Revolutionizing Auto Education with Tesla Technology: Insights from HCC's Hugh Mann

Automotive Education & Training Program

Speaker 1 0:01

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast From the Sugar Shack Studios . It's the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show Just ahead . You know it is about time to head back to school , yeah , so Da man with HCC , hugh man talks about the auto program , jeff has the cruise in at events calendars and we'll have stories making automotive news headlines this week . Howdy , along with Mike , out of this world , mars . We always need more . Jeff Zekin , I'm Don Armstrong , glad that you could join us on this Olympic weekend . Yeah , have you been watching the Olympics A little bit ? This morning was bicycle racing out on the streets Road racing , they call it through the countryside outside of Paris , and it should have ended by now . But I'll tell you what . It was crazy to see all of those bicyclists all lined up . I found out today what a peloton is . Oh , it's one of those bicycles that you sit on . Well , yeah , there's a computerized bicycle .

Speaker 1 1:05

Well , there's that , but this is not that . A Peloton is a group of bicyclists .

Speaker 2 1:10

It's a Peloton , really , yes , so that's why when you ride on the Peloton stationary , you've got other folks that you're riding with , I guess .

Speaker 1 1:16

So I'm not exactly sure how they've done all of that .

Speaker 2 1:19

But I'd tell you somebody that probably knows how all that works . Multiple squirrels are called a scurry , really yeah .

Speaker 1 1:26

A scurry of squirrels . A scurry of squirrels , I'd look that up . That would be us , wouldn't it ? Hugh Mann and the HCC , houston Community College Automotive Program . Hugh , good morning to you and thanks for joining us . Good morning guys . Thanks for having me back .

Speaker 4 1:46

Is that a race car behind you there ?

Speaker 3 1:48

no , that is actually our newest electric vehicle trainer .

Speaker 4 1:49

That is a tesla model 3 that has been chopped up and cut up and uh , everything's open and exposed so we can go through the whole ev phenomenon , I guess daughter , katie , just bought a brand new Model 3 Tesla and I know that if she's watching that , she will be all in to what you're about to say .

Speaker 1 2:14

So do you have any gasoline motors in the shop ?

Speaker 4 2:17

Oh yeah , we primarily still teach the old school . You know internal combustion ice engines , old school , you know internal combustion ice engines , um , but you know , with the amount of the way the market's going there , there's that segment of electric and ev and hybrid that it's not going away , whether it takes over or not , to hold another question , but it's not going away . So we're slowly adding that in and including it . Right now we're doing some continuing education , training for the city of Houston and Harris County , updating some of their technicians and getting them more familiar with the testing , some of the basic testing and procedures with them . Well , I guess that that's been a learning curve for you too . Oh , trust me , my background's even worse my background's more diesel , diesel .

Speaker 1 3:12

I was about to say that One extreme to the other . Yeah , exactly . Well , I assume that you guys also have a diesel program as well .

Speaker 4 3:21

Absolutely yeah . Program as well . Absolutely yeah , um . So , and actually we've had some pretty big changes to our diesel program recently . Matter of fact , starting this fall , um , we've added an associate degree program . So more than just you got a level certificate , your one-year certificate , and now a two-year associate degree in diesel and in automotive .

Speaker 1 3:44

Interesting . I was over a facility that worked on buses . That's all they did . Their specialty was buses and basically diesel pushers , and not necessarily RVs per se , but some of them were actual bus buses and I thought it's 98 degrees outside and , man , I'm telling you you've got to work for somebody that's got some real deep pockets to air conditioning a bus shop . This guy must have had , I don't know , at least 100 buses waiting to get in the shop . So he's doing quite well apparently .

Speaker 4 4:29

Yeah , it's a thriving industry , that's for sure , yeah .

Speaker 2 4:32

Let me ask you this when did you get the Tesla ? Did it come already pre-cut like that ? Did Elon send it to you ? Did you have to go buy it ? Tell me about how you got the car .

