Keystone Automotive announced on Feb. 1 that it will sell only aftermarket bumper reinforcement bars that qualify under the company’s quality assurance programs or are approved through third party testing.
CRA president Lee Amaradio announced Jan. 29 that Toby Chess will work with the association in a campaign to inform key California lawmakers and regulators about the inherent risks associated with the use of certain aftermarket safety parts.
The Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG), in an effort to provide collision repairers with another tool to assist them in their quest to prepare more complete and accurate estimates, has developed a matrix of major vehicle manufacturers (OEs) and the condition in which their bumper covers are shipped.
During a recent CIC Technical Presentation, SCRS Board member and well known I-CAR instructor Toby Chess (see ABN column here) demonstrated differences between a number of aftermarket structural parts and their OEM counterparts. The presentation was witnessed by the CIC body, including a number of aftermarket part industry representatives, illustrated the importance of structural part certification in the aftermarket.
Certified Auto Parts Association (CAPA) Executive Director Jack Gillis today announced a major new CAPA certification standard to address widespread concern about the quality and safety of bumper parts. Recent disclosures of differences in the material properties of aftermarket bumpers and related parts have prompted calls by collision industry leaders for independent testing and certification of aftermarket bumpers and other safety parts.
In November 2009 and January 2010, SCRS National Director and Education Committee member, Toby Chess, performed presentations outlining comparative studies he had conducted between randomly selected OEM and Aftermarket Structural Replacement parts. The parts reviewed included items such as Front and Rear Bumper Reinforcement Beams, Radiator Core Supports, Bumper Brackets and Bumper Energy Absorbers.
The non-OEM parts industry faced criticism from a number of directions at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) held in Palm Springs, CA, in mid-January.
As he did at the previous CIC, industry trainer Toby Chess brought a selection of non-OEM parts to the meeting to show some significant differences between them and the OEM parts they were designed to replace. Most of the difference, he pointed out, were subtle, and were less often about the physical shape of the part than in their composition. (See Chess’ Hey Toby! column in this issue.)
The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) is pleased to announce the Auto Body Association of Connecticut (ABAC) as its newest affiliate association, bringing the total number of SCRS affiliates to thirty-seven.
After two consecutive years of considerable declines, overall customer satisfaction with renting cars at airports stabilized in 2009, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 U.S. Rental Car Satisfaction Study(SM) released Nov. 17.
The Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) addressed members of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) Property and Casualty Committee Nov. 19 at a meeting in New Orleans to discuss model legislation, which is designed to reduce airbag fraud. During his presentation, ARA Executive VP Michael E. Wilson pointed to the necessity of Americans to have proper functioning airbags in their motor vehicles. Wilson pointed to a recent review conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of 1,446 fatal accidents from 2001 and 2006 found that in an alarming 255 instances (18%) airbags that should have been replaced following deployment in a previous crash were missing.