Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2006 10:48:56 -0700
Reply-To: BenT Syncro <syncro@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: BenT Syncro <syncro@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Ebay CV "kit"....is it any good?
In-Reply-To: <00b001c65790$6e9b3390$0a0ba8c0@RON>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Ron,
Someone already said it was made in Asia. Nobody asked you or anyone else
what country it was made in. YOU are insensitive to YOUR remark because you
are NOT Chinese.
Most of us have no trouble talking about Vanagons w/o resorting
to such labels. There are plenty of threads on quality control issues in the
archives. Most of us are clearly aware of regional discrepancies. Frankly
this thread was progressing fine until you made those nation
specific remarks.
I don't need your further explanation about political correctness in when it
does not suit you. We can certainly do more of that off-list. I simply ask
that you stop the direction you are taking this discussion through.
BenT
On 4/3/06, The Bus Depot <vanagon@busdepot.com> wrote:
>
> > Someone made the effort to try to keep the nation of origin
> > of the parts in question as generic as possible. For someone
> > who has accused others of bigoted remarks, you appear to be
> > incredibly insensitive to those NOT in your ethnic group.
>
>
> You have completely misconstrued my remarks.
>
> My guess that the product was probably Chinese made was based on
> probabilities; most Asian made CV joints I've seen offered recently are
> from
> China (Taiwan being second). If that is the case, I would also guess that
> the Ebay seller's use of the term "Asian made" has nothing to do with
> political correctness, but rather a reluctance for marketing reasons to
> call
> them "Chinese made" (as Chinese made auto parts have a bit of a poor
> reputation in the U.S.). That is the same reason why California Import
> Parts
> uses German sounding brand names like "Bruck Germany," and descriptions
> like
> "German quality" on their Chinese parts instead of calling them Chinese.
>
> My comment that many of the Chinese made parts I've seen so far are of
> poor
> quality (not all - there are certainly some well-made Chinese parts, just
> as
> there are some crappy German ones) was based on firsthand experience. As
> a
> parts importer, I am always investigating the quality of various parts
> that
> are offered to me, and increasingly many offers come from China. I have
> found tremendous variations in quality, often from the same supplier
> (indicating significant quality control issues). Some of the products were
>
> decent, but many were not (and some were downright awful). Moreover, my
> experience is not unique; this issue is widely discussed within the
> automotive aftermarket industry. Therefore (at least when it comes to
> mechanical parts whose failure may render the van inoperable) I tend to
> regard unknown Chinese suppliers with a healtty dose of skepticism.
>
> This issue has has absolutely nothing to do with race or ethnicity.
> Rather,
> it probably has more to do with a general lack of experience on the part
> of
> the Chinese auto parts industry as a whole. As recently as four years ago,
> there were only only 8 models of cars widely available in China, and only
> 8
> million cars in all of China (the most populous nation in the world),
> compared to 180 million cars in the U.S. alone. The most common mode of
> transportation was (and remains) the bicycle. The automotive parts export
>
> industry didn't even exist. So this is not a country that has a lot of
> experience making auto parts. Even under the best of circumstances, there
> is
> a learning curve with any new industry. It took the Japanese consumer
> electronics industry a decade to become a quality leader, for example.
> Early
> on most of Japan's electronic exports were low-end junk, but ten years
> later
> some of the same manufacturers were making products that put their pricier
>
> American competitors out of business. The same could be said about Korean
> electronics (Samsung, Lucky-Goldstar) and automobiles (Hyundai). Why
> should
> the Chinese aftermarket auto parts industry be any different?
>
> The Chinese aftermarket auto parts industry is currently in its infancy. I
> have no doubt that over time it will mature. Eventually there will be a
> shakeout and some real winners will emerge. But that hasn't happened yet.
>
> Meanwhile, that industry somewhat resembles our dot-com era here in the
> U.S.
> before that shakeout occurred. There are thousands of players, none of
> whom
> has any track record at all, and most of whom probably won't survive
> because
> they simply don't have a quality product. Without a track record to look
> at, it's hard to separate the good quality manufacturers from the bad. So
> yes, that makes them risky, and it has absolutely nothing to do with
> bigotry.
>
> - Ron Salmon
> The Bus Depot, Inc.
> www.busdepot.com
> (215) 234-VWVW
>
> _____________________________________________
> Toll-Free for Orders by PART # : 1-866-BUS-DEPOT
>
>
>
--
BenT
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