With a GMC Denali XT Concept vehicle in the background, GM engineers ponder new designs. (Photos courtesy of General Motors)
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Along with issues such as steering, waterborne paints and right-to-repair, you can throw in new vehicle designs as an issue
repairers must handle. New vehicle technologies continue to create added complexities for repairers, ranging from "bit-busting"
heavy metals to software glitches. How much will they affect you and how should your shop prepare for them?
A daily dilemma
A vignette recounted by Carroll Proctor illustrates the difficulties shops face when repairing new cars. This problem occurred
when Proctor's crew at A.C. Proctor's Paint & Body Shop in Augusta, Ga., procured a salvaged door for a 2007 Saturn Aura.
"Normally when you get a used door you just hook a battery jump box up to it and power down the window so you can disassemble
the door," Proctor points out. "With this particular car you have to hook it up to the vehicle's computer; and here you've
already got the dash and everything pulled out – we didn't know this problem was to crop up. We had to go back to the dealership
and get them to put the door on for us."
Bob Boniface, design director for the E-flex Systems Design Studio works on the Chevrolet Volt.
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And so it goes as shops deal with the newest vehicle technologies being brought to market by automakers intent on adopting
the latest innovations in search of added safety, driver convenience, sturdiness-with-less weight and enhanced fuel economy.
This high-tech onslaught threatens to put independent repairers on a collision course with further market share declines due
to the ability of dealerships to stay ahead of the technological curve.
Design studios, such as this one at General Motors, work to churn out new vehicles and accessories.
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Industry leaders are adamant about staying abreast of the new developments by making the necessary investment in the right
tools and pro-actively pursuing the training to correctly operate them. "It's going to take very specialized equipment," says
Mike Anderson, president of Wagonwork Collision Centers in Alexandria, Va. "You'll see some growth with the dealerships because
the OEMs have deeper pockets to pay for this. A lot of shops will just take the vehicle to the dealer, but you lose so much
cycle time when you do that."
Anderson serves on a slew of industry committees and conducts training sessions throughout the nation. He sees a distinct
overall lack of enthusiasm among many of his colleagues. "People are more discouraged and beaten down than in the past – they're
not investing in equipment and training."
The Wagonwork enterprise is a big operation, spending some $80,000 per year on training while obtaining the most-current certifications.
And the techno-trend shows no signs of slowing down, making it critical for shops to keep up. "It will force people to operate
more efficiently and more like a 'business' and less like just a 'repair shop,'" Anderson says.
"The ever-increasing amount of computers and vehicle technology will continue to pose challenges for repairers," notes I-CAR
technical director Jason Bartanen. "Without keeping up-to-date on information and training, industry professionals will struggle
when working around these systems. The continued and increased used of advanced high-strength steels also will pose a major
challenge for industry professionals."
From a collision repair standpoint, he says, "the significant increase in these types of steels is quite possibly the most
significant change in vehicle technology in the past 20 years."
