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RE: Jap=Ripoff?

To: "doug russell" <dr-doug@classic.msn.com>
Subject: RE: Jap=Ripoff?
From: jello@dns.ida.net (Phil Bates)
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 01:57:14 -0600
Your message below about the Yugo is totally and 100% incorrect!  The Yugo 
was a direct rip off of a lousy Fiat that had failed in all markets several 
years before 1980 (when the Yugo was introduced).  I believe Yugo even 
bought the plans and rights on it, but I would have to check a lot of things 
to be sure of that.

><< I defy you to find a single car that was developed in a vacuum.  
>
><snip>
>
>Ever hear of the Yugo?  Apparently it was designed by a communist Smurf in a 
>vacuum left in some closet with no light!
>
>Sorry, I promised myself I wouldn't, but couldn't resist, so consider yourself 
>defied!
>
>Dr. Doug 
>
>Three complete assemblages of British car parts - 69 vintage.
> 
><end snip>
> Elements of any car can be found in earlier cars, the only 
> difference is how public the automaker is about admitting it.  Not 
> that I think it's necessarily a bad thing.  I dont' want to deal 
> with an automaker that tries to totally re-invent the automobile with 
> every new model they build.
>       I think that the Japanese have given us a lot of improvements in 
> terms of safety, reliability and fuel efficiency.  And for the rest 
> of the sour grapes, you have to ask yourself who's still selling cars 
> in LARGE numbers, and who isn't?      
>   It's kind of like Bill Gates.  Everybody likes to bash him, but 
> with $35 billion, he must be doing something right.  With the sales 
> figures Japanese car companies have, they might be somewhere on the 
> right track.  As for the Miata being an MG knockoff (Not that you 
> said it, Ray, but others have.)  Where was the MGB when Mazda 
> released the Miata?  I think that a Miata is about as close to the 
> essence of an MGB as you're going to get, while still keeping in all 
> the federally-mandated bells and whistles, as well as the level of 
> reliability most people have come to expect.  I think the fact that 
> they're still selling so well after nine years with the same body 
> should tell you something.    
>       Don't get me wrong, I love my MGB, but I don't think automotive 
> design had its birth in England, nor do I think it ended in 1980. 
> Scott
> Scott Gardner
> gardner@lwcomm.com
> www.lwcomm.com/~gardner
> 
> 
> -  >>
>Scott,
> You are correct in the statement that no car has been developed in a vacuum.
> But my observation still stands: the Miata is nothing more than  a
>replica/repro of the Lotus Elan.  Yes, it's updated (it couldn't be sold
>otherwise), and yes, it's a neat little car.  BUT.....MG's tried hard to make
>large improvements throughout the companies' existence; in short, no looking
>back.  The Miata is a redo of a 60's car.
>As for the grapes.... I enjoy mine and drive it often (well, before the B
>kneecapped me....)  It does most things well, but it's not a ground breaker.
>The Japanese auto makers are generally very conservative in their design
>changes.  This has served them well for the most part.  The fact that the
>Miata is selling well with the same body says a lot about the original
>Lotus......
>Don't know Bill Gates...like his house, though.
>I don't say that auto design began and ended in GB.  By 1980, you must
>remember that the B design was 20 years old.....unheard of as far as sports
>cars are concerned.
>Time passed the B by because of short sightedness on the part of several
>people....now the F is here, and the F IS the spirit of the MG. 
>Safety Fast!
>
>Regards,         Ray
>
>
>
Phil Bates
58 MGA
67 MGB
75 Jaguar XJ12C
66 Land Rover
52 MG TD replicar (VW)
86 Peugeot 505 Turbo Gle
86 Honda Accord LX-i


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