slapdash: Is there something wrong with I-70

slapdash: Is there something wrong with I-70

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Are Car sales turning the Corner?

Seems like the Car sales may have turned the Corner. The sale of new cars may have seen an uptick in April. The big question will be can it continue into May? I wonder are the car sales just a symptom of higher gas prices. What higher gas more car sales? Yes, I have heard a number of people looking to buy a smaller car. I think there are a lot of people buying smaller cars and keeping their SUV or truck in the driveway more. So that means there are more cars around. I know in the past I would not be caught dead driving and economy car. But not with Gas prices going up with no end in sight I would not have a problem with it. The cost of that economy car is also a fraction of the total cost for that truck or SUV. So you can afford just to park the beast in the driveway and save it for those times when you need it. I guess the summer will tell but I see sales moving to smaller cars with lower Gas consumption.

Volo and the injury proof car

Volo is promising an injury proof car by 2020. It just seems to me that an M-1 Abrams is an injury proof vehicle. Unless you shot a RPG from point blank range and then only if you hit the sweet spot, will you injury any of the passengers. I have seen video of an M-1 running over cars. So that said it is possible to create the injury proof car. You can not deny that. The question is how affordable can you make such a car. The more systems you create the more chance of failure. The more chance of system failure the more chance a passenger gets hurt. The room for error in such a car is zero because only one person getting hurt means that the system is a failure. It is possible to create they system but can you affordable put them in cars. Cars are to expensive to fix today anyway. It will take a PHD just to fix such a car. Well the journey will lead to systems that will be effective but with India producing the $2,000 car can you keep it safe. Just saying!

How to find a good bodyshop

One of the places to look for a good shop is to look at the I-Car website. I-Car Gold designation is one qualification that does not mean absolutely mean it is a great shop but every great shop will have it. If that makes sense. I good place to start is on the website. You can check here to see if there is shop near you. Another designation is ASE, or automotive service excellence. ASE is geared more toward a straight mechanical shop so if a Collision Shop does not have ASE is is not necessarily a bad sign. A shop that looks nice from the outside does not always mean a good shop but that means they are concerned enough about customer service to ensure you are taken care of. However customer service may not equate to a properly repaired car. In my mind one of the best places to find out who is a good shop would be to ask the paint distributors. They visit lots of shops and know who is good and who just looks good.

ICar attendance in Western MD

Last night I went to a meeting about ICAR. Apparently the ICar classes in this area are having attendance problems. It seems to be isolated to this area and in most other area are having record numbers attending. They are wondering what the solution for attendance problem. They are thinking it might be the mix of classes or the timing. I am not sure the answer but I think I may be part of the problem as I have not been attending class regularly. I guess we will have to think about it.

Working in the Body Shop

I think the most Ironic thing about working in a bodyshop is the lack of understanding about how the whole insurance industry works for the average driver. Everyone that drives, well almost everyone, has car insurance. I have worked in this industry for only three years. So it was not long ago that I considered myself in the ranks the ignorant. It seems like about two-thirds of people I deal with have no idea how insurance company works to fix their cars. There are many that try to get over on the insurance companies but most that try and do that end up paying more. I hope to use this blog to communicate how our industry works.