All Pro/Auto Value/ Bumper to Bumper unveils North American technician recruitment campaign Automotive consortium addresses DC bus protocol standardization

All Pro/Auto Value/ Bumper to Bumper has launched a continent-wide campaign to entice prospective young technicians to join the alliance. Branded ProVide, the program targets high school students with posters, promotional materials, a website and toll-free telephone to promote the benefits of a career in automotive service. All Pro/Auto Value/ Bumper to Bumper also offers prospective hires assistance in attaining ASE certification. The web site can be found at www.800autotalk.com

Audi, BMW, PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Infineon Technologies and Israel-based YAMAR electronics have formed a consortium for the purpose reengineering standard automotive electrical systems through “power line communications technology.” Managed by the German firm iQ Power Technology Inc., the consortium’s goal is to create an international standard for the data through auto power wiring. The result could be great simplification of automotive wiring harnesses by allowing control information to “piggyback” on DC power wires feeding intelligent system modules much like multiple ECU’s for each vehicle system. The consortium is in discussions with DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford, GM, Renault, Volkswagen as well as truck manufacturers MAN and Mack Truck to increase the size of the mass needed to establish a global standard. Infineon plans to ship the first pre-production DC-BUS modules by the end of the year.