Interesting on the news that nuclear and bio hazard specialists will be checking the detonation zone.
westwyn,
Aug 15, 6:55pm
Check the steering wheels. the Chinese domestic market is left-hand-drive.
serf407,
Aug 15, 7:08pm
There are steering converters in China. In China they convert imported used Japanese cars to left hand steer. When the NZ dollar drops further (and makes used Japanese imports even more expensive in NZ) perhaps the Chinese might convert used Chinese cars back to right hand steer for NZ.
It's neither practical, nor economic, nor is it ever likely to be- with the exception of classics and "special interest vehicles" there is no financial incentive great enough to warrant the significant conversion costs- and that's assuming such an entrepreneur could work through the complex and prescriptive NZTA-required engineering certification and sign-off for such a process off-shore.
If it were so, then there dozens of far more lucrative markets we'd already have been sourcing compatible stock from years ago- like Europe.
Besides- the exchange rate would have to sink to catastrophic levels before Japan no longer became viable. The market adjusts accordingly- bearing in mind everyone buys on more or less the same playing field (which goes for new, too). I was buying cars in Japan when the rate was in the 40's a decade or so ago- and we still stayed in business!
kazbanz,
Aug 16, 8:38am
Good troll post tony.--and they bit.
westwyn,
Aug 17, 10:53am
Yep, and it still amazes me how many people take the information from such posts seriously. you know, the old "I read it on the Internet, it must be true!" adage!
kazbanz,
Aug 17, 11:24am
Actually Tony --Im pretty sure the VW product will get a coat of paint and put back on the market. With all the fissionable materials discovered in the area its pretty clear that any import euro will need extensive examination for radiation.
westwyn,
Aug 17, 12:02pm
Yeah, the Russians will buy those!
tony9,
Aug 17, 12:13pm
You got it!
But I do wonder if a company selling Cheap Cars might have a think about it.
elect70,
Aug 17, 2:16pm
Remember in the 70 s GM had paddocks full of unsold cars , they actually started scapping them to keep production line going . No way were they going to " give "them away . mmm Now about a F type off that carrier cheap .
westwyn,
Aug 17, 6:28pm
More than likely not, if recent examples of maritime damage are followed- remember the boatload of new Mazdas enroute to the United States a few years back that were subject to a maritime insurance claim after being damaged during a rough voyage? For new product liability reasons, the entire shipment was devanned, transported to a contracted disposal facility and utterly dismembered into non-recoverable scrap. Right down to the alloys being smashed, tyres slashed, then the airbags deployed, car de-fuelled and then the whole thing run through a shredder. Mostly Mazda 6's and 3's, the videos on YouTube make for painful watching.
tony9,
Aug 17, 6:40pm
Just remembered, several decades ago I got hold of a 105E ford engine, in mint condition. Apart from pitting in one cylinder. It has been recovered from the wreckage of the Wahine. Must have been early 70's. And it was acquired via connections of a Mr Gilltrap.
Nahh --but unlike Toyota etc certain euro brands don't seem to have ethics.-so wouldn't surprise me seeing some of them back on the road again or basicly on the road at all.
westwyn,
Sep 28, 10:30am
We only have ourselves to blame for this- we're quick to say "what a waste" and "only the lawyers benefit" but the reality is, our world-wide pre-occupation with "it's someone else's fault, I need to blame someone, I feel aggrieved, I wouldn't have bought it if I'd known, my accident could have been preventable, I've lost confidence in the product" etc etc has led to manufacturers being extremely gun-shy and utterly risk-adverse when it comes to product liability. So they put those Mazdas back on the road, sell them with FULL disclaimers, paperwork etc etc. then five years down the road and two more owners in, an ECU fails to deploy a side-curtain air-bag in a collision, someone is maimed, and even though the reason the ECU fails is never known (or cared about), the inference from a smart no-win-no-fee class action suit lawyer on behalf of the client, wins a $100,000,000 judgement in California based upon Mazda's failure to take all necessary steps to remove what MIGHT be a faulty product from the market.
A bit extreme, but you get the point.
Our haste to always blame someone else for our misfortunes in life inevitably comes with a downside.
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