TEN IDENTICALLY-BUGGED FORD MUSTANGS

TEN TEAMS OF AUTO TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS

. . . AND ONE CLOCK

THURS. APRIL 14

9:30 A.M. TO 11 A.M.

OSU INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

1801 E. 4th St. – Okmulgee* (directions, below)

The Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills contest pits man vs. man, man vs. machine and man vs. the clock in a timed competition testing auto technology prowess.

Ten new Ford Mustangs will be lined up, each with identical, deliberately-placed “bugs.”  The horn sounds, the contest begins and the first team to find all the bugs wins thousands in scholarship money and the right to represent Oklahoma at the National Finals at Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan in June.

Each two-student team earned a spot in the Oklahoma Finals by recording one

of the state’s top scores in the preliminary online exam.  The high school-age

students in the contest attend technology centers in Tulsa, Pryor, Muskogee,

Stillwater, Duncan, Alva, Oklahoma City, Norman and Wayne.

• Story angle:    A well-tuned car runs better and uses less fuel but who is going to keep that vehicle in tip-top shape?  There’s a critical shortage of qualified auto technicians nationwide.  This contest encourages students to enter this in-demand, high-paying field as a career.

VISUALS:  Outdoor event featuring 20 students furiously working on new Ford Mustangs, trying to be the first team to most accurately de-bug their car.

*DIRECTIONS:  Take Loop 56 east from highway 75 on the north side of Okmulgee and follow it around to OSU-IT.  Bear to your right when entering the campus.  The contest will take place on the street outside the Automotive Dept.

INFO:  Chuck Mai – 405-753-8040; 405-209-8260; chuck.mai@aaaok.org.