This is the single greatest honor in the motor vehicle industry, intended to honor a career and/or lifetime achievement. To become a "Hall of Famer" the nominee must be either retired or deceased. Recipients must have significantly impacted the development of the automobile or the motor vehicle industry. Typically, four to eight individuals are inducted each year.
Instrumental in starting the largest and longest running automotive aftermarket parts catalog business in the world: the J.C. Whitney catalog that still exists to this day
In 1967, elected the first president of the Automotive Parts and Accessories Association
Roy Warshawsky joined his father in the family's junkyard business in 1934, where he had the idea of selling automotive parts wholesale, through a catalog which he distributed to Chicago-area gas stations and mechanics under the Warshawsky & Co. name.
Three years later, after putting the Warshawsky name on the map by advertising at the Chicago World's Fair, he was instrumental in starting the largest and longest running automotive aftermarket parts catalog business in the world, the J.C. Whitney catalog, which still exists to this day.
By the 1960's, Warshawsky noticed that the aftermarket industry was not part of the legislative process. On May 8, 1967, he orchestrated the first meeting of the Automotive Parts and Accessories Association. He was unanimously elected president at that meeting, and ran the fledgling organization from Warshawsky & Co. headquarters for several years thereafter. The AAIA now encompasses thousands of members worldwide.
