Have you ever been so frustrated while installing a part on a vehicle that you said, "Boy, I wish the engineer who designed this mess could try this just one time. I bet he'd design it differently!"

Or, "Gee, if they had just put this one inch over to the left, it would have been a lot easier to repair."

Don't you wish you could talk to the designers and let them know what you're facing in the workaday world?

Well, you can - and do - through the Automotive Service Association (ASA).

Members of ASA's Collision Division Operations Committee periodically talk to the original equipment manufacturers - and it gets results. The OEMs listen, and quite often, the committee members' suggestions or requests show up in vehicles built down the road.

It may take several years for a new vehicle to be developed, but very definitely, ASA has had an impact on the way vehicles are made.

"For example," said Kevin Caldwell, director of ASA's Collision Division, "the OEMs used to weld on door hinges, and that meant there was no adjustment. If you had to fix the door, it often didn't fit when you tried to reinstall it. You'd have a gap at the top of the door or something. We told the OEMs we needed bolt-on hinges, so that we'd have some allowance for adjustment.

"When GM introduced the Silhouette, Saturn and Lumina, there were no pinch welds. There was no way to grab hold of the vehicles. We talked to the manufacturer and they came up with pinch welds."

Caldwell said the committee also asked manufacturers to notify everyone in the business when one-time only fasteners are used. "That way, we're not trying to reuse a screw that wasn't meant for reuse," he said.

Often, it's just as easy for an engineer to design something that will be easy to repair as it is to design that same thing so that it's difficult to repair. Sometimes, if something is moved a little higher or a little lower, it makes a lot of difference in regard to repairability. And for the OEMs, frequently there is no cost factor.

In the early days of cars, repairability wasn't as big a consideration as it is today.

"There wasn't as much need for engineers to include repairability in their thoughts when designing a vehicle," said Russ Verona, AAM, a past member of the Collision operations committee. "Way back, if something was badly wrecked, you threw it away. Repairability just wasn't that big a consideration.

"But as the years went by and there were more and more vehicles on the road - which meant that there were more accidents - the need for designing for repairability became more and more apparent." Also factors, he said, were all the improvements in vehicles and the changes in the way they are made.

Verona pointed out that years ago, people kept a vehicle an average of three years. Today, he said, an owner may keep a vehicle eight years or more. "Cars cost more today because they are complex and because of all the improvements that have been made," said Verona. "The average cost of a new car is about $22,000, so insurance companies don't want to pay for totaling the vehicle when it can be repaired. And obviously, design dictates how a vehicle will be repaired. So repairability has become more and more important, and the manufacturers are aware of this.

"The manufacturers need - and appreciate - our input," said Verona, who owns East Rockford Collision Center, Inc., in Rockford, Ill. and who has been in business for himself for 35 years. "After all, we're the people who daily repair these vehicles.

"For example, there was a time when identification plates were on the door. They were difficult to remove, so quite often you didn't retain them if you had to put on a new door. And later, if repairs on the vehicle were needed again, you were lost without the information on the identification plate. The identification plate included things like the make, type of vehicle, engine code, model year, assembly plant, and production sequence. Moving the vehicle identification number really helped.

"Sometimes, our suggestions for one reason or another just aren't feasible. Vehicles are complex machines and there are many factors involved. But the OEMs have always been receptive to our requests and suggestions. Thanks to their spirit of cooperativeness and desire to build ever-better vehicles, there have been constant improvements. It takes the cooperative efforts of many."

The automotive industry veteran said he thought the change to unitized construction represented a milestone in manufacturer awareness of the need to design with repairability, because of the integration of so many components on the vehicle, one affecting the other.

Verona remembers the Automotive Service Councils (ASC) (which in 1986 merged with the Independent Automotive Service Association to form ASA) asking the manufacturers to get the weatherstripping off the door and on the body. Also, getting the OEMs to fix the electrical components in sections so the whole harness would not have to be replaced if part of it could be repaired. "For example," he said, "if you just need the plug into which you insert the headlight bulb, it's a lot less expensive to be able to buy just that single component instead of having to replace the whole harness."

Other items members of the operations committee have taken to the manufacturers:

• The industry's need for replacement sections of the front and rear frame rail extensions on certain vehicle models, including the Camaro and Firebird.
• A request that wiring harness disconnects be incorporated for door removal and replacement outside of crush areas.
• The need to design door glass channels and guides with bolts or retainers rather than rivets.
• Encapsulated glass designed so that it could be more easily removed without breakage.
• The need for designing reusable body side mouldings so that if they are not damaged in removal, they could be reinstalled.
• A request for more identifiable manufacturing plant identification to help determine paint formulas.
• The need to design easy access to door handles for removal without disassembly of inner door mechanisms.
• A request that doors, fenders and center posts be designed with mounting holes already stamped or that the OEMs supply a template for the particular model being used.
• The need to unify paint color standards.

Through the years, organizations like ASC, ASA, The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), and the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR) have all worked with the OEMs - including General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota and Nissan - to come up with ongoing improvements in vehicle design. All of the manufacturers periodically invite ASA's Collision Division to visit and share its ideas.

"It's a win-win situation for everyone," said Sharon Merwin, manager of ASA's Collision Division. "Everyone wins when improvements are made - including the consumer, the collision repair people, the insurance companies, and the manufacturers."

She said: "There is a cooperative spirit on the part of the OEMs. They appreciate our input. They listen, and so we very definitely have an impact on the way cars are designed."

The manufacturers often make members of the Collision Division operations committee privy to concepts and cars of the future, and they welcome their suggestions. The OEMs also cooperate in many of ASA's legislative efforts. For example, the OEMs support ASA's contention that used air bags should not be installed on a vehicle. And the OEMs endorse ASA's position that there should be complete disclosure to a customer as to whether a part is an OEM or aftermarket part.

Indicative of how the OEMs feel about ASA's participation is the following quotation from a memo sent by a Ford executive to other Ford executives following a meeting between Ford and the ASA Operations Committee:

"... (Ford) Body Engineering, Automotive Safety Office and Ford Parts and Service Division met with representatives of ASA to review issues affecting the repairability of vehicles involved in collisions. ASA represents independent collision shops in the United States that repair approximately 70 percent of all vehicles involved in accidents. They are therefore a valuable resource for field problems that can adversely affect the cost, quality and efficiency of collision repairs, and indirectly affect insurance ratings and our competitive position.

"Please forward to your engineers the attached meeting report and my preliminary responses to some of the issues raised, for their consideration in the design of future vehicles."

Merwin said ASA members owe a debt of gratitude to many fellow members who, while serving on the Collision Division operations committee, helped take "laundry lists" to the manufacturers.

Now serving on the Collision Division operations committee are Jim Busch, Kevin Caldwell, Jerry Dalton, Chris Dameron, Nick Gojmeric, Geralynn Kottschade, Keith Kumler, Tom Prescott, Rick Reiss, Ben Steinman, and Mike West.

Merwin said the Collision Division's ongoing efforts with the manufacturers is just another example of how ASA works for its members.

"So I would say to every member-shop, the next time you or one of your technicians have a gripe or suggestion as to how a vehicle could be more repairable, pass it on," said Merwin. "Who knows? It just might get incorporated on a new vehicle."

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