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00:00Arctic Cats shuts down production, massive discounts on the Kawasaki Ridge, the best

00:05side-by-side for the apocalypse, and Can-Am has built how many Defenders?

00:09All that and more on this episode of the UTV Driver Podcast.

00:12As always, I'm Editor-in-Chief Zach Bowman, and I'm joined by Executive Editor Aaron

00:17Richardson.

00:18Aaron, it seems like you've been having a pretty good hunting season this year.

00:22What have you been up to?

00:23Yeah, that's right.

00:24I took all of last week off and spent it in the woods.

00:29Rifle season ends right around Thanksgiving this year, but we got an early start with

00:33Muzzleloader, and yeah, so far, been pretty good.

00:36Couple bucks on the ground, couple more tags to fill, so hopefully I'll get out another

00:40time or two before the family shows up for the holidays and we'll, yeah, so anyway, it's

00:45been great.

00:46Yeah, venison chili season, bud.

00:47I can't wait.

00:48Yeah.

00:49I can't wait.

00:50Yeah, yeah.

00:51All right.

00:52Well, while you've been out playing in the woods, the side-by-side world has not stopped,

00:55and we've got another kind of doom and gloom story running around.

01:00Parent company Textron, that's the parent company for Arctic Cat, shut down production

01:04and laid off a bunch of people.

01:06What is going on?

01:07Yeah, not great news, unfortunately, like the second week in a row of not awesome news,

01:13and basically what's happening is there's a lot of inventory in dealerships right now,

01:18and we've had a couple of mild winters on the spin, and Arctic Cat, as the name implies,

01:24sells a lot of snow machines, a lot of like winter sport activity vehicles, and yeah,

01:31people aren't buying as many of them just because the weather has been what it is.

01:34A couple of that with still high interest rates and just sort of the natural slowdown

01:40of people coming to dealerships to buy side-by-sides after the pandemic, and you're seeing what

01:45you're seeing across the industry a lot, which is there are just dealers that are full of

01:49inventory, not as many buyers.

01:52Pan Am has had this issue, Polaris has had this issue, they're bigger companies, so they

01:56can absorb the hit a little bit better, but with Arctic Cat, you know, and they haven't

02:02got as much, you know, they're just not as big of a company, and I think the other thing

02:06is they want to protect that core industry, the snowmobiles, and so side-by-sides were

02:12the first to go.

02:13It sounds like they laid off some ATV and side-by-side engineers over the summer, and

02:18now they're waiting until Q1 2025 to fire production back up.

02:23Which isn't that far away, you know, I mean, like, trust me, you know, if you're somebody

02:29working on the line at an Arctic Cat factory, being out of work for a month and a half,

02:33especially at the holidays, that's a tough time, but January's here, you know, I know

02:38it doesn't feel that way, but January's right around the corner.

02:42Yeah.

02:43Yeah, I don't know, it's tough.

02:45I think you're right that Arctic Cat, being a smaller manufacturer, they don't have as

02:50many dealers to sort of absorb inventory in the way that Polaris and Can-Am do, so while

02:56Can-Am can sort of keep cranking out, or Polaris can keep cranking out units and there's a

03:00place for them to go, because somebody's always got their hand raised for, you know, a new

03:04Razor or a Ranger or a Defender or whatever, maybe that's not the case for an Arctic Cat.

03:08So, you know, they obviously had to rein things in a little bit, and like we said last week,

03:13I think, you know, we're continuing to see sort of that sort of normalization, that sort

03:17of stabilization of what it looks like, because, you know, everybody wanted a side-by-side

03:22during the pandemic, because, you know, there wasn't a whole lot to do and getting out in

03:25the woods was a good time, so, you know, suddenly there were no units around.

03:30Dealers thought, holy crap, is this the new normal?

03:31They ordered a pile of machines, and all that slack had to be taken up in the manufacturing

03:37line, right?

03:38So, suppliers had to get the parts that the factories needed, the factories had to then

03:44produce the machines, and the machines got out the door.

03:46So, even though that was, you know, three, four years ago, you know, we're still sort of got

03:50this sort of bumper car effect happening as things normalize.

