News of another possible acquisition for Genuine Parts Co. (GPC) takes the top spot in our weekly roundup of most-viewed news items on AMN. GPC has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Quaker City Motor Parts Co. (QCMP), a long-standing NAPA distributor headquartered in Middletown, Del. The deal is expected to be finalized around May 1.  The company expects the acquired business to generate annual revenues of approximately $300 million. Quaker City serves roughly 271 NAPA Auto Parts stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., including eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, the northern counties of Virginia and the northeastern tip of West Virginia.

Counterman Editor Mark Phillips spent a few days in Las Vegas with members and customers of the Automotive Distribution Network (ADN) during the Network’s 12th annual national convention earlier this week. More than 1,450 people attended the event, held at the Wynn hotel and casino in Las Vegas, with 20 percent more people in attendance than the previous convention. Click here to see what Phillips had to say about the event.

Also this week, Bosch announced some significant changes to its global management board. Among them, David Coolidge, who served as executive vice president, Americas, left the Bosch Group on Feb. 29.  Odd Joergenrud, regional president, AA North America, now has responsibility for the Automotive Aftermarket Division (AA) in North America. Bosch also announced two new EVP positions for Hans-Peter Meyen and Dietmar Wunstorf, both of whom will be based out of Karlsruhe, Germany.

In other top news from the manufacturing segment, Federal-Mogul Corp. reported its fourth quarter and full year results. Sales in the fourth quarter of 2011 were $1.7 billion, an increase of 5 percent on a constant dollar basis when compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Sales in 2011 matched record levels at $6.9 billion, up 11 percent, driven by an 18 percent increase in sales to original equipment customers, which exceeded the 5 percent global market growth rate during the same period. Federal-Mogul’s sales growth rate during 2011 exceeded the underlying market growth rate in all major regions.

Last in our look back at the week’s top news, we learn of a tire recall from Goodyear. The Akron, Ohio-based tire maker is recalling some 41,000 Wrangler Silent Armor tires in six sizes, due to tread separation concerns. According to a NHTSA recall notice, the tires “may experience a partial tread area separation under certain severe usage conditions.”