Ironically, it was Super Autobacs recent emphasis on taking care of the more mundane aspects of auto ownership that helped Kitamura fulfill his and the company's mission to "open the eyes of the general public and let them know what a wonderful experience you can have driving your car," Kitamura said.

In addition to its original focus on same-day installation of high-performance parts and audio-visual systems, done in the store's pristine "pit service" area, Super Autobacs has lately put special emphasis on standard services such as oil changes, brake services and air conditioning maintenance. It has also expanded what it calls "commodity" products such as motor oil, batteries and tires.

The move helped locals realize that Super Autobacs carries all of the standard auto care and accessories items at competitive prices, and introduced them to the store's oasis of exciting products not offered by competitors.

"We established ourselves pretty successfully as a destination center in the beginning, and we still are, drawing customers from well outside the normal trading area," said Operations Manager Larry Blake, who helped open the store in 2003. "But with our emphasis and expansion of commodities products and services, we've started to grow our local consumer base by leaps and bounds."

"The demographic has really changed," said Don Mester, a buyer for the store who was also part of the original opening team and the first manager of the store's High Performance Department. "We still get the 18-to-24-year-olds, but now we're also getting people in their 30s through 60s, from all walks of life, every ethnic group, moms and dads and whole families."

To see parents and kids browsing the store and showing delight in things like the store's "Hello Kitty"-themed trinkets - Autobacs is the only automotive-based business licensed to sell the popular Japanese character's merchandise - is especially gratifying for Mester, who regularly scopes the competition to see what he has to beat.

"I shop all of the big-box discount stores, and a lot of them do a very nice job in their automotive sections," he said. "I have to do better. For example, we carry more floor mats and seat covers and accessories than anybody, and ours aren't average products. We have the average stuff, too, but we also have ensembles so you can match them in colors and patterns, which none of the other guys have done, although they're starting to try to catch up to us."

"I feel our store has influenced the surrounding car aftermarket industry, and I'm very proud of that," Kitamura said. "When other players replicate what Autobacs is doing, I feel confident about our business concept."

Kitamura, a life-long car enthusiast who took over the Stanton store a little more than a year ago after working at Autobacs stores in Japan for 10 years, said the two primary areas of competitiveness were in product presentation and pricing.

"We're doing well by keeping our prices very competitive, with a majority of our basic offerings beating most of the competition in all categories," he said. But beyond that, Super Autobacs goes to unusual lengths to carry a complete spectrum of products in adherence to what Mester says is its "unwritten company motto" of giving consumers a quality and price range of "good, better and best" in every category. Merchandise is displayed such that shoppers see more than a picture on a box - they can pick the item up, examine it and often test it.

"We want to help everyone who walks through our door find something new and exciting, " Kitamura said. "We welcome 'quick-lube' customers to come to our store and let us perform the same service - I guarantee they won't be disappointed - and this will give them an opportunity to see first hand not just our great work, but the endless variety of fun stuff we have throughout our store. While waiting for your 30-minute oil change, walk through our store and see for yourself how unique it is."