John Sammut Addresses Rally

[Route 66]

John Sammut, VP of sales at Newmar spoke at a meeting of Newmar owners, then took questions.

A recap for the 2009 model year;

There will be no name changes and no new lines.

Comfort Drive will continue.

The Dutch Star will NOT be highline next year, and as such will not get the highline 2 year warranty.

The Dutch Star is being redesigned to look more upscale to be inline with it's price.

There will be some chassis improvements for the DSDP, such as a heavier front axle for the 43' model as it will have a 10KW generator, capable of running all 3 ACs.

Gas coaches are 43% of the motorized market, and Newmar's gassers are gaining market share.

There will be more ceramic tile in units.

TV's will be 100% LCD with larger screens.

More full wall slides.

The LADB is discontinued with no immediate plans to resurrect it.

All LADBs have been sold retail, and there are none on dealer's lots.

Towables are holding their own.

The X Aire has done well.

2009 prices have not been set, but no big increases are expected.

The 43' DSDP may have a larger price increase because of the chassis improvements.

All year paid service will not happen in the immediate future, as more service area would be required.

There has not yet been a great reduction in warranty work as a result of the 3 year warranty no longer being offered.

A new vendor will take over the web site for much needed improvements.

Highline factory delivery results in 50% fewer warranty issues as opposed to dealer delivery.

[Route 66]

John Sammut, VP of sales at Newmar spoke at a meeting of Newmar owners, then took questions.

A recap for the 2009 model year;

There will be no name changes and no new lines.

Comfort Drive will continue.

The Dutch Star will NOT be highline next year, and as such will not get the highline 2 year warranty.

The Dutch Star is being redesigned to look more upscale to be inline with it's price.

There will be some chassis improvements for the DSDP, such as a heavier front axle for the 43' model as it will have a 10KW generator, capable of running all 3 ACs.

Gas coaches are 43% of the motorized market, and Newmar's gassers are gaining market share.

There will be more ceramic tile in units.

TV's will be 100% LCD with larger screens.

More full wall slides.

The LADB is discontinued with no immediate plans to resurrect it.

All LADBs have been sold retail, and there are none on dealer's lots.

Towables are holding their own.

The X Aire has done well.

2009 prices have not been set, but no big increases are expected.

The 43' DSDP may have a larger price increase because of the chassis improvements.

All year paid service will not happen in the immediate future, as more service area would be required.

There has not yet been a great reduction in warranty work as a result of the 3 year warranty no longer being offered.

A new vendor will take over the web site for much needed improvements.

Highline factory delivery results in 50% fewer warranty issues as opposed to dealer delivery.

[Lug_Nut]

Hey Dirk, great report.
The 50% less warranty issues with factory delivery is no surprise. Not that the dealers are not good dedicated support, only that Newmar's people are totally the best.

Peter

[JavaJelly]

Dirk,

Great report. I'd like to add one thing. I spoke w/John after his address. He admitted he glossed over this one inadvertently. Newmar is committed to the new Cummins integrated hybrid generator product. They are still working the bugs out and cannot make any predictions on its introduction into production.

Also, John sure isn't evasive in his answers and he was honest about it being tough times right now for the industry and Newmar. I was impressed.

[Spikester]

Thanks for the report Dirk, some great info for those of us that could not attend.

Spike

[rebelsbeach]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">All LADBs have been sold retail, and there none on dealer's lots. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

No NEW ones anyway....

[rebelsbeach]

Call 256-356-8661 and ask for Bob..... you'll get him.

Call 574-773-7791 and ask for Dick..... never happen.


The fact that Newmar has no one "out front" promoting the brand was discussed today at the meeting, according to Dirk.
The attendees felt it would be a good thing for there to be someone out front....

As big as Newmar has become, they continue to operate as a faceless entity.....

[Lug_Nut]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">No NEW ones anyway </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Bob, Your ex LADB was sold well before the Tampa show and is being serviced for the new owner, maybe he has it already.

Peter

[rebelsbeach]

For the record, the people didn't like the desk setup and while they placed a deposit on the coach, as of last week they were still in negotiations as to just how NT would get the dinette pieces from Irv Kaufman in Nappanee.

Several iRV2 members have been gracious enough to contact me when they've seen things that appeared to be happening in regard to my coach, but as of last week the people had only test drove it and placed a deposit on it.... The coach is NOT being serviced for the new owner as there isn't one yet.
It's the same old thing.... tell a story in a circle and the time it gets back around it's never the same story.

I WILL say that, while I was very happy with my purchase of a NEW coach from North Trail, ANY TIME I've found out ANYTHING about the coach being there on consignment, it's been ME that called and pleaded with the consignment manager for news.
He insists they ONLY call sellers WHEN the coach is over the curb.... As I'm sitting here with no coach and making a pretty large payment, I'd think it fair they kept me informed....

SORRY FOR THE RANT AND THE HIJACK.... Back to John Sammut.

[Route 66]

John Sammut also commented, tongue in cheek, the Newmar has some dealers that seemed more like curators than dealers, as at least one had some new 2005 models.

They are soon to be 4 year old rigs that will still have the 3 year warranty when sold.

[Jetsmania]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The fact that Newmar has no one "out front" promoting the brand was discussed today at the meeting, according to Dirk.
The attendees felt it would be a good thing for there to be someone out front.... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Hi! I think this quote was taken a little out of context. What John was talking about: he searched quite a few key words on the internet, (example, luxury motorhome, rv, etc) and he said that he could not find the Newmar web site metioned anywhere in the first 10 pages of any of his searches. He said that Newmar was in the process of getting their website updated, so that the search engines would put them "out front" of most searches. The Kountry Klub site is in the process of being done now. They are also doing other marketing things so their name is more "out front" on internet searches. Paul