Driven to Deliver – Driven Speed Shop Has Developed a Winning Process for Crafting Compelling Muscle Cars and Hot Rods
Coaches at almost every level of sports emphasize The Process. Follow the process and your performance will improve, they preach. Michael “Mikey” Dascoli, owner of Driven Speed Shop in Mesa, Arizona, is a firm believer in that strategy when building high-end custom vehicles and hot rods.
For a shop that tackles full-build projects that can often take 18 months or more to complete, constantly tweaking the process is critical to success. If a shop outsources paint and upholstery, for example, time is lost if the car is ready for paint, but the painter can’t touch it for a few weeks. Or, when the upholstery shop can’t work on the car for a couple of weeks, time is lost. Or when ordered parts aren’t in the shop when they’re needed.
Even though his shop is less than a decade old, Mikey realized early on that time is often as important as cost to the customer.
“The money in these cars is expensive, but it’s easier to sell the money than the time,” Mikey says. “If we can close the gap on build time, more customers are willing to sign up.”
A High School Passion
A high school internship unlocked Mikey’s obsession with hot rods.
“I got an internship at a hot rod shop when I was 16 and fell in love with the craft,” he says. “I quit sports, started working on hot rods, and never looked back. It’s the only job I’ve ever had.”
After high school and time at WyoTech, Mikey spent several years at another Phoenix-area shop – Speed Sports – before deciding to open Driven Speed Shop. With a little help from his father, the doors opened. His first full build – a ’66 Chevy II two-door sedan later called Project Ghost – set the tone for future builds.
“It was the first opportunity to get creative and get into fab work,” Mikey says. “Through social media and customers coming in and seeing what we could do, it definitely helped us evolve and brought more work.”
Diverse Customers, Diverse Divisions
As the business evolved, customers turned to Mikey and his team for more than full builds. Customers sought upgrades to and maintenance on existing vehicles as well as access to aftermarket parts. Two separate locations were recently combined into a new 27,000 sq. ft. building. Driven Speed uses 10,000 feet while the remaining space houses two other businesses: Shift Speed Shop focuses on service and upgrades while Pro Performance sells aftermarket parts.
The new organization allows the seven employees at Driven Speed Shop to focus exclusively on full builds, while the team at Shift Speed concentrates on upgrades and repairs. That means Mikey can spend the necessary time to work with customers on their dream rides before a commitment is made.
“Every customer has some level of input into what they want,” Mikey says. “Let’s see what you want. Driven is going to build a Driven Speed car for you. The heavy style, design and functionality is on us. You’re here because you want us to build a car and you have to let us do that.”
For the potential customer that means spending a couple of days at the shop, meeting with Mikey and the team that would build the car. And sharing a couple of meals and meeting Mikey’s wife. It’s important that the customer be comfortable with the organization.
“From there we can get serious about a build,” Mikey says.
Design a Plan, Then Adapt
The customer has a great influence on the design and style, but Mikey says his team takes the customer’s key points and meshes them into the shop’s style. At that point a rendering is created that includes the basic lines of the build.
“We don’t want to get too involved with the designer to call out every little thing on the car,” Mikey says. “I’m a firm believer that you can’t make all of those decisions. I think it’s better to make decisions as the car comes together. The car tends to talk to you about a body line, for example, or a certain kind of bumper tuck or body modification.”
This strategy also involves letting outside vendors – paint and upholstery shops – be part of the process, often making suggestions along the way. It’s sort of a more cooks in the kitchen concept, in a good way. Mikey says fabricators and other team members contribute ideas throughout the build, too.
“If you don’t give them that opportunity, you’re crippling the creativity of the people involved on the project,” he says. “You have the potential to miss out on something great.”
Trends: Pay Attention and React
Automotive attitudes are always changing. No surprise there. But Mikey says he’s seeing movement on several levels that affect customers and builders. For example, he sees some movement away from the one-of-a-kind wildly expensive builds.
“In the past several years the customer base has been exhausted with high-end crazy 5,000-hour projects,” he says. “Sometimes when you get overly creative with the vehicle, functionality can take a back seat. Customers really want cars they can use.”
Trucks and SUVs (Broncos, Blazers, etc.) are a growing segment of the hobby, but Mikey says he’s also seeing the emergence of younger, successful customers who can afford to make a Ferrari or McLaren dealer happy turning to vintage muscle cars instead.
“There’s a lot of soul in a muscle car or a hot rod that does something for the customer that an off-the-shelf car can’t provide,” he says. “The feeling you get when you get into a hot rod is a whole lot different than what you get with an exotic.”
Future Outlook
Continuing to streamline the process is critical for Driven Speed Shop, Mikey says. There is a lot of back-stepping during the build, he says, but much of that can be avoided with tighter project management. Someone needs to be in the middle of each build, ordering parts at the right time, tracking where parts are coming from, and ensuring steady progress. That behind-the-scenes work is as critical as the metal shaping and assembly. The goal is clear: Shorter build times make customers happy and allow more builds to begin.
For Mikey, that’s the importance of the process. Better process, better results. Check out Driven Speed Shop for more info!
Photos: Terry Lysak
