Quote:
Originally Posted by JFP in PA
Well, from a legal perspective, I think Porsche at least somewhat lost that argument when they got hit with the class action judgement. While I realize that large corporations often move in geologic time, accepting that there was an aftermarket fix and adopting it could have saved them time, money, and image; but they chose to hold their ground, which in the end did not work out so well.
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In the end they want to sell new cars. And they are successful in doing that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JFP in PA
The reason the Faultless Tool was delayed to market was because they wanted to patent it first. They learned a bitter lesson from the first tool kit; if you don't protect your intellectual property and development costs, anybody can get into the game with cheap and often poorly made knock offs, some of which actually fell apart on first use and were subsequently sent back to LN for replacement. Only problem was they were not LN units. So in response, every new development undergoes patent protection first (if possible) before they appear in public. The result is often a delay of a year or more before you can get one, but the chances of a bogus knock off are significantly reduced. To give you an idea of how pervasive this problem is, LN has actually encountered fake LN IMS Retrofit kits being sold. And God only knows what kind of bearing is in them, but guess who would get the blame if one of them fails.
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Totally can understand that. Plagiarization can be a big problem for everyone who is running a successful business.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JFP in PA
We work with a very good dealer on parts, but they, like every other dealer, are hamstrung by Porsche's parts system. They have mechanisms to report problem, but rarely if ever hear anything more once the report is filed. It is not always easy for the tail to shake the dog.
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I know, Porsche is very special in some ways. Over here in Germany you have to renew your workshop license every year if you want to be delivered with Porsche parts. And to do that you have to send them current pictures from your workshop (besides other things).
@ all:
This is some info from FAG Kugelfischer for those who are interested in any kind of bearings:
http://www.schaeffler.com/remotemedien/media/_shared_media/08_media_library/01_publications/schaeffler_2/manualmountingoperation/downloads_7/wl_80100_3_de_en.pdf
Regards, Markus