The Channels

Issue date: 9/27/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Bryan Walton From left: Students Noé Navarro, Brian Holguin and Will Stone work on the smoking carburetor of a '90s Nissan pickup at City College's auto garage.

The days of the backyard mechanic are coming to an end and the City College Automotive Service and Technology Department is preparing a new generation of mechanics to deal with current developments such as hybrid cars and biodiesel engines.

Record-breaking fuel prices, steadily rising for the last five years, have driven the industry to alternative combustion engines including hybrids that combine gas and electricity, and biodiesel engines, both increasing gas mileage and decreasing fossil fuel consumption.

Over the last 20 years, these oil prices and consumer demands have combined to shift the auto industry into a new era.

While this technology has not officially been added to the City College curriculum, students are working outside the boundaries of class content to stay up on current trends.

"The more we can learn about alternative fuel in our classes, the easier it will be for students to get good jobs in the auto industry, out of our school," said automotive student Jozef Antolin.

Students are discussing and experimenting with developments such as microprocessors that control functions ranging from ignitions to brakes. They have worked with biodiesel, an efficient fuel produced from vegetable oil. They have also studied hybrid cars, all in an effort to keep pace with the rapidly changing industry.

While gas prices have not deeply affected City College's curriculum, the instability of an oil-rich Middle East may affect how much people are willing to pay at the pump.

"Oil is an emotional, political product. People do not want to support the oil industry," said Ken Olsen, president of McCormick, a biodiesel plant in Goleta. "Distribution of biodiesel is crucial to so many people. So if you have it, you will always have a following."

But there are complications with alternative fuels. Engines are harder to start. Trucks cannot run solely on biodiesel, requiring a blend with regular diesel.

Continued...

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