Ski-Doo is a brand name of
snowmobile manufactured by
Bombardier Recreational Products
BRP Inc. (an abbreviation of Bombardier Recreational Products) is a Canadian manufacturer of snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, Side-by-side (vehicle), side by sides, motorcycles, and personal watercraft. It was founded in 2003, when the Recreati ...
(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
The first ever Ski-Doo was launched in 1959 as a new invention created by
Joseph-Armand Bombardier. The original name was ''Ski-Dog'', but a
typographical error
A typographical error (often shortened to typo), also called a misprint, is a mistake (such as a spelling or transposition error) made in the typing of printed or electronic material. Historically, this referred to mistakes in manual typesettin ...
in a Bombardier brochure changed the name Ski-Dog to Ski-Doo. 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. 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.
In 1967 and 1968, Ski-Doos were used on the first undisputed overland expedition to reach the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
, led by
Ralph Plaisted and including Bombardier's own
Jean-Luc Bombardier, reaching the pole on 19 April 1968.
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.
References
External links
{{wiktionary, Skidoo
Ski-Doo Forums* Ski-Doo.com
Ski-Doo Snowmobile model history
Bombardier Recreational Products
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1959
Snowmobile brands
Tracked vehicles
Vehicles introduced in 1959
1959 in Quebec