Speaker 4 4:46

Actually , this one is built by a company that makes training aids for educational purposes . They're actually the company's called Console Lab . They're actually out of Canada but they're very active in the United States as well , as you know , worldwide . But they put out some great products . You know , other than the Tesla is the newest thing that we've gotten but they make all kinds of trainers for heavy vehicle , diesel and automotive , from basic electrical tabletop training boards all the way up to Teslas and running engines on stands that you can put fault codes in and do diagnosis processes on them . They've got a pretty wide range of products .

Speaker 1 5:30

Hugh , let's talk about your students for a minute . Do you have any 18-year-olds that just got out of college and know absolutely nothing about a car ? Or are the majority of them kind of nerd hot rod guys like I was ?

Speaker 4 5:45

Yeah , it's kind of a mixed bag . You know , um , we , we got a , I'd probably say 20 , 25 percent are straight out of high school . I don't know much of anything about a car , um . And then we get some that have been out of high school for a while that may be early to mid 20s , and they still don't know much about a car . And then you get the ones that you know their parents may have taught them something or they've been tinkering with their own cars , you know , at home in the driveway , and have a little bit of knowledge , you know . And then you get the ones that have been doing it for a while and they just want to . They want to learn the proper way , or they want to learn a little more in depth on the , the theory behind how it works , or why it works the way it does well , I was one of those guys that , uh , you know , I buddied up with a bunch of guys um ross putnam we've had on the show , uh was my main go-to

Advanced Automotive Technology and Career Opportunities

Speaker 4 6:39

guy .

Speaker 1 6:39

He was into uh , hot rods and the drag strip , and so that was my introduction into much more sophisticated stuff than I was tinkering around in the garage with a Chevy 235 Blue Flame six-cylinder that I hot-rodded in the garage and so I bumped up to V8 engines , naturally aspirated , of course , back in the day , and now it's fuel injection and I assume that that's probably a whole course unto itself within one of your programs .

Speaker 4 7:10

Oh , absolutely , you know . It's getting to the point now where you know we almost don't even we barely touch on carbon .

Speaker 1 7:19

Oh , don't tell me that , hugh , my God , you're killing me here .

Speaker 4 7:24

Well , only because we're pressed for time . To be honest with you , yeah , okay , I mean one of the trivia questions I use . You may actually know this , but the last mass-produced carbureted car in the United States , here we go , or sold in the United States , uh-huh when was that 1990 Subaru Justice .

Speaker 2 7:44

Hey , that was a cool car . Oh , yeah , that was a great car .

Speaker 1 7:47

I don't disagree .

Speaker 4 7:50

It just gets to that point . It's actually a challenge for us in auto and diesel side is at what point do you start cutting back , where you cover some of this material , just because it's not out there anymore ? Correct , yeah , because it's not out there anymore , correct , yeah , yeah , unless you're at a Cars and Coffee or a car show , how often are you going to see a car on the road that somebody drives every day that's actually got a carburetor on it ?

Speaker 1 8:13

anymore . Well , and now , of course , I think really from the beginning , when they started the fuel injection thing sometimes you could look underneath the air cleaner and you would think you'd swear up and down it was a carburetor . But it's not , it's an injector .

Speaker 2 8:28

And nowadays , when you go to it's amazing where technology's gone . Nowadays when you go to a Chrome and Coffee you see velocity stacks . You know you see blowers on them , so you really don't see the post time of the carburetor .

Speaker 1 8:41

You see the early 70s and the 60s and that's what I see at those car shows yeah , well , my my first experience with fuel injection not that I was really deep into it , because they were so rare , uh , back in the the 60s with the duntoff corvette , that they put that mechanical fuel injection on it . Well , it was a complicated thing . That sat where you know the manifold valley was and you're going . I don't have any clue how any of this works and I knew one guy , one guy that knew how to work on them . He could tear them all apart , put them all back together , rebuild them and they ran like a champ . But mechanical fuel injection , uh no .

