YPSILANTI, Mich. — Final week, Ford donated 4 Mustangs to native faculties in Washtenaw County to serve their automotive education schemes. Pioneer Excessive Faculty, Huron Excessive Faculty, South & West Washtenaw Consortium, and Washtenaw Neighborhood Faculty every took supply of a Mustang at an occasion at Gene Butman Ford in Ypsilanti, only a jog down the highway from Ann Arbor. College students and lecturers had been on the occasion and had been in a position to lastly drive away within the vehicles they’d be utilizing as studying instruments.
After I first heard in regards to the donation, I assumed it may make for an fascinating native information story that lovers would admire. However it served as an training about a complete ecosystem between automakers, sellers and academic establishments that helps preserve the business shifting ahead. These automotive donations — of which there have been nearly 300 from Ford alone since September — assist provide college students with profession abilities and employers with an informed, up-to-date workforce.
First, the vehicles …
The 4 Mustangs donated had been all the 2023 mannequin yr: three GTs (one a convertible) and one EcoBoost. Some had been initially ordered by prospects, some had been headed into supplier stock. These 4 vehicles suffered flood injury throughout a storm final yr whereas parked at a holding lot in New Boston, Michigan, ready to be loaded onto a prepare. Ford Market Space Coordinator Michael McLean described it as “degree two” flood injury, “which implies the water got here solely about as excessive because the carpet.”
Kenneth Lewis II, who teaches Auto Store at Pioneer Excessive Faculty in Ann Arbor (and who additionally occurs to be my karate teacher, and who clued me into the truth that the donation was occurring within the first place), talked about plans for the Mustang his college acquired. It’ll be used for instructing fundamental technical abilities for newer automobiles, and extra. “We’re hoping to finally do some fundraiser automotive exhibits, and we have already got some companions which are going to donate some elements to the automotive so we are able to improve them and make them a part of our highschool drag program.”
I didn’t witness any burnouts on the donation occasion, however there have been loads of smiles accompanied by revving engines.
The donation program
I talked to Tom Butman, Basic Supervisor of Gene Butman Ford, the dealership that served because the liaison between Ford and the colleges receiving the vehicles. His dealership had been holding onto the vehicles since November, as Tom labored on titling points and dealership technicians cleaned and serviced the vehicles to make them in a position to be titled, and thus donated. That included eradicating odors, fixing wiring points and corrosion, battery alternative — one automotive wanted a brand new starter — and guaranteeing there wouldn’t be any mould or mildew that may have an effect on air high quality. Regardless that the scholars may have benefitted from doing a few of the repairs themselves, the automobiles wanted to attain a sure commonplace, particularly for security, to be titled for donation.
Michael McLean spoke to me in regards to the vehicles, in addition to Ford’s Automotive Profession Exploration (ACE) program, which affords “factory-level coaching to college students and instructors, and it’s the identical coaching our technicians are doing.” The vehicles had been donated as a part of this program. McLean informed me that Ford’s program used to about 20-30 vehicles a yr, however has donated nearly 300 automobiles since September 2023.
First, McLean’s staff identifies candidates for donation, equivalent to automobiles broken in transit or may in any other case not be bought as new — on this case, flood injury. Then they work with dealerships who can “sponsor” the automobiles, taking over bills for transit, repairs and cleansing, and customarily making ready them for donation. On this case, Ford reached out to Tom Butman, with whom McLean has labored with for technician recruiting, partly due to Butman’s networks with native faculties.
The training
Clearly, these donations are a boon for college students, serving as hands-on studying sources, which may translate into helpful profession abilities. Having the newest know-how will not be normally throughout the college finances, although.
“A variety of these faculties have previous, outdated gear and automobiles,” stated McLean,” so I wished to determine a method we may, from a company standpoint, assist get newer automobiles and know-how into these faculties.” McLean and his staff started working tougher to establish donor automobiles and dealing with dealerships and educators to get newer vehicles into college students’ arms, “so after they enter the business, they’ve a few of that coaching executed already.”
However store applications in faculties all the time appear to be in a precarious place. Ken Lewis described it just like the pruning of a tree. The automotive training program won’t be the prettiest a part of the tree when the finances cuts come (and, hoo boy, I may inform you in regards to the flabbergasting points with the Ann Arbor Public Faculties finances, however your neighborhood may very effectively have its personal), and folks merely don’t understand how vital it’s. These applications, in any case, are a pipeline upon which the automotive business depends.
