PARTS TIME

not sold yet

2010-03-01T10:29:00.001-08:00

i get asked all the time, where do i stand on the question of either electric cars or hybrids. i would have to say, i am still not for either, even if the demand for both still grows. like in any thing else, buying or having the first few generations of any new technology, is still a crap shoot. if you can afford the smugness one deserves from ownership of said cars, more power to you, but until the price of these cars and practicality withstanding, increases 100 fold, will you get my attention. for the most part, cars in general, are built for the general public, who most have no care or qualms about cars in general. so, just driving 30-40 miles is not an issue for them, and to plug it in and go, hey, all the better. but of course, it also stands to reason, the needs of these said people, generally don't require or even can afford, $30-40,000 high tech cars. a sub, $15,000 car, with a limited range and speed, as well as decent space, would be a huge step above bus ridership and walking. face it, most of these people are not shopping at sam's club anyway, a car is just means of transport, and the freedom of owning their own transport, vs public transportation.

the electric car, is a basic tool, nothing more than a oversized, riding kids toy. look underneath one and all you'll see is a big electric motor, and battery packs; so why all the hoopla over pricing? pure supply and demand for smugness at its peak. make a $15k electric car, 2 or more people can ride in, with heat or a/c blasting and a decent range, the market of smugness will drop like the falling prices of 52" lcd tvs. now hybrids are several generations of bastardness. these cars are going to bewhat in future generations will call "lemons". until true electric cars can prove their worth, the having a gas or diesel motor on stand by, because your stupid ass forgot to charge the car up last night, is its only saving grace. tests have proven hybrids suck at highway driving speeds, if the mileage ratings are what you are after. heaven forbid you breakdown in "deliverance county" usa with your new fangled hybrid from hell; you think "bubba" looks scary now, wait til he pops the hood of your hi-dollar appliance...sure got a pretty mouth there boy....

the companies can keep on saying that electric motors are better than gas for so many reasons, but that reliablity thing still stays in the back of my mind; i have put hundreds of thousands of miles on various cars and trucks in my life; never have i broke down, on some dark country road, and was more scared of the natives, than i was of my car. you can have my gas powered car when you can pull my dead fingers from around my sterring wheel, until then, screw the greenies and nuke the whales.

TOO LITTLE TOO LATE

2009-10-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

the death warrant is signed and sealed; the flowers have all wilted and blown away and no more tears have been shed. what was apparant to the rest of the world is now our fate, we have lost being relevant in the world's eyes.

last week, the first of Octoberish, we were dealt a few shots across our bow, shots that also hit and found their mark. First, Toyota, the global super power on its own, announced, even in it's own largest recall here in the states, over deadly floor mats of all things, that most of it's own blood letting is due to it's north american market sales slump. Then the wonder savior of Saturn, Roger Penske, bailed in a last moment deal to take over the failed GM venue. Even Nissan, whose car company would have provided Saturn most of its models when GM quit supplying them, smelled the blood in the water and got out before they were mired in a deeper loss.

then to finally put the nail in the coffin, Chicago, who looked like a lock to win the 2016 Olympic games, lost out even with our own president trying to win the vote for his own political stomping grounds.

The rest of the world has been growing by leaps and bounds, embracing the global markets and becoming the new eden; we have fell behind, akin to our own parent country, England at the turn of the century. Too big, too mighty, and too damn proud, we allowed our own best interests to blind us to our own fall and fall we have. We were the world's leading powerhouse; what we did, affected the rest of the free world. we sold our souls to foreign interests, in order to make a buck or two; our own brain drain took place and we never knew what happened; We are a consumer nation, a service group, taking care of our own needs off the backs of others; we got what we deserved. When WWII took place, we heeded the call, created the machines and manpower to stem the losses and win the war and make the world a safer place. Now with no real face of an enemy, no real battle to win and no products or ideas to call our own, we have lost relevancy in a ever changing world. it was ours to lose, and loss it we did.

so over it all

2009-08-08T13:20:00.000-07:00

here in the wonderful state of unemployement, michigan, u.s.a., a depression all its own, i have found in many chat sites and regular media outlets, a larger than normal japanese car bashing all over again;
this time it is because, with this "cash for clunkers" deals going on, lest than 25% of the domestic car makers fine automobiles qualify for sale in the program. so, go figure, a large amout of the cars being purchased in this deal, are by and large, from the far east. but of course, the japanese are getting the bulk of the bad media or backlash, as all it takes is for the toyota's to be the first choice in the mileage battle, for it to be all the japanese fault, once again.
what i find equally humorous, of course, is the lacking of the european car companies being blamed. now, i am not sure, but i think the bmw's mini and the smart car, both should qualify for the program at hand, but since both of which are pretty much "niche cars", i am afraid they don't even show up on the radar of the pundniks bitching right now.
2 points that come to bear; first, since the japanese and korean cars as of late, are the bread basket cars; the ones who the cash for clunkers programs are trying to benefit the most; getting the family out of that ford explorer and into a nice affordable car, which almost doubles the fuel mileage as well. as of even this morning, in the local detroit media, the domestic car companies are running out of their product, the ones that qualify for the program, while the far eastern imports, whose almost entire lineup, meets these goals, are having record sales and plenty of product to take in each and every potential buyer. so i must ask, why is it the fault of the eastern car companies, to once again, have the product and line up to service the buying public? it is simply not the case.
the second and last point i'd like to make. unlike the u.a.w.'s smear tactics, world war 2 has been over for over 60 years now. hardly any sizeable amount of people who actually fought in that war, are still around and do not make up that large of a buying group to make a real difference; by the way, haven't many of you watched tv of late? there are program after program, finally showing guys who fought on both sides of the battles, meeting and paying tribute to each others actions of the course of those battles; war is fought by governments; the soliders are merely pawns of the overall actions.
in almost any anti-import car banter, it usually incurrs the japanese; rarely the germans; funny thing that is; the germans where more responsible for war time deaths than the japanese ever were; it just seems all too convienent to blame the country who seems to be doing a better job at the product you are boycotting. get real people, get a life; the day will come when the final wwII vet will pass away and you'll have to pick another battle to dredge up and make a marytr for your so-called cause.

shoot for the moon

2009-07-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

now that we have entered the great demise of all things built in america, have we really accepted the fact or notion that we should just be a service nation or an nation of entertainers? great for the hollywood types and sports stars, but sucks to be the rest of us.
upon the cusp of world war two, it was said america was a sleeping giant; turns out they were right; once we commited our industrial might into tools of war, there was no stopping the american spirit. what of that same spirit now? if we have to tool up for a huge war effort, what would we do? mobile all the walmart greeters to stop any enemy at the door? would the starbucks deny them their latte before they make their big push on the capital? could we use telemarketers to annoy them to death and send their families and children to disney world to see a big, white world and corrupt their values? sorry, i am afraid that won't work. becoming a nation of users has put us in a bad way, a way unlike great britain, a major nation of consumers with no real industry other than elton john and a few others like him.
we really need to expand our horizions, we need a goal again; onward to the stars, i say; when we mobilized behind a great national cause, the trickle down technology, as well as the manufacturing base, made america a great proud nation. we need to be self reliant again; sending aall of our technology and brains abroad as well as the manufacturing base, soon will bite us in the worse way, and with the chinese not only owning all our debt and making most of our products, soon may be here before we know it.

