Sat. Jan 4th, 2025


    Been a while since I wrote an edition of The Automobile Critic, and this edition has a strange origin story: snowmobiles. I believe there is a connection, which I will get to.
    In this part of the Adirondacks we lost our Polaris dealer who had been in business since the mid 60’s. He retired, which is good for him, not so much for us, especially if you invested in a new sled just before it closed. I didn’t know, I swear. No grumping here: I am reminded of what one of my clients said which was, “If you’re going to sell the last thing you want to do is chase customers away.” However, despite efforts, no one wanted the dealership, and the building it was in wasn’t up to the standards of Polaris.
    I was due maintenance after he closed down and found out the nearest dealers were more than 50 miles away. At the time we had no decent trailer to haul it down with and they don’t pick up. At that distance I understand.
    I finally got it down there, but we won’t be getting a new dealer due to company policy. No new dealer in what is snowmobile central in this part of the Adirondacks? REALLY?
    NOT the fault of the dealers. Investing that kind of money in a new Polaris dealership here would be insane. A very seasonal area, business-wise.
    And their demands, IMO, are NUTS. As someone who was in business for himself for 30 years I would never make these kinds of demands. Polaris insists a dealer must having a large number of sleds cluttering store floors, the building must be stand alone and be of certain construction. In other words: EXPENSIVE. Makes me wonder if Polaris really wants to stay in the snowmobile biz, and if, as far as customers go their attitude is too “screw you”-ish? The constant recalls don’t help, either. Every letter I get makes it sound like the sled will blow up any second.
    Makes me wish I had gone with Bombardier or Artic Cat, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they have their own recalls and problems. We bought Polaris because I remember the sleds I rode in the 70’s and was more impressed with Polaris than Ski Doo (Bombardier) or Rupp.
    So maybe you’re asking, “What has this got to do with automobiles, Mr. Automobile Critic?”
    Everything.
    I remember going to dealers in the 60’s and the 70’s, like when a brother or family friend was shopping. Or when I wanted to replace the car I hated more than any other car I have ever owned: a 71 Pinto. DON’T GET ME STARTED. I still won’t buy Ford.
    Back then I remember few “mega” dealers. No gigunda lots packed with unsold cars covering many acres. Lots were smaller. I did see how product was shifted back in the 80’s via a few jobs: unsold used cars I drove at auto auctions, dealer trades I was paid to do for Vaughn Porsche, Audi, Mazda dealer. Satisfying customer’s special orders. Now it seems car and snowmobile companies would rather stick it to their dealers by demanding they carry tons of stock. A lot of money just sitting on dealer lots.
    Customers are missing one of the best experiences. Go to a dealer, test drive something like what you want, go in a special order what you really want. If the few models they have don’t work for you you get to make your special order dream come true. Some automakers would go out of their way to do special orders: colors, interiors, transmissions, radios, AC. Unlike Burger King you often could “have it your way.” (Try ordering rare burgers. The King doth not do. There’s a lot the creepy King doth not do and dare I ask what he will do?)
    Being a Studebaker nut and reading “Turning Wheels,” the club magazine, I have seen invoices where what the customer wanted was rather specific and even odd, unusual, special orders. Our own 63 Studebaker Champ truck was a special order. A base model but the farmer wanted special low gear for his farm: what’s often called a stump puller. You really shouldn’t drive it much over 50. He added a radio and a slide rear window: unique for the time. Stude one of the first to offer on trucks. I suspect it had a topper: fabric. They were easy to remove for loading produce, then put it back on and off to market. The topper protecting his produce.
    I can imagine the farmer special ordering all this. I have little doubt he did.
    He died almost immediately after buying it and it became an incredible barn find.
    What a wonderful experience this special ordering was! The anticipation waiting for a car or truck the customer perceived as specially built for them. In some cases Studebaker even put a special plaque, “Built for _____ by Studebaker craftsmen. And Studebaker was known for doing more than the customer asked. One of their slogans, “Always give the customer more than you promised.” One example of this in the early years was when they bought Flanders they didn’t realize their engines had some fatal flaws. Studebaker sent mechanics all over the country to correct these problems. Expensive? Sure. Creating customer loyalty? Absolutely.
    When we bought our 2024 Toyota Rav 4 Hybrid we had limited options. We had to wait for one coming in on a truck unless we wanted just grey or white, no hybrid feature. We wanted plug in hybrid but it wasn’t available. Obviously we were willing to wait. The option was whatever was already coming in.
    I mention the Studebaker Flanders repair situation because, going back to Polaris for a moment, you would think they would at least have satellite shops able to do warrantee work, especially with so many recalls. And parts to repair these recalled seem to piddle in at a level of a man with a very, very, VERY bad prostate. They don’t seem to care. I suspect pretty much all these business killing rules are shared by many industries. Like some boat motor dealers increasingly have packages for repairs. I had to raise hell when I told the owner, “I never asked for all that.” He was a nice guy and took some of it off, but had to be careful after that.
    Polaris has lost a good deal of my respect, and I am not complaining about the dealers. Obviously they suffer too. Imagine the expense for car dealers, snowmobile dealers: all that stock, special expensive rules for every aspect of the building holding the product. And I have no doubt it doesn’t stop there.
    IMO, NOT good business practices.

                                         -30-

    The Automobile Critic is a column by Ken Carman, who has been writing a weekly column since 1972 called Inspection, and as a beer judge several beer judging and beer industry-based columns. Ken is also the author of Autocide: which he started researching over 20 years ago. Autocide is alternative automobile history filled with funs, odd twists and quirky characters. He has been into cars, working with cars as part of his job, since he bought his first car: a 61 Lark, at 14. Mr. Carman lives in Eagle Bay and Beaver River, NY with his wife, Millie, their 6th collie Payson and Harvey Robin Churchill their 63 Studebaker Champ truck.
©Copyright 2023
Ken Carman and Cartenual Productions
all rights reserved

By Ken Carman

Retired entertainer, provider of educational services, columnist, homebrewer, collie lover, writer of songs, poetry and prose... humorist, mediocre motorcyclist, very bad carpenter, horrid handyman and quirky eccentric deluxe.

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