Mike Anson
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Automobiles designed and built in Detroit, Tokyo, or even West Germany are pretty good and improving; however, the innovative,
entrepreneurial U.S. aftermarket can always make them even better. The automotive aftermarket can and does make automobiles go faster, stop in shorter distances, handle better, and even get
better fuel economy. And they can also make them look better. Why? Because the automotive aftermarket is made up of people
who like automobiles and understand how they are used in the real world.
In the auto capitals of the world, auto engineers often work in glass towers and have no real knowledge of how the vehicles
they design are actually used. We know the captains of the industry who are chauffeured to work and back have no idea, but
even the engineers and middle managers are often shrouded.
COURTESY OF EDELBROCK
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They often drive a new vehicle to work every day and the company services their cars while the engineer is at work. They have
no idea how disruptive it is to take a vehicle in for service and then have to pick it up after work from someone who doesn't
even know what service was performed.
The cashier at the dealership just looks at the yellow worksheet and says it will cost $259.71 to get your keys back. If you
ask what was wrong or what needed to be fixed, all you get is an angry stare. They are there to collect your money and that's
it. If you are lucky, the service manager might talk to you and explain what was wrong and how it was repaired.
I would hope if the designers really knew how bad the situation was they would design in some "repairability" to the new cars
instead of just replacing various module components.
BUILDING PERFORMANCE
Automobiles built in Germany are not actually assembled by German engineers as they would have you think. The beautiful Mercedes-Benz,
Audi, BMW, and even some VW automobiles are hand crafted by Turkish workers who are brought in by train for the work week
and then sent home to Turkey on Friday afternoon. Tokyo's precision automobiles are assembled by workers in Japan who couldn't
get into one of the prestigious colleges in Tokyo. While workers once had pride in their product, they've caught "the U.S.
disease" and are now just filling in their time.
Here in the U.S., our workers have proved they are as good as any in the world if they are given a well-engineered product
to build in a semi-modern, well-lit assembly plant where their suggestions are listened to and sometimes actually acted upon.
Production cars and trucks are built with parts supplied by the lowest bidder or the president's brother-in-law. Aftermarket
parts are designed to make a difference and perform.
Many innovations came from auto racing, others from the aircraft industry, and others from very smart people who thought
to themselves, "what if I do this to the car or truck?"
Many of the equipment now standard on cars and trucks started as aftermarket accessories, including disc brakes, bed liners,
rear-view mirrors, and windshield wipers.
When a person adds an aftermarket part to their car or truck, they want to feel the difference and know their decision to
add the part was the correct one. Does the vehicle go faster? Does it handle better? Does it stop in a shorter distance with
better control? Does it look better? This all matters and it's the auto aftermarket innovators in the field who make it happen.
