Columns
OPINION – New look, new attitude, same great news
A few years ago as I walked the Dealer Expo floor at Indy for the first time, I said to a comrade of mine, “I wish I had a dollar for every mullet and wallet chain I’ve seen.” If I didn’t know better, I would have thought I had entered a Best of the ’80s “Twilight Zone” episode.
Well, at Powersports Business we, too, have recently held up a mirror to the collective face that we show the industry every three weeks, and with this issue we’re introducing some major makeovers.
Nearly eight years have come and gone since Powersports Business came on the scene. To give you an idea of just how long eight years can be, consider these headlines from 1998:
It has been a while, indeed. And yet in the near-decade that has lapsed, we have yet to really change the overall look of our magazine. While we have certainly made slight modifications over the years — both in editorial content and in design — we’ve never really taken the gloves off, so-to-speak, and started anew.
While some might correctly argue, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” we do believe that it is time for change — some major, some minor — in not only our “look,” but also in some of the content that has yielded us a very loyal readership over the years.
So, welcome to the newly redesigned Powersports Business magazine. Aside from a bold new logo, color scheme and layout changes aimed at readability, a few of the highlights that you’ll find on the next several pages are:
Dealer Benchmarks: Unlike a lot of the data readily available in the industry from aggregate 20 Group surveys, our new Dealership Financial Snapshot gives a more accurate benchmark of retail performance by taking into consideration ALL powersports dealers, not only those belonging to 20 Groups. We believe that this is more indicative of the industry’s performance at large, and with the increased sample size, we are able to provide a regional look at how dealers across the nation are performing year-over-year. We’ve partnered with ADP/Lightspeed to bring you this data from more than 120 dealers in 12 of our 16 annual issues. The info-graphic page is designed for quick and easy readability.
New Motorcycle Columnist: Our Managing Editor, Guido Ebert, takes the helm as your new motorcycle section contact. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more technically minded riding enthusiast than Ebert, who previously wrote our “Distributor Report” for the Aftermarket Section. He brings both passion and incredible industry-and segment-specific knowledge to this important section of our magazine. Both he and Editor-in-Chief, Neil Pascale, will continue to cover the aftermarket part of the industry.
Providing Answers: We’ve grouped our columnists together in a newly created “Solutions” section, in which you’ll find some of the industry’s top names and thought leaders, like Gart Sutton and Ed Lemco. Collectively, these columnists, along with a few others, will provide solutions to the industry’s toughest questions and challenges. Look for new contributors to the Solutions section in the coming months.
New Attitude, Same Delivery: Powersports Business has long been known for covering the nitty-gritty issues that often don’t make headlines elsewhere. With our redesign, we are placing a renewed emphasis on our highly objective reporting, while simultaneously providing our readers with more context, or insight, into major factors affecting our collective business.
And there’s more: We’ll unveil an in-depth look at the used market — thanks to a partnership with a wholesale market heavyweight — in the issues to come.
Extreme makeovers are a funny thing. People either genuinely love them, hate them or remain somewhat ambivalent. Take the mullets example I used earlier. I personally can’t stand them (partially because I myself sported one long after that fashion clock stopped ticking), but other people love them and wear them with pride. To each their own, I say.
Your own thoughts, ideas and opinions on our new look — or even mullets — are something we hope you’ll share. Whether it’s good, bad or indifferent, we’d love to get your feedback. psb
Send your comments or questions to Publisher Tammy Galvin at tgalvin@ehlertpublishing.com.
