The Warwick Area Career and Technical Center (WACTC) is the new owner of a 2023 Lincoln Aviator, which will be used  teach students in their Automotive Technology classes.

WACTC is one of three schools in the state to receive a car from Tasca Ford in Cranston, who donated the Aviator- worth $80,000- in order to help the school’s program. The car was in a flooded area, according to teacher David Tibbets, leading Tasca to donate the vehicle...

According to Tibbets, the school first learned that they would receive the car in the fall. The school visited Tasca’s facilities at around that time, which he said was an incredible experience.

“On our advisory committee, we always mention that we’re always looking for donations, we always need new technology,” Tibbets said. “It takes some time.”

WACTC Director Tim Kane credited the Career and Tech Center’s relationship with Tasca for the donation, pointing out a couple of Tasca employees in attendance at Friday’s presentation who are former WACTC students.

Donating the car for students to be able to work on a more modern system, Kane said, shows students the opportunities that they could have in the automotive field.

“Tasca has been partners with the Career Center here for years,” Kane said. “It’s not just a money thing; it’s not just a property thing. They sit on our advisory board;, they let us know if something’s going on in their business that needs to translate to students if the field’s going a certain way. They’ve been an integral partner.”

Teachers will be able to program specific problems into the car for students to diagnose and fix. The value of that for learning, Tibbets said, was incredible, and Kane described it as “a real treat.”

“It’s a very high-tech car, very sophisticated, the electronic systems in it are basically state-of-the-art,” Tibbets said.

Tibbets said that students will be able to work on the car for a long time, pointing out that some of the cars students work on  back to the early 2000s.

In attendance Friday were Mayor Frank Picozzi, Assistant Superintendent Bill McCaffrey and three members of the Warwick School Committee, Vice Chair Leah Hazelwood, David Testa and Michelle Kirby-Chapman.

The curriculum for Tibbets’ class at the ceremony will consist mostly of learning about brake systems, meaning that the car won’t see too much use, though he said he’ll “trickle [it] into the curriculum.”

Having a modern car to be able to examine, though, is something that Tibbets and Kane said will be invaluable to students looking to become auto mechanics in the future. 

“These kids are going to get to work on the most current technology that’s out there,” Kane said. “I can’t say enough about this.”