The announcement by General Motors Corp. (GM) and
I-CAR on Dec. 4 of an expanded training relationship between the vehicle
manufacturer and collision repair training provider should be welcome news for
all collision repair facility operators. While the direct impact of the new
relationship will be the elimination of redundant training for GM dealer
collision repair facilities and independent shops that have a referral
relationship with a GM dealer, the real impact will be felt by the industry as a
whole. New vehicle construction technologies, such as
aluminum, make the relationship between OEMs and the collision repair industry