Accident plagued Vietnam debuts "Smash" bike
HANOI - Suzuki has launched its newest motorcycle model
-- named "Smash" -- in accident-plagued Vietnam, and says it has no plans to rename the
bike despite unfortunate connotations.
In fact, the Japanese company has taken out full page ads in the southeast Asian country's
newspapers this week introducing the 110 cc motorcycle that retails for 18.3 million dong (831
pounds) with the headline "Suzuki Smash - Spread the News".
A spokesman for Suzuki in Tokyo said there were no plans to rebrand the motorbike in
Vietnam as it is already sold under that moniker in Thailand and Indonesia with no major
problems.
Some 10 million motorbikes are in use among Vietnam's 80 million population mostly because
incomes averaging $400 (277 pounds) a year remain too modest to buy cars.
But lax enforcement of road rules, little or no driver education and scant use of helmets result
in thousands of deaths. During the six-day lunar new year holiday for instance, 276 people died
in traffic accidents, mostly involving motorbikes.
One Vietnamese Honda Motor Co motorcycle owner said any double-meanings from "Smash"
might be lost on local consumers. "I think most Vietnamese people don't think about the
name," she said.
Reuters - February 12, 2003.
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