ADV Production Modular Hardtop!

[GroovyGeek]

Only problem is, you Apple sheep will also believe anything Apple tells you.

Except that I have not used an Apple product in 30 years and have no plans to use one in the future. But despite being a skeptic of the product and philosophy I can appreciate the precision, attention to detail, and stric quality control used to put it together. And I can also see the hand applied electricians tape hanging off every other wire in the Bronco, instead of properly designed custom insulation.

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[GroovyGeek]

More reliable? Isn't Toyota blowing up engines in their trucks now?

Dangerous to throw stones from the glass house we all live in. Every product has quality excursions. It is how frequent they are and how they are handled when detected that separates the good brands.

 

[KillerPenz]

Dangerous to throw stones from the glass house we all live in. Every product has quality excursions. It is how frequent they are and how they are handled when detected that separates the good brands.

Not throwing stones, you happened to say how good the Japanese vehicles are, and I mentioned the issue with Toyota engines.
Sure every product has issues, but why bash American cars?

 

[stampede1]

Why? A phone actually is much more demanding with respect to mechanical and electronic tolerances and cosmetic defects. But if it will make the comparison easier, the Japanese and then Korean car makers have been putting out more reliable vehicles than anything made in the USA for decades. When it comes to quality I am much more concerned with the track record of the company producing the goods than their geographic origin.

Unfortunately in this case, the country of origin is paramount in that the Peoples Republic of China is the most prolific country in the world for technology theft and has a troubled track record of intentionally using inferior materials including those that are carcinogenic.

 

[BoverW]

Why does everyone assume that "Made in the USA" is somehow an automatic symbol of quality and "Made in China" is an automatic sign of shoddy workmanship? Need I point out that the Bronco is "Made in the USA" and has plenty of shoddy workmanship, as has been documented on this forum many times. While the iPhones that so many love are made in China and are impeccable at least 99.9% of the time.

A better example would be Tesla made in CN vs US. Guess which side has better quality, fitness

US still has the advantage in high-end manufacturing. However, Bronco is a mass-produced vehicle for civil usage. And it is no secret that the US is short of qualified laborers ...

 

[Snowdogyyz]

Unfortunately in this case, the country of origin is paramount in that the Peoples Republic of China is the most prolific country in the world for technology theft and has a troubled track record of intentionally using inferior materials including those that are carcinogenic.

When I was a plant manager a few years ago- we had a product we made that had a carbon yarn inserted to prevent static electricity in uses where static could be catastrophic. Our customer thought we were too expensive (that carbon was over $45/LB) so they sourced the fabric in great ol China cheaper.

Months later I get a call from the customer asking me to analyze the fabric sourced from China as they were having “issues”. After almost telling them to pound sand, I agreed to do it. The problem? Their China source was substituting regular black dyed yarn in place of the carbon. As usual they take shortcuts to try and increase profits while forgoing quality. So the customer asked us to supply them again. I said “sure- but your price just increased 10%.” They still agreed to buy from us.
Again- still trying to figure out how China, Japan and Korea are the same as the poster insinuated????

 

[V1Rotate]

No one is ever going to get one of these tops… and at some point they won’t have enough money left from the crowd funding to give everybody a refund. I’d get your money back whilst you can

 

[j_marinelli]

Saw a couple more reviews on google with responses from ADV. Unfortunately their responses don't provide much of an update on the status of these tops.

Replying to my own post, I see Lance (not sure if he is on the forums) added to his review. Sounds like he is having (or had) issues with getting a refund

 

[adcam]

Sounds like they are running out of money. Too late for those who did not bail out early.

 

[Big Boss]

Why does everyone assume that "Made in the USA" is somehow an automatic symbol of quality and "Made in China" is an automatic sign of shoddy workmanship? Need I point out that the Bronco is "Made in the USA" and has plenty of shoddy workmanship, as has been documented on this forum many times. While the iPhones that so many love are made in China and are impeccable at least 99.9% of the time.

Here are the problems.

1. Like others mentioned when initially introduced, they said made in the USA. It is not, that is false advertising.

2. You are correct, USA quality is not always impeccable. However, when shit goes sideways you can usually get it rectified quickly. I am in the aluminum business. My competitors outsource from China, I do not. For many years their products were cheaper $ wise, but that comes in with buying in bulk and full containers. People always asked us, why we don't import and the answer is when you have a problem it takes way to long to get rectified. If you get a container full of crap product, your SOL. Lead times for aluminum profiles are usually about 4-6 weeks. You add in shipping a container on the slow bout from china you can be in the 16 to 20 week range. If I get a bad batch from my US suppliers, I can usually get replacements in a week or two. If I was importing, that's another 16 to 20 weeks unless you want to air freight it in which, is not cheap. My guess is the first few containers they got had flaws, and the whole process had to be restarted

 

[2023bronco]

Personally, I'm hoping that Mabett will produce a knock-off MIC top using child labor, cheap, pronto. My Bronco has been out of commission for a month waiting for a decent replacement.

 

[BUCKIN6VA]

The thread that keeps giving, about a company that never does. Sorry guys - get out now before they're bankrupt.

 

[BroncoBoy22]

Is there anyone on B6G left with an order with them?

 

[FloatingMoat]

I came across this in the original ADV announcement email from Feb 2, 2022: "Proudly Made in the USA."

There - that's better!

 

[broncosol]

just from advanced.... they screwed us all!

"
I am reaching out with an update on your Bronco Hardtop orders.

First, I wanted to genuinely thank you all for your patience and understanding as we have navigated delays and revisions that pushed the availability of this product further out than we ever expected, and I know how frustrating that has been, for you, and for us, as we have been eager to get your order to you.


Unfortunately, ADV Fiberglass has come to realize that our business was targeted and has fallen victim to a business manufacturing and production operation carried out by Automotive Performance Group, APG, in Garden Grove, CA, our business associate on this project. APG has been misleading us and engaging in deceptive, illegal, and unethical business practices – effectively feeding us inaccurate timelines, breaking promises, continuously requesting more money, and even going as far as filing a patent (solely in his name) for a product we, collectively designed and paid for under their own name. After finally discovering the truth, we realized that this was not the honest partner we thought we were working with.


Without any other avenues to pursue, and in an effort to seek justice for you and our company, we are currently in the process of pursuing legal action.


I am sorry to tell you that due to this, the hardtops ordered will not be delivered, and we have removed them as a product offering on our site.


I want to assure you that all the money that you paid toward this product to Advanced Fiberglass Concepts went exactly where we said it would, to the manufacturing and creation of this hardtop. Unfortunately, we trusted the wrong person and we are so sorry for this regrettable mistake. At ADV, we never take your business for granted and it’s devastating that ADV has fallen victim to an operation of this size.


Since learning of APG’s deception, we have also exhausted every possible option to try and manufacture in-house and deliver this product to you without APG’s involvement. However, right now, there is no avenue for us to take to fulfill these orders due to the pending patent that APG filed behind our back, without our business name included, that covered the bolt-together, slant back design. The patent, unfortunately, prohibits us from manufacturing our own design at our ADV facilities.


We are so sorry that this has happened, and we are extremely disappointed that we were not able to deliver on this for you.


If you purchased a hardtop, you may try to contact your credit card company to see if they are able to assist. Unfortunately, Advanced Fiberglass Concepts is unable to directly assist."

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