hours of nego-tiations broke down and died afterbeing transported to Ogden RegionalMedical Center, said sheriff’s Sgt.Lane Findlay.

“They exhausted pretty mucheverything they can to try to get himto give himself up — negotiating withhim, talking with him,” Findlay said.

“I believe there was some contact withfamily in this. They did everythingthey could possibly do to try to get himto put the gun down.”

After the negotiations broke down,Simmons pointed a gun at “members ofthe SWAT team. Two of those membersfired at the suspect. Ultimately he diedfrom his injures.” Findlay said.

Simmons was taken by ambu-lance to Ogden Regional MedicalCenter, Findlay said. Police have notreleased how many shots were fired orhow many times Simmons was hit.But Findlay said the protocol for an of-ficer-involved shooting had been ini-tiated, and the two officers involvedwere put on administrative leave dur-ing the investigation.

Weber County deputies and aSWAT team were dispatched to theFlying J near 1900 S. 1100 Westaround 11:40 a.m. after KristopherChase Simmons, 35, barricaded him-self inside. Police officers were at-tempting to arrest him when ran intothe auto body shop, Weber CountySheriff's Sgt. Lane Findlay said.

Wanted Fugitive Shot and Killed AfterSWAT Standoff at West Haven, Utah, Shop

See Wanted Fugitive, Page 13


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I received a call last month from adear friend of mine on the West Coast.I’ll call him Paul here, but that’s nothis real name. His voice was shakyand he was clearly upset. Paul told methat one of the big MSOs had recentlyacquired a shop just down the streetfrom him and at first he wasn’t tooconcerned, but now he was extremelyconcerned. My friend has always ran avery good shop, so I asked him whathe was so worried about to which hereplied, “I hate to admit it, but theseguys are better than I thought and I amlosing business to them!” You seePaul’s biggest DRP provider put hisnew big MSO neighbor on the sameprogram even though they are only ablock apart! What’s more, Paul wastold by his DRP coordinator that un-less his shop improved its KPIs, hisnew neighbor was going to be receiv-ing the lion’s share of the business.

Paul’s story is not an isolatedone. Knowing Paul, he will figure out

a way to compete and win, but he isgoing to need some help.

Everyone in the collision repairindustry knows how challenging it hasbecome. DRPs are demanding more,Consolidators are growing faster thanever, and profits are shrinking. Theshops that are serious about compet-ing in this game need to quickly im-prove their position in the marketplaceby performing at unprecedented lev-els. This document is intended toshow the reader that many of the ad-vantages provided to large MSOs canbe afforded to any shop serious abouttransforming their business throughusing an outside firm to provide manyof the services.

Organizations like Service King,ABRA, Boyd Group, etc. have sys-tems in place that give them a verystrong presence in many major mar-kets in this country. These systemsallow for consistent and predictableresults in quality and customer serv-

ice. These systems when combinedwith the footprint of the consolidators,gives them a very lucrative “seat at thetable” with all major insurance carri-ers.

While each MSO is slightly dif-ferent in their approach to centralizedresources, this is a generalized list ofadvantages that large MSOs have overthe rest of us…■ Assurance of DRP affiliation whenopening new locations■ Centralized Human Resource De-partments■ Centralized Accounting ■ Centralized Customer Call Center■ Centralized Load Leveling ■ Centralized Management of I-CARGold Class ■ On-line training, Learning Manage-ment Systems, and testing■ Self-managed DRP with centralizedaudit teams■ Marketing Teams■ Safety and Environmental Compli-

ance Teams■ Proven workflow systems and ac-countability to make them work■ Mass advertising and name recog-nition■ Ability for employees to help otherlocations when needed■ Stability and benefits are attractiveto potential new-hires■ Buying power

Most small collision repair busi-nesses must attempt to perform manyof these functions, but are rarely ableto perform all of them well, if at all.To remain profitable typical shopowner/managers must perform manyof the functions that shop managers atlarge MSOs don’t have to deal with.The time that a typical shop managerwould spend performing many ofthese functions is spared to the largeMSO shop manager thereby provid-ing them time to ensure that processesare being followed, quality and cycletime standards are being met and in


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with David LuehrLean Operations

David Luehr is the owner of Elite Body Shop Solutions, LLC, a collision business consultingfirm based in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a 30 year veteran of the collision repair industry.David is an expert in Body Shop Operations and specializes in Lean, and Theory ofConstraints methods. Email him at [email protected]

Using an Outside Expert to Improve your Competitive Position

many ways acts as an “auditor.” Withthese disciplines in place, it becomesvery difficult to compete with theseguys.

In order to perform all these func-tions that are required, you wouldneed to hire people that are experts inInsurance DRP Relations, HR, Ac-counting, Customer Relations, I-CARGold Class, Marketing and Advertis-ing, Safety and Environmental Com-pliance, Admin Workflow Systems,Change Management, Lean, etc., etc.,etc. I would bet in most collision re-pair businesses, at least one or morehighly paid people would need to behired to perform all of these functionswhich are currently not being per-formed well or at all. That couldequate to $5,000 - $15,000 a month,plus benefits to hire who is needed toget all this stuff done! This of coursewould be considerably more if youhave multiple locations needing theseservices.

Solutions can be provided by anoutside firm at a substantially lowerprice and be performed by experts thatwill ensure these functions are per-formed precisely. So in other words,you could get many of these functionsat your shop performed both better

and cheaper than trying to do it your-self in-house.

A look at ROIIs it actually costing you money bynot using an outside firm? In manycases, yes! Training & Coaching hasbeen proven to increase a shop’s KeyPerformance Indicators substantially.Coaching and Training provided byqualified outside sources can have animmediate positive impact on bothKPIs and return on financial invest-ment. Even a modest 5% increase inproductivity at a shop producing$100,000 in revenue can yield an ad-ditional $2,000 in gross revenuewhich in many cases is enough to payfor the outside services. There aremany cases of shops experiencing sig-nificant gains in productivity and prof-itability that never would have beenpossible with the assistance of outsideexperts. Don’t expect quality outsideservices to be cheap, but look at it asan investment with a favorable ROI.

Do your homework when hiringa business coach or any kind of out-side service, these folks in many waysbecome a reflection of your businessand will have an impact either positiveor negative. You must be able to trust

them much as you would a new em-ployee, so don’t feel you need to hirethe first one that comes along.

The old saying that the “Defini-tion of Insanity is doing the samething over and over and expecting adifferent result” is exactly what manyshop leaders continually do. It doesn’thave to be this way. Quality of life forstakeholders at body shops doesn’thave to be so bad. We all need help,and there are resources available toprovide support.

Resources Available:Business Coaching & Consultants● General Business Consulting● Admin Workflow Processes & Im-plementation● Learning Management System● Leadership Coaching● Training Clinics

Online Human Resources● Hiring Programs● Performance Evaluation Process● Employee corrective action● Legal Advice

Data Management● CSI● Centralized Call Center

● KPI Management & ReportingSafety & Environmental Compli-anceMarketing & Advertising SolutionsI-CAR Gold Class ManagementAssociations, Buying Groups &Networks

If you would like more information,or a referral to a capable service inyour area, feel free to contact me [email protected]


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On the evening of Tuesday, May 20,the Auto Body Association of Con-necticut (ABAC) held its AnnualMembership Meeting at the ChowderPot Restaurant in Hartford, CT. A largegroup of shop owners and managersattended the meeting to participate inthe election of new officers and to hearLarry Montanez of P&L Consultantsresume his educational seminar fromMarch.

The meeting began with ABACPresident Tony Ferraiolo welcomingattendees and expressing gratitude tothe evening’s sponsors who included

primary sponsorBald Hill MotorGroup as well asco-sponsors KentAutomotive, Enter-prise Rent-A-Car,and Paul Francis& Co. After thank-ing newsletter ad-

vertisers and ABAC’s corporatesponsors for continuing to support theassociation, Ferraiolo discussed thestatus of ABAC’s current initiativesbefore introducing John Parese, LegalCounsel for ABAC, who provided up-dates on current legal proceedings thatthe association has undertaken.

Before dinner, ABAC held theirelection of officers, but the team nom-inated and elected to serve for the2014–2015 term reflects no changesfrom the current team. A&R Body

Specialty’s Tony Ferraiolo will con-tinue to serve as President, with EdLupinek of Eddie’s Auto Body fillingthe role of Vice President. Mark andMike Wilkowski of Stanley’s AutoBody will serve as Secretary andTreasurer, respectively. Ferraiolo alsoacknowledged ABAC’s Executive Ad-ministrator, Heather Romaniello, for“the amazing job that she has done be-hind the scenes for the ABAC.”

Finally proceeding to the featuredspeaker segment of the meeting, Fer-raiolo reintroduced Larry Montanez,Education and Training Advisor for P&LConsultants, who continued the educa-tional seminar he began at ABAC’smeeting on March 18, 2014. After an-swering questions posed about the first

part of his presentation, Montanez con-tinued to cover the following topics:metallurgy; estimate writing (damage as-

sessment); know-ing the proceduralpages; followingSOPs; trial fittingparts; how to calcu-late feather, primeand block; non-in-cluded SRS pre-cautions; frame set

up (Mitchell/Audatex/ Motor); shop ma-terials; wheel installation for mobility;labor time rules; welding; partial refin-ish, full clear; and refinishing times,among other subjects.

Montanez believes that everyonein attendance was really receptive towhat he had to say. “Everyone seemedto realize that they need to understandthe procedural pages between the threeestimating programs and about thenon-charged items that need to be at-tended to in the estimate. We talkedabout the changes in the complexity ofprocedures and how manufacturers arerequiring different methods to repair

certain items now. We are also seeingmore and more of these changes withaluminum, starting with the Ford F-150’s aluminum frame. A few partici-pants mentioned that some of thepredictions I’ve made in past yearshave come to fruition… I felt very wel-come and appreciated. I’ve always en-joyed a good relationship with ABACas well as with other places I visit in theNortheast corridor.”

The ABAC is grateful to Mon-tanez for taking time to present suchvaluable information to their mem-bers which can be used to becomemore effective in their daily businessoperations. Ferraiolo and ABAC alsoextend an invitation for shops in CTto join them as they move towards thefuture of the collision repair industry,urging everyone to “be part of the so-lution!”

ABACwww.abaconn.com


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ABAC Holds Annual Officer Elections, Welcomes Larry Montanez Back to Continue Training



Larry Montanez presents second part ofeducational seminar to ABAC members

Bill Romaniello

John Parese

Prospect, CT, Body Shop Owner Arrested AfterAccident Takes Down Route 68 Power LinesThe owner of Eagle Auto Body wasarrested for driving without permis-sion and driving with a suspended li-cense after an accident that tookdown electrical wires on Route 68.

Peter Scionti, 66, was releasedon $2,500 bond and is due in Water-bury Superior Court on June 13.

A mechanic with Alderman-DowIron & Metal of New Haven said thetruck was dropped off at Eagle AutoBody at 128 Union City Road for bodywork.

“He did not have permission totake that truck off the property,” saidNuno Branco.

A man who answered the phone

at Eagle Auto Body confirmed thetruck was there for repairs, but didnot want to comment further.

The accident was reported at 3:38p.m. on Wednesday. The scrap metaltruck pulled down electrical wiresalong the side of Route 68, also knownas Union City Road, between SchoolHouse Road and Colonial Drive.

No one was injured. The acci-dent closed the road while a crew fromConnecticut Light & Power made re-pairs.




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What exactly is a Millennial? Bornbetween 1981 and 1996, Millennialsare represented by 86 million people,which means they’ve trumped theBaby Boomer generation by sevenpercent. There are more 22-year-oldsthan 53-year-olds on the planet rightnow and by 2018 it is estimated thatthe Millennials will be outspendingthe Baby Boomers by a large margin.

My stepdaughter is staying withus this summer, so I am getting a first-hand view of how these Millennialslive. One thing I noticed is that they eata lot and text a lot and ignore me witha passion. They’re also very in tunewith all of the latest technology andsocial media and are extremely adeptat rolling their eyes and saying thingslike “whatever” and “it is what it is.”

Some find them to be entitled anddownright rude, but no matter whatyour opinion of them is, Millennialsare a very significant segment of themarket, and that’s why any consumer

business should be at least remotelyinterested in what they’re up to. So,why should the collision industry careabout this age group? Because theyhave money, they drive nice cars andjust like everyone else—they get intoaccidents.

After years of studying Millenni-als, marketers and ad agencies all overthe world know full well that the Mil-lennial generation isn’t just a bunch ofentitled kids with smart phones snap-ping selfies and chasing down the lat-est Groupon deal. In fact, businessesthat aren’t pursuing Millennials willsoon be missing out on a major con-sumer opportunity from a generationwith an expected $2.45 trillion annualspending power by 2015. Body shopsshould be marketing to Millennialsright now, because they’re the con-sumers of the world’s, both today andtomorrow.

The problem is that most ownersof leading ad agencies and market-

ing/pr companies are in their 40s and50s and they’re still trying to use tech-niques that worked back in the Mad-men days. But, in order to cater to theMillennials, the powers-that-be haveto re-invent themselves once againand devise ways to appeal to these 20-somethings. I recently took a two-dayseminar about social media and mostof it was dedicated to advertising andmarketing to Millennials. The classwas taught by a Millennial, so the in-formation was both pertinent and use-ful.

More and more companies arerecognizing the value of marketing toMillennials. By using these five tips tore-calibrate your marketing, public re-lations and advertising efforts, you’llbe able to tap into this increasinglypowerful generation.

1. Don’t Talk Down to ThemI was talking to a Millennial one dayabout a world without personal com-

puters or the Internet and he looked atme like I had just emerged from acave. As the most educated and savvyconsumer group in the world, Millen-nials know what they want and arevery skilled at finding it all by them-selves. Now, collision repair is obvi-ously not an impulse buy and theMillennials will treat it as an unneces-sary expense, like Obamacare or park-ing tickets. But, in the end they don’tlike to be corralled into doing some-thing, so branding and advertising tothis group may be more importantthan ever. They’re not the type that isgoing to just blindly pick one bodyshop from the list their insurance com-pany shows them. They will want todo their due diligence and ask around,as well as referring to the shop’s website, Yelp page and other assorted so-cial media.

