Eeyore
Regular Member
imported post
I was thinking about the reputation/image and market position of various handgun companies (automatics, mostly) and comparing them to those of car makers. Hmmm...automatic and automobile....coincidence?
I'm not trying to insult anyone's choice of gun (or car). This was just an interesting mental exercise. Here's my analogies and reasons for choosing them. Feel free to suggest your own.
Glock: Toyota. Best selling importfor its high quality in the mid-price arena, but not everyone loves them. [Toyotas have been recently redesigned to look less stodgy; Glocks haven't.
]
XD: Honda. Best selling importin the mid-price market; practical and high quality. The new XDm is like Acura--a sexed-up Honda at a BMW price.
Sig and H&K: BMW and Mercedes. (Take your pick on which is which.) High quality, precision German engineering with luxurious feel, high performance,and a price tag to match. I want one, but can't justify spending that much.
Bersa: Subaru. Well thought of in its niche market, but a relatively small player overall.
Taurus: Hyundai. Economical; still trying to prove they've solved theirquality problems.
Kimber: Cadillac. Big american metal competing with BMW and Mercedes in the high end of the price spectrum. Building a classic with new twists.
Springfield Armory and S&W 1911s: Buick. Same chassis as the Cadillac, but less fancy.
ParaOrdnance 1911s: Chevy. A slightly lower-priced Buick.
Steyr: Saab. European maker with only afew models. Not the first name you'd think of when asked to name a European sports sedan, but there's nonconformists out there who love their quirks.
Beretta: Alfa Romeo? Unique Italian designs--interesting and sporty, butmaybe priced higher than their market share or reliability justifies.
Ruger: Chrysler minivans. Big and practical, but nothing sexy about them. Rugers are probably more reliable than Chryslers, though.
Smith & Wesson: Ford. Been around since the beginning, and their product line covers the entire spectrum. They've had their Pintos (Sigma) and Edsels over the years but they keep plugging along.
Colt: GMC. American steel, nothin' fancy.
CZ: At first I thought VW, but I own a VW and I wouldn't want to insult CZ by comparing them.:X Maybe pre-2005 Volvo--ugly but quietly good. The CZ100 is definitely boxy enough to be an oldVolvo.
Walther: Opel. Made in Germany, but the only way they sell in the U.S. is when an American company builds them under license. (S&W99 = P99. Some new Saturn models are rebadged Opels). On the other hand, they also build ultra-high performance competition target models. Like a Ferrari--great for what it was intended for, but totally impractical for day-to-day driving.
Kahr: Willys Jeep. Like the original WW2 Jeep, they're compact, simple, reliable, go-anywhere American-made machines.
Kel-tec: Kia. Cheap and small.
Magnum Research: The Desert Eagle is clearly a Humvee--huge, ugly,and totally impractical. It's all about being ostentatious. The Baby Eagle is like Nissan--muscular-looking and heavy, but not a market leader.
FNH: Land Rover.Rover is aEuropean company building refined SUVs--something pioneered by an American company. FNHbuilds refined Browning Hi-powers.
Tanfoglio: Fiat. Cheap, Italian, and not very pretty to look at. (In fact, the M88 and polymer-framed Witnesses are flat-out ugly. Probably more reliable than Fiats, though.)
Armalite: like when they built VW Beetles in Mexico during the 90s. Go to a "developing" nation to build someone else's olddesign cheaply using updated manufacturing methods. This might fit Stoeger, too.
Now that I've offended everyone, I'll stop.
I was thinking about the reputation/image and market position of various handgun companies (automatics, mostly) and comparing them to those of car makers. Hmmm...automatic and automobile....coincidence?
I'm not trying to insult anyone's choice of gun (or car). This was just an interesting mental exercise. Here's my analogies and reasons for choosing them. Feel free to suggest your own.
Glock: Toyota. Best selling importfor its high quality in the mid-price arena, but not everyone loves them. [Toyotas have been recently redesigned to look less stodgy; Glocks haven't.
]XD: Honda. Best selling importin the mid-price market; practical and high quality. The new XDm is like Acura--a sexed-up Honda at a BMW price.
Sig and H&K: BMW and Mercedes. (Take your pick on which is which.) High quality, precision German engineering with luxurious feel, high performance,and a price tag to match. I want one, but can't justify spending that much.
Bersa: Subaru. Well thought of in its niche market, but a relatively small player overall.
Taurus: Hyundai. Economical; still trying to prove they've solved theirquality problems.
Kimber: Cadillac. Big american metal competing with BMW and Mercedes in the high end of the price spectrum. Building a classic with new twists.
Springfield Armory and S&W 1911s: Buick. Same chassis as the Cadillac, but less fancy.
ParaOrdnance 1911s: Chevy. A slightly lower-priced Buick.
Steyr: Saab. European maker with only afew models. Not the first name you'd think of when asked to name a European sports sedan, but there's nonconformists out there who love their quirks.
Beretta: Alfa Romeo? Unique Italian designs--interesting and sporty, butmaybe priced higher than their market share or reliability justifies.
Ruger: Chrysler minivans. Big and practical, but nothing sexy about them. Rugers are probably more reliable than Chryslers, though.
Smith & Wesson: Ford. Been around since the beginning, and their product line covers the entire spectrum. They've had their Pintos (Sigma) and Edsels over the years but they keep plugging along.
Colt: GMC. American steel, nothin' fancy.
CZ: At first I thought VW, but I own a VW and I wouldn't want to insult CZ by comparing them.:X Maybe pre-2005 Volvo--ugly but quietly good. The CZ100 is definitely boxy enough to be an oldVolvo.
Walther: Opel. Made in Germany, but the only way they sell in the U.S. is when an American company builds them under license. (S&W99 = P99. Some new Saturn models are rebadged Opels). On the other hand, they also build ultra-high performance competition target models. Like a Ferrari--great for what it was intended for, but totally impractical for day-to-day driving.
Kahr: Willys Jeep. Like the original WW2 Jeep, they're compact, simple, reliable, go-anywhere American-made machines.
Kel-tec: Kia. Cheap and small.
Magnum Research: The Desert Eagle is clearly a Humvee--huge, ugly,and totally impractical. It's all about being ostentatious. The Baby Eagle is like Nissan--muscular-looking and heavy, but not a market leader.
FNH: Land Rover.Rover is aEuropean company building refined SUVs--something pioneered by an American company. FNHbuilds refined Browning Hi-powers.
Tanfoglio: Fiat. Cheap, Italian, and not very pretty to look at. (In fact, the M88 and polymer-framed Witnesses are flat-out ugly.
Probably more reliable than Fiats, though.)Armalite: like when they built VW Beetles in Mexico during the 90s. Go to a "developing" nation to build someone else's olddesign cheaply using updated manufacturing methods. This might fit Stoeger, too.
Now that I've offended everyone, I'll stop.
