Document MM5Qp6Oy147KxG1qvoK08OG0a

Outlook VOL. 17 NO. 4 NATIONAL CAR CARE MONTH P. 8 NAPA PROFILE: NAPA Jobber Dwight Eaves....... 5 A new feature to appear in each Outlook edition. Read this and meet your fellow NAPA Jobbers -- or have them meet you! SALE PROGRAM SUCCESSES................................... 7 NAPA Jobbers share how they have utilized existing sales programs for profitable results. NEWS AND NEW PRODUCTS..................................... 8 New Product announcements, upcoming sales promotion specials, educational oppor tunities -- everything you need to know to stay on top of the automotive aftermarket. ANNOUNCEMENTS .......................................................9 NAPA announces two new faces at headquarters and the availability of two important business publications. BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND................................. 11 Once again it's time to trade in for NAPA Gold! 1984 -- SPOTLIGHT ON IMPORTS .........................13 How to get your fair share of that ultra-profitable imports market! THE NAPA GUIDE TO ASE TESTING.......................15 An opportunity to be of invaluable service to your service repair customers. FALL CAR CARE DAYS............................................ .,17 Find out why this year's successful Car Care Days promotion is in the bag. GUAM AUTO PARTS CELEBRATES ITS THIRD ANNIVERSARY................................................ 18 ...And gives the islanders a real American-style celebration to remember! A REAL DOWN HOME CELEBRATION.....................19 Brooks Auto Parts celebrates a new store opening. ALTERNATIVE FUELS UPDATE............................... 21 What's happening today in the world of alternative fuels. DATELINE NAPA.........................................................22 Items of interest to NAPA and its people. P. 22 NAPA OUTLOOK VOL. 17 NO. 4 Chris McLean, Editor & Director of Communications Debbie Lefstead, Assistant Editor Published periodically in the interest of NAPA Jobbers, Distribution Centers and Manufac turers across the nation. When notifying us on a change of address, please mention NAPA OUTLOOK and give us the old address along with the new address and zip code. Litho in U.S.A. NAPA HEADQUARTERS 2999 Circle 75 Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia 30339 2 5. 0V*- , - ....** L. ^ / ' X w $& /> - ** 'KIMIBGD8TY Stt 10W4G Motor O TheVerdict Is In On NAPA Oil `Try Our Case" ^99 Sa,e Price $ 1 fifl Less Mail-In "Reprieve" -- Refund Judge $19 the Cost. flf Net Consumer Cost After Mail-In Refund or m irieve Wfe'i $f.SO'."Reprieve,., .?Sefite|lter-17 and Oc H-Motor'!0iUorders beef 1 i* * ' 2 Mf* / .'/. KiStpeciailPricing Availatf >. 1h.mfS .... . '-T; ( See youfi.DjG: sales man (*repres,en&tive for detail f Introducing NAPA's New Black Tubular Long Frame Steel Wiper Blade, An Engineering Breakthrough! INTRODUCED AS O.E. ON 1984 CARS Aerodynamic design reduces blade wind lift at high speeds Electronically applied finish provides maximum corrosion protection New specially formulated natural rubber element greatly improves wipe quality THE FUTURE PROFIT MAKERS NAPA is coming out with a complete line of Black Finish Steel Blades in 1985! -< CUSTOMIZED MERCHANDISING kN. ow you can select the Wiper Blade Assortment that best suits your needs. Each selection includes 25 units. When you purchase 23 at the regular net cost, NAPA provides 2 ADDITIONAL UNITS NO CHARGE! . I <IWW! 60-380 15 #60-161616" Refills 10 #60-1816 18" Refills includes 2 FREE Bonus Refills 60-381 15 #60-1647 16" Wiper Blades 10 #60-1847 18" Wiper Blades includes 2 FREE Bonus Blades Have you replaced your wiper blades lately? 60-382 15 #60-1657 16" Winter Blades 10 #60-1857 18" Winter Blades includes 2 FREE Bonus Blades I! }i jtt |? Winter Blades (60-382) gnjy.are prepackaged in the attractive corrugated merchandiser shown (size 10" x 10" x 20"). .J: Winter'Winter Wiper Wiper i| || Winter Winter Blade Blade ' '* Wiper Wiper i S! Blade Blade 'iji I 60-1657 '65' t j'* lit. JRIMI WINDSHIELD llIHrHf PRODUCTS 817 WASHINGTON ST. BUFFALO, NY 14203 thcm'onc? 8 V*3'-....- fi f | fe WV. W, '':5" *' 'WH' ' V 'i.S , 'V*- - 1.,i * i, .. v!f J.'V 1 Dwight Eaves Baltimore, Maryland :' //- W v r' Outlook knows that all of its readers have important and in teresting stories to tell about themselves. We'd love to hear your thoughts about topics such as your personal business philosophy, family/teamwork in running your store, humorous aspects of your work, personal or store community involvement, changes you'd like to see in the parts business, your unique individual charac teristics -- anything that you feel is particularly important and worth sharing with other NAPA Jobbers. Send all your comments to: NAPA OUTLOOK, 2999 Circle 75 Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia 30339. HIS BUSINESS: "I am Vice President and one of the owners of `Eaves Auto Parts, Inc.,' a four-store chain in Baltimore, Maryland. My main duties are performed out of the second of our four stores, which is in Dunndalk. We are serviced from the Middletown, Delaware D.C. My family started our operation in July, 1976, the Bicentennial year. We now have twelve employees. There are two salesmen, my father and my brother Mark, who work out of the four stores. My brother Butch oversees our main stores, our import store and all of our offices.. We have monthly sales meetings, take price surveys of our competitors, review new products, and are represented at all NAPA meetings. We all work together for the good of the Corporation. It was rather difficult at first, especially with all of us under one roof at our first location (three of us were former RPS managers and one was a District Manager!). As we grew, we spread out into separate stores, but were still able to operate as a team'. " HIS INTERESTS: Eaves is fascinated with America's aerospace program (especially the space shuttles) and has an extensive collection of colorful, informative, and sometimes extremely rare space souvenirs. Among these are: two pieces of the "space mail'' which traveled 21 million miles on the 1983 Challenger voyage, a small chunk of Skylab which fell to Earth in 1979, and a shuttle heat-resistant reentry tile, which was originally worth $2,000 and is so delicate that it can be scratched with a fingernail. HIS CUSTOMERS: "We all have D.I.Y. customers who always get into trouble on weekends! I have a pharmacist friend who knows he's a typical `Saturday customer. ' During the week he 'll sometimes call me and say, `Dwight, I know it isn't Saturday yet, but I've got problems!" WHAT'D HE'D LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN IN THE AUTOMOTIVE AFTERMARKET: "One thing I would like to see in the future would be a permanent I.D. plate on every car. This would state as much information as possible on engine size and type; transmission type; rear axle types and ratios (such as B-P-O-WER); power steering pump manufacturers; exact production date (not just month and year); cooling system type (X.C. or STD); alternator amps and brand names -- and anything else that technicians need to know if there's more than one choice of O.E.M. equipment for repairing a particular automotive system." 5 This free poster can make you a winner two ways. More and more car owners are learning that it's smart to replace their engine belts on a regular basis. No matter howgood they might look. The best time to remind them? When their car is in for service. And the best way? With this new "Remember" poster. Your customers will appreciate the reminder. You'll appreciate the steady increase in belt sales. That's a sure winner. And if a Secret Agent from NAPA Belts/Hose stops by, you can win SI5 on the spot. The posters are easy to get. Just call your local NAPA jobber. Or contact NAPA Belts/Hose, P.0. Box 5887, Denver, Colorado 80217. iNAPAibelts/hose $ALE$ PROGRAM SUCCESSES TRY IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT' PHILOSOPHY RESULTS IN GROWING PAINT SALES FOR THIS NAPA JOBBER There's an old saying "Try it before you buy it." This is ^ There's Ihe successful philosophy that NAPA Jobber Philip C. an old saying Iannaco, Jr., of Waterlord Auto Paris, Waterford, NJ, `Try it before uses in promoting paint and paint related products. you buy "In some instances," says Iannaco, "we have provid it.'