se 1213 issue web

The 1st District Court of Appeal rul-ing means that a 2012 law aimed at re-ducing fraud and lowering no-faultauto insurance claims has been rein-stated, at least for now, by an appel-late court ruling overturning a lowercourt decision to grant a temporary in-junction against the law.

Florida is one of 10 states thatuses personal injury protection (PIP)auto insurance, also known as “nofault” insurance. In Florida, driversget up to $10,000 in medical coveragewithout having to go to court to es-tablish fault in an auto accident.

The 1st District Court of Appeal

ruled that Tallahassee Circuit JudgeTerry Lewis was wrong when hesided with physical therapists andother health care providers challeng-ing the 2012 law. The Court of Appealruled that a group of chiropractors,acupuncturists and massage therapistslacked standing to bring their case.

Lewis suspended the part of thelaw that requires a finding of emer-gency medical condition and prohibitspayments to acupuncturists, massagetherapists and chiropractors. He saidthe law violates the right of access tothe courts found in the Florida Con-

Florida Appelate Court Ruling Reinstates No-Fault, May BeTemporary, Circuit Judge Overruled

See No-Fault Reinstated, Page 22

by John Yoswick

The 2013 Specialty Equipment MarketAssociation (SEMA) show attractedmore than 126,000 people—attendeesand exhibitor representatives—to LasVegas in November, filling the massiveLas Vegas Convention Center and sur-rounding spaces with all things auto-motive. Show organizers say that countwas up 7 percent over the previous yearand was the highest ever.

The collision repair and refinishsection of the show boasted just over200 exhibitors, a small but rapidlygrowing percentage of the more than2,300 companies and organizations ex-hibiting at SEMA this year.

Although attendees could easilyspend several days on the show floor tosee it all, there were a number of meet-ings, events and classes specific tothose in the collision repair industry.

Here are some of the highlights.

SCRS Holds Open MeetingThe Society of Collision Repair Spe-cialists’ (SCRS’) partnership withSEMA, which began in 2010, hasproven beneficial for the show as wellas the association. As it has in thepast, SCRS held an open meeting onthe show floor one evening to high-light both some industry news andsome of the association’s recent ac-tivities.A year after Toyota used the meet-

ing to introduce its concept of “pre-dictive estimating,” the automakerannounced at this year’s SCRS meet-ing a partnership with Mitchell Inter-

Collision Repair Classes, Meetings and Exhibitors Attract Shops to Largest SEMA Ever

See Biggest SEMA Ever, Page 4

SpecialSpecialSEMASEMA

coveragecoverageCoverage

Pages: 1, 11, 26, 28,31, 32 and 37

Mopar President and CEO Pietro Gorlier, right,and Mark Trostle, Chrysler Design, on theMopar-Modified Ram Sun Chaser concept vehicleat the SEMA Show. (Courtesy Chrysler)

by John Yoswick

Following a panel discussion on partsprocurement at the Collision IndustryConference (CIC) in Las Vegas in earlyNovember, attendees spent nearly anhour voicing criticism of mandated useof any particular system.

Tom McGarry of Axalta Coat-ings ProfitNet Management Systemnoted that unlike several other sys-

tems, PartsTraderinterfaces with es-timating systemsbut not manage-ment systems. Healso said a shop or-dering parts mightneed to use oneelectronic system

in order to receive an automaker re-bate, but the shop’s preferred vendormight use a different system, withState Farm requiring yet another.

“It’s not a procurement decisionanymore; it’s a marketing decision,”McGarry said. “How do you handlethat?”

Nebraska shop owner AndyDingman, who participated on the

CIC panel, agreed that shops could befaced with using multiple systems.“And that’s going to be very effi-cient,” he added, sarcastically.

California shop owner RandyStabler, also on the panel, agreed.“The challenge here is the insurancecommunity doesn’t understand by andlarge that when they increase the body

shop’s costs, theyhave to pay for itsomewhere,” Sta-bler said. “Lower-ing the payout isn’tincreasing effi-ciency. If the insur-ers could take thatback to their cor-

porations and figure out ways to reducethe body shop’s operating costs, thenthey can share in it, but reducing thepayout doesn’t increase efficiency.”

Stabler also said, however, thathe’s “kind of perplexed” why the Part-sTrader mandate has become “such alightening rod” for an industry thathas been accepting insurer mandatessince the early days of computerizedestimating.

See Industry Ire, 6

PartsTrader, Insurer Mandates Draw Industry Ire at Collision Industry Conference Held with SEMA

Randy Stabler

Tom McGarry

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AutoNation Chevrolet Coral Gables . 29BASF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 35Cavalier Ford-Lincoln Greenbrier . . 11Certified Automotive PartsAssociation (CAPA). . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Crashmax Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . 14Crown Automotive Group . . . . . . . . 13DJS Fabrications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Don Reid Ford. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Equalizer Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7FIAT Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 16Ford Wholesale Parts DealersFL, GA, AL, MS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Forklift Wrecker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 37Gray-Daniels Auto Family . . . . . . . . . 5Gus Machado Ford. . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Hendrick BMW/MINI . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Honda-Acura Wholesale PartsDealers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 20-21

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . 30

I-CAR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38KBS Coatings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Kernersville Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers. 33Landers Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . . . . 4Mercedes-Benz Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 35MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 25Nalley BMW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Nashville FIAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Nissan Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . 36Porsche Wholesale Parts Dealers . 34Preval Spray Gun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Roser’s Auto Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . 6Southtowne Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . 18Spanesi Americas Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Stateline Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-FIAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Subaru of Gwinnett . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 28Tameron Hyundai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Inde

xofAdvertisers

ContentsREGIONAL

AAAS Supports Be Car Care Aware Events

in the Southeast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Advance Auto Parts Cutting Ten Positions

in Roanoke, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Advance Auto Parts Gets New VP Based

in Roanoke, VA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Advance Auto Parts Opens in Gainesville, FL . 18

ASK-GARY Owner Sues Allstate and

Bloomberg for Slander, Florida Regulator

Barred Insurer Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

FL Employer Arrested For Violating

Stop Work Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

FL Gets Weakened Anti-Texting Bill

Signed by Governor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

FL Insurance Fraud Crackdown Snares Agent. 18

Florida Appelate Court Ruling Reinstates

No-Fault, May Be Temporary, Circuit

Judge Overruled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Former TN State Senator Charged with Theft

and Insurance Fraud in Franklin Cty . . . . 6

MAACO Acquires 7 Sprayglo Shops

in Southeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

NC MSO Haddock Secures $12.5 M

to Invest in New Locations . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Ram Truck Brand & Chrysler Group Heighten

Support of SE Farmers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Sisk - Automotive Aftermarket Association

Southeast—75 Years of Service. . . . . . . 8

Sisk - Georgia Collision Industry Association

Looks to the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Swiss Auto Parts Maker to Build Research

Center in AL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Two Charged in Rape and Robbery of

Advance Auto Parts in NC . . . . . . . . . . . 7

USAA Will Add Up to 1,215 New Jobs

in Hillsborough Cty, FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

VeriFacts Automotive Institutes ‘Dale Delmege

Award’ at CIC, Winner is Paul Krauss of

Craftsman Auto Body in VA . . . . . . . . . 31

COLUMNISTS

Franklin - Maintenance Marketing . . . . . . . 24

Yoswick - December Retrospective: NACE

Town Hall, CIC, SCRS, FTC . . . . . . . . . 30

Yoswick - Scaled-down NACE to Replace

‘Glitz And Glamour’ With Renewed

Industry Focus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Yoswick - Use of E-Signatures is Customer

Convenience, Faster Authorization

Reduces Cycle Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

NATIONAL

3M Wins Top Spot at 2013 SEMA New

Products Showcase Awards . . . . . . . . 37

BLS Says Total Collision Industry Production

is Up in June After Declining in

April-May. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

China’s 31st Collision Industry Show to

be Held in February ‘14 . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Collision Repair Classes, Meetings

and Exhibitors Attract Shops to

Largest SEMA Ever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

FIX Auto Holds Conference Featuring

“Marketing that Matters” . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Friedlinghaus Unveils Son’s 2013 Scion

FR-S Dream Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Gene Simmons Brings his ‘Snakebit’ to

SEMA, Vehicle is to be Auctioned in

2014 to Benefit a Children’s Hospital . . 32

GM Customer Care Adds New Loyalty

Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Kelley Blue Book Names 2014 Jeep

Wrangler and Dodge Challenger

Best Resale Value Winners. . . . . . . . . . 10

PartsTrader, Insurer Mandates Draw

Industry Ire at Collision Industry

Conference Held with SEMA . . . . . . . . . 1

SEMA 2013 Entertains, Informs and

Wows the Crowd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

SEMA Supporter Neil Young Talks about his

LincVolt Project: Repowering the

American Dream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

South Carolina’s David Montaro Writes Open

Letter to Ed Rust Jr. Complaining about

Wait Time on State Farm Jobs . . . . . . . 34

Speedemissions Acquires 7 Atlanta-area

Emission Testing Stores. . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Transtar’s Custom Coffin Grabs Attention

at SEMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

WD-40 and Chip Foose Keep Truckin’

at 2013 SEMA Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Winner of Chrysler Custom Challenge at

SEMA Show is Oriana Schooley. . . . . . 31

WSJ Report: Caliber Collision to be

Sold to Private Equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

www.autobodynews.com | DECEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

The owners of Caliber Bodyworks Inc.,DBA Caliber Collision Centers, haveput the chain of 157 US body shops upfor sale, said sources to the Wall St.Journal. Interested buyers include pri-vate-equity firms such as BerkshirePartners LLC and Blackstone GroupLP. The WSJ story said the salesprocess was almost over and new own-ers would be announced soon. Caliber,which is owned by a unit of Canadianbuyout firm Onex Corp. and others, hasattracted interest from other private-eq-uity firms, including Blackstone GroupLP and Berkshire Partners LLC in thepast. Its most recent shop acquisitionwas nine Global Collision locations inDenver, CO. Caliber Collision Centersowns its 150+ body shops in California,Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Texas andOklahoma. An active consolidator, Cal-iber routinely solicits collision repairshop owners in news releases announc-ing its acquisitions. Caliber recently ac-quired four Houston-area body shops.In late September, it added 12 locationsin the Sacramento, CA market. In June,the company bought three shops aroundDenver.

Onex acquired Caliber in 2008,buying the Lewisville, Texas-basedchain from another group of investorsfor about $170 million. Caliber is likely

to fetch more than $500 million in asale, one of the sources said.

At a Sherwin-Williams A-PlusVison Group event last December, RexGreenwho oversees the automotive af-termarket for BB&T Capital character-ized the collision industry as a “starperfomer” in the investment world overthe last few years, opening the eyes ofWall Street and large equity groups. Acouple reasons for that, he said, was anincrease in miles driven and new carssold. He also called the broader auto-motive aftermarket an “absolute win-ner” from an investor standpoint overthe last 10 years. The sales process wasnearing completion and Caliber couldannounce its new owners soon, theysaid. It remained unclear who mightemerge victorious in the auction—orwhether a deal will ultimately material-ize—but one of the sources said Black-stone isn’t likely to end up buying thecompany. There has been a flurry ofauto-repair shop deal activity lately, in-cluding Advance Auto Parts Inc.’s Oc-tober agreement to buy General PartsInternational Inc. for just over $2 bil-lion. The takeover would create one ofNorth America’s largest aftermarketauto-parts providers. Sears HoldingCorp. recently said it’s considering sell-ing its Sears Auto Center business.

WSJ Report: Caliber Collision to be Sold to Private Equity

national to deliver Toyota recom-mended procedures and bulletinswithin Mitchell’s new mobile/online es-timating system in early 2014.

Toyota’s Rick Leos explained thatwhen a user adds apart to an estimate,all of the appropri-ate Toyota vehicleinformation will au-tomatically appear,including relatedToyota bulletins orprocedures, and in-

formation on such things as one-timeuse fasteners.

Leos said that by the end of 2014,the information will be available for all2012 and newer Toyotas. He said he ex-pects other automakers to make similarannouncements early next year.

“Will we be with other informa-tion providers? I have every intentionof sharing all the same data with everyone of them,” Leos said. “I’m not tryingto hold it from anybody, and nobodyhas exclusive rights to it.”

Also during the meeting, TonyPasswater, executive director of the In-diana Auto Body Association, urgedshops to sign its online petition(http://tinyurl.com/lk8cuds) calling foran end to insurer mandates “that changeour well-established business relation-ships, place vehicle owners in jeopardyand interfere with the free market sys-tem.”

More than 460 people have signedthe petition, which calls for state andfederal authorities to investigate andprosecute “the tortious interference ac-tions of property and casualty insurancecompanies that have been repeatedlyperformed over the last 70 years,” call-ing insurer actions “as aggressive as amodern day mafia.”

Passwater said he’d like to see thesignature count hit 10,000, and sug-gested that shop owners also encourage

their employees tosign.Also during the

meeting, industrytrainer Toby Chessused photos and ac-tual parts removedfrom “repaired ve-hicles” to highlight

the more than 20 cars he inspected overthe previous two months that had im-proper or incomplete repair work.

“The reality is this is going on a lotout there,” Aaron Schulenburg, SCRSexecutive director, said followingChess’ presentation. “Sometimes it maybe being improperly equipped ortrained shops, but often times it’s a mat-ter of dollars and sense on the repairs,and the pressures that are put on, andhow people are being asked to do re-pairs. That’s not an excuse, but it’s thereality of one of the causes of thesetypes of repairs.”

