The automotive industry responding to the need for qualified service technicians continued this week with an automaker joining the effort.
Volkswagen said it recognizes the need for vehicles to be in the hands of students to help educate and equip tomorrow’s technicians with the tools necessary for future employment. During the next few months, Volkswagen announced it will donate 31 Atlas SUVs and diagnostics equipment to high-school auto technician programs, technical schools and career centers across the country.
To help address the growing need for trained automotive technicians who understand both the hardware and the increasingly complex software in modern vehicles, Volkswagen acknowledged simply learning the nuts and bolts of automotive repair no longer suffices.
“There is a national shortage of technicians, and it’s expected to grow as many technicians are, or are very close to, retirement age. We have to start looking for avenues to backfill these individuals,” Volkswagen national service operations manager Jon Meredith said in a news release.
Today, more than 770,000 people work as automotive technicians and mechanics across the country, according to federal government estimates. While the overall number of roles remains steady, federal labor experts and the automotive industry estimate the need for new technicians at tens of thousands of workers per year just to maintain current openings demand that’s greater than what trade schools can currently supply with graduates.
“As an industry, we need to come up with different ways of thinking and doing to attract young people to this industry,” said Meredith, while adding that as a vehicle manufacturer, Volkswagen sees tremendous value in partnering with dealers and the technical and trade schools in their markets to bring both the Volkswagen product and diagnostic equipment to the younger generation considering a career in the automotive industry.
The Volkswagen ODIS software used to diagnose and update vehicles would normally have to be purchased directly from Volkswagen under the Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act and would be out of reach of many programs. The automaker indicated the selected schools will also collaborate with local dealerships to provide supplemental assistance and instruction on the donated equipment.
Darin Lewis, an automotive instructor at Ohio’s Medina County Career Center, says the Volkswagen Atlas and software will be the newest vehicle in his school’s training fleet by a decade.
“It goes far beyond donating a physical car. With the technology, they are providing their entry-level curriculum,” Lewis said. “I look back when I was in school and you were either a Ford guy or a Chevy guy. Those days are long gone.
“To have something that’s the latest and greatest out there – and to be able to show students, ‘This is where the industry is headed’ — is important,” Lewis went on to say.
VW announcement comes on the heels of several dealership groups with a presence in Pennsylvania collaborating with Universal Technical Institute (UTI) in Exton, Pa.
Through the Tribute 2 Veterans presented by Autotrader program, friends and family of former service members can submit a veteran’s name to be featured on the No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang during the March 2020 race weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Brad Keselowski will pilot the vehicle, and Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation and Autotrader announced the return of the Tribute 2 Veterans presented by Autotrader program that honors America’s heroes.
Since 2010, Brad Keselowski's Checkered Flag Foundation has supported hundreds of organizations and individuals to help veterans and first responders during their road to recovery.
“Carrying the names of veterans to Victory Lane on my Autotrader Ford Mustang last year was one of the highlights of my 2019 season,” Keselowski said in a news release.
He continued, “I’m incredibly thankful to have sponsors like Autotrader that provide my family and the Checkered Flag Foundation the opportunity to honor veterans in unique ways. We are always looking for creative opportunities to honor the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our freedom. Featuring veterans’ names on my car again next season at Atlanta Motor Speedway is just one small way for us to honor these heroes, while also raising funds that will allow the foundation to continue its mission.”
To be part of the campaign, the tax-deductible donation cost is $100 per submission.
Proceeds benefit the Checkered Flag Foundation, and each veteran submission will receive a personalized certificate and a commemorative poster of the No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang displaying the names of the veterans and a letter of thanks from Keselowski.
Submissions of veterans’ names are accepted through Dec. 31.
To help celebrate its 20-year history as an upstream remarketing platform for OEM, captive finance, financial institution and fleet customers, OPENLANE took part in several charitable activities.
One was a $5,000 donation to JDRF, a global organization that funds type 1 diabetes research. On Oct. 10, 25 employees from the OPENLANE Toronto innovation and technology hub participated in the Sun Life Ride to Defeat Diabetes for JDRF. This stationary cycling event took place in Toronto and other Canadian cities.
“What better way to celebrate our 20-year anniversary than by supporting organizations that serve the communities we live and work in or that seek to cure a prevalent disease like type 1 diabetes,” KAR Global president and OPENLANE co-founder Peter Kelly said in a news release.
OPENLANE, a business unit of KAR, celebrated its anniversary by presenting $5,000 checks to two charitable organizations.
