Jake Tully – The Future of the Automotive industry

In episode 26 of the Technician Academy podcast, Richard talks with guest Jake Tully. Jake is the winner of the 2017 ASE Technician of the Future award. They discuss why Jake decided to dive into the automotive industry and what his thoughts are on the future of the industry and his career. We hope that enjoy episode 26 of the Technician Academy podcast.

Richard Young: Welcome to today’s Technician Academy podcast. We’re fortunate enough to have Jake Tully with us today. He was ASE Technician of the Future award for 2017. Welcome, Jake.

Jake Tully: Hi Richard. Thank you for having me.

Richard Young: Thanks for being a part of this. It’s exciting to have a young future technician on the podcast and to get your ideas and your perspective on what’s going on in the industry.

Jake Tully: Thank you. It’s very exciting to be here. I definitely can’t wait to see what happens in the automotive industry in these next three years of my lifetime. I’m excited to see what happens.

Richard Young: And it’s going to change drastically. I’ve been in the industry 35 plus years, and it’s changed a lot. It’s probably changed more in the last five than it changed in the previous 30.

Jake Tully: Yeah, and I’m sure there’s going to be a lot more changes throughout my career here as well.

Richard Young: Absolutely. So just give us a brief rundown of where you’re at and where you have been and where you’re going.

Jake Tully: So I’m officially back home for good. I’m from Alexandria, Kentucky and I moved down to Orlando, Florida to attend an automotive technician school called Universal Technical Institute. I moved there May of last year, and that was a 51-week program. So I went through their automotive program and then I got into their BMW Step Program after that. So that started back in August, and I just graduated last week, and I’m officially back here with a job lined up in Cincinnati.

Richard Young: So not just any job. You’re working at BMW, is that correct?

Jake Tully: Yes, it’s the BMW store in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Richard Young: Now where? What will your position be once you get to the store?

Jake Tully: What they do is, they have four levels of technicians, level four being the entry-level technician and level one being the master technician. So BMW Step trains you to go out into the field as a level three technician. So I’ll be a little up from an entry-level technician, but not quite high enough to be a master technician of course but … So they’ll bring me on, and I’ll start training under foreman and then eventually they’ll let me go on my own. So I’m excited to see where it goes.

Richard Young: Just in the brief discussions we’ve had, I can see you want to become that master technician.

Jake Tully: Oh, yes definitely. I’m very driven. I want to … You know I’ve always kind of had the mentality that I want to do my best and make an impact in this industry, and on the dealership as well. I want to be that above and beyond technician and make a positive impact.

Richard Young: So this is quite an award, ASE Technician of the Future award. What was involved in applying for that opportunity? Did you apply for it yourself or did peers suggest it?

Jake Tully: No, I did not. I had no clue of these awards, and specifically, I had no clue of the Technician of the Future award. The Technician of the Future award is given to the highest score on the G1 ASE among students across the country. I had no idea about this when I took the G1 ASE so just to be able to put that on the resume is a very valuable recommendation to have.

Richard Young: So you took the ASE G1 test. To win this award, you had to be the top out of all the students that took that test?

Jake Tully: Yes, that is correct. I had no clue it was coming up, and I got a call from one of the directors who set up the whole event. And she called me asking me questions to see if I was a student and if I was a student at the time that I took the ASE test. So it turns out she called me a few days later and told me about this award, and as I said, I had no clue about it. And she was like, “Man you really don’t seem excited enough about this. I don’t think you understand how big of a deal it is.” So I looked it up and realized this really is a big deal. It seems like there were plenty of students out there who took this ASE and turns out I got the highest score. So I’m very … I’m very proud of that for sure.

Richard Young: Well you should be. So in winning the award, what are you given by ASE?

Jake Tully: So ASE themselves sent me $250.00 just to cover costs while we were in San Diego for the award’s ceremony. And they also covered pretty much everything from the plane tickets to the rental car to the food while we were staying there. Then Mitchell 1, the sponsor of my award, gave me a thousand dollar cash award on top of that. So it was very nice.

