Business Acquisitions and Investments (Details)	3 Months Ended			1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		1 Months Ended				3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2013 Orange Electronic Co., Ltd [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2013 Standard Motor Products Holdings Ltd [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2013 Standard Motor Products Holdings Ltd [Member] GBP (£)	Mar. 31, 2013 Standard Motor Products Holdings Ltd [Member] Minimum [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Standard Motor Products Holdings Ltd [Member] Maximum [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2013 Standard Motor Products Holdings Ltd [Member] Customer Relationships [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Standard Motor Products Holdings Ltd [Member] Customer Relationships [Member]	Apr. 30, 2012 CompressorWorks, Inc. [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2012 CompressorWorks, Inc. [Member] Customer Relationships [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2012 CompressorWorks, Inc. [Member] Trademarks And Trade Names [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2012 CompressorWorks, Inc. [Member] Non-compete Agreements [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2012 CompressorWorks, Inc. [Member] Leasehold [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Total Acquired Businesses [Member] USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Percentage of minority interest acquired (in hundredths)			25.00%
Purchase price of business			$ 6,300,000	$ 6,500,000	£ 4,200,000
Incremental annual revenue from acquired business						1,000,000	2,000,000
Intangible assets acquired in business acquisition								3,800,000
Estimated useful life of intangible assets								10 years	10 years		7 years	3 years	3 years	2 years 3 months 18 days
Goodwill acquired in business acquisition				2,000,000
Purchase price excluding working capital adjustment										37,400,000
Working capital adjustment										1,200,000
Allocation of purchase price to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed [Abstract]
Purchase price [Abstract]										38,594,000
Assets acquired and liabilities assumed [Abstract]
Receivables										9,114,000
Inventory										22,736,000
Other current assets										60,000
Property, plant and equipment, net										1,427,000
Intangible assets										8,870,000	8,000,000	500,000	200,000	200,000
Goodwill										9,703,000
Current liabilities										(13,316,000)
Net assets acquired										38,594,000
Unaudited pro forma financial information [Abstract]
Net sales	230,708,000	211,711,000													11,700,000
Net earnings	9,174,000	5,194,000
Pro Forma Net sales	231,023,000	225,214,000
Pro Forma Net earnings	$ 9,291,000	$ 5,763,000