The ASAAA said its Legislator Education and Awareness program is designed to promote the importance, quality, value and availability of aftermarket replacement parts and services. The ASAAA developed a blueprint to help state associations and industry companies send unified industry messages and implement educational processes to inform state policymakers about the significance of the aftermarket parts industry to help ensure consistency and fairness in the government affairs process, and to eliminate misconceptions about the value that aftermarket replacement parts play in the American economy.

“In state Capitols nationwide, industry advocates are faced with the challenge of educating legislative bodies about the value and importance that aftermarket replacement parts and service contribute to the nation’s economy and the motoring public,” said Barbara Crest, president of ASAAA. “However, when describing aftermarket replacement parts and service, words like ‘imitation,’ ‘inferior’ and ‘not of like kind and quality’ are used by our opposition to confuse policymakers and discredit our industry.”

The ASAAA said its campaign was developed and financed by a team of industry experts, including representatives from the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association (AWDA), Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA), AutoZone, LKQ Corp., General Parts Inc.—CARQUEST, Genuine Parts Co.—NAPA, Advance Auto Parts, Robert Bosch Corp. and Remy Power Products.