This monograph was prepared by Charles W. Sylvester, under direction of Charles H. Winslow, Chief of the Research Division of the Federal Board for Vocational Education. Acknowledgment is due to Dr. John Cummings, of the Research Division, for editorial assistance.
In no other industry, perhaps has progress been so rapid and marvelous as in the manufacture and maintenance of automobiles, which to-day employs hundreds of thousands of men and women in a great variety of occupations, and represents investment of many millions of dollars.
Two great divisions of the industry may be made, one including the manufacturing plants which produce new cars, and the other, the maintenance and service shops and departments which operate and keep cars in repair and good running order. This monograph deals with occupations in “Automobile maintenance and service.”
What Men Do in These Occupations
In automobile maintenance and service, specialization is rapidly creating six principal groups of workers. It is true that in small garages one man may “tinker” with all parts of an automobile, but it is, in fact, just as essential to employ, for example, a battery specialist for a machine as it is to employ an eye specialist for a person.
The six groups include: (1) Repair-shop men, who deal primarily with the mechanical treatment of the car when it has been disabled; (2) starting and lighting experts, who repair and adjust electrical equipment, including wiring, lights, motors, and generators; (3) ignition experts, who look after the testing, adjustment and maintenance of current supply, short circuits, contact breakers, vibrators, spark plugs, coils, condensers, connections, distributors, and magnetos; (4) storage-battery men in stations where batteries are charged, repaired, rebuilt, tested, and kept in good working condition; (5) tire-repair men, who take care of the splicing, patching, retreading, building up, inside repair, and vulcanizing of casings and tubes that have been disabled by punctures, blisters, blow-outs, rim cuts, and general wear; and (6) automobile and truck drivers, who are responsible for operation of cars on the road. The work of these groups embraces a greatly diversified field of employment and offers a wide range of occupational choice.
Plan No. 1150. Auto Repair
Where Men in These Occupations Work
Men are employed in the maintenance and service of automobiles and trucks in every community. In every village, town, and city shops and service stations are to be found.