Introducing Diesel Rebuild Parts

Announcing Diesel Rebuild Parts™

Because of branding problems, we have renamed our AftermarketCat.com website and rebranded it as Diesel Rebuild Parts™.

Never would I have imagined that Caterpillar, Inc. would take issue with our use of the domain name, AftermarketCat.com. It isn't that "Cat" is a common word that is used constantly and is even considered short for the word "catalog", although I suppose this may have enhanced my confusion. But where I had erred has to do with the simple fact that we never considered our business as in competition with CAT®. After all, if people want original equipment parts they would obviously know to go to the original manufacturer, CAT® (or Caterpillar®). It is ludicrous, to me, to think that they would go anywhere else unless they are looking for aftermarket parts. Aftermarket means "not original equipment". But according to them, we are in competition with their engine parts line, and now that I have the opportunity to see the situation from their side, I certainly can see how they could think that.

It is people looking for aftermarket rebuild parts for these industrial engines that will cost less, perform better and/or last longer who will come looking for our products. So, we are not really in any sort of competition with CAT®, and the argument that we are is actually quite a stretch, for me.

Unfortunately, they are right about the branding issue, though. I do see their point. CAT® is a leader not only in the industrial engines market, but is also a leader in an extremely wide and expansive field that includes heavy equipment, mining equipment and turbines, as well. It actually amazes me that I was stupid enough to think of CAT as a generic term, or nickname, that we could use in describing our own brand.

Part of the problem has probably been the influence of the modern search engine. Search engines require specific keywords for any kind of decent search engine results. Since we are offering aftermarket parts for Caterpillar® engines, it seemed that our domain, AftermarketCat.com, was right on the money. Afterall, we are only supporting CAT® engines. And to top that off, we are supporting both the diesel and the natural gas (methane) engines. Obviously, DieselAndNaturalGasEngineParts.com wouldn't have worked. And we wanted a domain that said something about us and was somewhat short and easy to remember. Aftermarket Cat was, after all, downright catchy.

To be sure, this big snafu has been all my fault. I am the marketing director (and webmaster) for Syd's Eastside Auto Parts™. I understand brands as both a graphic designer and a business owner, myself. I am amazed how I could have overlooked such a well-known brand as CAT®. As I look back on it I wonder if it is Caterpillar's own overwhelming huge success that is at least contributing to the problem.

Similar tragedies in successful branding have occurred. I often ask for a Kleenex® when I want a facial tissue, even though I buy Puffs®. And as I see CAT® more everywhere, including NASCAR®, it becomes a thought at the fore front of my brain that only Caterpillar, Inc. could have accomplished through its own advertising success, thereby diluting its own brand. Nevertheless, I am not looking to provide an excuse, I am merely looking to draw some understanding out of my embarrassment.

However, we have not only acknowledged CAT®'s point, but we as a company, Syd's Eastside Auto Parts™, have taken quick and deliberate actions to demonstrate our concern and regard for the issues at hand...

Syd's Eastside Auto Parts has:
1. Moved the entire website to a different domain, DieselRebuildParts.com.
2. Completely rebranded the previous website (using only generic terms) as Diesel Rebuild Parts™.
3. Created a new Trademark logo and favicon graphics for the new website and brand.
4. Thrown-up a generic (non-branded) web page at the old web address of AftermarketCat.com which provides links to both DieselRebuildParts.com and Cat.com to ensure that we are not confusing our customers.
5. Included Cat.com prominently in our web resources directory to ensure that we are not confusing our customers.
6. Enhanced our website's Disclaimer page with regard to our intellecual properties and our non-affiliation with CAT.
7. Included the link to the Disclaimer web page in the Main Menu (this link was previously at the end of each page, above the Copyright notice).
8. Addressed issues concerning wording and phrases used that CAT felt was misleading.

Eventually, we will be issuing a new press release re-announcing our new website, once we are sure that we have addressed all of Caterpillar's concerns. In the meantime, please note that our new website address and the new official brand for our line of IPD™ engineered and manufactured quality aftermarket engine parts line and overhaul kit products intended for Caterpillar® brand diesel and natural gas engine applications...

Diesel Rebuild Parts™

Syd's Eastside Auto Parts™ is an authorized dealer and distributor of quality IPD™ premium aftermarket parts and overhaul kits for most of the Caterpillar® brand engine line. If you have anything to do with maintaining CAT® diesel or natural gas engines, we certainly do hope that we can be of service to you or your company in the near future.

