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

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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 analyze 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.


In the local newspaper, the article states that the copycat company’s failure to attract sales is not because of their product lacking the exceptionally loud noise made by motorcycle X. The author has come to this conclusion based on the sales of foreign cars and the television advertisements for motorcycle X. However, while the argument might ultimately prove valid, the prompt, as it stands now, contains three assumptions that undermine its validity.

First, the author assumes that if foreign cars sell as well as American cars despite being quieter, then foreign motorcycles should sell as well as domestic motorcycles regardless of whether they can produce the loud noise. In other words, the author takes for granted that car sales work in the same way as motorcycle sales, but that might not be the case. One possibility is that motor cyclers care more about engine noise than car driver. Customers may prefer motorcycles with louder noises but cars with quieter engines because they ride on motorcycles for fun but ride on cars for commuting purposes. Another potential explanation is that foreign countries have cultural perceptions towards motorcycles that are different from the U.S. In certain countries, louder motorcycles may be regarded as having better quality than silent ones, but people do not have different perceptions towards automobiles. Were these situations true, the conclusion drawn in the argument is significantly weakened.

Another questionable assumption is that traits highlighted by TV advertisements is the key contributor to the company’s sales. This does not preclude the possibility that customers may still pay attention to the engine’s noise regardless of whether it is promoted on television. Maybe customers are likely to make their purchase decision by primarily trying out the products at flagship stores. Moreover, the target customers may be a young audience who see advertisements on social media instead of on television.
Hence, if the television advertisements do not actually influence sales to a great extent, the argument does not hold water.

Last but not least, the author prematurely assumes that the general trends on products and typical advertisements of other firms can be applied to this specific foreign company. It is possible that only this one foreign firm has lower sales given the same product without the exceptional noise - Perhaps, this foreign firm resides in a country where people like cars and motorcycles that produce louder noises. Further, there is a possibility the foreign firm has launched an atypical ad that showcases a quiet engine, which is contrary to consumer preferences in that region. If either of these scenarios has merit, the author does not effectively draw a connection between the other companies in general and the specific foreign company.

To conclude, the argument, as it stands now, is not on sound footing due to its reliance on several unwarranted assumptions. If the author would like to make the prompt more persuasive, he or she must address the three assumptions by providing the most pertinent evidence regarding the issues previously discussed.