Maximum Octane

About Maximum Octane

Maximum Octane is the high-performance podcast for automotive shop owners ready to accelerate their leadership, culture, and profitability. Hosted by industry veterans Kim Hickey and Jason Patel from Automotive Training Institute (ATI), each episode takes you under the hood of the nation's most successful auto repair shops to uncover the tools, tactics, and mindset shifts fueling next-level results. This season, Maximum Octane brings raw, real conversations from ATI SuperConference 2025 in Hawaii—featuring shop owners who are transforming their businesses by investing in what matters most: people, process, and purpose. From using Digital Vehicle Inspections (DVIs) to create superfans and elevate trust, to building training-first cultures that unlock loyalty, growth, and long-term success, these are the stories that inspire action. The season explores the shift from technician to technologist, the power of structure and team leadership, and the innovative thinking driving the automotive industry forward in a time of rapid change. If you're a shop owner looking to scale sustainably, retain top-tier talent, maximize your Average Repair Order (ARO), or future-proof your business against ever-advancing vehicle technology—this podcast delivers the mindset and methods to get you there. You’ll gain field-tested strategies from ATI’s top-performing members, with deep dives into DVIs, workflow efficiency, culture-building, team accountability, talent development, technician training, and actionable steps to grow your shop’s revenue, reputation, and resilience. Because in today’s market, it’s not just about fixing cars—it’s about building a business people believe in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Kim Hickey

Category

business · business · education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

19 Oct 2021

Latest episode

6 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

23 of 152 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   6 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Is Your Inventory Costing You More Than You Think? Learn How to Clear the Clutter, Reclaim the Profit

   Host Kim Hickey and Jason Patel interview Ciandra Patrick, Channel Development Manager at Imperial Supplies, about optimizing auto shop inventory to reduce costs and boost productivity.

2. 

   29 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   $180K Vanished in 6 Months: The Back Office Fix Every Shop Needs

   Host Kim Hickey interviews Alex Saladna, CEO of Wicked File, about preventing significant financial losses by implementing robust back-office systems and accountability.

3. 

   22 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   The First 20 Seconds: What Your Phone Is Really Telling Customers

   Host Jason Patel interviews communications expert David Boyd about how call recording and analysis reveal crucial customer insights within the first 20 seconds of a conversation.

Inside a recent episode

Is Your Inventory Costing You More Than You Think? Learn How to Clear the Clutter, Reclaim the Profit

Published 6 Oct 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] So productivity, low productivity, that 30% of that at a minimum is looking for an item, a part, waiting on a part. I'll tell you what it is. What is it? So all the techs can relate to this. It's the 10 millimeter socket. We just lose them. They're just gone. 10, and if you work on a lot of Honda Asian vehicles, 13. and potentially the 14-millimeter socket, right? We're always losing them. But it goes back to the reason that they get lost is because you are not actively tracking it. You're not really keeping an eye on everything, right? And this is one of the things that we talk about at ATI, but no matter what kind of industry you're in, whatever business you're in, if you can't track it, you're never going to have the actual data to make good decisions. […]

Who has been a guest on Maximum Octane

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Ciandra Patrick
• Alex Saladna
• David Boyd
• Melanie Sypolt
• Robert Whitehurst

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

1,337

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

26 ratings

Spotify

3.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 70 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

79

Social presence

0

YouTube

68

Engagement

82

Contact Maximum Octane

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Maximum Octane