The company also announced an employee engagement initiative for next year. That initiative will focus on supporting coding education in Canada.
The Toronto Fire Fighters Toy Drive received the other $5,000 donation. The event helps thousands of Toronto-area needy families celebrate the holidays each year. Through fundraising activities, the employees of OPENLANE and ADESA Canada have worked together to raise more than $9,000 for the toy drive since 2015. ADESA Canada is also a KAR business unit.
Also, OPENLANE in 2020 will encourage employees to use their “Leap Into Service” benefit to serve as volunteer mentors with Canada Learning Code, or CLC. With KAR’s Leap Into Service program, full-time employees can spend eight hours each year — with pay — volunteering in the community.
CLC works to ensure that all Canada residents — particularly women, girls, people with disabilities, indigenous youth, and newcomers — have access to the necessary knowledge to prosper in a digital world.
Also to help celebrate its 20-year history, OPENLANE in September held a similar event at the company’s Mesa, Ariz. office. At that event, OPENLANE presented a $10,000 check to United Food Bank of Mesa. As a day of service volunteer activity, participating employees packed 2,400 bags of food for the food bank.
“It can be overwhelming to think about all the needs in a city, but I’m encouraged by the way our OPENLANE employees always step up to support worthy causes, here in Toronto and in our other locations,” Kelly said.
Mike Darrow describes mobility as something people should not take for granted.
“Driving is core to independence and a significant expression of autonomy, something we honor every day at TrueCar,” said Darrow, who is TrueCar's interim chief executive officer and president.
Because of the importance of driving to independence, TrueCar is again partnering with AutoNation and Disabled American Veterans, or DAV, as part of its DrivenToDrive program. The program helps injured American veterans who have sacrificed for our independence.
For veterans who have lost the privilege of driving, the program aims to help them regain their own independence.
“In partnership with AutoNation and DAV, we are empowering the men and women who have served our country and deserve our full support for their sacrifices,” Darrow said in a news release. “They fought for our freedom, and TrueCar is committed to helping them get back behind the wheel, so they may regain theirs.”
TrueCar notes that cars represent more than just a way of getting from one location to another. Driving means freedom and independence from the moment someone gets his or her license and through every stage of life, the company said.
The company said people can take the privilege of mobility for granted, until it’s lost.
TrueCar sourced a U.S. Department of Labor statistic showing that 4.7 million veterans have service-connected disabilities. That community faces challenges each day, but physical mobility can be one of the most difficult to overcome, the company said.
To help, as part of the DrivenToDrive program, now in its third year, the 2019 winning veteran will receive a new, retrofitted vehicle on Nov. 8 at the AutoNation Chevrolet Pembroke Pines dealership in Pembroke Pines, Fla.
“As one of TrueCar’s long-standing partners, we are proud to support DrivenToDrive and military veterans,” said AutoNation executive vice president and chief marketing officer Marc Cannon.
He continued, “We look forward to presenting the winning veteran with a brand new, retrofitted vehicle this year.”
“DAV has been a proud partner of the DrivenToDrive program since its inception, working closely with TrueCar to help those who have served our nation dramatically improve their quality of life,” said DAV’s national adjutant Marc Burgess.
Burgess added, “This program is closely aligned with our mission to honor the men and women who served, and we’re grateful to TrueCar for recognizing their selfless sacrifice.”
In addition to its long history of building vehicles, Hyundai has long supported the fight against pediatric cancer. Hyundai Hope on Wheels is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that works to find a cure for pediatric cancer, and the automaker says Hope on Wheels is one of the largest non-profit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country.
Primary funding for the program comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 835 U.S. dealers, along with the 19 Hyundai dealers that comprise the Washington Area Hyundai Dealers.
On Monday, Hyundai announced a continuation of that effort, as a program with its latest Hyundai Hands-On contest will take place in April at the 2019 Washington Auto Show.
The Washington Auto Show, The Washington Area Hyundai Dealers, Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Children’s National will work together in putting on the Hyundai Hands-On Contest. Hyundai describes the contest as a “longtime staple of The Washington Auto Show,” and it requires contestants to remain in constant contact with a Hyundai vehicle over multiple days (with a few breaks).
The winner of this year’s contest, which is titled, “Hands on Hope: 50 Hours for $50,000,” will drive away in a new 2019 Hyundai Kona SEL.
Contestants will compete over a 50-hour contest period. A new feature of this year’s contest is that the six contestants will include employees from Georgetown Lombardi and Children’s National. The institute where the contest’s winning contestant works will receive a $50,000 grant for research toward finding a cure for pediatric cancer.
