Bombardier Snowmobiles

Bombardier Snowmobiles

60 years ago Joseph-Armand Bombardier realized his dream and patented the first tracked vehicle, the B7, and formed L' Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée.

Bombardier's first snowmobiles were designed for professional people, the postal service, and as taxis or school buses. At World War II the civilian snowmobile was pressed into military service. The Allies were looking for a vehicle to transport soldiers over snowbound battlefields, and Bombardier's invention was soon transformed into an armoured all-track snowmobile called the "Kaki."

More than 1900 Kakis were built under military contract. By 1948, sales at Bombardier's company reached $2.3 million, and by 1958, they soared to over $3.5 million.

Skidoo Ottawa River Photo: Archiv

Ski-Doo
When the Ski-Doo appeared, a whole new industry came into being. An advertisement caught the attention of the public by emphasizing the sporting aspect of the tracked vehicle with skis: "Outdoor enthusiasts looking for new thrills in winter sports will find them with the Bombardier Ski-Doo…"

The craze soon spread throughout Canada and the United States, bringing annual sales to $10 million by 1964. The success of the Ski-Doo was assured by the 1968 North Pole expedition that "demonstrated the product's reliability, endurance, and strength."
The rest, as they say, is history.

Bombardier Museum
More than 43,000 people visit the Bombardier Museum every year. Museum guides and all documentation are bilingual. You can step into Bombardier's garage, built in 1926, and see his original tools in the very place that the snowmobile was invented.

Snowed-In in Quebec City Photo: Archiv

The garage is also a screening theatre where you can view a documentary on the life and work of the great inventor.You will see Bombardier's first experimental vehicles, industrial tracked snow machines, the tools that made the Ski-Doo possible and more than 30 snowmobiles from all around the world, as well as displays on the inventor's life and times.

Joseph-Armand's nephew Jean-Luc had a dream to conquer the North Pole by Ski-Doo. In February 1968, he joined an exhibition led by American Explorer Ralph Plaisted and conquered the Pole in his "great little machine."

Skidoo Photo: Archiv

Musée J.-Armand Bombardier
1001 J.-A.-Bombardier Avenue, Valcourt, QC
Tel: (450) 532-5300
http://www.fjab.qc.ca/en/content/jab/jab.htm