Phaeton/Allegro Bus Prospective Acquisition

[becks]

My feeling is when Tiffin puts the Powerglide chasis under the Phaeton you are going to see Tiffin sales go up all the more.

[historyljc]

Rear bath Phaeton on the PowerGlide chassis would make me have to look reeaaal hard.

[Hugh D]

Updated 'unscientific' survey findings now that a few more weeks have gone by and there are some further posts:

American Coach (27 positive, 1 negative); Country Coach (13+, 5-); Fleetwood (5+, 2-); Monaco (7+, 0-); Newmar (10+, 3-), Tiffin (38+, 5-). Versus two weeks ago, a lot more positive comments have been added in by enthusiastic AC owners; well done and coming up on Tiffin. And a few more negatives for some.

Also, here's some reliable market information to add a further perspective. At the upper end of the Class A DP market (e.g. including Allegro Bus, excluding Phaeton), Monaco currently holds c.35% market share, Tiffin c.20%, Fleetwood, American and Country Coach all in the 10% - 15% bracket, and Newmar close to 10%. Compared with 2005, Monaco, Tiffin, and American Coach have all gained share while Fleetwood, Country Coach and Newmar have all trended down. You can see some of this reflected in the comments of the Owner Forums and Yahoo Groups.

In addition to all I have done in terms of comparative product features, etc., I think how this now shades things in terms of a prospective purchase decision is to put American and Tiffin at the top of the list, with Monaco/Fleetwood hard for me to get product enthusiatic about, and a caution with respect to Country Coach and Newmar re. potential business stability though the products seem attractive.

Hugh

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Hugh D:
I know this is by no means scientific. However, I thought some of you who have viewed or contributed to this topic over the past two weeks might be interested to see a simple consolidated nose count of the number of positive and, in a few cases, negative comments posted on the Eve Community and Yahoo Groups regarding the various competitors/products my wife and I have under consideration:

American Coach (11 positive, 1 negative); Country Coach (13+, 0-); Fleetwood (3+, 2-); Monaco (7+, 0-); Newmar (6+, 1-), Tiffin (35+, 2-)

It is notable that Tiffin has a clear lead in owner 'votes', but maybe this just reflects the relative composition of the various owner groups. Don't know. Any comments or interpretation most welcome....Hugh </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[historyljc]

Hugh,

Which coach has the amenities, decor, and layout that you like in the price range that you want to spend? You're the one that will be using it.

[Hugh D]

Jim - probably the American Allegiance 42G, and the Allegro Bus maybe if it comes out in a rear bath version next Spring....Hugh

[historyljc]

Hugh,

The AA wasn't out when we were looking. It was a Tradition G all decked out that blew ours socks off. But then you're were looking at over 400 MSRP. It looks like the Bus will be coming out with front kitchen. The AA has the middle kitchen. That may make the decision for you. Specs wise they will be close based on existing Bus specifications. The Bus on the Power Glide chassis will give you greater weight capacity with its' beefed up rear axles. 5,000 lbs more than the AA. Conversely the AA has a tow rating of 15,000 to the Buses 10,000 lbs. I guess there are people that need that kind of tow capacity. I would venture to guess that most rigs with tow capacities of 10/15,000 are pulling less than 5,000. Tank capacities are very close with the Bus having and extra 25 gallons in the fuel tank. Have fun choosing.

[Hugh D]

We will. We're going to head down from foggy Nantucket to Tampa in mid-January to hit the RV show there for a couple of days with camera and notebook....Hugh