[Dobie Gillis]

I repped for Walker exhaust in the 70s/early 80s. We watched sales dwindling and knew the end was near at that time. What caused the decline? Several factors. One was the growing use of unleaded gas. Leaded gas was a major contributor to exhaust system failure. Systems began lasting longer. The advent of catalytic converters and other emission controls is another factor. Engines run hotter than they did back in the day for emissions purposes. A side benefit is that the exhaust systems also run hotter, evaporating the acidic condensate quickly and pretty much eliminating corrosion. About this time corner service stations began disappearing (notice I said service stations as opposed to gas stations). Why? Despite the awful 70s cars we had, vehicles on the average were becoming more reliable and required less servicing. Also, computer controlled engines began to appear on the scene and many old school mechanics hung up their tools. Then there's the space needed to stock a breadth of exhaust system parts; it's huge. As exhaust sales dropped off that space was repurposed to store faster moving parts and more service area.