Penny Wise, Pound Foolish
Page 14
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WHY is it that certain components and accessories are so often blamed for causing a fairly high percentage of the breakdowns of vehicles which occur, or, at the least, constantly demand attention, and, consequently, waste time if they are to be kept in reasonably good order?
Some eogineers believe that this is because certain of them come from makers who have established themselves so strongly in the respective fields that they possess almost a monopoly. Surely, however, that cannot be the true reason for the position.
The matter may be looked upon from two viewpoints. Either it has been found impossible to make fully reliable components on a mass-production basis, at least at an economic figure, or vehicle builders, in order to keep their selling prices as low as possible and on a strictly competitive prime-cost basis,allocate too little of the total .figure to these parts ; in other words, they • -get what they pay for, and if what they pay be insufficient to cover the manufacture of really sound products,. the operator cannot hope to obtain with them long-wearing attributes and a trouble-free life.
It is the old story of the chain breaking at the weakest link, and it seems that something ought to be done to enable the chain to be of reasonably equal strength throughout. Possibly another cause is the multiplicity of The demands for various types and sizes. A higher degree of standardization would in itself reduce production costs and probably permit the design and manufacture of better components without increasing to more than a minor extent, if at all, the prices to the vehicle builders. • It should always be remembered, particularly wish commercial vehicles, that the cost of even a short halt on the road, inorder to--make running repairs, can easily outweigh that little. exfra expenditure in the first instance which might do so much to avoid trouble