APPRECIATING AUTO MECHANICS

WASHINGTON--June 12, 2014: Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

APPRECIATING AUTO MECHANICS

Profile America — Thursday, June 12th. It used to be that cars were fairly simple to repair, but they often broke down. Modern automobiles have become very reliable. They've also gotten extremely complicated — with ABS brakes, traction control, navigation systems, and even self-parking systems. That means there are more things to go wrong and more knowledge needed to repair problems. That's why this is National Automotive Service Professionals Week. The goal is to recognize mechanics across the country for their role in keeping America's millions of cars, trucks, and buses on the road. There are nearly 90,000 automotive service facilities in the U.S. Each year, they generate over $43 billion in business. You can find current data on the country's economy by downloading the America's Economy mobile app at census.gov/mobile.