Thanks for citing that article. I knew some of it, so it was a bit of a trip down memory lane. I learned a lot from it, too. There is so much sad stuff in that article.

Yes, they made a lot of mistakes. I was a bike mechanic from 1978 to 1984. I started hating the brand, because, of course, they were awful to ride. But over the years, I grew an appreciation for the company's orientation towards durability, even though it was at the expense of performance. And of course, I had to admire the Paramount models.

So a company that makes so many mistakes has to die. It's rather interesting that it lasted so long.

I grew up in NYC and worked there as a mechanic for half of those years. NYC is unusual in that brand loyalty is less important than elsewhere. There weren't many Schwinns sold or owned there. That's one reason I didn't realize it was a high quality brand at first. When names like Atala and Panasonic came in, New Yorkers bought them immediately, trusting the advice of the bike shops. Atala didn't turn out to be a winner, but Panasonic surely did.