Aftermarket Evolution

Podcast Episode: 0212
How did we get to this point of Aftermarket modifications?

    How did we get to this point in the aftermarket world and where do we go from here?  The aftermarket world has been around longer than you think and this podcast is about to inform you about its past, present and future.  So, sit back and listen in to this weeks episode.

​     Well, my first introduction came to it in the 1980s and IROC Z a little bit lower to the ground. It was a little different than what I'd seen before. There was something on it that just made it look different and make it look better. I'm talking about the ground effects kit that they added to the IROC Z. Made it lower, it boxed out its design, but it gave it something that the standard model did not have and with that both Chevrolet and the aftermarket industry started changing. But where did this come from and how did we get here? The aftermarket tuner industry has been around for a very long time and, as we've talked about in our first season, the aftermarket demise due to new regulations today, we never really took a look at where it all came from and how it all went together. Today, AutoLooks is going to take a look at the evolution of the aftermarket industry.
 
     Welcome back to the AutoLooks podcast. I am your host, as always, the doctor to the automotive industry, Mr. Everett Jay, coming to you from our main host website at AutoLooks.net. If you haven't been there, stop by, check it out, read some of the ratings, check out some of the reviews and go to the Corporate Links website page to find automotive pages from around the globe, big or small. We have them all on the AutoLooks.net website. The AutoLooks Podcast is brought to you by Ecomm Entertainment Group and distributed by Podbeam.com. If you'd like to get in touch with us, send us an email over at [email protected]. 
​

​    So, like we said in the beginning, the aftermarket industry. Where did it come from? Well, in the very early days of the automobile, the aftermarket industry was there. People had to find ways to keep their automobiles on the road, so a lot of people started building their own parts for them. And with this, people started building their own cars or building their own variations of original vehicles to go racing in. And they wanted to race against each other because, as we all know it, humankind has a need for speed. We're always trying to outdo each other, to be the better one, and automobiles just gave us a new avenue to go after this. Sure, in the early days, cars weren't that much faster than riding in a horse and buggy, but as time went on and as people started unlocking the great potential of the internal combustion engine, they started proving what they can do with these automobiles and some of these companies building aftermarket parts or even people building parts for themselves to keep their vehicles on the road started playing around with the idea of adding more horsepower or adding new products to the vehicles to make them go faster, to stick to the road better, to break better hell. If you look back at it, the Chrysler airflow was one of the first vehicles that looked at aerodynamics to bring down its fuel consumption and with that people started seeing if we do something to its design, we can bring down fuel consumption. But if we add this here, take away that there and drop it right there, maybe we can make these vehicles faster. Well, this eventually spawned brand new ideas in the racing world, but in the aftermarket industry things weren't really taking on and with the onset of World War II the aftermarket industry really wasn't there.
 
    During the dirty 30s people-built parts just to keep their vehicles on the road. There weren't a lot of performance vehicles. You take a look back of all the greats who robbed banks and did you know all those bad things back in the day. They basically drove standard vehicles, but them, along with original moonshiners who eventually created the NASCAR industry, added more horsepower, beefed up the suspension and stiffened it to make it so they can get away from the police a lot better. You guys really think about it? The bad boys back then were essentially creating the aftermarket industry for all of us in the future, where they saw it as a means to survive. Their ideas eventually would spawn something even bigger.
 
     And, as we all know, the moonshine running took place in the Red Hills of the Carolinas, whereas people were trying to distribute their alcohol during Prohibition times, were racing through the mountains without any lights on, as fast as they can go, and they had to keep these cars together. They built aftermarket parts to make them faster, to make them stronger and to make it better. They needed to outrun the police. Like we said, essentially the criminals of the 20s and 30s helped build the aftermarket industry. But with the onset of World War II, all of this was put off. Sure, there were still people at home tinkering with their cars and trying to get more power out of it, but it really wasn't a big industry. And with the end of the war, the rise of a new generation, the war generation, the 1950s, started taking off and with the booming 50s, more people had time to tinker and play with their cars and we started getting the original hot rod industry, essentially tweaking your old Ford coupes as the Beach Boys said, your little deuce coupe and making it go faster. People flipped the frames to make them lower to the ground and add more horsepower into it. Well, thanks to the moonshine runners in the 1930s and even into the 40s during Prohibition times, stock car racing was starting to take off in the 50s and people saw the power potential.
 
