Just an observation: I've noticed the bikes in Walmart with the Schwinn name on them are usually twice the price of the cheapest bikes they sell like Roadmaster (that was name they were using at least a couple of years ago anyway) and Next. The Schwinns also appear to me to be better bikes than the $60-$90 bottom offerings. I have in the past considered the Schwinn Avenue hybrid just to try a bike with slightly sway-back handlebars (the Avenue was around $199 a few years ago, now it is around $240).

Not really trying to make a great point, but apparently there are consumers that are a least willing to pay a bit more in hopes of getting a better bike (or these Schwinns won't be selling while sitting beside the cheaper bikes). Maybe the uninformed (bicycle-wise) who shop at Walmart think they are getting a great (top-of-the-line) bike when they shell out the extra cash for the Schwinn name. Maybe there is hope that the "race to the bottom" that I see mentioned in these forums (which goes something like: all the masses want is cheap goods and competition for the consumers dollars leads to a constant dropping of quality) might bottom out somewhere.