BROOKINGS – “They don’t make ’em like they used to.”
And that’s a good thing.
The American automobile has changed a lot for the better since Ford technician Roger Bottelberghe, 66, first turned a wrench at what is now Einspahr Auto Plaza more than 47 years ago. He showed up for work one last time on Friday.
“I started here when I was 18,” Bottelberghe said of what was then Einspahr Ford, located in downtown Brookings. “I worked on-the-job training in 1970. Then I went back to school and completed my automotive training. Then I came back here full-time in ’71. I’ve been here ever since.” The Minneota, Minnesota, native, however, didn’t plan to stay for a lifetime.
“I’ll be here for five to 10 years, maybe go back to Minnesota and get a job over there,” he explained. “Well, then you get here and you like the people, you like the people you’re working with, you like your boss.
“You start thinking, well this isn’t so bad. You start raising a family. Then you get financial commitments. Well, I’ve got a good job now. What if you switch jobs and don’t like it? Then you have to find something else to do. And working on cars, it’s something I’ve always liked doing.”
Carburetor, points, condensor
After graduating from high school in Minneota in 1969, Bottelberghe enrolled in Canby Vo Tech (now the Canby campus of Minnesota West Community & Technical College) and worked for Einspahr OJT when school was not in session.
“Back then everything still had a carburetor in it,” he said in looking back to those early days at what would become his life’s calling, and noting how it has evolved.
“You always had points and condenser, so it’s pretty basic. And automatic transmissions, air conditioners. I would say back then, half the cars didn’t even have air conditioning.
“AM/FM radios, that was about the extent of it. Then they went to 8-track. And pretty soon you had ones that played cassettes and finally ones that played CDs.
“As far as automatic temperature control in a car, that’s something that’s new. All-electronic ignition, fuel injection, that stuff all came about.”
“It’s quite a changeover,” he said in summation.
It was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when he saw the biggest changes come about: fuel injection did away with carburetors and distributors. Bottelberghe sees those as some of the biggest changes. And they kept coming.
“But I think for the most part, it’s all good improvements,” he added. “Now you hop in the car, turn the key and it’s running. That’s what people expect.”
And with front-wheel drive, even the basic propulsion of the automobile has changed.
“Ninety percent of the people would never go back to the rear-wheel drive cars,” Bottelberghe said. “The front-wheel car, you’ve got better traction. The weight is over the top of the wheels; you’re pulling yourself through the snow instead of pushing yourself.”
To all the above changes that drive cars, enter an element that impacts all aspects of American life: the computer. Welcome to the 21st Century.
Specialists and generalists
“Everything’s now run by computers,” Bottelberghe explained. “I guess that’s the most challenging thing about changes in the industry, about how everything went to computer-operated.
“They piggyback everything, as far as one computer talks to other computers. If you have a problem in one, it might show up as a problem in four or five others; so you have to go back to find the root of the problem and diagnose it that way.”
All these changes and innovations demanded additional training for service technicians.
“Every year there’s something new that comes out that you have to have training on,” he explained. “You have to stay trained in the area that you work in. If you don’t stay certified, then you can’t do any warranty work.”
“We used to specialize in just certain areas,” Bottelberghe added. But when a job demanded several pieces of maintenance work at several different stops and some work was more time consuming than other work, bottlenecks would develop between stops.
“Now everybody does everything. We still kind of specialize in certain areas; but you’re supposed to be capable of working in all areas. That works out pretty good that way.
“Then when you get a ticket in, you basically do everything that’s on the ticket, unless it’s something major or you’re not familiar with it. Then you’re better off going to the guy who specializes in that area.”
Einspahr is a dealer in both Ford and Chrysler products. Bottelberghe works primarily on Fords.
“Half the techs are trained on Fords; half are trained on Chryslers,” he said. “But we still work on every make and model. We take on everything that comes in.”
Loyal to the brand
Bottelberghe owns and drives Ford products.
“I’ve got a 2010 (Mercury) Milan; and I’ve still got my ’99 Ford pickup.”
The first brand-new car he ever owned was a 1999 Ford Taurus. Before that he always bought used cars, spiffed them up and traded them for newer models.
If there’s one thing he can relate to with all the customers he has served over nearly five decades: the cost of cars.
When he started at Einspahr, a new car could be had for about $2,200 to $3,200. He later experienced what buyers would come to call “sticker shock.” About 1975 or 1976, a new Lincoln was offered by the dealership, then located downtown as Einsphar Ford. It carried a $10,500 price tag.
“I remember a lot of people coming in and looking at it and going, ‘You guys will never sell any more cars, because it’s over $10,000,’” Bottelberghe said. “What’s funny now is you can’t buy any (new) car for under $10,000.”
Today, he turned a wrench at Einspahr for the last time before retirement. What then?
“I’m going to do a lot of fishing at first,” he said. “I love to fish, love to hunt. Then I’m going to look for a part-time job someplace. I don’t think I could stand to just do nothing.
“I’ve been offered a couple different jobs. I don’t know what I’m going to do. But I’m pretty sure I won’t be turning wrenches again. After 47 years it’s time to try something different.
“Once my wife Char retires, a year from now, she wants to do a little traveling, see some of the world. So that’s what we’ll do.”
Bottelberghe’s love of fishing includes under the ice. Now he’ll be able to do it in style. As a going away/retirement present, his employers gifted him with an ice-fishing house, a Vexilar fish-finder, and an IceArmor insulated fishing suit.
As for leaving Einspahr, he said he will “definitely miss the people, more than anything. That will be the tough part. All the people I’ve got to know are family.”
Bottelberghe and his wife Charlene have three children and eight grandchildren.
Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookingsregister.com.
Register photo: Roger Bottelberghe, 66, does some under-the-hood work at Einspahr Auto Plaza in Brookings. After more than 47 years on the job, the Ford auto technician will turn his last wrench today.
