B&M Launches Official Website

That would be a good question to ask SDC.

Funny, I thought B&M stayed away from doing launches? :-D

I was thinking the same thing. I bet they had some other company do the launch. ;)

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J Bird said:

I realize, that you can do it much easier with a standard sitter, but, couldn't you do the same with anything else? I.E. - Air, Nemesis, etc.

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Probably goes back to the marketing angle. When compared to floorless, there's really nothing in favor of floored trains, other than less complex machinery in the station, so they probably came up with that little blurb to make it sound impressive.

Either that or more likely, some Swiss dude found the word "topography" in his Swiss-to-English dictionary and just HAD to use it!

I navigated the entire site in about 5 minutes.

Well...at least they have a website now.

Nice to see they finally have a web presence.

They made a huge mistake in giving us enthusiasts their address/phone/fax and e-mail... start sending in your No Limit track designs and ride requests, junior engineers, before they remove their contact page! ;)

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Incidentalist said:
That would be a good question to ask SDC.

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I think Brett at least partially answered the question in his post:

"...there's really nothing in favor of floored trains, other than less complex machinery in the station..."

That's an angle I hadn't considered. Not sure of the cost/maintenance difference, but perhaps it's enough to buyers?

Let's consider the Floorless trains to be the 'standard' and the regular trains to be the 'budget' version.

Sounds like you're saving money by going with the regular train vs paying more for the floorless add-on. ;)

*** Edited 7/8/2005 1:53:48 AM UTC by Lord Gonchar***

Wow... That's it? Very simple, YET effective website.

I would have thought a company like B&M, the reigning kings of the coaster world would, or can produce a better, more appealing website than that....

I would have expected a Flash website....with lots of motion and graphics.... logos from rides and such.... Oh well, maybe this is just version 1.0 Looks like someone from their family put this site together for free..... All kidding aside though, like I said.. VERY effective and simple.

The entire site is easy to navigate, and every picture enlarges to a decent sized photo. Nice Hyper Coaster webpage dedicated to Raging Bull.... anyone else catch that? haha Yesss!!!!

-Jeff-

I think someone ought to introduce the webmaster to Photoshop's wonderful world of auto color correction and contrast. All those photos look washed-out.

Well, I was hoping for a client's list more than anything on that site - but nope.

Needless to say I like the site ;)

I'd have liked more info on the BTR in Koweit. 2 weird things about it... First, 6 cars trains... and second, the seatbelt is on the side, like on the Intamin Impulse! Why is that? Cause the men there wear long robes it seems and a belt between the legs would be impractical!

Does anyone have any pics of the B&M invert in Kuwait? I had never heard of it until now, but it is indeed listed on rcdb.

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ClubXJeff said:
I would have thought a company like B&M, the reigning kings of the coaster world would, or can produce a better, more appealing website than that....

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How many times do I have to say it? They don't need a Web site at all. There are literally only a few dozen people in the entire world that would ever authorize the purchase of one of their rides, and I can guarantee that none of them are going to Google "roller coaster" to find them. They already know about them.

Somehow they've managed to build a couple of rides every year now for more than a decade without a site.

The people who BUY rides from B&M probably wouldn't know HOW to google "roller coaster", LOL....they don't need to, when they want a Beemer they just flash *The Bat(man) Signal*....or they pick up the phone... ;)

To second Jeff, if you're in the market for a B&M ride, you're not going to go to their website for convincing. You're going to know what you want and you're going to know what B&M's products offer.

They launched their website to finally have one... to provide a very simple, basic idea of what/who they are, along with an easy way to contact them. They didn't do it to entertain you. *** Edited 7/8/2005 7:35:00 PM UTC by BBSpeed26***

Jeff said:
How many times do I have to say it? They don't need a Web site at all. There are literally only a few dozen people in the entire world that would ever authorize the purchase of one of their rides, and I can guarantee that none of them are going to Google "roller coaster" to find them. They already know about them.–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––'

Jeff - How many times do I have to say it!?? Guess what people it really is 2005, who doesn't have a website these days. Their website and most websites are for informational purposes ONLY, who wouldn't want to know information on a company that builds rollercoasters?

Not only for pricing or purchase information, but maybe for some stock photo opportunities (which suck by the way), mailing information, or even GASP! just to read about a cool company.

We're included on a website that loves rollercoasters and the theme park world, why wouldn't a company that builds rollercoasters have a website for themselves?

I'm not begging to be entertained by their website... just with a company of their caliber, I'm shocked the website doesn't have more "oomph" to it. That's all.

Sure they don't NEED one... but is it really that much EXTRA effort to actually have one? No sir.
Thank you. I'm done.

-Jeff- *** Edited 7/8/2005 7:38:10 PM UTC by ClubXJeff***

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who wouldn't want to know information on a company that builds rollercoasters?

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Aside from the people who actually buy them (who already have the info as we have established) and maybe a few psuedo-enthusiasts who already don't know the limited info provided by such a site (and I'm guessing the number is in the tens. ;) ) - well then pretty much everyone.

They haven't had one thus far and I'm pretty sure the only reason they even did this was because people were registering various domains using their name for roller coaster sites. (in fact, didn't they have to wrestle this domain back from someone who had already registered it?) The idea is to protect the company name, trademark, etc.

As much as it may pain one as an enthusiast, B&M really doesn't give a crap if you like, look at, or want their website. You're not their customer, nor their concern.

*** Edited 7/8/2005 7:45:18 PM UTC by Lord Gonchar***

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Lord Gonchar said:
As much as it may pain one as an enthusiast, B&M really doesn't give a crap if you like, look at, or want their website. You're not their customer, nor their concern.

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That is so true!! I personally don't think the website is very good either, but I can't complain. At least there is one to look at now.

And if I was a member of park personnel or someone in park corporation authorized to order new rides, I would not be filling out a web form to place an order for a new coaster or to get more information from them. If anything, I would be wining and dining with B&M staff working on pricing, design, etc.

Regarding the quality of the site - it's outstanding for what it is:

A web presence for a company who was (is?) reluctant to create/maintain a web presence.

My take is that it was little more than an afterthought on the path of keeping control of their company name in cyberspace.

If anything, I can appreciate the idea of not kissing the collective enthusiast ass even after all these years while many manufacturers, parks and industry types seem to clamor to do so.

Lord Gonchar said: ...You're not their customer, nor their concern.

True, not their direct customer as in choosing which ride to build, but I would say we do pay the bills for the coasteers they build by simply showing up to the park wanting to ride the cool coasters and spending all that money on food, drinks, etc...which does make us their customer and definately their concern.

...just something to chew on.