Friday July 2nd, 2004

Teachers talk shop, to our benefit

Driver Section July 2, 2004

Publication: Ottawa Citizen

If you’ve had your car or truck serviced by a licensed technician recently, chances are I met that tech’s teacher last week.

The setting was Algonquin College’s impressive new Transportation Technology Centre. Gathered here to learn about the latest in auto technology were more than 100 professionals from the 13 Ontario institutions that offer automotive programs.

Not long ago, auto technician programs in secondary and post-secondary institutions were considered the poor cousins of more academic pursuits. Dedicated educators suffered with small budgets, outdated facilities and little support from auto manufacturers.

Fortunately for the industry, things have come a long way. And it was fitting that Algonquin, which hosted the first Ontario Colleges Motive Power Professional Development Conference in 1990, was home to this year’s event, showcasing new facilities that can only be described as state of the art.

Automakers Honda and Nissan were prominent at this year’s conference, demonstrating Honda’s hybrid powerplant and Nissan’s constant variable transmission technology. It’s clear they support the notion that new technicians need to be well versed in the latest advancements, much the same as other professions have done for years.

With a job placement record of 100 per cent, Algonquin is immediately putting its graduates to work in dealerships, mass-merchandisers and independent shops across our region. These new auto professionals are put to the test on their first day out and no business can afford to watch its customer satisfaction ratings drop due to improperly trained techs.

Your automotive educators had their own learning up dated by companies such as Shell Canada, Eaton Transmissions, Cummins Engines, HFI Hydrogen Power Systems and AC Delco, to name a few. These seminar sessions were well attended and supplied some keen insights into the direction of auto technology.

Area high-tech firm Netistix provided details on its wireless vehicle data transmission system that can allow your vehicle’s onboard computer to download information to special land-based receiver units.

These receivers can be used by fleet companies and service providers to spot impending engine or transmission trouble and contact the driver to recommend appropriate repairs or adjustments.

While this is the friendly, consumer-based side of vehicle communications technology, discussion in soon turned to upcoming California legislation creating the next level of vehicle onboard computers.

According to Roger Egan of Netistix, OBD III (OnBoard Diagnostics level three) will propose to have vehicles constantly transmitting engine data to state-owned receivers strategically placed along freeways. When an emission failure is monitored, the state could then forward a notice of non-compliance to the vehicle owner along with an order to immediately repair the fault.

Shaking your head in disbelief at this invasion of privacy? Remember, this is the same state that has no problem using hidden black box recorders on vehicles to convict drivers and assess liability in collisions.

The supplier with the highest “Gee whiz, look at that!” score had to be Microvision Inc. with its Nomad Expert Technician System. Everyone had to stop at this booth to try on a plain-looking ball cap with a really nifty accessory.

A small vision screen flips down from the right side of the cap peak to provide the wearer with a “heads up” view of any shop manual, wiring diagram or diagnostic flow chart that has been loaded into a data storage unit parked on the user’s belt. This system allows a tech hands-free access to repair data while working on the car. There’s no more wasted time walking back and forth to a dog-eared shop manual with smudged or missing pages.

No more lineups with 20 other techs at the shop library computer. And for older units like me, no more forgetting what that torque value was while walking back to the car to reinstall the engine heads.

Our keynote speaker, U.S. automotive educational guru and prolific text writer Jack Erjavec, touched on where he thought our industry was headed. He believes hybrid vehicles will never have more than a small share of the car market.

With the battery systems on Toyotas designed and warranted (in the U.S.) to last eight years, Mr. Erjavec doesn’t see many owners rushing to spend approximately $5,000 U.S. to replace the battery pack on an eight-year-old subcompact. He does see serious movement on the 42-volt vehicle electrical system; technology that has been discussed by major carmakers for almost a decade. This would allow systems such as power steering, engine coolant circulation and air conditioning to be powered by electricity rather than pulley-driven belts, freeing a substantial amount of engine power and boosting fuel economy by at least 15 per cent.

Mr. Erjavec also predicts the arrival soon of direct injection gasoline engines. By borrowing on this proven diesel technology, engineers will be able to squeeze more horsepower from the same engine displacement.

Unfortunately, the limits to where auto designers take us now are found in the courtroom, not on the drawing board, according to Mr. Erjavec. He feels strongly that liability issues play as important a role in vehicle design and engineering as marketability and costs. If this is true, perhaps the days of foam rubber-encased cars with 50-km/h top speeds are not far off.

If you think professional development events are just another teacher holiday, think again. The instructors I spent time with at Algonquin started their sessions on time and with full attendance. The discussions were lively and the questions posed to the manufacturer reps were tough and on the mark. No wonder our friend from the U.S., Mr. Erjavec, began his address by expressing his strong envy of our technician training systems.

Send questions to Troubleshooter, Ottawa Citizen, 1101 Baxter Rd., Ottawa, K2C 3M4. Fax: 726-1198. E-mail: driving@thecitizen.canwest.com . Specify your vehicle’s model, engine and odometer reading, and provide your full name, municipality and daytime phone number. We are unable to provide individual replies.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2004