Good. Im pleasantly suprised. Just wait until you start doing Hard Kore *****.

You'll love it. Let me know what you get, and your impressions of it

 

Yes sir I have a MINI and I apologize for being "DUMB" as my knowledge of "MODS" is not up to your standards.

 

no you're excused just dont post acting like you know about them, or the products of PaloUber.

 

OH MY GOD....

 

I'll finally jump in. Months ago when Palo Uber started to get mentioned in the forums, I checked out the PaloUberMini website and was very interested when I saw this:This actually got me a bit excited. I have an interest in art and thought it was really cool that a (presumably prominent) artist was behind a company producing MINI products. So I searched around for information about Palo Uber (the artist), and came up... empty. Could not find any references or reviews about him at all, except his own website. Not a good showing for "one of the greatest living abstract expressionists".

Everything just got more weird the closer I looked. Read his biography on the website, and there are some curious things. Who exactly is his "highly celebrated German architect father" (I'm also an architecture fan and I'm curious to know) and "Italian mother well known within the art community of Milan"? What "highly respected and exclusive interior design company" did he sell his paintings to at age 16? Which university did he "matriculate with honors" [sic] from? Such facts would normally be prominently mentioned to help promote an artist. Will the real Palo Uber please make an appearance and speak up here? Some of us would be interested to learn little more about your art and your background.

All this and more simply left me distrustful of the company. And as a company that was founded and has an office in the UK, why do the UK folks on MINI2 only know of Palo Uber Mini as a California vendor?

 

It's not just the mailboxes - it's the totality of all the little things we're finding out. They're obviously re-branding at least some of their products, and not making that fact clear in their descriptions. It's one thing to "re-box" commodity items like wheel bearings and batteries, but high-dollar items are a different matter. They claim that SportMax is infringing on them - we'll see soon if that's the case.
They also claim that they can't make more than a $500 profit on the widebody kit, even though the only thing they're doing different than Konigseder is some unspecified design changes and painting some parts. Konigseder's price includes the shipping/boxing/handling as well, for $3000 less.

Then there's the issue that "Palo Uber London" is a sole proprietorship out of Newport Beach with someone's house as the business address, and the only addresses we've ever seen (or can find) are mail drops.

Also, for a company that's been around for 14 years and is involved in everything from car parts to clothing to feeding the poor, they certainly don't have much of a physical presence or a web presence. Between their existing facility in Herndon, their new facility in wherever-it-is, and their "main gallery" in the Netherlands, plus all of their charitable works, they sure seem to be keeping a low profile.

Not to mention the "Stanford Gallery", which is the sole U.S. agent for Palo Uber's art. So far, I haven't found a business license for it, or any kind of physical or mailing address (not even a Mail Boxes Etcetera box).

Plus, have you read Palo Uber's biography? There's not a single verifiable fact anywhere in it. It says his parents were "[FONT=Arial]a highly celebrated German architect father and an Italian mother well known within the art community of Milan", but it doesn't give their names. It mentions that his father designed "Frank Lloyd Wright homes", but doesn't say which ones. By 16, Palo had sold artwork to "[/FONT][FONT=Arial]a highly respected and exclusive interior design company", but it doesn't say which one. It goes on to say "[/FONT][FONT=Arial]That was the beginning of what is today a world wide following of recognized art collectors. Palo’s works hang in corporate board rooms, celebrities’ private homes as well as serious collectors looking toward the future.", but again mentions no specifics. He "matriculated with honors" from University, but there's no mention of which University, where or when. The biography drops names like Rothko, Klein and Mitchell, but offers no specifics as to his involvement with either of them, and I doubt any of the writings by/about those three artists will mention Uber.
There's a quote from a 2002 interview, but neither the interviewer nor the publication is identified.

For a living abstract impressionist selling paintings in the $30,000-40,000 range (which is impressive, although not outrageous), he seems to have little physical presence in the art world. I haven't found any books by or about him, haven't found any galleries that show his work (other than Carol's gallery - did I mention her married name is "Stanford"?), and he has no listings of juried shows (or any shows) that he's participated in, which is strange thing to omit from an artist's statement/biography.

If you Google "Palo Uber", *every single hit* is either from palouber.com (registered by Carol in California in 2005), paloubermini.com (ditto), or one of the MINI-centric sites. Nothing else about the art, or anything at all about the clothing line or charitable works to be found anywhere.

When Palo Uber says "I am an obscure artist", he's really not kidding!

No one fact is particularly damning, but taken in totality and in context, something certainly smells fishy.

[/FONT]

 

Where do you find the 003s for this price?

