Well, it's 2 weeks after I returned from Remseck, The HQ of Scholl Concepts GmbH. It was a very intensive trip as I was presented several new products for testing with the Team and a lot of analysis required. 

A year or two ago, I wrote about a company that truly exist for 50 years. Then I posted one of the Retro bottles. Over the last two years, many Detailing companies and indidviduals had switched over. We thank you for your continuous support.

Look at these Retro samples. Aren't they Classic.?

Scholl Concepts is a Visionary company. We develop compounds for the latest Clear Coat being used in the today's Car Plants. Recently, we invested in new machines to produce Hi-Tech pads. You can Keep Looking. Keep Searching. Look no further...........but at Us, we will unleash these news that would stun you !  

Franchisee Spotlight: Butch Carter, Marietta, Georgia

Butch grew up in Belmont North Carolina, a small town outside Charlotte.  After high school, Butch went to college at NC State on an Air Force ROTC scholarship.  However, he returned home after one of his parents passed away and graduated from UNC Charlotte.  Upon graduation, Butch went into the Air Force and spent 4 years as an intelligence officer stationed in Denver and then Shreveport, Louisiana.  As part of his Strategic Air Command duties, he would keep a 3-star general and his staff informed of the current events taking place in the world.  He was also involved in Operation Just Cause in 1989 where U.S. forces invaded Panama. 

After leaving the Air Force and earning his MBA with a finance concentration from Louisiana Tech University, Butch entered the pharmaceutical industry with Pfizer as a pharmaceutical sales rep.  He then worked for the Japanese company, Otsuka, then Quintiles until landing at Axcan where he worked for 12 years as a regional manager and then a zone director of sales with responsibility for half of the US and Canada.  He was the top sales manager at Axcan three years in a row and won multiple sales awards during his tenure, but when Axcan went through an acquisition and changed their name to Aptalis, Butch declined to interview for a new position that would require a move to the northeast, and about a year later he was gone from the company.

During the past year Butch worked with a business coach, trying to decide what he wanted to do with the next step in his career.  He looked at several business opportunities before coming across Honest-1 and making the decision to open his own business in Marietta, Georgia.

Butch has always liked cars and appreciates the Honest-1 model and its commitment to customers and the environment.  The location of Butch’s Honest-1 was previously a Napa Auto Car Care Center that had been vacant for over a year.  They are currently remodeling the store to bring it up to Honest-1 standards, adding a children’s play area and an internet café, and painting the inside and outside.  Since it was built to be an auto shop, it already has 8 bays and is 5,000 square feet.

 

Dennis Eidson is the Honest-1 area developer and owns a location in nearby Roswell.

How did you learn about the brand?

I had a business coach and was looking for what I wanted to do with my life after leaving Aptalis.  We went through a process where we evaluated my strengths and looked at what I like to do.  We talked about franchise ownership and other types of business ownership.  I looked into several business models and always came back to Honest-1.  They provide good service at good prices, and I thought I could be successful working within their business model that puts the customer first and cares about the environment.

Why did you choose an opportunity with Honest-1 Auto Care?

I like the eco-friendly part of the package, with is very important these days.  This isn’t an industry where you would think of eco-friendly, so we’ve carved a good niche there.  More and more you are seeing aging cars on the street, and I knew that people are keeping their cars longer. On top of that, cars are being built better now, so there’s an opportunity there since people can keep a car longer by keeping it properly maintained.

I think in general, people distrust auto mechanics because they don’t know enough about auto care.  Honest-1 does a great job of making customers feel like they aren’t being lied to and that their best interests are being taken to heart.  If you take care of customers and treat them right, then you can be successful in this business.  I’ve always worked for companies that prided themselves in treating the customer right and having a lot of integrity.  That lines up with my own personal philosophy in business that if you treat your customers’ right, you’re going to be successful.

Tell me about your love of cars.

I’ve always been a car guy.  Right now I have a Corvette and I have always tried to have a sports car.  I had a family member growing up who owned the gas station at the cross roads by the train tracks in our small town and he was the mechanic that everyone took their car to.  Everybody loved him and I liked just hanging out there and what he did.

While I was in the Air Force they rented bays and had all the tools available so that we could do our own car repair and maintenance.  So I’d go over and do my own oil changes and brake jobs on my own.  I’ve always enjoyed working on cars.

What is the area like that you’ll be located in and serving?  Do you have ties to the area, or family in the area?

