Many of the concerns referenced such as the amount of inventory, low margins, poor rebates, poor financing offers,etc.... have been verbalized for awhile now. I certainly know in my area and headed north that there are Far less Cat dealers than when we really started riding in the late 90's: I noticed most of this in the last 10 years, and this could be due to other factors such as poor winters, poor economy, etc...
I agree when you look at offers from the competitors many times I find a comparable sled for less money, sometimes significant. I have great Cat dealers, and find myself loyal to Cat, but I see the concern on where things are headed with their business model.
One can only hope the changes at the top can help right the ship and get them back on track.
Stack