Performance Automatic now has a Smart Pack transmission kit that provides users with all of the odds and ends they need to finish a project. They offer personalized customer service and great warranties, along with a generally great product.
Can’t watch the video? Read the transcription below:
“Performance Automatic started in 1983 as a general transmission repair shop, lifts, mini vans, Ford Taurus’, and the owner was a real big Ford fan. So he was building some real big C4 race transmissions for a lot of the local guys and then it started to develop, he started building some of his own products, valve bodies and things like that, for these Ford racing transmissions. I came on board in 1993, just as the 5-0, Ford Mustang 5-0 market was really starting to explode so the street performance and the race performance really started to grow. So we found our niche in the Ford racing transmissions and then we got so busy with that we kind of started phasing out the mom and dad minivan market and started focusing just on manufacturing, after market, street performance transmissions for the Mustang.
As that market hit its high we were busy and we weren’t really doing anymore GM, but as the racing market and the economy started to change a little bit, more guys were going into the street rod stuff. So we started and developed Ford street smart packages, which are complete transmissions, torque converter packages, from the start and then as they gained popularity, the Chevy guys say, “Hey. Nobody’s selling us complete kits, why don’t you do some Chevy Kits?” So we started doing some Chevy kits and we have some Chrysler kits and then we went from doing a lot of three speed transmissions into the over drives and then from over drives into the electronic over drives, and now, we are all the way into doing six speed transmissions. We get a lot of feedback from the racers, but more than the racer only, the enthusiast. And now they want electronic five speed and six speed transmissions that have lock up just like they get their normal everyday driver that’s what they want to get into their baby, their performance car, their muscle car. The smart pack, everyone has a choice, of the type of transmission or the people they want to buy their product from.
Our products complement the other manufacturer’s product providing the end user with everything they need to complete the project. If they don’t supply it to them, they need the product and we have a good enough reputation in the business that even if they don’t have our transmission, they know we are going to provide them with the finishing kit to finish their project easily and correctly. It doesn’t matter if he buys a transmission from Performance Automatic, if he gets a used transmission out of a junkyard, he buys a transmission from a local shop, gets one from his buddy. It doesn’t matter where that transmission came from, who built it or whatever. He’s got it, his transmission and converter, our smart pack will supply him the dip stick, the mounting hardware, the nuts, all of the pieces he doesn’t have are going to be in one box ready to go. A lot of times people buy these transmissions and they are thinking it’s going to go right back in the vehicle.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that they buy a transmission, the transmission is complete. But if it needs a tv cable or an engine controller, all those pieces aren’t included. They are assuming that you already have a dip stick to put it in, while we are assuming all you have is the transmission and torque converter and you need the nuts, you need the bolts, you don’t have fluid, you don’t have a dipstick or controller or tv cable or you know any of these other pieces that you need so if you need them we sell them all to you in one package deal. I think the reason that people are drawn towards Performance Automatic is one, our customer service and our information provides a lot to customers that is common knowledge but we give them all the information so they have all the facts. We know the product; we have people that are racers answering the phone, guys with street rods. We go to the Goodguys Events and the NSRA events and the races.
Warranty is very important to us so all of our warranties are better than everybody else’s. Where other companies offer 30, 60, 90 day warranties we offer 1 year, 2 year and lifetime warranties on a lot of our components, so our warranties stand out. When we get these customers, for example they buy a lifetime warranty street smart package, they are our customer forever, they’ve made and investment in our product and we are going to keep them around. So when they start another project, they have a friend that’s building a car, they come to us because they know that they are only going to have to spend their money one time and we are going to give them a great product, everything they need and they are only going to have to buy it one time. When you have customers, and I’ve had customers that I’ve known for the whole 21 years I’ve been at the company, I’ve sold them three speed race car transmissions, they converted their race car to a speed car so I sold them a replacement transmission that came in that car originally, they started being more involved so now they are driving the car on the highway, so now I sold them an overdrive transmission, then they’ve stepped up and they’ve added fuel injection and a new create engine to their combination so now they want an electronic transmission so I’ve kept the customer and gone through all the stages with them, which makes it real good and they sold their transmission to their buddy who is just a level below them with their project and its funny because I’ll look on the internet for used car parts and look up transmissions and Performance Automatic transmission does have a definite residual value on there which is nice to see because you know people are buying them, they know that even though the lifetime warranty only went to the original owner, if it was a good enough product to offer a lifetime warranty, that was the best available at the time the product was built so it is worth something to buy. Because we were banking on building a product that wasn’t going to break. Someone was fortunate enough to find one used at a value so they are confident that it’s not going to break for them. Automatic vs. manual, when you look at the demographic of the customer and the technology behind the new electronic transmissions you can still have the options, I mean all of our electronic transmissions with our controllers have the options of adding a paddle shift so they can get that manual feel. And the transmissions, since they are computer operated and you have control and you can set it they are very fast, sometimes faster than someone can shift a transmission. Going back also, a lot of our customers are street rodders, who are very performance oriented; some of those guys aren’t getting any younger so pushing a clutch pedal in and out is and extra chore for them, but going with the modern day 4, 5, and 6 speed transmissions, still gives them that feel of shifting gears. So a lot of them are going towards automatic transmissions because it’s faster, it takes the error out of trying to shift a transmission, it’s easier on the body, its more consistent, you can’t make any mistakes and then since a lot of these cars are dual purpose, it makes it easier for them to drive it around when they are doing the cars and coffee on Sunday morning. They want to hold their cup of coffee in their hand, well you can’t hold your cup of coffee in your hand and shift at the same time, but you can hold your cup of coffee in your hand and shift into drive. In my opinion, and in my customers’, they tell me an automatic with the setup for performance with all the new modern day technology that goes behind it is a lot more versatile than a manual transmission. We have a great website, performanceautomatic.com. If you call our shop we have people that pick up, a computer doesn’t pick up the phone, people pick up the phone and then we can refer you to one of our great dealers and you can get our products anytime they want, any place they want, all over the world.”
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