N O RT HE A ST E DI T I O N CT / DE / ME / MD / MA / NH / NJ / NY / PA / RI / VT
NHTSA Tells Automakers Not To Comply With MA’s Right To Repair Law The National Highway and Transportation Safety Authority (NHTSA) on June 13 sent a letter to 22 automakers, telling them not to comply with a Right to Repair law recently enacted in Massachusetts, citing “significant safety concerns.”
to dealership service centers. It was first approved by Massachusetts voters in 2020, but delayed for years by a lawsuit brought by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing automakers.
41 YEARS
AUTOBODYNEWS.COM
Vol. 14 / Issue 4 / July 2023
REGIONAL NEWS
PA Students’ Efforts Become a Transportation ‘Gift’ Twenty-one students from Pottsgrove, Spring-Ford and Upper Perkiomen high schools, all learning auto body repair skills at the Western Montgomery Career and Technology Center in Limerick, PA, gave a gift of transportation freedom May 20 to an area family. Students taught by collision repair instructor Charles “Chuck” Smith worked during a period of two academic years to complete the occasionally monumental task of bringing a damaged automobile back to usable life. They weren’t alone in the job. Many underwriters, including local collision and body shops, parts suppliers, other retailers and those who believe in the center’s mission, also helped.
The gleaming result was on display, and the keys and title were officially handed over to a Lansdale mother of three, during the Western Center’s 2023 Car Show at its 77 Graterford Road property. The presentation of the black, better-than-new, four-door Toyota sedan was among the highlights of a day filled with activity. In addition to the car show, the center also hosted a pancake breakfast, a raffle, a 5050 cash drawing, a dunk tank, ice cream and lunch vendors, a swag bag distribution and fundraisers for the Bruno Memorial and the Team Emma campaign fighting childhood cancer. Turning over the ignition keys represented the culmination of l CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
REGIONAL NEWS
Credit: Shutterstock
“While NHTSA has stressed that it is important for consumers to continue to have the ability to choose where to have their vehicles serviced and repaired, consumers must be afforded choice in a manner that does not pose an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety,” the NHTSA said in the letter. The law requires automakers to allow access to their vehicles’ data, so owners can get them fixed by independent repairers if they choose, rather than be forced to go
Finally, in March, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced she would begin enforcing the law June 1, despite the lack of a decision in the federal lawsuit. A last-minute motion to block the enforcement by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation was denied. The letter from the NHTSA claims the Massachusetts law is in conflict with and is therefore preempted by the Safety Act, which
New York City Sues Hyundai, Kia Over EasyTo-Steal Cars By Thanos Pappas CarScoops
A new development unfolded in the ongoing Hyundai and Kia vehicle theft controversy June 6, as New York City filed a lawsuit against the two Korean automakers, accusing them of negligence. The complaint lodged in a Manhattan federal court depicts the absence of immobilizers in specific Hyundai and Kia models as
l CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
l CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
INSIDE THIS ISSUE 14
Columnist Mike Anderson: How to Create a Winning Customer
Experience
40
Columnist Abby Andrews: Mitchell Hosts High School Students to Show Career Opportunities in the Collision Repair Industry
10
Columnist Stacey Phillips: Solving the Tech Shortage: Providing Direction, Showing Vulnerability & Re-messaging the Collision Repair Job
30
Columnist John Yoswick: Auto Body Shop Owners Decide Where to Focus Attention, Resources in Near Future
PERMIT #288 ANAHEIM, CA
PAID
Change Service Requested P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE