I just got off the phone with Lynn again. I am really impressed with how seriously they are taking things.
The good news is the manual is imminent.
One or two caveats. The manual will essentially be a login to the IA system that the dealerships technicians use, which sounds great. However they have some concerns about uptake, see below. They don't want to simply open source the thing as that could lead to copyright issues and also mean lots of knock off cheap parts appearing which could damage the brand. (My words not hers)
Firstly, transferring the data from the existing program to a PDF format is way more complicated than you might think and therefore time consuming. Lynn really wants this to happen now, so web based it will be.
Secondly if every Grenadier owner wants the manual immediately it could present a few issues, the first of which is each user will need to have their own login, (you will need to provide your email and VIN number) automating this process will require a load of coding at the back end which is more time and cost, and she wants this done ASAP. So user logins will be created manually at IA, this will be a time consuming process, Lynn’s concern is that if all 20,000 owners sign up at once there will be long delays which takes us back to square one. We have been waiting long enough. I suggested to Lynn that if they charged a small fee for this then only those seriously intending to use the manual would actually sign up, she was keen for it to be free however as that was more in the spirit of the original promise. I can’t argue with that.
She asked me to ask you to only sign up for the manual if you actually want /need / intend to use it. If we all stampede for it at the same time it will be like a run on the bank- no one will get anything. If demand is measured those who need it could be browsing the manual in a couple of weeks time.
They also have concerns about adding thousands of users to their existing system, can the system cope with the extra traffic? They are looking at this right now and will hopefully be ready to roll this out in the next couple of weeks. She kindly offered to let me try it out next week, so hopefully I’ll get a login and be able to have a play around with it. I’ll report back to both you guys and to IA on its usability from a home users point of view.
Thirdly
The intention is that for existing owners the manual will be free, but IA have not ruled out charging new buyers a subscription fee. They may end up developing an App at some point but again they don't want to add any more delays to a long delayed project. They are still working on this so don't hold me to that….
Next topic is the code reader. Following my conversation with Lynn a couple of weeks ago her team have reached out to AUTEL and discussions are taking place. Nothing has been agreed as yet but it is her intention to roll out something as soon as possible. It may not be AUTEL who they end up partnering up with, I hope it is as thats the one I have! She doesn’t know as yet how long it would take AUTEL to roll out an update but they are having further meetings in the next couple of weeks. What needs to happen is IA supply AUTEL with data and Autel write the code and then roll it out.. I have no idea how long that will take but she is committed to getting this done.
And finally we talked about parts availability. They are building a more robust system and encouraging dealers to stock more parts. Being a new vehicle they were unsure what demand would be like and now that it has been around for a while they are getting a better idea. They are also giving their regional centres more autonomy and that will also improve delivery. She was keen to point out that it costs them way more if they have to express freight individual parts around the world; it’s in their interest to hold parts at regional centres and dealerships. This is what they are doing.
I’m pretty pleased with the response, this only confirms my belief that they are taking the issues we raised seriously and are acting fast. Its what we wanted to hear.
