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OB in a big multi-product corporation that board will not allow mixing of money. They answer to the investors. The motorcycle division has a budget. They don't make money people start losing jobs in high positions.
Happens all the time. Example: In 1989 a strong Ford Motor Company purchased a struggling Jaguar Motor Co. Jaguar had at the time an old product line, outdated plants and no capital to engineer new product. Ford poured cash, technical resources and modernized production facilities machine tooling etc into the small luxury car company. Ford owned Jaguar for 19 years and never made a profit with the brand. Not such a big deal...until the economy turned real bad and Ford could no longer waste resources on the PAG. Fortunately they sold off those bad idea luxury brands Jaguar, Aston Martin, Rover and Volvo.
Back to bikes. Someone mentioned the new Indian Motorcycle to be launched later this year. This will be interesting since for the first time a strong parent company with resources (financial and technical) will be backing the brand...something the previous 2 attempts did not have. Indian will have enough start-up capital to "do it right" their all-new engines (not S&S crate motors) are an example, and they aren't starting out in debt needing to make fast profit. They have the financial cushion of a strong diverse parent company.
Last edited by outerbanks; 04/27/2013 3:45 AM.
