When asked: “What has been the biggest auto industry news story of the year, in terms of its impact on the aftermarket?” the financial meltdown of the Detroit 3 is obviously top of mind with AMN readers. It was the clear leader in last week’s survey.

Based on results for the most-viewed news stories of the year, we gave AMN readers three choices for top news story of the year. News of the Detroit 3’s struggles to stay afloat took the lead with 88 percent of the votes. GM’s possible sale of ACDelco received slight recognition with 12 percent of the votes. News of the Chinese tire valve stem recall received zero votes for biggest news story of the year.

While the valve stem recall won’t have the dramatic and far-reaching implications that the possible failure of the Detroit 3 would, it is still an issue that the aftermarket should pay close attention to, particularly within the distribution segment. As with the 2007 recall of more than 255,000 Chinese-made tires by U.S. distributor Foreign Tire Sales, those companies that imported the faulty Chinese-made valve stems could potentially be liable. In Foreign Tire Sales’ case, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the company was legally responsible for the recall and threatened penalties of up to $6,000 per violation, with a maximum of nearly $16.4 million. The company claimed it could only afford about 10 percent of the recall costs.

THIS WEEK’S POLL

Are the current automaker struggles impacting your business? To cast your vote, go to aftermarketNews.com and scroll to the “Poll” section at the bottom of the page.