This year’s show offered several new features including electronic interactive “you are here” kiosks to help buyers easily locate exhibitors and products on the show floor a live, multimedia AAPEX Demo Area that offered exhibitors an opportunity to demonstrate their products and services, and a Car Care Fair area that showed buyers how to host a Car Care event and the benefits of participating in National Car Care Month.

The AAPEX Inside Track Education Program also was expanded this year to include approximately 24 sessions. Sessions covered a range of topics including the current credit market, telematics, the Obama Administration Stimulus Plan, changes in the vehicle market, technology trends, an aftermarket outlook, customer retention, selling parts for imports, shop profitability and marketing on a shoestring budget. The Inside Track Education sessions were offered from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. to allow AAPEX attendees the opportunity for educational advancement without missing time on the show floor. All Inside Track: AAPEX Learning Forum seminars were accredited for 0.1 CEUs by the University of the Aftermarket, counting toward the Automotive Aftermarket Profession (AAP) and Master Automotive Aftermarket Professional (MAAP) designations.

To review all of our editorial coverage from AAPEX 2009, click here.

The 2010 Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo is set for Tuesday, Nov. 2 to Thursday, Nov. 4, at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas.