1. KEEPING THINGS THE SAME
Since the investment by Textron earlier this year, the company has chosen to keep all the nomenclature associated with Arctic Cat snowmobiles the same.
Although this was not the case with Cat’s Off-Road Division, the snowmobile identity is deeply ingrained in sled culture and Textron is well aware of it.
You need to read the interview with new Arctic Cat leader, Craig Kennedy, in the upcoming issue of Supertrax to get all the inside details.
2. INVESTING IN CUTTING EDGE 2-STROKE TECHNOLOGY
Although the new C-TEC2 800 didn’t happen overnight, the fact Arctic Cat has developed durable, high performance DSI 600 and 800 2-strokes is a big factor in the company’s future success.
Not only is the new 800 no longer built by an outside company, Suzuki, but, Cat is assembling them in its own plant in St. Cloud, Minnesota, right beside the 600.
This means complete control of the process and, when it comes time to make changes, they can respond super-quickly to the market.
3. FORMING PARTNERSHIPS TO SUPPLY 4-STROKES
Perhaps partnership is the wrong word to use here but the manufacturing agreements Arctic Cat has with Yamaha and Kymco are a big deal and very smart.
Why? Cat’s whole 4-stroke program was pulled off without having to do much hyper-expensive development and tooling to offer complex 4-strokes that fill all the gaps in the marketplace. Other than Ski-Doo, Cat has the most comprehensive line of 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines in the biz.
4. KEEPING THE BRAND IN THE USA
What can we say? Arctic Cat loyalists are faithful North Americans and although they respect the nature of some off-shore-built components, there’s an element of pride in the fact these sleds and many of their engines are built in Minnesota!
Frankly, the more USA-built Cat is, the more acceptance there is with the snowmobile public.
