Honda Demonstration Model 'Redonated' to Area Vo-Tech School

An instructional model of a 2001 Acura CL, given to Pennsylvania College of Technology in its partnership with American Honda Motor Co., has been "redonated" for the enrichment of students at the Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School.

"Our time is limited, as is space for teaching some of the basic construction aspects, as we concentrate more on the repair and diagnosis of automotive systems," said Colin W. Williamson, Penn College's dean of transportation technology, in explaining why the equipment was passed on to greater benefit elsewhere.

The "cutaway" demonstration unit offers a stripped-down look at the vehicle's frame, aiding instruction in body rigidity, front and side impact, and other collision-related topics. It was a particularly well-received addition during campus Visitation Days, career visits from high-school students and admissions tours of the college's automotive laboratories.

On hand to accept the equipment was Terry Sheaffer, an instructor in the Automotive Collision Repair and Refinishing program at the vocational-technical school − located along Route 11 between Berwick and Bloomsburg − and a corporate adviser to the college's School of Transportation Technology. He was joined in the Parkes Automotive Technology Center by Williamson; Christopher J. Holley, automotive technology instructor; and Roy H. Klinger, collision repair instructor.

The transfer was completed last month and the equipment delivered to the school, where it already has been put to a variety of good uses.

In the ninth- and 10th-grade classes, it is being used for brake-part identification, suspension-part identification and body-panel identification; also the removal and replacement of these parts, Sheaffer said. "Eleventh and 12th grades are using this vehicle for identification of the different metals and materials used in vehicles; also front-end alignment theory, air-bag theory, and mounting and measuring of the vehicle on the Chief (Automotive Technologies) Frame Machine with the Velocity Computerized Laser Measuring System."

He said the school is in the process of acquiring the remainder of the parts to make the Acura demo a complete body and rolling chassis that then can be used in the school's Automotive Technology program, as well.

"This vehicle is − and will be − an asset to the automotive collision repair program, providing up-to-date experiences for the students," Sheaffer said.

Among Penn College's transportation-related offerings is an associate degree in automotive technology with a Honda emphasis, developed under a partnership of the Professional Automotive Career Training program.

The agreement between American Honda Motor Co. Inc and the college provides increased internship opportunities for students throughout the automakers' Mid-Atlantic region, Honda-specific tools, a fleet of vehicles to support automotive and collision programs offered by Penn College, and instructor training.

Thirteen Honda/Acura vehicles comprise the School of Transportation Technology's laboratory fleet, and Holley said at least one more vehicle is expected within the next several months.

More about Columbia-Montour AVTS is available online .

For more information about the college's School of Transportation Technology, call (570) 327-4516, send e-mail or visit on the Web .