Sadly, Luc Champagne is retiring at the end of this year! The Automotive Aftermarket, especially here in Canada, will miss him immensely!

A charming, humble man, Luc is one of the most loved and best-known people in our industry. He’s always there for you, does whatever he can to help you. He has great knowledge of the whole aftermarket having been in it since he was 19! And without giving away his true age, he has now served the industry for over 45 years!

I knew of Luc before I met him personally… and he was all I had heard about when I did—he genuinely makes friends very easily!  To that end, we became friends and finally ‘best friends’ and have shared many industry events and partnered together many times. He’s always been there for me, and anyone else he can help.

Just to relate one ‘funny’ car ride we had… Luc is self-taught in English and does very well with it. At times, he has asked me to help him with the correct way to pronounce a word. One particular time we were discussing the upcoming AIA Canada meeting, which was going to be held in the Okanogan Valley. Luc was trying to get his tongue around ‘Okanogan’ with his French accent and it took about two hours, but he finally mastered the word amongst gales of laughter and much practice!  We still laugh about it!

Knows the business

Luc certainly knows his business and how to go about it. Through the years, after starting out selling aftermarket products, then switching over to magazine advertising, he has sold millions of dollars of products and advertising. That’s certainly knowing people and how to sell! In addition, he has certainly been a big supporter of AIA Canada and was Chair of the Quebec Division for some years.

He and I have worked on several magazines and when a new magazine (CASP) was about to be started for the jobber and service provider, he and I were asked to help get it up and running… Luc as the Sales Manager, of course! It survived the years and various owners to be known today as Autosphere and has nicely settled into its current niche and popularity… mainly because of Luc’s sales efforts and persistence, especially in the first years. He is the master of sales… he has the temperament you need to keep on going when someone initially says ‘no’.

His personality is his best attribute

Luc’s personality is his best attribute… he never raises his voice or gets angry… his easy-going nature and his pleasant attitude most always wins the client over. And you can always see this in how he treats people… with respect and straightforwardness! He does not prevaricate… he is always truthful.

He is also a dedicated family man having been married for many years to Manon, and together they raised a daughter, Dorotheé who is now married to Pat.  In turn, they brought another piece of joy into the Champagne family when they welcomed Théodore… the first grandchild! Grandpa Luc dotes on him and will likely spend even more time with him in his retirement!

Luc will be sorely missed by the entire staff at Autosphere Media, along with all the friends he has made in the automotive aftermarket. He is a good, kind, honest professional and we sincerely wish him the very best in his retirement. But knowing Luc, he won’t be sitting around doing nothing, he will be going to the auto parts store he owns with Dorotheé and doing what he does best… sell! He’ll also be looking after his classic car and shiny ‘Vette! Luc, you have our mutual respect and very best wishes… you will most certainly be sorely missed.