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Grand Rapids Boat Show

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Ben & Suzy

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    My wife and I went to the boat show yesterday.  We basically go there to see what each pontoon manufacturer is offering for the year.  Once again this year..............a sea of beige and brown interior colors, with an occasional grey thrown in. Exterior colors weren't much better.  Within minutes we were ready to leave before we fell asleep from the ho-hum and boredom.  What are the factory designers thinking when they choose these colors?  Must be retirement because there certainly wasn't anything exciting for the younger at heart crowd that wants something bright and bold.  If ya don't believe me, just open up that new Bennington brochure and browse through the colors of any model of your choice.........uugghh.  The only saving grace is the glacier white.

  Right next to the many pontoon displays were the ski boat displays.  Wow.......those are some fun colors!!  It's too bad that Bennington is just following the norm of what many (but not all) pontoon manufacturers are doing for colors. Step out of the box Bennington!!  There are those of us that want / expect more!   

     It looks like this will be another year of not buying a new Bennington.  Sad.
 
Believe it or not my Wife was asking about a New Boat .

Not this year, Bennington  is not offering Crimson Red .

So unless I want a fiberglass Q with custom paint ,its not happening  ( this year ) 
 
I always liked the red, but my wife.......not so much LOL.  Happy wife........... :) .  We're just hoping for a few bright colors again.  Bring back the yellow........even if the bright colors are part of a bold graphics package that is designed to correspond with the metallic white panels.  A glacier white interior with color coordinated diamond- stitched inserts with pillow top upholstery.........oh yeah !
 
Originally I wanted Blue ,wife wanted Red . 2 boats and 4 or 5  orders and cancellations later .

I like the Red now  too.

I have only seen one other Red pontoon in our area and its a double deck with a slide .
 
I actually liked the white with blue accented S boat in the Hall's display. But no, not the baby blue one. But someone did, it's marked sold.

Be sure to check out the S boat with the premium interior. Very nice for an S. It's on the end of the display toward the window, also with a sold sign.
 
I originally wanted red to match my truck but the wife had other ideas.  My other two freshwater boats had lots of my favorite color (orange) and it's probably a good thing Bennington didn't offer orange.  I "let" her pick the colors this time and while blue wasn't my first choice, I'm quite happy with it now.  It's grown on me and now I do like it much more.  I was due for a change from orange anyways.  I can always just wear orange board shorts and shirts to get my fix.
 
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Now a days, it's very easy to change things.  Just do a wrap.  I am ordering a blackout package boat and am going to add some graphics.  The cool thing with wraps is you can change it to something else if you get tired of it. 
 
Ben & Suzy said:
    My wife and I went to the boat show yesterday.  We basically go there to see what each pontoon manufacturer is offering for the year.  Once again this year..............a sea of beige and brown interior colors, with an occasional grey thrown in. Exterior colors weren't much better.  Within minutes we were ready to leave before we fell asleep from the ho-hum and boredom.  What are the factory designers thinking when they choose these colors?  Must be retirement because there certainly wasn't anything exciting for the younger at heart crowd that wants something bright and bold.  If ya don't believe me, just open up that new Bennington brochure and browse through the colors of any model of your choice.........uugghh.  The only saving grace is the glacier white.

  Right next to the many pontoon displays were the ski boat displays.  Wow.......those are some fun colors!!  It's too bad that Bennington is just following the norm of what many (but not all) pontoon manufacturers are doing for colors. Step out of the box Bennington!!  There are those of us that want / expect more!   

     It looks like this will be another year of not buying a new Bennington.  Sad.
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Agreed 150%, Although we love the Benny itself we would like to see some color schemes geared towards younger more hip styles like the wakeboard boats. I wish Bennington would do something like Manitou with the XPlode line.



 
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What happened to the lime green accents we saw on some last year?
 
I too wanted RED but well ....

I have beat that horse to death a million times

I would like to know why there is no Canary Yellow 

For me Boating is about being Happy 

Let The Colors Demonstrate That Feeling As Well :)

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Just My Humble Opinion 
 
Of course Bennington doesn't get rid of colors that sell well but I am also surprised that offered colors and design aren't a little more upbeat and wild 
 
Some are just too plain and common for me .

However I am not a fan of those pics above either .

Personally ,I dont think Bennington is going after that market .Q's R's and G's are advertised as " Luxury Pontoons ".

Did you ever see an orange ,Bentley or Benz ? ( maybe custom ) 
 
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I think Kanye has a few in those colors....probably explains the $53M in debt too!
 
lakeliving said:
I think Kanye has a few in those colors....probably explains the $53M in debt too!
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He was offered a job by the Philly P.D. He has not responded .
 
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How about a couple of pics from the boat show?
 
I honestly wouldn't say that Bennington is any more "Luxury" than a few others out there........Premier comes to mind.   I think it's moreover a case of Bennington tooting their own advertising horn. 

The market is changing.  There are more customers demanding higher performance, newer designs with fresh colors and graphics.  Lots of fiberglass starting to show up on pontoons.  Luxury doesn't equate to sedated colors in my book.

Keep in mind that we have no desire to jump ship to another brand.  Bennington is our first choice for a few reasons.  Still the best helm in the biz on the R/Q.  Best / most dense poly used in the seats for my 6'8" / 300 lb body.  For me, the driver, it's all about being comfortable at the helm all day.  My butt doesn't sink through to the seat base after a few hours.  Same for the lounge seats.  I can't say that for any other boat that I've been on........

Plus two of my best friends sell Benningtons LOL!

For us, Bennington offers the most complete package.  We're just waiting for some brighter colors to come back ;-)
 
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Ben & Suzy said:
I honestly wouldn't say that Bennington is any more "Luxury" than a few others out there........Premier comes to mind.   I think it's moreover a case of Bennington tooting their own advertising horn. 

The market is changing.  There are more customers demanding higher performance, newer designs with fresh colors and graphics.  Lots of fiberglass starting to show up on pontoons.  Luxury doesn't equate to sedated colors in my book.
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"Luxury Pontoons " is a quote from their  build site .Could be their marketing dept ?
 
Jack M. said:
"Luxury Pontoons " is a quote from their  build site .Could be their marketing dept ?
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Yes Jack, it's just marketing strategy.  They all do it.  Cobalt has stepped into the pontoon market.  They've redesigned pontoons as we know them LOL!   The Cobalt was the only pontoon at the show that didn't allow people on their boats with shoes. If I can't get on it, I certainly can't afford it LOL!
 
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I get the no shoes thing even on a cheap boat. A local dealer had a Q on display at the local city beach. That thing was trashed after a weekend and filled with sand. Hopefully at an indoor boat show people have clean shoes though!
 
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