Brands must mean something to someone, or names such as Motobecane would not be resurrected by entites with no ties whatsoever to the original companies. FWIW, in the opening post, only Trek fits the given perception, the way I see it. Bianchi, for example, is really not very Euro these days, as it changed so much late in the 20th Century, and even in the 1980's, many Bianchis were made in Asia. I own more Bianchi-branded bikes than any other, but it is not so much brand loyalty as a combination of loyalty to two local bike shops, and nice pre-owned Bianchis that happened to be available at the right time. If I want to buy a new high-end Italian bike, which may happen in about three years or so, I doubt it will say "Bianchi" anywhere on it, unless it starts with an NOS (new-old-stock) Bianchi frame.