The story of Meguiar’s is probably one that could never be reproduced today even though it’s practically the template of the rags to riches story that exemplifies the American success story. Nearly 120 years ago, ALMOST longer than there have been cars, Frank Meguiar was working to break into the furniture polishing business and it’s said that Mr. Meguiar was “obsessed” with creating the perfect polish for black lacquer furniture. 
Unfortunately and surprisingly it wasn’t quite the bestseller he was hoping for. So after some time, somehow Meguiar ended up in the right place at the right time several times over and his polish was adopted by carriage manufacturers and automobile makers soon after when they switched production. As luck would have it, the black wood used in both cars and carriages was the exact kind of wood that Meguiar had been obsessively trying to perfect a polish for, so when it was found that the his polish made cars look amazing, his polish became an instant hit.
This history and lucky break wasn’t an excuse to rest on his laurels, Meguiar used this as an opportunity to ensure that his polish was the best of its kind on the market which helped make Meguiar the trusted brand that it grew to be over the following decades. Meguiar’s polishes were used primarily in dealerships, by car care professionals and when car shows became a thing Barry Meguiar was able to get pretty much all the show cars to use it to perfect their shine. Getting to see a Phantom Corsair polished to perfection suddenly sounds like a notch for any bucket list. Given their obvious focus on professionals, Meguiar was adamantly a professional supplier, eschewing the consumer market altogether, and even in that focus their profit far exceeded expectations.
For years Meguiar’s catered solely to the professional market until Barry Meguiar, after a car show, reported back that like it or not, numerous consumers were already using Meguiar products on their cars and there was a huge demand waiting to be tapped. He reported this back to his elder family members who were running the business and within short order, Barry Meguiar had launched their consumer facing product line. Barry Meguiar’s tenure at the company has lasted about 60 years and has not only helped Meguiar’s grow, but kept the whole “Car Crazy” mindset alive by sponsoring innumerable car shows internationally, the Car Crazy TV show and continuing to share his infectious enthusiasm for cars. Barry has a unique and passionate personality that’s focused on cars, ministry, and keeping all of those things in a balance to make sure that Meguiar’s products are the best they can be, so people that are as crazy about cars as he is have the best products they can get. His unique way of running Meguiar’s was considered so key to the brand’s success that when he sold Meguiar’s to 3M, he and everyone he employed got to keep their jobs. The passion that made Meguiar’s the name that it is will continue to run as it has ensuring great products for the foreseeable future.
While there’s not really a timeline of product milestones, Meguiar has grown way beyond their original single type of polish to just about every type of car care product you could think of and their passion for cars is obvious on their website. Their FAQs answer many questions anyone would have and they host online forums for the latest on Meguiar developments and as a resource for all the Car Crazy people to get trade secrets online. If those don’t help you find what you need, this product selector probably will.
Once and if you know what you need for your car, you can look through our catalog of Meguiar products. Some of our best sellers include: Meguiar’s Odor Eliminator, Soft Buff foam cutting disc and polishing disc, and M40 Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner. If you don’t see the Meguiar product you need, let us know, but we’ll likely be adding it soon!
Meguiar’s story is inspirational and helped birth an entire industry and an entire subculture of Car Crazy people around the world. With their focus on making the best product possible, Meguiar’s brand has become the market leader and defined itself so well they were able to compete with a giant like 3M. If you’re Car Crazy, you’re probably already using Meguiar, and if you’re not, it might be the time to start.