September 2020 Bluegrass Automotive Report 1 VOL 26, NO 9 www.AutomotiveReport.net SEPTEMBER 2020 Monthly News for the Local Automotive Industry in Northern Kentucky, Southern Indiana and Southwestern Ohio, including Body Shops, Mechanical Shops and Dealers. Lawsuit Getting started Round-up diagnosing Antitrust suits coil-on-plug against insurers largely dismissed; ignitions class action over By David Bry repaired vehicle The internal combustion engine is a marvel of reliability. If it has air, compres- scanning scaled back sion, fuel and ignition in the proper quanti- ties and at the correct time, it will run. If it By John Yoswick doesn’t run, or runs rough, then we have to GC Performance Classics - 8 diagnose the cause. Courts around the country in recent While ignition systems of all types need months have worked through legal chal- to be ruled out as a cause of any no-start lenges regarding insurance industry prac- or misfire, here we will focus on testing tices, sale of non-OEM crash parts, and the coil-on-plug (COP) ignition system. paint company contracts with shops. Here The COP system has been around for more is Automotive Report’s annual look at than 20 years and is the system of choice recent and ongoing legal battles, and what for most current production gasoline-pow- they could mean for the industry. ered vehicles. Two dozen antitrust lawsuits winding It only takes a spark to get a fire going down First, an overview of how all ignition In 2013 and 2014, shops and shop asso- coils function. They act as a step-up trans- ciations from 18 states (including Ala- former that typically has an input of 12 to bama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi 14 volts (B+) and an output voltage in the and Tennessee) signed on to a total of tens of thousands of volts. The coil needs about two dozen lawsuits, all alleging that a constant positive battery voltage input on multiple insurance companies have con- one end of the primary coil and a switched spired to manipulate labor rates and other negative battery voltage on the other ter- shop charges in order to reduce costs. minal. Seven years later, after what the fed- When there is B+ power and ground at eral judge overseeing all the cases called the coil, a strong magnetic field is gener- a “tedious, contentious and frustrating” GM’s new 350 crate engines - 13 ated in the primary coil windings. When process, the lawsuits have largely all been the coil is switched off by removing the dismissed before ever going before a jury. ground, there is a collapse of the magnetic Judge Gregory Presnell, in a final rul- field in the heavier and shorter wires of ing this summer relative to the version of the primary side of the coil. This collapse the lawsuit brought in 2014 by about 20 induces an electron flow in the much lon- Florida shops, pulled no punches in his ger and thinner windings of the secondary. assessment of the lawsuit. He noted that That voltage tries to find its way to ground. despite giving the shops’ Florida-based The normal path to ground is through the attorney several chances to amend the law- spark plug gap, making a spark that cre- suit during the process, the final version ates heat, igniting the air/fuel mixture in had become “much wordier,” but still did the cylinder. “not come remotely close to satisfying the Controlling the COP unit minimum pleading requirements for any In a two-wire COP system, the switch- of the claims asserted.” ing of the coil ground is almost always In upholding Presnell’s dismissal of one done by the engine control module (ECM) of the similar lawsuits brought by shops in or powertrain control module (PCM). In a Mississippi, the Eleventh Circuit Court of diagram (Figure 1) of a two-wire COP unit Appeals earlier this year picked apart the on a 2004 Ford Truck F 250 4WD Super shops’ arguments in the lawsuit. An insurer Duty V10-6.8L, the RED/LT GREEN is saying it “will pay no more than State Farm “hot” with key on. The WHT/PNK is the pays for labor” is not necessarily price- 1950 Nash Airflyte Coupe - 14 switched ground (square wave) from the Continued on page 6 Continued on page 15 BLU0920 Presorted Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Franklin, TN Permit No. 357 Dated Material 2 Bluegrass Automotive Report September 2020 Volkswageng of Clarksville Toll Free 877-333-3410 DAILY DELIVERIES TO INDIANAPOLIS, CINCINNATI, EVANSVILLE & LEXINGTON Parts Direct 502-499-5076 Parts Direct: Fax (502) 493-5649 (812) 218-5281 [email protected] • 30% Wholesale Discounts Fax: (812) 280-6391 • We Will Meet Most After-Market Pricing www.volkswagenofclarksville.com 406 E. Lewis & Clark Parkway Clarksville, IN 47129 www.louisvilleinfinitiparts.com - 8 AutoCenter Drive, Louisville, KY 40299 LEXUS OF LOUISVILLE Parts Direct (502) 499-4448 GENUINE PARTS Toll Free (877) 479-7755 Fax: 502-499-4577 lexusparts@lexusofl ouisville.com • Experienced Wholesale Specialists • Hassle Free Return Policy • $600,000 Inventory DAILY DELIVERIES TO INDIANAPOLIS, CINCINNATI, EVANSVILLE, LEXINGTON of LOUISVILLE BMW Volvo Cars of Louisville 5 Auto Center Drive Louisville, KY 40299 866-452-9214 • 800-228-9086 • 502-493-3336 Parts Direct 502-499-4552 • 800-843-4750 Genuine Volvo Parts are designed and [email protected] engineer to keep your customer safe, • $900,000 in Parts Inventory after the repair! Use Genuine Volvo • Professional and Courteous Staff Parts from Volvo Cars of Louisville. Adam Fawbush, Parts Manager • Free Local Delivery [email protected] Adam Fawbush, Parts Manager • [email protected] • Parts Fax 502-499-4476 Hours: Mon. to Fri. 7:30AM to 6:00PM • Sat. 8:00AM to 5:00PM 2200 Blankenbaker Pkwy Louisville, KY 40299 • www.louisvillebmw.com Hours: Mon. to Fri. 8:00AM - 6:00PM • Sat. 8:00AM - 3:00PM • volvooflouisville.com September 2020 Bluegrass Automotive Report 3 Drag strip ready: Dodge announces new RECALLS 5 2020 Challenger SRT Super Stock Package SHOP PROFILE - GC Performance Classics 10 RACING NOTES 12 REARVIEW - 1950 Nash Airflyte Coupe 14 VOL. 26, NO 9 • September 2020 Editor Barry Forkum Auburn Hills, Mich. - Dodge//SRT continues to push the boundaries of performance Publisher / Advertising Director and is making it easier for enthusiasts to access that performance by bringing the 2020 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock Package to market, with its 3.09 gear ratio, Garnett Forkum standard Nitto drag radials at all four corners, lightweight Brembo brakes, uniquely tuned suspension and 18-by-11-inch wheels for $3,000. All in, the new 2020 Dodge Art Director Challenger SRT Super Stock has a starting U.S. manufacturer’s suggested retail price Allen Forkum (MSRP) of $79,595 (excluding destination). The end result: the new 2020 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock delivers 807 horse- Copy Editor power, a 0-60 time of 3.25 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 10.5 seconds, making Tom Williams it the quickest and most powerful muscle car. The standard Nitto drag radials provide added grip. Contributors “There are a million jokes about bright colors, loud exhausts and racing stripes that John Yoswick, Steve McLinden make your car faster, but there is one sure thing — your car is only as fast as your Jay Hirsch, Richard Diegle, tires,” said Tim Kuniskis, Global Head of Alfa Romeo and Head of Passenger Cars – Robert Bravender, Tom Williams Dodge, SRT, Chrysler and FIAT, FCA – North America. “The 2020 Challenger SRT Super Stock gives our weekend warriors the ability to upgrade to 18-inch drag radials Advertising Sales without having to spend a ton of money on changing out brakes and suspension com- Tom Williams ponents. The racing community has figured out very quickly that this package is a hot 615-757-3042 • Fax: 888-607-0921 setup.” [email protected] The Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock is powered by the same supercharged 6.2- www.AutomotiveReport.net liter HEMI® high-output V-8 that powers the Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye, but features a revised powertrain calibration that increases rated power output to 807 horse- Bluegrass Automotive Report is published every month by AutoGraphic Publishing Company, Inc. Copyright power. 2020. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any contents, graphic or editorial, without permission is prohibited. To make this the world’s newest ultimate drag-racing muscle car, the Challenger SRT Member of Associated Press. BAR accepts no responsibility for opinions of writers or for claims made by Super Stock features: advertisers. Views expressed by writers are not necessarily those of the publication. BAR is mailed free of charge to independent repair shops in Northern Kentucky, Southern Ohio and Southern Indiana. AutoGraphic’s - Uniquely tuned Bilstein adaptive-damping high-performance suspension Automotive Report newspapers are also published for the regions in and around Nashville, Memphis, Knox- - Lightweight all-aluminum Brembo four-piston brake calipers and 14.2-inch vented ville, Birmingham, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and New Orleans. Direct comments to: 1121 Airport Center Drive, rotors Suite 101, Nashville, TN 37214. - Standard lightweight 18-by-11-inch wheels in Low Gloss Granite finish - Sticky 315/40R18 Nitto NT05R drag radials at all four corners This publication is free to any automotive repair facility and/or automotive related business. If you would like - Performance-tuned asymmetrical limited-slip differential with a 3.09 final drive ratio to be added to our mailing list, please send your business card to AutoGraphic Publishing, 1121 Airport Center Dealer orders will open later this month for the 2020 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Drive, Suite 101, Nashville, TN 37214 or email Garnett at [email protected].