Fierofool's water pump thread comes to mind, although I'm not sure if they're related.
Who is First Brands Group? First Brands Group produced OE aftermarket parts for many of the well-known brands you see on your local auto parts store shelves. Needed a filter? You probably bought one from Fram. Needed brakes? You were probably grabbing Centric Parts, Raybestos, or Cardone parts. Wipers? Those were most likely an Anco-, Michelin-, or Trico- branded blade. Spark plugs? That might have been an Autolite-branded plug or wire set you bought recently. Needed hitch or receiver parts for your trailer? The best-known brand and what you’d normally find easily was Draw-Tite or Reese. Well, First Brands Group either produced those parts for its own brand or licensed the name and produced parts under those other brands.
What Does “OE Aftermarket” Mean? "OE aftermarket" describes any original-specification part that isn’t made by the original manufacturer of your vehicle or one of its tiered suppliers. The latter parts fit and work like OE, but are technically considered aftermarket and are thus known as "OE aftermarket." The important thing is that the parts First Brands Group produced are not the same parts you usually find at your local dealership service counter. They are also not the performance parts you look for when you want to increase horsepower in your vehicle, make it handle better, or just make it look the way you want it to.
Man... it's bad news... but I looked it up, and at least it's only Chapter 11... so they're not going away, just restructuring, which probably means some things are going to disappear.
Big problem we have in the industry is that most kids are not really into cars anymore. When I was in high school, it was all about what car you had. Today, at least with my daughter's school... there are very few people really all that interested in cars. The girls all want Jeeps, because it's really the only thing that looks different. So, you have a lot of Jeeps and Broncos, and then there's a group of kids who have those Hyundai sedans... I forget the name, that sporty 4-door that they make. And really, no one else really cares.
The car industry, and especially the classic car industry is going to go through some rough times in the next few years. It'll be cool if you want to buy some classic cars... the prices of these are going down everywhere... but people are losing interest in cars. Unless there's some huge deregulation in the industry... people just don't see the need for cars anymore.
I would not get to worried. The auto parts industry is littered with many failure, sell out and buy in's.
I have worked in the performance aftermarket for over 30 years and nearly all my vendors have had issues or sold out at one point. Mr GASKET was sold and bought nearly a dozen times. Holley failed many times and is now owned by a group of employees who in turn bought up many failing MFG to put them in one big group.
The others are being sold to equity groups. This is not always great as they often make make cuts that hurt the business, Edelbrock and Jegs both were sold out by the families. Their future rest in profitability.
Federal Mogul went bust several times and are still with us.
The only thing we may lose is some of the weaker offerings and some of the private brand items that are made for others.
Even if they end up breaking up these companies will be absorbed by someone else be it another automotive brand or an equity group.
I know it appears un nerving but this stuff has been going on a lot over the years and you just never heard about it or noticed.
In fact most of these brands were independent companies till they got taken in by First Brands.
Man... it's bad news... but I looked it up, and at least it's only Chapter 11... so they're not going away, just restructuring, which probably means some things are going to disappear.
Big problem we have in the industry is that most kids are not really into cars anymore. When I was in high school, it was all about what car you had. Today, at least with my daughter's school... there are very few people really all that interested in cars. The girls all want Jeeps, because it's really the only thing that looks different. So, you have a lot of Jeeps and Broncos, and then there's a group of kids who have those Hyundai sedans... I forget the name, that sporty 4-door that they make. And really, no one else really cares.
The car industry, and especially the classic car industry is going to go through some rough times in the next few years. It'll be cool if you want to buy some classic cars... the prices of these are going down everywhere... but people are losing interest in cars. Unless there's some huge deregulation in the industry... people just don't see the need for cars anymore.
As for the classic car industry it has really not been bad. The smart companies are keep up with trends and fast selling products even with the decline of people in the market.
Things like trucks and jeeps have picked up slack as well off road 4 wheelers and even more OE parts. The company I started with over 30 years ago has diversified much and are doing a lot of things we never did and quite successfully.
The web is key as we are now global sales. The days of the local performance stores unless they do machine work is getting tough.
There is money in a number of auto and mechanical things you just need to be willing to respond at the right times.
It used to be all Mustang and Camaro and that is no longer the case. Jeep, truck and ATV.
Buy local for everything if you want your community to have a healthy tax base....or you will end up taking up the slack via property taxes.
The dollars you 'save' on internet purchases will be lost many times over when the government comes knocking.
Every dollar you spend in your local community circulates several times within the community. When you buy online, that money is gone from your community and hurts you, while making Bezoa and others like him even richer than they are.
If I may add another point of view. If you look at the overall automotive market, repair of new cars keeps getting harder and more complex year after year. The days of the backyard mechanic are diminishing and this will cause a shift in the replacement and aftermarket parts business. As the auto manufacturers will most likely promote their own OEM parts the replacement parts business may decrease accordingly. I don't believe that this will affect parts for classic cars but as example try working on a new car; on some of them you have to remove or take half the engine apart just to change the spark plugs.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
[This message has been edited by Dennis LaGrua (edited 10-01-2025).]
If you doubt me, look what happened to local businesses in every town that welcomed WALMART into their communities.....
Here is the trouble. Everyone complains about Walmart and Amazon but yet they still shop there due to prices.
I see it time and time again.
Also you can order local but it may take several weeks but amazon can have it there the next day. Hard to pass that up if you just need that one last part for your car.
I work for a web and retail operation. Be aware that the local stores are buying parts from us and marking them up. Many times local is not as local as you think. 🤔
If I may add another point of view. If you look at the overall automotive market, repair of new cars keeps getting harder and more complex year after year. The days of the backyard mechanic are diminishing and this will cause a shift in the replacement and aftermarket parts business. As the auto manufacturers will most likely promote their own OEM parts the replacement parts business may decrease accordingly. I don't believe that this will affect parts for classic cars but as example try working on a new car; n some of them you have to remove or take half the engine apart just to change the spark plugs.
Note most of First brands parts are simple service parts. Not like you would need shop.
Now on the other hand people today are not changing their own oil anymore or even a fan belt.
Here is the trouble. Everyone complains about Walmart and Amazon but yet they still shop there due to prices.
I see it time and time again.
Also you can order local but it may take several weeks but amazon can have it there the next day. Hard to pass that up if you just need that one last part for your car.
I work for a web and retail operation. Be aware that the local stores are buying parts from us and marking them up. Many times local is not as local as you think. 🤔
Most reputable auto parts stores will have non-stocked parts the next day, or later the same day.