Speaker 4 9:23

Yeah , it's a it's . Yeah , it's a change in world and man , every day it changes a little faster . So one of the things I was going to mention , one of the things I know , y'all , I've heard y'all they're advertising on y'all and y'all talk to the promoters . You know , next weekend , that Texas Elite Auto Showcase yes , it's going to be at NRG . We're going to have a booth there for anybody that's interested and wants some more information . We're going to have this Tesla , this cutaway Tesla , out there on demo , on demonstration display . So anybody that wants to come by find us at the booth , get some more information about all of our programs , whether it be automotive , diesel , auto body , truck , driving , any of that .

Speaker 2 10:06

We'll be out there next weekend , so you're going to have the students out with the car as well at the show .

Speaker 4 10:11

I don't know how many students we'll have . Just because it's summer school , the number of students we actually have on campus is kind of low right now , but I'll have multiple . All of our faculty members will be out there rotating out throughout the weekend uh again , answering questions about all of our programs and getting information yeah , hugh , speaking of , uh , the campus , where is hcc's automotive program ?

Speaker 4 10:38

our main primary campus that that houses all three of our programs is right on the corner of Airline and 45 . It's an old Chrysler dealership from years back . Acc's had it since the early 90s , right next to where Northline Mall used to be . A couple years ago we opened a secondary location . That's on the corner of East Little York and Homestead , over in North Forest School District area . Right , that one's you know , it's newer , it's 15 bays , all air-conditioned shop , all brand new , the Taj Mahal , as we like to call it . The Taj Mahal , yeah , if it's air-conditioning , it's the Taj Mahal .

Speaker 1 11:20

Yeah , if it's air-conditioned . There's no doubt about it .

Speaker 4 11:29

I like the picture behind me of that car is in the North Forest location over there . It's still fairly clean .

Speaker 2 11:33

We've been able to keep it pretty clean the last couple of years . We just ran the shots that you sent Mike while you were talking of that car , with the motor as well , so that's your backup .

Speaker 4 11:45

Yeah , the great thing about that thing is it's extremely safe because they've taken the high voltage out of it . There's no high voltage in that vehicle at all . The battery's gone . They've taken it out and they've made it to where it simulates all the high voltage , but there's no true danger to anybody looking at that car .

Speaker 1 12:01

So , in other words , you can stick your finger into the wall socket and you won't die . Absolutely Great , all right . So let's talk just a moment , if you will , about the program that's within your program to get people located , you know . So I'm taking a half a day's classes , but I need to supplement some income somewhere . I got to be able to pay for this and I really want to go to work for a dealership . Uh and or uh , you know . Whether it's a freestanding uh repair shop or a dealership doesn't make any difference to me , I just just want to work . Do you help with that ?

Speaker 4 12:43

Yeah , absolutely . You know , first and foremost in the automotive program we have two job hiring fairs or career fairs a year one in the spring , one in the fall where we have partner employers come out , set up tables just like it was a conference or a convention and you and students can mingle through and ask questions and sometimes do on-the-spot interviews . On top of that , hcc has a complete career services department that will help students with resumes , mock interviews , anything like that as well . As we have a part of our website , or what they call the Career Hub . It's kind of like an Indeed online , except it's just for HCC .

Speaker 4 13:29

Oh , very good so our employee partners can go on and list their job postings that they have available . Students can go on there and search the job postings . Students can upload their resume . It's available to obviously any active HCC student as well as any alumni for their life , at no cost to them or to the employer . Once students upload their resumes , employers can actually go in there and search resumes and actually pull out resumes of people they want to contact . And I think the biggest advantage to it other than the fact that there's no charge or no cost to the employers or the companies , the big advantage is , if you're a bigger company , it's not that that website's not just the automotive program , it's all of HCC . So if you need receptionists , you need accounting , you need marketing , you need sales , you need IT people , you have access to all of HCC students , no matter what program they're in . That's fantastic To fill positions across your entire business .