We call the area East Cobb.  The address is Marietta but it’s really in East Cobb, and it’s close to Roswell.  Where we’re located is a really great area with a lot of great businesses around.  There’s a Chucky Cheese nearby, a dollar movie theater, a regular movie theater, a big shopping center, and a bunch of other things right there.

My great grandfather lived in Atlanta for a long time and is buried there.  I’ve had family in the area for as long as I can remember so I’d visit a lot growing up.  My son lives in Atlanta too.

Are you involved with any charities or do any community outreach with your business?

We are definitely going to get involved with the community. We just haven’t gotten that far yet.  We’ll start working on a marketing plan as part of the process too.

There is an Air Force Base in Marietta called Dobbins AFB and I’m planning to work on a discount for them and see what might be possible with them.  I’ve done some work with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and have been looking to get more involved.

What challenges have you overcome to get where you are now?

I felt like I’ve overcome challenges my entire life.  I was raised by my grandparents and adopted by them.  They sacrificed a lot to make sure I got a good education and got into school. 

What are your expansion or development plans? What is your end goal with Honest-1 Auto Care?

I want to do the first one right and ensure that we’re successful in East Cobb.  Ultimately I’d like to open 2 or 3 more in the Atlanta area.  I’d like to open 3 within 5 years, but that will depend on how things play out. 

Do you have any other interesting hobbies or passions?

I’m a member of a local country club in the area and love to play golf.  I have to split that time with my girlfriend of course.  I still stay in touch with a ton of friends from the North Carolina area where I grew up, so we get together fairly often.  I’ve also done work with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and am looking to do more with them.

When Ethanol Attacks Your Fuel System

What do you do when your car pours gasoline on the ground?  Do you run, light a match, or call your mechanic?  That is the question for today’s service insight.

Ethanol has snuck into automotive fuel systems over the past 20 years, with some states blending more than 10% into the gas you buy.  They say it’s an invisible change, and that may be true, but it’s not without consequence for your vintage car.

Newer cars (those made in the past 10 years) are designed to use 10-20% ethanol without damage.  Older cars are not so tolerant.  Ethanol can react with the rubbers used in hoses and seals, and cause them to crumble.  When that happens you have leaks, or worse.

 

Here is an example – a 1996 Bentley Turbo.  This car would be fuel-tight most of the time.  But every now and then – usually when it was cold – the car would gush fuel at a frightening rate.  As you can see, the engine bay in this car is jam-packed, and you can’t see the fuel line connections.  But they are in there.

A day of disassembly revealed the culprit – crumbled o rings on the lines that carry fuel into the injector rails.  There are four of these seals on this engine, and they all looked like this.

What about the other seals?  Carmakers buy their parts from a multitude of vendors.  In this case Rolls Royce Motors bought the fuel injectors from Bosch, and the fuel hoses from a supplier in the UK.  The Bosch injectors (Bosch being a more forward looking company) were supplied with o-rings rated to withstand 20% ethanol for 20 years, and they are fine.

The fuel pipe seals have no rating at all, or none we can find, and they failed.

Are there other lines and seals that can go bad in this car?  Maybe.  It’s hard to know.  The ethanol attacks hoses and rings from inside, so we won’t see the problem until it becomes a blowout.   Knowing that. I think I’d replace the fuel hoses on the car with new ethanol-rated line.

That brings up another problem.  Many of the service parts for vintage cars are new-old-stock, meaning they were made years ago and stored.  If those new/old lines are not made from ethanol resistant hose they are no better than what’s on the car now.  You may have to have new hose fabricated from modern ethanol rated line stock to solve the problem properly.

This is a significant safety hazard that every old car enthusiast should know about.  

Some people ask if there are ethanol-free fuels.  Aviation fuel is ethanol free, as is racing gas.  However both are costly and neither are legal for road use.  More importantly, if ethanol is the standard gas in your area, you would be wise to manage your car as if ethanol is going in the tank regularly.  Be prepared, because that's smarter than being broken.  Or being burnt.

John Elder Robison is a NY Times bestselling author and the founder of J E Robsion Service of Springfield, MA.  Robison Service is a long established Bosch car service specialist, with expertise in BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes, Porsche, and Rolls Royce/Bentley motorcars. Find them online atwww.robisonservice.com or in the real world at 413-785-1665

British Invasion 2013

The engine started ticking and popping as soon as he shut off the ignition.  He looked up to see the police car with its blue lights flashing in his rearview mirror.  The cop car’s door swung open.  A lawman emerged, a solid three hundred pounds of Vermont’s finest.  He straightened up carefully, then reached into the cruiser, and set a felt hat carefully on his head. When he turned this way his Ray-Ban sunglasses glittered dark under the overcast sky.