* ed our prospective custo mers with a free sampling oi our Martin-Senour paint and refinishing products. Once they try our products and experience our good service, they usually come back for more." "One body shop customer started out with another brand of primer, but we urged him to try our primer instead. Once he did, he became a steady customer, not only for our primer, but for other refinishing materials as well. "Currently, paint and other refinishing products account for about 25% of our total volume. Perhaps that figure is even higher because we have found that body shops that pur chase our paint also purchase other automotive parts." Good salesmanship and personalized attention play a very important part in selling paint. However, as Iannaco has discovered, for maximum sales effectiveness, displays are the name ot the game. Quality products deserve ex posure and good displays sure help sell them. "We participate in local advertising. But the real draw ing card to our sales area is our open overhead garage doors. "Few motorists can resist coming in because it is so con venient and inviting. So, our store traffic has been increas ing steadily." (Waterford's building was previously occupied by an auto body shop -- hence, the overhead garage doors.) "It seems as if our customers, both traditional and retail, were just waiting for someone to bring quality products to their attention," he relates. "As a result, we have enjoyed a 12% increase in our paint sales every year, and they are still on their way up!" OUTSIDE SALES GENERATE PERFORMANCE Two months ago, NAPA &Vm Batteries (General) Sales Representative Bob Scherer looking discussed the urgent need lor a strong outside sales pro forward to gram to develop a whole sale market with store owner continued market Don Peno of Peno Auto Parts penetration due in Coalpori, Pennsylvania. Things just haven't been the to this effort* same since that meeting. Peno subsequently hired Lynn Traveny, an experi enced salesperson with a feel for the Coalpori marketplace. The plan was to utilize NAPA Batteries Fleet Specialist, Scott Leary, to work with Traveny and assist in presenting the Mas ter Installer Program to the fleets and dealers in the area. As Traveny explains, "Bob Scherer set up a date for Scott to work with me, so prior to that I made a list of every account that I felt could benefit from this type of program. After the first few successful calls we made, 1 realized that the com bination of a competitive price, local supply and a high quality product would enable us to dominate this market. '' And that's just what they did. After 30 sales calls, Lynn and Scott had secured 22 new stocking dealers. As Scott des cribes, "I was very pleased with our success, but I'm really not surprised. All of Ihe factors for a successful day were there, specifically Don's willingness to hire an outside salesman and selling with the Master Installer Program.'' As Don puts it, "I am very happy with this promotion and be lieve that an opening has been made with my dealers not only for batteries, but for the rest of the product lines we han dle. I'm looking forward to continued market penetration due to this effort." We agree, and keep up the good work. AIR CONDITIONING CLINICS POPULAR WITH NAPA JOBBERS AND DEALERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ^They know we're there to NAPA Jobber Mike Love of Reid Auto Parts in Scotch Plains, N.J., likes the oppor tunity that clinics provide to offer products, meet his customers in per son. "It's good to be able to too, but learning get with the customers one- is the most on-one after just hearing a voice on the phone for so important thing. * long." The only problem with NAPA Temp's air condition ing clinics, according to Love, is that they're over too soon. "Every time, we run out of time before we run out of questions," he says.1 `That may be because the bulk of a clinic is on basics which a lot of the guys already know." Dee Scuman of Anderson Auto Parts in Bradenton, Florida solves that problem by putting on two successive clinics at basic and advanced levels. "We had more people at the advanced clinic because they wanted to come back after being in the basic program,'' Scuman says.' 'Here in Florida, where everybody has air conditioning, the service stations do just as big an air conditioning business as the specialist shops," Scuman adds. At Johnson Country Auto Parts in Olathe, Kansas. Andy Etter also puts on bi-level clinics. ' 'The success of any clinic depends on the caliber of people representing the line. We've always had good results from NAPA Temp clinics." Etter emphasizes that dealers don't want to come to a sales promotion event. "They're looking for ways to make their job easier," he says. "They know we're there to offer pro ducts, too, but learning is the important thing." NAPA Temp Clinics are an attractive alternative to voca tional schools which require a major commitment in time. Jobbers interested in learning how they can be included in the air conditioning clinic schedule should contact their NAPA Temp representative or their NAPA Distribution Center sales manager. 7 PRODUCTS NAPA OIL SEALS PROMOTION BENEFITS JOBBERS AND DEALERS NAPA's Chassis Parts has introduced a new line ol NAPAbrand oil seals to the automotive aftermarket. These new seals have improved sealing performance and durability, plus a fine-line contact with shaft to reduce drag and heat build-up. The sealing element is made of tough Nitril (Bund N) lor extended wear resistance and flexibility. A thin flex-section allows constant shaft contact and sure-sealing. NAPA Chassis Parts manufactures these seals lor all types of automotive systems -- foreign and domestic car, light truck, medium and heavy duty truck, agricultural, offhighway, industrial, and commercial. To aid repair techni cians in identifying the right seal for specific applications, the company will publish complete cataloging lists organiz ed by application, interchange, and size. To introduce the new seals and their stocking cabinets to NAPA Jobbers and their dealer customers, NAPA Chassis Parts has also announced the beginning of a comprehen sive promotional campaign which will include exciting sales incentive prizes for jobbers and bonus merchandise for their dealer customers. The sales incentive prizes for jobbers will include ten in centive grand prizes -- five Alaskan fishing or hunting vaca tions and live Kentucky Flintlock rifle replicas -- awarded by special drawing at the end of the oil seal promotion. The amount of times that an individual jobber may enter the drawing will be determined by his promotion sales suc cess. Every time a jobber sells a dealer a NAPA Oil Seal stocking cabinet he becomes eligible to fill out an entry form for the drawing. By increasing sales of the stocking cabinet, the jobber increases his odds of winning either an Alaskan vacation or a Kentucky rifle. Other prizes will also be awarded for jobbers selling NAPA Oil Seal stocking cabinets. Those jobbers who sell at least ten cabinets will receive either a Carhartt's tough brown duck coat or stylish Carhartt Western coat. For sales of at least 20 cabinets, jobbers will receive a ready-to-fire black powder percussion pistol. Dealers will also benefit in the NAPA Oil Seal Promotion. Every oil seal that they purchase will olfer unsurpassed coverage and availability. The NAPA Oil Seal stocking cabinet is an excellent dealer sales aid that will make stock ing oil seals and roller bearings easy and efficient. Further more, each stocking cabinet they purchase will include a free bonus pack of six NAPA Oil Seals and two NAPA Tapered Roller Bearings. Special brochures and flyers have been developed to in form jobbers and dealers of ways they can participate. For these and for more information, contact your NAPA Chassis Parts sales representative. A REMINDER FROM THE CAR CARE COUNCIL: OCTOBER IS NATIONAL CAR CARE MONTH Just a reminder -- October is National Car Care Month, sponsored by the Car Care Council, Detroit, Michigan. The Car Care Council is making available a new 1984 ad kit which has been expanded to include all the materials necessary to tie-in a promotion with the National Car Care Month; information on how to create successful ads and 8 radio announcements; a suggested press re lease lor local media.art elements,- an idea file for staging various "car care events," and a 12 by 22-inch, NATIONAL CAR CARE MONTH red, white and blue wall poster. Reproduction proof copies of five illustrated brochures covering various topics are also available for an additional charge. A colorful, 24 by 36-inch National Car Care Month nylon flag can also be purchased. Each ad kit can be purchased for $10.00,- with flag $30.00. (The flag can be purchased alone for $25.00.) Address all inquiries and orders to: Ad Kit, Car Care Council, 600 Renaissance Center, Detroit, Michigan 48243. COURTESY CHECKING IS A PROVEN WAY TO INCREASE DEALER SALES Remind your dealer customers that Courtesy Checklists are the professional way to guarantee satisfied customers and repeat business. These checklists include important safety items and provide excellent preventive maintenance. That's good consumer news. And good dealer news, too. Inspec ting easy-to-check parts on their repair customers' cars is an excellent method of cultivating customer goodwill, which is a proven way to increase sales and