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The National Auto Body Council (NABC) is pleased to announce that in 2010 over 100 repair facilities across the nation gifted Recycled Rides® vehicles to families and service organizations in need.

Many collision repair participants—who, at a minimum, donated the labor to refurbish the vehicles—found that the initiative provided a boost in positive media coverage regarding their work on the behalf of others.

Much of the reporting surrounded the program’s Ride‐Away Day event, in which the majority of vehicles are donated simultaneously at different locations throughout the United States on the Monday before Thanksgiving.

Multi-year participant Joe Amodei, from 112 Automotive, is one such example. News 12 Long Island and WLNY TV10/55 covered his 2010 Ride-Away Day event in which he and his fellow Long Island, New York repairers gifted 10 vehicles. “To start the process of developing relationships with Long Island, New York media we simply followed the Recycled Rides workbook and utilized the press releases supplied in our Recycled Rides marketing kit,” he said. “The NABC system works.”

In February this year, legislation to quintuple the monetary fines (to $5000) and double the jail time (to a year) that may be levied on any automotive repairer that fails to properly replace a deployed airbag was introduced by California State Senator Leland Yee.

Existing law provides that a person who fails to comply is guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, by imprisonment not exceeding 6 months, or by both fine and imprisonment. This bill would provide that an automotive repair dealer who prepares a written estimate for repairs that includes replacement of a deployed airbag, as specified, who fails to repair and fully restore the airbag, as specified, is guilty of a misdemeanor that is punishable by a $5,000 fine, by one year imprisonment in a county jail, or by both fine and imprisonment.

The bill has been assigned to the Senate committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development. The hearing is scheduled to be held on Monday, April 25 at 1:30 p.m. in Room 3191.

The full text of the bill follows:

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. Section 9884.76 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:
9884.76. Notwithstanding Section 9889.20, an automotive repair dealer who prepares a written estimate for repairs pursuant to Section 9884.9 that includes replacement of a deployed airbag that is part of an inflatable restraint system, and who fails to repair and fully restore the airbag to its original operating condition, where the customer has paid for the airbag as provided in the estimate, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or by imprisonment in a county jail for one year or by both that fine and imprisonment.

SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

Because this bill would create a new crime, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Mercedes-Benz is recalling 137,000 M-class SUVs because the cruise control doesn't immediately disengage when drivers tap the brake pedal.

Cruise control systems are supposed to immediately shut off the moment the driver uses either the brake or gas pedal...

To read the rest of this article please CLICK HERE.

A tornado struck a manufacturing plant on the southeast side of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, on April 4, tossing pieces of the roof, collapsing part of the aluminum structure and injuring seven people, officials said. The plant, Toyoda Gosei Automotive Sealing Kentucky, makes weatherstripping for Toyota vehicles.

The plant is located between Hopkinsville and Pembroke, Kentucky.

About 184 employees were inside TGASK when the storm arrived shortly before noon, said Paul Ray, spokesman for the Hopkinsville Police Department.

None of the injured had life-threatening injuries, said spokeswoman Jessica Beckham of Jennie Stuart Medical Center. Ray said the injuries were mostly bumps and bruises.

There is also a hail concern mounting in this area as the storm continues.

Toyota has won a much-anticipated case in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York that was seen as an early indicator of the strength of the legal theories behind current unintended acceleration claims against the Company.

After deliberating for approximately 45 minutes, a jury reached a defense verdict in favor of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. in an alleged unintended acceleration case brought by Dr. Amir Sitafalwalla, who claimed that an unsecured driver’s side floor mat was the primary cause of the crash of his Scion vehicle in August 2005.

During the course of the week-long trial, Dr. Sitafalwalla’s primary expert, Dr. Anthony Storace, withdrew his assertion that the Electronic Throttle Control System in the Scion could also have been a cause of the accident based on his acknowledgment that he had no basis to support that claim.

Ford Motor Co. topped rival General Motors in U.S. sales in March, grabbing the No. 1 spot for the first time in nearly 13 years...

To read the full text of this article please CLICK HERE.

The Texas Senate voted to approve Senate Bill 944 on March 24. The bill was introduced by Texas Senator Mike Jackson earlier this month before being transferred to the Committee on Business and Commerce. The bill now moves to the House for approval.
The bill would create an advisory committee for the Texas Insurance Commissioner that would make recommendations regarding automobile insurance claims.
The full text of the engrossed* bill can be seen below:

Honda cut daily output at its U.S. and Canada assembly plants by as much as 50 percent starting on March 29, when it disclosed the plans in memos to employees and suppliers, according to reports by Automotive News.

Even though Honda has a high percentage of North American-supplied content in its vehicles, the cuts in output are evidence that the shortage of even a single part can shut down, or severely hamper, a factory.

"We're not shutting down anything," Honda spokesman Ed Miller said. "While we are continuing to keep all North American plants open, we will be reducing production selectively, on a temporary basis, to cope with parts supply issues."

In the United States, Honda builds the Accord, Acura TL, Acura RDX, CR-V, Element, and Accord Crosstour in Ohio. The Civic is assembled in Indiana. In Lincoln, Ala., Honda manufactures the Odyssey, Ridgeline, and Pilot.

Among the worst hit by Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami, Honda said it will resume limited vehicle assembly on April 11, after having its plants offline for four-straight weeks.

Honda had previously said its two domestic assembly plants would be down at least through April 4, says both the Sayama and Suzuka factories will be running April 11. Honda cautioned that restored vehicle assembly in Japan will continue at only half its normal rate.

The company will also resume production of parts and replacement parts on April 4 for shipment overseas. That move should help alleviate parts shortages in North America.