Return of the Wondernine?

[Majic]

Don't be misled, the Glock is a manufactors dream. Molded polymer frames, few parts, reduced machining all leads to a cheaper made product that can sell at a higher price. Gaston Glock was a manufactor of mass produced items and not a maker of firearms. He saw a way to cut corners and still have his product accepted. He could afford to offer his product to the LEO agencies at a lower price than other makers and still make a healthy profit. With that concept he all but stole all of their business (budgets determine what's in LEOs holsters, not officer's preferences). The civilain market, though some are swayed by the LEO's choice, will generally purchase a quality handgun that suits their purpose.

 

[buzz_knox]

The civilain market, though some are swayed by the LEO's choice, will generally purchase a quality handgun that suits their purpose.

To an extent. But the public is driven by what they see as cool.

When Dirty Harry came out, sales of Model 29s skyrocketed.

When the Beretta was adopted, sales of Berettas went through the roof.

The M1911? That one goes without saying.

Want to take a guess on sales of M4 style rifles with non-functioning collapsing stocks after the War on Terror started?

In general, people see the weapons that officers carry as quality.

 

[gigmike]

I'm so glad to see the term "regular capacity" refer to 15 or 30 round mags! It just makes Feinstein cringe.....

 

[NMshooter]

The wondernine never went away. And now I have some overpriced range mags to go with it.

 

[Majic]

But the public is driven by what they see as cool.

Some of the public. There was and still exists a large percentage of discerning buyers who aren't swayed. While certain models enjoyed successful sales due to their notoriety other models didn't lag in the sales department.
Most US LEOs transitioned to S&W pistols, but trips to the gun ranges across the country didn't yield vast numbers of the pistols in the hands of civilains. In fact that's when the foreign "wondernine" took root.
It all boils down into what part of the public you are in. The ones looking for the "cool" effect, or the ones looking to suit a specific purpose.

 

[buzz_knox]

There was and still exists a large percentage of discerning buyers who aren't swayed. While certain models enjoyed successful sales due to their notoriety other models didn't lag in the sales department.

I would suggest that you see yourself and your immediate shooting community and extrapolating that this represents the majority. In fact, it is the reverse. Most people (even many "gun nuts") are unaware of the difference between "machineguns" and autoloaders. When they purchase something, they rely either on word of mouth, sales pitches from dealers, or what they have seen in the hands of police or in entertainment. This explains in part why revolvers (the traditional choice of even discriminating shooters for decades) begain to decline shortly after the police went to autoloaders.