Folks Of Interest Wheels Vintique is Now Made In China

I received another shock to the system tonight when I received my new Wheels Vintique wheels only to discover they're now made in China.

Bought three new wheels to complete an American pair that I've held onto for years.

Totally bums me out.

Just know, any part number with an "A" at the end is now made in China.

 

Yep, change in ownership (Coker Tire) and change in manufacturing. Wheelsmith is probably the best for North American manufacture for steelies.

Edit: I have a set of custom offset Wheel Vintiques I bought in 2012. That was after the ownership change and it took way too long to get them. The wheels have been great, though.

 

Makes me not want to buy anything from Coker.

I would have a stroke if I paid $1,200 to $1,500 on four bias plys only to discover that they're all made in China.

Chinese made steel wheels is the ultimate poser wheel in my opinion.

 

I got 2 US ones and 2 over seas ones when I got wheels for the 56

the overseas ones had cleaner welds.

tires can’t tell the difference

 

It is a shame that many things are not made inhouse in countries like the US, Canada, Australia, etc any more, but there is a reason why. We can't have it both ways and expect to pay next to nothing for top quality homemade products. Guess which path most choose......

I will also say that countries like China have come a long way with the quality of product they are able to manufacture, and sometimes it seems our quality is heading in the opposite direction. Bracing and waiting for the backlash.

 

I appreciate you cheering me up. Don't know why it's hitting me so hard.

What do we make anymore besides debt?

 

Just how many parts on any car is now built in China? Replacement parts ? A lot !

So the wheels being only 1 of them is no surprise. If China disappeared tomorrow it'd be years before the u.s. would recover...


...

 

For a start, what would we all do for underpants...???

 

This is the problem:

I have a car that when it was built 100% of the parts were made in the States.

Now that I'm trying to get it back on the road, nothing is made in the States.

When I made my purchase, I ***umed that the parts I was buying were still made here.

What I can't stand is that the politicians in my country have forced us to buy foreign made stuff.

I would like at least one thing on my AMERICAN car to be AMERICAN.

 

It’s 2026.


Not 1976

 

This will probably happen after the tariffs fully kick in. There is no real reason to make bias ply tires for p***enger cars these days except to ***uage the egos of an elite group of enthusiasts, so we're lucky to have them available at all. If they're like a lot of things, pretty soon they will only be economically viable by being made in foreign countries.

Also, the only complaint I could see is the country of manufacture, without a word about anything else. I, for one would like to know if the wheels were any good ot not. After reading Anthony's post, it sounds like they're probably better, which would be nice to know.

 

twenty8: What you say is true. China can produce high quality items just like we did
years ago. The days of high quality low priced , high quality USA made parts are rapidly fading away.

 

The issue I see with this is lack of transparency and price. If it's not easily identified as being made overseas and the price isn't much less to reflect the cost of manufacture, it's deception and price gouging. If the consumer base has spoken and said they vote for that, at least be honest and say this is what we are selling.

Pull down this video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKWs3VUiN-k
Get an inside look at how wheels are made at the Wheel Vintiques facility, located in City of Industry, California. The steel wheels are hand made in every stage of ***embly from welding to powder coating to final inspections before they are boxed up and ready for delivery. Wheel Vintiques has been manufacturing wheels for restored cl***ic, muscle cars, and hot rods in the U.S.A. since 1986. For more information about Wheel Vintiques, visit www.wheelvintiques.com

That URL directs to Coker.

Coker Tire Company is your home for Wheel Vintiques products. Wheel Vintiques is a leading manufacturer and supplier of premium quality steel wheels for cl***ic cars, hot rods, muscle cars and more and Coker Tire is the home of this well known product line. Wheel Vintiques has poured a tremendous amount of resources into its products, with new tooling and manufacturing techniques to offer authentic wheels with modern build quality and tolerances. When you choose a Wheel Vintiques wheel, you're getting the authentic good looks you've come to expect and the industry's best warranty standing behind these oustanding quality products.

So selecting the gennie primer, the wheels under 50 bucks each stand out, certainly compared to the 200 plus each ones. I guess they are p***ing along the savings.
I will say that the multi pattern and the caps being unique are not my idea of authentic.
https://cokertire.com/wheels/wheel-vintiques/14_gennie_primer.html

 

The last pair I bought (10-12 yrs ago), the ring the lug holes were in distorted when I tightehed the nuts ruining them.
No Wheel Vintiques for me ever again anyway.

Gary

 

yeah I ordered a pair of wheels about a year ago and the hubcap nubs are stamped incorrectly as I was running a dog dish/small cap and they would not seat/snap on. I would have lost the cap first turn.

 

If their average customer actually cared, and reflected that in their purchases, they would not have done it.

The thing is, there average customer does not. The average customer just wants a decent quality wheel, that has the look that they want.

