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Kenaf, Hibiscus cannabinus L.is a warm season annual closely related to cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.).

Kenaf can be used as a domestic supply of cordage fiber in the manufacture of rope, twine, carpet backing and burlap. Research, in the early 1940s, focused on the development of high-yielding anthracnose-resistant varieties, cultural practices and harvesting machinery.

During the 1950s, kenaf was identified as a promising fiber source for paper pulp. Kenaf fibers have been processed into high quality newsprint and bond paper.

Although kenaf is usually considered a fiber crop, research indicates that it has high protein content and, therefore, is a potential livestock feed. Crude protein in kenaf leaves ranged from 21 to 34 percent, stalk crude protein ranged from 10 to 12 percent, and whole-plant crude protein ranged from 16 to 23 percent.

Kenaf can be ensilaged effectively, and it has satisfactory digestibility with a high percentage of digestible protein. Digestibility of dry matter and crude proteins in kenaf feeds ranged from 53 to 58 percent, and 59 to 71 percent, respectively Kenaf meal, used as a supplement in a rice ration for sheep, compared favorably with a ration containing alfalfa meal.

In addition to the use of kenaf for cordage, paper pulp and livestock feed researchers have investigated its use as poultry litter and animal bedding, bulking agent for sewage sludge composting and as a potting soil amendment. Additional products include automobile dashboards, carpet padding, corrugated medium, as a “substitute for fiberglass and other synthetic fibers,” building materials (particle boards of various densities, thicknesses, and fire and insect resistances), absorbents, textiles and as fibers in extraction molded plastics.

Kenaf is in the Hibiscus family, is cousin to Cotton and Okra, and is currently grown mainly in China and India for its high strength fibers. Nobody has focused on kenaf for food because the leaves did not taste good. However, a unique strand known as Whitten Kenaf was developed by the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and released for general use in 2005. These leaves taste quite good, a sort of lemony, Cajun taste. This variety of kenaf has wide cotton shaped leaves, can be used for food, has been grown for food in Haiti for 3 years where they love the taste and have developed their own recipes. The leaves, seeds, stalk and core are all separate harvests. The result is multiple uses and benefits.

The kenaf plant is one of the fastest growing plants in the world, much faster than local weeds, so it requires minimal soil preparation and is easy to plant and maintain. Because the soil does not have to be tilled, maximum microorganism density is maintained and chemical fertilizers are not needed Kenaf is an extremely efficient plant that uses minimal resources, with exceptional output. Kenaf plants grow up to 20 feet tall. One acre can produce as much as 20 tons of biomass in 6 months.

Low Water Usage

The stalk and roots have the ability to store water like a camel, so the plant performs extremely well, even in arid/drought conditions where most other plants fail. When planted before rainy season, no follow-up watering is needed. This absolves the need for expensive irrigation and water rights issues.

Leaves Feed Humans

Whitten Kenaf leaves are delicious and high in protein, up to 34%. It is regularly eaten in Haiti in soups, salads, boiled like spinach or added to rice. Kenaf can be eaten within 10 days of planting, when just 18 inches tall, and the leaves and stems can be continually harvested from that point forward. Each planted seed has the potential of creating 80 servings of edible food. Therefore, it can be used as a high protein starvation aversion crop. In fact, 2,000 people in Mirebalais, Haiti used kenaf to keep from starving in 2009.

In Haiti, several kenaf leaf recipes have been developed. Seeds Feed Humans can be ground into wonderful gluten-free flour for baking. In Mirebalais, Haiti they use kenaf flour for several recipes. 1/2 pound of kenaf flour can make 20 to 30 pan sized breakfast pancakes.

There is a long tradition of using kenaf for food in India to produce gongura. There are many recipes and photos of foods based on gongura on the internet.

Money Crop

Kenaf seeds are sold by the pound, which consists of about 20,000 seeds. 1 pound of kenaf seed currently costs $4.00 USD. In poor soil conditions, 1 kenaf plant produces about 200 seeds. 10 acres of poor soil can grow 10,000 lbs of kenaf seed per growing season, representing $40,000 USD of income. Florida research farmer Harry Long, in cooperation Mr. Loftus, came up with an organic formula where they yielded 11,382 seeds per plant!! It takes about 1 year from planting time before local farmers can harvest and sell the seeds as a money crop. They can sell the stalks as firewood at that time, too.

Animal Feed:

Leaves can be dried and turned into different sized pellets as high protein feed for rabbits, fish, chickens, and goats. Rabbit meat is really wonderful for you, being lower in fats and cholesterol and higher in protein than beef. Commercial grade rabbit farming and fish farming (tilapia) can be sustained with kenaf pellets. (The US currently imports $750M of tilapia per year from China.)

A backyard farming method is also being perfected for small scale production of rabbits, fish, chickens, and goats, on small plots of land using home grown kenaf pellets, virtually eliminating feed costs. This provides meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products for family consumption and for sale/export. This could be a self sustaining source of food and income for the poorest of the poor. They can make $25 per week growing and picking their own kenaf for animal feed, starting within 2 months of planting the seed. This doesn’t even take into consideration the income they can receive from selling their livestock.

Cooking Fuel:

Cooking Fuel: The kenaf stalk has a heat value comparable to burning pine. A low cost, safe, smokeless Kenaf Stove has been designed for high efficiency cooking and bio-char (a form of charcoal) production. The Kenaf Stove burns kenaf or wood in an oxygen deprived environment, resulting in a much cleaner, no smoke fire where the fuel lasts MUCH longer. 4 families can have a year’s supply of fuel from a football field size of planted kenaf. When the air supply to the stove is shut off, bio-char is created. Making bio-char from kenaf and putting it into the soil as a soil amendment replenishes the soil and functions as a fertilizer and a soil stabilizer.

This recapturing of waste lands can halt deforestation and desertification as people use kenaf instead of collecting wood for cooking. Any bio-char not used as fertilizer can be molded into charcoal briquettes. The Kenaf Stove can also use grass, waste paper, etc. to make bio-char which is then made into charcoal briquettes. Families can then sell the charcoal for income.

Carbon Sequestration

One acre of kenaf can sequester 8 times as much carbon as an acre of evergreen trees. One acre of kenaf absorbs approximately 10 to 20 tons of Carbon during photosynthesis. When used as cooking fuel on the Kenaf Stove, an additional 5 tons of bio-char is made. When put into the earth, this bio-char permanently stores the carbon in a beneficial way, in the ground.

Kenaf is carbon negative, when you put the bio-char into the soil. If we can change from coal to kenaf for making power, we can sequester enough CO2 per year to completely solve the anthropogenic effect on climate change, impacting global warming

Electricity Generation

Inventor C. Morrison has developed a biomass power plant that can use kenaf biomass to create a hydrogen/carbon monoxide gas called syngas. These gasses are sufficient to run an electrical generator. One power plant can service an entire rural village. The biomass yield for an acre of kenaf is 3 to 4 times higher than for trees. 50 acres of kenaf can fuel 1 power plant, perpetually.

This system is self-contained and poses no air quality, water quality, soil degradation, odor, or noise issues. There are no unique construction or installation requirements. It is as simple to operate as any household appliance and is small enough to fit on a trailer (see picture) or be mounted in a small building. The electricity not used by the rural village can be sold to the electrical power grid as an additional source of income. Imagine a constant supply of electricity being supplied to urban centers by rural villages, this in nations plagued by regular brownouts and blackouts. The only by-product from gasification is a sellable bio-char ash that can be used as a soil amendment for growers.

Organic Fertilizer

An inexpensive organic fertilizer that can be made locally, using bio-char, is being developed. Bio-char acts as a home for microbial activity. This can be used to enhance soil quality even in the poorest of soils, without using dangerous and expensive chemical fertilizers Bio-char as a fertilizer has been known to double plant growth. This will increase the yields and profitability per square meter of the kenaf plants and other fruits and vegetables grown in subsequent years. This will lead to a virtuous cycle of increasing economic prosperity from year to year, using land resources currently viewed as unproductive.

Kenaf bio-char can even be used in treating human bodily waste to convert the nitrogen into productive forms, turning a waste product into a resource. This would improve sanitary conditions and would have been useful during the recent Cholera outbreak in Haiti. 5 gallon buckets can be used as toilets and when combined with biochar, within 6 months the poo and urine can be safely used as fertilizer. If 2 billion people were to use these toilets, then 2 billion pounds of fertilizer would be generated every day. Over time we could even recapture the deserts.

Textiles The bast (thin outer bark) of the kenaf plant is a high strength fiber used to make burlap bags, plastics, industrial and commercial fabrics, cordage, rope and twine.

Paper

Kenaf paper has superior fiber content compared to wood-based paper products, and it takes far less time to grow kenaf compared to trees.

Building Materials

The fibrous outer core of plant stems can be used to make composites, polymers, binders, biodegradable plastic, injection molded panels, engineered wood panels, substitute for carbon, glass, other mineral fibers, fibrous reinforcement of plaster, cement, and wall boards. Construction The Styrofoam-like inner core of the kenaf plant can be used for animal bedding, kitty litter, municipal wastewater treatment, and for oil spill cleanup on land or at sea. In conjunction with recycled wood and recycled concrete, the kenaf core can also be used to make a light weight yet very strong cement block that has great insulation properties and is virtually fireproof. These blocks can be used to build single family homes and multi-story buildings, without using power tools.