Attorney outlines lawsuitsJohn Eaves Jr., the personal injury at-torney representing Mississippi shops

and parts vendorssuing State Farmover its mandateduse of PartsTrader,held several meet-ing in Las Vegasduring SEMA toexplain the suit. Hewas also signing up

individual shop clients looking to sueinsurers for “unjust enrichment” basedon procedures performed as part of ve-hicle repairs for which the shop was notpaid.

Eaves said he is working with aneconomist to determine the likely dam-ages in such cases, but he said an initiallist of 62 such procedures has been de-veloped, and preliminary analysis indi-cates a minimum loss of $675 per$3,500 repair. He said the suits couldcover claims against an insurer overhowever long the statute of limitationsallows (six years, in some states).

Eaves said that while he is notbeing paid for the PartsTrader case—which he said will likely soon be repli-cated in other states—the unjust en-richment suits are being done on acontingency basis with a 40 percent feeof any collected funds.

The PartsTrader suit, filed inHinds County Chancery Court, allegesthat State Farm’s implementation ofPartsTrader tortiously interferes withexisting business relationships shopshave with their parts vendors. In addi-tion to an injunction halting StateFarm’s implementation of PartsTrader,the suit seeks a ruling that State Farmis violating the terms of the 1963 Con-sent Decree, which placed limits onmore than 260 insurer’s activities re-lated to auto insurance and claims. Seethe October issue of Autobody News formore on the Consent Decree.

Advice On Selling Your ShopSCRS offered about 20 training classes

during SEMA, focusing on subjectsfrom marketing and using social media,to cycle time reduction and new bond-ing and riveting techniques for vehiclerepair.

Among the classes attracting themost attendees was a panel discussionfeaturing four former shop multi-shopowners offering insights into the lessonsthey learned selling their businesses.

Industry consultant and trainerMike Anderson, who sold his two Vir-ginia shops in 2010, cautioned againstrevealing too much information aboutyour business—sources of work, forexample—to a potential buyer too earlyin the process.

“I’ve seen MSOs come in tobuy a shop from certain individualswho are too free with their informa-tion,” Anderson said. “The deal fallsthrough and then those other peopleopen a shop right next door. It’s nota done deal until the money in thebank.”

Pat O’Neill, a former owner ofseven 9-1-1 Collision Centers whosold to Caliber Collision Centers in2011, recommends talking to a con-sultant or others who can help youknow what you can do to increase thevalue of your business.

“And remember that it’s a negoti-ation until the very last day,” O’Neillsaid. “Stuff will come up on their sideand stuff will come up on your side.”

“It redefined ‘coming down to thewire,’ that’s for sure,” agreed AaronClark, who sold his five Collision So-lutions shops in Indiana to ABRA AutoBody & Glass in 2012.

Former CARSTAR executive DanBailey, who has been involved both as abuyer and seller of shops over his career,said it’s never too early to start preparingfor the sale of your shop.

“It’s very emotional,” he said.“When you grow up in this business,there’s something that makes it feel al-

most shameful tosell your business.‘What am I goingto tell my friends?What am I going totell my relatives?’But the reasonyou’re building abusiness is to sell it.

It’s very emotional so you need to talkit over with whoever is involved in thebusiness with you, whether a spouse orsibling, and make sure you’re preparedto sell the business before you spend a


Continued from Cover

Biggest SEMA Ever

Rick Leos

John Eaves Jr.

Aaron Clark

Toby Chess

See Biggest SEMA Ever, Page 7


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The Ram Truck brand and ChryslerGroup LLC’s Southeast Business Cen-ter (SEBC) continue to highlight theYear of the Farmer on November 9 bypromoting farming and agriculture inthe football arena.

Ram Truck will be the presentingsponsor of the Farmer Appreciation ini-tiative on November 9 with backingfrom the Department of Agriculture,University of Florida (UF) Institute ofFood and Agricultural Sciences andFlorida Dairy Farmers. UF will cele-brate their agricultural-themed home-coming game as the Florida Gatorstake on Vanderbilt. All game day activ-ities are aimed at raising awareness offarming and showing support for theagricultural community in Florida.

“Ram has been a long-time sup-porter of the farming community, andour current year-long celebration of thefarmer has been a chance for us to giveback to this vital community,” saidRobert Hegbloom, Director - Ram TruckBrand. “When our SEBC teamed upwith prominent agricultural universitiesand brands in the Southeast, we knewthe Ram brand had to be involved.”

As part of their sponsorship, Ramcreated a contest asking children ingrades K-6 to design a poster centered

on the theme “Florida Farmers GrowMy Community.” Ram also provided aselect number of half-priced footballtickets to farmers and people involvedin the agriculture industry for theHomecoming football game.

Ram game day festivities willkick-off with an on-field presentationhonoring the Southeast Farmer of theYear. Two farmers who own Ramtrucks will be honored during half-timewith a video on the game board thattells their stories. And Gator Fan Festwill be agricultural-themed, with amock milking cow and other educa-tional displays featuring Florida agri-culture.

In addition, the Ram team will beon site to showcase its Ram brandedtrailer and multi-vehicle truck display.Football fans will enjoy interactivegames, prizes and free giveaways. Ramproduct specialists will answer truckquestions and give truck tours. Onelucky truck tour participant will win atailgate-themed grand prize packageincluding an autographed footballsigned by Coach Muschamp, Gatormerchandise from the team store, twoUF logo tailgate chairs, a UF logo blan-ket and a VIP Gator Experience for twoat the 2014 season opener vs Idaho

complete with two game tickets, pre-game hospitality and pre-game sidelineexperience.

“The University of Florida FarmerAppreciation event is our second Ram-sponsored program of the season, andwe are thrilled with this latest opportu-nity,” said Al Gardner, Director -Chrysler Group LLC’s Southeast Busi-ness Center. “During last month’s NCState game, we reached more than56,000 fans with our agricultural mes-sages, so we look forward to reachingout to another large group this week-end to share just how important ourlocal farm families are to our commu-nities.”

The Ram brand and the SEBC arecommitted to supporting Americanfarmers in the Southeastern UnitedStates. Spreading the word at footballgames has proven to be an effectiveway to drive home the importance oflocal farming communities. The SEBCwill continue their agricultural missionagain on November 23 when theFlorida Gators take on the GeorgiaSouthern Eagles.

Additional information about theRam Truck brand and the 2013 Year ofthe Farmer is available at:http://www.ramtrucks.com/KeepPlowing.


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Ram Truck Brand & Chrysler Group Heighten Support of SE Farmers NC MSO Haddock Secures $12.5 M toInvest in New Locations

Former state Sen. Eric Stewart of TNhas been charged with theft and fraudstemming from a continuing investi-gation into his insurance business, ac-cording to court records and officials.Stewart was charged in a two-countindictment with theft over $500 andcommitting a fraudulent insurance act.He was released on a $5,000 bond.

Former TN State Senator Charged withTheft and Insurance Fraud in Franklin Cty

Haddock Collision Centers, a NorthCarolina MSO, announced plans to ac-quire new auto body repair locations inthe Carolinas after securing a $12.5million investment. Plexus Capital con-tributed $9 million of the subordinateddebt with warrants and potential followon capital. Plexus, which primarily fo-cuses on middle-market transactions,was the SBA 2013 Small Business In-vestment Company of the year.

“This investment will allow us todouble our locations and expand intoadditional Southern markets,” said ToddMcGowan, Haddock Collision CEO.

Haddock, founded in 1972, main-tains multiple OEM collision repaircertifications including Acura, Audi,Honda, Infiniti, Mercedes Benz, Nis-san, VW and Volvo.


Two Charged in Rape and Robberyof Advance Auto Parts in NCA man accused of raping an employee inthe course of robbing an Advance AutoParts store in Fayetteville was chargedNov. 2 with the robbery of three morebusinesses and faces similar charges inLumberton and Harnett County.

Cortese Tramond Davis, 23, of the400 block of Vass Road, is charged witheight counts of robbery with a dangerousweapon, five counts of second-degreekidnapping, three counts of conspiracy,two counts of first-degree sex offense andone count each of first-degree rape andand first-degree kidnapping. Davis also ischarged with one count of being a felon inpossession of a firearm. Bail was set at$1.3 million. Davis and another man,Smith Paul Merinord, 20, who last livedon Timberland Lane in Dunn, are accusedof robbing the auto parts store shortlyafter 8 p.m. Saturday, Fayetteville policesaid. Police previously identified Meri-nord as Paul Merinord Smith.

Lumberton police have issued war-rants for Davis and Merinord, chargingthem with robbing the Advance AutoParts store and its employees at 1978 N.Roberts Ave. about an hour after the rob-bery of the Fayetteville store, Capt. TerryParker said. During the robbery, a maleworker was held at gunpoint while Davisallegedly raped a female employee, po-lice said.

lot of money working on a sale.”

John Yoswick is a freelancewriter based in Portland, Oregon,who has been writing about the auto-motive industry since 1988, is also theeditor of the weekly CRASH Network(for a free 4-week trial subscription:www.CrashNetwork.com). He can becontacted by email at:[email protected].

Continued from Page 4

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The Automotive Aftermarket Associa-tion Southeast (AAAS) began in 1938when a group of parts jobbers in ALcollaborated to form an association torepresent and support their industry.Over the past 75 years, the associationhas experienced many changes, butRandal Ward, President of AAAS,notes three instances as having themost impact on the organization’sgrowth. In the beginning of 1992,AAAS expanded into a multi-state as-sociation when they added Georgia totheir service area, and shortly after-ward, they branched out from being anassociation only for jobbers to encom-passing the entire aftermarket industry,including manufacturers, body shopsand so forth. In 2009, AAAS expandedyet again to offer their services in thestates of Mississippi and Florida.

AAAS’s mission is to be of serv-ice to the automotive aftermarket in-dustry in AL, FL, GA and MS. Byoffering support to the industry, the as-sociation hopes to see their members’businesses survive and profit. Wardnotes, “we’re always looking for waysto be of greater value to our members,and we recognize the value of an as-sociation because there are things thatwe can simply do better as a group.

Currently, AAAS boasts approxi-mately 650 members who receive solidservices from their association. Wardbelieves, “supporting our members hasto take the form of dollars and cents, inaddition to legislative successes. Ouremployee benefits program, which in-cludes medical, dental, vision and lifeinsurance, in addition to our workerscomp program, are major benefits weprovide our members. We offer someof the best rates available, with a two-person company enjoying the samerates as much larger businesses.”

AAAS also offers a discountedcredit card program, as well as dis-counts on invoices and paper prod-ucts, plus they provide educationalopportunities, such as their annualconference which gives members achance to attend seminars led by lead-ing experts in their various fields.Ward suggests that the greatest bene-fit members receive from joiningAAAS is the camaraderie and net-working opportunities inherent in be-

longing to any industry association;however, Ward, as the association’spresident, admits, “I’m very biasedbecause this is my job. I always feellike our members can speak better.”

At Ward’s suggestion, I reachedout to Mike Morgan, Chairman ofAAAS and owner of Frost Transmis-sion in Rainbow City, AL, who hasbeen involved with the association foraround 15 years. When Frost Trans-mission was charged an increase inworkers comp premiums after submit-ting only two claims, Morgan was ap-palled, but fortunately, a friend toldhim about AAAS’s workers comp of-ferings. After investigating the pro-gram, Morgan was pleased with hisfindings, that premiums through AAASwas around one-third of what otherplans charged, so he joined the associ-ation and switched his workers compplan over to theirs. A few years later,Frost Transmission also changed theirhealth plan over to AAAS’s insurance.Later, Morgan became involved withthe Board of Directors for AAAS andalso became a trustee of their healthfund.

When asked if he would recom-mend AAAS membership to others inthe industry, Morgan’s response wasunhesitatingly affirmative; “yes, and Ihave many times! We have, without adoubt, the most competitive workerscomp and health plan programs. Wefrequently receive dividends (moneyreturned from excess premiums) - wereceived a large dividend at the begin-ning of 2013 and expect another sub-stantial return in 2014. Furthermore,our program meets all of the regulationsfor the Affordable Care Act. We’vespent a good deal of money to ensurethat we are in compliance so that wecan do our best for our members andanyone interested. Once anybody looksat us, they will want to be a member!”

Ward agrees that two of thebiggest benefits that AAAS offersmembers are their low-cost health in-surance plan and workers comp pro-gram through their self-insured healthplan. As such, President Obama’s Af-fordable Care Act has presented an ex-treme challenge as it is costing manyAmericans their jobs, insurance andmoney. Because of this, AAAS has

seen an influx in new members whoare interested in the association’shealthcare and workers comp offerings,and as 2014 approaches, AAAS is in agood position with the programs. Infact, they plan to pay their members’taxes on Obamacare; according toWard, “I know we’re not alone; every-one’s in the same boat. With rates dou-bling due to the Affordable HealthcareAct, our insurance program offers asafe haven for owners and employeesthat belong to AAAS’s membership.”

While the sole objective ofAAAS is to be of service to theirmembers and the aftermarket industryas a whole, Ward explains that theyplan to continue growing the associa-tion and to expand their offerings ofbusiness support services. Currently,Ward is the only registered lobbyistfor the association, and since theirstaff is already stretched thin, Wardhopes to increase the number ofAAAS employees and lobbyists as

they increase their membership.Over the past six years, AAAS has

also become more politically active be-cause, according to Ward, “it’s what thesituation calls for.” He goes on to ex-plain that one of the biggest challengesthey face in trying to maintain opera-tions is governmental interference, reg-ulations and taxation, on both a stateand federal level. Because each of thestates that AAAS serves has uniqueregulations and laws, the associationhas to provide varying levels of serv-ice in each state in order to complywith individual state governments.

