Monday, February 27, 2012

Canadian Government Buying JAPANESE Snowmobiles

Recently a Canadian military convoy was filmed hauling snowmobiles near Barrie Ontario. The newsworthy aspect of the video was the footage of the mudflaps which clearly indicated the machines were made by Yamaha; a Japanese company.

Some people reading this may suppose it's not that big a deal or this article is a mountain being made out of a molehill but please understand - if Canada is known for anything - it's WINTER!

Bombardier is a truly Canadian Company specializing in equipment tailor made for Canadian climates and produce the finest snowmobiles on the planet - the SKI-DOO!

In 1994 the company produced the first snowmobile equipped specifically for mountain riding, the Ski-Doo Summit. Ski-Doo snowmobiles have consistently been extremely competitive for performance and in the marketplace up to the current day, taking a number of national titles in racing events from Sno-X to hill-climbing. In 1999 Ski-doo introduced the ZX aluminum chassis which was lighter weight with better suspension and thus very successful in Sno-cross competition. In 2003 Ski-doo introduced rider-forward REV chassis, which changed the sport and was followed by other manufacturers. In 2008 Ski-doo introduced the XP chassis, which moved the rider further forward with major weight reduction. The XP was the lightest machine available, with power-to-weight ratios in the Summit models for the first time under 3 lb per HP.

This article is not an ad for Bombardier but rather a lament that the Canadian government had neither the pride nor dignity to use it's snowmobile budget for Canadian-made Snowmobiles. Surely Bombardier could have closely matched any offer from the Japanese. Local sourcing has taken a back seat to globalism. In this regard - shame on Canada. What will it be next? Poutine?


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