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I got an email from McKee’s 37 stating that they are moving back to the Autogeek building. They way it’s worded makes me think they are getting a lot more space than the current building. I know Bob McKee still owns the building. Just wondering what’s up. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...409f049a2a.jpg
Yes. I saw a post from AG saying they are in the process of building a new building a few miles north of the current location so it looks like Mckee`s 37 will be moving into the AG building.Quote:
Originally Posted by 01GreyStangGT
Off topic, but Mike Phillips is leaving Auto Geek.
not necessarily off-topic.....maybe Mike is going to work for McKees?Quote:
Originally Posted by Rsurfer
This is all crazy. I haven`t been on AGO for a couple years, thanks for posting this.
Of course, this could be more pre-ordained than it looks. Since the post mentions 5 years (has it really been that long?? Apparently so), it may be some of this was arranged at the time of the sale, since that seems like it could be a nominal lease or non-compete or employment contract interval.
I had similar thoughts but not sure this was all "pre-ordained". Don`t think Yancy and Mike both leaving around the same time after 5 years of new ownership would be planned andQuote:
Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy
non-competes start after employment ends. I guess we`ll just have to wait and see if, where and when Mike resurfaces.
Perhaps I worded that poorly. It could have been that a condition of sale was that Mike stay on for 5 years, or not go work doing something similar for 5 years, which would effectively keep him there for five years unless he wanted to go into a different line of work. Business sales frequently include agreements with key employees, in one direction or the other, and that could have included Yancy, also. Not like we`re going to find out, because I`m sure that was all NDA`d. I personally wouldn`t be surprised at all to see in the near future Mike still at home in the McKee`s 37 Showcar Garage, with Yancy taking videos of him.Quote:
Originally Posted by DonExelNA
Understood and agree. Best case scenario for us fans and followers of Mike Phillips would be for him to rejoin BoB Mckee at McKee`s37. I do remember Mike wanting to do more TV but that didn`t seem to go anywhere after the sale.Quote:
Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy
Sounds as if Autogeek moving has opened up a location for McKees. Maybe Bob owns the company that owns that particular lot and building.
I agree with Setec
There probably has been a lease that has run out as well as a employee contract for the transition that has timed out. Five year leases are common in business property.
AutoGeek has deep pockets since Tony George bought them last year. This could turn out to be interesting as he also has North American distributor rights for a couple of European product lines.
It says right in that M37 post that RME (Robert McKee Enterprises) owns the Autogeek building, but we knew that already.Quote:
Originally Posted by wannafbody
This whole story kind of reminds me of one I read in a business magazine years ago, where a guy started some sort of office supply or office equipment company, built it up into a very successful business, sold it, then the new owners ran it into the ground, and he bought it back for 20% of what he sold it for, and proceeded to build it back up to what it was.
This of course is different, but I thought when Bob/Max sold PBMG he was going to retire...now it seems like 5 years later he may be back in the same place doing the same thing under a different name. Hopefully none of this is going to mean any changes to Autopia.
Last year? It was 2016.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Ketcham
It`s my understanding that Yancy is heading to California to pursue a new adventure...Quote:
Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy
I was under the impression Yancy`s new job was non-automotive related too.
As for the physical building moves, it all seems pretty logical. PBMG decides they are going to move, either through a lease not being renewed or because they want a new/better/different facility. RME needs a tenant to fill the space. Another business group under the same owner sees the vacancy as an opportunity to get a bigger/better facility, so they move in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy
Makes you wonder what`s up behind the scenes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Desertnate
I remember a recent post of Mike`s in a thread where someone asked about chemical decontamination - he mentioned "I used to use iron remover, fallout removers before every wash. Then after Autogeek was sold to Vision Investments, out of the blue the fine print in the lease agreement that stated we could not wash cars outside started getting enforced, thus the reason you see me washing cars inside the garage, not outside."
I`ll just grab some popcorn and see what we learn. :D
As far as Autopia forum goes, this place couldn`t get much deader.