 

I wish I could - any of the really "fun" stuff would bump me up into SM class, where I frankly wouldn't be as competitive as I am now. I can't even put a pulley on my car without getting re-classed to SM. Likewise, I *really* want to try out the M7 Under Strut System, because I've heard it does such great things for the convertibles. Alas, that would bump me to SM as well. So, short of getting a third MINI as a dedicated autocross car, I'll probably top out with the suspension upgrades I'll be doing over the next few months.

 

Okay, anybody please post a photo of Mr. Uber. I need to be convinced this guy actually exists.

 

I'm really not interested in any of the bashing....and would just like my questions answered. Palo has responded a fwe times since, but have yet to answer....so here are the questions again

 

Unfortunately, a photo wouldn't prove anything. I'd just like to see a reference to him in *any* scholarly work from the art field, or a gallery catalogue that lists any of his works (other than Carol's web gallery), or any record of any shows he may have participated in.

 

I know, but at least it'd be a start. This whole thing is almost like how I'd go about fabricating a fictitious character.

 

Well, the picture is from www.kenida.com (scroll down to the bottom-right of their homepage to see the SportMax wheels), but their price for the 17X7 gunmetal rims is $199 each now (although perhaps they occasionally offer specials?)

 

Dude... relax!

Obviously you are the most knowledgable person on all of NAM (and perhaps in the world) when it comes to mods but do you really need to make personal attacks? :impatient

 

I'm not one to chime in on things like this, but I was shocked. Companies exist because we buy stuff from them. We buy stuff from them, because they have the "right" product at the "right" price. What is "right" isn't the same for everyone. That being said...lots of companies do not manufacture their own products. Ever bought a disposable Kodak camera? Well, it's the same thing as a Fuji disposable; it just has a different label. I know this because the college town I lived in had a disposable camera factory. It supplied cameras to any company that would buy them. I had college friends that worked there, and they said that Kodak and Fuji bought their cameras from them....there were other companies too...you know...the generic brands. Yep....you're paying more for a name...so what. That's a person's choice. If you notice that two products are similar, point it out. Then move on. If you had a bad experience with a company, you might report it...but do so cautiously. Please don't bash companies that you have no experience with...if you don't like them...don't buy their products. This is the worst thing about the internet. You can do serious damage to a company from your home office when you have no business doing so. I hate to see MINI people all fighting about something. I wonder if we can just close this thread, start a new one, and stay on task by answering RallyMINI’s original questions.
Of course...this is just my opinion.

-Seth

 

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...iendid=2777718

I still would like to know what this is all about.....

 

I would like to say thanks to Palo Uber, I enjoy your products and have plans to purchase more from them. There customer service is great, products are innovative and they have not given me a single reason not to purchase from them.

Thanks again, Palo Uber and Sir, Patrick for your products !

 

Passat - have you ever spoken to anybody from PU, vs email or NAM? From the outside looking in, the whole thing seems suspect, but you've obviously done some due diligence to have spent so much with them.

 

Here you go.
http://www.performanceplustire.com/p...241#prodAnchor

 

I have spoken with them on the phone a lot. I was on the fence about the install of the light bar. I sent them a quick email asking some questions, and was pleasantly surprised by a phone call.

Then, I asked about the small uber wing and again, he called telling just how easy it would be to install the wing.

They certainly take care of there repeat customers as well. That is why, I am here trying to explain they are a worthy vendor that should be given try !

 

lolirony.

 

so i guess sport max is copying all of their wheels because the only differences i see are the center caps and palo has better pictures.
http://www.sportmaxwheel.com/about_us.shtml

 

i think its fair to say that they are defo sport max wheels and if they are uber as they claim why then do they come with other stud patterns on as the mini only needs 4x100

 

There is no doubt they are sportmax wheels. And there is nothing "high performance" or "world class" about a set of low quality wheels intended to be put on honda civics. And would make this statement describing the uber rims VERY ironic: " This is the rim others have attempted to imitate"

And for whoever brought up the rolex example. Having seen what happened with the sportmax wheels and the bodykit which is all of a sudden not being produced (despite "spending thousands on the custom molds BEFORE deciding to not sell it)......buying from PU isn't like buying a Rolex. It's like walking down the street in NY and buying a rolex for a reasonably high price from the incredibly nice and charming man on the sidewalk in the trench coat. And then later having someone tell you that your Rolex is actually just a timex replica of a rolex. You can still be happy with your purchase, and the man on the sidewalk could have been an awesome gentlemen.....but for the sake of others who would be more upset with their fake rolexes(and want real rolex quality), we should inform them of his fakes.

But, this thread is about the bodykit and their exhaust that "is pictured" in it....so let's wait for answers to my question.

 

I would venture to say that these are manufactured by neither Uber or Sport Max. These two companies probably bought the wheels from the same manufacturer though...no biggy IMO.