CARS Keynote Provides Glimpse of Future Francis Opens CARS 2001 Meetings Focus on Repair Information

An exclusive Las Vegas dinner show highlighted the Friday night entertainment at CARS.

The Automotive Service Association held its annual Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) Nov. 1-3 at the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. More than 540 people attended this year's convention, a substantial increase from previous years.

“Servicing the Machine of 2015” was the title of the keynote presentation given by Steve Ford. Taking a look at evolving automotive technology, Ford said there are genuine reasons for optimism about the service bay of today, 2015 and every year between.

Borrowing from the theme of Ford's keynote, CARS provided 10 technical courses and four management seminars that covered current, evolving and future trends and technologies.

Among the subjects covered in the technical courses were servicing hybrid vehicles, future technology issues, automotive multiplexing systems, new GM vehicle features, Ford engine performance troubleshooting, and OBD II EVAP testing.

Bob O'Connor and Ned Tomarchio each led two Automotive Management Institute seminars. Similar to the technical classes, the management seminars focused on enabling owners and managers to be effective in both today's and tomorrow's shop.

John Francis Jr., owner of Francis Automotive Service in West Chester, Pa., and a member of the ASA Mechanical Division Operations Committee, served as chairman of CARS 2001. He opened the convention with remarks based on the significance of four words: honor, pride, service and integrity.

Bob Redding, ASA's Washington, D.C., representative, provided an update on the association's legislative activities. Among the issues on which Redding reported were seeking a solution to the repair information availability problem, emissions and safety inspections and maintenance, ASA's role on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency committee for OBD testing and maintenance, and small business tax issues.

In addition to the presentations and training, CARS attendees enjoyed an exhibitor's hospitality reception, an exclusive Las Vegas dinner show, and chances to win any of a number of valuable prizes.

CARS Keynote Provides Glimpse of the Future

During his CARS keynote presentation, Steve Ford demonstrates a wearable computer with heads-up display. Ford predicts technicians will one day receive on-demand repair information via this technology.

Chronicling the evolution of the automobile and the internal combustion engine (ICE), Ford demonstrated the pace of vehicle innovations during the 20th century were extremely slow when compared to the innovations emerging at the outset of the 21st century.

The ICE was produced throughout the 1900s, Ford said, with incremental technology advancement. “In the years leading to 2015, the ICE will see more improvements than it did the first 75 years of the 20th century,” he said.

Among the innovations that will be appearing in service bays in the near future will be new environmental and performance enhancements - variable-engine displacement, variable compression, electronic and mechanical cylinder deactivation, infinitely variable valve timing, elimination of energy-depleting accessories and pumps supplanted by independent 42-volt devices, and additional emission-reducing technology improvements such as combustion chamber direct injection.

The emergence of 42-volt systems points to another new area in vehicle refinement, Ford said. The 42-volt vehicles on the horizon will triple the amount of available voltage from 14 and reduce amperage by two-thirds. This translates into smaller wire, connector and component sizes. Benefits of 42-volt systems include increased fuel economy by supplanting mechanical processes, such as the power steering and water pump, with electric processes.

Advancing fuel cell technologies will also be realities in future service bays, Ford said, as world efforts continue toward the elimination of greenhouse gases. The most common fuel cell vehicles will likely use proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology. “The PEM fuel cell takes in oxygen on one side and hydrogen on the other. Inside, it strips the proton from the hydrogen and the remaining electron from the hydrogen molecule is channeled through an electrical load, such as an electric vehicle motor.”

The exhaust of a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle consists only of water vapor and heat. The primary obstacles preventing a mass introduction of such vehicles are a lack of infrastructure to distribute fuel, market acceptance and technician training, Ford said.

Moving from vehicle technology to shop technology, Ford predicts a wireless service bay. With rapidly increasing computer microprocessor speeds and the implementation of standardized “OBD II-like” communication protocols, Ford said technicians can be instantly and continuously connected to manufacturers or other providers of repair information.

To demonstrate this technology, Ford removed his suit coat to reveal a wearable personal computer currently going into production from IBM.

The belt-mounted PC contained a 500 megahertz processor and a five-gigabyte hard drive. It was smaller than a VHS cassette tape. Further illustrating wireless technology, Ford placed a heads-up display over his head and finished the last several minutes of his multimedia presentation by viewing and controlling his computer via the heads-up display and wearable computer.

This technology will make it possible for techs to receive repair information, step-by-step procedures and diagrams at the exact moment they need such information.

Ford concluded his presentation by saying the automotive service industry, while racing to keep up with vehicle technology, should remember to educate customers. “The image of the service industry has to advance past the 20th century into the 21st century as well,” Ford said.

Nationally known as “The Car Guy,” the Detroit-based Ford is an ASE advanced level certified technician-instructor who has worked in both independent and dealer shops. He has successfully taken his automotive experiences and transferred them to a career as an award-winning radio, television and print journalist.

Francis Opens CARS 2001

Instructor Ned Tomarchio emphasizes a point during his Automotive Management Institute seminar, “Shop Management for 2001 and Beyond.” CARS was marked by full classrooms for its four managment and 10 technical courses.

The silence was immediately followed by the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and Lee Greenwood's “God Bless the USA,” both accompanied by dramatic and patriotic multimedia video presentations. The stirring opening was befitting a CARS boasting an expanded lineup of technical courses, Las Vegas style entertainment and, despite the terrorist attacks, a substantial increase in attendance.

Francis, the vice chairman of ASA's Mechanical Division Operations Committee and owner of Francis Automotive Service in West Chester, Pa., then gave the opening remarks, which officially kicked off CARS on Friday morning, Nov. 2.

“By coincidence of time, I began writing my thoughts for this speech in the days immediately after Sept. 11,” Francis said. “Those horrific, unspeakable acts have profoundly impacted me, as I'm sure they have you.

“In reflecting on a life in automotive service, you and I have reason to hold our heads high, to be proud of what we've done, what we are doing, and what we'll continue doing in the years ahead,” Francis said.

Continuing his comments, Francis expounded on four words that are important to him both personally and professionally - honor, service, pride and integrity.

Meetings Focus on Repair Information