I'm just so curious as to how it is possible to do what they do. Where do their clients come from? Where does their talent come from? Where do their ideas come from? I mean seriously, who else can produce the number of cars they build at the level they build them.
I know there are some insanely talented builders and shops out there. Most of which are more than capable of building a Street Machine of the Year contender or even a Ridler contender. It just seems that EVERYTHING the Roadster Shop builds is contender.
I see shops all the time advertising that they are hiring, begging for talented metal workers, fabricators and welders. Most custom shops would love to have one or two people who can manipulate metal like the Roadster Shop. So how many guys does the Roadster Shop have to work on the insane number of cars they build? I mean go back through all there build threads and just look in the back ground of every picture. The shop is amazing, the tooling is amazing, the work area is amazing, the number of projects in the works is amazing, they have projects hanging on the wall for crying out loud. And, who uses $8,000.00 Forgeline wheels for mock-ups!
Who comes up with the body mods, interior mods and paint schemes? Does the client have any of these ideas, or do they just walk in with a blank check and say build me something know one else has. It just seems that every time I see a Roadster Shop rendering, a paint job, interior design, CNC work, I always come to the same conclusion.....Are you freakin' kidding me!!!
I tell you it starts with customer with trust and a vision.
ideas comes from a great design guy, the renderings are very tasteful and current.
And it ends with a crew with ability that can pull it off.
They have to have huge capital backing. The old it takes money to make money. I agree their product they put out is top shelf. If I had the kind of coin it costs for a pro built car they would be in my top two assuming endless funding. I am not sure but I would guess this shop is a hobby for the Family with the means. Perhaps from a very successful Chicago based law firm..don't know for sure.
Prodigy kustoms were just parts installers,vendor and light fabrication. Roadster shop is next level. When you can build an entire car and chassis on the level that they do, that's saying something.
How about giving credit where credit is due! Phil and Jeremy are talented guys -- and the "old man" (Neal) is right there helping them, early on, and probably on going, with management skills etc. Neal ran a very successful body shop business and I'm certain those skills are rubbing off on Phil and Jeremy.
These are smart people. These are talented people. And these are NICE people that are fun to hang with. They treat their customers right - do fantastic work - and therefore word gets out and more people take their projects to them. Pretty basic business.
As far as talent goes -- what fabricator wouldn't beg to work at a shop like this! They have other talented people to work with - they have great tools - nice space - well lit - and probably competitive wages.
People that can afford these top of the line builds didn't get there by being stupid and making bad choices. So if you're a potential customer and want to build this kind of quality - there are very few shops where you'd take your business and KNOW you're going to get a car that exceeds your expectations.
It's also pretty obvious to me that they've taken the revenue and plowed it back into the business and grown that business. Good old fashioned business 101.
My hat is off to them! They've more than earned their stripes.
I went back and re-read my original post. I hope people are not taking it the wrong way. It was meant to be a compliment to an amazing shop. I am certainly not trying to discredit them in any way. I know nothing about the Roadster Shop or their owners. I don't know how or when they got their start. I was just intrigued as to how they seemingly hit a home run with almost everything they do and what the process was to get where they are today.
Sorry guys, there's no hidden agenda or evil message lurking in my original post, just maybe wasn't worded right. Roadster Shop...I didn't mean to offend if that is the way you are taking it.
HE had the brains for backspacing and lots of other technical stuff --- but didn't have the business brains. Sold lots of stuff by giving it away... and that's not a good business model.
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
Short clips: Goodguys Pleasanton autocross and pit videos
Roadster Shop...ARE YOU KIDDING???
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