Richard Young: Do you have a subscription with some of the Mitchell products?

Jake Tully: I do not, but I am familiar with their products. I was in an independent garage for about a year coming out of high school, and we used Mitchell every day. So I’m very familiar with their products, and I like what they have to offer.

Richard Young: Well, I commend you for being the top in the G1, but also at UTI you received some awards too.

Jake Tully: Yes, I did.

Richard Young: Give us a rundown on what those were.

Jake Tully: So UTI has a few different awards they like to give out and one of them is the Student of the Course award. UTI offers 17 courses throughout the 51-week program, and I got ten Student of the Course awards out of the 17. On top of that, they also have what they call a Director’s List award, which you have to have a 90% or above in all categories of three consecutive classes. So since there were 17 classes, I got Director’s List in 15 of them, which means I received all the Director’s List awards I was capable of achieving.

Richard Young: You have to have three consecutive courses before you can actually win the first one?

Jake Tully: Yes, correct. So those first two classes you have no chance of getting it, but after that, it kind of keeps going on from there.

Richard Young: So the contact person thought you weren’t excited enough, is that right?

Jake Tully: That’s right. I had no clue of what this award was or how big of a deal it was, and once I looked it up, I said, “Wow, this really is a big deal. It seems like a great event.” And from what I experienced in San Diego, it really was. It was a fantastic event; it was well planned and very nice. It was a great experience.

Richard Young: So when was that? When was that event and when was that awarded to you?

Jake Tully: That was two weeks ago. I believe it was on November 14th. They flew me out to San Diego and had a reception on Tuesday, just getting to know everybody, getting to know my sponsor and meeting all of the ASE board. And then the next day they had some breakfast and lunch buffets for us, and then we went to another reception before the actual ceremony on Wednesday. Just to meet up with my sponsor and get prepared and seated. Then we had a very nice dinner, and the ceremony carried on after. The ceremony was a wonderful experience.

Richard Young: That’s great. While you were at UTI, did you have an idea of such a thing could be possible?

Jake Tully: No, I didn’t. I mean I’ve always strived to push myself harder than anyone else out there. I really want to be the best of the best. I always push to do my best, and these awards just came as a surprise to me. I always push myself, but I really didn’t expect to get this far. So I’m really excited to have gotten as far as I have with these awards.

Richard Young: It’s definitely something to be excited about. So of all the occupations out there, why did you choose automotive?

Jake Tully: I’ve always had a passion for cars. Ever since I was a kid from playing with toy cars to playing the video games, I’ve always had a passion for cars. And I’ve always had the idea of getting a career with something in the automotive industry. I started going to college to lean towards the automotive engineering side of the industry, and at the same time I was working at this independent garage, and I loved every minute of it. I loved being in the shop; I loved getting dirty, getting my hands on the cars and that is what sold it for me. I need to be a technician.

Richard Young: You started out down the engineering path but when you sank your teeth in it you might say, and working on a car, that’s what drew you in?

Jake Tully: Exactly. I’ve always loved the idea of working on cars and stuff like that but back when I was in high school; I would’ve never thought I would make a career out of it. But I can tell you that I did not regret my decision one bit, I decided to become a technician.

Richard Young: So you quit going to college for the engineering and then you took up going to UTI and 51 weeks. Were those 51 weeks continuous?

Jake Tully: Yes, it’s continuous. UTI is three-week classes, so you have the option that you can take what they call leave of absence, and you can leave for three or six weeks through two class periods. I never decided to do that, and I just wanted to get it done as quickly as possible. I never took leave of absence, so it was a straight 51-week program. It was very intense.

Richard Young: Where did you take that program?

Jake Tully: Well this was in Orlando, Florida. And the BMW program I went into after that is in the same complex. So it’s a separate facility but in the same complex, and that’s what really drove me to choose the Orlando campus because they had the BMW program there. I always had the idea that maybe I’d like to work for BMW one day and here I am.