03:55Hopefully, in 2025, we'll see things stabilize out a little bit.

04:00Hopefully, we'll see, you know, the interest rates sort of calm down a little bit and people

04:06will be able to get their hands on rigs.

04:08But until then, it's a bummer, you know, it's a bummer.

04:12Yeah, here's hoping it straightens out.

04:14I will say this, two things occurred to me while you were saying that.

04:18One, it says in our story that one of the muckety-mucks at ArcticCat was saying that

04:24they've got so much inventory that they can probably just relabel their 2025s as 2026s.

04:30The other thing you're seeing is ArcticCat, I think, is a much more inventory-centric

04:39company where that, like, you know, you go to a Cabela's or whatever and they've got

04:42a ton of ArcticCats in there and that's sort of what they have.

04:45Whereas with Polaris and Can-Am, you're ordering them a little bit more.

04:49You know, you go into a dealer and say, okay, I want this model with these following things.

04:53So, that, like, having a ton of inventory in the dealership isn't great, but, you know,

04:58you're still having people come in and say, okay, I want this specific rig with these

05:02specific options on it.

05:03So, there's not as much, you know, it's less of a hit when you've just got stuff sitting

05:08there.

05:09Whereas, yeah, as far as I know, people aren't ordering ArcticCats, they're just going in

05:12and buying them.

05:13Yeah.

05:14Well, you know, ArcticCat's not the only company that's got a pile of units on the lot right

05:18now.

05:19Yep.

05:20Our second story here is about Kawasaki.

05:21Kawasaki, it's getting towards the end of the year.

05:24These guys typically do some sort of big sales event.

05:29Their Tis the Season sales event has some insane discounts on literally anything with

05:34the Kawasaki badge on it, but specifically side-by-sides, right?

05:39Yeah.

05:40Yeah.

05:41So, the big headline is the Ridge.

05:44They're brand new for 2024, sort of wreck-ute machine.

05:49You can get $3,000 off on one of those things, right?

05:53So, how does the Ridge start at?

05:54It's less than $30,000.

05:55Yeah, yeah.

05:56It's way less than $30,000.

05:57I think it's...

05:58Imagine being able to go into a Ford dealer and get 10% off an F-150.

06:02Yeah.

06:03Yeah.

06:04That is a pile of money.

06:05More than that.

06:06You know?

06:07Yeah.

06:08Yeah.

06:09And when you start talking about...

06:10The Ridge is like a pretty affordable...

06:13When you start putting on electric windows and HVAC and all that jazz, they're still...

06:19They're real competitive with Can-Ams and Polarises in that ilk.

06:23But when you knock $3,000 off that, you've got a big bargain on your hands.

06:28Yeah, absolutely.

06:29That's not the only rig that they've discounted.

06:31You can get a Tarex for two grand off, which is, again...

06:34Two grand off a Tarex?

06:36Yeah.

06:3710% discount.

06:38You get $1,000 off of a Mule Pro, which is like a brand new rig.

06:42Yep, exactly.

06:43It's also...

06:44It's telling, though, right?

06:46The Mule Pro is the least discounted of all of those models.

06:49It's like the least sexy, but it's also the least discounted, which tells you where Kawasaki

06:54sells...

06:55Makes all their bread and butter on these things, right?

06:57Yeah.

06:58They're selling a ton of Mules.

07:00There's not as much reason to discount them.

07:02I don't know.

07:03That's kind of me reading between the lines a little bit, but still...

07:06Well, that's true across the board.

07:09We are...

07:10Clearly, we are guilty of getting all hot and bothered about sport rigs, but the reality

07:14is utility machines are what the side-by-side industry runs on, right?

07:19Later we'll talk about how many K&M Defenders K&M's cranked out since that machine debuted,

07:25but for the most part, the side-by-side industry is powered by guys just trying to get work

07:30done, which is why you're not seeing massive discounts on the Mule Pro.

07:35Yeah.

07:36But...

07:37The other thing about this discount, sorry, we should have mentioned this to kick off.

