The End Of An Era – After 22 Years, Mike Copeland Will Close The Doors to Diversified Creations in Michigan, and Sell Off Everything – We Get An Exclusive Look Inside!
To say Mike Copeland has a love affair with everything automotive is an understatement. From working for some big names, to creating some amazing rides, to owning multiple businesses, even working at a lot of events, Mike has done it all.
Now, after over four decades working with cars, and a little over twenty-two years running Diversified Creations, Mike will close the doors at the end of August, 2026. In this article, we discuss what led Mike to create his business, what’s next, and get an exclusive look inside Diversified Creations.
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“My dad always dreamed of owning his own business, but never did,” said Mike. “I had always dreamed of owning my own business, and I was looking for a building to open an auto repair shop, and GM came along.”
He got the chance to work with a team on a lot of desirable builds at GM, but that dream of having his own business never faded. “My son had the exact same dream,” Mike said, and once his son completed college and returned home, a father and son discussion yielded a plan.
Mike had been with GM almost twenty years at that point, and wanted to start a new chapter. Together with his wife and son, they would go all in on a business plan, and Diversified Creations was born.
The first chapter would be a two-thousand square foot location that featured a nine-hundred square foot showroom, a ten foot x ten foot office, and one thousand square foot shop. “I could park three cars in there, nose to tail,” said Mike. On April 4th, 2004, the family opened the doors for the first time.
While this was happening, Mike was still working for GM, where he would accomplish his normal work day, then switch over to Diversified in the evenings, where he would work on the cars and install parts.
“Two years later, we expanded (to a different building) to 7500 square feet,” Mike said of phase two. Diversified Creations would more than double in size five years later, in a new building with seventeen thousand square feet.
A couple years after the move to his third building, Mike resigned from his job with GM on January 31st, 2011. But he wasn’t unemployed long, as Lingenfelter Performance Engineering hired him as vice president the very next day, February 1st. Mike had built a car for Lingenfelter the previous year, sparking the interest in Mike possibly joining their team.
That meant Mike would continue juggling two demanding jobs, and a little over five years later, Mike left Lingenfelter. But he was still making moves on his next project, and within the next year, Mike purchased Arrington Performance. That in turn required more space, and in 2018, they opened the doors on a thirty thousand square feet facility.
Fast forward to now, and with just over twenty-two years since Diversified Creations first opened their doors, Mike said he’s ready to step back a little. “My building lease is up, and I don't think I have another five years in me,” he stated.
So, starting Monday, August 3rd, 2026, everything goes on sale, and he needs to have the building emptied by August 31st, his last day on the lease. “It needs to be cleared out, swept out, done by that date,” said Mike.
Mike gave Sick The Magazine’s own Tom Bailey an exclusive look at the place, as well as some details about it all, in our latest video below:
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Diversified Creations and Mike Copeland.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com