Richard Young: Let’s step back just a little bit. In high school, was there an automotive program there?

Jake Tully: Yes. However, I did not take advantage of it. They had built a state-of-the-art vocational school with an automotive program around my sophomore year. Junior and senior years are when I could’ve been in that program. But as I explained earlier, I really had no intentions of becoming a technician, so I took all the engineering classes in high school. You know working on CAD designs and programs like that. I never really took advantage of our vocational school, but it is a nice state-of-the-art facility. There were actually two other schools in the county that would come to this same facility for the vocational training. So it’s a very high end and a very nice facility, but I just didn’t take advantage of it.

Richard Young: Do you feel that the little bit of engineering background you received will help you in the automotive repair industry?

Jake Tully: I believe if I were to go above the technician level and maybe more towards the engineering side, that could definitely have helped me out a little a bit more. But as far as being a technician, the classes I took were pretty much all on the computer. It wasn’t really a hands-on style of class. The majority of being a technician is hands-on. So there’s not too much I’ve benefited from with the engineering classes towards becoming a technician.

Richard Young: I always make the joke, as technicians we don’t necessarily care for engineers. Just because sometimes they put a water pump or a heater core in a place that just doesn’t make any sense to a technician. As a technician, we stand back, and we look at a way a car is built and think why did they put that there? Why couldn’t they have done it this way?

Jake Tully: And we’re thinking, we should’ve engineered these cars.

Richard Young: Absolutely. You know those five and six-hour heater core replacements, there’s got to be an easier way.

Jake Tully: That’s right.

Richard Young: What drew you to the UTI location you attended other than the BMW Step being there? Plus you mentioned that you were interested in BMW before that, why?

Jake Tully: I’ve always had a passion for the German vehicles and being in that independent garage showed how much more complex they are to work on compared to working on say a Japanese or American vehicle. And when I would struggle with these German cars in the shop, it just drove me to say; I want to master this. I want to get better at this. So I tend to drive myself to do something that is a little more challenging than working on other styles of vehicles.

Richard Young: You made a drastic change going from engineering to hands-on automotive repair. You’ve mentioned that you have the drive and want to perform to your best. So that leads to what Technician.Academy is. We always strive to get as much information to tomorrow’s technicians as possible and help them to be better at their job. You can have a student that comes directly out of high school and go into the automotive industry. But that extra foundation of education that you gained, for example, at UTI or could’ve gained at a community college with an automotive program, what value do you think that brings to the bay?

Jake Tully: I can I speak on both sides of this because right after I came out of high school, I worked at an independent garage for a year. So I started that job not knowing much about cars and never really had touched a car before. I was utterly untrained at that level, so I stuck by the shop owner, and he led me through everything and took me under his wing. After I got done with UTI and now going in as a trained technician, it’s bringing a lot of value to the employer. Not only do I have that knowledge of being able to understand how these cars function, but now how to repair them and diagnose them properly.

I also have those extra hand skills. When I have a problem with some bolt or something, I know what to do now. That additional training is not only knowledge-based but hands-on as well. It’s definitely a great investment for these employers to seek a trained technician who will fix these vehicles properly. Specifically, with BMW, I’m able to go to the dealership and do the majority of the warranty work on these cars. Which with BMW, I believe, they’re up close to 90% of what comes into the dealerships is warranty work. If I were to just walk into the dealership without the training credentials I have, I wouldn’t be able to touch any of these warranty cars. So it’s a tremendous added value for employers to hire the trained technicians.

Richard Young: Yes, and with the way cars and the technology within the automotive industry is evolving as we mentioned before, having that training foundation like what you developed through UTI and BMW is a definite advantage. Technicians should be a little more confident in what they’re doing what they’re getting ready to do. When repairing or diagnosing a car, there is some confidence required.

Jake Tully: For sure.

Richard Young: I’m sure advisors, and peers have talked to you in the past about this industry. At your age, how do you see this industry evolving from the service side?

