Mo v i n g Up

Congratulations to our Nissan SCOPE & Infiniti KEI Masters

Dale Levingston

Nissan SCOPE Master

Nissan of Mansfield

Mansfield, OH

“I grew up turning a wrench and started repairing farm equipment from the time I was old enough to hold a wrench,” said 56-year-old SCOPE Master Technician Dale Levingston.

Growing up on the family farm, Dale repaired tractors, trucks and farm equipment. After deciding he didn’t want to stay on the farm, Dale started working at gas stations — back when they still did service work — and then independent shops before going to work at an Oldsmobile dealer.

Dale’s instruction at the Nissan training center proved helpful in his transition from working on GM products to wrenching full time on Nissan vehicles. “When I walked into the class, I told the instructor that I was really green on the Consult,” said Dale. “The instructor said, ‘Don’t worry.’ Now driveability and electrical is most of what I do. I don’t even know how many training classes I’ve taken -- a ton of them, really -- and each of them has helped me diagnose and service Nissan cars and trucks.“

Over the years, Dale has been deeply involved in regional youth sports programs, having coached soccer and softball for many years. These days, Dale spends much of his coaching time coaching the coach. The coach just happens to be his 26-year-old son.

Dale likes to fish and spend time with his three grown children and his seven grandkids. “Being with my children and grandchildren is really my thing,” he said.

Brian Spotts

Infiniti KEI Master

Infiniti of Chantilly

Chantilly, VA

KEI Master Technician Brian Spotts started working on cars in the late 1970s after falling in love with his first car, a Pontiac GTO. After school, he worked at the Western Auto doing light mechanical on tires and batteries. From there, Brian took a job at General Service Tire and Auto Center. “I worked on everything that came through the door, even school buses,” said Brian. “Brakes, water pumps, hoses and tune-ups. In those days tuneups required points, plugs, condenser and setting the carb.”

A workmate took a job at a nearby Datsun dealership and called Brian to come and work with him. Brian did and worked on a team system doing basic services, head gaskets and installing accessories such as radios and A/C systems. After attending Nissan training classes, Brian first became a Nissan Master Tech in 1989. After 21 years of working on Nissan vehicles, Brian moved over to Infiniti service three years ago.

When Brian began working on Infiniti, more studying was required to attain KEI master status. “I did the studying, took the classes and got the sheepskin,” said Brian. After work, Brian likes to garden, do some landscaping, watch TV, have some refreshments and just relax. But what Brian said he’s most proud of and likes to do best is to take care of his LeMans Blue 1969 Chevelle muscle car.

Donovan Shirley

Nissan SCOPE Master

Central Avenue Nissan, Inc.

Yonkers, NY

Second-generation technician Donovan Shirley followed his father’s example when he started repairing cars in Jamaica. “As a technician there, I worked mostly on Japanese cars,” stated Nissan SCOPE Master Technician Donovan Shirley.

Donovan and his wife moved to New York in 1994. In addition to watching his twin girls grow up, Donovan enjoys watching football, basketball and baseball.

Shirley’s journey to be one of the best started in Jamaica when he learned how to diagnose and repair vehicles by attending a technical school and then an automotive school.

Donovan prefers solving electrical problems and is very good at using technical information to repair vehicles — and believes in the importance of sharing best practices. When another technician spent three weeks trying to repair an electrical problem on the CAN without success, Donovan explained how to track down the problem. In addition to absorbing everything the instructors have taught him at the technician training center classes, Donovan learned a few tricks about diagnosing CAN lines while working at the Chrysler dealership.

Donovan Shirley worked on Chrysler and then Infiniti vehicles before leaving for the Nissan dealership in Yonkers.

Eric Eshelman

Nissan SCOPE Master

Nissan of Newport News

Newport News, VA

Eric Eshelman took classes in Washington, D.C., Texas, Tennessee, Ohio and Illinois and trained online to become SCOPE Master. Eric said, “When I first started here, we had to go to D.C. for training — and there was always a waiting list. After the new owners took over, they told me to get those classes no matter where I had to go.”

