YesterWreck – The Column #7: The Collision Repair Industry – 1950 - 1959
Editor's Note: This is the seventh in a FenderBender-exclusive series, excerpted from Ledoux’s book, YesterWreck: The History of the Collision Repair Industry in America, available here. Find the rest of the series here.
It was America’s Eisenhower-decade, replete with saddle shoes, poodle skirts – and packs of Lucky Strike cigarettes rolled up in the sleeves of countless white tee shirts. Transcontinental television and phone service and color TV became a reality. Senator Joseph McCarthy looked under every rock in America for communists, and businessman Ray Kroc found a new way to promote hamburgers at a little stand he called “McDonald’s” in San Bernardino, California. Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, and construction of the interstate highway system started. Despite racial tensions, trouble-prone school integration, and a war in Korea, life was pretty good in the U.S. for most people, and it was a time of growth for the collision repair industry.
America Cuts Loose in a Post WWII World
The 1950s mark a golden era in the auto industry. American servicemen were back from Europe and the South Pacific. America was back on its feet again economically, socially, and culturally. Factories were no longer turning out bombs and bullets; it was time to build some cars that were destined to be classics – and time to introduce some new automotive technology.
It featured the introduction of mainstay models like the Chevy Corvette and Ford Thunderbird. The 1957 Chevy Bel Air became the quintessential classic car. Ford’s 1957 Fairlane became forgettable. It was also the decade that saw the emergence of the import car with names such as VW, Triumph, and Jaguar. Typically, import cars were first characterized as difficult to repair, and difficult to find replacement parts and refinish paint for. That stigma would hang around until the mid-1960s.
In 1950, – with so many people hitting the roads after being limited for so long by gas and tire rationing, and simply the lack of a vehicle – vehicle miles traveled – and the accident rate – began to soar. In 1950, 34,763 highway deaths were reported. It was time to implement some safety measures.
Wide curved-glass windows, front and rear, gave drivers an extra measure of safety to avoid accidents and offered window reinstallers a new challenge. The new Chevy small-block V-8 gave drivers safety in the way of more power on the new interstate freeways to pass and merge into traffic.
Safety-Conscious America
Safety became more of an issue in the 1950s for body repairers, the motoring public, and civil and safety engineers. Auto body painters finally learned that breathing toxic paint fumes all day was not good for their lungs and great strides were made in the world of paint application. However, sanding dust was an issue in many shops.
In 2017, industry veteran Herb Lieberman, a longtime industry veteran, was asked what he recalled from his earliest days in the industry.
“I started out in 1952 making the rounds calling on shops both dealers and independents,” he said. “Yes, some dealers were OK, not like now, and some independents were OK, not like now. But all had their share of Bondo dust, and brazing rods, and stuff all over the place. Some were quite messy. Those were the days!”
Vehicle safety meant greater use of seat belts and padded dash boards. The concept of automotive safety air bags developed in the 1950s, but they were not very practical. To deploy an air bag, a driver or passenger had to anticipate a collision and flick the “deploy” switch in time. Most people weren’t quick enough.
Roads became safer with new legislation calling for more signs and lane separation. Civil engineers designed roads with a crown in the middle, enabling rainwater to run off to the edges and leave a less slippery surface.
It was also the start of the interstate highway system. The highways were safer than the average two-lane state-maintained roads. Yet the roads would promote driving led to more accidents simply due to the increased volume of drivers and vehicles on the road.
Trade Journals and Amiable Insurance Appraisers
The 1950s were also a time for innovation in other areas. In June of 1955, Emil Stanley founded Stanley Publishing and produced two magazines: Transportation Supply News and Jobber Product News. Little did he realize it at the time, but he would later be an innovator in the world of publishing for the collision repair industry. In 1962, Stanley produced the first nationally distributed collision trade publication, Automotive Body Repair News and Good Car Care magazine. Finally, the collision repair industry and shops had a voice. After many iterations and owners, this eventually became ABRN, Auto Body Repair Network magazine. Stanley passed away in September 1989, leaving an indelible mark on the collision industry.
An article appearing in a 1969 trade journal provided one long-time shop owner’s vision of the collision repair business over the past twenty years. He noted that 1949-1954 were the best years of his operation, according to the unnamed shop owner. There were few shops and plenty of work. He employed 15 body men, a huge shop for the time. Intrusion from the insurance companies was almost nonexistent and insurance appraisers seemed “most amiable.”
Craftsmen, Leaders, and Associations
Between 1949 and 1954, the industry was comprised primarily of craftsmen who lacked the leadership skills to deal with the insurance companies and the changing landscape. According to a 1969, about 10% of those in business during the 1949-to-1954 period refused to change with the times and the evolving industry dynamics. They became bitter and frustrated, allowing the industry to permeate with low-paying or no-paying work. This later paved the way for people like Salvatore “Silvie” Licetra to conduct training courses in the early 1960’s, which became popular.
Then, according to the industry veteran, things started to go downhill from 1954 to 1959. Insurance companies found it difficult to find well-trained, experienced appraisers. They became argumentative. Out of frustration, auto body associations began to pop up. The only problem was shop owners in the association would say one thing at the association meetings and do the opposite at their shops the very next day.
Yet, despite all the industry foibles, some made pretty good money.
“As a kid, I started working in a shop in 1957 before I went into the Marines,” said industry veteran Tony Lombardozzi in a 2017 interview. “Back then, shops didn’t mind paying for skill. I would turn 45 to 50 hours in a week and come home with $150 to $175. That was good money then. At the same time, my dad would bring home $65 to $75 per week!”
The Start of Discounting
Shop owners began to ask insurance companies to be their “shop of choice,” setting the stage for the future DRP concept. As an incentive to the insurance companies, some shops offered a 10% parts discount on claims. However, many made the offer “tongue-in-cheek,” knowing that they would increase the labor charges to make up for it. Thus, the insurance company demand for parts discounts was on…. and went on and on…
Excerpted from Ledoux’s book, YesterWreck: The History of the Collision Repair Industry in America, available here.
