CARQUEST Selects 2004 TECH-NET Professional/ASE Technician of the Year Raleigh, NC – Richard Robb of Elkhorn, WI, has been named the 2004 TECH-NET Professional/ASE Technician of the Year.
Owner of Hi-Tech Automotive, Robb is an ASE-certified master automobile technician with L-1 certification. He was selected for the award after meeting the criteria set by CARQUEST and excelling on the Spring 2004 ASE automobile certification exams.
“I was very surprised and pleased to be named the TECH-NET/ASE Technician of the Year,” said Robb, an automotive technician with 29 years of experience. “It is a great honor to be recognized by CARQUEST. They support me with quality auto parts and professional program like TECH-NET and CARQUEST Technical Institute.”
Robb became an automotive technician in 1975. He started Hi-Tech Automotive 12 years ago and today his business has four bays. His wife Laura works with him in the family business.
As part of the award, Robb will receive an all-expense paid trip for two to the ASE board meeting, where he will be presented with a trophy and a gold ring. Robb also will be honored as the co-Grand Marshal of the 2005 CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 NASCAR Busch Series event in Charlotte, NC. He will serve on the CARQUEST Advisory Council and will receive in total $20,000 worth of prizes. His prizes will include an OTC/SPX – Genisys Pathfinder 2003 Deluxe Kit with Import; an International Tool Box – CARQUEST Racing Box; numerous promotional tool sets from Blackhawk Tools; a Carbon Tune System Machine from Motorvac; and an EVAP Master Diagnostic Kit from Hickok Inc.
East Penn Scores 100% in Masters of Quality Award
Lyon Station, PA – East Penn Manufacturing Co., was recently presented the Masters of Quality Supplier award given by Freightliner Corp. of Portland, OR. East Penn manufactures lead-acid batteries and accessories for the commercial, automotive, marine, telecommunications, industrial and stationary markets.
This is the sixth year that East Penn has been honored with the award. In addition, for the second year in a row, East Penn was the only supplier to score a 100% rating in completing the required standards and qualifications set by Freightliner. There are only 36 chosen from the several hundreds of suppliers considered for this award, and no other company received a perfect score in every category.
DaimlerChrysler Launches HEMI Website
Since it was first introduced into the world of motorsports more than 50 years ago, the HEMI engine has stood for unparalleled automotive power and performance. In response to the overwhelming interest and popularity of the HEMI engine, DaimlerChrysler has launched an official website (www.HEMI.com) dedicated to HEMI owners and enthusiasts worldwide.
HEMI.com is an interactive website that presents a historical timeline of the evolution of the HEMI engine, beginning with HEMI’s inception back in the early 1950s. The development of the legendary 426 HEMI, which revolutionized NASCAR and NHRA racing (and was ultimately banned by NASCAR), is featured, along with the new generation 5.7L HEMI. In addition, Web surfers will find vintage photographs and biographical information featuring the people who were behind one of the most famous automotive powerplants in the world.
HEMI.com also contains specifications for the historic HEMI engines and provides graphic details of how these engines managed to produce such incredible power.
Corteco Announces Edelbrock Engine Sweepstakes
Plymouth, MI – Corteco USA has announced that it will give away Edelbrock performance engines in a special promotion to technicians and racing enthusiasts.
“We’ll have two separate drawings,” said Pat Lynch, Corteco’s manager of product marketing. “The first will be at the AAPEX Show in Las Vegas on November 3, and the second will be at the PRI Show in Indianapolis on December 10.”
Edelbrock installs Corteco gaskets exclusively on all of its performance engines.
“We’ve been very pleased with the performance of Corteco’s WhiteSeal Technology gaskets,” said Vic Edelbrock, president of the company that bears his name. “We were fortunate to find a sealing company with quality standards like our own.”
For more information and sweepstakes registration, call Corteco at 866-459-2737 or visit www.installcorteco.com. No purchase is necessary to enter.
Automotive Service Professionals Reception To Be Held Nov. 4
Brea, CA – The International Automotive Technicians’ Network (iATN) and the Automotive Service Association (ASA) will jointly sponsor the third annual Service Professionals Industry Reception on Nov. 4 from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the Sunset Ballroom of the Flamingo Las Vegas. The event will be an opportunity for service professionals to network and to visit 50-plus exhibitors that will be on hand to showcase new products, services and technologies.
The reception will take place during the AAPEX and SEMA shows, which will run Nov. 2-5, and will officially launch ASA’s Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS), to be held Nov. 4-6.
There is no cost to attend the reception and advance registration is not required. Attendees, however, must be iATN or ASA members and have either an AAPEX or CARS badge to access the event.
“It provides the perfect opportunity to meet with others in the service industry, and a chance for iATN members, who mainly communicate online, to put a face with a name,” said Brent Black, iATN founder and president.
More information about the reception is available at: http://members.iatn.net/meetings/vegas04/ or www.CARSonline.org.
At its assembly plant August 6 in Claycomo, MO, Ford Motor Co. officials were on hand to launch production of a hybrid version of the Escape SUV. The Escape Hybrid is the world’s first gas-electric hybrid sport utility vehicle (SUV) and the first hybrid vehicle produced by an American automaker.
The vehicle joins Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda in the hybrid vehicle market. Ford officials say about 20,000 units will be built for model year 2005.
The Escape Hybrid is equipped with a 200-lb., 330-volt battery pack that powers the vehicle at low speeds and in stop-and-go traffic. Combined with a 2.3L gas-powered engine that operates at faster speeds, the vehicle is expected to get about 36 mpg in city driving, and produce about 30% fewer emissions than Ford’s regular Escape model.