“The Hyundai Hands-On Contest has long been a hallmark event at our show,” Washington Auto Show president and chief executive officer John O'Donnell said in a news release. "We are proud to be able to use this competition to showcase the important work that our local medical centers do to help the most vulnerable among us in their greatest time of need."
‘The Washington Area Hyundai dealers are proud to support this great work, and excited that one of their employees will drive away in a brand-new 2019 Hyundai Kona SEL,” Kevin Reilly, owner of Alexandria Hyundai and representative of the Washington Area Hyundai Dealers, said in a news release.
With only 15-minute breaks every three hours, contestants must remain in contact with the Hyundai Kona at all times during the 50-hour competition. The winner will receive a new 2019 Hyundai Kona CUV from the Washington Area Hyundai Dealers.
At the end of the 50 hours, if more than one contestant is still in contact with the vehicle, the remaining contestants will select a Hyundai key from a bowl. The contestant with the one key that starts the vehicle will win the Hyundai Kona for him or herself, along with the $50,000 pediatric cancer research grant for his or her medical center. The institute that does not have the winning employee on its team will receive a pediatric cancer research grant for $10,000.
As in past years, Auto Show attendees will be able to observe the contest during public show hours.
Hyundai Hope on Wheels has provided more than $1.6 million in grants to Children’s National and more than $1.4 million in grants to Georgetown Lombardi. Hyundai Hope on Wheels has contributed more than $145 million to the fight against pediatric cancer since its inception in 1998.
“Hyundai Hope On Wheels has fueled some of the most promising cancer research projects underway at Children’s National,” Children’s National Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders vice president Jeffrey Dome said in a news release. "We are grateful to Hyundai Hope on Wheels — and all of the dealerships here and around the country—for their partnership and generous support for research in pediatric oncology."
Such awards allow Jeffery Toretsky, a pediatric oncologist and researcher at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and past recipient of grant funding, to be more imaginative, even if approaches fail, he said in a news release.
“If we, pediatric oncologists, don’t aggressively go after novel approaches to creating drugs that are most important for targeting childhood cancer, nobody will,” Toretsky said. “Our work targeting the 'undruggable' has led to a current clinical trial in Ewing sarcoma. Hyundai Hope on Wheels has provided resources for my team to search outside the box in order to achieve new ways to treat cancer in both children and young adults.”
In addition to selling vehicles, Autotrader team members keep busy with community service, including sponsorships, donations, community partnerships and volunteerism.
Autotrader and other companies under the umbrella of Cox Enterprises also employ more than 1,700 active veterans, and Autotrader vice president of marketing Greta Crowley notes that the company "continues to make strides in strengthening the support offered to America’s heroes.”
Now the company is continuing its participation in a program that it launched last fall to raise money for veterans during their road to recovery.
Autotrader was set to honor America's heroes with Brad Keselowski's Checkered Flag Foundation during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race weekend at the Atlanta Motor Speedway Friday through Sunday. Brad Keselowski drove the No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and he launched the return of the Tribute 2 Veterans program last fall.
During the campaign, friends and family of former service members submitted a veteran’s name to be featured on the No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang. Cox Automotive, parent company of Autotrader, encouraged current veteran employees from all Cox Enterprises companies to add their names to be placed on the vehicle.
The vehicle’s paint scheme features 58 Cox employee names and more than 140 additional veterans. The proceeds go to the Checkered Flag Foundation, and each veteran will receive a piece of the No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang displaying his or her name.
Autotrader also donated an additional $10,000 to Keselowski’s non-profit foundation, which assists veterans in getting back on their feet.
“Our company has a strong tradition of supporting communities, and there is nothing more satisfying than finding a connection between our Autotrader values and our close partnership with Team Penske,” Crowley, vice president of marketing for Autotrader, said in a news release.
Now entering its sixth season with Team Penske, Autotrader sponsors Keselowski and fellow driver Joey Logano. The company is also an associate sponsor on both cars for the full Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Readers can find more information here on the business intersection of sports and automotive as part of Auto Remarkting's Driving Force series.
Viewers of Saturday’s “TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by Autotrader,” which took place before Sunday’s National Basketball Association All-Star game, saw an example of Autotrader's charitable work as a studio host presented a brand-new vehicle to a family dealing with muscular dystrophy.
In addition to its work as an online destination for people to buy and sell vehicles, Autotrader supports various charitable causes, and viewers witnessed an example of that on Saturday. The event marked the 13th year that Autotrader has teamed with Turner Sports and the NBA to donate a vehicle to help a deserving family.