Regarding these difficulties, Wardnotes, “it’s just the logistics of servingfour states, but we’ve been very fortu-nate in establishing political actioncommittees (PACs) in all the states weserve. We want to do a good job ofmeeting the needs of each individualbusiness person, and though this can bedifficult because people in this indus-try are so independent, our members


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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].


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come together for a common goal.”Ward stresses that the most nega-

tive impact on dealing with industryconcerns is due to governmental in-terference in private affairs, and heclaims that Obamacare’s intrusion intothe matter of healthcare is just the lat-est, and currently the worst, of theseinvasions. While AAAS is not work-ing on any legislation at the moment,they meet with members annually for“Capitol Days” in Atlanta and Talla-hassee in order to fraternize with leg-islators and share their stories. Wardbelieves this is a proactive networkingopportunity that allows them to gain

advocates for future legislative con-cerns they may encounter. Ward isalso on the board of the Quality PartsCoalition which is related to thePARTS Act currently in legislation.

AAAS actively lobbies for Rightto Repair, and although AAAS is notdirectly involved in the issues plaguingthe collision repair industry, such asPartsTrader, Ward monitors progresson these issues. “We do not take pointon these problems; we’re just a soldierin these battles, not the general. We arehappy with the direction they are takingand proud of the progress they’ve madethus far. I am watching these issues

with a lot of interest, and AAAS fullysupports our local collision repair in-dustry associations and will try to behelpful if we’re needed.”

At the moment, AAAS does nothave any imminent projects, but as2014 rolls around, they will begin fo-cusing on their annual conferencewhere many prominent speakers in theaftermarket industry will be givingpresentations. Ward predicts that theAffordable Healthcare Act will con-tinue to be an important topic of dis-cussion at the event as AAAS strivesto ensure that their members do notsuffer from the program.

Ward insists that those not involvedwith associations should do some re-search and get involved. “This industryreceives threats from every angle, andyou need someone protecting your in-terests, so I encourage support of indus-try associations... we’re all in thistogether, so everyone in the automotiveindustry needs to support one another inorder to survive and make a profit.”Automotive Aftermarket AssociationSoutheast11245 Chantilly Parkway CourtMontgomery, AL 36117334-834-1848www.aaas.us

Kelley Blue Book Names 2014 Jeep Wrangler and Dodge Challenger Best Resale Value Winners

Kelley Blue Book has named the 2014Jeep® Wrangler and 2014 Dodge Chal-lenger winners of its 2014 Best ResaleValue Awards. For the fourth consecu-tive year, Jeep Wrangler has beennamed Best Resale Value in its class

and ranked on the Top 10 list for thethird year in a row. With record settingsales numbers month-over-month thisyear, Dodge Challenger also earned aspot on this year’s Top 10 list of vehi-cles with the best resale value.

“Jeep continues to dominate in itssegment and among the top 10 list, in-creasing its residual value 3.9 percent-age points from just last year,” saidEric Ibara, director of residual consult-ing for Kelley Blue Book. “New to thisyear’s list is the Dodge Challenger,which heavily contributes to Dodge’ssuccess for the 2014 model year, alongwith other strong vehicles from thebrand.”

Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.comBest Resale Value Awards are based onprojections from the Kelley BlueBook® Official Residual Value Guideand determined by a skilled staff of au-

tomotive analysts. These prestigiousawards honor vehicles expected tomaintain the greatest proportion oftheir original list price after five yearsof ownership.

“Chrysler Group is honored thatKelley Blue Book has named the 2014Jeep Wrangler and 2014 Dodge Chal-lenger winners of its Best Resale ValueAwards,” said Reid Bigland, Head ofU.S. Sales, Chrysler Group LLC.“These prestigious awards serve asgreat recognition of our commitment toproducing quality, reliable, and desir-able products, all while maintaininggreat resale value.”


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At the largest and busiest SEMA showever many companies were undoubt-edly asking themselves— how can westand out among all of the booths, carsand products at this enormous show?While many companies chose to displaycars and motorcycles in their booths tohighlight their products, Transtar Auto-body Technologies of Brighton, MI,went in a completely different directionthis year by thinking outside of the box(or in it) depending on your perspective.

This leading manufacturer of auto-motive refinish and specialty coatingspartnered with well- known motorcyclepainter Seth Boldman of AggressiveDesigns and the finished product was anintricately painted casket with a verybeautiful female/angel on the lid thatused Transtar’s No Mix® Basecoat andClearcoat and was proudly displayed inthe Transtar booth. Known for routinelydoing custom work for celebrities suchas Criss Angel, Rhianna, Tom Cruise,Pink and Christina Aguilera, Bolden’scasket attracted a crowd throughout theentire SEMA show.

With that “wow” factor that no onecould resist, hundreds of pictures of thisart piece were taken each day and thecomments ranged from “That’s how Iwant to go!” to “I see the light!” ac-cording to Stacey Wilcox, the market-ing manager at Transtar AutobodyTechnologies. “The quality of both theartistry, as well as the products used tocreate it was evident and we were happyto introduce our line of products to somany new faces. Seth is highly creativeand his work is amazing. This casket setus apart during SEMA and that’s exactlywhat we were shooting for.”

Bolden was proud of his coffin cre-ation and designed it with his client andfriend magician Criss Angel in mind, heexplained. “We wanted to do somethingcompletely different and really blowtheir minds. I’ve done 10 motorcyclesfor Criss and when he sees this coffin, Ihave a feeling he’s going to want it. Thetheme in Heaven and Hell and it showsan angel emerging as demons grasp ather feet. We put at least 100 hours intoit and it’s been a real attention getterduring this entire show.” (The suggestedprice for Angel: $25,000)

Bolden was happy to attract atten-tion to his sponsor’s booth with his cof-fin, he said. “I’ve been working withTranstar now for almost ten years andthey became our full-time sponsor four

years ago.” Bolden said. “Transtar is agreat company and we love all of theirproducts, including their basecoats,primers, clears—even their tape. Theyask me to test their products throughtheir research and development effortsall the time and we like trying themout. I use Transtar exclusively and it’sbeen a wonderful relationship.”

Aggressive Designs in the City ofIndustry, CA, employs a staff of five andworks out of a 5,000 square foot shop.Known as a leader in the motorcycle cus-tom paint industry, Bolden receives ravereviews for pretty much whatever hepaints. Boldman is renowned for doingcustom paint jobs on bikes of all types forcompanies such as Big Bear Choppersand leading Harley Davidson dealers, aswell as for television shows and movies.

“We’ve been recognized in topmotorcycle and car magazines formany of the custom projects we haverolled out of our shop. We’ve built areputation for providing over the topcustom painting and airbrushing workby using the latest techniques and highquality paint products, like Transtar.”

Transtar is a leading manufacturerof automotive refinish and specialtycoatings. The company has broad dis-tribution across North America, with asignificant presence in Latin Americaand other key markets.

For more information aboutTranstar’s products and services,please visit www.tat-co.com .

Transtar’s Custom Coffin Grabs Attention at SEMA

Celebrity Painter Seth Bolden, owner of Aggres-sive Designs, created this amazing airbrushedcoffin for Transtar Autobody Technologies’SEMA booth this year

Established 16 years ago, the GeorgiaCollision Industry Association (GCIA)has turned their sights to the future of

the industry, bothin terms of grow-ing their associa-tion and in lookingout for the nextgeneration of colli-sion repairers. AsGCIA focuses onthe future, they’ve

also taken a stand against several prob-lems facing the collision repair indus-try, as Executive Director HowardBatchelor explains.

The GCIA was founded in 1997by a group of concerned collision cen-ter owners and managers who felt thatthey need to form an organization torepresent the interest of collision re-pairers in their state. Their mission is“to promote professionalism and con-sumer awareness of the automotivecollision repair industry in Georgia.”GCIA also continues to inform andeducate their members on new tech-nologies, legislative issues and envi-ronmental concerns.

Currently, GCIA has around 60members, but they are always lookingto increase membership and expandthe association. Batchelor notes,“being a volunteer association, it’shard to find people to commit the time

needed to grow the association.Though we continue to struggle withparticipation and membership, we feelthat through our efforts, we are im-proving the industry for all.”

Their efforts to expand the asso-ciation has led GCIA to establish sev-eral goals for the imminent future: tocreate several additional GCIA chap-ters throughout the state and to set up

a group of committees within the or-ganization. Though GCIA has notfirmly defined these plans, they hopeto establish legislative, membershipand educational committees, at a min-imum. According to Batchelor, “thepurpose of these committees is to beactively working on projects that willbenefit the industry.”

GCIA’s focus on the future hascreated an additional goal, as well,which is to design a program to recruityoung people to the collision repairindustry. The increasing age of repair-ers and the lack of younger repairersentering the field has been a concernplaguing the industry nationwide forseveral years, and GCIA hopes to aidin rectifying this problem throughtheir efforts.

GCIA took a step towards thisgoal recently when they donated$2000 to Maxwell high School to helpthem purchase equipment and sup-plies for their automotive collision re-pair program. The funds were raisedfrom sponsors at GCIA’s annual golftournament on October 2, 2013, andboard members Gregg Goff andMichelle Coombs presented thecheck to students and instructors inthe program. Emphasizing the impor-tance of supporting youth interested inpursuing a career in the industry,Batchelor notes, “the children in these

programs are the future of ourindustry, so we want to ensurethat they are provided with thetools, equipment and trainingnecessary for success.”Although these future-fo-

cused goals will benefit GCIAand the collision repair indus-try in the long run, there arealso several more pressing is-sues which GCIA is monitoringand with which they are stayingactively involved. When asked

about the biggest challenges currentlyfacing the industry, Batchelor notes,“we feel that the insurers are becom-ing increasingly involved in the colli-sion repair process. Collision repairfacilities are the professionals, andthey need to be able to fix the car ac-cording to OEM recommended proce-dures without the interference ofinsurance companies.”

Naturally, the mention of insurerinterference led to PartsTrader, andGCIA has taken a position againstPartsTrader because, according toBatchelor, “we believe that insurancecompanies should be involved in sell-ing policies and settling claims, butthey should not be involved in the op-

eration of a collision repair facility.”In fact, GCIA has invited JohnMosley, Steve Plier and John Eaves totheir January meeting to discuss the

PartsTrader injunction and short paylawsuits.

GCIA is opposed to the PARTSAct legislation because “the OEMshave spent a considerable amount ofmoney to design, test and certify theseparts. We want to make sure that theparts that are installed on the vehicle

meet these standards,” Batchelorexplains. GCIA has not taken aposition on Right to Repair be-cause their members have not yetasked them to do so.Currently, GCIA has not intro-

duced any legislation, but they’vehad discussions with several leg-islators about the loss of sales taxon P&M caps and manipulation ofthe database. They hope to hire alobbyist soon to work with legis-lators on issues affecting the in-

dustry, and when they hire theirlobbyist, they will begin working ontheir legislative agenda.


Georgia Collision Industry Association Looks to the Future

Michelle Coombs from Sports & Imports Collisionshakes hands with Instructor Butch Luther. Greg Goff,GCIA Board Member, is in orange

Michelle Coombs presents $2000 check toInstructor Sam Melaragno of Maxwell High School.Donation was made on behalf of Gene Hamilton

Howard Batchelor

See GCIA Looks To The Future, Page 15

with Chasidy Rae SiskSoutheast 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].


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The Automotive Aftermarket Associa-tion Southeast (AAAS) came out infull support of the “Be Car CareAware” program in October, support-ing several members who chose tohost events. According to AAAS Pres-ident Randal Ward, “this program is awin-win proposition. As an environ-

mentally conscious industry, we pro-mote vehicle maintenance, plus thispublic service provides a positive

image of our industry. AAAS has sup-ported the program for about tenyears, since we first heard about it,and we have budgeted funds to sup-port any of our members who are will-ing to host an event.”

“Be Car Care Aware” is a con-sumer-focused education programwhich teaches the benefits of regularmaintenance checks and simple serv-

ices which can reduce thecost of owning and operat-ing a vehicle. They alsoemphasize the safety-re-lated significance of ensur-ing vehicles are equippedwith properly functioninglights and windshieldwipers.AAAS supported Doug

and Lisa Enfinger, AAASmembers and owners ofDothan Auto Specialistswhich is located at 1425Hartford Highway, DothanAL, when they hosted a“Be Car Care Aware” event

on October 5. The Enfingers held theevent at the neighborhood grocerystore, right around the corner from their

business. According to Mrs. Enfinger,they inspected around 40 vehicles, in-cluding oil, batteries and windshieldwipers amongst the many other main-tenance checks performed through theprogram. For example, the tire pressureon each vehicle waschecked, and the Enfingersadded air as needed as partof their demonstration forthe vehicles’ owners. Sheclaims, “it went really well.We appeared on two localmorning shows, a radiostation, several websitesand social networks, all ofwhich helped us promotethe event.”

