[Info-vax] Latest TCPIP Services seem irreparably horked...

[Paul Sture]

On Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:10:53 -0800, John Wallace wrote:

> 
> "We don't require car manufacturers to design their cars so that one can
> easily swap the factory-supplied engine, or air-conditioning system, or
> brakes or whatever with third-party products."
> 
> Actually I thought there were legal precedents to the opposite effect in
> some countries e.g. the UK and quite possibly the EU. If I remember
> rightly, vehicle manufacturers have been legally required to permit and
> not obstruct the supply of "compatible" after-market parts such as
> exhaust systems. Can't remember the full details, and as with all things
> legal, different countries may have different rules, and the rules may
> change from time to time anyway.
> 
>e.g.
>http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/british-leyland-motor-corporation-ltd-v-
armstrong-patents-co-ltd

The use of "spurious parts" (as they are known in Yorkshire anyway) is 
discouraged by the manufacturers, but when you compare the quality and 
price of them you can make significant savings and/or longevity gains by 
buying third party products.  Exhausts can be tricky; I once bought one 
for circa 175 instead of the recommended manufacturer's item at nearly 
400, but forever after that car didn't run as it had done before, 
stalling at idle etc.

But when third party adjustable shock absorbers cost less than the 
manufacturer's own item which has a design lifetime which only reaches 
the end of the warranty period, you can get better quality.

One thing I do recall several European car manufacturers getting taken to 
court for was their reluctance to supply right hand drive models from 
Europe for export to the UK.  Significant savings could be made by 
customers doing this, but the manufacturers were trying to block their 
ability to do so.

-- 
Paul Sture