Planes
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@Donsteppa said in Planes:
I hope your plane wasn't assembled by the same work experience lads who clearly assembled our Bosch dishwasher after a boozy Friday lunch...
Probably the same blokes who assembled my expensive Bosch Garden Shredder. When I tried to replace the grinding plate, I couldn't as one of the screws holding it in had screwed in at an angle, stripping the thread. Couldn't drill it out as the alloy was too thin.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Planes:
May be just me, but I'm not sure I buy into that. Germans brands are perennially in the top 10 most unreliable car brand lists in the UK. The BMW X3 is the UK's least reliable car IIRC.
My experience is German stuff looks good, feels solid, costs more, but doesn't actually last any longer than other brands.Out of interest how do they derive those stats? What constitutes "unreliable"? Genuine questions and I would like to know.
Maybe from AA (Automobile not Alcoholics) callouts? Are people who own expensive German cars more likely to be AA members than 1970 Skoda drivers? I dunno.
In my experience I have had the opposite. Had my Audi RS4 for 10 years, done 120,000k in it. Hasn't let me down once. Bosche and Miele dishwashers have been great. Fisher and Paykel was shit and I threw it out. Actually had to wash the dishes before putting them in and then calling the repair guy because it wouldn't go anyway.
Everybody will have different anecdotal evidence but the long warranties on Miele for example are a clue that they trying to build quality products. Our washing machine and dryer must be coming up to 15 years old now, they have been moved many times, (from Hong Kong to NZ and several times since), never had a problem.
Having said all of that, everything will now break.
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Out of interest how do they derive those stats? What constitutes "unreliable"? Genuine questions and I would like to know.
WhatCar? Do an annual survey of 13-15,000 car owners. There's also data from extended warranty companies. The likes of Audi, Mercedes and BMW are pretty much always in the bottom of the pack for reliability. The absolute worst is Range Rover.
I've had a Subaru Legacy for 200,000k and a Rover 200/Honda Concerto for 140,000k and nothing, but nothing went wrong except for normal wear and tear. My 3 Skodas and 2 Company BMW's have never made it past 80k without something breaking down.
We've got Meile stuff as well, but haven't found it exceptional - I've had to cable tie the handle on the upper drawer as it kept falling off. My cheap Zanussi washing machine is 13 years old and still going strong.
I'm just not convinced by the "German Quality" thing - haven't found it any better than other stuff at the same or cheaper price.
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@Victor-Meldrew As I said we are all going to have different machines. The work experience guy on a friday afternoon may not be the bloke that you want puting it together, and he could be working anywhere I suppose.
I generally go by the motto "I'm not rich enough to be cheap" but I do a lot of research before purchasing anything.
Got to say Japan and even Korea (now) make some quality products but there is a huge difference between the driving experience of our Audis and the Toyotas or the Subaru(I won't mention the TVR). None of them have had reliability issues except the Subaru when it had just come out of a service.
The same goes for planes. The Germans seem to have sorted the stability, design, comfort, engineering, efficiency all just a bit ahead of other light aircraft manufacturers.
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@Snowy i
Know nothing about aircraft so can't comment. Doesn't Honda make a small aircraft? Know a little about bikes though.
In the 80's the "ride and handle better than the Japanese" argument was used by BMW, Ducati, Triumph etc. Though those brands were quirkier and different, it was pretty much a marketing thing as we all knew the Japanese bikes handled and rode as well or better and were engineered to a much, much higher level and at a better price.
Decades later, that had changed a bit, but even today, European bikes struggle to compete across the board on price and engineering.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Planes:
Doesn't Honda make a small aircraft?
Yes. Small business jet made in the US though. Supposed to be pretty good but I've never flown one.
Bikes -I have owned two Hondas and two Yamahas. All of them were great. Have had a go on a Ducati years ago and a couple of other brands. I would take the Yamaha every time.
I even have a Yamaha boat now which is awesome - scary, but awesome.Ever tried an Aprilia?
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Ever tried an Aprilia?
A bit after my superbike time and too big for my silver biker phase.
I would take the Yamaha every time.
There's a Yamaha story I like. When California effectively banned 2 stoke motorcycles in the 80's for pollution reasons and made 2 stroke production almost impossible & uneconomic, Yamaha responded by produced a square four, 2 stroke bike which not only met pollution standards but was was searingly fast - and would never turn a profit.
When asked why they did it, a Yamaha spokesman said " because we can"
Did you know Yamaha are the oldest piano manufacturer in the world?
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Planes:
Yamaha responded by produced a square four, 2 stroke bike which not only met pollution standards but was was searingly fast - and would never turn a profit.
When asked why they did it, a Yamaha spokesman said " because we can"That really does seem to be the attitude - and I love it. My jet boat has two, two stroke engines. The thing is bonkers, about 80kph which sounds a bit slow when you could be overtaken buy a yacht in Auckland, but it really is quick.
@Victor-Meldrew said in Planes:
Did you know Yamaha are the oldest piano manufacturer in the world?
No I did not. Would have thought that would be Steinway or that Austrian company. I do have two Yamaha guitars that I can't play.
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https://stuff.co.nz/travel/news/124628463/airbus-a380-the-first-flight-of-the-final-superjumbo
The end of an era. I never felt as excited by the 380 as I did by the 747, but it was a very comfortable plane to travel in
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https://stuff.co.nz/travel/news/124628463/airbus-a380-the-first-flight-of-the-final-superjumbo
The end of an era. I never felt as excited by the 380 as I did by the 747, but it was a very comfortable plane to travel in
Qantas' first A380 and they upgraded the wife and I, couldn't go back to peasant class after that. OS trips became noticeably more expensive.
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@antipodean said in Planes:
https://stuff.co.nz/travel/news/124628463/airbus-a380-the-first-flight-of-the-final-superjumbo
The end of an era. I never felt as excited by the 380 as I did by the 747, but it was a very comfortable plane to travel in
Qantas' first A380 and they upgraded the wife and I, couldn't go back to peasant class after that. OS trips became noticeably more expensive.
One of my patients has flown Auckland London a few times on Emirates A380. Said the service was unbelievable. In flight showers, chauffeur service to and from her transit hotel, no expense spared
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@antipodean said in Planes:
https://stuff.co.nz/travel/news/124628463/airbus-a380-the-first-flight-of-the-final-superjumbo
The end of an era. I never felt as excited by the 380 as I did by the 747, but it was a very comfortable plane to travel in
Qantas' first A380 and they upgraded the wife and I, couldn't go back to peasant class after that. OS trips became noticeably more expensive.
We got upgraded on one for the Singapore to London leg of a trip on Singapore Airlines. Best flight ever and incredibly difficult to go back to the squashed end of the plane.
