AAA Texas Statewide Competition Determines the BEST Young Auto Technicians; Top Team from Birdville, Texas

HOUSTON--May 2, 20051, 2005--A team from Birdville, Texas, took top honors in the statewide AAA/Ford Student Auto Skills competition held today at Space Center Houston in Houston, Texas.

Students Michael Easley and Christopher Powell of Shannon Career Center moved one step closer to becoming the best student automotive technicians in the country by winning the Texas competition. Their instructor is Olin Harrington. The students now advance to the 2005 AAA/Ford Student Auto Skills national finals in Washington, DC, on June 27th.

The state competition was a fast-paced hands-on contest to diagnose and repair vehicles that were deliberately "bugged." The team with the highest written score and the team that finished today's hands-on competition first and correctly -- won. The state competition was open to all high school juniors and seniors enrolled in automotive technology courses.

"The goal of this competition is to encourage young men and women to continue their education in automotive technology and to view the automotive field as a promising career," said Patrick O'Reilly, manager of AAA Texas Automotive Repair Program.

The contest is designed to encourage automotive students from across the country to pursue careers in the automotive industry by learning about high-tech equipment, the need to be well trained, and complex, modern vehicle systems, added O'Reilly.

At the national finals, the Birdville team will square off against teams from the 49 other states in a two-part contest comprised of a written exam and a vehicle repair exercise. The hands-on repair portion requires competitors to accurately diagnose and service identically "bugged" vehicles.

One team will be recognized by AAA and Ford as the best student auto technicians in the country. Overall, more then $5 million in scholarships and prizes will be awarded.

For winning the state contest, the winning students earned scholarships in Ford Motor Co's ASSET (Automotive Student Service Educational Training) or FACT (Ford Accelerated Credential Training) programs.

The Texas contest was one of 50 state competitions spanning the past two months. The team from Cy-Fair High School placed second in today's competition, but won the state title in 2004, then went on to win the national title that same year. John Marshall High School in San Antonio, Texas received third place. In all, only ten teams made it to the state competition. This is how the other schools ranked in the statewide competition:

        SCHOOL                                CITY
4)   Hereford High School                  Hereford, TX
5)   Cypress Falls High School             Houston, TX
6)   Dale Jackson Career Ctr               Lewisville, TX
7)   Robert E. Lee High School             San Antonio, TX
8)   Seminole High School                  Seminole, TX
9)   Kingwood High School                  Kingwood, TX
10)  Pearland High School                  Pearland, TX