miglia speedster

[mikmiglia]

This is my new plug ready to mould on monday, all the hard work has been done, which will allow you to fit this kit together in a couple of weeks. watch this space.

[seanick]

WOW!
What a fantastic finish! Looks like your doors fit as well. And a bonnet. Nice one Mike
Good name too. A+

[mikmiglia]

Thanks mate, it all works well as ive spent many hours making fit , doors and bonnet have 5mm gapping ,and door hinges work straight away too , im offering this kit from this week .

[mikmiglia]

Body just put on top of chassis , needs lowering , but will look great in all colours and trim

[mikmiglia]

[mikmiglia]

[tlrtone]

Well, I love it and I have a kit on order!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and I am sure that there will be more Sammio look-a-likes out there.

It will come down to consumer choice. Who offers the best quality kit? The best customer service?


The Miglia Speedster kit is a great quality kit, and looks great with its longer fixed front.

Good on you Mike, and I am sure that others will see the difference and make their own minds up.

[garyh]

Looks beautifully made, well done Mike.

[mikmiglia]

Originally Posted by garyh

Looks beautifully made, well done Mike.

Many thanks gary

[Mister Towed]

Et tu, Mike?

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/foru...ead.php?t=3486

[Psycho pops]

Mike did you apply the red banding on the tyres or is that standard with that brand, a real neat finish by the way best of luck despite the aggro
Pops

[Mister Towed]

This is a very emotive subject which has polarised opinion into two camps: is Mike right to put this car into production or not?

I have a great deal of respect for Mike - he is undoubtedly a skilled and capable old-school craftsman who produces exceptionally well finished work. You just have to look at his Sammio V8 special above to see that.

I have no issue with Mike starting a business competing with the Ribble product either - nobody owns the fifties 'Special' concept of rebodying a worn out saloon into a racy sports car after all.

If I'd bought the Sammio company from Gary, however, I'd have included a clause prohibiting the previous owner and former employees from setting up in direct competition for a period of five years. I fear Andy P may be too much of a Gentleman to have thought of this though.

The only thing that makes me feel very uncomfortable about this business is the lack of differentiation between the original Sammio product and Mike's 'new' car, which, from his own build thread is a modified Sammio Cordite.

I'm sure Mike is more than capable of creating something genuinely unique with the rebody concept using the small chassis Triumph as a donor - Tribute Automotive demonstrated this very effectively with their A352, which is different enough from the look of the Sammio to clearly be another design. If inspiration is needed there are plenty of ideas on the 'net - even on this forum if you look.

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/foru...ead.php?t=3080

I think you'd have a real winner on your hands if you put one of those into production.

So, that's it from me. Although what Mike is planning to do may well be legal, I don't think it's very ethical.

This should also serve as a wake-up call to Andy P, though: If you're going to compete in this cut-throat business you need to get your product fully sorted, your production organised and your kits into customers' garages pretty darn sharpish.

[AndyP57]

Thanks T. For clarification, there are clauses in the sale of the company. As Gary was sole owner and subcontracted Mike, he wasn't deemed an 'Employee' but worked to Gary's requirements. He may have had an artistic hand in the design but ultimately the IPR belonged to Gary. The clauses in the contract of sale say:

MR. GARY JANES ( GJ ) has ceased to have control of *******(Removed for legal reasons but not affecting the meaning) products relating to the SAMMIO SPYDER ( SS ) or SAMMIO CORDITE ( SC ).

No new orders will be received by GJ for SS or SC related items.
Control of the website , advertising , promotion etc has also passed to AP.

GJ may continue to trade under the SAMMIO banner but not with contradiction to the agreement above.

