Talk:Vector WX-8

Present v. past-tense

The article, as I found it, was stated in the present-tense, as if it was still 2008, when the article was current. To wit: "The Vector WX8 is a sports car prototype released under development at Vector Motors. It was first shown officially to the public in 2007 revealing the development and the company`s ambitious intentions of creating a next generation sportscar successor to their previous models. Vector claims the WX8 may achieve a top speed of 270 mph (430 km/h) and a zero-to-60 mph time as low as 2.3 seconds for the version of the car equipped with a 10-litre turbocharged engine. This engine is described..." (emphasis added) This is contrary to WP guidelines for grammar usage. If an event transpired many years ago, it is nonsensical to use present-tense phrases like "The Vector WX8 is a sports car prototype released under development..." Ten years on, the WX8 is no longer "under development", and Vector hasn't claimed that "the WX8 may achieve a top speed" of anything for many years. user:Nightfury reverted my edit. Please don't do so again without first attempting to justify your reasons here on the talk page, as per WP's protocols. Thank you. Bricology (talk) 03:24, 15 August 2018 (UTC)

Bricology; I think you have me confused with another editor - all I have done to this article was close an AfD opened against it. By the looks of it a user by the name of Areaseven enacted the edits you describe. Nightfury 09:31, 15 August 2018 (UTC)

My apologies for my mix-up, Nightfury.

So what was the whole point of reverting all of my edits if your issue is just about past v. present tense? Also, the article was updated with recent developments on the car, in case you didn't notice. - Areaseven (talk) 11:06, 15 August 2018 (UTC)

Areaseven wrote "Also, the article was updated with recent developments on the car, in case you didn't notice." An editor (you?) added this to the article: "As of August 2018, the company still is actively developing the vehicle." But a look at the company website belies that claim. To wit: it's "development" page (http://www.vectormotors.com/development.html) has a gallery of 9 photographs, under the thumbnails of which is the caption "WX8 is currently in development." However, the metadata for each of the 9 photos proves that the dates they were taken were in April and May of 2008 -- more than ten years ago. There are no second-party sources that I could find to actually confirm any new development, they were all merely parroting Vector's claims of new development. Indeed, a brief Googling turned up such reports as this one from Jalopnik (https://jalopnik.com/321943/blasting-from-the-past-vector-avtech-wx8), which states "...Wiegert's making good on recent threats to revive the marque with a new supercar. It's the Vector Avtech WX8, a prototype of which he showed off at the Pebble Beach Concours in 2006. Long story short, he's showing it at the LA show this week. Though the promises are familiar — a 750hp V8 and top speed of 260-270 mph (in Bonneville gearing, natch) — so is the boundless optimism." Immediately following this editorial comment is a press release supplied by Vector: "Press Release: Vector Avtech WX8 at the LA Auto Show, LOS ANGELES CA, The renowned automobile entrepreneur and vehicle designer Gerald Wiegert announced today the introduction of his latest creation - ultra-super-exotic vehicle trade named HPV for the 'Vector Avtech WX-8'. Gerald Wiegert, Chairman and Founder of Vector Motors Corporation, manufacturer of the Vector Avtech WX-8 ultra-supercar, announced today that the company will exhibit the Vector Avtech WX-8 at the prestigious, internationally acclaimed 'Los Angeles Auto Show' from November 15th through November 24th in Los Angeles, CA..." The date of this article on Jalopnik? November 13, 2007. So, Vector was claiming ten years ago that the WX8 was "in development". The latest claims on Vector's website appear to be vaporware from a company with a long history of vaporware. WP:RS sets the standard for a reliable source considerably higher than a claim made on a website, about itself. Bricology (talk) 02:29, 16 August 2018 (UTC)

Can you just state your complaints or concerns in less than 200 words? Not all of us have the time to read War and Peace-length comments. - Areaseven (talk) 07:12, 16 August 2018 (UTC)

Nope. WP is an encyclopedia, not a collection of Tweets. If you can't manage to read 200 words, you have no business objecting to their contents. Bricology (talk) 21:59, 13 January 2019 (UTC)

Again, the article claims "As of August 2018, the company still is actively developing the vehicle." The editor who added this (Areaseven) doesn't seem to understand WP:RS, which makes it clear that the standard is an independent, third-party source making a determination of fact, not reporting hearsay that they found on the subject's website or from their press release, which is the case here. The provided sources explicitly state that the company (or more likely, Wiegert) is claiming that the car is under development. Source #1 (a blog called "Motor Authority") states "The company is still kicking the company [sic] however, and it plans a new supercar it's calling the WX8" and "...Vector's website lists some pretty pie-in-the-sky specifications for its dream supercar..." and "All of this allegedly will grant the WX8 a 500-plus-mile driving range..." Motor Authority's post even expresses skepticism about the reality of this car, with "Humorously, the claims are written in present tense; the company says the specs 'make [the WX8] the fastest production road vehicle ever.'" and "We don't know if the WX8 will ever see the light of day..." Source #2 (a blog called "The Drive") states that Vector was selling two of its cars "...apparently to fund development of its planned WX-8 hypercar..." The Drive also expresses skepticism about the WX-8 actually being under development with language like "As for the WX-8, it eventually went the way of the SSC Tuatara, becoming another vaporware American hypercar." (all bolded emphases added) So, far from the two sources listed actually reporting that Vector "is actively developing the vehicle", both merely state that the company claims to be developing it, and both express their own doubts. Unless Areaseven or other editors can supply sources that meet the WP:RS standards for supporting such claims, the claim that the WX-8 is being "actively developed" must be removed. Bricology (talk) 22:45, 13 January 2019 (UTC)

You seem to have some personal issue with either me or Vector Motors, given that you refuse to let go of this grudge after over a year. - Areaseven (talk) 02:37, 14 January 2019 (UTC)