The promotion began during the NBA’s regular season, with Turner Sports’ “Inside the NBA” studio hosts competing in the Autotrader All-Star Drive fantasy basketball challenge. Hosts Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley selected the player that they thought would be the top performer during that night’s game broadcast. The winner, courtesy of Autotrader, won the chance to donate a new vehicle to the charity of his choice.
This year’s winner, Johnson, played to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association, which promotes innovations in science and care to help people affected by muscular dystrophy, ALS and related neuromuscular diseases.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to donate a new vehicle and give back to the remarkable family,” Greta Crowley, vice president of marketing for Autotrader, said in a news release. “These meaningful partnerships allow us to give back through charitable organizations, highlighting Autotrader’s commitment to serve our local communities.”
ADESA president John Hammer is serious about helping with the fight against type 1 diabetes. He notes that about 40,000 people in the U.S. will be newly diagnosed with the disease, “potentially impacting some of our employees, customers, and their family members," he said.
“That’s why we take our fundraising partnerships with Emkay and the Ford Global Action Team seriously,” he continued in a news release. ADESA and those two partner companies raised $210,546 in support of type 1 diabetes research funding organization JDRF last year. Together, these partnerships have raised more than $1.5 million since 2011 for JDRF, which describes itself as the largest charitable supporter of type 1 diabetes research.
“It’s with their support and the generosity of our customers and employees that we are able to make a significant impact on funding for diabetes awareness and research,” Hammer said.
That’s good news for JDRF, which has a research mission to discover, develop, and deliver advances that cure, better treat, and prevent type 1 diabetes.
Many individual ADESA auction locations have been involved in the project. During a nine-month campaign between March 1 and Nov. 30, 2018, EMKAY and ADESA each made matching donations generated across 21 participating ADESA auction locations. This campaign raised $67,220 for JDRF, taking the seven-year fundraising partnership total to $334,220.
Individual auction locations have also taken the fund-raising efforts to a friendly-rivalry level. A group of the auctions compete each year for the honor of raising the most money for JDRF. The ADESA Buffalo location in Akron, N.Y., led the 2018 results with $35,997 raised overall.
In 2018, the Ford Global Action Team’s involvement helped result in some serious fundraising power in the fight against diabetes. That year, ADESA and the Ford Global Action Team hosted special fundraising events at six ADESA locations in support of JDRF. That campaign collected $143,326, increasing the seven-year fundraising partnership total to $1,173,831.
ADESA is serious about other charitable causes, as well.
For the eighth consecutive year at the NADA Show, ADESA will host a charity auction benefitting the NADA Foundation and Canine Companions for Independence. This year’s auction item is a Yamaha golf cart. The auction will take place at ADESA’s booth (#621 South) at 1 p.m. on Jan. 26, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
NADA noted that to date, ADESA’s auctions at the NADA Show have raised $384,000 for the NADA Foundation, which supports Canine Companions.
Breast cancer research organization Susan G. Komen has used various fundraising methods to acquire funds toward its mission of saving lives and ending breast cancer. It’s latest method: Digital license plates.
Reviver Auto, creator of the Rplate digital license plate, and Susan G. Komen of Los Angeles County have partnered to create a Susan G. Komen-branded digital license plate that will help raise funds to support the organization’s mission.
Susan G. Komen of Los Angeles County and Reviver announced on Monday at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show that the partnership will also enable the activation of digital Susan G. Komen logos for interested Rplate consumers who wish to contribute to, and display their support for, the organization.
Neville Boston, Reviver Auto co-founder and chief executive, said the ability to generate DMV-approved digital cause plates individually by consumers is a key feature of the Rplate. Because it is digital, the Rplate can simplify the cause plate process for charitable organizations and the DMV while allowing consumers to more easily support their favorite organization.
Reviver notes that the stamped metal license plate has been around for 125 years. The Rplate transforms that plate into what it describes as a “sleek, digital, high-definition display” that it says will offer new efficiencies and benefits.
The Rplate’s connected car platform will soon automate DMV renewals, replacing legacy stickers with digital decals, and add new levels of personalization to the license plate, including promoting charitable causes such as Susan G. Komen of Los Angeles County, passion for a sports team, or even a child’s academic/athletic achievements via DMV-approved personalized messages (such as “Support Our Troops,” “God Bless America,” and “I’d Rather Be Running”).