A self-sustaining environmental home has been designed using kenaf and other technologies, at a cost between $5,000 and $10,000 (depending on conditions, sewage and electrical requirements and sizes) per house. These homes will provide for clean water, housing, electricity, and sanitation. Intended as a developing nation starter home, construction is so simple that kids can assemble a house in 1 day< and a family can easily add-on additional rooms and rent them out as a source of extra income. This makes it possible for single mothers to become financially independent without having to work outside the home. The societal implications of this are staggering

De-urbanization

This is a side effect from effectively leveraging kenaf as a way to provide food, shelter, and a living wage, in a rural setting. People living in the city slums can move back to their rural origins and actually provide for themselves, sustainably. The Whitten variety of Hibiscus cannabinus L.,is a good tasting kenaf that has the potential to serve as a food source in many countries.

Kenaf is a plant that has the potential to change the world. It is a very old plant used by mankind. Throughout the Bible you read about sackcloth. Sackcloth is made from kenaf. Only royalty was allowed to wear linen or cotton. The poor grew kenaf, spun it and made their clothes from kenaf. They made ropes and cordage from kenaf.

Many people want to help the environment. Many people are trying to find ways to lower the greenhouse gases that are heating up our world. We worry about the Arctic ice melting and the loss of the polar bear. We are all concerned with the more and more violent weather patterns, the floods, earthquakes and volcanoes erupting. We don’t want to see sea levels rise and inundate our coastal cities. But what can one person do?

Some people have gotten involved with tree planting projects. Tree planting projects are great. They sequester quite a lot of carbon. The problem is, the people who are involved are operating in what I call an incomplete transaction. The people who have tree planting projects get the resources they need and you get the satisfaction of knowing you are doing something good but there is no return for you donation.

What if there were a way to do something really good for the environment, something that sequesters more carbon than trees…and at the same time it offers you a payback? Yes, that’s what I mean. A return on your investment. Sequester carbon, help the environment and earn money at the same time? There is a plant called kenaf that sequesters more carbon than any other species on the Earth. One acre of kenaf sequesters as much carbon as 8 acres of fast growing pine trees.

Kenaf Could Change the World If We All Got Involved In Planting It And Using It. Here’s What Kenaf Can Do:

1. Sequester More Carbon Per Acre Than Any Other Plant

2. Be Food For Humans Anywhere In The World Where There Is Hunger

3. Make Excellent Feed For Livestock including Backyard Fish Ponds

4. The Stalks Can Be Used As Firewood

5. Make Biochar For Fertilizing The Earth Organically

6. Make Beautiful Cloth That Can Be Used For Clothing And Industrial Use

7. Make Biocomposites That Can Be Used For Car Interiors

8. Be Used To Generate Electricity

9. Make A Better Quality Paper Than Pine Trees And Be Ready For Use In 6 Months Instead Of Years

10. Have Seeds That Can Be Made Into Gluten Free Flour

11. Have Seeds That Can Be Made Into A Cosmetic Oil

12. Have Leaves That Make Excellent Potherbs

13. Can Be Cut Back Many Times And When It Regrows It Produces More Food Or Feed

14. Grows Faster Than Just About Any Plant

15. Does Not Use A Lot Of Water – It Grows In Somalia

16. BioChar Made From Kenaf Can Treat Human Wastes And Turn It Into Fertilizer

17. The Inner Core Is Excellent For Animal Bedding Without Dust

18. Many Kinds Of Building Materials Can Be Made From The Bast Fiber

19. The Inner Core Fiber Can Be Made Into A Filler For A Lightweight Cement Block

20. Extracted Kenaf seed oil can be used as a bio-fuel for Diesel engines

This plant could feed people in poor countries. This plant could sequester more carbon everywhere in the world. This plant could provide biological fertilizers. And the plant has so many uses.

We need to build an organization made up of people who want to see less hunger, more firewood, inexpensive homes for poor people in developing countries. The people we seek to connect with are probably doing something green in their lives. They would just like to find a way to make it profitable while being more Green. In other words, having a complete transaction.

There is a need to find people dedicated to planting kenaf and has already developed marketing vehicles for the kenaf fiber and other products. We are actively researching vegetable dyes, making kenaf fabric water repellent with environmentally sound materials. We have plans to make back packs, tote bags, and household items from kenaf. And we are already getting ready to develop our own kenaf handmade paper project in Belize.

We invite you to invest in your kenaf planting as a member of our community.

Kenaf is the environmental entrepreneurship powerhouse with multiple profit centers.

for you. It is not a graduate course in a university. It is a down to earth program.

The climate change is getting worse. But we now have a means to take control of our environmental problems and do something to ameliorate them.

We on this planet are in a battle for our survival as a species.From time to time on this very active planet we have extinction level events (ELE). Most of them are the results of acts of nature. But we are creating our own extinction level event (ELE). When the death rock fell from the sky and wiped out the dinosaurs, they had no warning. They didn’t know what hit them. But our extinction level is happening slowly enough that we can take action. We are sentient, we have our minds and our hands. We can take command of what is happening on our world. What can I do you say? We say, “Plant kenaf.”

We can plant kenaf or invest in someone else planting it. We can stop global warming.

We can create businesses to make money for you and other investors while you help remove carbon from the atmosphere.We can all actively participate in the real war.

THE WAR TO REGENERATE OUR WORLD.

It’s time to get our planet back to normal levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. One acre of kenaf sequesters as much carbon dioxide as 8 acres of fast growing pine trees.

YOU CAN EVEN DO THIS: Planting a small kenaf plot in your garden can help take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and contribute to the battle against global warming. You could use the leaves for high protein greens, and chickens love it, too. Use the seeds for gluten-free flour, and the stalks for dust-free bedding for animals.

Planting one manzana of kenaf in a tropical country, as an investor or as a farmer, could net you thousands of dollars in monetary return, and sequester tons of carbon dioxide, providing you an environmental return.

Kenaf was used for rope and for making sackcloth 6,000 years ago. Its new uses include biocomposites being manufactured for Toyota which plans to make all its car interiors with kenaf.

Kenaf combined with recycled plastic makes an excellent building material as well as raw material for industrial use.

And, at the same time with it high protein content, it can feed the hungry of the world, people and animals.Kenaf can replace tree cutting as it makes tree free paper, can be used for people food as a potherb or gluten free flour, livestock feed, paper, biochar, carbon sequestration, fabric and biocomposites

This ecofriendly plant that has the potential to create a successful green business for you. Grow kenaf in your backyard or in a large plantation.

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Source by Dr Carolyn M Cross

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In my experience, autocross can be a very fun and exciting sport. I have participated in several events in my local area. I found the hobby to be very addictive as well.

Out of all my other hobbies, I think this one is the best “bang for the buck” as far as thrills go with your car. Everybody can participate. Every car (some clubs have exceptions to this though like no SUV’s, no Trucks) can race. The nice thing about this kind of race is that you are competing against others in your class usually defined by the SCCA, however, you are on the course alone so there is minimal chance of hitting other cars.

The hardest part about autocross (aside from learning how to race) in my opinion is finding the right car. Sure, you can use a daily driver, but that is not recommended if you are going to participate in several events a year. Autocross can create wear on the tires and other components very quickly and can get expensive very fast. I would recommend to get a vehicle that you can use for autocross. This can be a “trailer car” or a car that you can still drive on the road, but use only for this hobby.

There are 4 key components to consider when selecting a car for autocross:

1) What type of car to get

2) The Price of the car

3) The overall condition of the vehicle (if used)

4) Aftermarket upgrades/modifications

WHAT TYPE OF CAR TO GET FOR AUTOCROSS:

For autocross racing, some people would assume that the car has to be very powerful, small, 2 doors and modified. This is not entirely accurate. While that type of car would be nice, it is not required to be competitive in autocross.

Remember that most autocross events and clubs have the cars grouped in to some sort of class. The club I participate with follow the SCCA Class guidelines. The classes help group the cars so the same “level” of vehicles can remain competitive within each class.

This is done to avoid the “biggest and fastest is best” state of thought. It would be unfair to put a heavily modified Porsche GT3 up against a stock Ford Focus. This is why they do that.

So, to pick the right car for autocross, you would probably want a coupe or convertible FIRST if possible. Sedans can work well too, but some sedans are not geared for modifications, although, the sport sedans of today are really starting to take over.

Manual transmission would be recommended, however, if you have an automatic that is OK too. You may want to consider trading it for a manual in the future to remain competitive. Again, there are still “sport shift” type automatics out there that are getting better and better each day.

Ideally, you would also want a rear-wheel drive car for autocross. RWD cars typically provide better control and handling in most cases. I know some enthusiasts out there will disagree with me, but that’s OK. On the other hand, I have used several front-wheel drive cars that run with the best of them.

PRICE:

The price of buying a car for autocross is always the factor for me. I, like many others, cannot afford an expensive vehicle for autocross. There are, however, those that can afford it and price is still something for them to consider.

The $0-$5000 range:

This is the range most of us beginners want to start. Of course, free is GOOD, but consider the 3rd component (overall condition) when this option comes to mind. Several cars that can perform well and have a lot of upgradable options are the following:

1989-1997 Mazda Miata – Very nice power to weight ratio. It is VERY popular at autocross. 1979-1991 Mazda RX7 – Fast small car, handles well. Many upgrades available. 1989-1998 Nissan 240sx – Several aftermarket upgrades, handles very well. 1990-1999 BMW 3 Series – Very versatile car. You can find very nice models in this range now. 1988-2000 Honda Civic/CRX – I have seen several models compete well in autocross. 1984-1999 Toyota MR2 – Low center of gravity, great performance, mid engine. 1990-1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse/Eagle Talon – Many upgrades, some models Turbo AWD. 2000-2007 Ford Focus – Very competitive cars. SVT models available in price range. 1997-2003 VW Golf – Hatchbacks always like autocross. VR6 models available in range. 1990-1999 Acura Integra – Like the Civic, very competitive with many upgrades out there.

