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SEMA is just around the corner and many of you will be attending the trade show and SCRS repair-driven education. I am teaching a class on how government regulations will impact the collision industry right now, but for those who cannot attend, I am going to highlight my presentation here. Let’s look at the US Government  CAFÉ (corporate average fuel economy) standards. By the year 2015, the CAFÉ standard for the industry (cars and trucks combined) is 31.6 MPG (35.7 for cars and 28.6 for trucks). How will these standards affect body shops?

To view a PDF of this article with photos please click HERE.

First, cars will need to get lighter and smaller. The use of aluminum will increase. You will see more hoods, deck lids, fenders and other body parts being made from aluminum. Many aluminum hoods are double paneled with virtually no access to the back side. Most shops today do not the capability to repair this type of damage. What is needed is an aluminum stud gun.

The unit pictured first comes with the stud gun and a number of hand tools for repairing aluminum. The machine pictured second is just the stud gun with the puller. You will need to invest in hand tools because aluminum tools can’t be used on steel components because of the likelihood of galvanic corrosion. Dent Fix, Reliable Automotive Equipment and ProSpot are a few examples of companies that sell aluminum repair equipment. You will also need to invest in training. Repairing aluminum is not difficult, but there are a few techniques that need to be learned to achieve a successful repair.

You will also see smaller vehicles. With smaller cars, you will see an increase in the use of ultra high strength steels in cabin reinforcements for passenger protection. Nearly all manufacturers require full replacement of these reinforcements and that will lead to more total losses. Let’s look at Federal Motor Vehicle safety standard 216A.

This July I did a presentation at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in Salt Lake City on the need for OEM data prior to estimating and repairing today’s cars. I also included some additional discussion and presented examples of bumper reinforcements. I received a letter from a CAPA spokesperson stating that my demonstration “caused members of the collision repair industry to believe, mistakenly, that the part used in your demonstration was CAPA-certified.” I think that it is important that I give readers an accurate account of what really happened. I want to make this clear. I am not against the use of quality aftermarket parts in the collision repair process, but I am very much against being told to use substandard parts and then assuming all of the risks for their use.

To view a PDF of this article please click HERE.

A couple of months ago, a shop in the Midwest received an estimate from a major insurance company calling for a certified front bumper reinforcement for a 2008 Hyundai Sonata. The shop had ordered from the A/M supplier a certified front-bumper reinforcement, but they received a non certified front bumper reinforcement. The shop’s tech did the right thing—he compared the damaged OE part to the A/M part and showed it to the owner. The was a considerable weight difference between the two parts. He ordered an OE part and sent the A/M part to me.     I purchased a new part and compared them. I found that A/M was not like, kind and quality. About the same time, I received a bumper reinforcement made by Diamond Standard for a 2003 to 2008 Toyota Corolla that was certified by NSF.

The other day I received a report form Aaron Schulenberg, the Executive Director of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists, about a study done in Germany on collision repairs. Crash-test results and analysis of the impact of a non-professional repair on the performance of the side structure of a car (VW Passat) by KTI GmbH& Co. of  Lohfelden, Germany.

To view the full text of this article with photos please click HERE.

The study took a late model VW Passat, with ultra high strength steel reinforcements in the rocker and “B” pillar, conducted a side impact at about 30mph, detailed all the damage, and rebuilt the vehicle using used parts, MIG welds, and an older Squeeze Type Resistance Welder.  They did not use any OEM current replacement data, but they utilized common accepted repair methods used in the collision industry. They referred to those in the article as “10-year old repair methods.” 
What was written in the introduction of the study is what I and others have been preaching for years.

“The new materials mean that body shops must continuously ensure that they are conversant with the requirements for new tools, procedures and information about the repair processes. New welding machines need to be used, training is required, and OEM information has to be accessed to make sure that the correct repair methods will be applied. Without this knowledge it is likely that an inadequate repair will be the result, potentially placing the car and its occupants at much higher risk in a later crash.”

“In parallel to the introduction of new materials, single component parts of earlier vehicles have been replaced by highly integrated, multi-material components on more recently designed cars. The production of a modern Body-in-White is characterized by complex manufacturing processes and bonding techniques. Taken together, the technical progress made by the OEM’s has resulted in corresponding new challenges for the repair shops. Repair shops must ensure they have well trained staff and are equipped with appropriate tools to cope with the techniques needed for professional repairs on today’s cars when they are damaged in an accident. If such techniques and knowledge are not available, a nonprofessional repair may lead to a significant reduction in the safety and quality of these cars.”

Pan American is a family-owned and operated independent collision repair facility with four locations throughout the Southern San Francisco Bay Area. President and owner Luis Alonso recently accepted Farmers Insurance Shop of the Year honors. They have been in operation since 1981, specializing in all types of collision repair and insurance work. They are also a Certified Mercedes Benz and Audi Repair Facility.

To view the text of this article with photos please click HERE.

Pan American believes in giving back to the community, and as an extension of that model the repair facility enlisted my help to provide extrication training for the local Fire Department.

Today’s vehicles are more complex than ever, and the fire departments are faced with difficult challenges when they respond to emergency calls involving trapped occupants resulting from a vehicle collision. Our goal is to help them be better prepared to deal with these challenges by providing hands on training. We teach safety and stabilization, hybrid vehicle precautions, how to deal with late model ultra-high strength steel, as well as six different extrication techniques. I’m proud to be part of this effort and I applaud Pan American for putting this event together.