"The written tests are an important first step in establishing who might have the right to claim Master Technician status," said Knox. "But the true test comes during the half-day trouble-shooting competition in which the contestants must repair a series of real problems on a real car within a limited time. It's the kind of real-life challenge the technicians face every day in the dealership."

To test their skills, Knox takes ten brand new cars - this year the contestants will be working on 2003 Foresters - and presets each with an identical series of repair challenges. In addition to whether or not they find and repair all the problems in the allotted time, the judges award points based on the technicians' problem-solving skills, safety standards and even cleanliness.

In addition to judges from within Subaru, the competition also relies on experts from three Canadian colleges with which Subaru has training partnerships. This year's guest judges will be Todd Green from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Calgary, Alberta; Ralph Ruffo from Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario; and Aurele Desrochers from Levis College in Montréal, Québec. Honourary judge is Richard Day of Dexter's Subaru in Halifax, Nova Scotia, winner of last year's competition.

The 2003 Subaru Master Technician competition will take place at Subaru Canada headquarters on Saturday, June 21st, beginning at 9:00 am.