Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/02/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hello Nowell, >> Don Bledsoe wrote about Harley Davidson upgrading their product to compete successfully in today's market...Actually Don they got the US government to pass such high import taxes on Japanese motorcycles ( 50% range I think)<< It was 45% on motorcycles over 750cc (nothing on smaller models) and lasted at that rate only a year with a sliding scale downwards. It was known as the infamous "protect act." As you suspect, it did no more than give them a bit of breathing room, and even that is doubtful. The Japanese were already in the process of moving motorcycle production facilities into north America. The Japanese tried every trick in the book to thwart it, making all their then most popular best selling size (750cc) motorcycles into 700cc jobs and producing the bigger models that were aimed specifically at the HD market class here. The point that needs to be made about that little bit of Government interference on behalf of HD is that HD did not rest on their laurels, they got a small break and took full advantage of it. I suspect the German government would do something similar for Leica though it would have little meaning in the US. But Leica is in nowhere near as bad of shape as HD was. HD's help from the Government was nothing compared to the Chrysler bailout. That one put cash in the automakers pocket, direct from the taxpayers. Regards, Don