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There was a thread on another forum about the "Sexiest sportbike ever made" I of course added my $.02 about the MV and here's one response...
Me: Sorry guys, I'm biased but theres a reason they haven't changed the styling of the MV....why mess with perfection?
Him: I don't think "perfection" is the reason they haven't messed with it. I think it has a little more to do with no free capital, income to debt not strong, always going bankrupt, new holding company every fiscal year etc.....
But what do I know?
Me: Obviously you didn't take into account the Ducati 916 996 series, they kept the styling around a long while before they changed it and that body style is still on the top of people's list....the same designer designed the MV F4 series...Now are you gonna tell me Ducati had financial troubles too?
Him: Actually yes, I WILL tell you Ducati has had, and is having, financial troubles. And it is a fact that Ducati held out on the redesign of the 999 due to finances. Do your homework.
Me: My point is that manufacturers of high end vehicles (bikes and cars) generally don't change the styling of their models often to keep the value up. In some cases it works (like with bikes and some exotic cars) and in some cases it doesn't. Now I'm patiently waiting for your analysis of the financial statements of all these other vehicle manufacturers as well to explain why they don't change the models as often, oh well..... did we forget that I said I was "biased" in my first thread? In the end its all a matter of opinion, I just stated mine. No hard feelings or anything by the way....its nice to have actual ideas being tossed around or argued in this place for once.
Him: No harm no foul Mv 2 NV. I was hoping you wouldn't take this personally lol. It's just people expressing thoughts. I actually think the MV is a hot ride myself.... Congrats on having one!
The MIC data that I get every month for my reports doesn't even break down Ducati, Triumph or other off-marqee machines because their total sales are so small compared to Japanese product. It's good to hit a home run on styling (like MV did) but when you compare specs, the exotics fall off after a model year because they can't afford the development like the Japanese can. So they evolve rather than explode with a new model. They almost have no choice but to stay with styling. Take Ducati, the largest of the non-Japanese in sportbikes. They posted a $41.5 million dollar LOSS last fiscal year compared to 2004. The 999 platform is not setting the world on fire in terms of performance or styling but the company can't afford a redesign. You were dead-on with you comment of holding value though: Ducati sends out a training manual to all of their dealers that states the reason they go with solid colors and limited styling changes is so as to not devalue the previous year bikes. It would be nice if the Japanese would take a hint from that but then no one would buy new and I would be out of a job.
I hope I didn't offend ya whan I posted about MV and fiscals (how did we get here anyways???), but type can be misleading in reference to tone. It's a beautiful bike. Period.
Is this the reason they don't change model styling (besides special edition colors) as often as Japanese Manufacturers?
Me: Sorry guys, I'm biased but theres a reason they haven't changed the styling of the MV....why mess with perfection?
Him: I don't think "perfection" is the reason they haven't messed with it. I think it has a little more to do with no free capital, income to debt not strong, always going bankrupt, new holding company every fiscal year etc.....
But what do I know?
Me: Obviously you didn't take into account the Ducati 916 996 series, they kept the styling around a long while before they changed it and that body style is still on the top of people's list....the same designer designed the MV F4 series...Now are you gonna tell me Ducati had financial troubles too?
Him: Actually yes, I WILL tell you Ducati has had, and is having, financial troubles. And it is a fact that Ducati held out on the redesign of the 999 due to finances. Do your homework.
Me: My point is that manufacturers of high end vehicles (bikes and cars) generally don't change the styling of their models often to keep the value up. In some cases it works (like with bikes and some exotic cars) and in some cases it doesn't. Now I'm patiently waiting for your analysis of the financial statements of all these other vehicle manufacturers as well to explain why they don't change the models as often, oh well..... did we forget that I said I was "biased" in my first thread? In the end its all a matter of opinion, I just stated mine. No hard feelings or anything by the way....its nice to have actual ideas being tossed around or argued in this place for once.
Him: No harm no foul Mv 2 NV. I was hoping you wouldn't take this personally lol. It's just people expressing thoughts. I actually think the MV is a hot ride myself.... Congrats on having one!
The MIC data that I get every month for my reports doesn't even break down Ducati, Triumph or other off-marqee machines because their total sales are so small compared to Japanese product. It's good to hit a home run on styling (like MV did) but when you compare specs, the exotics fall off after a model year because they can't afford the development like the Japanese can. So they evolve rather than explode with a new model. They almost have no choice but to stay with styling. Take Ducati, the largest of the non-Japanese in sportbikes. They posted a $41.5 million dollar LOSS last fiscal year compared to 2004. The 999 platform is not setting the world on fire in terms of performance or styling but the company can't afford a redesign. You were dead-on with you comment of holding value though: Ducati sends out a training manual to all of their dealers that states the reason they go with solid colors and limited styling changes is so as to not devalue the previous year bikes. It would be nice if the Japanese would take a hint from that but then no one would buy new and I would be out of a job.
I hope I didn't offend ya whan I posted about MV and fiscals (how did we get here anyways???), but type can be misleading in reference to tone. It's a beautiful bike. Period.
Is this the reason they don't change model styling (besides special edition colors) as often as Japanese Manufacturers?