There may be a few more cars that I missed that fall under this price range. The method I use to hunt for cars can vary depending on the type I am looking for. I will use local classified ads, Craigslist. I will also use the bigger car searches and expand my general “hunting” area. I have successfully found great cars using VEHIX, AutoTrader as well as Government Auction Sites.

But what about the autocross cars above the $5000 range? Well, I am glad you are think that because I am about to list them below.

If you have some money to work with and want to get something newer, you can consider the following cars:

The $5,001-$20,000 range:

This range can include newer cars as well as pre-owned cars that are no more than a few years old. Remember, cars usually depreciate very fast, so as the years go by, some of the newer cars can be within reach for less money and are great for autocross. The cars below come to mind in this range:

1998-Current Mazda MX-5 – Still same basic car, but more power as they got newer. 2003-Current VW Golf – Even more modified than the previous versions, compete well. 1992-1997 Mazda RX7 – 3rd Gen is twin-turbo and can compete in autocross. 1992-2006 BMW M3 – M3’s are designed for racing. Some newer models will fall in this range. 1998-2003 BMW M5 – M5’s are very powerful and compete in their class well. 1994-Current Ford Mustang/Cobra – Very versatile car. Competes well in class. 1994-2002 Camaro/Firebird – Competes well in class. Many autocross upgrades. 2007-Current Mazda Mazdaspeed3 – Turbo, hatchback, competes well in autocross. 2003-2008 Nissan 350z – Great autocross car, very popular on the track. Special Autocross Kit cars such as the V6 Stalker fall in this range as well.

Now, this price range can vary in vehicles. A lot of these cars are still new and may require loans to purchase them.

The $20,001 spectrum will consist of some of the current-day models as well as the obvious “super cars” we all respect such as the Corvette, Viper, Porsche, Ferrari, Lotus and others. I will not include a list for those because if you are buying one of those for an autocross car, you did your research.

OVERALL CONDITION OF THE VEHICLE (USED):

When buying a second car for autocross, treat it like when you are buying your daily driver car. You want the car to be relatively free of major problems. Autocross racing can put stress on the car’s frame, the suspension, the brakes, the tire and the overall body of the car.

You want to be sure that the car has not been in any major accidents. Frame repair or frame damage can be very dangerous mixture when you autocross. That is the MOST important thing to check for when buying a car for autocross. I have experienced and used the service by Experian called AutoCheck. They offer an unlimited number of VIN checks for one of their service options and the price is way better than the other services out there. I have used it when shopping and comes in very handy when you are checking the history of a vehicle.

The next important item to check on the car is major component problems such as smoke coming out of the back of the exhaust, major oil leaks (small leaks are expected on most used cars) slight/major overheating of the engine. Autocross is outside and you push the car to the limit. You want the major components to be in the best shape they can be. The mentioned problems can leave you stranded at the track if you do not look out for them.

I usually have some expectation to do minor repair or preventive repairs on my vehicles when I am buying to autocross them. As I stated above, small oil/fluid leaks are “OK” and can usually be fixed very easily. Small leaks tell us that the car is just used and may not be suffering from the leak as a result. Large/major leaks tell us the car may have been neglected by the previous owner and may carry residual problems unseen at the moment. When looking at a car, start it up, drive it around with the A/C engaged (even if it doesn’t work). When you are finished with the test drive, leave it idling while you walk around the car continuing to inspect it. If the car has an overheating problem, often this is the time it will show. This tip has helped me avoid several beautiful autocross cars that had an overheating problem.

Belts and hoses are my most frequent “preventive” repair I do, even if they are not a problem. It is always best to know when an important component has been replaced rather than to “guess” and trust the previous owner. Water pumps, too, fall in this category sometimes.

One thing people always check when buying a used car are the tires. Yes, this is important for an autocross car, but not to see how “good” the tires are, but to see if the car needs an alignment. Autocross is about handling and you need to be sure the car’s stock “handling” ability is where it should be.

Why not worry about the tires? Well, tires should be one thing to consider buying for your autocross car to begin with, so the existing tires should be removed anyway. Tires are probably the most bought wear item an autocross member will buy. A lot of autocross racers will bring a set of tires for racing, one for driving home (those who do not use a trailer) and some will even bring spares for the racing tires. This is so common that Tire Rack offers tires just for autocross. I have used them and they are the best place to get tires for this.

AFTERMARKET MODIFICATIONS FOR AUTOCROSS:

If you ever look into the aftermarket world of the auto industry, you know that there are literally thousands of places to look and buy. I will list a few spots that most people do not think to look, but surprisingly have things for the autocross fans.

First and foremost, autocross cars do NOT always need major upgrades to be competitive. A driver can use a stock vehicle and compete against fellow stock vehicles and remain competitive. Once you start to modify or upgrade heavily, you may start to move into different classes and compete with other cars that are equally modified. Keep that in mind when you want to change something.

Usually, I say modify the easy things first: Intake, exhaust and general tune ups. Most autocross drivers do not go far from that. These should be the first things you try to upgrade while you participate in autocross to get the most performance out of your vehicle.

If you decide to go further to be more competitive, my next recommendation would be suspension and body roll modifications. Please remember, certain upgrades in this area may change your class. Be sure to check your club or groups rules with these modifications.

Usually, the fastest upgrade to an autocross car would be front and rear strut tower bars/braces. They are usually inexpensive to buy and easy to install. They are also very modular meaning that when you buy these, they will work with other suspension components in place (usually). This modification helps stiffen the car’s suspension and frame and helps with cornering.

The next modification recommendation would then be the front and rear sway bars and links. These parts also help the body roll while cornering and handling and can sometimes be modular to the suspension system as a whole.

The final suspension upgrade is usually the most expensive: The struts (shocks/springs). This upgrade usually works well with the above items, but ads more stiffness, more response to the handling and sometimes lower the car overall for a lower center of gravity.

Once you have modified the entire suspension, my next recommendation would be to upgrade the brakes (at least the pads). This will help your stopping ability for those moments where a tap of the brake is needed during a lap. Please keep in mind that high performance brake pads usually wear much quicker than OEM.

One of the last things I recommend to upgrade is the tires. Now, I’m not saying that you should not FIRST buy new tires when you autocross, but I am saying not to UPGRADE them to an autocross/race tire just yet. Most autocross enthusiasts will tell you to get used to the stock/regular tires on your car first.

Once you get used to stock type tires, modifying them to a race tire or softer tire will actually improve your lap times (that’s the theory anyway).

One last note. I recommend replacing the fluids in your car with as many synthetics as you can. Synthetic fluids have higher heat resistance and can take the intense moments you will be putting on the car during the autocross laps.

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Source by Shaun Putnam

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It is a topic which has been fought ever since implementation, and successfully, too, as there are currently no national speed limit guidelines. A federally-mandated speed limit was initially implemented in 1974 with the passage of the National Maximum Speed Law. As a response to the 1973 oil embargo, it was an attempt to curb fuel consumption through the reduction of speed on all roads to 55 MPH or less. Fast-forward 13 years, and oil is no longer a scarce resource (at least at the pump). With fuel prices (comparatively) low, and drivers clamoring for higher speeds, the federal government passed the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act, allowing states to raise rural speed limits to 65 MPH. Forty-one of them did exactly that. Another eight years pass, and President Clinton signs the National Highway Designation Act, proposing, among other things, the elimination of all national speed limits. States were now free to raise speed limits on national roads as they saw fit.

This is where America’s highway policies currently reside. Most highways have posted speed limits of 65 or 70 MPH, while actual vehicle travel rates may be 5-10 MPH higher. Speeds of 80 MPH are not uncommon to see in both rural and urban road conditions. Besides showing how much of a rush Americans are often in, what problems does this create? Keeping in line with the company policies of 3P (People, Planet, Profit), let’s begin with the human aspect.

Speed kills. This isn’t a new and surprising phrase, however, the area in which it is describing may be. According to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health in September, 2009, the progressive elimination of national speed limits has resulted in an estimated total of over 12,500 additional traffic accident deaths since 1987. How could this be? Vehicles have undoubtedly become safer, yet people continue to die in high-speed accidents. One could explain it away with the increase of automobiles on the road, however, that does not explain these facts: In the year following the passage of the National Maximum Speed Law, car crash mortality fell 16.4%. Additionally, following the elimination of set speed limits nationally, in states which did not change their speed rules, highway deaths fell again. On the other side, crash fatalities following the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act increased 9.1% in states which changed their speed limits from 55 to 65 MPH. With the elimination of all national set speed limits in 1995, urban highway deaths increased 4%. In addition to the over 12,000 deaths considered to be a direct result of higher speeds, the study found over 36,500 injuries as a result of those fatal crashes. A federal speed limit is likely to have similar results today as it did in 1974, reducing highway deaths by a comparable percentage.

The second “P” highlights the Planet. In this case, the environmental impacts of high-speed highway driving. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, in 2007, there were 254,403,082 vehicles registered in the United States. On average, each vehicle was driven 11,900 miles annually, consuming approximately 1 gallon of fuel for every 17.2 miles traveled. This results in an annual consumption of 692 gallons per vehicle. According to the EPA, a gallon of gasoline burned in an engine produces 8.8 kilograms (19.4 pounds) of CO2. Using the previous statistics, each vehicle should produce 6,089.6 kilograms (13,424.8 pounds or ~6.7 tons) of CO2 each year. Multiplied by the total number of registered vehicles in the country, and the results show that American driving habits culminate in the release of 1,549,060,366,298 kilograms (1,707,655,248 tons) of CO2 annually.