Travel is nothing new to Eric. His journey began in high school when he realized he liked working on cars. Eric worked in a junkyard until he joined the Army and became a helicopter mechanic. While in Germany with the military, Eric became certified in auto repair by taking a correspondence course. “The best thing about being in Germany was the travel,” Eshelman said. “I got to travel to many countries in Europe.”

After his discharge, Eric went to work in the Army’s auto craft shop, where he was assistant manager for seven years. Eric also enjoyed the Army car club in Germany where they participated in car shows, drag racing and just helped each other work on their cars.

Returning to Virginia five and a half years ago, Eshelman walked into the Nissan dealership and was hired on the spot. “The shop closes at 5:30 p.m., but most nights I’m here till 7,” said Eric. “In fact, working is my hobby,” Eric said. “Tonight, I’m putting the secondary chain tensioner back on a ‘05 Pathfinder to get our customer back on the road.”

Eric and his wife have a daughter in college and a son in high school who is interested in studying robotics.

Gabriel Nava

Nissan SCOPE Master

Nissan of Visalia

Visalia, CA

“Since I was a kid, I always liked cars and still do,” stated SCOPE Master Technician Gabriel Nava. “Being with Dad as he repaired things always made me wonder, ‘How does he know how things work?’” Gabriel said. “The answer is that you had to crack open a book.”

Gabriel started changing oil at a Toyota dealership before enrolling in the SMOG program at the Sequoia Institute in Fremont. After graduation, Gabriel began applying at the local dealerships and six weeks later began working at the Nissan dealership. Gabriel wrenches on the entire car bumper to bumper, but enjoys electrical repairs the most because they require a lot of thought. Electrical repairs were the most intimidating when he started working as a tech, but now they are his specialty. His mottos are, “Never pay another man to fix something and never tell me that I can’t do it.”

Nava is married and has a 2-year old son. He likes off-roading, working out and eating. Gabriel lost 60 pounds by exercising daily. His workout includes at least one hour of cardio and some toning of his other muscles.

Gabriel recently downloaded the website for the TECHTALK magazine and can now read the electronic publication on his smartphone.

Johnathan Webb

Nissan SCOPE Master

Pete Mankins, Inc.

Texarkana, TX

SCOPE Master Technician Johnathan Webb always knew he wanted to work on cars. Inspired by watching his dad tinkering on his truck, and then by his drag racing buddies, Johnathan attended UTI to learn how to repair vehicles.

After graduating UTI, Jonathan attended the Mercedes Benz program and became a Master Certified Mercedes Benz Technician in 2008. He continued hitting the books and getting practical experience in auto repair and soon became ASE-certified about the same time that he became a SCOPE Master Technician. “It took lots of patience and hard work,” Webb said.

A 2007 Shelby GT 500 was the first major purchase Jonathan made after he started making some money following high school. Johnathan’s fiancée enjoys the drag racing lifestyle and accompanies him to the races. Webb races at the Shreveport track and generally runs 9.80 in a quarter mile.

Besides spending a lot of time at work, drag racing and preparing for his upcoming wedding, Johnathan enjoys going to the shooting range. “Shooting is getting pretty expensive — but it’s fun,” he said.

Joe Sundermann

Nissan SCOPE Master

Miller Lincoln-Mercury-Nissan

Saint Cloud, MN

“Some guys tinker with cars at home — but when I go home, I do other stuff,” said SCOPE Master Technician Joe Sundermann. “I do lots of family camping and fishing. We have group ice fishing and take the kids out to play on the ice. I take the snowmobile out once in a while and let them ride it. We have a good time. Catching fish is just a bonus.”

Joe’s fish house has four bunks. “Depending on how comfortable you want to be, we can sleep four or five people in it,” he said. “The fish house doubles as a camper in the summer.”

Sundermann took his primary automotive training at the local college. “I’ve always been kind of a hands-on sort of a guy, and I wanted to work on cars,” he explained. After college, Joe started as an intern at Miller Lincoln-Mercury-Nissan.