Enfinger notes thatseveral suppliers forDothan Auto Specialistswere also present, in-cluding Interstate Battery, EagleTowing and Advance Auto Partswho sponsored door prizes. Sincethe event, “we’ve had some cus-tomers come in to express their ap-preciation for learning aboutmaintaining their cars.” Enfingerpraises AAAS for their role in the

event; “AAAS was really support-ive. The program is already set up,but they provided marketing mate-rials and some funds to buy suppliesfood for attendees.”

On October 26, Calderon Auto-

motive Repair, with the support ofAAAS, hosted a “Be Car Care Aware”event at their facility, located at 580115th Ave S, Orlando FL. Calderon Au-tomotive Repair is a full-service pre-ventative maintenance and auto repaircenter owned by Julio Calderon, ahighly skilled auto repair technician


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AAAS Supports Be Car Care Aware Events in the Southeast

Julio Calderon, Nancy Calderon and George Ehrhardt

Julio Calderon Promotes Be Car Care Aware

GCIA is comprised of a groupof collision repair professionals, andas such, their members understandthat they can never have too muchinformation about operating theirbusinesses and the industry as awhole. They recognize that this pro-fession requires a high level of ex-pertise and knowledge to performtheir daily duties, especially withthe recent and continuous advance-ments in technology, so the associa-tion strives to keep their membersinformed about the collision repairindustry in GA and beyond. They re-alize that in this rapidly changing in-dustry, there are two choices: getinvolved and turn a blind eye; GCIAmembers choose to get involved and

try to make a difference in their in-dustry. This desire to impact the fu-ture of the industry is also evidencedby the fact that GCIA is an affiliatechapter of the Society for CollisionRepair Specialists (SCRS).

This affiliation also allows GCIAto offer access to ALLDATA throughSCRS as a benefit of membership.Another benefit is the association’swillingness to distribute Power of At-torney and Assignment of Proceedsdocumentation for their members’ usein their businesses, plus they offer aplethora of training videos and docu-ments on their website.

Georgia Collision IndustryAssociation (GCIA)PO Box 1252Cumming, GA 30028770-367-9816www.gcia.org

for 13 years, and his wife, Nancy;they have operated the shop for thepast six years.

During the event, Calderon in-spected ten vehicles, offering eachowner a detailed explanation of theirindividual inspection. Each inspec-tion consisted of 40 items, includinglights, tires, battery, lubricants, belts,hoses and other items under the hood.A local church sponsored a car washand provided free food to attendees,contributing greatly to the overallsuccess of the event, according toGeorge Ehrhard, AAAS FL Opera-tions Director.

Representatives of AAAS, in-cluding Ehrhard, were present andsupplied various resources, such asmarketing and promotional materials,to assist with the event. AAAS alsosupported a “Be Car Care Aware”event this month at Reed Car Care inGulfport, FL.



GCIA Looks To The FutureInsurance giant USAA will add as manyas 1,215 new jobs in HillsboroughCounty by 2019, one of the area’s biggestjobs announcements in years. The TampaTribune reports that to accommodate itsexpansion, USAA initially will lease50,000 square feet inside the LakeviewCenter office in east Tampa. It will laterbuild a 420,000-square-foot building atthe Crosstown Center in Brandon by2015. Rick Homans, chief executive of-ficer of the Tampa Hillsborough Eco-nomic Development Corp., says theUSAA expansion will have a huge eco-nomic impact on the area.

USAA Will Add Up to 1,215 NewJobs in Hillsborough Cty, FL

A weakened texting bill made it tothe FL governor’s desk in the 2013session, getting his signature. Thenew law doesn’t allow police topull over people they see textingwhile driving, opting instead to

have the offense tacked on to othermoving violations. The law alsodoesn’t allow police to searchphone records if they suspect tex-ting, unless there was death or seri-ous injury involved.

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Ten information technology employeesof Advance Auto Parts learned that theirpositions in are being eliminated. ShellyWhitaker, a spokeswoman for theRoanoke-based public company, saidthe employees “will remain with thecompany through close to the end of theyear.” They then will receive severancepackages and help with job hunting andwill have an option to apply for open-ings at the company. The company saidit periodically reviews its approach to ITservices to improve the efficiency andquality of service, and that such a reviewled to eliminating the 10 positions.

Advance Auto Parts CuttingTen Positions in Roanoke, VA

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“That was then. Today it’s parts.Tomorrow it’s paint materials. Whathappens the day after?” Oklahomashop owner Gary Wano responded.“If we don’t stop the mandates atsome point in time, what are wedoing?”

Janet Chaney, who serves as theexecutive director of several statebody shop associations, said it clearlycomes down to the role parts play in ashop’s profit.

“How many times have we beentold what to do and we’ve agreed to itand it’s turned on us,” she said, draw-ing applause.

Tony Passwater, executive di-rector of the Indiana Auto Body Asso-ciation, said he was struck by howoften insurer specific mandates areabout business processes, like partsordering, that really have no benefitfor customers, rather than on thingslike equipment, training and certifica-tions that affect the repair quality acustomer receives.

Scott Biggs of Assured Perform-ance Network said that when the fed-eral government sets fuel-economystandards for new vehicles, it doesn’ttell the automakers how they have togo about meeting those goals.

“If an insurer said we can’t sitidly by and let you continue to orderparts via phone and fax when that’ssuch an incredibly inefficient process,they could say instead, ‘You have touse electronic parts order and pro-curement,” Biggs said. “But theydon’t have to name the exact brand be-cause it kills competition.”

Similarly, Nick Bossinakis ofOverall Parts Solu-tions, which offersa electronic partsordering system,said one of the rea-sons this mandateis frustrating shopsis that they may al-ready be using an

electronic parts procurement systemthat for them works better than Part-sTrader.

“You have (shops or parts ven-dors) that are out there listening todigital music on their iPod, and in-stead are now bringing them an 8-track tape,” Bossinakis offered as ananalogy.

Aaron Schulenburg, executive

director of the Society of CollisionRepair Specialists (SCRS), also notedthat a mandate to use a particular sys-tem can elevate that system aboveother systems that shops find more ef-ficient to use.

“And why is the expectation thatwe as (shops) are forced to embracethings whether or not we believe theyare good for us,” Schulenburg asked.“What I think is a more appropriateexpectation is that the insurance in-dustry embrace open platforms andchoice. In instances where they’vedone that, it’s been more successful.”

John Mosely, owner of one ofthe Mississippi shops suing State

Farm over its Part-sTrader mandate,said he has yet tofind a single shopowner anywherein the country whosays he or shelikes PartsTrader.He said the indus-

try “knows how to adapt and we’renot against parts procurement,” butopposes being required to use a par-ticular system. He addressed his com-ments directly to George Avery ofState Farm (also the chairman ofCIC), who was sitting in the audienceduring the panel discussion.

“George, I’ve had two conversa-tions with you on the phone, and I ap-preciate your sincerity,” Mosely said.“You’ve always been, I feel, very hon-est. But this isn’t working. Is thereanything you can do to please take thisback to your company and tell themthis is just another bad idea out of Illi-nois, kind of like ObamaCare.”

Virginia shop owner Barry Dornalso addressed some of his commentsdirectly to Avery.

“George, your folks need to talkto your partners. I’m one of them,”Dorn said. “You need to explain tothem why, at the end of the day, onestakeholder is taking away from theother two – how that’s fair, how that’sefficient, how that’s right and frankly,George, how that’s not corporategreed. I don’t blame your company orany insurer from wanting to makemore profits. That’s why every one ofus came in this room, for more profit.I get that. But if we are partners, weneed to sit down and talk, and not justmandate to me how it’s going to be.”

Dan Risley, executive director ofthe Automotive Service Association(ASA), said State Farm has not closedthe door to discussions about Part-

sTrader, and that he feels they have“gotten the message.” But, he said, theassociation is also pursuing other av-enues, including asking states if StateFarm’s PartsTrader mandate is legal,and if so, considering legislation tomake it illegal. Risley said, in hisopinion, litigation should be only thelast option because it shuts down com-munication.

“You don’t see PartsTrader upthere,” Risley said, pointing to the panelat CIC. “You don’t see State Farm upthere. It’s for that reason: litigation.”

Indeed, panel moderator RickTuuri said every effort was made toget State Farm and PartsTrader to par-ticipate on the panel.

“The reality is once there’s litiga-tion, everyone that’s involved has atendency to move away from publicdiscussion,” Tuuri said. “People standdown and cannot speak without theirattorney present.”

Consultant and former CICChairman Lou DiLisio was amongthe last to speak during the discussion.He circled back to an earlier commentTuuri had made about how employeescan inadvertently end up wastingcompany time working on somethingwhen the actual goal of the assign-

ment they were given isn’t clear. DiL-isio reiterated that a mandate to use aparticular system may be less effectivethan conveying the big picture andworking together to find the best wayto get there.

“Maybe if these companies thathave a desire to achieve a goal sharedwhat that goal is, collectively we couldcome up with a better solution,” DiLi-sio said, drawing applause at CIC.

John Yoswick, a freelance writerbased in Portland, Oregon, who hasbeen writing about the automotive in-dustry since 1988, is also the editor ofthe weekly CRASH Network (for a free4-week trial subscription, visitwww.CrashNetwork.com). He can becontacted by email at:[email protected].


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Florida chiropractor “Dr. Gary”Kompothecras is suing BloombergNews, Allstate Insurance and threeother defendants on claims of libel,slander and misappropriation oftrade secrets. On Nov. 8, Kompothe-cras, the wealthy owner of 1-800-ASK-GARY, a medical and legalreferral service for auto crash vic-tims, filed a suit in the Sarasota Cir-cuit Court against Bloomberg Newsstemming from an article it pub-lished in 2011.

Citing medical bills provided bypatients, the article questioned whetherKompothecras—a longtime donor tothe Republican party—and his clinicchain, the Physician’s Group, mayhave based expensive treatments on thedepth of patient’s insurance coverage.

The article’s author, David Arm-strong, and two former Physician’sGroup patients are also named in thelawsuit, which alleges they conspiredto slander the chiropractor’s business.

According to the Sarasota Her-ald Tribune , the lawsuit states, “Thecase arose after extortionists threat-

ened Physicians Group and Dr. GaryKompothecras that they would de-stroy their reputations unless theycoughed up $3 million.”

The suit implicates that Allstateand Bloomberg conspired with theextortionists “to publish an outlandishhit piece maliciously asserting defam-atory lies” against the business inorder to close it.

The referral chain has long beensimmering in hot water: in October,Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulationbarred AGIC Inc., an auto insurancecompany owned by Kompothecras,from writing new policies, alleging thatit did not have enough capital to pay forclaims.

State Farm sued 1-800-ASK-GARY in July, stating Kompothecraswas involved in a fraud scheme thatallegedly cost the insurer more than$19 million since 2005.

The referral service called thelawsuit “frivolous and malicious”,and stated that State Farm owed thePhysicans Group payment on morethan a thousand claims.

ASK-GARY Owner Sues Allstate and Bloomberg forSlander, Florida Regulator Barred Insurer Group

Florida is aggressively pursuing in-surance cheats, trying to cut downon fraud in the industry by arrestingmore than 1,500 people so far thisfiscal year. Just a start, according toFlorida Chief Financial Officer JeffAtwater. “I am proud of the signifi-cant progress we are making to getfraudsters out of the pockets of hard-working Floridians, yet the fightagainst fraud remains an ongoingbattle,” Atwater said. Hundreds ofconsumers have been arrested onfraud-related charges for actions re-lated to anything from car insuranceclaims to homeowners insurance is-sues. A total of 1,571 were arrestedthrough June 30, up from only 871five years ago. People in the busi-ness—insurance agents—have beenarrested for fraud. Wellington'sLeon Mobley was arrested oncharges that he submitted false in-spection forms to obtain discountedhomeowner's premiums for twoclients, according to Atwater's of-fice. State investigators found thefraudulent paperwork after a cus-tomer complained that Mobley hadsubmitted a false wind mitigationform to her insurance companywithout her knowledge or approval.

FL Insurance Fraud Crack-down Snares Agent

A company that produces auto partsand other industrial materials an-nounced a plan to build a plant innorthern Alabama and create 140 newjobs in its first five years of operation.Muri, Switzerland-based REHAUInc. is planning to open a research anddevelopment facility in Cullman,Gov. Robert Bentley said. The com-pany produces more than 40,000types of products that are used in au-tomotive and other industrial fields.The company, which was founded inGermany, is spending about $2.5 mil-lion on the planned 20,000-square-foot facility, state officials said. Theplant will employ 45 engineers andwill serve as the company’s maintraining and conferencing center forREHAU’s North American divisions.REHAU Inc. recently completed a$119 million expansion in the area,Bentley said. The company employsmore than 700 people in Alabama andhas been operating in CullmanCounty since 1995.

Swiss Auto Parts Maker toBuild Research Center in AL

Advance Auto Parts opened its firststore in Gainesville at 7457 HillwoodDrive. Company officials said theychose the location because it’s con-venient to where their customers liveand shop as well as the garageswhere they take their vehicles for re-pair. The new store offers a widerange of parts and recognized na-tional brands as well as several freeservices. Team members will providefree installation for your new wind-shield wipers and also offer a com-plimentary check of the vehicle’selectrical system and old battery, aswell as provide free installation of anew battery with purchase on mostvehicles. The store offers fast partsdelivery to local commercial cus-tomers such as professional mechan-ics and garages. During regular storehours, customers may drop off usedmotor oil and batteries for recy-cling—ensuring that these materialsdon’t end up in landfills where theycould harm the environment.

