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2 New Pure Yamaha Sleds In the Pipeline!

whitedust1

TY 4 Stroke God
Joined
Jan 10, 2008
Messages
1,626
Location
Waterford ,WI
Country
USA
Snowmobile
2012 Apex XTX
Talked to Yamaha factory rep at sneak peak & was told 2 new pure Yamaha product releases are in the pipeline. Also said the Yamaha / Cat OEM Agreement is over & done in 5 years which stopped any further speculation on my behalf of what could happen with that. The OEM agreement served its' pupose to get Yamaha thru earthquake recovery & recession. Only speculation now is what will the 2 new sleds be? Replace what sleds? I said 2018 but sounded more like 2017 release and he thought I would like them riding a 2012 Apex XTX now.
 

Talked to Yamaha factory rep at sneak peak & was told 2 new pure Yamaha product releases are in the pipeline. Also said the Yamaha / Cat OEM Agreement is over & done in 5 years which stopped any further speculation on my behalf of what could happen with that. The OEM agreement served its' pupose to get Yamaha thru earthquake recovery & recession. Only speculation now is what will the 2 new sleds be? Replace what sleds? I said 2018 but sounded more like 2017 release and he thought I would like them riding a 2012 Apex XTX now.
So that Cat agreement is over 5 years from now, or the total of 5 years which 2017 will be the last year?
 
That would be cool if that's correct. I'd like to see Yamaha develop a new machine to be more competitive with the other brands. There's no reason they can't build a machine which is just as good or better than everyone else. It will be very interesting what they come up with and what direction they go in.
 
Then what happens to the Viper? Will either Cat or Yami carry it forward?
 
Sounds dreamy. Seriously, which of these "yamaha rep" quotes should we start to get excited by?

So far I have heard..........

1. Yamaha will continue to work with AC on new products and try to get more production here state-side
2. Yamaha will stop working with AC
3. Yamaha has new sleds coming from Japan
4. No new sleds will come from Japan
4. Yamaha is getting out of the snowmobile business

Honestly, the last couple "Yamaha Reps" I spoke to had less Yamaha knowledge than most of the faithful here.
 
When all is said and done, and I have no skin in the game but understand business, I believe that Yamaha will buy a stake in Acat (nyse designation). This would do a few things for them. 1) it would allow them to have manufacturing capacity in the US without building a factory and equipping it with new machinery. 2) it saves them a ton of money in exchange and shipping from Japan. Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Nissan and many others have done the same thing. 3) be much closer to the end user for feed back, testing and product evolution at a much lower cost than having people stationed here and reporting to the home office.

Say what you will but I think its a brilliant strategy because it really doesn't cost a huge cash outlay. I am sure that they would keep the two companies separate to create a friendly completion. To all those that say that wont work I present: Polaris owning Indian and making Victory motorcycles, GMC and Chevy, Ebay and Shopping.com, Kia and Hyundai, BMW and Mini, Toyota and Lexus and Hino and Fuji (suburu) and Isuzu.

For all those that say that Japanese is so much better than what the "Arctic Crap" puts out, I think that while you may be right now, give the culture a chance to evolve and you will be surprised. If you drive a Honda, Toyota, Mazda or Yamaha Quad, Honda quad in all likely hood it was built in the US/Canada.
 
So that Cat agreement is over 5 years from now, or the total of 5 years which 2017 will be the last year?
In 2 years the Agreement would end both parties would shake hands & walk away. If 2 new sled releases 1 in 2017 probably would be new Apex & Vector then in 2018 the new Viper is my best guess from the conversation. Makes sense that a new platform from Yamaha would bridge many models same as Doo does with MXZ & Poo does with Axys. Just because the OEM Agreement ends for mfg in TRF it really has nothing to do with continued support for products that have been already mfg. all that will be seamless thru Yamaha dealers. Really no different than moving on to any new platform imo.
 
In 2 years the Agreement would end both parties would shake hands & walk away. If 2 new sled releases 1 in 2017 probably would be new Apex & Vector then in 2018 the new Viper is my best guess from the conversation. Makes sense that a new platform from Yamaha would bridge many models same as Doo does with MXZ & Poo does with Axys. Just because the OEM Agreement ends for mfg in TRF it really has nothing to do with continued support for products that have been already mfg. all that will be seamless thru Yamaha dealers. Really no different than moving on to any new platform imo.
That does make sense!
 
That does make sense!
Yes I think we all over thought the OEM Agreement between Yamaha & Cat which is/was just a simple 5 year OEM agreement that helped Yamaha thru earthquake & recession recovery. Seems to me that is what Yamaha said in the first place & that pure Yamaha sleds were in their/our future. Now I ask myself why didn't I believe them?????? LOL
 
Yes I think we all over thought the OEM Agreement between Yamaha & Cat which is/was just a simple 5 year OEM agreement that helped Yamaha thru earthquake & recession recovery. Seems to me that is what Yamaha said in the first place & that pure Yamaha sleds were in their/our future. Now I ask myself why didn't I believe them?????? LOL
Basically, it would be just like Skidoo and Lynx, right?
 
Basically, it would be just like Skidoo and Lynx, right?
I think it will be just as it is now ....You order Viper parts from a Yamaha dealer & product support is totally seamless to the enduser....nothing should change as far as Viper product support....no need to change.
 
When all is said and done, and I have no skin in the game but understand business, I believe that Yamaha will buy a stake in Acat (nyse designation). This would do a few things for them. 1) it would allow them to have manufacturing capacity in the US without building a factory and equipping it with new machinery. 2) it saves them a ton of money in exchange and shipping from Japan. Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Nissan and many others have done the same thing. 3) be much closer to the end user for feed back, testing and product evolution at a much lower cost than having people stationed here and reporting to the home office.

Say what you will but I think its a brilliant strategy because it really doesn't cost a huge cash outlay. I am sure that they would keep the two companies separate to create a friendly completion. To all those that say that wont work I present: Polaris owning Indian and making Victory motorcycles, GMC and Chevy, Ebay and Shopping.com, Kia and Hyundai, BMW and Mini, Toyota and Lexus and Hino and Fuji (suburu) and Isuzu.

For all those that say that Japanese is so much better than what the "Arctic Crap" puts out, I think that while you may be right now, give the culture a chance to evolve and you will be surprised. If you drive a Honda, Toyota, Mazda or Yamaha Quad, Honda quad in all likely hood it was built in the US/Canada.


Yes you do understand business. Your post is right on the money.

If Yamaha is not giving what you said serious consideration, they should be.
 


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