Yes it could, it could be like the Optimum forum.Quote:
Originally Posted by wannafbody
I wonder how many of us here came over from the old Autopia forum like I did.
Makes me wonder if Bob was concerned with staining of the blacktop or concrete.Quote:
Originally Posted by Oneheadlite
I did.Quote:
Originally Posted by Older
Um...isn`t this the old Autopia forum? I mean sure, this is a conglomeration of Detail City/Autopia Forums, Autopia.org, and Truth in Detailing...but it`s now/still Autopia.org...I mean it`s always been Autopia.org, the other forums got folded into this one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Older
EDIT...oh wait, maybe you`re right, maybe everything got folded into Autopia Forums, because my join date is from that, not my Autopia.org join date, which was 2004.
Isn`t most of the McKees, and PBMG stuff made by B+B blending in Denver?
What do you mean by "deader"???Quote:
Originally Posted by wannafbody
Is it the lack of car-care product manufacturer representatives/spoke`s person participation or the seemingly endless re-cycling of the same detailing topics over and over or my repetitious (Captain Obvious) questions, quotes, and links to very old (AKA obsolete or no-longer-pertinent) thread links??
Just curious... inquiring detailing minds want to know (See what I mean, Captain Obvious!)
Yes it was. Here`s the press release of that business transaction.Quote:
Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy
LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwired - November 02, 2016) - Vision Investments, LLC, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Palm Beach Motoring Group. PBMG stocks thousands of car care products on site from more than 150 companies including its own brands: Pinnacle Natural Brilliance, Pinnacle Black Label Collection, Wolfgang Concours Series, Speed Master, The Belt, BLACKFIRE, McKee`s 37, McKee`s RV, and Marine 31. The company provides quality products for distributors, detailing professionals and auto enthusiasts. PBMG has a family of websites including Autogeek.com and Autopia-carcare.com that are high transaction e-commerce sites and leading sources of instructional detailing guides, forums and videos.
The new entity will operate under Palm Beach Motoring Group and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Vision Investments. PBMG is a high growth company and has achieved great success in past years. Customers will continue to receive the same high quality products, excellent customer service and education which they have come to expect and value from PBMG.
Vision Investments owner Tony George first met PBMG owner Bob McKee at the SEMA Show in 2009. Their relationship has further strengthened through the years including Autogeek`s involvement with Ed Carpenter Racing during the 2016 season. "I`ve admired Bob`s ability to grow the business and build strong relationships throughout the industry. He`s built a quality organization made up of proud brand ambassadors." The timing of the acquisition was strategic for both parties; Mr. George was looking to grow his auto-related portfolio (Vision is the exclusive US importer of the German SONAX car care brand), and Mr. McKee was looking to transition out of a business owner role.
Mr. McKee will remain in the industry focusing on the continued development of the McKee`s 37 and McKee`s RV brands. Terry Angstadt has been appointed Managing Consultant of PBMG. "I`m looking forward to the further development of this group of brands and activities," said Mr. Angstadt. "There is a strong and experienced team in place including Meghan Poirier, Jason Sierra, Mike Phillips and Nick Rutter. There are exciting things going on at PBMG -- including the second season of their television series `Competition Ready.`" Mr. Angstadt`s background includes tenures at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as Vice President of Marketing and at INDYCAR as President of its commercial division. (End of press release)
Obviously, some business "things" have changed since then and are continuing to transpire before us.
There was a time when you`d check Autopia and there would be hundreds of members logged on. Not any more. It`s busy if 5 threads here are updated. Product discussion and arguing were the norm. The who made what for who threads created a sense of drama and intrigue. All the fun is gone. Vision Investments has no vision for this forum.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lonnie
Respectfully, "Vision" has nothing to do with the decline of this forum, or forums in general. Some of us gave up on this forum after David B sold it because of the IT mismanagement of the subsequent owners (some of us got nasty computer viruses from the forum), and because of the tone that was present during that ownership. Think of how many detailing forums there used to be, and how slow AGO is in comparison to what it once was, or MOL. All of these forums had slowed down well before the sale of PBMG.Quote:
Originally Posted by wannafbody
Maybe that is why the traffic is down because of that? I came here because of the quality and openness of the discussion and to specifically avoid all the drama and intrigue. If it devolves to that again, I`ll be gone.Quote:
Originally Posted by wannafbody
While I would enjoy more activity/traffic here, I`ll always trade quality for quantity.