profits. You can order the Courtesy Checklists from your Distribu tion Center or from NAPA Bells & Hose, Denver, Colorado. NAPA ECHLIN INTRODUCES LINE OF BRASS REPLACEMENT FLOATS The Echlin Manufacturing Company has introduced a line of improved performance carburetor floats. These floats, designed to replace the most popular O.E. carburetor floats, are 100% leak tested, ribbed for extra strength, completely non-absorbent, and resistent to all types of gasoline and gasoline additives. NAPA Echlin's brass floats are capable of meeting all O.E. specifications -- same fuel level at same dry float-level ad justments. However, because the brass float is completely non-absorbent, it can prevent the carburetor flooding that can hurt fuel economy and engine performance. Further more, there will be no dangerous fuel bowl overflow that can lead to deadly fire hazards. So help your dealer customers avoid complaints and comebacks due to soggy plastic (Nitrophyll) float problems,tell them to insist on brass. Recommend a solution instead of what could be simply another problem! ANNOUNCEMENTS NEW SALES PROMOTION DIRECTOR George Mitchell has been appointed as the new Director of Sales Promotion at NAPA Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Mitchell will be responsible for the plan ning and development of NAPA's sales promotion efforts and special markets. Mitchell comes to NAPA from Genuine Auto Parts Company Headquarters in At lanta, where he served as Manager of Special Markets. Prior to his work with Genuine Parts Company, Mitchell com pleted the NAPA Richmond Distribution Center Training Program, and went on to hold a variety of positions in the Richmond Distribution Center's sales force and the Richmond local. A graduate of North Carolina State Uni versity, Mitchell resides with his wife, Taf fy, in Acworth, Georgia. NEW MERCHANDISING DIRECTOR Bruce Snyder has been named Director of Merchandising at NAPA Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. In this newly created position, Snyder will be responsible for the coordination of all merchandising activities aimed at develop ing a comprehensive approach to the over all appearance and layout of NAPA stores. Snyder comes to NAPA Headquarters from Genuine Parts Headquarters in Atlan ta where for the past few years he has served as Manager of Special Markets and more recently as Director of Merchandis ing. Prior to this, Snyder held a variety of management positions at both the Denver Distribution Center and the Denver local. Snyder is a graduate of Kansas State University and received his degree in Jour nalism and Mass Communications. NEW CONSOLIDATED OPERATING STATEMENT NAPA's annual Consolidated Jobber Operating Statement is now available through your NAPA Distribution Center. This 1984 edition of the Consolidated Jobber Operating Statement is designed to help you as an individual NAPA Jobber understand and improve your store's oper ating efficiencies. It is confidential informa tion, compiled directly from jobber financial statements submitted to NAPA Head quarters, which not only provides you with a profile of the "typical" NAPA Jobber's operating statement, but also allows you to compare your operating statement results with the national averages. To make such comparisons easier, all results in the 1984 Consolidated Jobber Operating Statement are broken down down into four sales categories -- up to $250,000, $250,000 to $500,000, $500,000 to $750,000 and over $750,000. Individual operating statements for each category are provided in the report with space for you to fill in and compare your own operating statement figures to the averages within your particular sales bracket. The 1984 Consolidated Jobber Operat ing Statement also contains a series of financial measurements which you can use to fully analyze your business' perfor mance, on a month-to-month as well as a year-to-year basis. These measurements are designed to provide you with the insight you can use to set future business goals and plan new sales opportunities for the year ahead. NEW GROSS PROFIT REPORT PROVIDES VALUABLE PRICING GUIDELINES Copies of the 1984 NAPA Jobber Gross Profit Analysis are now available through your NAPA Distribution Center. This report, based upon manufacturer in formation, shows the weighted average gross profit level percentages that in dividual jobbers will realize when they follow suggested Manufacturer price schedules. (All average gross percentages are calculated from the most currently available Manufacturers' suggested price lists and represent a weighted average percentage.) For the NAPA Jobber these profit level percentage estimates can provide an ex cellent starting point in analyzing and establishing pricing policies. Each manu facturer section in the report is easy to read and comprehend and illustrates different pricing strategies and their profit effec tiveness for a wide range of automotive products. Also included in the 1984 NAPA Jobber Gross Profit Analysis are special comments which indicate programs that are available from certain Manufacturers, such as the Master Installer and the Rebates for Schools and Government Agencies, that also have an effect on your gross profit percentage results. Gross Profit Report again includes a spe cial section detailing the procedures and circumstances that can be responsible for needlessly lowering a jobber's gross profits. NAPA encourages all NAPA Jobbers to take advantage of the valuable information in your 1984 NAPA Jobber Gross Profit Analysis. The report is thorough, easy to read, and well worth your time. Of course, all details for every line and every special program cannot be included in the report. For further information about any product line contact your Distribution Center sales representative. 9 In 1980, we ran the first TRADE IN FOR THE GOLD Promotion and it was one of the most successful promotions ever. Now it's back by popular demand. Here's how it works. 1. Order by October 15 and get a unique, pre-assembled display unit, two POP posters and newspaper ad slicks. 2. Get the quality NAPA Fabric/Mesh Combination Gold Hat at the special price of only $29.88 per dozen. (You must order in multiples of 10 dozen.) 3. Start promoting as a limited time event. For instance, "Bring in an old hat and we'll give you a new NAPA Gold Hat Free!". Or, "Bring in an old hat and we'll give you a new NAPA Gold Hat FREE with a $10.00 purchase". 4. You can reorder (in multiples of 10 dozen) and still get the special price of $29.88 but ONLY UNTIL November 30, 1984. 5. Order today! It's a great traffic builder! SEND THIS ORDER FORM TO: YOUR DISTRIBUTION CENTER PART H PRODUCT QUANTITY SPECIAL PRICE TOTAL 38571 Fabric/Mesh Combination Gold Hal . Minimum and Multiples of 10 Dozen n7 .pn rr n? ORDERS MUST BE PLACED BY OCTOBER 15 TO RECEIVE DISPLAY KIT FINAL REORDERS BY NOVEMBER 30, 1984 BILL TO Company Aim Attn SHIP TO: . . . . Company City Phona ( Order e \ ........... Phono ( ) BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! IT'S TIME TO "TRADE IN FOR THE GOLD" In November, 1975, NAPA proudly intro duced the NAPA Gold Hat as a means for jobbers and service repair technicians to boast their affiliation with NAPA and its out standing reputation for quality parts and service. The attractive hat, however, caught the attention of people from all walks of life, and it didn't take long before jobbers and dealers were joined by hundreds of thou sands of customers in the wearing of the NAPA Gold. The NAPA Gold Hat was on its way toward becoming one of the most suc cessful promotions in the history of Amer ican business. By 1980, over three million NAPA Gold Hats had been distributed. To celebrate, NAPA decided to give even more people the opportunity to be a wearer of the gold with the first NAPA "Trade In for the Gold" promotion. At that time, NAPA Jobbers across the country foretold the overwhelm ing customer reaction to the promotion by stocking up on over 200,000 NAPA Gold Hats. By the end of the promotion, all 200,000 of the specially priced hats had sold. Since that time, the NAPA Gold Hat has continued to grow in popularity: hat sales are expected to pass the five million mark by next year. Think of it -- those five million hats translate into five million advertising impressions! And to celebrate, NAPA Job bers will once again have the opportunity to let even more people wear the NAPA Gold -- with the second NAPA "Trade In for the Gold" promotion! ...one of the most successful promotions in the history of American business. Your "Trade In for the Gold" promotion is a sure-fire way to generate increased store traffic this fall. Here's how it will work. During this special promotion, specially priced NAPA Gold Hats will be shipped in an attractive point-of-purchase display. Each display unit will contain ten dozen of the popular fabric/mesh combination NAPA