Automotive Technology

William Longmuir	Mike Baker

Instructor: William Longmuir
Educational Technician: Mike Baker

The Instructors

            William Longmuir comes to the Automotive Technology department with a variety of experience. He graduated from Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts in 1980 with a B.A. in Industrial Arts. A veteran of the U. S. Coast Guard, Mr. Longmuir also has experience as an industrial electrician, a general mechanic, and a service station owner and operator. Mr. Longmuir has 20 years of automotive technology teaching experience.
           

The Automotive Technology program is a two-year course involving the repair and servicing of gasoline and diesel powered cars and light trucks.  Included is technical theory  as well as hands-on practical operations related to automobiles.   The students study all the various systems of today’s automobiles including:

• Cooling
• Fuel delivery
• Ignition
• Starting
• Charging
• Suspension
• Drive train
• Brakes

The first year student is taught to perform all phases of general repair work in a safe manner on cars and light trucks.  Students also test, diagnose, and repair various components of the vehicles.  In the second year, the student is allowed to specialize in a major area of interest such as one of the systems mentioned or others such as fuel injection, engine control, and suspension systems, including alignment.

         Beyond  technical skills, top priorities of the program are to instill in the student:

• A good work ethic
• To work safely
• To accept responsibility
• To work well with
  their fellow workers

         Much of the lab work is done on “live” jobs scheduled as work projects by members of the community and  school staff.  Cutaways and mock-ups are also used in the training process.  Students are allowed to do repairs to their own vehicles provided the work is appropriate for the curriculum.

During the two years that the students are with the program, they are taken on field trips to:

• Area garages
• Dealerships
• Parts stores
• Machine shops
• Technical colleges

         In addition, representatives from companies such as Standard Ignition, Sealed Power, Technical Colleges and others, come to our school to give the students valuable information pertaining to the automotive field.

The Automotive Technology program has an impressive record of graduates who have gone on to continue their life’s work in the automotive field.  They work as service managers, automotive technicians, military mechanics, garage owners, service station operators, specialists, auto parts store counter persons, parts managers, salvage yard owners, new or used car salespeople, insurance adjustors, and a variety of other occupations that require mechanical knowledge and skills.