Features

Mar. 9, 2009 – Snowmobile Digest

Ski-Doo celebrates 50th anniversary

Fifty years ago, the Ski-Doo brand came alive in Valcourt, Canada. Joseph Armand-Bombardier built his first snowmobile in his garage at age 15, and by 30, he was building commercially successful snowmobiles.
CEO Jose Boisjoli says BRP is proud of what they’ve accomplished. “We are a leader in this industry, and I’m also very excited about the future,” he said in a video online. “Ski-Doo will remain No. 1 in the snowmobile industry.”
To celebrate the occasion, BRP released two 50th anniversary sleds. The limited edition Mx Z and Summit models feature an embroidered 50th anniversary seat logo, plate with certificate of authenticity and a brushed aluminum Ski-Doo logo on the hood.

PSB Poll: New snowmobile unit sales vary

New snowmobile unit sales are divided considerably so far this year. In its bi-monthly poll, Powersports Business asked how retail sales are faring compared to last year.
About 35 percent of respondents said sales are significantly down while 25.8 percent said sales are slightly up. A slightly higher percentage, about 28 percent, of respondents said sales were flat. The lowest percentages were significantly up and slightly down, both at 6.5 percent.
Votes for other polls may be cast online at PowersportsBusiness.com.

Take a Friend Snowmobiling campaign a success

Take a Friend Snowmobiling Week, Feb.14-22, was having initial success,
Ed Klim, president of the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association (ISMA), told Powersports Business.
“This is the first year we’ve promoted the Take a Friend Snowmobiling Week,” Klim said, “and we are very pleased with the response.” He adds visits to the campaign’s Web site, www.gosnowmobiling.org, have increased more than 100 percent compared to last year.
The majority of state and provincial snowmobile associations have endorsed the campaign and many clubs throughout North America are holding Take a Friend Snowmobiling Week events, says Klim.
“We are finding (as our consumer research told us) that people who don’t own snowmobiles do want to go snowmobiling, but they simply don’t know how. They don’t know where the trails are, and many people who don’t know people that snowmobile are really lost on how to get started,” noted Klim. “So this campaign has encouraged non-snowmobilers to reach out and give it a try and when they do, they like it.”

West Yellowstone Expo scheduled for March 13-15

The 19th annual West Yellowstone Snowmobile Expo is set to take place March 13-15. The expo is recognized as the “Largest Snowmobile Event in the West,” according to the event’s Web site.
Arctic Cat, Polaris, Ski-Doo and Yamaha will show their 2010 snowmobile lines, and there will be hundreds of aftermarket exhibits. psb

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button