Arctic Cat to be acquired by Textron for $247 Million.

[journeyman]

Textron owned Polaris awhile back I guess.

'68-'81 is what I read somewhere else.

 

[sxr70001]

On the positive side, if they make airplanes the ought to be able to straighten out Cat's quality issues. It's amazing to me that Sidewinder guys are having all the same type problems us early Viper owners dealt with. Loose fasteners, clamps, bolts, etc, etc. It's unacceptable in this day and age.

I'm from Michigan and used to work in a lot of auto plants back in the day. They weeded out all those people sleeping and goofing around not doing a quality job long ago.

 

[cannondale27]

This is not different then when in 2003 Bombardier sold to groups of investor with Bain Capital owning 50% of BRP. I think they have been doing well since. (Beside their engine being assemble in Mexico).

It is different I hope. Bain is a holding company. They don't produce anything other than $. That makes them very dangerous. Textron is a Manufacturer as far as I can see. That's good.

 

[trailhed1]

http://finance.yahoo.com/m/867fb2ef-7e21-3d0b-bd70-206e55c33573/ss_textron-is-buying-vehicle.html

 

[done dooin'_winder up]

guy at work said these sleds would come with wings in a few years when i told him they are going over 130mph with slight mods. maybe he envisioned something in his remaining few brain cells. the new yamatron.

 

[yamajammer76]

This will effect the Yamaha-Cat agreement. Maybe not over the short term, but going forward I can't see it remaining in place. The original motivation for the agreement is gone on Cats end. At this point I can see three possibilities. 1) Yamaha will sign an engine supplier and short term brand and dealer licensing agreement with Textron allowing them to exit snowmobiles while moving their customer base to Cat. 2) Yamaha turns out the lights and it's game over. 3) Yamaha starts building their own sleds in their own North American plant.

Throwing a curve ball into the mix. Textron only bought Cat for ATVs and SxSs and will try to divest snowmobiles after awhile or just shut it down.

I hate to say it, but in a few years Polaris and BRP might be the last 2 survivors of this dying business. To me that's sad because I love sleds. I love them so much that on my income I can only afford one toy and I have a sled. It probably helps that I live in a place where I can always ride in the winter. I've been riding since I was 8 and that's over 30 years of never missing a winter. Even when I went to Iraq I had one short ride in December 2003 and then rode in March of 2005. Never missed a year!

 

[Deeppow16]

This will effect the Yamaha-Cat agreement. Maybe not over the short term, but going forward I can't see it remaining in place. The original motivation for the agreement is gone on Cats end. At this point I can see three possibilities. 1) Yamaha will sign an engine supplier and short term brand and dealer licensing agreement with Textron allowing them to exit snowmobiles while moving their customer base to Cat. 2) Yamaha turns out the lights and it's game over. 3) Yamaha starts building their own sleds in their own North American plant.

Throwing a curve ball into the mix. Textron only bought Cat for ATVs and SxSs and will try to divest snowmobiles after awhile or just shut it down.

I hate to say it, but in a few years Polaris and BRP might be the last 2 survivors of this dying business. To me that's sad because I love sleds. I love them so much that on my income I can only afford one toy and I have a sled. It probably helps that I live in a place where I can always ride in the winter. I've been riding since I was 8 and that's over 30 years of never missing a winter. Even when I went to Iraq I had one short ride in December 2003 and then rode in March of 2005. Never missed a year!

I'm afraid that you might be right about Polaris and BRP being the last. The way things have been going between Cat and Yamaha make me concerned. Cat cant make quality products and Yamaha just takes it and isn't saying anything about it. That tells me that Yamaha doesn't care much and probably has their eyes set somewhere other than sleds. I guess we will see in time.

 

[yamajammer76]

I'm afraid that you might be right about Polaris and BRP being the last. The way things have been going between Cat and Yamaha make me concerned. Cat cant make quality products and Yamaha just takes it and isn't saying anything about it. That tells me that Yamaha doesn't care much and probably has their eyes set somewhere other than sleds. I guess we will see in time.

Yamaha did dump quite a bit of money into the Sidewinder so I'm confused why they did that if they were ready to exit, on the other hand, with Cat being bought by a conglomerate means they don't need Yamaha anymore.

Quality control should be something Textron fixes, however if you read between the lines Textron is trying to build it's SxS and ATV lines. They even mention the excellent fit of the dirt products going forward. Snowmobiles are hardly mentioned in the agreement. Yamaha has been pretty silent and Textron seems unenthusiastic about the sled side when explaining the purchase to their shareholders.

 

[steiner]

I guess Yamaha's newly patented chassis will come into play sooner than later.

 

[yamajammer76]

It's also interesting to note that Textron has been getting beat up pretty bad by analysts and investors for missing it's profit guidance and weak profit margins lately. I'd say the sled division better turn around quick or it's RIP for Arctic Cat snowmobiles if it starts to put a drag on their bottom line.

 

[Deeppow16]

Yamaha did dump quite a bit of money into the Sidewinder so I'm confused why they did that if they were ready to exit, on the other hand, with Cat being bought by a conglomerate means they don't need Yamaha anymore.

Quality control should be something Textron fixes, however if you read between the lines Textron is trying to build it's SxS and ATV lines. They even mention the excellent fit of the dirt products going forward. Snowmobiles are hardly mentioned in the agreement. Yamaha has been pretty silent and Textron seems unenthusiastic about the sled side when explaining the purchase to their shareholders.

Yeah I'm also confused about that. I'm sure that new motor took years to develop and get right and they sure nailed it but it really makes you wonder whats going to happen in the next few years.

 

[johnnysnowking]

Am I the only one that's see's the reason to buy. Trump has been campaigning that he is going to rebuild the American military. So there's going to be a ton of department of defense contracts coming out and I guarantee there will be a contract for a military ATV and side-by-side and that's gonna be a huge multimillion dollar contract. so if you have the means and the money you buy a company that builds side by sides and four wheelers as fast as you can because that contract is going to come out soon and you better be prepared. I bet my bottom dollar on it that one department of defense contractor will probably pay for what they paid for that company. I can't imagine a military snowmobile but then again you never know.


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[Deeppow16]

Am I the only one that's see's the reason to buy. Trump has been campaigning that he is going to rebuild the American military. So there's going to be a ton of department of defense contracts coming out and I guarantee there will be a contract for a military ATV and side-by-side and that's gonna be a huge multimillion dollar contract. so if you have the means and the money you buy a company that builds side by sides and four wheelers as fast as you can because that contract is going to come out soon and you better be prepared. I bet my bottom dollar on it that one department of defense contractor will probably pay for what they paid for that company. I can't imagine a military snowmobile but then again you never know.


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I believe Polaris made some atv's for the military. I would think that if they ever did make a military snowmobile it would have to be a four stroke. You cant take the chance of motor failure when your being shot at. But I feel that is a long shot.

 

[johnnysnowking]

I believe Polaris made some atv's for the military. I would think that if they ever did make a military snowmobile it would have to be a four stroke. You cant take the chance of motor failure when your being shot at. But I feel that is a long shot.

It will probably have to be diesel because the military like to use only one fuel source. That's also why they have a diesel dirtbike that's made specifically for the military


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[Deeppow16]

It will probably have to be diesel because the military like to use only one fuel source. That's also why they have a diesel dirtbike that's made specifically for the military


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That makes sense.