# Once Great Firm's Names Now Appearing..On Low-End Junk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 26, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214 "2009-10-26T19:53:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/41 "2009-10-29T00:56:05Z")
I had forgotten about those once-great hifi firms: HH Scott, Fisher, AR, KLH, etc. all of these names now reside on low-end audio equipment-what a shame. As I say, this practice makes you wonder-why pay $$ for a name-you might not get anything but a mdiocre product. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/42 "2009-10-29T01:14:15Z")
> [@PBear42](#): > > Schwinn bicycles. Another case of a bankrupt firms name being sold off. Today’s Schwinn shares only the name with bikes make famous by the old Chicago firm. That said, few of the Chicago Schwinns were really high end bikes…they were tough and durable for sure, but light weight counts for a lot in a bike, and only the very top of the Schwinn line was anything but portly. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/43 "2009-10-29T01:38:51Z")
Stroh’s beer. Used to be a local favorite, but now it’s just a non-local afterthought. If I ever see Red Wing shoes at Wal-Mart, I’ll know to stop buying them. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/44 "2009-10-29T15:30:32Z")
> [@Anachronism](#): > > Bose has been putting their name on some pretty low quality car head units. Bose does not make the head units in cars. Every Bose system comes with its own separate amplifier that controls the sound quality to the speakers. Still the head units are the weak link in the chain. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/45 "2009-10-29T15:38:22Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Stroh’s beer. Used to be a local favorite, but now it’s just a non-local afterthought. > > If I ever see Red Wing shoes at Wal-Mart, I’ll know to stop buying them. I see more [Stroh’s Ice Cream](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroh's_Ice_Cream) now than I do beer since they were sold to the Pabst Brewing Company . Can’t recall the last time I saw someone order a Stroths in a metro Detroit bar. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/46 "2009-10-29T17:21:26Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Bose does not make the head units in cars. Every Bose system comes with its own separate amplifier that controls the sound quality to the speakers. Still the head units are the weak link in the chain. I haven’t seen one of these Bose systems first hand. Is there actually a different brand head unit on these things or is it just someone making a head unit for them and slapping the Bose name on it? ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/47 "2009-10-29T17:31:49Z")
Jaguar. Many are just a bunch of Ford Contours. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/48 "2009-10-29T17:35:45Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I haven’t seen one of these Bose systems first hand. Is there actually a different brand head unit on these things or is it just someone making a head unit for them and slapping the Bose name on it? The car manufactuer picks the headunit supplier and inposes its use to all levels of audio systems (premium, mid and base levels). This is typical of all types systems that go into a car, rarely does one manufactuer supply all of the componets. The car manufactuer also can place the logos where they will have the best marketing impact, for audio systems that place is on the headunit. For brakes it might be on the calipers themselves (think Brembos). ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/49 "2009-10-29T17:44:46Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > If I ever see Red Wing shoes at Wal-Mart, I’ll know to stop buying them. Well [Sears](http://www.sears.com/shc/s/BrowseVertical?storeId=10153&vName=Shoes&psid=70801548&OVMTC=Broad&catalogId=12605&OVKEY=red+wing+boots&sbf=Brand&sbv=Worx+by+Red+Wing&creative=4159588675&sid=ISx20070515x00001a&site=) has them and and they own K-Mart (or is the other way around?). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/50 "2009-10-29T17:54:20Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Jaguar. > > Many are just a bunch of Ford Contours. Not any more from what I can see on their website. I think they stopped making that model, which never sold well for obvious reasons. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/51 "2009-10-29T17:58:34Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Sears has them and and they own K-Mart (or is the other way around?). Kmart went bankrupt and was taken over by its creditors. The completely _new_ company was for a while called “Kmart Holding.” They then bought Sears, in a deal structured in a way so that it might also be called a merger. The company then changed its name to “Sears Holding,” probably for PR reasons. So, Sears’ good name is not being driven into the ground by the people who drove Kmart into the ground. It’s being driven into the ground by the people who set things up for Kmart to fail so that they could take over that company on the cheap, and then leverage the Kmart real estate properties to take over Sears. And they really wanted Sears’ real estate rather than the other parts. So it’s not about sales, products and such. It’s about making money on transactions. