I respectfully disagree. Tell that to BMW, VW and Porsche.
In stark contrast to the bottom-up variety, top-down disruptive innovations actually outperform existing products when they’re introduced, and they sell for a premium price rather than at a discount. They’re initially purchased by the most discriminating and least price-sensitive buyers, and then they move steadily downward, into the mainstream, to recast the entire market in their own image. A top-down disruption is as revolutionary as a bottom-up one. But the good news for incumbents is that they have a much better chance of surviving, or even spearheading, the former than the latter.
BMW, VW and Porsche tend to do evolution and extrapolation rather than something completely and totally new, though.
They also tend to produce machinery that requires an engineering degree to service, and sometimes to use. And when they make a mistake it’s almost invariably spectacular. :P
Oh, I should also mention - German engineering may often work well, but long-term durability still remains an issue (in general).