Meineke Car Care Centers, Inc., more commonly known as just Meineke ( ) is a franchise-based international automotive repair chain with 966 locations. The chain is ranked #52 in the Franchise 500 (2014) and #54 in America’s Top Global (2013). Previously known as Meineke Discount Mufflers, the company changed its name to Meineke Car Care Centers in 2003 when it expanded to offer full-service auto repairs.

History

Meineke was founded in 1971 in Houston, Texas, by Sam Meineke. He started to franchise the name in 1972, with Harold Nedell. In 1983,

GKN GKN Ltd is a British multinational automotive and aerospace components business headquartered in Redditch, England. It is a long-running business known for many decades as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds. It can trace its origins back to 1759 ...

, a multinational British company, bought out Meineke Discount Mufflers. In 1986, the company headquarters moved to

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

. In 2003, the same year Meineke Discount Muffler Shops, Inc. became Meineke Car Care Centers, Inc., Meineke became a privately held company, no longer publicly traded. In January of 2021 the parent company of Meineke, Driven Brands, had an

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

and began trading on

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

with the ticker symbol DRVN. The collision repair franchise MAACO is also part of Driven Brands along with a variety of other automotive businesses.

Acquisitions

Meineke Car Care Center - Hillsboro, Oregon

In 2006, Meineke Car Care Centers’ parent company, Meineke Holding Company, became Driven Brands, Inc. and acquired the quick oil change company, Econo Lube 'N Tune Inc. In 2008, it acquired Maaco, Auto Qual, and Drive N Style. In April 2013, Meineke Car Care Centers, Inc. announced the acquisition of the Seattle-Tacoma auto repair chain, Walt’s Auto Care Centers, or “Walt’s”. In June 2014, Meineke acquired eight America’s Service Station locations in the Atlanta area.

Advertising

Former boxing champion

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. In boxing, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1967 and 1997. He is a two-time world heavyweight champ ...

was a spokesperson for the Meineke brand in the United States from 1993 to 2010. Former NHL player

Wendel Clark Wendel L. Clark (born October 25, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. His professional career lasted from 1985 until 2000, during which time he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Tampa ...

is the Meineke spokesperson in Canada, as well as a current Meineke franchisee. Meineke sponsored

Jimmy Spencer Jimmy Spencer may refer to: * Jimmy Spencer (American football) (born 1969), American NFL cornerback * Jimmy Spencer ( game design) (born 1990), American game designer * Jimmy Spencer (footballer) (born 1991), English football player * Jimmy Spen ...

in the 1993

NASCAR Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

season at Bobby Allison Motorsports. The following season, sponsorship moved to

Joe Nemechek Joseph Frank Nemechek III (born September 26, 1963) is an American professional stock car racing driver who last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 24 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. Nemechek has made the second ...

and the Cup team owned by Larry Hedrick. For the 1995 season, Meineke was on the move again, this time to the Diamond Ridge Motorsports team driven by Steve Grissom. Meineke has sponsored college football

bowl games In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...

in two locations. From 2005 to 2010, the Meineke Car Care Bowl was played in Charlotte, North Carolina, while the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas was played in Houston from 2011 to 2012. , those two bowls are now known as the Duke's Mayo Bowl and the Texas Bowl, respectively.

References

External links

Official site

Driven Brands, Official Site
American companies established in 1972 Retail companies established in 1972 Automotive repair shops of the United States Companies based in Charlotte, North Carolina {{US-retail-company-stub