snowchecks
- Thread starter clamlake600
- Start date
And parts will still be on backorder for months :face-icon-small-sho
I think it was, but im sure it was so far into development that it would have been dumb not to use it
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H
One would think that with all the negative press on AC that if it wasnt partly true, they would make a post or something to let the public know whats going on??? Instead you hear nothing from Cat. I think there is some truth to what is being said.
Unfortunately i think you are right.
J
Yeah I agree, there is probably something going on. That said, I still snow checked a MC as I liked the price and it is a nice upgrade from my current sled. I could have bought a Polaris or SkiDoo knowing they aren't going anywhere, but the MC has the features I wanted and if Cat goes under, I still have a great sled that I will ride for a couple of years before I buy another new one.
- Oct 14, 2008
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Banks, casinos and Cra don't reply to emails. The three biggest money makers in the world. When I hear nothing from a corporation I always refer back to that.
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Can't say I've heard much legitimate bad press going around for Cat on 2019 sleds. Some sled of the year awards for the Alpha. Few folks breaking rails, but doesn't seem any worse than the first year T-motion skids breaking on Doos. Motor failure rates don't seem any worse than Ski-doo and certainly not more than the Polaris 850s.
Historically we don't hear anything directly from any of the manufacturers unless there is a recall of some sort or sales rebates rolled out.
My opinion (which has just as much chance at being wrong as anyone elses' :face-icon-small-ton) is that Cat/Textron is running lean, cleaning house, and giving their dealers a shot to have a clean slate beyond 2020. Then they're going to see if things are profitable. If they are we'll see more investment back into the brand. If not it'll fold or be sold. Can't blame them for that. I don't think anyone will argue that since 2018 the direction of the sleds has been improving so I'm optimistic they'll be a player in the future.
H
Hope you are correct!!
You may be right ...... we can all hope. Just to be clear, it's not the sleds themselves that are the problem. It's the way Cat has run their company in recent years and their complete lack of support for dealerships. There are countless dealers that gave up Cat in the last 2-3 years just because of the way they were ramming product down their throats that would not sell in their respective markets, among other problems.
Textron hasn't gotten as big as they are by running companies as poorly as AC has so they are either going to fix it - or get rid of them. The rumor was they had only bought AC for the wheeled product to compete with Polaris in the military / government market. Not sure if that was true or not.
They did, and there is a video of this as well, coming from Brian Dick this means something. So much doom and gloom from some people out there.....Cat seems to have had a good Snowcheck program this year and is moving old inventory. Hopefully there are good things to come!
From another site:
Here are some of the comments engineering boss, Brian Dick (and others), made in their presentation to the media in West Yellowstone. Keep in mind, Brian is one of the most respected individuals at Arctic Cat - and quite frankly, in the whole sno-mo-biz.
"Arctic Cat is not for sale". That this statement was even made is a clear indication Textron has been fielding a lot of questiions similar to this. It's important that it was Brian Dick saying this. He adds a mountain of credibility to the message and, as a result, these rumors should quiet down.
"Arctic Cat is committed to investing in new product". Again, Brian would know if this was true or not and he made it clear there are new projects underway and the market will be seeing these innovations over the next few seasons. He was predictably light on a time line for new stuff to arrive.
"Arctic Cat must clear the decks of unsold, non-current sleds". We thought that was what the last leadership team from Textron was doing this season. Apparently, there are still too many unsold sleds sitting in boxes. These sleds only go down in value every day (and every year) they sit unsold. While details are very sketchy about the total number of non-current unsold sleds, we believe it’s significant.
Exactly. Not having to maintain the production based and floor based inventory is huge for everyone. Again, I'm amazed that the snowcheck system is even around. For someone to agree to plunk down cash and commit to a purchase 9 months ahead of time is unheard of in other industries. And they can leverage this.
It definitely didn't make sense the old way. Cat had great snowchecks because they have a great product at a great price. Used to be you paid a substantial amount extra for an early order, I could never understand that. Polaris even charges extra now for extra painting, it used to be included with a pricey snowcheck... So hurrah for reasonable early season pricing!
It does mean bottom feeders like me will have a tougher time getting deals on top line holdovers... Of course a holdover Mtn Cat was about as much as a snowchecked '20 Alpha. Just means I have to change my approach and START doing spring orders... Forking over $500 around tax time isn't too bad to get a good deal on your new machine.
Snow check was $750 this yr.
Polaris
Still not bad. About 6% down on a spring order.
Snow check was $750 this yr.
Polaris
My point was that it makes sense to me to put a small deposit down to get a good price. Never made any sense to me to pay thousands extra for the same sled I can pick up later for thousands less.
Textron was NOT the owner when the CTEC came out. It's been in the 600 for years......Cat developed. Textron did take ownership before anyone saw a CTEC 800 but it was also developed by Cat.
Now, the 2020 CTEC engine (800cc) has been tweeked and this has happened under Textron ownership. Granted, I'm sure there has been some employee / engineering changes but I'm sure there are still many(most) employees and engineers who have endured the ownership change.
Ownership changes happen as fast as money can move......engineering changes typically take a couple years to implement and get to the end user.
Stack, thank you for adding that response, if you hadn't identified those quotes, I was planning to and i'm quoting you in hopes more people read them.
I'm sure the same people that make comments about shutting down or selling will conveniently not read your post, my post, or the original story because it doesn't fit the negative narrative they like to pass along. It's more fun to dwell on the negative and discuss what they are doing wrong that it is to talk about what they may be doing right. The negative people literally ask for comment directly from the manufacturer, and when they get it, crickets..... I'm sure they either conveniently didn't see it because like their political news, only get their information from one source, or will pass it off as "well of course that's what they are going to say." Seriously, the manufacturers are in a no-win situation with these types of people.
About your "negative people" rant... Do you really see that in this thread? I know I made some comment wondering which direction we were headed but I do not see the negative dwellers in this thread, anywhere.
Ironically it seems your post about negativity is probably the most negative one in the whole thread...
Mostly I think people were just curious to know what the motivations were behind not selling floor stock to dealers. I think we all appreciate the comments from AC/Textron that pretty much clear it up.
"These types of people"... I hate the judgemental attitude displayed in this comment.
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