[Stormsteed]

Never mind.

 

[billmeek]

It also says it gets 45 plus miles per gallon. If my 400 was only getting 45 MPG I'd trade it in for the 650 tommorow. I'm guessing they think Burgman 'sounds German' and made the assumption.

As for the design team, I enjoyed reading an interview with 3 of them. The translation is pretty horrible, but a good read nonetheless :

http://www.voidstar.com/bff/burgerview.html

 

[pauljo]

It could be true... Porsche was a major player in the design of the Harley V-Rod engine. The new Lotus sports car (English) will have a Toyota engine. The new Pontiac GTO is built in Australia. Chrysler and Mercedes products are sharing parts bins. The list goes on and on. In this era, countries still don't cooperate well politically at times. But when it comes to making money... everyone gets along just fine.

 

[NormanB]

Funnily enough, ebay is not a vault of truth. In this case the seller is incorrect. It was designed by the Japanese and in Japan but with an eye on the domestic market and the European scooter lovin' folk.

I think Suzuki have been suprised at the take up in the States.

 

[Brian]

Maybe some German guy is claiming to have designed it, when his contribution was actually limited to a phone call:

Suzuki Marketing Dept.: "We're going to export our Skywave scooters to Europe."
Herr German Guy: "Sky Vayve? Baad name. Too haad to pronounz. Call it a 'Bergman' (he had a crush on Ingrid Bergman as a kid)."
Suzuki: "Burgman?"
Herr German: "Ya."

Same thing happened back when Nissan was first introducing its cars outside Japan:
Nissan Marketing Dept.: "We're going to start selling our cars in America."
German-American Guy: "Baad name. Too Japanese. Rememba Pearl Hahbor."
Nissan: "Okay, give us a good American name."
G-A Guy: "Ven do you neeeed it?"
Nissan: "Today!"
G-A Guy: "Dat Soon?!!"
Nissan: "Datsun. Thanks."

 

[NormanB]

Reminds me of the fairly racist story of when Japanese Motor Manufacturer Mitsubishi were importing a particularly sporty car to the UK some years ago. They instructed the UK team to prepare the marketing campaign, car badging etc - at the time the Marque was known here as Colt - so the Japanese Guy says to the Brit we are going to call this one the Colt Starion. Brit team execute the plan.

The week of the launch the Japanese send their head honchos over with an entourage of key players - trouble!

'What is this - What have you done - We didn't say Starion - we said STARRION - like the horse - you know S-T-A-R-R-I-O-N! '

:lol:

NormanB

PS: I am too old to be politically correct :wink:

 

[lifegetter]

I know...and how do you call a person who speaks only one language?

 

[Brian]

Reminds me of the fairly racist story of when Japanese Motor Manufacturer Mitsubishi were importing a particularly sporty car to the UK some years ago.

PS: I am too old to be politically correct :wink:

It's okay, it's not considered politically incorrect.

I just finished a Japanese History & Culture class, part of my degree requirements for an Endorsement in US/Japan Intercultural Fundamentals.

The often funny, sometimes tragic results of language/accent miscommunications are a subject of amusement on both sides of the equation.

For example the American who went to a restuarant to get some sushi, and asked for seishi. The waitress must have wondered what kind of crazy gaijin (outsider, barbarian, foreigner -- derisive term) would want a bowl of semen. ukeright:

 

[pgray007]

Americans are far from immune to cultural faux pas'. The famous example is the introduction of the Chevy Nova to Mexico. Their marketing people where confused by the slow sales until they realized they were selling an automobile called "Chevy No Go" in Spanish.... d'oh!

There actually was a really funny piece on a 60-minutes type show a year or two ago, talking about how English/American product names were all the rage in Japan at the time. They pointed out some of the funnier examples such as "Whitey Skin Cream" and the 4-star "Erection Building" hotel.

 

[Brian]

Re: Designed in Germany?

Check out this e-bay ad... it claims the Burgman was designed in Germany....:roll:

The guy must have figured that with a name like "Burgman" it had to be German.

So where is the Skywave made -- Mars? :lol:

 

[Michael McMike]

Def not a German design!

Hi folks,

even the old VESPA was gesigned in good ol´ Italy!
No, if you want to see the typical German design, check the BMW C1-Scooter, check this: http://www.bmw-c1.com/en/index.html
That one is made/designed in Germany

The Burgman ist made and created in Japan - there is a small production in Italöy for the AN400, sold in Europe.
But our BigBurger is (I´, sorry) "made in Japan"

BUT:
If you like to add some "originally made in USA" to the BigBurger, check this:

http://www.corbin.com/suzuki/burgman.shtml#caption

Beste regrads from
Frankfurt/Germany
Mike