Joseph-Armand Bombardier introduced his own snowmobile using an open-cockpit one- or two-person form, similar to the 1957 Polaris Sno Traveler, and started selling it under the brand name Ski-Doo through his company Bombardier Inc. (now manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products). Competitors copied and improved his design; in the 1970s there were over a hundred snowmobile manufacturers. From 1970 to 1973, two million machines were sold, peaking at 500,000 sold in 1971. Many of the snowmobile companies were small and the biggest manufacturers were often attempts by motorcycle makers and outboard motor makers to branch off in a new market. Most of these companies went bankrupt or were acquired by larger companies during the 1973 oil crisis and succeeding recessions. Sales rebounded to 260,000 in 1997 but gradually decreased afterward, influenced by warmer winters and the use during all four seasons of small one- or two-person ATVs. Alpina Alpina Snowmobiles are manufactured in Vicenza, Italy, by Alpina s.r.l., a manufacturer of various on-snow implements that had been building dual-track snowmobiles since 1995. There are two manufacturers of dual-track snowmobiles. One is Alpina and the other is a Russian sled called Buran (Bombardier discontinued manufacturing its dual-track model, the Elite, in 2005). Models Alpina manufactures one basic dual-track snowmobile design. In 2002 the Sherpa was introduced and is the model name for the four-stroke machine. Prior to introducing the Sherpa, Alpina offered a two-stroke series designated the Superclass. The four-stroke Sherpa is currently the top machine in production. A new version of the Superclass has been released in 2017, with a lot of innovations and a new four-stroke engine. The Sherpa and Superclass series shared the same basic dual-track platform, twin tracks with dual skis up front. Power for the Sherpa is supplied by a 1.6L in-line four-cylinder gasoline automotive engine. The new Superclass power is provided by a 1.2L 3-cylinder four-stroke gasoline engine. Features The Sherpa and Superclass are designed as working snowmobiles for carrying supplies, pulling cargo sleds, pulling trail grooming implements, carrying several passengers, and negotiating deep snow. Engine and transmission combination are designed to deliver optimum power to pull or carry large loads while top-end speeds are kept below , depending on the model. The large footprint of the dual tracks and dual skis allows the Sherpa and Superclass to "float" on top of deep snow and not sink in and get stuck. Taiga Electric Taiga Motors in