westward winds

2009-07-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

seems a cusp of a dawning of a new automotive world is upon us. yes, in less than a year, with all the economic choas around us, a new pecking order and outlook as a whole is nigh.
general motors, who did battle with exxon and walmart as the world's largest companies, now as the "new" GM, has a net value less than the "GAP" clothes stores. chrysler, was simply just "given" away, to the italians, as if any one else, short of the chinese, wanted them. Ford, poor hapless Ford, struggles along, pretending all is well, but in truth, the death pool is patiently awaiting its demise.
granted, even the mighty germans and japanese, in hindsight, never expected this much termoil, some took risks, some played it safe, but all fell into the same sinkhole as did our own companies. suppliers, already hanging by a thread, failed and their suppliers did like wise. no one, was safe from the virus. all said in done, 1 in 3 jobs were affected in this country, due to the automotive fallout following the economy's demise.
now, all of us, are all ready aware of these plights, but we are focusing on the new; mergers on mega scales, downsizing on the mega scale as well; how, after, most of the OEM's come back from summer change overs, will be ready and able to supply what is left of the industry is a bigger guess. many of the 2nd and third tier suppliers are already aftermarket suppliers and have hedged theirselves against further mayhem; but with what is already called government motors, a socialist experiment ala communism, is at hand. Henry Ford would be proud, any color as long as it's black..with so few choices available, and even fewer credit worthy buyers, a interesting time is ahead. and lets look at the start ups; Tesla, got government money to push ahead their electric cars; the greening of america, is here, kicking and screaming we may, shoddy first production cars, with shaky mechanicals, makes a buyer wary of any of these ideals. sure many here in america, sheep that we are, would love to drive a "green" car. maybe the time is right for much of this, but after going to the S.A.S.E. show here in Detroit, a show that is for all the engineers of the automotive industry, looking at the suggestions and samples provided by even the largest of OEM's , i am scared to say, the offerings are lean and offer little to make me feel we have mastered the technology required to market such creations, let alone, stand behind them for any lenght of time; just like when the first computers came out; they were better left to the egg heads that created them; but as technology gained fruitation, the concept became viable and worth selling to the general public.
it is my greatest fear, that not only will all this push to become "green" and struggle thru these economic times as well, the buying public is the one with the greatest risks of all. let the soup come to boil, and finish simmering, when it is ready, let the people eat, not sooner

stimulus for me

2009-02-28T15:45:00.000-08:00

hey mr. president! over here, over here! you know, all that money that you are throwing around? how about some my way? i promise not to be quite as bad as the banks and blow some of it on high flying hi-jinxs, but i'll do my best. maybe i'll do my part and pay some of my bills, try to stay solvent, hmm, maybe not, i'll get more money that way. you want to have 36% ownership in me? why not? hell, when i work, you already get close to 25%, so what's a few extra points between business partners. do i have a business plan? no....should i? doesn't seem any of corporate america does either, so does it really matter? do i plan on paying it back? come on mr. president, this is the new america, the one you wanted to change so badly; hell, with all the new socialist programs in place, flush with cash from the endless supply your mint keeps printing, why should i worry? if it all goes as badly as it is planned, hell, i'll be out of money sooner than when you give it to me.
thinking back, george w's measly $600 per taxpayer was chump change; you give the meaning of "entitlement" a new twist; just ask, you'll recieve, and in a really big way.i was always under the impression that the democrats just give away money, as long as it's not theirs, and boy, you didn't fail to surprise anyone...less than 100 days in office and already given away the cow, the milk and the farm. damn, is there anything left yet? see, why should i worry about paying you back, hell, i stand a better chance of making it, compared to some of the other so-called shaky business deals you've already made. talk about buying votes, you hit that one slam dunk.
oh, and good call, sending hil to china, begging them to buy more of our debt...at this rate, our great grandchildren will be paying off the interest, let alone the principal. you know, i kinda like that idea, we borrow from china, and plow it into iraq, and pay off north korea to play nice. makes sense, buying your enemies, with your own blood, sold to yet more of your enemies.
some how, mr. president, i think on your way out, forget we had this conversation and hey, thanks for the billion; the checks in the mail....

wishful thinking?

2009-02-27T13:24:00.000-08:00

i was reading another blog site, dedicated to cars as well, and a story about toyota in europe was having storage space issues with so many unsold cars and trucks, they had to pretty much just lease space on a container ship.
what burned me, was the 'tude of some of the posters to that site, spilling off comments like too much over production, building for the sake of building, bad management, etc.
what most of these armchair "ceo's" fail to realize, as does most of the people macro-managementing this country and the world as a whole, that people who have money and those with out, are just not spending money. we want jobs, the chance to create wealth, our own futures, not unemployment lines and foreclosed homes and shattered lives. we, the people in this country need the bail outs, not the idiots who mismanaged the whole damn thing in the first place. when history is written about this decade, the morgage industry crisis that brought about our depression, will finally be accepted for what it was; not the wants of the poor; but the gross negligence of those on top; corporate greed is what killed the golden goose.
so when the smug little posters who feel it's the little guy's fault, i hope they'll finally figure it out when their bmw's, mercedes and lexus won't make them any new friends at the unemployement lines.

2009-02-19T10:11:00.001-08:00

OUTSOURCED

2009-02-19T09:56:00.000-08:00

i just had a bill collector try to call me; this being unemployeed kinda kills the bill paying thing, i know, but hey. funny thing was the phone call came from costa rica...what do they plan on doing, boarding a plane and roughing me up, once they spend say $1200 round trip ticket, for less than $500.00 debt? talk about outsourcing..what next, bollywood will send some pretty boys with slide rulers to work me over? sheez!
on that note, speaking of out sourcing, when will the friendly and totally lost in another world folks at the not so mighty UAW plan on doing, as the plants and job losses keep mounting and the plants in mexico keep on sprouting up? seems mighty suspious when you lose your job here in detroit, but they keep cranking out the same $30k car from south of the border. seems when the entire middle class disappears, maybe then, when what ever is left of the auto industry, can finally figure out that sub $15k cars ARE what americans want and need. bad enough the house value dropped to next to nothing that cars, which are the second highest priced items we finance, are going to be difficult to try to get a loan for when we are all making less than $25k a year. my lovely wife just bought our home, a lovely $200k house for $70k on a $25k salary..so figure the 30 year note, it makes sense; try getting a 10-15 year note on a $40k car...ha!
another note; quietly, GM has made Buick a huge name plate in china; so what you say. well, they sell over 7 different models of Buicks there, comepared to our 4; doean't take much of a fool to see what is getting ready to happen here; yep, you got it, the same Buicks will be made in China and shipped back here.
now UAW; what can and will you do now? when the very jobs you vowed to protect are now gone, and the only thing is left is your golf club and fancy summer lodge for your premier members, not the rank and file, ask your self, could we have failed and boy, what where we thinking....by the way, the country code for costa rica is "506"..so when you see the caller i.d. number come up...tell them bob says hi.

