Another one bites the dust - Performance Products/Automotion Sold to 4WD Company!

[Wayne 962]

This is pretty big news for the Porsche community. Performance Products / Automotion has been sold to an investment company that holds many different assests. The only other automotive business in their portfolio is www.4wd.com, a 4-Wheel Drive seller of parts and accessories for Jeeps. Their headquarters is now officially located in Ohio.

Pelican Parts is proud of the growth and prosperity that we have achieved over the past five years. Despite our recent expansion into BMW and other markets with DriveWerks, Pelican is first and foremost a Porsche house. I think that we have proven that over the past few years with the release of the two 911 Porsche books (and future book, the topics of which are top-secret).

We look forward to the future (we have exciting things planned, like many different Porsche wizards that will guide you the repair/modify processes). Due to popular demand, we're expanding our offerings in the tools section to more than 4,000 products! I've recently hired a Porsche specialist to search for and hunt down the latest and greatest Porsche products to add to our catalog on a timely basis. Needless to say, Pelican is dedicated firmly to the Porsche market and looks forward to helping you restore and modify your "baby."

Your faithful servants,

Wayne (and Tom)

[blau911]

Wayne,
Did you buy the 68L?

[Dantilla]

Four-Wheel Drive Hardware is a good company. I have ordered from them. (Hey, guys, just as a Porsche is the best thing on pavement, a Jeep is the best for off pavement duty).

One thing I like is that you guys are Porsche freaks. For the 4wd guys to go into other markets seems to dilute the pride in the company. I liked Automotion when they were independant, but not after they were sold. (Wayne, that's before I knew about PP). It's a free country, one filled with opportunity, and I wish them well, but I like buying Jeep parts from Jeep guys.

[Wayne 962]

I didn't buy the 911L yet - my neighbor uses this house as a vacation home - he came and went while I was up in Napa this past weekend. I'll take a closer look at it soon...

-Wayne

[Randy Webb]

Gee, this'll be great for my new Cayenne! Maybe I can get some carbon fiber cup holders!

Hey, Wayne, what's in the new book?

[B D]

I could care less, there service sucks. Pelican is the best!

Wayne I know you have the online and CD-rom catalog but are you ever going to have a printed copy? It nice to just browse through the catalog (on the sofa or say in the jon) and mark items you desire. I have marked many items in the Perf Prod catalog and then ordered them through Pelican.

[island911]

heh-heh. . ."carbon fiber cup holders."

new book? . . .didn't you read? . .there will be no . . uhm. . transmission of that information

[Fritz]

I admit I have bought from Automotion/Perf Prod in the past. I have also bought from Tweeks (long story abut that one), Paragon and Stoddards.

Without a doubt, Pelican has been the best!!!!!!!!

Great information, availability and service. Not one thing lacking.

I vote no, don't waste money on a printed catalog. Just keep doing what you are doing.

Thank you Wayne and everyone else at Pelican.

[Wayne 962]

Unfortunately, if I made and printed a catalog, I would have to either:

1 - sell it
2 - raise my prices to Performance Products' levels to pay for it.

Besides, we carry about 3-5 times more stuff than they do - it would never quite fit in a catalog...

-Wayne

[Halm]

Allow me to look at this from another angle. First, Performance is a nice operation. Maybe not as good as Pelican, but still a nice opration.

Second, investment companies don't typically buy a business to maintain status quo. They buy it because they see an opportunity to improve sales and profits and then sell it to make a solid ROI on their investment. Be assured that someone at the investment company has a plan. It may be a terrible plan, but they will have a plan.

Instead of writing them off, I would watch them even more carefully than in the past. I would be stunned if they simply wanted to live off the existing cash flow and allow the business to wind down.

[maxnine11]

i'm not sure of Performanc Products sales breakdown- % Porsche vs. % SUV 4x4. But, I would think that they were purchased mainly for their SUV-4x4 division (since it was bought by a 4x4 company)

[H.G.P.]

I like Pelican due to your COD payment option. (I do not know anything about P.P. payment options, nor their COD options etc.,. However a different supplier I called (not Pelican, or P.P), stated they would not COD an item which cost above 100$.) I hope any changes that occur by suppliers will still allow above
100$ CODs.

Very pleased with the products received so far by mail order. I usually go with Pelican first, unless a part needed is both expedient and local. Prices seem competitive also.

[slakjaw]

PP still allows COD???

[Wayne 962]

I hear that the 4x4 stuff is exactly true. Expect to see growth in Mercedes and also the truck stuff. The rumours I hear are that the Porsche side will be status quo with little additional investment.

Then again, I probably don't know what I'm talking about in this particular case...

-Wayne

[JMPRO]

I have suspected something like this was in the wind for several months now.
Jerry

[TimT]

Wayne,

consider the business model;

You have obviously built a succesful thriving business.

Investment groups, etc, look to buy succesful businesses, If you havent all ready been approached about "with an offer" Id be surprised.

At some point when the money is right you may divest yourself of Pelican....

Thats what PP and automotion did.. they cashed out....

It has been interesting to see how the newbies, players, wannabees, and stalwarts in the Porsche support market fall.

[Zeke]

Tweeks has had a couple of different owners since it started right here in Long Beach. Not sure that that has helped. You never know. Some people bought the best hambuger place around that took an hour to get a seat. It's now bankrupt.

[Alan Cottrill]

so no one is going to touch Island's transmission refrence?

[82SC]

a solution to the age old Pelican Catalog debate

ask perfromance products and tweek and AJ USA and VERTEX for catalogs...

sit infront of the computer with a catalog and use in conjunction with Pelican's great site...

I admit online catalogs leave something to be desired...I don't think they will ever fill the void of physically turning pages and looking at glossy photos...

Wayne keep the books coming, don't waste time and effort on a catalog

MJ

[Wayne 962]

Originally posted by TimT
Investment groups, etc, look to buy succesful businesses, If you havent all ready been approached about "with an offer" Id be surprised.

Be surprised then. I can honestly tell you that only one person has every phoned us with interest, and that was a misguided VC firm looking for something completely different.

Hmm, you know if I happened to sell out to a grander power, it might not be a bad thing. It would mean more time for me to write books. Perhaps start the whole thing over again, focusing on something else. There's too many ideas in my head to just sip Mai-Tais on the beach in Maui. Heck, just wait until you see the new and improved DriveWerks!

-Wayne