He approached the Jaguar.

“I been waitin’ for you,” he said, looking down at the out of state sticker.

“I know.  You see I was comin’ here as fast as I could.”

Back at the British Invasion the Master of Ceremonies had said, “Drive far, and drive fast,” but he wasn’t here now, to pay the ticket.  It was a good thing the guns and the liquor were safely out of sight, and the car was basically legal.  

Three hundred seventy two dollars.  The cop didn't want to take cash, either.  "You gotta pay it at the court."  Sometimes a few hundred more dollars changed their mind, and it was a good deal, to keep the record clean.  Other times they figured to arrest you for a bribe, and things got bad.  It's always dicey, figuring which way to go in a situation like that.  Andrew says it's easier in Russia or Mexico, where you always know where you stand.

“You coulda gone to jail,” he said, “but I gave you a break because you was coming to see me, after all.”

Five miles later, the speedometer was back on the far side of 100.  New Yorkers used to be able to speed right at home, but the cops down there got airplanes, and cameras.  Vermont is like the last frontier, for now.

British Invasion 23 happened the weekend of September 21 in Stowe, Vermont.  Six hundred fifty British motorcars and a thousand-plus owners converged on the Stoweflake Resort, two miles out of town on Route 108.  The public gates opened at nine, and they flooded in too, a tide of seething humanity, shouting and jostling as they waited for the Blood Sport to begin.  They didn't have to wait long.

Land Rover Polo is always popular, and they play the six-truck style up there.  Spikes and battering rams were outlawed years ago at Vermont state fair, but the Invasion still allows them.  It’s the British version of Demolition Derby.  Much more genteel, yet satisfyingly brutal.  Then there is the jousting, and the halberd competition.  I like that the best.

The only hard part is trying to sleep.  The revelry goes on late into the night, with the sounds of metal on metal ringing in the chill air as modern-day knights in armor fight with swords, axes, and spears.  The occasional siren breaks up the rhythm for the ones that go to the hospital, or jail.  Amazingly, the cars themselves are untouched the next morning.   Nothing but a little blood spatter, to wipe off with the dew.  Cars are sacred here.

And some of the best action of the show happens at night.  Bobby Stuart from the Jensen Club set up an impromptu drag race on a deserted stretch of Mountain Road, and they whupped the Aston Martin cretins hard.  There was no sign of the fun the next day - a flatbed hauled the wreckage to Canada before dawn - but two guys in a red Interceptor were boasting of their victory to anyone who would listen, next day on the show field.

The real high point of the night was when the MG club outlaws raced through Smuggler's Notch at 2AM.  They close the road up there this time of year but proper British car enthusiasts always have bolt cutters in their ever-present tool bags, and some have torches. Those little cars went through the hairpins faster than I'd have thought possible, and most of them made it out alive.

As all that unfolded, the Land Rover guys were replicating Gleason's famous night time crossing of Siberia up on the Mansfield ski slopes.  They'd tried to rent daytime access to the mountain, and been rebuffed, but a night raid was more fun anyway.  The mountain maintenance crews are probably still cleaning up the mess.  

It was two and a half days of gasoline-fueled debauchery.  There was something for everyone.  Solid Land Rover diesels.  Bangers and mash.  Elegant prewar Jaguars.  Drunkards with flagons of stout.  Rare Aston Martins.  Vicious Manchester United fans.  Whatever you wanted, as long as it was British, was there for the finding.

Whether you could do anything with it when you found it . . . now, that was another matter.  It was only seven o’clock, but already the bartender was out of ale.  “Ten casks,” he said, looking with wonder at the singing and carousing patrons. Two supine revelers blocked the road back to the hotel.  I stepped out of the car and dragged them out of the roadway.  Better that, than to leave them to be run over by the next sods, who might not be so considerate.

The next morning I heard one woke up, and the other was eaten by animals.  Bertrand says he heard him screaming, but I couldn't tell . . . the yelling all runs together after midnight.

