Technical High School Students Compete For Scholarships, Tools At Annual Automotive Competition
By Hadas Kuznits
WARMINSTER, Pa. (CBS) -- Future mechanics showed off their skills Friday at the 22nd annual Automotive Technology Competition in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Twenty-four high school seniors put their skills to the test at the Automotive Training Center along the 900 block Johnsville Boulevard in Warminster -- and the stakes were high. The students were competing for $800,000 in scholarships and prizes.
"The goal is ultimately to test their skills in a hands-on way," says Competition Chairman Stephen Kelly. "It is a very tool and equipment intensive business."
Eddie Anskis, a 12th grader at Technical College High School in Chester County, was one of the competitors.
"There is all kinds of stuff wrong with cars, such as the wiper blades being torn just a little bit, and usually by just looking at the car you wouldn't see that," Anskis says. "Another issue is the car wouldn't start. So then we had to go through and figure out what was wrong with it, and then go over to the parts department and fix it."
Anskis says his field has gotten more complicated as cars have advanced.
"You talk to a mechanic forty years ago, as far as electricity goes, there wasn't much of it except for headlights, radio and things like that," he says. "Nowadays, basically everything is electrical."
Which is why Kelly says the tool prizes are so coveted.
"They spend a lot on tools and equipment as cars become more complicated," he says, "more computer related."
The winning team moves on to compete for more tools and bigger scholarships at the auto show in New York.
