I think the the "Ascender" is the new chassis just like Doo did with the XP to Xm and Poo did with the Pro to the Axis As much as Id like to see a new ground up chassis I think its 5 years away. Im sure well see advancements till then. Shot style system etc.
I agree with you, although i will add that the new Cat platform doesn't physically look much different than its predecessor, and I think that has an effect on sales numbers. People tend to expect a drastic change, but to a lot of people, it doesn't
look "new," it's just a plastics update. On paper, I'd agree with them too, that's all it looks like.
My buddy got a new Mountain Cat this year and it is pretty impressive for sure, but you have to actually experience it to know that. Like others have said, hopefully Textron can help with the marketing problem, and hopefully Cat can keep up with the competition at the same time.