Facts about Evinrude/Johnson racing outboards made my OMC

[lars strom]

OMC was in the grey zone.. selling outboards for less in another country than your home country is called “dumping”.

[John Schubert]

Well..
I guess you forgot a few important things..first OMC's pricing was screwed up under many years.
Second in the mid/late seventies many outboard dealers in Sweden and Europe went to USA to purchase plenty of new outboards from local dealers and shipped to Europe because of the low dollar during the Carter administration.
Happened the same years as I started my Evinrude dealership..I lost lots of business because of the grey market Evinrude sold in Sweden..
I was loyal to the Evinrude distributor Huzells in Sweden and purchased all my outboards from them..

Lots of grey market was going on in the eighties back to the USA. Cars, electronics heavy equipment etc..
If someone ask you for thousands outboards and OMC-Sweden sell you the outboards..blame OMC not the dealers.
If OMC really wanted to stop my "grey market" export they could have done so easy by not selling me any outboards..but the sales people called me and asked if I needed any more direct shipment from OMC Belgium.
Later OMC did the same thing..low prices in the Caribbean..the cost of an Evinrude was way less in Bermuda than Florida..
Mercury did stop this but OMC did not.
No..I do not feel bad about the true history in the outboard world.

You missed the major points. When you were making “tons”, your words, franchised/authorized dealers nearby where you dumped your motors were suffering. Your original post stated that OMC attempted to stop you selling outside of Sweden but you stated your lawyers were better. Now you changed your story saying that they could have stopped the practice. Sorry Lars I don’t believe either story as there must be another true reason to cut throat American dealers for your personal gain, but yet reside in the US. You can respond with all kinds of stories, but I will not reply, I’ve said enough & I’m sure the readers understand

[lars strom]

Can add this..
In a meeting with the OMC US big wheels at one of the F1-V8 races in 1985 they told me sales was up because of the tougher competition between dealers.
In my dealer contract with OMC I was allowed to do export.

[lars strom]

OMC know when they shipped all those new outboards to my dealership I was exporting them.
No dealer can sell so many outboards in the local area.
Not only did they sent me all the outboard they gave me 30 days to pay for them.
I did not have anything to do with Outboardland or Scan Marine.
They just purchased lots of outboards from my dealership.
OMC warranty was world wide and if you purchased an American build boat in Sweden exported from the US the warranty was valid in Sweden.
Same the other way.

[lars strom]

You missed the major points. When you were making “tons”, your words, franchised/authorized dealers nearby where you dumped your motors were suffering. Your original post stated that OMC attempted to stop you selling outside of Sweden but you stated your lawyers were better. Now you changed your story saying that they could have stopped the practice. Sorry Lars I don’t believe either story as there must be another true reason to cut throat American dealers for your personal gain, but yet reside in the US. You can respond with all kinds of stories, but I will not reply, I’ve said enough & I’m sure the readers understand

OMC was dumping the prices in Sweden..not me. I payed OMC what the dealer price was.
A better question is..why was OMC charging dealers more in the US than Northern Europe.
You should be upset with OMC’s policy’s not me.

[lars strom]

Back when I worked at Skanstull Marin in Stockholm the owner Arne Boden went to California and purchased 250 Merc 650 3 cyl and 200 Merc 500 from Rex Marine.
Shipped them to his dealership in Stockholm.
The Swedish Merc distributor NK Kristensson was not happy but nothing they could do.
Well this was the year when the Merc 650 3 cyl. had a problem with the upper shift shaft.
They got twisted and all the 250 motors must have the shift shaft replaced. We did all that work at my just started dealership.

[lars strom]

Over 10 years later I received this letter from OMC.. hard to believe OMC was upset with me for my export.. I got hired by David Jones

[lars strom]

1994 OMC’s lawyers hired me and Don Kueny, (Former OMC Chief Marine Engineer) We flow to Sweden to investigate a Donzi accident with twin King Cobra. The driver was killed and missing.
Hired diving teams and spent two weeks in Sweden for this case.
Later OMC/Donzi lost this case in a Sarasota Court.
The cost for OMC was over $7 million.

