OCALA, Fla. — Rick Schmidt is the vice-president and chief operating officer of Ocala, Fla.-based National Parts Depot (NPD), the hobby's giant restoration part and accessory resource for Americanbuilt cars and trucks. With four locations across the country, a dynamic website and 12 print catalogs of restoration parts, NPD has been a go-to source for collector car owners and restorers since 1976. The company's dozen catalog offerings cover 1965-'73 Ford Mustang; 1979-'93 Mustang; 1994-'04 Mustang; 1967-'81 Chevrolet Camaro; 1964-'87 Chevrolet Chevelle & El Camino; 1967-'81 Firebird; 1964-'72 Pontiac GTO; 1955-'57 Thunderbird; 1948-'79 Ford truck; 1980-'96 Ford truck; 1997-'04 Ford truck; 1966-'96 Ford Bronco; 1947-'98 Chevrolet truck; and 1967-'73 Mercury Cougar.
We gave Rick a call to ask him about his business and the hobby at large, and he filled us in on the state of hobby business as he sees it today, as well as trends he's spotted.
Q. OLD CARS: How would you describe your role?
A. National Parts Depot is a family-owned company. My father is more or less retired and has been for several years now. Since 1995, I have had the title of vice-president and chief operating officer. That has been
