Wednesday, June 27, 2007

And the Winner is.....

SOURCE: Auto Club of So. Calif.Jun 26, 2007 15:10 ETSan Luis Obispo High School Students Win 2007 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National ChampionshipDEARBORN, MI--(Marketwire - June 26, 2007) -

Two students from San Luis Obispo, Calif. beat students from 49 other states to win the 2007 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Championship today. The competition, sponsored by Ford Motor Co. and AAA, is designed to find the most talented young auto technicians in the U.S.San Luis Obispo High 2007 graduates Daniel Lehmkuhl and Austin Castro took just 49 minutes and 6 seconds to repair their bugged Ford Fusion at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. They were coached by San Luis Obispo High Industrial Tech Instructor Jeff Lehmkuhl, also Daniel's father, and accompanied to the contest by the Auto Club's Motor Sports Manager Rick Lalor. The California team was one of eight teams that perfectly repaired the deliberately bugged cars. They also took a written exam which was part of their final score."We're really pleased," said Jeff Lehmkuhl. "We went to make California proud and we're pretty happy now. We were sweating it out when the kids took about 10 extra minutes to fix a couple of bad window switches, but the higher written scores on the exam carried us to the top."When asked if the win was that much sweeter because he was coaching his son, Lehmkuhl, 44, replied, "I'm thrilled. Daniel's been helping me in the auto shop at the high school since he was about 5 years old. And this is also a huge victory for Austin as well. He'll get a full scholarship to attend a technical institute or college."

Each member of the first team receives numerous scholarships and awards from today's championship, including a $2,500 general education scholarship from Ford Motor Co. and AAA; full tuition scholarship to the University of Northwestern Ohio; full tuition scholarship to the Lincoln College of Technology; full tuition scholarship to Universal Technical Institute; full tuition scholarship to Ohio Technical College and a school trophy; and an opportunity to earn-as-they-learn at a Ford-Lincoln-Mercury dealership.Trained automotive technicians are among the most sought-after and highly paid professionals in today's job market, but many high schools are reducing or eliminating automotive programs due to lack of funding and/or trained teachers. AAA sponsors the skills contest as part of its educational efforts to attract and train more young people to the automotive professions."This win really puts our program on the map nationally," said Jeff Lehmkuhl. "I hope that this win will attract more interest from students, and speaking as a teacher, point them in a direction that's positive and into a field that's rewarding, needs good people and also pays well."

As vehicles become more advanced, Ford and AAA have partnered to assure that the new generation of automotive technicians is well educated to service the public's motoring needs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the auto industry will have an average of 34,000 job openings per year through 2014, based on growth and net replacement needs. More than 7,500 students from all 50 states vied for a chance to be in the final national competition."For Daniel and Austin today is the result of months of hard work and determination," said Lalor. "It's important that the automotive industry attract talented and driven young men and women to the field to keep the motoring public safe in their automobiles."I

n May, the San Luis Obispo High team earned the California state competition by achieving the highest score among the 10 two-student teams at Irwindale Speedway, as well as beating the scores of 10 two-student teams who were competing simultaneously in Northern California. The San Luis Obispo students each won multiple college scholarships, tools and a powertrain package for finishing on top in the California competition.Lehmkuhl has taken San Luis Obispo High student teams to the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Championship in previous years where they finished 2nd, 4th, and 20th. His 2007 team logged 80 hours preparing for their state competition and simulated and corrected vehicle problems, reviewed numerous text books and pored over a donated vehicle to prepare for the national championship.The top five finishers in today's national competition were: California, Michigan, Colorado, No. Carolina, and Virginia.

Congratulations to all who participated! All 50 teams were tops in their state. I had the honor to be a judge for the North Carolina team. Kyle and Evan - You did a great job! Evan Martin and Kyle Wishlinski are graduates of Lake Norman High School, and their instructor was Martin Page. Absolutely wonderful team of technicians!

