I'm hanging on.

 

I am thinking about buying in, it may not have hit bottom however I think HD will be around in one shape or another for a long time and survive/thrive.

Has anyone looked at Indian? I have not, but I wonder how the Heck they can survive (again) opening up in this economy. Talk about bad timing. Maybe they should have partnered with Honda up front and been the American/Japanese hybrid!

They have the name, but not the following which would seem to me a bad deal to try and compete in the "high-end" US motorcycle market that they targeted. (BTW....not a Harley vs. Indian post, just curious as to how they are doing, no plans here to "switch brands!")

 

According to one HD salesman he said local CU isn't lending because MC's tend to disappear and are harder to repo.

 

I doubt Honda, Kawi, or any of the other manufacturers want to take on more manufacturing capacity at this point. The Euro and Asian bike makers already have their own problems.

Now if you told me the Chinese, flush with American dollars because we send dollars to them in return for tainted products, were going try a hostile takeover of HD I'd bet a few bucks on that as a speculator. Before the world economy tanked in the last 6 months, I would have listed off other companies, mostly European based, that might have come in and tried to scoop HD, even at 40 a share, because the US Dollar was so weak on the world market that people were using them as toilet paper.

Now if the Chinese tried to buy GM, and they do have the money, it would never be allowed on national security and technology controls by Uncle Sam, but HD isn't making anything military or technological, cripes most of their technology is a century old, so the feds probably would allow it.

If the feds decide to bail out the big 3, and as far as I'm concerned the big 3 should have to sweat it out , HD should be a participant in any bail out.

 

...Honda would but it just for the bragging-rights....

 

Honda doesn't need to do it for the bragging rights.

The motorcycle part of their business is small potatoes in their corporate empire. 90 percent of the sales are from Automobiles, that leaves 10% for bikes, lawn mowers, generators, technology such as robots and they are getting into jet aircraft manufacturing and jet engine manufacturing. Like I said motorcycles are no longer the bread and butter product they were for honda 62 years ago when they were founded

They announced earlier this year they are closing their US Motorcycle manufacturing plant and moving it back to Japan. GoldWings and VTX's, big bikes that really only sell well here, are going back to the land of the rising sun.

 

...they would buy it, just to kill it.....what GM sould have done to Toyota in 1975....don't confuse business with emotion...

 

Honda wouldn't buy it if it didn't look lucrative for them.

 

Guys, where do you think Honda is going to get all this money? Honda stock is at 20 from a high of 36 and falling steadily. They ONLY thing they really care about is cars, everything else is secondary, and they don't have the money to take over Harley.
There is not going to be a lot of Merger and Aquisition for the next few years because nobody is willing to leverage like they used to.

Stop worrying.

 

..it has more to do with the Yen vs. Dollar, than Honda stock prices...forecast is for the Dollar to hit a low point in mid Dec vs. Yen...http://www.forecasts.org/yen.htm that, coupled with a super all-time low HD stock price, makes them a perfect target to be swallowed by an Asian co....I'm not saying it is a done deal..just speculating...but smart companies like a Honda know how to do it...look what happened to American television companies from the 70's..all gone....