“Motorcycle X has been manufactured in the United States for more than 70 years. Although one foreign company has copied the motorcycle and is selling it for less, the company has failed to attract motorcycle X customers—some say because its product lacks the exceptionally loud noise made by motorcycle X. But there must be some other explanation. After all, foreign cars tend to be quieter than similar American-made cars, but they sell at least as well. Also, television advertisements for motorcycle X highlight its durability and sleek lines, not its noisiness, and the ads typically have voice-overs or rock music rather than engine-roar on the sound track.”

The author bases his conclusion on the premise that since foreign cars which are quieter sell similar in number to American made cars and, also the fact that Motorcycle X does not advertise the noise in their TV ads, there must be some other reason for the success of motorcycle X other than the noise factor. The author seems to have made a sound argument in the first glance, however, there are a number of assumptions that the author has made which may weaken the argument.

The author assumes that since foreign cars tend to be quieter but, they sell at least as well, therefore, motorcycle sales will also follow the same pattern. The preference of motorcycle customers may actually differ and they, in fact, may prefer the noisy ones over the quieter ones. Perhaps, motorcycle X customer base is majorly composed of bikers who like the rowdy noise. So, this premise may not be as sound as it appeared in the first glance.

The author further dismisses the loudness to be one of the reasons for Motorcycle X’s success stating that in the ads for motorcycle X on TV, the engine-roar is not used as background sound. The author assumes that any feature that is not advertised automatically cannot be the feature or the reason for consumers preference of motorcycle X over the foreign copy. Coca Cola ads almost never show the features of coke for which many of its customers prefer it over Pepsi, for example, the less sugar content and higher carbon dioxide content level is never advertised. Instead, the ads focus on consuming the drink with food and mostly in hot weather to cool off. The motor X ads may follow the same pattern as Coca Cola and therefore, may not be advertising the feature that makes them stand out on their competitors.