Automotive in Anchorage

For more than 85 years, the ASE-certified parts specialists at NAPA Auto Parts have recommended and supplied quality parts from their network of stores that has grown from one parts shop to 6,100 locations nationwide. The National Automotive Parts Association organizes its more than 400,000 tools, replacement parts, and accessories in a unique and intuitive inventory-control system that tracks down customer selections quicker than the Dewey Decimal System equipped with a fast-forward button. To skip the shipping, the online inventory system also lets customers reserve their parts for in-store pickup for immediate gratification and diminished wait times. Proud sponsor of Martin Truex Jr.'s #56 car, NAPA Auto Parts meets the automotive needs of drivers both professional and recreational.

Owner Shawn Martinez’s love affair with cars started with a simple brake service on his dad’s Cadillac. After jacking up the car and removing the wheels, Shawn’s father turned over the vehicle to his son, who proceeded to take things apart and put them back together at a leisurely pace. As he was teaching himself, Shawn forgot to bleed the brakes (a lesson his father quickly corrected) and since then has been tinkering with roadsters of all makes, models, colors, and complexities. Now an ASE-certified technician with 15 years of professional experience, he uses only Carquest- and NAPA-certified parts, and offers support to customers on fixed or limited incomes. Available services include preventative maintenance, tire rotations, and work on the steering, brakes, and suspension—a job normally performed by high-school principals when a student drives his car down the hallway instead of walking to third period like the rest of us.

From its humble origins in 1946 as a single glass shop, Speedy Glass has expanded across the country into a network of more than 120 locations, where technicians stand at the ready to repair and replace the glass in cars, homes, and offices. The centers’ automotive technicians handle all manner of automotive-window services, including repairing chipped windshields or shattered back windows cracked while drivers were chauffeuring opera singers. To overhaul homes' glass panes, the residential specialists can cut, polish, and install fresh windows. They tackle projects ranging in scope from fashioning new glass tabletops to building solariums for clients who run on solar panels inside their skulls. Speedy Glass's workmanship and quality are guaranteed, and all of its services are backed by an array of warranties.

At Lithia Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge of Anchorage a team of auto experts equips patrons with new and used vehicles from its namesake brands. Factory-trained technicians remain on-hand to perform maintenance services on all makes and models, keeping automobiles working like new so that drivers don?t have to buy a new car every time they hit a pothole. With a newly expanded 24-7 maintenance and detail service, the staff even works through the night to clean and maintain vehicles, allowing customers to drop off their cars and avoid waiting time. Lithia's lifetime oil and filter service lets drivers prepay for the oil they need over their car?s natural lifespan. Each oil change brings with it a multipoint inspection to ensure that headlamps, wiper blades, emergency breaks, and horns stay healthy and operational.

A mainstay in the local automotive electronics industry for decades, Will Linthorst decided to branch out and open his own shop in 2013. Will's experience in automotive customization is extensive?he's tackled everything from restoring the upholstery in a '69 Mercury Cyclone to building and installing custom sound systems. At Sublime Designz, Will and his technicians offer those services and more, outfitting cars with hidden subwoofers, replacing existing headlights with brighter, LED lamps, and installing remote starters for those who want to warm their car up without having to wait or force-feed the engine coffee. And, with Will's almost childlike enthusiasm for electronics, it should come as no surprise that even the waiting room at Sublime Designz is outfitted with DVDs and video games to entertain waiting customers and their kids.

Patience, stamina, and passion. These are the ingredients Morris Auto Detail has in abundance that other detailers may find themselves deficient in. But they're absolutely necessary to a thorough detailing that returns cars to like-new status. Giving each auto the time it deserves, they tackle all the obvious tasks such as exterior coats, bumpers, and tires. It's the subtle touches, however, that sets them apart. That includes cleaning out gunky cupholders, all pockets along the inside of the door, and all upholstery crevices. Leaving engine compartments spot-free is yet another specialty of theirs. Treating all vehicles to equal attention, they offers these kinds of detailed services for all sedans, vans, trucks, and SUVs.