Folks Of Interest The Truth About Speedway... Part 1

Just so I understand, would it be politically correct to buy patch panels for my 35 Ford PU prodject from a US company that copied them from Henry's body but not the overseas ones that were copied from the US suppliers?

 

Malcolm----I sure hope you're right. I heard this rumor not too long ago--shortly after Speedy's death, and it came out of Nebraska. Marty.

 

I don't understand this post at all. Sure, it brings up tons of (passe') concepts about morals vs. business practices, but the timing just feels wrong to me. My entire career was sent over to China and then, I did what I had to do - I got over it.

 

Another passing thought is about "growth". How much is enough? How much is a dream or just right? If I start a small company and live a good life grossing $350K/yr am I required to make it bigger? More people, more product, more overhead, more taxes, more of my life's personal time used up, and when is enough truly enough? Again, in good ol shop talk, we ain't shit if you're crunching numbers in the hot rod market. A measurable number of high quality jobs cross over to this place for a look but their core isn't here. Have you got fingers and toes left if you count those that are? I think a few. All this mention of innovation and crushing the little guy or "mom n pop" shops, bullshit. I have maybe a 1/2 dozen products I can bring to market and not 1 of them will make me rich. I might pay a year's worth of phone service, or a few months of the gas bill, but if someone copies them they deserve the loss for trying to flood that small market with it. I guess it has to boil down to perspective. There's something that a lot of independent operators here have that can't be copied. THEMSELVES. The PERSON that their customer base has chosen to rely on and TRUST. Millions TRUST Speedway or this topic wouldn't be here, but does what they do violate that trust? "...only you and your hairdresser know for sure..."

 

Used to be people made their hotrods. Every part possible. Bought very little. Some of us still do.

don

 

Sadly this tale is all too common in American today.

We have shipped all of our tooling and technology over-seas because the cost of labor, regulations, and taxes in the U.S. has made it impossible to manufacture something here and sell it at a price that the market will support. Too many people shout "Buy American!" but want it for Walmart prices. You just can't have it both ways.

People would be shocked if they knew what components of everyday items were no longer available from a U.S. source. It's a fact that many things coming from foreign sources are of better quality than identical items that are made here. That is not the case with everything, but there aren't as many problems with imported goods today as we saw with Japanese made stuff in the '50's.

In all fairness to Bill, he did not make the rules and realities of trying to do business in America today. If you need to blame someone, blame the politicians who shoved NAFTA down out throats. That removed the last major obstacle that prevented making things overseas and bringing them in to sell for a lower price than we could make it here.

When the politicians tell us the some new law will be good for working folks and help create jobs, you better grab the Vaseline because they aren't talking about American jobs. We are all too busy living the good life to bother stopping them from destroying our country.

 

Buy MADE in us !

RIP MR SMITH

 

Call Patrick's out in Arizona and ask them their opinion on Speedway.....

 

" buy American". Go look under the hood of your new American car or truck. It's a global market, guys.
And like, there's no way I can make those gnarly LED '39 Ford teardrops at home.

 

Which other, respectable, brand names is Speedway the counterfeiting ?

 

It is how the world works,take the high ground,right or wrong,but hay ,don't mean we can't bitch some to get some moraility as you or I see it, in to things. Other side is it can also keep over pricing from running away if ya can get anything from more then one place.
Many years back I was not allowed to run my custom art airbrushed wildcar t-shirts booth at a car show on Miami Beach,cuz Roth had got at the last min. the promotor to grant excusve rights to his out fix.
I was mad at the time,thinking hell my shirt are custom not prints that just a name is added to and I had been doing the promotors shows before. So it took me some time to get over being mad at Ed Roth and the promotor.
But then somebetter thinking ,it was just good bizz for both,an turned out Eugene {promotor] gave me a big brake on booth next show.
Bizz is Bizz,as much as we'd liked to have it ideal.

 

Do you think that when the politicians were drafting up NAFTA that for one second they thought that it would cause or allow US companies to close up US factories and just build new facilities in Mexico?

 

The more I meet and hear people talk,The more I like my dog!! ( famous quote by somebody,Will Rodgers?) Pete

 

Speedway has a licensing agreement with several manufacturers like Offenhauser, EMPI and several others. Can't believe the misinformation that's being posted here.

 

Exactly. I read it on the internet... or my neighbor's brother told me... So it must be true, right?

 

I thought this was what having a hot rod was all about...

 

You completely miss the point, there is a difference in copying a part that is no longer manufactured by the original manufacturer and one that is copied from a manufacturer that is still manufacturing the part. Well that and I can assure you that if someone is repoping a Ford part that there is more to it then just copying it, you have to get authorization from Ford or you have to create a part that is only similar and not like the original.

plumbid,
The only thing that makes the moral issue passé is that no one stands up and says this is wrong. Granted getting over it helps you get on with life, but that does not make it right in any way, shape or fashion. The thread is not about Chinese products at all it is about stealing from of of our own.

There comes a time in everyone's life that they have to take a stand. Someone once told me that you don't have to stand tall in this world but you have to stand.

 

I won't pretend to know what the licensing agreement lays out.
But this stems from the comment made about the offenhauser carb. As a consumer, if I'm wanting to buy a ( pick one - counterfeit - copy - clone - replica , manufactured under licensing agreement ) it should be advertised as such. Counterfeit implies that it's done with deception.

 

Well just had to reply to this. I as a company who makes scoops,valve covers and some other parts have taken old cal custom scoops and added finns to them and in my opinion gave people what they wanted. the original cal custom scoops are great but some people like fiins,ribs on there stuff. I have them all cast in the usa andeverything done to them is done by me. Sure I could send my stuff to china,india to be made one heck of alot cheaper and be able to sell it cheaper also. But there is something to be said about being made in the usa. as far as copying parts heck thats been going on for decades. Back the in the early days everyone copied everyone. And even now they still copy. As for parts being made overseas like speedway well check out moon and one heck of alot of other companys also. repo parts for most of all your cars are generally all made over seas.The bigger the company is it seems like the more they want to make so over seas it goes. I would love for my business to grow and I keep adding more products which are made in the usa by me. and hope that i never go down the road to get them made cheaper overseas. But if the price is to high to get them made in the good ole usa which dictates the selling price what can a business do. I don't buy alot from speedway but jegs,summitt and the rest are the same. Just my two cents on it as a business owner.