Advance Auto Parts Opensin Gainesville, FL

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. announcesits promotion of J.T. Thompson toVice President, Applications Devel-opment. Thompson will be based inRoanoke. He will report to DonnaJustiss, Senior Vice President andChief Information Officer. Justiss

says, JT brings 18 years of diverse ITexperience to the role and has, “aproven track record of delivering re-sults, and his teams have been in-volved in several significant ITprojects that have helped enable ourCompany’s growth.”

Advance Auto Parts Gets New VP Based in Roanoke, VA

CFO Jeff Atwater today announcedthe arrest of Joel Trujillo on chargesof violating a stop work order and athird-degree felony workers’ compen-sation fraud for allegedly failing toprovide adequate coverage to em-ployees of his Naples-based construc-tion company, K.C. Tile and Marble.The fraud was discovered when twoemployees of Trujillo were struck bylightning, killing one, and neither thesurviving employee nor the family ofthe deceased received the appropriateworkers’ compensation benefits.

FL Employer Arrested ForViolating Stop Work Order

MAACO announced its acquisitionof Sprayglo Auto Refinishing andBody Repair’s seven shops locatedin Georgia, Alabama, Mississippiand Florida. Sprayglo, a 27-year-oldcompany, is based in Hahira, GA.MAACO franchisee Mulford Wal-drop will purchase five of the exist-ing Sprayglo shops—two in Georgia(Atlanta and Leesburg); one inFlorida (Fort Walton Beach); one inAlabama (Saraland); and one inMississippi (Gulfport).

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Perhaps one of the most symbolic in-dications of the many transitions theInternational Autobody Congress andExposition (NACE) continues to gothough was the event’s 2013 keynoteaddress speaker, Mike Anderson.

Without the 30,000 attendees theshow enjoyed throughout the 1990s, or-ganizers couldn’t bring in the big-namepolitical and celebrity speakers of thepast, which have included George H.

W. Bush, Norman Schwarzkopf andColin Powell. But Anderson, a formershop owner and now one of the mostpopular industry trainers, speakers andconsultants in the country, instead of-fered the more than 500 attendees atthe NACE opening session in LasVegas a more personal, industry-fo-cused message that received a stand-ing ovation.

“We had the celebrities who repre-

sent our industry,” Dan Risley, execu-tive director of theAutomotive Serv-ice Association(which sponsorsNACE) earlier thisyear, said of Ander-son and the speakerat the show’s si-multaneous open-

ing session for the mechanical industry.

“That’s what this show is supposed tobe about. It’s a show for the industry,about the industry. Mike is among the‘rockstars’ of our industry. That’s whoattendees want to hear from. That waswell-received.”

The more casual, less glitzy open-ing session was emblematic of a showthat attracted fewer than the 2012 an-nounced attendance of 16,000. Risleyand event organizers refreshingly


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Industry Insightwith John Yoswick

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

NACE Organizers Promise Big Changes for 2014From the opening session ofNACE 2013 through the closingpress conference, speakers andorganizers voiced a “Wait ’tilnext year” message.

Indeed, the show will un-dergo some dramatic changesnext year, as the AutomotiveService Association (ASA)works to regain some of the lus-

ter NACE has lost over the pastdecade.

NACE next year will shift tosummer in Detroit, Michigan,home (at least symbolically) tothe United States’ Big Three au-tomakers. The OEMs will play apivotal part in the “rebirth ofNACE,” ASA’s Dan Risley prom-ised at NACE this year, with

more of the car companies ex-hibiting at the event and hostingfactory tours.

Also helping draw atten-dees, Risley said, will be theCollision Industry Conference(CIC) and I-CAR annual confer-ence, being held the two daysprior to NACE in the same loca-tion.

“We think that’s a win forthe industry,” Risley said. “Oneof the things ASA did a coupleyears ago was a split from somethings. It caused a divide in theindustry. It hurt us. It hurt theshow. We recognize that. Sowe’re going in the opposite di-rection and doing everything wecan to promote industry unity.

We think it’s best for the industryand for the show as well.”

Though Detroit’s popula-tion and financial stability havesuffered over the past severaldecades—the city filed bank-ruptcy earlier this year—NACEorganizers said the downtownconvention center has been re-furbished and a headquarters

Dan Risley

stitution. But the appeals court con-tended that those seeking to block en-forcement of the law had not shownthey were actually being harmed by it.

“Without showing of an actualdenial of access to courts... theprovider plaintiffs lack standing to as-sert this claim,” states the unsignedopinion.

The ruling, however, does notend the ongoing lawsuit challengingthe new law.

Florida legislators passed thestate’s original no-fault insurancelaw—better known as Personal InjuryProtection —in the early 1970s to en-sure that anyone hurt in an automobilewreck could obtain medical treatmentwithout delay, while waiting for a caseto be resolved.

The law provides that a driver’sinsurance company pay up to $10,000to cover medical bills and lost wagesafter an accident, no matter who’s atfault. All Florida drivers are requiredto carry PIP insurance.

Over the years, however, author-ities have voiced concern that Florida

has become a leading state for stagedaccidents, especially in the Tampa andMiami-Dade metropolitan areas, bythose intent on filing bogus PIPclaims.

Last year, Gov. Rick Scottmadean overhaul bill (HB 119) a corner-stone of his legislative agenda, say-ing it would help prevent millions ofdollars in PIP fraud. Acupuncturepractitioners, massage therapists andchiropractors—angry at being cut outof PIP payments—eventually filedsuit.

The changes also limited cover-age for medical treatment to $2,500 ifan injured person could not show anemergency medical condition.

A trade organization that repre-sents insurers praised the decisionby the appeals court. Insurers havecontended the changes in the lawwill save drivers money, althoughsome legislators have complainedthat promised savings have not ma-terialized.

“Today’s ruling is a great victoryfor consumers and allows insurers tocarry out these badly needed reforms,”said Michael Carlson, executive di-rector of the Personal Insurance Fed-eration of Florida.


No-Fault Reinstated

made no effort to try portray NACE assomething it wasn’t, saying it mettheir modest expectations given it wasbeing held just three weeks beforeSEMA, also in Las Vegas. With 170exhibiting companies, the trade showwas down more than 25 percent fromthe previous year, and was the small-est since 1985.

Rather, organizers sought to takeadvantage of some of the opportunitiesthe smaller scale of the event allowed.The annual ‘welcome party,’ for ex-ample, took place on the tradeshowfloor as the first day concluded, and a“mainstage” in the exhibition hall of-fered a dozen free seminars over thetwo days, also helping to keep atten-

dees in the tradeshow itself.And perhaps more than any other

year, NACE speakers and organizersplaced a lot of emphasis on setting thestage for the even more significantoverhauling of the event next year(see sidebar).

Anderson’s kick-off speech in-cluded many anec-dotes and lessonsfrom his travelsaround the indus-try since he soldhis two shops in2010; this year hewill spend morethan 340 days on

the road, offering training sessions or

consulting in 48 of the 50 U.S. states.He said that’s helped him realize hewas wrong in the past to judge shopslargely on whether they participate ininsurer direct repair programs (DRPs).

“I’ve learned instead to judgepeople by the quality of the work theydo,” Anderson said. “If you’re a DRPand you do quality work, I say Godbless you. If you’re a non-DRP and doquality work, I say God bless you. Irealized I was too judgmental. I real-ized at the end of the day we all havea vested interest in judging peoplebased only on whether they do aproper repair.”

He said too often issues other thanquality repairs get too much focus in

the industry. He asked how many shopin the room had repaired a late-modelToyota, Honda or Hyundai recently,and hundreds of hands went up. Butwhen he asked how many had per-formed a zero-point calibration onthose vehicles – as the automaker re-pair procedures call for – only a fewhands went up.

“If we don’t do this, I don’t care ifyou’re a DRP or non-DRP, we failedthe consumer who trusted us,” Ander-son said.

He said a study following the1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disas-ter found that a culture at NASA of“relaxing safety standards to meet fi-


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hotel with attractive room ratesis just a block away. More sothan in Las Vegas and New Or-leans (the site of NACE in 2012),there is a large population ofshops within an easy drive ofDetroit, show organizers pointedout, and the event has neverbeen held in that part of thecountry.

ASA has hired a new com-pany to manage the show, replac-ing Hanley Wood after nearly twodecades. It is also abandoning theASRW “Automotive Service andRepair Week” moniker that nevertruly caught on.

“It needed to go,” Risleysaid. “Stated differently, NACEand CARS (the mechanical in-

dustry show held with NACE)have brand equity. We want toutilize that. NACE and CARSmean something to people.”

Risley hinted at ancillaryevents, like the automaker fac-tory tours, that might be open toattendees during NACE 2014,potentially including Yankees vs.Tigers baseball games, the

Henry Ford museum, the GeneralMotors Heritage Center, BASF’sheadquarters, and tunnel accessto the casinos and other attrac-tions of Windsor, Ontario.

“We want to make theshow a different experience,”Risley said. “When you go toSEMA, that’s a different experi-ence. There’s lots of glitz and

glamour. It’s fun. It’s a greatshow. I like to go to it personally.But I want our show to be differ-ent from an attendee perspec-tive. When we go to Detroit,we’re going to give you that.We’re going to give you some-thing in Detroit that you will notbe able to get anywhere else inthis country.”

See Scale-down NACE, Page 27

Mike Anderson

I knew this one shop owner who wasobsessed with the new. He wanted tobe out in front of other shops in everyway possible: superior equipment, bet-ter trained personnel, and of course, in-novative marketing. He was alwaystrying new things with his marketingbut this got him into some serious trou-ble. While he was concentrating on thenew, another shop grabbed one of hisDRPs, and another one replaced hisposition as authorized repair shop for amajor dealership. With his intensefocus on the new, he forgot about whatI would call, “maintenance market-ing.”

No one likes to be taken forgranted—especially high volumesources of business for a shop. Thisshop owner assumed his rapid cycletime, his use of used and aftermarketparts, and his always giving priority tothe DRP vehicles would be enough tohold on to that DRP forever. Any re-cently divorced husband or wife couldhave told him this was a faulty as-sumption. One might provide a goodhome, high quality food and clothesand abundant money to a spouse andyet lose that relationship due to a lackof real attention. This shop ownermight have saved that DRP withsomething as simple as an occasionalcall and very personal lunch with theDRP decision-maker. The dealershipdecision-maker would probably haverequired more elaborate contacts andmore frequent communication. Sadlyhe neglected both of them at a signif-icant cost to his shop.

As important as it is to maintainclose relations with referral sources

like insurance companies and autodealerships, perhaps the most im-portant source of business to keep incontact with is prior customers. Astimes have changed this has becomea trickier business. Young customerswill generally be in touch with theInternet, Facebook, Twitter andother social media sites. This pro-vides an obvious way to stay intouch and pass along shop improve-ments in equipment, technology,personnel training, and elements ofspecific interest like color matching.Older customers may now be con-versant with the Internet and web-sites but possibly less so with socialmedia. This could make updatingthese customers a bit more difficult.But he bigger question is, how arethe shop marketing people to knowwhich customers fit into the youngor older category without specifi-cally asking customer age on the in-formation form?

Old customer info forms gener-ally asked for birthdays and anniver-saries to send targeted greetings.Newer forms probably also ask for ane-mail address, but how many nowask for Facebook, Twitter and othersocial media designations? These infoforms are often neglected in shops al-ready, but in this new high-tech agesuch neglect can be a costly market-ing and sales omission. Insurancecompanies are frequently combiningand consolidating, sometimes forcingcustomers to change companies. Withsteering still going on, either directlyor indirectly, a shop has to counteractinsurance company efforts to force old

customers to go to the new company’spreferred shop.

A shop’s best hope for retainingthese customers is a steady stream ofinformation about the shop’s superiorability to deal with the rapid changesin vehicles. Promoting the shop’s abil-ity to handle electric and hybrid vehi-cles, vehicles constructed with lighterweight materials like plastics, alu-minum, magnesium, and other specialmetals can reassure the customer thatthis continues to be the best shop tocome to. This message can easily begotten out through the website and so-cial media, but those off that track canstill require old methods of communi-cation. With the cost of postagestamps continually rising, direct mailcan be costly. E-mail is by far the bestif a shop can be sure its message does-n’t wind up in a spam file. For theshop’s best old customers, it would beappropriate to make a phone call peri-odically if only to ask the customer to

check his or her e-mail for the latestupdate, and of course to ask about thecondition of the customer’s vehicles..

In yesterday’s world, a shopcould employ a marketing guy or galto make the rounds and keep in touchwith referral sources and customers.Today’s world calls for a marketingperson with intimate knowledge of so-cial media and especially effective e-mail management. E-mail trackingcan tell whether or not a specific e-mail has been received and opened.Today’s astute on-line marketing pro-fessional should note if some of thosemessages have not made it to the re-cipient and tag those for a phone call.A lack of adequate attention destroysmany kinds of relationships. For mostshops, referral sources and prior cus-tomers are the gold that keeps thingsrunning and maintaining an ongoingmarketing effort to keep them happyshould be the shop’s top marketingpriority.


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On Creative Marketingwith Thomas Franklin

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

BLS Says Total Collision Industry Productionis Up in June After Declining in April-MayAccording to the latest data releasedfrom the U.S. Department of LaborBureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), thetotal production picture for the autobody repair industry improved in Au-gust, building upon gains since Juneafter experiencing declines in bothApril and May.