Speaker 1 14:34

So let me make it clear it's not hccedu , because then you're going to get into the Holyoke website . It's hccsedu , correct .

Speaker 4 14:45

That's correct . That's the main website .

Speaker 1 14:46

Yes , sir , hccs , and I guess that there is a way that we can drill down in there and get a hold of you .

Speaker 4 14:52

Oh , absolutely . If you go to programs and go under automotive or it's usually under transportation you can definitely drill down to all of our programs and find my email address and office number and go to the big car show next week .

Speaker 1 15:10

Nrg , you'll be there and we look forward to seeing you , because I'm going to drop by and say hello come by and say hi .

Speaker 4 15:17

We got some other things to talk about . I heard a couple months ago I knew you were from Waukesha , but I heard a couple months ago your dad actually worked at the factory many , many , many years ago at one time . I I knew you were from Waukesha , but I heard a couple months ago that your dad actually worked at the factory Yep Many , many , many years ago .

Speaker 1 15:30

At one time I was a factory-trained Waukesha technician Awesome .

Speaker 4 15:33

That's awesome . There aren't too ?

Speaker 1 15:34

many of them down here . Yeah , and my dad also worked alongside the guy that invented Generac , a nice man that I got to meet way back in the day . Anyway , hugh , it's great to talk to you . Thank you so much for joining us and we look forward to seeing you at the car show next weekend .

Speaker 4 15:49

Thank you guys , come out and say hi , we will you bet .

Speaker 1 15:51

All right , we're going to take a quick break . The In Real Time Car Talk Show is available 24-7 through the iHeartRadio app Just look for InWheelTimecom from 10 am to 12 noon Central Time . The InWheelTime Car Talk Show continues after this quick break

Car Enthusiasts Community Events

Speaker 1 16:14

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Speaker 1 17:14

Want to feel good about something special ? You did for someone special . In Wheel Time and the original Loopy Tortilla group of Tex-Mex restaurants have joined together to help a very worthy cause God's Garage , a Christian-based 501c3 charity . We know there are lots of places and organizations out there where you can donate a car , truck or SUV , but we're asking you , our car enthusiast family , to consider donating to God's Garage . Visit godsgarageorg and learn about its mission , the women that have been helped , how each one is screened and about their Restore . You program A car donation is an easy way to make a difference in the lives of others . God's Garage needs good operating vehicles but will take all types in working and non-working condition . Make your heart and soul feel good by donating your gently used vehicle and help support single mothers , widows and wives of deployed military at godsgarageorg .

Speaker 1 18:12

It's the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show and I just wanted to make a programming note here in the fact that we don't have any video going out today . To what ? Youtube , twitch , twitter , all those ? We don't have any video going out today because something's jacked up again that , uh , we gotta wait till we get off the air to be able to fix it . But we're , we're streaming audio . Jeff heitzman just said no show today . Yes , jeff , Jeff , we're here . You're just waiting for something video to come on .

Speaker 3 18:47

Yeah , Unfortunately we just don't have Careful of those videos you're watching there , Jeffrey . Yeah .

Speaker 1 18:53

That's right , especially ours . All right Time now for the cruise in and events calendars . Jeffrey has that .

Speaker 2 18:58

Today is Saturday from 6 pm to 9 pm . You got the Conroe Cruiser Saturday Night Cruise . It's at the Kroger Marketplace in the parking lot , 341 South Loop , 336 West Conroe . Now this is on the first and the third Saturdays of every month . Everyone is invited . All makes and models of cars , years , trucks , bikes are welcome . Show off your ride , Show off your fancy shoes . Tonight also , 6 to 9 , the weekly cruise in Montgomery . So it's just down the road from them . They do it as well . 6 to 9 behind McDonald's in the O'Reilly store near the Brookshire Brothers parking . Tomorrow , big day . Tomorrow you got chrome and coffee when , At the Avalon Diner that's at 12810 Southwest Freeway , you can dine in and take out . I did not know you could take out so you could actually be there with your Corvette , order something and then take it to your car and eat it . You could do that .

