Automotive Competition
The best high school automotive technology students from Central and Northeast Pennsylvania compete each year for thousands of dollars in college scholarships, prizes and equipment at the annual PAA Automotive Technology Competition.
This year's competition was held on March 3, 2010, at the Hershey Lodge & Convention Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
This regional competition, sponsored by the PAA Foundation, is a test of skill, a measure of knowledge, and a race against the clock. It features ten two-person teams competing to diagnose and repair 2010 model year vehicles, donated by area dealerships.
Prizes are awarded to participating students and schools, thanks to the generous support of local dealerships and industry suppliers.
The PAA Foundation awards the students from the top three winning teams with scholarships to further their education in an automotive technology program at the post-secondary level.
The day’s events consist of hands-on diagnosing and repairing the donated vehicles which are purposely “bugged” for the competition. Each two-person student team must diagnose and repair a number of pre-assigned problems under a car's hood within an allotted amount of time. Each "bug" correctly repaired is worth a number of points, depending on the level of difficulty. To prepare for the competition, students train with their high school instructors and certified technicians at local franchised automobile dealerships.
The top-scoring team and their instructor receive an expense paid trip to New York City to represent Central Pennsylvania in the National Automotive Technology Competition, held at the New York International Auto Show. These local students will compete for more than $3 million in prizes and the title of “The Nation’s Best Automotive Technician.”