*sigh*
Another one bites the dust.
DON'T BUY KNOCKOFFS PEOPLE!
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/10/japanese-tuning-firm-trust-greddy-declares-bankruptcy/
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GReddy Bankrupt!
- Thread starter Oyagi
- Start date
*sigh*
Another one bites the dust.
DON'T BUY KNOCKOFFS PEOPLE!
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/10/japanese-tuning-firm-trust-greddy-declares-bankruptcy/
With Japan no longer producing sport cars (except GT-Rs), this was bound to happen. Too bad because Greddy was such a huge tuner back in the days.
I'm not convinced this is entirely about knock offs as much as it is about the today's youth and their desire to pimp out Japanese and domestic vehicles. Fads come and go and while I'm not saying in the least bit 'Tuner' enthusiasts are part of a fad, it certainly shouldn't go unnoticed that the next generation may be more focused on cars as a means of transportation vs. that of personal ego/enjoyment. ALL of the big car manufactures are making shifts in their marketing and manufacturing processes and companies that thrive on aftermarket bolt-on items will be subject to what they do vs. the other way around.
Tim
Tim
Trust has been around for a very long time, long before the "Tuner" fad in the States. I think this is very much related to crap knockoffs from China. Companies are shamelessly making fake parts these days, finding an audience for them (Ebay) and not investing in any R&D or marketing whatsoever. Its brutal. HKS is now looking into airplanes as an alternative avenue for their parts. Look at whats happened to Apexi, Veilside, even BBS.
While your point is valid, I say look around.
We are the big spenders. Here, s2ki, etc. Are people considering spending the thousands required to buy most of these parts really cross shopping with knock offs? I certainly don't. I think it's more the direction of the overall market. Newer cars are not nearly as modified as regularly as the last 5-10 years. The age of the Supra, FD, 300zx, turbo eclipse-every single one of these models had an average of 1,000+ spent on aftermarket parts. Multiply that by tends of thousands of cars and you sir have a great business model even if you only capture 5% of the market.
But now I see maybe 1 out of 500 350z's with exhausts. s2000's rarely have exhausts. Most modified NSX's are NA1's by a significant margin and this is in proportion to production levels I'm referring to. Even seeing a heavily modified integra or civic besides tail lights and a muffler is fairly rare.
5+ years ago the 'drag' of every city was FULL of modified imports. Now the only people still buying these kinds of parts are the STI/EVO crowd. I think people prefer to save the money or buy a 5-10k sport bike instead, which have exploded in popularity as the tuner scene has slowed.
We are the big spenders. Here, s2ki, etc. Are people considering spending the thousands required to buy most of these parts really cross shopping with knock offs? I certainly don't. I think it's more the direction of the overall market. Newer cars are not nearly as modified as regularly as the last 5-10 years. The age of the Supra, FD, 300zx, turbo eclipse-every single one of these models had an average of 1,000+ spent on aftermarket parts. Multiply that by tends of thousands of cars and you sir have a great business model even if you only capture 5% of the market.
But now I see maybe 1 out of 500 350z's with exhausts. s2000's rarely have exhausts. Most modified NSX's are NA1's by a significant margin and this is in proportion to production levels I'm referring to. Even seeing a heavily modified integra or civic besides tail lights and a muffler is fairly rare.
5+ years ago the 'drag' of every city was FULL of modified imports. Now the only people still buying these kinds of parts are the STI/EVO crowd. I think people prefer to save the money or buy a 5-10k sport bike instead, which have exploded in popularity as the tuner scene has slowed.
Pretty much my point - except for the motorbike aspect. I don't see that as part of the equation.
how did greddy get 60 million dollars in debt??? that seems like alot for greddy.
and its not entirely due to chinese knockoff's, its greddy's lack of performance anymore, civic/integra for example, possibly the biggest number of tuner cars in the world(feel free to correct me on that) but for hondas greddy doesnt offer anything great, or remotely worth while, they sell exhausts and overpriced weak power turbo kits.
if toyota was still pumping out supra's greddy would be doing good because they made REAL parts for supra's, and im assuming that since they went bankrupt that thier 350z/sti/evo parts are just as weak as the honda parts(i dont know anything about greddy's lineup for those cars) maybe they just failed to keep up with innovative parts and the power demand?
<- have never owned a single greddy part in all of my car days
and its not entirely due to chinese knockoff's, its greddy's lack of performance anymore, civic/integra for example, possibly the biggest number of tuner cars in the world(feel free to correct me on that) but for hondas greddy doesnt offer anything great, or remotely worth while, they sell exhausts and overpriced weak power turbo kits.
if toyota was still pumping out supra's greddy would be doing good because they made REAL parts for supra's, and im assuming that since they went bankrupt that thier 350z/sti/evo parts are just as weak as the honda parts(i dont know anything about greddy's lineup for those cars) maybe they just failed to keep up with innovative parts and the power demand?
