Really Tough AWA. Doubtful about the reasoning.
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24 Jan 2019, 01:49
While giving one of the GMAT Prep practice sets, I encountered this argument for AWA. Kindly see if the AWA is apt.
AWA 2.0 GMAT PREP-1 PP
“Motorcycle X has been manufactured in the United States for more than 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 counter examples 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 states that although Motorcyle X has been copied by a foreign company, the company fails to attract motorcycle X customers. The author further points that according to some people this is due to that fact that the company's product makes less noise than Motorcycle X. The author mentions that this might not be the explanation but further does not highlight the plausible cause of the this dilemma. Hence, the author fails to mention several key factors on the basis of which the argument could be evaluated. The conclusion of the argument relies on assumptions for which there is no clear evidence. Hence, the argument is weak and has several flaws.
First, the argument readily assumes that the customers of Motorcylce X aren't attracted to the foreign company's product because of some other reason than the loud noise made by the former. This statement is a stretch as the loud noise can be the prominent reason why the customers of Motorcycle X are attracted to it and do not prefer to buy any other product. For example, the pizzas sold by food chains, Domino's and Pizza Hut taste the same but due to the calm climate in Pizza Hut, customers prefer to have food there. Clearly, the environment of Pizza Hut stands out for its customers and is valued more over the taste of the pizza. The argument would have been much clearer had the author explicitly stated what could be the other reason for the difference and why.
Second, the argument claims that the noise difference cannot be a factor since foreign cars tend to be quieter than similar American-made cars. This is again a very weak and unsupported claim as the argument does not demonstrate any correlation between the choice of American consumers and foreign consumers.
Finally, to illustrate his point further, the author also mentions how television advertisements highlight the motorcycle's features other than the loud noise. However, the argument also presents us with contradicting evidence, that the ads typically have loud sound tracks which clearly project what the company is trying to sell and what the customer can potentially be attracted to apart from its other features. Such contradicting facts present us an unconvincing argument which leaves it no legs to stand on.
In conclusion, the argument is flawed for the above mentioned reasons and is therefore unconvincing. It could be considerably strengthened if the author did not present us with contradicting facts. In order to assess the particulars of a certain situation, it is essential to have clear evidence and claims.