Auto Care Insider Volume 108 - 13

GOVERNMENT
AFFAIRS
TELEMATICS
DEAL TOO
GOOD TO
BE TRUE?
IN the holiday classic "It's a Wonderful
Life," there is a scene set on Black
Tuesday, at the onset of the Great
Depression, where George Bailey,
who was just about to go on his
honeymoon, is overwhelmed with
the demands of panicked depositors
due to the closing of the bank. Seeing
the panic at the Bailey's building and
loan, Mr. Potter, the wealthiest man
in town, offers to buy out Bailey's
depositors at 50 cents on the dollar.
Bailey points out that, while this
might bail out many of his depositors,
it would ultimately put the building and
loan, the only competitor to Potter's
bank, under his control, thus reducing
competition in the fictional town of
Bedford Falls. I mention this story
not because the holiday season has
arrived, but because it is almost exactly
analogous (absent Donna Reed) to the
situation that the independent auto
care industry is facing with access
to embedded telematics systems.
The advent of telematics will provide
the ability for vehicles to wirelessly
transmit an enormous amount
of data, including diagnostic and
location information. While this could
provide huge benefits to the auto care
industry, there is one major problem:
all the vehicle data is transmitted
solely to the vehicle manufacturers.

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Not only is this a missed opportunity
for our industry, but this monopoly on
car owners' data could create a major
impediment for technicians attempting
to repair vehicles. In the near future,
cybersecurity concerns likely will cause
car companies to limit the data available
through the on-board diagnostic
(OBD) port to only emissions-related
information. Further, it is possible that
someday the OBD port might disappear
entirely, meaning that all the diagnostic
data that technicians currently obtain
through the OBD port will only be
available through the telematics system.
Of course, car companies have a
solution to the aftermarket's concerns:
they will make the data available from
their servers. Independent shops
will log into the car company server,
pay a fee and obtain the codes
needed to repair a vehicle. So, like
Mr. Potter, the car companies have
come forward with a solution aimed
at bailing us out. However, before
we celebrate, we might want to take
a step back like George Bailey and
think about the consequences.
Never before has our industry been
dependent on vehicle manufacturers
to obtain diagnostic information
needed to repair a vehicle. Since the
Clean Air Act was passed, Congress
acted to ensure competition in the

repair industry by mandating that the
OBD port be standardized such that
anybody could access the port without
the need for a proprietary device.
Unfortunately, what is unfolding
in the telematics area could threaten
competition by forcing shops to
obtain all their diagnostic data
from the car company. Thus, the
manufacturer would decide the cost
and level of access to data needed to
diagnose and repair their vehicles.
In sum, the offer from the vehicle
manufacturers is similar to the offer
from Mr. Potter in the movie. Yes, it
would solve the problem short term;
but in the long term, it would lead to the
end of the independent aftermarket.
I think we all know George Bailey
would say no to this deal and I hope
the industry will say no as well.
The Auto Care Association and
others in the industry are working on
solutions that could benefit competition
and provide a higher level of security
for critical vehicle systems.
Aaron Lowe, senior vice president,
regulatory and government Affairs,
Auto Care Association
Excerpted from Aftermarket Business World.

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13
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Auto Care Insider Volume 108
