With an improving but still somewhat diminished market for automotive accessories, some restylers are looking to attract new customers and increase service sales to existing ones. In fact, the most important word for 2010 may turn out to be diversification, and auto reconditioning services — including auto glass repair, paintless dent repair, leather restoration and upholstery cleaning — present great opportunities for restylers to broaden their horizons and grow revenue in 2010.

Restyling looked at these four reconditioning areas as complementary services to what today’s restylers can provide their customers and presents each herein overview for your consideration.

1. Paintless Dent Repair

Got you covered. And got you covered well.

Tonneaus, truck caps and their attendant accessories turn an open bed into a closed compartment for a storage area that’s protected form the weather and the prying eyes of thieves. Some retract, some fold, some roll; and some offer lighting, remote open. And there are such accessories as racks design specifically to work with tonneaus to give overhead storage.

We’ve got a bevy of bed covers on display throughout the next several pages. Yep. We’ve got you covered.

Recreational racks give restylers a chance to serve even more customers.

There’s a leak in your showroom. It’s heading right out your door to the local sporting goods store—unless, that is, you sell and install recreational racks.

Take a look in a parking lot or on the freeway—count how many bare roofs there are, compared to roofs with racks, boxes, pods or other cargo attachments. Not only are these cargo carriers handy, they’re considered by some to be a fashion statement.

what’s leaping forward and what’s fading away in our automotive world. And, amid all the modifications and adjustments, even the transformations the industry has had to make this year, finding the positive, creative and encouraging mood was a needed breath of fresh air.

What was on display, from the innovations seen in project cars, fuel-efficiency and “green” technologies to the rock-solid aftermarket products that will give car, truck CUV and SUV lovers a chance to make their vehicles better and more personalized, gives us all pause to realize the industry knows how to keep itself moving,

If you missed the show, or weren’t able to get to all of the booths, following are some of the products that suppliers had on parade

If it weren’t for today’s professional-grade racks and toolboxes, professionals and handy enthusiasts alike would be hard-pressed to keep their tools and other valuables safer, more secure and free from damage caused by sliding and bouncing around the bed or back of the van. Even more and beyond tool storage are the latest back-of-the-truck options that put the word “work” into work truck. Such professional options for work vehicles large and small give restylers even more ways to help customers be more efficient and save them time and money in the long haul. Discover in the next several pages of this Showcase, just how you can help your customers.

Slip-sliding away.

Not.

No way.

Cargo management just keeps getting better. Better designs. Better features. Better mechanisms. Better uses. Even better prices. All of which lead to better opportunities for restylers.

People are always on the move and need to take along their gear for sports, hunting, fishing, camping, skiing and boarding, going to the store or going to grandma’s…you name it. And though carmakers have managed to get more room inside their vehicles, with the decided shift to smaller vehicles, enthusiasts and travelers will need the smarter-designed cargo carriers to outfit these vehicles even more.

Doing one thing well is apparently the modern key to failure. Specializing might be profitable for doctors, but diversity keeps restylers’ doors open during slow economic times.

Now Presenting

It’s been a challenging year for many in the aftermarket accessories business. Shops tightened their money belts for sure, and for some that might have meant scaling back their travel expenses. If you were unable to attend this years’ SEMA Show, take close note of some of the products shown there — many newly introduced — as well as some whose suppliers are promoting especially for professional restyling jobbers and retailers.