prices that remained competitive, the snowmobiling market had been broken, and the Glastron Boat Company sold Sno-Jet to Kawasaki in 1976. Kawasaki wanted to enter the snowmobile market, hoping to expand beyond producing motorcycles, as Yamaha had years before. Although they wanted the Sno-Jet name and its established dealerships, they planned to use their own designs and manufacturing facilities, and had no interest in Sno-Jet's existing facilities or inventory. All of the company's assets were liquidated, and hundreds of employees were terminated, as many were unwilling to move to Kawasaki's headquarters in Nebraska. Only a few design engineers were retained for Kawasaki's new snowmobile enterprise. Kawasaki used the Sno-Jet name until 1977. It saw only limited success, and was unable to sustain its snowmobile business for much longer. With massive debt due to the market's decline, Kawasaki ceased snowmobile production in 1982. Engines In its earliest days of production, Sno-Jet formed a business deal with German engine manufacturer Hirth to supply them with two-stroke engines. Seeking to compete with their Austrian rival Rotax for the rapidly expanding North American snowmobile market, Hirth offered their engines to Sno-Jet for less than Rotax's (whose primary customer was Bombardier). This made Sno-Jet the largest buyer of Hirth engines, and allowed it to keep its production costs low, making Sno-Jets more affordable. Hirth engines were also quite reliable, adding even more credibility to the reputation Sno-Jet was quickly building. Despite their success with brands like Sno-Jet, Hirth eventually decided to stop producing engines for snowmobiles, citing their growing dependence on the overseas market. The OPEC Oil Crisis of 1973 strengthened their resolve to leave the market, and by 1974 they produced their last two-cycle snowmobile engine. Hirth continues to manufacture two-stroke engines for helicopters and light aircraft. Needing another engine manufacturer, Sno-Jet turned to Yamaha, which had manufactured motorcycles for many years, and was just expanding into snowmobiling. In 1970, only two years after Yamaha produced their first snowmobile, Sno-Jet began to offer models powered by Yamaha engines. By 1973, Hirth engines were phased out completely, except for a single model in 1974 which used a small surplus supply. In 1970 Sno-Jet also offered two models using a single-cylinder Sachs 340 cc engine. The Thunderjet Sno-Jet holds a particularly notable place in snowmobiling history due to its unique racing models, Thunderjets. Prior racing models merely utilized larger, more powerful engines in existing snowmobiles. Sno-Jet