The industry’s total production,which is defined as the total averageweekly hours by month multiplied bythe total number of production andnon-supervisory workers employed

each month, closed August, 2013 at6.66 million man hours, up from 6.59million man hours in June.

Production hours in August 2013stood at 0.4 percent above August2012. The growth in production camechiefly from an increase in productionand non-supervisory employees, up600 in August to 173,900. The averageweekly hours worked by productionand non-supervisory employees de-clined to 38.3 hours in August from38.4 hours in July.

by Ed Attanasio

It was déjà vu all over again whenChip Foose and WD-40® partnered atthe 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegasone more time to raise money for char-ity while creating an incredible one-of-a-kind custom built vehicle. This year,the WD-40/Foose collaboration cre-ated an astonishing off-road truck thatwill eventually be raffled off to onelucky winner, with proceeds benefit-ting three SEMA Cares charities.

Named the WD-40®/SEMA CaresFoose Ford F-150, this truck was thevery first vehicle to be built inside thenew state-of-the-art SEMA Garage—a facility that allows SEMA membercompanies to test and prototype parts,try its 3D modeling and printing, anduse its full-scale photo studio, amongother things.

“The SEMA Garage is consideredto be the most advanced shop of its typein the world,” WD-40® spokespersonGreg Kershaw explained. “Through apartnership with the Alex Xydias Centerfor Automotive Arts (AXC), underpriv-ileged teens and young adults were ableto work alongside leading SEMA man-

ufacturers to install parts and equipmenton this special project vehicle. This wasan amazing unique learning experiencefor these young people and surely some-thing they will never forget.”

This is the sixth vehicle WD-40®Company and SEMA Cares have

teamed up to build and the fourth ve-hicle Chip Foose has designed withthem. To date, WD-40®/SEMA Caresvehicles have raised almost $600,000for SEMA Cares charities.

Equipped with high performanceaftermarket parts, the WD-40®/Foosetruck is a tribute to off-roaders all overthe world; passionate truck enthusiastsand aftermarket companies who havecalled upon WD-40® Company prod-

ucts for six decades. Kershaw said thetruck must have involved over 200people and close to 50 different com-panies to create the WD-40®/SEMACares Foose Ford F-150 truck.

“So many companies and indi-viduals stepped up to make this truckhappen,” Kershaw said. “To see all ofthese elite companies coming togetherfor a really worthy cause is prettyamazing. Everyone added their touchand their flavor to the finished prod-uct and what we have now is unlikeanything else. It truly is one-of-a-kindand the person who wins it will have apiece of art on four wheels.”

Instead of being auctioned likeprevious WD-40®/SEMA Cares vehi-cles, the enhanced 2013 Ford F-150Lariat will be raffled off to one luckywinner in early May 2014. With raffletickets only costing $50 starting onNov. 1, owning a Foose-inspired truckis now more accessible than ever to allautomotive enthusiasts.

“Can you imagine winning a one-off vehicle like this—worth more than$80,000 with all parts and labor—foronly $50?” said Chip Foose, presidentand CEO of Foose Design. “By pur-

chasing raffle tickets, you’re also sup-porting a great cause.”

Proceeds from the raffled vehiclewill benefit three SEMA Cares chari-ties—the SEMA Memorial Scholar-ship Fund, which is dedicated tofostering the next generation of auto-motive leaders and innovators; Child-help®, an organization that providesservices to abused and neglected chil-dren; and Victory Junction, an organ-ization that provides life-changingcamping experiences to special needsand chronically ill children.

Theresa Contreras is a painter/re-builder for L&G Enterprises in SanDimas, CA and once again she playedan integral role in the build. She hasbeen building vehicles for SEMA formore than a decade and was pleasedto be a part of this build.

“When it all comes together likethis, it’s a win-win for the sponsor, thecharities and all of the companies thatcontribute,” Contreras said. “It’s morethan just the truck—it’s about peoplehelping each other and working to-gether to make this a better world anda better industry.”

The custom vehicle was painted


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WD-40 and Chip Foose Keep Truckin’ at 2013 SEMA Show

Chip Foose once again partnered with WD-40®

to build this breathtaking one-of-a-kind truck

Ryan Friedlinghaus and the team atWest Coast Customs unveiled thesweet 16 dream car for Friedling-haus’ son ‘Lil Ryan’ at the BASFbooth during the 2013 SEMA Show.Lil Ryan has grown up in the WestCoast Customs shop and has seen hisfather transform ordinary vehiclesinto extraordinary works of art.

The Scion FR-S features a cus-tom paint blend of BASF R-M OnyxHD Low VOC Productive Systemspaint called “WCC Whitegold”; a2.0 4-Cyl Boxer DOHC 16V 200Hp;

a 6-speed sequential automatic trans-mission with paddle shifters; TEINsuspension; 5 piece Five-AD AeroLip Kit; custom Roadwire and Ul-trasuede interior; and Giovannawheels wrapped in Continental tires.This Scion will send Lil Ryan ontothe LA streets in West Coast Cus-toms style. BASF hosted variouscelebrity autograph sessions and pre-sented the latest in car color technol-ogy from its Glasurit, R-M andCarizzma Colors paint lines at itsSEMA booth.

Friedlinghaus Unveils Son’s 2013 Scion FR-S Dream Car

nancial and time constraints” set thestage for that failure.

“If we continue to let certainthings dictate our industry, we’regoing to have a catastrophe like theSpace Shuttle Challenger,” Andersonsaid.

In some ways, he said, insurerpressures to improve cycle time haveforced the industry to be better busi-ness people, whether or not that wasthe intention.

“But if we keep focusing oncycle time and…severity becausewe’re afraid about the costs being toohigh, if we start focusing on thewrong things, we’re going to have acatastrophic event just like NASAdid,” Anderson said.

with BASF Onyx HD paint by LGE-CTS Motorsports and features aWhipple supercharger, Gale BanksStraight-Shot performance system andMagnaflow cat-back exhaust systemthat give its 6.2L V8 more than 600horsepower. To make it off-roadready, the truck also features a con-verted front Raptor suspension with

ICON Vehicle Dynamics 3.0 coiloversand upper uniball billet arms, as wellas ICON rear triple bypass shockswith Atlas 3.0+ leaf springs. Outfit-ted with Baja Forged front and rearbumpers by LGE-CTS Motorsports, acustom bed cage, Bulldog LED light-

ing and a WARN winch, the customFord F-150 also has a Boatec Raptorfiberglass hood, fenders and bedsides.AMP Research supplied and installedpower running boards, bedsteps and atailgate extender to make it easy to getin and enjoy the plush Katzkin leatherinterior and top-of-the-line Clarionsound system installed by Audio In-

novations.To top it off, the customtruck is riding on Falken Wild PeakA/T 37x12.5R17 tires wrappedaround 17” x 9” MHT Fuel Maverickwheels in a matte Graphite finish.

“We’re celebrating WD-40®Company’s 60th anniversary, and it’s

great to see the next generation of au-tomotive professionals and enthusiastsgetting excited about working on a ve-hicle that’ll bothturn heads and helpsupport a wonderful cause,” said TimLesmeister, vice president of market-ing for WD-40® Company. “This vehi-cle—any off-roader’s dream—wouldnot have been possible without the vi-sion of Chip Foose and his team, thehard work of the Alex Xydias Centerstudents, and the time and resources ofour generous build partners.”

Partners on the WD-40®/SEMACares Foose Ford F-150 include:Foose Design, Source InterlinkMedia, LGE*CTS Motorsports,Whipple Superchargers, Icon VehicleDynamics, MHT Wheels, Boatec,Magnaflow, BASF, Katzkin, AudioInnovations, Amp Research, Fuel-Tool, Bulldog LED Lighting, BanksPower, HushMat, Mag-Hytec, WarnIndustries, Optima Batteries, FalkenTire, PowerBass, Atlas Spring, Clar-ion and Metra Electronics.

To learn more about the build andhow Chip Foose uses WD-40 Multi-UseProduct and the new WD-40 Specialist®line of products, visit WD40.com/Foose.

To learn more about the raffle,visit WD40.com/TruckRaffle.


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The WD-40®/SEMA Cares Foose Ford F-150 was built by 200 people and more than 50 companiesdonated products and time


Scaled-down NACE

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20 years ago in the collision repairindustry (December 1993)A NACE “Town Hall” meeting on De-cember 4 brought together a panel of14 industry experts. They each offeredtheir own views on how the re-engi-neering of the industry will or shouldtake place. The forces behind the drivefor change, they agreed, are consumers,information technology, legislation andperhaps most importantly, the ineffi-ciencies of the current system.

“If we can eliminate all the delaysin the repair process based on insuranceapproval, that would streamline theprocess tremendously,” Dennis Kiy-ohara of AutocheX said. “You don’tneed DRPs to streamline the process.You can get all those things you want –hassle-free service, faster repairs –without doing direct repair. The tech-nology is the driving force. I think wehave to get (insurers) to say, ‘Here’swhat we want and here’s how wemeasure.’ Mutually create the perform-ance standards and trust will followperformance.”

—From coverage of the 1993 In-ternational Autobody Congress andExposition (NACE).

15 years ago in the collision repairindustry (December 1998)The effort to develop a new method tocalculate refinish materials appears tobe losing steam. The Collision Indus-try Conference (CIC) task force thatbegan to look into the issue about ayear ago reported in December that ithas done as much as it can do. CharlieBaker, chairman of the task force, saidthe group has essentially agreed that asystem based on the square footage ofthe area to be refinished looks promis-ing, but that it is now up to others to de-termine if a square-footage system isworkable.

“The problem is that moving fromthis point forward is a very expensiveproposition,” Baker said at the CICmeeting in Dallas, Texas. “The taskforce is not going to spend thousandsof dollars to generate the computermodel that might be necessary. As atask force we’ve come about as far aswe can go. Now somebody has to say,‘Okay, the industry really wants this.’”

Baker also said he has found in-

creased resistance to a change amongshop owners.

“Many shops today feel the exist-ing system is flawed, but it is work-able,” he said. “So there’s a pretty goodhesitancy within the industry to changefrom a proven system. Those who haveworked with today’s system have fig-ured out how they can be accurately re-imbursed, and they tend not to belooking too hard for an alternativemethod.”

At least one shop owner on thetask force agreed with Baker’s assess-ment.

“I was one of the proponents offinding a better way to calculate paintmaterials,” Kansas City shop owner

Bill Eveland said.“A year later, I’mnot sure that theold system is com-pletely broken. Ifyou put the rightnumber to it, theright rate per refin-ish hour, it works.”

Eveland said the estimating sys-tem providers say their refinish currenttimes are based in part on part size, sothe system, though not perfect, is al-ready somewhat based on squarefootage.

—Paint and materials calculationmethodology has remained an industryissue, being discussed most recently ata CIC meeting earlier this year.

10 years ago in the collision repairindustry (December 2003)Dan Risley, executive director of theSociety of Collision Repair Specialists(SCRS), said the association opposesefforts by insurers to require direct re-pair shops to use a particular estimat-ing or imaging system. He said SCRSsurveyed 15 larger insurance compa-nies and found that 46 percent had sucha requirement.

“SCRS is extremely disappointedin these results, and we’d like to seesome significant change in that per-centage over the next year,” Risleysaid, saying the association will be con-tacting insurers about this issue.“SCRS believes that requiring a repairfacility to have a specific estimatingsystem is no longer a technology chal-

lenge; it is more of a mind-set change.”—As reported in CRASH Net-

work (www.CrashNetwork.com), De-cember 7, 2003. SCRS this pastSeptember, as part of its effort to op-pose State Farm’s mandated use ofPartsTrader, issued a new positionstatement, condemning insurer man-dates, “particularly those that specifyrequired vendors, business platforms orinternal processes that must be fol-lowed.”

5 years ago in the collision repairindustry (December 2008)As of press time, one of the biggernews stories of 2008, a proposedmerger (announced last April) betweenMitchell International and CCC Infor-mation Services, had yet to be final-ized. The primary hold-up has beenapproval of the deal by the FederalTrade Commission (FTC), which lastsummer issued a second request for in-formation from the parties involved.

Art Amolsch, senior editor of theindependent FTC: Watch newsletter,said such second requests are fairly in-frequent and likely an indication thatthe agency has some concerns aboutthe merger.

A number of shop owners and oth-ers in the industry have said off-the-record that they’ve been interviewed orhave submitted written comment to theFTC. Some expressed concern, for ex-ample, about possible declines in theresponsiveness to industry requests—such as those through the Database En-hancement Gateway—that could resultif the industry has just two major esti-mating systems (the other being Auda-tex).

As of this point, it appears the nextheadline about the merger— whateverit may be—is likely to be in 2009.

—As reported in Autobody News.In March of 2009, CCC and Mitchellmutually called off the merger planafter the FTC won a preliminary in-


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December Retrospective: NACE Town Hall, CIC, SCRS, FTC

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].

Bill Eveland

junction to halt it. “We brought thiscase because of the impressive body ofevidence developed by staff demon-strating that the combination of thesetwo competitors would substantiallylessen competition, ultimately leadingto higher prices and less innovation forconsumers,” David Wales of the FTCsaid. CCC and Mitchell opted not tocommit resources to a protracted FTCfight. “We have reached the point inthe regulatory process in which ourcustomers, employees and sharehold-ers are best served by continuing as in-dependent companies,” Alex Sun,president and CEO of Mitchell, said.

