Re: Salon 21st | Why Bill Gates still doesn't get the Net

Robert S. Thau (rst@ai.mit.edu)
Wed, 31 Mar 1999 11:14:12 -0500 (EST)


Joseph S. Barrera, III writes:
> You know, I went to a BMW dealership the other day, and learned a lot about
> BMWs, but none of the salesmen there seemed to know much about Audis. It was
> really kind of strange. I guess they really just don't understand
> automobiles, or the automobile market in general.

Hmmm.... I would expect professional salesmen to know enough about the
competition to intelligently discuss the merits of the competition's
products vs. their own. So that is strange.

It still might be worth buying a BMW from these folks, if their prices
and service were good --- and of course, you'd have to ask around to
see if other people had found them to be reliable.

But if one of these guys walked off the sales floor and started
pontificating about trends in the auto industry, and the implications
for industry and society at large, you'd be entitled to take his views
with more than the usual pinch of salt. Particularly if his
bottom-line recommendation was that every business in America should
replace all the vehicles they have in inventory (including trucks,
buses, and forklifts) with BMWs.

rst