Has anyhone heard a rumor....

[jcnaz]

Guess Another Pint Please was behind all those teaser shots:

http://www.anotherpintplease.com/home/2016/4/the-weber-summit-charcoal-grill

@AnotherPintPlease oh yeah? Nice work, as always Mike!

Thanks!! And thanks to @Jtayres, too! I've been lurking here for weeks watching all of the speculation. Even though I've had it since last year, I've been just as excited for today to come as everyone else.

This about sums it all up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVLw88CZkDQ

Thank you, Mike!  I look forward to seeing all that you do with this thing.

Guess Another Pint Please was behind all those teaser shots:

http://www.anotherpintplease.com/home/2016/4/the-weber-summit-charcoal-grill

[Troy]

I am definitely factoring in the BGE end of it, @Troy.

I guess what I am trying to say is this will definitely be a good case study in branding.

One reason everyone accepts the pricing for BGE, BMW, Beretta shotguns, Apple MacBooks, and other premium brands is because they don't have a choice. There is no entry level BGE. Weber is known for cheap but effective kettles.

Will Weber be able to overcome the perception? VW couldn't with the Phaeton.

It's more complicated than that.
I've never even heard of the Phaeton, and I've been driving a VW for 2 years.
BGE and Apple both marketed to snobs. Surround yourself with BGE or apple fans and you'll hear many of the same types of comments.
"Food cooked on my BGE tastes 10 times better than any other grill"
"my mac NEVER crashes, it just works"
"macs don't get viruses, they're just intuitive"
Apple, and BGEs, both have some awesome qualities - but the things that their vocal raving fan audience speak of are pretty much 100% bullshit.

no one ever says, "i realize its triple the cost of similar products, but I just like the way it looks and feels"

[jcnaz]

Howdy fellas, I haven't posted here in awhile but I might be able to add something to this talk. I haven't posted because over a year ago I bought a Kamado Joe Big Joe model. Since then it has pushed the rest of my grills and WSM out of the rotation. I still enjoy the look of a Weber kettle but I can't deny the multi functional qualities my KJ has. If you ever see one in person check out the grate system. The cooking grate is split in half with two different heights it can be set at. It has a cast iron grate, and a cast iron griddle that can be added on. The heat deflector is split as well so you can use multiple settings with your charcoal placement. It all adds up to being able to play with your food more, it really is fun. 
  There will always be a market for the standard kettle model and it's true that you can use it to do 90% of what my KJ can do. What my KJ does though is make each cook seem like more of a event. Hopefully Weber can tap into the "event" cooker market. As for places they can improve on the Kamado experience, price would have been nice but they seem to have skipped that. Hinges are issues with some Kamados and the Weber one looks nice. Weight and portability is another area they could exploit. Finally, ash removal is a big issue with some and it looks like Weber nailed that one. I'll be curious to see if charcoal efficiency is as good as most Kamados. Also I'm going to be curious about how long it'll be able to run going low and slow. All in all I'm excited and I'm pretty sure there's a post from me a couple of years ago asking if Weber would ever make a double walled Kamado , should I call my lawyer??


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Are you selling off all your other grills?

[LostArrow]

$2000 delivered for the one I want!
Too expensive for me but.
I also hunt... Teachers spend $6000 on a Honda 4 wheeler, $1000 on a rifle & mid priced scope.
$1000 on a rigged bow.
$40,000 on a used 4 wheel drive truck!
I fish , a bass boat used will cost $20,000 & you need a vehicle to tow.
Outdoor cooking is a CHEAP hobby!!!
If I wasn't being retired 4/30/17 I'd try to get one

[LaTuFu]

I agree with you, Troy. But that's the market weber is targeting here. That's my point and why I am concerned.

The Phaeton was a $90k luxury sedan VW tried to sell 10 years ago. They thought people would buy a $90k VW.

They were wrong. Folks who had $90k to drop on a German car bought a BMW Mercedes or Audi. They didn't see the allure of a luxury VW, and traditional VW buyers were not about to spend that much on a VW.

[LightningBoldtz]

I have a Kamado in my back yard and a few weber kettles.

After watching a few videos this thing will do all I want in a grill.  In fact, not that I want to but I could get rid of my performer and my Kamado.

I use my Kamado almost exclusively for smoking, I never grill on it, it is awesome for overnight cooks. When I grill, I go to my Webers so most of my cooking is on my Webers.

The more I look at this thing the more it grows on me.  Some day, I will see on of these used for $300, and I will be the first one to pick it up.

