Some interesting posts
Now driven a whole 550km. Taking it slow. It feels good to drive and have had no isues as yet.
Keep you posted
DAS i baught my hj60 landcruiser new in 1983 diesel 5 speed from moterama i paid $13900 i could sell it now for $8900 i do not know how you can even talk about the two companies on the same page
hilly
Some interesting posts
Now driven a whole 550km. Taking it slow. It feels good to drive and have had no isues as yet.
Keep you posted
Thanks for the update Kev. All this rain around it'd be a good chance to put the new truck to the test in the mud around Ollera!!
Eventhough the running gear is built under license I'm wondering about the quality of the metalurgy and the engineering tolerances neverlone the quality control. We all know about chinese wheel bearings.
I'm not saying that the vehicles are suspect, I wouldn't have a clue. Time will tell how good these things really are and in the meantime I will wait and see.
But they sure are ugly.
Check the recall on them as soon as they were released
http://www.recalls.gov.au/content/in.../itemId/971084
And this is how they found it. During ANCAP# testing
http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...25768E000636A6
The ANCAP problems for the V240 arose in the critical offset frontal barrier crash test when the passenger seatbelt mechanism failed near the peak of the impact, allowing the webbing to unreel.
Even though the passenger airbag deployed, the dummy’s head hit the dash.
To make matters worse, the driver-side dummy’s head struck the steering wheel, despite the airbag deploying.
ANCAP said the passenger cabin had deformed on impact, and components of the steering column and dashboard were also a potential source of injury.
The V240 also lost points under the rating system because it does not have ESC or seat-belt reminders, nor does it have top tether anchorages for child restraints.
and then the spokesman for the Importer of them says this in this article
http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...25763F001D6457
“From our point of view, I would say that the V240 has scored a ‘high’ two-star result … which we feel here at Ateco is a pretty solid outcome,” Mr Cotterill said.
“I don’t intend to get into any sort of an argument or slanging match with ANCAP or anyone from there – and we’re not disagreeing with their result at all. There’s no quibbling about it, the umpire has had their say – but we do consider it to be a solid result for this type of vehicle.”
A very important item like a retractable seatbelt, Airbags that do nothing more than inflate without protecting the passengers#
A solid outcome??????????????????????, High 2 star????????
I think my family's lives are worth more than a few grand you might save by buying one of these buckets of shit
Buy a 5 year old Jap vehicle, it'll be safer to drive and last a whole lot longer
If You Can't Run With The Dogs....... Stay On The Porch
Are these assembled under licence or manufactured? made under licence offers either possibility or combination i assume.
i have suspected quietly for years that the gross % of those in crashes and identified as not wearing a seatbelt probably where it just unclipped under stress, having witnessed it myself a few times in non brand new cars, it's not as if the authorities could give a dam outside of their standard forms to look any further esp when the dead tell no tales nor defend themselves.
A bloke I know in a modern established brand hit a telegraph pole at only 30-40kn/h not that long back (insurance write off) he copped quite a bruising across the chest from the steering wheel because the drivers side air bag didn't deploy, the vacant passengers side air bag did.
Personally and from a laymans standpoint i do not give crash rating much chop, possibly 5% of crashes go close to emulating the standard tests, still nothing defeats mass and structure unless hitting a solid wall or having prestige levels of encapsulating air bags.
Another thing, my car has just stated leaking oil from the rear transfer case seal, have bought the $15 replacement part and the $40 honking sized socket needed to do the job, anyway in my lifetime of only ever giving a vehicle I own or look after to a business for a mechanical repair or common service twice, leaking seals would be my most common and time consuming wear and tear "repair' in all that time, i always now ensure I only ever purchase high quality seals just like with bearings.
I would be reticent if these vehicles running gear was not purchased overseas by china.
cheers fnq
I read an interesting article a few months ago about a delegation of motoring industry guru's who done a tour of some of Thailand's vehicle manufacturing plants mainly the " ute factories ".What the delegation found was that the vast majority of these " Premium " brands i.e Isuzu,Holden,Toyota and Mitsubishi were being assembled from components supplied by the same plants.Panels being made for all the different manufactueres in the same plant,soft plastics all common supplier,electricals common supplier,engine components including internals common supplier.
I guess the point is although some may crow about how one brand is better than the other the fact is a lot of what goes into those vehicles was born of the same place.
Oh and yes Chinese component manufactures were also mentioned as an OE supplier in these instances.
The vast majority of us are driving around in vehicles that will have some Chinese element to it and if you think otherwise you need another puff of the old Hoochy kooch.
I find it ironic that so many people love to " flame " the Chinese over quality yet when it comes to parting with there own money they want top of the tree quality for the Chinese price tag.Wake up smell the roses you get what you pay for and if Kev in percentage terms gets the life out " his " new vehicle according to the major brands and there cost then i would say he got his monies worth.
