Motorcycle X has been manufactured in the United States for over 70

The following appeared as part of an article in the business section of a local newspaper.

"Motorcycle X has been manufactured in the United States for over 70 years. Although one foreign company has copied the motorcycle and is selling it for less, the company has failed to attract motorcycle X customers—some say because its product lacks the exceptionally loud noise made by motorcycle X. But there must be some other explanation. After all, foreign cars tend to be quieter than similar American-made cars, but they sell at least as well. Also, television advertisements for motorcycle X highlight its durability and sleek lines, not its noisiness, and the ads typically have voice-overs or rock music rather than engine-roar on the sound track."

Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyse the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.


The argument claims that the foreign company which has copied the motorcycle X manufactured in the USA, despite selling the motorcycle at a low price, has fallen into despair.
Also, the argument also predicts that less noise generated by the motorcycle X has resulted in low sales whereas some say that, there can other reasons for fewer customers. Stated in this was the argument lacks in many places for which relevant facts or data should be provided. Consequently, the conclusion of the argument relies on assumptions for which details and no clear evidence is provided. Therefore, the argument is unconvincing and has many flaws.

First, it is mentioned that the foreign company has copied the motorcycle X, but does not tell us what it has copied. It can copy the design, it can copy the components that the manufacturing company in the USA uses or it can copy the manufacturing process that the USA manufacturing company uses. Different things can lead to different results. Maybe design lead to no noise coming from the motorcycle X, maybe the parts used by the foreign company can lead to noise, or maybe the manufacturing process leads to noise. Stated in the way the argument is lacking in providing a detailed analysis of the term ‘copy’.

Furthermore, the argument carries on by stating that there can be another reason why motorcycle X can’t attract customers. What if there is no other reason, people generally bought the motorcycle X for its high noise? Also, it states that foreign car is quieter as compared to cars made in America which lead to quite a number of sales, but does it? What if people in a region where a foreign company is trying to sell the motorcycle X, prefer cars with high noise, then the assumption might fail. There are many if’s that need to be answered to make the argument hold true.

Also, the argument at the end states that the advertisement of motorcycle X only showcases its durability and sleek lines, not the noise, and the ad has voiceover or rock music rather than the noise or exhaust sound. It fails to account that customers might not buy motorcycles by watching its television ad. What if, customers tend to go to the showroom to review the motorcycle, which might change everything, there they can listen to the sound/noise of the motorcycle. If the argument has provided some more detailed explanation on the type of and the number of advertisements that lead to customers attractions, then we could say that, yes people's noise is not the reason why people don’t buy the motorcycle X.

In conclusion, the argument is flawed and takes assumptions without provided any explanation for them. It is important to have sufficient knowledge of all the contributing factors.