Vehicle repair professionals from all five New York City boroughs joined reality TV star Danny “The Count” Koker in celebrating the recent grand opening of the “Garage Gurus” regional training center in the Bronx. Garage Gurus is a nationwide technical education network established by Federal-Mogul Motorparts to help vehicle repair professionals keep pace with the latest automotive technologies. The new facility, the third of 15 scheduled to open this year, will provide on-site, online and on-demand training and related support to the city’s nearly 14,000 vehicle repair businesses.
A division of Federal-Mogul Holdings Corp., Federal-Mogul Motorparts is a global manufacturer and supplier of original equipment and premium branded replacement components for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and other applications. The company’s products – which include ANCO wipers, Champion spark plugs, Fel-Pro gaskets, MOOG steering and suspension components and Wagner brake pads – are specified and installed in thousands of U.S. repair businesses each day.
“Garage Gurus brings much-needed focus to the talented, hardworking professionals who help keep millions of consumers safe and secure behind the wheel,” said Dan Ninivaggi, CEO, Federal-Mogul Motorparts. “The demand for vehicle service has never been greater, with more than 200 passenger cars per U.S. repair bay. I believe it is our responsibility as a leading manufacturer to provide the technical support and other assistance these businesses need to keep pace with each new wave of vehicle technology.”
Accessing critical diagnostic and repair information and related skills-based training has long been a challenge for the nation’s nearly 220,000 automotive repair businesses, according to Federal-Mogul. Garage Gurus answers this need through more than 100 on-site, online and on-demand courses taught by Federal-Mogul Motorparts’ more than 100 ASE-certified “Gurus.” Each course is offered in English and Spanish languages.
As part of the evening’s “black carpet” celebration, guests were able to swap stories with reality TV star Danny “The Count” Koker, the self-taught mechanic whose Las Vegas-based vehicle restoration and customization business is featured in the “Counting Cars” series on History Channel. They also toured the training center, inspected two of its Web-connected “Gurus-on-the-Go” product technology vans and watched nationally recognized graffiti artist Antonio “Shades” Agee as he “tagged” the building.
