A Saturday trip to the local Western Auto store was a common occurrence in my childhood. While Dad dealt with someone behind the counter trying to secure a specific car part, we kids would peruse the merchandise in the front of the store. There were bicycles, camping gear, audio equipment, and even electric guitars and firearms. It was quite a mix of merchandise—part variety store and part catalog showroom.
At its peak, Western Auto had more than 1,200 company-owned stores and more than 4,000 “affiliate” stores (private franchise locations). Like Radio Shack, Western Auto could be found in almost every town, and in southern California where I grew up, in almost every neighborhood. Today’s images are all from Western Auto advertising flyers printed between 1960 and 1963. Click on any image for larger version.
Western Auto began in 1909 in Kansas City, founded by George Pepperdine, who would later found Pepperdine University. The company began as a mail-order auto parts business and opened its first retail store in 1921.
As one of the first retailers to license its name and merchandise distribution to individual dealers, Western Auto pioneered the concept of the franchise store. This allowed the company to expand rapidly and into smaller towns that might not makes sense for a company-owned outlet.
Western Auto was famous for its house brands, which included TrueTone electronic equipment; Wizard tools and outboard motors; Citation appliances; Davis tires; and many others. The company also sold a line of firearms under the Revelation brand name.
Western Auto sold a lot of bicycles and bicycle accessories. My first bike was a Western Flyer.
Back in the early 1960s some standards, like those for child safety seats, weren’t quite what they are today. For 98 cents you could buy a “secure” seat for baby, or for just a little more a harness to leash your youngster to the seat.
My family had several seat covers from Western Auto, including a set of clear plastic ones for our 1959 Cadillac. Were seat covers more common back then?
Western Auto fell on hard times shortly after these ads appeared, and the chain was eventually sold to Sears, which then sold it to another auto-parts chain.
By 2006 the Western Auto brand was officially dead, though a few dealer-owned stores around the country still use the name. The Western Auto headquarters building in Kansas City, Missouri, is now condominiums.
But I won’t ever forget the Western Auto store on Valley Boulevard in Alhambra, California, where I grew up. I don’t know if I spent any time in a Western Auto child car seat, but if I did, I somehow survived.
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This article was last modified on May 15, 2023
This article was first published on September 9, 2011
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