How has the shop changed since 1988?

Summary:

Jaden separates what has changed from what has not. The shop's values have stayed essentially the same: doing the best job possible with the best parts available, and not skimping on cheaper parts or cheaper work. What has changed dramatically is the technology. He traces the arc from 1988, when overdrives were first coming out, to today's ten speeds. Transmissions and electronics have both changed a great deal over that span. He describes the progression in stages: hydraulic units with no electronics at all, then hydraulic units with very minimal electronics, then four speeds that were electronic and computer controlled, and now a landscape where many transmissions are completely computer controlled and the hydraulics themselves are managed by the computer. The business philosophy held constant while the machinery it services was transformed.

Answer:

As far as the values of the shop, those have stayed pretty much the same. We always do the best job that we can with the best parts that we can get. I try not to skimp out on cheaper things and cheaper parts. As far as transmissions go, they have changed a lot. The shop was started in 1988, and that was when overdrives were first coming out, and nowadays we have ten speeds. So transmissions have changed a lot, electronics have changed a lot. Back then you had hydraulic units that had no electronics, and then you moved to hydraulic units that had very minimal electronics, and then you move to the four speeds that were the electronic models and computer controlled, to where nowadays a lot of transmissions are completely computer controlled and the hydraulic is controlled by the computer. So the units coming through the door now are nothing like what the shop was working on when it opened, but the way we approach them hasn't changed. It's still the best job we can do with the best parts we can get.