Gold Hats. In addition, a newspaper ad slick and two promotional posters will be included for an even greater customer draw. Why not use these materials to create your own special local promotion? For example, "Bring in an old hat and we'll give you a new NAPA Gold Hat FREE with a $10.00 pur chase." Take some time to decide how the program can be tailored to best suit your potential sales customers. You'll find that, in the end, this kind of prior planning can make the difference between a successful sales promotion and a super-successful sales promotion! NAPA's "Trade In for the Gold" promo tion is a proven sales and traffic builder. The attractive point-of-purchase display is sure to attract the attention of your regular and walk-in customers, encouraging them to take advantage of the limited time special price. And your newspaper advertising is bound to bring in plenty of new customers -- many of whom will leave your store not only with a NAPA Gold Hat, but with a NAPA parts purchase as well. So be sure to contact your NAPA Distri bution Center Sales Manager for details and ordering information. But hurry! You'll only have two opportunities to order these spe cially priced assortments. Original orders must be at your NAPA Distribution Center by October 15. Reorders (multiples of 10 dozen only) will be honored until November 30. 11 ON IMPORTS Today there are over 27 million foreign cars operating in America, representing over 33% of our total automotive body. What's more, over 60% of that import fleet is between 4 to 10 years old -- prime can didates for automotive replacement parts and services. For the NAPA Jobber, all of this means that the time to aggressively pursue the rapidly expanding imports market could never be better. And NAPA is going to help you do just that by making sure that you have everything you'll need to really cor ner the market -- a new series of promo tions and programs that are guaranteed to help firmly establish your imports reputation. How can your imports reputation enable you to corner the imports market? Well, you know you already have unsurpassed NAPA imports coverage. And you know you're al ready a highly skilled and knowledgeable automotive businessman. So it stands to reason that the only thing keeping all those imports customers from enthusiastically patronizing your store is the fact that they simply don't KNOW what they're missing out on. So we're going to help you tell them all about it with a unique new series of im ports signage and promotional events, slated to take off in early August. NEW "WE'VE GOT 'EM...PARTS FOR IMPORTS" SIGN You're going to be able to start your Im ports Awareness promotions off on the right foot with NAPA's brand new imports sign. This boldly executed, highly visible 24 x 36" sign is composed of a striking green background with blue and white letters and a full color blue and gold logo. Its beautiful design can't help but grab the attention of everyone who passes by it. And because our new imports signage is made of su perior long-lasting y8" styrene it's going to continue to grab that attention for a very long time. Furthermore, you'll get all of these benefits for only $10.00. With a bar gain like that it's only smart business to hang those signs out and get really visible for your upcoming imports promotion! NAPA'S DOUBLE AGENT PROGRAM: BE PREPARED! NAPA has been laying the groundwork for the execution of its hard hitting imports pro motion by joining efforts with NAPA Belts and Hose in a new "Double Agent" pro gram. Here's how it works... In the July edition of NAPA Belts and Hoses' Counter Agent News, all NAPA Jobbers received a special NAPA imports poster. Put this sign up in a prominent posi tion in your store and when the NAPA Belts and Hose Counter Agent sees it he's go ing to award your lucky counterperson with an extra $10.00 prize (in addition to the NAPA Belts and Hoses cash prize). And re member, not only is the Counter Agent go ing to see your new import poster -- your customers and your counterpeople are also going to be seeing it too. For your customers the new imports poster inside your store will reinforce your outside signage and make them think twice that NAPA has import parts. For your counterpeople, the constant exposure to imports signage is going to put imports awareness in front of their minds through out their working day and furthermore, the $10.00 cash prize is going to sow the seeds of a real enthusiasm for your imports promotion. SPECIAL PHONE PROMOTION: DIALING FOR IMPORTS AND DOLLARS! Counterpeople are a truly important part of the success of any promotion. After all, they're going to need to display a real sales enthusiasm in their constant contact with your prospective customers. So to provide an extra incentive to your counterpeople, NAPA will be running a special telephone promotion, as follows... During the month of October one thou sand randomly selected NAPA Parts Stores are going to receive a special phone call. If the counterperson who answers this call remembers to include the phrase "We have parts for imports" in their greeting, he or she will automatically receive a special gift. Next, all winners will have their names entered in a special drawing for a larger gift with an appropriate international flair. Now that's a sure fire way to promote real imports enthusiasm among your employees, an enthusiasm they're sure to pass along to all of your customers! But that's not the end of NAPA's special telephone promotion. Each counterperson who wins will have his or her name, along with the name of the NAPA Jobber for whom they work, entered in a special draw ing for an exciting trip to Disney's Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida. Now that's a lit tle bit of well-deserved excitement for our NAPA Jobbers too! You may even want to help your counter people get into the habit of answering calls with the "We have parts for imports" phrase by having them start to answer the phone with the winning phrase right away. This will increase vour imports exposure above and beyond the actual telephone promotion and increase their chances of winning. IN-STORE IMPORTS AWARENESS PROMOTION WITH NAPA'S NEW COLLECTORS' EDITION SIGNATURE POSTER In early October, NAPA Jobbers will receive a free promotional imports package containing six danglers, five pocket protec tors, four phone labels, fifty dealer state ment stuffers, a newspaper ad slick (de signed to be imprinted with your store iden tification) and a radio script with an order form for a cassette of a new "We have parts for imports" radio commercial. All combined, this package will provide you with a truly comprehensive consumer awareness program that's destined to put "NAPA has parts for imports" on the lips of all import owners. Both the radio commercial and news paper ads will promote store traffic, and once inside the store, consumers are go ing to be surrounded with colorful and ef fective reminders of your imports capa bilities. Furthermore, the dealer statement stuffers will serve to remind your dealers that they, too, benefit from NAPA's imports coverage. But there's still one more element of your imports promotional package -- one that's sure to continue the import sales excite ment with a local promotion centered around NAPA's new Collectors' Edition Signature poster. Your imports promotional package will include a sample of this new Collectors' Edition imports poster along with an order form for a special in-store display unit containing 24 posters. These beautifully designed one-of-a-kind posters -- irresistible to any imports en thusiast -- are a special promotional attrac tion that NAPA Jobbers can use to con tinue promoting imports awareness during the month of November. These posters are practical sales tools and you can decide how they can be used to best meet your specific needs. For ex ample, you can sell them individually or give them away with any purchase of $25 or more. You can even bring your dealers into this promotion -- they, too, can either purchase the posters or receive a free poster with any order of $25 or more. You may even wish to order several poster display units and sell them to your dealer customers specializing in imports service. They can then set up the display at their place of business and sell the posters to their customers. . Don't miss out on this good sense op portunity. You'll find that you'll be increas ing consumer imports awareness for both you and your dealers as well as making a nice profit for yourself. All of these opportunities -- the brand new imports signage, NAPA's Double Agent promotion, the special telephone promotion, and the imports awareness point-of-purchase materials and special poster offer -- are guaranteed to work together to put NAPA import coverage back into the spotlight like it's never been before. This is the year to really rack up those import sales. You've got the parts, you've got proven sales abilities...now let's get your fair share of that ultra-profitable imports market! 