LOTTERY TIME

2009-02-17T14:34:00.001-08:00

i was reading, today's mega million lottery was up to $100 million, usd, and knowing this is a rather decent sum, after taxes, i could buy a small eastern european country and become president for life and have a harem of women and all the cool cars i ever wanted to drive...alas, back to reality.
even in these troubling times, in which many car lines may disappear, i looked inside my mind, and after i got past the bad porn, i thought of what would i buy, of currently made cars and trucks if i won the lottery and of course had a place to park them. i am not listing any old favorites or classics, no, that would be too easy and i am not making the guys at the auction houses any richer. so, in no particular order, for that matter, here is my list of my car porn and why;

1) dodge challenger srt-8; bright orange...nuff said
2) dodge charger srt-8; coppertone orange and evil as shit
3) jeep grand cherokee srt-8; black...nuff said
4) chevy hhr turbo; bright red done in the delivery panel wagen style
5) chevy camaro 6.0 with a/t; fly yellow with black stripes
6) cadillac cts-v; black with black rims
7)caddy cts-v coupe; white with white rims
8)caddy cts wagon; red, for momma
9) caddy sts-v; black for business type work
10)fiat 500 abarth; white.....cool as shit
11) smart car; yellow just for fun
12) nissan titan; dark grey, with 4x4 for the sorry winter months and full size truck needs
12) bmw 5 series; black..nuff said
14)infiniti m45; maroon red and tan leather
15)ford flex; awd and in blue with a white top
16)gmc 3500 dualie; 2wd and 6.6 diesel...sometimes you just gotta dualie
17)nissan gt-r; gotta have at least one sports car
18)nissan 370z; blue with 6 speed; okay, two sports cars
19)pontiac g8; aussie goodness with a heart of evil; black of course

you'll notice, no hybrid's here..i want pure gas monsters; i don't want or need a 'fridge to drive, i want a soul. no weird hyper exotic's either; i want to be able to drive my cars and not really worry about dents or fools messing them up; no vette or viper either...not really my cup of tea; the gtr does it for me, thank you.

so, that does it for me; if i win tonight, i might be a bit busy for the next few days, at least dreaming of my winnings...haha

SERVICE PRO'S

2009-02-16T16:00:00.000-08:00

in another magazine i used to write for, until they changed their path, they had a writer, which they still have, who owns a service center and writes about the daily comings and goings of the service industry and how it relates to the parts business.
this writer, mitch, often tries to come across that service is the whole world wrapped up in gold; he can do no wrong,and his tech's never ever make mistakes or order wrong parts and the world is rose coloured according to him; every time i get my copy of the parts magazine, i get more and more frustrated that we, the parts professionals, have to deal with this, the persons who shit never stinks and have his words, taken as a "given" in the industry and we should bow down and wash the feet of all who, like him, work on cars for a living.
argh, i must relate...granted, you are a seasoned pro, a owner, who has seen his share of ups and downs in this crazy business we are in; but i digress, how is the words, of some one who isn't on our side of the counter, the person who creates the frustration when they say all the parts are the same, call at 5pm on friday and know damn well, no one has this part and it's up to me to bail him out of one of his own screw up's? come on mitch; there are two sides to every story, and the ones you pose, are text book perfect and only show your side; oh yeah, we make mistakes, but as the parts industry as a whole has determined, while trying to cater to your pompus ass, that over 75% of all so-called defects or failed parts, are not really failed. if there are a failure, it is in your own industry as in mechanic mis-diagnosis, not parts related. i will you give you credit in trying your best to keep up with all the trends of the automotive industry, and keep everyone on the cutting edge; but alas, even in the dealer's world, mechanics, fail to diagnose problems as well, even with the manufactor's technology in place.
so mitch, is it my fault? is it my part industries fault either, you may have had a bad day, one of my sales people stopped by and wanted to chat? does everyone who walks in your door want to make a sale? each and every person who walks in your door, offers a chance to make you money, whether they are selling or buying; so, must you disrespect all parts people as just mere annoyances to be tolerated until you can write about them and blast them for trying to be human like you? my time is worth money too; i feel bothered when sales people come in, offering me things i have no need or time for; if they are related to my business, i make the time to talk with them, familiar or not; they pose a chance to learn, teach and make connections i may never make again.
if i didn't want to learn about brain cancer, i would not become or study to be a doctor; you , mitch, cannot or do not know or experience all things related in my industry; i personally take your comments as insults to me and my fellow parts people; i am very pleased and quite happy i don't offer services to you and your garage; i have my own "mitch's" in my world to deal with, but do keep in mind; i don't offer advice on brain surgery, nor should you give advice how to run my parts business.

2009-02-09T16:23:00.001-08:00

junkyard blues

2009-02-09T15:55:00.000-08:00

in my other post, on car domain.com, i have been writing about the death and demise of the junkyards as we know them today. i realize it is hard for many to understand, even more so, when all you car about is your own need(s), what is happening and why. with the geo-political nature of the world today, faltering economies and the "greening" of many countries, the time is ripe, if not all ready happened, in the end of days for the independent auto junkyards.
first, many people fail to realize, unlike their own hobbie, or the federal governmant, businesses must make a profit; the years of living off the fat, has brought us to this point of time. i also realize, there will be plenty of people who will tell me, i still know of a place and so on and such, but they are in serious denial and i don't mean the river. most junk yards, were covered, pell-mell of cars, thrown around like a kids playground, no real reason or order. most of us, knew someone, who knew someone, who'd let you take your craftsman buddy box in and fill up for a few bucks, while novices paid dearly for any little thing.
like the rat infested, wasp nest paradise they were, sal, behind that wooden counter, covered in all those books, that looked important, and old, out dated girlie calenders, this was the next best way a boy became a man, thru the glazed vent glass of old chevies and fords. alas, old Sal passed away and his daughters didn't know or care to take over the nuts and bolts of the business. sure, it was grandfathered to some one else, so as to keep the business going, but times were getting leaner; old cars are harder to come by, federal and local laws keep trying to close you down and that dirty word that eats into the profit and hearts of all that deals with it, "insurance", forced many to try and streamline the industry, to eek out what ever profit is left after all the rising costs. now, wrecks are bidded on by auto salvage yards, who cater to the body repair industry, not the poor smuck who just wants a tail light lens for his neon. also, keeping in mind, they don't make 1965 chevies no more, finding old wrecks is harder and harder to find, and getting them, with the price of fuels and wages, eats into the costs of any parts one may sell off the cars.
as many, such as myself, who buy and sell on ebay, a few years ago, scrap metal went thru the roof; hell, any rolling piece of metal commanded good coin and it was far more profitable for folks to crush that old chevy or ford, rather than the $50-100 a junk yard would fork over for. supply and demand my friend, has caused many tettering business to go under and the rules of averages keeps on working; there are fewer and fewer lots around; those who are still there, know what they have and those who specialized in certain makes, have found theirselves quietly approached by the car companies, to sell out, and keep the whole ball of wax, from cradle to the grave, to their selves.
it's coming folks; the electric cars and hybrids, are giving the car companies a ticket to ride from our friends in public office, under the guise of protecting ourselves, from ourselves, rulings. like in japan and many european countries, forced obsolsence, is a way of life and is coming here. don't think for a minute, you'll find many hybrid's in junkyards in 10 years or so; the government has mandated the demise of most of the so-called hazardous parts of these cars, in the hands of the car companies, not poor old Sal at Ed's used car parts; the future is already upon us, and in many ways, has already past many by and sealed the coffin's of the automotive junk yards of the past.

