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Recent Columns
- Symach Invents Game-Changing Technology to Create the Shops of Tomorrow
- Day Job/Night Job: Who Says Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees?
- Shops Stuck in the Middle in Battle Over OEM Vehicle Safety Inspections
- Benefits of In-Process Quality Control Technology Discussed by Lee Rush, Sherwin-Williams
- Electric Vehicle Repair: No Room for Error
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
Regulator’s Stand on ‘Alt-OE’ Parts May Lead to Clarification of Terminology
Written by John Yoswick
Jaime Ramos
Discussion within the industry of “alt-OE” or “opt-OE” parts seemingly has raised more questions than answers this past year, but one state regulatory agency has a clear stand on the topic – one that may drive changes nationwide.
Retro News: August 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011
ABRA's Expansion Plans, Tech Wages, Flat Fees for Repair, BMS vs. EMS
Retro News: July 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011
Erick Bickett, Progressive's Concierge Program, Crash Prevention, Allstate Compliance
Retro News: June 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011
Topics covered include Northern NACE, Dan Risley's 2001 hire by SCRS, the collapse of M2 and the effect of insurance advertising.
Retro News: May 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011
ASA Lobbyists, Allstate Acquires Sterling, Recycled Parts Market Share, Chinese OEMs
Anderson shows NORTHEAST Shops How His “Who Pays for What?” Surveys Can Help
About 37 percent of shop who bill for “masking the vehicle for priming” say they get paid by insurers for this operation “always” or “most of the time” – yet about an equal percentage of shops say they have never asked to be paid for this not-included operation.
Retro News: April 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011
Mike Anderson in 1966, Incomplete Estimates, Feather Prime & Block, PartsTrader
Automakers Discuss Labor Times, Share Other Insights at ‘OEM Summit’
During a recent industry event at which automakers discussed some of the complexities of making collision repairs to their new vehicles, a shop owner asked the OEMs a decidedly more business than technical question: Are you working to come up with realistic labor times for the repair operations on these vehicles?
Attorney Presses Shops to Take the Steps They Can to Help Prevent Workplace Violence
The mass shooting in San Bernardino, CA, in December in which a health department employee (along with his wife) shot and killed 14 of his co-workers at a holiday party occurred just 80 miles from business attorney Cory King’s law firm. So a month later when he was scheduled to discuss human resource issues at the quarterly Collision Industry Conference (CIC), King knew workplace violence was a logical if unpleasant topic on which to focus.
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Jeff Silver, GAO Report and NHTSA, Avery v State Farm, EPA at CIC
20 years ago in the collision repair industry (March 1996)
The name Jeff Silver is synonymous with I-CAR. As executive vice president, Jeff has spent the last 11 years of his life helping to build I-CAR into the premier technical training organization in the collision repair industry. On his watch, Jeff has guided I-CAR into the international arena, forming coalitions with groups in Canada and New Zealand and opening talks with groups in the Far East. He recently decided to leave I-CAR and start his own collision repair business, but will remain with I-CAR for six months to help make his successor’s transition as smooth as possible. Jeff leaves big shoes to fill. He has done much to improve the collision repair industry, and we wish him well.
New Year Brings the Collision Industry Some ‘Unfinished Business’ from 2015
December 31 may have marked the end of a new calendar or fiscal year, but there remained a lot of “unfinished business” at the end of 2015 that will spill over to this new year. Here are four statements heard in the past year that highlight continuing activity that will play out in the year ahead.
PPO Insurance, Non-OEMs Rating Better, State Farm’s Service First, Michigan’s MFN
20 years ago in the collision repair industry (October 1995)
At the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in Kansas City, Russ Verona of the Automotive Service Association (ASA) reiterated the association’s opposition to “PPO-type” insurance programs. PPO-type programs make discounted insurance policies available for vehicle-owners who agree to have any needed repairs made at a shop enrolled in the insurer’s direct repair program.
New Survey Results Show ‘Who Pays for What’ in Terms of Frame/Mechanical Procedures
Just under 61 percent of shops surveyed said they are paid "always" or "most of the time" for removing coatings from pinchwelds prior to mounting the vehicle on a frame machine when it is required for the repair.
But industry trainer and consultant Mike Anderson said that percentage, from the latest "Who Pays for What?" survey results available now, isn’t high enough.