RENO, NV (March 1) – American Auto Air and Repair has been around a very long time. It’s current owner Tom Rankin grew up with auto repair in his DNA.
“I was actually brought up in a shop that my dad owned since I was a little kid,” he said. “I worked in my dad’s shop since I was 7-years-old every summer and every day after school. I don’t remember never ever being in the shop.”
When the elder Rankin retired one brother took over but sold Rankin Auto Repair a couple of year ago when he retired. Tom Rankin had left by then and joined another bother at the current shop, which actually opened in 1976.
“It used to be only American Auto Air before I bought my brother out. He specialized in air conditioning,” he said. “I added repair as when I took over we started doing full general repair.”
The shop still works on air conditioning but now has full maintenance right up to engine replacement.
“We don’t do any bodywork but we do service automatic transmissions. As far as rebuilding them we don’t do that as there are companies I work with to sub that out,” he said.
The shop also can do smog testing and work. Another service they offer customers is tires and alignment. In fact there is a state of the art alignment rig and tire machine.
“We buy the tires as needed as I don’t stock them like a tire shop. We order them from a couple of warehouses and just do that as a customer service,” he said.
The shop still does a lot of air conditioning work.
“I get work from a lot of other shops, things like big dashboard jobs as we’re comfortable removing those,” he said. “The newest refrigerant is 12334YF, we get a lot of that work from other shops as they aren’t equipped for it yet. Takes special and very expensive equipment.”
For older cars that use R12 refrigerant American Auto is one of the few shops that handles that. When it comes to much older cars, not the 1990’s but the 1960’s the guys that used to work on those have retired.
“They took care of all the classic cars and stuff like that,” he said. “Other than myself I don’t really have anybody to do it so I’m trying to get out of it.”
As far as the new cars go Rankin said that one needs to keep up with the factory recommended service intervals. And the newer vehicles even help their owners with that.
“It’s going to warn you if maintenance is needed like with a check engine or warning light. If you keep up on your maintenance one can get a lot of miles out of the vehicle,” he said.
On reason for their longer life is the fuel injection systems most new vehicles have. He explained that the older carbureted systems wasted a lot of fuel that would contaminate the oil.
“Today they have direct injection where they absolutely don’t waste anything,” he said. “But if a car is under the factory warrantee then do back to the dealer.”
Like any business there are challenges to be faced but there is one in particular.
“The big challenge is finding qualified people. Luckily I have a very good crew,” he said. “You’ve got to have qualified people so you just can’t hire anybody. It’s tough and hard to get good people these days, so far I’ve been lucky.”
Asked about the future Rankin said he’s optimistic.
“Yea for the most part I am but I think the industry is going to change a lot with electric vehicles. I think that’s the direction it’s going to go,” he said.
With all the changes coming Rankin pays for a lot of training for his crew. That keeps them up to date on the current changes in the industry.
American Auto Air and Repair is almost against the freeway and is easy to get to. Coming south on 580 get off at the Moana exit but stay in the right lane as once the turn is made the shop will be on the right.
Coming north on 580 take the Moana exit to the west where you go under the freeway. Once again stay in the right land and as you emerge from under the freeway the sign will be ahead and off to the right.
If a person is coming from the west heading to the freeway it’s best to turn to the north on Kietzke Lane then right on Gentry, the next signal. Head toward the freeway and you’ll find the entrance toward the end of the street. Actually that’s where the original building is.
For further information the shop’s number is 775-826-6050 and the website is, www.americanautoair.com.
OTHER RACING NEWS:
• Teresa’s Garage Radio Show is on the air from 2 until 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. Over the air it’s on 1060 AM or on a Podcast at amm.streamon.fm.
The show can be seen live on Face Book as well. Co-Host Emily Cook is a young racer working her way up the ranks of the sport. She has a site, www.emilycookracing.com and sells merchandise to help fund her racing.
SPONSOR LIST:
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We now have eight very appreciated sponsors supporting this site. Please patronize them as they not only support your sport but they help nvracingnews continue. Please let them know you heard about them through this site.
Our newest member of the sponsor family is Tread Connection. The franchise is owned by Blake Sobiloff and the business brings the tire store to you so one doesn’t have to take time off work or leave home. There are discounts on labor for first responders, veterans as well as active duty military and members of the National Guard and Reserves.
After ordering the tires one needs Sobiloff gets them and shows up in a van that has state of the are equipment. He also observes the safety requirements and it’s a no contact operation where the choosing and paying for the tires can be done online.
His primary area is Reno and Sparks and one can either go to the Face Book page or check the website at www.treadconnection.com. The direct line to the business is 775-870-3600.
Another sponsor is G.I.S.L Land Services that, while having a global client base it has a Western U.S.A. Focus. Owner Greg Ekins is a long time off road motorcycle racer competing in the MRANN Series as well as the AMA National Hare and Hound series.
Among the services offers are Surface and Mineral Title Reviews and Cartographic Services. The website is www.gislandservices.com.
Another great sponsor is General Transmission and Power Train Specialists. The shop is located at 2515 Sutro Street in Reno, a few blocks below Hug High School.
Former motorcycle racer Pete Attashian is the owner and they not only service older and newer transmission but now have a section dealing with high performance units including those used for towing.
The phone number is 775-786-5888 and the shop’s website is www.generaltransmissionreno.com.
Another sponsor is fantastic race photographer Melissa Coker. If you have raced at Summit in Elko, Battle Mountain, Lovelock, Rattlesnake Raceway or Diamond Mountain Speedway she probably has a photograph of your car on the track.
She’s also been at the IMCA Duel in the Desert was well as the Wild West Tour and IMCA Super Nationals in Boone, Iowa. Melissa not only has photos of the cars, and many times drivers, but she can produce hero cards and even a book covering from your season.
To see her collections or to place an order please check her website at www.melissasoutonalimb.smugmug.com.
Two of our sponsors are first class motorcycle shops located in Reno.
Our first sponsor is Reno Motorsports (RMS). Not only do they have about anything a rider might want or need and the store also has a full service shop.
Their location is at 964 Terminal Way, by the intersection with Mill Street. Store’s phone number is 775-322-1499 and the site is, www.rms-renomotorsports.com.
The next shop is Moto-Source located at 3180 Mill Street. Once again they are a full service shop plus about any thing a rider might need or want.
The phone number is 775-856-3855 and the website is, www.moto-source.com.
The next sponsor is an excellent place if you need collision repair on your car or truck. It’s Concours Body Shop, located at 250 Telegraph Street in Reno and has a long history of first class repairs.
Brian Saul is the owner, a car enthusiast himself and he’s committed to continuing the shop’s reputation of quality work. Phone number is 775-329-4557 and the website is, www.concoursbodyshop.net.
Hungry, want a great place to eat, then try PJ&CO for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and it’s a great place to watch your favorite sports. If you’re a rider, well Wednesday evening is Bike Night, always a great time to see some great looking bikes and meet like-minded people.
The location is 1590 South Wells Avenue, just north of the round about. Phone number is 775-323-6366 and their website is www.pjandco.net.
Have a business targeted toward motorsports or an off road demographic? We are always looking for more sponsors and will expose your business to the racing and off road community in this area.
You can contact us either through the comment section of this site or on our Face Book page.