And as Dan Retherford, Service Supervisor at Gene Butman Ford, informed the group gathered for the donation occasion, “Over the previous couple of years, so many colleges have determined that [auto repair programs are] not a viable kind of curriculum.”
However the faculties have good companions. There are over 1,500 faculties (excessive faculties and past) enrolled in Ford’s ACE program, with automobile donations going everywhere in the nation, together with Hawaii. Kenneth Lewis additionally defined that Tom Butman is a part of his program’s accreditation advisory committee, “so he’s all the time at our faculties, all the time speaking to us about issues that we are able to do to make our program higher. And so when this chance got here up, clearly his first thought was us, which is superior.”
Lewis additionally famous that earlier than the Mustang donation, Pioneer’s nicest store automobile was a 2012 Hyundai Elantra, which was rear-ended and donated from an insurance coverage firm. “That’s sometimes how we get newer automobiles. They arrive in largely destroyed.”
Along with offering a studying platform with the newest know-how, and one thing that may present extra alternatives for fundraising and occasions, having one thing like a brand new Mustang can be good for pupil retention, Lewis stated. He feels that some auto applications disappear from faculties as a result of the scholars don’t join with vehicles that aren’t even from their time. “Having one thing newer helps these college students really feel extra engaged with the teachings that they’re getting.”
The roles
It behooves the automakers and dealerships to produce these college students with up-to-date know-how, as these college students are a pool they draw from for his or her workforce. Therefore the donations, therefore the relationships with dealerships who in flip have working relationships with the colleges.
I requested Tom if he’d ever recruited technicians from the colleges. “Oh yeah,” he replied, beaming, “a few of our greatest,” earlier than recounting the training and profession histories of people from Butman’s service division.
“We’re at some extent proper now the place these technicians need to know a lot between the several types of know-how,” stated Tom Butman. “And it’s not simply powertrains. It’s additionally connectivity, it’s compatibility, it’s additionally HVAC, it’s hydraulics — it’s so daunting desirous about all the pieces they should know.”
And discovering the expertise isn’t all the time straightforward. Properly-versed technicians “are very a lot in demand,” Butman stated. “The compensation degree for these people is type of, the sky’s the restrict at this level.”
Kenneth Lewis famous that, along with Ford, his program additionally has a superb relationship with Toyota. “A variety of our college students at Pioneer, particularly, do go over to Toyota to work” by way of their apprenticeship applications or by way of dealerships. “I attempt to carry as many producers and dealerships in, and even native retailers, unbiased retailers, to come back in and see our college students and discuss to them and attempt to supply them internships and co-ops, in order that we are able to attempt to assist as a lot of the business as attainable.”
In fact, different automakers and academic suppliers have a stake in instructing and accrediting the subsequent technology, too. Simply check out the ASE Training Basis web site for examples.
What’s subsequent?
Dan Retherford informed the scholars on the occasion, “You guys are in an thrilling time … With the developments of hybrid, plug-in and electrical, we’re at an inflection level of a technological development on this business.” He added, “Being into engine efficiency and such is nice, however … I problem you, when you actually wish to be the subsequent Carroll Shelby, learn the way you get extra distance, energy and whatnot, and use much less vitality, out of a battery, an electrical motor. Assume subsequent degree. Anyone can lower holes of their exhaust and put a can on it.”
Tom Butman agrees. Electrical automobiles “are the subsequent step,” he stated. He identified that Washtenaw Neighborhood Faculty is launching its EV upkeep and battery technician program with just a few Ford automobiles and a Tesla in its fleet (it’s additionally launching charging station set up and semiconductor technician applications). Getting these applications into excessive faculties is the subsequent step. “However it’s powerful,” Butman stated, “as a result of you must have sturdy connections with the producers to seek out how you can work on these, as a result of they’re so new, and the know-how is a lot totally different than earlier than.”
“I’ve truly been making an attempt to get an EV for years,” Kenneth Lewis informed me, however the price is a barrier. “We’ve been searching for companions to attempt to assist us out. Hopefully we are able to give you one quickly, or some kind of grant, however that’s one thing that’s been within the works for some time.”
