AAMCO Transmissions and Total Car Care

About AAMCO Transmissions and Total Car Care

AAMCO is the world’s largest chain of transmission specialists and one of the leaders in complete car care services. AAMCO has over 600 automotive centers throughout the United States and Canada.

AAMCO Transmissions and Total Car Care is one of the most trusted and recognized “automotive” brands in the country.

How it all began

In 1938, Oldsmobile developed the first line of cars that featured automatic transmissions, otherwise known as “Hydra-Matic” drives. By the 1950’s the automatic transmission had become a popular option on numerous car makes and models.

With the proliferation of the automatic transmissions came the need for specialized care and repair. Enter Anthony A. Martino. Martino was born in 1933. He grew up and became a respected technician from Northeast Philadelphia. It was while working at Milt Knapik’s ESSO service station on Philadelphia’s Roosevelt Boulevard and Devereaux Ave. that Tony Martino launched what would become an entire industry.

Martino saw a big opportunity repairing automatic transmissions so he rented a lift from Knapik’s ESSO to do side work including transmission repair. Soon, motorists from around the area recognized Martino’s expertise and brought their transmission work to the little ESSO station.

By 1957, with demand for his signature transmission repair service growing, Martino opened his first repair shop three miles from the ESSO station at 133 East Eleanor Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia. He called the shop AAMCO Auto and Truck Repair as he did engine and other minor repairs at the shop, beyond transmissions. At this time, people became aware that the AAMCO acronym stood for Anthony A. Martino Company. The name was easy to remember, but it also was a marketing bonus because of its top alphabetical listing in the Yellow Pages under auto repair, as there was no separate auto transmission category during that time.

Meanwhile, at AAMCO headquarters

From 1983 to 2006, the iconic AAMCO building at the City Line Avenue exit of the Schuylkill expressway welcomed Philadelphia-area commuters into the city limits. The company took the building over from Gulf Oil and spelled out AAMCO across the side of the building in two-story high letters. It stood as a familiar Philadelphia sight to motorists sitting in rush hour traffic on the city’s notorious Schuylkill Expressway. Previously, the company was headquartered in Bridgeport, PA after outgrowing its original offices on North Front Street. Since 2006, the company’s headquarters have been located in Horsham, PA.