Decline
As well as suffering from production delays, the Dragonfly was bigger and heavier than its predecessors its raw power was too difficult to handle for most riders. It was also noisy and acceleration was rather unpredictable. Douglas decided to concentrate on importing Vespa scooters which were increasing in popularity, and only 1500 Dragonfly motorcycles were ever built. The Westinghouse Brake and Signal Company Ltd bought Douglas out in 1956, and production of Douglas Motorcycles ended in 1957 with the final Dragonflys being sold at discount by London dealer Pride & Clarke.
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Famous quotes containing the word decline:
“Or else I thought her supernatural;
As though a sterner eye looked through her eye
On this foul world in its decline and fall,
On gangling stocks grown great, great stocks run dry,
Ancestral pearls all pitched into a sty,
Heroic reverie mocked by clown and knave....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Our achievements speak for themselves. What we have to keep track of are our failures, discouragements, and doubts. We tend to forget the past difficulties, the many false starts, and the painful groping. We see our past achievements as the end result of a clean forward thrust, and our present difficulties as signs of decline and decay.”
—Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)
“Families suffered badly under industrialization, but they survived, and the lives of men, women, and children improved. Children, once marginal and exploited figures, have moved to a position of greater protection and respect,... The historic decline in the overall death rates for children is an astonishing social fact, notwithstanding the disgraceful infant mortality figures for the poor and minorities. Like the decline in death from childbirth for women, this is a stunning achievement.”
—Joseph Featherstone (20th century)