CHICAGO — “Drive smart, save money” is the new focus of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association’s Be Car Care Aware Campaign that aims to be more applicable to the challenges preventing vehicle maintenance — higher energy and gasoline costs, weak dollar value, fear of a recession and a decline in consumer confidence — in today’s global economy. The message goal is to communicate that the solution is not postponing maintenance, but performing it proactively and responsibly to save money in the long run, says Kathleen Schmatz, AAIA’s president and CEO.
The slogan will be printed on labels to be used for car care guidelines and distribution and retail use.
The campaign — celebrating its fifth year — has driven reported unperformed maintenance from $62 million in 2002 to $53 million in 2007 and the vehicle failure rate of at least one part or system from more than 90 percent in 2002 to 80 percent last year, Schmatz states. The program, which has printed 1.5 million Car Care Guides in English, Spanish and French, also boasts the number one search result position for “car care” on all major search engines, continuing to draw more visitors to the www.carcare.org site each year.