     Gotta remembers the original race car industry. Everybody had to do everything themselves. What do you think? In my stance I say Fangio was one of the best f1 drivers of all time. He did it all on his own and even had to do it all on his own. So, like original stock car racers, they did it all on their own. It's not like today where the drivers train and do all of their workouts and they have an entire team of engineers behind them taking care of their automobile. Now they need information from the drivers to make them go faster, to handle better and to operate to the point where they can win. 
​

     But original hot rodder’s were the people who had to do it all of themselves. So, these were the people that had to build their own cars to go fast. The original hot rod industry brought radial tires to the original spoken wheel vehicles. So, aftermarket modifications to the vehicles to bring them lower to the ground, chopping the tops on them and adding more power was one of the main things. Customizing your car outside of its original setting. This was a time all about speed and going fast, and with limited technology back then people could only go so fast and do so much. So, in the 1950s, vehicles from the 30s and 40s were being utilized as fun vehicles. But then we had the introduction of vehicles like the Corvette. They were fun and fast right from the factory, but even still people wanted to go faster and they wanted to do more, and with that, brand new paint schemes started getting added on to these vehicles a new look for new cars.
 
     If you go back and watch one of George Lucas’s early movies and this is actually one, we talked about well, not talked about, but was actually displayed on our car called movies, American graffiti puts it into place with the 1950s being in high school, your last days cruising around now in that movie they showcased original hot rod culture and the aftermarket industry. Hell, Harrison ford wanted to street race a deuce coupe versus the Chevy, the new versus the old, and that's where the aftermarket industry was hell. Rolling around this deuce coupe, you get pulled over by the police because you're too low to the ground. With that, you also saw the introduction of early lowrider culture in the 1950s Chopping the top on your Mercury coupe and literally dropping it right to the ground. The original lowrider culture was brought in in the 1950s. Now hydraulics were still 20 years away from getting added into this industry, but in the 1950s lowriders were there and hot rods were there. 
​

     ​Now, with the introduction of the Corvette and the Thunderbird, people wanted more fun and more power and with that the 50s gave way to the 1960s and the power-hungry days of the muscle cars. With the introduction of the muscle cars, with the introduction of the original muscle car, the Pontiac GTO, created by none other than John Zachary DeLorean yes, the founder of DeLorean Motor Company gave us the original muscle car, putting as much horsepower underneath the hood of a Pontiac Tempest. He wanted to make it powerful. He saw the hot rod culture taking off, but he wanted to get after it from the factory. So, he was producing these ferocious beasts for the streets. Well, ford couldn't stand by on this and they used the Falcon platform to create the original pony car, the Mustang. From there we saw a whole new wave of power in aftermarket industry. Where the 1950s were more about hot rods, the 1960s were about power Having straight black tires and rims and all the power underneath the hood. Hell, anybody can do this, and people were doing it in their driveways tearing apart their cars on Friday night after they were done work, rebuilding the whole thing and making it more powerful for their drive-in on Monday, so that by Monday night they could go take on the streets.
 
     During the 60s the aftermarket industry really didn't expand past the muscle car era. Sure, we were getting products like the Ford Rancheros. More vans, cab over, Econoline Pickup trucks were all coming to the market. The 60s were giving us all new markets to go after and with the introduction of another Ford, the Bronco, the aftermarket industry was starting to take hold in four-wheel drive products. People were already using Jeeps and dune buggies to go play in the sand and have fun in the back roads. But these were only utilitarian vehicles and the aftermarket industry was starting to take notice of these vehicles. And by the end of the 1960s, where everybody was all about power on the roads, people were starting to look at their pickup trucks and SUVs as power off the roads.
 