07:41They're offering 0% on some of these rigs for six months.

07:44Dude.

07:45So the interest rate is going to go up after six months, but 0% is unheard of unless it's

07:51like...

07:52You can get 3% on a Toyota, but they're also doing other loan terms that are like 3.95

07:58for 60 months, which over the last two years has just not been a thing.

08:01Yeah, dude.

08:02I think my...

08:03The last time I looked at my local credit union, a loan for side-by-side was somewhere

08:07around 9% with pretty decent credit.

08:10So if you're talking a third of that, that's pretty serious savings in your pocket over

08:14the term of that loan.

08:15Yeah, that is an absolute pile of money.

08:18Yeah, that's absolutely wild.

08:20Yeah, so, you know, hey, tis the season, as they say, and if you're looking to stick something

08:25green under your Christmas tree this year, you might want to head on down to the Kawasaki

08:29dealer because that kind of cash off, that's a lot of gas, that's three grand off.

08:35That's a whole trailer.

08:36You need a new trailer to go with your side-by-side?

08:38Kawasaki's got you covered.

08:40Boom, whack.

08:41I tell you what, I don't know about you, but I would grab, I think I'd grab a KRX-1000.

08:45I just spent over the last month in the desert in one, did a little night drive.

08:51That is such a cool rig.

08:53It's just the right amount of horsepower.

08:55The chassis and suspension are still excellent.

08:57They were excellent when it came out in 2019, and they just, they haven't even had to improve

09:02it.

09:03It's just that good.

09:04So that's the Kawasaki I'm taking home.

09:06Always a bargain, right?

09:07If you knock a little coin off or you get an excellent finance deal, you're good to

09:10go.

09:11If you're not looking for a side-by-side, they also have some pretty wild deals on ATVs,

09:16two grand off a Brute Force 750, which is an astronomical amount of money.

09:24Everything, everything from dirt bikes to street bikes, jet skis, it's not jet ski season

09:30up here, but hey, down in the Southwest, go get your jet ski, ride around for Christmas,

09:34be a good time.

09:36But yeah, all right, man, that's pretty exciting.

09:39So speaking of KRX, I got a little bored last week, not bored, that's not the right word.

09:49I was having a conversation with my boss, Mark Hoyer, he's editor-in-chief of Cycleworld,

09:55and he sat down and watched Mad Max for the first time in a long time, as you do.

10:00I was going to say, he'd seen it before, right?

10:02He had seen it.

10:03He had seen it before.

10:05It was just like the bi-monthly viewing of Mad Max, as far as I know.

10:09And it got me thinking about how we don't really see side-by-sides in those movies,

10:15which also got me thinking about what is the best side-by-side for the apocalypse?

10:21Okay, so I'm looking at your list here, and you've got some pretty good ones on here.

10:28I think, you know, my heart says the Can-Am Maverick R.

10:33I mean, that is the last V-8 Interceptor, that is Max's machine for the apocalypse,

10:41right?

10:42Yeah, I just, you know...

10:44I'm hearing doubt.

10:45I'm hearing a lot of doubt.

10:47With all due respect to Can-Am, one, there's not a ton of room for like, you're gonna need

10:52all sorts of stuff, you're gonna need a tent, at the very least, you're gonna need a bat

10:57wrapped with barbed wire, a sawn-off shotgun, you gotta have one of those.

11:02Where are you gonna keep your weird, like, leather vest things?

11:05You know, you gotta have a couple of those for the week, so there's nowhere to keep that

11:09in a Maverick R.

11:10Now, you can run away from the hordes really quickly, but you're also gonna need, you're

11:15gonna go through a lot of guzzling doing it, and it's a pretty small tank, you know?

11:20You're limiting your range.

11:22So, as tempting as that is, you listed at number two the Can-Am Defender 6x6 Limited.

11:30That is my girl.

11:31I'm just saying, Lord Humongous would be in a Can-Am 6x6, like, without a doubt, you know?

11:37Exactly.

11:38Well, and it's the long bed, right?

11:39So my brain goes to, you can solid-mount a 55-gallon drum and just plumb that into your

11:46fuel system.

