Moving up

Congratulations to our Nissan SCOPE & Infiniti KEI Masters

Luis Perez

Charlie Clark Nissan

Harlingen TX

Luis has been a technician since graduating college in 1988. His introduction to mechanics began while watching his father struggle to repair vehicles for other people. Perez wanted to help people, and his reward was a wave and a thank you from satisfied customers — just as it still is today.

Luis earned his ASEs in 1992 and has worked as a Service Advisor in addition to obtaining his Nissan Scope Master Technician certification. This has given him self-confidence, which in turn helps him to stay committed and to be able to work faster and more efficiently. Perez is a bumper-to-bumper technician and works on all vehicle components — and on all vehicles. He is the only tech certified to work on the LEAF at this location. His ultimate goal is to become a manager at the dealership. Perez would also love to see the entire process of building a Nissan by touring a Nissan assembly plant.

“TECH LINE is most beneficial, as customer service representatives are not just a person behind a desk, but knowledgeable individuals, with access to engineering! They’re always available to assist you to perform diagnosis and achieving optimal results,” Luis says. He says the new ASIST is great because users simply cut and paste the VIN into the system, and vehicle specific information is immediately provided with all key programming right on the front page. His favorite vehicle is the Maxima, with its sleek sporty looks and performance of the 3.5L engine.

Stuart Dunkerley

Earnhardt’s Nissan/Super

Mesa AZ

“Electrical training is critical, because it can make or break a technical career,” Stuart says. Focusing on electrical diagnostics, he adds, is also very important when training to become a Master Tech. His favorite vehicle concerns to work on are electrical shorts, broken grounds and harness problems.

Dunkerley enjoys the integration between the various electrical systems and how they all communicate together through CAN communication. He likes using the Consult-III plus tool and looks forward to the day it will be used on all vehicles, which will simplify diagnosis and repairs

With the fuel crisis continuing and new methods of powering vehicles being developed, Stuart is happy that Nissan is at the forefront of this new technology by introducing the LEAF and working on HEV, EV and alternately powered sources before the other car companies. “Nissan is always on the cutting edge and at the forefront with the latest technology,” he says.

Stuart believes the technician’s future needs will undoubtedly change, as the type of repairs will be vastly different on emerging vehicle technologies. His ultimate goal is to become a manager at the dealership and work on cars as a hobby rather than as a career. In his spare time, he likes to golf, and enjoys sports. Dunkerley is married and has a 2-year old child, with another baby expected January 15, 2012.

Phillip Kolar

Boucher Nissan/Waukesha

Waukesha WI

When Phillip was growing up, being a technician was his main goal. Getting the car bug as a youngster and being quite mechanical, he worked on lawn mowers which started him on his goal of becoming a great mechanic one day. Kolar pursued his auto career education through high school and continued on from there.

Philip has been a tech since 1991 and became a Master Tech first with Infiniti (until 2008), then became a Nissan Scope Master Technician. His advice to techs: “Confront your demons and go after what scares you the most.” For Phillip, that demon was automatic transmissions.

Kolar has been working on Nissan used car business maintenance and service, and now has moved on to new car diagnostics. He is still reviewing training modules for the C-III plus tool which he believes will help him to work more efficiently.

He likes working on electrical and serviceability issues the most because he enjoys finding the problems and discovering new codes for diagnostics. The intermittent conditions that customers cannot quite describe accurately or that happen infrequently are the most time-consuming and difficult to solve. In these instances, Kolar contacts TECH LINE for assistance. Having a group of associated technicians to confer with is beneficial in diagnosing and resolving the issues at hand. An issue may be new to Phillip, but the experts at TECH LINE may have had a similar situation in the past or assisted a tech in the field with a related incident. “The ability to share root cause is extremely time-saving and helps considerably when confronted with a new or unexpected diagnosis,” he says.

With a 35-mile commute, Kolar trains through the Virtual Academy at home during the evenings and on weekends. His enjoys watching the Green Bay Packers, tailgating and all sports in general.

Yusof Amireh

Brown’s Fairfax Nissan

Fairfax, VA

Car repair runs in Amireh’s family. “All my relatives are mechanics and body shop technicians,” says Nissan SCOPE Master Technician Yusof. Because cars are all in the family, Yusof has always been around cars.

While growing up, he started working on older BMWs and still does in his spare time. Amireh also enjoys downhill snow skiing in the winter. On the weekends, when not spending time with his family and friends, Yusof races BMWs. Amireh recently began participating in autocross racing circuits. The courses are set up with cones in really big parking lots. Some of the courses test for speed while others test for braking and maneuverability.

A graduate of Universal Technical Institute (UTI), Yusof decided to work for the Nissan dealership when the opportunity became available. Yusof states, “In my opinion they make a quality product, easy to maintain and repair.” Brown’s Fairfax Nissan encourages its technicians to get trained and earn their ASE certifications. “All of the training really helped out even from where I was a couple of years ago,” Yusof adds.

Kenneth Rollins

Lithia Nissan

Medford, OR

Kenneth has been a tech more than 12 years. Rollins began tinkering with motorcycles at a very young age before he started to work on cars.

