A Brief History

M D Publications Inc., parent company of Showpower Expo, Undercar Digest and Transmission Digest, has a long history of providing accurate news and up-to-date technical and management information to the automotive-repair industry. This published information was complemented by the formation of an industry-wide transmission trade show in 1984 and an undercar trade show starting in 1987. The two mega-events merged in 1996, and Showpower Expo was born! Today the show includes top manufacturers and distributors in the industry, plus technical and management seminars that examine the core developments in our industry.

        But M D's start took place over 25 years ago in 1976, when founder Les Langsford(1928-1993) published the first issue of Muffler Digest in August of that year. Being the predecessor of Undercar Digest, Muffler Digest was well received by muffler-shop operators throughout the country. In the past, these shop operators could find only limited information and advertising in general-repair trade magazines about the exhaust-system replacement business.

        By 1978 M D had introduced Short Line, a twice-a-month industry newsletter designed for manufacturers, distributors and multi-shop operators.

        After much research by Gary Kennon, company vice president, M D introduced Transmission Digest in 1981 - meeting the needs of another segment of the repair market that had been ignored. It too was a "hit" with its readers. Shortly afterward, M D began publishing Transmission Tech/Talk, a monthly eight-page technical bulletin, for the industry.

        With muffler shops beginning to offer more and more undercar repairs, Muffler Digest was revamped in 1987 and renamed Undercar Digest by publisher Breck Langsford. In addition to information about the exhaust industry, shop operators and technicians also read and learn about brake, steering and suspension, and other undercar repairs every month.

        In 1990, M D began offering Brake Tech/Talk and Alignment Tech/Talk, two monthly technical bulletins that tackle topics such as ABS and all-wheel alignment.

        Since 1993, under the leadership of President Carol Langsford ,  M D Publications has strengthened it's longstanding position of being the best information provider to the industry. Under her guidance, the company has come to be widely recognized as the premier publisher of automotive aftermarket trade publications, whose dedicated staff, state-of-the-art production facilities, efficient mailing operations, data processing and quality circulation are the envy of the industry.

        All of us at MD welcome you to our On-Line Publication Center and encourage you to visit all of our sites.