Has the Pistonheads website been a nightmare for TVR??
Discussion
When it's used as a forum to discuss and solve our problems, it's great and wold not have though it would have had much of an effect - all the forums feature these of topics.
However, it's when threads get intercepted by usually non-TVR owning people who don't dont anything about ownership and come out with uninformed opinions that things get ugly
However, it's when threads get intercepted by usually non-TVR owning people who don't dont anything about ownership and come out with uninformed opinions that things get ugly
barefoot said:
I just wondered if anyone else thinks that Pistonheads has been a major contributor for declining TVR sales. We all know the power of the WWW and originally this website was set up for TVR enthuisiasts, but how much damage via the forums has there been done I wonder?
Excellent point, there used to be unbelievable doom n gloom re: the engine last year, but things have calmed down as of late in that department. After a while people realised that the only thing to do is to move forward and shut up about the past.
After last weeks news, at least positive releases are popping up this week, as "factory closing" (rather than "relocation"
wasn't good 
Or how much good has it done in terms of sales, advice (before buying) tech support etc?
I brought my Griff as a result of the classified on PH. I looked at what everyone else was saying about ownership, costs, reliability etc and went out looking to buy more confident. It didn't put me off, if the product is good in the first place,and enough people want them, it will sell.
But having said all that I can’t say hand on heart whether any damage has been done or not done as a result of PH and the mighty www.
Bebee.
I brought my Griff as a result of the classified on PH. I looked at what everyone else was saying about ownership, costs, reliability etc and went out looking to buy more confident. It didn't put me off, if the product is good in the first place,and enough people want them, it will sell.
But having said all that I can’t say hand on heart whether any damage has been done or not done as a result of PH and the mighty www.
Bebee.
I'd suggest that this is the case, unfortunately.
Its a shame as its normally wild speculation or accusations that get the most readers and contributors.
The bad threads must stick out like a sore thumb.
It can be annoying to read sometimes and I really don't thing there is a solution. You can't go banning every 'bad' thread as it doesn't give a balanced view.
There will always be people flipantly disrespecting the marque - very often people who have no real experience of TVR ownership.
Sad.
Its a shame as its normally wild speculation or accusations that get the most readers and contributors.
The bad threads must stick out like a sore thumb.
It can be annoying to read sometimes and I really don't thing there is a solution. You can't go banning every 'bad' thread as it doesn't give a balanced view.
There will always be people flipantly disrespecting the marque - very often people who have no real experience of TVR ownership.
Sad.
la la la la la la la la
everybodies fault - fingers in ears
la la la la la la la la la
can't possibly be something tvr are doing wrong
la la la la la la la la la
I had a tvr 14 years ago, and in the genaral publics opinion, they were MUCH worse then, just a kit car image, and bad reliability
la la la la la la
blame the internet,
la la la la la ....
Pretty much evertthing TVR has done recently to get them out of a hole, 3 year warranty, sort out dealer network, tvr approved warranty, POssibly bring back a v8 at motorshow, was discussed on here, by tvr owners saying, why oh why don't tvr sort of these issues, this is what they need to do, months, if not years before, they do it...
So I think pistonheads should be charging TVR consultancy fees in, marketing, customer relationships, business straetgy.
B
everybodies fault - fingers in ears
la la la la la la la la la
can't possibly be something tvr are doing wrong
la la la la la la la la la
I had a tvr 14 years ago, and in the genaral publics opinion, they were MUCH worse then, just a kit car image, and bad reliability
la la la la la la
blame the internet,
la la la la la ....
Pretty much evertthing TVR has done recently to get them out of a hole, 3 year warranty, sort out dealer network, tvr approved warranty, POssibly bring back a v8 at motorshow, was discussed on here, by tvr owners saying, why oh why don't tvr sort of these issues, this is what they need to do, months, if not years before, they do it...
So I think pistonheads should be charging TVR consultancy fees in, marketing, customer relationships, business straetgy.
B
lazyitus said:
...
The bad threads must stick out like a sore thumb.
...
I once suggested to Ted that certain threads should be given a life, so they disappear once everyone has got a good sensationalist rant out of their systems. That way Google wouldn't pick them up when people look through the WWW for info....
RichardD said:
...
The bad threads must stick out like a sore thumb.
...
I once suggested to Ted that certain threads should be given a life, so they disappear once everyone has got a good sensationalist rant out of their systems. That way Google wouldn't pick them up when people look through the WWW for info....
Good Point!
I think PH has probably put as many people into the driving seats of TVR’s as it has lost, ok there have been a fair few speed 6 scares but lets face it, there have been a fair few speed 6 problems, if PH wasn’t here the issues would be still and I’m sure unhappy owners would still have found ways of showing their dissatisfaction, but you probably wouldn’t of had the other owners saying their cars were great. Swings and roundabouts I guess. I'm sure some of the other TVR related businesses owe a lot of their success to PH though.
I had my 1st TVR 30 yrs ago and they had build problems back then but my point is this website has most probably caused TVR more problems than any magazine article or TV programme has ever. I am not saying it has been done intentionally because I do not think that is the case at all. But the old adage of 1 person happy with something tells 5 where another person unhappy tells 20 is very true and when it is on the WWW the audience is huge!
I also cannot for the life of me understand the rules of censorship that are used on here, you cannot name and shame a company that you have had dealings with in case this causes trouble for the owner of the website (libel or whatever the reasons are) but you can say anything you want sometimes very detrimental about TVR as a company ??? You cannot call a TVR dealer s***e by name but you can call TVR anything you want as most seem to do.
