What do you see as the current trends?

You joined in 2005 and you have 3 post's and no intro..... you do need to try harder....

 

Hey guys! Thank every body for the advise, and I do respect your opinions, but let me make something clear for those just jumping in to this. This shop I speak of has not "failed", It has like most businesses slowed considerably, and the owner has had some serious health concerns in the last five years that has kept him from updating his current product. The lights are still on, a crew still employed, and orders still filled. Just not enough for the owner to justify the pain of going forward personally. He is looking at me as a possible business manager to re-vamp this thing and bring it back to a reasonable level of profitability. In the short term, I think I know where to go with this. Much like the cheapest way to make an old '70's street rod cool is to backdate it, I think I can do that with this business. That end is covered, and since I have done this sort of thing in other industries before, I think my aim is reasonable. What I still need to fill in the blanks with is what comes next out there?What are you wanting to build in the next five years that isn't necessarily a traditional car? It's okay if it involves bell bottoms and slot mags (sling - backs?), your answers will go no farther than me! (Oh, and the other twenty thousand of us or so... O.k. no confidentiality!!!)

 

I'd give up while your behind..

 

Oh, there are going to be some serious policy changes. Trust me.

 

And speaking of johhnytrendies I skimmed your lame-o-blog...

Hitting a little close to home am I... I wish I could say I'm sorry about that...

 

What would I like to build in the next 5 years? A '56 Crown Vic gasser with a blown 427 SOHC motor, 5 speed & straight axle, an early '60s VW bus with a 1970 El Dorado 500 c.i.d. motor and transaxle in the back, I could go on and on. Sure I sound kinda strange, probably because I am. Traditional rods are always going to be popular, but the "out of the box" stuff will have people asking "Where the hell did you get that?" The economy will come back, it always does, and people will want to build again. You sound like you have the business end down solid, at that's half the battle. I say go for it. And for the purists who say "cut up a '56 Crown Victoria?" I hope you puke your latte through your nose.

 

Dude, your retardulous.

 

Be carefull the next 18 months the common guy is not going to have the BUCK'S you need more than friends for customer'

 

I think you're getting to the heart of the matter in the last few lines of this post. Building to the current trends will pay the bills; nailing the future trend will make you very rich. Unfortunately, who knows what the hell that is. There always has to be potential for applying new technology to this old hobby. Look what CNC machining did when it went mainstream. Then there's the fear I have - that the EPA will grab our hobby by the balls and squeeze hard. Someday there will be big $$ in making hotrods emissions friendly.....just an idea.

 

Stick with traditional, Fads and the next fashion are just that. Bad ass will always be bad ass. Just get a feel for your customers. Be inovative yet traditional. Oh I like paint as well.

 

i think you know your stuff and itll work for you.
as far as trends go, and this was touched on earlier, theres a tv trend going on and theres a gap where coddington was............just sayin....

 

just some input from a young guy...but

How about casting parts again? Casting was the thing back in the day but has been subsided by CNC. CNC produces stuff, casting CREATES stuff. Cast parts look cool and with modern technology can be done relatively cheaply. How about casting old looking parts for modern parts? Like cast an aluminum manifold for EFI that looks old school.

Like Henry J said, you have to watch what the gov't wants to do to us. Cali legislature wants everything EFI, so maybe look into that? I know its been done before, but in the future it might become a necessity rather than a desire?

 

Gassers seem to be fairly popular, so does "THE DOUBLE R WORD" and Traditional Rods will always be popular.

 

I know I'll get flamed for this, but the first thing you want to do is get noticed, correct? You want people to see that something new is afoot. I'm telling you from experience that the first thing you need to do is buy an old van, make it badass, and put the company logo on it.

Vans are drawing attention a lot lately. If they weren't, the media wouldnt be using them as much as they do. Stride Gum, Vonage and Priceline.com are all using customized vans to catch attention, and it's working. The old vans that were fetching 1500 bucks a couple years ago are now selling like crazy for 3500 to 8 grand. Even Foose has done a couple of them.

Even though so many people hate them, a cool one catches people's attention, because you dont see them every day.