2. Don’t Camouflage Your Message“Be real,” is something the Millenni-


How to Market to Millennials

with Ed Attanasio

Social Media for Shops

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

als want to tell their parents and thenew word I keep seeing everywhere is“transparency.” (Back in the old days,if you called somebody “transparent,”it meant they were not genuine, butnow I guess it means exactly the op-posite.) My stepdaughter has seen themedia change and evolve and hasbeen bombarded by literally millionsof ads during her 20 years on theplanet, so she can’t be fooled, cajoledor directed by advertising. The Mil-lennials want the facts now and don’twant to sit through your long descrip-tions or veiled messages. Their time islimited and they’re juggling 1,500things simultaneously and that’s whystudies show that Millennials willvalue honesty and a straightforwardapproach when it comes to advertis-ing.

3. Strengthen Your Presence OnlineMillennials are comfortable buyingthings online and that’s why brick andmortar businesses are moving towardthe Internet more all the time. Unfor-tunately, you can’t get a fender ben-der repaired via the computer, butmuch of the groundwork can likelyhappen there. And that’s why it is im-portant to have a good web site and

some presence on Facebook and In-stagram, for example, because theseMillennials care about it and may useone or more to make their buying de-cisions.

4. Millennials Communicate All the Time…with Each OtherThis generation is more connectedthan any group in history, becausethey have so many ways to do it.They also rarely live alone and havenumerous roommates in many cases,so word-of-mouth (or text or videoor photo bomb) is more valuable toadvertisers who understand this. Theold days of creating a “buzz” is al-ways beneficial, but now it’s moreconcentrated and it all moves somuch more quickly. Come up with ashorter, more concise message, sothat the Millennials can grasp it fastand disseminate it to their friendsand associates seamlessly. It’s called“going viral” and if you can get

achieve it, you’ll be a success—Mil-lennially speaking.

5. Quality is Still King (or Queen)With today’s technology, bad serviceand poor quality can’t be swept underthe carpet anymore. Anyone can findyour competitors online within mil-liseconds and we all know that badnews travels faster than good news.Companies that take the time to pro-vide convenient, Millennial-friendlyservices and quality products will becontinually rewarded with positiverecommendations, via the spokenword, smartphones or laptops. Eitherway, Millennials are demanding bet-ter service and higher quality whilepossessing the power to influence oth-ers, so listen to what they’re sayingand start concentrating on this demo-graphic more. Whether you’re enam-ored or not with their attitudes orbehavior, they’re a huge market andyou can’t deny it any longer.





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Service King Collision Repair Centershas announced that it has finalized theacquisition of Sterling Collision Cen-ters. Service King now operates 175locations across 20 states.

The company says that the acqui-sition supports Service King’s robustgrowth strategy and further strength-ens its position as the premier providerof high-quality collision repair backedwith exceptional customer service.

“Acquiring a company like Ster-ling Collision Centers is about morethan expanding our network withbricks and mortar. The strength of ourorganization lies within our people andwe are extremely excited to welcomethe very talented Sterling team to theService King family,” said Chris Abra-ham, CEO of Service King. “ServiceKing has offered consumers a superiorcollision repair experience for morethan 38 years and we are well posi-tioned to grow that legacy with what Ibelieve is the most capable and expe-rienced team in the industry.”

Sterling’s 62 locations will beginoperating as Service King immediately

and the rebranding of Sterling storesacross the country commences June 3,2014.

“Service King has built a strongreputation in the communities wherewe do business. We recognize thatcollision repair is not just about thecar, but it’s about the care and thelives we touch every day. This acqui-sition allows us to expand our foot-print and offer more consumers anunparalleled, personal repair experi-ence,” said Jeff McFadden, Presidentof Service King.

Service King now employs morethan 3,800 technicians and support teammembers and offers collision repairservices in the following states: Arizona,Arkansas, California, Colorado, Geor-gia, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michi-gan, Mississippi, Nevada, New York,Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, SouthCarolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah andVirginia.

For a full list of locations by cityand state or any additional informa-tion on Service King, visit www.ser-viceking.com.

Service King Collision Repair Centers FinalizesSterling Collision Centers Acquisition

When Warden Jerome Price (picturedright) first worked at Deuel VocationalInstitution in 1987, the state prisonhad vibrant vocational training pro-grams for prisoners, according toMichael Ellis Langley writing for theTracy Press.

By the time Price was appointedwarden at DVI, 23500 Kasson Rd., inDecember 2012, those programs werelong gone and the prisoners were un-prepared to get jobs after their sen-tences were served.

“These inmates are coming backout in the community, and you wantthem to be viable citizens,” Pricesaid in an interview Friday. “Youwant them to be able to work so thatthey’re not looking at you when yougo to work and go in your house andtake all your property.” Almost im-mediately after Price took over DVI,the California Department of Cor-rections and Rehabilitation askedwardens around the state if they wereinterested in job training programs attheir prisons.

Price said he volunteered DVIto become an incubator for heating,ventilation and air-conditioning, or

HVAC, certification courses andtraining in auto body maintenance,building maintenance and computerliteracy.

“Auto body is another one. Thatwill give them a trade that they can goout there, work and get a viable liv-ing.”

Harriet Salarno, whose daugh-ter was murdered at University of the

Pacific in Stockton on Sept. 3, 1979, isthe chairwoman of Crime VictimsUnited of California. In an interview,Salarno said all California prisonsshould have vocational training likethe programs at DVI.

“You can’t open the door and letthem out and they can’t get a job,”Salarno said. “If they don’t have a job,they’re going to go back to theirlifestyle.”

That lifestyle, according to Price,regularly includes an average fourth-grade education level among prison-ers, lack of motivation to work andexposure to other criminals.

“We’re trying to provide themliteracy, the ability to get jobs whenthey get out, education,” Price said.“We try to establish a work ethicthat, regardless of where they are,when they leave they can go out andget a job and have some of thoseskills that we develop here in the in-stitution.”

Price and Salarno both said thatrehabilitation must be part of theprison experience.

“Our biggest challenge is the cul-ture change. Trying to get them to un-

derstand that if you apply yourself ineducation and learn to read and write,it opens up a world of opportunitiesfor you,” the warden said. Price saideveryone at DVI is committed to serv-ing the community of Tracy and thestate at large. The day of Price’s inter-view, DVI housed 2,677 prisoners. Hehopes vocational training will changethe outcomes for criminals paroledback into the community around theprison.

“I’ve got 27 years in the depart-ment and I even used to be a coun-selor. In talking with (prisoners whocame back), they said, ‘Man, we can’tget a job because we’re ex-felons,’”Price said. “In our rehabilitation pro-gram, we’re trying to establish that —have a good work ethic, respect yourelders and your neighbors. Toleratethe different ethnic groups, becausewe have them all out there in the com-munity.”

Price added, “DVI used to havesome serious vocational programs. Itwas important for me to get it backonline,” Price said. “We’re doing agood job out here at DVI. And we’repassionate about it.”

Calif. Advocates Say Job Training, Including Collision Repair, Provides Path from Prison



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Madison HondaMadison

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Planet HondaUnion

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Rossi HondaVine land

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Babylon HondaWest Baby lon

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Brewster HondaBrewster

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Dick Ide HondaRochester

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

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Lamacchia HondaSyracuse

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

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Lia Honda of AlbanyAlbany

800-272-6741518-482-2598

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

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Ray Laks HondaWest Seneca

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

[email protected]

Apple HondaYork

800-960-9041717-848-2600

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

Baierl HondaWexford

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

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

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Shadyside HondaPi t tsburgh

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Acura of WestchesterWestchester

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Curry AcuraScarsdale

800-725-2877914-472-7406


Paragon AcuraWoodside

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

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Smithtown AcuraSt . James

888-832-8220631-366-4114


Apple AcuraYork

877-5APPLE5717-849-6639

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Baierl AcuraWexford

800-246-7457724-935-0800


Davis AcuraLanghorne

866-50-ACURA215-943-7000


Lehigh Valley AcuraEmmaus

877-860-3954610-967-6500


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For more collisioninfo, go to:collision.honda.comairbagaware.honda.comcrashrepairinfo.com

Shop owners with a shop in a metro-politan area see many vehicles withminor dings, dents, scratches andmore, all around the city. Many ofthese drivers have tolerated these im-perfections on their vehicle for weeks,months and possibly even years. Whyhaven’t they done something aboutthese eyesores? Maybe the discomfortof driving around with these flawssimply hasn’t been great enough tomotivate them to fix them. Or maybethey imagine the cost, not only interms of money, but also in consider-ing the inconvenience of being with-out the vehicle while it’s being fixed,is too great to bother.

If a shop mainly relies on insur-ance or dealerships for work, this maynot be an interesting marketing move.But if a shop seeks to bring in newcustomers and add to a database ofmarketing targets, this could be a realopportunity to increase the shop’s vol-ume and potential volume of business.

In general advertising a collision re-pair shop is mainly done to make ashop’s name, location and reputationbroadly known. When viewers of thead may not have an accident for threeor more years in the future, getting animmediate response is only a periph-eral intent of the ad. But the advertis-ing campaign I’m proposing here,aimed at a great many drivers withminor body damage, could produce animmediate volume of responses ifhandled right.

The proposed ad should offer a“Ding Day Special.” The two vital as-pects of the ad must be that it will below cost, and with very little timecommitment. For the bold shop owner,the ad could also offer “No risk—yourmoney back if not completely satis-fied.” Some owners might hesitate onthis one, but statistically the no riskoffer increases responses significantly.An additional attraction to be offeredby the tech-savvy shop would be an

on-line inquiry and approximate esti-mate for potential customers. Theprospective customer simply uploadsa photo of the damage and the shopgets back to him or her with an ap-proximate repair time and cost.

To make the “Ding Day” routinework well, a shop must commit sig-nificant resources to getting vehiclescompleted and out quickly at reason-able cost. The real profit should not bein the limited scope of the minor re-pair. Instead it should be viewed as asales opportunity. This is a chance tocollect many customer informationforms filled in with vital marketing in-formation. It has to collect informa-tion on all vehicles owned by thecustomer’s family and employer andany other vehicles in need of repair. Itshould have his or her insurance agentand possibly organizations the cus-tomer belongs to that could be mar-keting targets. Filling in of the formcan’t be simply handing it to the vehi-

cle owner, leaving him or her to omitmany important marketing bits of in-formation. The estimator or a well-trained front desk person should makecertain most of the requested informa-tion is captured. And this is just stepone in capturing this vital sales op-portunity.

While it may be possible to talkthe prospect into bringing in anothervehicle that needs repair right thenand there, this could be shortsighted.In order to keep the turn-around timeshort, it could be better to solicitwork on other vehicles with follow-up calls. If the customer was pleasedwith a quick turn-around, the esti-mator should get a welcome re-sponse when making the follow-upcall. This call would also be an ap-propriate time to ask for permissionto call the customer’s business andsocial organization connections tomake the shop known to them. Thistactic has worked well with Amway


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Ding Day–A Marketing Tactic

On Creative Marketingwith Thomas Franklin

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

and Avon solicitors and builds anever-expanding network of relatedindividuals for marketing purposes.When there is reluctance to passalong phone numbers, these daysasking for an e-mail address or evenFacebook connection could get aneasier response.

Perhaps the greatest difficultygetting this tactic to work is the prob-lem of where to advertise and how toreach the greatest number of prospec-tive customers. Today print ads havelimited value as people turn awayfrom printed newspapers and get theirnews on-line. TV ads are generallytoo expensive, but radio ads could bea real possibility in some areas. On-line ads are essential.The ad has to bedirect and simple. It should start withthe key question: “Are you tired ofliving with that ugly dent, ding orscratch on your vehicle? For a limitedtime we are offering a very low-cost,fast turn-around repair to restore yourvehicle to its original beauty. Andwe’re located close enough for you todrop your vehicle off in the morningand pick it up, possibly as early asnoon. Call us or e-mail a quick photoof your damage and we’ll give you anapproximate estimate immediately.”


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CARSTAR Sees Record Revenue in 2013, Plans Expansionof HQ in Leawood, KSCARSTAR brought in a companyrecord $641 million in revenue in2013, an increase from its $603 mil-lion in revenue in 2012. CEO DavidByers said the company's 2013same-store sales were up by 17 per-cent from 2012 and Carstar added 45more locations to its multishop oper-ator network in the United States andCanada. Byers said the unusuallypoor winter weather, which lastedwell into 2014, and the increasingcomplexity and cost of repairs to au-tomobiles buoyed the company in2013. He expects the company'sstrong same-store sales to drive thecompany to record revenue and storeadditions in 2014.

“We expect to break the recordsfrom last year again in 2014,” Byerssaid. “Based on the fact that we'reseeing that 17 percent same-storesales number, that's an indication thatthe business and the industry is per-forming extremely well and we haveno reason to believe that that is goingto subside in the second half of theyear.”

With increased revenue, Carstaris looking to add new senior staff.Byers said the company is recruitinga new chief information officer and a

new vice president of business de-velopment. It is also looking to addnew technical resources at its newheadquarters at the Pinnacle IVbuilding in Leawood. It relocatedfrom Overland Park in December2013. Byers said Carstar chose to lo-cate its call center in existing Cana-dian operation instead of building anew call center in the Kansas Cityarea. Byers said the continuing con-solidation of the collision repair in-dustry positions his company wellfor long-term growth. Over the lastdecade, Byers said, the number of in-dependently-owned collision repaircenters dropped to 35,000 from80,000. He said the flow of privateequity money—Carstar is owned bySan Francisco-based private equitymanagement firm Champlain CapitalPartners LP—encourages independ-ent shops to sell or join a larger fran-chising company. “(Independentshops) have two choices: they cansell to one of the consolidators or ...they can join a franchise network likeus. Those are really the only twochoices they have,” Byers said. “Wefind we're in a very good growth po-sition because, as the industry con-tinues to contract and consolidate.”

