Meet the Country's Best Student Auto Technicians: Minnesota Team Tops Head-to-Head...

Meet the Country's Best Student Auto Technicians: Minnesota Team Tops
Head-to-Head Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition

60th annual auto repair showdown pits top high school teams from all 50 states

DEARBORN, Mich., June 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a showdown of the
nation's top high school automotive technology students, the two-person team
from Faribault High School in Faribault, Minn., emerged as the "best of the
best" at the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Finals. The competition
gives auto tech students the opportunity to showcase their automotive
problem-solving capabilities by resolving "real world" repair challenges in a
timed, head-to-head match-up of top teams representing all 50 states.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090616/DC33586)

Aspiring auto technicians and rising seniors, Justin Dwyer and Matthew Ludwig,
recorded the best score while crossing the finish line in 42 minutes and 51
seconds. The students recorded a "perfect car" as they correctly diagnosed and
repaired all of the bugs. The repairs included repairing the air conditioning
blower, power windows and mirrors and interior and exterior lights as well as
properly diagnosing and repairing problems to the starter motor and air flow
sensor. Their school instructor is Mark Lessman.

More than 9,700 high school juniors and seniors competed in this year's
competition with a record-high $10.7 million in scholarships offered.
Following an online exam, the highest-scorers advanced to their states'
hands-on competition, with the top teams from each state competing today in
Dearborn, Mich., at the National Finals. The 50, two-student teams that
gathered this morning at AAA Michigan, located near Ford World Headquarters,
also completed a 100-question written exam on Monday of which the results were
combined with today's hands-on competition.

In addition to several scholarships, the winning duo also won the opportunity
to work under the hood with the Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 DEWALT Ford Fusion
team at its Concord, N.C., shop leading up to the August 2 Sprint Cup Series
race at Pocono Raceway, where they will serve as honorary pit crew members.

Out of the 50 teams competing, only four were able perfectly diagnose and
repair their vehicles without receiving any demerits. They rounded out the
top-four teams and included, in order of finish: Colorado, Alabama and Texas
(see below for a complete listing of the top-15 finishing order).

Prior to the National Finals, competitors were awarded $9.9 million in
scholarships during the state-level competitions. At the National Finals, the
top-10 teams received additional full and partial scholarships from some of
the leading automotive technology institutions in the country, including
Lincoln College of Technology, University of Northwestern Ohio, Universal
Technical Institute, Ohio Technical College and WyoTech. Lincoln College of
Technology also provided partial scholarships to all of the national
finalists.

Additionally, the high schools of the top-15 teams in the competition will
receive either a Ford Edge, Taurus or Fusion for training purposes in their
automotive technology departments.

"Each year, vehicles become more technologically advanced, which increases the
safety and comfort of motorists as well as the need for a skilled,
technically-savvy workforce to service them," said Marshall L. Doney, AAA
Automotive, vice president. "The students competing in the Ford/AAA Student
Auto Skills are the future of the automotive industry. Part of AAA's
commitment to provide motorists with solutions for all their automotive needs
includes ensuring they have reliable, quality auto repair options both now and
in the future."

After Doney gave the "start your engines, if you can," command this morning to
begin the national finalists' race to their assigned cars, the competitors had
90 minutes to accurately diagnose and correctly repair the deliberate "bugs"
placed in the Ford Escape models.

"Supporting talented young individuals in this skills competition is one
reason why the Ford Motor Company sees a solid future for this industry," said
Darryl Hazel, president, Ford Customer Service Division. "This competition
provides education and scholarships that will help these students thrive in
the automotive industry through a number of career options, including valuable
positions within Ford's dealer network."

This year marked the 60th year of the annual competition, which first began in
1949 when Harry Truman was in office. This year, AAA marks its 25th year with
the competition, serving as a co-sponsor since 1984. Ford Motor Company
celebrates its 15th year involved in the competition.

The top-15 teams in the 2009 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Finals
were:

1 Minnesota (Justin Dwyer, Matthew Ludwig) Faribault High School, Faribault,
Minn., instructed by Mark Lessman
2 Colorado (Charles Duran, Dylan Keyes) Doherty High School, Colorado Springs,
Colo., instructed by Brad Wheaton
3 Alabama(Zach Evans, Jared Hudson) Albert P Brewer High School, Somerville,
Ala., instructed by Robert Bryson
4 Texas(Juan Correa, Andrew McConnell) Birdville Career Center, Halton City,
Texas, instructed by Olin R. Harrington
5 California(Eric Reed, Doug Rinnell) San Luis Obispo High School, San Luis
Obispo, Calif., instructed by Jeff Lehmkuhl
6 New York(Mike Palladino, Andrew Matthys) Wayne Tech & Career Center,
Williamson, N.Y., instructed by Chet Kuhn
7 Kansas(Joseph Vanderputten, Dillon Percival) Kaw Area Tech School, Topeka,
Kansas, instructed by Robert Oswald
8 Indiana(Jarrett Coberly, Nicholas Vogler) Pike Central High School,
Petersburg, Ind., instructed by Buddy Lee
9 Arkansas(Brandon & Nolan Hildalgo - twin brothers) Jacksonville High School,
Jacksonville, Ark., instructed by Shawn Poindexter
10 Iowa(Cody Gudenkauf, Michael Hermsen) West Delaware High School Manchester,
Iowa, instructed by Jason Guyer
11 Kentucky(Jesse Bardis, Austin White) Shelby Co Area Tech Center,
Shelbyville, Ky., instructed by Bruce Edwards
12 Wisconsin(Kieron Kohlmann, Jonathan Ramczyk) Washington Park High School,
Racine, Wis., instructed by David Dixon
13 Oklahoma(Jeffrey Dill, Jack Gibson) Eastern Oklahoma Co Tech Center,
Choctaw, Okla., instructed by Jim LaFevers
14 Hawaii(ChesterLee Coloma, Edler Espiritu) Maui High School, Kahului,
Hawaii. instructed by Shannon Rowe
15 Wyoming(Alfred Hefenieder, Jesse Hernandez) Worland High School, Worland,
Wy., instructed by Mike Sapp

Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills is a nationwide automotive technology competition
for high school juniors and seniors interested in pursuing careers as
automotive service technicians. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the
competition that tests students' automotive knowledge, workmanship and
problem-solving abilities with a written test as well as a race against the
clock to diagnose and properly repair intentionally "bugged" vehicles. Ford
and AAA are dedicated to the competition as part of their commitment to the
future of automotive service in America. For information on competing in the
Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills, visit AutoSkills.com.

AAA news releases, high resolution images, broadcast-quality video, fact
sheets and podcasts are available on the AAA NewsRoom at AAA.com/AutoSkills.

Broadcast-quality video of the 2009 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills will be
available to download at http://www.aaanewsroom.net/videoclips/.

Find Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills on Facebook at
http://tinyurl.com/AutoSkills.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click
appropriate link.

Christie Hyde
https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=64864

SOURCE AAA

Shaun Clair, +1-212-714-7913 office, sclair@catalystpublicrelations.com, for
AAA; or Christie Hyde of AAA National Public Relations, +1-407-444-8003
office, chyde@national.aaa.com; or Steve Kinkade of Ford Motor Company,
+1-313-248-1051 office, skinkade@ford.com