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I-CAR has announced that early bird rates for the 2012 I-CAR Industry Event July 18-20 at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio on the River Walk in San Antonio, Texas, have now been extended through June 15.

Are you interested in hearing what various segments of the industry are doing to drive excellence industry-wide and business-specific? Hear what the experts have to say during the General Session at the 2012 I-CAR Industry Event. Topics will include how to achieve excellence in areas such as repair methods, business performance and professionalism. Join I-CAR and the rest of the collision inter-industry for this talk as well as a discussion about the impact of training on business performance. I-CAR will also respond to the industry's repair procedures request. Stick around the next day for Tech Clinics given by Chrysler, Honda and Audi.

This event is open to everyone in the collision repair inter-industry, including repairers, insurers, OEMs, career and technical schools, suppliers, advisors, I-CAR instructors and volunteers, etc.

And don't forget about the Collision Repair Education Foundation Golf Fundraiser on July 19 at the La Cantera Resort's The Palmer Course in San Antonio. Your contribution supports programs and scholarships for secondary and post-secondary collision students. Only eight spots are still available and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. To register, e-mail Brandon Eckenrode at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The MAK law firm has reported that, following a three-week jury trial, David Miller, an auto body shop owner who 10 years ago had been accused and then cleared of defrauding insurance companies, won a multi-million judgment against Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company and Amica Mutual Insurance Company on May 29.

According to his attorney, Michael Kelly in Providence, the jury returned a verdict that found that Metropolitan and Amica had both intentionally withheld vital information during the course of Miller’s criminal prosecution and that the companies were “liable for an abuse of process.”

An extra-alarm fire destroyed an auto body shop in the Southwest Side’s Archer Heights neighborhood.

As CBS 2’s Kris Habermehl reports, the fire broke out late Sunday night in the auto repair shop on the east side of the 5000 block of South Western Avenue.

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Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting, a collision repair chain with 425 locations, will donate a $100,000 check to the Children’s Miracle Network.

Maaco, based in King of Prussia, PA, said the money will be used to support the Children’s Miracle Network’s work at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

The donation will be presented to the Children’s Miracle Network June 13 at 6 p.m. EST during Maaco’s third annual golf outing—sponsored by DuPont, PPG and Sherwin-Williams—at the Spring Ford Country Club in Royersford, PA. Maaco’s president David Lapps, along with corporate executives, suppliers and employees from 23 Maaco franchises will present the check.

Maaco said it has been raising money for the donation throughout the year through car washes and other fundraising events. This is the third consecutive year that the company has made a donation to the Children’s Miracle Network. The company donated $25,000 in 2010, and $50,000 in 2011.

A Louisiana State Penitentiary inmate serving a life sentence for murder is making a name for himself for his self-taught achievement in the field of automotive mechanics.

Shelby J. Arabie, 49, was one of 12 people this year to qualify through the Institute of Automotive Service Excellence as a Triple Master in auto, truck and collision repair, with advanced certifications in gasoline and diesel engines.

About a dozen people each year qualify as Triple Masters, said Tony Molla, ASE vice president for communications.

Numerous severe thunderstorms pummeled Oklahoma in late May, a blessing and a curse for an area which desperately needs some rain, but could have done without the fist-size hail smashing car windows. Hailstones as large as 4.25 inches were reported by the National Weather Service on May 29.

Hail damaged the roofs and windows of many homes and broke out car windshields. In Edmond, about 450 cars at Bob Howard Dealership were damaged by the hail.

A group of teenagers from Kansas City, MO are driving from the Pacific to the Atlantic in an electric-powered modified 1977 Lotus Espirit that they helped design and build. The drive is part of an “Electrifying Education Coast-to-Coast” trip.

The teens are national ambassadors for clean energy and for the industrious potential of the next generation.

“I was concerned we would not be able to go,” said 18-year-old Elias Williams, aware of some of the trials the volunteer organization Minddrive was going through to get the teens and their mentors on the road.

The severe weather that hit Oklahoma in late May could lead to Oklahoma insurance companies having to pay an estimated $400 million to cover insured property damage, according to an industry group.

At the same time, a major insurer has claimed that the high winds and hail were not considered to be catastrophic.

After damaging storms hit Oklahoma in late May, state Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak cleared the way for insurance companies to bring in additional claims adjusters.

Doak’s emergency declaration enables emergency claims adjusters to be licensed temporarily to expedite the insurance claims process and provide immediate assistance.

The move, Doak said, is designed “to help storm victims get the help they need quickly.”

Car enthusiasts from near and far gathered at Northeast Texas Community College May 30 to say goodbye to automotive legend Carroll Shelby.

The event was hosted by NTCC in conjunction with Team Shelby Texas. The evening began with car lovers gathering on the north side of Mount Pleasant for a memorial run. More than 45 Shelby vehicles participated in the memorial ride that included a drive by Mr. Shelby's home in Pittsburg.