“They told me that I would be working on the Lincoln-Mercury vehicles,” said Joe. “And then one of the Nissan technicians left and they asked me to work on the Nissans. At that time, I didn’t even know which model was which without looking at the nameplate on the car. But I’ve always been told to know your product, so I went to all the Nissan training.”

Joe learned the product very well and attained SCOPE Master Technician status.

“I went to school with some guys who watched ‘The Fast and the Furious’ too many times,” said Joe. “And repairing cars really isn’t like that. Most of the repairs are not that difficult. Now and then you get a goofy wiring issue, but most of the time it turns out to be something simple that someone overlooked.”

Kyle Oestreich

Nissan SCOPE Master

Bob Richards Nissan

Beech Island, SC

Kyle Oestreich repaired his car for a high school project and wrote a paper on drifting. Kyle doesn’t use the drifting technique in everyday driving because it’s hard on the tires, and he doesn’t want to mess up his G35. Kyle plans to purchase a G37 in the future.

“I’ve always been into fixing things and seeing how things work,” SCOPE Master Technician Oestreich said. Kyle considered going to school for engineering but decided to combine his love for “figuring out how things work” and his passion for repairing his vehicle into one career path.

Kyle enrolled at UTI, which gave him a big jump on the knowledge needed to become SCOPE Master. Kyle never stopped learning “how things work” and coaxed his manager into sending him to all of the training he could. All that training, in addition to fixing things right the first time for his customers, paid off when Kyle passed his ASE L1 Advanced Engine performance Specialist test on the first attempt.

Kyle spends most of his spare time hanging out with his fiancée and a mixed breed rescue dog that looks like a yellow lab. Kyle travels to Wisconsin every year, usually in July, to visit his dad.

Rick Cannistra

Nissan SCOPE Master

Pat Fischer Nissan

Titusville, FL

Rick Cannistra’s automotive career began in central New York state, took him to Michigan and then to Florida, where he currently resides with his wife and teenage daughter. “The business has treated me well,” said Rick. “If you like working with your hands and are willing to work hard, it can take you where you want to go. But you have to work hard.”

Rick started working for a VW/Porsche/Audi dealership after attaining his degree in automotive and heavy equipment technology and ASE Master Technician Certification. He moved to Michigan in 1999 and worked for GM’s Technical Assistance Center. One cold winter day in Michigan, Rick went to Florida on vacation and decided to stay.

The Florida weather agreed with Rick’s hobbies of racing stock cars and riding motorcycles. “I’ve owned everything from a Goldwing to a GSXR,” he said.

Rick worked at the Chevrolet/Nissan dealership, getting familiar with Nissan products while working primarily on Chevrolets. When Chevrolet pulled the franchise, Rick moved over to work exclusively on Nissan vehicles. “Some of the car knowledge was compatible,” he said, “but I took every Nissan course I could.”

When asked about a typical day in the dealership, Rick said, “I might be changing a complete frame in a Pathfinder that got rear-ended, and then 10 minutes later I’m programming a key.”

Steve Norwood

Infiniti KEI Master

Bradshaw Infiniti

Greenville, SC

KEI Master Technician Steve Norwood doesn’t like to sell his cars. Steve’s everyday vehicle is a 1977 Grand Prix with a 400 CID engine and 371,000 miles.

“I just hate to change vehicles,” said Steve Norwood.

The 1969 Pontiac GTO Steve bought in 1972 didn’t leave his possession until 1993. “It had 31,000 miles on it when I bought it in 1972, and I drove it every day for four years before turning it into a drag car,” said Steve. “I raced that car every weekend for 11 years and was in the bracket finals for five years. It was fun. The guy who bought that 1969 GTO drag car turned it back into a street car.”

That 1969 GTO changed Steve’s life. In those days he laid wood floors, but became a technician because he loved muscle cars. After working at Sears, Steve repaired used cars at a Nissan retailer and then became a Mitsubishi Master Technician.

