Flemke - Is this your McLaren? (Vol 5)

[isaldiri]

flemke said:

I don't know about 12C or 650S, but I am quite sure that there was no charge on either P1 or 675 for the chassis plate itself.

Perhaps Mclaren decided to be 'reasonable' and provided the plate for those who paid for chassis numbers then after all. I know for sure a friend was asked to fork out for the numbered plate instead of the "limited to 500 cars" standard one for the chassis he is was assigned.

[flemke]

Ali2202 said:

Och! Hush you and your Donkey-Dissing.

All the branded Fezzboys don't have an F1 to look down from.

Prefer a sorted 964 C2 meself.

One might have only a skateboard and still look down on branded Fezzboys.

Sorted 964 C2 - lovely car.

[flemke]

isaldiri said:

flemke said:

I don't know about 12C or 650S, but I am quite sure that there was no charge on either P1 or 675 for the chassis plate itself.

Perhaps Mclaren decided to be 'reasonable' and provided the plate for those who paid for chassis numbers then after all. I know for sure a friend was asked to fork out for the numbered plate instead of the "limited to 500 cars" standard one for the chassis he is was assigned.

That possibility had not occurred to me, probably because it seems so incredibly mean. Without paying extra for a special "plate", there is no visible record of a car's chassis number?

[isaldiri]

flemke said:

That possibility had not occurred to me, probably because it seems so incredibly mean. Without paying extra for a special "plate", there is no visible record of a car's chassis number?

This comes as standard I believe.

[waremark]

Joe911 said:

waremark said:

I happened to have a brief ride in town in a 675 this evening. I was surprised by how much more raw it seemed than the 650 - louder, tight buckets, gear changes not smooth, vibration at idle, etc.

Interesting - I didn't find the 675 gear changes rough, nor a vibration at idle - though I've not driven a 650 as comparison. Was the car running from cold and was it dense traffic? It's difficult to beat a traditional Merc-style auto-box from in-town smoothness.

I'm not sure the 675 - or any of the modern paddle-shift supercar stuff requires much skill to drive fast. The vehicles are a credit to the manufacturers and technology, and a shame (for those who enjoy the driving process) that they require less skill and attention to drive.

The 650 is certainly refined and comfortable. The 675 was cold, maybe I will think differently next time. In referring to the need for skill I was thinking about exploiting the performance rather than driving slowly.

[waremark]

Joe911 said:

waremark said:

I happened to have a brief ride in town in a 675 this evening. I was surprised by how much more raw it seemed than the 650 - louder, tight buckets, gear changes not smooth, vibration at idle, etc.

Interesting - I didn't find the 675 gear changes rough, nor a vibration at idle - though I've not driven a 650 as comparison. Was the car running from cold and was it dense traffic? It's difficult to beat a traditional Merc-style auto-box from in-town smoothness.

I'm not sure the 675 - or any of the modern paddle-shift supercar stuff requires much skill to drive fast. The vehicles are a credit to the manufacturers and technology, and a shame (for those who enjoy the driving process) that they require less skill and attention to drive.

The 650 is certainly refined and comfortable. The 675 was cold, maybe I will think differently next time. In referring to the need for skill I was thinking about exploiting the performance rather than driving slowly.

[flemke]

isaldiri said:

flemke said:

That possibility had not occurred to me, probably because it seems so incredibly mean. Without paying extra for a special "plate", there is no visible record of a car's chassis number?

This comes as standard I believe.

So the company are paying to have 500 (or so ) chassis plates made, but they are saving maybe 50p each for some of them not to indicate the individual chassis number. That is just strange; a technique sometimes employed by a company that is trying to make it possible to build more than the indicated total without that being detected.

[Animal]

flemke said:

So the company are paying to have 500 (or so ) chassis plates made, but they are saving maybe 50p each for some of them not to indicate the individual chassis number. That is just strange; a technique sometimes employed by a company that is trying to make it possible to build more than the indicated total without that being detected.

Who would do such a thing?

