1999 ­ The Year of Great Promise

Don Magary, Editor

Our industry is riding a crest of prosperity unequalled since the seventies. When the final numbers are in for the year it will turn out to be the best in twenty years, outperforming prognosticators' predictions by a wide margin. As we turn the page starting a new chapter, which is 1999, we see a year filled with promise and hope for even greater successes. And if the recent Louisville show can be gauged as a credible indication, the attitudes of our industry leaders are poised for success.

I've been attending the Louisville show for 15 years and cannot remember a show where there was a more universally positive atmosphere. RV dealers from across the nation came prepared to do business, and exhibitors were inundated with interest and sales of their wide range of new products and services. At our booth, it was non-stop from when the show opened until the show closed. Normally, the last day of the show is comparatively slow with the afternoon being compared with a morgue ­ not this year. At the RV America On Line display, we finished our last presentation 15 minutes after the show closed.

Indeed, this is a great time to be in the RV industry.

I'm often asked by a variety of businesses such as investment bankers, stockbrokers, consultants and others, what my analysis of the future of the RV industry is. I am proud to bring them the positive good news about how our industry is performing today, and what great potential lies ahead. I always leave them with this caveat, however ­ "Unless some politician or world leader does something really outrageous, I see the RV industry continuing to thrive at least through the next 10 to 12 years."

What I mean by that is our economy is vulnerable to political whims and that delicate balance could be negatively impacted by actions of politicians. If that happens, we could see consumer confidence wane and possibly a recession. We certainly do not want that so we "pray" for our industry's sake, that politicians behave themselves.

As I write this editorial in mid-December, I'm concerned that what is developing in Baghdad and Washington D.C. might qualify for the aforementioned "doing something outrageous." Saddam Hussein is once again testing the will of the rest of the world, and as a result U.S. and British missiles are redesigning the country's landscape. World leaders intend to teach Hussein a devastating lesson and diminish his ability to deploy weapons of mass destruction. At the same time, the U.S. Congress is voting to Impeach the President.

Despite these activities I remain optimistic about the coming year, and I trust our leaders and other politicians around the world will not do anything that would result in an economic downturn.

Happy New Year from the staff of RV News.

nesses such as investment bankers, stockbrokers, consultants and others, what my analysis of the future of the RV industry is. I am proud to bring them the positive good news about how our industry is performing today, and what great potential lies ahead. I always leave them with this caveat, however ­ "Unless some politician or world leader does something really outrageous, I see the RV industry continuing to thrive at least through the next 10 to 12 years."

What I mean by that is our economy is vulnerable to political whims and that delicate balance could be negatively impacted by actions of politicians. If that happens, we could see consumer confidence wane and possibly a recession. We certainly do not want that so we "pray" for our industry's sake, that politicians behave themselves.

As I write this editorial in mid-December, I'm concerned that what is developing in Baghdad and Washington D.C. might qualify for the aforementioned "doing something outrageous." Saddam Hussein is once again testing the will of the rest of the world, and as a result U.S. and British missiles are redesigning the country's landscape. World leaders intend to teach Hussein a devastating lesson and diminish his ability to deploy weapons of mass destruction. At the same time, the U.S. Congress is voting to Impeach the President.

Despite these activities I remain optimistic about the coming year, and I trust our leaders and other politicians around the world will not do anything that would result in an economic downturn.

Happy New Year from the staff of RV News.