A History of Wise Motorists Using Simoniz

1910_simonizSince 1910, the Simoniz team have been constantly researching and developing improved car care products. Designed to offer a protective and attractive shine to car exteriors, the current Simoniz range benefits from decades’ of knowledge and industry expertise.

At the time of the brand’s launch, motor cars were still quite a rare sight and only affordable for the wealthy. Despite this limited demand, George Simons developed a cleaner and carnauba wax product for car exteriors,  helping early motor cars retain their shine while caring for the paintwork.

Developed with Elmer Rich of the Great Northern Railway, Simons launched the two products under the name Simons Manufacturing Company. Two years later the name of the company was changed to the now-recognisable Simoniz when Rich and his brother R.J. Rich acquired full ownership and moved the offices and factory to Chicago.

The popularity of Simoniz grew from word of mouth but really exploded thanks to radio advertising. The Rich brothers were keen believers in the power of advertising and developed one of the era’s most popular and recognisable advertising slogans: ‘Motorists Wise, Simoniz’.

The brand continued to add new products to the line as the motor industry evolved from a past-time for the rich and the famous to the most important and popular mode of transport in the developed world. In 1957, Simoniz entered the Vista One-Step Cleaner/Wax into the market – combining the principles of their launch products in one easy-to-use bottle.

Simoniz reached an even bigger audience in the 1960s when it became the sponsor of Datsun in the Trans-Am series of automobile races. The peak of Simoniz’s association with the Trans-Am series came in 1971 and 1972 when Datsun drivers were victorious in back-to-back campaigns.

In the 1980s, when the brand was owned by First Brands Corp, Simoniz was selected to be distributed throughout the USA to serve the car wash industry – making the products the industry standard and leader in car care.

Simoniz marked the turn of the 21st century with the successful launch of the Simoniz Detailer’s Brushless Carwash which harnessed full car wash technology in a small handheld unit – allowing motorists to give their car a thorough clean in the driveway.

The Simoniz products continue to go from strength-to-strength with over 100 years’ of car care experience and knowledge pumped into all their products.

Written by Kat Morris