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www.PowersportsBusiness.com NEWS Powersports Business • May 1, 2017 • 3 HOTNEWS CONTINUED FROM COVER others, former Arctic Cat leaders decided to use this transition to pursue other career opportuni- ties. Regardless of the individual circumstances, we are appre- ciative of the Arctic Cat team's contributions to the company's success, and for their support as we combine our two companies into one." Textron did not provide details on which executives are no longer with Arctic Cat. ARGO NAMES NEW VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING ARGO XTV in March announced that the company has named powersports indus- try veteran Doug Braswell as vice president of engineering. The newly created position created by the Xtreme Terrain Vehicle (XTV) manufacturer will spear- head the innovation and devel- opment of the next generation of ARGOs. In his new role, Braswell assumes responsibility for ensuring the company is able to deliver on ARGO president Brad Darling's growth plan and will spearhead the strategic direction of the company's engineering department, in addition to over- seeing a team of engineers. Braswell brings with him more than 25 years of years of engineering, design, manufac- turing and product develop- ment experience. He joins ARGO from Briggs and Strat- ton Corporation, where he served as director of Innovation and Alternative Power. Braswell also has many years of experi- ence from his time at Arctic Cat, where he served as director of engineering & product devel- opment, and from John Deere, where he was the global manu- facturing engineering manager. "I am thrilled to join the ARGO team at such an exciting time for the company," Braswell said. "ARGO has a history of pushing the boundaries of what an off-road vehicle is capable of, and I look forward to using my knowledge and experience to work with the team to further advance the product pipeline and unlock significant potential for developing ARGO's next offering of world class machines for both the recreational and commercials markets." "Doug will play a key role Polaris Industries Inc. announced, in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, that the company is voluntarily recalling certain model year 2015 Ranger 900s due to faulty fasteners on a heat shield, which could cause the shield to fall off the vehicle, as well as certain model year 2017 Sportsman ATVs due to a potentially faulty electronic power steering unit. No injuries have been reported from any of the recalled units. The model year 2015 Ranger recall covers 51,000 units, and the model year 2017 Sports- man ATV recall covers a significantly smaller vehicle population of 3,800 units (approxi- mately 2,300 of which are in dealer inventory). Both recalls were prompted by data from the company's enhanced post-sales surveillance capabilities, which gives Polaris the ability to rap- idly identify product quality or safety issues in fielded vehicles. The repair costs for these recall repairs are not material and were contemplated in the company's full year 2017 earnings guidance issued in January. There have been fewer than 30 reported inci- dents involving the recalled vehicles. Parts are in stock, and deal- ers are prepared to execute repairs, and Polaris expects downtime for riders to be minimal. "The safety of our riders is Polaris' top priority, and we strive to ensure that our design assurance processes, manufacturing and supplier controls, post-sales surveillance and overall product qual- ity programs are best in class. While our goal is zero defects in our products, there will probably always be situations in which recalls are required for consumer safety; however, we expect the quan- tity and complexity of our recalls to moderate as our capabilities improve," said Scott Wine, Polaris chairman and CEO. POLARIS ISSUES RECALL ON 55,000 ORVS NEWS 4 ... BRP adds retail financing partners FINANCIAL NEWS 8 ... Dealer Direct teams up with OEMs 8 ... Dealer Financial Snapshot 9 ... Arctic Cat launches "No Brainer" sale OPINION 11 ... From the Editor 11 ... Online at PowersportsBusiness.com PSB: FOCUS ATV 14 ... ATV accessory sales top $24M 16 ... Hisun sees 2-up ATV market growth 21 ... KBB.com most-searched ATVs MOTORCYCLE 24 ... MOMS hosts successful bike expo 27 ... Slingshot licensing update SNOWMOBILE 30 ... Dealers overrun with inventory in Q1 30 ... Polaris hillclimbers continue streak 30 ... Ski-Doo riders take home titles PWC 32 ... PWC sales remain strong in February 32 ... P1 AquaX USA releases schedule 32 ... Pro Watercross adds to its staff SOLUTIONS 34 ... Paula Crosbie 35 ... Mark Mooney AFTERMARKET 36 ... Hot Products INSIDE Senate Motorcycle Caucus formed The American Motorcyclist Association extended its appreciation to U.S. Senators Joni Ernst and Gary Peters for establishing the first Senate Motorcycle Caucus. Ernst (R-Iowa) and Peters (D-Mich.) — both lifelong motorcyclists — will serve as co-chairs of the caucus, which will advocate on behalf of both motorcycle riders and manufacturers. "The AMA has long sought the