Perception is Reality

When technology companies are in the driver’s seat of vehicle design, you don’t need ESP to know that this means a redefinition of the auto recycling business model. What is real and what is perceived about new cars?

caring father to drop her off before they get to the school to avoid the expected parental embarrass- ment. Then, by chance, a driver cuts them off grant- ing her secret wish as the car suddenly stops. On its own. And the girl pops happily out of the car, leaving a disappointed father behind. As auto recyclers, one has to wonder – what is going on with these cutting-edge cars loaded with futuristic technology coming off assembly lines and straight into the driveways of the mainstream consumer? With all these innovations, how will this impact the auto recycling industry and, more directly, the already-shift- ed profit margin due to plunging steel prices?

Y BY CARYN SMITH ou’ve seen the television commercials.

The young lady driver is imagining herself rocking on stage, singing “…’cuz I’m hollow, ‘cuz I’m hollow uh uh oh…” in front of a panel of three encouraging judges that happen to be versions of herself, and then suddenly her car comes to a stop. On its own. Jolting her from the daydream and saving her from rear-ending the car ahead.

Or, the young girl awkwardly asking her overly-

In the transition from the rudimentary cars of the Flintstone’s town of Bedrock, that are, yes, almost powered by one’s running, to the flying self-con- trolled electronic cars of the Jetson’s Orbit City ... is it the end of automotive recycling as we know it? Well, yes…and no.

As an expert in the field of automotive innovation as

it relates to the availability of replacement auto parts, Tanvir Arfi, Managing Director at Solera Holdings, knows too well the landscape for automotive recyclers is changing and he has dedicated his research to stay ahead of the curve. Solera is the company behind the Hollander yard management, e-commerce, data, and sales and inventory solution used in the industry --

November-December 2016 | Automotive Recycling 31

Photo from LYNK & CO/www.lynkco.com