Anyone done this?

My question is largely spurred on by discovering, via Teh Interwebz, that at the turn of the decade, my dad was contacting the big drivetrain manufacturers with his thoughts about ten speed. He didn't have a lot of positive things to say about it. I've not read the whole article yet, but the words 'Sturmey' and 'Archer' further down the piece have caught my sight.

So, has anyone here been in contact with any of the big players to give them an appraisal of their products? Did you receive a response? What did they have to say?