How many of you would pay more $$ for a USA built sled

[mountainhorse]

This conversation brings to mind some good thoughts from Bruce Springsteen at the 25th Anniversary of the Rock N Roll Hall of fame presentation before
ripping into "Ode to Tom Jode" with Tommy Morello

ALL of us here tonight are fortunate to be be in this room.

If you pick up the newspapers, you'll see millions of people out of work..

You'll see a blood fight... over decent health care for our own citizens.

And you will see people struggling to hold onto their homes.

If Woody Guthrie were alive today...

He'd have a lot to write about High times on Wall Street and Hard times on Main Street.

 

[05900]

As from what I have seen Snowmobiles will be in U.S. and other products moving to Mexicali land. Possibly 4 wheelers. Besides where would you test sleds in Mexico????
Hell Japanese cars are made in America now.. It is a global distribution/manufacturing/shipping world

Looks like MH likes to BBQ....Who brought BEER?

 

[FCR112]

Does this mean Arctic Cat is the last American Made sled everyone will soon be paying more for?

Sucky Move Polaris.

-Former Cheeselander

 

[mountainhorse]

I dont know... what parts of a Cat are made in the US and what parts are made in another country..

Where are AC/Suzuki motors made?

 

[mountainhorse]

Which snowmobile mfg has the highest level of domestic made content?

 

[trikerider]

Which snowmobile mfg has the highest level of domestic made content?

CMX?

 

[mountainhorse]

I guess an option to answer the poll would change as Polaris in NOT moving their Snowmobile, liberty engine or snowmobile component production to Mexico

So my vote goes to

E) I will stick with Polaris because they still produce and will continue to produce their Snowmobiles and Snowmobile components in the USA with US labor.

I will however be looking into what UTV has the most Domestic content and make my UTV decision based on that.

Boycotting Polaris Snowmobiles will put even MORE US-workers out of work. Most of the Polaris workforce, even after this new plant opens in Mexico, are US Citizens.

Quote: Big Gun

Is/Was the Oceola plant that is the topic of this discussion a Union plant?

If so, which Union?

Non-union...

Polaris is saying that all snowmobile assembly will remain in Roseau and that any snowmobile related operations will be moved to Roseau.

Does anyone have any solid information that counters this info?
(Please cite your source so that we can all be better informed)

I'm VERY interested in finding out the facts here..

Found this on Polaris' Facebook page...

"Yesterday, Polaris announced a realignment of our manufacturing operations that included the eventual sale or closure of the Osceola manufacturing operations. Questions have been raised of how this affects the manufacturing of Polaris snowmobiles, including our Liberty engine. Polaris snowmobile assembly will remain ...in our Roseau, MN facility, and assembly of the Liberty engine will move there. This allows us to have all snowmobile manufacturing and assembly in one location, it’s still an American made snowmobile. We have planned investments going into the Roseau plant as it becomes the Polaris Snowmobile Center of Excellence. We recognize that it is difficult news for our Osceola employees and we will make every effort to ease the transition. All employees impacted by these moves will be treated with the fairness and respect they deserve."

Looks like the Polaris Snowmobiles will still be made in Good Ole USA!!

Moving the sled related parts and engine production from Osceola Wi, to Roseau Mn.

I guess I'll be sticking with the company that has the highest US-domestic content in their sleds.

 

[05900]

So all this hysteria over nothing so far.... is it even a done deal? How receptive will Mexico be to another American corp. with its present political climate??

 

[mountainhorse]

I definately would not call it "Nothing".

Some hard working Americans are going to loose thier jobs or be forced to relocate to keep them.

My thoughts go out to the Polaris workers in the Osceola plant.

 

[05900]

So it is a "for sure" then? And yes it is a DISASTER for the employees !!

 

[FCR112]

Yeah point taken...

