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Old 08-06-2010, 01:31 PM
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JollyRoger JollyRoger is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LUVMBDiesels View Post
HD has been talking about pulling out of York too.
The city has given them all sorts of tax breaks to stay but they are laying off workers and shutting down lines.

I predict they will simply outsource the whole manufacturing business to a Japanese or Chinese company and become a maker of fine badges...
Their problem is not production costs, it's getting people to buy their bikes. The design is outmoded, and they can't seem to expand beyond their existing customer base by presenting products a broader market wants to buy. If Harley can't deal with that, they are finished. They need to hire some Ford guy to show them how it's done, it's not impossible. I don't think you will ever see them leave the US, if they did, their loyal customer base would collapse. I do wish they would build a factory overseas so we can compete better in the world market with some sort of more Euro-style bike. So far, the V-rod, a Euro-style Harley, has been a disaster. It just plain costs too much, and is too damned big.
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