Meet The October ‘Guess The Car’ Champion: Larry Bosma

Every month, Counterman’s “Guess the Car” contest challenges our readers to solve an automotive riddle, for a chance to win $100. And each month, we receive hundreds of responses from aftermarket professionals trying to guess the model of the vehicle depicted.

The correct answer for the October contest is the Kia Forte. The winner for October is Larry Bosma, owner of Harry’s Motor/NAPA Auto Parts in Sanborn, Iowa.

Now, let’s get to know the October “Guess the Car” champion.

CM: How long have you been working in the auto parts business?

LB: My dad started the business in 1944. I was born in 1945. We changed over to NAPA in 1989, so that’s when we really got into the auto parts business. We were in it on a smaller scale before that.

… We also sell and service Snapper and Grasshopper lawnmowers, Stihl chainsaws, trimmers and that whole product line.

CM: What do you like most about your job?

LB: Dealing with the people. There are a lot of good people out there. The sad part is the negative ones are the ones that you kind of remember sometimes. But if you actually think about it, we have a lot of good customers that we have good relations with, and have had for years.

CM: What’s the strangest question a customer has asked you?

LB: This goes back quite a few years. We had a customer pull up in front of our building – we also do some automotive repair here – and he says, “You wanna come out and take a look at something in my car? I have something to show you.” We get out there and he opens his trunk, and he says, “I had a flat tire, and when I took the tire off, this piece came off and I didn’t know where to put it, and now I don’t have any brakes.” The brake drum fell off, so he put the tire back on without the brake drum. I found that a little strange.

CM: What’s the coolest car you’ve ever owned or worked on?

LB: I had a ’68 Ford Galaxie 500, which was a nice-looking car. I had it for a number of years. Kind of wish I would’ve kept it, but it’s long-gone. That was the fastback design. 

CM: Do you have any interesting hobbies?

LB: No, probably not. My main hobbies are reading and fishing.

CM: What’s your dream car?

LB: I guess it would be a Mustang GT. Probably ’68 to ’70. Either that or a ’55 to ’57 Ford Thunderbird.