A team from Maui High School placed fifth in the 2008 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Finals held last week at Ford Motor Co. headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.

Maui High teams have been representing Hawai'i at the national finals for 15 years, placing in the top 10 for the last eight years and winning national titles in 1995 and 2000. This year's team members are: 2008 graduate Loue Valdez, 18, and senior Rodney Gazman, 16. Their instructor is Neill Nakamura, who is retiring following a long automotive technology teaching career.

The national finals consist of two parts, a written exam and a timed hands-on competition during which teams race to find and repair deliberately placed "bug" in a Ford Focus.

Valdez and Gazman will receive a trophy and more than $32,000 in scholarship offers. The top three winners in the national auto skills contest were Wisconsin, Maryland and North Dakota.