11:47Problem solved.

11:48I thought you were gonna say live in it.

11:49I thought you were gonna say 55-gallon, just live in the 55-gallon drum, you know?

11:53You could.

11:54I mean, I would love to see some, like, Mad Max-ian camper shells built onto this thing,

11:59but, you know, again, my concern is going to be fuel range.

12:02Also, you've got HVAC.

12:04You've got a flip-out windshield if it's a nice day in the apocalypse.

12:08You know, you got solid doors, solid windows, so you can keep the creeps out and whatever

12:12you want in.

12:13Well, see, that's part of the conversation.

12:15What kind of apocalypse are we talking about, right?

12:18Because if it's a zombie apocalypse, you're gonna need that closed cap, you know?

12:22The Mav-R doesn't have that for you, so you're gonna want, you know, I had the XD-1500 on

12:27there for that exact reason.

12:28You know, plenty of horsepower, sealed cab, a little bit of cargo area.

12:33I'm just saying, there are options.

12:34It's not just the sport machine.

12:36Personally, personally, I'm here for a good time, not a long time.

12:39I want that Mav-R. You know, you got room for your Aussie Shepard.

12:43You know, you got a shot-off shotgun.

12:45You're good to go.

12:46What more do you need, you know?

12:47Well, yeah.

12:48The Wasteland will provide, is what I'm saying.

12:50In a Wasteland situation, the Mav-R is much more compelling.

12:53I will say this.

12:54The problem with having a Mav-R for the speed in a zombie apocalypse is, like, if you're

12:59running away from zombies, it's one thing, but, like, they're everywhere, so you turn

13:02around a corner, suddenly you're going 85 miles an hour at the zombies.

13:06Yeah, no.

13:07I see the problem.

13:08I see the problem.

13:09You know, you kind of want, like, I think you want to be able to kind of hang back and

13:12observe.

13:13Yeah, that's fair.

13:14That's fair.

13:15Yeah, but Mav-R is a close second for me, with the 6x6 Defender being first.

13:20Just traction, man.

13:21Traction for days.

13:22It looks right, you know?

13:24It looks, yes.

13:25It's like a little mini war rig, you know?

13:28You've got one in red here on the website, for the picture with the article, you know?

13:33I'd be cry-aligning mine flat black pretty much immediately, but, yeah, that's really

13:39my only note.

13:40Okay.

13:41All right.

13:42Well, there you go.

13:43All right.

13:44Well, speaking of apocalypse rigs, how about our next story here?

13:48Sam announced that the company has built 500,000 Defenders.

13:55So what you're saying is everyone agrees with me.

13:59That's exactly what I'm saying.

14:00That's exactly what I'm saying.

14:01Literally, everyone has been like, you know what, you know what I need around my apocalypse

14:04farm?

14:05A Defender.

14:06A Defender.

14:07Yeah.

14:08It's just, it's a testament, one, to how long they've been building the Defender, and two,

14:12how successful it is.

14:13Well, you know, we both have a lot of time in a Defender.

14:17One of our first projects here at UTV Driver, we bought a Defender with, what, 16,000 miles

14:24on it?

14:25Insane.

14:26Like, we bought that thing thinking, oh, well, you know, this thing's going to be run into

14:29the earth and absolutely beaten to death, and it's not going to last, right?

14:34The story was going to be how it all just sort of unraveled around us.

14:37It didn't.

14:38So, like, we had to figure out other things to do with it, so we put a lift on it.

14:42We put 33-inch tires on it.

14:44I rolled it down a mountain backwards three times.

14:47I was going to say, we had to try to kill it.

14:50Yeah, and didn't, and we wound up...

14:51No, shrugged it off.

14:52We wound up donating that machine to a volunteer fire department in Virginia, and they love

14:57it.

14:58They're still using it.

14:59They absolutely love it.

15:00Can't be killed.

15:01Yeah.

15:02Cannot be killed.

15:03No.

15:04And that's...