DO AS I SAY, NOT AS...

2009-01-20T07:37:00.000-08:00

if you ever worked for a dealer-principle/small business owner/family operation, you are very familiar with these words.
in my ever varying career(read everchanging), i would have to say, these at times, are the most difficult words to have to eat crow to. maybe why i never stayed in the military. having to accept what at the moment, maybe indifferent or conflicting terms or reasons, or what ever, has always stuck in my craw. for those who work for corporations, it may seem different, but what store managers or area managers interpet as grey areas of rules and regulations can bear witness to the same principle; "do as i say, not as i do".
as an example; if your current small business owner boss, in a business meeting states to you, "such and such customer" has issues and problems with him; it is a given, that there maybe bad blood between them, and he, the owner, feels you maybe the ticket or answer to resolving any of those percieved "issues" and the said customer may start buying from your company again; "but" if the above said "customer" doesn't open up and or continues his dislike of your business, and maybe even, because of what ever reason, doesn't like you either; "bam", now you are the bad guy. no win situtation for sure. hence the catch 22 of this blog; who really is to blame here?
first off, is this customer really worth the time? does the percieved value of the customer out-weigh the reasons of trying to keep his or hers business? what really is the reasons for the bad blood of the two companies that can't be resolved? why does the owner, feel another person, who may not be able to change the reasons of the bad blood, is really gonna make a difference or leave a bad reflection of that persons ablilty to manage, due to a unwavering conflict with no chance of resolution?
at 48 years old and 27 years of this business culture, i can see why many of my seniors and other co-workers have stressed out and in many cases, burned out of this industry. stress is a killer; but to keep stress down and to retain business and employees and customers, all parties, from the customers, the owners and the employees, locked in this dance of customer service, must seek a common ground, level playing fields and sanity, to stay afloat as well as to make money in these tough economic times.

BLURRY IMAGE

2009-01-16T14:51:00.000-08:00

there is a growing upswell in the automotive manufacturing market place, to shrink down and cull some lines if not whole companies in this new automotive melt down brought upon us by the current and future economic issues. many companies who grew fat on the backs of over supply and low demand product, coupled with high costs of materials, labor and shrinking profit margins and stock performance, are finding that tough love is a terrible relationship to be in as of late.
cutting workers, shedding factories and losing market share seems to be a daily occurance here in detroit, with what seems to be no end in sight. maybe, just maybe, if the domestic 2.5 companies learn to sell a product line that encompasses a type of product that suits a market need, and make it the best they can for the dollar, and they would find that instead of badge engineering, and creating a glut of cars and trucks many don't want or can afford, just to keep factories working and to re-coup development dollars, they might start find they can make more by spreading the platform around, like toyota does with the camry chassis; sure they have two real cars, okay three, badged differently (lexus, solara, and camry), but the rest of the platform meets different needs and appear to most as totally new and different car platforms. gm is starting with their zeta platfom as well as epilson chassis. ford is doing great using the mazda based platforms to create niche and market based cars in the same way. doing this, gm can let saab be a saab; live the saab 3 alone, as a niche market car, saturn could have their own car, reliving what it was designed to be, as well as each model line could keep their halo car as what they do best and leave it at that; corvette could be it's own line, cadillac would remain what it is, and so on. take the best offerings of each line, combine the whole line up as one company and volia, a winning team line up.
yes, there will be losses, dealerships will go, as will excessive production and factories; but long run, american car companies will survive and that is good for our country and companies as well.

DEAL ME IN

2009-01-12T13:08:00.000-08:00

seems the auto manufactures, more so the semi-big three, domestic, are on a cusp of finally realizing the having competing dealerships like starbucks, nearly on top of each other, generally with in a 5-10 mile radius is some metro areas, is a giant burden that needs to stop, like maybe 15 years ago. the same can be said for many aftermarket auto parts stores as well; in many cases, in order to franchise the company and trump up growing numbers, the amount of profitablity of each location is dropping and markets are starting to scavage off each others location, rather than just the competition.
not only that, companies, so scared to drop dealers or franchises, keep supporting such businesses, that in all regards, should have closed or become something else entirely. i can bet many of you who work in small towns, many dealerships and parts franchisees look so far in the past, the only thing missing is the pickle barrel and rocking chairs to set them up as the general store. sorry folks, but that doesn't cut it in the mass market, media savy world we are in.
one such so called dealership, here in the motor city capital, is not only a GMC truck dealership, it is a NAPA franchise as well; it sits in a centuries old building and the business as a whole seems like it is still in 1959. not really who i'd like to see as my cutting edge dealership, with so called factory techs working on my 2010 denali; no, it almost looks like a scene from so hollywood b-movie, complete with bubba fixing my gmc topkick and getting some tractor parts from the NAPA counter in the same building.
come on folks; women control more purchasing power than men as a whole; i am pretty sure that most professional women, wearing prada, would not be caught dead in such a place, let alone, allow their family to buy from there as well. bright and shiny store fronts, professional services and cutting edge technology is what these companies are suppose to represent; cut these so called dealers and franchisees; bring the level of your companies asperations up and enforce your corporate image in your contracts and you'll find water will find its level and the dead weight that is these underperformers, will fade away.