CCAR, the Coordinating Committeefor Automotive Repair, and Ship-Mate, Inc. announced the launch oftheir new website, www.hazmatu.org.This intuitive new site is specificallydesigned to be easier to use and eas-ier to access for all HazMatU train-ing and resources. CCAR providestailored information and resourcesfor OEM dealers, collision repaircenters, schools and mechanicalservice centers. The new websitecommunicates updated news, eventsand services to HazmatU customersin an easier, faster and more user-friendly layout. ShipMate, Inc.works with clients to help resolvetheir most demanding dangerousgoods transportation, environmentalmanagement and safety issues.ShipMate provides creative ideasand cost effective solutions to re-solve and manage their many com-pliance challenges.

CCAR and ShipMate LaunchImproved HazmatU website



On March 21 through 23, ASA-North-west held their 6th Annual AutomotiveTraining Expo (ATE) at the DoubletreeHilton in Seattle, WA. With over 600attendees and 83 exhibitors, the 2014ATE marked the first year the eventhas been sold out. The goal of theevent was to provide training for theautomotive industry, including owners,managers and technicians, and ATE2014 really delivered with 62 trainingsessions, six of which were I-CARcourses, taught by industry-leadingprofessionals.

Attendees raved about ATE 2014,and some of the feedback that ASA-Northwest has received so far in-cluded the following: “2014 was thebest ATE ever; my production team allbrought back valuable informationthey could use the first day back towork, and my service advisors madesubtle changes in how they functionand brought up ARO and GP the firstweek back. If this improvement con-

tinues, we will pay the entire invest-ment of sending six people to ATEback in three months just off of that,not including what the Techs learned!”“This was a premier event that al-lowed my team and I to increase ourknowledge in all facets of our busi-ness as well as an amazing team build-ing experience. It’s a no-brainer thatwe will be back next year, and I thinkevery shop should attend.” “ATEteaches you to be better at your job.”“ATE is a great way for Automotiveeducators to get updated on current re-pair information. Attending is alwaysa positive experience.”

Jeff Lovell, President and Execu-tive Director of ASA-Northwest, notes“this year, our sixth year, was sold outand exceeded our expectations. Wehave grown this event from the firstyear of 173 attendees to over 600 at-tendees going to training classes with12,430 hours of training. We also had83 exhibitors participate in our expo,

both Friday and Saturday evening. Theexpo floor was sold out three monthsin advance!”

On Thursday, the National Auto-motive Service Task Force (NASTF)joined ATE to host their Spring 2014General Meeting, and over 100 partic-ipants attended to discuss the topic ofJ-2534 Reprogramming. At breakfaston Saturday, renowned trainer GarySmith presented “Success or Strug-gle,” and during lunch, Bryan Dodgetaught attendees “How to Have YourBest Year Ever.” Throughout the event,ATE offered an impressive trade expowith exhibitors displaying automotiveparts, repair equipment, shop manage-ment services, and specialty products.ATE attendees also had the chance towin a variety of door prizes which weredistributed throughout the weekend.

Lovell believes these types of as-sociation-sponsored events are impor-tant for members and the industrybecause it “brings our membership to-

gether to discuss issues affecting ourindustry, such as getting new techni-cians into the industry, environmentalissues, legislative issues and network-ing. It is so gratifying to have ATEgrow each year and that it has estab-lished itself as the West Coast’s pre-mier training event. Our staff andvolunteers help make this an excep-tional event that provides qualitytraining to all levels of the service andrepair industry.

In addition to ASA-Northwest,sponsors for ATE included the North-west Tire Dealers Association, AutoShop Solutions (the official socialmedia sponsor), and “Parts & PeopleNorthwest” who was the officialmedia sponsor of the event. ATE2015 will be held on March 20-22ndat the Doubletree Hilton in Seattle,WA.

www.asanorthwest.com253-473-6970


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Nissan and Assured Performance Partner forCertification and Consumer ReferralsAssured Performance announced todaythey have entered into an agreementwith Nissan to provide third-party bodyshop Certification services leveragingtheir joint effort Certification program.The program will establish a nation-wide Certified body shop network andconsumer referral program for Nissan.The measures are aimed at helping en-sure consumer safety and buyer reten-tion following a collision repair. Nissanwill use the Assured Performanceturnkey certification and business de-velopment program built through ajoint-effort approach providing greatervalue for shops.

The official Nissan Certificationis based upon the bona fide repair re-quirements developed by Nissan andAssured Performance in a collabora-tive effort strictly focused on ensur-ing that the Certified shops have theproper training, tools, equipment, andfacilities to repair Nissan vehicles tomanufacturer specifications. Thebusiness requirements are essential tohelp ensure the fit, finish, durability,safety, and value of the vehicles beingrepaired. Shops must meet the certifi-cation requirements and pass an on-site inspection and audit by AssuredPerformance to earn the official “Nis-san Certified Repair Provider” status

and leverage the exclusive access tocutting edge Nissan marketing toolsand signage.

Among the unique aspect ofNissan’s Body Shop Certificationprogram is their aggressive consumermarketing program. Nissan vehiclebuyers will be directly connectedwith their local Nissan Certified Re-pair Provider and the shops able tobecome Certified are marketed di-rectly to the vehicle owners.

Nissan Certified shops will be apart of an exclusive turnkey market-ing campaign developed by Nissan.Nissan’s program also provides con-sumer referral elements such as a shoplocator and other methods to helprefer consumers to only the shops thatare Certified to repair Nissan vehicles.

The entire Nissan program is ad-minister and managed by Assured Per-formance. Under the unique joint-effortapproach, repair businesses that areCertified by Assured Performance mayalso officially be considered Recog-nized by multiple OEMs and con-sumer-facing organizations through oneconsistent process. This approach al-lows both the shops, Nissan, and otherOEM’s to avoid duplication of effort,redundancy of equipment purchases,and extraneous inspection fees.


20 years ago in the collision repairindustry (July 1994)If the collision repair industry does notget clearly focused on what the mis-sion is, it will be doomed to dance towhatever tune the insurance industrywants. Probably something like thatold AC/DC hit, “Highway to Hell.”

Bill Clinton was elected presidentof the United States because he keptthe country focused on the economy.(His slogan, “It’s the economy, stu-pid,” became famous. To win in theirongoing economic struggle with theinsurance industry, collision repairershave to concentrate on the car owner.“It’s the car owner, stupid.”

Collision repairers are too busytripping over their own swords to re-alize that pleasing the car owner everytime is a key to survival. Instead,many are more worried about pleasingthe insurance companies. They claimthat since it’s the insurance companieswho are writing the checks, it’s the in-

surance companies they should be sat-isfying. Ultimately, though, it’s the carowners who write the checks. They,after all, pay the insurance premiums.

I predict that in another 10 year,the American public is going to wakeup and realize how monstrous a finan-cial institution the insurance industryhas become.

– excerpted from editorial bySheila Loftus, editor of Hammer &Dolly published by the Washington(D.C.) Metropolitan Auto Body Asso-ciation, July 1994

15 years ago in the collision repairindustry (July 1999)CIC’s “Research and DevelopmentCommittee” is continuing its explo-ration of a ”new body shop operatingmodel” to improve customer serviceand “cycle time” – the length of timebetween the accident and the time re-pairs are completed and the insurancefile is closed.

At the meeting in July, commit-tee chairman Randy Stabler said theaverage repair claims process is 10days – including four or five days be-fore repairs begin. His committee, hesaid, is looking into ways to reducethe inefficiencies before repairs actu-ally begin, including the current esti-mating process.

“All of the things that are bottle-necks in the repair process are a de-rivative of an inaccurate estimatingsystem,” Stabler said. “The back-endrepair process is never going to be ef-ficient and accurate if we don’t startout with an accurate blueprint.”

Among his committee’s initialrecommendations are:

- Improve the estimating systemsso that they create that “blueprint forrepair” in plain language easily under-stood by technicians and vehicle own-ers.

“If the estimate is more than justan accounting of what we’re going to

charge or pay to fix the car, I thinkwe’re going to have faster cycle times,happier consumers and lower overallcosts for everyone,” Stabler said.

- Reduce inconsistency in partsnames and labor terminology used bythe estimating systems and vehiclemanufacturers.

- Eliminate confusion and ineffi-ciencies by having insurers distributetheir pricing guidelines.

- Stop insurer “micro-manage-ment” of each individual repair charge.

“Can you imagine someone goingin for surgery, and the doctors findingsomething else that needed to be donebut not doing it because they had to stopand call for authorization?” Stabler said.“That’s not an efficient model. ‘Pull itand we’ll come back and see the dam-age after it’s pulled’ is a flawed notion.That in the long run does not save theinsurer or consumer money.”

– As reported in The GoldenEagle. It was at least five years before


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Highway to Hell, Blueprinting, Rekeying Estimates, State Farm and OEConnection

with John YoswickHistorical Snapshot

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

the “blueprinting” aspect of “lean pro-cessing” was being widely discussed inthe industry, and still 15 years later it isfar from universally adopted by shops.

10 years ago in the collision repairindustry (July 2004)The Collision Industry Conference(CIC) “Information Technology Com-

mittee” reported that rekeying esti-mates that shops could be receivingelectronically from insurers is costingthe industry an estimated $17 millionor more each year.

Based on a survey of 44 shopowners at a previous CIC meeting, thecommittee believes that about 28 per-cent of the 9 million auto claims re-quire rekeying of estimates, whichtakes an average of 21 to 33 minutesper estimate. Assuming a wage of $20per hour for the shop employeesrekeying the estimates, “that basicallysays there are 2.52 million estimatesthat are rekeyed each year by bodyshops, costing a minimum of $17.64million,” Cindy Schnier, co-chairmanof the committee, said.

–As reported in Autobody News,July 2004. In 2013, CCC InformationServices and Mitchell Internationallaunched services that enable a partic-ipating insurer to enable shops not onthat insurer’s DRP to download the in-surer’s prepared estimate, eliminatingthe need for the shop to rekey the ini-tial estimate.

5 years ago in the collision repair in-dustry (July 2009)Shop owner response was mixed lastweek to the announcement by StateFarm that it was no longer requiringits Select Service shops in Californiaand Indiana to use OEConnection forelectronic parts ordering.

Debbie Moore of Diamond Colli-sion Services in Avon, Ind., said thatdespite some glitches with the systemover the past year, it has eventuallyworked well for the shop.

“We’ve been using it on all our or-ders, not just State Farm jobs, and willcontinue to do so at least for now,” shesaid.

But a Southern California shopowner who asked not to be identifiedsaid State Farm’s decision came at anideal time; his shop’s server had justcrashed and he now wouldn’t have to re-load the OEConnection parts orderingsoftware on the replacement computer.

“It’s kind of been a pain, andsome of my dealers really didn’t wantto mess with it,” he said of the partsordering system. “You almost alwayshad to do follow-up phone calls (to thedealer) with it, so if I have to do thatanyway, I can do without it.”

State Farm’s George Avery saidalthough the insurer was “suspending”the requirement to use electronic partsordering and had no plans to roll sucha program out nationally, State Farmsaw the test as valuable because itdemonstrated electronic parts ordering“has value.” He noted the Select Serv-ice agreement still gives the insurer

the right to require electronic parts or-dering.

“We encourage the repairers to useit if they would like,” he said. “It works.It has advantages. Now that the test isdone, we know moving forward that wehave already tested that functionality.”

State Farm began the test of elec-tronic parts ordering in two markets in2007, with a half dozen automakersoffering the insurer parts discountsthrough the program. The programwas rolled-out in 2008 to all SelectService shops in the two states, but thenumber of automakers offering dis-counts continued to decline until StateFarm halted the discount portion ofthe test earlier this year.

– As reported in CRASH Net-work (www.CrashNetwork.com), July20, 2009. State Farm subsequentlysaid it seemed inappropriate to seekOEM parts discounts at a time whenautomakers were struggling economi-cally and in some cases filing bank-ruptcy. But it saw enough potentialbenefits to electronic parts orderingthat it sough proposals from compa-nies to develop an electronic parts or-dering system – which led to thelaunch of State Farm’s mandated useof PartsTrader in 2012.


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Cindy Schnier, co-chairman of the CIC Infor-mation Technology Committee in 1999, saidher committee’s research indicated thatrekeying of insurer estimates by shops wascosting the industry more than $17 million ayear in wasted labor

by Chasidy Rae Sisk

Three-C Body Shops, a four-facility,multi-shop operation in the Colum-bus OH, area, has filed multiple law-suits against State Farm InsuranceCompany in an effort to recover al-leged shortpay losses. Since Novem-ber 2012, Three-C has filed 104 suitsagainst the insurer, all of which ac-

cuse State Farm of engaging in “re-peated underpayments for servicesgenerally rendered and charged totheir customers when their vehicleshave been deemed total losses.” Cur-rently, owner Bob Juniper is seek-ing $405,000 in recovery, includinglegal fees and court costs, of whichState Farm previously agreed to pay$31,565.03.

Juniper notes that he rarely hasproblems with insurers refusing to paythe full cost of repairs because “we ne-gotiate with them pretty well. Wespend a little time with their adjustersand can generally get to where weneed to be. We may not always get the

full amount of our estimate, but we getclose by compromising until we cometo terms we can both agree on.”

In fact, Juniper hasn’t experi-enced difficulty from State Farm inpaying for repairs either. Three-C’sshortpay lawsuits are associated withcosts related to vehicles that aredeemed total losses which the insurerobjects to paying. Juniper provides the

following example: if the shop writesa $10,000 estimate on a car valued at$11,000 and the insurer’s adjuster es-timates $4000 in damages, the shophas to perform many additional stepsas part of the process of writing a thor-ough estimate. Moving the disabledvehicle, disassembly, taking inventoryof parts, recycling hazardous waste,and performing a comprehensivesafety check to test for damages arejust a few of the many steps needed inorder to document the car as a totalloss; however, when the adjuster re-turns to discuss the estimate and de-clares the vehicles to be a total loss,State Farm only wants to pay the costof storage and a few minimal charges,though all of these processes are re-quired. Other processes which Juniperfeels shops should be aware that theycan charge for include suspensionchecks, rough access, preparing thepack-totaled vehicle, glass clean-up,and labor.

Meanwhile, Three-C has time as-sociated with the estimate for whichthey expect (and deserve) to be com-pensated since they’ve lost time beinginvolved with a job they aren’t beingpaid for, yet State Farm wants to payonly the minimum charges. Juniperexplains, “our charges are necessaryto offset our lost opportunity. Whenwe’re working on these total losses,that’s time we can’t work on jobswhere we could make money, but theinsurer does not want to understandthat—that’s why we have to sue them.Other shops also have to performthese steps, and they should ask whythey’re not getting paid for all of theirtime and hard work!”