So what does this have to do with a Federal speed limit? Higher speeds require more energy to maintain, and the energy source in most vehicles is gasoline (or a petroleum product, including diesel). A basic rule of thumb is that, once at highway speeds, the energy required to fight aerodynamic drag increases exponentially. Put simply, if speed doubles, the energy required to do so quadruples. For a vehicle doing 50 MPH in one run and 100 MPH in another, it will have burned twice the fuel in the latter test (4 times higher consumption in half the time). According to research by Consumer Reports on a stock Toyota Camry, the vehicle was consuming at a rate of 40 MPG at 55 MPH, however, it fell to 35 MPG once accelerated to 65 MPH. At 75, it was down to 30 MPG. Assuming that car was a perfect national average example it would be driving 11,900 miles, with 45% on the highway, and 55% in the city. Gleaning the appropriate amount of miles for highway driving only, the vehicle was driven 5,355 miles at high speeds. If the driver kept the vehicle at its optimum speed of 55 MPH, they would have consumed 133.875 gallons, releasing 1,178.1 kilograms (2,597.175 pounds or ~1.3 tons) of CO2. However, if the vehicle was consistently doing 75 MPH, the consumption would be 178.5 gallons, releasing an additional 392.7 kilograms (865.725 pounds or ~0.4 tons) of CO2.

This may not seem like a big deal, but remember those national totals? Let’s assume that every registered vehicle drove at 75 MPH on the highways, and that the percentage decrease in consumption was similar (75% of optimum) on all vehicles (this is an under-exaggeration, as many vehicles with poor aerodynamics decrease much faster than the example Camry). Now, we will assume the national average of highway MPG is 25 (deliberately overestimated, considering combined is only slightly over 17 MPG). Achieving only 75% of this value in real-world driving provides an actual highway average of 18.75 MPG. Now, this isn’t taking into account the minimal decrease in engine operation time (due to the faster speed). Such a value would likely pose as only a fraction of the additional usage, since the consumption curve increases exponentially, not in a linear fashion. Regardless, such a mileage reduction equates to annual CO2 emissions in the United States, simply as a result of driving 75 instead of 55 MPH, of 159,846,544,482.24 kilograms (352,388,973,063.12 pounds or ~176,194,486 tons). Astounding in its own right, more so when it is seen that it is 10% of total consumer automobile emissions in the U.S.!

Getting outside of the complicated math, that value bears repeating. It is entirely possible (as shown above), that up to 10% of nationwide passenger vehicle fuel-based CO2 emissions are avoidable simply by slowing down! Of all climate change policies in deliberation, this seems to be a “low-hanging fruit”. Please understand, these values are simply for presentation and educational purposes. While determined to the highest accuracy, actual results may vary due to a variety of factors. Nonetheless, the writer maintains its significance.

So the first P, People, showed how lower highway speeds reduce the number of fatal accidents. The second P, Planet, provided an environmental rationale to driving slower. The final P, Profit, aims to provide a financial incentive to accomplish the same goal.

At the time of writing, the current national average for regular gasoline is $2.585. Using the values determined above, the national expenditure of driving all those vehicles on the highways for 5,355 miles at 25 MPG is $140,864,767,324.97. However, at the adjusted value of 18.75 MPG, the cost increases to $187,819,689,766.63. The cost savings potential nationally as a result of driving slower is an astronomical $46,954,922,441.66. Per vehicle, this results in an annual savings of $184.57. That type of return resembles the recent tax rebates, and yet this needed no public or private expenditure!

We hope this has been an informative look into the true costs of high-speed highway driving.

Summary of “3P”-based analysis on lower highway speeds:

People

Over 12,500 deaths could have been avoided since 1987

Over 36,500 injuries within fatal car accidents could have been avoided in same time period

Fatality rates increase following speed limit increases

Fatality rates decrease in states with no speed limit changes

Planet

MPG falls as speed exceeds 55 MPH

Potentially 10% of nationwide passenger vehicle fuel-based CO2 emissions a result of high-speed driving

Profit

National cost savings through speed reductions on highways: $46,954,922,441.66 annually

Per vehicle cost savings: $184.57 annually

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Source by Joseph Winn

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This is one of my favourite all time question. For years the Canadian media has been picking up random information on debt settlement companies from our American cousins. While there are tens of thousands of success stories, most of the published stories on debt settlement tend to be negative.

There’s an old saying about not believing everything that you read. I’ve learned first hand over the years that this is true. Here are a couple of examples why:

At the start of 2009 a newspaper called The Toronto Star did a story on me and my company. It was featured on the front page of the business section and was in a positive light. The story generated some good exposure for Total Debt Freedom Inc. and for debt settlement in general. However, some facts I presented to the reporter were taken out of context or maybe he choose to stretch the truth a little to make for a more appealing read. For example, I mentioned that debt can get away from just about anyone and one of our clients was a former Olympian. The final story read that that individual was an Olympic Gold Medalist which wasn’t true. Many reporters tend to be freelance so they are paid to sell a good story; so as a result, it seems stories can and do get hyped up sometimes.

A few months later a negative example appeared on the evening newscast. CTV which is a major Canadian newscast put out a three minute televised story on their “Consumer Alert” segment by reporter and financial writer Pat Foran. He talked about how debt settlement was potentially a scam, and how Marissa Ruiz (the victim) was very disappointed and that consumers should be wary. The story was packaged and presented as Canadian issue, and made viewers believe that Canadians were getting scammed left, right and center. When I researched the names in the story further, it turned out Ruiz was California resident and used an American debt settlement company that had a horrible BBB rating. The incident appeared to be that of one rotten apple in the US debt settlement industry. Apparently the reporter borrowed the story from another press release he found, and packaged it as his own. Why did Pat Foran forget to mention these facts in his broadcast?

The story then wrapped up and interestingly handed off to a company called “Credit Canada” which is a non-profit credit counselling agency in Toronto. After I reviewed the broadcast and made some notes, I emailed Pat Foran and CTV about their televised slam of debt settlement in Canada. I literally corrected 7 very significant points that were not factual. My email was virtually ignored. From a legal perspective there is no remedy available because of free speech; the media seems very immune.

Needless to say, my feelings about the media are somewhat mixed now.

Bankruptcy trustee’s and credit counsellors have all had their say about debt settlement and why they think it’s a scam. Let’s look at their arguments.

Trustee’s tend to argue that all debt settlement fees are collected up front before any work is done and no form of debt relief is ever given to the consumer. That’s not true; in fact settlement fees are collected monthly throughout a 36 month program. And most settlement companies like ours offer a service guarantee that returns any money paid that a settlement was never finalized on. If the client has enrolled for a 36 month plan then the fees are taken monthly and most clients experience their first settlement by around month 5-8. So how is a debt settlement company getting paid in full up front? We actually get paid as settlements are arranged.

A friend of mine is a trustee in Bankruptcy, and a really wonderful guy, what I learned from him is that close to 100% of people going through bankruptcy or a consumer proposal (a form of bankruptcy) are in some state of default with the trustee. What that means is, they haven’t met a major term of the requirements to be discharged from the debt, and apparently a large portion of those people never do.

Guess what else I learned? The trustee actually gets paid before the debtor is ever discharged from what they owe. Isn’t that a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black? The trustee is in fact a court appointed agent to the creditors, so even though you pay the trustee to get you debt free, he is actually looking after the creditor’s best interest first. Not yours.

Here’s an interesting fact about debt settlement and our company I shared with my trustee friend: 70-80% of the people that enrol will complete the program. The look of shock and awe on his face was priceless when I told him that. He thought the completion rate of people seeking debt settlement would be significantly less then his plans.

Non-profit Credit Counsellors are another all time favourite of mine; they are in bed with the banks, media, politicians and other non-profit companies.

My understanding of credit counselling is that more then 60% of all people enrolled will drop out of their debt relief program before it’s completed.

The first thing to understand is that “non-profit” does not mean free, every business needs to earn money to keep its doors open and pay take care of rent and payroll. All that really needs to happen to maintain a non-profit status from the government is that the company needs to meet certain requirements and can’t show a profit at the end of the year. That seems pretty simple and easy to do; all the principals of the company would need to do at the end of the year is bonus out any profits to themselves.

Credit counsellors have somehow managed to get a lot of positive, free and unexplained media exposure that debt settlement doesn’t get because of their non-profit status.

The other day when a local politician appeared on the news to discuss new credit card legislation in Canada; somehow a spokeswoman from non-profit credit counselling, again Credit Canada, was right there beside him. I wonder why I wasn’t invited to speak as a specialist on the new credit card legislation. I mean the non-profit “specialist” who appeared wasn’t even able to calculate simple math in her head, let alone contribute any real dialogue to the discussion.

On several provincial government websites that talk about debt relief options, they all seem to defer to non-profit credit counselling as the answer to all debt problems. This politician and host on TV did the same thing.

Some creditors will actually tell a financially distressed debtor to go and use a non-profit credit counselling company if they are having money issues. Here’s a big question. Why would a creditor only refer the debtor to non-profit credit counselling? You don’t need to look very far for the answer; credit counselling is really a kinder and gentler collection agency for the banks.

This relationship between credit counselling and banks has been criticized for years. Credit counsellors get more money back to the creditors over a longer period of time, plus many get what’s called a “fair share” payment from the banks. So your creditors are actually paying the credit counsellors to collect the debt.

Don’t let the “non-profit” banner fool you, credit counselling is working more for the creditors, then it is for you. Did you know that if you owed $25,000 in credit card debt, it would probably cost you about $29,000 in total over 5 years with credit counselling? With debt settlement your total cost would be around $15,000 over 3 years

The Internet and media is a prime example of unregulated free speech, so it’s easy for anyone to post opinions, spread rumours, tell lies, create controversy or even build entire Web sites devoted to whatever topic is desired, usually without any consequence. Unfortunately, this means the Internet and media is a perfect medium of negative “information” about countless number of companies, organizations, and individuals. Even respected, successful, high-profile companies like Toyota, McDonald’s and Wal-Mart are targets for negative communications.

