7 posts tagged “quality”

Remember these AA cars from Chrysler? Not that they looked that contemporary in their day—they followed the usual Iacocca MO of having too many options and were out of step with the stylish cars coming from Ford and the imports—they were, at one point, the most reliable American-built sedans (according to J. D. Power). Basically, they were bigger, slightly rounded-off K-cars in my view, and it took Chrysler a few more years to field more up-to-the-minute designs in this segment. From Autocade.

Plymouth Acclaim (AA). 1990–5 (prod. unknown). 4-door sedan. F/F, 2501 cm³ (4 cyl. OHC), 2972 cm³ (V6 OHC). Evolution of K-car, Acclaim was Chrysler’s mid-line entry and in 1991, the most reliable domestic sedan according to J. D. Power. Outsold its Dodge Spirit counterpart and considered reliable, but noisy with poor ride generally. Some luxury options such as vinyl roof, in some ways closer to contemporary Chrysler LeBaron (1990–4). New radiator and trim changes for 1993. Four offered in standard and turbocharged versions; superior V6 sourced from Mitsubishi.

Dodge Spirit/Chrysler Spirit (AA). 1990–5 (prod. unknown). 4-door sedan. 2213 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC), 2501 cm³ (4 cyl. OHC), 2972 cm³ (V6 OHC). Larger successor to Dodge Aries (extra 3 in in wheelbase, with AA platform derived from old K), with similar boxy shape but rounded corners, introduced January 1989. Stylistically, out of step with the aero look popularized by Ford Taurus. Dynamically average in handling. Roomy, but harsh ride and noisy. R/T with 2·2 turbocharged engine, developing 167 kW, to end of 1992 model year only. Anti-lock brakes deleted as option in 1995. Twinned with Plymouth Acclaim; Chrysler Spirit in México and some South American markets. With the exception of turbocharged models, sold as Chrysler Saratoga in Europe till 1993 (Chrysler LeBaron (1990–4) took over these duties afterward).

Chrysler LeBaron (AA). 1990–4 (prod. unknown). 4-door sedan. F/F, 2501 cm³ (4 cyl. OHC), 2972 cm³ (V6 OHC). Luxury version of AA-platform cars, evolved from K-car chassis. Unlike Plymouth Acclaim, more comfortable and better tuned for a smooth ride; acceptable handling. Landau version had vinyl half-roof with small, formal backlight window. Took over from rebadged Dodge Spirit as the export-market Chrysler Saratoga in 1994–5, but replaced domestically by Chrysler Cirrus. Not really a luxury car, with quality below that of Japanese brands, but considered reliable in its day. Mitsubishi supplied the V6. Unrelated to coupé and convertible which bore the LeBaron name as well (q.v. Chrysler LeBaron (1987–95)).

I had never heard of Intopic until I bought one of its keyboards in Mongkok in Hong Kong. It turns out it’s a Taiwanese firm with a full line of keyboards and mice, as well as other products.
   So far, so good. I need a keyboard around 39 cm wide (this is 8 mm beyond that): any wider, I find that I develop RSI problems because of reaching for the mouse. This one is about one column of keys wider than what I generally like, but these days, in Hong Kong, it’s the narrowest multimedia keyboard money can buy.

   My old one was a Genius keyboard, which always presented a few problems. The first was that it was very easy for things to get between the keys and to mess up its operation. The L key never worked properly from scratch and needed cleaning. The full stop or period key was inexplicably narrower than the rest. But I loved that keyboard because it spoiled me: direct buttons to calculator, browser controls, volume, etc. It was also under that 39 cm limit. It was a pity that it wasn’t that well made: a slightly longer thumbnail soon put a dent in the space bar, and I had to take it apart on numerous occasions to clean it so its keys would continue working. It never stood a chance when some Glaceau Vitamin Water flew out of its bottle on opening.
   Basically, it was the least robust keyboard I have ever owned, dying in about three years. It’s meant to be laptop-style, but if I had a keyboard like that on a laptop, I would be very upset.
   Beautiful to look at, and not bad to use; plus the keys sounded nice when you pressed them. With hindsight, however, it was not the best ownership experience, regardless of the very low price I paid.
   The new one isn’t trouble-free, but quality-wise, it seems to beat the Genius hands-down. For starters, I paid a low HK$98 (plus HK$10 for a USB–PS2 adapter, which, I might add, needed a quick fix from me due to a piece of metal inside being flimsy). The keys feel a tad too soft, not in the materials, but in the springing action beneath them. There is an illogical addition of the backslash key to the left of the space bar, where I expect Alt to be. (It is unnecessary: there is another backslash key beneath the backspace one.) And the extra column of keys to the right of backspace and enter is a bit annoying: this is where Intopic has relocated home, page up, page down and end to, but this seems to be a common design now among narrower Chinese keyboards.
   The good news is that the keys have stood up to constant use better than the Genius; I finally have the luxury of a normal-sized full stop; the build quality is less flimsy than the Genius’s; and it turns out, according to the Intopic brochure inside the box, that this KBD-10 model is the narrowest it makes (39·8 cm). I have fewer hot keys, sadly, and only a couple are for browsing, but since narrow keyboards with these additional keys are hard to come by these days, I am not complaining. My brain is slowly rewiring itself to the new Alt key, and the fact that the home key is in a slightly more logical place than on the Genius (between Control and the Windows start menu keys).
   Genius still makes a multimedia keyboard which would have been the logical replacement to my old KB-19e, but I am happy to have the Intopic instead. Originally I had some doubts but the better quality, even in its first week, speaks for itself. I was lucky, in that case, that the computer mall in Mongkok didn’t have anyone importing the Genius brand.
   The only other one that could have been a contender in Hong Kong was a Logitech keyboard, which was also available here from Dick Smith Electronics at a mere NZ$30. However, there were no hot keys and I noticed the one in stock at Noel Leeming had Arial on the keys: a no-no for someone who detests the look of that typeface family. I was going to show you the picture of that one, but the Logitech website is not loading: not a good sign. (The one at left is from the Dick Smith site.)
   A hunt around the computer malls of New Delhi resulted in nothing suitable: either there were the laptop-style ones with no numeric keypad (since I write in French and German, I need the keypad for a PC) or ultra-wide ones which I could get anywhere else in the world.
   So, the keyboard search was successful: here’s to a reliable Intopic-owning experience. And as the first week has revealed fewer problems than the Genius, I hope the company gets to export its wares more widely.

