ADAGP’s 27th Annual Auto Technology Competition Awards $1M in Prizes and Promotes Industry Opportunities

East Norriton, Pa., March 11, 2020 – The Auto Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia, in conjunction with its Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation, held its 27^th Annual Greater Philadelphia Auto Technology Competition (Tech Comp) on Friday, March 6. At the event, 24 of the area’s top auto technical students competed for a portion of more than $1 million in scholarships, tools and prizes.

First place was captured by Benjamin Salvador and Zachary Varano under the direction of Instructor Robert Schwarz.  Together, the winning pair walked away with more than $245,000 in scholarships, tools and prizes. Keystone Volvo Cars was the dealership sponsor for this winning team from Middle Bucks Institute of Technology.

Second place honors went to Bora Topal and Daniel Kristoff of Bucks County Technical High School. The team, which was sponsored by Reedman-Toll Chevrolet and led by Instructor Byron Cesari, collected more than $175,000 in prizes. Jack Gross and Brian Piasecki of North Montco Technical Career Center collected more than $90,000 in earnings as the third-place winners. Sponsored by JL Freed Honda, they were under the direction of Instructor John Alcaro.

The purpose of the Tech Comp is to build awareness for the growing need for qualified auto technicians in today’s workforce as well as spotlight their specialized skills and professionalism.

“The demand for quality technicians has never been higher. I can personally vouch that becoming an auto technician is a very wise career choice, especially given all the changes that we are seeing in today’s vehicle technologies,” said Joe Bush, CEO of Bush Auto Group and 2020 Tech Comp Chairman.

Auto technicians of the 21st Century must have highly-polished math and computer skills in addition to mechanical aptitude. This competition focuses on all those skill sets. It provides the opportunity for elite teams of the finest auto students from the Philadelphia area to work against the clock in a timed, hands-on technical skills competition. The students tested their knowledge at 10 workstations ranging from engine mechanical to communication skills and performed a Multi-Point Inspection of a previously-bugged vehicle.

The first part of the regional competition involved a 100-question written exam in November. The exam covered the eight National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) areas of the automobile, which are Engine Repair, Engine Performance, Electrical/Electronic Systems, Brakes, Heating and Air Conditioning, Suspension and Steering, Manual Drive Train and Axles and Automatic Transmissions. There were approximately 90 students who took the written exam from 20 different schools. The two highest scoring students from the top 12 schools are those who qualified for the March 6^th hands-on competition.  Photos from the event can be found here.

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