Ziemann

There's a lot to digest right there. 6 months ago, I would have agreed that Arctic Cat could be let go on a fire sale to someone like Argo for a couple hundred million. But not now. I agree 100% @mnstang that Textron has finally demonstrated their commitment to the sport and Arctic Cat brand, and it appears that they are finally going to be a position to deliver something competitive. So, Cat's value has gone way up, and it appears that any thoughts of a fire sale to Argo are behind us. Now Textron has to actually deliver the product and it needs to perform as they claim. Is it eno

I tend to agree 100% on the Polaris 7S. I thought the 7S was dumber than hell..... until my XC was delayed, and I bought a VR-1 instead. The 7S is truely innovation. I completely changed my tune once I started digging in to the functionality of the 7S. The 7S is an example of where Ski-Doo started the trend, but Polaris took it to a whole other level. The Cat people don't seem to need such frivolous luxuries...

Frankly- I think Cat and Yamaha deserve some credit. Snowmobiling has always been about performance. From a performance perspective, look at the impact of the Thundercat/ZR9000/Sidewinder. They remain the performance benchmark that everyone is still striving to attain. Ski-Doo's innovation seems to revolve around reliability, refinement, and rider convenience. Polaris seems to be trying the hardest, but their innovation falls just short.... What Polaris has achieved, is helping to drive innovation with the other manufacturers.....competition is a very good thing.

Cat= Innovation

How many sleds does Yamaha sell annually? A couple thousand? Why even bother? And if you're Cat.....it hardly seems like there's enough revenue to justify changing production to build Yamacats.....

I keep coming back to the fact that many dealers are running at capacity already this time of year in the shop. Now to add this to a dealer's workload? Be realistic.....they'll eventually work through sleds with the update, but it isn't happening anytime soon for most people.....

Jesus- closing those 2 trails north of Mercer is also bad. Both of those trails get heavy traffic and are significant connectors. This isn't as devastating as losing Trail 2 between Bessemer and Wakefield, but a bad deal for everyone in the area.....

What a fucking tool......

Exactly- I know there is an issue. I am not going to be the first in line to get my sled fixed by a high school student. And I am going to ride this winter. And, there is little info related to the fix and timing of it. I'm tone deaf ..... at least for now......

Anyone else just feeling a bit "tone deaf" to all of this silly drama?

I'm assuming that you are referring to the Snow bike? I think that it is safe to say that the new Catalyst is still in a very early form. No gauge, etc.... They probably do have a lot of work to do before it is ready to see the trail.

.....

In all seriousness, I've already bought my Matryx, and I'm not selling it any time soon. If the Catalyst had been available when I snow checked the new Matryx, Cat would have gotten my business. This sled would have likely met my needs- even as a 600. Unfortunately for me and a ton of their other former customers- TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE. Ramstad should grow a set of balls, and be here to discuss the CATALYST. They way we can ALL learn to hate the CATALYST together.

I think they know they need a more competitive engine and that the sweet spot in the market is 800-850 class. Obviously, the 600 was all they could get to market in this time frame. Who knows? Maybe when the order banks open in February, they may be an additional engine option (even though they stated that it will be next year).

@Bontz Chris- perfectly stated. Textron has to have loftier goals. If Textron's only success is to keep their existing customers happy so they don't lose more marketshare, then this will be a huge failure. The only way that CATALYST makes sense is if Textron can increase market share by pulling back their former Cat customers or gaining new customers. I think CATALYST looks good and is headed in the right direction- but I don't see it as being innovative enough to pull customers away from Ski-Doo and Polaris.