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COLLISION
INDUSTRY
CALENDAR
September 16 - 17
AIA Western Regional
Conference
Coast Capri Hotel, Kelowna, BC
Contact: Therese Santostefano
800-808-2920 ext. 225
October 18
CCIF Montreal
Hilton Montreal Airport, Montreal, QC
Contact: Mike Bryan
905-726-9027
administrator@ccif.net
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Is This For Real?
By Mike Tersigni
Slow Down: Ontario's law against street racing recently snared the driver of a garbage truck who was racing at 112 km/h!
Momma Raised a Moron: A New Jersey man is accused of causing a three-vehicle collision that injured four people. The 36-year-old man told police that he had been drinking and decided to drive around until he sobered up because he was afraid to go home and have his mother find alcohol on his breath.
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Did you Know...?
By Mike Tersigni
Canada's Salty: Approximately 5 of the 14 million tons of salt applied
to North American roads every winter are applied in Canada.
First Time: The first
Japanese car to be produced in, rather than exported to, North America, was the
Honda Accord which rolled off the assembly line in Marysville, OH, in 1982.
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Greetings!
Digital cameras are everywhere these days. Aside from the one in your shop, I wouldn't be surprised to find that you've got one at home and probably one in your cell phone. It occured to me recently that - what with all these digital cameras around - there are probably really cool pictures taken every day of people, places, and events relevant to the collision industry, and of course I want to get my hands on them. Each week we'll running a contest to find the best photo taken by the readers of Collision Repair magazine. The photo will be displayed prominently on our website and in the Collision Repair ezine. So get clicking! You can forward photos to me at editor@collisionrepairmag.com or via the link below.
Mike Davey,Editor |
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Rising Fuel Costs Under Discussion at CIC
Running concurrently with the I-CAR Annual Internation Meeting, the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) met and reported developments from its committees.
One highlight was discussions about fuel surchages and rising fuel prices resonated with attendees. Rising fuel costs are helping to raise prices, and some shops have agreements with insurers to absorb fuel surcharges, thereby cutting further into shop revenues.
Also among the meeting's highlights was a clever way of demonstrating the properties of Advanced High-Strength Steel (AHSS). Attendees were invited to drop their business cards into a box for the opportunity to win a trip to Hawaii. The skill testing portion of the contest? Those who had their cards drawn had to cut through a part made of AHSS. No trip was awarded. The contest was engineered by Toby Chess to demonstrate the difficulties firefighters and other emergency workers face when they must cut through wrecked automobiles.
Read more...
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Global Beat: Weekly News From Around the World
By Mike Tersigni
In international news this week, Australia is in the midst of a controversy
regarding an magazine article that upcoming AutoEquip Expo organizers say is
meant to undermine their event. Meanwhile in Russia, DuPont opens a $3 million technical
centre focused on adapting new coatings materials to line conditions at car
manufacturing plants. In the UK,
a study conducted by Experian reveals a frightening trend regarding failing
automotive business, while Mitchell's ITR examined the difference in repair
costs between hybrid vehicles and traditional gasoline powered vehicles, and Solera
expands its reach into the German market acquiring USC.
Australia
Sydney Show Attack Causes Uproar
The AutoEquip Expo in Sydney,
Australia was
attacked recently in the trade publication National Collision Repairer, just
weeks before the exhibition opened. The article, titled "Why We Wont Be There .
. ." has resulted in a storm of accusation and threats of possible legal action.
The
article purports to be an interview between a representative from the magazine and
the management of Sydney Automotive Paints and Equipment (SAPE). The show's organizers speculate that the
article is a deliberate attempt to sabotage the Expertise Events show. SAPE is
a major advertiser in the magazine and is represented on the steering committee
for the rival Collision Repair Expo, staged as part of the AAAA biennial show.
Some have seen this as a distinct motivation for undermining the AutoEquip
Expo.
Gary
Fitz-Roy, the Managing Director of Expertise Events, circulated a letter to all
AutoEquip Expo exhibitors to help mitigate the damage of the article. In the
letter Fitz-Roy said "the timing (of the article) certainly has the effect of
causing maximum damage."
Read more...
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Sincerely,
Media Matters Incorporated
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