Press Release –

Polaris Industries Inc. announced the appointment of Scott Swenson as General Manager, Snow Division, effective immediately.

Swenson joined Polaris in 1998 to lead the company’s financial service business through Polaris Acceptance. Swenson also was responsible for the Treasury function and building the Medina facility.

After successfully building the financial services business and delivering on several other key projects and initiatives, Swenson was promoted to General Manager, Parts, Garments and Accessories (PG&A) in May 2001. Under Swenson’s guidance, the PG&A business has grown more than 30 percent – from $210 million to $275 million – in the last five years. Swenson will continue to run the PG&A business until a successor is named.

“Scott Swenson has done a masterful job in building our PG&A business the last five years, and we feel he will be the right person to lead the rebound in our Snow business,” said Bennett Morgan, president and chief operating officer. “Scott has a proven track record as a General Manager with Polaris, and we have complete faith in his ability to provide the leadership and focus required to get our Snow business back to a position of dominance.”

Eric Lindquist, the former General Manager, Snow Division, will be leaving Polaris in the near future to pursue other interests.

Will Arctic Cat debut a new F-Chassis based racing platform this year? We’re not sure at this writing, but we suspect Arctic Cat will be content to race its current 13.5 Firecat based Sno-Pro until the end of the 2007 racing season.

With the move to 600cc stock racers inevitable for 2008, we think Cat’s highly developed, reliable and competitive 440 Sno-Pro will stay in place until a new 600cc powered F-chassis appears for the 2008 season.

Press Release –

Cyphernetix / ODD LABS Media Group announced the launch of the NEW Hi-Performance Engineering website, online at www.hiperf.com. Many within the Snowmobile and ATV Industry are well aware of the products and services offered by Hi-Performance Engineering, but may have over looked its website. That won’t be the case any more…

Cyphernetix / ODD Labs has developed a new graphical interface for the Hi-Performance website with a unique blend of style and practical elements. It looks good and is easy to use. The site features a dynamic contrast of colors and graphics, and easy navigation and entry to some other Hi-Performance features that were already in place – such as its online catalog for Snowmobile and ATV Parts.

The website was designed out of a necessity to convey the appropriate image for the company. Many companies fail to see this importance and the connection between a company image and its reputation. All would agree that reputation has an invariable impact on sales! With the redevelopment of the Hi-Performance Engineering website, Rod Murray – President of Cyphernetix and ODD Labs Media Group – beleives that it is a positive step for a very positive company, “In our dealings with Hi-Performance management and staff, we’ve been overwhelmed with the companies solid commitment to all of those with whom they do business. We feel that our design for the NEW Hi-Performance Engineering website will better represent their professionalism to the masses”.

Cyphernetix has made a name for itself as a superior quality web and graphics provider that has impressed many within the Snowmobile and ATV Industry. Cyphernetix been involved in the development Supertrax International (www.supertraxmag.com), All-Terrain Vehicle Magazine (www.atvmag.com), Superclamp.net (www.superclamp.net), Snowmobiler.com (www.snowmobiler.com), and now the NEW Hi-Performance Engineering website (www.hiperf.com). For more information on Cyphernetix, and its ongoing transformation to ODD Labs Media Group, online at CYPHERNETIX.COM.

BRP shocked the ATV industry when it announced it would be moving all ATV production to its Mexican based watercraft facility over the next year.

The question buzzing about the snowmobile industry is inescapable. Will BRP move sled assembly to Mexico? While we think the question deserves asking, we need to look at what makes sense.

First of all, manufacturing of snowmobile parts from all four manufacturers has been taking place offshore for years. We do know from discussions with OEMs who build both ATVs and sleds that ATVs are more expensive to manufacture than snowmobiles.

Retail pricing in the ATV market is fiercely competitive and thus requires intense cost control to maintain profitability. It doesn’t mean snowmobilers are less discriminate about sled pricing; it means ATV profit margins dictate strict attention to production costs. Don’t expect to see any sleds built in Mexico in the near future.

Polaris had a few issues with the Classic FST when it hit the snow in December. A few FSTs made it into the hands of consumers with a starter problem.

Almost all Polaris turbos had the remedy applied before arriving at the selling dealer prior to delivery and it was evidenced on only a handful of units in the field built and delivered early.

After this issue was pretty much under control, a reverse gear problem surfaced requiring the sleds electro-mechanical chain case system to be disconnected and temporarily locked in forward only. This work was performed by dealers. Owners who neglected to have this service performed ultimately ended up walking home – not good.

The fix is coming from Polaris and the reverse system will be restored to 100% reliability.

Press Release –

Team Polaris Racing followed up their dominating season of a year ago, with another one for the record books.

Armed with the durable, smooth-handling Polaris IQ® race sled, Polaris pilots nabbed more Pro podium finishes that any other brand competing on the 2005-2006 WPSA snocross circuit.

Polaris racers also won two WPSA individual honors and finished second in both Pro classes.

Not to be outdone, Polaris racers in cross-country racing won more U.S. Cross-Country (USCC) Pro events than racers on any other brand, and in the high-profile ESPN Winter X Games, Polaris racers earned silver and bronze medals.

“We’d like to have won the WPSA Pro titles, but we’re pleased with our progress, our depth and the outstanding performance of the IQ Chassis,” said Polaris Racing Manager Tom Rager, Sr. “Ross Martin continues to develop into a strong racer and we think he’s got a very bright future. Dennis Eckstrom, Levi LaVallee, TJ Gulla and Mike Schultz all had strong seasons as well, and we feel we have a great foundation to build on so we can shoot for the points titles next winter.”

Polaris racers on Polaris IQ sleds earned 40% of all the Pro-class podium spots available during the 2005-2006 World PowerSports Association (WPSA) season.

Their strong showing included seven Pro victories and sweeps of the top three Pro Open spots at two events.