Speaker 1 19:49

Yeah , you know what I'm not going to do that Okay , just letting you know you can do that . Thank you for the offer .

Speaker 2 19:57

And then you've got one tomorrow also the Showcase Car Show Block Party . It's a showcase of car , it's a block party . They're at the King's Best Mall Flea Market from 4 to 10 , so get out there , See what's going on . They've got artists , they've got food trucks . If you're into food trucks and artistry , that's the place to be . There you go .

Speaker 1 20:16

All right , thank you . Did we mention the Texas Elite Auto ? Oh , you know what ?

Speaker 2 20:26

I did . Did we mention ?

Speaker 3 20:26

the uh texas elite auto , oh you know what I did not .

Speaker 2 20:27

Let me back up . Yeah , we , we missed the page . Thank you , yeah , uh , you're right . So next weekend , the events yes , next weekend is the texas elite uh , houston's newest indoor car show . Uh , you can find out more information at texas elite auto showcasecom . And , in addition , that you've got the Topwater Grill down in San .

Speaker 3 20:46

Leon .

Speaker 2 20:48

Texas , anything from 1920 to 2004 . Best truck , best rat rise , best import , best paint , best car talk show will be there . $30 a day of event to get in . You can contact more information on Facebookcom Woody's slash , woody's Waterfront , so on and so on . Custom Car Show . There you go . Sorry , I apologize for that . I didn't turn the page . It's all right .

Speaker 1 21:09

You're good . I got some stories making automotive news headlines this week . This one here kind of warms my heart because I know somebody got ripped off by this jacked-up company .

Speaker 3 21:20

And that makes you feel good .

Speaker 1 21:21

Vehicle service contract retailer CarShield Uh-oh Agreed to pay $10 million to the Federal Trade Commission to settle complaints that the company used deceptive and misleading advertising . According to an FTC spokesperson , they were telling Automotive News . The FTC said the company's used celebrity endorsers such as Ice-T and basketball player Allen Iverson , and that the endorsers allegedly made false statements in ads and or have not used the service . The FTC said the contracts also do not cover all repairs , as stated in the advertisements Quote . Instead of delivering the peace of mind promised by its advertisements , carshield left many consumers with a financial headache , according to Samuel Levine , director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection . Worse still , carshield used trusted personalities to deliver its empty promises . The FTC will hold advertisers accountable for using false or deceptive claims to exploit consumers' financial anxieties . Here's my suggestion Take the we'll just use this as an errant figure . Take the $125 a month that you're going to pay them . Open an extra savings account and put that $125 in your savings account Over a little bit of period of time .

Speaker 2 22:41

My goodness , that's doubled after two months A little rainy day fund for your maintenance . Hello , there you go .

Speaker 1 22:50

You're a genius , aren't I ? I keep telling myself that , but nobody will believe me , or anybody else , so do you ? Cadillac will offer a performance package on the CT5V Blackwing like they need a performance package that's going to improve steering and handling on the track . Gm Luxury Brand said the Blackwing's Precision package was engineered for more precise steering into a corner apex and better stability when exiting corners . It comes with a larger front stabilizer bar , new front steering knuckles and rear suspension tow links in a carbon ceramic brake package .

Speaker 2 23:28

Okay , I've seen a picture of the new 25 . The front end looks a little different . It's going to be hard to get used to , but I think it's just more of a rendering is what they showed .

Speaker 1 23:36

Stellantis and another sign of aggressive corporate cost-cutting is offering a voluntary separation program across numerous divisions for its US salaried workforce . Employees from the vice president level down will be eligible . Stellantis employs about 11,000 salaried workers in the US , but it was unclear how many eligible for the offer or what the company's goal will be for the headcount reduction . Mars Mars , I know that you and I have ventured up to Auburn Hills on several occasions and visited those nice folks up there and I really liked that company . But here of late I just don't understand .

