Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THEY WILL HAVE A NEW LINEUP FOR THEIR SNOWBLOWERS IN 2010?

I was in the dealer just the other day and I did not hear about anything new.  There is a slightly different snowblower sold in parts of Canada.  Maybe a test market for something new?   Yamaha is supposed to have an announcement this February (2010) regarding their snowblower line-up for the North American Market, but this is nothing but a rumor so far.

There's rumor that Yamaha will be introducing offering a lineup with turbo diesel option, 4x4 skid steer with individual electric traction motors, forward looking radar to prevent ingestion of frozen newspapers and squirrels buried in snow.   Just kidding.

It will be interesting if Yamaha decided to market their snowblowers in the North America.  Not sure how they would position their product since Honda is quite similar in design.  In today's economy, selling premium product line to very small customer base of Honda and Simplicity is highly risky.

I haven't seen anything new for 2010 Honda in the US.  I don't anticipate anything new other than convenience features, or "gizmos".  Even if there is anything new, Honda marketing department is only going to make a gentle splash to let us know about it anyways.

I think  Honda or Yamaha would be smart to market a blower toward people that currently shy away from a snowblower.  Something in a 2-stage but along the lines of the simplicity offered in a single stage.  It should have a joystick for controlling the direction, key start with a battery and alternator, and an oversized muffler so it runs super quite.  It should appeal to the diehard but also those that currently don't own a snowblower.  I like the idea of the twin hydro they offer in the market in japan but who knows what we'll end up with here.  No reason to compete on the low end of the market. But I'm sorry, I've wanted off the topic.  

The video is here:

http://www.yamaha-motor.jp/snowthrower/point/popup/index.html

 

Yikes!!!! That's one macho machine. Being a Yamaha, the likelihood of something going wrong is minimal. However, if it did, looks pretty complicated to fix.

I bet that machine runs more than 6k.  Honda's got a hybrid monster like that's  close to 8 grand.  I like toys but that's nuts.

nhmatt wrote:

Where is that, I do not know about it. I need toys too...

That Yamaha would be GREAT

Nice.  I like it.

Now for the price.  I'd think I'd have to get on a zero interest 120 month installment plan to park one of those cool blue things on my garage.

Rest of the lineup is here: http://www.yamaha-motor.jp/snowthrower/lineup/index.html

Honda does have a few tricks up thier sleeves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o5eXQMvxyc&NR=1

Here's a link  http://www.dkdods.com/hondasnowblowers.php

Honda 1336ic.  Hybrid snowblower.  Impeller is motor driven, tracs are powered by electric motors.   It has a memory, so when you back up, it will raise the bucket.  It learns how fast your turn and whatnot.