+ Realize the lawyers have taken over the world, hence their statement of
+ liability disclaimer. You also might want to check if the manufacturer has
+ done any redesign work on their product including cheapening the
materials,
+ this is the 90's you know. Lots of things are a mere shadow of what they
+ were. I am entertained by some of the exclusionary statements on some of
+ the products bought for racing. The latest I have run into is a disclaimer
+ of any liability for the quick release steering wheel setup I just
+ installed on a vintage racer I have.
Not everything is worse now than it was when new! I remember reading
somewhere that the modern magnesium Minilite wheels are actually stronger
than their '60s counterparts. This is because of improvements to the purity
of the magnesium (alloy?) they use. But since they cost anything up to 400
pounds sterling each (around $650), I'd expect them to be!
The legal side has caused a number of problems for some suppliers of
parts for classic cars. I spoke to Dave Scott, the head honcho of the Turner
Car Club a while back, and he said that he won't supply any spare parts to
customers in the States. Apparently if they suffer a catastrophic failure,
and someone is hurt as a consequence, then the governing commitee of the
club would be liable, and the amount would be such that it would bankrupt
them. Ironically, including a disclaimer stating that parts are used at the
owner's risk can increase the liability in the event of an accident.
Fortunately, I live in the UK. Unfortunately pay-per-win lawyers are
starting to appear in increasing numbers over here, and we could end up with
the same litigous culture.
Graeme
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