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Re: [ST] Triumph Cruiser



>>> Paul Fox <pgf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> - 5/11/01 2:45 PM >>>but maybe triumph doesn't have to be more than a small player in that
market for them to consider it a success.  


Triumph probably has realistic expectations about how many bikes it can sell, but I'll bet no one enters a market intending to remain a bit player. It's like aspiring to middle management. Sure, some people are happy to spend their life in middle management, but wouldn't most folks rather be the boss? Triumph keeps its expectations realistic to prevent having to issue disappointing earnings reports, but don't you think they secretly hope for wild success? Everyone wants to have the next Harley Road King, or Volkswagen New Beetle, or Chrysler PT Cruiser, even if they've projected Volvo S40-level (or ST1100-level) sales. And no one wants to build the next Pontiac Aztec or Victory V92SC.

I'm not trying to argue that Triumph should build a V-twin cruiser. The big triple probably makes a lot of sense, though I suspect any liquid-cooled inline multi-cylinder cruiser will not be a strong seller. I am saying that to really earn a profit from the cruiser market, you need to build a V-twin cruiser that looks like a Harley Fat Boy, or at least like a Kawasaki Vulcan 1500FI Classic or a Yamaha Road Star.

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