13 m King you're ma V engine sbox. rjginal The right engine bearing must have the right engine bearing u<p.id::^-.Jining:'material. NAPA gives $jjjj$p> - I you the replacement bearing " "'r1;. that'meets stringent original 'li V j equipment specifications. V t' NAPA covers the full line of " swheavyrduty engine bearings. ^Availability is our strength. We ^ . \ jfHavetfhe engine bearings you jlfieetl^when you need them. |fe^AHeavy-Du`yEn9'ne |##ar,n9s are carefully . fjpeftgine'ered for proper rr-^.^.n^l^idifGa'Erying. capacity, , j '4'cppformability, embedability Ij ' andwear resistance. > t * ': ' 1 -n'' , - . - . '' ; ^NAPA jpbbers and quality ' , NAPA parts are easy to find. ' < ilust,check the Yellow Pages of yourtelephone directory. .fa rfifetjj .#.y ^ 1^ : /*' v 1 ** k f *. :^T .,,1^zs'^'nrs^* *' Bearings When the name is NAPA, the standard is quality. NAPA ANNOUNCES THE SECOND EDITION OF THE NAPA GUIDE TO ASE TESTING AVAILABLE IN EARLY 1985 FOR YOUR SERVICE REPAIR CUSTOMERS In 1972, the National Institute for Auto motive Service Excellence (ASE) began a program of voluntary testing and certifica tion for automotive technicians in the United States. ASE's certification tests, given twice a year, measured diagnostic and repair skills in six technical areas of automobile repair. Automotive technicians who could pass these voluntary tests and meet ASE's work experience requirements received ASE's certification of automotive repair competency and were eligible to wear ASE's emblem of automotive service excellence. NAPA firmly supported ASE certification as a method of promoting both consumer trust and quality automotive repair ser vices. Therefore in 1979, in order to assist NAPA's service repair customers in attain ing such valuable certification, NAPA published the first "NAPA Guide to ASE Testing." Containing previews of ASE's test formats as well as examples of the types of questions asked and the emphasis which each test section had in the total score, the NAPA guide proved to be an in valuable study aid. The response to this much needed pub lication was overwhelming. Over 50,000 copies were distributed via NAPA Jobbers and NAPA Distribution Centers and NAPA Manufacturers to thousands of dealer customers and Vo-Tech schools across the country. Numerous NAPA Jobbers even used the publication as the basis for ASE test preparation clinics held as a special service for their customers. Since 1979, professional support for vol untary certification has continued to grow. Over a quarter of a million dedicated auto motive technicians have earned certificates of excellence in automotive repair. Regis trations for the Spring of 1984 ASE Cer tification Tests reached record-breaking proportions and Fall test registrations pro mise to do likewise. In light of the increasing acceptance which ASE certification has gained over the past twelve years, the testing programs have recently been expanded and updated. Consequently, in order to meet the needs of its service repair customers tak ing the revised ASE Certification Tests, NAPA is pleased to announce that an ex panded and updated edition of "The NAPA Guide to ASE Testing" will be available in early 1985 through your NAPA Distribution Center. The new "NAPA Guide to ASE Testing" has been revised to reflect the changes that have been made in the ASE Auto mobile Test series, which includes the following 8 areas of expertise: Engine Repair, Automatic Transmission/Trans axle, Manual Drive Train and Axles, Front End, Brakes, Electrical Systems, Heating and Air Conditioning, and Engine Per formance. Additionally, the second edition of "The NAPA Guide to ASE Testing" has been ex panded to include test preparation material for ASE's Auto Body Tests, which highlight specialization in Body Repair and Painting and Refinishing. The new "NAPA Guide to ASE Testing" is divided into ten sections, each cor responding to one of the eight Automobile tests or to one of the two Auto Body tests. Each section contains test specifications listing the material that is covered on that particular test, along with the number of test questions devoted to each topic. Following each section's test specifica tions is a Specifications Task List describ ing the activities a technician would nor mally perform in each technical area covered on the test. These lists are not only valuable in study ing for certification but are also useful as a reference guide in day-to-day repair work. Sample test questions follow the Specifi cations Task List so that the reader may get a feel for exactly how the questions will appear in the real certification tests. An swers to the sample questions will be lo cated at the end of each section. The an swer to the first question is discussed in detail to give readers an idea of how to analyze answer choices. "The NAPA Guide to ASE Testing" con cludes with a reference materials section containing a thorough list of publications on various automotive systems and repair procedures. This section is not only helpful in preparing for the test, but is also in valuable as an ongoing reference source. The "NAPA Guide to ASE Testing" is a vital sales tool that you can use to en courage your service repair customers to become ASE certified for their personal as well as professional benefit. Since 1979 the benefits of ASE certifica tion have been readily apparent. First and foremost, the ASE Blue Seal of Excellence attracts customers. Today's repair cus tomer demands efficient and quality ser vice from an automobile technician they can trust. An ASE certified technician has visible proof of his knowledge of auto motive repair and his dedication to quality service. Consumers can therefore feel more confident about the quality of the work to be done. And as you know, increas ed customer confidence means increased business opportunity in any service industry. Furthermore, technicians who take ASE's certification tests often find that the quality of their work does improve, for by using test results they are able to pinpoint areas in repair knowledge and skills in which they are weak and need additional training. This combination of increased customer confidence and quality repair work has made, and continues to make, ASE certi fied technicians some of the most sought after professionals in the automotive repair industry. And in the increasing competitive ness of today's automotive repair market, this can be vitally important. NAPA has, and will, continue to support excellence and quality in automotive repair work in every way possible. With "The NAPA Guide to ASE Testing," NAPA Job bers across the country have a unique op portunity to provide an invaluable service -- to see to it that their service repair cus tomers continue to be among the most de dicated, professional, and highly skilled members in the automotive repair industry today! 15 In the good old days whenever people needed auto parts or supplies, they auto matically headed for the neighborhood parts store. If their car had a problem that couldn't be diagnosed or repaired at home, they automatically took it in to the neigh borhood service station, which in turn bought supplies from the neighborhood jobber. Nice system -- except that it didn't last. You see, wherever there's good busi ness like that going on, it's going to attract competition. Today, it seems as if everybody is in the market to sell auto parts and services. Specialty shops, mass merchants, discount and department stores are all selling automotive replacement parts -- and in some cases, repair services -- to cus tomers. Furthermore, such outlets have of fered powerful buying incentives -- low prices, fast service, and highly visible and convenient locations -- causing "bargain" conscious consumers to flock to these out lets in droves, utterly forsaking the neigh- 16 With careful planning and your enthusiastic support, a successful Car Care Days promotion is in the bag. borhood service station. Unprepared for such a drastic customer preference change, these neighborhood stations, suddenly found themselves ir reversibly losing sizeable chunks of their service repair trade. To make things worse, many station owners discovered that they had placed themselves in a position where by cultivating other sales opportunities to compensate for lost business was going to be next to impossible. For years many service stations had en joyed a large, fairly dependent market. They hadn't been faced with the need to scramble for business by keeping up with a changing industry. Many station owners had simply opted not to offer repair ser vices for the newly specialized domestic and import automotive systems, thus avoid ing the trouble and expense of further train ing and