The Chrysler brand awarded the win-ner of its Chrysler Custom Challengeat the SEMA Show yesterday, Nov. 6.During a live streaming of the event onthe auto show floor, three judges,Chrysler Brand President and CEO

Saad Chehab, Chrysler Brand Serv-ice, Parts and Customer Care Presidentand CEO Pietro Gorlier and WestCoast Customs Owner and CEO RyanFriedlinghaus, named Oriana Schoo-ley as the winner.

The Chrysler Custom Challengecharged fans to submit an image oftheir customized Chrysler brand vehi-cle along with a brief description ofwhat customizations they have givento their vehicle to make it unique.Their vehicles are also being featuredon the SEMA showroom floor within

the West Coast Customs display.Video can be viewed at:youtu.be/V_9LUM87iXM.

“The Chrysler Custom Challengeprovided Chrysler car enthusiasts achance to creatively express theirskills and passion for customization,”said Chehab. “And SEMA’s showfloor provided us with the perfectstage to announce the winners andhave their vehicles recognized anddisplayed at the show and online.”

The three finalists and their vehi-cles were invited to Las Vegas for apaid-trip of seven days, six nights,where they will be given full access tothe show, work alongside the WestCoast Customs team and enjoy an in-timate dinner with Chrysler execu-tives and West Coast Customs. As partof the grand prize, Oriana Schooleywill receive a trip to the North Amer-ican International Auto Show, a lux-ury travel package for herself and aguest and more than $15,000 in othercash/prizes.

Ryan Friedlinghaus is also set tofeature the winner and finalists in anupcoming episode of the “West CoastCustoms” television series (FOX) that

will be filmed on-site at SEMA. Moreinformation about the finalists andphotos of their cars can be found bylooking up Chrysler Custom Chal-lenge in Facebook.

The Chrysler brand’s activationsite at SEMA included a special part-nership with West Coast Customs,which spotlights both as ambassadorsof customization. Being provided toattendees as part of this unique part-nership are on-site customization

classes at the SEMA show, such as ex-terior paint and vinyl wrapping, inte-riors, sound, technology and lightingclasses—just one more way of help-ing enthusiasts sharpen their skillsabout the latest methods and acces-sories available.


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The China Automotive Maintenance andRepair Trade Association (CAMRA)will be holding its 31st annual collisionindustry trade show in Feb. 2014 and isinviting international collision profes-sionals to attend. Running from Feb. 26to Mar. 1, 2014, the Auto Maintenanceand Repair (AMR) trade show consistsof nearly 1,200 exhibitors and 58,000visitors annually, with vendors and con-sumers having the opportunity to inter-act with national product manufacturers,car dealers, repair shops and repairers.

China’s 31st Collision IndustryShow to be Held in February ‘14

Winner of Chrysler Custom Challenge at SEMA Show is Oriana Schooley

Chrysler Custom Challenge Winner

VeriFacts Automotive announced thewinner of its inaugural Dale DelmegeAward, a segment of its Achievementin Collision Repair Excellence (ACE)Awards, on Nov. 6 at CIC in Las Vegas.Dale Delmege spoke briefly and pre-

sented the award to Paul Krauss,owner of Craftsman Auto Body ofChantilly, based in Sterling, VA. Crafts-man is a a third generation, family-owned collision repairer with multiplelocations across Virginia.

In presenting the award, Delmegesaid, “I have known Paul Krauss formany years and have always known thecommitment to excellence he has in-stilled in his people,” said Delmege.“The fact that Craftsman Auto Body

continues to grow and maintains theirlevel of performance speaks directly tothe leadership shown by the entire op-eration.”

The Dale Delmege Award recog-nizes the significant and lasting contribu-

tions of Dale Delmege throughouteach segment of the collision repairindustry, and will recognize a colli-sion repair center consistently pro-ducing and delivering verifiedrepair quality.

“I know of few people ascommitted to, and influential in,their pursuit of the long term bet-terment of our industry than DaleDelmege,” said Farzam Afshar,CEO of VeriFacts.

“I am pleased to be able torecognize the scale of Dale’s con-tributions over the years by nam-

ing our ACE Award for the exceptionalcollision repair center the Dale DelmegeAward.”

Dale Delmege has been CollisionIndustry Conference Chairman 1999–2000, and a Lifetime Member (since2001) of the Society of Collision RepairSpecialists (SCRS). He is a Hall of Ea-gles member and a National Auto BodyCouncil Founding Member and Direc-tor, as well as a CIECA Founding Mem-ber, Director, and Chairman.

VeriFacts Automotive Institutes ‘Dale Delmege Award’ atCIC, Winner is Paul Krauss of Craftsman Auto Body in VA

Dale Delmege presents his eponymous award toPaul Krauss (r) CEO/President of Craftsman AutoBody of Chantilly, based in Sterling, VA


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Neil Young has launched asecond career as an alterna-tive fuel activist. Now he’sput his fame to work ad-dressing media with a GreenPerformance Keynote atSEMA which featured hisunique and still evolvingLincVolt, a 1959 LincolnContinental convertiblepowered by the UQM Pow-erPhase motor and controllersystem. The 59 Mark IV isan E85-burning plug-in hybrid. Thetechnology under the giant hood is sim-ilar in concept to that in the ChevroletVolt, an extended-range electric vehicle,but with a few significant differences.

A self-confessed lover of bigcars, Young explained that his proto-

type was designed to show that youcan still be enviromentally consciousand reduce CO2 emissions while youenjoy classic car comforts. Speakingwithout notes, which he disdains,Young described his LincVolt as thefastest comparable car in its weight

class, although he declinedto say how fast or howmuch it cost.

The LincVolt made itsdebut at SEMA in 2010and, as Young has saidsince, it’s designed “to in-spire a generation by creat-ing a clean automobilepropulsion technology thatserves the needs of the 21stcentury and delivers per-formance that is a reflec-

tion of the driver’s spirit.”The Lincvolt has an E85-capa-

ble Ford Atkinson-cycle four-cylin-der engine that works with anonboard UQM 145-KW generatorto charge the 21.4-kWh batterypack. From a Level 2 wall socket,the pack charges in about six hours,but the cellulosic ethanol in thetank can apparently charge the bat-tery in approximately 60 minuteswhen the Lincvolt is idling. With afull battery, the car has a range of50 miles and, thanks to a fuel econ-omy rating of around 23.5 milesper gallon, the Lincvolt can go thedistance: 400 miles without stop-ping.

“LincVolt focuses on ultra-lowcarbon emissions as value, not mpg,”

says Young.Young took the car on a cross-

country trip in August, traveling

from San Francisco to Washington,DC, with a stop at the tar sands in Ft.McMurray, Alberta, to raise aware-ness about the car, the technologyand the dangers faced if alternativefuels aren’t adopted more widely.

Although he’s proud of hisCanadian heritage, Young ignited afirestorm of controversy after his tripto the tar sands. It was perhaps to beexpected when he was quoted as hav-ing said, “Fort McMurray looks likeHiroshima. Fort McMurray is awasteland.” He talks about his workon the project in last year’s New YorkTimes’ best-selling book, WagingHeavy Peace.

You may not recognize Gene Sim-mons without his KISS make-up buthis truck was a star of the Ford BlueOval’s SEMA stand. Somehow he andhis team managed to combine a 1956F-100 with styling cues and the heartof a Shelby Mustang with a silver-on-silver custom paint job. The Snakebituses the same grille as the Shelby‘Stang at the front but has the tray ofthe F-100 at the back. The Snakebit1956 Ford F-100 is a massive 5.4-literV8 that pumps out an immense 550horsepower. The supercharged V8 ismated to a six-speed manual gearbox.

The wheelbase has been stretched12.7 centimetres, while the box hasbeen widened and dressed with a billet

machined floor to mimic wood. It istopped with a custom tonneau cover.The headlights and sequential tail-lights are custom-built, while 18-inchfront and the 20-inch rear wheels arealso inspired by Shelby Mustangs. Itrides on Shelby-inspired 18-inch frontalloys and 20-inch rear rims.

The project truck is calledSnakebit and it is the brainchild ofTom Foster of Industrial Machine &Manufacturing, a car builder based inSaskatchewan. The truck will be auc-tioned by Barrett-Jackson, and the pro-ceeds will go to fund a children’s hospitalin Saskatoon, Canada, the hometown ofSimmons’ wife Shannon Tweed. That’sher on the left.

Gene Simmons Brings his ‘Snakebit’ to SEMA, Vehicle isto be Auctioned in 2014 to Benefit a Children’s Hospital

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After a non-drivable car gets towed intoyour shop, how long do you generallyhave to wait to get a signed authoriza-tion from the customer to tear-down orbegin work on their vehicle?

Would that customer be more aptto sign the form more quickly if theydidn’t have to come to your shop inorder to do so?

And could getting customer signa-tures more quickly in some cases allowyou to start and finish work more ontheir vehicle more quickly, potentiallyimproving your cycle time and cashflow while reducing rental car costs?

Those are the kind of questions PatBeavers, chief op-erations officer ofthe 11-shop Colli-sionMax chain inthe Philadelphiaarea, hoped to ad-dress through theuse of e-signatures.Anyone who has

bought a piece of real estate or paidtaxes electronically knows that puttingink to paper is no longer always neces-sary for a signature to be consideredvalid and legal.

“We’ve used it successfully over600,000 times over the last six years in48 states and two Canadian provinces,”Vince Brigidi, president of the CEIGroup, a fleet accident managementcompany, told attendees at the Colli-sion Industry Electronic CommerceAssociation (CIECA) ImplementationConference in San Diego this fall. “Theprocess of obtaining customer’s au-thorizations is antiquated. The elec-tronic signature is legal and effective.And there are significant efficiencies tobe gained and rental days to be savedby doing this.”

Testing with a repairerCEI manages claims for fleet, govern-ment and insurer accounts, using anetwork of more than 3,600 collision

repair shops. Brigidi said Collision-Max is part of that network, and CEIworked with Beavers to set up a sys-tem to enable CollisionMax to obtain

authorizations andother required cus-tomer signatureselectronically.

“Sometimes inthe past we’ve sentsomeone to a cus-tomer’s house toget a paper docu-

ments signed, or used FedEx,” Beaverssaid. “We have a shop full of technologyfor everything else we do to repair thecar and speed the process, but when itcomes to having a piece of paper signed,the best we can do is FedEx or fax it?”

Here’s how the system Collision-Max created with CEI’s assistanceworks. Say a vehicle is towed into aCollisionMax shop. The shop canemail the customer a link to the elec-tronic authorization form it needs the

customer to sign. It could be Colli-sionMax’s own form, or the customone the insurer involved needs to havesigned. The customer can read or evenprint the form from their computer,phone or tablet, then “sign” their namesimply by typing it into the space pro-vided. The signed form then is elec-tronically returned to CollisionMax.

Over a 3-month period and morethan 300 non-drivable claims, Colli-sionMax compared the traditionalmethod of obtaining customer signa-tures to the e-signature method. Theresults convinced Beavers that e-sig-natures are the way to go.

Using the traditional method, 62percent of the needed signature wereobtained the same day, and 18 percentwere obtained the next day. The bal-ance took 3 days or more (in thelongest case, 9 days) and the overallaverage was 1.94 days.

By using e-signatures, however,CollisionMax obtained 97 percent of


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with Ed Attanasio

Shop and Product Showcase

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Shop Showcase

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The Right Causewith Mike Causey

Industry Insightwith John Yoswick

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

Vincent Brigidi

Pat Beavers

A South Carolina collision repairerhas written an open letter to StateFarm CEO Ed Rust, Jr., complainingabout the wait time and lack of re-sponse from State Farm personnel onState Farm claims. David Monta-naro of Coastal Collision Works inCharleston, SC, believes State Farmis intentionally making his customers’claims an “administrative nightmare”because he is not on Select Service.The letter reads as follows:

As of today’s date, we’ve beenwaiting 12 days on additional damagesupplement approval for your policy-holder/our customer. After sending nu-merous emails and leaving severalvoicemail messages for your supple-ments person, we still have no re-sponse. Every time my supplementcoordinator inquires about how to cor-rect the ‘no response’ problem (withnot only State Farm claimants but withState Farm insured customers as well),he’s directed back to your supplementsperson. But the number of days it takesher to finally respond to a supplementrequest only increases. When we findadditional damage, we typically stoprepairs, document and send the pic-tures and/or video via email to StateFarm for approval. But State Farm

says they have to actually see the dam-age in person before they can approveit. The most ridiculous thing about thisis that even though a State Farm ad-juster is in our shop every other daylooking at a vehicle right next to thevehicle we need a supplement ap-proval on, they refuse to look at itwithout your supplement person’s ap-proval, which is nearly impossible toget in reasonable time. What kind ofcustomer service is that?

We’re a small business and it’sastonishing how many administrativehours we spend just trying to take careof our State Farm customers. And doyou realize how this hurts your StateFarm policyholders who want us to re-pair their vehicles? They’re becomingvery educated on the way State Farmreally feels about their policyholders.It also seems to me that this procedureis expensive and a complete waste of aState Farm adjuster’s time when theyhave to come back multiple times, in-stead of approving a supplement whilehe’s already here looking at anotherclaim. By the way, we have all of thesupporting dated emails and fax con-firmations to show that State Farm is,in fact, receiving our requests.

South Carolina’s David Montaro Writes Open Letter to EdRust Jr. Complaining about Wait Time on State Farm Jobs

See Writing Ed Rust Jr., Page 36

the signatures the same day and theother 3 percent the next day.

