Collision Blast

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‘Tis The Season

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We all know the holiday seasons are here, but there may be more seasons around us than we’re aware of.

I want to tell you a strange story that happened to me yesterday morning. I had just dropped my kids of at school and was on my way to Butler. A commercial on the radio caught my attention because it was talking about auto accidents. They were talking about it being deer hunting season, but it is also deer collision season. At that exact time a deer shot across the road, I slammed on my brakes and I knocked the deer off balance. Fortunately, I was not traveling too fast, the deer jumped up and ran off and there is no damage to my vehicle. So, maybe I owe Auto Craft a thank you for helping me be deer collision conscientious at that time.

After getting to work it started to snow, which led to more accidents throughout the day. I was watching the news this morning and I believe it said that there had been over 400 accidents called in, in Sedgwick County. That is a lot of work for the body shops, but please, drive careful and respect bad weather conditions.

Here are some tips to help you drive on the ice and snow, so that you can spend your holiday season safely at home with your family. Driving Tips

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Collision Repair Tip
Use a small butane torch to remove small dents from a body panel.
~Sam Moser – BCC Student

Fact
The Butler livestock judging team has 23 national contest victories this decade. Read More

Quote
“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.”
~Henry Ford

Question
What is the first step before starting any collision repair?

Why Did Car Makers Start Using Plastic?

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Whether you approve of plastic parts or not the fuel-saving lightweight parts are here to stay. Let’s take a quick look how we got to where we are today.

The first cars were nothing more than a buggy with an engine. In 1908 the first mass produced Model T was produced on an assembly line by Henry Ford. Color matching was probably easy then, as all the cars were black. This was to keep the cost down. It was Henry Ford’s vision to make an affordable vehicle.

There were no major changes from the Model Ts to cars made in the 1950s. Cars were body-over-frame and rear wheel drive. However in the 1960s people started wanting more speed. This was accomplished with big block motors, which produced additional horsepower. The 60’s was the start of the hotrods and custom paint jobs.

The 1970s brought many more changes to vehicles. The government stepped in and started pushing strict fuel economy and emission control laws. Customers also started demanding better fuel mileage. With the governments new laws and the demands of the customers started the explosion of automotive engineering ideas and changes in the automotive industry.

To comply with the laws and the demands of the customers, cars became smaller and more aerodynamic. They started using different designs and materials to decrease the weight of the vehicles. They learn how to strengthen the metal by work hardening, which allowed them to use thinner metal.

During this time many vehicles were being manufactured. Interstates were being built to allow people to travel much faster. However, more cars on the road at higher rates of speed resulted in a high number of accidents and deaths. Therefore, there were federal laws passed to regulate safety. This included seat belts, safety glass and head restraints. In 1979 the first driver side airbag was introduced. It become mandatory for all vehicles to have airbags in 1990.

Today vehicles continue to focus on safety and weight reduction. To decrease weight manufactures are using carbon fiber, aluminum, high strength steel, ultra high strength steel, boron, and a lot more of plastics. Another benefit of plastic is that it is corrosion resistance.

So lets face it, the fuel-saving lightweight parts are here to stay. It’s been 100 years since the Model T was first pushed out of the assembly line. With the significant amount of changes in the past 100 years; what changes does the next 100, 50, or even 20 bring? We may see new products surface and used to build cars, but I bet plastics will still be used.

Here is a link about future cars and the use of plastic.
http://www.aip.org/dbis/stories/2006/15132.html


What is your opinion and/or forecast of future cars? Leave us a comment.

A BCC Collision Repair Student Receives $2500 Scholarship

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Here, Jenni is Pinstripping a Hood Panel

The I-CAR Education Foundation, in conjunction with AkzoNobel Coatings Inc. and The Most Influential Women of the Collision Repair Industry, has awarded Jennifer Engelbrecht a $2500.00 scholarship as a runner up to the winner, Bonnie Peterson, a student at Cypress College in Cypress, CA, which received a $5000.00 scholarship.

This scholarship was available to females in 339 ASE-certified technical schools and colleges in the collision repair and refinish programs. With that said, I feel this is a big accomplishment for Jennifer to be selected to receive this scholarship. It certainly gives me great pleasure and pride of her accomplishments.

This award was announced this past Thursday in Las Vegas at the 2008 NACE convention. I asked Jenni how she felt about her accomplishments and she stated, “I feel very honored and excited. It took me by surprise when my teacher told me. I think this is awesome. I appreciate I-CAR, AkzoNobel, and The Most Influential Women for their kindness, giving, and support to the Collision Repair Industry.”

I have always told Jenni that her hard work and extra efforts would payoff. However, stellar work ethics, a positive and friendly attitude, and eagerness to learn is something that will continue to award one for a lifetime.

Congratulations to Jenni for all of her efforts and accomplishments. I would also like to thank I-CAR Education Foundation, AkzoNobel Coatings, The Most Influential Women of the Collision Repair, and all of the committee members for supporting technical education and the collision industry.

Be sure to leave a comment to congratulate Jenni below.

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Auto Body Repair Network

Body Shop Business

BCC Collision Students Visit Extreme Motor Sports Inc.

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By Donnie
Brian and Lisa Hollis
Shop Owners
The Butler Collision Repair students took a field trip to Extreme Motor Sports Inc. in El Dorado, KS to see first hand what the collision industry consists of. This allows the students to see how the industry operates, what to expect when they enter the “world of work” and makes connections between students and potential employers.

I would like to personally thank the business owners, Brian and Lisa Hollis for taking the time out of their schedule to allow us to tour their facility. They started their body shop business in a small nearby town; however, they decided to move the business to El Dorado about 3 or 4 months ago. Having a clean shop and one of the only air conditioned work areas makes his shop an ideal shop for a technician to go to work for. If you ever worked in a shop without air conditioning, you know what I’m talking about. The clean shop also contributes to a safer work environment and produces cleaner paint jobs.

Brian focuses on insurance job, but is also known for award winning restoration. He recently restores a 1956 Chevrolet from the ground up. The vehicle owner has taken this car to a number of big cars shows winning awards. Lisa is the office manger and performs the billing and all of the other necessary paperwork for the business. They currently are using CCC Pathways estimating system, which is the same system we have at the college. However, Brian is considering switching to Mitchell, which is another leading computerized estimating system. The shop uses PPG paints and will soon have their PPG Collision Repair Shop sign to proudly display to customers. PPG is one of the leading paint companies for automotive finishes. BCC also uses this same line of paint.

While we were touring the facility, Brian emphasized on his expectations of an employee. He said “motivation is the most important thing.” He needs employees that will show up ready to work, willing to learn, and with a good attitude. He said, “It’s hard to train a know-it-all.” So someone that is motivated with an open mind and willing to learn is the ideal employee.

The students interacted well and asked quite a few questions. There seemed to be an extra interest in the piece of equipment used to rotate cars on to work on the floor pan areas. We do not teach restoration at BCC Collision Repair, but this gave the students the opportunity to see what the skills learned at BCC can be used for. The core basic skills are needed to perform any type of collision work. The path in which the training leads a student to depends on each individual student.

Students in Customer Waiting Area as Brian Explains the Business Operation

Lisa Explains Certain aspects of the Business

I took a picture of the photo of the award winning 1956 Chevy

Frame and Unibody Equipment

Student Checking-Out the Paint Booth

Check out other Featured Body Shop on I Saw It On Google.