Becoming a Master Tech means everything to him, and he believes it’s an achievement of great status and accomplishment. He believes that going to college, and then working at a Nissan dealership, working hard and studying will also help anyone to achieve the Master Tech status. With new computer systems constantly being introduced in the market, it’s very important to always be on top of the electrical studies and training.

Kenneth especially likes to work on engine computers and transmissions. The most difficult condition to diagnose, he says, is a rattle. “Rattles and squeaks are a nightmare!” he adds. Calling TECH LINE helps, especially if he’s stumped on something. Quite often, other techs have reported a similar rattle, and the situations they’ve described have helped Rollins find a solution or narrow down the location to reduce the time to resolve the issue.

His favorite part of the job is the coming to work, always finding a new puzzle to solve. He enjoys the people he works with and strongly believes in the brand. Nissan vehicles last much longer than most of the competition’s vehicles. “Even if they’re older models, they’ll still be running strong,” Kenneth says. Nissan also has more horsepower, which is always a great selling advantage, he adds. Rollins is married with five children and 15 grandchildren. In his spare time, he is restoring a 1968 Cougar for his wife. They plan to show it at local car shows when completed. He also still loves those motorcycles and quads.

Joel Marsh

Infiniti of Dayton

Centerville, OH

Joel went to college to be an architect. At college, Joel realized architecture bored him, but knew that auto repair and fabricating interested him. Marsh obtained his associate’s degree through the Honda PACT program, and then went to work at Infiniti of Dayton after the dealership asked the college to recommend a good technician. At college, Joel learned to use the TIG welder and started making parts for his car. Marsh now fabricates fiberglass door panels with LED backlighting for show cars. He also makes exhaust manifolds with headers for race cars, speaker boxes, amp boxes or just about anything else for a car — all custom-manufactured in his tool shop at home.

A customer recently came in for a second opinion after another shop diagnosed the problem as a rod knock. “I used the Engine Ears while the vehicle was on a hoist with another technician revving up the engine and found that the cat was loose on the inside,” he said. After replacing the catalytic converter, the noise was gone. Joel said: “The satisfaction of solving a problem most other people couldn’t figure out keeps me happily working as a technician.”

Roger Chin

South Motors Infiniti

Palmetto Bay, FL

Roger Chin, Infiniti KEI Master Technician, started working on cars in the 1970s as a young boy. Speaking about the past, 50-yearold Roger said, “I liked to fix up the hotrods… Pintos, Capris, and RX7s. I like the small blocks.” Roger souped-up vehicles for drag racing because the roads in Miami aren’t suitable for high-speed racing.

Because Chin enjoyed working on the cars, he went to Technical School and worked in the aftermarket shops such as Sears and Penske before going to work in dealerships during the 1990s. Wrenching on Toyotas and Nissans before landing at South Motors Infiniti, Roger said he loves Japanese-engineered cars. He believes in Infiniti brands process and the science behind building their automobiles. After a day of repairing and maintaining Infiniti’s, Chin enjoys riding and repairing his 4-stroke, liquid cooled 4-cylinder Suzuki 1000. He doesn’t trust anyone else to work on his motorcycle - because its throttle response makes it takes off like an airplane.

Chin loves the Miami area and plans to stay. He does some DJ work on the side and likes surfboarding with friends. Roger is married with children: a 3-year-old and an 11-year-old. “Kids sometimes make me want to pull my hair out — so, I’m lucky I don’t have much,” Roger says.

Adam Bosley

Nationwide Infiniti Timonium

Timonium, MD

“The best way to describe it is one person yelling, while four other people are trying to talk. Nobody can hear,” said Adam in reference to an intelligent cruise control system that went bad on a QX and overran the other modules on the vehicle. The secondgeneration Master Technician adds: “What I learned in the Infiniti Advanced Electrical courses was most helpful in figuring out this CAN communication problem because all of the resistance readings were fine.”

Adam worked on vehicles growing up with guidance from his Master Technician father. He then spent almost a decade working as a paramedic and medical coding specialist before returning to his roots as a technician.

Bosley’s father previously worked at a Nissan dealership and became the first Master Technician at Nationwide Infiniti Timonium. Adam had the advantage of being trained by his father — not just while growing up, but also after going to work at Nationwide Infiniti Timonium where his father worked. Adam’s father was also his mentor.

Adam is married with three children who are 6-, 4-, and 2-years old. In addition to taking care of his kids, Adam enjoys woodworking after hours. He also builds tables and other pieces of furniture. Bosley recently built a toy box shaped as a castle for his daughters. “I’m glad I built it strong,” Bosley adds, “because my girls sometimes jump on it.”

Joe White

Salerno Duane Infiniti

Denville, NJ

Joe’s been turning a wrench for 33 or 34 years. He isn’t entirely sure how long it’s been because he “always tinkered with cars as a boy.” He’s worked for the same company for 17 years — the first 11 as a Saturn mechanic and the last six at Salerno Duane Infiniti. Joe says he couldn’t have become a KEI Master Technician without Virtual Academy and the online training classes.

