Beautiful to Bizarre Cars List

Thanks to this article from Wired.com for bringing us a list of beautiful (above), if not bizarre (below) vehicles from the past.- Autopartstomorrow.com

Are You Stuck in a Buying Rut?

One of the things most people do that they probably would like to change is the process of falling into habits. Some habits are comforting, but others can be destructive. My wife's father worked for 30 years at the same company, the last 20 years in the same position, in the same building, in the same office. She told me that if she ever wanted to go eat lunch with him she would just need to look at the calendar and see what day it was... On each day of the week was a designated restaurant, and it never varied. I don't know if a habit like that could be considered destructive (like smoking or overeating) but it certainly wasn't very imaginative.

If you live in a small town I think you know what I mean... and if you have ever tried to move to a small town and open a business, I KNOW you know what I am talking about. Getting people to change their habits can be tough. All of the reasons you give for trying to move their business to you, are probably the reasons they are stuck where they are... loyalty, service, familiarity, etc.. Hopefully the reasons they will stay with you once you can prove yourself.

That is where we find ourselves on the internet with Autopartstomorrow.com . Although we have been around, selling auto parts since 1928, we are fairly new to the internet world. For the last year or so we have been quickly growing by offering those long standing values that have allowed us to succeed for the last 80+ years. Consistent quality backed up by superior customer service... and on the internet, a clear and easy to use web page offering GREAT prices.

Since we have always offered our wholesale prices only to dealerships and jobber stores in the past, local garages and the general public are just catching on. We love ALL of our customers, but I think you will find a little extra willingness to help out with some of our newest on the site. We have built a first class team of automotive parts experts, and they are all here and waiting to jump in and help wherever they are needed. Please e-mail or call us if you have any questions. That is why we are here and YOU are who we want to help!!

If Money is a Factor...

The recent article by AAA stating 25% of the American public would have problems paying to repair their vehicle comes as no surprise to us here at Autopartstomorrow. We hear from our customers every day about how much they were quoted for a repair, and how they were greatly relieved to find us on the internet.

Problems with the economy have long been known to bring about real change in the business environment. When everything is going great, anyone who has a company (for the most part) can make money. But when things go bad, only those companies that are well run, financially sound, and cater strongly to their customers can survive. At Autopartstomorrow we are not only surviving, but we are expanding rapidly! Our business model based on allowing the general public access to our wholesale auto parts inventories, at real wholesale pricing, is one that is greatly needed during times of stress.

Take the example from the AAA article. People were asked how they would handle a $2000 car repair. I don't know about you, but my first reaction would be to pass out. When I awoke I would get to the internet as fast as I could and search for some alternative. That is where we are getting our growth from. First it comes from the consumer that buys his auto parts from us at about half of what it would have been otherwise. Second it comes from the mechanic that agrees to install that part at a discount to keep his shop busy... and finds that our prices are better than even he has been paying for the same parts. Then finally it comes from each of them asking their friends, "Have you heard of Autopartstomorrow.com?"

I love working here because we are offering a genuine solution for peoples troubles. There are enough other things around to worry about. We want to help you keep your car on the road so you can keep working towards overcoming those other things. We will all get through this recession... we just need to remember to help others, get creative with our finances and work to make things better, one day at a time.

Autopartstomorrow

How are We Doing?

"I just wanted to let you guys know I'm extremely impressed with autopartstomorrow.com. Your prices are great, shipping is quick and easy and you offer great things like free returns and good customer support. I will be purchasing all my products here moving forward!"

Thanks for everything!
Kyle

We LOVE hearing from our customers! I suppose ALL companies love to hear from customers like Kyle... but we want to hear any concerns you might have as well. We really do want to be the best in the industry, and our customers letting us know of any areas where we weren't the best does two things; It allows us to try to make that occurrence right, and it gives us a chance to look at our processes and see if there is an opportunity for change or improvement.

We are not new at selling and shipping auto parts (We have been doing it for over 80 years). We are however fairly new in servicing the "retail" public. I used "retail" in quotes there to signify that segment of the DIY public that every other auto parts franchise calls "retail" because of the marked up retail prices they sell at. To us you are actually an extension of our "wholesale" customer base. It is just that the questions and procedures are different when we package your part and UPS or Fedex it to a home address... and we want to do that better than anyone else in the business.

Kyle thinks we do a pretty good job. We are humbly grateful for the opportunity to serve each and every one of you. Please let us know how we are doing!!

Autopartstomorrow
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Who Should You Trust?