Our Jaguars didn’t win any prizes this year, but they didn’t sustain any damage either, and sometimes that is prize enough.  But you never know.  I have no idea where the six thousand dollars in my glove box came from.  All I can say for sure is, it’s not there now.  Any car show where you return home a few grand richer is a good one, I say!

We made it home on Sunday.  Here are a few pictures of the spectacle . . . .

Evaluating Paint When Buying Cars Online

Just yesterday one of our clients called about a 2012 Range Rover in Atlanta.  “It’s got a clean Carfax,” he said, but we both knew that wasn’t enough to make a decision on a 75k-plus automobile.

“Ask the dealer for paint gauge readings,” I suggested.  In this essay I’m going to explain what that means, show you some readings, and help you understand how they are interpreted.

One of the questions any professional appraisers asks is, “Does this car have any paint work?”  When I worked as a used car buyer (in the 1980s and 90s) we could spot 99% of repaired paint with our eyes.  Today, computerized paint matching and improved techniques and materials have made repairs much harder to see.  But paintwork and originality is just as important now as ever.

We used to find paint repairs by careful examination.  We checked to see if all the panels were the same color, and if metallic textures matched.  We looked for masking lines round door handles and lamp fixtures, where those areas were taped over in a repair.  We looked for overspray under door edges and in hard to reach spots.

Good as that was, the Elcometer company revolutionized the industry when they offered us an electronic meter that measured the thickness of the paint in a matter of seconds, by simply touching the gauge to the side of the car.

These gauges burst on the scene about 1994.  Within two years of release it seemed like every body shop manager, and every appraiser worth his salt had one. They are ubiquitous today.

This is an example of a current product:

http://www.elcometer.com/en/coating-inspection/dry-film-thickness/digital-coating-thickness-gauges/productmanager?prod=132

The paint gauge is a tool any used car professional should own – especially those of us who work with high value cars.  A walk round the car with a gauge will tell us things that simple visual inspection simply won’t reveal. 

Here’s an example on a Ferrari:

This corner has 14.4 thousandths of paint - certainly a repaint, maybe a repair

6 thousandths of paint - possibly original, certainly one less coat than the corner

The right rear corner shows 14.4 thousandths of paint, while the quarter panel two feet away has just 6 thousandths.  That’s a sure sign of repair in the right rear, whether we can see it or not.

Paint on a modern production car is applied by robotics and is highly consistent all over the vehicle.  A car will leave the factory with 4 to 7 thousandths of paint, and the coating will not generally vary by plus or minus a thousandth wherever you look.  When we read the side of a new Range Rover we see 6, 6.4, 6.4, and 6 as we walk from rear corner to rear door to front door to front fender.  That consistent paint thickness is a strong indication that side of the car is original and untouched.  A reading of 9 or12 in the corner would indicate a repair of some kind.

Robotically applied paint will be highly consistent all over the car

Variation from roof to side is under .001 on this original  late model Lexus

Collector cars are often painted by hand, and you will see more variability there.  The paint is also often thicker.  A 1990s Rolls Royce might have 8-12 thousandths even when new, and it could have 4 thousandths variation right out of the factory. 

So you have to interpret the readings in context.  Modern production car = highly consistent readings.  Custom car = variable readings.  Markedly thicker paint on one panel usually indicates rework or repair. 

Paint readings below 4 thousandths indicate paint that was either applied too thin or has worn away to nothing.  That’s a less common issue but you do see it.  Here’s a shot of an antique car with worn out paint.

Three thousandths - you can almost see through the paint!  Worn finish on a 1940s Willys

So what’s the takeaway here?  If you are buying an expensive car online, and you are talking to a dealer as opposed to an owner – ask the seller to send you photos of the paint gauge on all four corners, and in the center of every major panel.   Make a map in your mind, and consider what the results tell you.

In my opinion, if someone is selling a $50k or more car, they should be ready and willing to do this.  Frankly, I'd expect it for any car.  When I used to buy cars for big dealerships I'd be asked for numbers on $10,000 rigs.  It's a reasonable and ordinary request of any used car professional.

Internet photos can make any paint look great.   The Elcometer readings reveal valuable truths that pictures don’t show.

John Elder Robison is a NY Times bestselling author and the founder of J E Robsion Service of Springfield, MA.  Robison Service is a long established Bosch car service specialist, with expertise in BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes, Porsche, and Rolls Royce/Bentley motorcars. Find them online atwww.robisonservice.com or in the real world at 413-785-1665