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Letter to the Editor

Stormy Weather

Hurricane Season this year has been a fizzle, at least up until now, but the last few months have brought some major storms to our Collision Repair Industry. INSIGHT has been tracking the State Farm storm progress for readers over the last several months, and now, with NACE 2006 just over the horizon, we predict a new storm gathering strength and appearing headed directly for Las Vegas and the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) meeting on October 31.

The storm is brought on by American Family Insurance’s decision to order shops participating in its direct repair program to switch to Solera’s Audatex estimating system. I have not received so many phone calls from body shop managers and owners about a topic since the time I wrote about my love of science fiction stories several years ago!

This month’s feature, along with the accompanying SCRS statement (See page 11.) hopefully will set the stage for some meaningful dialogue at the CIC session. Perhaps this particular storm’s eye of the hurricane will remain over the meeting room long enough to allow it.

Hybrid vehicles have been getting some serious advertising time on television lately. Now, AutoNation, the largest auto retailer in the U.S., has added its powerful presence to the Plug-In Partners campaign (See page 4.) to encourage auto manufacturers to produce plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. With fuel prices rising and the need for America to rely less on foreign oil, AutoNation’s decision is a good move. Despite the struggles in Detroit by auto-makers to cut costs, the wars and increasing tensions in the Middle East have definitely made this a priority issue.

INSIGHT is interested in hearing from NACE 2006 attendees. Drop us an e-mail: editor@collision-insight.com, and let us know what was a big deal for you there.

Wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving go out to our readers! We are always thankful to you for your support.

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