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Western Auto

Posted: 10 Feb 2007 03:34
by Dean
Western Auto, dead, correct?

Posted: 10 Feb 2007 06:30
by TheStranger
Several Western Autos are still operating, including one in Salem, Indiana that I saw last summer.

http://dtcwrt.earlracing.com/stores/other.htm

Posted: 10 Feb 2007 14:20
by Groceteria
Actually, Western Auto is not really a department store, but more of a auto parts/hardware store.

Posted: 10 Feb 2007 14:27
by TheStranger
Groceteria wrote:Actually, Western Auto is not really a department store, but more of a auto parts/hardware store.
Didn't Western Autos have a mix of merchandise beyond the obvious auto parts? Kinda like a smaller version of what ended up happening with Canadian Tire.

For instance, toys used to be sold there...
http://flickr.com/photos/neatocoolville/75188715/

as well as record players:
http://flickr.com/photos/neatocoolville/75188718/

fridges/freezers too!
http://flickr.com/photos/ilovemath/108186545/

Posted: 10 Feb 2007 15:20
by Dave
TheStranger wrote:
Groceteria wrote:Actually, Western Auto is not really a department store, but more of a auto parts/hardware store.
Didn't Western Autos have a mix of merchandise beyond the obvious auto parts? Kinda like a smaller version of what ended up happening with Canadian Tire...
It all depended on the Western Auto store. Some did and some didn't. One of my friends fathers used to go to his local Western Auto most every Saturday and buy a "Saturday Night Special" pistol (Why, I don't know. He marched to the beat of a different drummer.), but not all Western Auto stores sold firearms, certainly the ones in Richmond had stopped by that time. A lot of the Western Auto stores were "associate" (franchise) stores.

Western Auto is now owned by Advance Auto Parts out of Roanoke, VA.

Posted: 11 Feb 2007 11:15
by dth1971
Was Western Auto with merchandise other than car parts similar to True Value or something like that?

Re: Western Auto

Posted: 26 Sep 2008 13:24
by Dean
Was surprised to pass a Western Auto store in Santa Fe Springs CA. On Orr & Day Road.

Also, check out history:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Auto

Re: Western Auto

Posted: 13 Feb 2009 03:38
by Dean
Passed their old Southern California DC recently.

It was at the corner of 7th Avenue and Don Julian Road, City of Industry.

It later became the VW/Audi DC.

It is something else now.

Former site in Crestline CA was originally a Stater Brothers, YEARS ago. It is a very small location. Currently a pawn shop.

Re:

Posted: 15 Feb 2009 23:59
by buckhead
dth1971 wrote:Was Western Auto with merchandise other than car parts similar to True Value or something like that?
In addition to auto parts and related items, some of the stores carried small appliances, gadgets, and even things like Adams magic tricks (marked cards, dice, etc.). I think it was up to each store to determine what they wanted to carry. I believe some carried home appliances.

Re: Western Auto

Posted: 16 Feb 2009 03:26
by Jeff
I'm taking it then it was like a Canadian Tire up in Canada. A mish-mosh of everything:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/welcome.jsp? ... 4769119555

Use the postal code that is the example.

Re: Western Auto

Posted: 16 Feb 2009 13:00
by rich
It really depended on the size of the store what they stocked. Some were like a small hard goods Sears (the one near me), while others were like a limited selection Pep Boys. they had a hodgepodge of locations--ours was in a large suburban strip. More often they had main street locations in county seat-type towns.

Re: Western Auto

Posted: 16 Feb 2009 13:07
by Groceteria
The one I grew up with was in a former supermarket, interestingly enough, and seemed pretty much a standard hardware store with an appliance department reminiscent of those Sears "catalog stores" you used to see in small towns. I remember they had auto parts and tires as well, but they never seemed like the focal point of the store. There was also a bigger one downtown, in a late 1960s white brick building, that gave more of an auto parts store feel, but it also had hardware and appliances. Both also has service bays, as I remember.

Re: Western Auto

Posted: 16 Feb 2009 19:26
by dooneyt63
From the 1960's until at least the late 1970's, Western Auto also had a catalog...much like Sears but without clothing other than the occasional hunting togs. It featured auto parts, furniture, appliances (large and small), electronics, dishes, toys, gifts, etc. Like Sears, the merchandise was delivered to the store for pickup. It was about the thickness of the old Sears Christmas catalog. The company did a brisk business in the small towns in which it operated. Often, they were too small for even a Sears catalog sales store. Their well-made appliances, fans, and space heaters often turn up in thrift stores.

Re: Western Auto

Posted: 18 Feb 2009 12:05
by Dean
They had PLENTY of bikes!

"...bike headquarters for over half a century..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Etk4MQvGI1U

Re: Western Auto

Posted: 28 Nov 2009 05:01
by StoreLiker2006
Western Auto did sell outdoor power equipment including lawn mowers, tillers and riders at some of their stores, under the "Wizard" brand name.

And I would like to know how many Western Auto stores existed in Portland, OR circa 1986 that sold outdoor power equipment in addition to their automotive fare?

~Ben