Interestingly, the MSM has not broken this yet, though the story has been floating about for a few days. Odds are it will break Friday. Already on the Lucire ‘Insider’ blog as an op-ed.

Shoegate: Sarah Riley, Trelise Cooper in payment dispute
It’s another case of ‘She said / She said’ in the fashion world, and Trelise Cooper’s name has come up again.
   This time, footwear designer Sarah Riley is accusing Trelise Cooper Ltd. of not paying in full for supplied stock.
   On Riley’s side, there might be some hope out there that people remember Trelise Cooper Ltd. for its lawsuit against Tamsin Cooper, and that the media are prepared to align the latest case with this. That time, there was arguably more “underdog” support for the smaller Tamsin Cooper label, with the exception of a TV One news item that went off-topic by questioning Tamsin Cooper’s materials.
   The case is, after all, still talked about in the media—not always in the most glowing terms for the larger design company.
   However, after Trelise Cooper Ltd. itself became a potential defendant facing similar accusations from a company marketing its products under the Treliske trade mark, some might believe that karma has followed its natural path and the slate has been wiped clean.
   So what are the arguments?
   Riley says that Cooper owes NZ$23,000. The release, from Mint Condition Ltd., says Riley ‘has fallen victim to the foibles of designer and retailer Trelise Cooper.’
   It has affected Riley so much that her winter 2008 and summer 2009 collections have had to be cancelled, says the release.
   This time around, Trelise Cooper Ltd. has employed a publicist, perhaps one lesson learned from the Tamsin Cooper case.
   The company, through its general manager Alex Brandon, dismisses Riley’s accusations, saying that the supplied goods were faulty.
   ‘TCL [Trelise Cooper Ltd.] received a delivery from Sarah Riley in September 2007. After only two days on the shop floor TCL were alerted by customers and staff to numerous quality issues.’
   Riley, in her defence, has had one retailer, Mei Mei in Ponsonby, Auckland, attest to the quality of her products. ‘Eight years in the business, I’ve had more problems with returns on Jimmy Choo heels!’ says Mei Mei’s Jo Pearson.
   Trelise Cooper Ltd. attempted to return the stock but it was not accepted by Riley—on this point the parties agree.
   Brandon says Trelise Cooper Ltd. paid Riley ‘on delivery of the shoes $23,838 [up front] of a total invoice of $47,677.’
   This is a more routine commercial case, so the “bullying” aspect that Tamsin Cooper supporters saw in 2005–7 isn’t as apparent. One company is bigger than the other, but in our view the sympathy heartstrings are harder to pull, especially as the first stone has been cast in the media by the smaller one.
   There are useful precedents over the quality and sale of goods in the courts already, as well as many governing part-payment. These cases that tend to be less fascinating than those surrounding intellectual property—or brands.
   At the end of the day, both sides have a varying idea over the quality of the product, and this is what any case will rest on.
   Did Sarah Riley supply shoes of a merchantable quality to Trelise Cooper Ltd.? Were there clauses in the sale of goods’ contract governing quality and payment?
   The story has not yet broken in the mainstream media but we expect it will be more an arm’s-length commercial battle rather than David v. Goliath when it does.
   We at Lucire hope the parties can settle their differences without resorting to the courts.

