Ron Bellehumeur

• Name: Ron Bellehumeur

• Family: Wife

• City of Residence: Yuba City — one year — prior to that Austin, Texas

• Occupation: Service manager

• Employer/years employed: Wheeler Auto Center — one year

• Training/certifications: Certified GM parts and service manager, certified Mazda service manager. Previously — ASE Master certified technician.

• Years in automotive industry: 28 years

• How did you get your start in automotive? I trained in automotive technology in high school and started my career as a used-car technician at a Pontiac dealership in Pontiac, Mich. The dealership I worked for sent me to be trained at the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Mich.

• What is the biggest problem facing the industry today? I think the biggest problem for manufacturers is trying to foresee the future needs and desires of the average consumer. When I started, it used to be mainly a style issue, such as how the car looked, but now you have competing technologies of gasoline, diesel, hybrid and ethanol along with design, quality, safety and dependability issues. There are also the issues of the newer technologies of hydrogen and electric. Manufacturers have quite a challenge to decide what and how much of a technology to invest in.

• Where do you see the industry going in the future? I see the industry heading toward a hybrid vehicle (fuel/electric) like the GM Volt with an all-electric drivetrain and a small gas or diesel generator for longer-range driving. I believe the battery technology will improve significantly over the next five to 10 years, allowing for shorter recharging times and more miles between charging.

• What is the most common problem with the vehicles that need to be serviced? Today's vehicles, both domestic and foreign, are much better quality from any made in the past. However, the level of complexity has increased exponentially. Every year, the new vehicles have more and more computers; these systems control everything: the engine, transmission, brake system, instrument cluster, door locks and windows, etc.

The average garage mechanic does not have the tools or knowledge to repair these systems. The amount of training that a technician at Wheeler Auto Center goes through to learn how to diagnose and repair these systems is quite daunting.

• In recent years, what has been the biggest breakthrough in the auto body industry? The evolution of unit body construction design technology in the area of safety and quality. Almost all passenger cars in the past had a separate frame under the vehicle to supply support and rigidity to the vehicle. Now that frame assembly has been integrated into the structure of the body of the vehicle.

• What is the hardest part of your job? My job is easy compared to the technicians' jobs here at Wheeler Auto Center. They need to stay up with the ever-changing technology and product lines.

• What advice would you give to aspiring mechanics or service techs? I would recommend focusing on the computer technology in today's vehicles. All of the computers that are running the various systems in the new vehicles are talking back and forth, communicating. The computer technology will get more sophisticated as time goes on, and a future technician will be ahead of the curve to learn this technology early in their career.

• What is the first car you owned and how did you afford it? My first car was a 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle SS. I bought it while working as a bus boy in a 24-hour restaurant at the age of 16. I learned to repair cars from that vehicle — it always needed something to be repaired.

• If you could have any car of any year, what would it be? I currently like the 2008 Cadillac CTS and the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu as far as styling, comfort and quality. I've had the hot-rods in my youth and now enjoy the technology available in the newer vehicles.