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/52 "2009-10-29T18:39:30Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Kmart went bankrupt and was taken over by its creditors. The completely _new_ company was for a while called “Kmart Holding.” They then bought Sears, in a deal structured in a way so that it might also be called a merger. The company then changed its name to “Sears Holding,” probably for PR reasons. > > So, Sears’ good name is not being driven into the ground by the people who drove Kmart into the ground. It’s being driven into the ground by the people who set things up for Kmart to fail so that they could take over that company on the cheap, and then leverage the Kmart real estate properties to take over Sears. And they really wanted Sears’ real estate rather than the other parts. So it’s not about sales, products and such. It’s about making money on transactions. And people wonder why I’m not selling my gold yet . . . what with these types of yahoos controling the economy :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/53 "2009-10-29T18:47:01Z")
IMAX has sold out its name to multiplex chains hyping cheap, fake “IMAX” screens only slightly bigger than normal screens. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/54 "2009-10-30T13:15:17Z")
I have also noticed that brand names seem to get slapped on unrelated merchandise-like the case of Polaroid and Kodak on batteries. One interesting issue-now that Land Rover nd Volvo are owned by Indian and Chinese firms (respectively)-will the new owners cheapen the image? I can imagine a Vovo car, built with cheap, chinese-made components-that would piss off a lot of buyers! ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/55 "2009-10-30T21:41:50Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > One interesting issue-now that Land Rover nd Volvo are owned by Indian and Chinese firms (respectively)-will the new owners cheapen the image? I can imagine a Vovo car, built with cheap, chinese-made components-that would piss off a lot of buyers! I’d imagine that being made in a low-cost country gives opportunity to make a higher-quality product (if it’s sold for the same price). Chinese products, even the cheap ones, are better than products _of the same price_ made elsewhere. American cars are bad, in large part, because the unions extract so much of the sticker price. Then, over-paid executives extract some more. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/56 "2012-02-13T05:56:06Z")
Man, I just tried to eat a Hershey bar-bad, bad this chocolate tastes awful. Are they even making their own chocolate anymore? They used to be pretty good-now terrible. ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/57 "2012-02-13T07:59:28Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Man, I just tried to eat a Hershey bar-bad, bad this chocolate tastes awful. Are they even making their own chocolate anymore? They used to be pretty good-now terrible. They are not as good as they [used to be.](http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php?title=the_sad_story_of_hershey_s_chocolate&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1) ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/58 "2012-02-13T09:16:39Z")
Beyond Schwinn, a number of once iconic bicycle brands were bought up by an Asian outfit… Pacific Cycles IIRC. Ones that spring to mind: Mercier Motobecane Windsor Some of these can still be nice bikes, but they have nothing but the name related to the companies who made those names valuable. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/59 "2012-02-13T09:23:42Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I’m not sure what the question is, but companies that have either gone bankrupt or are in serious financial trouble have essentially been bought by other companies because of the value of their brand name. > > Just like how Lenovo, a Chinese manufacture, bought IBM’s PC division so as to used the well-recognized “Think Pad” name for its laptops. Yes, but in this case they bought not just the name but the technology. Lenovo ThinkPads remain just as highly regarded as their IBM ThinkPad predecessors. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214/60 "2012-02-13T15:00:15Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I wonder if GE orKodak would ever allow their names to be used on inferior low end goods? > [@HorseloverFat](#): > > \>I wonder if GE orKodak would ever allow their names to be used on inferior low end goods? > > They’re doing too well to engage in this kind of thing. Even before this zombie was awakened Kodak was licensing their name to a Chinese maker of low-end 35mm zoom lenses. And given their current situation, doing more of it may be the only way they stay in the camera business. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-great-firms-names-now-appearing-on-low-end-junk/515214.md?page=4)