Jake Tully: From the service side? I think these cars are going to become a lot easier to diagnose with all the electronics and computer systems being able to tell us exactly where to go and start hunting for the problems. Although the cars are getting more complex, I believe they’re going to start becoming simpler for technicians to diagnose. As far as I know, BMW is now completely turbocharging all their vehicles. All of them are direct-injected, and all of them have what we call the VANOS and Valvetronic systems, which are fully variable intake and exhaust valve timing and valve lift. The electronics we have now will be used to tell us where to go to start looking for problems. This will make diagnosis a little easier on the technician.

Richard Young: Yes, and they are going to become very sophisticated in the way they are controlled, and it would take a long time for a high school student without the foundation that you have to be able to go in there and understand how to diagnose that type of system.

Jake Tully: That’s right.

Richard Young: While you were at BMW, how many weeks was that?

Jake Tully: BMW is 16 weeks.

Richard Young: Were you on-site at the BMW facility for that entire period?

Jake Tully: Yes. The BMW training facility was completely separate from UTI, and they were a lot stricter there than they were at UTI. They really set it up to get you ready to go out and be on your own in these dealerships. We started school at six in the morning and left at two PM every day of the week.

Richard Young: How many students were in the program at the same level that you were?

Jake Tully: In our program, there were 15 starting out, and 11 graduated.

Richard Young: Wow.

Jake Tully: They’re very strict not only getting into the program but also maintaining. If they don’t think that you’re going to be able to perform well at the dealership, they’ll cut you. They have no problem cutting you. They’re very strict on that.

Richard Young: So were there other options when you left UTI? Could you have gone to some other dealership or OE level?

Jake Tully: Yes. UTI partners with I believe over 30 different manufacturers. So they have a lot of different ways to get in with pretty much any dealership you want. Even if I decided to go back to an independent, just having that UTI credit itself would help me to get into an independent garage as well.

Richard Young: So speaking of garages, is there a goal in the back of Jake Tully’s mind of being a shop owner someday?

Jake Tully: I’ve always considered that. I’ve always had that leadership mentality. I believe I could become maybe a service manager one day, but I couldn’t see myself owning a shop at this point. At this day and age I know there’s a lot of risks, there’s also a lot of rewards if it all goes well. But there’s definitely a lot of risk in owning a shop. I just don’t think that’s the kind of responsibility I’d like to take on when I could really advance at the dealership level. I want to move up to becoming a master tech, and then maybe shop foreman, service manager, and then going above and beyond that to going corporate one day. That’s really where I see my career going.

Richard Young: What would you say is your long-term goal within the BMW organization?

Jake Tully: I say I’d like to become service or general manager for a dealership one day. I like having that leadership role, and I believe I could do really well at it.

Richard Young: Oh, that’s good. That’s good that you’ve made that separation of you understand the values and the risk/reward portion of being a shop owner.

Jake Tully: Yes.

Richard Young: It can be rewarding. It can be very risky too. And just in talking to you I’m not going to rule that out on my end. But I think you’re very driven.

Jake Tully: Yes.

Richard Young: But whether it is BMW or a Chevrolet Malibu, what’s your favorite system on a car to diagnose?

Jake Tully: I’d have to say engine diagnostics. There’s a feeling of pride when a car comes in running rough or not starting, and being able to go in and diagnose that car, fix it then get it running right again and get it back to the customer. There’s a sense of accomplishment. It’s your job, it’s what you’re supposed to do, but I get a real sense of pride out of fixing engines.

Richard Young: Fixing it where there are no more drivability issues. So it’s performing for the customer like it should.

Jake Tully: Yes.

Richard Young: When did you graduate high school?

Jake Tully: I graduated high school in 2015, and that’s when I went straight into that independent garage.

Richard Young: So here we are 2017, two years later. You’ve got UTI graduation, you’ve got BMW Step program. It’s been a pretty fast two years for you, I’m sure.

Jake Tully: Definitely.

