Why do snowmobiles cost so much?
That's the question we get at every gathering where more than two sledheads are trading lies. People grouse; it's a human trait.
The answer is simple. Technology pushes costs up each year. Some of that is controllable and some is not.
The part that's not?
The federal government through the years, despite which party has been in power, has mandated via the EPA that snowmobile engine emissions be reduced. For the past decade the Big 4's engineers have been working their buns off to meet those emission levels. Time is money, so developing all the electronic fuel injected, semi-direct injected and direct injected motors has cost the sledmakers millions of bucks.
That cost gets passed along to you. Simple!
We can whine about the spilt milk, or we can look at the bright side, the engines that power our favorite toys are now much cleaner burning. They are more efficient, which is good for the environment and good for our sport's image. For some time snowmobiling had the rap of being environmentally unfriendly due to old inefficient, exhaust hurling 2-stroke engines. Now John Q. Public has lost this main objection to our sport. Heck, maybe even the guardians of Yellowstone, in time, will ease up on us since our snowmobiles are at least as clean as those huge RVs and SUVs that invade the park each summer.
The other part of this rising cost equation lies with you and me.
Beyond engines, the manufacturers continue to refine their sleds each season, offering better suspensions and more features that they know will get us to walk into dealerships and plunk down our hard-earned cash for a sled.
These items add cost, but if we demand them, well, we control the market.
If we want snocross-capable suspensions, higher-horsepower motors, better brakes, lighter chassis, gauge pods that tell us time, temperature, altitude and have a performance playback feature, carbon fiber bumpers, turbos, clicker shocks, air shocks, handguards, bigger lugs on our tracks and such, well, simply put, we must pay for it.
"But I don't need all that," you say. "I'd buy a basic 600 and so would all my buddies."
Well, Polaris began offering its 600 IQ Shift (a no-frill sled) a few years back at $6,999, but it didn't sell so well, people wanted upgrades. Those were added and it now costs $7,999. To be fair, Polaris also still offers a no-frills 550 IQ Shift for $5,999.
But those have not been the best-selling sleds the past couple years. No, recently the best sellers have been sleds like the super lightweight Ski-Doo REV-XP models and this year the Polaris Rush with its high-tech Pro Ride rear suspension.
That's the new stuff, the more costly stuff. And that's fine, probably the way it should be as people want what's new, different and better. But you and I control the market. If we want less costly sleds, we've got to buy those models in bigger numbers.
So here's the question: What can YOU live without?
If you want a lower cost sled, take a moment this off-season to tell us what you could do without, and your ideas for cutting sled costs. We'll share them with everyone next season. E-mail us at
amsnow@amsnow.com, or post a comment below. Thanks!
Learn more about the
economics of snowmobiles.