Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Contest

  WHAT:  Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Contest
  WHEN:  Wednesday, April 28, 9:30 - 11:00 a.m.
  WHERE:  Macomb Community College (14500 East 12 Mile Road in Warren)

  Will it be the elation of "victory" or the disappointment of "almost?"

For 20 Michigan teenagers the answer will come Wednesday morning in the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Contest in the exposition center at Macomb Community College when two-man teams from Michigan high schools will try to diagnose what's wrong with 2004 model Ford Crown Victorias that have been deliberately sabotaged by Ford engineers.

Each member of the winning two-man team will collect $34,000 in scholarships, and the team will represent Michigan against teams from the other 49 states and the District of Columbia in the national finals in June.

More than $110,000 in additional scholarship money will be distributed among the members of the teams finishing in second through fifth place.

The 10 teams competing Wednesday in the state finals earned their shot by scoring the highest among 43 teams in a challenging statewide written exam in March.

  The schools represented in Wednesday's competition are:
  *  Delta-Schoolcraft ISD, Escanaba;
  *  Dickinson-Iron Technical Education Center, Kingsford;
  *  Fitzgerald High School, Warren;
  *  Genesee Area Skill Center, Flint;
  *  Kearsley High School, Flint;
  *  Kent Career Technical Center, Grand Rapids (two teams);
  *  Oxford High School, Oxford;
  *  Plymouth-Canton High School, Canton;
  *  Athens High School, Troy.

In addition to the student contest, five master technicians from Ford dealerships in Michigan and Ohio will compete in the Ultimate Master Tech Challenge for cash prizes totaling $8,000. The winner will go to the national Ultimate Master Tech Challenge to be held at the same time as the national student contest in June.

DIRECTIONS NOTE: Take I-696 eastbound to Exit 26 (Groesbeck). Go up the exit ramp to first traffic light (Bunert). Turn left over I-696. Follow Bunert to first traffic light (Martin). Turn right. Macomb Community College campus will be on the left. Park in lot 8 across from the Expo center and Building "M."