In this specific case, an as @anthony myrick mentioned, and in my experience the quality now appears to be BETTER, now that they are no longer made in the US.

All trade is global now. That is never going to change.

For that to change, you would need to unseat and replace Capitalism (this is economic, not political), and given that the Capitalists control the market, the chance of this happening is statistically indistinguishable from zero.

It is really simple, you cannot be for Capitalism, and against this. This is a foundational tenant of it.

This is not a deli sandwich. You get it all, or you get nothing.

 

Wheel Vintique's has been a disappointment ever since they sold to Coker. Let's hope Wheel Smith doesn't give in to the big money from corporate raiders.

 

Looking forward to getting skins on these. The fronts were on back order for about 6 months so I called an canceled but I guess it didn’t get entered into my account.

 

This announcement was made a while ago. Notice that they don't disclose where the new maufacturing location is.

LEGENDARY COMPANIES ANNOUNCES RELOCATION OF WEST COAST MANUFACTURING AND DISTRIBUTION FACILITY
Legendary Companies Strives to Improve Product Quality and Customer Service
Coker Group
05/20/24
Chattanooga, TN – Legendary Companies has announced the relocation of its West Coast wheel manufacturing facility and distribution center, which has been in operation since 2013 in City of Industry, California. This move is part of a multi-layer process to provide customers with a more consistent supply of high-quality products and improve the customer service experience across all brands in the Legendary Companies group.

The relocation of the manufacturing and distribution operations comes as Legendary Companies evolves its wheel company operations, with a vision for product line expansion, improved inventory, and better customer service.

Legendary Companies will continue to offer original and custom steel wheels for cl***ic cars, muscle cars and hot rods as it has for more than 25 years to its customer network, which includes domestic and international distributors, dealers and individuals. Legendary Companies will service the needs of the end user customer through its well-known brands from Coker Tire, Wheel Vintiques and Roadster Wire Wheel.

Legendary Companies has facilities in Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia and Germany to accommodate the relocation of the manufacturing and distribution operations, and the staff is focused on customer satisfaction through the relocation and restructuring process.

About Legendary Companies
Legendary Companies is comprised of Coker Tire Company, Corvette Central, Zip Products, Inc., Wheel Vintiques, Specialty Wheel, Roadster Wire Wheel, Universal Vintage Tire and Great Race, as well as German tire distributor MOR (Munchner Oldtimer Reifen). The group of companies has hundreds of years of combined manufacturing experience and serves the auto enthusiast market with product offerings that allow enthusiasts to accelerate their automotive p***ion.

 

It's the American way!

 

Sadly, we're in a race to the very bottom of the quality chain.

 

Without!

Ben

 

I recall that in the Fiftys anything from Japan was almost rubbish.
In the Seventies stuff coming from Taiwan was questionable.
Both places, today, make quality goods.
Sorry that you did not know that your cash was going international

 

Wrong! Wall Street has forced you to buy foreign manufactured parts. The constant pressure for publicly traded companies to grow their bottom line forces them to look for ways to decrease cost. Therefore, cheap labor and less restrictive laws help them do that.

 

I’ve been waiting 2 years for my hubcaps. I won’t make that mistake again.

 

Off shore parts of poor quality are the result of the buyer/consumer wanting lower and lower prices not the country of origin. Remember the Chinese can make Nukes. so they can make Snap on quality tools IF we want to pay for them. JMO

 

Prepaid???

 

I used to work for a company like that; it was profit above all else. One winter they even stopped sanding the parking lot until our CEO slipped and fell on the ice. Then they decided to outsource the sheetmetal shop, thinking they would save two million a year. Instead, they ended up losing four million a year, so they brought it back inhouse (and bought really cheap equipment), and we went back to being the most profitable business arm for several years...until they decided to close the entire company and move it south because it was cheaper. That cost them dearly, as they lost a lot of expertise and ended up with some expensive quality issues.

 

Agreed. As shown, there is a 38 dollar wheel
https://cokertire.com/wheels/15x7-gennie-primer-5x4-5-5x4-75-bolt-4-5-backspace.html
or a 255 dollar wheel.
https://cokertire.com/catalog/produ...olt-4-5-backspace-14-5712042a/category/32632/

They are letting the consumer choose, although manufacturer location is not stated. Considering what I see old crusty wheels listed for on CL/FB, those are cheaper if you can live with the dual bolt pattern.

 

I bought a set of steel wheels made in China and welded Dzus tabs so I could run Moon discs. Mounted the tires and the wheels were so out of balance I couldn't use them. Needless to say, they were not returnable. Sometimes I think I'm a slow learner as I bought a pair of steel wheels for a project that were also from China. These wheels were powder painted white and I had to pay extra to remove the coating so that they could be coated red. Had the tires mounted and again, out of balance and not returnable. I have no problem paying the price for a quality steel wheel, but who the hell makes them in this country anymore?