Richard Young: What do you see in the next five years that’s going to change this industry?

Jake Tully: I think that within these next five years there’s definitely going to be a lot more electric and hybrid cars. That’s something that a lot of these technicians are going to have to start training on and learning. I’m sure there’s going to be a huge amount of these hybrid and electric cars coming out, and we’ll need technicians that can diagnose and fix these types of cars. One of my instructors told me that BMW, within the next five to ten years, is coming out with around 23 different hybrids and fully electric vehicles. So I think these kinds of vehicles will definitely change this industry big time.

Richard Young: I agree. The industry’s going to change drastically within the next few years. You mentioned something about the technicians needing to be educated.

Jake Tully: Yes.

Richard Young: I’m sure you’ve been around some older technicians. What if you had a few moments to tell a room full of older technicians who have been in this industry let’s say 15 to 20 years, what would you tell them?

Jake Tully: Oh man.

Richard Young: I sprung that on you. And the reason why Jake is because I want us older guys to understand that we need the younger technician moving into the industry.

Jake Tully: Yes.

Richard Young: And if we plan on staying in it, we need to be able to understand what needs to be done stay there.

Jake Tully: That’s right. I would just tell them, don’t think you know everything and always have that room to advance yourself and learn more every day. As this industry changes, the technicians are going to need to change as well and to adapt to be able to continue and properly fix and diagnose these cars. You always have to have an open mind to learning more and more. Continue evolving as the as the technology evolves.

Richard Young: Absolutely. That’s good advice. In your lifetime, do you think we’ll see something as crazy as the Jetson flying automobile?

Jake Tully: I’d love to see that, but I don’t know about in my lifetime. Because not only creating the technology to make that possible but also the regulations they’re going to have to implement for them. I don’t think we’ll see anything that crazy in my lifetime, but I believe in my lifetime it’s going to be a lot more advancements such as more of these hybrid and fully electric cars.

Richard Young: What about autonomous vehicles? Whether it is taxicabs or something on the line of Uber where the car doesn’t have a driver, it just shows up to pick you up.

Jake Tully: I didn’t think about that. But yeah, I believe that could happen in my lifetime as well. I know BMW, they have a lot of their hybrid and seven series and five series, and they can park their self now. We’re already kind of leaning towards that way. But I’m also somewhat worried about autonomous vehicles already starting to be created and the required testing. I’m not sure where it is, but I believe some statistic I heard when I was at UTI, they said by 2018 they’re going to have a fully autonomous vehicle available on the market. I don’t know if I believe that but it’s definitely possible, and I definitely think we’ll see that within my lifetime.

Richard Young: Well I’ll be honest, I commute about an hour when I come into the office and if I had an autonomous vehicle that I could get in and tell it “let’s go to work,” I’m sure I would be ready for that.

Jake Tully: There’s definitely a big change there for sure. And there’s going to be a lot of trust in technology. We’re going to have to figure how well these cars are going to be able to react with other human drivers driving on the road. And if there’s an accident, who’s going to be at fault? What happened to cause the accident? There are definitely a lot of risks trusting technology with that kind of power.

Richard Young: A vehicle that’s autonomously driven, so the computer is making the decisions from processors and microprocessors are their reaction always guaranteed? If you truly believe in electronics, their reaction is guaranteed. It’s that other driver, the human factor that is not guaranteed.

Jake Tully: Yes, exactly. And you don’t know how that human is going to react to the way the other car is reacting. Plus the other car is not going to be able to interpret what that person’s going to do. There’s a big risk there.

Richard Young: Definitely. Yes, a big risk to say the least.

Jake Tully: That’s right.

Richard Young: So you’re out of high school, out of college, and definitely not done learning.

Jake Tully: Definitely not.

Richard Young: Because it’s an ongoing thing in this industry.

Jake Tully: Exactly.

Richard Young: If I was to invite you to a high school graduating class of 500 students.

Jake Tully: Okay.

Richard Young: What would you talk to them about? What would be the topic and why would you focus on that topic?