[lars strom]

Renato Molinari in Stockholm GP july 1983.

[powerabout]

1994 OMC’s lawyers hired me and Don Kueny, (Former OMC Chief Marine Engineer) We flow to Sweden to investigate a Donzi accident with twin King Cobra. The driver was killed and missing.
Hired diving teams and spent two weeks in Sweden for this case.
Later OMC/Donzi lost this case in a Sarasota Court.
The cost for OMC was over $7 million.

how did a death in Sweden end up in a Florida court?

[lars strom]

how did a death in Sweden end up in a Florida court?

The dad of the dead driver contacted a US lawyer and they went after Donzi & OMC. Both the King Cobra drives broke off when the Black Widow 30 hit a big wave outside Sandhamn in the Stockholm archipelago. Headline news in Sweden that weekend (1989) and the President for OMC Sweden Bengt Nilsson asked me the day after to take a look at the boat. I could not figure out how this accident really happen. Years later, (1994) is when OMC, Waukegan asked me and Don Kueny to fly to Sweden and try to locate the OMC King Cobra drives at the bottom of the Baltic sea. We hired lots of divers and spent a "ton of money" but no one was really sure about the exact location of the accident. We found a lot of stuff over the two weeks on the bottom of the Baltic Sea but not the King Cobra drives. OMC/Donzi lost the case and was forced to pay over $7 million to the father. I think Don Kueny was at the final trial. He is the one who told me OMC/Donzi lost the case. I know it was in Sarasota and was appealed but lost again.

[lars strom]

Over 10 years later I received this letter from OMC.. hard to believe OMC was upset with me for my export.. I got hired by David Jones

In the beginning of 1998 I got a phone call from the OMC headquarter in Waukegan, Illinois. David Jones the President of OMC was asking for me.
I sent a short resume to OMC and received the attached letter a few weeks later.
My appointment to meet with David Jones was set to June 16 1998.
Carina and I took our American Eagle motorhome with matching trailer to Waukegan and the OMC headquarter. The security guard was informed and we must be one of few being allowed to park inside the fence in front of OMC and camp out. We stayed there a few days.
The meeting with the President David Jones was extremely interesting. At that time not many people know OMC was struggling big time.
Mr. Jones hired me as a consultant.
Mainly to figure out a way to make OMC do better in Europe. I flew to Norway for meetings a few times and traveled to many dealers and asked their opinion about OMC. Most dealers was still very optimistic about OMC and I put together a long plan for OMC what they needed to do/what was wrong in Northern Europe.
My mistake was to give my plan to the person responsible for sales outside the US and not directly to David Jones.
A major conflict was now in full force because he did not like my report.
Pretty soon I learned the big corporation personal conflict and I did not need that.
I called David Jones and told him I am out.
I already know at that time there was no way to save OMC the way it was run.
I also got contacted by the Roger Penske group. Penske was interested buying OMC. I told them what I know and was on the list if a deal was possible to do.
Penske backed out for many reasons and that was sad. I strongly believe Penske could have saved OMC.
Yes, it is Ric McChesney and Carina in the second picture.
Yes..David Jones was the Mercury President for 8 years. First picture.

[powerabout]

A friend of mine broke a pair of 6 drives off on a rough day, boat went down but airpocket in the bow kept it up.

[Lake X Kid]

We tried to establish an unlimited hydro museum in Kent WA. Honestly, I don't even know if it is operational today? Endeavors like this always end up struggling for funding. We as former racers think of the stuff as important, everybody else does not...
My prediction is that NASCAR will nearly be finished off by COVID19.

I am confident most, if not all, major sport leagues will survive the Covid-19 setback. And that includes
boat racing. There is big money in telecasting a motor race (with or without fans in the stands), and profits will support the continuance of motor racing and other major sports.

Men like their fast machines, and a fan base is replenished with each knew generation. And one major excitement and surprise about motor racing, is that the fastest vehicle/boat does not always win the race.

Drivers Start Your Engines !!!

[lars strom]

Two very good looking race engines. Came out for the 1976 race season.