Is the information factual? That’s something you have to decide, but before you do, be sure you have all the facts and are certain about the accuracy and credibility of the source of any information found on the Internet and media.

It begs the question: Why are the other debt relief programs like bankruptcy and credit counselling feeling so threatened by the growth of the debt settlement industry? Are we really that much better of a debt relief option to their programs? I guess so.

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Source by Richard G Cooper

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Ventshades are the perfect car accessory for you in case you like to drive aided by the windows lowered. By installing a set of attractive vent visors, you can actually happily drive along with the windows lowered no matter what the local weather is like outdoors. Ventshades conveniently shield the window gap from blowing wind, rainwater, sleet and snow and are the perfect accessory for anybody who prefers to appreciate fresh air whilst driving a vehicle. People who smoke cigarettes may specially experience some benefits from fitting this car accessory as they enable smoke to pass out of the vehicle or truck and for exterior air to ventilate the automobile’s interior whilst not causing disruptive gusts of air.

Go with Vent Visors to add Style

Notwithstanding their functional advantages, vent visors are also a stylish accessory to any car, and regardless of whether finished in black, smoked, or chrome they truly help to improve the visual appearance of an automobile without overshadowing the main design.

Added benefits of Ventshades

Just picture for a moment a classic scenario; it’s a splendid day outside, the sun is shining, and you are driving along with your windows down taking pleasure in the fresh air. Then, with out much forewarning, the heavens swiftly begins to become cloudy and rain drops begin falling. You last it out for a few minutes due to the fact it is only gentle rain, but before long you might be required to close the windows to avoid you and your car’s interior getting drenched as the precipitation gets harder. No more fresh air! Unless of course – you’ve got rain guards / wind deflectors, as they’re occasionally known as, fitted to your vehicle.

These inventive products are without any doubt amongst the most convenient yet worthwhile of automobile accessory. By utilizing a ventshade on every window you’re able to have the window lowered to some extent even if it truly is raining heavily. Think about another issue of driving during rain with the windows shut – that’s right, misting and fog blocking your vision. Making use of vent visors and leaving the car windows open just a little helps to stop mist and fog forming on your car windows, so it could even be contended they can help to enhance safety too.

Selecting Ventshades

As they become more and more common and increased numbers of folks start to realize the advantages of vent visors, the variety of various styles and designs available to acquire on-line is escalating. Several people decide to opt for custom made visors that are designed specifically for their own specific make and model of vehicle. For example, it truly is achievable to invest in particular vent visors for trucks, Hyundai ventshades, Ford ventshades, Toyota ventshades and so on. Whenever you are searching for the prefect visors to suit your automobile or truck, be aware that quite a few models are accessible to obtain in either a set of four to cover all car windows, or on the other hand in a set of two just to cover the front driver and passenger windows. Should you frequently have rear passengers, or even when you just like to drive with all the rear windows lowered, then you may possibly find a set of four is the best bet.

Installation of Ventshade

Certainly one of the greatest things about ventshade is that they are so simple to attach. In fact, virtually all sorts and designs do not require any drilling or complex fixings. Normally, the guards are merely clipped into position or fastened using sticky foam tape which is usually provided with the visors. Effortless!

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Source by William P Taylor

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Source by

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Make Small Fortune In Fishing Industry…

….now there is a headline you don’t see very often. In fact, I have never seen it.

Unless you start out with a large fortune and slowly pitter it away while in pursuit of our friends who live beneath the waves, most people don’t enter the exciting world of the fishing industry to seek fame and fortune. There are rarely any recruiters from Salmon canneries knocking on your door as you bask in the glory of graduation from college, nor do you pick up a copy of Entrepeneur Magazine and find” fisherman” as a hot start-up franchise. Guys wearing lots of “bling” and chest waders rarely come sloshing into your business and hand you a business card and brochure claiming that: “for a $10,000 investment I can help you triple your income in thirty days…GUARANTEED!!”

In fact, I even googled “Make Money Fishing” and came away with 313 responses and the disheartening notion that if you choose fishing as a way of life–you are pretty much destined for a life of relaxed mediocrity. There of course are some exceptions, like tournament bass fisherman, or guys selling fishing adventures to Mars–but for the most part –if you have some startling epiphany that “I want to make my fortune in fishing”- you are barking up the wrong riffle.

Some other samples from the make money fishing offerings:

1. Russ Roy– Offers up a slightly “tongue in cheek” article, stating that we fisherman can earn extra cash slathering stinky fish attractants and fish “sputem” on our jeans and then resell them on perhaps eBay as “designer fisher wear”. Complete with fish hook holes. I only say slightly “tongue in cheek”–because they probably would sell — especially in some posh Beverly Hills boutique on Rodeo drive.

“Oh dahling, those salmon roe encrusted Jordaches make your tush look devine!!”

Heck, throw in a “roostertail” 1/4 ounce zipper and I might buy a pair myself.

2. A New England commercial fisherman is selling his fishing operation–He is “grossing” about $80K per year and claims a “cash flow” of $53k. Asking price $105k.

The “hook” here is the benefit of leaving the rat race for the “open seas”.

I have to ask myself,” does this mean he wants to re-enter the rat race??” Health issues force sale?? Wear funky woolen sweaters!

NO THANKS!

Oh and by the way– it is a one man operation–so have fun running around that boat and giving orders to yourself, or you can hire someone and pretty much watch your $53k disappear.

No fortune there.

3. Make your own fishing lures– This might give you some self satisfaction, or relieve some tension–which in itself might be a nice benefit for the rest of society- and I suppose if you can get $3.00 a lure you can actually triple your income as a current fly tier…However, I doubt you are going to make a fortune, unless you can break into a already saturated market of fishing lure producers or you live to be 116 and can sell them on eBay as “antiques”.

I really couldn’t find any bonafide “get rich in fishing” schemes, except for the tournament fisherman offerings, which pretty much isn’t considered fishing at that point.

Not even an MLM scheme– “You see, you buy 12 fish and send them to each of the Kingfishers in your UPLINE– and then you move up from carp level!!” –“When you move to the top of the “pyramid anchor”and become a “Marlin” you will then receive 64,000 FISH in your mailbox!”

Are you in?

So I guess we fishermen will have to retreat to the “zen-minimalist” philosophy of : less is more, if we want to consider ourselves “wealthy” or “rich”.

At least by fishing standards, we can consider ourselves rich in outdoor experiences, or having a wealth of fishing knowledge. Not to mention, that the Toyota Chinook camper is paid for!!

According to my good friend”Webster” fortune is defined as :prosperity attained partly through luck… AND who knows more about luck than a fisherman!!!

So, keep trying to sell those Rolex imatations, cheap pharmaceuticals, and”secrets” to success on ebay.

The competition is a lot less in:” the road to fishing riches” market.

Which can only lead to a lot of “downtime”, which can certainly be filled with….. FISHING!

Besides, I have never heard it said that: “the time spent selling cialis on the internet is not deducted from one’s life”–have you?

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Source by A.J. Klott

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To succeed in business or life, I came to realize that we must continually take remedial actions. Putting myself on the line day after day can be extremely draining, especially when things do not work out as I desired. Hence, each time I face a disappointing event or undesirable outcome, I NEVER FORGET these famous failures:

1. Bill Gates, founder and chairman of Microsoft, has literally changed the work culture of the world in the 21st century, by simplifying the way computer is being used. He happens to be the world’s richest man for the last one decade. However, in the 70’s before starting out, he was a Harvard University dropout. The most ironic part is that, he started a software company (that was soon to become Microsoft) by purchasing the software technology from “someone” for only $US50 back then.

2. Abraham Lincoln, received no more than 5 years of formal education throughout his lifetime. When he grew up, he joined politics and had 12 major failures before he was elected the 16th President of the United States of America.

3. Isaac Newton was the greatest English mathematician of his generation. His work on optics and gravitation made him one of the greatest scientists the world has even known. Many thought that Isaac was born a genius, but he wasn’t! When he was young, he did very poorly in grade school, so poor that his teachers became clueless in improving his grades.

4. Ludwig van Beethoven, a German composer of classical music, is widely regarded as one of history’s supreme composers. His reputation has inspired – and in many cases intimidated – composers, musicians, and audiences who were to come after him. Before the start of his career, Beethoven’s music teacher once said of him “as a composer, he is hopeless”. And during his career, he lost his hearing yet he managed to produce great music – a deaf man composing music, ironic isn’t!

5. Thomas Edison who developed many devices which greatly influenced life in the 20th century. Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1,093 U.S patents to his name. When he was a boy his teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything. When he set out on his own, he tried more than 9,000 experiments before he created the first successful light bulb.

6. The Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one of the original five-and-ten-cent stores. The first Woolworth’s store was founded in 1878 by Frank Winfield Woolworth and soon grew to become one of the largest retail chains in the world in the 20th century. Before starting his own business, Woolworth got a job in a dry goods store when he was 21. But his employer would not let him serve any customer because he concluded that Frank “didn’t have enough common sense to serve the customers”.

7. By acclamation, Michael Jordon is the greatest basketball player of all time. A phenomenal athlete with a unique combination of grace, speed, power, artistry, improvisational ability and an unquenchable competitive desire. Jordan single-handedly redefined the NBA superstar. Before joining NBA, Jordan was just an ordinary person, so ordinary that was cut from high school basketball team because of his “lack of skill”.

8. Walter Disney was American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, and animator. One of the most well-known motion picture producers in the world, Disney founded a production company. The corporation, now known as The Walt Disney company, makes average revenue of US $30 billion annually. Disney started his own business from his home garage and his very first cartoon production went bankrupt. During his first press conference, a newspaper editor ridiculed Walt Disney because he had no good ideas in film production.