“I enjoy what I do. I’m glad I made the choice and stuck with it,” says KEI Master Technician White. “I usually don’t have any real problems with diagnosis, except for chasing the occasional intermittent concern.”

Joe has been married for 33 years and has a 31-year-old son and 26-year-old daughter. For fun, White rides a Harley-Davidson Road King. His wife rides a 1200 Sportster. Together, they enjoy motorcycle rallies, which included a trip to Sturgis one year. In addition to motorcycles, Joe also loves his ’69 Pro Street Camaro.

When neighbors ask for his help repairing their cars, White says, “I tell them that I sell insurance. That shuts them up right away.”

John Russell

Bob Rohrman Nissan

Burns Harbor, IN

Although Russell, SCOPE Master Technician, has worked on vehicles for over 30 years, he especially enjoys the challenge of repairing the newer cars. “The newer technology makes you think,” he says.

John showed a mechanical aptitude from an early age and stuck with car repair as his life’s work. He worked as a Mazda Master Technician for 20 years, Honda for a year and then NISSAN ever since. “I really enjoy working for Nissan,” Russell said. He has worked at Bob Rohrman Nissan since its opening in January 2010.

John is married and has two sons. One of John’s sons is in high school. The other is following in his father’s footsteps by working his way through Diesel Technology School in Cleveland. Ironically, he paid his way through school by working at a Chevy dealership.

John loves his new Sentra. Even though John’s new Sentra is used mainly for short trips, he still gets 30.5 miles per gallon.

After a long day or a long week at work, John relaxes by fishing in the local lakes for crappie, blue gill and bass.

Timothy Foringer

Kenny Ross Nissan

Zelienople, PA

Timothy Foringer’s 3-year old purebred boxer loves to play with his 14-week-old Australian Sheppard puppy. “The boxer is smart and quicker than me, so it was good to get him another animal to play with,” Foringer says Foringer loves the great outdoors. His favorite hobby is bicycling. Some days, Timothy rides his mountain bike through the local mountains, and some days he rides his road bike.

His indirect trail to becoming a great Nissan technician started when Timothy placed second in the state troubleshooting contest back in 1997, when he was just out of high school. Timothy then completed the Ford ASSET (Automotive Student Service Educational Training) program through the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) and became a Ford technician. After 10 years as a Ford technician, “the grass looked greener on the other side of the fence,” he says.” In 2007, he went to work at Kenny Ross Nissan and became a SCOPE Master Technician.

One of the more interesting problems Foringer repaired was for a customer who bought a used Altima and owned it for a couple of years without realizing the previous owner had installed a remote starter. Timothy removed the remote starter to repair the customer’s concern.

David Alterio

Fields Infiniti

Glencoe, IL

This very upbeat Master Technician has spent his entire 15-year career at a Nissan dealership and an Infiniti dealership. While in high school, he took several small-engine repair classes and became intrigued with the workings of engines. That is when Alterio realized he wanted to become a technician. After completing high school, David went on to attend trade school at Lincoln Tech. He graduated top in his class, which he says was a stark contrast to his high school experience.

David enjoys the Infiniti dealership where he is currently employed. “Everyone gets along together, everyone is friendly, and there is a family atmosphere throughout the dealership,” he says. David enjoys quick and easy maintenance repairs. He finds many challenges in this kind of work and a sense of accomplishment knowing he can help several customers in a day.

David is married and has a son and a daughter. In his free time, Alterio enjoys spending time with his family camping in their new camper.

Greg Terry

Lynn Layton Cadillac-Nissan

Decatur, AL

Master Technician Terry has worked at the same Nissan dealership his entire 25-year career. He enjoys working at Lynn Layton, adding, “It feels like family.”

Greg works on all vehicle systems but prefers mechanical and engine repairs. Even after 25 years, he still enjoys working on vehicles and likes the daily challenge that it brings. Terry made a point of mentioning that “Nissan and Lynn Layton really care about the customer” and is yet another reason for his 25 year career at the same dealership.

Terry recalls his high school years as the time when he knew that he wanted to become a technician. Greg and his high school friends would restore old vehicles and drive them around. His latest restore is a 1969 Camaro he purchased from a friend. He said, “My friends and I drove around in this vehicle when we were younger.” Enjoying all the looks of envy and appreciation, no doubt!

Landon Giordano

Kings Infiniti, Inc.

Brooklyn, NY

This Brooklyn, New York Infiniti KEI Master Technician’s motto is, “Keep trying your best and ask questions.” Landon, a five-year veteran at Kings Infiniti, is always asking questions and reading service information to gain more knowledge.

Giordano is a take-the-bull-by-the-horns type of person who specializes in engine repair and electrical — and really enjoys what he does. Giordano says he uses Consult from scanning for codes to changing radios “I use it every day.”

It was from his early years after high school while working at an independent repair shop cleaning up and learning from the older techs that Landon realized you cannot know everything — so you need to ask questions. He went on to say this is part of becoming a Master Technician. “I am hoping to see Infiniti come out with more complex or high-performance vehicles,” he says. It’s important for the brand to develop and promote advanced cutting edge technology.