SAN MARCOS — Palomar College’s automotive technology program is connecting students of all ages with certifications needed to grow in their careers while also preparing to expand studies related to electric battery vehicles.
Palomar’s two-year automotive technology program focuses on three main areas — general automotive, electric, and drive lines — over four semesters, allowing students to obtain certifications or associate of science degrees. Demand for the program has grown, with around 200 to 250 students per semester.
Many of the students have already spent years working in the field as porters at car dealerships or repair shops and are seeking certifications to improve their job prospects.
Instructor Tony Perez has been an instructor in the program since 2008, returning after taking classes at the college in San Marcos himself back in the 1980s. He spent over 30 years working as a certificated automotive technician for Hoehn Motors and Cadillac and Buick dealerships in North County but said his true passion is in teaching.
“It’s very seldom that I have bad weeks or bad days because I love doing this,” Perez said.
The program has recently been growing in its course offerings to open up more career opportunities to students, with other ideas for expansion on the table.
As of January, the college has attained status as a Bureau of Auto Repair Certified Training Institution, allowing Palomar to teach smog technician courses that open up additional career paths for students.
“This certification will significantly enhance our students’ employment opportunities, allowing them to apply for a California Smog Inspector License within one year,” the college said in an announcement last month.
According to Perez, the college previously had a small smog tech program but lost it once its certified instructor retired. However, with the arrival of instructor and smog tech Luz Ferro in 2023, Palomar has been able to offer the program again.
“When she retired, that program went to the wayside. Now that we have Luz, she fits that bill and she brought that program back,” Perez said.
Looking ahead, the auto tech department has its sights set on expanding its electric vehicle offerings with a comprehensive electric vehicle battery program. Similarly to the diesel mechanics technology program, the plan is to make the electric program separate from the rest of automotive technology to meet the growing need in the industry.
“It’s gonna be a whole program all in itself. It’s gonna require a lot of planning, it’s gonna require a lot of space, it’s gonna require a lot of money to get this going,” Perez said.
Today, students in the automotive technology program can be found working inside the sleek Industrial Technology Center on campus. Opened in 2012, the facility features a large shop-style space with the capacity for 20 cars to be worked on at a time, as well as classrooms with work benches and lab spaces to transition from hands-on repairs to bookwork.
Many of the vehicles used in the program are lemons donated by Nissan, while others are donated by members of the community. Students can also bring their own cars to work on brake repair and alignment.
Nissan also provides professional development opportunities to students in the program, allowing them to work part-time at dealerships while still attending school.
Earlier this month, students in the program were starting their semester focused on transmissions. Student Antonio Peck could be seen working on his 2010 Chevy Colorado in the Industrial Technology Center on Feb. 6, utilizing the lift to examine the undercarriage of the car.
The seventeen-year-old travels over an hour from Riverside for his classes but says the commute is worth it. Like many students, he became interested in cars through watching his cousins and his grandfather work as mechanics when he was younger.
“I’m mainly fascinated about how engines work, and want to just rip them apart and put them back together,” Peck said. “It’s a good program, because they have all the tools necessary for it.”
Peck said his goal is eventually to obtain certification in diesel mechanics.
As the program grows, Perez said their goal is to keep pace with, if not surpass, other automotive technology programs throughout the region and county. Expanding to an electric battery program, he said, would make Palomar’s program stand out.
“That’s what everyone strives for, to be heads and shoulders above other institutions. We want to keep pace not just in San Diego County, but around the country … we also want to be in that higher echelon of education,” Perez said. For more information about Palomar’s automotive technology program, visit palomar.edu/ti/automotive-technology-program.