     By the end of the 60s, off-road trucks and SUVs were starting to become a new entry into the aftermarket industry. Along with this, the very first cross-track products were given to the world by building off-road variations of sedans, coupes and even sports cars. The reason for this? Rally racing Companies started to realize that they could go rally racing, and when people saw those off-road vehicles, they said to themselves hey, I could do that. I could put my truck system underneath my car and lift it. We can go off-roading in my Ford Galaxy. Now this is an industry that really wouldn't start to take shape until the 1980s, but at the end of the 60s it started coming out. 
​

     ​Now, by the 1970s, things were starting to change and with the baby boomers starting to get into the automotive industry and the muscle car era blowing up Just a few years before that, the introduction of pony cars, muscle cars, hell, even supercars coming out now and the aftermarket industry taking hold within pickup trucks and SUVs, more was being added in. You started getting products like the Chevelle Wagon, the Sandman Shooting Brake. You got some of these amazing products and the aftermarket industry started taking a look at every vehicle that they can get their hands on. The reason for this is that all the baby boomers wanted to do the same thing. They all wanted to get these cool cars and they all wanted to go fast. But not everybody could afford to get a brand-new Mustang. They could only take their parent station wagon from before. So, the aftermarket industry was starting to bring more models from more different segments into the aftermarket industry. Like I said, you can get a Chevelle version of a station wagon. Yes, people were making these things fun and fast. They were making the Rancheros go faster. They were starting to add power into everything that they can get their hands on, from pickup trucks to sedans, to station wagons and naturally, the muscle cars, the coupes, the sports cars. Everybody was looking at this.
 
     On the other side of the pond, the Japanese were starting to take notice of turbo power and adding it to their sports cars. Small mag wheels and a lower coefficient of drag as they dropped their vehicles. Closer to the ground was taking hold and their aftermarket industry was starting to grow. People were utilizing the smallest vehicles they could get to create the most amount of power in them and with the introduction of the new gentleman's rule, all vehicles came with a minimal amount of power in them. So, the Japanese said we can put tons of power in our vehicles, but we can't. So, the Japanese said we can put tons of power in our vehicles, but we can't. So, we're going to let this whole new generation of kids just take these vehicles and run with it.
 
     By the late 60s and early 70s, the introduction of the original import scene was taking hold. But as the gas crisis hit, things started to slow down in the muscle car industry. And as the baby boomers were starting to transition into being families, the industry started adjusting for it. Hydraulics was being introduced and the lowrider scene was starting to take over. Rider scene was starting to take over. They were starting to showcase what they could do with these big, burly coupes and sedans from the 1960s and even 50s to go cruise in the streets. You don't just have to drop it to the ground now. Now you can do it while you make your car dance. And low rider culture was starting to grow and with that, as more of the baby boomers were transitioning into the working world, they transitioned into vans. Now the microbus has already been around for a complete generation before the baby boomers.
 
      But when they started hitting the markets, people started modifying them and realizing this thing had a camper variation. They can go off-road in them; they can do anything they want to them. Hell. The Volkswagen beetle was essentially an amazing testbed for all great off-roading and customizing products. You could do so much with that platform. But with the increase in the cargo van industry and people starting to look at slowing down a bit with gas being so expensive, they needed to slow down a bit and a lot of these baby boomers wanting to leave the house, they were starting to buy vans. You could still get vans with the same big block engines that you can get in your muscle car, but vans gave you an opportunity to put a bed in it. You could essentially live in your vehicle Instead of going out and buying a motorhome. You could buy a cargo van and live inside of it. Van culture started taking off.
 
