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JAGUAR CONTINUES TO UTILIZE I-CAR TRAINING FOR REPAIR OF
NEW ALUMINUM XJ
 In 2003, with the assistance of Jaguar franchise retailers and retailer nominated independent body shops, Jaguar North America has established the world's largest aluminum repair network to support the 2004 XJ.
Since February 2003, over 70 collision repair technicians have successfully completed "The New XJ Structural Repair & Panel Replacement" training course administered by I-CAR Tech Centre in Appleton, Wisconsin. This curriculum covers straightening, bonding, panel repair and replacement, cutting, welding, and riveting specific to the aluminum-bodied XJ sedan. Jaguar North America and I-CAR visited the UK to create a US-based structural training program.
Jaguar’s collision network is comprised of qualified and fully trained collision repair centers that have met all of Jaguar’s standards. Training is only one of the components required for Jaguar structural certification; the other standards required by Jaguar for structural certification are facility and equipment.
Each of the repair centers is equipped with the specialized tools and equipment; XJ trained technicians; and a self-contained repair area to prevent cross contamination from steel-bodied repairs. These standards are required to help ensure that Jaguar Authorized Repair Centers conduct quality collision repairs for the aluminum-bodied XJ and restore function, appearance, and durability.
"Specialized training is required due to the new technology used on this vehicle during the manufacturing process, such as panel bonding, riveting, and welding," according to Jaguar Technical Training Manager, Dan Algarin.
Jaguar North America has set up a network of aluminum collision specialists around the country – the Jaguar Authorized Aluminum Repair Network – to perform structural and non-structural collision repairs.
Any vehicle needing structural repair will be transported to the closest structural repair center, complements of Jaguar Cars (during the New Vehicle Warranty Limited period).
This is the first in-house vehicle-specific training program jointly developed with the manufacturer and delivered by the I-CAR Tech Centre. I-CAR Video Production And Research Manager Bob Wipf believes that the greatest benefit of I-CAR’s participation with the Jaguar training is the knowledge gained by such a cooperative effort. "Learning early about how a vehicle is constructed and what repair procedures are being recommended by the individual vehicle manufacturers allows us to make sure that I-CAR and I-CAR Education Foundation training is on target," says Wipf. "Our objective is to help Jaguar deliver this important new training to its North American market and allow I-CAR to learn more about the vehicle-specific repair processes used on the all-new XJ. OEM materials and tasks are changing, and cooperative projects like this allows I-CAR to continuously update what we’re teaching and ensure that the collision industry has access to the latest repair information."
The use of aluminum is not new to Jaguar when it comes to building cars…
- William Lyons, the founder of Jaguar and his partner William Walmsley started using aluminum in 1922 with the production of the swallow sidecar.
- In 1948, the Jaguar XK 120 came to market. The first bodies were built of aluminum.
- In 1951, Jaguar entered the 24-Hours of LeMans with 3 aluminum-bodied C-Type racing cars. One of them won the race and the C-Type won again in 1953.
- In 1955, a new Jaguar Le Mans entry was designed, designated the D-Type. It was an all-aluminum monocoque for greater strength, rigidity and lightness. Jaguar D-Types won Le Mans in 1955, 1956, and 1957.
- In 1990, the Jaguar again embraced the use of aluminum in the production of the XJ 220 of which fewer than 300 were produced.
- It was only natural for Jaguar to carry-on with the use of aluminum in the production the 2004 XJ.
I-CAR Video and Research Manager Bob Wipf said, “The Jaguar XJ structural aluminum training completed at the I-CAR Tech Centre in 2003 has been extremely successful, and more XJ training sessions are being planned for 2004. The cooperative efforts of this project have already impacted both organizations in a very positive way and provided a basis for even more cooperation in the future.”
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SOUTH PACIFIC REGION TOY DRIVE CREATES HAPPIER HOLIDAYS FOR FAMILIES AFFECTED BY CALIFORNIA WILD FIRES
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An example of the devastation left by the wild fires.
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Families’ lives were turned upside down due to the recent California fires, and with the holiday season right around the corner, there was little cheer and hope in the local children. However, I-CAR Los Angeles Committee Chairman Toby Chess would not allow for such sad little faces and decided to organize a toy drive. With the help of the I-CAR South Pacific Regional Office, Toby was able to spread the word about the need for toys and received quite an amazing response:
- Over 40 collision repair facilities responded with toys and donations
- Tom Holmes, along with Akzo Nobel employees, collected over 500 toys
- Caliber Collision Centers donated nearly 70 toys
- Marcos Collision Centers donated nearly 90 toys
Thanks to the generous efforts of others in the I-CAR South Pacific Region, many children are smiling again. In total, nearly 2,000 quality toys were collected for the children. On Saturday, December 20, 2003 two full-size vans (courtesy of Enterprise Rental) and a Toyota pick-up truck were loaded and started the 120 mile trip to the San Bernardino Mountain town of Rim Forrest.
