Date:         Wed, 19 Oct 2005 13:44:07 +1300
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject:      Re: Confused owner?
In-Reply-To:  <000b01c5d41c$f93ceea0$6501a8c0@noner4688xfd1h>
Content-type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=us-ascii

>I think you'll find that the Japanese aren't famous for inventing anything
>new.

That's because of public ignorance, which is fortunately dying out
with the older generations. I doubt Fuji Heavy Engineering had ever
heard of Ferguson when they came up with the idea of building the
world's first 4WD road car. How about V-Tec (1984), the compact
cassette, CD, 8mm video camera... and who invented the LCD? (I don't
know who, but would be far from surprised if it was the Japanese).
These days BMW & Mercedes copy Japanese cars' styling cues.

>They just copied the VW Air Cooled / Porsche Air Cooled and Vanagon
>WBXer and built the engine without the gremlins that VW had in there.

Come on. The earlier Subaru engines are similar to VW boxers in
layout, but that is merely because there are only so many ways to
build an ultracompact pushrod boxer!

The Legacy-generation engines are as different to VW's as it is
possible for a boxer to be, with more main bearings, SO/DOHC etc. And
DON'T try to tell us that they are copies of Porsche wasserboxer
engines.

>I had a 1975 Toyota Land Cruiser and the 6 cylinder OHV engine was a clone
>of a Chevrolet 235 CID engine used in P Boats / Disposable Landing Craft
>during world II.

Any parts interchangability?? A clone is an identical unit. Not just
something similar. you could just as easily say that a Chev V8 is a
copy of a Ford. How many ways are there to make an iron pushrod
straight-6 or V8?? Hardly Drivables are copies of Indians.

The Japanese did NOT copy. Their early export cars were either
in-house designs (Toyota Corolla, Corona, Crown) or LICENSED
derivatives of English designs (Nissan Bluebird derived from Morris
Oxford).
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin
New Zealand
Fossil preparator
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut

HUMANITY: THE ULTIMATE VON NEUMANN MACHINE

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