2024 Arctic Cat Catalyst

[snopro]

Sounds like textron is getting ready to sell the Cat brand.

View attachment 290856

Textron Wins $277M Contract to Supply T-54A Trainers to US Military

Textron Aviation has been awarded a contract for $277 million to produce next-generation T-54A trainer aircraft for the US military.

thedefensepost.com

More money to be made supplying the military.

What a kick in the gonads for the dealers. Been through hell with this company and stuck with them and now they are getting a pink slip. Not a good look.

 

[Catman10]

I have so much to say, hearing this news about Cat is sad forsure but things make sense, they are broke and it shows to their end product, the demo's we rode last fall were unacceptable, so many things were neglected, clutching was horrible, big quage did not work, electronic shocks were seized basically stiff, all the sleds vibrated except the 600 which was by far the best sled they had, sloppy steering posts, they all ran like crap except 1 because they said each one had a different map and much more, should these sleds not have been spot on for all of the consumers that wanted to try out this all new platform? Everyone in our group was disappointed and expressed their thoughts to the AC reps but did it matter? I imagine all across America people were let down and complaints were probably brought forward but I imagine the spending tree was already over long ago so Cat put in minimum effort to release the 24 858 and probably decided to let the customers do the R and D which is probably cheaper for them in the long run but now you have to wonder if dealers can even get parts for these machines? So now you have all these poor people that have a very expensive n/a sled with virtually no dealer support which would be ok if they ran great but they don't and it has to have a huge impact on resale, who is gonna want one unless it is garage sale priced. I am sure most people that overpaid for these machines are happy with them and that is great, ride the panels off the thing cuz you are married to this one I fear, the future for Cat is looking grim but time will tell.

 

[1100]

Agreed. They have lost so much of their market share over the years and this was a year they could have bounced back some. Even without a turbo all they had to do was price their sled better the Doo and Poo. Base model 15k, top of the line model 20k. Would have been cheaper then their competitors, drawn people in to try it out that aren't die hard Cat fans and got more sleds out into the market.

Right.And there’s lots of money in selling parts

 

[acesup800]

I'm sure the soft sales have nothing to do with a 25,000 top of the line sled that doesnt have a turbo.

I paid 21k for a sno-pro, small gauge. Doo wanted 22k at the time of snow check for summit x, small gauge. Defiantly better deals on doo's now though.

 

[greenthumb]

Well that was a short run.

Seems there’s no limit to the industries that these mega conglomerate / capital type companies can find way to ruin.

 

[RyanM]

There a chance… A slim chance that Textron selling them could turn out better for Cat, as long as whoever buys them gives a ch!t about the product more then the profit margins. At least until they start producing machines on par with the competition.

 

[lilduke]

Cat is cooked. What we need is chinese clones of the g5 and the boost for cheap lol

 

[MP Kid]

I’m with RyanM…You guys are all looking at this backwards…

Lots of good people at AC, and were able to produce some innovative products on a shoestring budget.
Textron has never fully understood the Motorsport industry, they’re simply a govt contractor. They expect consistent profits like that of military contracts, and when costs overrun, they just charge more.

Most of these companies are in trouble, not just Cat. Look at all the non-current inventory of SD and Poo. Smoking deals coming for the new year will drive the used market down. Look at what happened to BRP’s marine/boat endeavour. When divisions are not meeting expectations, things change.

 

[Foxstar45]

There a chance… A slim chance that Textron selling them could turn out better for Cat, as long as whoever buys them gives a ch!t about the product more then the profit margins. At least until they start producing machines on par with the competition.

I didn't read anything about them selling the company.. Maybe I missed that. I thought I read that they were winding down operations indefinitely and perhaps go back into business when market conditions improve.. I'm not sure how the later would happen after all these dealers pivot or go out of business. Surely they looked at selling the business already. Who would buy it? Hey how would you like a chance to be the #3 out of 3 player in the shrinking snowmobile business and like #6 in the super competitve ATV/SxS business.. You might even make money at it someday if market conditions improve. First you need to invest 100s of millions into the product to get it up to par with your competitions 2021 offering.

 

[RyanM]

I didn't read anything about them selling the company.. Maybe I missed that. I thought I read that they were winding down operations indefinitely and perhaps go back into business when market conditions improve.. I'm not sure how the later would happen after all these dealers pivot or go out of business. Surely they looked at selling the business already. Who would buy it? Hey how would you like a chance to be the #3 out of 3 player in the shrinking snowmobile business and like #6 in the super competitve ATV/SxS business.. You might even make money at it someday if market conditions improve. First you need to invest 100s of millions into the product to get it up to par with your competitions 2021 offering.

 

[Rjjtcross8]

I don’t know about them divesting the brand, but maybe they are entertaining producing units for another brand under contract. Less risk that way since they only need to produce quantities requested vs guessing at the market.

 

[jcjc1]

if a company is looking to invest in power sports, I can’t see sleds being a rational choice.

 

[FanaticalKilla]

I don’t know about them divesting the brand, but maybe they are entertaining producing units for another brand under contract. Less risk that way since they only need to produce quantities requested vs guessing at the market.

Tough to go build to order when your name is pretty low on the totem pole in the powersports industry.

 

[Caper11]

I didn't read anything about them selling the company.. Maybe I missed that. I thought I read that they were winding down operations indefinitely and perhaps go back into business when market conditions improve.. I'm not sure how the later would happen after all these dealers pivot or go out of business. Surely they looked at selling the business already. Who would buy it? Hey how would you like a chance to be the #3 out of 3 player in the shrinking snowmobile business and like #6 in the super competitve ATV/SxS business.. You might even make money at it someday if market conditions improve. First you need to invest 100s of millions into the product to get it up to par with your competitions 2021 offering.

You didn’t read it right or read the correct article.
Cat filed for a 8-K with the securities and exchange seeking “strategic alternatives” meaning they are looking to divest. Textron also got a military contract for aircraft, so dump the brand that’s not doing well. Has Textron ever cared about cat? Look at the business model they had.

With the way North America is going, IMO, I don’t see a future in powersports or RV beyond 2030 with the looming bans and regulations. Christ Canada wants all trucks in Canada to be sold with a automatic transmission, and 10% of manual transmissions for heavy haul and off road.


Edit, Ryan M posted the same info, should of read further.

 

[Mountainman52]

https://snowgoer.com/latest-news/te...c-alternatives-for-arctic-cat-division/32986/

Most likely why Yamaha pulled the plug on sleds to .............

 

[bcjeepr]

CF Arctic Cat Moto .