     Where custom vans started out in the late 1950s and into the 60s, the industry really started booming in the mid to late 70s, with even Dodge and Ford building custom vans right from their factory floor. This van industry was blowing up, adding minibars, waterbeds, entertainment units. You know, in the Simpsons case, a waterbed, a minibar and now a strobe light. Say hello to the second baseball wheel. People were turning their vans, their little mini home on wheels, and because it was their own home and they weren't allowed to do whatever they wanted to in their own bedroom at home, they were doing whatever they wanted to in their vans. With that, they were adding custom paint jobs to the exteriors, they were cutting the roofs or dropping them down Hell. Some people were adding hydraulics to them and this industry started grabbing every piece of every existing aftermarket industry and bringing it into its own. 

​      The custom van market was here and people were interested, so interested that by the 80s, cargo vans were being sold in mass quantities to people who really didn't even need them, but they wanted them because they could do so much in them. Remember what the bumper sticker says If this van's a rockin', don't come a knockin'. And that was true. Well, with the gas crisis setting in in the late 70s and the big block engines being pulled back, and as the Asian invasion started taking fold in the 1980s, the Japanese started bringing over their tuner vehicles. They started showcasing to the world what they could do with smaller engines. You could save on gas and still have a performance car, getting things like the 5-liter Mustang with the ground effects kit or, as I talked about in the introduction, that IROC Zen with the ground effects kit. These body add-ons were becoming big part of the aftermarket industry.
 
      Where steel wheels in the 1970s and custom paint jobs were all the rage, the 1980s was all about creating a box image on your vehicle. You were trying to enclose it. If you couldn't drop it down, you would just box its in. When you get vehicles like the GMC Cyclone and Typhoon, you really see how the ground effects kit really started taking off in the 1980s and a lot of aftermarket variations from manufacturers showcase this. With the addition of turbochargers, these little four-cylinder engines were pumping out the same horsepower as the early day muscle cars, these tiny little things. So, people started to take a look at the economy cars as a new part of the aftermarket industry and the introduction of the import tuner scene started taking off. Now, with more custom paint jobs and lowrider culture taking forth, small little trucks from the late 70s and into the 80s started to bring a new part to the lowrider scene.
 
      The mini trucking market really started to take shape in the 1980s and custom paint jobs were there. The mini trucking market was starting to take over, for the van market was starting to disappear from. The reason why the van market was taking a backseat is because people started realizing these big, burly cargo vans were still expensive. And now, with the introduction of the minivan, a lot of people are starting to say no to the cargo van era, move into the minivans for their families. So, with less cargo vans in the backseat, there was less on the market to purchase, which means there was less open for the aftermarket industry. You have to remember the aftermarket industry goes with what is in the used car market as opposed to the new car market. So, vehicles that are being sold today and five years from now will become a bigger part of the aftermarket scene as the next generation moves into the automotive world.

     Hence the reason why the import tuners started coming out massively by the mid to late 90s, whereas the Asian invasion started in the late 70s and early 80s. All of these cars started to take shape. The big off-roading vehicles were still there and people were still looking at them, but now we were adding bigger tires and roll bars. If you've seen the original Back to the Future movie, you've seen two variations of the late 70s and into the 80s of the aftermarket truck industry between Needles F-150 and McFly's Mr. Marty McFly's Toyota Tacoma. Yes, the Asian invasion was coming in to the aftermarket industry for the pickup truck market as well, and with that we were getting roll bars, kc lights, front bumper guards. Aftermarket wheels were starting to be introduced to the pickup truck market. People were starting to take notice that trucks could be just as cool as the performance cars on the road. Muscle cars were starting to come back near the end of the late 80s only because the great nameplates of the Camaro and the Mustang were still kicking around. But they weren't as great as they were during the aftermarket industry of the 1960s and 70s. 
​
​      With the muscle car era the imports were moving in. Custom paint jobs, ground effects kits, low riders and hydraulics were coming in. Not a lot would change as we entered the 1990s. Our ground effects kits would be smoothed out with the addition of front and rear spoilers. The addition of rear deck spoilers was starting to come in, where the aftermarket industry never really played with this idea. They were starting to come in. But as the 90s gave birth to a massive craze of sports cars, more people were just moving into purchasing a regular sports car and the aftermarket industry was just rolling along at a steady pace. 
​

