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Recent Columns
- OEConnection Acquires VeriFacts Automotive and Assured Performance Network
- SUN Collision Repair Information Offers Complete OEM Procedures & Mechanical Insights
- Collision Repair Industry Members Recognized at Red Carpet Award Breakfast at SEMA
- Auto Body Shop, College Working in Tandem to Transform Collision Repair Program
- MSO Symposium Looks at What Lies Ahead for Auto Insurance Claims, Consolidation
John Yoswick
John Yoswick is a freelance automotive writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has been writing about the collision industry since 1988. He is the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com).
He can be contacted at john@crashnetwork.com
‘Standards’ Replace Non-OEM Parts as Focus of Debate at Latest CIC
A report at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) on the findings of a study into what consensus exists within the industry about the development and implementation of formalized repair standards led to as much discussion about the value and validity of the study as it did to discussion of standards themselves.
Industry News You Might Have Missed in 2011
So much happens in the collision repair industry that it can be hard to keep up on everything. A few big stories get plenty of attention, but sometimes it’s the lesser-known stories that can have as big an impact on your business.
CIC Committee and I-CAR Respond to Association Statement on ‘Industry Standards’
In response to ongoing efforts over six years by the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) to develop a set of formalized repair standards, four national repairer groups have jointly issued a statement calling the published automaker repair procedures the “official industry-recognized repair standards for collision repair.”
SCRS Affiliate Groups Help Members Address Legislative and Regulatory Issues
State and regional associations—that together represent more than 2,000 body shops—participated in the sixth annual “Affiliate Leadership Conference” organized by the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) and held near Chicago in mid-September.
CIC Participants Tell Information Providers to Take the Lead in Chicken-or-Egg Dilemma
What may have seemed to some at the most recent Collision Industry Conference (CIC) as a debate about esoteric computer jargon was actually a discussion about who gets access to all the information in a shop’s estimates.
State Insurance Divisions Differ From One Another in Terms of Addressing Repairer Concerns
It’s a common complaint among collision repairers: It’s not worth contacting the state insurance commissioner’s office because they don’t do anything about our complaints.
CIC, Consultant, Seeking Views on Industry Repair Standards
The skittishness among some in the industry about how formalized repair standards may be developed or implemented was evident during discussion at the most recent Collision Industry Conference (CIC).
State and Federal Governments Consider New Insurance Regulations
From California to Massachusetts, the judicial system and lawmakers are tackling related to the auto insurance that pays for much of the work collision repairers do. The federal government is also considering the role it should play in regulating insurers as well.
Shop Owners Share Frustrations Renegotiating Contracts with Information Providers
The experiences of a number of shop owners around the country serve as a reminder to make sure you always understand the terms of any contract you are signing. Failure to read the fine print—or negotiate clauses for additional rights to end even something as seemingly innocuous as a software contract—have cost some shops tens of thousands of dollars.
Industry Trends and Changes in Future Vehicles at WIN Conference
Current industry trends—and a look ahead at the electric, fuel-efficient and Chinese vehicles that could be showing up in collision shops in the coming years—were the focus of one speaker’s presentation at the recent Women’s Industry Network (WIN) conference.
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‘2011 East Coast Resolution Forum’ Meets in NJ to Discuss Ongoing Efforts and Ideas
Collision repair associations leaders from around the country met in Secaucus, New Jersey, in March to share ideas and discuss state legislative or regulatory successes and efforts. The “2011 East Coast Resolution Forum,” an event sponsored by the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) and the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP) of New Jersey, was held in conjunction with AASP-New Jersey’s NORTHEAST® 2011 trade show.
Effort to Develop Collision Repair Standards Takes Another Step Forward
A Collision Industry Conference (CIC) committee hopes by April to have hired a consultant to help build a business case for a new organization that would oversee the development and implementation of formalized collision repair standards in the United States.
Recyclers, Repairers Look for Ways to Improve Their Business Interactions
Mel Hunke said he’d like to eliminate the “wedge” between collision repairers and auto recyclers.
A Paint Complaint Doesn't Have to Mean an Unhappy Customer
“The paint on the repaired panels does not match the rest of the car. The shop says it cannot be made to match. I find this impossible to believe.”