Mentors' Advice Needed for Automotive Teacher Considering FRC

[steinerc]

I have a fellow teacher friend at a neighboring high school who is frustrated that his automotive program has no meaningful competitions in the Portland, OR, area. He's also concerned that if the CTE program doesn't make sufficient use of the metal shop the school will try to close that down or fail to staff it. When I explained that we make all our metal parts from scratch and buy real engineering equipment off the shelf and that he has the perfect shop set up for an FRC program he became very excited at the prospect of using big robotics as a means of sustaining his auto and metals programs.

The help I need is from mentors is to know just how FRC benefits an automotive program. Do you still participate in traditional repair competitions? Are kids convinced that what we teach in FRC directly benefits them in auto careers? What are the rationale that car manufacturers and dealers give when supporting teams? Are there any drawbacks to housing an FRC program in an auto environment?

Thanks,
Chris