Quasar (brand)

Quasar is a North American brand of electronics, first used by Motorola in 1967 for a model line of transistorized color televisions, which were well-known for containing all serviceable parts in a drawer beneath the television's cabinet. Soon, it was established as its own brand, with all Motorola-manufactured televisions being sold as "Quasar by Motorola".

In 1974, Motorola divested itself of its television and radio-manufacturing division, which was acquired by Matsushita, already well-known under its Panasonic brand in North America, where it was looking to expand. After a mass layoff of American managers from Quasar in 1986, a discrimination lawsuit was filed against Matsushita.

A 1990 episode of "Frontline", the PBS news program, claims that the Matsushita acquisition of Motorola's Quasar division was the beginning of the downfall of the U.S. television industry. It claims that Matsushita's acquisition was nothing more than a ruse designed for Japanese-made sets, and sets assembled of Japanese parts to avoid tariffs, with sets under the Quasar brand still being considered "domestically made" although Quasar's engineering and manufacturing division was being scaled-down.

Many American managers who transferred from Motorola felt discriminated against and Almon Clegg, a former manager at Quasar was quoted as saying "In some companies, in fact in some parts of Matsushita, I saw complete separation. The Japanese had their own organization, the Americans had theirs and they virtually didn't communicate with each other." After a mass layoff of American managers from Quasar in 1986, a discrimination lawsuit was filed against Matsushita.

As of 2005, the Quasar name sees limited use in North America, either being affixed to discontinued products from the Panasonic line or more value-oriented products than Matsushita's Panasonic brand, being sold in such places such as drug stores and supermarkets. It is rumored that Matsushita plans to discontinue the Quasar brand soon.

External links

* [http://ftp.monash.edu.au/pub/nihongo/matsushita.pbs A transcript of the 1990 Frontline episode transcribed by Tom Mathes and Louis LeClerc]