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|
 Ski-Doo XRS 800 | |
| Product type | Snowmobile |
|---|---|
| Owner | Bombardier Recreational Products |
| Country | Canada |
| Introduced | 1959 |
| Related brands | Sea-Doo |
| Website | https://www.ski-doo.brp.com/ |
Ski-Doo is a brand name of snowmobile manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products (originally Bombardier Inc. before the spin-off). The Ski-Doo personal snowmobile brand is so iconic, especially in Canada, that it was listed in 17th place on the CBC's The Greatest Canadian Invention list in 2007.
Ski-Doo also has its own range of snowmobile suits.
History
[edit]The first ever Ski-Doo was launched in 1959[1] as a new invention created by Joseph-Armand Bombardier. The original name was Ski-Dog, but a typographical error in a Bombardier brochure changed the name Ski-Dog to Ski-Doo.[2] Upon discovery of the typo, Bombardier considered that typo a fortuitous development since he felt it not only sounded appealing, but it was distinctive and simple to trademark for his vehicle.
The first Ski-Doos found customers with missionaries, trappers, prospectors, land surveyors and others who need to travel in snowy, remote areas. The largest success for the snowmobile came from sport enthusiasts, a market that opened the door to massive production of snowmobiles.[3][4] This popularity led to skidoo (sometimes ski-doo), with the derived verb skidooing (or ski-dooing), becoming the traditional generic term for snowmobile in much of Canada.[5][6][7]
In 1967 and 1968, Ski-Doos were used on the first undisputed overland expedition to reach the North Pole, led by Ralph Plaisted and including Bombardier's own Jean-Luc Bombardier, reaching the pole on 19 April 1968.[8][9]
In early 2016, Ski-Doo announced that they were releasing an all-new line of engine/chassis fusion snowmobiles, most of which would be sporting two-stroke engines with 800cc motors that were specifically designed for the newer snowmobiles. The company then announced that their new line of model year 2017 snowmobiles would feature an 850cc motor known as the Rotax 850 E-Tec. The motor was redesigned with a new chassis, making the snowmobile both more agile and more responsive. Ski-Doo named this newer chassis/motor combination "Gen-4" and released it in several different models, such as the Summit, MXZ, and Renegade.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ "BRP Heritage". BRP. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
- ^ Bassett, Jerry (July 1, 2007). "Rants and Raves Ten Sleds that Shaped the Sport: Off-Road.com". snowmobile.off-road.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- ^ "De 1959 à 1964 : La motoneige Ski-Doo" (in French). Musée J. Armand Bombardier. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012.
- ^ "1959 to 1964: The Ski-Doo snowmobile". Musée J. Armand Bombardier. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- ^ "Bombardier Ltd: Case Report". Strategic Management, California State University, Hayward. 1997. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- ^ "An American's Guide to Canada: Canadianisms". americansguide.ca. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- ^ Nadasdy, Paul (2011). Hunters and Bureaucrats: Power, Knowledge, and Aboriginal-State Relations in the Southwest. UBC Press. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-7748-4041-5.
- ^ "First undisputed overland journey to North Pole". Guinness Book of World Records.
- ^ First to the Top of the World. Discovery+. 2020.
External links
[edit]
- Ski-Doo Forums
- Ski-Doo.com: Ski-Doo Snowmobile model history