Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2001 09:21:23 -0500 From: Curtis L. Russell <sagwagonnopsamatlantic.net> Subject: Re: Whats wrong with the V6?
And it still misses the point. While penny pinching may appear to be a vice to many, the reference is really a way that enthusiasts explain away the failure of their own pet favorites. My favorite car of all time, the 1968-69 Alfa coupe (and my candidate for the most beautiful production car ever made, with the most confusing set of light switches ever designed...), was the same, except instead of cost accountants and management decisions, they got huge infusions from the Italian and state governments. Made me feel good every time I read the numbers - figured based on what I read, I paid about $ 7,000 for a car that cost about $ 10,000 to produce, back then. (And I bear a grudge for Ford for producing the battering ram attached to a souped up 302 called a Mustang that destroyed it...) In my opinion, it isn't penny pinching, it is a failure of the engineers. They failed to produce a engine that was viable on the market - and arguably the engine still isn't. I can't tell a client that it is their failure when I can't come up with a LAN and software package that meets both their needs and budget. Not if someone else is doing the job. Well, Saab has pretty much failed to do so over the last few decades. Engineering and design failure, because that goes from the design to final product as something that is viable in the market. As much as I love the later model old design 900s and think that the current Saabs are a great combination, all thing considered, I think that Saab has so far failed to produce a viable product and/or sell it properly. Do it long enough, and 'penny pinching' becomes inevitable. Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD. (USA) 1997 Saab 900 Convertible, 2.0 turbo Formerly 1978 99, 1980 900 Turbo, 1986 900 Turbo and 1990 900 Turbo On 29 Dec 2001 00:38:26 GMT, jmel5nopsamcomnospam (JMEL5) wrote: >That's true, but it's just an idiom. Many companies are run by "bean counters", >and when that is said, it isn't referring to accountants, but rather penny >pinching management. I'm sure noone meant offense to accountants. > >JJ
