Editor’s Note: This is a guest blog post by Kettering student Charles ‘Chaz’ Mancino. Chaz is from Fredonia, New York, and is majoring in Mechanical Engineering. If you’d like to write a guest blog post, email phayes(at)kettering(dot)edu. 

By Chaz Mancino

Being an A-Section student, I have classes during the first three months of the year. While that means taking 20 credit hours and occasionally running on a few hours of sleep, it also means that I am in positon to enjoy some of the benefits of being a Kettering University student, which include free admission to the industry preview of the North American International Auto Show and being near the SAE garage.

One of Kettering University’s co-op partners, Schaeffler Group, offered free admission to the industry preview of the North American International Auto Show to junior and senior Mechanical Engineering students. In other words, free admission to an event that makes me feel like a kid in candy shop. And the best two parts? Most of the vehicles were unlocked and there were barely any lines to sit in them.

With my love of automobiles, some of the obvious cars that I sat in included both Maserati production cars and the Ducati on display. However, out of all of the cars that I sat in, one made me think. The car was the Bentley Continental GT Speed. The reason it made me think was because I am from Western New York. Although Western New York is not known for any sort of car culture, there was once a time when some of the world’s most prestigious cars were built there. The most famous company out of the region was Pierce-Arrow. To think that if Pierce-Arrow was still around today and competing in the luxury market, the Bentley that I sat in would have been one of its competitors. It makes me wonder how many people know that an automobile company that existed in Western New York, the area that I am native to, produced cars that were competitive to a brand that still builds world class luxury vehicles.

Student Chaz Mancino got to participate in the Industry Preview at the 2015 North American International Auto Show.

Wondering aside, my school term got a lot busier last week. The reason is because the tubes of the chassis that I designed have arrived and are waiting to be welded together. The chassis of GMI2015 started to be assembled even before this blog was written, meaning that as you read this, the lightest chassis the Kettering University Formula SAE team has made a long time is becoming a reality. While some people may not know about Pierce-Arrow, a new automobile having some of the same roots is rising from the ground and has the potential to be world class, just like Pierce-Arrow was.

Twenty credit hours and a Formula SAE car to build, along with some other activities, is what my schedule looks like. Time to buckle down and study, build, machine, and, most importantly, chase my dream of becoming an engineer. The engineers that worked for Pierce-Arrow would be proud.