Not sure how they could get much worse. A few nights ago I went to an AutoZone store and pulled Mobil 1, Bosch Premium, STP, and AC Delco filters off the shelf, and then removed them from their boxes. (All were made by Champion in the U.S.) I threw in a Fram for amusement's sake. The Bosch had a smear of greasy machining filings on the baseplate (it wasn't pure grease), and the AC had a 1/2 inch hair-like steel filing jutting from the threads. Big swabs of excess glue were evident inside several of them. I wish I could say I haven't seen these kind of quality control problems with the Champions, but I have on several occasions. Plus, all Champions will be using their new "clicker" bypass valve, and the jury's still out on that critter, but it clearly was a change motivated by cost-cutting (that stamped sheet metal has to be cheaper than a proven, multi-component coiled spring valve). To be fair to the poor folks at Fram (the "Cardboard Cowboys al'Orange," as I like to call 'em), the Fram had surprisingly good quality of assembly goin' on (as I've noticed with Frams before), although I knew that under that Halloween pumpkin exterior beat a heart made of cardboard, fed by a plastic bypass valve.
I have nothing against Champions -- in fact, so far I've only used Bosch Premiums on my 2002 Mopar, although I'll be switching to Napa Golds from now on (among other things, the filter dissasembly websites I've seen consistently refer to Wix's superior quality). I just wish Champion would take that small, extra step towards quality by NOT hastefully slapping their filters together.
I didn't know that they're moving some production to Mexico, but that doesn't necessarily concern me if we're talkin' about a low-tech assembled item (as opposed to say, an engine). It wouldn't surprise me for a second if the third world employee who actually APPRECIATES his/her job manages to assemble these widgets with a higher level of care. I certainly don't want to see jobs go across the border, but if Champion does so, I counterintuitively won't sweat what impact it might have on quality, seeing as what they've done here in the States.
[ October 19, 2003, 10:40 PM: Message edited by: TC ]
