Date:         Tue, 4 Apr 2006 17:19:45 -0600
Reply-To:     don spence <dkspence@TELUS.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         don spence <dkspence@TELUS.NET>
Subject:      Re: Ebay CV "kit"....is it any good?
In-Reply-To:  <20060404213458.FBM8C1GVGH@priv-edmwaa02.telusplanet.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed

BenT
  You're stretching here. Farmer John and the Chinese parts industry
will either grow good apples/make good parts or they won't. Both will
fail or thrive depending on the product they produce.

What Ron said in a nutshell is: The Chinese after-market parts
industry is in it's infancy.  Current experience as a buyer is "buyer
beware" . Inspect each manufacturer's products individually as they
are of unknown quality. Give the Chinese industry time and experience
and they will make a great product.

  Heck, Honda made absolute crap when he started making cylinder
rings. Nissan assembled Austins. Probably taught them a lot about
what not to do. (Remember the British auto industry?) Remember the
Hyundai Pony?  Today, it's a different story. Time and experience
makes the difference.

You wrote: " When parts installed in my Vanagon fail, I identify the
source and
> vote with my checkbook on the next purchase."  Seems to me that is
> exactly what Ron is doing.  You can't stay in business selling poor
> quality parts, no matter who makes them.

I drive a 65 Triumph, restored and maintained with parts from a
Pennsylvania firm called The Roadster Factory. They commission repro
parts from around the world including China and Taiwan. Their
experience was, sometimes it takes a few tries to get it right,
functionally and cosmetically. Seems like a similar situation with
Vanagon parts and specialist suppliers.

Heck, there was a line from a film that I think was quoted on this
list about electronics in the Space Station.  "Russian electronics,
American electronics, Taiwanese components."  Open your computer and
see where all the components are being made.    Time and
experience.... Time and the willingness to invest in new
infrastructure are on China's side.

all the best



On 4-Apr-06, at 3:29 PM, Automatic digest processor wrote:

> Date:    Tue, 4 Apr 2006 14:29:28 -0700
> From:    BenT Syncro <syncro@GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: Re: Ebay CV "kit"....is it any good?
>
> Mike,
>
>
> Everything in life is relative. When someone says apples from some
> trees are rotten, that is one thing. But when someone says it's rotten
> because they are probably from farmer John's tree because farmer
> John's trees usually produce bad apples, that's a different story.
>
> One day we are labelling apples. The next thing you know, a mob is
> running to farmer John's orchard to chop down all his trees.
>
> When parts installed in my Vanagon fail, I identify the source and
> vote with my checkbook on the next purchase. Just because you get a
> batch of bad parts from one country doesn't mean you should assume all
> parts should be suspect when they come from that country. How about
> them Wasserboxer headgaskets?
>
>
> BenT