Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
Another Pity Party.
I felt a similar way when I was a Viper Owner in the 90's. It was the Chrysler Halo Car and we got lots of perks. For those of us who raced, we got lots of things fixed under warranty that should have been charged. We got to go to parties with Chrysler Corporation executives. Met Bob Luz (Elon Musk of the day). Racing events and social events were heavily subsidized by Chrysler Marketing.
We got free Jackets, free decals, meals paid for, World Class entertainment at events like Jay Leno or The Beach Boys.
We felt like chosen children. Lots of attention and perks. Just driving a Viper would get you into most all the Chrysler Sponsored events like San Diego Vintage auto racing. We had special free paddock parking at Pebble Beach. Sipped on Champagne and dipped our chilled shrimps in fancy sauce.
Then money got tight and eventually the company was sold to FIAT for pennies on the dollar. All the perks went away and we got charged for every thing, included burnt clutches, overheated differentials. Even Michelin stopped giving successful club drivers free tires.
Many in the clubs posted scathing missives like yours. We had gotten an entitlement attitude, and thought we were something special. That all ended when the bean counters got wise to us
Now it is happening to us at Tesla. In the beginning service centers were mostly empty. Technicians were often hanging around in the Customer Service lounges. They were more than happy to chat up up and let us know the inner working of the cars they worked on. Rental Tesla were most always available. We delighted in getting the latest high performance versions while our base models were in for a tire rotation. They contacted me to let me know my X was eligible for a free "uncorking" which chopped over a second off my 0-60 times.
Once again I felt entitled,...but slowly I have realized that this is just a normal cycle when going from customer centric startup to bean counter driven mega industry.
Somebody finally got through to Elon that his generosity was getting in the way of profitability, and that the stockholders were not going to put up with it much longer. Efficiency rules in modern day corporations and giving everything away does not fly with sophisticated investors.
Hope the next car company you deal with comes up to your standards and expectations.
Maybe we both just got spoiled..
I felt a similar way when I was a Viper Owner in the 90's. It was the Chrysler Halo Car and we got lots of perks. For those of us who raced, we got lots of things fixed under warranty that should have been charged. We got to go to parties with Chrysler Corporation executives. Met Bob Luz (Elon Musk of the day). Racing events and social events were heavily subsidized by Chrysler Marketing.
We got free Jackets, free decals, meals paid for, World Class entertainment at events like Jay Leno or The Beach Boys.
We felt like chosen children. Lots of attention and perks. Just driving a Viper would get you into most all the Chrysler Sponsored events like San Diego Vintage auto racing. We had special free paddock parking at Pebble Beach. Sipped on Champagne and dipped our chilled shrimps in fancy sauce.
Then money got tight and eventually the company was sold to FIAT for pennies on the dollar. All the perks went away and we got charged for every thing, included burnt clutches, overheated differentials. Even Michelin stopped giving successful club drivers free tires.
Many in the clubs posted scathing missives like yours. We had gotten an entitlement attitude, and thought we were something special. That all ended when the bean counters got wise to us
Now it is happening to us at Tesla. In the beginning service centers were mostly empty. Technicians were often hanging around in the Customer Service lounges. They were more than happy to chat up up and let us know the inner working of the cars they worked on. Rental Tesla were most always available. We delighted in getting the latest high performance versions while our base models were in for a tire rotation. They contacted me to let me know my X was eligible for a free "uncorking" which chopped over a second off my 0-60 times.
Once again I felt entitled,...but slowly I have realized that this is just a normal cycle when going from customer centric startup to bean counter driven mega industry.
Somebody finally got through to Elon that his generosity was getting in the way of profitability, and that the stockholders were not going to put up with it much longer. Efficiency rules in modern day corporations and giving everything away does not fly with sophisticated investors.
Hope the next car company you deal with comes up to your standards and expectations.
Maybe we both just got spoiled..