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Letter to the Editor

Summer Reading

This month’s feature article takes a close look at what collision repair shops and associations are doing to combat insurers’ steering of consumers to favored repair facilities. The topic of steering is definitely a hot one this year. At least one auto insurer has begun to write some consumers’ policies, offering a discounted rate for agreeing to use an approved facility, with restrictions on where damaged vehicles can be taken.

Several state legislatures are considering bills to prevent steering. It remains to be seen if state and regional collision repair associations will be heard above the Insurance Industry’s experienced and vocal lobbyists.

In breaking news as INSIGHT prepared to print, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has overturned the verdict against former lead paint companies, including the Sherwin-Williams Company. The decision has spared the paint manufacturers a costly and difficult clean -up, with an estimated pricetag of billions of dollars. See page 5 for more.

ASA has released two position statements on blending issues. Read about this on page 8. The hard work of the ASA Refinish Subcommittee should be appreciated. The text hopefully will clarify definitions and procedures, and lead to more accurate data from the information providers.

Check out the Investment Update this month, on page 22, for a discussion about rising costs across the nation. Car dealership stocks certainly had some pain on Wall Street this month. CarMax reported a huge depreciation in its SUV segment. Consumers appear to be getting over their infatuation with gas-gobbling vehicles, now that the prices at the pumps climb ever upward day by day.

Has the price of gasoline put a damper on Americans’ vacation plans this Summer? If consumers decide to stay in their own backyards, business may not be as rosy for collision repair facilities, despite the high hopes expressed this month in our Market Watch. See page 21 for more.

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