Over the past three decades, Ju-niper has been an active voice in theindustry, speaking out against insurersand their attempts to exert controlover the repair process. “Insurers havebeen beating on body shops for manyyears. They used to just pay the bill,but over the years, they’ve decidedthat they don’t want to pay the labortimes and rates. Instead, they want toargue about which steps are necessarybecause they are trying to control therepair itself. This industry has beenbeat down so far that many shops aregoing out of business; insurers havefound the bottom on pricing and can’tpush anymore because there’s nothingleft. We have to charge them for ourtime because we can’t afford to workfor free!”

Though Juniper admits that hisrelationship with State Farm is cur-rently less than perfect due to thepending lawsuits, he hopes that willchange after matters are settled. Healso believes that he is taking a neces-sary step towards preventing short-pays in the future. “Nationally, thereare over 70 body shops with pendingshortpay lawsuits right now, and weneed to win these battles to changethings. With enough victories, maybethe insurers will change their behav-ior.”

Three-C Body Shops asks theircustomers to sign documents, such asthe Authorization to Repair and As-signment of Proceeds, to enable themto pursue proper compensation whenthe need arises. Juniper explains thatthey “involve the vehicle owner in-stead of dealing with the insurancecompany directly because the insureris bound by a contract with the in-sured, but the problem is that manyconsumers don’t know the laws. Someare savvy, but others don’t understandor want to be involved; that’s what theinsurers take advantage of and the rea-son that lawsuits are necessary… It’s

not convenient, but this still has tohappen. I don’t see any other alterna-tive.”

A family-owned business sinceopening in 1956, Three-C Body Shopsworks on around 250 vehicles monthly,yielding $700,000 to $800,000 in sales.They have never participated in DRPsbecause when the insurers introducedthese programs in the early 1990s, Ju-niper foresaw the negative aspects as-sociated with them, predicting that theywould start off good and get worseover time. Though he spoke out againstDRPs, the industry moved forward,and he believes “most DRP shops nowwish they’d never gotten involved, butwe weren’t loud enough with our ob-jections. DRPs have caused many bodyshops to go out of business. Onceyou’re dependent on them, you can’tafford to lose them—you’re unable towalk away because you’ve become re-liant on the insurance companies.”

Now, Juniper fears that insurersare using parts procurement systems,such as PartsTrader, to exert evenmore control over repairs, and he wor-ries that insurers will take over parts


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by Ed Attanasio

Kevin Walli has been the lobbyist forthe Alliance of Automotive ServiceProviders (AASP-MN) for the past 20years. He is a shareholder in the lawfirm of Fryberger, Buchanan, Smithand Frederick in St. Paul, MN. Wegot in touch recently to discuss the re-cent history of legislation that has im-pacted the collision industry inMinnesota in the past five years.

Q: How did you become the lobby-ist for the AASP-MN?KW: I’ve been representing the colli-sion industry in Minnesota for 20 yearsnow, after working in government af-fairs for many years prior to that. Afriend of a friend knew someone at theAASP-MN and told me they were look-ing for some representation and moresupport at the Capitol. Over the years,we’ve been working hard to providemore balance between the interests ofthe collision industry and the insuranceindustry, because there’s an ongoingtug-of-war there obviously. I believethat there has been a constructive ap-proach by the two industries to try and

communicate with one and other. So,what we’ve done for several years run-

ning is that we sitdown usually a fewtimes per year to airout our issues andsometimes there’s aresponse from theinsurance compa-nies that indicatesthat maybe we canaddress some ofthese issues our-selves. But in othercases, we end upsaying let’s agree todisagree and armwrestle it out at theCapitol.

Q: You’ve dealt with legislationregarding steering?KW: Yes, and we’ve had some suc-cess with legislation concerning steer-ing. We’ve been able to find moreclarity on the laws dealing with steer-ing, so that we can understand whatsteering is and provide some directionin the law. The purpose of the lan-guage is obviously to protect con-

sumers from being steered and we’vehad some success with that. Steeringhas always been an issue and it still isin many ways, so we’ve developedlegislation to address that. We soughtlanguage a few years ago to preventan insured or claimant from being re-quired to take their vehicle to a partic-ular drive-in claims center and wewere able to get that changed. We alsoadded a section that restricts an insurerfrom specifying the use of particularvendors for the procurement of partsor other materials necessary to per-form a satisfactory repair. Now thisvery issue is still being contested.

Q: There’s been a battle in Min-nesota between the insurance com-panies and the body shops, becausethe insurers want the shops to usecertain parts, products and man-agement platforms, correct?KW: Yes, we had some legislationthis year that we did not succeed with(House File 2690/Senate File 2542-the Auto Repair Claims ProcessingBill) that would have prevented insur-ance companies from dictating certainbusiness practices at repair shops. I

think there’s a sense with the bodyshop owners in Minnesota that thereare more and more situations in whichinsurers are dictating what estimatingsystems and materials they should use.And we’re concerned that it’s a slip-pery slope where the insurance com-panies will take away the autonomy ofthe collision repair shop owner. Wehad some proposed legislation thatwould have restricted insurance com-panies from specifying or requiringthat repair shops have to utilize spe-cific vendors, manufacturers, suppli-ers, business platforms or internalprocesses and we got the bill intro-duced and some great authors for thebill both in the House and in the Sen-ate. But ultimately, we couldn’t getmovement for the bill on the Senateside. The Chairperson there (SenatorJim Metzen, who was also a co-au-thor of the bill) was uncomfortablewith the onslaught of input he re-ceived from the insurance industry.Some of what they had to say was le-gitimate, and some was not, but that’snot unusual. When we proposed thelegislation and it was circulating at theCapitol, the insurance industry came


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Attorney and AASP-MN Lobbyist Kevin Walli is Minnesota’s Shop Champion

Kevin Walli, Esq.has been the lobby-ist for the Allianceof Automotive

Service Providers(AASP-MN) for thepast 20 years, sohe’s seen the ongo-ing tug-of-war be-tween shops andinsurers from theCapitol’s front row

forward and said that they hadn’theard of this bill. They said“Hey—we’ve had this practice forseveral years of discussing legislativeproposals with the collision industryin advance of the Legislative Ses-sion.” They argued that they hadn’thad such a discussion on this proposal.In addition, this year’s LegislativeSession was shorter with very tightdeadlines for getting bills heard, sothat also played a role in the death ofthe bill. But, we’re going to bring itback in a new form, after getting somevaluable feedback from the insuranceside. They said that we were trying tokill the DRP system, which was neverour intention at all. So, we have to ad-dress that issue and re-work some ofthe language the next time around, sothat it’s clear we’re not trying tochange the fundamental relationshipthat exists between body shops and in-surance companies.

Q: I imagine you haven’t been sup-portive of programs like Part-sTrader?KW:Exactly, because our concern hasalways been that if a body shop is re-quired to use a particular parts vendor,the shop doesn’t have a relationship or

a history with that vendor. As a result,parts that aren’t appropriate for the ve-hicle can enter the picture, because thecommunication between the shop andthe vendor is not present. Shops spenda lot of time and effort to developedbusiness relationships with particularparts vendors and then all of this goesout the door when they are forced towork with someone else they don’tknow anything about. In addition, wehave had an ongoing dialog with theDepartment of Commerce regardingits enforcement and there is an inves-tigation that’s open in this matter andthe Department of Commerce is con-tinually gathering information abouthow PartsTrader system is working ornot. We were hoping that the statutewould provide enough guidance forenforcement action. But now they’regathering information and studyingthe marketplace and as an industrywe’re trying to provide informationfor the Department of Commerce inthis matter.

Some time ago, we also addedlanguage to the same statute that “pro-hibits an insurer from unilaterally andarbitrarily disregarding a repair oper-ation or cost identified by an estimat-ing system…” This means, if you’re

using an estimating system that youand the insurance company have bothagreed that it’s acceptable to use, thenthey can’t deny the repair operationand cost without some clear justifica-tion. This kind of shifts the burden tothem and it’s now their responsibilityto prove the repair practice should notbe recognized.

Q: What other issues have you’vetackled on behalf of the members ofAASP-MN?KW: We had to deal with some taxprovisions in recent years. There wasa sales state tax on paint and suppliesfor shops when they were purchasedat wholesale. But, we were able toshift the point of imposition on the taxfrom the wholesale to the retail level.That way, shops are able to pass thattax onto the consumer. The repairshops were eating that tax cost before.Most of the other states were alreadydoing it this way and Minnesota waskind of an island in that regard, so thelegislation was much-needed.

Q: You have an annual LegislativeDay where shop owners can meetwith their legislators, right?KW: We’ve been doing a Day at the

Capitol on occasion, where we meetwith our members and give them anorientation of how things work at theState Capitol. Then, we ask them totalk with their Representatives andSenators and walk the halls to discussthe legislation we’re working on. Theinsurance industry is extremely well-represented and they have a lot verysmart people working for them, bothin-house people as well as consultantsthat they’ve retained. The sheer num-bers can be rather daunting at times,to be honest. So having the shop own-ers converging at the Capitol andmeeting with their Legislators puts apractical perspective on our issues--soit’s been a very positive thing. Plus, ithelps me to do a better job for theAASP-MN, because after these Sena-tors, for example, have met with oneof their constituents, we can follow upto emphasize the point made by theshop owners.


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Collision repair has changed, and so hasNACE, says ASA. The InternationalAutobody Congress and Exposition(NACE) has been fine-tuned to ensurecollision repairers get the very latest andgreatest information available.

Much will be new this year atNACE, which for 32 years has been“the world’s premier event for colli-sion professionals.”

NACE 2014 will be held July 30-Aug. 2 in Detroit.

What’s new includes:• 20,000 square feet dedicated to livedemonstrations of welding, cutting,grinding, sanding and painting• Expanded and enhanced training classesweighted toward technical training• Manufacturer-specific classes• Expanded I-CAR class offering• Outstanding lineup of exclusive tours(see list below)• A bigger, better MSO Symposium –which has been renamed the CollisionRepair Executive Symposium (CRES)

“NACE is the only show in theUnited States solely dedicated to thecollision repair industry. It’s a show forrepairers about repairers. This year’sevent is focused on ensuring that repair-ers have access to the information, tool-ing, training and equipment they need torepair today’s vehicle as well as those inthe future,” said Dan Risley, Automo-tive Service Association (ASA) presi-dent and executive director. “As anexample, Ford’s recent announcementof its aluminum-bodied F-150 is caus-ing the entire industry to take notice andseek information and training. As a re-sult, there will be several differentclasses at NACE offering aluminum re-pair information and training.”

Risley added, “Another example isthe Collision Repair Education Founda-tion (CREF). They reported recentlythat the Alcoa Foundation, the philan-thropic arm of Alcoa (which makes alu-minum), awarded a $60,000 grant thatwill provide aluminum repair-focusedtraining and technical presentations tohigh school and college collision in-structors, and industry professionals at-tending the 2014 NACE event.” Readmore about CREF and the Alcoa Foun-dation grant at: http://collisioneduca-tionfoundation.org/press-releases/.

Other manufacturers will also offerpresentations at NACE on aluminum re-pair – including, but not limited to, FordMotor Co., Audi, Pro Spot, Car-O-Liner,Chief and 3M. Ford will have a class that

will provide 2015 F-150 aluminum re-pair information and details on its Na-tional Body Shop Program.

There will be at least nine classescovering aluminum, including ses-sions on aluminum welding and repairand a class explaining the differencesbetween aluminum and steel.

For a complete list of classes to beoffered at NACE, visit:www.NACEexpo.com.

Risley said, “Alcoa’s commitmentto educate instructors and the collisionrepair industry on aluminum repairs isunparalleled. In addition to the classesand material presented by I-CAR onaluminum, we will be assembling ashowcase on the show floor highlight-ing current model vehicles that are alu-minum-intensive. In addition, attendeescan see live demonstrations on properaluminum repair techniques to furthersupplement an already outstandinglineup of classes offering aluminum in-formation.”

The rebranded Collision Repair Ex-ecutive Symposium (CRES), formerlythe MSO Symposium, has been an ex-tremely popular, sold-out event duringNACE since it premiered in 2011. It tra-ditionally has drawn attendance from thelargest multi-shop operators in the colli-sion repair industry. But the all-newCRES business event will cater to abroader group of collision repair execu-tives, allowing it to be more inclusive ofsome of the best, as well as the largest,operators in the marketplace.

This year’s event includes keychanges in content, including a focus onmanagement, operations and participa-tion from insurance company execu-tives presenting leading information onindustry trends.

CRES is designed for collision re-pair multi-shop operators, as well asoperators looking for high-growthstrategies, mergers and acquisitions.The symposium is scheduled for Fri-day, Aug. 1.

Attendees will experience the his-tory of the Motor City through a hostof tour options, including:• The General Motors Co. HeritageCenter• Chrysler Museum (which is closed tothe public)• The Henry Ford Museum and Green-field Village• Windsor, Canada• The Ford Motor Co. F-150 Plant• Chevy Volt Plant• BASF Color Trends

• NSF Technical Tour• OnStar Facility

In addition to the tours, there willbe other events and recreational outingsfor spouses, guests and families. Amongsuch events are Detroit Tigers baseballgames, river and city tours, and casinos.

“Since NACE will be held in theMotor City, original equipment manu-facturers will have a bigger presencethan ever,” said Risley. He also pointedout that NACE is part of a new IndustryWeek with an overriding purpose tobring the industry together. Among in-dustry organizations that will host meet-ings, events, and/or exhibit during theweek are I-CAR, CIC, ASE, CIECA,NABC, SCRS, AMI, CCIF, OEM Col-lision Roundtable, CREF, Alcoa Alu-minum Transportation board, MERA,AASA and ETI.

“This gathering of the industry –plus the fact several of the world’smajor car manufacturers are head-quartered in Detroit and will partici-pate in Industry Week – createstremendous opportunity for education,collaboration and networking,” saidRisley. “Our focus is giving the repairindustry an event – and a week – that

is dedicated to them. It will be good tosee the entire industry come together.”

