WALLA WALLA, WA — Delphi and Tomorrow’s Technician magazine are providing automotive repair technology students in Washington with tools that will help them prepare for the future of the automotive
aftermarket.

The Tomorrow’s Technician staff selected a class at Walla Walla Community College (WWCC) in Walla Walla, WA, as the winner of the magazine’s monthly pop quiz, a Delphi sponsored activity.

Delphi awarded the class with its Universal Reflash Tool, which helps technicians identify needed software updates on vehicle computer systems and applies those updates to help satisfy the demands of vehicle owners, and RepairPoint, which offers a variety of Web-based applications and information designed to enhance an entire shop’s operation. Representatives from Delphi and Tomorrow’s Technician were at the school to present a plaque and the tools to the class on January 21.

“It’s incredibly important, especially now, that we support the future of the aftermarket industry,” said Beth Skove, publisher of Tomorrow’s Technician magazine. “As consumers demand more high-tech features in their vehicles, we will need technicians who are prepared to stay in step with the most complex automotive technology.”

During 2008, Delphi sponsored the monthly pop quiz answers in Tomorrow’s Technician, testing readers’ knowledge on service parts and systems. The class of three instructors — Jim Haun, Mike Adams and Tom Prest — and 23 students at WWCC, was randomly selected from registered participants to win tools and equipment from Delphi’s line of workshop solutions and productivity tools.

Haun thanked Delphi for providing his school the high-tech diagnostic equipment and other gifts. “Reflashing is something every new technician is going to need to learn and understand,” Haun said. “We will get a lot of use out of this tool.”

“Delphi is committed to education in the aftermarket, and providing this award gives these students additional real-world experience,” said Dave Barbeau, vice president, independent aftermarket, Delphi Product & Service Solutions. “By reaching out to classes like this one, we help ensure that future shop owners and technicians are successful in their goals to service the cars of the future.”

Aimed at reaching the next generation of automotive service professionals, Tomorrow’s Technician is designed for a target audience of automotive students, delivering technical information about servicing today’s vehicles; assisting educators with a “real world” supplement to classroom assignments; and reinforcing the students’ decisions to see a career in the automotive industry.

WWCC provides a high-quality education, training for technical careers, and classes to upgrade job skills or for personal enrichment. WWCC’s Automotive Repair Technology program provides intensive technical instruction in all mechanical aspects of automotive mechanical repair through a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on applications in a working automotive repair shop.

Haun said the auto program’s newest project is participation as one of 10 Washington entities in newly converted Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV’s) — as part of the Plug-In Center PHEV Pilot Project.

“Although this is only a pilot program,” lead instructor Haun noted, “our students will have the experience of participating in another expanding automotive field and have a jump on the competition when it comes to applying for a job.”

WWCC’s automotive technology program is certified by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) and is led by Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) master certified instructors.

For more information about WWCC, visit www.wwcc.edu.

For more information about Delphi and its subsidiaries, visit www.delphi.com.