Every transit agency in the country was already investigating busses to replace street-level rail and trolley-bus systems. Lower costs (both up front and operating), greater route flexibility, and new capabilities seemed like a slam dunk.

The "conspiracy" was an attempt to corner the market on the already-inevitable replacement of legacy non-rapid transit systems. The conspirators were willing to spend a good deal of money to make certain that transit groups would buy GM buses with Firestone tires, not Ford and Michelin.