I know you have other ideas tthat you'd rather do with the money, but you certainly wont invest in any better advertising to get noticed. As big as a billboard, but people can see it everywhere in town, it's in their face. I've heard it said that a business without a sign is a sign of no business. Why not one that people can see everywhere? Plus it'll be a fun (and different) build.

Good luck with the business.

 

Making money on trends is similar to surfing. There is a sweet spot in the wave where things work. You get too far out in front and you might be a trend-setter, but unless you're really smart others are making the money. Get too far behind and your business is about saving costs to create margin--not a way to make money in a small market.

If you can both create a trend and capitalize on that trend, you can do extremely well. Think Steve Jobs and the Apple iPod.

After several days of checking in on this thread its no longer clear to me if you have an opportunity to outright buy this business, or if the opportunity is a job working for the current owner, or something in between.

In any case you were asked an interview question to help the current owner decide if you are the right person to take over.

Rather than speak to trends in the hot rod industry, I think you should recast the question and work on sharing a strategic vision for the company. Those may sound like board room words that are out of place in a fabrication shop, but reading between the lines I think the owner has reached the point where he has lost his vision for the company. He is looking for someone who can articulate a vision to take his company forward. When he asked you about trends he really wanted to know where you saw his company going in the future.

If you have a strategic vision that advances the company out of its current crisis and sets it up for the economic recovery we all hope is coming, you'll be the guy he wants leading the company, and he'll deal with you in a way that sets you up to succeed. And that could make it a great opportunity for you.

Or I could be completely misreading the whole deal.

 

heck..sell and install air bags ....sure is not traditional...although you might make a few bucks on labor.. everyone from merc owners to honda owners want em.the tail draggers of the 50's were just that tail draggers not grill scrapers ....but so many people seem to be into em'...
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You can't always anticipate trends... thirty years ago I drove wagons and was building a traditional car that everyone (myself included) called the odd rod... a few months ago it sat on the show field between the SoCal and Pierson Bro's coupes... point is - if you supply a service with a good reputation, fair price, and have good communication skills you will be able to build from your established customer base... advertising under new management will give you the latitude to expand in the direction that focuses on your talent... if you focus is drastically differant than the previous owners - start out on your own

 

Ok, I'll go out on a limb with a trend prediction. April edition of R&D is out, and the catch phrase for the centerfold car is "Tradition Meets Innovation" Craftsmanship that benefits from the last 60 years of hot rodding development. A standard of workmanship created by a hobby developing into an industry. the maturation of what Little John Buttera started 30 years ago.

 

Sorry, I've got a seriously O/T motor in my rig. loaded up with weber down-drafts. kinda looks like a pipe-organ.

 

FED's Slingshot dragsters

 

Can you move to Minnesota and be my new boss?

 

red steelies are the new billet.

 

perhaps, since this business has been advertised at the national level, and i presume you want it to compete at that level again you might consider going to the people who might have the info you need.
i,m speaking of the guys who really see the build trends first hand. try contacting the NSRA, goodguys, the kkoa, the koa and anybody else that puts on shows and events for profit. these guys should be able to tell you what is being built and wether there is a significant number of new or revamped cars showing up at their events.

perhaps you should try attending local events also, if the company has had success in the past, selling to the local rodders. they will surely tell you if there is a need for the current prodict line.

also check on your precieved competitors. check publications to see if their ads have gotten larger or smaller or changed in frequency.
maybe pick up the phone and call companys located in another state and ask them about their product line. you'll probably be suprised at the response you will get.


another thing to consider if you decide too take on this task is to thoroughly analyize the sales figures for the last couple of years. since this company has peaked already, it might do you well to concentrate on top sellers and eliminate enventory that has sat on the shelves for months.

a very serious, and difficult thing that will need to be addressed is productivity versus payroll. nobody wants to have to lay anyone off but sometimes its a reality.

once you have an idea where the state of the hobby is , and an idea that the business can remain profitable with a few changes, you might then be able to add new product and redirect some of your sales into new markets.

i know its way more complicated than that. those are just a few things to look at.
whatever you decide, i wish you the best of luck and great success.

 

Cool! What motor is that? Got more pix?