The one thing that comes to mind for me is a thought most people don't bring to mind about brand loyalty/rivalry. Competition innovates change, and if there are two relatively similar products (ie Pontiac Sunfire/Chevy Cavalier), sometimes the small improvements between one or the other is made to help draw customers. I figure if there's brand rivalry, that means hopefully that will spur both companies to continue to attempt to differentiate and hopefully improve their products. While I love Pepsi, I seem to remember they had a dark child in Clear Pepsi - sometimes innovation can go the wrong way
