Fixed Ops Journal - October 2017 - 24

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

SAFETY
SCAN


GM says new collision certification program
will heighten repair standards for body shops

RICHARD TRUETT
rtruett@crain.com

pickup traveling 40 mph plowed into
Tim Kip's Jaguar XJ last fall, days after he bought the $80,000 aluminum-body sedan. The financial
planner from Plant City, Fla., wanted to get rid
of the car, even though he loved it.
"I asked the insurance company if they
would total it," Kip said. "Then I tried to get the
dealer to take it back on trade."
The car was crunched from the rear doors
back. The repair bill topped $22,000. Kip worried that the body shop would not be able to
return his car, with just a few hundred miles
on its odometer, to showroom shape.
But the independent body shop - a certified Jaguar Land Rover collision-repair facility
- brought the XJ back to its pre-crash condition. Kip says he's satisfied with the repair.
It's that kind of automotive angst that General Motors hopes to avoid among its customers with the scheduled introduction next year
of a collision certification program for its deal-

Crash course

General Motors' new collision
certification program, scheduled to
launch in 2018, will affect dealership
and independent body shops that fix
GM vehicles. Among its standards
 Body-shop technicians must be
certified for repairs they perform.
 Crash vehicles must be scanned
before and after repairs are made.
 GM's aftermarket sales force will
work with independent repair shops
on the new rules.
 GM will be flexible on tool
requirements to keep program
enrollment costs down.
Source: General Motors

erships and independent repair shops.
The program comes at a time when GM is
increasing its use of lightweight materials and,
like other automakers, adding electronic safe-

Scan
tools
like this
GM device
diagnose
vehicle
damage in
crashes.

ty equipment.
Often the vehicle brand pays the price for
improper repairs after collisions. Ford Motor
Co. says nearly half of its customers who got
rid of their car or truck after an accident did so
for repair-related reasons - and worse, they
changed brands.
John Eck, GM's collision manager, customer
care and aftersales, says the intent of the automaker's new certification program is "to focus
on the repair of the vehicle."
"We want to ensure the repair facility is following the repair procedures, doing the necessary scanning and calibration, checking for
recalls and ensuring the appropriately trained
repair technicians are actually doing the
work," Eck told Fixed Ops Journal.
"We want every Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and
Cadillac restored to pre-crash condition," he
added. "It's about safety and brand loyalty."
A GM spokesman declined to say how the
automaker plans to market the new program
to customers.

Expanding to other brands
GM already certifies body shops to work on
two of its cars: the Chevrolet Corvette, which
has a fiberglass body, and the Cadillac CT6,
which uses GM's mixed-materials manufacturing combination of aluminum, highstrength steel and magnesium.
On the CT6, chassis parts are joined with
riveting, bonding and, in some areas, welding.
GM expects to use that manufacturing system
for the next generation of its full-size pickups,
the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.
Eck says results of the CT6 and Corvette certification programs have helped GM develop
The wreck of this Jaguar XJ raised owner Tim Kip's concerns about repair quality.

PAGE 24

OCTOBER 2017

see SCAN, Page 26

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fixed Ops Journal - October 2017