In 1960 , O. Temple Sloan Jr. began General Parts Inc. with a vision to grow his auto parts business through acquisitions. His first purchase was General Parts Warehouse in Sanford, NC and over the next several years, his company grew through numerous acquisitions and native growth. But despite his progress, Sloan knew he needed another play to compete with the larger auto parts store, specifically the purchasing and marketing power of a large network.

With that strategy in mind, he began reaching out to other auto parts stores to see if they wanted to create a distribution and marketing cooperative to negotiate better pricing and to market all their stores under one name. And with that, the initial Carquest concept was born with the first physical Carquest store being City Auto Parts in Sanford, NC.