APOSHIAN GARAGE HAS BEEN LIVELIHOOD FOR FOUR GENERATIONS
By Mike Gorrell
Salt Lake Tribune
Jan 21 2010
Utah
The Aposhian family has been repairing cars for four… (Rick Egan /
The Salt Lake Tribune)Â"12Â"In 1940, people told Armenian immigrant
George Aposhian he was out of his mind moving his full-service garage
from Sugar House to its present location just east of Highland Drive
on 3300 South.
That was country back then. The street car that ran along Highland
Drive had its terminus at 33rd, which was not even paved at the time.
"Now we’re not even in the center of the valley," marveled his
grandson, Rick, who runs the garage that has provided work for four
generations of Aposhians.
The garage’s tow truck is driven these days by his 75-year-old father,
Richard, who has spent the past 62 years with the company "on almost
a daily basis, except for his military service," Aposhian said.
Rick’s sister,
Jason, from left, Richard, Rick, Doug, Eileen and Holly Aposhian at
their shop in Salt Lake City. (Rick Egan / The Salt Lake Tribune)Eileen
Freeman, and daughter Holly keep watch over the office, while brother
Doug is the main technician. "He’s the brains behind the shop,"
Aposhian said.
In his youth, Aposhian’s son Jason said he wanted little to do with
the maintenance and repair business. But eventually he came to realize
that "this is not a bad business," Aposhian said. "He’s been with us
for eight years now."
And Aposhian? "I’ve got the life sentence," he quipped, starting in
1974 as a teenager.
Today’s vehicle maintenance and repair business hardly resembles the
industry Aposhian entered.
"I don’t know of another business that technology has changed so
much over the past 30 years," he said. "It’s gone from a greasy,
broken-knuckle
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business to one that is extremely computer- and electronics-driven.
"It’s absolutely staggering how emission, ignition and fuel systems
are completely different than they used to be. It’s not even the
same business."
Although he sometimes shares nostalgic feelings about the mechanic
trade of his youth, Aposhian prefers the modern approach to car
repairs.
"It may be a little more satisfying to diagnose issues and make
them right."
The Aposhian clan puts its collective vehicle knowledge to work outside
of the garage, as well, having established themselves as fixtures at
Rocky Mountain Raceway in West Valley City.
For a decade, the garage has entered a race car in the modified
division. Jason Aposhian is the sole driver, now that Gary Madsen
has retired after recording three championships.
"Jason has come along well and is trying to accomplish the same thing,"
his dad said.
It’s not always easy to devote a weekend to working on a car after
spending the workweek doing the same, but Aposhian feels right at
home among the raceway crowd.
"It’s a natural fit," he said. "There’s a lot of garage and
machine-shop owners out there, so there’s camaraderie in that."
Naturally, winning is sweet. "It’s satisfying to build something and
make it go fast," Aposhian said, adding a fear of failure also serves
as a strong motivating force.
"We take a lot of pride in not having a race car break down over
things we preach to our customers about every day."
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