Also part of Industry Week isCARS, which is for mechanical repairprofessionals.

This repairer-focused week willstart Monday, July 28, and run throughSaturday, Aug. 2. The Collision Indus-try Conference will be held Tuesdayand I-CAR on Wednesday. The Cana-dian Collision Industry Forum will beheld Wednesday afternoon.

ASA’s NACE | CARS Expo will beheld Thursday and Friday, July 31-Aug.1, with education beginning Wednesday,July 30, and ending Saturday, Aug. 2.

Tuesday will feature a CIC quar-terly meeting. Wednesday will highlightthe I-CAR Conference and Gala 35thAnniversary Networking Reception. OnThursday and Friday, the NACE |CARS Expo will take place, along withnumerous NACE and CARS businessand technical sessions, the Collision Re-pair Executive Symposium (CRES), theTechnology & Telematics Forum, theAutomotive Management Institute(AMI) graduation ceremony and on-siteI-CAR training. Technical presentationsend at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, August 2.


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The newly formed Auto Body Associ-ation of Texas (ABAT) will be holdingtheir Inaugural Meeting on June 18that the Henderson Civic Center withguest speaker Barrett Smith, Presidentand Founder of Auto Damage ExpertsInc. Burl Richards, Acting Presidentof ABAT, took some time to explainhow the association is getting startedand what they hope to achieve throughits development.

Several months ago, a local job-ber, Chad Neal of Paint Works inTyler TX, held an educational seminaron estimating which included a num-ber of Eastern TX shop owners. Nealand Richards had previously dis-cussed the need for a trade associationin their area, but when Richards triedto organize an association meeting ayear earlier, he garnered little interestand participation.Thus, when Neal held the estimating

seminar earlier this year, they saw it as

the perfect opportunity to present theiridea for a new association. Richards be-lieves that a contributing factor to the

positive receptionthey received thistime around was“the fact that Part-sTrader had begunto be implemented,and these localshops were trulybeginning to seethat we had betterjoin together or theinsurance compa-nies were going to

continue to control more and more ofour businesses… [Neal and I] basicallycapitalized on the opportunity that pre-sented itself with shops from all overEast Texas being present.”

For the past three months,Richards has been working with hislocal attorney to set up the Corporate

Filings for the new association, yet ahandful of shop owners have con-tributed to organizing ABAT.

“This would not be happening ifnot for the enthusiasm and excitementshared throughout our region. Everyonehas been more than willing to assist andcontribute when asked. It’s really beenmore about spreading the word, andonce others hear about what is happen-ing, they know that they are not aloneand begin to realize that together wecan truly take back our business for thebest interest of our customers and theindustry as a whole,” Richards states.

Richards and those involved withorganizing ABAT are also grateful toJohn Mosley of Clinton Body Shopand Doug White of Capitol AutoBody for donating their personal timeand funds to travel from MS to TX toaddress shops about the benefits of anorganized auto body association in asecond meeting held to gauge interest

in ABAT. According to Richards,“their presence, being from an outsidearea, really motivated others to get in-volved.”

Though ABAT was originallygoing to be called the East Texas AutoBody Association, they were unable toobtain the name, opting instead forABAT which Richards feels “was justmeant to be… [it has been] fitting aswe have received interest from shopsand vendors throughout the state. Wewelcome members from all overTexas.”

While ABAT is still in develop-ment, Richards notes that their maingoal thus far is to “take back our shops.We repair vehicles, and insurance com-panies sell insurance; it’s that simple!Who knows better and is more qualifiedto make these repairs than us? We workfor the customer, so it is our responsi-bility to properly repair and restore theirvehicle to pre-accident condition.”


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New Auto Body Association of Texas Launches June 18, PartsTrader ProvidesImpetus, Statewide Members Invited to Join

with Chasidy Rae SiskSouthwest Associations


Barrett Smith ofADE will be thefeatured guest

speaker at ABAT’sInaugural Meeting

on June 18

ABAT will also strive to providemore education, both from a technicalstandpoint and as it pertains to shops’rights without solely relying on whatinsurers mandate. Along with that,ABAT plans to investigate legislationthat will promote beneficial changefor the consumer, rather than the in-surance companies whose focus is onsaving money. Richards add, “we willaddress more concerns legislatively aswe progress as an association andbegin identifying specific issues. Forexample, profit margins have de-creased over the years, and we mustbecome more profitable in order toprovide the training and equipmentnecessary to perform repairs to theever-changing technological advance-ments on today’s vehicles – and thatcan honestly be accomplished bybeing compensated for all repairs andprocesses that must be performed (notjust the hand-picked operations thatinsurers want to pay for).”

Since their initial meeting earlythis year, Richards has been verypleased with the number of repair pro-fessionals who have expressed inter-est in ABAT. “The response that wehave received has been more than Icould have imagined. Going back to

just six months ago, I felt like I wason an island by myself, and now Ihave more faith and excitement aboutthe future of our industry than ever.We will put the customer first, andeverything else will take care of itself;good things are about to happen!”

Smith also took time to speakabout the upcoming meeting, and heis excited to speak at ABAT’s meetingwith the “intent to generate excite-ment and to enlighten and edify Texasrepairers in several areas.” Smithplans to discuss three main topics, in-cluding Federal Antitrust Laws, Pro-cedures and Labor Rate Surveys. Tobegin with, he explains that o FederalAntitrust Laws “are fairly simple, yetoften misunderstood, and have beenused in the past to stifle conversationbetween repairers out of fear of pun-ishment. I will be giving a layman’soverview of the true nature of thelaws, why they exist and how to avoidbreaching them regarding what canand cannot be discussed. Federal an-titrust laws exist to promote and pro-tect competition. They are to governthe activities of businesses in ourcountry and are designed to be safe-guards against activities that may beharmful to the consumer, business

competition and the economy.”“Procedures are also an important

topic because many required repairprocesses and necessary materials gounpaid, and these overlooked andoften omitted processes and createsignificant liability issues for the re-pairer that need not occur.” Smithplans to highlight these important as-pects of the business operation andhow to avoid these unnecessary liabil-ities. He will also be introducing theVariable Rate Survey (VRS) programoffered by the National AutoBody Re-search, Inc. which “provides a viableand labor rate survey to show repair-ers, consumers and insurers the rangeof labor rates based upon the individ-ual rates and allowances of participat-ing repairers in a given area. Rangesof labor rates from an area comprisedof repairers within mere miles to par-ticipating repairers across the country.The VRS not only provides partici-pants the labor rates of repairerswithin various markets, the programshows them in real-time and canchange based upon a repairer’s changein rates, training, certifications, equip-ment and such. This defeats those so-called surveys which lump allrepairers together and provides the

same labor rates for the best of theworst to the worst of the best!”

As the President and Founder ofAuto Damage Experts, Inc., Smith be-lieves that one of the most valuableservices his company offers is Re-pairer Consulting and Coaching forthose who offer high quality work-manship and services. He states, “re-gardless of their size, all ADEconsulting/coaching clients have thesame fundamental characteristics incommon: integrity and the courageand conviction to do the right thing forthe right reasons. What we do is tohelp them to step outside the box thatis often built around them by ‘inter-ested third-parties’ and to see things ina more common sensical and prag-matic manner. This enables them tomodify their business acumen andmethods of conducting businesswhich is found to be much more prof-itable and enjoyable.” Smith hopes toshare his experience in this area atABAT’s meeting in order to aid thisdeveloping association and its mem-bers.


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by Ed Attanasio

If a body shop is in existence for morethan 30 years, people view it as a suc-cessful business and justifiably so.But, if a shop has been in continuousoperation for more than 120 years—well, now it’s more like a landmarkand a big part of automotive history.And that’s why folks in Missouri andthroughout the country know ofNiebling Auto Body, because it’s beena household name since 1892, when a

German wagon maker opened his ownwagon shop in St. Louis, MO.

It all began when Louis Nieblingimmigrated to the U.S. and moved toWest St Louis in 1887. Horses, wagonsand carriages ( and good old walking)were the mainstays of transportationback then, as the industrial revolutionshifted into high gear. Gasoline-pow-ered vehicles were only for the rich andeccentric in the late 1800’s, just like theTeslas or Bentleys of today. Sure, auto-mobiles were only for a select few backthen, but the times were a-changing andpretty soon everyone wanted one ofthese noisy, cantankerous and expen-sive machines.

At the beginning, the shop wasbusy and flourishing, but then a tor-nado hit hard and completely de-stroyed Niebling’s business in 1895.But, it didn’t faze him one iota, andpretty soon Niebling started up again,building a new two-story shop. Adecade later, Niebling’s shop wasbuilding truck bodies for Mack’s five-ton capacity trucks, in which thedriver sat over the engine, and prettysoon wagons and carriages were nolonger a business focus for Nieblingand his crew.

A year later, the city had its own carmanufacturer when the St. Louis CarCompany started producing the Ameri-can Mors under license from a French

company. Soon, Louis Niebling Car-riage and Wagon Manufacturing wasconstructing car bodies for the Mors.At a time when the average salary wasaround $40 a month, the Mors cost be-tween $3,000 and $6,000. The Morsline was eventually discontinued, butNiebling kept moving forward andlooking for another dependable sourceof revenue.

By re-inventing his businessmodel once again in 1918, Nielblingbegan manufacturing wooden truck

bodies while his shopgrew to 13 employees.These wooden truckswere built to order in thedays before customiza-tion was prevalent. Cus-tomers brought in a barechassis with a dashboardand a hood and Nieblingbuilt the body based onthe owner’s specifica-tions. On the shop’sground floor, there was acarpentry shop, black-smith shop and assembly

area. Each completed body was sentto the second floor by a hand-operatedelevator. There, the trim shop madecloth tops and upholstery as well ascompleting the necessary painting.

At about the same time, LouisNiebling’s son, Erwin, joined the busi-ness and subsequently focused more onmechanical repair. The wagon-makingbusiness dwindled rapidly and Erwindecided to move the shop to a moreresidential neighborhood in 1927. Histwo sons, Warren and Ray had grownup in that shop and then joined him inthe business at the end of World War II.When Erwin retired, the sons remainedpartners and expanded by opening abody shop operation under Warren’smanagement in 1968.

Warren and Ray both had sonsand like their fathers and grandfathers,they grew up in the family business -Jim with Warren in the body shop andTom with Ray in the mechanical shop.When Warren and Ray retired in 1986,Tom and Jim became the managingpartners. Jim passed away in 2010 andhis cousin, Dave Dolphus (who hasworked at Niebling Auto Body since1985), now manages the operation.

Dolphus, 59, is what they call a“lifer” in the collision repair industry.He’s been running the show at Nieblingfor the past five years after workingthere for 30 years. Today, he manages

14 people as they fix 65-80 carsmonthly. Dolphus has a Masters Degreein Public Policy and Administration, sohis career plan surely didn’t involvecollision repair, at least at the outset.

“Getting involved in this indus-try was the furthest thing from mymind,” Dolphus said. “But one day,my cousin asked me to come in andhelp and I guess I wasn’t paying at-tention, because I just kept stayinghere. At first, I was doing paperworkand handling supplements and to behonest I was looking for the door. But,eventually I learned the business sideof auto repair and realized that thiswas going to be my job for the long-term.”

Dolphus has seen the collisiongame change several times duringthe three decades he’s been in it, hesaid. “Back in the 1980’s, we couldmake good money by just openingour doors, but no longer. We have alot of competition now and everyoneis vying for these cars. To make ittoday, you have to concentrate onthings like training, certifications,the technology, marketing and com-munity involvement, for example.”

The relationships with insurancecompanies have changed over the yearsas well, according to Dolphus. “Wework with several insurance companiesand DRPs and it makes up around 40%

of our workload, which is still too muchas far as we’re concerned. We’re alwayslooking outside the DRPs for customersthat are ours, instead of theirs. DRPschanged several years ago requiringdiscounts on parts and paint caps and atthat point we decided to cut them backto a certain degree.”

After 120 years, Niebling AutoBody is still a fixture in St. Louis andthere are no plans to alter their formulafor uninterrupted success, Dolphus ex-plained. “We’re not going anywhere


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Niebling Auto Body: 120 Years and Still Going Strong in Missouri

Niebling Auto Body opens its doors back in 1892 in St. Louis, MO

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anytime soon. We have a few man-agers here that are exceptional andwhen the time is right for me to stepback, I am pretty confident that theycan take the reins and do very well.There have been numerous changes inthis industry, especially within the last15-20 years, but we’ve been able toadapt to them and benefitted frommany of them. Things like personalcomputers, aluminum in these newercars and other innovations have im-pacted this business. But in the end,it’s still about doing a good, honest jobfor our customers. Those types ofthings are timeless and they will neverchange.”

distribution also, leaving shops aslabor providers only and inhibitingthem from supplementing their in-comes with the price of parts. Becauseof this, many shops will be unable topay some of their personnel, such asoffice staff, customer service teamsand detailers, whose salaries aren’tpaid by the estimates but by partsprofits. “If the insurers absorb this dis-count, we won’t be able to affordthese employees, so customer servicewill decline, and that will be the be-

ginning of the next big problem forour industry,” Juniper predicts.

Juniper notes that the industry didnot stand up for themselves whenDRPs were developed and they havesince regretted it; he believes the in-dustry will really regret it if they do notstep up to inhibit parts procurement asit will lead to poor customer service inthe collision repair industry, forcing re-pairers into a position where they arenot making any money and may be un-able to pay their bills. He asks “whenand where does the collision industrysay no? Because it’s time!”

A State Farm spokesman was in-vited to comment on these charges

but declined due to unfamiliarity withthe specifics of the cases.

Continued from Page 36

Shortpay Lawsuits

A fire which occurred in an apartmentabove Red’s Body Shop on Route 31in Washington Twp., NJ, was reportedat 4:30 p.m., May 26, according to thewebsite, and Washington Townshipfire officials stated that the fire wasout before 4:50 p.m. No one was in-jured in the apartment, located next toSuburban Propane, according to theWashington Township Fire Depart-ment. The cause of the fire is stillunder investigation, officials said.

Fire Above Body Shop onRoute 31 in Washington Twp.

