On Friday, rumors were circulating that Honda Motor Co. reportedly was eyeing American classic Harley-Davidson. However, the Japanese automaker denied the talk. Nonetheless, the rabble-rousing happened to drive up Harley shares $3, closing the week at $62.55. But a Honda-Harley deal makes little sense for Honda, and not just because Harley has a $16 billion market cap. As BloggingStocks points out, Harley customers are fiercely nationalistic, so if it fell in to the hands of Honda, most Harley riders would go elsewhere for new bikes. So if Honda's looking for a deal, its money would be better spent on Jaguar and Land Rover, which Ford Motor Co. may sell. —Matthew Wurtzel
See story from Reuters
See post from BloggingStocks
See related Ford story from TheDeal.com
Continue reading below
Most Harley customers are indeed loyal to American-makes but there's a possiblity this Honda-Harley would succeed if Honda can improve the quality of Harvey bikes. Honda has created quality vehicles so it's not impossible for them to improve Harleys. More car enthusiast still stick to quality more than anything.