Any Sammio product not relating to the SS or SC line will continue to be the property of GJ , namely the G46 Concept. (Obviously this has now been taken on by Gaz, completing the old Sammio 'Set')

[mikmiglia]

Originally Posted by Psycho pops

Mike did you apply the red banding on the tyres or is that standard with that brand, a real neat finish by the way best of luck despite the aggro
Pops

Hi pops , yes the red bands look great and look good against the green . they were done by an 85 year old man, that has a machine that grinds the face of the tyre and then he spins the wheel with the machine whilst applying the colour. He also does white wall too. Nice man £40 a wheel

[GazDavies]

There is a subtle difference. Nickris were no longer being made and were not available for sale when GJ moddified the kit to become a Sammio. Sammio (now Ribble) is still a very active company and there is the problem.

[seanick]

With Andy's new 3500sq ft workshop, website, freshly re-tooled moulds and drawings, and a new range of freshly named and marketed cars on the way, how can a one man band at the other end of the country, from a small workshop be any real threat to world domination?

[tlrtone]

Personally I think there is a significant difference in both the Ribble and the Miglia.

Having built the original Sammio, and seen (and ordered) a Miglia speedster, there are similarities - it is curvaceous, got a hump, and you can sit in it to drive.

However, the difference is immediate. Long, fixed bonnet with vents, back end panels flow into clean lines with a different shaped hump, different shaped cockpit.

Another key motivator for me is the fact that this is a superbly finished kit, made by an expert in fibreglass and so I have a lot more confident that the parts will fit and I won't have to have the expense or time in finishing it.

I think that boths ends of the spectrum are being offered to the wily consumer that wants a 1950's spoorts car replica - if you want a cheap and cheerful kit to fettle and spend time cutting your own doors in, fixing your own hump(s) or making your own frame, and you like the look of the old Sammio models, then you have the Ribble. If, like me, you want to be able to have a differently styled kit which requires less time to build and less fettling, because driving it is what it is about, then get a Miglia.

I think the first 30 miglia kits are VAT free as well, so get in quick!

[GazDavies]

Seanick, Im not sure if that response is supposed to be serious or not, but I will answer anyway.

Do you beleive that Bentley saw Tribute Automotive as a threat? I doubt it but they still had a problem with his Bentley look-a-like and that didnt turn out too well.

I should note that I used Tribute Automotive as an example as I know that you are aware of their products and in no way would I wish to drag them into this.

You seem to either have a grudge against Andy or are a friend of Mike. Im sure some of those that are commenting positivly on the Speedster may have a problem should somebody buy one of the kits, shorten the bonnet and remould it and give it a new name (maybe something like a Ribble Navigator?).

[Viatron]

Gary, glad I'm not alone, I was beginning to think I was a lonely voice in the crowd!

[seanick]

Hi Gary,
No, I have met neither Andy or Mike, nor spoken to either.

You are totally right though, there is nothing to stop anyone copying an old design. If another Nickri appeared for sale, anyone could take it, modify it as they like, mould it and offer it for sale. Similar concept cars look similar. Its the same with boats. They are sharp one end, blunt on the other, and all look similar, but just a little bit different.

This point was made by lancelot link.

One has to wonder how large the market is for these cars anyway. With 127 Sammios out there I would have thought the market would be saturated by now. How they were originally sold for the price they were I dont know. I did do some costings and I could produce them in my workshop, but with my large overheads there would be no profit at all.

On the plus side though, this high profile forum discussion will probably boost sales for both companies. Look at retail parks, where Currys, PC word and Dixons stand side by side, or where petrol stations are next to each other. Seems crazy, but it works.

I moved my business a couple of years ago to another marina, moving into workshops right alongside another buisiness offering the same service. We have both benefitted, although we have to be quick getting the estimates out and stay on our toes or we lose a job to 'next door'. Once I had moved, my top employee left, and took on the lease for my old workshop, just one mile away! Hey ho, thats the way it goes.

I do hope both these producers jog along together and realise the benefits of each other. Time, effort and money spent on solicitors is wasted in my opinion. I just spent 3.5k with solicitors with zero result!

Peace , Love and Embrace.

Right, back to work!