Motorola hasn't been Motorola in a long time. Lenovo is pulling the strings now and Google before them.
No one's been able to make any money from the brand anyhow, so I'm not sure why companies keep using it.
Motorola Mobility is excellent as a brand, that's why. But the original company floundered because they didn't try to push boundaries or expand beyond the US except in the most minimal of capacity. They stuck by Verizon's side and rarely ventured away.
Motorola still makes the best, or among the best, cellular radios.
Motorola found success in the original Droid, and for awhile lived off of Verizon Droid branding. But now that global phones or otherwise non-exclusive phones are the thing, they haven't really pushed into proper flagship territory.
They are on the right track with the Moto X line but it is growing stagnant, as they seemed afraid of making a more expensive flagship.
And they are handling the sizing all wrong. They really need more global flagship "mini" models, not cheap models which remain the only smaller Moto phones at the moment. They had the Droid Mini but haven't created a successor, nor was it a global device.
Google pointed them in the right direction, but I suspect Lenovo will be Motorola's final resting place. Lenovo wanted an "In" into the USA, and Moto was just the brand.
If they push hard for a strong global product portfolio, they might light the fire under Moto and something magical might happen.
But I suspect they'll just flail around a bit then flounder unceremoniously. They need some serious new direction if they want to compete.