Buell will be back? County officials throwing axed HD brand a life line
Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Earnings/Financials, Motorcycle
Could Buell be saved from the brink of disaster by officials from Walworth County in Wisconsin? It seems awfully unlikely, but stranger things have happened, right? Apparently, the Walworth County Economic Development Alliance sent a letter last Friday to Erik Buell in an attempt to put together a business plan for Buell to continue manufacturing motorcycles.
Should Erik Buell be interested in Walworth's proposal, the group will reportedly begin seeking potential investors. For its part, Harley's director of corporate communications said the motorcycle manufacturer is "discontinuing the Buell product line rather than selling the business because of how deeply integrated Buell is into our business systems and distribution network."
Indeed, every Buell made uses running gear from parent company Harley-Davidson, and the offbeat sportbikes are only available in select Harley dealerships. It would be awfully difficult to extract the Buell operation at this point, let alone securing funding for the venture. That said, automakers have sold intricately entwined brands before using agreements that ensure parts are produced by the original owner until the new owner can source its own. In any case, we'll keep our eyes and ears open for more.
[Source: JSOnline.com]Buell will be back? County officials throwing axed HD brand a life line originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/20/buell-will-be-back-county-officials-throwing-axed-hd-brand-a-li/
