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... motorcycles. By 1953, Harley Davidson was the last remaining motorcycle manufacturer in the United States (1). By 1960 Harley Davidson had begun a gradual decline. Harley Davidson merged with the American Machine and Foundry Company (AMF). This merger briefly raised sales. By the mid 1970's, a declining market, a sluggish economy and increasingly fierce competition from Asian manufacturers was once again taking its toll on Harley Davidson. This culminated in a 1981 management buyout saving Harley Davidson from bankruptcy (2). After the 1981 management buyout, Harley Davidson had to re-organize. Faced with a terrible reputation for quality and rising costs, Harley Davidson focused on marketing. It wanted to differentiate itself from its competitors by building upon its heritage and its unique American styling. With this came drastic improvements in design, quality and sales distribution (2). These improvements turned Harley Davidson into a remarkable success story. Between 1999 and 2004 revenues grew on ...