Tomorrow's Future Starts Today
Peering inside an open door, I watch renovations take place as demolition crews tear apart the concrete floor to make room for a SuperFlow all-wheel-drive dynamometer. Directly adjacent to the dyno, nestled in a 10x10-foot test cell, sits a SuperFlow engine dyno shielded behind a $13,000 special ballistics door. There's also a flow bench and whole lot of other equipment, along with tools, welders, benders, lifts, emissions analyzers, etc. Any given Monday afternoon, this shop would be tagged as a hardcore automotive fabrication facility, but step outside its double-wide doors, and you'll come face to face with 2,300 students bustling around with backpacks, going to and from their Fifth-period classes. It's hard to believe but this state-of-the-art facility is located on the campus of Nogales high school, located in La Puente, CA.
Mike McCarthy, the instructional teacher of the automotive program at Nogales who has dedicated over a decade of his career to educating today's youth, voices a disturbing statistic happening within school districts statewide. "It is true that many high school auto shop programs are dying, along with a lack of funding and higher academic standards that are strangling the elective classes that kids want to take in school. The auto shop competes with athletics, band, business, and many ROP programs for students and limited department dollars.
"I kept pushing the Rowland Unified school district to give our students the vocational experience and equipment they deserved toward building a career in the automotive field." After months of tussling with the school district, McCarthy was given the green light to renovate the outdated auto shop, using bond money and a matching grant from the state through the Career Technical Education Facilities Program, the largest state grant project directed toward technical education since this school was built in 1962. "It's like winning the lottery," states McCarthy, "It will change young lives in ways we can't imagine, and they will remember this from High School no matter where life takes them." The once outdated three-bay garage has recently completed its renovations and evolved into a state-of-the-art facility to teach students the latest in auto repair, and hopefully inspire a new generation of enthusiasts to tune our market.
Senior Editor
Scott Tsuneishi
scott@importtuner.com
Living
Riding Shotgun With The Editors
'09 nissan 370z
With our Z going to Super Lap Battle with Tyler McQuarrie behind the wheel, a set of Bride Cugas and seat rails were next on the list of mods. Lightweight, reclineable and boasting a monocoque backrest with ample knee and side bolsters, the Cugas are a true fusion of form and function.
Editor
Carter Jung '95 Civic
A weekend of fun filled partying and booze was put on the back burner as I spent a full day replacing a busted wheel bearings on the Civic. Oh the joys of vehicle maintenance.
Senior Editor
Scott Tsuneishi
'09 Ikea Verksam
My MIG has been down for a couple weeks now, so progress on both my cars has been slow. And wouldn't you know it, the very same day it peaced out, Kevin from Buddy Club sent me this beautiful pair of P1 racing buckets for which I'll need to whip up custom sliders and a harness bar! Argh! It's ok, though-I'm actually sitting in one perched on top of my office chair as I write this. I even make vroom-vroom noises when no one's looking. I fell asleep in one for a few minutes today. These things rock . . .
Tech Editor
Luke Munnell