establish- ment of a Senate Motorcycle Caucus, and we are happy that this bipartisan effort has come to fruition," said Wayne Allard, AMA vice presi- dent of government relations. Ernst said her concern for motorcycles and motorcyclists started when she was a child. "Some of my most cherished memories include motorcycles, from delivering mes- sages as a young girl to my dad while he was working out in the fields, to riding through the rolling hills of Northeast Iowa with family and friends," Ernst said. "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to encourage thoughtful discus- sion and solutions on behalf of motorcycle rid- ers and manufacturers through my new role as co-chair of the Motorcycle Caucus. Peters said, "To this day, I believe there is no better way to see Michigan's beautiful scenery than by bike, whether I'm riding to meet with constituents and small businesses or taking my bike out on the weekend." PSB AMSOIL founder Al Amatuzio dies AMSOIL Inc. released a statement that its founder had passed on April 3 at the age of 92: "It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of AMSOIL Inc. founder Al Amatuzio. He went peacefully Friday night surrounded by loved ones in his home. Al was born on May 6, 1924, in Duluth, Minnesota. "Al's entrepreneurial nature emerged when he was a child. He peddled newspapers, sold magazines, collected scrap iron and devised any number of ventures to help support the family through difficult times. "After high school Al attended Naval Air Corps training and served in the Merchant Marines, the Air Force and eventually, the Duluth unit of the Air National Guard. He served 25 years as a fighter pilot and squadron commander and was twice honored as our nation's top pilot. "Al then became inspired by a new challenge. Armed with the knowledge that every jet engine in the world could survive only with synthetic oil, he reasoned that the same performance benefits could be applied to cars, trucks and other motorized land vehicles. "Al ignored the skeptics and in 1963 began an intense period of research and development. By 1966 he had formulated his first synthetic motor oil, and throughout the sixties he continued devel- opment and sold synthetic oils under a variety of names. In 1972 AMSOIL synthetic motor oil became the world's first synthetic motor oil to meet American Petroleum Institute service require- ments. The lubricant industry had changed forever. All the major oil companies followed Al Amatuzio's lead and developed synthetic motor oils of their own. "Al was generous in all respects and had particular compassion for children, animals and military causes. He touched the lives of many and will be missed by family, friends and thousands of loyal AMSOIL employees and dealers." An April 15 memorial service was held at the Duluth Entertain- ment Convention Center Auditorium. Amatuzio's family requested that in lieu of flowers, memorials be made in Amatuzio's name to Ani- mal Allies of Duluth, the Douglas County Humane Society and the AMSOIL Northland Law Enforcement K-9 Foundation. AL AMATUZIO DOUG BRASWELL in shaping ARGO XTV's product strategy and engineering efforts to deliver on our mission to cre- ate the ultimate off road vehicle for the world's most challenging terrain," said Brad Darling, presi- dent of ARGO. "We are excited to welcome him as a member of ARGO's senior leadership team and are confident his wealth of experience in the powersports and industrial sector will be invaluable to accelerating the development of our future prod- uct offering. I look forward to working closely with him in the years to come." PIAGGIO GROUP'S COLANINNO NAMED VP OF ACEM Michele Colaninno, chief execu- tive officer and chief operating officer of Immsi S.p.A. (a holding company with sales of more than 1.3 billion euro and major- ity stake- holder of the Piaggio Group), a director of Piaggio & C. S.p.A. and chairman of Piaggio Fast Forward, has been appointed vice president of ACEM (Association des Constructeurs Européens de Motocycles), the European motorcycle industry association based in Brussels, of which all the world's two-wheeler manufactur- ers are members. "At ACEM we shall be work- ing to ensure that free trade, safety and respect for the environ- ment continue to be key issues of the strategic direction followed by the European institutions," Cola- ninno said. "The Piaggio Group has been active in all continents for many years with its brands and major production centers in different regions of the world and will continue to look to the future of the new generations, paying constant attention to work and the new frontiers of urban mobil- ity. Huge opportunities are open- ing up in the transport sector, and we have to work together to make the most of them." POWERSPORTSBUSINESS. COM SEES 39 PERCENT GROWTH IN Q1 PAGE VIEWS Total page views on Powersports- Business.com set benchmarks for the first quarter, thanks to a record 113,000 views in the month of March. A total of 328,000 pages were MICHELE COLANINNO See Hot News, Page 4 Polaris has recalled 51,000 model year 2015 Rangers.