Visit our Popular Forums

Rivetedude · 11-10-2005, 07:00 AM

Hello all. I just read a thread (New Vintage Owner) about one of our members just making a purchase of a '79 Ambassador. I have a '72 Ambassador and the thread listings under Ambassador list them as early as '59.

Now a guy at the Airstream Homecoming told me that the Ambassador was a rare breed of Land Yacht. I only saw one other at the homecoming and I haven't seen that many in here and it kind of re-enforces what this gentleman told me, but if Airstream made Ambassadors for at least 20 years, there should be tons of them!

Maybe Fred Coldwell might oblige by chiming in here, but what I'd really like to know is a little history about the 70's Airstreams and the Ambassador along with the other models (Sovereign, Overlander, Excella, Safari, and Tradewind) made in the 70's.

What kind of numbers was Airstream putting out on these models in the 70's? What made them different from each other?

Any information anyone might have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanx!

overlander63 · 11-10-2005, 07:44 AM

Ben, the Ambassador was not as plentiful as the other models. It was a tad shorter than desired for the "park it and live in it" crowd, and too long for the vacationers. The reason relatively more seem to be out there now, is that the ones that were built, tended to not be used as much, and so are in better shape.AFAIK, Airstream considers production numbers proprietary, so actual real numbers may be tough to come by, especially year by year.

StingrayL82 · 11-10-2005, 12:37 PM

Why in the heck are production numbers proprietary?????? Jeez, what does Airstream think people are going to do with that info?

Frederic

overlander63 · 11-10-2005, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StingrayL82

Why in the heck are production numbers proprietary?????? Jeez, what does Airstream think people are going to do with that info?

Frederic

It shows how many trailers they made, and can be used to see how much money they made/lost.
Imagine having to send out your personal financial statements to anyone every time someone was curious about how much you made last year?

StingrayL82 · 11-10-2005, 04:06 PM

Thor Industries is a publicly traded company, on the NYSE. Their symbol is THO. They have to release their financial statements anyway, so I still don't see how releasing how many Airstreams they made each year affects their financial disclosure.

Frederic

Jim & Susan · 11-10-2005, 05:22 PM

I agree with Frederic, financial statements are easily obtainable for any publicly traded company. I don't understand the mystery with this part of the history of a great company. Many have written about this weird qwirk of corporate secrecy.

In fact, I suspect that Airstream (or Thor) could make a few bucks if they were to publish this information in the form of a book or other publication "for sale" and "properly copywrited". From searching their website, they seem more than willing to provide safety information (thankfully) and sales information (Uhhhhh....). Why not celebrate the rich history of a wonderful company by telling your story, over and over again? Marketing people always ask "what is your company's greatest asset"? Their answer always seems to be "your brand". Cool, let us know about it,over and over again. That's what advertisers are paid big bucks for, isn't it?

Just my two cents. Jim

**azflycaster** · 11-10-2005, 05:49 PM

Here is a link to last years Annual Report.

http://www.thorindustries.com/corpor...nualReport.pdf

overlander63 · 11-10-2005, 05:51 PM

Sounds like the US Navy submarines. They will move "over 20 knots" and "deeper than 200 feet".

StingrayL82 · 11-10-2005, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim & Susan

I agree with Frederic, financial statements are easily obtainable for any publicly traded company. I don't understand the mystery with this part of the history of a great company. Many have written about this weird qwirk of corporate secrecy.

In fact, I suspect that Airstream (or Thor) could make a few bucks if they were to publish this information in the form of a book or other publication "for sale" and "properly copywrited". From searching their website, they seem more than willing to provide safety information (thankfully) and sales information (Uhhhhh....). Why not celebrate the rich history of a wonderful company by telling your story, over and over again? Marketing people always ask "what is your company's greatest asset"? Their answer always seems to be "your brand". Cool, let us know about it,over and over again. That's what advertisers are paid big bucks for, isn't it?

Just my two cents. Jim

Hey, Chevrolet does it with the Corvette....it's called the Corvette Black Book. It lists production numbers, colors, options.

Frederic

InsideOut · 11-10-2005, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azflycaster

Here is a link to last years Annual Report.

http://www.thorindustries.com/corpor...nualReport.pdf

...and not a single Airstream trailer shown. Hmpt!

Shari

overlander63 · 11-10-2005, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InsideOut

...and not a single Airstream trailer shown. Hmpt!

