Coachmen Listens! |
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MIDDLEBURY, Ind., May 15, 2006 – When Coachmen Recreational Vehicle Company, LLC began redesigning its Freelander™ Class C motorcoaches for the 2007 model year, it turned to its dealers and end consumers for input on what features and benefits they most desired. That grass-roots feedback and support is paying sizable dividends.
"Freelander is now the best selling Class C in Coachmen's lineup," said Michael Hums, product and sales manager for Class Cs. "Demand for the Freelander product is driving our production rates up." Besides talking to dealers and consumers, Coachmen also ensures its product is best in class by dedicating staff exclusively to Class C products. It has a crew of five sales people who deal only in Class Cs, and Hums himself continues to work in the field. "We also have one of the best parts and warranty operations in the business," said Hums. "Dealers will find they have world-class support from Coachmen." Storage was a major theme with the dealers. Coachmen responded by giving Freelander more outside storage than most Class Cs. Selected slide models of Freelander have a giant rear storage compartment that has three large access doors. No more having to unload the entire cargo hold to find one item. Plus, recessed molded storage areas inside the bay provide additional capacity. One of the storage covers even converts easily into a freestanding table. Another innovation driven by the customer: the outside storage boxes are one-piece rotocast compartments with drains. The owner can hose the storage box out to clean it. "We made a lot of the options on Freelander standard features to simplify the product. As a result, we get better consistency in our build process; the dealers don't have to go through endless options to determine what to put on their lots; and consumers can more easily understand them," said Hums. Freelander comes in seven different floorplans, four of which have slide-outs. Selected models with slide-outs have an extra deep 25-inch slide, giving RVers all the living space they could want. "We moved all of our slide rooms back three inches from the driver's seat. This allows the driver to move his seat all the way back when the coach is in motion," said Hums. "Now, the driver can select the best position for his or her driving style." Coachmen designers paid close attention to other details as well. For instance, all of the curtains are secured to the wall with touch fasteners to reduce the amount of movement inside the coach during travel. The interiors are spacious with their 6-foot-10 ceiling heights and the extra tall 80-inch entrance doors. All that extra space simply means more comfort for the users. The extra tall ceiling height also means the cabover bunk is larger — good news for the person that sleeps there. Several models have an 80-inch long, residential size bed rather than the traditional 74-inch RV queen. In addition to the benefit of more room in bed, standard sheets and blankets fit the mattress. "We're using brand-name products inside and we've standardized many of the components. The 20-inch flat screen television is secured to eliminate rattling when you're going down the road," said Hums. "We also made heated holding tanks a standard feature. Now, we have a non-basement motorhome that you can take cold weather camping." The automotive-style cockpit is roomy, and the slim line dash console provides plenty of legroom when moving between the cab and the living area. The dash stereo is specifically designed for RVs with a cassette and CD player, a built-in weather band and Sirius Satellite radio capability. In addition, the buttons are large and easy to find allowing the driver to keep his or her eyes on the road when adjusting the radio. The designer, two-tone driver and passenger seats give the cab a luxurious look and feel. Innovative thinking helped design the Coachmen® Command Center. Conveniently located, the command center has gauges and switches for the generator, water heater and monitor panel in one easy to find place. Coachmen designers created all new exterior graphics for Freelander so owners make an attractive statement at the campgrounds. Inside is a choice of three decor selections — Sahara Blue, Windsor Wine and Tarragon Moss. The fabrics are durability tested to well beyond what most home fabrics can endure. Freelander also comes with several Coachmen exclusive design features:
Coachmen builds the slide models on a Ford chassis with a 6.8L engine. The non-slide models come on a Chevrolet chassis with one floorplan offering a Ford option. Coachmen also offers a diesel option. All Freelanders come with a towing hitch with a seven-way plug. For 2007, Coachmen upped the weight rating of the hitch 30 percent from 3,500 lbs. to 5,000 lbs., allowing more options for toy hauling. The Freelander by Coachmen sets the standard for quality, features and amenities in a Class C motorhome. At very affordable pricing, the Freelander promises to be very popular with RVers. Coachmen Industries, Inc., through its prominent industry subsidiaries, is one of America's leading manufacturers of recreational vehicles, systems-built homes and commercial buildings. The Company's well-known RV brand names include COACHMEN®, GEORGIE BOY™, SPORTSCOACH® and VIKING®. Coachmen's ALL AMERICAN HOMES® subsidiary is one of the nation's largest producers of systems-built homes, and also a major builder of multi-family residential and commercial structures with its ALL AMERICAN BUILDING SYSTEMS™ products. Coachmen Industries, Inc. is a publicly held company with stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker COA. This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which are inherently uncertain. Actual results may differ materially from that projected or suggested due to certain risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the potential fluctuations in the Company's operating results, the availability for floorplan financing for the Company's recreational vehicle dealers and corresponding availability of cash to Company, rapidly increasing costs of product components and raw materials that may not be able to be passed through to buyers, uncertainties and timing with respect to sales resulting from recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast, uncertainties regarding the impact on sales of the disclosed restructuring steps in both the recreational vehicle and housing and building segments, the ability to sell and close the operations for sale as described, the accuracy of the estimates of the costs to remedy the disclosed recreational vehicle warranty issues, the availability and the price of gasoline, price volatility of raw materials used in production, the Company's dependence on chassis and other suppliers, interest rates, the availability and cost of real estate for residential housing, the ability of the Housing and Building segment to perform in new market segments where it has limited experience, adverse weather conditions affecting home deliveries, competition, government regulations, legislation governing the relationships of the Company with its recreational vehicle dealers, consolidation of distribution channels in the recreational vehicle industry, consumer confidence, uncertainties of matters in litigation, further developments in the war on terrorism and related international crises, oil supplies, and other risks identified in the Company's SEC filings. |
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