2022?

[hansenmac]

im a "cat guy", would have liked to see more out of the release, and there are some things that could be adressed. But theres not a factory N/A sled that will outclimb a cat. and i dont have a problem with the handling at least its not a doo. All that said if cat wants to sell sleds they need new stuff to keep people other than "cat people" interested, and they also need much better advertising and social media and all that. people want exciting and new and BNG's and a clutch are not exciting. a 900 twin would have been exciting and sold some sleds or an elevate kit or a all new center hood with new intake and guage. ive never bought a new sled and if there would have been something worth the extra few grand i would have this year but unless they drop the price i'll buy another 1 year old.

 

[Suzzy-Q]

Digging through some patents, looks like cool things coming.

https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/17/17/d6/9bf3118e04cf6d/CA3058194A1.pdf

Yeah this is promising and all but a lot of these phots/plans were floating around LAST YEAR already

 

[CO 2.0]

Cat has to have something up their sleeve for next year. Or else they would have done something or fixed issues with the current chassis for their 60 year. They knew Polaris was coming out with a new mountain chassis. So maybe they are waiting on purpose since the Poo release would have taken the wind out of their sail on a new release this year. And they could make adjustments for a new chassis release before next year after seeing Poo's changes. I'm sure the new primary will be used on their new chassis. So they already had that ready and stuck it on this sled, since it will probably be the same crank taper next year.

 

[goridedoo]

Yeah this is promising and all but a lot of these phots/plans were floating around LAST YEAR already

Yeah, probably not uncommon for something like that to take years to go from a drawing to a working reality.

 

[BlueDevil]

So where is the release???? I see a video with no description and some pictures??
what’s the story?

 

[Bengalfan]

The release was yesterday... Don`t worry you didn`t miss anything. New primary clutch and different colors.

 

[Super 8]

 

[Super 8]

Ben White is the marketing queen for Textron that lives in Augusta Georgia year around.

 

[sno*jet]

But theres not a factory N/A sled that will outclimb a cat.

175 850 doo with the limiter sucked in?
175 series 8 850 poo? (is that a thing?)
Still impressive I know what you mean.

That interview with the textron guys....ouch ?

 

[Clark42]

Ben White is the marketing queen for Textron that lives in Augusta Georgia year around.

So the head of marketing lives in Georgia and and the president of AC doesn't ride either.... Makes sense

 

[hansenmac]

175 850 doo with the limiter sucked in?
175 series 8 850 poo? (is that a thing?)
Still impressive I know what you mean.

That interview with the textron guys....ouch ?

ridden with a 175 850 with helium hood and geardown and it wasnt close, im not worried about being HIGH mark king but if it couldnt climb an open hillside then i dont think it will climb a hill with tight trees at low speeds either.

 

[turboless terry]

175 will climb a tree. Something wrong with either the sled or rider if it won't.

 

[Mafesto]

Cat should call their mountain sled Yeti or Sasquatch, because that's how rare they are in the high country.
Hell, you have a better shot at seeing a Sleestak than a Cat on the mountain.

 

[hansenmac]

175 will climb a tree. Something wrong with either the sled or rider if it won't.

there were two, one was bone stock 165. we even swapped sleds since he is a bigger guy than me and same results. the cat went up and over and the doo just couldnt do it. I was surprised at the result and the doo rider was pissed since he had given me **** about cats for years and his new do got its clock cleaned. I rode a different doo for a full day when the 850s first came out and there were pro rmks that were out doing it. idk it was a nice sled and shot start is awesome but i dont know where they get there HP numbers from because it show on the snow.

 

[BlueDevil]

I believe your claim 100%. I have seen something similar as well.

 

[J-Dog]

All I can say is cats circling the drain. No parts , no 850 , no turbo and a old chassis equals no sales. If you think I’m crazy watch the sales this year.

 

[turboless terry]

there were two, one was bone stock 165. we even swapped sleds since he is a bigger guy than me and same results. the cat went up and over and the doo just couldnt do it. I was surprised at the result and the doo rider was pissed since he had given me **** about cats for years and his new do got its clock cleaned. I rode a different doo for a full day when the 850s first came out and there were pro rmks that were out doing it. idk it was a nice sled and shot start is awesome but i dont know where they get there HP numbers from because it show on the snow.

I have an alpha and nothing has more traction than that track. The low and mid is really good. In sugary snow i can beat my buddy's 163 kaos with my 154 but not in deep powder. My 19 165 didn't run as good as the 20. His kaos is a 2.6.

 

[sno*jet]

ridden with a 175 850 with helium hood and geardown and it wasnt close, im not worried about being HIGH mark king but if it couldnt climb an open hillside then i dont think it will climb a hill with tight trees at low speeds either.

limiter strap sucked in i say, key. Ive ridden a 165 in playful mode. I think the potential is there, bone stock. IF you make use of that way bigger footprint.
their quick adjust limiter comes standard on more models now for this. i dont think guys like to suck them in because then they feel those big hips more ?

 

[Suzzy-Q]

Yeah, probably not uncommon for something like that to take years to go from a drawing to a working reality.

This is true, but get the lead out, getting out performed in the r/d and engineering department also delays things coming out

 

[Calvin42]

I give it to you Cat guys, there is no group more loyal to the brand.

I've owned them all, and each have their pro's and con's. My most current sleds have been Ski-doo and Polaris. I have spent some time on the newer Cats as well. However, from the outside looking in, Cat has failed it's loyal customers and failed to attract new ones.

I get the fact that the company does not have the resources to compete with Poo or Doo ( parent company, Textron does). I am not brand loyal in the least, and do look at Cat every year that I snowcheck ( and have snowchecked almost every year since 2003). But every year, in my opinion, Cat fails to deliver. The new Cat's have some good features, the track and engine are a couple. However, as a package, they continue to fall behind the other sled builders. One example is the running boards. Sure, you can get better ones in the catalog, but you shouldn't have to.

The numbers tell the story. Cat's sales are not near the top two and that's evident on the mountain. I would have thought that the 60th year for Cat would have been big! IMO, it wasn't. The Covid excuse is just that, an excuse. If Cat doesn't change management, or the engineer team, within a few years it just won't be feasible as a business to continue.

I believe we need competition and as many manufacturers and possible. Competition is good for the consumer. I understand there are numerous factors that come into play when it comes to decisions companies make, but Cat needs new thinking. I know this will upset some folks, and that's OK. We need to have an honest discussion about the state of the sled market. The average age of the current rider is going up. Sled prices continue to climb surpassing 20k this year for a new sled. And snow conditions on average are hit and miss year to year. People work hard for their recreation dollars and want the best bang for the buck. Yes, Cat as a whole offers probably the least expensive sleds on the market, but people still want quality.

If the Cat brand is going to grow, bring on new thinking and innovation. If not, stop putting a bandaid on everything and just bleed out. Sorry guys, it's just what I see from the outside looking in. I wish all businesses success, but some are stuck in the past. Sears is a perfect example. Who would have thought such a GIANT would go under? It's stagnant thinking. That doesn't work in todays world.