9. Winston Churchill failed the 6th grade. However, that never stopped him to work harder! He strived and eventually became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Churchill is generally regarded as one of the most important leaders in Britain and world history. In a poll conducted by the BBC in 2002 to identify the “100 Greatest Britons”, participants voted Churchill as the most important of all.

10. Steven Spielberg is an American film director. He has won 3 Academy Awards an ranks among the most successful filmmakers in history. Most of all, Steven was recognized as the financially most successful motion picture director of all time. During his childhood, Spielberg dropped out of junior high school. He was persuaded to come back and was placed in a learning-disabled class. He only lasted a month and then dropped out of school forever.

11. Albert Einstein was a theoretical physicist widely regarded as the most important scientist of the 20th century. He was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect in 1905 and “for his services to Theoretical Physics”. However, when Einstein was young, his parents thought he was mentally retarded. His grades in school were so poor that a teacher asked him to quit, saying, “Einstein, you will never amount to anything!”

12. In 1947, one year into her contract, Marilyn Monroe was dropped by 20th Century-Fox because her producer thought she was unattractive and cannot act. That didn’t deter her at all! She kept on going and eventually she was recognized by the public as the 20th century’s most famous movie star, sex symbol and pop icon.

13. John Grisham‘s first novel was rejected by sixteen agents and twelve publishing houses. He went on writing and writing until he became best known as a novelist and author for his works of modern legal drama. The media has coined him as one of the best novel authors even alive in the 21st century.

14. Henry Ford‘s first two automobile companies failed. That did not stop him from incorporating Ford Motor Company and being the first to apply assembly line manufacturing to the production of affordable automobiles in the world. He not only revolutionized industrial production in the United States and Europe, but also had such influence over the 20th century economy and society. His combination of mass production, high wages and low prices to consumers has initiated a management school known as “Fordism”. He became one of the three most famous and richest men in the world during his time.

15. Soichiro Honda was turned down by Toyota Motor Corporation during a job interview as “engineer” after World War Two. He continued to be jobless until his neighbors starting buying his “home-made scooters”. Subsequently, he set out on his own to start his own company. Honda. Today, the Company has grown to become the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer and one of the most profitable automakers – beating giant automaker such as GM and Chrysler. With a global network of 437 subsidiaries, Honda develops, manufactures, and markets a wide variety of products ranging from small general-purpose engines and scooters to specialty sports cars.

16. Akio Morita, founder of giant electric household products, Sony Corporation, first product was an electric rice cooker, only sold 100 cookers (because it burned rice rather than cooking). Today, Sony is generating US$66 billion in revenue and ranked as the world’s 6th largest electronic and electrical company.

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Source by Kenneth Foo

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Introduction

In the year, prior to the turn of the millennium, Nissan was a company in a serious financial crisis. Debt had approached $22 billion by 1999. The company had been too complacent, and had taken its prior success, for granted [2].

Did Nissan’s decision to outsource their IT Infrastructure to IBM in 1999 make good sense? Nissan was a very troubled auto-manufacturer in the late 1990’s. Senior executives from the company were known for their conservative outlook on business, and their ‘old boy’s network,’ mentality. Profits were dropping dramatically, eventually forcing the company into the $22 Billion debt that it then faced. There were no signs indicating a change in the market that would encourage profit growth. The vehicle sales needed invigoration.

Mergers were the flavor of the day in the automotive industry during the late 1990’s. Nissan executives approached Daimler Chrysler and Ford to discuss a possible merger, but there was no interest from either of the companies [2]. There was only one alternative left, which was to reinvent themselves and reduce unnecessary overheads. This was the defining point that led to the business process outsourcing decision.

This paper seeks to answer the question “Does the cost of implementing an in-house solution outweigh the benefits or does Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) make more sense?” We reviewed the example of the automotive manufacturer, Nissan, when they decided to outsource their entire Information Technology department to IBM in late 1999, to answer our question.

Nissan – A brief history and the events leading up to the BPO decision

I. The Boom years

Nissan was established in Japan in 1933 as a heavy industry manufacturer. After the Second World War they turned their attention to automotive vehicles. In the 1950’s, they finally had an impact on the global market with the introduction of the Datsun branded sedans and small pickup trucks. The company eventually opened full-time operations in the USA in September 1960 [6].

The company experienced dramatic growth with the introduction of the ‘Z’ series sports sedans in the early 1970’s, with the 240Z becoming the fastest selling sports car of all time. This success led Nissan to the top of the U.S. vehicle importers market by 1975. Vehicle sales in the USA topped over 250,000 units per annum by 1970 [6]. The company was young, its leaders dynamic and the future looked very bright. They were competing for the U.S. market with the likes of Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors, showing improved quality and production efficiencies over their competitors.

The company was growing at a phenomenal rate, opening new manufacturing plants around the world on a regular basis such as Australia (1976), Spain (1980) and the United Kingdom (1984) [6]. There was no respite to the pace of growth and new business generation coming from the company.

In 1983, the company began the worldwide marketing of vehicles under the Nissan name which was felt to have a stronger quality image and started the six year transition from Datsun to Nissan on vehicles, dealerships, facilities and marketing materials. Sales continued to grow, eventually reaching 830,767 in 1985 [6]. The decade closed out with resounding success for Nissan with their domination of the North American market.

In 1993, the mid-line Stanza sedan was replaced with an all-new Altima and non-competitive Japanese-designed minivan was replaced with a new U.S. created Quest, which was the first minivan with car-like handling. Sales came roaring back in 1994 to near-peak levels of 774,405 [6].

In 1996, sales began to slip once again, fueled by a change in American vehicle tastes. Trucks and SUVs gained market share at the expense of sedans and sports cars [2]. Nissan’s position as a manufacturing driven company, which helped them in the ’80’s and early ’90’s, then had new problems with the dollar/yen balance which began to hurt their competitiveness against market driven companies.

Unlike their competitors, Toyota and Honda, which were focused on key volume segments, Nissan did not dominate any individual segment and competed in identical segments against Toyota and Honda.

Unfortunately for Nissan in the 1990s, the Japanese “bubble economy” burst, a downturn in Europe coincided, so there was more pressure in the U.S. to perform. Unfortunately U.S. customers didn’t have a genuine brand reason to shop Nissan except for the ‘best price’ deal.

Former Nissan president, Mr. Nakamura, announced a “Back-to-Basics” plan. The key elements of the plan were to reduce inventories, eliminate unrealistic sales targets, and increase dealer profitability. Unfortunately for Nakamura and Nissan, the plan did not work [2].

II. Trouble looms for the auto-manufacturer in 1990’s

In the early 1990’s, trouble began to brew in the organization. The once revered executives at Nissan were now viewed as arrogant members of the old-boys club and were ignorant to the changing needs of their customers and the overall automotive market, in general.

As the company progressed deeper into debt, it met with more challenges. Nissan’s business partners and suppliers were charging a premium for their goods and services. Nissan was obliged to meet its financial commitments and by so doing placed itself further into debt. Finally, the company was in debt to the tune of $22 billion. Even the company’s financers were tightening the noose around them. Nissan felt the situation was hopeless.

III. Steps taken to address issues

Nissan executives were looking for a way out, a way to rescue the company from entering into bankruptcy. The first approach was to find a partner. Both the newly established DaimlerChrysler and the Ford Motor company were approached, but both organizations rejected the idea of a merger [2]. Finally, Renault, the French automotive company recovering from a similar predicament, decided to enter into negotiations with the flailing Japanese company. A senior executive at Renault, Carlos Ghosn, was a huge supporter of the merger idea.

After much negotiation, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry agreed to allow Renault to purchase a substantial stake in Nissan. The Nissan-Renault alliance was born and Ghosn was appointed Chief Operating Officer.

Nissans Executive decisions and major events

I. Creating a global alliance vision:

The following is excerpted from the Nissan/Renault alliance vision:

“The Renault-Nissan Alliance is a unique group of two global companies linked by cross-shareholding. They are united for performance though a coherent strategy, common goals, and principles, results-driven synergies, shared best practices. They respect and reinforce their respective identities and brands.”[2]

The Alliance set itself three objectives, with the goal of being amongst the best three automotive groups in the following areas:

1. Quality.

Achieve customer recognition as being a quality and value added product.

2. Technology.

Lead in key technology development and implementation with a focus on excellence in specific areas of the automotive business.

3. Operating Profit.

Consistently generate a high operating profit margin and vigorously pursue growth.

II. Appointing a new leader

Ghosn, given his enthusiasm for the merger, his demonstrated tenacity, and his experience of the automotive industry, was a natural choice for a senior position at Nissan. His initial appointment as Chief Operating Officer (COO) was just a temporary assignment. In 2000, he was named President and in 2001, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

As CEO, Ghosn was very aware that the ‘buck’ stopped with him. He was the final decision maker. Some important and very serious decisions were made to save the ailing company. Ghosn had to use all of his valuable experience gained from rescuing other organizations, such as Michelin and Renault, to save Nissan.

III. Decision making to save a troubled auto-manufacturer

With Ghosn’s arrival in Japan in the spring of 1999, he immediately set about researching Nissan’s root problems. The newly appointed COO had a management philosophy that stated “you must always start with a clean sheet of paper because the worst thing you can have is prefabricated solutions… you have to start with a zero base of thinking, cleaning everything out of your mind.”[2]

For the first few months, Ghosn flew around Japan, meeting and greeting employees at all levels, absorbing information and formulating a plan. He used this information to plot a picture of Nissan from a global perspective, identifying issues, and problems that had created the dispersed, unprofitable organization.

