Mothers® started over 30
years ago with a little tin of polish. The label was a simple business card
strapped around a small metal container with a rubber band. And, although the
packaging may have looked a bit plain, inside was a very special compound.
In the early ’70s, Al
Holloway — owner of the Southern California based Tire City store chain —
realized he needed a way to shine the then-new mag wheels. After some careful
experimentation by a chemist he knew, they arrived at the right formula. Al and
partner Jack Hampton met at a coffee shop to talk about the new Mag &
Aluminum Polish, and the two came up with a brand name that, yes, they wrote
down on a paper napkin: Mothers®.
From there, they began
attending car shows to demonstrate the product’s effectiveness. Despite its
unassuming label, word of the wheel polish with the unusual name sped through
the grapevine. The little can with the business card label began to develop a
loyal following of car enthusiasts who wanted to keep that “like-new” shine
on their mag wheels and aluminum parts. As with so many novel products embraced
by the car-enthusiast fraternity, soon all the car guys “in the know” took a
shine to using Mothers® Mag & Aluminum Polish on their wheels.
Today, after years of
extensive testing and experimentation, the Mothers® line has grown from that
single item to a comprehensive line of more than 30 different car-care products.
Aiding this phenomenal growth are those same word-of-mouth recommendations by
generations of fellow car enthusiasts.
