Frankly since the onslaught of the SLR, beginning with the Nikon F, the rangefinder has been a niche product and will continue to be. That, my friends, does not mean the company is going down or that the future can not be bright with excellent products.
Lets step away from the auto industry a moment and look at the car industry. BMW, Ferrari and many other do not hold a candle to the sales of Toyota, GM, Ford and others. Are they dead, is there no future?
Of course there is, many of them are flourishing, and like the car industry Leica needs to continue to find, cultivate and expand its niche markets to form a solid foundation for business. Although we would love to see every Mom and Dad carrying a Leica at Disneyland or at a Soccer game it's not going to happen, there are cheaper and better solutions, in some cases, for those activities. And that's OK
Leica needs to be BMW... identify a niche, target it with laser focus and deliver the finest product they can muster to meet that demand. I have every confidence that with some intelligent management, creative marketing and the right products Leica can survive and flourish in the years to come.
Kent
ps- Hmmmmm.... I also thought Contax would come out with an ND2 and rule the upper end, what do I know ;-)