IMPORT BLUES

2009-01-06T07:14:00.000-08:00

seems everyday, here in car jaded detroit michigan, if you read our liberal, left wing ramblings, called daily papers, in the letters to the editors, there are the usual responses, about buying domestic cars and all our woes will be gone. of course, if you read further into each and every letter written, in to the paper, or the columnists as well, the common enemy, for them at least, is the japanese auto industry, ie; Toyota.
now, funny as it may seem, european car companies, are rarely, if ever, included in these rants. what is even funnier, when some of these so called letters of compassion are written, they still, to this day, include references of world war 2, which by far, most of the people who remember that war, are pretty much over it in one way or another. if that theory was to hold any water, if i remember my history faily well, germany of all countries, was pretty much the leader of the whole ball of wax, with japan, coming in at a close second, and italy right there in third. and we won't even mention any french stuff...
i have owned japanese, german, italian and american cars. all have their quirks and pluses, that inherently make them what they are, or what gives them the color or flavor, that makes them what they are. most car buyers, a car is just means of transportation, some may have a preferance to a make or country, but most are based on payments, overall cost and what one expects of the overall ownership experience, not who started or won the war, or whose government supports one over another. why we have such bias that stays with us to this day, is plain ignorance, a type of ignorance like any type of bias towards a race, creed or sex; we buy for what ever reason pleases our own selves, not for the reason some liberal, biased publication deems noteworthy. granted, we are the domestic car capital; in paper form only, more of our "domestic" cars and trucks are made in Canada, or Mexico anyway; are those jobs helping us here in Detroit? no. companies are answerable to their stock holders, those same shareholders want profits, from companies that need to keep their costs in line, and to meet the needs of the marketplace.
what did the japanese do wrong? was it the war? no, it was their business model. they built good, solid cars that supply the wants and needs of the marketplace. they took our production models and built upon them and improved on them to suit their needs as a company. how was that wrong? it was wrong in our business leaders eyes, when what we saw was unfair trade laws and price manipulations; but that was too late, the cow got out the barn yard, and closing the gate now is a waste of time.
the nay-say that our cars are shut out of the european or japanese marketplaces is another attempt at lame excuses; for those of us who have driven overseas, or even seen or read about the roads and driving conditions overseas, understands, most of our cars and trucks, designed for here, are by and far too large and inpractical for roads and tax laws by and far for those countries. most people overseas love our cars, and most things american, just as we enjoy their products, but when even a chevy colbalt or ford fusion are considered large by their standards, in size and our smallest engine in these cars, under-performs most of the marketplace cars they would go up against in the host countries. in most european countries, the diesel, is the motor of choice, and here again, we lag far behind in those technologies. once again, our own companies, here in our own country, are now starting to import those same cars and designs, as "world platforms" and becoming more viable in the whole world marketplace, even if some of the cars, seem a bit small for our tastes, they are starting to grow on us and with fuel prices all over the map, are even more so, making sense.
import? i don't think so; i think what we call imports, is starting to blur, some cars will always be designed for a certain marketplace, but by and large, i feel, the world is our marketplace, and as long as we are free to buy what we please, nothing is sacred cow, no longer

SUMMER MADNESS

2009-01-05T09:01:00.000-08:00

i have finally reached a milestone in my life; i have sucessfully lost two jobs in a row, due to the down turn here in the automotive aftermarket, here in beautiful cold and dreary michigan, in the last three years; for 27 years, in this industry, i hadn't ever been without a job; now, with the looks of things, i maybe without for a while again.
but truth be told, i feel my medical condition also has something to do with my demise as well; i wear a scarlet "D" on my chest, "D" for depression/bi-polar. you see, for most of my life, i bore witness to the fact i had and lived with this form of mania. most people face it, depression, in their own fashion or form. we all face depression, at some point in our lives, but the medical condition i live with, must be treated with medications for me to live a some what normal life. unlike many who are in denial about their own mental health, who use illegal drugs or over abuse the brown bottles, i don't self medicate; i stay true to my path and take my meds as needed. sure, i have days, in which i slip and fall and could use more help, or better afford my medications to upkeep my moods as best i can, but truth be told, it's not always easy, nor is it always that simple. depression strikes each person differently and with no compassion; but i am not here to teach or to judge, just to say, like others who seek their own help thru abuse of substances, we who suffer from within, only wish others to understand our own personal hell and treat us as such.
see, i made the mistake, when i would suffer a major setback, to announce my short comings, as what they where, not looking for shoulder to cry on, just to say, look, i am human and i can falter.
alas, ignorance, comes in many colors and silently, behind my back, the whisperings of weak link, not up to par, or what ever mis-givens one can label me as, came to bear. sure, the economy was a easy target, but inside, any real gains made, were wiped clear by thoughts of less than perfection, due to my mental health issues.
stress, the good and the bad; can be and is a major killer of men and women. many people are able to hide their battles with stress, whether behind the coatails of booze, drugs, abuse of any kind or just better understanding and being able to counter any or all miscomings thru smarter and wiser living. i don't know or understand each others issues; i only know and live my own, and thru living my own life, i better understand, the more i understand my own short comings, i can better adapt my own weaknesses to the misgivens others may have of me.

passing giants

2008-11-19T08:53:00.000-08:00

in this everchanging world, at this point in time, it appears we are the cusp of a new beginning, akin to what the british automotive world went thru in the 1960's (remember them?). it appears, we maybe faced with a few less key players on the automotive marketplace, and that my friends, is hitting a bit way too close to home, more so then we can even imagine.
granted, in a free marketplace, the strong will survive; but in this case, there really are no strong, nor do the weak appear any stronger. i am blogging about the possible loss of the classic american automotive company, ie; GM, FORD and CHRYSLER. the death throes of Chrysler have been a long time coming, and in any moment, it is expected to just kneel over and die a miserable death. as for ford, or GM, it implications are much stronger and even government intervention, may not be enough. there are even appearant rumors of the chinese, buying GM of all things, but with a stock value floating around a buck or two, that isn't too far fetched; of course, then the government would prevent that, and we'd still have one big giant sess pool of waste on life support, a bigger drain on the american taxpayer than the actual government already is.
is there any real easy or painless answers for this; hell no, no matter what political party you belong to, or social status you lean towards, the huge sucking sound of the endless black hole, or money pit, we have social implications that will haunt us for many many years to come; if we socialise the company, with the government regulations the congress will require to hand over the few meger dollars they throw at the issues at hand, the regulations will choke the companies, and we will have a french socialist enviroment, rife for more corruption, and less effiency, and in the end we all lose; if we let them fail, the same will happen, millions lose their jobs and like the electronic industry, no american car companies will exist as we know it.