Jake Tully: What I would tell them is that they need to not only follow their dreams, but they need to think in the future. They need to choose a path they’re going to love doing for the rest of their life. You’ve got to choose wisely because if you don’t like what you’re doing every day, how can you really have a happy life. What these students need to do is chase their passion and follow what they believe they will love doing. If that’s going to a college and getting a business degree and working on computers the rest of their life, then do it. If it’s getting dirty and being a technician, go for it. There are endless opportunities for students coming out of high school. They just really need to follow their dreams and do what they think they would love to do the rest of their life.

Richard Young: Great words, and its kind of what you did yourself.

Jake Tully: Yes, exactly.

Richard Young: You were on one path, and through life experience, you determined that the path wasn’t for you.

Jake Tully: Exactly. There’s always this norm, which is kind of what I followed as well. I kind of fell victim to it as well. There’s this norm that you need to go to college and get a degree to have a good healthy career. And really what I’ve learned is that’s just not true. There are so many opportunities in the technical world, whether it is automotive or heating and cooling or electricity. At these places not only are you going to get a job, but you’re also going to have a job for life because when you learn these skills, everybody will want to hire you. You’re the master of what you do and you’re never going to be out of a job.

Richard Young: You mentioned that, and we’re talking about high school. That’s one of the discussions I just got done having with another gentleman. Maybe high school counselors, and you tell me if you believe this, but the counselors tend to direct students away from the automotive industry.

Jake Tully: Yes, I could see that. I never experienced that personally, but yes, I could see that. Like I was saying just a minute ago, those counselors and peers kind of throw it at you that you need to go to college and you need to get a degree to have a good career. That’s just not true. There is so much advancement coming in this automotive industry that we’re going to need more and more technicians every day. They say the baby boomers that went into the automotive industry are now getting to the point where they’re retiring out. So there’s a massive need for technicians across the country, and we really need to bring more into the industry.

Richard Young: It’s exciting to be able to talk to you about this and get your perspective. But what could the industry, when I say industry I’m talking about the OE manufacturers, do to attract more quality people like yourself?

Jake Tully: They just need to advertise it more and put it out there that this can be a really good career. I think that’s the biggest deal, is people just don’t realize that. They don’t realize you can make a very good living in this industry, whether it’s becoming a technician, an advisor, or working up to a management level and anything beyond that. If these companies were able to advertise more of how well you can do with one of these careers, then I think that could bring in a lot more people.

Richard Young: One of the programs that the Technician Academy has is we go into community colleges here within the Midwest and put on training courses. Do you feel that that is a positive thing for those students?

Jake Tully: Oh, definitely.

Richard Young: Bringing that outside resources to them?

Jake Tully: Yes, exactly. Not only bringing that training, but it could also get them more interested in it and encourage them to want to stay in this career field. I listened to one of your other episodes, and you were talking with one gentleman about how some of his students just go there just because they want to learn to work on cars. They don’t want to make it a career. But with these extra training programs that you offer, this could really get somebody excited and want to actually have a career in this industry.

Richard Young: It’s interesting how our discussion is evolving. You’ll say something, and it makes me think of another question. Being a technician myself, I’m always curious. If the parts manufacturing industry, and when I say industry I’m counting the repair side, went into the high schools during career day and talked about the automotive industry, do you think that would’ve helped to guide you a little quicker to go to UTI?

Jake Tully: I think it would have. What it was that got me to choose to take this on, as a career was just getting hands-on with it. But I believe that if these companies were to come in and speak more about it that would definitely have caught my attention. And if they were to speak about advancement and how a solid career can be obtained from working for their company, yes that would’ve certainly helped to point me in the right direction a lot sooner.

Richard Young: Showing you a career path?

Jake Tully: Exactly.

Richard Young: You’re going in as a Tech Three at BMW, and you have a goal to work to Tech One, then advisor, manager and then to the corporate level in maybe fixed operations or something similar. Understanding that career path, I think, is key to getting a young person like you interested in the automotive industry.

