On Aug 7, 2005, at 12:37 AM, Cotty wrote:
Leica discontinued them as they were costing too much in warranty and
rework ... to their dismay, because it was quite a popular model.
Didn't Leica discontinue them *because* it was proving to be a popular
model? Popular and cheaper than all the other Leicas.....
lol ... No, I don't think even Leica is averse to more satisfied
customers. ;-)
Something like 70% of the CL cameras delivered from Minolta evidently
needed substantial rework before they were ready to ship. That plus
the breakages on the meter mechanism just ate all the profit out of
the effort and also meant they had to price them higher than they had
planned. Minolta was evidently somewhat intractable regards
manufacturing quality control improvements, and ultimately Leica
cancelled the deal completely as it was costing them too much.
I have this on good authority from someone very close to the head of
Leica from that time.
Godfrey