Toby said, “We were all pretty excited about what we were doing and we were joking on our cell phones - until we started up towards the mountain resorts and then it really hit us! We were in a state of shock seeing the devastation that the wild fires had left behind. The slopes that we could see were covered with a light yellow material (fire retardant) and the black charred remains of trees. There were no other colors.”
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Two young I-CAR supporters stand next to the donated toys.
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Local children and Toby Chess (right) gather around the toys.
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When arriving in Rim Forrest, Stephanie Phillips, a local schoolteacher who helped coordinate the toy drive, greeted Toby. Initially, Phillips only saw the Toyota pick-up truck; there had been 350 families that signed up for assistance and one truck certainly could not have held enough toys for everyone. When she asked to help unload the toys she then saw the other full vans and began to cry tears of joy. The amount of community spirit that was then displayed was incredible - Phillips made one phone call and everyone in town came out to help unload the gifts. Towards the end of unloading the toys a young father, with tears in his eyes, went up to Toby and gave him a hug and said, “there really is a Santa Clause!”
Toby has held either a food or toy drive the past seven years during the holiday season and has had an incredible impact on many individuals.
I-CAR South Pacific Regional Manager Lorene Lombardi said, “Within I-CAR we are blessed with individuals that are selfless with the time they give. Then there are individuals that not only support I-CAR but also the community in whole. Toby is one of those individuals and we are all proud of how he comes to the aid of others.”
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I-CAR RECOGNIZES NEW AND LONG-TERM GOLD CLASS BUSINESSES
I-CAR would like to recognize and thank the long-term members of the Gold Class Professionals program and welcome its newest Gold Class members. We are proud of the many businesses that have taken on the challenge of qualifying for Gold Class and look forward to seeing the number continue to expand.
An elite group has qualified as Gold Class Professionals for over a decade, ten of which joined in 1990. These businesses are quickly approaching 14 consecutive years as Gold Class Professionals. They are listed below in the order that they joined the program:
| 8/31/1990 |
EAST ROCKFORD COLLISION CENTER |
ROCKFORD |
IL |
| 8/31/1990 |
VIC'S AUTO BODY |
SAINT PETERS |
MO |
| 10/10/1990 |
RED'S BODY SHOP |
WASHINGTON |
NJ |
| 10/12/1990 |
EXCEL AUTO BODY INC |
MARION |
IN |
| 10/15/1990 |
TOP SERVICE BODY SHOP |
COOS BAY |
OR |
| 11/12/1990 |
CALIBER COLLISION-DOWNTOWN FORT WORTH |
FORT WORTH |
TX |
| 11/20/1990 |
ABC BODY & FRAME |
PRESCOTT |
AZ |
| 11/30/1990 |
DANLAR COLLISION |
ALBUQUERQUE |
NM |
| 12/5/1990 |
JACKSON'S BODY SHOP |
SALEM |
OR |
| 12/20/1990 |
COLLISION PLUS OF SWANSEA |
SWANSEA |
IL |
The following businesses celebrated their anniversary as consecutive ten-year Gold Class Professionals between October 2, 2003 and December 1, 2003. They are listed alphabetically by region. Businesses are only listed if their anniversary occurred in the above timeframe.
Please note: Gold Class recognition will occur every other month in the e-newsletter. The next recognition article will appear in the March 29, 2004 issue and only businesses whose 10-year anniversary date occurs between December 2, 2003 and March 1, 2004 will be recognized for their long-term Gold Class status.
The Gold Class program continues to grow and welcomed approximately 100 businesses as Gold Class Professionals between October 2 and December 1, 2003. I-CAR would like to commend these businesses on their commitment to collision repair.
I-CAR is grateful for the dedication shown by all of its Gold Class businesses, and looks to a future where every person in the collision industry has the necessary technical knowledge and skills relevant to their position to achieve complete and safe repairs.
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New I-CAR Gold Class Professionals Business ( 64K) in Adobe Acrobat Format |
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I-CAR Gold Class Professionals Business Consecutive 10 or More Years ( 34K) in Adobe Acrobat Format |
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