Jake Tully: Exactly. If I would’ve had the opportunity to hear more about it maybe going into my sophomore year of high school, then I probably may have chosen to take those auto tech classes rather than going to the engineering classes. I’ve learned more about cars than I have working on those computers and doing CAD designs.

Richard Young: Yeah. And not all of us are built to be technicians. Getting that information would’ve maybe changed your path a little bit but not your career path. You’re set with your career path now, and I congratulate you for that.

Jake Tully: Thank you very much.

Richard Young: So are there any hobbies for Jake Tully whenever he’s not working on cars?

Jake Tully: Whenever I’m not working on cars? I still consider that a hobby. But I’d say I like relaxing and playing some Xbox every once in a while. A big thing for me is hanging out with family and friends. So pretty much being social and getting out even if it’s just going out to dinner with the family or whatever. My dad and I like to go out on the boat and go fishing. This past couple of years I’ve gotten into hunting a little bit. I’ve got a few other hobbies than just wrenching.

Richard Young: When it comes to the automotive industry and new things happening, where do you pick up your information? Is it through social networks, Facebook or are there specific sites that you look at?

Jake Tully: I love cruising the web and learning more and more every day. A lot of what I learn is through Facebook and social media. I follow a lot of car pages and not just that but the manufacturer’s pages and see the new things that are coming out. And of course, going into BMW, I have access to seeing their new technology. I love going into their books and reading everything that’s coming out and advancing my knowledge of what’s going into these cars. It’s only going to help me in the future.

Richard Young: Absolutely. If I said that I would give you any vehicle you want. It can be new, old, antique, or not even manufactured anymore. I would give you any vehicle to put in your garage, what would it be?

Jake Tully: Now this is a question that is really hard for me to answer because I have a passion for all kinds of cars. But I’d say I’d like to have a Corvette ZR1 in my garage.

Richard Young: Okay. What would be the second car?

Jake Tully: I think I’d probably have to stick with BMW on that one and maybe get an M3 as a daily driving car.

Richard Young: Well that’s not your average daily driver, but I’ve known some gentlemen that have had those. I’ve driven one and they are fun.

Jake Tully: Yes, exactly. I’m not the average daily driver anyway. I’ve always had sportier cars that you wouldn’t really think you’d see on the road every single day. So that’s what I like working with.

Richard Young: Is the Kentucky and Ohio state police going to have to be looking out for Jake Tully going to work?

Jake Tully: Hopefully not. I try to stick going to the speed limit. I mean going to work; the foot gets a little heavy sometimes.

Richard Young: You know Jake; I’ve enjoyed our conversation. I’d like to put the option out there that maybe in the future, after you’ve been at the BMW store for a year or two, to reconnect and get your ideas on what the industry’s doing and what’s going on with you?

Jake Tully: Oh, for sure. That’d be great.

Richard Young: So, I appreciate your time. You’re getting ready to go to the store next week, right? Is that the first day?

Jake Tully: I start on Monday. I’m going to bring in all my tools on Saturday. I just got the okay to bring in my tools and I’m starting work on Monday.

Richard Young: That’s exciting.

Jake Tully: Yes, I’m very exciting.

Richard Young: In the brief discussions we’ve had and looking at the information about you, you’re a very driven young man. I commend you on that. I think you have excelled with what you’ve done, and in what you’ve chosen to do and I wish you the best going forward.

Jake Tully: Thank you very much, Richard.

Richard Young: Do you have any closing thoughts for our listeners out there or opinions that you want them to take away?

Jake Tully: Just stick to it, learn more every day. There’s always going to be more to learn and don’t close your mind and think that you know everything. Keep that open mind and learn more to advance as this technology advances.

Richard Young: Good words Jake. Good words. Well again, I appreciate the time you’ve given us. I look forward to future discussions and getting your opinions on what’s going on in the industry.

Jake Tully: Certainly. Thank you for having me, Richard.