[PRCo] Re: G Scale Air Car

Fred Schneider fwschneider at comcast.net
Thu Jan 20 11:32:10 EST 2011 

A friend of mine who was in charge of the Kawasaki car program for SEPTA visited the factory in in Kobe, Japan in about 1980.   He told me how the company showed him a problem they were having with heat treating of propulsion gears.   They had turned the defective side of the gear up and wiped all the oil off to show the problem to him.   Then the told him what they were doing to correct it.   He asked me what I thought an American firm would do.

I said the American firm would make sure it was defect down hidden in an oil bath and they would hope it would survive past the warranty period.   He just smiled. 

He had very warm fuzzy feelings for that supplier.   And those cars are still soldiering on 30 years later.   Remember that the typical PCC (not the exceptional one that was rebuilt over and over and over but the typical one) lasted 20 years and it was pretty well shot after 20 years.   My friend figures those K-cars are good for another 15 years.     

And our people wonder why the lost out to the Japanese.   

So what happened with Mr. Toyoto?  


On Jan 19, 2011, at 10:20 PM, Dwight Long wrote:

> Phil
> 
> Japanese products in the 1950s had problems with both quality and image.
> 
> What changed was that they embraced Dr. Edwards Deming and his teachings.  It changed the whole quality scene, and raised their reputation from the pits to the top echelon.  Deming had been laughed out of Detroit as an unneeded expense.  He went to Japan. You know the rest of the story.
> 
> When I was at Union Tank Car in the 1960s, we bought imported steel plate from Japan not because it was cheaper but because the quality was superlative.  US-made steel at the time had such poor quality control that the line was constantly having to be shut down when it was used and very significant costs for rework resulted.  Not so with Japanese plate.  Not all costs are represented by the initial purchase price, a fact too few American consumers appreciate.
> 
> Dwight
>  ----- Original Message ----- 
>  From: Phillip Clark Campbell 
>  To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org 
>  Sent: Wednesday, 19 January, 2011 21:48
>  Subject: [PRCo] Re: G Scale Air Car
> 
> 
>  Mr.Schneider;
> 
>  It seems China has literally vaulted into Capitalism
>  from poverty to finished product without the experience
>  that goes in between.  There seems to be a total lack
>  of quality control.  That is totally different from experience
>  with Chinese Americans who are most intelligent and
>  industrious.
> 
>  Following Katrina, new construction used drywall from
>  China.  Fumes and other quality issues were so bad
> 
>  that homes were gutted for repairs;  I don't recall who
>  assumed the costs.  Don't we have standards by
>  which imports are measured?  This made major
>  national news headlines.
> 
>  I note that long time U.S.A. manufacturers will state
>  the product is made in China to "...our rigid quality control."
>  But it is quite apparent this is not the case isn't it.
> 
>  People here haven't had a problem returning items;
>  stores immediately accepted the returns with many
>  apologies.  Now I also look to see where the item
>  is made; it is difficult to find items other than made
>  in China.
> 
>  Products from India and other smaller countries don't
>  seem to suffer quality issues to my knowledge but they 
>  don't seem to produce much or not much is imported.  In the
>  1950s noses turned up at "made in Japan" but that
>  seemed to be political as opposed to quality, and less
>  expensive than so issues of undermining local 
>  businesses were a concern.  Korean imports never 
>  seemed to raise quality issues.
> 
> 
>  Phil
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  ________________________________
>  From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
>  To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>  Sent: Wed, January 19, 2011 9:23:38 PM
>  Subject: [PRCo] Re: G Scale Air Car
> 
>  And my lawn sprinkler from WalMart lasted three hours.   The store asked what I 
>  did wrong.  I said I put water through it.   I demanded my money back.   They 
>  wanted to give me another one.   I said no, I will go home and remanufacture the 
>  old "made in the USA" item even if I have to make new parts.
> 
> 
>  On Jan 19, 2011, at 8:40 PM, Phillip Clark Campbell wrote:
> 
>> I believe the "G" car is made by Aristocraft.
>> I don't know if it is contracted out.  Are there
>> any quality issues with the Chinese models?
>> Several of us have purchased items made in 
>> China for around the home and they have
>> literally disintegrated within a month.
>> A neighbor bought some drapes made in China;
>> She found them almost on the floor one morning
>> after the stitching failed.  Others who have bought
>> door mats found they disintegratedwithin 3-months
>> sitting in place on the floor.  Some bought fleece
>> blankets which produced massive pilling in the
>> wash.  It was so severe that filters were clogged
>> necessitating a service call.  Shaking wet blankets
>> outdoor before drying found the pilling remaining on
>> the patio for a month or more.  It was difficult to
>> sweep.
>> 
>> 
>> Phil
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ________________________________
>> From: Edward H. Lybarger <trams2 at comcast.net>
>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>> Sent: Wed, January 19, 2011 7:37:04 PM
>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: G Scale Air Car
>> 
>> We provide all the consumers.  And encourage all the debt. 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
>> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of Herb
>> Brannon
>> Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 6:55 PM
>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: G Scale Air Car
>> 
>> We have annexed them. They provide all the basic industry and we
>> provide.............hmmm, what do we provide??
>> On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 16:40, BobDietrich <bob.dietrich1 at verizon.net>wrote:
>> 
>>> It may have a brand name "Custom Traxx" but it ain't necessarily made 
>>> in America.  Unless you are thinking of annexing China.
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
>>> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of 
>>> Herb Brannon
>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 11:26 AM
>>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: G Scale Air Car
>>> 
>>> It looks like, very soon now, everything in HO traction on the planet 
>>> will be American made. It will have the brand name "Custom Traxx".
>>> On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 01:06, Dwight Long <dwightlong at verizon.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Herb
>>>> 
>>>> I presume it would have "Buy American" requirements?
>>>> 
>>>> Dwight
>>>> 
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: Herb Brannon
>>>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, 18 January, 2011 20:22
>>>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: G Scale Air Car
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> To prevent cleaning out our wallet, I propose setting up a "Scale 
>>>> Model  Department of Transportation" as a new US Govt Department. 
>>>> That way
>>> those
>>>> of
>>>> us who operate scale model transportation systems could apply for
>>> "capital
>>>> improvement" funding for the purchase of new equipment. As absurd 
>>>> as
>>> this
>>>> is, the government would probably go for it to stimulate spending.
>>>> On Tue, Jan 18, 2011 at 20:03, Bill Robb <bill937ca at yahoo.ca> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> How about Aristocraft's G scale air car?  Available in PRC colors.
>>> That
>>>>> should
>>>>> clean out someone's wallet!
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/aff/17/aft/11876
>>> 7/afv/ 
>>> topic/Default.aspx<http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/
>>> 56/aff/17/aft/118767/afv/topic/Default.aspx>
> 
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