WCA July 2012

“No single action is a silver bullet when it comes to meeting mobile capacity needs,” Neil Grace, an FCC spokesman, told the Herald Tribune . “More efficient use of spectrum, new technologies, and unleashing new spectrum are all important parts of the mix.”

Automotive

The master die-maker is no more. Will the steady advance of technology retire the role of auto mechanic, as well? A report by the McClatchy-Tribune News Service indicates that the honourable American job of grease monkey is being reshaped beyond anything that an old-timer would recognise. Five years from now, the report from the Dallas area suggests, a rookie auto tech may be stroking computer keys more often than twisting wrenches. “Everything I learned will probably be out-dated by then,” said a 19-year-old recent graduate of Universal Technical Institute (Irving, Texas), plausibly. At the five-year mark, we are told, cars will be driving themselves. (“Auto Mechanic’s Role Shifts Along With Technology,” 8 th April). For more than a decade, young techs have been much in demand at US car dealerships, commanding up to $70,000 or more a year. Over the same period, the parts and service departments have often generated enough revenue to cover most of the dealership’s overhead. That has not changed, notes McClatchy : at least not yet. But the dramatic improvement in the quality of new cars has meant a sharp drop-off in warranty work, the traditional profit centre of the service department. Most shops have seen a reduction from around 70 per cent of daily work orders to 30 per cent or less. Moreover — with spark plugs now lasting for 100,000 miles and some synthetic oil going 10,000 miles between changes — intervals between maintenance appointments have stretched out. “Less work and more sophistication is what I see in the years ahead,” Paul Taylor, chief economist of the National Automobile Dealers Association (McLean, Virginia) told the news service. “The future is cars that are less troublesome but more complicated.” In the interim, dealerships are doing more repair business for owners who are keeping their cars longer. Tom Durant, owner of six Dallas-area dealerships, told McClatchy that – for the sake of lower monthly bills – some consumers are taking out loans of up to 84 months. They are buying extended warranties to help cover the cost of repairs over the long repayment period. This generates more service work for people like Mr Durant, who is not unduly concerned about the speeding technology express. “No matter how good you make cars, people will still be having wrecks,” he said. “[And] still misusing them.”

Dorothy Fabian – Features Editor

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Wire & Cable ASIA – July/August 2012