HOOD PINS

2008-03-09T08:07:00.000-07:00

the latest volley of keeping the D.I.Y.'s from under the hood of their own cars has been fired and this time the population never knew what hit them; chances are they never will either, wearing green coloured glasses, the lemmons herded to the cliff sides, demanding so called "green" cars and trucks have fallen prey, with open arms to the manufactors in a war fought and won by the auto industry, in front of their very own eyes and wallets.
for years, the aftermarket companies, without alliances tied to the auto production companies, have lobbied and pushed, kicking and screaming, laws preventing the big and little three, from keeping information on the systems on their cars and trucks from the public domain, and filtering down to the back yard guys and girls, to be able to fix their own cars.
well, guess what happened along the way; in all the hoopla and media attention to the $4 a gallon and more price of fuel oils, public transits, high fuel mileage cars and trucks, the crowds have placed their bets (ie;money) on the very same people who have put us in the position we are already in, and are willing to accept any and all means of doing it as well, even at the cost of future loss of liberties and information that may come from it. what has the potential of happening here makes microsoft look like a girlscout compared to the locked down hoods we will be seeing in the near future, alas on our own respite and dime. how did we get here? just look at the ODBII systems we allowed the car companies to install on 1997 and up cars and trucks in our country; unless you have been driving 1965 ford falcons up to now, most DIYers already know, or have faced, the lack of any real help on understanding the matrix of the systems with out any "paid" factory help. no swapping parts until it fixes the problem here tricks, the software systems, with consent of the voting public (ie; congress) has taken higher mileage demands, and kept the software from the auto public's eyes and hands; and guess what? its goona get a whole lot worse and even goona be paid for by you whether you do so directly or indirectly, and thanks to our own best interests, the new technologies will even be harder to access let alone be able to repair by untrained, licensed techs.
the opening salvo was fired by the hybrids; those media darlings; so wonderful and good for us; sure, they still have a gas motor and brakes and tires and such, but you won't go buy a $29.95 battery at walmart to put in those cars and the $12.95 oil changes are over as well; low friction motors and higher underhood temps now require full synthetics as well...brakes, ha, don't get me started on those either...i doubt you'll find $12.00 rotors and $10.00 pads for them at autozone either....wait until the third or fourth generation owners drive these cars and trucks..then we'll see the fireworks, people unhappy with dealer only technologies and for a 8-12 year old car...
i can remember 30years ago hearing about cars who's complete driveline power pack when faulty, would be take out from underneath the body and replaced by a remanufactured unit already to go, at the dealership, whether it was gas or electric, i am not sure, but i do know, the pudnicks were screaming monopolies at the mere thought and quietly, these ideas went away...or did they?
well, while the chickens were yelling about the sky is falling and we need electric or higher mileage cars, the manufactures have been saddling their selves up with the devil(big brother) and in our own best interests, have made these new cars a tantalizing reality on the horizon; but at a future cost. do you think the first or second owners of these cars will care? no, but like i said before, by time the 3 owner gets to them, BAM, locked out of the hood or driveline as a whole.folks, this future isn't bright and shiny, looks and smelly fishy to me and i don't even fish.
we need to imbrace our futures, not sell them out just to provide the means to better ourselves for a brief period of time. ensure the future of our industry and your local mechanics as well, demand open protocal and systems, for all of our sakes.

MECHANIC FREE REPAIR ( I DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR IT)

2008-02-15T10:43:00.000-08:00

as a part of my continual rant and rave, a apparent oversite came to me in a indirect manner; of course i have been spouting off about retailers doing illegal repair and diagonstics on customers cars, and the legal implications of their actions.
i had a customer come to our store, recommended by a repair shop, to have us sell and install wiperblades on a late model chevy venture mini van. as my assistant quickly rose to the needs of the nice old church lady,(which she was the wife of the local preacher) i queried why she was sent here, rather than the shop installing the blades; of course, the idea if paying to have the wipers installed was the key to this operation as it unfolded. of course, unknown to us as well, here at the part store, that the wiper arm itself, was stripped on the transome mount, and when my eager to please helper placed the wiper on the arm, and the blades were test run, of course, when the wiper arms crossed over each others path, of course, the blades caught and twisted.
now, how was we to know the wiper arm was stripped? i suppose the fact a repair shop passing on the "should be free" installation, should have clued us in on a potential problem, but like stevie wonder driving on a freeway, we didn't know what we were getting into. my only recourse, was since we didn't have arms available for this model, was to replace the blades for free and have the honest church lady return to the dealership for a arm replacement on m y dime. ouch, there when t all my profits on those blades for the next month or so.
the issue at hand here, is the fact that people have gotten so used to the retailers offering so many so-called free services, that it forces us, the jobbers to respond likewise, and either do the same job, or rsik losing a customer for a $10 sale since we don't want to do it.
of course, as cars have become more complicated, a simple light bulb change or battery installation isn't an easy operation as it was in the 70'S....even repair stations charge for these complicated repairs now, hence customers flocking to the big boxes for the free installations.
this also slaps the reapir trade in the face, making what should be a simple, reasonable fee repair, is now replaced by low paid hacks, who botch the repairs, or since they are the last ones who touched my car, and it wasn'tthat way when i got there, pass the buck type customers, where in our wonderful, land of the free and litigation for all, makes business insurance rates skyrocket; ask your agent what is your deductable for helping customers and doing simple repairs, and if your people make a mistake, who pays and how much; we maybe locking the help to the counter and forbiding any or all simple repairs, no matter how much it hurts sales or customer relations.
the key issue here is the legality of the repairs; even nice little old church ladies can have some killer legal savy and make you think twice about being the nice guy or girl next time.

IN GOOD HANDS

2008-01-27T09:57:00.000-08:00

today's rant, as always, goes out to the fine boys and girls, who happen to work at the major big box stores. unknown to most of them, since the basis of most of their cliential is DIY's(dummies, idiots, yahoo's), the buy it 'cause i may need it, runs amock in our industry.
we are not car insurance companies; i did not go to school to sell policies to people to proctect them from theirselves; granted, it seems like it at times, when people, just like NASA, bid their parts out to the lowest bidder, i have to question having $12.99 brakes on a $40,000 SUV.no, my favorite pet peeves are the unsure ones who saunder into my store, no idea of what it is they want or need, and because of the retail giants, who will taake back anything, no questions asked, i have to bite my lip, and watch my parts go out the door and within one to two days, watch them come back, unused and unwanted. chances are, if you are a busy jobber store, you'll not catch the items on your order trigger and of course, since we are keeping lean inventories, they get re-ordered, and now our dollars are tied up by having two sets of what ever it was they bought.
true, a little forsight and query might(MIGHT) prevent alot of these transactions from even taking place, but there always be the ones that do and as well, there are folks who are steadfast determined to buy the product, look you in the eye and tell you these will come back, i am just hedging my bets.....some times, like the whack-a-mole game at Chuckie-cheez's, i want to take a big hammer and Whack the above said idiot...what even hurts worse and rubs the salt in deeper, is when they like clockwork, walk in all smiles the next day, triumphat, returning the said items, gloating how right they were...sure, we can hit them with a re-stocking fee; but in these tight times, continue a risk of sending them further into the trenches of the enemy?
hell, maybe it is time to get my insurance license afterall.

