Well, I could live with the carbon fiber. It appeared to be the better choice out of the options available.
However, what I CANNOT live with is the fact that the guy used the wrong screen yet again.
Here is what the screen looks like that is currently on the front of my car on either side of that front license plate panel:
The way these screens are described is by the openings in the mesh. This screen is a 5x5 mesh, meaning there are 5 square openings per inch horzontally and vertically.
Now here's what I got in this new license plate panel:
Obviously not the same. This is a 6x6 mesh. And the wire is thinner, too.
I SPECIFICALLY stated that I wanted the mesh in this panel to match what was already on my car.
FAIL!
This is all explicitly described in the McMasters catalog, where that thread on CorvetteForum shows as a source for this kind of stuff ->
http://www.mcmaster.com/#wire-cloth/=l6xfkd
And on top of that, the screen was not put in correctly. It was not straightened before being cut and fitted into the frame. The upper left hand corner slopes upwards instead of being straight across.
I noticed all these things yesterday when I opened the box, but I figured I would just wait 24 hours and see if it grew on me and I could accept these flaws. But honestly, no, I cannot. Yeah, I'm picky as hell, and expect more than just "acceptable" from people I spend my money with. Unless I'm being told I am buying "seconds" at a discount and agree to that beforehand, then dammit, I want what I paid for. Not ALMOST OK. Heck, this isn't even made in China, so I can't blame that on this blatant display of lack of attention to detail and workmanship.
So I'm done messing with this. I contacted Pinnacle, who I actually ordered this from, and asked for a refund. The manufacturer obviously cannot get this right, and I'm just tired of this damned burr underneath my saddle. I'm going to just put the original license panel back on and forget about this.