Auto Service Professional

APR 2016

Magazine for the auto service professional

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Advertorial In the fast lane When the National Highway System was approved in 1956, the country's interstate roads grew exponentially. New freeways made driving the preferred method of travel for many Americans, who increas- ingly turned to their automobiles for transportation. In the 1960s, AC Spark Plug and Delco Electronics teams helped NASA develop the inertial guidance systems for the entire Apollo moon program. AC igniter spark plugs were used to fre the second and third stage rocket engines that took Neil Arm- strong, Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins to the moon in 1969, and AC Spark Plug and Delco also helped create key components of the Lunar Rover Vehicle that Apollo 15 astro- nauts drove on the moon in 1971. By 1974, GM merged its AC Spark Plug Division with United Delco to form AC-Delco. AC-Delco was a household name with a reputable image, making its mark on the automotive aftermarket parts and service business. In the 1980s and 1990s, AC-Delco became very involved in motorsports, sponsoring races and drivers in NASCAR, IHRA (International Hot Rod Association) and NHRA (National Hot Rod Association). Some of racing's most successful names wore AC-Delco on their backs during their races – Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Johnson, Steve Park, Kevin Harvick, Harold Martin, Ken Schrader and Ron Hornaday, to name a few. In 1995, one fnal company name change was announced: The hyphen between AC and Delco was removed, creating the current ACDelco logo now seen around the globe. ACDelco also evolved to an all makes/ all models strategy, providing parts and ser- vices for a wide range of vehicles, not just those produced by GM. In order to better serve its growing inter- national customers, ACDelco moved from its original home in Flint to a new state-of-the-art global headquarters in nearby Grand Blanc, Mich., in 1996. The next 100 years From humble origins, ACDelco has grown into a global brand. Technicians around the world count on ACDelco every day to deliver true original equipment qual- ity backed by a 100-year track record of success. As the company looks ahead to the next 100 years, advanced powertrains, telemat- ics and autonomous driving will dramatically reshape the aftermarket in the future. This reinforces the importance of the unique tech- nical leadership and training only ACDelco and GM can deliver. While many things change, some things remain the same. Even in a future world of drones and self-driving cars, innovation still starts with the original. William Durant and Albert Champion had the vision to know that the automotive ser- vice industry would need a complete solution of trusted genuine parts and superior techni- cian training. They would be amazed to see how their early investment in our industry has grown and evolved today. ACDelco AC spark plugs were used in the rocket engines which took Armstrong, Aldin and Collins to the moon.

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