One of the many issues Ghosn identified was the lack of communication around the organization. Seniors managers around the world were aware of some of the issues that caused the downturn of fortune in the company. They even had solutions to them, but had lacked the necessary authority to implement or communicate the solutions back to Corporate Headquarters.

Finally, the major issues were whittled down to five key issues: [2]

• Lack of clear profit orientation. Nissan was not focused on driving profit, but were rather focused on market share and ended up having to buy their market share at the expense of the declining profits.

• Insufficiently focused on customers and too much focus on competitors. The company was too concerned about the competition introducing a new line which would have dug into the Nissan market share. For example when Volkswagen introduced their new Jetta sedan Nissan saw a significant decline in their Maxima sales.

• Lacked cross-functional, cross-border, and intra-hierarchical lines of work in the company. Nissan seemed to operate as separate islands scattered throughout the globe. There was no centralized purchasing function or in fact any of the other major business activities. The organization was not making maximum use of its global presence or buying power.

• Lack of sense of urgency. The executives in Nissan were complacent in their activities. Things had gone so well for the company in the preceding 60 years that they felt that there was no reason to embrace change.

• No shared vision or common long-term plan. Senior management within Nissan did not have a joint plan for the different brands within the company. Each division did their own thing with little or no thought for the greater good of the company. An example was the Z series that had achieved phenomenal success throughout the 1970’s and ’80’s but was suddenly dropped from production when sales dropped. The obvious thing to have been done was to test the market with a modernized design. Instead Nissan chose to ignore the market and drop the brand.

To address the issues, Ghosn announced the Nissan Revival Plan on October 18, 1999. This seven-point plan was aimed at reducing costs and debt as well as creating and launching new automotive brands to raise sales and market awareness. The goals announced in the plan were far-reaching and encompassed: [2]

• The reduction of operating costs, net debt, global head count, and vehicle assembly plants and manufacturing platforms (the latter in Japan).

• The generation of new product investment through the launch of twenty-two new models.

The cost-cutting plan called for centralization of purchasing, procurement, human resources and information technology. By centralizing these essential functions, the plan aimed to assist the company in achieving its aggressive cost reductions.

Expenditure, particularly in the information technology function, was perceived as being out of control. Ghosn’s message to senior level executives was clear, “cut costs in every possible area.” If that meant outsourcing non-core activities because somebody else could do it cheaper, then that had to be fully investigated and determined. The management was ruthless in their execution of the plan [2].

Nissan looks at Business Process Outsourcing as a means

I. Will outsourcing non-core activities save money?

There are well-documented records of company’s saving money and others of outsourcing horror stories. Success really depended on the situation and the provider.

Most experts agreed, though, that you needed to use BPO in strategic decisions, for example refocused efforts on core competencies and not merely for cost cutting activities [1]. Stephen Withers of ZDNet said in his on-line article that you should only “use BPO for strategic purposes, not to take advantage of a (possibly transient) cost saving.” Withers then asked the reader, “Does outsourcing the IT Infrastructure make sense?” To answer that question corporate Chief Information Officer’s (CIO’s) would need to have completed extensive research and have done a thorough analysis of their business processes.

This is exactly what Nissan’s CIO did, or rather what Ghosn told him to do. The company had invested over 80 billion yen (over $US760million) in 1998 on IT services, but their processes were still not providing the management with the infrastructure that would assist in building their competitive edge [5]. The final decision was made to approach various outsourcing service providers for the much needed help.

II. Does outsourcing the IT infrastructure make sense?

If Information Technology (IT) truly was a commodity, like gasoline or electricity, then companies only competed on price, with very small profit margins. In that event, the decision to turn over IT to an outsourcer was as simple as it was a century ago to turn to motor vehicles instead of using the horse and cart. However, while personal computers and the networks they run on may be standardized, the services provided by IT outsourcers vary in many ways. Services such as data analysis, application development, and IT decision-making allowed companies more competitiveness in the market therefore, those elements of IT are far from being viewed as commodities [8].

With regards the decision to outsource, many factors were considered in Nissan’s case. Ann Moynihan in her article in the Albany Business review states “Outsourcing can help you: [3]

• Reduce and control operating costs.

• Free staff to focus on core business.

• Gain access to specialized skills and technologies.

• Introduce positive change.

• Gain control over a difficult-to-manage function resulting from uneven workloads, insufficient or unskilled resources.”

With Nissan, in 1999, this was exactly what they were looking for. Refocused staff efforts, introduction of positive change and control gained in all critical areas led to the outsourcing decision.

The choice of IBM as Nissan’s outsourcing partner was a strategic one. In the late 1990’s there were not many outsourcing companies that had the breadth or the global reach that IBM had. Competitors such as EDS and CSC were not considered because they were only outsourcers and could not offer the hardware and software technology that Nissan required to update their infrastructure [5]. If either one of those competitors were selected over IBM as a partner Nissan would still have faced the same infrastructure issues. IBM was the only logical partner.

Did the relationship work between Nissan & IBM?

I. A further look at the relationship between IBM and Nissan

In a joint IBM and Nissan press release published in Tokyo on June 19, 2000, the two companies announced that they were “Extending their global partnership for information system (IS) operations which Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and IBM agreed in October 1999, Nissan and IBM today jointly announced that Nissan will outsource its IS operations in Japan, to IBM Japan.

The service includes Nissan’s regular maintenance and operational activities as well as part of its application development, but excludes the planning and design of new systems. The two companies will start operations from October 1. [7]

In North America, Nissan has outsourced these same operations to IBM Corp. since October 1999. This latest agreement in Japan is expected to further accelerate the standardization, integration and centralization of Nissan’s IS on a global level.”

Ghosn further noted, “The Nissan Revival Plan cannot be accomplished without effective information systems. Following upon the recent agreement with Japan Telecom, this latest partnership with IBM puts in place the global infrastructure which is key to support Nissan’s long term profitable growth.” [4]

II. Hypothetical view of the Return-on-Investment model used

Before they could calculate their Return on Investment (ROI), Nissan first had to look at the Total Cost of Ownership model proposed by IBM. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is a type of calculation designed to help consumers and enterprise managers assess both direct and indirect costs and benefits related to the purchase of any IT component. The intention was to arrive at a final figure that will reflect the effective cost of purchase, overall [8].

The TCO model used, had to calculate the costs that were required, beyond the fees of outsourcing. The organization had to evaluate specific criteria’s that could have added expense to the outsourcing project. They also had to calculate the ongoing expenses throughout the lifetime of the contract [8].

Then, after calculating the payback period, Nissan were in a position to calculate their ROI. Once the numbers were crunched, a thorough financial and risk analysis was conducted. The ROI measured the profit or cost savings realized. It was calculated by estimating, for a 3-year period, the investment was made and the resulting profit created through that investment.

The results were conclusive. Nissan and IBM entered into their agreement and operations scheduled to commence on October 1, 1999.

Conclusion

I. Did Nissan’s BPO reach its stated objective?

Nissan’s stated objective for the outsourcing of the IT infrastructure was to control expenditure, improve efficiencies, and update the infrastructure. By outsourcing to IBM, Nissan achieved all of its goals.

In controlling expenditure, outsourcing gave companies the opportunity to have a predictable monthly budget for expenditure. That amount may or may not have been lower than current expenditures but the component that was crucial to a large organization such as Nissan was that the amount is predictable. There was no variable component to the pricing. The only time the pricing may have fluctuated was when additional services, which were out of scope of the contract, were required.

In Nissan’s case, that was never a requirement. The company was in the first stage of a major, global, restructuring project and there were no new initiatives taking place.

The second objective in the BPO was to improve efficiencies. IBM is the world’s largest information technology company with revenues close to $100 billion [9]. When companies outsource their operations to IBM they are gaining best-of-breed technologies, excellent consultants and some of the best systems architects money can buy.

The way that any global outsourcer makes its money is by achieving economies of scale. The only way to achieve these economies of scale is to ensure that they deploy the best hardware, software, and infrastructure possible and make that equipment work to maximum efficiencies. By taking full advantage of this best-of-breed technology, Nissan met its second and third stated objectives.

II. What if the IT Infrastructure had been retained in-house?

If Nissan had decided to retain its IT infrastructure in-house and attempted to implement an updated and modernized system, it would have lead to a significant increase in their expenditure. Ghosn’s prime objective, when he took over the company in 1999, was to reduce expenditure by 700 billion Yen [2]. He was not interested in spending any additional money to modernize existing equipment.

To support the intended improvement in competitiveness, Nissan had to ensure that their infrastructure supported the additional workload. There was no way they could do the intended improvement in efficiencies without external support. Nissan did not have the expertise and the additional work force to handle the required upgrades and the reengineering of business processes.

III. Final assessment and summation of the relationship

Robert Greenberg, Nissan’s CIO of North America was on record as saying in 2006 that, “We were happy with the services from IBM but the world had changed.” This comment sums up the relationship as it stands now, almost 8 years later [5]. When Nissan announced its Revival Plan, in 1999, the company had very clear objectives; cut costs, and return to profitability.

Nissan was looking for help in 1999 and IBM fulfilled this role for their IT Infrastructure. Greenberg also stated in his Q&A that “One of the things that also took place with the original outsourcing to IBM was we probably outsourced too much.” [5]

Greenberg was not working for Nissan when the original outsourcing decision was made in 1999; he only joined the company in 2005. He is on record though as saying that he thought that they should have either retained some of the infrastructure in-house or perhaps have multi-sourced, thereby ensuring that they had the best possible solution and price.

In 2006, when the contract came up for renewal, the CIO decided to put everything out to bid and compare what the other vendors were offering with what IBM had provided for so many years. The decision to look at new vendors was actually excellent timing for the company as Nissan had decided to relocate their North American corporate headquarters from Los Angeles, CA to Nashville, TN and any transition could be timed to coincide with the move.