Friday, June 22, 2007

Ford/AAA National Auto Skills Competition 2007

Tomorrow's Technician Editor Ed Sunkin, Brake and Front End Editor Andrew Markel, and I will be driving up to Dearborn, Michigan on Sunday to help judge the Ford/AAA National Auto Skills Competition. Last year was my first time as a judge and it was a great experience. It is inspiring to see enthusiastic young men and women come together to compete against each other as they try to become national champions. They are all so enthusiastic and nervous, yet they are very well-prepared. They are all required to wear a uniform as they work through the mechanical side of the competition. Last year Ford provided 50 beautiful, brand-new mustangs for these young men and women to tend. As part of the competition, the students are also given written tests. The combined written and mechanical scores determine the national champions.


How the Competition Works
This is a nationwide competition for 11th and 12th grade students in secondary schools and colleges (serving local high schools) that offer courses in automotive technology and have at least one full-time or part-time automotive instructor. Schools may enter a team of two to ten 11th and/or 12th grade students per full time automotive instructor, but each instructor must apply individually.
Each participating instructor selects his best 11th or 12th grade auto technology students to take the state qualifying exam which is taken on line and administered by a test administrator at the school
The combined score of the two highest scoring students from each school becomes the team score and counts 40% in the state finals.
In most states the ten teams scoring highest on the state qualifying exam then move on to the "hands-on" state finals scheduled each year in late April or early May.
In the "hands-on" competition, new Ford Motor Company vehicles are uniformly "bugged" so that each team has identical malfunctions to diagnose and repair. The competition requires repairs to be made with the highest quality workmanship in the lowest total time.
The winning two-person team from each state and their instructor are provided expense-paid trips to the national finals in June.
At the national competition, each member of the 50 state teams will take a written exam. Errors on the written exams are converted into time demerits that are added to the team's time on the "hands-on" mechanical competition in both the state and national competition.
Each vehicle in the competition is supervised by a team judge who supplies new parts upon request. When a team believes it has returned its vehicle to normal working order the hood is closed, signaling the timer to stop the team's clock. The team and its judge then take the vehicle on a short road test.
The team may then return the vehicle to its work area for further diagnosis and repair, or proceed to final judging.
The team with the fewest quality-of-workmanship demerits and the best combined total score of repair time and written exam will be declared the winner.

Friday, June 15, 2007

What Do You Know about Women?



In the United States:

Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases - and 65% of New Car purchases

Women are 50.7% of the population

Women are 46.4% of the labor force

Women are 50.6% of the managerial/professional specialty positions

Women are 16.4% of the corporate officers and executive managers

1 out of 3 women earn more than men

1/3 of all respondents in a nationwide survey of women homeowners said they would rather receive a dozen tools than a dozen roses.
According to AskPatty.com, a website dedicated to providing excellent automotive advice for women, many dealerships are missing out when they approach a woman in their parking lot. I thought I would share this information with you, as you consider how to work with women in the future.
The top two things women want in a vehicle are safety & reliability. Women represent 73% of facility repair customers. If you are not training your students to be good communicators with women, you should consider it for the future. It is likely that women will represent an even larger portion of the repair-buying market. It is also equally likely that women will represent a larger percentage of working technicians as more women enter automotive education courses.

Monday, June 11, 2007

From The Real World, May, 2007 Issue of T2


Anything Is Possible, If You Follow Your Dream.

When the Permatex Follow A Dream Racing team captured its first race championship at the 2005 O’Reilly Spring Nationals in Houston, TX, it was much more than a national win in the NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car Series. It was a phenomenal victory in the pursuit of a dream that, on paper, stood little chance, if any, of coming true.

That’s because, Follow A Dream is different than most race teams. It operates as a non-for-profit foundation and its owner and crew chief, Jay Blake, is totally blind. That’s a heck of a combination in today’s ultra competitive world of professional motorsports. But it works, and Blake’s team wins. So far, Follow A Dream has earned three first place trophies in NHRA national events and is rated as one of the top ‘funny car’ race teams in the world.

The driving force behind Follow A Dream is Jay Blake, a determined man with a different kind of vision. Instead of seeing adversity as a roadblock, Jay sees it as an opportunity. Why else would he embark on such a difficult challenge under circumstances that would have caused most people to pack it in?