Steve switched to Infiniti because he prefers rear wheel drive. “I’m old school and don’t even have a cell phone,” he said. “Infiniti has a lot of rear wheel drive vehicles and they are the closest thing to old school hot rodding that first got me into cars. Infiniti has incredibly powerful engineering and powerful vehicles.”

In addition to collecting cars, Steve collects HO-model trains. “My grandfather got me into trains when I was about 5 years old,” he said. “They stay in their boxes and don’t eat anything.”

Bryan Russell

Nissan SCOPE Master

Brown’s Fairfax Nissan

Fairfax, VA

This Nissan Master Tech knew that being an automotive technician was a good fit for him while taking auto tech classes in high school. UTI graduate Bryan Russell joined Nissan in 2008 after the family’s VW dealership closed. Russell says it was the best thing that could have happened.

Russell enjoys working with engine controls/drivability systems. He likes the challenge involved in diagnosing and repairing engine control issues. “You never know what you are going to run into when working with engine controls,” said Bryan, “and that’s why I enjoy it so much.”

When not at Brown’s Fairfax Nissan, Russell enjoys amateur auto racing on the NHRA circuit and camping with his wife.

Steve Fischer

Nissan SCOPE Master

Anchor Nissan

North Smithfield, RI

Steve Fischer, a 30-year automotive technician veteran, says his foundation as a second-generation service station owner has helped him excel in his nine-year career with Nissan. Fischer uses C-III plus every day. “Ever since the latest update, the tool is more user friendly,” he said. “It’s a great tool”.

TECH LINE helps make the job of working on Nissans much easier, which is why Fischer calls TECH LINE four to five times a week. He likes the fact that he can call TECH LINE to find out what other Nissan technicians are seeing. “TECH LINE usually gets me on the right track,” he said.

The Fischer family is truly a Nissan family with two Infiniti vehicles and one Nissan in the driveway.

Joe Hartman

Nissan SCOPE Master

Wesley Chapel Nissan

Wesley Chapel, FL

Every day is different, and you never know what is waiting for you when you arrive at the dealership in the morning. That’s what drives Joe Hartman to show up for work every day.

Joe enjoys drivability work the most. “It’s challenging, and you get satisfaction and a good feeling when getting the job done,” he said.

Joe, who uses C-III plus every day, says he couldn’t fix vehicles without it. “The tool is parked at my bench,” he said. Hartman also uses TECH LINE frequently. “They always send me in the right direction,” he said.

Joe enjoys spending time with his wife and two kids. He also likes to watch any kind of sports and fix up his house.

Stewart Blaine

Infiniti KEI Master

Infiniti of Dayton

Centerville, OH

Stewart Blaine, a nine-year Infiniti Master Technician, enjoys any type of electrical system work. “I like the challenge and finding something new to learn,” he said.

Blaine says, “C-III plus has improved significantly with the recent updates.” ”It’s a very versatile tool, and I use it every day because it helps me fix cars faster,” he said. “It’s a big time saver.”

Every day, Blaine looks forward to his job because he always learns something new. Something different is always happening at the dealership, and he gets along with everyone there.

Blaine is single and enjoys rebuilding antique scooters, working with his hands and taking things apart.

Larry Matthews

Nissan SCOPE Master

Premier Nissan Inc.

Paris, TN

While working in Oklahoma City as a heavy truck mechanic in 2000, Larry Matthews asked his brother for advice on purchasing a new car. Larry’s brother, who was working at Premier Nissan, found a 1995 Maxima. Larry drove from Oklahoma City to Premier Nissan. He liked the car and the dealership so much that he soon moved from Oklahoma City to work with his brother at Premier Nissan. Larry enjoys working at the dealership because he faces a different repair challenge every day.

TECH LINE has always been one of his valued resources. “They always give me good information and direction,” he said. Larry would like to work at TECH LINE someday helping other technicians.

Larry is a very proud and active member of the Moose Lodge. He enjoys spending time with his wife, three children, three step-children and nine grandchildren.