As in every society, there are trends in what occurs within a particular era, time, category area, or fashion. Buying, locating, and the car parts industry is no different. There are many things which are more common now than they were in the past and will likely be occurring more in the future. The internet has exploded in popularity over the past few years and has directly impacted the ease of locating car parts and this is unlikely to change in the next few years. There are also car parts and features that are put on cars that are likely to change over the course of the next few years.
Remember when it was all the rage when someone was able to have a CD player in their car and not that old cassette player? While times have changed, and it will likely be in the next few years when people will notice that car manufacturers will no longer have CD players in their cars. MP3 hookups, satellite radio, ipods, and other technology will soon shove this technology out. It likely will be difficult to be able to find this part in the aftermarket world after a few years, because there will be less of them available and that there simply will not be any demand for it.
What part of the car is more important then the key right? Without a key, there is no way that you are able to drive your car. The trend into the future is that the key is another likely victim in the technology wars. This is due to the fact that there is going to be more cars that are going to use push start technology and other ways to be able to start the car.
While these features are not available in a mainstream way now, there are likely only a few years away and already are available in some models of higher end car companies. Another interesting car part that is going to change is the tire. The tire itself is not going away, but a full size spare with a car is a dying car industry trend. Some people although, will want this even if its not offered on their car, so there is likely to be a demand for this car part that many people consider essential to have.