World Class Wednesday: Kyle Gilbert: The Benefits of Bi-Directional Controls

Earning the title of Automotive Service Excellence World-Class Technician is no small accomplishment. To be recognized as World-Class, these individuals have obtained ASE certification in 22 specialty areas: A1-A8 (automotive), T1-T8 (medium/heavy truck), B2-B5 (collision repair), and L1-L2 (advanced).

Not only is achieving certification in these areas impressive, but as of 2026, only 2,000 technicians have achieved World Class status.

In this Q&A, Motor Age sat down with Kyle Gilbert—an ASE World Class fleet technical advisor at Kenworth in Janesville, Wisconsin—to learn more about his journey in the automotive industry and how gaining World-Class status helped advance his career.

Motor Age: Please introduce yourself and tell us about your experience in the automotive industry.

Gilbert: As a kid, I would go with my dad to the racetrack, and that's where the automotive stuff started. In high school, we had a Co-Op program, so I did that during my junior and senior years. From there, I worked at a couple of different shops and then slowly worked on my associate's degree in automotive. I got that, worked for a couple more years at a couple of shops, and then I ended up going back to school.

I went to Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, for their automotive program. And then Cummins hired me right out of there. So I moved to Indiana, worked for them for four years in a couple of different roles, and then worked for another company called Autocar truck manufacturer as a field service technician.

I got promoted to a regional service manager for them. So I did that for six years, and then I got an opportunity to come over here to Kenworth to do training, and I did that for three years. Now, in my new role, I am the fleet technical advisor for the whole company. 

Motor Age: What's the most memorable repair you've ever completed?   

Gilbert: I don't know that I can pick one. For the last 10-15 years, by the time I'm involved in a repair, the fleet through the trucking company has tried to fix it.

They send it to the dealer, and the dealer struggles with it. And that's when they would call me, and I would get on an airplane and go fix the truck. So, I've put out too many dumpster fires over; I can't remember which has been the most memorable.

Motor Age: Tell us one thing about you that we can't guess from your certifications.  

Gilbert: I'm a licensed race car driver, not professionally, but I have a license that says I know what I'm doing. That's awesome. I race with the Sports Car Club of America.

What automotive technology trend are you most excited about/ most concerned about?     

Gilbert: A lot of what I deal with in the trucking industry is multiplexing. There are a lot of people I encounter who don't understand the system.

They don't know how it works, or maybe they don't understand the depth of the system and how involved all of the modules on a vehicle are now. So I would say definitely multiplex. 

Now that I understand how the system works and how to troubleshoot it, I think it's great. I can use bidirectional controls on a laptop to control 75% of the things on the truck, and that makes my diagnostics easier.

Motor Age: How has ASE certification helped advance your career?  

Gilbert: It's a good challenge, and it means something to people outside of the technician world. They don't know what we deal with every day, day in and day out. But if we have our certification, that can give them peace of mind,