Collision repairers can expect to see design elements and new technology that will appeal to consumers and pose plenty of new challenges for shops.
Perhaps nothing drives the need for new technology in the shop more than new vehicles coming in for repair. Although much has been written about the increasing use of aluminum, ultra-high-strength steel and other "exotic" metals on vehicles, here's a look at what else collision repairers can expect to see as the current and coming years' vehicle models end up on your frame rack or in your paint booth.More sensors
Collision repairers are attuned to working around vehicle airbag sensors, and the increasingly common parking assist and rear-bumper sensors. But there will be other types of sensors inside and around tomorrow's vehicles.
Audi, for example, is adding "side assist" monitors to some of its models. To alert drivers when a vehicle is in their blind spot, a subtle yellow vertical light strip illuminates on the corresponding side-view mirror. If the driver activates a turn signal to indicate an intention to change lanes when a vehicle is in that neighboring lane, the light strip will become brighter and flash to alert the driver. The system uses two radar sensors in the vehicle's bumper that are activated once the vehicle reach 35 mph.
Nissan Motor Co. unveiled a new concept car designed to reduce drunk driving by detecting the driver's state of sobriety through smell, facial monitoring and driving behavior.An alcohol odor sensor built into the transmission shift knob can detect the presence of alcohol in the perspiration of the driver's palm. When the alcohol level detected is above a set limit, the system automatically locks the transmission, immobilizing the car. Alcohol odor sensors also are incorporated into the front seats to detect the presence of alcohol in the air inside the vehicle.
The system, as well as those being designed to reduce accidents caused by driver drowsiness, includes a camera on the instrument cluster facing the driver to monitor the driver's state of consciousness through his eyes. Another system monitors vehicle behavior, sensing for example if the vehicle is drifting out of its lane. When either system detects signs of drowsiness, inattentiveness or distraction in the driver, a voice and message alert is triggered and the seat belt tightens to gain the driver's attention.
Though less high-tech, every new vehicle this fall includes a tire pressure monitoring system that includes sensors in each wheel, including the spare. These systems may need to be recalibrated after a tire and wheel is removed or replaced. Each vehicle has its own reset procedures, which on some vehicles even requires rotating the spare tire to ensure the valve stem is in a certain position.
Air pressure sensors already in place in some Mercedes-Benz models may make their way into other makes and models. As part of the SRS control system, these sensors measure the volume of the air in all of the doors under normal operating condition. If one of these sensors detects a sudden increase in air pressure — generally caused by an impact — it serves as the first signal of a side impact and possible need for airbag deployment. That means it's critical to put all the rubber plugs back in the car and put the belt moldings on to ensure the door seals are intact.
New glass technology
Nanotechnology may make fogged-up windshields a thing of the past and add a new layer of complexity in the repair or replacement of windshields.A company called Fraunhofer Technology Development Group TEG has developed a process in which the windshield can be warmed with a transparent coating of carbon lacquer (or carbon nanotubes). When attached to an electrical supply, this wire-free coating becomes a flat heater that covers the entire windshield to keep it from fogging.
Once a bonding system is developed, the company hopes to see this system on vehicle windshields in a couple of years.
More airbags
Just when you think there's nowhere else for airbags in new passenger vehicles, the automakers find some place new to include one. At a vehicle safety conference earlier this year, airbag maker Autoliv introduced its "front edge airbag," designed to deploy and protect a pedestrian just before impact.
The bags are expected to be included primarily on SUVs, which pose a larger risk to pedestrians because the vehicles' higher hoods strike at the chest or abdomen area.
Autoliv's other new "bumper airbag for SUVs" also will protect pedestrians' legs when they deploy beneath the bumper. But the bag's primary purpose is to reduce injuries and damage when a higher SUV side-impacts a smaller passenger car, hitting above the car's energy-absorbing structure. The new bags reduce intrusion into the smaller vehicle, Autoliv says, and give the side airbags of the smaller vehicle added time to deploy.
New paint options
While the shift to waterborne paints in the collision repair shop — whether mandated or voluntary — is likely to dominate the focus of the paint shop side of the industry for the coming few years, the automakers still will be looking for new finish options at the factory.Some industry observers expect the "self-healing" coatings primarily being used on higher-end vehicles to migrate onto additional models. GM continues to expand the use of plastic film in place of paint on stoneshields, rocker panels and bumper fascia, and has said it is looking at using the technology on other parts of the vehicle.
In some good news for shops struggling to keep up with vehicle technology, the paint manufacturers and automakers say there is nothing overly challenging for shops' painters working with these new finish systems.
Little focus on reparability
How many times have you or your technicians been working on a vehicle and wondered, "Why in the world did they put this together like this?" Many in the industry wonder whether the automakers even think about the collision repair process when designing new vehicles.
The answer, it seems — is yes and no. Certainly, the OEMs don't want their vehicles to garner high insurance rates because the design makes repair more costly or difficult. And to varying degrees, the automakers have staff developing repair procedures and offering input during the design phase of development.
But most industry observers agree that reparability is not among the very top concerns in vehicle design. As evidence, just check out the results of slow-speed crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) to see that the bumpers on the 1981 Ford Escort perform far better than those on current model vehicles at reducing damage — and thus repair costs — in minor collisions.
Steve Nantau, collision repair engineering supervisor for Ford Motor Company, said that these types of tests and data certainly are considered by automakers. However, reparability is much lower on the list of vehicle design factors because it isn't something that new car buyers have shown an interest in.
"Most OEMs have engineers who really know how to build vehicles that can minimize damage in a collision," Nantau says.
"However, the most important influence on OEMs is the customer who is buying the vehicle ... and what customers want has really changed over the years. In the past, it was high performance and styling. Today it's safety and fuel economy."
Nantau said the publicity of the higher-speed crash testing conducted by the IIHS and the vehicle safety ratings published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has boosted safety among consumers' key concerns when buying a vehicle.
He cited Ford market research that determined 20 top things auto buyers look for in a vehicle, which ranged from safety, road handling and fuel economy at the top of the list, down to resale value, engine performance, interior roominess, exterior styling and even the "ability to accommodate my pet."
"Nowhere on this chart is reparability or cost of ownership, which includes insurance costs," Nantau says.
"The fact is, customers don't consider reparability as a factor when they are buying a new vehicle. This has led OEMs to put more emphasis on the factors that customers are looking for, which is fuel economy and safety," Nantau says.
"Perhaps if the national media promoted the cost of ownership as much as safety, customers would place more emphasis on it in their purchase decisions," he says. "This would lead OEMs to look harder for ways to accomplish all three: fuel economy, safety and reparability."
Until then, collision repairers can expect to see design elements and new technology that will appeal to consumers and pose plenty of new challenges for shops.