This was interesting today. The Daily Telegraph reported on the campaign spending (specifically on make-up and grooming) by Nicolas Sarkozy and his rival Ségolène Royal during the French presidential election. Despite being thought of as a conservative newspaper, it painted a rosier picture of Mlle Royal than M. Sarkozy.
   First up, Sarkozy’s (over-)spending was the lead-in to the story, even though Royal’s was much higher. Mlle Royal’s spending was left to the third paragraph.
   Secondly, the standards used to round off are biased in favour of Ségolène Royal. Here are the figures I uncovered, compared with the rounding that the Telegraph did.

• Nicolas Sarkozy, spent €34,445—rounded in The Daily Telegraph as €35,000 (I would have rounded it to €34,000 or said ‘around €34,500’)
• Ségolène Royal, spent €53,581—rounded in The Daily Telegraph as €52,000 (I would have rounded it to €54,000—correspondent Henry Samuel shaves off a hefty €1,581 for the socialist leader)

Reimbursements:

• Nicolas Sarkozy was reimbursed €11,482—The Daily Telegraph reported €12,000 (I would have rounded it to €11,000 or said ‘around €11,500’)
• Ségolène Royal was reimbursed €17,220—The Daily Telegraph reported €17,000 (I would have used the same figure)

In every case, it might have been easier just to report the actual figures.
   The message, unless the figures I got from the French media are wrong: overestimate the spending by the right and make it look like the President is getting more state funds; underestimate the spending by the left and understate its burden on the state.
   The Telegraph might need to re-examine its mathematics.

Hopped over to Magnetix with Monica (assistant) today to find that the good old Observer newspaper has returned to their shelves.
   For ages, Magnetix did not have Pommy newspapers, either the qualities or the tabloids. There was an absence as the qualities began reducing their size, and I have a feeling the importer did not want us regular Kiwis to know that Great Britain no longer had broadsheets. What would happen if we thought their newspapers had all reduced to Euro-sized tabloids and Berliners? Shock! We might think that Britain had joined the Common Market!
   The dailies began disappearing. Then the Sunday papers. As each broadsheet ceased publication in its larger size, there were no more on sale here.
   It was surprising that the Guardian group papers went, too, since they have tended to be at the forefront of good design for many years—first with the Pentagram redesign (someone once said the adoption of Helvetica made it fascist-looking), then with the commissioning of the Guardian family of typefaces from my friends Christian Schwartz (who started in licensing digital type around the same time I did) and Paul Barnes (whom I do not know as well).
   When I wrote an article on The Guardian’s most recent redesign for Desktop in Australia, I had to ask Christian to send me electronic examples, rather than hop down to the local store to buy a copy and scan samples. OK, so I saved myself a bit of money, but there’s still that satisfying feeling being able to see someone’s work in the medium it was intended for.
   Now, bring back The Times—or will the sight of that in tabloid format shock us Kiwis too much?

[Cross-posted] For those concerned about the quality of Chinese MGs, this quotation from the Murdoch Press should be a relief:

The [Longbridge] factory start-up was scheduled for next month, but preproduction models have not met the standard NAC has set. Now the best estimate is for the TF assembly line to be in full operation in the autumn, with the first cars available to customers at the turn of the year.

   What I take from this is: the new MGs will be of better quality than what was coming off the lines at Longbridge before the old MG Rover collapsed. Which is a relief, as according to my regular mechanic who gets his share of English cars, what was being built was rather below par.

A very amazing ending to Life on Mars. I liked it, as it confirmed some of my theories, but the decision Sam makes on top of the building was unexpected. Let’s just say that I wouldn’t have done so in his position, certainly not for someone whom I could not prove existed. You also do not abandon a parent: if they didn’t have the scene where Sam visits his Mum, I might have accepted it more. (I am intentionally vague for those who have not seen the episode yet. The DVD of series two is released Monday in the UK.)
   Despite these niggles, I enjoyed what Matthew Graham cooked up for us. It shows that the Brits still can do quality drama and that a network, if it wishes to create “event TV”, merely has to provide excellent writing, acting and direction.
   That means shows like Big Brother, Survivor and Fear Factor do nothing for a network’s loyalty and simply opens one up to competition from hobbyists on YouTube. Quality is where the battle is going to be if the networks wish to retain any relevance to society.
   Sadly, the short-term profit motive may put paid to that, all while the Emir of Qatar keeps pumping money in to al-Jazeera and reminds the west of what can be done. Sooner or later, someone with that much money might do his own network.
   That sounded pretty implausible 20 years ago before Rupert Murdoch launched Fox as the US’s fourth network.
   Now, how it all ties together with the spin-off, Ashes to Ashes, remains to be seen.
   Fans may be interested in today’s Life of Wylie blog entry, where co-creator and writer Matthew Graham talks about some of the behind-the-scenes thinking to the finalé. Don’t think too deeply about it all for now: it will do your head in.