Snowmobiles Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Snowmobiles - Research Paper Example An interesting feature of a sled is the fact that it does not move on wheels. It has a long belt of rubber moving along the bottom of its body which forms a track for the sled to move on. Because of this track the sled does not slip and slide in the snow as it provides it with sufficient grip to keep it in control of the rider (DuBois 30). Snowmobiles use large amount of gasoline to run (Mara 1998). Hence, their popularity was greatly reduced during the 1970’s when the prices of gasoline reached sky high. Today there are only four major manufacturers of snowmobiles – Polaris, Arctic cat, Ski-doo and Yamaha (Mara 7). In snowmobiler’s parlance, these companies are called â€Å"big four† (DuBois 7). These companies manufacture these vehicles for various purposes which could be for personal use like transportation or for racers. Snowmobile racing is a very popular sporting activity during the snow fall season in various countries. This can be seen from the fac t that in North America alone there are more than 3000 clubs for snowmobilers (Mara 7). Major countries where people enjoy this sport are US, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The cost of snowmobiles manufactured for this specific purpose is twice the price of ordinary use snowmobiles. Brief history of snowmobiles Snowmobiles were born out of the need for means of transport in snow covered areas. ... These were put to use for warfare in the World War II by the soldiers. Thus, though the early invention of this vehicle dates back to the 1920’s, it was mostly used for work and not for fun. It was only in the 1960’s that the idea of using them in sports caught the fancy of the inventors (Sommers 12). Carl Eliason built his first hand made Motor Toboggan in a small garage. He patented this machine in 1924. It was at that time made up of a long wooden sled and powered by 2.5 horse power engine which was attached on its outer board. Bicycle parts were used to make the dual trail track and it also had a radiator to cool the motor when it overheated (Sommers 11). Over a period of 15 years Eliason sold 24 such vehicles, each one being different from the other. His major buyers were the hunters and utility workers (Sommers 17). The biggest order of these vehicles (150 of them) was from the US army during the World War II. However, after this peak period there was a slowdown i n demand. By the 1950s, Canada became the production base for snowmobiles. However by this time, Eliason had a strong competitor, a superior quality product Ski-Doos which was invented by Joseph-Armand Bombardier and had taken over the snowmobile market with its unique design. This product had a design which still sets standards for today’s snowmobiles. A lot of inventors started taking interest in finding better and more efficient designs and â€Å"by 1972, there were more that 100 snowmobile companies† operating in this business (Sommers 19). However, as mentioned earlier, today the â€Å"big four† are the major players in this arena after an intense activity of mergers and acquisitions over the past three decades. Evolution of the designs The earlier design of snowmobiles was that of a sleigh