[flemke]

Animal said:

flemke said:

So the company are paying to have 500 (or so ) chassis plates made, but they are saving maybe 50p each for some of them not to indicate the individual chassis number. That is just strange; a technique sometimes employed by a company that is trying to make it possible to build more than the indicated total without that being detected.

Who would do such a thing?

Another of life's mysteries.

[Sway]

Tis a pity it's not like the old homologation days, where '1 of 500' likely meant '1 of 150'!

[Joe911]

isaldiri said:

This comes as standard I believe.

EFA ...

[flemke]

Joe911 said:

isaldiri said:

This comes as standard I believe.

EFA ...

If we include the prototypes that are said to have been turned into cars sold to customers (a la P1), "1000" may turn out to be an understatement.

[isaldiri]

flemke said:

So the company are paying to have 500 (or so ) chassis plates made, but they are saving maybe 50p each for some of them not to indicate the individual chassis number. That is just strange; a technique sometimes employed by a company that is trying to make it possible to build more than the indicated total without that being detected.

Have been told the VIN numbers are in order # 675XXX or something similar matching the chassis numbers and the XP/PP cars have 650 type vins so are easily spotted. So that in theory should prevent too much of a lurch towards said unnamed company

[smithyithy]

gbruckner said:

Can't forget this article - just a small glimpse into their business practices, doubtful that they have changed since.
To me it's more of a marketing brand than anything else these days. The fact that the warranty of the La Ferrari battery pack expires if you do not plug it in to a charger for 3 days says it all.

That's certainly an interesting read.

[_dobbo_]

Moderately interesting in light of the recent couple of pages if a straight line drag is your kind of thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H43_lkBkGkg

P1 vs LaFerrari vs 918

[McAndy]

What I've found interesting about the last few pages is how many of these "boutique" car manufacturers, as they have come to be known, have adopted business practices of questionable morality. We all know about Ferrari; McLaren seem not to give a toss any more, either; and Pagani did how many "last" Zondas? (Although I'm willing to stand corrected if that was merely the press cocking up reporting and not Horacio's claims.)

Are there any premium car manufacturers who make a quality product and then don't make you pay through the nose for the most ridiculous of things and/or quite simply lie regarding exclusivity? There's nothing wrong with value for money and charging that much for a plaque, no matter how insignificant a cost when compared to the rest of the car, is completely unacceptable in my book. While I never expect to find myself in the position to do so, if they didn't do an immediate U-turn when "I politely declined their most tempting offer", I think that would break a deal for me due to poor brand ethics.

[smithyithy]

I've noticed a pattern of charging a lot more for equivalent products relative to the car's price..

For example I've seen companies charging £399 to remap a £25k car, and £999 to remap a £50k car.

Why? In some cases the engines etc are practically the same, and the same amount of labour is involved.

Is it really just a case of 'the car's worth more so they can pay more for the work / product'?

[SpeckledJim]

smithyithy said:

I've noticed a pattern of charging a lot more for equivalent products relative to the car's price..

For example I've seen companies charging £399 to remap a £25k car, and £999 to remap a £50k car.

Why? In some cases the engines etc are practically the same, and the same amount of labour is involved.

Is it really just a case of 'the car's worth more so they can pay more for the work / product'?

Exactly that, and perfectly legitimate.

Main dealers often have a cut-price rate to work on older cars, simply because their owners can't/won't pay the higher rate.

[h0b0]

smithyithy said:

I've noticed a pattern of charging a lot more for equivalent products relative to the car's price..

For example I've seen companies charging £399 to remap a £25k car, and £999 to remap a £50k car.

Why? In some cases the engines etc are practically the same, and the same amount of labour is involved.

Is it really just a case of 'the car's worth more so they can pay more for the work / product'?

If you ever cross into the world of watches you will see how a $1 battery can cost between $10 and $1000 to change depending on the manufacturer of the watch.

The answer is because they can. It is a business.

[Joe911]

SpeckledJim said:

Main dealers often have a cut-price rate to work on older cars, simply because their owners can't/won't pay the higher rate.

Or you could argue they have a higher rate for new cars because they know you have (almost) no choice if you want to maintain the warranty!