Starting to look bad for you guys. I feel sorry for the employess that are getting laid off. They are suppose to go back in january. Long range i would say they are sinking on the atv, motorcycle line. They will probably bail and stay with the bikes that made the company to start with. A great idea but to many problems and a economy that is killing everyone in manufacturing.

 

Yeah.....Very shakey times in the Cannondale camp.

I don't know about the National numbers yet because i haven't seen them, but the sportquad market has fallen over 50% in the Southeast region with Honda and Yamaha.....and ofcourse Cannondale. [Don't know any stats on Suzuki]

Utility quad sales are also down from last year across the board.

Dealers and OEMs were hoping for December to level out the nu8mbers, but in this area, this has been the slowest December that i can remember. We usually sell 130 to 150 quads during the month iof December , but we will be lucky to reach 80 by next week.

The entire industry is in a big slowdown and Cannondale , with all these engine replacements, are really feeling the pain.

Cannondale said that after December 1, they would no longer honor engine replacements as warranties and for dealers to start fixing the actual engines. [This should have been done to begin with in my opinion, but too many dealers had too little knowledge of engines to do so.]

I hope that Cannondale gets everything back together, but being such a small company, this layoff may or may not be read into it's future as a company. Only time will tell.

I will say that no one with a Cannondale need worry with future replacement parts IF they decide to shut the doors. They will be required by law to have an adequate supply of replacement parts for 10 years after the end of production.

Someone in another thread here mentioned the 250R side cover being discontinued.
Honda discontinued all replacement parts for the 250R 3 years ago. What you can still buy today is merely inventory left in the warehouses.

Good luck to all the Cannondale employees who are in tough times and a big thumbs up for Cannondale allowing the workers to work until the Holiday season when it's obvious they couldn't afford to at the time.

My .02

 

Knowsalot- I hate to see this happen. I think the economy is in a lot worse shape than the media leads us to believe. It looks like xmas shopping is way down this year in my area.

 

I think cannondales exceptional warranty was a roll of the dice.If potential buyers saw that they were covering everything it was hoped they would buy the quad.I am sure it worked to some degree.I thinktheir sales in motorsports is up200% from last year.Not bad huh.

 

I don't know about you guys, but until they get some experienced c'dale mechanics in our area, those bikes are pretty much worthless. I've got 2 friends with them, and they have both had alot of problems. One guy's tranny allready went out, electrical system fried, suspension replaced....the list goes on. Any time I ask him to go ride, that bike is in the shop, and he ends up taking his 400ex. I think they are really neat, and fast, bikes...but when I rode my other friend's cannibal, I mentioned that the front end felt really stiff. When he got home he took the front shocks off to lube up the bushings, and the bike just sat there (wouldn't squat down without the shocks on). The mechanic that put it together must have stood on the wrench when bolting the a-arms to the frame, because the a-arms were basically seized up in the frame. I mainly think these problems are due to inexperienced mechanics at our dealers, but I'd be a pretty unsatisfied customer if my $7000 quad was in the shop more than it was in my garage. And having them in the shops with these idiot mechanics is a gamble. One of the two friends is looking into replacing his with a predator. I think the c'dales will get better with time, but right now in Oregon, they are pretty much non-existent (which is a shame since we've got alot of great dune riding).

 

You are blaming the stuck arms on the wrong guys they come from the factory on the quad.They do require cleaning once in a while and have been improved.I dont see a lot of problems I definetly dont see alot of electrical problems.Could it be that maybe your friends are riding near saltwater and not taking care of their quads?

 

I certainly hate to see this happen to an American company. But, their problem is not only warranty's.
A dealer in my area has started to sell the Cannondales at dealer cost...... The markup to the consumer was huge.

 

The cost is not the issue, just because you buy it for X doesn't mean you can't sell it for Y. If there was not enough Profit margin than, Cannondale would have had trouble getting dealerships to risk the initial purchase price.

Can you define HUGE, How do you know he's not selling them at a lose to get some CASH Flow?

Not worried, every industry is laying off right now. They do this to weather the storm. If I was running Cannondale I would have to do the same thing. When you lay people off that means you are preserving the Cash position of the compamy and not tieing money up in inventory. Good move.

Let's not forget that last year they recieved a 25,000,000 dollar cash infusion.

Smitty

 

Smitty - let me try again. Cost to the consumer is what I was referring to. Cost is always a consideration in a free market where the consumer makes the ultimate choice in the product they buy and take home.

I define huge as this:
2003 - cannibal now selling for $6099
2002 - Moto ------ $9995 (isn't MSRP $12,500) !
2002 - Speed----- $6,800

Yes these are new bikes.

No, it isn't cash flow! Another dealer was complaining to me he couldn't sell a Cannondale because of the other guy selling AT HIS COST.


Denny

 

Well laying off people for a few weeks will probably save C-dale a decent amount of money because they dont have to pay workers to build up extra inventory they dont need. My father is getting laid off starting Jan 1st until Feb 1st. I also have a few uncles that got laid off this past week that wont be back to work until March.....its just that everything is starting to slowdown in the winter months, this is very common. I have nothing but faith in Cannondale and I hope that Im making the right decision by buying one.