Mopac Auto Supply has been a fixture in the Performance Aftermarket parts industry in B.C. for over 30 years now. Synonymous with Mopac is the name Duda. We sat down recently with John Duda (AKA “Johnny Mopac”) to talk with him on a number of topics. Here is a part of that conversation.
RPM: Who was it that first labeled you with the handle Johnny Mopac?
John Duda: Boy, I’ll be honest with you…I’ve been hearing that term for twenty years, and I don’t know if it was one of my own employees or a customer. I’ve had them both call me that….which of the two I honestly can’t remember.
RPM: For our readers who may not know, how did Mopac get its start?
JD: Mopac was started back in 1973 by my older brother George with a partner as a small sized 700 square foot store on Kingsway in Vancouver. Basically a one-man operation kind of deal. Back then, they were really into racing Mopars….they thought of themselves as a pack of Mopars and so that’s how the name came about.
RPM: When did you get involved?
JD: A few months after it opened, I started working there part-time on Saturdays, while I was going to school. About six months into going to SFU, I decided that I really liked doing this…so I ended up buying out my brother’s partner… and so George and I ended up being partners. That was January ’75.
RPM: What are some of the biggest changes that you’ve seen occurring in the industry since when you first got involved in it?
JD: The industry has gone away from being total hard core performance; there is much more accessories business going on, and that overlaps heavily into trucks… in our business as well. Twenty years ago, we would never have dreamed that we would be servicing as much performance stuff for trucks as we do today. From a manufacturing standpoint, unfortunately more and more of its going offshore; there’s a lot of “me too” product out there. You’re also seeing a proliferation of big-name brands being built offshore for less, creating pressures within our industry. We consider the industry to be a mature one. As a result, it’s more and more important that every business owner out there finds their own little niche, and does something very well. It’s more difficult than ever trying to be all things to all people in terms of the area you service, because there’s so much competition out there.
RPM: What do you make of what’s currently going on with the loss of some notable players on the manufacturer’s side of the equation?
JD: Generally speaking, we don’t like to see these big corporations going away. We lost Crane Cams recently and they haven’t re-surfaced yet…but apparently they will, under the ownership of Scorpion Performance, one of our other vendors. A lot of the consolidation that’s occurring in the industry is brought on out of necessity, and not because it’s doing well. Our industry is having the most difficult time that it’s had since its inception….along the lines of what’s going on in the car industry.
RPM: In terms of innovation, what have been some of the biggest changes to have occurred?
JD: The switch over to fuel injection, and subsequently the electronic component add-ons and things to enhance air/fuel delivery, has been big. As far as vehicles that are out there right now, there have been a lot of changes. Vehicles come typically with stainless steel exhaust systems now, so there’s no replacement business, but there is upgrade business for people going the performance enhancement route….
Editor’s note: our interview was interrupted at this point, and we never got back to completing this particular topic.
RPM: Where does the future of the industry lay, in your mind?
JD: We still very much like the vehicles being produced today, and feel that most of them are conducive to performance upgrades. We are concerned about potential legislative changes, especially now that the U.S. Government owns 60 percent of General Motors – that they’ll have control over content. That is the big concern that they may dictate that V8-type performance cars and SUVs become a smaller portion of the overall sales. Obviously, the fuel prices are a big concern and have a negative impact within our industry. Don’t get me wrong, we haven’t got a problem with more fuel efficient vehicles – we wish every vehicle got twice the gas mileage that it does today. No, the big concern is that it forces the consumer towards vehicles that may not lend themselves towards modification.
RPM: What does Johnny Mopac like to do when he’s not working?
JD: Well, my wife and I like to travel. We like going to Vegas a couple of times a year, but we like to travel two or three times a year. Yeah I still work seven days a week, but away from work… well my most recent hobby is photography. That’s very recent. I also enjoy driving performance cars… my Corvette Z06. The kids are all grown up now…so we’ll probably travel a little more.
RPM: So your daily driver is the Z06. What would be your dream car?
JD: Dream car, well that’s a tough one. I’d probably like to drive a higher end Ferrari, a 430 or maybe the 599, but in terms of what I might consider as a daily driver, my ultimate car would probably be just a twin turbo Porsche.
RPM: What about the future of Mopac. You have several family members working with you. Will it always remain a family-run business?
JD: Well, it is a family business in that I have two brothers working with me now, both in very important capacities; I also have two nephews working here as well. My position in terms of family in this business…I’ll be giving opportunity within the Duda family to come on board and move up within the organization, but even with my own children, I’ve never made the suggestion …I mean if they came to me and said they wanted to get involved, I’d say fine, this is where you start – at the bottom.
We don’t actually truly look at it as a family business in the sense that, the way I’ve structured the business, anybody who comes on board Mopac has the eventual potential to run this company one day, all things being equal. I would like people to feel that they have as good an opportunity as anyone for advancement. That’s certainly not to say that family members don’t or wouldn’t make good business partners…I just never want nepotism to take over the company.