     Then, all of a sudden, in 2001, a movie changed our perception of the aftermarket industry forever. The Fast and the Furious showed us where the industry was at. By the mid-90s. People were starting to customize their cars Full paint jobs, full interior redone. They were adding nitrous oxide to it, doing custom interiors, adding bigger spoilers, full body kits we're starting to replace the ground effects kits. We were actually able to start adding brand new bumpers. It was the 80s. We had to maintain the standard plastic bumper peel. The 1990s started giving us full body form bumpers and with that the industry started picking up that you could change these products out, we can make them look different, we can add more air intake, we can add more downforce and by 2001, the world was being shown on the silver screen what the aftermarket industry was becoming.
 
      And with the follow-up of Too Fast, too Furious, bringing the aftermarket industry of pickup trucks into that as well, with both lowrider and off-road, everything from the aftermarket industry was emerging automatically all together Vibrant colors, custom decals, aftermarket tires and rims. Low profile tires were coming in. Full body kits, side spoilers, rear spoilers, side canards. Brand new hoods, carbon fiber, custom builds, full interiors, brand new stereo systems All of this was taking shape and showcasing to us. There was a multitude of products out there. We're in the 1980s. We knew we can add a kick-ass stereo to it. We knew we can lower our cars and we knew we can add cool paint jobs, nice decals and even aftermarket tires and rims. But it wasn't commonplace. Most people who did it would just go and do it. But the 1990s, the explosion of the Fast and Furious days, gave us the full effect of the aftermarket industry and as those movies slowly progressed over the next decade, they showcased even new parts of the aftermarket industry with the brand-new off-road variations of the Charger. Fast and Furious was showcasing to us, even though they weren't street racing anymore. They were showcasing new parts of the industry as the industry was changing. 
​

​     By the end of the global financial crisis in 2008, by the teen years, the industry was starting to change yet again. With a generation that had a lack of coupes and sports cars, most of us were starting to move back into the classic industry once again, putting new touches on classic cars jamming a Dodge Viper engine underneath the 69 Camaro, using a brand-new Challenger's full suspension and frame system, dropping it under the 1970 Challenger and making it handle and perform better than it once did. Performance became king in the 1980s with vehicles, and being able to take corners was huge. With the introduction of mountain drifting in the 1970s in Japan, drifting was starting to become a big thing as well. Even with Initial D coming out in the early 2000s, the drifting world was starting to showcase that vehicles need to handle as well as they go, and the aftermarket industry was really taking place. They go and the aftermarket industry was really taking place. The Fast and the Furious brought us fast cars in a straight line, but Initial D and drifting brought us vehicles that went fast around corners, and that's the reason why we're starting to take these classic cars and bring brand new products into the classic car industry.
 
      To rejuvenate a past favorite Adding disc brakes to my 70 Mustang, dropping it down to the ground and making it handle better than it did in 1970. I now had the ability to add brand new tires and wheels, along with disc brakes, full exhaust systems, brand new interiors to my classic vehicle. Add to this a brand-new generation of lifted vehicles and the introduction of one of the craziest aftermarket industries of all time the rat rod Finding vehicles out in the middle of. One of the craziest aftermarket industries of all time, the rat rod Finding vehicles out in the middle of fields because it was getting harder and harder to find good products. People were now finding rusted old pieces of crap out in a farmer's field, putting a brand-new engine and suspension system into it, but keeping the vehicle in its original state, looking like it's still rotting, while being customized with brand new parts. The rat rod industry was showcasing to us we can make something horrible from the past look even good and handled good for the future.
 
