Winnebago Industries offers preview of 2004 motorhome lineup

(Aug. 8, 2003) -- Winnebago Industries, Inc. , showcased its new 2004 Winnebago, Itasca, Rialta and Ultimate brand motor homes during the Company's Dealer Days event held July 27-30, 2003 at Bally's in Las Vegas, Nevada.

During the event, attendees were able to review the Company's extensive new line-up of Winnebago Industries' 2004 motor homes. In fact, one-third of Winnebago Industries' lineup introduced at the show is new or redesigned for 2004, increasing total offerings to 78 innovative floorplans.

Diesel pusher models lead the new offerings with the debut of the new Winnebago Vectra and Itasca Horizon for 2004. Built on the Evolution chassis from Freightliner, this new chassis was the result of a development project between Winnebago Industries and Freightliner to create the next evolution in chassis design and is offered exclusively on Winnebago Industries' products for 2004. This chassis creates a strong, durable platform for the Vectra and Horizon with above the rail, under the rail and cross-coach storage, as well as excellent driving performance and comfort.

"Winnebago Industries was right on target with the new Vectra and Horizon product," said Will Jarnot, Sales Manager of Pleasureland RV, St. Cloud, Minn. "They are really outstanding products and Winnebago Industries did a great job in putting it together with the Evolution chassis."

Tim Wegge, President and CEO of Burlington RV Superstore, Burlington,

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Wisconsin said, "The Vectra product is right on. It's what the dealers have been looking for with lots of neat new features that are very user friendly. These features create product differentiation between Winnebago Industries' products and other brands that are very easy to demonstrate. The Evolution chassis looks to be a real winner and I especially like the fact that it's exclusive to Winnebago Industries for a year."

Also receiving rave reviews from dealers, are the new Itasca Meridian and the Winnebago Journey motor homes. These diesel-pusher products offer four floorplans each, ranging from 32- to 39-feet in length.

Full-body paint was introduced in more of the Company's product offerings for 2004 as well. Currently, Winnebago Industries' entire diesel product lineup offers full-body paint, as well as the premium gasoline-powered Winnebago Chieftain and Itasca Sunflyer and the fuel-efficient, front-wheel-drive, Class C Rialta.

"I was really impressed with the styling of Winnebago Industries' 2004 lineup," said Joe Altman, Vice President of Altman's RV, Baldwin Park, Calif. "The entire line was very striking and I particularly liked the full-body paint."

Winnebago Industries also honored 179 of its dealers who achieved the prestigious Circle of Excellence status. Since 1986 the Circle of Excellence award honors Winnebago Industries dealers in recognition of their excellence in buyer satisfaction. The program experienced a 10 percent increase in the number of dealers achieving recognition. In addition, the company recognized its top-selling dealers by brand and region of the country.

"Our annual dealer days event is our best opportunity all year to interact with our dealers," said Winnebago Industries' Chairman, CEO and President Bruce Hertzke. "The meeting provides us a great opportunity to introduce our new products and features, and speak with our dealers one-on-one. This ensures that we continue to meet our dealers' expectations, as well as those of our retail customers. Our dealers appear to be genuinely impressed with our entire product line for 2004. As a result, the Company's sales order backlog has seen substantial growth since dealer days."

Copyright 2004 by Out West Newspaper

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