equipment purchases. Conse quently, when the "dependent" customer base chose to take their business else where, all of the operators who had refus ed to expand their capabilities found themselves unable to offer the repair ser vices necessary to reclaim lost business. These station owners also had other problems which made attracting new busi ness difficult. Since they'd never had to solicit customers before, most had never bothered to advertise. Moreover, by now it was too late for them to remedy that situa tion -- declining sales bases had made any NG YOUR CUSTOMERS BACK HOME! kind of an effective advertising campaign unaffordable. As a result of their inability to meet cur rent customer needs and preferences, many service stations were forced out of business: since 1974, over 80,000 have closed. Those station owners who did survive had to adapt to the current market condi tions -- in many cases, with the help of their NAPA Jobber. By sponsoring NAPA's numerous technical clinics and actively promoting ASE certification, NAPA Job bers helped their dealer customers to become more knowledgeable and efficient in many areas previously considered spe cialty work. NAPA's Automotive Service Management Course helped dealers im prove their employees' productivity and customer service skills. At the same time, NAPA Jobbers began using the NAPA Car Care Days promotion as a tool to include these customers in a nationwide campaign coupled with local advertising, telling the motoring public that these repair outlets are the places to go for top quality service and parts. In short, with the help of the NAPA Jobber, the dealers who survived this shift in customer preference emerged as better businessmen and better repair tech nicians. Today both NAPA jobbers and their deal er customers are still working to meet changing customer needs and preferences to the best of their abilities. Times have been hard, but there's good news around the corner. You see, today's customer pre ferences are undergoing still another change. Consumers who in the beginning had en thusiastically patronized all of the discount, retail and specialty outlets found that they did indeed offer fast, cheap and, in the short term, convenient service. However these same customers are now finding that, in the long run, shopping in such places can be extremely unsatisfactory. For example, many of the newer do-ityourself discount, mass merchandiser and department store outlets are great for those fortunate people who know everything there is to know about automotive repair work -- what's wrong with a car, exactly what parts are needed, what tools are re quired for installation etc. However, cus tomers who aren't that technically inform ed (and with the increasing complexity of today's vehicles, most aren't) are discover ing that, for the most part, these new ser vice alternatives have absolutely no know ledgeable sales help available to answer their questions. Furthermore, another problem that cus tomers encounter in shopping for automo tive parts and products at discount, mass merchandiser and department stores is in consistent product performance quality and coverage. Thus, many consumers are now asking themselves, "If I can't get the part I need right away, or if substandard quali ty forces me to replace the same part again within just a few months, am I really sav ing myself time and money?" Not only is service at the discount, mass merchandising and department stores of ten inadequate, but service in the special ty repair outlets can also lack quality. For example, employees of a particular special ty shop tend to have little knowledge of the rest of a car's automotive systems and how these systems can interrelate in diagnos ing a given problem. Thus, potential pro blems in other systems are often going un noticed, creating safety hazards as well as additional expense. Today's consumer -- having thoroughly experienced many of these problems -- is finally beginning to feel that enough is enough. He is finally remembering the good old days when he took fast, reason able and professional service for granted and is beginning to take his business back to those he had forsaken in the past. For the NAPA Jobber and his dealers this means that their customers are coming home -- and you and your dealers will be more than ready for them with NAPA's Fall Car Care Days. Now is the time to make it one of your most successful sales pro motions ever! What can you and your dealers do to help your NAPA Fall Car Care Days pro motion really take advantage of this chang ing customer preference shift? Well, the first thing to do is include your dealers in your local advertising. This is the best way to show those dealer customers who still haven't realized it yet, that they do have an alternative to turn to! NAPA's national advertising can more than effec tively arouse broad consumer awareness, but only local advertising can show motor ists exactly where to go in your specific area to get the kind of NAPA quality and service they're looking for. Such local advertising need not be dif ficult or expensive. NAPA can offer you all the assistance and materials you'll need in order to create an effective and profitable campaign. For example, for radio and newspaper advertising campaigns NAPA offers pre-made radio tapes and ad slicks with plenty of space at the end to add all of the necessary information -- your store name and location, as well as the names of your participating dealer customers. This will enable you to tie-in with NAPA's wide ly recognized national campaign and reap its benefits easily and inexpensively. Now that's smart local advertising you can't af ford to miss! But, effective as local advertising may be, it certainly isn't all that you need in order to guarantee a successful Car Care Days sales promotion this fall. It's also vital ly important for you and your dealers to make extensive use of the signs, posters, and banners that NAPA provides especially for Car Care Days. High visibility is impor tant in any customer service business. Cus tomers need to SEE exactly where they can go in their neighborhoods to get NAPA quality parts and service. National and local advertising can make potential customers seek you out, but if they can't find you, you're wasting your advertising dollars. Furthermore, prominent signage can reach those customers that even advertising might miss. With careful planning and your enthusi astic support, a successful Car Care Days promotion is in the bag. Consumers are now looking for a quality alternative to fill those needs that discount houses and spe cialty shops are incapable of. And that's ex actly what a successful NAPA Car Care Days promotion should do for both you and your dealers -- let them know you're there! Today's NAPA Car Care Days promotions can truly benefit everyone -- perhaps even more than ever before! Your customers, tired of inadequate "bargain" automotive goods and services, can benefit by getting quality goods and services at a reasonable price from profes sionals they can trust. With proper main tenance work they can also have peace of mind concerning the safety and reliability of their car's performance -- an invaluable benefit in itself. Your dealers can benefit by receiving ex tensive national and local Car Care Days advertising exposure -- advertising which will make sure that everyone knows that NAPA dealers are most definitely a satis factory alternative to the myriad of "new comers" to the service business. Cus tomers motivated to have maintenance/ repair work done on their cars will know where to go to get reasonable, efficient and quality service. And the service they will receive by professional and dedicated NAPA dealers will keep them coming back. And you as a NAPA Jobber can reap the greatest benefits of all. Like your dealer customers you will also receive extensive national and local Car Care Days advertis ing exposure. And the exposure you re ceive through your participating dealers will also be important. The more that custo mers see professional service technicians using NAPA Brand parts in their repair/maintenance work the more they come to associate the name NAPA brand with superb quality in automotive goods and services -- more advertising for NAPA Jobbers! Finally, participation in the NAPA Fall Car Care Days promotion reaffirms your concern for your dealer customers and creates an environment of cooperative goodwill that, in the long run, can only add up to better business for everybody. 