Today, the Quality Parts Coalition (QPC) released a new report that quantified consumers saved more than $363 million across the Top 100 CAPA-certified parts compared to OEM parts during the past five years. The report, Competition Drives Real Consumer Savings in Collision Repair, examined 100 of the top most commonly sold certified collision repair parts […]
Interview: Terry Fortner, LKQ Corporation
In our exclusive video interview, Fortner details a new legislative effort to hold OEMs responsible for recalls that may impact collision repair facilities. Larges scale recalls have become a troubling fact of life for vehicle manufacturers. In our video interview embedded below, Terry Fortner from LKQ Corporation details a new legislative effort to hold vehicle […]
CNN Report Highlights Poor Quality Parts and Repairs, Body Shop Lawsuits against Auto Insurers
Collision repair industry reacts to Anderson Cooper 360 segment in prime time warning of unsafe repairs due to poor quality parts and repair work. Antitrust lawsuits against insurers detailed. Viewers of CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 segment broadcast last night were exposed to the controversies surrounding insurance company referral programs, parts choice and collision repair quality […]
Honda Cautions that New Driver Assist/Safety Systems Require OE Parts Replacement
Honda is cautioning collision repairers that while driver assist systems and other safety systems on many late model Honda and Acura automobiles offer heightened safety and convenience for the vehicle driver and passengers, their performance many be comprised if original equipment (OE) parts are not used during the repair process. According to a Honda parts […]
LKQ Corporation and Chrysler Sign Patent License Agreement, End Lawsuit
Agreement brings end to lawsuit filed by Chrysler in January. LKQ Corporation announced it has entered into a Patent License Agreement with Chrysler Group LLC that grants LKQ a license under certain Chrysler design patents in connection with LKQ’s distribution and sale of aftermarket collision parts in the United States. As part of the agreement, […]
ABPA Files Lawsuit Seeking to Overturn Ford Design Patents
Seeks to have body repair part design patents ruled invalid. Alleges Ford uses patents to limit distribution and increase cost of repair parts. On November 25, the Automotive Body Parts Association (ABPA) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Ford Global Technologies, LLC that seeks to […]
Last CIC Meeting of 2010 Hits Data Privacy, Repair Standards
New chairman comments on plan for results-oriented process for CIC. Although the results of the recent crash testing of non-OEM parts by Ford and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, previously reported on CollisionWeek, were among the topics at the most recent Collision Industry Conference (CIC), the quarterly gathering focused on a variety of other […]
Aftermarket Parts Certification Program Launched by NSF International
ANSI accredited certifier expects tested bumper parts to be available in 6-8 weeks. NSF International today announced the launch of a new Automotive Parts Certification Program to address concerns regarding consumer safety and compromised automobile crashworthiness from the use of untested aftermarket structural parts. NSF says the one-of-a-kind program verifies both the quality and performance […]
Diamond Standard Announces Safety Parts Certification Program
In response to the alerts raised by recent presentations at NACE in November 2009, and the Collision Industry Conference in January 2010, Diamond Standard announced that it has accelerated the time frame for its planned launch of a full certification program for safety parts. The company is itself a US based manufacturer of high strength […]
Testing is the Real Measure of Aftermarket Part Equivalency
Aftermarket parts manufacturer Diamond Standard is one company that takes issue with the idea that aftermarket parts cannot equal OEM. The company says there absolutely are some aftermarket parts that are the equivalent of OEM, and they have the testing to back it up. According to Geoff Crane, Business Development Manager, Diamond Standard, the company […]