Speaker 3 24:22

I've only been up there one time since they basically became Stellantis . Oh , I have not been up there one time since they basically became Stellantis .

Speaker 1 24:27

Oh , I've not been up there since they became Stellantis .

Speaker 3 24:30

No .

Speaker 1 24:31

I was the FCA guy .

Speaker 3 24:32

Yeah , yeah , everything I've seen and heard , just like this . It's a whole different world . It's a bunch of bean counters and all they're looking at is where can we cut money or where can we but ?

Speaker 1 24:47

they threw away the one thing that they had going for them , and that was performance cars . They don't build them anymore .

Speaker 3 24:56

But most companies that are successful . They've got a group like marketing and operations and accounting that work together . But when you turn it over to the accounters and say , okay , all we want you to do is find the way to make me more money .

Speaker 3 25:11

Exactly , and I know the company that I worked for for 40 years . They did that a couple of times . You know these people have got to go Well , why ? Well , they make too much money , or they're too old , or the benefits cost too much . I mean , there's a lot of different reasons for them doing it , but , like you say , their profitability , the things they made money off of they threw it away .

Speaker 3 25:34

Absolutely . They've thrown it all away . Yep , their heritage for 100 years , the Dodge Brothers , all that stuff that they were building on for years , and their marketing it just poof . Even if people didn't buy that product , they knew that product . It reached the market , it reached the consumer and they understood it . And they knew it even if it wasn't what they wanted to buy , but it got them to look . They don't have any of that anymore . Nope , what are you driving this week , mars ? I am driving a Hornet GT . That would be a Dodge Hornet GT , a Dodge Hornet GT . And I will tell you when it hit the driveway , I was not there . My granddaughter saw it .

Speaker 2 26:18

She took a picture of it and said Ew , what is this ? What color is that ? Didn't you have that color ? Didn't we talk about that color at one time ?

Speaker 1 26:23

Yeah , I think we did so . I was out walking the dog this morning , yep , and around the corner up on First Street , here comes this , out of the corner of my eye , this bright , iridescent gold thing , and the window rolls down . I'm going , is he going to shoot me ? He goes hey , funny meeting you here . It's Mars . I looked at it and I go what is that ? He hit the gas and drove on over here , left you in a puddle of something , yeah , something , hey , we'd love to hear from you . Shoot us an email , the address info at inwheeltimecom . We've got more of the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show coming your way .

Speaker 1 27:05

Right after this quick break , the original group of Loopy Tortilla restaurants will have you telling your family and friends just what the original recipe means when it comes to the best fajitas in Southeast Texas . Founder Stan Holt invites you to visit the first Loopy Tortilla near I-10 and Highway 6 . Here is the original house that inspired the design of all the rest and the original charm that helped make Loopy Tortilla the go-to destination for Houston Tex-Mex . Nothing can compete with the original lime pepper marinade that everyone will agree makes Loopy Tortilla award-winning beef fajitas the best anywhere . Loopy Tortilla Katie's another location that gives you the same quality and service Houstonians have come to expect at Loopy's . It's located on 99th and Grand Parkway at Kingsland Boulevard in Katie . Find yourself in Aggieland Head to the Loopy Tortilla in College Station , Located just around the corner from Kyle Field . It's a great place to enjoy those famous frozen margaritas before or after the game . Going to Louisiana , the Loopy Tortilla in Beaumont is on I-10 , so you can't miss it . The original group of Loopy Tortilla restaurants has the best Tex-Mex anywhere and you are invited anytime .

Speaker 1 28:05

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Speaker 1 29:06

That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show . I'm Don Armstrong , inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook , youtube Twitch and our inwheeltimecom website . Podcasts are available on Apple , youtube Twitch and our InWheelTimecom website . Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts , spotify , stitcher , iheart , podcast , podcast Addict , tunein , pandora and Amazon Music . Keep listening and we'll see you soon .