Out and about with cat

[caption id="attachment_9252" align="alignright" width="300" caption="iAuto is hoping to go nationwide"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9166" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Revolution Motorstore"][/caption]

This year marks the 15^th anniversary for performance specialist Revolution Motorstore. The outfit won our Retailer of the Year Award in 2010, but in truth it’s a mix of heady Halfords parts and busy tuning shop.

[caption id="attachment_9055" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Alignment is a good earner for some"][/caption]

Ian Wagstaff dons his overalls for a day at this factor.

[caption id="attachment_8972" align="alignright" width="150" caption="The phones are already ringing at 7am"][/caption]

Ian Wagstaff dons his apron for a day behind the tills

[caption id="attachment_8730" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Thame Autoparts' front signage"][/caption]

“Some bastard has nicked my dust caps,” says a customer. “The kids take them for their push bikes,” states Joe Curran knowingly.

[caption id="attachment_8677" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Andy's heritage is in motorbikes"][/caption]

In the world of motorcycle-engine derived cars and kit vehicles, there are only a handful of names worth mentioning. One of those names is Andy Bates.

Frogs Island is a workshop with a difference. While the garage still gets its daily bread from servicing and repair work, many of its jobs are on a much larger scale than the average workshop. The 4x4 specialist started out as a one-man band in the early 1990s. Manager Gary Arnold says that the biggest change in the company came in 2008 when it was bought by 4x4 components supplier AllMakes

What is BEN? It’s your industry charity. What does BEN do? It offers care, support and welfare to the motor trade. Who is BEN for? You, your family, and your dependants. No less than 15,000 people are helped by BEN every year, but that figure is quickly dwarfed when Head of Marketing Ray Diggins explains the scope of BEN’s remit.

When it comes to the perennial debate over original parts or those of matching quality, Meyle has an interesting, no-nonsense contribution to make. Andrew Tress is the UK Sales Manager at the Burgess Hill-based operation in West Sussex and says it’s all a question of emissions and weight.

Nissan and Starbucks might be creating thousands of jobs, but consultancy firm Deloitte says nearly 10,000 workers were let go in the first quarter as Past Times, Peacocks, Game, La Senza, and Blacks all faltered on the High Street. It’s not a particularly cheery backdrop for Saxon Distribution to be selling into car accessory retailers then.