MO Shop Porter Steals Car, Joyrides Off-Road, Posts His FunPolice say a Hazelwood auto bodyworker decided to commute in a carstolen from his employer, Complete AutoBody at 6041 N Lindbergh Blvd, Hazel-wood, MO. Over the weekend, acoworker spotted the suspect driving the2003 Pontiac Bonneville around hisneighborhood. His employer checkedsurveillance, and all the evidence wasright there. Complete Auto Body Gen-eral Manager Kurtis Barks said, “Yousee a vehicle parked behind our dump-ster, watch the guy strategically move thegate, and then take off with our car. Ap-

parently he did this once, got away withit, so he decided he’d just keep the car.”

Barks says not only did 41 year-old Ben Taylor take the Pontiac for theweekend, but he documented it on so-cial media: “I came to find out he wasactually putting pictures on facebookwhere he was kind of modeling on thevehicle, and showing off to his friends.”

Taylor’s boss, along with Hazel-wood Police, presented their evidenceto Taylor, but he still denied it, untilthey showed Taylor his own meal re-ceipts, left in the car.

“Eventually, he did come aroundand admit to it,” says Hazelwood PoliceLt. Ron Livingston. Ultimately, policesay Taylor put 78 miles on the car, andcaused $3800 worth of damage.

Barks said, “Apparently he decidedto go off-roading, and the right front andleft front of the vehicle were messed up.We repaired all that, took care of it, weactually bought the car from the cus-tomer in order to make up for it, so therewas no damage or loss for them.”

The Pontiac is now a rental car,and its former owner is now a regular

customer. That’s left Taylor, whoworked as a porter and car cleaner, firedand behind bars, charged with Stealinga Motor Vehicle, a Class C Felony.

Barks adds, “We’re very thankful tohave great employees that actually stoodup for us, and told us, and we had theright surveillance in place to catch them.”

The theft happened back in No-vember, but charges were just filed.That’s because police were investigatinga similar crime, in which Taylor was asuspect. However, there was not enoughevidence to charge him in that incident.


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NACE | CARS, held at COBO Centerin Detroit July 30-Aug. 2, will offerspecial recognition to attendees whohave a proven commitment to collisionrepair training demonstrated through

achievement of I-CAR Gold Classrecognition or ASE Blue Seal certifica-tion. Collision and Service Repair fa-cility personnel that belong to an I-CARGold Class business or hold the ASEBlue Seal certification will receive a 50percent discount on the training andconference sessions at NACE | CARS

2014. In addition, any individual that iscurrently I-CAR Platinum or an ASEMaster Technician will be entitled to thesame 50 percent discount. This discountincludes individual sessions through theSuper Pass that covers sessions duringthe entire conference.

“We want those who have achievedthe highest levels of industry-recognizedtraining and certification to be rewardedfor their achievements,” stated Dan Ris-ley, ASA president and executive direc-tor. “This is a great way to highlight anelite group and to encourage their on-going technical and business educa-tion.”

“As technology advancements dic-tate a necessary evolution in repairabil-ity, more collision repair businessesthan ever are adopting a learning cul-ture to ensure that they are able to per-

form safe and quality repairs,” stressedJohn Van Alstyne, I-CAR CEO andpresident. “I applaud NACE and CARSfor recognizing this commitment to ed-ucation and knowledge by giving backto the businesses and individuals whotrain.”

“ASE’s relationship with NACEand CARS goes back to the very begin-ning of the event, and we are pleased toonce again be a part of this significanteducational opportunity for the indus-try,” said Tony Molla, ASE vice presi-

dent of communications. “We also salutethe efforts to encourage professionalismwith this generous discount program forour ASE certified professionals and thebusinesses that employ them.”

Registration is now open forNACE | CARS and hotel reservationscan be made via the Travel section ofthe website, www.NACEexpo.com orwww.CARSevent.com for the week ofJuly 27 and all events taking place dur-ing “Industry Week” in Detroit.

Now in its 32nd year, NACE|CARSwill feature numerous opportunities fortechnical training, business education,demonstrations, networking and technol-ogy showcases for stakeholders, owners,managers and technicians in the collisionand service repair industries.

I-CAR Gold Class and ASE-Certified Shops Rewarded at NACE | CARS

www.autobodynews.comC


Caliber has acquired two multiple col-lision repair shop operators with a totalof nine locations—four in Los Angelesand five in Raleigh, NC. The NorthCarolina acquisition is the first locationfor Caliber in the eastern U.S.

Caliber Collision Centers an-nounced that it acquired Classic Colli-sion Center, Inc., with four locations ingreater Los Angeles: (Los Angeles,Pasadena, Tujunga, and La Crescenta),and Haddock Collision, a dominant re-pairer with five locations in the Raleigh,North Carolina market (Raleigh, Wake-field, Cary-Crossroads, Cary-Maynard,and Fuquay-Varina.)

Classic Collision was founded in1980 and Haddock in 1972.

Caliber Collision CentersSteveGrimshaw, Caliber Collision Chief Ex-ecutive Officer commented, “Our ac-quisition of Classic Collision Center,Inc. continues to offer more customerchoices in the Southern Californiamarket. After spending time withClassic Collision’s management team,it was obvious that Classic Collisionaligns perfectly with Caliber by deliv-ering industry-leading customer satis-faction across all four Los Angeleslocations.”

“We are proud that Classic Colli-sion Center is now a part of the nation’s

leading collision repair provider,” saidMajic Berenji, Classic Collision Presi-dent. “This combination will allow thecompany to continue to grow, whileproviding Classic Collision’s cus-tomers with even higher standards ofquality and personal service that hasbecome our trademark. It will also pro-vide Classic Collision’s staff and theirfamilies’ new advancement opportuni-ties and a secure future in the dynamiccollision repair industry.”

“Our acquisition of HaddockCollision Centers in North Carolinarepresents our first of many acquisi-tions to come in the eastern U.S. I amvery excited to have Todd McGowan,and the entire Haddock Collision or-ganization, join forces with Caliber,”said Grimshaw.

With these acquisitions Calibernow operates 177 collision repair facil-ities in Arizona, California, Colorado,Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina,Oklahoma, and Texas.

Caliber Acquires MSOs in Los Angeles and North Carolina

The Motor Equipment RemanufacturersAssociation (MERA) has joined a grow-ing coalition of leading organizationssupporting NACE | CARS 2014 IndustryWeek in Detroit this summer. MERAwill host a Remanufacturing TechnologyExpo on Thursday, July 31, from 10:00am-4:00 pm in the Ambassador Ball-

room in the COBO Convention Center.Dan Risley, ASA president and ex-

ecutive director, stated, “We are excitedto have MERA join us in Detroit. This isa very important organization in the au-tomotive market and their participation,content, and attendance is beneficial toIndustry Week. The overriding purpose

of the event is to bring the industry to-gether, and MERA’s involvement furthersolidifies our goal of deeper market cov-erage.”

“Remanufactured parts offer like-new quality and real value that techniciansand end users can trust,” said John Chali-foux, president and COO, MERA. “Dur-

ing the MERA Remanufacturing Tech-nology Expo, members will showcase theadvanced methods they use to restore corecomponents to original—or better—con-dition and performance.”

Registration information and theagenda is available at MERA.org/tech-expo.

MERA Joins the Excitement at NACE | CARS 2014

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Fix Auto Acquires Alaska ShopsFix Auto USA continues expansion inthe Western United States with the in-troduction of five locations in Alaska,bringing the total number of Fix Autofranchises to 59. This marks the firsttime Fix Auto has ventured into theAlaskan market.

“We’re ecstatic to join this eliteand exclusive brand of high caliberoperators as we adapt to shifting mar-ket dynamics,” said Tony Stanley,who along with his wife Mel are theowners of the Fix Auto Alaskan fran-chise group, formerly Driven AutoBody.

AMI to Honor New ManagersThe Automotive Management Insti-tute (AMI) will honor its 20th classof Accredited Automotive Managers(AAMs) with a formal cap and gownceremony on Aug. 1 during the newIndustry Week 2014 July 28-Aug. 2at the COBO Center in Detroit. TheAAM designation is awarded afterthey successfully complete course-work and earn 120 credits of man-agement education. More than 1,700individuals have earned the AAMdesignation and approximately 100new graduates are added each year.For more go to www.AMIonline.org.

The prestigious Most InfluentialWomen in Collision Repair (MIW)Awards were presented to three womenduring a celebratory dinner in SanDiego during the Women’s IndustryNetwork (WIN) Conference. The MIWAwards recognize women who haveenriched the collision repair industrywith their leadership, vision, and com-mitment to excellence. Doug Holm-berg, representing AkzoNobel,formally transitioned the MIW pro-gram to Margaret Knell, Chair ofWIN, by giving WIN a framed issue ofAkzoNobel’s Profit Magazine with acommemorative note officially mark-ing the transition. Profit Magazine hashighlighted Most Influential Womenhonorees since inception of the award.This year’s honorees were FredericaCarter, President of F. Carter Events,LLC; Jordan Hendler, Executive Di-rector of the Washington MetropolitanAuto Body Association; and LeanneJefferies, Director of Collision Pro-grams at AIA Canada. Each honoreewas introduced by an industry peer andformer MIW who nominated them forthe award. In a welcome message,Knell thanked those being honored aswell as award recipients from prioryears, “for your visibility and ongoing

example of most influential women inthe collision repair industry by yourleadership, vision, and commitment toexcellence—both in your professionsand in your communities.” She thenrecognized AkzoNobel for their vision

and elevation of the societal issue of theadvancement of women in the collisionrepair industry. The recognition pro-gram's charter aligns with WIN’s mis-sion to ‘enhance the role of women inthe industry’ and has recognized morethan 75 women for their professionalaccomplishments and for going beyondrequirements of their positions to giveback to their communities. Honoreeshave held positions in every facet of thecollision repair industry, as shop own-ers, body and paint technicians, man-

agers, wholesalers, lobbyists, suppliers,insurance adjusters, consultants, edu-cators, editors and writers, and indus-try association directors. Established in1999 by AkzoNobel, WIN assumedmanagement of the MIW program in2013. The Most Influential Womenprogram has supported the industry byfunding scholarships for prospectivefemale students interested in pursuinga career in collision repair.

“The Women’s Industry Networkhas, in a very short period of time, be-come a pillar association within theNorth American collision repair mar-ket,” said Doug Holmberg, Director ofVehicle Refinishes for AkzoNobel Au-tomotive & Aerospace Coatings NorthAmerica. “It was both a pleasure andhonor for AkzoNobel to be part of the2014 WIN Conference and formallytransition the Most Influential Womenin the Collision Repair Industry pro-gram from our stewardship to WIN fortheir continued mentoring. WIN willbe able to advance MIW and createsustainable resources to the full benefitof the entire collision repair industry.”To learn more about WIN and the MIWAwards, or to see a list of past recipi-ents, visit http://thewomensindus-trynetwork.ning.com.

Women’s Industry Network Celebrates Excellence In Leadership andthe Formal Transition of the ‘Most Influential Women’ Program to WIN

Margaret Knell and Doug Holmberg

On Thursday, May 22, the LouisianaCollision Industry Association (LaCIA)held a meeting at the Hilton Garden Innto update members on the direction theassociation is taking and their upcom-ing plans. Featured speakers includedAttorney General Buddy Caldwell andhis assistant AG, Randy Ishee, who up-dated attendees on their efforts. Execu-tive Director Alysia Hanks notes,“overall, the meeting and turnout wasexcellent, and I think the Attorney Gen-eral is on top of things! He was presentwith some of his other attorneys whoare working on our issues, and they hadsome great updates to share with us. Idon’t think I’m alone when I say this,but Mr. Caldwell very much exceededmy expectations with what he and hisstaff of lawyers have accomplished sofar. I heard the comment ‘blown away’when I asked others to describe themeeting. Mr. Caldwell and four otherattorneys are now working non-stop onour issues.”

The meeting began with ChairmanLynn Lejeune welcoming attendees andleading the group in prayer, followed byVice Chairman Derek Stubbs who in-troduced LaCIA’s Board of Directorsand discussed some of the association’sgoals and accomplishments.

When Caldwell was introduced, heassured the group that he and his teamare working diligently on resolving thecollision repair industry’s is-sues, and he provided an up-date on their progress thus far.Because State Farm is thelargest insurance company inLA and all other insurers fol-low their lead, he first set hissights on this insurance giant,learning that they did put upthe money for PartsTrader. Hisoffice has also begun a CivilInvestigation Demand wherethe Attorney General ordersthe insurance companies toproduce documents which they wouldnot ordinarily produce in a regular dep-osition, such as surveys and internalpolicies; he also pointed out his findingthat insurers aren’t even attempting tohide the fact that they are steering theircustomers to DRP facilities!

Although his office is still in thediscovery stages of the process, the

Attorney General’s influence in itselfis beneficial to legislative initiativessince politicians are less apt to ignoretheir pleas for help. They also plan toproduce some ad campaigns to advise

consumers to read their insurancepolicies and encourage them to un-derstand their rights during the repairprocess. Attorney Stacy noted that theAttorney General’s office may alsolook into possible tax evasion on thepart of the insurance companies. De-spite this progress, Hanks cautions “itwill take a while to get this situationwe find ourselves in today resolved,or even to see any movement on it.We did not get into this situationovernight, and it won’t go away thatfast either. We need to have patience.”

Next, Ishee updated attendees onseveral matters, beginning with thefact that he cannot comprehend why

any repair facility would willingly joina DRP since he can find nothing inthose agreements that benefits theshops whatsoever; his feelings aboutPartsTrader are the same. He notedthat by signing those agreements, itwas like relinquishing ownership ofthe shop to the insurance company.Furthermore, Ishee emphasized that

the repair professionals are responsi-ble for properly fixing their customers’vehicles, plus if a shop has a signedwork authorization from the customerand the insurer sends their vehicle to

another facility, that is a breach of con-tract for which they can be sued.

The Louisiana Attorney General’soffice is working with several other At-torney Generals throughout the South,and they have also reached out to theirstate’s Insurance Commissioner’s of-

fice to inform them that they will bepursuing State Farm, with or withoutthe Commissioner’s support. Hanks re-calls, “they wanted to make it clearwhat their main objectives were, andthat was to attempt to get rid of DRPs,to get things changed through legisla-tion, and to make sure everyone knowsthe law on both sides. They want in-surers to stick to what they do, which iswriting policies, and let the body shopsdo what they do, which is fixing cars.They believe the insurers shouldn’thave their hands in our businesses.”

