Metallic Flake Bedliners
Scorpion Truck Bed Linings’ new line of metallic flake bedliners are available in blue, green, red, purple, orange and silver. The metallic can be used to accent a base color as a topcoat or incorporated into the coloration of the coating itself. Visit www.scorpioncoatings.com.
High Gloss Clearcoat
PPG Automotive Refinish has introduced D8152 Performance + Glamour Clearcoat, part of its Global Refinish System line. PPG says this clearcoat is easy to apply and buff, and is designed for use over Global BC and Envirobase High Performance basecoats. In addition, D8152 is suitable for hot or humid conditions. A new hardener package, D8370/D8373,
I-CAR Education Foundation Names New Executive Director
Fundraising professional Scott Kruger was recently named executive director of the I-CAR Education Foundation. Kruger will implement the foundation’s new mission, which focuses on fundraising, grant research and the distribution of scholarship funds to schools and students involved in collision repair. Kruger is a lawyer and advancement professional with more than 10 years of fundraising
Video Repair Updates
With VStatus, customers can see what’s taking place with their vehicle’s repair through video updates sent via e-mail. VStatus will take your customer service to the next level. Visit www.vstatus.biz.
No Mix Low VOC Basecoat
The No Mix Low VOC Base- coat System complies with new Southern California and pending Canadian automotive refinish regulations (3.5 lbs/gal; 420 g/l). It offers the same metallic, pearl and xirallic toners as No Mix Basecoat, and customers will still have access to over 175,000 formulas and a full array of alternate formulas. Like its
Ford Approves DuPont Cromax Pro Waterborne Basecoat
Ford Motor Company has granted global approval of DuPont Cromax Pro waterborne basecoat, per the requirements of Ford’s global refinish paint material specification WSS-M2P100-D. In addition to the approval, Ford has provided a training facility in Ypsilanti, Mich., and assisted in training Ford corporate, DuPont Refinish jobber and body shop personnel in the use of
R.I. Supreme Court May Hear Labor Rate Survey Appeal
The Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation (DBR) and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) have appealed an August Superior Court decision that would require insurance companies to use data collected from labor rate surveys as the lone determinant for collision repair rates. The Rhode Island Supreme Court will decide Oct. 23 whether
Repairers Say Insurers, Not Consumers, Benefit from Full-Body Sectioning
Several Midwest collision repairers told the Chicago Tribune that for a safe auto body repair, consumers should avoid shops that want to perform full-body sectioning, also known as clipping, on their cars. Mark and Pam Pierson, owners of Princeton Auto Body in Princeton, Ill., said in the article aimed at educating consumers that some insurance
Keystone Launches New Line of PBE Products
Keystone Automotive’s 2008 PBE catalog will feature the new Platinum Refinish Series line of PBE products, the company announced. The line includes new packaging and a color-coded system to help customers more easily match individual products with their respective components. The Platinum Refinish line also offers a cost saving to collision repairers, a money-back guarantee
Oregon Shop Accuses Progressive of Steering
A body shop in Portland, Ore., is accusing Progressive of steering after the insurer allegedly intimidated a customer into taking his vehicle to one of Progressive’s preferred shops. The customer, Ryan Behnke, first had his 2007 Silverado pickup towed to the body shop at Bruce Chevrolet in Hillsboro, Ore., where he purchased the truck. Body
New DCR Facility Opening in New York
Mentor, Ohio-based DCR Systems and Shults Auto Group, a 16-franchise dealer group headquartered in Jamestown, New York, are opening a 12,000-square-foot collision repair facility using DCR’s patent-pending lean-based operating method at Shults Accident Repair Center on Oct. 15. The center is a rebuild of an existing facility owned by the dealer franchise. Shults Accident Repair
AMI Announces 2008 Tom B. Babcox Memorial Scholarship Recipient
The Automotive Management Institute (AMI), in conjunction with Babcox Publications, announced that Curtis Evans, president and owner, Evans Automotive Service Center, Inc., Pensacola, Fla., is the recipient of the “Tom B. Babcox Memorial Scholarship.” The scholarship recognizes a management-oriented member of the Automotive Service Association (ASA) Mechanical Division. The recipient receives $1,000 to be applied