Ultimately, what Greenberg opted to do was to accept IBM’s proposal to “manage desktop systems, network services, help desks, dealer systems, and other key infrastructure elements for Nissan North America.” He then outsourced the application and maintenance to an Indian firm, Satyam and brought the remainder of the services back in-house [5].

When asked about the decision to bring IT back in-house, Greenberg said, “By bringing it in-house you increase the alignment. It’s a matter of building the knowledge internally [that] can be used to help drive the business activity, which is much harder when a business analyst function is sitting within a third party.” [5]

IV. Does the cost of implementing an in-house solution outweigh the benefits or does BPO make more sense?

As Stephen Withers stated in his article, BPO decisions should not be made for cost-cutting exercises but rather for strategic directions [1]. In other words, companies should not view BPO as a cost saving tool. Outsourcing the IT operation makes sense when an organization is looking to improve efficiencies and business processes or when they cannot attract, or retain, the human capital who have the expertise and ability to modernize or improve the infrastructure.

Nissan’s CIO Robert Greenberg thought that he would actually save money by bringing some of the work back in-house because he was “not paying margin on the individual [headcount].” [5]

Some of the individual lessons that Nissan’s Greenberg has learnt from the outsourcing agreement with IBM has been that certain services developed by the IT organization can indeed be outsourced or developed externally. However, he felt strongly about retaining in-house IT skills in such value generation areas as business analysts who have a strong understanding of the business, sometimes even better than the business customer does. Insourcing these skills could result in ideas and dialog with the business, with the end result being a service delivery or product development than can then be outsourced.

In summary, the answer to the question, ‘Does the cost of implementing an in-house solution outweigh the benefits or does Business Process Outsourcing make more sense?’ is that it depends. It depends on the available skills; it depends on the overall objectives (cost saving vs. process improvement) and it depends on the organization. For the most part the majority of major corporations world wide that have been through an outsourcing contract or are in an outsourcing contract will agree that there are substantial benefits to implementing an outsourcing contract and there substantial benefits in retaining those skills in-house. What each organization needs to do is ascertain which of those benefits outweigh the other and base their decision on that analysis.

Works Cited

[1] Withers, Stephen. “BPO: Save money or fix your processes?” ZDNet.com

[http://www.zdnet.com.au/insight/business/soa/BPO-Save-money-or-fix-your-processes-/0],139023749,139156391-10,00.htm 17 August 2004. Downloaded October 22, 2007

[2] Magee, David. Turn Around: How Carlos Ghosn rescued Nissan. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc, 2003.

[3] Moynihan, Ann. “Outsourcing enables owner to focus on core business.” http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2002/10/14/focus10.html October 11, 2002. Downloaded October 22, 2007

[4] IBM Press room press releases. IBM.com “Extending Their Global Partnership, Nissan, and IBM Announce IS Outsourcing for Japan” http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/1670.wss June 19, 2000. Downloaded October 19, 2007

[5] Thibodeau, Patrick. “Q&A: Nissan CIO reshapes automaker’s IT”

[http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=110024&intsrc=industry_list] March 29, 2006. Downloaded October 23, 2007

[7] McDougall, Paul. “IBM, Nissan Outsourcing Deal Spans The Globe” http://www.informationweek.com/outsourcing/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=181502685 March 10, 2006 10:00 AM. Downloaded November 02, 2007

[8] Ikin, Paul. IBM Representative on Nissan Global team. 1998 to 2001.

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Source by Paul Ikin

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So your car got hit by hail now what do you do? If you’ve ever had your vehicle damaged by a hail you know it can be a very frustrating and expensive experience. Well if you have full coverage insurance on your car it doesn’t have to be frustrating or expensive. Often people don’t understand how to properly utilize there insurance coverage and are even afraid to claim the damage for fear that their rates will go up. This is a common fear but let me assure you a comprehensive claim such as hail damage doesn’t not raise your rates. In fact, if you don’t claim the damage and have it repaired you risk having any future claims being denied because of unrelated pre-existing damage.

The first thing you should do is call your insurance company and file a claim. Make sure you write your claim number down and it is always a good idea to ask the name of everyone you talk to and adjuster being assigned to your claim. The next step is the initial inspection or the “estimate.” Some insurance companies will ask you to go out get three estimates and hen fax them in. If your insurance company asks you to jump through these hoops just politely say NO. Ask where you need to go to have “them,” write “their,” estimate. Thats it, do not waste your time driving around getting multiple estimates because in the end your insurance company is just going to use those estimates as a starting point and write their own anyway.

An estimate means just that. It is an estimate of how much money and what the insurance company thinks it will take to repair your car. It is very important that you clean your car before having it inspected because you wont get paid for dents the appraiser can’t see. Secondly it is extremely important that you are as nice and as accommodating to the appraiser as you can be. It will do you no good to argue with or be rude to the person deciding how much money your going to get to have your car repaired.

Often times when there’s a large storm event the insurance companies are overloaded with claims and the have to outsource to independent appraisal services to help write all the claims that are pouring in. This is commonly referred to as a catastrophe team or “cat team.” Now I don’t think I have to tell you that these very busy appraiser’s are going to fly through your estimate as fast as they can and will probably miss a bunch of things. You may think your estimate looks a little low. In my line of work 90% of the estimates are written low. I’ve seen estimates for $1500 on a car that had over $6000 in damage. Don’t worry that estimate is not the final word it is merely a starting point. Unfortunately many people choose to keep they’re insurance money and never get their car fix. Some people even wait around til it hails again nearby and try to claim the un-repaired damage again. The insurance companies lose millions of dollars every year to fraudulent claims. It is impossible for them to keep track of every claim and they can’t force you to get your car fixed. The only way the insurance companies can combat this is by writing their initial estimates a little on the lighter side. I’ve had many appraisers tell me that their company actually trains them to feel the customer out and if they think they probably wont have their car repaired to write the estimate for as little as possible. Obviously if you have a brand new BMW your going to get it fixed but if you a 1984 Toyota Corolla with 350,000 miles on it you are probably going to keep the money, right?

The next step is to find a company to repair your dents. If you have large dents with paint damage and broken windows you will probably need to find a full service body shop. If you have mostly quarter sized dents and the damage is just superficial then PDR is the best option. PDR, or paintless dent repair is a repair method in which the dents can be gently massaged out and the original factory finish is left undisturbed. A good PDR shop can make your car look exactly like it did before the hail damage. Most dent’s half dollar sized or smaller can be removed fairly easily and quickly. In a perfect scenario your car could be repaired in as little as a few hours. Well, the world is not perfect and depending on your insurance company’s original estimate it may take several days to get an appraiser to come back out and re-write their estimate. This process is known as a Supplement. Usually on the back page of your estimate there are instruction for filling a supplement. The insurance company knows that if a professional repair facility is doing the repair then they are going to catch all the dents that were missed and ask to be paid for every last little bolt or clip that has to be removed. This is standard procedure and most insurers actually have a supplement hot line that body shops can call to have an appraiser sent out to the shop.

Some insurance companies send an appraiser out right away while other companies can take 7-10 days. I won’t get into which companies are the worst but I will say that Progressive and Farmers are top notch! This is not a paid endorsement it’s just the painfully obvious truth. If I call farmers they are at my shop the next morning every time even though their policy is within 48 hours. Progressive is almost as fast within 48 hours usually. Some of the other companies won’t tell you when there coming and your at their mercy. This is usually the longest delay in the repair process but it is the most important. Often times we get twice as much money as the original estimate. This is very important because without this additional money you may get a shop to do a complete repair or worse you may have to pay money out of pocket.

The next issue is “deductibles.” You have a contract with your insurance company that you will pay the first $500, $1000, or whatever your deductible is, towards the repair of your vehicle. This money is always deducted out of the check your insurance company gives you and they leave it up to you to pay it or find a company that will fix it for less. Essentially any company that repairs your vehicle without requiring you to pay a deductible is giving you a “discount.” This is completely legal and in fact most PDR companies will not require you to pay your deductible. Make sure you get any promises made to you in writing. I also suggest you get an estimated length of repair time. At my shop we always provide a customer with a written quote of the exact amount due for the repair or we give the customer a guarantee in writing that we will complete the repair for the negotiated amount the insurance company issues payment for. If we file a supplement it is expressed that we earned that money in addition to the original estimate. It is very important that you have written proof that you as the customer will not have to pay more than “x” amount of dollars when your car repair is completed. If a shop is unwilling to put their promises in writing then you need to find a new shop.

Once you find your repair shop or PDR company it is important that you know where the shop is and meet the owner or manager. I know this sound’s weird but a large majority of our customers never come to my shop and meet me. Often they are approached by one of my sales personnel and they let them pick the car up and then deliver back to them when it is finished without ever coming to my shop. This is great for me but it is extremely scary to think how easily people just hand over their keys and insurance checks. I always recommend to my salesmen that they suggest to their customer that they at least come out to our shop so they know where their car will be. It is also a good idea to ask for references. Often times we have repaired other cars in the neighborhood and have satisfied customers just down the street. Also you should check out a companies website if they don’t have one or it is poorly put together that may be an indicator that the company doesn’t pay much attention to detail. For a company to not have a website today is almost inexcusable! You may also call the local better business bureau. Even if a company is not a member the BBB will still field complaints and keep files on companies that receive complaints. Also check with your insurer. The will have files on companies that have had complaints or are suspected of fraudulent activities.

In conclusion PDR is definitely a great alternative to traditional body repair, and with a little research and due diligence the average person can navigate the claims process and find a great shop to repair their car for little or no money out of pocket!

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Source by Matthew Barry