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    ICONIC RANGE ROVER TURNS 40

    By prnews, Created on: 28/06/2010, Last updated on: 28/06/2010

    » ICONIC RANGE ROVER TURNS 40  The Range Rover celebrates its 40th birthday on 17 June 2010  The Range Rover was the world's first fully capable luxury 4x4  There have been three generations of Range Rover: the original (Classic) in 1970, second-generation (P38a) in 1994 and third-generation...

    • 0 replies, 4,049 views

    Forum

    Choosing cheap Chinese Products over Thai jobs

    By needchange, Created on: 17/10/2010, Last updated on: 24/11/2015

    » Everyone knows the story of what has been happening in the US in terms of the trade deficit with China. If you go to Walmart, almost every product sold there comes from China. Walmart is America's biggest retailer if I'm correct. The trend is the same at many other retailers around the country. So...

    • drake commented : y much. My buddy purchased a new BMW a few years back and found out the hard way that the door handles were chrome plated plastic which broke off in his hand after 3 months. Ack. [quote:288ih6hj]And Thailand's electrical extension cords are worthless. If you plug something into them the plug often comes out. They are oversized compared to the models found in other countries. Thailand still hasn't chosen one type of pu as well. Some are round and some are flat so when you plug things in you have to screw around with the plugs. Why is this crap allowed to be sold here? The Thai government should regulate quality in this area. [/quote:288ih6hj] The Chinese powerstrips or receptacles around here seems to be European dims so if you have a US plug it's going to be a tight fit and sometime requires a little tinkering with tin snips. Had same issue in China. Now, the contacts inside these receptacles are no doubt made of crapmetal that fatigues after sitting around doing nothing for a few minutes (just like union workers) then loses it's ability to maintain tension/grip on the prongs. This isn't a problem that is unique to Thailand. They've got the same crap-a-tension-cord in the stores practically everywhere now. I've had to put up with them in China,Taiwan,Cambodia,Laos,Burma,Europe,UK,& US. Believe me, it's a global plague. Oddly, the [i:288ih6hj]wall outlets[/i:288ih6hj] in my house in the US had the same silly problem (won't retain plugs) when I moved in a few years back and those sockets were 20 yrs old US brand mfg. in Mexico not the '[i:288ih6hj]cheap Chinese junk[/i:288ih6hj]'. [quote:288ih6hj]Thailand can do better. It can make quality products. The government needs to set some standards and crack down on the junk coming in from abroad. The junk sold in these hardware stores is the same for decades. It's all coming form the same supply line which probably is from someone who is buy cheap products from China. But even the new superstores are selling this crap. I recently heard that some low-quality pirated products from China made their way to the US. They looked exactly like higher quality products and had the labels and packaging which decieved everyone. In the end they were discovered when they were used. The didn't perform like the brandname ones. Stopping these kind of products is difficult now that pirating has advanced so much.[/quote:288ih6hj] Yup, you are right on both but this is also an issue of affordability VS bling and/or outright fraud. On one hand there are superstores which specializes in low cost Chinese tools in the US. and while the tools aren't [i:288ih6hj]Craftsman[/i:288ih6hj] or [i:288ih6hj]Snap-On[/i:288ih6hj] they will get you by for the cost of just a few beers. On the other hand there are fake brand-name goods from China that are sold in low end stores in the US at heavy discount. The disti. knows they are fake, the buyer knows or suspects but they don't care because they are cheap. These counterfeits are destroyed whenever the Customs guys get a hold of the shipment. And then there's an issue with tainted industrial goods I'm sure you've heard of like the lot of Propylene Glycol that was known to contain Ethylene Glycol but tagged as Pharmaceutical grade Propylene Glycol and sold through the Chinese Govt. clearing house then ended up in cough syrup in Panama in 2006 ? Or the tainted honey which was sold to Thai packaging houses at a discount but without disclosure and then rejected (for the second time) by the EU inspectors. Or the plastic laced seaweed..... [quote:288ih6hj]A few more notes I want to bring up in all this about low quality products is about why change might not happen so quickly. First, there are those making money from pushing cheap junk from China so they don't want change. Second, the businesses here don't have a lot of foreign competition due to laws so they have more freedom to control change. Lastly, the wealthiest people who have the loudest voice for change don't speak out. This is because these people don't actually have to buy from the local shops. The wealthy people in Thailand I know don't think twice about buying something super expensive for the quality. These products are super expensive because they aren't allowed into the country in any large quantities. In addition, many of these products are smuggled in when wealthy people or others travel abroad. So my point is that Thailand's wealthy don't have to shop in mainsteam shops. They may own the shops or businesses supplying the crap products but they don't actually use them themselves. So there is a divide between what the average person has to face and what the wealthy big business people face. There's a lot of money to be made in Thailand for any Thai who wants to improve quality here. Quality is one this that is lacking across the spectrum in terms of products and services. In order to know this you really have to visit the developed world to see how different quality could be in terms of products.[/quote:288ih6hj] Believe it or not, the 'rich merchants' you are down on are stuck with the same extension cord you're using. The fairly expensive POS power strip I bought at Central was just as much a POS as the cheap ones I got at Seri Ctr. OTOH, the '[i:288ih6hj]cheap Chinese[/i:288ih6hj]' strips that I use in the US came from Walmart for about the same price I paid for the ones from Seri and they works great. Again, it's what the market will allow. The price/quality/need equation must make sense for all in a transaction. Purchasing power is a big thing. Walmart can dictate a nice product spec and still get a sweet price break because of the volume they are buying , the guy at Seri can't go to the same vendor and get the same deal. I'd recently picked up a Fluke clamp-on AC current meter, made in USA industrial grade instrument and certified accurate, for a modest price of $365 before tax. A similar meter from China is on sale this week for $14, the plastic housing is junk and the certificate is non-traceable. I'm not going near it. There's a $160 Mitutoyo digital caliper on my bench, it had served me well for almost 20 years. I can't tell the difference in term of accuracy between it and a Chinese version that only costs $15. Whatever it is, isn't it enough if it works adequately and it is affordable ? I mean, how good does it have to be to make ppl happy and how much would anyone be willing to spend on it anyway ? Speaking of visiting the developed world. I'm sure you've heard of the latest kiddies fad in the US? $50 [i:288ih6hj]cupcakes[/i:288ih6hj].....!

