In late 1979, imported cars were dominating the sales landscape – in some areas, import car registrations reached nearly 60% of total registrations.
In many cases, customers were buying imported cars because they were fun, peppy and offered fuel economy and styling options domestics couldn’t touch.
But while sales were booming, the import aftermarket was in its infancy. “It is disorganized, inefficient and unformed,” said one of our contributors in the inaugural issue of ImportCar, “but according to the experts, it is one of the most profitable industries on the boards.”
ImportCar was launched by Babcox Media in October 1979 as the first trade magazine serving the young import aftermarket to help bring attention to the profit opportunities that existed. We planned to open the communication channels, improve networking and conect parts manufacturers with professional customers.
The entire import aftermarket has changed dramatically over the past 40 years, but ImportCar has no plans of slowing down. For all the changes, this is still fun.