B&W Name Change Theory

I just looked up safety ratings via Google:

Honda:
1982-2004 Civics were assessed in the Used Car Safety Ratings 2006 on their level of occupant protection.

(1984-1987) - "significantly worse than average"

Here Volvo:

(1984-1987)-"significantly better than average"

Volvo cars have a reputation for comfort, solidity, safety and longevity. Older models were often compared to tractors, partially because Volvo AB was and still is a manufacturer of heavy equipment, earlier Bolinder-Munktell, now Volvo Construction Equipment.

The average age of a Volvo being discarded is second only to Mercedes at 19.8 years. Reliability is considered better than average.

Last (and really not on topic for our private auto war :^) Safety data on vehicles large enough for me to conduct business.

SUV's WEIGHT/SCORE

TOP FIVE
Chevy Suburban 5,759/166.45
Cadillac Escalade
GMC Yukon Denali
Chevy Tahoe (tie) 5,372/155.26
Lincoln Navigator

NEXT FOUR
Ford Expedition (tie) 4,890/141.33
Mercedes-Benz ML320 4,396/137.42
Nissan Pathfinder
Infiniti QX4 (tie) 4,4147/134.58

BOTTOM FIVE WEIGHT/SCORE

Jeep Wrangler 3,322/96.01
Subaru Forester 3,171/91.65
Toyota RAV4 2,908/90.98
Dodge Durango 4,657/89.27
Jeep Cherokee 3,457/77.33

Note GMC, Tahoe & Surburban, (all the same car) are top of the heap and really a nice car at lease price (in this market) at $318.00 a month.

I can speak for Volvos. The first "driving vacation" that I ever went on was in a used Volvo 144 my parents had when I was about 4yrs old that we had borrowed. A railroad tie came off the back of a truck when we were driving 70mph; we hit it, ran over it, broke both front rims, then kind of wobbled down the road to the nearest service station. That vacation ended early but that was 1972 and my parents have had at least Volvo all the time since. The only real complaint I have ever had with one was that one broke a piston rod (while we were on vacation) after it was 11yrs old and the car had 120k+ miles on it. I guess the other complaint was that the 740 wagon with intercooler and turbo which followed that one had very low gearing in 1st, meaning that the only way to beat my friends off the line was to quickly shift into 2nd (the turbo kicked in at around 2200rpm from what I remember) and let it run... (hope my mother doesn't see this...). Since then, none of the Volvos we have had has racked up less than 100k miles and we have always sold them on for a much better price (as % of new) than you could sell an American car w/ 100k+ miles. And even back in the day, fully loaded with family of four on a week's ski trip, we could average 25mpg (skis on top kept that down from 28-29).

Gratuitous addition... the P1800ES was soooo cool and I have always wanted to buy one and swap out the engine for something more powerful; huuuuge rear window - perfect for putting lots of yuppy college decals on the back :^)

And now back to your regularly scheduled program...

I have wondered for years why B&W didn't us their full name on their speakers (as I have wondered about Boothroyd Stuart). For me, having the full name on them lends a feeling of "boutique" rather than "monster brand". By the same token, I have always thought the name "supratek" was terrible marketing because of its 'plastic' corporate sound. The power of names never ceases to amaze me, despite the fact that in the end, they mean nothing.

They used B&W as in BMW to piggy back on the car company's upscale image and know, they move to a more "history rich" name which tells the story about co-founders, etc, etc. Unfortunately, the more they grow, the more their products look like overrated BMW and less like handcrafted "boutique" creations. Their latest Sig Diamond is as BMW as it gets. Or Hyundai, whatever.

Sugarbrie
Levinson had investors that took his company and his name. They became Madrigal which was purchased by Harman.