LAS VEGAS -- New vehicle technologies open the doors for a new arsenal of parts and service, but aftermarket executives see a downside to these changes, like the parts proliferation that is sure to follow.

(From left): Jim Dysktra, Rusty Bishop, Bill Rhodes and Larry Sills were part of this year's Town Hall panel.

“That’s good and bad for our industry,” says Larry Sills, CEO and chair of Standard Motor Products, and a panelist at Wednesday morning's Town Hall presentation at the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo. “It’s good because we live on parts proliferation. We can make and sell any part, it’s just that there’s going to be so many of them.”

One advantage to this situation is the aftermarket will have the luxury of time. “It will be interesting to see which technologies win,” says Bill Rhodes, president and CEO of AutoZone. “The best thing we have is time so we can learn about those technologies.”

“Our members, we fare very well in getting new technology into our systems,” says Rusty Bishop, CEO of Federated Auto Parts. “As this new technology comes on board more repairs will be done. For the traditional aftermarket, though, there’s a lot of good but some struggles.”

As baby boomers head into retirement age, the dearth of qualified employees in the near future concerns many in the industry.

“People aren’t going to retire when they’re supposed to because they can’t afford to,” notes Sills. “Our industry is not terribly glamorous. Because our industry has held up so well, we’re finding it a lot easier to attract people than before. Our industry by being slow and steady with a slow growth all of a sudden works better than it used to.”

“It’s certainly always a concern when you lose talented, well-trained folks,” says Rhodes.

Bishop says a younger generation is preparing to take the reins in the industry, and for those family-run companies, he’s seeing second generations sticking around. “Because of the successes and because the aftermarket is attracting younger people, second generations are staying in the business,” he says. “It’s a good place for our kids to stay, not for them to leave."

Panelist also aired their concerns over the manufacturer - distributor relationship.

Bishop says that vendors have a habit of chasing value, not service. “I don’t think the vendors have done a champion job of getting parts we need.”

Jim Dykstra, owner of Dykstra's Auto Service, warns the industry not to price itself out of the market. “You’re chasing dollars to get dimes.”

Many have lamented the “death of the DIYer,” but from AutoZone’s stance, DIYs still have a firm footing in the marketplace, says Rhodes.

“Cearly we’ve seen evolution over time, and certain jobs have gone past the DIYer and certain jobs are coming back to the DIYer.”

He says due to the economy, he’s seeing more consumers reintroduced to auto repair.

Nevertheless, AutoZone will continue to pursue both retail and wholesale business. “There have been people that have been reintroduced to auto repair. We’re going to play aggressively on both sides,” says Rhodes.