The Enduring Appeal of Mail Order Car Parts: A Look Back at JC Whitney

For many automotive enthusiasts, the concept of Mail Order Car Parts evokes a sense of nostalgia, harking back to a time when the JC Whitney catalog was a bible for DIY mechanics and car customizers across America. As someone who spent several years working at JC Whitney’s corporate headquarters, I have a unique insider perspective on this iconic brand and the mail order car parts industry it helped to define.

JC Whitney’s story is deeply interwoven with the history of American car culture. Founded as a scrap metal yard in Chicago by Lithuanian immigrant Israel Warshawsky, the company adopted the name JC Whitney to appeal to a broader American market. While the early days were humble, it was Israel’s son, Roy Warshawsky, who truly revolutionized the business in 1934. Inspired by the success of mail-order giants like Sears and Roebuck, Roy envisioned expanding JC Whitney beyond Chicago by tapping into the burgeoning mail order car parts market.

A vintage JC Whitney advertisement from July 1950, showcasing the early days of mail order car parts.

Initially, Roy utilized classified ads in popular magazines like Popular Science and Popular Mechanics to promote his mail order car parts business. These small advertisements were the seeds that would grow into a massive catalog empire. As the 1950s dawned, JC Whitney’s mail order car parts business truly took off. The advertisements expanded from simple lines in classifieds to eye-catching full-page spreads. The widespread distribution of their now-iconic catalog solidified JC Whitney’s place as a cornerstone of the mail order car parts industry and American automotive culture.

An advertisement for JC Whitney mail order car parts from February 1954, published in Popular Mechanics.

The JC Whitney catalog itself became an instantly recognizable symbol of mail order car parts. Its pulp paper pages, dense with tiny print and minimalist line drawings, offered a unique window into the automotive trends and desires of the 1950s and 1960s. This era marked the golden age of JC Whitney and mail order car parts in general.

A page from a vintage JC Whitney catalog, advertising a range of mail order car parts including complete engines.

During this peak period, JC Whitney’s mail order car parts offerings included a significant selection of “hard parts.” These essential replacement components, such as alternators, brakes, body panels, and even entire engines, were crucial for keeping America’s aging car fleet running. While these mail order car parts were vital, they were also characterized by higher shipping costs and lower profit margins due to their weight and material composition, typically steel or iron.

Another catalog page showcasing diverse mail order car parts and accessories available from JC Whitney.

However, it wasn’t solely the hard parts that cemented JC Whitney’s fame in the mail order car parts business. It was the vast and often outlandish array of car accessories that truly captured the public’s imagination. These accessories, unlike hard parts, were inexpensive to produce, purchase, and ship. In later years, many were sourced from manufacturers in China at very low costs. These mail order car parts accessories boasted significantly higher profit margins, sometimes exceeding 50%.

JC Whitney’s mail order catalog featured a wide variety of car accessories, including whitewall tire paint, advertised in this image.

The effectiveness of some of these mail order car parts accessories was sometimes questionable. Paint-on whitewalls, for instance, likely didn’t replicate the durability or appearance of real whitewall tires. Yet, JC Whitney wasn’t just selling products; they were selling a dream – the aspiration that anyone could afford to customize their car and emulate the style of more affluent car owners through affordable mail order car parts.

Mail order car parts from JC Whitney allowed car owners to update older models with newer styling trends, like quad headlights.

As automotive styling, technology, and safety features evolved, JC Whitney consistently offered mail order car parts to allow owners of older vehicles to adopt the latest trends. Whether it was adding a 1958-style quad-headlight conversion to a 1957 model or installing a third brake light on a pre-1986 car, JC Whitney’s mail order car parts bridged the gap between new features and older vehicles.

An example of JC Whitney’s diverse mail order car parts catalog, featuring a manual pull-start for Volkswagen vehicles.

JC Whitney’s eclectic mix of products and budget-friendly approach appealed to a broad spectrum of car enthusiasts. Their mail order car parts catered to:

Individuals focused on practical repairs, needing affordable mail order car parts to keep older vehicles running. Items like a manual starter for a Volkswagen exemplified this market.
Car owners wanting to enhance their vehicle’s style with features mimicking higher-end models, utilizing mail order car parts for cosmetic upgrades.
Those seeking to personalize and customize their cars, finding unique and distinctive mail order car parts through the catalog.

A JC Whitney mail order car parts advertisement from October 1952, promoting a range of auto accessories.

JC Whitney became a welcoming space for all car enthusiasts, regardless of income. The brand democratized car customization and repair, offering mail order car parts that made features like third brake lights or continental kits accessible to everyone.

This successful formula sustained JC Whitney for decades. However, by the 1970s, the mail order car parts landscape began to shift. Rising fuel costs, increasingly complex vehicle electronics, and stringent emissions regulations made it more challenging for average car owners to perform DIY repairs. This trend, which continues today, impacted the demand for traditional mail order car parts. Interestingly, JC Whitney actually filed for Chapter XI bankruptcy in 1979, a fact largely unknown even within the company at the time. While they successfully reorganized, this signaled the beginning of significant challenges for the mail order car parts giant.

A JC Whitney magazine advertisement from May 1992, reflecting the shift in mail order car parts towards accessories.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the lower-profit margin hard parts gradually disappeared from JC Whitney’s mail order car parts catalog. They were replaced by a growing selection of inexpensive, often cheaply made, accessories sourced from China, as reflected in the 1992 advertisement. While the catalog retained its signature tiny print and homespun illustrations, the quality and utility of many mail order car parts offerings declined.

Roy Warshawsky retired in 1991 and passed away in 1997. In 2002, his last surviving sister sold JC Whitney to The Riverside Company, a private equity firm. This marked the end of JC Whitney as a family-owned business, though it remained based in Chicago for the time being. Industry speculation suggested the sale price was around $60 million for a company with $170 million in sales, a decrease from peak sales exceeding $200 million in the 1990s.