    • 48 replies, 211,938 views

  • News & article

    Road rage near Suvarnabhumi

    Terry Fredrickson, Published on 14/01/2011

    » Poolwit Ruengdech, a Thai Airways captain, is lucky to be alive after a routine trip to the airport became a frightening escape from an angry gunman.

    • Forum

    BMW Group expands its lead in the premium automotive segment

    By prnews, Created on: 17/01/2011, Last updated on: 17/01/2011

    » [b:2swsmxik]BMW Group expands its lead in the premium automotive segment Dynamic growth course continued in December Positive trends in almost all markets worldwide Robertson: Record sales of more than 1.5 million automobiles expected for 2011[/b:2swsmxik] Munich/Detroit. The BMW Group ended 2010...

    • 0 replies, 2,803 views

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    BMW showed strong growth in the premium segment

    By prnews, Created on: 28/01/2011, Last updated on: 28/01/2011

    » [b:5srjbg4s]BMW Group Thailand showed the progressively strong growth in the premium segment in 2010, focus at quality and profitable growth, which can be achieved through strong brand and loyal customer base. [/b:5srjbg4s] BMW Group Thailand reported its remarkable achievements in 2010: BMW automobile...

    • 0 replies, 1,573 views

    Forum

    BMW X1 sDrive18i JOY IS NOW.

    By prnews, Created on: 15/02/2011, Last updated on: 15/02/2011

    » [b:3o864eiq]BMW X1 sDrive18i JOY IS NOW. Bangkok. BMW Thailand unveils BMW X1 sDrive18i, the new model line from its Plant Rayong. BMW X1 was the recently awarded “Off-Road of the Year” in the crossover segment.[/b:3o864eiq] Mr. Ralf Bissinger, Director - Sales & Marketing, BMW Thailand,...

    • 0 replies, 5,320 views

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  • News & article

    Electric sports car

    Terry Fredrickson, Published on 19/02/2011

    » The latest and greatest cars always create a lot of reader interest. It's a fun subject even if we can't afford to buy the cars described.

  • News & article

    Profitable business

    Terry Fredrickson, Published on 14/03/2011

    » It began with a truck accident on a Songkhla road and ended with the arrest of a man alleged to be one of the key drug traffickers in the South.

  • News & article

    Smartphone navigation

    Jon Fernquest, Published on 08/04/2011

    » Smartphones are emerging as essential navigation aids while driving and may even drive the car by themselves one day (Google Driverless Car).

  • News & article

    Cool bikes

    Life, Poom Sreshthaputra, Published on 30/03/2012

    » 'Life' selects the best of each brand at the ongoing Bangkok motorshow

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