After the Attorney General’s pres-entation concluded, several additionalspeakers provided updates on some in-dustry trends. Abel Cantrell of Advan-tage Collision Center in Houma LAspoke about who really owns yourshop, you or the insurance company,and he also distributed instructions on“How to Use Twitter” so no one has anexcuse not to get connected to othershops. Ray Gunder of Gunder’s Auto


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LaCIA Hosted Louisiana Attorney General at May 22 Meeting



Executive Director Alysia Hanks (l) with Attny GeneralBuddy Caldwell (m) and Randy Ishee (r) from the LADept of Justice

LaCIA’s Board of Directors meet with their guests (l to r): Chris Medine, Randy McLachlin, AlysiaHanks, Derek Stubbs, AG Buddy Caldwell, Lynn Lejuene, Asst. AG Randy Ishee & Pat Graham

Repair in Lakeland FL discussed howinsurers pushed him to the edge andwhy he started suing them to get thingsdone, nothing he has not lost a case be-cause “right is right!” Next, MikeParker of Parker Auto Body in WestMonroe LA shared the measures he hastaken to maintain control of his busi-ness which includes installing videoand audio surveillance in and aroundhis shop as well as a module to recordevery call made to or from his business.

LaCIA’s Board of Directors isvery grateful to all of their guests whospoke at the meeting. Vice ChairmanDerek Stubbs stated “we have to beexcited about the turnout and have tokeep the momentum we are estab-lishing going in a positive directionand not let it slip away.” Board mem-ber Pat Graham believes the AttorneyGeneral and his staff “had a very pos-itive vibe that I think was felt byeveryone.” All in all, Hanks believesthe meeting “was an incredible suc-cess! We are taking back the industryladies and gentlemen!”

LaCIA will hold their next meetingon July 8 in Lafayette.

www.la-cia.com


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I-CAR® announced that its new inter-active Advanced Steering and Suspen-sion Systems Damage Analysis(DAM15) course is now available. Thiscourse provides detailed informationon the considerations for inspectingsteering and suspension systems andprovides knowledge that can lead to in-creased efficiency and a positive cus-tomer experience.

Josh McFarlin, I-CAR Director ofCurriculum & Product Developmentstated, “Advanced steering and sus-pension systems are common intoday’s vehicles and if not repairedproperly, other vehicle systems can be

compromised.” He continued, “Repair-ers can apply knowledge learned in thiscourse throughout the repair process.”

The course features a series of in-teractive classroom activities and prob-lem-solving scenarios designed toengage the student and enrich theirlearning experience in order to furtherprepare them to apply their knowledgeon the job. Toward the end of thecourse, the student will engage in a“damage discovery” activity wherehe/she will simulate the estimatingprocess.

This instructor-led, Live 3-credithour course meets training require-

ments for Estimators, Auto PhysicalDamage Appraisers and Electrical/Me-chanical Technicians in I-CAR’s Pro-fessional Development Program™(PDP). DAM15 has replaced Electron-ically Controlled Steering and Suspen-sion Systems (STE05). If STE05 hasbeen completed, training credit earnedwill not be lost.

To register for Advanced Steeringand Suspension Systems DamageAnalysis (DAM15), visit the I-CARwebsite at www.i-car.com or contact I-CAR Customer Care at 1-800-I-CAR-USA (800-422-7872). Classes arebeing added to the schedule regularly.

Interactive Advanced Steering and Suspension Systems Damage Analysis Course

I-CAR® Adds New OEM Segment Development Director, John BosinI-CAR® announced that John Bosinhas joined I-CAR in the role of Direc-tor, Segment Development– OEM.John will oversee all business devel-opment and strategic activity for I-CAR in the OEM segment includingrefinement of strategies to better servethe OEM segment, as well as I-CARactivity with OEMs related to Colli-sion Repair Network (CRN) programsthat rely on I-CAR’s training and GoldClass program, I-CAR® WeldingTraining & Certification™ initiatives,

and contract training. He will alsowork closely with I-CAR’s IndustryTechnical Relations team to advanceI-CAR’s Reparability Technical Sup-port (RTS) program as I-CAR worksto develop and mature the portfolio ofRTS services for the benefit of OEMsand the Inter-Industry. John Van Al-styne, I-CAR CEO & President stated,“Segment focused sales and market-ing, and strategic alignment, havebeen key to I-CAR’s progress over thepast three years. John Bosin is a great

addition to our team, and with his join-ing, I-CAR is more firmly positionedto create more positive impact in theOEM segment and across the board.”

Bosin joins I-CAR with signifi-cant experience in the OEM segmentthrough his extensive and diverseroles in the Collision Repair industry.Most recently, John was with Ak-zoNobel as OEM Aftermarket Man-ager, and earlier with Fix Auto USA,ICI Autocolor and DuPont. John isalso a Lean Six Sigma Sensei.


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This year’s CARS will be held July 30-Aug. 2 in Detroit and for the first time,the focus will be on younger techs.

There will be a two-day, intensiveprogram called the “Young Technician’sSymposium.” Donny Seyfer, chairman-elect of the Automotive Service Associ-ation, which sponsors CARS, reports theprogram will be “powered” by Bosch.“It’s the brainchild of Bob Pattengale,”said Seyfer, “and will feature cutting-edge learning techniques and thoroughintroductions to the electronic systemsthat control modern cars. Targeting thetwo- to three-year tech, Bosch’s trainerswill use hands-on techniques mixed withclassroom training to move young techsfrom maintenance service and light re-pair to adding routine diagnostic skillsto their toolbox.”

Each program at CARS this yearhas been handpicked with an eye to-

ward making your shop better, saidSeyfer. Management sessions will belimited so that the “meeting after themeeting” networking opportunitieswill be enhanced.

Seyfer said the “crown jewel” ofthe CARS lineup will be Friday’sTelematics & Technology Forum spon-sored by the Alliance of AutomobileManufacturers. “We will bring youface-to-face with the future,” saidSeyfer. “Learn about what cars aredoing today and tomorrow from theengineers who build them. How doesthe independent repair shop fit into thisworld? You will only know if you at-tend CARS and attend this session.”

Business has changed, said Seyfer,“and things that were effective a fewyears ago are no longer working.” Tohelp bring attendees up-to-date, ASA isenlisting the aid of notables such as Vin

Waterhouse, Rissy Sutherland, DannySanchez and Margie Seyfer, all expertsin their respective fields.

Always a concern are employeeissues, including successfully integrat-ing new employees into the business.Bill Haas, industry consultant andtrainer, has a new class that will provideshop owners the tools they need to helpnew employees fit right in.

On the technical side, since CARS2014 will be in the Motor City, repre-sentatives from Chrysler, Ford and Gen-eral Motors will all be presentingclasses. Pete Meier will help you bringthose lab scopes back out to aid you indiagnosis for a new generation of cars.

“Speaking of diagnosis,” saidSeyfer, “we are going to push the bound-aries of your diagnostic techniques andunderstanding with presentations byMark Warren and Chris Chesney—both

technical wizards. They will bring newprograms that will take your diagnosti-cians to areas many of them will findcompletely new.”

Seyfer said ASA’s board of direc-tors and members of the association’sMechanical Operations Committee“are excited” to present a different ap-proach to training at CARS this year.“We surveyed members, asking whattheir biggest challenges were in run-ning their business and repairing cars,and we took the dominant responsesand sought out trainers to provide in-sight and new skills to solve thoseproblems.” Said Seyfer, CARS is builtfor shop owners. “It’s built for yourtechnicians and it is built for your salesstaff,” he said. “ASA puts on a few‘must attend’ programs each year. Thisyear, CARS will be at the top of thatlist. See you in detroit!”

CARS This Year Is All New, ASA Promises It Will Be The Best Show Ever

I-CAR®, in partnership with the NationalAuto Body Council (NABC), has an-nounced it will pilot a membership dis-count program for I-CAR Gold Class®businesses. The promotional offer in-cludes a 30 percent discount towardNABC Bronze Membership throughDecember 31, 2014.

“I-CAR and NABC have compli-mentary goals of encouraging profes-sionalism and promoting a positiveimage of our industry,” explained JeffPeevy, I-CAR Senior Director of FieldOperations and Segment Development.“I believe all of us within the collisionrepair industry have an obligation topromote a positive image of it. And oneof the best ways to achieve this is tosupport and enable the growth of an or-ganization designed for this purpose.”

NABC membership provides busi-nesses with an array of opportunities formembers to reinforce their leadershiprole within the industry and community,and foster goodwill throughout thosecommunities. The NABC also imple-ments community-based programs likeRecycled Rides, Distracted Driving Ini-tiative and First Responders EmergencyExtrication, while recognizing those inour industry who epitomize the funda-mental goodness which exists in the col-lision repair world.

Recycled Rides is a widely-knownand unique program in which insurers,collision repairers, paint suppliers, parts

vendors and others collaborate to repairand donate vehicles to deserving indi-viduals and service organizations in localcommunities throughout the country.

NABC Executive Director, ChuckSulkala explained, “In addition to help-ing make a difference in someone’s life,participation in NABC initiatives such asRecycled Rides, provides many intangi-ble benefits. Within a business, it createsrewarding experiences, excitement andpride in and for your team, plus has avery positive impact on the community.The enhanced recognition of our mem-ber’s businesses in their community as aresult of gifting a Recycled Rides vehicleis an added benefit of membership.”

Over 800 vehicles worth in ex-cess of $10 million have been donatedthrough the NABC’s Recycled Ridesprogram since its inception in 2007.

“Collaborating with an industrypowerhouse like I-CAR really helps theNABC to enroll our industry to evan-gelize about just how good it is for oth-ers to rub elbows with all of us,” saidNick Notte, NABC president. “We atthe NABC are delighted that I-CAR hasembraced our vision and is so willing tohelp NABC reach out to even morequality individuals and businesses.”

Gold Class businesses are en-couraged to take advantage of this spe-cial promotion. To learn more aboutthe NABC or Recycled Rides, visitnationalautobodycouncil.org.

I-CAR® And National Auto Body Council Partner onMembership Discount, 30% Off Until End of 2014

ASA-CO to Host Pinnacol Safety Meeting July 9 in DenverOn Wednesday, July 9, ASA-CO willhost a Pinnacol Safety meeting enti-tled “Managing Safety Through GoodHiring Practices” at Pinnacol Assur-ance, located at 7501 E. Lowry Blvdin Denver, CO. The event will takeplace from 11:30AM until 1:00PM

and includes lunch.ASA-CO is hosting this event for

all ASA Safety Group Members, to-taling around 50 policyholders, andthey expect around 15 to 20 attendees.For more information, call 303-202-5231 or go to www.asacolorado.org





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On Tuesday, June 10, the SpringfieldChapter of ASA-Midwest held theirAnnual Industry Night at the Ballparkwith over 30 association members andtheir families visiting Hammons Fieldto root for the Springfield Cardinals.The evening of baseball included a net-working picnic at the ballpark, gametickets and a Springfield Cardinalsbaseball cap. Sheri Hamilton, Execu-tive Director of the association, notes“ASA-Midwest was very pleased withthe outcome of the event. We had animpressive turnout, our members had agreat time, and the home team won!”

Hamilton explains “we organizethe baseball outings to bring the auto-motive service community togetherfor a fun night out. There is time fornetworking, but it is also a setting con-ducive to a relaxed, enjoyable eveningfor shop owners, employees and theirfamilies. We had a great response tothis event with positive feedback fromthose who attended. This event has be-

come an annual outing for the Spring-field Chapter, and we look forward tocontinuing it in coming years.”

Other chapters of ASA-Midwesthave followed suit and begun holdingsimilar events. Their St. Louis Chapterheld their own Industry Night at the Ball-

park on June 2nd when they cheered onthe St. Louis Cardinals, and the DesMoines Chapter will also be holding asimilar event, their first Ballpark Night,on July 12th in order to enjoy an evening

of strikes and hopefully a few homerunsat the Iowa Cubs’ stadium.

Hamilton believes that hosting funevents for association members isnearly as important as providing edu-cation to the industry. “In addition tobringing our members great training

opportunities, we place a high impor-tance on networking and bringing theautomotive service community to-gether for fun and interactive activitiesoutside of their shop. This not only

gives our members the opportunity tomeet other professionals in their area,but it also allows for idea swapping, re-lationship building and a time to relaxwith their team. We believe these typesof events are important to the strengthof our membership and organization –plus we always have a great time!”

ASA-Midwest recently launchedseveral new chapters throughout theMidwest, including Tulsa OK, Okla-homa City OK, Little Rock AR andLincoln NE. Hamilton states “we arevery excited for this new growth andthe opportunity to reach new mem-bers. We will be releasing a newschedule of events for all our ASA-Midwest chapters for the Fall whichwill include engaging training and nu-merous networking opportunities forour members.”

ASA-Midwestwww.asa-midwest.org816-781-5801

ASA-Midwest—Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

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NSF International’s Bob Frayer EarnsPrestigious ASQ Quality Leader AwardThe Automotive Division of ASQ(American Society for Quality) re-cently awarded Bob Frayer of NSFInternational its prestigious QualityLeader of the Year Award for hisleadership and NSF International’s

commitment totesting and cer-tifying aftermar-ket automotiveparts. The ASQ-Automotive Di-vision QualityLeader of theYear Award rec-ognizes leaders

in the automotive industry who ex-emplify outstanding dedication toquality.

Over the past four years, Frayer(NSF International Global ManagingDirector Automotive) has signifi-cantly increased the number of certi-fied automotive collision replacementparts available in the market, nowcovering more than 20,000 vehicleapplications including models fromall major auto companies. As back-ground, NSF International is a globalorganization with 70 years of certifi-cation and testing experience.

Frayer oversees NSF Interna-

tional’s Automotive Collision Certi-fication Program, which includesparts certification through which heand other NSF engineers independ-ently evaluate and compare theform, fit and function of aftermarketparts to original equipment (OE)parts. The program helps ensure thatcollision parts meet quality, safetyand performance standards throughrigorous facility audits and partstesting. He also oversees the Auto-motive Collision Parts DistributorCertification Program which certi-fies distributors who sell automotivecollision parts.