As part of the partnership with Susan G. Komen of Los Angeles County, specific Rplates will be sold in California with Susan G. Komen of Los Angeles branding and messaging. A portion of each sale will be donated to Susan G. Komen Los Angeles County. Reviver Auto will participate in events with Susan G. Komen to raise awareness about the organization, while Rplate users can proudly support the cause on their plate.
“At Susan G. Komen we are always looking for ways to expand awareness and increase our opportunities to further our communities’ access to healthcare. Funds raised through the Rplate will help us do that,” said Mark K. Pilon, executive director of Susan G. Komen, Los Angeles County, in a news release. “Being on the cutting-edge of the digital revolution is an important way for us to reach our community, and working with Reviver Auto enables us to not only raise funds with a much more efficiently implemented cause plate, but also to make our message more digitally mobile.”
The Rplate launched onto California roads in mid-2018 under pilot and anticipates expansion into new states in 2019. The use of digital license plates is fully authorized for Arizona; legislation has been passed in Texas and Florida, with Washington State passing legislation to conduct a digital license plate study.
The Rplate is available in California through participating auto dealerships, pro shops such as Al & Ed’s Autosound, and for preorder at the Reviver Auto website, www.reviverauto.com. Consumers who are interested in a Susan G. Komen-branded Rplate or adding a Susan G. Komen logo will be able to order online directly from Reviver Auto’s website.
The Jim Ellis Automotive Group wants everyone who comes to one of their showrooms to be in a giving mood like company leadership.
Jim Ellis is again partnering with the Marine Toys for Tots program, but the relationship has been amped up a few notches with the automotive group offering the chance to win gas cards and a grand prize shopping spree to individuals helping the dealerships bless children at Christmas this year.
All 17, Jim Ellis family owned and operated dealerships in Atlanta, Buford, Kennesaw and Marietta serve as collection sites for Toys for Tots and will be collecting toys through Dec. 15th at close of business. Each year, the Jim Ellis dealerships also partner with the Metro Atlanta Automobile Dealers Association (MAADA) as the association works with Toys for Tots to equip each of the Jim Ellis dealerships to serve as collection sites for this program.
The public can get involved in this initiative by bringing a new unwrapped toy to any of the Jim Ellis dealerships. These donations will go to make the holidays brighter for children in the surrounding communities in the hopes that every child will receive a gift this holiday season.
“Our Jim Ellis dealerships partner with MAADA and Toys for Tots year after year and have great success in collecting toys for children in need,” said Jim Ellis Automotive Group president and chief executive officer Jimmy Ellis. “This year we wanted to step things up a few notches and really make our customers and the local communities surrounding our dealerships aware of this initiative and how they can get involved.
“Christmas is a time of giving, and we want to do our part to make sure all children in our communities are blessed during the Christmas season,” Ellis continued.
As a way of saying thank you to individuals who contribute at one of the Jim Ellis locations to the Toys for Tots campaign this holiday season, the first 25 people who make a toy donation at each location will receive a $10 QuikTrip gift card.
Every customer that makes a qualifying toy donation during normal business hours through Dec. 15 will be entered for a chance to win a $2,500 shopping spree. Each toy donated qualifies as one entry for the chance to win the shopping spree.
Full contest details can be found here.
According to the Toys for Tots website, the organization was started in 1947 by the United States Marine Corps Reserve Major Bill Hendricks when his reserve unit in Los Angeles collected and distributed 5,000 toys to children in need. The program has expanded throughout the years and today donates an average of 18 million toys to less fortunate children each year.
The Jim Ellis partnership with Toys for Tots is made possible by the MAADA, an organization made up of hundreds of franchised dealers from the 18-county area surrounding Atlanta. MAADA’s pre-existing relationship with the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation has allowed Jim Ellis Automotive to be part of this exciting opportunity each year.
“The Metro Atlanta Automobile Dealers Association, comprised of over 140 franchised new car and truck dealer-members, believes very strongly in supporting efforts that improve the lives of the citizens of our community. That commitment to community service is especially important when it comes to helping Metro Atlanta’s less fortunate children,” said J.W. Southwick, director of marketing and social media at MAADA.
“The Holiday Season is one of joy and celebration, but some parents struggle to make ends meet and that takes away from their ability to put gifts under the tree for their kids. For the tenth consecutive year, the dealers of MAADA are proudly supporting the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots campaign by serving as toy collection locations,” Southwick continued.
“Nearly 900,000 toys were collected during the 2017 campaign, and we’re hoping to help the Marines blast past the million-toy mark for this year’s drive,” Southwick went on to say.
