Yeah the big 4 were crushed by the financial crisis and as a result they've pulled way back on product development. But, by pulling back on product, they're making things worse for themselves.
Ducati on the other hand is doing better than ever because it's client base was better off financially in the first place so the economy didn't hurt them as bad (same deal with BMW). On top of that, Ducati has benefitted from leading the way in a couple of underdeveloped categories.
Well, if the factory at Borgo Panigale had more capacity Ducati could've produced more bikes at a higher rate to meet demand. That said, having a bit more demand than capacity can be a good thing when you are cultivating a valuable brand. You may miss out on some profit but at least you won't have times where your factories are sitting idle and losing money. I'm not too caught up with 'exclusivity' but it certainly builds excitement when a desirable product is hard to come by.
Yeah I think dealers are a challenge for any manufacturer. What Ducati needs to do is reward the dealers that treat the customers right, and weed out the ones that don't. One thing is for sure though, Ducati is light years ahead of the other Italian brands as far as the dealer network goes.
However, I do think Ducati could be doing more to keep customers in the loop. You can see they're already moving towards that with the email confirmation of 1199 preorders. In the future it'd be cool if customers could track their bikes from the factory to the dealership, or even do a European delivery deal like some of the German car manufacturers do. I wouldn't mind taking another trip out to Italy to visit the factory and ride around Italy on the next new Ducati I buy.