“We are honored to recognizethe achievements of Bob Frayer andNSF International for their dedicationto continually advance the quality andsafety of the aftermarket automotiveparts industry,” said Jd Marhevko,ASQ Fellow and ASQ AutomotiveDivision council member.

“It is an honor to receive thisaward on behalf of NSF Interna-tional from the ASQ. NSF Interna-tional and ASQ are committed toquality improvement and standards,and to helping ensure that the safetyand performance of auto parts con-tributes to that mission,” said Frayer.

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Chrysler Airbag Recall Being Probed by RegulatorsThe automaker says 6 fixed SUVsfrom 2012 recall had inadvertentairbag deployments. Chrysler Groupmay be facing a recall do-over afterthe fix it initiated to stop inadvertentairbag deployments in older JeepLibertys and Grand Cherokees failedin at least six instances to fix theproblem, says a report inAutomotiveNews. The National Highway TrafficSafety Administration said in docu-ments filed on Monday that it hadopened a query into the 2012 recall744,822 Jeep Liberty SUVs frommodel years 2002 and 2003, and JeepGrand Cherokee SUVs from modelyears 2002 through 2004. NHTSAsaid it plans to study the effectivenessof the nearly 2-year-old recall, whichChrysler launched on Nov. 7, 2012.

Chrysler acknowledged in astatement that it had notified NHTSAof a half-dozen instances in which theSUV’s airbags deployed inadver-tently while the vehicles were in op-eration after they had allegedly beenfixed.

“Chrysler Group LLC advisedthe National Highway Traffic Ad-

ministration of the six reports and, inaccordance with the company’s long-standing practice, is cooperating fullywith the resulting investigation. Cus-tomer safety is paramount at ChryslerGroup,” the company said in a writ-ten statement.

In 2012, Chrysler addressed theproblem by installing an in-linejumper harness with an integratedelectrical filter to eliminate electricalspikes that the company believedwere causing the problem, accordingto the NHTSA documents. The safetyagency had previously opened an in-vestigation of the issue in October2011 and three months later upgradedthe probe.

In the latest six cases in theNHTSA documents, no crashes werereported, but injuries consisting ofcuts and burns were alleged. At thetime of the recall in 2012, another174,723 SUVs were affected inCanada, Mexico and outside of NorthAmerica. The probe found 215 casesof inadvertent airbag deploymentsthat resulted in 81 minor injuries inthe United States but no crashes.

PartsTrader Integrates Hollander Interchange CodesPartsTrader announced that it has in-tegrated Hollander Interchange codeswithin the PartsTrader application toassist suppliers when they are quot-ing recycled parts.

The Hollander Interchange is a75-year old numbering system thatindexes which parts are interchange-able among vehicles. For example,the timing cover for a 1976 GMCTruck also fits a 1969 Corvette. Hol-lander Interchange Manuals covermost foreign and domestic cars andlight trucks from the 1920s to thepresent. The manuals cover morethan 150 mechanical and body partsand assemblies.

For information on how to usethe Interchange, go to http://hollan-derinterchange.net/How_To_In-structions.pdf.

In the PartsTrader system a col-lision repair estimator will be asked,when appropriate, clarifying vehicleoption questions prior to sending outa quote request for their specific partneeds. The estimator’s answers tothese questions will trigger Part-sTrader to display the appropriateHollander code to the quoting recy-

cler whenever that code is availablefor the parts or assemblies required.

The new functionality has beenpreviewed in Illinois and New Jer-sey, and is now available to Part-sTrader users nationwide.

“The repairers and recyclerswho have been using this feature inour preview areas have been pleasedwith the efficiencies it has deliveredto them,” said Dale Sailer, Part-sTrader’s vice president of businessdevelopment. “Our developmentteam has worked diligently on ask-ing the right questions of repairers,and to display the Hollander codesin an easy-to-use manner for anysupplier quoting recycled parts.PartsTrader’s goal is to continuallyimprove our solution so that it re-duces the risk of getting the wrongparts and creates efficiencies forboth the repairer and the supplier.”

Said Rob Cooper, CEO of Part-sTrader, “In meeting with recyclersacross the country, we’ve heard theneed for integration with HollanderInterchange loud and clear, and it’s ex-citing to be able to respond to the mar-ket’s needs in such a positive way.”

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That includes $277 billion in actual cost,and an estimated $594 billion in “harmfrom the loss of life and the pain and de-creased quality of life due to injuries,” anew U.S. Department of Transporta-tion’s National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration report said.

Studying crashes in the U.S. in2010, NHTSA counted up 32,999 fa-talities, 3.9 million non-fatal injuriesand 24 million damaged vehicles in“The Economic and Societal Impactof Motor Vehicle Crashes 2010.”

The sweeping report takes in a lotof ground, particularly in calculatingthe “quality of life” losses. Among thefactors considered in the direct lossesof $277 billion, the report said, were$93 billion in lost productivity, $76billion in property damage, $35 billionin medical expenses, and $28 billionin the costs of traffic-related conges-tion—like traffic jams and increasedair pollution.

The report concluded that drunkdriving, speeding and “distraction”were key contributors.

Drunk driving alone, the reportsaid, accounted for 18% of the total eco-nomic loss from motor vehicle crashes,costing the economy as much as $199billion in direct and quality-of-life losses.

Crashes Cost Almost $1T inCosts, Loss of Life, Pain

On Monday, July 28th, the Society ofCollision Repair Specialists (SCRS)will hold an open board meeting from3:00–5:00pm in Detroit. The meeting,held at the Marriott Renaissance Cen-ter located at 400 Renaissance Dr.West, Detroit, will be open to anyonewishing to learn more about the cur-rent state of the association's activitiesand pressing industry topics. The twohour meeting will include updatesfrom SCRS staff and committees out-lining current and future work initia-tives each group has undertaken onbehalf of the membership. It will in-clude a presentation from the SCRSEducation Committee who will be pro-viding a detailed presentation sur-rounding aluminum repair approaches,techniques and considerations.

Attendees are not required to bea member of SCRS to participate inthis meeting. Anyone interested inlearning more about the association,the work it does on behalf of the col-lision repair industry or interactingwith the SCRS Board of Directors isencouraged to attend. Pre-registrationis not required.

For more information aboutSCRS, or to join as a member, visitour website at www.scrs.com.

SCRS Open Board Meetingon July 28th in Detroit

Automotive service and repair shopowners will want their young techni-cians to attend this unique symposiumat this year’s Congress of AutomotiveService and Repair (CARS), which willbe held in Detroit July 30-Aug. 2. Itwas designed specifically for youngtechnicians who shop owners believehave the skills to be all-star technicians.The Young Technician’s Symposium isa first time event at CARS and will bepowered by Bosch. Targeting the two-to three-year technician, Bosch trainerswill use interactive teaching methods tomove young technicians to electricaland driveability diagnosis with confi-dence and speed. ASA is working withBob Pattengale, training manager forRobert Bosch, to address the challengesyoung technicians face. Donny Seyfer,chairman-elect of the ASA, whichsponsors CARS, said Bosch recentlyconducted a trial training program withmembers of ASA-CO. Out of that camea two-day, four-session program thatwould teach techs with two or moreyears’ experience real-world diagnosticskills in basic electronics, gas anddiesel engine management, sensors andactuators, and electronic brake man-agement, including ABS and vehiclestability systems.

Young Technician’s Programto Debut at CARS

AudaExplore has pledged a three-year commitment of $75,000 in toolgrants that will be awarded to all highschool and post-secondary collisionrepair and refinishing students com-peting at the national SkillsUSA con-test. By working together withindustry companies and their studentproduct discounts, the retail value ofthese tools will exceed $150,000.

The tool grants are meant torecognize the students’ outstandingefforts in qualifying to compete at thenational SkillsUSA event and helpprepare them for careers within thecollision industry. “This donationaligns well with our LIFT charitablegiving program, which focuses onhelping those in need to build sus-tainable roots for lasting change,”said Rick Tuuri, vice president of in-dustry relations, AudaExplore.

“The U.S. Department of Laborprojected the employment growth ofthe automotive body segment to be13 percent from 2012 to 2022. Skill-sUSA and the Collision Repair Edu-cation Foundation have done afantastic job enhancing career op-portunities for students to take ad-vantage of this growth, and we areproud to be a part of it.”

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I-Car® Conference on Future of Collision Repair andAutomotive Industry, July 30 In DetroitI-CAR® announced that registration isnow open for the 2014 I-CAR Con-ference, which will be held on July30, 2014 at Cobo Center in Detroit.

This year’s Conference picks upI-CAR’s technology advancementdiscussion started at the company’s2013 Conference and will provideexecutives and leaders across the in-dustry further insight into the chal-lenges and opportunities surroundingthe Technical Tsunami.

John McElroy, host of AutolineDaily and Autoline This Week, will re-turn to moderate this year’s I-CARConference. The Conference will fea-ture an expanded lineup of speakersfrom Ford Motor Company, Oak RidgeNational Laboratory, Steel Market De-velopment Institute, Alcoa, Universityof Michigan, Robert Bosch LLC andmore. Key topics will include:• Ford: A high impact sessioncovering OEM strategies related toCAFE, details on the new aluminumF-150, and Ford’s enhanced Colli-sion Repair Service Strategy• Lightweighting: Advancementsand trends in Carbon Fiber, AdvancedSteels, Aluminum• The Changing DNA of the Ve-

hicle: Reinventing the Automobile• Advanced Electronics, Com-munications and Safety: VehicleWide Driver Safety Systems: V2XDeployment, and how Vehicle Datawill reshape our industry

I-CAR has also announced new,reduced pricing for this year’s Con-ference to encourage more of the in-dustry to attend and hear about theimportant challenges being faced. Theadmission price is now just $250 forEarly Bird registration—a promotionthat is running from now through June14.

As an added bonus, all I-CARConference attendees will receive aFREE pass to the NACE/CARS expo,also being held at the Cobo Center onJuly 31 and August 1.

In addition to insightful andthought-provoking presentations andpanel discussions, the I-CAR Confer-ence also offers numerous networkingopportunities, including an eveningreception celebrating I-CAR’s 35thAnniversary, complete with live en-tertainment.

For more information and detailson how to register, please visit: http://i-car.cvent.com/2014Conference.

Marketing research firm DuckerWorldwide is predicting that once the2015 Ford F-150 debuts and worksout the bugs with dealerships and theauto repair industry, other truckmak-ers will likely to follow suit. A studyconducted by Ducker Worldwide forthe Aluminum Association’s Alu-minum Transportation Group (ATG),projects that, by 2025, more than 75percent of all new pickup trucks pro-duced in North America will be alu-minum-bodied.

The study surveyed all major au-tomakers and reports Ford, GeneralMotors and Fiat Chrysler will becomethe biggest users of aluminum sheetin the next decade. It also forecaststhat the number of vehicles with com-plete aluminum body structures willreach 18 percent of North Americanproduction, from less than one per-cent today. Vehicle segments revealedas emerging aluminum content lead-ers are pickup trucks, sport-utility ve-hicles (SUVs) and both mid-sized andfull-size sedans.

The study finds that every lead-ing automaker will have numerousaluminum body and closure programsby 2025. As the material mix for bodyand closure parts continues to changedramatically in the years to come, use

of aluminum sheet for vehicle bodieswill increase to 4 billion pounds by2025, from 200 million pounds in2012.

“The numbers tell a powerfulstory of aluminum’s explosive growthacross the automotive sector,” saidTom Boney, chairman of the Alu-minum Association’s AluminumTransportation Group and vice presi-dent and general manager of automo-tive for Novelis in North America.“Within the next ten years, seven outof 10 new pickups produced in NorthAmerica will be aluminum-bodied,and so too will be more than 20 per-cent of SUVs and full–sized sedans.”

The ATG commissioned globalconsulting and research firm DuckerWorldwide to conduct the 2015 NorthAmerican Light Vehicle AluminumContent Study. Through detailed in-person interviews with automotiveoriginal equipment manufacturers(OEMs), component suppliers andregulators, Ducker Worldwide main-tains a comprehensive material usedatabase to track material and mass ofindividual components for every ve-hicle model manufactured in NorthAmerica. The findings were compiledusing data updated and verified be-tween October 2013 and April 2014.

“Aluminum-bodied cars andtrucks are coming in a big way, andsoon. Consumers won’t visibly noticea different metal under the paint, butthey’ll see greater savings at the gaspump and experience better perform-ance and handling at the wheel,”added Boney.

Additional findings from thestudy include:

For 2015, pickup trucks willcontain the most aluminum at 548.9lbs. per vehicle, followed closely byE segment sedans at 546.9 lbs., SUVsat 410.3 lbs. and minivans at 396.5lbs.

The average aluminum contentin 2015 will be up 44 pounds per ve-hicle or 13% over 2012.

Total North American light vehi-cle aluminum consumption will in-crease 28% in 2015 over 2012.

Tesla, Mercedes, BMW and Fordwill all exceed the average aluminumcontent and the average aluminumshare of curb weight for 2015.

By 2025, 26.6% of all the bodyand closure parts for light vehicles inNorth America will be made of alu-minum.

Total North American aluminumcontent in 2025 will be 10 billionpounds.

Aluminum hood penetration willreach 85% and doors will reach 46%;complete bodies will reach 18%, fromless than one percent today.

Globally, light vehicle aluminumcontent will approach 35 billionpounds by 2025 making light vehiclesthe most important global market foraluminum.

In a separate analysis, Bank na-lyst John Murphy said that Ford’saluminum F-150 will determinewhether consumers are willing to paya premium for a larger-but-lighter ve-hicle. The 2015 F-150 could be effi-cient enough to meet future U.S. fueleconomy standards without requiringFord to offset its performance by sell-ing more small cars, he said.

If Detroit auto makers can suc-ceed at slashing weight from theirlarge SUVs and pickups, Murphysaid, “you could see an environmentwhere [their sales] perform reallywell.” Heavy-duty pickups and SUVsare big moneymakers for Detroit automakers and efforts to make themmore fuel efficient would keep theprofits flowing.

New Study Says More Than 75% of All Pickup Trucks will be Aluminum-Bodied by 2025

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