Forums as whole are in decline as people move to other platforms. I know of other forums which were generating massive amounts of traffic 10 years ago and ghost towns with only a few die hard members. Everyone seems to have moved to Reddit or Facebook. Sad, because if nothing else the way forums are organized makes it easier to manage information and topics vs a more chaotic, unstructured format of the other platforms.
Most forums I`m on have slowed down a lot over the past few years. Social media, etc. have seemed to have become and alternate avenue. I`m relatively new to this forum and I`m thoroughly enjoying the amount of information and dedication to the artform.
I wasn`t aware of the virus thing. I left for a while so I wasn`t affected. All forums are a bit slower due to facebook popularity.Quote:
Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy
Boiling this thread down so far
PBMG (Auto Geek & Autopia) are moving to a new building they are building a few miles from their current location
Bob McKee (McKees 37) is moving into the building currently occupied by Auto Geek & Autopia and owned by Bob McKee
Mike Phillips is leaving Auto Geek (this is huge) I wonder where he is going?
Mike’s post from AG:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Phillips
I, personally, do not miss the drama , "she-said-he-said", and name calling detailing-moron-who-doesn`t-know-what-your`re-talking-about (Yes, that "moron-blah-blah-blah" would include myself, AKA Captain Obvious).Quote:
Originally Posted by wannafbody
I would hope that whoever owns and operates PBMG and hence, this Autopia Forum, would see fit to continue its existence and let those who oversee and manage this forum to continue it as-is. That is not to say that their cannot be improvements to the forum, but its current format and the rules governing it are extremely beneficial to detailers and their purchases of car-care products and equipment from PBMG, contributing to their business`s bottom line. It is a great marketing tool, in my opinion.
As I have stated many times, it is the forum members and their posts and pics that contribute so much to my hobbyist`s detailing experience and enjoyment for which I am truly grateful for.
That said, I also realize that, yes, detailing thread discussions seem to redundant and repetitive and dominated by the same Autopian members. Quite frankly, I don`t mind. Maybe "boring" to some. But there are tidbits of information from their detailing experiences that make my participation a lot of fun. This forum is my "social media" and talking about detailing or sometimes detailing-unrelated topics is an outlet to communicate with like-minded detailing enthusiast and individuals. This forum not "dead" to me. Or as Mark Twain said after the misinformed publishing of his obituary in the USA while touring in England, "The report of my death was an exaggeration."
-AND ESPECIALLY-Quote:
Originally Posted by Lonnie
Heh heh, the above is so similar to my views that I could`ve posted it!Quote:
This forum is my "social media" and talking about detailing or sometimes detailing-unrelated topics is an outlet to communicate with like-minded detailing enthusiast and individuals...
I just find that Autopia isn`t like how it was in the old days. I miss the days of high traffic and numerous detailing discussions per day. This used to be the detailing discussion destination.
But I guess mainstream social media outlets have stolen away traffic from here. I`m not one to ever have social media. Here and AGO are my social media. I just hope it doesn`t continue to decline here because there are some things mainstream social media can never replicate that a forum like this one has.
I too miss the high activity. It was entertaining at times and I learned a lot.
I haven`t detailed in years but I still come here and AG daily to learn about new products etc. I`ve no idea how I could have missed that Mike is leaving (or already gone?) AG. It saddens me a bit but in turn makes me happy for Mike. When you feel that you have accomplished all that you can then it`s time for change. I wish him only the best.
I enjoy here and AGO. Hope they remain, and some people are getting so sick of social media and the trolling that goes on their, maybe there will be another surge in traditional forums down the road. Or maybe not, but I’ll enjoy the quantity that does exist AND the ability to search tons of old threads for information that is still very relevant.