When you buy anything online you are allowing for a certain amount of trust in a stranger. Many people do some research into who that company is behind the scenes. If it's the same brand name as someone that has a bricks and mortar auto parts store down the street it provides a little bit more comfort. For a company like Autopartstomorrow.com we are probably never going to have a storefront on every corner (In business, never say never).

The reason is that we feel we can work in a much more cost efficient manner if we don't have those astronomical expenses associated with rent, upkeep, utilities, employees, etc... If we are going to sell wholesale, we need to keep our operations er, wholesale. That doesn't mean we aren't worthy of your trust.

In the world of auto parts distribution there have always been several layers; The manufacturer, the distributor, the Jobber store, the store front, the mechanic and the end user. The manufacturer recognizes that their talent lies in the actual making of the part. They make the parts and sell them by the truckload to companies whose expertise is in distributing the parts. We are a wholesale distributor. We have been this cog in the wheel for over 80 years. We are good at buying from the manufacturer and distributing them to others with the ability to get product to the customer.

In the past, it really was necessary to have a storefront near where the end user lived. Now, with the internet, we can "distribute" directly. As a result, we can also collapse a couple of those levels of profit taking, and share our savings with the customer. We feel that those savings make it worth buying from a huge regional warehouse in an industrial district rather than a beautiful, well lit and merchandised auto parts store down the street. At the end of the day however, it will be up to the consumer to decide.

Why we don't carry EVERYTHING?!

I posted a few days ago about why we don't do special orders for auto parts here at Autopartstomorrow.com. Along that same line of thinking is the process by which we select the parts that we offer for wholesale purchases online.

When a customer is in need of auto parts (GM parts, Ford parts, Mercedes parts, etc.) they would love to be able to log in and immediately find all of the parts they need, at wholesale pricing and delivered next day. That is actually the experience we would like to offer at Autopartstomorrow.com, but it gets a little complicated when you begin to consider the scale of what it would take to stock all of those parts. So what happens most of the time with auto parts stores is they do tons of research on which parts need to be replaced the most, on which vehicles, in what areas... and then put as many of those parts as possible into stock in the areas as close to the customer with that car as possible.

So, as an example, we are much more likely to have brake pads for a 2003 Chevy Malibu than the glove compartment latch for this Lamborghini. Even on that 2003 Chevy Malibu we need to make decisions; we carry 4 different brake manufacturers and most pieces will be available, but we do not carry any of the body pieces or window glass. When you step back and really begin to think of the 10's of thousands of auto parts on every vehicle year, make and model still on the road it would take a parts warehouse the size of Texas.

So, companies specialize to a degree. What we do at Autopartstomorrow.com is focus on late model (1990-2010) service parts (tune-up, brake job, electrical repair, high failure rate wear items, etc.) for the most prevalent cars on the road in the Eastern United States. We stock those parts in warehouses from Southern GA to Northern PA, so that we can get them to you the very next day. Then we make sure our prices are the lowest that can be found so you can repair your vehicle with the very least out of pocket expense possible. We may not have every part for every car, but we will probably have almost everything you need for your car and get it to you fast and cheap every time. It seems to be working as we continue to double in size every few months. We pledge to continue to increase our inventory and keep our price low, so that you will keep coming back and tell ALL of your friends!!

Autopartstomorrow.com

The Automotive Battery

Autopartstomorrow is an internet based wholesale auto parts company. We are publishing this video for information purposes because we feel an educated consumer will be more able to make wise decisions about their automotive repair budget. A well informed customer typically researches many places before they make purchasing decisions. In that environment we find that these customers (you) will choose to buy from us any time we have the auto parts they are looking for.

Although we do not sell automotive batteries because they cannot be shipped via FedEx or UPS, it is still good to be informed about this very important auto parts component. Click this link to go to discoverymedia.com and watch the rest of their automotive repair how-to videos.

Autopartstomorrow.com

Can You Special Order That For Me?

One of the questions we get all of the time is, "Can you order that?". Another question is... "How long until you get it back in?". Each of these are normal questions that make sense if they are asked of a normal retail parts department. At Autopartstomorrow.com however we don't do many things in the normal way. Being a pure wholesale auto parts to the public website, we have to remain vigilant to underlying costs. Anything we can do to help automate our process or at least streamline the auto parts look-up and sales procedure helps us become more efficient, and thus less expensive at the bottom line.

What we are is a very large wholesale distribution company spread across several states East of the Mississippi who can sell in stock auto parts out of it's vast inventory at prices that just cannot be touched by our competition. By keeping processes simple we keep them cheaper, and then give that difference back to you in lower prices.

