i'll use the very 1st playstation as an example.

it had the "Sony" name on it. everyone know's who Sony is and what they're about. We associate Sony with the finest consumer electronic goods ... what BMW is to the car industry.

it turned out that the 1st playstations were built like garbage. the track the laser would glide on easily warped, killing your $300 machine quickly. they went though 9 versions of the original PSX, V1 - 7 were notorious for this. that's almost 4 years of defective machines hitting the shelf. ever see anyone flip a PSX upside down to get it to work? it was because of the crappy parts used.

BMW is a great company, but every so often, they make a 318 ... which sticks in people's minds.