"This is the problem with this board. There's absolutely no cohesion, everyone is off in 100 different directions. It's all "I WANT, I WANT, I WANT!" All without any sort of realistic expectation.
You ever see that commercial where all the people run down on the tennis court and try to play tennis at the same time? That's what this board is. Commercial Cabs, Classics, KMEs, Spartans, ALFs, Stuphens, HMEs, Macks, FMCs, Hendricksons, Duplex, Ward, Pierce, Simon, Hovercraft, Helicopters, Water Tenders, Brush Pumpers, Crash Trucks, Snorkels, Floodlight Units, Squirts, Ambulances, Ladders, Mid Mounts, Rear Mounts, Mini-Pumpers, Squads, Deluges, Foam Tenders, Brontos, BC Buggies, Jet Skis, Helicopter Tenders, FDNY, LACoFD, LAFD, Chicago, Seattle, Fort Worth, Duluth, Atlanta, Miami, Jacksonville, Newark, Nashville, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas, Henderson, Clark County, Bakersfield, Ventura County, Portland, Newark, Denver, Boise, Fort Lauderdale, Boston, Pittsburgh, Hoffman Estates, Mattoon, Wendell City, Mad River Township, Clearwater, Tampa, Kern County.. I could go on.
Now pretend you're John Dunkel and you're faced with all this on a daily basis? Every one of those have ACTUALLY been asked for here. 90% of that list will never be done, eliminate most of it simply because there isn't an existing mold for it, and Code 3 is likely never going to make a mold for it. We're never going to see a Sterling Cab, older Internationals, one-offs, jet skis, hovercraft, Bell 47s. Not going to happen. A new mold is going to be a very widely used cab from a major manufacturer, and if you look at some of the companies they've dealt with in the past, it's easier to go with something new from one of them, than a whole new manufacturer. Spartan? I'd be really surprised if we ever really se a Spartan. Or a Bronto, or a KME, Rumors are rumors, and after a couple years, if they haven't materialized, then they probably never will.
And what people never take into account, is the cost effectiveness and re-use of the mold. Code 3 needs to get multiple uses out of a mold. Some one-off cab is never going to see the light of day. If it did, the cost to research it, produce the mold, and get it to market, will result in a $200 pumper, and no one will buy that. Remember the SPS? Let's face it, the more uses a mold will get, the more likely Code 3 will produce it.
Then take into account the department itself. We've seen from the past couple of years that the small no-name departments that run plain red fire engines don't sell. A FD from Idaho, that most of us couldn't find with a map and a magnifying glass, is going to sit on the shelf and collect dust. Seattle said no, as have others. But that doesn't stop people here from insisting on Seattle and that they will say yes if you ask again. No matter what is fact, it doesn't matter to anyone here. If science proves the earth is round, there will still be people on this board that are positive that it's flat.
And lets face it, you have to be connected to get anything done with Code 3. I've submitted and submitted, but I don't live on the East Coast and I never seem to get a special audience with the Grand Pooh-Bah. All these people running around acting like 10 year olds and not listening to reason is not going to get anyone the golden key to the R&D; room. After dozens and dozens of photos have been posted in the "How to suggest a new product" thread, how many of you have gotten a reply from JD or anyone at Code 3 asking for further information and photos of that piece of apparatus? I'm not really going to go very far out on a limb here and guess ZERO. Face it, that whole topic was simply a bone thrown the masses to make it seem like Code 3 and John Dunkel really care about the people on this board and the collecting community, but in reality, if you aren't a East Coast Buff with some connections to the right people, our suggestions are finding thier way to the circular file rather quickly.
100 different voices saying 100 different things is nothing more than noise. 100 voices speaking in unison, actually say something.