Jay Blake started Follow A Dream racing eight years ago, just two years after a horrific accident cost him his eyesight and his career as a successful auto tech. He was severely injured when a forklift tire he was working on exploded in his face and sent him flying across the shop. In addition to his vision, he also lost his sense of taste and smell.

Once he recovered, Jay was determined to make the best of his situation, for himself and his family. He went to the Carroll Center for the Blind and learned to live life all over again. He was also able to dream again. Jay had always wanted to own his race team and decided to give it a go.

Jay was always a very good technician and had a lot of experience. He worked at several car dealerships, had a couple of stints with heavy-duty trucks, worked in welding equipment and supply business, and even managed a national muffler franchise. With his technical and managerial capabilities in place, Jay set out to learn the other skills he would need to run a successful race team such as fund raising, public relations, promotion and soliciting sponsorships. He was soon able to attract the interest of Permatex, an industry leader in automotive chemical tools, and the Permatex Follow A Dream team was on its way.

As a crew chief, Jay’s schedule is both demanding and rewarding. As he puts it, “Its lot of responsibility and hard work, but it’s lots of fun too.” A typical week for Jay can include ordering parts, dealing with sponsors, public relations, crafting new ideas for promoting the car, taking care of fans, booking speaking engagements and getting the car ready for the next event.

Most people presume that Jay tunes the car, but that critical task falls to Tom Howell, and may be one of the reasons why the team is doing so well. Jay explains, “We’ve come a long way and at our level of competition, we need someone much better than me to do the job. Besides, my hands are full managing our eight-member team and busy race schedule.”

While Jay clearly enjoys the business end of the race team, his true love is and always will be to physically work on the racecar. Jay gets to the car at night after everyone has gone home, turns on some classic rock and roll, and takes the car apart so it’s ready for the next race. Says Jay, “There’s nothing sweeter.”

Figuratively speaking, Jay has never looked back from that faithful day in 1997 when, as he expresses it, “he was forced to retire.”

“These past 10 years have been the most remarkable and most enjoyable years of my life,”Jay said. “ I’ve never felt more alive or more fulfilled. If given the choice to have my eyesight and go back to the way things were, I wouldn’t trade it for what I have today.” While he was building his team, Jay Blake never forgot the importance of encouraging others to overcome adversity. So, for the past seven years, Jay has toured the country as a motivational speaker at hospitals, rehab centers, corporations, and Vo-tech schools, encouraging all types of people to believe that they can rise above any calamity and achieve their life’s goals.

The Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, sponsors of the New York Auto Show and the National Automotive Technology Competition, recently honored Jay Blake as the 2007 Outstanding Supporter of Automotive Education. Jay spoke to an audience of the nation’s top high school automotive students at the awards dinner for the 2007 National Automotive Technology Competition in New York.

In his keynote address, Jay offered both advice and encouragement, telling the students that they can accomplish anything they want if they have the will and determination to make it happen. Jay also stressed the importance of staying in school and continuing one’s education. Using a metaphor that every technician can relate to, Jay asked the students to view their life as a ‘tool box’ and suggested that they fill it with five essential tools: A positive attitude, strong basic skills and education, passion, self-determination and the ability to work as a team player.

Jay offers a heartfelt message for the future automotive technicians of America, “Dreams are obtainable. You must be willing to believe in yourself and have the determination to stay the course. It may not be easy, but it is possible. So follow your dream.”

Jay Blake’s 5 Essential Tools for Your Life’s Tool Box

1 A Positive Attitude - Everyday you have a choice to make it a good one or a bad one. Be positive.
2 Strong Basic Skills and Education - Learn everything you can. Polish your basic skills and most importantly, continue your education.
3 Passion – Believe in our dreams. Your passion is the fuel that will drive you towards achieving them.
4 Self-determination - Believe in yourself. Seek out those who have knowledge of what you may be trying to achieve. Don’t listen to those who say you can’t do it.
5 Teamwork - Don’t go it alone. Learn to work as a team member. In a group, strengths come together and weaknesses fall to the side