Originally posted by Dirtgrinder
I just read in MBA that Pacific Bicycles plans for a $1000 cap on GT and Schwinn bicycles virtually eliminating any professional level bikes.
I had really hoped that they wouldn't go that far. 
I'm not sure how up-to-date that article is [and, knowing MBA, it was probably written in October]. The latest from
Bicycle Retailer is that:
Pacific planned cut GT's high end more deeply, but altered course after sales reps and retailers complained.
"Our sales reps sensitized us of the importance of higher price points in GT's line. While 74 percent of units sold are $500 and lower, much of the profits come from the I-Drive and similar product," [Pacific President Byron] Smith said.
You can read the whole story at
Bicycle Retailer .
In fact, according to a
later story, Pacific intends to continue to play in the international market. Although the sub-$500 bike is big domestically in the US, it is almost impossible to sell abroad. For example, though there are plenty of X-Mart bikes in Canada -- Precision, SuperCycle -- and a good range of low-end LBS bikes -- Minelli, Kuwahara, Raleigh -- you almost NEVER see US low-end brands.
Almost every cycling country in the world has its own low-end brands, and these brands are usually vastly favoured over foreign brands [like Scwinn/Pacific] by customs and tariff barriers.
I think Pacific's commitment to an international market is an indication that they don't plan to gut the high-end completely.