This would not be the first time a vendor threatened to sue because one told
the truth. I wrote an article back in '91 about a miserably fitting TR3 Monza
exhaust system that was published in The Vintage Triumph (VTR's magazine).
The president of the company that produces Monza called me up and threatened
to sue unless I issued a retraction. I said fine, sue:
We have no money, so he'd have to take plasma instead (or rusty
TR parts).
I carefully documented, with photographs and video, the muffler
pieces and their bad fit.
My neighbors would testify to my mental anguish trying
to install the system. I could be heard for blocks.
The Speedy Muffler mechanic who finally had to modify the
system to fit was available to testify how bad the original
fit was, and the major mods required to fit.
Once he realized that I knew that I was right he stopped trying to bully me,
and hopefully the ensuing conversation made future products better (the TR7
system I put on The Heretic last Spring fit fine).
It still amazes me that even after all the hype about TQM, Demming, and
Japanese success by focusing on customer needs, that we still have people
that haven't seen the light.
Do we have an email for Fram's CEO? I'm sure he/she'd like to be informed
of this.
Bruce Clough
...there's always Purlorator and Motorcraft...
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