       Out with the old and in with the new was becoming the new phase of the aftermarket industry, bringing what was great about the past and merging it with what's amazing about the future to bring vehicles. And, as it seems, over the past decade the aftermarket industry really hasn't added much to it. We're just enhancing what we already have, we're adding more lights, we're giving our old classic vehicles the same look as they originally were, but making them handle and sound and perform like a brand-new car. So, the industry is making slight changes but with the introduction of a sports car back in 2005 would eventually change the aftermarket industry for its future. The Tesla Roadster would showcase to us a new part of the aftermarket industry electronic conversions, turning a classic car into an EV. But it also showcased to us how do we make a battery system go better. Well, that's where we're going back to the early 2000s and we're making the visualizations of electric vehicles as its only commonplace for its future, where they already go as fast as they can. Besides upgrading the battery, all you can do is body enhancements. 
​

     So where do we go from here? With electric cars becoming more commonplace, can the aftermarket industry survive on less? Well, yes, it can. With the introduction of new power sources, with hydrogen conversions eventually going to be taking place in the aftermarket industry, finding new ways to get more power out of hydrogen systems is going to be it. As new power sources enter the automobile world, the aftermarket industry will still be there. There's always going to be somebody that wants to make their vehicle look different, handle different and perform different than a product that comes off the factory floor.
 
      And even though today more companies produce aftermarket variations straight from the factory floor, and countries like China imposing mass restrictions on modifying your own personal vehicle, it may seem like the aftermarket industry is on its last legs, but there is still room for growth and there is still a future out there waiting for it. Where it will go from here is up to you. We're like the original criminals, like Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger. Modifying your car for a select purpose could be what changes in the future. You may not know it, but something you're doing today may be what changes the aftermarket industry in the future.
 
     As we've all come to learn, the aftermarket industry is based off of used cars, because most people don't go out and buy a brand-new car and want to tear it apart. They're more willing to tear apart something that's old, with barely any sports cars or coupes in existence today. We're going to have to move into the crossover utility marketplace and active lifestyle vehicles. Brand new body styles and brand-new power sources are what's going to be at the end of this tunnel for us for the aftermarket industry. Not the end as end of times, but the us for the aftermarket industry. Not the end as end of times, but the next evolution of the aftermarket industry. From power sources to changed tires and wheels, to custom paint jobs and hydraulic. The aftermarket industry has grown from just helping somebody evade the police to something a whole lot more. Today, the aftermarket industry is about personalization and what you want for your vehicle. I'm one of those people who doesn't like to own vehicles that look like everybody else's. My personal vehicles, with my truck and my little car, have been customized. The aftermarket industry is apparent in my home and even though I don't go all out, I still make it different than what everyone else has. Can I go a little further in? Well, we'll just see what time gives me and what my mind can bring out of it. 
​

     ​So, if you like this podcast, please like, share or comment on any of the major social feeds. Click the like button on the bottom. Share it with all of your friends on any of the major social feeds or streaming sites that you've founded us on, and follow us for more podcasts as we release them on a weekly basis. The AutoLooks Podcast Go back, check out. We have over 200 episodes over six seasons of the AutoLooks Podcast. Stop by, check it out and give a listen, and click the like button at the bottom.
 
      All from AutoLooks and the AutoLooks Podcast. The AutoLooks Podcast is brought to you by Ecomm Entertainment Group and distributed by Podbeam.com. If you'd like to get in touch with us, send us an email over at email at AutoLooks.net and after you've done all that, stop by the website. Stop by AutoLooks.net, read some of the ratings, check out some of the reviews and go to the Corporate Links website page. Big or small, we have them all. Car companies from around the globe, all available on, as we call it, the Google of the automotive industry, the AutoLooks.net website. So, for myself, Everett Jay, the AutoLooks.net website and the Ecomm Entertainment Group, strap yourself in for this one fun wild ride as the aftermarket industry evolves. Yet again, thank you. 

Everett J.
​#autolooks