I will fess up as i will probably never be in a position to purchase a new vehicle so to anybody who has earned the right to be able to do just that i say good on you.Chinese made or otherwise.
Just my two bobs worth and i'll go back to my box now !!!!!!!!!!!.
Steve
DoNotFeedTheTrollsAandBelligerent
But that is a maintenance issue(or lack there of), How many times have you heard someone say, "oh the seatbelt is a little tricky but is works" Well obviously it doesn't work and needs replacing, they are certainly cheap enough eg. $122 brand new from Ford for a BA rear centre retractable
How much these type of people put on their own lives is up to them. But mine and my family's are worth a lot more than that
Some how a lot of people seem to think the airbag should go off in any crash
the Airbag is to stop serious injury or death in a severe crash, if bruising was all he got then it wasn't severe enough to warrant the airbag's deployment
the passenger bag going off could have been due to higher forces or more body deformation on that side of the vehicle. It's not as simple as most believe.
I'm not saying they are perfect but I've heard so many people crying about their airbag not going off but they only ever had bruising or minor cuts, all of them of the belief that it should have gone off
Years ago in Australia, crash testing was missing the test that closely mimicked the common crash, the frontal offset test
these are now included in the rating system and improvements have been made based on these results
Want to see how far behind we still are
have a look at the truck safety testing done here and in the US compared with EU
I read how Kenworth crash tested their trucks by swinging a 1 tonne weight into the front of the cabs and the result was acab that didn't deform much at all. So Kenworth then proclaimed that their trucks were one of the safest on the road.
Now compare that with say a Volvo or Scania, they swing a 15 tonne weight into the "A" pillars of the cab, drop 15tonnes(20 tonnes in Volvo's case) onto the top of the cab and then swing 15 tonnes into the rear pillars of the cab. In all these test the cab must remain with a survivable interior space. Those tests are mandatory in Sweden for the vehicle to be sold there.
So who has the safest trucks on the road?
As with trucks, a car's safety isn't just about the passive or active safety features, it also about ergonomics and ease of use, visibility and comfort(for fatigue management)
The more established brands will be a long way ahead in these areas than these cheap chinese makers could manage
# #
cheers fnq[/quote]
If You Can't Run With The Dogs....... Stay On The Porch
Having components made somewhere and engineering a complete vehicle are two different things entirely, Why is it a Hyundai Sonata will fall to bits after 5 years but a same year model Toyota Camry will be running without fault for 15 years?
My sister had a 94 Nissan Maxima for 10 years and only ever had to have it serviced while friends of ours had a 12 month old 94 Sonata for 2 years and spent the equivalent of it's purchase price on major repairs in that time before buying an older Camry that only ever needed normal servicing for 5 years.
Young girl up the road here has a 96 Sonata, she's had new heads fitted twice and it now needs a new gearbox. Korean engineered and made verses Japanese engineered and Korean supplied parts, it does make a difference
You are correct, you can't expect something really cheap to be anything more than that real cheap. I am Loyal to Ford and Toyota because over the last 25 years I've never had a problem with either make of vehicle that I didn't cause myself
the closest I had got to buying new was a couple of 12 month old vehicles
# I am just lucky that my job now allows me to purchase a new vehicle and pay for it out of my taxes so it costs me virtually nothing and I get to make a profit after the 4 years are up when I sell it. Otherwise I would have been like you, always owning someone else's lemons
If You Can't Run With The Dogs....... Stay On The Porch
As to the deployment of airbags. I have read of many instances over the last few years, of airbags deploying in 'bumps' of less than 10kph....and causing injury to the passengers/drivers due to the force of the deployment. I have seen these cars on the back of the towies....with very little visble damage to the car. A double edged sword maybe.
I have been in a number of 'stacks' on the track wearing multi point harnesses....and had bruising to various parts of the body....if i hadnt had the harness on....who knows. They are made to REDUCE the deaths/injuries form impacts....until someone comes up with the sci-fi ideal (force fields, inertial dampers etc......beam me up scotty type stuff), they will not ELIMINATE death/injury through impact.
Greg
You forgot stupidity Greg.
The roads would be a hell of a lot safer for all if stupidity was suddenly extinct.
Nothing will save you when a knob in a turbo powered knob mobile is coming for you on your side of the road at warp speed nor will any airbag save a knob when he goes off a cutting when he (or she) is full of pi$$ or pills or whatever when the speedo reads 20000km/hr....and the cliff is 500m high.
I intend on living for-ever....so far so good
SOOOO true Scott...you cant legislate against stupidity.
Taken it on its first beach drive at Cungulla. Handles well and coped with the occasional deep bits. Need to still test it in the mud before i head off to Cooktown to kill some fish and hopefully not just drown baits.
hope it goes well for you kingkev.
i hope you show up the knockers and have no probs when away
drive safe