17 CONGRATULATIONS! GUAM AUTO PARTS CELEBRATES ITS THIRD ANNIVERSARY GUAM AUTO PARTS -iff Guam Auto Parts In May, 1984, when the third anniversary of Guam Auto Parts store rolled around, store manager R.D. Walls decided to throw a real American-style island celebration in order to show his appreciation to his store's many loyal customers. To kick-off the celebration Walls invited his customers to come and display their favorite vehicles -- and they responded en thusiastically, with everything from sleek custom Corvettes to rugged 4x4 offroaders. There were even a few high per formance super-modified race cars. Walls encouraged his guests to examine the ve hicles and chat with their owners. And with such interesting displays you know the con versations must have been lively! In the meantime, just to make sure that none of his customers went away hungry, Walls provided plenty of good old American hot dogs and tubs of icy soft drinks. To add further interest to the celebration, Guam Auto Parts also sponsored the first Miss NAPA Guam beauty contest, which was broadcast live on Guam's K-57 radio station. This event capped a very suc cessful celebration -- to say the least! Now at this point, many of our readers may be wondering just where in the world Guam IS, and furthermore, just what does a NAPA parts store DO there? Well, to answer the first question, Guam is a U.S. territory located approximately 7,000 miles southwest of San Francisco, California, in a chain of islands called the Marianas. It is the largest island in the North Pacific between Hawaii and the Phillipines. As to what a NAPA parts store does there, the answer is: provides efficient and quality service to not only all of the American and American service men and women on Guam, but also to many other customers on the surrounding islands. Being way out in the Pacific does create some unusual problems for a parts store. Manager R.D. Walls says that Guam Auto Parts is about the only store serviced by the NAPA Morgan Hill (California) Distribu tion Center that does not receive overnight iS " 6^ Proud Guam Auto Parts owner R.D. Walls and his employees 18 delivery. Shipments must arrive by con tainer van, which takes about 45 days. Therefore it is necessary for Guam Auto Parts to carry a much larger inventory than the normal NAPA store. Walls also found out that in Guam the de mand for parts is higher than in other parts of the United States. This is due to Guam's tropical climate and high humidity -- fac tors which play havoc with most automotive systems. The average life of a car on Guam is only about 7 years! By keeping a large inventory, Guam Auto Parts is able to meet most of its customer needs. However, there are often urgent re quests for parts that are not in Guam Auto Parts' considerable inventory. In such ?itttcwwduaLI. r \v Debbie Zimmerman, the new Miss NAPA Guam cases, special orders are processed as quickly as possible via telex and shipped Air Parcel Post or air freight. Orders plac ed this way usually take between 7 to 10 days. This makes Guam Auto Parts the fastest supplier on Guam: other area parts stores take between 60 to 90 days to pro vide the same service. Through this kind of quality service cus tomers have learned that they can trust Guam Auto Parts for all of their automotive needs. As a serviceman writes: "Stationed here on Guam, I had found it increasingly difficult to obtain parts I needed for my car. I had also found an ex treme lack of knowledge and cooperation from the personnel of the various parts stores here on the island. Then one day I had the good fortune to come across the NAPA store here on Guam. The assistance I received was outstanding. The parts I received were excellent. Since that time I will only purchase parts for my car from a NAPA dealer." What this letter praises'is true NAPAstyle service. Congratulations, Guam Auto Parts, on your first three years of superb customer service! A REAL DOWN HOME CELEBRATION BROOKS AUTO PARTS CELEBRATES A NEW STORE OPENING At Brook's Saturday Grand Opening, an enthusiastic crowd stands waiting for the festivities to begin. At 10 a.m. the "money chain" ribbon was readied to kick everything off to a flying start. ...before leaving for the World's Fair! Excited band members look on as Brooks donates ribbon, and... Meanwhile the festivities roared on. show... joy a job well done. What do you get when you mix auto parts, fried chicken, a marching band, and football fans? A Georgia-style grand open ing hosted by Brooks Auto Parts. When Brooks Auto Parts recently open ed its ninth Savannah store, Division Man ager John Sutherland organized "down home" opening celebrations for both tradi tional and retail customers. Trade guests were invited to tour the new store (which had been decorated with plen ty of balloons, a huge grand opening ban ner and the 25-foot inflatable NAPA oil can) and meet Owner Don Brooks and Presi dent Earl Brice at a Thursday evening pre view party. The atmosphere was casual and relaxed, as 130 guests representing over 80 businesses dined on fried chicken and barbeque and talked football with Loren Smith, a special guest from the Georgia Bulldogs College Football team. Mementos of the evening included NAPA painter caps and Bulldogs T-shirts for all guests. Highlighting the party was a draw ing for a trip for two people to Daytona's July 4 "Firecracker 400" NASCAR Classic. At the end of the evening, comments from those attending ranged from "great party" to "best opening I've attended." The Saturday consumer grand opening was publicized via newspaper ads and a story appearing mid-week in the Savannah News/Press. Three Savannah T.V. stations were also present. The event kicked off at 10 a.m. with a "money chain" ribbon cutting ceremony to help finance the Robert W. Groves High School Band's trip to the World's Fair in New Orleans. Participating in the ribbon cutting were Earl Brice, Johnny Suther land, Band Director Ray Patricio, and County Commissioner James DeLoach. The band members celebrated the oc casion by treating everyone to an en thusiastic show. After an exciting half-hour performance, they departed for the Fair amid a cloud of NAPA balloons. However, this wasn't the end of the celebration for Brook's guests. Throughout the day, visitors to the store were treated to refreshments and given favors for their children. Brook's eight other area stores, all serviced by the NAPA Syl vester Distribution Center, participated in the grand opening with a variety of product specials and a consumer version of the "Firecracker 400" contest. Both the preview for trade guests on Thursday and the Saturday consumer grand opening were very successful in in troducing another Brooks Auto Parts Store to the Savannah area. Not only did every one involved have a great time, but the Brooks organization -- reaffirming its dedication to the Savannah community -- had also made it possible for the Robert W. Groves High School Band members to see the World's Fair! 19 NAPA INTRODUCES i sBr MiS jV'V^s rx ' mmi :>T: /SBSti. Makeit 'SSSKS!*;*;. NABkBRANDnew!* ............ It's the biggest eventyet for NAPA mufflers and shocks. First, the sale. You can offer some of our most popu lar NAPA mufflers at prices that'll really keep the com petition quiet. Now, the half. When your customers buy any Radial 500, Deluxe Heavy Duty or Grande 60 shock, they get the second shock for half off* Plus, when you convince those customers to make their cars NAPA brand new with shocks or mufflers, you can earn special travel/mer i$Br chandising credits that could sendyou packing to places like Hilton Head, New Orleans, Disney World, Lake Tahoe, - and more. _ HMSBEjf -1-- .... ..*-4 " Both sales coincide with 1 "" NAPA Car Care Days, so there'll Pfyv.\' be plenty of additional ad- vertising. Pius merchandising H^v' programs that educate and inform. Shock and strut seminars, new exhaust dealer seminars, new vacuum signage * and product displays. Contact vnurNAPA muffler and _______ : shock representative today IwlsKii_________________ _______for more information nn the_____________ sale that tops them all. The Sale and a Half. w *Manufacturer's suoaested retail offer off of lull list price. ggjjff f=CJ-.: ' 1 1 !.