Presented by your local OK Tire Dealer
Mopac Auto Supply has been a fixture in the Performance Aftermarket parts industry in B.C. for over 30 years now. Synonymous with Mopac is the name Duda. We sat down recently with John Duda (AKA “Johnny Mopac”) to talk with him on a number of topics. Here is a part of that conversation.
RPM: Who was it that first labeled you with the handle Johnny Mopac?
John Duda: Boy, I’ll be honest with you…I’ve been hearing that term for twenty years, and I don’t know if it was one of my own employees or a customer. I’ve had them both call me that….which of the two I honestly can’t remember.
RPM: For our readers who may not know, how did Mopac get its start?
JD: Mopac was started back in 1973 by my older brother George with a partner as a small sized 700 square foot store on Kingsway in Vancouver. Basically a one-man operation kind of deal. Back then, they were really into racing Mopars….they thought of themselves as a pack of Mopars and so that’s how the name came about.
RPM: When did you get involved?
JD: A few months after it opened, I started working there part-time on Saturdays, while I was going to school. About six months into going to SFU, I decided that I really liked doing this…so I ended up buying out my brother’s partner… and so George and I ended up being partners. That was January ’75.
RPM: What are some of the biggest changes that you’ve seen occurring in the industry since when you first got involved in it?
JD: The industry has gone away from being total hard core performance; there is much more accessories business going on, and that overlaps heavily into trucks… in our business as well. Twenty years ago, we would never have dreamed that we would be servicing as much performance stuff for trucks as we do today. From a manufacturing
standpoint, unfortunately more and more of its going offshore; there’s a lot of “me too” product out there. You’re also seeing a proliferation of big-name brands being built offshore for less, creating pressures within our industry. We consider the industry to be a mature one. As a result, it’s more and more important that every business owner out there finds their own little niche, and does something very well. It’s more difficult than ever trying to be all things to all people in terms of the area you service, because there’s so much competition out there.
RPM: What do you make of what’s currently going on with the loss of some notable players on the manufacturer’s side of the equation?
JD: Generally speaking, we don’t like to see these big corporations going away. We lost Crane Cams recently and they haven’t re-surfaced yet…but apparently they will, under the ownership of Scorpion Performance, one of our other vendors. A lot of the consolidation that’s occurring in the industry is brought on out of necessity, and not because it’s doing well. Our industry is having the most difficult time that it’s had since its inception….along the lines of what’s going on in the car industry.
RPM: In terms of innovation, what have been some of the biggest changes to have occurred?
JD: The switch over to fuel injection, and subsequently the electronic component add-ons and things to enhance air/fuel delivery, has been big. As far as vehicles that are out there right now, there have been a lot of changes. Vehicles come typically with stainless steel exhaust systems now, so there’s no replacement business, but there is upgrade business for people going the performance enhancement route….
Editor’s note: our interview was interrupted at this point, and we never got back to completing this particular topic.
RPM: Where does the future of the industry lay, in your mind?
JD: We still very much like the vehicles being produced today, and feel that most of them are conducive to performance upgrades. We are concerned about potential legislative changes, especially now that the U.S. Government owns 60 percent of General Motors – that they’ll have control over content. That is the big concern that they may dictate that V8-type performance cars and SUVs become a smaller portion of the overall sales. Obviously, the fuel prices are a big concern and have a negative impact within our industry. Don’t get me wrong, we haven’t got a problem with more fuel efficient vehicles – we wish every vehicle got twice the gas mileage that it does today. No, the big concern is that it forces the consumer towards vehicles that may not lend themselves towards modification.
RPM: What does Johnny Mopac like to do when he’s not working?
JD: Well, my wife and I like to travel. We like going to Vegas a couple of times a year, but we like to travel two or three times a year. Yeah I still work seven days a week, but away from work… well my most recent hobby is photography. That’s very recent. I also enjoy driving performance cars… my Corvette Z06. The kids are all grown up now…so we’ll probably travel a little more.
RPM: So your daily driver is the Z06. What would be your dream car?
JD: Dream car, well that’s a tough one. I’d probably like to drive a higher end Ferrari, a 430 or maybe the 599, but in
terms of what I might consider as a daily driver, my ultimate car would probably be just a twin turbo Porsche.
RPM: What about the future of Mopac. You have several family members working with you. Will it always remain a family-run business?
JD: Well, it is a family business in that I have two brothers working with me now, both in very important capacities; I also have two nephews working here as well. My position in terms of family in this business…I’ll be giving opportunity within the Duda family to come on board and move up within the organization, but even with my own children, I’ve never made the suggestion …I mean if they came to me and said they wanted to get involved, I’d say fine, this is where you start – at the bottom.
We don’t actually truly look at it as a family business in the sense that, the way I’ve structured the business, anybody who comes on board Mopac has the eventual potential to run this company one day, all things being equal. I would like people to feel that they have as good an opportunity as anyone for advancement. That’s certainly not to say that family members don’t or wouldn’t make good business partners…I just never want nepotism to take over the company.
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