Arctic Cat in Trouble

[Hawkster]

The masses are all poor in Europe.

They wouldn't even have the pos bikes if it wasn't for United States sending money to that cesspool.

Insane taxes.

Eff that.

That may be true but they seem to have the newer technology.

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[Skidoox]

 

[GoBigParts]

Sad, so sad to see a brand struggle to this point.

 

[turboless terry]

Old school way of thinking combined with economy and low snow. Everyone saying they don't need a turbo or 850 or their marketing and chassis is fine. No 2 rail skid. Probably hung out with yamaha too long. Letting burandt, rasmussen and kesterke go didn't do them any favors either. The 858 catalyst is great but I don't think it will run with a doo out of the box powerwise. Been a while since I rode an na 850 polaris. Either way they are still behind. Hope someone buys it.

 

[koolaid]

Yes Terry, you've said it plenty of times how you feel about Cat. Just once though, I'd like you to be specific on why Cat is behind! Say something like "their Powerclaw track doesn't perform like others in deep snow". How their new guage doesn't have the same features as a 7S, or that their boards don't clear snow. It just that they're behind because of not offering a turbo. Sorry, 80% of you guys riding turbos can't ride well enough to get the benefits of that turbo.

 

[jcjc1]

where does that constant 80% stat come from-pew research or a gallup poll? probably 99% of people/turbo owners don't like losing HP at altitude and it could also be argued that the majority of riders don't ride well enough to utilize the capabilities of modern sleds, turbo or not but we all have them.

 

[NHRoadking]

Yes Terry, you've said it plenty of times how you feel about Cat. Just once though, I'd like you to be specific on why Cat is behind! Say something like "their Powerclaw track doesn't perform like others in deep snow". How their new guage doesn't have the same features as a 7S, or that their boards don't clear snow. It just that they're behind because of not offering a turbo. Sorry, 80% of you guys riding turbos can't ride well enough to get the benefits of that turbo.

Doo has had their 850 motor since model year 2017, and Poo got their 840 for model year 2019. Cat's 858 is here for model year 2025.

Doo offers two choices in their rear skids, t-motion and no t-motion. Poo offers RMK and Khaos skids. Cat offers the mono.

Doo offers an 850 turbo, Poo offers a 9r and 840 turbo, and Cat has the 858.

It's not unfair to say that Cat is behind Doo and Poo in sled developments. What remains to be seen is whether it matters on the snow and in sales. I guess we'll see.

 

[IDspud]

Cat had a 900 in the 90’s. Thousands across many years. Woopty ****.

 

[IDspud]

Displacement is not the definition of who’s on top.

 

[koolaid]

Displacement is not the definition of who’s on top.

Agree, what a strange argument from NHR. Like those last 50cc was holding them back. Cat's 800ctec competed with Doo's and Poo's 850's, not even in question. These two guys act like Cat doesn't have fuel injected engines, electronically controlled oil injection. You've heard of "Never Trumpers" or TDS, these two are the equivalent of that but in the snowmobile world.

 

[turboless terry]

Yes Terry, you've said it plenty of times how you feel about Cat. Just once though, I'd like you to be specific on why Cat is behind! Say something like "their Powerclaw track doesn't perform like others in deep snow". How their new guage doesn't have the same features as a 7S, or that their boards don't clear snow. It just that they're behind because of not offering a turbo. Sorry, 80% of you guys riding turbos can't ride well enough to get the benefits of that turbo.

I told you no turbo and no 2 rail skid. Their guage is great. Probably too much stuff on it for me. Their track is great. Was the best one out there but now I'm not sure. 325 works really well. Their stock boards suck. Their airframe boards are awesome. As far as your turbo comment, it doesn't matter what people need it's what people want. You say that to justify in your mind that it's alright you're not on one. I just took a buddy out from north dakota, he has a new 25 boost. I went spots, in the trees, with the 858 that he couldn't go but who cares. He loves that sled and had the time of his life. That what matters. Not how well you think he can ride or what you think he should have. This is more about what you dont want to hear than what I said.

 

[turboless terry]

Agree, what a strange argument from NHR. Like those last 50cc was holding them back. Cat's 800ctec competed with Doo's and Poo's 850's, not even in question. These two guys act like Cat doesn't have fuel injected engines, electronically controlled oil injection. You've heard of "Never Trumpers" or TDS, these two are the equivalent of that but in the snowmobile world.