First reaction was "Wha", saw the price I was like "Heck Nah"  watched a few videos and research and started to think, that could be in my back yard someday.  At the right price.

[Troy]

I agree with you, Troy. But that's the market weber is targeting here. That's my point and why I am concerned.

The Phaeton was a $90k luxury sedan VW tried to sell 10 years ago. They thought people would buy a $90k VW.

They were wrong. Folks who had $90k to drop on a German car bought a BMW Mercedes or Audi. They didn't see the allure of a luxury VW, and traditional VW buyers were not about to spend that much on a VW.

what i'm saying is, without knowing all of their marketing efforts - the failure of that car cannot be pinned on audience expectations.

weber knows that the average kettle crowd is not in the market for a charcoal summit. They didn't design it for the $100 grill buyer.
I would bet that 95% of kettle owners haven't stepped foot inside a store that sells BGE within the last year.

Don't get me wrong though, they have obstacles to overcome.
They better have a kickass marketing strategy to go along with this beast.

[Troy]

I have a Kamado in my back yard and a few weber kettles.

After watching a few videos this thing will do all I want in a grill.  In fact, not that I want to but I could get rid of my performer and my Kamado.

I use my Kamado almost exclusively for smoking, I never grill on it, it is awesome for overnight cooks. When I grill, I go to my Webers so most of my cooking is on my Webers.

The more I look at this thing the more it grows on me.  Some day, I will see on of these used for $300, and I will be the first one to pick it up.

First reaction was "Wha", saw the price I was like "Heck Nah"  watched a few videos and research and started to think, that could be in my back yard someday.  At the right price.

I knew you'd come around after drinking your kool aid coffee

[MacEggs]

I sure hope my KettlePizza adaptor fits .... It will become by dedicated KP-only cooker.

[macmanjpc]

Five Weber Performer Deluxes or one Weber Charcoal Summit Grilling Center... Decisions, decisions.

[Troy]

Five Weber Performer Deluxes or one Weber Charcoal Summit Grilling Center... Decisions, decisions.

Or you can buy 1500 bottles of water!
or rent a lambo for a full day!!

[Idahawk]

You can throw this in the back of the truck , you don't have to pony up for a nest , a place setter , exclusive charcoal and all that . Plus this is easy to clean , simple to light and its far less intimidating then a Kamado oh and it won't crack and its a Weber , pretty easy sell


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[MikeRocksTheRed]

I have a Kamado in my back yard and a few weber kettles.

After watching a few videos this thing will do all I want in a grill.  In fact, not that I want to but I could get rid of my performer and my Kamado.

I use my Kamado almost exclusively for smoking, I never grill on it, it is awesome for overnight cooks. When I grill, I go to my Webers so most of my cooking is on my Webers.

The more I look at this thing the more it grows on me.  Some day, I will see on of these used for $300, and I will be the first one to pick it up.

First reaction was "Wha", saw the price I was like "Heck Nah"  watched a few videos and research and started to think, that could be in my back yard someday.  At the right price.

I'm with you.  A little blown away by the price but not that surprised.  After watching the amazing ribs video I think this is a really cool grill.  It really combines the best of both worlds.

I get the pricing...they are trying to compete with a much higher dollar market.  Even if they offered the one under $1000, hell even like $850 most of us in this group would still think it is over priced, but that is because we love our kettles.  Splurging for us means spending a few extra bucks on a used Performer!  And I can't wait to run into someone with a Summit Charcoal who is telling me all of the things they can do with it and I tell them "my kettle can do that to" to each one of them!!!!

[fedex]

I am certainly interested.  $2k for a cooker that I will use for the next 10 years = ~$17/month.  Three less Starbucks lattes per month is a small price to pay for something that feeds my passion for outdoor cooking.


Winz

Well said.

[GregS]

there's a reason those colors are vintage and euro.... because america doesn't buy them.

you're in america.  i'm in america.  we buy grills that aren't black. 

maybe we aren't the majority, but we're part of the market. 

it would cost them a few more bucks, so if it's a success, i wouldn't be surprised if some colors made it in the line up down the road.

copper would look pretty bad ass.  in an ugly way. 

I just read they were going to make a Green a Yellow and blue, but since you said it was butt ugly they decided no scrap the idea.....sad face

already have green, yellow and blue.  not a big deal .


also, ugly doesn't always mean bad. 

i've owned some great ugly things.  i drove to school in a '78 AMC Gremlin, and i loved it.