*-rK-j '<>' \cr,ikryt`,y 5". ' Division ot Tenneco Automotive {timtOj ALTERNATIVE FUELS UPDATE There's been much talk over the past few years about the need to develop alternative fuels (synfuels) in an effort to reduce America's dependency on foreign supplied oil. Alcohol, gas, coal and even garbage have all been studied as potential energy sources, and most have been reported to produce extremely positive results. As extensive alternative fuel research continued to mount, many individuals and organizations connected with these studies soon began to announce amazing predic tions about the synfuel future in America. Everyone, at the time, was optimistic about synfuel possibilities -- so optimistic, in fact, that the 1980 Energy Security Act predict ed that alternative fuels would provide the energy equivalent of 500,000 barrels of oil a day by 1990 and 2,000,000 barrels a day by the year 2,000. However, we now know that these fi gures haven't proven to be accurate esti mates. In fact, instead of enjoying increas ed research, production, and marketing, synfuels as a whole are now experiencing a pronounced drop in industry interest. Most large corporations, and even a large number of government research institu tions, are cutting back on research funding and experimental testing studies. In other words, many synfuels have essentially been placed on a rather indefinite back burner. Why did this happen? The answer is really rather simple. Gas oline shortages eased. Fuel prices stabiliz ed or even went down. The large oil com panies, no longer faced with a market that would make synfuel research and produc tion profitable, curtailed most alternative In fact, instead of enjoying increased research, production, and marketing, synfuels as a whole are now experiencing a pronounced drop in industry interest fuel development programs. After all, as long as the above conditions continue, syn fuel production isn't going to be an im mediate need until the last supplies of oil begin to be exhausted. And that's a very . long time for companies interested in mak ing money now. However, even in this dim picture there continues to be one bright spot. Though a great deal of funding and interest has been lost for the majority of alternative fuels research, there are still some significant research and development programs that continue to be sponsored, many by major oil companies. One such remaining pocket of promising research concerns alcohol blend fuel development -- development which has continued to be attractive for two very important reasons. First of all, alcohol blends are economi cally competitive with current gasoline prices. Methanol's 40 to 45 cent a gallon prices and ethanol's healthy tax subsidies make them both cheap gasoline extenders. Furthermore, alcohol blends require no extensive automotive fuel systems rede sign -- they can be used easily and, for the most part, efficiently in existing systems. A gas/alcohol blend even has an enhanced octane rating, another plus for existing fuel systems. However, even with all these benefits, al cohol blends are, for the present at least, definitely not problem free. For example, using these blends can save gasoline. However, the percentage saved is not a large one. Alcohol will only work in existing fuel systems in quantities of up to 10% ethanol or 4% methanol. And as America's transportation needs increase, these sav ings aren't going to stop up the gap that's going to occur when oil supplies begin to dwindle. Another problem concerns the system for combining gas and alcohol. The ship ping of alcohol blends is currently pro hibited. Therefore, gas and alcohol must be shipped separately to gas station own ers who mix them together directly into out side reservoirs. Here's where the potential problem comes in. This method of mixing, if improperly done, will result in a possibly contaminated and unbalanced fuel blend -- a blend that's severely damaging to those automobiles that receive it. In response to these potential problems, major oil companies are stepping up quality control inspections as well as providing the means for owners to examine their blends themselves. However, such measures take time and are now far from comprehensive. And that's exactly where alternative fuels are today. Alcohol blends are the only im mediate, feasible gasoline substitutes and additives. However, even the blends have their problems and need further research and production controls. What's going to happen in the future? Well, in the future you can expect to see synfuels standing once more in the nation's spotlight if once again foreign conditions lead to gasoline shortages or extreme price increases. And of course, when the world wide supply begins to dwindle, synfuels are going to be THE ONLY sources of energy left to cultivate. Then you can be sure to hear about serious synfuel development and research. But until then, synfuels will remain a truly secondary alternative in a gasoline dominated economy. 21  DATELINE NAPA VOLUME 3 NUMBER 4 ATLANTA, GEORGIA LIMITED EDITION Meet Our Kinder-Care Jobbers Two of NAPA's Best Kinder-Parts ' newly merchandised sales area. These kids at the Kinder-Care Learning Center in Oakwood, Georgia, with the help of a NAPA Car Care Days promotional kit, have founded their very own Kinder-Parts Store. This project stemmed from Kinder-Care Learn ing Center's belief that kids learn best in ac tivities that are interesting and enjoyable -- such as setting up a parts store in order to learn something about their community's service in dustries. According to their teacher Deirdre Dill, the kids not only learned a great deal but now recognize the NAPA gold and blue sign in a very positive way! So who knows? Maybe we're looking at our future NAPA Jobbers and employees. You never can start 'em too early... The sales team at Kinder-Parts includes (From left): Kevin Lewis, Isaac Strickland, Josh Tanner, and Justin Hall. Johnny Kolwych and Johnny Hoy. Who says that people just don't care about helping each other out anymore? Not Ted Simmons of Memphis, Tennessee. Today he knows that at least in his local NAPA parts store there are still people who care enough about their neighbors to get involved when there's trouble. It happened this way. On April 13, while paying for merchandise at the NAPA Memphis Local Store, Mr. Sim mons' wallet was swiped right out of his hands by a "supposed" customer waiting for his turn at the counter. The thief turned and ran, close ly followed by an astonished Mr. Simmons. Knocking another customer to the floor, the thief yanked open the door and disappeared onto the street. Now you might have expected that Mr. Sim mons would have been the only one interested in recovering his wallet. Too often that is the case. Not this time, however. For closely fol lowing Mr. Simmons were store manager John ny Kolwych and employee Johnny Hoy. Gaining on the thief steadily, the three men finally tackled him and continued to restrain him with their combined weight until he could be delivered into the hands of the police. Now if that's not getting hit by the full weight of justice, what is? Let's hear it for our two NAPA heros! Murphy s Law and the Automobile "Anything that can go wrong will." Everyone has heard of the often quoted Murphy's Law. As you've probably already experienced first hand, Murphy's Law can apply to auto mobile ownership as well, says the Automotive Information Council (AIC), which made available the following list of automotive Murphy's Laws written by automotive writer Tony Swan: The likelihood of someone doing 50 mph The windshield wipers will disintegrate in the fast lane is directly proportional to only when you turn them on during the how late you are for work. worst rainstorm of the decade. Traffic always flows faster in the other The chances of the spare tire being flat lane. are in direct ratio to the distance from the The chances of someone making a right nearest town. turn from the left-turn lane are a constant A tire will never go flat unless: a), the one in three. grade is at least 10 percent, b). the tool kit Chances of the individual making this turn is covered by at least 87 pounds of luggage, while flashing his left-turn signal are a con and c). you loaned your jack to a friend. stant one in six. The only point under the car from which The windshield wiper on the passenger oil will drip is directly above where you will side always works better. be lying. 22 Winners of the 1984 United States Skill Olympics Announced The winners of the twentieth annual United States Skill Olympics were announced June 29 at the Awards Session of the V1CA National Leadership Conference. Placing first, second, and third in the auto mechanics high school divi sion were: Barney Cornel Lewis of Sahuarita, AR, Eric Andrew Aylics of Longwood, FL and Carl D. Schultz of Calumet City, IL with James Floyd Winkles of LaGrange, GA, Kenneth M. Lafferty of Covington, KY and Anthony Kovac of Calumet City, IL, placing first, second, and third in the postsecondary division. Contestants were judged on the basis of ac curacy, quality of workmanship, speed of per formance and adherence to proper safety practices. W))^aJooaJio@te(M^ ^NAPA^Thermostats 2 POWERFUL REASONS TO BUY BONUS PACKS No need for Dealers to lose sales or time. NAPA THERMOSTAT Bonus Packs mean 100% coverage of -n iVw /W Dealers get 10 FREE Stat-Tite adhesive-backed gaskets in every Bonus Pack: that's an extra profit all popular DOMESTIC and IM-i^Kif^M:. PORT cars, VANS, PICKUPS, RV'S. Dealers get maximum coverage with minimum inven- f^l I tory, of the finest automotive LbIUP thermostats made. ` ^ of $16.50 at suggested list with purchase of three packs. Show ........ .... them to your Dealers now! I W\ClIE _ aim Make it "WEffl NAM BRAND new! STANDARD-THOMSON CORPORATION 152 GROVE STREET, WALTHAM, MA 02254 An Allegheny International Company