<- have never owned a single greddy part in all of my car days
Some one is pocketing some serious money in that firm.
Think about this, for NSX, cheap knock off parts is sold through small inexperience venders ( you can see it on Prime); it is driving some of good venders out of business.
It is a shame.
Think about this, for NSX, cheap knock off parts is sold through small inexperience venders ( you can see it on Prime); it is driving some of good venders out of business.
It is a shame.
I've been shaking my head for years at Prime members who accuse established vendors of "ripping them off" as soon as a cheaper knock-off shows up.
They probably shop at Wal-Mart too.
+1. I've been doing business with S.O.S. since they first arrived and I've never had a single problem with them. Now buying something from someone in a third world country because it is cheaper, that I would never consider.
I shop at Wal-Mart. Their price on 9mm and .380 target ammo is much less than my local gun range. :biggrin:
I was reading an editors article on this subject a couple months ago and they also predicted knock off parts would severely hurt the existing companies. It may also be due to the overall weak economy, either way it's too bad since greddy does make 50 state legal turbo kits for some cars. The 2007 350Z twin turbo kit recently featured in import tuner was pretty nice.
I will agree, they are expensive and have low boost, but considering they are intended for street driven stock cars makes it understandable. Ironically, the time attack C-west s2000 was running the greddy 50 state legal turbo kit.
I will agree, they are expensive and have low boost, but considering they are intended for street driven stock cars makes it understandable. Ironically, the time attack C-west s2000 was running the greddy 50 state legal turbo kit.
c-west s2000 was really running the greddy kit? they must have done some trick stuff to it obviousley, and the motor is far from stock:wink:
full-race turbo kits >>> greddy all day long:biggrin:
full-race turbo kits >>> greddy all day long:biggrin:
There's a DVD feature on the C-West CF S2K in this month's issue of D Sport mag and the car i actually pretty mildly done in the engine dept. Its got the GReddy kit, mild internal work and is putting down 300whp. Its advantage is in its light weight bodywork.
ahh i see.
it makes more sense now how factor x spanks the c-west so hard, it runs with brian crower stickers all over it i would have thought the engine would be fully built/stroked
it makes more sense now how factor x spanks the c-west so hard, it runs with brian crower stickers all over it i would have thought the engine would be fully built/stroked
Interesting article. Why don't the companies that initially design the parts have a patent on them? If they know people are going to copy them exactly, shouldn't they protect their work? I would hate to see companies like Spoon or Mugen go out of business because of companies like Seibon.
Chinese car clones
Take this discussion to the next level and you get the actual car - not just the few parts here and there.
http://ca.autos.yahoo.com/p/568/chinese-car-clones
Take this discussion to the next level and you get the actual car - not just the few parts here and there.
http://ca.autos.yahoo.com/p/568/chinese-car-clones
Patents are usually of the design type, meaning that your patent is a different version of something that was already in use before. Patents don't prevent others from copying you; it only gives you the right to sue the infringing party. That is if you can find them (domestic/international) and you have the time and energy to go after all of them.
Regards,
Danny
then you need to tell downforce, seibon, VIS, etc to stop making nsx r replica wings, hoods, diffuser, etc. And then we all need to buy OEM HONDA NSX R wings, hoods, diffusers, etc.
sorry, the market has a huge demand for cheap price goods. this is why there are so many fake LV, Gucci, Nike, etc outthere.
rich people dont care if LV cost 2000 bucks. but there are not so many rich people.
LOL you are pretty funny.
let me ask you this. do LV, Gucci, Nike, etc all have copyright, trademark, patent on them? and then they all get copied, right?
protect their work? LOL. microsoft also trying to protect them. but a lot of people are using copied MS office. in china, so many people using copied windows system. of course, they wont be able to update.
LV also sued a lot, but it wont prevent people copying their goods.
Not exactly.
There is a unwritten rule in the world of auto mobile design. Any thing you can see, you can copy. Any thing you have to buy and take it apart before you can copy is a big no no.
Therefore, Aero related is a none issue, but if you buy there high tech parts and copy them, you could get into trouble.
There is a reason why Honda priced their Type R hood for $12 grand, because they probably don't care to sell them other than the one on the car.
Some some like DF make a replica for $2200, that less than 1/5 price of the real deal. Second issue is, you may not be able to buy the Type R parts unless you know insiders. Greddy stuff? No. They can be purchased every where.
When you copy a $1000 item and sell them $700, yeah, you are killing the people who spend the time and effort to create the part. People are cheap, but this is a different level of cheap.
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They'll be fine. Corporate bankruptcy is rarely "closing shop" and just an opportunity to restructure debt and reorganize. The real issue is what bad financial and/or business decisions put them in this situation to begin with (bad product? bad marketing? bad strategy? all of the mentioned and more?)
LOL. i guess a lot of people killing LV, Gucci, Bride, etc. LV, Gucci are not high tech goods, but those will get some serious trouble if they are a big seller.
not only china making knockoffs. dont be biased.
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