Buell is Dead

#1

Post by jasongullickson » Thu, Oct 15, 2009, 3:22 PM UTC

Re: Buell is Dead

#2

Post by jasongullickson » Thu, Oct 15, 2009, 3:27 PM UTC

A great (and now tragic) story of one man's vision to take on the world, create a great product, become absorbed into a gigantic corporation and then cast aside when times get tough.

Re: Buell is Dead

#3

Post by jws » Thu, Oct 15, 2009, 3:27 PM UTC

The brand, not the man.

Re: Buell is Dead

#4

Post by fishercs » Thu, Oct 15, 2009, 4:10 PM UTC

Buell has always made amazing bikes, pretty hard to compete with the cheaper japanese bikes though but they always seemed to offer something a little more unique and different than their japanese counterparts.

I'm sad to see them go.

Re: Buell is Dead

#5

Post by mikeryan » Thu, Oct 15, 2009, 4:14 PM UTC

With this comes opportunity.

I hope he goes on to create a new motorcycle brand.

Re: Buell is Dead

#6

Post by swombat » Thu, Oct 15, 2009, 4:17 PM UTC

I hate to be the one to say it, I know I'm not supposed to, but...

How is this Hacker News? I didn't even know what "Buell" was until I clicked on the link. Are most american hackers motorcycle afficionados? Is Buell a super-important brand in the US, like Michael Jackson? Does this have an impact on start-ups? Was this Buell company a haven for hacker minds? Is this intellectually gratifying? I can't quite fathom why this got posted here.

Edit: instead of downvoting, please do explain. I'm clearly missing some essential bit of hacker culture here.

Re: Buell is Dead

#7

Post by dotcoma » Thu, Oct 15, 2009, 4:18 PM UTC

jws wrote: post #3

The brand, not the man.

even though it certainly looks like he has taken a hard hit.

Re: Buell is Dead

#8

Post by MikeRB23 » Thu, Oct 15, 2009, 4:22 PM UTC

This is especially surprising given the new high production value ads they've been rotating on TV and online. Sad to see them go as well, I hope Erik continues to innovate.

Re: Buell is Dead

#9

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 15, 2009, 4:22 PM UTC

swombat wrote: post #6

I hate to be the one to say it, I know I'm not supposed to, but... How is this Hacker News? I didn't even know what "Buell" was until I clicked on the link. Are most american hackers motorcycle afficionados? Is Buell a super-important brand in the US, like Michael Jackson? Does this have an impact on start-ups? Was this Buell company a haven for hacker minds? Is this intellectually gratifying? I can't quite fathom wh…

[deleted]

Re: Buell is Dead

#10

Post by pclark » Thu, Oct 15, 2009, 4:22 PM UTC

swombat wrote: post #6

I hate to be the one to say it, I know I'm not supposed to, but... How is this Hacker News? I didn't even know what "Buell" was until I clicked on the link. Are most american hackers motorcycle afficionados? Is Buell a super-important brand in the US, like Michael Jackson? Does this have an impact on start-ups? Was this Buell company a haven for hacker minds? Is this intellectually gratifying? I can't quite fathom wh…

I think the bit where he said "we proved that a small team of determined passionate engineers could take on industry titans" probably resonated with most startups.

Startups aren't limited to the web. Buell was a startup at one stage, then they got acquired, now they're dead.