RE: Vendors, new product development...

["Stian Birkeland" <delorean@xxxx>]

A few comments - 
If there is trouble to have people pay after a part has been developed, why not make them pay in advance?
I, for one, would have absolutely no trouble with that. I'm one of DMC Houston most satisfied customers, their service and knowledge is great, and lets face it - it is only they who can take the DeLorean on to "another level" based on their warehouse of DeLorean parts. 

Again, I would like to remind people of the poll concerning new re-developed parts.

James, does DMC Houston have plans for a small temperature gadget that could be fitted in the space of the centre console clock? It would be very nice to know the outside temperature. Wide angle mirrors are also a thing that would make the DeLorean more modern.

And the torsion bar issue. Do you have the blueprints/info on how to make these bars or is this info lost?
If it is lost, be sure to get in touch with the retired engineers at Grumman before they pass away. We need this info.

Finally, you have mentioned that a bracket is coming soon, the bracket for holding down the T-panel behind the rear louvers. When will that be ready?

Other than this, can you tell us what other parts DMC Houston are considering to re-manufacture?

Very best wishes
Stian Birkeland
Norway

VIN # 06759

Unfortunately unable to attend Memphis :-( But you guys have a great time, you hear! :-)


Message: 5
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2002 10:18:01 -0500
From: James Espey <james@xxxx>
Subject: Vendors, new product development...

Precisely why I had to smile when Stian mentioned this - it's a great idea
to have people pre-pay to order a part that's being developed, but when it's
time for people to put their money where their mouth is, it's often a
different story.

On things like the switches, door handles, etc - in order to make the cost
reasonable (note that the three aforementioned products actually came DOWN
in price from previous retail), a relatively large minimum order for
production is required. Particularly when you consider how many cars are
left and actively used.

So it becomes a numbers game - how many can you sell, at what price, to get
a return on the investment (at least recovering expenses, preferably making
some money if for nothing else than to have something ELSE remanufactured)?
A lot of stuff doesn't make the cut (yet) based on that.

Stian mentioned the two tank senders, and Martin pointed out that
competition is healthy. In this case, Tankzilla is a fine product, and we
have used them for several years. But the price turns a lot of people off,
and at times, we have had problems with availability (though not very
often). Our tank sender will retail for considerably less than half the
price of Tankzilla, and as we had them manufactured ourselves, availability
shouldn't be a problem for us.

James

>> Why don't some of the vendors do this?
>> Put forward an offer on a part that will be reproduced. Let people
>> pre-order, and hold the credit card on file...so when the part has
>> been reproduced they charge the card and ship it out.
>> This method could boost development time for replacement DMC parts
>> of higher quality...
> 
(SNIP)
> prior to embarking. He didn't ask for a "credit card commitment" up front as
> suggested above, just an indication of interest. As a vendor for 16 years,
(SNIP)
> support expressed, how hard could it be to sell 100 sets?
> 
> Harder than we thought. After 5+ months of fairly high visibility on the DML
> we have sold exactly 59 sets. Many of those who expressed initial support
> never came through with orders.
(SNIP)
> Was it worth putting up close to 6 grand to see so little (less than 1%)
> interest in the TABs? Not from a business perspective. But we who support the
> hobby the rest of you enjoy will keep doing it. Or most will. Its up to you.
> Darryl T.
> Specialty Automotive 



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