This is another exact reason they're behind. Old school mentality. People buy by the numbers. 8 is good and 850 is better. Cats track helped more than their motor. Their 8 doesn't have the power of the doo or poo motor. Polaris has the 9r and it runs really well. Different story whether the clutch stays in it.
Nhr doesn't have a strange argument. It just seems strange when you've been trapped on an old school island for too long.
As far as arctic cat derangement syndrome, I have 3 858s in the shop. I like them all. I've rode them all. There are things I dont like about all of them. I call a spade a spade. No participation trophies in my world. Get off that island and check out the real world.

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Has anyone ridden an alpha with the 4 wheel kit on it?

 

[Vern]

Has anyone ridden an alpha with the 4 wheel kit on it?

Yup, had the 4 wheel kit on my ‘20 and was happy with it. Got rid of the washout issues and felt more stable, but still more tippy than a twin rail. Felt like a happy medium between a twin rail and stock alpha.

 

[Sheetmetalfab]

This is another exact reason they're behind. Old school mentality. People buy by the numbers. 8 is good and 850 is better. Cats track helped more than their motor. Their 8 doesn't have the power of the doo or poo motor. Polaris has the 9r and it runs really well. Different story whether the clutch stays in it.
Nhr doesn't have a strange argument. It just seems strange when you've been trapped on an old school island for too long.
As far as arctic cat derangement syndrome, I have 3 858s in the shop. I like them all. I've rode them all. There are things I dont like about all of them. I call a spade a spade. No participation trophies in my world. Get off that island and check out the real world.

^^^ this.

The purchase justification arguments for AC being the best choice seems misplaced when the company is currently shutting down.

 

[IDspud]

Especially if we pretend Cat is the only business struggling or bankrupt in today’s economy.
Just pretend the other two are making record profits and no other major lifelong companies have gone under this year.

 

[boondocker97]

This guy’s rant is fun, sad and unfortunate not all that wrong. Now the webs full of experts on the su hue to (us included) . I did not know that polaris was in trouble too?

Finally watched this one. I was just having a conversation with a co-worker about 2 weeks ago about how in every company now the real product is the stock price. Their end goal is not to make good products, it's to maximize the profit. The widgets they make are just a means to achieve that end. Doesn't matter what industry it is.

I work for an employee-owned engineering consultant firm. It is big enough though that even it is becoming increasingly corporate. While I have shares, the upper management that have the most shares are driven by that yearly evaluation. Everyone is just a number with a utilization goal they have to meet to hit the growth goals.

 

[GoBigParts]

I feel Arctic Cat had a lot of mementum with the M series chassis before the Procross M. A lot of people even switched to the M. Then in 2012 things began to change and the other 2 brands just kept developing mountain specific chassis. Also, they kep developing their trails sleds. Not to say Cat sat still. They kept improving upon the procross. But the other two were much faster with developement and marketing. The Catalyst is a big advancement for the brand. I feel like this could get them back on track. But was it too little to late? To many other fianancial issues to move forward? Just some bad strategic moves by management.

 

[Pinchecharlie]

For the last time , they did not fail. In fact they made billions with a B. Just not enough billions. Hopefully this is all part of an elaborate marketing hype up and they are being acquired by a good company who loves racing and mountain sledding. Even the Neanderthals are starting to get it lol. Maybe Red Bull could buy it?

 

[Clark42]

I feel Arctic Cat had a lot of mementum with the M series chassis before the Procross M. A lot of people even switched to the M. Then in 2012 things began to change and the other 2 brands just kept developing mountain specific chassis. Also, they kep developing their trails sleds. Not to say Cat sat still. They kept improving upon the procross. But the other two were much faster with developement and marketing. The Catalyst is a big advancement for the brand. I feel like this could get them back on track. But was it too little to late? To many other fianancial issues to move forward? Just some bad strategic moves by management.

That is a really interesting time period for cat. M series was a huge success, MY2012 was a flop... Shortly after, Rasmussen, Burandt and Turcotte cut ties with the brand

Dang, over a decade later and their reputation still suffers despite producing a great product