Student and Professional Auto Technicians to Compete in Ford/AAA State Championship April 27

DEARBORN, Mich., April 22 -- "Gentlemen: Start your engines if you can."

At 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 27, that command from the official starter in Macomb Community College's Expo Center will send 10 pairs of students from Michigan high schools scrambling to a line of 2005 model Ford Tauruses that have been identically "bugged" with electrical and mechanical problems by Ford Motor Co. engineers. The students' challenge is to find and fix all those bugs and be first to cross the finish line to win the Michigan state finals of the 2005 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition.

The winning students will take home more than $20,000 in scholarships and automotive merchandise. They also will earn a trip to Washington D.C. in June to compete in the national finals against the winning teams from the 49 other states. Victory in the national competition would earn the students more scholarships and automotive-repair equipment.

Concurrent with the student event, five veteran auto technicians representing Ford dealerships in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana will compete in the Ultimate Master Technician Challenge. The winner of that event also will go to Washington D.C. in June for national competition.

"While national TV shows are focusing on finding America's top model or top singing star, Ford and AAA are focusing on a goal that can be more important to the average American citizen: Focusing attention on the nation's best young auto technicians," said Robert Kaczor, assistant vice president- Automotive Services for AAA Michigan.

"Today's automotive students will be the technicians Americans will depend on in the years ahead to keep our vehicles running. The need for their skills is critical. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the nation is currently approximately 32,000 short of the number of skilled auto technicians we need, and that need is expected to grow as much as another 20 percent by the year 2012," Kaczor said.

"Ford Motor Co. and AAA are pleased to be able to work together to sponsor this Student Auto Skills Competition to inspire young people to help answer this critical need by considering a career in automotive service," Kaczor said.

These 10 teams earned their opportunity to compete in the Michigan finals by finishing at the top in a written exam on automotive service administered in March to teams from 38 high schools across the state:

  *  Bay City Western High School, Auburn: Ryan Henning / David Fournier;
  *  Plymouth Canton High School, Canton: Thomas Handrinos / Mitchell
     McIntosh;
  *  Delton Kellogg High School, Delton: Logan Thorn Finton / Kyle Wells;
  *  Kearsley High School, Flint: Jason Joubran / James Desrochers;
  *  GASC Technical Center, Flint: Douglas Olds / David Rodabaugh;
  *  Kent Career Technical Center, Grand Rapids: Nathan Burgenmeyer / Austin
     Turnes;
  *  Capital Area Career Center, Mason: Bradley Hitchcock / Shawn Mayes;
  *  New Haven High School, New Haven: George Rivard / Mark Sweeney;
  *  Oxford High School, Oxford: Timothy Wagner / Carl Boone;
  *  Saline High School, Saline: Justin Jedele / Ryan Szpara.

The finalists in the Ultimate Master Technicians Challenge also earned their spots by recording the best scores in a written exam taken by experienced technicians working for Ford dealerships in the Midwest. Competing in the professional event will be:

  *  Dirk Krueger, Rich Ford Lincoln-Mercury, Archbold, Ohio;
  *  Dennis Leist, Pace Ford, Huntington, Ind.;
  *  Cyrus Repp Jr., Bryan Ford Lincoln Mercury, Bryan, Ohio;
  *  Daniel McMahan, Steve Rogers Ford, Waterville, Ohio;
  *  David Stricker, Grand Traverse Auto Co., Traverse City, Mich.