The other day I found myself with some free time so I hopped on my computer and went for a ride across the World Wide Web. I know, most of you venture out on the www practically every day. After all, isn’t it the most reliable place to go when you’re looking for information?

Well this trip took me to some extreme terrain where only the experts dare to venture. So naturally, I found myself way over my head in information far beyond where my 40 years of industry experience could comprehend.

I found myself in www.factmr.com land … it goes by Fact.MR and claims to be an insights-driven global market intelligence company with a unique purpose: enabling organizations to make better decisions. Right on the website it claims: At Fact.MR, we’d rather let facts do the talking.

This has to be the best source out there with such bold claims. And Fact.MR backs it up by pointing out that its 24/7 public relations team collaborates with journalists, university students and professors (that’s got to be the three most reliable groups of people in the world … outside of government, of course).

The article penned by Fact.MR that caught my eye was titled “5 Key Insights on Future of Snowmobile Market.” This report, sadly, must have been paid for by some corporation looking to understand the snowmobile industry.

I’ve taken some time to highlight some of the “fact-based” information, while including a little of my salty-seasoned insights in (parentheses).

Dramatically impacted by the recent global recession (eight years of Barack Obama), the global snowmobile market has been on a gradual path towards recovery (now that’s good to hear). Snowmobiling is a recreational activity that is more popular in developed countries (or perhaps in any country where there’s a population base and actual snow during the winter).

Specialty stores (dealerships) account for more than a third of the revenue share in the global snowmobile market. These stores are followed by the online segment (how come I couldn’t find a single sled for sale on Amazon?) with a revenue share approaching a quarter of the global snowmobile market.

The 800 cc and above segment represents the most powerful snowmobiles currently available (and all along we thought the power was in the 440 cc and below market).

Here’s where the expert analysis really kicks in. The 5- and 6-seater segments of the global snowmobile market are comparative niches as most customers prefer snowmobiles with 1, 2 or 3 seats (some of us with big butts really benefit by the three seats). The 5-seater segment has a revenue share of approximately 12 percent and North America contributes a third of this (these must be really fast-moving sleds … faster than the speed of light/sight). A similar situation exists in the 6-seater segment of the global snowmobile market as well (this must be the “family” snowmobile).

To prove how legit this report is, Fact.MR goes on to profile the major players in the sport, which includes Textron, John Deere GMBH, Bombardier Recreational Products, Yamaha Motor Corporation, Polaris Industries and Arctic Cat.

Being a sleuth reporter, I couldn’t just rely on one internet source for the reliability of such valuable information. So I continued my search with www.persistencemarketresearch.com to round out all anyone needs to know about the snowmobile industry.

This first little-known fact found in the introduction report on Global Snowmobile Market really opened my eyes. Snowmobiles are recreational winter vehicles often found in areas covered with snow (who would have thought to look there?). A snowmobile is an open terrain vehicle and doesn’t require road and rail and can smoothly run over snow and ice. Snowmobile is also popularly known as sled or snow machine … and is commonly sold in regions with sufficient snow (such incredible insights).

Some of the geographies where snowmobiles are mostly marketed include: Finland, Alaska, Canada, Sweden, Quebec (so apparently not in Minnesota, Michigan, Idaho, Montana and the other northern states.) Snowmobiles are generally available in single and two-seater variants, out of which single-seater is most commonly found variant (what, no mention of the ever-popular six-seat family sled?).

Then come some real nuggets of wisdom. Increasing inclination of young population toward recreational sports supplemented by the increasing disposable incomes in key target markets is a prominent factor that drives the growth of snowmobile market (and about every other market known to man).

From a macro-economic point of view, robust growth of economy is a major market force responsible for accelerating or decelerating market growth (only the very, very smart people could have figured that out).

One of the major factors that is hampering the adoption of the snowmobile among various (user groups) is the higher cost of the snowmobiles (if we could only include them in the stimulus checks or give them away free like Obama phones). Snowmobiles generally costs between $9,000-$11,000–nearly the cost of a passenger car (let’s see you park that car on top of Two Top). This limits the snowmobile customer base to people with relatively high incomes (or people with their priorities straight).

My final observations: First, the cost of new snowmobiles has gotten out of control. But what neither of these reports highlight is that when people are passionate, they tend to spend money. And for any company wanting to crack into this industry, consumers willing to spend money is not a bad thing. Second, any snowmobile manufacturer who actually pays strategic marketing firms like these for this kind of information is stupidly increasing the cost of snowmobiles … and likely trying to justify the bloated salary of a corporate exec who can’t recognize the obvious.

But hey, don’t listen to me. Forty years of experience is no match for someone with a PhD behind their name. (I wonder if they also got that online?)