Donation Helps Rev Up Auto Program at High School

Officials at Francis Polytechnic High School accepted the keys to an almost brand-new car Thursday, but neither the principal nor anyone else will be driving the vehicle off the Sun Valley campus.

The car, a 1996 Nissan Maxima with 17,000 miles, was donated by the Sun Valley Chamber of Commerce for use in the school’s automotive repair program.

The Chamber of Commerce received the car from Nissan Motors USA, which agreed to donate the vehicle with the provision that it never be driven again.

“There is a certain amount of cars that get damaged en route from Japan or when they are being transported across the U.S.,” said chamber member Frank Jacobs, a retired Nissan executive.

“We thought, why don’t we give them to schools as a training tool, with the condition that they can never be put on the road,” Jacobs said, citing legal reasons for the no-driving policy.

The driving restriction did not dampen the enthusiasm of the school’s automotive technologies instructor Larry Hall, who said the car was a “big asset.”

“This is the only way we can get the newest technology into our program,” Hall said. “It takes a lot of money to get a hold of a car like this. We just couldn’t do it without outside help.”

The Nissan will help teach students how to perform tuneups and do repair work on electrical systems, brakes and upholstery, among other things.