In a message dated 9/26/00 11:59:33 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< Things that make money, but not lots and lots
and lots of money, get ignored. And those of us with quirky tastes (I do
include myself here, BTW) lose out. >>
That statement in itself is debatable. Although it helps when amortizing the
tool up expenses of a production line to make more units, the benefits
decrease when modifications have to be made to a percentage of them to make
them legal for import into a certain country. That expense becomes the
responsibility of the country doing the importing. Although quirky
motorcycles are nice, if an operation, say YMUS, is selling everything they
can get their hands on that the parent company is making, and screaming for
more, are they going to ask for different models that response would be
questionable on? Someone had previously mentioned that there are other styles
of motorcycles out there other than cruisers and sport bikes. Yes, there are,
but percentage wise, those two categories account for better than 3/4 of
motorcycle sales. Jay could probably come up with the exact numbers, but
ballparking it around there gives you an idea of where the US market is.
Another reality is the factory can only make so many motorcycles. Are you
going to make what you are selling out of, or make models that may sell? I
believe if it were any of us calling the shots and it was our money on the
line, we would either do what they are doing or fail miserably. All Japanese
manufacturers remember the 80's, and are determined not to repeat them. Now,
it seems much safer to produce almost enough motorcycles to keep up with the
demand of the current trend, than be the manufacturer with the greatest
diversity of product line. This philosophy is what Harley is often credited
with, "If we make enough, we have made too many." Although many may not want
to hear this, having models in high demand and limited supply allows dealers
to operate more profitably by not having to give deep discounts to sell
units. Remember folks, these owners of dealerships are small businessmen like
many of you. Profit is not a dirty word. Although overall profitability
varies from one dealer to the next, most are in the business for the love of
motorcycles. Owning your own motorcycle dealership is not a free ride on easy
street to Lifestyles of the rich and famous. The standing joke among
dealership owners is To make a small fortune in the MC business, start out
with a big fortune.