Shari

And not a single line that says "Total number of units sold" anywhere. Lots of $$$ shown, but no quantities sold.

Rivetedude · 11-11-2005, 08:20 AM

It actually is publicized, but only dealers see it. We receive a report of how many units each mfg sells per month, quarter, year, etc. It shows actual hard numbers. Like right now, Coachmen has the best selling Class C motorhome in the country by a landslide. I don't have the report handy to tell you the exact numbers, I think I threw it out, but I don't think it's really "classified".

We get them from our MFG's so they can show us how good they are doing and build our confidence in the product.

wahoonc · 11-11-2005, 08:32 AM

In the case of the older trailers it may be a matter of non existent or lost records....but they must have some idea of total production or they wouldn't be able to substantiate the claim that 60% of all Airstreams ever built are still on the road....

Aaron

Rivetedude · 11-11-2005, 08:45 AM

Oh trust me, they know the numbers. The company would be a fool if it didn't have on record every single trailer that's rolled off it's line. That's how they improve on their product, by knowing which models sold the most numbers, in which floorplan, in which color, etc.

I assure you, they have the records.

overlander63 · 11-11-2005, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rivetedude

Oh trust me, they know the numbers. The company would be a fool if it didn't have on record every single trailer that's rolled off it's line. That's how they improve on their product, by knowing which models sold the most numbers, in which floorplan, in which color, etc.

I assure you, they have the records.

Yes, they do. It's just getting hold of that info from the outside, that is tough. (cue theme music from "mission:impossible").
RL Polk keeps track of vehicle registrations, but I wouldn't know how to get info direct from them.

Rivetedude · 11-11-2005, 10:33 AM

I just talked to my manager and he said that license plate registrations are public record and you can find the numbers that way. Of course you can't look the plate up and see who bought it and where they live, but you could probably get make and model info.

47WeeWind · 11-11-2005, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rivetedude

... Now a guy at the Airstream Homecoming told me that the Ambassador was a rare breed of Land Yacht. I only saw one other at the homecoming and I haven't seen that many in here and it kind of re-enforces what this gentleman told me, but if Airstream made Ambassadors for at least 20 years, there should be tons of them!

Maybe Fred Coldwell might oblige by chiming in here, but what I'd really like to know is a little history about the 70's Airstreams and the Ambassador along with the other models (Sovereign, Overlander, Excella, Safari, and Tradewind) made in the 70's. What kind of numbers was Airstream putting out on these models in the 70's? What made them different from each other? Any information anyone might have would be greatly appreciated. Thanx!

Ben: I haven't yet studied the 1970s Airstreams, so know little about them. But a source about 3 hours away from you should have production numbers for 1970s Airstreams.

Drive over to the RV/MH Heritage Museum in Elkhart, IN. In their upstairs library, they should have copies of all 1970's annual "The Mobile Home Market Report", the RV industry equivalent of the automotive "blue books" for used vehicles. Many times these Reports list manufacturer model year production by trailer length. That's where I'd look to find out how many Ambassadors were built during the 1970s compared to other Airstream models.

If you or anyone else gets up there, please photocopy those pages, mail me copies, and I'll reimburse you. It's a long 2 day drive each way from Denver for me to research that data.

Rivetedude · 11-11-2005, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 47WeeWind

Ben: I haven't yet studied the 1970s Airstreams, so know little about them. But a source about 3 hours away from you should have production numbers for 1970s Airstreams.

Drive over to the RV/MH Heritage Museum in Elkhart, IN. In their upstairs library, they should have copies of all 1970's annual "The Mobile Home Market Report", the RV industry equivalent of the automotive "blue books" for used vehicles. Many times these Reports list manufacturer model year production by trailer length. That's where I'd look to find out how many Ambassadors were built during the 1970s compared to other Airstream models.

If you or anyone else gets up there, please photocopy those pages, mail me copies, and I'll reimburse you. It's a long 2 day drive each way from Denver for me to research that data.

If I get up that way, I'd be happy to do that for you. I didn't even know there was a museum there, and I've been there several times for Monaco and Georgie Boy training.

I have no idea if I'll be this close in the next couple months though with joining the Coast Guard and all. Who knows, maybe I'll be closer than I am now. Maybe I'll even be near Denver. I know a guy there who owes me a cup of coffee!