The Downfall Of OMC

[Prophammer]

As far as I know the big V block Johnsons were terrible on gas, It was nothing to go through 100 gallons and more on a fishing trip, I argued with the wife when filling the boat up, the gas pump shut its self off I guess the computer thought there was a leak, credit card co. thought someone stone my credit card, and froze my card due to all the gas purchases , all true stories. But the performance out weighed the cost in my mind, until reality struck, I then realized I couldn't keep going like this. I remember the pit in my stomach when I realized the boat I loved so much is too expensive to operate, and I had years of payment remaining on my loan, this boat although only 3 years old when I bought it, drank gas worse than a 73 C20 pickup truck. But even with all the money I lost with an upside down trade for a fourstroke, I can't help feeling terrible about OMC. What a pit in their stomach they must have felt when they realized the company they loved was too expensive to operate, too big to sell, too messy to clean up. I suppose some there cried. I probable could if I thought long and hard about it. I is sad how a giant can loose its way and get mired down in the mud of the tidal flats. Somewhere I heard Detroit Diesel bid on OMC but didn't bid enough, maybe that was for the better, I don't know DDA was strong enough to pull them out of the pit they were in. Anyway - long story short, Thank You BRP for keeping Evinrude going. Times change but somethings should be kept, and thank you forum readers for putting up with my tear jerking stories

 

[Sea swirl captain]

Johnson could not meet EPA requirements and that's that killed them.

 

[racerone]

Evinrude was the name chosen by BRP to continue with " high end " modern motors.------The Johnson brand name was put on the shelf for now.----Maybe the Johnson brand will return with a HYDROGEN fueled motor in the future .---Who knows ?

 

[F_R]

If you want the rest of the story, watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBdLitpi2sU

Ficht was the last straw.

 

[racerone]

And what other big well known companies are struggling in the global market ?-------What happens when cheap " throwaway " cars start showing up around here.

 

[Prophammer]

MOD EDIT - You had to do it. Check the rules.

 

[thatone123]

MOD EDIT - Derogatory.

 

[Good Trout To You Sir]

...----Maybe the Johnson brand will return with a HYDROGEN fueled motor in the future .---Who knows ?

Yes, but with hydrogen as the fuel source, folks might forget the old "Johnson/Evinrude" association for a new "Johnson/Hindenberg" association.
I suppose in the decades to come the safety challenges of generating hydrogen for use in a fuel cell (-- or combustion....YIKES!) may be solved, but not in my lifetime.

 

[raczekp1]

I'm boating only 10 years. my first motor was Johnson 4 hp sea horse made in 1978 and from this time i had 100 motors different brands with hp up to 40 hp and i would say Johns/Evinrude its the strongest construction compring to any other brands.
Now I woud choose old Johny Rude than new Parsun/Seaking/Mikatsu 4 stroke

 

[Prophammer]

I understand why, I too have been disillusioned by the "new and improved" many times, hopefully the remaining manufactures will read these posts and come to their senses

 

[Prophammer]

The last Johnson I owned was a 1999 3.3 Johnson with slider handle for throttle control, made in China, during its never ending sea trials it was lost in a fire caused by a lightning strike in my dad's shed, maybe God was trying to tell me something

 

[Wkd179]

maybe a bit more to it...remember free trade? And how it helped Canadians?
60 million to re tool Peterborough? Not one machine remained in Canada.
US epa came out with all sorts of regs.
OMC lost 880 million in one year world wide production was not 880 million so they could have made the products burned them all and not lost this much money.
I have heard?? 4 investors raped and pillaged omc and no one is pursuing them.

Now enter Bombardier 2nd highest bidder for Evinrude/Johnson...Brunswick no 1 30 days before the acquisition the Canadian government gave Bombardier I think a 77 million dollar grant ...they bought Evinrude/Johnson for I believe 56 million US? do the exchange at the time and it works out to be about the exact same!....Guess how many jobs were created in Canada



less then one


Now who are the idiots?

 

[thatone123]

Loss of quality and quality control to foreign countries/cheap labor - not to mention Intellectual property loss going way back.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Still scratching my head why we are discussing the death of a company over 20 years ago

 

[thatone123]

It's Americana Scott....Some of us love that stuff.

 

[jimmbo]

Still scratching my head why we are discussing the death of a company over 20 years ago

Maybe because their products are still in use globally, and are a reminder of a better Era

 

[Guest]

Detroit Diesel (Roger Penske) was outbid for OMC by just a few dollars per share by a nebulous consortium who called themselves "Greenway Holdings", this was a proverbial Trojan Horse that bought up companies, raided them for all they were worth, the dumped thier lifeless corpse after ever drop of financial blood could be extracted. Turns out that "Greenway Holdings" was an asset belonging to none other than the infamous George Soros. There were other factors too, with Charlie Strang and most of the other old guard gone,there were people managing OMC that had no business running this company, as they simply were not outboard people, and came from other industries. (One engineer on the Ficht design team pleaded with managment NOT to release it for production because it wasn't ready for prime time, they ignored him, and we all know how that turned out)

Mercury Marine was barred by the bankruptcy court from buying OMC as they would have had a Monopoly on the American outboard market.

I don't know if BRP is a blessing or a curse to the marque, They are non-existent in boating publications, they never advertise. They didn't make it easy for existing OMC dealers to continue thier franchises. (many went to Yamaha). Nothing seems to be easy about getting one as dealers are far and fewer between. When an E-tec ****s itself, its expensive to fix. ($2000 if the EMM goes out). The G2 is not gonna win any beauty contests (IMHO), The 15 H.O. and 25 weigh as much as my 1999 50. , and Tohatsu makes thier small motors. The sticker shock on a new Evinrude motors today is ridiculous, and they don't seem as bulletprrof as the older OMC hardware.

I have a 1973 25 Johnson (mint), a 1992 25 Evinrude and a 98 200 OceanPro. and as long as I can get parts support, I wouldn't trade them for anything. They all run great.

 

[racerone]

Factories build stuff that people buy.------But I know that many folks like simpler stuff.-----A few folks in town here enjoy fixing / driving pick-up trucks from the 1960's.----Some " old stuff " was well built and relable !!------Use a bit more fuel but never have " sticker shock " on repairs.

 

[jimmbo]

as dealers are far and fewer between.

I think there are at least 5 Evinrude dealers within 70 km(44 miles) of me. And I'm in the middle of the Great White North.

 

[Guest]

Jimmbo,
Thats becuase you're in Canada, Here in the southeast U.S., I can reach (3) Evinrude dealers, but not without driving at least an hour and a half. I can practically throw a rock in any direction from my house, and hit a Yamaha Outboard dealer.

The Japanese have conquered the U.S. Outboard Market, and BRP Evinrude is but a whimper, and just don't seem to care about market share.