Hi Ron,
I'm not sure what your point is. I can't really believe that you can't get repair parts for your '93 Ford Ranger. I haven't found a single part that isn't available for my 89' Chevy 3/4 ton 4WD Suburban, besides the interior light lense for the rear cargo area (not really a critical operating feature). At the same time, I also haven't found any repair parts that aren't available for my 1916 Ford Model T Touring (most are aftermarket) except maybe the wood frame for the bodywork (the wood frame bows for the convertable top are in stock) but I have specs for the wood frame, in case I want to make the parts myself.
Unlike the planned obsolescence of the 1970's (which cost the US automakers their domination of the world auto market), considerable improvements to manufacturing have made building new cheaper than repairs. No conspiracy, just efficiency.
I haven't heard anyone say that Torqeedo is not providing parts or service for the 801 motors, although one person reported second hand that the company replaced an 801 with a 1003 after multiple repairs that didn't work.
My point was that when new models of anything are released with obvious improvements, some folks still long for the previous model, usually for obsure attributes that most consumers wouldn't desire or even think of if they didn't already own the previous model. Basically there is no reason that a manufacturer would go out of their way to please a very small percentage of an already small niche market.
My only reason to build another electric car conversion is to see how much better it might be that the ones that I built more than 15 years ago. Back then my conversions could go 60 miles at 50mph on a single charge, now my target is 100 miles at 60mph. The conversion will probably cost me $20,000 and I'll still be driving a 35 year old car. Saving $0.12 a mile in fueling costs, it will only take me 165,000 miles to break even (not going to happen). There is absolutely no economic justification to do this project, just ask my wife.
If you've got an old vehicle that you can't keep operable and money is a consideration, get a new vehicle. It will be much cheaper in the long run. The money that I've spent on my Porsche 914 V8 conversion ove the last 23 years would buy a brand new Corvette Z06 and the Porsche isn't finished yet. My electric drive conversion on my 1964 Cheoy Lee Bermuda 30 ketch cost more that the entire boat is worth. Just a new paint job on my 1989 Suburban will cost more than the entire truck is worth but it's a great running truck so I'll probably get it painted.
Seriously, I only screw around with this kind of stuff is because I can afford it. If I was concerned about money, I wouldn't own a boat, let alone two. The money that I spend on a slip fee and mast up storage on my two boats every month would lease a 7 series BMW sedan. Economically, the right choice would be to sell my boats and my extra cars, join a boat club, rent exotic cars when I got the urge, and to rent a truck when I needed one.
I always amazed when people long for the "good old days" when we spent more money (adjusted for inflation and earning power) for products that had fewer features and shorter lifespans, or perhaps didn't exist at all. It's this weird fallacy that the obvious advancement in technology and value somehow isn't progress. I, for one, try not to delude myself, instead I admit that my hobbies are luxuries. It's fun to pretend that I'm saving money (through some twisted reasoning), because I could certainly be spending more to accomplish the same goals.
Anyway, my suggestion is to actually do the things that you want to do. Talking costs the one thing that you won't get back, and that is time. All of our biological clocks are ticking, we all need to do what we can while we can. On that note, I'll sign off. I am going to get up in the morning and go sailing....
Fair winds,
Eric
Marina del Rey, CA
--- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, "Ron" <rlgravel@...> wrote:
>
> I'm old enough to have seen a change in business practice and bottom line management. A company hires professional highly trained and educated people and all are expected to perform well and rightly so.
> Planned obsolescence is a method of tweaking cost of manufacturing, by using the least materials to give service for a predictable and reasonably useful time, this is valuable in many ways.
> Improvements come at the expense of R&D along with sometime better products and as was pointed out, unexpected failure rates cannot justify warranty expenses.
> Generating future business is more than happy one time purchasers, buying more units or spreading word of how happy they are.
> I have watched the trend of, pride in building and pride of ownership, along with pride in maintenance & repair, go into more of a throw-away trend of thought by the majority populace.
>
> I drive a 93 Ford Ranger, repair parts are now (almost) restricted to aftermarket or salvage yards. Emission standards are about to force me into a newer vehicle or something older that predates the controlled accessories, or as Eric and others go electric.
>
> Ron
>
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