CURSED WRENCHES

2008-01-23T09:18:00.000-08:00

consider the lowly "TORX" brand fastners; you really don't think much of them, until a customer comes in wanting a socket to remove one. in their design feature, much to most mechanic's dismay,their one most pressing feature is the one they do best; resist stripping out.
most tech's and counter people will agree that in the conditions they are used, they work extremely well, by avoiding the rounding off of the shoulders of the bolt. in theory, by placing the stress on the inside of the fastner, in a tool that places the torque in multiple points, makes for a better fastner all around. and since the bolt(nut) is generally hardened, it resists stripping out even further. what drives most back yard and entry level counter people out of their minds is the simple fact the tool that is designed to remove these bolts is made of a "soft", mangable metal, which is designed, to break or shear off if over stressed in usage. how many times have you been asked if you had any 1/2 drive torx sockets? if you need a 1/2 drive or an impact resistant type socket for these, "you" are going about this the wrong way. how many times a day do you get some one returning a "warranty" socket, with of course, the head sheared off, or twisted? when you try to explain to "johnny backyard" that the tool is only warranted for structual defects, not due to mis-use of the tool as for it's design intent? i have had on many occasions, so called mechanics, telling me that so and so retail store warranties the sockets all day long, i send them on their way, to those places; ask any Snap-on tool rep, sure, for 25.00 a socket, i'll warranty the damn thing, but at $2.79, the first time i try and warranty it, i am told to toss it and eat the cost; after two or three of those so-called freebies, now i am at a losing point; any tool salesman worth his or hers salt(or 10w30) will tell you the tool is designed to fail, shear or break off, so that you, the smuck taking off the bolt, doesn't do any further damage and strip out the fastner and make the task even harder. for god's sake, lube or heat the damn thing and you'll find, 90% of the bolts come easily out; sure, many safety hardware, like seat belts, the bolts are not designed to be removed and are bastards to remove( look under the car, cut of the fastning plate, the bolt comes out real easy) so a little patience or fore thought will aid in using the right tools for the job, including the tool that is in your head; you'll find those little "star" bolts aren't so bad and just another bolt in your life.

BROKEN CHINA

2007-12-30T16:14:00.000-08:00

today's rant will go a seperate direction, still spewing hate towards a retail giant, but this time, the biggest of the big, the one and only Walmart. the players are different, but the end results are all the same, pushing the concept of cheap cheap cheap, damn the results of the others, we are going for the jugular.
when i was a younger man, i was enthralled by the glitz and prices of the big box seller; it was like a staple of life, get paid on friday and by saturday after work, we loaded up the car for the trip to wally world, and a few hours later, unload all the crap at home and by monday, start the cycle all over again. as i aged(ah wisdom at the expense of humor), i came to loathe Walmart; like it's ilk of previous years, Kmart, the giant was going thru growing pains, after taking ahold of an area and laying wake to all the lesser stores, the decay sets in. admit it, try to shop at any Walmart; once you get thru the door, of so-called community groups hawking popcorn or cookies, you are greeted at the door by what looks like the "crypt-keeper", freshly dug up from his tomb and propped up by the carts to scare most small children...once you get inside, and try to get past the crowds at the understaffed return/service center, you may get a cart, or at least something that even the most jaded homeless preson would even turn their noses up at. as you swerve to avoid the 450lb people, too lazy and fat to walk, who are racing up and down the aisles like a bad nascar race and their offspring who are riding bikes and scooters up and down the busy paths, maybe i didn't need that small bottle of asprin after all( i need a gun, oops, they sell them there too).all indications that most southern comedians are right, only ugly people breed..but i am not here to complain of the clientel of the famed store, but of its tactics and policies as per-se.
you see, as the great dumbing down of america takes place and henry ford is rolling over in his grave, the average median income is coming down in record time, as the average income of third world countries is going up; karl marx would really be dancing in his, knowing that socialism is alive and working very well; soon, we all will be able to afford $10,000 cars and happy meals from mcdonalds as dinner dates.so , who is single handled responsible for this raping of the america as we know it? you got it, the big happy smiling face, reminding you about the new lower prices of stuff you need, not made in america, for our best interests, bought and sold by the chinese government. you could round up in any given walmart supercenter, all american products and they wouldn't fill the men's bathroom. it is a shame, but the truth. but the same is happening in our own industry as well, look at the contents of the parts you sell, in the interests of the ever budgetminded consumers, the value priced items, are all made in the land of the big red flag as well; hell, even general motors has said, 25% of its parts content, will be made in china.now, it stands to reason, with a population of over a billion people, the consumer market place china represents, is way larger than here and europe combined; so it makes sense, if you are going to build it there anyway, spread the costs all over; just good business sense. but from a country who blanantly reverse engineers a bmw and calls it something else, some thing is lost in the fit and finish and quality as a whole; cheap knock offs, no matter where made, are still jsut that, cheap knock-offs.
whether you shop at Target, Autozone, Krogers, or even my own store, if we just made a consious effort to buy and demand, quality made products, not just american made ones, we all will live happier and perhaps a more enrichened one as well.

REQUIEM OF A VW BUG

2007-12-23T07:35:00.000-08:00

if there ever was a car line that defies all conventitual logic, it would be the volkswagen car line up, with the bug out front and the a1-to current generation line up of rabbits/golfs/jettas...there just isn't too many other real lines that brings out the joy of ownership that this one does. many cars and trucks also envoke passion, but generally with a few ownership changes, where a vw will go thru owner after owner and keep the same basic chassis and like a teen age girl at the GAP, change looks to reflect the mood and passion of this new owners.some times it is almost too funny how a car can go from stock for many years, change to a go fast go-cart for a few years, a college girls powder puff for 4 years, then a mall beater for some skate rats and back to a classic restoration project in its life time. just like the willy's original jeep, you could almost build a brand new vw, abet a 1969 one, from parts bought from JC Whitney or like type catalogs. in a marketers sense, it is the perfect car; so many of them are still going and going; and keep on needing parts. one warehouse/ parts supplier for vw's based here in michigan, has such a bad reputation that no matter how many customers he pisses off, the next owner of the car will buy from him again, then the vicious circle keeps on going and going, so the car stays with him, just a new face and victim to rob from.
many car companies are starting to accept that the love affair we have with our cars is hard wired to us; build it and we'll keep coming back for more; a classic is timeless, and in some instances, such as the vw, it is immortal.

DOUBLE BAGGER

2007-12-23T07:07:00.000-08:00

unlike the tag, this is an issue that affects all retail and service type sales; here in the cooler climes, one bane of the windy and blistery days, it grows tiring seeing plastic bags, from all kinds of sales stores, caught up in the bare arms of the trees, blowing like weather vanes, abet much uglier, in all directions, until they free their selves or some one tires of them and removes the visual eyesore for us. lets revert back to the paper bags; i try to use only paper boxes, ala like sam's club or costco, to give my customers to carry their items with; it saves my store space of empty boxes and reuses the potential they still have as storage, to someone else. for each and every one we pass on, another tree thanks us, for one less plastic bag caught up in its loving embrace of the sunlight and air we breathe.

