Thunderbird Club

[Christine]

The performance enhancement was for increased fuel efficiency, not power or handling. It would save people money by not having to refuel so often.
I think the $14.7+ Billion that VW spent on recalls and buybacks would disagree that they didn't lose anything. Actually the buy back rate for earlier models is Blue Book price PLUS $5100 to $9900 depending on condition and mileage.

Power and fuel economy amount to the same thing, it largely depends on how heavy footed you are. There was no buyback scheme in the UK, the cars were devalued and the customer lost out

 

[theFixer]

VW knowingly sold a product that falsified it's emission results during testing so that performance would be enhanced. In the UK all owners have had their cars modified to correct this which has resulted in hard working peoples invested in a vehicle being devalued by a huge amount. These are ordinary people who work hard everyday and save hard to buy the things they want, then to find that their car is near unsaleable at a value anywhere near what it should be is just plain wrong. Not one of them have had any compensation for their loss despite VW being proven to committed this act of deception. They lost nothing, it was the poor sod who saved and did without who footed the bill over here; VW should have been made to compensate their customers if nothing else How would you feel having saved for a brand new Gibson only to find out it was actually an Epiphone and it had to be re-badged as an Epiphone and it's value was cut in half with not one thing you could do about it?

Shows you how "in touch" I am... I was under the impression that VW's infractions were against U.S. emissions laws. I was unaware that it splashed your side of the pond...

 

[Christine]

Shows you how "in touch" I am... I was under the impression that VW's infractions were agains't U.S. emissions laws. I was unaware that it splashed your side of the pond...

I think your side ended up better off than we did, then it was the UK governments fault too for not enforcing some sort of retribution but hey ho, all part of being British and part of the EU,mustn't upset the neighbours! But that's getting into politics and we can't do that

 

[theFixer]

The performance enhancement was for increased fuel efficiency, not power or handling. It would save people money by not having to refuel so often.
I think the $14.7+ Billion that VW spent on recalls and buybacks would disagree that they didn't lose anything. Actually the buy back rate for earlier models is Blue Book price PLUS $5100 to $9900 depending on condition and mileage.

Yeah... they certainly "felt" a recall of that magnitude! I would still like to have seen them be punished specifically for the infraction. Otherwise, the rules mean nothing. The more an infraction hurts, the less likely it is that there will be an infraction.

 

[theFixer]

Power and fuel economy amount to the same thing, it largely depends on how heavy footed you are. There was no buyback scheme in the UK, the cars were devalued and the customer lost out

Yeah... the "little guy" ain't the one who should be gettin' hurt. I'll stand on that hill, with you, all day long!

 

[Christine]

I think your side ended up better off than we did, then it was the UK governments fault too for not enforcing some sort of retribution but hey ho, all part of being British and part of the EU,mustn't upset the neighbours! But that's getting into politics and we can't do that

Another reason I like being Welsh!

 

[theFixer]

I think your side ended up better off than we did, then it was the UK governments fault too for not enforcing some sort of retribution but hey ho, all part of being British and part of the EU,mustn't upset the neighbours! But that's getting into politics and we can't do that

yup... we come here to get away from that crap (or at least I do)...

 

[hillerup]

now theFixer can throw BaCH pickups into those covers and we have the birth of the "Fixerbucker"....

Or the “Humfixer”...

 

[hillerup]

Denmark I think!

Not that I know off... But since you could write books about what I don’t know, that should reply should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[hillerup]

I think he meant Provence...

But that’s in Italy...

 

[godofthunder59]

Vans are that often overlooked essential bit of kit for a band or even a band member. They're a huge outlay or can be and the more you spend on it the cheaper the running costs in the future. When I was gigging we had an old ambulance that cost us £20, it was super cheap on fuel as we had to push it most places. As I remember it was a late 60s Bedford based vehicle, I had a vet who was a vet and he gave me a big bottle of ether to squirt in the air intake to get it started when it was having a strop.
Do VW transporter vans hold their value over there? They are great vehicles and are ultra trendy here and used as daily runners by loads of people and go forever

Vans are that often overlooked essential bit of kit for a band or even a band member. They're a huge outlay or can be and the more you spend on it the cheaper the running costs in the future. When I was gigging we had an old ambulance that cost us £20, it was super cheap on fuel as we had to push it most places. As I remember it was a late 60s Bedford based vehicle, I had a vet who was a vet and he gave me a big bottle of ether to squirt in the air intake to get it started when it was having a strop.
Do VW transporter vans hold their value over there? They are great vehicles and are ultra trendy here and used as daily runners by loads of people and go forever

I have had a van of one sort or another since 1982 starting with a 72 VW bus. I have made it a priority in my life to have adequate transportation to cart my gear. You would be surprised how many musicians skip this step. My current gear hauler.

