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• Historic Fort York David Spittal courtesy murmur.com
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With hybrid-electric vehicles becoming commonplace on Canadian roads, more and more auto technicians and drivers are curious about what goes on under the hood of these gas-saving cars and trucks.

To that end, Centennial College, in collaboration with the Canadian Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) Council, is offering a new training course on hybrid vehicle technology - the first of its kind in Canada. The 16-hour training course is designed to give participants an understanding of hybrid-electric technology, including critical safety issues and how to perform routine maintenance and service on current production hybrid component systems from leading manufacturers such as General Motors, Honda and Toyota.

The part-time course is intended for practising automotive technicians who want to offer after-market service. It is also an invaluable aid to service advisers, autobody repairers or tow-truck operators who may be first at an accident scene involving a hybrid. Hybrid vehicle owners and enthusiasts can also enroll, although the level of technical information may be high for many laypersons.

A hybrid-electric vehicle combines a conventional gasoline engine with an electric motor fed by an on-board rechargeable energy storage system to achieve better fuel economy than a conventional engine can achieve on its own. The presence of the high-voltage electrical system can be a potential hazard to technicians and shade-tree mechanics who wish to work on these vehicles.

Centennial's hybrid technology course begins Sept. 17 at its Ashtonbee Campus in Scarborough, home to Canada's largest transportation technology school. The course is scheduled on Wednesday evenings in four-hour blocks over four weeks. A second class begins on Oct. 22.

For details, visit www.centennialcollege.ca/parttime.