In 2006, Riverside attempted to revitalize JC Whitney by acquiring Stylin Concepts, a truck accessory catalog company where I was employed. The goal was to consolidate the automotive aftermarket and use JC Whitney as the primary platform. Whitney Automotive Group (WAG) was formed as a parent company to pursue further acquisitions and brand expansion. A new executive was brought in to enhance eCommerce capabilities, and a focus on mergers and acquisitions was established. The company relocated to a modern office space on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, aiming for a startup-like environment with a relaxed dress code and trendy office amenities.

Despite the changes, Roy Warshawsky’s legacy remained present. His collection of antique gas pump globes and automotive memorabilia adorned the office, along with photos of his classic car collection. The main conference room, housing these items, was still known as “Roy’s Garage.”

Numerous initiatives were explored to modernize and grow the mail order car parts business, including:

Install Pro: Recognizing a shift from DIY to DIFM (“Do It For Me”), JC Whitney aimed to create an installation network, mirroring Tire Rack’s model. Customers could purchase mail order car parts and installation services together, with parts shipped directly to installers. While a promising concept, it lacked sufficient investment in installer network development and marketing.
carparts.com: To compete with emerging online retailers offering discounted mail order car parts, JC Whitney launched carparts.com. This no-frills website offered lower prices but lacked customer service and had strict return policies. It generated limited profitability.
Sears Partnership: JC Whitney partnered with Sears to manage the auto parts section of sears.com. JC Whitney handled fulfillment, but Sears reportedly retained the majority of the profits, providing limited financial benefit to JC Whitney.
Acquisition Attempts: Significant resources were invested in pursuing business acquisitions, but no deals were ultimately finalized.

The core issue was that while these new ventures were being explored, JC Whitney’s fundamental mail order car parts catalog business was declining. The company’s core strength, its established customer base and catalog, was eroding faster than new growth opportunities could compensate.

The 2008 financial crisis further complicated the situation. Credit markets froze, halting acquisition plans. Worse, JC Whitney was attempting to reposition itself as a more upscale brand (with carparts.com targeting the budget market) precisely when consumers were seeking value and affordability during the recession. Companies like McDonald’s and Walmart thrived in this economic climate. JC Whitney, a brand synonymous with affordable mail order car parts, was moving away from its core identity at the wrong time.

The JC Whitney brand, like Ovaltine, was becoming an aging name in the mail order car parts market.

The JC Whitney brand itself was becoming outdated. While major companies invest heavily in brand building, JC Whitney had neglected marketing. The brand recognition was fading, becoming akin to Ovaltine or Prell – vaguely familiar but no longer resonant. Common reactions to working at JC Whitney were “My Dad used to buy from you” and “You guys are still around?” – hardly the desired brand perception for a mail order car parts retailer.

The core JC Whitney mail order car parts business continued to deteriorate. The customer base, with an average age in their 50s, was aging and shrinking. Sales declined to around $120 million as a new generation of buyers turned to online marketplaces like eBay, Amazon, and Google for car parts online.

Managing decline proved more challenging than managing growth. JC Whitney was becoming a smaller company but still carried the cost structure of a much larger one. Cost reductions couldn’t keep pace with falling revenue, leading to increasing debt. The company became heavily leveraged, relying on vendor financing. Payment delays to suppliers became frequent, and some suppliers refused to extend further credit. The demise of JC Whitney as an independent mail order car parts entity became increasingly inevitable.

In the summer of 2010, Riverside announced they were seeking a buyer for WAG. The ideal scenario was an investor willing to revitalize the JC Whitney brand for the 21st century. The worst-case scenario was acquisition by a competitor who would dismantle the company and acquire its brand and customer list.

Despite interest from numerous potential buyers, including major brick-and-mortar auto parts retailers, the latter scenario unfolded. US Auto Parts (USAP), a competitor, acquired Whitney Automotive Group for $27.5 million on August 17, 2010. This acquisition included all of JC Whitney’s debts. While seemingly a reasonable price, JC Whitney’s financial situation was worse than initially apparent. USAP’s stock performance remained stagnant for years after the acquisition, and profitability only recently returned.

Following the acquisition, USAP quickly reduced staff, including the WAG executive team. Some employees, including myself and my IT team, were retained to manage the wind-down of the Chicago and Cleveland offices and the migration of JC Whitney’s systems to USAP’s platform. US Auto Parts handled the acquisition professionally and provided fair severance packages.

US Auto Parts was not the cause of JC Whitney’s downfall. The company’s decline was self-inflicted. USAP simply acquired the remnants. USAP paid a significant price for a company in worse condition than they fully realized during due diligence.

Today, JC Whitney exists solely as an online storefront for US Auto Parts. Beyond the name, there is no connection to the original Chicago-based company that pioneered mail order car parts over a century ago. The Chicago office is closed, though the La Salle distribution center and outlet store, now owned by US Auto Parts, remain. The traditional print catalog, a massive expense, is largely discontinued, with only two specialty catalogs remaining for Jeep and Truck parts. All other specialty catalogs, including Classic VW, Motorcycle, and Auto, are gone.

Postscripts

July 16, 2020: US Auto Parts Network (now CarParts.com) announced the closure of jcwhitney.com and the complete cessation of print catalogs. JC Whitney now exists only as a private label brand for select CarParts.com accessories.

October 2023: Jcwhitney.com has been relaunched as an automotive lifestyle blog, featuring SEO-optimized content to drive traffic to carparts.com. While print catalogs remain discontinued, a print magazine is now offered, a curious nod to JC Whitney’s print heritage.