i was completely in the dark before spending last weekend here learning about TC's, thank you all for that. but, the reverse-engineering by chinese bid'nesses and the outright-FALSE claims they make is nothing new to me, the MB market is horrible with it. my opinion: 1) our gov'ment isn't doing enough to enforce fair-trade regulations, and 2) the american consumer brought this on by cheaping out. ok, enuff preachin'.
i just got this from GTC in response to my challenge:
We are not hotgokartpart.
We are in the USA, we make GTC Torque Converters in California
Chris Samaras
Marketing Director
GTC Manufacturing
chris@gtcmanufacturing.com
925-906-0334
to which I've replied:
Thanks for the quick reply, Chris. No offense intended, but I don't mind telling you that many people are still waiting for believable proof of your "Made in USA" claim. Noone I've spoken with believes the photos on your "About Us" page are genuine, and frankly, I don't either. People want to buy American, but people want to know it's the real deal. How about some real-time photos of your building and your machinery actually making GTC parts?
more of the same vagueness so far...i suppose "make" could mean "assemble"...it happens with bicycle engine sellers all the time, they're constantly ripping each other off. and don't choose solely on the obvious difference in quality between the no-name and (maybe american) GTC, chinese bike engines also exhibit huge disparities in quality control of otherwise identical items.
btw-it looks like hotgokartpart simply c & p'd GTC's (as yet unconfirmed) "about us" info. also, GTC shares a common physical address with yet another player, gokartsusa. i seriously doubt the facility is a factory, likely only warehouse or maybe even drop-ship. who knows with these jokers?
since Comet TAV kits seem to have magically re-appeared, i'm gonna spend the (few) extra dollars. redsox has posted elsewhere some helpful info about this, and i got through to Comet by contacting Certified Parts Corporation. as soon as i confirm the direct-sales contact info i was given (she's out sick today) and find out if there's a savings, i'll post it somewhere appropriate. meantime, genuine Comet stuff can be had at BMI, Northern Tool, and a couple of Amazon stores.
(a blatant bump for some good guys: the Golden Eagle Bike Engine system IS "
Made in USA" and offers only quality
certified japanese engine options...either Tanaka 2-strokes or Robin-Subaru 4-strokes. you can also get their patented
american drivetrain without an engine, and use chinese pocketbike & scooter engines, but i don't recommend it. ADMIN: i'm
not affiliated with GEBE beyond friendship & being a satisfied customer.)
point is, Americans should buy American...it will slowly but surely repair our economy and force second-string imports up to par...that's my take on the matter.
NOW i'm finished preaching.
with blaz. I wonder how many people thought they were realy getting an American made tc. Oh sure it was probably put together here but the parts came from China. Last August I was going around looking for products that I could put on my site. One was a tc ..... I found 5 companies that manufactured them over seas. 3 in china , 1 tiawan, and 1 more I cant remember.