Should the American automakers...

[clocker]

What do you have against Harleys BTW? Is it the company, the bikes or the riders or just motorcycles in general?

I love motorcycles, which is why I dislike- OK, hate- Harleys.
The bikes and the people who idolize them.

Harley decided to freeze time in the era of The Wild One (which, oddly enough, featured a Triumph Bonneville) and stop innovating.

By the seventies, faced with the overwhelming technical superiority of the Japanese, Harley, enthusiastically abetted by the owners, decided it was somehow more patriotic to stick to outdated and inferior designs.
In essence, they threw up their hands, ceded defeat and tried to make it a virtue.

Faced with the fact that Yamaha RD350 (which cost about $750 at the time) could absolutely blow the doors off the biggest Harley made, they decided to pursue the only area in which they excelled...they made Harleys louder.

"My bike doesn't handle, has pathetic performance and features quality control that would make a Neanderthal craftsman weep but by God, you can hear it coming from 2 miles away!"

I could go on...

[j2k4]

What do you have against Harleys BTW? Is it the company, the bikes or the riders or just motorcycles in general?

I love motorcycles, which is why I dislike- OK, hate- Harleys.
The bikes and the people who idolize them.

Harley decided to freeze time in the era of The Wild One (which, oddly enough, featured a Triumph Bonneville) and stop innovating.

By the seventies, faced with the overwhelming technical superiority of the Japanese, Harley, enthusiastically abetted by the owners, decided it was somehow more patriotic to stick to outdated and inferior designs.
In essence, they threw up their hands, ceded defeat and tried to make it a virtue.

Faced with the fact that Yamaha RD350 (which cost about $750 at the time) could absolutely blow the doors off the biggest Harley made, they decided to pursue the only area in which they excelled...they made Harleys louder.

"My bike doesn't handle, has pathetic performance and features quality control that would make a Neanderthal craftsman weep but by God, you can hear it coming from 2 miles away!"

I could go on...

Amen to all of that.

Harley should have just ceded the highway and made off-road machinery...like John Deere, or, dare I say it, Kubota.

[clocker]

Harley should have just ceded the highway and made off-road machinery...

Given the horrible reliability of most Harleys- and the predilection of most owners to add chrome gee-gaws and polish instead of ride- "off-road" is exactly where they spend most of their time.
Thank goodness.

[devilsadvocate]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.

Some people still like vinyl records over cds

With the noise I have to say I would rather be sat at the lights with a Harley next to me idling than have one of those jap sports bikes with the rider constantly revving the engine. It's almost as if they have uncontrollable muscle spasms in their wrists.

[j2k4]

I once skimmed a copy of The Harley Davidson Guide to Skanky Women, autographed by Sonny Barger himself.

True story.

[clocker]

Was it hollowed out to hide meth?

[j2k4]

Was it hollowed out to hide meth?

The skanky woman?

[clocker]

Yeah, her too.

[Busyman]

Prior to the recent financial carpocolypse, such government intrusion into American businesses was considered totally unacceptable- nay, unAmerican, bordering on communist- and yet today that's just what they cry for.

A classic case of wanting one's cake whilst eating it too.
When times are good American companies want the government to leave them alone- no taxes, no regulation, unfettered capitalism at it's purest- when things go sour they want all the benefits and protections that Big Brother can provide.
Naturally, once the immediate danger has passed, Big Brother is supposed to gracefully bow out and allow the corporations to operate as they are used to doing.
Like that has ever happened here in the US.

The problem is that with foreign government behind foreign car exports and idiot local car companies fucking up in a myriad of ways - advantage foreign car companies. No deuce.

@devilsadvocate - it seems weird that the article doesn't mention any incentives to the Big Three (not talking about TARP).

It seems also that those incentives were laid out to lure the companies to their state versus another.

I've always said that America would be become a nation primarily made up of high-paid executives and low wage earners. Ship middle-class jobs overseas to benefit the "company" consisting of executives with it's primary work force located elsewhere. Gut unions and have a Walmart roll back on wages and benefits. Meanwhile everything else like housing, food, medical care, transportation, and education doesn't get a roll back.

"Change is coming."