Syd's Eastside Auto Parts™ operates the Diesel Rebuild Parts™ website to more directly assist individuals and companies requiring quality aftermarket parts that do not introduce risk of reliability in their equipment. Therefore, you may consider that Diesel Rebuild Parts™ markets, sells, distributes and supports IPD™ premium aftermarket parts as an extension (or division) of Syd's Eastside Auto Parts™.

News Article Reference Resource Links:
Syd's Eastside Auto Parts™
Diesel Rebuild Parts™
CAT®

Automotive Darwin Award Nominee

I don't think this guy died, but I do think we need an automotive version of the famous Darwin Awards--people who do the stupidest things, and wind up wrecking their cars.


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The Fuel Economy Trade-Off Game

Technology/Technique	Cost	Safety	Convenience	Durability	Fuel Save	Total	Comments
Reduce Mass: downsize	+1	-2	-2	0	+1	-2	Americans like big roomy cars. Safety suffers due to interface with older cars.
Reduce Mass: materials	-1	-1	0	0	+1	-1	Al, Mg, carbon fiber cost more.
Reduce Engine Output	+1	0	-2	0	+1	0	Americans like powerful cars.
Mild Hybrid Powertrain	-1	0	0	-1	+1	-1	More complexity (batteries, generator) hurts durability.
Full Hybrid Powertrain	-2	0	-1	-1	+2	-2	Even more complexity.
Gas Turbo Direct Injection	-1	0	0	-1	+1	-1	More complexity.
Flex Fuel (Ethanol)	0	0	-1	0	+1*	0 (-1)	Fuel availability problems; less gas used, but nearly same carbon output.
Passenger Car Diesel	-1	0	0	-1	+2	0	More complexity due to emissions regs.
Hydrogen Fuel Cells	-1	0	0	+1	+3	+3	Still a research project.

How do you compare the different ways to increase fuel economy? If you are an engineer, you might make a table which assigns weights to different characteristics and then levels for each one. Combine the numbers, and you have a handy way to compare different choices.

Here is a swag at the fuel economy trade off game, according to my near-expert opinion. The method is to equally weight Cost, Safety, Convenience, Durability, and Fuel Economy. -2 means big decline (more cost, less safety, less convenience, less durability), while a +2 means a big improvement (less cost, more safety, more convenience, etc.). Minus bad, plus good.

So, the way I see it, for a modest fuel savings, the best all around technique is to reduce power, followed by gas turbo direct injection. For large fuel savings, the light diesel seems best. The Holy Grail, as always, is the hydrogen fuel cell.

What is inevitable is that you can't have everything--this is a law of engineering, where physics and economics meet. Want lots of power? Lose weight (and safety). Want safety and fuel economy? Gain cost.

We Americans need to have a serious discussion about what it is we really want, and we need to tell our legislators. What are we willing to give up?

OK, Edmunds just posted a great article which assigns grades to the various fuel saving technologies. You may not believe me, but in fact I was working on the same type of post. I was trying to figure out how to make the table work right.

Monster Camper Van

The other day, this monster van showed up in one of the parking lots not far from my house. I couldn't help but notice it, and quietly snapped a couple of pictures.



A quick trip to Google, and I learn all about it. The builder is an outfit called Sportsmobile, which starts the process with a Ford or Chevy van or Dodge (Mercedes) Sprinter. Various interior amenities are added, such as a head, beds, mini-kitchen, swiveling chairs, and cabinets. A pop-up camper roof can also be added.

The example in my neighborhood is a top of the line specimen, as it has been given a Quigley 4x4 conversion in addition to the camper treatment. This van would cost approximately $70,000!

A nice trailer or 5th wheel camper plus a 4x4 truck to tow it seems like a better deal, to me, since you can use the truck for many non-camping activities, and you would have a much larger living space as well. Even if it doesn't make the most sense to me, these monster vans are an impressive product.

Comparing Cars--SpD

Recently, MotorTrend tested a bunch of high performance cars, and presented the results as spiderwebs, with a combined performance number based on things like steering accuracy, brake feel, roadholding, etc. The result was neat, but not practically useful because it didn't factor in cost.

Then Winding Road got in the game, and proposed the Speed/Dollar index, which is HP/weight/price * fudge factor.

A problem with the SpD metric is that it only cares about power/weight ratio, which can favor cheap cars with big engines, such as the Mustang GT, or even a V8 Chevy family hauler. Nice in a straight line, but what if you are interested in autocross or rallying?

I think a better metric would be something like (HP/Weight + Slalom Speed/60)/Price * K, which would add a dynamic handling component--the speed through a slalom course, in this example. Or perhaps a lap time or average speed around a reference track would be better.

Both Winding Road and Motor Trend put the MazdaSpeed 3 near the top of their list, in terms of bang-for-the buck. Now I want one.