To me it seems such a shame that a website set up by a TVR enthuisiast has now ended up being a very big thorn in TVR's side. IMHO.
I also cannot for the life of me understand the rules of censorship that are used on here, you cannot name and shame a company that you have had dealings with in case this causes trouble for the owner of the website (libel or whatever the reasons are) but you can say anything you want sometimes very detrimental about TVR as a company ??? You cannot call a TVR dealer s***e by name but you can call TVR anything you want as most seem to do.
To me it seems such a shame that a website set up by a TVR enthuisiast has now ended up being a very big thorn in TVR's side. IMHO.
I think its absolutely definite that this website has had an effect, both good and bad (mainly bad recently). I haven't bought it yet but apparently Autocar is quoting pistonheads this week re. the "issues".
We all agree on a free press, but this can, and usually is, a double edged sword.
As TVR owners are such a close group, if we find a good resource (such as PH) we will all gravitate towards it. So, anyone who wants to know anything about TVR will also gravitate towards the same thing. This includes those wishing to dig the dirt. We are in danger of washing our linen in public which, while good for owners as I think we all will weather the storm and not desert the marque, presents a very bad picture to the outside world.
I'm sure these last few weeks have caused somewhat of a headache to Ted et al as while the number of posts probably skyrocketed at the start of the "TVR's in trouble" period the traffic must have slowed somewhat. Perhaps I'm wrong but I've not been so interested in the site for the last week or so.
We all agree on a free press, but this can, and usually is, a double edged sword.
As TVR owners are such a close group, if we find a good resource (such as PH) we will all gravitate towards it. So, anyone who wants to know anything about TVR will also gravitate towards the same thing. This includes those wishing to dig the dirt. We are in danger of washing our linen in public which, while good for owners as I think we all will weather the storm and not desert the marque, presents a very bad picture to the outside world.
I'm sure these last few weeks have caused somewhat of a headache to Ted et al as while the number of posts probably skyrocketed at the start of the "TVR's in trouble" period the traffic must have slowed somewhat. Perhaps I'm wrong but I've not been so interested in the site for the last week or so.
1) Don't shoot the messenger
2) Think of PH as simply accelerating 'Pub Talk' that has gone on for years
3) If PH wasn't here, TVR owners would have found another forum to congregate on and would have discussed exactly the same topics there.
PH has brought every positive piece of TVR news that has ever been issued. News that otherwise would never have made the light of day.
We've helped given TVR consistent coverage in Tuscan Racing, GT racing, Le Mans etc, etc to a level of detail that has not been available before.
Yes, it's a double edged sword but we've done our best to support TVR over the years despite some real challenges. In fact we're often accused of bias because we're too kind to TVR in light of some of the issues they've faced.
I'm off for a beer.
2) Think of PH as simply accelerating 'Pub Talk' that has gone on for years
3) If PH wasn't here, TVR owners would have found another forum to congregate on and would have discussed exactly the same topics there.
PH has brought every positive piece of TVR news that has ever been issued. News that otherwise would never have made the light of day.
We've helped given TVR consistent coverage in Tuscan Racing, GT racing, Le Mans etc, etc to a level of detail that has not been available before.
Yes, it's a double edged sword but we've done our best to support TVR over the years despite some real challenges. In fact we're often accused of bias because we're too kind to TVR in light of some of the issues they've faced.
I'm off for a beer.
No one shoots the messenger Ted-when there is one. TVR should have communicated more and have themselves to blame for any bad publicity-however in the absence of a messenger you get what has happened on these pages over the past months. In my view damage has been done by repeated negative postings- but thats not Pistonheads problem-its the fault of the posters.
Ok, I'm probably being a tad sensitive.
However, lack of information breeds misinformation which I think has been a problem.
Some (not all) of the nay-sayers are actually spot on with their assessment of the situation, but it does make painful reading when they say it again and again and again.
However, lack of information breeds misinformation which I think has been a problem.
Some (not all) of the nay-sayers are actually spot on with their assessment of the situation, but it does make painful reading when they say it again and again and again.
I have absolutely no doubt that the site has had a big part to play in the sales demise. The contributions from people with no first hand knowledge of what they are talking about disgusts me.
The Tuscan owners group had a condition of membership that you had to give the chassis no of your car to gain access, the same condition should apply here before you can contribute onto the RESPECTIVE public forums.
That way you would still be able to see what the owners were experiencing, you could also make contact via the individuals email address if you needed further info or whatever.
Anybody that has seen the change in quality of the product coming from the factory would have expected the immediate future to be a resounding success.
I know from bitter experience the damage that the rumour mill can cause, and whilst the factory had a wall of silence no amount of shouting from the rooftops really helps, as some perceive that this is only a smokescreen "you cannot win in these type of situations".
Best regards,
James Sim.
The Tuscan owners group had a condition of membership that you had to give the chassis no of your car to gain access, the same condition should apply here before you can contribute onto the RESPECTIVE public forums.
That way you would still be able to see what the owners were experiencing, you could also make contact via the individuals email address if you needed further info or whatever.
Anybody that has seen the change in quality of the product coming from the factory would have expected the immediate future to be a resounding success.
I know from bitter experience the damage that the rumour mill can cause, and whilst the factory had a wall of silence no amount of shouting from the rooftops really helps, as some perceive that this is only a smokescreen "you cannot win in these type of situations".
Best regards,
James Sim.
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