In their infinite wisdom....

[Phreakish]

I knew a guy associated with Gopher when it was in business. We were discussing parts quality and he laughed that a Gopher rebuild was junk but a rebuilt Gopher was a pretty good motor. What?? He said that the quality of parts like bearings, rings, valve train parts, etc. that Gopher used were middle to lower quality. Other than fitting, all Gopher cared about was how much the part cost and if it could make it through warranty. The machining though was first rate. His take was you get a Gopher rebuild, disassemble it, throw all of the bearings, rings, lifters, camshaft, camshaft, etc. away and reassemble it with quality parts....you've now got a good motor. Take it for what it is worth.

I should clarify: no mfg cares about a retail warranty. Not sure if that's what Gopher offered, but if it was more of an industrial or commercial offering, then the warranty matters more since it's typically part of sales/purchase contracts.

Some companies do of course care (I like to exaggerate for effect), but the vast majority it's not even a blip on the radar unless they've got significant exposure through some sort of licensing deal (like craftsman hand tools), then it's rarely not part of the decision making process.