“Pat and I feel even that 3 percentis going to come down,” Brigidi said.“Some of it may have been user-erroron our side.”

The longest amount of time ittook to obtain the authorization wasjust 26 hours, and the overall averagelength of time: Just over one hour.

“From the insurance companyperspective or whoever is on the hookfor paying that bill, that means dol-lars,” Brigidi said. “These are all non-drivable claims, all claims in which thevehicle is sitting there, the insurancecompany is paying for a rental, and thedriver is without their vehicle, In theCollisionMax world alone, there’sprobably $200,000 or more in rentalsavings for non-drivable vehicles.”

Customers very acceptingWhile customer surely found theprocess more convenient than makinga trip to the shop, Beavers said, hiscompany received little in the way ofcomments from customers. Brigidisaid that tells him the process is ac-cepted if not an expected way ofdoing business for customers today. Inorder for e-signatures to be enforce-

able, customers must be given achoice whether to use it, but Beaverssaid during the study not one cus-tomer declined to sign electronically.

Brigidi said 47 states have signedonto the Uniform Electronic Transac-tions Act, which makes electronic signa-tures legally valid. (The three otherstates—Washington, Illinois and NewYork—have their own state laws gov-erning the use of e-signatures.) Colli-sionMax has shops in both Pennsylvaniaand New Jersey, states that have differentrequirements for shop in terms of au-thorizations to be obtained, but the sys-tem worked well in both states.

Brigidi said that of the 600,000 e-signatures his company has obtainedover six years, not one has been chal-lenged as invalid. But, he said, in ad-dition to tracking the day and time ofthe authorization, the system tracksthe IP address of the device on whichthe customer signed the authorization,allowing it to be tracked back, if nec-essary, to the location or device fromwhich it was provided.

Beavers said he wants to use e-sig-natures for all the customer authoriza-tions the shop must obtain, even fordrivable vehicles. It reduces paper use,is convenient for the customer, and

would allowthe shop to use the sameprocess for all claims. Customers drop-ping vehicles off could use a kiosk atthe shop to sign electronically, or couldbe sent a link to the document via thephone they are carrying.

“When you think about some ofthe delays and how long some ofthose cars sit while we’re waiting tobe authorized, to me they are all likechecks waiting to be processed,”Beavers said. “The new standard isminutes, not hours or days.”

Beavers also said the potentialsavings and additional audit trail forinsurers are obvious.

“I have some speculation that someshops are using that authorization partof the process to benefit themselves,”Beavers said. “Maybe they don’t expe-dite the authorization at times becausethey have plenty of work. Typically forthe insurers, the proverbial clock startsto tick only when we have a signed au-thorization. So if a shop has delayedthat for whatever reasons, the pressuresaren’t on so much.”

Brigidi said he was surprised tolearn an e-signature system hadn’tbeen integrated into the estimating orshop management systems, but be-lieves that will eventually happen.


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GM Customer Care AddsNew Loyalty ProgramGM Customer Care & Aftersales,the service and parts division ofGeneral Motors, announced Oct. 29that it has added a new loyalty re-wards program for independentbody shops purchasing select GMcollision parts.

Shops enrolled in the programearn points when purchasing GMOE doors, wheels, mirrors and light-ing assemblies from GM dealersthrough the OEConnection Colli-sionLink online parts-purchasingnetwork. Points are awarded forparts purchased on insurance esti-mates only for GM vehicles twomodel years and older. Points areawarded at the rate of one point foreach dollar spent. Accumulatedpoints can be used to purchase awide selection of merchandise,travel, entertainment and new GMvehicles.

All CollisionLink users will re-ceive an email request to sign up. Tosign up for CollisionLink, visit theOEConnection website.

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The 11th Annual Fix Auto USA Na-tional Conference hosted nearly 200collision industry members at theBoulders Resort in Scottsdale, AZ.The event took place Sept. 15–18,2013, and featured the theme “Mar-keting that Matters.”

Fix Auto said the main purposeof the conference was to foster pro-fessional growth in its attendees, acommunity that included not only FixAuto collision repair members, but theinsurance representatives and vendorswith which they partner during thecourse of daily business.

The keynote speaker, formermajor league pitching standout JimAbbott, discussed his ADAPT con-cept, which illustrated how repairerscan change and mold themselves to

meet and overcome any obstacle. Inaddition, author and consultant ScottDeming illustrated how attendeescan capitalize on brand loyalty todrive business to their doors. Otherspeakers included Michael Bennett,North America marketing director forAxalta Coating Systems; SusannaGotsch of CCC Information ServicesInc.; Fix Auto member RichardFish; and a panel of industry veter-ans who discussed the role parts playin collision repair today and in the fu-ture.

The conference also granted pro-fessionals in attendance to displaytheir giving side through the Bike

Build for Charity program. Sponsoredby Mitchell International and facili-

tated by Impact 4 Good, a companythat specializes in leadership develop-ment applied to philanthropic causes,

Fix Auto participants worked in teamsto build the bikes by competing inbike-related team activities that wereboth physically and mentally chal-lenging.

A group of children associatedwith the StarShine Academy inPhoenix, a school specializing in theeducation of students from at-riskcommunities, were the designated re-cipients of the assembled bicycles,which they received in person. Safetyhelmets were part of the donation aswell.

“One of Fix Auto’s underlyingprinciples is giving back to the com-

munities we serve,” said Fix AutoPresident and COO Paul Gange.“The Build a Bike Charity was a nicevariation on this philosophy and was agreat way to wrap our general ses-sions.

“Throughout the year we focuson our mission of enhancing the op-portunities for independent repairersthrough collective marketing, robustresources and the benefit of sharedknowledge and connectedness that isuniquely available through the FixAuto network. We challenge our team

to raise the bar at our annual confer-ence, and this year’s conference set anew standard. We thank everyone whoparticipated and look forward to theopportunity to enhance our programeven further next year.”

FIX Auto Holds Conference Featuring “Marketing that Matters”

Coastal Collision Works has a com-mitment to handle every damage claimthat comes through our doors with in-tegrity and speed. Our customers havecome to expect the highest quality inrepairs, paint and customer servicefrom us. We actually explain to themall of the procedures during the lengthof time their vehicle is in our shop.Therefore, when State Farm makesyou wait indefinitely for a supplementapproval, our customers are informedof the details. What the customers de-serve and should expect from StateFarm is a quick and professional re-sponse on their claims because that’swhat they think they’re paying for

when they choose you to protect theirvehicles. As a matter of fact, accord-ing to the State Farm website under‘State Farm’s Commitment to OurPolicyholders,’ it states, ‘State Farmpromises to be consistent, actpromptly, explain decisions that aremade with claims and to ensure theirpolicyholders obtain all benefits avail-able provided by the insurance policy.’Perhaps this commitment should betaught and instilled in each of yourState Farm representatives becausethey’re obviously not honoring StateFarm’s commitment to your policy-holders.

Montanaro wrote Rust on April23, 2013, as well to explain what hecalled “serious issues” concerningState Farm’s treatment of his cus-tomers’ claims.


Writing Ed Rust Jr.

Speedemissions, Inc, a vehicle emis-sions testing and safety inspectionscompany operating 36 stores in theAtlanta, Houston, St. Louis and SaltLake City markets and developer ofCARbonga and CARbonga-SRI, theautomobile diagnostic iPhone apps,has acquired seven emission testingstores in the greater Atlanta, GA, mar-ketplace.

The stores are being acquired

from Auto Emissions Express and JKExpress Emissions and are part ofSpeedemissions’ overall strategic ex-pansion plan to become one of the na-tion’s leading vehicle emissions testingand repair companies.

The transaction, which closed onOct. 25, brings the number of vehicleemission testing stores that Speede-missions owns and operates across thecountry to 43.

Speedemissions Acquires 7 Atlanta-area Emission Testing Stores

by Ed Attanasio

People come to SEMA to see the cars,the girls and the celebrities and to net-work with their vendors and col-leagues, but among the most popularexhibits and presentations include cut-ting-edge automotive products. Anaward from SEMA can be a gamechanger and help to fast track a prod-uct’s path to success. It’s the equiva-lent of the Academy Awards for the

movie industry, but only without thered carpet, fancy gowns and paparazzi.

During a breakfast on Nov. 4, thewinners of the 2013 SEMA NewProducts Showcase Awards were an-

nounced. This year, more than 2,000new products were submitted for con-sideration by SEMA, but only a hand-ful were nominated. 3M™ took homethe top honors in SEMA’s CollisionRepair and Refinish Product categoryfor their innovative new 3M™ BodyProtection System, making it thebiggest winner of the show within thecollision segment.

The night before, Steve Widen,U.S Marketing Supervisor, 3M Auto-motive Aftermarket Division, re-ceived a phone call from SEMA, thatwas both surprising and exhilarating,he said. “They called to tell us wewere a finalist and invited us to thebreakfast. It was definitely a verypleasant surprise and a great start toour show. We got off on the right footand then when we won, it just got bet-ter! Tons of work went into the new3M Body Protection System, so it’svery satisfying for sure.”

According to 3M, its newest BodyProtection System is reinventing theway repair technicians can match tex-tured finishes found on today’s vehiclesfor rock protection and sound deaden-ing. The innovative 3M Body Protec-

tion System helpspainters spray lowviscosity texturedfinishes with fine,medium, coarse andsplattered patterns.

The technol-ogy behind the 3MBody ProtectionSystem includesthe 3M™ Accus-pray™ HGP SprayGun with a pressur-ized inlet and3M™ PPS™ TypeH/O Mini PressureCup, the 3M™Rocker ProtectorPouch, and 3M™ Paintable Under-coating Pouch. The 3M Rocker Pro-tector Pouch is available in 3-ounceand 5.5-ounce sizes, and the 3MPaintable Undercoating Pouch isavailable in 5.5-ounce size.

The 3M Body Protection Systemsolves a major pain point for automo-tive professionals, and gives them atool for greater productivity, including;• Ability to adjust pressures and spraypattern, allowing for better match toOEM textures.• Ability to cut in half application timeof textured finishes to rocker panels,wheel wells and undercarriages inmany cases.• The pressurized 3M Accuspray spraygun allows the product to be sprayedat any angle making it easier to reachlower rocker sections and insidewheel wheels.• The painter can easily adjust thespray pattern to reduce overspray andmasking.• Painters can easily achieve a perfecttexture match, which contributes toimproved repair quality and higherCSI scores.• The pouch sizes allow estimatorsand repair technicians to attributeexact product usage to each job, im-proving the job costing on estimates.• The 3M Accuspray system reducescleanup time and virtually eliminatesthe need for solvents.

Widen believes this product ismuch-needed and was designed tofulfill a need that has existed formany years. “There hasn’t been any-thing new out there in deliveryprocesses for the past two decades,so the 3M Body Protection Systemis pretty significant,” Widen said.“Painters and preppers haven’t been

able to easily replicate textures, butnow they can by leveraging our pro-prietary 3M Accuspray technologywith unique product delivery plat-forms. It will revolutionize how tex-tured finishes are applied in thefuture. And, as the use of these tex-tured finishes continues to expandfor sound deadening on thinner sub-strates, the need for the 3M BodyProtection System will increase ex-ponentially.”

Criteria that ranked high on thejudges’ selection for the New ProductShowcase Awards included superiorityof innovation, technical achievement,quality and workmanship, consumerappeal and marketability. Widen notedthat 3M’s Body Protection System hasexcelled in every one of these areas, heexplained.

“It’s going to help body shops ina big way, because now we’ve put atool in the hands of painters and prep-pers that will save them time and ofcourse, money,” Widen said. “Thereisn’t an OE texture out there that wecan’t replicate with this system. Workthat used to take three hours can nowbe performed in 10-15 minutes, withmore accuracy and zero guesswork.It’s going to increase productivity con-siderably; the cleanup is very simpleand there’s a minimal learning curve.We released the Body Protection Sys-tem on August 1, and we’ve alreadyreached our sales goals for the rest ofthe year.”

Creative Autobody Solutions ofTempe, AZ captured the second p l aceaward with its spray - out cards con-structed of ABS and the third placerunner up award went to Shelwes Tools& Body of West Helena, AR , for itsShelwes Automatic Contour Sander.


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SEMA Chairman of the Board Nate Shelton andSEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting pres-ent 3M’s Steven Widen with the award forBest New Collision Repair & Refinish Product



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• All brands delivered in one convenient daily delivery • Fast and Free delivery Monday thru Friday• Same Day delivery of in-stock parts ordered by 9am • Hot Shot deliveries • Collision Link

Flow Lexus of GreensboroPh: 888-Flow-Lex

Direct: 336.217.5402Fax: 336.232.0810

Carolina KiaPh: 336.884.8800Fax: 336.884.7075

Green FordPh: 800.334.8405

Direct: 336.294.4133Fax: 336.294.5774

Carolina Hyundai2431 N. Main St.,

High Point, NC 27262Ph: 336.884.8800Fax: 336.884.7075

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Flow General Motors

Ph: 800-GM-BuiltDirect: 336.760.7038

Fax: 336.245.1423

Kernersville Chrsyler Dodge Jeep RamPh: 888.314.7278 Direct: 336.564.0259 Fax: 336.996.0742

Flow LotusPh: 800-GM-Built Fax: 336.245 .1423

Direct: 336.760.7038 Flow SAABPh: 800-GM-Built Fax: 336.245.1423

Direct: 336.760.7038

se 1213 issue web

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