INSTALLER MENTALITY

2007-12-22T10:21:00.000-08:00

one place the jobber/independent parts store still has beaten the big box retailers at is the heavily competitive market place of the installers. sure, in many places, they have started to make some noise, but overall, the service industry of automotive repair is worlds different than the d.i.y. market place for the most part(there are rare cases of similiarities, but i am dealing with the overall topic at hand).
the big box retailers are all about cash.cash is king; it is how they have become the 800lb monkey's they are; when you have a limited amount of payables, and get the bulk of your business paid for in matter of days, it is a marketer's dream. for the independent repair shops, as well as large companies as well, credit is a way of life. ask any jobber store, collectables are at a all time high with most recievables at over 45 days on the books.it adds up folks, and it takes the precious cash terms the big boys enjoy away. sure, they can and do offer attractive terms on credit cards, issued in their names, but with some one else toting the note, it continues to make business sense, but can they compete when money gets tight for the repair shop? no, its c.o.d. again, and those plain white ford rangers sit parked infront of their buildings.
kinda ironic at the least; all those years of 3-5% kickbacks for paid bills, paid labour claims and no hassle returns from NAPA and others, have spoiled the repair shops; how many repair shops proudly have a AUTOZONE repair shop sign out front? none i am willing to bet, and won't be in any time soon either. the low paid ex-TACOBELL employees working at these so called parts stores, whose turn over rate approaches fast food service records as well, don't have the mechanic/tech mentality to focus or service the wants and needs of the repair industry; we aren't talking about rocket science here, but nor are we talking about the foo-foo retail parts that the repair industry doesn't want or need either.
we'll take one small victory at a time and when the giants have fallen, there will be peace, joy and happiness once again in the automotive parts industry.

WHITE BOX BLUES

2007-12-20T17:03:00.000-08:00

to all the parts manufactors; please please please, give it a rest. i am talking about the parts box packaging. in all the wonderful, marketing and wisdom that you have been lead to believe, no matter how good the package is, how informative the words are, and in the final end use, knowing fully well the package is not installed on the car, that box will be torn open just like a christmas present on the 25th of december. and in the best of all worlds, there will be returns of the above said product as well, for what ever reasons; so to make it easier on all parties involved, please just make the boxes easy to open and at the least, have some certain type of coating that repells grease,water and fingerprints. just like the dented can of beans on the shelves at the store, the greasy, torn open box, repaired as best as we counter people can, will never be sold, no matter what the contents hold. that mental stigma, of the pre-installed, tested on some one else's car, cannot be over come. so no matter, what it comes down to, make our job easier and save all of us the grief, make the boxes mechanic and customer proof...if we want child proof containers, we'll sell prescription drugs instead.
on the same lines, this is the new millenia; no small packages should be sold, that are not able to be resealed. spend the extra pennies, pass on the cost, but make the small display parts able to be resealed as well...god knows how many times customers and parts swappers rip open the blister packages, only to announce that its wrong or doesn't fit, and once again, away we go with a unsalable product. granted, once you sold the product, its gone and you have very little to worry about, other than warranties or liablitities issues; but for the guys and gals who are in the trenches, shilling your products, make our jobs easier and maybe, we'll find selling your stuff profitable to us as well.

FAST FOOD

2007-12-16T15:08:00.000-08:00

ever notice when you go to the big box retail parts stores, the lack of the one thing that made the parts store what it was in the male bonding universe? the stool....no, not the body function, but the stool the parts person or customers would saddle up to when they came up to the counter for service and a few good words.
taking a page from the fast food businesses, retail parts chains have done away from the last bastion of male glory, the stool.think about it, fast food joints don't want you to stay long in the store, get you in, get you out, hard cold fiberglass seats, and cold, uninviting vinyl to ensure your quick turn around in and out....same thing with taking away the stools, now parts customers, have no reason to comfortably sit or stand around and talk shop or anything, nope, now the guise is to get you in and out in a jiffy, and heaven forbid any counterperson get equally comfortable; no, the idea is invoices per hour and if you are sitting still, you are not part of the team.
now before you all get your panties in a knot, i am going to tell you that alot of this is due to women; aha, you say..i knew it, he is a woman hater...hell no, god knows i love them, but their buying habits have been studied by those same highly educated, coporate raiders and they have decided for the good of the parts stores, turn the experience into a "Walmart"(no help found here) shopping trip, get in and get out,next please.the socially correct scholars have decided for us that the male bonding and social good old boy stuff had to stop.hell, many jobber type stores have been buying into this same belief when their so-called buying group decides it wants to try and enforce the same type rules and sales objectives as well...out goes the stools.remember the old off colored joke about how to confuse (insert favorite enthic group) by placing them in a round room and telling them to pee in the corner?..well, same thing, take a group of back yard mechanics, parts swappers and turn them loose in a big box part store...the glazed, deer in the headlights look...help mommie, i am lost. it's just not what we are hard wired for...now take a woman and let her drag her politically correct partner into the same part store and she'll lead him in and out in record time, no add ons, no extras and hell no, sitting around. might as well put in a few powder rooms and some fruity drinks and you'll have a starbucks/borders bookstore in a minute.
come on fellas, or even ladies, lets make the parts buying and selling experience what it once was, fun, entertaining and most of all, give us back our damn stools.

LOW-BROW PARTS

2007-12-15T15:21:00.000-08:00

lowbrow parts/ welcome to my world. i am a 26 year veteran of the automotive parts industry and have been involved in all aspects of the business short of manufacture. in my time in this fun filled field, i have learned and seen alot, many things i am proud of and many, i shake my head and wonder what is it we have come to.
i also write an article published monthly in a trade magazine for this fine industry, but i am unable to name it or myself, for the pure and simple fact i have no love or like for the false god of this industry, the big box retail chains. for this reason, so as to keep my other gig and my editor and his advertisors happy, it is best i remain secret.
i will not be cowed down or shut up by what i see is the terrible plight the retail industry has wrought upon our fine business models and what will become of our trade as a whole. i will speak up, not to be silenced, by the truths that need to be spoken and heard. in an era of political correctness, no one wants to step on the toes of the 800 lb monkey called AUTOZONE, or any other like so-called retail parts chains.there has been too much removal of the human aspect of this business that the hundreds of high paid sales marketing people and corporate board rooms have seen fit to take away and replaced with thousands of low paid worker drones unable to garnish a trade from this profession and now rank among the low paid service industry such as McDonalds and 7-11 as skilled help.
i hope that you will join me in this battle, for what once was a great career and an honest one at that. my posts will be torrid and pull no punches. i hope that you'll join my revolution in what has become yet another loss of the middle class icon of america itself, the paid professional.