Special orders are great. Who can blame someone for wanting to get that really hard to find AC Delco part for their Corvette at the extremely low price we sell our auto parts for? The reality is that our prices are based on efficiency and velocity and if we accepted special order parts we would need to hire more people and then add those additional costs to our everyday pricing. We would prefer to spend that money on hiring the absolute best parts experts to help you find the right auto part the first time... and then allow you to buy it at the bottom line best price; online, and online only (because that is the most efficient way).

Autopartstomorrow.com

Solar Powered Marines

This article from WSJ.com highlights some great technological improvements that will translate directly to saved lives and costs for our troops in the field. Click through to the article for the entire story but here are some of the quotes I have lifted...

* Batteries make up as much as 20% of the weight of the 100 pounds of gear a Marine infantryman typically carries.
* Some 30% of all fuel trucked into Afghanistan—at great risk—goes to power personal electricity generators.
* One U.S. service member is wounded or killed for every 24 fuel convoys.
* For some platoons at remote outposts, solar power is all there is.

Thanks to those commanders who have pushed this through as a top priority issue. Keep them safe and bring them home when they are done!

Autopartstomorrow.com

I'm not Stig, but I was here last year and he wasn't...

Now you know where I was last year when I had to go on that "unexpected emergency" vacation week. Do you blame me?

Autopartstomorrow.com

Sweetwater Tennessee Car Show

A friend of mine was in Sweetwater, Tennessee this past weekend and stubled upon this car show downtown. While there are certainly bigger shows, with more impressive cars in places like New York, LA and Las Vegas, it remains a part of Americana for the regional car builders to bring out their personal show pieces and "share the wealth" so to speak, so that people on the fringes of the industry can get inspired to find and build their own. The car knowledge and resources that can be built just by talking to these guys about their passion is enormous. Not to mention you might be lucky enough to find one of them needing to move something to free up cash for that next project they have been eying. It never hurts to ask...

Autopartstomorrow.com

Auto Repair Initiator

So, my last post was about how loud a direct exhaust Mustang race car might be. Then comes along this picture of an urban defense vehicle (Guns don't kill people, road rage rednecks with fully auto machine guns kill people). While I must admit there are times I would like to jump in the back and let loose a torrent of shell casings and maniacal laughter, it might not be good to actually have that ability within reach. It brings to mind one of the basics of gun safety; Don't point at anything you do not intend to shoot. It also invokes that never understood rule where the biggest, baddest guy in any bar will invariably be confronted by a drunk pipsqueak... don't know why, it just happens.

Now let's speak to potential. We don't sell sheet metal, but it appears that the bullets unleashed by this machine gun would penetrate the outer skin of almost any car and damage the underlying auto parts therein. So, if you find yourself in a situation where you confronted this guy for changing lanes incorrectly and find you suddenly have a need for a new radiator, alternator, battery, belts, wires, hoses, etc., give us a call. We have auto parts for sale and I would love to hear the story.

Autopartstomorrow.com

Isn't there a sound ordinance around here?

Subtle and elegant it's not... In fact I can feel my eardrums being shredded just by looking at those stacks. Still, I bet you would have no shortage of people that would come by just to ogle and talk, and beg you to crank it up. If you are looking for a vintage Mustang race car, check this one out through the link to bringatrailer.com.

Autopartstomorrow.com

Airbrushed Camaro

There is no way this guy could have been paid for the true value of this patriotic airbrush artwork. Click through this link to autoblog.com and check out the entire gallery. The myriad of scenes and the detail of each is astounding.

Autopartstomorrow.com

Classic AMC Pacer

So, Is that an Oxymoron? You have to admit the car in this picture is unique (most pacers have been mercifully crushed) and well preserved. I just think if I was spending time and money to keep something up I might rather handle the cars on either side.

Autopartstomorrow.com

My New Favorite Site

One of the dangers of being a social media guy is that you run across some websites that can turn into real time burners. The cool thing about my job is that I write about, share from and sell automotive related items. Have you ever heard the expression, "Do what you love?". If I were unemployed I really would probably be sitting around, surfing the internet, and gravitating towards the old classic restoration and rebuilt car sites.

I have found one such site that is new to me (will we ever run out of new, cool stuff on the internet?) and I will share it with you if you promise not to bid against me when I find that perfect project car to dedicate my spare time and money too. I just re-read that last sentence and realized I don't have any of the three at the moment ;)

Anyway, check out this link to a particular vehicle, and then click back through to their home page and then look up and go "Is it time for lunch already?". Good surfing, but be forewarned!

1941 Hudson Commodore

Autopartstomorrow.com