Performance exhausts can offer new profits beyond traditional buyers

It used to be that performance products were geared to one particular segment of the car owning market, that being men in their late-teens and early twenties who were single, had money to burn and wanted to show-off in a tricked-out car. The idea that a fifty-something family man or woman with kids and a middle-class lifestyle would be interested in performance products, like exhaust systems, was the last kind of person who someone would expect to drive into a service shop looking for such technology.

But makers of performance exhaust systems have discovered one of the fastest growing buying groups for performance exhaust technologies is that older car owner, a fact that should make independent service providers pause and take notice of the potential revenues this means for them.

Performance means more than noise

It used to be that when people spoke of performance exhausts, it usually was in relation to sound. The exhaust was supposed to sound tough, loud and even somewhat menacing and befitting the ‘muscle car’ it was often attached too. It signaled a young man who wanted to project a certain ‘tough’ attitude or love of power in a vehicle.

Scott Stutler, national sales manager with DynoMax Performance Exhaust, the performance exhaust brand of Tenneco Inc. in Monroe, Mich. pointed out that the age range for people buying performance exhausts is not just the traditional 18-to-mid-20s buyer, but also goes right up to a growing number of mid-40s to 55-year-old car owners.

“In most cases, the income levels and the education levels are much higher that what people might think of today as the stereotypical buyer of performance exhaust,” Stutler added.

What has attracted this older age bracket to performance exhaust systems is the growing knowledge that high-quality exhaust technologies do more than simply make a car or truck sound ‘tougher’ or louder. In fact, a good performance exhaust is made to improve the overall air flow into the engine, and as Stutler put it, the more air that can be sent into a car or truck engine, the more power that engine can produce.

Improvement in air flow has the benefit of improving overall engine performance and power, particularly in terms of horsepower and torque, according to Stutler. This is across the RPM range. An added benefit of this improved air flow is increased gas mileage.

Jim Fox, national sales manger with Maremont Exhaust Products, makers of the Cherry Bomb performance exhaust, in Brampton, Ont. said in some cases a performance exhaust has given a full-sized pick-up truck an extra 100 kilometers on a tank of gas, although, he liked to joke, sometimes that fuel savings is not at first apparent in the honeymoon period when some drivers like to press on the gas to hear the sound of the new system.

“Too often people are so happy with the sound that they are putting their foot into it and never realize the fuel economy at first, certainly not in the first period where they are excited,” Fox added. “But once they do start to fall back into their normal driving style, they will see the fuel savings.”

Jim Browning Sr., founder and president of Corsa Performance Exhausts in Berea, Ohio agrees that a good performance exhaust will provide improved performance and mileage, both excellent selling points that service provides should emphasize.

But the question of sound is often a bit of a sticking point for many selling performance exhausts. The stereotypical image is that they are loud. Some customers who have purchased performance exhausts often return them because they find the sounds produced are too much for them. Having gotten used to the quieter sound of typical OE mufflers placed on cars coming off the assembly line, the louder noise of a performance exhaust can seem too obtrusive, especially when simply cruising down the road or highway. Makers of performance exhaust systems emphasize service writers and technicians must take the time to gauge the noise tolerance of a customer to discover what the acceptable range of noise the customer can tolerate. Doing so will prevent them from returning to the shop and asking for the system to be removed.

Some like to say that a good test involves a cellular phone. If a customer can use their cellular phone while driving in a vehicle with a performance exhaust, then the noise level is likely acceptable.

Because noise can be a factor in making a sale, there has been a concerted effort on the part of the manufacturers to design systems that can meet different noise requirement of customers. Some makers have been experimenting with electronic noise suppression or cancellation systems, but they have not turned out to be very practical. Corsa uses an out-of-phase sound wave cancellation system that reflects sound pressure waves in the muffler in order to reduce the noise of the system when the vehicle is cruising.

Fox of Maremont said the Cherry Bomb brand has different products that can match the different sound requirements of a customer, ranging from quiet performance to one for “someone who wants the most extreme performance and wants the sound to be more noticeable. We have something that pinpoints each kind of desire and vehicle, and gives customers a real choice for finding the solution and sound that works for them.”

Selling tips for performance exhausts

One of the things driving today’s growing interest in performance exhausts systems is nostalgia. Many makers of exhaust systems have discovered a growing number of baby-boomers have a soft-spot for the exhausts they used to place on their first cars, and that nostalgia is reviving an interest in many to put those same systems on their new cars. Cherry Bomb, which will be celebrating its fortieth anniversary in 2008, has capitalized on that nostalgia factor to reinvigorate the brand.

DynoMax’s Stutler added the nostalgia-factor is a good starting point for a service provider, one that is a conversation starter with customers who are looking to add a performance exhaust to their car.

All the makers of performance exhausts have also developed a range of selling tools, fact sheets and sales support materials to help a service provider promote performance exhausts and start a sales conversation. For example, Maremont’s dealer display kit for its performance exhausts consist of a rolling, triangular display rack that can be used to display an exhaust system, sales brochures and other point-of-sale material.

“This helps show the customer that you are interested in the performance exhaust market and all the materials are good conversation starters,” suggested Fox. “Unlike regular exhaust systems, which are a usually a grudge, forced purchase, performance exhausts are a ‘want’ and a sale that is easier to close.”

Corsa offers point-of-sale support material such as a cutaway of one of its performance mufflers to show how it differs from a standard non-performance muffler.

“We also recommend for people who are selling performance exhausts and are looking to generate extra income is to have a vehicle on-hand, if possible, where they can put a performance exhaust system on to show people how the system sounds and performs,” added Browning.

Another selling point that should be made clear to customers is that a performance exhaust system does not require taking a vehicle to a specialized shop. All performance exhaust products today come with complete kits that include all the necessary mandrels, bent pipes, muffler tips and hardware.

“They are easy to install and you don’t have to have specialized exhaust tools to put this stuff on,” said Fox. “So it allows a wide-range of shops to get into the performance exhaust game.”

Fox added performance exhausts also provide another sales opportunity to sell other performance-type of products, such as air filters which will add to the bottom line of a shop. And it is not that hard to identify who might be a potential customer for performance products, Fox suggested.

“If a pe
rson has mag-wheels or a trailer hitch they are likely looking for a performance exhaust and ways to help them pull that load,” he said.

Reference List

AP Exhaust Products Inc. www.apexhaust.com

Corsa Performance Exhausts ?www.corsaperf.com

Dynomax Performance Exhaust ?www.dynomax.com

Maremont Exhaust Products ?www.maremont.com