Pioneer Camaro delayed until spring of 2013?

[frank9129]

Are ;you saying that "Scat happens when dealing with offshore companies to get your product out"?

[Cosmic Bilby]

......I reckon this would be great fodder for a reality TV show, what do you think????

[JULES]

I'm back.

What a nightmare.

Excellent incisive analysis by MG Brown.

Bringing everything to London. Had to be done. We also have to make these models at a price that matches China.

The Chinese ex factory price of a Pioneer model has risen 36% since the first Bullitt Mustangs in September '09.

I think we can make an even better quality product, chassis wise.

We think it can be done. With the factory near London, myself and my little band of workers can oversee every aspect. No more Oriental Bull.

Hidden from most of you is the fact that the quality control of other Chinese-made brands is a constant problem. I reckon some of the other makers must be seriously considering other options.

I don't think Pioneer will be the first to wave cheerio to China. Very amusing the other day; I was on the phone to a rubber moulder in the UK (for the tires) and the guy was talking away to me about the slick tires and the narrow tires and talking prices. I listened for a while, taking all the info in before I thought it was only fair that I pointed out to him that I was not the person he thought he was talking to. He had obviously been recently chatting to A N Other Slot cars about tires. I now know who A N Other is because the rubber guy mentioned the models. Can't say more ;)

Cosmic Bilby - A fly on the wall documentary/reality TV show? There is not a video tape on the market big enough to hold all the film.

I'll try keep you all posted of the continuing adventures.....

Jules

[Burglar]

[dreinecke]

Jules - First off: Welcome Home!

A few questions for those of us who've been watching this from afar:

- Were you able to bring back all of your tooling in order to re-use them or will you have to start everything all over again?
- Did you bring back tons of boxes of incorrectly or not assembled cars that you'll at least be able to fix and get to enthusiasts/customers fairly quickly?
- We've heard rumors of chassis issues - can you share what those were?
- Besides the $3 / day that you can pay the assemblers, I'd like to become a long-distance worker for you as well. Would work for cars. Let me know where the paperwork goes. I have impecible eyesight, read English, comprehend instructions, and know righty-tighty, lefty-losey. Let me know if I qualify!

Can't wait to hear the rest of this story, but afraid it will be sadly be similar to other's stories. Good to see you back, my friend!

[TsgtRet]

Jules, let add my welcome back. DR has a point, maybe we could do a "cottage industry" for you over here....send us the subassemblies we'll put 'em together. Of course those with "problems" will have to be "set aside" for us to do "quality evaluations" after work......

Harry, freeze up a Slotburger and overnight it to him....at least he can be sure it "mooed" when it walked!

Again, Jules, welcome back!

[MrAdept]

Hi Jules,

As with everyone else - welcome back you were missed.

If you happen to need more hands I can offer mine. I will need to wear my glasses though! :-)

Mark

[Cosmic Bilby]

...They tell me Afghanistan is the "new" China....

[lotuscortina]

Great to hear from you Jule's,thank you for the update on how thing's are going just sorry it has been a hard slog for you,
But sure it will all work out fine.
All the very best dude.
Nige

[FootScoot]

I for one am glad you moved back to the UK. The delay in production couldn't be any worse than contending with the far east bull. :)

[JULES]

David, to answer your specific questions:

- Were you able to bring back all of your tooling in order to re-use them or will you have to start everything all over again?
Yes. All of the original and new tooling has been rescued. I needed a little help from some shady characters in Hong Kong but all was sorted eventually.

- Did you bring back tons of boxes of incorrectly or not assembled cars that you'll at least be able to fix and get to enthusiasts/customers fairly quickly?
Yes. Got dozens of boxes. Some arrived already by Air, some still on the water and expected next week. Our main task will be to stock check the entire lot and work out what can be fixed and made ready for rapid shipping.

- We've heard rumors of chassis issues - can you share what those were?
Yes. At some point the chassis tool had attracted some metal debris into the core of the tool, impacting itself into the axle carrier mount on the driver side of the car. As a result, many of the chassis had misplaced axle alignment where the workers had tried to force the metal bearing into place over the deformed plastic. I did count many 1000's of moldings that were good so we need to do some swap outs. The tool will be fixed as soon as it lands here.

Jules

[goosenapper]

[LanciaB]

Nice to read some English fellows will find work in your business.
I have nothing against Chinese workers, but in the bad state of European economy, that's good news.
I just hope slot addicts will wait & buy your cars; so all will last as long as possible for everybody's satisfaction.
I poor frenchman am still waiting for a Javelin to compete against my SCX Cuda...

[dreinecke]

Jules - Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer the questions. All-in-all, I'd say as lousy as this entire episode for you has been, the good news is that you've got the toolings, boxes of cars/parts, and a plan. I'm seriously glad to hear not all of the chassis were screwed up so hopefully you can get cars out and some money trickling back in.

As for the seedy characters used - I once had to do that in Australia myself - a gent kept half a dozen very expensive model kits of mine he said he'd rapid prototype in 1:32...after a year of no-go and no answer, a very good customer of mine "paid" him a visit ;) I got my stuff back. Sometimes you just have to go there...

Can't wait to see these Camaros and hopefully Legends once you get things settled!

[dr fabio]

Steady on there Dave. No shady characters here in Oz. Must have been an ex-pat Canadian you were dealing with. :D

Grabs hat and coat and leaves the room quickly.

cheers
dr fabio