Re: oilheads-digest V1 #346

[Bob MacFarland <emoto1@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jack Bunce wrote:

...

>  BMW Motorcycle operating profit is (I think) down by about 13.3% for 
> the first three quarters of 2004. 


This is not a function of sales alone. I believe that significant funds 
have been and continue to pour into new model development.
 

> In Connecticut, our newest dealer, Cliff's BMW in Danbury,...
>
> Our other Connecticut BMW dealer is Canton Cycles...


So, Lindners in New Canaan is closed up and gone now?

> To succeed It must take customers away from the Japanese brands.  
> Multi line stores can help them do that by offering a potential 
> customer an attractive place to shop for a wide variety of motorcycles 
> which are essentially different from the ujm machine while still 
> containing those elements of the ujm which are responsible for their 
> wide appeal. 


I love multi-line stores, particularly when they include a european 
brand.  They break up the "sameness" of the showroom, and offer more 
than mere choice; they offer riders options as their riding styles 
change and mature.  When I was still buying Hondas and Suzukis, having 
the BMWs also sitting there in the showroom exposed me to sides of the 
sport that I would not have seen otherwise.  Here were high-end bike 
being purchased by people my father's age (now, my age) who had been 
riding a long time and clearly had the money for just about anything 
they wanted, or so it seemed to me.  Those early memories are certainly 
a part of why i ever gave BMW a second look. If would be nice for the 
guy who rides a Ninja and eventually decides the thing is too damn 
uncomfortable, to have an option easily at hand. Something to "step up" 
to...

- -- 
Bob
     Eventual Master of the Obvious
  R1200GS CB750F DoD EMOTO BMWMOA SOHC4
Proud walking jingle in the midnight sun

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