15:05Yeah, they build one basically for whatever you need, you know, all the way from low-power

15:10rigs all the way up to the HD10, and the 6x6, I mean, there's literally a Defender

15:16for whatever your use case is, and it shows.

15:18They've sold a pile of them.

15:20Yeah, and again, I think it speaks to...

15:23The Defender's one of those rigs, sort of like the Polaris, well, a lot like the Polaris

15:26Ranger, where it hasn't changed basically since they introduced it.

15:31You know, I think it came out in its current form in 2016, roundabout.

15:36That's coming up nine years ago.

15:39Which is insane to think about, but also like...

15:41They're just pumping them out, and people are still buying them.

15:45Yeah, and that's not for any other reason than it's just a really solid machine.

15:50So good on them.

15:52It's not a surprise, you know?

15:54Honestly, I wouldn't have guessed they'd built more than that, but when I saw 500,000 Defenders,

15:59I was like, yeah, I mean...

16:00Half a million.

16:01That is a lot.

16:02You know?

16:03You see them everywhere.

16:04Yeah, you do.

16:05I mean...

16:06Yeah, you do.

16:07And it goes back to what you were saying.

16:08I think I would be really interested in seeing what proportion were just like basic HD-7s

16:17with no nothing on them.

16:18It's gotta be the majority of them, right?

16:21Because as cool as the gussied-up sealed cab, you know, the $35,000 rigs are, as cool as

16:27those are and as much fun as those are, you know, clearly we've demonstrated that a base

16:32rig is really all you need to have a lot of fun, whether it's, you know, you're bouncing

16:36around on a trail or whether you have actual work to do, you know, they're kind of perfect

16:41for that.

16:42You know, any time we're up at Windrock, we see guys bouncing around in a Defender and

16:46like, well, that's not how I would choose to spend my Saturday afternoon.

16:50If that's all you've got, it's a pretty good time, you know?

16:53Well, hold on.

16:54It's...

16:55You say that, but you have chosen to spend a lot of Saturday afternoons that I've spent

16:59with you doing just that.

17:02So like...

17:03Well, yeah, I'm broken, though.

17:04I feel like...

17:05Yeah, I feel like it's easier to see than...

17:07But yeah, I guess the other reason my brain goes to HD7s and HD9s is that I feel like

17:14you don't get that kind of volume without selling a ton to businesses and fleets and

17:19that kind of thing, you know, as like real honest-to-goodness work rigs that never see

17:25a trail.

17:26They just haul stuff around job sites or whatever, which, again, to me is even more testament

17:31to how durable and kind of cool these things are.

17:34So anyway...

17:35Yeah.

17:36Yeah.

17:37No, I...

17:38Oh, and you can put tracks on it really easily.

17:39Oh, yeah.

17:40I forgot about that.

17:41Oh, I forgot we put tracks on one.

17:42Yeah, we...

17:43We put tracks on two of them.

17:44Yeah, we went up to Montana.

17:47The first time we were up there, it was in June, and there was still snow up there.

17:51And we...

17:52First, you know, first we just had the Defenders out running around and got them very stuck

17:56and had to unstick them, and then we put tracks on it and tried to make it to Idaho.

18:00But yeah, like bolting up tracks, I think that took us like, what, an hour maybe?

18:03Yeah.

18:04And like the...

18:05Well, that would...

18:06We got two rigs done in an hour.

18:07Yeah, which is...

18:08Like, we've been doing one...

18:09Yeah.

18:10Yeah.

18:11Even better.

18:12All right.

18:13That is a wrap for this week.

18:14As always, ride safe.

18:16Have fun.

18:17If you enjoyed the podcast, be sure to like and subscribe.

18:20You can also check us out over on UTVDriver.com, where we have news, reviews, buyer's guides,

18:24and galleries five days a week.

18:26Finally, hit us up on social media.

18:28We're on all the usual channels.

18:31Shout at us.

18:32We want to see what you're riding, where you're going, what you think.

18:34UTV Driver is proudly owned by Octane Lending.

18:37When it comes time for you to buy your next side-by-side ATV or motorcycle, finance your

18:40purchase with Octane Lending.

18:42We'll see you next time.

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