 

[GonePlaid]

Power and fuel economy amount to the same thing, it largely depends on how heavy footed you are. There was no buyback scheme in the UK, the cars were devalued and the customer lost out

I have had a van of one sort or another since 1982 starting with a 72 VW bus. I have made it a priority in my life to have adequate transportation to cart my gear. You would be surprised how many musician's skip this step. My current gear hauler. View attachment 2995489

That's the only "people hauler" I like(other than the Metris). The Nissan won't fit in my garage[the one behind my gig rig], the little Nissan van,along with the small Ford and the Ram Promaster city are too small-for me-so I keep fixing my '96 Aerostar. No car payments, just shop fees.

 

[GonePlaid]

Just seen this in Thomanns Invalid Link Removed Just what this strawberry girl needs

You Did see the right handed one down below didn't you?

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

Another reason I like being Welsh!

Seems like the UK gets the shaft alot

 

[GonePlaid]

Power and fuel economy amount to the same thing, it largely depends on how heavy footed you are. There was no buyback scheme in the UK, the cars were devalued and the customer lost out

That REALLY sucks!

 

[RedVee]

This one's more reasonable. Thought Reverses were dearer..
Gibson Thunderbird II 1965 Pelham Blue Price Guide

Now that is nice. I like the colour on this one much more. Are they really both Pelham Blue ?
Much better price too.

 

[PillO]

I'll stop short of "diabolical". They weren't stockpiling nuclear weapons or murdering orphans. They made an unethical decision in order to gain a competitive edge in a fierce market. That goes on constantly in the world around us. Volkswagon just got caught doin' it. I'm not saying it's "no big deal" or anything like that. They broke the rules... they should be punished... but if you think that all the other companies out there that didn't get caught, are squeaky clean... you live in a fantasy world! At least VW still makes a quality product. I think a fair penalty for them, would've been to make them pay a 7 digit fine to the EPA. I think that would've done a fine job of saying, "look wherever you want for a competitive edge, but here", as well as making restitution. (just my opinion... feel free to ignore it)

Proportionality and restitution are the critical issues. Paying a fine for breaking EPA rules enriches the government (or all tax payers). But, the buyers of the vehicles were the ones who were wronged in that they had vehicles that suddenly lost their resale value (one of the reasons that people buy VWs). A proportional penalty, that would have been exemplary to other manufacturers, would be to compel VW to buy back and destroy all the vehicles at invoice cost. The penalty would be proportional to the "crime" and restitution would be made to the victims. Only downside is it could be difficult to administer.

 

[JJR58]

Proportionality and restitution are the critical issues. Paying a fine for breaking EPA rules enriches the government (or all tax payers). But, the buyers of the vehicles were the ones who were wronged in that they had vehicles that suddenly lost their resale value (one of the reasons that people buy VWs). A proportional penalty, that would have been exemplary to other manufacturers, would be to compel VW to buy back and destroy all the vehicles at invoice cost. The penalty would be proportional to the "crime" and restitution would be made to the victims. Only downside is it could be difficult to administer.

If only the gang here could administer restitution where need be.

Uh, ok. I just better go and play some notes.

 

[theFixer]

Proportionality and restitution are the critical issues. Paying a fine for breaking EPA rules enriches the government (or all tax payers). But, the buyers of the vehicles were the ones who were wronged in that they had vehicles that suddenly lost their resale value (one of the reasons that people buy VWs). A proportional penalty, that would have been exemplary to other manufacturers, would be to compel VW to buy back and destroy all the vehicles at invoice cost. The penalty would be proportional to the "crime" and restitution would be made to the victims. Only downside is it could be difficult to administer.

I was unaware of a lot of that stuff. By all means... the innocent victims should be taken care of first and fast!

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

@GBassNorth
Re VP string length
Have you considered trying extra long scale strings?
I noticed that even the E-string tuner is further up than my Gibsons, I think XL scale strings might work.