AAMCO Transmissions Inc. is an American

transmission Transmission or transmit may refer to: Science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Transmission (mechanical device), technology that allows controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual tra ...

-repair franchise founded by Robert Morgan and Anthony A. Martino (who used the first letter of each name to form the names AAMCO and later MAACO) in 1957 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Martino eventually ended his affiliation with AAMCO to manage the MAACO autobody-shop franchise, but Morgan stayed on with his son, Keith Morgan, succeeding him as CEO. In 2006, the company was acquired by American Capital. In January 2017, American Driveline Systems, the franchiser of the AAMCO and Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care brands, was acquired by Transom Capital Group. In October of the same year, Icahn Enterprises L.P. (NASDAQ: IEP) announced it had acquired American Driveline Systems through a wholly-owned subsidiary. Aamco has consistently ranked on the

Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

Franchise 500

History

Anthony A. Martino started repairing automatic transmissions from leased space in an

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shop in Philadelphia. In 1957, he founded the Anthony A. Martino Company, or AAMCO in Philadelphia, under the name AAMCO Auto and Truck Repair. This name was chosen not only to reflect the initials of the founder, but also to make it appear higher in the

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listings of the day. Along with partners Richard Silva and Walter D'lutz', Martino opened several other shops in the Philadelphia area. Owing to the complexity and failure rate of automatic transmissions of the day, Martino quickly decided to drop the "Auto and Truck Repair", and focus solely on transmissions, where the company would stay focused until 2007. In 1962, Robert Morgan approached Martino with the concept of a national chain of transmission repair stores branded as AAMCO. Martino was receptive to the idea, and the shops operated in cooperation with Silva and DeLutz were rebranded as AAMCO. The first franchise was not sold until 1963, when an AAMCO shop was opened by Ivan and Jack Ginninger in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. In March 2006, AAMCO merged with Cottman Transmission, and American Capital purchased AAMCO and moved the headquarters from

to nearby

Horsham, Pennsylvania Horsham is a census-designated place in Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 15,193 at the 2020 census. It is home to the Biddle Air National Guard Base at the former site of Naval Air Station ...

. Owing in part to the increased reliability of automatic transmissions, and thus the lengthened repair cycle, in the mid-2000s, the company rebranded to AAMCO Transmissions and Total Car Care. Today, AAMCO is the world's largest

franchisor Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busines ...

of transmission specialists and car repair shops, operating over 600 franchise stores in the United States, Canada. AAMCO is also known for its distinctive television and radio commercials, which end with a voice saying "AAMCO, double-A '' ar horn beeps twice' M-C-O." The company has made heavy use of celebrity spokespeople in its advertising, and was one of the first to use a celebrity spokesperson in a television ad.

Zsa Zsa Gabor Zsa Zsa Gabor ( , ; born Sári Gábor ; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian Americans, Hungarian-American socialite and actress. Her sisters were socialites and actresses Eva Gabor and Magda Gabor. Gabor competed in the ...

was the company's first paid spokesperson.

References

External links

Official AAMCO Website Article on The Re-Branding of AAMCO

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Hanson Associates Re-Brands Aamco
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aamco Transmissions Franchises American companies established in 1957 Retail companies established in 1957 Automotive repair shops of the United States Companies based in Philadelphia Companies based in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Private equity portfolio companies 1957 establishments in Pennsylvania