where oh where has redline gone

Where oh where has Redline gone? We get asked this question quite a bit. Our customary reply is that they're doing whatever it is that they're doing. We could go into much deeper detail, but that answer keeps us out of trouble and it is technically true.

The fact is, over the past couple years we have kept a fairly open line of communication with some of the key players down at the southern California upstart. They have given us a good look at what they've been up to. But, in order to get that kind of information, we agreed to keep what we know to ourselves until they gave the green flag. We did, and now they're ready to go live.

It hasn't been an easy trail for the guys at Redline. Like its peers in the micromaker boom of the late 1990s, Redline cranked out a handful of show units and described how these sleds would revolutionize snowmobiling as we know it. Some manufacturers actually put a unit or two on the snow to ride. A couple proved to be pretty fun. A couple just went south as soon as they were fired up. When the snow dust settled, Crazy Mountain, Blade and Snowhawk proved they could actually deliver a small number of units to consumers.

Redline quietly dropped off the radar screen to pursue its bigger project- produce a wholly proprietary vehicle from scratch with the infrastructure to back it up.

Consumers haven't forgotten Redline, and neither did we. We kept in touch. We listened as the guys talked about having a model ready to bring, but no company to support it. This was the first thing that set Redline apart from the other small manufacturers. They were interested in building a company before they had a product on the market. It makes a lot of sense to us.

Building a recreational products corporation proved a lot tougher than they had planned. There was plenty of interest from dealers, more than they imagined. But there is more to this industry than putting machines on a dealership salesfloor. There is tooling, manufacturing, service, parts inventory and employee wages to consider. The bottom line is that Redline needed funding and financial guidance throughout its formative years.

We've talked to a few of the company's investors and they are excited about what's coming down the pipeline and how the company has developed. Redline has spent time building solid relationships with key players in non-snowmobile industries. We all know that they teamed up with Electronic Arts to do the SledStorm video games. There are other partnerships in the wings that make sense but aren't ready for public consumption.

The Redline dealer network has been in progress since day one. From what we have learned, don't expect to see a Redline dealership on every corner. Instead, look at the way Harley Davidson has built its retail network. The powers that be at Redline don't seem to be interested in being the highest volume brand. They want to be the premium choice. Developing profitable dealerships and strong resale values is their plan.

Possibly one of the most impressive assets in the Redline bag of tricks isn't the years of off-road race vehicles experience, the fact that it was the design group that brought the first Suzuki four-wheeler to market or the company's innovative snowmobile designs. The most telling element we've seen at Redline has been the hiring of Mark Payne as President and Chief Financial Officer.

For those not familiar with Mr. Payne, he is a startup specialist with a keen sense of systems and streamlining. He was involved with bringing Famous Dave's restaurants to the market across the Midwest. Payne was hired at ValueVision International as the seventh employee and took the reins at a company with zero revenue, applied his systems, processes and controls, and came away less than five years later with a company that posted $150 million in annualized revenue. He has significant experience in his past with both private and public offerings, with over $200 million raised for emerging companies. That's the kind of expertise and corporate guidance a group of recreational vehicle engineers need to come to market as a company, not just a motortoy builder.

So, where has Redline been? They've been hard at work, putting the right people in the right places to make smart business decisions. Will they build sleds? Sure. They are ramped up to put an initial pilot build on the snow this winter some time. There won't be many, but the business plan calls for at least enough for one sled per dealership so consumers can test ride them before spring orders. But even more importantly, when you go to buy one, you'll know there is a full company standing behind your sled. You'll have parts, service and support for your new sled.

To see the Redline 800 Revolt or find a dealer near you, stop by www.redlinesnowmobiles.com or call 760/599-1003. Incindentally, a production-based Redline sled is scheduled to be on display at the Novi, Michigan, Snowmobile USA show this weekend.