Are Hydrogen-Powered, Autonomous Flying Taxis The Future?
NACE is back
1. EVENTS
38 Fall 2014 Collision QUARTERLY collisionquarterly.ca
T
he 2014 National Autobody
Congress and Exposition (NACE)
was held in Detroit this year. There
had been concerns that the new
location might reduce attendance
and hamper the overall success of the event.
Those fears were not realized. One of the
most common statements heard from both
exhibitorsandattendeeswas“NACEisback!”
There were several factors contributing
to the success of the 2014 NACE expo. First,
the strategy to partner with several other
associationsandeventsbroughtgreatvalueto
bothexhibitorsandattendees.Second,great
interest was sparked by the rapid changes in
vehicledesign,construction,andreparability,
most notably the introduction of the 2015
Ford F-150.
The week began on the afternoon of
Monday,July28,withanopenboardmeeting
for the Society of Collision Repair Specialists
(SCRS). The purpose of the meeting was to
update the industry on a variety of topics,
including rental day formulas, insurance
company commercials, and clearcoat
blending. The SCRS represents over 6,000
A new location, new
partners, and the
introduction of new
technologies made
the annual exposition
a huge success.
IsBack!
b y K e i t h J o n e s
NACE
Attitude alone made this year's NACE a success.
Photos:KeithJones
2. collisionquarterly.ca Collision QUARTERLY Fall 2014 39
collision repair businesses and 58,500
professionalsintheUnitedStates.Since1982,
theSCRShasbeenthelargestAmericantrade
association solely representing the collision
repair industry.
Tuesday brought the Collision Industry
Conference (CIC). The CIC is the American
equivalent of the Canadian Collision Industry
Forum(CCIF).Oneofthehighlightsofthisyear’s
CIC event was a panel that included several
special agents from the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security discussing the issue of
counterfeitairbags.Thishasbecomequitean
issueforourneighbourstothesouth.Homeland
Security, original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs), and the collision repair industry are
working together to combat this growing
threat.Counterfeitairbagscanbedangerous,
evenlethal.Theyhavethepotentialtoexplode
during a crash and may deploy prematurely.
They also may contain harmful chemicals that
can be fatal if ingested. This issue is certainly
something that we need to be aware of here
in Canada; it is something the Automotive
RetailersAssociation(ARA)willberesearching.
Another highlight was the insurer-
repairerrelationscommitteeatCICdiscussing
the“rentaldays”issue,specificallythevariety
of formulas used by private insurance
companies. It all came down to cycle time,
something the collision repair industry
is striving to improve, on both sides of
the border.
The next day, Wednesday, was the 2014
I-CAR Conference, which kicked off with the
question,“Areyoureadyfor2025?”Thisyear’s
featured speakers were from Ford Motor
Company, Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
“Itprovidedanexcellentopportunityforshopowners,managers,andtechnicianstomeet
OEMengineersandlearnabouttechnologiesthatwillsoonbeshowingupintheirshops.”
continuted on page 40
On the tradeshow floor, it was one
of the busiest NACE expos ever.
