If you’ve ever even thought about upgrading the audio system in your car, chances are you’ve heard the name Crutchfield. This pioneering electronics provider all-but invented do-it-yourself car stereo installation, and our Dan Maffett meets up with the man himself on MotorWeek’s “Your Drive.”

DAN MAFFETT: I’m sitting here with Bill Crutchfield at one of the Crutchfield locations, and we are celebrating their 50 years. Bill, thank you for having us today.

BILL CRUTCHFIELD: Thanks for coming and it’s a real pleasure to meet with you and your crew.

DAN MAFFETT: Fifty years of Crutchfield. How did you guys get here?

BILL CRUTCHFIELD: As a kid, I was always interested in electronics and cars, of course, and I built my first radio when I was 8 years old. Then I built the first stereo in Virginia when I was 13, and I start a little business when I was 15 of installing stereos in people’s homes around here.

DAN MAFFETT: So, you said it all started with a car and I see it here as Porsche. Is that really the anchor that pushed you into the realm that we know is Crutchfield today?

BILL CRUTCHFIELD: The 356 was the ideal because back then they were very inexpensive. I was buying cars for $500.

DAN MAFFETT: Oh, wow.

BILL CRUTCHFIELD: They were barely drivable, but it was a labor of love and one reason I wanted to get into a different type of business because there was really no money in restoring these cars then, unlike today. It’s very different today. It was a very easy choice to jump from this car to the mail order business. With $1,000 in savings, I started Crutchfield in my mother’s basement and it was a real struggle. I mean, I came so close to going out of business that I have night sweats now when I think about it. My first two catalogs were a typical catalog of that era. Just line to drawings of the products and simple description.

Installing a car stereo 50 years ago was more of a mechanical thing, and we had to often have to open up the dashes, cut larger dash openings, had to certainly cut into doors to mount door speakers or rear deck speakers. So, all of this was extremely intimidating. So, I came up with this concept of a hybrid between a catalog and a magazine, and that took off. That was the secret sauce, and from that moment on we concentrated on being an information company. Not just a purveyor of products, but a company that provides wealth and information.

And then later in 95, we were the first consumer electronics website. It went up. We went up in September of 95, one month after Jeff Bezos put up Amazon, and with the website we did exactly what I’d done with the catalog. We just filled it full of information. So, that’s really been the secret of the company. It’s information, it’s excellent service and really good products.

DAN MAFFETT: So, with that in mind, what is the next 50 years of Crutchfield look like?

BILL CRUTCHFIELD: Well, it’s, you know, it’s hard to be precise, Dan. But there will be exciting new technologies. I bet in 10 years we’ll be selling products– probably most of the products we’ll be selling in 10 years don’t even exist today.

DAN MAFFETT: Bill, thanks for having us. Really appreciate your time. Guys, thanks for watching. If you have any questions or comments, hit us up right here at MotorWeek.