I think it's pretty safe to say all the manufacturer's motors get REBUILT in the USA

I look forward to seeing the press release talking about more jobs being created in MN or IA or maybe even WI

 

[minet]

i like that Arctic cat is based in the USA and even Minnesota ,, my home state.. same with Polaris ,

and that did have a role in what sled i was going to buy.. no offense Canada

i am sorry that some people lost their jobs ,, 400ish? truelly ,, and like many rural areas there are not many alternatives for employment in the area

on the other hand Polaris still does employ many more folks around MN,WI and im happy for that

 

[winter brew]

The difference between a Canadian built product and a Mexican built product.......in this case the difference is that Ski-Doo has always been Canadian, Polaris is intentionally making a move that is highly unpopular with the people that buy their product.
My wife (In her job) has done studies on offloading to foreign countries and the trend has been loss of customers/customer service/quality that tends to eat up the $$ savings in the long run. Alot of conpanies that started this trend many years ago are beginning to bring business back to the USA.....IMO Polaris is just behind the times in this move and should reconsider.

 

[thefullmonte]

I had to vote no. Not because I wouldn't want to pay more, but because my own wage could never justify doing so! Not only could I not afford a more expensive American made sled, but my personal experience tells me that the quality does not justify the cost. Now if I knew that this was going to be the absolute best thing on the snow in all aspects from chassis design to motor dependability and if I knew the CEO and president of the company weren't making rediculous wages driving up the costs of those American sleds then I might find a way to make it work.
I know that they will continue to manufacture the sleds in Roseau, but if they can do a better job in Mexico..........Well.............
It is sad. Truly sad. I want to support American's, but American's have to start proving to me that they want my support. The last thing I bought out of Roseau and Oceola appeared to be assembled by 1st grade children. That sled absolutely pushed my financial limits and then demanded additional investment. Far too many mistakes and bolts not tightend and another 2k later. Well, I hope you can see my point.
When I think quality these days I tend to think Germany. Not sure why that is just what comes to mind. How about a BMW sled.

 

[ruffryder]

My wife (In her job) has done studies on offloading to foreign countries and the trend has been loss of customers/customer service/quality that tends to eat up the $$ savings in the long run. Alot of conpanies that started this trend many years ago are beginning to bring business back to the USA.....IMO Polaris is just behind the times in this move and should reconsider.

Cool study and interesting result!!

 

[tudizzle]

93 precent of internet claims are made up on the spot

 

[Hardass]

Really it's not even obout this country or Mexico, it's all about the world economy. just think about every other country as a state in a country.Theres no going back to the way it was here in the USA That part of our life is over now, so get use to it. I agree good workers are hard to find not that there are no good workers but for every good one there are a bunch not so good.We can't even make a coffe cup in this country.Pretty soon we will be a third world country and then we should be able to compete shouldn't we??My guess is that in the years ahead most of us will not even be worried where a sled is being made or by whom.Were on the titanic in the middle of no where surrounded by sharks ,and were sinking. Every one of the life boats are full of holes and we can not figure out how to plug them up, WERE GOING DOWN.

 

[Scott]

Built in the USA does not not matter to me I will still buy Polaris

Is that an intended double negative? LOL

 

[backcountryislife]

What's the difference between a machine built by illegal Mexicans in the US, and one built by legal Mexicans in Mexico...

What if there are illegal white guys working at the plant in Mexico...??? does THAT make it ok?

 

[Jaynelson]

Americans already answered this question with their wallets.

The answer was no, so companies try to build the same thing cheaper via outsourcing, lower quality materials, automation, etc, etc

Think about it....blowing your rah rah USA horn is great, but when it comes time to write the check, the vast majority will not pay any extra. Whenever sled pricing comes up, anyone who paid anything much above dealer cost is called a "sucker," and you wonder why sled companies try to find ways to increase profit margin.

So no, people are not willing to pay and I'll bet that includes many/most people in this thread regardless of what they post on here. Sleds are generally built like crap already and very expensive for the average working guy, so it's not hard to see companies considering avenues such as this.